From the older generation, whose youth fell on the Soviet era, one can often hear that there was no crime in the USSR. This statement is not entirely correct. Compared to the chaos of the 90s, the times of the Soviet Union are really remembered with nostalgia. Then there was stability, criminal elements did not manifest themselves so openly. But this does not mean at all that no crimes were committed before 1991.
Civil War
The dashing 90s can just be compared with the times of the revolution and civil war. Due to the fact that the laws of the Russian Empire were no longer perceived as binding by many, the Provisional Government did not have sufficient authority, and people over the years of the First World War became embittered and lost the ability to put themselves in the place of others, a lot of crimes were committed during this period. Especially a lot of offenses were committed in the economic sphere. This was one of the consequences of the Bolshevik slogans about the redistribution of property. People whose living standards fell significantly during the war did not want to wait until this redistribution was carried out from above.
Another feature of crime since the establishment of Soviet power is that the Bolshevik government often supported it. So, the former landowners and nobles were not protected by the new government. In this situation, everyone sought to grab more from the property of the former oppressors. But the power of the Soviets resolutely fought against speculation. Despite this, the black market was completely overcome only during the new economic policy.
Stabilization period
The cessation of the civil war and the establishment of new legal norms contributed to the reduction of crime. In 1921, about 2.5 million criminal cases were submitted to the court, and in 1925 this number dropped to 1.4 million. This was influenced not only by the stabilization of the economic situation and the improvement of the quality of work of the investigating authorities, but also the withdrawal from the Criminal code of certain offenses.
The permission of market relations and private cooperation became one of the causes of crime in the USSR during these years. Nepmans often did not fulfill contractual obligations, deceived consumers, did not pay taxes. Some people sought to engage in a not entirely legitimate business, such as home brewing. Another problem that can be mentioned is the fact that many people, accustomed to the impunity of the previous period, simply did not want to put up with the new state of affairs. Street hooligans caused so many problems to respectable citizens that in 1925 the state announced a whole campaign to combat such violators.
Criminal Policy Change
The processes of industrialization and collectivization, as well as the clear desire of I.V. Stalin for unlimited power led to a review of existing legislation. It is very difficult to distinguish between real crime and far-fetched during the period of Stalinism. The curtailment of the NEP, which took the form of the struggle against the kulaks, was accompanied by the adoption of repressive laws, the implementation of which took extreme forms on the ground. In order to tighten the fight against “enemies of the people”, the prison term was raised to 25 years, and people over the age of 12 were brought to criminal responsibility. Almost 4 million people were convicted on charges of counter-revolutionary activity (real and far-fetched) over the years of totalitarian dictatorship.
The fight against sabotage and kulakism rose to a new level with the creation on March 16, 1937 of the Department for Combating Thefts of Socialist Property. As the name implies, the new body was supposed to fight against looting, speculation and kulakism. An important element of his activity was the search and prosecution of counterfeiters.
The recollections of the people who lived at that time make it possible to say that the fight against crime in the USSR during the years of repression was carried out by criminal methods. Fulfilling the wishes of the authorities, the investigators went on to commit misconduct and used torture (they did not allow him to sleep, they beat prisoners and so on). The workers of the Sukhanovskaya prison were especially famous for using such methods. Frequent manifestations also became denunciation and slander.
There is a legend that in order to avoid being shot, many prisoners did tattoos with images of Lenin and Stalin on their chests. The executors of the sentence, allegedly fearing that they might be next for firing at such targets, refused to carry out the execution. However, this is hardly true, since in the 30s the executioners did not shoot in the chest, as during the Civil War, but in the back of the head.
Crime during the Second World War
History shows that sometimes military action mobilizes the moral ideals of people, and the level of crime falls. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about the wars of the 20th century. Their very nature, severity, embracing people, the need to survive in difficult situations contributed to an increase in the number of crimes.
In addition, in wartime, the number of death sentences is increasing sharply, since military courts with a simplified judicial procedure play an important role. The legislation is also brought into line with reality. During the war years, the military tribunals convicted twice as many people as ordinary courts. The increase in the number of criminals inevitably resulted from the tightening of legislation, because of which a person could be convicted of the slightest violation of labor discipline. According to minimal estimates, 5.8 million people received convictions during this period.
The last years of the Stalinist regime and the beginning of the reign of Khrushchev can also be considered a rather gloomy period. The number of crimes was influenced by factors such as hunger and an increase in the number of street children. In those days, most often offenses were committed in the economic sphere and were associated with an encroachment on other people's property. Since many people recently returned from the front, ordinary thefts could be weighed down by murders, because almost everyone knew how to use firearms. A certain contribution to the increase in the number of crimes was made by the amnesty announced after the 20th Congress, during which many real criminals were released.
General features of crime 1917-1958
Despite the heterogeneity of the period under review and the change in the judicial system, crime in the USSR in these years has a number of common features.
Firstly, it is maintaining the criminal situation at a high level, and sometimes with a tendency to its growth. But, making such a statement, it is necessary to make a reservation that the available crime statistics are not entirely correct, since innocent people were sometimes considered as offenders. From this follows a second general point: the structure, level and dynamics of crime were determined by the unfavorable economic situation and the breaking of the established order, which is of particular importance for the Soviet village during the years of collectivization.
