Fedorov started to talk.
“Comrade Voronov. In view of your experience the party has decided to entrust you with a very important task. It is about supporting the friendly Chinese government. Among other mutual projects there is one in northern Xinjiang. A site rich with minerals and metals has been found there. The initial exploration and processing will be performed directly at the site. Comrades, would you please provide further specifications?”
The colonel took a few gulps of water and added
“To ensure an expedited analysis of the samples it has been decided to establish an air link with the site. The closest airport is Urumqi which is at least two full days drive away. Therefore we need to construct one at the site. It should be able to receive the SB-2 bis series aircraft. You will have one week to perform the assessment and prepare the feasibility report. At this time point one suitable place appears to be at the settlement of Altay but the site is about 50 km to the north, in the Altay Mountains and it would be preferable to have the air field there. The first priority is to get the runway being ready to receive smaller aircraft as soon as possible. Simultaneously you can further expand the length of the runway and continue with the necessary buildings, hangars and fuel tanks. Here is the map of the region. It is not as accurate as we would wish but it is the best we have. I assume it is clear to you that the map must under no circumstances be taken out of your office and must be properly locked away between uses. After the meeting I will ask you to sign that you have received the map. Comrade Major, would you like to continue?”
“Yes, sure. You have already met with Lieutenant Novikov, haven’t you? Next week he will fly you to Urumqi. There you will be met by our comrades and continue the onward journey overland.”
Two days later Voronov was asked to come to the office of the Institute’s Party secretary Tishchenko. He was introduced to another man described as “a comrade from Tashkent”.
Before the recent splitting of the Middle Asian republics into separate administrative regions, Tashkent was viewed as a capital of Soviet Turkestan. Later it retained its status as a seat of the Turkestan Military District Commando and the head office of Soviet intelligence and counter-intelligence for Central Asia. The officers working there were no nonsense people with profound knowledge of the region and huge experience. Some were seasoned cloak and dagger agents with an impressive record. The office also used the consultancy of old Tsarist specialists previously involved in “Great Game” – the rivalry between Britain and Russia in Middle Asia.
The “Comrade from Tashkent” stared piercingly at Voronov but remained silent.
Tishchenko read Voronov’s personal file for a few minutes and said:
“You do already know the nature of your assignment Comrade Gromov, right? From our perspective there are no objections to you. Still, I would like to emphasize some crucial points. We are talking not only about a construction project but a co-operative project with Chinese government. This puts enormous responsibility on your shoulders. As a representative of the Soviet Union abroad you must have the highest level of consciousness and maturity. At all times your demeanour must represent the proud name of a Soviet internationalist. Therefore we expect you to treat our Chinese friends with utmost respect and understanding.
At the same time we cannot ignore that fact that the hostile powers will monitor our activities and it can be not ruled out…”
“Let me expand on that,” the “Comrade from Tashkent” interjected, “This is just one of our projects with the Kuomintang government. Another one for example is a road which will connect Sary-Ozek in Kazachstan with Lanzhou in Gansu province via Urumqi. The preparations are already quite advanced and we plan to commence the construction in October. Furthermore our experts are closely working with the provincial government in training technical staff. The experience has shown that our internationalist mission has attracted the attention of some foreign secret services, primarily those of Britain and Japan. They may try to approach you under the disguise of Chinese, Uigurs or locally resident Russians.
Any such attempts must be promptly reported to our liaison officer who is already at the site. Your behaviour must not leave any room for you to be potentially blackmailed and hooked. Any correspondence with your relatives and friends is strictly prohibited. As far as they know you are working in Krasnoyarski district.”
He paused.
“What about your relatives abroad?” This was a typical closed question used by secret services.
“I don’t have any Comrade eh…”
“Call me Ivanov.”
“Comrade Ivanov, I don’t have any.”
“You are widowed, right? May I ask what happened to your wife?”
“She died in 1934. Tuberculosis.”
“I am sorry to hear that. Any further relatives?”
“My brother lives in Novosibirsk and I have a cousin in Leningrad.”
“Please write their names for me. Just in case we need to get in touch with them. I am sure everything will be all right but one never knows.”
The real purpose of the question was not to find out whom to notify in case of an accident but to have hostages in case of defection. Voronov understood that.
3
Monday was a sunny day and he was waiting at the airfield together with two other passengers. Both were in civilian clothes. One of them kept glancing at his watch very nervously every two minutes while the other one just stared at the wall.
Voronov heard a familiar voice singing. The song was from a recently released movie about the pilots which had quickly became very popular:
“We all are friends - migrating birds
What can attract us to the ground?
A wife perhaps? We haven’t found one
And no wife in the skies can be found
Familiar roar of the engine sounds
For the take-off it is never too late
Our hearts they belong to the clouds
And the girls? Well, the girls they can wait.”
