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How Ukraine got into such bad shape

The Polar Styx. Author: Eugene Ivanov
Article by: Robin Molnar
Edited by: Alya Shandra
The existing state system in Ukraine, left over from Soviet times, is corrupt and inefficient. While Western politicians decry Ukraine’s lack of progress in reforms, we take a look, with the help of NKVD directives for Poland, into how its state system was formed. This document reveals the detailed ways in which freedom and efficiency were suppressed in countries of the Eastern bloc in order to ultimately create dependency on their metropoly, the USSR. Ukraine’s success in reforms currently depends on the ability to either deconstruct or radically change this existing system. – Ed.

It’s happened elsewhere. Countries within the former USSR and all Eastern European countries, including those that have already joined NATO and the European Union, still bear the mark of the social, economical and political dagger of the political puppets put by Moscow in charge of the respective, oppressed countries.

Below, you’ll find an excerpt from a research book (“Opresiunea cultelor religioase din România în timpul dictaturii comuniste“) presented in Romania, which gathered bits and pieces of our shared, oppressed past. I find it particularly defining our shared problems and, knowing the source of all evil, it may just be the key to solving them and marching towards a better, more liberal, more human future of prosperity and dignity.

This being said, let’s see what kind of malice NKVD, the forbearer of FSK, later known as KGB and, nowadays, FSB brought to us.

NKVD directives for the Eastern European countries

Lavrenti Beria
Lavrentiy Beria

In June 1947, the NKVD (forerunner of the KGB) secretly distributed a set of directives for Sovietization of countries within Moscow’s sphere of influence. These directives entitled “Moscow 02.06.1947 (Top Secret) K-AA/CC113, indication NK/003/47” were developed by Lavrentiy Beria, one of the worst (and most efficient) communist executioners. His name is inextricably linked to “Soviet victory.” Working in the Soviet repressive system since 1921, he was named by Stalin as NKVD’s chief in 1938, where he worked until 1953. It is directly responsible for the killing of millions of people. Under his direction (repressive, n.r.) law enforcement authorities were organized in all countries in Eastern Europe.

After 1940, in one year, over 200,000 Bessarabian and Bukovinian Romanians were deported across Russia, up to Vladivostok. A “work plan” which systematized and organized the most monstrous system of deportation was developed in January 1941. The method of drafting nominal lists was diabolical:

“It is necessary to deport each family member, as a principal deported, together, without informing [them] about separating them ahead. All the family members were placed in the same car, up to the train wagon. Only there the head of the family was separated, then the others, under the pretext of sanitary inspection”.

At the end of the Second World War, half of Europe was occupied by ‘liberating’ Soviet troops. Officially, Moscow stated it will respect the sovereignty and independence of the occupied countries, and ensure the right to self-determination of the entrants in its area of influence. In reality, their fate was already sealed. In a few years, they had replaced these countries’ democratic regimes with totalitarian systems inspired and controlled by the Kremlin.

The plan of this transition was the same everywhere. Much of it has been theorized by Lavrentiy Beria himself, the dreaded chief of the NKVD. A secret directive written for the Soviet secret services working in Poland demonstrates this set developed by the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs on 2 June 1947, bearing the sign “Moscow 02.06.1947 K-AA / CC113, indication NK/003/47.” The document was found in the office of the president of Poland between 1945 and 1952 Boleslaw Beirut, and was first published in the Novi Dzienic newspaper in 1981.

