Mikhail Kaganovich

Mikhail Moiseyevich Kaganovich (russian: Михаи́л Моисе́евич Кагано́вич; 16 October 1888 – 1 July 1941) was a Soviet politician. He was the older brother of Lazar Kaganovich. He was born in Kiev Governorate. Kaganovich joined the Bolsheviks in 1905 and fought with the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.

He was a "close friend" of Sergo Ordzhonikidze and served as one of his deputies from 1928 to 1936. He was appointed People's Commissar of Defence Industry from 1937 to 1939, and then People's Commissar of Aviation Industry from 1939 to 1940. On 21 February 1941, Kaganovich was censured during the 5th Plenary Session of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party and warned "that if he does not correct himself in the new work, if he does not fulfill the instructions of the party and the government, he will be removed from the membership of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and removed from the leadership."https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/kaganovich-mm.htm

V. S. Emelyanov in his memoirs characterized M. Kaganovich as follows: “He was a rude, noisy person. I never saw him with his mouth closed - he always talked and always lectured, liked to joke, but his jokes were often inappropriate, not witty and insulting to those whom they affected.... The People's Commissariat was essentially led by his talented deputies I. T. Tevosyan, B. L. Vannikov and M. V. Khrunichev".

Later that year, he was also accused of associating "with enemies of the people", and was suspected of "collaborating with the Nazis". Rumors circulated that his brother Lazar "had not interceded for ikhailand had sided with Stalin. Lazar himself denied this in several interviews, insisting that he had told Stalin directly that it was a lie and had asked that his brother be given an opportunity to confront his accusers."

According to one source, Kaganovich was summoned to the office of Anastas Mikoyan, "one of Stalin's most durable aides", who was then serving as Minister of Foreign Trade. When Kaganovich was shown the putative evidence which implicated him, "he asked permission to use Mikoyan's toilet, where he put a bullet through his head". However, a different account was given by Nikita Khrushchev during a delegation meeting with a Romanian representative in Moscow in 1964, in which he claimed that "Stalin interrogated aganovichpersonally, ter that he was taken to the WC and shot".https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/116686 Mikoyan, who was also present at this meeting, gave yet another version, stating that "Kaganovich was interrogated by Molotov, Malenkov and Beria, and was shot afterwards. Beria explained that it was a icstupidity because, while he was being led to the WC to be shot, Molotov, Malenkov and Beria had decided to free him". It was subsequently determined by Beria that the evidence implicating Kaganovich was "slanderous" and as a result he was posthumously rehabilitated.

Kaganovich is buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.

Bibliography

* http://www.knowbysight.info/KKK/02936.asp (ru)
* http://www.hrono.ru/biograf/bio_k/kaganovich_mm.php (ru)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaganovich, Mikhail
1888 births
1941 deaths
1941 suicides
People from Kyiv Oblast
People from Radomyslsky Uyezd
Ukrainian Jews
Jewish socialists
Jewish Soviet politicians
Old Bolsheviks
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
People's commissars and ministers of the Soviet Union
First convocation members of the Soviet of the Union
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Soviet politicians who committed suicide
Suicides by firearm in the Soviet Union
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery