Stalin. Waiting For ... The Truth! Exposing the Falsehoods in Stephen Kotkin's 'Stalin. Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941' [1 ed.] 9780578445533

Table of contents :
Chapter 1. Collectivization and Famine
Chapter 2. Kirov and the Kirov Murder
Chapter 3. Ordzhonikidze's death
Chapter 4. Trotsky and the Bloc
Chapter 5. First Moscow Trial
Chapter 6. Second Moscow Trial
Chapter 7. Spanish Civil War
Chapter 8. Third Moscow Trial
Chapter 9. Tukhachevsky Affair
Chapter 9a. Appendix: The "Bloodstain" Question
Chapter 10. Yezhov's Conspiracy
Chapter 11. Miscellaneous Topics
Chapter 11a. Miscellaneous Falsehoods, Continued
Chapter 12. Strategies of Misdirection
Chapter 13. Bias of Omission
Chapter 14. A Little Source Criticism by Kotkin! Why Doesn't He Do It All The Time?
Chapter 15. Conclusion

Citation preview

I

Waiting For ... The Truth

By Grover Furr

Red Star Publishers Corrected Edition April 2019

STALIN. Waiting For ... The Truth! Exposing the Falsehoods in Stephen Kotkin's Stalin. Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941 About* Collectivization* The Famine *The Kirov Murder* Leon Trotsky's Lies* The Moscow Trials* The Spanish Civil War* The Military Purges * Yezhov's Conspiracy * plus many other falsehoods. 365 pages (Corrected Edition)

First Edition: 2019 Published by Red Star Publishers PO Box 1641, Manhattanville Station 365 12Sth Street New York, NY 10027 [email protected] ©Grover Furr 2019 Published and printed with permission of the author, who assumes all responsibility for the content herein. Locally Assigned LC-type Call Number DK268.S8 F87 2019 Furr, Grover C. (Grover Carr) STALIN. Waiting For ... The Truth! Exposing the Falsehoods in Stephen Kotkin's Stalin. Waiting for Hitle~ 1929-1941 / Grover C. Furr; translations by Grover C. Furr. ISBN: 978-0-578-44553-3 365 pp. Includes index.

1. Kotkin, Stephen. Stalin. Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941. 2. Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953. 3. Soviet Union Politics and government 1917-1936. 4. Soviet Union Politics and government 1936-1953. 5. Political culture Soviet Union History. 6. Soviet Union History 1925-1953. 7. Historiography Political aspects Soviet Union History 20th century. 8. Professional ethics United States Case studies. i. Title

Table of Content s Ackn owl edgements ............................................................................................................ 4 Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................... 5 P~efac:e ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 1. Collectivization and Famine .................................................................. 31 Chapter 2. Kirov and the Kirov Murder ................................................................. 51 Chapter 3. Ordzhonikidze's death ............................................................................. 64 Chapter 4. Trotsky and the Bloc ................................................................................. 86 Chapter 5. First Moscow Trial .....................................................................................94 Chapter 6. Second Moscow Trial ............................................................................. 111 Chapter 7. Spanish Civil War ................................................................................... 124 Chapter 8. Third Moscow Trial ............................................................................... 139 Chapter 9. Tukhachevsky Affair .............................................................................. 151 Chapter 9a. Appendix: The ''Bloodstain'' Question .......................................... 197 Chapter 10. Yezhov's Conspiracy........................................................................... 201 Chapter 11. Miscellaneous Topics ......................................................................... 243 Chapter 1 la. Miscellaneous Falsehoods, Continued ...................................... 26 7 Chapter 12. Strategies of Misdirection ................................................................ 284 Chapter 13. Bias of Omission ................................................................................... 296 Chapter 14. A Little Source Criticism by Kotkin! Why Doesn't He Do It All The Time? ........................................................................................................................... 332 Chapter 15. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 3 51 l11d.ex.................................................................................................................................... 3~ 11 y eut ens uite le carn age de la Pre mie re Gue rre mon dial e, le gro upe diri gea nt bolc hev ik, Stal ine com pris , est con tre ce carn age , mai s Churchill dec lare enc ore : . Alors, pou rqu oi l'ap pro che psy cho path olog ique dan s un cas et pas dan s l'au tre? 6 Tra nsla tion : In thei r disc ussi ons phil oso phe rs like to evo ke not only hist oric al eve nts but also the cate gor ies wit h whi ch we inte rpre t thes e eve nts. Today, wha t is the cate gor y wit h whi ch Stal in is inte rpre ted? Tha t of blo odt hirs ty mad nes s. Thi s cate gor y has alre ady bee n use d aga inst Rob esp ierr e, aga inst the Rev olut ion of 184 8, aga inst the Par is Com mun e, but nev er aga inst war , or aga inst Louis XVI, or aga inst the Giro ndin s or Nap oleo n. Reg ardi ng the twe ntie th cen tury , we hav e psy cho path olog ical stud ies of Lenin, Stalin, Tro tsky ,

6

Dom enico Losu rdo, "Stal ine et le stalin isme dans l'hist oire (2)." April 12, 2012 . At http: //ww w.laf autea dider otnet /Stal ine-e t-le-s talin isme -dan s-l,8 55; also at http ://dom enico losur do.b logsp otcom /201 2/09 /il-di batti to-su ilo-s talin ismo -alla .html Losu rdo's quot ation s from Chur chill may be foun d in his book Stalin. Storia e critica di una leggenda nera. Rome: Caracci, 2008 , p. 243.

Introduction.

21

Mao, but not, for example, of Churchill. However, all of the Bolshevik leade rs spok e up again st colonial expa nsion ism, whil e Churchill wrot e: ''War is a game at whic h one shou ld smile." Then there was the carn age of the First Wor ld War. The Bolshevik leade rship grou p, inclu ding Stalin, was again st this carna ge, but Churchill said again: ''War is the grea test game in worl d histo ry, here I play with the high est stake s, war is the sole acute sens ation of our lives." So why the psyc hopa tholo gical appr oach in the one case and not in the othe r?

Khrushchev, Gorbachev, and Phony History All histo rians of the Soviet Union know that Khru shch ev and the ''hist orian s'' whos e work s he spon sored , and Gorb ache v and the ''hist orian s'' he spon sored , were lying. If they do not know that, they are utter ly inco mpet ent to do Sovi et history. The docu ment s from form er Soviet archi ves that have been publ ished since the end of the USSR perm it no othe r conclusion.

In the case of Khru shch ev's and Gorb ache v's men the word ''lie'' is comp letel y justif ied - in fact, is essen tial - beca use these peop le had all the evide nce: ever ythin g we now have that has been publ ished from form er Soviet archi ves, plus much, much more . It is hard inde ed to imag ine that Kotkin is igno rant of these basic facts. But he neve r tells his read ers abou t this. Of cour se, if he did so he woul d not be able to use disho nest Khrushchev- and Gorb ache v-era seco ndar y sour ces as his ''evidence."

Fabrications, Falsifications, and Lies It will shoc k many read ers to learn that a majo r work by a prom inen t histo rian can be, at base , a chain of untru ths, its scho larly trapp ings a demo nstra ble fraud, a trap inten ded to lure the unw ary or the hope lessl y biase d into believing falsehoods. Rightly so - we should be shoc ked and outra ged by this kind of

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historical fraudulence. Yet Stalin, Vol. Two is precisely such a book. Th at is th e inevitable conclusion of m y study. It will ap pe ar to re ad er s th at m an y of Kotkin's fact-claims ar e al m os t certainly ''lies'' in th e st ri ct sense. Th at is, th ey m us t have be en m ad e w ith conscious decision to deceive ra th er th an as th e ex pr es si on of bi as coupled w ith ignorance. At th e sa m e time m an y re ad er s will as su m e th at th e w or d ''lie'' should only be us ed w he n de lib er at e di sh on es ty by a w ri te r can be clearly de m on st ra te d. For this re as on I am re lu ct an t to have re co ur se to th e w or d ''lie." In all cases w he re de lib er at e in te nt to deceive ca nn ot be clearly de m on st ra te d by th e evidence I us e an ot he r te rm su ch as ''fabrication'' or ''falsification'' th at co nn ot es so m et hi ng m ad e up, no t co nt ai ne d in an y of th e evidence cited. As I have w ri tte n elsewhere,

[I]t is ea sy to underestimate the po w er of a wellestablished, pr iv ile ge d pr ec on ce iv ed framework of analysis on th e m in ds of an y researcher w ho is hi m se lf seriously biased. Th e pressures, bo th psychological an d academic, to re ac h a conclusion acceptable to leading figures in the field of So vi et history, as w el l as to officials in R us si a w ho control access to archives, ar e considerable indeed. Consequently, the disadvantages, professionally an d otherwise, of reaching a conclusion that, no matter ho w w el l demonstrated, will be displeasing to po w er fu l forces in th e archival, political, an d academic communities, are clear to anyone w ho is familiar w ith the hi gh ly po lit ic iz ed nature of the field of So vi et an d indeed of all of co m m un is t history. (Furr, K ir ov 7) Accordingly I co ns id er th e w or d ''lie'' to be ap pr op ri at e only w he n th e evidence clearly shows th at Kotkin ha s m ad e a st at em en t in flagrant di sr eg ar d for th e tru th , such as a st at em en t th at is no t su pp or te d in th e so ur ce Kotkin cites in su pp or t of it or is even co nt ra di ct ed by th at source. Yet ev en in such cases w e sh ou ld no t

Introduction.

23

rule out the pow er of a preco nceiv ed fram ewor k plus a stron g bias to ''blind'' a non- objec tive histo rian like Kotkin to evide nce and conc lusio ns that are incom patib le with the ASP.

Objectivity and the Truth It is a comm onpl ace toda y that Stalin comm itted mass murd ers and gros s atroc ities. This belie f is like the notio ns, almo st univ ersal befo re the 20th cent ury (and by no mean s dead even toda y) that wom en and non- whit es are ''inte llectu ally inferior." Thos e notio ns were ''com mon sense ," take n for gran ted by almo st ever y ''whi te'' male of Euro pean ance stry, inclu ding scien tists. They were ques tione d by few, firmly rejec ted by fewe r still. Yet they were neve r true. They were (and are) avidl y prom oted beca use they serv ed (and , in some circles, still serve ) defin ite polit ical and econ omic inter ests.

An objec tive stud y of the evide nce now avail able show s that, wha t I call ''the Anti-Stalin cont rary to ''wha t ever ybod y know s'' none of the mass murd ers, atroc ities, and othe r Para digm '' crim es alleg ed again st Stalin can be verif ied by the evide nce. Not one of them ! On the cont rary: the evide nce now avail able prov es that Stalin was not guilty of even a single one of the crimes Kotkin is

eager to arraign him for. Beca use this conc lusio n will shoc k man y read ers, the evide nce supp ortin g it must be more fully expo unde d than is norm ally the case in histo rical studi es. After all, a majo r conc lusio n of this book is that, on any impo rtant matt er, the fact-claims even of reno wned acce pted as true. histo rians shou ld neve r be simp ly ''beli eved '' Inste ad they mus t be verified. Why, then , shou ld any read er acce pt name ly, that some state men t in the fact-claims in this book when the same book cauti ons them not Stalin, Vol. Two is false to belie ve Kotkin? wher e nece ssary Accordingly, the footn otes, refer ence s, and the prim ary docu ment s essen tial for any read er to chec k my conc lusio ns, are repro duce d here. This adds to the leng th of this

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stu dy . Bu t th er e is no ot he r wa y to do cu m en t su ch a tra ve sty of hi sto ric al sc ho lar sh ip as Stalin, Vol. Two pr es en ts us with. Th e aim of th e pr es en t stu dy is to ex am in e th e allegations by Kotkin ag ai ns t Stalin. Although at m an y po in ts Stalin, Vol. Two re ad s so m et hi ng like a ''p ro se cu to r's br ie f' ag ai ns t Stalin an d th e USSR, th e pr es en t stu dy is fu nd am en tal ly di ffe re nt My bo ok is no t a ''d ef en se at to rn ey 's brief." It is no t an at te m pt to pr ov e ei th er gu ilt or innocence. Rather, it is an at te m pt to find th e tru th . I ha ve tri ed ha rd to do w ha t an in ve sti ga to r do es in th e ca se of a

cr im e in wh ich he ha s no bias, no pa rti pris, bu t on ly wi sh es to solve th e crime. This is w ha t all hi sto ria ns ar e su pp os ed to do, an d wh at m os t hi sto ria ns wh o in ve sti ga te th e m or e di sta nt pa st do all th e time. I wi sh to pe rs ua de th e fair-minded, objective re ad er th at I ha ve ca rri ed ou t a co m pe ten t, ho ne st investigation. Namely, th at I ha ve do ne th e following:

* collected all th e evidence th at Kotkin ha s cited to pr ov e his

allegations ag ai ns t Stalin, an d also an y ''negative'' ev id en ce th at co nt es ts th os e allegations;

* stu di ed all th is evidence carefully an d honestly; * dr aw n m y conclusions on th e ba sis of th at evidence. Political pr eju di ce pr ed om in at es in th e stu dy of co m m un ism an d in pa rti cu la r of So vi et history. Conclusions th at co nt ra di ct th e do m in an t Anti-Stalin Pa ra di gm ar e ro ut in el y ig no re d or dismissed. Conclusions th at ca st do ub t up on ac cu sa tio ns ag ain st Stalin or wh os e im pl ica tio ns te nd to m ak e hi m lo ok ei th er ''good'' or ju st less ''evil'' th an th e pr ed om in an t pa ra di gm ho ld s hi m to ha ve be en , ar e called ''S tal in ist '' Any objective stu dy of th e evidence no w available is bo un d to be called ''Stalinist'' sim pl y be ca us e it m us t re ac h co nc lu sio ns th at ar e politically un ac ce pt ab le to th os e wh o ha ve a str on g an tic om m un ist bias, th os e wh o ar e in th ra ll to th e false ''Anti-Stalin Paradigm."

Introduction.

25

I wish to pers uade the objective read er that I have reach ed my conclusions on the basis of evidence and its analysis and not on any othe r basis such as political bias. My aim is neith er to arrai gn or ''convict'' Kotkin nor to ''defend'' Stalin. I assu re the read er that I rema in read y to be convinced that Stalin et al. did comm it the atrocities alleged by Kotkin if and when evidence is disclosed that supp orts that conclusion and that evidence can with stand the scholarly scrut iny to which all evidence shou ld be subject.

Evidence Before proc eedin g to stud y the relev ant evidence we mus t briefly cons ider the ques tion of evidence itself. Whe reas ''documents'' are in our case, writi ng on pape r ''evidence'' is a mate rial objects relational concept. In the pres ent stud y we are conc erne d with investigating Kotkin's allegations in Stalin, Vol. Two of criminal, atrocious activity by Stalin. Ther e is no such thing as ''absolute'' evidence. All evidence can be faked. This poin t can hard ly be over stres sed since many people, including historians, believe that confessions of perso ns unde r arres t can be more read ily faked than othe r kind s of evidence. But a confession of guilt, a denial of this is not so. Any state men t guilt, a claim that one has been tortu red, a claim that one has not may be true or false, an attem pt to been coerced in any way state the truth as the spea ker (or write r) reme mbe rs it or a delib erate lie. Documents can be forged and, in the case of Soviet history, often have been. False docu ment s have on occasion been inser ted into archives in orde r to be ''discovered." Or it may be alleged that a given docu ment was found in an archive whe n it was not. Phot ogra phs can be faked. Eyewitnesses can lie, and in any case eyew itnes ses are so often in erro r that such evidence is 7 In princ iple there can be no such kind. ble relia amon g the least

I write these lines a New York Times article relates a strikin g example of flagrant inaccuracies in eyewi tness accounts and cites one of the forem ost expert s on this subject, Profes sor Elizabeth Loftus. "Witness Accounts in Midtown Hamm er Attack Show the Power of False Memory," at https: //nyti. ms/lbT ghAm

7 As

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thin g as a ''smoking gun'' evidence tha t is so clearly genuine and pow erfu l tha t it can not be inte rpre ted in mor e than one way.

The Primary Importance of Objectivity Identifying, locating, gathering, studying, and inte rpre ting evidence are skills tha t can be taug ht to anyone. The mo st difficult and rare st skill in historical rese arch is the discipline of objectivity. In ord er to reac h true conclusions stat eme nts tha t are mor e trut hfu l than oth er possible stat eme nts abo ut a given historical eve nt a rese arch er mus t first que stio n and sub ject to dou bt any preconceived ideas she may hold abo ut the eve nt und er investigation. It is one 's own preconceived ideas and prejudices tha t are mo st likely to swa y one into a subjective, inac cura te inte rpre tati on of the evidence. Therefore, the rese arch er mu st take special step s to make cert ain this doe s not happen. This can be done. The techniques are kno wn and widely prac tice d in the physical and social sciences. They can and mu st be ada pted to historical rese arch as well. If such tech niq ues are not prac tice d the hist oria n will inevitably be seriously swa yed from an objective und erst and ing of the evidence by her own pre-existing pref eren ces and biases. Tha t will all but gua ran tee tha t her conclusions are false even if she is in possession of the bes t evidence and all the skills nec essa ry to analyze it. Nowhere is a devotion to objectivity mor e essential or less in evidence than in the field of Soviet hist ory of the Stalin period. As it is impossible to discover the trut h abs ent a dedication to objectivity, the pre sen t stud y stri ves to be objective at all costs. Its conclusions will displease, even outrage, a good man y per son s who are ded icat ed not to objectivity and the trut h but to pro mot ing som e anti com mun ist nar rati ve or to defending the Cold Wa r-an tico mm unis t para digm of Soviet and Eur ope an history.

The Role of Appropriate Skepticism Thr oug hou t this essa y I have trie d to anticipate the objections of a skeptical critic. This is no mor e than any careful, objective

Introduction.

27

rese arch er sho uld do. In the bod y of the essa y I follow eac h pre sen tati on of evidence wit h a critical examination.

''Propaganda With Footnotes'' I hav e taug ht American hist ory for 27 yea rs at a university, and I ope n eve ry class wit h a stan dar d lect ure tha t focuses on the thre e kinds of history: wha t actually hap pen ed, wha t we are told hap pen ed and wha t we come to believe hap pen ed. This is imp orta nt bec aus e we live in a wor ld in whi ch wha t peo ple believe hap pen ed is all tha t mat ters , and tryi ng to get to the facts sad ly app ears less relevant. Pro fess or Step hen D. Engle, historian, Florida 8 ity Inte rnat iona l Univers ~

Scholarship is the atte mp t to asc erta in the trut h. Arg ume nts tha t pro cee d not from an objective sea rch for trut h but from som e oth er motive, suc h as an atte mp t to atta ck or defe nd som e specific allegation or historical para digm , may fairly be labe led ''propaganda." When acc omp anie d by the trap ping s of sch olar ship - references, bibliography, frau dul ent assu ran ces of obj ect ivit ysuc h wri ting in reality con stitu tes not sch olar ship but ''pro pag and a wit h footnotes." It is the conclusion of the pre sen t stud y tha t Stalin, Vol. Two is prec isel y suc h a wor k.

Method of Presentation The pre sen t boo k take s upo n itse lf the task of examining and checking eve ry stat eme nt in Stalin, Vol. Two tha t has an anti-Stalin tendency, and rep orti ng the resu lts of this rese arch of verification. It pre sen ts for the read er's con side rati on the pro of tha t eve ry factclaim of an anti-Stalin tend enc y in Kotkin's boo k is false.

8

Lette r to the Editor, The New York Times. Nove mber 3, 2017 , A30.

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Most pe op le re ly up on th e st at em en ts by su pp os ed ly ''a ut ho rit at iv e'' figures su ch as Kotkin. Th ey tr us t th at sc ho la rs from re sp ec te d in st itu tio ns of learning, w ith re no w ne d academic re pu ta tio ns , do no t falsify im po rt an t historical events. It is th is tr us t th at en ab le s false sc ho la rs hi p to sh ap e op in io n on im po rt an t hi st or ic al qu es tio ns .

It is no ex ag ge ra tio n to st at e th at , as co nc er ns Stalin an d th er ef or e, fo r th e m os t pa rt, Soviet hi st or y of th e 19 30 s, Kotkin's Stalin, Vol. Two is a w or k of falsification fr om be gi nn in g to end. I ha ve es ta bl is he d th at th is is so th ro ug h an ex ha us tiv e pr oc es s of checking ev er y footnote, ev er y re fe re nc e th at Kotkin cites in su pp or t of an y fact-claim or st at em en t of an anti-Stalin te nd en cy .

T h e ''Big Lie'' Technique A no rm al pr ac tic e for th os e w ho in te nd to deceive ot he rs is to m ai nl y tell th e tru th , an d sm ug gl e in th e falsehoods in te rm in gl ed am on g th e tr ue st at em en ts . B ut on th e historical is su es st ud ie d an d an al yz ed in th e pr es en t bo ok Kotkin em pl oy s a di ff er en t m et ho d: th at of ''The Big Lie." Though it is os te ns ib ly no t a w or k of pr op ag an da Kotkin's bo ok follows th e te ch ni qu e of pr op ag an da re co m m en de d by Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf, su ch as th e following: The function of pr op ag an da is, for example, no t to w ei gh an d po nd er th e rig ht s of di ff er en t people, bu t exclusively to em ph as iz e th e on e rig ht w hi ch it ha s se t ou t to ar gu e for. It s ta sk is no t to m ak e an ob je ct iv e st ud y of th e tr ut h, in so fa r as it fa vo rs th e en em y, an d th en se t it be fo re th e m as se s w ith ac ad em ic fa ir ne ss ; its ta sk is to se rv e ou r ow n ri gh t, al w ay s an d un fl in ch in gl y. 9

9

Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf. Volume One: A Reckoning. Chapter VI: War Propaganda . At http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/mkv1ch06.html

Intro duct ion

29

The ''Big Lie'' was not original wit h Hitler. He lear ned of it by stud ying the anti -Ge rma n pro pag and a put out by the We ster n Allies dur ing the Firs t Wo rld War. After tha t war a num ber of boo ks wer e wri tten , ofte n by sho cke d and dec eive d jour nali sts, 10 exp osin g thes e Allied falsifications. Thus ther e was no nee d for Kotkin to lear n the ''Big Lie'' tech niq ue from Hitler. Tha t Kotkin doe s utilize this tech niqu e is bey ond question. The pre sen t boo k esta blis hes this fact by carefully checking eve ry one of the refe renc es Kotkin use s to sup por t his anti-Stalin fact-claims. Kotkin mak es no atte mp t at objectivity. Indeed, his anti-Stalin hos tilit y at tim es boils ove r in pas sag es of hea ted rhet oric , ferv ent moralizing, and mor al con dem nati on tha t serv e no analytical pur pos e. Yet objectivity is first amo ng the req uire men ts of any hist oria n wor thy of the nam e. If one doe s not stri ve for objectivity from the out set of one 's stud y one will nev er disc ove r the trut h. The trut h was nev er Kotkin's goal in the firs t place. Hitler also succinctly exp lain ed why the ''Big Lie'' tech niqu e is so effective: In this they [skilled liar s - GF] pro cee ded on the sou nd prin cipl e tha t the mag nitu de of a lie always con tain s a cert ain factor of credibility, since the gre at mas ses of the peo ple in the ver y bot tom of thei r hea rts tend to be cor rup ted rath er than consciously and pur pos ely evil, and that , the refore, in view of the prim itiv e simplicity of thei r min ds they mor e easily fall a victim to a big lie than to a little one, sinc e they them selv es lie in little things, but wou ld be ash ame d of lies tha t wer e too big. Such a falsehood will nev er ent er thei r hea ds and they will not be able to believe in the pos sibi lity of suc h mon stro us effr onte ry and infa mou s mis rep rese ntat ion in othe rs; yes, eve n whe n enli ghte ned on the subject, they will long dou bt and

One famous example is Arth ur PonsonbyJ Falsehood in War-Time (1929). It is available online. See https ://en .wiki pedia .org/ wiki/ False hood _in_W ar-Ti me 10

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waver, and continue to acc ept at lea st one of the se causes as true. Therefore, som eth ing of even the mo st insolent lie will always rem ain and stick a fact which all the gre at lie-virtuosi and lying-clubs in this wo rld know only too well and also make the mo st tre ach ero us use of. 11 A full pro fes sor of his tor y at Princeton University, publishing wit h a ma jor American commercial publisher, can rel y on ''credibility''

- the only coin in the pro pag and ist' s purse. The pre sen t stu dy sho ws this coin to be counterfeit. In this book all boldface em pha ses are by me, unless oth erw ise noted.

11

Ibid, Chapter X: Causes of the Collapse. At http ://w ww .hitl er.o rg/w ritin gs/M ein_ Kam pf/mk v1c h10 .htm l

C ha pt er 1. Collectivization an d Fa m in e Like oth er ideologically ant ico mm uni st wr ite rs Kotkin ins ists tha t the Soviet famine of 193 2-3 3 wa s cau sed by Stalin in som e ma nn er tha t ma kes Stalin per son all y res pon sib le for all the dea ths and suffering tha t res ult ed. Bu t Kotkin cites no evidence tha t Stalin's policies or act ion s cau sed the famine. Re sea rch ers hav e given the following cau ses for the famine:

* Ukrainian nationalists claim tha t Stalin deliberately cau sed the

famine in ord er to pun ish Ukrainians for the ir nationalism. This exp lan atio n gai ned som e not ori ety in the we st thr oug h Ro ber t Conquest's 198 6 boo k Harvest of Sorrow, and has since bee n 1 rev ive d by Anne Ap ple bau m's Red Famine. Like all oth er res ear che rs Kotkin rejects thi s ''de lib era te famine'' hyp oth esi s. 2 Even Co nqu est ult im ate ly ret rac ted it.

* Th e famine wa s cau sed by dis rup tio ns in agriculture cau sed by collectivization. Kotkin, wh o has no sym pat hy collectivization, cites it as one cau se of the famine.

wit h

* Th e famine wa s cau sed by the pro gra m of rap id ind ust ria liza tio n.

Kotkin ass um es tha t thi s wa s ano the r cause.

* The famine wa s due to env iro nm ent al causes tha t peasants, local

to w slo re we lin, Sta ing lud inc nt, me ern gov iet Sov the and ls, icia off recognize. This hyp oth esi s has bee n set forth by Pro fes sor Mark Ta uge r of We st Virginia University in ma ny res ear ch articles and . tes tno foo in y onl n the and it, ons nti me ely bar tkin Ko hs. rap nog mo Yet thi s exp lan atio n is the only one tha t is sup por ted by evidence.

See Mark Tau ger' s revi ew of App leba um' s boo k on the Hist ory News Network, July 1, 2018, at http s://h isto ryne wsn etw ork. org/ arti cle/ 169 438 2 See the Con que st quo tatio n and the sour ces for it in Furr , Blood Lies 4 7.

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Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr uth

''Stalin's Famine''? Kotkin repeatedly blames Stalin for the famine: St al in 's Fa m in e (subtitle, 12 7) St al in 's fa m in e, involving ex tir pa tio n of capitalism an d de no m ad iza tio n, wa s in co m pa ra bl y wo rse . (1 27 ) All of th es e actions we re woefully insufficient for avoiding th e m as s st ar va tio n in th e co un try si de ca us ed by hi s po lic ie s, in th e face of challenging na tu ra l conditions. (128-9)

On ce St al in ha d ca us ed th e ho rr or , ev en co m pl ete te rm in at io n of ex po rts wo ul d no t have be en en ou gh to pr ev en t famine. (129) St al in ha d ca us ed a do m es tic ca la m ity an d re nd er ed th e Soviet Union vu ln er ab le in th e face of Ja pa n's ex pa ns io ni sm ... (1 29 ) M ar xi st im pe ra tiv es of tra ns ce nd in g ca pi ta lis m co m bi ne d wi th in or di na te wi llp ow er br ou gh t apocalypse. (1 91 ) Failing to cite an y evidence th at Stalin ha d ca us ed th e famine, Kotkin accuses Stalin of bl am in g th e pe as an ts for it. Many co nt em po ra rie s, su ch as th e Italian am ba ss ad or , wh o tra ve le d th ro ug h Ukraine in su m m er 1933, de em ed th e famine de lib er ate . 471 Monstrously, Stalin hi m se lf m ad e th e sa m e ac cu sa tio n accusing pe as an ts of no t wa nt in g to work. 472 (1 28 ) Kotkin's no te 47 2 is to an article by Michael Ellman. Bu t th er e Ellman on ly sta te s th at, ac co rd in g to a do ct or in Kiev province, ''le ad er s an d rank-and-file wo rk er s'' - no t Stalin -- we re bl am in g pe as an ts wh o did no t w an t to w or k for th ei r ow n sta rv ati on . Ellman no te s th at, in a le tte r to Soviet wr ite r Mikhail Sholokhov,

Ch apt er One. Collectivization and Famine

33

y reb the rk, wo to ed us ref d ha nts asa pe me so t tha Stalin sai d thr ea ten ing to sta rve ur ba n wo rk ers an d the Red Army. In thi s sa me art icl e Ellman sta tes : Stalin's ide a tha t he ha d faced a pe as an t str ike wa s no t an ab su rd no tio n ind ica tin g pa ran oia . It se em s th at th er e rea lly we re nu me ro us co lle cti ve ref us als by co lle cti ve fa rm er s to wo rk fo r th e co lle cti ve far ms in 19 32 ; se e Ko nd ras hin & Pe nn er, Golod, ch ap ter 3. (Ellman, no te 9, p. 837.) , sed rai y he ''T led tit is ok bo r ne en -P hin ras nd Ko the of 3 Ch ap ter bu t the y did no t harvest." So Stalin's sta tem en t wa s no t ''m on str ou s'' aft er all! Kotkin, wh o t no ll wi rs de rea n's tki Ko t Bu s. thi s ow kn e, icl art n's ma ha s rea d Ell kn ow it - an d Kotkin do es no t tell the m. s me bla n tki Ko n tio fic '' ine fam e rat be eli ''d the ng In dis mi ssi collectivization for the famine: 474 It l. na tio en Nonetheless, the famine wa s no t int res ult ed from Stalin's policies of forced collectivization-dekulakization, as we ll as the pitiless an d inc om pe ten t ma na ge me nt of the so wi ng an d pr oc ur em en t campaigns, all of wh ich pu t the co un try on a knife-edge, highly su sce pti ble to dr ou gh t an d 75 4 ns. rai l tia su dd en tor ren : ite wr o wh t, rof atc he W d an s vie Da s ote qu n tki Ko 4 7 4 Bu t in no te We reg ard the policy of rap id ind us tri ali sat ion as an un de rly ing ca us e of the ag ric ult ura l tro ub les of the ea rly 19 30 s, an d we do no t believe tha t the Chinese or NEP ve rsi on s of ind us tri ali sat ion we re viable in Soviet na tio na l an d int ern ati on al cir cu ms tan ce s. at th im cla n's tki Ko for t or pp su no ers off n tio This qu ota t ou ing rul in , ary ntr co the On . ine fam the ed us ca on ati viz cti colle

34

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

th e ot he r pa th s to w ar ds in du st ri al iz at io n, it ap pe ar s to ta ci tl y en do rs e th e So vi et pr og ra m . 3 Kotkin: [Stalin] tw ic e de lu de d hi m se lf pa rt ly fr om false re po rt in g by fr ig ht en ed St at is tic ia ns4 [my note, GF], pa rt ly fr om his ow n magical th in ki ng th at th e co un tr y w as on th e ve rg e of a re co ve ry ha rv es t. (1 28 ) This is no t ju st a ''c he ap sh ot ''; it is false as well. A go od ha rv es t fo r 19 32 w as no t a pr od uc t of an y ''magical th in ki ng '' of St al in 's it w as w ha t ag ri cu lt ur al ex pe rt s pr ed ic te d. T au ge r w ri te s: T he fa ct th at ru st w as difficult fo r no ns pe ci al is ts to de te ct he lp s to ex pl ai n th e nu m er ou s cl ai m s in m em oi rs an d te st im on ie s of a go od 19 32 ha rv es t. So vi et ag ro no m ic li te ra tu re an d ot he r pu bl is he d an d ar ch iv al so ur ce s fr om th e 19 30 s, ho w ev er , w hi ch no pr ev io us sc ho la rs hi p on th e fa m in e ha s di sc us se d, in di ca te th at in 19 32 So vi et cr op s su ff er ed fr om an

ex tr ao rd in ar il y se ve re co m bi na ti on o f in fe st at io ns fr om cr op di se as es an d pe st s. D ur in g th ei r tr av el s in su m m er 19 32 , C ai rn s an d Sc hi ll er ob se rv ed w id es pr ea d ru st in fe st at io ns an d sp ok e w it h So vi et ag ro no m is ts w ho co nf ir m ed th es e im pr es si on s in Ukraine, in th e N or th C au ca su s (i nc lu di ng th e la rg e so vk ho zy V er bl ud an d Gigant), B el or us si a, th e C en tr al B la ck ea rt h ob la st ', an d th e Volga re gi on . The So vi et ag ri cu lt ur al ne w sp ap er ev en ac kn ow le dg ed m aj or ru st in fe st at io ns , th ou gh w it ho ut

3

As we shall see, Ta ug er disagrees wi th Davies an d W he atc ro ft here. 4 Kotkin cites no evidence of an y "frightened statisticians." Evidently he ha s

imagined them.

Cha pter One. Collectivization and Fam ine

35

exp lain ing in any detail the ir ext ent and con seq uen ces . Th e fact tha t rus t wa s difficult for non spe cia list s to det ect hel ps to explain the num ero us claims in me mo irs and tes tim oni es of a goo d 193 2 har ves t. Fam ine sur viv ors in the Volga reg ion wh om the Ru ssi an his tor ian Viktor Ko ndr ash in int erv iew ed, how eve r, rem em ber ed tha t in the 193 2 har ves t the ear s we re som eho w ''empty,'' the cha rac ter isti c one wo uld exp ect from rus ted grain. No net hel ess agr ono mi sts and oth er per son nel in central offices and local bra nch es of NKZ det ect ed the inf est atio n and ma de eff ort s to sur vey it and com bat it. Th eir inv est iga tio ns fou nd tha t rus t ha d bec om e the mo st wi del y dis trib ute d dis eas e an d cau sed the mo st ha rm to agr icu ltu re in Uk rai ne an d in the Soviet Un ion gen era lly . One stu dy found tha t bro wn rus t of wh eat ser iou sly aff ect ed cro ps in the No rth Caucasus and Ukraine in 193 2, wh ere it des tro yed up to 70 per cen t of the har ves t in som e regions, esp eci ally nea r rivers, red uce d the we igh t of gra in 404 7 per cen t and the nu mb er of see ds in ear s by 20- 29 per cen t. Wh eat sow ing s had ser iou s rus t inf est atio ns in all the gra in reg ion s of the USSR in 193 2, and rus t red uce d the wh eat har ves t in the No rth Caucasus by 50 per cen t. Th ese los ses hel p explain wh y the famine 5 wa s so sev ere in tha t region. Kotkin cite s thi s ver y stu dy in his bib lio gra phy (11 11) . So he knows his ''magical thinking'' sta tem ent is false. Bu t he pu t it in r ilia fam be to ng goi are s der rea 's tkin Ko of ny ma w Ho y. wa any wit h Tau ger 's stu dy and rea lize tha t the re we re ''nu me rou s claims in me mo irs and tes tim oni es of a goo d 193 2 har ves t''? Mark Tau ger, Natural Disaster and Human Action in the Soviet Famine of 1931-1933, Carl Beck Papers No. 150 6. Pittsburgh, PA., 200 1, pp. 12-1 5.

5

36

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

Kotkin as se rt s:

Once S ta li n h ad ca u se d th e h o rr o r, ev en co m pl et e

te rm in at io n of ex po rt s w ou ld n o t ha ve be en en ou gh to pr ev en t famine. (1 29 ) T he n Kotkin st at es : T he re gi m e ha d no st ra te gi c gr ai n re se rv es left, ha vi ng re le as ed th em . 485 (1 29 ) Note 48 5 (9 42 ) is to Davies et al., ''Stalin, Grain Stocks, an d th e F am in e o f 19 32 -3 3, " 653. T he re w e re ad : Only m or e ag gr es si ve pu rc ha se s of food ab ro ad an d op en ap pe al s for in te rn at io na l as si st an ce co ul d ha ve av er te d m an y (a nd pe rh ap s m os t) of th e de at hs . B ut on pa ge s 12 8- 9 Kotkin h ad al re ad y w ri tt en : Always grudgingly, S ta li n ap p ro v ed , an d in so m e

ca se s in it ia te d , re d u ct io n s in g ra in ex p o rt s, be gi nn in g al re ad y in S ep te m be r 19 31 ; in 1 9 3 2 an d 1 9 3 3 he si gn ed re du ce d gr ai n collection qu ot as for

Ukraine, th e N or th Caucasus, th e Volga valley, Crimea, th e Urals, th e C en tr al Black Earth re gi on , th e Kazakh au to no m ou s re pu bl ic , an d E as te rn S ib er ia o n ni ne oc ca si on s. 476 T he 19 33 gr ai n pr oc ur em en t ta rg et fell fr om 24.3 to 19 .6 m il li on to ns ; th e ac tu al am ou nt co ll ec te d w ou ld be ar ou nd 18 .5 m il li on to ns . 477, 4 1a

A lt o g et h er , th e re g im e re tu rn ed ab o u t 5. 7 m il li o n to n s o f g ra in b ac k to ag ri cu lt u re , in cl ud in g 2 million to ns from re se rv es an d 3.5 m il li on fr om pr oc ur em en ts .

So Kotkin ad m it s th at S ta li n re du ce d gr ai n ex po rt s an d gr ai n co ll ec ti on qu ot as ! B ut w hy ''a lw ay s gr ud gi ng ly ''? F or on e thing, be ca us e th e cities w er e st ar vi ng to o:

37

Ch apt er One. Collectivization and Famine

Stalin also ap pro ve d cla nd est ine pu rch ase of gra in an d 479 livestock ab ro ad us ing sca rce ha rd currency. Ju st be tw ee n Fe bru ary an d July 1933, he sig ne d or co un ten an ce d ne arl y thr ee do ze n small allocations of food aid to the co un try sid e, pri ma ril y to the North Caucasus an d Ukraine, as well as the Kazakh lan ds (which ne ce ssi tat ed sh arp red uc tio ns in the br ea d rat ion s for city dwellers, ma ny of wh om we re pu t on the br ink of sta rva tio n). (12 8) Bu t wh at ab ou t Davies an d W he atc rof t's claim tha t the Soviets ''could ha ve av oid ed ma ny (an d pe rh ap s mo st) de ath s'' by ''m ore for als pe ap en op d an ad ro ab d foo of s ase rch pu ve aggressi the t tha s ue arg dy stu 16 20 A ''? ce an ist ass al on ati ern int im po rta tio n of mo re foodstuffs wa s im po ssi ble by 19 33 : B OTJIHt.JHe OT 19 31 -19 32 rr.,

KOr~a y roc yAa pC TB a ell\ e

6bI Jia B03MO:>KHOCTb HM OO pTH poB aTb 3ep HO , BO BTO pO M KB apT aJi e 19 33 r. HM ilO pT 6hI JI HeB 03M O:> KeH .

In co ntr as t to 19 31 -19 32 , wh en the sta te still ha d the op po rtu nit y to im po rt grain, in the sec on d qu art er of 19 33 , im po rts we re impossible. TIHK BaJ JIO TH oro Kp H3 Hc a B nep BO H rro noB HH e 'Ae JiaJ I HM nop T npo ,&o BO JihC TBH .H a

CCCP

19 33 r.

HeB o3M O:> KH hIM .

The pe ak of the economic crisis in the fir st ha lf of 19 33 ma de the im po rt of food in[to] the USSR 6 impossible. a in d rie bu is on ssi mi ad his h ug tho s thi ts mi ad f sel him Kotkin long foo tno te on pa ge 942: Ins tea d of an an tic ipa ted 5.4 26 billion gold rub les of rev en ue from all ex po rts (grain, timber, oil) ov er the

the of t tex Con the in 0s 193 ly ear in ort Exp ps Cro eal Cer V. A. n hki Bas N., N. Naz are nko (In . 119 , 115 pp. 0; -12 105 6, 201 3, no sii, Ros riia /sto aia eish Nov , 933 2-1 193 Fam ine of Russian)

6

38

Stalin: Waiting for ... Th e Tr uth

co ur se of th e Five-Year Plan, th e So vi ets m an ag ed to br in g in 3. 28 3 billion. In du str y wa s sh or t 1. 87 3 mi lli on ru bl es , in clu di ng 83 2 mi lli on ju st in 19 32 . Th e

Soviets ra n ou t of co nv er tib le cu rr en cy ev en fo r pu rc ha se s of fo re ig n m ili ta ry technology. Kotkin wr ite s:

St al in ha d ca us ed a do m es tic ca la m ity an d re nd er ed th e So vi et Un io n vu ln er ab le in th e face of Ja pa n's ex pa ns io ni sm , wh ile co nt rib ut in g sig ni fic an tly to th e as ce nt in Ge rm an y of Hitler, wh o th re at en ed ex pa ns io ni sm , an d pr ov ok in g bl ist er in g in te rn al cr iti qu es . 486 (1 29 )

A se rio us ac cu sa tio n! But Ko tk in gi ve s no ev id en ce th at St ali n

''c au se d'' th e famine, an d cit es no re fe re nc e to cr op fa ilu re s or to an y en vi ro nm en ta l ca us es . No te 48 6 re ad s (in pa rt) : ... Davies, rig ht ly , di sc ou nt s mi lit ar iza tio n an d in ste ad bl am es ab su rd pl an ta rg et s. Davies, Crisis an d Pr og re ss , 176ff; Davies, ' So vi et De fe nc e In du str ies ,'' 26 6. (9 42 ) 1

Th is is sim pl y false. Davies, Crisis an d Progress, do es no t sta te an yt hi ng lik e this, ei th er on pp . 17 6 ff. or an yw he re else. 7 Davies do es sta te this, at pp . 14 6 .. 7:

... we do no t kn ow w he th er Ku ib ys he v an d Or dz ho ni ki dz e co ns ist en tly ad vo ca te d m or e re ali sti c pl an s in th e co ur se of 19 32 . An d it is by no m ea ns

ce rta in th at th ey w er e op po se d by St al in an d Molotov; so m e ev id en ce sh ow s th at St al in an d Molotov w er e al so pr ep ar ed to ac ce pt re du ct io ns in th e pl an s (s ee p. 12 4) .

7

Davies, ,.Soviet Defence Industries," is an "unpublished discussion pap er" from 198 7 (1078), far too old to be useful today. If Davies had kep t to tha t view, he wo uld have rep eat ed it elsewhere.

Ch apt er One. Collectivization and Fam ine

39

for n pla the e uc red to g llin wi s wa lin Sta t tha ate rel 3-4 Pa ge s 12 pig -ir on in the Se co nd Five-Year Plan.

33 19 . pt Se t no , 34 19 . pt Se in h vic no ga Ka to in Stal Kotkin: Re so lut e in ex tre mi s, Stalin or de red the for ce d ret ur n of pe as an t esc ap ee s, th e bla ck lis tin g of en tir e co un tie s (th ey wo ul d su ffe r th e hig he st mo rta lit y) , an d the ba nn ing of fishing in sta te wa ter s or ev en pri va te ch ari ty an yth ing th at wo uld have ma de it 489 Th e OGPU arr es ted po ssi ble to av oid the collectives. 50 5,0 00 pe op le in 1933, as co mp are d wi th 41 0,0 00 490 (13 0) e. for be the ye ar

Note 48 9 (94 2) rea ds : 489. W he n Kaganovich de mo ns tra ted a bit of len ien cy tow ard pro cu rem en ts in Uk rai ne in Sept. 19 33 , Stalin reb uk ed him. Khlevniuk et al., Stalin i Kaganovich, 47 9 (RGASPI, f. 558, op . 11 , d. 85 , I. 44 -5 ), 47 9- 80 (f. 81, op. 3, d. 10 0, 1. 76 -82 ). h vic no ga Ka to lin Sta the t Bu re. he 33 19 t ou ab ng iti wr is n tki Ko lin Sta ! 34 19 er, mb pte Se in er, lat ar ye a ted da is re he es let ter he cit , 34 19 er mb pte Se in ted da s ter let o tw ins nta co 9 47 h vic i Kagano 8 no t 19 33 . And the famine wa s ba sic all y ov er by Se pte mb er, 19 33 .

y'' lit rta mo st he hig e ''th t ou ab re he e nc ide ev y an re the is r No being in the ''b lac kli ste d counties.'' Ko tki n ha s eit he r fabricated s ha t tha e urc so er oth me so m fro it d pie co or lf se him this factoid 9 . up made it

is kin Kot by e tak mis a is this e cas in t jus kboo e sam the in 479 No. e) pag t (no nt ume Doc a lett er dated Au gus t 21. 193 4 about the reorganization of the People's Commissariat for Army and Navy.

8

40

Stalin: Waiting for ... Th e Tr ut h

Kotkin: T he pe as an ts , in th ei r la nd hu ng er an d se pa ra te re vo lu tio n, ha d m ad e po ss ib le th e ad ve nt of a B ol sh ev ik re gi m e in 19 17 -1 8; no w enslaved, th e pe as an ts sa ve d St al in 's ru le . 49 5 (130) K ot ki n do es no t ci te an y ev id en ce to su pp or t hi s ou tr ag eo us co nt en ti on th at pe as an ts in co lle ct iv e fa rm s w er e ''s la ve s'' be ca us e, of co ur se , th ey w er e no t. H er e is hi s no te 49 5 (9 42 ): Fa m in e co nd it io ns pe rs is te d in to la te fall 19 33 an d, in so m e pl ac es , w ou ld la st th ro ug h su m m er 19 34 . A m m en de , Human Life in Russia, 80 -4 . In fall 19 33 , th e re gi m e w as pr es si ng fo r w or ke rs to cu lti va te ga rd en s to gr ow th ei r ow n food, on th e ex am pl e of U kr ai ne 's D on et sk re gi on . Pavlov, Anastas Mikoian, 71 (c iti ng RGASPI, f. 84 , op. 2, d. 19, l. 12 5- 6) . K az ak hs ta n w ou ld be gi ve n 18 ,0 00 to ns of fo od ai d by de cr ee on Nov. 28, 19 33 . Antipova et al., Golod v SSSR, 50 7 (RGASPI, f. 17 , op. 16 2, d. 15 , I. 14 2, 14 5, 14 8) ." E w al d A m m en de w as a Baltic G er m an w ho w as in th e USSR in 19 34 an d cl ai m ed - wrongly -- th at a ne w fa m in e w ou ld ki ll m ill io ns in 19 34 -1 93 6. Pavlov, Anastas Mikoian, m er el y do cu m en ts th e fa ct th at So vi et w or ke rs w er e en co ur ag ed to pl an t ve ge ta bl e ga rd en s. K ot ki n co nc lu de s:

Marxist im pe ra ti ve s of transcending ca pi ta li sm -

co m bi ne d w it h in or di na te w il lp ow er ap oc al yp se . (1 31 )

9

br ou gh t

See Furr, Blood Lies 82 -6 for do cu me nt ati on th at th er e is no evidenc e of th is at all: "This de cr ee is re str ict ed to six villages."

Ch ap ter One. Collectivization an d Fa mi ne

41

t, fac in t, no d di e iv dr n tio iza ial str du in e th at th us ls tel Bu t he th en : try an as pe or e sid try un co e th m fro s ce ur so re wi th dr aw Du rin g th e fir st Five-Year Plan, th e vo lu m e of in ve stm en t qu ad ru pl ed , to 44 pe rc en t of GDP by 19 32 ve si as m e th of ne no t bu s), ice pr 28 19 in d re su (m ea

ne t in cr ea se in in ve st m en t ca m e fro m hi gh er 2 Gr ain ex po rts di d no t en d up s. ag ric ul tu ra l su rp lu se 3 y. pa yi ng fo r im po rts of ma ch in er Soviet ag ric ul tu re m ad e no ne t co nt rib ut io n to in du str ia liz at io n; on s ce ur so re of t en pi ci re t ne a as w it , ry ra nt co th e du rin g th e pl an . Tr ue , a ke y dr iv er of th e in du str ial sp ur t wa s ne w la bo r po we r fro m villages, bu t th e y. ntl cie ffi ine sly os gr s er rk wo e os th ed us m ste sy t sta tis An ot he r ke y dr iv er of th e sp ur t wa s br ut al ly su pp re ss ed co ns um pt io n (re in fo rc ed by th at th ie f ca lle d in fla tio n) . (1 31 )

nd fu to ted oi pl ex t no e er w ts an as pe e th e: re ag s lar Ot he r sc ho d di '' es tiv ra pe im st xi ar ''M at th ns ea m at th t Bu n. tio iza in du str ial ed ss re pp su ly tal ru ''b r fo As ). e'' ps ly ca po (''a ne no t ca us e th e fa mi e th t Bu ! ne mi fa us rio se a s wa e er th : ly in rta ce co ns um pt io n'' et vi So e th or n ali St by ed us ca t no s wa n'' io pt um ns co d se ''s up pr es go ve rn m en t. on rti se as s hi r fo t, en m gu ar an en ev r no , ce en id Kotkin gi ve s no ev y." ntl cie ffi ine ly ss ro ''g ed us s wa ts an as pe er rm fo of th at th e la bo r e th ly re Su ? on ris pa m co of sis ba e th is t ha w r fo e, tru be n't Bu t it ca t an as pe l na tio di tra in r bo la le id e th s wa y'' nc re al ''g ro ss inefficie s rm fa et vi So d an y) oz kh ol (k s rm fa ve cti lle ag ric ul tu re . Co y an m d an , or lab s les r fa th wi s op cr e or m ew gr (sovkhozy) 10 s, rd wo r he ot In . rk wo d fin to ies cit e th to t pe as an ts w en increased efficiency in th e us e of lab or . Kotkin m ak es th is cla im (n. 4. p. 94 3) :

ts. fac se the ent um doc ply sim ve abo ion tat quo the in 3 and 2 tes no °Kotkin's

1

42

Stalin: Waiting for ... The T ru th

R o b er t Allen ar g u es th a t p e r ca p it a co n su m p ti o n , af te r falling in th e ea rl y 1 9 3 0 s, in cr ea se d significantly, b ei n g p er h ap s a fifth h ig h er in 1 9 3 7 th an a d ec ad e earlier, b u t h e h as ri g h tl y b ee n ta k en to ta sk se p ar at el y b y Davies an d Ellman. Allen, F ar m to Factory, 1 4 7 -5 0 , 1 8 5 -6 ; R. W. Davies (h tt p :/ /e h .n et /b o o k _ re v ie w s/ fa rm -t o -f ac to ry -a re in te rp re ta ti o n -o f- th e- so v ie t- in d u st ri al -r ev o lu ti o n ); Ellman, ''Soviet Industrialization.'' This claim o f Kotkin's is false as well. In th e o n li n e re v ie w Kotkin cites, Davies says th a t th e d is ag re em en t ab o u t co n su m p ti o n in th e 1 9 3 0 s ''n ee d s fu rt h er investigation," b u t concludes as fo llows: B u t it is ce rt ai n th at , co n tr ar y to p o p u la r p re co n ce p ti o n s, in th e Stalinist p er io d as a whole, b et w ee n 1 9 3 8 an d th e m id -1 9 5 0 s, co n su m p ti o n p e r h ea d in cr ea se d su b st an ti al ly in sp it e o f th e d is as tr o u s im p ac t o f th e Second W o rl d War. T h e fe at th a t co n ti n u es to as to u n d th e w o rl d is th a t th e USSR b ec am e an in d u st ri al iz ed n at io n in a d ec ad e entire ly without foreign capital. During th e sa m e d ec ad e th e So viet Union m o d er n iz ed its ag ri cu lt u re to th e p o in t th a t th e th o u sa n d -y ea r cycle o f d ev as ta ti n g famine w as el im in at ed forever. All th is w as ac co m p li sh ed si m p ly th ro u g h th e la b o r o f it s o w n peo ple, p la n n ed an d o rg an iz ed b y th e Bolshevik Party. Naturally, th is is a b o n e in th e th ro a t for Kotkin an d for all an ti co m m u n is ts . Kotkin ad m it s th at : ... [t ]h e in d u st ri al iz at io n an d ac co m p an y in g m il it ar iz at io n b eg an to revive th e Soviet Union as a g re at p o w er , a n e c e ss it y fo r su rv iv a l in th e

in te rn a ti o n a l sy st e m ...

Despite th is ad m is si o n Kotkin still in si st s th a t ''collecti vization w as n o t 'n ec es sa ry ' to 'm o d er n iz e' a p ea sa n t ec o n o m y o r in dustrialize." (1 3 1 ) However, h e d o es n o t o u tl in e an y al te rn at iv e.

Ch ap ter One. Collectivization an d Famine

43

n ke ro B e in am F f o le yc C r a e -Y d n sa u o h The T et vi So of t un co ac s n' ki ot K of ty es on sh di c si ba e th to This brings us , ed de in nt ro nf co to ils fa n ki ot K e. in m fa et ag ric ul tu re an d th e Sovi is Th n. io at iz iv ct lle co r fo on as re al re e th -s re he co m pl et el y ig no of e cl cy r ea -y nd sa ou th e th to d en an t pu to ed ne e at w as th e de sp er de va st at in g famines, re cu rr in g ev er y few years. According to Tauger: st ie rl ea its om fr , es in m fa of y or st hi ng lo a s ha Russia th en te ne ni e th h ug ro th y ur nt ce h nt te e th in y or hi st e es th s se ca l al ly al rtu vi In s. ie ur nt ce th an d tw en tie ed us ca at th s er st sa di l ra tu na om fr d lte su re famines cr op failures, sh or ta ge s, an d de at hs from st ar va tio n an d fa m in e- re la te d diseases. In ad di tio n to th e d an , es bl no , rs de tra n ai gr s, or ct fa l ta en nm ro en vi e ag nt va ad ke ta to s re ilu fa op cr d te oi pl ex ot he rs often of high prices, an d th er eb y fr eq ue nt ly w or se ne d 11 co nd iti on s for po or an d vu ln er ab le groups.

The Environmental Causes d an n ia ss Ru ng yi ud st in er re ca rly la ho sc s hi t Ta ug er ha s sp en on up g in aw dr , ch ar se re s Hi . es in m fa d an re tu Soviet ag ric ul n ia ss Ru d an et vi So d an s ce ur so y ar im pr extensive Soviet-era an by ed us ca as w 3 -3 32 19 of e in m fa e th at th es scholarship, ar gu en vi ro nm en ta l ca ta st ro ph e. by er th ge to al d re no ig or ed ck ta at ly nt Ta ug er 's vi ew is fr eq ue to f el its nd le t no es do ch ar se re s hi e us ca be y pl an tic om m un is ts sim e, pl am ex r Fo e. in m fa e th r fo s ik ev lsh Bo e th d an bl am in g Stalin th bo z, er ni us K t er ob R er ch ar se re h lis Po Anne Applebaum an d er ug Ta at th lie s ou ge tra ou e th at pe re t, is un st ri de nt ly an tic om m 12 ge ra ou sc di to is e iv ot m s ou vi ob r ei Th ! ce does no t cite an y eviden

an ssi Ru of a edi lop cyc En n der Mo the to t en lem pp Su " ry. sto Hi an ssi Ru in Tauger, ''Famine . 79 , 11 20 ss, Pre al on ati ern Int ic em ad Ac a, rid Flo e eez Br lf Gu . 10 l. vo and Soviet History, r Fo 9. 41 ), 17 20 , ay led ub Do rk: Yo ew (N 12 ne. rai Uk on r Wa 's lin Sta e. min Fa , Red

11

Applebaum

44

Stalin: Waiting for ... The T ru th

th ei r re ad er s fr o m ev er lo o k in g a t T au g er 's h ea v il y -d o cu m en te d re se ar ch , w h ic h u tt er ly re fu te s th ei r o w n falsifications . Kotkin ta k es a d if fe re n t ap p ro ac h to T au g er 's re se ar ch . D u ri n g 2 0 1 6 -2 0 1 7 K o tk in co n fe rr ed w it h T au g er a t P ri n ce to n U n iv er si ty ab o u t th e famine. B u t in th e te xt o f h is m am m o th b o o k Kotkin d o es n o t ev en su m m ar iz e, m u ch le ss cr it ic al ly ev al u at e, T au g er 's ev id en ce an d ar g u m en ts . As w e h av e se en ab o v e, K o tk in si m p ly asserts th at , so m eh o w , S ta li n ''c au se d '' th e fa m in e - th o u g h h e ca n ci te n o ev id en ce to su p p o rt th is claim. In h is footnotes, h o w ev er , K o tk in 's to n e is d if fe re n t. T h er e h e se ts fo rt h im p o rt an t as p ec ts o f T au g er 's re se ar ch an d co n cl u si o n s. Kotkin, te x t (7 5 ): ... in 1931, a co ld sp ri n g fo ll o w ed b y a su m m er d ro u g h t a fa ta l co m b in at io n st ru ck th e Kazakh st ep p es , Siberia, th e Urals, th e Volga, an d U kr ai ne . 48 In h is n o te 4 8 (9 2 4 ), Kotkin d o es ac k n o w le d g e th e w o rl d -w id e d ro u g h t o f 1 9 3 0 -1 9 3 2 : D ro u g h t, in d if fe re n t w ay s, af fe ct ed o th er w o rl d re g io n s ar o u n d th is ti m e. In th e U n it ed S ta te s th e ''g re at so u th er n d ro u g h t' ' o f 1 9 3 0 -3 1 , w h ic h co in ci d ed w it h a p ri ce co ll ap se an d b an k in g fa il ur es , in fl ic te d h ar d sh ip ac ro ss tw en ty -t h re e st at es fr o m W es t Virginia to Texas; ... F re n ch W es t Africa su ff er ed d ro u g h t, lo cu st s, an d it s w o rs t fa m in e ev er ; th e F re n ch au th o ri ti es d id n o t re le n t o n ta x d em an d s. M o rt al it y

in F re n c h W e st Africa w a s d is p ro p o rt io n a te ly h ig h e r (i n a n im m e n se ly sm a ll e r a re a a n d o v e ra ll p o p u la ti o n ) th a n in th e S o v ie t Union. China in

1 9 3 1 -3 2 su ff er ed th e o p p o si te p ro b le m : la rg e sn o w m el t an d tr em en d o u s ra in fa ll th a t in u n d at ed an ar ea eq u iv al en t in si ze to E n g la n d an d h al f o f S co tl an d,

qu ot at io n in Polish an d English from Kusnierz's book se e Furr, Blood Lies 102-103.

Ch ap ter One. Collectivization an d Famine

y an m as ng lli ki d an , le op pe n io ill m 52 e m flooding so n. tio va ar st ly al ci pe es d an ng ni ow dr m fro n io ill as 2 m Tauger, ''Natural Disaster," 8, citing Woodruff, Rare as

Rain. Kotkin, te xt (86-7): e rc fo d di fs rif ta d an e ad tr of s rm te ng ni se or w e th ... en ev d an er um ns co of rts po im il rta cu to s th e Soviet 131 id pa y sl ou ul ic et m s et vi So e th t Bu s. od go l capita e th ns ai pl ex ly rt pa so do to re su es pr e th ei r debts. Th r fo s ar fe ite sp de n ai gr of rt po ex d ue in nt co e's re gi m 132 Only st at e. es ic th e ha rv es t an d lo w global pr im po se d de pr iv at io n al lo w ed th e USSR to avoid ex te rn al default. Kotkin, no te 13 1 (928): e th in st or w e th be to t ou rn tu ld ou w 32 19 ar ye ... The fs rif ta er gh hi of e us ca be e ad tr n ig re fo et vi So of y or st hi ab ro ad an d de cr ea se d cr ed it availability. Kotkin, no te 13 2 (928): ... See also Tauger, ''1 93 2 Harvest," 88 n5 2.

Here is the text of Ta ug er 's important note:

sh iti Br e th of r lo se un co al ci er m m co e th to ng di Accor y [b re lu ai ''f , 31 19 te la in g in rit w , w co os M in y ss ba Em ld ou w ns io at lig ob its t ee m to t] en m rn ve go et th e Sovi ld ou w ly on ot N . in tra its in er st sa di g in br ly in ce rta et vi So l al , rts po ex re tu fu all t bu e, as ce its ed cr r he rt fu sh ip pi ng en te ri ng foreign po rts , all Soviet pr op er ty e ur iz se to e bl lia be ld ou w es tri un co n ig re fo al re ad y in ld ou w cy en lv so in of on si is dm A e. du s m su r ve co to on d se ba ns tio ra pi as l al of t en em ev hi ac e en da ng er th th e five-year pl an an d m ig ht in de ed imperil th e

45

46

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

ex is te nc e of th e go ve rn m en t it se lf ' (PRO FO 37 1 \5 60 7 N 76 48 /1 67 /3 8, 6--7). G er m an C ha nc el lo r B ru en in g to ld a B ri tis h di pl om at in B er lin in ea rl y 19 32 th at if th e So vi et s ''did no t m ee t th ei r bills in so m e fo rm or ot he r, th ei r cr ed it w ou ld be de st ro ye d for go od an d all'' (PRO FO 37 11 63 27 N456/158/38). D oh an no te s th at th e co un tr y' s m aj or cr ed it or s be ga n to re du ce th ei r cr ed it of fe ri ng s to th e So vi et Union in 1931-1932, de sp it e So vi et ef fo rt s to pay, ''Origins of E co no m ic Autarky," 630 ...

This in fo rm at io n is vi ta l to an y ac cu ra te un de rs ta nd in g of th e famine. Yet Kotkin hi de s it fr om hi s re ad er s by om it ti ng it en ti re ly fr om hi s te xt an d ev en fr om hi s fo ot no te s. To find it on e ha s to ob ta in th is w or k of T au ge r's an d th en re ad th is fo ot no te . Few, if any, of Kotkin's re ad er s w ill do so. Kotkin, te xt (1 00 ): T ra ct iv e po w er , se ed grain, an d fo dd er w er e sc ar ce . T he sp ri ng so w in g se as on ha d pr ov ed sh or t, an d w he at so w n be gi nn in g in la te May al w ay s pr od uc ed lo w er yi el ds an d w as m or e su sc ep ti bl e to A ug us t ra in s, w hi ch w ou ld de sc en d to rr en ti al ly as ea rl y as th e be gi nn in g of th e m on th . R us t ep ip hy to ti cs da m ag ed a si gn if ic an t pa rt of th e w he at ha rv es t, to th e su rp ri se of officials w ho ha d failed to id en ti fy it. 254 Kotkin, no te 25 4 (933): Pe as an ts co ul d no t di st in gu is h be tw ee n ru st an d ot he r di se as es , a So vi et ag ro no m is t re po rt ed . B ut as T au ge r ha s de m on st ra te d, local officials, too, di d no t un de rs ta nd pl an t di se as e an d, at ha rv es t time, w he n th ey w ou ld di sc ov er th at th e cr op ha d be en ro tt ed ou t, w ou ld w ro ng ly bl am e so ci al ca us es . T au ge r, ''N at ur al Disaster," 15 (c iti ng Na zaschitu urozhaia, 19 33 , no. 10: 14 -6 : S. E. Grushevoi; an d RGAE, f. 7486, op. 37, d. 23 7, l. 388), 40 -5 .

