Leon Trotsky. The mysterious demon of the Revolution - Lev Davidovich Trotsky Lev Davidovich Trotsky real name
Leiba Bronstein was born in 1879 in the family of a very rich Kherson grain merchant and landowner. Mother, Anna Lvovna, came from a family of large businessmen and bankers Zhivotovsky.
From the age of seven, the boy studied at the cheder at the synagogue, and then at the Odessa real school. After he entered the Odessa University, but took up the revolution and abandoned his studies. It is worth noting that at first, Lev Davidovich showed contempt for all the beautiful-hearted revolutionary impulses of those around him. Being extremely ambitious, he built far-reaching plans, knowing full well that it was impossible to extract any practical benefit from utopian dreams. And yet, gradually, the revolution interested the young Lyova Bronstein.
In 1898 he was arrested and received four years of exile. In the Butyrka transit prison, Lev Davidovich married the revolutionary Alexandra Sokolovskaya. They went to Siberia husband and wife. In 1902, an escape was arranged for Trotsky. The escape was brilliantly organized: clothes, documents, money, the route - everything was done to the highest standard. It was from this time that Leiba Bronstein became Leon Trotsky - he got a passport from the deceased Colonel Nikolai Trotsky. Lev Davidovich went to Austria-Hungary, to Vienna. And here he was taken under control and guardianship by Victor Adler.
Leiba Bronstein, 1888 (aif.ru)
Adler supplied Trotsky with money and the necessary documents, and Lev Davidovich went to London, to Lenin, went to work in the Iskra newspaper. Trotsky became friends with the future leader of the world proletariat very quickly. Vladimir Ilyich could not get enough of the new employee, who fully shared his views. He handed out laudatory recommendations to Trotsky, his faithful disciple, and patronized him. And Lev Davidovich, in turn, supported his leader in everything. This went on until Trotsky decided that he had already become quite a famous person. He immediately declared his disagreement with the general line of the party, for which he earned from Lenin two characteristics that have since been firmly stuck to him - "Judas" and "political prostitute."
In 1903, the Second Congress of the RSDLP was convened in Europe, at which it was supposed to unite disparate groups of social democrats. However, at the congress, the revolutionaries quarreled and split into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. Trotsky, without joining either one or the other, once again quarreled with Lenin and was left completely alone. The abandonment of Lev Davidovich did not last long - after some time he received an invitation from the ideologist of the "permanent revolution" Israel Lazarevich Parvus and went to him in Munich.
Revolutionary Leon Trotsky
In 1905, immediately after the so-called "Bloody Sunday", Parvus and Trotsky headed for Russia. Having set up the production of three newspapers - Russkaya Gazeta, Nachala and Izvestia, filling up Moscow and St. Petersburg with their circulations, Israel Lazarevich began to "unwind" Lev Davidovich. To begin with, he, still an unknown politician, was pushed to the post of deputy chairman of the Petrosoviet. The Chairman of the Council was Georgy Stepanovich Khrustalev-Nosar, a purely decorative figure. In reality, Parvus was in charge of everything. Using controlled publications, Israel Lazarevich made a real "financial storm" in Russia (the reason for this was the published "Financial Manifesto"), for which, together with Trotsky, he was arrested and sent into exile. However, neither one nor the other reached the place of detention. Money and documents were handed over to them on the way. Both fled first to Finland and then moved to Switzerland.
Trotsky at a rally, 1919 (kykyryzo.ru)
For a long time Lev Davidovich worked in Vienna (as a publicist), often visited Viktor Adler and Sigmund Freud. Then he moved to France, where he not only participated in the production of socialist newspapers, but also engaged in active subversive anti-Russian activities (in particular, he was one of the organizers of uprisings in Russian regiments that fought on the Western Front), for which he was arrested, but thanks to high patrons in released by the French government and deported to Spain. From Spain, Trotsky, together with his family (in 1903, he began to cohabit with Natalia Sedova), on a steamer, in a first-class cabin, departed for the United States. In New York, Lev Davidovich, together with Volodarsky, Bukharin, Kollontai and other revolutionary figures, worked in the Novy Mir newspaper.
Trotsky in power
Immediately after the February Revolution, Trotsky went to Russia with a group of his associates. However, on the way, in the Canadian port of Halifax, he was removed from the ship and placed in an internment camp. The Provisional Government immediately demanded the release of the honored fighter against tsarism. As a result of this demand, or for other reasons, the British, having kept Lev Davidovich at home for two months and having several conversations with them, let him go.
In Petrograd, Trotsky was given a solemn welcome. Having settled in the apartment of the director of factories, Nobel Serebrovsky, Lev Davidovich immediately got involved in the work, with the assistance of Yakov Sverdlov, he began to look for ways to reconcile with Lenin. Trotsky's activities yielded results exactly two months after his arrival: in early July 1917, anti-government demonstrations by workers and soldiers began in Petrograd. The provisional government suppressed the unrest, Lenin and Trotsky were accused of espionage. Vladimir Ilyich managed to escape in advance, but Lev Davidovich landed in the "Crosses", from where soon (after the Kornilov revolt) he was safely released by the same Provisional Government.
October 1917 was Trotsky's finest hour: he, the head of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, finally managed to take power into his own hands. After the coup, Lev Davidovich took over as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. A striking episode of Trotsky's activity on the international field was the signing of the shameful Brest Peace. After that, he went to the people's commissars for military affairs, where he again distinguished himself - now in the formation of the Red Army.
In the early 1920s, Lev Davidovich headed the People's Commissariat for Communications. An extremely controversial and unpleasant episode is connected with this period of his career: having ordered Sweden a thousand steam locomotives for 200 million gold rubles, he spent a quarter of the country's gold reserves.
A few words should also be said about Trotsky's role in the genocide of the Cossacks. According to his famous order No. 100 of May 25, 1919, the soldiers, commanders and commissars of the punitive troops were ordered to completely exterminate "the nests of countless traitors and traitors." There was no mercy from the People's Commissariat of Defense.
Trotsky and Stalin
Until 1922, there was no sharp struggle for power in the Soviet government. However, Lenin's illness sharply raised the question of who would be his successor. Trotsky tried to take the first roles, but he was not allowed to do this.
Trotsky in Mexico, 1940 (twitter.com)
A fatal role in the fate of Lev Davidovich was played by the fact that at the end of his life Lenin elevated Stalin to the political Olympus. And Joseph Vissarionovich knew how to deal with real opponents. In February 1929, Trotsky was expelled from the USSR. Abroad, he tried to organize an anti-Stalinist opposition, but he did not succeed in achieving his goal - to overthrow Stalin.
Trotsky rushed around the world. From France, where he arrived in 1933 in order to find shelter, he was sent to Norway, from Norway to Mexico. It was here, in the country of cowboys, cacti and tequila, that Lev Davidovich spent the last years of his life. In August 1940, the Soviet agent Ramon Mercader killed him with an ice pick.
Lev Davidovich
Battles and victories
A prominent figure in the communist movement, a Soviet military-political figure, people's commissar for military affairs.
Trotsky, not being a military specialist, managed to organize the Red Army from scratch, turning it into an effective and powerful armed force and becoming one of the organizers of the Red Army's victory in the Civil War. "Red Bonaparte".
Trotsky (Bronstein) Lev Davidovich was born in the Kherson province in a family of wealthy Jewish colonists. He graduated from St. Paul's College in Odessa. He had a broad outlook, developed intellect. From his youth, he participated in revolutionary activities, collaborated with the Social Democrats (although he repeatedly came into conflict with V.I. Lenin). Repeatedly arrested, exiled and escaped. He spent many years in exile in France, Austria-Hungary, and visited the North American United States.
As a war correspondent, Trotsky participated in the First and Second Balkan Wars, gaining the first insights into the war and the army. Even at that time, he proved to be a serious organizer and specialist. Although he demanded for himself as a correspondent a salary that exceeded the monthly salary of a Serbian minister, with this money he paid a secretary who performed technical work and compiled certificates, and he himself supplied customers with extremely accurate and verified information. It included not only a presentation of events, but also attempts to analyze and synthesize the material, deeply comprehend the life of the Balkan region and fairly accurate forecasting, which is fully confirmed by the studies of modern domestic and foreign Balkan researchers. There is no reason to believe that, being at the head of the Soviet military department, Trotsky showed less thoroughness in his work.
During the First World War, again as a war correspondent, Trotsky became acquainted with the French army. He independently studied the issues of militarism.
In 1917, Trotsky arrived in Russia, actively participated in revolutionary propaganda among the troops of the Petrograd garrison. In September 1917, he took the post of chairman of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, in October he created the Military Revolutionary Committee, which led the work on preparing an armed seizure of power in the capital. Through the efforts of Trotsky, the Petrograd garrison did not support the Provisional Government, and the Bolsheviks seized power. Trotsky organized the defense of Petrograd from the offensive of the troops of General P.N. Krasnov, personally checked the weapons and was at the forefront.
At the end of 1917 - beginning of 1918. Trotsky served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. He supported the unsuccessful policy of "neither peace nor war", as a result of which he left the post of people's commissar.
In the middle of March 1918, L.D. Trotsky, by decision of the Central Committee of the party, became People's Commissar for Military Affairs (he held this post until 1925) and Chairman of the Supreme Military Council. Trotsky was the military leader of the Red Army during the Civil War era, concentrating immense power in his hands. In the autumn of 1918 he headed the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic.
Not being a military specialist, he showed outstanding organizational skills and managed to organize the Red Army from scratch on a regular basis, turning it into a massive, efficient and powerful armed force based on the principles of universal military service and strict discipline. In the highest military posts in Soviet Russia, Trotsky demonstrated his character - iron will and determination, colossal energy, a fanatical commitment to achieving the intended result in the presence of undoubted ambition.
Under the leadership of Trotsky, the military-administrative apparatus of Soviet Russia took shape, military districts, armies and fronts were created, mass mobilizations were carried out in a country decomposed by revolutionary ferment. The Red Army won its victories over the internal counter-revolution.
Trotsky became the main ideologist and conductor of the policy of recruiting former officers of the old army, who were called military specialists, into the Red Army. This policy ran into fierce resistance both in the party and among the masses of soldiers who ended up in the Red Army. One of Trotsky's ardent opponents on this issue was a member of the Central Committee I.V. Stalin, who sabotaged this course. IN AND. Lenin also doubted the correctness of Trotsky's course. However, the correctness of this policy was confirmed by successes at the fronts, and in 1919 it was declared the official party course.
During the Civil War, Trotsky showed himself to be a talented organizer who understood the nature of war and the methods of control in its conditions, as well as a person who knew how to find a common language with military experts. Trotsky's strength as the leader of the Red Army was a clear understanding of the strategy of the Civil War. In this matter, he far surpassed even the old military specialists with an academic education, who poorly understood the social nature of the Civil War.
This was especially evident during the discussion about the Soviet strategy on the Southern Front in the summer - autumn of 1919. Commander-in-Chief S.S. Kamenev planned the main thrust of the offensive through the Cossack areas, where the Reds faced fierce resistance from the local population. Trotsky sharply criticized the direction of the main attack proposed by Kamenev. He was against the offensive through the Don region, as he reasonably believed that the Reds would meet the greatest resistance in the Cossack territories. Meanwhile, the Whites achieved significant success in their main Kursk direction, which threatened the very existence of Soviet Russia. Trotsky's idea was to separate the Cossacks from the volunteers by delivering the main blow precisely in the Kursk-Voronezh direction. In the end, the Red Army moved to implement Trotsky's plan, but this happened only after several months of fruitless attempts to implement Kamenev's plan.
Trotsky spent the hottest time of the Civil War traveling around the fronts in his famous train (“flying control apparatus,” as Trotsky called it), organizing troops on the ground. Repeatedly traveled to the most threatened fronts and established work there. He made an outstanding contribution to the strengthening of the front near Kazan in August 1918, when the Red Army was demoralized. Trotsky was able to strengthen the morale of the troops by punitive measures, propaganda and strengthening the grouping of Soviet troops in the Kazan region.
He later recalled his trips to the fronts:Looking back over the three years of the civil war and looking through the journal of my continuous trips along the front, I see that I hardly had to accompany the victorious army, participate in the offensive, directly share its successes with the army. My trips were not of a festive nature. I only traveled to disadvantaged areas when the enemy broke through the front and drove our regiments in front of him. I retreated with the troops, but never advanced with them. As soon as the defeated divisions were put in order, and the command gave the signal for the offensive, I said goodbye to the army for another unfavorable sector or returned to Moscow for several days to resolve the accumulated problems in the center.
“Of course, this method cannot be called correct,” Trotsky noted in another work. - The pedant will say that in supply, as in all military affairs in general, the most important thing is the system. This is right. I myself tend to sin rather in the direction of pedantry. But the fact is that we did not want to die before we managed to create a coherent system. That is why we were forced, especially in the first period, to replace the system with improvisations, so that we could rely on the system in the future.
For example, what did Trotsky do during the defense of Petrograd in the autumn of 1919? Documents testify that with his authority he ensured the supply of everything necessary for the 7th Army, which was defending the Cradle of the Revolution. He dealt with the problems of supplying the army, solved personnel issues. He carried out strategic planning: he put forward very sensible proposals for turning Petrograd into an impregnable fortress, raised in advance the question of the prospects for relations with Estonians in the event of the defeat of Yudenich's army and its withdrawal to Estonia. He carried out the general supreme administration, and also instructed the military and political leadership and, as Trotsky himself noted, gave "an impetus to the initiative of the front and the immediate rear." In addition, with his characteristic seething energy, he held rallies, made speeches, and wrote articles. The benefits of his presence in Petrograd were undeniable.
Trotsky wrote about the achievements of the first days near Petrograd: “The command staff, drawn into failures, had to be shaken up, refreshed, renewed. Even greater changes were made in the composition of the commissars. All parts were strengthened from within by the communists. Some fresh parts also arrived. Military schools were thrown into the front lines. In two or three days, they managed to pull up the completely lowered supply apparatus. The Red Army soldier ate more densely, changed his underwear, changed his shoes, listened to the speech, shook himself, pulled himself up and became different.
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Already at this time, Trotsky worked out a universal formula for victories in the Civil War. On October 16, 1919, he wrote to former General Dmitry Nikolaevich Nadezhny, who was entrusted with the command of the 7th Army: "As always in such cases, this time we will achieve the necessary turning point with the help of organizational, agitational and punitive measures."
According to Trotsky, “it is impossible to create a strong army on the fly. Plugging and darning holes at the front will not help the cause. The transfer of individual communists and communist detachments to the most dangerous places can only temporarily improve the situation. There is only one salvation: to transform, reorganize, educate the army through persistent, persistent work, starting from the main cell, from the company, and, rising higher through the battalion, regiment, division; to establish the correct supply, the correct distribution of communist forces, the correct relationship between commanding staff and commissars, to ensure strict diligence and unconditional conscientiousness in reports (highlighted in the document. - A.G.)". Thus, the secret of Trotsky's success lay far beyond the number of bayonets.
Trotsky described the reasons for the defeats of the Whites as follows:As long as they, Dutov, Kolchak, Denikin, had partisan detachments of the most qualified officer and cadet elements, as long as they developed a large strike force in relation to their number, because, I repeat, this is an element of great experience, high military qualification. But when the heavy mass of our regiments, brigades, divisions, and armies built on mobilization forced them themselves to go over to the mobilization of the peasants in order to oppose the masses to the masses, then the laws of class struggle came into play. And their mobilization turned into internal disorganization, called forth the work of the forces of internal destruction. In order to show this, to reveal it in practice, only blows from our side were needed.
The chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the republic tried to find a common language with elements disloyal to the Bolsheviks. Thus, in the spring of 1919, Trotsky proposed to integrate the anarchists Nestor Makhno into the Red Army by sending detachments of party workers, Chekists, sailors and workers to the "anarchist gangs" of the Makhnovists.
Trotsky was an excellent speaker, his speeches at the fronts played a role in raising the morale of the soldiers of the Red Army. He showed concern for ordinary Red Army soldiers. In the autumn of 1919, he wrote to the Central Committee about the need for warm clothes for the army, because. “You cannot demand more from the human body than it can bear.”
Trotsky in every way contributed to the dissemination of military knowledge in the Red Army, the development of military science. So, under his patronage, a serious military-scientific journal "Military Affairs" was published in Moscow by a group of former officers.
Taking care of the training of commanders, the leaders of the Red Army did not forget about ordinary soldiers. Their training since 1918 was carried out through Vsevobuch (Universal military training). In a short time, training and formation departments appeared in all work centers. As conceived by Trotsky, Vsevobuch was to create large military units up to and including armies. As part of the Vsevobuch, pre-conscription training was carried out in labor schools, which was completed by 60,000 people, or 10% of all those registered.
Trotsky attached great disciplinary significance to the factor of repression in the army. The secret “Instructions for the responsible workers of the 14th Army”, signed by Trotsky on August 9, 1919, spoke about the principles of the punitive policy: “All the leading institutions of the army - the Revolutionary Military Council, the Political Department, the Special Department, the Revolutionary Tribunal must firmly establish and enforce the rule that no crime in the army goes unpunished. Of course, punishment must be strictly consistent with the actual nature of the crime or misdemeanor. Sentences must be such that every Red Army soldier, reading about them in his newspaper, clearly understands their justice and necessity for maintaining the combat capability of the army. Punishments should follow as soon as possible after the crime."
Not only the rank and file, but also the command staff and even commissars needed to strengthen discipline. The leader of the Red Army, Trotsky, was ready to go to the end in this regard, up to the execution of party workers. It was on his orders that a tribunal was appointed that sentenced to death the commander of the 2nd Petrograd regiment Gneushev, the commissar of the regiment Panteleev and every tenth Red Army soldier, who, with part of the regiment, abandoned their positions and fled on a steamboat from near Kazan in the summer of 1918. This case caused a discussion in the party about the permissibility of executions of party workers and a wave of criticism against Trotsky. The resonant case gives reason to believe that the executions of party members were still an exceptional and isolated phenomenon.
Another means of intimidation, which, however, did not actually find real use in the Red Army, was orders to take hostage the families of defectors from among the military experts.
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A few years after the Civil War, Trotsky commented on the meaning of such harsh orders (primarily orders to shoot commissars): “It was not an order to shoot, it was the usual pressure that was then practiced. Here I have dozens of the same kind of telegrams from Vladimir Ilyich ... It was a common form of military pressure at that time. Thus, it was, first of all, about threats. Trotsky is often accused of some kind of excessive cruelty, which is not true.
Of course, Trotsky also made mistakes that corresponded to the scale of his activities. So, by his actions to disarm the Czechoslovaks, he provoked an armed uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps. His hopes for a world revolution, as well as the specific plans and calculations associated with these hopes, did not come true either.
Having lost in the inner-party political struggle, Trotsky went into exile, and in 1929 he was expelled from the USSR and subsequently deprived of Soviet citizenship. In exile, he was the founder of the Fourth International, created a number of historical works, memoirs. Mortally wounded by an NKVD agent in 1940 in Mexico.
During the Soviet period, researchers and memoirists sought to belittle the role of L.D. Trotsky in the creation of the Red Army, since his figure was actually excluded from the historical process in the Stalinist interpretation of the history of the Civil War and was mentioned only in extremely negative terms. However, in the post-Soviet period, it became possible to speak with an open mind about Trotsky's prominent role in the creation of the Soviet armed forces. Of course, Trotsky was not a commander, but he was an outstanding military administrator and organizer.
GANIN A.V., Ph.D., Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Literature
My life. M., 2001
Stalin. T. 2. M., 1990
Kirshin Yu.Ya. Trotsky is a military theorist. Klintsy, 2003
Krasnov V., Daines V. Unknown Trotsky. Red Bonaparte. M., 2000
Felshtinsky Yu., Chernyavsky G. Leon Trotsky is a Bolshevik. Book. 2. 1917-1924. M., 2012
Shemyakin A.L. L.D. Trotsky about Serbia and the Serbs (military impressions of 1912-1913). V.A. Tesemnikov. Research and materials dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of V.A. Tesemnikov. M., 2013. S. 51-76
Internet
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Perhaps the only bright spot against the background of the Soviet commanders of the armored forces. A tanker who went through the entire war, starting from the border. The commander, whose tanks always showed their superiority to the enemy. His tank brigades were the only (!) in the first period of the war that were not defeated by the Germans and even inflicted significant damage on them.
His First Guards Tank Army remained combat-ready, although it defended from the very first days of the fighting on the southern face of the Kursk Bulge, while exactly the same Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army was practically destroyed on the very first day it entered the battle (June 12)
This is one of the few of our commanders who took care of his troops and fought not by numbers, but by skill.
General Ermolov
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
Sheremetev Boris Petrovich
Makarov Stepan Osipovich
Russian oceanographer, polar explorer, shipbuilder, vice admiral. Developed the Russian semaphore alphabet. A worthy person, on the list of worthy ones!
Wrangel Pyotr Nikolaevich
Member of the Russo-Japanese and World War I, one of the main leaders (1918−1920) of the White movement during the Civil War. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Crimea and Poland (1920). General Staff Lieutenant General (1918). Georgievsky Cavalier.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
The Soviet people, as the most talented, have a large number of outstanding military leaders, but the main one is Stalin. Without him, many of them might not have been in the military.
