On August 8, by a joint resolution of the GKO (State Defense Committee) and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union. The headquarters of the Supreme Command was transformed into the headquarters of the Supreme High Command. With details - Andrey Svetenko at.
At first glance, it is quite strange that the post with which Stalin’s status during the Great Patriotic War is associated appeared only 1.5 months after the start of the war. By that time, Stalin, while retaining the position of Secretary General of the party, chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the government, was already both the chairman of the State Defense Committee and the head of the Supreme Command headquarters. In fact, this was not a multiplication of the leader’s positions, but, on the contrary, bringing everything to a single denominator, the concentration of all mechanisms for managing the front and rear in one hand. In addition, as we see, not immediately, but the historical tradition that existed both in Russia and abroad prevailed, according to which in the state, and not only during wartime, the position of a military leader is created, which, by definition, is occupied by the leader of the country.
Meanwhile, the situation at the front continued to deteriorate. Near Leningrad, the enemy, with the forces of the 41st Motorized Corps, began advancing in the Krasnogvardeisky direction, that is, towards Gatchina, a suburb of the northern capital.
In the central sector of the front, as part of the third phase of the Battle of Smolensk, the 2nd Tank Group of the Germans launched an offensive towards Gomel and Starodub. The Red Army troops holding the Central Front were unable to hold their positions and began to retreat to the south and southeast.
And it was precisely in this southern direction that defensive battles took place for Kyiv, which the enemy sought to capture using the flanks. Thus, on August 8, units of the 1st Tank Group of the Wehrmacht reached the outskirts of the city of Krivoy Rog and the Kremenchug region, thereby creating the threat of a large-scale encirclement of a large group of Red Army forces located on the right bank of Ukraine.
And finally, on the southernmost flank, having broken the resistance of our 6th and 12th armies, German troops entered the lower reaches of the Dnieper, which entailed the forced withdrawal of all Red Army units to the left bank of the Southern Bug River. At the same time, the interaction between our Primorsky and 9th armies was disrupted. The first began to retreat to Odessa, and the second to Nikolaev, while the enemy managed to cut the highway connecting the two cities mentioned.
In the reports of the Sovinformburo on this day, in addition to reports on the state of affairs at the front, eyewitness accounts of the so-called Lviv pogrom were made public for the first time. Atrocities and outrages committed against the Jewish population of the city. This data was provided by a group of Lvov residents who managed to get onto Mainland with the assistance of partisans and units of the Red Army who fought in the encirclement, and make public the first at that time news of mass atrocities committed by the occupiers on the territory of the Soviet Union.
Marshals of the Great Patriotic War
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich
11/19 (12/1). 1896—06/18/1974Great commander
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of Defense of the USSR
Born in the village of Strelkovka near Kaluga in a peasant family. Furrier. In the army since 1915. Participated in the First World War, a junior non-commissioned officer in the cavalry. In the battles he was seriously shell-shocked and awarded 2 Crosses of St. George.
Since August 1918 in the Red Army. During the Civil War he fought against Ural Cossacks near Tsaritsyn, fought with the troops of Denikin and Wrangel, took part in the suppression of the Antonov uprising in the Tambov region, was wounded, and awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After Civil War commanded a regiment, brigade, division, corps. The summer of 1939 spent successful operation encircled and defeated a group of Japanese troops by General. Kamatsubara on the Khalkhin Gol River. G. K. Zhukov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of the Red Banner of the Mongolian People's Republic.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1945) he was a member of the Headquarters, Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and commanded the fronts (pseudonyms: Konstantinov, Yuryev, Zharov). He was the first to be awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union during the war (01/18/1943). Under the command of G.K. Zhukov, troops of the Leningrad Front, together with the Baltic Fleet, stopped the advance of Army Group North of Field Marshal F.W. von Leeb on Leningrad in September 1941. Under his command, the troops of the Western Front defeated the troops of Army Group Center under Field Marshal F. von Bock near Moscow and dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Nazi army. Then Zhukov coordinated the actions of the fronts near Stalingrad (Operation Uranus - 1942), in Operation Iskra during the breakthrough of the Leningrad blockade (1943), in the Battle of Kursk (summer 1943), where Hitler’s plan was thwarted. Citadel" and the troops of Field Marshals Kluge and Manstein were defeated. The name of Marshal Zhukov is also associated with victories near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky and the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine; Operation Bagration (in Belarus), where the Vaterland Line was broken and Army Group Center of Field Marshals E. von Busch and W. von Model was defeated. At the final stage of the war, the 1st Belorussian Front, led by Marshal Zhukov, took Warsaw (01/17/1945), defeated Army Group A of General von Harpe and Field Marshal F. Scherner with a dissecting blow in the Vistula-Oder operation and victoriously ended the war with a grandiose Berlin operation. Together with the soldiers, the marshal signed the scorched wall of the Reichstag, over the broken dome of which the Victory Banner fluttered. On May 8, 1945, in Karlshorst (Berlin), the commander accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany from Hitler’s Field Marshal W. von Keitel. General D. Eisenhower presented G. K. Zhukov with the highest military order of the United States “Legion of Honor”, the degree of Commander-in-Chief (06/5/1945). Later in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate, the British Field Marshal Montgomery placed on him the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, 1st Class, with star and crimson ribbon. On June 24, 1945, Marshal Zhukov hosted the triumphal Victory Parade in Moscow.
In 1955-1957 “Marshal of Victory” was the Minister of Defense of the USSR.
American military historian Martin Kaiden says: “Zhukov was the commander of commanders in the conduct of war by mass armies of the twentieth century. He inflicted more casualties on the Germans than any other military leader. He was a "miracle marshal". Before us is a military genius."
He wrote the memoirs “Memories and Reflections.”
Marshal G.K. Zhukov had:
- 4 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (08/29/1939, 07/29/1944, 06/1/1945, 12/1/1956),
- 6 Orders of Lenin,
- 2 Orders of Victory (including No. 1 - 04/11/1944, 03/30/1945),
- order of the October Revolution,
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov, 1st degree (including No. 1), a total of 14 orders and 16 medals;
- honorary weapon - a personalized saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968);
- Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1969); Order of the Tuvan Republic;
- 17 foreign orders and 10 medals, etc.
In 1995, a monument to Zhukov was erected on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
18(30).09.1895—5.12.1977 Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR
Born in the village of Novaya Golchikha near Kineshma on the Volga. Son of a priest. He studied at the Kostroma Theological Seminary. In 1915, he completed courses at the Alexander Military School and, with the rank of ensign, was sent to the front of the First World War (1914-1918). Staff Captain tsarist army. Having joined the Red Army during the Civil War of 1918-1920, he commanded a company, battalion, and regiment. In 1937 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. From 1940 he served in the General Staff, where he was caught up in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). In June 1942, he became the Chief of the General Staff, replacing Marshal B. M. Shaposhnikov in this post due to illness. Of the 34 months of his tenure as Chief of the General Staff, A. M. Vasilevsky spent 22 directly at the front (pseudonyms: Mikhailov, Alexandrov, Vladimirov). He was wounded and shell-shocked. Over the course of a year and a half, he rose from major general to Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/19/1943) and, together with Mr. K. Zhukov, became the first holder of the Order of Victory. Under his leadership, the largest operations of the Soviet Armed Forces were developed. A. M. Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the fronts: in the Battle of Stalingrad (Operation Uranus, Little Saturn), near Kursk (Operation Commander Rumyantsev), during the liberation of Donbass (Operation Don "), in the Crimea and during the capture of Sevastopol, in the battles in Right Bank Ukraine; in the Belarusian Operation Bagration.
After the death of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front in the East Prussian operation, which ended with the famous “star” assault on Koenigsberg.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet commander A. M. Vasilevsky smashed Nazi field marshals and generals F. von Bock, G. Guderian, F. Paulus, E. Manstein, E. Kleist, Eneke, E. von Busch, W. von Model, F. Scherner, von Weichs, etc.
In June 1945, the marshal was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Soviet troops in the Far East (pseudonym Vasiliev). For the quick defeat of the Kwantung Army of the Japanese under General O. Yamada in Manchuria, the commander received a second Gold Star. After the war, from 1946 - Chief of the General Staff; in 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
A. M. Vasilevsky is the author of the memoir “The Work of a Whole Life.”
Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky had:
- 2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 09/08/1945),
- 8 Orders of Lenin,
- 2 orders of "Victory" (including No. 2 - 01/10/1944, 04/19/1945),
- order of the October Revolution,
- 2 Orders of the Red Banner,
- Order of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of the Red Star,
- Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree,
- a total of 16 orders and 14 medals;
- honorary personal weapon - saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968),
- 28 foreign awards (including 18 foreign orders).
