“Truth Seeking Idealist” Against “Self-Supplying Directors” (Military Rearward Story)

Abstract

One of the most frequently occurring corruption-related crimes is the abuse of one's official position for lucrative purposes. The article describes conflict situations emerging for the same reasons in the community of economic directors during the Great Patriotic War. Specific patterns and behavioral models applied by unfair directors for lucrative purposes are described through social, anthropological, and historical approaches, as well as a case-study method. The author pays attention to supervisory and party bodies' control functions and identifies the causes of low interest on the part of local authorities in the punishment of the crime committers. The author concludes the qualitative differences between the plant administration representatives' sustenance level and average employees. The administration was characterized by cast ridden perception features, which made them ignore the material needs of their subordinates while the latter patiently suffered from mistreatment being afraid of losing their very humble but the only gain. It was established that this new elite also included some persons who denied the benefits, acquired at somebody else's expense, and were ready to risk their career for the sake of fair wealth distribution. Further, the author characterizes the motives and methods of their activity.

Keywords:

Introduction

National character formation is a complex and time-consuming process in which war takes a significant part. Ordeals form and reveal personal existentialistic traits most dramatically. For the period 1941 - 1945 one see multiple examples of an outstanding and astonishing commitment and heroism of the Soviet citizens. Alongside with this, one could also observe the manifestations of unapologetic selfishness and cowardice. The examples of the honorable heroes are numerous in the history, but the same cannot be referred to the other group. Production and everyday collisions of wartime have not been virtually investigated. These collisions were caused by the conflicts between people having various motives. This opinion is de facto supported by foreign researchers who acknowledge the significant achievements of the Soviet authorities in the combat with political and general criminal racketeering, professional criminality and juvenile delinquency in the period 1930-1960-s yy.; however, they conceal both moral and legal problems of specific representatives of the party top officials, violating the existing rules for the sake of everyday prosperity. (Shesler, 2020, p. 197). There are very few monographs or articles on the subject, and the western authors are the pioneers of such research. As a rule, their papers cover just some instances that do not give a general and holistic idea on the underside, not a "glitzy front", of the Russian social life experienced an unprecedented vitality crisis. To add more, such authors come to somewhat biased and sometimes arguable conclusions. For example, the trade union militants, who were granted the power of checking whether the products were duly distributed in the factory canteens by the central authorities in February 1943, are referred to as the "regimen devotees" preventing all other people from the adaptation to a severe wartime reality (Moskoff, 1990, p. 175). They allege that it was a widespread bribery practice among officials and the employees of law enforcement bodies, and further state that ordinary people did not try to counteract this phenomenon but, on the contrary, facilitate it by all means as by doing this they got a chance to slip from the grasp and supervision of a large, repressive and wilful state administration (Heinzen, 2016, p. 279). As for the national research, rather interesting facts on the vicissitudes and the results of “good” and “bad” people collisions (Despite a conventional character of these definitions, they comprise not only a moral but also a social aspect. Thus, a positive connotation implies a responsible attitude towards their functions, law abidance, mutual help, belief in fairness and readiness to fight for it, patriotism. But a negative connotation implies profit-seeking, moral relativism, superciliousness and stuffy attitude, legal nihilism, inclination to group favoritism as the means of gaining additional profit. At the same time, all these traits can be characteristic for a person demonstrating professional excellence. (note by A.P.)) during the period under study are mentioned in the papers of (Fedorov, 2016, pp. 111-113; Sushkov, 2016, pp. 235-237; Sushkov, 2018, pp.108-112). Today both social scientists and politicians share the opinion that "the history...shall not have "not beneficial" or "uncomfortable" phenomena; it shall be considered as a whole, without any embellishment and flaws" (Putin suggested that those trying to distort the truth about the war cannot read, 2019).

Problem Statement

This article's subject is interpersonal relations occurring in the period 1941 - 1945 yy. in the wealth production and distribution area at the defense plants where powers of authority and associated benefits were fully concentrated “in the pockets” of plant administration and local party top officials.

