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What is somsh in the USSR. Smersh - history of creation and facts

19.05.2021

In the section on the question What is SMERSH? given by the author User deleted the best answer is Sometimes heroes and sometimes assassins. If they did not miss the mark (in the sense that they were not mistaken) and destroyed the spy, then the heroes, and often simply on suspicion, or on a tip, pronounced a verdict and aha ... without trial or investigation. Then the second.

Answer from Neurologist[guru]
Much more often - heroes. Their job was to identify and destroy saboteurs, who almost always offered armed resistance. I do not know about their mistakes, so if there were any, they are more likely heroes anyway.

Answer from Millet[guru]
Heroes, of course. It is enough to look, or even better to read "August 44"

Answer from Lumen[guru]
Soviet Army counterintelligence. Under this name it existed in the army and partisan detachments from 1943 to 1945. The head is Abakumov.

Answer from Anya Zaritskaya[guru]
abbreviation for "death to spies!" ... During the Great Patriotic War- Soviet army counterintelligence. At the election headquarters there is a security service and counter-propaganda.
Ryo

Answer from LIMIT[guru]
SMERSH (the abbreviation is made up of the initial letters of the well-known slogan "Death to spies!") - Main counterintelligence department "SMERSH" of the People's Commissariat of Defense (NPO) of the USSR - military counterintelligence. Transformed from the Directorate of Special Departments of the NKVD by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated April 19, 1943. The same Decree created the Counterintelligence Department "SMERSH" of the NKVMF of the USSR and the counterintelligence department "SMERSH" of the NKVD of the USSR. Under this name, military counterintelligence existed until May 1946.

The document disclosed in detail the goals and objectives of the new structure, and also determined the status of its employees:

"The head of the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence of the NCO [" Smersh "] is the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, subordinate directly to the People's Commissar of Defense and carries out only his orders."
“The Smersh bodies are a centralized organization: on the fronts and districts, the Smersh bodies [Smersh Administrations of NCOs of fronts and Smersh departments of NCOs of armies, corps, divisions, brigades, military districts and other formations and institutions of the Red Army] are subject only to to their higher authorities "
"Organs" Smersh " inform Military councils and command of the corresponding units, formations and institutions of the Red Army on their work: on the results of the fight against the enemy's agents, on the anti-Soviet elements that have penetrated into the army, on the results of the fight against treason and betrayal, desertion, self-harm "
Tasks to be solved:
- “A) the fight against espionage, sabotage, terrorist and other subversive activities of foreign intelligence in units and institutions of the Red Army;
- b) the fight against anti-Soviet elements that have infiltrated the units and institutions of the Red Army;
- c) taking the necessary intelligence-operative and other [through the command] measures to create conditions on the fronts that exclude the possibility of unpunished passage of enemy agents through the front line in order to make the front line impenetrable for spy and anti-Soviet elements;
- d) the fight against betrayal and treason to the Motherland in the units and institutions of the Red Army [going over to the side of the enemy, harboring spies and, in general, facilitating the work of the latter];
- e) the fight against desertion and self-harm at the fronts;
- f) verification of servicemen and other persons who were in captivity and surrounded by the enemy;
- g) fulfillment of special tasks of the People's Commissar of Defense.
- bodies "Smersh" are exempt from any other work not directly related to the tasks listed in this section "
Bodies of "Smersh" have the right:
- “A) carry out agent-informational work;
- b) carry out, in the manner prescribed by law, seizures, searches and arrests of Red Army servicemen, as well as related civilians suspected of criminal activity [The procedure for arresting servicemen is defined in Section IV of this Appendix];
- c) conduct an investigation into the cases of those arrested with the subsequent transfer of cases, in agreement with the prosecutor's office, for consideration by the relevant judicial authorities or a Special Conference at the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR;
- d) apply various special events aimed at revealing the criminal activities of agents of foreign intelligence services and anti-Soviet elements;
- e) summon, without prior agreement with the command, in cases of operational necessity and for interrogations, the rank and file of the Red Army. "
"The Smersh bodies" are staffed by the operational staff of the former Directorate of Special Departments of the NKVD of the USSR and a special selection of servicemen from among the commanding officers and political personnel of the Red Army. " military ranks established in the Red Army "and" employees of the Smersh bodies wear uniforms, shoulder straps and other insignia established for the corresponding branches of the Red Army. "

The first order on the personnel of the GUKR "Smersh", on April 29, 1943, (order No. 1 / ssh), the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR JV Stalin established a new procedure for assigning ranks to the officers of the new Glavka, which had predominantly "Chekist" special ranks:

“In accordance with the regulations approved by the State Defense Committee on the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence of the People's Commissariat of Defense“ SMERSH ”and its local bodies, - PRI KAZYVA YU: 1. To assign the military ranks established by the Decree to the personnel of the“ SMERSH ”bodies Of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the following order: TO THE SUPERVISORY STAFF OF THE "SMERSH" BODIES: a) having the rank of junior lieutenant of state security - ML.LIEUTENANT; b) having the rank of lieutenant of state security - LIEUTENANT; c) having the rank of senior lieutenant of state security - senior lieutenant; d) having the title of State Security Captain - CAPTAIN; e) having the rank of Major of State Security - MAYOR; f) having the rank of lieutenant colonel of state security - lieutenant colonel; f) having the rank of Colonel of State Security - COLONEL. 2. To the rest of the commanding staff who have the rank of State Security Commissioner and above, assign military ranks on a personal basis. "

However, at the same time, there are enough examples when military counterintelligence officers - "Smershevtsy" (especially for senior officers) wore personal ranks of state security. For example, Lieutenant Colonel of the State Security Service G. I. Polyakov (rank awarded on February 11, 1943) from December 1943 to March 1945 headed the counterintelligence department "SMERSH" of the 109th Infantry Division. It should be remembered that the special ranks of the state security did not correspond to military ranks.

On April 19, 1943, by Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 415-138ss, on the basis of the Directorate of Special Departments (UOO) of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR, the following were formed: Abakumov). 2. Directorate of counterintelligence "Smersh" of the People's Commissariat of the Navy of the USSR (Head - Commissioner of the State Security P. A. Gladkov).

A little later, on May 15, 1943, in accordance with the aforementioned resolution of the Council of People's Commissars for the agent-operational service of the border and internal troops, militia and other armed formations of the People's Commissariat, by order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 00856, the Counterintelligence Department (ROC) "Smersh" State Security Commissioner S.P. Yukhimovich).

Employees of all three departments "Smersh" were to wear uniforms and insignia of military units and formations served by them.

