Why Stalin refused the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Military pensioners for Russia and its armed forces What title did Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin have?

The highest award for Labor, from the Peoples of Russia.

On December 20, 1939, for exceptional services in organizing the Communist Party, creating the Soviet state, building a socialist society in the USSR and strengthening friendship between peoples, Comrade Stalin was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

Why Stalin refused the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

I want to write not only about a historical moment, but just about a hint at one moment in our history that still remains unnoticed.

Since the Civil War in the USSR, awards “for battle and for labor” were established. Stalin could not refuse to award them, since this would be a disdain for state awards, although Stalin himself never wore orders, making an exception only for the star of the Hero of Socialist Labor, which, since he was awarded this title in 1939, appears from time to time on his chest. In total, before the war he had three orders - the Order of Lenin and two of the Red Banner.

During the war, he began to command all front-line operations and received five more awards - one Order of Lenin, two Orders of Victory, one of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree (as for another Order of Lenin, I will talk about it separately). That is, Stalin, like all marshals of the USSR, accepted the awards due to him, since he was obliged to accept them, and, most likely, agreed that he deserved them.

Marshal Timoshenko, who for a year and a half on the eve of the war was the People's Commissar (Minister) of Defense, fought well during the war and was awarded six orders - one Order of Lenin, one Order of Victory, three Orders of Suvorov 1st degree and one Red Banner. That is, he was awarded even more orders than Stalin.

Marshal Voroshilov, from 1925 to the beginning of 1940, was People's Commissar of Defense. During the war he was awarded three orders - one Order of Lenin, one Order of Suvorov 1st degree and one Red Banner.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union began to be awarded to military leaders from the moment this award was established; Zhukov, for example, had this title for Khalkhin Gol, Marshals Kulik and Timoshenko for the Finnish War, and General Stern for leading troops in Spain for fulfilling his international duty. That is, awarding the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to the senior command staff of the Red Army was already an established practice. Accordingly, during the Great Patriotic War, the awarding of this rank to senior military commanders continued, but in sharply increased numbers. Some were awarded this title twice (Marshals Rokossovsky, Zhukov), and at the end of the war and following its results, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was generally awarded with a chokh, and the lists of awarded generals included those who, in all conscience, should have been shot.

However, Marshals Timoshenko and Voroshilov were not awarded this title either during the war or following its results. It turns out that Stalin, when approving the lists of those nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, simply crossed out these commanders, although throughout the war he agreed with awarding them with military orders. For example, Stalin three times nominated Tymoshenko to be awarded the highest military order of Suvorov, 1st degree (Zhukov has only two of them, Stalin has one), and nominated Tymoshenko to be awarded the unique Order of Victory, that is, he believed that Tymoshenko deserved these orders. But I didn’t consider him a hero! Why??

One more moment. Not a single commissar (later “member of the military council”) became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Although such political workers as Khrushchev, Brezhnev and, especially, Mehlis cannot be accused of cowardice. Commissar Poppel, who fought the remnants of his corps 800 km behind German lines, wrote that such instructions regarding the commissars were received from the beginning of the war.

So why, in Stalin’s understanding, are the pre-war people’s commissars and all commissars in general not heroes?

I think that's what it's all about.

By June 22, 1941, the Red Army had everything from the Soviet people to defeat the Germans - excellent human material (even Zhukov considered the main factor in the victory of the young Soviet soldier), completely modern weapons and equipment, and, most importantly, all this in quantities that exceeded weapons and equipment Germans. The Red Army had enough ammunition, fuel and equipment. But it suffered shameful defeats in 1941, giving the Germans vast territories of the USSR and almost 40% of the population. Was Stalin tormented by the question, why?? I think I suffered from the start of the war and for the rest of my life. And I think that he saw the reason for these defeats in the abomination that the Red Army personnel showed in the war - he saw mass meanness, betrayal, cowardice, inability to fight and contempt for the lives of soldiers. The personnel command staff of the Red Army preserved all this abomination and kept it intact from the tsarist officers, and at the beginning of the war this tsarist officer abomination in the Red Army remained uneradicated.

And the ministers of defense and commissars were responsible for the quality of the army's command staff.

But why did Stalin never mention this in a word? Because nothing like that could be said out loud during the war and immediately after it. Start talking about this general-officer meanness or even shooting for it during the war, and trust in the command staff will collapse, accordingly, the army will not exist, but even with the victory over the Germans and Japanese, the military threat to the USSR constantly remained, given the US superiority in atomic weapons.

But what about Stalin himself? He’s the leader, isn’t it his fault that this composition of the Red Army command is not his fault? Yes, he was the leader, yes, he was responsible for everything. And, if I understand correctly, Stalin understood and accepted this guilt.

When, immediately after the end of the war with the Germans, all front commanders signed a collective petition to the Presidium of the Supreme Council to award their commander-in-chief the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR granted this request - it awarded Stalin this title with the presentation of the Gold Star and the Order of Lenin. But Stalin categorically refused to accept the signs of these awards, and for the first time they appeared only on the pillows near his coffin. (Later, artists began to paint on his portraits both a star and another Order of Lenin, but during his lifetime Stalin not only did not wear them, but also did not receive them). Stalin did not consider himself a Hero of the Soviet Union.

(Yu. Mukhin)

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that even here they could not do without lies. Order No. 270 clearly condemns those who gave up captured, and not those who were captured... All military personnel who were captured and released from it passed through filtration camps. So, in total, as a result of the war, over 90% of Soviet military personnel released from captivity, having successfully passed the necessary checks , returned to duty or were sent to work in industry. The number of those arrested was about 4% and about the same number were sent to penal battalions...

