On the eve of the Day of Chekist we begin professional discussion about a role of special services in the ruin of the USSR and development of the postSoviet space, we invite all our readers owning real information on the given question to participate in it.
Not so long ago I wrote on FORUM.msk:
- In result of Gorbachev's perestroika and events of 1991 old nomenclature of the CPSU was removed from authority, having made way for "democrats" whose protege was Yeltsin. It is necessary to say that "democrats" were not by themselves, 90% of them were "assistants" to KGB. In other words, in 1991 the nomenclature of KGB "pushed away" the nomenclature of the CPSU, having acted firstly through its secret agents and then, in 1999 when Putin appeared, having established its domination directly.
In some days again on FORUM.msk I returned to the given theme, having declared that the basis of the ruling kleptocracy was made by provincial chekists.
A little bit unexpectedly for me the idea met aggressive aversion of some anonymous participants of the discussion who sent indignant comments. Here you are some of them:
- Generally the Russian Federation is being ruled not by provincial chekists but functional bureaucrats from the Central Committee of the CPSU, Leningrad and Moscow regional and city committees of the CP of RSFSR which ruined the USSR to plunder state property.
- When will they let alone chekists who haven't come to any authority. People are being incited against chekists to connect personal destinies of chekists with destiny of a mode. Something's wrong, but it was similar to Romanian Securitate. 200 employees a day were executed. What was their fault?
- Mister A.Surikov knows about it. What is the reason then to put on foreground so-called "chekists" (by definition chekist is a cold head, hot heart and pure conscience), so-called chekists obviously are not up to it.
Neither I, nor, as far as I know, my comrades from the left revolutionary movement ever called all employees of system of the state security criminals without analysis. Especially we never called for extrajudicial punishments over chekists on the Romanian sample. On the contrary, we emphasize that the fault - is a thing especially individual, which after our victory will be defined proceeding from a principle of revolutionary sense of justice by court of oppressed people. Any forms of collective responsibility thus are unacceptable and inadmissible.
At the same time political responsibility of KGB for the catastrophe which the USSR and the countries of the social camp underwent on a boundary of 1980-90th years was abundantly clear. In the newspaper "Tomorrow" there is an article of Yan Novak from Prague dedicated to "Velvet Revolution" in Czechoslovakia.
Riddles of Revolution of 1989
November, 17, 1989. Peace student's demonstration in Prague. Unexpectedly the police attacks demonstrators, student Martin Shmid dies, news are spread across Prague and through the journalist from agency "Reuters" get in a news line. National revolution sweeps away communistic mode. That is an official version. What happened in reality?
I'll say at once that I do not know the answer to the question. It's known, probably, to the former general of Czechoslovak state security Aloiz Lorentz. For sure it was known to the late ideologist of CPSU Yakovlev. But nobody will forbid to me to compare the facts and to make on their basis certain conclusions. One thing is known - official version of the "revolt of populace" in 1989, to put it mildly, is inveracious...
At the end of October, 1989 one of leaders of independent student's movement Milan Ruzhichka organized several meetings where they discussed steps which it was planned to undertake against the mode. On the 1st of November there was a meeting of independent students with employees of the embassy of the USA in Prague (an interesting detail - the staff of the embassy in November was refilled with 30 people). On the discussion after the meeting it was decided to call secret congress of students in northern Moravia where the problem of demonstration of students in Prague should be solved...
The lieutenant of Czechoslovak state security Ludvik Zifchak was the "student - dissident" Ruzhichka. Zifchak was intruded into student's movement long time ago, he studied under that name at the university in Ostrava and headed there dissident student's movement. (Nowadays he is an editor of the newspaper "New Bruntalsko")....
Fatal date - November, 17 - came nearer...
On November, 14, before the day "X" delegation of KGB led by generals Gennady Teslenko and Victor Grushko (the vice-president of KGB of the USSR) arrived to Prague, it was met by the general of state security Lorentz. What have they spoken about - remains a riddle till now. It is known that Теslenko was present at an operative staff of the state security, taking care of the demonstration on November, 17. What is the reason of such sudden interest of the Soviet KGB to ordinary student's demonstration? November, 17, 1989. "Dissident" Ruzhichka conducts demonstration of the students. Demonstration was allowed and the police should take care only of the order. Instead of it there is a strange thing - the police for some reason blocks demonstrators and starts beating them severely. Its leader - Zifkach is bitten most of all. He falls, is put on a stretcher and is taken away by "ambulance". Witnesses guess: whether he is still alive.
