Activities of the NKVD−NKGB−MVD−MGB USSR bodies in ensuring public security in the territory of Western Belarus (1939−1953)

Importance. Interest in the events taking place on the territory of Western Belarus in the period 1939–1953 is supported both by the complexity and inconsistency of the processes that are taking place today in the Russian Federation and abroad, and by the insufficient degree of study of certain issues related to the activities of law enforcement agencies in the history of our state. Topics related to the activities of the NKVD−NKGB−MVD−MGB of the USSR bodies on the territory of Western Belarus in 1939–1953 are currently not sufficiently studied in detail by historical science, which leads to the falsification of historical events of those years. The purpose of the research is to reveal the historical events taking place on the territory of the western regions of Belarus and the activities of the law enforcement agencies of the Soviet state to ensure public safety in 1939–1953 in this region.Materials and Methods. The research is based on declassified archival materials of the Republic of Belarus, the State Archive of the Russian Federation and the Russian State Military Archive. Party materials of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus (CPB), Minsk, Brest and Pinsk regional committees of the CPB, the Political Department of the Red Army, documents of the Belarusian headquarters of the partisan movement and the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR – the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (1934–1960) are studied. Both general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as synchronistic and problemchronological methods are used.Results and Discussion. The German aggression against Poland in 1939 contributed to the reunification of Western and Eastern Belarus, and also put before the state authorities of the USSR the restructuring of all spheres of life of the local population. The features and directions of restructuring the activities of the NKVD−NKGB−MVD−MGB of the USSR to ensure public safety in the specified historical period on the territory of Western Belarus are investigated. Specific measures that were carried out by the law enforcement agencies of the USSR to ensure public security in the western regions of Belarus in the period 1939–1953 are considered. Considerable attention is paid to the activities of the NKVD−NKGB−MVD−MGB of the USSR to eliminate the nationalist underground on the eve of the war and in the post-war period on the territory of Western Belarus.Conclusion. The joint activities of law enforcement agencies and state authorities played an important role in ensuring public safety in the territory of Western Belarus in 1939–1953.