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 NKVD of the USSR for February 22, 1938.

Archive: AP RF. F. 3. Op. 24. D. 405. L. 72‐82.

February 25, 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 22, 1938.

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

Top secret

For the 3rd DEPARTMENT

1. KA MEKHANOSHIN, former military attaché in Poland, before his arrest director of the All‐Union Scientific Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography of the USSR Peopleʹs Commissariat for Food Industry. Interrogated: COGENMAN, PUNKOV.

In addition, he showed that in 1912 he was recruited by the St. Petersburg secret police and until the February Revolution was a provocateur.

MEKHANOSHIN betrayed a number of revolutionary leaders of the St. Petersburg students, informed the police about the upcoming student gatherings. When he was then sent to the St. Petersburg Lifeguards Regiment, he informed the police about the mood of the soldiers.

In 1917, while working as a member of the secretariat of the bureau of military organizations of the Bolsheviks in Petrograd, MEKHANOSHIN was arrested. During interrogation at the Special Commission of the Provisional Government to Investigate the July Events, MEKHANOSHIN issued secret decisions of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, reported on illegal meetings of the Central Committee, in which LENIN and STALIN took part, betrayed a number of employees of military organizations.

In 1926, MEKHANOSHIN, while working as the USSR military attaché in Poland, was recruited for espionage work by the intelligence department of the Polish main headquarters.

MEKHANOSHIN passed on to the Poles materials about the work of the USSR Embassy in Poland, he reported secret information concerning the work of Comrade VOYKOV. He informed the Poles about the upcoming underground plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Western Belarus in the Danzig area, etc.

In his espionage work, MEKHANOSHIN was associated with employees of the embassy: ARKADYEV (convicted), ULYANOV (arrested), secretary of the plenipotentiary envoy KUBILUS (to be established), resident of the Intelligence Directorate of the headquarters of the RKKA TALBOV (to be established) and some other employees of the Plenipotentiary Mission who were recruited.

As early as the end of 1926, Mekhanoshin knew from the GPU representative MOLOTKOVSKY working in the embassy that he had received secret materials about the impending assassination attempt against Comrade VOYKOV.

In 1927, MEKHANOSHIN returned to the USSR and until the day of his arrest, working in Osoaviakhim, the defense sector of the State Planning Commission, the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Communications and the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Food Industry, he was conducting intelligence work in favor of Poland.

For espionage and subversive activities, MEKHANOSHIN recruited a number of persons, in particular: in Osoaviakhim ‐ Nikolai Alexandrovich KOROSTYLEV ‐ secretary of the Research Section (to be established); in the Defense Sector of the State Planning Committee Vatslav Alfonsovich KOLESINSKY ‐ the head of the industrial group (arrested); Konstantin Petrovich Podgoretskiy ‐ head of the regional section of the defense plan; BOTNER Stefan Osvaldovich ‐ deputy. early the defense sector of the State Planning Commission

(arrested); LEVIN Veniamin ‐ head of the wartime work of defense sector of the State Planning Commission; in the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Communications ZVONAREVA ‐ early. mobilization department; EVSYUGOVA ‐ Deputy. early planned management; RAVICH ‐ deputy. early mobilization department; DRACHENIN ‐ Deputy. early construction management; EFREMOVA ‐ Deputy. early planned management; PALKINA ‐ early. accounting and statistical department.

At the All‐Union Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography: Valerian Ivanovich MAISNER ‐ former director of the Instituteʹs Turkmen station; CHUGUNOV Nikolay Lazarevich ‐ specialist‐ichthyologist; ZAYTSEVA ‐ hydrologist of the Institute; VASNETSOVA ‐ hydrologist of the Institute; BEREZOVSKY ‐ professor‐head of the laboratory for the reproduction of fish stocks; CHALIKOVA ‐ Deputy. laboratory manager; SHARYGINA ‐ professor of hydrobiology; LEZENTSOVA ‐ head of the instituteʹs construction; DANISHEVSKY ‐ Assistant Director of the Institute for Personnel.

All these persons are installed and verified.

For the 4th DEPARTMENT

1. MIKHAILOV FA, head of the sector of the regional newspaper of the press department of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b). Interrogated: SHVARTSMAN.

He showed that, while working in Sverdlovsk as the editor of a city newspaper, in 1929 he was involved in an anti‐Soviet group of the right by the former chairman of the regional executive committee SOVETNIKOV.

