Yanka (Ivan Andreevich) Filistovich, a Cold War Belorussian tragic Hero, Part Two

Yanka (Ivan Andreevich) Filistovich was born on January 14, 1926, in the village of Panyatichi, Maladzyechna volost, Vileyka district, Vilna voivodeship (now Vileyka district, Minsk region), Byelorussia. In his own words:

 

In 1943, while living in the German-occupied territory of Western Byelorussia, I was mobilized to serve in a German military formation in the so-called thirteenth battalion, which I did until the retreat of the Germans, i.e., before July 1944, as an ordinary soldier. 

 

Together with the battalion, I retreated to the territory of Poland and then was soon transferred to Italy, where, as part of the battalion, I took part in battles against the Anglo-American troops in the Forli region. 

 

As part of one company of the battalion mentioned above, from Italy, on January 6-7, 1945, I arrived in Czechoslovakia, where I did not participate in hostilities. Soon I, among three colleagues, was arrested by the Germans and imprisoned in the city of Pardubice - Czechoslovakia. I was released from prison on May 8, 1945, by Soviet troops. Soon I moved to the territory of Poland and got a job there as a secretary of the commune in the town of Staraya Kamenica. 

 

By September 1945, I returned to Czechoslovakia, and soon, around October of the same year, I moved to the American zone of occupation of Germany. I first ended up in a Polish refugee camp near the city of Nuremberg. Here I managed to enter a school that allowed me to get a matriculation certificate, but soon I was unlucky. The camp began to be disbanded, the Poles were oppressed, and I was forced to leave for Paris. I entered a Polish theological seminary in Paris, which I soon had to leave to because of the difference in religion and national origin. Continuing my stay in Paris by 1947, I completed a six-month course for electricians and a course for tool-makers.

 

In 1947, I managed to enter Sorbonne University at the Faculty of History while working in the library, earning a living. In 1948, on the initiative of several students from among Byelorussians, including myself, a Byelorussian youth nationalist organization was created in Paris under the name “Byelorussian Independent Youth Organization” (“BNAM”), whose chairman I was elected. At the same time, I was appointed editor of the Youth magazine, the organ of the above organization. Living in Paris since 1945, I had the opportunity to meet with prominent Byelorussian nationalists. 

 

In 1951, due to some deterioration in my financial situation, I left for Belgium to continue my studies. I was then recruited to work for American intelligence.

 

He was taken from Belgium to Munich in the middle of August 1951. He was then trained in for approximately one month.

 

Filistovich lived approximately 10 miles from the training area outside Munich and received as much of his training away from the main training area as possible. The only exception to this was the parachute and jump training. For this, he was taken blindfolded to and from the training area, and while there, he was exposed to a minimum of Americans. He was told to refrain from fraternizing with local residents, not to use local restaurants and cafes, and in general from becoming known in any way to those in the surrounding area of his residence. His recreation took place on a designated day each week in an area removed from both the Munich training area and his home. During this recreation period, he was always be accompanied by the CIA case officer. When on field training, Filistovich wore US Army clothing and was always accompanied by the CIA ease officer, who was also wearing US Army clothes. 

Filistovich’s Tasks as seen by CIA: 

• Filistovich will endeavor to establish contact with Byelorussian partisan groups in the area mentioned above and with their aid, to establish support bases for us for future operations. 
• Besides knowing the area in which he is to operate as well as knowing the people and the alleged partisans there, Filistovich will be provided with leads as well as photographs and documents from the BNR with which to establish his bonafide with those he is to contact. 
• In the event Filistovich is unable to make contact with the Byelorussian partisans, he will attempt to set up his own support base, relying in this case on aid from relatives) friends, and those he may be able to bribe with token gifts such as wristwatches, money, etc. 
• Filistovich feels certain that he will be able to contact the partisans, but in the event, he fails, feels certain that he can fulfill his mission of setting up a support base and remaining in the area indefinitely. (The area in which he will operate is a sparsely settled wood and swamp country, ideal for concealment over a long period of time.) In the event, 
• Filistovich succeeds in tither contacting the partisans and/or independently establishing himself safely in the area, he will make periodic visits to larger cities such as Minsk, Ablodechno, Vilna, and Vileka, to gather any intelligence information requested by us, or to merely report on the general conditions, etc. For this task, Filistovich will travel at night and remain in any large city for only a short time. If possible will also make photographs of military and industrial installations as well as of any other interesting intelligence objects. 
• A sub-task, which will also be carried out by Filistovich, is that of gathering document intelligence. Here, he will gather and report on existing or current passports, dates of issue, printing dates, etc. 
• Filistovich will also pave the way for his later return in either the later part of September 1951 or the ear]y part of October 1951. This will consist of organizing a reception committee, ground to air signals, etc., and possibly training one of his friends in secret writing to communicate with us during his absence. 

 

He was not trained in radio or morse code communication.

For the operation, he received a German machine gun, a Belgian four-shot pistol of 6.35 mm caliber, forty thousand in Soviet rubles, ten thousand Polish zlotys, more than one thousand German marks of the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, one thousand American dollars, four wristwatches, and a small alarm clock. He was also supplied with a large number of topographic maps of the western regions of Byelorussia, a Leica camera, binoculars, compass, and a pocket flashlight. 

 

In addition, he received

 

• Secret writing instruction and equipment.
• Radio Communication apparatus for burial and later retrieval
• Documents showing him to be a member of the Soviet Army on leave in Byelorussia from East Germany. If it is possible for a Red Army officer to be in civilian clothes when on leave, then a Soviet Army uniform will not be needed. 
• As an alternative, documents showing him to be a resident of a town or city of his choice. 
• Dog repellant chemicals to ward off dogs reportedly used by the Soviet police in tracking down partisans and border crossers. 
• Money to be used in Byelorussia for living expenses and bribery purposes and to aid him in exfiltrating across either Poland or Czechoslovakia into Germany. 
• Current situation report on Byelorussia including travel controls, border controls, restricted or forbidden zones, personalities, prices, etc. 

 

On the night of September 24-25,  1951 Ivan (Yanka) Filistovich was parachuted into Byelorussia from an unmarked plane flown by Polish pilots. The plan was to have Filistovich remain in Byelorussia for one month or less, exfiltrate via Poland to Germany, and then be dispatched again.