Klim Voroshilov. Marshal who did not know how to fight

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

On December 2, 1969, Klim Voroshilov, one of the most famous people of the Soviet Union, died. Voroshilov's whole life is a truly unique example of how a person who did not have special talents and abilities managed to remain in top government posts.

The main circumstance that played a huge role in such a long and successful career of Voroshilov was his origin. The Bolshevik Party was a party of urban intellectuals, mostly journalists. Among the more or less prominent activists of the party were nobles, children of millionaires, priests, state councilors, there were lawyers, clerks, managers, writers, even bandits. But there were almost no workers. Which in itself was a rather absurd situation, because the party considered itself to be the spokesman for the will of the proletariat. In these circumstances, people with a proletarian origin were worth their weight in gold. And Voroshilov turned out to be one of them.

Moreover, he could even boast that he worked in a real plant. True, not very long - only a few years in his youth. But that was enough.

A big role in the life of the still young Voroshilov was played by his teacher from the zemstvo school, Sergei Ryzhkov. There was very little difference between them, only seven years. Ryzhkov and Voroshilov quickly got along and became close friends. Voroshilov recalled: "While studying in school, 14-15 years old, under his leadership, I began to read classics and books on natural science issues and then began to see clearly about religion."

Their relationship was so close that Klim became the godfather of his daughter. Later, Ryzhkov even became a deputy of the State Duma of the first convocation. However, the long friendship did not stand the test of the revolution. Although Ryzhkov himself was leftist, he was horrified by the Bolsheviks. His son fought in the ranks of the White Army, and Ryzhkov himself emigrated from the country.

In his youth, Voroshilov had an extremely cocky and hooligan character, he constantly defied his superiors, and therefore did not stay for a long time in one place. Only thanks to Ryzhkov's help, through an acquaintance, he managed to find a well-paid job at the Lugansk Hartmann steam locomotive plant. Although he received quite good money (twice as much as an ordinary laborer), Voroshilov soon enough got carried away with another business. There was a small Bolshevik cell at the factory, to which he joined. The cell quickly enough overwhelmed the entire plant, regularly organizing strikes and strikes.

Since the plant was strategically important (it produced almost a fifth of all Russian steam locomotives), the management resignedly fulfilled the demands of the strikers. Having figured out this situation, the Bolsheviks staged a strike on every significant and imaginary occasion, and over time the demands became no longer economic, but exclusively political. At one point, the authorities got tired of it and they broke up the strike with the help of the police. However, Voroshilov and several of the most desperate workers took out their pistols and entered into a firefight with the police.

Voroshilov was arrested. Although he was threatened with hard labor, he was soon released due to lack of evidence. However, the way to the plant was closed to him, so he became a professional revolutionary.

Soon he and a band of desperate proletarians levied tribute to local merchants "for the needs of the revolution." Formally, they paid "voluntarily by the decision of the Workers' Council." Because if you don’t pay - the hour is not yet, you will find yourself in a ditch with a Finn in your heart. Lugansk in those years was one of the few workers' cities, except for workers there was practically no one. Accordingly, the morals there were very simple: fights between district and district with the use of improvised means were the main entertainment. One of his contemporaries recalled that it was better not to appear in a foreign area, even out of strong need: “It was enough for you to go with a familiar young lady to the so-called famous Kamenny Brod, as they demanded from you two or three bottles for“land”; if they refused or did not if you had money, then they made you sing like a rooster or swim in dust and mud, and always in the presence of your young lady; there have been cases of beatings and even mutilations."

With the money received, Voroshilov and his comrades bought a batch of revolvers and organized a dynamite workshop to create bombs. However, the organization was soon defeated by law enforcement officers, but Voroshilov managed to leave.

Revolutionary

The fourth ("uniting") congress of the RSDLP (also the Stockholm congress of the RSDLP) (April 10-25 (April 23 - May 8) 1906, Stockholm (Sweden) - the congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party.

