Power and the Soviet Elite

288 Pages·1965·8.429 MB·English

by  Boris I. Nicolaevsky

HoovвR INSTIТUTION PuвI,ICATION
Pow-er
and the
Soviet
Elite

POWER
and the
SOVIET
ELITE
"The Letter 0/d Bolshevik"
о/ ап
and Other Essays
Ьу
BORIS 1. NICOLAEVSKY
EDITED ВУ JANET D. ZAGORIA
Puhlished f or the
HOOVER lNSTITUTION ON WAR, REVOLUTION,
AND РЕАСЕ
Ьу
FREDERICK А. PRAEGER, PuЫishers
New York • Washington • London
FREDERICK А. PRAEGER, PUВLISHERS
111 Fourth Avenue, New York 3, N.Y., U.S.A.
77-79 Charlotte Street, London W.1, England
PuЫished in the United States of America in 1965
Ьу Frederick А. Praeger, lnc., PuЬlishers
All rights reserved
© 1965 Ьу Boris 1. Nicolaevsky
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-14057
This book is Number 159 in the series of
Praeger PuЫications in Russian History and World Communism
Printed in the United States of America
Editor's Note
Тhе articles collected here have been written during the past
twenty-five years. They have been selected for repuЫication now
not only to make them availaЫe to an English-speaking audience,
but in the conviction that, while some of the arguments advanced
Ьу the author may Ье controversial, he addresses himself to funda
mental issues of the Soviet system. The information and the insights
contained in these articles provide invaluaЫe background to an
understanding of the Soviet scene, especially during the Stalin era.
At the same time, so long as terror is а weapon that can Ье wielded
Ьу the Soviet leadership, Mr. Nicolaevsky's comments will have
relevance to Soviet political life.
Тhе articles were originally conceived of essentially as historical
essays. 1 have tried to aid the reader with explanations, and the
author himself has helped consideraЫy with notes.
1 would like to thank the following for permission to use articles
originally published Ьу them: The New Leader, Novoye Russkoye
V
Editor's Note
Slovo, Sotsia/,istichesky Vestnik, and, finally Allen & Unwin for
their translation of "The Letter of an Old Bolshevik." 1 would a}so
like to thank Seweryn Bialer and my husband, Donald, without
whose foresight and generous help this volume would never have
been possiЫe; Вапу RuЬin for his role in translating the essays;
Мах Hayward for the care and keenness with which he went over
the manuscript; and Jean Steinberg for labors beyond the call of
her editorial duties. Editorial responsiЬility, of course, is mine
alone.
J.D.Z.
N ew Уo rk City
Мау, 1965
vi
Foreword
The articles in this collection deal with а single subject: the
history of the complicated struggle in the higher reaches and
secret recesses of the Communist Party apparatus, а struggle that
in the past and still today determines the basic political line of
the Кremlin. And in order to understand this political line, we
must scrutinize the groups involved in tbe inner-Party conflict.
Through the years, it has varied in intensity. In the early years
of its history, the Communist dictatorship used terror only against
its non-Communist enemies; it did not use violence against Com
munists who opposed o:fficial policy. True, in Lenin's time and
for some years after his death, oppositional Communists were
silenced: they were assigned to jobs in outlying provinces or for
eign countries; they were arrested, exiled, sent to internment
camps, etc., but they were not killed. Lenin's immediate successors
felt bound to respect his "testament," in which he enjoined his
followers not to shed the Ыооd of their JParty comrades. Stalin
vii
Foreword
did not observe Lenin's testament, and when it came to the
extermination of enemies, he made no distinction between Com
munists and non-Communists. The terror of the Stalin period,
beginning with the murder of Кirov, differs from the terror of the
pre-Stalin period in that during the years of the Great Purge and
subsequently, Communists and non-Communists alike were "stood
against the wall." The story of the inner-Party struggle during this
period is closely bound up with the story of Stalinist terror.
In the post-Stalin years, many interesting facts about the history
of the terror have come to light for the first time. In gathering and
analyzing these facts, 1 have tried to illuminate the political impli
cations of the various stages of the terror. These essays, written
in the post-Stalin era, obviously cannot give а complete picture
of the years of Stalin's Ыооdу rule, but it is hoped that the
diverse events examined in them will help to shed light on some
aЬiding aspects of the inner-Party struggle for power.
Тhе initiative for the repuЫication of these articles came from
а group of American students of Soviet affairs, among them Mrs.
J anet Zagoria, the editor of this volume, who selected the articles
and helped to prepare them for puЫication. Most of them first
appeared in Sotsialistichesky Vestnik (Berlin, Paris, New York);
two appeared in Novoye Russkoye Slovo (New York), and some
have appeared in English in the New Leader. They are reproduced
here without substantial changes, except for some additional foot
notes Ьу the editor and Ьу myself. 1 would like to express my
sincere thanks to Mrs. Zagoria; Mr. Seweryn Bialer, ColumЬia
University; and Professor Robert С. Tucker, Princeton University.
BORIS J. N!COLAEVSKY
Menlo Park, California
June, 1965
viii
RememЬer, 1 pray thee, who ever perished, being in
nocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
Even as I liave seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow
wickedness, reap the same.
Ву the Ыast of God they perish, ancl Ьу the breath of
his nostrils are they consumed.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,
and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout
lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
Job 4:7-11
Contents
Editor' s Note V
А uthor's Note vii
1n troduction, Ьу George F. Kennan xiii
ONE: BUKНARIN 0N ТНЕ OPP0SITION ТО STALIN
An Interview with Boris Nicolaevsky 3
The Letter of an Old Bolshevik 26
ТWО: STALIN AND KIROV
The М urder of Кirov 69
More on Stalin and Кirov 98
ТНRЕЕ: SтALIN's Dвлтн AND тнв AFTJERMATH
The Poskrebyshev Purge 105
Russia Purges the Purgers 120
The Meaning of the Beria Aff air 130
The Execution of Riumin 148
The Execution of Abakumov et al. 158
The Abakumov Case 165
The Liquidation of Beria's "Agents" in Georgia 175
The New Committee of State Security 188
xi