Peter Ivanovich Maggo

Peter Ivanovich Maggo, (1879-1941), was born in the Divina district(now Latvia) in the family of a wealthy peasants.Nationality is Latvian. Received primary education. He was engaged in the cultivation of oats and flax, became a prosperous farmer. He served in the army, a participant in the suppression of the revolutionary movement of 1905. in Siberia. He was not interested in politics. In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, he volunteered for the front. He was promoted to officer.

After the overthrow of the monarchy, he joined the Bolshevik party, considering it capable of "restoring order in the country." Party nicknames: "Mage", "Wizard". In January 1918 He entered the service in the Cheka. Dzerzhinsky drew his attention to him: Felix Edmundovich liked the ruthlessness of Maggo and his willingness to personally execute the "enemies of the revolution." Maggo was enrolled in the Sveaborg branch of the Cheka, and then in the First Separate Company at the Cheka: an elite detachment that personally guarded Dzerzhinsky, and was often used as his "personal" firing squad, whose members "seized" and executed without trial those who the Iron Felix pointed them out. Such "operations" had the character of "disappearances" of our time: a person was detained by unknown people, and he disappeared without a trace.

P.I. Maggo "distinguished himself" in this "work", and in November 1919. Dzerzhinsky appointed him overseer of the Cheka’s Internal Prison in the Lubyanka (“concurrently” Pyotr Ivanovich was also the executor of executions and torture), and in 1920. he became the head of this prison. Now Maggo could no longer “bother” himself with personal participation in executions, but he liked to do it. At the same time, Pyotr Ivanovich remained outwardly calm, polite, and, as eyewitnesses recalled, looked more like a village teacher: in a pince-nez and with a small beard.

In 1924 P.I.Maggo was out of work for some time: F. Dzerzhinsky switched to economic work at the Supreme Economic Council, and the new authorities preferred to replace Maggo with someone else “their own." But Pyotr Ivanovich did not want to "mess around", and in 1931. he filed a request to appoint him to serve in the command office of the OGPU as an employee for special assignments. This employee had only one “function”: the execution of execution sentences. The request of P.I. Maggo was granted, and he returned to his beloved "work." Soon became the captain of state security. People who knew him claimed that Maggo did this because he simply liked to kill, and not at all because he considered those executed as "enemies of the people." When he heard pleas for mercy, his face was blurred in a blissful smile. Unlike many other “performers” of the OGPU Commandant’s Office, Maggo did not shy away from shooting women. Contrary to instructions instructing the victim to undress to the laundry, Maggo ordered the women to strip naked [3].

For a one-day shift P. I. Maggo at different times executed from 3-5 to 10-15 people, often “worked” without days off and holidays. After the "execution" the executioner could go into the rest room, where he served snacks and alcohol. Unlike other of them, especially “newcomers”, “Magician” Peter Maggo, according to eyewitnesses, always had a great appetite. P. I. Maggo for his “work” was awarded the Order of Lenin and two Orders of the Red Banner, as well as the badge “Honorary Chekist”.

In total for 1931-1940. P.I. Maggo personally shot over 10,000 people. Usually the executioners did not “linger” for a long time: they themselves were eliminated, as unnecessary witnesses. But nothing of the kind happened to Peter Maggo: he was “at work” both during the Berry and under Yezhov [5]. At first, he held on to Beria. In 1940, however, Maggo was fired, fired Beria and other "performers". The Chekists, by decision of Beria, were replaced by the military. The “service” in the special commandant’s office ceased to be a “profession”, its composition now changed every few months.

Peter Ivanovich Maggo was very offended by Beria for dismissal, wrote a complaint addressed to Stalin, but he did not answer: the “leader” had enough of his problems. Maggo began to drink heavily, and at the end of 1941. died of cirrhosis. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.