USSR Deportation Policy Overview

Deportation Policy in USSR

  • Definition of Deportation

    • Exile, banishment, forced expulsion of individuals or groups to another location.

Scope of Deportation in USSR

  • By early 1950s, affected at least 6 million people:

    • 2.5 million "Kulak exiles,"

    • 3.5 million deported (1940-1952), primarily "punished peoples."

  • Impact on 15 peoples and over 60 population groups nationwide.

Groups Affected by Deportation

  • Included nationalities such as Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Poles, Ukrainians, Germans, Koreans, Finns, Romanians, Kalmyks, Karachays, Chechens, Ingush, Crimean Tatars, and Meskhetian Turks.

Reasons for Deportation

  • Military strategy for cleansing borders,

  • Utilization of labor from repressed groups in evacuated factories.

Notable Deportations

  • Koreans (1937-1938):

    • 173,000 deported; 11,000 died during transit.

  • Poles (1936-1941):

    • 320,000 deported; significant casualties among soldiers.

  • Germans (1941):

    • 900,000 deported under accusations of enemy collaboration; around 250,000 died during transport.

  • Finns and Romanians (1941-1942):

    • 180,000 Finns and 220,000 Romanians deported; approximately 20,000 died.

  • Kalmyks (1943):

    • Over 93,000 deported; around 20,000 died en route.

  • Karachays (1943):

    • 68,614 evicted; 43,000 died from exposure and famine.

  • Chechens and Ingush (1944):

    • Almost 500,000 deported; high mortality (100,000 Chechens, 23,000 Ingush).

  • Crimean Tatars:

    • 191,000 deported; 40,000 died during transit.

  • Meskhetian Turks:

    • 192,000 deported; around 45,000 died due to harsh conditions.