Women whom Stalin loved. Stalin's secret wife: the same age as the revolution - the leader's mistress? Personal life of Stalin's wife, children, mistresses
Stalin was and remained one of the most closed leaders of the party and state. He carefully ensured that his biography was canonical in nature, and the true facts were hidden. "Komsomolskaya Pravda" publishes great material Olga Kuchkina's "Women of Stalin", designed to eliminate gaps in our knowledge about the personal life of the dictator.
When Stalin's wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva shot herself, his six-year-old daughter Svetlana remained his most beloved woman. He called her Mistress. And he had to obey the Mistress. “I order you to allow me to go with you to the theater or cinema.” Signed: “Mistress Setanka”. Address - “To my 1st secretary comrade. Stalin." It was a game that awaits further psychoanalytic interpretations.
Housekeeper Carolina Vasilievna Til was the first to see Alliluyeva covered in blood on the floor by the bed. A small Walther pistol lay next to the lifeless body. The author of the article knows the story of the suicide of the 30-year-old wife of 55-year-old Stalin on the night of November 9, 1932 from family stories: Til is “a relative of my father-in-law, who was friends with Nadezhda Alliluyeva,” the author writes. Reasons for suicide: psychological and ideological differences, but there was also a secret about which there were persistent rumors: as if Stalin, during another quarrel, said to his wife: do you know that you are my daughter?! Olga Kuchkina poses a new problem for biographers: “Did incest finish Nadya?”
Joseph knew Nadya's mother, Olga, from Baku times. The 23-year-old revolutionary and the 23-year-old married woman often spent time together. Her husband accepted their meetings. Nadya was Stalin's second wife. The first one to be married is Katya Svanidze, the sister of fellow underground fighter Alyosha Svanidze. 16-year-old Keto set the condition that she would become a wife if they got married. The Georgian woman did not contradict her husband’s will in any way. She was so shy that when his friends appeared, she hid under the table. Relatives said about her: “a wife-child, looking up at her husband, accepting as the law his power over herself and rightness in everything and always.” Keto died of typhoid fever, but managed to give birth to a son, Yasha. Stalin will have a hard time with her death, which will not prevent him from later destroying his relative Alyosha Svanidze, as well as imprisoning, shooting, and driving to suicide his relatives along the Alliluyeva line.
Stalin would take the teenager Yasha to Moscow from Georgia only in 1921. “The relationship between son and father will forever remain strained. Yasha will find joy in his relationship with his stepmother. Stalin mocks them, either being jealous, or experiencing enduring irritation towards both,” writes Olga Kuchkina. Nadya is only 27, Yasha is 17. It will come down to Yasha attempting suicide. This will only cause the famous mockery from my father: he couldn’t even shoot himself properly.
Stalin also treated his son from Alliluyeva Vasya badly, despised him and got him drunk. “Stalin always had a bottle of Georgian wine on his table; he teased his wife by pouring a glass for a one-year-old boy. They said that Vasino’s drinking began in childhood,” the author writes.
The author of the article also reports less known data - about Stalin’s illegitimate children. About the new editor-in-chief of the literary drama, Konstantin Kuzakov, who appeared on television in the early 70s, they immediately began to say that his father was Stalin. Kuzakov was silent about his origin. He spoke a year before his death. In an interview with Arguments and Facts in 1996, he admitted: “I was still very young when I found out that I was Stalin’s son.”
Kuzakov's mother, Matryona, was the daughter of a deacon. The exiled Joseph Dzhugashvili lodged with her in Solvychegodsk, having arrived there in January 1911. It was freezing. Matryona had been widowed for a year and worked alone. The exile replaced her husband. Nine months later they gave birth to a black-haired boy. He stood out in stark contrast to his blond siblings. Matryona named him Kostya, and wrote down his middle name - Stepanovich, after the name of her husband, who died two years before Kostya was born.
Subsequently, Matryona will receive Moscow housing, registration and a more euphonious name - Maria. Working in the propaganda department of the Central Committee, Kuzakov would be accused by Beria of involvement in “atomic espionage.” In 1947, he was expelled from the party and removed from all posts. He is awaiting arrest. A short remark from Stalin will cancel the repressions. Kuzakov will be reinstated in the party on the day of Beria’s arrest.
Another romantic episode in Stalin’s life will happen in the Turukhansk region, in the village of Kureyka. 37-year-old Koba is again in exile. From 1914 to 1916, he lived with a 14-year-old peasant woman, Lida Pereprygina, and cohabited with her. Two babies were born in Kureika. The first one died. The second, born in April 1917, was recorded as Alexander Dzhugashvili. He gave his word to the gendarme, who was pursuing an exile for molesting a minor, to marry, but when the sentence expired, he left Kureika. Alexander was adopted and given his last name by the peasant Yakov Davydov. After marrying him, Lida gave birth to eight more children. She wrote letters to Stalin, but Stalin did not answer.
These facts were contained in a highly secret letter from KGB Chairman Serov, sent to Khrushchev on July 18, 1956. Alexander Davydov graduated from the College of Communications in Krasnoyarsk. There he was summoned to the NKVD and signed a non-disclosure agreement to “particularly mysterious state information.” He ended his days as a foreman in Krasnoyarsk. Stalin never had personal contacts with either Alexander or Konstantin. The “Father of Nations” did not love his sons - neither illegitimate nor legitimate.
