In 1940, a book was published in Moscow marked “only for NKVD officers” by V.P. Volkov under the title “Self-defense course without weapons. Sambo. This book, despite the name, contained, among other things, the methods of using melee weapons in close combat - a knife. The question arises: if the NKVD officers in the USSR were taught knife and hand-to-hand combat, then why are modern policemen not trained in anything like this?
To answer this question, you first have to figure out what the NKVD was like. To do this, one will have to trace the evolution of the state security organs in the country of the Soviets. On December 20, 1917, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage (VChK) was created, which engaged in the fight against crime, the fight against espionage and sabotage, the fight against homelessness, and also carried out a "red terror". In fact, it was the first security structure of the Soviet power. Further, on February 6, 1922, the Cheka was transformed into the State Political Directorate (GPU), which took over the functions of a special service. At the same time, the functions of overseeing the rule of law were transferred to another organization - the People's Commissariat of Justice, under which the Prosecutor's Office was also established.
On November 15, 1923, the GPU was transformed into the United State Political Directorate (OGPU), which carried out all the same tasks of the special service: countering espionage, as well as banditry as the most harmful manifestation crime. In this form, the state security service lasted until July 10, 1934, until it was transformed into the People's commissariat of internal affairs (NKVD), which absorbed the functions of some other Soviet commissariats (ministries). So, in addition to state security and the tasks of combating crime, the NKVD department, for example, had departments such as public utilities, fire safety and construction. In other words, it was a very large structure.
Directly intelligence, counterintelligence, encryption work, protection of party leaders, investigation of crimes was carried out department of state security within the NKVD, and it was just one of several large "divisions" that were divided into a lot specialized teams. During the Great Patriotic War, the NKVD was divided into two large structures: the NKVD and the NKGB (People's Commissariat of State Security). The first structure was engaged in intelligence, the second ensured public order in the rear.
On March 15, 1946, the NKVD was abolished, and instead two new departments appeared in the Soviet Union: the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and The Ministry of State Security (MGB), the latter in 1954 was transformed into the well-known State Committee security (KGB). Why did the Soviet power structures change their name so many times? Because the power departments of the USSR were constantly developing along with the country and society. The Soviet state of the 1920s is not the Soviet state of the 1930s. And the Soviet state of the 1940s is quite different from the 1950s and 1960s. Committees were abolished and created due to the constant redistribution of duties and powers between the state security agencies. It is important to understand that, in fact, in the USSR, state security agencies were created from scratch. Of course, there was the experience of imperial Russia. However, such things as internal and external intelligence in the 19th and early 20th centuries had a rather "amateurish" character.
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So why were the NKVD officers taught knife and hand-to-hand combat, while modern policemen are not taught? I think the answer should be obvious now. First, not all employees were taught. Secondly, the NKVD is still not the Ministry of Internal Affairs, especially in its modern interpretation. It could be compared with the FSB of modern Russia, however, this would not be too correct. Since in Soviet times this structure was engaged in a very wide range of tasks.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then read about Zhiguli for the KGB: how the fastest VAZ cars were created in the USSR.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/031221/61455/