Smersh, Stalin’s Secret Weapon Published in Russian

In January of this year, after five months of receiving no answer about the publication date of the Russian translation of my book “SMERSH, Stalin’s Secret Weapon”, Director of the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI), Andrei Sorokin, decided to forbid the Political Encyclopedia (ROSSPEN) publishing house in Moscow from publishing it. The book was to be published in the ROSSPEN series “History of Stalinism” and the editing and galleys were complete. Mr. Sorokin provided no explanation to the publishing house or me as the author for the ban.

This is the second time this has happened to me. In 1985, the KGB seized my genetics manuscript from the Publishing House of Moscow State University, and this book has never been published. After this the KGB tried to prevent the publication of my second scientific book, but it was published and I defended it as my Doctorate Thesis.

In the 1980s, the seizure of my manuscript was a KGB punishment for my membership in “Amnesty International.” Now, I can only guess that this recent ban is a punishment for my participation in the legal process of Raoul Wallenberg’s niece, Mrs. Marie von Dardel, against the FSB Central Archive, that does not want to release uncensored documents in connection with Wallenberg’s fate (I am a historical advisor to Mme. von Dardel).

But this time everything turned out well, and the Russian version of “SMERSH” was published by the publishing house AIRO-XXI (Moscow):

Vadim Birstein. SMERSH, Stalin’s Secret Weapon, translation from the updated English version by S.S. Gitman. Afterword by B.V. Sokolov. Moscow: AIRO-XXI, 2018 (in Russian).

The book can be purchased from Esterum Books, an excellent source for books in Russian.

Articles by Date

• Is the Year 1937 Back in Russia? Part II of the FSB “Network” Case July 4, 2018
• Radio Liberty Interview Digs into SMERSH and the Wallenberg Case June 30, 2018
• RWI-70 Poses 80 Questions to Swedish Authorities March 30, 2018
• Is Year 1937 Back in Russia? March 11, 2018
• In Memoriam, Arseny Roginsky January 14, 2018
• 3rd International Raoul Wallenberg Roundtable October 4, 2017
• Stalin’s Ghost Returns July 15, 2017
• The Convenient Death of Vitaly Churkin April 21, 2017
• Torture in Russia Reaching Pandemic Proportions March 13, 2017
• Vladimir Kara-Murza’s Brave Fight February 27, 2017
• Wallenberg Publications February 16, 2017
• Boris Sokolov’s Speech at His Final Court Session December 29, 2016
• The Wallenberg Chapter: Serov’s Original Typed Manuscript Translated December 18, 2016
• Sokolov’s Second Court Date in Serov Libel Trial December 12, 2016
• More Inconsistencies in Ivan Serov’s Memoir Notes from a Suitcase December 6, 2016
• More Criticism of Ivan Serov’s Memoir November 25, 2016
• Raoul Wallenberg and Mellaneuropeiska — Swedish economic “agents” in World War II November 15, 2016
• Serov’s Memoir on Trial November 14, 2016
• Blasieholmsgatan’s Secrets November 1, 2016
• Raoul Wallenberg in Ivan Serov’s Memoir October 9, 2016

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• Erasing Memory: the Sandarmokh Execution Site (10/21/2018)
• Putin, Heaven and Russian Journalists (10/20/2018)
• Court Punishment for “Falsifying History” (7/18/2018)
• 3 Years for Attending a Protest (7/18/2018)
• End of Publication of CheKa-OGPU-NKVD-MGB-KGB Declassified Documents? (7/18/2018)
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• Secret Destruction of GULAG Records? (7/14/2018)
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• Outcry of Russian Scientists (3/11/2018)
• Alexei Navalny’s Candidacy Denied (1/28/2018)
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• Third Raoul Wallenberg Roundtable (10/8/2017)
• Raoul Wallenberg Family Sues (9/5/2017)