Myths about Lawrence Pavlovich Beria
Myth.
The atrocities of L. Beria were thoroughly investigated and brought to court
Fact.
Beria's case consisted of 45 volumes that were collected in half a year. But 90% of materials are not original documents and interrogation protocols, but typewritten copies certified by the major of the Prosecutor’s Office, Yuryeva. What kind of prosecutor who does not require the originals? And were they anyway? In the case of Beria, there were many violations. If he was arrested on June 26, then on what basis, because only 30 June was opened? In the decree on depriving Beria of parliamentary immunity from 26 of June there is a reference to the case, which was not open then! They did it, obviously, in hindsight. There is not a single case, even in the form of a certified copy, of Beria’s confrontation report with other arrested because of him. This suggests that there was no one to meet the “gang members”. The arrested, realizing what this means, began to blame everything on the chief. In the case there is not a single examination, not a single investigative experiment, a judicial photograph was not used. Many references were to long-dead persons who could not refute their words.
Myth.
L. Beria repressed the leading officials of Ukraine
Fact.
We are talking about Postyshev, Kosiore and Chubar. First, they themselves were quite brutal leaders who conducted mass repressions. So, Postyshev in general did not even sign the lists of convicts, but the lines with their numbers. In January 1938, he pointedly stated at the Plenum that he would continue arresting and destroying the enemies of the people. Almost immediately, Postyshev was removed from his candidacy as a member of the Politburo and was arrested. But then, at the head of the NKVD stood Yezhov. Before Beria arrived there, it was still half a year. The Postyshev case was checked personally by Molotov and Voroshilov, and the politician was shot dead for the extermination of party members and innocent people. Kosior and Chubar stood for collectivization in Ukraine and the subsequent famine. Kosior was arrested on May 3 of the year 1938, again long before coming to Beria's NKVD. And the convicts were handed down to the criminals by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court.
Myth.
L. Beria proposed to Stalin to create detachments to shoot the retreating
Fact.
In fact, detachments are known since ancient times, they were used before Ancient Rome. But in the Russian army, such measures were not applied. During the Civil War, detachments were created at critical moments in order to avoid flight from the front. And during the Great Patriotic War, the directive on the creation of detachments was signed by 27 June Tymoshenko and Zhukov. By order of Stakes, this practice was extended to all fronts. The barrage of the NKVD caught the stragglers and fled from the front, delaying only 10 October 1941 of the year 650 thousand people! Thus, parts of Beria solved a strategic task, not allowing the front to collapse. Of this number, only 25 thousand were arrested, the rest returned to the front. So what kind of atrocities can we talk about? There are orders of Zhukov, who offered to shoot all at all without dismantling deserters.
Myth.
Liberated Soviet prisoners of war L. Beria sent to the Gulag
Fact.
It turns out that another article appeared in the wording of the RSFSR Criminal Code of 1938, according to which surrender to the enemy in captivity in an inappropriate situation was punishable by execution with confiscation of property. First of all, it is worth noting that there is a myth that the Red Army surrendered en masse, especially in the 1941 year. The numbers range from 4,5 to 6,2 to millions of people. The Germans themselves meticulously calculated that in 1941, they had captured 2,5 a million soldiers. The 16 bet of August 1941 of the year issued a tough order that allowed deserters to be punished and surrendered. These were brutal measures, but the country was on the verge of disaster. In December 1941, the orders of the State Defense Committee and Stalin set up filtration camps to check those released from captivity. In fact, it was a completely necessary measure. There is a document from 1 of October 1944 of the year, according to which 350 of thousands of servicemen released from encirclement and released from captivity were checked. 250 thousand people were transferred back to the army after verification, another 30 thousand were sent to work in industry. Arrested by the same authorities SMERSH of all 11500 people. It follows from the document that over 95% of ex-prisoners of war was tested, and the total number at the end of the war was at the level of 90%. With the end of battles, the number of people in the filtration camps has increased dramatically. Of 1,8 million, 1 million successfully passed the test, these people were returned to the army. Another 600 thousand were sent to work in industry, to restore the economy. 340 thousands of people got to the camps, that is, only about 18% of those checked out. There is also an interesting STB document from 18 of August 1945 of the year, in which the “playfulness” of former prisoners is refuted at least by permission to take families to the place of work.