In 1906, a major congress of the Bolsheviks was held in Stockholm, to which Voroshilov arrived as a delegate from the Luhansk branch. At that time, disagreements between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks were raging in the RSDLP, and Voroshilov amused Lenin a lot by arriving at the congress under the pseudonym Volodya Antimekov (Mek is an abbreviation for the word Menshevik, i.e. Anti-Mensheviks).

Voroshilov was poorly versed in theoretical subtleties, therefore, during one of the disputes, he began to speak so clumsily and inappropriately that Lenin laughed to tears. Nevertheless, this could be called a success, because he caught the eye of Lenin himself.

However, his further revolutionary career stalled somewhat. Even in Soviet times, during the heyday of the Voroshilov cult, in numerous solemn biographies of the marshal, almost nothing was written about this ten-year period before the revolution, confining themselves to one or two pages, and even then in the most general terms.

For 15 years of professional revolutionary activity, Voroshilov has never been to hard labor. Only twice did he find himself in exile for a fairly short period.

Civil War

Although Voroshilov was a member of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, which led the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in October 1917, he did not play a leading role in these events. After the revolution, he was for some time the commandant of the revolutionary city, but soon he, as a well-known person in Lugansk, was sent home to monitor the establishment of Soviet power. There Voroshilov formed a detachment of several hundred people, on which he relied.

The detachment tried to occupy Kharkov, but the Germans had already arrived there, occupying Ukraine under the terms of the Brest Peace. Voroshilov had to retreat. As a result, under his leadership there were many detachments of the Bolsheviks, who, together with their families, fled from the hetman Ukraine to the RSFSR. Taking several dozen trains, they moved towards Tsaritsyn. Voroshilov's command was only nominal, most of the detachments had their own "father-ataman", to whom its members were subordinate.

The short journey to Tsaritsyn eventually took several months, since the overloaded trains, in conditions of general devastation, advanced no more than five kilometers a day.

In Tsaritsyn there was already a large group of Reds, which was preparing to defend the city from Krasnov's Cossacks. There, a fateful meeting took place, which lifted Voroshilov to the top. He knew Stalin before, but here he helped him win his first political victory.

The commander of the Tsaritsyn defense was Snesarev, a military expert appointed by Trotsky, general of the tsarist army. Three weeks after Snesarev's arrival, Stalin arrived in the city with a mandate from the Central Executive Committee, whose duties included the selection of food for Moscow and the punishment of the local bourgeoisie. Soon a conflict arose between them. Stalin did not like either Trotsky or military experts, so he began to interfere in other matters, trying to arbitrarily lead the preparations for the defense of the city. Snesarev was indignant, saying that he would not tolerate the intervention of amateurs and partisanism in its worst manifestation.

Stalin complained to Moscow, accusing the general of lethargy and indecision. As a result, Snesarev was recalled, and another general, Sytin, was appointed as the new commander. However, Stalin said that he would not obey him, and together with Voroshilov they defiantly created a separate independent headquarters. Trotsky demanded to stop the booth and complained to Lenin. However, Stalin said that he did not care about Trotsky, that he knew better on the spot what to do, and that he would continue to do what he considered necessary for the revolutionary cause.

From left to right: K. E. Voroshilov among the members of the regimental committee of the Izmailovsky regiment. 1917; Koba Dzhugashvili; A. Ya. Parkhomenko, K. E. Voroshilov, E. A. Shchadenko, F. N. Alyabyev (from right to left). Tsaritsyn. 1918 g.

Sytin, realizing that he was in a political showdown, preferred to take time off. Trotsky and Stalin continued to complain to Lenin about each other. At that moment, he preferred to support Stalin, Voroshilov and Stalin led the defense of the city, and in fact everything was led by Stalin.

