Журнал «З архівів ВУЧК-ГПУ-НКВД-КГБ». № 1 (59), 2023

100 Ірина Ставнюк Approaches and methods. To accomplish this purpose, particular search me- thods, historical reconstruction methods, and problematic and chrono- logical methods were applied. Hermeneutics was the method applied while examining archive documents. The objectivity and historicism criteria were taken into consideration when critiquing the historical source. Conclusions. The author has examined various facets and trends of the 1935– 1936 judicial policy of the Bolshevik dictatorship. The operations of regional special judicial bodies were the principal subject of the study. The extrajudicial process of decision-making that was a feature of the USSR’s OGPU colleges was to be mainly replaced by the special colleges. The public was to be shown, even through an accelerated trial, how just the decisions rendered against individuals charged with counterre- volutionary actions were. But even formalized trials were unable to guarantee the required speed in the struggle against different avowed and «counter-revolutionary» factions. The overwhelming majority of special panels failed to meet the deadlines for consideration. The members of the special collegiums were also expected to make sure that there was substantial evidence and that all investigational guidelines were being followed. However, in an attempt to expedite the trial, NKVD investigators attempted to fabricate evidence of «counter-revolutionary activity» when they were unable to consis- tently gather it. As a result, several of the criminal cases were referred for further investigation, which prolonged the period that «counter- revolutionaries» may be punished. The practice of using special colleges in 1934–1936 demonstrated that during mass arrests, they were unable to quickly pass judgment on the alleged «counter-revolutionaries». As a result, during the Great Terror of 1937– 1938, the USSR’s top political leadership assigned them a supporting role in those cases where there was at least some vague evidence. Extrajudicial bodies known as the «dvojki» and « trojki» made the main decisions. Key words: special collegium, Supreme Court, NKVD of the USSR, political repression.