And as always, the icing on the cake:

fkmrf123 » Georgy Shakhov Today 08:29

For those who were interested in knowing all this in detail, it may not be a novelty. But for those who came across such a “truth” by accident, it simply turns out to be an amazing fact.

Mikhail Naida » fkmrf123 Today 08:48

Stalin did not consider himself a Hero. And it is right. A Hero is a specific act, in a specific place... who does in the Name of People what the absolute majority... are not capable of. Later, parasites and hangers-on (mostly Jews) spoiled this Title by starting to reward each other in order to please their own ego. A typical example today is the title of academician... 90% of whom, in essence, are moldy scum... have no right to this once honorable title... have no right. In the State, there may be a couple of awards left that the Jews have not yet turned into tchotchkes... I believe these are the Order of Victory and the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called with Swords. Yes, sir...

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin(real name Dzhugashvili; December 9 (21), 1879, Gori, Tiflis province - March 5, 1953, Kuntsevo, Moscow region) - Russian Bolshevik revolutionary, a prominent figure in the international communist and labor movement, Soviet political, state, military and party figure, an outstanding theorist and propagandist.

As a statesman, J.V. Stalin held the positions of People's Commissar for Nationalities of the RSFSR (1917-1923), People's Commissar for State Control of the RSFSR (1919-1920), People's Commissar of the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate of the RSFSR (1920-1922); Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (1941-1946), Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (1946-1953). Since 1941, Stalin held the highest military positions of the USSR: Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR (since 1941), Chairman of the State Defense Committee (1941-1945), People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR (1941-1946), People's Commissar of the Armed Forces of the USSR (1946-1947) . Stalin was also elected a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (1917-1937) and the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (1922-1938), as well as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st-3rd convocations.

Stalin also held senior party positions: member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (1919-1952), General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks (1922-1925), General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (1925-1934), Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (1925-1934), b) (1934-1952), member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee (1952-1953), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (1952-1953). From 1925 to 1943 - member of the Executive Committee.

Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), Generalissimo of the Soviet Union (1945). Honorary member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1939). Hero of Socialist Labor (1939), Hero of the Soviet Union (1945), holder of two Orders of Victory (1943, 1945).

Biography

Childhood and youth

Joseph Stalin was born on December 21, 1879 in the city of Gori, Tiflis province. His father, Vissarion Ivanovich, was a Georgian by nationality, came from the peasants of the village of Didi-Lilo, Tiflis province, a shoemaker by profession, later a worker at the Adelkhanov shoe factory in Tiflis. Mother - Ekaterina Georgievna - from the family of serf peasant Geladze in the village of Gambareuli.

In the fall of 1888, Stalin entered the Gori Theological School. In July 1894, upon graduating from college, Joseph was noted as the best student. His certificate contains the highest score - 5 (“excellent”) in most subjects. In September 1894, Joseph, having brilliantly passed the entrance exams, was enrolled in the Orthodox Tiflis Theological Seminary, which was located in the center of Tiflis.

In Russia during these years, due to the development of industrial capitalism and the growth of the labor movement, it began to spread widely. The St. Petersburg "" "" created and led by Lenin gave a powerful impetus to the development of the Social Democratic movement throughout the country. The waves of the labor movement also reached Transcaucasia, where capitalism had already penetrated and where national-colonial oppression was strong. Transcaucasia was a typical colony of Russian tsarism, an economically backward, agrarian country, with strong remnants of serfdom, a country inhabited by numerous nationalities living in stripes, interspersed with each other.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, capitalism began to develop rapidly in Transcaucasia, subjecting workers and peasants to predatory exploitation, exacerbating national-colonial oppression. The mining industry, oil extraction and processing, where the main positions were captured by foreign capital, developed especially quickly. With the advent of railways and the first factories and factories, a working class appeared in the Caucasus. Oil industry Baku, a large industrial and labor center in the Caucasus, developed especially quickly.

The development of industrial capitalism was accompanied by the growth of the labor movement. In the 90s, Russian Marxists exiled there carried out revolutionary work in Transcaucasia. The propaganda of Marxism began in Transcaucasia. The Tiflis Orthodox Seminary was then a breeding ground for all kinds of liberation ideas among young people, both populist-nationalist and Marxist-internationalist; it was full of various secret circles. The Jesuit regime that dominated the seminary aroused violent protest in Stalin, nourished and strengthened revolutionary sentiments in him. Fifteen-year-old Stalin becomes a revolutionary.

Stalin himself later recalled:

I joined the revolutionary movement at the age of 15, when I contacted underground groups of Russian Marxists who then lived in Transcaucasia. These groups had a great influence on me and gave 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" five poems by young Stalin were published, 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” was included in the collection “Georgian Reader” in 1907, among selected masterpieces of Georgian poetry.

In 1896-1897, Stalin headed the Marxist circles of the seminary. In August 1898, he formally joined the Tiflis organization. Stalin became a member of the Mesame Dasi group, the first Georgian social democratic organization that played a well-known positive role in the dissemination of the ideas of Marxism in 1893-1898. “Mesame Dasi” was not politically homogeneous - its majority took the position of “legal Marxism” and leaned towards bourgeois nationalism. Stalin, Ketskhoveli, Tsulukidze formed the leading core of the revolutionary Marxist minority “Mesame Dasi”, which became the embryo of revolutionary social democracy in Georgia.