“Oh, Nikolay. You are my passenger today!”
“Yes, an assignment on a short notice.”
“For me too. Today we will fly with PS 41, a civil modification of the SB-2 bis series. I have heard a really big bird is now under development but not yet put in operation. It will have four engines, can you imagine?! Should have a range of over 2500 km and be able to transport over 20 passengers.
“And what about the PS 41?”
“It has a range of 2300 km and the upper cruising altitude of 7800 meters.”
“Comrades,” he addressed Voronov and other two passengers, “ please give me your dispatch orders. Oh, I see all of you are going to Urumqi. Please be aware that we will reach an altitude of 6000 meters. The cabin has an oxygen supply but still some signs of altitude sickness cannot be ruled out. In case of severe headache or shortness of breath please let the crew know.”
The passenger who had been looking at his watch became pale.
“And now please board!” Novikov commanded.
The take-off was smooth. The plane took a sharp curve to the east and started to gain altitude. After approximately an hour Novikov announced through the board radio that they were flying over the city of Yining and were about to pass over the Borohoro mountain range. The views from the window were awesome. Some peaks were covered with snow.
“This one to your right is 5500 meters high,” said Novikov, “We are just 300 meters above it.” After around two hours he announced the approach to Urumqi.
“There are some clouds on our approach. Be prepared for turbulence.”
“Damned turbulence,” the pale passenger said suddenly,”I really hate it. We came from Semipalatinsk just yesterday. Turbulence for more than an hour! I thought we’d never survive it.”
The landing was a bit bumpy but otherwise uneventful. A military truck was already waiting on the tarmac. It took all three passengers to a building where their passports were examined. The two others were
led away to a small vehicle and Voronov back to the truck.
Two men in military uniform but without any apparent military ranks were silently sitting on a bench. Just outside the airport area, another one jumped into the rear cabin.
“Welcome to Urumqi Comrade Voronov. Hope you had a pleasant flight and are not too tired? My name is Selivanov.”
“Not really. Flying with Novikov is a real pleasure; I didn’t even notice the time passing.”
“That’s good that you are not tired. Unfortunately we cannot waste time spending a night here thus will immediately continue to the destination. We hope to cover about 300 kilometres today and will spend the night in the truck. We should arrive by tomorrow noon.
Xinjiang, 1937
1
Talking was impossible. First of all the road was quite bumpy and secondly the roar of the engine too loud. Voronov looked out from the rear opening at the streets of Urumqi. Generally he could not notice any striking difference as compared to Almaty or Tashkent. The proximity of China was clearly visible but otherwise it looked like a typical Middle Asian city. The expressions on peoples' faces were predominantly gloomy. On two or three crossroads he saw some soldiers. They were sloppily dressed and looked like armed brigands rather than an army.
After 20 minutes the truck reached the outskirts of the city and turned East. During the first hour the landscape was very impressive with Bogda Mountain massively dominating the surroundings. Then they turned to the North and it changed to nothing but red stone and sand. Very few trees and not even a small rivulet could be seen. During the next three or four hours they didn’t meet a soul on the road.
“If something goes wrong with the truck, we will be lost,” thought Voronov.
In the evening they arrived at a nice spot near a river with some poplars and grass which was a pleasant contrast to the desert landscape.
Selivanov asked the uniformed men to fetch some wood for the fire. The canned food was not delicious but after such a strenuous day anything was good enough. The uniformed men took some blankets and went to sleep under the truck.
Noticing the questioning expression on Voronov's face Selivanov said briskly “It is better like this. We will sleep in the truck with them underneath. In case of unexpected trouble we will stand a better chance.”
“Which kind of trouble can we expect?” asked Voronov
“Didn't they tell you in Almaty?”
“Well, they did tell me a lot but not that much about the current situation here.”
“Fine, then I will tell you. To be perfectly honest Xinjiang is definitely not a place you would choose for a honeymoon.”
2
The 20th century history of Xinjiang reads rather like a continuous nightmare, not that the century before was much better. In the middle of the 19th century there was even a brief period of independence from China. This did not bring much joy to the population however. During that period, the ruler of Xinjiang was Jakub Beg, an obscure personality who proclaimed himself an Emir of Kashgar. Under his rule Islamic law was ruthlessly enforced. This was something the rather moderate Uigurs were not used to but they had no choice. Following his death and the Qing governments' regaining of control there was a period of relative stability until the first two decades of the 20th century. Thereafter the turmoil of the revolution in China and in Russia hit Xinjiang badly. Despite the nominal Nationalist government holding power, the de facto rule in China was exercised by provincial warlords. None of them were angels but hardly anybody could outdo those of Xinjiang. The succession of governors looked like a dynasty of cut-throats.