From that moment on, the fate of Voroshilov was determined - to be a makeweight to Comrade Stalin. They were related by their dislike of military experts. Voroshilov believed that he, having studied for two years in a zemstvo school, could lead the troops without any academies and universities, so old officers were not needed. On this basis, he even fell into opposition. In 1919, a group of military leaders, to which Voroshilov joined, created the so-called. military opposition. They defended partisan principles in the army, opposed military experts, as well as the organization of a regular army according to old models. However, Lenin sharply condemned this passion for partisanism, and Voroshilov even publicly got it from the leader. After that, he drew conclusions and during Stalin's life he carefully checked the leader's line, so as not to get into an unpleasant situation.

War with Tukhachevsky

While Trotsky was the head of the army, Voroshilov was not threatened with high appointments, since he had an extremely low opinion of his abilities. In addition, he did not like him for his connections with Stalin and during the war years he periodically complained to Lenin that Voroshilov patronized the partisans in the army and was taking away captured military property. He did not like Trotsky either, especially after he said that Voroshilov "could command a regiment, but not an army."

But later, when the struggle for power began after the death of Lenin, Voroshilov, even under Trotsky, entered the Revolutionary Military Council - a collegial body for managing the army, in which he was Stalin's man.

After Trotsky's dismissal, Frunze, a compromise figure, became the new chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council and People's Commissar of Defense. However, very soon he suddenly died during the operation, and Voroshilov became the new people's commissar. Although he never had a military ability, he remained in office for nearly 15 years - longer than anyone else in Soviet history.

In this post, Voroshilov had only one rival, but more talented and capable. We are talking about Tukhachevsky, who was extremely dismissive of the boss's talents and wanted to take his place. Since 1926, he was Voroshilov's deputy, and in the spring of 1936, shortly before his death, he became the first deputy people's commissar.

However, there was not just a strained relationship between the two leaders, but real enmity. Voroshilov and Tukhachevsky took turns pouring out their souls to Stalin at personal meetings, complaining about each other. Stalin only nodded his head, clearly not supporting either side. In fact, it was about a confrontation not only between two people, but also two clans. Both Voroshilov and Tukhachevsky nominated their people to prominent posts, whose loyalty they did not doubt.

Finally, in the spring of 1936, an open conflict broke out between them. Having drunk at a banquet on the occasion of the May Day holiday, the military leaders began to make claims to each other and remember old grievances. Tukhachevsky accused Voroshilov of the fact that, because of his incompetent actions, the campaign to Warsaw failed 16 years ago, and Voroshilov accused his deputy of the same. In addition, Tukhachevsky said that the People's Commissar for all posts promotes sycophants loyal to him who know nothing about military affairs.

The scandal was so loud that it was dealt with at a special meeting of the Politburo. Moreover, people from the Tukhachevsky clan - the commander of the troops of the Kiev district Yakir, the Belarusian military district Uborevich and the head of the political department of the Red Army Gamarnik - not only did not apologize for their accusations, but also demanded the resignation of the incompetent chief.

Stalin waited several months, but eventually took the side of the loyal Voroshilov. The Tukhachevsky clan was arrested and destroyed. At the top of the Red Army, purges began, actively supported by Voroshilov himself.

War

Voroshilov became one of the first five Soviet marshals and one of two who survived the repressions. However, the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish war showed the complete incompetence of the People's Commissar of Defense. The Soviet army, many times outnumbering the enemy, in spite of the overwhelming superiority in aviation and artillery, was able to fulfill the task at hand only at the cost of huge losses. The unsuccessful course of the war seriously undermined the image of the Soviet army, it was then that Hitler believed in its weakness and incapacity for fighting.

Less than a month after the end of the war, Voroshilov was forced to speak at the plenum of the Central Committee, admitting his mistakes and blunders. Nevertheless, Stalin spared his faithful squire and only removed him from the post of People's Commissar. Nevertheless, the name of Voroshilov was extremely actively used in propaganda, the second cult of personality after Stalin's was Voroshilov. He was called the First Marshal. Songs were composed about the "invincible people's commissar", and many books were published.