Konev Ivan Stepanovich
16(28).12.1897—27.06.1973 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born in the Vologda region in the village of Lodeyno in a peasant family. In 1916 he was drafted into the army. Upon completion of the training team, junior non-commissioned officer Art. division is sent to the Southwestern Front. Having joined the Red Army in 1918, he took part in battles against the troops of Admiral Kolchak, Ataman Semenov, and the Japanese. Commissioner of the armored train "Grozny", then brigades, divisions. In 1921 he took part in the storming of Kronstadt. Graduated from the Academy. Frunze (1934), commanded a regiment, division, corps, and the 2nd Separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army (1938-1940).
During the Great Patriotic War he commanded the army and fronts (pseudonyms: Stepin, Kyiv). Participated in the battles of Smolensk and Kalinin (1941), in the battle of Moscow (1941-1942). During the Battle of Kursk, together with the troops of General N.F. Vatutin, he defeated the enemy on the Belgorod-Kharkov bridgehead - a German bastion in Ukraine. On August 5, 1943, Konev’s troops took the city of Belgorod, in honor of which Moscow gave its first fireworks, and on August 24, Kharkov was taken. This was followed by the breakthrough of the “Eastern Wall” on the Dnieper.
In 1944, near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, the Germans set up “New (small) Stalingrad” - 10 divisions and 1 brigade of General V. Stemmeran, who fell on the battlefield, were surrounded and destroyed. I. S. Konev was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/20/1944), and on March 26, 1944, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were the first to reach the state border. In July-August they defeated the Army Group “Northern Ukraine” of Field Marshal E. von Manstein in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation. The name of Marshal Konev, nicknamed “the forward general,” is associated with brilliant victories at the final stage of the war - in the Vistula-Oder, Berlin and Prague operations. During the Berlin operation, his troops reached the river. Elbe near Torgau and met with the American troops of General O. Bradley (04/25/1945). On May 9, the defeat of Field Marshal Scherner near Prague ended. The highest orders of the “White Lion” 1st class and the “Czechoslovak War Cross of 1939” were a reward to the marshal for the liberation of the Czech capital. Moscow saluted the troops of I. S. Konev 57 times.
In the post-war period, the marshal was the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces (1946-1950; 1955-1956), the first Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member states (1956-1960).
Marshal I. S. Konev - twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1970), Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1971). A bronze bust was installed in his homeland in the village of Lodeyno.
He wrote memoirs: “Forty-fifth” and “Notes of the Front Commander.”
Marshal I. S. Konev had:
- two Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
- 7 Orders of Lenin,
- order of the October Revolution,
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- Order of the Red Star,
- a total of 17 orders and 10 medals;
- honorary personalized weapon - a saber with the Golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968),
- 24 foreign awards (including 13 foreign orders).
Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich
10(22).02.1897—19.03.1955 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born in the village of Butyrki near Vyatka in the family of a peasant, who later became an employee in the city of Elabuga. A student at the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute, L. Govorov, became a cadet at the Konstantinovsky Artillery School in 1916. He began his combat activities in 1918 as an officer in the White Army of Admiral Kolchak.
In 1919, he volunteered to join the Red Army, participated in battles on the Eastern and Southern fronts, commanded an artillery division, and was wounded twice - near Kakhovka and Perekop.
In 1933 he graduated from the Military Academy. Frunze, and then the General Staff Academy (1938). Participated in the war with Finland of 1939-1940.
In the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), artillery general L.A. Govorov became the commander of the 5th Army, which defended the approaches to Moscow in the central direction. In the spring of 1942, on instructions from I.V. Stalin, he went to besieged Leningrad, where he soon led the front (pseudonyms: Leonidov, Leonov, Gavrilov). On January 18, 1943, the troops of generals Govorov and Meretskov broke through the blockade of Leningrad (Operation Iskra), delivering a counter-attack near Shlisselburg. A year later, they struck again, crushing the Germans' Northern Wall, completely lifting the blockade of Leningrad. The German troops of Field Marshal von Küchler suffered huge losses. In June 1944, troops of the Leningrad Front carried out the Vyborg operation, broke through the “Mannerheim Line” and took the city of Vyborg. L.A. Govorov became Marshal of the Soviet Union (06/18/1944). In the fall of 1944, Govorov’s troops liberated Estonia, breaking into the enemy “Panther” defenses.
While remaining commander of the Leningrad Front, the marshal was also the representative of Headquarters in the Baltic States. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In May 1945, the German army group Kurland surrendered to the front forces.
Moscow saluted the troops of commander L. A. Govorov 14 times. In the post-war period, the marshal became the first Commander-in-Chief of the country's air defense.
Marshal L.A. Govorov had:
- Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (01/27/1945), 5 Orders of Lenin,
- Order of Victory (05/31/1945),
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- Order of the Red Star - a total of 13 orders and 7 medals,
- Tuvan "Order of the Republic",
- 3 foreign orders.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
9(21).12.1896—3.08.1968 Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Marshal of Poland
Born in Velikiye Luki in the family of a railway driver, a Pole, Xavier Jozef Rokossovsky, who soon moved to live in Warsaw. He began his service in 1914 in the Russian army. Participated in the First World War. He fought in a dragoon regiment, was a non-commissioned officer, was wounded twice in battle, was awarded the St. George Cross and 2 medals. Red Guard (1917). During the Civil War, he was again wounded 2 times, fought on the Eastern Front against the troops of Admiral Kolchak and in Transbaikalia against Baron Ungern; commanded a squadron, division, cavalry regiment; awarded 2 Orders of the Red Banner. In 1929 he fought against the Chinese at Jalainor (conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway). In 1937-1940 was imprisoned as a victim of slander.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded a mechanized corps, army, and fronts (Pseudonyms: Kostin, Dontsov, Rumyantsev). He distinguished himself in the Battle of Smolensk (1941). Hero of the Battle of Moscow (September 30, 1941—January 8, 1942). He was seriously wounded near Sukhinichi. During the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), Rokossovsky’s Don Front, together with other fronts, was surrounded by 22 enemy divisions with a total number of 330 thousand people (Operation Uranus). At the beginning of 1943, the Don Front eliminated the encircled group of Germans (Operation “Ring”). Field Marshal F. Paulus was captured (3 days of mourning were declared in Germany). In the Battle of Kursk (1943), Rokossovsky's Central Front defeated the German troops of General Model (Operation Kutuzov) near Orel, in honor of which Moscow gave its first fireworks (08/05/1943). In the grandiose Belorussian operation (1944), Rokossovsky’s 1st Belorussian Front defeated Field Marshal von Busch’s Army Group Center and, together with the troops of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, surrounded up to 30 drag divisions in the “Minsk Cauldron” (Operation Bagration). . On June 29, 1944, Rokossovsky was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The highest military orders "Virtuti Militari" and the "Grunwald" cross, 1st class, were awarded to the marshal for the liberation of Poland.
At the final stage of the war, Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front participated in the East Prussian, Pomeranian and Berlin operations. Moscow saluted the troops of commander Rokossovsky 63 times. On June 24, 1945, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of the Order of Victory, Marshal K. K. Rokossovsky commanded the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow. In 1949-1956, K.K. Rokossovsky was the Minister of National Defense of the Polish People's Republic. He was awarded the title of Marshal of Poland (1949). Returning to the Soviet Union, he became the chief inspector of the USSR Ministry of Defense.
Wrote a memoir, A Soldier's Duty.
Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky had:
- 2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
- 7 Orders of Lenin,
- Order of Victory (30.03.1945),
- order of the October Revolution,
- 6 Orders of the Red Banner,
- Order of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- a total of 17 orders and 11 medals;
- honorary weapon - saber with the golden coat of arms of the USSR (1968),
- 13 foreign awards (including 9 foreign orders)
Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich
11(23).11.1898—31.03.1967 Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of Defense of the USSR
Born in Odessa, he grew up without a father. In 1914, he volunteered for the front of the 1st World War, where he was seriously wounded and awarded the St. George Cross, 4th degree (1915). In February 1916 he was sent to France as part of the Russian expeditionary force. There he was again wounded and received the French Croix de Guerre. Returning to his homeland, he voluntarily joined the Red Army (1919) and fought against the whites in Siberia. In 1930 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. In 1937-1938, he volunteered to take part in battles in Spain (under the pseudonym “Malino”) on the side of the republican government, for which he received the Order of the Red Banner.