At this very moment another agent of state security - Dragomira Drazhskaya - enters the game, introduced into a hostel of physics department of Karlov University. She starts to spread rumours that Zifkach ostensibly was killed. Drazhskaya named him "student Martin Shmid". The matter is that there were at once two students with such name at physics department and it was not clear in chaos who "was killed". Through dissident Peter Ugla information gets into the foreign mass media - and "Free Europe" broadcasts it in the Czech language.
The former chief of 10-th department of state security major Peter Jacque recollects: "I knew it beforehand that on demonstration on November, 17 student Martin Shmid should be killed... It should happen approximately at 5-6 o'clock in the evening".
So, news about death of the student passed all over the country. Czechoslovak TV immediately gives a refutation and takes interview with alive Маrtin Shid. Only the refutation was very strange. The black-and-white jumping image and strange installation caused opposite reaction - TV tells lies! Later the head of Czech TV said that ostensibly it was the fault of a new camera and inexperienced operator. You should agree - sounds unpersuasively. Further socialist TV behaved very strange! For some reason it began direct translation from demonstration! Can you imagine such thing without the sanction from above? That were reportings of TV that "pulled" crowds of people on the streets - by estimations up to a quarter of one million citizens of Prague were present on the demonstration. Before it conservative wing of Communist Party demanded from police and state securities to suppress demonstrations - and it was at that time very simple, taking into account power of police and so-called "national militia" which had on arms even armored troop-carriers (for that reason the Soviet armies were the first which in 1968 blocked weapon warehouses of national militia). Nevertheless, the state security which earlier operatively reacted to such events kept silent. Secretary General Jakesh raged powerlessly, while State Security General Lorentz smiled and kept silent...
So, strange things happen: one agent of state security leads demonstration and plays a role of victim, other agent of state security spreads rumours about cruelty of communistic police, the state security undertakes nothing against and socialist TV suddenly wonderfully turns out into democratic one and broadcasts live translations from demonstrations. Wonders will never cease, official version of a history cannot explain them... On November, 19 "Civil Forum" which members at once has a meeting with prime minister Ladislav Adamets (operativeness of Adamets also causes wonder) and next day the situation began "to fall" and became completely uncontrollable by authorities. (Or controlled by real organizers of all?). Corps of national militia and strengthened police forces were introduced into Prague with the delay but it was already too late.
On December, 7, 1989 the communistic authority fell...
What did happen with the players after a victory of revolution? Zifchak and other small fries were convicted. In particular, Zifchak was convicted for 1,5 years, only 6 months of them he stayed in prison. In the court he declared that he received the order to pretend dead personally from General Lorentz who hinted him that the order went from the top. Nevertheless, the court held that that Zifchak simply... fainted. Why did then Drazhskaya spread rumours about his death? Whether under own initiative? General Lorentz and the like didn't suffer. Lorentz was not kept in prison even for a day, though formally Czech Republic brought against him charge. Nowadays he is honorable businessman.
I do not want to draw any conclusions and create secret theories. Though, in my opinion, conclusion is absolutely simple...
The clause of Yan Novak not only raises a question connected with strange stay of the heads of KGB in Prague on the eve of "Velvet Revolution". It draws direct parallel with other countries of the East Europe and with Soviet Union where, I insist again, "nomenclature of KGB "pushed away" the nomenclature of the CPSU, having acted firstly through its secret agents and then, in 1999 when Putin appeared, having established its domination directly".
That was the price of the following "achievements":
Firstly, the Russian Federation, having initiated ruin of the USSR, at one stroke got rid of "heavy burden" on behalf of brotherly union republics. I will stress, it's not only mine assertion. Putin spoke about it in the beginning of September: At a meeting with members of international club "Valdai" in Sochi Putin declared that it was Russia "which was the initiator of the termination of ability to live of the USSR" and that "if there was no position of Russia, the USSR would still exist".
