The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-28
Especial to the Daily wOrker)


MOSCOW, Dec. 81 (By Wireless),
The plotting of widespread assas-
sinations of leaders of the Commu-
mist Party Of the Soviet Union, in
Guiding the general secretary of the
Party, Joseph Stain, and the giving
of direct assistance to the murder
GUS scheme by a foreign consulate
(which, according to the reports of
capitalist newspaper correspondents
in Leningrad, is the consulate of the
German Fascist Government, al
though this has not as yet been con-
flrmed), were contained in the in
dictment, published here today,
against members of the. under
ground counter-revolutionist terror
ist "Leningrad Center"
Leonid Nikolaev, who murdered
Sergei Kirov on instructions from
the "Leningrad Center" declared
in his testimony that the Lenin-
grad consul involved had offered
to obtain the aid of Leon Trotzky in
carrying out their terroristic attack
against the leadership of the Soviet
regime.
The investigation established that
despite the capitulation Of the for
mer Zinoviev group, the secret
work of the most active members of
this bloc did not cease and con-
tinued until very recently. This
activity became particularly vigor-
Gus in 1933-1934, when a secret
counter revolutionary terrorist
group was formed in Leningrad led
by the so-called "Leningrad Center"
according to the testimony of the
I ccused Zvezdov and others, the
organizational formation of this
group took place gradually under
the leadership of Rumyantsev and
Kotolinov. The group was formed
on the basis of the former Trotz-
-zinoviev bloc.
Trotzkyite Terrorists
The group was led by such lead
ers of the "Leningrad Center" as
Kotolinov, Shatski and Nikolaev
all former members of the Zinoviev
opposition. This is confirmed both
by the testimony of members of this
center and as we'll by the. testi-
mony of other participants in the
underground group. Nikolaev, con-
f1rmed in his testimony of Dec. 13
that he belonged to a group of this
former opposition which was con-
Quoting counter-revolutionary work
adding that members of the group
accepted the platform of the
Trotzkyite- zinoviev bloc. They con-
sidered it necessary to change the
present party leadership by all pos
sible means"
The essence of this platform is
well-known from the entire history
of the struggle Of the former
inoviev-Trotzkyite opposition
against the Party. This was the
platform denying the possibility Of
the construction Of socialism in the
U. S. S. R. This was the platform
of capitulation to the bourgeoisie
The realization of this platform
would have signif1ed the loss of al
the gains of the revolution and the
restoration Of the capitalists ane
landlords.
The entire work Of the under.
ground counter-revolutionary ter.
rorist group was conducted under
conditions of strict secrecy. A
preliminary investigation revealed
that the basic task of the group wa.
the striving to disorganize the
leadership of the Soviet Govern
ment, by terrorist acts directed
against the chief leaders of Sovie
power. Thus, it hoped to secure ar
alteration in the present policy, il
the spirit of the so-called Zinoviev.
Trotzkyite platform.
Having lost all hope of mass sup.
port and isolated as well as politi.
caly doomed, the members of the
anti-Soviet, seeing the hopelessnes'
of bringing about their aims, tool
the path of direct terror. One of the
accused, named Hank, one of the
active members of this group char.
acterizing its theological and poll.
teal position, admitted that the,