In the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded a corps, an army, and a front (pseudonyms: Yakovlev, Rodionov, Morozov). He distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad. Malinovsky’s army, in cooperation with other armies, stopped and then defeated Army Group Don of Field Marshal E. von Manstein, which was trying to relieve Paulus’s group encircled at Stalingrad. The troops of General Malinovsky liberated Rostov and Donbass (1943), participated in the cleansing of Right Bank Ukraine from the enemy; Having defeated the troops of E. von Kleist, they took Odessa on April 10, 1944; together with the troops of General Tolbukhin, they defeated the southern wing of the enemy front, encircling 22 German divisions and the 3rd Romanian Army in the Iasi-Kishinev operation (08.20-29.1944). During the fighting, Malinovsky was slightly wounded; On September 10, 1944, he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky, liberated Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. On August 13, 1944, they entered Bucharest, took Budapest by storm (02/13/1945), and liberated Prague (05/9/1945). The marshal was awarded the Order of Victory.
From July 1945, Malinovsky commanded the Transbaikal Front (pseudonym Zakharov), which dealt the main blow to the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria (08/1945). Front troops reached Port Arthur. The marshal received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Moscow saluted the troops of commander Malinovsky 49 times.
On October 15, 1957, Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky was appointed Minister of Defense of the USSR. He remained in this position until the end of his life.
The Marshal is the author of the books “Soldiers of Russia”, “The Angry Whirlwinds of Spain”; under his leadership, “Iasi-Chisinau Cannes”, “Budapest - Vienna - Prague”, “Final” and other works were written.
Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky had:
- 2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (09/08/1945, 11/22/1958),
- 5 Orders of Lenin,
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- a total of 12 orders and 9 medals;
- as well as 24 foreign awards (including 15 orders of foreign states). In 1964 he was awarded the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia.
Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich
4(16).6.1894—17.10.1949 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born in the village of Androniki near Yaroslavl in a peasant family. He worked as an accountant in Petrograd. In 1914 he was a private motorcyclist. Having become an officer, he took part in battles with Austro-German troops and was awarded the Anna and Stanislav crosses.
In the Red Army since 1918; fought on the fronts of the Civil War against the troops of General N.N. Yudenich, Poles and Finns. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In the post-war period, Tolbukhin worked in staff positions. In 1934 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. In 1940 he became a general.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he was the chief of staff of the front, commanded the army and the front. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad, commanding the 57th Army. In the spring of 1943, Tolbukhin became commander of the Southern Front, and from October - the 4th Ukrainian Front, from May 1944 until the end of the war - the 3rd Ukrainian Front. General Tolbukhin's troops defeated the enemy at Miussa and Molochnaya and liberated Taganrog and Donbass. In the spring of 1944, they invaded Crimea and took Sevastopol by storm on May 9. In August 1944, together with the troops of R. Ya. Malinovsky, they defeated the army group “Southern Ukraine” of Mr. Frizner in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. On September 12, 1944, F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Tolbukhin's troops liberated Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria. Moscow saluted Tolbukhin's troops 34 times. At the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945, the marshal led the column of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
The marshal's health, undermined by the wars, began to fail, and in 1949 F.I. Tolbukhin died at the age of 56. Three days of mourning were declared in Bulgaria; the city of Dobrich was renamed the city of Tolbukhin.
In 1965, Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1944) and "Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria" (1979).
Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin had:
- 2 Orders of Lenin,
- Order of Victory (04/26/1945),
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- Order of the Red Star,
- a total of 10 orders and 9 medals;
- as well as 10 foreign awards (including 5 foreign orders).
Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich
26.05 (7.06).1897—30.12.1968 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born in the village of Nazaryevo near Zaraysk, Moscow region, into a peasant family. Before serving in the army, he worked as a mechanic. In the Red Army since 1918. During the Civil War he fought on the Eastern and Southern fronts. He took part in battles in the ranks of the 1st Cavalry against Pilsudski's Poles. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In 1921 he graduated from the Military Academy of the Red Army. In 1936-1937, under the pseudonym "Petrovich", he fought in Spain (awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner). During the Soviet-Finnish War (December 1939 - March 1940), he commanded the army that broke through the Manerheim Line and took Vyborg, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (1940).
During the Great Patriotic War, he commanded troops in the northern directions (pseudonyms: Afanasyev, Kirillov); was a representative of the Headquarters on the North-Western Front. He commanded the army, the front. In 1941, Meretskov inflicted the first serious defeat of the war on the troops of Field Marshal Leeb near Tikhvin. On January 18, 1943, the troops of generals Govorov and Meretskov, delivering a counter strike near Shlisselburg (Operation Iskra), broke the blockade of Leningrad. On January 20, Novgorod was taken. In February 1944 he became commander of the Karelian Front. In June 1944, Meretskov and Govorov defeated Marshal K. Mannerheim in Karelia. In October 1944, Meretskov's troops defeated the enemy in the Arctic near Pechenga (Petsamo). On October 26, 1944, K. A. Meretskov received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and from the Norwegian King Haakon VII the Grand Cross of St. Olaf.
In the spring of 1945, the “cunning Yaroslavets” (as Stalin called him) under the name of “General Maksimov” was sent to the Far East. In August - September 1945, his troops took part in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, breaking into Manchuria from Primorye and liberating areas of China and Korea.
Moscow saluted the troops of commander Meretskov 10 times.
Marshal K. A. Meretskov had:
- Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (03/21/1940), 7 Orders of Lenin,
- Order of Victory (8.09.1945),
- order of the October Revolution,
- 4 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- 10 medals;
- an honorary weapon - a saber with the Golden Coat of Arms of the USSR, as well as 4 highest foreign orders and 3 medals.
In modern world
supreme commander
, as a rule, the head of state. Therefore, he is simultaneously charged with the responsibility for developing and approving the country’s military doctrine. He also appoints the high command of the regular troops. Of course this one state institute is derived from medieval governors who served under appanage princes. However, monarchical Russia throughout its long history did without the post of supreme commander-in-chief.As a result of such abstinence
position of Supreme Commander-in-Chief
was first introduced in the Russian Empire only at the beginning - on July 20, 1914, by decree of the Senate, it was occupied by cavalry general Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. In Russia of the 21st century, this position is according toKUTUZOV Mikhail Illarionovich (1745-1813), His Serene Highness Prince of Smolensk (1812), Russian commander, Field Marshal General (1812), diplomat. Student of A.V. Suvorov. Participant in the Russian-Turkish wars of the 18th century, distinguished himself during the storming of Izmail. During the Russian-Austro-French War of 1805, he commanded Russian troops in Austria and with a skillful maneuver brought them out from the threat of encirclement. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1806-12, commander-in-chief of the Moldavian Army (1811-12), won victories near Rushuk and Slobodzeya, and concluded the Bucharest Peace Treaty. During the Patriotic War of 1812, commander-in-chief of the Russian army (from August), which defeated Napoleon's army. In January 1813, the army under the command of Kutuzov entered Western Europe.
* * *
Youth and beginning of service
He came from an old noble family. His father I.M. Golenishchev-Kutuzov rose to the rank of lieutenant general and the rank of senator. Having received an excellent home education, 12-year-old Mikhail, after passing the exam in 1759, was enrolled as a corporal in the United Artillery and Engineering Noble School; In 1761 he received his first officer rank, and in 1762, with the rank of captain, he was appointed company commander of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment, headed by Colonel A.V. Suvorov. The rapid career of the young Kutuzov can be explained both by receiving a good education and by the efforts of his father. In 1764-1765, he volunteered to take part in military skirmishes of Russian troops in Poland, and in 1767 he was seconded to the commission for drawing up a new Code created by Catherine II.
Russo-Turkish wars
The school of military skill was his participation in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, where Kutuzov initially served as a divisional quartermaster in the army of General P. A. Rumyantsev and was in the battles of Ryabaya Mogila, r. Largi, Kagul and during the assault on Bendery. From 1772 he fought in the Crimean Army. On July 24, 1774, during the liquidation of the Turkish landing near Alushta, Kutuzov, commanding a grenadier battalion, was seriously wounded - a bullet exited through his left temple near his right eye. Kutuzov used the vacation he received to complete his treatment to travel abroad; in 1776 he visited Berlin and Vienna, and visited England, Holland, and Italy. Upon returning to duty, he commanded various regiments, and in 1785 he became commander of the Bug Jaeger Corps. From 1777 he was a colonel, from 1784 he was a major general. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791, during the siege of Ochakov (1788), Kutuzov was again dangerously wounded - the bullet went right through “from temple to temple behind both eyes.” The surgeon who treated him, Massot, commented on the wound as follows: “It must be assumed that fate appoints Kutuzov to something great, for he remained alive after two wounds, fatal according to all the rules of medical science.” At the beginning of 1789, Mikhail Illarionovich took part in the battle of Kaushany and in the capture of the fortresses of Akkerman and Bender. During the storming of Izmail in 1790, Suvorov assigned him to command one of the columns and, without waiting for the capture of the fortress, appointed him first commandant. For this assault, Kutuzov received the rank of lieutenant general; Suvorov commented on the role of his student in the assault: “Kutuzov attacked on the left flank, but was my right hand.”
Diplomat, military man, courtier
At the conclusion of the Peace of Yassy, Kutuzov was unexpectedly appointed envoy to Turkey. When choosing him, the Empress took into account his broad outlook, subtle mind, rare tact, ability to find mutual language With different people and innate cunning. In Istanbul, Kutuzov managed to gain the trust of the Sultan and successfully led the activities of a huge embassy of 650 people. Upon returning to Russia in 1794, he was appointed director of the Land Noble Cadet Corps. Under Emperor Paul I, he was appointed to the most important posts (inspector of troops in Finland, commander of an expeditionary force sent to Holland, Lithuanian military governor, commander of the army in Volyn), and was entrusted with important diplomatic missions.
Kutuzov under Alexander I
At the beginning of the reign of Alexander I, Kutuzov took the post of St. Petersburg military governor, but was soon sent on leave. In 1805 he was appointed commander of the troops operating in Austria against Napoleon. He managed to save the army from the threat of encirclement, but Alexander I, who arrived to the troops, under the influence of young advisers, insisted on holding a general battle. Kutuzov objected, but was unable to defend his opinion, and at Austerlitz the Russian-Austrian troops suffered a crushing defeat. The main culprit for this was the emperor, who actually removed Kutuzov from command, but it was on the old commander that Alexander I placed full responsibility for losing the battle. This became the reason for the emperor’s hostile attitude towards Kutuzov, who knew the true background of the events.
Having become the commander-in-chief of the Moldavian army operating against the Turks in 1811, Kutuzov was able to rehabilitate himself - not only defeated the enemy near Rushchuk (now Ruse, Bulgaria), but also, showing extraordinary diplomatic abilities, signed the Bucharest Peace Treaty in 1812, which was beneficial for Russia. The emperor, who did not like the commander, nevertheless awarded him the title of count (1811), and then elevated him to the dignity of His Serene Highness (1812).
Kutuzov as a person
Today, in Russian literature and cinema, an image of Kutuzov has developed that is quite far from the real state of affairs. Documents and memoirs of contemporaries claim that Kutuzov was more lively and controversial than they imagine today. In life, Mikhail Illarionovich was a merry fellow and a zhuir, a lover of good food and a drink on occasion; He was a great flatterer of ladies and a regular at the salon; he enjoyed great success with the ladies thanks to his courtesy, eloquence and sense of humor. Even in his old age, Kutuzov remained a ladies' man; on all campaigns, including the War of 1812, he was always accompanied by a woman dressed in a soldier's uniform. It is also a legend that all Russian military men adored Kutuzov: in many memoirs of officers of the Patriotic War there are rather unpleasant characteristics of the commander, who irritated some military men with his causticity and the fact that he could leave important military affairs for the sake of a good feast or communication with a lady. The opinion that Kutuzov was one-eyed after being wounded also became a general misconception. In fact, the commander’s eye remained in place, it was just that the bullet damaged the temporal nerve, and therefore the eyelid could not open. As a result, Kutuzov looked as if he had winked but never opened his eyes. There was no terrible, gaping wound, and therefore the commander very rarely wore an eye patch - only when going out to see the ladies...
French invasion
At the beginning of the 1812 campaign against the French, Kutuzov was in St. Petersburg in the secondary post of commander of the Narva Corps, and then the St. Petersburg militia. Only when disagreements among the generals reached a critical point was he appointed commander-in-chief of all armies operating against Napoleon (August 8). Despite the public's expectations, Kutuzov, due to the current situation, was forced to continue his retreat strategy. But, yielding to the demands of the army and society, he fought the Battle of Borodino near Moscow, which he considered useless. For Borodino, Kutuzov was promoted to field marshal general. At the military council in Fili, the commander made the difficult decision to leave Moscow. Russian troops under his command, having completed a flank march to the south, stopped at the village of Tarutino. At this time, Kutuzov was sharply criticized by a number of senior military leaders, but the actions he took made it possible to preserve the army and strengthen it with reinforcements and numerous militia. Having waited for the French troops to leave Moscow, Kutuzov accurately determined the direction of their movement and blocked their path at Maloyaroslavets, preventing the French from entering grain-producing Ukraine. The parallel pursuit of the retreating enemy, then organized by Kutuzov, led to the virtual death of the French army, although army critics reproached the commander-in-chief for passivity and the desire to build Napoleon a “golden bridge” to exit Russia. In 1813, Kutuzov led the allied Russian-Prussian troops, but soon the previous strain of strength, a cold and “nervous fever complicated by paralytic phenomena” led to the death of the commander on April 16 (April 28, new style). His embalmed body was transported to St. Petersburg and buried in the Kazan Cathedral, and Kutuzov’s heart was buried near Bunzlau, where he died. This was done according to the will of the commander, who wanted his heart to remain with his soldiers. Contemporaries claim that on the day of Kutuzov’s funeral the weather was rainy, “as if nature itself was crying about the death of the glorious commander,” but at the moment when Kutuzov’s body was lowered into the grave, the rain suddenly stopped, the clouds broke for a moment, and a bright ray of sunlight illuminated the coffin of the deceased hero... The fate of the grave where Kutuzov’s heart lies is also interesting. It still exists, neither time nor the enmity of nations has destroyed it. For 200 years, the Germans regularly brought fresh flowers to the grave of the liberator; this continued even during the Great Patriotic War, despite the irreconcilable struggle between the USSR and Germany (evidence of this was left in his memoirs by the famous Soviet ace A, who visited the grave of Kutuzov’s heart in 1945 . I. Pokryshkin). 
Kutuzov accepts the army
Kutuzov at the Battle of Borodino
Council in Fili. Kutuzov decides to leave Moscow.
Biography of Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin(real name Dzhugashvili) was born into a Georgian family (a number of sources express versions about the Ossetian origin of their ancestors Stalin) in the city of Gori, Tiflis province.
During life Stalin and for a long time afterwards the birthday of I.V. Stalin The date was set - December 21, 1879. A number of researchers, with reference to the first part of the metric book of the Gori Assumption Cathedral Church, intended for registering births, have established a different date of birth Stalin- December 18, 1878.
Joseph Stalin was the third son in the family, the first two died in infancy. His native language was Georgian. Russian language Stalin learned it later, but always spoke with a noticeable Georgian accent. According to Svetlana's daughter, Stalin, however, sang in Russian with virtually no accent.
At the age of five in 1884 Joseph Stalin falls ill with smallpox, which left marks on his face for life. Since 1885, due to a severe bruise - a phaeton flew into him - he Joseph Stalin I have had a defect in my left hand throughout my life.
Education of Stalin. Stalin's entry into revolutionary activity
In 1886 mother Stalin, Ekaterina Georgievna wanted to determine Joseph to study at the Gori Orthodox Theological School. However, since the child did not know the Russian language at all, he was unable to enter the school. In 1886-1888, at the request of his mother, to teach Joseph The children of priest Christopher Charkviani took up the Russian language. The result of the training was that in 1888 Stalin does not enter the first preparatory class at the school, but immediately enters the second preparatory class. Many years later, on September 15, 1927, mother Stalin, will write a letter of gratitude to the school’s Russian language teacher, Zakhary Alekseevich Davitashvili:
“I remember well that you especially singled out my son Soso, and he said more than once that it was you who helped him fall in love with learning and it was thanks to you that he knows the Russian language well... You taught children to treat with love ordinary people and think about those who are in trouble.”
In 1889 Joseph Stalin Having successfully completed the second preparatory class, he was accepted into the school. In July 1894, after graduating from college Joseph was awarded as the best student. His certificate contains the highest score - 5 (excellent) in most subjects. So in the Certificate issued to the graduate of the Gori Theological School I. Dzhugashvili in 1894, noted:
“Pupil of Gori Theological School Dzhugashvili Joseph with excellent behavior (5) showed success: in the Sacred History of the Old Testament (5); — Sacred history of the New Testament (5); — Orthodox Catechism (5); — Explanation of worship with the church charter (5); — Languages: Russian with Church Slavonic (5), Greek (4) very good, Georgian (5) excellent; — Arithmetic (4) very good; — Geography (5); — Penmanship (5); — Church singing: Russian (5), and Georgian (5).”