Antonov Alexey Innokentievich
He became famous as a talented staff officer. Participated in the development of almost all significant operations of the Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War since December 1942.
The only one of all the awarded Soviet military leaders with the Order of Victory in the rank of army general, and the only Soviet holder of the order who was not awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Baklanov Yakov Petrovich
The Cossack general, the "thunderstorm of the Caucasus", Yakov Petrovich Baklanov, one of the most colorful heroes of the endless Caucasian war of the century before last, fits perfectly into the image of Russia familiar to the West. A gloomy two-meter hero, a tireless persecutor of mountaineers and Poles, an enemy of political correctness and democracy in all their manifestations. But it was precisely such people who obtained the most difficult victory for the empire in a long-term confrontation with the inhabitants of the North Caucasus and the unkind local nature.
Rurik Svyatoslav Igorevich
Year of birth 942 date of death 972 Expansion of the borders of the state. 965 the conquest of the Khazars, 963 the campaign to the south to the Kuban region the capture of Tmutarakan, 969 the conquest of the Volga Bulgars, 971 the conquest of the Bulgarian kingdom, 968 the foundation of Pereyaslavets on the Danube (the new capital of Russia), 969 the defeat of the Pechenegs in the defense of Kyiv.
Markov Sergey Leonidovich
One of the main characters of the early stage of the Russian-Soviet war.
Veteran of Russian-Japanese, World War I and Civil War. Cavalier of the Order of St. George 4th class, Orders of St. Vladimir 3rd class and 4th class with swords and bow, Orders of St. Anna 2nd, 3rd and 4th class, Orders of St. Stanislaus 2nd and 3rd th degrees. The owner of the St. George's weapon. Outstanding military theorist. Member of the Ice Campaign. Son of an officer. Hereditary nobleman of the Moscow province. He graduated from the Academy of the General Staff, served in the Life Guards of the 2nd Artillery Brigade. One of the commanders of the Volunteer Army at the first stage. Died a heroic death.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
He personally took part in the planning and implementation of ALL offensive and defensive operations of the Red Army in the period 1941-1945.
Golovanov Alexander Evgenievich
He is the creator of the Soviet long-range aviation (ADD).
Units under the command of Golovanov bombed Berlin, Koenigsberg, Danzig and other cities in Germany, attacked important strategic targets behind enemy lines.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
The largest figure in world history, whose life and state activity left the deepest mark not only in the fate of the Soviet people, but also of all mankind, will be the subject of careful study of historians for more than one century. The historical and biographical feature of this personality is that it will never be forgotten.
During Stalin's tenure as Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Chairman of the State Defense Committee, our country was marked by victory in the Great Patriotic War, massive labor and front-line heroism, the transformation of the USSR into a superpower with significant scientific, military and industrial potential, and the strengthening of our country's geopolitical influence in the world.
Ten Stalinist strikes - the common name for a number of major offensive strategic operations in the Great Patriotic War, carried out in 1944 by the armed forces of the USSR. Along with other offensive operations, they made a decisive contribution to the victory of the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II.
Skopin-Shuisky Mikhail Vasilievich
I beg the military-historical society to correct the extreme historical injustice and add to the list of 100 best commanders, the leader of the northern militia who did not lose a single battle, who played an outstanding role in liberating Russia from the Polish yoke and unrest. And apparently poisoned for his talent and skill.
Minikh Khristofor Antonovich
Due to the ambiguous attitude to the period of the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the largely underestimated commander, who was the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops throughout her reign.
Commander of the Russian troops during the War of the Polish Succession and architect of the victory of Russian arms in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739.
Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky Pyotr Alexandrovich
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. Under his leadership, the Red Army crushed fascism.
Platov Matvei Ivanovich
Ataman of the Great Don Army (since 1801), cavalry general (1809), who took part in all the wars of the Russian Empire in the late 18th - early 19th centuries.
In 1771 he distinguished himself in the attack and capture of the Perekop line and Kinburn. From 1772 he began to command a Cossack regiment. During the 2nd Turkish war, he distinguished himself during the assault on Ochakov and Ishmael. Participated in the battle of Preussisch-Eylau.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, he first commanded all the Cossack regiments on the border, and then, covering the retreat of the army, he defeated the enemy near the town of Mir and Romanovo. In the battle near the village of Semlevo, Platov's army defeated the French and captured a colonel from the army of Marshal Murat. During the retreat of the French army, Platov, pursuing her, defeated her at Gorodnya, the Kolotsk Monastery, Gzhatsk, Tsarevo-Zaimishcha, near Dukhovshchina and while crossing the Vop River. For merit he was elevated to the dignity of a count. In November, Platov occupied Smolensk from battle and defeated the troops of Marshal Ney near Dubrovna. At the beginning of January 1813 he entered the borders of Prussia and overlaid Danzig; in September, he received command of a special corps, with which he participated in the battle of Leipzig and, pursuing the enemy, captured about 15 thousand people. In 1814 he fought at the head of his regiments in the capture of Nemur, at Arcy-sur-Aube, Cezanne, Villeneuve. He was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
Soldier, several wars (including World War I and World War II). passed the way to Marshal of the USSR and Poland. Military intellectual. not resorting to "obscene leadership." he knew tactics in military affairs to the subtleties. practice, strategy and operational art.
Golenishchev-Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich
(1745-1813).
1. GREAT Russian commander, he was an example for his soldiers. Appreciated every soldier. "M. I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov is not only the liberator of the Fatherland, he is the only one who outplayed the hitherto invincible French emperor, turning the "great army" into a crowd of ragamuffins, saving, thanks to his military genius, the lives of many Russian soldiers."
2. Mikhail Illarionovich, being a highly educated person who knew several foreign languages, dexterous, refined, able to inspire society with the gift of words, an entertaining story, served Russia as an excellent diplomat - ambassador to Turkey.
3. M. I. Kutuzov - the first to become a full cavalier of the highest military order of St. George the Victorious of four degrees.
The life of Mikhail Illarionovich is an example of service to the fatherland, attitude towards soldiers, spiritual strength for the Russian military leaders of our time and, of course, for the younger generation - the future military.
Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich
Admiral, Hero of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet. One of the leaders of the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941 - 1942, as well as the Crimean operation of 1944. During the Great Patriotic War, Vice Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky was one of the leaders of the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Being the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, at the same time in 1941-1942 he was the commander of the Sevastopol Defense Region.
Three orders of Lenin
three orders of the Red Banner
two orders of Ushakov 1st degree
Order of Nakhimov 1st class
Order of Suvorov 2nd class
Order of the Red Star
medals
Rurikovich (Grozny) Ivan Vasilyevich
In the variety of perceptions of Ivan the Terrible, they often forget about his unconditional talent and achievements as a commander. He personally led the capture of Kazan and organized military reform, leading the country, which simultaneously waged 2-3 wars on different fronts.
Blucher, Tukhachevsky
Blucher, Tukhachevsky and the whole galaxy of heroes of the Civil War. Don't forget Budyonny!
Ushakov Fedor Fedorovich
A man whose faith, courage, and patriotism defended our state
Olsufiev Zakhar Dmitrievich
One of the most famous commanders of Bagrationov's 2nd Western Army. He always fought with exemplary courage. He was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd degree for heroic participation in the Battle of Borodino. He distinguished himself in the battle on the Chernishna (or Tarutinsky) River. The award to him for participating in the defeat of the vanguard of Napoleon's army was the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd degree. He was called "general with talents". When Olsufiev was captured and was delivered to Napoleon, he said to his entourage the famous words in history: "Only Russians know how to fight like that!"
Dubynin Viktor Petrovich
From April 30, 1986 to June 1, 1987 - Commander of the 40th Combined Arms Army of the Turkestan Military District. The troops of this army made up the bulk of the Limited Contingent of Soviet Troops in Afghanistan. During the year of his command of the army, the number of irretrievable losses decreased by 2 times in comparison with 1984-1985.
On June 10, 1992, Colonel General V.P. Dubynin was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation
His merits include keeping the President of the Russian Federation B. N. Yeltsin from a number of ill-conceived decisions in the military sphere, primarily in the field of nuclear forces.
Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich
After Zhukov, who took Berlin, the brilliant strategist Kutuzov, who drove the French out of Russia, should be second.
Kolovrat Evpaty Lvovich
Ryazan boyar and governor. During the Batu invasion of Ryazan, he was in Chernigov. Having learned about the invasion of the Mongols, he hastily moved to the city. Having caught Ryazan all incinerated, Evpaty Kolovrat with a detachment of 1700 people began to catch up with Batu's army. Having overtaken them, he destroyed their rearguard. He also killed the strong heroes of the Batyevs. He died on January 11, 1238.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
He led the armed struggle of the Soviet people in the war against Germany and its allies and satellites, as well as in the war against Japan.
He led the Red Army to Berlin and Port Arthur.
Shein Mikhail Borisovich
He led the Smolensk defense against the Polish-Lithuanian troops, which lasted 20 months. Under the command of Shein, repeated attacks were repulsed, despite the explosion and a breach in the wall. He held and bled the main forces of the Poles at the decisive moment of the Time of Troubles, preventing them from moving to Moscow to support their garrison, creating an opportunity to assemble an all-Russian militia to liberate the capital. Only with the help of a defector, the troops of the Commonwealth managed to take Smolensk on June 3, 1611. The wounded Shein was taken prisoner and was taken away with his family for 8 years in Poland. After returning to Russia, he commanded an army that tried to return Smolensk in 1632-1634. Executed on boyar slander. Undeservedly forgotten.
Stessel Anatoly Mikhailovich
Commandant of Port Arthur during his heroic defense. The unprecedented ratio of losses of Russian and Japanese troops before the surrender of the fortress is 1:10.
Slashchev Yakov Alexandrovich
Linevich Nikolai Petrovich
Nikolai Petrovich Linevich (December 24, 1838 - April 10, 1908) - a prominent Russian military leader, infantry general (1903), adjutant general (1905); general who stormed Beijing.
Loris-Melikov Mikhail Tarielovich
Known mainly as one of the secondary characters in the story "Hadji Murad" by L.N. Tolstoy, Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov went through all the Caucasian and Turkish campaigns of the second half of the middle of the 19th century.
Having shown himself excellently during the Caucasian War, during the Kars campaign of the Crimean War, Loris-Melikov led intelligence, and then successfully served as commander-in-chief during the difficult Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, having won a number of important victories over the united Turkish troops and in the third once captured Kars, by that time considered impregnable.
