Marshal Tukhachevsky - biography, information, personal life. BBC Russian Service - Information Services
February 16 this year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail Tukhachevsky, one of the most controversial military leaders of the Soviet period. Historians either hate him or idolize him. One sees him as an executioner who drowned the Kronstadt rebellion and peasant unrest in the Tambov province in blood, while the other sees him as a talented commander and theoretician who developed the foundations of Soviet military affairs. But everyone agrees on one thing - this man left a bright mark on the political reality of the last century. Having discarded any prejudices, let's try to look at the life of this person ....
The Tukhachevsky family has been known to researchers of dynasties since the 13th century. It was his ancestors who gave rise to the famous Tolstoy family. Mikhail's father, Nikolai Nikolaevich Tukhachevsky, came from impoverished nobles of Polish origin. He married a semi-literate peasant woman, Mavra Petrovna, who bore him nine children: four sons and five daughters. They lived in the estate of Alexandrovsky, located in the Smolensk province.
Mikhail Tukhachevsky was the third child in the family, born in 1893. In early childhood, he was an exceptionally mobile, hyperactive boy who could not be left unattended for a minute. To look after him, the parents even had to take a separate nanny, since the nurse common to all the children could not keep up with Misha. He learned to read and write early, read a lot (in three languages), was always drawn to new knowledge and was interested in music. Already in adolescence, the remarkable artistic and literary abilities of the future commander began to appear. Parents often staged performances at home in which all family members took part. Mikhail independently composed plays for them, where he always assigned the main roles to himself. Having asked his parents for a violin, he learned to play it quite decently. A few months before his death, in the spring of 1937, he, having played a part for his sister, sadly noted: “And why didn’t I decide to become a musician? I would be a good violinist now.” He also worked all his life writing activities, historians know more than one hundred and twenty of his works. True, they are all scientific works on military topics. In his youth, Tukhachevsky was fond of horse riding, dancing and wrestling. Contemporaries noted that he was beautifully built, very handsome and charismatic.
Later, Mikhail entered the first Moscow Cadet Corps, where he immediately stood out thanks to his sharp mind, physical abilities and excellent diligence. Teachers noted that "military science is the true vocation of this boy." Because of his exceptional abilities, he was even personally introduced to Nicholas II. However, there were also less personal moments. He had no friends at all in the corps, and not at all because he was a reserved or timid young man. On the contrary, everyone was well aware of his desire for absolute leadership and cruelty towards others. They were afraid to quarrel with him, because he did not know mercy, and with the younger cadets he behaved like a despot.
It is quite natural that he graduated from the school with the best performance, after which he was sent, as he dreamed, to the Semenovsky regiment. Tukhachevsky took part in the First World War, and even ill-wishers noted his courage on the battlefield and in intelligence. Courage, which often bordered on recklessness, would fail him more than once in the future. In the end, for the heroism shown, five times he was presented for awarding orders of various degrees (five orders in six months), Mikhail was captured.
There is a legend about four unsuccessful escape attempts made by Tukhachevsky. But there is no historical evidence for this. It is only known that after some time Mikhail was sent to the international concentration camp Ingolstadt. According to some reports, the fortress was a gathering place for captured officers who, for various reasons, came to the attention of German intelligence. The most famous prisoners of this camp were Charles de Gaulle and Louis Rivet.
In Ingolstadt, Lieutenant Tukhachevsky met Charles de Gaulle. Something like a friendship began between them, the future president of France always noted the extraordinary “impudence and courage” of the Russian prisoner. In 1936, Tukhachevsky was present in Paris at a meeting of concentration camp prisoners. And in 1966, when de Gaulle came to Moscow, he wished to see the sisters of the late marshal. Of course, he politely but firmly refused. Relatives did not even know about the desire of the eminent Frenchman.
It is not known in what conditions the prisoners were kept in the fortress of Ingolstadt, but they were sometimes allowed to go out into the city as a walk.
Taking advantage of this, on August 3, 1917, Tukhachevsky made another, fifth (in a year and a half) attempt to escape. It turned out to be successful, and already in October 1917 he returned to his homeland.
While still in prison, Tukhachevsky began to sympathize with the Bolsheviks. He wrote: "If Lenin rids Russia of old prejudices, if he makes her a strong power, then I choose Marxism." Having voluntarily joined the Red Army in March 1918, by June he was already the commander of the first army of the Eastern Front.
Possessing a gift for oratory, Tukhachevsky initiated the registration of former tsarist officers in the Red Army. However, he convinced them not only with words. From his order: “For the organization of a combat-ready army, experienced leaders are needed. Therefore, I order the former officers to immediately come to me. Those who do not appear will be given to a court-martial." Although Tukhachevsky himself wrote about this: "I helped them go along with the people, and not against it." The officers followed him. And soon, despite his aristocratic appearance, he managed to win the trust of the soldiers. During the Civil War in Russia, the twenty-six-year-old Red commander became famous on various fronts, crowding out Krasnov and Denikin, burning out anti-Soviet sentiments in Russia with fire and sword.
