Repression campaign on the Tomsk railway in the second half of the 1930s
https://doi.org/10.25206/2542-0488-2026-11-1-6-12
EDN: NWUANO
Abstract
The article analyzes the situation on the Tomsk railway in the 1930s and the specific government measures to address the crisis in transport operations. The Stalinist leadership compensated for the lack of effective economic mechanisms in the Soviet system with active methods of repression, including on one of the main railways of the USSR, linking Siberia and the Far East with the European part of the country. In such regard, the nature of special orders of the People's Commissar of Railways of the USSR Lazar Kaganovich is considered. An explanation is presented for the systematic dismissals of the Tomsk railway's management, as well as the subsequent transition to mass repressions against leading specialists. Based on original sources, the main actions of the punitive organs during the arrest campaign and the organization of show trials in transport are presented. A description is given of the main phases of the development of mass terror of 1937–1938 and the participation of the railway's management in them. Data on the consequences of the repressions is presented. It is concluded that the purge on the Tomsk railway in the second half of the 1930s. It turned out to be one of the largest punitive actions carried out by Stalin's secret services, with the participation of local organizations of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Its victims included workers from a wide variety of professions and occupations. However, no real economic results are achieved.
About the Author
S. A. Papkov
Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
PAPKOV Sergey Andreyevich, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Senior Researcher of the Socio-Political Development Sector
Novosibirsk
AuthorID (RSCI): 76586
ResearcherID: ABA-5865-2021
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Review
For citations:
Papkov S.A. Repression campaign on the Tomsk railway in the second half of the 1930s. Omsk Scientific Bulletin. Series Society. History. Modernity. 2026;11(1):6-12. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25206/2542-0488-2026-11-1-6-12. EDN: NWUANO
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