Transcripts from Soviet Archives

Volume XI - 1931

IV. Fighting banditry in the USSR

Operative bulletin of the TO OGPU on the fight against banditry, as of September 3, 1931

No. 21

Top secret

Comrade Berry

Central Asian Railway

Recently, on the southern section of the Central Asian Railway, there has been a revival of bandit actions by the Basmachi. According to undercover information, [before] all the ringleaders of the operating gangs were tasked with disassembling tracks and derailing trains at the Djibel‐Kavandzhin station. The bandit groups begin to concentrate under the overall command of Hak Murad.

In the indicated area from 23 August to 3 September this year. the following gang manifestations are noted:

1. August 23, one km north of st. Yakhcha‐Kuyma was discovered by a bandhaik of 20 riders, which was fired upon by machine‐gun fire and one cannon shot from armored tackle No. 64, as a result of which the gang left in a northern direction.

2. On the night from 23 to 24 August this year. in the northwest direction from the station. Akhcha‐Kuma, at a distance of four kilometers from the railway bed, a gang of Khak‐Murad, numbering 200 horsemen, appeared. The gang, taking the inhabitants of the aul, all the cattle, household items and, leaving 20 horsemen in place, withdrew in the southern direction of the Astrabad road.

3.On 24 August this year at 23 oʹclock on the stretch of st. Jibel‐Yagman, 124 km away, by a gang of unknown numbers, dismantled two links of the railway track, and burned the track barracks. The artel of Turkmen workers in the barracks has gone to no one knows where.

The dismantled track was restored by an armored train, after which, in order to avoid a possible case of the crash of the mail train number 76, to check the track and detect the gang to the station. Jibel was sent armored tackle number 64. The latter crashed on the same 124th km due to analysis of the track and exceeded speed. As a result of the crash, two control platforms fell off the rails, an armored platform, a steam locomotive and a cool carriage derailed. In the crash, one shooter received bruises and the second ‐ a broken arm. Located 8‐9 km from the station. The Jibela water source was destroyed by the gang and cut off the water supply to the railway.

4. August 25 of this year in the same area from 6 to 17 oʹclock a detachment of the cavalry regiment school of 165 sabers with four heavy and six light machine guns under the cover of artillery fire from armored train No. 10 fought with a gang of 300‐400 men under the command of Hajj Nepes Atchanov and Klych Aidan Mammadov.

Three cavalry attacks and 169 rounds of cannon fired from our side did not yield positive results. Both our detachment and the gang, having withdrawn from the battle, remained in their former positions. The gang fought hard, tactical knowledge and good positioning. Our losses: five people were killed and six people were wounded. The losses on the part of the gang have not been established.

The rise of the locomotive, carriages and armored rails has been completed, the movement of trains has been restored. The armored striker is suitable for further action.

On the same 25 August, by the action of two cavalry regiments, after the battle, the gang was driven out of the Jebel water sources and retreated in two directions: one unit of 200 people on camels towards the Tyangiku well and the other in the same number of horsemen to the well of Sofia. In the battle, the gang lost 30 people killed.

Jebel water sources supplying the railway stations were restored by the road on August 29 of this year.

5.August 30 of this year a gang of well‐armed horsemen under the command of Abakh‐Berdy surrounded the bulk point of the Kizil village of the Guzar region. A detachment of 13 sabers was sent to Kizyl from Guvar.

6.August 31 of this year at 21 oʹclock on the 459th km of the siding section 33 km from the station. Baharden unknown attackers put sleepers on the railroad bed, which was hit by train # 822. There was no damage to the rolling stock, the track and no misfortunes with people.

7. On the night from 1 to 2 September this year. in the area of art. Iskander appeared a gang of Plyas and Kurtai Mered, numbering up to 80 people, which arrived at the Gluzsky aulsovet, occupied the wells: Gyaure, Tazagiur, Cherkezli‐Ok, took 60 camels, products of procurement organizations, took away weapons from the population and took the chairman of the aulsovet with all the affairs and family. A task force of 26 people with two machine guns was sent to the place.

