Fans of the conspiracy theory believe that since the early Middle Ages, all world history has been written under the dictation of various secret societies of the world.
Russia in this list is not an exception, but rather a trendsetter. Historical chronicles of the 17th-19th centuries are simply full of stories about Masonic lodges and orders of Russia, whose active members were major statesmen of the country. Now Russia, as before the 1917 revolution, is simply replete with secret societies of the most varied kinds.
And what was the case under Soviet rule remains a mystery behind seven seals. The famous historian Andrei SINELNIKOV agreed to open this page of Russian history.
- Andrey, were there freemasons in the USSR?
- Certainly. I will say more: in the first years of Soviet power, there were a lot of various secret societies in the country, and not all of them rejected the new power, some were its active allies. But later the Soviets felt that one party was enough for them, and most of the other secret societies were liquidated.
Rosicrucians in Soviet Russia. I. F. Smolin, B. L. Pletner, B. M. Zubakin, P. A. Arensky, S. M. Eisenstein (Minsk, 1920)
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- After all, the topic was closed, and many cases that were started on members of secret societies are still secret. Nevertheless, in my book "Interview with a Freemason" I give a similar story - the Templar case No. 103514. Now the case with such a number is not even in the archives, but once it included nine medium-thick folders stored in the archives of the former KGB.
Imagine, even the formalization of this case took place only in 1936, five years after its completion. Although, as the notes on the folders testify, they were looked through both in 1937-1938, and in the fateful 1941. This topic was so important to the authorities that it was put on a special "thematic record", assigning No. 499556.
What were the new Templars accused of?
- In the conviction, the assistant to the head of the 1st branch of the OGPU Secret Department, E. R. Kirre, claimed that the arrested were members of the anarcho-mystical counter-revolutionary organization "Order of Light". The organization was, according to the prosecutor, a branch of the ancient knightly order of the Templars headed by the commander. The members of the order called themselves knights, were organized into circles, detachments, studied mystical literature and, of course, prepared an anti-Soviet coup. By the way, they argued that Soviet power was nothing more than Ildabaoth - one of the incarnations of Satan.
I wonder how the heirs of the knights by reading books could overthrow the Soviet regime?
- No way! Nevertheless, prosecutors argued that the members of the Order of Light actively influenced the work of the young state with the aim of sabotage and sabotage: on the collective farm front, among Soviet institutions and enterprises. They called for mystical anarchism through the retelling of members of the circle of evangelical legends, which were forbidden to record under threat of murder.
In parallel with the "Order of Light" there was the "Temple of Arts" order, created to introduce its own ideology into the artistic and creative circles of the USSR, as opposed to the communist one. During the investigation, the work of the "Order of the Spirit", "the Order of the Templars and Rosicrucians" was uncovered. Interestingly, the members of the orders arrested in 1930 were sentenced by the OGPU collegium, which consisted of such legendary characters as Messing, Bokiy and Kaul.
All secret societies are usually well undercover. How did the authorities find out about the Soviet Masons?
- The fact is that they did not hide much. Among the intelligentsia in the early years of Soviet power, there were many adherents of various secret societies. This phenomenon was so popular in the country that it even got on the pages of satirical novels, for example, "12 chairs" by Ilf and Petrov. The scene of the creation of the "Union of Sword and Plowshare" describes a classic meeting of the Masonic order of those years.
Today, the activities of eight organizations of the Masonic type that existed in the 1920s in Soviet Russia are well covered: "The Martinist Order", "The Order of the Holy Grail", "Russian Autonomous Freemasonry", "Sunday", "The Brotherhood of True Service", "The Order of Light", "Order of the Spirit", "Order of the Templars and Rosicrucians." The largest of them was the occult society "Martinist Order", which was headed by Baron Grigory Ottonovich Mebes, who, incidentally, later became the prototype of Baron Meigel in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita.
