Who was appointed supreme commander in chief. The headquarters of the main command (the headquarters of the supreme command) was created in the USSR

Lieutenant General Nikolai Nikolaevich Dukhonin (1876-1917) was the last person to serve as the Supreme Commander of the Russian Army. He was killed at his post on November 20 (December 3 according to the new style), 1917.

On November 1 (14), Dukhonin, by order of Kerensky, who at that time combined the posts of head of the Government and Supreme Commander-in-Chief, was appointed Acting Supreme Commander in the ongoing war against Germany and its allies. On the same day, Dukhonin, notifying the Russian armed forces of this order, called on the army to hold the front so as not to allow the enemy, taking advantage of the civil war in Russia, to go even further into its borders.

On November 8 (21), the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) from Petrograd demanded that Dukhonin begin negotiations with the enemy on a truce. The next day, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Lenin, and Commissars Stalin and Krylenko got through to Headquarters and repeated their ultimatum to Dukhonin. Dukhonin refused, referring to the fact that such negotiations are the business of the government, and not the military command. Immediately by telephone, he was informed that he had been removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief and declared an "enemy of the people", but he had to wait for N.E., who was leaving to arrest him. Krylenko.

Meanwhile, Lenin broadcast a radio message calling on the Russian troops to enter into direct negotiations on a truce with the enemy on the ground. On November 10 (23), representatives of the armies of the Western Allies at the Russian Headquarters protested to Dukhonin against these negotiations. Dukhonin immediately sent the texts of these protests to the commanders of the fronts and armies as documents to be followed.

Naturally, Dukhonin and the command of the fronts were not going to fulfill the Soviet "Decree on Peace". They didn't just see the Bolshevik government as incompetent to negotiate peace on Russia's behalf. The call for a truce at such a moment they regarded as high treason. In this they were in solidarity with representatives of a huge number of social classes in Russia. The problem is that their efforts were paralyzed.

The headquarters of the Supreme High Command was located in Mogilev. Nearby, in Bykhov, were detained participants in the so-called "mutiny of General Kornilov", arrested in early autumn for participating in a military putsch, which aimed to save Russia from the development of the revolution along the path of Bolshevism. Their regimen was rather mild.

Dukhonin thought about how to evacuate the Headquarters entirely. And even earlier, he made efforts to ensure that the Headquarters became the center of organizing resistance to the Bolsheviks who had seized power in Petrograd and Moscow. For some time, the leaders of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party gathered in Mogilev and tried to recreate the Provisional Government. But they were convinced of their lack of support both among the soldiers (most of them supported the cause of Lenin) and the officers (who considered the Socialist-Revolutionaries, like the entire fallen Provisional Government, too leftist).

On November 17 (30), having learned about the removal and arrest by the Bolsheviks of the commander of the Northern Front, General V.A. Cheremisov and about the movement of echelons with Kronstadt sailors to Mogilev, Dukhonin entered into negotiations with the Central Rada in Kyiv with a proposal to transfer the Stavka to Kyiv. The Rada, hoping for an agreement with the Bolsheviks, was delaying the answer. Meanwhile, on November 18-19, Dukhonin released Kornilov and his associates - the future organizers and leaders of the White Volunteer Army. This act increased the hatred of revolutionary-minded soldiers towards Dukhonin. Moreover, on the same days, he ordered the units of the Mogilev garrison, opposed to the Bolsheviks, to leave. This was done by him as an ultimatum - he saved them from imminent reprisal. Thus, Dukhonin was left without any protection before the arrival of revolutionary soldiers and sailors in the city.

Why didn't he go with the Kornilovites to the Don? As Supreme Commander, he could not leave his post - this would be a violation of the oath. In addition, some of the "counter-revolutionaries" at that time still had an illusion - if they surrender, they will be allowed to speak at a public trial, where they can expose the criminal plans of the revolutionaries.

All of the sources' testimonies restore the same picture of the murder. The Bolshevik-appointed "supreme commander" N.V. Krylenko, having arrived in Mogilev, where the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was located, arrested Dukhonin. Upon learning of the arrival of the Soviet commissar, a huge crowd of soldiers from the local garrison gathered to greet him. She surrounded the car in which Krylenko was going to send Dukhonin to the “trial of the revolutionary tribunal” in Petrograd, and did not let him go. Was Krylenko sincere in his intention or was it a staging - is unknown. In vain Krylenko appealed to the soldiers to allow them to bring the general to a public trial. The crowd committed suicide. General Dukhonin, apparently already understanding what was waiting for him, went out to the platform of the car and tried to address the soldiers with the last speech. As soon as he opened his mouth, someone thrust a bayonet into him. The brutal crowd rushed to torment the already lifeless body of the general, rob his clothes and belongings, and then put his mangled corpse on public display for the residents of Mogilev.

Stalin served as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR from August 8, 1941 to September 4, 1945. From June 30, 1941, he was also the chairman of the State Defense Committee, which concentrated in its hands all the military and civilian power in the USSR. In addition, Stalin served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. All these positions were not a formality, flowery pathos of titles, but only reflected the essence of what work Stalin did.

In the battles of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the New Age, being a military leader meant being a military leader, literally leading regiments, possessing not only, and not so much a strategic, tactical outlook, but personal qualities: courage, physical strength. Such commanders were Alexander the Great, Caesar, Svyatoslav, Suvorov. However, at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, commanders of a new type came to the fore - commanders-organizers, commanders-statesmen. These were Frederick the Great and Napoleon. Both of them had many talented generals: Seydlitz, Murat, Ney, Davout. However, all these generals acted on the basis of the conditions created by Frederick and Napoleon: the moral rise of the nation, the economic development of the country, the success of diplomacy.

Stalin was the highest and apparently unattainable manifestation of such a statesman commander. How would Zhukov, Konev or Rokossovsky show themselves under a Supreme Commander like Nicholas II? None other than Stalin gave our military leaders all the means of struggle: the most advanced weapons in the world, an abundance of ammunition, a stable rear, a healthy moral climate in society, national unity, foreign policy cover. It was these factors that ultimately turned out to be decisive, since the Germans had no shortage of capable generals. However, the Nazi state, Hitler could not create the conditions for victory for the army, and without them, all German tactics remained, in the words of Napoleon, "fortifications on the sand." During the war years, the USSR was a single military camp, which was pierced through and through by the will of Stalin. Stalin was a general, military leader, leader of the two hundred million strong army of our people. No commander in history has led such an army with such brilliant success.

It is also often said: "our people won the war." However, the Russian people could not win the First World War. One might also think that we are talking about the superiority of the Russians over the Germans. This is not true! The Germans are warriors no worse than us, and the workers, let's be fair, too. What is the point then?

Our ideology, which must be regarded not as a self-sufficient communist, but as a complex socio-patriotic one, turned out to be much stronger and more flexible than German bourgeois nationalism. As a result, during the war, Stalin could set the people a variety of ideological tasks - the defense of the Fatherland, proletarian internationalism, a democratic liberation mission, peaceful coexistence with the countries of the West. Nazism, having driven the German people into a state of hysterical trance, failed to raise them even to the defense of the fatherland, since they brought robbery and murder to the level of a national idea incompatible with the defense of the homeland. German soldiers continued to talk about Slavic subhumans, even when they began to be severely beaten, and the superiority of Soviet military equipment and spirit was obvious to every corporal.

It is in moral superiority that the expression "our people won the war" consists, however, given the source of this superiority, the phrase looks castrated without the addition of "under the leadership of Stalin."

When we talk about the level of mobilization of the country, we, of course, have in mind the possibilities that the socialist form of economy provided in this respect. Undoubtedly, this was proved by life itself, the socialist economy is not perfect and is not able to fully satisfy the needs of society. However, in relation to the Great Patriotic War, it should be said that a different form of economy would be disastrous for the country. As you know, in tsarist Russia, even during the war period, the purchase of weapons and commissary property for the army was carried out by bidding. Moreover, even under the tsar, orders were carefully carried out only by state-owned enterprises. There was not a single case that weapons or equipment ordered abroad or at private enterprises in Russia were completed in full and on time. So, during the First World War, rifles ordered in the USA from Remington and a number of others were delivered only 15%, despite an advance payment in gold. A similar situation developed with the purchase of howitzers in Germany during the Russo-Japanese War.

Bidding, held in Russia even in wartime, was repeatedly postponed "due to the absence of those wishing to bargain", as a result of which the supply of the army turned into a real farce. You won't pick another word.

General Kuropatkin, commander of the Manchurian army in 1904-1905, reported to the General Staff that due to the lack and ugly quality of uniforms, soldiers were forced to wear Chinese wadded jackets instead of overcoats, Chinese conical straw hats instead of caps, and Chinese boots instead of boots. Count A.A. Ignatiev bitterly called the Russian army "a crowd of ragamuffins."

