Alexander Nikolaevich Poskrebyshev (russian: Александр Николаевич Поскрёбышев; 7 August 1891 – 3 January 1965) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
politician and a state and Communist Party functionary. A member of the Communist Party since March 1917, he was chief of the special department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (personal chancellery of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
, 1928–1953).
[Мой отец Александр Николаевич ПОСКРЕБЫШЕВ. 30 лет со Сталиным. Интервью с Поскрёбышевой Н.А.](_blank)
/ref>
Early life
Poskrebyshev was born on 7 August 1891, in the village of Uspenskoe near the city of Vyatka in the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, the son of a shoemaker
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...
. His mother was Nadezhda Efimovna. He had one brother, Ivan, and two sisters, Olga and Alexandra. He studied to become a medical assistant
A medical assistant, also known as a "clinical assistant" or healthcare assistant in the USA is an allied health professional who supports the work of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other health professionals, usually ...
, graduating in 1918.
Political career
Poskrebyshev was involved at an early stage in the activities of the Communist Party. He was elected secretary of the local division of the Bolshevik party (1917–1918) soon after joining the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP; in , ''Rossiyskaya sotsial-demokraticheskaya rabochaya partiya (RSDRP)''), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Russian Social Democratic Party, was a socialist pol ...
(Bolsheviks) (RSDLP(b), March 1917). He was a member of the political committee of the Special Turkestan Army (1918–1919), chairman of the regional Military Revolutionary Committee
The Military Revolutionary Committee (russian: Военно-революционный комитет, ) was the name for military organs created by the Bolsheviks under the soviets in preparation for the October Revolution (October 1917 – Marc ...
and regional Council of Workers and Peasants Deputies (Zlatoust, 1919–1921) and worked for the Bolshevik party in Ufa (1921–1922).[Большие родители. 1 канал Российского телевидения, 2003. Интервью с Поскрёбышевой Н.А.](_blank)
He moved to Moscow in 1922 within the Central Committee of the CPSU and by 1923 he had become Director of the Administrative Bureau of the Committee.
From 1924 on he worked with Stalin, when he was assigned to the Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
. He became an administrator in the Secret Section of the Central Committee shortly thereafter, which would later become the Special Section. Between 1924 and 1929 he was a Manager of the office of General Secretary of Central Committee of Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
(CPSU).
In 1927 Poskrebyshev graduated in Law and Economics from the Department of Administration and Law of Moscow State University.
In May 1929, Poskrebyshev became a Deputy of Ivan Tovstukha
Ivan Pavlovich Tovstukha (Russian: Иван Павлович Товстуха) (February 10, 1889 – August 9, 1935) was a Soviet leader, Communist Party functionary, and personal secretary of Joseph Stalin and the author of the first official bi ...
, Chief of the Secret Section of the Central Committee of the CPSU. On July 22, 1930 Poskrebyshev was promoted to Chief of the Secret Section. In 1934 the Secret Section was reorganized as the Special Section of the Central Committee, and on March 10, 1934 Poskrebyshev became the Chief of the Special Section.
In 1934, Poskrebyshev was elected a candidate member of the Central Committee at the 17th Congress of the CPSU. At the next two Congresses, he was made a full member.
In 1935 Poskrebyshev became the Director of Administration of the General Secretary of Central Committee of CPSU, replacing Ivan Tovstukha, who died of tuberculosis.[Российский Историко-Архивный Журнал - Вестник Архива](_blank)
/ref>
On the basis of Stalin's short thesis, Poskrebyshev wrote texts called "the Constitution of Soviet Union" (1936) and " Short course of CPSU history" (1938).[[Ермакова Людмила. интервью с Натальей Александровной Поскрёбышевой: Мой отец написал конституцию. Сталинскую, 2000, Москвичка, 3, стр 11]]
Since 1938 he was elected as a delegate to the first, and later of the second (1946) and third (1952) Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
He stayed in Moscow, working with Stalin, during the Second World War. Poskrebyshev was also involved in planning of military operations. He prepared documents for the Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Yalta
Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...
and Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
conferences, and participated in the work of the last two.
