Myth #187: Stalin loved to demonstrate his omnipotence.
Myth #187: Stalin loved to demonstrate his omnipotence.
This myth isn't constructed out of thin air. It's based on a simple distortion of certain facts. The fact is, Stalin did indeed have one habit, which those who witnessed it perceived as an attempt to demonstrate his own omnipotence. Stalin truly did love to make an impression. However, firstly, he always did so through discreet, indirect, and seemingly "natural" means. And secondly, he never pursued the goal of ego-boosting. On the contrary, this was always done solely to demonstrate the omnipotence and almightiness of the socialist state.
As the distinguished Russian historian V. Pokhlebkin noted, all these demonstrations illustrated Stalin's favorite maxims: "If the country needs it, then anything will be done, even the impossible," and "If ordered, then it must be carried out, even if it costs you your life." And he himself, through his own actions, always illustrated how this should be done. Moreover, it should be noted that he did not make such demonstrations haphazardly. They were always precisely calculated and precisely tailored to a specific situation and a specific partner, always pursuing the goal of achieving exceptional success in the interests of the entire state. To achieve this, Stalin demonstrated immense patience and endurance, and, like no one else in the world, he knew how to wait for the "right moment," even if it took years. He understood very well the meaning of the famous Russian proverb, " a spoon is good for dinner," which means exerting lightning-fast, exceptional psychological pressure on a partner at the most opportune moment. In this, he was unrivaled, and, it seems, remains unrivaled. I will illustrate with two examples.
1. On the evening of September 4, 1943, for the first time in Soviet power, Stalin received the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius, and two of his colleagues, Metropolitan Alexy (of Leningrad) and Nikolai (of Krutitsy and Kolomna), in the Kremlin to thank them for the Church's contribution of 150 million rubles, raised through donations from believers, to the defense fund. During the conversation, Stalin inquired about the problems facing the Church. Metropolitan Sergius responded that their most pressing concern was the election of a Patriarch, as this would require convening a Local Council, a difficult undertaking in a vast country amid wartime conditions and the lack of transportation, and would require one to two months.
"Couldn't we use Bolshevik speed?" Stalin asked. And then he ordered air power to gather all the bishops for the opening of the Local Council not in a month, but in three days! It was immediately agreed that the opening would take place on September 8, although the discussion had already begun as early as 2:00 a.m. on September 5. By 5:00 or 6:00 a.m., a solemn liturgy had been celebrated in the Epiphany Cathedral, where Metropolitan Sergius announced that the Local Council would convene in Moscow on September 8. After leaving the church after the service, parishioners could read the latest copies of Izvestia, which had been delivered to newsstands around the cathedral, and which had already published a TASS report about Stalin's reception of three metropolitans in the Kremlin. The entire "operation" took literally no more than three hours.
This meant, "If necessary, everything will be done, even the impossible." And it was absolutely necessary. Naturally, the senior hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church couldn't have known what would be discussed below. But Stalin did. Intelligence sources informed him that the Americans were preparing a serious provocation, accusing the Soviet Union of suppressing religion. And it was precisely for this purpose that an American delegation was to arrive in Moscow on September 9-10, to "gather irrefutable evidence on the spot." I emphasize: the senior hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church didn't know this, which is why they quietly prepared the Local Council, expecting it to take place within a month or two. But Stalin knew that the Americans were keenly interested in this matter, and not for the sake of the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church, but simply to once again slander the Soviet Union, which during the war was fraught with very grave consequences, especially compared to what the Nazis were doing in the occupied territories. The occupiers were busy opening churches, providing assistance to clergy, etc. Western media could easily present the situation in such a way that the occupiers were showing more attention to the Russian Orthodox Church than the Bolsheviks.
True, nothing came of these plans. The slow-witted Yankees had picked the wrong man. After all, it was Stalin. It was he who had created the situation for their overseas "friends" when they arrived to document a fact of unprecedented significance at the time—the Bolsheviks had authorized a Local Council! Can you imagine the Yankees' long faces? After all, their plans, their trip, and their wasted efforts to prepare a powerful anti-Soviet propaganda campaign were in vain!
Even the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church came to believe in Stalin's extraordinary power—when the Russian Orthodox Church urgently needed to convene a Local Council, only Stalin could do it. And what can we say about the faithful? They even developed a special respect for Stalin and the Soviet regime.
2. This incident also involves the Americans. Before one of the rounds of Soviet-American negotiations during the war, Stalin administered "shock therapy" to the Yankees. Here's what happened.
Stalin, as is well known, had several translators, each with their own specialty. V. Berezhkov translated from and into German, and V. Pavlov translated from and into English. Berezhkov had joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (then the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs) before the war and participated in negotiations with Hitler and Ribbentrop. The Führer, incidentally, could not believe Berezhkov was Russian, as he always demonstrated such a high-class translation and such a refined knowledge of the German language that it was impossible to believe he was not German.
