Until recently Kucherenko's true date of death was not officially known. Soviet sources such as the Soviet Encyclopedia stated that he died in 1943 in Kharkiv during the German occupation. Recently, it has become known that Kucherenko was arrested and after a period of eight months of prolonged torture was finally shot by the NKVD in 1937. His body was buried in a mass grave on the territory of the KGB recreational facility in the area of Piatykhatky on the outskirts of Kharkiv.