Stalin works hard and hard on himself. He studies "Capital", "Manifesto of the Communist Party" and other works of Marx and Engels, gets acquainted with the works directed against populism, "legal Marxism" and "". Even then, Lenin's works made a deep impression on Stalin. " I must see him at all costs“Said Stalin, having read the work of Tulin (Lenin), recalls one of the comrades who knew Stalin closely at that time. Stalin's range of theoretical inquiries is extremely wide - he studies philosophy, political economy, history, natural sciences, and reads classics of fiction. Stalin becomes an educated Marxist.

During this period, Stalin carried out intensive propaganda work in workers' circles, participated in illegal workers' meetings, wrote leaflets, and organized strikes. This was the first school of revolutionary practical work that Stalin went through among the advanced proletarians of Tiflis. Stalin later wrote:

Classes of Marxist workers' circles in Tiflis were held according to the program drawn up by Stalin. On December 14-19, 1898, a six-day strike of railway workers took place in Tiflis, one of the initiators of which was seminarian Joseph Dzhugashvili. On April 19, 1899, Joseph Dzhugashvili took part in a work day in Tiflis.

In the seminary, where strict surveillance of the “suspicious” was established, they begin to guess about Stalin’s illegal revolutionary work. On May 29, 1899, he was expelled from the seminary for promoting Marxism. For some time, Stalin interrupted himself with lessons, and then (in December 1899) he went to work at the Tiflis Physical Observatory as a computer-observer, without stopping his revolutionary activities for a minute.

Revolutionary activities

1900 - 1905

Already at that time, Stalin was one of the most energetic and prominent workers of the Tiflis Social Democratic organization. During the period 1898-1900. The leading central social democratic group of the Tiflis organization took shape and took shape... The Tiflis central social democratic group carried out enormous revolutionary propaganda and organizational work to create an illegal social democratic party organization. Stalin heads this group.

Stalin during the period of preparation and implementation

On March 8, 1917, Stalin left Achinsk and sent a welcoming telegram to Lenin in Switzerland.

On March 12, 1917, Stalin was again in St. Petersburg, the revolutionary capital of Russia. The Central Committee of the Party entrusts Stalin with the leadership of the newspaper Pravda.

The Bolshevik Party had just emerged from underground. Many of the most prominent and active members of the party were returning from distant exiles and prisons. Lenin was in exile. delayed his arrival with all sorts of measures. During this crucial period, Stalin rallied the party to fight for the development of the bourgeois-democratic revolution into a socialist one. Stalin, together with Molotov, leads the activities of the Central Committee and the St. Petersburg Committee of the Bolsheviks. In Stalin's articles the Bolsheviks received fundamental guidelines for their work. In his first article, “On the Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies,” Stalin wrote about the main task of the party:

Stalin, Molotov and others, together with the majority of the party, defended the policy of no confidence in the imperialist Provisional Government, opposed Menshevik-SR defencism and against the semi-Menshevik position of conditional support for the Provisional Government, which was occupied by Kamenev and others.

On April 3, 1917, after a long exile, he returned to Russia. Comrade Stalin and a delegation of workers went to meet Lenin at the Beloostrov station. Lenin's meeting at the Finland Station in Petrograd resulted in a powerful revolutionary demonstration. The day after his arrival, Lenin spoke with the famous April Theses, which gave the party a brilliant plan for the struggle for the transition from the bourgeois-democratic revolution to the socialist revolution.

In his speech “Trotskyism or Leninism?”, delivered at the plenum of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions faction in November 1924, Stalin indicated that in the fight against Trotskyism during this period, “the task of the party is to bury Trotskyism as an ideological movement.” He pointed out to the party that in the conditions of that time Trotskyism was the main danger. Stalin proved that the ideological defeat of Trotskyism is a condition necessary to ensure further victorious movement forward towards socialism.

Stalin’s theoretical work “On the Foundations of Leninism,” published in 1924, was of great importance in the matter of the ideological defeat of Trotskyism, in the matter of defense, justification and development.

This work provides an account of the foundations of Leninism, that is, that new and special thing that is associated with the name of Lenin, that Lenin contributed to the development of Marxist theory. Stalin showed how Lenin developed it further, in the conditions of a new era, the era of imperialism and proletarian revolutions.

In December 1924, Stalin’s famous work “The October Revolution and the Tactics of Russian Communists” was published. In this work, substantiating Lenin's position on the victory of socialism in one country, Stalin showed that it is necessary to distinguish between two sides of this issue: domestic and international. The internal side is the question of the relationships between classes within the country building socialism; international is the question of the relationship between the USSR, still the only socialist country, and the capitalist environment. The workers and peasants of the USSR are quite capable of coping with internal difficulties on their own; they are fully capable of overcoming their own bourgeoisie economically and building a complete socialist society. But as long as the capitalist encirclement exists, there is also the danger of capitalist intervention against the USSR and the restoration of capitalism. To eliminate this danger, it is necessary to destroy the capitalist environment itself, and the destruction of the capitalist environment is possible only as a result of the victory of the proletarian revolution in at least several countries. Only then can the victory of socialism in the USSR be considered a complete, final victory.

These provisions of Stalin formed the basis of the resolution of the XIV Party Conference (April 1925).

