Bandit and revolutionary, anarchist and security officer, traitor and patriot: Legendary Leva Zadov

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

"I am Leva Zadov, you shouldn't joke with me!"- Many people remember this catch phrase and the colorful image of a Makhnovist from Alexei Tolstoy's novel "Walking through the Torments", as well as the film of the same name based on this work. However, few people know that the unforgettable cinematic hero had a real prototype, the fate of which, in fact, turned out to be much more interesting and confusing than the one invented by the author. In the real life Leva Zadov was a completely different person, and his real biography is certainly worthy of a whole adventure novel.

Hero of the Civil War, nicknamed Leva Zadov, aka Lev Nikolaevich (Yudkovich) Zodov, aka Leib ben Yehuda Zodov, aka Lev Zinkovsky was born into a poor large family on April 11, 1893 in the Jewish agricultural colony Veselaya in Bakhmutsk district. Three years later, the large Zodov family moved to Yuzovka, near what is now Donetsk. Initially, the surname of the Jew Levka was written "Zodov", the letter "A" replaced "O" much later than it turned into a nickname. While in hard labor, Lyovka changed his surname to a more euphonious pseudonym - Zinkovsky, which he later used to write in his passport. However, he entered the history of the Civil War as Leva Zadov.

When, by the age of 16, he had grown into a two-meter thug, he went to work as a loader at a mill, a little later at a metallurgical plant to blast furnaces - a katal, since the strength in it was immeasurable. For where else could he be identified at the factory - just how not to "drive a goat" and load the smelting furnaces. "Goat" was called a wheelbarrow for ore, which was delivered by the katal from the ore yard to the blast furnaces. This wheelbarrow held from 30 to 50 poods of ore (700-900 kg weight!). And this work was not easy, and only a sinewy, muscular man by nature could cope with it.

- from the memoirs of the famous blast furnace operator of the Makeevka plant Korobov, -

Hard, low-paid and harmful work pushed 19-year-old Zadov to revolt, and he very soon found himself in the ranks of potential revolutionaries. In particular, the guy was attracted by anarchy, he thought that it was she who would most quickly lead to world justice and equality.

Expropriator of the expropriated

Our hero joined the ranks of the communist anarchists, for whom the slogan was "Expropriate the expropriated!" The two-meter boy with pood fists was immediately noticed and taken into action: it was only like that on "exs" and walking. However, Levke did not have a chance to be Robin Hood for long. During the next robbery, our hero was caught red-handed, convicted and sent to eight years in hard labor. I must say, a mild sentence was passed, and could have been hanged. Saved by the fact that Lyova was underage. It was 1913, and in those years, adults were considered at the age of 21.

Prison universities hardly made an intellectual out of Leva, but they undoubtedly influenced his educational level. It was there that he came closer to understanding the eternal questions: what to do, and who is to blame? In fact, hard labor saved Zadov from being mobilized for the 1914 war. And he, after serving several years of hard labor, was released in the stormy 17th under the amnesty of the provisional government. Returning to his native Yuzovka, Lyova again took a wheelbarrow in his hands.

The October revolution burst out, and Zadov, as an experienced person, who also suffered for a good cause, was elected by the factory workers to the city council of workers, peasants and soldiers' deputies. And in 1918, our hero "went to fight for a working cause" in the Red Army. Later he crossed over under the black banner of the people's army "Batka" Nestor Makhno. And he quickly got out there in the chiefs of intelligence.

Gaps in the biography

This is where the most interesting thing begins, namely the gaps in Zadov's biography. These gaps were episodically so obvious and deliberately made that one can only guess, building a real line of Levkina's fate. Many historians are inclined to believe that our hero received a task from the Dzerzhinsky department - to defect from the Red Army and penetrate into the camp of the Gulyaypole village army of Makhno. Others deny it. Who can tell for sure now where the truth is?

By the way, during the years of the civil war, all means were good. Therefore, the Bolsheviks widely practiced sending agents to the rear both to the "whites" and to unreliable chieftains like Nestor Makhno or, say, Grigoriev, in order to keep an eye on them and report on their plans. According to historical secret documents, as well as memoirs, it is known that many commanders who commanded regiments, brigades and divisions in Makhno's Insurgent Army were part-time agents of the secret Soviet service.

