Political Elite of the "Third Wave" in the Republic of the Volga Germans: Its Formation and Functioning (1938-1941)
The author analyzes and gives a description of the political elite of the Volga Germans Republic, who was promoted to leadership positions before the war and who took the positions that turned to be vacant as a result of mass repressions of 1937-1938 towards the party and Soviet nomenclature of the previous period. It is referred to as the political elite of the "third wave". Describing representatives of these elite, the author emphasizes such qualities as youth, energy, dedication and gratitude to their leader, the social system created by him, ambition and focus on the development and strengthening of Soviet socialism in the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Career growth of the elite was interrupted by the outbreak of the war. Describing the personnel policy of the Soviet leadership in the ASSR of the Volga Germans in the prewar years, the author comes to the conclusion that the most important positions for the totalitarian regime, with the help of which the real leadership of society and repressive control over it, were the positions of the first secretaries of the committees of the CPSU (b) and heads of departments The NKVD in Engels and the 22 cantons practically did not trust the Germans, which indicates a generally negative attitude of the Stalinist leadership towards the German national political elite. At the same time, positions controlled by party bodies and not independent in matters of making responsible decisions were filled by Germans in greater numbers.