Proskurov, a pearl on the Southern Bug River. Of course, in just over a decade, this city would be renamed to "Khmelnitsky".
It was late into the night, and a light still shone from a window on the second floor of the NKVD building on Solovetsky Street. Behind the only desk in the office, young Major Ivan Alexandrovich Sherov was poring over a document.
Just a week ago, Major Sherov was serving at the Moscow Police Headquarters, where he was the youngest chief in the police force. However, with a phone call from Comrade Beria, he was transferred to the State Security Directorate as Deputy Director, also assuming the role of Director of Classified Political Affairs. This was a critical department in the fight against anti-Soviet elements, with significant responsibilities. What's more, Comrade Beria had entrusted him with the task of suppressing banditry in Eastern Ukraine, requiring him to deliver results swiftly in this regard.
Since Yezhov's fall and Beria taking over the NKVD, three key figures had been promoted: Sherov himself, Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov, who was sent to oversee operations in Rostov-on-Don, and Bogdan Zakharovich Kobulov, responsible for major operations in Moscow.
In terms of capability, Sherov couldn't help but admire his two competitors. Abakumov, for instance, had managed to clear out the Turkish gang that had been entrenched in Rostov in less than two months. Kobulov, too, had made significant strides in Moscow, significantly reducing the presence of prostitutes and the black market.
However, it must be acknowledged that Eastern Ukraine presented a much more complex situation than Rostov or Moscow. Here, the challenge wasn't economic criminals or street gangs, but damned anti-government guerrillas and bandits. These individuals hid in the forests, not only receiving support from sympathetic locals but also armed assistance from Poland. Dealing with them was far more difficult than handling gangsters.
Luckily, Moscow hadn't issued any unrealistic orders to him. They simply required him to familiarize himself quickly with the situation and then develop a detailed and feasible plan of action. Comrade Beria, at the very least, needed to know what Sherov was prepared to do.
Over the past week, Sherov had meticulously studied the situation within the NKVD in Eastern Ukraine. Unfortunately, the results were far from optimistic. Across Eastern Ukraine, the NKVD had essentially become an empty shell. Beria's purges had indeed removed executioners with bloodied hands, but they had also purged experienced personnel. Those transferred from party offices, military officers, and graduates of military academies, though clean-slated, lacked any experience in internal affairs work. Ultimately, they needed time to grow into their roles.
During this period, Sherov had met with several heads of regional state security departments in hopes of gaining insights, but to his disappointment, these individuals either feigned ignorance or simply recited from documents. The reason was straightforward: they were all new in their positions.
However, today's situation was not bad. Sheryov finally found something that impressed him among the thick stack of reports.
Thinking of this, he closed the not-so-thick report in his hand and looked at the signature on the cover: Shepuchencovo National Security Bureau, Viktor Viktorovich Tarashev.
The name was unfamiliar, but there was nothing strange about it. Sheryov didn't recognize most of the heads of the national security agencies in the entire eastern Ukraine region. After all, he had not been there for long enough.
The report submitted by Viktor outlined a military operation plan aimed at eliminating over a dozen guerrilla groups in the Shepuchencovo Forest. Despite its slim volume, the document was clear and presented several highly feasible suggestions.
Flipping open the cover of the report, Sheryov reviewed it again. At the beginning of the report, the author briefly described the basic situation of the guerrilla activities in the Shepuchencovo Forest area, detailing the approximate number of each guerrilla group, their weaponry, and their activities over the past two years.
Following this were analyses based on these basic facts, exploring their approximate areas of operation, logistical supply sources, and more.
Finally, based on these analyses, several specific action plans were developed, including cutting off weapons supply, disrupting food supplies, conducting a population census in the Shepuchencovo area to cut off guerrilla recruitment, and so on. Each action plan was deemed feasible.
With the report in hand, Sheryov stood up. He walked over to the large map hanging on the wall, comparing it to the report and reviewing the remaining parts of the report. Then, he picked up a colored pen from the pen holder below the map and drew a large circle around the entire perimeter of the Volyn-Shepuchencovo Forest region, encompassing seven surrounding towns.
