In the event of a threat to life or illness, many representatives of the political arena did not appear at minor events themselves; they were replaced by doubles. Did such a prominent political figure as Joseph Vissarionovich have “deputies”?
Accusations of an attempt on Stalin's life were repeatedly made against many of those arrested. Moreover, these accusations were often fair.
There really were attempts. Until the early 30s of the 20th century, Stalin moved through the streets of Moscow, accompanied by a guard of 1-2 people.
One of the attempts took place in November 1931 on Ilyinka. Then Stalin came face to face with the organizer of the underground, Ogarev.
The security officers responded in time, and the assassination attempt was unsuccessful. The deputy head of the OGPU, who at that time was Merkulov, sent a report to Molotov, in which he proposed the need to limit the walking movement of the Generalissimo of the Soviet Union in the capital.
The next attempt to kill the leader was made in 1938 by Danilov. An officer of the Tula garrison sneaked into the Kremlin using false documents to shoot him. And at the beginning next year a group whose task was to kill Stalin during his stay in a hydropathic clinic in Matsest was neutralized. In 1942, Stalin's car was shot by deserter Dmitriev. A year later, the operation to destroy the Big Three in Tehran, planned by Skorzeny, was stopped. And in 1944, the plan of Lieutenant Tavrin’s Nazi group was revealed.
There were enough attempts to assassinate Stalin.
Nikolai Vlasik, who served Stalin and worked his way up from personal bodyguard to head of the security, already at the end of the 20s tried to convince the leader not to participate in open rallies, emphasizing that it was at such events that an attempt was made on Lenin.
However, how could the leader Soviet state not to appear before your people. The only way out was to have a double.
Did Stalin have a double?
According to the story of Professor Neumann, who was considered a medical genius and whom all high-ranking representatives of the Third Reich, including Hitler himself, trusted with their health, he had to face several Stalins at once. When the war was over, the scientist was taken to Moscow and invited to examine Stalin. The professor conducted an examination and made a conclusion. After that, he was taken to another room, where he was asked to examine Stalin again. This was repeated five times.
Sergei Krasikov, being an officer of the leader’s security, later recalled how he personally saw Stalin leaving the Kremlin, who got into the car and drove off. And literally a few minutes later, another generalissimo left the building and, getting into another car, also drove away.
Historians do not trust these stories, describing them as tales or apocrypha, but there are too many of these stories.
Such an abundance of materials with similar information suggests that Stalin had doubles, and more than one.
All doubles had their own tasks. Some simply had to sit at meetings in the presidium, nodding their heads, or, leaving the building, walk to the car, or, standing on the podium, wave their hand.
Others were assigned more responsible missions, such as taking part in meetings with delegations and speaking general phrases.
Meetings with representatives foreign countries and Politburo meetings were held with the participation of Stalin himself.
Historians cannot name the exact number of the leader’s doubles, but presumably there were from three to twenty. More often than not, multiple individuals appear in historical records.
Rashidov
Presumably Rashidov, born in the North Caucasus, was the first who was destined to portray Stalin. He died in a bomb explosion while the motorcade was moving through Red Square.
Semyon Lvovich Goldshtab
It was this man, according to many historians, who, at the insistence of Vlasik, who had information about the impending assassination attempt, replaced Stalin during Kirov’s funeral in 1934.
Since Goldshtab was an actor, he began to play the role of Stalin on stage and film. He became famous. This forced him to abandon his services, but with the caveat that he must train his successor. One of those he trained was Yevsey Lubitsky.
Evsei Lubitsky
The former accountant was brought from a village near Vinnitsa to the Moscow region in 1935. For six months he underwent practice and training in the movements, gestures, and facial expressions of the leader. For greater authenticity, he underwent two plastic surgeries.
Lubitsky “worked” in the “position of Stalin’s understudy” for more than 15 years, but then differences became visible, as the understudy began to look younger than the original. In 1952, Lubnitsky was cut bald and exiled to a camp, which he left a year after Stalin's death.
It is very difficult to say how true all these stories are. It is quite possible that even the stories of the doubles themselves are nothing more than fiction, since documentary evidence their existence, alas, does not exist.
This actor, undoubtedly not without talent, was destined to play film set the leader of the people himself. It is noteworthy that Felix Dadaev throughout for long years I tried not to remember that in the movies he was the double of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. Publicity could cost him his life, and only in 1996 information about the “specific” component in the work of the actor from Dagestan was declassified. Felix Dadaev personally met with Stalin, who himself checked the actor’s readiness to play Koba. Few people know that the double of the “Father of Nations” spent seven whole years in Kolyma. Only Dadaev’s wife knew about his non-trivial mission in exile. What was he like? creative path actor and what was remarkable in his biography? Let's consider this issue in more detail.
