The massacre took place on 27 February 1944 during Operation Lentil. Due to inclement weather it was impossible to convoy Chechen deportees to the railway stations by the deadline set by Beria, resulting in over 700 villagers, including "non-transportable" elderly, pregnant women and small children, were locked in a stable fortified with dry hay and burned alive; those who broke from burning stable were shot. One of the witnesses assigned to the military unit, interpreter, recalls that NKVD commander Gvishiani called the two newborn children in the stable "bandits" before ordering to burn the 204 people alive. After the incident, Gveshiani was reportedly congratulated for his success and good work by Lavrenty Beria, who promised him a medal.
Rediscovery
The aul of Khaibakh was rediscovered through archaeological finds in Ukraine. World War II archaeologists found the remains of North Caucasian scouts who died during an operation behind enemy lines. Letters addressed to their relatives were found in their water-resistant pockets, addressed to aul Khaibakh. Stepan Kashurko, one of the archaeologists, accompanied by a former Soviet general, decided to inform the families that the bodies of their relatives were found, but they learned that the settlement no longer existed. In continuing their search, they discovered that while the Chechen soldiers were dying at the front, their relatives were burned alive by the Soviet soldiers.
Denialism
In a refusal to permit the release of the 2014 filmOrdered to Forget about the massacre, the Russian Ministry of Culture stated that it had searched three Russian state archives, and that "as a result of the investigation, no documents were discovered proving the fact of the mass burning of residents" from Khaibakh. The ministry then claimed that the event was a case of historical falsification. However, the special commission responsible for investigating the massacre in 1990 concluded on 20 August that the massacre had indeed happened. Deniers of the massacre cite an alleged telegram from Mikhail Gvishiani to Lavrenty Beria as the main documental evidence:
Совершенно секретно. Наркому внутренних дел СССР тов. Л. П. Берия. Только для ваших глаз. В виду не транспортабельности и с целью неукоснительного выполнения в срок операции «Горы», вынужден был ликвидировать более 700 жителей в местечке Хайбах. Полковник Гвишиани English translation: Top secret. To L. P. Beria, head of NKVD. For your eyes only. I was obliged to eliminate more than 700 inhabitants of Khaibakh aul, in order to complete in time "Gory" operation and because of inability to convey these people. Colonel Gvishiani
Russian historian Pavel Polyan considers the telegram questionable on the grounds that the phrase "Только для ваших глаз" was not used in official Soviet documents and that the real name of operation was "Чечевица", not "Горы" ; Gvishiani was also not a colonel but a 3rd Rank Commissar of State security. However, in 2003 interview with Radio Svoboda, Polyan acknowledged the existence of the massacre and mentioned several other massacres committed by the NKVD.