  1. It is forbidden to receive natives which were contacted as informants in embassies. Meeting these people is organized by a service designated for this purpose, and meetings can only take place in public places. The information is retrieved by the embassy through special services bodies, in this case with our officer handing them in the embassy.
  2. It must be made sure that there are no connections between our soldiers and the civilian population. It is unacceptable that our officers visit their homes. It is also unacceptable that ordinary soldiers establish relationships with women from among autochthones. Establishment of relations between our soldiers and the civilian population or local soldiers is not allowed.
  3. The liquidation of citizens who maintain ties that we did not initiate with the new Polish Communist Party, Polish Socialist Party, with inter-brigades, the Polish Communist Youth Organization, the Home Army and other associations must be accelerated. This requires the use of military opposition elements.
  4. Military actions will be attended only by those soldiers who stayed in our country [the Soviet Union – ed.] before entering the Kosciuzsko Army [the Polish army that fought alongside the Red Army within USSR]. The complete destruction [of this Kosciuzsko Army] must be reached.
  5. An accelerated unification of all political parties into a single party must be undertaken, making sure that all key roles return to those people who belong to our intelligence services.
  6. Youth organizations must be unified quickly. From leaders of local organizations up into leadership positions, people appointed by our special services should be allocated.
  7. It is intended that organizers and elected deputies to the [national] congress are not able to keep their mandate for the entire period of their election. Under no circumstances can parlamentarians call meetings between businesses. If there is no other solution and such meeting is to be convened, those people who work in connection with design concepts and advancing claims are to be removed. Private initiatives should be completely eliminated. For each congress we will prepare new people and just those targeted by our secret services.
  8. Special attention is to be paid to people with organizational skills and certain popularity. These people should be employed by our secret services and, if they oppose, their access to higher-level posts must be blocked.
  9. Government officials (excluding security personnel and miners) are to have have lower wages. This applies particularly to the healthcare sector, justice, culture, namely those who hold leadership positions.
  10. In all branches of government, namely in most factories, we must have people who work together with our special services, without the knowledge of local administrative bodies.
  11. Local mass media should never transmit data about the quality of goods that they are exporting to us [the USSR]. Under no circumstances should this activity be called commerce. It should always be mentioned that this is a necessary exchange of goods.
  12. Public services must be pressured that they do not provide documentary evidence of land ownership; acts will only document which land batch to use, but never the property holder.
  13. A small family farm policy should should be taken in order to make private households unprofitable . Then, collectivization should be started. Where a greater resistance from peasants is met, a reduction of their assigned means of production is to occur, while increasing their financial obligations. If we still do not get the right result, agriculture should be organized in such a way that it cannot ensure the country’s food supply, so as to become necessary to have the necessities covered through imports.
  14. Everything must be done in order that judgments and orders – either those with legal, economic and organizational – are non-punctual.
  15. Everything must be done for certain cases to be discussed simultaneously by several committees, offices and institutions, but none of them having the right to decide before consulting with the other (except cases aimed at mine industry).
  16. Factory unions cannot exert any influence on the activity of the plant. They can only work in putting into practice decisions, and nothing more.
  17. Trade unions have no right to resist management in any matter. Unions must be occupied with other minor problems like: organizing summer vacations, considering applications for pensions and loans, cultural and entertainment activities, trips, poor distribution of goods, justification of the views and decisions of the political leadership.
  18. It should be held that only those leaders flawlessly creating the problems that were assigned to them, without analyzing them beyond their work, are to be promoted.
  19. Conditions must be created for the activity of natives who have party, administrative or state positions that they become compromised in front of their employees, so that it becomes impossible for them to return to their original entourage (status).
  20. Indigenous military personnel can occupy leadership positions in places where our [USSR] special services already are placed our [USSR] people.
  21. For each armed action and firing exercise, the amount of ammunition will be permanently and seriously controlled, regardless of the type of weapon used.
  22. Each research institute and laboratory should be observed, noting any valuable research.
  23. Special attention should be paid to inventors, innovators, with their activity developed and supported, but every invention must be recorded consistently from the center. Implementing those investments is permitted only where they are applicable in the mining industry or those who have our special indications. Implementing inventions which would ensure increased production of finished goods and, in parallel with this, the decrease in production and the extraction of raw materials, or prevent carrying out our decisions, will not be permitted. If an invention became known, its sale abroad in western currency must be organized, on the grounds that it is too expensive to implement in the country. Documents containing data on the value and description of the invention are not to published. All data and documents concerning the amount and detailed description of the invention will have to come into our own possession.
  24. Punctuality of shipments of any kind (except those included in the guidelines of NK – 552-46) has to be disrupted.
  25. Factories should initiate various professional sessions and conferences, the proposals should be noted, alongside with the observations that were exposed, and their respective authors.
