In matters of security, V. I. Lenin took an example from the Russian emperors
In 1918, Lenin uttered the famous words: "A revolution is only worth something if it knows how to defend itself." But how did the leader of the revolution decide for himself this question? Of course, he was guarded, and next to him, of course, there were people who did not understand the words about protection in an abstract way. But what was called the protection of the leader of the world proletariat was significantly different from what was put into this concept under the Russian emperor who had just passed away.
Cheka - OGPU: 1917-1924
In the balance of death
New times required new solutions. At the harsh junction of ideological, economic and social contradictions in revolutionary Russia at the beginning of the last century, professional continuity was resolutely rejected in favor of a truly proletarian origin. The entire ideology of the new government was expressed in two lines of its anthem: “We will destroy the whole world of violence to the ground, and then we will build ours, we will build a new world, whoever was nothing will become everything”. The state security system also did not escape this fate. The old one was destroyed to the ground, and the new one was only to be built.
But the reality of professional terror forced to consider the issues of ensuring the personal security of the leadership of the young republic very quickly, soberly and effectively.
After Lenin's arrival in Petrograd in 1917, the party-appointed comrades from among the most loyal activists tested by underground work were responsible for his life. All their professionalism was based only on revolutionary consciousness and understanding of the situation. It would not be entirely correct to say that these people were guarding the leader of the proletariat, without having the slightest idea of how to do this. Their work experience was accumulated literally every day. Those who understood this difficult process remained in the guard, those who were not capable of this - went to other areas of work assigned by the party.
After the deployment of the headquarters of the revolution in the Smolny Institute, Vladimir Dmitrievich Bonch-Bruevich was responsible for the security of almost the entire state, occupying a small office number 57. He was in charge of all lists, admissions, cars, weapons, secrecy, finance and personnel. In March 1918, he prepared and provided for a special operation to move the government to Moscow.
Vladimir Lenin and Vladimir Bonch-Bruevich. Photo: wikimedia.org
The commandant of the Smolny was the sailor Pavel Malkov, who had to pay the main attention to the economy in the building - heating, power supply, repairs, etc. He was also responsible for providing security. The detachment formed by Malkov consisted of 60-70 Red Guards and sailors, only they were guarding the building, but not Lenin.
Looking ahead, we note that the scope of duties of Pavel Dmitrievich was very remarkable. Subsequently, for the officers of the 9th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR, who will be entrusted with the solution of such tasks in the groups of personal protection, the same position will be provided - "commandant".
In addition to the posts, the soldiers of Malkov's detachment also had to protect the arrested, who were then kept in the premises of Smolny. In general, this non-professional guard had more than enough worries. There were not enough hands, but when Pavel Malkov turned to Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky with a request to allocate additional people to guard the building, only seven sailors were added to him …
As for Lenin himself, the closest person to him, "by default" responsible for the life of the leader, at least for his timely and safe movement, was Stepan Kazimirovich Gil (1888-1966). Previously, he was the driver of the Provisional Government's Autobase, the heiress of His Imperial Majesty's Own garage. From this garage, by November 1917, the headquarters of the revolution got 58 cars (43 cars, 7 trucks, 6 ambulances, 1 tank and 1 workshop). In November-December of the same year, 18 more vehicles were requisitioned.
There were much fewer drivers in the then Petrograd than there are now cosmonauts, they were perceived as gods, even though they "served the tsar." Therefore, the ability to drive and repair self-propelled mechanisms was enough to get into, albeit not the most important, but the orbit of protection of the first persons of the nascent Country of Soviets.
These are the two most important features of that time for us: firstly, the alarming, dangerous situation of the revolutionary city and, secondly, the abilities of those who were entrusted with the protection of the first corridors of power of the young Republic of Soviets.
And the attitude of the leader of the world proletariat to his own security was rather ambiguous. Back on October 27, 1917, Lenin personally wrote "Duties of a sentry under the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars." The instruction read:
1. Do not let anyone in except the people's commissars (if the messenger does not know them by sight, then he must demand tickets, that is, certificates from them).
2. Require everyone else to write down their name on paper and in a nutshell the purpose of the visit. The messenger must hand this note to the chairman and not let anyone into the room without his permission.
3. When there is no one in the room, keep the door ajar to hear phone calls and invite one of the secretaries to the phone.
