Abstract

The history of Japanese prisoners of war held in NKVD (MVD) camps in the territory of the USSR and particularly in Khabarovsk Krai is complex and ambiguously interpreted. This article introduces into scholarly use the materials deposited in the archive of the regional office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Khabarovsk Krai and analyzes the progress of implementation of the camps for prisoners of war and internees in the region in the fall and winter of 1945. The documents provide information on the structure of the camp network and its staffing. Inspection materials and disciplinary sanction orders allows us to study the living and working conditions of prisoners of war, their food supply, provision of basic necessities, medical care, etc. The NKVD’s archival materials help reconstruct in detail the history of the formation of the camp network for Japanese prisoners of war in Khabarovsk Krai, taking into account the peculiarities of the NKVD’s activities in the region, and reveal the vision of the problems of the regional NKVD’s administration and the actions taken to solve them. While accommodating prisoners of war, the regional NKVD’s authorities faced a set of problems related to the lack of qualified personnel, necessary material and technical resources, as well as tight deadlines before the cold weather came on and an unexpectedly large number of prisoners. This led to an unfavorable situation in the places of detention of prisoners of war, an increase in morbidity, the damage of frostbite, and large number of escapes. Among the personnel of the camps, there were violations of discipline and delicts: incompliance with the security policy, drunkenness, illegal seizure of Japanese prisoners’ items. Nevertheless, the documents under examination show that the plight of Japanese prisoners was not due to the repressive and malicious actions of the NKVD; its authorities made maximum efforts to ensure proper conditions of the prisoners’ detention, normal food supply and medical care, as well as to stop illegal actions by the camp personnel.