Khaibakh massacre (1944)
Part of Operation Lentil
Tower in the village of Khaibakh (1888)
LocationKhaibakh, Chechnya
Coordinates42°52′38″N 45°21′28″E / 42.87722°N 45.35778°E / 42.87722; 45.35778
Date27 February 1944
TargetChechen villagers
Attack type
Massacre, genocide
DeathsAround 700 villagers
PerpetratorsSoviet NKVD

The Khaibakh massacre was the mass murder of the Chechen civilian population of the aul (village) Khaibakh, in the mountainous part of Chechnya, by Soviet forces during the deportations of 1944 on 27 February 1944.[1][2][3][4]

Timeline

The massacre took place on 27 February 1944 during Operation Lentil (the Soviet mass deportation of Chechens to prison camps in Central Asia). Due to inclement weather it was impossible to convoy Chechen deportees to the railway stations by the deadline set by Beria, resulting in over 700 villagers, including "non-transportable" elderly, pregnant women and small children, were locked in a stable fortified with dry hay and burned alive; those who broke from burning stable were shot. One of the witnesses assigned to the military unit, interpreter Ziautdin Malsagov, recalls that NKVD commander Gvishiani called the two newborn children in the stable "bandits" before ordering to burn the 704 people alive.[5] After the incident, Gveshiani was reportedly congratulated for his success and good work by Lavrenty Beria, who promised him a medal.[6][7]

Rediscovery

The aul of Khaibakh was rediscovered through archaeological finds in Ukraine. World War II archaeologists found the remains of North Caucasian scouts who died during an operation behind enemy (German) lines. Letters addressed to their relatives were found in their water-resistant pockets, addressed to aul Khaibakh. Stepan Kashurko, one of the archaeologists, accompanied by a former Soviet general, decided to inform the families that the bodies of their relatives were found, but they learned that the settlement no longer existed.[8] In continuing their search, they discovered that while the Chechen soldiers were dying at the front, their relatives were burned alive by the Soviet soldiers.[9]

Gvishiani telegram

A number of sources cite a telegram of the State Security Commissioner of the third rank Mikhail Gvishiani informs Lavrenty Beria about the burning of the inhabitants of the village of Khaybakh:[10]

Совершенно секретно. Наркому внутренних дел СССР тов. Л. П. Берия. Только для ваших глаз. В виду не транспортабельности и с целью неукоснительного выполнения в срок операции «Горы», вынужден был ликвидировать более 700 жителей в местечке Хайбах. Полковник Гвишиани

English translation: Top secret. To L. P. Beria, head of NKVD. For your eyes only. I was obliged to eliminate more than 700 inhabitants of Khaibakh aul, in order to complete in time "Gory" operation and because of inability to convey these people. Colonel Gvishiani

Analyzing the text of the telegram, Pavel Polyan comes to the conclusion that it is doubtful: "only for your eyes" has never been used in Soviet secret office work, one of the leaders of Operation Lentil calls it "Горы" ("Mountains") and does not know oun military rank.[11]

Criticism

In a refusal to permit the release of the 2014 film Ordered to Forget about the massacre, the Russian Ministry of Culture stated that it had searched three Russian state archives, and that "as a result of the investigation, no documents were discovered proving the fact of the mass burning of residents" from Khaibakh. The ministry then claimed that the event was a case of historical falsification.[12] However, the special commission responsible for investigating the massacre in 1990 concluded on 20 August that the massacre had indeed happened.[13]