Ch ap te r One. Collectivization an d Fa m in e

47

Kotkin, te xt (106): g in m co as w t es rv ha 32 19 e ]h [t ... 32 19 r In Se pt em be as w lo as ly ib ss po d an , ns to n io ill m in at fe w er th an 60 e th in lt su re ic if rr ho e th to e os cl as w ch hi 50 million, w 29 3 . 21 famine ye ar of 19 Kotkin, no te 29 3 (9 35 ):

e, in m fa e th of es us ca l ra tu na e th es Tauger, w ho st re ss e th om fr s rt po re al nu an e th at th ed ca re fu ll y sh ow w lo y el em tr ex an d ie pl im 32 19 r fo s rm fa collective 32 19 e th r fo re gu fi l ia fic of e th ly on t no ha rv es t, an d th at

t of cr at he W d an s ie av D by n ve gi s re gu fi d se ha rv es t bu t re vi 32 19 e th of ze si e th y, el at m lti U . w er e likely to o high om fr ta da rt po re al nu an e th t bu n, ai rt ce ha rv es t re m ai ns un ly on e th e ar ch hi w s rm fa e iv ct lle co e th 40 pe rc en t of on t es rv ha a y pl im ed er ov sc di r fa so ac tu al ha rv es t da ta ." st ve ar H 2 93 ''1 r, ge au T . ns to n io ill m SO th e or de r of 0 -6 58 at t es rv ha 32 19 e th e at m ti es Davies an d W he at cr of t It s. st ca re fo t es rv ha epr on d se ba million, bu t th at is s ha ho w t, of cr at he W at th , er ev w ho d, te sh ou ld be no

ly nt ue eq bs su , ly nt de ri st n te of s, ew vi s r' ge au re je ct ed T e at m ti es e th of nd ba er w lo e th as al lo w ed 50 m il li on w it ho ut th en ci ti ng Tauger.

Kotkin, te xt (1 30 ): rn tu re ed rc fo e th d re de or in al St , is em tr ex R es ol ut e in es ti un co re ti en of g tin is kl ac bl e th , es pe ca es t of pe as an ... ) ty li ta or m t es gh hi e th er ff su ld ou w (t he y e w k or w a ' n' io ct A an um H d an r te as Tauger, in ''N at ur al D is re he t no t bu re he w se el s te ci n ki ot K at th ci te d ab ov e an d on e st at es :

e th at th d un fo e te it m om C al tr en C an ni ai kr U T he s et tl ou e ad tr n w do ng si lo (c es ag ll vi ''blacklisting'' of t en em ur oc pr t ee m to re ilu fa r fo s) od go fo r co ns um er

48

Stalin: Waiting for ... T he T ru th

q u o ta s h a d h a d li tt le effect, b ec au se th e co u n tr y si d e w as ''s at u ra te d '' w it h co n su m er goods. (6 2 ) T h er e' s n o th in g h er e ab o u t ''e n ti re co u n ti es '' b ei n g b la ck li st ed -th e so u rc e ci te d by S n y d er sa y s th a t th e b la ck li st w as co n fi n ed to si x villages! 13 And w h a t d id ''blacklisting'' m ea n ? Kotki n d o es n 't tell us, b u t it ''s o u n d s bad," ri g h t? It si m p ly m ea n t w it h h o ld in g m an u fa ct u re d g o o d s n o rm al ly ex ch an g ed w it h th e p ea sa n ts for • grain. Consequently, th er e is n o ev id en ce w h at so ev er for th e claim th a t ''blacklisting'' re su lt ed in ''h ig h er m o rt al it y ," as Kotkin as se rt s. Kotkin, te x t (1 3 0 ): Officials co n cl u d ed th a t th ey h ad b ro k en th e p ea sa n ts ' will, in d ir ec tl y su g g es ti n g th e re g im e h ad p ar tn er ed w it h fa m in e to ac h ie v e su b ju g at io n . 493 This st at em en t is si m p ly u n tr u e. H er e is th e te x t o f K otkin's n o te 4 9 3 (942): Stalin w o u ld la te r b o as t in a d is cu ss io n o f five h is to ri ca l tu rn in g p o in ts 1 9 0 5 , 1 9 1 7 , th e BrestLitovsk p ea ce o f 1 9 1 8 , th e R u ss ia n civil w ar , ''a n d es p ec ia ll y collectivization'' th a t th e la tt er en ta il ed ''a co m p le te ly novel, h is to ri ca ll y u n p re ce d en te d event." Banac, D ia ry o f Georgi Dimitrov, 6 9 (Nov. 11, 1 9 3 7 ). N ei th er in th is n o te n o r an y w h er e el se d o es Kot kin cite an y ev id en ce o f ''officials co n cl u d in g th a t th ey h ad b ro k en th e p ea sa n ts will.'' Kotkin, te x t (1 3 0 ): In d ee d , it w as th e fa m is h ed p ea sa n ts w h o w o u ld lift th e re g im e an d th e co u n tr y o u t o f st ar v at io n ,

13

See Fu rr , Blood Lies 81 -8 5.

Ch ap ter One. Collectivization an d Famine

49

pr od uc in g be tw ee n 70 an d 77 million to ns of gr ai n in 19 33 , a bu m pe r cr op co m pa ra bl e to th e miracle of 4 49 19 30 . Kotkin, no te 49 4 (942): e th to ed ut rib nt co e m gi re e th ch hi w to ee gr de The bu m pe r harvest, by th e di st rib ut io n of tra ct or s, se ed e ns te in of r te at m a ns ai m re f, lie re od fo d aid, an co nt ro ve rs y... . Ta ug er , se ek in g to pl ac e th e So vi et st or y in a br oa de r on e of ag ri cu ltu ra l

e iv ct lle co e th w ho es iz as ph em n, tio za ni er m od e th d an s rt fo ef ef li re et vi So ed at lit ci fa em st sy fa rm pe as an ts ' ab ili ty to ge ne ra te th e ha rv es t th at t ie ov ''S , er ug Ta y. tr un co e th d an em th sa ve d Peasants''; Tauger, ''Stalin, Soviet Agriculture, an d Collectivization," 10 9- 42 .

's er ug Ta n: ki ot K r fo m le ob pr e th of ux cr e th Here at le as t w e se e ly on t no It ! ed rk wo em st sy rm fa e iv ct lle co e th at re se ar ch sh ow s th to d en an ng tti pu By 3. -3 32 19 of e in m fa e facilitated overcoming th at es ili m fa t an as pe al du vi di in by re he w th e medieval sy st em of e ag nt ce r pe e rg la (a all at nd la y an d se es ss po ho least, th os e w r fa n te of , nd la of ps ri st ow rr na d te va lti cu pe as an ts ha d no la nd ) e, al sc erg la le ib ss po e ad m n io at iz iv ct lle co r, he ot ap ar t from ea ch s. rm fa t es w id M an ic er m A e rg la on d le el od m g in rm m ec ha ni ze d fa et vi So st la e th as w 3 -3 32 19 of e in m fa e th at th nt And th is m ea er th ea w d ba of rs ea -y ge an ch t no d di s on iti famine. W ea th er co nd en ev d an s ge ta or sh od fo l ca Lo s. ar ye w fe y er ev r co nt in ue d to oc cu limited st ar va tio n w ou ld so m et im es ha pp en . us ro st sa di --7 46 19 of e in m fa e th n io pt ce ex But w ith on e 14 ith w , es in m fa d ea pr es id w ch su ur Fo r. cu re r ve famines w ou ld ne

by ed us ca s wa it t tha es lud nc co , ine fam s thi of nt de stu est lat Ste ph en G. W he atc rof t, the l ba glo s iou ser st mo e "th , rld wo the of ch mu ed ect aff t tha ns ca tas tro ph ic we ath er co nd itio the by d ate erb ac ex re we s ect eff its , ion Un t vie So the In y." tor food sh ort ag e in mo de rn his t vie So by ed us ca t no s wa ine fam the t tha m fir is t rof atc he W r. wa hu ge de str uc tio n of the

14

50

Stalin: Waiting for ... Th e Tr ut h

hu nd re ds of th ou sa nd s or m ill io ns of de at hs , ha d oc cu rr ed in ju st th e pr ev io us fifteen ye ar s: in 19 17 -1 8, 19 20 -2 3, 19 24 -2 5, an d 19 27 -2 8. T ha nk s to co lle ct iv iz at io n an d th e m od er n, la rg e- sc al e, m ec ha ni ze d an d sc ie nt if ic ag ri cu lt ur e it pe rm it te d, th er e w er e no m or e fa m in es .

It is ob vi ou s from Kotkin's te xt th at he st ro ng ly di sa gr ee s w it h th is an al ys is . Kotkin co ns is te nt ly bl am es St al in 's policies, w he th er co lle ct iv iz at io n or in du st ri al iz at io n, fo r ca us in g th e famine. B ut he ne ve r en ga ge s th e ar gu m en t to en vi ro nm en ta l ca us at io n in hi s te xt . If hi s re ad er s do no t kn ow ab ou t it al re ad y, th ey will ne ve r kn ow th at su ch an ex pl an at io n exists. If his re ad er s ar e al re ad y fa m ili ar w it h T au ge r's re se ar ch th ey will no te th at Kotki n po in te dl y ig no re s it. ''Pointedly," be ca us e Kotkin ac kn ow le dg es T au ge r's re se ar ch - bu t on ly in hi s fo ot no te s. T au ge r's re se ar ch is ci te d fifteen ti m es in K ot ki n' s footnotes (s om e of w hi ch w e ha ve qu ot ed ab ov e) . But T au ge r's na m e do es no t oc cu r ev en on ce in th e te xt of Kotkin's bo ok .

In co nc lu si on : Kotkin ne ve r ci te s an y ev id en ce to su pp or t hi s

of te n- st at ed co nt en ti on th at th e fa m in e w as ca us ed by Stalin.

policy. See Wheatcroft, ''The Soviet Famine of 19 46 19 47, th e W ea th er an d Hu ma n Agency in Historical Perspective." Europe-Asia Studies 64 no. 6 (2012), 98 810 05 .

r e rd u M v o ir K e th d n a v o ir C h a p te r 2. K GIGO! ed ut ec ex d an d te ic nv co en m e th ed am fr in al St Kotkin ar gu es th at id on Le at th d an 34 19 9, -2 28 r be em ec D of in th e Kirov m ur de r tr ia l n ki ot K at th s ar pe ap it ut B e. on al d te ac r, re Nikolaev, Kirov's m ur de e H l! al at r de ur m v iro K e th of on ha s no t re se ar ch ed th e qu es ti e. no Le ew th at M d an na ili ir K lla A by s si m pl y co pi es from bo ok y m In . st ne ho or nt te pe m co er th ei is s ok bo N ei th er of th es e tw o of al de t ea gr a d te vo de ve ha I r de ur ow n st ud y of th e Kirov m r, ur (F . ty es on sh di r ei th ng si po ex d an em at te nt io n to an al yz in g th Kirov) is Th . ok bo 's oe en L in e lu va of is t ha w e se en B ut Kotkin do es no t ev ov ir K e th t ou ab g in ly e er w en m s v' he hc us hr K is Lenoe's pr oo f th at y pl m si en m 's ev ch ba or G at th s lie -m ur de r ba ck in th e 19 50 s at th d an s, 80 19 te la e th in ed cl cy re d an pi ck ed up, du st ed off, s. er ad re ng ti ec sp su un to on ss pa rs he ot Kirilina, Lenoe, an d in al St int A e th to e ic rv se in is it l, ua us s A ? ty es W hy all th e di sh on ed er id ns co is it y or st hi et vi So of ld fie t Paradigm. In th e co rr up s ha he at th e im cr e m so of y ilt gu t no in al St un ac ce pt ab le to find 7) -1 16 p. (p ok bo n ow s hi to on ti uc od tr be en ch ar ge d with. In th e in t no d di in al St at th on si lu nc co s hi r fo y el us Lenoe apologizes pr of en m 's ev ch ba or G at th ct fa e th e it sp de s hi T d. ha ve Kirov m ur de re e or m ce an ct lu re l ua eq h it w on si lu nc ha d al re ad y re ac he d th is co th an 20 ye ar s ea rl ie r.

lin ta S d n A v o ir K n e e tw e B n io s n e False Claim O f T , et m le rc ci r ne in s hi d an in al St , 34 19 , On Fe br ua ry 10 at th um en pl ee itt m om C al tr en C e th re fo be ly ap pa re nt to te ca lo re ov ir K at th ed os op pr he d an g, evenin e ar t ha ''W y. ar et cr se ee itt m om C al tr en C a Moscow as 's ov ir K of d lle ca re r te la ov ot ol M !'' t? ou ab g in yo u ta lk do n ca I ad gr in en L In . re he od go no be 'll «I . se re sp on

52

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

as well as you, b u t w h at ca n I do he re ?' ' Some ev id en ce su gg es ts th at Orjonikidze su pp or te d Kirov's refusal, Stalin st al ke d out, an d Kirov w en t to mollify him. 220 (1 61 -2 ) Note 22 0 (952): Chuev, Sto sorok, 30 7- 8, 478; Chuev, Molotov, 37 5- 6; Krasnikov, Kirov v Leningrade, 1 8 7 -8 ; Rosliakov, Ubiistvo, 28 -9 . T he re is so m e am bi gu it y as to w h et h er th e Kirov in ci de nt to ok pl ac e in a n ar ro w circle o r at th e Central C om m it te e pl en um . So Kotkin kn ow s exactly w h at ha pp en ed at th is ''m ee ti ng '' an d ev en th e ex ac t w or ds sp ok en b y Kirov, b u t do es n' t kn ow w h er e th e ''m ee ti ng '' to ok place? W ha t no ns en se ! This is a ph on y fo otnote. N ei th er ve rs io n of Chuev's co nv er sa ti on s w it h Molotov (Sto sorok besed s Molotovym an d Molotov. Poluderzhavnyi Vlastelin ) do cu m en ts Stalin's ''s ta lk in g out'' o r ''Kirov going to mollify him." Rosliakov claims th is ha pp en ed at a P ol it bu ro meeting. B ut he, a m in or official in Leningrad, h ad no w ay of kn ow in g w h at w en t o n in th e P ol it bu ro an d is, at be st , re pe at in g a ru m o r - if he di dn 't in ve nt it himself. So Rosliakov's ac co un t is us el es s as hi st or y an d Kotkin ha s no bu si ne ss citing it. B ut ho w ar e Kotkin's re ad er s to kn ow th at ? Krasnikov's ac co un t do es n o t su pp or t, b u t ra th er co nt ra di ct s, Kotkin's st or y th at Kirov pr ot es te d a tr an sf er to M oscow. According to Krasnikov, Stalin ur ge d Kirov to tr av el to K az ak hs ta n to he lp or ga ni ze th e ha rv es t an d th en to m ov e to Moscow. Ilpe.z:tnomeHHe o noe3AKH B Ka3axcTaH KH po B socn pHHHJI KaK ~OJI)KHOe, a OT nepeXOAa Ha pa6oTy Henocpe~ CT

BeHHO

B annapaT U:K BKil(6) Ta KT Hq Ho yK Jio HH JI CH , ynpocHB OCTaBaTb er o B JleHHHrpaA AO KOH~a BTopoH: Il.HTHJieTK HH 3aBepmeHH peKOHCTPYKQHH ropo~a. (187-188)

T he pr op os al to tr av el to K az ak hs ta n Kirov ac ce pt ed as a necessity, b u t he ta ct fu ll y ev ad ed th e tr an sf er to w o rk directly in th e ap pa ra tu s o f th e C en tr al C om m it te e of th e CPSU (b ), re qu es ti ng to re m ai n in

C ha pt er Two. Kirov an d th e Kirov M ur de r

53

n la p r ea y ev fi d n co se e th f o d L en in g ra d u n ti l th e en . ty ci e th f o n io ct ru st n co re e th f o an d th e co m p le ti o n n, li ta S h it w t en m u g ar t, en em That's it! N o th in g ab o u t an y d is ag re a f o in tk o K y b n o ti ta ci y n o h p er ''Stalin st al k in g o u t, " et c. Yet an o th in im la -c ct fa a r fo l al t a ce en id ev y an so u rc e th a t d o es n o t p ro v id e th e te x t o f h is b o o k .

W h a t ''Witnesses''? t is v ie v o in Z e th f o l ia tr 4 3 9 1 , 9 C o n ce rn in g th e D ec em b er 28-2 : es at st n ki ot K , ed g n o el b ev la o ik g ro u p to w h ic h N n o l ia tr d se o cl e th ed en p o h ic lr U , d ra In L en in g ts ic d er v ty il u g e th ad re d an ., m p. 0 :2 D ec em b er 28 a t 2 a t o N . ty al en p th ea d : g in rn o m b ef o re d aw n th e n ex t

e th to d e n o m m su n e e b d a h ss e n it si n g le Smolny w tr ia l. (213)

e n o y an r o n n ki ot K er th ei N t. o o b T h is is n o n se n se , an d d is h o n es t to , re o m 's at h W . et cr se l il st is it t p el se h as se en th e tr ia l tr an sc ri , d ar u g y d o b 's ov ir K ! ll ca to ' s' there were no ''Smolny witnesse t o o sh ev la o ik N e se to ov ir K d in eh Mikhail B or is ov , w as to o fa r b e d si A 4. er b em ec D n o t en d ci ac to au him, an d h ad b ee n k il le d in an e th d se es n it w ad h e n o o n , lf fr o m th e as sa ss in N ik o la ev hi m se m u rd er . s oe D . d n li b t es n o h is d a is s es K ot ki n' s ''S m o ln y w it n es s' ' b u si n r o ," ss ce ro p e u ''d o n as w re e th t a th Kotkin w a n t u s to b el ie v e t o sh ad h ev la o ik N er h et h w t u o ab t o so m et h in g ? T h e tr ia l w as n e h T it. d ie en d er ev n d an t o sp e Kirov - h e h ad b ee n ca u g h t o n th e th f o s er b em m w o ll fe en te ir th 's q u es ti o n w as w h et h er N ik o la ev . er rd u m e th in rs o at ir sp n o -c Z in o v ie v is t u n d er g ro u n d w er e co o S . ov ir K d le il k ev la o ik N en h w t N o n e o f th es e m en w e re p re se n e av h ld u o w y an n ee b ct fa in e er th ''S m o ln y w it n es se s, " - h ad b ee n ir re le v an t to th is q u es ti o n . Kotkin:

54

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

(N ea rl y fo ur sc or e of th em ev er y w it ne ss to th e ev en ts th at da y an d m an y ot he rs w ou ld so on be tr an sf er re d to ot he r w or k, ex pe lle d from th e pa rt y, or exiled.) (213) Kotkin cites no ev id en ce to su pp or t this. Of course! T he re were no ''w it ne ss es to th e ev en t'' at all!

Khrushchev-Era GIGO Again ''Nikolaev sh ou te d, 'Severe,"' ac co rd in g to on e of Agranov's so ft -p ed al in g te le gr am s to Stalin, w hi ch failed to re po rt th at Nikolaev an d ot he rs re ca nt ed th ei r te st im on y. 14 4 Note 14 4 (963): 144. Vinogradov, Genrikh Jagoda, 39 6- 40 4 (TsA FSB, f. 3, op. 2, d. 60, l. 48 -5 6, 33); Lenoe, Kirov Murder, 35 8- 77 . O th er s ha ve Nikolaev su pp os ed ly falling to th e gr ou nd an d shouting, ''You ca nn ot sh oo t me. C om ra de Stalin pr om is ed .. ." Kirilina, Rikoshet, 67. Lenoe st at es th at in 1956, du ri ng K hr us hc he v' s ca m pa ig n of at ta ck in g Stalin, a nu m be r of th e su rv iv in g pa rt ic ip an ts in or w it ne ss es to th e tr ia l cl ai m ed th at Nikolaev fi rs t re ca nt ed , th en reaffirmed, his te st im on y im pl ic at in g ot he rs . All th is is ru m or an d/ or de li be ra te falsification. Kirilina, on w ho se bo ok Lenoe re lie s heavily, do es no t co nt ai n th is su pp os ed claim of Nikolaev's. Lenoe no te s th at th es e K hr us hc he v- er a ac co un ts ''m ay be embellished." (Lenoe 3 70) K hr us hc he v' s goal w as to find ev id en ce th at Stalin ha d Kirov m ur de re d. Unable to do this, his m en fell ba ck on th e th eo ry th at Nikolaev w as a ''lone gunman." A le ks an dr Iakovlev, Po lit bu ro m em be r an d Gorbachev's sp ec ia li st in sp re ad in g an ti co m m un is t an d anti-Stalin lies, tw ic e de m an de d th at Gorbachev's specia l co m m is si on co m e up w it h ev id en ce to ch ar ge Stalin w it h Kirov's m ur de r. B ut de sp it e he ro ic efforts in sc ou ri ng th e ar ch iv es th ey

er rd u M ov ir K e th d an ov ir K o. w T r te ap h C

55

e n o ''l e th n o in a g a e c n o k c a b ll fe y e th o S . so o d to le b w e re u n a gunman'' theory. e v a h e w s a , ts c e sp re y n a m in t s e n o h is d ly h ig h is k o o b 's e Leno s w o h s e o n e L t u B ) v o ir K , rr u (F . il ta e d t a re g in d te a tr s n o dem ) D V K N r e rm fo e h (t B G K is h d n a v e h c sh ru h K t a th ly g convincin e m la b to y tr to r e rd u m v o ir K e th t u o b a d e li , v ro e S n a Iv chief, e s e th ff o d te s u d n e m 's v e h c a rb o G r, te la rs a e y e iv -f ty n e Stalin. Tw ir e th f o s e n o w e n e m so d te a c ri b fa d n a s e li ra -e v e h c sh ru h old K own. d n a v e h c sh ru h K y h w n o s a re e th s in la p x e ly g in c in v n o c e o n Le a n e e b d e e d in d a h v e la o ik N t a th e c n e id v e e th t u o b a d e li Serov . y c a ir sp n o c t is v ie v o in Z e th member of h it w d e rg a h c s a w n o si is m m o The [Molotov] c d n a s 0 3 9 1 r te la e th f o ls ia tr w o investigating th e s h e h T . d li a v re e w s e rg a h c e th r e d e te rm in in g w h e th ' r' te n e C d ra g in n e ''L e th f o ls ia Kirov m u rd e r a n d th e tr re e w d e w o ll fo ly te ia d e m im t a th ' a n d ''Moscow Center' g in th ry e v e t u b , y ir u q in e ju s t th e s ta rt in g p o in t of th l ia ic ff o e th If . ts n e v e e s e th n o th a t followed d e p e n d e d r e m r fo t a th ls ia tr o tw c h a r g e s in th e first r e d r u m o t d e ir p s n o c d a h s r Zinoviev s u p p o r te ts n e tm ic d in e th n e th s, u g o b Kirov - w e r e e n ti r e ly e h T . d se p a ll o c ls ia tr w o h s g in in all o f th e s u c c e e d s e n o r e li r a e e th n o t il u b la tt e r in d ic tm e n ts w e r e t a th e g r a h c e th to th u tr e m o .... But if th e r e w a s s t a th n e th , v o ir K l il k to d e ir p Z in o v ie v it e s c o n s r te la e th t a th g in u g r a f o y it il p r e s e r v e d th e p o s s ib re fo re e h T t. r a p in t s a le t a , d li a c h a r g e s w e r e a ls o v o h w s te a in rd o b u s ir e th r (o o k Serov a n d Ruden t u c ra le c a e k a m to se o h c ) a d a u th o re d th e m e m o ra n ll a t a ip sh n o ti la re o n d a h d a rg u m e n t th a t Nikolaev h a l ia tr e th in d te ic v n o c rs e rt o p w it h th e ex-Zinoviev s u p o f th e ''Leningrad Center." h g u ro th t h g u o th d a h ss o b is It a p p e a rs th a t Serov o r h n e e tw e b l al t a n o ti c e n n o c y n a this strategy, to d e n y

56

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

Nikolaev an d th e Zinovievites, ev en be fo re th e ''S ec re t Speech.'' (L en oe 59 1- 2; cf. F ur r, Kirov 164-5) T he ev id en ce is ov er w he lm in g th at th e cl an de st in e Z in ov ie vi st co ns pi ra to ri al gr ou p w ho w er e tr ie d, co nv ic te d, an d ex ec ut ed al on g w it h Nikolaev, w er e gu il ty as ch ar ge d. I de m on st ra te th is in de ta il in m y bo ok . B ut L en oe go es on to ''believe'' G or ba ch ev 's m en ev en th ou gh th ey w er e cl ea rl y ly in g ju st as K hr us hc he v' s m en ha d be en doing. As L en oe po in ts ou t in th e pa ss ag e qu ot ed ab ov e, th e Kirov m u rd er le ad s in ex or ab ly to th e th re e Moscow Trial s. T hi s th re at en s to di sm an tl e th e Anti-Stalin P ar ad ig m of S ov ie t hi st or y. A cc or di ng to th is pa ra di gm , all th e de fe nd an ts in th e th re e M os co w T ri al s of 1936, 1937, an d 1 9 3 8 m u st ha ve be en in no ce nt , ''f ra m ed '' by S ta li n for so m e re as on o r ot he r. T he re fo re , th e Kirov de fe nd an ts m u st ha ve be en in no ce nt too, an d al so ''f ra m ed '' by Stalin.

Concocting A ''Lone Gunman'' T h e o ry Kotkin: T he ex ec ut io ns w er e ca rr ie d o u t w it hi n an ho ur ; ... K ot ol yn ov w as sh o t la st . ''T hi s w ho le tr ia l is ru bb is h, " he ha d to ld A gr an ov an d Vyshinsky. ''P eo pl e ha ve be en ex ec ut ed . N ow I'll b e ex ec ut ed , too. B ut all of us, w it h th e ex ce pt io n of Nikolaev, ar e n o t gu il ty of an yt hi ng ." 14 6 (2 13 ) N ot e 1 4 6 (9 63 ): S ed ov et al., ''Spravka''; Kirilina, Neizvestnyi Kirov, 3 0 2 -3 ; Lenoe, Kirov Murder, 3 7 0 -1 (RGANI, f. 6, p. 13 , d. 24, I. 51 -6 8) . S ed ov et al. is th e re p o rt se n t by th e P ol it bu ro sp ec ia l co m m is si on to G or ba ch ev 's m ai n ex pe rt on ideology, A le ks an dr Ia kovlev. Ia ko vl ev ha d ta sk ed th is hi gh -l ev el co m m is si on to find ev id en ce th at S ta li n h ad ha d Kirov m ur de re d. W he n th ey re po rt ed to hi m th at th ey w er e un ab le to do so, he se n t th em ba ck to tr y ag ai n. T hi s ''S pr av ka '' is th ei r final re sp on se , in w hi ch th ey co nc lu de th at

r de ur M v iro K e th d an v iro K o. Tw er pt C ha

57

is th t a th ce en id ev no e iv g ey th t u B N ik o la ev w as a ''l o n e g u n m an ." ey th , ov yn ol ot K y b s rd o w st la d se o p p w as th e case! As for th es e su 1 d o n o t ev en ci te a so u rc e. il pr A n o en m 's ev ch sh ru h K to In fact th is is w h a t Katsafa te st if ie d is th f ''I : g in y sa , ed en p ap h it t a 3, 1956. Even L en o e d o u b ts th D V K N an , fa sa at K ld u o w y h W " ... ce la co n v er sa ti o n ac tu al ly to o k p g u ar d , h av e b ee n p re se n t? th o b m o h w , ov ed S . 0 9 9 1 , 5 2 . Kirilina ci te s Iu ri i Sedov, in Trud Nov ''a im h s ll ca e o en L h g u o th t, es Lenoe an d Kotkin cite, is d is h o n n o r te ap ch le o h w a s in ta n co k o o b re li ab le re se ar ch er ." M y Kirov S ed o v an d his falsifications. r ie rl ea is H r. ea cl is y n o im st te ch su g Katsafa's m o ti v e in fa b ri ca ti n y b ts is v ie v o in Z w o ll fe is h d te ca li te st im o n y , th a t Nikolaev h ad im p . n io at g ti es v in e th to t an rt o p im n ta lk in g in h is sl ee p , h ad b ee en m D V K N , ls ia tr y n o h p r te K h ru sh ch ev w as b u sy executing, af 2 . es im cr in ia er B d an n li ta S te ca li p im w h o failed to

''a lk ta p ee sl 's ev la o ik N t u o ab Lenoe calls Katsafa's te st im o n y as h e h re e h ' g' in ff lu ''b is e o en L t sc h o o lb o y lie." (Lenoe 2 8 3 ) B u e th r fo t n ie en v n co in ly p m si is It . n o ev id en ce to su p p o rt this so ," an m n u g e n o ''l a as w ev la o G o rb ac h ev -L en o e n o ti o n th a t N ik Lenoe w is h es to d is m is s it.

p U d re e v o C n o ti ra o b a ll o C 's lagoda Kotkin w ri te s: y an ad h m o h w f o e n o n t, o sh e b ld u o H u n d re d s m o re w 0 0 ,5 6 as y an m as e, id -w n io n (U . er rd li n k to th e m u r e d n u ed g ar ch d an ed st re ar n p eo p le m ig h t h av e b ee

· es su is d/ on /f rg .o ev vl ko ya er nd xa le .a w w /w :/ tp 1 Sedov et al., "Spravka," is al so on lin e at ht in ta ob to an th re he it ss ce ac to n ia ss Ru ad re ho w e do c/ 68 18 0 It will be far ea si er for th os

th e vo lu m e it w as pu bl is he d in, RKEB 3, 45 9- 50 7. r te la a in fly ie br s us sc di e w se ca se ho w s, do Ro ris 2 A w el l·k no w n ex am pl e is th at of Bo . ok bo t en es pr e th of 15 er pt ha C e se , ov at ch ap te r. Fo r th e ca se of Pavel Su do pl

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Stalin: Waiting fo r ... The Tr ut h

th e D ec em be r 1 an ti te rr or la w in th e fir st m on th alone.) 14 7 N ot e 14 7 (9 63 ): Maslov an d Chistiakov, ''S ta lin sk ie re pr es si i i so ve ts ka ia iutsitsiia," 105 Maslov an d Chistiakov, pu bl is hi ng in an official jo ur na l of th e G or ba ch ev Co m m un is t Pa rty , gi ve no ev id en ce w ha te ve r fo r th is st at em en t. Th ey al so us e th e te rm ''r ep re ss ed '' (repressirovany) w hi ch ca n m ea n an yt hi ng fr om de m ot io n in on e' s jo b or be in g tr an sf er re d to an ot he r po st , to ar re st . H ow ev er , it is an in te re st in g an d im po rt an t fa ct - th ou gh Kotkin do es no t m en tio n it - th at so m e do ze ns of te rr or is ts - m ai nl y W hi te G ua rd is ts , ap pa re nt ly - w er e sh ot du rin g th e fir st da ys af te r th e Kirov m ur de r, w he n G en rik h Jagoda, ch ie f of th e NKVD, an d ot he rs w er e sp re ad in g th e st or y th at th e m ur de r w as th e w or k of th es e em ig re gr ou ps . A fte r hi s ar re st in March, 19 37 , Ja go da te st ifi ed th at he ha d tr ie d to de fle ct at te nt io n aw ay fr om th e co ns pi ra to ria l gr ou ps as m uc h as po ss ib le , si nc e he w as hi m se lf in vo lv ed in th e le ad er sh ip of th e Ri gh tis t co ns pi ra cy . Ja go da ha d op po se d th e as sa ss in at io n of Kirov bu t at le ng th co m pr om is ed an d ag re ed no t to hi nd er it. Th is te st im on y is in th e V in og ra do v bo ok Genrikh Jagoda. Kotkin ci te s th is bo ok m an y tim es , bu t he do es no t in fo rm hi s re ad er s ab ou t this.

P h o n y Claim o f ''Phony Confessions'' Kotkin: Th e NKVD ha d be en pl an ni ng a se co nd pu bl ic tri al of ei gh t ''Zinovievites'' w ill in g to in cr im in at e th em se lv es , w ith D ra ul e te st ify in g ab ou t th ei r lin ks to Nikolaev. In th e ev en t, sh e w ou ld be tr ie d in ca m er a, w hi le se ve ra l hi gh -p ro fil e Zi no vi ev ite s w er e ad de d to th e ei gh t un kn ow ns for a pu bl ic tri al , w hi ch to ok pl ac e Ja nu ar y 15 -1 6. Th e ni ne te en de fe nd an ts , no w he ad lin ed by Zinoviev himself, Kamenev, an d Grigory Yevdokimov,

r e rd u M v o ir K e th d n a v o ir K . C h ap te r Two

59

'' re e h p s o tm a l ra o m '' a g n w e re c h a rg e d w it h fo s te ri 's v o ir K in d e lt u s re d a h t conducive to th e te rr o ri s m th a y e th if s e v li ir e th d e is death. T h e y h a d b e e n p r o m . d e s s fe n o c ly c li b u p d n a fu lf il le d th e ir p a r ty d u ty (2 1 8 -2 1 9 ) r o a in il ir K n e v e t o N . n o ti a c ri b fa a is e c fa ld o b in e c n The s e n te t o n e c n e id v e o n s e it c in tk o K r e d n o w o N . im la c is Lenoe m a k e th is th rt o p p u s to '' e c n e id v e '' y n o h p , s e o d n e ft o o s e h even, a s n e e b d a h n e m e s e th f o y n a t a th e c n e id v e o n is re e h T s ta te m e n t. d n a ty u d y rt a p ir e th d le il lf u ''f y e th if ' s' e v li ir e '' p ro m is e d th publicly confessed." v o ir K d le il k v e la o ik N t a th r o m ru d e rt o p p u s n u e th s Kotkin o m it in tk o K t u B . le u ra D h it w ir a ff a n a g in v a h s a w r e tt la e b e c a u s e th '': g in iz n a m o ''w f o v o ir K g c a n 't re s is t accusin e s o h w r, e iz n a m o w s u o m Kirov w a s also a n in fa t a h w o T .. .. ip s s o g e id w y it c f c a ro u s in g w a s a m a tt e r o l ta ri a m a tr x e 's d n a b s u h e x te n t s h e k n e w o f h e r s tu a r a p p a e th in n e m o w affairs ballerinas, y o u n g 's d e v d e M ly in a rt e c re e w y re m a in s unclear, b u t th e s a w e h s a n e v e , m e th l a w o rr y : h e h a d to help conce to w o sc o M in r e k u a P m o fr re u u n d e r s e v e re p re s s 46 ) 4 9 (1 . n o ti c te ro p 's v o s tr e n g th e n Kir . 7 3 9 1 , ii k s in h c p a P d n a is h s m u Note 4 6 (960): T Bol'shaia chistka, 37-8.

o n e it c t u b s ir a ff a d a h v o ir K t a th im la c ii k s in h c p a P d n a is Tumsh t o n re a e rs u o c f o h ic h (w rs o m ru n e v e t o n r, e v te a evidence w h v o ir K t a th r e v te a h w e c n e id v e o n s a h in tk o K o S . r) e h it e evidence y it ''c e th t n e m u c o d n e v e t o n s e o d e H s. ir a ff a l ta ri a -m a tr x e y had an in le u ra D t u o b a s n io s is m o 's in tk o K to rn tu re l 'l e W ." w id e gossip C h a p te r 14.

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Stalin: Waiting fo r ... The Tr ut h

To Kotkin's Disappointment, Zinoviev And Kamenev Confessed Kotkin:

Zinoviev ad m it te d th at he 'd ha d co nv er sa ti on s w it h pe op le w ho m th e NKVD called th e L en in gr ad Center, for ex am pl e w it h Vladimir Levin ba ck in 19 32 , du ri ng hi s w or k in liv es to ck re qu is iti on s. Kamenev at fi rs t re fu se d to go al on g w it h th e ca na rd th at hi s pr iv at e co nv er sa ti on s signified pa rt ic ip at io n in a so -c al le d Moscow C en te r or ha d so m eh ow in sp ir ed ac ts of te rr or is m . 181 (2 19 ) Notes 18 1 (9 64 ): la ko vl ev et al., Reabilitatsiia: Politicheskie protsessy, 16 2, 16 6. [In fact th is st at em en t of Kamenev's is on p. 16 4, no t p. 16 6... GF] Ju st be fo re th e tr ia l Zinoviev w ro te a long, de ta il ed co nf es si on in w hi ch he co nf ir m ed th at th er e ha d in de ed be en a ''Moscow Center," in co nt ac t w it h th e ''L en in gr ad Center'' th at ha d m ur de re d Kirov. This co nf es si on is re pr in te d in Reabilitatsiia - Politicheski e Protsessy (1 99 1) , a bo ok th at Kotkin re fe re nc es he re an d se ve ra l m or e times. B ut Kotkin co nc ea ls th e ex is te nc e of Zinoviev's co nf es si on fr om hi s re ad er s. In July an d August, 19 36 , co nf ro nt ed w it h ac cu sa ti on s fr om th ei r ow n followers, Zinoviev an d K am en ev finally co nc ed ed th at th ey ha d in de ed he lp ed to pl an Kirov's m ur de r. We no w ha ve pr et ri al co nf es si on s from bo th of th em , al on g w it h th e ex te ns iv e pr et ri al co nf es si on s by lagoda, to co nf ir m this. I qu ot e so m e of th es e pr et ri al co nf es si on s in C ha pt er Twelve of The Murder o f Sergei Kirov. According to Arch Getty, By 23 July (1936] K am en ev w as ad m it ti ng m em be rs hi p in a co un te rr ev ol ut io na ry ce nt er th at

r e rd u M v o ir K e th d n a v o ir K . o w C h ap te r T

61

e th f o e n o g in e b d ie n e d e h t u p la n n e d te rr o r, b to r e s lo c g in e b s a v ie v o in Z d te a o rg a n iz e rs ; h e im p li c d te n o fr n o c s a w v ie v o in Z r te th e m a tt e r. T h re e d a y s la d e s u c c a y tl c e ir d o h w , v b y o n e o f th is followers, Kare d e p p to s e b n o ti a g o rr te in e him. Zinoviev a s k e d th a t th e th in t, a th t n e m te ta s a e k a m b e c a u s e h e w a n te d to g in iz n a rg o f o n io s s fe n o event, a m o u n te d to a full c 3 a s s a s s in a ti o n a n d te rr o r. t s ir F c li b u p e th t a in a g a t il u g ir e th d te it m d a v e n e m a K d n a Zinoviev ls a e p p a ir e th in in a g a t e y d n a , 6 3 9 1 , st u g u A in l a ri T Moscow . 2 9 9 1 l ti n u d e h s li b u p t o n re e clemency, w h ic h w

'' n o ti a ic if ls a F '' f O im la False C Kotkin: d n a v ie v o in Z g in m a fr h Yagoda h a d n o is s u e s w it id d , se a c y n a in , n li ta S t a ''Zinovievites," a s c e n a ri o th , s n o ti a c ri b fa e h T . .. ly te ia d n o t c o m e to im m e n o ti a d ra g e d l a n io s s fe ro p e th m o re o v e r, e x a c e rb a te d r fo d n a , n li ta S d e g ra n e h ic o f th e s e c re t police, w h f o r o v fa in U P G O e th d e h s w h ic h h e h a d re c e n tl y a b o li 's R S S U e th t r u h o ls a s n o th e NKVD. T h e fa b ri c a ti e m o c e b d a h n li ta S h ic h w re p u ta ti o n in te rn a ti o n a ll y , to m o re s e n s it iv e . ts is v ie v o in Z e th d n a v ie v o in Z t a th r e v te a h w e c n e id v e T h e re is n o e w e c n e id v e e th ll A . n o ti a in s s a s s a v o ir K e th r fo '' d e w e re '' fr a m re e w v e n e m a K d n a v ie v o in Z t a th is s e th o p y h e th s rt o p have sup n io s s fe n o c 's v ie v o in Z e e S . n o ti a in s s a s s a 's v o ir K g in n guilty o f p la n h ic h w , rs e p a P v o n o g o lk o V e th in , 6 3 9 1 , 8 2 ly Ju f o n o ti in te rr o g a : e n li n o n e e b g n lo s a h is h T s. e it Kotkin o ft e n c d n a , 6 l3 ju 8 2 v ie v o in /z m o .c rl u y in /t :/ p tt h t a n ia s s u R in *

e al Y : en av H ew N t'' is F n lro N 's in al St f o 3 J. Arch Getty, Oleg Naumov. Yezhov. The Rise University Press, 2008, p. 191.

62

Stalin: Waiting for .. The Tr ut h 1

* in English tr an sl at io n at http://tinyurl.com/zinoviev072836 W e al so ha ve Zinoviev,s ap pe al of hi s de at h se nt en ce , in w hi ch he re pe at s his co nf es si on of guilt: B Ilpe3H'AHYM Ul1K CCCP. 3a RB Jie HH e

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To th e Pr es id iu m of th e C en tr al Ex ec ut iv e C om m it te e of th e USSR St at em en t

I ha ve to ld ev er yt hi ng ab ou t th e cr im es I ha ve co m m it te d ag ai ns t th e Pa rt y an d Soviet au th or ity . I as k yo u to be lie ve m e th at I am no lo ng er an en em y an d th at I w is h to gi ve th e re st of m y st re ng th to th e socialist m ot he rl an d. I he re by re qu es t th e Pr es id iu m of th e CEC of th e USSR to pa rd on me. 4

4

"Rasskaz o de sia ti ras str ell ian ny kh ." ("Story of Te n Who W er e Shot.

") Izvestiia, Se pt em be r

er rd u M v o ir K e th d n a v o ir K . o w T C h ap te r

63

e th t a ts n a d n fe e d e th f o s n io s s fe n o c e th t a th e c n e id v e o n e v We h a to d te ta ic d , d e k fa , d te a c ri b fa y a w y n a in re e w l ia tr r e Kirov m u rd y n a f o s e is m ro p h it w r o , ts a re th , n io ls u p m o c r e d n u e d a m th e m , o r h c u s y n a s a h in tk o K r o , e o n e L , a in il ir K t o n e n kind. No o e v id e n c e e it h e r. it f o l a e d t a re g a is re e th d n a le b a il a v a w o n e c n e id All th e e v a y b d re e rd u m d e e d in s a w v o ir K t a th is s e th o p y h e th s s u p p o rt a h it w d ie ll a s a w h ic h w p u ro g t is v ie v o in Z t s ri o rr te c la n d e s ti n e , v ie v o in Z t a th d n a , ts is y k ts ro T f o p u ro g t s ri o rr te t re c s im il a r s e e th h it w d te ra o b a ll o c p u ro g d e s a -b w o c s o M ir e th d Kamenev, a n r. e rd u m e th g in n n la p in p u ro g t is v ie v o in Z d e s a -b d ra g in Len

2, 1992, p. 3

C h a p t e r 3. O r d z h o n i k i d z e

's death

Sergo Ordzhonikidze, a n Old B o l s h e v i k ( P a r t y m ember since b e f o r e t h e Revolution) a n d l o n g t i m e close a s s o c i a t e o f Stalin's, w a s P e o p l e 's C o m m i s s a r (= M inis.t e r ) o f Heavy I n d u s t r y from January 5, 1 9 3 2 , until h i s d e a t h d u r i n g t h e night o f F e b r u a r y 17-18, 1 9 3 7 . Kotkin's a c c o u n t o f O r d z honikidze, his death, a n d his relations w i t h S t a l i n a n d Beria, a r e false f r o m b e g i n n i n g t o e n d. In p a r t , t h i s i s d u e t o t h e fact t h a t Kotkin h a s c l e a r l y n e v e r studied this question. B u t w h y h a s n 't h e s t u d i e d it? B e c a u s e h e t h i n k s h e a lready knows t h e c o n c l u s i o n : ''Stalin w a s r e s p o n s i b l e ! '' T h i s h a s been the only officially a c c e p t a b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s i n c e Nikita K h r u s h c h e v 's day. I t m a k e s a good anti-Stalin s t o r y , s o w h y q u e s t i o n it? T h e r e is n o w a y t o m a k e O r d z h o n i k i d z e 's d e a t h a p pear the least s i n i s t e r u n l e s s y o u falsify i t So, i n s t e a d o f s t u d y i n g it himself - the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f all h i s t o r i a n s - h e c h e r r y - p i c k s fa ct-claims f r o m rumors, phony studies, and dishonest secondary sources from anticommunist writers. Kotkin h a s c h o s e n t o b e l i e v e t h e s e lies a n d foist them upon his r e a d e r s . It's t h e ''safe'' t h i n g t o do. N o t t o d o t h i s m i g h t leave h i m o p e n t o b e i n g called ''a n apologist for Stalinist crimes,'' o r s o m e t h i n g . N o t Kotkin!

Kotkin h a s t a k e n t h e g e n e r a l s h a p e o f h i s fal se a c c o u n t o f O r d z h o n i k i d z e 's d e a t h f r o m Nikita K h r u s h c h e v 's '' S e c r e t Speech'' t o t h e XX P a r t y C o n g r e s s o f F e b r u a r y 25, 1 9 5 6 . T h e r e , as part of his a t t a c k o n Stalin a n d Lavren tii Beria, K h r u s h c h e v s t a t e d: Beria also h a n d l e d cruelly t h e family o f c o m r a d e Ordzhonikidze. Why? B e c a u s e Ordzhonikidze h a d t r i e d t o p r e v e n t Beria from realising his shameful plans. B e r i a h a d c l e a r e d f r o m h i s w a y all p e r s o n s w h o could possibly interfere w i t h him. O r d z h o n i k i d z e w a s

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

65

always an opponent of Beria, which he told to Stalin. Instead of examining this affair and taking appropriate steps, Stalin allowed the liquidation of Ordzhonikidze's brother and brought Ordzhonikidze himself to such a state that he was forced to shoot himself. 1 We know today that Khrushchev's ''Secret Speech'' was a lie from beginning to end. Can Kotkin really be unaware of this?

Of Two Sources, Choose the Phony One Kotkin relies principally on two dishonest sources. The first is the 1963 biography of Ordzhonikidze by Ilia M. Dubinskii .. Mukhadze, which outlines - without sources or evidence of any kind - the story that Stalin and Ordzhonikidze had a quarrel, after which Ordzhonikidze shot himself. But Kotkin has to be aware that the 1967 edition of this same book omits all of this - simply leaves it out! If he doesn't know this, he is incompetent to write about Ordzhonikidze at all. Khrushchev was ousted in October 1964. Under Leonid Brezhnev the anti-Stalin lies promoted under Khrushchev (and by Khrushchev directly) were significantly toned down. Kotkin's second dishonest source is the book In Stalin's Shadow: The Career of ''Sergo'' Ordzhonikidze by Oleg Khlevniuk. Khlevniuk is a shameless falsifier without any shred of objectivity, fanatically anti-Stalin and anticommunist. Khlevniuk too uses only the 1963 version of Dubinskii-Mukhadze's work. Khlevniuk also fabricates certain details himself. 2

Kotkin also ignores the 2008 article by Vladimir Bobrov. In it Bobrov shows that there is no reason whatever to doubt that

1

At https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007 /apr/26/greatspeechesS There are many translations of Khrushchev's infamous ,.Secret Speech." 2

"The Mystery of Ordzhonikidze's Death." (2008) English translation at

66

Stalin: Waiting for ... Th e Tru th

Or dz ho nik idz e die d of a he art att ac k, as wa s an no un ce d at the tim e. Kh rus hc he v an d Mikoian, the tw o so urc es for the su ici de ve rsi on , ea ch sa y tha t the oth er on e tol d the m ab ou t the sui cid e! Th ey als o co ntr ad ict the ms elv es. Fo r ex am ple , Kh rus hc he v sai d in 19 61 tha t he lea rne d of Or dz ho nik idz e's su ici de ''af ter the wa r'' wh ile lat er, in his me mo irs , he cla im ed he lea rne d it ''d uri ng the wa r.'' Bo bro v sh ow s tha t the su ici de sto ry, wh ich may ha ve ori gin ate d as a Mo sco w rum or, wa s int rod uc ed by Kh rus hc he v him sel f int o his inf am ou s ''S ecr et Sp eec h'' at the XX Pa rty Co ng res s on Fe bru ary 25, 19 56 . He re I will tre at thi s qu est ion briefly. I ha ve dis cu sse d it mo re fully in my bo ok Khrushchev Lied, sec tio n 48, pp. 11 4-1 16 an d 38 7-3 88 .

No ''Strained Relations'' Kotkin: Re lat ion s wi th Or jon iki dz e ha d be co me str ain ed ... (23 7) Kotkin cit es no ev ide nc e at all to su pp or t thi s claim, An d for the be st of rea so ns : the re is no su ch ev ide nc e. Bu t thi s lie is ce ntr al to Oleg Kh lev niu k's dis ho ne st po rtr ay al of Or dz ho nik idz e's de ath , wh ich Kotkin ad op ts. Kotkin:

In Oc tob er 19 36 , St ali n ha d Or jon iki dz e's eld er br ot he r Pa pu liy a ar re ste d, a fir st for a rel ati ve of a sit tin g po lit bu ro me mb er. Or jon iki dz e de ma nd ed to se e his bro the r, bu t La vre nti Beria, the po lic em an tur ne d pa rty bo ss in Georgia, wh ere Pa pu liy a wo rke d, sai d he co uld all ow tha t on ly aft er co nc lud ing the

http s://ms uw eb. mo ntc lair .ed u/-f urr g/re sea rch /bo bro v-o rdz hon 08e ng. htm l ; Russian original at http s:// ms uw eb. mo ntc lair .ed u/-f urr g/re sea rch /bo bro v-o rdz hon 08. htm l (tex t encoding Windows-1251).

th a e d 's ze id ik n o zh rd O e. re h T r te Chap

67

s a w it t a th d o to s r e d n u e z O rj o n ik id in v e s ti g a ti o n e th d in h e b s a w o h w n li n o t B e r ia b u t S ta 22 5 On O c to b e r 8, S ta li n h a d in c a r c e r a ti o n . 4 22 .

s a d e v o m re s it h s iv L v o k a Y ty K a g a n o v ic h 's d e p u r, te la s y a d ix s , d n a s y a w il d e p u ty c o m m is s a r o f ra 22 6 (3 4 8 ) a rr e s te d . . 3 6 9 1 , 2 2 . v o N , a ii st e v Iz N o te 2 2 4 (987): 224.

s e li e th s e o h c e t a th le ic rt a ra -e v e h c h s ru h K a is is h T . e T h is is all fals 's e z d a h k u -M ii k s in b u D f o , n w ra d h it w r te la , n io it d e t in th e fi rs a it a w d n A ? is th w o n k rs e d a re 's in tk o K ld u o c w o h t u book. B e c n e id v e e rc u o s ry a m ri p s a s le ic rt a r e p a p s w e n s e s u m in u te - w h o fo r a h is to ri c a l e v e n t? , rg e b s k a V ; -4 3 7 , a ri e B t, h ig N o te 2 2 5 (987): 225. Kn Neraskrytye tainy, 1 2 3 . d n a 's a ri e B rb tu is d t o n id d t s e rr a is th t a th s y a s , -4 3 7 , a rt e Knight, B s a h s e rc u o s e s e th f o r e h it e n d n A ! ip h s d n ie fr 's e z O rd z h o n ik id e th d in h e b s a w n li ta S g in w o n k '' o rg e S t u o b a a n y th in g in c a rc e ra ti o n .' ' y a rs a e h ly n o is s te ri w e h t a h w , n io s is m d a n w o s rg By V a k s b e , rg e b s k a V in t c je b u s is th t u o b a g in th o n is re e th , se a c y n a In ru m o r. s a w a li u p a P t a th 4 2 1 e g a p n o s te ta s rg e b s k a V r, e v o re o page 123. M r. e b to c O t o n r, e b m e v o N in a rr e s te d 1

d n a t s li a rn u jo t is n u m m o c ti n a ly g n o tr s a s a w rg e b s k A rk a d ii V a t a h w g in w o n k f o y a w o n d a h o h w rs e il o tb o p f o a u th o r t n e c e d o N . re e h w o n k to im la c 't n s e o d d n a '' w e n k '' e z O rd z h o n ik id s te ri w rg e b s k a V t u B . e rc u o s a s a rg e b s k a V r e v e ld u o h is to ri a n w ! O IG G s e o g it in o s , ts w h a t Kotkin w a n

s e c n e r fe e R y n o h P e r Mo : e z id ik n o h z rd O d n a a ri e B t u o b a s e li f o r e b m u n a ts n ri p Kotkin

68

Stalin: Waiting fo r ... The T r u th

He [Pavlunovsky] w a s a r r e s t e d o n J u n e 28, p a r t o f Orjonikidze's ''clan'' t h a t Stalin w a s e x ti r p a ti n g . 73 (511) Note 7 3 (1010): 73. A lr e a d y b a c k o n Oct. 21, 1 9 3 3 , Stalin h a d w r i t t e n t o Kaganovich: ''Pavlunovsky d e s t r o y e d t h e artillery. Orjonikidz e m u s t b e given a scolding for h a v in g t r u s t e d t w o o r t h r e e o f his favorites. He w a s r e a d y t o give s t a t e benefits t o t h e s e imbeciles." Stalin t o Kaganovich, R GASPI, f. 81, op. 3, d. 1 0 0 , I. 3 8 - 9 . Pavlunovsky w o u l d b e s h o t o n Oct. 30, 1937. T h e r e 's n o t h i n g h e r e a b o u t Sta lin '' e x ti r p a ti n g '' O r d z h o n ik id z e 's ''clan'' ( w h a t e v e r t h a t m e a n s ) . 3 A n o t h e r s u c h lie is t h e following: G a m s a k h u r d ia ... s h a r e d B e r i a 's l oathing of O r j o n i k i d z e ... But G a m s a k h u r d ia h ad been among t h o s e d e p o r t e d t o Solovki i n c o n n ection w i t h t h e 1 9 2 4 uprising, a n d a f t e r his r e l e a s e a n d r e t u r n , Beria h a d h a d h i m r e a r r e s t e d for a n affair w ith a young p u b l i s h i n g executive a r r e s t e d f o r T r o ts k y is m . B u t t h e n B e r ia p a r d o n e d him, o b s e r v i n g t h a t sexual i n t e r c o u r s e with enemies of the people was p e r m i t t e d . 82 ( 5 1 3 ) Note 8 2 ( 1 0 1 0 ) : 82. Rayfield, ''De ath o f Paolo Iashvili," 636, 647; Rayfield, L i t e r a t u r e o f G eorgia, 247. Countless o t h e r s w e r e executed, in c lu d in g Dimitri Shevardnadze, a p a i n t e r w h o h a d established the c o u n t r y 's n a t i o n a l g a ll e r y i n 1 9 2 0 ( a n d h a d cod e s i g n e d t h e e m b l e m o f Georgia's Menshevikdominated republic o f 1 9 1 8 - 1 9 2 1 ) ; h e h a d led o p p o s i t i o n t o a p r o p o s a l b y B e r ia to tear down 3

According to o n e o f th e re p o rt s Ezhov gave to Stalin, Pavlunovsk y w a s involved in a conspiracy to m u rd e r Ordzhonikid ze! Lubianka-Golgofa, 116.

69

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

Tbilisi's ancient Metekhi Church (which would survive). There's nothing in the Rayfield article about any of Kotkin's statements, and nothing about Beria's ''loathing of Ordzhonikidze." On the contrary, Sergo Beria writes that his father and Ordzhonikidze were best friends! Sergo says he was named after Ordzhonikidze, who was his godfather and ''very close to my father 4 his whole life." According to the Russian Wikipedia page on Gamsakhurdia, it was Beria who freed him from arrest for ties with Lidia Gasviani, ''exposed as a Trotskyist." The story in Rayfield (page 249 in the 2013 edition) about Beria releasing Gamsakhurdia, who ''slapped him on the back and told him that sexual relations with enemies of the people were permitted'' is undocumented - evidently, a rumor.

. . . And More Phony References Kotkin: Also on December 4, 1936, in a memo circulated to all politburo members, Stalin dressed down Orjonikidze for having hidden long-ago correspondence with Beso Lominadze, who had been pronounced a posthumous enemy after committing suicide, while party boss, in Magnitogorsk the year before. The accusation of having concealed information from ''the Central Committee'' was one of Stalin's most threatening. What also rankled was that Lominadze's suicide note had been read over the telephone to Orjonikidze by Lominadze's deputy in Magnitogorsk, and that Orjonikidze was providing a pension to Lominadze's widow and money to their son (named Sergo, in

4"Ho KTO 3HaeT, KaK .u;oporJ{ 6blJIH BCIO >KH3Hb H

H nceii HameH: CeMbe 3TH .a;na qenoneKa. Cepro Op.a;:moHHK~3e - MOH KpecTHbIH OTel.\. Mena BeAb H Ha3BanH e qecrb Cepro." Sergo Beria, Moi Otets - Lavrentii Beria. Moscow: Sovremennik. 1994. Online at

lib.ru/MEMUARY/BE RIA/sber.txt

MOeMy OTt:zy,

70

Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T r u th

O r j o n i k i d z e 's h o n o r ) . S t a l i n h ad reports that Orjonikidze w a s bad-mouthin g him behind his back to h i s c r o n i e s Mamiya Orakhelas hvili a n d Shalva Eliava. 281 At t h e p l e n u m , Orjo nikidze j o i n e d i n t h e vicious attacks against Bukha rin. (358) N o t e 2 8 1 ( 1 0 0 6 ) : 281. RGASP I, f. 5 5 8 , op. 1 1 , d. 1 3 2 , I. 132; Khlevniuk, Khoziain, 277. T h i s i s all d i s h o n e s t . T h i s '' m e m o '' i s S t a l i n 's l e t t e r t o P olitburo m e m b e r s o f D e c e m b e r 4, 1 9 36 pointing out that Lominad ze had told Ordzhonikidze in 1929 about his oppositional view s and Ordzhonikidze had not info rmed t h e Central Committe 5 e . As a result Lominadze was appo i n t e d F i r s t S e c r e t a r y of t h e TransC a u c a s u s c o m m i t t e e of t h e party. T h e r e f o r e , S t a l i n w a s i n deed criticizing O r d z h o n i k i d z e h e r e. B u t Kotkin o m i t s t h e fact, k n own since 1980, that Lomina dze was e x p e c t e d b y T r o t s k y 's s o n Le on Sedov, w r i t i n g t o T r o t s k y in 1932, t o j o i n the Bloc of Rights, T rotskyists, and other opposi tionists b e f o r e long. 6 T h i s is o b j e c t i ve information, from Trotsk y 's o w n p a p e r s in t h e H a r v a r d T r o t s k y Archive. I t c o u l d n o t p o s s i b ly have b e e n f a b r i c a t e d t o falsely i m p l i c a t e L o m i n a d z e . So S t a lin w a s c o r r e c t - O r d z h o n i k i d z e 's k e eping silent about Lominadz e 's a n t i party sentiments was indeed a s e r i o u s political e r r o r . Moreover, Lominadze lied even in his suicide not e to Ordzhonikidze, which was r e a d o u t t o t h e latter i n a t e lephone c o n v e r s a t i o n b y L o m i n a d z e 's second-in-command. In it Lo minadze c o n t i n u e s t o c l a i m t h a t h e is being slandered. But now w e know t h a t h e w a s lying, e v e n h e r e in his s u i c i d e n o t e . Khlevniu k quotes t h i s directly, i n a b o o k c i t e d b y K o t k i n ( 1 0 9 1 ) . B u t Kotkin fails t o i n f o r m h i s r e a d e r s a b o u t it. 7

5

I w o u ld like to th a n k m y Mosc ow-based colleague Vladimir L 'vovich Bobrov for o b ta in in g for m e a c o p y o f th is archival d ocument. 6 P ie rr e Broue, "Trotsky e t le blo c d e s o p p o s it io n s d e 1932." Ca hiers Leon Trotsky 5 Uan-Mar 1 9 8 0 ), pp. 5-37. The Russian o riginal, to g e th e r w it h m y tr a n s la ti o n , a r e in Furr, T ro ts k y 's 'Amalgams', Appendix, D o c u m e n t 1, 5 0 4 ff.

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

71

On pp. 271-2, not 277, Khlevniuk reports, from his own book, that in September 1937, long after Ordzhonikidz e's death, Orakhelashvili admitted that Ordzhonikidz e had listened to Lominadze attack Stalin. Khlevniuk's source is the 1991 work Beria. Konets Kar'ery, page 387.

That essay is by Popov and Oppokov, two Gorbachev-er a writers who composed a long series of articles attacking Beria. P. and 0. cite very few sources, all of them from secret and unpublished documents, so no one could check them. But no sources at all are given here. So this fact-claim is, at best, a rumor. Rumors are not evidence, nor are collections of rumors, history. Kotkin's claim that ''Stalin had reports'' is an especially flagrant falsehood. For Khlevniuk states plainly that we do not have any reports: IloKa MhI He pacnoJiaraeM ,n.oHeceHHHMH HKB~ CTanHHY no noBo;zy HacTpoeHHH ero copaTHHKOB. Ho aeJIHKa BepO.HTHOCTb Toro, t{TQ CHfHanbI 0 BCTpeqax H pa3roaopax 3aKaBKa3~eB, co6HpaBlllHXCH y 0pA:>KOHHKH,l\3e, J\OKJia,l\hIBaJIHCh CTaJIHHy. (2 72)

While we do not have reports of the NKVD to Stalin about the mood of his comrades-in -arms, there is a high probability that the signals about the meetings and conversations of the Transcaucasi ans who gathered at Ordzhonikidz e were reported to Stalin. Evidently, Kotkin has simply invented the ''Stalin had reports'' business. As for Shalva Eliava, Khlevniuk does not even mention him. Kotkin's claim of ''attacks against Bukharin'' at the December 1936 Central Committee Plenum is false too. The materials we have from that Plenum contain no ''vicious attacks'' against Bukharin by anyone, and not a word by Ordzhonikidz e on any subject.

7

Khlevniuk, O.V. Politbiuro. Mekhanizmy politicheskoi vlasti v 1930-e gody. (1996), p. 171.

72

Stalin: W a it in g fo r ... T h e T r u th

Was Piatakov Literally A Skele ton? Kotkin: On t h e e v e n i n g o f t h e 2 9 t h , Orjo nikidze v i s i t e d his former first deputy Pyatakov in p r i s o n for t h e l a s t t i m e a n d o b s e r v e d his u t t e r l y s m a s h e d face. ( 3 7 3 ) T h e r e is n o r e f e r e n c e h e r e f o r t h i s s t a t e m e n t . P r e s u m a b l y Ko tkin h a s i n m i n d B u k h a r i n 's a l l e g e d r e m a r k t o h i s wife, Larina, that Kotkin q u o t e d e a r l i e r i n t h e t e x t (370): Meanwhile, Stalin h a d B u k h a r i n summoned to a confrontation with Radek and P yatakov, w h o w e r e delivered from prison. Bukharin t o l d his wife t h a t Radek had denounced him as a spy and terrorist with w h o m h e h a d p l o t t e d S t a l i n 's m urder, and that P y a t a k o v r e s e m b l e d a '' s k e l e t o n with its teeth k n o c k e d out.'' 345 Note. 3 4 5 (990): 345. Larina, Th is I Cannot Forget, 3 1 2 Kotkin's s t a t e m e n t is a b s u r d . P i a t a k o v 's face w a s c e r t a i n l y not l i t e r a l l y '' s m a s h e d ." L a r i n a d o e s n 't e v e n claim t h a t i t w a s , any m o r e t h a n s h e claimed Pia t a k o v w a s l i t e r a l l y a ''skele ton." Ordzhonikidze w a s p r e s e n t a t t h e Bukharin-Piatak ov confrontation, t h e t e x t o f whi c h b e e n p u b l i s h e d .8 Nothing was m e n t i o n e d t h e r e a b o u t a n y in ju r y t o Piatakov. A little m o r e t h an a month later Piatakov was a de f e n d a n t a t t h e p u b l i c Moscow T rial o f January, 1 9 3 7 , w h e r e h e test i f i e d a t l e n g t h . No o n e i n t h e l a rge a u d i e n c e , i n c l u d i n g m a n y fo reign o b s e r v e r s , m e n t i o n e d any i n j u r i e s t o P i a t a k o v 's face. W h a t 's m o r e , i t is q u i t e p o s s i b le t h a t Bukharin never used th ese w o r d s . Larina claimed t o b e r e m embering w h a t Bukharin had to ld h e r m a n y y e a r s b e f o r e . She f i r st d r a f t e d h e r m e m o i r d u r i n g t he 8

''C T e H o rp a M M h I O 'I B b lX c ra B O K B N~4 . C.3-12.

~K BKI1(6). ,AeKa6ph 1936 ro n a ." Bonpocbl ucmopuu. 2002

.

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

73

Khrushchev years, when she was trying unsuccessfull y to have 9 Bukharin ''rehabilitated ." It contains other false statements. It reflects the fact that under Khrushchev the best way to get someone ''rehabilitated '' was to slander Stalin and Beria as much as possible.