Of course, it would be impossible to mobilize the country's forces to repel the invasion of 1941 on the basis of such an economy, such an army and such supplies. Only in the socialist period of our history, for example, could such a set of measures as the construction of the White Sea-Baltic ways and the creation of the Northern Fleet. In the history of Russia, only Stalin and Peter the Great were able to transform Russia so coolly. Neither the strategic nuclear fleet, nor the nuclear icebreaker fleet, nor the prospects for developing the wealth of the North, nor Norilsk Nickel - nothing would have happened without the feat of our people in the Stalinist period. Just as without the suppression of the Streltsy rebellion, the Demidov concentration camps, the hellish labor of the builders of St. Petersburg, there would be no Russian Empire. What right do we, who enjoy all this wealth today, have to condemn the generations that have passed this way of the Cross for us?

Of course, the mistakes of Stalin include the laying of a series of heavy ships before the war, which were to form the core of the ocean fleet of the USSR. However, the whole world was still suffering from the misconception about the role of heavy artillery ships at that time, increasing the displacement, armament and armor of battleships. When the first clashes between the fleets of Germany and England took place in 1940, the Bismarck and Hood were killed, the Soviet leadership realized that the era of dreadnoughts was fading into the past, and work on their construction was stopped.

Speaking about the fleet, I would like to once again emphasize the effectiveness of the Soviet government as the state system of Russia of that era, the Stalinist personnel policy. In the Russian fleet under the tsar, the promotion of officers in the service was not due to personal success, the education of commanders, but was carried out exclusively in turn. The study of foreign novelties, self-education were considered a dangerous fool, bordering on freethinking. As a result, in the Russian fleet in the 19th-20th centuries, senior and ignorant admirals occupied command posts. Exceptions can easily be counted on the fingers of one hand.

During the Great Patriotic War, outstanding military commanders-sailors worked in all the fleets of the USSR: N.G. Kuznetsov, F.S. Oktyabrsky, V.F. Tributs, I.S. Isakov, A.G. Golovko. At the same time, the People's Commissar of the Navy Kuznetsov in 1941 was 39 years old, the commander of the Northern Fleet Golovko - 36 years old, the commander of the Baltic Fleet Tributs - 40 years old.

During the war, military and state decisions were made without a bang or fanfare. Many of the most important meetings of the highest authorities, especially in the initial period of the war, were not even recorded; a number of problems were resolved in a narrow circle of people, one on one, or in a telephone conversation.

Letters, directives, other documents, dictated or written by Stalin, immediately, without retyping on a typewriter, were transferred to the next room - the control room of a special communications center. Stalin dictated, as a rule, to leaders invited on a specific issue. This joint work with the marshals and people's commissars, who wrote under Stalin's dictation, helped to avoid further coordination with them and unnecessary bureaucracy. No typists, stenographers, assistants were present, even Stalin brewed and poured tea for himself.

Today, there are practically no photographs of Stalin during the war. "Stalin over the map", "Stalin with the military". All we have are a few pictures from the conferences of the Anti-Hitler Coalition, a photo on the podium of the Mausoleum during the Parade on November 7, 1941 and the Victory Parade.

Churchill, for example, has hundreds of military photographs: on an airplane, in his office, in the Kremlin, on the ruins of London, with officers, with ladies, with the king. The explanation is simple - Stalin had no time for that, and also and once again emphasizes his true attitude towards external, formal side of the matter.

Stalin's influence on the course of the war is revealed, first of all, by the history of hostilities, the quality of the work of the rear, the provision of the army with military materials, weapons and ammunition. They often say - Stalin, Zhukov, and indeed the Russians do not know how to fight, the Germans were filled with corpses, their army is Asian, etc. Always judge by the result. For example, at the beginning of 1942, against 6.2 million German soldiers, we had 5.5 million in the Red Army, and 1942 ended with the Stalingrad massacre of the Nazis. The conclusion, in my opinion, is obvious.

The details of the work of the Supreme Commander help to understand the memories of Soviet military leaders, party and economic leaders, designers of military equipment, as well as foreign politicians, scientists and cultural figures. They worked on the memoirs in various circumstances, which often dictated certain accents to the authors. Nevertheless, I would like to emphasize one detail that they have in common: everyone who personally encountered Stalin in one way or another, and these are hundreds, thousands of very different people from K.I. Chukovsky to A.A. Gromyko, did not doubt the greatness of Stalin and his great human charm. Even Air Chief Marshal Golovanov, who during the war was one of Stalin's closest associates, and after the war was dismissed from service, worked odd jobs and barely fed his family, left not just good, but enthusiastic memories of Stalin.

On the other hand, those who have been left out of the great achievements of our people, who do not know the real thing, whose worldview was formed not in the army or labor collectives, but in the sterile, decadent atmosphere of higher education, readily attack Stalin and his time.

Marshals and generals took up their pen when the Generalissimo was carried out of the Mausoleum, and Khrushchev gave the command to debunk him. As a result, scolding Stalin became not just a good form, but an indispensable condition for passing the book through the filters of the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army.

The competent authorities interfered in the work of the authors even at the stage of the manuscript, not stopping at attempts to secretly check the texts of the famous marshals and generals for loyalty to the new government.

The craze of military leaders for memoirs was dictated by an important circumstance - the passion of the authorities for rewriting history could erase from it not only Stalin, but also any of the marshals, so they naturally sought to “stake out” their place in history and secure their share of glory.

Of course, the most important source about Stalin's work should have been the memoirs of G.K. However, Zhukov, being in disgrace, was forced to practically not cover the role of Stalin in the war, limiting himself in a huge work to two or three pages dedicated to the Supreme. The enumeration of well-known figures and facts occupies hundreds of times more space in Memoirs and Reflections than a truthful story about joint work with Stalin, which determined the fate of the war. In part, this shortcoming was eliminated in separate interviews with Zhukov.

It is difficult to blame the marshal for his desire to publish his book, since there were those who wanted to delete Zhukov from the history of the Patriotic War altogether. For this, one would have to ask the political heirs of Stalin, who mocked the Marshal of Victory.

And even despite such conditions, our military leaders conveyed to us the truth, every word of which was given no easier than a fortified enemy line - the truth about how Stalin was the Supreme Commander in the Great Patriotic War.

G.K. Zhukov, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Deputy Supreme Commander:“In the course of the war, Stalin’s intelligence and talent allowed him to master operational art to such an extent that when he summoned the front commanders and talked with them on topics related to the conduct of operations, he showed himself as a person who understood this no worse, and sometimes even better than his own. subordinates. At the same time, in a number of cases, he found and suggested interesting operational solutions.

K. K. Rokossovsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland, twice Hero of the Soviet Union:“For me, Stalin is great and inaccessible. He is a giant to me."

A.M. Vasilevsky, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Chief of the General Staff:“It is my deep conviction that Stalin is the most powerful and colorful figure in the strategic command. He successfully carried out the leadership of the fronts and was able to exert a significant influence on the leading political and military leaders of the allied countries. Stalin possessed not only a huge natural mind, but also surprisingly great knowledge.

M. E. Katukov, Marshal of Armored Forces, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of the 1st Guards Tank Army:“For us, front-line soldiers, the name of Stalin was surrounded by boundless respect. Everything sacred was associated with this name - the Motherland, faith in victory, faith in the wisdom and stamina of our people, in the party.

L.I. Pokryshkin, three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Air Marshal:“I was raised by Stalin and I believe that if weak people had led us during the war, we would have lost the war. Only the strength, the mind of Stalin helped to resist in such a situation.

As for the numerous conversations about the personality of Stalin, about his habits, inclinations, character, the disclosure of this issue will remain outside the scope of the book. There are too many legends surrounding

Stalin. They say, for example, that Stalin was actually the son of the famous traveler Przhevalsky, and he, in turn, was the offspring of one of the great princes or the emperor himself. They say that Stalin killed Lenin, Krupskaya, his wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva, his friend Kirov, his friend Gorky, Frunze, that Stalin was an agent of the tsarist secret police, that he had fused toes. Now, after the lapse of time, when Stalin's actions have long turned into accomplishments, all this no longer plays a role.

Of course, Stalin had human flaws: irascibility, suspicion, intolerance of other people's opinions. Sometimes these qualities helped him in his work, sometimes vice versa. And is it possible to maintain complete impartiality, objectivity, avoid irritation, faced daily with dozens of very different people, with their opinions, ambitions, temperament, pressure? One might think that all his life Stalin was surrounded only by holy dean fathers, sinless, innocent and defenseless.