“He had strong potency. Nadezhda Alliluyeva’s medical record contains information about ten abortions. The doctor who consulted her abroad sympathized: “Poor thing, you live with an animal.” Why did he prefer those who were younger? It’s easier to cope with an undeveloped consciousness. It’s easier to inspire to subjugate what you want. He was attracted by the image of a rebel, a fighter for the poor against the rich. The hidden traits of a ruler were originally in his nature, argues Olga Kuchkina.
Maria Svanidze writes enthusiastically about Stalin and angrily about his enemy Avel Enukidze: “Being himself depraved and voluptuous, he stinked everything around him - he took pleasure in pimping, family discord, seduction of girls... Women with suitable daughters owned everything, the girls were unnecessarily thrust upon other men... The institution recruited staff only based on gender characteristics that Abel liked. To justify his debauchery, he was ready to encourage it in everything - he went out of his way to meet his husband, who was abandoning his family... or simply set up his husband with a ballerina, a typist, etc., that he did not need...”
The diary of Maria Svanidze allows one to judge the morals of the Kremlin elite: the leader was no stranger to “ballerinas and typists,” the author concludes. Among the ballerinas to whom Stalin paid attention were Marina Semenova and Olga Lepeshinskaya. Memoirist Gronsky writes, without citing his last name, that in the mid-30s Stalin often returned from the famous ballerina to the Kremlin at 2 - 3 o'clock in the morning. Among the singers they talked about Valeria Barsova and Natalia Shpiller. But above all, rumor connected him with Vera Davydova. She had the nickname "Tsar-Baba". Gendlin’s book “Confession of Stalin’s Mistress” was published in the West, where their romance is described in detail.
This is how Vera Aleksandrovna Davydova describes one night with Stalin at his dacha: “After strong hot coffee and delicious grog, I felt completely good. The fear and confusion disappeared. I followed him. It turned out that I.V. taller than me. We entered a room where there was a large low couch. Stalin asked permission to take off his jacket. He threw an oriental robe over his shoulders, sat down next to him, and asked: “Can I turn off the light? It's easier to talk in the dark." Without waiting for an answer, he turned off the light. I.V. He hugged me and skillfully unbuttoned my blouse. My heart began to flutter. "Comrade Stalin! Joseph Vissarionovich, dear, don’t, I’m afraid! Let me go home!..” He did not pay any attention to my pathetic babble, only in the darkness his animal eyes lit up with a bright flame. I tried to break free again... but it was all in vain.”
Stalin is 54, Davydova is 28. Their relationship lasted 19 years. A three-room apartment, titles and awards were awarded to the ballerina with ease. The singer's relatives declared the book a fake. A scandal broke out, but it quickly faded away.
Here is evidence from Svetlana Alliluyeva’s book “Twenty Letters to a Friend”: “New faces appeared, including the young snub-nosed Valechka, whose mouth did not close all day from a cheerful, ringing laugh. After working in Zubalovo for three years, she was transferred to her father’s dacha in Kuntsevo and remained there until his death, later becoming a housekeeper...”
Valentina Istomina, a medical school graduate, was first intended for General Vlasik, but when the Master liked her, he had no choice but to forget about her. Years later, Vlasik will be sent to the Magadan camp.
In the book “Just One Year,” published in the West in 1970, Svetlana Aliluyeva writes: “He gave his name to a system of bloody one-man dictatorship. He knew what he was doing, he was neither mentally ill nor delusional. With cold prudence he asserted his power and, more than anything else, was afraid of losing it. Therefore, the first task of his entire life was the elimination of opponents and rivals.”
Personal life of the powerful leader of the USSR for a long time was strictly classified. People knew almost nothing about his spouses - what to say about his mistresses. Meanwhile, during the years of his revolutionary youth, and while at the helm of the country, Stalin paid attention to many girls and women.
Matryona Kuzakova
In 1909-1911, the young revolutionary served exile in the city of Solvychegodsk, Vologda province. There he settled in the house of the daughter of a local deacon, Matryona Kuzakova, who was a widow and raised her children alone. The woman had a hard time, she was forced to chop wood, clear snow, repair the fence herself...
Joseph saw that the young woman literally did not straighten her back for days on end. The man began to help Matryona with the housework. And soon he replaced her husband. As a result of this relationship, a black-haired boy was born, sharply different from his fair-haired brothers and sisters. True, Stalin never saw the child, the period of exile ended, and he continued revolutionary activity. Matryona named her son Konstantin, and his patronymic Stepanovich, registering it with her late husband, who died 2 years before the baby was born.
When a new literary drama editor with the surname Kuzakov appeared on Shabolovka, and this was in the early 70s, colleagues whispered that he was the son of Stalin himself. Shortly before his death, Konstantin Stepanovich personally confirmed these rumors: in his interview with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, published in 1996, Kuzakov said that he learned the name of his real father from his mother as a child. True, he subsequently signed a non-disclosure agreement to state security representatives.
According to rumors, only kinship with the leader of the people saved Konstantin from arrest in 1947. Then he worked in the propaganda department of the CPSU Central Committee and was included in the list of those accused of “atomic espionage”; the case was fabricated by Lavrentiy Beria. But the trouble is over.
They say that having taken a high post in the Kremlin, Stalin gave Matryona Kuzakova a Moscow apartment.
Lydia Pereprygina
In 1913-1916, the future leader of the peoples served another exile, this time in the Turukhansk region. In the village of Kureika, he settled in the house of two orphans - Jonah and Lydia Pereprygin (brother and sister). Joseph began to live together with his 14-year-old mistress.
This shocking information about the seduction of an orphan girl by an adult man was revealed in 1956, when Nikita Khrushchev began collecting dirt on Stalin, wanting to debunk his cult of personality. State security officers found out all the ins and outs. It turned out that Lida Pereprygina gave birth to two children from Joseph. The first child died in infancy, and the second - son Alexander - was born after Stalin left Kureika.
Most Siberians looked at the seduction of a minor with indifference. But when her brother Jonah found out about Lida’s pregnancy, he and local resident Pyotr Ivanov contacted the local gendarmerie. Stalin was saved from criminal prosecution only by his promise to marry the girl when she came of age. But the man did not keep his word.
Subsequently, Lydia married fellow villager Yakov Davydov. And her son Alexander before the Great Patriotic War worked as a postman, was wounded twice at the front, and rose to the rank of major. Then this man was the director of a canteen in Novokuznetsk.
Like Konstantin Kuzakov, in 1935, Alexander Davydov, at the request of the NKVD officers, signed a document not to disclose the secret of his origin.
Yuri Davydov, one of Lydia Pereprygina’s grandchildren, told reporters that his grandmother was a serious woman with a strong character.
Vera Davydova
Being the de facto ruler of a huge superpower, Stalin could afford secret affairs with famous artists. It was rumored that his mistresses were ballerinas Olga Lepeshinskaya and Marina Semenova, and among the singers he especially singled out Natalia Shpiller and Valeria Barsova.
But the longest relationship connected Joseph Vissarionovich with the Bolshoi Theater soloist Vera Davydova. This vivid novel was described by the famous journalist Leonard Gendlin in his book “Confession of Stalin’s Mistress.” Although the singer’s relatives still deny the information contained in it.
According to L. Gendlin, when the relationship began, Joseph was already 54 years old, and Vera was 28 years old. For a long time they met secretly at the leader’s dacha, because both were officially married. Allegedly, only closeness to Stalin can explain all the numerous titles, awards and prizes that the Bolshoi Theater prima was awarded during her life.
Vera Davydova was a People's Artist of the RSFSR, a People's Artist of the Georgian SSR, a laureate of three Stalin Prizes of the 1st degree, and the owner of a luxurious three-room apartment in the center of Moscow.
Valentina Istomina
The last mistress of the leader of the peoples was Valentina Istomina (maiden name - Zhbychkina). From 1935 to 1953, she acted as Stalin’s housekeeper: she took care of the housework, set the table, and resolved other issues related to the life of Joseph Vissarionovich. A widower needed female support.
Svetlana Alliluyeva wrote in her book “Twenty Letters to a Friend”: “New faces appeared, including the young snub-nosed Valechka, whose mouth did not close all day from a cheerful, ringing laugh. After working in Zubalovo for three years, she was transferred to her father’s dacha in Kuntsevo and remained there until his death, later becoming a housekeeper...”
Over the years of her work, Valentina became so close to Stalin that she was constantly with him. He only trusted her to serve him food and medicine. Rumors that Istomina was the leader’s mistress, as they say, were confirmed in private conversations by Vyacheslav Molotov, who headed the USSR Foreign Ministry during the Great Patriotic War.
After Stalin's death, Valentina was sent to a personal pension. A childless woman raised a nephew, whose father died at the front. She died in 1995.
Of course, we have not listed all the girls and women to whom Stalin paid attention, limiting ourselves only to the most famous, long-lasting and striking relationships. The personal life of the leader of the peoples was stormy and varied. He liked very young girls, whom he knew how to charm, and talented, beautiful artists, and homely, sincere housewives.
We all know Stalin as a cruel, vindictive, merciless tyrant. But hardly anyone tried to imagine him in the role of a lover. Nevertheless, the revolutionary did not suffer from a lack of female attention. He charmed some representatives of the fair sex, but simply demanded others. What are they like, the wives and mistresses of Comrade Stalin?
Kato Svanidze
They say that Stalin's first wife was so shy that she would hide under the table if her husband unexpectedly returned home in the company of friends.
Joseph met Katerina through her brother Alexander - the future revolutionary met him at the Tiflis Theological Seminary, they studied together. Stalin, who was 24 years old at that time, fell madly in love with Kato, a simple Georgian from a poor family. By the way, the girl was only 16 at that time.
His proposal to get married was accepted by the Svanidze family, but only on the condition that the couple would have a church wedding, which happened in 1906. That same year, Katerina gave birth to a son, Yakov. In 1907, the woman died either from tuberculosis or typhoid fever. Stalin was so upset by the death of his wife that at her funeral he jumped into the burial pit.
But her ardent love for Kato did not save her relatives. In the 1930s, Katerina's brother and Stalin's friend became a victim of repression and died in custody. Alexander's wife died of a heart attack after hearing the news of her husband's death.
Maria Kuzakova
After Kato's death, Stalin was exiled to Siberia. In 1911, Maria Kuzakova, a young widow with children, allowed the revolutionary into the house as a tenant. Over time, their relationship became more intimate - the woman became pregnant. But in 1912, Stalin's exile ended, and he hastened to return to revolutionary activities, without waiting for the birth of his son, whom his mother named Kostya.
Lydia Pereprygina
During his exile in 1914, Stalin met another peasant girl, Lydia Pereprygina. For two years, an adult man lived in the same house with a 14-year-old girl, who during this time managed to give birth to two children. The first child died. But the second, born in April 1917, was registered as Alexander Dzhugashvili.
