The formation of the system of children’s penitentiary institutions in the mid-1930s: on the example of the Republic of Tatarstan

Introduction: the article is devoted to the emergence and development of the system of penitentiary institutions for children in the 30s of the last century on the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan, which was important for countering homelessness and child crime in the 1930s and 1940s. The relevance of this topic is due to the need to develop effective measures to combat and prevent deviation among minors at the present stage of society development. The elimination of child homelessness and juvenile delinquency has become one of the main tasks of the young Soviet government in the context of the creation of a new model of statehood. The dynamics of the development of the entire state depended on the successful solution of which. This time is known to historians as the period of the "great terror" and therefore the study of the peculiarities of working with the younger generation is very interesting and relevant. Materials and Methods: the authors studied both published regulatory acts and unpublished documents of State archive of the Republic of Tatarstan, works of scientists that reveal features of the work with deviant adolescents in the thirties and forties of the XX c. Of particular value are unpublished sources from the funds of the State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan, describing the activities of the Raif Labor Colony and the Kazan Children's Re-education Center for street children and the fight against juvenile delinquency. In preparing the article used the principles of objectivity and historicism, systemic, historical-legal and formal-legal methods of knowledge. Results: in the 1930s and 1940s, the main types of children's penitentiary institutions were: orphanages run by the People's Commissariat of Education, the Drug Ministry and the People's Commissariat of Health, isolators, labor colonies and receivers-distributors of internal affairs bodies. Children's correctional institutions of a new type of the Soviet penal system developed in the context of the strengthening of the repressive policy of the state. Basically, relatively small locally located children's labor colonies and receiver-distributors were created. The criminal policy in relation to juvenile delinquents and street children was tightened, and the punitive impact was intensified. As a confirmation - the organization of unified closed children's institutions (receiver-distributors and labor colonies) on the model of adults. The command and administrative repressions of the 1930s led to a new surge in child homelessness and neglect, which caused an increase in juvenile delinquency. Discussion and Conclusions: correctional institutions and NKVD organizations created during this period, such as children's labor colonies and distribution centers, allowed not only to fight child crime, reduce homelessness and neglect of minors, but also to create a basis for the re-education of juvenile offenders and the training of workers for industry and agriculture of the TASSR. The organization of penitentiary units in the internal affairs bodies, as well as comprehensive educational work with minors, largely determined the future development of Soviet society.