Years of childhood and youth
Felix Gadzhievich Dadaev - native settlement Kazi-Kumukh, located in the Republic of Dagestan. He was born in 1923. His real name is Ghazavat. The future actor spent his childhood in the mountains: he helped his parents graze cattle, his father taught him the basics of the tinker profession.
Except with youth showed interest in jewelry. However, dancing became the teenager's real hobby. After some time, Felix Dadaev and his family move to the city. There he meets himself and attends choreographer classes with him. Gazavat gets into the children's ensemble named after. S. Stalsky (later renamed “Lezginka”). At the end of the 30s, the North Caucasian Arts Olympics was held, at which the creators of the State Song and Dance Ensemble of the Ukrainian SSR noticed the makings of a young man’s talent. Before the foreign tour, they prepared a composition in which one of the central features was finger dancing. And Felix Dadaev was ideal for this mission. In parallel with dancing, the young man went to a Ukrainian school.
Years of war
When Germany attacked the USSR, Gazavat was in Dnepropetrovsk. From among the members of the ensemble, a front cell was immediately organized, which included famous artists: Efim Berezin, Yuri Timoshenko, Mark Fradkin, Ian Frenkel. Throughout the war years, Felix Dadaev performed concert programs for the soldiers, thereby raising their morale. However, the maestro himself often took up arms to get even with the enemy. He even went on reconnaissance missions.
One day Dadaev was wounded and he was sent to the hospital. By mistake, a funeral was sent to Gazavat’s relatives, which is still kept by the maestro. Fortunately, it turned out to be false.
Post-war time
When the country was liberated from fascist aggression, Dadaev Felix continued his artistic career, somewhat expanding his creative role. He declares himself not only as a dancer, but also as a comedian, entertainer and artist conversational genre. In addition, Ghazavat demonstrated his talent in drawing caricatures, composing and performing songs, and the art of illusion. Felix Dadaev also performed numbers on the topic and composed feuilletons. The maestro traveled a lot around the country with performances: “Humor is the elixir of longevity”, “The author speaks” and so on. He is the author of the work “Tears of Mothers” and the book “Variety Country”.
Fateful meeting
Felix Gadzhievich's resemblance to the “father of nations” was already evident when the actor was young. In the first half of the 40s, he listened to his double and tried to adopt individual intonations of his voice.
But officially the external analogy between Stalin and Dadaev was noticed after watching the play “Highlanders”. The double of the leader of the Bolshevik Party soon appeared before Joseph Vissarionovich himself. Felix Dadaev, whose biography contains many interesting and noteworthy facts, tried to speak with the leader of the peoples in Georgian. At the same time, the maestro denies the fact that he had many meetings with the Generalissimo of the USSR.
Achieving 100% similarity
When Stalin and Dadaev met, the first was 65 years old, and the second was not even twenty-five. Despite this difference in age, the external similarity turned out to be maximum: physique, eyebrows, height, even the hump on the nose.
To increase the effect of identity, Gazavat's face was carefully made up. It was additionally treated with a “daub” and using a simple cosmetic brush, depressions were made, and a layer of powder was applied on top.
It is noteworthy that Felix Dadaev (Stalin's double) never smoked a pipe. Mustache, teeth and upper lip“leader of the peoples” was painted in yellow. The actor's hair was tinted red, and then gray strands were glued on. Before the real Stalin, Gazavat appeared in a cap, boots, a jacket without orders, over which was a grayish cloak. Joseph Vissarionovich was pleased with the image of his double.
Examination
However, external similarity was not enough to complete the picture. It took some time for the actor to adopt the Generalissimo’s gait and his manner of speaking. And only then Dadaev was invited to audition. He was given a task: to properly meet his “comrades-in-arms” - Kalinin and Molotov. Ghazavat slightly raised his hand, and the “party supporters” greeted the leader. Nobody noticed the trick.
After a while, the editors regularly instructed the actor how he should behave in the image of Stalin. Many photo tests were made, the best of which were selected by Joseph Vissarionovich himself. Preparations lasted for several months: they carefully watched the film with the leader, studying intonation, gait, and facial expressions. Experienced instructors tried to make him a real double of Stalin, and they succeeded.
