The Organization of the Forced Resettlement of the Kalmyk People in December 1943 (From Documents of the Information Center of the Kalmyk Republic Ministry of Internal Affairs)

The article reconstructs the process of resettlement to the eastern areas of the USSR which was forced upon the Kalmyk people in December 1943. The main reference source was unique documents found in the Information Center of the Kalmyk Republic Ministry of Internal Affairs. The author thoroughly analyzes all the stages of the forced resettlement operation being prepared and implemented. The "punitive" technology of the forced resettlement of the Kalmyks was worked out by state security organs, particularly, by the Stalinist top state security body, in the course of their operative and bureaucratic activities. The operation which was dubbed "Ulusy" was profoundly conceived and prepared in terms of operations, administration, human resources, the armed forces and transportation. The resettlement operation was carried out by combined efforts of state security organs, Internal Troops of People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR and state security and militia cadets. To this end a considerable amount of human resources and transportation, both road and railway transport, was used. The preparatory stages were carried out in strict secrecy, with the population of Kalmykia actively kept misinformed. Food and medical aid provision for the "Ulusy" operation was far from sufficient, which inevitably led to the loss of life.