Tymoshenko became the new people's commissar. During the transfer of cases, a lot of shortcomings in the work of the People's Commissariat were revealed: "The main regulations: field service, combat regulations of the combat arms, internal service, disciplinary - are outdated and require revision … Control over the execution of orders and government decisions was not organized enough … The mobilization plan was violated … Preparation command personnel in military schools are not satisfactory … The records of command personnel are set unsatisfactorily and does not reflect the command personnel … The combat training of troops has major shortcomings … Incorrect training and education of troops …"

In general, it is not entirely clear what Voroshilov did for 15 years. We can say that he was very lucky that he got off with only resignation.

However, with the beginning of the war, he was again returned to the army, entrusted to command the North-West direction. Voroshilov was one of the main figures of red mythology, as it was sung in the popular song: "And the first marshal will lead us into battle." However, he could not do anything with the Germans advancing on Leningrad. Already in September 1941, after the encirclement of the city, he was recalled to Moscow and replaced by Zhukov.

From that moment on, his military influence began to decline, it became weaker, the closer the end of the war was. If in 1942 he was appointed to lead the partisan movement for a short time (which, however, was largely supervised by the special services), then already in 1943 he became only the chairman of the Trophy Council under the State Defense Committee.

The fact that Voroshilov was no longer counted on is eloquently evidenced by the fact that he became the only member of the State Defense Committee expelled from it even before the end of the war.

After the war

In the last years of Stalin's life, Voroshilov no longer worked on the military line, but became deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, that is, Stalin himself. Although he retained his place in the Politburo, he no longer had any serious influence and moved somewhat away from the leader's inner circle. In addition, in 1950, one of his loyal people was shot - Grigory Kulik, one of the most mediocre red commanders, who became the owner of a unique achievement: in five years of war he managed to be demoted twice. First, from a marshal, he became a major general, and then was again demoted to this rank from lieutenant general.

After Stalin's death and the redistribution of posts, Voroshilov received a loud but useless appointment as head of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Formally, this was the highest, presidential post, but in reality this post did not have any significant powers and was exclusively ceremonial.

In 1957, already quite elderly Voroshilov decided to shake off the old days for the last time and take part in political battles, joining the so-called anti-party group, which united the opponents of Khrushchev. Together with Molotov, Kaganovich and Malenkov, he tried to remove Khrushchev from his post. However, Khrushchev, enlisting the support of the nomenklatura, outplayed his opponents. But, unlike his colleagues in the conspiracy, Voroshilov did not lose his posts and was not expelled from the party.

Voroshilov's figure was rather symbolic, ritual, moreover, as an independent unit, he was not dangerous for Khrushchev. And if he dismissed him, then an awkward situation would emerge - the entire Stalinist guard opposed the general secretary. Therefore, Voroshilov was not touched.

Khrushchev paused for several years before removing Voroshilov, who had been there for 34 years, from all posts and removed from the Politburo. He was also removed from the Central Committee. It no longer looked like repression, since Voroshilov was not young at all, he was 80 years old.

All the more unexpected was the return of 85-year-old Voroshilov to the Central Committee already under Brezhnev. Obviously, at this age, he could no longer play a significant political role. He died soon after. Voroshilov was buried at the Kremlin wall with all possible honors, as one of the last living symbols of the Soviet state.

Trotsky once called Stalin the Party's most outstanding mediocrity. In this assessment, he was not entirely right. At least one outstanding talent of Stalin is evident - he was a master of political intrigue. Perhaps it would be more correct to call Voroshilov the most outstanding mediocrity of the party. Although in relation to him, this assessment is only partly true. In the end, for four decades Voroshilov was a member of the country's top leadership, held the highest posts, happily escaped all repression and disgrace, most of his long life was surrounded by honors and turned into one of the main characters of the Soviet pantheon. And all this in the absence of any outstanding abilities and skills. Obviously, this also takes some kind of talent.