Genrikh Lyushkov: Difference between revisions

| name = Genrikh Samoilovich Lyushkov<br />{{lang-ru|link=no|Генрих Самойлович Люшков}}

| image = G Lyushkov.jpg

| alt = Genrikh Samoilovich Lyuskhov

| caption =

| birth_date = 1900

| birth_place = [[Odessa]], [[Russian Empire]]

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|8|19|1900|5|25}}|

|| death_place = [[Dalian]], [[Soviet occupation of Manchuria|Soviet-occupied Manchuria]]

| nationality = Ukrainian

| known_forother_names =

| spouse = Inna Lyushkova

| children = 1

| module = {{Infobox officeholder

'''Genrikh Samoilovich Lyushkov''' ({{lang-ru|link=no|Генрих Самойлович Люшков}}; 1900 &ndash; 19 August 1945) was an officer in the Soviet [[secret police]] and its highest-ranking [[defector]]. A high-ranking officer of the [[NKVD]], he played a role in perpetrating Stalin's [[Great Purge]]. When, in 1938, he suspected he would soon fall victim to the purge, he fled to the JapaneseJapan. Thereafter, he acted as a major source of intelligence for [[Imperial Japan]] about the Soviet Union. At the end of [[World War II]], he was killed by the Japanese in order to prevent him from falling back into Soviet hands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Комиссар НКВД Люшков бежал — специфический «бунт» сталинского чекиста: путь от верного исполнителя репрессий во враги народа |url=https://republic.ru/posts/107217 |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=republic.ru |language=ru}}</ref>

Lyushkov was born in [[Odessa]] in the [[Russian Empire]] in 1900. His [[Jews|Jewish]] father supported him and his siblings as a tailor.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Петров |first1=Никита Васильевич |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YA0FAQAAIAAJ&q=%D0%9B%D1%8E%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2+%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85+%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B0 |title=Кто руководил НКВД, 1934-1941: справочник |last2=Скоркин |first2=Константин Владиславович |date=1999 |publisher=Звенья |isbn=978-5-7870-0032-0 |pages=280 |language=ru}}</ref> He began his education in 1908 in a state-owned, six-classroom school, continuing there until 1915.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Тумшис |first1=Михаил |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EXgqDwAAQBAJ&dq=%D0%9B%D1%8E%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2+%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85+1915&pg=RA1-PA1922 |title=Евреи в НКВД СССР. 1936–1938 гг. Опыт биографического словаря |last2=Золотарёв |first2=Вадим |date=2022-01-29 |publisher=Litres |isbn=978-5-04-060749-5 |pages=1922 |language=ru}}</ref> While in school, he was influenced by his brother (a member of the [[Bolshevik]] underground) to join the [[Bolshevik Party]] and take part in the [[Russian Revolution]] several years later.

In April 1919, he received political training in [[KievKyiv]] for the [[Ukrainian People's Republic]]. During this time, the [[Russian Civil War]] broke out and after his graduation in September of that year, Lyushkov was assigned to the [[Red Army]]'s [[14th Army (RSFSR)|14th Army]] for political work, where he saw combat against [[Poland|Poles]] and the [[White movement|White Russian]] forces of [[Anton Denikin]]. By then, he was a fully-fledged [[Commissar#Political commissar|political commissar]] and had received the [[Order of the Red Banner]].{{sfn|Coox|1968|p=407}}<ref name="Kuksin" />

In November 1920, he joined the [[Cheka]] of [[Odessa]], which became known for its ruthlessness.<ref name="Berkman" /> He also served in Moscow and [[Ukraine]]. When the Cheka was disbanded and reformed into the [[State Political Directorate|GPU]] (the Государственное политическое управление НКВД РСФСР or "State Political Directorate"), Lyushkov rose even further. Around 1930,{{sfn|Coox|1968|p=408}} he carried out an [[industrial espionage]] assignment in [[Germany]], where he monitored activities within the [[Junkers (Aircraft)|Junkers]] aviation company, bringing him the favour of [[Joseph Stalin]]. This success led to his working again within the USSR, now as a member of the [[NKVD]] (the Народный комиссариат внутренних дел or "People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs"). He was quickly transferred to preferential positions such as his posting as the NKVD chief in the [[Sea of Azov]]-[[Black Sea]] region{{sfn|Coox|1968|p=408}} as well as being awarded the [[Order of Lenin]] "for exemplary performance of tasks of the Party and government."<ref name="Kuksin" /> He was also made a deputy of the [[Supreme Soviet]] and a member of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee]].

Under unknown circumstances, however, Inna and her daughter were captured. Though the daughter's fate remains unknown, Inna was kept at the [[Lubyanka prison]] and tortured for information throughout late 1938 before eventually being executed.<ref name="Kuksin" /> Other members of Lyushkov's family were arrested and imprisoned in Siberian [[gulag]]s.<ref name="Kuksin" /> While his mother and brother were both killed, his sister survived her imprisonment.<ref name="Kuksin" />

After Germany's capitulation, Lyushkov was sent on 20 July 1945 to work for the Japanese [[Kwantung Army]]'s Special Intelligence authorities in the puppet state of [[Manchukuo]].{{sfn|Coox|1968|p=418}} On 9 August 1945, the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]] commenced and Lyushkov vanished amongst the confusion caused by the sudden assault.{{sfn|Coox|1968|p=418}} His ultimate fate was long unknown, reportedly last seen in a crowd at a [[Dalian]] train station. Some theories held that he was captured by the [[Red Army]] or that he was killed on the orders of a Japanese Special Intelligence officer.{{sfn|Coox|1968|p=418}}<ref name="Memo.ru" />

* [http://www.vestnik.com/issues/1999/0817/win/kuksin.htm Илья КУКСИН (Чикаго): ПОБЕГ СТОЛЕТИЯ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305053226/http://vestnik.com/issues/1999/0817/win/kuksin.htm |date=2009-03-05 }} at www.vestnik.com (in Russian)

[[Category:Year1945 of death unknowndeaths]]

[[Category:OdessaOdesa Jews]]

[[Category:Military personnel from OdessaOdesa]]

[[Category:People offrom Manchukuo]]