We must always remember that all historical figures have human qualities. History is made by people. Sometimes they are quick-tempered, unfair, cruel, drunk, funny, but, in the end, we judge them by their deeds. And we not only judge our historical figures, our military leaders, our leaders by their deeds, but we must also love them, like our strict, sometimes unbearable, but fair fathers.

KUTUZOV Mikhail Illarionovich (1745-1813), His Serene Highness Prince Smolensky (1812), Russian commander, Field Marshal General (1812), diplomat. A student of A. V. Suvorov. Member of the Russian-Turkish wars of the 18th century, distinguished himself during the assault on Izmail. During the Russo-Austrian-French War of 1805 he commanded the Russian troops in Austria and, by skillful maneuver, brought them out from under the threat of encirclement. In the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-12, the commander-in-chief of the Moldavian army (1811-12), won victories at Rushuk and Slobodzeya, concluded the Bucharest peace treaty. During the Patriotic War of 1812, he was commander-in-chief of the Russian army (since August), which defeated Napoleon's army. In January 1813, the army under the command of Kutuzov entered Western Europe.

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Youth and early service
He came from an old noble family. His father I. M. Golenishchev-Kutuzov rose to the rank of lieutenant general and the rank of senator. Having received an excellent home education, 12-year-old Mikhail, after passing the exam in 1759, was enrolled as a corporal in the United Artillery and Engineering Noble School; In 1761 he received his first officer rank, and in 1762, with the rank of captain, he was appointed company commander of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment, headed by Colonel A. V. Suvorov. The quick career of the young Kutuzov can be explained both by getting a good education and by the troubles of his father. In 1764-1765, he volunteered to take part in the skirmishes of Russian troops in Poland, and in 1767 he was seconded to a commission to draw up a new Code created by Catherine II.

Russian-Turkish wars
The school of military skill was his participation in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, where Kutuzov initially acted as a divisional quartermaster in the army of General P. A. Rumyantsev and was in battles at Ryaba Mogila, r. Largi, Cahul and during the assault on Bendery. From 1772 he fought in the Crimean army. On July 24, 1774, during the liquidation of the Turkish landing near Alushta, Kutuzov, commanding a grenadier battalion, was seriously wounded - a bullet through the left temple came out near the right eye. Kutuzov used the vacation received to complete the treatment to travel abroad, in 1776 he visited Berlin and Vienna, visited England, Holland, and Italy. Upon his return to duty, he commanded various regiments, and in 1785 became commander of the Bug Chasseur Corps. From 1777 he was a colonel, from 1784 a major general. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791, during the siege of Ochakov (1788), Kutuzov was again dangerously wounded - the bullet went right through "from temple to temple behind both eyes." The surgeon Massot, who treated him, commented on the wound as follows: “It must be assumed that fate appoints Kutuzov to something great, for he survived after two wounds, fatal according to all the rules of medical science.” At the beginning of 1789, Mikhail Illarionovich took part in the battle of Causeni and in the capture of the fortresses of Akkerman and Bender. During the assault on Izmail in 1790, Suvorov instructed him to command one of the columns and, without waiting for the capture of the fortress, appointed him the first commandant. For this assault, Kutuzov received the rank of lieutenant general; Suvorov commented on the role of his student in the assault: "Kutuzov was advancing on the left flank, but he was my right hand."

Diplomat, soldier, courtier
At the conclusion of the Jassy Peace, Kutuzov was unexpectedly appointed envoy to Turkey. Stopping her choice on him, the Empress took into account his broad outlook, subtle mind, rare tact, ability to find a common language with different people and innate cunning. In Istanbul, Kutuzov managed to gain confidence in the Sultan and successfully led the activities of a huge embassy of 650 people. Upon his return to Russia in 1794 he was appointed director of the land gentry cadet corps. Under Emperor Paul I, he was appointed to the most important posts (inspector of troops in Finland, commander of an expeditionary corps sent to Holland, Lithuanian military governor, commander of the army in Volhynia), entrusted with responsible diplomatic missions.

Kutuzov under Alexander I
At the beginning of the reign of Alexander I, Kutuzov took the post of St. Petersburg military governor, but was soon sent on vacation. In 1805 he was appointed commander of the troops operating in Austria against Napoleon. He managed to save the army from the threat of encirclement, but Alexander I, who arrived at the troops under the influence of young advisers, insisted on holding a general battle. Kutuzov objected, but failed to defend his opinion, and the Russian-Austrian troops near Austerlitz suffered a crushing defeat. The main culprit for this was the emperor, who actually removed Kutuzov from command, but it was on the old commander that Alexander I placed all responsibility for losing the battle. This became the reason for the hostile attitude of the emperor towards Kutuzov, who knew the true background of the events.
Becoming in 1811 the commander-in-chief of the Moldavian army, which acted against the Turks, Kutuzov was able to rehabilitate himself - not only defeated the enemy near Ruschuk (now Ruse, Bulgaria), but also, having shown outstanding diplomatic abilities, signed the Bucharest peace in 1812, which was beneficial for Russia. The emperor, who did not like the commander, nevertheless honored him with the title of count (1811), and then elevated him to the dignity of the most serene prince (1812).

Kutuzov as a person
Today, in Russian literature and cinema, an image of Kutuzov has developed, which is quite far from the real state of affairs. Documents and memoirs of contemporaries claim that Kutuzov was more lively and controversial than they are today. In life, Mikhail Illarionovich was a merry fellow and zhuir, a lover of good food, and even drink on occasion; he was a great ladies' flatterer and regular in the salons, enjoyed great success with the ladies due to his courtesy, eloquence and sense of humor. Even in extreme old age, Kutuzov remained a ladies' man, in all campaigns, including the war of 1812, he was always accompanied by a woman dressed in a soldier's uniform. The legend is also the assertion that all the Russian military adored Kutuzov: in many memoirs of officers of the Patriotic War there are rather unflattering characteristics of the commander, who annoyed some military men with his causticity and the fact that he could leave important military affairs for a good feast or communication with a lady. The opinion that Kutuzov was one-eyed after being wounded became a general misconception. In fact, the commander's eye remained in place, just a bullet damaged the temporal nerve, and therefore the eyelid could not open. As a result, Kutuzov looked like he winked, but never opened his eyes. There was no terrible, gaping wound, and therefore the commander very rarely wore an eye patch - only when he went to society with the ladies ...

French invasion
At the beginning of the 1812 campaign against the French, Kutuzov was in St. Petersburg in the secondary post of commander of the Narva Corps, and then of the St. Petersburg militia. Only when disagreements among the generals reached a critical point, he was appointed commander-in-chief of all armies operating against Napoleon (August 8). Despite public expectations, Kutuzov, due to the current situation, was forced to continue the retreat strategy. But, yielding to the demands of the army and society, he gave the battle of Borodino near Moscow, which he considered useless. For Borodino, Kutuzov was promoted to field marshal general. At the military council in Fili, the commander made a difficult decision to leave Moscow. The Russian troops under his command, having made a flank march to the south, stopped at the village of Tarutino. At this time, Kutuzov was sharply criticized by a number of top military leaders, but the actions he took made it possible to save the army and strengthen it with reinforcements and a large militia. Having waited for the departure of the French troops from Moscow, Kutuzov accurately determined the direction of their movement and blocked their path at Maloyaroslavets, preventing the French from entering the grain Ukraine. The parallel pursuit of the retreating enemy organized by Kutuzov then led to the actual death of the French army, although army critics reproached the commander-in-chief for being passive and striving to build a “golden bridge” for Napoleon to leave Russia. In 1813, Kutuzov led the allied Russian-Prussian troops, but soon the previous strain, a cold and "nervous fever complicated by paralytic phenomena" led to the commander's death on April 16 (April 28, according to a new style). His embalmed body was transported to St. Petersburg and buried in the Kazan Cathedral, and Kutuzov's heart was buried near Bunzlau, where he died. This was done according to the will of the commander, who wanted his heart to remain with his soldiers. Contemporaries claim that on the day of Kutuzov’s funeral it was rainy, “as if nature itself was crying about the death of the glorious commander,” but at the moment when Kutuzov’s body was lowered into the grave, the rain suddenly stopped, the clouds broke for a moment, and a bright sunbeam illuminated the coffin of the deceased hero ... The fate of the grave, where Kutuzov's heart lies, is also interesting. It still exists, neither time nor the enmity of nations destroyed it. For 200 years, the Germans regularly brought fresh flowers to the grave of the liberator, this continued even during the Great Patriotic War, despite the uncompromising struggle between the USSR and Germany (the famous Soviet ace A . I. Pokryshkin).


Kutuzov accepts the army

Kutuzov at the Battle of Borodino

Council in Fili. Kutuzov decides to leave Moscow.

Throughout its history, humanity has almost always resorted to violence in resolving certain issues that arose directly between states and their structural elements. Because from the moment a person picked up a stick, he realized that by force you can force your own kind to act in the right way. In the process of the evolution of society, the sphere of military art was also developed. That is, people are constantly looking for and are looking for new ways to destroy each other. But, in addition to this part of the military craft, the management sector has also developed. In other words, the process of direct control of the army has become more efficient and allows the potential of the entire army to be realized much more fully. However, some army institutions of a coordinating nature have a rather long history. They have been formed over many centuries. It is quite possible to classify the position of the supreme commander-in-chief as such, which today plays a significant role in many military processes and actual conflicts. It should be noted that this post is not only a great responsibility, but also a spectrum of a huge number of powers. In addition, the person holding this post is entrusted with the performance of a number of functions, which will be discussed later in the article.

Who is the Supreme Commander?

This term refers to several concepts at once. As the author has already pointed out earlier, this is a certain institution in the field of military administration. In other words, the supreme commander as a position is a combination of a certain kind of obligations, functions and responsibilities. But there is another interpretation of the presented term. According to it, the supreme commander is a specific person who is endowed with a large number of powers in the field of military command and who coordinates absolutely the entire array of troops of a particular state.

Commander-in-Chief as the highest official

The article will consider the Supreme Commander precisely as a person belonging to the highest echelon of power. As a rule, this person is central in the entire military hierarchy of the state. In some cases, the supreme commander is exclusively the person who exercises command of the active army and navy. In other cases, these powers are assigned to This trend is a kind of tribute to democratic relations within many existing states. In addition, the concentration in the hands of the democratic leader of the powers to exercise command of the troops makes it possible to secure the country from the seizure of power by the military elite.

The history of the term

To date, it is not known for certain in what historical period this term appeared and began to be used in the sense in which everyone is used to hearing it. In this case, it is not clear why the functions of the head of state and the central figure of the military sector were divided. It is known that for the first time the term "commander-chief" was used by Charles I, king of Scotland, England and Ireland. He combined the powers of the ruler and commander in chief. Thus, many historians believe that it was from this moment that the institute mentioned in the article appeared. In other words, Charles I is the first supreme commander in world history.

The position of commander in chief in Russian history

The Supreme Commander first appeared in the "Table of Ranks" not so long ago. His position was first established on the territory of modern Russia during the First World War. For the first time, Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich the Younger was appointed to the presented position. It happened on July 20, 1914. The institute was created with the aim of reorganizing the current structure and centralizing military power in the hands of a representative of the royal family. In addition, such a step was correct from the point of view of common sense, because by that time public dissatisfaction with the autocracy regime in the empire was already ripe. During the First World War, the position of commander-in-chief was repeatedly transferred to various prominent commanders of the imperial army, until the signing of the Brest peace treaty. From that moment on, the commander-in-chief was appointed only to coordinate the activities of the active army and navy.

Further development of the position

Today everyone knows who the supreme commander is and what this position is. But when the Soviet Union arose as a separate integral state, then, as a result of the already indicated agreement, this post was not approved due to the absence of military conflicts. The Supreme Commander of the Second World War (Great Patriotic War) was appointed from among the political elite. On August 8, 1941, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin became him. It should be noted that he remained in this position even after the immediate end of the war. But in the USSR, it was decided that a reorganization of such a post as the supreme commander was required. The Great Patriotic War ended, Stalin died, and a new conflict with the United States was on the threshold. Therefore, behind the scenes, this position began to be occupied by the chairman of the USSR Defense Council.

Institute in modern Russia

Today, the supreme commander of the Russian army is a position occupied by the supreme leader of the entire array of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

This status is not only supported by the organizational structure of the army, but also legally regulated. The 87th says that the supreme commander is the president of the country.

Regulatory base of the position

In accordance with the fact that the Russian Federation is a legal and democratic state, practically all issues of public regulation are regulated by law. The Supreme Commander is no exception. It operates on the basis of the norms of various regulations. Thus, the system of normative regulation of the position consists of the following legal acts, namely:

1) The Constitution of the Russian Federation.

2) Federal law "On martial law".

3) Federal Law "On Defense".

Also, these acts spell out what powers the Supreme Commander of the Russian Federation has.

Powers

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation is endowed with a number of specific powers that other persons in the hierarchy of state power do not possess. The person holding this position is authorized to:

• In the event of a direct threat to the Russian Federation to introduce on the territory of the state
• Supervise the implementation of the martial law regime.
• Ensure the functioning of the highest bodies of state power during this regime.
• Create engagement plans to enforce martial law.
• To ensure the suspension of the activities of political parties and other propaganda formations on the territory of the state in conditions of war.
• Enforce bans on holding rallies and campaigns under martial law.
• The task of establishing the Russian Federation is entrusted to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
• In addition, the commander-in-chief appoints and dismisses the high command of the AFRF.
• The person holding this position determines the territory of the state.
• The commander-in-chief can mobilize the army if there are grounds for it.
• He also decides on the direct deployment of the AFRF troops.
• The commander-in-chief issues decrees on the conscription of citizens for military service.

In addition to the powers presented, the president (as the supreme commander in chief) is entrusted with a number of other specific functions that are also important for ensuring the defense capability and military power of the state. To date, the position presented in the article is occupied by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Regulations issued by the commander-in-chief

In order to exercise his powers and organize the activities of the Armed Forces, a person holding this position has the opportunity to issue certain kinds of regulations in the field of his direct activity. In accordance with this, within the framework of his competence, the supreme commander-in-chief has the right to issue orders and directives.

In addition, in order to encourage activities to ensure the defense capability of the state, he awards deserving persons with diplomas, and also declares gratitude to them.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the presented institution has a number of characteristic features in the expanses of the fatherland. In addition, its regulation still needs some refinement so that the exercise of the powers of the person holding the position presented is carried out more efficiently and fully.

Biography of Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin(real name Dzhugashvili) was born into a Georgian family (in a number of sources there are versions about the Ossetian origin of the ancestors Stalin) in the city of Gori, Tiflis province.

During the life Stalin and for a long time afterwards the birthday of I.V. Stalin The date was set as December 21, 1879. A number of researchers, with reference to the first part of the metric book of the Gori Assumption Cathedral Church, intended for registration of births, have established a different date of birth Stalin- December 18, 1878.

Joseph Stalin was the third son in the family, the first two died in infancy. His native language was Georgian. Russian language Stalin learned later, but always spoke with a noticeable Georgian accent. According to the statements of the daughter of Svetlana, Stalin, however, sang in Russian with virtually no accent.

At the age of five in 1884 Joseph Stalin falls ill with smallpox, which left marks on his face for life. Since 1885, due to a severe bruise - a chaise flew into him - at Joseph Stalin throughout life remained a defect of the left hand.

Stalin's education. Stalin's entry into revolutionary activity

In 1886 mother Stalin, Ekaterina Georgievna wanted to determine Joseph to study at the Gori Orthodox Theological School. However, since the child did not know the Russian language at all, it was not possible to enter the school. In 1886-1888, at the request of his mother, to teach Joseph the Russian language was taken up by the children of the priest Christopher Charkviani. The result of the training was that in 1888 Stalin does not enter the first preparatory class at the school, but immediately into the second preparatory. Many years later, on September 15, 1927, mother Stalin, will write a letter of thanks to the teacher of the Russian language of the school, Zakhary Alekseevich Davitashvili:

“I remember well that you singled out my son Soso in particular, and he said more than once that it was you who helped him fall in love with teaching, and it was thanks to you that he knew Russian well ... You taught children to treat ordinary people with love and think about those who is in trouble."

In 1889 Joseph Stalin, having successfully completed the second preparatory class, was admitted to the school. In July 1894, after graduating from college Joseph was awarded as the best student. His certificate contains the highest score - 5 (excellent) in most subjects. Thus, in the Certificate issued to the graduate of the Gori Theological School I. Dzhugashvili in 1894, noted:

“Pupil of the Gori Theological School Dzhugashvili Joseph with excellent behavior (5) showed success: in the Sacred History of the Old Testament (5); — Sacred History of the New Testament (5); — Orthodox catechism (5); - Explanation of worship with the church charter (5); — Languages: Russian with Church Slavonic (5), Greek (4) very good, Georgian (5) excellent; - Arithmetic (4) is very good; — Geography (5); — Calligraphy (5); - Church singing: Russian (5), and Georgian (5).

In September 1894 Stalin, brilliantly passing the entrance exams, was enrolled in the Orthodox Tiflis Theological Seminary, which was located in the center of Tiflis. There he first became acquainted with the ideas of Marxism. By the beginning of 1895, the seminarian Joseph Dzhugashvili gets acquainted with underground groups of revolutionary Marxists exiled by the government to Transcaucasia. Subsequently, Stalin recalled:

“I entered the revolutionary movement from the age of 15, when I got in touch with underground groups of Russian Marxists who then lived in the Transcaucasus. These groups had a great influence on me and instilled in me a taste for underground Marxist literature.”

From June to December 1895 in the newspaper "Iberia", edited by I. G. Chavchavadze signed "I. J-shvili” published five poems by the young Stalin, another poem was also published in July 1896 in the social democratic newspaper "Keali" ("Furrow") signed "Soselo". Of these, the poem "To Prince R. Eristavi" in 1907 was included, among the selected masterpieces of Georgian poetry, in the collection "Georgian Reader".

In 1896-1898 at the seminary Joseph Stalin leads an illegal Marxist circle, which met at the apartment of the revolutionary Vano Sturua at number 194 on Elizavetinskaya Street. In 1898 Joseph joins the Georgian social-democratic organization Mesame-dasi. Together with V. Z. Ketskhoveli and A. G. Tsulukidze I. V. Dzhugashvili forms the core of the revolutionary minority of this organization. Later, in 1931, Stalin in an interview with the German writer Emil Ludwig to the question “What prompted you to become an opposition? Perhaps the mistreatment by the parents? answered: “No. My parents treated me quite well. Another thing is the theological seminary where I studied then. Out of protest against the mocking regime and the Jesuit methods that existed in the seminary, I was ready to become and really became a revolutionary, a supporter of Marxism ... ".

In 1898-1899 Joseph leads a circle in the railway depot, and also conducts classes in working circles at the Adelkhanov shoe factory, at the Karapetov factory, at the Bozardzhianets tobacco factory, and at the Main Tiflis railway workshops. Stalin recalled this time: “I remember 1898, when I first received a circle of workers from railway workshops ... Here, in the circle of these comrades, I then received my first baptism of fire ... My first teachers were Tiflis workers.” On December 14-19, 1898, a six-day strike of railway workers takes place in Tiflis, one of the initiators of which was a seminarian Joseph Stalin.

Not having completed the full course, in the fifth year of study, before the exams on May 29, 1899, Stalin was expelled from the seminary with the motivation “for failure to appear for exams for an unknown reason” (probably the actual reason for the expulsion, which was also adhered to by official Soviet historiography, was the activity Joseph Dzhugashvili Propaganda of Marxism among seminarians and workers of railway workshops). In the certificate issued Joseph Stalin with an exception, it meant that he could serve as a teacher in elementary public schools.

After being expelled from the seminary Stalin I have been tutoring for some time. Among his students, in particular, was S. A. Ter-Petrosyan (the future revolutionary Kamo). From the end of December 1899, I.V. Dzhugashvili As a computer-observer he was admitted to the Tiflis Physical Observatory.

July 16, 1904 in the Tiflis Church of St. David Joseph Dzhugashvili married Ekaterina Svanidze. She became the first wife Stalin. Her brother studied with Joseph Dzhugashvili at the Tiflis Theological Seminary. But three years later, his wife died of tuberculosis (according to other sources, the cause of death was typhoid fever). From this marriage in 1907 the first son will appear. Stalin— Jacob.

Before 1917 Joseph Dzhugashvili used a large number of pseudonyms, in particular: Besoshvili, Nizheradze, Chizhikov, Ivanovich. Of these, in addition to the pseudonym " Stalin”, The most famous was the pseudonym “Koba”. In 1912 Joseph Dzhugashvili finally adopts the alias " Stalin».

Revolutionary activity of Stalin

April 23, 1900 Joseph Stalin, Vano Sturua and Zakro Chodrishvili organized a workers' Mayday, which brought together 400-500 workers. At the rally opened by Chodrishvili, among others, Joseph Dzhugashvili. This performance was the first appearance Stalin in front of a large gathering of people. In August of the same year Dzhugashvili participated in the preparation and conduct of a major action of the workers of Tiflis - a strike in the Main Railway Workshops. Revolutionary workers M. I. Kalinin, S. Ya. Alliluyev, and also M. Z. Bochoridze, A. G. Okuashvili, and V. F. Sturua took part in organizing the workers’ protests. From 1 to 15 August, up to four thousand people took part in the strike. As a result, more than five hundred strikers were arrested. The arrests of Georgian Social Democrats continued in March-April 1901. Stalin, as one of the leaders of the strike, escaped arrest: he quit his job at the observatory and went underground, becoming an underground revolutionary.

In September 1901, the Nina printing house, organized by Lado Ketskhoveli in Baku, published the illegal newspaper Brdzola (Struggle). The front page of the first issue, entitled "From the Editor", belonged to a twenty-two-year-old Stalin. This article is the first known political work Stalin.

In 1901-1902 Joseph- Member of the Tiflis, Batumi committees of the RSDLP. Since 1901 Stalin, being in an illegal position, organized strikes, demonstrations, organized armed robbery attacks on banks, transferring stolen money (also called expropriated in a number of other sources) for the needs of the revolution. On April 5, 1902, he was arrested for the first time in Batumi. On April 19, he was transferred to the Kutaisi prison. After a year and a half in prison and transfer to Butum, he was exiled to Eastern Siberia. November 27 Stalin arrived at the place of exile - in the village of Novaya Uda, Balagansky district, Irkutsk province. More than a month later Joseph Dzhugashvili made his first escape and returned to Tiflis, from where he later moved again to Batum.

After the Second Congress of the RSDLP (1903), held in Brussels and London, he was a Bolshevik. On the recommendation of one of the leaders of the Caucasian Union of the RSDLP, M. G. Tskhakaya, Koba was sent to the Kutaisi region to the Imeretino-Mingrelian Committee as a representative of the Caucasian Union Committee. In 1904-1905 Stalin organizes a printing house in Chiatura, participates in the December strike of 1904 in Baku.

During the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907 Joseph Dzhugashvili busy with party affairs: writes leaflets, participates in the publication of Bolshevik newspapers, organizes a combat squad in Tiflis (autumn 1905), visits Batum, Novorossiysk, Kutais, Gori, Chiatura. In February 1905, he took part in arming the workers of Baku in order to prevent Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes in the Caucasus. In September 1905, he participated in an attempt to capture the Kutaisi arsenal. In December 1905 Stalin participates as a delegate to the 1st conference of the RSDLP in Tammerfors, where he first met with V. I. Lenin. In May 1906, he was a delegate to the IV Congress of the RSDLP, held in Stockholm.

In 1907 Stalin delegate to the 5th Congress of the RSDLP in London. In 1907-1908 one of the leaders of the Baku Committee of the RSDLP. Stalin involved in the so-called. "Tiflis expropriation" in the summer of 1907.

At the plenum of the Central Committee after the 6th (Prague) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP (1912), he was co-opted in absentia to the Central Committee and the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP. Trotsky at work Stalin claimed that this was facilitated by a personal letter Stalin V. I. Lenin, where he said that he agreed to any responsible work.

March 25, 1908 Stalin In Baku, he was again arrested and imprisoned in the Bayil prison. From 1908 to 1910 he was in exile in the city of Solvychegodsk, from where he corresponded with Lenin. In 1910 Stalin fled from exile. After that Joseph Dzhugashvili was detained by the authorities three times, and each time he escaped from exile to the Vologda province. From December 1911 to February 1912 in exile in the city of Vologda. On the night of February 29, 1912, he fled from Vologda.

In 1912-1913, while working in St. Petersburg, he was one of the main contributors to the first mass Bolshevik newspaper Pravda. At the suggestion of Lenin at the Prague Party Conference in 1912 Stalin was elected a member of the Central Committee of the party and placed at the head of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee. May 5, 1912 on the day of the publication of the first issue of the newspaper Pravda Stalin was arrested and exiled to the Narym Territory. A few months later he fled (5th escape) and returned to St. Petersburg, where he settled with the worker Savinov. From here he led the election campaign of the Bolsheviks to the State Duma of the IV convocation. During this period, the wanted Stalin lives in St. Petersburg, constantly changing apartments, under the pseudonym Vasiliev.

November and December 1912 Stalin twice goes to Krakow to see Lenin at meetings of the Central Committee with party workers. At the end of 1912-1913 in Krakow Stalin at the insistence of Lenin, he wrote a long article "Marxism and the national question", in which he expressed Bolshevik views on the ways of solving the national question and criticized the program of "cultural-national autonomy" of the Austro-Hungarian socialists. The work gained fame among Russian Marxists, and since that time Stalin regarded as an expert on national problems.

