Annotation

The book offered to you makes an attempt to trace life path I.V. Dzhugashvili until that March day in 1917 when he returned from exile in Turukhansk and became known under the name Stalin.

Turning to new archival materials made it possible, on the one hand, to identify numerous mysteries in the revolutionary biography of the leader, giving rise to suspicions about his connections with the secret police, on the other hand, to show that these suspicions are unfounded.

In search of an explanation for the revealed mysteries, the author invites readers behind the scenes of the revolutionary movement and shows that the revolutionary underground had “its people” not only in the business world, but also at all levels of power, right up to the court circle of the emperor and the Police Department.

A. B. Ostrovsky

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT STALIN?

Official historiography

In the mirror of the foreign press

Our modern Stalinism

NOTES

Official historiography

In the mirror of the foreign press

Our modern Stalinism

CHAPTER 2. TIME WASHES AWAY TRACES

Okhrana and its archives

From the history of archival “purges”

NOTES

Okhrana and its archives

From the history of archival “purges”

Sources available to us

PART ONE

CHAPTER 1. CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER

First ten years

IN religious school

NOTES

First ten years

At the religious school

CHAPTER 2. YOUTH OF THE LEADER

At the seminary

A completely different world

Choosing a path

NOTES

At the seminary

A completely different world

Choosing a path

PART TWO

CHAPTER 1. AT THE TURN

Last year at the seminary

Start of independent life

NOTES

Last year in seminary

Start of independent life

From the first circles to the mass party

CHAPTER 2. NEW PROFESSION - REVOLUTIONARY

As an accused

In the Batumi underground

NOTES

As an accused

Going illegal

In the Batumi underground

NOTES

CHAPTER 4. IN THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CAUCASIAN UNION RSDLP

Return

On the eve of 1905

Split of the Caucasian Union

NOTES

Return

On the eve of 1905

Split of the Caucasian Union

Chiatura bastion of Bolshevism

CHAPTER 5. JOINING THE PARTY ELITE

From Stockholm to London

In the Baku underground

NOTES

On the way to the unification congress

From Stockholm to London

In the Baku underground

PART THREE

CHAPTER 1. BAKU - SOLVYCHEGODSK

Bailovsky prisoner

Longest stage

In the northern outback

NOTES

Bailovsky prisoner

Longest stage

In the northern outback

CHAPTER 2. IN BAKU AFTER THE ESCAPE

Under the surname Totomyants

Back in prison

NOTES

Under the surname Totomyants

Back in prison

CHAPTER 3. AGAIN IN THE NORTH

NOTES

CHAPTER 4. MEMBER OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE

In a new role

Narym: round trip

IN last time Abroad

Betrayed by Malinovsky

NOTES

In a new role

Narym: round trip

St. Petersburg - Krakow - St. Petersburg

Last time abroad

Betrayed by Malinovsky

First six months

The story of one conflict

Hermit from Kureyka

The last escape

Call for military service

From Achinsk to Petrograd

NOTES

First six months

The story of one conflict

Hermit from Kureyka

The last escape

Conscription

From Achinsk to Petrograd

PART FOUR

CHAPTER 1. STALIN - SECURITY AGENT: PROS AND CONS

Riddles and guesses

Version not confirmed

Where to look for explanations

NOTES

Riddles and guesses

Version not confirmed

Where to look for explanations

CHAPTER 2. WAS SAVVA MOROZOV ALONE?

Money for revolution

Fusion or subordination?

NOTES

Money for revolution

The revolutionary underground and the “oil kings”

Revolutionary underground and manganese business

Fusion or subordination?

CHAPTER 3. “OUR OWN PEOPLE” ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BARRICADES

On the lower levels of power

In provincial offices

The governor's entourage

"All roads lead to Rome"

Holy of holies

NOTES

On the lower levels of power

In provincial offices

The governor's entourage

"All roads lead to Rome"

Holy of holies

CONCLUSION

Initiated into party secrets

Invisible connections

NOTES

Initiated into party secrets

Invisible connections

NAME INDEX

PHOTOS

Notes

A. B. Ostrovsky

Who stood behind Stalin?