Research Questions

The country's participation in a total war inevitably causes a deficit on a consumer market due to the economy's transition to the army's satisfaction and front line needs. This leads to a severe drop in living standards. The authorities face the challenge of introducing goods by cards, which not always correspond even to the minimum standards. In the conditions of the general inefficiency of the state distribution system illegal self-supply with any goods becomes almost the most widespread adaptive strategy (Trofimov, 2020, pp. 117,121), while the “provision of food safety becomes as important as the search for spies and betrayers for intelligence services” (Hass & Lomagin, 2020, p. 55). Using compensating behavioral mechanisms the individuals reduced their losses and increased their own "profitability". Some strove to gain a larger benefit from their efforts and labor and tried to use any ways to get a highly paid job or have an unaccounted income. The other used their job titles, reputation and beneficial contacts for gaining personal profit from illegal transactions, involving entrusted material assets and resources. Both examples illustrate the erosion of traditional principles and norms of human co-existence and weakening their universal regulatory function. Under the conditions specified the role of an official law became hypertrophied. The law became more stringent but was perceived not to provide a balanced consensus in the society; it turned into a punishing and prohibitive will, which prevents the survival practices due to its depersonalized character. Alongside this, the discretionary nature of real law enforcement and its dependence on political or career considerations made high-rank officials virtually immune from prosecution. The idea of the desired order in collective consciousness was connected with conscience rather than with the state. Justice was opposed to power, and to get such power, one needed to have quite specific personality traits.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the present paper is to study the models of individual consciousness and behavior (both "normal" and "deviant") formed under the conditions of wartime daily life and to specify the factors influencing their selection and specific circumstances of various character collision.

Research Methods

The methodological basis of the research conducted is social anthropology. Its significance for a historian consists of three pillars. First of all, declares a self-sustainability of individual activity strategies in specific circumstances; secondly, it allows penetrating the inner world of the "other" and considering his or her point of view concerning some events; thirdly, it identifies the context of the events occurring using characteristic social attitudes, consolidated opinions and stereotypical interpretations of significant events. Archive materials are analyzed using a sociological (study of status symbolizing roles and relations in the society) and prosopographical (identifying standard biographic attributes of one or another group of people) methods. Information and target methods and discourse methods have also been relevant as they allowed reconstructing the self-interested person plans and logic. To illustrate the core of the events occurring, the author used a detailed case study. Historical&culturological reconstruction has been also applied as in the framework of this method one can explain the phenomena of compliance and deviation by a particular mentality of some population layers (for example, the wartime participants, employees, directors, officials) while stable patterns, determined by the values and traditions, ideology and upbringing, existing laws and peculiarities of the political regime set a societal modus.

