297:(shot in November 1937) and an existence in which he usually worked in the office as a norm-setter, not out in the forest with the rest of the convicts, felling trees. At one point in his memoirs he takes issue with Solzhenitsyn and speaks out on behalf of "trusties" like himself, and the camp medical service, who together made things easier for ordinary inmates.
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Others were executed almost immediately. In his chapter about "Niyazov", whom he met in 1977 at Moscow's
Cardiology Institute, Razgon tells what that former NKVD executioner had to say concerning the hundreds and thousands of victims of such operations, despatched with a bullet to the back of the
244:
While admitting Boky's bloody past, in
Petrograd in 1918 and in Central Asia during the 1920s, Razgon describes the Special Department as a counter-intelligence operation rather than anything to do with arrests and interrogations. "Its job was to protect the secrets of the Soviet State and try to
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of the late 1930s. Razgon was an "honoured provocateur", in
Antonov-Ovseyenko's words, and was arrested and sentenced together with a group of "too assiduous torturers"; he did not push a wheelbarrow in a camp, he did not fell wood in the
398:, the accused were shot. Boky's confession was not good enough and, according to NKVD records examined by Razgon in the late 1980s, his father-in-law was shot on 15 November 1937 shortly after being found guilty.
272:(1988) is one of the most detailed sources there is: it contains a unique chapter, for instance, describing various camp bosses he observed and worked under. There are almost as many references to his memoirs in
332:, after which he could settle in Moscow again and resume his writing. Between the 1960s and 1980s (see Publications, below) he published a number of books while privately writing about his years in the Gulag.
355:
210:, the "1934 Congress of Victors" at which, he reports, Stalin received many more negative votes than Sergei Kirov when the Congress members voted to re-appoint members to the Central Committee.
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Razgon was born in
Belorussia to the family of Mendel Abramovich Razgon and Glika Izrailevna Shapiro. In the 1920s they moved to Moscow and in 1932, he graduated from the history faculty of the
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Those arrested during the Great Purges of the late 1930s were either "first category arrests", i.e. listed for execution, or "second category arrests", listed for imprisonment and exile.
225:(Nepridumannoe, 1988), and it was only in a separate and slightly later publication in the Ogonyok library series that Razgon first admitted he had worked for Gleb Boky's organisation.
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Some of those in the 1st category were tortured to secure confessions that they were secret
Trotskyists, agents of foreign powers and so on. After show trials of the kind
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and as an editor at
Molodaya gvardiya publishers; he worked for the NKVD until Gleb Boky's arrest; and went back to the Children's Literature publishing house (Detizdat).
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of the fourth class for his personal contribution to
Russian literature and his active participation in the country's democratic reforms. Razgon also received the
187:
Later in life, Razgon fell into the category of Gulag detainees who rejoined the
Communist Party after their release. He did not resign from the Party until 1988.
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His career before his arrest in 1938 was in great measure due to his marrying into the new Soviet elite and, in particular, two men: his wife Oksana's father
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313:, and he was not dying of starvation. Instead he worked as a norm setter, and helped the camp director and its "godfather", i.e. the supervisor of the
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of Soviet writers and other public figures summarises Razgon's biography as follows: a
Pioneer leader, he then began to work for the Central Bureau of
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304:, Razgon's junior by 11 years. Antonov-Ovseyenko also spent time in the Gulag; his famous Bolshevik/Red Army father was executed during the
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magazine published Lev Razgon's memoir about "The
President's Wife", an "unbelievable but true" story about the wife of the first Soviet's
379:: this was confirmation that Stalin made hostages of his closest colleagues' family members (another was Yelena Zhemchuzhina, the wife of
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Document 31 January 1938, Pb 57/48 - Politburo decision to increase quotas for 1st and 2nd category arrests, Bukovsky archives online
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Razgon's memoirs (Непридуманное, Nepridumannoe, 1988) have been translated into French, Italian and English and five other languages
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In October 1993, during the confrontation between President Yeltsin and the Supreme Soviet, Razgon was one of the signatories of the
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On 18 April 1938, Razgon was arrested and spent the next 17 years in prisons, camps, and exile. He began his service in
827:(1997), as an Epilogue. For Razgon's admission, see p. 324: "I myself worked for his organisation for two whole years".
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1153:"Указ Президента РФ от 01.04.1998 N 335 "О награждении орденом "За заслуги перед отечеством" IV степени Разгона Л.Э.""