Village residents accused the revolutionary of seducing a minor - the situation could only be corrected by marriage. Nevertheless, Stalin left the village as soon as the opportunity arose.
Both Maria and Lida repeatedly turned to Joseph for help in in writing, but to no avail. But in the 1930s, they were forced to sign a document that prohibited the disclosure of information about who exactly the father of their children was.
Nadezhda Alliluyeva
This marriage lasted for 12 years. Stalin met Nadya when she was still a child - in those days he spent a lot of time with her mother, who, by the way, was married woman. One day a man saved a little girl when she was drowning.
They met again when Stalin was 37 years old and returned from Siberia - Nadya was 16 years old at that time and she fell madly in love with her savior. Despite the fact that this marriage was concluded for love, everything ended tragically - Nadezhda committed suicide with a shot to the heart. The maid found the dead mistress on the floor next to the bed.
There are many theories about Nadya's suicide. Some people say that she could not withstand her husband’s callousness and cruelty. There is information that Stalin forced a woman to have about 10 abortions. There is also a hypothesis that says that Nadya was actually the daughter of a tyrant, which he once told her - the fragile girl could not survive this.
Olga Lepeshinskaya
Ballerinas and typists - these were the predilections of men in Soviet times. Olga Lepeshinskaya never admitted whether she really shared a bed with the leader, but there were different rumors.
There are also obvious things: Stalin always visited Grand Theatre in those days when Olya performed there. He gave her luxurious bouquets and invited her to join her at various receptions. In 2004, Olga only said that all the ballerinas were fascinated by Joseph - everyone knew about his anger and vindictiveness, but sometimes the dictator could dress in the skin of a sheep.
Vera Davydova
But there are much fewer doubts about the opera singer Vera Davydova. In 1983, her memoirs entitled “Confessions of Stalin’s Mistress” were published in London, which stated that the artist’s relationship with the leader lasted 19 years. By the way, Davydova’s family never recognized the veracity of the publication.
In 1932, Vera, who was a married woman at that time, found a note in her coat pocket inviting her to a secret date. The driver, who was waiting outside for the singer, took her straight to Stalin's house, where he gave her coffee and then turned off the lights for a more intimate conversation.
Subsequently, Vera was simply called and brought into the house, and Joseph ordered her to undress. Davydova says that she had no right to refuse; no one asked about her wishes. By the way, the revolutionary thanked the woman in his own way: during the relationship, the singer received a two-room apartment in Moscow, and was also awarded the Stalin Prize three times.
Valya Istomina
Perhaps Valentina faced the most difficult trials. She was Stalin's personal housewife and was originally intended for the head of Stalin's personal security, Nikolai Vlasik. At one time, many men courted her, including the notorious NKVD chief Lavrentiy Beria. But when the leader’s gaze fell on Valya, all the other contenders quickly retreated.
Valentina was immediately sent to the Moscow dacha in Kuntsevo, where she set the table and made the bed for only Stalin. Tragedy happened later, 17 years later. One day the dictator fell ill, and his beloved woman did not show up to look after him - just at that moment she was attacked and raped by Beria and Vlasik.
Having learned about everything, Stalin ordered Valya to be sent to the Kolyma camp, where death awaited her for “treason.” Vlasik was also arrested and sent into exile, but Beria was spared. Fortunately, immediately upon arriving in Magadan, the woman learned that Stalin had ordered her to be returned, since he could not live without her - Valya headed back to Moscow.
The tyrant’s daughter from a previous marriage, Svetlana Alliluyeva, once wrote in her diary that until the end of her days Valentina considered Stalin the most the best man on the ground.
An official obituary was published in the Pravda newspaper on November 10, 1932: “On the night of November 9, an active and devoted party member, Comrade. Nadezhda Sergeevna Alliluyeva. Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. What happened?
Night in the Kremlin morgue
On November 9, 1932, Stalin’s housekeeper, Carolina Til, discovered the body of Nadezhda Alliluyeva in a pool of blood in the “female half” of the leader’s Kremlin apartment. In her hand was a Walther pistol, given a few months ago by her brother Pavel. Karolina Vasilievna rushed to call Polina Molotova. Soon Molotov and Voroshilov arrived. They woke up Stalin, who had become a widower. He was shocked by what happened and, according to the recollections of his daughter Svetlana, even tried to commit suicide.
Versions of the causes of the tragedy will be discussed below. First, about one find related to the death of Nadezhda Alliluyeva.
In Marshall's personal fund Soviet Union Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov, I came across a folder containing his correspondence with the famous artist Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov. Judging by the documents of the epistolary genre, the "iron" People's Commissar met the future portrait painter of the Bolshevik elite back in the late 20s, when the aspiring provincial artist created a "commune of red painters" in the Moscow region. Gerasimov reported this in a letter to the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party. The secretariat wrote this message to Voroshilov, who by that time had gained fame as a patron of the arts. Comrade Klim warmly supported the “red painter”, and he was soon installed in Moscow.
The folder contains many letters and notes from Gerasimov with various requests to Voroshilov: to help enter the circle of Kremlin leaders in order to paint their portraits, to apply for a visa abroad, to suggest to this or that official the idea of organizing an exhibition, etc. Voroshilov always responded without delay. He even introduced the artist to Stalin, which subsequently prompted the leader to resort to help Gerasimov after the death of Alliluyeva. The letter in question refers precisely to this case. Here is its text (style preserved):
“Dear deeply respected Kliment Efremovich!
Sorry for disturbing you - I am sending the portrait of Alliluyeva to you, since I don’t want to keep it in my studio, where it can be seen by anyone. I think that you know better than me what to do with it. I rely entirely on you and fully admit that it might be better not to show it to I.V. at all. (To Joseph Vissarionovich - S.T.). In this case, I ask you to give instructions to save it as historical document. I ask for mercy if he finds I.V. errors. He worked nervously and quickly during the night at the coffin. Dedicated to you A. Gerasimov."
It can be assumed that Stalin Having had a hard time with the death of his wife, he wanted to forever capture the image of his beloved woman, which is why he called the artist, who by that time had already become one of his own in the Kremlin. In the morgue of the hospital serving members of the Politburo and their families, Alexander Gerasimov painted a portrait of Alliluyeva all night before the funeral. But for some reason Stalin did not took the painting. According to his daughter Svetlana, while sorting out the papers of the deceased, he discovered a letter, after reading which, he realized “that his mother was with him only for appearances, but in fact she was somewhere close to the opposition of those years. He was shocked by this, angry, and when he came to say goodbye, then, approaching the coffin for a minute, he suddenly pushed it away from him with his hands and walked away.” This is probably why the leader was not interested in the painting. Gerasimov in those years, of course, could not have known about Stalin’s torment. The artist kept the painting in his studio for almost two years, not knowing what to do with it. U it was scary to destroy the portrait. What if Stalin remembers him (by the way, this seems to be what happened later). Gerasimov decided provide a solution to the problem Voroshilov. He, on reflection, considered it necessary not to report anything to Stalin, and imposed the following resolution on the letter of his artist friend: “Transfer the painting to one of our museums. Agree with whom Gerasimov should be paid. 25.2.34 Voroshilov.”
It is unknown which museum the portrait was given to. The former assistant commandant of Stalin's dacha, Pyotr Vasilyevich Lozgachev, told me that in Last year Throughout his life, Joseph Vissarionovich began to remember more and more often about Nadezhda Alliluyeva. In the dining room, a portrait of her appeared on the wall from somewhere, most likely the one that was painted by Gerasimov in the morgue. Stalin used to stand in front of him for a long time and think about something... After the death of the “leader,” the entire furnishings of the dacha were taken somewhere by Beria’s people.
Looking far ahead, I will say that in Together with the staff of Moscow art museums, we looked through all the storage rooms - we did not find the portrait. With a request for help in finding the painting, I once turned to the most knowledgeable person in history visual arts Russian scientist, director of the Research Institute of the Academy of Arts Viktor Vladimirovich Vanslov.
- Very interesting story, - he said, - but this is the first time I’ve heard about it. The institute has no information about the portrait of Nadezhda Alliluyeva. Let's hope that one of the specialists with information about this will respond to this publication. There is, of course, no reason to assume that this portrait is a masterpiece. But as a historical document, the painting is worth making every effort to find it.
Second wife
The official bibliography claims that Alliluyeva was with Stalin second wife. And in total in his entire life there were two women - both from families politicians Marxist persuasion.
The first and most powerful (according to the testimony of many contemporaries) love struck Soso Dzhugashvili at the age of 26. The heart of the future leader was briefly captured by the young daughter of a professional revolutionary, Ekaterina Svanidze (Kato). She reciprocated, which cannot be said about the girl’s relatives, who for the most part had a European education and “cooked better life for Russian workers" mainly abroad. At that time, of course, they could not imagine what kind of "Kremlin" future awaited the 26-year-old "ex" (a militant in the detachment of expropriators of financial resources for the needs of the party), so they did not want anything, so that the pampered Kato would connect her life with him. And yet young Joseph turned out to be so attractive to her that the girl agreed to get married secretly in the Church of St. David in June 1906.
"Ekaterina Svanidze was very beautiful girl, - testifies D. Volkogonov in the book "Triumph and Tragedy", - lovingly and devotedly looking at her big eyes to a husband who appeared and then disappeared for a long time. Family life was short. Merciless typhus robbed Stalin of the creature he might have truly loved. In the photograph depicting the funeral, Stalin, with a shock of unkempt hair, short and thin, stands at the head of the coffin with an expression of genuine grief."
Amazingly, Stalin met his second wife and love Nadezhda Alliluyeva three years before his first marriage in 1903, when he saved the drowning two-year-old daughter of his comrade in the revolutionary struggle. In July 1917, he met Nadezhda for the second time, for real, at her father’s apartment, where a secret meeting of members of the party’s Central Committee was taking place. A strong feeling immediately arose between them, although Stalin was more than 20 years older. Many contemporaries testify that until the last days of her life, Nadezhda Alliluyeva passionately and jealously loved her middle-aged chosen one. And it’s not surprising, because she was seething gypsy blood. Many believe that it was jealousy that was the reason that Nadezhda Sergeevna shot herself on the night of November 9, 1932 after a table clash with her husband, who was demonstratively showing signs of attention to another woman at a party.
