History 20/03/20 Lavrenty Tsanava: the mystery of death “Belarusian Beria”
Lawrence Tsanava, protege and close friend of Lavrentiy Beria, is called the “Second Lawrence”, and when he headed the NKVD of the Byelorussian SSR and the “Belarusian Beria”. Between the two Lawrence really had a lot in common.
the Beginning of the path
Lawrence Fomich Janjgava was born 9 (22) Aug 1900 in Mingrelian village Naganawa. Here he began his career at the age of 20 he joined the CPSU(b), at 21, gathered the villagers in rebel groups to help the red Army entered Georgia.
Around this time, Janjgava met with Beria. “Lawrence First” we were only one year older than his namesake, but for life became his mentor and patron. On his advice Janjgava got a job in the Cheka. Two Lawrence even intermarried – Janjgava married the sister of Beria. But before Beria helped younger friend to recover the party from where he was expelled for the kidnapping of the girl.
From 1921 until December of 1938 Janjgava was replaced about two dozen administrative and party posts: from the chief of the Politburo, the Cheka Senaki district to the chief of Colchester.
“Belarusian Beria”
17 Dec 1938, Lavrenty Fomich was appointed people’s Commissar of internal Affairs of the Byelorussian SSR. Then Beria had convinced him to change his surname, which was hard to pronounce for the local people.
At this time in Georgia was the repression of the creative intelligentsia, initiated by Beria. Tsanava tried to follow his example. In a memo sent to them Beria, reported: “the Central figures of the nationalist fascist organization in Byelorussia at the present time are Jakub Kolas and Janka Kupala”. In the multipart case, developed by Canaway and entitled “Nazis”, were also other poets and writers: Petrus Brovka, Mikhas Lynkov, Arkady Kuleshov. But in 1939, the case of Belarusian writers wasabout closed on the personal orders of Stalin. Soon, however, “talent” is “Belarusian Beria” there were more extensive use.
Repression in Western Belarus
In November 1939, the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR decided to take Western Belarus in the Republic. The Sovietization of the region was accompanied by mass repression and deportations of the population. Tsanava personally made a list of objectionable groups of citizens. Arrest or eviction were subject to the priests, the kulaks (for them, as during the collectivization in Russia, not necessarily ranked as only the wealthy peasants), the poles.
by the end of November, was shot 4465 people. From February 1940 to June 1941, there were four mass deportations.
Here are excerpts from a report Zenawi about the first of them: “the Eviction was subject to 9810 households (52 892 people). Was shipped in trains 50 224 people arrested 307 people died and were killed during the operation 4 persons. Arrested after the 13th of February and placed in detention centres for removal purposes 197. Thus the total number of repressed made 9854 households (50 732)”. People, like cattle, were loaded into echelons in the cold about 40 degrees.
From the last deportation suffered 22 353 people.
early In the war Tsanava ordered to conduct mass executions of prisoners of Western Belarus.
After the liberation of Belarus from German occupation in the summer of 1944 the people’s Commissar led the prosecution of members of the home Army. Came under repression and were deported in addition to the home army soldiers and their families.
Tower Zanavi
In Minsk preserved historical landmark – a small tower rising above the complex of buildings of the Ministry of state security, built on the Avenue of Stalin after the war. It was ordered to build himself Tsanava.
the Leading Belarusian architect Vladimir Korol tried to protest, believing that it would be contrary to the laws of symmetry.
“well, comrade King – gravely uttered the Commissar. In BelarusAI all are subject to one law – the law of Zenawi. In architecture, perhaps you and the king, and the king here I am. And you try to turret turned out beautiful.”
According to arsitektur, Canava, a passionate football fan, tower needed only to right out her window to watch the matches on located opposite the stadium “Dinamo”.
this architectural building was legends. Many locals seriously believe that the tower Tsanava day and night watching them all-seeing eye, and explained that the disappearance of their neighbors.
Tsanava lacked the charisma that makes people simultaneously fear and love of tyrants, – it was just afraid. Even many years after his death in Minsk, it was possible to hear a peculiar curse: “may your house Tsanava came!”
not Surprising, since the flywheel of repression when Zenawi, in 1946 became Minister of state security of the BSSR worked fine. As Lavrenti Beria, Tsanava was remarkable even for your environment cruelty and did not hesitate to personally beating and torturing prisoners, including those already sentenced to death.
He really felt like a king. He easily broke the fate of people, sometimes even not formally suspected of political crimes. So, soldiers from his personal guard was sentenced to ten years for refusing to water the flowers in the country of Zenawi.
the Murder of Mikhoels
this cottage, located near Minsk, in the village of Stepanka, 12 January 1948, killed a famous Director of Solomon Mikhailovich Mikhoels. For participation in the organization of the massacre committed on the direct orders of Stalin, Tsanava secret decree was awarded the order of the red banner.
in fact, Mikhoels was lured into a trap. January 7, he left to Minsk, where he was invited to the performances of the two theatres, which was supposed to award the Stalin prize. My Director had to go academician V. P. Volgin, but at the last moment the satellite was replaced – it was theater critic V. I. Golubov, who had to TEMsweeping circles well-deserved reputation of the informer, and the NKVD – the nickname Potapov.
on January 12 at the hotel where he stayed Muscovites, called on the phone. After a brief conversation Golubov told Him that his Minsk classmate celebrating a wedding and asked them both to come. Director and theater critic was taken to Stepanka.
In the note, Beria Tsanava reported: “About 10 o’clock in the evening of Mikhoels and Golubov was brought to the courtyard garden. They immediately from the car was removed and crushed by a freight car. About 12 o’clock in the morning, when the city of Minsk, the movement of the public is reduced, the bodies of Mikhoels and Golubov was loaded on a truck, taken to and abandoned on one of the remote streets of the city. In the morning they were discovered by workers who reported to the police.”
it is Unlikely that the informer Golubov-Potapov suspected that he would sacrifice for the sake of the validity of the staging. The official cause of the tragedy was called an accident.
the Arrest and death of
February 15, 1952 Canava was dismissed from all posts and sent into retirement. He was soon arrested. Probably, Stalin hoped to extract from his testimony on interrogations dirt on Beria, who was about to be removed from the scene. A few months Tsanava was released, and even helped organize the funeral of Stalin. But on the 4th of April 1953 he was arrested again, what is remarkable, on the orders of Beria. Among the charges against Zenawi, was complicity in the murder of Mikhoels.
Lawrence Tsanava died 12 Oct 1955. The circumstances of his death are still unknown. According to one version, he committed suicide in the cell. According to the official conclusion, he died in a prison hospital from the aggravation of old diseases: lack of cardiac activity on the basis of sudden venous sclerosis of the arteries and chronic heart aneurysm. Perhaps the heart of the former people’s Commissar did not survive the torture, which he condemned his victims.
Russian Seven
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© Russian Seven
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