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD

About the victims of the Titanic

You, of course, remember how one of the heroes of Ilf and Petrov, a modest Soviet employee, former provincial leader of the nobility Ippolit Matveevich Vorobyaninov, or simply Kisa, inflamed with the desire to get rich, embarked on an adventurous search for his mother-in-law’s treasures. Beginning new life and in an attempt to acquire a more attractive appearance, he decided to dye his graying hair and become a brunette. To do this, he used an expensive smuggled dye called “Titanic” (that was the name of the ship that sank on the eve of the First World War in the waters of the Atlantic). However, after the first acquaintance with a foreign product, Kisa’s hair suddenly acquired not black, but a disgusting greenish tint. The intervention of the “great schemer” did not help either. His attempt to correct the situation with the help of domestic means led to the fact that the hair on the head of the former leader of the nobility began to sparkle with all the colors of the rainbow.

Something similar happened with our press. For a long time, she resembled a tired, familiar, tired of everyone and for this reason, a street whore that caused disgust in many. Wanting to get rid of the old dullness, attract attention and thus not only gain a new reputation, but also make capital, she quickly began to repaint herself before everyone’s eyes. And, as if repeating the fate of Kisa Vorobyaninov, she also began to play with all the colors, starting from white and yellow, ending with brown and black.

Some authors have found themselves in this position, clearly unwilling, unaware, or even noticing it. This is probably exactly what happened with Ales Adamovich, who published the chapter “The Understudy” from the story “The Punishers” in the fall of 1988 on the pages of the magazine “Friendship of Peoples.” This publication, perhaps for the first time in the Soviet press, contained an accusation against I.V. Stalin of collaborating with the tsarist secret police. It quoted a letter from “a certain Eremin” in 1913 (No. 2838) to “the head of the Yenisei security department A.F. Zheleznyakov,” in which I.V. Stalin was characterized as a secret employee since 1906.

The publication caused a controversial reaction.

And no wonder. A man who for 30 years stood at the head of one of the world’s largest powers, a man who for many personified hopes for a “bright future”, a man with whose name the Soviet people endured inhuman difficulties during the Great Patriotic War, walked under bullets and they threw themselves under the tanks, and suddenly - the most ordinary sexot, for 30 pieces of silver, trading the destinies of his comrades in the revolutionary underground.

But it is difficult to combine both. If the published revelation is not true and I.V. Stalin really was a revolutionary who sacrificed his personal life for the happiness of others, who went through prisons, stages and exiles, how can we explain that it was he who stood at the head of the Thermidorian coup, counter-revolutionary in its essence, it was he who defeated the party , which carried out the revolution, liquidated many of its gains, restored the exploitation of the country by foreign co...

A. B. Ostrovsky

Who stood behind Stalin?

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD

About the victims of the Titanic

You, of course, remember how one of the heroes of Ilf and Petrov, a modest Soviet employee, former provincial leader of the nobility Ippolit Matveevich Vorobyaninov, or simply Kisa, inflamed with the desire to get rich, embarked on an adventurous search for his mother-in-law’s treasures. Starting a new life and trying to acquire a more attractive appearance, he decided to dye his graying hair and become a brunette. To do this, he used an expensive smuggled dye called “Titanic” (that was the name of the ship that sank on the eve of the First World War in the waters of the Atlantic). However, after the first acquaintance with a foreign product, Kisa’s hair suddenly acquired not black, but a disgusting greenish tint. The intervention of the “great schemer” did not help either. His attempt to correct the situation with the help of domestic means led to the fact that the hair on the head of the former leader of the nobility began to sparkle with all the colors of the rainbow.

The publication caused a controversial reaction.

In this regard, the version of I.V. Stalin’s connections with the Tsarist secret police seemed to open up the possibility of explaining the origin of the Soviet Thermidor.

But less than six months after A. Adamovich’s publication, an article by the director of the Central State Archive appeared on the pages of the magazine “Questions of the History of the CPSU” October revolution(now - State Archive Russian Federation, GARF) B.I. Kaptelov and employee of the same archive Z.I. Peregudova “Was Stalin an agent of the secret police?”, in which it was convincingly proven that “Eremin’s letter” is a gross forgery.

It turns out that, acting as a whistleblower, A. Adamovich found himself in the role of a hoaxer. Wanting to appear before the readers in “white robes,” he, and with him the entire editorial board of the magazine “Friendship of Peoples,” found himself before the readers in robes of a completely different color.

Anyone can make mistakes. And this episode would not deserve attention if it were of a private nature. In fact, its significance goes beyond creative biography A. Adamovich and the activities of the magazine “Friendship of Peoples”.

A. Adamovich was not a historian. Therefore, the question arises: who slipped him this fake, this expensive and, as it turns out, also smuggled goods? Who is actually engaged in the production of such “contraband” and how does it appear on our reader market?

A. B. Ostrovsky

Who stood behind Stalin?