Russian historian Pavel Polyan in his early publications[14] acknowledged the existence of the massacre and mentioned several other massacres committed by the NKVD and referred to the "Gvishiani telegram", but in the 2011 book he recognized the telegram as questionable, and the story with Khaibakh unprovened.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mikaberidze, Alexander (June 25, 2013). Atrocities, Massacres, and War Crimes: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598849264.
  2. ↑ Askerov, Ali (April 22, 2015). Historical Dictionary of the Chechen Conflict. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442249257.
  3. ↑ Naimark, Norman M. (1998). Ethnic cleansing in twentieth century Europe. Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington.
  4. ↑ Moiseevich), Nekrich, A. M. (Aleksandr (1978). The punished peoples : the deportation and fate of Soviet minorities at the end of the Second World War (1st ed.). New York: Norton. ISBN 0393056465. OCLC 3516876.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "Полководческий" Дар Берии". Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  6. ↑ Gammer, Moshe. Lone Wolf and Bear: Three Centuries of Chechen Defiance of Russian Rule. London 2006. Page 170. ISBN 978-0-8229-5898-7
  7. ↑ Dunlop, John. Russia Confronts Chechnya: The Roots of a Separatist Conflict. Page 65. ISBN 978-0-521-63619-3
  8. ↑ Годовщине депортации народов Северного Кавказа посвящается... [Interview with Stephan Kashurko, president of the special 1990 commission investigating the Khaibakh massacre] (in Russian). Archived from the original on June 14, 2008.
  9. ↑ Дешериев Ю. Жизнь во мгле и борьбе: О трагедии репрессированных народов. ISBN 5-86020-238-5 (in Russian)
  10. ↑ Саламат Гаев, Муса Хадисов, Тамара Чагаева. Хайбах: Следствие продолжается. — Грозный, 1994. — 352 с.
  11. 1 2 Вайнахи и имперская власть: проблема Чечни и Ингушетии во внутренней политике России и СССР (начало XIX — середина XX в.), Авторы: В. А. Козлов (рук.), Ф. Бенвенути, М. Е. Козлова, П. М. Полян, В. И. Шеремет. 2011. ISBN 978-5-8243-1443-4. "Около 6 тыс. чеченцев из-за снега застряли в горах в Галанчожском районе: на их «довыселение» накинули ещё два дня. Имеются свидетельства того, что в ряде аулов войска НКВД мирное население фактически ликвидировали, в том числе и таким варварским способом, как сожжение. Широкая дискуссия идет вокруг событий в ауле Хайбах. По утверждению некоторых авторов, не будучи в состоянии обеспечить транспортировку его жителей, внутренние войска под командой комиссара госбезопасности 3-го ранга М. Гвишиани согнали около 200 чел. (по другим свидетельствам — 600—700 чел.) в колхозную конюшню, заперли их и подожгли; тех, кто пытался вырваться, расстреливали из автоматов. Ю. Айдаев приводит (без ссылки на источник) некое «совершенно секретное письмо» Гвишиани Берии: «Только для ваших глаз. Ввиду нетранспортабельности и в целях неукоснительного выполнения в срок операции „Горы“ вынужден был ликвидировать более 700 жителей в местечке Хайбах. Полковник Гвишиани». Этот документ мало походит на подлинный: гриф «только для ваших глаз» никогда не использовался в советском секретном делопроизводстве, один из руководителей операции «Чечевица» почему-то называет её операция «Горы» и не знает своего воинского звания, аттестуясь «полковником». В свою очередь в официальном отчете М. М. Гвишиани об операции в Галанчожском районе говорится о нескольких десятках убитых или умерших в пути. В 1956 и в августе 1990 г. были созданы комиссии по расследованию этой «операции» (первая — под руководством Д. Мальсагова). Однако ясности до сих пор нет. И мы, на основании доступных в настоящее время источников, вынуждены воздержаться от окончательных суждений."
  12. ↑ "Russia bans 'historically false' film on Stalin deportations of Chechens". AFP. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014. The ministry said it had searched three Russian state archives including the files of the NKVD security forces that carried out the deportations and Stalin's personal files. "As a result of the investigation, no documents were discovered proving the fact of the mass burning of residents," the ministry said. "This allows us to conclude that claims of this 'event' are a historical falsification."
  13. ↑ Spencer, Metta (1998). Separatism: democracy and disintegration. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 225. ISBN 9780847685844.
  14. ↑ Тольц, Владимир (May 24, 2011). Операция "Чечевица". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved February 24, 2019.
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