In December 1925, the XIV Party Congress opened. In the political report of the Central Committee, Stalin painted a vivid picture of the growing political and economic power of the Soviet Union. However, Stalin said, we cannot be satisfied with these successes, because the country continues to remain backward and agrarian. In order to ensure the economic independence of the Soviet country and strengthen its defense capability, in order to create the economic base necessary for the victory of socialism, it is necessary to transform the country from an agricultural one to an industrial one. At the XIV Congress, Stalin emphasized that the most important task of the party is a strong alliance of the working class with the middle peasants in the construction of socialism.

The XIV Congress approved the main task of the party to carry out socialist industrialization and fight for the victory of socialism in the USSR.

During the period of struggle against the inner-party groups of Trotskyists, Zinovievites, Bukharinites, the leadership core of the CPSU (b) was finally formed after Lenin’s failure, consisting of Stalin, Molotov, Kalinin, Voroshilov, Kuibyshev, Frunze, Dzerzhinsky, Kaganovich, Ordzhonikidze, Kirov, Yaroslavsky, Mikoyan, Andreev, Shvernik, Zhdanov, Shkiryatov and others. The de facto leader of this core and the leading force of the party and state by the end of the 20s. became J.V. Stalin.

Having the full support of the Soviet people, Stalin, however, did not allow conceit, arrogance, or narcissism in his activities. Thus, in his interview with the German writer Ludwig, noting the great role of Lenin in the transformation of Russia, Stalin declares himself.

Frankly, an extremely ridiculous myth. The fact is that Stalin never suffered from a craving for awards. And everyone knew this well. It appears that this happened due to one circumstance. Our scribblers are very fond of attributing all their vile traits to the one in relation to whom the authorities give the command “face”. So they ordered to throw mud at Stalin in every possible way - and they are trying. They invent all sorts of dirt, just to please the authorities and snatch a fatter piece from it. Under Stalin they could not do this. To curry favor with Stalin, the famous poet Osip Mandelstam, for example, wrote more than fifty laudatory poems about him. I even composed an ode. Did not help. Especially when the ode appeared. With this, Mandelstam finally brought Stalin out of patience and the order was sent to send him away from the capital, to Vladivostok (note, not to logging, but to the capital of the Soviet Far East). Stalin did not tolerate sycophants, or rather, he hated them with fierce hatred. Because he believed that “a helpful bastard is worse than an enemy.” The situation was exactly the same with awards, especially military ones.

In his famous book “The Work of a Whole Life,” Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky wrote: “Stalin firmly entered military history. His undoubted merit is that under his direct leadership as Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the Soviet Armed Forces survived defensive campaigns and brilliantly carried out all offensive operations. But he, as far as I could observe him, never spoke about his merits. And he had fewer awards than the commanders of fronts and armies.”

What awards did Stalin have, who stood at the helm of power in the USSR for more than 30 years? After all, the great are not without human weaknesses - they are also living people. In paintings and photographs of many famous historical figures - both state, political and military - all are depicted with a huge number of various awards. Our marshals and generals, especially during wartime, are literally hung from head to toe with all kinds of awards. Their ceremonial tunics weigh almost one and a half pounds. But on Stalin’s jacket only one modest star of the Hero of Socialist Labor always sparkled. He received it in 1939 along with the first Order of Lenin. In this regard, it is interesting to note the following. Unlike Hitler, who on principle wore only one of his two Iron Crosses on his tunic, that is, a purely militaristic order, Stalin preferred to wear only the star of the Hero of Socialist Labor, thereby clearly emphasizing the peaceful orientation of his activities at the head of the state and party.

As for the awards, Stalin had 14 of them in total. His first award was the Order of the Red Banner, which he received on the initiative of Lenin and on the basis of the resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of November 27, 1919 “for services on the fronts of the civil war.” Stalin received the second Order of the Red Banner (at that time there was no division into combat and labor) in February 1930 - the Central Executive Committee of the USSR took into account numerous petitions from a number of organizations, general meetings of workers, peasants and Red Army soldiers and awarded Stalin “for his services on the fronts of socialist construction " By the way, the formulation is very remarkable - it turns out that both among the people and at the top everyone understood perfectly well that the large-scale socialist transformations carried out under the leadership of Stalin were, in essence, a war for the construction of socialism. It is unlikely that they were all wrong, for this was truly a war. Resistance to these transformations was fierce. In total, Stalin had three Orders of the Red Banner.

The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, to Stalin on November 6, 1943 “for the correct leadership of the operations of the Red Army in the Patriotic War against the Nazi invaders and the successes achieved.” Please note the date. By that time, it was already clear to a blind man that a radical turning point in the war had long since taken place - 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 washed away their well-deserved (and some undeserved) military and other orders and medals more than once, and Stalin received the 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 the first medal - “For the Defense of Moscow” in the Kremlin. The wording of the decree was as follows: “for leading the heroic defense of Moscow and organizing the defeat of German troops near Moscow.” Again, pay attention to the date of awarding this medal - by that time, the military leaders awarded such a medal, who took part in the defense of Moscow and in the defeat of Nazi troops near Moscow, had sobered up more than once after numerous libations about such an award. And Stalin had just received it on June 20, 1944.

Incidentally, there is one notable incident associated with this medal that occurred at a lesser-known high command banquet that took place before the famous Victory Banquet. According to what is given in the book “Fathers-Commanders. Stars on shoulder straps - stars on graves" to the description of Yu. I. Mukhin, the situation was like this: "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 strange. Senior military leaders began to give signs to him (that is, Zhukov. - A.M.) signal for a smoke break. Zhukov asked Stalin to take a break. The leader gave permission. He himself smoked a pipe at the table, and everyone went into the smoking room. Here, the commanders of the front troops asked Marshal Zhukov to begin a short speech so that they could continue the toast in honor of the first Marshal of Victory.