4. When there is someone in the chairman's room, keep the door always closed."
In the book of N. I. Zubov "They guarded Lenin" it is also mentioned that on October 28, Lenin, together with V. D. Bonch-Bruevich personally examined the part of the building where the Council of People's Commissars was located. Vladimir Ilyich proposed to radically improve the security of Smolny. In particular, two machine guns stood at the windows of the secretariat of the Council of People's Commissars (in front of the door to V. I. Lenin's office). At the entrance to Ilyich's office, Red Guards were on duty all day and night. (See: N. Zubov. They guarded Lenin. M., 1981, pp. 67-68.)
Later, by decree of the Military Revolutionary Committee, from several regiments of Latvian riflemen, perhaps the first cadre special unit was formed. But it had nothing to do with personal protection. Like the "guard" of commandant Malkov, the Latvian riflemen guarded not Lenin, but the Smolny corridors, and were by no means experts in security.
And did the leader himself really think about his safety so seriously? Stepan Gil recalled: “The life of Vladimir Ilyich was in mortal danger several times a day. This danger was aggravated by the fact that Vladimir Ilyich categorically refused any kind of protection. He never carried a weapon with him (except for a tiny Browning, from which he never fired) and asked me not to arm myself either. Once, when he saw a revolver in a holster on my belt, he affectionately but quite decisively said: “Why do you need this thing, Comrade Gil? Take her away! " However, I continued to carry the revolver with me, although I carefully concealed it from Vladimir Ilyich."
Pavel Malkov also later said: "In general, right up to the unfortunate attempt on Kaplan's life, Ilyich went and traveled everywhere alone, categorically opposing being accompanied by guards" …
What explains this attitude of Lenin to questions of his personal security?
The leaders of a young country, not yet a country, but a republic, simply had no idea what a personal guard was. None of them have ever been a protected person. The experience of clandestine work naturally affected the worldview of revolutionaries achieving their goals. They are invincible, invulnerable, they are smarter, more honest and more correct than everyone and everything in the world, they despise danger for the sake of the common good, universal happiness and, of course, the next world revolution.
Private security? And what is it? This tsar-satrap was afraid of the people's wrath, and therefore kept his "secret police". And who are the true fighters for the happiness of the people to fear? The experience of the French revolutionary colleague Marat, who was stabbed to death in his own bathroom by a young girl “from the same people” Charlotte Corday, was somehow not taken into account against the background of the daily revolutionary rushwork. Or maybe, beyond the seizure of power and the initial reforms, the Bolsheviks simply did not finish reading the history of the Great French Revolution, going straight to Marx …
There has not yet been a case that would open the eyes of not only the leader of the world proletariat, but also fellow party members to the harsh reality. That is, shooting specifically at the target.
In matters of security, V. I. Lenin took an example from the Russian emperors
Cheka - OGPU: 1917-1924
The birth of the Cheka
But there was already someone to protect Lenin from. And not only the leader himself, but also his machines. Lenin's first car was a luxurious French Turcat-Mery 28 produced in 1915. In December 1917, this car was impudently stolen … right from the yard of Smolny, taking advantage of the fact that the driver went to drink tea. The best security officers started searching for the car and a few days later found it at the Finnish border in the garage of the fire department. They thought about the SRs. Only, as it turned out, another "contra" - smugglers - stole the car. That is, there was no attempt on the life of the leader. From the point of view of comrades in Smolny, this was "a blatant episode of theft of revolutionary property."
Of course, the theft of Lenin's car was a drop in the sea of other disturbing events. The general turbulent situation and the declared White Terror forced the Bolsheviks on December 20, 1917, to create the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission, the head of which the party entrusted Felix Dzerzhinsky. She was extraordinary not only in terms of the situation, but also in terms of authority. And then a special security group was created within the Cheka under the leadership of Abram Yakovlevich Belenky (from 1919 to 1924 - the head of Lenin's security). They performed general security functions, external surveillance functions, and fought against banditry and speculation.
To say that the life of the leader of the revolution in Petrograd was alarming is to say nothing. They were shooting everywhere. Here is what the archives say about this: “… January 1, 1918, returning after V. I. Lenin in the Mikhailovsky arena in front of soldiers leaving for the German front, Lenin's car on the way to Smolny was fired upon. The driver Gorokhovik managed to avoid tragic consequences by maneuvers.