A Confrontation That Never Was Kotkin refers to a ''confrontation with Radek and Piatakov." This too is false, for there was no such confrontation . Bukharin had a face-to-face confrontation with Piatakov on December 7, 1936. His confrontation with Radek was more than a month later, on January 13, 1937.

The Falsified Tale of Sergo's Death Kotkin:

On February 17, 1937, Orjonikidze arrived at his commissariat , across the way from Old Square, at 12:10 p.m., two hours later than usual; he seems to have gone over to talk to Stalin, being one of the few people who could enter the dictator's Kremlin apartment. 50 Upon returning to his own Kremlin apartment, in the same Amusement Palace, Orjonikidze evidently had a shouting match over the telephone with Stalin, with profanities in Russian and Georgian.51 The NKVD had been searching Orjonikidze's apartment, an obvious provocation. 52 The remainder of Orjonikidze's day was occupied with meetings, including a politburo meeting at 3:00 p.m. to go over the plenum reports. Stalin hand-correcte d Orjonikidze's draft resolution on sabotage, insertipg passages about ''Trotskyite

Igor' Pykhalov and Vladimir L. Bobrov have analyzed one in "Iakir i Bukharin: spletni i dokumenty." Rossiiskii Koloko/, 2005; also Chapter 7 of Pykhalov's book Velikii Obol9anniy Vozhd' (2010).

9

74

Stalin: Waiting for ... The T r u th

w r e c k e r s ." I n t h e e a r l y e v e n in g , O r jo n ik id z e m a d e h i s way back to the commissariat fo r more meetings, l e a v i n g f o r h o m e a t 1 2 : 2 0 a.m. ( F e b r u a r y 18). L a t e r that morning, he did not emerge from his bedroom to take breakfast. When one of his subordinates came by in the afternoon, he refused to r e c e i v e h im . A t a r o u n d

d u s k , h i s wife, Z i n a i d a , h e a r d a g unshot in the b e d r o o m . O r j o n i k i d z e w a s d e a d . 53 (384) Notes 50-53 (992): SO. Za industrializatsiiu, F e b . 21, 1 9 3 7 : 6 (A. P. Z a v e n ia g in ) ; O r jo n ik id z e b u m p e d i n t o B u k h a r i n 's wife, A n n a , o n K r e m li n g r o u n d s returning to his a p a r t m e n t . L a r in a , Nezabyvaemo e, 333.

51. D u b i n s k i i - M u k h a r a d z e [ s ic - G F], Ordzhonikidze,

6. O r jo n ik id z e h a d li v e d i n t h e s o - c a ll e d c h i l d r e n 's section of the Grand Kremlin Pa la c e ( K r e s t i n s k y li v e d h e r e , t o o , a s d i d S v e r d lo v 's w i d o w K la v d iy a a n d h e r s o n A n d r e i, an NKVD o p e r a t i v e ) , b u t when t h e p a l a c e w a s b e i n g r e c o n s t r u c t e d , O r jo n ik id z e a n d o t h e r s m o v e d i n t o t h e A m u s e m e n t P a la ce, n e a r t h e T r i n i t y Gate, w h e r e S ta li n h a d l i v e d u n t il the 1932 suicide of N a d y a a n d w h e r e B u k h a r i n li v e d . 52. lzvestiia, Nov. 22, 1 9 6 3 ; Dub inskii--Mukhadze, Ordzhonikidze, 6. T h e e v e n i n g b e f o r e, Yezhov w a s r e c e i v e d a l o n e in t h e L it tl e C o r n e r . Na prieme, 2 0 2 . A lt e r n a te ly , t h e a p a r t m e n t s e a r c h may have occurred o n F e b . 1 6 , p r o m p t i n g O r jo n ik id z e 's t e t e - a - t e t e w i t h S ta li n o n t h e m o r n i n g o f F e b .1 7 .

5 3 . K h le v n iu k , In Stalin's Shadow , 1 4 3 - 9 ; Medvedev, Let History judge, 4 0 2 - 3 . A r o u n d m id n ig h t, O r jo n ik id z e h a d m e t w i t h h is d e p u t y f o r t h e c h e m ic a l industry to discuss Donbass cok e p l a n t s a b o t a g e . A f te r l e a v i n g t h e c o m m i s s a r i a t , O r jo n ik id z e m i g h t h a v e

75

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

spoken again with Stalin. Dubins kii-Mu khadze , OrdzhonikidzeJ 6. Sergo and Stalin ''eviden tly'' had a shoutin g match? So, where' s the ''evidence''? The fact is that not one of these statem ents of Kotkin 's is true. A charac teristic error is Kotkin's misrea ding of Larina' s memoi r, page 333, as saying that Ordzho nikidze was ''return ing to his apartm ent.'' (note 50) Actually, it was Larina who was returni ng home and Ordzhonikidze who was leaving. flOAOH'AH KAO My, .fl yBHAeJia, tITo

H3 coce~Hero

c

HallIHM no~'be3'Aa, 6JIH:>Ke K TpoH~KHM aopoTa M,

Bhirnen Cepro 0pAmOHHKH'A3e H HarrpaBHJIC.s:t K MalllHHe. (333) As I was approa ching our home I saw that Sergo Ordzho nikidze came out of the entrance next to ours, closer to the Trinity Gate, and headed for the car. They were already in the Kremlin. Headin g for a car meant that Ordzho nikidze was leaving, not arriving. Khlevniuk has invente d Ordzhonikidze's last evenin g of life. He has based his accoun t on the dishon est first edition of Dubins kyMukha dze's book, which relates the comple tely undocu mented tale about Ordzho nikidze 's shoutin g match with Stalin, etc. As we pointed out above, the second edition of 196 7 takes all this out. There is no eviden ce that Ordzhonikidze's apartm ent was search ed or that he had a ''meeti ng (''tete-a-tete'') with Stalin. Or, indeed , that he commi tted suicide at all.

Praise = ''Ridicule'': Kotkin Kotkin (about the Februa ry-Mar ch 1937 Centra l Comm ittee Plenum ): On the mornin g of Februa ry 28, Molotov, in place of Orjonikidze, deliver ed the report on sabotag e in industry, and ridicul ed Orjonik idze's counte rinvest igation s that minimi zed wrecking. (368)

76

Stalin: Waiting for ... The T r u th

This is false. In fact, t h e t r u t h is j u s t the opposite. Molotov praised Ordzhonikidze's anti-sabotage (''wrecking'') activities multiple times (e.g. Voprosy Jstorii 8 (1 993), p. 16). Nor did Molotov ''ridicule'' Ordzhonikidze's inves tigations. Molotov said t h a t t h e Ginzburg-Pavlunovsky investiga tion begun a t Ordzhonikidze's o r d e r w a s mistaken in finding t h a t ''sabotage a t t h e site did n o t a t t a i n a significant developmen t." Molotov said t h a t h e t r u s t e d t h e m , b u t y e t t h e y had b e e n u n a b l e to u n c o v e r sabotag e (''wrecking''). Kotkin: Orjonikidze h a d confided though t s of suicide t o Kaganovich a n d Mikoyan. 61 (386) 61. Mikoian, Tak by/0 3 2 7 - 3 3 . (9 92) 1

This is c h a p t e r 24 in Mikoian 's autobiography. But Vladimir Bobrov h a s p r o v e n t h a t K h r u s h chev a n d Mikoian lied big-time a b o u t Ordzhonikidze's death.

Kotkin Hopes You D o n 't Know What Kaganovich Really Thought Kotkin:

In published photographs taken n e a r t h e body, Kaganovich was seen expressing visibly s t r o n g emotions: grief, anger. He h a d l o s t his soul mate, a n d he k n e w Stalin h a d b e e n sadistica lly p r e s s u r i n g the infirm Orjonikidze. Kaganovich tough as nails, explosive was spiritually broken . (386) This has to be false. Kotkin gives no evidence for anything like this a b o u t Kaganovich. * I t is n o t in Mikoian's autobiog

raphy, the n e a r e s t footnote.

* Kaganovich himself says nothing a b o u t this in his interviews w i t h Felix Chuev. On t h e contrary, h e says t h a t Serg o w a s his

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

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closest friend (62); that Sergo supported the attacks against enemies (162); that Sergo never talked about suicide: (162); and that he, Kaganovich, never heard of any arguments between Stalin and Sergo, and calls such stories a lie (163). Kotkin knows this work, which refutes his unsupported claim. But Kotkin hides it 10 from his readers. Mikoian's autobiograph y is itself unreliable. It was published years after his death by his son, and has some probable insertions, as 11 Michael Ellman has suggested. It was clearly written to support Khrushchev's ''line'' against Stalin. Mikoian had been the first Party leader to attack Stalin during the XX Party Congress, days before 12 Khrushchev's ''Secret Speech.'' For more on Mikoian's dishonest autobiograph y, see Chapter 15.

Another Lie From Mikoian Kotkin: Stalin went on to break Mikoyan, summoning him in 1937 to discuss the arrest of his subordinate in the food industry commissariat , Mark Belenky, then, after Mikoyan supposedly protested and Stalin called him blind in matters of personnel, summoning him again to show him protocols of Belenky's ''confession." ''Have a look: he confessed to wrecking," Stalin said. ''You vouched for him. Go and read it!'' Mikoyan called it ''a blow against me." 62 (386) Note 62 (992): 62. Mikoyan was in Stalin's office on Nov. 2 and 14, 1937, both times with Yezhov. Mikoian, Tak bylo, 318-9; Na prieme, 224.

°Feliks Chuev. Tak govoril Kaganovich. lspoved' stalinskogo apostola. Moscow,

1

''Otechestvo," 1992. 11 "The Road from Il'ich to Il'ich: The Life and Times of Anastas Ivanovich Mikoian." Slavic

Review 60, 1(Spring,2001), 141. 12 XX S''ezd Kommunisticheskoi Partii Sovetskogo Soiuza. Stenograficheskii otchet (Moscow, 1956), I, 302, 321, 323, 324, 326.

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Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T r u th

Mikoian d i d w r i t e t h e s e w o r d s . B u t t h e r e 's n o t h i n g h e r e a b o u t ''breaking'' Mikoian. Belenkii was a r r e s t e d o n N o v e m b e r 9, 1 9 3 7 , s o Stalin's in f o r m in g him o f Belenkii's confession c ould well have occurred o n N o v e m b e r 14. B u t Kotkin fails t o i n f o r m us t h a t Belenkii h a d b e e n u n d e r s u s p ic io n s i n c e a t l e a s t S e p t e m b e r 25, 1937. In a r e p o r t o f t h a t d a t e to Stalin from NKVD m a n Litvin, writing from Erevan, Armenia, w e r e a d t h e foil owing: IloCJie, nepexo~si Ha p a 6 o T y B BaKy, AKOilOB B 1 9 3 4 ro~y 6 h 1 J I n p H B J le q e u K Tpo~ KHCTCKOH p a 6 o T e EEJIEH hKHM H

cocToHJI a pyKoBOJ\.s:rmeM cocT aae TPOI.\KHCTCKOHv opraHH3a~HH B Baey. Ka K yqacTHHKOB pyKoBOJVIll\ero cocTasa TPOl..\KHCTCKOH opraHH 3a~HH ,

CJiet(yIO~Hx JIH~:

AKOilOB H a 3 h IB a e T

BEJIEHbKOfO, AMATYHM, CE, EOH~APEHKO, HAPHMA HOBA.

Then, t u r n i n g to w o r k in Baku, AK OPOV in 1 9 3 4 was involved in t h e T r o t s k y i s t w o r k o f B ELEN'KII a n d w a s in t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f t h e T r o t s k y i s t o rganization in Baku. As m e m b e r s o f t h e l e a d e r s h ip of the Trotskyist organization, AKO POV names the f ollowing p e r s o n s : BELEN'KII, AMATUNI, SEF, BONDA RENKO, NARIMANOVA. 13

There are more allegations o f conspiratorial activities b y Belenkii: n o c s o e ii Il O 'A P b IB H O H pa6oTe B Ha pKOMilH~enpoMe .l\YKOP 6 b IJ I C B H 3 a H c 6 b IB ll IH M 3aM eCTH

TeJieM HapKoMa IIM~eaoli npoMbIIIIJieHHOC TH EEJIEHhKHM (apecToBa H).

,l(YKOP noKa3aJI, q T o opraHH3a~HH npaBb B n H II .\ e B o ii n p o M h IW J ie H H o c T H , B JIH~e

6bIJia CB.H33Ha c KOHTppeBOJllO~H OHH

IX H TPOl..\KHCTOB

EEJIEHhKoro,

OH

13

Lubianka 1937-1938, No. 215, p. 3 7 9. Online a t h tt p :/ /i s tm a t. in fo /n o d e /3 2 3 0 4 a n d h tt p ://www.alexanderyakovlev.org /fond/issues-doc/ 61197

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

79

npaBoTpo~KHCTCKOH opraHH3aa;HeH: B HapKOM BHyropr e, B

JIH~e BEMUEPA H XJIOTIJIHHKMHA. - CBO'AKa Ba:>KeHi lIHX IlOKa3aH HH apeCTOB aHHhIX no rYrB HKB,ll CCCP 3a 10 eBpaJISI 1938 r. 13 eBpaJIH 1938 r. N2 100890 .

In his subver sive work in the People 's Comm issaria t for Food, DUCOR was associa ted with the former deputy food addict Belenk ii (arrest ed). DUCOR showe d that the organiz ation of Rightis ts and Trotsk yists in the food industr y, represe nted by BELENKII, was associa ted with a counte rrevolut ionary right-w ing Trotsk y organiz ation in the People 's Comm issariat of Foreign Trade, represe nted by Veitser and Khlopl yankin.

- A summa ry of the most import ant testimo nies of those arreste d by the GUGB of the NKVD of the USSR for Februa ry 10, 1938. Dated Februa ry 13, 1938, No. 100890 . This is in the import ant docum ent collect ion Lubianka-Golgofa, 95. Belen'k ii is also named in reports on pages 101 and 111. Kotkin never cites this import ant collect ion of investi gative docum ents. But the import ant thing is this: these were reports to Stalin, not fabrications 12J!. Stalin in order to ''break'' Mikoian. It would have been irrespo nsible for Stalin not to have inform ed Mikoia n about serious charge s against his subord inate. Theref ore, Stalin had sufficie nt reason to suppos e that Belenk ii might have been guilty. We have no eviden ce that he was ''frame d." We do not know whethe r Belenk ii was guilty. We don't have his NKVD investi gative file or the rehabil itation report on him, if there was one. In his autobio graphy Mikoia n had ample opport unity to discuss the charge s agains t Belenk ii and refute them. But he never mentio ns Belenk ii again after this passag e.

80

Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T r u th

''Dictator''? ''First A m o n g Peers ''? H o w A b o u t ''Despot''? Kotkin: M e m b e r s o f t h e i n n e r c ir c le w e r e no longer comrades o f t h e r u l e r . S ta li n w a s n o l o n g e r first among peers, b u t a d e s p o t 63 ( 3 8 6 ) N o t e 63:

A s o n e s c h o l a r e x p la in e d , ''Up t o 1936, the leading group was held together by shar e d c o n v ic ti o n s i n a s h a r e d p r o je c t, b u t a f t e r 1 9 3 7 t h e nature of the group changed.'' Rees, ''Stalin a s Leader, 1 9 3 7 - 1 9 5 3 ," 207. (992) W h a t n o n s e n s e ! Up t o t h i s d a t e February, 1937 S ta li n w a s n o t a '' d ic ta to r '' b u t o n l y '' f ir s t a m o n g p e e r s '' ? T h e n w h y h a s Kotkin b e e n calling h i m a '' d ic ta to r '' befo re t h i s p o i n t in h i s b o o k ? Rees, a s w e s h a ll s e e , is in e r r o r .

D o c u m e n t s A g a in s t Kalinin and Rudzutak? Kotkin: M ik o y a n a n d Beria, a s s i g n e d t o c omb through O r jo n ik id z e 's p e r s o n a l a r c h iv e , d iscovered two sealed f o ld e r s ( r e c e i v e d b a c k w h e n h e h e a d e d t h e C e n tr a l C o n tr o l C o m m is s io n ) , w h i c h h e l d compromising t s a r i s t p o li c e m a t e r i a l s o n p o l i t b u r o m e m b e r s Kalinin a n d R u d z u ta k s . 14 O r jo n ik id z e h a d marked the folders ''Do n o t o p e n w i t h o u t me." K v a s h o n k in , Sovetskoe rukovodstvo, 9 - 1 0 (RGASPI, f. 85, d. 2, l. 1 - 3 0 ) . ( 9 9 2 ) 14

F o r s o m e re a s o n Kotkin u s e s th e L atvian spelling. In sc h o la rs h ip , h o w e v e r, th e Russian sp e ll in g "Rudzutak" is u se d .

81

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

Here is the text from the introduction to Kvashonkin's book. IIoCJie rH6eJIH B cpeBpane MHKOHH H

1937 r.

r. K. Op~OHHKHA3e, A.H.

JI. n. EepHH, pa36HpaBUJHe IIO nopyqeHHIO

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25 MapTa 1929 r. H3 JleHHHrpaACKO ro o6KOMa napTHH B MocKBY Ha HM.ff 0pA:>KOHHKH,[(3e npHCJiaJIH KOilHIO

M.H. KaJIHHHHa, ,a;aHHhIX HM Ha µ;onpoce B c}>eapane 1900 r. IlpoTOKOJI )\onpoca HaqHHaJic.H co cnoB

noKa3aHHH

KaJIHHHHa: >. ~aJiee CJieµ;oBaJI no,u;po6HhIH paccKa3 o KOHTaKTax c nponaraHJJ.HCT aMH H yqaCTHH B pa6oTe HeneraJibHoro KpymKa. IlOMHMO KOIIHH npOTOKOJia ,u;onpoca, B KOHBepTe Op,l\>KOHHKHA3e coxpaHHJIHCh TaKme no,a;JJHHHHKH 3Toro IIpOTOKOJia H npoweHH.H KaJIHHHHa Ha HM.ff MHHHCTpa

rocrH~HH, rro~aHHoro H3 rreTep6yprcKo ro .n;oMa npe,l(BapHTeJih HOfO 3aKJIIOtteHH.H.

3rH ~OK}'MeHThI, BH,l(HMO,

6hIJIH H3"h.HTbl H.3 IlO/J.JIHHHbIX apXHBHbIX .n;eJI H npHCJiaHhl B MocKBY "IYfh no3me 7. BMecTe c .n;oKyMeHTaMH KaJIHHHHa B KOHBepTe xpaHHJiacb apxHBHruI cnpaBKa o

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1909r.K10 ro.n;aM KaToprH no 11.e11y BHH,l(aBCKOH

opraHH3a~HH JlaTbillICKOH CO~HaJI-,l(eMOKpaTHqecKOH pa6ot.JeH napTHH. CnpaaKa noKa3hIBa.na, "ITO BO apeM.H CJie/J.CTBHH Py11.3yraK pacKphIJI rpynny 'llJieHoB opraHH331..\HH H no H33B3HHbIM HM a,&pecaM 6bIJJH npOH3BeJJ.eHbl o6bICKH H H3"h.HTO opymHe H rrponaraH.n;HcTc Ka.H JIHTepaTypa. 3Ta apXHBHa.st cnpaBKa 6hIJia HanpaBJieHa H3 UeHTpanhHoro HCTOpH'tlecKor o apxHBa B JleHHHrpa/J.e B a,u;pec UeHTpanhHoro coaeTa BceCOI03HOro oo~eCTBa IIOJIHTK3TOp:>KaH B .n;eKa6pe

r.s

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82

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

After the deat h in Febr uary , 193 7, of G.K. Ordzhonikidze, A.I. Mikoyan and L.P. Beria, who, on the instr uctio ns of the Politburo, were analy zing the archi ves of the dece ased , disco vered two enve lope s seale d with wax seal with the inscr iptio n in Ordzhonikidze's hand: ''Do not open with out me." 6 In these enve lopes were seve ral docu ment s from the archi ves of the Police Depa rtme nt, seize d from the inves tigat ion cases of a num ber of Bolshevik figures. Thus, on March 25, 1929 , a copy of the testi mon y of M.I. Kalinin, from an inter roga tion of Febr uary 1900 , was sent from the Leni ngra d Regional Party Com mitte e to Mosc ow in the nam e of Ordzhonikidze. The inter roga tion proto col bega n with the word s of Kalinin: ''Being summ oned for ques tioni ng as a resul t of my petit ion, I wan t to give frank testi mon y abou t my crim inal activ ities . " Then followed a detai led acco unt of conta cts with prop agan dists and parti cipat ion in the work of the illegal circle. In addi tion to the copy of the inter roga tion proto col, the originals of this proto col and Kalinin's petit ion to the Mini ster of Justice, filed from the St. Pete rsbu rg pretrial deten tion cente r, were also kept in the enve lope of Ordzhonikidze. Thes e docu ment s, appa rentl y, were remo ved from the origi nal archi ve files and sent to Moscow a little later . 7 Along with Kalinin's docu ment s, an archi val certi ficat e was kept in the enve lope abou t Ya. E. Rudzutak, conv icted at the end of 1909 to 10 year s of hard labo r in the case of the Vindav orga nizat ion of the Latvian Social-Democratic Labo r Party. The inqu iry show ed that durin g the inves tigat ion Rudz utak discl osed a grou p of mem bers of the orga nizat ion and the police searc hed the addr esses he had given and seize d weap ons and prop agan da litera ture. This archi val refer ence was sent from the Central Historical Archive in Leni ngra d to the Cent ral Council of the All-Union

83

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's d ea th

in ty ie c o S ] rs e n so ri p l a c ti li o [p P o li tk a to rz h a n 8 December 1928. . 0 -1 9 , o v st d o v o k ru e o k ts e v o S , in k n o sh a v K m o fr t x te e th is T h is en ft o o s s a r, e v e w o H ) t. n e m u c o d l a iv h rc a e th to re a -8 6 s te o (N s. m le b ro p re a re e th s, e rc u w it h K o tk in 's so

k a T y h p ra g io b to u a 's n ia o ik M in is th t u o b a l al t a g in th o n T h e re 's s: w o ll fo s a s te ri w k iu n v le h K g le O , re o m s t' a h W t? o n y h W . Bylo MbI 3HaeM, qTo HMeHHO B , bl H _e JJ aH H IH IJ 6b H ~H IH OJ Il a T eH aM 1 9 2 8 r. B apXHBax ,n:enapT

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8 2 9 1 in t a th w o n k e w , ts n T h a n k s to th e n e w d o c u m e t n e m rt a p e d e c li o p e th f o s e iv h in the a rc

. E a. Y d n a in n li a K . .I M n o ls a compromising materi e c li o p 's in n li a K f o rt o p re e th Rudzutak w e re found. In g in e ''B : id sa s a w it , 0 0 9 1 ry a in te rr o g a ti o n of F e b ru

I , n o ti ti e p y m f o lt u s re a s a s u m m o n e d fo r q u e st io n in g l a in m ri c y m t u o b a y n o m ti s te k w a n t to give fran e th ld to l, o c to ro p is th to g in rd o c activities." Kalinin, a c . le c ir c l a g le il e th f o rk o w e th t u p o li c e in d e ta il a b o , k ta u z d u R f o se a c e th in te a ic F ro m th e a rc h iv a l c e rt if s w o ll fo it , 9 0 9 1 in r o b la c o n v ic te d of te n y e a rs o f h a rd f o p u ro g a d se lo c is d e h s n o ti th a t d u ri n g th e in te rr o g a n e iv g s e s s re d d a e th t A . n o ti a m e m b e rs o f th e o rg a n iz d n a s n o p a e w d n a t u o d ie to th e m , s e a rc h e s w e re c a rr

84

Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T ruth

propaganda literature we r e seized. (Khlevniuk, Stali n. Z h iz n ' odno90 vozhdia. M oscow, 2 0 1 5 , p. 1 5 5 - 6 ) . In his i n t r o d u c t i o n Kvash onkin s a y s t h a t t h e s e d o cuments were discovered in February, 1 9 3 7 , b y M i k o i a n a n d Beria , in envelopes - n o t f o l d e r s , a s Kotkin s t a t e s - i n O r d z h o n i k i d z e 's a rchives, w i t h a m e s s a g e t h a t clearly i n t e nded to keep them secret . K v a s h o n k i n 's b o o k w a s p u b l i s h e d i n 199 9. B u t i n his 2 0 1 5 b o o k Kh levniuk s t a t e s t h a t t h e d o cuments were d i s c o v e r e d in 1 9 2 8 . Khl evniuk g o e s o n t o s u g g e s t - a s usual, w i t h o u t evidence - t h a t Stalin h a d u s e d t h e s e d ocuments to blackmail h i s s u p p o r t e r s . ( 1 5 8 ) Kvashonkin (9-10) says that both t h e d o c u m e n t a b o u t Kalin in a n d t h a t a b o u t R u d z u t a k w e r e s e n t in 1 9 2 9 t o Ordzhonikidze. B o t h Kvashonkin a n d Khl evniuk cite t h e s a m e a r c h ival identifiers, s o t h e y a r e talking a b o u t the same documents ( RGASPI, F. 8 5 Novye p o s t u p l e n i a . D. 2. L I. 1 - 1 1 , 2 8 - 3 0 ) . W h y do t h e y d i s a g r e e so sharply about them?

* I f Stalin h a d k n o w n a b o u t t h e m

O r d z h o n i k i d z e 's a r c h i v e ?

* If they

in 1928, why did they end up in

did, w o u l d t h a t n o t m e a n t h a t O r d z honikidze w a s v e r y c l o s e t o Stalin? I n s t e a d o f fearful a n d hostile, a s K otkin, c o p y i n g f r o m Khlevniuk a n d Dubin s k i i - M u k h a d z e 's 1 9 6 3 e d i t i o n , h a s it. * W h y d o b o t h Kvashonkin a n d K hlevniuk q u o t e o n l y one se n t e - t h e same s e n t e n c e -- f r o n c e m j u s t one of t h e documen ts, when there are clearly 1 4 p a g e s (1-11, 2 8 .. 3 0 ) ? T h i s fact s u g g e s t s that either Khlevniuk, K v a s h o n k i n , o r both, h a d n o t actua lly r e a d t h e document in question bu t h a d only s e e n a selecti o n f r o m it. Or, p e r h a p s , Kvashonkin r e a d i t a n d Khlevniuk j u s t copied from Kvashonkin. One t h i n g is c lear: Kotkin h a s n o t r e a d i t. * W h y h a v e n 't t h e s e d o c u m e n t s b e e n p u b l ished? Kvashonkin claims t o h a v e s e e n t h e m a s e a r l y a s 1 9 9 9 . Yet i n 2 0 1 5 Khlevniuk only q u o t e s t h e s a m e o n e s e n t e n c e from them.

Chapter Three. Ordzhonikidze's death

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Do these documents exist at all? If they do exist, are they genuine, or forgeries? It is the job of scholarship to recognize problems like this and either to resolve through, through research, or at least to alert readers to them. Kotkin does neither.

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C h a p t e r 4. T r o t s

a n d t h e Bloc

I h a v e p u b l i s h e d t w o b o o k s o n Le on T r o t s k y 's activities d u r i n g t h e 1 9 3 0 s . Trotsky's 'Amalgams' u n c o v e r s a n d e x a m in e s t h e lies b y T r o t s k y a n d h i s son, L e o n S e d o v, a b o u t t h e bloc o f T r o ts k y is ts , Rights, a n d o t h e r o p p o s it io n is ts . Kotkin also t o u c h e s o n t h i s i m p o r t a n t issue. I t is t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e p r e s e n t c h a p te r . In t h e s a m e b o o k I also d e v o t e t w e l v e c h a p te r s , m o r e t h a n h a lf o f t h e book, t o e x a m in in g t h e t e s t i m o n y a t t h e Moscow Trials, in a n attempt to determine whether th at testimony should be accepted as w h a t i t appears to be - w h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t s c h o s e to s a y - o r whether the defendants' testimo n y w a s fabricated, '' s c r ip te d '' by t h e p r o s e c u t i o n , forced from t h em by threats or promises, and therefore should not be consid e r e d t o b e valid evidence. This s e c t i o n is n o w p u b l i s h e d s e p a r a t e l y a s The Moscow Trials A s 1

Evidence.

On t h e b a s i s o f t h e e v i d e n c e n o w available t o all r e s e a r c h e r s I p r o v e t h a t T r o t s k y li e d c o n s i s t e n t l y a b o u t v ir tu a ll y e v e r y t h i n g c o n c e r n i n g h i s o w n a c ti v it ie s a n d a b o u t e v e n t s i n t h e S o v ie t Union. I also s h o w t h a t , w h e n e v e r w e c a n c h e c k a fact ..claim m a d e b y o n e o f t h e tr ia l d e f e n d a n t s a g a i n s t e v id e n c e t h a t is i n d e p e n d e n t l y o b ta in e d , w e find t h a t t h e t r i a l t e s t i m o n y is valid. T h e r e f o r e , t h e t e s t i m o n y in t h e M o s c o w T r ia ls is valid evidence, a n d s h o u l d b e u s e d a s s u c h in h is to r ic a l study.

In m y s e c o n d book, Evidence o f Le on Trotsky's Collaboration with Germany a n d japan, I g a t h e r a n d s t u d y t h e e v id e n c e n o w availa ble a b o u t th is i m p o r t a n t c h a r g e a g a i n s t Trotsky, w h ic h w a s f e a t u r e d in the Second and Third Mosco w Trials o f January, 1 9 3 7 , a n d March, 1 9 3 8 respectively. I con clude, a s a n y objective s t u d e n t m u s t , th a t, o n t h e b a s is o f t h e e v id e n c e n o w available, w e m u s t 1

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Chapter Four: Trotsky and the Bloc

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affirm that Trotsky did indeed collaborate with Germany and Japan. I cannot summarize these two book.. length studies here, and refer the interested reader to them. Therefore, the present chapter will be short.

All the evidence available to me and which I study in these books is available to all researchers. But Kotkin either ignores it - bias by omission - or, as we shall see, falsifies it. To do otherwise - to recognize that Trotsky lied, and did indeed collaborate with the Axis, utterly dismantles the Anti~Stalin Paradigm of Soviet history that Kotkin bends all his efforts to uphold.

***** In the First Moscow Trial of August, 1936, Trotsky was accused of forming a ''bloc of Rights and Trotskyites." By ''bloc'' was meant a political alliance for concerted action between clandestine opposition groups operating illegally within the Soviet Union. The aim of the bloc was the overthrow of the Stalin leadership. Trotsky always denied that any such bloc existed or that he would have ever considered forming such a bloc with what he called ''capitulators'' - those who had publicly renounced their support of the Trotskyist opposition and promised future support for the Bolshevik Party line. Since Khrushchev's day the existence of this bloc has been denied by the Soviet, then the Russian, governments, and by all scholars of Soviet history whether Soviet, Russian, Western anticommunist, or Trotskyist. In January, 1980, the Trotsky Archive at Harvard University was opened to researchers. Almost immediately a research team directed by Pierre Broue, in his day the foremost Trotskyist historian in the world, discovered that a bloc of Rights, Trotskyists, and other oppositionists, had indeed existed and that Trotsky had approved it.

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Stalin: Waiting fo r ... The T ru th

S h o rt ly th e re a ft e r, A m e ri c a n sc h o la r A rc h G e tt y d is c o v e re d o th e r d o c u m e n ts in th e H a rv a rd T ro ts k y A rc h iv e th a t p ro v e d th a t T ro ts k y w ro te to fo rm e r o p p o si ti o n is ts - '' c a p it u la to rs '' -- in 1 9 3 2 , u n d o u b te d ly to u rg e th e m to re tu rn to o p p o si ti o n . T ro ts k y s w o re th a t h e h a d n o t c o n ta c te d th e m a n d w o u ld n e v e r d o so. Again, T ro ts k y lied. T h ro u g h o u t th e '8 0 s a n d '9 0 s B ro u e w e n t o n to d is c o v e r o th e r li e s b y T ro ts k y . K o tk in c it e s B ro u e 's re se a rc h . He m u s t a ls o k n o w G e tt y 's 1 9 8 5 a rt ic le o n th e T ro ts k y Archives, w h ic h w a s p u b li s h e d in S o v ie t Studies, th e fo re m o s t v e h ic le in th e w o rl d fo r re s e a rc h in S o v ie t h is to ry . B u t Kotkin d o e s n o t in fo rm h is re a d e rs w h a t th is re s e a rc h p ro v e s - th a t d u ri n g th e 1 9 3 0 s T ro ts k y li e d c o n si st e n tl y a b o u t h is a c ti v it ie s. T ro ts k y li e d in h is Bulletin o f th e Opposition; in all h is a rt ic le s a n d b o o k s; in h is s u p p o s e d '' re fu ta ti o n '' o f th e 1 9 3 6 M o sc o w Trial, th e R e d Book. T ro ts k y li e d to th e 1 9 3 7 D e w e y C o m m is si o n , a n d th e C o m m is si o n m e m b e rs b e li e v e d him. 2 Kotkin c o n c e a ls all th is fr o m h is re a d e rs .

Is This A ''Lie''? If Not, W h a t Is? N o te 1 9 (912): S ta li n h a d th e OGPU b la c k m a il o r e n ti c e T ro ts k y s u p p o rt e rs in te rn a ll y e x il e d in th e USSR to d e n o u n c e h im in th e S o v ie t p re ss . R a dek si g n e d a d e n u n c ia ti o n o f T ro ts k y th a t w a s p u b li s h e d in Pravda Uuly 1 3 , 1 9 2 9 ). See a ls o Braue, ''Bo lshevikL e n in is t Faction," 1 4 0 ; D e u ts c h e r, Prophet Arm ed, 3 9 0 ; Volkogonov, Trotsky, 2 8 1 ; Yaroslavskii, '' E to t son k n o c h e n [t h is s h o u ld b e ''k o n c h e n '' - GF]," 2; RGASPI, f. 1 7 , op. 3, d. 7 8 2 , I. 9. E v e n B e lo b o ro d o v a n d Iv an S m ir n o v w o u ld p u b li c ly b re a k w it h T ro ts k y . Pravda, Nov. 3, 1 9 2 9 . Rakovski, in A st ra k h a n , n e a rl y a lo n e re m a in e d loyal; T ro ts k y k e p t a p h o to g ra p h o f h im o n h is d e sk .

2

F or a de ta il ed st ud y of T ro ts ky 's lies at th e D ew ey Commission he ar in gs of 19 37 se e Furr, T ro ts ky 's 'Amalgams', C ha pt er s 17 an d 18 ; Furr , Dewey C om m is si on

Chapter Four.: Trotsky and the Bloc

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literally made it up! There is no Kotkin has fabricated this evidence that the OGPU compelled Trotskyists to ''denounce him." Neither Deutscher, loc. cit., nor Broue, loc. cit, say anything about this. Broue, ''Bolshevik-Leninist Faction ..." was published in 1988. It has nothing at all about the OGPU [after 1934 renamed NKVD] either ''enticing'' or ''blackmailing'' oppositionist s to ''capitulate,'' must less to denounce Trotsky. On the contrary: by 1990 Broue had concluded that the ''capitulations'' were false. Lev Sedov called the Smirnov group either the ''former capitulators'' or the ''Trotskiite capitulators. '' Everybody had known, from 1929 on, that people in the Smirnov group had not really capitulated but were trying to fool the apparatus, and were capable of organizing themselves as an Opposition within the party: the fact was so universally known that Andres Nin, the Spaniard deported from the Soviet Union in August 1930, explained it openly to his German comrades of Die permanente Revolution who printed his declaration without 3 apparent problem. Kotkin cites this very article! So Kotkin knows that the supposed ''capitulations'' were phony. That means that Kotkin's claim that ''Stalin had the OGPU blackmail or entice Trotsky supporters internally exiled in the USSR to denounce him in the Soviet press'' constitutes deliberate deception of his readers - there is no other way to explain it. If this isn't a lie, what is? Why would Kotkin, like Khrushchev's men and then Gorbachev's men, do this? No doubt because the existence of the clandestine ''bloc of Rights and Trotskyists'' was one of the central charges in

3

Pierre Broue. "Party Opposition to Stalin (1930-1932) and the First Moscow Trial." In John W. Strong, ed. Essays on Revolutionary Culture and Stalinism. Columbus, OH: Slavica Publishers, 1990, pp. 98-111., 104. (Broue, POS)

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Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T ru th

th e Moscow Trials, a n d T ro ts k y h a d c o n s is te n tl y d e n ie d th a t a n y s u c h bloc e x is te d o r c o u ld exist. T h e re fo re , to a c k n o w le d g e th a t it re a ll y d id e x is t w o u ld d is m a n tl e th e alle gation, u n iv e rs a l a m o n g T ro ts k y is ts a n d a n ti c o m m u n is ts , th a t th e Moscow T ri a ls w e re fr a m e -u p s fa b ri c a te d b y Stalin.

Antisemitism in Kotkin's Use o f Names Kotkin, Note 2 2 (9 1 2 ): Deutscher, P ro p h e t Outcast, 67. At S ta li n 's b e h e s t, th e p ro p a g a n d is t Miney Gubelman, w h o w e n t b y th e n a m e Yemelyan Yaroslav sky, a n s w e re d w it h a n essay, ''Mr. T ro ts k y a t th e Service o f th e Bourgeoisie, o r L. T ro ts k y 's F ir s t S te p s A b r o a d '' p u b li s h e d in R u s s ia n in th e S o v ie t p re s s , e s s e n ti a ll y a s a lv e for S ta li n 's ego. Bol'shevik, 1 9 2 9 , no. 5 a n d 9. W h a t' s th e p o in t o f u s in g Yaroslavskii's b ir th , ''Jewish'' n a m e ? As re c o rd e d in th e m e m o ir o f th e w e ll -k n o w n S o v ie t w ri te r K o n s ta n ti n Simonov, Stalin h im s e lf s a id th a t d o in g s o w a s a n ti s e m it ic : A p e rs o n h a s th e ri g h t to w ri te u n d e r a p s e udonym he h a s c h o s e n for himself. But, obviously, s o m ebody w a n ts to e m p h a s iz e th a t th is p e rs o n h a s a d o u b le n a m e , to e m p h a s iz e th a t h e is a Jew. W h y e m p h a s iz e th a t? W h y do th a t? W h y s p re a d a n ti -S e m it is m ? W h o b e n e fi ts fr o m th a t? 4 Kotkin d o e s n o t call Grigorii Zinoviev b y h is b ir th , ''Jewish'' n a m e Ovsei-Gersh A ro n o v ic h Radomysel'skii. He d o e s n o t call Lev K a m e n e v b y h is birth, ''Jewish'' n a m e Roze nfel'd. He d o e s n o t re fe r to Karl R a d e k b y h is b ir th , ''Jewish'' n a m e Sobel'son. A n d h e d o e s n 't re fe r to Leon T ro ts k y b y h is b ir th , ''Jewish'' n a m e Leiba B ro n s h te in . Evidently Kotkin's a n ti s e m it is m is re s tr ic te d to p e o p le h e d o e s n o t like - s u p p o rt e rs o f Stalin. 4

K on st an ti n Simonov. Glazami cheloveka moe

go pokoleniya. Moscow: Novosti, 19 88 , p. 216. Also online at http://www.hrono.info/Iibris/l ib_s/simonov16.php

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Yaroslavskii's brother kept his birth name Gubel'man, was a lifelong Bolshevik and died full of honors in 1966. Yaroslavskii's son kept the name Yaroslavsky and became a Major-General, famous pilot, and hero of World War II.

Trotsky and the Bloc Kotkin: Sedov wrote to his father in invisible ink that a ''bloc'' had formed inside the USSR of ''Zinovievites, the Sten-Lominadze group, and Trotskyites," an apparent

reference to the small Ryutin conspiracy...."291 (106) Note 291 (935): Trotsky received the letter on Oct. 4, 1932: Trotsky archive, Harvard, T 4782; Davies, Crisis and Progress, 246-7, citing conversations with Pierre Broue, editor of Trotsky's notebooks in French. This is another falsehood by Kotkin - in this case, ''bias by omission." The text of Sedov's letter makes it clear that the bloc was not small. Davies, 246, notes that the bloc ''consisting of 'Zinovievites, the Sten-Lominadze group and Trotskyists (former [capitulators])'." Moreover, it had nothing to do with Riutin. No ''small Riutin conspiracy'' existed. Riutin was simply one member of the Rightist conspiracy that entered the bloc in 1932. Here is the relevant part of the letter (''Z'' and ''K'' are Zinoviev and Kamenev): [The bloc] has been organized. In it have entered the Zinovievists, the Sten-Lominadze group and the Trotskyists (former ''capitulators''). The group of Safar. Tarkhan. has not formally entered yet - they stand on too extreme a position; they will enter

92

Stalin: Waiting for .. . T h e T r u t h

i n a v e r y s h o r t time. - T h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f Z. a n d K. concerning t h e i r e n o r m o u s m i s t a k e i n '27 w a s

m a d e during

negotiations w i t h o u r people c o n c e r n i n g t h e bloc, i m m e d i a t e l y b e f o r e t h e exile o f Z a n d K. - 5 This is t h e ''bloc of Opposition ists'' t h e s a m e bloc r e f e r r e d t o i n t h e M o s c o w Trials. B r o u e a d m i t s t h i s i n his 1 9 8 0 article , which Kotkin f o o t n o t e s e l s e w h e re, though n o t here. K otkin is d e l i b e r a t e l y deceiving his r e a d e r s b y withholding this inf ormation from t h e m .

Evidence o f Trotsky's Cons p i r a c y with G e r m a n y and Japan In t h e Second a n d T h i r d Mos cow Trials a n u m b e r o f d e f endants testified a t length a b o u t T r o t s k y 's c o n s p i r a c y w i t h Hitler's Germany a n d m i l i t a r i s t - f a s c i s t J a p a n a g a i n s t t h e Soviet Union. Trotsky, o f course, d e n i e d a n y s u c h thing. B u t t h i s m e a n s nothing s i n c e h e w o u l d do s o w h e t h e r h e w e r e guilty o r innocent. We n o w h a v e a l o t o f e v i d e n c e t h a t T r o t s k y d i d i n fact c o l laborate with Germany and Japan. As w e h a v e s e e n , Kotkin h a s n o t simply d e n i e d t h a t t h e bloc o f Rights, T r o t s k y i s t s , a n d other o p p o s i t i o n i s t s r e a l l y existed, b u t h a s a l s o falsified t h e e v i dence. I t s h o u l d b e no s u r p r i s e t h a t K otkin i g n o r e s e n t i r e l y t h e e v idence o f T r o t s k y 's c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h t h e Axis e v e n t h o u g h i t is i n d ocument collections t h a t h e h i m s e l f us 6 es. W e also h a v e a g r e a t deal o f evidence t h a t T r o t s k y i s t s w ithin t h e USSR w e r e d o i n g j u s t w h a t t h e Trotskyists in t h e Second a n d Third Moscow T r i a l s t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e y w e r e doing: p lanning assassinations and sabotag e and were working with German a g e n t s . 7 At p r e s e n t w e h a v e e v i d e n c e i n t w o forms: pretrial 5

Furr, Trotsky's 'Amalgams', 5 0 6 ff.; m y tr a n s la ti o n . 6 For th is evidence, s e e Furr, T r o ts k y 's Collaboration.

Chapter Four: Trotsky and the Bloc

93

interrogation s and confessions of people involved in Oppositional activities within the Soviet Union; and confessions, including now the actual trial transcript, of Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsk y and the seven other top-level military leaders arrested, tried, executed. and convicted,

7

For this evidence, see Furr, Trotsky's 'Amalgams'. Volume 3 of my Trotsky studies will have much more such evidence.

C h a p t e r 5. F i r s t M o s c o w T r i al Kotkin's p r i n c i p a l m e t h o d s o f m i s d i r e c t i o n a n d falsificatio n i n this c h a p t e r are: * Bias b y o m i s s i o n - i g n o r ing evidence t h a t disproves Kotkin's fact-claims b u t w h i c h h i s r e a d e r s will n o t k n o w a b o u t . * A r g u m e n t b y s c a r e quote;

* The use of phony references t h a t d

s t a t e m e n t s Kotkin m a k e s i n h

is text.

o n o t p r o v i d e e v i d e n c e for t h e

I t a p p e a r s t h a t Kotkin h a s n o t b o t h e r e d t o actually r e s e a r c h any of t h e s e t o p i c s himself! A t b e s t h e relies o n s e c o n d a r y source s: w o r k s of research, o r w h a t appear t o b e research, although m a n y of those w h o m h e cites a r e p h o n y r e s e a r c h e r s . Kotkin a l s o r e l i e s o n works that are not even secondar y sources, w o r k s t h a t cont a i n factclaims t h a t a r e n o t s u p p o r t e d b y a n y e v i d e n c e a t all, n ot even p h o n y evidence.

F a l l a c y #1: B e g g i n g T h e Q uestion Kotkin p r e f a c e s h i s c h a p t e r s

on t h e t r i a l s o f t h e 1 9 3 0 s t h i s

way:

Stalin i n s t i g a t e d a n e p i c v e r s i on of the time-honored a u t h o r i t a r i a n device o f t r u m p e d - u p conspiracies linking i n t e r n a l w i t h e x t e r n a l ''enemies," b u t t h e Soviet c a s e d i f f e r e d i n m o r e t h a n j u s t s c a l e . 30 ( 3 0 6 ) Note 3 0 ( 9 8 2 ) 30. Rees, ''Stali n a s Leader, 1 9 3 7 - 1 9 5 3 , " 202-3. Rees' p a g e s c o n t a i n n o e v i d e n c e w h a t e v e r ! Like Kotk in, Rees s i m p l y assumes t h a t t h e c onspiracies w e r e fabricatio ns - t h e logical fallacy o f ''begging t h e question." Roy Medvedev, a u t h o r o f t h e other monumental work o n t h e t e r r o r (1971, 1 9 8 9 ) , e ndeavored to separate

Chapte Five. First Moscow Trial

95

Stalin from the sacred Lenin and depicte d him as a traditio nal tyrant, but he similar ly asserte d that Stalin was motiva ted by ''lust for power, boundl ess ambitio n," as if all tyrants murde red their own elites not just on such a scale but also with forced confess ions to fantast ical crimes they had not commi tted. 31 (3 06-7) Note 31 (982)= 31. Medvedev, Let History judge, 585. Volkgonov [sic] largely echoed Medvedev. Lars Lih argued that Stalin pursue d an ''anti-b ureauc ratic scenari o," but also that Stalin recogn ized the necess ity of the state, an unreso lved parado x. Lib, Introdu ction to Stalin's Letters to Molotov, 1-63. The phrase ''lust for power, boundl ess ambitio n'' is indeed on Medvedev, 585. But Kotkin either does not realize, or preten ds not to realize, that Medve dev's book contain s almost no evidenc e! It is mostly based on Khrush chev-e ra attacks on Stalin which have since been disprov en with primar y docum ents from the Soviet 1 archives.

Fallacy #2: The Argument From Incredulity Kotkin again: ... the conspir acies in the Soviet Union were invente d. (313) This is Kotkin's positio n throug hout. He cites no eviden ce to suppor t this claim. Natura lly- becaus e it is false. 2 His readers will not know of the mounta ins of eviden ce we now posses s that the conspir acies did indeed exist and posed a grave

1 See

Furr, Khrushchev Lied. 2 It is also logically invalid to say that "there were no conspiracies." The purpose of a conspirac y is to not leave evidence. A successful conspirac y goes undetecte d. The refore, the most one can say is "There is no evidence of a conspiracy." But in this case there is an abundanc e of evidence.

96

Stalin: Waiting fo r ... The T ru th

th r e a t. I t is Kotkin's o b li g a ti o n , a s a h is to r ia n , to in f o r m his r e a d e r s a b o u t th is e v id e n c e . B u t to d o s o w o u ld d is m a n tl e t h e w h o le p u r p o s e o f h is book!

Hiding The Evidence Against Vale ntin Ol'berg Kotkin: '' T r o ts k y it e s '' h a d a ls o s e iz e d a tt e n ti on. Valentin Olberg, a p r o v in c ia l te a c h e r w h o h a p p e n e d to h a v e j u s t r e t u r n e d f r o m Germany, w a s a rrested by the NKVD ( J a n u a r y 5, 1 9 3 6 ) , w h ic h e x tr a c te d '' te s ti m o n y '' f r o m h im t h a t h e h a d c o m e b a c k w it h a s p e c ia l t a s k a s s ig n e d to h im b y n o n e o t h e r t h a n T r o ts k y : a '' te r r o r is t act'' a g a in s t Stalin. O lb e r g named other '' te r r o r is ts '' h e h a d '' r e c r u it e d '' ; a r r e s t s followed. 245 By s p r in g t h e NKVD w o u ld a r r e s t 5 0 8 '' T r o ts k y it e s ," o n e o f w h o m w a s f o u n d in p o s s e s s io n o f T r o ts k y 's p e r s o n a l a r c h iv e f o r 1 9 2 7 . Stalin o r d e r e d t h e NKVD t o f u r n is h Yezhov w it h c o p ie s o f all d o c u m e n ts p e r ta in in g t o T r o ts k y it e s a n d f r e e d h im f r o m o v e r s e e in g p a r t y o r g a n s , a t a s k p a s s e d to Yezhov's d e p u ty , Georgy M a le n k o v (b. 1 9 0 2 ) . Yezhov n o w o v e r s a w t h e NKVD full time. 246 ( 2 7 9) N o te 2 4 5 ( 9 7 6 ) : I t is n o t o u t o f t h e q u e s ti o n t h a t t h e NKVD ta s k e d t h e S w is s - b o r n Olberg, w h o h a d b e e n e x p e ll e d f r o m th e G e r m a n C o m m u n is t p a r ty in 1 9 3 2 for T r o ts k y is m , w it h in f il tr a ti n g T r o ts k y it e circles in E u r o p e , t h e n d e c id e d h e n e e d e d t o s e r v e a n o t h e r p u r p o s e . On Olberg, s e e Chase, E n e m ie s w it h in th e Gates? 1 3 4 ( c it in g RGASPI, f., 4 9 5 , op. 1 7 5 , d. 1 0 5 , l. 9 ) . V y s h in s k y w r o t e t o Stalin a n d Molotov (Jan. 8 ) of a separate case o f a '' T r o ts k y it e g r o u p '' j u s t t u r n e d o v e r t o t h e c o u r ts with s u p p o s e d plans for a " te r r o r is t' ' act a g a in s t t h e d ic ta to r S ta li n o n Red S q u a r e b a c k d u r in g t h e R e v o lu ti o n Day p a r a d e , w h il e Yago da a n d Vyshinsky

Chapte Five. First Moscow Trial

97

together wrote to him (Jan. 11, 1936) about the liquidation of a Zinovievite organization of thirty-four people, asking how should they be tried. Khaustov et al., Lubianka: Stalin i VChK, 715-6 (APRF, f. 3, op. 58, d. 230, l. 65-65ob.), 716-20 (1. 68-76), 723 (I. 64). Either Kotkin hasn't researched Ol'berg, or he is concealing the evidence from his readers. Chase's fine book, published in 2001 and now seriously out of date, does document Ol'berg's Trotskyism and expulsion from the German CP. Direct corresponden ce of Ol'berg with Trotsky is preserved in the Harvard Trotsky Archive - a fact that Kotkin fails to mention. Kotkin also omits any mention of the draft of a pamphlet on Ol'berg by Austrian Trotskyist Kurt Landau, also preserved in the Harvard Trotsky Archive. Landau confirmed that Ol'berg really was a Trotskyist. Moreover, Landau said that Ol'berg had given him the impression that ''the technical work that the Russian comrades wanted him for was more important than [his work] for us."3 There has never been any evidence to doubt Ol'berg's confession that he planned to murder Stalin. On the contrary: we now have much more evidence to confirm Ol'berg's guilt, including confessions by his wife Betty and his brother Pavel', both of whom 4 knew about and abetted his conspiracy. The collection of documents in which these confessions are printed was published in 2013, in plenty of time for Kotkin to have made use of it. But he ignores it. I will discuss this evidence in detail in volume three of my Trotsky studies.

3

Hans Schafranek, Das kurze Leben des Kurt Landau (1988), 387, 421.

In Politbi-u ro i Lev Trots l. (Stalin i Kaganovich,

HHopMHpOBaHHOCTH 33Ila'AHbIX 'AHIIJIOMaTOB 0

620)

One of the ciphers (see document No. 763) shows how Stalin supervised the fabrication of such cases. In this telegram. Stalin not only orders Kaganovich to interrogate the already arrested wife of Kamenev, but directly lists what testimony should be extracted from her: about Kamenev's connections with Western ambassadors in Moscow and Western diplomats' awareness of plans for ''plotting and killing the leaders of the CPSU." Khlevniuk is lying - or, perhaps, deluding himself (and his readers). We know - and Khlevniuk and Kotkin must know too that Glebova was not framed. Instead, she was let off (temporarily) with the help of NKVD conspirators. Here, quoted from a volume that Kotkin cites elsewhere, though not here, is NKVD man D.M. Dmitriev's confession concerning this event: I remember the following cases: 1. The case ofTat'iana KAMENEVA. She was the wife of L.E. KAMENEV. We had information that Tat'iana KAMENEVA, on instructions from L.B. KAMENEV, went to the French ambassador in Moscow AL'FAND with a proposal to set up a meeting with L.B. KAMENEV for counterrevolutionary discussions concerning help by the French government to underground Trotskyites inside the USSR. I and CHERTO K interrogated Tat'iana KAMENEVA and ''steered away'' from this accusation, making it possible for her to avoid testimony about this fact 12 during the investigation.

106

Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T ru th

R a th e r th a n e v id e n c e th a t Stalin w a s fa b ri c a ti n g c o n fe ss io n s, th is is s tr o n g e v id e n c e th a t h e w a s n o t d o in g so! On th e c o n tr a ry , c o n s p ir a to rs w it h in th e NKVD w e re d e c e iv in g S ta li n in c o o p e ra ti o n w it h th e bloc, in c lu d in g K a m e n e v 's wife. S in c e th is is g o o d e v id e n c e th a t S ta li n w a s n o t fa b ri c a ti n g th e s e tr ia ls , it is logical th a t K h le v n iu k a n d Kotkin w it h h o ld it fr o m th e ir re a d e rs . B u t it is d is h o n e s t fo r th e m to d o so.

Shame On Stalin For N o t Violating Soviet L aw! Kotkin: S ta li n s u p e rv is e d th e tr ia l from afar, s te rn ly in st ru c ti n g K a g a n o v ic h th a t th e s e n te n c e s h a d to m e n ti o n T ro ts k y a n d Sedov. (''This c a rr ie s e n o rm o u s si g n if ic a n c e fo r E u ro p e , b o th fo r th e b o u rg e o is ie a n d fo r th e w o rk e rs ." ) 118 A fe w h o u rs a ft e r th e c o u rt h a d a d jo u rn e d o n A u g u st 24, Ulrich, a t 2 :3 0 a.m., p ro n o u n c e d th e d e fe n d a n ts g u il ty a n d c o n d e m n e d all b u t o n e to d e a th . L a te r th a t day, th e re g im e s ta g e d a g ra n d a v ia ti o n d is p la y a t M o sc o w 's T u sh in sk y A e ro d ro m e (''Glory to S ta li n is t a v ia ti o n a n d th e S ta li n is t falcons''). P la n e s fl e w difficult m a n e u v e rs . P a ra c h u ti st s d ro p p e d fr o m th e sky. ''The e n e m ie s' sc h e m e s, '' a te a c h e r in th e In s ti tu te o f W o rl d Economy a n d In te rn a ti o n a l R e la ti o n s re c o rd e d in h is d ia ry , '' c a n n o t s to p o u r e n o rm o u s su c c e ss e s. " 11 9 K a menev a n d th e o th e rs w ro te a p p e a ls fo r m e rc y in th e p re d a w n h o u rs . (Only o n e d e fe n d a n t e x p re ss ly re fu se d to d o so.) P e rh a p s , a s w o u ld b e ru m o re d ,

S ta li n h a d p ro m is e d th e m th e ir li v e s in e x c h a nge fo r p u b li c '' c o n fe s s io n s '' to c ri m e s th e y h a d n o t c o m m it te d . 12 0 B u t w e ll b e fo re th e e n d o f th e 12

Lu bianka 1937~19 3 8 Doc. 3 56, p. 586. "L.E. Kamen ev'' is a typographical er ro r for L.B. Kamenev. The Kameneva referred to here is th e sa me person as the Glebova of th e previous quotation.

Chapte Five. First Moscow Trial

107

sevent y-two- hour period for appeal s specifi ed in Soviet law, Kamenev, Zinoviev, and the rest were 121 cellars .

Yezhov retriev ed the bullet execut ed in the casings as souven irs. (333) Note 118 (985): Stalin forbad e mentio n of the fact that there would be no appeal (''these words are superfl uous and would give a bad impres sion'') . Khlevn iuk et al., Stalin i Kaganovich, 642 (RGASPI, f. 1 3 62-4) I. 93, 558, op. 11, d. Stalin did write this concer ning the appeals . But either he change d his mind, or he was overru led - accord ing to Kotkin he was still only ''first among equals' ' at this point! - becaus e, as Kotkin 's text recogn izes, appeal s were in fact permit ted. The appeal s of Kamenev, Smirno v I.N., Zinoviev, and Lur'e, Natan L. have been publish ed (lzvestiia, Septem ber 2, 1992, p. 3). All repeate d their confess ions of guilt in the strong est terms, while also asking for clemency. Note 120 (985): Eduard Gol'tsm an wrote a note that he would not seek clemen cy. Volkogonov, Lenin, 276 (citing AMBRF, archive no. R-3383 3, t. 41, I. 256). This passag e in Volkog onov reads:

All of the sixteen condem ned men, except one, wrote beggin g for mercy. The excepti on was Eduard Solomo novich Goltsman, eleven th on the list, who wrote a note declari ng that he would positiv ely not 95 ask for mercy. This is true: a note about Gol'tsm an's refusal to appeal is in the Volkogonov Papers . But Volkog onov fabrica tes as badly as Kotkin. On the same page Volkog onov wrote:

13

This document is also online at http://ist mat.info /node/36 926

108

Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T r u th

B o th K a m e n e v a n d Z in o v ie v still cherished some hope; Stalin h a d i n d e e d p r o m i sed to spare their l i v e s i f t h e y w o u l d m a k e a full 'c o nfession' and repent. They had not realized that everything had been predetermined, V o lk o g o n o v is ly in g h e r e . T h e r e is n o e v i d e n c e t o s u p p o r t t h is c la im t h a t '' S ta li n h a d p r o m i s e d t o s p a r e t h e i r li v e s f o r a c o n f e s s io n ." As w i t h K o tk in a n d all t h o s e w h o a d h e r e t o t h e An tiS ta li n P a r a d i g m a p r io r i a n d i n d e f ia n c e o f all t h e e v id e n c e, V o lk o g o n o v h a s t o t r y t o e x p la in w h y t h e a c c u s e d c o n f e s s e d if, a s t h e Anti-Stalin P a r a d i g m d e m a n d s , t h e y w e r e all i n n o c e n t .

Never Trust Volkogonov V o lk o g o n o v 's h i s t o r i c a l w o r k s a r e d i s h o n e s t . A r c h G e tt y h a s written:

We CAN j u d g e t h e m [ R u s s ia n s c h o la r

s], i t seems to m e , a c c o r d i n g t o t w o c r it e r ia : h o w well were/are they a b l e to c o m m u n i c a t e s ig n if ic a n t h is to r ic a l i n f o r m a t i o n a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n DESPITE p r e s c r i b e d c o n tr o ls , a n d h o w g o o d is t h e i r r e s e a r c h .

In t h i s a d m i t t e d l y i d i o s y n c r a t i c d e f

in it io n , I t h i n k V o lk o g o n o v fails o n b o t h c o u n t s , F ir s t, h is w r i t i n g , b o t h in t h e S o v ie t e r a a n d t h e p o s t- S o v ie t t i m e faithfully mimics, w i t h o u t n u a n c e or Aesopian m e s s a g e , e x a c tl y w h a t h is e m p l o yers want to hear. O t h e r s m a n a g e d t o do o t h e r w i s e . Second, b e c a u s e o f m y i n t e r e s t i n s i m i l a r to p ic s , I h a v e h a d o c c a s io n t o c h e c k a n d v e r if y s e v e r a l o f V o lk o g o n o v 's m o r e i m p o r t a n t a r c h iv a l f o o t n o t e s i n h is T r i u m f i tragediia. I can report that a substantial num ber of them do not refer to the documents they purp o r t t o cite, e v e n b y the most generous paraphrase. O ften, h is n o t e s c i t e documents wholly unrelated to t he matter at hand. S o m e o f th is , o f c o u r s e , c a n b e e x plained by innocent m i s t a k e o r c le r ic a l a c c id e n t, o f w h i c h w e a r e all g u il ty

109

Chapte Five. First Moscow Trial

at one time or another. Some of it can be explained by the fact that Volkogonov himself almost never darkened the door of an archive; in good Soviet style, he headed a team of hungry but, to us, anonymous juniors who actually did the research, selected the documents, and presented them to the mandarin for approval. I have it, first hand, that he worked this way. But even with these caveats, there can be no excuse (to take only one example) for citing Stalin's order to torture prisoners to a stenogram of Zhdanov's speech 14 on elections. Such examples are legion. This assessment of Volkogonov's scholarship is as accessible to Kotkin as it is to me or to anyone. Note 121 (985): But well before the end of the seventy-two -hour period for appeals specified in Soviet law, Kamenev, Zinoviev, and the rest were executed in the cellars. Yet another falsehood! The trial ended on the evening of August 23. Seventy-two hours were indeed permitted for appeals. But each of the four appeals we now have is dated August 24, 1936. That means that the defendants had appealed within about 24 hours. Therefore, far from being broken, the law was adhered to. But it is evidently important to Kotkin to claim that Stalin violated Soviet law, so he falsifies this issue.

*** For some reason Kotkin claims that ''Yezhov retrieved the bullet casings as souvenirs." This statement is not accurate; the reality was far more gruesome. Iagoda retrieved the bullets themselves, extracted from the skulls of the executed men! See the following article:

14

H-Russia list, September 26, 1998.

110

Stalin: Waiting for ... The T ru th

D yn e , KoTopbIMH 6h IJ IH y6HTbI 'ABa BHAHhIX 6onbmeB

HKa, B KatteCTBe CBoero po'Aa cyeeHHpoe xpaHHJI y ce6si me HKB,l{ fe H pH x .Rro~a. K or A a qepe3 noJITopa roAa npH l.lleJI er o 11epe'A H.ATH K paccTpeJibHOH CTeHKe, ny JI H nepeKoqeaaJIH K er o npeeMHHKY HHKOJiaIO EiKoB y, paccTpeJI.HHHOMy, B CBOIO oqepeAb, e~e ABa ro A a cnycT.H. 15 u

T h e b u ll e ts w h ic h h ad killed th e two p ro m in en t

Bolsheviks, w er e k ep t as a k in d o f so u v en ir b y th e ch ie f o f th e NKVD, G en ri k h Jagoda. W h en , af te r a y ea r an d a half, his tu rn ca m e to th e firing sq u ad , th e b u ll et s m o v ed to h is su cc es so r Nikolai Yezhov, w h o w as sh o t, in tu rn , tw o y ea rs la te r One w o u ld th in k th a t th is m ac ab re b it o f in fo rm at io n w o u ld h el p Kotkin m ak e th e tr ia l an d ex ec u ti o n ''look b ad ." It se em s th a t in co m p et en ce al o n e ca n ex p la in th is o m is si o n b y Kotki n.