After the Second World War Poskrebyshev actively participated in the rebuilding of the economy of the Soviet Union.
The apex of Poskrebyshev's political career came in 1952, when he was appointed Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee, thereby gaining a seat in the Politburo. At the 19th Party Congress
The 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (commonly referred to as ''Shíjiǔ Dà''; ) was held at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, between 18 and 24 October 2017. 2,280 delegates represented the party's estimated 89 mill ...
that year, Poskrebyshev was a keynote speaker, and he headed the Secretariat of the Congress. However, a few months later Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...
accused Poskrebyshev of losing secret documents, and he was removed from the position by Stalin. Although these documents were later found, Poskrebyshev was not reinstated in this position due to Stalin's death.
He was briefly reinstated after the death of Stalin, but his removal from this position at the end of 1952 essentially marked the end of Poskrebyshev's political career.
Special Section
Poskrebyshev's most notable office was that of Chief of the Secret/Special Section of the Central Committee, to which he was promoted in 1930. The scope of work of the Secret/Special Section of Central Committee of Communist Party was the coordination of the work of Political Bureau (Presidium, Politburo) of Central Committee, Secretariat of Central Committee, Organizational Bureau of Central Committee and Encryption Bureau.
The staff of the Secret/Special Section included Chief of Special Section, Deputy Chief of Special Section and Office manager, Deputies of members of Secretariat of Central Committee with their office administrations, Office Administrations of Political Bureau (Presidium, Politburo) of Central Committee, of Orgburo, Encryption Bureau, Archive, Registration Office. The number of staff members of Secret/Special Section grew during the time and exceeded 100 persons.
The primary work of the Secret/Special Section was management of Communist Party and Soviet Union documents including top secret documents, preparation of documents for Politburo, Secretariat of Central Committee, Orgburo, preparation of resolutions of these Communist Party Units and implementation of these resolutions. For this reason the staff members of Secret/Special Section could be suspected of conspiracy. The job duties and job functions of staff members of Secret/Special Section were also secret even from relations. The leaking of any information related to job duties and/or secret documents was the reason for punishment of staff member of Secret/Special Section without civil trial.
The duties of Secret/Special Section also included the control of conditions for storing of secret documents and their use, investigation of violation management, using and storing of secret documents; in collaboration with GPU
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobil ...
and NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
carrying out investigation of leaking secret information, developing instruction for handling of secret documents, encryption, archiving and others duties related to handling of secret information.
In 1933 the Special Section of Central Committee was assigned to work under directions of Stalin, or Kaganovich when Stalin was not available.
From 1935 Poskrebyshev also acted as the Director of Administration of the General Secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
, succeeding Ivan Tovstukha
Ivan Pavlovich Tovstukha (Russian: Иван Павлович Товстуха) (February 10, 1889 – August 9, 1935) was a Soviet leader, Communist Party functionary, and personal secretary of Joseph Stalin and the author of the first official bi ...
on his death. In this position, all of Stalin's documents passed through his hands. This was a position of considerable trust and importance. Nicolaevsky believes that Poskrebyshev was given a rubber stamp
A rubber stamp is an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved or vulcanized onto a sheet of rubber. Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of ink made of dye or pigment is applied to rubber ...
with which he could affix Stalin's signature to documents.
The Special Section received information from the NKVD and supervised a pyramid of district Special Sections which reported Party information. It was fundamentally responsible for secret communications and security issues within the Party, and was therefore a position of considerable importance.
The importance of Poskrebyshev increased during and following the Second World War, wherein he served an important role as Stalin's organizer and as a point of contact for generals such as Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...
.
Purges
According to investigations of the Russian opposition group "Memorial", the lists of convicted were not managed by Special Sector of Central Committee.[Memorial](_blank)
/ref> The "Memorial" Group says that Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov ( rus, Никола́й Ива́нович Ежо́в, p=nʲɪkɐˈɫaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ (j)ɪˈʐof; 1 May 1895 – 4 February 1940) was a Soviet secret police official under Joseph Stalin who was head of the N ...
personally visited all members of the Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
to get their endorsement of the lists of convicted.
Nikolaevsky suggested that Poskrebyshev had been responsible for "liaison with Stalin and supervising the removal of top figures whom Stalin, for one reason or another, did not want openly arrested", and for "surveillance of the Party Secretariat"; It is not clear what document or reference has been used as source of this allegation, and who Stalin removed using Poskrebyshev and Special Sector of Central Committee. The prosecution of individuals was outside of scope of work duties of Special Sector of Central Committee, unless these persons were members of Special Sector. Even in the latter case, the number of members of Special Sector was limited and the fate of most of them was not known due to secrecy.
These speculations are also in contradiction with history of his second wife and her relations, as well as the evidence of his daughter Natalia. Her mother Bronislava Poskrebysheva Bronislava Solomonovna Metallikova (Masenkis)-Poskrebysheva (russian: Бронислава Соломоновна Металликова-Поскрёбышева, 1910–1941) was born in Proskurov, Podolia Governorate. She was the wife of Alexander ...
was arrested in 1939.[Rappaport, p. 210.] At this time Poskrebyshev, much like other prominent members of the Communist Party (for example, Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...
and Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (russian: link=no, Михаи́л Ива́нович Кали́нин ; 3 June 1946), known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych", was a Soviet politician and Old Bolshevik revolutionary. He served as head of s ...
) was not able to help his wife. She was accused by Lavrenty Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolsheviks ...
of counter-revolutionary liaisons with Leon Trotsky, and was executed in 1941. Such cases are unlikely to have arisen in the case of individuals who were playing a leading role in the conduct of the purges. In contrast, the leading role of Beria in the purges is more evident. The arrest of Poskrebyshev's wife might have allowed him to remove Poskrebyshev from Stalin's inner circle and replace him with an individual controlled by Beria. In this scenario the next step would have been total control of Stalin by Beria.
Poskrebyshev was not an ally of Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov ( rus, Никола́й Ива́нович Ежо́в, p=nʲɪkɐˈɫaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ (j)ɪˈʐof; 1 May 1895 – 4 February 1940) was a Soviet secret police official under Joseph Stalin who was head of the N ...
but some collaborative government business was to be expected due to the membership of Nikolai Yezhov in the Secretariat of the Central Committee. Probably he had garnered the animosity of Beria by spearheading corruption investigations in the Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
n apparatus of the NKVD—then controlled by Beria—in 1938.
The involvement of Poskrebyshev in the prosecution of Party officials was assumed by Parrish based on case of M.P. Mager. "On 6 June 1941, Poskrebyshev wrote a report to the Central Committee indicting M. P. Mager, the Chief of Staff of the Leningrad Military District
The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.
Hi ...
, who had already been arrested once in 1938." However, the role of Poskrebyshev in this case is not clear. According to records of commission of Presidium of Central Committee of Communist Party[records of commission of Presidium of Central Committee of Communist Part]
/ref> Mager was arrested under resolution of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, affirmed by Semyon Timoshenko
Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (russian: link=no, Семён Константи́нович Тимоше́нко, ''Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko''; uk, Семе́н Костянти́нович Тимоше́нко, ''Semen Kostiantyno ...
(March 1941). He was accused of military conspiracy against the Soviet Union. On 15 May 1941, he wrote a letter to Stalin with a statement of his innocence. On June 6, 1941, the letter was directed to the attention of Poskrebyshev and most probably delivered to Stalin. However, in spite of this, on 20 July 1941, the Supreme Military Court of USSR did make a decision regarding the Mager case: the death sentence (he was rehabilitated in 1955).
Noticeably, Alexander N. Poskrebyshev did help many artists and scientists of USSR to avoid being purged or executed.
