Tag: Great Terror*

Great Terror: execution or the camps (31 Jan ’38*, Pb 57/48)

Dealing with “Anti-Soviet Elements”. POLITBURO accepts NKVD request to increase quotas for 1st category (executions) and 2nd category (sent to camps) arrests in 22 Republics and Regions across the USSR [R: 31 January 1938, Pb 57-48]. 2 pp. ==================================== [page one of two] Return within 24 hours to the Central Committee Special Sector STRICTLY SECRET (From … Continue reading Great Terror: execution or the camps (31 Jan ’38*, Pb 57/48)

Stalin, Siberian Executions (31 Dec ’38*)

STALIN’s written permission for the Krasnoyarsk Region (Siberia) to carry out over six thousand additional “1st category arrests” (executions). Instruction in pencil on a small, plain slip of paper [R 31 December 1938]. One page. ======================= Permit Krasnoyarsk Region 6,600 additional ‘1st category’ arrests. For: Stalin, I.V. ============================== NOTES This instruction came two months after … Continue reading Stalin, Siberian Executions (31 Dec ’38*)

Kuibyshev NKVD shortcomings (31 Oct ’37*)

Letter from A. FRENKEL (Kuibyshev UNKVD) to NKVD chief YEZHOV: malfunctioning of special troika, unburied bodies of "Enemies of the People", and poor safety measures during interrogation [R: 31 October 1937]. 2 pp. ======================================= [page one of two] Comrade Yezhov! I consider it my duty to advise you of the following facts that have been made … Continue reading Kuibyshev NKVD shortcomings (31 Oct ’37*)

Concealing execution dates (25 Dec ’62*, 3265-S)

* Concealing Stalin-era execution dates KGB REPORT (Semichastny; feature photo). Change in procedures for informing relatives about prisoners’ date of execution in the Stalin era [R: 25 December 1962, 3265-S], 4 pp. =================================== [page one of three; see page four] Top Secret USSR Committee for State Security [KGB] of the USSR Council of Ministers 25 … Continue reading Concealing execution dates (25 Dec ’62*, 3265-S)

Great Terror in Gorky Region (4 Feb ’38*, No 95/III)

Encrypted telegram to STALIN and YEZHOV from YULY KAGANOVICH: a request to increase the quota for executions and arrests in the Gorky Region and extend the deadline until 20 March [R: 4 February 1938, No 95-III]. One page. ============================= [page one of one] TO BE RETURNED WITHIN 48 HOURS [Central Committee Politburo Resolution, 5 May … Continue reading Great Terror in Gorky Region (4 Feb ’38*, No 95/III)