RHYKOV (Part 4)


By KATZMAREK ©


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AUTHOR'S NOTE.


Some of the events and personalities in this story are real,
other's aren't. Please don't Email to tell me that X was with Y
in Z and not in Q. This work is Fiction.


As always, it remains my property and may not be reproduced for
profit without my express permission in writing.


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In 1922, or thereabouts, the NKVD, or 'Internal Affairs Directorate,' was organised to assume control of the activities of the Bolshevik secret police, the CHEKA. But the NKVD, at that time, also assumed considerable responsibilities for maintaining the internal infrastructure of the fledgling state, including the fire service, the 'Militsya,' or Civilian Police, and the regulation of the Railway network. It was far too much for one department of Government and over the next couple of years it metamorphised into smaller units.


The NKVD split up to become the MVD, or 'Interior Ministry,' which handled most civilian activities such as transport, policing, and passport control. The NKVD, itself, took on the role of 'oversight and regulation of counter-revolutionary activities,' 'Newspeak' for keeping the people in line. CHEKA evolved into the GPU, or 'State Political Directorate,' and later OGPU, 'Joint State Political Directorate.' However, in the USSR it was still known unofficially as just 'GPU,' until its official disappearance in the 1934.


The GPU became a byword for political assassinations of internal and overseas opponents of the Soviet Government throughout the 20s and 30s. It became imeshed in the political dispute between Leon Trotsky and Josef Stalin, which underlined much of the controversy during this period. Felix Dzerzhinsky, creator of CHEKA, was a 'Trotskyist,' as was one Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko. That the NKVD and GPU later took on the role of weeding out Stalin's political enemies demonstrates just how convoluted Soviet politics became in the pre-war years.


It is difficult to discover what relationship Antonov-Ovseenko had with the GPU. It was known that, as Soviet Consul in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, Ovseenko masterminded military and political assistance to the beleagured Spanish Government. He was Comintern's (Communist International's) contact person on the ground who supported the formation of the International Brigades. And he also oversaw the approximately 17,000 Soviet NKVD troops who involved themselves in the Spanish Republican cause.


However, it is probable that Ovseenko, as an old comrade of Dzerzhinsky's, was a senior man in the GPU, at least until the early thirties. Then, the NKVD turned in on itself and began arresting Trotsky's old friends within both the intelligence services, the military and the party. Fourteen of the 'old Bolsheviks,' who'd steered the Soviet Communist Party to victory between 1917 and 1923, were found guilty of a host of capital crimes and executed. Kamenev, Zinoviev and Antonov-Ovseenko, Trotsky loyalists all, were eliminated and Stalin sychophant Beria placed as head of the NKVD. Tukhachevky and many of Trotsky's hand-picked Generals in the Red Army were slain by NKVD squads, over 400 Generals all told, and three out of five Marshals. Trotsky's Cavalry man Budennyy went and Stalin's men Voroshilov and Timoshenko took control.


By today's standards the old Bolsheviks were violent men who all had blood on their hands. But then, the consequence of failure in Russia during the first half of the 20th Century was often an ignominious death, whether one hitched one's wagon to the Bolsheviks or the opposition. Most had spent long years in Tsarist prisons in unspeakable conditions. Very few died peacefully in their beds. Dzerzhinsky, who died of a heart attack in 1926, and Stalin, himself, who passed away at the end of a long life in 1953, were the exceptions. Lenin died from the after effects of an assassin's bullet in 1924 and his old co-ideologue, Leon Trotsky, was hacked to death in Mexico by Juan Mercator, an NKVD hired assassin, in 1940.


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In 1922, in the absence of awards or citations, considered too 'elitist,' the Bolshevik Government issued 'writs of gratitute for service to the working class,' to those who'd performed some important deeds on their behalf. Rhykov received his by post to his hideout in Perm, in the Urals. It was better than a modern day Mastercard in Russia at that time, and insured he would want for nothing. Ovseenko kept in touch, in ways that Rhykov was unclear about. Try, as he might, he could never find a way of staying completely out of sight.


Olga Berezkovkaya returned to the, now, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, a distinguished war hero and pregnant with Rhykov's daughter. She, too, received the covetted 'writ,' in recognition, with Rhykov, of her command of the Ukrainian Guards' Corps. The baby's Father was kept informed, via Ovseenko, of her progress, however, Rhykov, himself, had little to do with the child. Olga accepted the situation, although it wasn't to her liking. Nevertheless, it didn't stop her having a second child to Rhykov in the spring of 1928. 


That had been a longer affair and, for Rhykov, was the longest live-in relationship he ever was to have with a woman. It was slightly less than a year and a half.


