Participation of the Institute for the History of Material Culture (the Moscow branch) of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in the activities of the Extraordinary state commission (1943-1944)

In 1943-1944 the staff of the Institute for the History of Material Culture was involved in the work performed by the Extraordinary State Commission. The Institute staff prepared guidelines to be used in assessing the value of various archaeological sites to determine the damage caused to the sites during the occupation period, prepared relevant lists and conducted questionnaire-based interviews. In 1944 by order of the Extraordinary State Commission, the Institute organized eight expeditions to the liberated regions of the Russian SFR and the Ukrainian SSR in order to survey a number of settlements and kurgan burial grounds as well as museums with archaeological collections damaged during the war. Involvement in the activities of the Extraordinary State Commission enabled the Moscow Branch of the Institute to continue performing its main functions as a research institution during the hard time of the war.