Campaign for the mass repression victims rehabilitation in Western Siberia in middle 1950s - 1980s

Campaign for the mass repression victims rehabilitation in the USSR was initiated only in the middle 1950s afterI. Stalins death. It was the time of relaxation of the regime and the time when the first steps of society democratization were made. Adoptionof several regulations by Presidium of Supreme Soviet and Council of Ministers of the USSR, departmental orders of the Home Office,Public Prosecutor's Office and KGB USSR contributed the development of the rehabilitation policy in 1953-1955. Special commissions forcounterrevolutionary cases review were founded. These commissions were given great powers, but had small efficiency. It is explained bypresence of the above-listed organizations representatives there. And the solving of the rehabilitation commissions problems were not thepriority task for them. Moreover, the main part of the commissions members had participated in repression policy processes some timebefore. The commissions activity had unsystematic character and only small part of injured people got the rehabilitation.From the end of the 1955 rehabilitation process became more active. During the period of 1954 - 1960 there were absolved 737 182people, including more than 80 thousand people from Altai region, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk regions. It was 10,85% of total amountof rehabilitated people of the country. Such active work took place till the 1960s. The process of rehabilitation was under the PublicProsecutor's Office and KGB USSR control. The organizational issues were regularly discussed at the operational meetings, caucuses of thelaw enforcement agencies.But from the early 1960s the rehabilitation process became slow down, and then was stopped in practice. During the period of 1954 -1970 there were absolved 93 994 people in five regions of Western Siberia, but during the 1971 - 1989 - only 1 128 people. The stategovernment was careful not provoke the consequences of start the process of mass political repression victims rehabilitation, who werecharged groundlessly. These apprehensions were connected with the USSR governments admission of the lawlessness existence in thecountry. It might gave the negative international estimates for the country created the bright future and for dissemination of socialism ideasin the world, in general. Dethronement of the cult I. Stalin personality on XX party KPSS Congress caused the concern of many communisticcountries leaders. Besides, it was hard to forecast trend of further events and reaction of the USSR residents. This apprehension became themain reason for gradual moving the rehabilitation process to the background, suppression and its imposing secrecy.

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