Felix Gadzhievich himself recalled that sometimes the analogy was so natural that it seemed that it was about to cross the line of what was permitted and transform into a parody. But, fortunately, he managed to avoid this.
On the Mausoleum instead of the Generalissimo
On initial stage The actor’s cooperation with the NKVD authorities was simply to draw public attention to the leader. To do this, Felix Dadaev, whose photo was almost identical to his, had to leave his residence building and get into a company car. Then the task for the actor became somewhat more complicated. He had to appear before the people with his own eyes, in particular by attending holiday parades. Dadaev successfully completed his mission. So, it was not Joseph Vissarionovich himself who came to the parade dedicated to the podium of the Mausoleum, but his double in the person of Felix Dadaev.
It should be noted that the maestro is not used to discussing how he worked as Stalin.
Reluctantly, the actor talks about the life that the Father of Nations built for Soviet people.
Work in the era of modern Russia
In the 2000s, the actor often took part in concert programs dedicated to Victory Day, which were traditionally organized in the Kremlin, the Rossiya State Central Concert Hall and Poklonnaya Hill capital Cities. Currently the maestro lives in Moscow. Felix Gadzhievich is married, his wife’s name is Nina Igorevna. The actor also has a daughter, Alfia.
Regalia and awards
For his high merits in cultural life In Russia, Dadaev received many awards and regalia. He has WWII degrees I and II, orders of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, China, Cuba and other countries of the world. Felix Gadzhievich is the owner of a number of awards and certificates from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Culture of Russia.
The idea that the world is ruled by doubles existed in public consciousness at all times. Rumors about “understudies” of the main officials of the state became widespread in Soviet times. "Practice" remembers different versions about the existence of doubles domestic leaders and finds out which of them are the most plausible.
PASSION FOR LENIN
Conspiracy theorists often believe that many leaders of the USSR had doubles. Chronologically, the first in the series of owners of doubles is Vladimir Lenin. According to one of the versions, promoted by publicist and veteran of the special services Valery Malevany, there were several of them. These people were trained by the commandant of the government dacha in Kuntsevo, “Marya Ivanovna.”
Also back in Soviet times there were rumors that Lenin's double was seen in December 1923 in Moscow, and the Bolshevik leader himself, already very ill, was living in Gorki at that time. Allegedly, an understudy walked around the Kremlin at night, and this was attested to by several eyewitnesses - the courier, employees of the Council of People's Commissars. Mystical properties were attributed to the appearance of the leader’s understudy in the Kremlin offices: as if it was some kind of “sign”, a warning about the imminent death of Vladimir Ilyich (he died a few weeks later).
Another myth is based on the fact that Lenin had a twin brother, Sergei. But, according to legend, he did not replace the leader, but was his close friend and ally. However, in 2013 it turned out that this was only beautiful fairy tale. The author of the photographs with the “twin,” an artist from Ufa, Rinat Voligamsi, admitted that Lenin did not have any brother Sergei, and the leader’s “unofficial” family album was entirely made in Photoshop.
There is also a more radical version, based on the fact that the real Lenin died back in 1918, and in all subsequent years there was a double in his place - the American Boris Reinstein. This idea itself is based on the conclusion of Anton Kolmykov, an expert from the Samara Center for Independent Expertise in Road Transport (CNEAT). He published the text in the Yekaterinburg monthly scientific journal“Discussion” under the title “Legal responsibility for falsifying history. Revolution in Russia of 1917". Also your scientific work he posted it on the International Scientific Network.
Kolmykov, comparing photographs of Lenin taken in different periods his life, comes to the conclusion that after 1917 Vladimir Ilyich was replaced. In addition, the Mausoleum also allegedly contains a fake Lenin.
“The events of the 1917 revolution in Russia today are presented in history in such a way that semi-literate people acted uneducated people With low level intelligence, and their leader was V.I. Ulyanov. Taking a closer look, it was established that the characters known to us are only posters for the occupation administration. There were other people behind them and they are roughly known,” Kolmykov concludes. He adds that existing history textbooks cannot be read, and Lenin must be taken out of the Mausoleum and given to the United States, because the leader was an American impostor.
Other patriotic conspiracy theorists, continuing Kolmykov’s thought, find a different cause-and-effect relationship. For example, there is an opinion that behind the events of October 1917 were not only Anglo-Saxon Americans, but also Jews from Russia and the USA. And Ulyanov’s candidacy for the role of leader was chosen only to create the appearance of “Russianness” of the leaders of the revolution.
