As we have seen, during the night of September 24-25, 1951, Filistovich was parachuted into Belarus and landed near the village of Panyatichi (see map). He buried his parachute, hid most of the other materials, and spent the night in the forest. On the third day, he went to the village. He met his uncle, told him about his mission, and slept in the barn. A week later, they went to retrieve the parachute and other materials.
Filistovich wanted to meet some local anti-Soviet partisans, but they did not know or trust him. He decided to go to Vilnius, Lithuania, and did not approach the partisans until Spring 1952. He went to Vilnius as a first step to go to Grodno and eventually cross the border as part of the exfiltration plan.
He stayed with another uncle in Vilnius for a while. Both of them went to Grodno to meet someone who could guide him across the border. He stayed there for two days and gave up the idea of crossing the border due to increased security. He returned to Vilnius and again stayed with his uncle. Using the blood/water method, he wrote his first secret-writing letter from Vilnius. He used the Paris address he had. Filistovich's twelve-year-old nephew wrote the clear text, but Soviet authorities intercepted the letter.
Filistovich would write five more letters, the last one on July 15, 1952. But all of them were intercepted and not sent to Paris. CIA never had contact with him. He signed all letters with "Long Live Belarus!"
On or about November 20, 1951, he left his uncle and went to an aunt in Perslov. He stayed with her for about one-and-a-half months. There he met his sister, who had come to visit the family. He gave her 700 rubles before they said goodbye.
In January 1952, he again went to Lithuania before returning to his uncle in Panyatichi in March.
On May 3, 1952, he finally met up with a local partisan group and successfully convinced them he was not a Communist agent provocateur. There were only four partisans. He gave them some rubles, one of his two pistols, and two Belorussian newspapers published abroad. In July, he finally joined the partisans as an accepted member.
The partisans decided to publish appeals, newspapers, etc. but they had no printing equipment. So on June 25, 1952, they broke into a local printing house and stole some equipment, ink, and newsprint. They then burned down the printing house.
Eventually, Filistovich ran out of money. At the end of August 1952, the partisans robbed two financial agents for five thousand rubles and one thousand rubles, respectively.
Again on the move, Filistovich went to the village of Yamolichi. He found a house that he had visited before. He was sick, and the house owner arranged to get him medicine. He also notified the local security authorities about Filistovich. Over dinner on September 9, 1952, Filistovich was given a cup of tea, but It turned out not to be with medicine but sleeping powder. He fell asleep. About thirteen MGB officers had surrounded the house in anticipation of using force to capture him. He was then transported to prison.
Filistovich was interrogated in Minsk almost daily from September 10, 1952, until January 14. 1953.
The trial against him began on October 17, 1953, and lasted three weeks. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on November 4-5, 1953. He appealed the decision, but the verdict was not overturned. The exact date of his execution is unknown—some believe it took place on November 22, 1953; others believe he was executed on March 19, 1954.
In March 1958, a CIA review of the Byelorussian National Council included these comments:
The somewhat over-burdened Filistovich was presumed to have sent one S/W communication, and then all trace of him was lost. He was declared dead after a two-year waiting period.
In May 1957, a series of articles entitled Along the Wolve's Path" appeared in the KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA. The narrative revealed, for the first time, that the Soviets had apprehended Filistovich The articles, written with the usual anti-capitalistic tirades, employing vehement references to Fascist attempts to disrupt the unparalleled harmony of the Soviet Union through subterfuge, ended with the thought that the eternal vigilance of the Soviet citizen in his quest for the Socialist State will prevail.
It was almost impossible to determine the time Filistovich was apprehended. The tenor of the articles was more fiction than fact. The extensive use of poetic bromides as copy fillers indicated that the Soviets were unsure about the details of the Filistovich dispatch, how long he had operated, or whom he had contacted. To cloud the authenticity of any intelligence the Agency may have received from Filistovich. The articles created the image that Filistovich had been apprehended almost immediately after dispatch.