Versions of the tragedy
Among the versions of Alliluyeva’s death there are still many the most contradictory: from her murder by Stalin or even Marshal Budyonny to her destruction by the special services. According to Stalin’s actual adopted son A. Sergeev and writer L. Vasilyeva, it was suicide the reason for which was an exacerbation of the disease. Nadezhda Sergeevna I often suffered from severe headaches. She apparently had an improper fusion of the bones of the cranial vault, and suicide is not uncommon in such cases. Larisa Vasilyeva writes:"What , for example, they talk about the death of Alliluyeva? Some suggest that she was killed by Budyonny, who was standing behind the curtain during Stalin’s conversation with his wife. Others say that they were Stalin’s assistants, because she was his political opponent. Still others say that Stalin shot her out of jealousy. But there is a boring truth of life: this woman had a serious brain disease. She went for treatment to Düsseldorf, where her brother’s family then lived. Difficult relations with Stalin certainly played a role. But the worst thing for Alliluyeva was the monstrous headaches that could lead to suicide... Real facts always less interesting than gossip.”
However, J.V. Stalin’s granddaughter Galina Dzhugashvili refutes this version: “She sometimes had migraine attacks, but, of course, that was not the reason for the fatal shot. Nadezhda shot herself after a quarrel with her grandfather (I.V. Stalin - S.T.), which took place at a banquet in Voroshilov’s house. She went to an apartment in the Kremlin, and he went to the dacha. In the evening, Nadezhda Sergeevna called him several times from the city, but he hung up and did not answer the phone again. Grandfather could not have foreseen how this would turn out...”
There are other versions. I happened to know someone who was already deceased former personal security guard Stalin by retired KGB major Alexei Trofimovich Rybin. He explained the reason for Alliluyeva’s suicide this way:
- The fact is that Alliluyeva was brought up in Leningrad in the circle of the Zinoviev opposition. Delved into politics statesmen. In addition, she had Enukidze and Bukharin as friends at home in Zubalovo, who had a rather strong influence on Alliluyeva, contrasting her with Stalin. On this basis, she and her husband had heated discussions on political topics and even quarrels. Nadezhda Alliluyeva communicated with some Trotskyists. When the prominent Trotskyist Joffe died, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Nadezhda Alliluyeva were at his burial in the cemetery. Zinoviev, in his speech over Joffe’s coffin, denounced Stalin and called him a traitor to the Motherland. I note that not a single wife of a Politburo member was present at the cemetery at Joffe’s funeral. Naturally, Stalin was upset and embittered by Nadezhda’s act. This is probably where we need to look for the cause of Alliluyeva’s death.
One way or another, but since 1932 Stalin found himself a widower again. Officially, from then on he lived, as people say, as a bog. To be honest, I tried more than once to start a frank conversation with Rybin on this topic, but the old security officer stubbornly remained silent. It broke through after Leonard Gendlin’s book “Confession of Stalin’s Mistress” was published in a Belarusian publishing house. In it, allegedly from the words of the former soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR Vera Davydova, it is said that she, as well as a number of other artists long time were Stalin's mistresses.
“It’s not true,” Rybin told me after reading the book. - Stalin was under our supervision all the time. After the death of Nadezhda Alliluyeva, security noticed his meetings with one and only woman - Ruzadan Pachkoria. Their relationship lasted from 1938 to 1953. Ruzadan was a widow, a famous pilot at that time (later she worked in senior positions in aviation), a dazzling beauty, Georgian by nationality, twenty years younger than the leader. She occasionally visited Stalin at his dacha. He also visited her in Moscow and Tbilisi apartments. The meetings were deeply secretive under the guise of consultations on aviation issues. We, the guards, did not tell anyone about this while Ruzadan Pachkoria was alive. But in Lately she does not respond to letters sent to her Tbilisi address. Apparently God took her soul. After all, Ruzadan was either born in 1907 or 1908.
It is not yet possible to confirm or refute this evidence. But in relation to another, previously unknown woman of Stalin, I was able to find interesting documents in the leader’s recently declassified personal archive. This is the file of the Baku Gendarme Directorate, which the leader once removed from the archive and kept in his desk. The documents tell the following story.
Failed prison wedding
On March 23, 1910, in one of the private houses in the Baku Fortress (the historical center of the city), a man, apparently Caucasian, and a young woman were arrested, who, according to surveillance agents, had been living together here for about six months without registration and using forged documents. During a search of the apartment, brochures and other documents with anti-government content were found. The man, who identified himself as Zakar Melikyants, also had a letter in his jacket pocket, which discussed some of the problems of the Baku committee of the RSDLP. The arrested person flatly denied his involvement in these documents. Together with his partner, he was taken to the security department.
It was no secret to the gendarmes that the man who called himself Melikyants was in fact a member of the Baku committee of the RSDLP, Joseph Dzhugashvili (underground nickname - Koba) and had been wanted by the police department since August 1909 as having escaped from exile. The arrested young woman turned out to be a native of Odessa, a member of the Baku organization of the RSDLP Stefania Leandrovna Petrovskaya.
During interrogation on March 26, the arrested person gave the following testimony: "My name is Joseph Vissarionov Dzhugashvili. I am 30 years old by birth. Orthodox religion. Georgian. Title - peasant of the Gori district of the Tiflis province. Occupation - domestic work. Marital status - single. Mother Ekaterina Golatyevna, born Geladze. I have no sisters or brothers. Mother lives in the city of Gori, Tiflis province. Economic situation parents have nothing. In 1894 he studied at the theological school in Gori, and from 1895 at the Tiflis Theological Seminary. He left there from the fifth grade in 1899.
I don’t consider myself to belong to any political parties. I have been living in the city of Baku for about 6 months without registration. I sleep wherever I can. My position is rather unstable. I looked for a job, but couldn’t find one.
