NKVD House (Serebrennikovskaya Street 16)
The NKVD House at Serebrennikovskaya Street 16 is a historical building located in Novosibirsk, Russia. It served as the regional headquarters and apartment building for officers of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), the Soviet secret police, during the Stalinist era, primarily in the 1930s and 1940s.
Like similar "NKVD Houses" constructed across the Soviet Union, the building at Serebrennikovskaya 16 became a symbol of the Great Purge and the pervasive fear instilled by the NKVD's operations. These buildings were often centers for interrogation, torture, and the planning of executions. Many residents of the surrounding areas associated these structures with the disappearance and persecution of individuals accused of being "enemies of the people."
The specific historical significance of the NKVD House at Serebrennikovskaya Street 16 lies in its role within the regional network of the NKVD and its impact on the local population of Novosibirsk and the surrounding areas. Individuals arrested by the NKVD were often brought to this location for processing and interrogation. The identities of many who perished as a result of actions stemming from this building remain unknown, though significant research and memorial efforts have sought to uncover and commemorate the victims of the NKVD in the Novosibirsk region.
Today, the building may house various organizations, and its historical role is a subject of ongoing historical research and public memory initiatives aimed at acknowledging the atrocities committed during the Stalinist era. Its physical presence serves as a reminder of the repressive mechanisms employed by the Soviet state.