title: Agents and Special Informants of the GPU-NKVD: Practices of Use and Subsequent Fate in the Light of Archival Sources
abstract: Objective.Based on documents discovered in domestic archives, this article analyzes the methods of recruitment, use, and subsequent fate of agents and special informants employed by the Soviet punitive organs.It aims to distinguish the fundamental differences between these two categories of individuals who worked for the GPU-NKVD.Methodology and Methods.The article employs tools of historical and legal research, including biographical, problem-chronological, targeted-search, historical-genetic, 
journal: Z arhìvìv VUČK GPU NKVD KGB