How the USSR treated the wives of "traitors to the Motherland" and for whom they left loopholes in the law

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

Considering how scrupulous the Bolsheviks were about the purity of their ranks, they did not hesitate to repressions and arrests for the slightest offense or even suspicion. Those who were in the closest kinship with traitors and those equated to them were also carefully checked. Did the children and wives manage to get out of the water and prove their innocence, or was their fate trampled on by the Bolshevik regime? And why did the Soviet government always leave loopholes in its decrees and decrees?

Stalin's legendary phrase about the fact that "the son does not answer for his father" was thrown by him in 1935, during a meeting with combine operators, then such events with the participation of workers and party leaders were popular. There, in the midst of a series of thanks and conversations about success, one of the young combine operators said, they say, although he is the son of a kulak, he will honestly fight for the building of socialism. To which Stalin responded favorably to him, they say, the son does not answer for his father, thereby giving the go-ahead for further stormy activity. On a combine, of course.

Journalists, following every word of the leader, picked up the phrase and replicated it. And in general, at that time, such sentiments were active, in the newspapers there was even a heading "We renounce our fathers", where the children of dispossessed people and those who were declared a traitor to the Motherland, wrote letters and repented that they were relatives of such "wrong" people. However, this did not mean at all that they were guaranteed forgiveness. The authorities believed that the "class approach" was important in this matter.

If a child was already growing up without a parent who was recognized as an "enemy of the people", then with a greater degree of probability he could become a full-fledged builder of socialism. It is another matter if it was about already adult children who grew up with their parents and received a certain education and values. It was believed that they have a different ideology and they could not be allowed to high party positions.

Ordinance on family members convicted of treason

Such a resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) actually took place in 1937, according to which thousands of people who were close relatives of "enemies of the people" were subjected to repression. The drug addict was asked to: • accept the proposal to imprison the wives of convicted traitors to the Motherland for 5-8 years; • organize special camps for them in Kazakhstan; for the above-mentioned period; • all children under 15 years of age should be transferred to the care of the state (closed type children's homes), about those who are older, to resolve the issue privately;

After this flywheel turned, almost 20 thousand women were convicted and 25 thousand children were placed in special institutions. When Vyacheslav Molotov was asked a direct and frank question about why the wives and children were subjected to repression, he, without further ado, replied, they say, in order not to get underfoot and write slander, trying to free the father of the family. No man, no problem.

The main wave of repression on the so-called "family basis" fell on the age of 37-38, wives were quickly sent after their husbands so that they would not engage in free-thinking conversations and spread dissent. And just the sight of a grief-stricken woman, her tears - this is practically agitation for counter-revolution.

A little later, the decree softened somewhat, it was ordered to send into exile only those women who acted with their husbands together and had general anti-Soviet sentiments. Simply put, it was proposed to renounce the newly convicted spouse, leaving him without his homeland and without a family. If both parents went to the camps, it was allowed to give the child to the family for upbringing. Of course, if there are those relatives who agree to accept a son or daughter of an "enemy of the people" into their family.

Despite the fact that Stalin's first phrase that the son does not answer for his father, everyone remembers that the leader still said that "we will destroy all enemies, and we will destroy their families, their entire family to the last knee" - like that erased from memory. How did things really stand? Judging by historical references, both so and so. The Soviet government has always tried to retain the freedom of choice for itself, even when it came to its own decisions, therefore in each case the issue was decided individually.

No, the party leadership in this way did not save the elect: their acquaintances or distant relatives. The proximity to the tops was more likely to play harm in this case. For example, once, Molotov, having familiarized himself with the list of repressed wives, wrote in front of one surname: “shoot”.

Kazakhstan ALZHIR

No, in this case it is not about a country in Africa, “Akmola camp for wives of traitors to the motherland” was a special department of the Karaganda labor camp. In the 30s, this camp was built for the dispossessed, but was not empty for long, it was quickly converted to accommodate a new contingent. In total, the camp was designed for 8 thousand women, the so-called ChSIR (family members of traitors to the Motherland).

The women were engaged in the production of bricks from reeds and clay, and the raw materials were mined on their own, right there by the lake nearby. Those who turned out to be in poor health were sent to a garment factory. It was very cold here in winter and strong winds in summer.

This department was visited by the mother of the ballerina Plisetskaya, the sister and daughter-in-law of Tukhachevsky, the widowed wife of the writer Pilnyak, the wife of Arkady Gaidar and many prominent party leaders.

After the outbreak of the Second World War, the list of party decrees was replenished with one more: those who surrendered or deserted were considered traitors to the Motherland, and their families were arrested. However, this order was not widely used. It is likely that the reason for this was that in those years it was difficult to understand whether a person was captured or went missing, and even at that time, Stalin's son Yakov had already been captured. The leader, by the way, then deigned to joke, they say, apparently now he should be sent to the camps.

In the second year of the war, Stalin ordered that the families of the traitors to the Motherland be sent to remote regions of the USSR. Most of the women who were by this time in ALZHIR had already expired their sentences, but no one released them from the camps, so they remained there, in the form of free workers, until 1958 - then the latter were released. However, the fact that the camps for the families of traitors no longer existed does not negate the fact that the fate of the women who were left with the Motherland often turned out to be unenviable even after Stalin's rule, is confirmed by many examples.

In 2007, a memorial complex and memorial plaques were opened in the ALZHIR camp, now it is a place of sorrow and memory.