8. September 1 of this year military reconnaissance 8 km from the station. Kazandzhik and 2 km from the Idzhira collective farm, a gang of up to 100 horsemen appeared. A task force of 15 people was sent to the place with one machine gun.

9. September 2 this year on the 294th km of the stretch of st. Uzuku ‐ 25th patrol by a gang of unknown command and strength, the railway track was dismantled, as a result of which freight train # 731 crashed. Two task forces and an armored batten No. 72 were sent to the site.

In order to prevent the gang from crossing the railroad track and breaking through to Persia along the entire Jebel‐Archman railway section, intelligence intelligence was deepened, measures were taken to increase the number of bayonets in task groups, and armored cars and railroad cars were set up.

Vreed deputy. Head of TO OGPU Balashov

Operbands report No. 68 of the AzGPU on the fight against banditry, as of September 13, 1931No. 22

Top secret

Menzhinsky, Yagoda and Prokofiev

Armenia

1. As a result of the development of September 11, the bandit group of Sakko Sultan Yantsa was eliminated in a shootout. The leader and three cadre bandits were killed, the fifth fled along with our internal guards, who will be arrested. Seven horses, five rifles and 400 rounds of ammunition were captured. A policeman was killed on our side. The gang is removed from the register. 2. On September 11, a bandit group, Paruy Amakar Yana, who moved from the perterritory [to] the Daralagez region, led the performance in Darraion in 1930, capturing two peasants and one woman suspected of being connected with the GPU and disappeared into the forests. Precautions taken.

Georgia

1. On August 26 in Abkhazia, the political bandit Toriya Gobzo was legalized, who gave the list of members of the counter‐revolutionary organization. Development is underway. 2. On August 28, in the Kutaisi region, a kulak‐bandit element burned 400 poods of grain belonging to the collective farm. Undercover measures were taken. 3. On 29 August Zgudinovskom area artist Svan 50 ‐10 people, stole 217 head of cattle belonging to the farm. By our pursuit the cattle were beaten off, measures were taken to seize the attackers. 4. On August 30, the political bandit Okhulia was legalized in the same area. No. 47940.

Deputy Chairman of ZakSPU Agrba

50 Svans are an ethnic group of Georgians who make up the indigenous population of Svaneti, a historical region in Western Georgia.

Special intelligence report No. 110 of the SOU PP GPU for Central Asia on the fight against banditry, as of October 4, 1931.

No. 24

Top secret

Comrade Evdokimov

As of October 4 ‐ Southern Kyrgyzstan. On September 28, as a result of a battle between Sokhsky and other volunteer detachments with the gang of Abdulla Pansat, 7 Basmachi were killed, from our side three good troopers were wounded, and 20 horses were captured by the gang. On September 29, the second and fourth operative platoons of the Osh commandantʹs office under the leadership of Novikov found a gang in the Zimovka Gaz area (18 km south‐west of Sokh), where, as a result of the battle, the gang lost three killed, breaking out of the encirclement, went to the area of the Kshemysh Sai river (40 km south ‐western Sokh). To eliminate the gang on October 3, four detachments were thrown out in two directions from Samarkand (17 km south‐west of Isfara). As a result of agent‐KGB activities in the Sulukta region, within three days, one kurbashi, 7 horsemen surrendered. In BazarKurganovskiy district on October 2 surrendered: 13 horsemen with 6 weapons. Northern Kyrgyzstan. The detachments under the command of Veksler and Kovalev were thrown out by Narym in order to prevent a breakthrough to China ‐ a migration to China led by Toksobaev. On September 30, in the Turk Tumbashi tract (7 km northeast of the Kevani Davan Pass), there was a shootout with a group of 80 people, as a result 13 people were killed, two were wounded, 34 horses were captured. The persecution continues.

Stalin district. On October 1, a thrown‐out detachment of Alibaev in the Chontan area discovered a bandhaik of not reported numbers under the command of Mamyshev. The leader of the gang was detained, four horsemen.

Uzbekistan. V. Galla‐Aral region. On September 28, the leader of the gang, Rakhmenkul Ilmuradov, was captured by the Red Stickers while trying to escape and killed. No. 210159.

Head of SOU OGPU Raisky