State security bodies in the organization of local air defense in Karelia during 1930-1942

The contemporary landscape underscores the continued relevance of studying the historical experience in effectively organizing local air defense for the civilian population. However, there is a lack of literature dedicated to the history of air defense in border Karelia. The aim of the study is to analyze the role of state security bodies in establishing air defense in Karelia before and during the early years of the Great Patriotic War. Using documents from central and regional archives of the Russian Federation, the study examines the development of local air defense in the border Republic’s territory and the influence of state security bodies on its formation. The study concludes that the experience gained from the initial testing of the local air defense system during the Russo-Finnish war, combined with the slow development of the system and the increasing threat of war, led to its transfer from implicit to explicit subordination under the state security bodies. The People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) played a crucial role in expanding the air defense network in Karelia from 1940 to early 1941, despite insufficient training of its formations in practical skills. Nevertheless, when the Great Patriotic War began, the local air defense formations actively participated in defending the country. Moving forward, the state security agencies supervised the relocation, reorganization, and adaptation of the local air defense system in Karelia to the conditions of war.