However, Berezhkov also had an excellent command of English, although he kept it a secret. Stalin discovered this by chance, but never engaged him to work with English-speaking partners. Berezhkov continued to be the number one translator for German.
Several years passed. The Great Patriotic War was already in full swing. Stalin faced difficult negotiations with the Americans. With five minutes remaining before the talks began, Stalin was informed, in the presence of the Yankees, that Palov would be unable to translate because he had fallen ill. The Americans were in a daze—the negotiations could be postponed or even derailed altogether, and they attached great importance to them. Nervously, Charles Bohlen, a counselor at the US Embassy in Moscow, anxiously asked Stalin:
"What should we do?" Stalin calmly replies:
— What to do? We'll get to work.
"But who will translate?" C. Bolen asks, on the verge of hysteria.
Still unperturbed, Stalin replies:
— Berezhkov will translate. Call him.
Ch. Bolen, having finally fallen into hysterics, nervously declares:
— But Berezhkov is a translator for German, not English?!
Stalin still answers calmly:
— It doesn't matter! The Americans are in shock!
"How does that not matter?" Stalin explained, just as calmly:
— I’ll give him the order, and Berezhkov will translate from English!
Then Berezhkov appears, responds to Stalin's order with "Yes!" and brilliantly translates the entire conversation. The Yankees, meanwhile, were stunned, and during the negotiations, they weren't so much following the proceedings as they were constantly amazed by Berezhkov's unusually smooth English, fully convinced that "Stalin can order anything, and it will certainly be carried out."
Well, Stalin conducted these negotiations so successfully that the flow of American aid under Lend-Lease increased several times after that, and without any new obligations on the part of the Soviet Union!
This is what really happened!
Myth #188: Stalin liked to appropriate awards for himself to match his military commanders.
Frankly, it's an utterly ridiculous myth. The fact is, Stalin never had a thirst for awards. And everyone knew this. It seems this was due to one circumstance. Our scribblers are all too fond of attributing all their vile traits to anyone the authorities give the order to "get it." So, when they're ordered to sling mud at Stalin from every angle, they do their best. They invent all sorts of dirt, just to please the authorities and snatch a juicy piece of their pie. Under Stalin, they couldn't do such things. To curry favor with Stalin, the renowned poet Osip Mandelstam, for example, penned over fifty laudatory poems about him. He even composed an ode. It didn't help. Especially when the ode appeared. With this, Mandelstam finally lost Stalin's patience, and the order followed to send him far away from the capital, to Vladivostok (not to a logging camp, mind you, but to the capital of the Soviet Far East). Stalin had no tolerance for sycophants; in fact, he detested them with a passion. He believed that "an obsequious scoundrel is worse than an enemy." The same applied to awards, especially military ones.
In his famous book, "The Work of a Lifetime," Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky wrote: "Stalin has firmly entered military history. His undoubted merit is that, under his direct leadership as Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the Soviet Armed Forces held out in defensive campaigns and brilliantly carried out all offensive operations. But, as far as I could observe, he never spoke of his accomplishments. And he received fewer awards than front and army commanders."
What awards did Stalin, who ruled the USSR for over 30 years, receive? After all, great men are not without human weaknesses—they are, after all, human beings. Paintings and photographs of many famous historical figures—both state, political, and military—are depicted with a vast array of awards. Our marshals and generals, especially those of wartime, are literally covered from head to toe in all manner of decorations. Their dress jackets weigh nearly three pounds. But Stalin's jacket always sported only a single, modest Hero of Socialist Labor star. He received it in 1939, along with his first Order of Lenin. It's interesting to note the following in this regard. Unlike Hitler, who insisted on wearing only one of his two Iron Crosses, a purely militaristic order, on his jacket, Stalin preferred to wear only the Hero of Socialist Labor star, thus clearly emphasizing the peaceful nature of his activities as head of state and party.
As for awards, Stalin had 14 in total. His first was the Order of the Red Banner, which he received on Lenin's initiative and based on the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of November 27, 1919, "for services on the fronts of the civil war." Stalin received his second Order of the Red Banner (at that time, there was no distinction between combat and labor awards) in February 1930. The Central Executive Committee of the USSR, having considered numerous petitions from a number of organizations, general meetings of workers, peasants, and Red Army soldiers, awarded Stalin "for services on the fronts of socialist construction." Incidentally, the wording is quite remarkable—it appears that both the people and those at the top understood perfectly well that the large-scale socialist reforms carried out under Stalin's leadership were, in essence, a war for the construction of socialism. They were hardly all mistaken, for it was indeed a war. The resistance to these reforms was fierce. In total, Stalin had three Orders of the Red Banner.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded Stalin the Order of Suvorov, 1st Class, on November 6, 1943, "for the correct leadership of the Red Army's operations in the Patriotic War against the Nazi invaders and the successes achieved." Note the date. By that time, it was clear even to the blind that the turning point in the war had long since occurred—the great victories in the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk were the clearest proof of this. By that time, marshals and generals had already celebrated their well-deserved (and some undeserved) military and other orders and medals, but Stalin received his military order only on November 6, 1943.