Yes, he was prepared to implement the action plan mentioned in the entire Volyn-Shepuchencovo Forest region. If the action plan in the report was indeed feasible, he could expect to see promising results within three to six months.
...
In Shepuchencovo, the only stone structure in the entire town, Viktor stood silently in front of a huge map.
As a town where exiled prisoners resided, Shepuchencovo lacked government institutions. The actual authority exercised here was the management organization of the forced labor camp, also under the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs. The head of this organization held the rank of lieutenant, seemingly on par with Viktor today. However, the problem was that the lieutenant of the labor camp was not highly regarded, at least two ranks lower than Viktor, who held the rank of lieutenant in the National Security Bureau. Therefore, Viktor now had his own office in this small building.
Compared to the past wooden barracks, this room was much more spacious. It was a typical Russian-style building with a roof nearly four meters high. Despite the harsh conditions in Shepuchencovo, the room was well-furnished with a complete set of furniture — tables, chairs, beds, bookshelves — and surprisingly, there was also a high-backed semi-soft armchair, a spacious large desk, and even a radio and a gramophone.
How does it feel to upgrade from a makeshift setup? Yes, that's how Viktor currently felt.
Fortunately, at least for now, Viktor had not become lost in the luxury. He always felt a sense of crisis, knowing he had only three to six months to complete the mission. Since Moscow was enhancing the functions of the National Security Bureau and increasing its workforce.
The treatment of personnel would naturally rise accordingly. Under Soviet rule and the leadership of Comrade Stalin, one must always remember: the system does not support idlers, let alone grant them special treatment.
The map on the wall next to the window marked only the Shepuchencovo area. The visible features on the map included several collective farms, as well as a few red lines marked with colored pens. These lines stretched through the forests, some even crossing through marshlands.
Standing before the map, Viktor crossed his arms, his two light blue eyes fixed intensely on the marshland area circled in the forest. These red lines represented the so-called "hunter's paths" leading into the forest from certain collective farms, used by farmers for poaching.
Unfortunately, Moscow annually requisitioned a large amount of grain from Ukraine. In recent years, the collection rate had risen to seventy percent. After distribution, the grain owned by collective farms was simply insufficient. To fill their bellies, some farmers from collective farms secretly entered the forest to hunt.
Poaching was a criminal offense, and forest rangers were tasked with apprehending offenders. Therefore, poachers were cautious, often creating hidden paths in the forest to evade detection by the rangers.
Moreover, some farmers entering the forest weren't poaching at all. They used their own grain to trade with active guerrilla groups in the forest for game. From this perspective, there existed a mutually dependent trade relationship between hungry farmers from collective farms and the guerrilla groups. To these farmers, the guerrillas were seen as the true heroes, while the police and border guards were viewed as oppressors.
In the vast and fertile eastern Ukraine, such situations arose primarily due to historical and national policy reasons. Viktor couldn't control these issues; he just wanted to complete his mission. The damned life in the water prison was enough to experience once.
The "thud thud" of his boots on the wooden floor interrupted Viktor's thoughts. He shifted his gaze away from the map, turning calmly as the open door admitted two lieutenants in military attire.
"Lieutenant Viktor Viktorovich, comrades from the 203rd Regiment, 2nd and 3rd Companies of the 14th Infantry Division, Border Guards, reporting to you," the two lieutenants stood at attention by the door, saluting loudly.
"Please come in, comrades commanders. Welcome," Viktor's face, originally expressionless, cracked a slight smile. He hurried forward, shaking hands with each lieutenant in turn. "Would you like something to drink? I have some good tea here, or perhaps some juice."
Hearing this, the tense posture of the two lieutenants relaxed slightly. The one with a stubble hesitated and said, "Perhaps we should discuss the tasks first, Lieutenant Viktor Viktorovich. According to the directives of our superiors, we are under your command."