Voroshilov in the revolution and civil war. Klim Voroshilov - a marshal in whom it was dangerous to trust even a regiment. What are the achievements and downfalls of Voroshilov?

Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Predecessor:	Nikolai Mikhailovich Shvernik
Successor:	Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev
People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs of the USSR
Prime Minister:	Alexey Ivanovich Rykov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov
Predecessor:	Mikhail Vasilievich Frunze
Successor:	The position was abolished, he is also known as the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR
People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR
Prime Minister:	Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov
Predecessor:	The position has been created.
Successor:	Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:	Verkhneye village, Bakhmut district, Ekaterinoslav province
Date of death:
A place of death:
	Russian empire USSR
	CPSU (since 1905)
Buried:	Necropolis near the Kremlin wall
Years of service:
	Marshal of the Soviet Union
Commanded:	People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR
	Honorary Revolutionary Weapon (twice) Foreign awards:

early years

Revolutionary activities

Civil War

People's Commissar of Defense

The Great Patriotic War

Post-war activities

Party positions

Contemporary assessments

Perpetuation of memory

Bibliography

In art

(January 23 (February 4), 1881, Verkhneye village, Bakhmut district, Ekaterinoslav province, Russian Empire - December 2, 1969, Moscow) - Soviet military leader, statesman and party leader, participant in the Civil War, one of the first Marshals of the Soviet Union.

Since 1925, People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, in 1934-1940, People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. In 1953-1960, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor. Voroshilov holds the record for the length of stay in the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (CPSU Central Committee), the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee (34.5 years, 1926-1960).

Biography

early years

Kliment Voroshilov was born on February 4, 1881 in the village of Verkhneye, Bakhmut district, Ekaterinoslav province, Russian Empire (now the city of Lisichansk, Lugansk region, Ukraine), in the family of a railway worker Efrem Andreevich Voroshilov (1844-1907) and a day laborer Maria Vasilievna Voroshilova (nee Agafonova). (1857-1919). Russian. From the age of 7 he worked as a shepherd and miner. In 1893-1895 he studied at the zemstvo school in the village of Vasilyevka (currently part of the city of Alchevsk). Since 1896 he worked at the Yuryevsky Metallurgical Plant, and since 1903 in the city of Lugansk at the Hartmann Locomotive Plant.

Revolutionary activities

Member of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks) / CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1903. Since 1904 - member of the Lugansk Bolshevik Committee. In 1905 - Chairman of the Lugansk Council, led a strike of workers and the creation of fighting squads. Delegate to the Fourth (1906) and Fifth (1907) Congresses of the RSDLP(b). In 1908-1917 he conducted underground party work in Baku, Petrograd, and Tsaritsyn. He was arrested several times and served exile.

After the February Revolution of 1917 - a member of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, a delegate to the Seventh (April) All-Russian Conference and the Sixth Congress of the RSDLP(b). From March 1917 - Chairman of the Lugansk Bolshevik Committee, from August - Chairman of the Lugansk Council and City Duma (until September 1917).

In November 1917, during the days of the Great October Socialist Revolution, Voroshilov was a commissar of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee (for city administration). Together with F. E. Dzerzhinsky, he worked on organizing the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK). At the beginning of March 1918, Voroshilov organized the First Lugansk Socialist Detachment, which defended the city of Kharkov from German-Austrian troops.

Civil War

During the Civil War - commander of the Tsaritsyn group of forces, deputy commander and member of the Military Council of the Southern Front, commander of the 10th Army, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, commander of the Kharkov Military District, commander of the 14th Army and the internal Ukrainian Front. One of the organizers and member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 1st Cavalry Army, commanded by S. M. Budyonny.

For military services in 1920, Voroshilov was awarded an honorary revolutionary weapon. At the VIII Congress of the RCP(b), held in March 1919, he joined the “military opposition.”

In 1921, at the head of a group of delegates to the X Congress of the RCP(b), he participated in the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising. In 1921-1924 - member of the South-Eastern Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), commander of the troops of the North Caucasus Military District. In 1924-1925 - commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District and member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR.

People's Commissar of Defense

After the death of M. V. Frunze, Voroshilov headed the military department of the USSR: from November 6, 1925 to June 20, 1934 - People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs and Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR; in 1934-1940, People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. In total, Voroshilov spent almost 15 years at the head of the military department, longer than anyone else during the Soviet period. He had a reputation as a devoted supporter of Stalin, supporting him in the fight against Trotsky and then in establishing Stalin's absolute power in the late 1920s. Author of the book “Stalin and the Red Army,” exalting Stalin’s role in the Civil War.

In October 1933, at the head of the government delegation to Turkey, together with Ataturk he hosted a military parade in Ankara.

On September 22, 1935, “Regulations on the service of command and control personnel of the Red Army” introduced personal military ranks. In November 1935, the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR awarded the five largest Soviet commanders the new military rank of “Marshal of the Soviet Union.” Among them was Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov.

In 1940, after the Soviet-Finnish War, Voroshilov lost his post as People's Commissar of Defense: Stalin appointed S.K. Timoshenko, who had proven himself better in the war, to this position. Voroshilov received the posts of deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and chairman of the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.

Participation in Stalinist repressions

During the Great Terror, Voroshilov, along with other associates of Stalin, participated in the consideration of the so-called “lists” - lists of persons repressed with Stalin’s personal sanction. Signatures on the lists meant a guilty verdict. Voroshilov’s signature is present on 185 lists, according to which more than 18,000 people were convicted and executed.

As a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, he approved a large number of so-called. “limits” (quotas on the number of repressed people according to NKVD order No. 00447 “On the operation to repress former kulaks, criminals and other anti-Soviet elements”). So, on April 26, 1938, Voroshilov, together with Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich and Yezhov, endorsed an affirmative resolution on the request and. O. Secretary of the Irkutsk Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the allocation of an additional limit for the first category of 4,000 people.

As People's Commissar of Defense, Voroshilov took an active part in the repressions against the command staff of the Red Army. On the list of 26 commanders of the Red Army, sent from the NKVD to the NKO on May 28, 1937, he put the resolution “ Comrade Yezhov. Take all the scoundrels. 28.V.1937. K. Voroshilov"; Voroshilov’s briefer resolution: “ To arrest. K.V." - stands on a similar list of 142 commanders.

The Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War, Marshal of the Soviet Union K. E. Voroshilov was a member of the State Defense Committee, commander-in-chief of the forces of the North-Western direction (until September 5, 1941), commander of the troops of the Leningrad Front (from September 5 to 14, 1941), representative of the Headquarters for formation of troops (September 1941 - February 1942), representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the Volkhov Front (February-September 1942), commander-in-chief of the partisan movement (from September 1942 to May 1943), chairman of the Trophy Committee at the State Defense Committee (May-September 1943), Chairman of the Armistice Commission (September 1943 - June 1944). In 1943 he participated in the Tehran Conference.

Post-war activities

In 1945-1947 - Chairman of the Union Control Commission in Hungary.

In 1946-1953 - Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

From March 1953 to May 1960 - Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In 1957 he was a member of the “anti-party group”. Unlike the leaders of the group, he was not expelled from the party, but was only criticized at the XXII Congress of the CPSU.

He died at the age of 89 on December 2, 1969. He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall: “On the night of December 2-3, 1969, Marshal Voroshilov died. His funeral was given an unprecedented state scale. For the first time in twenty years after Zhdanov’s funeral, a grave was dug behind the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin. (Not counting Stalin’s night reburial in 1961).”

Party positions

Since May 1960, member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

From 1921 to October 1961 and from 1966 - member of the CPSU Central Committee.

From 1926 to 1952 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.

From 1952 to July 1960 - member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee.

Delegate to the 10th-23rd party congresses. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st-7th convocations (1937-1969).

Family

Voroshilov's wife is Golda Davidovna Gorbman (1887-1959), Jewish by nationality. Before marrying Voroshilov, she was baptized and changed her name and became Ekaterina Davidovna. For this she was cursed by her Jewish relatives. Golda Davidovna Gorbman was a member of the RSDLP (b) since 1917, worked as deputy director of the V. I. Lenin Museum. They did not have their own children, they raised the son and daughter of M.V. Frunze - Timur (1923-1942) and Tatyana (b. 1920), as well as their adopted son Peter (1914-1969), from whom they had two grandchildren - Klim and Vladimir.

Contemporary assessments

• Stalin, 1942: “One of the main organizers of the Red Army is Marshal Voroshilov.”
• Molotov, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich 1972: “Voroshilov was just good at a certain time. He always supported the political line of the party, because he was an approachable man from the workers and knew how to speak out. Unstained, yes. And devotion to Stalin personally. His devotion turned out to be not very strong. But at that time he very actively supported Stalin, fully supported him in everything, although he was not sure about everything. This also had an effect. That's a very difficult question. This is why Stalin was a little critical and did not invite him to all our conversations. In any case, I didn’t invite you to private ones. He didn’t invite people to secret meetings, he just barged in himself. Stalin winced. Under Khrushchev, Voroshilov performed poorly.”

