The Disciplined Dictatorship

Abstract

The Disciplined Dictatorship examines the role and function of the Soviet procuracy under and after Stalin. It explores how, beyond acting as public prosecutors, Soviet procurators exercised extensive authority over the legal system, supervising all branches of government—including the police—and enforcing legal norms across both society and the state apparatus. Drawing on a wide range of archival materials, the book investigates law enforcement practices and the interactions between legal and police institutions in the Soviet province Molotov. The study reveals how the procuracy served not only as a tool of repression but also as an internal mechanism of discipline and oversight within the Stalinist state. It shows how the Stalinist procuracy not only was a crucial instrument for controlling the Soviet populace but also how it developed into the essential tool for the Stalinist state to serve as a check for its institutions and its own actions. Tracing their daily work from the aftermath of the Great Terror up to the eve of de-Stalinization, the book demonstrates how procurators both helped to sustain Stalinist state rule and guide its evolution after Stalin’s death.