Findings

The events considered below took place in 1944 – 1945 in the Gumbeyskiy Mining Department of the Chelyabinsk region (The facts provided in the article are recorded in the Uniform State Archive of the Chelyabinsk region (OGAChO), F. 297. Authorized Executive of the Party Control Committee at the Central Committee of All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks for the Chelyabinsk region . F. 297. Ser.2. C.928. Pp.1-82; 193-200.) . It was under the jurisdiction of the Soviet People’s Commissariat of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy and was occupied with the extraction of tungsten, gold and other rare metals. By the recommendation of the party bodies in January 1944, experienced procurement specialist Sadykov Mukhamet Mukhametovich was appointed to the Food Supply Department Head there. He was a bolshevik with a pre-revolutionary service, former miner and a red guerrilla fighter. The plant directors immediately admitted a newcomer to their "circle". He was invited to fishing where fish was caught with nets and stunned with explosives, duck shooting with barbecue made of free lamb taken in the state-owned farm under the department patronage. He was also invited to multiple parties. On the occasion of the visit of colleagues from Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, one of them was exceptionally luxurious with elite alcohol beverages and culinary delights served for the amount of 15 thousand rubles for eight guests. (To compare: the average salary in the USSR in 1944 equaled 573 rubles. (note by A.P.). ) Such luxury seemed to be suspicious to Sadykov, and he decided to abstain from joining such collective feasts. Occasionally, Head of the Department initiated a series of inspections at the warehouses, in the points of sales (POS), at the subsidiary farms recorded on the Mining Department’s books. It was revealed that 1,000 ha of farming lands and household workshops (shoe, pimy production, tanning, sewing) served only privileged persons. Excess products were put on the market while the profit was distributed in compliance with the "table of ranks" (i.e., according to the position held). Industrial alcohol extracted for production needs was sold as drinkable, and the cost difference was put in somebody's pocket. Industrial goods supplied from the state target funds at the state price never reached common miners. The goods were gripped by their administration who immediately put cash to a money box. To eliminate corruption cases, the Head of Food Supply Department communicated the intention to sell all the goods openly and via an official store. But his offer was actually rejected. Director of the State Owned Farm Netrusov, who supported this offer, was soon dismissed from his position, allegedly because of "poorly fulfilling his functions". Savenko was appointed to his position; previously, he had been caught red-handed on stealing and exempt from the conscription into the armed forces because of "mental abnormalities". (In this connection, note the position of Russian scientists giving a robust evidence of the country-wide criminalization of the trading environment during wartime, and even claim it gained its maximum in this period (Myamyachenkov, 2017, p. 229).) . The amount of material losses (For 3 months of 1944 alone the amount of stolen goods comprised 106,377 rubles. (note by A.P.)) made Sadykov to apply for help to the plant party organization at first, further - to First Secretary of the Nagaibakskiy District Committee of All-Union Communist Party of the Bolsheviks Mustayev, and then - to the Authorized Executive of the People's Commissariat of Procurement of the USSR for the Chelyabinsk region. Finally, he applied to the Non-Ferrous Metal Department of the Chelyabinsk Party Oblast Committee. However, no official response was provided (For the moment, the Nagaibakskiy district was among the best-performing regions. In August 1944 it was awarded the Transferable Banner of State Defense Committee to win in All-Soviet socialistic competition on the conduct of spring agricultural works and collective farm cattle breeding surge. First Secretary of the Nagaibakskiy District Committee of All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Mustayev received a welcome letter from the regional directors - Secretary of Chelyabinsk Party Oblast Committee of All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Patolichev, Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee of Soviets of People’s Deputies Beloborodov (No author, 1944, August 4). Obviously, such a festive background was not suitable for the public hearing of scandals in Gumbeika from the authorities' view. (note by A.P.) ) . Moreover, the “trouble maker” was persecuted and dismissed from the position. On May 7, 1945 he decided to write a letter to the Central Control Committee at the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (The Central Control Committee (in the references it is more frequently referred to as the title “Party Control Committee at the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks”, or “PCC” ) considered the inspection materials and personal files for the employees of the Central Committee high officials accused of defamatory actions. However, its actual intended purpose was on the one hand, to discipline and punish the communists in fault, on the other hand, to help valuable employees in eluding from law prosecution. (Nikonorova, 2016, p. 225). ) and the People’s Commissariat of State Control of the USSR (The institution was established by the Order of The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 6, 1940 to exert the stringent control over the account and spending of state monetary funds, materials assets and conduct inspections on the execution of the Government decisions. During the wartime the People’s Commissariat of State Control of the USSR and