Olga was the one true 'might have been' in his life. They remained friends throughout their lives, even after she went on to marry a Red Air Force Officer.


In 1941, Olga Berezkokova, together with folk heroine, well-known aviatrix and personality in the USSR, Maria Razkova, formed the all-female fighter air regiment, the 586th IAP. Pilots included Lilya Litvak, top female ace of all time, and her close second and friend, Katya Budanova. They were based, initially, on the Stalingrad Front during World War Two and moved on to participate in the Battle of Kursk. Litvak acquired the nickname, 'the White Rose of Stalingrad.' 


Both Litvak and Budanova were killed in 1943 less than two weeks apart. Litvak, reportedly, slugged it out with eight German Bf-109s before succumbing, at the age of 22. (Her body was only recovered in 1979. She was buried under the wing of her fighter aircraft after a State funeral, where she was posthumously awarded the Gold Star of a Hero of the Soviet Union.) Her tally of victories is thought to be about 20.


Olga Berezkokova was promoted Colonel of the 586th in 1943. She wasn't a pilot but was responsible for the Administration of the personnel of the unit. Postwar, she became 'Special Adminstrator of Women,' in the Soviet Air Force.


But it was in Perm, in the Summer of 1922, that Rhykov first met Gregory Retvizan.


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It is unlikely 'Gregory Retvizan' was the man's real name. 'Retvizan' is a transliteration into Russian of the Swedish word 'Ratvisa,'(Realm). Although such transliterations of Nordic and Germanic words are not uncommon in Russian, 'Retvizan' is rarely seen as a surname. It is probable 'Retvizan' came from the name of a Tsarist, Pre-Dreadnought ironclad based in the Far East in 1904. As Gregory was thought to have come from Vladivostok, originally, this is a reasonable assumption. The Battleship, itself, was called after a Swedish two-decker, captured at the Battle of Sveaborg in 1790.


In 1922 Gregory Retvizan was a committed Bolshevik and member of the CHEKA. He had arrived in Perm as part of a contingent of Siberian troops bound for the West as reinforcements.


The bar was Rhykov's local and normally it was peaceful and quiet. He would go there for his midday meal and stay for a couple of hours drinking before returning to his small room above a cobbler's. However, this day, a group of drunken Siberians crashed in, rolling and stumbling. 


They'd already had a skinful, but these Siberians drank as if the practice was due to be declared illegal the next day. Soon they became rowdy and abusive so Rhykov decided to call it a day and go home early. He rose, and made for the door.


"What's the matter, tovaritch?" one of the Siberians said, blocking his path, "are we not good enough for you? Stay and have a drink to the Revolution? I'm sure we have some Mother's milk somewhere!" His appreciation of his own humour sent gales of stale, stinking, vodka-smelling breath into Rhykov's face. He gently made to push the man out of the way, but the drunk swung a haymaker at him.


Rhykov blocked the man's punch and sent him sprawling by kicking out his legs. Soon, the man's comrades were upon him, and Rhykov had a good, honest to goodness, bar room brawl on his hands. Rhykov had felled three by the time his passage out, and, indeed, the sunlight, was blocked by a Siberian of impressive physique.


The man already had a long beard, although he was probably the same age as Rhykov. His tall fur hat made him look nearly 7 feet in height and his Winter greatcoat made him appear as wide as a freight locomotive. He took stance in front of Rhykov and urged him to strike the first blow.


They carefully circled, sizing each other up and probing for weaknesses. Rhykov kept alert for signs of movement behind him, in case one of the man's friends intervened. Clearly, however, this man was of sufficient stature that no-one dare join in without his permission.


Rhykov knew the man was a formidable opponent, but he'd some tricks of his own. He flicked his eyes left, as if someone was coming up beside the big man. Momentarily, the man lost his concentration as he followed Rhykov's eyes. He knew it would work, the brain can't help itself. In a flash, Rhykov launched a jab at the man's chin, through his beard, and knocked his head back on his shoulders.


The man's reaction was swifter than Rhykov expected. He staggered back as a blow hit him in the midriff, expelling most of the air from his lungs. He still had the presence of mind to duck, though, as the air whistled above his head. That punch, if it had connected, would have brained him.


The man's Siberian comrades roared out encouragement and, again, the big man was put off. Rhykov seized his chance and kicked out, catching him on the thigh not more than an inch from his wedding tackle. To gasps of surprise from the Siberians, the man walked off the blow's pain, circling and grinning at Rhykov.


"You fight well!" he boomed, "who do I have the honour of crushing?"


"You have conceit, my friend," Rhykov replied, "but I've no interest in fighting, only returning home. So if you'd kindly take yourself and your oxen out of my way..."