For some it will be a revelation that during the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union there were three counterintelligence organizations called "Smersh". They did not obey each other, they were in different departments, these were three independent counterintelligence bodies: the Main Counterintelligence Directorate "Smersh" in the People's Commissariat of Defense, which was headed by Abakumov and about which there are already a lot of publications. This "Smersh" really obeyed the People's Commissar of Defense, directly, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Stalin. The second counterintelligence body, which also bore the name "Smersh", belonged to the Counterintelligence Directorate of the People's Commissariat Navy, was subordinate to the People's Commissar of the Fleet Kuznetsov and no one else. There was also a counterintelligence department "Smersh" in the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, which was directly subordinate to Beria. When some researchers claim that Abakumov controlled Beria through Smersh counterintelligence, this is sheer absurdity. There was no mutual control. "Smersh" did not control Beria Abakumov through these bodies, let alone Abakumov could not control Beria. These were three independent counterintelligence units in three law enforcement agencies.

On May 26, 1943, by Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 592 of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (published in print), the executives of the "Smersh" bodies (NPO and NKVMF) were awarded general ranks. The head of the GUKR NKO of the USSR "Smersh" V.S. up to July 1945, the "Chekist" special title of the COMMISSIONER of the GB 2 rank.

On July 24, 1943, the head of the Smersh NKVM Directorate for the USSR NKVM, P. Gladkov became Major General of the Coastal Service, and the head of the Smersh NKVD ROC, S. P. Yukhimovich, remained until July 1945, the State Security Commissioner.

SMERSH: repressive or counterintelligence agency?

Some modern sources claim that, in addition to obvious successes in the fight against German intelligence, SMERSH acquired an ominous fame during the war years thanks to the system of repression against civilians who were occupied in the temporarily occupied territory of the USSR by German troops or in forced labor in Germany.

In 1941, JV Stalin signed a decree of the USSR State Defense Committee on state inspection (filtration) of Red Army servicemen who were in captivity or surrounded by enemy troops. A similar procedure was carried out with respect to the operational composition of the state security agencies. The filtering of servicemen provided for the identification of traitors, spies and deserters among them. By the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of January 6, 1945, departments for repatriation began to function at the headquarters of the fronts, in which employees of the "Smersh" bodies took part. Collection and transfer points were created to receive and check Soviet citizens liberated by the Red Army.

It is reported that from 1941 to 1945. Soviet authorities arrested about 700,000 people - about 70,000 of them were shot. It is also reported that several million people passed through the "purgatory" of SMERSH, and about a quarter of them were also executed.

To monitor and control dissent, SMERSH created and maintained a whole system of surveillance of citizens in the rear and at the front. Threats of reprisals led to cooperation with the secret service and to baseless accusations against military personnel and civilians.

It is also reported today that SMERSH played a large role in the spread of the Stalinist system of terror to countries. of Eastern Europe where regimes friendly to the Soviet Union were established. For example, it is reported that on the territory of Poland and Germany after the war, some former Nazi concentration camps continued to function "under the auspices" of SMERSH as a place of repression of the ideological opponents of the new regimes. 60,000 opponents of the socialist choice).

At the same time, the reputation of SMERSH as a repressive organ is often exaggerated in modern literature. The SMERSH GUKR had nothing to do with the persecution of the civilian population, and could not do this, since work with the civilian population is the prerogative of the territorial bodies of the NKVD-NKGB. Contrary to popular belief, the SMERSH authorities could not sentence anyone to imprisonment or execution, since they were not judicial authorities. The sentences were passed by a military tribunal or a special meeting at the NKVD.

Activities and weapons

The activities of the GUKR SMERSH also included the filtering of soldiers who returned from captivity, as well as the preliminary cleaning of the front line from German agents and anti-Soviet elements (together with the NKVD Troops for the protection of the rear of the Army in action and the territorial bodies of the NKVD). SMERSH hosted Active participation in the search, detention and investigation of Soviet citizens who acted in anti-Soviet armed groups that fought on the side of Germany, such as the Russian Liberation Army.

The main enemy of SMERSH in his counterintelligence activities was the Abwehr, the German intelligence and counterintelligence service in 1919-1944, the field gendarmerie and the Main Directorate of Imperial Security of the RSHA, the Finnish military intelligence.

The service of the operational staff of the SMERSH GUKR was extremely dangerous - on average, an operative served for 3 months, after which he dropped out after death or injury. During the battles for the liberation of Belarus 236 were killed and 136 military counterintelligence officers were missing. The first front-line counterintelligence officer to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously) was Lieutenant PA Zhidkov, an operative of the SMERSH counterintelligence department of the motorized rifle battalion of the 71st mechanized brigade of the 9th mechanized corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army.

The activities of the GUKR SMERSH are characterized by obvious successes in the fight against foreign intelligence services; in terms of effectiveness, SMERSH was the most effective special service during the Second World War. From 1943 until the end of the war, only radio games were played by the central apparatus of the GUKR SMERSH NPO of the USSR and its front-line directorates 186 were held. During these games, more than 400 cadres and Nazi agents were brought into our territory, and tens of tons of cargo were seized.

At the same time, the reputation of SMERSH as a repressive organ is often exaggerated in modern literature. Contrary to popular belief, the SMERSH authorities could not sentence anyone to imprisonment or execution, since they were not judicial authorities. The sentences were passed by a military tribunal or a Special Meeting at the NKVD of the USSR. The counterintelligence officers were to receive a sanction for the arrests of the middle command staff from the Military Council of the army or front, and the senior and higher command personnel - from the People's Commissar of Defense. At the same time, SMERSH performed the function of a secret police in the troops, each unit had its own special officer, who dealt with soldiers and officers with problem biographies, and recruited agents. Often the SMERSH agents showed heroism on the battlefield, especially in a situation of panic and retreat.

SMERSH operatives in search practice preferred individual firearms, since a lone officer with a submachine gun at all times aroused the curiosity of those around him (A. Potapov "Pistol shooting techniques. Practice Smersh"). The most popular were the following pistols: 1. Revolver of the "Nagant" system, officer's self-cocking model of 1895 2. TT pistol of the 1930-1933 model 3. Walter PPK 4. Borchard-Luger (Parabellum-08) 5. Walter pistol, model 1938 6. Pistol "Beretta M-34" caliber 9 mm. 7. Special operational-sabotage small-sized pistol Lignose, caliber 6,35 mm. 8. Pistol "Mauser Hsc" 9. "Czech Zbroevka" caliber 9 mm. 10. Browning, 14-shooter, sample 1930

Heads of GUKR SMERSH

Boss

Samples of documents

SMERSH in fiction and cinema

Vladimir Bogomolov - the novel "The Moment of Truth (In August forty-fourth)". A novel about the work of the lower level SMERSH - investigators who are directly involved in the search for an enemy reconnaissance group abandoned in the rear of the active army. A characteristic feature - the author gives real documents, from which official information has been removed (classification of secrecy, resolutions, who transmitted, who received, etc.) - reports, telegrams, memoranda, orders, information messages reflecting the work of SMERSH on the search for German agents - parachutists, thanks to which the novel acquires the features of a documentary.
"In August 44th" - a feature film (2000). Screen adaptation of the novel by Vladimir Bogomolov "The Moment of Truth (In August forty-fourth)". Directed by Mikhail Ptashuk. Cast: Yevgeny Mironov, Vladislav Galkin, Yuri Kolokolnikov and others.
"SMERSH" - series (2007). 4 episodes. The first months after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Hundreds of former policemen and traitors are hiding in the Belarusian forests, united in a detachment. They kill brutally Soviet soldiers, attack towns and villages, do not spare either women or children. A group of professionals from SMERSH has been entrusted with the liquidation of the bandit detachment. Directed by Zinovy Roizman. Cast: Andrey Egorov, Anton Makarsky, Anton Semkin, Andrey Sokolov and others.
"Death to Spies!" - TV series (2007). 8 episodes. 1944 year. The counterintelligence captain is tasked with identifying a "mole" in one of the divisions of the Soviet Army, during which he has to deal with riddles that take place at the location of Hitler's former headquarters in Vinnitsa, as well as prevent the Nazis from carrying out a special operation "Voice of God". Directed by Sergei Lyalin. Cast: Nikita Tyunin,

Smersh (short for "Death to Spies!") Is the name of a number of independent counterintelligence organizations in the Soviet Union during World War II.

The main counterintelligence department "Smersh" of the People's Commissariat of Defense (NKO) - military counterintelligence, head - VS Abakumov. Subordinated directly to the People's Commissar of Defense I.V. Stalin.
Directorate of counterintelligence "Smersh" of the People's Commissariat of the Navy, chief - Lieutenant General of the Coastal Service P. A. Gladkov. Subordinated to the People's Commissar of the Fleet N.G. Kuznetsov.
Counterintelligence department "Smersh" of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, head - S. P. Yukhimovich. Subordinated to the People's Commissar L.P. Beria.
On April 19, 1943, by secret Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 415-138ss, on the basis of the Directorate of Special Departments (UOO) of the NKVD of the USSR, the following were created:

The main counterintelligence department "Smersh" of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR, the head is the commissar of the State Security Committee of the 2nd rank V. S. Abakumov.
Directorate of counterintelligence "Smersh" of the People's Commissariat of the Navy of the USSR, Chief - Commissioner of State Security P. A. Gladkov.
On May 15, 1943, in accordance with the aforementioned resolution of the Council of People's Commissars, for the agent-operational service of the border and internal troops, militia and other armed formations of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, by order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 00856 was created:

Counterintelligence Department (ROC) "Smersh" of the NKVD of the USSR, headed by the Commissioner of the State Security Service S. P. Yukhimovich.
These three structures were independent counterintelligence units and were subordinate only to the leadership of these departments. The main counterintelligence department "Smersh" in the NKO was directly subordinate to the People's Commissar of Defense Stalin, the counterintelligence department "Smersh" of the NKVMF was subordinate to the People's Commissar of the Fleet Kuznetsov, the counterintelligence department "Smersh" in the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs was directly subordinate to the People's Commissar Beria. The assumption made by some researchers that Beria and Abakumov used the Smersh structures for mutual control is not supported by documents from archival sources.

On April 21, 1943, JV Stalin signed the GKO Resolution No. 3222 ss / s "On the approval of the regulations on the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence of the NCO (Smersh) and its local bodies." This decree is kept secret.

On May 31, 1943, JV Stalin signed the GKO Resolution No. 3461 ss / s "On Approval of the Regulations on the Smersh NKVM Counterintelligence Directorate and its Local Bodies." This decree is kept secret.

“In accordance with the regulations approved by the State Defense Committee on the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence of the People's Commissariat of Defense“ SMERSH ”and its local bodies, - PRI KAZYVA YU: 1. To assign the military ranks established by the Decree to the personnel of the“ SMERSH ”bodies Of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the following order: FOR THE SUPERVISORY STAFF OF THE "SMERSH" BODIES: a) with the rank of junior lieutenant of state security - ML.LIEUTENANT; b) having the rank of lieutenant of state security - LIEUTENANT; c) having the rank of senior lieutenant of state security - senior lieutenant; d) having the title of captain of state security - CAPTAIN; e) having the rank of Major of State Security - MAYOR; f) having the rank of lieutenant colonel of state security - lieutenant colonel; f) having the rank of colonel of state security - COLONEL.

2. To the rest of the commanding staff who have the rank of State Security Commissioner and above, to assign military ranks on a personal basis. "

However, at the same time, there are enough examples when military counterintelligence officers - "Smershevites" (especially for senior officers) wore personal ranks of state security. For example, Lieutenant Colonel of the State Security Service G. I. Polyakov (rank awarded on February 11, 1943) from December 1943 to March 1945 headed the counterintelligence department "SMERSH" of the 109th Infantry Division.

Employees of all three departments "Smersh" were to wear uniforms and insignia of military units and formations served by them.

The head of the GUKR of the NKO of the USSR "Smersh" V.S. himself up to July 1945, the "Chekist" special title of the 2nd rank commissar of the State Security.

On July 24, 1943, the head of the UKR of the NKVM of the USSR "Smersh" P. A. Gladkov became a major general of the coastal service, and the head of the ROC of the NKVD of the USSR "Smersh" S. P. Yukhimovich remained until July 1945 the commissar of the State Security.

In 1941, Stalin signed a decree of the USSR State Defense Committee on state inspection (filtration) of Red Army servicemen who were in captivity or surrounded by enemy troops. A similar procedure was carried out with respect to the operational composition of the state security bodies. The filtering of servicemen provided for the identification of traitors, spies and deserters among them. By a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of January 6, 1945, departments for repatriation began to function at the headquarters of the fronts, in which employees of the Smersh bodies took part. Collection and transfer points were created to receive and check Soviet citizens liberated by the Red Army.

"SMERSH": Historical sketches and archival documents. M. 2005
It is reported that from 1941 to 1945. Soviet authorities arrested about 700 thousand people - about 70 thousand of them were shot. It is also reported that several million people passed through the "purgatory" of SMERSH, and about a quarter of them were also executed. During the war, 101 generals and admirals were arrested: 12 died during the investigation, 8 were released for lack of corpus delicti, 81 were convicted by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court and a special meeting.

It is also reported today that SMERSH played a large role in the spread of the Stalinist system of terror to the countries of Eastern Europe, where regimes friendly to the Soviet Union were established. For example, it is reported that on the territory of Poland and Germany after the war, some former Nazi concentration camps continued to function "under the auspices" of SMERSH as a place of repression of the ideological opponents of the new regimes. 60 thousand opponents of the socialist choice).