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD

About the victims of the Titanic

You, of course, remember how one of the heroes of Ilf and Petrov, a modest Soviet employee, former provincial leader of the nobility Ippolit Matveevich Vorobyaninov, or simply Kisa, inflamed with the desire to get rich, embarked on an adventurous search for his mother-in-law’s treasures. Starting a new life and trying to acquire a more attractive appearance, he decided to dye his graying hair and become a brunette. To do this, he used an expensive smuggled dye called “Titanic” (that was the name of the ship that sank on the eve of the First World War in the waters of the Atlantic). However, after the first acquaintance with a foreign product, Kisa’s hair suddenly acquired not black, but a disgusting greenish tint. The intervention of the “great schemer” did not help either. His attempt to correct the situation with the help of domestic means led to the fact that the hair on the head of the former leader of the nobility began to sparkle with all the colors of the rainbow.

The publication caused a controversial reaction.

In this regard, the version of I.V. Stalin’s connections with the Tsarist secret police seemed to open up the possibility of explaining the origin of the Soviet Thermidor.

But less than six months after the publication of A. Adamovich, an article by the director of the Central State Archive of the October Revolution (now the State Archive of the Russian Federation, GARF) B. I. Kaptelov and an employee of the same archive Z. appeared on the pages of the magazine “Questions of the History of the CPSU”. I. Peregudova “Was Stalin an agent of the secret police?”, which convincingly proved that “Eremin’s letter” is a gross forgery.

Anyone can make mistakes. And this episode would not deserve attention if it were of a private nature. In fact, its significance goes beyond the creative biography of A. Adamovich and the activities of the magazine “Friendship of Peoples”.

To understand this, it is necessary to remember that in 1988–1989. In the Soviet Union there was censorship, without whose permission not a single publication could be published. Censorship was subject to two masters: the Central Committee of the CPSU and the KGB of the USSR. Her main task was to “keep vigil.” If in in this case she showed “negligence” and allowed such a publication, which means that this publication was inspired by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the KGB of the USSR, which thus, using A. Adamovich and the editors of the magazine “Friendship of Peoples,” launched a fake into circulation.

But is it really possible that the Central Committee of the CPSU and the KGB of the USSR, if they really set themselves the task of discrediting I.V. Stalin, could not produce such a “work of art” that more than one generation of historians would puzzle over? If such a crude counterfeit was put into circulation, was not this crudeness its main meaning? The more primitive the lie, the easier it is to refute it. And then, using the example of “Friendship of Peoples,” it is possible to show even the most inexperienced reader what methods the “democratic” press has resorted to and is resorting to in anathematizing the “great leader.” After all, even a naive person understands: to expose a criminal, there is no need to falsify facts; the truth is enough for this. If, in order to debunk J.V. Stalin, it is necessary to resort to forgery, this alone should lead to the idea that there are no serious criminal facts from his revolutionary biography at the disposal of critics. And therefore, whether A. Adamovich wanted it or not, his publication is an attempt to slander the name of an honest man.

This is exactly how it was assessed by his opponents, becoming a means of discrediting not so much J.V. Stalin himself, but the anti-Stalin campaign.

Who would argue that the press should be different than it was before 1991. But in order not to produce more victims of the Titanic, it is necessary to be more selective in the “means”. We should not forget about the fate of Kisa Vorobyaninov. How did his experiments with the “smuggled” dye end? The “Father of Russian Democracy” had his hair cut. Naked. And they shaved it. Whoever is tempted by this prospect, hurry up. The “Great Schemer” is already taking out his razor, and soon he may need our heads.

The book offered to you makes an attempt to trace the life path of I.V. Dzhugashvili until that March day in 1917 when he returned from Turukhansk exile and gained fame under the name Stalin.

Turning to new archival materials made it possible, on the one hand, to identify numerous mysteries in the revolutionary biography of the leader, giving rise to suspicions about his connections with the secret police, on the other hand, to show that these suspicions are unfounded.

In search of an explanation for the revealed mysteries, the author invites readers behind the scenes of the revolutionary movement and shows that the revolutionary underground had “its people” not only in the business world, but also at all levels of power, right up to the court circle of the emperor and the Police Department.

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It would seem that this topic has long been exhausted. But just recently she was a sensation. Was Stalin an agent of the secret police in his youth? This question spilled onto the pages of our press and was vigorously discussed. In fact, documents on this topic were first published in the West by the famous American politician and researcher J. Kennan. The publication was quite authoritative, because it came from the archives of the famous Kennan Institute in Washington, the largest center for the study of Russia and the USSR. Then this topic came to fiction. As you know, in A. Solzhenitsyn’s novel “In the First Circle”, in Belov’s narrative “The Year of the Great Turning Point”, in A. Adamovich’s story “The Understudy” about Stalin it is said that he was an secret police agent in his youth. But in all these works we see, first of all, the artistic image of a tyrant with his contradictions and mysteries...