Among the commanders of the Red Army, Mikhail Tukhachevsky had neither friends nor acquaintances. Many described him as a capable second lieutenant who was very lucky in life. Already in the early twenties, Tukhachevsky came to the attention of the Special Department. In the dossier there, he was presented as a gifted leader. But his main problem lay in human qualities. He was characterized as an imperious and cunning commander, who did not tolerate objections and criticism of his actions. That is why he chose weak-willed and obsequious subordinates, completely creeping before his authority. It was also noted that Tukhachevsky neglects the issues of strategy and tactics in the preparation of military operations, being interested only in the administrative aspects.
In 1919, for the defeat of Kolchak Tukhachevsky, he was awarded the highest award at that time - the Honorary Revolutionary Weapon along with the Order of the Red Banner. Having won many exemplary victories from a military point of view, he became famous for his ability to clearly organize army work. However, Mikhail Tukhachevsky lost the largest battle in his life for Warsaw in all respects.
The Soviet-Polish war began with the fact that the Poles mobilized about a million people. The Allies helped them with equipment and money. The backbone of the army was the 70,000-strong corps of General Haller, formed from French Poles who went through the war. Aviation was represented by American pilots. The intelligence of the Red Army, which was in its infancy, missed all these large-scale preparations. In the spring of 1920, the commander of the Polish forces, Pilsudski, struck in the Zhytomyr direction. Parts of the Red Army, organized from the "Galicians", rebelled, the front was exposed, and no one was left on the path of the Poles. Having traveled almost two hundred kilometers, having occupied Kyiv without a fight and captured many prisoners, the enemy troops stopped on the banks of the Dnieper.
But the Soviet government was not going to give up either. A massive transfer of troops to the Polish front began, and the General Staff issued the well-known appeal "To all former officers ...", after which, in order to save the Motherland from the Poles, everyone who had recently fought for the Whites, hid from arrests, and was in prisons began to enroll in the Red Army. Mikhail Tukhachevsky, appointed commander of the Western Front, decided to defeat the Polish army with one swift throw in the direction of Warsaw. True, the very first attempts to break through the enemy defenses near the Berezina River failed. Then the First Cavalry Army came to his aid, which included all the advanced equipment of that time: armored trains, artillery, airplanes and, the invention of the Makhnovists, the famous carts. At the beginning of the summer, the vanguard of Budyonny's army broke through the front and irresistibly rushed to Volhynia. Here Tukhachevsky began to advance rapidly in the north. The Poles wavered and ran. In just a few days, the troops of Mikhail Nikolayevich rushed past Minsk, Brest, along the Lithuanian border, through Vilna and Grodno, until they ended up on Polish soil.
M. N. Tukhachevsky 1935 Postcard. CA FSB RF. A C D No. R-5159
Such raids have not been seen since the time of Napoleon. Piłsudski was depressed, the Allies had already buried Poland. Tukhachevsky, considering himself the new Suvorov, appointed the capture of Warsaw on August 12. To do this, he decided to bypass the Polish capital from the west and north, attacking from directions unexpected for the enemies. Not knowing the number and deployment of enemy troops, Tukhachevsky independently climbed into the bag between the main forces of the Poles and the German border. In mid-August, the elite Polish troops of General Haller, having launched a series of counterattacks, found themselves, to their own surprise, in the rear of the Reds. If the First Cavalry were nearby, Haller would definitely not be in trouble, but she got stuck in the battles near Lvov. Much later, the opinion appeared that Joseph Vissarionovich was to blame for everything. Indeed, Stalin opposed the redeployment of Budyonny's troops to the north. However, it had a reasonable basis. He saw that the cavalry army was exhausted by battles and was not capable of such a breakthrough. But Tukhachevsky's headquarters could not properly assess the strength of the Poles.
Soon half of Tukhachevsky's troops were pressed against the German border. All attempts to break through to the east ended in failure. Then the troops retreated to the lands East Prussia where they were interned. It was a disaster. The Bolsheviks had no choice but to negotiate.
Tukhachevsky's strange affection for Dmitri Shostakovich is well known. When the great composer, suffering from tuberculosis, worked as a pianist in cinemas, it was only thanks to the efforts of Marshal Shostakovich that he was asked to create a symphony for the tenth anniversary of October. After her performance, he became famous. And after the publication in Pravda of the derogatory article-review "Muddle instead of music", Mikhail Nikolayevich was one of the few who dared to openly support the desperate Shostakovich.
In the thirties, in all subsequent positions, Mikhail Nikolayevich pushed through the idea of militarization of the country's economy. He put forward proposals to increase the number of divisions, to develop artillery, aviation, and tank troops. However, his calculations contained fabulous figures, for example, about the possibility of producing 100,000 tanks a year in the USSR. Stalin pointed out to the marshal the delusional nature of this idea, calling it "red militarism." Also, among other mistakes of the military leader, one should consider the emphasis on the development of recoilless artillery to the detriment of further study of rifled barrel artillery, the abolition of the production of a successful 37-mm anti-tank gun, and the refusal to introduce mortars. Large funds were spent by the marshal on the study of unpromising weapons.
Soviet military leaders. 1921 In the first row: far left - M. N. Tukhachevsky; in the center - S. M. Budeny; far right - P. E. Dybenko
But Tukhachevsky personally participated in the maneuvers of the army and navy, analyzed their results and developed measures to improve command and control. Seeing in tanks the main force of future wars, he studied the forced deployment of mechanized formations, created the theory of deep combat and continuous operations in one direction. Being a supporter of an offensive strategy, he advocated the independence of small units. In 1932, thanks to him, work began on the creation of rocket engines, and in 1933, the Jet Research Institute was built, specializing in the development of rocket weapons.
Mikhail Tukhachevsky had very few friends, preferring women's society to them. The handsome marshal seemed to have some special influence on the beautiful half of humanity. The higher up the ranks Tukhachevsky climbed, the more women surrounded him. The true number of marshal's mistresses is incalculable.
He met his first wife while still in high school. Her name was Maria, she was the daughter of a machinist and committed suicide shortly after their marriage. According to one version, she could not bear the numerous betrayals of her husband, according to another, Mikhail himself demanded a divorce. In any case, Tukhachevsky was involved in this, Maria shot herself in the head right in his headquarters car. He did not come to the funeral, and soon remarried sixteen-year-old Lika. Despising party ethics, the military leader married her in the church. However, this did not deter him from numerous intrigues on the side, and their union broke up after a short time. And in 1923, Tukhachevsky seduced the wife of the political commissar of the fourth rifle division, Nina Grinevich. They got married, but five years later the marshal was attracted by the wife of a former friend of Nikolai Kuzmin, Yulia. He did not divorce Nina Grinevich, but until 1937 he lived with Kuzmina.
In the spring of 1937, Tukhachevsky, the former deputy people's commissar for defense, was unexpectedly not allowed to attend the coronation of George VI in London. Perhaps even then he realized that the end was near. On May 11, Mikhail Nikolayevich was removed from his post and sent to command the Volga Military District in Kuibyshev. Before leaving, Stalin put his hand on his shoulder and promised that he would soon return the marshal to the capital. Iosif Vissarionovich kept his word, already on May 24 Tukhachevsky was indeed returned to Moscow. Only in handcuffs and under escort. The arrest of Mikhail Nikolaevich was carried out by the representative of the NKVD, the old Bolshevik Rudolf Nelke. Tukhachevsky had just arrived in Kuibyshev and appeared at the regional committee to get acquainted with the local leadership. They were already waiting for him in the first secretary's office. When the marshal opened the door, he immediately understood everything. After a pause, Tukhachevsky waved his hand and crossed the threshold. When Nelke said that he had an order for his arrest, Mikhail Nikolaevich silently sat down in an armchair. He was offered to put on civilian clothes, which were delivered by the Chekists, but he did not react. Then the prisoners, tearing off their military uniforms, independently dressed the marshal. Rudolf Nelke was shot a few months later.
The first Marshals of the Soviet Union. Sitting (from left to right): M. N. Tukhachevsky, K. E Voroshilov, A. I. Egorov. Standing: S. M. Budyonny and V. K. Blucher. 1935
Tukhachevsky gave his first confessions on May 26. A note written in the name of Yezhov read: “... I inform you that I recognize the existence of an anti-Soviet military-Trotskyist conspiracy, as well as the fact that I led it. I promise to tell the investigation everything that affects the conspiracy, without hiding any of the participants and not a single document or fact. Mikhail Tukhachevsky. Why did he break down so quickly? There are several versions of this. Firstly, you should not belittle the art of shoulder work of masters from Lubyanka. The torture within the walls of this building was fantastic. Tukhachevsky's daughter later told how she, a youngster, was brought to her father and wanted to be raped. From other sources, a naked marshal was tied to a pole, and an iron tube with rats was put on the genitals .... There is no documentary evidence of the described episodes, but Tukhachevsky's handwritten confessions have been preserved. Even without graphological research, it is clear that they were written in different emotional and physical states. The letters constantly dance, the lines are smeared, the handwriting and style change. The pages are smudged brown spots, which, according to the conclusion of the forensic laboratory of the Ministry of Defense, are blood. At the end of the interrogations, the papers written by Tukhachevsky with his own hand become less and less, they are replaced by typewritten ones with his signatures.
Was he actually conspiring or not? Researchers are still divided on this point. Most likely, yes, too many facts and information have been collected in support of this. However, the scale of the conspiracy, as well as its connection with German intelligence, is still in question; this story still holds many mysteries. According to the conclusion of the investigation, Tukhachevsky was found guilty of organizing a military conspiracy with the aim of forcibly overthrowing the government and establishing a military dictatorship. He was also charged with the destruction of the Red Army and the transfer of secret information about the number and deployment of German intelligence Soviet troops near the border. On June 12, 1937, Mikhail Nikolaevich Tukhachevsky and seven other defendants were shot in the basement of the Military Collegium building.
There is a myth that Tukhachevsky, as the most brilliant commander of the USSR, was afraid of Hitler preparing for war. According to the Nazis, only he could adequately prepare our armed forces. Therefore, a plan appeared to discredit the marshal in the eyes of the party leadership. All the papers about the conspiracy were made by the German secret services and included a number of real facts of Tukhachevsky's meetings with the military of the Third Reich, which took place within the framework of cooperation between Russia and Germany. After the dossier was planted Soviet intelligence, becoming the basis of the Marshal's charges. Meanwhile, there is no evidence of this, except for Hitler's statement in his last interview: "Stalin did a brilliant deed by organizing a purge in the Russian army ...".
Cover of the investigation file of M.N. Tukhachevsky. 1937 CA FSB RF ASD. R-9000
The next day after the execution, the pages of Soviet newspapers simply came out with hysterical headlines: “People who were admired by the whole country have been exposed”, “A crushing blow to German intelligence”, “The verdict of the court is a confirmation of our power.” Hatred, fear, the instinct of self-preservation took possession of human hearts. Crowded rallies were held at Moscow factories and factories, workers, trying to shout down each other, expressed their approval of the court's verdict, considering execution to be too easy death for traitors.
After the liquidation of the marshal in the Red Army, mass repression. Also, Stalin did not spare almost any of Tukhachevsky's relatives, wanting to exterminate almost his entire family. Brothers, sisters, last wife, daughters, husbands and wives of brothers and sisters went into exile or were shot. Mother, Mavra Petrovna, died in exile without learning about the terrible fate of most of her children and grandchildren. All the property of the late marshal, down to personal correspondence and photographs, was confiscated and destroyed.
On trial
Almost twenty years later, during the Khrushchev thaw, Mikhail Tukhachevsky was rehabilitated. The country's leadership went to the other extreme, declaring him almost the most brilliant commander of our country. His work on military history and the theories were republished, though inevitably outdated by this time. And the successful operations he carried out against Denikin and Kolchak began to be studied in the academies.
Mikhail Nikolaevich forever remained in history the youngest Soviet marshal, having made a brilliant military career, which ended, one might say, at the very take-off. He was one of the main commanders of the largest army in the world, he was gladly received in the highest military circles in Paris, London, Berlin. Shortly after the process, and also later during the rehabilitation period in different countries and on different languages books and articles dedicated to Tukhachevsky appeared. At first they presented him like Bonaparte, a commander who lost the political battle to Joseph Stalin. In the fifties, the emphasis shifted towards the innocent victim of the terror of the thirties, a failed alternative to the command of the Russian Army in World War II. However, in all his works, Tukhachevsky appears as an extraordinary figure of world significance.
So why did Tukhachevsky take the side of the Red power, why did he enter into a deadly game with it? He could settle down with representatives of the white movement in some European country. Or, for example, go to serve in the Reichswehr, become a general and lead a division or corps (in best case like a talented foreigner). I dare to suggest that he would have lived much longer then.
Apart from the issues of patriotism, which do not seem to be the main motive in all the actions of an ambitious lieutenant of the Guards, Tukhachevsky's main dream, according to many memoirists, was the desire to create the greatest army in history. And also to lead it and lead it into battle, say, during the proletarian world revolution. For the sake of this goal, he went to any lengths: he became an ally of the Bolsheviks, gassed the peasants from Tambov, shot Kronstadt sailors, spent huge amounts of money on the production of weapons .... With such an independent character and mind, there was no chance to survive in totalitarian conditions. It is not known how the course of the most terrible war in the history of our country would have developed if he had been in the ranks of Soviet military leaders. However, World War II eventually passed without him.
Information sources:
-http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/
-http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/vs/article/6841/
-http://militera.lib.ru/bio/sokolov/09.html
-http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/1758119/post67411288/
-http://eg.ru/daily/politics/10058/
-http://clubs.ya.ru/zh-z-l/replies.xml?item_no=3853
-http://izvestia.ru/news/287239#ixzz2KpzZYVvH
Mikhail Nikolaevich Tukhachevsky. Born February 16, 1893 in the village. Alexander Smolensk province - shot on June 12, 1937 in Moscow. Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1935).
Mikhail Tukhachevsky was born on February 16, 1893 in the village. Alexandrovskoe Smolensk province (now Safonovsky district Smolensk region).
Father - Nikolai Nikolaevich Tukhachevsky (1866-1914), an impoverished Smolensk hereditary nobleman.
Mother - Mavra Petrovna Milohova (1869-1941), a peasant woman.
According to one version, his family has Polish roots. However, some historians dispute this.
Mikhail spent his childhood in the village of Vrazhsky, Chembarsky district, Penza province (now Kamensky district). Then he lived in Penza.
In 1904-1909 he studied at the 1st Penza Gymnasium.
In 1912 he graduated from the Moscow Cadet Corps of Empress Catherine II.
After graduating from the cadet corps, he entered Aleksandrovskoye military school, which he graduated in 1914 in the top three in terms of academic performance. At the end of his studies, he chose service in the Life Guards Semyonovsky Regiment, where in July 1914 he was appointed a junior officer in the 6th company of the 2nd battalion.
In the outbreak of World War I, he took part in battles with the Austrians and Germans as part of the 1st Guards Division on the Western Front. Member of the Lublin, Ivangorod, Lomzhinsky operations. He was wounded, for his heroism he was awarded orders of various degrees five times (5 orders in six months).
In the battle on February 19, 1915, near the village of Piasechno near Lomza, his company was surrounded, he himself was taken prisoner. At night, the Germans surrounded the positions of the 6th company and destroyed it almost completely. Company commander Captain Veselago (an old soldier who volunteered back in Russo-Japanese War), fought fiercely and was killed. Later, when the Russians recaptured the trenches captured by the Germans, they counted at least twenty bayonet and gunshot wounds on the captain's body - and identified him only by the St. George Cross. Tukhachevsky, on the other hand, was captured alive and not even wounded. After four unsuccessful attempts to escape from captivity, he was sent to a camp for incorrigible fugitives in Ingolstadt, where he met with.
Name: Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolaevich
State: Russian empire, THE USSR
Field of activity: Military
Greatest achievement: Marshal of the USSR, author of the theory of fleeting war
Fought in the First World War, was taken prisoner. Ran on the fifth try.
After the revolution, he was accepted into the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army.
Commander-in-Chief Lev Trotsky assigned Tukhachevsky command of the 5th Army in 1919, in which position he led the campaign to recapture Simbirsk from Kolchak's White Guards. Also, Mikhail Nikolaevich carried out the final operations to capture General Anton Denikin in the Crimea.
Tukhachevsky played a leading role in the development of a new way of warfare - the theory of deep operations.
Gradually, Stalin came to the conclusion that Tukhachevsky was his most sworn enemy.
In 1935, at the age of forty-two, Tukhachevsky was appointed Marshal of the USSR.
June 11, 1937 Supreme Court Union of Soviet Socialist Republics A special tribunal was convened to sentence Tukhachevsky and other officers convicted in the case for treason. All were sentenced to death the same evening.
After the publication of the famous Khrushchev speech, Tukhachevsky was rehabilitated and found posthumously innocent.
Marshal of the USSR and military leader of the Red Army, Tukhachevsky was an outstanding tactician of his time and went down in history thanks to the theories of military affairs developed by him and books about the war. Among other things, Tukhachevsky is famous for being one of the first victims of the Great Purge, and his death marked the onset new era for Soviet Russia.
Childhood and youth
Tukhachevsky was born on February 16, 1893 in the Smolensk region. His parents were of noble birth. After graduating from a military school, in 1914, Mikhail Nikolaevich entered the service of the Semyonov Guards Regiment.
Tukhachevsky's works
Tukhachevsky played a leading role in the development of a new way of warfare - the theory of deep operations. This theory involved striking deep behind enemy formations with the aim of destroying the rear and cutting off the enemy's escape route.
The fleeting war had many opponents in the Red Army, but, nevertheless, it was adopted in the mid-thirties. The theory was included in the code of rules of the Red Army in 1929, and by 1936 it was completely finalized. One of the main examples of its effectiveness can be considered the victory of the USSR over Japan in the battle of Nomonhan. In this battle, the Soviet army under the leadership of Zhukov defeated the superior enemy force in the early autumn of 1939.
The theory of fleeting war is constantly being refined and used to this day. It became the basis for many modern forms conducting combat operations, and it was developed by Tukhachevsky. Due to the large-scale cleansings carried out in the Red Army in the late 30s, this theory was not applied for some time. It was later used again during winter war(1939-1940) when the Soviets invaded Finland. It was also used in the key battles for the USSR near Stalingrad and in Belarus.
Origin of suspicion
Gradually, Stalin came to the conclusion that Tukhachevsky was his most sworn enemy. He gave him the nickname "Napoleon", believing that Mikhail Nikolaevich, together with Trotsky, planned to overthrow the leader. After the redistribution of power in 1929, Stalin began to receive denunciations from servicemen who did not approve of Tukhachevsky's tactics. Then, in 1930, the OGPU forced two officers to testify that Tukhachevsky was involved in a conspiracy against the Politburo and was planning a coup d'état. However, this year the trial of Tukhachevsky did not take place. Stalin received the results of the check on his case, which did not reveal anything.
After that, Mikhail Nikolayevich wrote a number of books on the conduct of the war. In 1931, Stalin began to industrialize the army, and Tukhachevsky was given a key role in its reform. He introduced advanced ideas about the possibilities of tactical use of air and ground equipment in combined attack methods.
Tukhachevsky had a great love for art. He became a close friend and patron of Dmitri Shostakovich. The general's acquaintance with the composer took place in 1925. Subsequently, they often played music together at Tukhachevsky's house (he played the violin well). In 1934, Shostakovich was attacked and condemned after the publication of a critical article in the newspaper Pravda about his work Lady Macbeth. Tukhachevsky stood up for his comrade before Stalin. The arrest of Mikhail Nikolaevich led to pressure on Shostakovich. They wanted to get him to testify against Tukhachevsky. Shostakovich was saved from persecution by the fact that the investigator was also soon arrested.