Victor and Lyudmila Belenko

Victor fled to Japan, although this was in 1976, his act attracted massive attention, since he did it on an airplane that contained secret equipment. However, the official version sounded like: the pilot lost control of the plane and mistakenly sat down on foreign territory, while the Japanese were holding him back by force.

The pilot's wife and his mother were invited to a press conference to meet with journalists, although "invited" would be too courteous, rather, they were forced to take part in this event and take all the shame on themselves. Moreover, the journalists were not given permission to ask them questions, they cried on camera and assured that their husband and son could not become a traitor to the Motherland. Photos with two unfortunate crying women instantly scattered across the media. Westerners, of course, personify the Union's brutality towards its own citizens.

Belenko did not communicate with his mother anymore, and his wife began to demand an official divorce. In her rare interviews, she admits that no repressive measures by the state were applied to her, although her husband's act was actually a surprise to her.

Vladimir Rezun and his family

This traitor to the Motherland is also from the 70s, he became famous as a writer Viktor Suvorov, in fact, he was Vladimir Rezun, a former employee of the GRU. He fled to Great Britain with his family, although, of course, he still had relatives in the USSR. In one of his interviews, he said that his family had to answer for his act, but did not specify exactly how. Probably, had he left his wife in the USSR, the punishment would have been much more severe.

In front of his relatives, he whitewashed himself by buying an apartment for his brother, by inviting his mother-in-law to England. However, it is no secret that in his books he cites very controversial facts, including when he talks about history. Therefore, it is not surprising that in this case, too, he presents the situation in a light that is beneficial exclusively for himself.

Arkady and Leongina Shevchenko

If Rezun fussed about his wife and brought her along with him, then Arkady Shevchenko decided to betray not only the Motherland, but also his family. In 1978, he went on an overseas business trip, which he visited very often and did not return from it. By the way, in history he remained the highest-ranking traitor to the Motherland, who switched sides during the Cold War, since he served as a diplomat and was the UN Deputy Secretary General.

The wife, with the unusual name Leongin, remained in the USSR, but did not live long, she chose to commit suicide, they say that she could not stand her husband's betrayal. The fate of his son was also sad, he was fired from his job, his property was confiscated, in the end, he even changed his name.

Adolf and Natalia Tolkachev

Adolf is an engineer with a suspicious name, in the 80s he became an agent of the CIA and "leaked" information about the secret developments of the USSR and received huge rewards for this. He kept this money in foreign banks for obvious reasons. But the secret agent was calculated and sentenced to death. After his death, his wife Natalya was also convicted, since she was also considered a traitor to the Motherland. She was convicted and hid in prison; she was released only in the 90s.

Nobody knows where the money that the engineer was supposed to have for the sale of information has gone. At least according to official sources.

Oleg and Leila Gordievsky

The KGB colonel, as it turned out, worked for British intelligence. After this became known to the Soviet government, he was sentenced to capital punishment - execution. True, it was not possible to bring the sentence into execution, Gordievsky managed to leave for the country in whose favor he was engaged in espionage. But the wife and children remained in the USSR.

At first, it was decided to confiscate the property, but this was avoided. The wife went to him in England, but after a while she returned. Later they divorced on the initiative of … the KGB. The employees of the department constantly summoned her for interrogations, arranged surveillance and in every possible way ruined her life, she could not stand it and thus decided to cut off the connection with the traitor.

Oleg and Vera Penkovsky

Penkovsky also worked for England, and starting from the 60s. For a long time it was believed that he caused colossal harm to the Union with his subversive activities, his surname even became synonymous with betrayal. After the divorce, his wife changed her surname and gave another surname to their common daughter Maria. She did not want them to have anything in common with a traitor to the Motherland.

Vera herself was repeatedly checked by the services, but no crime was found in her actions, she changed her place of residence, but did not leave the country.

Mikhail and Katerina Kalinin

Katerina, it was in 1938, was invited to try on a dress in an atelier, but instead of a dressmaker she was waiting for funnels there. After being detained, she confesses under torture that she was carrying out anti-Soviet activities and went to ALZHIR. Her husband, by the way, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR could not do anything (but did he do anything at all?).

She was Estonian by birth and fought zealously for communism, she even wrote a denunciation against her brother, who was sentenced to death after an investigation. She was an extraordinary person, she was drawn to the ground, to the village, she often left her husband, because she was tired of "this falsehood." And it was not about their relationship, but about the tinsel that surrounded her high-ranking spouse. However, he himself, not particularly bored during her departures, and was often seen in the company of a famous ballerina, then his housekeeper.

Despite the high position of her husband, she always worked, headed a textile company. It is believed that the main accusation of the NKVD was the connection with the enemies of the people - their own brother, on whom she also wrote a denunciation. In the year of the Great Victory she was pardoned and she lived to be almost 90 years old.

Stalin, despite his well-known character, was not at all crazy and understood that husband and wife are one Satan and it is unlikely that the wife did not share the views of his other half. Left without a strong shoulder, she could be ready for a desperate step, especially since loyalty and loyalty to her husband, backed up by connections and the help of friends, could make her a very dangerous unit. It was much easier to isolate it from society, so as not to interfere with the building of socialism.

However, there were also many traitors among women, even during the Great Patriotic War. Many of them went not so much to the side of the Germans, but from the Bolsheviks, because they were tired of the dictatorship, repression and constant fear..