“All the last days there have been messages from the border, one more alarming than the other, but the commander of the Belarusian Special Military District, Army General Dmitry Grigoryevich Pavlov, following the instructions of the General Staff and the People's Commissariat of Defense, in every possible way prevented any initiative of the commanders of the armies, corps and divisions stationed near the border, take any measures aimed at bringing troops into combat readiness. And although his heart ached and he understood in his mind that all this was not good, most of all Pavlov was afraid that any of his deviations from orders from above could be regarded as a provocation and a desire to disrupt the process of peaceful relations with Germany. And Stalin had noticeably cooled towards him in the last year, especially after the operational-tactical game on cards won from Pavlov by Zhukov. And if we take into account that many commanders who fought in Spain, after returning to their homeland, appeared before a military tribunal, some for treason, some for Trotskyism, and Pavlov’s cup passed, and, moreover, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he was promoted from division commander to army generals and appointed him to command one of the most responsible military districts, then he would have to fall into such an abyss from which he does not return alive...”