Abstract
By studying Soviet legal practices, we learn about the enforcement of coercive legislation in the USSR. New archival data show how Soviet organs attempted to control labour in industry during the Second World War. State organs interacted in order to enforce legislation, but enforcement in practice was weak. Soviet leaders simplified administrative procedures for enforcement as long as the war threat persisted. So enforcement of coercive labour law was a priority during the war, but actual penalization was inefficient owing to various constraints.