Zhukov began his toast speech something like this: “If you had asked me when it was hardest for me during the entire war, I would have answered that in the fall and winter during the defense of Moscow, when the fate of the Soviet Union was practically decided.”

Having listened in silence to this tirade of Zhukov, Stalin suddenly interrupted him with the words: “Now you, Comrade Zhukov, remembered the defense of Moscow. It is true that it was a very difficult time. This was the first victorious battle of our army in defense of the capital. Do you know that many of its defenders, even generals who were wounded and distinguished themselves in battle, were not awarded awards and cannot receive them because they became disabled!”

Zhukov responded to this reproach as follows: “Comrade Stalin, like you, I am also not awarded for this battle, although almost all the employees of the General Staff were awarded the Order of Lenin (Shaposhnikov, Antonov, Vatutin, Shtemenko and others). I fully admit that I made a mistake in this matter, and we will correct it.”

Then Stalin hit the table with his fist so hard that the crystal stem of a tall wine glass broke off, and red wine spilled onto the tablecloth. The leader, interrupting Zhukov, said: “And at the same time, you did not forget to reward your b...s.” There was deathly silence, during which Stalin stood up, left the table and never returned.”

Stalin’s third medal was “For 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 highest Soviet military order "Victory" with the wording "for exceptional services in organizing and conducting offensive operations of the Red Army, which led to the largest defeat of the German army and a radical change in the situation on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders in favor of the Red Army." The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded the second Order of Victory to Stalin on June 26, 1945 with the wording “for exceptional services 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 people were awarded the Order of Victory twice - Marshals of the Soviet Union I.V. Stalin, A.M. Vasilevsky and G.K. Zhukov.

The day after being awarded the second Order of Victory, on June 27, 1945, Marshal of the Soviet Union Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin (second) and the Gold Star medal as “who led the Red Army in the difficult days of defense our Motherland and its capital Moscow, who led the fight against Nazi Germany with exceptional courage and determination.” On the bust by the sculptor Yatsyno, Stalin is depicted in an open overcoat, and on his jacket two stars of the Hero are visible - Socialist Labor and the Soviet Union, which in reality never happened.

Stalin never wore the Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union, not considering himself worthy of this title, since he believed that since he did not personally take part in hostilities at the front and did not perform any feats at the front, he had no right to such a title. By the way, having learned about this award, he expressed extremely sharp dissatisfaction with it and uttered a harsh word to those who were overly efficient in issuing such a decree - “sycophants.”

Simultaneously with the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, on the written proposal of the front commanders, Stalin was awarded the highest military rank - Generalissimo of the Soviet Union. By the way, at the same time they wanted to establish the Order of Stalin, but Joseph Vissarionovich was deeply indignant at such sycophancy and categorically rejected such a proposal.

In 1949, in connection with his 70th anniversary, Stalin was awarded the third Order of Lenin. This was the last award in his life.

A total of 9 orders and 5 medals - 14 awards, among which not a single foreign one. Frankly speaking, in comparison with the multi-pound “iconostasis” of the same marshals and generals of the Victory, it is extremely sparse. Well, if we compare it with the unforgettable Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, who had 120 awards, Comrade Stalin was completely deprived, as he himself ordered to be called in response to attempts to address him as “Comrade Generalissimo of the Soviet Union.”

This is how Stalin “loved to reward himself.” And of the available awards, he most valued the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. Because there was a creator!

Joseph Vissarionovich

Battles and victories

By uniting state and military leadership in one person during the Great Patriotic War, Stalin is equally responsible for defeats and losses - and can be considered the creator of the Great Victory.

From June 30, 1941 - Chairman of the State Defense Committee; from June 23 he became part of the Headquarters of the High Command, and from July 10 he headed the Headquarters of the Supreme Command. From July 19, 1941 - People's Commissar of Defense (until March 1947); from August 8, 1941 - Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR (until September 1945). Generalissimo of the Soviet Union (1945). Hero of the Soviet Union (1945).

Activities to prepare the country for war: industry, army, international affairs

During the interwar period, Stalin's activities as head of the Soviet state were largely determined by the tasks of strengthening the foreign policy positions of the USSR and creating economic, industrial and technical foundations for the country's defense in the event of involvement in a new world war.

The key decision of the Soviet government, taken on the initiative and with the direct participation of Stalin, was the policy to implement a program of forced modernization. After the shocks of the Revolution, the First World War and the Civil War, Russia found itself in incredible backwardness and ruin. The scale and severity of the problems facing the country were well understood not only by all representatives of the Soviet ruling elite, but also by Western politicians and analysts. Stalin formulated the task facing the country as follows: “We are 100 years behind the advanced capitalist countries. Either we will cover this distance in 10 years, or we will be crushed.”

