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 17‐18, 1938

Archive: AP RF. F. 3. Op. 24. D. 405. L. 41‐50.

19 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 17‐18, 1938.

Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR General Commissar of

State Security (EZHOV) [1]

Top secret

For the 3rd DEPARTMENT

1. KOTLOV MN, Socialist‐Revolutionary, from 1903 to 1922 lived in Harbin, served in the army of Kolchak, the former consul of the USSR in Sakhalin. Until 1930 he worked as a manager in Dalbank in Japan in Kobe. From 1933 to 1935 worked in Mongolia. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1920. Prior to his arrest, senior inspector of the Audit Department of the State Bank of the USSR. Interrogated: DEGTYAREV, BEREZOVSKY.

He confessed that in 1919, while in Harbin, he was recruited to work in favor of Japanese intelligence by the resident of this intelligence SANDLER.

On the instructions of SANDLER, he collected and transmitted through him to Japanese intelligence information about the state of the underground cells of the Communist Party in Harbin, about the measures of the Soviet government to strengthen relations with the Mongolian Peopleʹs Republic, about the work of Vneshtorgbank.

From 1935 until the day of his arrest, he collected and transmitted spy information about the activities of a number of industrial enterprises of defense significance.

Since 1935, he was a member of the anti‐Soviet Trotskyite organization that existed in the State Bank of the USSR in Moscow, where he was involved by the same SANDLER (arrested), named 5 members of this organization (all arrested). The indications are primary.

2. ARSON S.I., from 1902 to 1920, a member of the ʺBUNDʺ, a member of the CPSU (b) from 1921,

b. Head of the State Bankʹs Heavy Industry Lending Department. By the time of his arrest, the head of the department for financing domestic trade and procurement of the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Finance of the USSR.

He confessed that he was a member of an anti‐Soviet Trotskyist‐right terrorist organization that existed in the system of the State Bank of the USSR, where he was involved in 1934 by MARYASIN.

On the instructions of MARYASIN, he disrupted the financing of heavy industry.

Together with a member of the organization TSELNIKER he carried out sabotage in the lending of trade turnover, which disrupted the development of trade turnover in the country.

ARSON named seven people known to him as members of this organization (all arrested).

3. STRIKOVSKY L.S., Head of the Main Directorate of the Meat Industry of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Food Industry. Interrogated by: ZHILOV.

Testified that he was a member of the anti‐Soviet organization of the right in the food industry and was recruited into this organization in 1934 b. deputy. Peopleʹs Commissar of the Food Industry BELENKIM (arrested).

STRIKOVSKY named the following members of the organization: B.V. GIBER. ‐ early. Glavmasloprom (arrested); NIKOLAEV HH ‐ early. Glavptitseprom; BRONSHTEIN G.A. ‐ early. Glavmoloko (arrested); A. M. YURISOV ‐ Director of the Moscow Meat Processing

Plant; VAZOVSKY HA ‐ manager. Soyuzzagotskota; I. I. POZHARSKY ‐ Director of the Azov‐Black Sea meat department (arrested).

Personally, STRIKOVSKY were recruited into the organization ‐ b. director of the meat processing plant YURISOV, b. employee of ʺGlavmyasoʺ POZHARSKY (arrested).

STRIKOVSKY carried out a lot of subversive work in the meat industry. He disrupted the production and supply of enterprises with spare parts, carried out sabotage work on the collapse of the financial economy of the central administration, put into operation unprepared new objects (Semipalatinsk, Dnepropetrovsk plants).

The indications are primary.

For the 5th DEPARTMENT

1. PERTSOVSKY, head of the financial department of an NGO, briginant. Interrogated: ELISAVETSKY.

He gave initial testimony that at the beginning of 1936 he was recruited into the anti‐Soviet military conspiracy by GAMARNIK and headed the subversive work of the anti‐Soviet military conspiracy through the financial authorities of the Red Army.

Recruiting PERTSOVSKY in a military conspiracy, GAMARNIK pointed out to him the main tasks of the conspiracy. He said that it was about the struggle against the Soviet government, about the overthrow of the Soviet government, and gave instructions on subversive activities in the field of financial work in the army.

PERTSOVSKY was assigned the following tasks:

1) to conduct recruitment into a conspiracy among the leading financial officers of the army.

2) carry out sabotage activities in the field of financing the plan of orders for armaments, in construction and in scientific research institutes.