  26. Conversations with workers dealing with current issues related to production, namely those who criticize the past and local issues, should be popularized. Do not remove the causes of the phenomena in question.
  27. Reviews expressed by the indigenous leaderships may have national or historical coloring, but they cannot lead to national unity.
  28. Attention should be paid to cities’ water networks that are not connected to the main water source, including in neighborhoods that are being rebuilt or newly built. Old sewers and wells not connected should systematically be liquidated over time.
  29. Reconstruction of industrial plants and construction of new ones will be conducted such that residual materials are routed towards the water deposits that could be used as drinking water reserves.
  30. In rebuilt or newly built cities, housing is no longer allowed to have surplus spaces that could be used for storing animal or food reserves for prolonged periods of time.
  31. Personal property enterprises, small artisans and small industrialists are to only receive lower quality materials and equipment, to prevent production or to ensure its lower quality. The price of these goods should be higher than the price of similar products of state owned enterprises.
  32. State bureaucracy should be expanded to the highest level possible and in all areas. Criticism of the bureaucratic apparatus is permitted, but it is not admitted to reduce the number of staff nor the normal operation of the bureaucratic administration.
  33. Great care should be taken of all manufacturing projects in mining, specifically the indicated enterprises in particular. A good supply to the internal market is to be provided
  34. Particular attention should be paid to the churches. Cultural and educational activities must be conducted so as to result in a general antipathy against them. Church printers should be scrutinized, together with the content of sermons, songs, religious education, even at funeral ceremonies.
  35. From elementary schools, specialty schools, especially in high-schools and universities valuable teachers who enjoy some degree of popularity should be removed. Their seats must be occupied by people of low or mediocre level of preparedness, that we indicate. We are to examine the differences between classes and to reduce the amount of documentary material and high-schools are to stop teaching ancient Greek and Latin, general philosophy, logic and genetics. In history textbooks it should be recalled that the previous rulers did not serve or wanted to serve the good of the country.The greed and wickedness of any king, the negative effect of the monarchy and the oppressed people’s struggle must be insisted on. In specialist schools narrow specialties are to be introduced.
  36. Artistic or sports activities in which the local peoples’ battles against the invaders (especially Germans, excluding Russians) is praised, and their struggle for socialism is popularized, should be initiated.
  37. Emergence of works about those locals who, before the revolution and during the period of the Second World War, lived with us [in the USSR] or fought with us during the war, is to be prohibited.
  38. If there emerges an organization that would support the alliance with us, but would also insist on local economic management or official government, a campaign of accusations of nationalism and chauvinism must be started against it. This must be done in the following way: desecrating monuments belonging to us [the USSR], destroying cemeteries, distributing manifestos insulting our nation and our culture and doubting the value of contracts signed with us. In this propaganda work natives should be involved, using the hatred that exists against those organizations.
  39. Particular attention should be paid to the construction and reconstruction of roads, bridges, pathways and connection networks, no matter how distant or inaccessible may be, that if there is such a need for a military intervention, the resistance or reactionary forces would be accessible from all sides.
  40. It is necessary that representatives of the political opposition be jailed. By all means, recruiting those opposants enjoying the respect of locals is to be done. If this fails, they have to become compromised. Before they become part of the common conscience, they must be liquidated through so-called “unforeseen accidents” or imprisoned on charges of common crimes. Only in very special cases it is allowed to be held political trials, which will be held on charges of “high treason.”
  41. The rehabilitation of political convicts should be prevented at all costs. If the rehabilitation becomes inevitable, it is permitted only that the case be considered a judicial mistake, the convict will not be judged, but pardoned. Resuming trials will not occur, nor the wrong judgment authors will be called.
  42. Public criticism or trial of those appointed by our party leaders who, through their work, have produced losses or employee dissatisfaction, is prohibited. In drastic cases, they are to be recalled from office, having been appointed to similar or higher positions. Finally, they should be placed in leadership positions and put in reserve as frameworks for periods of subsequent changes.
  43. Trials of those leading people (primarily from the army, ministries, important services, teachers) who are accused of [an opposing] attitude against the people, socialism, and industrialization, are to be made public. It’s an action that draws the attention of the masses.
  44. It is to be facilitated that those working in various functions, no matter how small, are changed and replaced by unqualified workers with the least possible training.
  45. It is to be that those people attending learning faculties belong primarily or exclusively to the lowest social classes, those people who are not interested in improving to a higher degree and just want to get a diploma.

This pretty much explains how Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other formerly-Soviet states got in such terrible conditions, doesn’t it?

If only more people were given the opportunity to read it…

[hr]The document is translated from Romanian, taken from Opresiunea cultelor religioase din România în timpul dictaturii comuniste” – Comunicări prezentate la Simpozionul “Experimentul Piteşti – reeducarea prin tortură”, Ediţia a II-a/ “Religious oppression in Romania during the communist dictatorship” – presented at the Symposium “Pitesti Experiment – Re-education through torture,” second edition.

Edited by: Alya Shandra
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