Detachments under the "Smersh" bodies have never been created, and employees of "Smersh" have never headed them. At the beginning of the war, barrage measures were carried out by the NKVD troops to protect the rear of the Army in the field. In 1942, barrage detachments began to be created for each army at the front. In fact, they were intended to maintain order during battles. Only at the head of the detachments of the Stalingrad and Southwestern fronts in September-December 1942 were employees of the special departments of the NKVD.

To ensure operational work, guard the deployment sites, escort and guard the arrested from the Red Army units, the Smersh bodies were allocated: for the front-line Smersh - a battalion, for the army department - a company, for the corps department, division and brigade - a platoon. As for the barrage detachments, the barrage services were actively used by the Smersh workers to search for enemy intelligence agents. For example, on the eve of the offensive operations of the fronts, measures along the line of the foreign service acquired a large scale with the participation of Smersh bodies. In particular, the combing of military garrisons was carried out, up to 500 or more settlements with the adjacent forest areas, an inspection of non-residential premises, thousands of abandoned dugouts was carried out. In the course of such "cleansing operations", as a rule, a large number of undocumented persons, deserters, as well as servicemen who had documents with signs indicating their production in the Abwehr, were detained.

Military counterintelligence officers "Smersh" sometimes not only performed their direct duties, but also directly participated in battles with the Nazis, often at critical moments took over the command of companies and battalions that had lost their commanders. Many army chekists died in the line of duty, assignments of the command of the Red Army and the Navy.

For example, Art. Lieutenant A.F. Kalmykov, who served the battalion of the 310th rifle division, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the following feat. In January 1944, the battalion's personnel tried to seize the assault on the village of Osiya, Novgorod Region. The offensive was stopped by heavy enemy fire. Repeated attacks were unsuccessful. By agreement with the command, the Kalmyks led a group of fighters and penetrated from the rear into the village defended by a strong enemy garrison. The sudden blow caused confusion among the Germans, but their numerical superiority allowed them to surround the daredevils. Then Kalmykov called "fire on himself" over the radio. After the liberation of the village, in addition to the dead Soviet soldiers, about 300 corpses of the enemy were found on its streets, destroyed by Kalmykov's group and by the fire of Soviet guns and mortars.

In total, during the war years, four employees of SMERSH were awarded highest award- ranks of Hero of the Soviet Union: Senior Lieutenant Pyotr Anfimovich Zhidkov, Lieutenant Grigory Mikhailovich Kravtsov, Lieutenant Mikhail Petrovich Krygin, Lieutenant Vasily Mikhailovich Chebotarev. All four were awarded this title posthumously.

Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov (April 11 (24), 1908, Moscow - December 19, 1954, Leningrad) - Soviet statesman, Colonel General (07/09/1945, State Security Commissioner of the 2nd rank).

Deputy People's Commissar of Defense and Head of the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence "SMERSH" of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR (1943-1946), Minister of State Security of the USSR (1946-1951).

Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd convocation.

On July 12, 1951, V.S.Abakumov was arrested and charged with high treason and a Zionist conspiracy in the MGB.

After Stalin's death, the charges against Abakumov were changed; he was charged with the "Leningrad affair", fabricated by him, according to the new official version.

Delivered to a closed trial in Leningrad and on December 19, 1954, shot in Levashovo near Leningrad.

In 1997, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court re-qualified the sentence under the article "military malfeasance" and replaced it with 25 years of imprisonment.

Alexander Anatolyevich Vadis (1906-1968) - counterintelligence officer, Deputy Minister of State Security of the Ukrainian SSR, Lieutenant General (1944).
Born into a Ukrainian peasant family. From 1913 to 1917 he studied at the gymnasium in the city of Bakhmut. From November 1918 he was homeless in Kiev. From June 1920 to November 1922 he served in the Red Army. After demobilization, a farm laborer at the Vilchinsky kulak in the village of Konyushevka. In 1923 he joined the Komsomol. Since August 1924, the secretary of the regional cell of the Komsomol of Ukraine, Nemirovsky orphanage, the town of Vakhnovka. Since September 1925 communard in the commune "Plowman". Since December 1926, he was the head of the district children's bureau of the district committee of the Komsomol of Ukraine, since July 1927, the executive secretary of the Vinnitsa district committee of the Komsomol of Ukraine. Member of the CPSU (b) from April 1928. Again in the Red Army, a cadet in the 96th Rifle Regiment of the 96th Rifle Division from November 1928 to November 1930.

Since 1930 in the GPU of Ukraine. In 1938, the head of the Berdichev city department of the NKVD, the head of the 4th department of the 3rd department of the UGB NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1939, the head of the 3rd department of the UGB UNKVD of the Kamenets-Podolsk region. In 1941, the head of the UNKVD, the head of the UNKGB of the Ternopil region, the head of the Special department of the NKVD of the 26th army. In 1941-1942 Deputy Head of the Special Department of the NKVD of the Southwestern Front. In 1942, the head of the Special Department of the NKVD of the Bryansk Front. In 1942-1943 he was the head of the Special Department of the NKVD of the Voronezh Front. In 1943-1945, head of the counterintelligence department SMERSH of the Central - Belorussian - 1st Belorussian Front - the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany. In 1945-1946, head of the SMERSH counterintelligence department, head of the counterintelligence department of the MGB of the Trans-Baikal-Amur Military District. In 1947-1951 he was the head of the Main Directorate of Security of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR on railway and water transport. In 1951, Deputy Minister of State Security of the Ukrainian SSR.

November 24, 1951 dismissed from the bodies of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR. In 1951-1953 he worked in the ITL system of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1952 he was expelled from the Communist Party for abuse of office. On December 25, 1953, he was dismissed from the bodies of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs "on the facts of discrediting." On November 23, 1954, by decree of the USSR Council of Ministers No. 2349-1118ss, he was deprived of the military rank of general and all military awards "as having discredited himself during his work in the bodies ... and unworthy in this regard to the high rank of general." Following this, he was deprived of his pension, and in 1955 he was evicted from his apartment. Until his death in 1968, A.A. Vadis lived in a rented room in a communal apartment and worked as a watchman. After 1957, when Marshal G.K. Zhukov was removed from the post of Minister of Defense, he was offered to write a letter of repentance to NS Khrushchev and apply for reinstatement in the CPSU, but he categorically refused to do so.

Mikhail Dmitrievich Ryumin (September 1, 1913 - July 22, 1954) - a prominent figure of the NKGB - Ministry of State Security of the USSR, colonel, Deputy Minister of State Security of the USSR (October 19, 1951 - November 13, 1952).

