Chapter 62 first quarter

It happened on January 27th.Sabelev, a member of the former Soviet Union's representative office in Japan, came to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, claiming that a member of the representative office and second secretary, Yuli Ya Rastovorov, disappeared on the 24th of this month, and demanded that the Find out his whereabouts.In order to facilitate the search, he also attached the person's features and photos, and made some explanations. On the next day (28th), the morning publications of all newspapers prominently reported the news of "the disappearance of the second secretary of the Soviet representative organization".

"According to the report of the Soviet Union's representative office in Japan, Second Secretary Rastovorov was in danger of committing suicide due to insanity. However, relevant parties believe that this may be a political death. Search." (Asahi Shimbun, January 28) Sabelev's statement to the Metropolitan Police Department was not published in the newspapers. According to him, when Rastovorov disappeared on the 24th, someone saw it with his own eyes. It happened as follows: It snowed heavily on January 23, but it cleared up early the next morning and the weather was fine.Under the bright sun, Tokyo is a snow scene.

At noon that day, Rastovorov walked out of the Soviet representative office in Lidong alone.He met Sazanov and Savonov, two other members of the representative body, at the Iikura 1-chome municipal tram stop down the ramp. As soon as Rastovorov saw the two, he exclaimed with his usual cheerfulness that he was going to lunch and invited them to come with him.The two said they had already eaten, so he invited them very warmly, "You're welcome, just stay with me." At this time, a large vehicle dedicated to the U.S. occupation forces was slowly driving over from Akabane Bridge along the snow-covered slope. As soon as Rastovorov caught a glimpse of the vehicle, he waved it to stop and jumped vigorously. He went up and stubbornly invited these two people to go with him.

The two refused again, and Rastovorov, who was already in the car, moved further and further away. The anti-skid chains on the tires of the car rattled, and drove towards Toranomon, and disappeared after a while. There were no other passengers in this special US military vehicle, only a driver wearing a wide-brimmed work hat who looked like a Japanese.He turned the steering wheel expressionlessly. At that time, Japan and the Soviet Union had not yet resumed diplomatic relations.Technically, it appears to be still at war.It is probably because of this reason that the Soviet representative agency did not notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the disappearance of the members, but entrusted the Metropolitan Police Department to find them.

The Metropolitan Police Department was also embarrassed by the report.Japan was sandwiched between the United States and the Soviet Union. Dealing with this issue required careful consideration. The Metropolitan Police Department held several secret meetings, and as a result, it was decided not to treat it as a political death, but as a search for people who had run away from home—that is, to conduct an investigation from a humanitarian standpoint. The Third Division of Public Security of the Metropolitan Police Department immediately started an investigation based on the clues provided by Sabelev, a member of the representative organization.

It was soon found out that the Iikura 1-chome route where the incident occurred was not a fixed route for U.S. military vehicles.However, there is a financial building where the U.S. Army is located near Toranomon. It is also possible that a large car of the same type was driving on this route at that time.Moreover, there is an auto repair shop nearby, and it is not unusual for large cars to pass on this road. But it was Sunday.It is doubtful whether there were any special vehicles passing through the area that day, because the US military is usually closed on Saturday and Sunday. Moreover, it had snowed the previous day, with a snow accumulation of 31 centimeters, and ordinary large cars or taxis could not pass as usual.The situation at that time was that there were only two large cars for the financial building in the garages at Chipo and Toranomon, and it was impossible to find out who the driver of the big car that Rastovorov took was.

But it happened that Prime Minister Yoshida was scheduled to pass by this road that day, that is, through Iikura Street. In order to protect him, the duty officer of the Metropolitan Police Department posted a sentry, and the big car passed by within the warning time, so the investigation was carried out immediately. The big army car in question. It turned out that the big car was identified, and the driver with the expressionless face was also found.But he gave testimony quite different from what Sabelyov had told the Metropolitan Police, and he came to the conclusion that Sabelyov's statement was completely wrong, that there was no such thing.Since then, the Metropolitan Police Department has remained silent.

For half a year since then, Rastovorov's whereabouts have remained unknown.Did he cross the ocean, or fly through the sky?Nobody knows.Japanese newspapers stopped reporting the incident. However, on August 14, when people's memories gradually faded, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Security Investigation Agency issued a joint announcement on the "Rastovorov incident"; at the same time, the US State Department summoned journalists from various countries in Washington , announced the course of the incident, and Rastovorov himself was present at the press conference.However, for unknown reasons, the news agencies of the Soviet system were not allowed to participate in this press conference.

At the meeting, Rastovorov announced in writing the reasons and motives for his flight to the United States.According to him, the situation when he left was as follows: "On January 24th, the day that Tokyo was covered with snow, I found an opportunity to leave the representative office. Around four o'clock, I quietly came out of the representative office and took a Turkish bath. Around seven o'clock, in I had a big meal at Suehiro Restaurant. Not long after that, I went to the agreed place to meet an American. We met as promised, got in the car, and drove away. At that time, I began to realize deeply that I was Run on the road to freedom."

But Rastovorov's own notes, published in Life, give a more detailed account of his departure.The article is as follows: "On that day, I put about one hundred yen in my wallet and left the Soviet representative office forever. In order to make it appear as casual as possible, I first went to Nosenko's office for a while , and then went to Runov's office and invited the two out to dinner separately. Since I invited them so abruptly, both of them were a little surprised and refused to go. However, both of them seemed to have been fooled by me. . "At six in the afternoon, I went to the Turkish bath, refreshed, and then hiked to Suehiro, Tokyo's premier restaurant. I silently toasted Japan as I was about to say goodbye. There were a few geishas on stage While dancing, it seemed that a group of American soldiers returning from North Korea were watching the performance intently. For a moment, I felt sad for leaving Tokyo.

"At about 7:40 in the afternoon, I came out of the restaurant, and after making sure that no one had nailed my tip, I walked towards the Old Sea Tower Hotel. There was no one on the street, and I thanked God for the snow. . "At eight o'clock, I arrived at the pre-arranged place near the hotel to wait for the arrival of the American car. Seconds and minutes passed. I waited anxiously for ten minutes, and a small car came and stopped. "A man got out of the car and came up to me and said: 'Are you George (Rastovorov as the Americans call him)? Your friend is waiting for you in the car.' Mrs Browning was in the car. Soon, I was on a plane to the west coast of the United States.” (Published in the February 1930 issue of Bungeishunju, translated by Hideo Kinoshita). But there is another way of saying it.Associated Press Tokyo Bureau Chief Robert Anson also wrote an account of Rastovorov's disappearance: "On the night of January 24, Rastovorov slipped into a group of Americans waiting for a bus near the NHK building, and got into a car. After that, until the State Department announced on August 14 He held a press conference and never appeared again."

---

Notes: