"The Devil's Wife": How Nino Beria tried to debunk the myth about her tyrant wife
"The Devil's Wife": How Nino Beria tried to debunk the myth about her tyrant wife

Video: "The Devil's Wife": How Nino Beria tried to debunk the myth about her tyrant wife

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Lavrenty Beria and his wife Nino Gegechkori
Lavrenty Beria and his wife Nino Gegechkori

About love affairs Lawrence Beria there were legends, although for more than 30 years his only wife was Nino Gegechkori, a woman who had to endure many trials. Until her last days, she refused to believe in the horrific facts that were told about her husband. Which of this is part of the legend, and what really happened in their family?

Nino Gegechkori, wife of Beria
Nino Gegechkori, wife of Beria

Nino Gegechkori met her future husband when she was only 16 years old, and he was 22. Then he proposed to her. Later there were rumors that the girl was married off without her consent, but Nino herself said: "". At that time, Beria himself was interested in getting married, since he had to go to Belgium to study the issues of oil refining, and to travel abroad it was necessary to become a married person.

Until the last days, Nino Beria tried to debunk the myth about her wife
Until the last days, Nino Beria tried to debunk the myth about her wife

While Beria was in power, Nino managed to avoid the fate of other wives of party leaders - she was not repressed, like the spouses of Kalinin, Poskrebyshev and Molotov. However, after the arrest of Beria, she and their son Sergo spent more than a year in solitary confinement. During daily interrogations, she was forced to testify against her husband. But she either really did not know about his crimes, or she pretended not to know - however, she refused to testify against her husband.

Lavrenty Beria and his wife Nino Gegechkori
Lavrenty Beria and his wife Nino Gegechkori

The accusations against her sounded absurd. "", - Nino said.

Beria and Stalin
Beria and Stalin

After 16 months of imprisonment, Beria's wife was deported to Sverdlovsk, and after the expiration of the term of exile she received a residence permit in any city except Moscow. Nino and Sergo settled in Kiev. Those who knew her personally said that she was a very kind and intelligent woman, in addition, she was called one of the most beautiful Kremlin wives. In 1990, Nino gave an interview in which she stated: "".

Beria with his wife, son Sergo and daughter-in-law Martha
Beria with his wife, son Sergo and daughter-in-law Martha

Until her death in 1991, Nino denied her husband's guilt - both in relation to his political activities and in relation to love affairs. In one of her last interviews, she characterized Beria as a quiet and calm person, a wonderful family man, a loving husband and father. Nino was convinced that he was killed without trial and investigation on trumped-up charges. She refused to believe the stories of thousands of women raped and tortured by her husband, calling it counterintelligence tales. Allegedly, Khrushchev actually simply benefited from denigrating his most dangerous competitor.

Lavrenty Beria and his wife Nino Gegechkori
Lavrenty Beria and his wife Nino Gegechkori

In response to the evidence presented, Nino said: "".

Malenkov and Beria
Malenkov and Beria

It is difficult to say whether the "legion" was an exaggeration, but many knew that Beria had a second unofficial wife. There is conflicting evidence of their relationship. It is known that at the time of their acquaintance Valentina Drozdova (or Lyalya, as he called her) was a schoolgirl, and that for a long time he actually lived in two families. After Beria's arrest, Valentina claimed that he forced her to cohabit against her will. He himself gave other testimony: "".

Lavrenty Beria
Lavrenty Beria

Unlike Nino, many the wives of Soviet party leaders, even their high-ranking husbands could not save from repression.

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