Sinegubov, Nikolai Ivanovich

Born in the family of a blacksmith at the Debaltseve station of the Catherine Railway in the Bakhmut district of the Ekaterinoslav province (now the city of Debaltseve, Donetsk region of Ukraine ).

In 1910, he graduated from the Debaltsevo 2-class railway school and at the age of 16 began working as a painter’s apprentice. Then Nikolai changed a number of professions (hammer thief, timekeeper, senior janitor of the track service section) until in 1913 he became an assistant in the construction of buildings at the Debaltseve station, and starting next year , he became the ten foreman for the construction of buildings at the Grishino station of the Catherine Railway.

In May 1915, he was drafted into the Russian Imperial Army , thus becoming a participant in the First World War . Initially, Sinegubov served in the 4th reserve combat engineer battalion in Samara , in 1916, with the rank of senior non-commissioned officer, he became a subversive instructor in the 15th special regiment of the 3rd special division on the Northern Front . In January 1918, due to the collapse of the front, Sinegubov left the unit and returned to his homeland, where from March of that year he worked as a clerk at first at Debaltseve station, and from September at Svatovo station of the North-Donetsk railway . In December 1919, Nikolai Ivanovich became commissar of the track service section and secretary of the revolutionary committee of the station.

In July 1920, Nikolai Sinegubov, as a front-line soldier and son of workers of the proletariat, was sent to work in the Cheka , where he first worked as a secretary in the regional transport Cheka station of Popasnaya station of the North-Donetsk Railway, and then as an assistant chief of the secret unit. In March 1922, he was already an inspector and head of the organizational unit of the DTU GPU in Kharkov , from March 1923, he was the head of the department of the DTU GPU of the Slavyansk station , and from April 1924, the station of Krasny Liman of the North-Donetsk Railway. On March 5, 1926, he becomes the senior authorized and senior inspector of the Southern District Technical Department of the OGPU , and from June 17 of the following year he becomes the assistant chief there. In the same year, in 1927, Sinegubov was awarded with registered military weapons, and on April 10, 1928, the head of the DTO of the OGPU of the Catherine Railway received the post. In 1930 he was awarded the “ Honorary Chekist ” badge. Further, Nikolai Ivanovich successively held the following positions in the NKVD:

• from May 17, 1931 - Deputy Head of the Technical Department of the OGPU of the Southern Railways ;
• from October 6 of the same year - the head of the DTO OGPU of the Transbaikal Railway (until December 13, 1932 );
• from May 1, 1933 - assistant to the chief of the railway part of the OGPU;
• from October 1 of the same year - Senior Inspector of the OGPU;
• since July 10, 1934 - deputy head of the 4th branch of the TO GUGB NKVD of the USSR;
• Since April 27, 1935 - Head of the 3rd Division of the Main Directorate of the State Security Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR, on December 14 of the same year receives the rank of captain of state security;
• since 1937 - assistant to the chief of the 6th department of the GUGB of the NKVD of the USSR;
• since March 1938 - assistant to the head of the 1st department of the 3rd (transport) department of the NKVD of the USSR;
• from June 16 of the same year - deputy head of the 1st department of the 3rd (transport) department of the NKVD of the USSR;
• from October of the same year - Deputy Head of the 1st Division of the Main Transport Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR;
• from August 5, 1939 - the head of the investigative unit - deputy chief of the State Customs Department of the NKVD of the USSR, on September 4 of the same year received the rank of major of state security, and from March 14, 1940 - the title of senior major of state security;
• since November 5, 1940 - Head of the 1st Division - Deputy Head of the Main Transport Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR;
• from March 1, 1941 - head of the Railway Police Department — deputy head of the Main Directorate of Police of the NKVD of the USSR;
• from July 31 of the same year - head of the Transport Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR;

In April 1939, Nikolai Ivanovich Sinegubov took part in the arrest of the former USSR People’s Commissar for Internal Affairs Alexander Uspensky (arrested April 15 in Miass ), who was on an all-Union wanted list, and in 1940, in an operation to destroy Polish citizens in Katyn , for which he was awarded a nominal weapons

At the beginning of 1942, Sinegubov began working part-time at the NKPS. By that time, a critical situation had developed in Soviet rail transport, since now the roads had to carry out a huge volume of military traffic. To monitor traffic safety in such conditions, a Transport Committee is formed under the GKO. On March 25, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks approved Nikolai Sinegubov as deputy People's Commissar for Railways of the USSR. Now Nikolai Ivanovich was responsible for the work of such departments and offices as:

• Central Management Way
• apparatus of the chief auditor for traffic safety
• Central Office of Communications
• Central Passenger Administration
• Subway
• Military department
• Security department
• Administrative department

In June of that year, he was appointed authorized by the USSR State Defense Committee for the railway support of the Battle of Stalingrad . Sinegubov was in charge of accelerating the construction of the Volga Rokada and the development of the Urbakh - Astrakhan line , and was also directly responsible for the delivery of tanks, artillery and troops for Operation Uranus to encircle and defeat the German army near Stalingrad . In such circumstances, combining work in two people's commissariats was extremely difficult, therefore in September (according to other sources - October) 1942 Sinegubov was relieved of his post as head of the Transport Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR and transferred to the current reserve with the rank of Senior Major of State Security, and on August 16, 1943 , in connection with the abolition of the title of Senior Major of State Security, assign the title Commissioner of State Security .

Sinegubov was also authorized by the GKO for the Krasnovodsk port and was responsible for the delivery of bulk cargo through Astrakhan and the Caspian Sea to Guryev and Krasnovodsk. In October 1943, he was already authorized by the State Defense Committee for the improvement of military transportation on the South Donetsk Railway . On November 5 of the same year, he was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor “for special merits in providing transportation for the front and the national economy and outstanding achievements in restoring the railway industry in difficult wartime conditions,” and on November 21 he was awarded the “ Honorary Railwayman ” badge. Also in November (according to other sources - May 3, 1944 ) he was awarded a special rank - Vice-General Director of Railways of the 2nd rank. In 1944-1945, Sinegubov was responsible for the transport of troops and military cargo to supply operations for the final liberation of Soviet territory from the invaders and the assault of Berlin , and from July 1945, the T-bills Commissioner for the loading, transportation and unloading of captured equipment.

After the end of World War II, Nikolai Ivanovich Sinegubov continued to work in the Ministry of Railways and since July 1948 he became deputy minister for railway facilities and chief auditor for traffic safety. On May 25, 1949, he received the title of Vice-General Director of Railways of the 1st rank. On June 25, 1951, Sinegubov was dismissed from his post as deputy minister, but at the same time he remains the chief auditor for traffic safety, and also becomes a member of the board of the Ministry of Railways of the USSR. In April 1953 he was appointed the head of the Department of Protective Forest Plantations of the Main Directorate of the Railway and Structures of the Ministry of Railways of the USSR. In connection with the transition to an old-age pension, on May 7, 1956 he was relieved of his post.

At the time of retirement, Nikolai Ivanovich Sinegubov had the following awards:

• 3 orders of Lenin (including November 24, 1942 "for the transportation of defense cargo" and November 5, 1943)
• Order of the Red Banner ( January 19, 1940, "for the length of service")
• Order of Kutuzov 1st degree ( July 29, 1945 "for transportation during the Patriotic War")
• Order of the Red Star ( July 22, 1937)
• Order of the Badge of Honor ( April 26, 1940 "for fulfilling government tasks to protect state security")
• Badge " Honorary Employee of the Cheka-GPU (V) " (No. 482)
• Badge " Honorary Railway Worker " ( November 21, 1943)
• medals " For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. "," In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow "and others

He also held the rank of Commissioner of State Security and Vice-General Director of Railways of the 1st rank.

The death of Stalin , as well as the XX Congress of the CPSU held in 1956, led to the fact that various reviews of the affairs of people from the Stalinist leadership, as well as those who held high posts in the prewar and war years, were begun. Among those who fell into disgrace was Nikolai Sinegubov. As a result, on August 11, 1958 , on the basis of a decision of the CPSU Party Control Committee , Nikolai Sinegubov was expelled from the party "for falsifying investigative materials and using illegal methods during interrogation of those arrested during his work in 1937-1939 at the Main Transport Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR." On December 30 of the same year, the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee decides to deprive him of the title Hero of Socialist Labor "for gross violations of socialist legality." On January 12, 1959, a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued, according to which Sinegubov was deprived of the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, all other titles and awards (except for the sign "Honorary Railway Worker" )

The rest of his life, Nikolai Ivanovich Sinegubov lived at his dacha in the Moscow Region , where he died in 1971 . He was buried at the New Don cemetery in Moscow.

Sinegubov Nikolay Ivanovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".

• Petrov N. Railway Felix // True Gulag. - No. 86. - 08/12/2015.
• Sinegubov Nikolay Ivanovich (neopr.) . History of domestic special services and law enforcement agencies. Archived October 31, 2012.