The painting, popularly called “Two Leaders after the Rain.” I.V. Stalin and K.E. Voroshilov in the Kremlin. Artist A. Gerasimov

In the 1930s In the USSR, an industrialization program was launched, during which some of the most important industries for the country's defense capability were, in fact, re-created: machine tool manufacturing, instrument making, automotive, and aviation. Gross industrial output by 1941 increased compared to 1913 by 7.7 times, the production of means of production by 13.4 times, mechanical engineering and metalworking by 30 times, and the power supply of labor by 5 times. In terms of gross output of mechanical engineering, oil production and tractor production, the USSR took first place in Europe and third in the world; in coal mining and cement production - third in Europe. In 1940, the Soviet Union produced 14.9 million tons of pig iron (3.5 times more than in 1913), 18.3 million tons of steel (4.3 times more), 166 million tons of coal (5.7 times more), oil 31.1 million tons (3 times more), electricity produced 48.6 billion kW/h. To increase the survivability of the economy in case of war, special importance was attached to the accelerated development of industry in the eastern regions of the country. In 1940, the share of the eastern regions in the production of the most important types of products amounted to 25-30% of all-Union production.

Despite Stalin’s enormous busyness as the de facto leader of the party and state, he personally thoroughly delved into the main issues of creating new types of weapons and technical equipment for the Red Army. In the 1930s Design bureaus and experimental workshops were created at leading defense enterprises. Among other things, this made it possible to accelerate the development of new types of military equipment, primarily tanks (T-34 and KV) and aircraft (Yak-1, Mig-3, LaGG-3, Il-2, Pe-2), as well as anti-aircraft guns and other types of weapons.

On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, Stalin hatched extensive plans for a radical transformation and increase in the combat power of the Red Army and Navy, designed for several years to come. “When all this is done by us,” he said, “Hitler will not dare to attack the Soviet Union.” Unfortunately, the war found our country and its armed forces at the stage of reorganization, rearmament, retraining of the army and navy, creation of state reserves and mobilization reserves. At the same time, many potential opportunities were not rationally used.

In general, in the pre-war period, the Soviet Union made a huge leap in industrial development and strengthening of defense potential. It was founded in the 1930s. under Stalin's leadership, the economic base made possible military resistance to Hitler's aggression in 1941-1945. As the war showed, the created system had enormous vitality and potential, the mobilization of which in the first period of the war, after severe defeats, the occupation of a significant part of the territory and the loss of material and human resources, allowed the country in 1942-1943. reverse the unfortunate course of events, survive and win.

As head of state, Stalin was also directly involved in foreign policy issues. Before the war, it was necessary to create favorable foreign policy conditions for the defense of the country. On the initiative of Stalin in the early 1930s. A turn was initiated in the international policy of the USSR, which implied the abandonment of confrontational confrontation with the entire “Western World” and cooperation with “non-aggressive” capitalist countries in order to delay the outbreak of a new world war. Milestones on this path were the USSR's entry into the League of Nations, the restoration of relations with the United States, and the conclusion of mutual assistance agreements with France and Czechoslovakia. This policy met with opposition from those circles in the West who counted on a clash between the USSR and Germany, first encouraging Hitler’s revanchist aspirations and then pushing him to expand to the East. In addition, the strengthening of the military alliance between Germany and Japan, which threatened the prospect of their joint military action against our country, posed a great danger to the USSR.

Nazi caricature.
Stalin: “Our people are our most valuable capital.”
Munich, 1935

Before the conclusion of the Munich Agreement of 1938, the Soviet leadership hoped that the security of the Soviet Union could be ensured through equal cooperation with the “Western democracies.” After the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, the defeat of the Republicans in the war against fascism in Spain, as well as in the conditions of the undeclared war with Japan (military conflicts near Lake Khasan and the Khalkhin Gol River), the appropriateness of this foreign policy course was questioned. However, in 1939-1941. Stalin and Molotov managed, by concluding non-aggression treaties with Germany and neutrality with Japan, to split the united front of potential opponents and remain aloof from the Second World War that began in Europe. As a result, Great Britain, France and the United States found themselves allies of the Soviet Union in the war with Nazi Germany, and then with Japan. The creation of the anti-Hitler coalition during World War II was Stalin's greatest diplomatic victory, which largely predetermined the course and outcome of World War II.

G.K. Zhukov:“It was impossible to go to a report to Headquarters, to Stalin, say, with maps on which there were at least some “white spots,” to provide him with approximate, and even more so exaggerated, data. I.V. Stalin did not tolerate answers at random; he demanded exhaustive completeness and clarity. He had some kind of special instinct for weak points in reports and documents, he immediately discovered them and strictly punished the perpetrators.”

G.K. Zhukov:“Stalin understood strategic issues from the very beginning of the war. The strategy was close to his familiar sphere of politics; and the more direct interaction with political issues questions of strategy came into play, the more confident he felt in them... his intelligence and talent allowed him during the war to master the operational art so much that, calling front commanders to him and talking with them on topics related with the conduct of operations, he showed himself to be a person who understands this no worse, and sometimes better, than his subordinates. At the same time, in a number of cases he found and suggested interesting operational solutions.”

G.K. Zhukov:“I.V. Stalin mastered the issues of front-line operations and directed them with full

In the summer of 1944, this man wrote a statement with a request, sending it personally to Stalin - the lower authorities did not even want to listen to him, answering not at all out of callousness: “You already...

In the summer of 1944, this man wrote a statement with a request, sending it personally to Stalin - the lower authorities did not even want to listen to him, answering not at all out of callousness: “You already did everything you could. Rest."

You can understand why they refused from the text of the statement.

This Man, Hero of the Soviet Union, wrote to Stalin that he lived poorly morally and asked to help him. How?

Be sure to read this statement, a copy of which was kept in the archives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus; it was declassified and published quite recently.

These days it doesn't just seem incredible - it's amazing.

