Why was the reception of Armenian repatriates prohibited?

75 years ago, on October 6, 1948, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks decided to allow 260 Armenian repatriates from the United States to enter the USSR as an exception, because just three weeks earlier the repatriation of foreign Armenians to the USSR was completely prohibited, and this was categorically insisted J.V. Stalin.

From a telegram from the Catholicos of All Armenians, George VI, to the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR, J.V. Stalin, December 3, 1945.

With a deep sense of gratitude on behalf of the Catholicosate, the entire clergy of the Armenian Church and the Armenian faithful, George the Sixth, Catholicos of All Armenians cordially welcomes the historic decision to allow the resettlement of foreign Armenians to their sacred homeland. Finally, the cherished dream of the sons and daughters of the Armenian people wandering around the world is coming true…

My people believe that their aspirations for the elimination of historical injustice and the annexation of the legitimate lands seized by the Turks to their real homeland – Soviet Armenia – will soon come true.

I pray to the Almighty to grant you, the great leader of nations, health and longevity, so that under your wise leadership the Armenian people, who have endured the exceptional trials of history, enter the period of their revival…

(According to the report of the USSR Minister of Internal Affairs, Colonel General S.N. Kruglov, by June 1948, 86,346 Armenians had moved to the USSR from abroad.— “Story”).

From the TASS report “Accident on the ship “Pobeda””, September 4, 1948.

At the beginning of August, the motor ship Pobeda left New York, heading to Odessa. In Cairo, over 2,000 Armenian repatriates were accepted on board the ship and were transported to Batumi.

On August 31, Pobeda left Batumi for Odessa. On the way, a fire broke out on the ship due to careless handling of film films, which caught fire. There are victims (information was published that 42 people died, including 15 children; the unsuccessful extinguishing of the fire was associated with the fact that hand-held fire extinguishers were clogged with smuggled fabric – panne velvet.— “Story”).

Among the dead were Chinese Marshal Feng Yu-hsiang and his daughter (while in the United States, the marshal advocated ending American financial and military assistance to the Nationalist government of China, which was waging war against the communists.— “Story”).

The ship was delivered to Odessa. An investigation is underway.

From the TASS report “Cremation of the body of Marshal Feng Yu-Hsiang,” September 7, 1948.

On September 7, the coffin with the body of Chinese Marshal Feng Yu-Xiang, who died in a fire on the Pobeda motor ship, was flown to Moscow. According to the wishes of Feng Yu-Xiang’s wife, the marshal’s body was cremated. The urn containing the ashes will be given to the wife of the deceased.

The cremation was attended by the relatives of the deceased, representatives of the Soviet armed forces and the public. During the meeting of the coffin with the body of the marshal at the airfield, as well as during the cremation, the deceased was given military honors.

From a coded telegram from I.V. Stalin, who was on vacation in the Crimea, to Moscow to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, G.M. Malenkov, September 13, 1948.

Received the assumptions of the Marine Fleet Novikov (Minister of the Navy of the USSR.— “Story”) and the head of the Black Sea Fleet Directorate Makarenko about the causes of the fire on the Pobeda motor ship. Makarenko thinks that the cause of the fire is the presence of flammable substances that could have been scattered on the ship by the Americans in the New York port during an inspection of the ship.

This assumption is unlikely, since it is not clear why the fire did not occur while the ship was in the Atlantic Ocean or the Mediterranean Sea. It is more likely that the substances were scattered in various places on the ship after arriving in Batumi, that is, before the unloading of the Armenian settlers in Batumi. It must be assumed that among the Armenian settlers there were American intelligence officers who carried out sabotage before the departure of the ship from Batumi to Odessa, after the Armenians had already been unloaded in Batumi or during unloading.

A strange impression is made by the behavior of the Ministry of State Security, which shows no interest in the case of the fire on the ship, despite its great importance.

My suggestions:

1. Oblige the Ministry of State Security to take into account and supervise all displaced Armenians who came to Armenia from America on the ship “Victory”.

2. Oblige the Ministry of State Security to immediately send a special group of responsible security officers to Armenia to organize registration of the above-mentioned Armenian settlers and supervise them, instructing this group to immediately arrest suspicious persons and, in any case, not allow any of these settlers into Baku so that they cannot set fire oil fields.

3. Oblige the Ministry of State Security to send a special commissioner to Baku, who will be tasked, together with local security officers, to catch Anglo-American saboteurs in the oil fields, bearing in mind that the Baku fields are one of the main targets for Anglo-American saboteurs and reconnaissance agents.

4. Unconditionally and immediately prohibit the admission of Armenian immigrants to Armenia, no matter where the immigrants are coming from.

From a coded telegram from G. M. Malenkov to I. V. Stalin, September 13, 1948.

I received your telegram about the motor ship Pobeda. Undoubtedly, you are right that among the Armenian settlers there are American intelligence officers who carried out sabotage before the departure of the ship from Batumi to Odessa, after or during the unloading of the Armenians.

Today, together with all our friends, we will take measures and make a decision in full accordance with your proposal.

We will immediately report on the measures taken.

From a coded telegram from G. M. Malenkov to I. V. Stalin, September 15, 1948.

I report that in pursuance of the instructions given in your telegram about the motor ship “Pobeda”, the following measures have been taken:

1. Ministry of State Security

a) a special representative of the USSR Ministry of State Security, Deputy Minister of State Security, Comrade Selivanovsky, was sent and arrived in Baku today with a group of senior officials including 8 people;

b) the head of the USSR MGB department, Comrade Rogov, was sent and arrived in Yerevan today with a group of senior MGB employees, including 7 people.

