To Stalin

To Stalin Top Secret Summaries Of The most important testimonies Of Those arrested 1937‐ 1938

A summary of the most important testimonies of those arrested by the GUGB of the NKVD of the USSR for February 14, 1938

Archive: AP RF. F. 3. Op. 24. D. 405. L. 18‐32

February 16, 1938

SECRETARY of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) comrade STALIN

I am sending you a summary of the most important testimonies of those arrested by the GUGB NKVD of the USSR for February 14, 1938.

Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR General Commissar of State Security (EZHOV) [1]

Top secret

For the 3rd DEPARTMENT

1. PETROV NI, former head of the technical control department of plant No. 156 NKOP. Interrogated: BELOGORODSKY.

He showed that in 1932 he was involved by Tupolev in an anti‐Soviet organization in the aviation industry.

PETROV, together with other members of the organization: PETLYAKOV, POGOSSKY, NEKRASOVY (arrested), systematically disrupted the governmentʹs aircraft readiness deadlines, in connection with which the machines were already obsolete, due to which, as well as the poor quality of the machineʹs work carried out with the aim of sabotage, the Red Army was not accepted into service ...

PETROV, through the members of the organization PETLYAKOV and POGOSSKY, who headed the design groups, deliberately handed over incomplete drawings to the plant, as a result of which the work performed was altered or completely rejected.

So, as a result of sabotage carried out with the active participation of PETROV, a heavy TB‐4 bomber was built for 3 years, after the cost of its construction of 4 million rubles was not accepted into the series as unusable. With a delay of 1.5 years, the six‐engine sea cruiser MK‐1 was released for state testing, which cost 6 million rubles and was also not accepted into the series as unusable. Within 6 years, a large torpedo boat G‐6 has been under construction, which is not ready at the present time.

In addition, PETROV, with the aim of sabotage and deception of the government, released unfinished aircraft to airfields. This caused unnecessary expenses of funds and labor and required three times more time to work.

For the 4th DEPARTMENT

1. Barakhov I.N., former 2nd secretary of the Yakutsk regional committee of the CPSU (b). Before the arrest, the deputy. Head Far Eastern sector of agriculture of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b). Interrogated: FEDOTOV.

He confessed that since 1922 he was a member of the anti‐Soviet nationalist organization ʺSakha Omukʺ, which set as its task the rejection of Yakutia and the creation of a bourgeois‐nationalist state under the protectorate of Japan.

Barakhov showed that since 1922 the anti‐Soviet nationalist organization carried out several actions against Soviet power. In 19241925. on the Okhotsk coast, an anti‐Soviet protest was organized, which was headed by a member of the organization ARTEMIEV. In the fall of 1927, a nationalist protest was organized by a member of the organization KSENOFONTOV.

After the defeat of the nationalist organization ʺSakha Omukʺ, the remaining members of the organization, who lived in Moscow AMOSOV, BARAKHOV and VASILIEV, often met and discussed plans to resume the organizationʹs activities. To this end, they contacted a member of the organization SHARABORIN, who held a leading position in Yakutia. In addition, they established an organizational relationship with the Trotskyist I.L. KARMEL.

The organizationʹs practical anti‐Soviet activities consisted of training rebel nationalist cadres in the field, seizing command posts and carrying out sabotage activities.

In addition, the organization was associated with Japanese intelligence, to which information was transmitted about the presence of reserves of oil, coal, iron, lead, etc. Personally, BARAKHOV gave AMOSOV, who was associated with Japanese intelligence, information about agriculture in Yakutia and the Far East.

2. CHUZHIN Ya.E., former deputy. Chairman of the All‐Union Committee for Arts. Interrogated: OSTRYAKOV.

He confessed that, starting in 1933, he took the path of struggle against the party and in 1934 was recruited by SHUMYATSKY into the counterrevolutionary, Pravotrotskyist organization he created, which set itself the goal of carrying out terrorist acts against the leaders of the party and government and sabotage work in cinematography.

CHUZHIN testified that, in addition to him, the leadership of the organization included: SHUMYATSKY, USIEVICH, YUKOV

(arrested), GRUZ and other leading cinema workers.

CHUZHIN admitted that he continued his anti‐Soviet work on the assignments of the Pravotrotskyist organization in the committee for arts affairs.

3. NEMIROVSKY. Interrogated: PODOLSKY, PINZUR.

Confessed that he had been a career paoleitionist since 1905

until 1928. In 1928, after the liquidation of the party, Paolezion became a member of the illegal anti‐Soviet organization Paolezion, of which he was a member until the day of his arrest.

