What strange material evidence was found in the 1930s-40s during a search of the highest ranks of the USSR: Women's clothing, frivolous pictures, etc

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the USSR, it was dangerous to occupy high positions, especially in the 30s and 40s. Things could change overnight. Three of the four people's commissars of internal affairs were sentenced to death. 11 out of 17 deputies shared their fate. Before the sentence was carried out, searches were carried out in all of them, for the sake of destroying the reputation, the most impartial finds were often made public. What was the strangest thing they found during searches at the USSR leadership?

Lavrenty Beria and his secret passions

Soviet citizens awaited his arrest with particular trepidation. After all, there were rumors about him for a long time that he was involved in the abductions of girls, even very young ones. These rumors were partly confirmed after searches in his home, after his arrest. It happened in the summer of 1953. No, there was no fetishist collection or a room "a la Bluebeard", but still the strange finds allowed the NKVD chief to be denigrated.

Nikolai Shatalin, secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, speaking at the plenum, raised the topic of Beria's moral character. He personally searched the office of the former head of the NKVD. His main task was to find documents that cast a shadow on Beria and his department. He searched safes, cabinets, drawers in tables and came across things that were completely unusual for work cabinets. Along with the documents, "attributes of a women's toilet" were found in the office - this is exactly how Shatalin put it, who was clearly embarrassed that he had to speak publicly.

However, the paper endures everything, therefore, in the search protocol everything is detailed. For example, among the items of women's wardrobe in Beria's office, tracksuits, blouses, up to kerchiefs and underwear were found. For example, in the safe he had 11 pairs of stockings (imported and expensive), so many women's silk combinations, several silk ladies' tights. He probably kept them as gifts for women who were in his office not quite for work.

Shatalin also drew the attention of the plenum participants that Beria had a set of a lecher in his office, however, he did not specify what was meant by this. However, this is the case when fantasy can be much more sophisticated than the truth. It is assumed that these were just condoms, since Beria supported a plant in the Moscow region, which was engaged in their manufacture.

According to the inventory, children's things were also found in the office, in particular, items of linen. But they preferred not to focus on this, mentioning only in passing. The fact that the leader often brought various women into the office was also told by the head of his security Rafael Sarkisov. Thanks to the talkative security guard, it became known that his boss was constantly in touch with a variety of women. He even had a rough list of the last 20 names.

Of course, this behavior could not but leave a "trace" in the form of pregnancies, children from such accidental "girlfriends", abortions and sexually transmitted diseases. Meanwhile, Lavrenty was the wife of Nino Gegechkori, who was considered the first beauty of the Kremlin. They did not spread the names of those with whom Beria entered into contact, and the women themselves preferred to keep it secret, even if they had an illegitimate child from the head of the NKVD.

Sofas and carpets of Marshal Zhukov

The so-called "trophy case", which caused a lot of noise in the post-war USSR, was organized by Stalin in order to lower the authority of the highest military ranks. Jealous of his one-man power, Stalin could not bear the fact that after the victory over Nazi Germany, society began to glorify not only himself, but also the military leaders. Especially a lot of people's love went to Zhukov, who was nicknamed the Marshal of Victory. That is why his overthrow from the "pedestal" was the most humiliating.

Zhukov was accused of taking home furnishings and other valuables from Europe as the last grabber. Yes, all the soldiers of the Red Army did this, but the marshal, thanks to his position, could load whole wagons. More precisely, there were 7 wagons. And it is one thing for ordinary soldiers who have not seen a better life, and another thing - the face of the Red Army, the marshal, who should personify the honor of his country, was suddenly seduced by European benefits. As if there are not enough of them at home!

It all started allegedly with a memo from Nikolai Bulagin, who would later make a deafening military career and become a marshal. In his note, he indicated that 7 carriages filled with various household items were detained. According to the documents, all this belonged to Georgy Zhukov.

The carriages were loaded with furniture made of Karelian birch, mahogany, walnut; it was made using expensive fabrics. It became clear that now Zhukov is in disgrace and the criminal case against him is only a matter of time. This means that interrogations and searches cannot be avoided. Zhukov himself could not fail to understand this, maybe that is why nothing shocking was found during the examination?

The search began in the capital Zhukov's apartment; nothing of particular interest to the NKVD officers was found in it. There were jewelry in the safe: many watches, pendants, rings and more. But there was nothing reprehensible in this, they were all Soviet-made. And the salary of the marshal allowed him to have jewelry in such quantities. However, all this was not what was sought. The Chekists were interested, first of all, in trophy items that can be attached to the established case.

At the rublevskaya dacha, the search was more interesting, many things were found that fit the status of "trophy". In the archives of the NKVD there are documents according to which the rooms of Zhukov's dacha were more like warehouses. Chests, boxes, suitcases, just piled up in a heap - kilometers of expensive fabrics, three hundred skins (high-value fur), four dozen carpets, musical instruments, paintings, dishes, weapons.

Some of the items were so unusual that those who carried out the search could not even understand what it was. Thus, the inventory included instructions about glass balls, rods with metal inserts, icons, gold items with strange engravings. If it was at least somehow clear with carpets and animal skins, then why are these near-cult things to Marshal Zhukov? What is he doing witchcraft? This question was asked to Zhukov himself, of course, he denied everything.

However, there were also those who linked the overwhelming success of Zhukov, who did not have a military education, not with natural abilities, but with witchcraft and the help of otherworldly forces. Although, most likely, Zhukov simply had a painful craving for hoarding, and when he "got hold of" presentable gizmos in Europe, he simply could not deny himself. After all, the things were not dismantled, but simply brought into the house and stored. Hence, he did not use them.

