REPRESSIONS AGAINST HUNGARIANS IN THE SVERDLOVSK REGION IN THE 1930s

On the basis of 116 archival and investigative case files stored in the State Archive of the Administrative Bodies of the Sverdlovsk region the article investigates the fate of Soviet and foreign citizens, ethnic Hungarians, who lived in the 1920–1930s in the Sverdlovsk region. The reasons of why they were in the territory of the USSR are revealed. The authors mention that many Hungarians served in the Red Army during the Civil war and were members of the Bolshevik party; they also provide information on their place of residence in the Sverdlovsk region and their employment. The dynamics of arrests of Hungarians during the study period is shown; information on the charges against them is given. The authors conclude that the mass repressions against «unreliable Nations» that began in July 1937 in the USSR also affected the Hungarians who lived in the country. However, the number of Hungarians sentenced to death was significantly lower than the number of other peoples subjected to political repressions. The authors admit that punitive authorities demonstrated such a «liberalism» towards Hungarians because of their active participation in the Civil War in Russia on the side of Bolsheviks.