VLASIK Nikolai Sidorovich (1896-1967)
One of the leaders of the state security organs of the USSR, the head of personal security I.V. Stalin, lieutenant general (07/09/1945).
Born in 1896 in the village of Bobynichi, Slonimsky district, Grodno province (Belarus). The son of a peasant. He was educated at a parochial school. Since 1913 he worked as a laborer, a digger. During the First World War, in March 1915, he was drafted into the army as a junior non-commissioned officer. From November 1917 he was a policeman in Moscow. In 1918 - a Red Army soldier, a participant in the defense of Tsaritsyn. In November of the same year he joined the RCP(b).
In September 1919 he was transferred to the bodies of the Cheka. On November 1, 1926, he became a senior commissioner of the Operations Department of the OGPU of the USSR, and then held senior positions in the Operations Department, whose functions included the protection of party and state leaders.
Nikolai Vlasik appeared in Stalin's guard in 1931 on the personal recommendation of the chairman of the OGPU V.R. Menzhinsky, after the death of Stalin's chief guard I.F. Yusis. Later, however, a legend arose that back in 1918, Stalin somehow liked the Red Army soldier Vlasik, whom he then took as a personal bodyguard. The legend has become widespread. Even Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Joseph Vissarionovich, took her on faith in her memoirs. She also got into fiction, for example, in the historical documentary novel by Vladimir Uspensky "The Privy Councilor to the Leader". However, this legend was refuted by Nikolai Sidorovich himself in his unpublished notes, written by him at the end of his life for his relatives and friends: an ordinary soldier Vlasik fought near Tsaritsyn, but a member of the Revolutionary Military Council I.V. He never saw Stalin then.
Initially, Nikolai Vlasik was only the head of Stalin's security. But after the tragic death of Nadezhda Alliluyeva, he was already the educator of children - Vasily and Svetlana, the organizer of their leisure time, the financial and economic distributor, whose vigilant eye kept all the inhabitants of the Stalinist house under supervision. N. S. Vlasik solved almost everything everyday problems Stalin. Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva wrote in her memoirs "Twenty Letters to a Friend":
He headed all of his father's guards, considered himself almost the closest person to him, and, being himself incredibly illiterate, rude, stupid, but noble, in recent years he went so far as to dictate to some artists "the tastes of Comrade Stalin" - so as he believed that he knew and understood them well. And the leaders listened to and followed this advice. And not one holiday concert at the Bolshoi Theater, or in the St. George's Hall at banquets, was not compiled without Vlasik's sanction ... His impudence knew no bounds, and he favorably conveyed to artists - whether he "liked" it - whether it was a film, or an opera, or even silhouettes of those being built then high-rise buildings ... It would not be worth mentioning him at all - he ruined the lives of many, but before that he was a colorful figure that you couldn’t pass him by. In our house for “servants”, Vlasik was almost equal to his father himself, since his father was high and far away, and Vlasik could do anything with the power given to him ...
During the life of my mother, he existed somewhere in the background as a bodyguard, and in the house, of course, there was neither his foot nor the spirit. At his father’s dacha, in Kuntsevo, he was constantly and “supervised” from there all the other residences of his father, which over the years became more and more ... "
A few years later, Vlasik becomes not only Stalin's main guard, but also one of the leaders of the entire security service of the top leadership of the USSR. In 1935-36, he was the head of the personal guard of the Operational Department of the NKVD of the USSR. Since 1936 - head of the operational group and head of the department of the 1st department of the 1st department of the NKVD of the USSR.
After joining the NKVD of the USSR, L.P. Beria and dismissal of nominees N.I. Ezhova N.S. Vlasik on November 19, 1938 was appointed head of the 1st department of the Main Directorate state security. In February-July 1941, the Vlasik department was part of the NKGB of the USSR, and then returned to the jurisdiction of the NKVD. On January 19, 1942, Vlasik was transferred to the post of first deputy head of the 1st department.
In 1941, in connection with the possibility of the fall of Moscow, he was sent to Kuibyshev to control the relocation of the government there. Responsible for the protection of the residences of I.V. Stalin in Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam.
After the secondary formation in April 1943 of an independent NGKB of the USSR, Vlasik's department was deployed to the 6th Directorate, but already on August 9, Vlasik again became not the head, the first deputy. July 9, 1945 he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. From March 1946 he was the head of the security department No. 1 of the USSR Ministry of State Security. This department was engaged exclusively in the protection and provision of Stalin. On November 28, 1946, under the leadership of General Vlasik, the Main Security Directorate (GUO) of the USSR Ministry of State Security was formed, which included the 1st and 2nd Security Directorates, as well as the Office of the Commandant of the Moscow Kremlin.
In the last year of Stalin's life, with the progressive deterioration of his health, the struggle of various groups in the leadership of the USSR for the Stalinist legacy intensified. At the same time, certain forces did not stop even before the leader’s departure was accelerated, and a necessary condition for this was the removal from the closest Stalinist circle of the most devoted to him people, which included Vlasik, who enjoyed Stalin’s exceptional confidence. Yes - and not too literate, and too big a lover of the fair sex, and, to put it mildly, not quite conscientious in relation to state property. But at the same time, the leader is infinitely devoted! Stalin could easily entrust his life to him.
On May 23, 1952, the GUO was transformed into the Security Directorate, and General Vlasik was removed from work and transferred to the post of deputy head of the Bazhenov forced labor camp in Asbest (Sverdlovsk region). December 16, 1952 N.S. Vlasik was arrested and charged with "indulging pest doctors", abuse of office, etc. The investigation dragged on, and only in January 1955 he was sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR (in closed session) under Article 193-17, part "b" of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (Abuse of trust and official position) to 5 years of exile in Krasnoyarsk (term punishment was calculated from the moment of arrest). However, already in 1956, Vlasik was pardoned with the removal of a criminal record and returned to Moscow. Apparently, the death of the "owner" still did not allow him to be crushed. Rehabilitated N.S. Vlasik was neither then nor later. According to his wife, Vlasik, until his death, was convinced that Lavrenty Beria "helped" Stalin die.
Lieutenant General N.S. Vlasik was awarded three Orders of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov of the first degree, the Order of the Red Star, the medals "XX Years of the Red Army", "For the Defense of Moscow", "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945", “In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow”, “XXX years of the Soviet Army and Navy”, as well as two badges “Honorary Chekist”. He was deprived of all these awards by a court verdict in 1955.
The daughter of General Vlasik, Nadezhda Nikolaevna Vlasik, fought for the rehabilitation of her father for many years, and in 2000 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation posthumously acquitted Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik "due to the lack of corpus delicti."
In an interview given to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper in 2003, Nadezhda Vlasik said: "... my father would not let him [Stalin] die. He would not wait a day outside the doors, like those guards on March 5, 1953, when Stalin "wake up". He would kick down all the doors, drive everyone out of the dacha, regardless of rank, and of course bring doctors."
Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik died in Moscow from lung cancer on June 18, 1967. He was buried at the new Donskoy cemetery, a few dozen steps west of the memorial to the Great Patriotic War.
At the end of N.S. Vlasik wrote memoirs that have not yet been published. A valuable historical source is the many photographs taken by him at different times of I.V. Stalin and his inner circle, and in an informal setting. Among other things, there is a photo of drunk Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, in a Ukrainian vyshyvanka of a dancing hopak at the Middle Dacha.
The Federal Security Service of Russia declassified the archive of the general Nicholas Vlasik, who served as chief of security for Joseph Stalin from 1931 to 1952. Vlasik's memoirs, dedicated to his life next to the leader, were published by the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
As Vlasik said in his notes, he was instructed to organize the protection of the Special Department of the Cheka and the Kremlin, as well as pay special attention to Stalin's personal protection, after a bomb was thrown into the commandant's office building on the Lubyanka in Moscow in 1927.
According to Vlasik, before he headed the leader's security, only one employee was responsible for his safety - the Lithuanian Ivan Yusis. At the dacha near Moscow, where Stalin rested on weekends, there was a complete mess. Vlasik began by sending linen and dishes to the dacha, hiring a cook and a cleaner, and also arranged for the delivery of food from the GPU state farm located nearby.
Described Vlasik and Stalin's way of life in an apartment in the Kremlin. The housekeeper Karolina Vasilievna and the cleaning lady kept order there. Hot meals were brought to the family from the Kremlin canteen in tins.
According to the general, Stalin then lived with his wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva, daughter Svetlana and sons Vasily and Yakov very modestly. Stalin walked in an old coat, and at Vlasik's proposal to sew a new outerwear answered with a categorical refusal. As Vlasik wrote in his notes, he had to sew a new coat for the leader by eye - he did not allow me to take measurements. Nadezhda Alliluyeva was just as modest, according to the general.
He came to work late, and returned to the Kremlin on foot
As Vlasik recalls, Stalin usually got up at 9 am, after breakfast by 11 o'clock he arrived at the Central Committee building on Staraya Square. Dined at work. The leader worked until late at night. He often returned from work to the Kremlin on foot with Vyacheslav Molotov.
After Stalin's wife committed suicide in 1933, the care of the children fell on the housekeeper Karolina Vasilievna. According to Vlasik, when the children grew up, part of the responsibility fell on him. And if there were no problems with Svetlana, son Vasily studied at school reluctantly, and instead of preparing for classes, he was fond of something extraneous like horse riding. On the behavior of Vasily Vlasik, according to him, "reluctantly" reported to Stalin.
Stalin planted eucalyptus trees in Sochi
As Vlasik wrote in his memoirs, Stalin annually went on vacation to Sochi or Gagra for two months at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. There he read a lot, rode a boat on the sea, watched movies, played skittles, towns and billiards.
Another hobby of the leader was the garden. In the south, he grew oranges and tangerines. At the initiative of Stalin, a large number of eucalyptus trees were planted in Sochi, which, according to the leader's idea, was to reduce the incidence of malaria among the local population.
As Vlasik admitted, in the 30s, when Stalin arrived on vacation in Tskhaltubo at the dacha intended for employees of the Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of Georgia, it turned out to be so dirty there that, in his words, "the heart bled" when the leader was nervous, demanding to clean up.
About the leader's love for Kirov and the assassination attempt on Stalin
According to Vlasik, Stalin loved the head of the Leningrad party organization of the CPSU (b) Sergei Kirov "with some kind of touching, tender love." Kirov, arriving in Moscow, stayed at Stalin's apartment, and they did not part. The assassination of Kirov in 1934 by Leonid Nikolaev, instructor of the historical and party commission of the Institute of History of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, shocked the leader. As Vlasik noted, he traveled with Stalin to Leningrad to say goodbye to Kirov and saw how he suffered, experiencing the loss of his beloved friend.
As Vlasik wrote in his memoirs, in the summer of 1935, Stalin himself survived the assassination attempt. This happened in the south, where he was resting in a dacha not far from Gagra. The boat, sent from Leningrad by the then head of the NKVD, Genrikh Yagoda, on which Stalin was located, was fired upon from the shore. According to Vlasik, he quickly put Stalin on a bench and covered him with himself, after which he ordered the minder to go out to sea. In response, Stalin's guards fired machine gun fire along the shore.
According to Vlasik, a small and non-maneuverable boat was sent by Yagoda "not without malicious intent." Obviously, the chief of the NKVD assumed that on a big wave the ship would inevitably capsize, the general suggests. Fortunately, this did not happen. The assassination case was referred for investigation to Lavrenty Beria, who was then Secretary of the Central Committee of Georgia.
During interrogation, the shooter stated that the boat was with an unfamiliar number, it seemed suspicious to him and he opened fire, writes Vlasik. In fact, as historians write, the appearance of Stalin's boat in the protected area was not formalized by the relevant documents, and the border guards acted in strict accordance with the instructions. The commander of the frontier post department, Lavrov, demanded that the boat stop with shots in the air. The warning shots had to be repeated as the boat did not respond to the signals.
Lavrov was tried. Although he was threatened with the death penalty, after Yagoda's intervention, the commander of the outpost section was given only five years for "sloppiness." Lavrov, however, did not serve his term. In 1937, he was taken from the camp to Tbilisi, and after interrogation he was accused of a terrorist conspiracy and sentenced to death as an enemy of the people.
In his memoirs, Vlasik expresses the idea that the murders of Kirov, Vyacheslav Menzhinsky in 1934, Valerian Kuibyshev in 1935 and the writer Maxim Gorky in 1936, as well as the assassination attempts on Stalin and Molotov, were organized by the right-wing Trotsky bloc and became links in one chain. "This tangle was unraveled and thus rendered harmless to the enemies Soviet power", says the general.
Recall that the circumstances of the death of Gorky and his son Maxim Peshkov were considered suspicious for a long time, but the rumors about their murder have not been confirmed. At the 1938 trial, Yagoda was charged with poisoning Gorky's son. During interrogations, Yagoda stated that Gorky was killed on the orders of Trotsky, and he decided to liquidate the writer's son on his own initiative.
Under pressure from various "de-Stalinizers" from the "nano-democrat" Medvedev to Mlechin and the government commission to combat the falsification of history under the leadership of its permanent leader Svanidze, the Federal Security Service of Russia declassified the archive of Lieutenant General Nikolai Vlasik, including his diaries, memoirs. Vlasik was the head of Stalin's personal guard for more than 20 years - from 1927 to 1952. In 1946, he became the head of the Main Security Directorate of the USSR Ministry of State Security.
The declassified documents, according to the plan of the idiots of the de-Stalinizers, were supposed to "highlight" the vices and greed of the Generalissimo so hated by them and confirm the myth of the leader's innumerable treasures. The notes of the general, published by Komsomolskaya Pravda, depict the leader not so much as a statesman, but as a specific person with his own habits and principles inherent in his everyday life, hidden from prying eyes. Yes, it probably could not have been otherwise: as one of the people closest to Stalin, Vlasik knew better than others the inside of Stalin's life. Inside out, figuratively and literally. In terms of clothes.
Quote: “Comrade Stalin lived very modestly with his family,” it is said, in particular, in his memoirs. - He walked in an old, badly shabby coat. I suggested to Nadezhda Sergeevna (Stalin's wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva. - Ed.) to sew him a new coat, but for this it was necessary to take measurements or take an old coat and make it exactly like that in the workshop. It was not possible to remove the measure, as he flatly refused, saying that he did not need a new coat. But we still sewed a coat for him. ”.
Read and marvel. Was this really possible in our country (the USSR was also our country, whether anyone likes it or not), where power has been perceived from time immemorial, first of all, as a source of personal enrichment, as the basis of personal happiness, as a guarantee of personal comfort and prosperity? And suddenly you are a man, being at the pinnacle of power, at the very top (Stalin became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party back in 1922) and is not concerned about this very personal enrichment.
He even dismisses the offer to sew him a new coat: in the old one, they say, I look like it. Why is our country there: in the whole world history it is difficult to find a similar example when a person with such unlimited, more than monarchical power would be so indifferent to the personal-material side of the issue.
An exceptionally benevolent tone towards Stalin persists throughout Vlasik's memoir narrative, which has now been published. The Generalissimo appears before the readers not as a wingless angel, but as a modest in everyday life, hardworking and intelligent person.
That part of the audience that sees in Stalin only a “mustachioed, pockmarked cannibal”, naturally, immediately burst into mockingly caustic comments: they say, Vlasik wrote his opus while Stalin was alive. What else, they say, besides obsequious praise, could this “toady” write, whose position and very life depended on the will of the Master. I would have tried, they say, a security general to drop something disrespectful or dirty - he would have been put right up against the wall. Or until the end of his days he would chew camp bread in the polar latitudes. He would have chewed with the teeth he had after interrogations. In general, all these declassified archives of yours are flattering lies, and that's it. Such is the logic. Damaged, to be honest.
But, alas, ah, the theory of sycophancy does not stand up to scrutiny. Lieutenant General Vlasik in May 1952 was removed from the post of head of Stalin's security and sent to the Urals as deputy head of a forced labor camp. In December 1952, less than three months before Stalin's death, he was arrested in connection with the Doctors' Plot. In January 1955, he was convicted of abuse of office and sentenced to 10 years in exile. By virtue of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 27, 1953 on amnesty, Vlasik's term was reduced to five years. In December 1956, he was pardoned with the removal of a criminal record. He was not restored in military rank and awards. So Vlasik wrote his memoirs about the "bloody" tyrant after Stalin's death, when the "cult of personality" was "exposed" at the 20th Congress ...
The fact of Vlasik's personal devotion to Stalin and the possible element of subjectivity present in his notes does not mean that what he wrote is a lie. They do not mean this a priori, no matter how anyone would like the opposite. Subjectivity is generally an inevitable component of any diaries and memoirs, no matter who they are written by.
Quote: “I was severely offended by Stalin,” he wrote in his memoirs. - For 25 years of impeccable work, not having a single penalty, but only encouragement and awards, I was expelled from the party and thrown into prison. For my boundless devotion, he (Stalin.) gave me into the hands of enemies. But never, not for a single minute, no matter what state I was in, no matter what bullying I was subjected to while in prison, I did not have anger at Stalin in my soul..
But subjectivity is an evaluative property. But there are facts. One of these facts, testifying to Stalin's personal modesty and unpretentiousness, is such a well-known document as an inventory of the leader's personal property, compiled less than an hour after his death at the Near Dacha on March 5, 1953. The inventory includes: a notebook, a notebook, a common notebook, smoking pipes, books, a tunic white color- 2 pcs., gray tunic - 2 pcs., dark green tunic - 2 pcs., trousers - 10, underwear. "A savings book was found in the bedroom, it contained 900 rubles"(for comparison: the average monthly salary of workers and employees in the country at that time was about 700 rubles.).
Skeptics always cling to the phrase appearing in the inventory “Other property belonging to Comrade Stalin was not included in the inventory”. And they talk about the countless luxurious dachas and residences that Stalin de built for himself and his loved ones and which his daughter Svetlana, in particular, recalled with delight. That's just about the palaces and treasures, which after the death of the leader passed into the personal use of his immediate and non-closest relatives, nothing is known. There are no such facts.
Dachas and cars that Stalin used during his lifetime, after his death, went into the service of other government officials. Some of these dachas eventually became sanatoriums. As for Stalin's closest relatives, his son Vasily died two years after his release from prison, where he worked as a turner.
And the daughter Svetlana, who emigrated in 1967, lived abroad mainly on the money earned by writing: the interest of publishers in the memoirs of Stalin's daughter, of course, was enormous. In this sense, Stalin provided for his daughter. But only in this sense. The diplomat Semyonov wrote in his diary from the words of Mikhail Sholokhov that Stalin somehow in a narrow circle remarked that he did not want to build a dacha for his daughter, because "the dacha would be confiscated on the second day after his death." When the offended comrades-in-arms “waved their hands”, Stalin allegedly said: "You are the first and oppose me".
In general, one way or another, but Vlasik's diaries did not report anything new and sensational about the personal modesty of the Generalissimo.
Thanks to the diaries of the personal bodyguard of the leader Nikolai Vlasik, many episodes of our history will open from the other side.
... The diaries of the all-powerful head of the Stalinist guards, which for more than fifty years lay in an old suitcase with his daughter Nadezhda Nikolaevna Vlasik-Mikhailova. These notes in notebooks, notebooks, on scraps of paper are a sensation. Nikolai Vlasik for many years was Stalin's personal bodyguard and lasted the longest in this post. Coming to his personal guard in 1931, he not only became her boss, but actually became a member of the family. After the death of Stalin's wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva, he was also the educator of children - Vasily and Svetlana.
Having served his "Master" faithfully for more than 20 years, Vlasik was practically betrayed by him and arrested two and a half months before the death of the leader ...
... In May 1994, during the restoration of the first building of the Kremlin on the second floor in the former Stalin's office, a secret passage was discovered. In the very place where Stalin's table used to stand, two large hatches were found under the parquet. Below them are two brick shafts with iron brackets in the walls going into the basement. Now one can only guess about the purpose of the secret passage. But two severed special communications cables found in these mines are alarming. It looks like someone was listening to Stalin. Who?
Only one person from his entourage, Beria, could decide on this, and only in the last years or even months of Stalin's life, when the question of an heir turned for Beria into a matter of life and death. It was then that Beria managed to remove one of his main opponents from his path - the head of Stalin's personal guard, Nikolai Vlasik, a figure now, perhaps, no less legendary than Beria himself. During his arrest in December 1952, Vlasik uttered prophetic words:
"If there is no me, there will be no Stalin." And he turned out to be right. Stalin died a strange death 2.5 months later at his "Near Dacha" in Kuntsevo.
Today, for the first time in many years of rumors and legends, it became possible to hear Vlasik himself. It's hard to believe, but it turns out that there are diaries of the all-powerful chief of the Stalinist guard. They have lain in a closet in an ordinary old suitcase for more than 50 years. These notes in notebooks, notebooks, on random scraps of paper are a sensation, priceless evidence of the era.
Published materials N.S. Vlasik are unique historical documents that are of great value both for any researcher and for a wide circle of readers interested in the history of Soviet society.
It is worth noting that the personal bodyguard of the leader was fond of photography, and in almost 30 years of service he took more than 3000 pictures. All of them were confiscated by the Lubyanka during the arrest of Vlasik. And until recently, private pictures of the leader of all peoples were not available to the general public. About ten years ago, the surviving archives of Vlasik were "opened" by his relatives and even his diaries were published. But the confiscated other materials about the life of Stalin, and in huge quantities, including photos, videos, and audio, are not yet available.
“During the arrest of N.S. Vlasik during a search at work, in an apartment and at a dacha in the village of Tomilino, numerous records and about three thousand photographs and negatives were seized. Almost all of these documents and unique photographs taken by the general over many years of service were included in his criminal case. After the rehabilitation of N.S. Vlasik, a significant part of these materials was returned to the general's family. Later, they were transferred to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation by the adopted daughter N.S. Vlasika - Nadezhda Nikolaevna Vlasik»
"Favorites" - from the diaries of Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik
Foreword
I do not set myself the task of showing Stalin as a political figure.
Try to remove the unfair accusations of rudeness, cruelty and inhumanity raised against him. Try to refute the false things that were attributed to him after his death, to justify what he was undeservedly accused of.
To the best of my ability to highlight the facts that I witnessed, to establish the truth where possible.
1919 The year of healing the wounds inflicted by the war, the year of the beginning of the restoration of the national economy and the ongoing struggle against counter-revolutionary elements trying to strike at the young and fragile Republic of Soviets.
At this difficult time for the country, at the call of the party, I was sent to the Special Department of the Cheka at the disposal of comrade. Dzerzhinsky. Until 1927 I worked in the Special Department, and then in 1927 I moved to work in the Operations Department.
From 1919 to 1952, I went from an ordinary employee to a general.
My new position
In 1927, a bomb was thrown into the building of the commandant's office on Lubyanka. At that time I was in Sochi on vacation. The authorities urgently called me and instructed me to organize the protection of the Special Department of the Cheka, the Kremlin, as well as the protection of government members at dachas, walks, trips and Special attention give personal protection to Comrade Stalin. Until that time, with Comrade Stalin, there was only an employee who accompanied him when he went on business trips.
It was a Lithuanian - Yusis. Calling Yusis, we went by car with him to a dacha near Moscow, where Stalin usually rested. Arriving at the dacha and examining it, I saw that there was a complete mess. There was no linen, no dishes, no staff. There lived one commandant at the dacha.
As I learned from Yusis, Comrade Stalin came to the dacha with his family only on Sundays and ate sandwiches that they brought with them from Moscow.
Family, rhythm of life, life
Comrade Stalin's family consisted of his wife, Nadezhda Sergeevna, an unusually modest young woman, the daughter of the old Bolshevik Alliluyev S.Ya., whom Comrade Stalin met in 19 (?), When he was hiding in their apartment in Petrograd, and two children - the son of Vasya, a very lively and impetuous boy of five, and daughter Svetlana of two years.
In addition to these two children, Comrade Stalin had an adult son from his first marriage, Yasha, very sweet and humble person, in conversation and manner unusually similar to his father.
Looking ahead, I’ll say that he graduated from the Institute of Railway Transport, lived on a scholarship, sometimes in need, but never turned to his father with any requests. After graduating from the institute, to the remark of his father that he would like to see his son in the military, Yasha entered the Artillery Academy, which he graduated from just before the war. In the very first days of the war, he went to the front. Near Vyazma, our units were surrounded and he was taken prisoner. The Germans kept him in captivity, in a camp until the end of the war. In the camp and killed him, allegedly while trying to escape.
According to the former French Prime Minister Herriot, who was with him in this camp, he behaved with exceptional dignity and courage. After the end of the war, Herriot wrote about this to Stalin.
By order of the authorities, in addition to security, I had to arrange supplies and living conditions protected.
I began by sending linen and crockery to the dacha, arranging for the supply of food from the state farm, which was under the jurisdiction of the GPU and located next to the dacha. He sent a cook and a cleaner to the dacha. Established a direct telephone connection with Moscow. Yusis, fearing Stalin's dissatisfaction with these innovations, suggested that I myself report everything to Comrade Stalin.
This is how my first meeting and first conversation with Comrade Stalin took place. Before that, I had only seen him from afar, when I accompanied him on walks and on trips to the theater.
Comrade Stalin lived with his family very modestly. He walked in an old, badly worn overcoat.
I offered Nadezhda Sergeevna to sew him a new coat, but for this it was necessary to take measurements or take an old coat and make exactly the same in the workshop. It was not possible to remove the measure, as he flatly refused, saying that he did not need a new coat. But we still sewed a coat for him.
His wife, Nadezhda Sergeevna, as I have already said, is unusually modest, very rarely made any requests, dressed modestly, unlike the wives of many responsible workers. She studied at the Industrial Academy and devoted a lot of time to children. I wanted to know, and it was necessary for me, the tastes and habits of Comrade Stalin, the peculiarities of his character, and I looked at everything with curiosity and interest.
August 17, 1922. Joseph Stalin (left) and his wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva (right) Stalin usually got up at 9 o'clock, had breakfast, and at 11 o'clock was at work in the Central Committee on Staraya Square. He dined at work, they brought him to his office from the dining room of the Central Committee. Sometimes, when Comrade Kirov came to Moscow, they went home together to dine. He often worked until late at night, especially in those years when, after the death of Lenin, the fight against the Trotskyists had to be intensified.
He also worked on his book Questions of Leninism in his office at the Central Committee, sometimes staying late into the night. He often returned from work on foot, together with Comrade Molotov, they went to the Kremlin through the Spassky Gates. Sunday spent at home with his family, usually went to the country. Stalin went to the theater more often on Saturdays and Sundays together with Nadezhda Sergeevna. We visited the Bolshoi Theatre, the Maly Theatre, the Moscow Art Theatre, im. Vakhtangov. We went to Meyerhold, watched Mayakovsky's play Bedbug. With us at this performance were comrade. Kirov and Molotov.
Stalin was very fond of Gorky and always watched his plays, which were shown in Moscow theaters. Often after work, Stalin and Molotov went to watch movies in Gnezdnikovsky Lane. Later, a viewing room was set up in the Kremlin. Comrade Stalin loved cinema and attached great importance to it as propaganda.
In autumn, usually in August-September, Stalin and his family went south. He spent his holidays on the Black Sea coast in Sochi or in Gagra. He lived in the south for two months. Resting in Sochi, he sometimes took Matsesta baths.
Throughout his vacation, he worked very hard. He received a lot of mail. To the south, he always took one of the employees. In the 20s. a cryptographer traveled with him, and starting from the 30s. - secretary. Business meetings also took place during the holidays.
Stalin read a lot, followed the political and fiction. Entertainment in the south was boat trips, movies, bowling alleys, the towns he liked to play in, and billiards. The partners were employees who lived with him in the country. Comrade Stalin devoted much time to the garden. While living in Sochi, he planted many lemons and tangerines in his garden. He himself always followed the growth of young trees, rejoicing when they were well accepted and began to bear fruit.
He was very worried about the incidence of malaria among the local population. And on his initiative, large plantings of eucalyptus trees were carried out in Sochi. This tree has valuable properties. It grows unusually fast and dries out the soil. Planting eucalyptus in wetlands, foci of malarial mosquitoes, dry out the soil and destroy breeding grounds for malarial diseases. Molotov, Kalinin, Ordzhonikidze often came to his dacha, who at that time were resting on the Black Sea coast. Comrade Kirov came to visit. I want to talk about Kirov in particular. Most of all, Stalin loved Kirov. He loved with some touching, tender love. Comrade's arrivals Kirov to Moscow and to the south were a real holiday for Stalin. Sergei Mironovich came for a week or two. In Moscow, he stayed at Stalin's apartment, and literally did not part with him.
In 1933, Comrade Stalin's wife tragically died. Joseph Vissarionovich deeply experienced the loss of his wife and friend. The children were still small, Comrade Stalin, due to his employment, could not pay much attention to them. I had to transfer the upbringing and care of the children to Karolina Vasilievna, the housekeeper who ran the household. Karolina Vasilievna was a cultured woman, sincerely attached to children.
Editor's note: Maria Svanidze, a friend of Nadezhda Sergeevna, wrote in April 1935: “... And then Joseph said: “How can Nadia ... could shoot herself. She did very badly ... "What children, they forgot her after a few days, and she crippled me for life. Let's drink to Nadia! - said Joseph. And we all drank to the health of dear Nadia, who left us so cruelly ... "
Comrade Stalin often came to Nadezhda Sergeevna's grave. I was sitting on a marble bench opposite, smoking a pipe, thinking about something of my own ...
When the children grew up and both were already studying, part of the responsibility fell on me. The daughter, her father's favorite, studied well and was modest and disciplined. The son is gifted by nature, he studied reluctantly at school. He was too nervous, impetuous, he could not study diligently for a long time, often to the detriment of his studies and, not without success, was carried away by something extraneous like horse riding. Reluctantly, he had to report to his father about his behavior and upset him.
He loved children, especially his little daughter, whom he jokingly called "mistress", which she was proud of. He treated his son strictly, punished for pranks and misconduct. The girl looked like a grandmother, Stalin's mother. The character was somewhat closed, silent and rather dry. The boy, on the contrary, is lively and temperamental. He was very kind and responsive.
In general, children were brought up very strictly, no pampering, excesses were allowed. The daughter grew up, graduated from the institute, defended her dissertation, has a family, works and brings up children. Only the name of the father had to be abandoned.
Svetlana Alliluyeva at a meeting with journalists 1967, USA.
Editor's note: Lana Peters, the daughter of I. Stalin, emigrated from the USSR to the USA in 1966. On November 29, 2011, she died in the USA in a nursing home. She was 85 years old. In recent years, she was seriously ill, lived quietly, did not favor journalists. What I wanted to tell, I already said, including in my memoirs. Her last interview formed the basis of the film "Svetlana", which was shown on Channel One.
The fate of the son was more tragic. After graduating from an aviation school, he was a participant in the war, commanded, and I must say not bad, an aviation regiment. After the end of the war, he worked as...
After the death of his father, he was arrested and sentenced to 8 years. For what? Don't know. After serving his sentence, he was released completely sick. They kept his military rank and assigned him a pension, but they suggested, like his sister, to give up the name of Dzhugashvili's father, to which he did not agree. After that, he was exiled to Kazan, where he soon died in March 1962 at the age of 40.
Murder of Kirov
On December 13, 1934 (December 1, 1934), S.M. was killed in Leningrad. Kirov. Kirov's death shocked Stalin. I went with him to Leningrad and I know how he suffered, experienced the loss of his beloved friend. About what a crystal clear man was S.M. Everyone knows Kirov, how simple and modest he was, what a great worker and wise leader he was. This vile murder showed that the enemies of Soviet power had not yet been destroyed and were ready at any moment to strike from around the corner. Tov. Kirov was killed by the enemies of the people.
His killer, Leonid Nikolaev, stated in his testimony: "Our shot was supposed to be a signal for an explosion and an offensive inside the country against the CPSU (b) and Soviet power." In September 1934, an attempt was made on Comrade Molotov, when he made an inspection tour of the mining regions of Siberia. Comrade Molotov and his companions miraculously escaped death.
assassination attempt
In the summer of 1935, an attempt was made on Comrade Stalin. It happened in the south. Stalin was resting at a dacha not far from Gagra. On a small boat, which was transported to the Black Sea from the Neva from Leningrad, comrade. Stalin took walks on the sea. He had only security with him. The direction was taken to Cape Pitsunda. Having entered the bay, we went ashore, rested, ate, walked, having been on the shore for several hours. Then they boarded the boat and went home. There is a lighthouse on Cape Pitsunda, and not far from the lighthouse on the shore of the bay there was a border guard post.
When we left the bay and turned in the direction of Gagra, shots rang out from the shore. We were being fired upon. Quickly putting Comrade Stalin on the bench and covering him with myself, I ordered the minder to go out to sea. We immediately fired a burst of machine gun fire along the shore. The firing on our boat stopped.
Our boat was a small river boat and completely unsuitable for sea trips, and we had a great chat before we landed on the shore. The dispatch of such a boat to Sochi was made by Yagoda, apparently not without malicious intent, on a big wave it would inevitably capsize, but we, as people not versed in maritime affairs, did not know about this.
This case was referred for investigation by Beria, who was at that time the secretary of the Central Committee of Georgia.
During interrogation, the shooter stated that the boat was with an unfamiliar number, this seemed suspicious to him, and he opened fire, although he had enough time to find out everything while we were on the shore of the bay, and he could not see us. It was all one ball. The assassination of Kirov, Menzhinsky, Kuibyshev and Gorky, as well as the assassination attempts mentioned above, were organized by the right-wing Trotskyist bloc. This was shown by the trials of Kamenev and Zinoviev in 1936.
Nikita Khrushchev, Joseph Stalin, Georgy Malenkov, Lavrenty Beria, Vyacheslav Molotov, 1940s. trips to the south
Accompanying Stalin on trips to the south, I talked a lot with him, we always dined together, and he spent almost all his free time with us, I mean himself and his secretary Poskrebyshev. In Moscow, I saw him much less often. I accompanied him on trips around the city, to the theater, to the cinema.
During the life of A.M. Gorky, Stalin often met with him. As I mentioned, he loved him very much. He visited him both at the dacha and in the city. On these trips, I always accompanied him.
Speaking about the trips to the south, which Stalin made every year, I wanted to tell you more about this trip, because. her route was not quite usual. It was in 1947. In August, I don’t remember the date, Stalin called me and announced that we would go south, not as usual by train, but to Kharkov by car, and in Kharkov we would take the train.
It is difficult to express my joy in words. Stalin still fully trusts me, I, like all previous years, will accompany him to the south, and he entrusts the organization of the entire trip to me. I must say that in 1946 my doctors and envious people, and I had a lot of them, slandered me, and I was removed from the post of head of the Department.
But Comrade Stalin reacted to this with all his sensitivity, he himself sorted out all the charges, absolutely false, made against me, and, seeing my complete innocence, restored my former confidence. I carefully thought out the plan of the trip, consulted with the minister, he approved everything, and I reported it to Comrade Stalin.
Considering that such a long journey by car would be tiring for him, I tried to convince him to refuse such a trip, but he did not want to listen to me. We left on the 16th of August. We drove to Kharkov with three stops in Shchekino - Tula region, Orel and Kursk. At the stops, everything was very modest and simply without any noise, which Comrade Stalin really liked.
We all ate together with Comrade Stalin. And in Shchekino, and in Kursk, Comrade Stalin walked around the city. On the way between Tula and Orel, the tires on our Packard overheated. Stalin ordered the car to stop and said that he would walk a little, and the driver would change tires, and then he would catch up with us.
After walking a little along the highway, we saw 3 trucks that were standing at the side of the highway and on one of them the driver was also changing a tire. Seeing Stalin, the workers were so confused that they could not believe their eyes, so unexpected was the appearance on the highway of Comrade. Stalin, and even on foot. When we passed, they began to hug and kiss each other, saying: “What happiness, they saw Stalin so close.”
After walking a little more, we met a little boy of 11-12 years old. Tov. Stalin stopped, held out his hand to him and said: “Well, let's get to know each other. What is your name? Where are you going?" The boy said that his name was Vova, he goes to the village where he grazes cows, studies in the 4th grade for fours and fives. At this time, our car approached, we said goodbye to Vova and continued our journey. After this stop, Comrade Stalin moved to the ZIS-110. He really liked the car, and all his vacation he drove only on the domestic ZIS.
Editor's note: ZIS-110, a car the highest (executive) class, the first Soviet post-war car. Produced at the Moscow Plant named after Stalin. (ZIS) Its production began in 1945, replacing the ZIS-101 on the assembly line, and ended in 1958, when it, in turn, was replaced by the ZIL-111. On June 26, 1956, the plant received the name of I. A. Likhachev, and the car was renamed ZIL-110. A total of 2072 copies of all modifications were produced.
In Orel, we made a stop, rested, washed up from the road, had lunch and set off on our further journey. Our next stop was in Kursk. We stopped to rest in the apartment of one of our security officers. The apartment was clean and comfortable, there were a lot of china knick-knacks on the shelf above the sofa, and on the mirror-holder there were many beautiful perfume bottles and empty ones.
Tov. Stalin carefully examined the entire furnishings of the apartment, touched the trinkets that stood on the shelf, and when we, after resting, were about to leave, he asked me what we would leave the hostess as a keepsake, if we had cologne. Fortunately, the cologne was found in a rather beautiful bottle. Tov. Stalin himself took him to the bedroom, where he was resting, and put him on the mirror.
Despite the very tiring road, we left Moscow in the evening, drove all night and day, sleeping comrade. Stalin was a little more than two hours, Iosif Vissarionovich felt very good, his mood was excellent, which we were all very happy about. In a conversation, he said that he was very pleased that we went by car, that he had seen a lot.
I saw how cities are being built, fields are being harvested, what kind of roads we have. You can't see it from the office. These were his true words.
Regarding the roads, Comrade Stalin noted that the road from Moscow should be made as good as possible, divided into sections, guards should be appointed, houses should be built for them, a piece of land should be given so that they have everything they need, they will be interested and will take good care of the road. Install filling stations, because. there will be many cars, everyone will drive cars, not only in the city, but also in the countryside.
Having safely reached Kharkov, we transferred to the train and traveled by train to Simferopol. From Simferopol to Yalta we again traveled by car. In Yalta, the Molotov cruiser was waiting for us, on which Comrade Stalin was to make a trip to Sochi.
Cruiser "Molotov"
On August 19, 1947, the Molotov cruiser under the command of Admiral Yumashev, accompanied by two destroyers, left the port of Yalta.
On board the cruiser, in addition to Comrade Stalin, were Comrade Kosygin, invited by Joseph Vissarionovich, who was resting at that time in Yalta, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Oktyabrsky, and other persons accompanying Stalin.
The cruiser headed for Sochi. This trip made an unforgettable impression on me. The weather was great and everyone was in high spirits. Tov. Stalin, under the incessant welcoming "Hurrah" of the entire crew, walked around the cruiser. The faces of the sailors were joyful and enthusiastic.
In the picture, the shadow of the photographer - Nikolai Vlasik Having agreed to the request of Admiral Yumashev to be photographed together with the personnel of the cruiser, Comrade Stalin called me. I ended up, one might say, in photojournalism. I already took a lot of pictures, and Comrade Stalin saw my pictures. But, despite this, I was very worried, because. I wasn't sure about the film. Stalin saw my condition and, as always, showed sensitivity. When I finished shooting, having taken a few photos to guarantee, he called a security officer and said:
“Vlasik tried so hard, but no one took him off. Take a picture of it with us."
I handed the camera to the employee, explaining everything that was necessary, and he also took a few pictures. The photographs turned out to be very successful and were reprinted in many newspapers.
Rest in Sochi
Resting in Sochi, Comrade Stalin often walked around the city and along the highway. These walks gave me a lot of excitement, because. There were always a lot of vacationers on the streets, we were surrounded by a crowd, everyone welcomed Comrade Stalin, everyone wanted to shake his hand, talk to him.
Protecting the leader in such a situation was extremely difficult, especially since Comrade Stalin did not like to have security guards with him. Usually he was accompanied on walks by me, the secretary Poskrebyshev, and two or three security officers.
Once, during a trip around the city, Comrade Stalin decided to call at the port. When we got to the pier, we got out of the car. The ship "Voroshilov" was unloading in the port. T. Stalin looked at the unloading for a long time, he did not like the ship, he found it clumsy.
When we returned to the cars, a large crowd had already gathered in the port. Everyone wanted to look at the leader, to see if it was true that Stalin was just walking in the port like that. Approaching the cars, Stalin warmly responded to the greetings and, opening the door, invited the guys who ran to the car to ride with us. Stalin wanted to give the children some pleasure, to treat them with something.
Let's go to the "Riviera", there was an open cafe. We went there, seated the guys at the tables, but here it turned out the same as in the port. Vacationers surrounded us, among them there were many children, we had to invite everyone for lemonade. I brought a large vase of sweets from the buffet, and Comrade Stalin began to treat the children with sweets. One little girl, apparently timid, was pushed aside by the guys, she got nothing, and she began to cry. Then Comrade Stalin took her in his arms so that she herself chose the sweets that she would like. After distributing all the sweets and paying off the barman, I turned to the guys: “Well, guys, now the pioneer “Hurray” to Comrade Stalin.” The boys shouted "Hurrah" in unison. We barely made it through the crowd to the car and drove home.
In the autumn of October 14, 1947, in Sochi, on Stalin's instructions, I met at the airport the British delegation of Laborites - members of Parliament. Stalin received them at his dacha. He allowed me to attend this reception. For me, this meeting was extremely interesting.
The British asked questions of a deeply political nature, as well as an economic one. Stalin gave short, clear and exhaustive answers. After the reception, I escorted the guests to the dacha allotted to them. There were two of our translators at the reception. Over dinner, they shared their impressions of this meeting.
The British were amazed at Stalin's erudition. It's really great person, he not only understands all political issues, but also knows the economy of England.
Warm attitude towards people
I would like to give a few more examples of Stalin's warm and caring attitude towards the people, employees and me personally.
I remember a conversation that took place in the 1930s. between Stalin and Molotov during a walk in Sochi. The conversation turned to five days. While Sunday as a day of rest was cancelled. The people worked for five days, and the sixth day was a day of rest. The working week was continuous, and everyone had a rest on different days. Tov. Molotov said that he had heard rumors that the people were dissatisfied with the five-day period, because. neither family can get together, nor friends can meet to spend a free day together. Tov. Stalin, hearing this, immediately said:
“Since the people are dissatisfied, it is necessary to cancel the five-day period and make a general day off, as the people want.”
It is necessary to explain this in the press and make a decision. Which is what was done. Tov. Molotov was at that time chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. Let me give you another fact.
Living in Sochi, Iosif Vissarionovich decided to inspect the Matsesta baths. Entering the room where patients take baths, he saw that the water in the baths was of a dirty black color. He got very angry. Returning home, he called Professor Valdinsky, who was in charge of the state of the resort, and asked him: “Can't you purify the water? Why do patients have to take such dirty baths. Everything possible must be done to purify the water.” After this conversation, all measures were taken and the water in the Matsesta baths began to flow not polluted, but clean. Iosif Vissarionovich was also interested in the construction of housing stock. He made sure that they were built soundly and beautifully, that the buildings would decorate the city, and not disfigure it, that the people would receive bright and comfortable apartments.
In the post-war period, he carefully monitored the timely and regular reduction of food prices. The commanders participating in the war were allowed to build dachas for personal recreation on preferential terms.
Attitude towards employees
Let me give you an example of a warm attitude towards employees. Once upon a time summer holidays one of the employees who guarded the territory of the dacha, where Comrade Stalin was resting, fell asleep at the post. In his defense, it should be noted that I had only nine security officers, and the territory was large, all in thickets, people, of course, got tired. Tov. Stalin was informed about this, he called me and asked what measures had been taken against this employee. I replied that I wanted to take him off work and send him to Moscow.
Iosif Vissarionovich asked if he confessed that he had fallen asleep at the post. I replied that I confessed. “Well, since he confessed, don’t punish him, let him work,” said Iosif Vissarionovich. After this incident, I had a conversation with the employees, increased the security and thus gave the guards the opportunity to have a normal rest.
Personal attitude towards me
The following fact speaks of Stalin's caring attitude towards me personally.
In 1948, in the Crimea, during a vacation, Comrade Stalin called me and said that guests would come to him - a family, there would be six of them. They need to be provided with accommodation, food and services. Today we ourselves will also move to one of the free dachas.
In the evening, as always on vacation, Secretary Poskrebyshev and I dined with him. Iosif Vissarionovich joked a lot, shared memories from his past, talked about life in exile in the Turukhansk region. These hours of leisure spent in the company of the leader will forever remain in memory, as best watch of my life. He made me feel so at ease with him that I always felt at ease with him.
We sat at dinner for a very long time and then, without going to bed, we decided to go to another dacha. After waking up the drivers, we drove to Livadia. Arriving in Livadia, Comrade Stalin ordered that breakfast be laid on the veranda and invited the drivers and security officers who accompanied us. Breakfast was held in a simple friendly atmosphere. After breakfast, Comrade Stalin and Poskrebyshev went to rest, since we did not go to bed that night, and I had things to do, and besides, I was excited by this conversation with the leader and did not want to sleep.
After a few hours of sleep, Comrade Stalin asked for a car to go inspect the dacha, which we decided to prepare for the guests. When I approached him, he saw that I looked tired, and, learning that I did not go to bed, did not allow me to go with him, but ordered me to go to bed immediately. I left, but I could not sleep, and accompanied him in another car.
Returning home, Comrade Stalin asked the employees several times if Vlasik was sleeping, and only the next day he called me and asked if I had slept. I apologized to him, he laughed and I saw a truly dear, close person to me.
During the twenty-five years of my work, of course, I had mistakes and blunders, and he understood them with all sensitivity and tact and forgave me a lot, seeing my sincere incorruptible devotion and ardent desire to justify his trust.
Chkalov
Not rudely and cruelly, but carefully and attentively, Stalin treated people. Everyone knows his warm and paternal attitude towards the famous pilot Valery Pavlovich Chkalov. Let us recall his words to Chkalov: "Your life is dearer to us than any machine." Words that excited this courageous, rude-looking pilot to the depths of his soul. Let us recall Stalin's concerns about his further flights.
The route of Chkalov's first non-stop flight Moscow-Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka was suggested by Stalin as a stage for preparing an unprecedented flight across the North Pole to America. Stalin was worried about Chkalov, trying to persuade him not to rush to fly over the Pole, as it was very dangerous. It is better to carefully check the aircraft and material equipment in order to somehow secure the flight over the pole. I remember how at a reception in the Kremlin in the St. George Hall in honor of the return of the Chkalovsky crew from America after the flight over the North Pole, the excited Chkalov, tearing his tunic on his chest, exclaimed, turning to Stalin: “I’m ready to give you not only my life, take my heart!”
Attitude towards children
Joseph Vissarionovich was very fond of children. Meeting children on a walk, he always entered into a conversation with them. I remember once during a walk on Matsesta tt. Stalin and Molotov, we met a little boy of about six, very talkative and intelligent, he sensibly and thoroughly answered the questions of Joseph Vissarionovich. When they were getting acquainted, Stalin held out his hand to him and asked: “What is your name?” - "Valka", - the boy answered solidly. “Well, I’m Oska-pockmarked,” Stalin answered him in tone. "Well, now we know each other." Comrade Molotov and I laughed, and the boy looked attentively at Iosif Vissarionovich. Comrade Stalin, after suffering smallpox in childhood, had several mountain ash on his face.
Comrade Stalin loved animals. Once in Sochi, he picked up a hungry homeless puppy. I personally fed him and took care of him. But the puppy turned out to be ungrateful, and when he was fat and strong, he ran away.
I cited all these facts of Stalin's warm and sensitive attitude towards those around him, towards the people - in refutation of the assertion widespread after his death, representing him as a rude and tough person, inhuman and merciless towards those around him. It's a lie. He never was like that. He was simple and friendly, condescending and sensitive. He was merciless to enemies, but deeply loved friends. And if he took the enemy for a friend, brought him closer to him and trusted him, it was his mistake. Fatal mistake. May she forgive him! He paid a heavy price for her - with his life.
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Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik(May 22, 1896, Bobynichi (Belarusian)Russian Slonim district of the Grodno province (now the Slonim district of the Grodno region) - June 18, 1967, Moscow) - an employee of the state security bodies of the USSR. Head of Stalin's security (-). Lieutenant General ().
Service start
| N. S. Vlasik with I. V. Stalin and his son Vasily. Near dacha in Volynskoye, 1935 | N. S. Vlasik with his wife Maria Semyonovna, 1930s |
N. S. Vlasik (far right) accompanies I. V. Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, August 1, 1945 |
N. S. Vlasik in his office. Early 1940s |
Since 1947, he was a deputy of the Moscow City Council of Workers of the 2nd convocation.
In May 1952, he was removed from the post of head of Stalin's security and sent to the Ural city of Asbest as deputy head of the Bazhenov forced labor camp of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Arrest, trial, exile
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 15, 1956, Vlasik was pardoned with the removal of a criminal record, but he was not restored to military rank and awards.
In his memoirs, Vlasik wrote:
| I was severely offended by Stalin. After 25 years of impeccable work, without any reprimand, but only encouragement and awards, I was expelled from the party and thrown into prison. For my boundless devotion, he gave me into the hands of enemies. But never, not for a single minute, no matter what state I was in, no matter what bullying I was subjected to while in prison, I did not have anger in my soul against Stalin. |
Last years
Lived in Moscow. He died on June 18, 1967 in Moscow from lung cancer. He was buried at the New Donskoy Cemetery.
Rehabilitation
Awards
- George Cross 4th class [[C:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[C:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]]
- Three Orders of Lenin (04/26/1940, 02/21/1945, 09/16/1945)
- Three Orders of the Red Banner (08/28/1937, 09/20/1943, 11/3/1944)
- Order of the Red Star (05/14/1936)
- Order of Kutuzov, 1st class (02/24/1945)
- Medal of the twentieth years of the Red Army (22.02.1938)
- Two badges Honorary Worker of the Cheka-GPU (12/20/1932, 12/16/1935)
Ranks
- Major of State Security (12/11/1935)
- Senior major of state security (04/26/1938)
- Commissar of State Security 3rd rank (12/28/1938)
- Lieutenant General (07/12/1945)
Personal life and hobbies
Nikolai Vlasik was fond of photography. He owns the authorship of many unique photographs of Joseph Stalin, members of his family and inner circle.
Wife - Maria Semyonovna Vlasik (1908-1996). Daughter - Nadezhda Nikolaevna Vlasik-Mikhailova (born 1935), worked as an art editor and graphic artist at the Nauka publishing house.
see also
Movie incarnations
- - "Inner Circle", in the role of N. S. Vlasik - People's Artist of the USSR Oleg Tabakov.
- - “Stalin. Live ", in the role of N. S. Vlasik - Yuri Gamayunov.
- - "Yalta-45", in the role of N. S. Vlasik - Boris Kamorzin.
- - "Son of the Father of Nations", in the role of N. S. Vlasik - Honored Artist of Russia Yuri Lakhin.
- - "Kill Stalin", in the role of N. S. Vlasik - People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Yumatov.
- - The documentary series "Vlasik", in the role of N. S. Vlasik - Konstantin Milovanov.
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Literature
- Vlasik N. S."Memories of I. V. Stalin"
- // Petrov N.V., Skorkin K.V./ Ed. N. G. Okhotin and A. B. Roginsky. - M .: Links, 1999. - 502 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-7870-0032-3.
- V. Loginov.. - M .: Sovremennik, 2000. - 152 p. - ISBN 5-270-01297-9.
- Artyom Sergeev, Ekaterina Glushik. Conversations about Stalin. - M .: Krymsky most-9D, 2006. - 192 p. - (Stalin: Primary sources). - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-89747-067-7.
- Artyom Sergeev, Ekaterina Glushik. How JV Stalin lived, worked and raised children. Eyewitness testimony. - M .: Krymsky most-9D, STC "Forum", 2011. - 288 p. - (Stalin: Primary sources). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89747-062-4.
Notes
Links
- Memoirs of the head of personal security I. V. Stalin:,,,,,
An excerpt characterizing Vlasik, Nikolai Sidorovich
“This place is sacred to me, Ramon. It is not for worldly meetings and conversations. And besides my daughter, no one could bring you here, and, as you can see, she is with me now. You followed us... Why?I suddenly felt an icy cold pull on my back - something was wrong, something was about to happen ... I wildly wanted to scream! .. Somehow to warn ... But I understood that I cannot help them, I cannot reach out through the ages, I cannot intervene... I have no such right. The events unfolding before me took place a very long time ago, and even if I could help now, it would already be an intervention in history. Since, if I had saved Magdalene, many destinies would have changed, and perhaps the whole subsequent Earth history would have been completely different ... Only two people on Earth had the right to do this, and, unfortunately, I was not one of them ... Further, everything happened too quickly... It seemed that it was not even real... Smiling coldly, a man named Ramon suddenly grabbed Magdalena from behind by the hair and with lightning speed plunged a long narrow dagger into her open neck... A crunch was heard. Without even having time to understand what was happening, Magdalena hung on his arm, not showing any signs of life. Scarlet blood flowed like a stream through her snow-white robe... The daughter screamed piercingly, trying to escape from the hands of the second monster, who grabbed her by the fragile shoulders. But her scream was cut off - just like a rabbit, breaking a thin neck. The girl fell down next to the body of her unfortunate mother, in whose heart the crazy man was still sticking his bloody dagger endlessly... It seemed that he had lost his mind and could not stop... Or was his hatred that controlled his criminal hand so strong? .. Finally, it's over. Without even looking back at what they had done, the two heartless killers disappeared into the cave without a trace.
Only a few short minutes had passed since their unexpected appearance. The evening was still just as beautiful and quiet, and only from the tops of the blue mountains to the ground was darkness already slowly creeping. On the stone floor of a small "cell" lay a woman and a girl peacefully. Their long golden hair touched in heavy strands, mixing into a solid golden veil. It seemed that the dead were sleeping... Only from the terrible wounds of Magdalene, scarlet blood was still splashing out in jolts. There was an incredible amount of blood... It flooded the floor, gathering into a huge red puddle. My legs gave way from horror and indignation... I wanted to howl in a wolf voice, not wanting to accept what had happened!.. I could not believe that everything had happened so simply and imperceptibly. So easy. Someone must have seen it! Someone should have warned them!.. But no one noticed. And he didn't warn me. There was simply no one around at that moment ... And someone's ragged dirty hand two Light, Pure Lives flew away like doves to another, unfamiliar World, where no one else could harm them.
Golden Mary was no longer on our evil and ungrateful Earth... She went to Radomir... Or rather, her Soul flew to him.
During the years of perestroika, when a wave of all kinds of accusations rained down on almost all people from the Stalinist entourage in the advanced Soviet press, the most unenviable fate fell to General Vlasik. The long-term head of Stalin's guard appeared in these materials as a real lackey who adored the owner, chain dog, ready, at his command, to rush at anyone, greedy, vengeful and greedy ...
Among those who did not spare negative epithets for Vlasik was Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva. But the bodyguard of the leader at one time had to become practically the main educator for both Svetlana and Vasily. Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik spent a quarter of a century next to Stalin, protecting the life of the Soviet leader. Without his bodyguard, the leader lived for less than a year.
From the parochial school to the Cheka
Nikolai Vlasik was born on May 22, 1896 in Western Belarus, in the village of Bobynichi, into a poor peasant family. The boy lost his parents early and could not count on a good education. After three classes of the parochial school, Nikolai went to work. From the age of 13 he worked as a laborer at a construction site, then as a bricklayer, then as a loader at a paper mill. In March 1915, Vlasik was drafted into the army and sent to the front. During the First World War, he served in the 167th Ostroh Infantry Regiment, and was awarded the St. George Cross for bravery in battle. After being wounded, Vlasik was promoted to non-commissioned officer and appointed commander of a platoon of the 251st infantry regiment, which was stationed in Moscow.
During the October Revolution, Nikolai Vlasik, a native of the very bottom, quickly decided on his political choice: together with the entrusted platoon, he went over to the side of the Bolsheviks. At first he served in the Moscow police, then he participated in civil war, was wounded near Tsaritsyn. In September 1919, Vlasik was sent to the bodies of the Cheka, where he served in the central apparatus under the command of Felix Dzerzhinsky himself.
Master of security and life
Since May 1926, Nikolai Vlasik served as a senior authorized officer of the Operational Department of the OGPU. As Vlasik himself recalled, his work as Stalin's bodyguard began in 1927 after an emergency in the capital: a bomb was thrown into the commandant's office building on Lubyanka. The operative, who was on vacation, was recalled and announced: from that moment on, he was entrusted with the protection of the Special Department of the Cheka, the Kremlin, government members at dachas, walks. Particular attention was ordered to be given to the personal protection of Joseph Stalin. Despite the sad story of the assassination attempt on Lenin, by 1927 the protection of the first persons of the state in the USSR was not particularly thorough. Stalin was accompanied by only one guard: the Lithuanian Yusis. Vlasik was even more surprised when they arrived at the dacha, where Stalin usually spent his weekends. One commandant lived at the dacha, there was no linen, no dishes, and the leader ate sandwiches brought from Moscow.
Like all Belarusian peasants, Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik was a solid and well-to-do man. He took up not only the protection, but also the arrangement of Stalin's life. The leader, accustomed to asceticism, at first was skeptical about the innovations of the new bodyguard. But Vlasik was persistent: a cook and a cleaner appeared at the dacha, food supplies were arranged from the nearest state farm. At that moment, there was not even a telephone connection with Moscow at the dacha, and it appeared through the efforts of Vlasik. Over time, Vlasik created a whole system of dachas in the Moscow region and in the south, where well-trained personnel were ready at any moment to receive the Soviet leader. It is not worth talking about the fact that these objects were guarded in the most careful way. The security system for important government facilities existed even before Vlasik, but he became the developer of security measures for the first person of the state during his trips around the country, official events, and international meetings.
Stalin's bodyguard came up with a system according to which the first person and the people accompanying him move in a cavalcade of identical cars, and only the bodyguards know which one the leader is driving in. Subsequently, such a scheme saved the life of Leonid Brezhnev, who was assassinated in 1969.
"Illiterate, stupid, but noble"
Within a few years, Vlasik turned into an indispensable and especially trusted person for Stalin. After the death of Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin entrusted his bodyguard with the care of the children: Svetlana, Vasily and his adopted son Artyom Sergeyev. Nikolai Sidorovich was not a teacher, but he tried his best. If Svetlana and Artyom did not cause him much trouble, then Vasily was uncontrollable from childhood. Vlasik, knowing that Stalin did not give up to children, tried, as far as possible, to mitigate the sins of Vasily in reports to his father.
Nikolai Vlasik with Stalin's children: Svetlana, Vasily and Yakov.
But over the years, the “pranks” became more and more serious, and it became more and more difficult for Vlasik to play the role of a “lightning rod”. Svetlana and Artyom, as adults, wrote about their "tutor" in different ways. Stalin's daughter in "Twenty Letters to a Friend" described Vlasik as follows:
“He headed the entire guard of his father, considered himself almost the closest person to him, and, being himself incredibly illiterate, rude, stupid, but noble, in recent years he went so far as to dictate to some artists the “tastes of Comrade Stalin”, since believed that he knew them well and understood ...His arrogance knew no bounds, and he favorably conveyed to artists whether he “liked” whether it was a film, or an opera, or even the silhouettes of high-rise buildings under construction at that time ... "“He had a job all his life, and he lived near Stalin”
Artyom Sergeev in "Conversations about Stalin" spoke differently:
“His main duty was to ensure the safety of Stalin. This work was inhuman. Always the responsibility of the head, always life on the cutting edge. He knew perfectly well both friends and enemies of Stalin ...What kind of work did Vlasik have in general? It was work day and night, there was no 6-8-hour working day. All his life he had work, and he lived near Stalin. Next to Stalin's room was Vlasik's room ... "
For ten or fifteen years, Nikolai Vlasik turned from an ordinary bodyguard into a general heading a huge structure responsible not only for security, but also for the life of the first persons of the state.
N. S. Vlasik with I. V. Stalin and his son Vasily. The near dacha in Volynskoye, 1935.
During the war years, the evacuation of the government, members of the diplomatic corps and people's commissariats from Moscow fell on Vlasik's shoulders. It was necessary not only to deliver them to Kuibyshev, but also to place them, equip them in a new place, and think over security issues. The evacuation of Lenin's body from Moscow is also the task that Vlasik performed. He was also responsible for security at the parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941.
Assassination attempt in Gagra
For all the years that Vlasik was responsible for Stalin's life, not a single hair fell from his head. At the same time, the head of the leader’s guard himself, judging by his recollections, took the threat of assassination very seriously. Even in his declining years, he was sure that the Trotskyist groups were preparing the assassination of Stalin. In 1935, Vlasik really had to cover the leader from bullets. During a boat trip in the Gagra region, fire was opened on them from the shore. The bodyguard covered Stalin with his body, but both were lucky: the bullets did not hit them. The boat left the firing zone. Vlasik considered this a real assassination attempt, and his opponents later believed that it was all a production. As it turns out, there was a misunderstanding. The border guards were not informed about Stalin's boat trip, and they mistook him for an intruder.
Cow abuse
During the Great Patriotic War, Vlasik was responsible for ensuring security at conferences of the heads of the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition and coped with his task brilliantly. For the successful holding of the conference in Tehran, Vlasik was awarded the Order of Lenin, for the Crimean Conference - the Order of Kutuzov I degree, for the Potsdam Conference - another Order of Lenin.
But the Potsdam Conference became a pretext for accusations of misappropriation of property: it was alleged that after its completion, Vlasik took various valuables from Germany, including a horse, two cows and one bull. Subsequently given fact cited as an example of the irrepressible greed of the Stalinist bodyguard. Vlasik himself recalled that this story had a completely different background. In 1941 his native village Bobynichi was captured by the Germans. The house where my sister lived was burned down, half the village was shot, the sister's eldest daughter was driven away to work in Germany, the cow and the horse were taken away. My sister and her husband went to the partisans, and after the liberation of Belarus they returned to their native village, from which little was left. Stalin's bodyguard brought cattle from Germany for relatives.
Was it abuse? If you approach with a strict measure, then, perhaps, yes. However, Stalin, when this case was first reported to him, sharply ordered that further investigation be stopped.
Opala
In 1946, Lieutenant General Nikolai Vlasik became the head of the Main Security Directorate: an agency with an annual budget of 170 million rubles and a staff of many thousands. He did not fight for power, but at the same time he made a huge number of enemies. Being too close to Stalin, Vlasik had the opportunity to influence the leader's attitude towards this or that person, deciding who would get wider access to the first person, and who would be denied such an opportunity. In 1948, the commandant of the so-called "Near Dacha" Fedoseev was arrested, who testified that Vlasik intended to poison Stalin. But the leader again did not take this accusation seriously: if the bodyguard had such intentions, he could have realized his plans a long time ago.
Vlasik in the office.
In 1952, by decision of the Politburo, a commission was established to verify the activities of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR. This time, extremely unpleasant facts have surfaced that look quite plausible. The guards and personnel of the special dachas, which had been empty for weeks, staged real orgies there, plundered food and expensive drinks. Later, there were witnesses who assured that Vlasik himself was not averse to relaxing in this way. On April 29, 1952, on the basis of these materials, Nikolai Vlasik was removed from his post and sent to the Urals, to the city of Asbest, as deputy head of the Bazhenov forced labor camp of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Why did Stalin suddenly back down from a man who honestly served him for 25 years? Perhaps it was all the fault of the leader's growing suspicion in recent years. It is possible that Stalin considered the waste of state funds for drunken revelry too serious a sin. Be that as it may, very difficult times came for the former head of the Stalinist guards ... In December 1952, he was arrested in connection with the “doctors' case”. He was blamed for the fact that he ignored the statements of Lydia Timashuk, who accused the professors who treated the first persons of the state of sabotage.
Vlasik himself wrote in his memoirs that there was no reason to believe Timashuk: "There was no data discrediting the professors, which I reported to Stalin."
Could Vlasik extend the life of the leader?
On March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin passed away. Even if we discard the dubious version of the murder of the leader, Vlasik, if he had remained in his post, he could well have extended his life. When the leader became ill at the Near Dacha, he lay for several hours on the floor of his room without help: the guards did not dare to enter Stalin's chambers. There is no doubt that Vlasik would not have allowed this.
After the death of the leader, the "case of doctors" was closed. All of his defendants were released, except for Nikolai Vlasik. In January 1955, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR found Nikolai Vlasik guilty of abuse of office under especially aggravating circumstances, sentenced under Art. 193-17 p. "b" of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR to 10 years of exile, deprivation of the rank of general and state awards. In March 1955, Vlasik's term was reduced to 5 years. He was sent to Krasnoyarsk to serve his sentence. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 15, 1956, Vlasik was pardoned with the removal of a criminal record, but he was not restored to military rank and awards.
“Not a single minute did I have in my soul anger at Stalin”
He returned to Moscow, where he had almost nothing left: his property was confiscated, a separate apartment was turned into a communal one. Vlasik knocked on the thresholds of offices, wrote to the leaders of the party and government, asked for rehabilitation and reinstatement in the party, but was refused everywhere.
Secretly, he began to dictate memoirs in which he talked about how he saw his life, why he did certain things, how he treated Stalin.
"P After Stalin's death, such an expression as "the cult of personality" appeared ... If a person - the head of his affairs deserves the love and respect of others, what's wrong with that ... The people loved and respected Stalin. He personified a country that he led to prosperity and victories, wrote Nikolai Vlasik. - Under his leadership, a lot of good things were done, and the people saw it. He enjoyed great prestige. I knew him very intimately... And IA yu that he lived only in the interests of the country, the interests of his people.
“It is easy to accuse a person of all mortal sins when he is dead and can neither justify nor defend himself. Why, during his lifetime, no one dared to point out to him his mistakes? What hindered? Fear? Or were there no such errors that should have been pointed out?
What Tsar Ivan IV was formidable for, but there were people who cared for their homeland, who, not fearing death, pointed out to him his mistakes. Or transferred to Rus' brave people? - so thought the Stalinist bodyguard.
Summing up his memoirs and his whole life in general, Vlasik wrote: “Without a single penalty, but only encouragement and awards, I was expelled from the party and thrown into prison.
But never, not for a single minute, no matter what state I was in, no matter what bullying I was subjected to while in prison, I did not have anger in my soul against Stalin. I perfectly understood what kind of atmosphere was created around him in the last years of his life. How difficult it was for him. He was an old, sick, lonely man ... He was and remains the most dear person to me, and no slander can shake the feeling of love and the deepest respect that I always had for this wonderful person. He personified for me everything bright and dear in my life - the party, the motherland and my people.
Posthumously rehabilitated
Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik died on June 18, 1967. His archive was seized and classified. Only in 2011, the Federal Security Service declassified the notes of the person who, in fact, stood at the origins of its creation.
Relatives of Vlasik have repeatedly made attempts to achieve his rehabilitation. After several refusals, on June 28, 2000, by a decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of Russia, the 1955 sentence was canceled, and the criminal case was dismissed "due to the lack of corpus delicti".
Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik. Born May 22, 1896 in Bobynichy, Slonim district, Grodno province - died June 18, 1967 in Moscow. Head of Stalin's security in 1931-1952. Lieutenant General (1945).
Nikolai Vlasik was born on May 22, 1896 in the village. Bobynichi, Slonim district, Grodno province (now Slonim district, Grodno region).
Comes from a poor peasant family.
By nationality - Belarusian.
At the age of three, he remained an orphan: first his mother died, and soon his father.
As a child, he graduated from three classes of a rural parochial school. From the age of thirteen he began to work. At first he was a laborer for the landowner. Then - a digger on railway. Next - a laborer at a paper mill in Yekaterinoslav.
In March 1915 he was called up for military service. He served in the 167th Ostroh Infantry Regiment, in the 251st Reserve Infantry Regiment. For bravery in the battles of the First World War he received the St. George Cross.
In the days of the October Revolution, being in the rank of non-commissioned officer, together with a platoon, he went over to the side of Soviet power.
In November 1917, he entered the service of the Moscow police.
Since February 1918 - in the Red Army, a participant in the battles on the Southern Front near Tsaritsyn, was an assistant company commander in the 33rd working Rogozhsko-Simonovsky infantry regiment.
In September 1919, he was transferred to the bodies of the Cheka, worked under direct supervision in the central office, was an employee of a special department, a senior authorized officer of the active department of the operational unit. From May 1926, he worked as a senior commissioner of the Operational Department of the OGPU, from January 1930 - an assistant to the head of the department there.
In 1927, he headed the Kremlin's special guards and became the de facto chief of guards.
This happened after the emergency, about which Vlasik wrote in his diary: “In 1927, a bomb was thrown into the building of the commandant's office on Lubyanka. At that time I was in Sochi on vacation. The authorities urgently called me and instructed me to organize the protection of the Special Department of the Cheka, the Kremlin, as well as the protection of government members at dachas, walks, on trips, and pay special attention to the personal protection of Comrade Stalin. Until that time, with Comrade Stalin, there was only an employee who accompanied him when he went on business trips. It was a Lithuanian - Yusis. Calling Yusis, we went by car with him to a dacha near Moscow, where Stalin usually rested. Arriving at the dacha and examining it, I saw that there was a complete mess. There was no linen, no dishes, no staff. There lived one commandant at the dacha.
“By order of the authorities, in addition to the guards, I had to arrange the supply and living conditions of the guarded. I began by sending linen and crockery to the dacha, arranging for the supply of food from the state farm, which was under the jurisdiction of the GPU and located next to the dacha. He sent a cook and a cleaner to the dacha. Established a direct telephone connection with Moscow. Yusis, fearing Stalin's dissatisfaction with these innovations, suggested that I myself report everything to Comrade Stalin. This is how my first meeting and first conversation with Comrade Stalin took place. Before that, I only saw him from afar, when I accompanied him on walks and on trips to the theater, ”he wrote.
The official name of his position has changed several times due to constant reorganizations and reassignments in the security agencies:
From the mid-1930s - head of the department of the 1st department (protection of senior officials) of the Main Directorate of State Security of the NKVD of the USSR;
- from November 1938 - head of the 1st department in the same place;
- in February-July 1941, the 1st department was part of the People's Commissariat for State Security of the USSR, then it was returned to the NKVD of the USSR;
- from November 1942 - first deputy head of the 1st department of the NKVD of the USSR;
- since May 1943 - head of the 6th department of the People's Commissariat of State Security of the USSR;
- since August 1943 - the first deputy head of this department;
- from April 1946 - head of the Main Security Directorate of the USSR Ministry of State Security;
- since December 1946 - head of the Main Directorate of Security.
Nikolai Vlasik for many years was Stalin's personal bodyguard and lasted the longest in this post.
Coming to his personal guard in 1931, he not only became her boss, but also adopted many of the everyday problems of the Stalin family, in which, in essence, Vlasik was a family member. After the tragic death of Stalin's wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva, he was also a teacher of children, practically performed the functions of a majordomo.
Svetlana Alliluyeva wrote sharply negatively about Vlasik in the book Twenty Letters to a Friend. At the same time, he was positively assessed by Stalin's adopted son Artyom Sergeev, who believed that the role and contribution of N. S. Vlasik was not fully appreciated.
Artem Sergeev noted: “His main duty was to ensure the safety of Stalin. This work was inhuman. Always the responsibility of the head, always life on the cutting edge. He knew very well both friends and enemies of Stalin. And he knew that his life and the life of Stalin were very closely linked, and it was no coincidence that when he was suddenly arrested a month and a half or two before Stalin's death, he said: “I was arrested, which means that soon there will be no Stalin”. And, indeed, after this arrest, Stalin lived a little. What kind of work did Vlasik have in general? It was day and night work, there was no 6–8 hour working day. All his life he had work, and he lived near Stalin. Next to Stalin's room was Vlasik's room ... He understood that he was living for Stalin, in order to ensure the work of Stalin, and therefore the Soviet state. Vlasik and Poskrebyshev were like two props for that colossal activity, not yet fully appreciated, that Stalin led, and they remained in the shadows. And Poskrebyshev was treated badly, even worse - with Vlasik.
Since 1947, he was a deputy of the Moscow City Council of Workers' Deputies of the 2nd convocation.
In May 1952, he was removed from the post of head of Stalin's security and sent to the Ural city of Asbest as deputy head of the Bazhenov forced labor camp of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Arrest and exile of Nikolai Vlasik
The first attempt to arrest Vlasik was made in 1946 - he was accused of wanting to poison the leader. Even for a while he was removed from office. But then Stalin personally figured out the testimony of one of the employees of the MGB and again reinstated Vlasik in his post.
Nikolai Vlasik was arrested on December 16, 1952, in connection with the case of doctors he was arrested, because he "provided treatment for members of the government and was responsible for the trustworthiness of the professors."
Until March 12, 1953, Vlasik was interrogated almost daily, mainly in the case of doctors. Later, an audit found that the accusations against the group of doctors were false. All professors and doctors have been released from custody.
Further, the investigation into the Vlasik case was conducted in two directions: the disclosure of secret information and the plunder of material values. After Vlasik's arrest, several dozen documents marked "secret" were found in his apartment.
In addition, he was charged with the fact that, while in Potsdam, where he accompanied the government delegation of the USSR, Vlasik was engaged in hoarding.
The following data speaks of the scale of the hoarding: during a search in his house, they found a trophy service for 100 people, 112 crystal glasses, 20 crystal vases, 13 cameras, 14 photographic lenses, five rings and a “foreign accordion” (this was recorded in the search protocol).
It was established that after the end of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, he took three cows, a bull and two horses out of Germany, of which he gave his brother a cow, a bull and a horse, his sister a cow, and his niece a cow. The cattle was delivered to the Slonim district of the Baranovichi region by train of the Security Department of the USSR Ministry of State Security.
They also remembered that he gave his cohabitants passes to the stands of Red Square and government theater boxes, and connections with persons who did not inspire political confidence, in conversations with whom he disclosed secret information "concerning the protection of the leaders of the party and government."
On January 17, 1955, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR found him guilty of abuse of office under especially aggravating circumstances, sentencing him under Art. 193-17 p. "b" of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR to 10 years of exile, deprivation of the rank of general and state awards.
Under an amnesty on March 27, 1955, Vlasik's term was reduced to five years, without loss of rights. Sent to serve exile in Krasnoyarsk.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 15, 1956, Vlasik was pardoned with the removal of a criminal record, but he was not restored to military rank and awards.
In his memoirs, he wrote: “I was severely offended by Stalin. After 25 years of impeccable work, without any reprimand, but only encouragement and awards, I was expelled from the party and thrown into prison. For my boundless devotion, he gave me into the hands of enemies. But never, not for a single minute, no matter what state I was in, no matter what bullying I was subjected to while in prison, I did not have anger in my soul against Stalin.
Last years lived in the capital. He died on June 18, 1967 in Moscow from lung cancer. He was buried at the New Donskoy Cemetery.
On June 28, 2000, by a decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of Russia, the 1955 verdict against Vlasik was canceled and the criminal case was dismissed "due to the lack of corpus delicti".
In October 2001, the awards confiscated by court order were returned to Vlasik's daughter.
Nikolai Vlasik ( documentary)
Personal life of Nikolai Vlasik:
Wife - Maria Semyonovna Vlasik (1908-1996).
Adopted daughter - Nadezhda Nikolaevna Vlasik-Mikhailova (born 1935), worked as an art editor and graphic artist at the Nauka publishing house.
Nikolai Vlasik was fond of photography. He owns the authorship of many unique photographs of Joseph Stalin, members of his family and inner circle.
Bibliography of Nikolai Vlasik:
Memories of I. V. Stalin;
Who led the NKVD, 1934-1941: a reference book
Nikolai Vlasik in the cinema:
1991 - Inner circle (as Vlasik -);
2006 - Stalin. Live (as Vlasik - Yuri Gamayunov);
2011 - Yalta-45 (as Vlasik - Boris Kamorzin);
2013 - The son of the father of peoples (in the role of Vlasik - Yuri Lakhin);
2013 - Kill Stalin (as Vlasik -);
2014 - Vlasik (documentary) (as Vlasik -);
2017 - (as Vlasik - Konstantin Milovanov)