NEMIROVSKY testified that he knew about the existence of the center and was organizationally connected with the members of the center Paolezion KAPELUSH, BREITER, RENSIN and others.

In addition, NEMIROVSKY was a member of the Moscow committee of Paolezion, was organizationally connected with the editorial board, which issued anti‐Soviet documents that distorted the true position of working Jews in the USSR.

NEMIROVSKY also testified that he was aware of the foreign relations of the anti‐Soviet organization Paolezion, in particular, he knew about the connection with the Ferbant Bureau (an international association of Paolezionist organizations), which was carried out through KAPELUSHA and BREITER, and with the Palestinian organization

Paolezion, which was carried out through ABRAMOVICH.

For the 5th DEPARTMENT

1. DOUBOVI I.N., former commander of the Kharkov military district. Interrogated by YAMNITSKY, KAZAKEVICH.

In addition, he showed that in 1935 he was recruited by the former chairman of the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR LYUBCHENKO into a Ukrainian nationalist organization.

At the direction of LYUBCHENKO, he headed the so‐called ʺmilitary headquartersʺ of the nationalist organization.

The ʺheadquartersʺ, in addition to DUBOVO, included: the corps commander of the KVO universities ‐ KOPULOVSKY and the corps commander‐45 ‐ BORISENKO (arrested).

From the military nationalist organization, DUBOVY named the following persons:

SOKOLENKO ‐ early. submission‐45 (arrested).

PROKOPCHUK ‐ commander of the 51st rifle division (arrested).

MISHUK ‐ commander of the 3rd cavalry. divisions (arrested).

ZUBOK ‐ Commander of the 30th Infantry Division (former head of the red starshinos ‐ arrested).

GAVRICHENKO ‐ head of the school of red elders (not arrested).

NAGULYAK ‐ former head of the school of chervonnye elders (arrested).

TISHCHENKO ‐ commander of the 75th rifle division (not arrested) [2].

SOKOLOV‐SOKOLOVSKY ‐ Chief of Staff of the KhVO (arrested). KRIVORUCHKO ‐ pom. Cavalry commander (not arrested). [3]

The Ukrainian nationalist organization in the Red Army was part of an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy in Ukraine led by YAKIR.

DUBOVY concealed from YAKIR (convicted) his participation in a nationalist organization, suggesting using his closeness to Yakir for his personal goals and the goals of nationalists. DUBOVY was supposed to lead the entire conspiracy in the KVO and KhVO in the event of Yakir leaving Ukraine in order to transfer power to the nationalists in the event of an anti‐Soviet coup. DUBOVY was planned by the Ukrainian nationalist civil and military centers for the post of ʺCommander in Chief of Ukraineʺ during the anti‐Soviet coup.

The conspirators ‐ supporters of Yakir, according to the plans of the nationalist center, were supposed to be destroyed in the event of an anti‐Soviet coup. This task is entrusted to OAK by the nationalist center.

Nationalist civilian and military centers were associated with foreign

Ukrainian nationalist organizations. LYUBCHENKO and HVYLYA (both arrested), were associated with Colonel KONOVALTS (white emigrant), the former commander of the Sich Striltsiv corps, the head of the OUN (an organization of Ukrainian nationalists). The same KONOVALETS is the head of the military terrorist branch ʺOUNʺ ‐ the so‐called ʺUVOʺ (Ukrainian Viysk organization). Khvylya was associated with the Galician fascist organization PALEEVA.

The ʺmilitary headquartersʺ of the nationalists established contact with the OUN and with the UVO. Personally, KOPULOVSKY, while abroad, contacted Konovalts, with whom he negotiated on the transfer of Ukrainian nationalist units, especially commanders from the Galicians, to the Ukrainian SSR during the anti‐Soviet coup.

2. LIPELIS, former deputy. early houses of aviation and chemistry at TsS Osoaviakhim. Interrogated: DERGACHEV, NIKONOV.

In addition, he showed that, being the secretary of the Kharkov Provincial Committee of the Party of Left Social Revolutionaries

(struggleists), he was actively fighting the Soviet regime.

In 1920 he joined the Bolshevik Party with the aim of carrying out antiSoviet Socialist‐Revolutionary work.

Maintaining ties with the former leadership of the Left SocialistRevolutionary Party (struggleists), in 1930 LIPELIS carried out work to restore the struggleist underground in Moscow. In 1931, he contacted the Left SR (struggle) center in Ukraine, which included: GANENKO, KACHINSKY (convicted), SERDIUK, SEMUSHKIN (workers of the

Peopleʹs Commissariat of Ukraine, installed) and DZIDZINSKY (convicted).