January 1913 Stalin spent in Vienna. Soon, in the same year, he returned to Russia, but in March he was arrested, imprisoned and exiled to the village of Kureika in the Turukhansk Territory, where he spent 4 years - until the February Revolution of 1917. In exile he corresponded with Lenin.

Stalin's participation in the October Revolution of 1917

After the February Revolution Stalin returned to Petrograd. Before Lenin's arrival from exile, he was one of the leaders of the Central Committee of the RSDLP and the St. Petersburg Committee of the Bolshevik Party. In 1917, he was a member of the editorial board of the Pravda newspaper, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, and the Military Revolutionary Center. at first Stalin supported the Provisional Government. In relation to the Provisional Government and its policy, he proceeded from the fact that the democratic revolution was not yet completed, and the overthrow of the government was not a practical task. However, then he joined Lenin, who advocated the transformation of the "bourgeois-democratic" February revolution into a proletarian socialist revolution.

April 14 - 22 was a delegate to the I Petrograd City Conference of the Bolsheviks. On April 24-29, at the VII All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP, he spoke in the debate on the report on the current situation, supported the views of Lenin, and made a report on the national question; elected a member of the Central Committee of the RSDLP.

May - June Stalin was a participant in anti-war propaganda; was one of the organizers of the re-elections of the Soviets and in the municipal campaign in Petrograd. June 3-24 participated as a delegate to the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies; was elected a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and a member of the Bureau of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee from the Bolshevik faction. Also participated in the preparation of demonstrations on June 10 and 18; published a number of articles in the newspapers Pravda and Soldatskaya Pravda.

In view of the forced departure of Lenin into the underground Stalin spoke at the VI Congress of the RSDLP (July-August 1917) with a report of the Central Committee. At a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP on August 5, he was elected a member of the narrow membership of the Central Committee. In August - September, he mainly conducted organizational and journalistic work. On October 10, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, he voted in favor of a resolution on an armed uprising, was elected a member of the Political Bureau, created "for political leadership in the near future."

On the night of October 16 at an enlarged meeting of the Central Committee Stalin opposed the position of L. B. Kamenev and G. E. Zinoviev, who voted against the decision to insurrection; was elected a member of the Military Revolutionary Center, in which he entered the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee.

On October 24, after the Junkers destroyed the printing house of the Rabochy Put newspaper, Stalin secured the publication of a newspaper in which he published an editorial "What do we need?" with a call for the overthrow of the Provisional Government and its replacement by the Soviet government, elected representatives of the workers, soldiers and peasants. On the same day Stalin and Trotsky held a conference of Bolsheviks - delegates to the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets of the RSD, at which Stalin delivered a report on the course of political events. On the night of October 25, he participated in a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, which determined the structure and name of the new Soviet government. On the afternoon of October 25, he carried out Lenin's instructions and was not present at the meeting of the Central Committee.

In the elections to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, he was elected a deputy from the Petrograd Capital District from the RSDLP.

Stalin's participation in the Russian Civil War 1917-1922

After the victory of the October Revolution Stalin joined the Council of People's Commissars as People's Commissar for Nationalities. At this time, the Civil War broke out on the territory of Russia. At the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies Stalin was elected a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. On the night of October 28, at the headquarters of the Petrograd Military District, he was a participant in the development of a plan to defeat the troops of A.F. Kerensky and P.N. Krasnov, advancing on Petrograd. October 28 Lenin and Stalin signed a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars prohibiting the publication of "all newspapers closed by the Military Revolutionary Committee."

29th of November Stalin entered the Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, which also included Lenin, Trotsky and Sverdlov. This body was given "the right to decide all urgent matters, but with the obligatory involvement in the decision of all members of the Central Committee who were at that moment in Smolny." At the same time Stalin was re-elected to the editorial board of Pravda. November-December 1917 Stalin mainly worked in the People's Commissariat for Nationalities. November 2, 1917 Stalin Together with Lenin, he signed the Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia.

In April 1918 Stalin together with Kh. G. Rakovsky and D. Z. Manuilsky in Kursk, he negotiated with representatives of the Ukrainian Central Rada on the conclusion of a peace treaty.

During the Civil War from October 8, 1918 to July 8, 1919 and from May 18, 1920 to April 1, 1922 Stalin also a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR. Stalin also was a member of the Revolutionary Military Councils of the Western, Southern, South-Western fronts.

As the doctor of historical and military sciences M. M. Gareev notes, during the Civil War Stalin gained vast experience in the military-political leadership of large masses of troops on many fronts (the defense of Tsaritsyn, Petrograd, on the fronts against Denikin, Wrangel, the White Poles, etc.).

The French writer Henri Barbusse quotes an assistant Stalin according to S. S. Pestkovsky, People's Commissar for National Affairs, regarding the period of the Brest negotiations in early 1918:

Lenin could not do without Stalin not a single day. Probably, for this purpose, our office in Smolny was "next door" to Lenin. During the day he called Stalin on the phone an infinite number of times, or he came into our office and took him away with him. Most of the day Stalin sat with Lenin.<…>At night, when the bustle in Smolny was a little less, Stalin I went to a direct wire and disappeared there for hours. He conducted lengthy negotiations either with our commanders (Antonov, Pavlunovsky, Muravyov and others), then with our enemies (with the Minister of War of the Ukrainian Rada Porsh) ...

About the Brest negotiations in the work " Stalin» L. D. Trotsky wrote:

Lenin during this period was in dire need of Stalin... Thus, under Lenin, he played the role of chief of staff or official on responsible assignments. Lenin could entrust conversations over direct wires only to a tried and tested person who was aware of all the tasks and concerns of Smolny.

In May 1918, after the start of the civil war due to the aggravation of the food situation in the country, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR appointed Stalin responsible for the supply of food in the south of Russia and seconded as an extraordinary representative of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the procurement and export of bread from the North Caucasus to industrial centers. Arriving June 6, 1918 in Tsaritsyn, Stalin took control of the city. He took part not only in the political, but also in the operational-tactical leadership of the district.

At this time, in July 1918, the Don army of Ataman P. N. Krasnov launched the first offensive against Tsaritsyn. On July 22, the Military Council of the North Caucasian Military District was created, chaired by Stalin. The council also included K. E. Voroshilov and S. K. Minin. Stalin, taking leadership of the defense of the city, at the same time showed a tendency to tough measures.

The first military measures taken by the Military Council of the North Caucasus Military District headed by Stalin, turned into defeats for the Red Army. At the end of July, the White Guards captured the Trade and Grand Dukes, and in connection with this, Tsaritsyn's connection with the North Caucasus was interrupted. After the failure of the Red Army offensive on August 10-15, Krasnov's army surrounded Tsaritsyn from three sides. The group of General A.P. Fitskhelaurov broke through the front north of Tsaritsyn, occupying Erzovka and Pichuzhinskaya. This allowed them to go to the Volga and break the connection of the Soviet leadership in Tsaritsyn with Moscow.

The defeats of the Red Army were also caused by the betrayal of the chief of staff of the North Caucasian military district, the former tsarist colonel A. L. Nosovich. Historian D. A. Volkogonov writes:

Despite the help to Denikin from the traitor, the former tsarist colonel military specialist Nosovich, the assault on Tsaritsyn did not bring success to the White Guards ... The betrayal of Nosovich, a number of other former officers of the tsarist army, strengthened the already suspicious attitude Stalin to military experts. The People's Commissar, vested with emergency powers on food matters, did not hide his distrust of specialists. On the initiative Stalin a large group of military experts were arrested. A floating prison was created on the barge. Many were shot.

So, blaming the "military experts" for the defeats, Stalin made large-scale arrests and executions.

In his speech at the VIII Congress on March 21, 1919, Lenin condemned Stalin for executions in Tsaritsyn.

At the same time, from August 8, the group of General K.K. Mamontov was advancing in the central sector. On August 18-20, military clashes took place on the near approaches to Tsaritsyn, as a result of which Mamontov's group was stopped, and on August 20, the Red Army forces threw back the enemy with a sudden blow north of Tsaritsyn and liberated Yerzovka and Pichuzhinskaya by August 22. On August 26, a counteroffensive was launched on the entire front. By September 7, the White troops were thrown back over the Don, while they lost about 12 thousand killed and captured.

In September, the White Cossack command decided on a new offensive against Tsaritsyn and additional mobilization was carried out. The Soviet command took measures to strengthen the defense and improve command and control. By order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic of September 11, 1918, the Southern Front was created, commanded by P.P. Sytin. Stalin became a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front (until October 19, K. E. Voroshilov until October 3, K. A. Mekhonoshin from October 3, A. I. Okulov from October 14).