The car and the driver were already different. When Turcat-Mery 28 was returned, Lenin refused to get into it and moved to another French limousine - Delaunay Belleville 45 from the same imperial garage. Ilyich was accompanied by his sister Maria Ulyanova and the Swiss Social Democrat Platten. It is possible that he saved Lenin's life by bending his head to the seat, and he himself was wounded in the arm. The body of the car was riddled with bullets. Subsequently, the emigrant Prince Shakhovskoy from abroad claimed that it was he who organized this terrorist attack.
In the same January, an appointment with V. D. A certain soldier Spiridonov confesses to Bonch-Bruevich and reports that he is participating in the conspiracy of the "Union of St. George's Cavaliers" and was ordered to eliminate Lenin. On the night of January 22, the newly organized Cheka arrests all the conspirators.
In March 1918, Lenin and his comrades-in-arms with guards and a car fleet moved from Petrograd to the Moscow Kremlin. By analogy with Smolny, the Office of the Commandant of the Moscow Kremlin was created, which was headed by the same Pavel Malkov. The administration was subordinate not to the protection, but to the military department as a sector of the Moscow military district.
On May 24, 1918, the VChK courses were organized, and all applicants had to give a subscription that they would serve in the VChK for at least six months. In connection with the formation of courses, the initial approach to using the experience of the tsarist specialists was revised. One of these officers was the former commander of a separate gendarme corps, General V. F. Dzhunkovsky (1865-1938), who was invited to talk by Dzerzhinsky himself. Subsequently, Dzhunkovsky took part in the famous Operation Trust. With his participation in 1932, the Regulations on the Passport Regime were also developed. And one more interesting detail: after the resignation of the former gendarmes general, the Soviet government paid him a pension of 3270 rubles a month …
Vladimir Lenin's speech on Red Square. Photo: wikimedia.org
Less than six months after the government moved to Moscow, the revolutionary consciousness in relation to personal security has seriously changed. On the morning of August 30, the chairman of the Petrograd Cheka, Moisey Uritsky, was killed in Petrograd. On the same day, Lenin arrived at the Michelson plant, where Fanny Kaplan shot at him from a distance of several meters.
After that, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, at that time the supreme body of Soviet power, declared the Red Terror, and on September 5, 1918, the government (Sovnarkom) signed the corresponding decree. Personal protection issues are raised to the state level.
In September 1918, an operational group of Lenin's secret security was formed from the operational department of the Cheka, which included up to 20 people. Dzerzhinsky personally selected the fighters for this group, its first curator from the Cheka was the Latvian Yakov Khristoforovich Peters (shot on April 25, 1938, rehabilitated on March 3, 1956), who was in charge of Fanny Kaplan's case. The first head of the group was R. M. Gabalin.
One of the soldiers of the unit, Pyotr Ptashinsky, recalled the beginning of his security service in Gorki as follows: “At first we did not really understand how to behave. To protect, in our understanding, meant not to allow anyone outside the territory of the estate. Therefore, each of us strove to be close to V. I. Lenin. And loomed before his eyes unnecessarily. Obviously, this led to the fact that we more often than was necessary, encountered him during his walks around the estate."
The excessive zeal of the guards displeased Lenin, who once said: "The revolution needs every soldier, and here 20 healthy guys are messing around with my person." He even rebuked Jacob Peters that his every step was controlled. But Peters and Dzerzhinsky referred to the decision of the Central Committee.
Post number 27
In December 1918, a regiment of Latvian riflemen was sent to the front. Instead of them, cadets of the 1st Moscow machine-gun courses began to guard the Kremlin, the head of which was L. G. Alexandrov.
“The cadets guarded the gates, the walls, and the territory of the entire Kremlin,” recalls one of the cadets, Mikhail Zotov. "But the most honorable and responsible job was the guard service for the protection of the government building, and especially - Lenin's apartment."
The cadets were on guard duty in three shifts. They stood for two hours. On the second floor, by the stairs, there was also a Chekist (we were guarded, jokingly M. Zotov). The guardhouse was on the first floor, the outfit climbed the stairs. The most common violation among the Kremlin cadets was to take an elevator to the second floor: the elevator was then a wonder for everyone, and the young village guys, of course, wanted to ride it. For this they were severely punished, but those who wanted to ride did not become less …
On alert, the cadets were raised only once - in the fall of 1922, when a group of Social Revolutionaries tried to penetrate the Kremlin. Mikhail, as part of a machine-gun crew, took up defense at the gates, but the Chekists took that group on their way, not allowing them to reach the Kremlin.