Recent historical studies have not confirmed the version that young Dzhugashvili collaborated with the secret police. The discussion about this seems to have ended logically... Accurate facts No. But there is no “smoke without fire.” Still, there is something left unsaid and mysterious in all this.

And so a new version. It was expressed in the article by historian A. Ostrovsky “Who stood behind Stalin?” (almanac “From the Depth of Time” No. 1, published last year). The author of the article lived and taught in Vologda several years ago and uses, among other things, materials from Vologda archives to prove his version.

What is A. Ostrovsky’s point of view? He believes that in the biography of Dzhugashvili, during the period of his arrests, there are such “blank spots” that “involuntarily give rise to the worst suspicions and give credibility to the version of Stalin’s connections with the tsarist secret police.” Moreover, the author refers to documents from the Vologda exile. He draws attention to some incomprehensible benefits that Dzhugashvili had in this exile, as well as contradictory facts about his stay in the Vologda province.

So, in 1908, Dzhugashvili was arrested in Baku and sentenced to exile in the Vologda province, in Solvychegodsk. The police are receiving new information about him revolutionary activities: an underground printing house was discovered, party documents were found, “The said manuscripts,” reported the head of the Baku security department P. P. Martynov, “will serve to expose Spandaryan and Joseph Dzhugashvili, who I arrested earlier...”. But captain P.P. Martynov triumphed in vain” (A. Ostrovsky). There were no changes in the analysis of Dzhugashvili’s case. He bears no punishment. He was simply exiled to the Vologda province, without conducting any further investigation or tightening measures against him.

On September 26, 1911, Dzhugashvili fled from Solvychegodsk to St. Petersburg. He was arrested. He was threatened with exile to Siberia for five years. However, he is returned to the Vologda province again. and “Dzhugashvili chose Vologda as his place of residence.” Isn’t it strange that a political exile takes advantage of such opportunities?

As an author who dealt with the topic of Stalin’s Vologda exile, I would like to add that the supervision over him in Vologda was very superficial. He was followed by three Vologda spies - Mukhin, Shibalov, Ilchukov. But these were low-level people; they apparently knew nothing about Dzhugashvili and did not show much diligence in their surveillance. For example, like this important point, like Ordzhonikidze’s visit to Stalin in Vologda, remained unknown to the police.

In February 1912, Stalin fled Vologda unhindered. Actually, it was not even an escape, but a departure. Stalin openly went to the station, even taking... a pillow! And he did not hide from the landlady that he was leaving, and did not really object to her reporting this to the police.

In April, Stalin was arrested in St. Petersburg and this time sentenced to exile in Siberia. But as A. Ostrovsky writes: “If we consider that he had two years and nine months of unserved exile and an escape with a stay in the capital, entry into which was prohibited. If we take into account that by this time the police knew about his membership in the Central Committee of the RSDLP, then “this time” we have to note not the tightening of repression, but the preservation of “liberalism”.

And further, in his Siberian exile there is such an interesting fact. In 1935-36, Komsomol members of Solvychegodsk made a ski run Solvychegodsk - Moscow and among collected materials They also discovered information from a certain B.I. Ivanov, who was with Stalin in Siberia.

Ivanov subsequently said that the exiles had suspicions about Dzhugashvili’s connections with the police. A trial was scheduled, but Dzhugashvili did not appear at it - “he went on the run, and the first settlement was five hundred miles away. Such an escape could only be accomplished with the help of the authorities” (“Soviet Culture.” 1988, June 10).

A. Ostrovsky puts forward a completely different version. In his opinion, in the pre-revolutionary period in the highest echelons of power and the police already. there were individuals and entire “layers of individuals” infected by the revolution and secretly sympathizing with it. “One gets the impression! – the researcher writes that Stalin (he is not alone in this regard) had very influential patrons who, although they could not deflect the blows that were not falling, but had the opportunity to paralyze them.”

Is this possible? If compared with modern events, then it actually looks logical. Let us remember the example of our days - even in the KGB there were workers who sympathized with the dissidents and helped them, and in the highest party circles the strength gradually grew, a core of reformers was formed who quickly came to the side of the communists.

And in this regard, A. Ostrovsky’s point of view seems interesting and logical. Of course, all this does not fully explain the many mysteries associated with Stalin.