Marshal's conspiracy
In 1935, at the age of forty-two, Tukhachevsky was appointed Marshal of the USSR. Stalin wanted to achieve complete control over the army, seeing in it the only force capable of resisting him. Since their relationship with Tukhachevsky was always difficult, Stalin decided to eliminate the marshal and his seven commanders. This plan did not arouse condemnation among the close associates of the leader.
Tukhachevsky was relieved of his post, having been appointed military commander in the Volga District. On May 22, 1937, he was arrested and taken to the capital in a "funnel".
Tukhachevsky's testimony
Directly under the supervision of Nikolai Yezhov (General Commissar of State Security), an interrogation was carried out. Yezhov ordered his men to do "everything necessary" to get Tukhachevsky to confess. Yezhov was sure that Tukhachevsky had accomplices, and demanded that he immediately extradite them.
It took several days for Tukhachevsky to be broken and confess that in 1928 he was recruited by Yenukidze (then a member of the presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Belarus, later secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR). He told that he was a German agent and was in cahoots with Bukharin to carry out a coup d'état and seize power. Tukhachevsky's confession is still kept in the archive, it is all covered with brown spots.
Tukhachevsky case
On June 11, 1937, a special tribunal was convened by the Supreme Court of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to sentence Tukhachevsky and other officers convicted in the case for treason. The process was called: "The case of the military."
On the same night at 23:35 all the defendants in the case were found guilty and sentenced to death. Stalin, who was waiting for its adoption, did not even study the transcript of the meeting, he simply said: “I agree.” After some time, Tukhachevsky was taken out of the cell and shot.
Rehabilitation
For a long time, the version of Tukhachevsky's betrayal was official and was broadcast by both Soviet historians and their Western apologists. However, after the publication of the famous Khrushchev speech, Tukhachevsky was rehabilitated and found posthumously innocent.
Most historians agree that the guilty verdict in the Tukhachevsky case was falsified, but Stalin's true motives in this story are still a matter of debate. For example, the historian Robert Conquest accused the leaders of the NSDAP of forging papers, which eventually convinced the leader of the existence of Tukhachevsky's conspiracy. It is believed that in this way the Nazis tried to reduce the defense capability of the USSR.
Nevertheless, after the 1990s, it became clear that the leaders of the NKVD actually "invented" Tukhachevsky's betrayal. On their orders, double agent Skoblin penetrated the headquarters and concocted information about Tukhachevsky and other officers involved in the case.
Seeing in this case a good opportunity for Germany to behead Soviet army, Heydrich immediately took up this information. Heydrich's documents were delivered to the USSR through Beneš. While the National Socialists believed they had deceived Stalin, they were in fact merely pawns in the NKVD game.
Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolaevich (born February 4 (February 16), 1893 - death June 12, 1937) - military leader, Marshal of the USSR. During the Civil War, he commanded a number of armies in battles in the Volga region, in the South, the Urals, Siberia, the troops of the Caucasian Front in the defeat of troops and the Western Front in the war with Poland.
1921 - commanded the troops, during the suppression peasant uprising in the Tambov and Voronezh provinces. In 1925-28 he was Chief of Staff of the Red Army. Since 1931 - Deputy People's Commissar for Military Affairs and Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. Since 1934 - Deputy, since 1936 - 1st Deputy People's Commissar of Defense. Arrested and executed in 1937 on charges of "military conspiracy" against Stalin.
Origin. Education
Mikhail Tukhachevsky came from an old but very impoverished noble family. He was born in the Tukhachevsky estate of Aleksandrovsky, Smolensk province. His father was a small landowner. From childhood, Mikhail was interested in military affairs. But my father was against military career son and gave him in 1904 to the 1st Penza gymnasium. Only in 1909, after numerous requests, the boy was transferred to the Moscow Cadet Corps, which Tukhachevsky graduated with honors in 1912.
Continuing his education, he entered the Moscow Alexander Military School, which he graduated in June 1914 with the rank of second lieutenant.
Military service
To the first world war, was repeatedly awarded for personal bravery. 1915, February - during the Prasnysh operation on the North-Western Front, he was captured near Lomza. 1917 - after several unsuccessful attempts, he was able to escape from Germany to Russia.
After the revolution of 1917, he went over to the side of the Bolsheviks, in 1918 he joined the party. He worked in the military department of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK). 1918, May - military commissar of defense of the Moscow region, since June of the same year, commander of the First Army on the Eastern Front. Conducted a number of successful offensive operations against the People's Army of the Committee of the Constituent Assembly and the Czechoslovak Corps.
December 1918 - January 1919 - Assistant Commander of the Southern Front. 1919, January-March - Commander of the 8th Army of the Southern Front. From April to November - commander of the 5th Army, which took part in the counteroffensive of the Eastern Front, in the Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk and other operations to liberate the Urals and Siberia from the army.
