Agitation and Propaganda

V. I. Stepakov, Note from the Director of Propaganda and Agitation Department of the CC CPSU for the RSFSR to the CPSU Central Committee on the Trial in Novocherkassk. August 24, 1962

 

Translated by James von Geldern

Original Source: Istoricheskii arkhiv, No. 4 (1993), pp. 175-76.

August 24, 1962
Top Secret

On August 20 of this year in Novocherkassk, the Trial Court of the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR, concluded the criminal trials of Kuznetsov, Cherepanov, Zaitsev, Sotnikov, Mokrousov, Karkach, Shuvaev, Levchenko, Chernykh, Goncharoa, Sluzhenko, Dementiev, Katkov and hcherban on charges of banditry committed during June 1-3, 1962.

The trial fully exposed the infamous role of the defendants, who headed the criminal-hooligan elements, and all of their criminal activities were shown. The trial revealed the ugly moral countenance of each defendant, fully demonstrated the public danger of the crimes they committed.

Irrefutable evidence, numerous testimonies established the defendants guilt completely. All the criminals, except for Dementieva, pleaded guilty and expressed his remorse for the serious crimes committed.

The court, considering the particular social threat of the defendants as the main organizers and active participants in gang activities, sentenced Cherepanov, Mokrousov, Kuznetsov, Sotnikov, Zaitsev, Karkach and Shuvaeva to capital punishment death by firing squad. The remaining defendants were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in strict-regime corrective labor camps.

The trial played a big educational and preventive role. Each court session was attended by 450 500 people. About four thousand workers attended the trial, including 450 employees of the Electric Locomotive Plant.

Workers of the city, who were in the courtroom, actively supported the process.

… Unanimous approval of all present greeted the fair verdict on the bandits. Numerous statements of workers, civil servants, intellectuals showed full support for the verdict by all honest working people of the city. Only individuals express sympathy for the convicts, considering them to have acted correctly. A scathing evaluation was given to former heads of the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant. The Bureau of the Rostov Regional Party Committee was excluded from the Party in July this year for poor leadership of the factory collective, callousness to the needs and request of the workers, and neglect of issues of standardization and organization of work, and factory director Comrade B.N. Kurochkin was removed from his post. Comrade M.F. Pererushev was relieved of his duties as secretary of the Party Committee of the plant for unsatisfactory formulation of party work. He was severely reprimanded, which will be entered in his registration card.

The Regional Party Bureau held the Party secretaries of Novocherkassk Party Committee and Chairman of the Executive Committee to the strict accountability. First Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee Comrade T.S. Loginov was given a severe reprimand to be entered in his registration card, Second Secretary V.V. Zakharova and Secretary V.F. Osipenko were given reprimands placed in their cards for poor leadership of the Municipal Party Committee of primary Party organizations, and especially the party organization of the Electric Locomotive Plant, and for weak standards for cadres of the CC CPSU. Chairman of the Executive Committee Comrade V.M. Zamula was given a severe reprimand with filing in his registration card for serious shortcomings in the cultural-domestic service of workers at the Electric Locomotive Factory and the residents of the village “October”.

At its meeting on August 22, the Regional Party Bureau considered several issues to further strengthen ideological-educational work in Novocherkassk and other cities in the region, and outlined plans in the near future to implement several measures to improve political work in the community of workers, to strengthen the communist education of youth, and others. Secretaries and members of the Regional Bureau Party Committee were sent to provide practical assistance to the Party organizations in addressing these issues.

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