Memorial publishes on its site list of almost 40,000 NKVD officials from 1935-1941

MOSCOW. Nov 24 (Interfax) – A database of almost 40,000 NKVD officials of the ‘Great Terror’ era was published on the website of the Memorial society, the organization told Interfax.

“Access to A. N. Zhukov’s directory ‘Personnel of the State Security Bodies of the USSR. 1935-1939’ has been opened on the Memorial website,” Yan Rachinsky, co-chairman of the human rights society Memorial, said.

The directory contains brief information on 39,950 NKVD officials who received special state security system ranks from the moment of their introduction in 1935 until the beginning of 1941, he said.

The main source of information for the directory was NKVD orders on personnel issues. The directory contains the numbers and dates of orders awarding special titles and, on dismissal from the NKVD, information on the post held at the moment of dismissal, as well as information on state awards received, he said.

Biographical information from other sources, in the first place, on people who were killed and went missing during the Great Patriotic War and people subjected to repression was added to the information from the orders.

“The directory will be useful to people who are interested in Soviet history. Specifically, the directory can be used to attribute many state security officials of the ‘Great Terror’ era, who are until now only known by their name – from signatures in investigation cases or names mentioned in memoir texts,” Memorial said.