Abstract
During the Second World War, Soviet government control over all aspects of life increased dramatically. A strict form of the command-administrative management system was introduced, and forced labor mobilization of the population into work columns became widespread. The physical capabilities of those who were mobilized were often ignored, and many were delivered to enterprises overseen by the NKVD. On the basis of an analysis of archival documents from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan, this article analyzes the features of the Soviet government’s mobilization policy of inhabitants of the Kazakh SSR. This article also examines the conditions of those mobilized into construction battalions and work columns and discusses the issues they faced as they tried to survive and adapt to their wartime circumstances.