Secondly, in result of "reforms" of Gaydar financing of highly technological, knowledge-intensive industries were stopped and the Soviet working class and technical intelligency were thrown down a sewer.
At last, thirdly, the consumption level of broad masses of workers was sharply reduced, the system of social guarantees was liquidated, confidence in tomorrow's day inherent to Soviet people was abolished.
As a whole, the process of social degradation, social recourse fixed at Putin was started in the country in 1991. For short historical term Russia made a huge jump back from socialism not even into capitalism but more likely in feudalism or, more precisely, - neo-feudalism. What for, for the sake of what?
The answer is banal. Having dumped "a superfluous burden" on behalf of sister republics, advanced industry, science and social gains of the workers, new nomenclature liberated huge weight of petrodollars which at once found "the best" from its point of view application - it began to plunder them shamelessly in the process of receipt. That is the essence of "criminal revolution" begun in the USSR 20 years ago and proceeding in the Russian Federation till now.
That is the result of efforts of people with "clean hands, cold head and hot heart" - their crimes against people and history are monstrous, their moral and political fault is immense.
Alongside to it not everywhere revolutions of the end of 1980 - beginning of 1990th years went under the script of KGB. To take, for example, already mentioned Romania. There the mode of Nikolay Chaushesku was overthrown by army. However very few people know that the Romanian army only intercepted the initiative from "Securitate", the Romanian KGB which was the first to start realization of own script.
The murder of Minister of Defence of the country Vasil Mili by chekists was the first act of the Romanian drama, then, as a matter of fact, the army which rigidly tamed "velvet revolutionaries" from "Securitate" was compelled to act.
There is a question: why did national security in Romania succeed while it failed in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, GDR? One of the reasons is that three - four years prior to revolutions rather strange events took place in those republics. So, on January, 15, 1985 in result of "heart failure" the member of the Central Committee of Communist party of Czechoslovakia, Minister of National Defense General Martin Dzur died. On December, 2, 1985 in result of "sharp heart failure" the member of the Political bureau of the Central Committee of the Socialist Uniform Party of Germany, Minister of National Defense of the German Democratic Republic General Heinz Hoffmann died. On December, 15, 1985 in result of "heart failure" the member of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Working Party, Minister of Defense of the Hungarian National Republic General Ishtvan Olah suddenly died. While in Romania Minister of Defense didn't die from "heart failure" - they dared to kill him only with 4-years delay, that is chekists lost time.
However, Romania - is not the unique example where "Velvet Revolution of KGB" was broken. Thus, in the Chechen Republic coming to power of Soviet army general Dudaev and then at active support of mufti Ahmat Kadyrov, Soviet army colonel Maskhadov spoilt the nomenclature of KGB all game. As, by the way, coming to power of Ruslan Aushev in the neighbouring Ingushetia. To tell you the truth, there was an attempt to replay the game in Ingushetia with coming of Zjazikov. But the attempt, as we now see, appeared unsuccessful. They didn't even try to replay it in the Chechen Republic - they let it alone under the mark "chechenization". Not in the sense, certainly, that comrade Korabelnikov gives order here and comrade Bortnikov there - such approach - nonsense and profanation, the specified comrades don't give any global orders, more likely, they themselves are being given orders, informally of course.
One more script - compromise realized in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine. In the same Ukraine at presence of three Soviet "front" military districts passed under national jurisdiction after a referendum about independence at the end of 1991 density of the republican KGB was essentially lower, than its "brothers" in Moscow had. Therefore comrade Marchuk, having soberly estimated chances, thought it would be better to agree with inhabitants of the "Island", having entered the union on the rights of the younger partner. It's good he had before his eyes example of Nikolay Lebed, chief of "Bezpek" OUN-URA which in due time together with KGB USSR penetrated each other the deepest strings of a double agency. Meanwhile, "Bezpek" of Lebed was administratively submitted and structurally a part of the Ukrainian Rebel Army of Roman Shuhevich - totally military organization. In other words, time passed, there came absolutely different people but in Ukraine everything was reproduced again in accuracy. While in Moscow they still are surprised, whence so furious antagonism in our relations? Not from Putin and Jushchenko personally indeed!
