Latvian prosecutions of Soviet war criminals

[David Thompson]

Latvia jails former Soviet partisan Vasily Kononov for war crimes
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/04/30/partisan.shtml
http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/convicts.htm
Putin Praises Former Soviet Partisan
http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/7003-9.cfm

Yevgeny Savenko war crimes trial in Liepaja
http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/savenk.htm
http://www.latvians.com/Mailer/2001_02_10.htm#news3

[AAA]

Here is more :

Conviction against Nikolay Larionov see (in Latvian) http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/larionovs.htm these two articles - an editorial from the daily paper Diena and a news service release. My translation (somewhat clumsy, but the articles are a mix of modern Latvian legalisms along with old soviet ones ... and therefore somewhat difficult) :

Judgement announced
Askolds Rodins for Diena

Zemgale regional court announced its judgement on crimes against humanity committed by former chekist Nikolay Larionov. His contribution to the March 1949 deportation has been valued at five years jail. The judgement will be appealed, and until then Larionov will be placed under police supervision.

Larionov is the fourth Stalin era chekist who has been convicted. Also he, even though expressing sympathy with the victims, did not admit guilt, since he had only carried out orders. And carried them out so diligently, that based on his signed decisions, 521 persons were forced onto cattle wagons, including 120 children under the age of 14, and 110 persons of pension age.

The former chekists final statement : "...in my opinion, it is the regime must be judged and not seperate individuals". True, the regime should be judged, but the fact that there has been no second nuremberg tribunal does not mean individuals involved in bloody works in the regime should not be prosecuted.

It is internationally acknowledged, that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitation, but failure to admit guilt is not, and cannot be, a basis to view that they have not occurred.


Guilty of crimes against humanity
27SEP03

Zemgale regional court found Nikolay Larionov guilty of crimes against humanity, sentancing him to imprisonment for five years in jail. Larionov as Latvian SSR Security Ministry 2nd department senior operational executive, from 28FEB to 12MAR 49 compiled and signed decisions on deportation of persons to special domicile in the furthest northern areas of the USSR. The deportation decisions included elderly, women, small children and babies.

Since in 1998 Latvia adopted legislation which declares the deportations as illegal, as well as rehabilitating repressed persons, the court aknowledged that Larionovs had committed a crime and is punishable in accordance with Criminal Law para 68.1 - Crimes against Humanity, Genocide. In accordance with this para the accused could be sentanced to life imprisonment, or imprisonment from 3 to 15 years. Larionov's time in jail begins from the announcement of the court decision, until then he had been subject to police monitoring.

Defence lawyer Aleksandr Ogurcov stated that a appeal would bemade. The court rejected civil process claims by the victims (for losses to health and property the Zemgale regional court had received submission from 4 victims - 2 for Ls 1000, one for Ls 3000 one for Ls 500). The accused in his final statement did not admit guilt, since in his opinion the responsibility for the deportations rests on decisions of the government of the Latvian SSR. Ending his final statement, Larionov asked the court to make an objective judgement on his case.

For convictions against Alfons Noviks and Mikhail Farbtuh see (in English) http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/smith.htm. Noviks has since perished in stir, while Farbtuh has been released for poor health, but see also the European Court for Human rights recent judgement on Farbtuh - apparently in view of his failing health, the old murderer's conditions of confinement in jail were "degrading".

There were some cases dropped when the accused died before trial, and there are more upcoming.

[David Thompson]

Thanks, AAA.

[AAA]

continued ....

Nikolay Tess, as Latvian SSR Security Ministry 2nd department senior operational executive, was charged with deportation of 42 families, total 138 persons, including 14 children, including children of age 5 months, 4, 5 and 6 years respectively, as well as very elderly persons. 11 of the deported died in exile. Tess went to every length to avoid trial and drag out the process, including getting very, very "ill", taking an inordinate time to examine prosecution documents, appealing to the constitutional court and then appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (that the trial process was too slow). They rejected the case. Tess was subsequently tried and convicted in December 2003, but the non-sentance caused some criticism in Latvia for the lack of actual punishment Tess received. Tess appeal to higher court has been subsequently rejected. My translation of the only available news article (all the papers pretty much carried the same short summation of the 30 second evening news segment) :

Tess receives two years suspended sentance. Kurzeme regional court judged 82 years old Nikolay Tess to be guilty of of crimes against humanity and genocide and sentanced him to two years suspended imprisonment. The court considers his guilt in the crime - deportation of 42 families - to have been proved, however the sentance takes into account Tess' age, health, as well as that in committing the crime Tess was carrying out the orders of superiors and not acting on his own initiative.

According to various articles on the LPRA webpage (these cases have not been in the news at all, I found few to no other references) :

Solomon Murin (Mikhail Farbtuh's immediate superior in Daugavpils) committed suicide in his home in October 1997 after being charged and presented with the case documents against him.

High ranking former KGB officer Ilja Mashonkin was charged about the same time as Farbtuh, but I cannot find anything further on the state of that case.

[michael mills]

Solomon Murin, Mikhail Farbtuh - interesting names.

It is rather impolitic these days to suggest a connection between the probable ethnic background of those two chekists and the massacre of members of that ethnic group during the German occupation of Latvia (with the enthusiastic support of a large part of the ethnic Latvian population).

Were any of the former NKVD men prosecuted of Latvian ethnic background?

[David Thompson]

There is a difference between a criminal and the rest of the people living in the community where the criminal was born. Let's not confuse the distinction by sliding into ethnic generalizations.

[AAA]

Larionov update : Local news reports - His lawyer has stated to RIA Novosti that Nikolay Larionov has died in Riga Wednesday evening (09 NOV 05). The supreme court was to hear his appeal this December 12th. His family still want to "clear his name".

[AAA]

Tess update : Latvian news reports that Nikolay Tess has died aged 86 in Riga Wednesday night (06 DEC 06). His lawyer still wants to appeal the conviction in the European Court of Human Rights.

[Askold]

About time, congratulations to Latvia!

[Jacob Peters]

I fail to see how anything illegal was done given how there is an absence of an intent to harm the resettled invdividuals. Soviet documents have revealed that there was a genuine attempt to accomodate resettled peoples. There were serious war criminals and oppressive landlords in Latvia who either betrayed their people or made their people suffer. Latvians had been enthusiastically supportive of the October popular uprising in Petrograd. The 35,000 men of the Latvian Riflemen helped to save the revolution. As most Latvians in 1917 were overwhelmingly supportive of the Bolsheviks it is dubious that any genuinely innocent people were part of the resettlements.

and 110 persons of pension age.

Gievn that most men perished in the war, most of these "pension age" individuals must have been women in their 50s which is by no means elderly. In Latvia today, only one-third of those over the age of 65 are males.