Arrested shortly before the start of Operation Barbarossa on falsified charges of being part of an anti-Soviet conspiracy, he became the only man to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union twice and then be executed.

There he served as the deputy commissar until September when he was made the party organizer of the 4th Separate Fight Aviation Squadron in Minsk.

While a political instructor he attended the Belarusian State University, but did not complete his studies there due to receiving a new post before he could finish.

[7] In late 1931 he became the commander of the 2nd Mixed Aviation Brigade, which soon became a role model unit in the Soviet military and was praised by the government of the Byelorussian SSR.

He was reprimanded for spending too much time flying combat missions instead of leading the Spanish as commander of the Madrid Air Defense.

[9] On 30 April 1938 Smushkevich was badly injured while conducting a practice flight on a R-10 in preparation for a parade before it crashed due to mechanical failure.

Rescuers found him unconscious and badly disfigured, with burns to his back, multiple fractures in his legs and feet, crushed thighbones, and head injuries.

[11] After remaining bedridden for several months he was eventually able to fly again, but problems with his badly damaged legs continued to plague him for the remainder of his life.

After returning to the USSR in September he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union again on 17 November 1939 for his role in gaining air superiority over the Japanese.

During the Soviet-Finnish War he visited the front on multiple occasions and managed the development of an aviation regiment of pilots trained for flying in bad weather.

[20] Many other generals of the air force were also arrested on fabricated charges of participating in an anti-Soviet conspiracy shortly before the start of Operation Barbarossa.