Peter Alexeyevich Novopashenny (, Pyotr Alexeyevich Nowopashenny; ) (18 March 1881 in Russia – October 1950 near

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

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) was before and during the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, a Russian Marine Officer and who worked as a

cryptanalyst Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic se ...

during

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 ...

for the German Wehrmacht ( OKW/Chi) cipher bureau, working on the Russian desk, deciphering enciphered Soviet communications. A glacier in

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; , ; ), also spelled , is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, considered the extreme points of Europe ...

, part of the Nordenskiöld Glacier Group, was named after him.

Career

Naval career

After having attended the Naval Cadet School in 1902, Novopashenny served as a naval officer on several Russian warships, firstly on the monitor '' Admiral Greig'' (Russian: Адмирал Грейг) in 1903 and a year later on the battleship

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. In the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

(1904-1905), he participated in the battle with the Japanese fleet in part. He fell into Japanese captivity, from which he was dismissed, however, after a short time. Thereafter, he served on other ships, on the gunboat ''Sivuch''. In 1910, he graduated from the Nikolaev Naval Academy in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. Later, from 1913 to 1915, he commanded the icebreaker '' Vaygach'' () during the

Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition The Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition (GESLO) (1910–1915) was a scientific expedition organized by Russia for the purpose of the development of the Northern Sea Route. This expedition accomplished its goal of exploring the uncharted areas ...

. From 1915 during

, Novopashenny commanded the modern Novik class destroyer ''Desna'' (Russian: Десна). In 1916 he became commander of the destroyer ''Constantine'' (Russian: Константин). For his services before and during the war, he was awarded the Imperial Russian

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

(Russian: Орденъ Святой Анны) for service (4th stage on 5 May 1904, 3rd stage on 12 August 1907, 2nd stage 12 November 1915). After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he served briefly in the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

, and took in April 1918 under the Centrobalt in the negotiations between the German Navy and the Baltic Fleet in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in part that in Hangö Agreement culminated.

Cryptography career

Shortly thereafter, he made a break with his

Soviet 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 ...

expectant home and went into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

, first travelling to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and then in 1921 to

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 ...

. In the spring of the same year, Peter Novopashenny became acquainted with the ten year younger German,

Wilhelm Fenner Wilhelm Fenner (14 April 1891 in Saint Petersburg, 25 July 1961 in Bad Godesberg) was a German cryptanalyst, before and during the time of World War II in the OKW/Chi, the Cipher Department of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, working within th ...

, who was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia and who was also fluent in the Russian language. The two immediately hit it off. Novopashenny asked Fenner to help with the planned move to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and confided to him that he successfully worked during the war as director of the Russian cryptanalytic service, breaking the ciphers of the German Baltic Fleet and he intended to provide his experiences to the German General Staff. That same year, he offered a course in cryptology and cryptanalysis to Wilhelm Fenner. Novopashenny worked diligently, often late into the night and after some weeks was successful; the cipher of the current Russian

Military Attache A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

was solved by Fenner. In autumn 1922, Novopashenny and Fenner officially started as employees of the cipher bureau of the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

. Both stayed employed there for next two decades and continued working through the 1938 founding of the (OKW) High Command of the Wehrmacht, working within the cipher bureau, OKW/Chi. While Wilhelm Fenner eventually became Director (German:Ministerialrat (Min.Rat.)) of the Main Group B, while Peter Novopashenny ran the Russian desk and became a successful cryptanalyst, working on the

cryptanalysis Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic se ...

of Soviet radio traffic.

Arrest

After the ending of the war, he was arrested by Soviet secret agents in the town of Ringleben in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

in Autumn 1945 and was detained and later interrogated until 1946 in Berlin. He died in 1950, in a camp near the

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

city of

References

External links

German-Russian Treaty of Helsinki
(English translation) signed by Novopaschenny. Accessed: 21 August 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Novopaschenny, Peter 1881 births 1950 deaths 20th-century cryptographers History of cryptography History of telecommunications in Germany Telecommunications in World War II Imperial Russian Navy personnel Russian military personnel of World War I Russian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Soviet detention White Russian collaborators with Nazi Germany White Russian emigrants to Germany