Son of Stalin. He was destined to live almost every day for 41 years. Life is difficult, bright, ambiguous, tragic. Some facts of his biography provide grounds for both speculative judgments and negative assessments... But there were other facts that made up the life of an excellent pilot, a brilliant general organizer, and finally, a patriot devoted to the marrow of his bones to the Soviet Motherland. And all of them, these facts - the take-off, the flight, and the landing - fit into forty-one years.
This essay is dedicated to the memory of General Vasily Stalin, the son of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.
Before you take the wing
Vasily Stalin was born on March 21, 1921 in Moscow, in the family of I. Stalin and N. Alliluyeva. He grew up and was brought up at a dacha in Zubalovo. He was a kind, affectionate, selfless boy. But also daring, harsh, hot-tempered. He fought fearlessly. He loved to command everything, to be in charge, to be senior. At the age of 11, in 1932, he was left without a mother. And if previously the busy father would come at least sometimes and fuss with the children, then after the death of his wife he withdrew, withdrew into himself and practically stopped visiting the children. Vasya grew up under the supervision of the head of Joseph Stalin’s personal security, Nikolai Vlasik.
His father called him Vaska the Red. Vaska, although he was no different good health, loved sports, played football, rode horses. He became addicted to technology, knew how to drive a motorcycle, a car, and tried to make something. But understanding the sciences was always a burden to him. He did not succeed above a four, and even then rarely. At school I got into conflict situations and started smoking and drinking early.
I ran away from 9th grade completely. Enter the 1st Moscow Artillery Special School at Krasnaya Presnya. Then the time was such that teenagers often aspired to become defenders of their homeland, serve in the army, wear a uniform, and be commanders.
But Stalin the father considered that two sons were too many for the artillery, and Vasily, by that time already seriously ill with the sky, in transit, without a completed ten-year period and without the 18 years required for admission, went to the Kachin Military Pilot School.
There, of course, they could have refused him. But the all-powerful guardian N. Vlasik helped: he “did the documents” and added a year to Vasily. (That’s why even now you can sometimes find the date of birth of V. Stalin – 03/24/1920)
However, Vaska Krasny, like other cadets, did not have initial training in flying clubs, and at first he lagged behind. But he was very persistent, eager to fly and quickly caught up with his fellow students in his studies. Already in the first 2.5 months he made 60 flights.
At first he was placed in a separate room, but was soon transferred to the barracks, to a common table and shag. The only exception that was made for Stalin's son was a parachute during training flights. In 1938, Vasily Krasny became truly red - he joined the ranks of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).
On March 25, 1940, cadet Stalin graduated from flight school with honors with the rank of lieutenant, and on April 8, People's Commissar of Defense S. Timoshenko personally designated the 16th Aviation Brigade in Lyubertsy as his place of further service. There he served for 5 months, and in September he entered the Military Academy of Command and Navigation Staff of the Air Force. But, as usual, he could not master the sciences, after 3 months he gave up studying them and went to Lipetsk for advanced training courses for aviation squadron commanders.
That same year, at the skating rink, he met Galina Burdonskaya, and on December 30, 1940, the 19-year-olds got married. Vaska Krasny’s childhood, youth and growing up are over - now he is a husband, pilot, officer, communist.
So that takeoffs equal landings
He meets the war as an inspector-pilot for piloting technology of the Directorate of the General Staff of the Red Army Air Force. In September 1941, he was appointed head of the Air Force Inspectorate of the spacecraft. In December 1941, he was awarded the extraordinary (war has its own sequences) military rank of major (bypassing captain). In February 1942, he was already a colonel (bypassing the lieutenant colonel). And Colonel Vasily Stalin is only 20 years old. At the same time, for success in his work, he was awarded the first Order of the Red Banner of Battle.
Of course, such a rise in the ranks could hardly have been possible without my father’s knowledge. But the leader did not give any concessions to his son-colonel. A characteristic episode for their relationship, the elder and younger Stalin. When Vasily wrote a letter from the front and asked for money: to be able to eat at the buffet and to sew a new officer’s uniform. The father’s answer was in the form of a resolution on the same letter:
1. As far as I know, combat rations in air force units of the spacecraft are quite sufficient.
2. Special shape for the son of Comrade There is no provision for Stalin in the Red Army.
In April-May 1942, Colonel V. Stalin was engaged in the formation and recruitment of the special 434th Aviation Fighter Regiment, which was left without aircraft and pilots after the battles near Leningrad. He makes it into an exemplary, mobile and combat-ready unit, and he himself fights as part of it. And the regiment showed itself excellently in the battles near Kharkov.
In July–August 1942, on the basis of the regiment, the 1st special air group was created under the command of V. Stalin, which until November participated in the battles of Stalingrad, where the pilots also fought well. There were many Heroes in the regiment Soviet Union.
But then the Supreme finds out that the Heroes are abusing alcohol together with their commander. And during the war, the pilots really drank a lot. After flights, in moments of rest, it was customary to drink: the first glass - for takeoffs; the second - for plantings, and so that their numbers coincide; the third - standing and not clinking glasses - if the numbers do not match; the fourth - for women; Well, then – how it goes... Everything became known to I. Stalin. He called Air Force Commander P. Zhigarev: “Why are everyone in the regiment Heroes, but the commander is not a Hero?” He, not catching the Supreme’s sarcasm, thought that we were talking about his son: “We represented Vasily several times, but you crossed him off the lists.” Then I. Stalin sharply ordered the regiment to be disbanded, Heroes to be identified by different parts, and Vasily demoted to major. And the dashing ace had to return to work in the Inspectorate.
But his career “landings” did not end there. At the end of 1942, before the New Year, Vasily organized a festive feast with big amount guests. Among them was his classmate, with whom he once flirted, the beautiful Nina Orlova, who became the wife of film director Roman Carmen. The past gave way to violent passions, and Nina stayed at Vasily’s dacha for several days. R. Carmen, through Nina’s father E. Yaroslavsky, turned to I. Stalin with a demand to rein in his son and return his wife. He ordered to investigate. Then he wrote a resolution with his own hand: “Return this fool to Carmen. Give Colonel Stalin 15 days of strict regime. On leadership positions do not appoint without my knowledge.” Having served his due time, Vasily was released from the post of head of the Inspectorate in January 1943.
The appointment in February 1943 as commander of the 32nd Guard Fighter Aviation Regiment was, of course, a demotion for him. And he, trying to rehabilitate himself, as soon as he found himself at the front, began to desperately climb into the heat and rush into battle. And on March 5, 1943 (if only I knew in connection with what event 10 years later this day would forever go down in history) at 17:30 something significant happened: Guard Colonel (Colonel again!) Vasily Stalin shot down his first enemy plane.
He was an excellent, brave and desperate pilot - Colonel Stalin was constantly eager to fight. But special instructions prohibited him from doing this. They told him that Jacob was no longer with his father, and what it would be like for him if he lost his second son. They dissuaded me: you fly not only as a regiment commander, you fly for your Family Name and are obliged to take care of it!
But he flew! At the first opportunity, disregarding prohibitions. He was in trouble. Like crazy. And his fellow soldiers loved him very much, respected him like that, were proud that Stalin commanded them, and vigilantly protected him in battle. After the death of Vladimir Mikoyan, Timur Frunze, and the disappearance of Leonid Khrushchev, flying was banned altogether. The indignant Vasily called his father, but he was firm: “One prisoner is enough for me...” But Vasily still flew. Once he was saved from death by a fellow soldier, who, with the threat of his own ram, “squeezed” the Messer out from under the tail of Vasily’s plane. He then wrote him a postcard: “Thank you. Thank you for life. Life is the Motherland."
LIFE IS HOMELAND! This was the main life motto of Vasily Stalin. For his loyalty to this motto, he can be forgiven a lot.
In March 1943, Vasily was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. And this is an assessment of his new take-off in life!
But for every takeoff, as the pilots proclaim, there must be a landing. The next “landing” for Vasily was an ill-fated fishing incident on April 4, 1943. In rare hours of rest, he and his pilot friends decided to “go fishing” with the help of... rockets. In this case, one of them died, the other was seriously wounded, and Vasily himself had his left leg shattered by a shrapnel. Under general anesthesia, doctors successfully operated on him. Naturally, it was impossible to hide what happened.
By order of the People's Commissar of Defense I. Stalin dated May 26, 1943, Colonel V. Stalin was removed from the post of regiment commander “for drunkenness and riotous behavior; and for spoiling and corrupting the regiment.” After that, he was in Moscow for 8 months, and Stalin did not give him any posts. He received treatment and came to his senses. Before new takeoffs. And they began. And what kind!
January 16, 1944 Vasily is appointed inspector of pilots for piloting techniques of the 1st Fighter Air Corps. And again he climbs into the thick of things. As always, he is distinguished by excellent piloting technique; he has perfectly mastered and controls all types aviation. On May 18, 1944, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Fighter Guards Aviation Division, and from February 22, 1945, he was already the commander of the 286th Guards Fighter Aviation Nezhin Division, operating in the direction of the main attack on Berlin. Participates in the operation to capture Berlin. Awarded the Order of Suvorov, second degree.
In total, Guard Colonel Vasily Stalin made 26 combat missions during the war years, personally shot down 2 aircraft and 3 aircraft in a group.
After the Victory he remained to continue serving in East Germany.
General's Star Flight
During the war, Vasily Stalin was nominated for the rank of general 12 times, but I.V. Stalin crossed him out of the nomination documents each time. Finally, on April 1, 1946, at 4 o’clock in the morning, Molotov called the air unit and told them to wake up Vasily. And he said that a decree had been signed conferring on him the rank of major general. He, having heard the news, said: “Since the father gave, it means he is worthy.” Since July 18, 1946, the newly minted 25-year-old general has been the commander of the 1st Fighter Corps. All East German aviation is under his control.
On July 15, 1947, he was transferred to Moscow to the position of assistant (deputy) commander of the Moscow Military District Air Force. Changes are also taking place in his personal life. Without filing a divorce from Galina Burdonskaya, in 1946 he married the daughter of Marshal Timoshenko, Ekaterina. The children from his first marriage, Alexander and Nadya, remain with him. All of them are located on Gogolevsky Boulevard, in building 7. Also in 1947, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. The main takeoff of his life took place, and his stellar flight began!