In Baku, I bought from a person unknown to me an unlimited passport book, issued by the office of the Baku police chief in the name of Zakar Krikaryan Melikyants. The letter in Russian that was taken from me during the search was addressed to Petrovskaya, which, at the request of one woman, I had not yet managed to deliver. I met Stefania Petrovskaya in exile in the city of Solvychegodsk, Vologda province. I have no relationship with her."
Stefania Petrovskaya, during interrogation, took responsibility for possessing anti-government literature and also said: “I’ve been living in Baku for about six months. I came here from the Vologda province, where I was serving a term of administrative deportation. In the city of Baku, I lived in house No. 495 in the Fortress. I knew Dzhugashvili from exile and am cohabiting with him.”
This confession could lead to a serious scandal. On the one hand, if this information had gotten into the press, there would probably have been caustic gossip about the free relationships practiced between members of the Baku committee of the RSDLP, on the other hand, the extramarital love of communists was condemned in the party itself. The ambitious Joseph Dzhugashvili took his reputation seriously, so he probably could not allow revealing ridicule on this matter. And in order to give the publicized situation a more or less benign appearance, he did the usual trick for such cases: he created the illusion of serious intentions. The following document was produced: "To His Excellency Mr. Baku mayor from the detained political Joseph Dzhugashvili. I ask Your Excellency to allow me a legal marriage with Stefania Leandrova Petrovskaya, who lives in the city of Baku. Joseph Vissarionov Dzhugashvili.
The mayor asked the leadership of the gendarmerie department for an opinion on this matter. For some reason the request was answered in secret: "Secret.E
To your Excellency Mr. Baku mayor. I inform you that the petition of the administrative prisoner Joseph Vissarionov Dzhugashvili, who is being held in a Baku prison, for permission to enter into a legal marriage with Stefania Leandrova Petrovskaya, who lives in Baku, has no obstacles on my part. For the head of the gendarme department, Lieutenant Podolsky. 1910, September 10th day."
However, the marriage did not take place. At the same time, Joseph Dzhugashvili worked to reduce the punishment and quickly transfer him from a Baku prison to a softer regime - into exile. Apparently, one of his party comrades managed to bribe the prison doctors, and the mayor received the following petition from Joseph Dzhugashvili: “In view of my existing pulmonary tuberculosis, which was diagnosed by prison doctors Nesterov and Svetozerov simultaneously in May of this year, after which I have been lying in the prison hospital all the time, I have the honor to humbly ask Your Excellency to appoint a commission of doctors to examine me. Feeling the state of my health “that the commission will confirm what was said above by the mentioned doctors, and taking into account that during the arrest nothing reprehensible was found on me, I humbly ask Your Excellency to apply the least possible measure of restraint to me, speeding up the process of the case if possible.”
The mayor was loyal to Dzhugashvili’s request, who was soon sent to “finish off” the term of his previous exile, without imposing any additional punishment. But about future fate Stefania Petrovskaya It was not possible to find out anything. Most likely, she received a substantial sentence for possessing anti-government literature and working in a revolutionary organization, but it is unknown where she served it. Neither in the Stalinist archive, nor in historical literature It was not possible to find information about her further fate. In the file of the Baku gendarme department, preserved in Stalin’s personal archive, there is only the following data: Stefania Leandrova Petrovskaya, daughter of a nobleman of the Kherson province, passport book No. 777 issued by the Odessa police chief on August 9, 1906. From 1907 to 1909 she served exile in Solvychegodsk, Vologda province. That's all. In several brochures published in Baku before 1929, Stefania Petrovskaya is mentioned as an active member of the Baku organization of the RSDLP. After 1929, her name disappeared from the pages of the party press.
Much in this story, in my opinion, can be explained by the struggle between Trotsky and Stalin for the possession of the so-called “red card index”. It represents documentary dirt collected by the Tsarist secret police on the most important leaders of the Bolshevik organization. Trotsky published some of it regarding Stalin in the foreign press in 1927. After this, on the instructions of the leader, OGPU workers under the leadership of Genrikh Yagoda began a search for the “red card file.” Judging by the fact that there is no information about Stefania Petrovskaya directly in the funds of the Tsarist secret police, they could have been confiscated for the “red card file,” from where, with the help of Yagoda’s henchmen migrated to Stalin's personal archive. Perhaps he destroyed some unpleasant documents, and for some reason left some “as a keepsake.” This “something” was discovered only today, since Stalin’s personal archive was completely classified until recently and only certain researchers, for example Dmitry Volkogonov, had the opportunity to selectively familiarize themselves with some documents. And their array is such that not everything has yet been reviewed and professionally evaluated. Findings that could lift the veil of secrecy over the fate of Stefania Petrovskaya are also quite possible.
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Disclaimer: Russia Beyond has a sharply negative attitude towards the actions and actions of Joseph Stalin. The following text is for historical purposes only.
Katya Svanidze: wife from a poor family
It was said about Stalin's first wife, Ekaterina Svanidze, that when her husband's friends appeared in the house, she hid under the table out of embarrassment.
Katya met Stalin thanks to her brother Alexander - they studied together at the Tiflis Theological Seminary. 24-year-old Stalin fell in love and wanted to marry Katya, a Georgian from a poor family who was 16 years old at the time. He received consent, but with one condition - to get married in a church.
