ground Social Democratic Party of Poland and Lithuania in 1900, but
gravitated to the Bolsheviks. Between 1902 and 1916, he was re-
peatedly arrested for his work in the Bolshevik underground and
spent several years in jail or exile. Following the 1917 Revolution,
Unshlikht joined the Chekaand acted on the northern front as the se-
curity service’s troubleshooter. Unshlikht was Feliks Dzerzhinsky’s
de facto deputy in 1921–1923, dealing with sensitive dangers such as
the Tambov revolt and rural insurrection in the Ukraine. Subse-
quently, he held important military and party posts and served as the
chief of the security service in Moscow. He was a member of the
Communist PartyCentral Committee for several years and was re-
peatedly decorated. Unshlikht was described by Leon Trotskyas
“ambitious but a talentless intriguer.” Joseph Stalinmay have shared
Trotsky’s opinion, at least about his capacity for intrigue: Unshlikht
was arrested in June 1937 and shot on 28 July 1938.URITSKIY, SEMEN PETROVICH (1899–1938). As chief of the
GRUfrom 1935 to 1937, Uritskiy directed Richard Sorgein Asia,
as well as other talented illegals. Despite promotions and rewards,
he was never fully trusted by Joseph Stalin. He was arrested in No-
vember 1937 with most of his staff and shot shortly thereafter. Ac-
cording to a recent GRU history, 200 senior members of the GRU
headquarters cadre were arrested in 1937–1938. Most of their re-
placements had no intelligence experience. In 1964 Uritskiy was
posthumously rehabilitated and given credit for Sorge’s operations
in Japan.USPENSKIY, ALEKSANDR IVANOVICH (1902–1940).Uspenskiy
joined the Chekaat 18 and rose quickly. In January 1938 he was ap-
pointed by Nikolai Yezhovas head of the Ukrainian NKVD, and over
the next 10 months he carried out a merciless purge of the Commu-
nist Partyand the local organs of the NKVD. Sensing Yezhov’s fall in
November 1938, Uspenskiy faked his suicide and disappeared in hope
of finding a sanctuary. He was captured five months later following an
intense manhunt, tried, and convicted of treason on 27 January 1940.
He was shot the next day. His wife was executed for her role in his
flight. Uspenskiy’s fate reflects how the rolling purges of the lateUSPENSKIY, ALEKSANDR IVANOVICH (1902–1940)• 27306-313 P-Z.qxd 7/27/06 7:57 AM Page 273