When Vasily Stalin appeared in the district, it occupied 10th place among the country's military districts. Since January 1948, when he became Commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District, results begin to improve sharply. 1948 - second place, since 1949 - only first! And deservedly so. General Vasily Stalin was a very talented person, he showed broad organizational abilities and inexhaustible, ebullient energy. Units of the district were distinguished by high combat training. Airfield-barracks construction was actively underway. Personnel were excellently selected based on flight and business qualities. The district air force headquarters worked flawlessly. The transition to the development of new jet technology and helicopter aviation was gradually and successfully carried out.
On February 18, 1950 he was elected deputy Supreme Council RSFSR.
In November 1950, General Stalin personally spent a month preparing a division under the command of Colonel I. Kozhedub to participate in hostilities in Korea. The pilots coped with the task perfectly, shooting down a total of 251 American aircraft with an almost fivefold excess in losses. Six became Heroes of the Soviet Union, almost all of the division returned home without losses. For this, the general was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner.
Many veterans remember how actively Vasily Stalin was involved in the development of sports, which he loved very much. Under his supervision, equestrian centers were built and the best breeds of horses were selected. Air Force football and hockey teams were created, where his favorite Vsevolod Bobrov played with his friends E. Babich, V. Shuvalov, A. Tarasov, V. Tikhonov. Vasily personally helped N. Starostin and K. Krizhevsky. Air Force teams took part in the Union championships in volleyball, basketball, cycling, athletics, swimming, aquatic species sports, speed skating, motorcycle racing. And the general was enough for everything!
He was a real sports manager, as they say now. To some extent, one might even say, a Soviet philanthropist: he took care of the athletes, provided them well financially, enrolled them in the Air Force, directed them to recover and relax at resorts, etc. Under his leadership, a gymnasium and the country's first indoor 50-meter swimming pool were built.
Corkscrew
And at the same time, General Vasily Stalin could not protect himself from alcohol. The relationship with his second wife did not work out, there were problems with their two children together, and Catherine treated Vasily’s children poorly. All this led to the fact that in 1949 he, one might say, kicked her out of the house, although officially they continued to remain married.
A third common-law wife appeared in his life - 19-time USSR swimming champion Kapitolina Vasilyeva, who, as best she could, tried to save him from this destructive passion and careless life. After all, already in 1950, doctors recorded: the general had serious health problems and severe exhaustion nervous system.
But Vasily, as always and in everything in his life, was indomitable. Troubles in his personal life and further deterioration in his health only aggravated his craving for drunkenness, plunged him into depression, and led to psychological stress. Which could not but affect his professional activities.
The first such serious disruption, which could not but have official consequences, was the holding of the traditional parade on May 1, 1952 over Red Square. That day the flying weather was bad: cloudy and windy, and the command recommended that the general not hold a parade. But he is Vasily Stalin! The sky is his element! He has already held 12 such parades. And he holds a parade... As a result, some planes almost touched the spiers of the Historical Museum above the square, and one plane crashed during landing. Clouds began to gather over Vasily.
The second and last was the Day of the USSR Air Force - July 27, 1952, when Lieutenant General Vasily Stalin held his next parade in Tushino, where he deployed up to 300 aircraft. He really wanted to spend it. Especially after the events of May Day. Like no other. Carry it out successfully!
And he did. Had a great time and everything worked out! As a sign of this, after the parade, the commander of the Moscow Military District Air Force Vasily Stalin was supposed to attend a festive banquet at the Near Dacha of I.V. Stalin in Kuntsevo, where the entire Politburo gathered.
But even before the banquet, Vasily and his friends managed to “celebrate” the success of the parade in their own way, right on the airfield. And he went to his place in Zubalovo, where he fell asleep. But he was pushed aside, and in this state he had to go to Kuntsevo, where he appeared before the government, standing very unsteadily on his feet. - You are drunk. Go away! - Stalin became furious. - Leave! And Vasily “left”. That day from Kuntsevo, and at the beginning of August 1952 he was “left” from the district. He was removed from the post of commander and sent to study at the General Staff. But he never showed up there, and continued to drown in the bitterness of his fall at the dacha in Zubalovo.
He also tried to change something in his personal life and confessed to Ekaterina Timoshenko. February 27, 1953 last time Having visited the house on Gogolevsky, Kapitolina Vasilyeva left him.
But nothing could stop or interrupt the fall. The pilot Vasily Stalin uncontrollably fell into a tailspin. The tragic outcome was approaching. He will never be destined to take off.
Under the ax
Why did he drink? One day he told his stepbrother Artyom Sergeev, taking out a pistol: “I have two choices: either this,” and he raised the pistol to his temple, “or this,” and pointed to a glass filled to the brim. “I live as long as my father lives.” As soon as he closes his eyes, the next day Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev, and Bulganin will tear me to pieces. You think it’s easy to live under an axe!”
It is unlikely that what has been said can be considered the only argument, although the root cause of its cause is beyond doubt. But still, it is rather only the basis for the tragic interweaving of a whole series, even many other reasons. This is also his crazy desperation in his actions. And unbridled recklessness in behavior. And the fatal desire, as in the sky, to fly through life without slowing down or turning on the brakes. And the constant courage, stubbornness and unwillingness to listen to the good advice of even loved ones. He lived without sparing himself, but did not spare those to whom he was dear. This is his motherless childhood, which, perhaps, gave rise to the insatiable despair and fatalism of a tragic outcome in him. This is also the fact that all his life he was always doomed to be a hostage to the glory of his great father: it inspires, but it also suppresses. He lived with the passion of a gambler, for whom the stake in the game was life itself.
On March 5, J.V. Stalin died. Vasily rushed from the dacha and in the last days and hours was next to his father. On March 9, at the funeral, he sobbed bitterly, not hiding his tears. And already on that day, without finding a word, he began to openly tell his father’s comrades standing at the tomb that they had killed him. Then he got drunk at the dacha until delirium tremens, cut down the doors with a saber, continuing the same speeches, and was forcibly taken by orderlies to the hospital.
Retribution from his comrades came soon. On March 26, 1953, General Vasily Stalin was transferred to the reserve without the right to wear a military uniform under Article 59 “e” for actions that discredited the high rank of a military man. And without maintaining a sufficient military pension. And then his leading comrades began to think about what to do with him. Because for the people, Stalin’s son is a piece of Stalin himself! Legendary personality, hero general Vasily Stalin. And it was necessary to make sure that his “thoughts out loud” about his father’s death were not heard by anyone else. And this could only be done through guaranteed isolation.
On April 28, Vasily was arrested by order of Malenkov and first placed in a country house, where they began to fabricate a case against him. For alleged embezzlement, criminally negligent attitude towards his official duties as commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District, domestic decomposition, amoral behavior, drunkenness, assault. “What money, what waste,” he told Beria’s investigators, “I have nothing except my orders and military uniform!”
And then there was the trial of Beria himself. Vasily Stalin’s “case” became less relevant, and for two years he simply sat in the Lubyanka investigative prison without trial or investigation. It resumed only in February 1955, after the end of the trial of Beria and his associates. However, Khrushchev, who had already gained strength, considered that Vasily was still dangerous to him: even with Beria, even without him. Moreover, Khrushchev already had the report at the 20th Congress in his mind. And the general was tried.
He, morally broken, resignedly agreed with all the accusations. Even with what did not exist and could not exist. And I got it in full. September 2, 1955, without lawyers and prosecutor, by the Military Collegium Supreme Court USSR General Vasily Stalin was sentenced to 8 years in forced labor camps.
But “those holding the ax” did not allow him to get there, and by their special order they sent him to the Vladimir Central, where he arrived on January 3, 1956. Moreover, they indicated: to ensure strict conditions of detention, and the general himself was turned into a Soviet “iron mask” under the name “ Vasilyev Vasily Pavlovich."
But the head of the prison, having read the prisoner’s medical certificate, was horrified: the general, with his diseases of the legs, blood vessels, and nervous exhaustion, was literally dying. And at his own peril and risk, he ordered a wooden floor to be laid in the cell and brought his own radio. In March, Vasily turned 35 years old, and friends handed him 35 to prison Red roses. But he gave them to the chief’s wife so that they wouldn’t wither in the cell.
Vasily, even in prison, remained the same rebellious, daring, vital Vaska the Red. He beat one of his cellmates almost to death because he spoke unflatteringly about his father (the 20th Congress had already taken place). It was impossible to work in prison - you just had to “sit”, but he persuaded the jailers to appoint him as a mechanic in the prison yard, and equipped a metalworking workshop. He was a good turner, he drilled and milled, and the work always went smoothly in his hands. Capitolina brought him 2 suitcases of different instruments from Moscow, and he was always making something. For example, a cart that is still usable. Other wives also came: once - Burdonskaya, several times - Tymoshenko, but Vasilyeva - most of all.
So 6 years and 8 months passed. And on January 5, 1960, “those holding the ax” remembered the “iron mask.” By this time, Vasily was already very sick (heart, stomach, blood vessels in the legs), and became deeply disabled. Khrushchev was informed: since the prisoner’s health condition is critical and his death in prison could have an undesirable effect political resonance, it would be better to somehow resolve this situation just in case. In addition, the administration of the places of deprivation of liberty characterized the prisoner quite positively. On January 9, the sick Vasily Stalin was taken under escort to the Kremlin, where Khrushchev received him within half an hour. With the hypocrisy of “my own father”, even crying about the past. He said that there was a mistake during the arrest.
As a result of the conversation, a private amnesty was applied to Vasily, and on January 11, 1960 he was released from further serving his sentence with his criminal record expunged. We decided to provide a three-room apartment in Moscow on Frunzenskaya Embankment, return personal property confiscated during the arrest, and provide a voucher for 3 months to improve health. On January 21, by order of the USSR Ministry of Defense, the article of the order of the USSR Ministry of Defense dated March 26, 1953 was changed - from 59 “e” to 59 “b”, according to which the general simply retired to the reserve with the right to wear a military uniform and as having served in the army for 25 years with the required pension provision 300 rub. He was reinstated in the party and in his military rank.
But this is the formal side of the matter. For everything he had undeservedly experienced, Vasily was waiting for some kind of official apology. But he didn’t wait and broke down. While resting for a month in the Kislovodsk sanatorium of the Ministry of Defense, he continued his “performances” there. And now the KGB bugs followed him relentlessly.
Returning on April 9, he met with Voroshilov in the Kremlin and asked for help with the work. But for some reason the report to Khrushchev “walked” through the Kremlin corridors for as much as 20 days. Vasily did not wait, and on April 15 he turned to the Chinese embassy with a request to allow him to go to the PRC for treatment.
This was the last straw. And already on April 16, the “axe” fell again. By a resolution of the Presidium of the Central Committee, his early release was cancelled. He was again stripped of all titles and benefits. They took him into custody and transported him to Lefortovo until his sentence was fully served. There he spent another year of his tragic and heroic life approaching the end. There, in the prison hospital, he met nurse Maria Shevargina (Nuzberg’s husband), who left her husband and came from Kursk with two daughters. This woman had the privilege of accompanying Stalin's son to last day.
And the general was already subject to final release on April 28, 1961 in connection with the full service of his sentence. But the released prisoner still remained Vasily Stalin, and therefore his misadventures did not end there. On his way out, they began to strongly “recommend” him to go to Kazan or Kuibyshev.
He refused, saying that he would not leave Moscow voluntarily, and categorically refused to change his last name. "Never! The daughter (he was talking about Svetlana Alliluyeva), who abandoned her father, is not my sister. I have never given up and will never give up on my father!” (By the way, during the years of imprisonment, Svetlana actually abandoned her brother, never visiting him). He insisted that he would not remain silent, but would tell everyone that he had been convicted unfoundedly and that arbitrariness had been committed against him. He expressed the idea that he would contact the Chinese embassy to be sent to China, where he would receive treatment and work.
Flieger's loop
Then, as an exception to the current legislation, by resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, it was “considered appropriate” to forcibly send General V. Stalin into exile for a period of 5 years in Kazan (since entry into this city was prohibited for foreigners). Provide him with a one-room apartment there. And if he leaves the specified place without permission, he will be subject to criminal liability. For discrediting the high rank of a Soviet general, assign a “penalty” pension of 150 rubles. As for work, once your health improves, help with employment at one of the aircraft factories in Kazan. IN Once again“recommended” to issue a passport under a different surname.
On April 29, 1961, General Stalin arrived at his place of exile. And he immediately fell under the watchful eye of the KGB under the code name “Flieger” (in German, pilot). Without a passport, with a certificate of release. They didn’t hire him; they didn’t issue him a passport in the name of Vasily Stalin. They were watching. He lived in a “Khrushchevka” - apt. 82, house No. 105 on the street. Gagarin, on the top floor. Although he had already become disabled, his leg was dry, he walked with a cane.
However, at the beginning of 1962, events took a different turn. In order to officially marry nurse Maria Shevargina, who followed him to Kazan with her young daughters Lyudmila and Tatyana and provided medical care, on January 7, 1962, he turned to the KGB of Tatarstan. There they promised to immediately formalize the marriage, give him a three-room apartment for the whole family, and return part of the previously confiscated money, but “in return” they once again ordered him to change his last name.
And Vasily surrendered. On January 9, he was given a new passport, and on January 11, the marriage of Vasily and Maria Dzhugashvili was registered. Since Vasily adopted Maria’s children, they also took his last name when receiving passports.
But nothing changed in his careless life. On January 30, after drinking a liter of vodka mixed with a liter of wine, he ended up in intensive care, where doctors saved his life. But the barely smoldering embers of the general’s health had only a month and a half left to keep him alive. He understood this himself and complained to his loved ones that he could no longer drag out such an existence, he was fed up with everything. The visit of the last guest, Major Sergei Kakhishvili, on March 14, turned out to be fatal for Vasily. When leaving, the guest left the owner 6 bottles of wine and champagne. For the thoroughly sick organism of the former “Stalinist falcon”, these gifts turned out to be excessive - the dead loop of the “fliger” was closed.
On March 19, 1962, at 1 p.m., Aviation General Vasily Stalin died from “acute heart failure as a result of pronounced atherosclerosis against the background of alcohol intoxication.” A fearless pilot. Legendary person. A man for whom the main meaning of life has always been serving the Motherland!
Kapitolina Vasilyeva, Alexander and Nadezhda Burdonsky came to the funeral. They were struck by bruises on the face and wrists of the deceased, as if he had been beaten. No autopsy was performed. They buried him on March 21, his birthday and the day he was supposed to move into his new apartment. It turned out that he found it at the Arskoe cemetery in Kazan. No civil funeral service or ceremony, no military honors. There were 250–300 people at the funeral, mostly neighbors. If Stalin the father left behind an overcoat and felt boots, then after his son there were a couple of worn suits. Funeral expenses amounted to 426 rubles. The wife installed a stele for “THE ONE.” M. DZHUGASHVILI.”
Then anti-Stalinist vandals shot and destroyed the monument several times.
In 2002, when Maria Ignatievna died on July 10 at the age of 72, her daughters ensured that their stepfather’s ashes were reburied next to their mother at the Troekurovskoye cemetery in Moscow. November 20, 2002. This happened, and now Vasily and Maria Dzhugashvili lie there under a single stele. His daughters call him father and keep the grave in exemplary order.
In total, Vasily had seven children: four of his own: Alexander and Nadezhda, who died in 2002, from Galina Burdonskaya; who died young Vasily (at the age of 19, 1964) and Svetlana (at the age of 37 - 1989) - from Ekaterina Timoshenko - and three adopted daughters with the surname Dzhugashvili - Lina - from Kapitolina Vasilyeva, Lyudmila and Tatyana - from Maria Shevargina.
At the site of the former grave in Kazan, where a monument with the reburial date of November 20, 2002 remains, fresh flowers appear.
Gennady TURETSKY
“The photographs were made by photomontage. The image of the head of the person under study was transferred from other photographs and retouched.
Forensic medical expert Sergei Abramov.”
So, photomontage.
Chief Forensic Expert of the Ministry of Defense Russian Federation Victor Kalkutin:
Let's make a reservation right away - we are not confirming anything. They just felt they had the right to ask questions. So far, only one thing can be stated with 100% certainty: Stalin’s eldest son, Yakov Dzhugashvili, who left for the front on June 23, 1941, did not return home.
Although his wife Yulia continued to wait for him.
My mother instructed me, she wrote to me at the front, two letters mentioned Yakov and that they were waiting for him in Moscow.
Artem Sergeev told us this.
In the spring of 1945, as part of the 31st Army, he took part in the battles near Koenigsberg. He probably wanted to know exactly what happened to him. stepbrother, was hoping to meet someone who had seen it.
Relatives did not believe in Yakov’s death for a very long time. For many years it seemed to Svetlana Stalina that her brother, whom she loved more than Vasily, did not die. There was some kind of invisible connection between them; as she wrote, an inner voice told her that Yakov was alive, that he was somewhere in America. Or in Canada. You will read about this in our book in the chapter dedicated to Svetlana.
Until the end of his life, Stalin himself was sure that his eldest son had died in captivity. Joseph Stalin never apologized to his daughter-in-law Yulia Meltzer for her broken life. However, he loved his granddaughter, the daughter of Yasha and Yulia, very much, which may be why at some point he allowed the separated daughter and mother to reunite.
She seemed alien to me. I was afraid to go to her, and this addiction lasted quite a long time. Svetlana and I went to where my mother lived then, sat there for some time, then returned back to the Kremlin or to the dacha. Then we drove again. And so, little by little, little by little, they somehow got used to it.
Galya, Jacob's daughter, told us this.
The demigod during his lifetime, the all-powerful Stalin, was ultimately punished by fate through his children. Vasily was drinking himself to death before our eyes. It was as if he had a premonition of what awaited him after his father's death. The youngest and beloved Svetlana, Setanka, as her father liked to call her, could not arrange her personal life. It is difficult to imagine how Stalin would have survived the news that Setanka would leave the country, his country. The eldest son Yakov died in the war, unwittingly finding himself at the center of the loudest provocation against his father.
Or maybe it was in this way, through the children, that Nadezhda Alliluyeva, who committed suicide, took revenge on Stalin and dealt the main blow with her act, from which he never recovered for the rest of his life? Who knows.
And the music starts again.
Which? Choose for yourself...
Episode five
Vasily Stalin. Takeoff
Premiere show. First channel
We continue by seniority.
Of all the children, Vasily Stalin was, so to speak, the most public person. He was part of the Moscow bohemia, was friends with artists, helped athletes, had “his own” football and hockey teams. Thousands saw him, millions knew about him, many hundreds knew him Soviet people. Someone considered him lucky - the son of Stalin! - some are worthless people, and some are just a good guy. His sister Svetlana said that Vasily is a complete loser. Many people support Vasily's sister, but why then do the eyes of Kapitolina Vasilyeva - one of Vasily Stalin's wives - emit such light when she talks about this good-for-nothing man? Why do dozens of veteran athletes with whom we spoke unanimously assert that “Vasily Iosifovich was a wonderful person!”?
What was he like, Vasily Stalin?
In old apartments you can change the interior, destroy the walls, install ultra-modern furniture, but you cannot change one thing...
Windows, as a rule, remain in the same places where the architect planned them. This means that the view outside the window rarely changes. Especially if you can see the Kremlin from the windows of your apartment.
But the Kremlin is not just an architectural monument that is protected by law. The Kremlin is not only the heart of Moscow, where the royal chambers once were, and then the government began to work. The Kremlin is also destiny.
The windows of the Kremlin apartments where Stalin’s family once lived have the same views. Kremlin wall with inside, Alexander Garden, roofs of Moscow neighborhoods adjacent to the Kremlin. From these windows Joseph Stalin, his wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva, sons Yakov and Vasily, and daughter Svetlana looked at the world. The world from the Kremlin windows looked quite unique, and the opening opportunities and prospects sometimes seemed truly limitless...
On March 5, 1953, at 9:50 pm, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and Secretary of the Central Committee died after a serious illness. Communist Party Soviet Union Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.
Everyone who saw documentary"The funeral of the leader" could not help but draw attention to young man in military uniform, standing in the depths of the frame. You can see how he can hardly hold back his sobs, you can see how he turns away and wipes away his tears. The day of March 5, 1953 divided the life of this man into two parts: before and after. According to the recollections of those who communicated with him in those days, Vasily Stalin understood that a difficult time was coming for him.
The reality has surpassed all the gloomiest forecasts.
It is very difficult to understand the heaps of speculation, rumors, and half-truths that have surrounded the figure of Vasily Stalin for almost half a century. His father Joseph Stalin once said the phrase: “The son is not responsible for his father.” The fate of his youngest son Vasily completely refutes these words. Vasily answered for his father, and answered in full.
Until now, they do not speak or write indifferently about the family of Joseph Stalin. Some hate the father, others hate his son too. Many, on the contrary, speak with breath about the leader of all times and peoples, transferring these feelings to his children, including Vasily.
The most difficult thing in our research was not to get involved in politics. To be above the fray, not paying attention to which camp - admirers or detractors of Stalin - our parents are in. Or our parents' parents. Either democrats or patriots. In the end, the main principle of our films emerged: the facts themselves will force you to draw conclusions. Sometimes very unexpected.
In this film, the task set before us was the same - based on the facts, to tell everything as it happened, from the very beginning to the very end.
So, Stalin Vasily Iosifovich.
Place of birth - Moscow, Kremlin.
This is exactly what is written in all documents
Father - Joseph Stalin. He was then forty-one years old.
Mother - Nadezhda Alliluyeva. She's only twenty.
But who rejoiced at the birth of a boy into the family of one of the fiery revolutionaries? Lenin, Trotsky, Voroshilov, Molotov, Bukharin, Dzerzhinsky. These are all neighbors. Neighbors in the Kremlin hostel. In this world behind a huge brick wall, these people worked, made friends, quarreled, died. Busy almost 24 hours a day, Joseph Stalin devoted little time to raising his children. His wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva was in charge of them. Artyom, the son of the deceased famous revolutionary Artyom Sergeev, an ally of Stalin, was also brought up together with Vasily. Artem became Vasily's closest friend.
These are Artem Sergeev’s memories of his earliest childhood:
Sometimes, when we were taken out for a walk in strollers, either around the Kremlin... it seems to me, maybe it was the Alexander Garden... then they put us leg-to-foot in one stroller. They took one of us out of their stroller, sat us down, and when they sat us back down to take us home, we cried.
Premiere show. First channel
We continue by seniority.
Of all the children, Vasily Stalin was, so to speak, the most public person. He was part of the Moscow bohemia, was friends with artists, helped athletes, had “his own” football and hockey teams. Thousands saw him, millions knew about him, many hundreds of Soviet people were familiar with him. Someone considered him lucky - the son of Stalin! - some are worthless people, and some are just a good guy. His sister Svetlana said that Vasily is a complete loser. Many people support Vasily's sister, but why then do the eyes of Kapitolina Vasilyeva - one of Vasily Stalin's wives - emit such light when she talks about this good-for-nothing man? Why do dozens of veteran athletes with whom we spoke unanimously assert that “Vasily Iosifovich was a wonderful person!”?
What was he like, Vasily Stalin?
In old apartments you can change the interior, destroy the walls, install ultra-modern furniture, but you cannot change one thing...
Windows, as a rule, remain in the same places where the architect planned them. This means that the view outside the window rarely changes. Especially if you can see the Kremlin from the windows of your apartment.
But the Kremlin is not just an architectural monument that is protected by law. The Kremlin is not only the heart of Moscow, where the royal chambers once were, and then the government began to work. The Kremlin is also destiny.
The windows of the Kremlin apartments where Stalin’s family once lived have the same views. The Kremlin wall from the inside, the Alexander Garden, the roofs of the Moscow quarters adjacent to the Kremlin. From these windows Joseph Stalin, his wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva, sons Yakov and Vasily, and daughter Svetlana looked at the world. The world from the Kremlin windows looked quite unique, and the opening opportunities and prospects sometimes seemed truly limitless...
On March 5, 1953, at 9:50 pm, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, died after a serious illness.
Everyone who saw the documentary “Funeral of a Leader” could not help but pay attention to the young man in military uniform standing in the background of the frame. You can see how he can hardly hold back his sobs, you can see how he turns away and wipes away his tears. The day of March 5, 1953 divided the life of this man into two parts: before and after. According to the recollections of those who communicated with him in those days, Vasily Stalin understood that a difficult time was coming for him.
The reality has surpassed all the gloomiest forecasts.
It is very difficult to understand the heaps of speculation, rumors, and half-truths that have surrounded the figure of Vasily Stalin for almost half a century. His father Joseph Stalin once said the phrase: “The son is not responsible for his father.” The fate of his youngest son Vasily completely refutes these words. Vasily answered for his father, and answered in full.
Until now, they do not speak or write indifferently about the family of Joseph Stalin. Some hate the father, others hate his son too. Many, on the contrary, speak with breath about the leader of all times and peoples, transferring these feelings to his children, including Vasily.
The most difficult thing in our research was not to get involved in politics. To be above the fray, not paying attention to which camp - admirers or detractors of Stalin - our parents are in. Or our parents' parents. Either democrats or patriots. In the end, the main principle of our films emerged: the facts themselves will force you to draw conclusions. Sometimes very unexpected.
In this film, the task set before us was the same - based on the facts, to tell everything as it happened, from the very beginning to the very end.
So, Stalin Vasily Iosifovich.
Place of birth - Moscow, Kremlin.
This is exactly what is written in all documents
Father - Joseph Stalin. He was then forty-one years old.
Mother - Nadezhda Alliluyeva. She's only twenty.
But who rejoiced at the birth of a boy into the family of one of the fiery revolutionaries? Lenin, Trotsky, Voroshilov, Molotov, Bukharin, Dzerzhinsky. These are all neighbors. Neighbors in the Kremlin hostel. In this world behind a huge brick wall, these people worked, made friends, quarreled, died. Busy almost 24 hours a day, Joseph Stalin devoted little time to raising his children. His wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva was in charge of them. Artyom, the son of the deceased famous revolutionary Artyom Sergeev, an ally of Stalin, was also brought up together with Vasily. Artem became Vasily's closest friend.
These are Artem Sergeev’s memories of his earliest childhood:
Sometimes, when we were taken out for a walk in strollers, either around the Kremlin... it seems to me, maybe it was the Alexander Garden... then they put us leg-to-foot in one stroller. They took one of us out of their stroller, sat us down, and when they sat us back down to take us home, we cried.
Let us remind you that we do not edit the speech of the heroes of our films, we leave it exactly as it was recorded on film.
In 1926, Vasily’s sister, Svetlana, was born. The son from Joseph Stalin's first marriage, Yasha Svanidze, came. For them, the children of Stalin, the Kremlin was the very courtyard of childhood, the laws and traditions of which often have a decisive influence on the formation of character.
Nadezhda Alliluyeva writes to her husband Joseph Stalin.
Vasya rode a bicycle from the Kremlin to the airfield across the city. I did well, but, of course, I was tired.”
From here, from the Kremlin, every morning Vasily and Artem went to school by tram. From the very beginning, restless and unbalanced, Vasya studied poorly, which could not but worry his parents.
Threes, sometimes fours, and often received twos for answers,” Artem Sergeev tells us again.
But school was not enough. Nadezhda Sergeevna, who knew not from stories how people get a good education, took home teachers for her children.
Joseph Stalin to his wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva.
I don't really like the teacher. She keeps running around the area around the dacha and makes Vaska run from morning to evening. I have no doubt that she and Vaska will not be able to study at all. No wonder Vaska can’t keep up with her in German. A very strange woman."
As we have already said, Stalin did little with children, however, it was difficult to call him a family man. Although the phrase revolutionary-family man, you must admit, sounds rather strange. However, before his wife’s suicide, the future father of nations loved it when Stalin’s entire large family, his relatives from his second wife, the Alliluyevs, and the relatives of his first wife, the Svanidzes, gathered at the dacha in Zubalovo. We can say that Joseph was almost the life of the party: he laughed and joked a lot.
It all ended on November 8, 1932. Nadezhda Alliluyeva committed suicide. For Stalin, this was a blow from which he did not recover for the rest of his life.
The death of his wife dramatically changed Stalin's character, and with him the way of life of those around him.
Three years later, in May 1935, he uttered a phrase that explained everything. Its meaning was that the children forgot about their mother in a few days, but she crippled him, Stalin, for life.
Artem Sergeev:
There was terrible grief in the house. There was a funeral on the 11th.
According to the rules adopted at that time, the farewell ceremony for Nadezhda Alliluyeva took place on Red Square, in the GUM building. The coffin with the body was displayed in one of the halls. Nadezhda Sergeevna’s friends whispered again and again recounting the circumstances of her death. Rumors have already spread throughout Moscow that a scandal has occurred between the spouses. Only each “witness” had her own personal observations. Someone said that Stalin almost threw a cigarette butt in his wife’s face, someone saw the tangerine peels themselves, but the essence remained unchanged: Joseph greatly offended Nadezhda. And Nadezhda was terribly proud. Gymnasium education had an effect.
Artem Sergeev:
Stalin came, he was sobbing, and he was sobbing, well, literally uncontrollably, he was shaking. Vasily was literally hanging on him: “Dad, don’t cry, dad, don’t, dad, don’t cry,” but his condition was really grave...
From this testimony it becomes clear how hard the death of his mother affected 11-year-old Vasily. One can only guess what was going on in his soul. From that moment on, the father, who was estranged from everyone, changed his apartment in the Kremlin and stopped visiting the dacha in Zubalovo, where everything reminded him of his wife, increasingly began to entrust the head of his personal security, Nikolai Vlasik, and his subordinates with looking after Vasily. It was then that Stalin moved to live at the famous Near Kuntsevo dacha. Children and relatives remained to live in Zubalovo.
Joseph Stalin to the commandant of the dacha Sergei Efimov:
Be careful that Vasya doesn’t act out, don’t give Vasya free rein and be strict with him. If Vasya does not obey the nanny or offends her, put him in blinders.”
Stalin's head of security, Vlasik, received reports of Vasily's bad behavior almost every day.
The commandant of the dacha, Sergei Efimov, to the head of security, Nikolai Vlasik;
“Vasya is not studying well, he is lazy, the head of the school called Karolina Vasilyevna three times, saying that Vasya did not study chemistry in class for one day, and a few days later he abandoned geography, citing the refusal that he was not prepared.”
Karolina Vasilievna Til was a housekeeper in Stalin's house, she worked family budget and ran the household. Nadezhda Alliluyeva brought her into the family, as well as the nannies and teachers. By general opinion, Nadezhda Sergeevna knew how to select personnel. In the chapters dedicated to Svetlana, “grandmother” - Shura Bychkova, who practically replaced her mother, will be mentioned many times. Before Svetlana, she also raised Vasily. These women knew the work and did it conscientiously. From now on, any fault of Vasya does not go unnoticed; it is impossible to hide anything from strict teachers. However, a thirteen-year-old boy quickly learns a manner of communication that is more reminiscent of official correspondence in style and tone.
Vasily Stalin to security officer Karl Pauker:
“Comrade Pauker, they wrote to you that I brought Navel to tears.”
The family jokingly called sister Svetlana the navel.
“But I didn’t do this and I think it’s wrong for Vlasik to blame me for this. Comrade Efimov told you that I ask you to send me a shotgun, but I did not receive a shotgun. Maybe you forgot about it? So, please send it."
This is how they were brought up, as they say, by the whole world. They noted that Vasya was growing kind and generous, and noted his sporting success in football; in relay races he always tried to be the best. He played billiards well, and as a teenager he beat people much older than himself. However, the people who were entrusted with his upbringing noticed with growing alarm that Vasya did not show much zeal for science, but was increasingly aware of his exceptional position as the son of a leader.
Every year this became more and more clear. We fought this as best we could, but the older Vasily got, the more the situation got out of control.. The son was truly afraid only of his father.
Vasily Stalin to his father:
“Dad, I play in the first school football team, but every time I go to play, there are conversations about this issue, which, they say, is impossible without dad’s permission. And in general, write to me, can I play or not? As you say, so it will be. I have a small request that you send some peaches.
(Vaska the Red.)
Vaska the Red - that’s what his father nicknamed his son for his fiery red hair. Here is another message from Vaska the Red to his father.
Hello, dad!
I live an average life and do very well at the new school and I think that I will also become a good Vaska the Red.
Dad, write how you live and relax. Svetlana lives well and also studies at school.
Greetings to you from our entire workforce.
(Vaska the Red.")
After eighth grade, Vasily decides to enroll in a special artillery school on Krasaya Presnya, and this idea is met with approval by everyone. There was hope that the army would discipline the loose guy. Needless to say, at the end of the thirties the military profession was perhaps the most prestigious in the Soviet Union. Almost all of Vasily’s peers dreamed of studying in military schools and colleges. But in addition to good physical preparation, applicants were also required to have excellent knowledge. For example, in mathematics.
No wonder there was a famous saying:
Smart - in artillery,
The dandy is in the cavalry,
Quirk - in the navy,
The rest are in the infantry.
All of Vasya’s friends studied at the artillery school. But we have already said that Vasya Stalin was not very friendly with science. And he was not at all friendly with discipline. And here they demanded almost military discipline from the guys. They were even dressed in artillery uniforms. But Vasya clearly didn’t like cleaning the guns and digging them in.
Moreover, with all due respect to artillery, tanks, cavalry and infantry, aviation was still considered the elite of the army. The newspapers were full of the names of famous pilots who performed world-famous feats. They either rescued the Chelyuskinites or searched for Amundsen’s expedition. Chkalov, Serov, Baidukov, Gromov, Lebedevsky are heroes that the whole country was talking about. It would be strange if Stalin's son did not want to become a pilot. And such a moment has come. Vasily fell ill with the sky. Having not completed ten classes, he persuaded Vlasik to help him enter the famous Kachin school of fighter pilots. Vlasik helped Vasya.
There is probably no need to explain the condition of Soviet citizens, whose duties for one reason or another included caring for Stalin’s son. In addition, everyone was hearing about the recent case of correspondence between Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin and the teachers of the very 2nd Artillery School, which his son so reluctantly attended. Teacher Martyshin was dissatisfied with Vasya Stalin’s performance and behavior, which he wrote to his father about. A common situation if you forget who Vasya’s father was. Stalin responded very late. He thanked the teacher for his integrity, did not highly appreciate his child’s abilities and advised the entire staff of the special school to “demand more strictly from Vasily.”
Stalin I.V. - Martyshin V.V.
“Unfortunately, I myself do not have the opportunity to tinker with Vasily. But I promise to grab him by the collar from time to time.
Hello! I. Stalin."
The correspondence between the teachers of the 2nd Artillery Special School and Stalin ended badly. Naturally, for teachers. Assistant Director N.V. Makeev was removed from work by order of the People's Commissar of Education.
N.V. Makeev to Stalin I.V.:
“In the upbringing of Vasya, who came from school 175, there were many irregularities - sycophancy, which Vasya did not hesitate to tell others about. It was decided to subject Stalin Vasya, Mikoyan Stepan, Frunze Timur and others to the general school regime, take care of them, love them, but not “coddle” them.”
Makeev tried to explain to Stalin what the teaching staff wanted from Vasya after he had lost his job, and the teacher Martyshin, who dared to write to the father of an undisciplined student, was also no longer on the list of teachers a week after Stalin’s letter.
The appearance of a high-ranking cadet at the aviation school had a magical effect on those around him, especially on his superiors. However, they can be understood. Just figure out how to behave with the son of Stalin himself! How to organize the educational process? After all, Vasily did not have any special training. He didn’t visit the flying club, didn’t jump from a parachute tower, and what if, God forbid, what...
Secret. Instance No. 1
I sent a letter to the head of the Kachinskaya aviation school, brigade commander Comrade Ivanov, an employee who found out on the spot that, having learned about Vasya’s arrival, the school command made an exception for him in violation general conditions existing for cadets."
Lavrentiy Beria reported that Vasily was met at the station by the head of the school himself, to whom Vasya, as if by chance, announced that dad would soon come to Sevastopol and would probably look at Kacha. The move is subtle and calculated. With one phrase, Vasya solved many of his problems.
Vasily was accommodated in the school separately from the rest of the cadets. Meals were prepared in the commanders' canteen, and the new cadet's freedom of movement was not limited. Vasily repeatedly traveled to Sevastopol and Mukholatka. However, soon, by order of Stalin, Beria ensured that Vasily’s living and studying conditions in Kutch were no different from usual.
Lavrentiy Beria to Joseph Stalin:
“I have given the following instructions. A) Remove public protection as unacceptable and organize undercover protection so that, however, the safety of Vasya’s life and health is guaranteed. B) Show attention and care towards him not in the sense of creating any special conditions that violate the established regime and internal regulations aviation school, but to provide assistance in the matter of good mastery of the school program and compliance with academic and everyday discipline.”
From that moment on, Vasily studied like everyone else. The cadets loved him. He was lively, cheerful, became a detachment sergeant major, and lived in a common barracks. True, they still left one privilege for him - Vasily was given a parachute on flights, while everyone else flew without one. He swore and resisted, especially since the parachute was very much in the way in the cockpit. But the order was strict: not to risk the life of Stalin’s son.
However, he was already accustomed to his special position. For example, he was the only one in the squad who had a wristwatch. But when the time came for final exams, they forgot about privileges and concessions. At that time, if you did not master the science course “excellently,” upon graduation from college you were awarded the rank of junior lieutenant. Vasily graduated from college as a lieutenant. And this time his last name had nothing to do with it - Stalin’s son did not make any mistakes in the exams.
In April 1940, young Lieutenant Vasily Stalin began his service in the 16th Air Regiment near Moscow. It was at this time that his first marriage dates back to this time. We say “first” because there will be a second and a third. WITH family life Things weren't going well for anyone in Stalin's family. Since 1932, my father lived without a wife, only just before the war did Yakov succeed, and we will talk about Svetlana’s many husbands later. Vasily was no exception.
Vasya met Galina Burdonskaya at the skating rink. Galya was modern girl- I went in for sports, wrote poetry, and was also very pretty. The bride and groom were then nineteen years old. True, when she met Vasily Stalin, Galina was already considered a bride. The bride of a completely different person.
They were introduced by the then famous hockey player Vladimir Menshikov. He introduced Galya Burdonskaya as his bride. But, as it turned out, the hockey player was in a hurry - Vasily took his friend’s bride away.
Alexander Burdonsky, the son of Vasily Stalin and Galina Burdonskaya, took part in our film. Here's what he said:
He was a little, you know, like Paratov from “Dowry.” That's when he was caring for his mother, that's all his flights over "Kirovskaya", metro station "Kirovskaya", where she lived... So, that's what he knew how to do.
Pretty Gala had plenty to choose from. After breaking up with Vasily, she was married twice more, besides this, she had many novels, but... “Vaska,” she said, “this is love!”
Alexander Burdonsky:
My mother was an amazingly rare person who could not be someone, you see, she could not pretend to be someone and could not, and was never a crafty person. Maybe that was her problem too. And for such a person to love his father... and it seems to me that she loved him until the end of her days.
Today Alexander Burdonsky is a famous Moscow theater director. He speaks fluently and intelligibly. But, talking about the relationship between father and mother, suddenly she does not find the right words. It is clear that he did not witness their meetings, but in many ways he reproduces the emotions and feelings of his mother.
We talk about this because the film dispassionately records not only speech, but also the emotional state of a person. And of course, in the quoted phrases there is much more feeling than meaning. Those who have seen the film can confirm this.
Stalin's son met the war as a pilot-inspector of the Air Force General Staff. During working hours, he - one of thousands of Soviet officers - constantly goes to combat units and accurately carries out assigned tasks. A cog in a huge mechanism. However, in free time Vasily Stalin behaves as he is used to. If at the flight school he was the only one who had his own wristwatch, and this made him stand out from the crowd, then can you imagine how at that time they looked at a person driving his personal car?! Vasily had a car. Not official, personal. By that time, Vasily Stalin had already started drinking. He will never get rid of this addiction until the end of his days. But during the war it was not yet a disease.
"Top secret!
People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR,
Directorate of special departments.
Agent's report.
Second department. Second department.
On the night of September 8-9, 1941, during an air raid, Comrade Vasily arrived at the airfield. A young girl came with him. He drove his car into the hangar. He ordered the mechanic, comrade Taranov, to start the engine and began to demand that he be released into the air. There was zero time. Moreover, he was drunk. When they convinced him that the flight was impossible, he agreed and said: “I’ll go and go to bed, and when they bomb, you’ll wake me up.” He was given the office of Colonel Grachev, and he and the girl remained there until the morning.
(Signed: Illegible.")
By this time, graduates of the Kachin flight school, Vasily’s friends, were fighting on the front line. Many of them had already shot down several German planes. Vasily is also eager to go to the front, because he can fly perfectly. And he also suffers from his rear position because he is afraid of gossip: they say, he has settled well behind his father’s back. At the same time, his unprecedented career rise began.
In December 1941, he was awarded the extraordinary rank of major. On June 20, 1942, the Order of the Red Banner was awarded. After serving in the rank of major for only two months, he immediately becomes a colonel. A month later, the colonel turned only twenty-one years old. This only happened during the War of 1812.
Why his father, who was always very harsh towards Vasily, was not afraid of his son’s rapid advancement up the career ladder is a mystery. Perhaps, realizing that Vasily could not be saved from the front, Stalin decided to prepare the ground for safer service? After all, his eldest son Yakov had just been captured. And Vasily, compared to Yakov, was much less cautious and had a completely reckless character. You can guess for a long time, but the fact remains a fact. In the summer of 1942, Vasily went to the front as deputy commander of the 434th Air Regiment, commanded by his friend Ivan Kreshchev (by the way, the husband of actress Zoya Fedorova).
On December 31, 1942, Kreshchev died, having decided to fly to Moscow to Zoya while ferrying planes. It ended with the fact that due to poor visibility, Ivan crashed while landing at the airfield. After the death of the commander, the regiment is sent for reorganization. The unit returns to the front under the command of Vasily Stalin. As his colleagues recall, Vasily commanded the regiment diligently, almost every day he flew out on combat missions.
We showed TV viewers an authentic entry in the combat log of the 32nd Air Regiment.
“As a result of an air battle, Colonel Stalin shot down one Focke-Wulf-190, which fell burning near the village of Semkina Garushka.”
The downed Focke-Wulf 190 was not the only one on Vasily’s account. He fought bravely, but quite often the excitement of the battle overwhelmed him, and Vasily forgot to be careful. Friends quite often had to help out their commander. In total, he has five combat victories. He won two on his own, and three in a group.
The regiment successfully carried out combat missions, periodically going for reorganization.
During a break in hostilities, the famous emergency occurred, about which fables are still written, which is understandable. Indeed, as a result of the incident, the father miserably removed Vasily from command of the regiment.
It all started with a call from the commander of the 286th Air Division, Vasily Stalin, to the squadron commander, Vitaly Popkov. To meet with the Kremlin-9 film crew, Popkov put on a ceremonial uniform with all the awards. He spoke calmly, recalling what was probably not the most pleasant episode of his life. But his eyes sometimes flashed with bright sparkles. Judging by them, the legendary pilot - the prototype of one of the heroes of the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle,” because it was he, Vitaly Popkov, who commanded the “singing squadron” - and today he does not really repent of this stupidity. It seems that the young people then had nothing but the usual front-line recklessness.
Vitaly Popkov:
He called in the evening and said: “How is it, if tomorrow we (the weather was very unflying) go fishing?” I say: “No problem. So what are we going to catch with? This means we don’t have fishing rods or nets.” Well, I thought he would now say: “Give me some grenades there.” But he says: “Think about it!” The regimental weapons engineer stood nearby. He tells me that they say... “Commander, why do we need these tols, and tol checkers, and grenades there? We have RS. Let’s set the fuse for twenty-six seconds of deceleration, throw it, lie down - then the fish will rush a hundred meters in height, and all we have to do is collect it.”
However, while fishing, the rockets that the pilots threw into the water did not explode; the water flooded the detonator. We decided to reduce the charge response time first to eighteen seconds, and then to six. When the regiment engineer picked up another shell to throw into the water, there was an explosion...
When Vitaly Popkov came to his senses, he discovered that all the fishing participants had suffered from the explosion. One was killed, Vasily Stalin was seriously wounded. It became clear that it was unlikely that it would be possible to hide what had happened.
On May 26, apparently as a result of the report on the investigation of the incident, an enraged Stalin personally wrote an order to remove his son. We found the order in the archives.
"To the Commander of the Red Army Air Force,
Air Marshal Comrade Novikov.
I order:
1) Immediately remove Colonel Vasily Iosifovich Stalin from his post as commander of the aviation regiment.
2) The regiment and the former regiment commander; Colonel Stalin to announce that Colonel Stalin is being removed from the post of regiment commander for drunkenness and riotous behavior and for spoiling and corrupting the regiment.
(People's Commissar of Defense Joseph Stalin.)
Irritation in everything - in the text, in the handwriting, in the numerous corrections. The wounded Vasily was taken to Moscow. The operation was performed in the Kremlin hospital. The results of the treatment were reported personally to Stalin’s security chief, Vlasik. Vasily has been living in Zubalovo for more than six months. He walks on crutches, rushes to the front, and in the evenings has fun with friends, forgetting both the war and the wound.
Stalin's son returned to the front line in May 1944 and soon became commander of the 286th Fighter Aviation Division.
Vasily ended the war in Berlin. In 1946, Vasily Stalin received the rank of major general. Until 1947 he served in Germany. In the same year he was transferred to the position of assistant commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District. The aging father continues, to put it mildly, not to interfere with the career of his only son.
In 1948, Vasily Stalin became commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District. The newly appointed commander turned twenty-seven that year.
Immediately after the war, his marriage to Galina Burdonskaya breaks up. Vasily keeps the children, Sasha and Nadya, and marries Ekaterina Timoshenko, the daughter of the famous marshal. The children remembered her as a real stepmother, gloomy and domineering.
Alexander Burdonsky:
This was one such side of life where we could... there they didn’t feed us, didn’t give us water for a week, they locked us in a room. My father didn’t see it, but it was so.
And again we are talking about two people who coexisted in one person, whose name is Vasily Stalin. The new commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District, as always, got down to business, rolling up his sleeves. Vasily had a lot of energy to spare. In 1947, the Moscow District Air Force firmly occupied one of the last places in the country in terms of basic indicators. Vasily changed this situation. All the years of his command (from 1949 to 1952), the district firmly held first place. It was here that new jet fighters were mastered, frontline bombers, attack aircraft and radar systems. So, Vasily began dashingly. First of all, he isolated himself. He moved his headquarters to Khodynskoye Field, where he created a kind of oasis for himself and his officers in the center of Moscow. Those who wish, driving along the Leningradskoe Highway, can still admire the powerful latticework of the fence and statues in the style of the heyday of the era of the cult of personality. There were legends about the interior decoration of the headquarters: furniture, carpets and paintings from Germany. Marble, granite, cast iron, casting...
But Vasily would not be himself if he limited himself to only this. He finally got the opportunity to take up another of his old loves - sports.
He was obsessed with sports. And it began...
Much has been written and said about the rise of Air Force sports teams. Speaking modern language, Vasily bought stars in batches. Here he did not know the limits: he gave them apartments, positions, and allowances. It was very difficult to resist his pressure. Not just Soviet sports stars came to him, but superstars: Bobrov, Tarasov, Reva, Savin, Ponomareva, Lagunov, Akimov, Babich, Paramonov, Kapitolina Vasilyeva.
But Vasily Stalin was not only interested in people, he also created conditions for them to train. Under his leadership, three hangars at the Central Airfield were rebuilt into athletics arena, a stable and a motorcycle depot. Subsequently, a sports complex on Leningradsky Prospect grew out of them. A wonderful games room, the first fifty-meter swimming pool - all this is the merit of Vasily Stalin, a sports philanthropist. He also wanted to build the country's first ice skating rink artificial ice. It was Stalin’s son who first began to give athletes the opportunity to gather before important competitions in one place for training, even giving them their own homes for this.
Of course, the spoiled general committed many rash acts. The situation around him was such that Vasily imagined himself to be a professional in football, hockey, and swimming. Sometimes he even appointed the lineup before football, volleyball or hockey players entered the field. He instantly punished people and just as instantly forgave. By his order, any athlete could be sent to the most distant military unit and was immediately returned back to Moscow exactly from the halfway point.
However, athletes Soviet army won many victories with the help of Vasily Stalin, but for him, the meeting with the repeated USSR swimming champion Kapitolina Vasilyeva ended in defeat.
Vasily capitulated to Capitolina, Capa, as he called her.
At the end of the forties, Stalin's son separated from the daughter of Marshal Timoshenko and began to live with a multiple swimming champion. They settled in a mansion on Gogolevsky Boulevard at number seven.
Today, Kapitolina Georgievna Vasilyeva, of course, is no longer the same young champion, but her character and will are easily read on her still beautiful face.
Kapitolina Vasilyeva:
-... “Could you live without my salary this month if I don’t give you a salary?” I knew what it meant when someone was in trouble, that his salary was needed as help for someone. I say: okay, I'll do it. I’ll get by, don’t worry, just please don’t have as many gatherings.
We can say that the period of the late forties - early fifties was the best in the life of Vasily Stalin. The young, popular, all-powerful son of the absolute master of the country could afford, if not everything, then a lot. In today's language, Vasily Stalin was the first Soviet “playboy”. Yes, he was not handsome, but he was charming and undoubtedly had the charisma inherited from his father. He changed cars and mistresses, he was the hero of secular gossip and a few Moscow scandals. Needless to say, Vasily was eligible bachelor. Besides the fact that he was also Stalin. The leader's son, being a broad and cheerful man, loved to drink and take walks. With women too. They easily entered into contact with him. This happened with the wife of the famous documentary filmmaker Roman Carmen. Her name was Nina. Vasya and Nina once studied together at school. In '41 we met again and remembered that we once liked each other. But my husband didn’t like it, he complained to Stalin and wrote a letter. Stalin reacted and imposed a resolution:
“Give this fool back to Carmen. Colonel Stalin is to be arrested for fifteen days.”
And he signed: I. Stalin.
And everything would be fine with Vasily if it weren’t for his illness.
Kapitolina Vasilyeva:
Conflicts in connection with his very front-line charm... I was very much against it, because I knew that this disease was very serious, it was progressing, and I needed something... But nothing worked for me.
Security officers and doctors reported to his father that things were not going well with Vasily. They tried to treat him several times.
Head of the Kremlin Medical and Sanatorium Administration Pyotr Egorov to Joseph Stalin:
Personally to Comrade Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich.
I consider it my duty to report to you about the state of health of Vasily Iosifovich. Vasily Iosifovich suffers from exhaustion of the nervous system, chronic catarrh of the stomach and anemia. The cause of these diseases is excessive alcohol abuse.
On November 16 of this year, Vasily Iosifovich suddenly at home around one in the morning while watching a film developed an epileptic seizure, complete loss of consciousness, general muscle spasms of the body, biting the tongue and the discharge of foamy fluid from the mouth.”
In one of our films we showed a unique chronicle: Vasily Stalin on a sea hunt. But for some reason, with an ordinary gun and, most importantly, in pajamas. And the expression on the face of Stalin’s son in these frames is such that it is not difficult to guess what happened to him up to this moment.
It cannot be said that this disease has not been fought. The same Kapitolina Vasilyeva said in one of her interviews that they turned to a narcologist, who was supposed to instill in Vasily an aversion to vodka. However, as anecdotal as it may sound, the narcologist himself turned out to be a heavy alcoholic.
In 1952, when the leader’s entourage began to prepare for the departure of the decrepit Stalin, troubles began for Vasily. He, of course, could not help but think about what awaited him after his father’s death, and therefore he drank more and more. Vasily’s fears were confirmed by the entire course of events. His removal from the post of commander air force The Moscow Military District has become overgrown with a huge amount of speculation and rumors.
Confusion was also caused by sister Svetlana, who wrote in her memoirs that Vasily was removed immediately after the parade on May 1, 1952, during which several planes allegedly crashed. This is not entirely accurate.
One plane did crash on landing, but it was the fault of the pilot, not the parade commander. During the investigation of the accident, it turned out that the pilot simply mixed up the control levers. Vasily had nothing to do with it.
Here it is necessary to make a short digression and tell what the air parade was like at that time. TV viewers who saw the film also saw a chronicle in which the cameraman captured dozens of planes in the sky, lined up in such a way that the word “Stalin” appeared. Sometimes these were the words “Lenin” or “CPSU”. This work was masterly and required full effort from both the pilots and the parade commander. Extraordinary coherence was achieved through many days of training, and you can’t order around a drunken shop here. The participants do not even remember General Stalin drinking at any of these parades, of which Vasily, when he was commander, held fourteen!
The father removed his son from office after another parade and for a completely different reason.
On July 7, 1952, a holiday was held in Tushino in honor of Air Force Day. Commanded by Vasily Stalin. After the successful completion, he allowed himself to relax. And then came a call to a banquet, where the entire Politburo was present. According to tradition, everything happened at my father’s dacha. Vasily was at his dacha. They found him completely drunk. However, it is not customary to discuss orders in the army, especially if it is an order from the Generalissimo.
Kapitolina Vasilyeva:
When he entered, everyone was already sitting. He swayed one way and the other, and his father said to him: “You’re drunk, get out!” “No, I’m not drunk,” he answers. And the second time the father says: “You’re drunk, get out.”
He backed away, came out, and the very next day he was removed from command.”
Vasily’s resignation was framed as a transfer to study at the Academy of the General Staff, but he never appeared there. He was in shock, and then in the winter of 1953 there was a final break with Capa.
Kapitalina Vasilyeva:
We had such terrible disagreements with Vasily that we finally decided to separate. So, before I was admitted to the hospital, I said that I won’t live with you anymore. I can not anymore.
The last six months before his father’s death were marked for Vasily with signs of approaching disaster. He sat in his dacha and drank.
Artem Sergeev, Foster-son Joseph Stalin:
Well, I see that Vasily has already drunk well and poured himself a glass. I tell him: “Vaska, that’s enough!” And harshly: “Enough!” To which he said... took out a pistol and said: “And I have two options: here there is a bullet, and here there is vodka poured. “I,” he says, “live, you understand, I live as long as my father is here.” Father will close his eyes - the next day Beria will tear me apart like that, and Khrushchev and Malenkov will help him.”
In our previous series, General N. Novik told how even on his father’s last birthday, December 21, 1952, Vasily arrived at the Near Dacha drunk. Stalin accepted his son, but never took his gift - a set of tools. He sent Vasily home, and then looked after him for a long time, shaking his head.
This was their last meeting.
On March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin died. The life of his youngest son Vasily was broken in two. At the coffin, Vasily cried bitterly and stubbornly insisted that his father had been poisoned. He was not himself, he felt trouble was approaching. But reality exceeded all the worst expectations. However, we promised to tell TV viewers about this in the next episode of our film.
For which the son of the leader of the Soviet peoples paid with his freedom and spent eight years in prison.
On March 19, 1962, at the age of 40, Vasily Stalin died in Kazan - the son of the recently all-powerful father of nations, who fell into disgrace after his death. Although Vasily Stalin himself never showed political ambitions, at least not publicly, the very existence of the “Red Prince” and his name were dangerous for the new government, because a group of Stalinists could always form around him while he was free. By an evil irony of fate, Vasily Stalin himself became a victim of the system built by his father.
Favorite and unloved sons:
Vasily Stalin was born on March 21, 1921 (although some sources indicate 1920) in the family of Joseph Stalin, who had already become People's Commissar for Nationalities. Vasily was not the first child of the future leader of peoples; he already had a son from his marriage with Ekaterina Svanidze named Yakov, who by that time was 14 years old.
Before the revolution, Stalin led the lifestyle of a professional revolutionary, which did not include the opportunity to raise children. After the death of his first wife, eight-month-old Yakov was given to her relatives in Georgia to raise, and Stalin left to do revolutionary things.
Yakov grew up in a Georgian village, spoke Russian very poorly and first saw his father at the age of 14, when he was already the People's Commissar. The Svanidzes decided that since Stalin had now become an important figure, he could provide his son with a happy future and compensate for his long absence, and they sent him to Moscow. The relationship between father and son did not work out right away. Probably, neither Stalin, who did not take part in raising his son for a decade and a half, nor Yakov, who never saw his father, was raised by women and was not accustomed to Stalin’s harshness and even cruelty, never experienced warm, kindred feelings for each other.
As Stalin’s daughter Svetlana recalled: “Yasha was honest, quiet, without ambition, and his father did not see the point in this.”
Trotsky, who was his Kremlin neighbor in those years, also recalled Stalin’s harsh treatment of his son: “The boy Yasha was subjected to frequent and severe punishments from his father. Like most boys of those turbulent years, Yasha smoked. The father, who himself never let go of his pipe, persecuted this sin with the fury of a provincial family despot, perhaps reproducing the pedagogical techniques of Vissarion Dzhugashvili. Yasha was sometimes forced to spend the night on the landing of the stairs, since his father did not let him into the house. With burning eyes, with a gray tint on his cheeks, with a strong smell of tobacco on his "Yasha's lips often sought refuge in our Kremlin apartment. “My dad is crazy,” he said with a sharp Georgian accent."
Soon his relationship with his father completely deteriorated when he secretly married the priest’s daughter without his consent. Stalin, in the strongest terms, told his son everything he thought about this marriage, after which Yakov shot himself with a pistol and wounded him, but not fatally. After this, the father declared that he did not want to know anything more about his blackmailing son, and he, along with his young wife, left Moscow and did not communicate with his father for many years.
Yakov dreamed of becoming an engineer and had no political ambitions at all, having joined the party only at the age of 34, already a few weeks before the war, while being an army officer. In the first month of the war, he was captured, where he died. Yakov Dzhugashvili, despite his 34 years and higher education, was only a senior lieutenant. For comparison, Vasily Stalin became a colonel at the age of 21, a major general at the age of 25, and a lieutenant general at 28.
Vasily’s fate was completely different. He was no longer born into the family of an underground revolutionary mediocre, but in the family of the People's Commissar, who, as he grew older, turned from one of the ministers into the father of the Soviet peoples. Therefore, Vasily, unlike his older brother, bore the surname not Dzhugashvili, but Stalin.
He grew up not in a Georgian village, but in a Kremlin apartment, and studied at the most prestigious school in Moscow, where his classmates were the children of prominent Soviet figures. However, his childhood occurred during a period of active political struggle father for power, so Stalin had no time to raise his son. According to Vasily’s recollections, after the death of his mother, his father’s guards, who were not distinguished by refined manners, took care of his upbringing, and he early became addicted to tobacco and drink.
After graduating from school, at the insistence of his father, he entered an aviation school and by the beginning of the war he was already a pilot.
At the front:
With the beginning of the war, Vasily was assigned to the inspection of the Red Army Air Force. This was not combat work. Vasily was a hot-tempered and explosive man, and also very young, he had just turned 20 years old. Of course, he wanted to participate in real combat battles, and his colleagues looked at each other knowingly behind him: Stalin’s son, after all, where should he fly.
Only in the summer of 1942 Vasily finally went to the front, but not as an ordinary pilot, but as a squadron commander with the rank of colonel. He was probably the youngest colonel in the country, yet achieving such a rank just two years after graduation was very difficult even in those days.
The critical period in the history of the Soviet Air Force had already passed by that time. Soviet pilots were no longer flying outdated aircraft and were no longer such easy targets for German pilots as they had been in 1941. Nevertheless, the higher authorities tried with all their might to protect Vasily. Their fears were understandable: if you kill the leader’s son, no one will pat him on the head.
During the entire war, Vasily Stalin carried out 26 combat missions. Is it a lot or a little? For example, the famous ace Alexander Pokryshkin flew 650 combat missions during the war. Ivan Kozhedub - 330. Sergei Dolgushin (by the way, a direct subordinate of Vasily Stalin) - more than 500 sorties.
It is reliably confirmed that Stalin shot down two planes personally and three more in a group. Not the highest performance compared to other Soviet pilots, but it is worth considering that in comparison with them, Vasily flew indecently little.
Discipline problems:
The hot southern temperament, specific upbringing and young age of Vasily Stalin merged into one explosive mixture. It cannot be said that he was uncontrollable, but his passion for “hussarism” and hooligan antics is undeniable. He several times became a participant in such incidents that if he had not been the son of Stalin, he would definitely have been court-martialed and imprisoned. best case scenario went to the penal company to atone for his guilt with blood.
In April 1943, a group of pilots decided to organize fishing in a pond near the airfield. And everything would have been fine, but they decided to fish “military style” - to suppress the fish with ammunition. Or more precisely, with rockets. And Vasily Stalin, being the regiment commander, not only did not prevent this, but also took an active part. The result was sad: the shell exploded right in the hands of the engineer, who was scattered to pieces. Another pilot was wounded by shell fragments. Vasily himself was wounded in the leg, his heel was crushed.
Army commander Gromov, who learned about the incident, almost suffered a heart attack. The wounded Vasily was taken on Gromov’s plane to Moscow. After the operation, he was treated in the hospital. At this time, my father personally wrote an order to remove Vasily Stalin from office for drunkenness and moral decay and ordered the order to be read out in front of the line.
Vasily was transferred to another regiment as an instructor pilot. Still, Stalin was incomparably softer towards his youngest son than towards his eldest; for such an incident, any other officer would most likely have been court-martialed.
A year later, Stalin considered that the punishment was enough and returned his son to active army, and even with a promotion. 24-year-old Vasily became the commander not of a regiment, but of an entire division. But even after that he did not come to his senses. After the liberation of Siauliai, Vasily took a tractor from the airfield and went on it to the village for moonshine, and even beat an NKVD officer who tried to stop him.
An impartial description of Vasily was written by his superior, corps commander Beletsky: “He has good organizational skills and strong-willed qualities. energetic, very proactive. By nature he is hot and quick-tempered, allows for intemperance, there have been cases of assault towards subordinates. In his personal life he commits actions that are incompatible with his position as a division commander; there have been cases of tactless behavior at flight personnel evenings, and rudeness towards individual officers. He can command a division subject to the obligatory condition of eliminating the indicated shortcomings."
Stalin, apparently, considered his son’s shortcomings insignificant and left him at the head of the division. And soon after the war, he was promoted to corps commander, awarding 26-year-old Vasily the rank of major general.
After the war:
In 1948, Vasily Stalin was appointed commander of the Moscow District Air Force and was soon promoted to lieutenant general. Vasily was a big fan of sports and, taking advantage of his new opportunities, began to actively support the CSK VVS. Thanks to his intervention, the strongest Soviet athletes began to move into the CSK system, and this sports club quickly became one of the strongest in many sports disciplines.
Vasily did not deprive his department of attention. Through his efforts, the standard of living of the pilots increased significantly; he lobbied for the construction of new modern housing for them, equipped garrisons, etc.
However, this did not last long. In 1952, Vasily committed another trick that angered his father. In July there was a big Air Force celebration at the Tushino airfield. The entire Soviet leadership, including Joseph Stalin, arrived for the holiday. And in front of everyone, a heavily drunk Vasily, for some minor reason, was rudely rude to his immediate superior, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Zhigarev. Enraged by this shameful trick, Stalin drove his son away, and after some time removed him from his post as commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Region. Instead of leadership, Vasily was sent to study at Military Academy General Staff. However, he had no interest in studying and mostly skipped classes, having fun with friends.
A fall:
In March 1953, Joseph Stalin died. Difficult times came for Vasily, which he immediately aggravated with some of his actions. Stalin's son in himself was dangerous for Khrushchev, Beria, Malenkov and Bulganin, who had not yet really seized the levers of power into their own hands. In addition, each of them could use Vasily and raise him as a banner to carry out a coup against the others. And then Vasily himself gave reason to fear him when, immediately after his father’s death, he began to drunkenly shout to Stalin’s comrades that they had killed his father.
After all this, getting rid of Vasily was only a matter of time. Of course, killing the leader’s son was too rude and unacceptable, so at first they decided to treat him “in a good way.” Defense Minister Bulganin summoned Vasily and offered him the post of commander of the Air Force of any military district of his choice, but with the condition of leaving Moscow. However, the stubborn and explosive Stalin categorically refused the offer.
After this, Vasily was transferred to the reserve and he was placed under surveillance. Now he was not so much dangerous as he could discredit the new government. After drinking, Vasily ranted to his drinking buddies about how his father was probably poisoned by the bastards from the Politburo. And Vasily’s drinking companions could become not only Soviet citizens, but also some enterprising foreigners, and then Western newspapers would come out with headlines from Vasily’s words that Stalin was actually killed by the new Soviet leaders.
In a word, Vasily behaved extremely carelessly and improvidently, and less than 2 months after his father’s death he gave reason to have himself arrested. Vasily’s sister later wrote in her memoirs that he was arrested after a “drinking party with some foreigners.” Officially, he was accused of exceeding his official powers, as well as anti-Soviet statements and slander against the former Air Force Commander-in-Chief Novikov, who was imprisoned by Stalin.
The investigation into Vasily’s case was led by one of Beria’s closest associates, Vlodzimirsky, but soon after the fall of Beria he himself was declared an enemy of the people and shot. After this, they forgot about Stalin, who was imprisoned in Lefortovo, and the investigation was resumed only in 1955.
During the resumed interrogations, Stalin refused to take the blame for the Novikov affair. In 1946, Air Chief Marshal Novikov was suddenly removed from his post and sent to camps for 6 years, allegedly due to the adoption of low-quality aircraft. Vasily admitted that in a conversation with his father he complained about the planes, but did not believe that this was the reason for the arrest.
In reality, the matter was most likely connected with the struggle between Zhdanov and Malenkov (who was in charge of the aircraft industry) and main goal The blow was Malenkov, who after this case fell into disgrace and was saved only by Beria, who stood up for him (he needed him as a counterweight to Zhdanov, who was gaining strength). Vasily Stalin, if he was involved in this matter, was more likely as a pawn in the wrong hands.
As for the abuse of power, Vasily readily admitted it. He said that he actually allowed significant expenditures of the budget on projects that were far from being of paramount importance, and also used the budget to purchase personal belongings during his post-war stay in Germany, but this was a blatant trifle and did not last for a serious period.
However, he flatly denied anti-Soviet statements. This testimony was received from his wife, as well as adjutants. Vasily himself insisted that the testimony was interpreted incorrectly and that everything was completely wrong. He did allow himself harsh statements, but only towards Beria, who, as it now turned out, is a vile enemy of the people and a vile scoundrel. And he never said a bad word about comrades Bulganin, Malenkov and Khrushchev; on the contrary, he always praised them.
He also categorically denied his alleged intention to meet with foreign journalists to “explain to them slanderous fabrications.” By an evil irony of fate, Vasily Stalin was tried in a special manner, without a prosecutor or lawyer - a mechanism invented by Stalin in the 30s and designed to deal with political opponents without unnecessary interference and delay.
In prison:
Vasily received 8 years in prison. After the verdict, he was transferred to the famous Vladimir Central. He was considered a secret prisoner, his real identity was carefully hidden and he was imprisoned under the name of Vasily Vasilyev. But he was too famous and it was impossible to hide him; soon the whole prison knew that they had the son of the leader of the people in prison.
Stalin literally bombarded Khrushchev with letters. He spared no expense in depicting the vile role of the damned traitor and sycophant Beria and even supported the exposure of his father’s personality cult begun by Khrushchev. He reminded Khrushchev that it was his mother Svetlana Alliluyeva who introduced him to Stalin and played a significant role in his nomination, that she always treated him with warmth. After Khrushchev achieved the removal of the so-called. The “anti-party group” of Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich, he wrote letters to him with words of support, testifying that these were bad and dishonest people.
After Khrushchev achieved sole power, Stalin ceased to be dangerous for him. Perhaps the prisoner’s numerous letters to him also played a role. One way or another, Khrushchev decided not to torment the leader’s son any longer.
Brief freedom:
After almost 7 years of imprisonment, in January 1960, Stalin was released from prison. He is restored to his general's pension, allowed to wear a uniform, given a three-room apartment in Moscow, and promised help with work and the return of confiscated property. He is taken to a resort to improve his health, after which he is brought to the Kremlin to see Voroshilov (Khrushchev was away). Voroshilov is conducting a conversation on the record so that he can later show the Politburo whether he is ready to “come to his senses.”
The conversation turned out to be difficult, Voroshilov promised to help, but on the condition that Stalin would finally begin to behave normally: “First of all, you must become a different person. You are leading too hectic a life, you are not living the way you should. Remember when your father was hopelessly ill , and you were walking drunk along the corridor. I told you: stop drinking, throw away all sorts of bad thoughts. And then you started drinking even more. I’ll tell you straight away. All sorts of bastards are coming after you. You recently vacationed with your daughter in Kislovodsk, and how are you doing? behaved? Disgracefully. You could occupy yourself with something useful, at least read books, write something. But instead of relaxing, you arrange meetings with all sorts of dubious people. Among them are bastards, and talkers, and, perhaps, connected with foreign institutions. Enemies may use your name abroad to the detriment of the interests of our country. Stop meeting with such people. You blurt out something while drunk, they will distort, add, exaggerate, and for you it can end in big trouble. They will give you a job. But you must understand that you are to some extent in a special position. You must rebuild your life. You need to pull yourself together and categorically stop drinking... You continue to drink. You still smell like vodka. I’ve seen enough of alcoholics in my life and I know what it’s like. Don't drink with today. Give me your word."
Voroshilov promised to arrange a meeting with Khrushchev. However, Vasily could not resist and did not find anything better than to go to the Chinese embassy with complaints about his fate. By this time, relations with China were even worse than with America, since Mao Zedong took advantage of the opportunity to break with the tutelage of Moscow that had long burdened him, and, waiting for Soviet specialists to complete the creation of industry in China, accused Khrushchev of vile revisionism and betrayal communism.
Having learned about Stalin's visit to the Chinese embassy, the Politburo grabbed their heads. The Chinese could easily have launched a noisy campaign in the spirit of the fact that the damned Khrushchevite revisionists poisoned Comrade Stalin and then tried to kill his son.
Vasily was immediately sent back to prison, and Voroshilov received a severe punishment for his meeting with the son of the leader of the peoples. They did not add a new term to Vasily, leaving the old one to serve out. He was free for only three months and had to serve another year.
A year later, Stalin's term ended and he was released. KGB officers met with him and gave him several recommendations about his future life. Firstly, change your last name, and secondly, leave somewhere from Moscow. Then no one will touch him and they will even try to get his pension back and help him with housing and work. However, Vasily could not easily forget eight years in prison. He categorically refused to change his last name, stated that he would not leave Moscow, and if he was not given an apartment and his old pension, he would tell the whole world how cruelly and unfairly they had treated him.
This decided the fate of Vasily. The Kremlin ordered his exile to Kazan for a period of five years. Kazan was then a closed city where foreigners were not allowed, and this minimized the possibility of his contacts with foreign journalists or diplomats. In Kazan, he was allocated a one-room apartment, given a passport in the name of Vasily Dzhugashvili and warned that in case of unauthorized absence from the city, he would again be brought to criminal liability. He was given a pension, but not a general’s pension, but halved, “due to the discredit of the general’s rank.”
Vasily lived in Kazan for 11 months. Shortly before his death, he married for the fourth time, to a local nurse, and adopted her two children. On March 19, 1962, Vasily Stalin died in his apartment, two days before his 41st birthday. The head of the KGB, Semichastny, informed Khrushchev of his death, advising him to bury him without military honors.
According to the official version, Stalin died from the consequences of systematic alcohol abuse. There are also various conspiracy theories that he was allegedly poisoned. However, according to the testimony of many people who saw him in last years, alcohol abuse and a long stay in prison seriously undermined Stalin’s health, and after his release he actually had serious problems with health, but continued to drink.
Thus ended the life of the “Red Prince” of the Soviet Empire, who was fully responsible for his father.
@ Evgeniy Antonyuk, historian
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