The social and living conditions of spetspereselentsy in Karaganda coal basin in 1930s

The article is devoted to the social and living conditions of the spetspereselentsy. Their number and living conditions, medical and cultural facilities, meals conditions are presented here. The daily life of a spetspereselentsy's settlement is considered. On the basis of OGPU's documents, the attitude of the spetspereselentsy to the new life conditions is shown. The article also observes the attitude of the government to this category of population which was changing during the period concerned. The development of Karaganda coal basin during the period of forced industrialization in the 1930s required a considerable concentration of labor force in the region. The government was not able to provide the region with necessary staff for labor-intensive coal industry. Under conditions of persistent food deficiency, lack of civilized housing and full medical facilities, there were few people wishing to stay in Karaganda region. The forced labor was used as the way out. In the beginning of the 1930s, the government started the process of the eviction of dekulakizated peasants from central parts of the country. Kazakhstan was defined as one of the places of kulak deportation. The deportation of the great mass of people to Central Kazakhstan pursued a concrete purpose - the development of poorly settled regions in the east of the country. As a rule, people were unloaded in the bare steppe where they had to settle relying on their own strength only. By 1934, the basic contingent of the spetspereselentsy in Karaganda coal basin was formed. The deportation of people to this region continued later as well, however, the major mass of the spetspereselentsy arrived here during the period of the first Five-Year Plan. During the period of the development of Karaganda coal basin, the spetspereselentsy were the main labor force. Their social and living conditions in the first half of the 1930s can be described as subhuman what led to a serious demographic loss among this group of people. In the course of time, the problem of kulaks' deportation turned from ideological area to the practical. In our opinion, this was the reason why the expression «spetsperese-lentsy» during the first years of deportation changed later to «trudpereselentsy». Gradually, the government changed its attitude to spetspereselentsy and stopped regarding them as the «enemies of the people» subject to the kulaks' deportation. They realized that spetspereselentsy were the main labor force who required the proper care for maintaining their work ability. As a result, the government focused on socio-cultural and work conditions of the spetspereselentsy. Local authorities were required to masintain order and improve the conditions of the spetscontingent. However, it is obvious that such care was caused only by the fear of losing the main labor force for fulfilling the program of the industrial development of the region.

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