In addition, Zhukov, during interrogations, assured that all this junk that was lying in his dacha was of no value to him. And that this is a state, he did not even suspect. Probably, if he understood that all this could turn against himself, he would hasten to get rid of everything when the clouds began to thicken over him.

As a result, everything that was found in Zhukov's house was presented as proof that he was a redneck, a hoarder and almost a thief, because most of the soldiers were taking home trophies without buying them in Europe. This did not fit in with the image of the Marshal of Victory, and Zhukov remained spat upon and humiliated after this whole story. His reputation as a military leader suffered greatly.

"Bloody Dwarf" and its trophy collection

Nikolai Yezhov, one of the main names of the Soviet period, with whom the bloodiest repressions are associated. He always demonstrated his selfless devotion to Stalin, which earned him his generosity. However, the lordly love soon gave way to anger.

Little is known about the childhood of the People's Commissar, only what he himself told. Of course, removing everything that could be interpreted in two ways. He comes from St. Petersburg, from a working-class family, he himself also began working very early, at the age of 11. And this despite the fact that he was a sickly and frail child. In childhood, he had been ill with tuberculosis, suffered from constant anemia. His soreness was reflected in his appearance - a disproportionate head was alien on his small sickly body.

He was really tiny in height - only 150 cm. Although they say that Stalin did not like tall and stately people, trying to surround himself with those who are below him. Therefore, to some extent, it even played into the hands of a little careerist. Work in the NKVD suited him very well, all his life he received ridicule because of his height and now, finally, he could get even with everyone. This is what he did.

He so readily began to look for and find enemies of the people that it seemed that he could not be stopped. It is worth knowing about him at least that he headed the NKVD in 1936, at a time when a wave of terrible repressions swept across the country. Even according to rough estimates, Yezhov initiated the execution of hundreds of thousands of people. Every day he prepared about two dozen documents for Stalin with a report on the work done - on arrests and executions. I often went to the leader with a personal report. For example, in the attendance log, Yezhov's surname appears almost three hundred times.

When meeting with Yezhov, it was difficult even to guess about his demonic nature. He was tactful, polite, gentle and compliant. He loved literature, especially Sergei Yesenin. He himself had literary ambitions, became the author of a book in which he tried to explain where opposition sentiments in the USSR come from. Stalin liked the book, or rather its manuscripts. But the book did not have time to see the light of day, the political situation in the USSR changed too quickly and Stalin endlessly made edits.

As People's Commissar, Yezhov personally participated in some searches. As the search, already carried out at his own house, showed, he did not hesitate to take what he liked, even if it was in the case as material evidence. So, bullets that killed Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev migrated to Yezhov's collection. Previously, these things were kept by his predecessor, Yagoda.

Yezhov had a rather cold-blooded hobby - collecting things that belonged to those whose fate he ruined with the stroke of his pen. During a search of Yezhov's house, a secret chest was found, in which he carefully hid erotic pictures and some toys from the series "for adults".

The fact that the "sparrow" and his wife had clearly extraordinary views on family life is evidenced by at least the fact that the wife of the People's Commissar was constantly confused with outsiders. Moreover, her novels were well known and overgrown with rumors. Rumors even reached Stalin, they say, the head of the NKVD cannot restrain his wife, what can we say about traitors to the Motherland? Although there it was just right to rein in Yezhov himself, because there were no less rumors about him. Moreover, during interrogations, Yezhov admitted that he liked not only ladies and that he had relations not only with them.

During the arrest, a huge amount of alcohol was found at Yezhov, and Stalin himself periodically scolded Yezhov that sometimes it was impossible to find him - at this time he slept off after drunkenness.

Heinrich Yagoda hoarding and spicy pictures

After Yagoda's arrest, all his entourage denied him. His colleagues and yesterday's subordinates, who were once ready to “pick up” any of his orders, began to investigate his case with the same zeal. Those of them, who also fell into this flywheel and were recognized as accomplices, readily agreed to cooperate with the investigation, and wrote confessions under dictation. Thus, Yagoda turned into a vicious opponent of the regime and an organizer of underground activities.

However, there was no particular betrayal on the part of colleagues. Yet strangers simply saved their skins by all available means. But close people began to renounce Yagoda, even his own father wrote a letter to Stalin.

Yagoda became the first head of the NKVD against whom a criminal case was initiated. At that time, no one suspected that this would become practically a tradition and that the one who signs the death sentences will sooner or later repeat the fate of his victims. Heinrich was charged and the house was searched. Former colleagues were simply tired of making a list of searches, there were a lot of things.

Yagoda saved up almost four dozen different types of weapons and cartridges for them, antique expensive dishes, expensive clothes, fur coats, watches, expensive animal skins, cloth cuts … But that was not the most interesting thing.

It turned out that Yagoda was an inveterate film fan, but he loved special cinema, which was not available in the USSR, and even abroad it was sold only in stores for adults. Photographs of the same content, as well as a toy, which would later be found in the possession of Yagoda's follower, Yezhov. Yes, Yezhov took Yagoda's secret chest. Apparently he also liked him, oh, how he liked it. It is ironic that after some time this same trophy chest will be found during a search and at Yezhov's.

By the way, Yagoda also had the bullets with which they shot Kamenev and Zinoviev.

Why did Yagoda need all this arsenal of things, with an obvious excess? Coming from a low social environment, closeness often leads to hoarding, the desire to surround oneself with things for all occasions. Although, probably, happiness for him was not even in things, but in their quantity. Perhaps, if he had been guided by the ascetic Stalin as an example, then his career would have had a happier ending.

Against the background of all this "splendor", the list of things found during a search of Stalin's own place after his death looks really ascetic. Although perhaps Stalin was just a larger-scale person and did not collect watches or photographs, but dachas?