Vladimir Svyatoslavich
981 - the conquest of Cherven and Przemysl. 983 - the conquest of the Yatvags. 984 - the conquest of the natives. 985 - successful campaigns against the Bulgars, the taxation of the Khazar Khaganate. 988 - the conquest of the Taman Peninsula. 991 - the subjugation of the White Croats. 992 - successfully defended Cherven Rus in the war against Poland. in addition, the saint is equal to the apostles.
Dokhturov Dmitry Sergeevich
Defense of Smolensk.
Command of the left flank on the Borodino field after the wounding of Bagration.
Tarutino battle.
Gagen Nikolai Alexandrovich
On June 22, trains with units of the 153rd Infantry Division arrived in Vitebsk. Covering the city from the west, the Hagen division (together with the heavy artillery regiment attached to the division) occupied a 40 km long defense zone, it was opposed by the 39th German motorized corps.
After 7 days of fierce fighting, the battle formations of the division were not broken through. The Germans no longer contacted the division, bypassed it and continued the offensive. The division flashed in the message of the German radio as destroyed. Meanwhile, the 153rd Rifle Division, without ammunition and fuel, began to break through the ring. Hagen led the division out of the encirclement with heavy weapons.
For the steadfastness and heroism shown during the Yelninskaya operation on September 18, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 308, the division received the honorary name "Guards".
From 01/31/1942 to 09/12/1942 and from 10/21/1942 to 04/25/1943 - commander of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps,
from May 1943 to October 1944 - commander of the 57th Army,
from January 1945 - the 26th Army.
The troops under the leadership of N. A. Hagen participated in the Sinyavino operation (moreover, the general managed to break out of the encirclement for the second time with weapons in his hands), the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, battles in the Left-Bank and Right-Bank Ukraine, in the liberation of Bulgaria, in Iasi-Kishinev, Belgrade, Budapest, Balaton and Vienna operations. Member of the Victory Parade.
Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich
General Kotlyarevsky, son of a priest in the village of Olkhovatka, Kharkov province. He went from private to general in the tsarist army. He can be called the great-grandfather of the Russian special forces. He carried out truly unique operations ... His name is worthy of being included in the list of the greatest commanders of Russia
Batitsky
I served in the air defense and therefore I know this surname - Batitsky. Do you know? By the way, the father of air defense!
Bennigsen Leonty Leontievich
Surprisingly, a Russian general who did not speak Russian, who made up the glory of Russian weapons at the beginning of the 19th century.
He made a significant contribution to the suppression of the Polish uprising.
Commander-in-Chief in the Battle of Tarutino.
He made a significant contribution to the campaign of 1813 (Dresden and Leipzig).
Dolgorukov Yury Alekseevich
An outstanding statesman and military leader of the era of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, prince. Commanding the Russian army in Lithuania, in 1658 he defeated hetman V. Gonsevsky in the battle of Verki, taking him prisoner. This was the first time after 1500 when a Russian governor captured the hetman. In 1660, at the head of an army sent under Mogilev, besieged by the Polish-Lithuanian troops, he won a strategic victory over the enemy on the Basya River near the village of Gubarevo, forcing hetmans P. Sapega and S. Czarnetsky to retreat from the city. Thanks to the actions of Dolgorukov, the "front line" in Belarus along the Dnieper was preserved until the end of the war of 1654-1667. In 1670, he led an army sent to fight against the Cossacks of Stenka Razin, in the shortest possible time suppressed the Cossack rebellion, which later led to the Don Cossacks swearing allegiance to the tsar and turning the Cossacks from robbers into "sovereign servants".
Duke of Württemberg Eugene
Infantry general, cousin of the Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. Served in the Russian Army since 1797 (enlisted as a colonel in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment by the Decree of Emperor Paul I). Participated in military campaigns against Napoleon in 1806-1807. For participation in the battle near Pultusk in 1806 he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious 4th degree, for the campaign of 1807 he received a golden weapon "For Courage", distinguished himself in the campaign of 1812 (personally led the 4th Jaeger Regiment into battle in the battle of Smolensk), for participation in the Battle of Borodino he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious, 3rd degree. Since November 1812, the commander of the 2nd infantry corps in the army of Kutuzov. He took an active part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814, the units under his command especially distinguished themselves in the battle of Kulm in August 1813, and in the "battle of the peoples" at Leipzig. For courage at Leipzig, Duke Eugene was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree. Parts of his corps were the first to enter the defeated Paris on April 30, 1814, for which Eugene of Württemberg received the rank of general of infantry. From 1818 to 1821 was the commander of the 1st Army Infantry Corps. Contemporaries considered Prince Eugene of Württemberg one of the best Russian infantry commanders during the Napoleonic Wars. On December 21, 1825, Nicholas I was appointed chief of the Tauride Grenadier Regiment, which became known as the Grenadier Regiment of His Royal Highness Prince Eugene of Württemberg. On August 22, 1826, he was awarded the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1827-1828. as commander of the 7th Infantry Corps. On October 3, he defeated a large Turkish detachment on the Kamchik River.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Stalin during the Patriotic War led all the armed forces of our country and coordinated their combat operations. It is impossible not to note his merits in the competent planning and organization of military operations, in the skillful selection of military leaders and their assistants. Joseph Stalin proved himself not only as an outstanding commander who skillfully led all fronts, but also as an excellent organizer who did a great job of increasing the country's defense capability both in the pre-war and war years.
A short list of military awards I.V. Stalin received during the Second World War:
Order of Suvorov, 1st class
Medal "For the Defense of Moscow"
Order "Victory"
Medal "Gold Star" Hero of the Soviet Union
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945"
Medal "For the Victory over Japan"
Karyagin Pavel Mikhailovich
Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble real military history. It looks like a prequel to "300 Spartans" (20,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet charges, "This is crazy! - No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). A golden, platinum page of Russian history, combining the slaughter of madness with the highest tactical skill, delightful cunning and stunning Russian impudence
Chichagov Vasily Yakovlevich
He excellently commanded the Baltic Fleet in the campaigns of 1789 and 1790. He won victories in the battle of Eland (15/07/1789), in Revel (02/05/1790) and Vyborg (06/22/1790) battles. After the last two defeats, which were of strategic importance, the dominance of the Baltic Fleet became unconditional, and this forced the Swedes to make peace. There are few such examples in the history of Russia when victories at sea led to victory in the war. And by the way, the battle of Vyborg was one of the largest in world history in terms of the number of ships and people.
Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich
Soviet military commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1955). Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945).
From 1942 to 1946 he was commander of the 62nd Army (8th Guards Army), which distinguished itself in the Battle of Stalingrad. He took part in defensive battles on the distant approaches to Stalingrad. From September 12, 1942 he commanded the 62nd Army. IN AND. Chuikov received the task of defending Stalingrad at any cost. The front command believed that Lieutenant General Chuikov was characterized by such positive qualities as determination and firmness, courage and a broad operational outlook, a high sense of responsibility and consciousness of his duty. The army, under the command of V.I. Chuikov, became famous for the heroic six-month defense of Stalingrad in street battles in a completely destroyed city, fighting on isolated bridgeheads, on the banks of the wide Volga.
For unparalleled mass heroism and steadfastness of personnel, in April 1943, the 62nd Army received the guards honorary title of Guards and became known as the 8th Guards Army.
Minich Burchard-Christopher
One of the best Russian generals and military engineers. The first commander who entered the Crimea. Winner at Stavucany.
Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich
Hero of the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813
"General Meteor" and "Caucasian Suvorov".
He fought not in numbers, but in skill - first, 450 Russian soldiers attacked 1,200 Persian sardars in the Migri fortress and took it, then 500 of our soldiers and Cossacks attacked 5,000 askers at the crossing over the Araks. More than 700 enemies were exterminated, only 2,500 Persian fighters managed to escape from ours.
In both cases, our losses are less than 50 killed and up to 100 wounded.
Further, in the war against the Turks, with a swift attack, 1000 Russian soldiers defeated the 2000th garrison of the Akhalkalaki fortress.
Then, again in the Persian direction, he cleared Karabakh of the enemy, and then, with 2,200 soldiers, defeated Abbas-Mirza with a 30,000-strong army near Aslanduz, a village near the Araks River. In two battles, he destroyed more than 10,000 enemies, including English advisers and artillerymen.
As usual, Russian losses were 30 killed and 100 wounded.
Kotlyarevsky won most of his victories in night assaults on fortresses and enemy camps, preventing the enemies from coming to their senses.
The last campaign - 2000 Russians against 7000 Persians to the fortress of Lankaran, where Kotlyarevsky almost died during the assault, lost consciousness at times from loss of blood and pain from wounds, but still, until the final victory, he commanded the troops as soon as he regained consciousness, and after that he was forced to be treated for a long time and move away from military affairs.
His feats for the glory of Russia are much cooler than the "300 Spartans" - for our generals and warriors have repeatedly beaten a 10-fold superior enemy, and suffered minimal losses, saving Russian lives.
Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich
Ivan III Vasilyevich Shein Mikhail Borisovich
Governor Shein - the hero and leader of the unprecedented defense of Smolensk in 1609-16011. This fortress decided a lot in the fate of Russia!
Romodanovsky Grigory Grigorievich
An outstanding military leader of the 17th century, prince and governor. In 1655, he won his first victory over the Polish hetman S. Pototsky near Gorodok in Galicia. Later, being the commander of the army of the Belgorod category (military administrative district), he played a major role in organizing the defense of the southern border of Russia. In 1662, he won the biggest victory in the Russian-Polish war for Ukraine in the battle of Kanev, defeating the traitorous hetman Y. Khmelnitsky and the Poles who helped him. In 1664, near Voronezh, he forced the famous Polish commander Stefan Czarnecki to flee, forcing the army of King Jan Casimir to retreat. Repeatedly beat the Crimean Tatars. In 1677 he defeated the 100,000th Turkish army of Ibrahim Pasha near Buzhin, in 1678 he defeated the Turkish corps of Kaplan Pasha near Chigirin. Thanks to his military talents, Ukraine did not become another Ottoman province and the Turks did not take Kyiv.
Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich
Certainly worthy, explanations and proofs, in my opinion, are not required. It's amazing that his name isn't on the list. was the list prepared by representatives of the USE generation?
Paskevich Ivan Fyodorovich
The armies under his command defeated Persia in the war of 1826-1828 and completely defeated the Turkish troops in Transcaucasia in the war of 1828-1829.
Awarded all 4 degrees of the Order of St. George and the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called with diamonds.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
The greatest commander of the Second World War. Two people in history were awarded the Order of Victory twice: Vasilevsky and Zhukov, but after the Second World War, it was Vasilevsky who became the Minister of Defense of the USSR. His military genius is unsurpassed by ANY military leader in the world.
Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich
During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, until his heroic death he was the immediate superior of P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomin. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Evpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on the Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to flood the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use sailors to defend Sevastopol from land.
Stalin (Dzhugashvili) Joseph Vissarionovich
Comrade Stalin, in addition to the atomic and missile projects, together with General of the Army Alexei Innokentevich Antonov, participated in the development and implementation of almost all significant operations of the Soviet troops in the Second World War, brilliantly organized the work of the rear, even in the first difficult years of the war.
Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich
Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-91 and the Russian-Swedish war of 1788-90. He distinguished himself during the war with France in 1806-07 at Preussisch-Eylau, from 1807 he commanded a division. During the Russo-Swedish War of 1808-09 he commanded a corps; led a successful crossing through the Kvarken Strait in the winter of 1809. In 1809-10, the Governor-General of Finland. From January 1810 to September 1812, the Minister of War, did a lot of work to strengthen the Russian army, singled out the intelligence and counterintelligence service into a separate production. In the Patriotic War of 1812 he commanded the 1st Western Army, and he, as Minister of War, was subordinate to the 2nd Western Army. In the conditions of a significant superiority of the enemy, he showed the talent of a commander and successfully carried out the withdrawal and connection of the two armies, which earned such words from M.I. Kutuzov as THANK YOU FATHER !!! SAVE THE ARMY!!! SAVE RUSSIA!!!. However, the retreat caused discontent in the noble circles and the army, and on August 17, Barclay handed over the command of the armies to M.I. Kutuzov. In the Battle of Borodino, he commanded the right wing of the Russian army, showing stamina and skill in defense. He recognized the position near Moscow chosen by L. L. Bennigsen as unsuccessful and supported the proposal of M. I. Kutuzov to leave Moscow at the military council in Fili. In September 1812 he left the army due to illness. In February 1813 he was appointed commander of the 3rd, and then the Russian-Prussian army, which he successfully commanded during the foreign campaigns of the Russian army of 1813-14 (Kulm, Leipzig, Paris). He was buried in the Beklor estate in Livonia (now Jõgeveste Estonia)
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
Well, who else if not him - the only Russian commander who did not lose, who did not lose more than one battle !!!
Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich
To a person to whom this name does not say anything - there is no need to explain and it is useless. To the one to whom it says something - and so everything is clear.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. The youngest front commander. Counts,. that of the army general - but before his death (February 18, 1945) he received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
He liberated three of the six capitals of the Union Republics captured by the Nazis: Kyiv, Minsk. Vilnius. Decided the fate of Keniksberg.
One of the few who pushed back the Germans on June 23, 1941.
He held the front in Valdai. In many ways, he determined the fate of repelling the German offensive on Leningrad. He kept Voronezh. Freed Kursk.
He successfully advanced until the summer of 1943. Having formed the top of the Kursk Bulge with his army. Liberated the Left Bank of Ukraine. Take Kyiv. Repelled Manstein's counterattack. Liberated Western Ukraine.
Carried out the operation Bagration. Surrounded and captured by his offensive in the summer of 1944, the Germans then humiliatedly marched through the streets of Moscow. Belarus. Lithuania. Neman. East Prussia.
Field Marshal Ivan Gudovich
The assault on the Turkish fortress of Anapa on June 22, 1791. In terms of complexity and importance, it is only inferior to the assault on Izmail by A.V. Suvorov.
A 7,000-strong Russian detachment stormed Anapa, which was defended by a 25,000-strong Turkish garrison. At the same time, shortly after the start of the assault, 8,000 mounted mountaineers and Turks attacked the Russian detachment from the mountains, who attacked the Russian camp, but could not break into it, were repulsed in a fierce battle and pursued by Russian cavalry.
The fierce battle for the fortress lasted over 5 hours. Of the Anapa garrison, about 8,000 people died, 13,532 defenders were taken prisoner, led by the commandant and Sheikh Mansur. A small part (about 150 people) escaped on ships. Almost all artillery was captured or destroyed (83 cannons and 12 mortars), 130 banners were taken. To the nearby fortress of Sudzhuk-Kale (on the site of modern Novorossiysk), Gudovich sent a separate detachment from Anapa, but when he approached, the garrison burned the fortress and fled to the mountains, leaving 25 guns.
The losses of the Russian detachment were very high - 23 officers and 1,215 privates were killed, 71 officers and 2,401 privates were wounded (slightly lower data are indicated in Sytin's Military Encyclopedia - 940 killed and 1,995 wounded). Gudovich was awarded the Order of St. George of the 2nd degree, all the officers of his detachment were awarded, a special medal was established for the lower ranks.
Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich
Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (November 4 (November 16), 1874, St. Petersburg, - February 7, 1920, Irkutsk) - Russian oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers of the late XIX - early XX centuries, military and political figure, naval commander, active member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1906), admiral (1918), leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.
Member of the Russo-Japanese War, Defense of Port Arthur. During the First World War, he commanded the mine division of the Baltic Fleet (1915-1916), the Black Sea Fleet (1916-1917). Georgievsky Cavalier.
The leader of the White movement both on a national scale and directly in the East of Russia. As the Supreme Ruler of Russia (1918-1920), he was recognized by all the leaders of the White movement, "de jure" - by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "de facto" - by the Entente states.
Supreme Commander of the Russian Army.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Chairman of the GKO, Supreme Commander of the USSR Armed Forces during the Great Patriotic War.
What other questions might there be?
Margelov Vasily Filippovich
The author and initiator of the creation of technical means of the Airborne Forces and methods of using units and formations of the Airborne Forces, many of which embody the image of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces that currently exists.
General Pavel Fedoseevich Pavlenko:
In the history of the Airborne Forces, and in the Armed Forces of Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, his name will remain forever. He personified a whole era in the development and formation of the Airborne Forces, their authority and popularity are associated with his name, not only in our country, but also abroad ...
Colonel Nikolai Fedorovich Ivanov:
Under more than twenty years of Margelov's leadership, the landing troops became one of the most mobile in the combat structure of the Armed Forces, prestigious service in them, especially revered by the people ... The photograph of Vasily Filippovich in demobilization albums went from the soldiers at the highest price - for a set of badges. The competition for the Ryazan Airborne School overlapped the numbers of VGIK and GITIS, and applicants who failed their exams for two or three months, before snow and frost, lived in the forests near Ryazan in the hope that someone would not withstand the stress and it would be possible to take his place .
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
He was the Supreme Commander of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War! Under his leadership, the USSR won the Great Victory during the Great Patriotic War!
Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich
A person who combines the totality of knowledge of a naturalist, scientist and great strategist.
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
The great Russian commander, who did not suffer a single defeat in his military career (more than 60 battles), one of the founders of Russian military art.
Prince of Italy (1799), Count of Rymnik (1789), Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Generalissimo of the Russian land and sea forces, Field Marshal of the Austrian and Sardinian troops, grandee of the Sardinian kingdom and prince of royal blood (with the title "cousin of the king"), knight of all Russian orders of their time, awarded to men, as well as many foreign military orders.
G.K. Zhukov showed the ability to manage large military formations numbering 800 thousand - 1 million people. At the same time, the specific losses suffered by his troops (that is, correlated with the number) turned out to be lower over and over again than those of his neighbors.
Also G.K. Zhukov demonstrated remarkable knowledge of the properties of military equipment in service with the Red Army - knowledge that is very necessary for the commander of industrial wars.
Generals of Ancient Russia
Since ancient times. Vladimir Monomakh (fought with the Polovtsy), his sons Mstislav the Great (campaigns against Chud and Lithuania) and Yaropolk (campaigns against the Don), Vsevood the Big Nest (campaigns against the Volga Bulgaria), Mstislav Udatny (battle on Lipitsa), Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (defeated knights of the Order of the Sword), Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Vladimir the Brave (the second hero of the Mamaev battle) ...
K.K. Rokossovsky
The intelligence of this marshal connected the Russian army with the Red Army.
On Channel One there is a film about the life of Leon Trotsky "Trotsky". How did the personal life of Leon Trotsky develop, who are his wives and children?
The personal life of Leon Trotsky is full of events and contradictions, like the time in which he lived. Trotsky's height is 174 cm.
Leiba Davidovich Bronstein (Lev Trotsky) was born on October 25 (November 7), 1879, the village of Yanovka, Elisavetgrad district, Kherson province, Russian Empire (now Bereslavka, Kirovograd region, Ukraine).
Leon Trotsky is a revolutionary figure of the 20th century, the ideologist of Trotskyism, one of the currents of Marxism. Twice exiled under the monarchy, deprived of all civil rights in 1905.
One of the organizers of the October Revolution of 1917, one of the creators of the Red Army. One of the founders and ideologists of the Comintern, a member of its Executive Committee.
In the first Soviet government - People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, then in 1918-1925 - People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs and Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR, then the USSR. Since 1923 - the leader of the inner-party left opposition ("New Course"). Member of the Politburo of the CPSU (b) in 1919-1926.
In 1927 he was removed from all posts and sent into exile; in 1929 - exiled from the USSR. In 1932 he was deprived of Soviet citizenship. After expulsion from the USSR - the creator and main theorist of the Fourth International (1938). Author of works on the history of the revolutionary movement in Russia (“Our Revolution”, “Revolution Betrayed”), creator of major historical works on the revolution of 1917 (“History of the Russian Revolution”), literary critical articles (“Literature and Revolution”) and autobiography “ My life" (1930).
Leon Trotsky was married twice, and his second wife remained with him until his last days. But at the end of his life, he was infatuated with another woman, the passion for which nearly drove him out of his mind.
His chosen one was the brightest Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, known for her stormy temperament.
On August 20, 1940, Leon Trotsky was mortally wounded by NKVD agent R. Mercader in Mexico City (Mexico) and died the next day.
First wife - Alexandra Lvovna Sokolovskaya (born 1872, shot in 1938). They were married in 1899-1902. Two daughters were born in the first marriage: Zinaida Volkova (born 1901, committed suicide in 1933) and Nina Bronstein (married Nevelson) (born 1902, died of tuberculosis in 1928).
The second wife is Natalya Ivanovna Sedova (April 5, 1882 - January 23, 1962). They were married in 1903-1940. Two sons were born in the second marriage: Lev Sedov (born 1906, died in 1938 after an operation, wife - Anna Samoilovna Ryabukhina, shot on January 8, 1938) and Sergey Sedov (born 1908, shot in the USSR in 1937, wife - Henrietta Rubinstein).
All four of Trotsky's children died from two marriages, as well as his first wife and sister, two nephews (sons of Olga's sister) and two sons-in-law (second husband of daughter Platon Volkov and first husband of sister Kamenev).