15

Ia ro sl av Shimov, "Dve pu li na pa m ia t'. " "Radio Svoboda, " A ug us t 24 , 20 16 . At ht tp s: //w w w .s vo bo da .o rg /a /2 79 43 08 4. ht m l

Ch ap ter 6. Se co nd M os co w Tr ial We now hav e ove rwh elm ing doc ume ntar y evid enc e tha t the def end ants in the Sec ond Mo sco w Tria l wer e guilty, and tha t Leon Tro tsky did inde ed con spir e wit h the Nazis and the Jap ane se mil itar ists aga inst the USSR. Kotkin has this evid enc e too. But Kotkin's read ers will not lear n abo ut it. Kotkin con cea ls it from them in ord er to argu e, wit hou t evid enc e of any kind, tha t the Tria l was a fram e-up . We hav e alre ady exa min ed this quo tati on of Lar ina' s in Cha pter

Thr ee: ... Stal in had Buk hari n sum mon ed to a con fron tati on [GFn ote 1] wit h Rad ek and Pya tako v, who wer e deli vere d from pris on. Buk hari n told his wife tha t Rad ek had den oun ced him as a spy and terr oris t wit h who m he had plo tted Stal in's mur der , and tha t Pya tako v 345 " rese mbl ed a ''ske leto n wit h its teet h kno cke d out. (370) Not e 345 (990): Larina, This I Cannot Forget, 312. The tran scri pt of the con fron tati on wit h Piat ako v has bee n pub lish ed. In it, Piat ako v fully con fess ed his guil t at this con fron tatio n. Acc ord ing to Larina, Buk hari n told her tha t Ord zho niki dze wan ted to hit Piatakov. Small won der ! Piat ako v had bee n his trus ted zam, seco nd- in-c omm and in the Com mis sari at of Heavy Ind ustr y.

is shor t for "face-to-face confrontation," a right acco rded priso ners to confront and question their accusers. Kotkin does not inform his read ers of this. Ther e was no joint confrontation with both Radek and Piatakov - they were sepa rate confrontations more than a mont h apart. 1 "Confrontation''

112

Stalin: Waiting for ... The T ru th

T h e re is a g re a t d e a l o f e v id e n c e a g a in st Piata kov! F o r a d is c u ss io n o f it, in c lu d in g n o n -S o v ie t e v id e n c e th a t is s u re ly w e ll -k n o w n to Kotkin s e e Trotsky's 'Amalgams,' e sp e c ia ll y C h a p te r 8. We a ls o h a v e Sergo O rd z h o n ik id z e 's sp e e c h o f F e b ru a ry 5, 1 9 3 7 , to le a d in g m e m b e rs o f th e C o m m is sa ri a t o f He avy In d u st ry , w h e re P ia ta k o v had b e e n his assistant. It is c le a r fr o m this s p e e c h th a t O rd z h o n ik id z e b e li e v e d P ia ta k o v guilty. (Ge tty & N a u m o v 2 9 2 294) B hI ;z yM ae T e, q T o eCJIH H H M eJ I n e p B o ro 3a M ec T H T eJ IH ,

tt eJ IO B eK a B p o l( e IlH T aK O B a, K O T O pb IH B np O M bI ID Ji eH H O C T H p a 6 o T a JI IlO JI T O pa J( eC H TK a Ji eT , H M eJ I o rp O M H b le CBH3H co B C eM H Jl lO 'A bM H , ~TO 3T O T qe JI O B eK H e Mor no~6poCHTh H aM

1 - 2 JIIO~e:H? K o H e 'IH O , M o r H n o J( 6 p o cH JI . HeKo H aW JI H ,

APYrHx H e tt am JI H . B bl iK e C Ji bI IU aJ IH o

TopbIX

MeTo~ax

6opb6bI, K O T o p yr o O H H B eJ IH . K T O -J IH 60 IlO C T aB H JI B O n p o c, qT 06 b1 n p o a e p H T b y ce6H rn a B K e , K aK y H e ro ~eJio o6 cT O H T ?

HH OJ(HH J( am e H e cT aB H JI H

M H M O ~am:e H e np ox o, l\H JI . K a K :>Ke B b l X O T H T e [A e Ji o ] A eJ la T b? H ce H"laC, HMeHTe B B H )z y, n p H 3T H X 33 T P Y A H eH H .H X 6y~ X H bI K aT b H H H q e ro He A eJ ia T b. B bl Jz yM ae T e, 1ITO B pe 'A H T eJ ib T O T , K TO X O A H T c pe B O Ji hB ep oM B K a p M a H e H ~eT, "I T 0 6 b l K O fO -H H 6 yl (b 3a cT pe JI H T b? HHt.Jero noAo6uoro. K T o -J IH 6 o

Mor ce6e

npe'AcTaBHTh, l.JTO Il H T a K o B MomeT 6 h IT b BpeAHTeneM

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O H OKa3aJICH Bpe~HTeJieM, H e~e, K p a cH o 6 a H , pa cc K a3 bI B aJ I, K aK O H [3 T O ] )\ eJ ia JI . 2

You th in k th a t if I h a d as m y fi rs t deputy a m a n li ke

Piatakov, w h o h a d w o rk e d in in d u s tr y for th e past 15 y e a rs , w h o h a d tr e m e n d o u s c o n n e c ti o n s w it h all s o rt s o f p e o p le , y o u th in k th a t th is p e rs o n c o u ld n 't p o ss ib ly s n e a k o n e o r tw o o f h is p e o p le in. B u t s n e a k th em he did! S o m e o f th e m w e re fo u n d out, o th e rs w e re n o t.

2

T he Russian version of Ordzhonikidze's sp ee ch w as no t available w he n Getty an d Naumov w ro te in th e la te '90s. It w as finally published in 20 11 an d is no w online at ht tp :/ /i st m at .i nf o/ no de /48 63 4

Chapt er Six. Secon d Moscow Trial

113

You have, after all, hear d of their tactics. Who amon g you has raise d the ques tion of finding out how thing s are going on in your chief direc torat e? You think that a wrec ker [vreditel1 is some one who walk s arou nd with a revo lver in his pocket, some one who hides in some dark corn er some wher e, wait ing for his victim? Who could imag ine that Piata kov could be a sabo teur, and yet he turn ed out to be a sabo teur, and, more still, a fine talke r. He told how he did it. Ordz honi kidze wen t on to expla in how he had Todorskii, some one 3 whom Piata kov had name d, expe lled from the Party . Ordz honi kidze furth er expla ined how the Party had repri man ded him for expelling Todo rskii on these grou nds - presu mabl y, with out a Party hear ing or trial. Bukh arin conf irme d that Piata kov had conf essed his guilt to Ordzhonikidze. Bukh arin did not tell Larin a that he thou ght Piata kov was lying - if he had done so, Larina woul d certa inly have said so.

''Begging The Question'' Again: ''Torture'' Kotkin: On Janu ary 23, 1937 , a seco nd trial in Moscow of a paral lel ''Anti-Soviet Trots kyite Center'' open ed, like the first, in the Octo ber Hall, after Stali n had hand 348 edite d the char ges. Ten of the seve nteen defe ndan ts work ed in Orjo nikid ze's heav y indu stry 349 ''And here I stand befo re you in filth, iat. comm issar crush ed by my own crimes,'' Pyat akov publicly confessed, ''bere ft of ever ythin g throu gh my own fault, a man who has lost his party , who has no friends, who

In the publis hed transc ript of the Januar y 1937 Moscow Trial Todor skii is named by Rataichak. anothe r of the defend ants, not by Piatakov. (1937 Trial 420) Piatak ov must have named him in an interro gation not made public.

3

114

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

ha s lo st hi s family, w ho ha s lo st hi s ve ry self." Yezhov ha d pe rs on al ly fo rc ed hi s er st w hi le dr in ki ng bu dd y, in th ir ty -t h re e d ay s o f to rt u re , to ca pi tu la te to ac cu sa ti on s of T ro ts ky is m an d pl ot ti ng w it h Germany. 35 0 (Yezhov w as finally na m ed to th e hi gh es t ra nk , ''g en er al co m m is sa r of st at e se cu ri ty ." ) 35 1 Radek, in co ur t, de li ve re d a to u r de fo rc e fa b ri ca te d hi st or y of T ro ts ky is m . His ''f ea tu re s, " an A m er ic an co rr es po nd en t ob se rv ed , ''s ee m ed cu ri ou sl y o u t of focus, hi s te et h ch ar re d an d un ev en , his ey es ve ry m uc h alive be hi nd th ic k glasses." 35 2 S ov ie t ne w sp ap er s an d ra di o af fo rd ed w ir e- to -w ir e co ve ra ge , ac co m pa ni ed b y or ch es tr at ed m ee ti ng s at fa ct or ie s an d farms. ''Why su ch a gr ea t fuss ov er th e trial?'' F eu ch tw an ge r w ou ld as k Dimitrov. ''I nc om pr eh en si bl e. An at m os ph er e ha s b ee n cr ea te d o f ex tr em e u n re st am on g th e po pu la ti on , m ut ua l su sp ic io n, de nu nc ia ti on s, an d so forth. T ro ts ky is m ha s be en killed w h y su ch a ca m pa ig n? ''35 3 (3 73 ) Note 34 8 (990): K ha us to v et al., Lubianka: Stalin i glavnoe upravlenie, 9 -1 9 (APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 26 9, l. 38 -5 8, 80). S ta li n ad de d li te ra ll y on ly a fe w w or ds to th is dr af t in di ct m en t, re pr od uc ed on pa ge 1 9 of th e K ha us to v vo lu m e. Note: 35 0 (990): Report o f Court Proceedings, 54; ''O ta k na zy va em om 'p ar al le l'n om an ti so ve ts ko m tr ot sk is to m ts en tr e' '': 30 -5 0. T hi s is a ph on y fo ot no te th at co nc ea ls an o th er o f Kotkin's falsification. It co nt ai ns no ev id en ce fo r an y o f th e st at em en ts Kotkin m ak es he re . Specifically, it co nt ai ns no ev id en ce fo r K ot ki n' s cl ai m th at P ia ta ko v, o r an yo ne else, w as to rt u re d at all, m uc h le ss fo r th ir ty th re e days. No su ch ev id en ce exists. N or is th er e an y ev id en ce th at

115

Chapter Six. Second Moscow Trial

Rad ek's stor y of Tro tsky ism was ''fab rica ted' ' - inde ed, Kotkin nev er bot her s to tell us wha t he mea ns by this.

In his test imo ny at the Jan uary 193 7 Moscow Tria l Karl Rad ek had ridi cule d the noti on of tort ure : RAD EK: Wh en I fou nd mys elf in the Peo ple' s Com mis sari at of Inte rna l Affairs, the chie f exa min ing official real ized at onc e why I wou ld not talk . He said to me: ''You are not a bab y. Her e you hav e fifteen peo ple test ifyi ng aga inst you. You can not get out of it, and as a sen sibl e man you can not thin k of doin g so. If you do not wan t to test ify it can only be bec aus e you wan t to gain tim e and look it ove r mor e closely. Ver y well, stud y it." For two and a half mon ths I torm ente d the exa min ing official. The que stio n has bee n rais ed

her e wh eth er we wer e torm ent ed whi le und er inv esti gat ion . I mu st say tha t it was not I wh o was torm ent ed, but I wh o torm ent ed the exa min ing officials and com pel led the m to per for m a lot of 4• ) 549 l Tria use less wor k. (1937 Anyone who read s the tran scri pt of the Rad ek-P iata kov tria l can see tha t it wou ld be har d to ima gine any one coo ler und er pre ssu re than Radek.

Better Hide It From the Kiddies The text tha t Kotkin cites, ''O tak naz yva emo m ...," is the official Gor bac hev -era atte mp t to disc red it the trial. The only refe renc e to ''tor ture '' in this doc ume nt is this : BcH CHC TeM a ~onpocoB 6bIJ ia paCC llHTa Ha Ha Mop aJlh HO· IlCH XOR OfHl JeCK Oe H H3Ht{eCKOe H3M 3TbI BaH He no~cJie,ltCTBeHHbIX.

CBH AeTe nhCT BOB aJI B

4

193 8 r. H

06 3TO M

6bIB IIlHH 33M eCT HTe Jib

For a more detailed discussion of this question see Trotsky's

'Amalgams~

450-451.

116

Stalin: Waiting for ... T he T ru th H ap K O M a B H yr pe H H H X 11.en

CCCP M. n. pHHOBCKHH. OH, B

tta C TH O C TH , IIO K a3 aJ I, l.JTO JI H Q a, np oB O A H B W H e C Ji e' AC TB H e n o 'A eJ iy T aK H a3 bI B ae M or o >, H at {H H aJ IH A O IIp O C bI , K aK np aB H JI O , c np H M eH eH H H H 3H qe cK H X M ep .... B0 3, ll; eH C TB H H , K O TO pb ie npOJJ.OJI)KaJ IHCb ,n;o T e x rr op , llO K a no~cJieJJ.CTBeHHhie

H e 11.aaanH c o rnacHH H a ): \a qy H aB H 3b IB aB lli H X C R H M IIO K a3 aH H H . ( 40)

T h e e n ti re sy st e m o f in te rr o g a ti o n s w a s d e si g n e d for th e moral, psychological a n d physical e x h a u st io n of su sp e c ts . T h is w a s te st if ie d in 1 9 3 8 b y th e fo rm e r d e p u ty P e o p le 's C o m m is sa r o f th e USSR, M.P. Frinovsky. In p a rt ic u la r, h e sh o w e d th a t th e p e rs o ns w h o c o n d u c te d th e in v e st ig a ti o n in th e c a se o f th e so ca ll ed ''p a ra ll e l a n ti -S o v ie t T ro ts k y it e c e n te r' ' st a rt ed in te rr o g a ti o n s, a s a ru le , w it h th e u se o f physical m e a su re s o f influence, w h ic h c o n ti n u e d u n ti l th e p e rs o n s u n d e r in v e st ig a ti o n h a d a g re e d to give th e c o n fe ss io n s o f th o se w h o w e re forcing th e m . This is a n a d m is si o n th a t th e re is n o e v id e n c e o f to rt u re in this case. B u t it is o f in te re st to u s a n y w a y as it c o n ta in s a n in st ru c ti v e falsification - in th is case, a n o th e r e x a m p le o f ''b ias b y o m is si o n '' b y Kotkin. F o r in th e c o n fe ss io n - d a te d n o t in 1 9 3 8 , b u t in A pril, 1 9 3 9 , w h ic h sh o w s h o w c a re le ss ly G o rb a c h e v 's ''r e h a b il it a ti o n '' m a te ri a ls w e re c o m p il e d - F ri n o v sk y confirmed th e g u il t o f Piata kov, Lifshits, a n d th e o th e r d e fe n d a n ts in th is tr ia l. A t o n e o f th e se m e e ti n g s d u ri n g h o rs e b a c k ri d in g Lifshits sa id to me: I h e a rd a b o u t y o u fr o m Evdokimov. Frankly, I d id n o t su sp e c t th a t y o u w e re a ls o w it h us. Good fo r you!'' I b e g a n to sp e a k w it h Lifshits - a n d h o w a b o u t y o u ? He a n sw e re d : ''Evdokimov h a s a lr e a d y to ld y o u th a t I a m d o in g w o rk '' I a sk e d h im a g a in - a re y o u d o in g im p o rt a nt w o rk ? He sa id th a t h e w a s d o in g im p o rt a n t w o rk , he

Chapt er Six. Second Mosc ow Trial

117

had cont act with the cons pira toria l cent er thro ugh Pyat akov , had a large num ber of peop le ... I had that conv ersat ion with Deribas, and Deribas was inter ested , in the main, in the name s of the peop le who had alrea dy been repre ssed and the peop le who were ment ione d in the [investigative] mate rials. I told

him abou t Lifshits and Pyat akov who were on the 5 poin t of bein g expo sed. Frinovsky's conf essio n-sta teme nt was not publ ished until 2006 . The Gorbachev-era text cited by Kotkin, ''O tak nazy vaem om ...," was publ ished in 1989 , at a time when no one could com pare the false claim in it with wha t Frino vsky actually said. Here we have very stron g evide nce of Piata kov's guilt. Kotkin know s this. He cites texts from this volu me many times. As we will see in futur e chap ters Kotkin cites this very docu men t man y times. But Kotkin Frinovsky's conf essio n state men t simp ly refuses to tell his readers what Frinovsky said!. Pres umab ly beca use Frinovsky's conf essio n demo lishe s Kotkin's notio n that the Moscow Trials were fram e-up s of inno cent men. We now have a grea t man y inter roga tions and conf essio ns by the defe ndan ts at this trial and by othe rs who impl icate them , in volu me two of the 2013 collection Politbiuro i Lev Trotskii. We will exam ine them in a futur e volu me of our ongoing Trot sky resea rch. Kotkin igno res all this evide nce too. Of course! This evide nce dism antle s Kotkin's fable abou t the supp osed ''frame-up'' of the Moscow Trials. Bette r hide this evidence! Notes 351a nd35 2 conta in no evide nce relev ant to the Trial.

"To The People's Commissar for Internal Affairs of the Union of Soviet Soc. Republics Commissar of State Securitylst degree BERIA L.P. From the arrest ed suspect FRINOVSKY M.P. Statem ent. Lubianka 1939-1 946, 33-50. Quota tions are on page 39 and 41. English translation at https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/frinovskyeng.html 5

118

Stalin: Waiting fo r ... Th e Tr ut h

''Arguing From Incredulity'' -A g a in Kotkin:

Fe uc ht w an ge r fo un d th e al le ga tio ns pr ep os te ro us .

And ye t th e op po si tio ni st s had or ga ni ze d a co ns pi ra to ria l m ee tin g, in su m m er 1932, at Zinoviev's dacha, w he re ex pe lle d pa rt y m em be rs of th e Le ni ng ra d op po si tio n ha d di sc us se d re vi vi ng th ei r old lin ks to Tr ot sk y. A m es sa ge fr om Tr ot sk y to jo in forces ha d be en ca rr ie d in to th e So vi et Union. Stalin w as al so co rr ec t th at th e NKVD (then th e OGPU) ha d m is se d th es e contacts, w hi ch w as ev id en tly pa rt of th e ba si s fo r hi s st at em en t, in th e Se pt em be r 19 36 di sm is sa l of Yagoda, th at th e NKVD w as fo ur ye ar s be hi nd . 354 Of

co ur se , th is w as a pa th et ic ''bloc'' in ca pa bl e of co ns eq ue nt ia l ac tio n (Smirnov, a su pp os ed or ga ni ze r of th e co ns pi ra cy to m ur de r Kirov in 19 34 , ha d be en in pr is on si nc e 19 33 ).355 B ut th e

m ee tin g w as no t an in ve nt io n. Th e ''t er ro r'' ch ar ge s, too, co nt ai ne d th e m in ut es t ke rn el of tru th . (3 71 -2 ) This pa ra gr ap h co nt ai ns so m e in te re st in g falsehoods. Fo r on e thing, Fe uc ht w an ge r di d no t find th e tri al ''p re po st er ou s'' at all! He on ly th ou gh t th at th e ch ar ge s of Tr ot sk y' s co lla bo ra tio n w ith G er m an y an d Japan w er e w ea kl y su pp or te d. Here is th e pa ss ag e fr om Dimitrov's diary, ci te d in Kotkin's no te 353: 2F eb ru ar y1 93 7 -F eu ch tw an ge r to se e m e (C om in te rn ) . ... On th e trial: 1. D iv er si on ar y actions, es pi on ag e, te rr or

pr ov ed .

2. Also pr ov ed : th at Tr ot sk y in sp ire d an d di re ct ed . 3. Tr ot sk y' s ag re em en t w ith Hess 124 an d th e Ja pa ne se is ba se d on ly on th e co nf es si on s of th e de fe nd an ts .

Chapter Six. Second.Moscow Trial

119

-N o ev id en ce w h at so ev er !

t o n re e w v o ik ln o k o S d n a k e d 4 . T h e fa ct th a t R a as ad ro ab ed it lo p ex e b l il w t o sh e se n te n c e d to b y n o im st te ch su ed h is rn fu ey th t ev id en ce th a s. ve li r ei th e v sa to r e rd o in y el at d el ib er a es av le ts an d en ef d e th t a ed rl u h se 5. T h e ab u d is tu rb in g im p re ss io n . ey th t u B . n io ct u tr es d f o g in v er es d s, ie T h ey a re en em ld u o sh ey th d an , st re te in al n so er p f o t u d id n o t ac t o s, le ti p re s, d ar w co , ls re d n u o sc em th n o t to h av e called etc.

l. ia tr e th er v o ss fu at re g a ch su y h W 6. f o d te ea cr n ee b as h e er h sp o m at n A In co m p re h en si b le. al tu u m , n o ti la u p o p e th g n o am ex tr em e u n re st as h m is y k ts ro T . h rt fo so d an s, n suspicion, d en u n ci at io ) 1 5 v, ro it im (D ?. n g ai p m ca a ch su y b ee n killed w h t u b le ib ed cr es g ar ch al p F eu ch tw an g er fo u n d th e princi e th h it w y ac ir sp n co 's y k ts ro T f o complained th a t th e only ev id en ce e es an p Ja e th d an ) ty ar P i az N e th in G er m an s (Hess, Hitler's d ep u ty w as b as ed o n confessions.

y n a rm e G s r' le it H h it w y Trotsky's Conspirac er th o t a h w lf se im h k as t o n id d e But F eu ch tw an g er w as in er ro r. H er tt le a t ec p ex e h id d at h W t. is ex ly kind o f evidence could possib ? es lv se em th y k ts ro T d an s es H y b ab o u t th e co n sp ir ac y si g n ed t a th , es rc u so s u io ar v om fr , ce en id T h er e is a g re at deal of ev t ea ef d to an p Ja d an an m er G h it w y ac ir Trotsky w as in d ee d in consp f o ce en id ev 6 re o m t lo a t n se re p l th e USSR in a w ar . W e wil r u o f o e m lu o v d ir th e th in y an m er T ro ts k y 's co n sp ir ac y w it h G st u d y o f T ro ts k y 's activities.

6

See Furr, Trotsky's Collaboration.

120

Stalin: Waiting for ... The T ru th

T h e fact th a t F e u c h tw a n g e r , o r a n y o n e else, does n o t b e li e v e th e c h a r g e s is n o t e v id e n c e th a t th e c h a r g e s w e r e false. Such r e a s o n in g is called th e a r g u m e n t from in c r e d u li ty ( s o m e ti m e s called th e ''fallacy of p e r s o n a l incredulity''). 7 I t a p p li e s to Kotkin, too. Kotkin r e je c ts - i.e., r e f u s e s to believe -- th e c h a r g e s a g a in s t th e d e f e n d a n ts in th is a n d th e o th e r tria ls. But h e h a s no evidence w h a ts o e v e r th a t th e s e c h a r g e s w e r e false. And it is evidence, n o t w h a te v e r Kotkin, o r a n y b o d y else, ''be lieves," th a t is decisive.

The Bloc Did Function Kotkin:

Of course, th is w a s a p a th e ti c ''bloc'' in c a p

a b le o f c o n s e q u e n ti a l a c ti o n (Smirnov, a s u p p o s e d o r g a n iz e r o f th e c o n s p ir a c y to m u r d e r Kirov in 1 934, h a d b e e n in p r is o n s in c e 1933). This is false. In Trotsky's 'Amalgams' w e h a v e c it e d a n d d is c u s s e d evidence th a t th e b lo c c o n ti n u e d to f u n c ti o n a t th e Suzdal' political ''isolator'' ( p r is o n w it h especially g o o d conditions), w h e r e S m ir n o v w a s confined. (Furr, T r o ts k y 's 'Amalg a m s ' 72, 7 4 ) In 2 0 1 7 y e t m o r e evidence o f v ig o r o u s political activity b y p r is o n e r s from th e Opposition w a s d is c o v e r e d h id d e n a t th e political ''isolator'' a t Verkhneural'sk. 8 H e r e w e c a n ju s t r e f e r th e r e a d e r to th e c o n f e s s io n - s ta te m e n t b y Mikhail F r in o v s k y c it e d above, a n d its o n li n e English tr a n s la ti o n w h ic h Kotkin ignores. Nor w a s S m ir n o v a c c u s e d o f o r g a n iz in g th e c o n s p ir a c y to m u r d e r Kirov in 1 9 3 4 , a s Kotkin falsely claim s. S m ir n o v w a s a c c u s e d o f b e in g a le a d e r o f th e bloc, a n d m e m b e r s o f th e bloc w h o w e r e n o t in p r is o n o r g a n iz e d Kirov's m u r d e r . Smirnov specifically d e n ie d h a v in g h a d a n y th in g to d o w it h '' te r r o r is t' ' ( a s s a s s in a ti o n )

7

See, for example, h tt p s: // ra ti o n a lw ik i. o rg /w ik i/Argument_from_incredulity 8 See "Historic discovery o f Left Oppositi on m a n u sc ri p ts from th e e a rl y 1930s." August 27, 2018, a t h tt p :/ /w w w .w sw s. o rg /e n /a rt ic le s/ 2 0 1 8 /0 8 /2 7 /l e ft -a 2 7 .h tm l T h e re a re a n u m b e r o f articles a b o u t this discovery on th e R ussian-language in te rn e t.

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activities, though he admitt ed that he was an organiz er of the bloc that did carry out such actions. He was, howev er, accuse d of a more active role by his admitt ed co-con spirato rs. Vyshinsky: Was the centre organiz ed on the basis of terrori sm? Smirnov: Yes. Vyshinsky: Were you a membe r of that centre? Smirnov: Yes, I was. Vyshinsky: Consequently, those instruc tions were meant for you too? Smirnov: Yes, they were commu nicated to me. Vyshinsky: They were not only commu nicated throug h you but were also instruc tions for you? Smirnov: They were forwar ded as instruc tions. Vyshinsky: Did you accept them? Smirnov: Yes Vyshinsky: How can you mainta in, then, that Trotsky, from whom these instruc tions origina ted, was not an author ity for you? ... Smirnov: I listene d to those instruc tions and commu nicated them to the centre. The centre accepte d them, but I took no part in its work. (First Moscow Trial, 83)

''Remove Stalin!'' Kotkin: After a decree had rescind ed Trotsk y's Soviet citizenship, he had written a spirite d open letter to the

122

Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e Truth

c e n tr a l e x e c u ti v e c o m m it te e o f th e S o v ie t (w h ic h h a d n o m in a l ju ri s d ic ti o n o v e r c it iz e n s h ip ) a s s e rt in g th a t ''Stalin h a s le d u s to a c u l- d e -s a c.. .. It is n e c e s s a ry , a t last, to c a rr y o u t L e n in 's la s t in s is te n t advic e : r e m o v e Stalin." 35 6 T ro ts k y h a d n o t w ri tt e n '' re m o v e by a s s a s s in a ti o n ," b u t h o w e ls e c o u ld it b e do 35 7 ne? (3 7 1 2) N o te 3 5 6 (9 9 0 ): T ro ts k ii , '' O tk ry to e p is 'm a ." [This s h o u ld b e '' O tk ry o e p is 'm o '' - GF] T ro ts k y 's

w o rd s

a re :

''ubrat'

Stalina.

11

(''HaAO,

B b li lO JI H H T b Il O C J ie A H H H H a C T Q H q H B b lM C O B e T

HaKoHeQ,

JleHHHa:

y6paTb

CTaJIHHa.") ''Ubrat''' w a s th e w o rd u s e d by all th e c o n s p ir a to rs . 9 Kotkin is c o rr e c t to s u g g e s t th a t it m e a n t ''kill'' b e c a u s e th e re w a s no o th e r way. A t th e S e c o n d Moscow Trial o f January, 1937, R a d e k s a id th a t h e u n d e rs to o d th a t T ro ts k y m e a n t Stalin s h

th o u g h T ro ts k y n e v e r u s e d a w o rd like ''kil l."

o u ld b e killed

Note 3 5 7 (9 9 0 ): ... th e NKVD a g e n t Z b o ro w ski m a n a g e d to re p o rt th a t, o n Jan. 22, T ro ts k y 's s o n Lev S e d o v h a d to ld h im a p ro p o s o f th e a c c u s a ti o n s , '' n o w th e re is n o lo n g e r vacillation, Stalin s h o u ld b e killed." Volkogonov, Trotskii, II: 1 9 7 (c it in g Arkhiv INO OGPUNKVD, f. 3 1 6 6 0 , d. 9 0 6 7 , t. 1, l. 98). Althoug h, in a n a rt ic le (Oct. 1 9 3 3 ), T ro ts k y h a d w ri tt e n th a t '' th e o n ly w a y to c o m p e l th e b u re a u c ra c y to h a n d o v e r p o w e r to th e p ro le ta ri a t is b y force," in a s u b s e q u e n t a rt ic le o n th e Kirov m u rd e r h e w ro te th a t a s s a s s in a ti n g S ta li n w o u ld a c c o m p li s h n o th in g , b e c a u s e h e w o u ld ju s t b e re p la c e d b y '' o n e o f th o s e Kaganoviches." ''K lassovaia p ri ro d a s o v e ts k o g o g o s u d a rs tv a (p ro b le m y chetvertogo internatsionala)," Biulleten' opp ozitsii, no.

9

T ro ts ky k n ew th at the w o rd us ed in th e"Add ition" (dobavlenie) to Lenin's 'L et te r to the Congress" is "replacement'' (peremeshchenie) , n o t th e ve rb "ubrat'." This document, at tr ib u te d to Lenin, is pr ob ab ly a forgery, ac co rd in g to Russian hi st or ia n Valentin Sakha rov, w h o se re se ar ch Kotkin ac ce pt s in vo lu m e o n e o f hi s Stalin bi og ra ph y

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36-7(O ctober 1933): 1-12 (at 9-10); Trotskii, ''Stalinskaia biurok ratiia i ubiistv o Kirova''; Volkogonov. Triumf i tragediia, 11/i: 270. For a thorou gh discuss ion of Sedov' s statem ent to Zborowski, see Trotsky's ~mal9ams', 292 ff., ''Trotsk y and Terror." There we demon strate that this and other statem ents by Sedov constit ute strong eviden ce that Trotsk y and his son were lying when they were assurin g the world that they oppose d assassi nating Stalin and others. Of course they would deny it, whethe r or not they were actuall y plannin g assassi nation! Conspi racy necessa rily involve s lying. Theref ore, their denials mean nothing . We have much eviden ce that Trotsk y counte d on using force against Stalin and his suppor ters. But Trotsk y could not say so publicly.

C h a p t e r 7. S p a n i s h Civil W a r W h y N o t S o m e N e w Falsehoods? Has Kotkin a c tu a ll y re s e a rc h e d th is to p ic himself? If h e has, w h y d o e s h e re p e a ts o ld falsehoods, m a in ly fr o m Cold W a r- e ra a n ti c o m m u n is t re s e a rc h ? T h e p ri m a ry s o u rc e s a v a il a b le today, m a n y available for d e c a d e s , p ro v e th a t Kotk in's claims o f n e fa ri o u s a c ti o n s b y th e Soviets in Spain a re false d o w n to th e la s t one. Kotkin re la te s h o w A n d re u Nin, fo rm e rl y a s e c re ta ry (political a d v is o r) o f T ro ts k y 's , b e c a m e a le a d e r o f th e POUM (W o rk e rs P a rt y o f M a rx is t Unification) in Spain, pub licly b ro k e w it h T ro ts k y a n d Trotsky, also publicly, w it h him, a n d th a t T ro ts k y 's position w a s th a t th e re s h o u ld b e a ''full-bore a n ti -c a p it a li s t re v o lu ti o n '' in Spain. This la tt e r p o s it io n m e a n t o p p o s it io n to th e S p a n is h Republic, a b o u rg e o is -d e m o c ra ti c regime, a n d w it h Soviet policy, w h ic h w a s to s u p p o rt s u c h g o v e rn m e n ts in o rd e r to g a in a s la rg e a u n it e d fr o n t a g a in s t fascism a s possible. 1 In Stalin's w o rl d v ie w , Nin's h o a ry li n k to T ro ts k y a lo n e re n d e re d th e POUM ''Trotskyite." (3 4 5) As w e s a w in C h a p te r Four, w e h a v e g o o d re a s o n to th in k th a t Nin's a n d T ro ts k y 's s u p p o s e d '' b re a k '' s c a re q u o te s d e li b e ra te h e re - w a s a c o v e r for c o n ti n u e d c o ll a b o ra ti o n ju s t a s Radek, Piatakov, a n d m a n y o th e r T ro ts k y is ts a d m it te d . T h e Soviets c e rt a in ly m u s t h a v e a s s u m e d th a t. Given th e m a te ri a ls th a t h e claims h e h a s re a d , Kotkin m u s t k n o w it too .

1

T he Soviets w an te d a P op ul ar F ro n t go ve rn m en t willing to w o rk w it h th em . But th ey di d n o t w an t to sc ar e off th e an ti co m m un is t ca pi ta li st p o w er s France, th e U.K., an d th e USA. T he Soviets kn ew th at , unless th e blockade ag ai n st th e Spanish Republic b y th es e p o w er s w as dr op pe d, th e Republic w as doomed. Also, th e Soviets an d th e Spanish co m m un is ts w er e realistic. T he y re al iz ed th at n o Bolshevik-typ e co m m un is t re vo lu ti on w as po ss ib le w it h N azi Germany an d Fascist Italy ar ra y ed ag ai ns t th e Republic.

Chap ter Seven. Span ish Civil War

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The re was also the POUM's inde pen den ce, crit iciz ing the Stal inis t line whi le claiming the man tle of Marxism. Som e mem ber s of the POUM, mor eov er, ope nly adm ired Tro tsky , and som e of its officials disc usse d inviting him to take up resi den ce in Barcelona. Som etim es fabr icat ed nig htm ares hav e a way of com ing true . (34 5) Her e Kotkin wan ts it bot h way s. On the one han d, Kotkin insi sts tha t the POUM was not real ly Tro tsky ist. This is evid entl y wha t he mea ns by Stalin's ''fab rica ted nigh tma re'' and by igno ring Nin's, Erwin Wo lfs, and Lan dau 's ties to Trotsky. But on the oth er han d Kotkin con ced es tha t POUM acte d like a Tro tsky ist par ty wou ld be exp ecte d to act. Kotkin: Thr oug hou t Eur ope , sign ific ant dou bts rev erb erat ed amo ng left ist inte llec tual s abo ut the alle ged trea son of the exe cute d Bol shev ik revo luti ona ries , but in

Rep ubl ic Spain, the POUM's La Batalla was alm ost the onl y new spa per to deta il, let alo ne con dem n, the Moscow sho wca se tria l, lab elin g the Sov iet Union a ''bu rea ucr atic reg ime of poi son ous dic tato rsh ip." Tit for tat, the lead edit oria l in the Sep tem ber 193 6 issu e of The Communist Internationall issu ed in mul tipl e Eur ope an languages, con dem ned the POUM as fasc ist age nts mas que rad ing as leftists, wit h ties to Tro tsky , Kamenev, Zinoviev, Franco, 184 (34 3-3 44) er. Hitl ni, Mussoli Here too Kotkin sho ws tha t POUM use d Tro tsky 's own term inol ogy to con dem n the Firs t Moscow Trial, thu s taci tly con ced ing tha t POUM acte d as tho ugh it wer e a Tro tsky ist part y. Note 184 (98 6) Dimitrov, ''Za shc hish cha t' pod lykh terr oris tov' ' (no. 14) , 3-6 , (no. 15), 17- 8. In the sam e issue, Palm ira Tog liatt i pre sen ted Sta lin' s

retr osp ecti ve crim ina liza tion of long-ago fact ion al

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Stalin: Waiting fo r ... The T ru th

a c ti v it y a s '' a n a c t to d e fe n d democracy , peace, socialism, a n d th e re v o lu ti o n ." Ercoli, ''U roki p ro ts e s s a ," 37, 4 3 . "The M o s c o w tr ia l h a s had a c a ta s tr o p h ic e ff e c t a n d h a s d re a d fu ll y c o m p r o m is e d th e p o li c y o f th e P o p u la r Front," th e A u s tr ia n M a rx is t R u d o lf H il fe rd in g h a d la m e n te d in Aug. 1936. M c D e rm o tt a n d Agnew, Comintern, 1 5 6 . T h is is all w ro n g . W h a t' s m o re , Kotkin k n o w s it. Mikhail Frinovsky, Yezhov's s e c o n d -i n -c o m m a n d , s ta te d in April 1 9 3 9 th a t th e M o s c o w T ri a ls d e f e n d a n ts re a ll y w e r e g uilty. At th e ti m e o f th e tr ia l o f Zinoviev, K a m enev and o th e rs , w h e n th e te s ti m o n y a b o u t B u k h a ri n w a s p u b li s h e d in th e p re s s , Evdokirnov w a s in Moscow. He b e c a m e v e r y u p s e t a n d in a c o n v e rs a ti o n w it h me, s a id : ''The devil o n ly k n o w s h o w h e will b e a b le to e x tr a c t h im s e lf fr o m th is w h o le affair. I ju s t d o n 't u n d e r s ta n d Yagoda a t all, w h a t h e is doin g, w h y h e is b r o a d e n in g th e circle o f p e r s o n s fo r re p re s s io n , o r m a y b e th e n e r v e s o f th e s e p e o p le a r e w e a k - th e y will give o u t. B u t it c o u ld h a v e b e e n p o s s ib le to d ir e c t th e c o u r s e o f th e in v e s ti g a ti o n in s u c h a m a n n e r a s to le a v e o n e s e lf s a fe in a n y case.'' (Frinovs ky, 4 0 ) 2 T o d a y w e h a v e a g r e a t d e a l o f e v id e n c e th a t Zinoviev, Kamenev, e t al. w e r e guilty. T h e ir factional a c ti v it y w a s n o t o f ''long ago'' a n d h a d b y n o m e a n s e n d e d . Kotkin k n o w s a b o u t th is e v id e n c e too. T h e r e h a s never b e e n any e v id e n c e th a t any o f th e M o s c o w T ri a ls (o n ly th e fi rs t Moscow T ri a l is a t q u e s ti o n n o w ) w e r e fr a m e -u p s , th e d e f e n d a n ts in n o c e n t, to r tu r e d , th r e a te n e d , o r o th e r w is e fo rc e d o r c a jo le d to m a k e false c o n fe s s io n s 3 . This is th e b o tt o m -l in e r e a s o n th a t Kotkin h a s r e c o u r s e to u n s u p p o r te d s ta te m e n ts (' 't h e 2

Frinovsky's st at em en t to Beria is o n line in English tr an sl at io n a t h tt p s: // m su w eb .m o n tc la ir .e d u /- fu rr g /r es ea rc h /f ri n o v sk y en g .h tm l W e re tu rn to it in a la te r ch ap te r. 3 See Furr, T ro ts k y 's 'Amalgams' C h ap te rs 1-12; Furr, Moscow Trials.

Cha pter Seven. Spa nish Civil Wa r

127

def end ant s we re tor tur ed, " etc.). Lies and uns upp ort ed fact-claims - as tho ugh ''this is so obv iou s tha t no evi den ce is nee ded '' - are his only res ort . Ironically enough, sin ce all the evi den ce we no w hav e sup po rts the hyp oth esi s tha t the Moscow Tri als def end ant s we re ind eed gui lty and Tro tsk y rea lly wa s col lab ora tin g wit h the Nazis and Jap ane se, it tur ns out tha t Togliatti's sta tem ent tha t the Fir st Moscow Tri al wa s ''an act to def end democracy, peace, socialism, and the rev olu tio n'' wa s tru e. An ti-T rot sky ism rea lly was ant i-F asc ism even tho ugh few Tro tsk yis ts out sid e the USSR kne w it.

Communist ''Massacres''? Kotkin dis cus ses the Par acu ello s ma ssa cre of Na tio nal ist sup por ter s in 193 6 and the n des cri bes it as ''th e wo rst of the

ma ny ma ssa cre s in the Re pu bli c's zon e pe rpe tra ted by lea din g Sp ani sh Co mm un ists an d the ir So vie t adv ise rs, Gorev, Orlov, and Koltsov. '' (35 1) Paul Pre sto n, wh ose boo k Kotkin foo tno tes at thi s point, gives the figures of Na tio nal ist vic tim s as ''so me wh ere bet we en 2,2 00 and 2,500." 238

Note 238 (97 8): Pre sto n, Last Stalinist, 70- 88. la's Ma al ner Ge re we ey Th ts. cis fas t fac in re we ed kill n me e Th tha t is, Francisco Fra nco 's -- ''Fifth Column." Bu t Kotkin is bluffing again. He doe s no t ide nti fy a sin gle one of wh at he calls the ''m any ma ssa cre s." Pre sto n say s not hin g abo ut in or se the in ent em olv inv any ut abo r no er, eith s'' cre ssa ma any ''m any ''m ass acr es'' by Gorev or Kol'tsov. In fact the Par acu ello s ma ssa cre is the only suc h ma ssa cre by the Republicans.

Kotkin's Utter La ck of Objectivity 00 5 of cre ssa Ma Lai My 7 196 the t tha im cla to re we ian tor his a If a rea l atr oci ty tha t inc lud ed rap e600 Vie tna me se civilians wa s jus t ''th e mu rde r and the use of chi ldr en for tar get pra ctic e st mo or ny ma rs, die sol ca eri Am by s'' cre ssa ma ny ma of rst wo oth er his tor ian s and rea der s wo uld cry ''foul'' and dem and :

128

Stalin: Waiting for ... T he T ru th

''W h er e' s y o u r ev id en ce for th es e many other m as sa cr es ?' ' And, obviously, th ey w o u ld b e co rr ec t to d o so! 4 Same h er e! Kotkin sh o u ld give ev id en ce for th is claim , in st ea d o f re ly in g o n h is re ad er s' an ti co m m u n is m to le t h im sk at e b y w it h th e k in d o f u tt er ly u n su p p o rt ed al le g at io n o f ''m an y m as sa cr es '' th a t w o u ld n ev er b e to le ra te d if th e ch ar g e h ad b ee n m ad e ag ai n st A m er ic an so ld ie rs .

T h e Barcelona ''May Days' Revolt Kotkin: Koltsov al so w ro te h o w T ro ts k y w as su p p o se d ly giving d ir ec ti v es to th e POUM an d h o w th e POUM ''h ad re st ru ct u re d in th e u su al T ro ts k y it e fashion'' in o rd e r to en g ag e in ''t er ro ri sm '' (''provocations, ra id s, an d m u rd er s' ') . (3 6 4 -5 ) In re al it y w e k n o w th a t T ro ts k y w as in d ee d ''giving d ir ec ti v es to th e POUM'' an d Kotkin h as to k n o w it too. T ro ts k y 's se cr et ar y E rw in Wolf w e n t to S p ai n as th e em is sa ry o f th e In te rn at io n al S ec re ta ri at o f th e IV In te rn at io n al , T ro ts k y 's o rg an iz at io n , an d th er ef o re as T ro ts k y 's o w n em is sa ry . O th er T ro ts k y is ts , li k e A n d re u Nin an d K u rt Landau, co n ti n u ed to ac t co n si st en tl y w it h T ro ts k y 's ideas. As w e ex p la in ed in C h ap te r Four, th e Soviets w o u ld n at u ra ll y h av e as su m ed th a t th ei r ''b re ak '' w it h T ro ts k y w as p h o n y , as b o th P ia ta k o v an d Rad ek, an d la te r Khristian Rakovsky, te st if ie d th a t th ei r p u b li c ''b re ak s' ' w it h T ro ts k y h ad b ee n , an d as A n d re u Nin h im se lf h ad sa id th a t a ll su ch ''r et ra ct io n s' ' w er e. E rw in Wolf h ad n o t ev en p re te n d ed to ''b re ak '' w it h T ro ts k y . He h ad co m e st ra ig h t fr o m T ro ts k y in N o rw ay to S p ai n w it h o n ly a b ri ef st o p -o v er in Belgium an d France. 5 According to T ro ts k y is t 4

In fact th er e is re lia bl e ev id en ce fo r m an y ot he r m as sa cr es by A m er ic an so ld ie rs in Vietnam. Th er e is no su ch ev id en ce for m an y m as sa cr es by co m m un is ts in th e SCW.

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his tor ian Pie rre Broue, wh ose wo rks Kotkin cites, Trotsky's sup por ter s rep ort ed to him in 193 6 tha t mo st POUM ''militants'' in 6 Barcelona we re in fac t Trotskyists. No wo nd er Tro tsk y dis pat che d an em iss ary - Wolf. Th e Ba rce lon a ''May Days'' upr isin g wa s an att em pt at an ana rch ist- Tro tsk yis t sei zur e of pow er in Catalonia in the mi dst of the wa r. On May 5 the ins urg ent s eve n dec lar ed a pro vis ion al gov ern me nt. Th e Spa nis h com mu nis ts and Sov iet NKVD wo uld cer tain ly hav e und ers too d the pre sen ce of lea din g Tro tsk yis ts like Wolf and Lan dau as add itio nal evi den ce tha t the ''May Days'' upr isin g had bee n pla nne d in adv anc e. It is sig nif ica nt tha t nei the r Wolf no r Lan dau wa s arr est ed and ''di sap pea red '' unt il lon g aft er the ''May Days'' upr isin g.

What Kol'tsov Really Wrote Kotkin: y onl g tin rac att of '' tes kyi ots ''Tr UM PO the d use acc ... v ltso Ko 319 riffraff and scum. Ten s of tho usa nds of wo rke rs and peo ple 's mil itia s wh o we re sacrificing the ir lives to sav e the Republic we re cow ard s and fascist hirelings. (364-5) Note 319 (989): Kol'tsov, ''Agentura tro tsk isto v v Ispanii." See als o ''Is pan ski i dnevnik," Novyi mir, no. 4 (1938): S Qan. 21, 1937). it w kno er nev 'd you ugh tho , tkin Ko by ent tem sta e fals r the ano t Ye and how unl ess you che cke d Kol'tsov's articles, all in Ru ssi an t tha ote wr ov l'ts Ko t? tha do to ng goi are s der rea 's tkin Ko of ny ma all the scu m flock to Tro tsk y, no t tha t all of the POUM fighters we re scum.

There his partner, Hj(ZJrdis Knudsen, joined him. She was the daughter of Konrad Knudsen, the Norwegian politician at whose house Trotsky was staying. 6 Broue, ''La mission de Wolf en Espagne." Cahiers Leon Trotsky 10 Oune, 1982), 77.

5

130

Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T ru th

Ky11.a 6b1 HH npoT.siHynacb rHycaaH pyKa Tp o~Koro, oHa ceeT JIO:>Kh, npe'AaTeJibCTBa H y6HHCTBa ... Bee TeMHoe, 3n 0B el .I .\ ee , npeczynHoe, a ce no 'A O H K H , BC.SI M p a 3 b JIIOACKa.R C Ji eT ae TC H Ha e ro 3 0 B A JI H rH yC H bI X p a 3 6 0 H H H q b H X 11.en.

W h e re v e r th e vile h a n d o f T ro ts k y is s tr e tc h e d it s o w s lies, b e tr a y a ls a n d m u rd e r ... E v e ry th in g si n is te r, criminal, all scum, all th e h u m a n sc u m flies to h is call fo r vile th u g g is h acts. (Kol'tsov, ''A g e n tu ra tr o tk is to v v lspanii," Pravda, D e c e m b e r 14, 1 9 3 6)

In his Ja n u a ry 21, 1 9 3 7 a rt ic le in ''Ispanskii d n e v n ik '' (S p a n is h d ia ry ) Kol'tsov d ra w s a c le a r d is ti n c ti o n b e tw e e n Nin a n d ''a few

o th e r p e rs o n s' ' in th e POUM le a d e rs h ip , a n d e v e ry b o d y else. 7 Kol'tsov w ro te th is before R a d e k 's d ra m a ti c d is c lo su re , d u ri n g th e S e c o n d Moscow T ri a l o f January, 1 9 3 7 , th a t T ro ts k y is ts w e re in d e e d a c ti v e in Spain, a n d b e fo re th e B a rc e lo n a ''May Days'' re v o lt , w h ic h w a s n o th in g if n o t a s ta b in th e b a c k a g a in s t th e S p a n is h Republic.

POUM Was A Trotskyist Front Kotkin: Meanwhile, th e J a n u a ry 1 9 3 7 e d it o ri a l o f The Communist International, w ri tt e n in Stalin's s ig n a tu re st y le o f q u e s ti o n s a n d a n sw e rs , p o in te d ly n o te d th a t '' th e S p a n is h T ro ts k y it e s c o n d u c t th e m se lv e s li ke th e a d v a n c e d g u a rd o f th e n o to ri o u s 'fifth c o lu m n ' of F ra n c o in su rg e n ts . Is it p o ss ib le to s u p p o rt th e h e ro ic st ru g g le o f th e S p a n is h p o p u la r m a s s e s w it h o ut fighting a g a in s t th e tr a it o ro u s T ro ts k y it e b a n d ? No, it is impossible.'' 33 4 La Batalla, th e POUM's o rg a n , re s p o n d e d th a t ''Stalin is d e st ro y in g , w it h o u t lo o k in g back, e v e ry th in g th a t o p p o se s him .. .. Stalin m a in ta in s h is in c o n te st a b le p o w e r w it h te rr o r. " 33 5 (3 6 8 ) 7

ht tp ://militera.lib.ru/db /koltsov_me /0 7.html

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131

Note 335 : AVP RF, f. 05, op. 17, d. 49, p. 131 , l. 59- 60 (La Batalla, Jan. 21, 193 7). Orlo v see ms to hav e pus hed in Jan. 193 7 for app rov al for an arm ed upr isin g in the Nat iona list rear , in Spa nish Morocco, but the Spa nish Rep ubli can gov ern men t did not sup por t the idea , war y of ove rly anta gon izin g Fra nce give n the pro xim ity to Fre nch Morocco. Costello and Tsa rev, Deadly Illusions, 2 7 4, 46 7n2 1 (cit ing ASVRR file 176 79, I: 54). Orlo v finally bec ame official NKVD stat ion chie f in Spa in in late Feb. 193 7. Her e the POUM pap er ''La Batalla'' was wri ting abo ut the Sec ond Mos cow Trial, the Tro tsky ist tria l whi ch beg an on Jan uary 21, 193 7. Tod ay we hav e muc h mor e evid enc e tha t the con spir acie s to whi ch the Tro tsky ists in this tria l con fess ed wer e real con spir acie s. Of cou rse, this evid enc e is also ava ilab le to Kotkin. But he nev er tells his read ers abo ut it. Arti cles like this one and man y oth ers from the POUM new spa per wou ld hav e bee n take n by the Sov iets as pro of tha t POUM was a Tro tsky ist fron t. And it turn s out tha t the edit ors of the Com inte rn jour nal wer e corr ect! POUM lead ers, incl udin g Kur t Lan dau , had trie d to org aniz e in Bar celo na a con fere nce of anti -So viet forc es to disc uss the ove rthr ow of the Spa nish Rep ubli can gov ernm ent, culm inat ing in the ''May Days'' revo lt. Mea nwh ile in arti cle afte r arti cle the POUM new spa per ech oed Tro tsky 's atta cks on Stal in and the USSR; Nin was in the POUM lead ersh ip; Wolf was an adv isor to POUM; and Lan dau was one of its acti vist pro pag and ists .

Fascists Prepared Barcelona Revolt Kotkin: Later, Fra nco wou ld boa st tha t his age nts had pro vok ed the Bar celo na ana rch ist upr isin g so as to diso rgan ize the Rep ubli c's rear . No dou bt his age nts did try. (408 )

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Stalin: Waiting for ... The T ru th

B u t Kotkin fails to ci te th e evidence th a t th e F as ci st s h ad p ro v o k ed th e uprising. According to General Wilhelm Fau pel, Hitler's am b as sa d o r to Spain, F ra n co h im se lf cl ai m ed th a t ag en ts o f h is w e re al so in v o lv ed in in st ig at in g th e A n ar ch is ts to revo lt. As for th e d is o rd er s in Barcelona, F ra n co in fo rm ed m e th a t th e st re e t fighting h ad b ee n st ar te d b y his agents. As Nicolas F ra n co fu rt h er to ld me, th ey h ad in all so m e 1 3 ag en ts in Barcelona. One of th es e h ad g iv en th e in fo rm at io n a co n si d er ab le ti m e ago th a t th e tension b et w ee n th e A n ar ch is ts an d C o m m u n is ts w as so g re at in B ar ce lo n a th a t h e would g u ar an te e to ca u se fighting to b re ak o u t th er e .. .. Actually th e ag en t h ad su cc ee d ed , w it h in a few d ay s o f re ce iv in g such in st ru ct io n s, in h av in g st re e t sh o o ti n g st ar te d b y th re e o r fo u r p er so n s, an d th is h ad th en p ro d u ce d th e d es ir ed re su lt . 8

Kotkin also n ev er m en ti o n s th e m o st im p o rt an t fact th a t th e Nazis th em se lv es w er e also involved in planning th e ''May Days' revolt. H er e is a p a rt o f th e 1 9 4 2 ac cu sa ti o n b y a Nazi co u rt ag ai n st Harro Schulze-Boysen, a Soviet sp y in th e Nazi Luftwaffe: At th e b eg in n in g o f 1 9 3 8 [an e rr o r fo r 1 9 3 7 - GF], d u ri n g th e S p an is h Civil War, th e ac cu se d le ar n ed in his official ca p ac it y th a t a re b e ll io n a g a in st th e local re d g o v e rn m e n t in th e te rr it o ry o f B a rc e lo n a w a s b e in g p re p a re d w it h th e c o -o p e ra ti o n o f th e G e rm a n S e c re t Service. This in fo rm at io n , to g et h er w it h th a t o f Pollnitz, was tr an sm it te d b y h im to th e Soviet R u ss ia n em b as sy in P ar is . 9

8

"The Ambassador in Spain to the Foreign Ministry." May 11 , 19

37 . Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945. Series D (1937-1945). Volum e Ill. Gennany and the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. London: His Majesty's St at io ne ry Offic e, 19 51 , No. 254, 28 6. 9

Norbert Haase, Das Reichskrie9s9ericht und der Widerstand ge9en die nationalsozialistische Herrschaft. Berlin: Druckerei de r Justizvollzugsanstalt Tegel, 1993, 105.

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Cha pter Seven. Spa nish Civil Wa r

Eit her Kotkin kno ws abo ut thi s evi den ce and hid es it from his rea der s; or he doe s no t kno w abo ut it. In the firs t case, he is bei ng dis hon est - lyi ng by omission. In the sec ond case, he is inc om pet ent to wr ite abo ut thi s top ic at all.

The NKVD Did No t ''Instigate'' Kotkin: Th e NKVD, too, had inf iltr ate d the POUM to ins tig ate an att em pte d ''se izu re of pow er'' as a pre tex t to cru sh it. 183 ( 408 ) Note 183 (995): Sha rap ov, Naum Eitingon, 57. This is ano the r pho ny cita tio n by Kotkin, for Sh ara pov doe s no t say tha t the NKVD we re try ing to ''in stig ate '' any thi ng. He re is wh at he wri tes : C AeKa6p.H 1936 roAa are HTh I pe3 HAe HTY PhI HKB~, BHe Ape HH bie B TIOYM, coo6~aJIH o no,L iirO TOB Ke noyMoB~aMH

B

H aHa pXH CT3 MH BOO p}')K eHH Oro BblC T}'I lJieH HH

EapceJioHe.

Since December 1936, NKVD agents int rod uce d int o the POUM had bee n rep ort ing pre par ati ons by the POUMists and ana rch ists of an arm ed upr isin g in Barcelona. ''Re por ted '' - soobshchali - not ''instigated."

Nazi Agents Infiltrated Trotskyists t tha e enc llig inte s en' oys e-B ulz Sch cite to on s goe ov rap Sha German age nts had pen etr ate d ''Trotskyist circles'' in Barcelona in ord er to fom ent a put sch .

B Ha tian e 193 7 roAa 6epnHHCKaH pe3 HA eH zyp a MHO HKB,l( non yqH na aHOHHMHoe coo6~eHHe (KaK BilOCJieACTBHH OKa3aJIOCb, OT COTJlYAHHKa MH HH CTe pCT Ba aBH all;H H fep Ma HH H Xa ppo

lllyJibD;e-

134

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

Eoii3etta, o~Horo H3 6y~y~Hx pyKoao~HTe11eii HeneraJibHOH pe3HAeHTYPhI HHO HKB,l( B f epMaHHH ) o TO M , qT o repMaHCKHe ar eH Tb I npoHHKJIH a TpOQKHCTCKHe K py rH B EapcenoHe c HaMepeHHeM B 6JIH)l('.aHmee BpeMH opraHH30BaTb nyTq. TaIOKe no yM oB Q aM H ro TO BH JI HC b TepaKTbI npOTHB aK TH BH CT OB KO M na pT HH H KO MC OM OJ ia HcnaHHH. TaK 6bIJI y6HT H3BeCTHhIH KaTaJIOHCKHM KO M M YH HC T AHTOHHO Cecce. Ilo3~Hee, B c}>eapan e 19 38 ro~a 6bIJI y6HT Ka ilH Ta H HHTep6pHra~ JleoH H ap BH q, areHT Opnoaa B IlOYM, BhIXO'Ae~ H3 Pocc HH.

In th e be gi nn in g of 1937, th e Berlin residency of the Foreign (INO) Division of th e NKVD received an anonymous message (as it la te r tu rn ed out, fr om an em pl oy ee of th e German Ministry of A vi at io n, H ar ro Schulze-Boysen, on e of th e fu tu re le ad er s of th e illegal residence of th e INO NKVD in Germany, th e ''Red Orchestra'') th at G er m an ag en ts ha d in fi lt ra te d th e T ro ts ky it e ci rc le s in B ar ce lo na w it h th e in te nt io n in th e n ea r fu tu re to or ga ni ze a co up . Also te rr or is t at ta ck s ag ai ns t ac ti vi st s of th e C om m un is t P ar ty an d th e Young C om m un is t L ea gu e of S pa in w er e be in g pr ep ar ed by th e POUMists. In this way th e w el l- kn ow n Catalan co m m un is t A nt on io Sesse w as killed. Later, in Fe br ua ry 19 38 , Leon Narvich, a ca pt ai n of th e In te rn at io na l Brigades, a communist, an d Orlov's ag en t in th e POUM, a na tiv e of Russia, w as killed. Kotkin kn ow s ab ou t th is af te r all, he ci te s Sh ar ap ov 's book. But he conceals it fr om hi s readers.

Grigulevich's Activities Kotkin: He [Grigulevich] also liquidated ''Trotskyites.''19 3 ( 40 910)

Cha pter Seven. Spa nish Civil Wa r

135

No te 193 (99 5): An dre w and Mi tro khi n, Mitrokhin Archive, 114. (La ter Grigulevich wo uld be one of ma ny tap ped to ass ass ina te Tro tsk y in Mexico.) Sud opl ato v, Special Tasks, 193 ; ''V Ma dri de ia ruk ovo dil gru ppo i'' (Grigulevich int erv iew ); Pri ma kov , Ocherki, III: 14 854. More pho ny cita tio ns by Kotkin. Th ere is not hin g abo ut thi s on pag e 114 of Mitrokhin Archive, wh ich dea ls wit h Wo rld Wa r II. On pag e 87 the boo k bre ezi ly cla ims tha t Grigulevich ''ha d tak en a leading role in liq uid atin g Trotskyists dur ing the Spa nis h Civil War." Bu t it cite s no evi den ce, or eve n nam es. It's no t evidence. In the int erv iew cite d by Kotkin Grigulevich him sel f did no t claim to hav e ''liq uid ate d Tro tsk yit es. " Fo r the Pri ma kov cita tio n, see the nex t sec tio n.

What ''Death Squad''? Kotkin: Grigulevich had arr ive d in Ba rce lon a wit h his dea th 194 squ ad on Ma y 3, 193 7. (409 .. 10) No te 19 4 (995): Pri ma kov , Ocherki, III: 153 . Wi th Orlov, Grigulevich par tic ipa ted in the kid nap pin g and mu rde r of Nin.

Yet ano the r fal seh ood by Kotkin! He re is the tex t fro m Pri ma kov III, 153 : BamHoH Bex oii HcnaHcKoH: 6HorpacpHH MaKca SIBHJIOCh ero yqaCTHe B IlOAaBJieHHH c Op}')KHeM B pyK ax MHTema B EapcenoHe s Mae 193 7 roAa. IlapTHH aHapxHCTOB H TpO~KHCTOB (IIOYM), pac non ara BlII He co6cTBeHHbIMH BOHHCKHMH opMHpoBaHHHMH, CHHJIH CBOH 'llaCTH c POHTa, BBeJIH HX B BapcenoHy H 2 M3H ll0I lhlT 3JIH Cb saxsaTHTh ena cI'L . Yme 3 MaH MaKc B cocTase cnel\OTpH~a H3 10 cOTPYJtHHKOB CerypHAa'A npH6bIJI B EapceJioHy. TiepeA HHMH CTOHnH 3a,l(aqH: HeMe.zvteHHO ocraHOBHTb

136

Stalin: Waiting for ... The T ru th K pO B O ilp O JI H TH e, on pe 'A eJ IH T b MeCT OHaxo~eHHe H n p H v B03MO:>KHOCTH ap ec T oB aT b py K oB o) (H T eJ ie H M H Te )K a H ... K O M aH 'A H P O B ~OCCT3BlllHX BO H H C KH X IlO A pa 3' A eJ ie H H H . lJ aC TH qH o 3T O y~aJIOCh ~eJiaTb B ne pB bl H ,l( eH b, a u O K Q H qa Te Ji bH O H a CJle~IOII.\HH, n p H IIO'A'Aep)l(

n p H 6 b IB lll e ro no~KpenneHH.SI.

Ke

An im p o rt a n t milestone in th e Spanish biography o f Max [Grigulevich's code name] his th e p a rt in th e su p p re ss io n o f th e a rm e d mutiny in Barcelona in May 1937. The p a rt ie s o f th e anarchists a n d th e Trotskyis ts (POUM), which had th e ir o w n military formations, w it h d re w th e ir units from th e front, b ro u g h t th e m to Barcelona, a n d o n M a y 2 tr ie d to se iz e p o w e r. Already on M a y 3, Max, a s p a rt o f a special sq u a d o f 1 0 Seguridad workers, arrived in Barcelona. Before th e m w e re th e following tasks: immediately stop th e bloodshed, a n d locate and, if possible, a rr e st the rebe l le a d e rs a n d commanders of th e rebel military units. In part, this w a s done on th e first day, and finally o n the next, with th e su p p o rt of the incoming reinforcemen ts. So th is passage in Primakov, III, 153, concerns h o w Grigulevich h e lp e d to su p p re ss th e anarchist-Trotskyist (PO UM) ''May Days'' uprising in Barcelona. There is nothing h e re a b o u t any ''death squad'' a n d nothing a b o u t any involvement o f Grig ulevich in the k id n a p p in g a n d m u rd e r o f Nin. 10

Nin Not Tortured Kotkin: After Nin was arrested, Orlov's thugs kidnapped him from Spanish prison and took him to a se c re t place o f confinement maintained by th e NKVD a t Alcala de 10

In fact th er e is so m e te st im on y th at Grigu1evich w as in vo lv ed in th e Nin affair, bu t Kotkin do es n' t cite it See B or is Volodarsky, Stalin's A ge nt The li fe and Death o fAlexander Orlov. Oxford U ni ve rs ity Pr es s, 2015, 28 5 ff.

