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Grigoriy GorbachHigh-ranking official of the Cheka-OGPU-NKVD
Date of Birth: 21.09.1898
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Content:
- Early Life and Revolutionary Activities
- Service in the Cheka and OGPU
- Exclusion from the Party and Restoration
- Career in the OGPU and NKVD
- - Chief of the NKVD for the Omsk Oblast (1937-1938)
- Arrest and Execution
- Awards and Legacy
Early Life and Revolutionary Activities
Vasili Mikhailovich Golubev was born into a peasant family in the village of Ryashki, Poltava Governorate, Ukraine. After graduating from elementary school, he joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) in 1916.
In January 1918, Golubev enlisted in the Red Army and the Cheka, the Soviet secret police. He subsequently engaged in underground activities, serving as chief of staff of the Pryluky partisan detachment from June 1918.
Service in the Cheka and OGPU
In October 1919, Golubev became a military commissar of a regiment in the Separate Red Ural Rifle Division. After that, he held various leadership positions within the Cheka and OGPU, including:
- Assistant chief of the active section of the Cheka's Special Department for the 5th Army
- Deputy chief of the Special Department of the Cheka for the 9th Army
- Chief of the Special Department of the Cheka-GPU for the 2nd Cavalry Division
Exclusion from the Party and Restoration
In 1922, Golubev was expelled from the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) for exceeding his authority. However, he was reinstated in 1924.
Career in the OGPU and NKVD
In the 1920s and early 1930s, Golubev played a leading role in the OGPU in the North Caucasus. He worked in the Tersky and Kuban District OGPU departments.
From 1934 to 1936, he was the chief of the NKVD for the North Caucasus Krai. He also held various leadership positions in the NKVD in Western Siberia, including:
- Deputy chief of the NKVD for the Western Siberian Krai (April-July 1937)
- Chief of the NKVD for the Omsk Oblast (1937-1938)
- Chief of the NKVD for the Western Siberian Krai- Chief of the NKVD for the Novosibirsk Oblast
Far East Assignment and Purge
After the defection of Ivan Lyushkov to Japan in June 1938, Golubev was appointed as the NKVD plenipotentiary for the Far East. He initiated a purge of Lyushkov's associates.
Arrest and Execution
On November 28, 1938, Golubev was arrested and accused of participating in a conspiracy within the NKVD and plotting a coup. He was sentenced to death by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR on March 7, 1939, and executed at the Kommunarka shooting ground. He was not rehabilitated.
Awards and Legacy
Vasili Golubev was awarded the Order of Lenin on July 11, 1937, for his "exemplary and selfless fulfillment of important government assignments."