Myth.
L. Beria was a member of a special tribunal of the 1937 model of the year.
Fact.
The information that L. Beria was a member of a special tribunal of the 1937 model of the year, commonly referred to as the “troika”, could not even be found by Khrushchev investigators.
Myth.
L. Beria and Abakumov concocted a fake Leningrad affair
Fact.
29 December 1945, Marshal Beria, was relieved of his duties as Commissar, starting a nuclear project. So he did not have a relationship with the state security agencies, with the exception of atomic intelligence. The ministry was under the management of Abakumov, who launched a high-profile case. And the executions were carried out by the MGB.
Myth.
L. Beria killed Stalin, who no longer trust him
Fact.
The question of the transfer of Beria to the Lubyanka as a minister was decided during Stalin’s lifetime. Would he appoint a person whom he didn’t trust as the head of the special services? This decision was due to the mess and violations that have appeared in recent years in the MGB. And Khrushchev supervised the ministry, Beria’s henchmen of his appointees immediately began to be dismissed. Lavrenty Pavlovich already had experience in restoring the work of state security organs and internal affairs. He even managed to request the approval of the Central Committee to arrest the former Minister of State Security Ignatieff, identifying Stalin's murderers. But L. Beria was no longer allowed to finish the job.
Myth.
L. Beria, being an agent of Western intelligence, advocated the unification of Germany
Fact.
This accusation Beria brought backdating, after his execution. The most interesting thing is that story confirmed his innocence. In 1989, Germany united thanks to Gorbachev, although this could have happened much earlier and on the initiative of a completely different person. The very idea of splitting Germany belonged to the Americans and the British, who did not want to see a powerful competitor in the center of Europe. Stalin repeatedly stressed that in the future he sees a united and strong democratic Germany, and sees its split as a last resort. Back in March 1947, riots broke out in the American zone due to the looting of the invaders. But Western propaganda was trumpeting about the fact that people in the Soviet half live not so well and democratically. The USSR closely followed the riots in the GDR that arose not without the participation of Western intelligence agencies. Molotov at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers proposed to introduce Soviet troops into this country to support the regime. Suddenly, Beria spoke, who said that the main thing was peace in Germany, and what form of government it would no longer matter. He motivated his position that a single country, even a bourgeois one, would become a serious counterbalance to America. Thanks to the harsh measures and the introduction of troops, the unrest in the GDR was suppressed. But the principled position of Beria was misunderstood, but prophetic.
Myth.
L. Beria is personally to blame for the repression against the former wife of Molotov, Pauline Pearl
Fact.
This myth appeared thanks to Molotov himself. There is a legend that immediately after being appointed to the post of Commissar Beria, he asked Molotov how he could help. Allegedly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs asked for the return of Polina Pearl. Based on the statement of the words, you might think that it was Lavrenty Pavlovich who put her behind bars. In fact, Beria had nothing to do with this, since at the time of the arrest of the woman, the investigation and sentencing, the MGB was not headed. In this post sat Abakumov. He knew that the Pearl passed on the secrets of Molotov to the Israeli ambassador, and her other actions spoke directly about espionage activities. Molotov’s wife was released the day after Stalin’s death, by order of Beria, and he was immediately rehabilitated and reinstated in the party. So Lavrenty Pavlovich played only a positive role in the fate of the Pearl.
Myth.
because of L. Beria, potatoes, vegetables and herring disappeared in the USSR in 1953 year
Fact.
Beria is often blamed on problems in agriculture. Allegedly, he at the Presidium of the Central Committee sent a draft solution to the problem with vegetables for revision. But after all, the Presidency was 10 people who could make the decision by an overwhelming majority. In fact, it was Beria who understood most of the other politicians in agriculture, closely tackling this issue in the 1930 in Georgia. He fundamentally demanded a revision of the raw project. And later, Mikoyan laid the blame for the lack of herring on Beria, which he has nothing in common with reality.
Myth.
L. Beria overheard Stalin in the Kremlin
Fact.
This myth has appeared in our time. With the recent reconstruction of the Kremlin, there was evidence that Stalin's office was bugged. Immediately blamed the "gray cardinal" of the Soviet Union, Beria. Journalists jumped at the famous name, realizing that nobody would be interested in a smaller figure. In the structure of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) - CPSU, there was a special service department, which in 1952-1953 was headed by Deputy Minister of State Security I. Savchenko, a close friend of Khrushchev. It was she who had all the opportunities to listen to Stalin's office. In the last year of his life he was alarmed by the activities of Khrushchev. It was easy to install a wiretap - in the last months of his life the leader rarely came to the Kremlin.
Myth.
on the eve of the war L. Beria defeated Soviet intelligence
Fact.
Before 1937, military intelligence was a sad sight. The failures followed one after the other, a mess reigned. Among the agents were many suspicious personalities, the staff were foreigners with relatives abroad. In addition, Trotsky’s supporters were in the lineup. Who this structure worked for is still a question. Beria only completed the process begun under Ezhov. Under him, both the age and national composition of the service changed. As a result, during the Second World War, Soviet intelligence began to be considered the strongest in the world. Professionals remained in office, who served not for the ephemeral ideas of the world revolution, but for their homeland. Beria restored the legality of the activities of special departments, helped to improve the efficiency of the service, its interaction and coordination.
Myth.
on the eve of the war L. Beria initiated the deportation of the population of Western Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, the Baltic States
Fact.
In the archives there are quite clear numbers on the deportation of the Balts on the eve of the war. Of the 4, millions of people were arrested and evicted just 40 thousand people, including prostitutes and criminals. The state security agencies had accurate data that in the event of war in the new territories a fifth column would be involved. Merkulov prepared in the Central Committee a note on the cleansing of the Baltic from counter-revolutionaries, former security guards, gendarmes, officers, landowners. This measure was cruel and in no way democratic. But after all, the state sought to strengthen its security in this way. And the signature on the document left Merkulov. Similar measures were taken in Ukraine. Belarus and Moldova. Not everything was also evicted, but those who had already been compromised and provided potential danger.
Myth.
At the end of the war, on the initiative of L. Beria, a massive deportation of Chechens, Crimean Tatars, Ingush, Kabardians and other small peoples was carried out.
Fact.
From the point of view of the Soviet laws, representatives of these nations committed such crimes that they would have to shoot almost the entire male population. That would be a real genocide. So the Soviet government chose a much softer path for retribution. The peoples who collaborated with the Germans were evicted to places where they could not bring harm to the country. We shouldn’t talk about genocide, because the deported peoples surpassed others in demography, especially the Slavs, the peoples of the country. Lying is also the claim that Beria received the Order of Suvorov for such an action. The award took place on March 7 1944 of the year, as the head of the NKVD was marked by the leadership for participating in making a break in the course of the war. And the eviction of the Chechens and the Ingush began only on February 23, which can not be associated with a reward. And the cooperation of the mentioned nations with the fascists is a proven fact - the Germans understood the importance of the Crimea and the Caucasus and were preparing to start a civil war there, cooperating with the indigenous peoples. Yes, and often the initiators of the eviction of nations were not Stalin and Beria, but the front commanders. They had to attract up to 15% forces to fight gangs in the rear. So the problem required a solution.
Myth.
under the leadership of L. Beria, the internal affairs agencies allowed mass espionage of the German intelligence services, which in many ways caused the tragedy of June 22
Fact.
