The Last Sentry by Gregory D Young

Author:Gregory D Young [Young, Gregory D.; Braden, Nate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781612515328
Publisher: Naval Institute Press

That leadership included the seven members of the investigating committee, which was set up within hours of the mutiny’s end. Minister of Defense Grechko signed Order No. 00105 on 9 November to establish this committee, chaired by Admiral Gorshkov. Its members were General Yepishev, Vice Admiral Navoitsev, Lieutenant General Romanov, Rear Admiral Sabaneyev, Major General Lyubanski, and Rear Admiral Guliayev.

Unlike his American counterpart, the secretary of defense, the Soviet defense minister was an active duty army officer. The committee members were all under Grechko in the chain of command, which even under the best of circumstances would call into question their objectivity. In any case, an investigation tends to take on a life of its own, its course becoming more complicated as more information relevant to it is discovered.

Such was not the case with the Storozhevoy inquiry, however, because the committee had already determined well in advance how it would proceed and how it would end. It lasted only eight days, and its objectivity was, to say the least, highly questionable. The final report that was forwarded to Grechko and Brezhnev (see Appendix F) at one point referred to Sablin as a “malicious anti-Soviet degenerate.” It also explained that he was “able to persuade the psychologically unstable element of the crew that he only wanted to publicly criticize the deficiencies in the political, social and economic development of our country.” The report admitted that rumors of Sablin’s plans to defect with Storozhevoy “proved groundless.” It concluded with this paragraph: “The extraordinary nature of this incident demands that the guilty parties be held criminally responsible. A party meeting was held at which those most responsible, among them Sablin, were expelled from the Communist Party. The ship’s crew was disbanded, with a new one transferred to it. The BPK Storozhevoy is now in port, its weapons and operating systems in working order. The fleet will take all measures to keep information of this incident confidential.”4

When Winston Churchill called Russia “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma,” he might as well have been referring to this case. For public consumption, the Ministry of Defense would categorically deny any mutiny had taken place. For the party faithful, the story would be that Sablin had indeed mutinied and was trying to defect to Sweden. Only the very top leadership would know the real reason behind the revolt.

The party faithful were due to meet at the Twenty-fifth Party Congress in Moscow the following February. They were scheduled to receive a report on the mutiny, but the KGB, which was conducting its own investigation (see Appendix H), pressured the navy to reduce the number of crewmembers charged with treason. At the time, fourteen of them were supposed to go to trial. The KGB thought that number was too high and might alarm the congress delegates into believing that there was a serious discipline and morale problem in the fleet. As a result, criminal charges were only brought against Sablin and Shein. They would go on trial for their lives.

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