by Arno Baker
Mark Clark had flown on a MATS Constellation from Tokyo to the NATO military airfield outside Oslo, Norway after stopping to refuel at Anchorage. Accompanying the general was Colonel Albert K. Bergman, G-2 military intelligence and a former OSS operative in Yugoslavia who spoke fluent Russian and several Slavic languages.
Savigny and Barnave were part of the mission as well as three bodyguards: one tough looking ex-Wehrmacht sergeant who had volunteered in the foreign legion and two young and very fit U.S. marines from the Paris embassy. No one thought of asking Kurt Dietrich about his wartime experiences in the USSR but from his looks it was probably best not to know. They removed their dripping slicks and boots, until everyone was in civilian clothes. They were then shown into a comfortable but Spartan living room where four pretty young maids in light blue aprons over MGB military uniforms were ready to serve strong black tea and sweet Russian cakes. Everyone was uncomfortably silent knowing that even the walls had to be bugged so communication was kept at a minimum while they waited patiently for their counterparts.
Barnave had relayed and negotiated the ground rules with Savigny who worked with Castelli, the CIA man in Paris: three high ranking Russian general officers would remain on board the USS Trout as “insurance” until all the Americans and the French officials returned. It was a normal kind of hostage taking intended to keep the other side honest. Of course in this case the officers were actually naval engineers who were expected to spy as much as they could once they got inside the American boat. Unfortunately for them the Trout was an already obsolete World War II diesel engine submarine used more for training than for combat operations. However, in a pinch she would probably do a lot of serious damage.
Lavrenti Beria in ill fitting civilian clothes and a loose tie around his bull neck finally appeared flanked by two uniformed senior NKGB officers, Pavel Sudoplatov and Vsevolod Merkulov. Savigny was counting on Barnave for his fluency and had picked the foreign legionnaire because of his fluent Russian so he could eavesdrop on any small talk. When it came to serious negotiations the French diplomat felt he couldn’t completely trust Barnave and was wary of the journalist’s potential allegiance to their host. Beria shook hands quietly and took a seat between his two closest assistants facing the Americans and the French. He immediately began,
“Welcome. Everything discussed here is top secret and completely off the record. It is expected that within a short time the USSR will have a new political leadership. The Gensek is tired and not well. We must prepare for the future that may be very close at hand. Therefore it is useful to explore how relations can dramatically improve between the U.S. and the West and the Soviet Union in a new context.”
Mark Clark was eagerly taking mental note of every word being translated.
“We are here to listen and report back, Mr. Beria.”
The use of Mr. as a form of address forced a smile from Beria. He wasted no time in presenting his case,
“First the new leadership will ask the U.S. for a favorable reaction to the declaration of March 1952 on the demilitarization of Germany and the withdrawal of all foreign troops, along with the simultaneous dissolution of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The solution to the German problem will also resolve, in our view, the other problems of European security. The leadership will also ask for cooperation in exchange for security guarantees if we open up the prison system and free a significant number of political prisoners in stages. The more prisoners we set free the more concessions and guarantees we will be able to obtain. The first group includes about 1,500 American and European political prisoners that we are currently holding.”
Beria stopped and waited for the translators to complete their work as he looked closely at General Clark’s face that betrayed no signs of surprise or any kind of reaction. Clark said,
“Fine, these questions will be answered only once changes have effectively taken place; for the moment they will simply be noted.”
Beria nodded and continued,
“The new leadership expects to be able to withdraw Soviet troops from Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania once the U.S. and its NATO allies agree to negotiations on the basis of the March 1952 declaration as described before.”
“Understood.”
“It is the sincere wish of the new leadership to gradually implement the liberalization of Soviet society and dedicate more resources to manufacturing quality consumer goods for Soviet citizens. Therefore significant parts of industry would be converted to the peaceful churning out of many products. This can happen only if the threat coming from NATO is removed either through the dissolution of the alliance or a serious revision of its goals with greater security guarantees for the USSR.”
Mark Clark was interested to know if Beria had a position regarding China and Korea. Beria replied,
“We view the Chinese Communist state simply as a welcome accident of history because it provides us with a friendly regime on our longest border. The pressure created by a huge population could have a negative impact on the USSR in the future so it is best that China remain under the control of a very strict regime that ensures law and order at all times, or one not hostile to the USSR that would also be acceptable.”
“In other words you would not be averse to seeing Mao and his regime simply disappear…?” asked Savigny.
“Mao is a true friend of the USSR!” Beria boomed back.
“Then what about Korea?” asked Mark Clark.
“A gross mistake by the Boss, we should never have approved such an ill conceived incursion by the madman Kim il Sung that placed the USSR at high risk of nuclear war with America. A war we no doubt would lose.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I happen to be particularly well informed about this issue, general, and I know where we stand versus the United States. Don‘t forget that I was in charge of the Soviet effort to create the atomic bomb. I can assure you that we simply cannot compete at this time. In the future perhaps but right now, impossible! Korea was and remains a disaster due to a fundamental miscalculation. That story must end as quickly as possible even at the cost of sacrificing Kim il Sung and his ridiculous regime! The Chinese are also smart enough to avoid prolonging a war that could reduce them to dust for centuries.”