PCC functions were duplicated in many ways. However, in case of revelation of excessive use and other criminal actions the first had a priority right to pursue legal action against those in fault in compliance with the established lawful procedure. (note by A.P.)) . This letter listed all persons involved in such fraud schemes: director Grigorovich Anton Valentinovich, chief accountant Sivokon Ivan Polikarpovich, Food Supply Department accountant Levikov Anton Fedorovich, Head of Balkanskiy mine Chernyugov Sergey Petrovich and oft-stated Savenko. For a month alone of his work as the state-owned farm director, the latter bought (at reduced prices) a cow, 400 kg of seed potato, 38 kg of meat, 24 kg of butter and other products. At the market, such a set of goods would cost more than 10 thousand rubles. Instead, he supplied free products to all the group of his accomplices (' Contemporary research point out that the practice of "client-patron" relations in the circles of high economic officials was relatively widespread at the time considered. Close relations and personal loyalty were important at the appointment to "beneficial" positions. (Paletskikh, 2018, p. 140).) . This letter listed the specific cases of excessive use of power which, in the author's opinion, did a great harm to state interests. Thus, in autumn 1955 67 tons of harvested cereals were not recorded in the official documents and, consequently, the state harvest of 3 tons was concealed. All the product grown was forwarded to the Mining Department administration. Oats and wheat were sent for feeding personal cattle, exchanged for horses and bulls, which further were killed for meat, and the meat was distributed between each other or sold. The inspection employees got bribes, free products and industrial goods sets for the tens of thousands of rubles.The signal from Sadykov drew the attention of Authorized Executive of the Party Control Committee at the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks for the Chelyabinsk region Bakin; the latter requests explanations from the Mining Department administration in a peremptory manner. The grave accusations made Grigorovich thoroughly elaborate the tactics of defense. June 15, 1945 he outlined his position on 8 typewritten pages. Complementary seeding was conducted but was explained by the availability of drudges used for the pitwood and fuelwood logging. Allegedly, there was a lack of orders allocated for their feeding by the regional procurement body. Besides, according to the director, the bread raised was consumed for improving the nutrition of manufacturing personnel and the families of military servants in the form of a non-recurrent assistance (30-50 kg of flour, compensation of overwork on equipment repair as well as the payment for the explosive agents provided by the specialized organizations (The documents made available to the PCC showed that an enormous part of the products grown was distributed between the Mining Department employees, and the Director, Chief Engineer and the Head of Technical Supply Department were farsighted enough not to put their signature in the sheet. (note by A.P.).) . He had to admit the natural tax non-payment and explained it not as a willful concealing but as his subordinates’ oversight who hadn’t controlled this issue timely. He promised to improve the situation in the course of several days. The story of unaccounted alcohol was reported separately and in close detail. First of all, it was not clear how alcohol was delivered to Gumbeika as its application in a technological cycle of mineral extraction was not provisioned. Nevertheless, for 1943 - 1H 1944 Volframtekhsnab (Tungsten Technical Supply) shipped 520 l of alcohol to the Mining Department. This alcohol cost was equal to almost half a million rubles at the commercial rates. Visiting Moscow for business trips, Grigorovich “accidentally” got learned about such an unusual way to encourage a successful plan achievement at the insufficient number of workers and transport and undertook to “personally control” the issue. According to his data, alcohol was allocated to the Head of the mine No.2 and Balkansky mine for further transfer to the best performing overachievers, disabled soldiers and workers, machine operators during a seeding campaign as well as to procurement officers supplying necessary materials to the plant. However, no documents were provided to prove the allegations. On the contrary, in November 1944 the Chelyabinsk Trade Inspection revealed the fact of selling a large part of alcohol via the chain of buying-up centers as the payment to the best workers for gold delivered while the target trading fund, consisting of the products in very short supply - at that time, leather jackets, manufactures and rubber shoes, was distributed per the lists among the Director’s confidants. Actually, as it was revealed later, the debts for precious metal deliverers as of May 1, 1945 equaled to: in bonds (The name of organization credit applications granting the right for out-of-turn receipt of specialty goods in the departmental distribution point at state rates. (note by A.P.).) - 10,647 rubles, in Soviet bank notes – 140,539 rubles. To justify the hay manipulations, a fascinating story with a starting point, climax and denouement was invented. That year the south of the Chelyabinsk region was affected by severe steppe fires leaving the cattle without pasturage. By a happy occasion, the Gumbeiskiy agricultural area remained safe and was not harmed by fire. The procured grass was transferred to Magnitogorsk and sold to private farmers. For December 1943 alone the cash proceeds were more than 25 thousand rubles. But the cows in the farm in charge were left at the short ration. Grigorovich claimed this measure was forced. In Q4 People’s Commissar of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy Lomako enjoined