In 1933, working as head. sector of science of the agricultural department of the Central Committee, joined the organization of the right‐wing agricultural department, which at various times included:

YAKOVLEV, GUREVICH, GEGECHKORI, TANKHILEVICH.

By agreement of YAKOVLEV with a member of the Pravotrotskyist organization TALEM, in 1935 he went to work in the press department of the Central Committee, where he headed sabotage work in the regional press.

Among the members of the Pravotrotskyist organization known to him in the press department, the Central Committee names, in addition to

TAL, VESELOV, VORONOV, KAPUSTIN, MOKEEV, ZHDANOV (arrested), YUDIN and VINOGRADOV.

The Pravotrotskyist organization in the press department took a terrorist position in the struggle against the party.

2. GRUM‐GRZHIMAILO , Design Engineer, Stalproekt. Interrogated: GEYMAN, LOBANOV.

He pleaded guilty to being a member of a counterrevolutionary organization, which consisted of engineers hostile to the Soviet regime, who had connections with members of the industrial party.

He showed that the anti‐Soviet activities of the organization consisted in non‐fulfillment of plans, misuse of capital investments, incomplete use of funds for research work of laboratories and design work, and in direct sabotage. All this was aimed at weakening the power of the Soviet state and restoring capitalism in the USSR.

On the instructions of a member of the organization ITSEPOCHKINA, the former chief engineer of Stalproekt GRUM‐GRZHIMAYLO, together with his brother, with the support of anti‐Soviet designers and engineers of Stalproekt, KOZHINA, LUKYANOV, Zhdanov, Ryavkin, Chizhova, furnaces, disrupting design deadlines, overspending materials in the construction of furnaces, raising the cost of construction and ignoring Stakhanovʹs methods.

For the 5th DEPARTMENT

1. POINT. Deputy commanding officer OKDVA. Interrogated by: AGAS, USHAKOV, LORKISH.

Gave initial testimony about his participation in an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy.

POKUS testified that he was recruited into an anti‐Soviet conspiracy in June 1936 by the former commander of the ZabVO troops GRYAZNOV before his departure for Primorye.

In the Far East, as shown by POKUS, he was associated with former chief of staff of the Primorsky group BALAKIREV (arrested).

2. PEREMYTOV, Chief of Staff of the Belarusian Military

District. Interrogated: LUKIN.

Gave initial testimony about his participation in an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy.

He was recruited in 1936, during his work as chief of staff of the Moscow Military District, by the former commander of the district, I.P. BELOV (arrested).

PEREMYTOV, at the insistence of BELOV, during his transfer to the Belarusian Military District, was appointed chief of staff of the BVO, where together he carried out conspiratorial work.

PEMYTOV, together with other conspirators, carried out subversive work on operational‐mobilization issues, preparing the defeat of the Red Army during the war with the fascist states, hoping during this period to carry out an armed coup with the aim of overthrowing Soviet power.

Peremytov and Belov brought the border fortified areas to such a state that they could not withstand the pressure of the German troops during the war.

PEREMYTOV shows that the operational plan of the war of the General Staff of the Red Army was drawn up by a participant in the military conspiracy MEZHENINOV (convicted) that would have led the USSR to defeat on the Western Front.

PEREMYTOV was associated with a number of participants in the military conspiracy: RULEVY was the former head of the BVO armored forces, MALTSEV was the head of the 8th department of the BVO headquarters, ANISIMOV was the head of the 2nd department of the BVO headquarters (all arrested), and others.

3. NIKOLAEV, Assistant to the Head of the Armaments Directorate of the MC RKKA. Interrogated: PETROV.

He gave initial testimony that he was involved in an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy in February 1934 by the former head of the Armaments Department of the Red Army MC LEONOV (arrested).

On the instructions of LEONOV NIKOLAEV carried out sabotage activities in the field of armaments of the Red Army Naval Forces, made sabotage plans for industrial orders for armaments during 1934‐1935 and 1936. and an armament assignment for the 3rd five‐year plan.

Wreckingly made a mobilization application for a year of warfare, ordered 10 unnecessary schemes of fire control devices, and also supplied 45 mm anti‐aircraft artillery with land‐based shells of little value for the fleet.

4. BELOV , Commander of the Belarusian Military

District. Interrogated: NIKOLAEV, YAMNITSKY, KAZAKEVICH.

In addition, he testified that in accordance with instructions received in Berlin in 1930 from a representative of the Intelligence Service RAVYAKOV, he transmitted the following espionage information to the British through a member of the military Socialist‐Revolutionary organization and the English spy Boris IVANOV:

In 1931, BELOV reported that the air defense of Leningrad was in its infancy, the material part was outdated, dangerous points were located in the city center and were insufficient for defense, there were no fire control devices, and the fire brigade did not meet the needs of peacetime.

At the beginning of 1932, BELOV reported that he had established contact with the center of the Right, personally with BUKHARIN and CHUDOV (both arrested), and that he had created a parallel center of the Right, consisting of: him ‐ BELOV, Uritsky, GRIBOV and others (all arrested).

At the end of 1932, BELOV gave the British spy information about the work of Osoaviakhim with a description of the insignificant value of this organization for defense.

At the same time, in 1932, BELOV reported in detail about state of the Baltic Fleet, indicating that there were no new ships, but the construction of submarines and destroyers was underway. In addition, BELOV reported on the strategic use of the White Sea‐Baltic Canal and the prospects for the creation of the Northern Flotilla.

In the middle of 1933, BELOV transmitted data on the combat properties of the BT and T‐26 tanks, as well as the TB‐3 aircraft.

At the end of 1933, he reported on the development of airborne operations in the Red Army, on the organization of an airborne brigade and its composition, on the results of the work done on the release of landing troops in the LVO and MVO.

At the beginning of 1936, BELOV transmitted through IVANOV spy materials on the organization of tank units and on the outlines of their operational‐tactical use.

BELOV systematically transmitted to the British data on the results of the military council of the NCO; photographed and transmitted through IVANOV the orders of the NKO, which he received as the commander of the district.

At the end of 1936, BELOV conveyed to the British the results of the plenum of the Military Council of the NCO, dedicated to the action of tank units and formations. He wrote that the commanders of tank units and formations are working poorly, that these formations do not passthrough wetlands, etc.

Similar espionage work in favor of England at the direction of BELOV was carried out by: VELIKANOV, who supplied British intelligence with espionage materials in Central Asia, SAVO and

Xinjiang; SAVITSKY ‐ Chief of Staff of the Transcaucasian Military

District for Transcaucasia, especially about the Baku oil fields, the Caspian Fleet, air defense in Azerbaijan and Batum (both arrested).

In addition, BELOV informed British intelligence about the underground work carried out by the military Socialist‐Revolutionary organization, about the growth of the organization, establishing ties with other conspiratorial organizations in the Red Army and their counterintelligence activities.

5. PERTSOVSKY Z.D. , Former head of the non‐ profit organization department . Interrogated: EPISMETSKY.

In addition, he showed that, on the instructions of GAMARNIK, he was involved in an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy TSUYUSHO (head of the FD LVO), BOGOMOLETS (head of the FD UMS RKKA), EGERD (head of the FD Art Department of the Red Army) ‐ (all arrested) and KOCHETOV ‐ Art. inspector of FO NPO (not arrested).

The subversive and subversive activities of PERTSOVSKY and the participants in the conspiracy recruited by him in the field of financial work were aimed at disrupting the defense and non‐defense construction of the Red Army by issuing funds for unplanned, untold and projectless construction.

Contacting sabotage work in the building and apartment management of the Red Army, at the direction of GAMARNIK, sabotage was deployed in the border areas, also in the OKDVA and the Pacific Fleet.

In addition, the sabotage activities of PERCOVSKY were also aimed at disrupting the financing of the plan for orders for weapons and turning the work of the RKKA research institutes.

6. KOZLOVSKY, former army inspector of artillery at the headquarters of the Red Army. Interrogated: PETERS, KAPLAN.

Earlier, he confessed that since 1931 he has been a member of the conspiracy in which ARONSTAM is involved.

In addition, he testified that, having met in 1936 with the former head of the AU EFIMOV (arrested) and the former head of the AU Artbaz Olshevsky (arrested) on the issue of deployment in accordance with the directive he received from ROGOVSKY and GAMARNIK for sabotage work at the OKDVA artillery bases, he learned that this work was entrusted to EFIMOV and OLSHEVSKY on AVERIN, who was

specially sent to OKDVA for this purpose.

Returning to OKDVA and meeting there with AVERIN and DUBOVKO (both arrested), KOZLOVSKY, together with them, involved in the sabotage work of the conspiracy participants: the former chiefs 23, 85, 68 and 74 of warehouses FEOKTISTOV, SOKOLOV, GUSAKOV and MILMAN (all except MILMAN were arrested ), whom he instructed to prepare acts of sabotage at these artillery bases in wartime.

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