In September 1894 Stalin Having brilliantly passed the entrance exams, he was enrolled in the Orthodox Tiflis Theological Seminary, which was located in the center of Tiflis. There he first became acquainted with the ideas of Marxism. By the beginning of 1895, the seminarian Joseph Dzhugashvili meets underground groups of revolutionary Marxists expelled by the government to Transcaucasia. Subsequently Stalin recalled:
“I joined the revolutionary movement at the age of 15, when I contacted underground groups of Russian Marxists who then lived in Transcaucasia. These groups had a great influence on me and gave me a taste for underground Marxist literature."
From June to December 1895 in the newspaper “Iberia”, edited by I. G. Chavchavadze signed “I. J-shvili" five poems by the young Stalin, another poem was also published in July 1896 in the Social Democratic newspaper “Keali” (“Furrow”) under the signature “Soselo”. Of these, the poem “To Prince R. Eristavi” was included in the collection “Georgian Reader” in 1907, among selected masterpieces of Georgian poetry.
In 1896-1898 at the seminary Joseph Stalin leads an illegal Marxist circle that met in the apartment of revolutionary Vano Sturua at number 194 on Elizavetinskaya Street. In 1898 Joseph joins the Georgian social democratic organization Mesame Dasi. Together with V.Z. Ketskhoveli and A.G. Tsulukidze I.V. Dzhugashvili forms the core of the revolutionary minority of this organization. Subsequently - in 1931 - Stalin in an interview with the German writer Emil Ludwig to the question “What prompted you to be an oppositionist?” Possibly mistreatment from parents? replied: “No. My parents treated me quite well. Another thing is the theological seminary where I studied then. Out of protest against the mocking regime and the Jesuit methods that existed in the seminary, I was ready to become and actually became a revolutionary, a supporter of Marxism...”
In 1898-1899 Joseph leads a circle at the railway depot, and also conducts classes in workers' circles at the Adelkhanov shoe factory, at the Karapetov plant, at the Bozardzhants tobacco factory, and in the Main Tiflis railway workshops. Stalin recalled about this time: “I remember 1898, when I first received a circle from the workers of the railway workshops... Here, in the circle of these comrades, I then received my first baptism of fire... My first teachers were the Tiflis workers.” On December 14-19, 1898, a six-day strike of railway workers took place in Tiflis, one of the initiators of which was a seminarian Joseph Stalin.
Without completing the full course, in the fifth year of study, before the exams on May 29, 1899, Stalin was expelled from the seminary with the motivation “for failure to appear for exams for an unknown reason” (probably the actual reason for the expulsion, which was also adhered to by official Soviet historiography, was the activity Joseph Dzhugashvili on the propaganda of Marxism among seminarians and railway workshop workers). In the certificate issued Joseph Stalin by exception, it was stated that he could serve as a teacher in primary public schools.
After being expelled from the seminary Stalin I was engaged in tutoring for some time. Among his students, in particular, was S. A. Ter-Petrosyan (future revolutionary Kamo). From the end of December 1899 I.V. Dzhugashvili was accepted as a computer-observer at the Tiflis Physical Observatory.
July 16, 1904 in the Tiflis Church of St. David Joseph Dzhugashvili married Ekaterina Svanidze. She became the first wife Stalin. Her brother studied with Joseph Dzhugashvili at the Tiflis Theological Seminary. But three years later, the wife died of tuberculosis (according to other sources, the cause of death was typhoid fever). From this marriage the first son will appear in 1907 Stalin- Yakov.
Before 1917 Joseph Dzhugashvili used a large number of pseudonyms, in particular: Beshoshvili, Nizheradze, Chizhikov, Ivanovich. Of these, in addition to the pseudonym " Stalin", the most famous was the pseudonym "Koba". In 1912 Joseph Dzhugashvili finally adopts the pseudonym " Stalin».
Revolutionary activities of Stalin
April 23, 1900 Joseph Stalin, Vano Sturua and Zakro Chodrishvili organized a work day, which brought together 400-500 workers. At the rally, which was opened by Chodrishvili, among others, spoke Joseph Dzhugashvili. This performance was the first appearance Stalin in front of a large gathering of people. In August of the same year Dzhugashvili participated in the preparation and conduct of a major action by the workers of Tiflis - a strike in the Main Railway Workshops. Revolutionary workers took part in organizing workers’ protests: M. I. Kalinin, S. Ya. Alliluyev, as well as M. Z. Bochoridze, A. G. Okuashvili, V. F. Sturua. From August 1 to August 15, up to four thousand people took part in the strike. As a result, more than five hundred strikers were arrested. Arrests of Georgian Social Democrats continued in March - April 1901. Stalin, as one of the leaders of the strike, avoided arrest: he quit his job at the observatory and went underground, becoming an underground revolutionary.
In September 1901, the illegal newspaper Brdzola (Struggle) was published at the Nina printing house, organized by Lado Ketskhoveli in Baku. The editorial of the first issue, entitled “From the Editor,” belonged to a twenty-two-year-old Stalin. This article is the first known political work Stalin.
In 1901-1902 Joseph- Member of the Tiflis and Batumi committees of the RSDLP. Since 1901 Stalin, being in an illegal situation, organized strikes, demonstrations, staged armed robberies against banks, transferring stolen money (also called expropriated in a number of other sources) for the needs of the revolution. On April 5, 1902, he was arrested for the first time in Batumi. On April 19 he was transferred to Kutaisi prison. After a year and a half of imprisonment and transfer to Butum, he was exiled to Eastern Siberia. November 27 Stalin arrived at the place of exile - in the village of Novaya Uda, Balagansky district, Irkutsk province. After more than a month Joseph Dzhugashvili made his first escape and returned to Tiflis, from where he later moved again to Batum.
After the Second Congress of the RSDLP (1903), held in Brussels and London, he became a Bolshevik. On the recommendation of one of the leaders of the Caucasian Union of the RSDLP, M. G. Tskhakaya Koba was sent to the Kutaisi region to the Imeretian-Mingrelian Committee as a representative of the Caucasian Union Committee. In 1904-1905 Stalin organizes a printing house in Chiatura, participates in the December strike of 1904 in Baku.
During the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907 Joseph Dzhugashvili busy with party affairs: writes leaflets, participates in the publication of Bolshevik newspapers, organizes a fighting squad in Tiflis (autumn 1905), visits Batum, Novorossiysk, Kutais, Gori, Chiatura. In February 1905, he participated in arming the workers of Baku in order to prevent Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes in the Caucasus. In September 1905, he participated in the attempt to seize the Kutaisi workshop. In December 1905 Stalin participates as a delegate at the 1st conference of the RSDLP in Tammerfors, where he first met V.I. Lenin. In May 1906, he was a delegate to the IV Congress of the RSDLP, held in Stockholm.
In 1907 Stalin delegate to the Vth Congress of the RSDLP in London. In 1907-1908 one of the leaders of the Baku Committee of the RSDLP. Stalin involved in the so-called "Tiflis expropriation" in the summer of 1907.
At the plenum of the Central Committee after the 6th (Prague) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP (1912), he was co-opted in absentia into the Central Committee and the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP. Trotsky at work Stalin"claimed that this was facilitated by a personal letter Stalin V.I. Lenin, where he said that he agreed to any responsible work.
March 25, 1908 Stalin in Baku he was again arrested and imprisoned in Bailov prison. From 1908 to 1910 he was in exile in the city of Solvychegodsk, from where he corresponded with Lenin. In 1910 Stalin escaped from exile. After that Joseph Dzhugashvili was detained by the authorities three times, and each time he escaped from exile to the Vologda province. From December 1911 to February 1912 in exile in the city of Vologda. On the night of February 29, 1912, he fled from Vologda.
In 1912-1913, while working in St. Petersburg, he was one of the main employees in the first mass Bolshevik newspaper Pravda. At the suggestion of Lenin at the Prague Party Conference in 1912 Stalin was elected a member of the party's Central Committee and placed at the head of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee. May 5, 1912, the day the first issue of the Pravda newspaper was published Stalin was arrested and exiled to the Narym region. A few months later he escaped (5th escape) and returned to St. Petersburg, where he settled with the worker Savinov. From here he led the Bolshevik election campaign in State Duma IV convocation. During this period, the wanted Stalin lives in St. Petersburg, constantly changing apartments, under the pseudonym Vasiliev.
In November and late December 1912 Stalin twice goes to Krakow to see Lenin for meetings of the Central Committee with party workers. At the end of 1912-1913 in Krakow Stalin at Lenin’s insistence, he wrote a long article, “Marxism and the National Question,” in which he expressed Bolshevik views on ways to resolve the national question and criticized the program of “cultural-national autonomy” of the Austro-Hungarian socialists. The work gained fame among Russian Marxists, and from that time Stalin was considered an expert on national problems.