the plant upon participating in the provision of boundary areas with necessary secondary metal raw materials by means of organizing its selection at the conversion points as well as delivery and supply to railroad platforms. Within the established deadline, the assignment was not performed, and the administration was severely reprimanded with a warning. At this point allegedly, a complex dilemma occurred: stop the operation of the Mining Department at least for a week and put the defense orders under the risk of failure or rent the freight movers and animal transport from a third party. The administration selected the second option and sold hay to get monetary funds without recording it on the books. The remaining amount was spent for the subsistence remuneration payment and purchase of various spare parts which were not supplied by suballocation but were “urgently in need” (By the way, Chief Accountant of the Mining Department Sivokon reported the other version of the events to the competent authorities; in compliance with his version, the squandering of 103 tons of green fodders and 1 ton of witch grass occurred because of the negligence of Stable Yard Head, citizen Velikiy. (note by A.P.).) Self-supply accusations were rejected flatly. It was reported that the Glavvolfram sent the order on the compulsory distribution of goods by the orders and strict consideration of the latter to subordinate subdivisions only in January 1945 and from then on it was scrupulously observed. When deciding on natural incentives, the opinion of workshop directors and trade union unit heads was taken into account, which is why the goods were preferentially provided to "best performers and overachievers”.Similarly, the accusations of unlawful conduct of three banquets in 1944 were retorted. As the Director interpreted it, it was not a luxurious feast with elite dishes and alcohol beverages but a moderate celebration of 120 people, the "best performers of socialistic competition" in a plant canteen on the occasion of the early completion of "5 month and 10 month plans" (In compliance with the instructions of the time accounting documents comprised the indices on quarters and half-year periods. On their basis, a total plant balance was drawn at the year-end. (note by A.P.) ) with the awarding of badges of honor and appreciation certificates. It was funded from the awarding fund while the products (meat, vegetables, fish, mushroom) were taken from subsidiary farms or supplied during decentralized procurement. The fish poaching case was also "explained". It turned out that regional mining inspector Khvalyuk once offered trying a home-produced ammonium nitrate mixture applied for barren rock loosening to comply with the occupational safety regulations. It was decided to conduct the tests in one of the local lakes, and there experienced mineworker Zakrytnoy arrived. He brought percussion caps and made smoke-puff charges. A group of 10-12 people, observing the "experiment" from a hiding place, was assigned to collect all the stunned fish from the lake surface without damaging the environment. The dismissal of Sadykov was justified with rather strange reasons. He was accused of buddy system propagation, which manifested in the former colleagues' admission to new positions, and all of these people turned to be drinkers, vagabonds, and petty thieves. These particular people were accused of procurement disorganization, causing the disruption of bread supply, delays in receiving goods with the cards, waste of funds and shortages in the trade&warehouse chain. The saboteurs were "wiped out" from the production facility by the decision of the party & economic active group. Additionally, the materials on all the violations were submitted to the supervisory body. It happened at the end of December 1944 when the conflict between the Food Supply Department and the Mining Department reached some climax and passed to a political sphere. After shifting the blame for all the disgraceful actions on Sadykov, the directorate of the mining plant persuaded the District Committee and the Party Oblast Committee as well as the All-Union Agency Volframprodsnab to replace him in Apri 1945. Meanwhile, the district prosecutor’s office approved the arrest of Central Warehouse Supervisor Lytikov and Accountant Levikov, veiling a large-scale theft with fiction transactions and did not prove the suspicions against Sadykov. In several days Soyuzredmetprodsnab ordered to reinstate the "troublemaker" in his position. However, Chief Directorate's order was ignored. At the concluding part of the address to the Authorized Executive of PCC for the Chelyabinsk region, Grigorovich agreed to make a range of errors and unlawful actions, which were primarily caused by the need to get funds independently for maintaining a sustainable mode of the plant in charge. At the same time, he stressed his regular overachievement of the annual plans and assured the main party controller in his will to be such a zealous and meticulous worker in the future. To the point, one should say a couple of words about the career of the previous directors of Gumbeiskiy Food Supply Department who could not form the members of Sadykov's team by their nature. Thus, a certain person Kovalev was influenced by Grigorovich and fulfilled all the instructions unquestionably; soon, he was condemned for stealing. Sismeyev, taking over from him, refused to follow Grigorovich and soon was dismissed. First Secretary of Nagaibakskiy Oblast Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Mustayev was also forced to provide testimony. The party investigators were interested in why there was no response to worrying signals from Gumbeika. Zakir Shakirovich explained that the information, submitted to him from various sources, was controversial and incomplete, that is why he decided to wait for the decision of District Prosecutor