Agreed. Moreover, Soviet POW camps were very similar to hard labour camps, so there wouldn't be much difference for the Japanese from Hokkaido where to be sent. At least in the first months after capture, because, if pro-Soviet Japanese republic would come to existence, then "lawful combatants" (Japanese soldiers held in the POW camps) could be repatriated to the Republic, but partisans would remain in Soviet custody even after establishment of the Communist regime in Hokkaido.Thanks for the info. Wasn't totally sure what the NKVD would do, but definitely sounds like they would still be harsher than US troops (which would intern them in POW camps as opposed to hard labour camps somewhere in Siberia).
First of all, anti-guerrilla actions in the immediate frontline zone were responsibility of the Red Army and its Counter-Intelligence service, not of the NKVD proper (although distinction between the NKVD and the CI could be blurred somewhat). There were different policies toward Hitlerjugend boys in OTL, dependent not only on high command orders, but on the particular soldiers' decisions too. Sometimes they were killed after capture, their age notwithstanding; sometimes they were transported to the POW camps, but there were also instances of Soviet soldiers disarming German would-be partisans and letting them go free. Significant part of the Red Army men was fed with blood and death enough to become merciful and lenient towards enemy, even when that enemy was German. The Japanese had not such "bad image" among Soviet citizens as the Germans had, consequently they could expect more human treatment on the part of the Red Army.By the way, what do you think NKVD policy would have been if women and children were involved in partisan attacks with spears and such explosives as they could get their hands on?
Another matter is the NKVD policy towards anti-Soviet resistance in the Soviet-occupied part of Japan after the end of the major battles, because only then the security problems would became the exclusive NKVD responsibility. The NKVD men were much better disciplined than the average Red Army soldier, so they wouldn't commit major war crimes without order from the Soviet leadership, but they would commit them without any doubt or hesitation if such order was received.
However, I doubt that Stalin and the Politburo would order mass deportation of the Japanese and mass murder of the "dangerous people", because they would need Hokkaido as an example of the "better way" for American-occupied Japan. Thus, only active partisans would be killed (or captured and sent to the Siberia), and under-age guerrillas, pregnant women and so on, could expect clemency (that is, jail terms served in Hokkaido) from the Soviet tribunals. Besides, active resistance would need weapons and ammunition, you couldn't hurt the Soviets much with the bamboo spears and home-made explosives, and without significant casualties the USSR wouldn't have the cause to unleash the terror machine against the Japanese civilians. If only the Imperial Army would give their armament to the civilian population... But they hadn't it enough for themselves.
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