The sister of the second wife, Natalya Sedova, was repressed. Trotsky's daughter Nina Nevelson died of tuberculosis in 1928 during Trotsky's exile in Alma-Ata, and Trotsky himself was refused permission to visit her.
The second daughter, Zinaida Volkova, also contracted tuberculosis and received permission from the Soviet authorities to go to Berlin for treatment. In January 1933, after Germany demanded to leave the country immediately, she committed suicide in a state of depression.
Her husband Platon Volkov was shot on October 3, 1936 in Moscow in the case of Pavel and Valentin Olberg.
Trotsky's eldest son, Lev Sedov, an active Trotskyist and one of his father's closest aides during his Alma-Ata exile and after exile from the USSR, died after an operation in Paris in 1938 under suspicious circumstances. Trotsky dedicated an article to his son “Lev Sedov. Son, friend, fighter”, in which he actually blamed the “poisoners of the GPU” for his death.
Trotsky's other son, Sergei Sedov, refused to take part in his father's political activities. According to Trotsky himself, Sergei "turned his back on politics from the age of 12." During his father's exile, he visited him several times, during his exile he traveled with him to Odessa, but refused to leave the USSR.
On the night of March 3-4, 1935, Sergei Sedov was arrested on suspicion of having links with Kamenev's nephew L.B., Rosenfeld Boris Nikolaevich. In May 1935, Trotsky managed to get word of his son's arrest. Trotsky and Natalya Sedova tried to appeal to the international community, but to no avail, all their letters were ignored.
The version of the investigation that Sedov and Rosenfeld were preparing the assassination of Stalin was not confirmed, however, Sedov himself, by a decision of an extrajudicial body - a Special Meeting of the NKVD of the USSR - in July 1935 was exiled to Krasnoyarsk for 5 years for "Trotskyist conversations."
By the time his son was expelled from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk, Trotsky was already in gradually increasing isolation from news from the USSR, and in his diary he noted only that letters from his son had stopped, “obviously, and he was expelled from Moscow.” In September, Sergei Sedov was hired as a specialist engineer for gas generators at the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant.
Already in May-June 1936, Sergei Sedov was arrested on charges of so-called "sabotage" and an attempt to allegedly "poison the workers with generator gas." According to the research of the historian Dmitry Volkogonov, the pretext for repression was an incident: the mechanic on duty B. Rogozov fell asleep, forgetting to turn off the gasifier tap, after which the workshop was filled with gas. In the morning, the workers ventilated the room, the incident did not cause any consequences. On October 29, 1937, Sergei Sedov was shot without pleading guilty and without giving any evidence.
Sergei Sedov's wife, Henrietta Rubinstein, was sentenced to 20 years in the camps, the couple had a daughter, Yulia (married Axelrod, born August 21, 1936, who emigrated to the United States in 1979, and to Israel in 2004).
By the time of the execution of his son, Trotsky's isolation from the events in the USSR became final: at least on August 24, 1938, he did not know about what had happened, believing that Sergei Sedov "disappeared without a trace."
Trotsky's sister and Kamenev's first wife L.B. - Olga - was expelled from Moscow in 1935. Both of her children (Trotsky's nephews) were shot in 1938-1939, Olga Trotskaya herself was shot in 1941.
The grandson of Leo Trotsky (the son of his eldest daughter Zinaida Volkova) is Vsevolod Platonovich Volkov (Seva, born March 7, 1926, Moscow) - later the Mexican chemist and Trotskyist Esteban Volkov Bronstein.
One of the four daughters of Vsevolod (great-granddaughter of L. D. Trotsky) - Nora D. Volkova (Nora D. Volkow, born March 27, 1956, Mexico City) is a well-known American psychiatrist, professor at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, since 2003 - director of the National Institute of Drug Addiction at the National Institutes of Health (USA).
Another daughter - Patricia Volkow-Fernandez (Patricia Volkow-Fernández, born March 27, 1956, Mexico City) - Mexican doctor, author of scientific research in the field of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
The eldest daughter - Veronica Volkow (Verónica Volkow, born 1955, Mexico City) is a well-known Mexican poetess and art critic.
The youngest daughter is Natalia Volkow (Natalia Volkow, or Natalia Volkow Fernández) - an economist, deputy director for relations with educational institutions of the Mexican National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics.
As for Trotsky's great-great-grandchildren, they currently live in three different countries: Olga Bakhvalova's son Denis is in Moscow, several grandchildren of Vsevolod Volkov are in Mexico City, and David Axelrod's three children are in Israel.
On November 7 (October 25), 1879, Lev Davidovich Trotsky (Leiba Davidovich Bronstein) was born - one of the key figures in the history of Russia of the 20th century ...
In the 1920s and 30s, Trotsky's name was known to everyone in the Soviet country. At first, he was praised to the skies as the main leader of the October Bolshevik uprising and the winner of the White armies. Then - anathematized as an enemy of the party and the Soviet people. After the release of the film “Lenin in October” in 1937, in the minds of the Soviet people, Trotsky was firmly entrenched in the nickname “political prostitute” (with the reduced “r” characteristic of Ilyich). In fact, Lenin liked to use this word, but only called Kautsky a “prostitute”. In relation to his closest "accomplice" Trotsky, the leader of the world proletariat twice allowed himself the affectionate "Iudushka" (meaning Shchedrin's Yudushka Golovlev). Yes, and this happened only in the pre-revolutionary period, when Trotsky actively collaborated with the "Mensheviks".
However, the name of perhaps the brightest and most charismatic of the leaders of the revolution became a household name already in 1918. Trotsky was respected and feared not only by the red commanders, but also by their opponents in the civil struggle.
So, in the original version of M. Bulgakov’s play “Days of the Turbins”, Captain Myshlaevsky mentions the name of Trotsky as the only frightening factor for all kinds of bandits and “independents” that neither the Germans nor the whites could cope with:
“At Petliura’s, you say how much? Two hundred thousand! These two hundred thousand heels have been smeared with lard and are blowing at the very word Trotsky! Did you see? Purely!"
After November 1927, "Trotsky", for censorship reasons, was replaced by the word "Bolshevik", but the meaning of the statement of the disappointed White Guard does not change from this. An adversary like Trotsky could not but command respect.
Childhood and youth
Leiba Davidovich Bronstein was the fifth child born in the family of a wealthy Jewish colonist, a large landowner David Leontyevich Bronstein. He spent his childhood and youth on the estate of his parents (Kherson region) and the city of Odessa, where he received a good classical education at the private school-gymnasium of St. Paul. Lev Davidovich himself describes these years with love and tenderness in his autobiographical book “My Life”. The book is an extraordinary literary work, sustained in the style of an adventurous-adventure bestseller, and is certainly worth reading and quoting.
According to Trotsky himself, social inequality hurt him from childhood. His parents achieved their well-being solely by their own labor, and therefore did not share the revolutionary views of their son, but they never refused him material support. In the years of his youth, his father “ransomed” Leiba from prison several times, hoping that he would come to his senses and “get down to business”, but these hopes were not destined to come true.
Subsequently, when the social revolution, started by the former Jewish boy Leiba Bronstein and his associates, won on the entire one-sixth of the land, old David came on foot to his son in Moscow. In his memoirs, Lev Davidovich wrote:
By that time, old Bronstein, like all landowners, was deprived of his property and seriously suffered from the Civil War in southern Russia. It didn’t fit in the head of the unfortunate parent that all this disgrace was created by his youngest son Leib under the name of some Trotsky ...
In addition to the fact that L.D. Trotsky gained fame as an outstanding politician and military leader, he was also a talented writer (it was not for nothing that one of his party nicknames was the nickname "Feather"). Trotsky masterfully mastered the Russian language, and long "times" in prisons and the need to make himself known to a wide reading audience prompted the revolutionary to methodically hone his literary gift.
Trotsky himself recalled more than once that during his time in the tsarist prisons, the main nuisance for him was mandatory walks. The prison authorities took care of the health of their "guests", and the political prisoner was indignant that he had to be distracted from literary work and waste time.
First link
Leiba Bronstein went to his first exile in 1900 and not alone. While still in prison, he married the revolutionary Alexandra Lvovna Sokolovskaya. In 1901 and 1902, the couple had two daughters, Zinaida and Nina. The naive tsarist government hoped that a measured life in Siberia and raising a family would turn the exiled settlers away from active revolutionary activity. It wasn't there! Bronstein very quickly enters into contact with the Social Democratic organizations in Siberia, writes leaflets and appeals for them. Supervision of family exiles, according to the revolutionary himself, was practically not carried out, so already in 1903 he decided to flee. Leaving his wife with two small children (the youngest Nina was not yet four months old), Lev Davidovich gets on a cart to the railway station, where he calmly gets into the car.
“In my hands was Homer in the Russian hexameters of Gnedich. In my pocket is a passport in the name of Trotsky, which I myself entered at random, not foreseeing that it would become my name for life. I was driving along the Siberian line to the west. The station gendarmes indifferently let me past them, ”the successful fugitive later recalled.
Trotsky quickly reached Samara. Under the pseudonym "Pero", he collaborated in the Leninist newspaper "Iskra", then illegally moved abroad. In London, Paris, Geneva, Trotsky met with Russian revolutionary émigrés, including Lenin. The Russian Social Democracy was actively nourished by the means of foreign capital and did not live in poverty. In 1904, Trotsky joined the future "Mensheviks", married N.I. Sedova, and already in February 1905 he again went to Russia - to lead the first Russian revolution.
Second link and escape
At one time, the Soviet "Leniniana" actively exaggerated the exploits of the leader of the world proletariat V.I. Lenin in the fight against the royal gendarmerie. It is worth recalling the leaflets sewn into felt boots by Ilyich himself, milk letters and tricks with the lower and upper shelves during searches in his apartment ... All this looks like “innocent pranks” compared to what L.D. Trotsky.
Without a doubt, the future opponent of the white generals was a much brighter, resourceful and decisive personality than the immigrant theorist V.I. Lenin. Trotsky has repeatedly shown enviable composure, extraordinary energy and ability to survive in the most extreme, sometimes incompatible with life situations. His second escape from exile, after the defeat of the 1905 revolution, is no doubt worthy of the pen of Jack London or Fenimore Cooper.
In 1907, Trotsky, with the deprivation of all civil rights, was exiled to an eternal settlement in Berezov - a small town remote from any civilization, where, as you know, the disgraced favorite of Peter I Aleksashka Menshikov whiled away his days. As soon as he arrived at the place, the exiled revolutionary decided not to waste time getting to know the local sights, but immediately ran away.
A week-long reindeer trip (700 km) in forty-degree frost, in completely wild terrain, could cost the life of any unprepared person. In addition, Trotsky came across a guide from the local northern peoples, who knew the road well, but turned out to be a bitter drunkard.