Cha pter Seven. Span ish Civil War

137

Hen ares , the birt hpla ce of Cervantes. The re, the y tor tur ed him to get him to confess he was a ''fascist agent." With muc h of the POUM lead ersh ip awa itin g trial, suc h test imo ny was tho ugh t nec essa ry to per sua de the pub lic to sup por t dea th sen tenc es. Nin refu sed to confess to trea son , Tro tsky ism , or oth er crimes. He was exe cute d in sec ret by Grigulevich's dea th squ ad on the Alcala de Hen ares high way and 196 bur ied ther e. ( 410 ) Note 196 (99 5): Sharapov, Naum Eitingon, 53. See also Costello and Tsarev, Deadly Illusions, 291 -2. Tha t the NKVD kidn app ed, inte rrog ated , and then killed Nin is not in doubt. The ir reas ons wer e clear: Nin had bee n a lead er of a ''stab-in-the-back'' rev olt aga inst the Republican gov ernm ent, in the mid st of a war aga inst the fascists. Moreover, thro ugh Schulze-Boysen the NKVD kne w tha t the Nazi sec ret serv ice was involved in the revolt. The Soviets eith er kne w or sus pec ted tha t Nin was still an emi ssar y of Tro tsky 's, as Erw in Wolf cert ainl y was. The y kne w tha t Tro tsky was in leag ue with the Germans. The Soviets kne w too tha t Lan dau and Wolf wer e wor king wit h the POUM lead ersh ip, whi ch incl ude d Nin as a lead ing mem ber. Wh at is in que stio n her e is whe ther Nin was ''tor ture d'' as Kotkin claimed. Her e Kotkin is rep eati ng fascist disi nfo rma tion . He has no evidence tha t Nin was tort ure d bec aus e the re is none. Paul Pre ston , the mos t objective hist oria n of thes e mat ters and one cited by Kotkin, say s tha t Nin was not tort ure d: Before bein g tran sfer red to Alcala de Hen ares , Nin was que stio ned in Madrid four tim es by Jacinto Rosell as sec reta ry of the Brigada Especial on 18, 19 (twice) and 21 June. Nothing abo ut Rosell's que stio ns or Nin's ans wer s in the tran scr ipt sig ned by Nin and pub lish ed by the POUM itse lf sug ges ts any thin g

oth er tha n a legally con duc ted inte rro gat ion

138

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

w it ho ut to rt ur e. T he of te n un re li ab le Jesus H er na nd ez cl ai m ed th at Nin w as to rt ur ed an d

in te rr og at ed by Orlov an d ot he rs fo r se ve ra l days, in an ef fo rt to m ak e hi m si gn a 'c on fe ss io n' of hi s lin ks w it h th e fifth column. T hi s is hi gh ly un li ke ly ; a

co nf es si on w as ne ed ed as th e ba si s fo r a tr ia l an d, fo r th at , Nin w ou ld ha ve to be se en to be in go od ph ys ic al sh ap e an d te st if y th at he ha d no t be en to rt ur ed . 11 N ei th er Sh ar ap ov , Naum Eitingon, no r Costello an d T sa re v m en ti on ''t or tu re ." Moreover, ne it he r claim th at Grigulevich ha d an y ro le in Nin's ki dn ap pi ng or in hi s m ur de r. Costello an d T sa re v do no t m en ti on Grigulevich's na m e at all! This is si m pl y m or e di si nf or m at io n fo is te d up on Kotkin's re ad er s.

11

Preston, Spanish Holocaust, 411:

Ch ap ter 8. Th ird M os co w Tr ial Kotkin but che rs and falsifies his acc oun t of the Thi rd Mo scow Trial of March 2-15, 1938, muc h as he has the firs t two , by the omi ssio n of imp orta nt evid enc e and out righ t fabr icat ion. We beg in with a flag rant and indi cati ve exa mpl e of omi ssio n, and then a blat ant falsehood.

Bukharin and Jules Humbert-Droz: Kotkin's Bias By Omission In foo tnot e 13 on pag e 912 Kotkin wri tes the following: Jules Hum bert -Dr oz, the Swiss Com mun ist who met Buk hari n in earl y 1929, late r clai med tha t Buk hari n men tion ed get ting rid of Stalin. Hum bert -Dr oz, Memoirs, 356, 379 -80 . Hum bert -Dr oz's nam e doe s not app ear in Kot kin' s index. Pre sum ably only nam es tha t occ ur in the text of the book, not in the foo tnot es, are inde xed . So unle ss you care full y read eve ry pag e of this mo nste r boo k - 909 pag es of text plus 159 pag e of triplecolumn foo tnot es in tiny typ e - you will nev er see this refe renc e. This gives Kotkin the sco pe for mor e dish one sty -- not tha t he nee ds it. For Buk hari n did not, as Kotkin deli cate ly put s it, ''me ntio n gett ing rid of Stalin." Wh at Buk hari n told his frie nd Hum bert -Dr oz is tha t he and his foll owe rs had dec ided to murder Stalin: Bou kha rine me dit aus si qu'i ls ava ien t dec ide d'u tili ser la terr eur ind ivid uel le pou r se 1 deb arra sser de Staline. Jules Humbert-Droz. De Lenine aStaline: dix ans au service de l'lnternationale communiste, 1921-1931. Neuchatel: (Editions de la Baconniere, 1971 , p. 379."Use individual terro r" means "kill."

1

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Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

Bukharin also told m e th at th ey h ad d ec id ed to u se in d iv id u al te rr o r [= assassination] in o rd er to ri d th em se lv es o f Stalin. Humbert-Droz pu bl is he d th es e m em oi rs in Switzerland in 1971. He w as long o u t o f th e Comintern an d u n d er no pr es su re from th e Soviets. Moreover, this passage occupies only a few lines in a m em oi r of m or e th an 50 0 pages. Bukharin's w o rd s to his friend Humbert-Droz expose as di sh on es t his le tt er to Stalin o f December 10, 1937, his te st im on y du ri ng th e Third Moscow Trial, an d his tw o appeals for clemency. Altho ugh Bukharin claimed th at he ha d completely ''disarmed'' - conf essed an d re pe nt ed all his crimes -- he still concealed th e fact th at he ha d be en planning to kill Stalin as early as 1929. We - th e scholarly w or ld - n o w po ss es s a g re at deal of evid ence n o t only ab ou t Bukharin's activities in th e clandestine te rr or is t Opposition bloc, b u t ab ou t his specific crimes. T he se pr im ar y do cu m en ts an d th is re se ar ch ar e as available to Kotkin as th ey ar e to ev er yo ne else. One m u st as su m e th at Kotkin kn ow s ab ou t th em an d decided n o t to inform his re ad er s ab o u t them. T ha t w ould co ns ti tu te de li be ra te deception. 2 Humbert-Droz's revelation make no ns en se of Kotkin's claim he

re:

...Stalin charged Bukharin an d his allies w it h ''deviation'' from th e pa rt y line. Thus did th e di ct at or fashion for himself an d th e regime a n ew high-profile in te rn al foe. 10 (11-12)

2

E.g. Vladimir Bo br ov an d Gr ov er Fu rr, "Nikolai Bu kh ar in 's Fi rs t St at em en t of Confession in th e Lubianka." Cu ltu ra l Logic 20 07 ; ht tp s: //w eb .a rc hi ve .o rg /w eb /2 01 20 41 50 95 25 6/ ht tp :// cl og ic .e se rv er .o rg /2 00 7/F ur r_ Bo b ro v. pd f; Gr ov er Fu rr an d Vl ad im ir L. Bobrov. "S te ph en Co he n's Bi og ra ph y of Bu kh ar in : A Study in th e Fa lse ho od of Kh ru sh ch ev -E ra 'R ev ela tio ns '." Cultu ra l Logic, 20 10 , at ht tp s: //w eb.ar ch iv e. or g/ w eb /2 01 30 32 51 65 83 3/ ht tp :// cl og ic .e se rv er .o rg /2 01 0/ Fu rr .p df

Chapt er Eight Third Moscow Trial.

141

Note 10 (912) is to a very old book , Robe rt Tuck er, Stalin as Revolutionary, a terri ble ''psyc ho-h istor y." But Tuck er was one of Kotk in's ment ors, so Kotkin gives him a few unde serv ed citati ons.

As we'v e seen abov e, Kotk in is awar e that Bukh arin was plott ing to murd er Stali n as early as 1929 or even earli er but supp resse s this, as he does on page 58: ''Stal in's perse cutio n of his frien d Bukh arin 3 361 in 1929 -30 reve aled new dept hs of malice, as well as self-pity. ''

The ''Riutin Platform'' Wa s Really The ''Bukharin Platform'' Kotkin: Stali n cons tantl y urge d more publ ic trials.... That inclu ded Mart emya n Ryutin, auth or of the deva statin g4 inter nal cond emna tion of force d colle ctivi zatio n and Stali n's dicta torsh ip .... The Ryut in Platf orm had come up at the seco nd Mosc ow trial in late Janu ary 1937 , 253 but it had not been a centr al aspec t. Whe reas Ryut in had been the actua l impl acab le oppo nent and Bukh arin had neve r joine d a party oppo sitio n, 254 (477) ol. symb nt Bukh arin was the pree mine Kotkin refer s to the ''Ryu tin (or ''Riutin'') Platf orm' ' abou t a doze n time s in this book . But he neve r infor ms the read er that - as has long been know n - Riuti n did not write this docu men t at all! It was reall y writt en by Bukh arin and Aleksei Rykov, the main defe ndan ts at the Third Mosc ow Trial, along with two othe rs, Mikhail Tom skii and Nikolai Uglanov.

Note 361p. 922 record s Trotsk y's much- later claim that Kamenev had warne d him in 1926 that Stalin might kill him. Kotkin concedes that Kamenev never confirmed that publicly and Trotsk y had said nothin g about it at the time. 4 I pass over Kotkin's descri ption of this docum ent as "devas tating. " In fact, the intelle ctual povert y of this long, rambli ng docum ent, shown by its relentl ess person al attack on Stalin and the paucit y of realist ic political progra m, demon strates the bankru ptcy of the Opposition. For an English transla tion by an admir er of Riutin see Sobhanlal D. Gupta, ed., The Ryutin Platform (Kolkata: Seribaan, 2010).

3

142

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

We ca n be su re th at Kotkin kn ow s th is be ca us e he ci te s th e Lubianka 1937-1938 vo lu m e of do cu m en ts nu m er ou s tim es . In it, in th e in te rr og at io n of Valentin Astrov, a st ud en t an d fo llo w er of Bu kh ar in 's, w e re ad : PIOTHHCKCUI nJiaTopMa no cy~eCTBY HB HJ iaC h

~oKyMeHTOM He PIOTHHA, a u;eHTpa np aB hIX ... Cn en Ko B

paccKa3aJI 0 COIJ.epiKaHHH 9TOH nnaTcpOpMbl H, B CK a3 aJ I,

qa cT HO CT H,

qT o OH a CO )-le pm HT B ce 6e Tp e6 oB aH He

npHMeHeHH.H sc ex cpe,ACTB 6o pb 6b I npoTHB CT aJ IH HC Ko ro pyKOBOJ-lCTBa, Bil JJ OT b /J.O Teppopa.

OH Ta IO Ke cK a3 aJ I, "IT O rJi aB Hb IM H aB To pa MH 3T OH rrJ iaT cp op Mh I

.HBJI.HIOTc.H Ey xa pH H, Ph IKO B, To MC KH H H

Yrna Ho B H 'llT O B op ra HH 3a n;H H YC JIO BJ ieH o, B CJ iyq ae

IlJiaTcpopMbl, o6 'b. HB HT b ee t.ta CT Hb IM ~eJIOM OT )-le Jib Hb IX rp yn n npaBbIX, HM eH HO rp yn nh l PI OT HH a. (L ub ia nk a 19 37 -1 93 8, 36) np oB aJ ia 3T OH

Th e Riutin Pl at fo rm in es se nc e w as no t a do cu m en t by RIUTIN, bu t by th e ce nt er of th e Rights ... . Slepkov sp ok e ab ou t th e co nt en t of th is pl at fo rm an d, in pa rti cu la r, said th at it co nt ai ns th e de m an d for th e us e of all m ea ns of st ru gg le ag ai ns t Stalin's le ad er sh ip ,

in cl ud in g te rr or .

He al so sa id th at th e m ai n au th or s of th is pl at fo rm ar e B uk ha ri n, Rykov, To m sk y an d Uglanov, an d th at in th e or ga ni za tio n it is ag re ed , in th e ev en t of th e fa ilu re of th is pl at fo rm , to de cl ar e it a pr iv at e m at te r of se pa ra te ri gh t gr ou ps , na m el y th e R yu tin gr ou p. In th is sa m e do cu m en t A st ro v also testifies ab ou t Bu kh ar in 's

le ad er sh ip of an op po si tio n gr ou p.

Bu kh ar in ad m itt ed th is du ri ng th e Th ird Moscow Trial:

BUKHARIN: ... Pe rf ec tly tr ue is th e as se rt io n m ad e by th e ac cu se d Iv an ov

Chapter Eight. Thir d Moscow Trial.

to the effe ct tha t I kep t him info rme d of the stan d of the Rig ht cen tre, from the Ryu tin plat form to the late st stan ds, of whi ch the Cou rt is fairly wel l info rme d. 128 )

BUKHARIN: The fixation of the que stio n abo ut insu rrec tion ary org aniz atio ns tha t was app rov ed by the Right cen tre was firs t indi cate d in wha t is call ed the Ryu tin plat form . (132) RYKOV: ... As reg ard s line s of prin cipl e, the so-c alle d Ryu tin pro gra m was cha ract eris tic of the per iod 193 033. This Ryu tin pro gra m was disc usse d twic e in

1932 at Tom sky 's sum mer resi den ce wit h my part icip atio n. In add itio n to myself, the re wer e pre sen t at the firs t mee ting Buk hari n and Tom sky and a num ber of oth er pers ons , amo ng them Vasily Sch mid t and Uglanov.

VYSHINSKY: Wa s Buk hari n ther e? RYKOV: Buk hari n was at the firs t mee ting , whe n the orig inal thes es wer e dra wn up. (162) RYKOV: ... The plat form was call ed afte r Ryutin, bec aus e it was pub lish ed by sup por ters of the Rights, the Ryu tin gro up, from Uglanov's Mo sco w org aniz atio n. Dur ing the inve stig atio n inst itut ed in con nec tion wit h this plat form , this gro up too k the who le resp ons ibil ity upo n itself. Thi s had bee n dec ided on befo reha nd, so tha t we our selv es sho uld not be call ed to acc oun t for the plat form . We man age d to do this than ks to the fact tha t Yagoda was at the hea d of the O.G.P.U.

VYSHINSKY: So Yagoda shie lded you ? RYKOV: And to mak e it eas ier to do this , the pro gra m itse lf con tain ed a phr ase whi ch exp ress ed a cert ain

143

144

Stalin: Waiting fo r ... Th e Tr ut h

se ns e of al oo fn es s fr om Bu kh ar in , To m sk y an d myself; it sa id so m et hi ng to th e ef fe ct th at th es e th re e w er e w as te st ea m . Th is w as do ne fr om m ot iv es of do ub le de al in g. (1 63 ) BUKHARIN: I re po rt ed to th e Co ur t in yo ur pr es en ce th at ac tu al ly th e or ie nt at io n on te rr or is m , st ric tly sp ea ki ng , w as al re ad y co nt ai ne d in th e Ryutin pl at fo rm . (3 77 ) Th is ev id en ce m ak es cl ea r th e fa ct th at th er e was no ''s m al l Ri ut in gr ou p' ' th e w or ds Kotkin us es w he n de sc rib in g Tr ot sk y' s ag re em en t to fo rm a ''bloc'' w ith th e Rights an d ot he r O pp os iti on is ts (s ee C ha pt er Th re e, ab ov e) . Kotkin ce rta in ly kn ow th is . B ut he hi de s it all fr om hi s re ad er s. In do in g so he falsifies th e w ho le is su e. Kotkin qu ot es fr om th e Riutin Pl at fo rm on pa ge 70 as well. As el se w he re he at tr ib ut es it to Riutin, th ou gh he su re ly kn ow s th at it w as no t w ri tte n by hi m bu t by Bu kh ar in an d ot he rs . Why? A pp ar en tly be ca us e Kotkin th in ks it ne ce ss ar y to co nt in ue to cl ai m th at Bu kh ar in ha d ne ve r be en in an y op po si tio n gr ou p. W e ca n be su re ab ou t A st ro v' s te st im on y ab ou t Bu kh ar in 's le ad in g ro le in th e Ri gh t O pp os iti on an d co -a ut ho rs hi p of th e ''R iu tin Pl at fo rm '' be ca us e A st ro v liv ed un til 19 93 , an d pu bl is he d tw o ar tic le s ab ou t th es e ev en ts , on e of th em pu bl is he d ev en af te r th e en d of th e USSR. A st ro v ha d th e op po rt un ity to re tr ac t hi s st at em en ts ab ou t Bu kh ar in . Bu t he ne ve r di d so. 5

A Series O f Falsifications Kotkin: On M ar ch 2, 19 38 , th e th ir d M os co w tri al finally co m m en ce d, lik e th e fir st tw o, in th e O ct ob er Hall of 5

See the de tai led dis cu ssi on of As tro v an d his tes tim on y in Furr, Moscow Trial s 41 ff., an d Trotsky's 'Amalgams' 40, 64 ff.

Chapter Ei gh t Third Moscow Trial.

th e House of Tr ad e Unions, in fro nt of ne ar ly 20 0 sp ec tat or s, in clu di ng th e us ua l ha nd pi ck ed fo re ig n A . gs tin sit en te gh ei d ste la It . ats om pl di d an ts jo ur na lis t sa d ha om wh of ne ni ts, an nd fe de ne -o ty en tw of to tal in th e Ce nt ra l Committee, w er e in th e dock. Th re e we re do ct or s of th e Kremlin me di ca l staff. St ali n ha d ed ite d ch ie f pr oc ur at or Vyshinsky's sc rip t. (Vyshinsky wo ul d als o ed it th e tra ns cr ip t, re m ov in g re m ar ks ex cu lp ati ng th e ac cu se d an d di sc us sio ns of th e la w by th e de fe ns e law ye rs. ) Th e ac cu se d ha d sp en t lo ng ho ur s m em or izi ng th ei r tes tim on y. Bu kh ar in ,

h nc au st ki vs ko Ra n ia ist Cr v, ko Ry y, sk tin Kr es Bo lsh ev ik s co nf es se d th at th ey ha d pl ot te d to as sa ss in at e Le ni n an d St al in since 19 18 ; ha d m ur de re d Kirov, M~zyl1ski, Kuibyshev, Gorky, Gorky's so n Maxim; ha d co ns pi re d w ith Nazi Ge rm an y, Ja pa n, an d G re at Br ita in to pa rti tio n th e So vi et Un io n, ha nd ov er te rr ito ry (U kr ai ne , 255 Yezhov Be lo ru ss ia ), an d ab ol is h co lle ct iv e fa rm s. ha d falsely :gromised at le as t so m e de fe nd an ts th ei r 256 NKVD . on ati in im lives in ex ch an ge fo r se lf- in cr

in te rr og at or s sa t in th e fir st ro w, a re m in de r th at ''r e- in te rr og at io n' ' co ul d ta ke pl ac e be tw ee n 257 Kr es tin sk y ha d be en ''b ea te n ho rri bl y," se ss io ns . ac co rd in g to th e he ad of th e Lefortovo pr iso n's 258 " d~ un wo a s wa ck ba re ti ~n is ''H t. en rtm pa de e en hy gi Still, on th e fir st day, Kr es tin sk y re pu di at ed hi s . on ati ns se a g in us ca y, ilt gu t no d de ea pl d an n sio es co nf Th at ni gh t he wa s re -in te rro ga te d he ha d a wi fe an d ch ild re n an d on th e se co nd da y he no dd ed hi s as se nt 259 ''It is no w cle ar wh y y. ilt gu s wh en as ke d if he wa th er e ar e in te rru pt io ns of su pp lie s he re an d th er e, why, wi th ou r ric he s an d ab un da nc e of pr od uc ts, th er e is a sh or ta ge fir st of on e thing, th en of an ot he r," Vyshinsky th un de re d. ''It is th es e tra ito rs wh o ar e 260 ( 4 78 ) re sp on sib le fo r it."

145

146

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

Kotkin sq ue ez es a lo ng se ri es of falsifications in to th is on e pa ra gr ap h! We di st in gu is h am on g th em ab ov e b y al te rn at in g un de rl in in g an d boldface. F al se ho od #1 : T he re is no ev id en ce w ha ts oe ve r th at ''t he ac cu se d ha d sp en t lo ng ho ur s m em or iz in g th ei r te st im on y. " Thi s is a co m pl et e fa br ic at io n on Kotkin's pa rt , in ve nt ed o u t of th in ai r w it ho ut ev en a ph on y footnote. ''Bukharin, Krestinsky, Rykov, Cristian R ak o v sk ist au nc h Bolsheviks co nf es se d th at th ey h ad pl ot te d to as sa ss in at e Lenin an d Stalin si nc e 1 9 1 8 ... " F al se ho od #2 : Only B uk ha ri n w as ac cu se d of pl ot ti ng to as sa ss in at e Lenin an d Stalin. Even he w as ch ar ge d n o t ''since 19 18 '' b u t in 19 18 . (Trial, p. 29; See B uk ha ri n' s te st im on y on pp. 1 2 7 ff.; 37 7 ff.) Some Left S oc ia li st -R ev ol ut io na ri es te st if ie d th at hi s pl ot ha d be en ge nu in e. B uk ha ri n de ni ed th at he ha d pl ot te d to as sa ss in at e Lenin an d Stalin, b u t he ag re ed th at he ha d b ee n p ar t of tw o pl an s to ar re st - b u t n o t kill - Lenin. S te ph en Cohen, B uk ha ri n' s bi og ra ph er , p u t it hi s w ay : W he n op po ne nt s of th e tr iu m vi ra te po in te dl y co m pa re d cu rr en t no rm s w it h th e free di sc us si on s du ri ng th e B re st co nt ro ve rs y, B uk ha ri n tr ie d to di sc re di t th e ea rl ie r pe ri od b y disclosing th at L en in 's a rr e st h ad b ee n d is cu ss ed b y Left C o m m u n is ts an d Left S oc ia li st R ev o lu ti o n ar ie s in 1 9 1 8 ... (Cohen, Bukharin, 15 6. n. 112, p. 42 0: ''112. Pravda, Ja nu ar y 3, 19 24 , p. S.") Kotkin: ... co nf es se d th at [they] ... ha d m ur de re d Kirov, M~zynski, Kuibyshev, Gorky, Gorky's so n Maxim ; h ad co ns pi re d w it h Nazi Germany, Japan, an d G re at B ri ta in to pa rt it io n th e Soviet Union, ha nd ov er te rr it or y (Ukraine, Belorussia), an d ab ol is h collective farms.

Ch ap ter Eight. Th ird Moscow Trial.

147

e es th to y rt pa a g in be to d se es nf co da Fa ls eh oo d #3 : Only Ja go d an ky vs he ac kh Tu ith w ng ki or w to d se es nf co m ur de rs . K re st in sk y ar w a in SR US e th at fe de lp he to rs de an m m co ry ta th e ot he r m ili n. pa Ja d an in ita Br r fo ng yi sp to d se es nf co w ith Germany. Ra ko vs ky . oc bl ite ky ts ro t-T gh Ri e th of rt pa g in be Rykov co nf es se d to s'' ik ev lsh Bo ch un ta ''s e er w en m e es th of ne no M or eo ve r, by 19 38 an y longer. Kotkin kn ow s this, of co ur se .

More False Claims l Al n. tio ta en m cu do y on ph s n' ki ot K t ou ab ils ta H er e ar e so m e de th es e no te s ar e on pa ge 10 06 of Kotkin's te xt : N ot e 25 5: Th e in di ct m en t w as pr es en te d fo r an e th of ng ni ea M , ky vs la os ar Y by ce en di au in te rn at io na l en be d ha s ie ph ra og bi ' ts an nd fe de e Th ls. ia Tr Soviet d an ts lis ta pi ca of s nt da en sc de em th e ak m to n tte ri re w pr ie st s. e th of ne No n. io at ic br fa a is d oi ct fa al vi tri Fa ls eh oo d #4 : Ev en th is or pt ri sc an tr l ia Tr e th in er th ei ay w is th d be ri sc de fe nd an ts ar e de in Y ar os la vs ki i's bo ok le t.

e, lif s hi r fo te tia go ne to pt m te at a's od ag Y On 6: Note 25 h rik en G v, do ra og in V : rt po re s h' itc sn on is pr e th se e V. 4: 311 I. 8, 31 d. 5, . op 3, f. B, FS sA (T 5 3Jagoda, 23 K irs ho n) . rt po re s n' ho irs K . M V. is 5 323 da go Ja h rik en G v, Lie #5 : Vinogrado pt m tte ''a y an t ou ab re he g in th no is e er th t Bu . on is on Jagoda in pr as w he at th m ai cl da go Ja es do or N e." to ne go tia te fo r hi s lif . ilt gu s hi s m fir af da go Ia , ry ra nt co e th On . in no ce nt , an le ac M ; 98 134 t, en m ss se as Re , st ue nq Note 25 7: Co Escape to Adventure, 59 -8 3; H ed el er , ''Yezhov's Scenario," 34 -5 5. r ei th y pl m si e ar s ge pa an le ac M d an st Fa ls eh oo d #6 : Th e Co nq ue at th s m ai cl ) 48 ( er el ed H y nl O l. ia Tr 38 19 w ho le ch ap te rs on th e

148

Stalin: Waiting fo r ... The Tr ut h

NKVD in te rr og at or s ''s at in the first ro w of seats." But he cites no evidence th at th ey di d so.

Note 258: Sokolov, ''N. N. Krestinsky," 12 0- 42 ; Trud, May 26, 1988. Falsehood #7: There is nothing in Sokolov, ''N.N. Krestinsky," ab ou t an y beating. Sokolov merely says: ''One m ay only guess w ha t kind of 'working up' he suffered, w ha t physical an d moral to rm en ts he ha d to en du re ..." (1 42 ). ''Trud'' was th e national tr ad e union ne w sp ap er of the USSR. As Sokolov's article is from 1989, I assume he would have cited th e Trud 19 88 article if it had contained an y evidence th at Krestinsky had be en to rt ur ed . And since w he n is a tr ad e union ne w sp ap er article ''evidence''? See below for th e pr oo f th at th e st or y of Krestinsky's beating is a lie. Note 259: 259. Conquest, Reassessment, 352; Popov, ''Byl i ostaius' kommunistom," 24 4- 51 . Falsehood #8 : This lie is more interesting! Conquest is able to cite only rumors. Popov, however, says th e following: MeTo~hI Te ne pb

noA06HhIX ynpHMI.\eB

YJKe f\O CT aT oq Ho H3 Be CT Hb I. BoT no Ka 3a HH .H

6bIBIIIero HaqanbHHKa ca Ht iaC TH Jie

KeJIO H3 6H T, BCH Ci lH Ha np eA CT aB JJ RJ ia H3 ce 6R cn no rn Hy lO pa Hy , Ha HeH He 6bIJJO HH O~Horo )K HB Of O >

HeTPYAHO

np eA CT aB HT h

ce6e, Ka K nocTapaJIMCh

na na qH , Bb I6 HB aH H3 Kp ec TH HC Ko ro (s 6y KB aJ ihH OM

Ch ap te r Eight. Th ird Moscow Trial. CM bi c. ne CJ IO Ba !)

149

M)"IHTeJibHOe ,[\JIR Hero

JI:>KenpH3HaHHe.

Translation: e ar le op pe rn bo ub st ch su '' ng ri to es ''r of ds T he m et ho er rm fo e th of y on im st te e th is e er H n. ow kn l el no w w of on is Pr vo to or ef L e th of n io ct se al ic ed m he ad of th e : 56 19 in em th to n ve gi , um bl en os R R SS U th e NKVD r ou to t gh ou br as w n, io at og rr te in om fr y, ''Krestinsk ly re ve se as w e H e. at st s ou ci ns co un an in al it ho sp e er th , nd ou w e et pl m co a as w ck ba le ho w be at en , th e w as no t a si ng le un in ju re d pl ac e on it ... '' rs ne io ut ec ex e th w ho e in ag im to t ul ic ff di t It is no l ra te li e th n (i y sk in st re K om fr t ou ng ki oc kn d, tr ie se ns e of th e w or d! ) a pa in fu l false co nf es si on . e th 3, 46 2, EB RK in on n, io at ot qu ut ho it This is re af fi rm ed , w p: hi rs be em m y rt pa s y' sk in st re K of t en em at st K hr us hc he v- er a re in qTo no Ka 3a HH H o Bp am ec Ko ii )\e HT eJ ihH OC TH KH X TO eC )K M re ny ro Ko Hc rH ec Kp OT H IJI Bh I Hb qe ny er o no KO H HC TH 33 HH H, qTo IlO)\TBep~HJia Bp aq Jie op TO BC

BbI.HCHHJIOCh,

TI Dp bM hI T. Po 3e H6 nr oM A.A.

e il st ho s hi t ou ab y on im st te e th at th t ou ed rn It tu l ue cr by y sk in st re K om fr ed in ta ob as w ac tiv iti es e th of n ia ic ys ph e th by ed m ir nf co as w to rt ur es , w hi ch L ef or to vo pr is on , C om ra de R oz en bl um A.A. ot nn ca it r, ve eo or M . on ti ta en m cu do y an ut ho it This is he ar sa y, w be tr ue . as w v ro Se an Iv , 58 19 r, be em ec D d B et w ee n March, 19 54 , an rd hi T e th t ou ab er tt le s v' ro Se B~ KG e K hr us hc he v' s he ad of th y an t ou ab g in th no s ow kn , 56 19 7, ly Ju M os co w Tr ia l, da te d e th on on si es nf co s hi d te ac tr re d ha he be at in g of K re st in sk y af te r ho 6 w on ns ro A an m VD NK es ot qu v ro Se l. fi rs t da y of th e tr ia

150

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

qu ot ed NKVD m an Nikolaev sa yi ng th at th ey ha d p u t R akovsky to ge th er w it h Krestinsky, an d Rakovsky ha d convinced Kre stinsky to confess. (8 55 ) Obviously, if K re st in sk y ha d be en be at en th e NKVD m en w ou ld kn ow - th ey w ou ld ha ve do ne it! S er ov w ou ld ha ve p u t th is m uc h m or e dr am at ic ac cu sa ti on in hi s re p o rt if he h ad kn ow n ab ou t it. B ut he kn ew no th in g ab ou t it. And S er ov would ha ve kn ow n ab ou t it - if it ha d ha pp en ed . T he re fo re , th e st or y ab ou t th e ''bea ting'' of K re st in sk y is a fa br ic at io n. Kotkin kn ew , o r sh ou ld ha ve kn ow n, ab ou t th is to o.

In co nc lu si on : Kotkin's ac co un t of th e T hi rd M os co w T ri al is fals e

in ev er y re sp ec t. W e ha ve a gr ea t de al o f ev id en ce to da y th at th e de fe nd an ts in all th re e M os co w T ri al s w er e gu il ty of a t leas t th os e cr im es to w hi ch th ey co nf es se d.

6

Serov's re po rt is pu bl ish ed in Protsess Bukharina. 1938 g.: Sbor nik dokumentov (Moscow: MDF, 2013), 85 2- 85 8. It is online at se ve ra l sites, including at ht tp :// is tm at .in fo /n od e/ 46 74 0

C h a p te r 9. T u k h a c h e v s

A ff a ir

il ha ik M al sh ar M at th ce en id ev of al de t ea To da y w e ha ve a gr ry ta ili m ng ki an -r gh hi r he ot n ve se e th d Tu kh ac he vs ky an on m hi ith w ed ut ec ex d an d, te ic nv co , ed tri co m m an de rs w ho w er e e th ith w cy ra pi ns co of d, ge ar ch as y, ilt gu e er June 11-12, 1937, w et vi So e th at fe de to y, sk ot Tr on Le ith w d an , se Nazis an d Ja pa ne Union in a w ar . ith w e m lu vo le ng si a at th ce en id ev h uc Indeed, w e ha ve so m w co os M y M it. of l al ld ho t no d ul co ry ta ap pr op ri at e co m m en of e m lu vo a ch su ng ni an pl e ar I d an , ov br Bo L. ir colleague, Vladim . ce en id ev is th rth fo t se to ry ta en m m co do cu m en ts pl us , ic em ad ac in le ab pt ce ac e on ly on e th -t in po ew vi '' Bu t th e ''official nt te is ns co e on ly on e th e us ca be on si us political, an d pu bl ic di sc l al d an ky vs he ac kh Tu at th is -) SP (A gm di ra w ith th e Anti-Stalin Pa r fo in al St by '' up e m ra ''f a of s im ct vi , nt ce no in th e re st w er e e th l al t, in po ew vi is th n ai st su to r de or re as on s un kn ow n. In or ay w e m so in '' ed ak ''f as d se is sm di er th ei ev id en ce m us t be e th s re no ig he : gy te ra st r tte la e th s se oo ch n ki ot K si m pl y ig no re d. evidence. He e. ot qu e ar sc by t en m gu ar to se ur co re s In ad di tio n Kotkin ha ey th n he w ' n' io ss fe on ''c e lik ds or w nd ou ar es pu ts sc ar e qu ot . em th te fu re to ce en id ev no s ha he t Bu P. AS e th co nt ra di ct e th is e ot qu e ar sc by t en um rg A ! ed ol fo Let th e re ad er no t be ed iv ce on ec pr n ow r ei th n tio es qu to se fu re refuge of th os e w ho No . es as bi e os th t or pp su to ce en id ev no ve ha t bu es id ea s an d bi as e iv pt ce de y, dr w ta is th on ck ba lls fa n ia or ho ne st , co m pe te nt hi st in su lt to th e re ad er 's intelligence. d an ir ffa A ky vs he ac kh Tu e th ed ch ar se re ly Has Kotkin ev er se rio us s ou ne ro er y an m e th of e us ca be it, t ub do I ? es re la te d m ili ta ry pu rg . w lo be em th of e m so t ou t in po ill w e W . es re fe re nc es he m ak

152

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

Kotkin: Failing th at , he [Artuzov] w ro te to Yezhov on Ja nu ar y 25 th at NKVD foreign in te lli ge nc e po ss es se d in fo rm at io n from foreign so ur ce s, da ti ng ba ck m an y ye ar s bu t ne ve r fo rw ar de d to hi gh er -u ps , re ve al in g a ''T ro ts ky ite or ga ni za tio n' ' in th e Red Army. Sensationally, th e do cu m en ts lin ke d M ar sh al T uk ha ch ev sk y to foreign po w er s. 3 (377) Note 3 (9 91 ): Lebedev, ''M. N. T uk ha ch ev sk ii i 'v oe nn o- fa sh is ts ki i zagovor,"' 7- 20 , 255; Voennye arkhivy Rossii, 11 1; Khaustov, ''D ei at el 'n os t' organov," 18 8- 9. H er e an d el se w he re ''Lebedev'' is th e jo ur na l Voenno-lstoricheski i Arkhiv, vy pu sk (i ss ue ) 2, 19 97 . This is th e ''Spravka'' of th e Sh ve rn ik Commission. It ha s be en pu bl is he d se ve ra l tim es in a nu m be r of di ff er en t places. We shall po in t ou t be lo w th at Kotkin ci te s th is sa m e te xt bu t in di ff er en t pr in te d ed iti on s, as th ou gh he w er e ci tin g di ff er en t so ur ce s, th ou gh in re al it y th ey ar e all th e sa m e so ur ce . Fo r example, Voennye Arkhivy Rossii, 11 1, is th e sa m e do cu m en t an d th e sa m e pa ss ag e! W hy qu ot e th em bo th ? To give re ad er s th e false im pr es si on th at th ey ar e di ff er en t so ur ce s th at confirm ea ch ot he r? D is ho ne st - bu t w ha t ot he r re as on co ul d th er e be? T he re is no th in g ab ou t an y of th is in Khaustov, ''D ei at el 'n os t' organov," 18 8- 9. This is Khaustov's do ct or al di ss er ta ti on , availabl e at Yale. Pages 18 8- 9 do no t m en ti on T uk ha ch ev sk y at all! This is a ph on y re fe re nc e. Kotkin: A rt uz ov kn ew full well ho w su ch co m pr om is in g m at er ia ls ha d be en pl an te d in E ur op e in or de r to m ak e th ei r w ay ba ck to Moscow: in th e 19 20 s he ha d he lp ed le ad ju st su ch an op er at io n (''The T ru st '') .4 (3 77 )

Ch ap ter Nine. Tu kh ach ev sky Affair

153

No te 4 (9 91 ): Mlechin, KGB, 16 2- 3. ' st' ru ''T e th ed ct re di d ha o wh v, zo tu Ar at th t es gg su es Mlechin do . ky vs he ac kh Tu ed m fra d ha s, 20 19 e th in n io at er op on ati di sin fo rm 's in tk Ko , lly ra tu Na r! ve ate wh ce en id ev no es Bu t Mlechin cit re ad er s will no t kn ow th is. to n tki Ko of t es on sh di is It te. no ot fo y on ph r he ot So th is is ye t an re we it gh ou th as on ati ul ec sp d te or pp su un n's hi lec cite M n io in op d te or pp su un 's on rs pe e on of ty ci ra ve ev id en ce . Th e lly ua eq e th by ed irm nf co t no is se ca is th Kotkin's, in -s on rs pe r he ot of r, be m nu y an of or e, on of n un su pp or te d op in io in th is case, Mlechin.

No Evidence of ''Fabrication'' Kotkin: Now, to th es e fa br ic at ed do cu m en ts he ap pe nd ed a . ce en lig tel in y tar ili m in '' tes yi tsk ro ''T ur fo yirt lis t of th d ul wo e ng ve re d an n tio ia at gr in at rts fo ef l ca ni cy His no t sa ve hi s ow n life, bu t Ar tu zo v ha d gu es se d rig ht 5 . ns ab ou t St al in 's in te nt io No te 5 (9 91 ): Ra de k at hi s pu bl ic tri al on Jan. 24, 19 37 , ha d m en tio ne d Tu kh ac he vs ky 's na m e as a coco ns pi ra to r. Ra de k th en tri ed to re tra ct , bu t th e de ed ha d be en do ne . Report of Court Proceedings, 10 5, 14 6. h, rc ki els pp Ti n vo r ne er W al, tri w co os M st fir e th Af ter a Ge rm an m ili tar y at ta ch e in Moscow, ha d re po rte d to Be rli n (Sept. 28, 19 36 ) th e sp ec ul at io n ab ou t a pe nd in g tri al of Red Ar my co m m an de rs . Er ick so n, Soviet High Command, 42 7 (c iti ng Se ria l 64 87 /E 48 60 16 -1 20 : Re po rt A/ 20 37 ). 's in tal ''S t ou ab g in th no is e er Th te! no ot fo y Yet an ot he r ph on is n tki Ko . be e er th d ul co r no s, rk wo e es th in in ten tio ns '' ''c ha nn eli ng '' th e sp iri t of th e lo ng -d ea d Stalin!

154

Stalin: Waiting for ... T h e T ru th

Nor is th e re a n y e v id e n c e th a t th e s e d o c u m e n ts w e re ''fabricated,'' a s Kotkin claims -- n o t o n ly n o n e in th e w o rk s h e re fe rs to, b u t th e re is n o s u c h e v id e n c e a n y w h e re . N o r is th e re a n y e v id e n c e th a t A rt u z o v ''p la n te d '' th e s e d o c u m e n ts . As for th e li s t o f th ir ty -f o u r T ro ts k y it e s - n o te th e a rg u m e n t b y s c a re q u o te - th is is in all o f th e e d it io n s o f th e ''Spravka'' o f th e S h v e rn ik Commission, si n c e all a re iden tical. In ''Lebedev'' (Voenno-lstoricheskii Arkhiv, 1 9 9 7 ) it is o n p a g e s 1 1-12: ApTy3oB H ar rp aB H JI E)KOBY 25 .SIHBapH 1 9 3 7 ro~a 3 a n H cK y, B

K O T O pO H AOJIO)KHJI e M y 06 H M eB II IH X C H p a H e e B OfTIY a re H T Y P H b IX 'AOHeceHHHX < > o K O: yrp H izy OT Y OM HH Ba TO ap eC OH He IlO )\I lH I.II eT np H3 Ha HH H ..• 3T O npaB)\a?

11 CJ lbl lllY 6e 3y np eq Hb IH no Ko pp eK TH OC TH OT Be T:

176

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tru th - ~oKyMeHTaJibHhIX ~aHHbIX, IlO,ll;TBep)l\.l(alO~HX TaK OH 3IIH 30, lt, He T.

- Tu kh ac he vs ky 's da ug hte r, Sv etl an a, rec all ed tha t du rin g the inv est iga tio n sh e - the n a tee na ge r - wa s br ou gh t to the arr es ted fat he r an d thr ea ten ed wi th rap e if he did no t sign a confession ... Is thi s tru e?

And I he ar the str ict ly co rre ct an sw er: - Th ere is no do cu me nta ry ev ide nc e su pp ort ing su ch an ep iso de . Kotkin is ea ge r to inc lud e thi s rum or. Bu t he is eq ua lly ea ge r to hid e fro m his rea de rs the fac t tha t the re is no ev ide nc e to su pp or t it Th ere is no me nti on of an y su ch thi ng in Elena Ka nto r's 60 0pa ge bo ok Voina i mf r Mikhaila Tukhachevskogo (20 04 ), wh ich Kotkin cites thr ee tim es in his bo ok an d als o in his bib lio gra ph y (10 90 ). Ka nto r ha d the co op era tio n of Tu kh ac he vs ky 's family, ph oto gra ph s of so me of wh om ap pe ar in he r book. It's ob vio us wh y Kotkin inc lud es thi s rum or. He is gra sp ing at str aw s, loo kin g for anything tha t mi gh t su gg est tha t the confessions of Tu kh ac he vs ky an d the oth er mi lit ary lea de rs we re false, ma de un de r tor tur e, thr ea ts to family, etc. But he ca n't find an y su ch evidence, so he ha s to hid e the tru th. As for the following sta tem en t in no te 22 3, it is ye t an oth er falsehood by Kotkin:

Th e Ce ntr al Committee, wi tho ut a ple nu m, expelled Tu kh ac he vs ky as we ll as Ru dz uta ks fro m the pa rty an d ha nd ed the m ov er to the NKVD. Th e so urc e an d pa ge Kotkin cit es co nta ins tw o do cu me nts : the mo tio n by the Politbiuro to expel Tu kh ac he vs ky an d Ru dz uta k from Pa rty me mb ers hip an d to su bm it the ir ca ses to the NKVD (for fur the r investigation), da ted May 24, 19 37 , an d the co rre sp on din g tex t of the Central Committee Ple nu m res olu tio n, da ted May 25-26, 19 37 , of the res olu tio n of the Ple nu m of the Central Committee

177

Chapter Nine. Tu kh ach ev sky Affair

37 19 ne Ju e th of , ed ish bl pu y all rti pa ly on t, tex e Th co nf irm in g th is. '' os pr ''o by ed ss pa s wa n tio lu so re is th at th s te sta um C.C. Plen 6 poll, ei th er by te le ph on e or by tel eg ra m.

Begging The Question Of Torture

Again

Kotkin: r fo d re rtu to s as br y tar ili m et vi So e th d ha he as Ev en being ag en ts of fascism ... (414) e th ng gi eg ''b of y lac fal l ica log e th its m m co n tki Ko ain ag re False! He As . ed m su as t no , en ov pr be t us m ich wh at th g in m qu es tio n'' - assu

e th of y an at th ce en id ev no is e er th , es tim l ra ve se d te no we ha ve Tu kh ac he vs ky Affair de fe nd an ts we re to rtu re d.

Krivitsky A s Evidence??? Kotkin: Ge rm an y's m ili tar y at ta ch e in Moscow, Ge ne ra l Er ns t Kostring, wa s se nd in g co ns ta nt up da te s to Berlin, as St ali n knew. In Be rli n's di pl om ati c circles, German officials ''c on fid en tia lly '' wh isp er ed ho w no t all of th ei r sp ie s in th e So vi et ar m ed fo rc es ha d ye t be en 225 (4 14 ) . on n ca ug ht , egging Stali

, ice rv Se et cr Se 's in al St Jn y, tsk ivi Kr ): 96 (9 5 22 Note 234. ist un m om tic an l na sio es of pr by n te rit t-w os gh s wa ok bo 's Krivitsky gh ou or th lly na io pt ce ex e th to g in rd co Ac e. vin lia r Isa ac Don Le 7 rn Ke ry Ga or th au ist un m om tic an e th by ky its iv Kr of y biograph ky its iv Kr r, ve we ho , ge pa is th On is. th at t se Krivitsky wa s up s thi 7; ·60 604 7), 200 , MA OL : ow osc (M a. ror ter rtsy Tvo evhch rus Kh Elena Pru dni kov a. citation is on p. 606.

6

7

and ed vis Re . ror Ter lin Sta the and ky vits Kri G. lter Wa on. ngt shi Wa in ath De A rn, Gary Ke

enl arg ed edition. New York: Enigma Books, 2004.

178

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

re ve al s th at on e of hi s su pe ri or s in th e in te lli ge nc e se rv ic e ha d ev id en ce th at th e G er m an s w er e in de ed co ns pi ri ng w it h T uk ha ch ev sk y. T he re is no ev id en ce th at th is w as fa ls e - th at th e G er m an s w er e ''e gg in g St al in on," as K ot ki n cl ai m s. By no w it sh ou ld be cl ea r to th e re ad er th at no co nc ei va bl e ev id en ce w ou ld ev er co nv in ce K ot ki n th at T uk ha ch ev sk y et al. w er e gu ilt y. K ot ki n is si m pl y no t in te re st ed in th e tr ut h.

Gamarnik's Suicide Kotkin:

On M ay 28 -2 9, Y ak ir an d U bo re vi ci us w er e ar re st ed . On M ay 30, ei gh t da ys af te r G am ar ni k ha d in sc ri be d

''in fa vo r'' on th e po st -f ac to ar re st or de r fo r T uk ha ch ev sk y, he hi m se lf w as di sm is se d. T he ne xt da y he ki lle d hi m se lf in his ap ar tm en t on B ol sh oi R zh ev sk y St re et . 226 (4 14 -5 )

N ot e 22 6 (9 96 ): V ol ko go no v, Triumf i tra9ediia, I/ ii: 26 3; Krasnaia zvezda, Ju ne 4, Aug. 13 , 19 64 . Pravda an no un ce d hi s su ic id e on Ju ne 1, 19 37 . T he re w er e ne ar ly 80 0 su ic id es in th e R ed A rm y in 19 37 , an d m or e th an 80 0 th e ne xt ye ar . K hl ev ni uk , 19 37 -i , 207. G am ar ni k ha d be en pa rr ot in g th e St al in lin e, te lli ng a pa rt y m ee ti ng in th e m il it ar y (M ar ch 13, 19 37 ), fo r ex.: ''C om ra de s, th e Ja pa ne se -G er m an T ro ts ky is t ag en ts , sp ie s, an d w re ck er s ar e in a full ra ng e of ou r ar m y or ga ni za ti on , in th e st af fs , th e in st it ut io ns , th e ac ad em ie s, th e m il it ar y- tr ai ni ng in st it ut io ns ." He re pe at ed th is in m or e sp ee ch es be fo re hi s ar re st fo r be in g th e ph en om en on he w as w ar ni ng ag ai ns t. W hi te w oo d, ''P ur ge of th e R ed Army," 29 6, ci tin g RGVA, f. 9, op . 29, d. 31 9, I. 2. G am ar ni k ce rt ai nl y di d co m m it su ic id e. B ut th is is no t ev id en ce of in no ce nc e an y m or e th an it is of gu ilt . K ot ki n ci te s K hl ev ni uk , 1937-y, 20 7, w ho w ri te s:

Ch ap te r Nine. Tu kh ac he vs ky Affair

179

19 37 r., no Aa HH hI M 0. Cl>. H Ia. iyt. CJ 2 78 Ho aa po pH cT rH pe 3a I0 1J 6b , aa CyBeHHpo .. ) Ta Jio

o or cK op -M Ho eH Bo e3 (6 r. 38 19 B caMoy6HHCTB, a 2 . a.H yq cn 83 2

ToJihKo B KpacHoii ApMHH B

F. 0. to g in rd co ac , 37 19 in e on al y rm A ed R In th e d an , ed er st gi re e er w es id ic su of s se ca Suvenirov, 78 2 in 19 38 (e xc lu di ng th e Navy) - 83 2 cases.

Khlevniuk's note 2 reads: 2 CM: KoMM}'HHCT. 19 90 . N!! 17. C. 73 .

. 0) 99 (1 17 o. N t is un m om K v, ro ni The su ic id e figures ar e in Suve B ut Su ve ni ro v says:

o H sa po pH cT rH pe 3a y .n: ro 37 19 B A K K P B ~eJioM no a H H H eH III Ky no H a TB HC 6H oy M ca JI ta 78 2 CJiyt 3) (7 2. 83 -)

BM e3 (6 :y ,n ro 38 19 B a , caMoy6HHCTBO

d an e id ic su of s se ca 2 78 ed er st gi re y rm A e th In all, ng di lu xc (e 38 19 in d an , 37 19 in e id ic attempted su th e Navy) -- 83 2. (7 3) , 37 19 in y rm A ed R e th in es id ic su 0 So th er e w er e no t ''n ea rl y 80 ed pt m te at d an es id ic su t bu , ar ye xt ne an d m or e th an 80 0 th e n ki ot K d an , te ro w v ro ni ve Su t ha w suicides. Khlevniuk lie d ab ou t 8 followed Khlevniuk.

s hi in d an re he w se el , m oi sv po r da Kotkin ci te s C he ru sh ev , U s re gu fi e es th r Fo it? ad re he d di ut B . 1) l. bi bl io gr ap hy (1 07 7, co h it w 9, 17 p. , 3) 00 (2 m oi sv po r da U , ev ar e re pe at ed in N.S. Cherush

, ng ro w it ts ge n ki ot K le hi W t. en m cu do re fe re nc e to an ar ch iv al Ha H~ eH ru Ky no H Ba :cT 1H 61 oy aM ''c t gh ri C he ru sh ev ge ts it " e. id ic su at s pt m te at d an s de ci ui ''s / o'' TB HC caMoy6H

his in s de ici su ed pt em att or d/ an s de ici su r fo s tal to y an For so me re as on Suvenirov om its much lon ge r 19 98 bo ok Tragediia RKKA~

8

180

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tr ut h

Good Evidence That Conspiracies Existed Kotkin: St al in di ct at ed , ed ite d, an d po re d ov er th e in te rr og at io n pr ot oc ol s, th en ci rc ul at ed an d re fe rr ed to th em as if th ey

w er e factual. 227 (415)

N ot e 22 7 (9 96 ): Minakov, Za otvorotom marshal'skoi

shineli, 24 9- 35 8.

E it he r th is is a bl uf f or th er e is no su ch th in g as a bluff. M in ak ov 's bo ok co nt ai ns no ev id en ce fo r K ot ki n' s cl ai m th at ''Sta lin co nc oc te d false co nf es si on s' ' an d ''t he n ci rc ul at ed an d re fe rr ed to th em as if th ey w er e factual.'' A nd if it did, it co ul d ha rd ly be sp re ad ov er 11 0 pa ge s! M or eo ve r, M in ak ov is th e au th or of se ve ra l bo ok s in w hi ch he claims, w it h m uc h ev id en ce , th at th e M ili ta ry co ns pi ra cy di d in de ed exist! T he m ai n po in t he re is th is : the fact th at Stalin carefully studie d

and annotated the transcripts o f the interrogations and, in Kotkin's words, ''referred to them as if they were factual,'' is stron9 evidence th at Stalin believed they were, indeed, factual - th at is, nenuine.

H ow ar e St al in 's ac ti on s to be ex pl ai ne d ot he rw is e?

When You Don't Know, Assume! Kotkin: A nd ye t, in th e en d, he [Lion Fe uc ht w an ge r] en de d up ju st if yi ng th e tr ia ls he kn ew to be falsified, on th e ba si s of cu lt ur al sn ob be ry (R us si a w as ba ck w ar d) an d th e po lit ic al im pe ra ti ve to cl os e ra nk s ag ai ns t fascism. 240 ( 41 8) N ot e 24 0 (9 96 ) is simply to Fe uc ht w an ge r's bo ok . T he re 's no th in g in it ab ou t ''k no w in g th e tr ia ls to be falsified'' - be ca us e, of co ur se , he co ul d no t po ss ib ly ''k no w '' this, si nc e (a ) he ha d no ev id en ce th at th ey w er e falsified, an d (b ) w e kn ow to da y th at th er e is no su ch ev id en ce ex is ts all th e ev id en ce su gg es ts th at th e tr ia ls

Ch ap ter Nine. Tu kh ach ev sky Affair

181

e (W t? en m te sta a ch su e ak m n tki Ko n ca w ho So we re no t falsified. t ou ab od ho lse fa in tk Ko r he ot an d se us sc di ha ve al re ad y Fe ut ch tw an ge r an d th e tri al s in Ch ap ter 6.)

Argument From Incredulity m fro t en m gu Ar e th of e pl am ex ic ss cla a us es giv Kotkin Incredulity, a logical fallacy: In ste ad , at te nd ee s we re co m pe lle d to sp en d th e fir st tic as nt fa a t ou ab s ol oc ot pr n tio ga rro te in g in ad re da y ho m eg ro wn fa sc ist mi lit ar y pl ot (41 7) is ''It : ng yi sa y pl sim is n tki Ko '' tic as nt ''fa cy ra pi By calling th e co ns 9 So it." ve th at is, ''I, St ep he n Kotkin, ca nn ot be lie unbelievable'' is t en m te sta a '' es ev eli ''b e els ne yo an or in tk Ko er th he W wh at? . se fal or e tru is t en m te sta at th r he et wh to t an ev el tru e or no t is irr

Tukhachevsky's Confessions Kotkin: NKVD in te rr og at or -to rtu re rs ha d co m pe lle d Tu kh ac he vs ky to co m po se a po st- fa cto w ar ''p lan of defeat," wh ich am ou nt ed to a ve rs io n of th e r fo g in nc va ad en be d ha he es rin ct do ed at ic ist so ph ye ar s an d th e Soviets ha d be en su cc es sfu lly pr ac tic in g 273 ( 42 3) at m an eu ve rs . Note 27 3 (9 97 ): Volkogonov, Tr iu mf i tragediia, I/ii: 26 4- 5. A facsimile of Tu kh ac he vs ky 's ''confession'' an d a co py of th e ''p lan of defeat'' ar e in: ''P ok az an iia m ar sh al a Tukhachevskogo.''

See htt ps: //e n.w iki ped ia.o rg/ wik i/D ivi ne_ fal lac y; om -fr ent gum /Ar 6 19 / s cie alla alF gic /Lo /Bo /Ip ols /to com us. cio h ttp s://ww w.l ogi cal lyf alla Inc red uli ty

9

182

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tru th

Note the heavy rel ian ce on Ar gum ent by Scare Quote! And this is ano the r ''bluff' i.e. a tac tic of deception. Fo r the re is no evidence her e tha t ''to rtu rer s had compelled Tukhachevsky," etc. Th ere is no evidence tha t Tukhachevsky's confession - ''plan of defeat'' pub lish ed in Molodaia Gvardiia 10-11, 1994, wa s scr ipt ed or dic tate d by the NKVD, or is any thi ng oth er tha n wh at Tukhachevsky him sel f chose to wr ite. As so often, Kotkin can cite no evidence tha t Tukhachevsky wa s tor tur ed or in any wa y compelled to wr ite a false ''plan of defeat." So he sim ply asserts tha t Tukhachevsky wa s tor tur ed. This is the logical fallacy of ''begging the question'' again. Kotkin also conceals the im por tan t tes tim ony in Tukhachevsky's article abo ut the con spi rac y and its tie s to the Rights and to Trotsky. Here is one such passage: In 193 2, on mo re tha n one occasion, I tal ked to

Fel'dman, criticizing the arm y's lea der shi p and the policies of the Party. Feld'man exp res sed gre at misgivings abo ut the policies of the Par ty in rel atio n to the countryside. I tol d him tha t thi s sho uld wa rn us, mi lita ry wo rke rs, to be on ou r gu ard an d sug ges ted to him to org ani ze a mi lita ry gro up , sha rin g the vie ws of the Rig hti sts , wh ich wo uld be abl e to dis cus s the se ma tte rs an d tak e the nec ess ary ste ps. Fe ld' ma n ag ree d an d thu s wa s beg un the cre ati on of the ant i-S ov iet mi lita ry Tro tsk yis t con spi rac y. I tol d Fe ld' ma n tha t I alr ea dy ha d est abl ish ed lin ks wi th En uki dze , wh o rep res en ted the lea de rsh ip of the Rig hti sts . Th ere are ma ny mo re suc h im por tan t passages. An English tra nsl ati on of Tukhachevsky's ''Plan of defeat'' (plan porazheniia) has in fact bee n pub lish ed and is rea dil y available. Kotkin fails to inform his rea der s abo ut it. 10

10

Stev en J. Main, "The Arre st and 'Tes timo ny' of Marshal of the Soviet Union M.N .

Chapter Nine. Tukhachevsky Affair

183

d a e R r e v e N e H t p ri c s n ra T A Kotkin ''Discusses'' Kotkin: of e nc te is ex e th ed dg le ow kn ac ir ak Y ," A t th e ''t ri al y. sk ev ch ha uk T to on e am bl d te if sh t bu r'' te en th e ''c

e lv so ab to d ie tr k or K n he W e. m sa e Fe ld m an di d th , m hi ed at in im cr in ey th , rs he ot e th ck ta at d hi m se lf an d ha ov ak im Pr r. eu at oc ov pr d an ar li a m hi calling on ti ia nc nu de en tt ri w nd ha al on ti di ad an vo lu nt ee re d d se es pr ko en yb D . ed st re ar t ye t no rs de an of co m m ce la pa d ne an pl s hi t ou ab ils ta de r fo y sk ev ch ha T uk on e at or ab el to ir ak Y d se es pr r he uk ly co up , an d B e it ky ts ro T ry na io ut ol ev rr te un co s k' ni G am ar 279 ( 42 4) pl ot tin g. 1 051 i, ek ns ge i y al sh ar M , ch vi ko n' Ze ): N ot e 27 9 (997 e th of ve Fi ). pt ri sc an tr l ia tr e ag -p en ev el (c it in g th e ld ou w h ic lr U h it w es dg ju as g in tt si se ve n m il it ar y m en y nn yo ud B r fo pt ce ex , es lv se em th ed so on be ex ec ut an d Sh ap os hn ik ov .

." al ri ''t a t no l, ia tr al tu ac an as w e er th : First, th e sc ar e qu ot es of l ia tr e th of pt ri sc an tr ll fu e th , 18 20 , Second: as of May to e bl la ai av is d an ed fi si as cl de en be s T uk ha ch ev sk y et al. ha e th at th ce en id ev ng lli pe m co e or m t ye sc ho la rs . It pr ov id es st re e th d an y sk ev ch ha uk T at th d an m il it ar y co ns pi ra cy was re al . to d se es nf co ey th t ha w t as le at of y ilt gu e er w is ch vi ko n' Ze n. ai ag t ye re he r ro er in Also, Kotkin is, at be st , l ia tr e th om fr t no v, lo hi os or V to er tt le qu ot in g fr om B el ov 's t, en em at st s h' ic ov 'k en Z od to rs de un tr an sc ri pt . Kotkin ha s al so m is 's an m 'd el F at th ys sa he re he w 8, 50 ge no t on pa ge 51 0 bu t on pa s! ge pa 12 ed pi cu oc -pt ri sc an tr l ia tr le ho statement -- no t th e w

), 97 19 ch ar M 1( . No , 10 s die Stu y ar ilit M vic Sla of al rn jou )." Tukhachevsky (May·June 1937 151·195.

184

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

How could Kotkin have made such an elementary error? Was he so eager to depict the trial as a very brief ''kangaroo court'' that he misread Zen'kovich? Or did Kotkin do this deliberately, knowing that almost no one would ever check the reference? Incompetence? Or deliberate fraud? As so often in Kotkin's book, either is possible.

Yakir's Letter to Stalin Kotkin:

Everything had taken place behind the scenes. On June 8, prison wardens had presented the eight defendants with their formal indictments, and the next day Yakir had addressed a petition for mercy to ''Our Own Close Comrade Stalin," who wrote on it, ''He is a scoundrel and a whore." Other politburo members had to read it as well. (''A perfectly precise definition. K. Voroshilov.'' ''A scumbag and a whore, deserves only one kind of punishment, death. L. Kaganovich." Molotov affixed his name without elaborating.) After collecting the signatures, Stalin wrote on the document, ''My archive." 269 ''Behind the scenes?'' What ''scenes''? Is Kotkin complaining that there wasn't a public trial? Are military tribunals ''public'' in the ''Free World''? Nonsense. This is just a cheap shot, one of many in Kotkin's book. But it is only the proverbial ''tip of the iceberg'' concerning Yakir's letter.

A World Record? Same Source Cited 3x In One Footnote Note 269 (997): Voennye arkhivy Rossii, 50; Lebedev, ''M. N. Tukhachevskii i 'voenno-fashistskii zagovor,"' 194; Artizov et al., Reabilitatsiia: kak eto bylo, II: 688. The attentive reader who actually peruses footnotes will think these are three different source. But they aren't. Once again these

Ch ap ter Nine. Tu kh ac he vs ky Affair

185

t or ep R ik rn ve Sh e th of '' ka av pr ''S e th ce ur so ar e all the same . ns io at ic bl pu nt re ffe di e re th in d te ci v pr ep ar ed for K hr us hc he is th e nc si y, da to ed us lly sa er iv un n tio ta ci e th is The th ird , RKEB 2, v) de be Le , AR (V o tw st fir e Th . ok bo ce ur so t an rt po im is a st an da rd , d. fin to rd ha ry ve e ar ey th e nc si , er ng lo ar e ne ve r cited an y at th ve gi t no hy w so e, lin on e bl la ai av is t en m cu do Moreover, this re fe re nc e for th e re ad er 's convenience? it lly ca ni iro ," es en sc e th nd hi be e ac pl n ke ta d As for ''Everything ha s: ct fa t an rt po im g in w llo fo e th ls ea nc co ho w n ki ot is K r. tte le is th in n so ea tr to s se es nf co r ki Ia at * Th f ie ch B KG s v' he hc us hr K en th d an , 57 19 in ov uk *T ha t Marshal Zh r's ki Ia ed itt om t bu r tte le is th ed ot qu , 61 Aleksandr Shelepin in 19 r ki Ia at th on si es pr im e th ve gi to r de or in so confession. They did w as claiming th at he w as innocent. I d. ie sif as cl de en be w no s ha r tte le r's ki Ia of xt The co m pl et e te n io ct se e th e se n ca er ad re e th at th so w lo be n tio la re pr in t a tra ns th at Kotkin is concealing, in boldface. is th in u yo s es dr ad re da I . in al St de ra m co ''Dear, close m an ne r be ca us e I ha ve sa id everything, given ev er yt hi ng up, an d it se em s to m e th at I am a no bl e , le op pe e th d an e at st e th , rty Pa e th to d te vo w ar ri or. de s ha e lif s ou ci ns co le ho w y M s. ar ye y an m r fo as w I as e th of t gh si e th in k or w st ne ho s, es lfl se in ed be en pa ss e th to in ll fa e th en th s er ad le its of d an Pa rt y . al ay tr be of or rr ho e bl ra pa re ir e th to in ni gh tm ar e, e er w e er th e lif y m of od ri pe t or sh at th ng ri And du

al w ay s w ith in m e tw o pe rs on s: on e w ho ha d w or ke d m uc h an d ho ne st ly fo r th e ar m y, th e up t gh ou th ho w r, he ot an d an y, rt pa e th s, et vi so y. tr un co e th to ile st ho ts ac le vi g in ar an d w as pr ep The in ve st ig at io n is co m pl et ed . I ha ve be en ve ha I e, at st e th to n so ea tr of d se cu ac ly al rm fo ad m it te d m y guilt, I ha ve fu lly re pe nt ed . I ha ve e th of y et ri op pr d an e ic st ju e th in ith fa d ite lim un

186

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

deci sion of the cour t and the state . The inve stiga tion has been com plete d. I have been accu sed of treas on to the state ; I have adm itted my guilt , I have fully repe nted . I have unlim ited faith in the justi ce and appr opri aten ess of the cour t and the gove rnme nt. I know that ther e can and mus t be only one sent ence - deat h. I am prep ared for this sente nce. Neve rthel ess I appe al to you and to the gove rnme nt and beg you, beg you to believe in the poss ibilit y of my corre ction , to belie ve that I can still be of use to the state , to whic h I dedi cate my whol e being. Perh aps you will cons ider and decid e to allow me to go some wher e in the far Nort h or East, in Kolyma, to work and on rare occa sions to learn abou t the magn ifice nt Land of the Soviets, mine again. I ask you to perm it me, even thou gh rarel y, to take up ''Prav da'' and to see, by the amo unt of the sowing, the prod uctio n, the trans porta tion, the victo ries of the party , of the soviets, and of the peop le, who m I have betra yed.

I beg you and I unde rstan d that I do not have any righ t to do so. Now I am hone st in my ever y word , I will die with word s of love for you, the Party, and the coun try, with an unlim ited faith in the victo ry of 11 comm unism ."

A 'Cheap Shot' To Distract Readers Kotkin: The singl e-day trial of the milit ary men took place in came ra, near the Kremlin, on the seco nd floor of the three -stor y military collegium build ing (Oct ober 25 Stree t). 275 In the cham ber, collegium mem bers could

The whole text, with what Khrushchev, Zhukov, and Shelepin concealed, is in Furr, Trotsk y's Collaboration 9-10. 11

Chapter Nine. Tukhachevsky Affair

187

avail th em se lv es of sa us ag es , bl ac k caviar, pa str ies , s wa h ric Ul y sil Va e dg ju y tar ili m ief Ch it. fru s, ch oc ol ate 276 (4 23 -4 ) kn ow n to en jo y a br an dy . Note 27 6 (9 97 ): Ja ns en an d Pe tro v, ''Mass Te rro r an d th e Court." a m fro is s es sin bu k'' in dr d an od ''fo e Th s! Yet m or e falsehood vo rto fo Le at rly de or er rm fo ''a of t en m te sta Kh ru sh ch ev -e ra h, 'rik Ul . V.V of r ea sm ra -e v he ac rb Go 91 19 e ud cr a d an [p ris on ]'' is er ith ne e, or m t's ha W l. na bu tri y tar ili m e th th e ch ief ju dg e of c'' na og ''c e th ke ta v tro Pe d an en ns Ja . a1 tn· c ifi ec sp is th referring to ich wh ) lov as M d an ov iak ist Ch y (b le tic ar 91 19 a m sto ry fro co nt ain s no ev id en ce wh ate ve r! n iso po to pt m te at an in b jo r ea sm is th ed cit sly Kotkin ha s ob vi ou e th m fro ay aw n io nt te at r ou ct fle de to r de or in s, nd mi his re ad er s' at th e nc ide ev e th g lin ea nc co is o wh f el ms hi n fact th at it is Kotki g rin pi ns co of y ilt gu ct fa in re we st re e th d an kir Ya Tu kh ac he vs ky , wi th Ge rm an y an d Ja pa n.

Bias By Omission Again Kotkin: Bu dy on ny re po rte d th at da y to Vo ro sh ilo v (''only pe rso na lly ''), in a ni ne tee n- pa ge m em or an du m , th at d an , kir Ya , rk Ko , ky vs he ac kh Tu of y on m sti te e ''fr om th t ou rk wo to d de ci de ey th at th t en id ev is it us ici ev or Ub fir st on th ei r ow n in iti ati ve th e pl an fo r th e de fe at of th e Red Ar m y du rin g th e w ar an d on ly af te r th at to cle ar it wi th th e Ge rm an ge ne ra l sta ff ... [b ut ] be ca us e of th ei r ar re st th ey di d no t finish.'' Still, Bu dy on ny it ed ss pa ey th s es el th ne no at th er id ns co ''I d, de lu conc on to Ge rm an intelligence'' (p ar ro tin g St ali n's clo se ddo or sp ee ch of Ju ne 2).2ao (4 24 ) ov on og lk Vo 8, 82 d. , 3s . op 7, 98 33 f. , VA RG 0: No te 28 pa pe rs , Hoover, co nt ai ne r 17. In hi s ac co un t fo r Stalin ky vs he ac kh Tu gh ou th al at th d te no ny on dy Bu (June 26 ),

188

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tru th

ha d sh ak en his he ad ''no'' du rin g the rea din g of the ch arg es an d tes tim on y, an d de nie d pa ssi ng an y classified do cu me nts to the Germans, in the en d he pro no un ce d him sel f guilty. Voennye arkhivy Rossii, 55-6; Lebedev, ''M. N. Tu kh ac he vs kii i 'vo en no -fa sh ist sk ii zagovor,"' 19 9- 20 0; APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 310, l. 17 0- 83 . See als o the rep or t of an oth er ''judge,'' I. P. Belov, in Cristiani an d Mikhaleva, Le repressioni, 19 2- 8. (997) •

Bu dy on ny 's rep or t wa s ad dre sse d to Voroshilov, no t to Stalin. This looks like a ca rel ess err or sin ce the arc hiv al co py in the Volkogonov Pa pe rs is ind ee d 19 pa ge s lon g an d do es ha ve the arc hiv al ide nti fie r nu mb ers cit ed by Kotkin. It ha s be en pu bli sh ed in Russia at lea st tw ice an d is on lin e in Russian. 12

An English tra ns lat ion of Bu dy on ny 's let ter is also available online. 13 Th e int ere ste d rea de r ca n co ns ult it an d se e for he rse lf wh at Kotkin om its . Like Yakir's let ter , the tex t lea ve s no roo m for do ub t tha t the mi lit ary co mm an de rs, an d Tr ots ky as well, we re gu ilty of co ns pir ing wi th the Nazis. Kotkin co nc ea ls all thi s fro m his rea de rs. It is no su rpr ise , the n, tha t Kotkin do es no t qu ote the rel ev an t pa rts of the se do cu me nts . Ju st as Kotkin ign ore s Fr ino vs ky 's sta tem en t of April, 19 39 ; all ofY ez ho v's co nfe ssi on sta tem en ts; the ap pe als of the Moscow Trials de fen da nts ; an d all the res t of the pr im ary so urc e ev ide nc e tha t sh ow s tha t the se co ns pir ac ies we re real, no t fab ric ati on s by an ''evil Stalin."

When You Don't Know

Invent!

Kotkin: Ju st be for e midnight, Ulrich sen ten ce d all eig ht to de ath ; the me n we re led do wn to the cellar, wh ere the NKVD's he ad ex ec uti on er, Vasily Blokhin, us ed

12 13

At http ://i stm at.i nfo /no de/ 225 36 At https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/budiennyiltr.html

Chapt er Nine. Tukha chevs ky Affair

189

Germ an Walt her pisto ls to exec ute the fasci st 282 ( 4 24) hirel ings. Note 282 (997 ): Blokhin was assis ted by Ignatev. Lebedev, ''M. N. Tukh ache vskii i 'voen no-fa shist skii zagovor,"' 199. This is a falsification. Ther e is noth ing in ''Leb edev '' - really, the ''Spravka'' of the Shve rnik Repo rt, as we have seen - abou t who the exec ution er was. The ''Spravka'' (and Lebedev, on the same page 199) simp ly state s that Vyshinsky, Ul'rikh, Tses arski i, Ignat ' ev, and ''NKVD com man dant Blokhin'' were pres ent at the exec ution and signe d the docu men t verif ying that the exec ution s had been 14 carri ed out. Perh aps Kotkin says that Blok hin was the exec ution er, and that he used Germ an Walt hers, beca use in the ''official'' - and disho nest -versi on of the Katyn Massacre, whic h false ly blam es the Soviets, it is claim ed that Blokhin was the exec ution er and used Germ an Walt her pisto ls. As we have show n in The Mystery of the Katyn 15 the evide nce is very clear : ion, Massacre: The Evidence, The Solut the Sovi ets cann ot poss ibly have comm itted the Katyn mass acres , so it follows that Blokhin did not shoo t the Polis h POWs. As for using Germ an Walt hers, the Germ ans did that. Why woul d Kotkin fabri cate an insig nific ant detai l like this one? To conv ince his read ers that he is thoro ugh? Wha tever the reaso n, he did make it up - or, perh aps, copy from some one else who did.

Kotkin Cites A Letter Two Years Late Kotkin: Inca rcera ted Red Arm y men inun date d the defen se comm issar with desp erate lette rs abou t their tortu re,

Kotkin does not tell us who "lgnatev•' was. According to the "Spravka," this was a Captain Ignat'ev, commandant of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR. 15 Kettering, OH: Erythr 6s Press and Media, LLC, 2018.

14

190

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

beggin g begging for his help. ''Klime nt Yefremovich! You must check how the cases against the comma nders of the Red Army are being handle d," a group of civil war comrad es wrote to him. ''You will

find that materi als are extrac ted from the arreste d by means of force, threats , and turnin g men into limp rags." 298 (303) Note 298 (998): Afanas'ev, Oni ne molchali, 380' In Afanas 'ev - a dishon est book as we shall see -- this quotati on is dated May 15, 1939, twenty-three months after the Tukhac hevsky trial and executi ons; six months after Yezhov had resigne d and Stalin and the Politbu ro had ordere d NKVD repress ions to be stoppe d.

Argumentum E Silentio Kotkin: In fact, eviden ce indicat es that Vorosh ilov knew full well the charge s were a lie.302 (303) Note 302 (998): Just one of many exampl es: betwee n May 7 and 10, Vorosh ilov issued a plan for liquida ting wrecki ng check all wareho uses, all constru ction sites, all secret inform ation storage holding s, all militar y units but he did so withou t naming a single examp le of actual wrecki ng in the army. Khaust ov and Samue lson, Stalin, NKVD, 75 (APRF, f. 3, f. 401, 1. 1079). This passag e is in Khaust ov and Samue lson, page 75 - but it is not eviden ce that Vorosh ilov ''knew the charge s were a lie." This is ''argum ent from silence," a logical fallacy. But see the following passag e.

But He Did Believe ... Kotkin:

Chap ter Nine. Tuk hach evsk y Affair

191

''The auth orit y of the arm y in the cou ntry is sha ken ," Vor osh ilov wro te, aga in in note s to himself. ''Th e auth orit y of the com man ding gro up has bee n sha ken ... Thi s mea ns tha t the met hod s of our wor k, the who le sys tem of gov erni ng the arm y, my wor k as com mis sar, 303 has suff ered a sha tter ing cras h." (30 3) Note 303 (998): Suv enir ov, ''Na rko mat obo ron y," 29 (cit ing RGVA, f. 33987, op. 3, d. 1023, l. 22, 24, 26: Jun e 1937). Not es to him self for his Nov. 193 8 spe ech to the Main Military Council sho w how far Vor osh ilov had come. Suvenirov, Tragediia RKKA, 74- 5 (cit ing RGVA, f. 33987, op. 3, d. 113 7, l. 3, 5, 6). The quo tati on in Kot kin' s text at this foo tnot e is ind eed in Suvenirov, ''Na rko mat obo rony ," pag e 29. But in the second Suv enir ov cita tion in Kotkin's note , Tragediia RKKA 74-5,

Suvenirov says tha t Voroshilov sincerely believed tha t the armed forces were full of spies, etc., (74 ) thu s con trad icti ng wha t Kotkin has just said! No won der Kotkin omi ts this fact! How cou ld he cite a sou rce tha t not only fails to sup por t his factclaim, but says the direct opposite of wha t Kotkin clai ms it says ? Evi den tly bec aus e for Kotkin thes e cita tion s are ''wi ndo wdres sing ," a sha m to fool the rub es - us, his read ers. He is so sure tha t no one will che ck and find him out.

The Far Eastern Conspiracy Was Real Kotkin: NKVD bigw ig Vsevolod Bal ytsk y had bee n tran sfer red from Ukr aine to fabr icat e a Tro tsky ite- fasc ist con spir acy in the Sov iet Far Eas tern Army, the cou ntry 's crit ical line of defe nse aga inst Jap an ... (432 ) This is a part icul arly flag rant falsification. Else whe re in his boo k Kotkin cite s the late pro fess or Alvin D. Coox's two arti cles ''Th e Les ser of Two Hells." (10 78) Coax disc ove red tha t Genrikh S. Liushkov, the NKVD gen eral who repl ace d Bal tysk y in the Far Eas t

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Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tru th

and the n def ect ed to the Jap ane se, told his Japanese handlers tha t there really was a conspiracy in the Far Eastern Army, nam ing nam es. This is evi den ce of thi s hig hes t im por tan ce sin ce it con firm s the rea l exi ste nce of the mil itar y con spi rac y. 16

Wh at's more, this is non-Soviet evidence, since Liushkov was in Japanese hands wh en he said it. Kotkin conceals all this fascinating and important stu ff from his readers this.

Another Series Of Falsehoods Kotkin: Sta lin 's wa r pre par ati ons als o bor e the ma rk of his exe cut ion s of tho usa nds of loyal officers, esp eci ally top com ma nde rs like Vasily Blyukher, wh ose eye had bee n dep osi ted in his han d bef ore he die d un der tor tur e, and the gifted Mikhail Tu kha che vsk y, wh ose blo od had bee n spl att ere d all ove r his ''co nfe ssio n'' to bei ng a Ge rm an age nt jus t bef ore Stalin sig ned the

Pact.40 (893) No te 40 (10 68) : Ste pan ov, ''O ma ssh tab akh rep res sii. " This foo tno te is a fra ud. No specific pag es, or eve n the nu mb er of the issu e, are cited. Do you wo nde r wh y? An d thi s is a fou r-p art art icle in Voenno-lstoricheskii Zhumal, 1993, Nos 1, 2, 3 and 5. Wh at's mo re, the art icle in iss ue 1 is no t by Ste pan ov, bu t by A. T. Ukolov and V.I. Ivkin.

But in his bib lio gra phy Kotkin lists the m all as by Ste pan ov. And those tha t are by Stepanov, Nos. 2, 3, and 5, are simply yet another publication of the ''Spravka'' of the Shvernik Commission, wh ich Kotkin has cite d els ew her e, in at lea st jive oth er dif fer ent editions! Wh y cite the sam e doc um ent her e aga in in yet ano the r sep ara te pub lica tio n? To cre ate the app ear anc e of tho rou gh sch ola rsh ip?

16

1 hav e exam ined Coox's artic les in Cha pter 17 of Furr, Kirov.

193

Chapter Nine. Tu kha che vsk y Affair

er nd ''u t no ," dy sto cu ''in d die r he iuk Bl t tha s say a'' Th e ''S pra vk o oJi ''oK : tes sta t jus a'' vk pra ''S the e, ey r's he iuk Bl for As tor tur e." ''n ea r his ey e wa s a hu ge bru ise ." rna 3a 6hI JJ orpoMHhIH cHHHK me co '' nd ha his in ed sit po de en be d ha e ey se ho ''w the es do W he re s thi up m ea dr n tki Ko d Di es. cit n tki Ko es urc so the m fro t No m? fro ma ca bre bit of go ry de tai l him sel f in or de r to ma ke Stalin, et al. ''lo ok ba d''? 11

-

, sky ev ach kh Tu ail kh Mi ted gif e ''th t ou ab d oo seh fal the ing Co nc ern ing be to '' on ssi nfe ''co his er ov all ed ter lat sp en be d ha od blo e os wh a Ge rm an ag en t jus t be for e Sta lin sig ne d the Pact," se e the Ap pe nd ix to thi s ch ap ter . re we al. et ky vs he ac kh Tu d. oo seh fal er oth an t ye ds ad n tki Ko re He ex ec ute d on Ju ne 11, 1937. Th e Mo lot ov -R ibb en tro p Pa ct wa s s nth mo 26 39 19 , 25 st gu Au on ) ct' Pa the d ne sig in tal (''S sig ne d lat er, no t ''ju st be for e."

Bliukher Kotkin: On Oc tob er 22 , 19 38 , NKVD op era tiv es ap pe are d at Vo ros hil ov 's da ch a, wh ere the thi rty -ni ne -ye ar- old Bl yu kh er an d his tw en ty- thr ee -ye ar- old wi fe we re sta yin g. Th ey arr es ted the co up le an d too k the m to 279 Moscow. Ye zh ov ha d sig ne d the ord er, bu t Be ria ov ers aw the int err og ati on in Le for tov o. Ba ck in su mm er 19 37 , Sta lin ha d sai d tha t Tu kh ac he vs ky an d Ga ma rni k, on or de rs fro m the Jap an ese , ha d tri ed to rem ov e Bl yu kh er fro m co mm an d of the So vie t Fa r Ea ste rn Army; no w, in fall 19 38 , Sta lin ha d Bl yu kh er ac cu sed of be ing a sp y for the Jap an ese sin ce 19 22 . Un de r ''in ter rog ati on ," Be ria 's me n red uc ed Bl yu kh er' s face to a blo od y pu lp he los t an ey e ye t the ma rsh al ref us ed to co nfe ss. Bl yu kh er wo uld die un de r tor tur e. Be ria tel ep ho ne d Sta lin wi th the ne ws , 280 (54 9-5 50 ) aft er wh ich the ma rsh al wa s cre ma ted .

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Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

Note 280 (101 5): Blyukher died on Nov. 9, 1938 . He woul d be convicted and sente nced to deat h posth umou sly, on March 10, 1939 . Dushen'kin, Ot so/data do marshala. His wife recei ved eigh t year s in the Kara gand a camp complex. The Dush en'ki n book was publ ished in 1960 in an editi on of 150, 000 copies, and repu blish ed in 1964 in anot her 100, 000 copies, as part of the Khru shch ev-er a anti-Stalin campaign. It conta ins no evide nce to supp ort its conclusions and is usele ss for resea rch. Unde r Khru shch ev simil ar book s were publ ished abou t Tukhachevsky, Yakir, Primakov, Eideman, and other s. Kotkin fails to cite the 2008 book by Nikolai Velikanov, lzmena Marshalov, ''Betrayal of the Marshals." No doub t this is beca use Velikanov's book conta ins evidence that Bliuk her and othe rs were guilty. Kotkin does cite the two artic les by Coax whic h conta in simil ar impo rtant evidence. But he conceals that evide nce from his reade rs. Coax relat es that Liushkov told his Japa nese milit ary hand lers that Bliuk her had inde ed been cons pirin g again st the Soviet gove rnme nt.

Omitting The Evidence Of Bliukher's Guilt Bliukher also adm itted bein g in touch with Rykov, who had offer ed him a posit ion: Blyu kher told Gulin that befo re the remo val of Rykov he was in conn ectio n with him and had often writt en that the 'righ t wing ' wish ed to see him at the head of the arme d forces of the country. (Coox 1, 158) Publicly Liushkov was sayin g that all the cons pirac ies were fabri catio ns by Stalin. But at the same time he was priva tely infor ming the Japa nese that serio us cons pirac ies did in fact exist. Moreover, wha t Liushkov told the Japa nese is cons isten t with the char ges at the Janu ary 1937 and March 1938 Moscow

Ch ap ter Nine. Tu kh ac he vs ky Affair

195

Tr ia ls (t he gu ilt of Rykov) an d w ith th e ch ar ge s ag ai ns t th e m ili ta ry co ns pi ra to rs , bo th th e e os th d an k) ni ar am (G es ur fig ir ffa A ky vs Tu kh ac he 17 st. Ea r Fa e th in ls ia fic of y rt Pa d an ry ta ili m t ns ag ai in er kh iu Bl of ns io at og rr te in of ns io ct le se w fe a ve We al so no w ha om fr r tte le a ns tio en m y itl ic pl ex er kh iu 19 38 . In on e of th em Bl , ch ar se re 's ox Co to g in rd co ac t, ha w tly ac ex Rykov th at st at ed Liushkov to ld th e Ja pa ne se : ok to ts gh Ri e th ith w t ac nt co y m of g in nn gi be e Th pl ac e in 19 30 ... Th es e political w av er in gs an d d an v ko Ry to n ow kn e m ca be e in m of ss ne di un st ea pe rm it te d R yk ov in 19 30 to w ri te to m e an an tie th om fr d hi I ch hi w r, tte le et vi So tian Pa rt y an d

e se to re si de s hi of e ok sp he ch hi w in d an y, rt Pa m e at th e he ad of th e m ili ta ry ...

ts an rm fo in se ne pa Ja s hi t ha w of t un co ac This ag re es w ith Coox's er th O e. ov ab ed ot qu y ad re al , ds or w 's ov hk us Li to ld hi m ab ou t , as ib er D e at ic pl im er kh iu Bl of ns sn ip pe ts of in te rr og at io ov hk us Li m ho w es ur fig r he ot d an , am ht ns ro Lavrent'ev, Pokus, A st. Ea r Fa e th in cy ra pi ns co ry ta ili m e th in ts an ip ic id en tif ie d as pa rt e m sa e th By . em th irm nf co se ne pa Ja e th Liushkov's st at em en ts to at th n tio no e th te fu re se ne pa Ja e th to ts en em at st to ke n, Liushkov's e pl m si or , at re th e, ur rt to of lt su re e th , lse fa th es e st at em en ts w er e NKVD fabrication. in d ne ai nt co e ar ns io at og rr te in 's er kh iu Bl Excerpts fr om 's er kh iu Bl of s ge pa 26 e th f O 4. 34 234 s ge Velikanov's bo ok on pa hs ap gr ra pa w fe a es uc od pr re ov an ik el V on si es ha nd w ri tte n co nf cy ra pi ns co e th ed in jo he at th s irm nf co er only. B ut in th em Bl iu kh of th e Rights in 19 30 .

17

Quoted in Fu rr Kirov, 34 8.

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Stalin: Waiting for ... The Trut h

Conclusion This crit ique has esta blis hed tha t Kotkin has exte nsiv ely falsified the evid enc e abo ut the Tuk hac hev sky Affair in ord er to crea te the false app eara nce tha t Stalin and his asso ciat es fram ed inn oce nt men. We now pos sess far mor e evid enc e of the guil t of Tuk hac hev sky and the oth er mil itar y com man der s exe cute d wit h him than I outl ine above. As of May, 2018, he tran scri pt of the tria l of Tuk hac hev sky et al. of June 11, 193 7, has finally bee n declassified and mad e available on the Inte rnet . 18 As of November, 2018, mo st of the NKVD inve stig atio n file on Tuk hac hev sky has bee n declassified as well. The test imo ny give n ther e by the def end ants will rem ove any dou bt in the min d of the obje ctiv e read er tha t thes e men wer e guilty of the crim es to whi ch they con fess ed. But Kotkin, in com pan y wit h man y or per hap s eve n mos t sch olar s of the Stalin era, is any thin g but objective. No con ceiv able evid enc e can cha nge his mind, or thei rs. Denial of the evid enc e is the rule, and obje ctiv ity is the exception, in the cor rup t field of Soviet hist ory of the Stalin era.

1e At http: //istm at.in fo/no de/5 9108 , with

PDF file at http: //istm at.in fo/fi les/u ploa ds/59 108/ rgasp i_l 7.171.392_process_tuhachevskogo.pdf It is also available at a Ukrainian, Russian-language site: http: //land er.od essa. ua/doc/ rgasp i_l 7.171.3 9 2_process_tuhachevskogo.pdf

Ch ap ter 9a. Ap pe nd ix: Th e "B loo ds tai n'' ue sti on On pag e 414 Kotkin wri tes the following:

In the cellars on May 26, a mer e fou r day s afte r his arre st, Tuk hac hev sky beg an to sign wha teve r inte rrog ator s put in fron t of him. Zin ovy Ushakov,

wh o pri ded him self on obt ain ing con fess ion s no oth er inv esti gat or could ext rac t, mer cile ssly bea t Tukhachevsky, who se blo od drip ped ont o the pag es of a con fess ion to crim es he did not commit. The claim tha t thes e bloo dsta ins pro ve tha t Tuk hac hev sky was bea ten into false con fess ions is rep eate d by man y oth er wri ters . For example: ... Yezhov's inve stig ator s tort ure d the officers mer cile ssly unti l they confessed. Analysis man y yea rs late r sho wed tha t the re wer e bloo dsta ins on the confession sign ed by Tukhachevsky. (Getty, Road to Terror, 447 -8) The ir refe renc e is to Izvestiia TsK KPSS n. 4, 198 9, p. 50. This is in fact the ''Spravka'' of the Shv erni k Commission, pre par ed for Khrushchev in 196 3 but not pub lish ed unti l Gorbachev's antiStalin campaign. In the auth orit ativ e pub lica tion of the ''Spravka'' in the volu me RKEB 2 it is on pag e 682. Here is tha t pas sag e: B npo~ecce H3yqeHH.H 'AeJia M. H. TyxaqeBcKoro Ha noKa3aHHH o6Hap}')KeHbl Il.HTHa 6ypo-KopHtJHeaoro J..\BeTa. B 3aKJI10qeHHH l.leHTpaJibHOH cy~e6Ho-Me~H~HHCKOH na6opaTOpHH BoeHHo-

OT~MbHblX JIHCTax ero

MeAH~HHCKoro ynpa BJie HHH MHHHCTepcTBa o6op oHb I

198

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

CCCP OT 28 HJOH.H 1956 r. roBopHTC.H: >.

In the process of studying the case of M.N. Tukhachevsky, spots of a brownish color were found on separate sheets of his testimony. In the conclusion of the Central Forensic Laboratory of the Military Medical Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR of June 28, 1956 it is stated: ''Blood has been found on stains and smears on sheets 165, 166 of case No. 967581 ... Some bloodstains have the form of an exclamation mark. This form of bloodstains is usually observed when the blood falls from an object in motion, or when blood falls to a surface at an angle ..." Khrushchev ''rehabilitated'' Tukhachevsky et al. in 1956-57. In the early 2000s IUlia Kantor was given permission by the Tukhachevsky family to view his interrogation file. She published two books about this, both cited by Kotkin. Kantor was utterly unable to find any evidence that Tukhachevsky was innocent, although she is certain that he was, and she covers up this fact with lots of assertions. On February 21, 2004, Kantor published an article in Izvestiia, still a Russian newspaper. In that article she reproduced a photo of the place in one of Tukhachevsky's confessions that has the stains. Years ago, I put this photograph on line: https://msuweb.montclair.edu/,_furrg/research/tukh _confess_with_blood.jpg It is important to note a few details here:

n tio es Qu in ta ds oo Bl e: Th : ky vs he ac kh Tu A. , ne Ni r te ap Ch

199

of '' ka av pr ''S e th in ed fi ti en id e ar at th ns * T he se ar e th e sa m e st ai e th at is ' k' ar m n io at am cl ex an of rm fo he ''t 19 63 . T he st ai n in lo w er le ft co rn er . d an , is th e lik ed ok lo it t gh ou th I . py co * This confession is a ca rb on v, ro ob B ir m di la V ue ag lle co w co os M y m it ha s be en co nf ir m ed by ) D V K N BG K e th ly er m or (f B FS e who has be en w or ki ng in th archive. a of ge pa ch ea , ly al m or N e. bl si vi is e ur * T uk ha ch ev sk y' s si gn at n io at og rr te in l al h it w om st cu e th as w t ha co nf es si on is si gn ed . T tr an sc ri pt s.

v he hc us hr K n he w en m s v' he hc us hr K This di sc ov er y w as m ad e by r te af , in al St g in am bl d an le op pe of ts lo ' g' tin w as falsely ''r eh ab ili ta e es th t ou ab en tt ri w ve ha I ." ch ee Sp his Fe br ua ry 25, 19 56 ''S ec re t r, te La . 11 er pt ha C , ed Li v he hc us hr K false ''r eh ab ili ta tio ns '' in v he hc us hr K d he is bl pu un e th ed pi co st ju n G or ba ch ev 's m en ofte m at er ia l st uf f ve rb at im . In t! n' ld ou sh e W ? en m s hi d an v he hc us hr K t us *W hy sh ou ld w e tr e es th er th he w ow kn t n' do e w , So e. tim anything! T he y li ed bi gst ai ns ar e bl oo d or no t. d? oo bl s y' sk ev ch ha uk T ey th e ar d, oo bl e * Assuming th ey ar to gy lo no ch te e th d ha ve ha t no ay m K hr us hc he v' s m en m ay or e th y, da to y nl ai rt ce d an , 89 19 by ut B . -3 62 de te rm in e th at in 19 e ar rs be em m ily m fa y sk ev ch ha uk T y te ch no lo gy exists, an d m an still ar ou nd . d an v he hc us hr K t n' ld ou w d, oo bl s y' If it w er e T uk ha ch ev sk o ''d ey th be ay M it. on ti en m t no do ey th ut B ? G or ba ch ev tell us th at t no is it at th s ow sh st te e th se ca no t w an t to know," in T uk ha ch ev sk y' s blood? ce en id ev as d te en es pr is is th ch hi w Im ag in e a co ur tr oo m in s y' sk ev ch ha uk T , ov ak sh U vy no Zi say, ag ai ns t so m eb od y is th of t ea m ce in m e ak m d ul co ey rn to in te rr og at or . T he de fe ns e at t's ha T n. io at er id ns co om fr ed ud cl ex it t ge so -c al le d ''evidence," be ca us e it proves nothing.

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*

Even if these stains are blood -- and even if they are Tukhachevsky 's blood Oet's remember, this has not been established) -- they are on a carbon copy. That means that Tukhachevsk y has already made the confession, and it has been typed up. So why would they still beat him? To force him to sign each page? But look at the signature. It's a regular signature, nothing shaky or hesitant. It's like he is signing an order or a check.

* Most important: Is this ''blood spatter''? Read the Wikipedia page on this: https://en.wik ipedia.org/wi ki/Bloodstain _pattern_anal ysis This is not ''blood spatter." There is no ''spatter'' at all. But if Tukhachevsk y were being beaten, there would be ''spatter." A blow produces spatter, not drops. Let's assume these are bloodstains. What might have caused them? A nosebleed. A paper cut. Whose blood? It could be anybody's: the interrogator's ; the secretary-typi st's; from one of the archivists handling the document. Or, it could be Tukhachevsky 's. What it cannot be is the sign of a beating. A beating produces ''blood splatter," which these stains are not. There is nothing ingenious or obscure about either this evidence or the analysis of it here. Khrushchev's and Gorbachev's men could have done it. But they didn't. They had been tasked by their bosses to find evidence that Tukhachevsk y was innocent So they did not look too closely. Kotkin could have done it too. But, like Khrushchev's and Gorbachev's men, Kotkin was not looking for the truth either. Like Khrushchev and his men, Kotkin was looking for a good anti-Stalin story. So he turned off his critical faculties and fabricated a beating. And not just any beating, but a ''merciless beating." Pure invention! And yet Kotkin is a renowned historian!

C ha pt er 10 . Yezhov's C on sp ir ac y Int ere sti ng ly, in Jan ua ry 19 39 , S. Mi ron ov -K oro l' [S.N. Mi ron ov 's full na me ] wa s arr est ed , an d alm os t im me dia tel y tes tif ied tha t in Ju ly 19 37 in a pr iv ate

co nv ers ati on Fr ino vs kii to ld him of Ez ho v's in ten tio n to co me to po we r on th e ba sis of th eir 1 gr ou p in th e NKVD. r ilia fam the es tak n tki Ko igm rad Pa lin Sta tiAn the to ity rm In co nfo of s on uti ec ex ss ma the t tha ion sit po ry ato lig ob the d, ee - ind 19 37 -19 38 we re pla nn ed by Stalin, an d th at Nikolai Yezhov, the the In . ers ord 's lin Sta t ou ing rry ca ly on s wa , VD NK the of ch ief wo rd s of the tit le of a bo ok by tw o lea din g an ti- Sta lin falsifiers s in' tal ''S s wa ov zh Ye n) tki Ko by ed cit en oft ok bo a ore ref (an d the 2 loyal ex ecu tio ne r." This is all wr on g. No ev ide nc e su pp or ts it. Th ere for e, Kotkin ca n ng ori ign by all at im cla s thi ke ma to ble ssi po ly on is cite none. It on ily av he g yin rel d an le ab ail av w no e nc ide ev e urc so ary im pr the n ca e, urs co of o, wh ers rch ea res lin Sta tian by es urc sec on da ry so n's tki Ko e giv tes tno foo led tai de , ng Lo r. he eit e nc ide ev no e giv ac co un t the su pe rfi cia l ap pe ara nc e of be ing we ll- do cu me nte d. Bu t t no do tes tno foo n's tki Ko of ny ma , see all sh we As . am sh thi s is a pro vid e ev ide nc e for the fact-claims he ma ke s. Bias

by omission is pe rh ap s the mo st po we rfu l of the too ls in the

is o wh ist ial ec sp a ly on e us ca be , ier sif fal l ica tor his ba g of the d. itte om is at wh ow kn ll wi es urc so le ab ail av the th wi r ilia fam e W n. tio ica sif fal of e iqu hn tec s thi of ge nta va ad l ful Kotkin tak es . on pti ce de of l too s thi of e us ab n's tki Ko to ter ap ch l ful a te de vo

Leonid A. Naumov, Stalin i NKVD. Moscow: Novyi Khronograf, 2010, 263. 2 The upd ate d Russian edi tion of this book is title d Stalinskii pitomets, "Stalin's nursling,H or "pupil."

1

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

202

I have written a book-length study of Yezhov's conspiracy and mass murders: Yezhov vs. Stalin. The Truth About Mass Repressions and the So-Called 'Great Terror' in the USSR. In it I examine the primary-source evidence. For brevity's sake I will refer to that book rather than reprint its contents here. Kotkin completely ignores all the evidence of Yezhov's conspiracy against the Soviet government! Because he deals with Yezhov's mass murders in several different sections of his book, our discussion here has to jump around in Kotkin's text to follow him.

The Basic Falsehood Stated Kotkin: Through it all, the NKVD never broke down, let alone rebelled. The ease with which Yagoda was destroyed proved that there was no threat whatsoever to Stalin's rule. The secret police, even under assault, remained an utterly reliable instrument of his will, a testament to both the limits of the feared yet despised Yagoda's authority and the strength of Stalin's as supreme leader. (394) No evidence given for these outrageous statements. No wonder! We have a great deal of evidence that the NKVD leaders, both Jagoda and then Yezhov, were indeed conspiring against Stalin and the Soviet government and Party. My book, Yezhov vs. Stalin, reproduces a great deal of this evidence. Much of it is taken from Jansen and Petrov, and the revised Russian edition by Petrov and Jansen, as well as other sources that Kotkin cites - but not here. His readers will not know this. Here is just one quotation from a book that Kotkin cites many times. Evdokimov gave similar evidence. According to him, in September [1938 - GF] he discussed the threatening situation after Beriia's appointment with Yezhov, Frinovskii, and Bel'skii. Allegedly, they agreed to

Chapter Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

203

pr ep ar e an at te m pt on Stalin an d Molotov. Yezhov . a rii Be r de ur m to s an pl d ha ve ha to id sa so al w as

... According to Iu. K. Ivanov, an NKVD ex ec ut iv e from Evdokimov's circle, as ea rly as la te July, af te r a vi sit to Yezhov, Ev do ki mo v ha d all ud ed to te rro ris m ag ai ns t th e Pa rty lea de rsh ip . Involved in th e co ns pi ra cy fir st ia as uc Ca rth No m fro ng ati in ig or le op pe re we of all (Evdokimov's ho m e ba se ), Dagin, Nikolaev-Zhurid, an d ot he rs. Bu t th e action, pl an ne d for 7 No ve m be r [1938], di d no t ta ke place be ca us e Dagin wa s ar re ste d 3 be fo re ha nd .

t ns ai ag '' ng lli be re D KV ''N of ce en id ev e or m al de t ea gr a Th er e is Stalin an d th e Party. Kotkin hi de s it from hi s re ad er s.

Omitting The Evidence Kotkin: Franco, th er ef or e, ha d no th in g to te ac h him, ex ce pt th at a m ili tar y- led pu tsc h, as sis te d ex ter na lly by io ar en sc a , try un co e ol wh a ize se to try d ul co ts, fascis th at Stalin wa s m an ip ul ati ng to ju sti fy hi s ow n sa va ge do m es tic co un te rin su rg en cy ag ai ns t an im ag in ar y insurgency. (401- no footnote) s, rie eta cr Se t rs Fi rty Pa e m so d an n, me VD NK s hi of e m Yezhov, so ve ha e W t. oo af s cie en rg su in us rio se e er w e claimed th at th er in n, io lat ns tra ish gl En in ts tex e th ed ot qu d an is, th di sc us se d ce en id ev ce ur so yar im pr is Th . lin Sta vs. ov zh Ye of ve Fi Ch ap ter s hi ls tel r ve ne he t Bu . too n tki Ko to le ab ail av , was, of course re ad er s ab ou t it. at , ng lyi e er w ey th at th s em se it ve ha w no we ce en id ev e Fr om th w co os M in ip sh er ad le l ra nt ce e th d an n ali St t Bu rt. le as t in lar ge pa

i ola Nik r issa mm Co 's ple Peo er. ion cut Exe al Loy 's lin Sta . rov Pet ita Nik and sen Mark Jan Yezhov 1895-1940. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 2002, 156.

3

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Stalin: Waiting for ... The Trut h

wer e rely ing on the Par ty and NKVD lead ersh ip aro und the vas t cou ntry to info rm them . The re is no que stio n tha t Stalin beli eve d tha t thes e alleged insu rgen cies wer e real, as the edit or of one of the doc ume nt collections adm its. Tha t edit or is V.N. Khaustov, one of the com pile rs of sev eral imp orta nt doc ume nt collections and a ver y anti-Stalin rese arch er. And the mo st frig hten ing thin g was tha t Stalin mad e his dec isio ns on the bas is of con fess ions tha t wer e the resu lt of the inve ntio ns of cert ain emp loye es of the org ans of stat e secu rity . Sta lin' s rea ctio ns atte st to

the fact tha t he too k the se con fess ion s com ple tely seri ous ly. (Lu bian ka Golgofa, 6) Wh at is imp orta nt her e?

* Tha t

Kha usto v adm its the exis tenc e of a maj or con spir acy by

Yezhov.

*

Tha t Kha usto v con ced es tha t Stalin was dec eive d by Yezhov. Yezhov adm its as muc h in the con fess ions of his tha t we now have.

* Tha t Khaustov adm its tha t Stalin

acte d in goo d fait h on the basis of evidence pre sen ted to him by Yezhov, muc h of whi ch may, or mus t, hav e bee n false.

Kotkin, who cite s at leas t six boo ks wri tten or edit ed by Khaustov, doe s not cite or use this ver y imp orta nt collection of doc ume nts. It is imp orta nt to ideologically anti com mun ist rese arch ers tha t thes e mas s mur der s be see n as Stal in's plan and inte ntio n. Kha usto v is hon est eno ugh to adm it tha t the evid enc e sup por ts the opp osit e conclusion. Som e of the con fess iona l and inve stig ativ e doc ume nts Yezhov sen t on to Stalin and the Sov iet lead ersh ip mus t hav e bee n falsified. But Khaustov him self has no idea whi ch wer e fabr icat ions and whi ch wer e not. (Furr, Yezhov vs Stalin, 64)

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Chapter Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

The Falsehood Ab ou t ''Quotas'' Kotkin: In sum me r 193 7, he vas tly exp and ed the arr est s and exe cut ion s to non elit es [no n-e lite s]. Th ere wa s no ''dy nam ic'' for cin g him to do so, no ''fa ctio nal '' fig htin g, no hei ght ene d thr eat abr oad . Th e ter ror wa s no t spi ral ing ou t of his con tro l. He jus t dec ide d, him sel f, to app rov e qu ota -dr ive n era dic atio n of ent ire cat ego rie s of peo ple in a pla nne d ind isc rim ina te ter ror 3 kno wn as ma ss ope rat ion s. (433)

Note 3 (99 9) is to Sol zhe nit syn and an eve n old er boo k by We iss ber g. Of cou rse , nei the r cou ld hav e any evi den ce to sup po rt Ko tkin 's claim. Th is is a falsification, and a particularly flagrant one at tha t. As Am eri can sch ola r Arc h Ge tty has poi nte d out

4 :

Or der No. 004 4 7 est abl ish ed lim its [limity] rat her tha n quo tas , ma xim um s, no t mi nim um s ... The wo rd' s me ani ng wa s we ll kno wn : it nev er me ant 'qu ota s'. Re flec ting Sta lin 's con cer n tha t loc als mi ght go ou t of con tro l (or ou t of his con tro l) Or der No. 004 47 twi ce wa rne d tha t 'ex ces ses ' in loc al im ple me nta tio n of the ope rat ion we re no t per mi tted . (Getty, Fever 232 -23 3) Ge tty rep eat s thi s in a rec ent boo k: On e of the my ste rie s of the field [of Sov iet his tor y GF] is ho w lim ity is rou tin ely tra nsl ate d as ''qu ota s.'' (Getty, Practicing 340 n. 109 ) Ko tkin kno ws this, of cou rse . Bu t his rea der s wil l no t kno w it. Wh y not ? Be cau se he hid es it fro m the m. Ko tkin fals ely att rib ute s the Bo lsh evi ks wit h a pas sio n for ''qu ota s'' els ew her e too :

4

I discuss this issu e in Yezhov vs Stalin 72-3.

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[On January 11, 1930] Yagoda asked his top subordinates how many people could be interned in existing labor camps and where new camps might be quickly established, encouraging them to ''think 156 creatively." The upshot was that each territory would have a deportation quota. 157 (36) Note 157 (916): 157. Ivnitskii, Kollektivizatsiia i raskulachivanie, 108-9. But there is nothing about quotas of any kind on these pages of lvnitskii's book.

The Nonsense of ''Psychohistory'' Kotkin: There could have been no such terror without the Communist party and its ideology, but there would have been no such terror without Stalin, and his profoundly dark personality, immense strength of will, 321 and political skill. ( 490) Let's pause for a moment to consider the first clause in this sentence. Can it really be that Kotkin is ignorant of the massive terror by capitalist countries in many parts of the world? Or does he just hope his readers will be ignorant of them? Conquest, quoted in note 321 (1007) by Kotkin, was an avid supporter of the immense terror, which included the massive use of torture, of the American war in Vietnam. What about American terror in Korea, the Philippines, Latin America, Iraq, Afghanistan? British atrocities in Kenya and India? The French massacre of African soldiers in 5 Senegal? As for Kotkin's psychologizing of Stalin here (''profoundly dark personality'') - it is of course an error to try to explain historical events in this way, despite how often anticommunist writers have

5

For this last atrocity see https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_de_Thiaroye.

Cha pter Ten. Yezhov's Con spira cy

207

6 it. It

is also an exa mpl e of the logical fallacy kno wn as reco urse to the nom inal fallacy - givi ng som ethi ng a nam e (''da rk 7 pers ona lity ''), the n assu min g tha t you hav e exp lain ed it. As we sha ll see, Kotkin has no evidence wha teve r to sup por t his view tha t the mas sive exe cuti ons of 193 7-8 wer e plan ned by Stalin. But sinc e he reje cts the exp lana tion tha t is sup por ted by all the evid enc e we now hav e, che ap ''psy cho logi zing '' is all Kotkin has left. Plus Rob ert Tuc ker, Kot kin' s pro fess or at Prin ceto n, was an 8 " ory. hist avid pro pon ent oft ''psy cho

Frinovsky's Confession Statement Kotkin: Yezhov's NKVD ... was rive n wit h dist rust . Wh en info rmi ng Frin ovs ky tha t he wan ted to app oin t him firs t dep uty com mis sar, Yezhov ask ed him to reci te his acc umu late d sins . ''You hav e so man y sins , you oug ht to be arre sted righ t now," Yezhov told him , add ing, ''Well, so wha t, you 'll wor k, and you 'll be my per son 233 100 perc ent. " Frin ovs ky furt her test ifie d tha t ''Yezhov dem and ed tha t I find inve stig ator s who wer e utte rly dep end ent on us or had sins on the ir reco rds, and they kne w they had sins , whi ch cou ld be held ove r them ." 234 ( 415 -6) Not e 233 (99 6): http ://w ww .hro no. ru/ dok um/ 193 _do k/1 939 041 3be ria. php (APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 373 , I. 3-4 4: pro toc ol of Frin ovs ky inte rrog atio n, Ber ia to Stal in April 11,

See the essay by Geoffrey Roberts, "Stalin, Trump, and the Politics of Narcissism: A Response to Rose McDermott's 'The Natu re of Narcissism." H-Diplo, June 29, 2018 . At https ://iss forum .org/ roun dtab les/p olicy/1 -SBG-Stalin 7 For one discu ssion of this fallacy see http: //ww w.in dian a.edu /-p 1013 447/dict iona ry/nom fall.h tm 8 See Robert C. Tuck er, Stalin as revolutionary, 1879 -192 9: a study in history and personali(J' (New York: Norton, 1973 ). The ''personality'' part is Tuck er's phon y psychohistory.

6

208

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

1939). Frinovsky and Yezhov were not close. ''I had multiple clashes at work with him," Yezhov would later observe of Frinovsky. ''I cursed him out, and called him a fool to his face, because no sooner would he arrest someone among the NKVD operatives then he would run to me and shout that it was all fabrication [lipa], that the person was wrongly arrested." ''Poslednee slovo Nikolai Yezhova." Note 234 (996): http:/ /www.hrono.ru/ dokum/193_dok/19390413be ria.php (APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 373, 1. 3-44: protocol of Frinovsky interrogation, sent by Beria to Stalin April 11, 1939); Afanas'ev, Oni ne molchali, 218. There are a number of falsehoods here. For starters, Frinovsky's confession is a statement, not an interrogation.

But more important, Frinovsky asserts that the Moscow Trials defendants were guilty. Kotkin ignores this. I have put an English translation of Frinovsky's statement on line so the reader may see 9 for herself.

Oni Ne Molchali Is A Fraud As for ''Afanas'ev, Oni ne molchali, 218'' - this is interesting! It is a very short excerpt from Frinovsky's statement This book, published in 1991, was a part of Gorbachev's truly gigantic attack on Stalin that facilitated his turning the USSR towards capitalism, civil conflict, and dissolution. It was published in an edition of 75,000 - an enormous printing of what is a dry and, supposedly, scholarly book. The full text of Frinovsky's statement was published in 2006 and is cited above by Kotkin. It shows how dishonest Oni ne molchali is, since that Gorbachev-era book does not mention the fact that

9 At https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/frinovskyeng.html

209

Ch ap ter Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

w co os M e th of ilt gu e th to s st te at ly ed at pe re d an Frinovsky strongly . cy ra pi ns co s ov zh Ye of ce en ist ex e th d an ts Trials defendan 1

g, in dd bi 's ev ch ba or G g in do , ok bo 91 19 is th of Th e ed ito rs it g lin ea nc co is n ki ot K w no nd A s. er ad re r co nc ea le d th is fr om th ei fr om his re ad er s!

n io ss fe on C 's ky vs o n ri F f o se U st More Dishone Statement , es tim of r be m nu a t en em at st on si es nf Kotkin ci te s Fr in ov sk y' s co an d falsifies it ev er y tim e. , 35 19 In : xt te e th of 4 23 ge pa to ) 67 (9 8 27 Kotkin, no te y an d ha he if y sk ov in Fr d ke as tly en id ev ov m ki do ev Y Yefim of r de ur m e th in a od ag Y of nd ha e th t ou ab n io at rm in fo of ol oc ot Pr . t) en em lv vo in 's in al St g tin ua in Kirov (i ns 39 19 , 11 il pr A , in al St to ria Be n, io at og rr te in y sk ov Fr in (APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 37 3, I. 3- 44 ), .p ia er 3b 41 90 93 /1 ok _d 93 /1 m ku do u/ .r no ro .h ht tp :/ /w w w hp . 's ov m ki do Ev . ds oo eh ls fa t an at bl s n' ki ot K This is ye t an ot he r of at t'' en em lv vo in 's in al St te ua in ns ''i t no d di a od ag qu es tio n ab ou t Y l al e er w a od ag Y d an y, sk ov in Fr , ov m ki all. Quite th e co nt ra ry ! Evdo s y' sk ov in Fr in r ea cl e ad m is is Th . cy ra pi in th e Ri gh tis t co ns r Fo . is th of er ad re e th s rm fo in r ve ne st at em en t, th ou gh Kotkin ex am pl e: e th of s on gi re of r be m nu a in at th id sa so Ev do ki m ov al g in ad le in d de ee cc su d ha le op pe s hi us as uc Ca N or th y rt pa e th of e rg pu e th at th d an , ls be re of ps ou gr e m so e th in lp he ht ig m e tim at th at e ac pl ng ki ta th at w as se ns e of re cr ui tm en t of pe op le . d an ev en am K , ev vi no Zi of al tri e th of e tim A t th e as w in ar kh Bu t ou ab y on im st te e th n he w , rs ot he He . w co os M in as w ov m ki do Ev s, es pr e th in d pu bl is he e, m ith w n tio sa er nv co a in d an t se up ry ve e be ca m

210

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said: ''The devil only knows how he will be able to extract himself from this whole affair. I just don't

understand Yagoda at all, what he is doing, why he is broadening the circle of persons for repression, or maybe the nerves of these people are weak - they will give out. But it could have been possible to

direct the course of the investigation in such a manner as to leave oneself safe in any case." (40) For clarity we repeat Kotkin's note 233 (to page 416)

http://www.hrono.ru/ dokum/193_dok/19390413be ria.php (APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 373, 1. 3-44: protocol of Frinovsky interrogation, Beria to Stalin April 11, 1939). Frinovsky and Yezhov were not close. ''I had multiple clashes at work with him," Yezhov would later observe of Frinovsky. ''I cursed him out, and called him a fool to his face, because no sooner would he arrest someone among the NKVD operatives then he would run to me and shout that it was all fabrication [lipa], that the person was wrongly arrested." ''Poslednee slovo Nikolai Yezhova." (996) Frinovsky's confession statement shows that Frinovsky was indeed ''close'' to Yezhov, though Kotkin's readers will not know this, since he provides no link to the English translation. Frinovsky continued: Soon after starting work in my new position as vicecommissar Yezhov began to bring me close to himself, to select me from among the remaining vicecommissars, to hold franker conversations with me in the evaluation of the other vice-commissars, to express some dissatisfaction with Agranov. Before the division of duties among the vice-commissars, besides the fact that I continued to be the chief of the GUPVO, Yezhov proposed that I become involved in operative questions also, and in 1937, after Yagoda's arrest, he

Cha pter Ten. Yezhov's Con spira cy

211

beg an to hol d talk s wit h me in rela tion to my pos sibl e app oin tme nt as firs t vice -com mis sar. Dur ing one of thes e talk s Yez hov told me: ''I hav e dec ided this que stio n, but I wan t to talk it ove r wit h you , onl y look - be hon est, the re are som e sins on you r acco unt. " At firs t I was com plet ely take n aback. I tho ugh t - I'm don e for. Wh en he saw my dism ay Yezhov beg an to spe ak: ''Do n't be afra id, spe ak hon estl y." The n I told him abo ut the stor y with the Sok ol'n iche sky affair, abo ut my ties wit h Yagoda, ties wit h Evd okim ov, and thro ugh him wit h Lifshits. The n Yezhov said : ''Th ere are so man y sins to you r nam e tha t we cou ld thro w you in pris on righ t now , but nev er min d, you will kee p wor king , you will be my man 100 %." I look ed at him in dism ay and trie d to refu se the app oin tme nt to the pos itio n of firs t vice -com mis sar, but he said : ''Sit dow n, get to wor k, we' ll wor k tog ethe r and take the resp ons ibil ity toge ther ." (41- 42) I hav e put a tran slat ion of Yezhov's last wor ds (''Po sled nee slov o 10 Nikolaia Yezhova'') onli ne.

Imaginary ''Kremlin Bodyguards'' Kotkin:

Pea san ts had reb elle d en ma sse aga ins t the vio len ce of forc ed coll ecti viza tion and dek ula kiz atio n, and eve n som e par ty officials had pro test ed. But the terr or? A gro up of Kre mli n bod ygu ard s had bee n carr ying load ed pist ols on Red Squ are dur ing the 193 7 May Day fest iviti es, wit hin sho otin g dist anc e of Stal in and the enti re lead ersh ip; wit hin a few mon ths, they wen t mee kly to thei r

10

At https: / /msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/Yezhovlastwords.html

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Trut h

212

dea ths, liqu idat ed as an alleged ''ass assi n corp s'' 243 wor king for foreign agents. (54 3) Wh at abo ut the stor y of the Kremlin bod ygu ard s who wen t mee kly to thei r dea ths? Note 243 (1014, to Kotkin pas sag e above): Rybin, Riadom so Stalinym, 73. See also Medvedev, Let History judge, 587. Yet mor e pho ny references! The stor y of the ''gro up of Kremlin bod ygu ards '' is sim ply not in eith er of thes e sou rces . Or, per hap s Kotkin has mis und erst ood a pas sag e in Rybin's mem oir whe re he not es that , afte r the arre st of Yagoda (March 1, 193 7) and som e of the oth er con spir ator s, the four bod ygu ard s who had bee n assi gne d to Red Squ are for May Day ''dis app eare d." Rybin assu mes they wer e par t of the plot to kill Stalin, and say s ''No won der that , whe n gath erin g in Red Squ are on May 1, they feverishly sho ved four or five pist ols each into thei r field coats."

Few Peasants Rebelled As for pea san ts, som e did rebe l - but wha t doe s ''en mas se'' mea n? Mar k Tauger, a wor ld exp ert on Russian and Sov iet agri cult ure and famines, not es tha t ther e was relatively littl e pea san t pro test : According to an OGPU (police) rep ort of March 193 1, righ t in the mid st of collectivization, abo ut five per cen t of the pea san t pop ulat ion was involved in pro test s. This also mea ns tha t the vas t maj orit y of pea san ts was not involved in suc h pro test s. Most of thes e pro test s wer e sett led peacefully; the OGPU rep orte d tha t they had reco urse to force in few er than 2% of them . Tau ger poi nts out tha t man y pea san ts actu ally supported collectivization. For them, it was not ''forced." Many pea san ts actively sup por ted collectivization. This num ber incr eas ed whe n local acti vist s wer e exp erie nce d or sen sitiv e eno ugh to pati entl y explain the pur pos e of collectivization to the pea san ts. Some pea san ts spo ntan eou sly form[ed] kolkhozy and con soli date d thei r fields.

Chapter Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

213

Finally, what about the other 90 per cent of peasan ts who did not rebel? Some peasan ts did not reject collect ivizati on and even suppo rted it ... An OGPU report quoted one middle peasan t in Shilovskii raion (distric t), Riazan okrug, in Novem ber 1929 to the effect that 'the grain procur ements are hard, but necessa ry; we cannot live like we lived before, it is necess ary to build factorie s and plants, and for that grain is necess ary' .... In Januar y 1930, during the campaign, some peasan ts said, 'the time has come to aband on our individ ual farm. It's about time to

quit those, [we] need to transf er to collectivization.' Anothe r docum ent from Januar y reporte d several cases of peasan ts sponta neousl y formin g kolkho zy and consol idating their fields, 11 ... n which was a basic part of collecti vizatio

End of Yezhov Era The day after Uspens ky's flight, Stalin, receivi ng his minion s in the Little Corner, had a decree approv ed disban ding the assemb ly-line death senten ce

troikas .

143

578)

Note 143 (1020) : RGASPI, f. 17, op. 162, d. 24, I. 62. An archiva l source! What is a reader suppos ed to make of this kind of thing? Especia lly since Kotkin knows that this docum ent has been publish ed in several places, includi ng Tragediia sovietskoi derevni vol. 5, part 2, 306-7, and Pavliukov, Yezhov, 473. Kotkin cites both of these works in his book. It is even online at the Istmat site (http:/ /istma t.info/ node/3 6067) It is partly transla ted in Getty and Naumov, The Road to Terror, 531-2. Why didn't Kotkin help his reader s by pointin g this out?

Tauger "Soviet Peasants and Collectivization, 1930-193 9. Resistanc e and Adaptation." Journal ofPeasant Studies (4) 2004, 427-546. Reprinted in Rural Adaptation in Russia, ed. Stephen K. Wegren. London and New York: Routledge, 2005, 65-94, at p. 75. 11

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

214

For the falsehood of ''assembly-lin e death sentences'' see the section ''Lies About The Lists'' later in this chapter. Here is my translation: Directive of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the VKP(b) concerning a halt to the review of cases sent for review of troikas, military tribunals, and the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, in the order of special instructions: 15 November 1938 To People's Commissars for Internal Affairs of the Union and Autonomous Republics, commanders of the oblast' and krai directorates of the NKVD, to prosecutors of the krais, oblast', autonomous and union republics, prosecutors of the military regions, of railroad and water transportatio n, chairmen of the Supreme Court of the USSR, the supreme courts of the union and autonomous republics, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, chairmen of the tribunals of the military districts: It is ordered in the strongest possible terms: 1. To halt as of 16 November of this year pending further order examination by the troikas, military tribunals, and by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, of all cases sent to them for their review as special orders or in a different, simplified order ... 2. To require prosecutors of military districts, territories, regions, autonomous and union republics to monitor the exact and immediate fulfillment of this order. Report its fulfillment to the USSR NKVD and Prosecutor of the USSR

Ch apt er Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

215

Ch air ma n of the Council of Pe op le' s Co mm iss ars (SNK) V. Molotov, Se cre tar y of the CC of the VKP(b) ]. Stalin.

Why do es Ko tki n cit e on ly the arc hiv al loc ati on , wh ich no ne of his t tha er ind rem a as us ve ser ld ou sh is Th ? ult ns co rea de rs ca n Kotkin strives to hide, rather than disclose, the evidence.

Tied The World Record! On No ve mb er 17 , he su mm on ed Vy shi nsk y for a ''re po rt, " aft er wh ich the de sp ot iss ue d an oth er decree in the po lit bu ro' s na me , jus tif yin g the ter ro r bu t bla mi ng the NKVD for ''a ho st of ma jor de fic ien cie s 144 (57 8) ." ns an d dis tor tio No te 14 4 (1020): Ko str yc he nk o [sic - sh ou ld be ''K ost yrc he nk o'' ] and Khazanov, ''K on ets Ka r'e ry Yezhova," 12 5- 8 (RGASPI, f. 17, op . 3, d. 10 03 , I. 85 86); Kh au sto v et al., Lubianka: Stalin i glavnoe upravlenie, 60 7- 11 (APRF, f. 3, op . 58 , d. 6, I. 85 -7); Getty an d Na um ov , Road to Terror, 53 2- 7. On Yezhov's an ge r at be ing ac cu sed of law les sn ess , wh en he wa s fol low ing Sta lin 's ins tru cti on s, wi th wh ich Vyshinsky ha d co llu de d, se e Us ha ko v an d Stu ka lov , Front

voennykh prokurorov, 70 -2 . n sio rvi pe Su ts, res Ar n ''O nt: me cu do e sam the all are ee thr st Th e fir e cit hy W " ns. tio iga est Inv of t uc nd Co the d an cy ura oc Pr the by is nt me cu do me sa the en wh , 92 19 v, no aza Kh d an ko Ko sty rch en so es cit n tki Ko at th e lum vo 38 -19 37 19 a nk bia Lu the in ed sh bli pu oft en ?

Ge tty an d Na um ov is a pa rti al tra ns lat ion of thi s do cu me nt. I ha ve 12 e. tra ns lat ed the wh ole do cu me nt int o En gli sh an d pu t it on lin

216

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

The book by Ushakov and Stukalov is an interes ting examp le of falsification. It purpor ts to be the memoi rs, edited by Ushakov, of militar y prosec utor Nikolai P. Afanas'ev, who died in 1979. This book is of more than dubiou s validity. In it the words of Yezhov's that Afanas'ev suppos edly quotes echo docum ents publish ed by the year 2000, when this book was publish ed. On the very pages 70-72 cited by Kotkin here, Afanas'ev claims that Tukhac hevsky denied his guilt. But we know that is a lie, becaus e we now have Tukhac hevsky 's confessions, plus those of his associa tes who also accuse him, plus Tukhac hevsky 's own testimo ny at the June 11, 1937, trial. In 2000, the year their book was published, Ushakov and Stukalov had some of these docum ents too. But - assumi ng that they really did reprint Afanas'ev's memoi rs and did not simply fabrica te them - they do not inform their readers that Afanas'ev was wrong.

Omitting The Struggle Against Yezhov Just like that, withou t public acknow ledgme nt, with a few pieces of paper in the Little Corner, the mass terror was halted. Coinci dence? The terror suppos edly was aimed at rooting out enemie s lying in wait for a war, but then, at what would appear to be maxim um interna tional war danger for the USSR, Stalin sudden ly moved to end the mass arrests . Had he becom e less parano id? Was it just that he had been waiting for comple tion of a Short Course? Or was he jolted by events porten ding actual danger ? 145 We cannot definitively establi sh his motiva tions. (579) Note 145 (1020) : ''The fear of war had spawn ed mass terror," wrote Ulam. ''But terror in its turn increas ed

12

No. 362. Decree of the Politburo of the CC VKP(b), "On Arrests, Supervisi on by the Procuracy and the Conduct of Investigations." Novembe r 17 1938. At

https: / /msuwe b.mon tclair.ed u/-furrg/ research / onarrestseng.html

217

Chapter Ten. Yezhov's Conspira cy

Stalin's fear of war." This appear s to be exactly backwa rd: Stalin's fear of war seems to have ended the mass terror. Ulam, Stalin, 491-2. On Oct. 16, 1938, the politbu ro resolve d to demobilize and return the forces called to the wester n border s: 330,00 0 troops, 27,500 horses, and 5,000 vehicles. RGASPI, f. 17, op. 162, d. 24, 1. 17. The last senten ce here is copied word for word from Oleg Khlevniuk's book Stalin. Zhizn' odnogo vozhdia, page 230, where the exact same archival referen ce is also given. Has Kotkin even looked at this archival source ? There is no reason to think he has. But hey - archival referen ces give the appear ance of serious scholarship, right? What's more, even Khlevniuk is not sure that this movem ent of forces was due to the Munich sellout of Czechoslovakia by Britain and France, since ''these forces, while not small, were hardly decisive." Presum ably Kotkin wants us to think he is graspin g for some explan ation of the end of the ''mass terror." As for Ulam's book, it was publish ed in 1973, long before the flood of Soviet docum ents now available. As for this gem: Just like that, withou t public acknow ledgme nt, with a few pieces of paper in the Little Corner, the mass terror was halted. Coinci dence? Kotkin doesn' t even mentio n the real and provab le reason for the end of the mass arrests and executions (''the terror'' ) -- the growing suspici on by Stalin and others that Yezhov was acting improp erly, and Yezhov's resigna tion under pressu re. 11 BOT TpeTHH, IlOCJie):t HHH aKT 3TOH AOJifOH npoQefz ypbl: 23 HO.H6pH EmoB onHTh BhI3BaH K CTanHH y, r):te yme HaXOAH JlHCh

MonoToB H Bopom11noB. MHe npHIIIJIO Ch

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Bee

218

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth nottBepHyBIIJHec.H IIOJJ; pyKy 6yMa:>KKH H no,ncoBbIBaJIH ux

E:m:osy, JIHIDb 6b1 TOT He npeKpaTHJJ nucaTb. opMyJIHpOBKa ero OTCTpaHeHH.H OT AOJI>KHOCTH MeH.HeTC.H ,l\Ba)K'AbI: BH,l{HMO, OH conpOTHBJIHJICH, B03pam:an. A HaJJ;OTO 6b1JI0 BbipBaTb OT Hero pemeHne y:HTH >! TYT me numeTc.H npoeKT nocTaHOBJieHHH, KOTOpbIH 3B}"IHT KaK rapaHTHH: u

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roJJ; cy,qHJIH, ccbIJiaJIH H Ka3HHJIH ThICH'-IH JIIOAeH. TaK y~aJiocb ocTaHOBHTb 6onbwo:H Teppop. "

~eJILIH

u

And here is the third, final act of this long procedure: on November 23, Yezhov was again summoned to Stalin, where Molotov and Voroshilov were already present. I have held in my hands the document that

Yezhov wrote. obviously under their dictation. It is written on three pages, all of different sizes -- that is, they grabbed the first pieces of paper that came into their hand and slipped them to Yezhov, if only to keep him writing. The formulation of his dismissal is changed twice: apparently, he resisted, objected. But it was necessary to wrest from him the decision to leave ''at his own request''! There and then the draft resolution was written, which sounds like a guarantee: ''To retain the post of Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (B.), Chairman of the Commission for Party Control and the People's Commissar for Water Transport, for Comrade Yezhov." Finally the statement was written and signed: ''N. Yezhov." This is how the end of the

Chapt er Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

219

''Yezhovshchina'' bega n. The Politburo sent arou nd teleg rams with the text itself: imm ediat ely stop the repre ssion and disba nd the ''troikas." Once again, havin g seize d the initiative, at the end of 1938 the Stalin grou p achie ved the first trials of NKVD officers accu sed of falsifying and cont rived cases , by whic h for almost a year they had tried , exiled and exec uted thou sand s of peop le. This is how they succ eede d in

stop ping the grea

13 t terro r.