January 1913 Stalin spent in Vienna. Soon, in the same year, he returned to Russia, but in March he was arrested, imprisoned and exiled to the village of Kureika, Turukhansk Territory, where he spent 4 years - until the February Revolution of 1917. In exile he corresponded with Lenin.
Stalin's participation in the October Revolution of 1917
After the February revolution Stalin returned to Petrograd. Before Lenin's arrival from exile, he was one of the leaders of the Central Committee of the RSDLP and the St. Petersburg Committee of the Bolshevik Party. In 1917, he was a member of the editorial board of the newspaper Pravda, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, and the Military Revolutionary Center. At the beginning Stalin supported the Provisional Government. In relation to the Provisional Government and its policies, I proceeded from the fact that the democratic revolution was not yet completed, and overthrowing the government was not a practical task. However, then he joined Lenin, who advocated transforming the “bourgeois-democratic” February revolution into a proletarian socialist revolution.
From April 14 to April 22 he was a delegate to the First Petrograd City Conference of Bolsheviks. On April 24 - 29, at the VII All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP, he spoke in the debate on the report on the current situation, supported the views of Lenin, and made a report on the national question; elected member of the Central Committee of the RSDLP.
In May - June Stalin was a participant in anti-war propaganda; was one of the organizers of the re-election of the Soviets and in the municipal campaign in Petrograd. June 3 - 24 participated as a delegate of the First All-Russian Congress of Workers' Councils and soldiers' deputies; was elected a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Bureau from the Bolshevik faction. Also participated in the preparation of demonstrations on June 10 and 18; published a number of articles in the newspapers Pravda and Soldatskaya Pravda.
Due to Lenin's forced departure into hiding Stalin spoke at the VI Congress of the RSDLP (July - August 1917) with a report to the Central Committee. At a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP on August 5, he was elected a member of the narrow composition of the Central Committee. In August-September he mainly carried out organizational and journalistic work. On October 10, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, he voted for the resolution on an armed uprising and was elected a member of the Political Bureau, created “for political leadership in the near future.”
On the night of October 16, at an extended meeting of the Central Committee Stalin opposed the position of L.B. Kamenev and G.E. Zinoviev, who voted against the decision to revolt; was elected a member of the Military Revolutionary Center, as part of which he joined the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee.
October 24, after the cadets destroyed the printing house of the newspaper “Rabochiy Put”, Stalin ensured the publication of a newspaper in which he published an editorial “What do we need?” calling for the overthrow of the Provisional Government and its replacement by a Soviet government elected by representatives of workers, soldiers and peasants. On the same day Stalin and Trotsky held a meeting of the Bolsheviks - delegates of the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets of the RSD, at which Stalin made a report on the course of political events. On the night of October 25, he participated in a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, which determined the structure and name of the new Soviet government. On the afternoon of October 25, he carried out Lenin’s instructions and was not present at the meeting of the Central Committee.
In the elections to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, he was elected as a deputy from the Petrograd Capital District from the RSDLP.
Stalin's participation in the Russian Civil War 1917–1922
After the victory of the October Revolution Stalin entered the Council of People's Commissars as People's Commissar for Nationalities. At this time, the Civil War was flaring up in Russia. On II All-Russian Congress Councils of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies Stalin was elected a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. On the night of October 28, at the headquarters of the Petrograd Military District, he took part in the development of a plan for the defeat of the troops of A.F. Kerensky and P.N. Krasnov, who were advancing on Petrograd. October 28 Lenin and Stalin signed a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars banning the publication of “all newspapers closed by the Military Revolutionary Committee.”
29th of November Stalin joined the Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, which also included Lenin, Trotsky and Sverdlov. This body was given “the right to resolve all emergency matters, but with the mandatory involvement of all members of the Central Committee who were in Smolny at that moment in the decision.” At the same time Stalin was re-elected to the editorial board of Pravda. In November - December 1917 Stalin Worked mainly at the People's Commissariat for Nationalities. November 2, 1917 Stalin Together with Lenin, he signed the “Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia.”
In April 1918 Stalin together with Kh. G. Rakovsky and D. Z. Manuilsky in Kursk, he negotiated with representatives of the Ukrainian Central Rada on the conclusion of a peace treaty.
During the Civil War from October 8, 1918 to July 8, 1919 and from May 18, 1920 to April 1, 1922 Stalin is also a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR. Stalin He was also a member of the Revolutionary Military Councils of the Western, Southern, and Southwestern Fronts.
As noted by Doctor of Historical and Military Sciences M. M. Gareev, during the Civil War Stalin gained extensive experience in the military-political leadership of large masses of troops on many fronts (defense of Tsaritsyn, Petrograd, on the fronts against Denikin, Wrangel, the White Poles, etc.).
French writer Henri Barbusse quotes the words of an assistant Stalin according to the People's Commissar S. S. Pestkovsky regarding the period of the Brest negotiations at the beginning of 1918:
Lenin could not do without Stalin not a single day. Probably for this purpose, our office in Smolny was “next door” to Lenin. During the day he called Stalin on the phone an infinite number of times, or he came into our office and took him away with him. Most of the day Stalin stayed with Lenin.<…>At night, when the bustle in Smolny decreased a little, Stalin I went to the direct line and disappeared there for hours. He conducted long negotiations either with our commanders (Antonov, Pavlunovsky, Muravyov and others), or with our enemies (with the Minister of War of the Ukrainian Rada Porsh)…
About the Brest negotiations in the work " Stalin"L. D. Trotsky wrote:
Lenin during this period was in extreme need of Stalin... Thus, under Lenin, he played the role of chief of staff or official on responsible assignments. Lenin could entrust conversations over direct wires only to a proven person who was aware of all the tasks and concerns of Smolny.
In May 1918, after the outbreak of the civil war due to the worsening food situation in the country, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR appointed Stalin responsible for food supplies in the south of Russia and was seconded as an extraordinary representative of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the procurement and export of grain from the North Caucasus to industrial centers. Arriving on June 6, 1918 in Tsaritsyn, Stalin took power in the city into his own hands. He took part not only in the political, but also in the operational and tactical leadership of the district.
At this time, in July 1918, the Don Army of Ataman P.N. Krasnov launched its first attack on Tsaritsyn. On July 22, the Military Council of the North Caucasus Military District was created, the chairman of which was Stalin. The council also included K. E. Voroshilov and S. K. Minin. Stalin Having taken charge of the city’s defense, he showed a penchant for tough measures.
The first military measures taken by the Military Council of the North Caucasian Military District, headed by Stalin, turned into defeats for the Red Army. At the end of July, the White Guards captured Torgovaya and Velikoknyazheskaya, and in connection with this, Tsaritsyn’s connection with Northern Caucasus. After the failure of the Red Army offensive on August 10-15, Krasnov’s army surrounded Tsaritsyn on three sides. The group of General A.P. Fitzkhelaurov broke through the front north of Tsaritsyn, occupying Erzovka and Pichuzhinskaya. This allowed them to reach the Volga and disrupt the connection between the Soviet leadership in Tsaritsyn and Moscow.
The defeats of the Red Army were also caused by the betrayal of the chief of staff of the North Caucasus Military District, former tsarist colonel A. L. Nosovich. Historian D. A. Volkogonov writes:
Despite the help to Denikin from the traitor, the former tsarist colonel military expert Nosovich, the assault on Tsaritsyn did not bring success to the White Guards... The betrayal of Nosovich and a number of other former officers of the tsarist army strengthened the already suspicious attitude Stalin to military specialists. The People's Commissar, vested with extraordinary powers on food issues, did not hide his distrust of specialists. On the initiative Stalin a large group of military experts was arrested. A floating prison was created on the barge. Many were shot.
Thus, blaming “military experts” for the defeats, Stalin made large-scale arrests and executions.
In his speech at the VIII Congress on March 21, 1919, Lenin condemned Stalin for the executions in Tsaritsyn.
At the same time, from August 8, the group of General K.K. Mamontov was advancing in the central sector. On August 18-20, military clashes took place on the near approaches to Tsaritsyn, as a result of which Mamontov’s group was stopped, and on August 20, the Red Army troops with a sudden blow drove the enemy north of Tsaritsyn and by August 22 liberated Erzovka and Pichuzhinskaya. On August 26, a counteroffensive was launched along the entire front. By September 7, the White troops were thrown back across the Don, and they lost about 12 thousand killed and captured.
In September, the White Cossack command decided to launch a new attack on Tsaritsyn and carried out additional mobilization. The Soviet command took measures to strengthen defenses and improve command and control. By order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic of September 11, 1918, the Southern Front was created, the commander of which was P. P. Sytin. Stalin became a member of the RVS of the Southern Front (until October 19, K. E. Voroshilov until October 3, K. A. Mekhonoshin from October 3, A. I. Okulov from October 14).