Lev Davidovich had to carry out such an operation to “sober up” the guide more than once. If caught, the fugitive settler was legally threatened with hard labor; in case of loss of the road in the taiga - inevitable death. Imagine V.I. Lenin, pushing sledges along an icy road and “sobering up” a drunken native, with all his imagination, neither Bonch-Bruevich nor Zoya Voskresenskaya could have been able to ...
However, the revolutionary Trotsky managed to get to the Perm railway and board the train. After 11 days, he met near St. Petersburg with his wife Sedova, and soon moved to Finland.
Emigration and return to Russia
From 1907 to 1917 L.D. Trotsky was in exile. In 1916, for revolutionary activities, he was exiled from France to Spain, then to the United States. Upon learning of the February Revolution, Trotsky immediately headed to Russia, but along the way, in the Canadian port of Halifax, he and his family were removed from the ship by the British authorities and sent to an internment camp for sailors of the German merchant fleet. He was accused of spying for Germany. Trotsky immediately protested and got the police to carry him off the ship in their arms. Subsequently, this will become a habit for the revolutionary.
Soon, at the written request of the Provisional Government, the family was released and continued on their way. On May 4, 1917 (a month later than the German “sealed” car with Lenin) Trotsky was “exported” to Petrograd.
Revolution of 1917 and Civil War
After the failure of the Bolshevik uprising in July, Trotsky was arrested and sent to prison as a German spy. Some of his "accomplices", including Lenin, managed to escape. However, already at the end of August 1917, the Provisional Government, having imprisoned participants in the Kornilov rebellion in the Bykhov prison, for some reason freed enemies and "spies" from the "Crosses". It also provides its yesterday's opponents with complete freedom of action.
During the "Bolshevization of the Soviets" in September - October 1917, the Bolsheviks received up to 90% of the seats in the Petrosoviet. The young, energetic Trotsky was elected chairman of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, elected to the Pre-Parliament, became a delegate to the Second Congress of Soviets and the Constituent Assembly.
On October 12, 1917, Trotsky formed the Military Revolutionary Committee (VRK), the main body for preparing an armed uprising. The pretext for the formation of the Military Revolutionary Committee was a possible German attack on Petrograd, or a repetition of the Kornilov speech. The Military Revolutionary Committee immediately began work to win over the units of the Petrograd garrison. Already on October 16, Trotsky, the chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, orders 5,000 rifles to be issued to the Red Guards.
Lenin from Razliv demanded to start the uprising immediately. Trotsky proposes to postpone it until the convening of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in order to confront the Congress with the fact that the "dual power" regime has been abolished. Thus, the Congress was supposed to be the highest and only body of power in the country. Trotsky manages to win over the majority of the Central Committee, despite Lenin's concern about the postponement of the uprising.
Between October 21-23, the Bolsheviks hold a series of rallies among the wavering soldiers. On October 22, the Military Revolutionary Committee announced that the orders of the headquarters of the Petrograd Military District were invalid without its approval. At this stage, Trotsky's oratory greatly helped the Bolsheviks win over the vacillating parts of the garrison. On October 23, Trotsky personally "agitated" the garrison of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The talented orator was again carried in his arms.
The plan for the October Revolution was worked out by Trotsky and carried out by him completely independently. October 25, 1917 L.D. Trotsky was 38 years old, but he did not even remember it. The leader of the uprising spent the whole day at the telephone in Smolny.
His recollections of this unusual birthday are much more human than anything that has been written about the October uprising in subsequent years:
Yes, it was still not enough for Trotsky to take into his own hands the state power lying on the road. Before the executors and planners of the daring political act, the question immediately arose: what to do with this power? Their foreign owners, obviously, did not count on such a grandiose success. Torn apart from the inside by its own revolution, actually defeated by Germany, in 1918 it was not possible to chew such a “fat piece”. The invaders had to resolve the dangerous situation themselves: end the war, recreate the state apparatus, build an army, defend the results of the coup d'état. Over the following years, like a wound up spring, Trotsky continues to defend the gains of the Comintern in a single country.
On March 13, 1918, he resigned from the post of People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs (after the failure of his formula in Brest, which read "no peace, no war"). Already on March 14, he actually heads the Red Army as People's Commissar for Military Affairs (People's Commissar for the Sea, Pre-revolutionary Military Council) and retains this post throughout the Civil War.
According to many post-Soviet historians and publicists, as the "military leader" of Bolshevism, Trotsky showed organizational skills and undoubted oratorical talent. However, it was in the military sphere that he remained, as historian Dmitry Volkogonov emphasizes, an "amateur." During the Civil War, Trotsky did not show any special military talents, also making several strategic mistakes.
In our opinion, the claims of historians to Trotsky the military leader are completely unjustified.
It should not be forgotten that the newly-minted “commander-in-chief”, having not received a military education, as well as experience in military service, managed to “beat” much more educated and experienced opponents in the Civil War. The generals of the White armies who opposed him, for the most part, had behind them the experience of the First World War and service in the Russian General Staff. All of them, according to the biographical directory N. Rutycha, graduated from military schools and academies, where they, of course, were trained in planning and conducting strategic operations. Despite this, the illustrious generals from the infantry and cavalry lost their Russia, turning out to be powerless outcasts, taxi drivers and Parisian "clochards". Trotsky, who never served in the army, did not even have the rank of private. Nevertheless, he entered the Kremlin as a victor and remained in power until 1926-27.
Struggle for power in 1921-1927
In 1921, Lenin's deteriorating health and the virtual end of the Civil War brought the question of power to the fore. The secret conclusion of the doctors, sent to the members of the Politburo of the Central Committee, emphasized the extremely serious nature of the illness of the head of state. Immediately after Lenin's stroke (May 1922), a "troika" consisting of Kamenev, Zinoviev and Stalin is formed to jointly fight with Trotsky as one of the likely successors.
At the suggestion of Kamenev and Zinoviev, the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) was established, to which Stalin was appointed. Initially, this position was understood as a technical one and therefore did not interest Trotsky in any way. The Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars was considered the head of state. Meanwhile, Stalin manages to lead the "technical" state apparatus just at the time of a particularly sharp increase in his influence.
Trotsky, in his own opinion, considered himself Lenin's sole successor and did not view Stalin and company as serious competitors. Kamenev (Rosenfeld) was his relative: he was married to Trotsky's sister. Lev Davydovich never took him seriously, as well as Zinoviev, who had long been assigned the image of a party jester.
Since 1922, in parallel with the strengthening of Stalin's influence as the head of the "technical" apparatus, his influence as the secretary of Lenin, who is retiring, has increased. Trotsky himself, in his autobiographical work My Life, admits on this occasion:
Indeed, the "resting on his laurels" Trotsky was never interested in the details or parts of party power. He was used to getting everything and did not pay attention to the little things. Stalin often visited Lenin in Gorki during his illness. Trotsky, as it turned out, had no idea where this settlement was located.
Stalin, starting in 1922, methodically placed his supporters in all key positions in the party. He pays special attention to the secretaries of provincial and district party committees, as they form delegations to party congresses. During 1923, the "troika" replaces the commanders of the military districts with "their own". Trotsky, as if not noticing what is happening around him, does nothing. He defiantly comes to meetings of the Central Committee with a French novel (as if in a toilet), makes loud scandals, slams doors, and often goes hunting.
In the autumn of 1923, while hunting, Trotsky caught a bad cold and fell ill with pneumonia. He never showed up at Lenin's funeral. Subsequently, Trotsky blamed this on Stalin, who he claimed deliberately gave the wrong date for the funeral.
Once losing real power, the second person in the state can only appeal to his authority as a leader of the revolution and the Civil War, using his oratorical and journalistic abilities.
In October 1924, seeing that the "troika" Stalin-Kamenev-Zinoviev was close to collapse, Trotsky finally decided to go on the offensive. He publishes the scandalous article “Lessons of October”, in which he recalls his role as the organizer of the October Revolution, and, as “compromising evidence”, informs readers that Zinoviev and Kamenev were generally against the performance, and Stalin did not play any role in it. The article provoked the so-called "literary discussion", in which the "troika", once again united, attacked Trotsky with a counter "compromising evidence", recalling to him the non-Bolshevik past and mutual abuse with Lenin before the revolution.
The "war of compromising evidence" started by Trotsky damaged his authority much more than all previous scandals. At the plenum of the Central Committee in January 1925, Zinoviev and Kamenev demanded that Trotsky be expelled from the party. Stalin, continuing to maneuver, suggests that Trotsky not only not be expelled, but even left in the Central Committee and the Politburo, taking away from him only the key posts of the People's Commissariat of Defense and the Pre-Revolutionary Military Council. Frunze becomes the new People's Commissar for the Navy, and Voroshilov becomes his deputy.
According to Trotsky himself, he even accepted his “overthrow” with relief, since this to some extent averted accusations of preparing a “Bonapartist” military coup. The plenum of the Central Committee appoints Trotsky to a number of secondary posts: chairman of the Main Committee for Concessions (Glavkontsesskom), chairman of a special meeting at the Supreme Economic Council on product quality, chairman of the Electrotechnical Committee.
After such a blow to Trotsky, the "troika" of Zinoviev-Kamenev-Stalin finally disintegrates. Supporters of Zinoviev and Kamenev form the so-called "new opposition". The main pretext for the split is the doctrine developed by Stalin of "building socialism in a single country." Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev continued to head for the "world revolution".
Summing up the intra-party discussions of the mid-1920s, it is worth noting that at present, among Stalinist historians and jingoists who have embarked on a new “great-power” platform, there is an opinion that Stalin, who did not participate in any what conspiracies with the Western powers, at that moment he was most concerned about the welfare of the country. The former Caucasian criminal always felt like a stranger in the society of re-emigrant intellectuals, "mishandled Cossacks", and therefore preferred to eliminate Trotsky and the company not only politically, but also physically.
However, the guardian of national interests decided to leave Trotsky alive for some time. A living enemy is better than a dead one, just because the fight against the foreign "opposition" can justify any excesses and lynching in the party elite.
The united opposition Trotsky-Zinoviev-Kamenev lost their war in 1926-27 without even starting it. Stalin very quickly “squeezed” them out of the state of party legality, forcing them to actually go underground. As you know, anti-government protests and opposition rallies on November 7, 1927 only led to outrages and riots on the streets of Moscow and Leningrad.
At the joint October plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission, Trotsky demands that the "Testament of Lenin" be read out, and, in accordance with it, that Stalin be removed from the post of General Secretary. Stalin was forced to announce the text of the "Testament", but it did not, contrary to the expectations of the opposition, "a bombshell". After the XV Congress of the CPSU (b), Stalin asked the plenum of the Central Committee to accept his resignation from the post of General Secretary. It was just a well-rehearsed performance. Naturally, the Central Committee, controlled by Stalin himself, did not accept the “resignation”. On the contrary, the majority of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks voted for the expulsion of Zinoviev and Trotsky from the party. In fact, the opposition was crushed.
