How was the NKVD organized?

[Martin Månsson]

Dear forum members,

I'd a long conversation with a former KGB colonoel today. I showed him a complete list how the RSHA was organized, under which unit the EG sorted under for example. I asked him how the NKVD was organized and he told that during his 30 years in service for the KGB he had never seen such a chart. Does anyone here knows how the NKVD was organized, from Moscow down to regions and local offices?

Under which authority did the NKVD front unit's served? It would be most interesting to compare the SS and the NKVD, searching the net has give nothing, well for russian members maybe but for me who can't understand Russian, I've found nothing of value.

Best
Martin

[South]

Good morning Martin,

I believe the 30 year veteran Colonel is correct about no charts.

By definition alone, I'd say the Colonel is 100% accurate from his experience.

With NKVD representing internal security we historians can run some acid tests. I've done some basic research on Aeroflot's international routes and am positive each of their stations had internal security. Still, by definition, we know they would not show up on the Aeroflot Ulan Bator, Mongolia station chart and then placed on the master organizational chart .

I've got some basic "wire diagram" charts here but they are like the US organization ones. For example, United Fruit Company (one of America's equivilants to eg British Overseas Airways Company or Bank IndoSuez) won't be on the charts. So,in my opinion, other than basic chart entries, eg accounting department, don't anticipate framing a nice wall chart.

Your conversation with the Colonel must have been facinating.


Warm regards,

Bob

[Art]

Oh, something more easy! The whole book describes the organization of the central staff of the OGPU-NKVD-MVD only. It would be better if you specify the period of interest. The information on the NKVD's structure can be found here (in Russian):
http://vimpel-v.com/besopasnost/special ... sr_9.shtml
As concerns NKVD troops the situation was as followes. When NKVD was created anew in July 1934 it contained the Main Department for the Border and Internal Guard. On 29th it was redesignated as the MD for Border and Internal Troops. On 8th March 1939 it was divided into several Departments:
The MD for Border troops
the MD for ralway installations security troops
the MD for especially important industrial plants security troops
the MD for convoy troops
the MD for military supply
the Main Military-Construction Department
In addition the Department for Internal Troops was organized on 26th February 1941.
After the war started the Main Department for Internal Troops was created on 31st July 1941 on the basis of the departments for convoy and idustrial security troops.
In Janury 1942 the last department was divided into the Department for Convoy Troops, the Department for Railway Security Troops, the Department for especially important industrial plants security troops and the Department for Internal Troops (converted from operational troops department).On 28th April 1942 the last department was redesignated as the main department. On 4th May the Main Department for the Operational Forces Rear Security Troops was split from it. Then the organization of the NKVD troops didn't undergo any changes till the end of the war. The information is taken from the handbook "VChK-OGPU-NKVD-MGB-MBD-KGB. 1917-1960", that is the book on NKVD's structure I mentioned.
As concerns SS troops the analogies with them are somehow misleading. There were no direct analogue in the German military system, to some extent Sicherung troops and those parts of Ersatzheer used for security duties were performed the same type of functions.

[Martin Månsson]

Hi Art,

Thanks for one truly excellent post!! To bad I can't read Russian, otherwise this book would be one to buy right away! On the other hand, if it contains lists that might be solvable anyway, is the book available and what does it cost? (Contact me via PM for details)

What is interesting to learn more about is what all authors writes, that the NKVD had troops behind the fighting troops, if the fell back the NKVD personel shot them. I don't know if that's a myth or if it's true. This regarding the wartime organization of the NKVD.

Another thing that's interesting are those troops that shot all enemies of the states, like in Kurapaty etc. Which parts of the NKVD were responsible for that?

All the best
Martin

[phylo_roadking]

Martin, there was an interesting thread on Feldpost in the Spring, now sadly lost due to the efforts of a hacker on that site. In one of the two lines of discussion in it - when all the figures were added up, and matched with those from Overmans', the NKVD killed a total of TWICE as many Russians in WWII as the Germans did!

[Art]

[quote="Martin Månsson"Thanks for one truly excellent post!! To bad I can't read Russian, otherwise this book would be one to buy right away!
[/quote]
Wiki has some information on NKVD organization:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NKVD
They call "Administration" what I translated as "Department". I advice to pay attention to the organization of the military counterintelligence service (i.e. special sections or "osobye otdely'). This information will be useful to understand the situation with blocking detachments and connection between variuos types of these units and NKVD.

On the other hand, if it contains lists that might be solvable anyway

The lists with NKVD structure on the 1st January of 1935-1946 on the site I gave the link to are taken directly from that book, so you don't need to buy anything And I have the pdf-version (the IDF which published that book for some time just allowed to download it from its site) so if you are interested I can just send it.

Another thing that's interesting are those troops that shot all enemies of the states, like in Kurapaty etc. Which parts of the NKVD were responsible for that?

Well, I wasn't interested in how the deaths sentences were executed. If one looks on the problem more generally, it was the Main Departement for State Security and its subdivisions which were responsible for conducting political repression, investigation of political cases etc. It should be noted that the personnel of this Department and NKVD troops personnel formed the separate branches of NKVD personnel and they even had different system of ranks (and there was another system of ranks in the Workers' and Peasants' Militia - a Soviet analogue of police), though transfer of personnel between these two brances was possible. Then from the point of view of the Soviet law NKVD border and interior troops were the part of the Armed Forces as well as Army and Fleet, so NKVD troops personnel were military servicemen unlike State Security personnel. And enlisted personnel and junior commanders of NKVD troops were the same consripts as those who served in the RKKA and the RKKF.

What is interesting to learn more about is what all authors writes, that the NKVD had troops behind the fighting troops, if the fell back the NKVD personel shot them

Well, mass machinegunning of retreating troops in the "Enemy at the gates" style is certainly a myth. The truth is that some man detained by blocking detachements could be sentenced to death or even executed on the spot if they were accused in desertion, marauding etc. But the situation with blocking detachments is more intricate that it's usually thought. In few words there were several types of units responisible for keeping order in army rear, on some of them didn't have anything common with NKVD at all. I hope I'll give more information later.

[Art]

In few words there were several types of units responisible for keeping order in army rear, on some of them didn't have anything common with NKVD at all.

Some information on this.

1. NKVD operational army's rear security troops. On 22th June 1941 NKVD didn't have any structural subdivision responisbe for executing security missions in the army rear, although some experience of that kind was acquired during the Winter War. However allready on 25th June Politburo issied a decree ordering to establish the HQs of the Army and Front chiefs of rear security. On the next day the deputy commisar of the NKVD lieutenant general Maslennikov who was responsible for NKVD troops signed the order with the same content. NKVD officers became the rear security chiefs of the fronts and all NKVD troops situated in the frontline zone were subordinated to them, with border troops froming the backbone of this forces. The functions of the rear security troops were defined as follows: "establishing order in the trops rear, detaining deserters, clearing roads [from refugees], regulation of transportation and evacuation, ensuring the non-interrupted work of signal communications, liquidation of diversants" (quotation from the Politburo decree). As we see the detainment of deserters became one of the task though not the only one.

2. On 17th July 1941 (GKO decree # 187ss) the counterintelligence service in Red Army troops (so called third sections) was handed back to the NKVD and reorganized as the NKVD Special Sections ("Ososbiye Otdely"). They were charged with the liquidation of the desertion in the frontline zone. Moreover that is what concerns the shootings OO received the right not only to investigate cases on desertion and hand them to military tribunals but also when needed to make their one sentence and shot deserters on the spot. At the same time the special units subordinated to the OOs were formed to ensure their work. These were - rifle platoons in each division and corps, rifle companies in each army, and rifle battalions in fronts. First they were manned using the personnel of NKVD rear security troops, but then became the units of the Red Army organized according to regular TO&E and manned with Red Army personnel. Pay attention that OO troops and NKVD rear security troops were subordinated to different authorities, the first - to the Special Sections of the Red Army units and the second to the Chiefs of Rear Security subordinated to the Army and Front commanders. When OO were handed to the Red Army and became the Smerch in the beginning of 1943 the OO units were just redesignated as Smersh units.

3. On 5th September 1941 Stavka complied with the request of the Bryansk Front Commander general Yeryomenko and allowed him to create blocking detachments in the divisions he found to be unstable. Several days after on 12th September Stavka went even further ordering to create blocking detachments in every rifle division with the task of controllin gthe discipline and stopping deserters "without restricting themself with using arms". These were blocking detachments in the strict sense of the word (it should be noted that contrary to common opinion NKVD rear security troops units were not called "blocking detachments" though the term "blocking service" was used in official documentation), the problem is that the had nothing to do with NKVD as they were formed using Red Army personnel and were subordinated to divisional commanders. The directive only ordered NKVD Special Sections "to offer all possible support... to the blocking detachments". This type of blocking detachments remained extraordinary units created at the expense of the TO&E units of the divisions. It seems that they were not create in all divisions and after September 1941 were to some extent forgotten. In Spetember 1943 the General Staff issued the directive ordering to disband these extraordinary blocking units where they still remained.

4. In July 1942 Stalin issued his famous order #227. One of the measures he reccomended to use to strengthen the military discipline was creating 3-5 blocking detachments in each army each with the strength of roughly 200 men. This units had the similar functions as the blocking detachments of the first type. The difference was that they were organized according to the regular T0&E and subordinated to the army commanders via the NKVD special sections. That was the only thing they had common with the NKVD, since they were manned with the Red Army personnel. After OO became Smersh this relationship was lost. After the fortune on the Eastern Front reversed the need in these units dissapeared and in October 1944 these units were disbanded according to the NKO order.

I think that after this desription one can understand that the common association of NKVD troops with blocking detachments is if not the myth then a significant exaggeration. The classical blocking detachments were organized inside the RKKA structure, though NKVD troops could execute similar functions.