Contingents of Enemies

Order No. 00447 lists nine categories of "contingents” of enemies. Although the list appears to focus on kulaks and criminals, Ezhov's definition of enemies includes virtually anyone associated with the former regime, belonging to a political party other than the Bolshevik party, active in a church or religion, returning from abroad, or engaging in "diversionist” activity (whatever that might mean). Striking, also, is the fact that having served out a sentence did not provide an exemption. The most hated contingent, "former kulaks,” were to be repressed even after "serving out their term of punishment.” Although enemies are characterized in many cases as "conducting anti-Soviet activity,” implicit is the fact that individuals are enemies for being who they are not for what they do. No matter how sincere their current support for the Bolshevik regime, former White Guard officers, priests, or Mensheviks remain "enemies of the Soviet state.” They are "socially dangerous” without actually doing anything against the state. Whereas earlier certain groups were left untouched, such as members of collective farms, now anyone in any location or employment can be an enemy of the state. In the language of 00447:

I. Contingents (Quotas) Subject to Repression

1.  Former kulaks, returning after serving out their punishment and continuing to conduct active anti-Soviet subversive activity.

2.  Former kulaks escaping from camps or labor colonies carrying out anti-Soviet activity.

3.  Former kulaks and socially dangerous elements, belonging to rebellious, fascist, terrorist, and bandit formations, serving out their terms, hiding from repression or escaping from places of confinement and resuming their anti-Soviet criminal activity.

4.  Members of anti-soviet parties (listed), former Whites, gendarmes, officials, members of punitive organizations, bandits, and gang members, accomplices, those assisting escapes, re-emigrants, those hiding from repression, fleeing from places of confinement and continuing to conduct anti-Soviet activity.

5.  Those exposed as a result of investigations as the most hostile and active participants in currently-being-liquidated Cossack-White Guard insurgent organizations, fascist, terrorist, espionage-diversionist counter - revolutionary formations.

6.  The most active anti-Soviet elements among former kulaks, members of punitive bodies, bandits, sectarian activists, church officials and others currently being held in prisons, camps, work colonies and continuing to carry out active anti-Soviet insurgency work.

7.  Criminals (bandits, thieves, recidivist thieves, professional contrabandists, swindler-recidivists, livestock thieves) carrying out criminal activity and circulating in criminal milieu.

8.  Criminal elements located in camps and work colonies and conducting criminal activity.

9.  All the above elements currently located in villages—in collective farms, state farms, agricultural enterprises and in cities—in industrial and trade enterprises, transport, in Soviet institutions and in construction are subject to repression.13