The Disciplined Dictatorship

The flagship of the Stalinist judiciary was the great show trials of the 1930s, but the central role was played by its authorities away from the Moscow limelight. The Disciplined Dictatorship offers a groundbreaking examination of one of the Soviet Union's most powerful yet understudied institutions: the procuracy. Far from being mere public prosecutors in the Western sense, Soviet procurators wielded sweeping authority over the entire legal system: their actions affected millions of people's lives inside and outside of the courtroom, through the investigation and prosecution of everyday crimes--from theft and assault to murder--and by enforcing legal norms within government institutions themselves. Soviet procurators bore responsibility to enforce legal norms in society and within the state apparatus. All branches of government, including the police, were subject to procurators' supervision. Drawing on an extensive body of archival sources, this book explores both the practices of law enforcement and the relationship between legal and police institutions in the Soviet province Molotov, under and after Stalin. It shows how the Stalinist procuracy not only was a crucial instrument for controlling the Soviet populace but also how it evolved into the essential tool for the Stalinist state to serve as a check for its institutions and its own actions. By guiding readers through the inner workings of Soviet justice, from courtrooms and labour camps to police stations, The Disciplined Dictatorship challenges prevailing assumptions about the unchecked arbitrary power of the Stalinist state. It shows how the regime relied on the procuracy to maintain control not only over the population but over its own institutions, imposing a form of 'discipline' that enabled the dictatorship to evolve without undermining the Communist Party's authority. Procurators helped to sustain Stalinist rule and guide its evolution after Stalin's death.