Both Anton Kolmykov and other CNEET employees, judging by their expert opinions, are supporters of various conspiracy theories. On the institution’s website you can find many publications dating from 2010 and later, which are devoted to the examination of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the harmfulness of childhood vaccination and the Chernobyl disaster.
ARMY OF "CLONES" OF STALIN
The most a large number of doubles are attributed to Joseph Stalin. According to various estimates, he had from two to two dozen of them. Usually, assumptions about the presence of understudies for Joseph Vissarionovich are supported by several arguments. Firstly, the Secretary General was very busy man and didn’t have time to do a lot of things. Secondly, over its many years political activity he made many enemies for himself, ranging from Trotskyists, Mensheviks and ending with party comrades and ordinary people. Thirdly, during his life Stalin survived at least five assassination attempts, the special services did not always cope, so the double could be in a great way insure.
It is believed that the idea of training understudies for the leader appeared after a conspiracy by old Georgian Bolsheviks planning to assassinate Stalin was discovered in October 1935. Despite the fact that the leader had several thousand secret employees in his guard at that time, and during public events Stalin was accompanied in full combat readiness by several special military units, it was decided that security alone was not enough.
Appealing to historical evidence proving the existence of Stalin's doubles, conspiracy theorists often refer to the story of the German professor of medicine Neumann. He allegedly told one of his cellmates in the Gulag how he was once brought to the Kremlin for a medical examination of the leader and was taken from office to office. Everything in each room was new and new Stalin, and which of them was real, the German still did not understand. Exact number of “copies” Soviet leader he didn't remember, but apparently there were at least five of them.
Writer Alexander Vladykin-Beskudnikov wrote in detail about Stalin’s doubles in his book of the same name. In his work, published in 1999, he analyzed many photographs of the Soviet leader and came to the conclusion that he had at least 20 doubles. He also argued that after 1934 not a single authentic photograph of the “leader of the peoples” had been taken - this gave him the idea that at that time Stalin was no longer alive, and instead of him, the public was shown doubles. And they didn’t just show: according to the author, for almost 20 years the fake Joseph Vissarionovich was at the head of the country.
At the same time, the leader’s guards, for example, Alexey Rybin and Nikolai Vlasik, never confirmed the information about the doubles. And only their colleague Sergei Krasikov, in his book “Near the Leaders,” mentioned one incident with the substitution of Stalin. In particular, he wrote that one day the “leader of the peoples” decided to play a prank on people from his circle: instead of him, a disguised actor came out of the entrance of the government building to the guards. Krasikov also noted that Joseph Vissarionovich still had two backups - Yevsey Lubitsky and Khristofor Golshtab.
A veteran of the special services, Malevany, has a different point of view regarding Stalin’s doubles. He believes that he got his first understudy in 1929. It was the peasant Rashid with North Caucasus, who replaced the leader at rallies and other events and died during one of the assassination attempts on the “leader of the peoples.” In the early 1930s, actor Semyon Goldshtab became Stalin’s new double, and in 1937 another double was trained - accountant from Vinnitsa Yevsey Lubitsky. In addition, the Soviet actor Felix Dadaev, who played the role of Stalin in newsreels, said more than once that he was his double in life. Beginning in 1943, he allegedly replaced him periodically during trips and public appearances.
However, many large domestic historians disagree about the presence of backups for the “leader of the peoples.” Thus, Anatoly Utkin believed that this could well have happened, because many politicians periodically used doubles in for various purposes. And Yuri Zhukov defines people who call themselves his understudies as impostors. “Where could the notorious Stalin doubles be used? At a Politburo meeting? It won’t work, everyone there knew each other. Moreover, it was necessary not to be silently present, but to actively participate in the work. At a government meeting it’s the same thing, the doll won’t get through,” he said.
Historian Nikita Petrov also believes that the leader was unlikely to have doubles. First of all, because Stalin was paranoid and was afraid, including people from his circle, who could get rid of the leader and replace him with an understudy. Political scientist Konstantin Sivkov adds that a double could hardly replace him during speeches, because the “leader of the peoples” did not sight-read and always improvised in his speeches.
It is noteworthy that Lenin’s main comrade in the struggle, Leon Trotsky, allegedly also had at least one double. Only there is not a single piece of evidence left about this, and there are only statements by the same publicist Valery Malevany. “Trotsky also made a double for himself,” he said, without going into details. There are no verified sources or other witnesses that Trotsky had at least one understudy.