GAMARNIK named three former political workers, on whom it is necessary to rely in the first place in sabotage work. These are: KOSMIN ‐ early. financial department of SKVO; KUZMIN ‐ early. the financial department of the UVVS of the RKKA; GREBENNIK ‐ early. BVI finance department (all arrested).

At the end of August 1936, GAMARNIK named the following heads of departments as participants in the conspiracy, who would conduct parallel subversive work in the field of financing the plan of orders for armament and construction: EFIMOV ‐ early. art administration of the Red Army; PETIN ‐ early. engineering department of the Red Army; LONGWA ‐ early. communications department of the Red

Army; FISHMAN ‐ early. chemical administration of the Red Army; BOKIS ‐ early. ABTU RKKA; ALKSNIS ‐ early. Air Force of the Red Army; ORLOV ‐ early. Navy of the Red Army; APPOGA ‐ early. military communications of the Red Army; LEVICHEV ‐ Deputy. early the General Staff of the Red Army; LEVENZON ‐ early. building and apartment management of the Red Army (all arrested).

PERTSOVSKY were recruited into an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy: RAUSE ‐ early. financial department of the Moscow Military District (convicted), VAVROVSKY ‐ early. Financial Department of the Ural Military District (convicted), KAZACHENKO ‐ early. financial department of OKDVA; VIDASOV ‐ early. financial department of the Group, DASHKEVICH ‐ deputy. early financial department of NGOs (the last three were not arrested), etc.

PERTSOVSKY carried out subversive sabotage work in the field of financial work in the army.

2. ULMAN, head of the special faculty of the Military Academy. Frunze. Interrogated: CHEKHOV, TAKE.

He confessed that he was a member of the anti‐Soviet fascist Latvian organization, to which he was recruited in 1925 by EIDEMAN

(convicted), as well as that he was an agent of the Latvian intelligence. On the instructions of EIDEMAN, he recruited Latvians into an anti‐

Soviet Latvian organization.

After the arrest of EIDEMAN for anti‐Soviet activities, ULMAN was associated with a member of the center of the Latvian‐fascist conspiracy VACETIS (arrested).

Upon completion of the centerʹs assignment, he recruited a number of persons into the Latvian organization, which we are establishing.

3. EMELYANOV‐SURIK, USSR military attaché in

Turkey. Interrogated: PAVLOVSKII.

He gave initial testimony that since 1923 he has been an active Trotskyist.

In 1934, EMELYANOV‐SURIK was recruited by Uritsky (arrested) into an anti‐Soviet military‐fascist conspiracy and, on his instructions, and later GAMARNIK, he carried out a number of anti‐Soviet orders.

4. KOKADEEV , head of the 3rd department of the communications department of the Red Army. Interrogated by: LUSCHINSKY, DMITRIEV.

In addition, he showed that he is a German agent and is engaged in military espionage in favor of Germany, supplying the Germans with classified materials on the organization of radio communications and weapons of the Red Army.

For espionage activities KOKADEEV was recruited under the following circumstances. Being sent by the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Defense in 1931 to Germany to familiarize himself with the state of radio communications of the German Reichswehr and taking part in military exercises in the Dresden area, Kokadeev received secret instructions from the Germans on organizing radio communications, which he was allowed to use in the presence of the German officer NAGEL attached to him.

Knowing about Kokadeevʹs upcoming trip from Dresden to Berlin on the eve of one of the holidays, NAGEL “forgot” in the hotel room where

Kokadeev stayed, this secret instruction of the German army.

Leaving Dresden for Berlin, Kokadeev did not consider it possible to leave this secret instruction in the hotel room and took it with him. Before the trainʹs departure, Kokadeev was detained at the Dresden railway station by a police officer, and he was asked to return the secret radio communication manual of the German Reichswehr ʺforgottenʺ by NAGEL. Upon the return of the required ʺdocumentʺ Kokadeev was charged with military espionage and, under the threat of arrest and reprisals, was forced to write a report on the organization of radio communications in the Red Army. After Kokadeev presented the spy document required by the Germans, he was recruited.

Before leaving Berlin for the USSR, the Germans instructed Kokadeev in detail on how to carry out espionage assignments in the Red Army, giving him the password ʺAlfredusʺ, by which a resident of the German intelligence should have contacted Kokadeev.

5. PODSOTSKY KI, Head of the Military Publishing House of the Red Army. Interrogated by: GRINBERG, SELEZNEV.

A person who confessed to participating in an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy in his additional testimony reveals widespread sabotage carried out in the Military Publishing House of the NCO by the publishing house of military literature.

