, 1923-02-11

social ills by such methods. and who. in
trying to establish a new. free social
order, apply terror. particularly such
terror.
On Bolshaia Lubianka street, house
No. II, is the headquarters of the
Moscow Cheka. Here the soulless ma
chine of death is at work day and
night. and here a man runs the full
gamut which turns him from an ac-
cused into a condemned. and from a
condemned one into a mutilated dead
body.
Ono Of tho most dreaded in the
suite of investigators cabinets IS
room No. So, the cabinet OF chief in
v~estigator of the criminal section,
Vul, In his hands are concentrated
all criminal cases. especially those Of
bandits" for whom there is generally
no pity, and where death sentences
are a strict and almost unfailing
rule.
Vul Is the permanent and only
member of the Trio" to present the
charge. he IS the one to direct and
complete the work of the subordinate
Investigators on all such cases.. and
upon him depends always the issue
of the case under consideration. Still
young In years (about thirty. with
slightly curling hair, steady. bright
eyes. lively, energetic. and with an
easy affability in his conversation,
Vul yet makes all who enter his cab
met tremble. For there is scarcely a
case but does not end IN a death SEN
tence, and rarely an examination but
passes without a brutal beating.
If n subordinate investigator fails
to obtain a confession he threatens to
send the prisoner to Vul, and often the
mere mention of that name proves
sufficient to obtain frank confess
sions." The most important cases are
attended to by Vul himself, and his
methods of examining the accused are
by nj means the extremes of the gen.
eral methods of Cheka Justice.
As in the good old times, this Com
munist secret service is so closely In
terwoven with the criminal element as
to make 1t sometimes difficult to draw
q line between the prosecutors and
prosecuted, between the guardian of
the revolutionary" law and its vio-
lators. The bandit of yesterday be-
comes to-day the loyal agent of the
Extraordinary Commission, and the
agent of yesterday may end his career
AA AAA' StAAaA dAAhNA az AAAAAN9
of the executloner.
During the period here described the
Moscow cheka's professional execu-
TONER was a greedy, callous and crueI
Red army soldier, Pankratov, succeed
ing executioner YemelIanov. who had
died of spotted typhus and some
mental arrangement. TIT should be
noted that the All-Russian Cheka had
its wi executioners.l
This man, who a shot with his
own hands already several hundred
victims, had once been a simple, quiet
peasant in Riazan province. where he
used to live with his father. In 1918
he was drafted into the military SER
vice. and some months later, when the
world war broke out, he was sent to
the front, and there he was promoted
until he reached the rank of a COM
pany sergeant. The life of a COM
pany "bully' effected a marked change
in Pankratov's character.
In 1917 he was demobilized and sent
home, but soon again called to the
army by the Bolsheviki and, as an ex-
sergeant. at once appointed com
mander of the Special Battalion of the
Moscow cheka- There Pankratov be-
came very friendly with the execu-
TONER, Y~emelianov. and took his place
after he died.
Twenty-seven years old. of medium
height, broad shouldered and natu.
rally pale Pankratov attracted atten-
i. ton by his closely shaved head and
bright. gray eyes in a face red from
. constant drink. He always smeIled Of
vodka.
Every morning he used to come
down to tho Moscow Cheka and re-
, main. without doing a thing. in the
, prison department up to 3 p. NJ. He
, usually also took his dinner there. He
, knew personally all prisoners who hat
. been there for a long time and re,
membered every detail OF theii
Cases" Some of them he even treated
, friendly. offered them cigarettes nnt
limited that he could do n great deal
:. by virtue of his position, TO make
/, things easier for them. Toward 9th.
ers again he would assume the airs o
4 naughty master and swear at then
; without amy cause in the foulest pos,
sibIe language. The thing he hatet
most was to be asked anything abouI
!, executions.
All prisoners condemned TO dealt
by the Trio" Of the Moscow Cheka
would be received by him personally
i against his signed receipt, for he wa:
, a strict discipllnarian. At times h
would be subject to spells OF what ap.
peared like -humaneness. m then h
would declare in a "buslnesslike tone
conscious OF his own vast powers:
"This one 1 cannot accept; his Is
, trlhing case. and may3o he will b.
~pardoned."
Such fortunate ones would be takcT
back TO the prison.
=, Pankratov used to fetch his prison.
ers himself most Of the time. III
i, treated them rudely. remaining stou'
: deaf to nil their pleas and complaints
and swore continuously. Toward
, r. NJ. he had them all brought TO th'
, Moscow Cheka and, seated somewher,
, in a corner. he would smoke an,
quietly await nightfall. AMI an houl
/, later. excited. his eyes burning fever
! ishly, he would go down 10 the celia,
and start his eNecutioner's work. o.
I evenings when there WIS no work
TO be done Pankrntov used TO go 4
his hnunts, always leaving precise di
rections as &c where he might be fount
sin any event" And such "eyents,
to be sure. occurred from time 4
tlme.