A Belarusian Trace in the Murder of Voikov in Historiography and New Sources

Abstract

The article examines how the assassination of the Soviet ambassador to Poland P. Voikov in Warsaw on June 7, 1927 is reflected in the Belarusian historiography in the context of the Belarusian national liberation movement as part of interwar Poland. Currently, the widely known information about Voikov’s involvement in the murder of the royal family and the availability of unfavourable information about his character and diplomatic career have overshadowed the image of Voikov an ardent revolutionary and Soviet diplomat. Modern Belarusian authors view Voikov negatively as a person involved in the murder of the royal family, and as an unlucky, unscrupulous and unsuccessful diplomat. As far as the circumstances of Voikov’s assassination are concerned, Belarusian authors address the ethnicity and ideological and political beliefs of his killer, B. Koverda; they disagree with his interpretation as a Russian emigrant, a member of the White Guard and monarchist. There are opposing views regarding his commitment to the Belarusian revolutionary liberation ideals. The article presents the main motives of the murder of Voikov, including the version about the involvement of the Soviet special services in his elimination, which is confirmed by the archival documents identified by the author. Archival documents reveal the existence of contradictions within the community of representatives of Soviet political, diplomatic, and intelligence structures in Poland, which could also have led to the physical elimination of P. Voikov.