The cadets loved Ilyich, which cannot be said about their immediate boss, Lev Trotsky. “Then we didn’t know that he was an enemy of the people, but Trotsky already showed his enemy face,” Mikhail Zotov recalled.
He especially remembered two characteristic episodes. The first - at one of the meetings, during Trotsky's speech, some cadet from the back row looked at him through binoculars. Trotsky noticed this … for half an hour the whole audience stood at attention and listened to the angry speech of the People's Commissar for Defense.
Another case - at the time of divorce, when Lev Davydovich walked past the guard who interceded in the outfit. He walked back and forth several times (the fighters performed a left-to-right alignment), chuckled contemptuously and walked on.
Leon Trotsky was guarded by the military units entrusted to him as the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs; he did not have his own security group in the full sense of the word. Perhaps this fact infringed upon his hypertrophied pride and forced him to take revenge on the cadets …
Be that as it may, the approach to ensuring the personal security of the country's leaders was already beginning to take on systemic forms.
In matters of security, V. I. Lenin took an example from the Russian emperors
1917-1924, Cheka - OGPU
Who is the boss in Moscow
At the same time, the leader himself was still very imprudent. In 1919, the famous gang of Yakov Koshelkov attacked his car near the building of the Sokolniki District Council.
On the evening of January 6, Lenin, accompanied by M. I. Ulyanova, with chauffeur Gil and security guard I. V. Chabanov, went to Sokolniki. Here is how Stepan Gil told about everything that happened during the interrogation:
“Three armed men jumped out onto the road and shouted:“Stop!” I decided not to stop and slip between the bandits; but that they were robbers, I had no doubt. But Vladimir Ilyich knocked on the window:
- Comrade Gil, it is worth stopping and finding out what they need. Could it be a patrol?
And behind they are running and shouting: "Stop! We will shoot!"
“Well, you see,” Ilyich said. - We need to stop.
I slowed down. A moment later the doors opened, and we heard a formidable order:
- Come out!
One of the bandits, a huge one, taller than everyone else, grabbed Ilyich by the sleeve and dragged him out of the cab. As it turned out later, it was their leader, Purses. Ivan Chabanov, who served in Lenin's security, was also pulled out of the car.
I look at Ilyich. He stands holding a pass in his hands, and on the sides are two bandits, and both, aiming at his head, say:
- Do not move!
- What are you doing? - said Ilyich. - I am Lenin. Here are my documents.
As he said this, my heart sank. All, I think, Vladimir Ilyich died. But because of the noise of the running engine, the bandit leader did not hear the name - and that saved us.
"The devil with you that you are Levin," he barked. - And I am Koshelkov, the master of the city at night.
With these words, he snatched the pass from Ilyich's hands, and then, pulling at the lapels of his coat, climbed into an inner pocket and took out other documents, including the Book of the Red Army soldier, issued in the name of Lenin, a Browning and a wallet."
The victims of the raid went to the district council, where at first they did not want to let them in without documents, but nevertheless they were allowed to pass. According to the recollections of the security guard Ivan Chabanov, Lenin called the chairman of the council and explained that his car had been taken away from him. “He replied that they didn’t take away our car, why was it taken away from you? Comrade Lenin replied: "They know you, but they don't know me, that's why they took my car." Is it possible to imagine such a dialogue and indeed a similar situation in our times ?! The head of state, a stone's throw from a state body, becomes a victim of a bandit attack, and what is more, a representative of the government headed by him does not recognize him!
Well, the robbers, meanwhile, examined the documents they had obtained, realized who had just been in their hands, and decided to return to take Lenin hostage (according to another version, to kill him). But there was no one at the scene of the robbery, and the bandits simply abandoned the car on the embankment of the Moskva River, where the Chekists found it that very evening.
A few days after Koshelkov's attack, special security measures were introduced in Moscow. Within the boundaries of the Ring Railway, the military authorities, the Cheka units and the police were ordered to shoot the robbers captured at the crime scene without trial. A Special Strike Group of the Moscow Extraordinary Commission was organized, headed by the head of the Special Group for Combating Banditry Fyodor Yakovlevich Martynov and the head of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department, Alexander Maksimovich Trepalov. The personal guard of the leader was headed by Abram Yakovlevich Belenky. In July, Koshelkov and one of his accomplices were ambushed at Bozhedomka, and Yashka was killed in the ensuing firefight. Fyodor Martynov colorfully described this episode in his memoirs:
“Koshelkov was mortally wounded by a shot from a carbine … But already lying down, half-blind from blood, mechanically he continued to press the trigger and shoot into the sky. We approached him, and one of the employees shouted: "Come on, wallets! You can be considered dead!"