Adjutant and bodyguard of Ataman Makhno

Unlike his cinematic hero, Zadov was reasonable and calm. That is why he very quickly was able to curb and direct the irrepressible energy of the "father" himself in the right direction. And unlike the cinematic Zadov, a psychopath and an unpredictable hysterical, he never headed counterintelligence. This means that he did not interrogate or torture the detainees. He was in charge of intelligence. It is Zadov who is credited with creating mobile reconnaissance groups, Levka was famous for his agents in the enemy headquarters. It happened more than once that it was the information he obtained that saved the Makhnovists from encirclement and reprisals.

With the ataman Nestor Makhno himself, Zadov's relations at first did not go well. On the one hand, Nestor Ivanovich saw Zadov's clear potential and respected him for his loyalty. On the other hand, he experienced his inferiority complex when the two-meter hero was near. Daddy was ashamed of his small stature all his life - only 160 centimeters, and this was especially felt in Levka's company. Historians note an interesting fact - Makhno did not particularly like to be photographed, he did it very rarely and, if he agreed, it was mostly sitting.

However, the dislike of the chieftain soon passed by itself after Zadov saved his life several times. Becoming his adjutant and bodyguard, Lev saved the life of the chieftain for the last time in August 1921 when crossing the Dniester. When only 77 of the most loyal fighters remained of the many thousands of Makhno's army, the ataman decided to flee beyond the cordon. During the crossing of the Makhno River, he was seriously wounded in the head, and he managed to get to the other side only with the help of Zadov. And this despite the fact that Lyova did not know how to swim at all …

Version No. 1. Agent of the Cheka

And now it's time to assume that Zadov, apparently, had a much deeper level of conspiracy and a task of such importance and secrecy that he did not even say a word about him later during the investigation in the NKVD.

And, apparently, the main task of Zadov was - at a critical moment to get into the trust of Nestor Ivanovich, to become a person who is trusted not only by dad, but also by his family. And Zadov really did it brilliantly. Having become an aide-de-camp and personal bodyguard of the father, he fled with him and his brother Daniel to Romania. And he stayed close until in 1924 it became obvious to the Soviet authorities that there were no parties and enemy forces behind Nestor Makhno, and he himself was a political corpse. Then it was decided to return Leva Zadov to her homeland.

In 1924, the Zadov brothers, as agents of the Romanian intelligence, went to the USSR on a sabotage mission, but immediately surrendered to the Soviet authorities. Soon Lev Zadov became an employee of the OGPU, a specialist in Romanian spies, and settled in Odessa.

Predictable ending

And, as it were, our hero fought crime in Odessa itself. In those years, legends circulated around the city about how Zadov single-handedly detained hardened criminals. For a long time, Levka was treated kindly by the authorities: prizes, incentives, award weapons. Until 1937 came. On a far-fetched charge, Levka was arrested, interrogated for a long time, and his involvement in Makhno was also recalled … On September 25, 1938, a verdict was passed and on the same day he was executed. Before the execution, according to the recollections of inmates, Zadov's last words were:. Only during Perestroika in January 1990 was Lev Zadov rehabilitated.

Version number 2. Payoff "by the treasure of Makhno"

There is also another version, according to which Leva Zadov bought off the Reds with the treasure of Batka Makhno. According to one eyewitness,. Subsequently, traces of this find were lost, at least in no official document they were mentioned.

Descendants of the legendary Leva Zadov

Our hero got married, being an Odessa Chekist. He took his wife away from the landlord, from whom he rented a corner. When he was given a departmental living space, the woman, leaving her husband, went to live with Lyova. At that time, Vera already had two of her children from her first marriage, daughter Alla and son Vladislav, whom Zadov later adopted. In 1926 their common son Vadim was born. When Lev Nikolaevich was shot in 1938, Vera Ivanovna was also arrested, but after being held in prison for almost a year, she was released. The NKVD workers could not even find circumstantial evidence against the widow of the legendary Leva Zadov.

During the war, two older children died … In 1942, during the defense of Sevastopol, the nurse Alla Zadova-Puzovich died, and in 1943 Vladislav died near Rostov. Only Vadim was lucky to survive, who rose to the rank of colonel. In 1990, thanks to his efforts, the case of Lev Zadov was reviewed, and he was rehabilitated posthumously. Curiously, the two grandsons of the legendary Lyova dedicated their lives to the army, served in tank forces and received the rank of colonels, and could be generals. But, they say, somewhere in the "special section on the personal files of the brothers was written in red "grandson of Makhnovist Zadov".

Nestor Makhno's "anarchist freeman", although it did not last long, brought fame to its leader and his insurgent movement, making the dad one of the most colorful participants in the Civil War. You can find out about interesting facts from the life of the chieftain and much more by reading the review: What really was Nestor Makhno - one of the odious heroes of the Civil War