Belied Soviet Purge

Northern Advocate, 31 July 1939, Page 8

Belied Soviet Purge

| MOSCOW, July 30. | | General KholzunofY and three | I other high Air Force officers were f 7 «* f killed in a crash. 4 i An official communique states | | that General Kholzunoff and his f ? brother officers were killed while » • j 4 fulfilling- duties. j | Many army officers, including | • Marshal Voroshiloff and his aides, 4 • • • have signed a statement paying j i tribute to the dead men. | ? I I Observers expressed the opin- | f ion that this belies stories of the | I new purge recently published in | ? the foreign press, as the state- ? ; • ? ment contains the names of men 4 4 allegedly removed from com- | | mand. i f General Kholzunoff and the 4 • other air officers, including Major | | Cberkassoff, who Avas a bombing ? j expert, are believed to have died f | during the Outer Mongol fighting. | | They will be given an elaborate | t military funeral, at which Mar- f f shal Voroshiloff will bo chief I | mourner. t T Reports that General Shtern, f f Commander of the First Far I Eastern Army, has been removed , ? are also dispelled by bis signa- | | ture of the statement paying t \ tribute to the dead officers. I • a