Early Soviet Economic Border Controls: East-West Dimension

In most studies early Soviet borders are explored as sites of confrontational interactions between the newly created communist state and local communities. Alternatively, they emerge in scholarly research as spaces of illegal transborder exchanges and commodities transfers, resulting in the loss of...

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Main Author: Oksana Ermolaeva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences of Armenia 2025-05-01
Series:Banber Arevelagitut'yan Instituti
Subjects:
Online Access:http://93.187.165.27:80/index.php/bios/article/view/109
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author Oksana Ermolaeva
author_facet Oksana Ermolaeva
author_sort Oksana Ermolaeva
collection DOAJ
description In most studies early Soviet borders are explored as sites of confrontational interactions between the newly created communist state and local communities. Alternatively, they emerge in scholarly research as spaces of illegal transborder exchanges and commodities transfers, resulting in the loss of official revenues and gains for informal economies. Later, in increasingly politicized contexts, these interactions resulted in the gradual “cleansing” and “sealing” of borders. The current article argues that to regain control over the borders during their transition from bridgeheads of the revolution and commodity transit zones to hermetically sealed barriers and fortress walls that occurred throughout the 1920s - 1930s, the Soviet state for some time struggled in vain to discipline not only local communities, which used the newly created borders for their own means, but multiple border controllers themselves - border guards, but primarily the customs apparatus located along Russia’s lengthy borders. For almost a decade in the specific conditions of Eastern and Northwestern Soviet border sectors, the latter refused to abide to increasingly restrictive working conditions, abandon their privileges and rights, and to submit to the new border control agency - the Soviet Main Political Directorate (GPU).
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spelling doaj-art-e92a9287182743cdbf4ed717debc5e012025-08-23T16:32:23ZengNational Academy of Sciences of ArmeniaBanber Arevelagitut'yan Instituti2738-27102738-27022025-05-0121Early Soviet Economic Border Controls: East-West DimensionOksana Ermolaeva In most studies early Soviet borders are explored as sites of confrontational interactions between the newly created communist state and local communities. Alternatively, they emerge in scholarly research as spaces of illegal transborder exchanges and commodities transfers, resulting in the loss of official revenues and gains for informal economies. Later, in increasingly politicized contexts, these interactions resulted in the gradual “cleansing” and “sealing” of borders. The current article argues that to regain control over the borders during their transition from bridgeheads of the revolution and commodity transit zones to hermetically sealed barriers and fortress walls that occurred throughout the 1920s - 1930s, the Soviet state for some time struggled in vain to discipline not only local communities, which used the newly created borders for their own means, but multiple border controllers themselves - border guards, but primarily the customs apparatus located along Russia’s lengthy borders. For almost a decade in the specific conditions of Eastern and Northwestern Soviet border sectors, the latter refused to abide to increasingly restrictive working conditions, abandon their privileges and rights, and to submit to the new border control agency - the Soviet Main Political Directorate (GPU). http://93.187.165.27:80/index.php/bios/article/view/109Soviet border controlborders of “secondary concern”interagency rivalryinformal alliancescentre-periphery problems
spellingShingle Oksana Ermolaeva
Early Soviet Economic Border Controls: East-West Dimension
Banber Arevelagitut'yan Instituti
Soviet border control
borders of “secondary concern”
interagency rivalry
informal alliances
centre-periphery problems
title Early Soviet Economic Border Controls: East-West Dimension
title_full Early Soviet Economic Border Controls: East-West Dimension
title_fullStr Early Soviet Economic Border Controls: East-West Dimension
title_full_unstemmed Early Soviet Economic Border Controls: East-West Dimension
title_short Early Soviet Economic Border Controls: East-West Dimension
title_sort early soviet economic border controls east west dimension
topic Soviet border control
borders of “secondary concern”
interagency rivalry
informal alliances
centre-periphery problems
url http://93.187.165.27:80/index.php/bios/article/view/109
work_keys_str_mv AT oksanaermolaeva earlysovieteconomicbordercontrolseastwestdimension