The Presidential Library released one of the final encrypted messages from Soviet intelligence, hinting at a looming strike by Nazi Germany. The cipher, transmitted from Leningrad to Moscow, underscores how close high-level intelligence circles were to the moment of conflict as plans for a large-scale attack crystallized.
The encrypted record suggests that Soviet intelligence chiefs were warned at the very end of June 21, 1941 that German forces intended a rapid advance against the Soviet Union. The transmission traveled from Leningrad to Moscow, signaling an urgent and centralized effort to communicate critical strategic information across the Union.
In a telegram to the head of the NKGB, Vsevolod Merkulov, Pavel Kuprin, who oversaw the regional security apparatus in Leningrad, noted that all specialists from the German SFG company had been recalled from the city. The message also conveyed that armed clashes were anticipated in the ensuing days, painting a picture of imminent confrontation and heightened alert within the security establishment.
The document records a morning telegram from June 20 to the German consulate, relayed by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the SFG unit. It proposed dispatching eight German experts back to Germany by air, moving ahead of the border crossing and aiming for completion by June 22. The implication was that delay would increase the risk of upheaval or surprise, highlighting the narrow window the parties believed they faced to act on strategic plans.
Parallel to these archival notes, a public statement connected to the events reflected a long-standing narrative about the continuity of service and tradition among veterans who served during the Great Patriotic War. The adherence to those historical paths is often cited by analysts when describing the morale and expectations that framed the actions of security and military leaders during the early days of the war.
In later reports, also noted in the archival material, there are references to notable incidents involving information security and political messaging connected to the period. One such reference concerns a figure in Yaroslavl who became associated with the sensational theft of a speech by a prominent German leader at a railway station. The archival text situates this episode within a broader tapestry of wartime information control, propaganda, and the diverse ways in which messages and symbols circulated during the crisis years. [Citation: Presidential Library archives]