Every high school student knows about the attempts to kill Hitler - in the Munich beer hall and in the Wolf's Lair. But what about Stalin? At least a few attacks were also "organized" on the life of this dictator. Very specific attacks.
The story of one of them was told by a certain Wasilewski, belonging to the personal protection of the Soviet leader. The thing happened in the last years before the German-Soviet war, that is, at a time when Stalin's paranoia, who saw spies, agents and assassins everywhere, was reaching its zenith. The Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (b) was on a vacation by the Black Sea and one day he wanted a boat trip. As he was sailing past a small island, he heard a cannon shot. He immediately panicked and ordered him to turn back.
Effects of an official investigation? The members of the military garrison on the island made an attempt to assassinate the commander. How was the reality? A cannon fired but into the air to alert soldiers on a nearby shore of an alert. One of the garrison members had an accident and a motorboat had to be called to take him to the hospital. The fact that no attempt had taken place was obvious, but Stalin did not want to listen to explanations or forgive the fear he had eaten. The "guilty" people and their commander were immediately arrested.
In the above case, it was an unfortunate coincidence. Other attempts to assassinate Stalin were carefully staged by ... the head of the NKVD, Lavrenty Beria . He tried to keep Stalin in constant fear and thus secure his position at the top of power. One of the "attacks" happened again during a sea voyage.
Beria, Stalin and Stalin's daughter. If only Josif Wissarionowicz knew…
Stalin and Beria were sailing along the mountainous bank of the Crimea when suddenly a group of men fired at the cutter. Beria heroically shielded the commander with his own body, and the NKVD officers shot all the aggressors in the blink of an eye. Only that it was all a pre-planned fraud. The assassins also worked in the NKVD and were equipped with blank cartridges. Probably no one told them that their attack would be repelled using the most real ammunition. The entire squad was beaten to the leg.
Another "coup" was no longer so sophisticated. The thing was at Stalin's, to whom Beria came for dinner. Earlier, he got into a conversation with the cook. The source relates it as follows:
Beria (...) asked the cook if he had a gun.
- No - replied the cook - what do I need a gun for?
- How about you defend comrade Stalin. After all, you belong to his immediate surroundings, you absolutely must have a weapon.
The cook obediently accepted the pistol from Beria and returned to work. When it came time for supper, he brought her personally. Suddenly Beria got up and exclaimed:"Give back the gun!" The cook panicked, reached for the pistol and tried to explain himself ... Without waiting, Beria killed the assassin and the enemy of the revolution, earning Stalin even greater gratitude.
***
Are the above stories true? Hard to say. They come from the collection of anecdotes published in 1989 entitled "Private Life of Stalin". The author, Yuriy Boriev, tells the various anecdotes and stories he has heard, but does not try to verify their truthfulness, and in most cases he does not even mention their source. Although it must be admitted that just these three seem quite likely. By the way, Boriev's book appeared in a phenomenal, compared to today's historical publications, a circulation of 200,000 copies. On Allegro you can easily buy it for a few zlotys.
Source:
- Yuri Boriev, Stalin's private life , Oficyna Literatów "Rój", Warsaw 1989.