On June 20, 1944, the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council of Workers' Deputies, on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, presented Stalin with his first medal—"For the Defense of Moscow"—in the Kremlin. The decree stated: "for leading the heroic defense of Moscow and organizing the defeat of German troops near Moscow." Again, note the date of the award—by that time, military leaders awarded this medal, who participated in the defense of Moscow and the defeat of Nazi troops near Moscow, had already sobered up more than once after numerous libations in celebration of this award. Stalin, however, had only just received it on June 20, 1944.
Incidentally, a notable incident is associated with this medal, occurring at a lesser-known banquet for the high command, which took place before the famous Victory Banquet. According to Yu. I. Mukhin's description in the book "Father Commanders: Stars on Shoulder Straps—Stars on Graves," the following occurred: "Marshal Zhukov was at the same table with the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but not a word was said in his personal honor. Everyone present found this odd. The senior military leaders began signaling him (that is, Zhukov— AM) for a smoke break. Zhukov asked Stalin to take a break. The leader granted permission. He himself smoked a pipe at the table, and everyone went into the smoking room. There, the front commanders asked Marshal Zhukov to begin a short speech so that they could continue the toast to the first Marshal of Victory."
Zhukov began his speech-toast something like this: “If I were asked when it was the hardest time for me during the entire war, I would answer that it was in the fall and winter during the defense of Moscow, when the fate of the Soviet Union was practically being decided.”
After listening silently to Zhukov's tirade, Stalin suddenly interrupted him with the words: "Comrade Zhukov, you recalled the defense of Moscow. It was right that it was a very difficult time. It was our army's first victorious battle in the defense of the capital. But you know that many of its defenders, even generals who were wounded and distinguished themselves in battle, were not awarded medals and cannot receive them because they became disabled!"
To this reproach, Zhukov responded: "Comrade Stalin, like you, I have not received any awards for this battle, although almost all the members of the General Staff were awarded the Order of Lenin (Shaposhnikov, Antonov, Vatutin, Shtemenko, and others). I fully admit that I made a miscalculation in this matter, and we will correct it."
Then Stalin slammed his fist on the table so hard that the crystal stem of the tall wine glass broke, spilling red wine onto the tablecloth. The leader, interrupting Zhukov, said, "And yet, you didn't forget to reward your whores." A deathly silence fell, during which Stalin rose, left the table, and never returned.
Stalin's third medal was "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", and the first was the medal "20 Years of the R.K.K.A."
On July 29, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded Stalin the Order of Victory, the highest Soviet military leader's award, with the citation "for exceptional merits in organizing and conducting the offensive operations of the Red Army, which led to the major defeat of the German army and a radical change in the situation on the front in the fight against the Nazi invaders in favor of the Red Army." The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded Stalin a second Order of Victory on June 26, 1945, with the citation "for exceptional merits in organizing all the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and their skillful leadership in the Great Patriotic War, which ended in complete victory over Nazi Germany." In the Soviet Union, only three individuals were awarded the Order of Victory twice: Marshals of the Soviet Union I.V. Stalin, A.M. Vasilevsky, and G.K. Zhukov.
On June 27, 1945, the day after being awarded his second Order of Victory, Marshal of the Soviet Union Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, along with the Order of Lenin (his second) and the Gold Star medal, for "leading the Red Army during the difficult days of defending our Motherland and its capital, Moscow, and leading the fight against Nazi Germany with exceptional courage and determination." The bust, by sculptor Yatsyno, depicts Stalin in an open overcoat, with two Hero stars visible on his tunic—one of Socialist Labor and one of the Soviet Union—which in reality never existed.
Stalin never wore the Hero of the Soviet Union Star, not considering himself worthy of the title. He believed that since he had not personally participated in combat operations at the front and had not accomplished any heroic deeds there, he had no right to such a title. Incidentally, upon learning of this award, he expressed extremely strong displeasure and harshly rebuked the overzealous individuals who had arranged for the decree to be issued—"sycophants."
Simultaneously with the awarding of the title Hero of the Soviet Union, Stalin was awarded the highest military rank—Generalissimo of the Soviet Union—at the written request of the front commanders. Incidentally, there was a proposal to establish an Order of Stalin at the same time, but Joseph Vissarionovich was deeply outraged by such sycophancy and categorically rejected the proposal.
In 1949, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, Stalin was awarded his third Order of Lenin. This was the last award of his life.
A total of 9 orders and 5 medals—14 awards, none of which were foreign. Frankly, compared to the hefty "iconostases" of those same marshals and generals of Victory Day, this is extremely meager. And compared to the unforgettable Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, who held 120 awards, Comrade Stalin, as he himself insisted on being called in response to attempts to address him as "Comrade Generalissimo of the Soviet Union," was completely underwhelmed.
That's how Stalin "loved to reward himself." And of all the awards he had, he prized the title of Hero of Socialist Labor above all else. Because he was a creator!