Until the beginning of 1936, Voengiz existed, which was part of the OGIZ system. In the month of May 1936, Voyengiz and the NCO publishing department merged and Voenizdat was formed.

During this merger, TOMSKY and DUSHAK (who was TOMSKYʹs deputy) sent unfit workers to Voenizdat who did not know military affairs and were unable to launch the work of Voyenizdat.

This circumstance was taken advantage of by the conspirators who worked in the Voyenizdat, the head of the Military Publishing House BELITSKY, his deputies PODSOTSKY and DUSHAK (both arrested), guided by the guidelines of GAMARNIK, and instead of special and military‐political literature, they began to publish completely unnecessary translated literature without comments, which only caused confusion among the command staff ...

According to the instructions of GAMARNIK, the publication of military‐political literature was almost completely stopped, and due to the reduction in the production of basic manuals on combat and political training, they began to publish a ʺcommanderʹs libraryʺ that did not give anything.

In a number of published books, the leaders of the anti‐Soviet military conspiracy GAMARNIK, TUKHACHEVSKY, YAKIR and others were popularized, for which BELITSKY, DUSHAK and PODSOTSKY had a direct installation of GAMARNIK.

A specially created design bureau, headed by DUSHAK, quickly designed and published such books and, conversely, delayed the release of military‐political literature necessary for parts of the Red Army for many months.

The head of the editorial department, Colonel BUTLER (participant in the conspiracy and the terrorist group, the question of arrest was brought up), carrying out BELITSKYʹs assignment, deliberately delayed editing of textbooks and military‐political literature, directed the work of the editorial department to idle and was engaged in unnecessary alterations of the authorsʹ manuscripts, as a result of which outdated literature was published ...

11th DEPARTMENT

1. Shilkin PT, Socialist‐Revolutionary, former head of the Eastern Central Administration of River Transport of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Water Transport, a former member of the CPSU

(b). Interrogated by MATKIN, POPOV.

Gave initial testimony about his Socialist Revolutionary activities.

In 1918, as a member of the Arkhangelsk Provincial Committee of the

Socialist‐Revolutionary Party, together with the leaders of the SocialistRevolutionary organization A.POPOV and I.V. led the preparation of an armed uprising against the Soviet regime and the organization of combat terrorist SR squads and groups.

As commissar of the armed forces of the Arkhangelsk fortified region, on the instructions of the SRs, he thwarted the mobilization of a number of ages to replenish the Red Army before the arrival of the interventionists in Arkhangelsk.

Before the dissolution of the Socialist‐Revolutionary organization in Arkhangelsk, he participated in a conspiratorial meeting with a representative of the Central Committee of the SocialistRevolutionaries MERIKOM, on whose instructions he subsequently joined the ranks of the CPSU (b) to continue anti‐Soviet, SocialistRevolutionary work and organize the Socialist‐Revolutionary underground.

In 1932, together with A. Popov and KOSTYLEV, he headed the creation of an underground Socialist‐Revolutionary organization in Arkhangelsk.

He personally recruited the SRs VASIN and SPIRIDONOV into the organization, instructing them to conduct recruiting work and SR agitation at the Arkhangelsk factories.

Having moved to Moscow in 1934, he contacted I. Rogovy, on whose instructions he created an anti‐Soviet Socialist‐Revolutionary organization in the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Waters, to which he recruited: KHITRIKA (former head of the Southern River Administration ‐ convicted); ABRAMOV (deputy head of the Tsentrovostreksnaba sector ‐ arrested) and SHUMILOV (head of the sector of the Northern River Administration ‐ arrested).

In addition to the above, as members of the Socialist Revolutionary organization in the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Water named: MYSLINA (the planner of the Northern River Administration ‐ arrested); GALUSHKO (head of the sector of the Northern River Administration); CHISTYAKOVA (engineer of the Northern River Administration); KOSHKINA (economist of the Southern River Administration) and MOSTOVLYANSKY (employee of the Peopleʹs

Commissariat for Water Resources) are scheduled to be arrested.

I knew from GODOVO about participation in the organization: GODOVO V.G. (former military worker, arrested); R. MONDA (reply, editor of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Water Resources ‐ arrested); GRIPAS (former employee of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Water ‐ convicted); STEPANOV (former employee of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Water ‐ convicted); RUSSA (to be established) and POPOVA S.F. (an employee of the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Water Resources).

I had a task from GOD I. to prepare terrorist acts against the leaders of the CPSU (b) and the government.

In pursuance of this assignment, he instructed ABRAMOV, a former militant SR, to take up the preparation of terrorist acts.

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.