Аннотация
Based on the declassified archival materials of the state archival institutions of the city of Kostanay of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the article shows the main problems in studying the deportation of Polish citizens («families repressed from the Western regions of Ukraine and Belarus») to the territory of the Kazakh SSR in 1940–1941 (on the example of the Kostanay Region). The re-evacuation of people of Polish nationality following the end of World War II is examined separately. It is ascertained that the fate of the deported Polish citizens was predeter-mined by the vector of relations between the Polish government in exile and the leadership of the USSR, when the political status of Polish citizens developed in stages: from «Polish refugees» and «administratively deported» at the beginning of World War II, to amnestied and allies during the Great Patriotic War. The authors focus on the great practical importance of studying the history of the deportation of Polish citizens to Kazakhstan and their subsequent re-evacuation. The archival documents concerning the fate of the deportees found in the course of the research could be used in the search work on requests received by state and public organizations from citizens of Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and Israel to confirm their residence in a special settlement, and to ascertain the fate of their relatives and friends. With the emergence of questions on rehabilitation and the search for information about missing people, it is very important to establish archive sources containing personal data of deported Polish citizens.