On September 25 of the same 1919, there was another attempt on Lenin's life. The anarchist Sobolev threw a powerful bomb at the window of the Moscow Committee of the RCP (b), where Ilyich's speech was planned. The explosion killed 12 people, among 55 wounded was Nikolai Bukharin. The leader of the revolution himself did not suffer, as he stayed in the Moscow Soviet …
There is some irony of fate in the fact that a man who devoted his life to the struggle against tsarism treated protection in the same way as some of the Russian tsars. Apparently, like them, he was close to the idea of the indissoluble unity of the sovereign and the people, albeit understood somewhat differently - outside the religious context. Be that as it may, historical experience shows: in times of social upheaval, the first person has no right not to take care of his safety and not comply with its requirements. Otherwise, even the most prepared, organized and devoted bodyguards may turn out to be powerless.
Between Lenin and Stalin
At the end of May 1922, due to sclerosis of the cerebral vessels, Lenin suffered the first serious attack of the disease - speech was lost, the movement of the right limbs was weakened, and an almost complete loss of memory was observed. To admit that someone could contemplate the leader of the world proletariat in such a state, on the part of the party leadership, it would be universal stupidity. Lenin was sent to Gorki for "rest". The regime of isolation from everything that could interfere with the healing process was supposed to ensure its protection.
Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Photo: etoretro.ru
On the recommendation of Belenky in 1922, a group of guards V. I. Lenin of about 20 people. The eldest of the group was Pyotr Petrovich Pakaln, who enjoyed the special trust and sympathy of the leader. The group included Sergey Nikolaevich Alikin, Semyon Petrovich Sokolov, Makariy Yakovlevich Pidyura, Franz Ivanovich Baltrushaitis, Georgy Petrovich Ivanov, Timofey Isidorovich Kazak, Alexander Grigorievich Borisov, Konstantin Nazarovich Strunets and others. Later, an employee of the security unit V. I. Lenin I. V. Pisan (1879-1938) held various economic and administrative positions in Gorki. As in the case of Pavel Malkov, here we again see the prototype of the position of the modern commandant.
Work on the construction and protection of the young state continued. Reactionary extremists have improved their plans and methods to combat this process. The organizing bureau of the Central Committee of the party decided to strengthen the protection of Lenin. This is how the first generation of Chekists appeared, guarding the leaders of the state. Nobody knew the word "bodyguard". The term "personal safety" will appear much later. With their selfless work, it was the Chekists who guarded Lenin who laid the first stone in the foundation of the Russian school of security, establishing and reliably providing round-the-clock support of the leader of the world proletariat and his associates.
Dzerzhinsky personally supervised this unit, giving instructions to the leader, Abram Belenky. In January 1920, at the time of the creation of the OGPU, there were only 20 people in its Special Branch. After Lenin's death in January 1924, his security group was disbanded, many of its employees were demobilized from the OGPU.
At this time, none of the country's leaders officially had their own security group. And this is a rather striking fact in the history of the formation of the great school of personal protection in Russia. During this period, none of them was killed. The former General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), Joseph Stalin, as part of the "anti-Trotskyist troika", together with Zinoviev and Kamenev, actually decided the issue of state leadership. That is, there was still no one to guard, as Lenin was previously guarded. Neither Stalin, nor Zinoviev, nor Kamenev had the authority to order the creation of his personal bodyguard. De jure, they were equal.
Felix Dzerzhinsky played a significant role in subsequent events - not just a revolutionary ally, but, more importantly, a like-minded person of Joseph Stalin. Their views on the path of development, methods of government and, most importantly, methods and techniques of countering both internal and external threats to its integrity, undoubtedly, coincided.
It is quite remarkable that on July 20, 1926, speaking at the plenum of the Central Committee, Dzerzhinsky openly and unequivocally accused Kamenev of "not working, but engaging in politicking." On the evening of the same day, Iron Felix died. The question of whether the accusation of Dzerzhinsky contributed to the arrest of Kamenev and the advancement of Stalin to the heights of state power, we will leave to the discretion of historians. But from the point of view of KGB science for Kamenev, it was a sentence …
We will talk about how the personal protection system came back to life and how the state ensured the personal safety of Joseph Stalin in the next article in the series.