Batum Gendarme Administration; Public access
They got married in 1906, and in the same year Katya gave birth to a son, Yakov. But already in 1907 she died. According to one version - from tuberculosis, according to another - from typhoid fever. Stalin, according to eyewitnesses, was so depressed that at the funeral he jumped into the grave after the coffin.
Love, however, did not save the wife’s relatives. In the 1930s, Katya's brother and Stalin's classmate was repressed and died in custody, as did his wife Maria. She died in exile from a broken heart when she learned of her husband's death.
Maria and Lida: a romance in exile
After the death of Katya the Revolutionary, Stalin was exiled in Siberia five times, and at least twice had affairs with women from whom he rented a room. One of them was called Maria Kuzakova. In 1911, a young widow and her children allowed Stalin into her house, they began a relationship and she became pregnant. But already in 1912, Stalin’s exile ended and he continued his revolutionary activities far from Siberia. He did not wait for the birth of his son Kostya.
Public Access/Getty Images
The other woman's name was Lida Pereprygina. Peasant Lida was only 14 years old at the time of her affair with 37-year-old Stalin. He lived with her from 1914 to 1916, and during this time the girl gave birth to two children. The first one died. The second was born in April 1917 and was recorded as Alexander Dzhugashvili (under real name Stalin). In the village, Stalin was persecuted for molesting a minor, and he had to give his word that he would marry Lida. But as soon as the period of exile expired, Stalin left the village.
Both women subsequently wrote to Stalin and asked for help, but received no response from him. Instead, in the 1930s, they were forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement not to disclose the “secrets of the origin” of their children.
Nadezhda Alliluyeva: a shot in the heart
Stalin lived with his second wife for 12 years. He remembered Nadezhda as a little girl, as he spent a lot of time with her mother Olga, a married woman, in Baku. According to some accounts, he saved little Nadya when she fell into the sea from the Baku embankment.
However, they became closely acquainted when 37-year-old Joseph Stalin returned from Siberian exile. Nadya was 16 years old, she fell in love without memory. Two years later they got married. Contemporaries said that there was love and strong feelings in this marriage. But in the end it all ended in suicide. Nadezhda shot herself in the heart with a Walter pistol in 1931. The housekeeper found her on the floor next to her bed.
According to one version, she was experiencing a deep crisis due to her husband’s cruelty. “In the presence of Joseph, Nadya resembled a fakir who performs in the circus barefoot on broken glass with a smile for the audience and with terrible tension in his eyes. She never knew what would happen next, what an explosion,” her close friend Irina Gogua.
Another version that was rumored: that Stalin, during another quarrel, said to his wife, “Do you know that you are my daughter?” Journalist Olga Kuchkina, whose relatives were friends with Alliluyeva, writes about this. Nadezhda Alliluyeva herself, at the request of Stalin, had an abortion ten times.
Olga Lepeshinskaya and Vera Davydova: love from the stage
"Ballerinas and typists." So about the preferences of the Soviet elite, Maria Svanidze in her diary. They said that Olga Lepeshinskaya was Stalin’s favorite among the ballerinas, although she herself never recognized the connection. Only one thing was obvious: he loved to visit the Bolshoi Theater when her name was on the posters. Stalin gave her flowers and invited her to receptions. Many years later, in 2004, she would say about it this way: “We [the ballerinas] were all in love with him. He could be very sweet and very good, but it was probably just an illusion. Because by nature he was a bad person - vengeful and angry."
There were fewer doubts about the opera singer Vera Davydova. The book “Confession of Stalin’s Mistress” with her memoirs was published in London in 1983 (but is not recognized by Davydova’s relatives). Their relationship, according to the book, lasted 19 years.
In 1932, married Davydova discovered a note at a reception in the Kremlin. It said that a driver was waiting for her not far from the Kremlin. Davydova went to a mysterious meeting. She was taken to Stalin's home. After strong coffee, Stalin invited her into a room with a large, low couch. He asked if he could turn off the light because it was better for conversation, and without waiting for an answer, he turned it off. In subsequent meetings, he could simply say, “Comrade Davydov, take off your clothes.”
“How could I resist, refuse? At any second, just one word, my career could end or I could be physically destroyed,” she allegedly reasoned. During her relationship with Stalin, Davydova received a warrant for a three-room apartment in Moscow and became a Stalin Prize laureate three times.
Valya Istomina: the last woman
Valya Istomina, Stalin's personal housekeeper, had to endure perhaps the most severe shock.
Initially, it was “intended” for General Nikolai Vlasik, Stalin’s head of security. But many then were in love with her and wanted to court her, including Lavrentiy Beria, head of the NKVD. When Valya attracted Stalin himself, everyone else retreated. The girl was transferred to his Moscow dacha in Kuntsevo: she personally set the table for him and made his bed before bed.
Public Access/Global Look Press
The drama happened seventeen years later, when Stalin fell ill, and Valya did not go to see him. Then it turned out that she was forced into a close relationship by Vlasik and Beria. Having learned about the “treason,” Stalin will give the order to exile Valya to the most sinister camp in Kolyma, Magadan. Vlasik will also be arrested and sent to a camp, but Beria will not be touched yet.
Fortunately for Valya, upon arrival at the camp, she will be informed that the order has been changed and she is being returned back. They say that Stalin was too tormented by her absence.
After Stalin’s death, his daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva will write about Valya in “Twenty Letters to a Friend”: “She fell to her knees near the sofa, fell with her head on the dead man’s chest and cried out loud, as in the village. ... Until her last days she will be convinced that there was no better person in the world than my father.”
