World War II
On June 22, 1941, when Operation Barbarossa started, and Meretskov was appointed permanent adviser to Stavka. However, on June 23 he was arrested by the NKVD as a member of an alleged anti-Soviet military conspiracy. After interrogations, Meretskov pleaded guilty. In September he was released and Stalin appointed him commander of the 7th Separate Army, but he was one of the few of the alleged conspirators who were spared. His confession was used against other commanders arrested in May–July 1941, who were executed on the order of Lavrenty Beria near Kuybyshev on October 28, 1941, or sentenced by the Special Council of the NKVD and executed on February 23, 1942.
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