Born into a peasant family in the village of Kabanye, Kaban volost, Shadrinsky district, Perm province (now Shadrinsky district, Kurgan region). Member of the CPSU (b) since 1943

Initial period [edit
In 1929 he graduated from the eight classes of the 2nd grade school in Shadrinsk.

From May 1929 to February 1931 he worked as an accountant in the agricultural cooperative "Udarnik" in his native village.

From April 1930 to June 1930 he was a student of the Shadrinsky accounting courses of the regional Union of Consumer Societies.

From June 1930 to February 1931 he was an accountant at the Udarnik artel.

From February 1931 to June 1931 - an accountant-instructor of the Kabanievsky district collective farm union, the regional post office (Ural region).

From June 1931 he studied at communication courses in Shadrinsk, after graduating from them in September 1931 he worked as an accountant, senior accountant, accountant-instructor of the communications department of the Ural region (September 1931 - June 1933), at the same time in 1931 - 1932 he studied at Komsomol branch of the Communist University named after V.I. Lenin (Sverdlovsk).

In September 1934 - March 1935 he studied at the courses of the Union of Archives of Accounting, but did not graduate from them.

From May 1934 to September 1935 - Chief Accountant of the Communications Department of the Sverdlovsk Region.

In September 1935 he was drafted into the army (private, from September 15, 1935 he served at the headquarters of the Ural Military District, from December 15, 1935 to July 1936, he was an accountant-economist at the headquarters).

In July - August 1937 he again worked as the chief accountant of the communications department of the Sverdlovsk region.

From September 13, 1937 - an accountant-auditor of the financial sector of the Central Administration of River Routes of the USSR People's Commissariat for Water Transport.

From September 27, 1938 - chief accountant, then, until June 1941 - head of the planning and financial department of the Moscow-Volga Canal Administration.

After the outbreak of World War II, he was sent to work in the NKVD.

In the NKVD-MGB
Studied at High school The NKVD of the USSR (July 22 - September 1941), then was on investigative work in the OO NKVD - ROC "Smersh" of the Arkhangelsk VO: investigator, senior investigator of the 4th department of the OO NKVD for the Arkhangelsk VO, since May 21, 1943 - deputy head , from January 17, 1944 to December 15, 1944 - the head of the 4th (investigative) department of the ROC "Smersh" of the Arkhangelsk VO. From December 15, 1944 to March 23, 1945 - head of the 4th (investigative) department of the ROC "Smersh" of the Belomorsk military district.

Then he was transferred to the central office of the GUKR "Smersh" (then the Ministry of State Security of the USSR), held positions:

Senior investigator of the 1st department of the 6th department of the Smersh GUKR (March 25, 1945 - May 22, 1946);
Deputy Head of the 2nd Division of the 6th Division of the 3rd Main Directorate of the USSR Ministry of State Security (May 22, 1946 - September 21, 1949);
Senior Investigator of the Investigative Unit for Particularly Important Cases of the MGB (September 21, 1949 - July 10, 1951).
In 1951 he was reprimanded for the loss of a folder with investigation materials on a service bus. He also hid facts from the leadership that discredited his relatives - Ryumin's father was a fist, brother and sister were accused of theft, and his father-in-law during Civil War served with Kolchak.

M. Ryumin was called a “bloody dwarf” because he “knocked out” testimony, torturing people with torture. In 1948, he "mined" materials for the arrest of Marshal G.K. Zhukov.

Ryumin took part in the investigation of the "Marshal" case initiated by Abakumov on Stalin's orders - to prepare materials for the arrest of Georgy Zhukov. He was in charge of the case of the arrested Hero of the Soviet Union, Major P. Ye. Braiko, beating him, and forced him to sign a statement against "one of the Marshals of the Soviet Union." Also, seeking evidence against Zhukov and Serov, he burnt his tongue with a cigarette to the arrested former storekeeper of the Berlin NKVD operative A. V. Kuznetsova.

He was promoted thanks to the "Doctors' Plot". Nikolai Mesyatsev, while still only a Komsomol trainee, in 1953 audited the materials of the investigation of the "doctors' case" and found that it was fabricated on the initiative of Ryumin. In an interview with the newspaper Sovetskaya Rossiya, he recalls:

The initiator [of the doctors' case] should be considered the chief of the investigative unit Ryumin, known as a notorious careerist ... Some believe that the impetus for the emergence of the “doctors case” was the suspicion expressed by Stalin that the deaths of former Politburo members Kalinin, Shcherbakov, Zhdanov were guilty of the doctors who treated them. The MGB decided to confirm the leader's "guess". A statement from an employee of the Kremlin hospital, Lydia Timashuk, appears. An expert commission is created, headed by Ryumin. And - the car spun.
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On July 2, 1951, at the request of D.N.Sukhanov (assistant to G.M. Malenkov), he sent a statement addressed to I.V. Stalin, in which he accused the Minister of State Security of the USSR V.S.Abakumov of hiding important materials on the death of the Secretary of the Central Committee S. Shcherbakov, in obstructing the investigation of the cases of the arrested Professor Ya.G. Etinger, deputy general director JSC "Vismut" Salimanov, numerous violations of investigative procedures, violations of laws, etc. On July 12, Abakumov was arrested. Dozens of MGB officers were also arrested, and the next day a closed letter from the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks "On the unsatisfactory situation in the USSR Ministry of State Security" appeared.

From July 10, 1951 - Acting Chief, from October 19 - Chief of the Investigative Unit for Particularly Important Cases of the USSR Ministry of State Security. At the same time, on October 19, 1951, he was appointed Deputy Minister of State Security of the USSR and a member of the MGB Collegium. In 1952, he led the Mingrelian affair at Stalin's instructions.

By a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of November 13, 1952, he was suspended from work in the MGB and sent to the Central Committee of the CPSU for inability to solve the “Abakumov case” and the “doctors' case” (they “still remain not fully disclosed”).

On November 14, 1952, he was appointed senior controller of the USSR Ministry of State Control (for the Ministry of Finance and the State Staff Commission).

Arrest and execution
On March 17, 1953, after Stalin's death, he was arrested and held in the Lefortovo prison. During interrogations, he denied accusations of hostile activity, willingly admitting individual mistakes. He expressed a desire to work at any post where the party directs him. I talked twice with L.P. Beria. For the first time, he reassured Ryumin that he could be pardoned if he "fully reveals his insides." On March 28, 1953, the second conversation took place, which ended 25 minutes later with the phrase: “I will not see you again and you will not see me. We will liquidate you. " Later Ryumin began to assert that the case against him was created by "the enemies of the people Beria, Kobulov, Goglidze and Wlodzimirsky, whom he interfered with."

