NKVD Investigator Guidelines
Moscow, Central KGB archive,
Tolmachev fund of Opposition case files, 1937,
Classified, for official use only.
Instruction
To the interrogator on conducting the NKVD case procedures.
Situation: You have a counterrevolutionary, the enemy of
the people, actively working against the Soviet power, in front of
you.
Task: Force this counterrevolutionary fagot to kneel in
front of the Soviet power, disarm him morally, reveal his
counter-revolutionary activities and expose all members of that
organization.
Methods: What are the ways to achieve the desired
result?
a) General:
1. Organize the interrogation so that it continues until you
obtain the necessary testimony; even if you have to work for
several days without rest.
Interrogations should be conducted by at least two people,
therefore, the unit manager should appoint one or several NKVD
operatives to assist you. Start the interrogation together with
them, and then make a queue; this way all of you can rest.
2. Once you invite the accused, formulate your first question as
follows: “NKVD has irrefutable evidence that you have been
actively engaged in anti-Soviet activities for many years. Give
your testimony, how did you become the enemy of the people.” If
the reply of the accused is negative, offer him a paper and a
pencil so that he could write a statement to any member of the
Central Committee of the Communist Bolshevik party. However, such
a statement must begin with the words that the accused repents his
anti-Soviet activities, promises to reform and provide the
necessary testimony to the NKVD bodies. Do not accept any
statements without such an introduction. In absence of other
evidence, such a statement enables to initiate criminal
proceedings.
3. Do not be discouraged if the accused will not plead guilty for
several days. You can break his will by using physical and moral
interrogation techniques, or both.
b) Moral:
The accused must feel his situation. Do not let him talk to much,
and ever more – do not let him to persuade. In reply to his
allegations that he is an honest and innocent man, you should
constantly claim that he is a scoundrel, a slug, a traitor, an
enemy of the people, a rot, a man who has lost the conscience and
honour, the family murderer, etc.
In this way, you force the accused to reply only to the
questions asked. He must be ruined morally and realize that he
will give the necessary testimony in any case. Your main task is
to force the accused to “disarm” himself against the Soviet power.
If moral methods do not yield the desired result, you can proceed
to physical methods.
c) Physical:
When interrogated, the accused may not have any free time for
himself. You must constantly repeat the same accusation, no matter
how incredible it is. All the while, the accused is seated on a
hard and narrow chair, or on the very edge of a chair. He must sit
up straight, do not support himself onto anything, he is not
allowed to cross his legs, to stand up or move from the indicated
seating position. Do not allow him to change the sitting posture.
Keep him in this position until the accused begins to testify. As
an option, the accused may be forced to stand; do not allow him to
lean on, to walk, or to sit down. During interrogation, the
accused is forbidden to smoke, eat, sleep, or drink. Only from
time to time you can let him to the toilet, and even that only in
emergency. Proceed this way, until the accused signs an
application, a request or until he starts testifying.
If despite this, the accused does not give the requested
testimony, after two days of interrogation give him a slice of
bread and a glass of tea, to keep his energy on. It should look
like mercy.
When the accused begins to testify, give him delicious and
nourishing food. Interrogations should be continued immediately
after eating, because then the human will is greatly weakened.
When the accused starts giving testimony, give him tasty and
nourishing food and let him sleep. However, he can go to sleep
only after he signs all interrogation protocols.
After some time, the interrogation is resumed. Based on the
previously obtained evidence and confessions, demand the accused
to give new written testimony. Like this: when did he begin
anti-Soviet activities, when he was recruited or got involved in
this work, what were the goals pursued by the organization, what
specific did they do, or who else took part in
counterrevolutionary activities.
Based on such evidence, the investigator himself should draw up a
new protocol, in which he must accurately formulate conclusions
and the charges…
After the accused signs the last protocol, all previous protocols and confessions are destroyed.