"The Dialectics of Myth" identified as false the constructs of the Soviet system; it pointed out the absurdity of the myths associated with state ideology, and with the dogma of Communism. Soviet officials reacted quickly to suppress the book. On 18 April 1930 Losev was arrested and held in solitary confinement in the basement prison of the Lubyanka Building. His wife Valentina was arrested on 5 June 1930; the couple's eighth wedding anniversary. Marianna Gerasimova, an investigator with the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU), an agency of secret police, was assigned to investigate Losev with the goal of proving that he was a leader of the secret religious splinter group called Onomatodoxy, based on the idea that the Name of God is God Himself, and that Losev was involved in planning violence against the Soviet government. Losev was indeed associated with Onomatodoxy but his role was theological, not practical. Gerasimova led a team of investigators who gathered and fabricated evidence over the course of 17 months while Losev was held in prison. Gerasimova listed false claims against Losev such as his being a member of the Black Hundreds, an antisemite, and a religious bigot and fanatic. Losev's library and writings were seized, and his dwelling was lived in by an agent of OGPU.