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Because of what the first wife of Marshal Tukhachevsky was shot, and why the loving officer was shot
Because of what the first wife of Marshal Tukhachevsky was shot, and why the loving officer was shot

Video: Because of what the first wife of Marshal Tukhachevsky was shot, and why the loving officer was shot

Video: Because of what the first wife of Marshal Tukhachevsky was shot, and why the loving officer was shot
Video: Forgotten Leaders. Episode 2. Kliment Voroshilov. Documentary. English Subtitles. StarMediaEN - YouTube 2024, April
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Marshal Tukhachevsky is considered one of the most controversial Soviet military leaders. Moreover, the fluctuations in the opinions of historians are very wide. The repressed marshal is called both a stupid retrograde and a brilliant seer, while the argumentation in each case is convincing. Tukhachevsky remained the youngest marshal of the USSR in history, having received such a high rank at only 42 years old. In his memoirs, Baron Peter Wrangel referred to him as "imagining himself to be a Russian Napoleon." Stalin also agreed with Wrangel, calling the ambitious military leader Napoleon. Be that as it may, the military career of Mikhail Tukhachevsky was rapid. And his brilliant masculine charisma struck down on the spot many women literally falling into his strong arms.

From the tsarist army to the Stalinist marshals

Delegates to the extraordinary 8th All-Union Congress of Soviets. First row (from left to right): Khrushchev, Zhdanov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov, Stalin, Molotov, Kalinin, Tukhachevsky. 1936 year
Delegates to the extraordinary 8th All-Union Congress of Soviets. First row (from left to right): Khrushchev, Zhdanov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov, Stalin, Molotov, Kalinin, Tukhachevsky. 1936 year

In 1918, the second lieutenant of the tsarist army, Tukhachevsky, who by that time had more than one imperial order, voluntarily became a Red Army soldier. In this field, a stunning career growth awaited him. Despite the fact that the first steps of Mikhail Nikolaevich in the civil war were not particularly successful, as early as the next year, with the light hand of the military commissar Trotsky, Tukhachevsky led the 5th Red Army.

The young army commander played a prominent role in the battles against Kolchak's forces in Siberia. In 1920, Tukhachevsky led the Bolshevik onslaught on Poland, but in the end he lost. In 1921-1922. Tukhachevsky managed to successfully suppress the anti-Bolshevik uprisings - the Kronstadt and Antonov. After the death of Frunze, the future marshal took the chair of the Chief of Staff of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, then was appointed Deputy People's Commissar of Defense. In 1935, Stalin declared Tukhachevsky a marshal.

Suicide of the first wife and new darlings

The first five red marshals: standing - Budyonny and Blucher, sitting - Tukhachevsky, Voroshilov and Egorov
The first five red marshals: standing - Budyonny and Blucher, sitting - Tukhachevsky, Voroshilov and Egorov

The Marshal won numerous victories not only on the battlefields, but also on his personal front. Women idolized a stately military man with a catchy appearance and impressive strength. The first wife of Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Maria Ignatieva, was the daughter of a Penza railway worker. They met at the gymnasium at a ball, after which a whirlwind romance broke out, which had not passed the test of time.

Graduated from the cadet corps, Tukhachevsky went through the fronts of the First World War, took part in the civil war. In Penza, where his beloved was waiting for him, he returned as an army commander. The wife supported Mikhail in the most difficult moments, enduring separation and deprivation. But her fatal mistake was helping her relatives in the years of famine. The reason for the breakdown of marriage relations was banal food support, which, according to Tukhachevsky, did not correspond to the status of the wife of an important military leader. He filed for divorce without hesitation, and a few days later the abandoned woman shot herself. The widower did not appear at her funeral, entrusting organizational issues to the adjutant.

Very soon, Tukhachevsky decided on his second wife. He quickly became close to the 16-year-old niece of the forester, offering her his hand and heart. However, this woman also failed to keep the loving and willful commander. The marriage was destroyed by her husband's betrayal. Nina Grinevich became the third legal companion in the life of Mikhail Nikolaevich. A noblewoman by birth, she was a beautiful, educated woman who fully corresponded to the aristocratic tastes of the marshal. In marriage, a daughter, Svetlana, was born. However, it would be a stretch to call this union perfect.

Countless mistresses and illegitimate children

A prison photo of the Marshal's daughter. 1944 year
A prison photo of the Marshal's daughter. 1944 year

Throughout his short life, Tukhachevsky was fascinated by beautiful women, while he very quickly lost interest in his chosen ones. Connections “on the side” were something of a hobby for him. Seemingly warm feelings for his young second wife did not prevent him from caring for two Chernoluzsky sisters at the same time. And the third official marriage was accompanied by an affair with Yulia Kuzmina, the wife of a colleague. This bond was surprisingly long and lasting. The mistress even gave Tukhachevsky a daughter, whom he named Svetlana, like her first child. Moreover, at the same time, Tukhachevsky was courting the head of the children's theater, Natalia Sats, to whom he even promised a divorce from his wife and legal marriage.

Historians find it difficult to accurately count the red marshal's mistresses, but they agree on one thing: the blue-eyed seducer broke dozens of hearts. There is a story about how, during the Civil War, a certain commissar Antonina Barba carried out any of his secret assignments, risking herself. Later she was arrested, but she did not sign a single accusation against her lover and was shot. There were rumors about the marshal's romance with M. Gorky's widow's son Nadezhda Peshkova.

Memories of Vera Davydova and the version of the execution of the Marshal

A copy of the certificate of execution from the ASD R-9000, stored in the Central Archive of the FSB of Russia
A copy of the certificate of execution from the ASD R-9000, stored in the Central Archive of the FSB of Russia

In the book by L. Gendlin "Confessions of Stalin's mistress," an unexpected version of the motives for the massacre of Tukhachevsky is expressed. Referring to the memoirs of the Soviet opera prima Vera Davydova, the author claims that she was in an intimate relationship with the leader. During this period, the singer meets Tukhachevsky, who begins to aggressively offer her to get closer. Succumbing to the charm of the commander, the woman threw herself into the pool headlong, forgetting about any caution. A passionate romance ensued with frequent meetings in hotels and at the Marshal's dacha.

According to Gendlin, Stalin became aware of these meetings, after which he expressed his indignation to Vera. But the enamored singer did not follow the will of the leader, and Joseph Vissarionovich's patience burst. After returning from another tour, Davydova learned that the traitor Tukhachevsky had been shot.

However, not all historians support Gendlin's version. According to his opponents, there is a completely different story behind the death of the marshal. Stalin did not tolerate the members of the cohort of red generals who ascended to the Civil War. Allegedly, he saw in them the last real force capable of depriving him of the Kremlin chair. Therefore, having dealt with the party opposition and rivals such as Kirov by that time, he set to work on the military. And Tukhachevsky simply turned out to be too popular, handsome, educated and at the same time vain. In addition to the marshal himself, his wife and two brothers were shot. His three sisters and a daughter went to the Gulag.

And to another faithful Stalinist Jan Gamarnik failed to escape the death sentence.

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