Mark Clark was hiding his surprise at these words that would have earned Beria the firing squad had they been known to Stalin. The American nodded and said,
“You are saying many things and implying many promises or at least indicating the direction events could lead to after a change takes place. But how do we know that you, Mr. Beria, are not alone in this venture? That as you claim, you really do have a team backing you up? This is a legitimate question that will be asked and that my leadership in Washington will be sure to raise.”
Beria was very calm and made a special effort to be persuasive,
“I will not be able to convince you in a simple conversation, general. It is only once you see the results and measure the possibilities that reality will suddenly open up and convince you how far we are prepared to go. Let me conclude on a very important thought: General Eisenhower‘s election as president has greatly impressed the leadership of the USSR. We are realists above all and see that America is serious about protecting its security and the path it must follow to achieve a stable situation vis à vis the Soviet Bloc. Confrontations that could get out of hand are far too dangerous to even contemplate: Korea could still spark a third world war that neither of us can win and could well destroy us both. We must quickly seek an accommodation and a peaceful evolution in our relations.”
Much of the conversation was made up of such exchanges that indicated how a new team would be far more likely to avoid antagonizing the United States and willing to push through measures to reach an accommodation on many issues. At the end of four hours the two teams agreed to remain in contact covertly through Barnave who would continue his travels by train to and from Moscow. In case of extreme emergency Beria asked
for an address and phone that could be used. Colonel Bergman was ready with a series of numbers in Berlin and other western European cities with code words and procedures to set up meetings and hold secure conversations. Beria smiled and nodded appreciatively at the tradecraft as he listened to the translation,
“This is very well planned and perfect in a perfect world but as you know such phone calls may easily become impossible. We will need to set up additional signals that will inform you unmistakably of our position and vice versa.”
Beria’s assistant Sudoplatov then listed about ten different
“actions” that would keep the Americans and the French informed of any emergency changes. Bergman, a seasoned intelligence officer who had handled hundreds of informers and agents throughout his career was unable to hide his amazement at the range of signals used. They showed how deeply Soviet intelligence had penetrated both France and the United States.
Then unexpectedly Beria asked for a private meeting with General Clark and their respective interpreters. It lasted less than 20 minutes…
General Clark and his team were quickly ferried back to the submarine late that afternoon and the Russians were transferred back to the patrol boat and immediately returned to Riga. Two hours later the USS Trout reached a destroyer waiting off the Swedish coast that sailed into Oslo that night. The Frenchmen Savigny and Barnave took a commercial flight back to Paris while the Americans were scheduled to fly to Tokyo via Anchorage on another military air transport plane.
Before boarding their flight Clark and Bergman were taken to a building off to the side of the military airfield and placed in two separate rooms. Clark was not surprised to see his old friend General Walter Bedell Smith walk in with another officer and a stenographer. “Beedle” was an old buddy and close personal friend of Eisenhower and his involvement clearly gave the report added importance. For two hours Clark answered questions while Bergman was doing the same thing in the next room with a second team. Bergman was then informed that he was to fly directly to Munich for a new assignment rather than return to Japan. General Clark said that he was puzzled by the whole performance and didn’t know what to make of it. Bedell Smith voiced serious misgivings about American counter intelligence capabilities.
The conversations on the Baltic were to remain top secret and not committed to paper; even the ship logs and flight plans of the MATS transport plane were doctored to maintain a total black out. The French were held to the same tight discipline however Lucien Barnave managed to write a 20 page report that he kept hidden in a safe inside his apartment. He viewed it as a form of insurance, or so he thought.
XXIX
On the night of February 28, 1953, in the luxurious dining room at Stalin‘s dacha at Kuntsevo outside Moscow, the usual small coterie of insiders had assembled. Violin and balalaika players, dancers performing to Georgian music and songs were all on hand as well while a lavish buffet was ready for the Red Tsar. Stalin was sitting at the center of the long table smoking his pipe, on the sides were Khrushchev, Kaganovich, Beria, Malenkov, Molotov and a few others all waiting for the leader‘s signal. The maids were all Georgian and were still putting the finishing touches to the buffet that was decorated with flowers and green plants. Stalin waved at Beria who approached him in his usual slavish fashion.
“Lavrenti Pavlovich I haven’t seen you in over a week. Is something wrong? Tell me…”
Asked the dictator in his mock grandfatherly way,
“I have been hard at work Iosif Vissarionovich. But with your permission I have some gifts just received from Tbilisi that I would like to offer you.”
On Beria’s signal a servant brought in a platter full of large lemons and two bottles of sweet Georgian wine, Stalin‘s favorite.
“Excellent, excellent, have everything tasted first, of course. Beria, listen, I want this doctor’s plot business concluded as quickly as possible. It must not be allowed to fester. The rats must be drowned before the sewer overflows.”
