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The Russian military unit Smersch became notorious for its brutality and executed thousands of people during World War II.
Now the organization has been re-established in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
– It is probably another part of the general Stalinization of Russian society, says Stefan Hedlund, professor of Eastern State Research to VG.
The information comes from the British intelligence service via a post on X:
“At the end of 2023, Russian politicians claimed that the organization was being re-established. In early 2024, open image sources showed Russian agents wearing uniforms with Smersh insignia”.
Furthermore, they write that Smersh is part of the counterespionage and that the name is an abbreviation for “Death to spies” in Russian.
The unit was used during the Stalin era to find and arrest spies and dissidents.
But it is still unclear whether Russia established a new role in counterintelligence or whether they changed the name of an existing unit.
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full screen Putin. Photo: AP
“Putin reacts with paranoia”
The new Smersh is an example of how the Kremlin is trying to portray the Ukraine war “in the spirit of the Second World War” and their focus on accessing “alleged external threats inside the country”, according to the British intelligence service.
– The external aggression in Ukraine has been followed by internal repression and control. I understand that Putin is reacting with paranoia. It is reasonable to believe that this unit targets its own population, says Kristian Gerner, professor emeritus of history at Lund University, to VG and continues:
– I have no evidence that this is so, but it sounds reasonable as the situation is in Russia now. It is the type of organization that can be expected to be recreated in today’s Russia.
Executed thousands of people
Soviet dictator Josef Stalin founded the original Smersh in 1941. The military unit became notorious for its brutality and executed thousands of people accused of being traitors, writes Business Insider.
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full screen Joseph Stalin. Photo: AP
– It is probably another part of the general Stalinization of Russian society. Everything from punishment battalions and assassins to a pathological hatred of the West, a cult of its own leader and a total contempt for human life, says Stefan Hedlund, professor of Eastern State Research at Uppsala University, to VG.
During World War II, the Smersh would be used to fight Nazi infiltration of the Red Army and stop uprisings in Soviet-occupied areas.
Depicted in the James Bond books
Although the organization only existed until 1946, it became known to the Western world through the James Bond books, but was replaced with the name Spectre. The author Ian Flemming then worked as an intelligence officer in the British navy.
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full screenSean Connery and Honor Blackman photographed in connection with the filming of “Goldfinger”, in which Smersj is involved. Photo: Alamy Stock Photo
The Ukrainian Bohdan Tarnavsky claimed in 2000 that he arrested the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, on behalf of Smersh. It was also supposed to have been Smersj agents who found Adolf Hitler’s remains after he committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin in 1945, writes Business Insider.
Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin has used a rhetoric in which the Second World War has been central. Among other things, by trying to convince the population of the former Soviet countries about their common past and identity.