Genrikh Samoilovich Lyushkov (; 1900 – 19 August 1945) was an officer in the Soviet

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

and its highest-ranking defector. A high-ranking officer of the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

, he played a role in perpetrating Stalin's

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. When, in 1938, he suspected he would soon fall victim to the purge, he fled to Japan. Thereafter, he acted as a major source of intelligence for

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

about the Soviet Union. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was killed by the Japanese in order to prevent him from falling back into Soviet hands.

Early life

Lyushkov was born in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1900. His

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

father supported him and his siblings as a tailor. He began his education in 1908 in a state-owned, six-classroom school, continuing there until 1915. While in school, he was influenced by his brother (a member of the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

underground) to join the Bolshevik Party and take part in the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

several years later. In April 1919, he received political training in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

for the Ukrainian People's Republic. During this time, the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

broke out and after his graduation in September of that year, Lyushkov was assigned to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

's 14th Army for political work, where he saw combat against

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and the White Russian forces of Anton Denikin. By then, he was a fully-fledged political commissar and had received the Order of the Red Banner.

Secret police

In November 1920, he joined the Cheka of

, which became known for its ruthlessness. He also served in Moscow and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. When the Cheka was disbanded and reformed into the GPU (the Государственное политическое управление НКВД РСФСР or "State Political Directorate"), Lyushkov rose even further. Around 1930, he carried out an

industrial espionage Industrial espionage, also known as economic espionage, corporate spying, or corporate espionage, is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security. While political espionage is conducted or orchestrat ...

assignment in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he monitored activities within the

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English language, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft manufacturer, aircraft and aircraft engine manufactu ...

aviation company, bringing him the favour of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. This success led to his working again within the USSR, now as a member of the

(the Народный комиссариат внутренних дел or "People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs"). He was quickly transferred to preferential positions such as his posting as the NKVD chief in the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

region as well as being awarded the Order of Lenin "for exemplary performance of tasks of the Party and government." He was also made a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

and a member of the Central Committee. During the time of the Moscow Trials, he was the one who led the interrogations of Zinoviev and Kamenev. Later, he earned a reputation as "an arrogant, arbitrary and sadistic bully...." On 31 July 1937, he received his final posting, as the NKVD chief in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, where he had direct command over "20,000–30,000 élite NKVD troops." When he was given the post, he was, according to a later interview with Japanese military officials, given personal orders to aid in elimination of specific officials as a part of the

: Terenti Deribas (the former

chief in the

, whom Lyushkov was replacing), Vasily Blyukher (a

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (, ) was the second-highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin wore the uniform and insignia of Marshal after World War II. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in ...

), and Albert Yanovich Lapin (the Far East Air Corps Commander). Deribas, Blyukher, and Lapin all fell victim to the Great Purge. Deribas' arrest and execution resulted from evidence gathered by Lyushkov. Blyukher's arrest and subsequent death resulted from blame being assigned to him for Lyushkov's defection. Lapin committed suicide while imprisoned. Prompted later by his Japanese interrogators, Lyushkov gave one of the earliest explanations of the circumstances of the

, arguing that he had been merely appeasing Stalin and that he had no choice but to carry out his orders. Lyushkov, immediately upon arriving in Khabarovsk, saw that Deribas had been arrested and sent to Moscow for trial and execution. Lyushkov commanded the local NKVD troika and was involved in mass executions. By then, Lyushkov had been promoted to "third-rank commissar of state security" (комиссар госбезопасности 3-го ранга) or "Commissar 3rd Class", the approximate equivalent of a major-general in the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

Defection

In 1938, he was ordered to return to Moscow "for new work". In preparation for his defection, Lyushkov arranged for his Jewish wife, Inna, to leave the country with his eleven-year-old daughter, for the daughter to receive medical treatment in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The plan was for Inna to embed a secret codeword into a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

, which would signal to Lyushkov that it was safe for him to leave the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Under unknown circumstances, however, Inna and her daughter were captured. Though the daughter's fate remains unknown, Inna was kept at the Lubyanka prison before eventually being sent to the

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

. On 13 June 1938, Lyushkov defected from the

by crossing the border at Posyet into

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

with valuable secret documents about the Soviet military strength in the region, which was much greater than the Japanese had realised. He was the highest-ranking secret police official to defect; he also had the greatest inside knowledge about the purges within the Soviet

because of his own participation in carrying them out. Richard Sorge told the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

of the defection because a Nazi intelligence officer had debriefed Lyushkov and Sorge obtained a copy of the top secret document and sent it to Moscow in June 1938.Goldman, Stuart D
The Spy Who Saved the Soviets
History net website. Retrieved 11 December 2020. His defection was initially kept a state secret by Japan, but the revelation of his defection was judged to have a high propaganda value, so the decision was made to release the news to the world. A press conference was arranged at a Tokyo hotel on 13 July, a month after Lyushkov had defected. He "categorically denied Moscow's allegation that he was an imposter" but some news agencies, such as the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wondered if he was telling the truth. During subsequent interviews and interactions with Japanese military personnel, Lyushkov adopted an anti- Stalinist position. However, his professed political views remained socialistic in nature according to the recollections of some Japanese intelligence officers, with Lyushkov calling himself a Trotskyite, but some Japanese officers believed that he had later become a liberal communist. Though Lyushkov was anti-Stalinist, he was resistant to the idea of creating a new regime led by Russian émigrés. He was, however, willing to include them in a proposed plan for assassination of Stalin. A resistance group of Russian emigrants would travel across the Turkish-Soviet border when Stalin would travel south to a resort in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, which he had visited previously to swim in the Matsesta River. Lyushkov's intimate knowledge of NKVD procedures and the way Stalin's guard detail would be organised encouraged the Japanese to support the plan. However, a Soviet agent had infiltrated the group of Russian exiles and foiled the plan, which was considered the only serious attempt to assassinate Stalin. Lyushkov was able to detail strength of the

in the

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and

, simultaneously providing Soviet military radio codes. He was considered highly intelligent and dedicated, producing great volumes of written material, but there was some uncertainty about his ability to provide useful information specific to military operations. As he spent more time in Japan, his hard work impressed the Japanese intelligence officers with whom he had been assigned to work. The staff of the

had concerns, however, about his psychological state, especially pertaining to the status of his wife and daughter, about whom he had heard no news since his defection. After a failed search by Japanese intelligence agents for his family, a plan to both pacify and "domesticate" Lyushkov was decided upon: he would be paired with a woman, both to distract him from the question of his family's status and to keep him rooted in Japan. An eventual match was found after Lyushkov refused several

White émigré White Russian émigrés were Russians who emigrated from the territory of the former Russian Empire in the wake of the Russian Revolution (1917) and Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and who were in opposition to the revolutionary Bolshevik com ...

women. At some point, he began to make plans to travel to the United States and contacted an American publisher about a possible autobiography that he would write. He had concerns that he might be prevented from leaving Japan and went as far as to negotiate a written safe-conduct guarantee.

Disappearance and death

After Germany's capitulation, Lyushkov was sent on 20 July 1945 to work for the Japanese

Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945. The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...

's Special Intelligence authorities in the puppet state of

. On 9 August 1945, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria commenced and Lyushkov vanished amongst the confusion caused by the sudden assault. His ultimate fate was unknown until 1979, as he was reportedly last seen in a crowd at a

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

train station. Some theories held that he was captured by the

or that he was killed on the orders of a Japanese Special Intelligence officer. However in 1979, Yutaka Takeoka, who was a young intelligence officer and Lyushkov's handler at the end of the war, admitted publicly that he executed Lyushkov on the evening of 19 August 1945. With Soviet forces approaching, Takeoka was initially content with letting Lyushkov try to make an escape but his superior, General Genzo Yanagita, told him that this was unacceptable because Lyushkov could give away Japanese military secrets to the Soviet Union when he was inevitably captured. Takeoka met with Lyushkov in his hotel room in Dalian and tried to persuade Lyushkov to commit suicide; when Lyushkov refused and indicated his intent to go on the run, Takeoka shot him. Lyushkov was cremated and his ashes were interred in a temple for the unknown dead.

Legacy

A fictionalized version of Lyushkov appears in the 2020 historical thriller novel ''The Klaus Protocol'' by Frank Schildiner.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Люшков Генрих Самойлович
at www.hrono.ru (in Russian)

at nvo.ng.ru (in Russian)

at www.vestnik.com (in Russian)

at www.memo.ru (in Russian)

at www.hrono.ru (in Russian) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyushkov, Genrikh 1900 births 1945 deaths Cheka officers Odesa Jews People from Odessky Uyezd Military personnel from Odesa Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Commissars 3rd Class of State Security Soviet defectors People from Manchukuo People executed by Japan by firearm Foreign nationals imprisoned in Japan Deaths by firearm in China Soviet emigrants to Japan Soviet civilians killed in World War II Bolsheviks NKVD officers Soviet fascists Former Marxists Executed Great Purge perpetrators Executed Russian collaborators with Imperial Japan