Teaching mathematics in the Corps of Pages and in the Nikolaev Cadet Corps, Mebes personally lectured on various occult topics, and in the order he led. It is interesting to note that his wife, Maria Nesterova, was also one of the leaders of the order, the Russian Martinists calmly survived the revolution, and the order continued to function under the new authorities. It consisted mainly of ordinary people: students, accountants, lawyers, housewives …
How were they revealed?
- It's all the fault of a banal betrayal. In 1918, a certain Boris Astromov (real name Kirichenko), who was personally acquainted with the famous Italian freemason and criminologist Cesare Lombroso, met Grigory Mebes. Just a year later, Mebes unexpectedly appointed Astromov the General Secretary of the Order. Many then believed that the reason for such a hasty appointment was Astromov's amazing ability to hypnotically subordinate the interlocutor to his will.
In this regard, ordinary members of society accepted the strange appointment reluctantly, but by 1921 the family duo of the leaders of the order also became disillusioned with Astromov, and a break occurred. However, Astromov was not upset and immediately created his own box "Three northern stars".
Under its roof, he tried to unite other small lodges of Leningrad: "The Flaming Lion", "Dolphin", "Golden Ear". When his venture was crowned with success, he finally believed in his Masonic star and opened an organization "Autonomous Russian Freemasonry" that was completely independent of the Martinists.
The classic power struggle. What is the betrayal here?
- As it turned out - in everything! In May 1925, Astromov voluntarily came to the OGPU in Moscow and proposed: he would tell the Chekists all the secrets, passwords and turnouts of a number of Masonic structures of Soviet Russia, and in return, let him just be allowed to leave the USSR for permanent residence abroad. It is not surprising that the Chekists were interested in such a proposal, and, having given the necessary promises, they sent Astromov back to Leningrad.
In order for the Lubyanka employees to believe him unconditionally, the new Cheka informant created a whole analytical note in which he spoke in detail about the Masonic movement in Soviet Russia, repeatedly noting that the country's government completely in vain dismisses the Masons: Masons are not enemies, on the contrary, according to Astromov, can be of great benefit to the Soviet regime.
As an argument, the informant cited the main ideological tasks of both societies. In particular, he stressed that communism preaches the brotherhood of oppressed peoples and self-determination, but the Freemasons also call for a similar brotherhood, calling themselves citizens of the world. Both ideological structures also opposed private property.
Did these arguments have the desired effect, did they listen to Astromov's words?
- Of course not, the communists had no allies, only fellow travelers, besides, the Chekists were smart people and understood perfectly well that Astromov's main goal was not Soviet-Masonic friendship, but only to obtain official support from the "Autonomous Russian Freemasonry" headed by him and his departure abroad. When the people from the Lubyanka realized that their agent did not enjoy great authority with the Masons, moreover, he was considered an adventurer, they completely lost interest in him. On this, in general, Astromov's career ended.
The brothers in the bed turned away from him, having learned that their leader was a Cheka informant. On November 16, 1925, the box headed by Astromov was closed, and he himself was arrested on January 30, 1926.
And this was followed by interrogations of almost all Leningrad Masons, first of all - Mebes and Nesterova. To their credit, it must be said that they stood firm and did not betray any of their adherents, hiding behind pseudonyms.
However, this did not help, and soon practically all members of the "Russian Autonomous Freemasonry" and the "Martinist Order" were in the dock. During searches, the Chekists found books, Masonic badges, swords, swords, cloaks, and even a real Masonic altar.
Why weren't they arrested right away like Astromov?
“Don't forget that this was the mid-1920s, not the late 1930s. The morals were still quite mild then, and they did not just get arrested. Nevertheless, on May 20, 1926, official charges were brought against Astromov, Mebes and other freemasons of the northern capital. You will be surprised, but, in bringing charges, the authorities were seriously afraid of riots, so the case was considered not by a court, but by a Special Meeting of the Presidium of the OGPU Board. It was June 18, 1926.
They were shot?
- You will not believe! Astromov received the longest term - only three years in the camps, and the rest of the Freemasons were only exiled from Leningrad inland for the same three years. In the 1930-1940s, they would have been shot without conditional.
Interviewed by Dmitry SOKOLOV