In January 1927, Trotsky and his family went into exile in Alma-Ata. Employees of the OGPU had to carry the oppositionist out of the apartment in their arms. Trotsky reiterated all sorts of protests and actively resisted their actions, trying to raise as much noise as possible. But that didn't help him.
Emigration and death
The forcible expulsion of Trotsky from the USSR was associated with even greater difficulties: none of the European powers that accepted white emigrants wanted to give shelter to such an odious figure. In 1929 Trotsky was exiled to Turkey. Then, after being deprived of Soviet citizenship, he moved to France, in 1935 - to Norway, where there were practically no Russian emigrants. But Norway, too, fearing to worsen relations with the USSR, tried with all its might to get rid of the unwanted guest, confiscating all of Trotsky's works and placing him under house arrest. Trotsky was repeatedly threatened to extradite him to the Soviet government if he did not stop "stirring up the fire of the world revolution" and looking for new "ghosts of communism" in post-war Europe. Unable to withstand the harassment, Trotsky emigrated to distant Mexico in 1936, where he lived until his death. In Mexico, Trotsky completed work on the book The Revolution Betrayed, in which he called what was happening in the Soviet Union "Stalin's Thermidor." He accused Stalin of Bonapartism and the usurpation of power.
In 1938, Trotsky proclaimed the creation of the Fourth International, whose heirs still exist. In response to this, Trotsky's eldest son, Lev Sedov, died (or was deliberately eliminated by NKVD agents) in a hospital in Paris after an appendicitis operation. The fate of Trotsky's daughters from their first marriage was just as tragic: the younger Nina died of tuberculosis in 1928, and the eldest Zinaida followed her father into exile, but in 1933, being in a state of deep depression, she committed suicide.
Trotsky managed to take his personal archive into exile. This archive included copies of a number of documents signed by Trotsky during his time in power in the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, the Central Committee, the Comintern, a number of Lenin's notes addressed personally to Trotsky and not published anywhere else. Based on his archive, Trotsky in his memoirs easily quotes a number of documents he signed, including sometimes even secret ones. In the 1930s, OGPU agents repeatedly tried (sometimes successfully) to steal some of their fragments, and in March 1931 some of the documents burned down during a suspicious fire. In March 1940, Trotsky, in dire need of money and fearing that the archive would still fall into the hands of Stalin, sold most of his papers to Harvard University.
On August 20, 1940, the NKVD agent Ramon Mercader, who had previously penetrated Trotsky's entourage as a staunch follower, mortally wounded him in the head with an ice pick. Trotsky died of his wound the next day. The Soviet authorities publicly denied their involvement in the murder. The killer was sentenced by a Mexican court to twenty years in prison, but in 1961, Ramon Mercader, who arrived in the USSR, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.
Lev Davidovich Trotsky (Leiba Bronstein) (born November 7, 1879 - death August 21, 1940) - revolutionary, ideologist of Trotskyism. One of the organizers of the 1917 revolution. Member of the Bolshevik Party from August 1917 to 11/14/1927. Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) - RCP (b) - VKP (b). He was a member of the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) between the VIII and IX Congresses of the Party, a member of the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) from September 25, 1923 to June 2, 1924.
1924 - Trotsky's confrontation with I.V. Stalin for leadership ended with the defeat of Trotsky. 1927 - expelled from the party, exiled to Alma-Ata, 1929 - abroad. He sharply criticized the Stalinist regime as a bureaucratic degeneration of proletarian power. 1938 - the initiator of the creation of the 4th International. 1940 - was killed in Mexico by an NKVD agent, a Spaniard R. Mercader.
Childhood. early years
Leiba Bronstein was born in 1879 in the village of Yanovka, Elisavetgrad district, Kherson province, into a family of a wealthy landowner from among the Jewish colonists. His father was able to learn to read only in old age. He studied at a real school in Odessa and Nikolaev, where he was the first in all disciplines. Leiba loved to draw, was fond of literature, composed poetry, translated the fables of I. A. Krylov from Russian into Ukrainian, took part in the publication of a school handwritten magazine. At that time, his rebellious character first began to appear: due to a conflict with a French teacher, he was temporarily expelled from the school.
Trotsky in childhood and youth
Beginning of revolutionary activity. Arrest. Link
1896 - in the city of Nikolaev (where he moved) he joined a revolutionary circle. In order to get a higher education, Leiba had to leave her new comrades and go to Novorossiysk. There he was easily able to enter the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the local university. But the revolutionary struggle had already captured the young man, and he soon left this university and returned to Nikolaev.
1898, January - was arrested, imprisoned, first in Nikolaev, from there he was transferred to Kherson, then to Odessa and Moscow transit. In a Moscow prison, he married an activist of the "South Russian Workers' Union" A.L. Sokolovskaya, with whom he was familiar from the Nikolaev period of participation in this organization. Sentenced to four years of exile in Eastern Siberia, where he was taken with his wife in 1900, in the autumn. At the stage, he met F.E. Dzerzhinsky. In exile, he collaborated with the Irkutsk newspaper Vostochnoye Obozreniye, writing under the pseudonym Antid Oto. He joined the Mensheviks.
Trotsky with his daughter Zina and his first wife Alexandra Sokolovskaya
Emigration
1902, August - leaving his wife with two daughters, the youngest of whom was three months old, he fled from Siberian exile with a passport in the name of Trotsky, which he himself entered, not foreseeing that it would become his name for life.
Leon Trotsky went to London, where he met with V.I. Lenin. There he repeatedly spoke to emigrants-revolutionaries. Trotsky impressed everyone with his intellect and oratorical skills. Lenin suggested that he be included in the editorial board of Iskra, but Plekhanov categorically opposed this.
1903 - Trotsky married Natalya Sedova in Paris. But officially, Alexandra Sokolova remained his wife until the end of her life.
Return to Russia
After the revolution of 1905, Lev Davidovich and his wife returned to Russia. During the revolution, he showed himself to be an outstanding organizer, orator, and publicist; the de facto leader of the St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Deputies, editor of his Izvestia. He belonged to the most radical wing in the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP).
Arrest. Second emigration
After the publication of the Financial Manifesto, he was arrested and convicted. 1906 - was sentenced to a life-long settlement in Siberia with the deprivation of all civil rights. On the way to Obdorsk, he fled from Berezov.
He moved to Europe, where he made several attempts to unite the disparate parties of a socialist orientation, but could not succeed. In 1912-1913, Lev Davidovich Trotsky, as a military correspondent for the newspaper Kyiv Mysl, wrote 70 reports from the fronts of the Balkan wars. Subsequently, this experience will help him organize work in the Red Army.
After the outbreak of the First World War, he flees from Vienna to Paris, where he publishes the newspaper Nashe Slovo. In it, he was engaged in the publication of his articles of a pacifist orientation, which became the reason for the expulsion of Trotsky from France. The revolutionary moved to America, where he hoped to settle down, as he doubted the possibility of an imminent revolution in Russia.
Trotsky at a rally in Yekaterinodar (1919)
October Revolution
May 1917 - returned to Petrograd, joined the united social democratic internationalists ("mezhrayontsy"). Soon he became the informal leader of the “inter-districts”, who occupied a critical position in relation to the Provisional Government. After the failure of the July uprising, he was arrested by the Provisional Government.
At the 6th Congress of the RSDLP (b) he was elected one of the honorary chairmen of the congress and a member of the Central Committee of the party. 1917, September - after being released from prison, he was elected chairman of the Petrosoviet. He was one of the organizers of the armed uprising in Petrograd, during the days of the October Revolution he played a leading role in the PVRK, led the suppression of the Kerensky-Krasnov rebellion.
Fall from the pinnacle of power
1918, autumn - Trotsky is appointed chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR, that is, he becomes the first commander in chief of the newly formed Red Army. The following years, he essentially lived on a train, which traveled on all fronts. During the defense of Tsaritsyn, Lev Davidovich entered into a frank confrontation with Stalin. Over time, he began to understand that there could be no equality in the army, and began to introduce the institute of military experts into the Red Army, striving for its reorganization and return to the traditional principles of building the armed forces. 1924 - Trotsky was removed from the post of chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council.
in exile
1927 - Lev Davidovich Trotsky was removed from the Politburo of the Central Committee, expelled from the party. 1928, January - was exiled to Alma-Ata. 1929, February - deported from the Soviet Union to Turkey.
He settled on the island of Prinkipo (Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul), wrote works there about his life and the revolution, and harshly criticized Stalin's policies. Considering the Comintern “captured” by the Stalinists to be politically bankrupt, Lev Davidovich began to organize a new, Fourth International.
He sharply opposed, calling for the unification against German National Socialism of all the left forces of Europe. 1933, summer - after the Fuhrer came to power, the radical French government of E. Daladier granted Trotsky asylum in France. 1935 - Trotsky was forced to leave this country. A new asylum was provided to him by the Labor government of Norway, but in early 1937 he was expelled from there - apparently due to Soviet pressure.
Last years
The revolutionary has now been given refuge by Mexico's "leftist" President Lazaro Cardenas. Leon Trotsky settled in Coyoacan as a guest of the radical artist Diego Rivera. 1938 - The Fourth International was officially established by the Trotskyists.
Meanwhile, the secret services of the USSR did not cease to keep Trotsky under close surveillance, having agents among his associates. 1938 - under strange circumstances in a Paris hospital after an operation, his closest and tireless colleague, the eldest son Lev Sedov, died. News came from the USSR not only about unparalleled cruel repressions against the "Trotskyites". They arrested and subsequently shot his first wife and his youngest son Sergei Sedov. The accusation of Trotskyism in the Soviet Union became the most terrible and dangerous in those days.
Death
In recent years, Lev Davidovich worked on his book about Stalin, in which he considered Stalin as a fatal figure for socialism. Anticipating his imminent death, at the beginning of 1940, Trotsky wrote a testament, where he spoke of satisfaction with his fate as a Marxist revolutionary, proclaimed an unshakable faith in the triumph of the 4th International and in the imminent world socialist revolution.
1940, May - an assassination attempt was made on the revolutionary himself in Mexico by a group of assassins, led by the famous artist A. Siqueiros. However, it failed, but on August 20, 1940, NKVD agent Ramon Mercader hit Trotsky on the head with an ice pick.
Lev Davidovich Trotsky died the next day, August 21, 1940 in Coyocan (Mexico). He was buried in the courtyard of his house, where his museum is now located.