"It is you who have the conceit, comrade, for I've been only toying with you. If I'd have been serious, you'd have no need of a home, only a pine box."


"Then back your words or fuck off. Either way, I couldn't care less."


"You should be grateful that I let you live. No man has laid a hand on me before. Show me some respect and I might allow you to walk out. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"


"Who wants to know?"


"You would be well advised to cool your temper, comrade. I'm Gregory Retvizan of the CHEKA. Why is a man such as you not fighting for the people?"


Rhykov had enough survival extinct not to let his pride get in the way of his well-being. He explained to Retvizan his service in the Ukrainian Guard's Corps and showed him the 'writ' he'd received from Sovnarkom. Retvizan's attitude changed completely and he invited him to sit down with his comrades for a drink. Rhykov felt he couldn't refuse, it wasn't healthy to fuck with the CHEKA.


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By the time Retvizan left the next day, he'd promised Rhykov that he'd keep quiet about his whereabouts. They'd talked long into the night, at the tavern and later, in Rhykov's small lodgings. Much of the conversation revolved around the subjects of conspiracy, espionage and sabotage.


They shared their thoughts and ideas about guerilla warfare. Retvizan had been a member of the RKKA in the early days of the Revolution when Siberia was controlled by anti-Bolsheviks, such as Kolchak and the Czech Legion. Retvizan had become something of a specialist at moving about in enemy territory, in small groups or alone, attacking targets of opportunity.


Gregory even explained some of what he knew about the most stunning, secret and successful overseas operation carried out by CHEKA/GPU at that time. It was known as The Trust. The fact that Retvizan knew of the operation at all showed how well-connected the man was to the top leadership of the CHEKA.


The Trust was a front organisation set up by CHEKA in the USA. It claimed to be collecting funds from Russian exiles in America towards an armed coup against the top Bolshevik leadership. The Trust's membership became a who's who of leading anti-Bolshevik conspirators in America. These endowed The Trust with considerable wealth, which was all shipped back to Moscow and straight into the coffers of CHEKA. Through The Trust, CHEKA was able to compile dossiers on many of the USSR's enemies. Some were even enticed to return to the Soviet Union, where they were promptly arrested and later executed.


Retvizan planted the idea in Rhykov's head of working for CHEKA in one of their overseas operations. Gregory promised to put in a good word with CHEKA chief Felix Dzerzhinsky on his behalf. He told him they were always looking for good intelligence agents.


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Unlike Gregory Retvizan, Rhykov didn't consider himself either a Bolshevik, a Capitalist or a Reactionary as the terms were understood in those days. Political dogma and pedagoguery went in one ear and out the other. Born into an autocratic system, he considered that politics had little relevance for him. Like many Russians of his generation, he was cynical towards those with political ambitions and the 'system'. To him, it scarcely mattered who was giving the orders and why. At the end of the day, it was necessary that he do his duty and follow orders or bad things will happen. The rest he could leave to the politicians, who, he would maintain, had one way of pleasuring themselves. He, on the other hand, had other ways.


In 1922 Perm was a major industrial city with a population of around 200,000. In 1918 Admiral Kolchak laid siege to gain control of the munition works. The Whites were ejected and since then, the city was solidly Bolshevik. The Perm-Krai Soviet was well organised through both the University and the Industrial workers. It was a good city to live in for someone with Rhykov's credentials.


At least 'some' stories about Rhykov eventually seeped out into the community. They were mainly exaggerrated and fantastic. His reticence didn't help because, when asked if such as such was true, he'd often shrug and and make some coy remark. Naturally, this only fueled speculation. He'd also been seen with an important man from the CHEKA. Clearly this was a man respected in the higher echelons of the party? If Rhykov had run for mayor of Perm, no doubt he would've given the encumbent a close race. That is, of course, if such elections occurred rather than a candidate merely selected by the local party and 'endorsed' by the citizens.


If Rhykov had been the cobbler who lived below his lodgings, he would've kept his wife under lock and key. The woman cleaned for him, in exchange for a little fetching and carrying for her husband. She was a big woman with an ample cleavage. He knew this because, it seemed, she would display it for him at every opportunity.


Nadhezka was a flirt who, in Rhykov's opinion, clearly wasn't getting fucked enough by her husband. He thought she had a bit of Tartar blood in her. Her eyes were Asiatic and she had a mercurial temper. He knew this because he could hear the couple fighting below, at least once a night.


"How come a handsome man such as you is not married?" she asked him one night, "or bring girls home. This bed should be rocking every night," she laughed, "it is not healthy to live like this." It was obvious to Rhykov that she, herself, would like to participate in the aforementioned rocking.