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and worked to secure the commutation of all death sentences to terms of imprisonment, arguing for the abolition of
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find out those of others," he wrote, and suggested it had some parallel in its functions and purpose with the US
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before beginning to publish excerpts from his memoirs in a variety of Soviet literary magazines. In 1988, the
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and step-daughter of Ivan Moskvin, who were influential friends and patrons until their own arrest in 1937.
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The prison camp theme in Russian literature as reworked by Lev Razgon and Sergei Dovlatov
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had access to what he had written and incorporated some incidents they describe in his
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With many other prominent writers Razgon joined the Clemency Commission created by
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At Ivan Moskvin's apartment, for instance, Razgon met the future head of the NKVD
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Lev Emmanuilovic Razgon on Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide Committee - Gariwo
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728:. Москва: Журналистское агентство «Гласность». 1998. pp. 386–390.
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Razgon's account of these years began to appear in printed form during
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A translation of this publication was added to the English edition of
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After moving to Moscow Razgon met and married Oksana, the daughter of
945:"Умерла Наталья Разгон, дочь одного из основателей центра "Мемориал""
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Razgon describes the respect he received for being the son-in-law of
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414:) left the CPSU. For a while he joined the Italian Radical Party.
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head and buried at concealed locations all over the Soviet Union.
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years nor did they circulate in samizdat, unlike the memoirs of
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1142:, Souvenir Press: London, 1997 (translated by John Crowfoot).
375:, who was imprisoned in the labour camps of the far northern
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or Olga Adamova-Sliozberg. It is evident, nevertheless, that
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In 1998, to mark Razgon's 90th birthday, he was awarded the
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General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
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The memoirs were not sent abroad to be published during the
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17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
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Unlike many others, Razgon did not have to wait long for
967:"Писатели требуют от правительства решительных действий"
630:. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 143–168.
268:
Razgon's account of life (and death) in the Gulag in
763:Самые секретные родственники: Энциклопедия биографий
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weekly. Subsequently, they were published as a book
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206:. With a pass supplied by Moskvin he attended the
766:. Москва: ОЛМА-ПРЕСС, Звездный мир. p. 285.
351:, first published in an English edition in 1972.
151:from 1938 to 1942 and again from 1950 to 1955, a
1239:"Prisons mirror on Russia's present moral state"
614:Andrei Sakharov Prize for Writer's Civic Courage
117:Andrei Sakharov Prize for Writer's Civic Courage
417:In 1989, Razgon was among the founders of the
300:A less flattering account has been offered by
590:Sin inventar NADA. El Polvo Anonimo del Gulag
586:, published in US (1995) and in the UK (1997)
436:in Russia and reform of the judicial system.
8:
725:Писатели России. Автобиографии современников
1362:Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
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1332:Moscow State Pedagogical University alumni
1212:publicly available unabridged Russian text
896:AST publishers: Moscow, 2003 (in Russian).
790:, Souvenir Press: London, 1997, pp. 43-44.
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126:Oksana Glebovna Bokiy, Rika Efremovna Berg
18:
143:; 1 April 1908 – 8 September 1999) was a
599:Χωρίς Επινοήσεις, Athens 1990 (in Greek)
158:and, latterly, a human rights activist.
1103:True stories: The memoirs of Lev Razgon
671:
383:) to ensure they behaved as he wanted.
626:Applebaum, Anne (2011). "Lev Razgon".
410:In 1988, Razgon and many others (e.g.
42:Lev Emmanuilovich (Mendelevich) Razgon
354:Razgon waited until Gorbachev became
7:
679:Shukman, Harry (22 September 1999).
406:Memorial and the Clemency Commission
278:Gulag: A history of the Soviet Camps
788:True Stories: Memoirs of a Survivor
396:mounted in Moscow from 1936 to 1938
1322:Stalinism-era scholars and writers
554:The Day before Yesterday and Today
317:department for internal security.
163:Moscow State Pedagogical Institute
101:Moscow State Pedagogical Institute
14:
610:Order of Merit for the Fatherland
1252:Razgon, Lev (22 November 1997).
1034:. Москва: Издательство «Правда».
1017:. Москва: Издательство «Правда».
876:Антонов-Овсеенко, Антон (2003).
543:, 1994), an expanded version of
110:
1107:. Translated by John Crowfoot.
695:from the original on 2022-06-14
524:Before Opened Case Files Cases
421:. He was also a member of the
320:In 1955, Razgon was released.
217:, serialised in issues of the
147:journalist, a prisoner of the
1:
1347:Soviet human rights activists
1000:. Москва: Детская литература.
387:Encounter with an executioner
176:officer, and her step-father
32:
1317:20th-century Russian writers
1237:Razgon, Lev (23 July 1997).
1218:Razgon, Lev (January 1997).