1920, January-April - Commander of the Caucasian Front; under his command, the Yegorlyk and North Caucasian operations were carried out. 1920 - during the Soviet-Polish war, he headed the Western Front, which was defeated by the White Poles near Warsaw.
1921, March - took part in the suppression of ... the Kronstadt rebellion. 1921 - commander of the troops of the Tambov province, performing the task of completely eliminating the mass peasant uprising.
1922-1924 - Mikhail Nikolayevich commands the Western Front, while his intervention in political life the state was extremely wary of the party elite, mired in internal squabbles and struggle. Tukhachevsky actually had political ambitions. A covert surveillance was established behind him, compromising evidence was collected. 1924 - he becomes assistant chief of staff of the Red Army, and in 1925-1928 - chief of staff of the Red Army. Despite the workload, Mikhail Nikolaevich found time for military pedagogical work, he lectured to students of the academy. May 1928 - appointed commander of the Leningrad Military District. 1931 - he becomes Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR K. Voroshilov.
Personal life
Tukhachevsky was married three times. The first wife is Ignatieva Maria Vladimirovna, the daughter of the driver of the Penza depot. True, the marriage with Mary did not last long. She committed suicide - shot herself right in the headquarters of her husband.
According to one version, Maria could not withstand constant betrayal, according to another, remorse tormented her wife. In those days, there was a terrible famine in the country, and she secretly sent bags of flour and canned food to her parents in Penza. The Revolutionary Military Council, having learned this, put the sacks of provisions in front of the commander. Tukhachevsky began to demand a divorce. Maria shot herself. He did not even attend the funeral, but entrusted all the cares of the deceased wife to his adjutant. Yes, and he did not grieve for long and soon remarried.
Since 1921, the second wife is Nina Evgenievna Grinevich. From a noble family. 1922 - daughter Svetlana was born. Shot in 1941.
The third wife is the secretary Yulia Kuzmina. In this marriage, a daughter was also born, they also named Sveta.
Opal. Arrest. execution
Meanwhile, tensions are rising in Europe. The Nazis come to power in Germany. The war is approaching, and Stalin's suspiciousness was getting stronger. It was his fears for his own power that was the main reason for the repressions in the Red Army. The popular, relatively young and educated Marshal Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was not needed in the big war by the “leader of the peoples”.
1937, May 1 - after the parade, the top Bolshevik leadership continued to celebrate the holiday at Voroshilov's apartment. Stalin then said a toast that the "enemies" within the state would be identified and exterminated. The repressions have already begun, but have not yet reached the army. A few days after this significant scene, the marshal was dismissed from the post of deputy people's commissar of defense and sent to command the Volga military district.
1937, May 22 - the commander was arrested in Kuibyshev. During interrogation, Mikhail Nikolaevich admitted that he was preparing a military coup. To do this, he allegedly intended to organize the defeat of the Red Army in the upcoming war with the Germans or the Japanese. On June 11, the court sentenced the former marshal to death for espionage and treason. He was shot that same night. He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1957.
Did the so-called. "Tukhachevsky conspiracy"? Some historians think so. Mikhail Nikolaevich confessed to everything and immediately, betrayed all the accomplices.
Tukhachevsky was killed by women, one of whom followed him and reported to the NKVD.
[:RU]Mikhail Nikolaevich Tukhachevsky went down in history as a brilliant commander, one of the first red marshals of the Soviet Union, an ardent supporter of the technical re-equipment of the Red Army, thanks to whose activities rocket science began to develop in the USSR in the 30s. He was called "Napoleon" and "demon of the revolution." The youngest marshal, a fanatical militarist, he lived in war and dreamed of a military dictatorship. As you know, in 1937, on the “case of the military”, he was innocently repressed and shot. However, was the “red marshal” so innocent and positive?
1. Godless violinist
Misha inherited a love of music from his father and grandmother from childhood. He played the violin, staged home performances, played the main roles in them. It would seem that an almost idyllic picture is emerging, but this is only at first glance. Tukhachevsky's father was a man "without social prejudice." He taught his children to hate God. The children had three dogs, whose names were God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The main atheist was the violinist and turned on Misha, he snarled a lot on a religious theme, which more than once plunged his mother and the dressmaker Polina Dmitrievna, who lived in the Tukhachevsky house, into a state of shock. The elderly dressmaker could not oppose the "possession" of the tomboy, but the mother somehow could not stand the next blasphemous tirade of her offspring and poured a cup of iced tea on Misha's head. Misha dried himself, laughed and continued his anti-religious propaganda.
Hatred of God Tukhachevsky carried through his whole life. To the French officer Rur, a neighbor in German captivity, he “opened his soul”: “There is Dazhdbog, the god of the Sun, Stribog, the god of the wind, Veles, the god of arts and poetry, and finally, Perun, the god of thunder and lightning. After reflection, I settled on Perun, because Marxism, having won in Russia, will unleash merciless wars between people. I will honor Perun every day.” In March 1918, immediately after joining the party, Tukhachevsky proposed to the Council of People's Commissars his draft of a ban on Christianity and the revival of paganism.