He looked up at her. She was grinning mischievously. Her big bosom was barely confined in a straining peasant top. She sat down on the bed and bounced, as if testing the springs.


"Where is your husband?" he asked.


"Gone, all afternoon," she replied, suggestively.


"Then," Rhykov said, standing, "there is one thing you can do for me. You may take off your clothes and get on your hands and knees."


"Oh!" she said, in mock surprise, "you're very forward. I'm a married woman!" But all the time she began plucking at the buttons of her shirt.


Her eyes flashed with excitement as Rhykov advanced. He pulled his erection from his pants and presented it to her. Nadhezka looked shocked and pretended to protest. 'She was a good woman,' she claimed, 'and didn't do those things.'


Rhykov grabbed her hand and wrapped it around his cock. She didn't let go of it as he pulled apart her shirt. Her breasts were big, pendulous and heavy with a deep furrow between them. Rhykov moved in and placed his cock between her tits. Nadhezka pushed her globes together as Rhykov sawed his dick between them.


"Put it in your mouth!" he commanded, and she obeyed, willingly. She gurgled and gagged on his meat and until pulling off, claiming he was too big. Rhykov pushed her on her back and pulled up her dress. She took off her panties herself. He thought they looked like they'd been made out of spare sailcloth from a Baltic trader.


Her pussy was hairy, and slick with arousal. She rubbed it at Rhykov's suggestion until it was reddened and gaping. Nadhezka lifted her stout legs in the air and Rhykov plunged in with one thrust.


He wasn't gentle, nor would Nadhezka have been satisfied if he was. He mercilessly hammered into her as she babbled and yelled obscenities at him.


"Animal!" she shouted, "fucker... oh... rapist... oh, oh... to do this... oh... to a poor girl... oh... a good woman... pure... oh, fuck!... my cunt, you big fucker... fuck it harder... I'm virtuous... a good wife... fuck my cunt!" She continued getting louder and louder until Rhykov thought the whole neigbourhood would hear them. Growling and howling, she humped against him causing Rhykov to blast deep inside her. 


Afterwards, she left claiming he'd 'taken advantage,' and 'raped her like a common whore.' However, later that night she was back for more, claiming her husband was 'sleeping it off.'


The cobbler was a drunk and every day he worked at his craft in an alcoholic stupor. His work was excellent, however, and people said his boots were better made after a pint of vodka. By the evening he was in a coma and it was impossible to wake him until the morning.


At night Nadhezka became a regular visitor of Rhykov. Usually she came prepared, dressed in just a robe or having taken off her panties. She'd treat Rhykov to a 'good sucking' before climbing on his prick and riding him to exhaustion. Soon he had several sets of the finest boots he'd ever seen.


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'Glavnoye Razvedovatel'noye Upravlenie' roughly translates as, 'Main Intelligence Office.' I say 'roughly,' because exact English equivalents of Russian words are sometimes misleading. English does not always convey the meaning as the average Russian may understand the word.


The GRU was so secret it was never acknowledged as even existing until 1991 and 'glastnost.' Ministers responsible for its oversight had to undergo a special security check before they were even allowed into the building. In fact, it was formed in 1918 by Lenin himself and has survived, organisationally intact, past the Soviet era, to the present day.


It was part of the Red Army but organisationally separate. Its main focus was the gathering of Military Intelligence, but in practice, there was a great deal of overlap with the work of other bureaux. Nonetheless, it was to become one of the most successful Intelligence organisations in History, perhaps at least as successful as the British MI6.


The extensive espionage networks painstakingly formed by the USSR in the interwar period was almost certainly all GRU. These included both the 'Lucy Ring' in Lucerne, Switzerland and Richard Sorge, 'Icarus,' in Tokyo. These networks furnished Josef Stalin's Stavka with a luxury of high quality military intelligence, even if the old dictator didn't always appreciate what he was being offered. The GRU easily outshone Nazi Germany's Abwehr, whose bumbling, amateurish efforts seemed comical by comparison.


While its rival in the Soviet Union underwent frequent changes of structure, organisation and name and became imeshed in the political fortunes of its leaders, the GRU worked silently, unmolested. That rival was CHEKA, which became GPU, which became OGPU, which became GUGB, which became NKGB, which became MGB, which became MVD, and then became the KGB before being implicated in an abortive coup in 1994 and split up. Its remnant is the present day FSB.


Throughout this period, all agents working for CHEKA and its descendents were always known as 'Chekists.' In early 1923, Rhykov received his offer to become a 'Chekist' with the GPU, 'Gosudarstvennoye Politicheskoye Upravlenie,' then a department of the Internal Affairs Ministry, the NKVD.


