Issue #29

Abstract: The publication contains the responses of A.V. Akhutin and I.L. Berlyand to a polemical article by Vyacheslav Tsyba, which discusses the moral conflict related to Vladimir Solomonovich Bibler’s (1918–2000) service in SMERSH and his participation in the investigation of the German actor Heinrich George. Akhutin, a student of Bibler, considers it his duty to respond to the accusations, since it concerns his teacher, who cannot respond himself. Berlyand supplements the response, emphasizing the complexity of the historical context and the inadmissibility of unambiguous moral assessments without considering specific circumstances. The materials are republished with the permission of the authors on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Bibler’s birth (2018).