On September 19, 1918, in a telegram sent from Moscow to Tsaritsyn to front commander Voroshilov, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Lenin and Chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council of the Southern Front Stalin, in particular, noted: “Soviet Russia notes with admiration the heroic exploits of the communist and revolutionary regiments of Kharchenko, Kolpakov, Bulatkin’s cavalry, Alyabyev’s armored trains, and the Volga Military Flotilla.”
Meanwhile, on September 17, General Denisov's troops launched a new attack on the city. The most fierce fighting took place from September 27 to 30. October 3 I.V. Stalin and K.E. Voroshilov send a telegram to V.I. Lenin demanding that the Central Committee discuss the issue of Trotsky’s actions, which threaten the collapse of the Southern Front. October 6 Stalin leaves for Moscow. October 8, by Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars I.V. Stalin appointed as a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic. October 11 I.V. Stalin returns from Moscow to Tsaritsyn. On October 17, 1918, having suffered heavy losses from the fire of Red Army batteries and armored trains, the Whites retreated. October 18 I.V. Stalin telegraphs to V.I. Lenin about the defeat of Krasnov’s troops near Tsaritsyn. October 19 I.V. Stalin leaves Tsaritsyn for Moscow.
In January 1919 Stalin and Dzerzhinsky travel to Vyatka to investigate the reasons for the defeat of the Red Army near Perm and the surrender of the city to the forces of Admiral Kolchak. Commission Stalin—Dzerzhinsky contributed to the reorganization and restoration of the combat effectiveness of the defeated 3rd Army; however, in general, the situation on the Perm front was corrected by the fact that Ufa was taken by the Red Army, and Kolchak already on January 6 gave the order to concentrate forces in the Ufa direction and move to defense near Perm.
Summer 1919 Stalin organizes resistance to the Polish offensive on the Western Front, in Smolensk.
By resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of November 27, 1919 Stalin was awarded the first Order of the Red Banner “in commemoration of his merits in the defense of Petrograd and selfless work on the Southern Front.”
Created on the initiative Stalin The 1st Cavalry Army, led by S. M. Budyonny, K. E. Voroshilov, E. A. Shchadenko, supported by the armies of the Southern Front, defeated Denikin’s troops. After the defeat of Denikin's troops, Stalin leads the restoration of the destroyed economy in Ukraine. In February - March 1920, he headed the Council of the Ukrainian Labor Army and led the mobilization of the population for coal mining.
During the period May 26 - September 1, 1920 Stalin was a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southwestern Front as a representative of the RVSR. There he led the breakthrough of the Polish front, the liberation of Kyiv and the advance of the Red Army to Lvov. August 13 Stalin refused to carry out the directive of the commander-in-chief based on the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP on August 5 to transfer the 1st Cavalry and 12th Armies to help the Western Front. During the decisive Battle of Warsaw on August 13-25, 1920, the troops of the Western Front suffered a heavy defeat, which changed the course of the Soviet-Polish war. September 23, at the IX All-Russian Conference of the RCP, Stalin tried to blame the failure near Warsaw on Commander-in-Chief Kamenev and front commander Tukhachevsky, but Lenin reproached Stalin in a biased manner towards them.
Also in 1920 Stalin participated in the defense of southern Ukraine from the offensive of Wrangel’s troops. Stalin's The instructions formed the basis of Frunze’s operational plan, according to which Wrangel’s troops were defeated.
As researcher Shikman A.P. notes, “the rigidity of decisions, enormous efficiency and skillful combination of military and political activities allowed Stalin gain many supporters."
Stalin's participation in the creation of the USSR
In 1922 Stalin participated in the creation of the USSR. Stalin considered it necessary to create not a union of republics, but rather a unitary state with autonomous national associations. This plan was rejected by Lenin and his associates.
On December 30, 1922, at the First All-Union Congress of Soviets, a decision was made to unite the Soviet republics into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - the USSR. Speaking at the congress, Stalin said:
“In the history of Soviet power, today is a turning point. He puts milestones between the old, already passed period, when the Soviet republics, although they acted together, but walked apart, occupied primarily with the question of their existence, and a new, already opened period, when the separate existence of the Soviet republics comes to an end, when the republics unite into a single union state for a successful fight against economic devastation, when the Soviet government is no longer thinking only about existence, but also about developing into a serious international force that can influence the international situation"
Beginning at the end of 1921, Lenin increasingly interrupted his work leading the party. He instructed the main work in this direction to be carried out Stalin. In this period Stalin was a permanent member of the Central Committee of the RCP, and at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP on April 3, 1922, he was elected to the Politburo and Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP, as well as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP. Initially, this position meant only the leadership of the party apparatus, while the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, Lenin, formally remained the leader of the party and government.
In the 1920s, the highest power in the party, and in fact in the country, belonged to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party, in which, until Lenin’s death, in addition to Lenin and Stalin, included five more people: L. D. Trotsky, G. E. Zinoviev, L. B. Kamenev, A. I. Rykov and M. P. Tomsky. All issues were resolved by majority vote. Since 1922, due to illness, Lenin actually retired from political activity. Inside the Politburo Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev organized a “troika” based on opposition to Trotsky. In conditions when the trade union leader Tomsky had a negative attitude towards Trotsky since the time of the so-called. “discussions about trade unions”, Rykov could become Trotsky’s only supporter. During these same years Stalin successfully increased his personal power, which soon became state power. Particularly important were his actions in recruiting his guard Yagoda, who he nominated to the leadership of the GPU (NKVD).
Immediately after Lenin's death on January 21, 1924, several groups formed within the party leadership, each of which laid claim to power. The Troika teamed up with Rykov, Tomsky, N.I. Bukharin and candidate member of the Politburo V.V. Kuibyshev, forming the so-called. "seven".
Trotsky considered himself the main contender for leadership in the country after Lenin and underestimated Stalin as a competitor. Soon other oppositionists, not only Trotskyists, sent the so-called to the Politburo. "Statement of the 46." The Troika then showed its power, mainly using the resources of the apparatus led by Stalin.
At the XIII Congress of the RCP (May 1924), all oppositionists were condemned. Influence Stalin has increased greatly. Main allies Stalin Bukharin and Rykov became the “seven”.
A new split emerged in the Politburo in October 1925, when Zinoviev, Kamenev, People's Commissar of Finance of the USSR G. Ya. Sokolnikov and N. K. Krupskaya presented a document that criticized the party line from a “left” point of view. The Seven broke up. At that moment Stalin began to unite with the so-called. “right”, which included Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky, who expressed the interests primarily of the peasantry. In the ongoing internal party struggle between the “right” and the “left” Stalin provided them with the forces of the party apparatus, and they (namely Bukharin) acted as theorists. The left opposition in the CPSU of Zinoviev and Kamenev was condemned at the XIV Congress (December 1925).
January 1, 1926 Stalin The Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party was again confirmed as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party.
By that time, the “theory of the victory of socialism in one country” had emerged. This view was developed Stalin, in the brochure “On Questions of Leninism”, (1926) and Bukharin. They divided the question of the victory of socialism into two parts - the question of the complete victory of socialism, that is, the possibility of building socialism and the complete impossibility of restoring capitalism by internal forces, and the question of the final victory, that is, the impossibility of restoration due to the intervention of Western powers, which would only be excluded by establishing a revolution in the West.
Trotsky, who did not believe in socialism in one country, joined Zinoviev and Kamenev. The so-called Left opposition in the CPSU (“United Opposition”). Stalin in 1929 he accused Bukharin and his allies of a “right deviation” and began to actually implement the program of the “left” to curtail the NEP and accelerated industrialization through the exploitation of the countryside.
February 13, 1930 Stalin was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner for “services on the front of socialist construction.” His wife committed suicide in 1932 Stalin— Nadezhda Alliluyeva.
Mother dies in May 1937 Stalin, however, he could not come to the funeral, but sent a wreath with the inscription in Russian and Georgian: “To my dear and beloved mother from her son Joseph Dzhugashvili(from Stalin)».
May 15, 1934 Stalin signed the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR “On the teaching of national history in schools of the USSR”, in accordance with which the teaching of history in secondary and higher schools was resumed.
In the second half of the 1930s Stalin is working on preparing for publication the textbook “A Short Course in the History of the All-Union Communist Party,” of which he was the main author. On November 14, 1938, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party adopted a resolution “On the organization of party propaganda in connection with the release of the “Short Course on the History of the All-Union Communist Party.” The decree officially made the textbook the basis for the propaganda of Marxism-Leninism and established its compulsory study in universities.
Stalin and the Great Patriotic War
More than a month and a half before the start of the war (from May 6, 1941) Stalin holds the position of head of the government of the USSR - chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. On the day of Germany's attack on the USSR Stalin still also one of the six secretaries of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party.