Kuchenev. By his data, both officials abused their authority: Sadykov squandered meat received as a set-off from Magnitogorsk meat plant and concealed spenders allowing them to settle the debts by cash by instalments while Grigorovich appropriated the funded food and goods explaining it by the lack of opportunity to timely supply them from a wholesale base to the mine because of transport absence. To prove that the Oblast Committee took some measures, the minutes of the meeting of February 2, 1945 was shown where Party Organizer Astafyev being the Director’s protege, was reprimanded with the record in his file for multiple debauches in the state of intoxication and harassment toward the front warriors' wives.They also examine Vatenin who was the Head of Subsidiary Farming since May 1945. The latter reported unsatisfactory state of animals and equipment, absence of special hangars, cow sheds, vegetable and grain storages, acute lack of living spaces for assisting staff. According to him, it was not even possible to get the agricultural production to some acceptable level providing the current situation remains unchanged. A dramatic view of “care” of the administration about the miners was stated by the Head of the Mine No.2 Yarygin in his report drawn by the request of Bakin. He claimed that no special clothing is provided to people: for the last 2 years 40 pair of shoes, 12 quilted jackets with pantaloons and 15 suits made of the cloth used for pipe insulation were allocated for 150 people. However, socks, shirts, underpants, sandals were allocated but these did not satisfy the needs. The products that should be allocated by cards were replaced with substitutes. For example, groats were substituted with green pea, meat - with small fish caught in the nearby water ponds. To buy a half of sugar portion, one oftentimes needed to give a whole coupon. Bread was not put on sale for 4-5 days. Supplementary nutrition turned to be just a fiction. A hundred and half of adult men were provided with 12 l of milk per day, i.e., only 80 gr per capita. No promised alcohol was provided to anyone. Even soap after the shift was not provided on a regular basis. Apparently, frequent outbreaks of occupational diseases occurred; they resulted in full or partial loss of labour capacity. Gastro-intestinal infections got a mass character, and no medical or social assistance was rendered to the infected people. No decent dwelling was available. The employees found a shelter in semi-destroyed dugouts and barracks without water supply or heating. Catchpits were used as toilets. A special order on the Mining Department reported that, due to the lack of fuelwood in stock and no transport available, the settlement population will not be supplied with fuelwood henceforward.The situation at the production facilities kept deteriorating day to day despite the management and entrepreneurial “talent” of Grigorovich. The stock of carriages dilapidated to a critical point and was not renewed at all. To repair it, ball bearings were necessary but the suppliers delivered common bearings which were not suitable. Instead of pneumatic rock drills shaft miners were provided with jack hammers, which significantly lowered the production values. Steel delivered for perforators had a wrong diameter. Hoist ropes were supplied with the deviation from the set quality standards. Detonating devices were over, and the workers have to tap new horizons in several steps putting low-capacity primers of cartridges into shot pits. Above all, the production was affected by the persistent lack of pitwood, pipes, rails. This caused the conservation of the mine northern side with already recovered ore and stop in progress of main mine works and escape outlets’ building. By mid-July the situation at the facility became crucial. Yaryginhad warned the Mining Department administration on the likeliness of such scenario in early May already (The provided example is a good illustration for a thesis statement on the “barbarism” of some methods of administrative&command management system of a military type against its general “efficiency”. Arkhipova, 2020, pp. 66.) . According to the results of the check of Sadykov application, Authorized Executive of PCC for the Chelyabinsk region Bakin prepared a certificate and forwarded it to Chairmain of PCC at the Central Committee of All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Andreyev and First Secretary of the Chelyabinsk Oblast Committee of the Party Patolichev. It informed that the facts provided were proved. However, Mukhamet Mukhametovich was also accused of accompliceship in unlawful transactions as well as of appointingaccidental people to the Food Supply Department management, which resulted in its bad operation. This problem was recommended for consideration at the Oblast Committee Bureau meeting. It was suggested bringing the abovementioned people to the party responsibility and giving them severe reprimands with the record in the registration card. It was also proposed to dismiss Communist Party Organizer Astafyev from his position and bring to the attention of Secretary of District Committee Mustayev the inadmissibility of delays in considering the workers' claims on the social law violation.On September 14, 1945, at the meeting of the regional staff headquarters of Chelyabinsk communists “On Unlawful Expenditure of Assets and Monetary Funds by Director of Gumbeyredmet” Grigorovich” a secret protocol was approvedб in which all these events had been characterized as anti-state activities caused by the absence of control and the appropriation of corporate opportunities by confidant directors for lucrative purposes. It was stated that by the People’s Commissariat of State Control, Grigorovich was dismissed and brought up for trial. All other participants were subject to disciplinary measures. Sadykov was not reinstated in his position.

