| ## Notes on Smersh - 7 May 1971 Smersh was originally a part of the Stalin-era security apparatus; its name, an abbreviation of its motto "smert' shpionam" ("death to spies"), reflected its role in counter-espionage and detection of anti-Soviet activity. It was absorbed into the NKVD (the direct predecessor of the KGB) in 1946. Ian Fleming later revived it as one of James Bond's aversaries. Hubbard evidently believed that Smersh still existed and, moreover, was the lynchpin of the supposed anti-Scientology conspiracy.