Likewise, there is no evidence that Mikhail Gorbachev had doubles. But he is still credited with using at least one stunt double. According to the most common version, the President of the USSR had an understudy named Zhenya, whom Gorbachev sent in his place to all sorts of boring and tedious events. While the ex-president himself was relaxing at his dacha, Zhenya was traveling around Soviet Union, met with regional authorities, visited factories and collective farms, communicated with Soviet workers, shook hands with everyone and listened to numerous complaints. The assistants accompanying the double diligently documented everything and then sent it “upstairs” for further investigation and taking action.
Many prominent politicians there were doubles whose goal was to be “cannon fodder” if there was a threat to life, to replace during illness at unimportant events. Did Stalin have doubles? Many wanted to kill him Many of those arrested were accused of attempting to assassinate Comrade Stalin. But the accusations were not always unfounded. There really were conspiracies; attempts were made on Stalin’s life more than once. Until the early 30s, Stalin walked around Moscow accompanied by 1-2 guards. In November 1931, a member of the EMRO, Ogarev, who had arrived in the capital to organize the underground, came face to face with him on Ilyinka. The assassination attempt did not take place, the security officers disarmed Ogarev, but the deputy. The head of the OGPU, Merkulov, submitted a memo to Molotov with a proposal to limit Stalin’s walking around the city, and best of all, to ban it completely. In March 1938, an officer of the Tula garrison, Danilov, used forged documents to enter the Kremlin with the aim of shooting Stalin. In January 1939, while crossing the Soviet-Turkish border, a sabotage group was liquidated, the purpose of which was to assassinate Stalin when he visited a hydropathic clinic in the city of Matsesta. In 1942, deserter Dmitriev shot at a government car. In 1943, Skorzeny developed an operation to destroy the Big Three during their meeting in Tehran. In 1944, the group of Lieutenant Tavrin, abandoned by the Nazis, was liquidated. The goal is still the same: the murder of Stalin. Necessary double Nikolay Vlasik, past the path from Stalin's personal bodyguard to the head of his security, back in the late 20s he categorically opposed the leader's speeches at open rallies, constantly recalling that it was at the meeting that an attempt was made on Lenin. But it was impossible to hide the leader of the Soviet state. Congresses, trips around the country, meetings with workers required at least occasionally to show the leader to the people. A double could be a way out of this situation. Did Stalin have it? Apocrypha of Professor Neumann, Chekist Krasikov and others. The German professor Neumann was a recognized luminary of medicine. The leaders of the Third Reich, including Hitler himself, trusted him with their health. After the defeat of Germany, the scientist was taken to Moscow, brought to the Kremlin, taken into a room and asked to examine Stalin. The doctor examined the patient, gave his opinion on his state of health and recommendations. He was taken into another room and again asked to examine... Comrade Stalin. This man's medical indicators were completely different! The professor was taken into the third office... and again asked to examine “t. Stalin"! Inspected five “Stalins” German doctor, which one was real, he was not told. Neumann was warmly thanked and sent to the camp, where he told his story to his fellow inmates. Former Stalin security officer Sergei Krasikov claims that he personally saw Stalin come out of the government building, get into the car and drive away, and literally a few minutes later the leader reappeared from the building Soviet people. Many of Stalin’s close associates write in their memoirs that they were sometimes given “understudies,” but they pretended not to notice anything, so as not to upset the Boss. Doubles From the huge amount of materials, a picture emerges that Stalin had doubles, and there were several of them. The vast majority had a very insignificant role: sit silently on the presidium and just nod their heads, or leave the building, walk a few meters and get into a car, or stand on the podium and occasionally wave to the demonstrators passing below. Sometimes the understudies were entrusted with meetings with delegations of foreign workers, during which general phrases were uttered. At congresses, Politburo meetings and meetings with foreign diplomats, of course, Stalin himself spoke and said his word. How many doubles were there? Researchers put the number between 3 and 20. We will tell you about those who are mentioned most often. Rashidov A native of the North Caucasus, apparently, was the very first of the doubles. He died during one of the assassination attempts. While the motorcade was passing through Red Square, a bomb was detonated. Three performers, several security officers and Rashidov were killed. The death of the double only confirmed Stalin's need to have doubles. Security measures have been tightened. Semyon Lvovich Goldshtab Goldshtab was a professional actor. It is assumed that it was he who replaced Stalin at Kirov's funeral in 1934. Vlasik received information about the preparation of the assassination attempt during mourning events and insisted that close friend spent in last way double. Goldshtab got used to the role so well that he began playing Stalin in theater and cinema. The actor became recognizable, and his services had to be abandoned. However, before his “dismissal,” Goldstab was ordered to pass on his art of copying the leader to his successors. One of those who trained with him was Yevsey Lubitsky. Evsei Lubitsky He was found in 1935 near Vinnitsa. They took him to the Moscow region, where the former accountant underwent “training” for 6 months: he adopted his gait, mastered facial expressions and gestures. For greater resemblance, Lubitsky underwent two plastic surgeries. At the end of the “course” an “exam” was held: a meeting with Scottish miners. British workers had never seen the real Stalin; there was nothing to compare with. The owner, who was watching the meeting from the next room, was pleased. Lubitsky “worked” as Stalin for more than 15 years, but the original aged faster than his double and the moment came when the difference between them began to be striking. In 1952, the useless Lubnitsky was shaved bald and, forbidden to grow a mustache, was sent to a camp, from where he was released in 1953 after the leader’s death. Felix Dadaev The artist of the State Song and Dance Ensemble of the Ukrainian SSR played Stalin in the play “The Highlanders” and played so well that the authorities paid attention to him. In 1943, he was brought to the Kuntsevskaya dacha, where he spent hours watching newsreels, adopting the leader’s demeanor, and learned to smoke. Dadaev knew that besides him there were at least two more doubles, but he did not see any of them, just as he had never seen Stalin himself. According to Dadaev himself, he was used to distract attention: he went out through the front door and got into the car in front of hundreds of people, while Stalin went out through the back door and drove away unnoticed by anyone. Several times Felix replaced the leader at holidays and parades, but most often on the set; in numerous newsreels we see not Stalin, but Dadaev. Felix Ikonnikov The 49-year-old Abkhaz shepherd came to the attention of the special services in 1950 - and soon his relatives died as a result of an accident. Like Dadaev, Lubitsky and others, he was forced to watch the newsreel for hours. Stalin was already seriously ill by 1951, but nevertheless regularly appeared in public and stood for hours on the podium of the mausoleum during the cold November demonstrations - and this is not surprising if you consider that all this time he was replaced by a double. By and large It is difficult to judge how true all these stories are. Even interviews with former doubles are questioned by many historians: where is the guarantee that all this is not the fabrication of an old man out of his mind? Documents, show documents! If there were no doubles, we have a politician who managed to structure his work schedule in such a way that he managed to do dozens of things and keep up with dozens of places.
In short, there were plenty of people who wanted to kill Stalin.
Historians call all these stories tales, apocrypha, but there are many such stories on the Internet - too many.
But there are no documents.
If there were doubles, let’s salute Stalin’s wisdom. By replacing the leader at events of secondary importance, the understudies freed him up for more important and significant matters. While the “duplicates” stood in the stands, the real Stalin was making history.
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Was Stalin replaced in 1947?
True, in the case of the “father of nations,” death did not come on its own: it was “invited” by the leader’s enemies, who sent the red monarch to the next world six years before his “official” death. This version looks incredible, but if you look at the facts, everything becomes quite real.
Failed assassination attempts
Behind long years During the reign of Stalin (and he held the post of leader of the state for 29 years), attempts on his life were not made very often. The “Father of Nations” built such a ring of security around himself that it was almost impossible to get through to him.
But after the death of the “Kremlin highlander,” Soviet and foreign historians, based on archival data, found out that they tried to kill Joseph Stalin, and more than once. Twice these were representatives of the Japanese intelligence services (attempt in Matsesta in 1939, where the red dictator was supposed to be shot former manager Far Eastern GPU Lyushkov, and the second time when the same Japanese tried to plant a mine under the podium of the Mausoleum). In addition, Lieutenant Danilov, a soldier of the Tula garrison, and deserter Savely Dmitriev attempted to assassinate Stalin - on November 6, 1942, he fired at a government car, believing that Stalin was there.
These assassination attempts have been studied in detail, and some - such as Operation Big Leap, as a result of which they wanted to kill Stalin in November 1943 during the Tehran Conference - are still examples of how to prevent sabotage.
But not a word is said anywhere about the assassination attempt that took place in March 1947. And this is correct, since Stalin was not only killed, but they also managed to arrange the matter in such a way that supposedly the leader remained alive and led a huge country for another six years!
And the most amazing thing is that almost no one noticed this except the conspirators themselves, the closest people from Stalin’s circle.
