Two More Leaders Of Soviet Silently Vanish

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 August 1949, Page 5

Two More Leaders Of Soviet Silently Vanish

C. L. SULZBERGER

By

New York Times Correspondent in Europe

Authoritative information indicates that the “quiet purge”?- of high Soviet officials and party leaders is even more extensive than had been indicated previously. Colonel-General I. V. Shikin, formerly chief of the Central Political Administration of the Soviet armed forces, is now reported to have disappeared during the last few months.

Likewise, Mikhail I. Rodionov, former chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic (by far the largest State in the Soviet Union) is also understood to be “missing.” It had already been reported that several other political chiefs had disappeared, including Nikolai A. Voznesensky, former member of the Politburo; A. A. Kuznetsov, a Central Committee secretary; Peter S. Popkov, member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet: Ivan T. Golyakov, former chief of the Soviet Supreme Court, and Yuri A. Zhdanov, son of the late Politburo leader.

According to authentic figures, within the last 18 months more than 300,000 Communists have been struck from the party rolls.

Link With Zhdanov

News that General Shikin and M. Rodionov have silently vanished from active circles in the Soviet Union tends still further to confirm previous impressions that those in the party hierarchy who are being removed are all in some way or another connected with the late Colonel-General Andrei A. Zhdanov, who died in 1948. General Shikin, although little known abroad, was one of the most important figures in the Soviet Army administration. He was re " sponsible for the political and ideological education of the armed forces and supervised the internal propaganda line for millions of Soviet citizens therein. This is still an extremely well-co-ordinated factor in Soviet military life, in spite of abandonment of the political commissar system during the Second World War. General Shikin was directly linked with Andrei Zhdanov. He went to Leningrad in 1940 as deputy, chief of the Leningrad Military District when General Zhdanov was both civil and military commander of that key region: He remained there under General Zhdanov during the first years of the German siege of the city (which began in the late summer of 1941) and had daily dealings with his chief.

Official In Gorki

M. Rodionov was one of General Zhdanov’s earliest and most powerful associates. General Zhdanov’s original centre of activities was the city of Gorki. General Zhdanov was sent to Leningrad only following the assassination of Sergey Kirov in 1934—a crime that led to the great wave of purges. When General Zhdanov went to Leningrad, M. Rodionov succeeded him as head of the party organisation in Gorki. Together with M. KuzVnetsov and M. Popkov,, he was always considered among the closest followers of the Politburo leader who, until his death, was frequently assumed to be the leading contender for succession to Stalin.

According to such reliable information as is available, all seven of the Soviet chieftains mentioned ■above appear to have been removed between mid-January and midMarch of this year. It may be recalled that February was a period of apparently exceptional police activity in the Soviet Union. Furthermore, all seven of them had unusual connections with General Zhdanov. At the end of January a purge of “cosmopolitan” influences within the Soviet Union started. It included flat accusations of conspiracy against the Soviet Government system although these charges were—and, so far,, are —limited to plotting to sabotage Soviet “culture.” It may be recalled that the purge of these “cosmopolitan” influences and the apparent purge of the Zhdanov group began approximately at the same time as the .announce-i-nont 0 £ the. retirement of Foreign Minister Mikoyan from their Cab-

inet positions. However, there is not the slightest indication that either of those two leading Politburo members has suffered any loss of power from such shifts and it is generally believed that they were relieved from administrative functions., to devote more of their time to other important tasks. Steady Rise To Power It is worth while to state that the liquidations of the Zhandov faction has been accompanied by the steady rise in power of Deputy-Premier Georgi M. Malenkov and of those considered as his followers.

At approximately the same time as General Zhdanov fell ill and died, a reorganisation of the party apparatus started. This has been felt in every stratum, including the All-Union Central Committee.

This reshuffle was first confirmed at the end of last March when a new section of the Central Committee was created combining supervision of the party, trade union and Komsomol (Communist youth) organs. This has replaced what was previously designated as the “cadres section.” The “military section” of the party was dropped, and this may conceivably be linked with the disappearance of General Shikin.

M. Malenkov always favoured party sections for various branches of production such as agriculture and light and heavy industry, but. such units were given up ten years ago, largely at the behest of General Zhdanov. That they now have been recreated can probably be interpreted as a victory for M. Malenkov’s conceptions over those of his late rival.’