Conclusion

During the Great Patriotic War in the USSR a system of hard consumption hierarchy grew very strong. The key element of this structure was the position of a subject in a production&power vertical line. A formal egalitarianism of social relations concealed versatile underside distribution channelsб functioning for the party and economical high officials' interests. The Soviet propaganda thesis statement on the equal severities and losses fell of the people shoulders because of the need to combat with Hitler's aggression was denied by everyday life. Frequently, the difference in the level of sustenance of average workers on the one side and the officials and plant directors on the other side was comparable with the differentiation characteristic for a class antagonistic society. The workers usually chose obedience to various forms of oppression because of the fear of dissatisfaction with power holders and losing their very humble but the only gain. On the contrary, the officials and directors did not share the uniform opinion. A great part of them perceived the situation as a natural continuation of the benefits they possessed in the existing regimen framework due to the former achievements, education, qualification, and useful contacts. Such people sincerely believed that nobody could replace them, and thus, they could do more than others. When they saw their wealth at risk, they mobilized all the set of available self-defense means including such immoral ways as false accusations, evidence tampering, strive to shift the blame on their subordinates. The priority of personal comfort signified a spiritual re-birth of such persons which could be interpreted as the country betrayal in the war reality Senyavskiy, 2018, p. 47. Alongside with this, this new elite environment also had conscientious and moral people denying any privileges at somebody else's expense. These people were ready to collide with opportunistic and powerful colleagues for the triumph of justice. Seemingly, the driving factors ever believed in communist ideals, compassion towards neighbors, non-admission of lie and hypocrisy. They tried to act in compliance with procedural norms and standards of communication with the superior authorities. Courage, persistence and self-righteousness helped them to overcome frankpledge and bureaucratic tricks of the light-fingered directors. The central bodies, forced to organize arbitration after receiving alarm signals, which could not be ignored, had a particular caution towards such truth-seekers. They perceived them as challenging the existing control model allowing one to increase the military capacity despite all the losses. That is why active individual non-conformism was neither encouraged nor restrained. The attitude to this phenomenon was somewhat neutral.

Acknowledgments

Research has been funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research in the framework

of the scientific project No. 1909-00185

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