On July 2-7, 1954, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR considered in court the case on charges of MD Ryumin with a crime under Art. 58-7 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. The report on this meeting said: “The judicial investigation established that Ryumin, during his work as a senior investigator, and then the head of the investigative unit for especially important cases of the former USSR Ministry of State Security, acting as a hidden enemy Soviet state, for careeristic and adventurous purposes, he took the path of falsifying investigative materials, on the basis of which provocative cases were created and unjustified arrests of a number of Soviet citizens, including prominent medical workers ... Ryumin, using methods of investigation prohibited by Soviet law, forced the arrested to incriminate himself and other persons in the commission of the gravest crimes - treason, sabotage, espionage, etc. The subsequent investigation established that these accusations had no basis whatsoever, those involved in these cases were fully rehabilitated ”(Pravda, July 8, 1954).

On July 7, 1954, he was sentenced by the Military Collegium of the USSR Supreme Court to capital punishment with confiscation of property.

SMERSH (short for "Death to spies!") - Main counterintelligence department "SMERSH" of the People's Commissariat of Defense (NPO) of the USSR - military counterintelligence.

Transformed from the Directorate of Special Departments of the NKVD by a secret Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated April 19, 1943. By the same Decree, the Counterintelligence Directorate "SMERSH" of the NKVMF of the USSR and the counterintelligence department "SMERSH" of the NKVD of the USSR were created. On April 19, 1943, on the basis of the Directorate of Special Departments of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR, the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence "Smersh" was created and transferred to the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR.

On April 21, 1943, Joseph Stalin signed the GKO Decree No. 3222 ss / s on the approval of the regulations on the SMERSH GUKR of the USSR NPO.

The text of the document consisted of one phrase:

"To approve the regulation on the Main Directorate of counterintelligence" SMERSH "- and its local bodies."

The appendix to the document detailed the goals and objectives of the new structure, and also determined the status of its employees:

"The head of the Main Counterintelligence Directorate of the SMERSH NGO is the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, subordinate directly to the People's Commissar of Defense and carries out only his orders."
“The Smersh bodies are a centralized organization: on the fronts and districts, the“ SMERSH ”bodies (Directorates of the“ Smersh ”NGOs of the fronts and the“ Smersh ”departments of the NGOs of armies, corps, divisions, brigades, military districts and other formations and institutions of the Red Army) are subject only to to their higher authorities "
"SMERSH" bodies inform the Military Councils and the command of the corresponding units, formations and institutions of the Red Army on the issues of their work: on the results of the fight against enemy agents, on the anti-Soviet elements that have penetrated into the army, on the results of the fight against treason and betrayal, desertion, self-harm "
Tasks to be solved:

“A) the fight against espionage, sabotage, terrorist and other subversive activities of foreign intelligence in units and institutions of the Red Army;

b) the fight against anti-Soviet elements that have infiltrated the units and institutions of the Red Army;

c) taking the necessary intelligence-operative and other measures to create conditions on the fronts that exclude the possibility of unpunished passage of enemy agents through the front line in order to make the front line impenetrable for spy and anti-Soviet elements;

d) the fight against betrayal and treason to the Motherland in the units and institutions of the Red Army;

e) the fight against desertion and self-harm at the fronts;

f) verification of servicemen and other persons who were in captivity and surrounded by the enemy;

g) fulfillment of special tasks of the People's Commissar of Defense.

- Smersh bodies are exempt from any other work not directly related to the tasks listed in this section "

Bodies of "Smersh" have the right:

“A) carry out agent-informational work;

o b) carry out, in accordance with the procedure established by law, seizures, searches and arrests of servicemen of the Red Army, as well as persons associated with them from the civilian population suspected of criminal activity;

c) conduct an investigation into the cases of those arrested with the subsequent transfer of cases, in agreement with the prosecutor's office, for consideration by the relevant judicial authorities or a Special Conference at the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR;

d) apply various special measures aimed at identifying the criminal activities of agents of foreign intelligence services and anti-Soviet elements;

e) summon, without prior agreement with the command, in cases of operational necessity and for interrogations, the rank and file of the Red Army. "

"The Smersh bodies" are staffed by the operational staff of the former Directorate of Special Departments of the NKVD of the USSR and a special selection of servicemen from among the commanding and commanding and political personnel of the Red Army. " Of the Red Army ", and" employees of the Smersh bodies wear uniforms, shoulder straps and other insignia established for the corresponding branches of the Red Army. "

Employees of all three departments "Smersh" were to wear uniforms and insignia of military units and formations served by them.

For some it will be a revelation that during the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union there were three counterintelligence organizations called "Smersh". They did not obey each other, they were in different departments, these were three independent counterintelligence bodies: the Main Counterintelligence Directorate "Smersh" in the People's Commissariat of Defense, which was headed by Abakumov and about which there are already a lot of publications. This "Smersh" really obeyed the People's Commissar of Defense, directly, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Stalin. The second counterintelligence body, which also bore the name "Smersh", belonged to the Counterintelligence Directorate of the People's Commissariat of the Navy, was subordinate to the People's Commissar of the Fleet Kuznetsov and no one else. There was also a counterintelligence department "Smersh" in the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, which was directly subordinate to Beria. When some researchers claim that Abakumov controlled Beria through Smersh counterintelligence, this is sheer absurdity. There was no mutual control. "Smersh" did not control Beria Abakumov through these bodies, let alone Abakumov could not control Beria. These were three independent counterintelligence units in three law enforcement agencies.

Detachments under the "Smersh" bodies have never been created, and the employees of "Smersh" have never headed them. At the beginning of the war, barrage measures were carried out by the NKVD troops to protect the rear of the Army in the field. In 1942, barrage detachments began to be created for each army at the front. In fact, they were intended to maintain order during battles. Only at the head of the detachments of the Stalingrad and Southwestern Fronts in September-December 1942 were employees of the special departments of the NKVD.

To ensure operational work, guard the places of deployment, escort and guard those arrested from the Red Army units, the Smersh military counterintelligence agencies were allocated: for the front-line command Smersh - a battalion, for the army department - a company, for a corps department, division and brigade - a platoon. As for the barrage detachments, the barrage services were actively used by the Smersh workers to search for enemy intelligence agents. For example, on the eve of the offensive operations of the fronts, measures along the line of the foreign service acquired a large scale with the participation of Smersh bodies. In particular, a combing of military garrisons was carried out, up to 500 and more settlements with adjacent forests, an inspection of non-residential premises, thousands of abandoned dugouts was carried out. In the course of such "cleansing operations", as a rule, a large number of undocumented persons, deserters, as well as servicemen who had documents in their hands, with signs indicating their production in the Abwehr, were detained.

For example, Art. Lieutenant A.F. Kalmykov, operatively serving the battalion of the 310th rifle division. was awarded posthumously the Order of the Red Banner for the following feat. In January 1944, the battalion's personnel tried to seize the assault on the village of Ognya, Novgorod region. The offensive was stopped by heavy enemy fire. Repeated attacks were unsuccessful. By agreement with the command, Kalmykov led a group of fighters and penetrated from the rear into the village defended by a strong enemy garrison. The sudden blow caused confusion among the Germans, but their numerical superiority allowed them to surround the daredevils. Then Kalmykov called "fire on himself" over the radio. After the liberation of the village, in addition to our dead soldiers, about 300 corpses of the enemy were found on its streets, destroyed by Kalmykov's group and by the fire of our guns and mortars.

The activities of the GUKR Smersh also included the filtration of soldiers who returned from captivity, as well as the preliminary cleaning of the front line from German agents and anti-Soviet elements (together with the NKVD Troops for the protection of the rear of the Army in the field and the territorial bodies of the NKVD). SMERSH took an active part in the search, detention and investigation of Soviet citizens who acted in anti-Soviet armed groups that fought on the side of Germany, such as the Russian Liberation Army.

The main enemy of SMERSH in its counterintelligence activities was the Abwehr, the German intelligence and counterintelligence service in 1919-1944, the field gendarmerie and the Main Directorate of Imperial Security of the RSHA, the Finnish military intelligence.

Since April 1943, the GUKR "Smersh" has included the following departments, the chiefs of which were approved on April 29, 1943 by order No. 3 / ssh of the People's Commissar of Defense Joseph Stalin:

1st department - intelligence and operational work in the central apparatus of the People's Commissariat of Defense (head - Colonel of the State Security Service, then Major General Ivan Ivanovich Gorgonov)
2nd department - work among the prisoners of war, checking the Red Army servicemen who were in captivity (chief - Lieutenant Colonel of the State Security Committee Kartashev Sergey Nikolaevich)
3rd department - the fight against agents thrown into the rear of the Red Army (head - Colonel GB Utekhin Georgy Valentinovich)
4th department - work on the side of the enemy to identify agents thrown into the Red Army unit (head - Colonel of the State Security Peter Petr Petrovich Timofeev)
5th department - management of the work of the "Smersh" bodies in the military districts (head - Colonel of the State Security Service Zenichev Dmitry Semenovich)
6th Department - Investigative (Head - Lieutenant Colonel of the State Security Service Leonov Alexander Georgievich)
7th department - operational accounting and statistics, checking the military nomenclature of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), NKO, NKVMF, cipher officers, admission to top secret and secret work, checking workers sent abroad (chief - Colonel A.E. Sidorov (appointed later, there is no data in the order))
8th department - operational technology (chief - Lieutenant Colonel of the State Security Service Mikhail Petrovich Sharikov)
9th department - searches, arrests, surveillance (chief - Lieutenant Colonel of the State Security Committee Kochetkov Alexander Evstafievich)
10th department - Department "C" - special assignments (Head - Major of GB Zbrailov Alexander Mikhailovich)
11th department - cipher department (head - State Security Colonel Chertov Ivan Alexandrovich)
Political department - Colonel Nikifor Matveyevich Sidenkov
Human Resources Department - Colonel of the State Security Service Vradiy Ivan Ivanovich
Administrative, financial and economic department - Lieutenant Colonel of the State Security Service Sergei Andreevich Polovnev
Secretariat - Colonel Chernov Ivan Alexandrovich

The number of the central office of the SMERSH NCO GUKR was 646 people.

The activities of the GUKR SMERSH are characterized by obvious successes in the fight against foreign intelligence services; in terms of effectiveness, SMERSH was the most effective special service during the Second World War. From 1943 until the end of the war, the central apparatus of the SMERSH GUKR of the USSR NKO and its front-line directorates played 186 radio games alone. During these games, more than 400 cadres and Nazi agents were brought into our territory, and tens of tons of cargo were seized.

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In the last ten years, many feature films and TV series have been shot about counterintelligence SMERSH. The truth on the screen is intertwined with the fiction and fantasy of the directors. In fact, SMERSH represented three organizations under a common name. Despite attempts to denigrate the Soviet counterintelligence SMERSH, the facts stubbornly show that it not only surpassed the Abwehr, Zeppelin, SSI and other intelligence organizations in Germany, Romania, Finland and Japan, but was also able to completely defeat them.

SMERSH counterintelligence structure

The SMERSH organization was formed on April 19, 1943. The abbreviation stands for "death to spies". From the NKVD, three directorates of special departments (UOO) were transferred to the People's Commissariat of Defense:

UOO itself, on whose base the SMERSH GUKR was organized under the leadership of Viktor Abakumov;
The naval department of the NKVD under the leadership of Gladkov was reorganized into "Smersh" of the NK Navy;
The 6th department of the UOO of the NKVD became known as "Smersh" of the NKVD. This division was headed by Yukhimovich.

The head of SMERSH Abakumov, to whom Stalin was extremely favored, managed to turn the unit entrusted to him into a department with tremendous power and influence.

The tasks that the military intelligence SMERSH was supposed to solve

When the department was just created, it had to solve the following tasks:

Confronting agents of foreign intelligence in the Red Army;
Prevention of sabotage, terrorist acts and recruitment of foreign intelligence agents;
Creation of an impenetrable barrier to prevent the penetration of agents and scouts of the enemy;
Fight against deserters, simulators and traitors among the soldiers of the Red Army;
Verification of all persons who have been in captivity or in territories occupied by the enemy.

The so-called "reconnaissance" war on the Eastern Front was fought by about 130 different sabotage schools and foreign intelligence organizations. The schools were engaged in the preparation of agents for dropping into the territory controlled by the USSR. The preparations were quite serious, the agents were even forced to learn local dialect words.

The activities of enemy special services on the territory of the USSR and the occupied regions

Back in 1941, the German command created the Abwehr-Abroad intelligence service to conduct reconnaissance, sabotage and counterintelligence on the territory of the USSR. Abwehr agents, disguised as Red Army soldiers, carried out terrorist attacks and incited the local population against the Soviet regime.

In the occupied territories, an intelligence agency "Abverstelle" was formed, which was engaged in identifying partisans, underground fighters and just people who spoke negatively about Nazi Germany. In large cities there were separate divisions, which were called Abwernebenstelle, and in small cities - Ausenstelle. There are legends that for one careless word addressed to the new regime, they were shot without trial or investigation.

According to the official data of Soviet newspapers of that time, the SMERSH counterintelligence officers during the war were able to declassify more than 30 thousand Abwehr agents, 3.5 thousand saboteurs and about 6 thousand terrorists. In fairness, it is worth noting that not all Abwehr agents were real, many became victims of slander.