Thirdly, by excluding criminal convictions pronounced for political reasons from the statistics, it can be noted that the real crime rate has been steadily declining since the mid-1920s. This is especially noticeable in relation to minors. The Stalinist construction projects made it possible to provide young people with jobs and practically ended unemployment, so the question of survival was not as acute as during the Civil or World War II. In addition, corruption in the USSR has not yet taken such acute forms as in subsequent years, and many investigators did their work honestly.
Changing the structure of crime in the 60s
One of the consequences of Khrushchev's criticism of the personality cult of Stalin at the XX Congress of the CPSU was the exposure of distortions in the conduct of the investigation. This clearly demonstrated the need for a new Criminal Code, which was done in 1958. The fundamental principle of the new legislation was the recognition as the basis for liability of an act prohibited by law. Thus, the possibility of punishing "enemies of the people" who did not commit a real offense was excluded. Thanks to this interpretation of the legislation, in 1965 the least number of crimes was committed in comparison with the entire previous thirty years of the Soviet regime - a little more than 750 thousand. In general, statistics from the late 60s - 70s are as follows:
| Year | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 |
| Number of crimes | 888129 | 871296 | 941078 | 969186 | 1046336 | 1057090 | 1064976 | 1049433 | 1141108 | 1197512 |
The steady increase in crime in the USSR during these years is explained by the adoption on July 23, 1966 of the decree "On measures to strengthen the fight against crime." It introduced into the sphere of criminal law petty hooliganism. In fact, every fifth committed offense was of such a nature.
The period of Brezhnev stagnation
Official statistics in these years played down real numbers. Its discrepancy with reality was very strong, which could not but affect public perception of law enforcement agencies. The Soviet policeman, a formerly respected and fearsome figure, looked less and less like a law enforcement officer . The growing decomposition of social relations also played an important role. Nomenklatura leaders committed more and more official crimes, bribery was widespread everywhere. Watching the Soviet leadership violate its own laws, the population also did not particularly care about their implementation.
In the structure of criminal offenses, the number of domestic crimes committed while intoxicated is gradually increasing. In general, the number of cases submitted for consideration by the court from 1973 to 1983. almost doubled. The classification of crimes committed in those years by their nature is as follows:
- Hooliganism (25-28% of the total).
- Theft of socialist property (15-18%).
- Violation of property of individuals (14-16%).
- Crimes against the person - murder, grievous bodily harm, rape (6-7%).
Attempts to reform the system
The fact that the Soviet system of maintaining public order does not cope with its obligations was clearly demonstrated by the relationship between the criminal record and registered crime rates. The ratio between them was 503: 739, respectively. In the short period in which Yu.A. Andropov was in power, an attempt was made to restore order in the work of law enforcement agencies. A special resolution adopted by the Secretary General on January 12, 1983, directly concerned the General Prosecutor's Office of the USSR. Statistically, this led to an increase in the number of crimes, since this normative act “revealed” offenses that occurred within this structure and tightened the preventive measures taken for them. However, Andropov's police methods, vividly reminiscent of the Stalinist dictatorship, did not appeal to the nomenclature. The death of the Secretary General prevented the Secretary General from realizing his intentions.
Organized crime in the USSR
The stagnant years have become a time of revelry of organized criminal groups. One of the first was the Kazan group "Tyap-lyap", so named after the vernacular version of the name of the Teplokontrol plant. The leaders of this group promoted a cult of strength among ordinary members, thanks to which many attended gyms. The gang often smashed discos and clubs, fought against its competitors with methods of physical influence and elimination. The victims did not contact the police, not believing that the police could stop the criminals. It was only possible to put an end to the activities of the Kazan organized crime group on August 31, 1978, when its leaders were sentenced to death, and the rest received high prison sentences.
The proximity of local leaders to the highest echelons of power caused a riot of crime in Dnepropetrovsk. Since 1970, the city has not been inspected. Taking advantage of this, the criminal group was created by Alexander Milchenko. His gang traded racketeering. Local police cooperated with bandits, receiving a certain share of the booty for this. For this reason, not a single statement was made against Milchenko and his accomplices. Only the death of Brezhnev and the loss of Dnepropetrovsk privileged position made possible the appearance of the investigative team in the city.
Perestroika times
Concluding the review of the history of crime in the USSR, it should be noted that M.S. Gorbachev's stay in power is characterized by liberalization not only in the economic and political spheres, but also in the field of combating crime. Glasnost made possible the publication of real statistics on criminal offenses, which again demonstrated the perversity of the Soviet system. The struggle undertaken by Gorbachev against drunkenness and moonshining made it possible to reduce the number of crimes committed while intoxicated.
In general, during the years of perestroika, there was a tendency toward a decrease in crime. However, the preservation of command and administrative measures, the weakness of the economic base in the fight against the criminal world, as well as corruption that engulfed the USSR law enforcement agencies did not allow to consolidate the effect. The growth of crisis in political life, the destruction of Soviet ideals and even the emergence of a free market contributed to the fact that by the beginning of the 90s the number of crimes committed had increased sharply. The collapse of the Soviet state, the termination of its laws and the absence of new ones led to the fact that criminal incidents in the newly independent republics became the hallmark of the dashing 90s.