Deportations, ethnic

Categories / Social Life/Political Repressions
DEPORTATIONS, ETHNIC were mass forced exiles of certain ethnic groups by the Soviet Government in the 1930-40s. The expulsion of 100 families of German colonists from Prigorodny District of Leningrad Region occurred during collectivization on 20 March - 25 April 1931 and on 10 May - 18 September 1931 became the first instance of ethnic deportation. The first large ethnic deportations were executed by order of the Bureau of Leningrad Regional Party Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) on 4 March 1935 entitled On Deportation of Finns from the Borderline Area. In the course of this deportation 30,000 Finns of Ingermanland were deported. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 the forced evacuation of Germans and Finns from Leningrad Region was performed in accordance with the Decree of People's Commissariat of Home Affairs of 30 August 1941. From 27 August 1941 to the end of March 1942 58,210 people were deported to Komi ASSR, Kazakhstan, Arkhangelsk Region, Novosibirsk Region etc. The deported people had to report to special commandant's offices of People's Commissariat of Home Affairs, what in fact meant that they were practically exiled. Ethnic Finns and Germans as representatives of the enemy nationalities were transferred to working colonies of People's Commissariat of Home Affairs by Decree of the State Committee of Defence of 3 April 1942 what in fact meant confinement to the concentration camp without any court order or sentence. After the siege was raised re-evacuation of German and Finnish population to the territory of Leningrad Region was recognized inexpedient (1944), all of those who had been exiled earlier were left in exile permanently. In the course of the operation to return from Finland to the USSR of the population of Ingermanlandian origin who had earlier inhabited Leningrad Region (37,000 people), Pskov Region and Novgorod Region were designated as places of their settlement. In post-war years measures for deportation of ethnic Finns were undertaken according to the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 7 May 1947 On Prohibiting the Settling of Finns on the Territory of Leningrad and the Leningrad Region. By the Decree of the Executive Committee of Leningrad Regional Soviet of 13 May 1947 On Exiling Finns and People of Ingermanland Origin from Leningrad Region during 1947, 6,899 people were removed from Leningrad Region. Later on ethnic deportations followed the Decree of People's Commissariat of Home Affairs from 21 February 1948 On Exiling People of Finnish Nationality and Ingermanlandian Origin Repatriated from Finland Away from City of Leningrad and Leningrad Region; the exact number of people deported in accordance to this Decree is unknown. Large-scale ethnic deportations in the period of the siege of 1941-44 and of post-war years led to irreversible changes of the ethnic and cultural image of the city and of the region, to disappearance of Finnish and Ingermanlandian diasporas and of German national colonies.

References: Резникова И. [Флиге И. А.] Репрессии в период блокады Ленинграда // Вестн. Мемориала. 1995. №4/5. С. 94-111; Иванов В. А. Миссия Ордена: Механизм массовых репрессий в Сов. России в конце 20-х-40-х гг.: (На материалах Северо-Запада РСФСР). СПб., 1997; Полян П. М. Не по своей воле...: История и география принудительных миграций в СССР. М., 2001; Гильди Л. А. Судьба социально-опасного народа: (Засекреч. геноцид финнов в России и его последствия, 1930-2002 гг.). СПб., 2003.

I. A. Flige. Резникова И. [Флиге И. А.] Репрессии в период блокады Ленинграда // Вестн. "Мемориала", 1995
Иванов В. А. Миссия Ордена: Механизм массовых репрессий в Сов. России в конце 20-х - 40-х гг.: (На материалах Северо-Запада РСФСР). СПб., 1997
Полян П. М. Не по своей воле...: История и география принудит. миграций в СССР. М., 2001 Siege of 1941-44
Resettlement of 1944-45
Deportations, ethnic
1947