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SMERSH
SMERSH was the Main Counter-Intelligence Directorate of the USSR's People's Commissariat of Defence (GUKR). Founded on 14 April 1943, it was given the name SMERSH, an acronym for Smert Shpionam (Death to Spies) by Stalin himself who rejected the original proposed title, Death to German Spies, on the grounds that the new intelligence service should concern itself with all spies. It was the successor of the Special Departments (Osobyye Otdeli) which had carried out counter-intelligence duties since 1918, but while these had been part of the NKVD, SMERSH was subject to the commissariat of defence. However, army commanders had virtually no control over SMERSH units attached to their command. The head of the Special Departments, V. S. Abakumov, became head of SMERSH with the rank of deputy commissar of defence. He probably had direct access to the State Defence Committee whose head was Stalin.
The counter-intelligence duties of SMERSH were so extensive that it became, in effect, a watchdog ensuring the loyalty of the armed forces. Thus a special directorate was charged with surveillance of the armed forces including staff officers attached to the general staff in Moscow. American sources estimate that 3–4% of Soviet military personnel were engaged in intelligence or counter-intelligence while another 12% were agents or informers. Alexander Solzhenitsyn records in the first volume of The Gulag Archipelago that he was arrested by SMERSH agents. He shared a prison cell with three other soldiers, whose only crime had been to chase two girls, one of whom was the ‘property’ of the local SMERSH chief. In fact SMERSH had considerable success in tracking down German spies and in operating behind German lines in co-operation with partisan units. Together with the border troops of the NKVD it re-established Soviet administration in territories liberated by the Red Army, and once beyond the borders of the USSR, it created favourable conditions for the activities of communist and pro-Soviet forces. However, military intelligence was conducted by a separate organization, the GRU, subordinated to the general staff. SMERSH was disbanded in May 1946 and its duties transferred to the ministry of state security. H. Hanak Bibliography Romanov, A. I. , Nights are longest there. Smersh from the Inside (tr. G. Brooke , London, 1972). |
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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "SMERSH." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "SMERSH." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-SMERSH.html I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "SMERSH." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-SMERSH.html |
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Smersh
Smersh the popular name for the Russian counter-espionage organization, originating during the Second World War, responsible for maintaining security within the Soviet armed and intelligence services.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Smersh." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Smersh." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Smersh.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Smersh." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Smersh.html |
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Smersh
Smersh
•Smersh
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"Smersh." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Smersh." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Smersh.html "Smersh." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Smersh.html |
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SMERSH
SMERSH (or Smersh) Smert Shpionam (Russian: death to spies; section of KGB)
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Cite this article
FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "SMERSH." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "SMERSH." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-SMERSH.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "SMERSH." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-SMERSH.html |
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