the council. Bunyachenko then withdrew to the West, towards the American frontlines. Imprisonment by Soviet authorities On 12 May Bunyachenko received information that the American forces would not accept the official surrender of his division. In response, he disbanded the division. On 15 May he and the division headquarters surrendered to the Americans. Due to a previous agreement between the Soviet and American governments that any Soviet citizens would be transferred to Russian custody, Bunyachenko and his men, including White Russians who did not hold Soviet citizenship, were sent to the Soviet lines as prisoners of war. Prison, trial, and execution After his surrender, Bunyachenko was held in the Butyrsky prison in Moscow. His trial was held concurrently with other members of the Committee for the Liberation of the People of Russia and the ROA in the "Trial of the Suspected Vlasovites". The Trial was held in the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR from 30 July to 1 August 1946. The Presiding Members were Vasiliy Ulrikh, F.F Karavaikov, and G. N Danilova. The defendants were described in Soviet newspapers as "German intelligence agents who carried out active espionage, sabotage, and terrorist activities against the Soviet Union." All twelve individuals in the trial were charged with terrorism, wrecking, anti-Soviet agitation, criminal conspiracy, and High Treason. The trials were held in secret, without the participation of the accused. The Politburo had already directed the Collegium to pursue the death penalty on 23 July, a week before the trial began. All twelve defendants were found guilty, including Bunyachenko, and were executed by hanging on 1 August 1946. Each executed was cremated by the NKVD, and their ashes were poured into the moat of Donskoy Monastery. On 1 November 2001 the Military Collegium of the Russian Federation overturned the convictions of anti-Soviet agitation for all defendants, including Bunyachenko. The remaining four charges were upheld. References External links Буняченко Сергей Кузьмич 1902 births 1946 deaths People from Glushkovsky District People from Rylsky Uyezd Bolsheviks Expelled members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Russian anti-communists Soviet Army officers Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Russian collaborators with Nazi Germany Russian Liberation Army personnel Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class World War II prisoners of war held by Romania People executed by the Soviet Union by hanging Executed military leaders Executed