Kotkin has read and cites Iurii Zhuk ov's work but igno res it here. No doub t he does so beca use the evidence, and Zhukov's analysis of it, disprove the false allegation that Stalin ''planned'' Yezhov's mass murders. Likewise, they prov e that Stalin was not at all an allthat Kotkin, powerful ''dict ator' ' scare quot es delib erate here and the Anti-Stalin Para digm , demand that he be. But these are oblig atory elem ents of the ASP. So Kotkin keep s quie t abou t them . Kotkin: On Nove mber 19, 1938, the ''politburo'' summ oned the NKVD comm issar to the Little Corn er, where, from 11:1 0 p.m. until 4:20 a.m., they discussed a denu nciat ion of him that Beri a had orch estra ted 31 v). avlyo Zhur from a prov incia l NKVD boss (Viktor Note 31 (102 1): Zhuravlyov's denu nciat ion followed the form ation of the comm issio n on the NKVD. Beria had pass ed the lette r to Stalin on Oct. 13, 1938 . Khaustov and Samuelson, Stalin, NKVD, 249- 50; Na prieme, 245- 6. See also Shre ider, NKVD iznutri, 237. Zhur avlyo v brief ly got a promotion to Moscow, but Beria woul d send him to run the Karaganda camps. Yezhov's resp onse accepting guilt, claim ing poor health, confessing he ''had take n badl y the appo intm ent of Beria as my depu ty. I saw in this an 13

Zhukov, "Zhupel Stalina." Komsomolskaia Pravda Novem ber 20, 2002.

220

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

element of lack of trust towards me," and requesting to resign is misdated as Sept. (rather than Nov.) 23, 1938. Kostrychenko [sic - should be ''Kostyrchenko''] and Khazanov, ''Konets Kar'ery Yezhova," 129-30 (RGASPI, f. 17, op. 3, d. 1003, I. 82-4); Khaustov et al., Lubianka: Stalin i glavnoie upravlenie, 552-4 (RGASPI, f. 17, op. 3, d. 1003, I. 82-4); Petrov and Jansen, Stalinski pitomets, 355-9 (RGASPI, f. 671, op. 1, d. 265, I. 16-26ob.). The fact .. claims in the Khaustov and Samuel'son passage (249-50) cite no evidence. Instead, Khaustov and Samuel'son ''channel'' Stalin to tell us what he was ''thinking." Plus they tell at least one glaring lie: CTaJIHH, qHTa.H 3anHcKy :>KypaBJieBa, oTMeTMJI

HeKOTOpbie cpaKTbl, CBH~eTeJibCTBYIOIQHe 0 no,n:o3pHTeJihHOM noseAeHHH pyKoBO'AHII(ero cocTaBa HKB,n:. B 3anHcKe OH ocTaBHJI csow noMeTKH, KOTOpbie CBH'AeTeJibCTBOBa.nH o TOM, 'tlTO CTaJIHH,

MO)KeT 6bITb, Ha'lHHaJI OTKpbIBaTb AJI.H ce65I HeKOTOpbie TeHeBbie CTOpOHbl Ae.HTeJibHOCTH pyKOBOACTBa HKB.[\. Stalin, reading Zhuravlev's note, noticed some facts indicating suspicious behavior by the NKVD leadership. He left some notes on Zhuravlev's letter, which showed that Stalin was perhaps beginning to discover for himself some shady aspects of the activities of the NKVD leadership. Stalin briefly summarized the contents of Zhuravlev's letter (the letter itself has not been found) in a coded telegram of November 25, 1938 to Party leaders. 14 It is clear that this was not the ''beginning'' of Stalin's suspicions of Yezhov. In August, 1938,

14

Lubianka 1937-1938 No. 364 pp. 611-2.

Chapter Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

221

, nd ma om n-c d-i on sec 's ov zh Ye de ma en be d ha ria Be i Lavrenti t. us str mi of n sig a as s thi ed niz og rec ov zh Ye y. vsk no Fri ing lac rep

NEW World Record! , 30 9-1 12 " va, zho Ye ry r'e ka ets on ''K v, no aza Kh d an Kostyrchenko it e cit hy W . on ati ign res of ter let 's ov zh Ye of n tio ca bli pu is a 19 92 here, in a hard-to-find journal, wh en it is pu bli sh ed in the Lubianka on as ll we as es, tim ny ma so es cit n tki Ko t tha e lum vo 19 37 -19 38 ko en rch sty Ko the d rea ve ha r ve ne y ma n tki Ko t, fac In line? a nk bia Lu the of 4 55 ge pa on ted tno foo is it ce sin e, icl Khazanov art 19 37 -19 38 volume. of ter let 's ov zh Ye of t tex er oth an is 2-4 55 a nk bia Lu al., et v Khausto November 23, 19 38 . So is Kotkin's Note 32, to Pe tro v & Jansen, Stalinski pitomets 355-9. r fou , lly tua Ac nt! me cu do me sa the of s on ati cit t en Th ree dif fer , ets om pit ski lin Sta , sen Jan d an ov etr ''P to 32 te no n's tki Ko e us beca me sa ry ve the m fro n tio ota qu g lon a ply sim is 7," 35 5- 9, at 35 ly on ins nta co 7, 23 r, de rei Sh ip. rsh ola sch y on ph re Mo nt! me docu Sh rei de r's att ac ks on Zhuravlev be ca us e the lat ter ha d bu ilt a case . on ssi cu dis t en es pr the to nt va ele irr is It f. sel him r de rei Sh ag ain st At the en d of thi s long footnote Kotkin wr ite s: See also Sudoplatov an d Sudoplatov, Memoirs ofan Unwanted Witness, 59. This is an oth er example wh ere Sudoplatov's me mo ir co mp ort s wi th archival materials. r kto Vi re? he t ou ab g kin tal n tki Ko is s'' ial ter ma l iva ch ''ar t W ha Zhuravlev is no t even me nti on ed in Sudoplatov's memoir. But in ed sh bli pu s wa ir mo me 's tov pla do Su . ay yw an g on wr is Kotkin 1995, long aft er the publication of Yezhov's res ign ati on (1992), for ch mu So d. pie co ve ha ll we y ma tov pla do Su from which on y rel n't ca we y, all Fin s." ial ter ma al hiv arc th wi ing ort mp ''co Sudoplatov's me mo ir be ca us e it wa s alt ere d aft er its fir st Russiand rol Jer r, ito ed n ca eri Am its by bly ba pro n, itio ed e languag Schechter.

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

222

The ''Edit'' That Wasn't Kotkin: On November 23, Yezhov was again in Stalin's office, where he had logged nearly 900 hours over the previous two years, but these three and a half would 33 be his last: Stalin edited Yezhov's resignation.

(587) Note 33 (1021): Kostrychenko and Khazanov, ''Konets Kar'eryYezho va," 131 (RGASPI, f. 17, op. 3, d. 1003, l. 34-5); Khaustov et al., Lubianka: Stalin i glavnoe upravlenie, 611 (RGASPI, f. 17, op. 3, d. 1003, I. 34-5). This is a phony reference. Kostyrchenko and Khazanov, 131, only note that this document, the Politburo decision to accept Yezhov's resignation, has a ''facsimile'' of Stalin's signature. Khaustov et al., Lubianka 611 is the text of Yezhov's note of resignation. This is the very same document, but here there is no claim that it bears a facsimile of Stalin's signature. Moreover, the latter text claims that it is the ''original," while Kostyrchenko and Khazanov state that theirs, the one with the facsimile of Stalin's signature, is a ''copy." In neither source is there any indication that ''Stalin edited it." Why does Kotkin falsify even this detail? To create the impression that Stalin was ''in control," stage-managi ng everything? On November 25, the despot sent a telegram to all regional party secretaries referring to Zhuravlyov's denunciation of NKVD errors and noting that ''the Central Committee had granted Yezhov's request to resign." 34 Pravda printed a delayed announcemen t, on its back page (December 8). Executing the NKVD chief could throw into doubt the mass arrests and executions. For now, Stalin retained Yezhov as a Central Committee secretary, chairman of the party Control Commission, and water transport commissar.

(587)

Chapter Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

223

Note 34 (10 21) : Pet rov and Jansen, Stalinski pitomets, 354 -5 (RGASPI, f. 558 , op. 11, d. 58, I. 61- 2); Khaustov et al., Lubianka: Stalin i glav noe upravlenie, 611 -2; RGASPI, f. 17, op. 3, d. 1003, l. 35 (ap poi ntm ent of Beria). Petr ov & Jansen, and Khaustov et al., Lubianka, bot h rep rint the sam e doc ume nt: Stalin's tele gram abo ut the ''un sati sfac tory situ atio n'' in the NKVD and acc epta nce of Yezhov's req ues t to • resign.

Lies Ab ou t the Lists Kotkin: At leas t 383 exe cut ion list s sign ed by him hav e surv ived , con tain ing the nam es of mor e than 43,0 00 ''en emi es of the people," mos tly the highest-level officials and officers. The terr or was cen tral ly imp lem ente d by Nikolai Yezhov and Mikhail 322 ( 490 ) D. NKV the of ky Frin ovs Note 322 (10 07) : Khlevniuk, Politbiuro, 291. Note 34, above, con tinu ed (10 21) : The last of the infa mo us exe cut ion list s for 1938 was date d Sep t 29: APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 409 -19 : http ://s tali n.m emo .ru/ ima ges /int ro.h tm. But Volkogonov, citing mil itar y archives, clai med tha t Stalin, hav ing received som e 383 exte nde d lists of nam es for exe cuti on in 193 7-3 8, rece ived yet ano ther on Dec. 12, 1938, con tain ing 3,16 7 nam es, albe it wit hou t eve n the cha rges or the resu lts of any ''investigation." Volkogonov, Triu mf i tragediia, I/ii: 301 (citing TsAMO, f. 32, op. 701 323 , d. 38, 1. 14- 6). The bus ines s abo ut ''execution lists," like Kotkin's stat eme nt abo ut ''qu otas '' (see above), is all false. For one thing, thes e lists are not execution lists. The y wer e sen t to the Sec reta riat ''for review." Consequently, man y per son s on thes e lists wer e not executed. This

224

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is made clear on the very web page -http: / /stal in.m emo .ru/i mag es/in tro.h tm -- that Kotkin cites here. The word rassmotrenie - ''revi ew'' - occu rs over and over again. This same web page cites the first ment ion of the lists, in a note from Mini ster of the MVD Kruglov to Khru shch ev of Febr uary 3, 1954, that make s it clear they were for ''review'': .l{oKJia'AbIBaro BaM, 'lTo B apxHBax MB.l{ CCCP o6Hap}')KeHo 383 cnHcKa ''nHit TIOAJiema~Hx CYIJ.Y BoeHHOH KonnerHH BepxoBHoro Cy'Aa CCCP." 3TH cnHcKH 6bIJIH coCTaBJieHbI B 1937 H 1938 ro'Aax HKB.l{ CCCP H Tor~a me npeACTaBJieHLI u ~K BKD(o) Ha paccMoTpeHHe.

I repo rt to you that 383 lists of ''pers ons subje ct to the trial of the Military Collegium of the Supr eme Cour t of the USSR'' have been foun d in the archi ves of the USSR Mini stry of Inter nal Affairs. Thes e lists were comp iled in 193 7 and 1938 by the NKVD of the USSR and at

that time subm itted to the Cent ral Com mitte e of the CPSU (b) for revie w. Acco rding to the edito rs of these lists man y peop le who se nam es are on them were not in fact exec uted, and some were freed. HanpHMep, BhI6opoqHoe H3yqeHHe c11HcKa no KyH:6bIWeBcKoH: o6nacTH, noAnHcaHHoro 29 ceHT.H6p.H 1938 r., IlOKa3aJIO, qTo HH O'AHH qeJioBeK H3 3TOro CilHCKa He 6bIJI oc~eH BK BC, a 3HaqHTeJihHaH qacrh 11:en 6bIJia H BOBce npeKpa~eHa.

For exam ple, a selec tive stud y of the list for the Kuib yshe v oblas t' signe d on Sept embe r 29, 1938 has show n that not a singl e pers on on this list was conv icted by the VK VS (the Military Collegium of the Supr eme Court), and a signi fican t num ber of the cases were dism issed altog ether . Kotkin cites this web page, so he knew that these are not ''exe cutio n lists." For more abou t the lists see Furr, Khru shch ev Lied, 70-7 3; Furr, Yezh ovvs Stalin, Chap ter 7, 67-7 2.

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225

t ia ar et cr Se e th d an n ali St to nt se re we ts lis e It ap pe ar s th at th es ed os pp su e th t ou ab VD NK e th by rts po re e tiv ga sti alo ng wi th in ve rts po re ch su y an M s. rce fo et vi So tian t ns ai ag ht fig e th of pr og re ss h ic wh , me lu vo 38 19 73 19 ka an bi Lu e th in ed ha ve be en pu bl ish Kotkin cit es m an y tim es . ka an bi Lu e m lu vo e th in ed ish bl pu e ar rts po re ch M an y m or e su by d ite ed ts en m cu do al iv ch ar of on cti lle co le ab lu va e th Golgofa, is th it om n tki Ko d Di ? hy W . ns tio en m r ve ne in tk Ko h Kh au sto v wh ic it es ak m rts po re e es th of ce en ist ex e th e us ca be e m lu vo im po rta nt to in m hi ng pi du n, ali St to g in ly e er w en m s hi d cle ar th at Yezhov an tian s ou er ng da ng tti ba m co lly sfu es cc su e er w ey th be lie vi ng th at r fo on ati an pl ex ely lik t os m e th be to s ar pe ap is Th s? ot pl Soviet su ch an om iss io n. e ot wr ov on og lk Vo r. ro er in is , iia ed ag Tr i mf iu Volkogonov, Tr e th es giv ge pa y ar m m su A . ed ish bl pu en be d ha ts lis be fo re th e 15 da te of th e 31 67 na m es as November 12 , 19 38 .

Beria Purges Yezhov's NKVD Kotkin: Beria, ev en as de pu ty NKVD chief, ha d ar re ste d 33 2 NKVD le ad er sh ip pe rs on ne l be tw ee n Se pt em be r an d De ce m be r 19 38 , in clu di ng 14 0 in th e ce nt ra l ion Un in s ar iss m m co VD NK e th of 18 d an s tu ra ap pa an d au to no m ou s re pu bl ics . NKVD op er at iv es sti ll on 35 (5 88 ) . ed nt rie so th e jo b be ca m e di

, lin Sta , on els mu Sa d an v sto au Kh : 1) 02 (1 35 te No NKVD, 25 5- 6. Of th e 14 ,5 00 ne w NKVD em pl oy ee s in s tu ra pa ap rty pa e th m fro me ca 00 ,0 11 nd ou 19 39 , ar or Co m m un ist Youth League. Of th e 3, 46 0 ne wc om er s in th e ce nt ra l NKVD, 3, 24 2 we re pa rty ap pa ra tc hi ks

15

http://stalin.memo.ru/images/note1957.htm

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and Komsomol. Petrov and Skorkin, Kto rukovodil NKVD, 491-50 2. Khaust ov and Samue l'son docum ent real concer n by NKVD men who, serving under Yezhov, had followed orders and commi tted crimes agains t defend ants. This is import ant materia l! It is a shame that Khaust ov and Samue l'son did not publish the docum ents they refer to in their footnotes. Petrov and Skorkin, 491-502, give a numbe r of tables. I don't see how the figures 3460 and 3242 can be derived from them, but maybe they can be.

No ''Societal Rebellion''? The next part of this footnot e is interes ting!

There was no hint of societa l rebelli on. In early 1939, the police discov ered a self-styled ''fascist organiz ation'' in Moscow. Evidently, its handfu l of youthfu l membe rs had fashion ed a flag and put up sevent y posters on the eve of Red Army Day, drew some graffiti, and wrote poems. They also seem to have discuss ed Nazism, anti-Se mitism , and Russian nationa lism. Four arrests were made; three of them turned out to have been ninetee n years old when they joined the group, and the organi zer was sevente en. The NKVD produc ed five volume s on the case. Ritters porn, Anguish, 17 4 (citing GARF, f. 5446, op. 81a, d. 335, l. 109-14 ). We can't be certain that there was ''no societa l rebellion." This was the reason that Yezhov and at least some First Secreta ries gave Stalin at the June, 1937, Central Comm ittee Plenum for reques ting the awful ''special powers '' that they were granted in July and that inaugu rated Yezhov's mass arrests and executi ons. But take anothe r look at the quotati on from Khaust ov and Samue l'son, pp. 249-50 , that we have cited above (p. 218) As far as I can tell, this is the only place in Kotkin's entire book that he

Chapter Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

227

acknow ledges - even though very partiall y here - that Stalin was misled, duped, lied to. It underc uts his whole thesis - that the ''terror '' was all Stalin's idea and that he was ''in control '' all the time. Ritters porn discuss es, albeit very briefly, this and anothe r conspi racy of young people . Of course, the NKVD could not have known in advance that the conspi racies involve d only young people. Judging from Ritters porn's brief accoun t, these were real • • consp1rac1es. Kotkin: Regime officials who had once looked to Yezhov as someo ne who would clean up the antipar ty actions and mistak es of his predec essor viewed Beria as someo ne who would do the same. Release s of some people arreste d under Yezhov reinfor ced such illusions. Stalin got credit for correct ing his mistak en trust in Yezhov, and for a new, vigorou s, loyal top 40 official. (588-9 ) Note 40: Simonov, Glazami cheloveka moego pokoleniia, 58 (dated Feb. 27, 1979)." This passag e is actuall y on pp. 69-70. Simono v was a famous Soviet writer. His book on Stalin, in which Simono v puzzles over the anti-St alin stuff he had been told since Khrush chev's day, and the much more positiv e opinion he had gotten during Stalin's life, was not publish ed until the Gorbac hev era. Kotkin: Beria's power came to exist on a comple tely differe nt plane from Yezhov's or Yagoda's. Stalin, howev er, made sure to have non-Be riaites inserte d into key positio ns (Sergei Kruglov, who had been on Malenk ov's list of possibl e NKVD first deputy chiefs, 41 nel). got the critical post of head of NKVD person Stalin also directe d Beria to turn in the docum ents

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

228

regardi ng his role in the Musavat; Beria had Merkul ov 42 (588-9 ) collect and deliver them. Note 41 (1021) : The Georgia NKVD was given to Avksen ti Rapava , Beria's minion who had helped pulveri ze Abkhazia. Guruli and Tushur ashvili , Correspondence, 89 (Beria to Stalin, Oct. 21, 1937). This docum ent is online (though not easy to find) and is comple tely irrelev ant. It simply record s Rapava 's appoin tment. Nothin g whatev er is said about ''pulver izing Abkhazia." Nor does Kotkin mentio n anythin g about ''pulver izing Abkhazia'' anywh ere in this huge book. Rapava was execut ed under myster ious circum stances by Khrush chev in 1955. Note 42 (1021) : The transfe r took place in Aug. 1938, with Beria's promot ion. Merkul ov: RGANI, f. 5, op. 30, d. 4, I. 76-7: letter, to Malenkov, July 23, 1953; '''Khoc hetsia proklia st' den' i chas moego znakom stva s Beriia,"' 101 (APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 465, I. 2-28); Tumsh is, VChK, 211. Merkul ov's letter to Malenkov, origina lly publish ed in Istochnik No. 4, 2002, has more recentl y been publish ed in the collect ion Politbiuro i Delo Beria. Sbornik dokumentov. (M. Kuchkovo Pole, 2012), 139-15 1. The passag e in questio n is on pp. 145-14 6. The site: Istmat. info the at online also is letter http:// istmat .info/n ode/22 188 Unless it too is a fabrica tion, like some other docum ents in this volume , Merkul ov wrote it when he was trying to save his life by distanc ing himsel f from Beria, whom Khrush chev et al. had either murde red outrigh t or had illegally arreste d, and would try and execut e in Decem ber, 1953 - along with Merkul ov and others. Stalin never did anythin g like this judicia l murder !

The Beria

Andreev

Malenkov Report

Two days later, Stalin inform ed USSR procur ator genera l Vyshin sky that he wante d a public trial of

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those arrest ed in the

79 NKVD.

''The enemie s of the people who penetr ated the organs of the NKVD," the commi ssion on the secret police interna lly reporte d to Stalin as if the secret police rampa ge had

someh ow occurr ed withou t his direct ives'' conscio usly distort ed the punitiv e policy of Soviet power, conduc ting a mass of baseles s arrests of people guilty of nothing , and at the same time protect ing the activiti es of enemie s of the people.... They urged that prison ers offer testimo ny about their suppos ed espion age activity for foreign intellig ence, explain ing that such invente d testimo ny was necess ary for the party and the govern ment in order to discred it foreign states." The despot circula ted the report to the inner circle: they needed to know how to interpr et the terror, as the result of the infiltra tion of ''spies in 80 (595) ent." literall y every [NKVD] departm Note 79 (1022) : Khaust ov et al., Lubian ka: Stalin i NKVD, 9 (APRF, f. 3, op. 57, d. 96, I. 110). Kotkin is correct : Stalin deman ded public trials for the guilty NKVD men, but the trials never took place. We don't know why. It is a great pity that such trials were not held. Yezhov 's conspir acies, and his respon sibility for the mass murde rs of the ''terror ," would not have becom e the myster y, and occasio n for anti-St alin falsification, that they are. Note 80: Petrov and Jansen, Stalins ki pitome ts, 359-63 (TsA FSB, f. 3-os, op. 6, d. 1, 1. 1-6); APRF, f. 3, op. 58, d. 409, l. 3-9). The commi ssion conclu ded its work on Jan. 10, 1939; the report was dated Jan. 29. (1022) The boldfac ed clause in the quotati on above is a false statem ent. The ''secret police rampag e'' had indeed ''occur red withou t his Stalin's - directiv es," as Khaust ov admitt ed (see quotati on above) . This report by three Politbu ro membe rs close to Stalin outline s their uncove ring of the massiv e murde r and torture campai gn that

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

230

was Yezh ov's ''grea t terro r'' - in Russ ian, the ''Yez hovs hchin a." Petro v and Janse n, Stalinski pitomets, 359- 363, is the text of the repo rt in Russ ian. But who of his read ers will be able to read it? I discu ss this impo rtant text fully in ''The Yezh ov Cons pirac y," Chap ter 10 of Yezhov vs Stalin. I have also translated the whole text of the report and put it online. The Russ ian text is also avail able 16 onlin e. Kotk in could have put refer ence s to these onlin e sour ces for his read ers but did not do so. The text of the repo rt refut es Kotk in's notio n that the Yezhovshchina was Stali n's idea.

No Evidence Of Torture

Again

Kotkin: The inter roga tor-t ortur ers, who befo re had follo wed orde rs from Frino vsky , had set to beat ing out of him testi mon y agai nst Yezhov, inclu ding how the latte r had orde red that susp ects be beat en to prov ide false testim ony. With in a week Beria woul d send Stali n a forty -thre e-pag e conf essio n writt en by Frino vsky ; 209 (618) it on Stali n mad e note s Note 209: Khau stov et al., Lubia nka: Stali n i NKVD, 33-5 0 (APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 373, I. 3-44 ); Petro v and Janse n, Stalinski pitomets, 204 (citin g APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 374, I. 3-47 ); Stepa nov, ''O mass htab akh repre ssii'' (no. 5), 61-2 . Once again Kotk in has inve nted this ''fact'' - mad e it up. None of these sour ces - or any othe r sour ces - even claim (muc h less conta in evide nce) that Frino vsky was beate n. Is Kotkin lying ? Let the read er decid e!

English transla tion at: https :// msuw eb.montclair.edu/- furrg/ resear ch/ber ia_and reev_malenkovO 12939 eng.ht ml Russian original at: http:// istmat .info/n ode/24 582 16

Ch apt er Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

231

Khaustov et al. is the tex t of Fr ino vs ky 's sta tem en t to Beria of April v tro Pe . ter ap ch s thi in er rli ea d sse cu dis ve ha we ich 11, 19 39 , wh t tha ly on e, tur tor or s ng ati be y an t ou ab ng thi no y sa sen Jan an d m fro d ne rai ref , 38 19 er, mb ve No in ted es arr Evdokimov, in n ari kh Bu e lik t, tha ble ssi po It's . 39 19 , 14 ril Ap til un ng confessi the til un t ou ld he ov kim do Ev , 37 19 2, e Jun of on ssi nfe co st fir his he t tha him st ain ag e nc ide ev ch mu so him n ow sh d ha n inv est iga tio wa s co nv inc ed fur the r res ist an ce wa s futile. is , -62 61 5, al urn Zh i ski he ric sto o-I nn oe (V e icl art v no pa Ste e Th sim ply the ''Spravka'' of the Sh ve rni k Commission, on ce ag ain dy ea alr ve ha we As . on rsi ve ed sh bli pu er oth an t ye in to ref err ed no ted sev era l times, it is dis ho ne st of Kotkin to ke ep ref err ing to on ssi pre im the ing giv s thu , ces pla t en fer dif in nt me cu the sa me do tha t he is ref err ing to dif fer en t do cu me nts . ile wh t, en tem sta 's ky vs ino Fr s on nti me y efl bri a'' vk pra ''S Here the once ag ain concealing the fact th at Fr ino vs ky rev ea ls in thi s sa me t ge uld co v no pa Ste . ine nu ge re we ies ac pir ns co the t sta tem en t tha in ed sh bli pu s wa e icl art his e us ca be sty ne ho dis s thi th wi ay aw 19 91 , un de r Gorbachev, wh ile Fr ino vs ky 's sta tem en t wa s no t pu bli sh ed un til 2006. of e tur tor y an t ou ab ng thi no y sa o als ," ka rav ''Sp the d an v, Stepano Frinovsky. So thi s is ye t an oth er ph on y foo tno te by Kotkin. It is no t s rm nfi co ky vs ino Fr t tha t fac the up g rin ve co is o wh v jus t Ste pa no es nu nti co d an , him s ote qu n tki Ko l. rea re we ies ac pir ns co the t tha the co ve r-u p of Frinovsky's rev ela tio ns . en be s ha t en tem sta 's ky vs ino Fr of ion lat ns tra l My ow n ful 17 e urg I it. to er ref to ls fai n tki Ko . 10 20 ce sin e lin on le ab ail av rea de rs to stu dy it.

W ha t ''Massacre''? Kotkin:

17

At https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/frinovskyeng.html

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

232

Alto gethe r, more than 100 of the high est-r ankin g Yezh ovite s were mass acred all of his depu ties, almo st all depa rtme nt head s in the cente r, almo st all 214 . NKVD head s in Union repu blics and prov inces

(619) Note 214 (1025): Nikolai P. Afan asev, USSR depu ty gene ral proc urato r, recal ls this as takin g place at Lefo rtovo , but all othe r sour ces indic ate Yezh ov was held in Sukh anov ka. Usha kov and Stuka lov, Front

voennykh prokurorov, 69. No one was ''mas sacre d." All of thos e exec uted, were shot after inves tigat ion and trials . Ther e is noth ing in Afan as'ev abou t the num bers of Yezh ov's NKVD men exec uted. As we have note d abov e, Afan as'ev 's text lies abou t othe r matt ers too and is usele ss as a histo rical sourc e.

NKVD File On Stalin Kotkin: In the [Yezhov's] desk the NKVD inves tigat or foun d four bull et casings, mark ed ZINOVIEV, KAMENEV, and SMIRNOV (two ). Perh aps the grea test disco very was that in Yezh ov's apar tmen t and not in his Luby anka safe he had kept a cach e of docu ment s from the tsari st-er a Tiflis gend arme rie on ''Koba." Whis pers of a ''file on Stali n'' circu lated throu ghou t the 215 (619 ) e. regim uppe r rank s of the Note 215 (1025): Vikto rov, Bezgrafa [sic - shou ld be 'grifa '] ''sekretnosti, ,, 3 2 6. Anot her phon y refer ence . Ther e is noth ing here abou t any ''file on Stalin," talk abou t it, ''bull et casings," etc. Kotkin:

Chapter Ten. Yezhov's Conspiracy

233

The nature of this file in Yezhov 's posses sion remain s unknow n. For Beria, it was unclea r which was more danger ous: to turn the materia l over to Stalin, and thus indicat e that he had seen it, or to not turn it over.216 (619) Note 216 (1025) : ''Vospo minani ia: memur ary Nikity Sergee vicha Khrush cheva," 87; Piliatsk in, '''Vrag naroda '''; Pavliuk ov, Yezhov, 513; Polians kii, Yezhov, 216-7. Others sugges t these docum ents which disapp eared need not have been compro mising , but could have been flatteri ng materia l Yezhov collect ed for a Stalin museum . Petrov and Jansen , Stalinski pitomets, 228. Khrush chev does say that Stalin mentio ned such inform ation at a meetin g. As for Piliatsk in, there's nothin g relevan t in this long newsp aper article, the subjec t of which is the attemp t by Yezhov 's relative s to have him ''rehabi litated' ' in 2010. Pavliuk ov mentio ns a file from the Tsarist secret police, or 'Okhran ka," consist ing of the search for ''Koba'' (Stalin' s revolut ionary code name) and other membe rs of the Transc aucasia n organiz ation of the Bolshe vik Party. Pavliuk ov admits that nothin g is known about what was in the file. Polians kii, 216-7, concer ns a report by NKVD man Shchep ilov of the conten ts of the search of Yezhov 's apartm ent on April 11, 1938. It has nothing about any file on Stalin. Petrov and Jansen, 228, sugges t that Yezhov might have intend ed this file for a museu m devote d to Stalin, rather than an attemp t to find eviden ce that Stalin was an Okhran ka inform er. But Petrov and Jansen always insist that Yezhov was faithful and loyal to Stalin. This is necess ary for their precon ceived notion that Yezhov always did just what Stalin wanted him to do, and that therefo re it was Stalin, not Yezhov, who was guilty of the mass murder s. Kotkin:

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Tru th

234

Stalin sup pos edl y flashed the ma ter ial Yezhov had gat her ed on him at a pol itb uro me etin g, as if Yezhov 217 had bee n act ing on his ow n in the ter ror 's excesses. (619) Note 217 (10 25) : Bri ukh ano v and Shoshkov, Opravdaniiu ne podlezhit, 132 -3. Malenkov's son wo uld ass ert tha t wh en his fat her had Yezhov's saf e ope ned , the y dis cov ere d dos sie rs on Malenkov as well as Stalin; the lat ter inc lud ed the rec oll ect ion s of an old Bolshevik tha t Stalin had pre rev olu tio nar y links to the tsa ris t okh ran ka. Malenkov, 0 mo em otse Georgii Malenkove, 34. Bri ukh ano v and Shoshkov, 312, has exa ctly the sam e con ten ts as Polianskii, 216-7, alr ead y cite d in the pre vio us not e. So wh at's the e, ots em mo 0 , kov len Ma ? rce sou ent fer dif a m fro it ng citi in nt poi 34, me nti ons a not e in a file in Yezhov's office ''from an old Bolshevik'' abo ut sus pic ion s of Sta lin 's ties to Tsa ris t Okhranka. Malenkov's son , the aut ho r of thi s book, wa s of cou rse no t pre sen t, so thi s is jus t a rum or at bes t.

No Evidence Of Torture

Again!

Kotkin: ... Be ria del ive red still mo re ple asi ng new s: on April 13, 1939, Merkulov, his firs t dep uty , finally ma nag ed to pro duc e tes tim ony wit h the sig nat ure of the sto ut Yefim Yevdokimov. Be ria had per son all y gon e to arr est him at his apa rtm ent on Grand Kisel Lane, 5, off Gre at Lubyanka, bu t Yevdokimov had hel d ou t for sev en mo nth s, thr oug h bro ken legs and unc eas ing 219 al. tor tur e, wh ich had con tin ued in the pri son hospit (61 9-2 0) Note 219 (1025): Artizov et al., Reabilitatsiia, kak eto bylo, 330 .

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This is from the ''rehabilitation report'' on Evdokimov. It contains a claim -- but no evidence -- that he had been ''tortured," which is typical of Khrushchev-era ''rehabilitation'' reports. But even in this report there is nothing about ''broken legs and unceasing torture, which had continued in the prison hospital." Kotkin's falsifications just keep rollin' along! Evdokimov features prominently as one of the leading conspirators in Frinovsky's statement of April, 1939. Wheatcroft, author of the most recent and most complete study of Evdokimov 18 (2007), says nothing at all about his being tortured. Kotkin: Note 220: ''Tumshis and Papchinskii, 1937, 68. The former colleague was Sergei Schwarz." (1026) This book repeats exactly what is in the source in the previous note, 219. So why use it at all, if not to create a phony appearance of scholarship? Kotkin: Stalin's former NKVD chief confessed to working for a veritable world gazetteer of enemy intelligence services: Germany, Britain, France, Japan, Poland. (Yezhov had in fact liquidated the Polish Communist party, on Stalin's orders.) (620) Kotkin does not bother to cite even phony evidence for this falsehood of his. Stalin did not ''order'' the dissolution of the Polish Communist Party. He agreed with the decision of the ECCI 19 of November 28, 1937. Stalin even complained that the decision was two years late, which suggests that he had not ''ordered'' it -

18

Wheatcroft, Stephen G. ''Agency and Terror: Evdokimov and Mass Killing in Stalin's Great Terror." Australian journal ofPolitics and History 53:1 (2007) 20-43. 19 Executive Committee of the Communist International.

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additio nal eviden ce that Stalin was no ''dictato r.'' See Chase, Enemies Within the Gates, pp. 287-28 9 for more about this.

Ignoring Yezhov's Confessions Kotkin: On April 24, 1939, Yezhov ''testifi ed'' about his ''pedera sty," meanin g homos exual relatio ns .... (620)

Of all Yezho vs detaile d confess ions about his conspir acy agains t Stalin and the Soviet govern ment, collabo ration with the Germans, and mass murde rs of innoce nt Soviet citizens , Kotkin cites only this one confess ion about his homose xuality ! Talk about bias by omissio n!

In note 222 (page 1026) Kotkin does refer to Yezhov's interro gation of April 26, 1939, in this way: For Yezhov's interro gation on April 26 (by Kobulov and others) , see Khaust ov et al., Lubianka: Stalin i NKVD, 52-72 (APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 375, I. 122-64 ). But Kotkin doesn' t bother to summa rize what Yezhov says in this confess ion or in the many others whose texts we now have, and have had for years. Nor does Kotkin he inform his reader s that the Russia n text of this interro gation of Yezhov's is online at multipl e sites. 20 Nor does he refer his reader s to my English transla tion of Yezhov's 21 April 26, 1939, confession, availab le since 2010. At the time of this writing (October, 2018) the only study of Yezhov's and Frinov sky's statem ents and confess ions is my book Yezhov vs.

Including the following: https:/ /msuweb .montcla ir.edu/-fu rrg/resea rch/Yezh ov04263 9ru.html ; http://ww w.alexan deryakov lev.org/f ond/issue s-doc/586 54 ; http://sta linism.ru /dokumen tyi/soobschenie-1-p-berii-i-v-stalin u-o-n-i-Yezhove-sprilozheniem-protokola-doprosa.html 20

21

At https://m suweb.m ontclair.e du/-furrg /research /Yezhov042639eng.html

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Stalin: The Truth About Mass Repressions and the So-Called 'Great Terror' in the USSR (2016), in whic h I devo te the whol e of chap ter twelve to this inter roga tion.

Yezhov's confessions, like that of Frinovsky, are damning. No won der Kotkin hide s them from his reade rs! Here is just one example, from Frinovsky's state men t to Beria of April 11, 1939 . An active parti cipan t in inves tigat ions generally, Ezhov kept hims elf aloof from the prep arati on of this trial. Before the trial the face-to-face conf ronta tions of the susp ects, inter roga tions , and refining, in whic h Ezhov did not parti cipat e. He spok e for a long time with Yagoda, and that talk conc erned , in the main, of assu ring Yagoda that he woul d not be shot. Ezhov had conv ersat ions seve ral time s with Bukharin and Rykov and also in orde r to calm them assu red them that unde r no circu msta nces wou ld they be shot. Ezhov had one conv ersat ion with Bulanov, and bega n this conv ersat ion in the prese nce of the inves tigat or and myself, and finished the conv ersat ion one on one, havin g aske d us to leave. At that mom ent Bulanov had begu n talki ng abou t the poiso ning of Ezhov. Wha t the conv ersat ion was abou t Ezhov did not say. Whe n he aske d us to ente r again he said: ''Behave your self well at the trial - I will ask that you not be shot." After the trial Ezhov always expr essed regre t abou t Bulanov. At the time of the exec ution s Ezhov sugg ested shoo ting Bulanov first and he hims elf did not ente r the build ing wher e the shoo tings took place. Here Ezhov unqu estio nabl y was ruled by the nece ssity of covering up his own ties with the arres ted leade rs 22 trial. ic publ of the Right who were going into the

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Kotkin cites Frinovsky's statement many times. So he has deliberately withheld this and other such passages from his readers. No wonder! These confessions dismantle the Anti-Stalin Paradigm and the myth that Stalin was the architect of the Yezhovshchina and controlled it all the time.

Once Again, No Evidence Of Torture -- Or Fabrication Kotkin: Around this time, death sentences based upon fabricated evidence were implemented for cultural figures, as well as former NKVD first deputy Mikhail Frinovsky, former deputy foreign intelligence chief Spigelglas, former intelligence chief and Comintern operative Trilisser, Yefim Yevdokimov, and Redens, Stalin's ethnic Polish brother-in-law (part of a ''Polish diversionary-espionage group'') .... Under interrogation-torture, Redens had admitted his complicity in the annihilation of innocent people while working atop the NKVD in Ukraine, Moscow, and Kazakhstan. His wife Anna Nadya's sister and their two boys were not touched, and the family continued to live in the elite House on the Embankment and were allowed to visit Svetlana at Zubalovo (but not the Kremlin). 204 (742)

Note 204 (1041): Zhukovskii, Lubianskaia imperiia NKVD, 214-5.

22

Lubianka 1939-1946, 4 7-8; also online at https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/frinovskyru.html Use Text Encoding Cyrillic (Windows). English translation at https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/frinovskyeng.html

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Anot her false hood ! Kotkin has no evide nce that the evide nce again st Frino vsky was ''fabr icate d," any more than he does that Frino vsky was ''bea ten." Thes e page s in Zhuk ovsk ii's book are abou t Evdo kimo v, anot her of Yezhov's killer s. Kotk in must mean page s 217- 8, whic h are abou t Rede ns. Zhuk ovsk ii, 214- 5, conta ins wha t are evide ntly porti ons of Evdo kimo v's state men t to the cour t retra cting his confe ssion s. But is a pers on ''inno cent' ' if he retra cts his conf essio ns? Of cour se not! No more than a pers on is ''guilty'' beca use he conf esses guilt. Wha t Evdo kimo v could not retra ct was the testi mon y of othe r witn esses again st him. Both Yezh ov and Frino vsky incri mina ted Evdo kimo v heav ily and repea tedly . Belo w we quot e some of wha t Janse n and Petro v, two high ly antic omm unist and anti- Stali n auth ors, write in a book publ ished by the antic omm unist prop agan da insti tute the Hoov er Insti tutio n. Kotkin often quot es and cites this book . But he omit s this passa ge: He [Yezhov] testif ied hims elf that after arres ts bega n with in the NKVD he, toge ther with Frino vskii , Dagin, and Evdo kimo v, made plan s to comm it a ''puts ch'' on 7 Nove mber , the Octo ber Revo lutio n anniv ersar y, durin g the demo nstra tion in Red Squa re. The plan was to caus e a comm otion and then in the pani c and conf usion to ''dro p bom bs and kill some one of the gove rnme nt mem bers. " Evdo kimo v gave simil ar evide nce. Acco rding to him, in Sept emb er he discu ssed the threa tenin g situa tion after Berii a's appo intm ent with Yezhov, Frino vskii , and Bel'skii. Allegedly, they agre ed to prep are an attem pt on Stali n and Molotov. Yezh ov was also said to have had plans to murd er Berii a.... Acco rding to Ju. K. Ivanov, an NKVD exec utive from Evdo kimo v's circle, as early as late July, after a visit to Yezhov,

Evdo kimo v had allud ed to terro rism agai nst the Part y lead ersh ip. (Jans en and Petro v 155; 156)

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If Kotkin had dared to cite the English translation of Frinovsky's statement to Beria of April 11, 1939, or even give its online location, his readers could see how thoroughly Frinovsky had implicated himself and many others, including Stanislav Redens, in mass murders.

The Redens File Thanks to the efforts of researcher Vladimir L. Bobrov of Moscow, we now have Redens file from FSB archive . He was certainly guilty. Redens was ''rehabilitated'' in 1961 under Khrushchev and evidently at Khrushchev's command. In 1988-89, under Gorbachev, the Soviet Prosecutor's office reaffirmed his guilt and crimes. But the statute of limitations had long expired, so Redens' ''rehabilitation'' stands. Redens' file has now been declassified and contains much useful evidence. See Yezhov vs. Stalin, Chapter 15: ''The Testimony of Stanislav Frantsevich Redens." Redens testified at length and in detail about Yezhov's conspiracy against Stalin and the Soviet government. Redens also implicates Evdokimov. Kotkin does not mention any of this. If Kotkin had quoted from, or even cited, the English translations of Yezhov's confessions, which have been available on the Internet • since 2010, his readers would see some of the evidence that Yezhov, not Stalin, was responsible for the massive torture and 23 executions of hundreds of thousands of innocent persons. But Kotkin wants to hide these matters from his readers. No doubt this is because they dismantle the ''Anti-Stalin Paradigm."

Grover Furr, "The Moscow Trials and the "Great Terror" of 1937-1938: What the Evidence Shows." At https:// msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/trials_Yezhovshchina_update071 O.html Links to all of Yezhov's interrogations and confession statements that were available in 2010, in Russian and in English translation, are at the end of this article. 23

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When You Don't Know

lnventl

Kotkin: The princip al execut ioner was usually Vasily Blokhin (b. 1895). The son of a poor peasan t from central Russia, he had risen to becom e the NKVD's head execut ioner already in the mid-19 20s and was known to insider s by his signatu re brown leather cap, brown leather gauntle ts above the elbow, and brown leather apron. He had survive d the transit ion from Yagoda to Yezhov, and then to Beria, althoug h the latter had eviden tly tried to have him arreste d as a Yezhovite, 205 ls. materia assemb ling the requisi te compro mising 206 To Blokhin fell the honor of execut ing Yezhov. (742) Note 205 (1041) : http://a lyaaleksej .narod. ru/inde x/0-18 1; Voronov, ''Palach v kozhan om fartuke ''; Nikita Petrov, ''Chelo vek v kozhan om fartuke lichno rasstre lial bolee desiati tysiach chelovek'' http:// discus siya.co m/201 0/08/2 6/blok hinexecuti oner. Stalin signed the list, contain ing 457 names, includi ng Yezhov's, on Jan. 17, 1940: APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 177, I. 116-36 . This note is all false. Kotkin has no eviden ce that Blokhin shot Yezhov. There is no eviden ce at all for Kotkin 's fact-claims at the URL he cites here, which is just a brief biograp hical note on Blokhin. The Vorono v article is just a narrati ve, withou t any evidence. The Petrov article of 2010 claims that Blokhin shot Yezhov, but Petrov has no eviden ce either. And in any case, what does it matter who the execut ioner was?

A Shameful Article Cited Note 206 (1041) : Ushako v and Stukalov, Front voennykh prokurorov, 75 (USSR deputy militar y procur ator Nikolai Afanasev, who was presen t).

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Am ong the man y rum ors tha t wou ld circ ulat e insi de the NKVD abo ut Yezhov's exe cuti on, one had Beria ord erin g tha t Yezhov und ress and be bea ten befo re bein g sho t, just as Yezhov had don e to hum ilia te his pre dec esso r Yagoda. Kamov, ''Sm ert' Nikolai Yezhova." The liar s had not coo rdin ated the ir stor ies! In mem oirs edit ed afte r his dea th - unr elia ble, if not sim ply fabr icat ed, as we hav e see n earl ier in this cha pter , -- Afa nas 'ev clai med tha t he was pre sen t at Yezhov's execution. But he say s noth ing abo ut Kamov's claim tha t Yezhov bein g stri ppe d and bea ten. Kotkin doe s not see m to reco gniz e - or, per hap s he hop es his read ers will not reco gniz e - the con trad icti on here. Kamov doe s not eve n claim tha t his disg usti ng stor y abo ut Yezhov bein g stri ppe d nak ed and bea ten is a rum or. It's just Kamov's own sala ciou s ima gina tion . This arti cle is a disgrace, full of cru de insu lts and wro ng in the few inst anc es whe re Kamov mak es a stat eme nt (Yezhov's term of service, lack of a tria l for Yezhov bot h wro ng.) Kotkin has no bus ines s usin g suc h non sen se in a sch olar ly wor k. More evid enc e tha t Kotkin doe s not bot her wit h sou rce criticism. If it's vici ous ly anti-Stalin - in it goes!

Chapter 11. Miscellaneous Topics This chapter is concerned with Kotkin's falsifications about subjects that do not clearly fall among the topics that we have examined in previous chapters. Some of these issues, such as the Katyn Massacre, are of significant importance in themselves, while an examination of the other topics reveals that Kotkin falsifies even issues of lesser importance.

''Klim

There were no mistakes ... "

Kotkin: Now Stalin also became the organizer of the Red Army, an innovation canonized in Voroshilov's birthday pamphlet, ''Stalin and the Red Army." ... Voroshilov's draft, meanwhile, had been sent to Stalin for prior approval. The defense commissar had written that Stalin made fewer mistakes than the others. Stalin wrote back, ''Klim! There were no 144 mistakes cut that paragraph." (33) Note 144 (915): Voroshilov, ''Stalin i krasnaia armiia," Izvestiia, Dec. 21, 1929, reprinted in Stalin: sbornik statei, and in Voroshilov, Lenin, Stalin,; krasnaia

armiia, 41-61. Stalin himself crossed out the words that had offended him with red pencil: Voennye arkhivy Rossii, 77 (Voroshilov's adjutant Khmelnitsky). Though it is not an important issue in itself, this claim (in boldface above) aroused my suspicions. So I decided to check it. Voennye Arkhivy Rossii is a rare and short-lived Soviet journal from the early 1990s. Here is the passage in Voennye Arkhivy Rossii, page 77:

Ell\e B pyKonucu CTaJIHH 6hIJI 03HaKOMJieH co cTaTbeH H c~ena.n HeK0Topb1e 3aMe"laHHH. Do yreep)l(AeHHIO

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XMeJI&HH~Koro, 01>1umero aA~IOT3HTa Bopom Hnosa, B

pyKonHcH, KOTopyro OH '-IHTaJI B apXHBe BopoIIIHJIOBa, .., .., HailHCaHO, tJTO B nepHO'A rpa)f{AaHCKOH BOHHbl >, aopomHJIOBCKoro TeKcTa (W. CTa.TIHH, Coq., T. 17. TBepb, KeHHH K.·p. ~eHTeJihHOCTH B C}'3~aJihCKo:B TlOpbMe." This informati on is available on a "Memorial Society'' page· http://lis ts.memo. ru/d17 /f175.htm #nl

4

Chapter Thirteen. Bias of Omission

301

The Kirov and Kremlin Affair investigations were now running in parallel. In Leningrad on March 10, (Milda] Draule was tried and executed, along with her sister and brother-in-law ; there was no public 264 announcemen t. Note 264 (966): 264. Lenoe, Kirov Murder, 287-8 (RGANI, f. 6, op. 13, d. 33, I. 49-50: Ulrich to Stalin, March 11, 1934).[The note to Lenoe is in error: it should read J.87-8. - GF] Kotkin omits to mention that, even in this excerpt from a letter of Ulrich to Stalin, Ulrich states that Draule confessed her guilt: To the question of what goal she was pursuing when she sought a ticket to the meeting of the party activists on December 1, [ ...]where Comrade Kirov was to deliver his report, Milda Draule answered that she ''wanted to help Leonid Nikolaev." With what? ''That should have been obvious from the circumstances ." (Lenoe 388) Lenoe also states that on January 10, 1935, Draule gave damning evidence against her husband: Milda Draule signed testimony asserting that Nikolaev had visited [Latvian consul in Leningrad] Bissenieks to discuss ''the question of detaching various national regions from the USSR." (Lenoe 387) Kotkin knows this - he cites Lenoe's book more than fifty times. But he fails to inform his readers, and so gives them the impression that Draule was executed simply because she was 6 Nikolaev's wife.

6

I discuss this in more detail in Sergei Kirov pages 180-181. 1

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Kotkin Ignores Stalin's Struggle for Democracy, I On page 287 Kotkin discusses Stalin's intervi ew with American newsp aper publish er Roy Howard. But Kotkin makes no mentio n of the most remarkable, and most remarked-on, of Stalin's comme nts - his promis e of a democratic constit ution with contes ted seats. This is discussed in some detail in Iurii Zhukov, Inoi Stalin, pages 207-21 0 -- a book that Kotkin cites, though not here -- as well as in the Stalin-Howard interview. Kotkin clearly 7 knows about it, but never informs his readers . Throug hout this large book Kotkin avoids all mentio n of Stalin's energe tic fight for democ ratic reform in the Soviet Union. See also my discussion in ''Stalin and the Struggle for Democratic Reform," Part 1.8

Kotkin Conceals Stalin's Opposition To Mass Repression Kotkin on the January, 1938, Central Committee Plenum: On Januar y 13, the Kiev provincial party commi ttee was deeme d ''littere d with an exceedingly great numbe r of Trotskyites," and three days later Postyshev was replace d as Kiev province secreta ry by Sergei Kudryavtsev, while the Kharkov provincial party boss was replace d by Nikolai Gikalo. (370) [There is no note to this passage. - GF] Kotkin omits the fact that Pavel Postyshev was remove d for massive repress ions of Party membe rs. The long quotati on below is from Furr, Yezhov vs. Stalin:

See The Stalin-Howard Interview. New York: Internatio nal Publisher s, (1936]. In Russian it is in volume 14 of Stalin's Collected Works. 8 Cultural Logic 2005. Now at https: / /web.arch ive.org/w eb /201604 2 3 092 5 OO/http://cl ogic.eser ver.org/2 00 5 /furr.htm l #ref7 7

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The January 1938 CC Plenum

It appear s that this Plenum was called in a hurry to deal with a serious situatio n of mass expulsi ons and arrests of Party membe rs, including many Party officials. Sometime around the beginn ing of the year, Politbu ro membe r A. A. Andree v was assigne d the task of gatheri ng compro mising materia l on Postyshev's party expulsions in Kuibyshev. These docum ents included docum entatio n of mass party expulsions from the Kuibyshev soviet, from the ranks of party district commi ttee secreta ries, and from other organizations. One report from the BazarnoSyzgansky distric t noted that large numbe rs had been expelled as enemie s by order of Postyshev's men, though the NKVD subseq uently found reason to arrest very few of them . ... based on the materi als Andree v compiled, the Politburo decide d only on 7 Januar y to use the occasion of a Suprem e Soviet meetin g to conven e a plenum for 11 January, a lead time of only four days. (Getty & Naumov 498-499; 501 This whole section, pp. 99-103 , contain s the evidence agains t Postyshev. Kotkin simply ignores it! He also omits it at page 475. Here is a fuller discussion: Postys hev was the harshe st in mass expulsions, and was expelled for this at the Januar y 1938 CC. Getty & Naumov discuss this at length on pp. 498-512. Getty quotes at length how Postys hev was raked over the coals at this Plenum for excessive repress ion. Zhukov's analysis: At the Januar y 1938 Plenum the main report was done by Malenkov. He said that the first secreta ries were

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brandishing·n ot even lists of those condemned by the ''troikas," but just two lines with an indication of the number of those condemned. He openly accused the first secretary of the Kuibyshev obkom of the party P.P. Postyshev: you have imprisoned the entire Party and Soviet apparatus of the oblast'! At which Postyshev replied in the same vein, that ''I arrested, am arresting, and will arrest, until I annihilate all enemies and spies! But he was in a dangerous solitude: two hours after this polemic he was demonstrativ ely dismissed from his post as candidate member of the Politburo, and none of the members of the Plenum stood up to defend him. - Komsomolskaia Pravda Nov. 19, 2002. The document confirming Postyshev's expulsion and arrest is reprinted in Getty & Naumov, pp. 514-6. Khrushchev was one of those who spoke up forcefully against Postyshev (G&N 512). For Khrushchev's appointment to replace Postyshev as candidate member of Politburo, Stalinskoe Politbiuro ... p. 167. Rogovin's excerpt from January 1938 CC Plenum on Postyshev: On the character of Postyshev's speech, which was in fact converted into his interrogation , the following fragment of the transcript will give an idea: Postyshev: The leadership there (in the Kuybyshev oblast), both that of the party and of the Soviets, was enemies, beginning from the oblast leadership and ending with that of the raions. Mikoian: Everybody? Postyshev: How can you be surprised? .... I added it up and it comes out that enemies have been sitting there for 12 years. On the Soviet side the same enemy leadership has been sitting there. There they sat and selected their cadres. For exam ole, in our oblast

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executive committee we had the most obdu rate enemies right down to the technical workers, enem ies who confessed to their wrec king activity and beha ved insolently, beginning with the chair man of the obla st executive committee, with his assistant, consultants, secre tarie s - all were enemies. Absolutely all the sections of the obla st executive committee were soiled with enem ies .... Now take the chair men of the raion executive comm ittee s - all were enemies. Sixty chair men of raiispolkoms - all enemies. The overwhelming majority of second secre tarie s - I'm not even speaking of first secre tarie s - are enemies, and not only enemies, but there were also many spies amon g them: Poles, Latvians, they selected all kinds of died-in-the-wool swin e ... Bulganin: Were there at least some hone st peop le there ... It turne d out that there was not a single hone st perso n. Postyshev: I am talking abou t the leadership, the heads. From the leading body, of the secre tarie s of the raion committees, the chair men of the raiispolkoms, there was almo st not a single hone st man . And how can you be surp rised ? Molotov: Aren 't you exaggerating, comr ade Postyshev? Postyshev: No, I'm not exaggerating. Here, take the obla st executive committee. People are in prison. We have investigative materials, and they confess, they them selve s confess their enem y and espionage work. Molotov: We must verify the materials. Mikoian: It turns out that there are enemies below, in ever y raion committee. Beria: Is it oossible that all mem bers of the olenums of

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the raion comm ittee s were enemies? Kaganovich: Ther e is no basis to say that they are all swindlers. Stalin evalu ated Posty shev 's meth ods this way: ''This is the mass acre of the organization. They are very easy on themselves, but they 're shoo ting ever ybod y in the raion orga nizat ions .... This mean s stirri ng up the party mass es again st the CC, it can't be unde rstoo d any othe r way." (Furr, Khrushchev Lied, 283-285). Kotkin conceals the fact that Stalin was opposed to mass repressions of Party members! That woul d ill comp ort with Kotkin's portr ayal of Stalin as a bloo dthir sty tyran t.

Kotkin Smears Voroshilov Voroshilov ... had neve r acqu ired genu ine milit ary training. He had not serv ed in the tsari st army , desp ite bein g the righ t age. (395) Kotkin gives his read ers the impr essio n that Voroshilov was a ''draf t dodger'' or some othe r kind of shirker. But there is no refer ence to this passage. No wond er! Voroshilov had been exiled for his radical political activity, which wen t back to 1903 and involved many arres ts and seve ral sente nces of exile, from which he escaped. He was amne stied , but was unab le to find work . Voroshilov was just the sort of perso n the Tsar ist recru iters want ed to keep out of the army. Purs ued by the police, he eventually got a job in an arma men ts factory in Tsar itsyn after having been unab le to find work in Lugansk, in the Donbass. 9

My sour ce for this is the Russian Wikipedia page on Voroshilov. The corre spon ding English language Wikipedia page does not have this information on Voroshilov.

Chapt er Thirteen. Bias of Omission

307

Workers on the Moscow-Volga Canal On April 22, Stalin paid his third visit to a part of the eighty-mile canal linki ng the Moscow and Volga river s ... The cana l was built by Gulag labor ers, more than 20,0 00 of who m likel y peris hed. (404 ) No evide nce is given for this state ment . Note the word ''likely''! Kotkin does n't know the num ber but puts one in anyway. The prim ary sour ce for this kind of infor mati on is A.I. Kokurin, IU. N Morukov, eds. Stalinskie Stroiki GULAGA 1930 - 1953. Dokumenty. [Stalinist GULAG Construction] Moscow: MDF ''Materik'' 2005 , 30-1 02. The mort ality figures cited here are not for canal work ers but for the ''Dmitlag'' camp as a whole. The total of death s reco rded in the camp betw een Sept embe r 14, 1932 , and Janu ary 31, 1938, is 22,84 2. By far the high est num ber of death s - 39% of the total -- is reco rded for 1933 - 8873 . (77) This was the year of fami ne in much of the USSR, and also of serio us typhu s. Ther e was a seve rely eleva ted death rate throu ghou t the Soviet Union durin g these same years . Omitting this infor mati on gives the impr essio n that these peop le were ''wor ked to death '' or died from poor cond ition s. But that is not the case. Acco rding to the same sour ce (63) the work ing day was 10 hour s long. Brea kfast laste d 45 minu tes, dinn er two hour s, and three hour s in the even ing were devo ted to cultu ral and educ ation al activities. Thes e were bette r cond ition s than exist ed for millions of work ers in the capit alist worl d, to say noth ing of the colonies of the Wes tern impe rialis t coun tries . And far bette r than for priso ners in the priso ns of the West.

More Lies About Lavrentii Beria Abou t the June, 1937 Cent ral Com mitte e Plenum, Kotkin write s:

9

At https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/BopomHJIOB)_KnHMeHT_E.ppeMOBHli

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Instead of allowing discussion of Beria's past, Stalin had Kaminsky arrested and expelled that very day. 68 (510) Note 68 (1010): 68. Pavliukhhov [sic; should be ''Pavliukov''], Ezhov, 296-7. Kotkin suppresses the fact that Pavliukov takes this testimony from the Gorbachev-era anti-Beria slander book Oni ne molchali. Then Pavliukov refutes it -- proves it wrong! We have already shown that Ont ne molchali is no good as a source. Zhavoronkov and Pariiskii is also in Oni ne molchali (199-214). They cite Khrushchev (see above), and otherwise quote unpublished memoirs - that is, rumors. Kotkin even notes that these people did not attend the Plenum. Kaminsky got ''ten years without the right of correspondence," which meant he was executed. 71 (511) Note 71 (1010): 71. The sentence was carried out Feb. 10, 1938, atYagoda's former dacha (Kommunarka). This is false. According to the Russian Wikipedia page on Kaminsky and to the lists compiled by the ''Memorial Society," he was sentenced on February 2, 1938, to execution for membership 10 in a terrorist organization, not to ''ten years, etc." Kaminsky was accused by a number of others, including lakov Iakovlev and Krestinsky, and Kaminsky himself accused others of being part of the Right-Trotskyist bloc (conspiracy). He is named a dozen times in the materials sent by Yezhov to Stalin and printed in ''Golgofa."

See http://lists.memo.ru/d15/fl 73.htm#n122; https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/KaMHHCKHHJ_rpHrOpHH_Ha}'MOBlA 10

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So Kaminsky was not arrested, much less tried, sentenced, and executed, for anything he said about Beria. In fact, Beria was not yet in the NKVD yet - that did not happen until August, 1938.

Why Was Viktorov Imprisoned? Why Stalin let Yezhov remain at the helm for so long remains mysterious. By summer 1938, the insanity in the NKVD had gotten to the point that at least one newly appointed provincial NKVD chief released large numbers of prisoners and wrote to Lubyanka about 225 the outrageous falsifications. (540) Note 225 (1014): ''225. One example was Mikhail Viktorov (Novoselov), newly named as NKVD chief in Sverdlovsk, who turned up a shocking state of affairs, even by standards of the terror, in the work of his predecessor (Dmitriev). Viktorov freed a large number of prisoners and sent Lubyanka a long analysis of local falsifications of cases. Pavliukov, Ezhov, 444-5 (citing TsA FSB, sledstvennoe delo no. R24334, t.1, I. 67-8). Viktorovwould be arrested on

Jan. 22, 1939, and sentenced to fifteen years; he died in a camp in 1950." Kotkin fails to say why Viktorov was arrested and imprisoned. But there is a report on Viktorov, in the so-called ''Stalin shooting lists." 11 Viktorov was convicted of being a participant in Yezhov's conspiracy to overthrow the government. He was named by others in the conspiracy including Yezhov, Uspensky, Nasedkin, and Bel'sky. In 1941 Viktorov was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. He is listed as ''Category 1'' in the 'shooting lists," which means that the NKVD recommended that he be executed if found guilty. But he

11

At http://stalin.memo.ru/spravki/13-063.HTM

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was not executed. Instead, he was sentenced to 15 years and died in a prison camp in 1950.12 This is yet another example that the so-called ''Stalin shooting lists'' were not 'shooting lists'' at all, but recommendations by the NKVD to the Procuracy (prosecutor) of sentences in the event the accused was convicted. (See ''Lies About The Lists'' in Chapter 10, above). Viktorov was one of many cases in which the recommendat ion was not followed by the court.

Kotkin Ignores Stalin's Struggle for Democracy, II On October 11-12, 1938, he [Stalin] convened a twoday expanded session of the politburo (an ersatz Central Committee plenum), (575) Kotkin mentions nothing about the abandonmen t of contested elections, which is discussed in Zhukov, lnoi Stalin, 4 75-6. Stalin was outvoted even in the Politburo! Some ''dictator''! Was Adolf Hitler ever ''outvoted'' by his own Party leadership? 'Nuff said! Kotkin suppresses all this. Why? At least two reasons: (1) Stalin was struggling for a kind of representativ e system, with contested elections, that Kotkin's readers would recognize as democratic and sympathize with; (2) since Stalin was defeated by his own Politburo, it would be clear to Kotkin's readers that Stalin was not a dictator.

