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Шифрограмма Сталина в Хабаровске — первому секретарю Дальневосточного крайкома И. Варейкису, командующему Особой Краснознаменной Дальневосточной армией В. Блюхеру, начальнику Управления НКВД по Дальневосточному краю Г. Люшкову:
“Everything indicates that the deportation of Koreans is a pressing matter. It is possible that we are somewhat late with this. However, if this is true, it is necessary to carry out the deportation as quickly as possible, especially from the southern districts of Posyet (named after the Posyet Bay). We propose strict and urgent measures in each of your areas to accurately implement the deportation schedule. Arrest and punish those who sabotage this matter, whoever they may be, without delay. Arrest not only Volsky, but dozens of Volskys. Tell Druskis that exemplary punishment will be imposed on him if he does not show proper performance and discipline. Secretary of the Central Committee Stalin, September 11, 1937.”
This cipher marked the beginning of the first total deportation of an entire people in the USSR — in anticipation of the seemingly inevitable war with Japan. In the name of state protection, that is. However, state protection has always been understood as the defense of territory here, not of those who reside on this territory. Nevertheless, the Koreans from the Far East were to be deported to the South Kazakhstan region, to the areas of the Aral Sea and Balkhash, and the Uzbek SSR. Initially, it was planned to relocate the Korean population only from the border areas, but in September 1937, Yezhov reported to Stalin that Koreans in the ‘rear areas’ were “cadres of Japanese espionage.” A total of 172,000 people were deported — the entire Korean population of the Far East. In the first years at the new location, there was increased mortality among the Korean population, as melancholically noted in the documents.
Along with the Koreans, 7,000 Chinese, several hundred Germans, Poles, and Balts, and around a thousand repatriates from Harbin were also deported. The journey was long (on average about a month) and exhausting. Most Koreans were unloaded in Kazakhstan, while others settled in Uzbekistan, some in other Central Asian republics, and in a small number even in the Stalingrad region. Some of them were chased across Uzbekistan in December due to the closure of navigation on the Amu Darya and the Aral Sea.
Upon arriving, the deportees faced continental winter cold, lack of housing, water, bread, medications, as well as irresponsibility and carelessness of the authorities (for example, 4,000 Koreans who arrived in Kostanay on December 31, 1937, spent nearly a week at the railway station without any attention from the local authorities). Peasants were in a slightly better position (they were settled with products and money before moving), while workers and clerks had a particularly hard time (their settlement was postponed until spring, but in reality, it was not completed until the following autumn).
With time, however, the economic life improved: Korean collective farms engaged in rice and vegetable cultivation, fishing, to a lesser extent in cotton and animal husbandry, especially nomadic. In legal terms, the status of Koreans was not determined. On the one hand, they were seemingly unpunished, but on the other hand, they were prohibited from leaving the boundaries of the Central Asian republics.
Apart from the Koreans, the Stalin cipher also mentioned others, such as Mikhail Vol’sky (Myskin), who was an active fighter for establishing Soviet power in the Far East and a participant in the partisan anti-Japanese war. He was later arrested, accused of being part of a “reserve illegal Trotskyist center” and eventually shot.
Iosif Vareykis, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the VKP (b) of the Central-Chernozem region, and Fyodor Druskis, were also involved in the events described in Stalin’s cipher. Vareykis, who had a role in suppressing anti-communist uprisings, was eventually arrested as well. Druskis, a Lithuanian, was arrested as an “enemy of the people” and later rehabilitated.
Genrikh Lyushkov, who played a major role in the deportation of Koreans, was eventually exposed and fled to Japan, where he collaborated with the Japanese authorities against the Soviet Union before being killed by the Kwantung Army officers.
Vasiliy Blucher, a hero of the Civil War, was also mentioned in the context of Stalin’s discussions, highlighting the complexities and consequences of the actions taken during that period.
The article delves into various aspects of the deportations, including the technicalities of the operations, the experiences of the deportees, and the aftermath of the events. It sheds light on the historical injustices faced by different ethnic groups and the long-lasting impacts of these forced relocations. The story is a reminder of the dark chapters in history and the enduring quest for justice and reconciliation faced by those affected.