The first governor appointed after the Xinhai Revolution was Yang ZengXin. Being a monarchist he had to deal with some republican adversaries. On the New Year day 1916 the republicans were invited to a banquet in Urumqi and summarily killed. Ironically he himself was assassinated at a banquet thrown in his honour by one of his associates Fan YaoNan in 1928. Despite eliminating Yang, Fan’s coup was not successful. Jin ShuRen eliminated Fan in his turn and was appointed the governor of the province. Jin's rule was notorious for corruption and the suppression of Uigurs and other Muslims of the province. This couldn’t last for long. By 1933 Jin was overthrown following the revoltand his troops defeated by the Dungan Muslim general Ma ZhongYing in ccoperation White-Russian troops.
The next governor to grab power was Sheng Shicai. He had already come to the conclusion that being squeezed between the dragon and the bear he had to look for a a powerful protector. With the Kuomintang government being weak and busy trying to gain control in its own core areas, he had opted for the Soviet Union. Sheng thought that he could manage to rule Xinjiang independently whilst at the same time receiving handsome financial and military support from the Soviets. He was terribly mistaken. Since the Great Game with Britain, Tsarist Russia had a wide spread espionage ring in Eastern Turkestan. The staff of Russian consulates in Kashgar and Urumqi were highly professional and remained so after the Russian revolution. They had received further support from newly arrived “technical advisers” from Tashkent and other professional intelligence officers.
One of the most spectacular personalities was Garegin Apresov, the Soviet Consul in Urumqi since 1935. Previously Apresov had been the Soviet Consul in Persian Resht, and then Meshed being at the same time a OGPU resident. He was fluent in Persian and some Turkic dialects and managed to successfully intercept the correspondence of the British Consulate with Tehran and Delhi. Thereafter he had occupied some important positions in Peoples' Foreign Commissariat before being transferred to Urumqi.
Another strong OGPU network operated under the cover of the Soviet Consulate in Quqa. Ivan Miroshin, the chief resident there, had completed several covet operations.
Sheng became a puppet ruler completely controlled by his Soviet advisers. The only area where he could keep his independence was his ruthless style. Arbitrary arrests and torture were usual. Sheng's thugs did not hesitate to show the Soviets their repertoire which included instruments the advisers knew only from the history books. They were appalled. In OGPU, and later in NKVD, confessions were extracted “just” by psychological pressure, threatening to arrest loved ones, sleep deprivation and conventional beating up of the prisoners.
The population was encouraged to denounce everybody and simple blackmail was enough to warrant arrest. The “justice-system” was uncomplicated with detainees being tried by kangaroo courts or sometimes just shot without trial, often in public places. These executions were justified by “revolutionary necessity”. Sheng’s diligent assistants in uncovering the alleged plots and conspiracies were the security chief Li YinQi and the chief of police Li PuLin. Interestingly, when searching for hidden enemies they had a clear focus on wealthy citizens. The arrests were accompanied by “requisitions of property for the benefit of the people.” Needless to say the common people have never seen anything of the confiscated money or valuables.
The Kuomintang government was well aware about the situation in Xinjiang but powerless to do anything. Facing the intensifying Japanese military aggression and Communist insurgency they did not have resources to deal with Xinjiang affairs. Furthermore they badly needed Soviet arms supplies and technical assistance. The highway to Lanzhou was one of these strategic projects aimed at improving the arms supplies. Therefore they had no choice but to temporarily leave the province to be de facto administrated by the Soviets.
Selivanov described the situation accurately but he avoided to criticizing the Soviet ally Sheng. He pointed out that the revolutionary course followed by the provincial government had faced an armed opposition from some reactionary Muslim leaders supported by foreign intelligence. In Dzungaria where they were heading it was less of a problem but still it was important to watch out.
Voronov realized that he hadn’t asked Selivanov about his position.
“Oh, a very important one,” said Selivanov, “Logistics and supplies coordinator.
A tough position though. You will see, in the meantime
we do have 177 people over there, still living in tents. And they all must be fed. So, you can imagine.”
“And what kind of minerals are supposed to be processed there?”
“The geological research group is not very talkative about their job, you know.”
Voronov understood that it didn’t make sense to dig for details.
Early next morning they continued the journey. By 11:00 the desert landscape changed to greenery and the air seemed cooler. They reached the town of Altay.
“We have an office here,” said Selivanov” “Let me introduce you to our Chinese colleagues. I will have to leave you with them for a couple of hours since we need to get some food.”
The office was located in a two storey building. In the second floor they were greeted by two Chinese. Voronov was surprised to hear Selivanov talking with them in English and, most strikingly, addressing them as Mister Wang and Mister Liu. In the Soviet Union this art of addressing people had disappeared since the mid-Twenties.
Voronov’s English was rather basic but he thought that since he had two hours to spend with them, he should use the opportunity to ask as much as possible.
The treasure of Galdan Page 5