On the instructions of the center, LIPELIS headed an anti‐Soviet struggle group in Moscow, which included: he ‐ LIPELIS, SMOLYANSKII, KOTOV (convicted), TERLETSKY ‐ workers of the commission for determining the yield in Voronezh, SHMIDT ‐ director of Soyuztorg, and LAVROV ‐ Institute of the Red Professors (installed).

At the direction of the LIPELIS center, working as deputy. Chairman of the Transport Council Osoaviakhim, carried out sabotage in the shooting business. In 1935 he entered an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy. Working as the head of the House of Aviation and Chemistry at the Central Council of the Osoaviakhim, on the instructions of BELITSKY (arrested), he was engaged in subversive work on the line of PVHO.

In addition, LIPELIS testified that the struggle center in the large cities of Ukraine created the Socialist Revolutionary underground organizations headed by old struggleists: in Kiev ‐ ZALUZHNY, an employee of Narobraz, and RAPLOV, an employee of Kogiz; in Poltava ‐ SEMUSHKIN, an employee of the Land Department; in Kharkov ‐ ARNAUTOV, an employee of the Narobraz; in the city of Zmeevo ‐ KHARCHENKO and in Odessa ‐ ZATULOVSKY. In addition, a wrestling organization was created in the city of Simferopol, headed by LYSENKO, an employee of the Crimean Peopleʹs Commissariat for Health (all of these persons are being identified).

To carry out terrorist acts against the leaders of the party and the Soviet government, the struggle center organized terrorist groups: in the mountains. Vinnitsa, headed by the former commander of the corps SABLIN (convicted), and in the city of Kharkov ‐ an employee of

Narobraz ARNAUTOV (to be established).

3. KARTASHOV, former assistant chief of the training unit of the Red Army Air Force Academy. Interrogated: MAZUTOV.

Gave initial testimony that he has been an agent of Polish intelligence since 1920. He was recruited by the chairman of the commission from the Polish side, Colonel GEMPEL, while the Polish‐Russian‐Ukrainian military conciliation commission was working in Minsk. KARTASHOV passed on to the Polish intelligence information about the state of the border and military units, in particular, their deployment, for which he repeatedly received monetary rewards.

4. Kokadeev AN, former head of the 3rd department of the Communications Department of the Red Army. Interrogated by: LUSHCHEVSKY, DMITRIEV.

He confessed to his participation in the military‐fascist conspiracy and in the sabotage organized by him in the field of radio equipment of the Red Army.

In the military‐fascist conspiracy, Kokadeev was involved in 1935 by the former head of the RKKA Communications Department LONGVA, who, when recruiting Kokadeev, used the fact of Kokadeevʹs service in the Skoropadskiy government in Ukraine, which he knew. Threatening Kokadeev with exposing his past, LONGWA dragged him into sabotage activities, and then into a conspiracy. KOKADEEV, being the head of the radio department of the Communications Directorate of the Red Army, took part in sabotage in the field of radio equipment of the Red Army, which consisted in giving orders to the industry of deliberately unusable, sabotically designed samples of radio equipment for the Red Army in violation of the basic military tactical requirements for radio stations.

The sabotage in the field of military radio was also carried out by receiving from the industry unfinished and defective radio equipment, for which LONGVA and KOKADEEV paid significant amounts of money from the funds of the USSR NPO, thus causing double damage to the state. In addition, LONGVA and KOKADEEV, together with pests from the radio industry, in every possible way slowed down the introduction of new types of radio stations into production, insisting on the further release of outdated and clearly unusable radio stations.

The indications are primary.

For the 6th DEPARTMENT

1. ZIMIN, former deputy. Peopleʹs Commissar of the Way and Head of the Political Department of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Railways, recently the secretary of the Yaroslavl Regional Committee of the AllUnion Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Interrogated by: ZARUBIN, ZARANKIN.

ZIMIN confessed that he was a member of the Trotskyist center in the NKPS. He began to testify about his sabotage and sabotage work in transport.

He showed that he was a career Trotskyist. He joined the Trotskyist opposition back in 1921 and since then has not ceased his ties with the Trotskyist counter‐revolutionary underground. Since 1928, he led an active struggle with the party, adhering to various Trotskyist groups. In 1933 he was appointed deputy. early Political Administration of the

Peopleʹs Commissariat for Railways, became a member of the antiSoviet Pravotrotskyist organization in transport, headed at that time by POLONSKY, the former head of the Political Administration of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Railways (convicted).

