According to the instruction of People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Comrade Beria, I direct that all former prison guards, intelligence agents, provocateurs, [military] settlers, judicial employees, landowners, merchants, and large property holders detained in Starobelsk, Kozelsk, and Ostashkov NKVD camps are to be moved to prisons, transferring them to the control of NKVD organs.

The directive was connected with plans to clear out the camps, but it left the military and policemen in place. More detailed instructions were issued by Beria and communicated to camp commandants on 23 February 1940; see the following note.

All existing materials available on them are to be transferred to the investigative units of the UNKVD for the conduct of the investigation.

Additional instructions will be given on the procedure for further action in these cases.

For the UPV instruction of 23 February 1940 to POW camp commandants on carrying out the Beria directive as set out in this document, see KD1/194; KDZ1/194.

Report on the number of arrested [prisoners] transferred.