A number of historians place the blame personally Stalin the unpreparedness of the Soviet Union for war and huge losses, especially in the initial period of the war, despite the fact that Stalin many sources cited June 22, 1941 as the date of the attack. Other historians take the opposite view, including because Stalin There were conflicting data with wide differences in dates. According to Colonel V.N. Karpov, an employee of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, “intelligence did not give an exact date, they did not say unequivocally that the war would begin on June 22. No one doubted that war was inevitable, but no one had a clear idea of exactly when and how it would begin.” Stalin had no doubt about the inevitability of war, but the deadlines called by reconnaissance passed, and it did not begin. A version arose that England was spreading these rumors in order to push Hitler against the USSR. That’s why they appeared on intelligence reports Stalinist resolutions like “Isn’t this a British provocation?” Researcher A.V. Isaev states: “intelligence officers and analysts, with a lack of information, made conclusions that did not reflect reality. U Stalin There was simply no information that could be 100% trusted.” Former employee of the NKVD of the USSR Sudoplatov P.A. recalled that in May 1941, in the office of the German Ambassador W. Schulenburg, Soviet intelligence services installed listening devices, as a result of which, several days before the war, information was received about Germany’s intention to attack the USSR. According to the historian O. A. Rzheshevsky, on June 17, 1941, the head of the 1st Directorate of the NKGB of the USSR P. M. Fitin I. V. Stalin a special message was presented from Berlin: “All German military measures to prepare an armed uprising against the USSR have been completely completed, a strike can be expected at any time.” According to the version common in historical works, on June 15, 1941, Richard Sorge radioed to Moscow about the exact date of the start of the Great Patriotic War - June 22, 1941. According to the representative of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service V.N. Karpov, Sorge’s telegram about the date of the attack on the USSR on June 22 is a fake, created under, and Sorge named several dates for the attack on the USSR, which were never confirmed.
The day after the start of the war - June 23, 1941 - the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party by a joint resolution formed the Headquarters of the Main Command, which included Stalin and the chairman of which was appointed People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko. June 24 Stalin signs a resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on the creation of an Evacuation Council, designed to organize the evacuation of “the population, institutions, military and other cargo, enterprise equipment and other valuables” of the western part of the USSR.
A week after the start of the war - June 30 - Stalin was appointed Chairman of the newly formed State Defense Committee. 3 July Stalin made a radio address to the Soviet people, starting it with the words: “Comrades, citizens, brothers and sisters, soldiers of our army and navy! I am addressing you, my friends!” On July 10, 1941, the Headquarters of the Main Command was transformed into the Headquarters of the Supreme Command, and Timoshenko was appointed chairman instead of Marshal of the Soviet Union Stalin.
July 18 Stalin signs the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party "On the organization of the struggle in the rear of German troops", which sets the task of creating unbearable conditions for the Nazi invaders, disorganizing their communications, transport and military units themselves, disrupting all their activities, destroying the invaders and their accomplices, and helping in every possible way the creation of mounted and foot partisan detachments, sabotage and extermination groups, and the deployment of a network of Bolshevik underground organizations in the occupied territory to lead all actions against the fascist occupiers.
July 19, 1941 Stalin replaces Tymoshenko as People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. Since August 8, 1941 Stalin By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he is appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
July 30, 1941 Stalin receives the personal representative and closest adviser of US President Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Hopkins. December 16 - 20 in Moscow Stalin conducts negotiations with British Foreign Minister A. Eden on the issue of concluding an agreement between the USSR and Great Britain on an alliance in the war against Germany and on post-war cooperation.
During the war period Stalin- as Supreme Commander-in-Chief - signed a number of orders that cause mixed assessments by modern historians. Thus, in the order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command No. 270 dated August 16, 1941, signed Stalin, it read: “Commanders and political workers who, during battle, tear off their insignia and desert to the rear or surrender to the enemy, are considered malicious deserters, whose families are subject to arrest as the families of deserters who violated the oath and betrayed their homeland.”.
Also controversial is the so-called. “Order No. 227”, which tightened discipline in the Red Army, prohibited the withdrawal of troops without orders from the leadership, introduced penal battalions as part of the fronts and penal companies as part of the armies, as well as barrage detachments within the armies.
During the Battle of Moscow in 1941, after Moscow was declared under siege, Stalin remained in the capital. November 6, 1941 Stalin spoke at a ceremonial meeting held at the Mayakovskaya metro station, which was dedicated to the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution. In his speech Stalin explained the unsuccessful start of the war for the Red Army, in particular, to “a shortage of tanks and partly aviation.” The next day, November 7, 1941, on instructions Stalin A traditional military parade was held on Red Square.
During the Great Patriotic War Stalin went to the front several times in the front-line zones. In 1941-1942, the commander-in-chief visited the Mozhaisk, Zvenigorod, Solnechnogorsk defensive lines, and was also in the hospital in the Volokolamsk direction - in the 16th army of K. Rokossovsky, where he examined the work of the BM-13 (Katyusha) rocket launchers, was in 316 1st division of I.V. Panfilov. October 16 (according to other sources - in mid-November) Stalin goes to the front line to a field hospital on Volokolamskoye Highway in the area of the village of Lenino (Istrinsky district of the Moscow region) to the division of General A.P. Beloborodov, talks with the wounded, awards soldiers with orders and medals of the USSR. Three days after the parade on November 7, 1941 Stalin went to the Volokolamsk highway to inspect the combat readiness of one of the divisions that arrived from Siberia. In July 1941 Stalin went to get acquainted with the state of affairs of the Western Front, which at that time (in the conditions of the advance of the German invaders to the Western Dvina and Dniester) included the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd armies. Later Stalin together with member of the Military Council of the Western Front N.A. Bulganin, he went to get acquainted with the Volokolamsk-Maloyaroslavets defense line. In 1942 Stalin went across the Lama River to the airfield to test the aircraft. On August 2 and 3, 1943, he arrived on the Western Front to General V.D. Sokolovsky and Bulganin. On August 4 and 5 he was on the Kalinin Front with General A. I. Eremenko. 5th of August Stalin located on the front line in the village of Khoroshevo (Rzhevsky district, Tver region). As A.T. Rybin, an employee of the commander-in-chief’s personal security, writes: “According to the observation of the personal security Stalin, during the war years Stalin behaved recklessly. Members of the Politburo and N. Vlasik literally drove him into shelter from flying fragments and shells exploding in the air.”
May 30, 1942 Stalin signs the GKO resolution on the creation of the Central Headquarters partisan movement at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. On September 5, 1942, he issues an order “On the tasks of the partisan movement,” which became a program document for the further organization of the struggle behind the invaders’ lines.
August 21, 1943 Stalin signs the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party "On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation." November 25 Stalin Accompanied by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov and a member of the State Defense Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR K. E. Voroshilov, he travels to Stalingrad and Baku, from where he flies by plane to Tehran (Iran). From November 28 to December 1, 1943 Stalin participates in the Tehran Conference - the first conference of the Big Three during the Second World War - the leaders of three countries: the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. 4 - 11 February 1945 Stalin participates in the Yalta Conference of the Allied Powers, dedicated to the establishment of the post-war world order.
Death of Stalin
March 1, 1953 Stalin lying on the floor in the small dining room of the Near Dacha (one of the residences Stalin), discovered by security officer P.V. Lozgachev. On the morning of March 2, doctors arrived at Nizhnyaya Dacha and diagnosed paralysis on the right side of the body. March 5 at 21:50 Stalin died. About death Stalin was announced on March 5, 1953. According to the medical report, death was caused by a cerebral hemorrhage.
There are numerous conspiracy theories suggesting the unnaturalness of death and the involvement of the environment in it Stalin. According to A. Avtorkhanov (“The Mystery of Death Stalin. Beria's Conspiracy") Stalin killed L.P. Beria. Publicist Yu. Mukhin (“Murder Stalin and Beria") and the historian I. Chigirin ("White and Dirty Spots of History") consider N. S. Khrushchev to be the murderer-conspirator. Almost all researchers agree that the leader’s associates contributed (not necessarily intentionally) to his death by not rushing to call for medical help.
Embalmed Body Stalin was placed on public display in the Lenin Mausoleum, which in 1953-1961 was called the “Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin" On October 30, 1961, the XXII Congress of the CPSU decided that “serious violations Stalin Lenin’s covenants make it impossible to leave the coffin with his body in the Mausoleum.” On the night of October 31 to November 1, 1961, the body Stalin was taken out of the Mausoleum and buried in a grave near the Kremlin wall. In 1970, a monument was unveiled at the grave (bust by N.V. Tomsky).
