Activities of the Kursk Provincial Branch of the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate to Identify and Suppress Crimes in State Institutions: 1921-1923

Relevance. In light of the constant search for the most effective methods of improving the power functions of the state apparatus, methods of monitoring its activities, as well as ways to combat corruption, the experience of creating control bodies at the beginning of the construction of the Soviet state acquires special practical interest, since the history of state control allows us to track the achievements and mistakes of the past, thereby setting guidelines for the present. 
At the same time, the topic of the control system, which extended to all types and forms of public administration and economic activity, remains poorly studied in the part that is characterized by minimal deployment of regional studies. 
Purpose. Studying the experience of carrying out control and audit activities by the Kursk provincial branch of the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate in the first years of building the Soviet state, in particular its influence on the restoration of the national economy, strengthening production and labor discipline, and the fight against crime. 
Objectives: to reveal the conditions, methods and results of the control body’s counteraction to criminal manifestations committed at enterprises and government institutions in the early 20s of the 20th century on the territory of the Kursk province. 
Methodology. The research was based on the principles of objectivity and historicism. To solve the problems, the author used the following methods: synthesis, analysis, induction, deduction, historical-legal, historical-genetic, historical-comparative and retrospective. 
Results. A study of the activities of the Kursk provincial branch of the workers' and peasants' inspection during the designated period made it possible, in historical retrospect, to determine the specifics of the crimes it detected and the methods aimed at this. 
Conclusion. The Provincial Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate made a significant contribution to strengthening the rule of law on the territory of the Kursk province during the analyzed period. 

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