Great Purge, trial, torture and rehabilitation Konstantin Rokossovsky

kresty prison, rokossovsky imprisoned in leningrad, today saint petersburg

alexander solzhenitsyn reports rokossovksy endured 2 mock shooting ceremonies taken out @ night firing squad, returned prison. living relatives svetlana pavlovna, wife of marshal kazakov, confirmed sustained injuries including broken , denailed fingers , cracked ribs on top of enduring mock shooting ceremonies. rokossovsky never discussed trial , imprisonment family, telling daughter ariadne wore revolver because not surrender alive if came arrest him again.

in famous secret speech of 1956, nikita khrushchev, when speaking on subject of purges, mentioned rokossovsky specifically, saying, suffice of them managed survive, despite severe tortures subjected in prisons, have first war days shown real patriots , heroically fought glory of fatherland .

after trial rokossovsky sent kresty prison in leningrad, remained until released without explanation on march 22, 1940.

semyon timoshenko, had been named people s commissar defence of soviet union after debacle of winter war , in urgent need of experienced officers fill command posts rapidly expanding soviet army, returned rokossovsky command of 5th cavalry corps @ rank of colonel. subsequently, 5th cavalry corps participated in occupation of bessarabia , promoted rank of major general , given command of 9th mechanized corps, part of m.i. potapov s 5th army under mikhail kirponos commander of kiev military region, later renamed southwestern front @ outbreak of hostilities germany.