May 31

1961 – In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society.

The Rokotov–Faibishenko case, tried in the Soviet Union in 1961, helped demonstrate that despite the Khrushchev Thaw, Stalinist tendencies were still present in the Soviet judicial system. It also marked the start of a three-year campaign against large-scale economic crimes, accompanied by show trials.

Ever since the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Moscow in 1957, dealing in foreign currency had begun to take place on a fairly large scale despite being illegal. Soviets (generally of a young age) would buy foreign currency from tourists and other visitors, selling it for a profit; this was for purely personal gain and not a political phenomenon.

In 1961, the authorities broke one such speculation ring, composed of nine people, which had acquired around 20 million rubles in a year. During the search, they found 344,000 rubles, 1,524 gold coins, about $19,000, almost £500, 3,345 new and 133,000 old French francs¹, 1,500 German marks, 8,500 Belgian francs, other currency, icons and other contraband. It was the KGB that conducted the investigation because contact with foreigners was involved.