However, there were still traces of the monstrous crime, one had only to carefully analyze what was happening. This can be judged both by records in closed archives, and by leafing through newspapers and looking at photographs of those years. Although, despite the rumors about Stalin’s death that were already circulating in those years, no one attached serious importance to this. Although the evidence was on the surface.
Sudden illness
The year was 1947 difficult time for the USSR. Jubilee year, when the whole country in one impulse was preparing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Great October Revolution socialist revolution. The celebration of the triumph of Lenin's course, which led the country through the flames of war and post-war trials, was going to be celebrated with real triumph. The “Father of Nations” was preparing for the anniversary together with the whole country. True, the leader did not intend to perform feats of labor: his main task he considered periodically clearing the ship of state of ballast in the person of his completely fat and lazy comrades. By 1947, Stalin had big list persons subject to destruction. That is, the leader conceived the next “great purge”, where the war hero, one of Stalin’s favorite commanders, Marshal Zhukov, was to act as a battering ram, a kind of bulldozer sweeping away “political garbage” from the arena of history. The main blow was aimed at those who were not directly involved in past war, but was already sharing post-war laurels, preparing to seize power in the country. First of all, this concerned Beria and Malenkov - Stalin understood that this political duo was dreaming of how to lead the country. Presumably, the “father of nations” wanted to celebrate his 30th anniversary Soviet power with a renewed composition of top officials, and he would undoubtedly succeed.
And, according to one version, Beria and Malenkov were ahead of the “old man” (as Beria called Stalin).
Beria knew that the formidable master was starting a purge - among the people close to Stalin, there were many who worked for Lavrenty Pavlovich, who by that time served as deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and was one of the seven members of the Politburo that led the country.
Beria did everything to “clean up” the space around the leader, saturating him as much as possible big amount faithful people. It was at this time that, at his suggestion, Viktor Abakumov became the first person of the NKVD - he was a man devoted to him like a dog. And soon Beria started a cunning game with the head of Stalin’s security, General Vlasik, as a result of which Vlasik’s subordinate, the commandant of the “Near Dacha” Fedoseev, was arrested. Vlasik was accused of preparing an assassination attempt on Stalin, after which he temporarily fell into disgrace, which is what the conspirators needed. Many people appeared in Stalin’s circle whom the leader practically did not know and who could not be relied upon.
And it is not surprising that in March 1947 this circumstance played its fatal role - Stalin suddenly became seriously ill, after which he was never able to recover. The disease from which the leader died within three months, happened as a result of taking sulgin, a medicine that Stalin used for an upset stomach. After taking the ill-fated drug, health problems began, as a result of which the “father of nations” died.
Archival data on the course of this disease has been preserved. Although Stalin ate only what was strictly controlled, they managed to poison him. There is no doubt that Beria had a hand in this, because under the MGB, under his direct supervision, there was a special laboratory headed by Georgy Mayranovsky, a major specialist in poisons. It was a state-of-the-art laboratory for the creation and testing of toxic substances for secret murders.
Excruciating slow dying, which was provided to the “owner” by his comrades, allegedly lasted for three months. And then, according to the official interpretation of this event, in June 1947, Stalin was miraculously healed. In fact, Stalin died. And he died, most likely, back in March 1947.
Ghost of the Dead Lion
According to another version, no one killed the creator of the USSR: his health, undermined by years of war, failed, and he died without any intervention.
But in any case, informing the whole world about the death of the leader was mortally dangerous for the existence of the Soviet Union.
The country had not yet recovered from the war with the Germans, but it had already been going on for a year cold war. The enemies of the USSR in the person of the USA and England had atomic weapons and plans to strike the Soviet Union with these weapons, which then did not yet have nuclear charges. Stalin's death could have been the reason atomic bombing THE USSR. American intelligence knew very well that, on Stalin’s orders, the Soviet atomic bomb was being developed, and soon the Western monopoly on superweapons would disappear. Why not take advantage last chance burn with impunity atomic bombs soviet empire? Moreover, after the death of its “emperor” the struggle for power will begin.
The unquestioned authority of Stalin helped the leadership of the USSR resolve difficult issues with the leaders of countries of Eastern Europe and China. And after the end of World War II and the division of zones of influence in the world, this was a primary factor foreign policy. The allies had to be kept in check so that the eastern bloc did not fall apart, bringing joy to Western competitors.
Therefore the group senior officials the country did everything to ensure that no one knew about the death of the “father of nations.” The deceased leader was secretly buried, and his place was taken by one of the “doubles that Stalin had since the late thirties. The double, who resembled the leader like two peas in a pod, immediately joined the game.
