Population Statistics
For a long time the numbers of people prosecuted in the Soviet Union were based on various estimates, counted in tens of millions and varied by a wide margin. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the researchers gained access to the archives of NKVD. The revealed numbers point rather to lower numbers of the estimate range. In particular, data on 1 January 1953, show "only" 2,753,356 of "deported and special settlers". Also, Dmitri Volkogonov in his book about Stalin quoted an MVD document that reports 2,572,829 on 1 January 1950.
Olga Shatunovskaya, a member of a special commission during the 1960s appointed by Khrushchev, has concluded in her report that "from January 1, 1935 to June 22, 1941, 19,840,000 enemies of the people were arrested. Of these, 7,000,000 were shot in prison, and a majority of the others died in camp." These figures were also found in the papers of Politburo member Anastas Mikoyan. Historian Dmitri Volkogonov, head of a special Russian parliamentary commission, citing KGB documents available after the fall of the USSR concluded that "from 1929 to 1952, 21.5 million people were repressed. Of these a third (7,166,666) were shot, the rest sentenced to imprisonment, where many also died."
Read more about this topic: Forced Settlements In The Soviet Union
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