ACTIVITIES OF THE MOSCOW CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT DURING THE PERIOD OF WAR COMMUNISM

The article examines the activities of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department during the period of War Communism and the transformation of its functions under conditions of a sharp increase in common criminal offences in Moscow. The study analyses the specific features of Moscow Criminal Investigation Department personnel formation, its interaction with state security bodies, and the use of extraordinary measures in combating banditry. On the basis of statistical data, the dynamics of the main categories of offences are reconstructed and the effectiveness of operational and investigative activities is assessed. It is concluded that the years 1918–1921 constituted a key stage in the institutional development of Moscow Criminal Investigation Department as a specialised body for combating common criminality, which determined the subsequent evolution of the criminal investigation system in urban conditions.