Comrade Selivanovsky and Rogov received assignments in accordance with the instructions set out in your telegram.

2. By the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated September 14, the repatriation of foreign Armenians to the USSR was completely and immediately canceled and the admission of Armenian immigrants to Armenia, no matter where the immigrants were sent from, was prohibited.

Accordingly, necessary instructions have been given.

3. The proposals set out in four points of your telegram about the motor ship “Pobeda” were adopted as a decision of the Politburo…

From a coded telegram from G. M. Malenkov to I. V. Stalin, September 16, 1948.

Today the Council of Ministers heard a report from the government commission on the results of the investigation into the causes of the fire on the Pobeda motor ship.

The Bureau of the Council of Ministers came to the following conclusions:

1. Recognize the commission’s conclusions as one-sided and consider it wrong that the commission completely ignored the issue of sabotage as a possible cause of the fire on the Pobeda motor ship.

2. Oblige the USSR Ministry of State Security (comrade Abakumov) together with the USSR Prosecutor’s Office to conduct an investigation, based on the fact that the cause of the fire on the Pobeda motor ship could have been an act of sabotage.

3. Oblige comrade. Novikov to take measures to establish strict order on the ships of the navy, excluding the possibility of a repetition of such facts, and submit by September 25 to the Council of Ministers a report on the measures taken, as well as proposals for improving the work of the ships and especially for providing them with proven, qualified personnel.

Comrade’s report and proposals. Novikov should be considered at a meeting of the Bureau of the Council of Ministers of the USSR…

(Resolution on the encrypted telegram: “Comrade Malenkov. Comrade Stalin agrees.”— “Story”).

From a telephone message from the deputy head of the Special Sector of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, L. A. Loginov, to the head of the Special Sector, A. N. Poskrebyshev, who was in Crimea with I. V. Stalin, October 6, 1948.

I convey the resolution of the PB (Politburo.— “Story”)…

“Question from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Agree, as an exception, to the repatriation of 260 Armenians from the United States.”

Molotov, Beria, Malenkov, Voznesensky, Kaganovich, Kosygin voted “for”.

From the memoirs of captain first rank O.P. Bar-Biryukov.

…The main cause of the fire was still recognized as the ignition of film. The liner’s radio technician, also known as non-staff projectionist P. Kovalenko, captain of the ship N. Pakholok, political assistants S. Pershukov and A. Nabokin, head of the radio station V. Vedeneev, as well as employees of the coastal services of the Black Sea Shipping Company – head of the radio station A. were taken into custody. Tretyak and group dispatcher M. Nefedov. The famous captain M. Grigor, head of the maritime inspection of the Black Sea Shipping Company, was also brought to trial.

The investigation lasted about 5 months. On February 8, 1949, the Water Transport Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, at a visiting session in Odessa, chaired by Uspensky, with the participation of the prosecutor and lawyers, considered the case accusing the managers of the motor ship Pobeda of a fire on the ship, which resulted in the death of people and caused great material damage.

The court noted that the fire on the ship was the result of gross violations of fire safety rules by the ship’s command staff and the freelance projectionist.

Without completely rejecting the version of the film flashing from friction, the court came to the conclusion that the most likely cause of the film fire was the smoking of sailor Skripnikov (died in the fire.— “Story”) in the pantry. The investigation established that Captain Pakholok and his assistant at the fire department Nabokin, before setting off on the voyage, knowing that the ship had a special storage facility for 8 films, accepted 41 wide-film films on board and allowed the flammable film to be stored in an unsuitable room on the lower deck in the central part ship among the passenger cabins.

Projectionist Kovalenko allowed sailor Skripnikov, who did not know the rules for handling film, to rewind the film. Assistant Captain Nabokin did not conduct fire-fighting training with personnel, did not pay attention to fire safety violations, and many crew members did not know how to use fire extinguishers.

Radio operator Vedeneev did not broadcast a message about the fire on the ship and left his post when the fire engulfed the wheelhouse.

The shipping company’s radio station employees and duty dispatchers were accused of criminal negligence in the performance of their duties.

The court handed down a harsh sentence to those responsible for the fire: assistant captain for fire safety A. Nabokin was sentenced to 25 years in prison, ship captain P. Pakholok and projectionist N. Kovalenko – to 15 years, political officer S. Pershukov – to 10 years, radio operator V. Vedeneev – by the age of 8. Coastal service workers, indirectly responsible for the tragedy, were sentenced to more lenient punishments: the head of the Black Sea Shipping Company radio station A. Tretyak – to two years in prison, group dispatcher M. Nefedov – to forced labor at the place of duty with a deduction of 25% of wages in throughout the year. The head of the maritime inspection of the shipping company, M. Grigor, was acquitted, since he was on vacation from April to September 1948…

From the publication of Doctor of Historical Sciences N. N. Ablazhey “Repatriation and deportation of Armenians in the second half of the 1940s”, 2011.

…The post-war repatriation of Armenians, carried out on the initiative of the Soviet state, at the same time became the reason … for the deportation of part of the Armenian population from the territory of Armenia to the Altai Territory in 1949.

…The deportation of Armenians was carried out on the basis of the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 00525 of June 2, 1949 and the internal instructions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the same date…

The following accounting categories were distinguished in the Armenian special contingent: “legionnaires”, “Dashnaks-nationalists”, repatriates and members of their families. According to the commission for the review of cases of those convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes of the Armenian SSR, 350 families (1454 people) of repatriates were deported…

The new repatriation program for the return of Armenians started only a few years later…

Publication by Evgeny Zhirnov