Prevention of child neglect and juvenile delinquency in Karelia in the 1920–1960s

Introduction. Based on archival documents introduced into research for the first time, the article shows the changes in the content and forms of state policy on the prevention of juvenile delinquency in Karelia during the 1920s – the first half of the 1960s. The focus is on the reconstruction of the conformity of the program for the protection of children and adolescents proclaimed by the Soviet state to the realities of that time.
Materials and Methods. It used the materials of the National Archive of the Republic of Karelia, which sufficiently reflect various aspects of the problem. The research was conducted on the basis of interdisciplinary approach, using not only historical, but also pedagogical science, social and political history, psychology, jurisprudence, etc. Systemic, comparative-historical, and problem-chronological methods were used in the preparation of the work.
Results and Discussion. Various aspects of the preventive work of the governing bodies and administrative institutions of Karelia on the prevention of child and juvenile delinquency have been representatively studied. The experience of formation and transformation of the system of children’s institutions for juvenile delinquents is summarized, public initiatives in the issue of improving the lives of children in need are noted. The main stages of the activities of state and administrative bodies for the prevention of crime in children and adolescents are identified. In the first half of the 1920s there was a partial mitigation of the criminal liability of minors and use of “medical and pedagogical” measures, however, from the mid-1930s the development of state policy changed in the direction of tightening and expanding the authorities of NKVD. In the post-war period, significant emphasis was placed on the re-education of difficult adolescents, and the prevention of juvenile delinquency.
Conclusion. The article identifies the causes and describes the measures to prevent child and juvenile delinquency in Karelia during the that period. The experience of solving the problems of its prevention, accumulated in the 1920–1960s, was widely used later, which confirms the effectiveness of the developed system.