chemistry

Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services

Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services rather than just read about it. In short: The poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services, alternatively known as Laboratory 1, Laboratory 12, and Kamera (Russian: Камера, lit. 'The Cell (prison)'), was a covert research-and-development facility of the Soviet secret police agencies. Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the laboratory manufactured and tested poisons, and was reportedly reactivated by the Russian government in the late 1990s.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

The poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services, alternatively known as Laboratory 1, Laboratory 12, and Kamera (Russian: Камера, lit. 'The Cell (prison)'), was a covert research-and-development facility of the Soviet secret police agencies. Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the laboratory manufactured and tested poisons, and was reportedly reactivated by the Russian government in the late 1990s. The laboratory activities were mentioned in the Mitrokhin Archive.

Chronology 1921: First poison laboratory within the Soviet secret services was established under the name "Special Office". It was operated by the Cheka and headed by professor of medicine Ignatii Kazakov, according to Pavel Sudoplatov. 1926: The laboratory was under the supervision of Genrikh Yagoda, a deputy of OGPU chairman Vyacheslav Menzhinsky, who became NKVD chief in 1934 after Menzhinsky's death. February 20, 1939: It becomes Laboratory 1 headed by Grigory Mairanovsky. The laboratory was under the direct supervision of NKVD director Lavrenty Beria and his deputy Vsevolod Merkulov from 1939 to March 1953. Victims included the American Isaiah Oggins. March 14, 1953: It was renamed to Laboratory 12. V. Naumov became the newly appointed head. Lavrenty Beria and Vsevolod Merkulov were executed after Stalin's death. Immediate NKVD supervisor of the laboratory, Pavel Sudoplatov, received a long term in prison. 1978: Expanded into the Central Investigation Institute for Special Technology within the First Chief Directorate of the KGB. Since 1991: Several laboratories of the SVR (headquartered in Yasenevo near Moscow) were responsible for the "creation of biological and toxin weapons for clandestine operations in the West".

Human experimentation Mairanovsky and his colleagues tested a variety of lethal poisons on prisoners from the Gulags, including mustard gas, ricin, digitoxin, curare, cyanide, and many others. The objective of these experiments was to identify a tasteless, odorless chemical that could not be detected post mortem. Candidate poisons were administered to the victims along with a meal or drink, disguised as "medication". Ultimately, a preparation meeting the desired criteria was developed and referred to as C-2 or K-2 (carbylamine choline chloride). According to witness testimonies, the victims experienced physical changes, such as a rapid weakening and diminishment in height, followed by a calm and silent demeanor, culminating in death within 15 minutes. Mairanovsky intentionally brought individuals of various physical conditions and ages into the laboratory to comprehensively understand the effects of each poison. Pavel Sudoplatov and Nahum Eitingon approved specialized equipment (namely, poisons) only if it had been tested on "humans", as revealed in the testimony of Mikhail Filimonov. Vsevolod Merkulov stated that these experiments received authorization from NKVD chief Lavrentiy Beria. Following Stalin's death and Beria's subsequent arrest, Beria attested on August 28, 1953, that "I gave orders to Mairanovsky to conduct experiments on people sentenced to the highest measure of punishment, but it was not my idea". In addition to human experimentation, Mairanovsky personally executed people with poisons, under the supervision of Sudoplatov.

Prominent victims 1930: The leader of the Russian All-Military Union, general Alexander Kutepov, was drugged and kidnapped in Paris and died from a heart attack due to an overdose of the administered drug. 1936: Nestor Lakoba, Abkhaz Communist leader 1937: One of the leaders of the White movement and head of the Russian All-Military Union, Russian general Evgenii Miller, was drugged and kidnapped in Paris and later executed in Russia. 1938: Abram Slutsky (17 February 1938) 1940: Nikolai Koltsov, famous Russian biologist 1947: Cy Oggins was taken to Laboratory Number One (the "Kamera"), where Grigory Mairanovsky injected him with curare, which takes 10 to 15 minutes to kill 1947: Archbishop Theodore Romzha of the Ukrainian Catholic Church was killed by injection of curare provided by Mairanovsky and administered by a medical nurse who was a Ministry for State Security agent. 1971: Nobel prize laureate and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn was poisoned with what was later determined to be ricin. Solzhenitsyn survived the attempt. 1978: Dissident Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov was assassinated in London using a tiny pellet from an umbrella gun poisoned with ricin; the necessary equipment was prepared in this laboratory. In a Discovery Channel television program about his illustrated book of espionage equipment called The Ultimate Spy, espionage historian H. Keith Melton indicates that once the Bulgarian secret service had decided to kill Markov, KGB specialists from the Laboratory gave the Bulgarians a choice between two KGB tools that could be provided for the task: either a poisonous topical gelatin to be smeared on Markov, or an instrument to administer a poison pellet, as was eventually done. 1979: Attempted poisoning of the second President of Afghanistan Hafizullah Amin on December 13, 1979. Department 8 of KGB succeeded in infiltrating the illegal agent Mutalin Talybov (codenamed SABIR) as a chef of Amin's presidential palace. Some food intended for Amin and those close to him was successfully poisoned. Amin survived, but his son-in-law was flown to Moscow to be treated for acute food poisoning. An intelligence officer said of Amin that he "kept switching his food and drink as if he expected to be poisoned".

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services

In research: Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1921 establishments in Russia, Biological warfare facilities, Chemical warfare, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services in simple terms?

Why does Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

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Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

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