POLONSKY was directly associated with RYKOV and ANTIPOV, on their instructions he created an anti‐Soviet organization in the NKPS.

After the appointment of ZIMIN as the head of the Political Administration of the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Railways, he headed the anti‐Soviet organization created by POLONSKY in the apparatus of the political administration. In addition to ZIMIN, the leadership of this organization included: ROSSOV (convicted), Pogrebinsky, PAKULIN

(arrested) and BYKHOVSKY (not arrested). [4]

ZIMIN testified that, on his instructions, terrorist militant groups were created in the NKPS and on a number of railways, preparing an attempt on the murder of Comrade. L.M. KAGANOVICH, as well as other leaders of the party and government.

In the NKPS ZIMIN, a terrorist group was created, which included MOCHILIN and POLTORAK (both convicted). Members of this terrorist group twice tried to assassinate L.M. KAGANOVICH during his performances at the assets.

Terrorist groups were also created on a number of roads: on the Stalin road, the terrorist group was headed by KINZHALOV (convicted); in Donetsk ‐ VANYAN (arrested); on Voroshilovskaya ‐ AMATUNI (convicted); in the South Ural ‐ BELENKY (convicted); on Dzerzhinskaya ‐ KASTANYAN (arrested).

The commission of terrorist acts by the leaders of these terrorist groups was planned by organizing train wrecks during the trips of members of the government.

On the instructions of the Pravotrotsky center, ZIMIN conducted sabotage work, and on his instructions, train wrecks were organized. Members of the organization in the political departments were hiding from responsibility and in every possible way kept sabotage cadres. ZIMIN in his testimony cites a case of a major crash on the South Ural road, when, on his instructions, the head of an antiSoviet organization in the political department of this road, BELENKY, concealed the real organizers and perpetrators of the act of sabotage.

ZIMIN confessed that in the apparatuses of the political departments he launched a widespread subversive work aimed at retaining enemy cadres in the ranks of the party and in the apparatuses of the political departments. This was achieved by transferring members of the organization, who were threatened with failure, to other roads, creating the authority of the “irreplaceable” for them, etc.

Along with this, ZIMIN widely deployed sabotage along the line of party‐political and cultural‐mass work, disrupted the political support for the implementation of orders of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Railways, disrupted the promotion of the best personnel in transport, promoted members of the Trotskyist counter‐revolutionary underground to command positions.

In particular, the ZIMINY thwarted the measures of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for the introduction of new rules of technical operation, which are of great national economic importance.

ZIMIN showed that the majority of the heads of the political departments of the roads, their deputies and the heads of the political departments of the traffic departments, who created parallel organizations on the roads, along with the acting and headed by the chiefs of the roads, were part of the anti‐Soviet Pravotrotskyist organization in transport. I personally recruited 5 people into the organization: VDOVIN, USACHEV, FEDOROV, KUCHMIN (arrested) and BYKHOVSKY (not arrested).

After moving to work in Yaroslavl, ZIMIN temporarily stopped recruiting for the purpose of conspiracy and maintained contact with the Trotskyist organization through BYKHOVSKY.

In Yaroslavl, ZIMIN conducted counter‐revolutionary subversive work aimed at disorganizing party cadres and disrupting the most important economic and political measures.

2. WEIZMAN, former chief engineer of the NKPS steam locomotive repair factories trust, former member of the Zionist Socialist Party. Interrogated by: KHARKHARDIN, SMOLYAR.

Weitzman confessed that he was an agent of British intelligence, on whose assignments he carried out espionage and sabotage and sabotage work in industry and transport.

WEIZMAN is a member of the Jewish petty‐bourgeois party ʺZionistSocialistsʺ. His brother H. WEIZMAN, residing in London, professor of chemistry at the University of London, is the chairman of the socalled. ʺWorld Zionist Associationʺ.

In 1926, WEITZMAN, who was then deputy. prev. ʺGOMZsʺ (State Association of Machine‐Building Plants), was sent on an overseas business trip to London. There he visited his brother, who turned out to be a major agent of British intelligence and recruited him for espionage work for England. On the instructions of his brother, WEITSMAN contacted the British intelligence agent LUBZHINSKY and gave him a number of data on the long‐term plans for the reconstruction of the GOMZ plants, the types of locomotives and carriages, the profiles of the plants and their estimated capacity.

