Activities of the Departments for Combating Embezzlement of Socialist Property under the Main Directorate of Militia of the NKVD of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War, the Departments for Combating Embezzlement of Socialist Property (OBKhSS) operated actively within the structure of the Main Directorate of Militia under the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) of the Soviet Union. OBKhSS personnel safeguarded public wealth, contributed to strengthening the USSR’s economic power, and recovered significant material assets and large sums of money for the state. They inspected trade facilities, warehouses, and supply bases damaged by air raids, ensuring that the remaining valuables were accounted for, inventoried, and directed to their intended purposes. With the onset of the war and the introduction of rationed supplies of food and consumer goods, the militia was tasked with intensifying efforts to combat profiteering. At that time, the legal norm in force (Article 107 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, 1926) did not establish an upper limit for liability in cases of profiteering. In wartime conditions, the practice of imposing penalties for this offense became significantly more severe.