Nikolay Tess
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Tess was one of few functionaries in charge of political repression
s in the former Soviet Union
that were convicted for this activity.
Nikolajs Tess, a former operative of Ministry for State Security
, a citizen of Russia
, was the 10th Soviet official (and second Russian citizen) charged in Latvia under the Criminal Law Article 68.1, crimes against humanity, in relation to mass deportations from Latvia in 1941-1949
. Tess was charged for his role in deportations of March 25, 1949.
According to the indictment made in March 2001, "Tess compiled and signed an order to deport 42 families, 138 people, to forced settlement in remote parts of the Soviet Union. There were 14 children among the deported."
He was found guilty on December 16, 2003 and sentenced to 2 years of suspended imprisonment after a lengthy process delayed by ill health. Afterwards, he appealed to Latvian Supreme Court (insuccessfully) and European Court of Human Rights
(the latter found complaint partly inadmissible in 2008).
Tess did not consider himself guilty, claiming that he was acting in the capacity for only 2½ months and he was mainly in charge of verifying the match of the lists prepared by local administration against the Ministry lists.
Russia has criticized Latvia for trials of former Soviet officials and Soviet partisans
accusing of violation of international standards (e.g., Russian Foreign Ministry note of November 18, 2004).
Tess died in a Riga hospital on December 7, 2006, at the age of 86.
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
s in the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
that were convicted for this activity.
Nikolajs Tess, a former operative of Ministry for State Security
Ministry for State Security (USSR)
The Ministry of State Security was the name of Soviet secret police from 1946 to 1953.-Origins of the MGB:The MGB was just one of many incarnations of the Soviet State Security apparatus. Since the revolution, the Bolsheviks relied on a strong political police or security force to support and...
, a citizen of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, was the 10th Soviet official (and second Russian citizen) charged in Latvia under the Criminal Law Article 68.1, crimes against humanity, in relation to mass deportations from Latvia in 1941-1949
Population transfer in the Soviet Union
Population transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population, often classified as "enemies of workers," deportations of entire nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite...
. Tess was charged for his role in deportations of March 25, 1949.
According to the indictment made in March 2001, "Tess compiled and signed an order to deport 42 families, 138 people, to forced settlement in remote parts of the Soviet Union. There were 14 children among the deported."
He was found guilty on December 16, 2003 and sentenced to 2 years of suspended imprisonment after a lengthy process delayed by ill health. Afterwards, he appealed to Latvian Supreme Court (insuccessfully) and European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
(the latter found complaint partly inadmissible in 2008).
Tess did not consider himself guilty, claiming that he was acting in the capacity for only 2½ months and he was mainly in charge of verifying the match of the lists prepared by local administration against the Ministry lists.
Russia has criticized Latvia for trials of former Soviet officials and Soviet partisans
Soviet partisans
The Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
accusing of violation of international standards (e.g., Russian Foreign Ministry note of November 18, 2004).
Tess died in a Riga hospital on December 7, 2006, at the age of 86.
See also
- Mikhail Farbtukh, another Soviet Official convicted in Latvia, who on May 17, 2000 had been sentenced to five years in prison for genocide and was freed in March 2002 by the Riga Regional Court on health grounds, see http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/smith.htm
- Arnold MeriArnold MeriArnold Meri was an Soviet Red Army veteran of World War II and Hero of the Soviet Union who was charged with genocide for his role in the deportation of women and children to the inhospitable regions of the USSR. He was the cousin of former President of Estonia, Lennart Meri...
, a Soviet official charged by Estonia with genocideGenocideGenocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, but he died before the 2009 trial could be concluded. - Vasiliy KononovVasiliy KononovVassili Makarovich Kononov or Vasiliy Makarovich Kononov was the only Soviet partisan from World War II convicted of crimes against humanity for his role in the Mazie Bati killings, where posing as German Wehrmacht officers, Kononov led a unit into a Latvian village and killed 9 people, including...
, a former Soviet partisan accused of ordering the killing of civilians in a village in 1944. - Nikolay LarionovNikolay LarionovNikolay Yevgeniyevich Larionov is a former football player and current manager. As of 2009, he is an assistant coach with the reserves team of FC Zenit St. Petersburg.-International career:...
, see (in Latvian) http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/larionovs.htm (died on November 9, 2005 after filing an appeal) - Alfons Noviks, see http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/smith.htm
- Solomon Murin, committed suicide in his home in October 1997 after being charged
- Ilya Mashonkin