The NKVD of the USSR Order of 1937 No. 00486 anticipated the possibility of handing over children of repressed parents to the guardianship of relatives.

The following regulations are established for the transfer of children to guardianship:

1. The Director of the NKVD Administration in the place of residence of those wishing to become the children's guardians shall by his own authority permit the children's transfer, which he will make known to the NKVD Director in the child's place of residence (in the orphanage). The latter will instruct the head of the orphanage to transfer the children to guardianship, ensuring during the process the presentation of appropriate documents (passport or identity papers of the person who has received permission to take the children). Guardianship will be formalized using the appropriate agreement, the form for which is attached here.

2. The Director of the NKVD Administration, having permitted the child's transfer to guardianship, shall subsequently provide the NKVD Administrative-Economic Division with information about the child: last name, first name, patronymic, to whom and when he was transferred and the residential address of guardian and child.

3. In the event that the children have not yet been sent to orphanages run by the Commissariat of Enlightenment, the Director of the NKVD Administration may effect the transfer of the children to relatives' guardianship directly on the spot.

6. After the child's transfer to guardianship, the NKVD Administration shall run a check on the guardian through the State Security Administration departments, with the object of revealing compromising data about him. If the subsequent check shall establish compromising data on the guardian, the Director of the NKVD Administration shall decide the question of whether the child may remain further with that guardian or be transferred to another relative and he shall inform the NKVD Administrative-Economic Division of his decision.

7. Beyond the initial check, the NKVD Administration must also carry out a systematic check of the children's upbringing by the guardian, the children's moods, their behavior and acquaintances, and also the influence on the children of the person who has become their guardian. Deputy People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR Corps Commander M. FRINOVSKY