United open access data bank (by the way of example of united open access data bank «Memory of the People») as a historical source on the activities of the Special Departments of the NKVD during the Battle of Stalingrad

Abstract

United open access data banks are a new and relevant resource for the work of historians. They contain materials from various archives on the period of the Great Patriotic War. The article discusses the documents included in one of the united open access data bank – «Memory of the People». The materials that were studied are dedicated to the Special Departments of the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) during the Battle of Stalingrad. The statistics of the number of documents contained on this portal on this topic was cited. It also considers the initial functions assigned to the Special Departments of the NKVD and those that were later implemented by them during the Battle of Stalingrad. The characteristics of the tasks performed by these bodies within the framework of the protection of the legislation of the Soviet Union (the Criminal Code of the Russian SFSR) are given. Tasks that were not assigned to Special Departments of the NKVD are highlighted, and an explanation is given for such an expansion of functions.