Soviet raid on Stołpce Soviet raid on Stołpce refers to the events of the night of August 3 / 4 , 1924 , when a group of 150 Soviet agents , commanded by Leutnant Boryshkevich , raided the town of Stołpce ( now : Stoubcy , Belarus ) , which back then was a railroad border crossing between Second Polish Republic , and Soviet Union . The raid ended in temporary capture of the town , and destruction of a police station , railroad station , and several houses . Background . After Polish - Soviet War , the border between the two countries was established roughly along the 1400 - kilometer line going from the Daugava in the north , to the Dniester in the south - east of the line marked by the towns of Wilejka - Baranowicze - Luniniec - Sarny - Rowne - Brody . The town of Stołpce therefore became part of the Second Polish Republic , and was a border rail station along the main European rail line Paris - Berlin - Warsaw - Minsk - Moscow . Newly established Polish - Soviet border from the beginning was marred by violence . The Soviets regarded it as temporary , and , hoping to ignite a revolution in Poland , carried out a guerilla war against Polish authorities . At the same time , the Poles supported for a time Belorussian partisan movement , and Polish Army teams also penetrated into the Soviet area . In one of the most famous incidents of this kind , Soviet agents captured a passenger train from Pinsk to Luniniec . This event took place on September 24 , 1924 , near the village of Lowcza , and the Soviets were commanded by Trofim Kalinienko . Among passengers of the train , there were local personalities - Voivode of Polesie Voivodeship Stanislaw Downarowicz , Roman Catholic bishop Zygmunt Lozinski of Minsk and Pinsk , and well - known Senator of the Second Polish Republic , Boleslaw Wyslouch . After robbing all valuables , the attackers escaped into Soviet territory . Before escaping , Kalinienko handed a “ receipt ” to train conductor . It stated : “ Ataman Trofim Kalinienko , Headquarters Timkowicze ” Originally , the border was guarded by units of the Polish Police , but the situation was getting out of control , and the government in Warsaw knew it had to find a solution . Altogether , in the year 1924 , along the Polish - Soviet border there were some 200 raids , in which around 1000 Soviet agents participated , and at least 54 people died . Year 1924 was by far the worst , especially summer and autumn . In the night of July 18 / 19 , 1924 , some 30 armed Soviet agents attacked the village of Wiszniew , located in Wolozyn county of Nowogródek Voivodeship . During the raid , the perpetrators stole the valuables , and a skirmish ensued , during which commandant of Polish Police station was killed . Raids also took place in Polish part of Volhynia , where manor houses and villages were robbed , and horses were stolen . Polish authorities knew well who stood behind these raids , and what was their real purpose . In 1925 , Colonel Juliusz Ulrych of freshly created Border Protection Corps ( Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza , KOP ) wrote : “ The Soviets have undertaken the plan to capture eastern lands of Poland , even though there is no official war . They want to use these provinces as a foreground of their struggle , in which the sphere of influence of Russian statehood would dominate over the sphere of influence of Poland . Therefore we witness immense activities of diversionary nature , with widespread Communist groups , willingly supporting banditry ” . Raid on Stołpce . The raid on Stołpce , which was described as “ uniquely brazen ” took place in the night of August 3 / 4 , 1924 . It was a well - organized , meticulously planned action , carried out by a group of 150 Soviet agents , divided into four platoons . Apart from handguns and grenades , the perpetrators had three machine guns . Those who were captured by Polish police officers , stated that they had been trained for the mission by Soviet officers in Minsk , the capital of Soviet Belarus . The purpose of the raid was to free two imprisoned Communist activists . According to some Polish sources , the raid , as well as other incidents of this kind along the border , was organized by Zakordonnyj Otdiel ( Zakordot ) , a Soviet agency created in Moscow in 1920 , whose purpose was to set eastern Poland on fire . These sources claim that agents of Zakordot carried out the raid , during which they destroyed Stołpce ' s Police Station , rail station , post office and kidnapped a number of Polish citizens . After the raid , the invaders got back to the Soviet Union , but due to diplomatic consequences of that action , Moscow decided to quit its program of peacetime attacks on its neighbors , preferring to start preparations for wartime sabotage and diversion under the authority of the Red Army ' s Intelligence Directorate .