Rhykov became one of an elite group of 'Foreign Affairs Specialists,' who would gradually evolve into something similar to the American Special Forces, or British SAS. They were used both by the GRU, where they were officially known as 'Spetznaz,' and the GPU, where they were called 'Oznaz.' Regardless of what acronym they operated under, the work was the same; 'furthering the USSR's international goals using unconventional military methods.'


Oznaz/Spetnaz had never more than around 400 members. It was Gregory Retvizan who, in 1923, suggested to the GPU that an elite special unit of 'fixit men' would be useful in solving 'certain problems' behind enemy lines. No doubt, the idea occurred to him because of his experience with the RKKA in Siberia and by Rhykov's escapade before Orel with Deniken's tanks.


A secret compound was constructed outside Krasnodar, which is still one of the main bases for Russia's special forces today. Conditions were crude, but Retvizan wanted people who could undergo a bit of hardship. Rhykov, however, was regarded as an expert already, but, even he, had to suffer the same conditions as the others.


Initially there were 12 of them, all self-trained specialists of one kind or another. They'd been hand-picked by Retvizan to complement each other's skills. All of them, however, had to learn to speak both English and French, forge documents, rig explosives as well as become marksmen with a variety of weapons. Tutors were recruited as required and brought to the camp blindfolded.


Rhykov was not a natural at neither reading and writing nor foreign languages in general. During their three months training, however, they had a weeks of 'hot housing' where they would converse only in English or French. With this intense training, Rhykov soon became fluent in those languages. His English always had a New York accent, his language tutor had been an American Communist from Queens.  


In early 1924, Rhykov received his first assignment. It was from his old friend Antonov-Ovseenko who'd been posted as Soviet Consul to Warsaw. He was to join him in dealing with a number of anti-Soviet groups who'd recently formed in Poland aiming to launching sabotage raids into Russian territory.


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The Ukrainian city of Lvov had been handed over to Poland as a result of the  Treaty of Riga following the Russo-Polish War. In 1924 it was a hotbed of political intrigue as Polish patriots and Russian émigré groups formed uneasy alliances. Lvov had figured large in the Russian Civil War, being fought over by Ukrainian and Polish Nationalists, and held out against Budennyy's 1st Red Cavalry Army during the Russo-Polish conflict.


Polish ultra Nationalists, however, were never content at being denied the Ukraine and linked up with other anti-Bolshevik forces to destabilise the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Ovseenko sent Rhykov to Lvov to profile these groups and to see what he could do to neutralise this threat.


He took on the disguise of an American of Polish descent, Tomas Lyzynski. It wasn't hard to find these saboteur organisations, they paraded openly with the indulgence of Marshal Pilsudski's Warsaw Government. Although he'd learned a few phrases in Polish, he told them he'd all but forgotten his 'native tongue,' being born in New York to Polish parents who'd insisted on speaking English at home. Surprisingly, they accepted his bullshit and his neatly forged American passport.


Ovseenko and the Soviet Embassy was in an awkward position. Having recently been at war with Poland, they didn't want to be implicated in any outrage on Polish territory. Moscow was trying hard to gain international acceptance. The last thing they needed was to be drawn into a dispute with Poland.


Rhykov needed to be subtle and not drag the Soviet Government into whatever scheme he dreamed up. He knew he'd be on his own if anything fouled up. Moscow would be sure to disown him if he was ever arrested.


Tomas Lyzynski could get the group forged Soviet passports, with which they could use to get into Ukrainian territory. Tomas Lyzynski could provide them with arms and explosives, because, like all Americans, he was wealthy. Rhykov had never met such a dimwitted bunch of would-be saboteurs in his life. It was easy to lead them into a trap on Soviet territory, where they were all arrested and shot. No scandal descended on Moscow, they were plainly up to no good on Soviet territory and it was Warsaw who had to explain. Ovseenko was delighted, but clearly Rhykov was no-longer useful in Poland.


He was given leave following the Polish operation and visited Olga in Kiev. He ended up staying with her for 6 months while he waited for his next assignment.


Rhykov knew that the assassin's bullet was his reward for failure. Danger kept him in touch with his mortality and it felt better to him than a bottle of fine vodka. The Poles had not questioned him too closely or they would've seen through Tomas Lyzynsky in no time. He realised he had a gift, that of appearing honest and convincing so that people gained confidence around him.


He pretended to be content living with Olga but, in reality, he grew restless. She was as precious to him as anyone, but domestic life was boring and he realised he couldn't spend his life with her. When his next call came, he was relieved.


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KATZMAREK ©