Eradication of cosmopolitanism
The participation of Poskrebyshev in the presidium of Court of Honor in 1947 and 1948 mentioned by Michael Parrish is not supported by other sources. The origin of Parrish's claim is also unclear, since he does not refer to official documents. Poskrebyshev did participate in a January 1947 discussion of the publication of Georgi Fedorovich Aleksandrov's ''History of Western Philosophy''.[Дело академика Г.Ф.Александрова.Эпизоды 40-х годов.Г.С.Батыгин, Н.Ф.Девятк]
/ref> The conclusions of the first discussion were criticized by Andrei Zhdanov
Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov ( rus, Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Жда́нов, p=ɐnˈdrej ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐdanəf, links=yes; – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician and cultural ideologist. After World War ...
in April 1947, soon after the publication of the Council of Ministers of USSR and Central Committee of VKP(b) resolution dated 28 March 1947 "Concerning courts of honor at Ministries of USSR and States Departments" [О Судах чести в министерствах СССР и центральных ведомствах](_blank)
/ref> introduced a Court of Honor in the USSR. Zhdanov, dissatisfied with the first discussion's conclusions, organized a second discussion (16–25 June 1947).[Philosophic Discussion Философская дискуссия 1947 года] Poskrebyshev is not mentioned in the second discussion, whose conclusions were more radical.
Poskrebyshev is also mentioned in connection with the works of Soviet scientists N. G. Klueva and G. I. Roskin,[Дедо КР](_blank)
/ref> who participated in one of the first USSR Court of Honor cases (June 1947). In April 1946, Poskrebyshev focused Joseph Stalin's attention on technical problems in the research of an anti-cancer drug mentioned by Klueva and Roskin. A laboratory for studying anti-cancer drugs was created on 22 April 1946, and it ordered equipment though the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ɛsɛsɛˈsɛr; sometimes abbreviated to ''Sovmin'' or referred to as the '' ...
.
Military service
Poskrebyshev's work in the military consisted entirely of political work. He began as a political commissar in Turkestan
Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang.
Overview
Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...
, and served in the political department of the district Revolutionary Military Committee between 1918 and 1919. During the Second World War, Poskrebyshev attended most of the meetings of the Soviet High Command, and maintained liaison between Stalin and the Soviet Generals. Poskrebyshev was promoted to the rank of Major-General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in July 1946.
Personal life
Poskrebyshev is said to have worked sixteen to eighteen hours a day, to be a phenomenal organizer, and to have followed Stalin wherever he went.
According to his daughter Natalia:
"Poskrebyshev worked almost 24 hours a day during the Second World War. He came home at 5 am and returned to work at 10 am. People who knew Poskrebyshev called him the living encyclopedia. He always had the answer to anything."
He married three times, and fathered three daughters.
Marriages
He was first married to a Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
revolutionary, Jadwiga, from 1919 to 1929; she later died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, in 1937. In 1934 he married Bronislava Poskrebysheva Bronislava Solomonovna Metallikova (Masenkis)-Poskrebysheva (russian: Бронислава Соломоновна Металликова-Поскрёбышева, 1910–1941) was born in Proskurov, Podolia Governorate. She was the wife of Alexander ...
, with whom he was to father a daughter Natasha. She had a daughter Galya by a previous marriage. While his marriage to Poskrebysheva was stable, she was arrested in 1939 and executed in 1941. Stalin ignored Poskrebyshev's second time pleas for her release and instead offered to find him "another wife". This led to his third marriage (1942). In this marriage he fathered his third daughter, Elena.
Personality
When Stalin first hired Poskrebyshev, he reputedly told him: "Poskrebyshev you have a frightful look about you. You'll terrify people." But according to Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...
's son Sergo, "Actually this man's appearance was more comical than frightening. He was a narrow-shouldered dwarf. When he sat at the table you could only see his head. Dreadfully ugly, he resembled a monkey." Alexander Barmine
Alexander Grigoryevich Barmin (russian: Александр Григорьевич Бармин, ''Aleksandr Grigoryevich Barmin''; August 16, 1899 – December 25, 1987), most commonly Alexander Barmine, was an officer in the Soviet Army and dipl ...