True, there were some mistakes. And this was noticed not only by those who were close to the leader, but also by people far from politics. No wonder - after all, a person like Stalin was in the spotlight all the time. Replacing it for an hour or two is one thing. But to play this role flawlessly all your life? This would be difficult to demand from any double, even the best. Still own habits and habits cannot be forgotten overnight.
Besides, one can only guess what was going on in the head of the person who had the chance to become key figure in an intrigue of this magnitude. Of course, he could not help but understand that he could be eliminated at any moment. As soon as the conspirators decide that he is more trouble than he's worth. And what could happen if the substitution is revealed - it’s even scary to think about it! In such a nervous environment it was impossible to do without mistakes and missteps. And they happened one after another.
As you were, so you remain!
In May 1947, Stalin appeared on the podium of the Mausoleum differently than always: not in the front row in the center, but standing on the sidelines between Shkiryatov and Budyonny. Perhaps at this point the double was not yet ready for his role, or perhaps the leader’s comrades wanted to see how the workers would perceive it - to launch a test balloon, so to speak, and evaluate the reaction. And the reaction was immediate - people in the country started talking about the fact that Stalin had died, and the “sworn friends” were hiding this from the people. There was a smell of thunder in the air! Then, two days later, the frightened conspirators gave the double a new task - to go out to the masses!
And again there was a mistake: on May 3, at a reception in the Kremlin in honor of the military parade, the false Stalin appeared surrounded by his comrades. However, he was so demoralized by the role that had fallen to him that he did not utter a word the entire evening. The fake leader was rescued by Molotov, who spent the entire evening making toasts, throwing withering glances towards the silent “owner”. But the false Stalin probably had not yet properly learned the words of the role, especially since there were many people nearby who heard Stalin and were able to understand that not everything was pure here.
Those who imagine the Stalinist environment and the order that reigned in it are unlikely to believe that the leader’s sycophants, who were catching the breath of the “master”, his whisper, suddenly became so bold that they began to joke and laugh, realizing that he was sitting behind their backs. formidable "master".
A month later at the opening of the session Supreme Council RSFSR, which took place on June 20, 1947, the double again “let the rooster”. He appeared in the Presidium box, but sat not where he usually was, but in the background. And so he sat alone, not getting close to the talkative and lively company in the person of Beria, Bulganin, Malenkov, Molotov, Mikoyan and others.
It must be assumed that the double did not find the strength to approach the cohort of real political leaders. Or they showed him where he belongs and advised him not to stick his head out!
In November of the same year, at the celebration of the 30th anniversary October revolution Stalin did not appear on the platform of the Mausoleum at all. And there were reasons for that. The main thing is that there were too many on the podium who knew the real Stalin, so that if they saw him up close, they would definitely notice the substitution. So the conspirators decided not to tease the beast in vain and left the double without a Mausoleum.
But who could this double be? Some argue that the role of Stalin was played by a native of Vinnitsa, Evsei Lubitsky, a man remarkably similar to Stalin. He was found in 1935 by NKVD officers on the orders of Genrikh Yagoda. And Stalin personally gave him the corresponding order, fearing assassination attempts.
True, Lubitsky outlived the leader. In 1952, he was suddenly arrested and sent to the camps (was it because he knew too much?). Lubitsky died in 1981 in Dushanbe. And the double, who played the role of Stalin for six years, died (most likely, he was also poisoned by Beria) on March 5, 1953. Medical examination reports confirmed this. Doctors with meticulous scrupulousness examined the body of the one who died at the “Near Dacha” and who last years lived under the name of Stalin.
Judging by the posthumous description, this man did not have half the anatomical features that the real Stalin had. In the doctors' descriptions there is no mention of any defects in the left hand (Stalin had atrophy of the elbow and shoulder joints), nor of the difference in the thickness of the legs, nor of the toes fused on the left leg. What can I say, even if Svetlana, his own daughter, who met him in 1952, did not recognize her own father. She wrote down: “It’s strange - my father doesn’t smoke. It’s strange - his complexion is red, although he was usually always pale...” When she saw him in the coffin, she was completely taken aback: “... his face darkened and changed, gradually his features became unrecognizable...”.
Be that as it may, the scam with the double of Beria and his associates was quite a success. True, in the end everything did not go as planned: power in the country was seized not by those who dreamed of it, and history Once again laughed at its participants.
Magazine: Mysteries of History No. 13/C, 2018