Debunking this myth is easy if we turn to the professional opinion of the Germans. At the Nuremberg trials, Field Chief Marshal Keitel, head of the German Armed Forces, said that information about the Soviet Union and the Red Army was extremely scarce. The agents' data concerned the tactical zone, but information was never received that seriously affected the course of hostilities. One of the leaders of the Abwehr, General Pickenbrock, said that military intelligence in the USSR did not fulfill its tasks. But this did not happen due to not professionalism of the employees, but due to good counterintelligence, vigilance of the military and civilians. And there were many similar testimonies - German intelligence suffered failures without revealing our secrets. On the eve of the war, the Germans did not know how many divisions opposed them, nor how many tanks can be made for war. And the tragedy of June 22 is caused, first of all, by the misses of the military and violation of the banal disguise.
Myth.
L. Beria planned to surrender the Caucasus to Hitler
Fact.
This myth was invented by the generals; they could not recognize that the Caucasus was preserved, precisely because of Beria. True, there are few scientific materials about his participation in those events, one has to be content with the memoirs of partisan contemporaries. For example, A.A. Grechko wrote that the arrival of Beria in his army caused harm, he introduced nervousness and disorganization. In fact, the 46 Army was not able to protect the passes, and a member of the State Defense Committee, Beria, was sent there at the crucial moment. The defense of the Caucasus was carried out poorly from a strategic point of view. Beria immediately put reliable officers in key positions, removing Budenny and Kaganovich from command. On the initiative of Beria, 175 passes were urgently studied, their security and defense was organized. The construction of fortifications has begun on the Georgian Military and Ossetian Military Roads, and the security of communications has been strengthened. Beria organized the air defense of the Baku oilfield. Yes, and the troops of the NKVD under the direct supervision of their Commissar perfectly manifested themselves in the most difficult days.
Myth.
the special divisions led by L. Beria prevented the commanders of the Red Army from fighting effectively with their denunciations
Fact.
This myth was beneficial to the Soviet military leaders, who blamed their failures on Beria and the NKVD. From the reports of the same Abakumov it is clear that the command made many mistakes, including tactical plan, losing personnel. Obviously, these comments went upstairs, helping to correct the shortcomings.
Myth.
Beria is guilty of the death of Sergo Ordzhonikidze and the persecution of his family
Fact.
The myth came into being thanks to Khrushchev. Judging by the known facts, Ordzhonikidze actively defended Beria and maintained friendly relations with him by correspondence. Beria even named his son after his senior comrade. And the activities of these two people did not overlap. When Ordzhonikidze’s brother was arrested and the second suffered, Sergo asked for help to Beria, which he did. But the reason for the suicide of Ordzhonikidze lies in his poor health and nervous, impressionable character. Yes, and he saw that his Commissariat was subjected to a check that showed poor results, which was the cause of stress. So Beria had nothing to do with Ordzhonikidze’s death. Even arriving in Tbilisi, he did not stay in the house of the brothers, but with his friend Lawrence.
Fact.
The behavior of L. Beria in everything, including in foreign affairs, contrasted sharply with the state of lethargy of the rest of his colleagues, but was Beria really to blame? And its state energy and leading qualities would be very useful to Russia not only within the country, but also on the foreign policy arena. Khrushchev behaved in the outside world sometimes cheekily. He knocked the shoe on the table at the UN; here it is really necessary to evaluate his behavior as idiotic and cheeky. At the same time, Khrushchev could behave almost lackeyly. There is a very expressive picture - 4 of June 1956 of the year in the Kremlin Khrushchev obsequiously shakes hands with the monumentally frozen Joseph Broz Tito. Shakes, almost bending over in an arc, smiling like sex, which is about to be given generous tips. Is it possible to imagine Beria behaving in a similar way? In relations with external partners, he behaved extremely correctly and politely, but with an undeniable feeling of both his own and state dignity.
Fact.
