FSB of Russia announced on its website archival documents on the participation of prisoners in special operations in Finland and the northern part of Norway at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
As stated in the article, at the beginning of the war, the security authorities lost replenishment due to conscripts, so the reconnaissance and sabotage groups had to be equipped with “patriotic” prisoners of camps on the Kola Peninsula. First of all, the personnel military, as well as candidates with good physical training, endurance, special knowledge (for example, radio waiting) and skiing skiing, were gained in such detachments.
By the end of 1941, about 40 people were listed in such detachments of the NKVD management in the Murmansk region, later – about 70. In the first three months of their activities, such groups committed eight raids in the opponent’s rear, and each fighter took part in total in 4 -7 operations.
among published documents – a plan of a sabotage operation in the enemy rear in August 1941, during which the Group had to establish the location of the base of the Finnish battalion and destroy it, if possible, captured several people from among the security and after interrogation to eliminate them, To “not burden yourself in the way.” During the waste, it was assumed to wait for the forest. For the task, the group was allocated explosive, a flammable substance, as well as light small arms and grenades.
The group included both the Soviet prisoners who freed against the sentence of military command, and the Norwegian partisans are stated in the publication.