“Yes Comrade Stalin, and how shall we proceed?”
“The trial must be held in camera with immediate executions next week at the latest. Then we shall go to the next phase. No waiting around, I am in a hurry now. The Americans want any kind of face saving peace in Korea and I agree that is a reasonable goal but we must keep things in check. Truman should have taken the bait last year when I offered the plan to resolve the German situation. Our incompetent amateur spies screwed things up by turning the Americans into wild fanatics! So while we maintain a desirable level of fear we must get all the unpleasantness over with and be able to negotiate. I want those Zionist doctors shot as soon as possible!”
“Perhaps then we should consider executing them before the trial?”
Stalin found the idea of interest,
“I would agree except that it would deprive us of the publicity and the photographs that such an event would generate. Unless we have a completely staged trial for photographs only just before the executions! Ah!... Ah!...”
Stalin laughed heartily and raised his glass.
Beria chuckled nervously along with the Supreme Leader and remained highly suspicious of his Boss’ rapid mood changes.
“It may come too fast for public opinion, Comrade Stalin.”
“Nonsense. Public opinion is waiting to hear and see what we will do to the enemies of the USSR! As for those spies in America I welcome their execution, what a windfall it shall be for us! Eisenhower will look like a bloodthirsty murderer if he allows them to be grilled on the electric chair! Ah!...Ah!...Ah!...
Those Jewish dogs deserve nothing better. If we brought them here I would keep them under lock and key and have them interrogated for years then shot as well. The religious leaders want the public to feel pity for the traitors, how absurd! If I were an American I would demand their execution as a measure of public hygiene.”
Stalin took a sip of wine and began cleaning his pipe. Beria nodded as the Boss went on in his deceptively nonchalant way.
“By the way, Lavrenti, I have reread the files you brought me on Molotov during his trip to America at the end of the war. Did you notice how twelve hours are entirely unaccounted for in 1944? What do you make of that, Lavrenti? It is clear to me that you, the great Chekist professional, failed to uncover that little piece of treachery. He claims to have traveled alone by train but that is an obvious lie. He must have been meeting with a case officer while passing on information to the Americans and the Zionists. Twelve hours Beria, twelve hours is a damn long time! Much too long a gap during such a sensitive trip.
All the key indications are there; his family ties in the United States; his wife who is a Zionist bitch, also has family America and in Israel, he pretends he to speak only broken English when he is actually fluent. Finally to top things off, there is his bourgeois background completely separated from the working class. Molotov thinks I am old, senile and stupid but he is mistaken about me as are many others currently gorging themselves on food and drink in this room! Ever since 1945 when I first caught on to his dealings I have been keeping a careful eye on that man and his treacherous wife! But soon I shall have the pleasure of seeing him dangling at the end of a rope just like that fat little pig over there, yes, yes, little Nikita...he will also have to go and soon.”
“Nikita as well, Iosif Vissaronovich?”
“Of course, Lavrenti, of course; and Mikoyan, that slimy little Armenian and the drunkard Voroshilov with him … we must liquidate them all without trial by simple administrative order: a chistka cleansing of the Politburo in one sweep! And don‘t forget to put Molotov’s wife Polina high on the list just under her husband. Make sure she is shot in the head as well! Do you hear me Beria? Confirm all this in writing tonight! We need no trials for Presidium members because the public hates all of them so much they will be overjoyed to know that they are no longer of this world. In fact the people will dance in the streets.”
Beria was wondering what would be coming next.
“When should i
t be scheduled so that I may include it in the report, Comrade Stalin?” he asked in an attempt to understand what was going on in the dictator‘s mind.
“Next week at the end of the doctor‘s trail ... just shoot them along with the doctors and the Mingrelian generals. One clean sweep of the broom…Ah! Ah! Ah! …I can just imagine the look of surprise on little Nikita’s fat face, that pig! Shoot the others but hang Nikita along with those on the list you will be given tomorrow. No quarter… a total chistka ... the Presidium must be wiped clean of all this riff raff once and for all!”
Stalin had managed to fill his pipe once more,
“Yes Comrade Stalin, shall we drink to that?”
“Of course, Beria. Of course. Let’s drink to the death of the wolves! All of them this time, no quarter! A single swift blow of the axe. Clean out the pigsty once and for all. Then I shall be able to sit down with Eisenhower who is a reasonable and moderate man with whom we can reach a meaningful accommodation. The German problem will be on the table and I am confident that we can come to a reasonable solution. He has the prestige to draw in the American right wing into accepting a reasonable understanding with the USSR. We will make meaningful concessions without surrendering any territory. As a soldier he will also understand that I needed to clean out the ranks to protect our rear, he‘s no fool and would do the same if he had the power.”
Beria poured two glasses but Stalin’s taster came forward and poured himself a hefty glass from the same bottle first. Stalin smiled, looked intently as the man in his blue KGB uniform drank up a glass of fruity Georgian wine. Beria had the second bottle opened and tasted as well then poured some wine into Stalin‘s glass.
