Law of 1 December 1934
1934년 12월 1일 법
An emergency decree adopted by the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR on 1 December 1934, hours after the assassination of Sergei Kirov. It mandated a 10-day investigation limit, delivery of the indictment one day before trial, closed hearings without defense counsel, no right of appeal or clemency petition, and immediate execution upon sentencing for cases involving terrorist acts. Drafted by NKVD chief Yagoda and edited by Stalin, it served as a core legal instrument of the Great Purge until its repeal on 19 April 1956 under Khrushchev's de-Stalinization.
In depth
Adoption
On the afternoon of 1 December 1934, Sergei Kirov was shot dead by Leonid Nikolayev at the Smolny Institute in Leningrad. Hours later Stalin, accompanied by Molotov and Voroshilov, rushed to Leningrad. That evening Stalin ordered by telephone that a decree be drafted. NKVD chief Genrikh Yagoda wrote the text, which Stalin personally edited. The draft was circulated by telephone to members of the CEC Presidium and approved by 3 December; it was published in Pravda on 4 December, signed by CEC chairman Mikhail Kalinin and CEC secretary Avel Yenukidze.
Provisions
The decree consisted of two parts. The first resolution (Case No. 532/10) contained three articles: accelerated investigation of terrorist cases, no delay of death sentences for clemency petitions, and immediate execution of death sentences by NKVD organs. The second resolution (same case number) amended the criminal procedure codes of the union republics with five articles: investigation within ten days, delivery of indictment one day before trial, hearing without the parties present, no cassation appeal or clemency petition, and immediate execution of death sentences.
Application and repeal
The law was applied throughout the Great Purge of 1936–1938 as the procedural framework for the Moscow show trials and the NKVD troikas' summary proceedings. Lavrentiy Beria, while serving as People's Commissar of Internal Affairs, used this law against countless victims; after his arrest in 1953, his own trial proceeded under its terms and he was sentenced to death by it. The decree was formally repealed by an edict of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 19 April 1956.
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Sources
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian Wikipedia article: adoption hours after Kirov's assassination, text drafted by Yagoda and edited by Stalin, signed by Kalinin and Yenukidze, 10-day investigation, no defense, no appeal, immediate execution, repealed 19 April 1956
- bessmertnybarak.com Bessmertny Barak (independent memorial project): full text of both resolutions of the decree (Protocol No. 112 of the CEC Presidium), five procedural articles in the criminal procedure code amendment, published 4 December 1934 in Pravda, actively applied through the Great Terror
- fsmitha.com Frank E. Smitha, historical reference: Stalin ordered the decree by telephone the evening of 1 December, Politburo approval obtained by 3 December, published 4 December in Pravda, immediate executions under the new law, legal foundation for the repression that followed