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The Russian word troika, "threesome", was used during the Great Purge period in the Soviet Union to denote commissions of three persons as an additional instrument of extrajudicial punishment (внесудебная расправа, внесудебное преследование) introduced to supplement the legal system with a means for quick punishment of anti-Soviet elements. First "operational troikas" (оперативная тройка) were introduced in the "center", in Moscow military okrug in 1929. The qualifier "operational" means that they were based on operational departments of OGPU. Gradually troika were introduced in other places of the Soviet Union, for various purposes, of different kinds: in addition to operational troikas there were "court troikas" (судебная тройка)and "extraordinary troikas" (чрезвычайная тройка), "special troikas" (специальная тройка).
A notable step was the NKVD Order no. 00447 by July 30, 1937 О репрессировании бывших кулаков, уголовников и других антисоветских элементов ("About repression of former kulaks, criminals, and other anti-Soviet elements") undersigned by Nikolai Yezhov. By this order, troikas were created on the levels of republic, krai, and oblast. Investigation was to be performed by operative groups "in a speedy and simplified way", the results were to be delivered to troikas for trials.
The chairman of a troika was the chief of the corresponding territorial subdivision of NKVD ( People's Commissar of a republican NKVD, etc.). Usually a troika included the prosecutor of the republic/krai/oblast in question; if not, he was allowed to be present at the session of a troika. The third person was usually the Communist Party secretary of the corresponding regional level. The staff of these troikas were personally specified in the Order # 00447.
Protocols of a troika session were passed to the corresponding operative group for executions of sentences. Times and places of executions of death sentences were ordered to be held in secret.
Troikas of this purpose functioned for about a year.
On September 15September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). There are 107 days remaining. Events 608 Saint Boniface IV becomes Pope 921 Saint Ludmila is murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law at Tetin. 1514 Thomas Wolsey appointed Archbishop, 1938Events January -June January 3 The March of Dimes is established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. January 11 Frances Moulton is the first woman to become president of a US national bank. January 20 Wedding of king Farouk I of Egypt and Farida Zulficar in Cai the PolitburoThe Politburo ( in Russian: , known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The body was made up of the top members of the Central Committee. In theory, it a issued the resolution (# П64/22) about the creation of Special troikas (Особая тройка) for the period of Polish operation of the NKVDPolish operation of the NKVD refers to the coordinated actions of NKVD in 1937- 1938 according to the NKVD Order no. 00485 " , , " ("On measures to protect the USSR from penetration of spying, terrorist and diversion elements"), approved on August 9, 1937, functioned for about two months. The name was a derivative from the Special Council of the NKVDSpecial Council of the USSR NKVD ( , was created by the same decree of Sovnarkom of July 10, 1934 that introduced the NKVD itself. By the decree, the Special Council was endowed with the rights to apply punishments " by administrative means," i. without r (Особое Совещание, ОСО). Later the experience was re-used during other National operations of the NKVDMass operations of the NKVD were carried out during the Great Purge and targeted specific categories of people. As a rule, they were carried out according to the corresponding order of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Nikolai Yezhov. Ex-kulaks,: Romanian, Latvian, Finnish.
