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 16, 1938.

Archive: AP RF. F. 3. Op. 24. D. 405. L. 33‐40.

17 February 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 16, 1938.

Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR General Commissar of

State Security (EZHOV) [1]

Top secret

For the 3rd DEPARTMENT

1. NAVROTSKY ‐ an employee of the State Bank, a former officer. Interrogated: OSMOLOVSKY.

He testified that in 1939 [2] by the correspondent of the newspaper ʺBerliner‐Tageblattʺ SHEFFER, he was recruited for espionage work in favor of Germany. NAVROTSKY, working as an economist in the foreign department of the State Bank, passed on to the SHEFFER spy information about the State Bankʹs foreign loans, their size, conditions, the size of the currency and gold coverage of the ruble.

After the expulsion of SHEFFER from the Soviet Union, NAVROTSKY was contacted by the adviser of the German embassy, GILGER, whom NAVROTSKY continued to supply with classified materials on the state of finances and especially on issues related to foreign loans.

In order to fulfill GILGERʹs assignment as fully and comprehensively as possible, Navrotsky recruited a consultant from the foreign department of the State Bank, LEVIN, for espionage work.

Later, GILGER handed over the NAVROTZK attaché of the German

Embassy for agriculture to SCHILLER.

On the instructions of Schiller, Navrotsky recruited for the German intelligence: BONDARENKO AC, the former vice‐president of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, KHODOROV, the former scientific secretary of the Academy, and ZAIDAL E.Z. ‐ Head of the foreign department of the Narkomzem library (to be checked).

From all these persons, NAVROTSKY received secret materials on the state of agriculture and animal husbandry in the USSR, which he passed on to Schiller.

Later, NAVROTSKY linked his agents directly with Schiller.

According to the testimony of NAVROTSKY, SCHILLER kept in touch with a number of leading workers of the USSR Peopleʹs Commissariat of Agriculture at that time: a former member of the Collegium of the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Agriculture WOLF (convicted), REINGOLD (convicted), TSILKO (arrested), Vice President of the Academy of Agriculture, Academician VAVILOV, Professor LISKUN ...

In 1935, NAVROTSKY was tasked with conducting military intelligence work, and he was handed over for communication to an agent of military intelligence, a former colonel of the German army, diplomatic courier of LITAU.

In order to collect military espionage information, NAVROTSKY recruited a former officer VISKOVSKY (arrested), who worked at the Communications Academy, and POPOVA (arrested), the daughter of General ZAIONCHKOVSKY, who at one time worked in the General Staff of the Red Army.

From these agents NAVROTSKY repeatedly received military materials, which he handed over to LITAU and the German military attaché BAUMBACH.

2. TANAKA, aka YAMOMOTO KENZO, a representative of the

Japanese Communist Party in the Comintern, since 1922 a worker of the trade union movement in Tokyo. Interrogated: VLADIMIROV.

After being recruited by the FURUYA police agent in 1924, TANAKA, on instructions from the police, infiltrated various revolutionary organizations, including the Japanese Communist Party. He gave away active revolutionaries to the police. On the instructions of the police, TANAKA participated in the split of a number of revolutionary organizations.

During the period of mass arrests in March 1928, a large number of people were arrested on the basis of TANAKA materials. In the same period of time, TANAKA, on the instructions of the police, was thrown out for espionage and provocative work in the Soviet Union.

While working in Vladivostok as the head of the Pacific secretariat of trade unions, TANAKA transmitted information about the activities of the secretariat through messengers ‐ workers of Japanese steamers sent to him from Japan from Japan.

Arriving then in Moscow and becoming in the leadership of the Japanese section of the Profintern, and then of the Comintern, TANAKA continued his espionage and provocative activities, slowed down and disrupted the work of these institutions, and at the same time reported detailed information about the work of the Comintern and the activities of the Japanese Communist Party to the political police in Tokyo city through contacts YAN‐FU and TERADA, leaving for Tokyo (located in Japan).

3. GOLIKOV , deputy. head of the foreign department of the NKOP. Interrogated: KUZNETSOV, BREKHUNETS.

He testified that he was a member of the anti‐Soviet sabotage and terrorist organization of the right, in which he was involved in early 1936 by the former head of the Main Military Mobilization Directorate of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Heavy Industry PAVLUNOVSKY (arrested). In addition, GOLIKOV testified that since 1936 he has been an agent of the Swiss intelligence service, to which he transmitted spy information about the military industry of the Soviet Union. For espionage work in favor of Swiss intelligence GOLIKOV was recruited by the director of the Swiss watch company ʺTavon‐Vachʺ ‐ SHVAB.

GOLIKOV named A.O. ZOLOTAREVA as members of the anti‐Soviet organization of the right. ‐ the former head of Glavmetiz of the NKTP (arrested), BABAEVA, the former head of Stalsbyt, OZERSKY, the former head of the Central Supply Department of the NKOP (convicted), and PLEKHANOV, the former head of the NKOP inspection (convicted).

Further, GOLIKOV testified that he carried out active sabotage work to disrupt the supply of imported equipment to the heavy and defense industries, when concluding contracts with foreign companies, he deliberately overpaid currency, bought unusable and unnecessary equipment. GOLIKOV also confessed that, on the instructions of PAVLUNOVSKY, he was preparing a terrorist act against comrade Sergo ORDZHONIKIDZE.

4. GAILIT AI , head of the militarized guard of the camps. Interrogated:

VERKHOVIN.

The investigation in the case of a group of members of an anti‐Soviet terrorist organization, uncovered in Kolyma, exposed Andrei Ivanovich GAILIT, a former head of the militarized guard of the camps, who went to Moscow on a terrorist mission, as a member of this organization.

The arrested GAILIT admitted during interrogation that he was a member of an anti‐Soviet organization headed by BERZIN, the head of construction in Kolyma.

As members of this organization, GAILIT named the civilian workers of the camps: FILIPPOV, BULYGIN, BABAKH, VESENKOV, FEDYUSHIN, BULYGIN and a number of others.

The anti‐Soviet organization carried out sabotage, subversive work in the field of gold mining, railway construction, agriculture, animal husbandry, etc.

For sabotage purposes, the leading members of the organization appointed convicts for political crimes and espionage to responsible construction sites.

The interrogations continue.

For the 4th DEPARTMENT

1. BRON SG, former head. OGIZ. Interrogated: SHVARTSMAN.

During previous interrogations, he confessed that he had been an English spy since 1930, and had been recruited by the leading figure of British industry, MAC‐GAUEN.

Under interrogation on 16.11. showed that he stood on terrorist positions of the fight against the party. He discussed the issue of the use of terror with TOMSKIM at the beginning of 1936. Moreover, TOMSKY told him that the Leningrad experience should be repeated with a vengeance in order to decapitate the party leadership and clear the way to power by the right.

The concrete implementation of a terrorist act against comrade STALIN, the anti‐Soviet organization of the right in OGIZ entrusted NA BYKOV (former deputy head of OGIZ, arrested), who was sent to OGIZ by ANTIPOV.

The terrorist act was supposed to be committed in September 1937.

11th DEPARTMENT

1. ROSENTHAL EF, former deputy. Peopleʹs Commissar of Water Transport, b. member of the CPSU (b). Interrogated: MALUTIN.

He gave additional testimony that in November 1935, at a meeting together with E.Ya. (former deputy head of the transport department of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b), arrested) and N.M. YANSON it was decided to organize terrorist acts against the leaders of the CPSU (b) and the government, and above all over Comrades. STALIN, MOLOTOV and VOROSHILOV.

The development of a plan for the preparation and commission of terrorist acts, as well as the selection of people capable of being physical perpetrators of terrorist acts, was undertaken by Evgeniev. The plan of terrorist activities of the organization by Evgeniev was developed and discussed at a repeated meeting.

The plan outlined the preparation and execution of terrorist acts against comrade STALIN in Sochi, over comrade MIKOYAN in Astrakhan and over comrade Zhdanov in Gorky and Leningrad.

It was also planned to commit a terrorist act against the leaders of the All‐Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the government during their presence at the aviation festival in Tushino.

ROSENTAL knew from Evgeniev that the terrorist group included: KALITAEV, VASIN (arrested), PODOLSKAYA (convicted) and LEVKOVSKY (scheduled for arrest).

In addition, at the same time Evgeniev named Yurov, Zaitsev (arrested) and YUZHNY (a former employee of the Political Directorate of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Water Resources ‐ is established) as people prepared to commit terrorist acts. I knew from Evgeniev about the departure of the members of the combat group to carry out terrorist acts to the places of the alleged arrival of the leaders of the CPSU (b) and the government.

Due to the fact that the combat group could not carry out the planned terrorist acts, a terrorist act was prepared at the Tushino airfield on the day of aviation ‐ August 18, 1936, which failed due to the fact that Evgeniev could not get KALITAEV a pass to the airfield.

Head of the Secretariat of the NKVD of the USSR, senior major of state security (SHAPIRO)

[1] Signed by Deputy Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs Frinovsky. [2] So in the source.