On September 19, 1918, in a telegram sent from Moscow to Tsaritsyn to the front commander Voroshilov, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Lenin and the chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council of the Southern Front Stalin, in particular, noted: "Soviet Russia notes with admiration the heroic deeds of the communist and revolutionary regiments of Kharchenko, Kolpakov, Bulatkin's cavalry, Alyabyev's armored trains, and the Volga Flotilla."

Meanwhile, on September 17, the troops of General Denisov launched a new offensive against the city. The most fierce battles took place from 27 to 30 September. October 3 I.V. Stalin and K. E. Voroshilov sent a telegram to V. I. Lenin with a demand to discuss in the Central Committee the question of Trotsky's actions, threatening the collapse of the Southern Front. October 6 Stalin leaves for Moscow. On October 8, by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars I.V. Stalin appointed as a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic. October 11 I.V. Stalin returns from Moscow to Tsaritsyn. On October 17, 1918, having suffered heavy losses from the fire of the Red Army batteries and armored trains, the Whites retreated. October 18 I.V. Stalin telegraphs V. I. Lenin about the defeat of the Krasnov troops near Tsaritsyn. October 19 I.V. Stalin leaves Tsaritsyn for Moscow.

In January 1919 Stalin and Dzerzhinsky leave for Vyatka to investigate the reasons for the defeat of the Red Army near Perm and the surrender of the city to the forces of Admiral Kolchak. Commission Stalin-Dzerzhinsky contributed to the reorganization and restoration of the combat capability of the defeated 3rd Army; however, on the whole, the situation on the Permian front was corrected by the fact that Ufa was taken by the Red Army, and Kolchak already on January 6 gave the order to concentrate forces in the Ufa direction and go on the defensive near Perm.

Summer 1919 Stalin organizes a rebuff to the Polish offensive on the Western Front, in Smolensk.

Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of November 27, 1919 Stalin was awarded the first Order of the Red Banner "in commemoration of his merits in the defense of Petrograd and selfless work on the Southern Front."

Created on the initiative Stalin I Cavalry Army led by S. M. Budyonny, K. E. Voroshilov, E. A. Shchadenko, supported by the armies of the Southern Front, defeated Denikin's troops. After the defeat of Denikin's troops, Stalin directs the restoration of the destroyed economy in Ukraine. In February-March 1920, he headed the Council of the Ukrainian Labor Army and directed the mobilization of the population for coal mining.

Between May 26 - September 1, 1920 Stalin He was a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the South-Western Front as a representative of the RVSR. There he led the breakthrough of the Polish front, in the liberation of Kyiv and the advance of the Red Army to Lvov. August 13 Stalin refused to comply with the directive of the commander-in-chief on the basis of the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party of August 5 on the transfer of the 1st Cavalry and 12th armies to help the Western Front. During the decisive Battle of Warsaw on August 13-25, 1920, the troops of the Western Front suffered a heavy defeat, which turned the tide of the Soviet-Polish war. September 23, at the IX All-Russian Conference of the RCP, Stalin tried to lay responsibility for the failure near Warsaw on Commander-in-Chief Kamenev and Commander Tukhachevsky, but Lenin reproached Stalin in an affectionate manner towards them.

In the same 1920 Stalin participated in the defense of the south of Ukraine from the offensive of Wrangel's troops. Stalinist the instructions formed the basis of Frunze's operational plan, according to which Wrangel's troops were defeated.

As the researcher Shikman A.P. notes, “the rigidity of decisions, the enormous capacity for work and the skillful combination of military and political activities made it possible Stalin win many supporters.

Stalin's participation in the creation of the USSR

In 1922 Stalin participated in the creation of the USSR. Stalin considered it necessary to create not a union of republics, but rather a unitary state with autonomous national associations. This plan was rejected by Lenin and his associates.

On December 30, 1922, at the First All-Union Congress of Soviets, a decision was made to unite the Soviet republics into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - the USSR. Speaking at the convention Stalin said:

“Today is a turning point in the history of Soviet power. He places milestones between the old, already passed period, when the Soviet republics, although they acted together, but went apart, preoccupied primarily with the question of their existence, and the new, already opened period, when the separate existence of the Soviet republics is put to an end, when the republics are united into a single union state for the successful struggle against economic disruption, when the Soviet government is no longer thinking only about existence, but also about developing into a serious international force that can influence the international situation "

Beginning in late 1921, Lenin increasingly interrupted his work in leadership of the party. He instructed to carry out the main work in this direction Stalin. In this period Stalin was a permanent member of the Central Committee of the RCP, and at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP on April 3, 1922, he was elected to the Politburo and the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP, as well as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP. Initially, this position meant only the leadership of the party apparatus, while Lenin, the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, formally remained the leader of the party and government.

In the 1920s, the highest power in the party, and in fact in the country, belonged to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in which, until the death of Lenin, in addition to Lenin and Stalin, included five more people: L. D. Trotsky, G. E. Zinoviev, L. B. Kamenev, A. I. Rykov and M. P. Tomsky. All issues were decided by majority vote. Since 1922, due to illness, Lenin actually retired from political activity. Inside the Politburo Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev organized a "troika" based on opposition to Trotsky. In conditions when the trade union leader Tomsky had a negative attitude towards Trotsky since the time of the so-called. "discussions about trade unions", Rykov could become the only supporter of Trotsky. During these same years Stalin successfully increased his personal power, which soon became state power. Particularly important were his actions to recruit his bodyguard Yagoda, nominated by him to the leadership of the GPU (NKVD).

Immediately after the death of Lenin on January 21, 1924, several groups formed within the leadership of the party, each of which claimed power. The Troika teamed up with Rykov, Tomsky, N. I. Bukharin and candidate member of the Politburo V. V. Kuibyshev, forming the so-called. "seven".

Trotsky considered himself the main contender for leadership in the country after Lenin and underestimated Stalin as a competitor. Soon other oppositionists, not only the Trotskyists, sent the so-called Politburo to the Politburo. "Statement of the 46". "Troika" then showed its power, mainly using the resource of the apparatus led by Stalin.

At the XIII Congress of the RCP (May 1924), all oppositionists were condemned. Influence Stalin increased greatly. Main allies Stalin in the "seven" became Bukharin and Rykov.

A new split appeared in the Politburo in October 1925, when Zinoviev, Kamenev, G.Ya. Sokolnikov, People's Commissar for Finance of the USSR, and N.K. "Seven" broke up. At that moment Stalin began to unite with the so-called. "Right", which included Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky, expressing the interests primarily of the peasantry. In the beginning of the intra-party struggle between the "rights" and "lefts" Stalin provided them with the forces of the party apparatus, and they (namely Bukharin) acted as theoreticians. The left opposition in the CPSU of Zinoviev and Kamenev was condemned at the XIV Congress (December 1925).

January 1, 1926 Stalin By the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he was again approved as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

By that time, "the theory of the victory of socialism in one country" had arisen. This view was developed Stalin, in the pamphlet "To Questions of Leninism", (1926) and Bukharin. They divided the question of the victory of socialism into two parts - the question of the complete victory of socialism, that is, the possibility of building socialism and the complete impossibility of restoring capitalism by internal forces, and the question of final victory, that is, the impossibility of restoration due to the intervention of the Western powers, which would be ruled out only by establishing a revolution in the West.

Trotsky, who did not believe in socialism in one country, joined Zinoviev and Kamenev. The so-called. Left opposition in the CPSU ("United Opposition"). Stalin in 1929, he accuses Bukharin and his allies of a “right deviation” and actually begins to implement the program of the “leftists” to curtail the NEP and accelerate industrialization through the exploitation of the countryside.

February 13, 1930 Stalin was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner for "services on the front of socialist construction." In 1932, his wife committed suicide Stalin— Nadezhda Alliluyeva.

Mother dies in May 1937 Stalin, however, he could not come to the funeral, but sent a wreath with an inscription in Russian and Georgian: “Dear and beloved mother from her son Joseph Dzhugashvili(from Stalin)».

May 15, 1934 Stalin signs the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On the teaching of national history in the schools of the USSR", in accordance with which the teaching of history in secondary and higher schools was resumed.

In the second half of the 1930s Stalin is working on preparations for the publication of the textbook "A Short Course in the History of the CPSU", the main author of which he was. On November 14, 1938, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union adopted a resolution "On the organization of party propaganda in connection with the publication of the Short Course in the History of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union." The resolution officially made the textbook the basis of Marxism-Leninism propaganda and established its compulsory study in universities.

