Family Members of a Traitor to the Motherland
조국반역자 가족
A Soviet system of kin punishment, implemented through NKVD Operational Order No. 00486 of August 1937, under which wives of persons convicted as 'traitors to the Motherland' were imprisoned in labor camps for 5–8 years and their children removed to special-regime orphanages. Based on Article 58-1 of the RSFSR Criminal Code, it imposed criminal penalties solely on the basis of kinship, without any requirement of individual guilt. The imprisoned women (ChSIR) were sent to camps such as ALZhIR in Kazakhstan. Automatic arrest of wives was halted by Beria's Order No. 00689 in October 1938, but the policy was partially revived by a 1942 State Defense Committee resolution.
Related historical events
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) core article: legal basis (Art. 58-1), NKVD Order 00486 (15 Aug 1937), Beria's Order 00689 rollback (17 Oct 1938), GKO resolution 1926ss (24 Jun 1942)
- Wikipedia (RU) detailed history: Trotsky's 1919 order, Politburo decisions, GKO 1942 resolution text, children's orphanage conditions
- qalam.global ALZhIR camp history: over 20,000 women of 62 nationalities, first convoy Jan 1938, camp conditions, forced labor, family separation