2. Hypocrite
The glorification of Tukhachevsky is the fruit of propaganda from the time of the debunking of Stalin's personality cult. In fact, Tukhachevsky more than once neglected officer honor for the sake of his personal interests. Tukhachevsky hated the tsar no less than God. During his Junkership, he was personally introduced to Nicholas II for special merits. The sovereign was pleased with the faithful junker, who called the tsar an idiot behind his back. Already during his studies, the attitude towards Tukhachevsky was wary, he arranged "hazing" for junior students and did not stop at nothing to achieve his goals and satisfy ambitions. Tukhachevsky was already afraid at that time and was characterized as a person with a "cold soul", ambitious, stubborn and greedy for power.
3. Oathbreaker
Tukhachevsky went to the First World War not out of patriotism. He, like his father, was deprived of "social prejudice." The war was a good career. In 1915 he was taken prisoner. According to the unwritten rules of that time, if an officer who was in captivity gave his word of honor not to look for an opportunity to escape, he received more rights, he could even go for a walk. Tukhachevsky gave such a word, he ran away just during a walk. Such "anachronism" as an officer's honor had no meaning for Tukhachevsky. His act aroused indignation not only among the Germans, but also among our captured officers, and among the British and French. They even submitted a collective petition to the German command that they no longer consider Tukhachevsky a man of honor and word. Needless to say, Tukhachevsky did not care about the petitions.
4. Revolution Demon
Leon Trotsky called Tukhachevsky "the demon of the revolution." To earn such an “honorary” title from Lev Davidovich himself, one had to try hard. Tukhachevsky tried his best, but, of course, not for Trotsky, but for himself. Tukhachevsky physically could not tolerate any authority over himself. He was distinguished by extreme cruelty in his reprisals against civilians, created concentration camps, poisoned civilians with gases.
Order No. 0116 dated 06/12/1921.
I order:
Clean the forests where the bandits are hiding with poisonous gases, accurately calculate so that a cloud of suffocating gases spreads throughout the forest, destroying everything that was hiding there.
The Artillery Inspector shall immediately submit to the field the required number of cylinders with poisonous gases and the necessary specialists.
To the head of the combat sections persistently and energetically carry out this order.
ABOUT measures taken convey.
Commander of the troops M. Tukhachevsky.
5. Napoleonchik
In German captivity, Tukhachevsky said: “A sense of proportion, which is an obligatory quality for the West, is our biggest drawback in Russia. We need desperate heroic strength, Eastern cunning and barbaric breath of Peter the Great. Therefore, the garb of dictatorship suits us best.” It was about the military dictatorship that Tukhachevsky always dreamed of, he considered any indulgence of it a weakness. He never believed in the tsar, or in God, or in Bolshevism, or in Lenin or Stalin. They were driven by a thirst for uncontrolled power. Tukhachevsky's Bonapartism is well known. As a boy, he diligently copied the French emperor, becoming an adult, he liked to talk about Napoleon. An interesting detail: in the memoirs of Tukhachevsky nothing is said about his friends, he simply did not have them. Friendship implies equality. Tukhachevsky saw no equal, and was painfully ambitious. Even in the obvious Polish fiasco, when thanks to Tukhachevsky's "military genius" thousands of Russians ended up in Polish captivity, he did not blame himself, but Stalin. And Stalin did not forget this.
6. Red militarist
Stalin called Tukhachevsky a "red militarist". The global plans of Mikhail Nikolayevich in 1927 to produce 50-100 thousand tanks a year were not only unrealistic, but also disastrous for the industry, defense capability and economy of the USSR. Tukhachevsky, it seems, did not understand well what he proposed. Up to 100 thousand per year for the entire time of the war could not reach all the countries combined. Soviet Union it was not possible to build even 30 thousand tanks in a year - for this, all factories (including purely peaceful ones) would have to be rebuilt for the production of armored vehicles. Industrialization in 1927 was still ahead, the industry was semi-handicraft, about 5 million tons of steel were smelted. If we assume that the weight of one tank of that time was 30 tons, then Tukhachevsky suggested that half of the steel be given to the tanks. Also, the "red militarist" proposed to produce 40,000 aircraft per year, which was fraught with at least big problems for the country. Truly - Napoleonic plans! Let's get back to the tanks. Tukhachevsky proposed to produce T-35 and T-28 tanks, which were obsolete by the beginning of the war with Germany. If the USSR threw all its forces into the production of these machines, defeat in the war would be inevitable.
7. Dark operation "Spring".
In the early 30s, Tukhachevsky was noted in another dubious case, becoming one of the initiators of Operation Spring, a large-scale purge of the Red Army from cadres of royal training, including former whites, which took place in 1930-1931. In terms of the number of lost military specialists with higher education, "Spring" caused more damage to the army than the "Great Terror" of 1937-1938, whose great popularity is due to the post-Stalinist political processes: to rehabilitate the former tsarist officers as loudly and openly as the repressed commanders of the Red Army, Soviet power it was uncomfortable. In total, according to some reports, more than 3 thousand people were arrested, more than a thousand high-class officers of the old army were shot.
