1936–1939 Soviet intelligence services are deeply engaged with Re-
publican forces in the Spanish Civil War. NKVD pursues leftist enemies
in Spain, murdering more than 10,000.
1937 23–30 January: Second Moscow Trial results in death sen-
tences for all but two of the accused. 25 May: Purge of Red Army be-
gins with arrest of Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevskiy and others. 11 June:
Tukhachevskiy and other military officers are tried and shot.
June–July: Massive purge (“Yezhovshchina”) of Communist Party and
society begins.1938 2–12 March: Third Moscow Show Trial ends with conviction of
Nikolai Bukharin and 14 defendants; all are shot immediately following
trial. 21 August: Lavrenty Beria is appointed head of NKVD; Nikolai
Yezhov is demoted and appointed minister of water transport.1939 April–May: Nikolai Yezhov is arrested and interrogated. (He
will be shot in 1940.) 17 September: Soviet forces enter eastern
Poland, following signing of Nazi–Soviet Pact. Over the next 18
months, more than 1,000,000 Poles are arrested or deported.1940 5 March: Joseph Stalin orders the murder of 26,000 Polish of-
ficers and civilians in Soviet prison camps. May: Mass murder of Poles
is conducted at Katyn and other sites. 20 August: Leon Trotsky is mur-
dered by NKVD agent Roman Mercader.
1941 NKVD is divided into two organizations: NKVD and NKGB
(People’s Commissariat of State Security). 22 June: Germany and Axis
allies invade Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa); Joseph Stalin insti-
tutes the GKO (State Defense Committee) to manage war effort. De-
cember: Soviet foreign intelligence produces critical intelligence for
major Red Army counterstroke at Moscow.1942 November: Maskirovka(Strategic Deception) is a critical factor
in major Soviet victory at Stalingrad.1943 2 February: Last German troops surrender at Stalingrad. April:
Joseph Stalin creates Smersh(Death to Spies), a parallel counterintelli-
gence organization with General Viktor Abakumov as chief within the
People’s Commissariat of Defense. 13 April: Germans report discovery
of murdered Polish officer at Katyn. July: Soviet intelligence and par-
tisan successes lead to victory in the Battle of Kursk.xvi •CHRONOLOGY06-313 (00) FM.qxd 7/27/06 7:53 AM Page xvi