TOP SECRET
State Defense Committee
The GKO’s decree № 5074ss, January 31, 1944
The Kremlin, Moscow
State Defense Committee decided:
1. Oblige the Narkomzem (Land Commissariat) of the USSR (comrade Andreev) Narkommyasomolprom (Commissariat of Meat and Milk industry) of the USSR (comrade Smirnov), Narkomsovkhozov (Commissariat of collective farms) of the USSR (comrade Lobanov) and Narkomzag (Commissariat of procurements) (comrade Subbotin) to take at the North Caucasus from the special settlers, livestock and agricultural products in the places and the dates agreed upon with the NKVD USSR, with the issuance of the exchange receipts.
Perform adoption of the entire property, as well as calculations on this property with special settlers in accordance with the decision of People’s Commissars of the USSR from October 14, 1943 № 1118-842ss.
Oblige the People’s Commissariat of the USSR, Narkommyasomolprom USSR, Narkomzag and Narkomsovhozov USSR to prepare and send in dates, agreed with the NKVD, special groups with a sufficient number of workers and forms of exchange receipts on registration of receiving cattle and agricultural products from the special settlers.
2. Send to the North Caucasus for the organization and management of taking livestock, agricultural products and other property from special settlers the commission of SNK as follows: Chairman – Vice-Chairman of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR comrade Gritsenko and representatives: from the People’s Commissariat of the USSR – Deputy People’s Commissar comrade Penzin, from Narkommyasomolprom – member of the board comrade Nadyarnyh, from Narkomsovhozov USSR – Deputy People’s Commissar comrade Kabanov, from Narkomzag – member of the board comrade Pustovalov.
3. Oblige NKPS (comrade Kaganovich) to organize transportation of special settlers from the Northern Caucasus in the Kazakh SSR and Kirghiz SSR, form for this purpose special trains from the heating and equipped for human transport wagons.
The number of trains, deadlines for wagons giving, loading and unloading is at the request of the NKVD.
Payments for transportation are at the rate of transport of prisoners.
Oblige NKPS and TsUPVOSO (comrade Khrulev) to ensure the moving of trains to their destination on the rights of the military ones, with special dispatch to monitor their movement.
4. Oblige Narkomtorg (People’s Commissariat of Trade) of the USSR, under the personal responsibility of comrade Lyubimov, to ensure the supply of hot food and boiling water for passing trains with special settlers, in accordance with the schedule of trains movement, composed by the NKVD of the USSR and the People’s Commissariat.
Send, not later than 1 February, the senior representatives of Narkomtorg to the places on the path of movement of trains to carry out the organizational and preparatory work and check the preparedness of nutritional items and railway canteens to service trains with special settlers.
5. Oblige the People’s Commissariat of the USSR, under the personal responsibility of comrade Miterev, to ensure the provision for each train with special settlers, in time according with coordination with the NKVD, one doctor and two nurses with the stock of medicines and sanitation items, and also to prepare the points of sanitary treatment and insulators of the Narkomzdrav (People’s Commissariat of Health) on the path of the trains.
6. Oblige the General Directorate of State Material Reserves of the USSR under the Sovnarkom of the USSR (comrade Danchenko) to de-reserve from the state reserve 4000 tons of gasoline for the NKVD, 500 tons of gasoline for the SNK of the Kazakh SSR, and 150 tons for SNK Kirghizia for the special work.
Oblige Glavneftesnab (the Main Oil Supply service) under the Sovnarkom of the USSR (comrade Shirokov) in agreement with the NKVD, SNK of Kazakh SSR and SNK of Kirghiz SSR to ship gasoline to the points by special-purpose tanks in time – for the NKVD during February 1944 and for the SNK of Kazakh SSR and Kirghiz SSR – until February 15, 1944
7. Oblige the People’s Commissariat of the USSR (comrade Zverev) to release advance of $ 80 million rubles for the special work in February 1944 for NKVD from the reserve Sovnarkom.
Oblige the People’s Commissariat of the USSR (comrade Zverev), and the NKVD (comrade Chernyshov) to submit in 5-day period to the People’s Commissars of the USSR the joint proposal for an additional appropriation of funds for special work to the NKVD.
8. Oblige the People’s Commissariat of the USSR (comrade Andreev) to transfer to the NKVD for cavalry units of militia, 350 horses, fit for military service, received from the special settlers in the North Caucasus.
Vice Chairman of the National Defense Molotov
Sent to comrades Molotov, Malenkov, Beria, Voznesensky, Skvortsov, Undasynov, Bogdanov, Vagov, Kulatov, Pchelkin, Andreev, Benediktov, Kosygin, Smirnov, Lobanov, Subbotin, Gritsenko, Chadayev – all: Shamberg, Popov, Shatalin, Zverev, Genzin, Nadyarnyh, Kabanov (People’s Commissariat of State farms), Pustovalov, Kaganovich, Khrushchev, Izmailov, Golubev, Lyubimov, Miterev, Danchenko, Shirokov, Sokolov, Chernyshov – respectively.
27 Mernilov – NKGB – everything.
RTsHIDNI. F.644. Op.1. D.200. L.13-15.
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State Defense Committee
February 17, 1944
To comrade Stalin
Preparation of the operation for eviction of Chechens and Ingushs finishes. After clarification, on 459 486 people to resettle are taken on the accountability, including those living in areas of Dagestan bordering with Chechnya-Ingushetia, and in Vladikavkaz city.
Given the scale of the operation and feature of the mountains, it was decided to conduct evictions (including boarding of people in the trains) during 8 days, when during the first 3 days the operation will be completed in the whole lowlands and pediments, and partly on some settlements in mountain areas, covering more than 300 thousand people.
In the remaining 4 days, the eviction of all mountain areas will be carried out, covering the remaining 150 thousand people.
Mountain areas will be blocked in advance…
In particular, in the eviction 6-7,000 Dagestanis, and 3,000 Ossetians from collective and state farms activists of Dagestan and North Ossetia districts, adjacent to Chechnya-Ingushetia, as well as rural activists among the Russians, in those areas where there are population, will participate.
Given the seriousness of the operation, please allow me to remain in place until the operation is complete, at least in general, i.e. up to 26-27 February, 1944
L. Beria
GARF. F.9401. Op.2. D.64. L.167 – 167 об.
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State Defense Committee
February 22, 1944
To comrade Stalin
For a successful operation to evict the Chechens and Ingushs, following your instructions, in addition to KGB and troop activities the following is carried out:
It was reported to the chairman of People’s Commissars of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic Molaev about the government’s decision to evict the Chechens and the Ingushs and about the motives which are underlay this decision.
Molaev was in tears after my message, but pulled himself together and promised to fulfill all the tasks that he will be given in connection with the eviction. After it, in Grozny, in cooperation with him, nine executives from the Chechens and Ingushs have been identified and convened, who were informed about the eviction of Chechens and the Ingushs and the reasons for the eviction…
40 Party and Soviet workers from the Chechens and Ingushs were attached by us to the 24 districts with the task to select from local activists 2-3 people for propaganda for each locality.
The conversation with the most influential in the Chechen-Ingushetia senior clerics B. Arsanov, A.-G. Yandarov and A. Gaysumov was conducted, they were called to give the support through the mullahs and other local authorities.
… Eviction begins from dawn on February 23, this year, it was assumed to cordon off the regions to prevent the exit of the population from the territory of settlements. Population will be invited to the gathering, part of the gathering will be released for collecting things, and the rest will be disarmed and taken to places of loading. I believe that the operation to evict the Chechens and Ingushs will be held successfully.
Beria
GARF. F.R-9401. Op.2. D.64. L.166.