Operation Monastery

There are numerous legends about SMERSH, but it is foolish to deny the effectiveness of its work. In the summer of 1941, Soviet intelligence officers began a long-term operation "Monastery", which continued throughout the years of the war, and is still considered the standard. This operation was included in all intelligence textbooks, which serve as a guide to modern intelligence schools.

The "legend" of the entire operation was to make German intelligence believe in the existence of an anti-Soviet monarchist organization, whose headquarters is located in Moscow and has considerable power. For the credibility of the legend, it was decided to use the "blind" of the former nobleman Boris Sadovsky. Having lost his lands and title with the advent of Soviet power, he hated it. Being disabled, he wrote poems in which he glorified the German invaders, asking them to quickly free the Russian people from the hated Soviet power. Sadovsky himself repeatedly tried to contact German agents, which was used by Soviet intelligence officers.

Alexander Demyanov, an employee of the Lubyanka, recruited by the OGPU in 1929, was chosen to communicate with Sadovsky. A descendant of the Cossack chieftain and princess, Demyanov grew up and was brought up abroad. Possessing a pleasant appearance and aristocratic manners, he quickly gained confidence in the monarchist Sadovsky and helped him create the anti-Soviet organization Prestol.

In February 1942, Demyanov surrendered to the Nazis under the guise of a representative of an anti-Soviet organization. He told the Abwehr officer who arrived for the proceedings that he had been sent from the Prestol organization to communicate and receive instructions for action from the German command.

Demyanov was subjected to harsh interrogation, checks and provocations, but he firmly adhered to his legend. A huge role the fact that even before the war German spies put Demyanov on the lists of possible candidates for involvement as an agent also played a role. Soon after learning the basics of espionage, double agent Demyanov was thrown into the Rybinsk area, where he was supposed to conduct reconnaissance. The monarchist organization "Throne" was to engage in propaganda among the population, with the aim of sabotage and sabotage.

After waiting for time, SMERSH arranged for his scout as a communications officer under Marshal Shaposhnikov.

The unsuspecting Germans were very proud of the presence of their own man at the headquarters of the Soviet command. For two years, Demyanov transmitted disinformation, which made it possible to arrest 23 German agents and their accomplices. About 2 million of USSR money, weapons and important documents were seized.

In 1944, Operation Monastery continued under the name Berezino. Demyanov, sent to Minsk, said that there are large groups of German soldiers and officers in the Belarusian forests who are trying to get out of the encirclement. According to him, "Prestol" is trying to help them, but is limited in funds and opportunities. German intelligence sent three messengers to get accurate information. Two of them were recruited, after which, according to their data, a continuous stream of aid to the “encircled people” went to the Belarusian forests. Along with weapons and food, new agents were also sent in order to clarify the data on the German units making their way beyond the front line. However, the Smersh special forces and scouts worked so cleanly that supplies were regularly sent until the end of the war. The last farewell telegram from the Abwehr came a few days after the capture of Berlin. It said with regret that it was no longer possible to provide assistance.

SMERSH: repression or intelligence?

Many modern sources claim that during the war years SMERSH was engaged not so much in intelligence and counterintelligence as in repression among the civilian population of his country. These sources claim that the slightest suspicion of espionage (or a denunciation of a vigilant neighbor) was enough for a person to be arrested or shot. According to various sources, it is reported that the number of arrests among civilians was about 700,000, of which 70,000 were shot. In other sources, the number of those arrested increases to several million, 25% of whom were shot.

Since the consequence in war time It was quite difficult to conduct, some are inclined to believe these non-documented sources.

Protective measures during the Second World War

Protective measures were very popular during the Second World War and were created with the aim of maintaining order. Contrary to popular belief, SMERSH employees did not create them, but simply worked with them, never leading them.

Barrage services helped to identify deserters, alarmists and saboteurs. Before the start of the offensive, SMERSH employees combed forests, dugouts and non-residential premises. It was there that saboteurs and other agents of the Abwehr often hid. Often during these operations, servicemen with suspicious documents were arrested.

Naturally, in military conditions, there were mistakes, but their number was small in percentage terms. Endowed with the right to arrest deserters and spies, the SMERSH officers, when caught, handed them over to military tribunals. Only in case of resistance were suspicious persons shot.

The SMERSH counterintelligence officers spent most of the time in the Red Army units that led fighting... Their participation in battles is documented and beyond doubt.

Filtration work of SMERSH after the end of the war

After the end of the war, on January 6, 1945, repatriation departments began to be created at the headquarters, in which all prisoners of war and civilians released from the camps were checked. As a result of this work, several thousand spies, tens of thousands of punishers and their accomplices were found. It is possible that among them there was a small percentage of innocent people, but millions of honest Soviet people officially got rid of the stigma of a traitor to their homeland.

The nuances of work and personal weapons of SMERSH employees

The main enemies of SMERSH were the German intelligence service Abwehr, the RSHA and the Finnish intelligence service. Despite the high degree of training, the operatives served an average of about three months, after which they dropped out due to death or serious injury. Naturally, someone served all three years of the existence of SMERSH, and someone was killed in the first days at the front. The mortality rate of intelligence officers during the war was very high. Many are missing.

To more quickly identify enemy agents in combat units, an SMERSH officer was attached to each formation, who dealt with those fighters who in the past had problems with the law or had a "dark" biography and origin.

Since the officer with the machine gun looked suspicious, the SMERSH operatives were armed with pistols. They were mainly revolver, TT, Walter and Luger. For special operations under cover, the Lignose small-sized sabotage pistol was often used.

In general, the history of SMERSH shows how important it is for the state to have an effective intelligence special service, which is engaged not only in intelligence, but also in sabotage activities behind enemy lines.

SMERSH activities after the end of the war

The main task of SMERSH after the end of the war was to identify the agents of foreign intelligence services on the territory of the USSR. In addition, many "policemen" have dispersed throughout the Soviet Union hoping to hide from the anger of the people. On May 12, 1945, a large-scale operation was carried out to clean up the rear. 37 divisions, in each battalion of which there was an operative SMERSH, passed huge territory unfolded chain. Thanks to such operational measures, many of the Nazis' accomplices were arrested and handed over to the judiciary.

The last military actions of SMERSH

In the summer of 1945, the Soviet army began an operation to defeat fascist Japan. The Manchu offensive operation was carried out from August 9 to September 2, 1945.

SMERSH employees, who have accumulated vast experience during the war years, used their potential to the fullest. Possessing lists of persons who were subject to search and arrest, SMERSH operatives seized the headquarters of the Japanese police and spy agencies. On the territory of Manchuria, many active White émigré organizations were identified that collaborated with enemy intelligence.

After the defeat and surrender of Japan, many hidden agents of the Japanese special services and various foreign intelligence agents remained in China, Korea and Manchuria. SMERSH employees took an active part in finding them, using their extensive network of agents.

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