Soviet Advisors in the Polish Ministry of Public Security (Ministry of Internal Affairs) between 1944-90
Soviet Advisors in the Polish Ministry of Public Security (Ministry of Internal Affairs) between 1944-90

Summary/Abstract: With the Red Army advance, Poland became fully dependent on Moscow. As early as July 1944 two first Soviet advisors were present at the building the Polish Communist security service. The status of the advisors assigned to the Ministry of Public Security was informal at that time. The official advisory apparatus in Poland was created in the spring of 1945. Its first chief was Ivan Sierov. From the moment advisors arrived in Poland, they trained, instructed, developed guidelines, instructions and orders, and in fact controlled many local security offices. They taught the secrets of Soviet operative activities and protected the interests of the NKGB-MGB-KGB and controlled the fight against the Polish pro-independence underground. The biggest success was the capture of sixteen leaders of the Polish Underground State and the subsequent transportation of the prisoners to Moscow to undergo a show trial. Moreover, they supervised the falsification of the referendum in June 1946 and the parliamentary elections in January 1947. They were especially interested in the Catholic Church, but also in the influence of emigration centres on the national minorities. It is worth mentioning that from 1944 to 1955 Soviet advisors had operated in the Republic of Poland (from 1952 the Polish People’s Republic) without any agreements between the USSR and Poland. In 1956 in the course of the changes, the Soviet advisors were recalled from all districts and the KGB’s advisory apparatus was liquidated. The removal of the advisors did not mean the discontinuation of cooperation between the two special services. At the beginning of 1957 a draft agreement on the cooperation between the security services of the USSR and the PPR was prepared. From that moment on, the KGB operatives in Warsaw were supposed to be used for liaison purposes with the MIA. The KGB Representation in Warsaw operated to 1990. The advisory apparatus in Poland effectively controlled the operations of the PPR’s security services. Advisors influenced the most important decisions regarding the MPS and later the MIA. They were a very important factor in the process of Sovietisation of Poland.

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