Moscow, Kremlin, Comrade Stalin.
From Hero of the Soviet Union
lieutenant colonel state
security
Orlovsky Kirill Prokofievich.

Statement.

Dear Comrade Stalin!

Let me hold your attention for a few minutes and express to you my thoughts, feelings and aspirations.
I was born in 1895 in the village. Myshkovichi of the Kirov district of the Mogilev region in the family of a middle peasant.

Until 1915, he worked and studied on his farm, in the village of Myshkovichi.

From 1915 to 1918 he served in the tsarist army as the commander of a sapper platoon.

From 1918 to 1925 he worked behind the lines of the German occupiers, White Poles and White Lithuanians as a commander of partisan detachments and sabotage groups. At the same time, he fought for four months on the Western Front against the White Poles, for two months against the troops of General Yudenich, and for eight months he studied in Moscow at the 1st Moscow Infantry Command Course.

From 1925 to 1930 he studied in Moscow at the Komvuz of the Peoples of the West.

From 1930 to 1936 he worked in a special group of the NKVD of the USSR for the selection and training of sabotage and partisan personnel in the event of war with the Nazi invaders in Belarus.

In 1936 he worked on the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal as a construction site manager.
Throughout 1937, he was on a business trip to Spain, where he fought in the rear of fascist troops as the commander of a sabotage and partisan group.

1939 - 1940 he worked and studied at the Chkalovsky Agricultural Institute.

In 1941, he was on a special mission in Western China, from where, at his personal request, he was recalled and sent deep behind the German invaders as the commander of a reconnaissance and sabotage group.

Thus, from 1918 to 1943, I was lucky enough to work for 8 years behind enemy lines of the USSR as a commander of partisan detachments and sabotage groups, illegally cross the front line and state border over 70 times, carry out government tasks, kill hundreds of notorious enemies of the Soviet Union as if in war , and in peacetime, for which the Government of the USSR awarded me two Orders of Lenin, the Gold Star medal and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1918. I have no party penalties.

On the night of February 17, 1943, human intelligence brought me information that on 17/II–43, Wilhelm Kube (Commissar General of Belarus), Friedrich Fens (Commissar of the three regions of Belarus), Obergruppenführer Zacharius, 10 officers and 40 - 50 of their guards.

At this time, I had only 12 of my soldiers with me, armed with one light machine gun, seven machine guns and three rifles. During the day, in an open area, on the road, it was quite risky to attack the enemy, but it was not in my nature to let a large fascist reptile pass by, and therefore, even before dawn, I brought my fighters in white camouflage robes to the road itself, put them in a chain and camouflaged them in snow pits 20 meters from the road along which the enemy was supposed to pass.

For twelve hours in the snow pits, my comrades and I had to lie and wait patiently...

At six o'clock in the evening, enemy transport appeared from behind the hill and when the carts reached our chain, at my signal our machine-gun fire was opened, as a result of which Friedrich Fens, 8 officers, Zacharius and more than 30 guards were killed.

My comrades calmly took all the fascist weapons and documents, took off their best clothes and went into the forest in an organized manner, to their base.

There were no casualties on our side. In this battle, I was seriously wounded and shell-shocked, as a result of which my right arm was amputated at the shoulder, 4 fingers on my left, and the auditory nerve was damaged by 50 - 60%. There, in the forests of the Baranovichi region, I became physically stronger and in August 1943 I was summoned to Moscow by radiogram.

Thanks to the People's Commissar of State Security, Comrade Merkulov, and the Head of the 4th Directorate, Comrade Sudoplatov, I live very well financially. Morally - bad.

The Lenin-Stalin Party raised me to work hard for the benefit of my beloved Motherland; My physical disabilities (loss of arms and deafness) do not allow me to work at my previous job, but the question arises: did I give everything for the Motherland and the Lenin-Stalin party?

To my moral satisfaction, I am deeply convinced that I have enough physical strength, experience and knowledge to still be useful in peaceful work.

Simultaneously with reconnaissance, sabotage and partisan work, I devoted as much time as possible to working on agricultural literature.

From 1930 to 1936, due to the nature of my main work, I visited the collective farms of Belarus every day, took a closer look at this business and fell in love with it.

I used my stay at the Chkalov Agricultural Institute, as well as the Moscow Agricultural Exhibition, to the fullest in obtaining such an amount of knowledge that could ensure the organization of an exemplary collective farm.

If the USSR Government had issued a loan in the amount of 2.175 thousand rubles in goods terms and 125 thousand rubles in monetary terms, then I would have achieved the following indicators:

1. From one hundred forage cows (in 1950), I can achieve a milk yield of at least eight thousand kilograms for each forage cow, at the same time I can increase the live weight of the dairy farm every year, improve the exterior, and also increase the fat content of milk.

2. Sow at least seventy hectares of flax and in 1950 obtain at least 20 centners of flax fiber per hectare.

3. Sow 160 hectares of grain crops (rye, oats, barley) and in 1950 get at least 60 centners from each hectare, provided that even in June - July of this year there is no rain. If it rains, the harvest will not be 60 centners per hectare, but 70 - 80 centners.

4. In 1950, collective farm forces will plant an orchard on one hundred hectares in accordance with all agrotechnical rules that have been developed by agrotechnical science.

5. By 1948, three snow retention strips will be organized on the territory of the collective farm, on which at least 30,000 ornamental trees will be planted.

