| Abstrakt: |
In 1921-1924, the Polotsk District militia passed through the stage of organizational development. During this period, the number of staff members and the structure of the enforcement Agency radically changed. Polotsk militia was burdened with various functions. Local administration saw it as a unit, which had always been at hand and could relatively quickly carry out orders of the bodies of the Soviet power by using force. The fact that Polotsk District was situated on the border predetermined the specific activities of the Polotsk district militia (after signing the Treaty with Latvia, the border was placed in the immediate vicinity of Polotsk). In the early 1920s, one of the main aims was fight against banditry. In the border zone, armed groups acted. They had different goals - from political to purely economic ones. While pursuing bandits, the militia had been monitoring the mood of the peasantry, identifying the potentially dangerous and unreliable “elements” in this environment. Polotsk District was the area of smugglers. Combating this type of crime was carried out in cooperation with the customs authorities. The customs was involved by the staff of the Polotsk district militia in searching and arresting the escaped smugglers, verifying the information, implementing penal sanctions against smugglers, etc. Sometimes, militiamen were involved in the detention of smuggled goods within the province out of the line with Polotsk customs. One of the most common illegal goods taken in large numbers to Polotsk District from Poland and Latvia was alcohol. The present paper was prepared on the basis of the materials of the Zonal State Archives of Polotsk, which have large information capacity and representativeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