Was Gnedin Innocent? ''Beria and Kobulov put me on a chair and sat on either side and punched me in the head, playing 'swings," recalled Yevgeny Gnedin, the press officer of the foreign affairs commissariat . ''They beat me horribly, with the full force of their arms, demanding I give testimony against Litvinov."260

12

See https:/ /ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHKTopos,_MHxaHJI_IleTpOBH'l

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No te 26 0 (10 27 ): ''2 60 . Gnedin, Katastrofa i votoroe [sic - sh ou ld be vtoroe] rozhdenie, 12 8- 52 . Gn ed in wo uld be the on ly on e to su rvi ve to old ag e fro m the So vie t em ba ssy or tra de mi ssi on to Berlin." the rs, de rea his m fro e hid to e os ch or , eck ch t no did r he eit n Kotki 13 Th e rep ort , ts. lis rep or t (Spravka) on Gnedin fro m the Stalin y an rm Ge for e ag ion esp of in ed Gn ses cu ac , VD NK the by d pr ep are in so me de tai l - the mo st ser iou s ch arg es conceivable. Gn ed in wa s na me d by oth er co ns pir ato rs, inc lud ing Mikhail ed on nti me o als is in ed Gn . ion tat on nfr co ace o-f e-t fac a in , Kol'tsov at lea st 52 [sic] tim es in Ko l'ts ov 's co nfe ssi on s. to on ati nd me om rec 1'' ry go ate ''C is in ed Gn elf its t lis the In ex ec ute if convicted. Yet Gn ed in too wa s not ex ec ute d (se e 14 in tal ''S d lle -ca so the t tha see we , ain ag ce On e)! ov ab , Viktorov sh oo tin g lis ts'' we re no t ''sh oo tin g lists'' at all, no t ''d ea th wa rra nts '' in as e, cas s in' ed Gn In . an me to ed os pp su is t tha - wh ate ve r me so nd fou ve ha st mu s ge jud d an r uto ec os Pr the 's, rov Vi kto mi tig ati ng cir cu ms tan ce s, or at lea st tha t so me of the ac cu sat ion s we re un rel iab le. to ter let s Hi . ars ye 10 to ed nc nte se s wa he , ria Be r de un , In 19 41 n aig mp ca the in ed us y ntl ide ev s wa , 53 19 , 16 y Jul of m diu esi Pr the 15 ag ain st Be ria by Kh rus hc he v et al. d an ria Be by n ate be ing be t ou ab th tru the g lin tel in ed Gn So wa s a s wa , 53 19 y, Jul . ng lyi t jus s wa he e yb ma or e yb Ma ? lov bu Ko e nc ide ev of d kin the ve ga e on if cy ien len ct pe ex to go od tim e ag ain st Be ria tha t Kh rus hc he v wa nte d. t un co ac s Hi it). of nt ora ign is he s ap rh pe r (o s thi s ore ign n tki Ko giv es the im pre ssi on th at Gn ed in wa s an inn oc en t victim. Ma yb e

At http://stalin.memo.ru/spravki/13-098.HTM 14 At http ://s tali n.m em o.ru /na me s/p 87. htm #n7 6 15 See http ://i stm at.i nfo /no de/ 274 69 13

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312

s n' ki ot K r, at , ou d an at ce en id ev e th ut B t. no be ay he was. M e. nc ce no in t es gg su t o n es do y da to di sp os al

Was Isaak Babel' Innocent? Kotkin w ri te s: , ho w v, ho ez Y h it w n io at ci so as s hi Babel su ff er ed from y. sp a as m hi ed m na ad h n, io at og rr te in er d un el ab B s, ol oc ot pr n io at og rr te in e th to According t ie ov S e th f o rs ze ni ga or he T ('' n ei st im pl ic at ed E is en om fr s al du vi di in ed ft gi ng ti en ev pr e er w film in du st ry s el ho ik M on om ol S '), ll' fu e th to s nt re ve al in g th ei r ta le re oi rt pe re t ie ov S e th at th ed fi is at ss di (' 'c on st an tl y d an , ') s' nt le ta s hi te ra st on m de to ce an ch gave him no e av w d ue in nt co e th , ew vi 's rg bu en hr E E hr en bu rg (''In y an f of ak re b to ns ze ti ci t ie ov S l al ed rc fo o f ar re st s 306 Babel w ou ld al so si gn a . re la ti on s w it h foreigners'') a in p hi rs be em m to ng si es nf co ol oc ot pr bl oo ds ta in ed e, nc ra F of lf ha be on on ti za ni ga or e T ro ts ky it e es pi on ag 307 (6 35 ) . ux li nk ed to Malra

y ar er it L s B' G K y, sk in al nt he S 6. 30 : Note 30 6 (1028) ti er sm a in ch ri P , ov ar ov P so al e Se . 47 , Archive, 42 rasstrel; Pirozhkova, A t His Side, 11 5. ia en m u sh ro ''P , ii sk in al nt he S 7. 30 Note 3 0 7 (1 02 8) : 6 vyslushat,"'' 43 0- 43 .1 ly ng ro st is y sk in al nt he S lii ita V A co nf ir m ed an ti co m m un is t, r o ed ut ec ex er th o d an ' el ab B at th on co m m it te d to th e po si ti s it m ad ii sk in al nt he S en ev ut B . nt im pr is on ed ar ti st s w er e in no ce as w e H ' el ab B t ns ai ag ce en id ev of th at th er e is a g re at deal e. if w s hi d an v ho ez Y th bo h it w ed ce rt ai nl y closely involv

to er si ea r fa is It . 9) 99 (1 y od ob sv by Ra ok bo s ii' sk lin ta 16 Th is is th e se co nd pa rt of Sh en n ai bt -o -to rd ha e th in le tic ar 91 19 a , in tk Ko ob ta in it th er e th an in th e fo rm at ci te d he re by jo ur na l Vozvrashchenie.

C ha pt er Thirteen. Bias of Omission

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as w el ab B t a th ce en id ev y an e av h None o f th e b o o k s Kotkin ci te s f o e m so t, il gu f o s n io ss fe n co g in n o ce n t. Moreover, Babel m ad e lo n y b s k o o b er th o d an y od ob Sv y b a R w h ic h a re q u o te d a t le n g th in es ag p t a ly n o ts rp ce ex s te o u q e iv h rc Shentalinskii. KGB's Literary A 6 0 3 te o n in s te ci n ki ot K s rk o w 4 2 an d 4 7 . All th e au th o rs w h o se t. n ce o n in as w el ab B t a th , ce en id ev t u o assume, w it h t a th s te ri w ly p m si a v o k zh o ir P On p ag e 1 1 5 Babel's w if e as e m ti e m sa e th st o m al t ''a d e st M ey er h o ld an d Kol'tsov w er e a rr e l al re e w ey th se au ec b as w is th t Babel." She fails to n o te th a ai ol ik N in ed lv o v in g n ei b f o accused, an d ev en tu al ly convicted, t u o ab t lo p a t en m n er v o g t ie v o Yezhov's p lo t to o v er th ro w th e S v o h ez Y in ss cu is d I h ic h w f o e m so , ce w h ic h w e h av e a lo t o f eviden

vs Stalin.

17

d an v ho ez Y t u B s. n io ss fe n co Babel su b se q u en tl y re tr ac te d h is to g in rd o cc A . o to id d s er th o s ap Kol'tsov ac cu se d Babel, an d p er h ce en id ev y b d te ic v n co n ee b e av h ld S o v ie t practice, Babel' w o u if l ia tr t a d se u e b t o n ld u co o th er th a n h is confessions, w h ic h re tr ac te d b y th e d ef en d an t. e w ce n ce o n in r o t il u g 's el ab B f o t en T o m ak e a n in te ll ig en t as se ss m e th d an , le fi e iv at g ti es v in w o u ld n ee d b o th Babel's en ti re a es d u cl in n ki ot K ce in S . rs se cu co n fe ss io n s ag ai n st h im b y h is ac e es th t u o d te in o p e av h ld u o sh e h , k o d is cu ss io n o f Babel in h is bo e h t u B . n o ti u ec ex d an n o ti ic v n co b ar ri er s to u n d er st an d in g B ab el 's fails to d o so.

W h a t About Meyerhold? ed n w o n re st o m 's R S S U e th , ld o h Vsevolod Meyer to d ra g in en L to ed el av tr d a h o h w r, to ec th ea te r d ir f o e cl ta ec sp s as m a f o y h p ra g o finalize th e ch o re s te le h at g n u o y 0 0 ,0 0 3 g in lv o v in re p h y si ca l cu lt u r) be em m y rt Pa a as w he (s k or w rty Pa r fo d lle 17 Pirozhkova re ve al s th at w he n sh e w as ca s ou ri se a r fo ed st re ar l be Ba an m a of ife w e sh e re m in de d he r su pe rio r th at sh e w as th rty Pa to ed gn si as as w d an '' n, io at tu si ur yo on g in ar crime. She w as to ld th at this "h ad no be w or k like an y ot he r member.

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movi ng in uniso n to glorify the regime, was rewa rded by being arres ted. At Moscow's infam ous Buty rka priso n, he woul d be tortu red into confessing to espio nage for Brita in as well as Japan. ''The inves tigat ors bega n to use force on me, a sick, 65-y earold man," he wrot e in a lette r to Molotov. ''I was mad e to lie facedown and then beat en on the soles of my feet and my spine with a rubb er strap.... Whe n those parts of my legs were cove red with exten sive inter nal hemo rrhag ing, they again bega n to beat the red-b lueyello w bruis es with the strap , and the pain was so inten se that it felt as if boili ng hot wate r was bein g pour ed on those sens itive areas .... I bega n to incri mina te myse lf in the hope that this, at least, woul d lead quickly to the scaffold." Meyerhold's inter roga tors had urina ted into his mou th and 40 smas hed his right (writ ing) hand to bits. (649 ) Note 40 (102 9): 40. Koliazin, ''Vernite mne svobodu!," 220- 40. The docu ment s in Koliazin 220- 240 reco rd Meyerhold's attem pts to retra ct earli er confessions. But we do not have the text of those earli er confessions. Why not? As in the case of Babel', Kotkin shou ld have poin ted out that the fact that an accu sed pers on first conf esses guilt and subs eque ntly retra cts his confession does not estab lish whet her the pers on was guilt y or innocent. Wha t it does is to force the pros ecuti on to place more impo rtanc e on testi mon y again st the defe ndan t by othe rs who incul pate him. This is may be wha t occu rred in Mey erho ld's case. Kotkin fails to infor m his read ers that Meyerhold was nam ed as a Trot skyis t and spy by Mikhail Kol'tsov and Isaak Babel', amon g other s. (RKEB 1, 270-272) He nam ed othe rs in turn. We don' t have the testi mon y again st Meyerhold given by Kol'tsov and Babel'.

Chapter Thirteen. Bias of Omission

315

The claim that the interrogators urinated into his mouth and smashed his right hand is contradicted by documents Kotkin himself cites! The words in the quotation above are from his statement of January 13, 1940. There Meyerhold claims that his

NKVD interrogators told him they would leave his head and his right hand untouched." (Koliazin, 230) There is nothing about interrogators ''urinating into his mouth.'' Why did Kotkin feel obliged to compose these fabrications? Did he actually read Koliazin, pages 220-240? The fact that a person retracts his confession of guilt raises the question: ''Was he lying then? Or is he lying now?'' After all, we normally expect that both the innocent and the guilty will deny their guilt. But a person who has been beaten - tortured - into signing a false confession may well deny it later. So we don't know. As in Babel's case Kotkin should have explained the difficulties in assessing Meyerhold's guilt or innocent.

Yezhov Named Both Meyerhold And Babel' On page 7 40 Kotkin states: On January 17, 1940, Stalin approved a sentencing list containing 457 prominent people; 346 were to be shot, including Yezhov, as well as the writer Isaac Babel, the journalist-propagandist Koltsov, and the dramaturge Meyerhold, three of the country's longstanding brightest lights, each of whom Yezhov had implicated as spies.t9s Note 198 (1041): 198. APRF, f. 3, op. 24, d. 177, 1. 116-

36. This archival identifier will not help Kotkin's readers -- it is an error for this one: ''APRF. f. 3. Op. 24. D. ~77. l. 116-136." This is the ''Stalin shooting list'' of January 16, 1940 where Babel' and Meyerhold are listed, along with many of Yezhov's torturerinterrogators who were complicit in his mass murders.

Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth

316

The Mur der Of Zinaida Reich (Correctly: Raikh) Kotkin; Righ t arou nd the same time, his [Mey erhol d's - GF] seco nd wife and lead actre ss, the Russ ified ethn ic Germ an Zina ida Reich, was bruta lly stabb ed to death , 41 inclu ding throu gh the eyes, in their home . None of 42 her valua bles were taken . (649 ) Note 41(1 029) :41. Medv edev a, ''Cho rnoy e leto'' 1939 goda," 318- 66; Brau n, ''Vsevolod Meyerhold," 145- 62; Morr ison, People's Artist, 99-1 00 (citin g RGALI f. 1929 , op. 1, ed. khr. 655, 1. 26ob.: Lina Prok ofyev a) [sic]; ''Zag adka smer ti Zina idi Raikha," Komsomol'skaia pravda, Nov. 14, 2005 . Zina ida Raik h's murd erers were caug ht, tried , and exec uted, A repo rt (''spr avka '') on the burg lars and murd erers is in the Stali n 18 lists. Why does n't Kotkin tell us that? Is it beca use it seem s more sinis ter - as if Stalin, or Beria, or some one, migh t have had her murd ered ?

Kotkin's Omissions I Falsifications Abo ut September, 1939 September, 1939: The Sov iet Seizure of Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia from Poland Ther e was no Soviet decl arati on of war. Poty omki n summ oned Polis h amb assa dor Grzy bows ki at 3:15 a.m. and read alou d a note, in the name of Molotov, unila teral ly abro gatin g the Sovi et-Po lish nona ggre ssion pact; the envo y refus ed to take the 255 ••• On the radio , Molo tov anno unce d a . docu ment Sovi et military actio n supp osed ly nece ssita ted by the 18

http://stalin.memo.ru/spravki/13-059.HTM

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disa ppe aran ce of the Polish stat e and the possible ensuing chaos. ''The Soviet gov ern men t reg ard s as its sac red dut y to proffer help to its Ukrainian and 257 Belorussian bro ther s in Poland," he stated. In fact, the Pol ish gov ern me nt con tinu ed to function, hav ing relo cate d to Kuty, in the sou the ast, on the Pol ish side of the bor der wit h Romania. (683-4) The sen tenc es above in boldface are misleading bec aus e Kotkin conceals from his read ers man y crucial facts. Here are some of them :

1. The re was no declaration of war bec aus e the USSR was not at war wit h Poland. The myt h of the ''joint invasion'' is a fabrication by the anti com mun ist Polish Government In Exile. It was reje cted by the Allies at the tim e but picked up once the Cold Wa r beg an in the 19 ity. tral neu iet Sov 194 0s. All the We ster n Allies recognized Win ston Churchill stro ngl y sup por ted the Soviet incu rsio n into Eas tern Poland. In his radio spe ech of October 1, 1939, prin ted in the New York Times on October 2, 1939, page 6, Churchill, at the tim e Firs t Lord of the Admiralty, said: Russia has pur sue d a cold policy of self-interest. We could have wis hed tha t the Russian Armies should be stan din g on thei r pre sen t line as the friends and allies of Poland. But tha t the Russian Armies should stan d on this line was clearly nec essa ry for the safety of Russia against the Nazi menace. Churchill also agr eed tha t it was in the inte rest of the Allies to have the Red Army occupying thes e terr itor ies:

For evidence that the Soviet Union was neut ral in the German-Polish War, see "Soviet Neutrality>' at: https: / / msuwe b.mon tel air .edu /-fur rg/re sear ch/mlg09 / soviet_neutrality.html

19

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... here these interes ts of Russia fall into the same channe l as the interes ts of Britain and France. 2. The Polish state had indeed ceased to function. Neithe r the Polish Army nor Ambas sador Grzybowski were able to contac t it. Grzybowski did not even know where it was.

3. Later the same day, Septem ber 17, 1939, the Polish govern ment crossed the border into Rumania, where it was interne d and was no longer a govern ment. 20 4. The Germa ns had told the Soviets that if they did not interve ne a pro-fas cist Ukrain ian state would be formed next to the Soviet border . 21 5. No treaty was broken , since a ''funda mental change in circum stances '' had occurre d. Rebus Sic Stantib us [Latin, At this point of affairs; in these circum stances .] A tacit conditi on attache d to all treatie s to the effect that they will no longer be binding as soon as the state of facts and conditi ons upon which they were based change s to a substan tial degree. 22 Clausula rebus sic stantib us

In public interna tional law, clausula rebus sic stantibus (Latin for 'things thus standin g'') is the legal doctrin e allowing for treatie s to becom e inappli cable becaus e of a fundam ental change of circum stances . It is 1

See the evidence at https://msuweb .montcla ir.edu/-fu rrg/resea rch/mlg0 9/polish_leaders_flee.html and "Moscicki and His 'Resignation'" at https://m suweb.m ontclair.e du/-furrg /research /mlg09 /moscicki _resignat ion.html 21 See the evidence at https: / / msuweb.m ontclair.edu/-fur rg/resear ch / mlg09 /no_parti tion.html 22 West's Encyclopedia ofAmerican Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. - https:/flegal-dic tionary.th efreedicti onary.com /rebus+si c+stantib us 20

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essentially an ''escape clause'' that makes an exception to the general rule of pacta sunt servanda (promises 23 must be kept). The Polish Government had lost contact with its ambassador to the Soviet Union and with the Polish Army, which was in the process of fleeing to internment in Romania (some parts interned themselves in the Baltic states). The German Army would have come up to the Soviet border if the Red Army had not intervened. Kotkin hides from his readers that during the 1950s American professor George Ginsburgs published two articles that vindicate the Soviet position. Ginsburgs 24 concluded: For all these various reasons, it may safely be concluded that on this particular point the Soviet argument was successful, and that the ''above considerations do not allow for any doubt that there did not exist a state of war between Poland and the U.S.S.R. in September, 1939." (72)

In spite of scattered protests to the contrary, the consensus heavily sides with the Soviet view that by September 17, 1939, the Polish Government was in panic and full flight, that it did not exercise any appreciable control over its armed forces or its remaining territory, and that the days of Poland were indeed numbered. De facto, then, one may well accept the view that the Polish Government no longer functioned as an effective state power. In such a case the Soviet claim that Eastern Galicia was in fact a terra nullius may not be unjustified and could be sustained. (73)

23

At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausula_rebus_sic_stantibus 24 George Gins burgs, "A Case Study in the Soviet Use of International Law: Eastern Poland in 1939." The American journal of International Law, Vol. 52, No.1Oan.,1958), pp. 69-84.

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The Lie Of The ''Joint Military Parade'' On the after noon of Sept embe r 23, a cere mon ial join t mili tary para de was held in Bres t-Lit ovsk to mark the Germ an hand over of the town that morn ing to the Soviets. Presi ding over the even t, on an impr ovise d low platf orm, were the respe ctive tank comm ande rs Heinz Gude rian, who had been born just 300 mile s away in Chel mno (Kulm), and Semy on Krivoshein. The two shoo k hand s. But the Luftwaffe flew aggr essiv ely low passe s, and the two sides tussl ed over the city's 273 war booty . (686 ) Note 273 (103 5): 273. Krivoshein, Mezhdubur'e, 2349; Schm idt-S chee der, Reporter der Holle, 101; Deutscher Allgemeine Zeitung, Sept. 25, 1939 . This is a false hood . Ther e was no ''join t victo ry parad e." Brest, on the bord er betw een the Germ an and Sovi et sphe res of influence, was hand ed over to the Sovi et comm ande r Gene ral Semi on M. Kriv oshe in by the Germ an comm ande r, Hein z Gude rian. Both men wrot e abou t this even t in their mem oirs. Kriv oshe in wrot e that a para de had been stipu lated in the agre emen t betw een the Sovi et and Germ an comm ands and there fore he was force d to agre e to one, thou gh unwillingly. But Kriv oshe in refus ed to have a joint para de since the Germ an troop s had been reste d for a week whil e his own had just mad e a nigh t marc h of 120 km and woul d not have the spit- and- polis h appe aran ce nece ssary for a para de. The two comm ande rs agre ed that the Germ an troop s woul d marc h by whil e the Sovi et troop s, upon enter ing Bres t, woul d stand on the side of the road and salut e the Germ an troop s whil e the two orch estra s playe d milit ary marc hes. 25

25

Krivoshein, Mezhdubur'e. Voronezh-BelgorodJ 1964, p. 258.

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Guderian called this a ''farewell parade'' and ''ceremony of changing of flags," after which the German troops withdrew from Brest: Eine Abschiedsparade und ein Flaggenwechsel in Gegenwart des Generals Kriwoschein beendete 26 unsern Aufenthalt in Brest-Litowsk. A farewell parade and an exchange of flags in the presence of General Krivoshein ended our stop in Brest-Litovsk. Krivoshein and surprisingly Guderian too agree that the Soviet forces prevented the Germans from driving off with trucks of booty looted from Brest. There is an excellent article online, in 27 Russian, that gives yet more evidence. Oleg Vishliov's welldocumented refutation of the ''joint parade'' fiction is strongly recommended. 28

The Soviet Union Was Not An Aggressor At least 70,000 Poles were killed and nearly 700,000 276 taken prisoner by the aggressors on both sides. There was no ''aggression'' on the Soviet side. Every country recognized Soviet neutrality. Kotkin has to know this. But his readers will not know it. Once again, Kotkin has falsified an important political-historical issue.

Heinz Guderian, Erinnerungen eines Soldaten (1951) p. 74. The preceding passage about the Brest events is taken from my book Blood Lies: The Evidence that Every Accusation against Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union in Timothy Snyder's Blood/ands ls False. (New York: Red Star Publishers, 2013), 329-330. 27 ''Myth: The Joint Soviet-German Parade in Brest" - -http://wiki.istmat.info./MH:conMecTHhIH_nap3A,.B_6pecTe 28 Oleg Vishliov, Nakanune 22iiulia1941 goda. (Moscow 2001).108-110. The preceding passage about the Brest events is taken from my book Blood Lies: The Evidence that Every 26

Accusation againstJoseph Stalin and the Soviet Union in Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands Is False. (New York: Red Star Publishers, 2013), 329-332.

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The following passag e from my book Blood Lies gives the eviden ce that the Soviets were not guilty of aggression.

***** The USSR did not invade Poland - and everyb ody knew it at the time When Poland had no govern ment, Poland was no longer a state. That meant that Hitler had nobody with whom to negotia te a cease-fire, or treaty. Furthe rmore, the M-R Treaty 's Secret Protoco ls were void, since they were an agreem ent about the state of Poland. But no state of Poland existed any longer. Unless the Red Army came in to preven t it, there was nothing to preven t the Nazis from coming right up to the Soviet border . Or as we now know they were in fact prepar ing to do Hitler could have formed one or more pro-Nazi states in what had until recentl y been Eastern Poland. That way Hitler could have had it both ways. He could claim to the Soviets that he was still adherin g to the ''spher es of influence'' agreem ent of the M-R Pact while in fact setting up a pro-Nazi, highly militar ized fascist Ukrainian nationa list state on the Soviet border . Once the Germans had told the Soviets that they, the German leaders hip, had decided that the Polish state no longer existed, then it did not make any differe nce whethe r the Soviets, or some hypoth etical body of interna tional jurists, agreed with them or not. In effect the Nazis were telling the Soviets that they felt free to come right up to the Soviet border . Neither the USSR nor any state would have permit ted such a thing. Nor did interna tional law deman d it. At the end of Septem ber a new secret agreem ent was concluded. In it the Soviet line of interes t was to the East of the ''spher e of influence'' line decided upon a

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month earlier in the Secret Protocol and published in /zvestiia and in the New York Times during September 1939.29 In this territory Poles were a minority, even after the ''polonization'' (= making more ''Polish'') campaign of settling Poles in the area during the '20s and '30s.30 How do we know this interpretation of events is true? How do we know the USSR did not commit aggression against, or ''invade," Poland when it occupied Eastern Poland beginning on September 17, 1939 after the Polish Government had interned itself in Rumania? Here are nine pieces of evidence: 1. The Polish government did not declare war on USSR. The Polish government declared war on Germany when Germany invaded on September 1, 1939. It did not declare war on the USSR. 2. The Polish Supreme Commander Rydz-Smigly ordered Polish soldiers not to fight the Soviets, though he ordered Polish forces to continue to fight the 31 Germans. 3. The Polish President Ignaz Moscicki, interned in Rumania since Sept. 17, tacitly admitted that Poland no longer had a government. 4. The Rumanian government tacitly admitted that Poland no longer had a government. 32

See the map here: http://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/mlg09 /new_spheres_0939.html 3o A map that shows ethnic and linguistic population is here: http://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/mlg09 / curzonline.html 31 See the documents at this page: http://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/mlg09 /rydz_dont_fighthtml 32 See the evidence at http://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/mlg09 /moscicki_resignation.html 29

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The Rumanian position recognized the fact that Moscicki was lying when he claimed he had legally resigned on September 30. So the Rumanian government fabricated a story according to which Moscicki had already resigned back on September 15, just before entering Rumania and being interned (NYT 10.04.1939, p.12). But even Moscicki himself did not make this claim! Rumania needed this legal fiction to try to sidestep the following issue: once Moscicki had been interned in Rumania that is, from September 17 1939 on he could not function as President of Poland. Since resignation is an official act, Moscicki could not resign once he was in Rumania. For our present purposes here is the significant point: Both the Polish leaders and the Rumanian government recognized that Poland was bereft of a government once the Polish government crossed the border into Rumania and were interned there. Both Moscicki and Rumania wanted a legal basis a fig-leaf for such a government. But they disagreed completely about this fig-leat which exposes it as what it was a fiction. 5. Rumania had a military treaty with Poland aimed against the USSR. Yet Rumania did not declare war on the USSR. The Polish government later claimed that it had ''released'' Rumania from its obligations under this military treaty in return for safe haven in Rumania. But there is no evidence for this statement. It is highly unlikely that Rumania would have ever promised ''safe haven'' for Poland, since that would have been an act of hostility against Nazi Germany. Rumania was neutral in the war and, as discussed below, insisted upon interning the Polish government and disarming

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the Polish forced once they had crossed the border into Rumania. The real reason for Rumania's failure to declare war on the USSR is probably the one given in a New York Times article of September 19, 1939: The Rumanian viewpoint concerning the RumanianPolish anti-Soviet agreement is that it would be operative only if a Russian attack came as an isolated event and not as a consequence of other wars. 33 That means Rumania recognized that the Red Army was not allied with Germany in its war with Poland. 6. France did not declare war on the USSR, though it had a mutual defense treaty with Poland. See this page34 for the reconstructed text of the ''secret military protocol'' of this treaty, which has been ''lost'' which probably means that the French government still keeps its text secret. 7. England never demanded that the USSR withdraw its troops from Western Belorussia and Western Ukraine, the parts of the former Polish state occupied by the Red Army after September 17, 1939. On the contrary, the British government concluded that these territories should not be a part of a future Polish state. 35 Even the Polish government-in-exile agreed!

8. The League of Nations did not determine the USSR had invaded a member state. Article 16 of the League of Nations Covenant required members to take trade and economic sanctions against any member who ''resorted to war." 36 But no country took any sanctions

33

''RumaniaAnxious; Watches Frontier." NYT 09.19.1939, p.8. 34 http:/ /msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/mlg09/m-rpacthtml 35 See the texts reproduced here: http://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/mlg09/maisky_101739_102739.html

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agains t the USSR. No countr y broke diplom atic relation s with the USSR over this action. However, when the USSR attacke d Finland in 1939 the League did vote to expel the USSR, and several countri es broke diplom atic relation s with it. This very differe nt respon se tells us that the League viewed the Soviet action in the case of Poland as qualita tively different, as not a ''resort to war." 37 9. All countri es accepte d the USSR's declara tion of neutral ity. All, includi ng the bellige rent Polish allies France and England, agreed that the USSR was not a bellige rent power, was not particip ating in the war. In effect they accepte d the USSR' s claim that it was neutral in the conflict. Here is Preside nt Frankli n Roosevelt's ''Procla mation 2374 on Neutrality," Novem ber 4, 1939: ... a state of war unhapp ily exists betwee n Germa ny and France; Poland; and the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Canada, New Zealan d and the Union of South Africa ... 38 FDR's ''Statem ent on Comba t Areas'' of Novem ber 4, 1939, defines bellige rent ports, British, French , and German, in Europe or Africa ...39 The Soviet Union is not listed among the bellige rent states. That means the United States govern ment did not consid er the USSR to be at war with Poland.

***** 36

See http://ava lon.law.y ale.edu/2 0th_centu ry/leagcov. asp#art16 37 The League of Nations Resolution is reproduc ed here: http://ww w.ibiblio .org/pha/ policy/1939 /391214a .html 3e At http:/ /www.pre sidency.u csb.edu/w s/index.p hp?pid=1 583 l&st=&st l= 39 At http://ww w.preside ncy.ucsb .edu/ws/i ndex.php ?pid=158 33&st=& stl=

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More Phony Charges of Torture Aro und this tim e, dea th sen tenc es bas ed upo n fab rica ted evi den ce wer e imp lem ente d for cult ural figures, as well as form er NKVD firs t dep uty Mikhail Frinovsky, form er dep uty foreign intelligence chie f Spigelglas, form er inte llig enc e chie f and Com inte rn ope rati ve Trilisser, Yefim Yevdokimov, and Redens, Stalin's ethn ic Polish bro ther -in- law (pa rt of a ''Polish dive rsio nary -esp iona ge gro up'' ) .... Und er inte rro gat ion -tor ture , Red ens had adm itte d his complicity in the ann ihil atio n of inno cen t peo ple whi le wor kin g atop the NKVD in Ukraine, Moscow, and Kazakhstan. His wife Ann a Nadya's sist er and the ir two boys wer e not touc hed , and the family con tinu ed to live in the elit e Hou se on the Em ban kme nt and wer e allo wed to visi t Sve tlan a at Zubalovo (bu t not the 204 Kremlin). (7 4 2) Note 204 (10 41) : 204 . Zhukovskii, Lub ians kaia imp eriia NKVD, 214 -5.

Pag es 214 -5 of Zhukovskii's boo k are abo ut Efim Evdokimov, ano the r of Yezhov's killers. Kotkin mus t mea n pag es 217 -8, whi ch are abo ut Redens. The re is no evid enc e of ''fab rica ted evid enc e'' aga inst any of the unid enti fied ''cu ltur al figures," or aga inst Frinovsky, Shpigelglas, Evdokimov, or Redens. Kotkin has inv ente d - inde ed, fabricated! the bus ines s abo ut Frin ovs ky and Red ens bein g ''tor ture d." Dur ing the Gorbachev era the re was an atte mpt to rescind Red ens ' Khr ush che v-er a ''reh abil itat ion' ' - tha t is, to ''un -reh abil itat e'' Red ens -- bec aus e eve n Gorby's men, who wer e ''reh abil itati ng'' a ver y larg e num ber of peo ple, tho ugh t Red ens was guilty. But the stat ute of lim itat ions - the tim e per iod dur ing whi ch his reha bili tati on mig ht hav e bee n wit hdr awn -- had long elap sed . So Red ens rem ains ''reh abil itate d." And ther efo re we can hav e acc ess to his NKVD inve stig ativ e file, sinc e as of 201 8 the FSB is only

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permitting access to the files of those persons who have been ''rehabilitated.'' Redens' file, now declassified, contains much useful evidence: see Yezhov vs. Stalin, Chapter 15, ''The Testimony of Stanislav Frantsevich Redens." Redens testified at length and in detail about Yezhov's conspiracy against Stalin and the Soviet government. Kotkin does not mention any of this. Incompetence? Dishonesty? In another chapter of the present book we examine Frinovsky's statement of April 11, 1939. We point out that Frinovsky is very clear that the Moscow Trials defendants were guilty; that the Zinovievist, Rightist, Trotskyist, and Yezhov-NKVD conspiracies, did exist and were serious threats. We point out that Kotkin does not reveal any of this to his readers. An English translation of Frinovsky's statement has been on line 4 since 2010. ° Kotkin could have cited it. It would have helped his readers. Why didn't he?

Finland, The Russo-Finnish War I Winter War, And The Nazis just as the Winter War had definitively pushed Finland into the German camp, the seizure of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina consolidated Romania as a staunch German ally. 78 Note 78 (1046): 78. Gafencu, Last Days of Europe, 3902. This is as phony a footnote as they come! In Kotkin's bibliography (1083 col. 2) the Gafencu book is by Yale University Press, 1948. As I write these lines I have that edition before me. There are no pages 390-2. The last page in it is numbered 239! What's more, the words ''Bessarabia'' and ''Bukovina'' do not occur in this book. It may be read in English at https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/frinovskyeng.html

40

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In the preceding footnote, number 77, Kotkin mentions that Romania had annexed Bessarabia. But Kotkin does not reveal that Bessarabia had been taken by force from Soviet Russia. Accordingly, Soviet Russia never recognized Romania's claim to Bessarabia. Britain, France, and Italy decided that Bessarabia should join Romania in the Treaty of Paris (1920). Japan did not ratify the treaty. The United States refused to do so as well, because Soviet Russia was not represented at the talks. Readers who do not study his footnotes, however, will not know this.

Since its founding in 1918 Finland had been extremely hostile to the Soviet Union. It had allowed foreign powers to use its territory to invade the fledgling Soviet Russia and had massacred communist and pro-communist rebels during the Finnish Civil War. It was no democracy - the very popular Finnish Communist Party was outlawed. Finland and Romania were already in the German camp and would have allied with Hitler in any case, since neutrality was impossible and they would never have sided with 41 the Soviet Union. According to German Foreign Minister von Ribbentropp, Finland was egged on in its hostility to the USSR by England.

England was behind Finland and according to intelligence received, England was also responsible for the failure of the Russo-Finnish negotiations last 42 November. The Finnish political scientist and military historian Martti Turtola has written: It simply cannot be overlooked that Finland pursued a dangerously aggressive, menacing foreign policy prior to the war. 43

41

See N.I.Baryshnikov, "The Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940." Soviet Studies in History 3 (1990), 43-60. 42 Nazi-Soviet Relations 1939-1941. Documents from the German Foreign Office. Ed. Raymond James Sontag and James Stuard Beddie. Washington, DC: Department of State, 1948, p. 130.

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Kotkin omits all this import ant contex tual inform ation.

Who Dismembered Whom? Cripps believe d it was possibl e to go beyond even the latter and get Britain and the Soviet Union to join forces agains t Germany, notwith standin g the HitlerStalin nonagg ression and trade pacts, the disme mberm ent of Poland, the aggress ion agains t Finland, and now the Soviet annexa tion of the Baltic 85 states. A lawyer rather than a diplomat, Cripps was capable of criticizing Soviet realities, but he had defend ed Stalin's arrests of British nationa ls as spies in fabrica ted trials, as well as the Soviet Union's 1939 seizur e of easter n Poland. (776) Note 85 (1046) is about Sir Stafford Cripps. Cripps, not Kotkin, was correct . The trials were not ''fabricated." In previou s chapte rs we have shown that Kotkin can cite no evidence that they were. But ''fabric ated trials'' is an essenti al compo nent of the Anti-Stalin Paradigm. So the mere lack of eviden ce cannot stop Kotkin and others from falsely claiming that they were fabricated. (For the positive eviden ce that they were not fabricated, see The

Moscow Trials As Evidence.) Kotkin does not mentio n that it was Poland that had ''dismembered'' Soviet Russia in in the Polish-Soviet War of 19191921. In defeat, Russia was forced to give Poland Wester n Ukraine and Wester n Belorussia. In 1939 the USSR took back from Poland the areas that Poland had taken by force from Soviet Russia. A discussion of the Curzon Line and the Treaty of Riga of 1921 is essenti al for any unders tanding of this issue. But the Curzon line is

43

Martti Turtola: 'Guilty or Innocent? Approach es to the Winter War in Research and Memoirs', in Yearbook of Finnish Foreign Policy. (Helsinki; 1990), 45. See the Finnish Wikipedia entry about Martti Turtola at https://fi. wikipedia .org/wiki /Martti_Turtola

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only mentioned once in this huge book (690) and is never explained.44

44

For the Curzon Line, see "The Curzon Line'' at https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/mlg09/curzonline.html and the whole article, ''Did the Soviet Union Invade Poland in September 1939? NO!'' at https://msuweb.montclair.edu/-furrg/research/mlg09/page_of_links.html I also discuss it in Blood Lies (see the Index).

Chapter 14. A Little Source Criticism by Kotkin! Why Doesn't He Do It All The Time? Poland, a nasty regime sandwiched directly between two nastier ones, sought a middle way. Some members of Polish ruling circles latched on to the idea of throwing in their lot with Hitler to deflect him farther eastward, even at the high cost of territorial concessions, and a few high-placed Poles fantasized about a joint Polish .. Nazi attack on the USSR, an aggression in which they imagined Poland could wrest Ukraine from the Soviets, a delusion that Nazi officials 86 cynically encouraged. (596) Note 86 (1022): 86. DGFP, series D, DAP, V: 167-8 (Ribbentrop and Beck, Jan. 26, 1939); Gromyko et al., SSSR v bor'be za mir nakanune, 171-3 (AVP RF, f. 059, op. 1, pap. 300, d. 2075, I. 46-9: Surits, Jan. 27, 1939); God krizisa, /: 194-6; Mel'tiukhov, Sovtesko-pol'skie voiny (2001); Haslam, Struggle for Collective Security, 160-4. Citing hearsay from Hans-Adolf von Moltke, Luftwaffe Lieutenant-General Alfred Gerstenberg, the German air force attache in Poland in 1938 (who would fall into Soviet captivity and be interrogated on Aug. 17, 1945) would assert that Hermann Goring, while traveling to Poland on the pretext of hunting, bribed Beck to work on behalf of Nazi Germany. Gerstenberg knew how much the Soviets despised Beck. Tainy diplomatii Tret'ego

Reikka [sic; should be ''Reikha''], 581 (TsA FSB, d. N21147, t. 1, I. 35-53).

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Gerstenberg's information about Beck is at fourth hand: Goring von Moltke - Gerstenberg - interrogator. That does not mean it is false - but it does not mean that it is true either. Here is the text, from Tainy diplomatii tret'ego reikha, 581: Question: It is well known that Goering often visited Poland. Was he really only interested in hunting in Poland? Answer: Goering often went to Poland and other countries to hunt, but in reality he was not so much interested in hunting as in carrying out political tasks under this guise. Before my departure for Poland Goering told me that he would be travelling to Poland for hunting and would facilitate my task. And in fact in 1938 Goering arrived in Poland, where he went hunting together with Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs de Beck. During this hunting trip Goering gave Beck a check for 300,000 marks, after which Beck began to strongly champion friendship with Germany. Question: How do you know that Goering bribed Beck? Answer: I learned that Beck had been bribed by Goering from MoltkeJ German ambassador to Poland, who took part in the hunting trip. In this connection Moltke said that Beck would not escape from our clutches. In today's Poland Beck is honored as a national hero. So Gerstenberg's testimony is threatening to the present Polish regime and its dishonest glorification of the racist and fascist Polish regime of the 1920s and 1930s. In 2013 the moderator of HPoland, an academic mailing list hosted by Michigan State University, refused a post of mine about Gerstenberg's revelation. I was informed that the members of the board of the Polish Studies Association ''have concurred that this is not a topic that we wish to

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In other words, ''If the Polish govern ment pursue on and its propag andists find it uncomfortable, don't discuss it." 1 H-Poland."

Kotkin is correct to point out that Gerste nberg's testimo ny is hearsay . And this raises an interes ting question: Why does Kotkin employ source criticism here, when the fact alleged makes anticom munist s like Joseph Beck and the pre-wa r Polish leaders hip look bad, while failing to use source criticism when the facts alleged reflect badly upon Stalin and the Soviet leaders hip? Why does he ''cherry-pick'' when to use source criticism? An objective historian, determ ined to discover the truth at all costs, even if it should contrad ict his own bias, is obliged to employ source criticism all the time. But as the analysis in this book amply shows, Kotkin is simply not such a historian. Moreover, Kotkin has ''buried'' this import ant fact at the end of a long footnote. Few of his reader s will see it. It should have been promo ted to the main text.

Did Stalin Praise Hitler For Murdering His Rivals? Izvestiya dedica ted four columns on its front page to Hitler's Reichstag speech about the Night of the Long 315 Knives. ''What a guy [molodets]," Stalin exclaimed to his inner circle, accord ing to Mikoyan's later 316 (175) act!'' to how Knows recollections. ''Well done. Note 316 (956): Nekrich, 1941, 19 (citing a person al conver sation in the 1950s with Surits, the envoy in question). In reality this story is not in the 1995 Russian edition of Nekrich's book, the one that Kotkin cites here (see his bibliog raphy at page 1100, column 1), though Nekrich does claim that Stalin was sympa thetic to Hitler's action.

1

Email to me from the H-Poland moderato r, December 19, 2013.

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This wo uld be fourth-hand inf orm atio n: Stalin - Surits - Mikoyan v, hko rez Be tin len Va r. the far ry sto s thi sue pur s let' t Bu ch. kri Ne one of Stalin's translators, also cla ime d tha t Mikoyan told him! Ko r~a B 193 4 ro.zzy fHTnep yHHqTo:>KHJI cBoero copaTHHKa, pyKoBO'AHTeJI.s:r rnTypMOBhIX OTP.HAOB 3pH CTa PeMa, H

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When Hitler ann ihi lat ed his comrade-in-arms, the hea d of the SA (Sturmabteilung) Ern st Rohm and oth er com ma nde rs of the SA ass aul t det ach me nts in 193 4, Stalin gave thi s bloody ma ssa cre a high rat ing . Mikoyan tol d me tha t at the ver y firs t me etin g of the politburo aft er Rohm's mu rde r Stalin said: - Have you hea rd wh at hap pen ed in Germany? Hitler, wh at a gre at fellow! Th at's how to dea l wit h political opp one nts ! Be rez hko v say s not hin g abo ut Sur its. He claims tha t Mikoian told him, Berezhkov, directly.

In his autobiography Tak Bylo (''Thus It Was'') Mikoian tell s a ver y similar sto ry. ..• KO r'Aa fHT Jie p, CTp eMH Cb

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Stalin: Waiting for ... The Truth PeMoM H .zi;pyrHMH, 9TO nopa3HTeJibHOe 3BepcTBO BhI3Bano Bceo6ll.\ee B03MyiqeHHe.

11 H

6bIJI nopIDKeH,

KOr'Aa CTaJJHH, B03Bpaiqa.stcb HeCKOJihKO pa3 K 3TOMY cpaKTy, BOCXHI.qaJIC.SI CMeJIOCTbl-0, ynopCTBOM fHTJiepa, KOTOpbIH nomen Ha TaKyro Mepy, t:fT06bI yKpeIIHTb CBOIO BJJaCTb. ''BOT MOJIOAe~, BOT 3.JJ;OpOBO, - roaopHJI CTanHH. - 3To HaAO yMeTb!'' (374/446) ... when Hitler, striving to strengthen his power, sent his comrades-in-arms to the attack room barracks and carried out the massacre on the spot, without trial, of the leadership of the left-wing SA. Rohm and others, this amazing atrocity caused general outrage. And I was amazed when Stalin, returning several times to this fact, admired the boldness and persistence of Hitler, who took such measures to confirm his power. ''There's a great fellow, that's great," said Stalin. ''We must learn how to do this!'' We can't check this specific story by means of other sources. As far as we can tell, only Mikoian claimed to have heard Stalin say this. What about the reliability of Mikoian's memoirs? Michael Ellman, a ferociously anti-Stalin scholar, has his doubts. At the very end, Mikoian - here we should write ''Mikoian'' - regrets the lack of democracy in the USSR. Ellman writes: Tak bylo is lively and interesting, but in some cases one has the suspicion that what is written reflects the views of the editor [Mikoian's son] at least as much as those of his late father. Did A. I. Mikoian really dictate or write the final paragraph of the book or did the editor add it to make the book more palatable to modern readers? (141)

Ascertaining to what extent Mikoian's memoirs are accurate would require detailed checking of particular incidents against other sources. For example, neither Khrushchev nor Simonov remembers the bold speech

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Mikoian recalls giving at the October (1952) Plenum, and this speech differs substantially from Efremov's, Mukhitdinov's, and Shepilov's reports of what took place at that dramatic and sinister meeting ... It cannot be excluded that Mikoian here reports what in retrospect he thinks he should have said at the 3 plenum rather than what he actually said. (148) We can go farther than Ellman. For example: we know that the

defendants in the three Moscow Trials were guilty of at least the crimes to which they confessed. We also know that the Military conspirators, and specifically the commanders tried and executed with Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky in June, 1937, were also guilty. But Mikoian claims they were all innocent! Mikoian tells the tale that Stalin was ''prostrated'' at the beginning of the war, was almost unable to act at all, and acted as though the others on the Politburo were going to arrest him. This is not only unconfirmed by anyone else in a position to know - it is clear that it is false. We have good evidence that Stalin was very active from the outset of the war. Mikoian defends Khrushchev's ''Secret Speech'' of February 25, 1956, to the XX Party Congress. We know today that every accusation in that speech levelled against Stalin and Lavrentii Beria is provably false. 4 In his memoir Mikoian repeats a number of these false accusations of Khrushchev's, and upholds Khrushchev's speech. Gabriel Gorodetsky, whose book Kotkin cites fifty times, has this to say about Mikoian's credibility: A. Mikoyan, the Politburo member and Commissar of Foreign Trade, whose memoirs have given rise to a number of false interpretations of Stalin's policies at

3

Slavic Review, Vol. 60, No.1(Spring,2001), 140-150.

4

See Furr, Khrushchev Lied.

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the time, suggested that Schulenburg gave Dekanozov a clear-cut warning. ... Much as this revelation captures the imagination, it is not borne out at all by the actual records of the meeting.5 So it appears that Mikoian lied a great deal in his memoir! At the very least it is a highly unreliable source. The story about Stalin praising Hitler for killing his rivals in the Nazi Party comes only from Mikoian. Therefore, absent independent corroboration, it should not be accepted as true. Of course Kotkin could and should have known all this. When including this incident in his book Kotkin should have informed his readers about Mikoian's bias and unreliability concerning Stalin. So why does he include this story? Evidently, to associate Stalin with Hitler - a propaganda move, beloved by anticommunists.

Kotkin Repeats Rumors By Beria's Murderers Kotkin: Beria would now systematically annihilate Lakoba's kin and associates. 47 (507) Note 47 (1010): 47. This started with Mgaloblishvili, whom Beria had chosen to lead the honor guard accompanying Lakoba's casket home from Tblisi and who was arrested for ''ties." Popov and Oppokov, ''Berievshchina'' (1991, no. 1), 48-9. The story goes that Beria's men beat Sarie to testify that Lakoba had wanted to sell Abkhazia to Turkey; she evidently refused, even when they beat her fourteen-year-old son Rauf in front of her. She was said to have died of torture in her cell. Medvedev, Let History judge, 495-6. s Gorodetsky, Grand Delusion: Stalin and the German Invasion ofRussia. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1999, 212.

Cha pter Four teen . A Little Source Criticism by Kotkin!

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''The stor y goes,'' ''evidently," ''was said to have died'' - wha t kind of hist ory is this? These are, wh at- rum ors? From no source? Popov and Oppokov (48) quote from an interrogation of Pet r Afanas'evich Sharia by Khrushchev's men of August 15, 1953. Sharia stat es tha t Mgaloblishvili accompanied Lakoba's casket. But he says nothing abo ut his arrest. This interrogation, or stat eme nt, or whatever, of Sharia's - if it exists - is not prin ted in the 108 6page volume Politbiuro i delo Beria published in 2013. But the sam e mat eria l is sum mar ized in the Preface (Predislovie) to this book, pages 6- 7, wit hou t any references. Medvedev has no evidence wha tsoe ver for the horrible stor y abo ut tort urin g Lakoba's wife and son. The Russian language Wikipedia page abo ut Saria Lakoba stat es tha t she died in a pris on hospital, not in a cell. The only refe ren ce is to a boo k of memoirs, 6 impossible to verify. The refe ren ces on the Russian Wikipedia 7 er. eith e enc page on Lakoba have no suc h evid This stor y is one of man y atta cks on Beria in Kotkin's book. Beria was mu rde red by Khrushchev, abe tted by the oth er Presidium [formerly Politburo] members. This was an unp rece den ted eve nt in Soviet history. Moreover, Khrushchev and Molotov agree tha t ther e was no evidence against Beria whe n he was eith er arre sted or - mo re likely - mur dere d, on June 26, 1953. Therefore, in ord er to justify this act and the violent rep ress ion of per son s associated wit h Beria tha t followed, Khrushchev et al. pro cee ded to inv ent stor ies abo ut various crimes of Beria. Popov and Oppokov sum mar ized Khrushchev-era NKVD and judicial materials from the per iod of Beria's arre st. Medvedev wro te his boo k to cur ry favor with Khrushchev, and use s Khrushchev-era attacks on Stalin and Beria as his evidence.

6 At https ://ru .wik iped ia.or g/wi ki/JlaKo6a,_CapH~_McMeAOBHa

In a book that Kotkin cites, thou gh not here, Dona ld Rayfield tells the same story but cites no evide nce what soev er. Evidently, he had no evide nce: Stalin and His Hangmen: An Authoritative Portrait ofa fyran t and Those Who Served Him. New York: Viking, 2004 , 303. 7

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340

It is simply not possible that Kotkin, who has spent decades studying Soviet history of the Stalin period, does not know these things. But it is certain that very few of his readers will know about them. This Khrushchev-era attack of slander against Beria and his associates means that it is irresponsible to simply take at face value all the crimes attributed to Beria during the Khrushchev period and repeated during the Gorbachev period. We know many of them are lies. We have already said something about the provable falsehoods in one of the most important and most influential anti-Beria books of the Gorbachev period, Oni ne

molchali.

Don't Believe Rudenko Inside the Soviet police, first-class sadists were fewer than one might think. Boris Rodos, in that context, stood out, a ''chopper'' (kolun) who could reliably smash those under ''interrogation'' to near death. He would snap a whip across a prisoner's legs, continuing after he collapsed to the floor, pour freezing water over him, then force him to scoop his diarrhea with his tin cup and swallow, then shout, 'sign! Sign!''272 (548) Note 272 (1015): 272. Petrov, ''Rodos.'' This is the article by Nikita Petrov, ''Rodos: ostrov arkhipelaga 8 Gulaga," in Novaia gazeta, September 22, 2010 (1102). In it, Petrov claims to be quoting from the appeal to Stalin of February 20, 1940, of Belosudov, a Komsomol official, who stated: nonpoCHJI Po'AOCa CBO'AHTb MeH.H B y6opuyro noMOt{HThCH, a OH fOBOpHT: • .H 3TO CAeJlaJJ H cnpoCHJI, KyAa AeBaTb craKaH. OH cxaaTHJI ero H no'AHec MHe KO PTY H ttaaaii BJIHBaTb a poT, a caM KpHqHT: > 1936-1938 rr. B apxHBe KfE 6bIJIH rro~H.HThI H H3yqeHbI Bee MaTepHaJibI, CB.H3aHHbie c rrpoueccaMH. BbIBO~ KOMHCCHH O~H03HaqeH Bee IIOKa3aTeJibHbie rrpouecCbl 1936-1938 rr. c> lI3BeCTH51 QK KIICC N2 11 (1990) 124-131. 13.

Bibliography for Furr, Stalin: Waiting fo1· the Truth 12.13.18.docx Here are listed only materials that I used in this book and that are not listed in Kotkin's bibliography, which is posted separately. ''' ... Ni razu ne govorilos' otnosiltel'no terror.' Stenogramma ochnoi stavki N.I. Bukharina s V.N. Astrovym v Politburo TsK VKP(b) 13 ianvaria 1937 g." IstochnikNo . 2, 2001, 89-110. ''Klim! Oshibok ne bylo." Novaa Gazeta February 26, 2013. At https://www.novayagazeta.ru/a11icles/2013/02/26/53691-171-klim-oshibok-ne-bylo-nadovybrosit-etot-abzats-187-kak-stalin-pilsudskogo-pobedil ''Myth: The Joint Soviet-German Parade in Brest'' - -http://wiki.istmat.info./MHcp:coBMecTHbIH_rrapa~_B_6pecTe ''Rasskaz o desiati rasst1·eliannykh." (''Story of Ten Who We1·e Shot.") Izvestiia, September 2, 1992, p. 3 ''Resolution of the council of the Free Historical Society concerning the expulsion of B. V. Sokolov. ''May 12, 2016. At https://volistob.ru/statements/postanovlenie-soveta-volnogoistori chesko go-obshchestva-ob-isklyuchenii-bv-sokol ova ''Sokolov, Boris Vadimovich. '' Kanal53 Poltava. At http://53kanal.in. ua/novostiukrainy/item/3649-1453405599 ''Stenogramma ochnykh stavok v TsK VKP(b ). Dekab1·' 1936 goda. No. 3. Stenogramma ochnoi stavki mezhdu Piatakovym i Bukharinym v Ts.K VKP(b) ot 7 dekabria 1936 goda. '' Voprosy Istorii 4 (2003) 3-12. ''Stenogramma ochnykh stavok v TsK VKP(b ). Dekabr' 1936 goda." Voprosy Istoriii No. 3,2002 '.:._Transcript of intetTogation of Betti Ottovna 01 'berg of April 26, 1936. In Politbiuro i Lev Trotskil: (sbornik dokumentov), 1923-1940 gg. Ed. Oleg Mozokhin. Prague: Sociosfera-CZ, 2013. Vol. 2, 239-40. American Historical Association, ''Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct (updated 2018). '' At https ://www.historians.01·g/j obs-and-professional-development/statementsstandards-and-guidelines-of-the-discipline/statement-on-standards-of-professional-conduct Baryshnikov, N.I. ''The Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940." Soviet Studies in History 3 (1990), 43-60. Berezhkov, Valentin M. Kak ia stal perevodchikom Stalina. (How I became Stalin's interpreter). Moscow: ''Dem'', 1993. At https ://royallib. com/read/beregkov_valentin/kak_ya_stal_perevodchikom_stalina.html#20480 Beria, Sergo. Moi Otets -Lavrentii Beria. Moscow: Sovremennik, 1994. Online at lib.ru/MEMUARY/BERIA/sber.txt Blackmon. Douglas. Slavery By Another Name. The Re-enslavement ofBlack Americans from the Civil War to World War II. New York: Anchor Books, Random House, 2008. Web page athttp://http://www.slaverybyanothemame.com/ Bobrov, Vladimir and Grover Furr, ''Nikolai Bukharin's First Statement of Confession in the Lubianka." Cultural Logic 2007; https ://web. archive. org/web/2012041509 5 256/http ://clogic.eserve1·. org/2007/Furr_Bobrov. pdf Bobrov, Vladimir L. ''The Mystery of Ordzhonikidze's Death." (2008). English translation at https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/research/bobrov-ordzhon08eng.html ; Russian

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Bibliography for Furr, Stalin: Waiting fo1· the Ttuth 12.13.18.docx

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original at https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/research/bobrov-ordzhon08.html (text encoding W indows-1251 ). Broue, Pien·e. ''La mission de Wolf en Espagne.'' Cahiers Leon Trotsky 10 (June, 1982). Broue, Pierre. ''Complements aun article sur les trotskystes en U.R.S.S'' Cahiers Leon Trotsky 1985 (24), pp. 63-72. Bi·oue, Pierre. ''Party Opposition to Stalin (1930-1932) and the First Moscow Trial." In John W. St1·ong, ed. Essays on Revolutionary Culture and Stalinism. Columbus, OH: Slavica Publishers, 1990, pp. 98-111. Broue, Pierre. ''Trotsky et le bloc des oppositions de 1932." Cahiers Leon Trotsky 5 (JanMar 1980), pp. 5-37. Chomsky, Noam. ''Interview'' by James Peck. The Chomsky Reader. Pantheon: Ne,;v York, 1987 Decree of the Politburo of the CC VKP(b ), ''On Arrests, Supervision by the Procuracy and the Conduct of Investigations." November 17 1938. At https ://msuweb .montc lair. edu/~furrg/research/onarrestseng.html Delo Beria. Prigovor. Obzhalovaniiu ne podlezhit. Mosco,;v: MDF, 2012 Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945. Series D (1937-1945). Volume III. Germany and the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1951. Dubinskii-Mukhadze, Ordzhonikidze. First edition. Moscow: Molodaia Gvardiia, 1963. Dubinskii-:tvlukhadze, Ordzhonikidze. Second, revised edition. Moscow: Molodaia Gvardiia, 1967. Ellman, Michael. ''The Road from Il'ich to Il'ich: The Life and Times of Anastas Ivanovich Mikoian." Slavic Review 60, 1 (Spring, 2001). Engle, Stephen D. Letter to the Editor, The New York Times. November 3, 2017, A30. Fun·, Grover. ''Stalin and the Struggle for Democratic Reform'' (two parts) in Cultural Logic (2005). At http://clogic.eserver.org/2005/furr.html and http://clogic.eset"Ver.org/2005/furr2.html Furr, Grover and Vladimir L. Bobrov. "Stephen Cohen's Biography of Bukharin: A Study in the Falsehood of Khrushchev-Era 'Revelations'." Cultural Logic, 2010. At https://web.archive.org/web/20130402191853/http://clogic.eserver.01·g/201 O/Fun·.pdf Furr, Grover, and Vladimir L. Bobrov. "Stephen Cohen's Biography of Bukharin: A Study in the Falsehood of Khrushchev-Era 'Revelations'." Cultural Logic, 2010, at https ://web. archive. org/web/20130325165 833/http ://clogic.eserver. org/201 O/Furr. pdf Furr, Grover. ''Did the Soviet Union Invade Poland in September 1939? NO!'' (2009) At https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/research/mlg09/did_ussr_invade _poland.html Furr, Grover. ''Nikita Petrov's 'Amalgam' -The Prison Murders ofRadek and Sokol'nikov." (2018). At https ://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/research/furr_petrovs_amalgam. pdf Furr, Grover. ''The 'Official' Version of the Katyn Massacre Disproven? Discoveries at a German Mass Murder Site in Ukraine.'' Socialism and Democracy 27, 2 (2013), 96-129. Furr, Grover. ''The Curzon Line.'' At https ://msuweb .montc lair. edu/~furrg/research/mlg09I curzonline. html Furr, Grover. ''The Moscow Trials and the "Great Terror" of 1937-1938: What the Evidence Shows.'' At https ://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/research/trials_Yezhovshchina_update071 O.html

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Gerasimov, G.I. ''Deistvitel'noe vlianie rep1·esii 1937-1938 gg. na ofitserskii korpus RKKA. ''(''The actual influence of the repressions of 1937-1938 on the officer corps of the Workers and Peasants Red Army.'') Rossiiskii Istoricheskii Zhurnal 1 (1999), At http://www.hrono.ru/statii/2001/rkka_repr.html Getty, J. Arch, Practicing Stalinism. Bolsheviks, Boyars, and the Persistence of Tradition. Yale University Press, 2013. Getty, J. Arch. Post concerning Volkogonov as historian. H-Russia list, September 26, 1998. Gins burgs, George. ''A Case Study in the Soviet Use of International La,;v: Eastern Poland in 1939." The American Journal ofInternational Law, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Jan., 1958), pp. 69-84. Guderian, Heinz. Erinneru11gen eines Soldaten. 1951. (Kotkin uses the Russian translation) Haase, Norbert. Das Reichskriegsgericht und der Widerstand gegen die nationalsozialistische Herrschaft. Berlin: Druckerei der Justizvollzugsanstalt Tegel, 1993. Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf Volume One: A Reckoning. Chapter VI: War Propaganda. At http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/mkvlch06.html Hoffer. Peter Charles. Past Imperfect. Facts, Fictions, Fraud: American History from Bancroft and Parkma11 to Ambrose, Bellesiles, Ellis, and Goodwin. New York: Public Affairs, 2004 Hughes, James. Stalinism in a Russian Province. A Study ofCollectivization and Dekulakization in Siberia. Palgrave Macmillan: London and New York, 1996. Kem, Gary. A Death in Washington. Walter G. Krivitsky and the Stalin Terror. Revised and enlarged edition. New York: Enigma Books, 2004. Khrushchev, Nikita S. The ''Secret Speech." At https ://msuweb .montc lair. edu/~furrg/research/kl/speech.html Kokurin A.I.,IU. N Morukov, eds. Stalins/de Stroiki GULAGA 1930-1953. Dokumenty. [Stalinist GULAG Construction] Moscow: MDF - ''Materik'' 2005. Kol'tsov, Mikhail E. Ispanskii dnevnik (Spanish diary). Moscow: Politizdat, 1987. At http://militera. lib .ru/db/ko ltsov_me/index.html Kotkin, Stephen. ''If Stalin Had Died ... " NYRB November 6, 2014, 34-35. Lippmann, Walter, and Charles Merz. A Test of the News." Supplement to the August 8, 1920 issue of The New Republic. At https://archive.org/details/LippmannMerzATestoftheNews Losu1·do, Domenico. Losurdo, ''Staline et le stalinisme dans l 'histoire (2).'' April 12, 2012. At http://www.lafauteadiderot.net/Staline-et-le-stalinisme-dans-l,855; also at http:/I domenicolosurdo. blogspot.com/2012/09/il-dibattito-sullo-stalinismo-alla.html Losurdo, Domenico. Stalin. Storia e critica di una leggenda nera. Rome: Carocci, 2008 Main, Stephen J. ''The Arrest and 'Testimony' of Marshal of the Soviet Union M.N. Tukhachevsky (May-June 1937)." Journal ofSlavic Military Studies 10, No. 1(March1997), 151-195. Menshevistskii protsessy 1931 goda. Sbornik dokumentov v 2-kh knigakh. Moscow: ROSSPEN, 1999. Mensing, Wilhelm. ''Eine ,,Morgengabe''? Die sowjetische Auslieferung deutscher Emigranten an das NS-Regime nach Abschluss des Hitle1·-Stalin-Pakts.'' Jahrbuchfur Extremismus und Demokratie. 23 (2011) 37-65. Mozokhin, Oleg B. ''Ispoved' terrorista." Voenno-Istoricheskii Arkhiv 6 (2002), 25-59.

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Naumov, Leonid A. Stalin i NKVD. Moscow: Novyi Khronograf, 2010. (Kotkin cites a 2007 edition) Nazarenko N. N., Bashkin A. V. ''Eksport zemovykh nachala 30-kh gg. XX v. v kontekste goloda 1932-1933 gg." (Cereal Crops Export in early 1930s in the Context of the Famine of 1932-1933). Noveishaia Jstoriia Rossii, no 3, 2016, 105-120. Politbiuro i delo Beria. 1v1oscow: Kurchkovo Pole, 2012. Politbiuro i Lev Trotskil: (sbornik dokumentov), 1923-1940 gg. Prague (Czech Republic), Sociosfera-CZ, 2013. 2 volumes. Protsess Bukharina. 1938 g.: Sbornik dokumentov (Moscow: MDF, 2013). Prudnikova. Elena. Khrushchev- Tvortsy terrora. Moscow: OLMA, 2007. Pykhalov, Igor', and Vladimir L. Bobrov have analyzed one in ''Iakir i Bukharin: spletni i dokumenty." Rossiiskii Kolokol, 2005; also Chapter 7 of Pykhalov's book Velikii Obolga1111iy Vozhd' (2010). Report ofCourt Proceedings in the Case of the Anti-Soviet ''Bloc ofRights and Trotskyites'' Heard Before the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the U.S.S.R. Moscow, March 2-13, 1938 ... Verbatim Report. Moscow: People's Commissariat of Justice of the U.S.S.R., 1938. (1938 Trial) Report ofCourt Proceedings in the Case of the Anti-Soviet Trotskyite Centre. Heard Before the Military Collegium ofthe Supreme Court of the U.S.S.R. Moscow, January 23-30, 1937.... Verbatim Report. Moscow: People's Commissariat of Justice of the U.S.S.R., 1937. (1937 Trial) Report ofCourt Proceedings. The Case ofthe Trotskyite-Zinovievite Terrorist Center. Mosco\¥: People's Commissariat of Justice of the U.S.S.R., 1936. (1936 Trial) Roberts, Geoffrey. ''Stalin, Trump, and the Politics of Narcissism: A Response to Rose McDermott's 'The Nature of Narcissism." H-Diplo, June 29, 2018. At https://issforum.org/roundtables/policy/1-5BG-Stalin Rothstein, Andrew ed. Wreckers on Trial. New York: Workers Library, Printed in England, 1931. Schafranek, Hans. Das kurze Leben des Kurt Landau. Vienna: Verlag fur Gesellschaftskritik, 1988. Schudson. Michael. Discoveri11g the News. A Social History ofAmerican Newspapers. New York: Basic Books, 1978. Shimov, Iaroslav. ''Dve puli na pamiat' ."''Radio Svoboda," August 24, 2016. At https://www.svoboda.org/a/27943084.html Tauger, 1v1ark. ''Famine in Russian History." Supplement to the Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, vol. 10. Gulf Breeze Florida, Academic International Press, 2011. Tauger, 1v1ark. review of Anne Applebaum, Red Famine. History News Network, July 1, 2018,. At https://historynewsnet,;vork.org/article/169438 The Stalin-Howard Interview. New York: Inte1national Publishers, [1936]. Turtola, Martti. 'Guilty or Innocent? Approaches to the Winter War in Research and Memoirs', in Yearbook ofFinnish Foreign Policy. Helsinki; 1990. Velikanov, Nikolai. Izmena Marshalov. M.: Algoritm, 2008. Wheatcroft, Stephen. ''The Soviet Famine of 1946 1947, the Weather and Human Agency in Historical Perspective." Europe-Asia Studies 64 no. 6 (2012), 988-1005.

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XVII S''ezd VKP(b). 26 ia11varia -10 fevralia 1934 g. Ste11ograficheskii otchet. (Transc1·ipt of 17th Party Congress, January - February, 1934) 1v1oscow: Partizdat, 1934. At http://www.hrono.ru/dokum/1934vkpb 17/index.php XX- S''ezd Kommunisticheskoi Partii Sovetskogo Soiuza. Stenograficheskii otchet. (Moscow, 1956), I. Zhukov, IU. ''Zhupel Stalina. ''(,,The Stalin Boogeyman'') Komsomolskaia Pravda November 5, 6, 12-14, 16, 19-21, 2002.

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