6. By 1950 there will be at least one hundred bee farm families.

7. The following buildings will be built before 1950:

1. barn for M–P farm No. 1 - 810 sq. m;
2. barn for M–P farm No. 2 - 810 sq. m;
3. barn for young cattle No. 1 - 620 sq. m;
4. barn for young cattle No. 2 - 620 sq. m;
5. barn-stable for 40 horses - 800 sq. m;
6. granary for 950 tons of grain;
7. shed for storing agricultural machinery, equipment and mineral fertilizer - 950 sq. m;
8. power station, with a mill and sawmill - 300 sq. m;
9. mechanical and carpentry workshops - 320 sq. m;
10. garage for 7 cars;
11. petrol storage facility for 100 tons of fuel and lubricants;
12. bakery - 75 sq. m;
13. bathhouse - 98 sq. m;
14. a club with a radio installation for 400 people;
15. house for kindergarten - 180 sq. m;
16. barn for storing sheaves and straw, chaff - 750 sq. m;
17. Riga No. 2 - 750 sq. m;
18. storage for root crops - 180 sq. m;
19. storage for root crops No. 2 - 180 sq. m;
20. silo pits with brick-lined walls and bottom with a capacity of 450 cubic meters of silo;
21. storage for wintering bees - 130 sq. m;
22. by the efforts of collective farmers and at the expense of collective farmers, a settlement with 200 apartments will be built, each apartment will consist of 2 rooms, a kitchen, a restroom and a small barn for the collective farmer’s livestock and poultry.
    The village will be a type of well-maintained, cultural village, surrounded by fruit and ornamental trees;
23. artesian wells - 6 pieces.

I must say that the gross income of the collective farm “Red Partisan” in the Kirov district of the Mogilev region in 1940 was only 167 thousand rubles.

According to my calculations, the same collective farm in 1950 could achieve a gross income of at least three million rubles.

Simultaneously with organizational and economic work, I will have time and leisure to raise the ideological and political level of my collective farm members, which will allow me to create strong party and Komsomol organizations on the collective farm from the most politically literate, cultural and loyal people to the Lenin-Stalin party.

Before writing you this statement and taking on these obligations, I have thoroughly considered it many times, carefully weighed every step, every detail of this work, and have come to the deep conviction that I will carry out the above-mentioned work for the glory of our beloved Motherland and that this farm will be exemplary. farming for collective farmers of Belarus. Therefore, I ask for your instructions, Comrade Stalin, to send me to this work and to provide the loan I requested.

If any questions arise regarding this application, please call me for an explanation.

Application:

1. Description of the collective farm “Red Partisan” in the Kirov district of the Mogilev region.
2. Topographic map indicating the location of the collective farm.
3. Purchased loan estimate.

Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel of State Security Orlovsky.
July 6, 1944
Moscow, Frunzenskaya embankment,
house no. 10a, apt. 46, tel. G–6–60–46"

Stalin gave the order to satisfy the request of Kirill Orlovsky - he understood him perfectly, because he himself was the same.

He handed over the apartment he had received in Moscow to the state and left for a Belarusian village that was completely destroyed. Kirill Prokofievich fulfilled his obligations - his collective farm “Rassvet” was the first collective farm in the USSR to receive a million-dollar profit after the War.

After 10 years, the name of the Chairman became known throughout Belarus, and then the USSR.

In 1958, Kirill Prokofievich Orlovsky was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and awarded the Order of Lenin. For military and labor merits he was awarded 5 Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, and many medals. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the third to seventh convocations.

In 1956-61 he was a candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee. “Twice Cavalier” Kirill Orlovsky is the prototype of the Chairman in the film of the same name. Several books have been written about him: “Rebel Heart,” “The Tale of Kirill Orlovsky” and others.

And the collective farm began with the fact that almost all the peasants lived in dugouts.

Eyewitnesses describe it this way: “The bins in the collective farmers’ yards were bursting with goodness. He rebuilt the village, paved the road to the regional center and the village street, built a club and a ten-year school. I didn’t have enough money - I took all my savings from the book - 200 thousand - and invested it in the school. I paid stipends to students, preparing a personnel reserve.”

This statement, marked "Top Secret" (this was the applicant's status), written just three days after Minsk was liberated and not intended to ever be published, tells more about the person who wrote it, the country and the era than entire volumes of books. It says a lot about our time, although it was not intended for this at all.

It immediately becomes clear what kind of People built the USSR - about the same as Orlovsky. There is no question about who Stalin relied on when building the country - it was precisely these people who he gave such people every opportunity to prove themselves. The whole world saw the result - the USSR, which literally rose twice from the ashes, Victory, Space and much more, where this alone would be enough to glorify the country in history.

It also becomes clear what type of people worked in the Cheka and the NKVD.

If anyone did not understand from the text of the statement, I would like to emphasize: Kirill Orlovsky is a security officer, a professional saboteur-“liquidator”, that is, an “NKVD executioner” in the most literal sense of the word, and as the idiots who love to flaunt pseudo-thieve vocabulary would say - “camp “vertuhay” (completely not understanding the meaning of this word and to whom it referred). Yes, that’s right - a year (1936) before going to Spain as a volunteer, Kirill Prokofievich Orlovsky was the head of the Gulag system section for the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal.

Yes, that’s right - often the chiefs and security officers were approximately such People, although, naturally, people, like everywhere else, came across all sorts. If anyone doesn’t remember, the great teacher Makarenko also worked in the Gulag system - he was the head of the colony, and then the deputy head of the “children’s Gulag” of Ukraine.

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