Библия Времени. Найди свое. Лим Ворд

      1. Lev Zakharovich Mehlis (1889—1953), a native of Odessa, colonel-general, member of the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b). At the beginning of his career – clerk, teacher in the gymnasium, then the apparatchik of the RCP (b), the head of the Political Department, 250 thousandth corps of political commissars. The circumstances of his death are rather dark, however, he is buried, in the Kremlin wall (which is hardly emotionally logical). His punchy character, maniacal suspicion, liked Stalin very much. He distinguished himself most during the war, in the Crimea, where he urgently demanded that the commanders deploy troops as targets on the test site, «so as not to reduce the offensive impulse.» According to one information, he was retired «for health reasons», peacefully reposed of a stroke, others died in the hospital of Lefortovo prison, from the deterioration of the state of health, which usually accompanies such drastic changes. Perhaps both versions somehow correlate. Shortly before his death, recalling the operation on the Crimean front, he found strength to recognize that «… for this we must be cursed.»

      2. Malenkov Georgiy Maximilianovich (1902—1988), birthplace – Orenburg, the family of a railway employee. Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1953—1955, the actual leader of the USSR in March-September 1953. At the same time, he halved the monetary maintenance of the party official, which predetermined his future destiny. In 1957, with a «group of sided» tried to remove Khrushchev from office, lost, was removed from the Central Committee, appointed director of the power plant. At the end of his life he turned to faith.

      3. Yezhov Nikolai Ivanovich (1895—1940), People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR. A native of St. Petersburg, comes from the family of a Russian worker-caster and (possibly) Lithuanian, a resident of the city of Kovno. He studies tailor’s craft, works as an assistant fitter at a glass factory, is drafted into the Red Army, where he becomes deputy head of the agitation and propaganda department. Until the middle of the thirties, it is considered a soft and tactful person around.

      Further, he shows activity, indicating to the leadership the shortcomings in the matter of exposing the Trotskyites, heads the investigation into the murder of Kirov, enters the sphere of Stalin’s action, transforms into him and advances, if possible in this case, «higher».

      In 1936 Yezhov succeeded Henry Grigorevich Yagoda (Enoch Hershevich Yehuda), if possible, opposed the fabrication of cases of underground anti-Soviet organizations, as head of state security, as well as torture. In the case of a new People’s Commissar, lists of local NKVD bodies appear indicating the number of people to be expelled, shot, arrested, imprisoned in camps and prisons. To accelerate the examination of cases, extrajudicial repressive bodies are used, such as the «troikas of the NKVD of the USSR» – the head of the regional department of the NKVD, the secretary of the regional committee, the regional prosecutor. According to the materials of the case, in absentia – or without materials at all, on the lists with the description of the arrest procedure – decisions that can not be appealed are made in free form. The final document is the act on the execution of the sentence.

      On the day of «Blackberry» («Yezhevishka») sends (so-called his protege) Stalin to 20 reports on the arrests, conducting punitive operations, requests for authorization of certain actions. A little later, there is a popular Soviet legend that «Stalin believed Yezhov, without looking to sign documents on the shooting of innocent people… the leader did not know anything about it.»

      The People’s Commissar wipes out the old Leninist guard, all those who do not consider Stalin to be a higher being, deal with higher officers, frighten off scouts – the smartest of whom prefer to hide abroad. Remains of conscience head of state security pours vodka.

      On December 9, 1938, Yezhov, «according to his request» is released from the duties of the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs, becomes a modest commissar of water transport. April 10, 1939, arrested in Malenkov’s office, with the participation of Beria, is accused of preparing a coup d’état and terrorist acts. In the last word at the trial Yezhov complains that during the investigation «the strongest beatings were used to me,» but in reality I am not a terrorist, and during the twenty-five years of my party life I honestly… destroyed the enemies.»

      Yezhov’s wife takes poison, brother Ivan, sister Evdokia, the nephews Victor and Anatoly are liquidated.

      In the Soviet press, nothing is reported about the arrest and execution of Yezhov; he drops out of the information field, down to the disappearance of his images from historical photographs.

      4. Beria Lavrenty Pavlovich (cargo of Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria), 1899—1953. He was born in the village of Merheuli Kutaisi province (now Gulryshsky region of Abkhazia), in a poor peasant family. He received a diploma as a builder-architect, was a treasurer in the RSDLP (b) department, worked as a clerk in a factory in Baku.

      Beria’s photo at the beginning of the KGB career, 1920’s… There is a feeling that he still tried to be a good person, but it turned out in his end, not very well.

      Beria sets high procurement prices for products from the Transcaucasus, so that the Georgian peasantry becomes the most prosperous in the country. In 1938 he was appointed People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR. The scale of repression during this period is sharply reduced, 150,000 people are released from prisons and camps. To Stalin himself, the business man says something like «If we shoot everyone, who will we lead then?» Prior to his deputy, Merkulov, since 1939, he heads foreign intelligence. During the war he oversees the production of aircraft, missile technology, other weapons, performs certain responsible assignments of the party, and copes with its tasks in general. Since 1943 – «observant» for «the