Weizmann agreed with LUBZHINSKY that, for the purpose of conspiracy, he would later transfer spy information to him personally when traveling abroad.

In 1927, WEIZMAN, heading on an overseas business trip to America, stopped in Berlin, which he reported to his brother in London. After that, Weizmann was contacted by his brotherʹs assistant, chemist Dr. FREDEL, to whom he gave for the British intelligence a number of espionage information, data compiled on the basis of Gipromezʹs data on the development of Donetsk, Priazovskaya, Uralsk, Kuznetsk and central metallurgy, projects for the construction of the Gorky Automobile Plant and the Zaporizhstal high‐quality steel plant ...

FREDEL warned WEITZMAN that in the future, agents of Anglointelligence would maintain contact with him in intelligence work in the USSR: an authorized representative of the British machine‐building firm MOND (Weitzman does not remember his last name) and a laboratory assistant at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, biochemist RABINOVICH.

In 1929, a representative of the MOND firm visited Weizmann and, on behalf of FREDEL, demanded that he be informed about the state of industry in the USSR. WEITSMAN gave him the data he had about the VSNKh agreement with the KRUPP company and with some American firms on technical assistance, as well as data on the prospects for the development of the Soviet machine tool industry.

In May 1932, during the period of Weizmannʹs work as the technical director of the Podolsk cracking‐electric locomotive plant, an employee of the British embassy in Moscow KENDAL contacted him. WEIZMAN gave KENDAL secret information about methods of hardening armor for tankettes, produced in a special workshop of the Podolsk plant, data on the technical composition of metal for armor and drawings of the tankette itself.

In 1934, an English intelligence agent RABINOVICH, who had arrived from Paris, contacted Weizmann, to whom he conveyed information about the location and specialization of a number of defense plants: aviation, artillery, shell and machine‐tool factories.

In the same year, VEITSMAN gave the representative of the firm ʺMONDʺ in Moscow data on new construction shipyards in

Arkhangelsk and on the Amur.

In 1935, VEITSMAN, working as the technical director of machinebuilding plant No. 70 in Moscow, transmitted information to the British intelligence through KENDAL about the state of the plantʹs capacity and plans for the reconstruction of its main workshops.

In 1936, WEITSMAN switched to rail transport and for 2 years regularly transferred to KENDAL spy materials on the NKPS steam locomotive repair factories, in particular, he gave detailed information about the state of the fleet of powerful steam locomotives.

In 1934, WEITSMAN was recruited into the anti‐Soviet organization by the right‐wing TOLOKONTSEV, the former head of the VOMT VSNKh (convicted). On the instructions of TOLOKONTSEV and KURITSYN (former head of the locomotive department, convicted), VEITSMAN carried out a large subversive work in the field of transport engineering. In particular, on the instructions of the anti‐Soviet organization, VEITSMAN developed a wrecking project for the technological process of repairing steam locomotives, based on the interchangeability of parts.

The implementation of this project could lead to the destruction of the entire locomotive fleet. This sabotage project was not carried out only as a result of the personal intervention of Comrade. L.M. KAGANOVICH.

11th DEPARTMENT

1. ZALETOV I.Ya., a Latvian defector, arrived in the USSR in 1930 as a political emigrant, a former candidate for membership in the Central Committee of the Latvian Independent Party. Interrogated by:

EFIMOV, MATKIN.

He gave additional testimony that, before leaving for the USSR in 1930, he was sent by Latvian police officers SHMIDMANIS and FRIEDRICHSON to Berlin with instructions to contact the German intelligence officer HIRSCHFELD to receive assignments for work in the USSR. In Berlin, he established contact with HIRSCHFELD, from whom he received the task, upon arrival in the USSR, to create a terrorist group from the members of the anti‐Soviet Latvian organization to commit terrorist acts against Comrade. STALIN and

MOLOTOV.

At the direction of BOLODIS (the former head of the Scandinavian section of the Profintern), he contacted an active participant in the antiSoviet Latvian organization GAFERBERG for joint practical work on the preparation of terrorist acts. He planned to carry out a terrorist act in person, together with GAFERBERG, during the passage of demonstrators on Red Square in November 1937.

The explosive should have been obtained by BOLODIS.

Head of the Secretariat of the NKVD UNION SSR, Art. Major of State Security (SHAPIRO)

[1] Signed by Deputy Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs

Frinovsky.

[2] There is Stalinʹs litter ʺ ar ʺ.

[3] There is a litter of Stalin ʺ Take under special supervision .ʺ

[4] There is a litter of Stalin ʺ ar ʺ.