The struggle against children homelessness and neglect has become one of the leading directions of policy towards Soviet children because there was a catastrophic increase in the number of homeless and neglected children during the war period. Authors consider the work of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs in the struggle against child neglect and homelessness on the example of

Abstract

The struggle against children homelessness and neglect has become one of the leading directions of policy towards Soviet children because there was a catastrophic increase in the number of homeless and neglected children during the war period. Authors consider the work of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs in the struggle against child neglect and homelessness on the example of the Shokai labor educational colony during the Great Patriotic War. The creation of labor educational colonies made it possible not to send chil- dren aged 11 to 16 detained for hooliganism, theft, vagrancy to juvenile colonies where older criminals were kept. The authors provide data on the history of the creation and functioning of the Shokai labor educational colony during 1943-1945. On the basis of archival materials, most of which are being put into circulation for the first time, the problems of life organization, material support, replenishment of the contingent and the rea- sons for the closure of the colony are being studied. After analyzing the personal files of pupils, the authors come to the conclusion that most of them came for violation of labor discipline in accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 28, 1940 “On the responsibility of students of vocational, railway schools and schools of the Factory Training for violation of discipline and for unauthorized leaving from school”. There were both natives of the Kazakh SSR and pupils from other Soviet republics in the Shokai labor training colony. The article is based on materials from Kazakhstani and Russian archives.