L. Beria did not look at our foreign economic relations as a way to “feed” the countries of people's democracy and thus turn them into freeloaders of the Soviet Union. Under Khrushchev and further Brezhnev, this vicious practice was strengthened and strengthened, not strengthening the USSR, but weakening it. When Beria everything would be different. To verify this, let us turn to Mikoyan’s speech at the anti-Brian Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in July 1953. Then Mikoyan was outraged by the fact that Beria did not want to agree to halve (!) Czechoslovakia’s contractual obligations to supply diesel engines for the oil industry in the USSR. I quote Mikoyan: “We had a multi-year supply agreement. True, deliveries may have been somewhat better, but that’s not the point. And Beria got into a rage after learning about a long-term agreement. On what basis was this decomposition, such indulgence to the Czechs and so on". It should be said that the "fraternal" Czech state economy was not averse to starting to speculate on "fraternal" relations and treat Soviet orders lightly. It was to this that the Minister of Trade, Mikoyan, agreed; it was precisely this that the Khrushchevites began to do after Beria’s elimination. And this is precisely what Beria would not do! In the countries of the world socialist camp, they would have looked at the USSR not as a feeder, but as hard in business connections, but exceptionally advantageous because of the enormity of the domestic market, partner.
Fact.
The place of the people's commissariats of internal affairs and state security in the system of state and military government of the USSR was also determined by the fact that all this work was carried out under the direct control of J. V. Stalin and L. P. Beria. The sense of purpose inherent in their style of activity, the domination of political expediency over ideological and legal considerations, the rigorous exactingness and control of execution, the timely adoption of necessary organizational and legal decisions (only the regulation of the NKVD’s activities was devoted to 110 GKO resolutions) the war years were achieved. Attempts by the special services of the enemy to destabilize the situation in the country, using the internal political and economic problems of the USSR, as well as the difficulties caused by the complex ethnocultural and confessional composition of the population, the presence of huge poorly developed territories, did not produce a significant result. Achieving individual successes, ultimately, they lost the confrontation with similar services of the USSR: the Soviet political regime survived, the state did not disintegrate even in the most difficult days for it, when the enemy owned a strategic initiative and the victorious outcome of the war for the Soviet Union was not yet obvious (Encyclopedia "Great Patriotic War 1941-1945's").
Fact.
"At the beginning of 1944, after L.P. Beria was appointed executive director of the Soviet atomic project, the first meeting of the leaders of the military intelligence and intelligence department of the NKVD was held under his leadership to analyze the possibilities for obtaining documentary materials and samples US atomic weapons. In order to increase the effectiveness of the Soviet intelligence services in obtaining information about US and British nuclear projects on the orders of L. P. Beria, a section “C” was created in the NKVD, and Colonel P. A. Sudoplatov was appointed as its head. One of the main tasks of this department was to coordinate the work of the Intelligence Agency and the NKVD to collect information on the uranium problem and implement the data obtained within the country "(Encyclopedia" 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War ").
Fact.
From the memoirs of the atomic project worker V.N. Mokhov: “There was an extraordinary freedom of discussion and exchange of opinions in our team. Apparently, L. P. Beria, the supervisor of nuclear weapons, considered this acceptable and necessary to create a creative atmosphere. We could spend hours discussing not only scientific and technical problems, but also philosophical issues related to nuclear weapons, including purely political aspects. "
As you can see, a large Soviet gunsmith physicist directly indicates the personality of L. Beria as the source of the creative atmosphere in the Soviet scientific community! It turns out that it was from Beria that there was a businesslike, but mutually benevolent, atmosphere in relations between efficient workers, people working honestly doing this common, one for all, business.
Fact.
In the course of the war, the domestic military-industrial complex not only eliminated the temporary superiority of the Third Reich in the production of weapons and military equipment, but was also able to surpass the enemy in terms of both quantity and quality of weapons. During the war, more than 108 thousand combat aircraft (compared to Germany more than 1,4 times), 104,4 thousand tanks and SAU (1,8 times), about 445,7 thousand field guns of 76 mm and more (in 2,2 times) and mortars (in 5,1 times). By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 30, September 1943 of L.P. Beria was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor "for special merits in strengthening the production of weapons and ammunition in difficult wartime conditions."
Information