Награждение сотрудников правоохранительных органов в СССР в период наградного дуализма (1922–1933)

Abstract

The paper investigates the practice of awarding law enforcement bodies after the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922. It is stated here that the unification of the republics necessitated the creation of an all-union award system. At the same time, the award systems in the union and autonomous republics of the USSR continued to exist. This study is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity and systematic approach. Using statistical analysis, the author quantified the award data obtained by continuous sampling. Archival materials, published sources and memoirs demonstrate that the all-union and republican award systems were largely similar and were based on the award principles that had been developed during the Civil War. At the same time, despite the need, no special awards for law enforcement bodies were ever established at the state (all-union) level. The award practice indicates that the highest awards – orders – were given extremely rarely due to the lack of provisions in the statutes for rewarding specific activities of law enforcement officers. The most common types of awards were departmental: decorations as well as material (valuable gifts and bonuses) and moral rewards (certificates of acknowledgement, certificates of merit, banners). The awards could be both individual and collective. The author concludes that 1922–1933 was a transition period from the republican award systems to the all-union system. The award dualism was caused by a difficult crime situation and, as a result, the need to distinguish law enforcement officers, as well as by the inability of the state leadership to promptly establish an effective award system. As soon as the USSR award system was created, the republican awards were abolished.