Crime as an element of post-revolutionary everyday life in a small town in the Southern province

Introduction. The article analyzes the impact of the Revolution and Civil War consequences on the deformation of ideas about morality and ethics in the collective unconscious by the example of the city of Georgievsk. The growth of crime in a small town in the southern province became part of everyday life in the 1920s as a reaction of society to the historical crisis. The new social reality implied changes in the everyday life of both ordinary people and those who had to fight against the criminalization of society.
Materials and Methods. The article analyzes office material: official correspondence, reports and orders of Georgievsk district police on the fight against banditry in the 1920s. It is based on an interdisciplinary approach, within the framework of the history of everyday life and new local history with the use of general scientific methods, as well as specifically historical methods, methods of historical anthropology and contextual analysis of documents.
Analysis. The work examines the process of criminalization of society in the post-revolutionary time by the example of Georgievsk in the early 1920s. It was possible to consider the growth of the urban crime rate, analyze local characteristics and connections with the everyday life of citizens, as well as the attempts on the part of the state to overcome the problem of social deviations. The article specifies the measures to combat crime and banditry carried out by the young Soviet government. At that time, the central government was primarily interested in prosecuting “counterrevolutionary activities”, while the practice of local authorities was more focused on solving specific problems that could disrupt ordinary life in the provinces. Also, in the 1920s, the process of forming new approaches in the activities of local police departments will begin. Attention is paid to the influence of the post-revolutionary crisis in the country on the psychological state of the population in Georgievsk, which will affect their everyday life and perception of the new historical reality surrounding them. In light of this, the list of social vices in the 1920s underwent significant changes and placed new accents. Thus, fairly common types of crimes such as drunkenness, moonshining, crimes against the person, rowdiness, official and property crimes, in peacetime will be supplemented by war crimes and crimes against the new government (the so-called “counter-revolutionary crimes”), to which local authorities will pay special attention.
Results. The public unconscious responded to historical changes and political crises of the 1920s, which led to the deformation of social norms, moral principles and traditional values. At the same time, the social and political upheavals of the 1920s led to the need for decisive measures by the state and local police to protect public order and combat crime. The study revealed a connection between Georgievsk and rural areas, where crimes were committed and gangs of criminals were formed, but the consequences of these processes were also felt in urban life.

1. Buldakov VP. The mechanism of disaster. Lecture course "Living by concepts" URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20191227164003/ (accessed: 10.23.2024). (In Russ.).

2. Buldakov VP. Utopia, aggression, power: Psychosocial dynamics of the post-revolutionary period. Russia, 1920-193. Moscow: Russian Political Encyclopedia (ROSPEN); 2012. 759 p. (In Russ.).

3. Gernet MN. Moral statistics (criminal statistics and suicide statistics): Handbook for statisticians and criminologists. Moscow: Central Statistical Office; 1922. 269 p. (In Russ.).

4. Garnet MN. Crime and suicide during the war and after it: the second issue of "Moral statistics". Moscow: CSU of the USSR; 1927. 270 p. (In Russ.).

5. GASK. F.1167. Inv.1. D. 16. (In Russ.).

6. GASK. F.1270. Inv.1. D. 1. (In Russ.).

7. GASK. F.1271. Inv.1. D. 1. (In Russ.).

8. GASK. F.1275. Inv.1. D. 2. (In Russ.).

9. GASK. F.1275. Inv.1. D. 8. (In Russ.).

10. GASK. F.1275. Inv.1. D. 9. (In Russ.).

11. GASK. F.1296. Inv.1. D. 2. (In Russ.).

12. GASK. F.1302. Inv.1. D. 1. (In Russ.).

13. GASK. F.1302. Inv.1. D. 3. (In Russ.).

14. GASK. F.1302-S. Inv.1. D. 9. (In Russ.).

15. GASK. F.1302. Inv.1, D. 10. (In Russ.).

16. GASK. F.1302. Inv.1. D. 12. (In Russ.).

17. Gornaeva LA. A small provincial town in the social structure of modern Russian society: abstract of thesis. Saratov; 2002. 20 p. (In Russ.).

18. Decree on the Workers' and Peasants' militia (regulation) of 07.10.1920 in Electronic Fund of legal and regulatory documents: URL: https://docs.cntd.ru/document/901974513 (accessed: 10.23.2024). (In Russ.).

19. Zhizhilenko AA. Crime and its factors. Peterburg: Mir znaniye; 1922. 66 p. (In Russ.).

20. Kolemasov VN. Soviet criminal law policy in 1917-1928. Vestnik Saratovskogo gosudarstvennogo social'nojekonomicheskogo universiteta. 2008;(1):105-108. (In Russ.).

21. Lysova NYu. Small historical city: cultural parameters and current problems. Regionologia. 2008;(2). URL: https://regionsar.ru/ru/node/125 (accessed: 11.21.2024). (In Russ.).

22. Migushchenko ON. Punitive (criminal) policy of the Soviet state in the 20-30s of the XX century. Istorija gosudarstva i prava. 2010;(19):23-26. (In Russ.).

23. Nikulin VV. Crime as a socio-legal phenomenon in the 1920s: trends and state. Istoricheskie, filosofskie, politicheskie i juridicheskie nauki, kul'turologija i iskusstvovedenie. Voprosy teorii i praktiki. 2009;(2):55-60. (In Russ.).

24. Pavlov AN. The struggle of the police against crime in the years of the NEP Voprosy istorii. 2004;(10):135-144. (In Russ.).

25. Panin SE. "Drunken" crime in Russia in the 1920s. Sociologicheskij zhurnal. 2002;(4):92-102. (In Russ.).

26. Rodin DP. Urban and rural crime in Law and life. Moscow: Pravo I zjizn, 1926. Books 2-3. P. 94-101. (In Russ.).

27. The formation of the Stavropol militia in the 20s of the XX century in "From century to century serving the Law" – an essay on the history of the internal affairs bodies of the Stavropol Territory (the official date of formation of the internal affairs bodies of the Stavropol Territory is June 10, 1920). Stavropol: Servisshkola; 2005. 578 c. URL: https://26.xn--b1aew.xn--p1ai/guvask/istoriya/istoriya_sk / (accessed: 11.13.2024). (In Russ.).

28. Teplyakov AG. Crime and power in the era of the formation of Soviet statehood. Novyj istoricheskij vestnik. 2015;3(45):44-64. (In Russ.).

29. The Criminal Code of the RSFSR dated 06/01/1922 URL: https://docs.cntd.ru/document/901757375 (accessed: 11.21.2024). (In Russ.).

30. Fitzpatrick S. Everyday Stalinism. The social history of Soviet Russia in the 30s: gorod. Moscow: ROSSPAN; 2008. 336 p. (In Russ.).