, who first met Poskrebyshev in 1923, described him as "a roly-poly, red-cheeked baldish little man ... (who) grew in importance and pomposity during the fifteen years that I knew him." Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and Premier of the Soviet Union, chairm ...
called Poskrebyshev "Stalin's faithful dog, and wrote that by 1952:
In literature
Poskrebyshev appears as a character in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...
's novel, In the First Circle
''In the First Circle'' (russian: link=no, italics=yes, В круге первом, V kruge pervom; also published as ''The First Circle'') is a novel by Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, released in 1968. A more complete version of the boo ...
, where he is described as "having the soul of an officer's batman.
There is also a sarcastic portrayal of him in the story ''Stalin's Smile'' by N. Karaguzhin about the time when his second wife was arrested that was written in 1961 and distributed illegally by ''samizdat
Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...
''.
Relationship with Stalin
He enjoyed a very close relationship with Stalin—according to Harford Montgomery Hyde, "if Stalin ever trusted anyone, it was Poskrebyshev".
According to the evidence of Natalia Poskrebysheva (daughter) the relations between Stalin and her father were friendly outside of work. In work they were respectful and collaborative.
The reported speculation of unknown eyewitnesses concerning routine humiliation of Poskrebyshev by Stalin must be considered as simple gossip. Because of this perceived submissiveness, Poskrebyshev became the butt of a series of jokes among Party officials.
As part of his job as private secretary, Poskrebyshev took down Stalin's dictation and organized his diary. He was also the first port of call for anyone wishing to see the Soviet leader. When Stalin was at his dacha
A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...
s in the Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
, the only visitors would be those specifically allowed by Poskrebyshev and Nikolai Vlasik
Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik (russian: Никола́й Си́дорович Вла́сик; May 22, 1896 – June 18, 1967) was a ranking Soviet state security (NKVD-NKGB- MGB) officer, Lieutenant-General, best known as head of Joseph Stalin's p ...
, Stalin's chief bodyguard.
Awards
Poskrebyshev was awarded the Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
in March 1939 for "many years of exemplary service".[Payne, p. 530.] He also contributed to the Constitution of USSR of 1936 and the History of CPSU of 1938. He received the Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
a second and third time in 1944 and 1945 for services rendered during the War. The fourth Order of Lenin Poskrebyshev received, on 6 August 1951, was for his 60th birthday and in honor of his work for the Communist Party and Soviet Union. As a four-time recipient of one of the highest awards by the Soviet Union, Poskrebyshev's reputation as a confidant of Stalin was further reinforced.
Poskrebyshev also was awarded the and the .
The speculations by Rappaport as to whether Poskrebyshev was awarded the Order of Lenin due to his services in the Great Purge are not supported historically (see above "Great Purge").
Downfall, retirement, and death
Stalin removed Poskrebyshev from his position in the Special Section and from his role as personal secretary in 1952, under pressure from Lavrenty Beria. In 1953 he was removed from active political life and forcibly retired
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
after coming into connection with the Doctor's Plot
The "Doctors' plot" affair, group=rus was an alleged conspiracy of prominent Soviet medical specialists to murder leading government and party officials. It was also known as the case of saboteur doctors or killer doctors. In 1951–1953, a gr ...
—he had been a medical student and had also administered Stalin with medicine. He was implicated as being part of a conspiracy with Viktor Abakumov
Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov (russian: link=no, Виктор Семёнович Абакумов; 24 April 1908 – 19 December 1954) was a high-level Soviet security official from 1943 to 1946, the head of SMERSH in the USSR People's Commissari ...
.
After the deaths of Stalin and Beria, Poskrebyshev was rehabilitated and given a post in the Presidium of the Central Committee, but this was not to last. Following the 20th Congress in 1956, at which he was denounced in passing by Khrushchev, Poskrebyshev retired permanently and lived out the remainder of his days in Moscow, dying there in 1965. He received an entry in the First and Second Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
, but was not included in the Third Edition.
References
Notes
:1.More accurately Romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as Aleksandr Nikolayevich Poskryobishev.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poskrebyshev, Alexander
1891 births
1965 deaths
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery
Joseph Stalin
Old Bolsheviks
Russian atheists
Russian communists
Soviet politicians