Stalin and the Great Patriotic War

More than a month and a half before the start of the war (since May 6, 1941) Stalin occupies the post of head of the government of the USSR - chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. On the day of the German attack on the USSR Stalin still also one of the six secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

A number of historians personally blame Stalin unpreparedness of the Soviet Union for war and huge losses, especially in the initial period of the war, despite the fact that Stalin many sources gave 22 June 1941 as the date of the attack. Other historians take the opposite view, including because Stalin received conflicting data with a large difference in dates. According to an employee of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, Colonel V. N. Karpov, “intelligence did not give an exact date, they did not say unequivocally that the war would begin on June 22. No one doubted that war was inevitable, but no one had a clear idea of ​​exactly when and how it would begin. Stalin did not doubt the inevitability of the war, however, the terms named by intelligence passed, but it did not begin. A version arose that these rumors were being spread by England in order to push Hitler against the USSR. Therefore, intelligence reports appeared Stalinist resolutions like "Isn't this a British provocation?". Researcher A. V. Isaev states: “with a lack of information, intelligence officers and analysts drew conclusions that did not reflect reality. At Stalin there was simply no information that could be 100% trusted.” A former employee of the NKVD of the USSR Sudoplatov P. A. recalled that in May 1941, in the office of the German ambassador V. Schulenburg, the Soviet special services installed listening devices, as a result of which, a few days before the war, information was received about Germany's intention to attack the USSR. According to the historian O. A. Rzheshevsky, on June 17, 1941, the head of the 1st department of the NKGB of the USSR P. M. Fitin I. V. Stalin a special message was presented from Berlin: "All military activities of Germany in preparation for an armed uprising against the USSR have been fully completed, a strike can be expected at any time." According to the version common in historical works, on June 15, 1941, Richard Sorge radioed to Moscow about the exact date of the start of the Great Patriotic War - June 22, 1941. According to the representative of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service V.N. Karpov, Sorge's telegram about the date of the attack on the USSR on June 22 is a fake created during, and Sorge called several dates for the attack on the USSR, which were never confirmed.

The day after the start of the war - June 23, 1941 - the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union, by a joint resolution, formed the Headquarters of the High Command, which included Stalin and the chairman of which was appointed People's Commissar of Defense S. K. Timoshenko. June 24 Stalin signs a resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on the creation of an Evacuation Council, designed to organize the evacuation of "the population, institutions, military and other cargo, equipment of enterprises and other values" of the western part of the USSR.

A week after the start of the war - June 30 - Stalin was appointed Chairman of the newly formed State Defense Committee. 3 July Stalin made a radio address to the Soviet people, beginning it with the words: “Comrades, citizens, brothers and sisters, soldiers of our army and navy! I turn to you, my friends! On July 10, 1941, the Headquarters of the High Command was transformed into the Headquarters of the High Command, and Timoshenko was appointed chairman instead of Marshal of the Soviet Union Stalin.

July 18 Stalin signs the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union "On the organization of the struggle in the rear of the German troops", which sets the task of creating unbearable conditions for the Nazi invaders, disorganizing their communications, transport and the military units themselves, disrupting all their activities, destroying the invaders and their accomplices, and helping in every possible way the creation of cavalry and foot partisan detachments, sabotage and extermination groups, to deploy a network of Bolshevik underground organizations in the occupied territory to direct all actions against the fascist invaders.

July 19, 1941 Stalin replaces Tymoshenko as People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. Since August 8, 1941 Stalin By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he is appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

July 30, 1941 Stalin receives personal representative and closest adviser to US President Franklin Roosevelt - Harry Hopkins. 16 — 20 December in Moscow Stalin negotiates with British Foreign Secretary A. Eden on the issue of concluding an agreement between the USSR and Great Britain on an alliance in the war against Germany and on post-war cooperation.

During the war period Stalin- as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief - signed a number of orders that cause an ambiguous assessment of modern historians. So, in the order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command No. 270 of August 16, 1941, signed Stalin, meant: “Commanders and political workers who, during a battle, tear off their insignia and desert to the rear or surrender to the enemy, are considered malicious deserters, whose families are subject to arrest as families of deserters who have violated the oath and betrayed their homeland”.

Also, the so-called. "Order No. 227", which tightened discipline in the Red Army, forbade the withdrawal of troops without orders from the leadership, introduced penal battalions as part of the fronts and penal companies as part of the armies, as well as barrage detachments as part of the armies.

During the Battle of Moscow in 1941, after the announcement of Moscow in a state of siege, Stalin remained in the capital. November 6, 1941 Stalin spoke at a solemn meeting held at the Mayakovskaya metro station, which was dedicated to the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution. In his speech Stalin explained the start of the war, which was unsuccessful for the Red Army, in particular, by the "lack of tanks and partly aviation." The next day, November 7, 1941, at the direction of Stalin A traditional military parade was held on Red Square.

During the Great Patriotic War Stalin several times went to the front in the front lines. In 1941-1942, the commander-in-chief visited the Mozhaisky, Zvenigorodsky, Solnechnogorsk defensive lines, and was also in a hospital in the Volokolamsk direction - in the 16th army of K. Rokossovsky, where he examined the work of BM-13 rocket launchers ("Katyusha"), was in 316 th division of I. V. Panfilov. October 16 (according to other sources - in mid-November) Stalin goes to the front line in a field hospital on Volokolamsk highway near the village of Lenino (Istra district of the Moscow region) in the division of General A.P. Beloborodov, talks with the wounded, awards soldiers with orders and medals of the USSR. Three days after the parade on November 7, 1941 Stalin left for the Volokolamsk highway to inspect the combat readiness of one of the divisions that arrived from Siberia. In July 1941 Stalin left to get acquainted with the state of affairs of the Western Front, which at that time (in the context of the advance of the German invaders to the Western Dvina and Dniester) included the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd armies. Later Stalin together with a member of the Military Council of the Western Front, N.A. Bulganin, he went to get acquainted with the Volokolamsk-Maloyaroslavets defense line. In 1942 Stalin traveled across the Lama River to the airfield to test the aircraft. On August 2 and 3, 1943, he arrived on the Western Front to General V. D. Sokolovsky and Bulganin. On August 4 and 5, he was on the Kalinin Front with General A. I. Eremenko. 5th of August Stalin is located on the front line in the village of Khoroshevo (Rzhevsky district of the Tver region). As the officer of the personal guard of the commander-in-chief A. T. Rybin writes: “According to the observation of the personal guard Stalin, during the war Stalin behaved recklessly. Members of the Politburo and N. Vlasik literally drove him into a shelter from flying fragments, shells exploding in the air.

May 30, 1942 Stalin signs the GKO resolution on the creation of the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. On September 5, 1942, he issued an order "On the tasks of the partisan movement", which became a program document in the further organization of the struggle behind the lines of the invaders.

August 21, 1943 Stalin signs the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union "On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation." November 25 Stalin accompanied by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov and a member of the State Defense Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR K. E. Voroshilov, he travels to Stalingrad and Baku, from where he flies by plane to Tehran (Iran). From November 28 to December 1, 1943 Stalin participates in the Tehran conference - the first conference of the Big Three during the years of World War II - the leaders of three countries: the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. February 4 - 11, 1945 Stalin participates in the Yalta Conference of the Allied Powers, dedicated to the establishment of a post-war world order.

Death of Stalin

March 1, 1953 Stalin lying on the floor in the small dining room of the Near Dacha (one of the residences Stalin), was discovered by security officer P. V. Lozgachev. On the morning of March 2, doctors arrived at the Near Dacha and diagnosed paralysis on the right side of the body. March 5 at 21:50 Stalin died. About death Stalin was announced on March 5, 1953. According to the medical report, death was the result of a cerebral hemorrhage.

There are numerous conspiracy theories suggesting the unnaturalness of death and the involvement of the environment in it. Stalin. According to A. Avtorkhanov (“The Mystery of Death Stalin. Beria's conspiracy") Stalin killed L.P. Beria. Publicist Y. Mukhin ("Murder Stalin and Beria”) and the historian I. Chigirin (“White and dirty spots of history”) consider N. S. Khrushchev to be the killer-conspirator. Almost all researchers agree that the leader's associates contributed (not necessarily intentionally) to his death, not in a hurry to call for medical help.

Embalmed body Stalin was placed on public display in the Lenin Mausoleum, which in 1953-1961 was called the "Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin". On October 30, 1961, the XXII Congress of the CPSU decided that "serious violations Stalin Lenin's testaments make it impossible to leave the coffin with his body in the Mausoleum. On the night of October 31 to November 1, 1961, the body Stalin was taken out of the Mausoleum and buried in a grave near the Kremlin wall. In 1970, a monument was opened on the grave (a bust by N.V. Tomsky).