947:. РИА Новости. 24 April 2011
880:. Москва: АСТ. p. 375.
786:Lev Razgon, "Ivan Moskvin",
799:ref in Ivan Moskvin chapter
760:Зенькович, Николай (2005).
541:A Captive in One's Homeland
1383:
1292:People from Goretsky Uyezd
1254:"Russia is still not free"
892:Anton Antonov-Oveseyenko,
628:Gulag voices: an anthology
233:A 2005 handbook detailing
180:, a leading figure in the
934:(1997), pp. 27-30, 33-34.
235:The Most Secret Relatives
141:Лев Эммануи́лович Разго́н
140:
16:Soviet writer (1908–1999)
808:"The President's Wife",
645:Galloway, David (1999).
537:Plen v Svoyom Otechestve
280:(2003), as there are to
247:National Security Agency
133:Lev Emmanuilovich Razgon
1367:20th-century memoirists
1051:. Москва: Книжный сад.
1031:Перед раскрытыми делами
520:Pered Raskrytymi Delami
302:Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko
229:Lev Razgon and the NKVD
33:Лев Эммануилович Разгон
1352:Soviet rehabilitations
1220:"The banality of evil"
1208:. Москва: Книжный сад.
1205:Плен в своем отечестве
1048:Плен в своем отечестве
682:"Obituary: Lev Razgon"
651:. Cornell University.
570:La vie sans lendemains
282:Alexander Solzhenitsyn
572:, Horay: Paris, 1991
550:Pozavchera i Segodnya
467:One Year and All Life
463:Odin God i Vsya Zhizn
1202:Разгон, Лев (1994).
1099:Razgon, Lev (1995).
1072:Разгон, Лев (1995).
1045:Разгон, Лев (1994).
1028:Разгон, Лев (1991).
1011:Разгон, Лев (1988).
994:Разгон, Лев (1983).
866:(1997), pp. 176-179.
853:(1997), pp. 217-284.
840:(1997), pp. 326-327.
1078:. Москва: Инфра-М.
1075:Позавчера и сегодня
894:A needless victory?
441:Letter of Forty-Two
58:Mogilev Governorate
1357:Memorial (society)
1327:Russian memoirists
1195:2012-02-20 at the
1181:Pictures of Razgon
997:Московские повести
497:The Moscow Stories
493:Moskovskie Povesti
453:Shestaja Stantsiya
381:Vyacheslav Molotov
373:Ekaterina Kalinina
191:Life before arrest
54:Horki, Horki Raion
1342:Soviet dissidents
1287:People from Horki
878:Напрасный подвиг?
596:(Spanish Edition)
487:Visible Knowledge
457:The Sixth Station
423:International PEN
349:Let History Judge
287:Gulag Archipelago
264:Life in the Gulag
182:Central Committee
172:, a high-ranking
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1159:on 31 March 2012
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932:True Stories
931:
926:
919:True Stories
918:
917:"Epilogue",
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864:True Stories
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837:
836:"Epilogue",
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306:Great Purges
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178:Ivan Moskvin
167:
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132:
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77:(1999-09-08)
51:1 April 1908
1302:Soviet Jews
1282:1999 deaths
1277:1908 births
1185:(in German)
930:"Niyazov",
849:"Jailers",
574:(in French)
215:perestroika
29:Native name
1271:Categories
1058:5856760255
667:References
89:Occupation
47:1908-04-01
23:Lev Razgon
1232:(1): 3–6.
1163:18 August
1109:Ann Arbor
979:21 August
951:18 August
699:18 August
531:The 1990s
295:Gleb Boky
258:Komi ASSR
254:Ustvymlag
197:Gleb Boky
170:Gleb Boky
1193:Archived
1113:Michigan
972:Izvestia
693:Archived
526:, 1991),
516:, 1988),
499:, 1983),
337:Brezhnev
290:(1974).
84:, Russia
814:, 1988.
811:Ogonyok
592:, 2013
556:, 1995)
489:, 1983)
479:, 1979)
469:, 1973)
459:, 1964)
361:Ogonyok
219:Ogonyok
153:Russian
137:Russian
62:Belarus
1123:
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604:Awards
425:Club.
156:writer
145:Soviet
123:Spouse
92:Writer
82:Moscow
1117:Ardis
311:taiga
149:Gulag
1165:2011
1121:ISBN
1080:ISBN
1053:ISBN
981:2011
953:2011
882:ISBN
768:ISBN
730:ISBN
701:2011
653:ISBN
632:ISBN
377:Komi
315:NKVD
174:NKVD
72:Died
39:Born
284:'s
276:'s
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