Awards

Recipient of the highest awards of the USSR. In particular, one of 154 twice Heroes of the Soviet Union and one of ten people who were awarded both the highest degrees of distinction of the Soviet Union - the titles Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labor.

Perpetuation of memory

In honor of K. E. Voroshilov during his life (in 1931), and after conferring the rank of marshal (in 1935), a number of cities were named:

• Voroshilovgrad- this is how Lugansk was called from 1935 to 1958, but after Voroshilov’s death it was again named in his honor, so that in 1990 the historical name was again completely restored.
• Voroshilovsk- the name of the city of Alchevsk from 1931 to 1961, which bore the name of K. E. Voroshilov, who worked at the DYUMO plant, where he began his labor and revolutionary activities;
• Voroshilovsk from 1935 to 1943 the name of the city of Stavropol.
• Voroshilov- in 1935 - 1957 the name of the city of Ussuriysk, Primorsky Territory.
• Voroshilovsky district- in 1970 - 1989 the name of the Khoroshevsky district of Moscow, the central district in Donetsk (Ukraine).

Streets named after Voroshilov are in the cities of Brest, Voronezh, Goryachiy Klyuch, Ershov, Kemerovo, Klintsy, Korosten, Lipetsk, Nikolaev, Orenburg, Penza, Rybinsk, St. Petersburg, Serpukhov (main street), Simferopol, Tolyatti, Khabarovsk, Chelyabinsk, Angarsk , Izhevsk, as well as Voroshilovsky Avenue in Rostov-on-Don

On December 29, 1932, the Voroshilov Shooter badge of Osoaviakhim was approved to reward marksmen. A series of heavy KV tanks (official decoding - Klim Voroshilov) of the Putilov plant was named in honor of Voroshilov. In 1941-1992, the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR bore the name of Voroshilov.

A monument was erected at Voroshilov’s grave. In Moscow, at house No. 3 on Romanov Lane, where K. E. Voroshilov lived, a memorial plaque was installed.

Voroshilovsky district of Volgograd

Bibliography

• Voroshilov K. E. 15 years of the Red Army: Report at the solemn anniversary meeting on February 23, 1933 at the Bolshoi Theater / Voroshilov K. E. - M.: Party publishing house, 1933. - 45 p.
• Voroshilov K. E. Articles and speeches from the XVI to XVII Congress of the CPSU (b) / Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. - M.: Part. ed., 1934. - 208 pp.: portrait.
• Voroshilov K. E. About youth / Voroshilov K. E., Frunze M. V. - M.: Partizdat, 1936. - 158 pp.: ill.
• Voroshilov K. E. About youth / Voroshilov K. E. - M.: Mol. Guard, 1936. - 198 pp.: portrait.
• Voroshilov K. E. Articles and speeches / Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich. - M.: Partizdat, 1936. - 666 p.: portrait.
• Voroshilov K. E. Speeches at meetings of voters in Minsk / Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. - M.: Partizdat, 1937. - 13 p.
• Voroshilov K. E. XX years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the Navy: Report on the celebrations. meeting Moscow Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan and CD with participation. total organizations and warriors. parts dedicated XX anniversary of the Workers and Peasants. Red Army and Military. - Marine fleet. From app. order Nar. Com. Defense of the USSR N 49, February 23. 1938, Moscow / Voroshilov K. E. - M.: State Publishing House. watered literature, 1938. - 29 p.
• The Great March of K. E. Voroshilov’s army from Lugansk to Tsaritsyn and the heroic defense of Tsaritsyn: A guide to the traces of the civil war. - M.: Voenizdat, 1938. - 298 p.: ill., diagrams.
• Voroshilov K. E. Speech on Red Square on the day of the 21st anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution in the USSR (November 7, 1938) / Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. - M.: Voenizdat, 1938. - 14 p.: portrait.
• Voroshilov K. E. On the draft law on universal conscription: Report of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR comrade. K. E. Voroshilov at the extraordinary Fourth session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st convocation on August 31, 1939 / Voroshilov K. E. - M.: Politgiz, 1939. - 30 p.: portrait.
• Voroshilov K. E. Preface to the “Manual for the command and control personnel of the Red Army. Individual gymnastics for every day” / Voroshilov K. E. // Theory and practice of physics. culture. - 1939. - T. IV. - N 5. - P. 1-3.
• History of the Civil War in the USSR / Edited by: M. Gorky, V. Molotov, K. Voroshilov [and others]. T. 2: The Great Proletarian Revolution. (Oct - November 1917). - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1942. - 367 pp.: ill., portrait, map.
• Great Soviet Encyclopedia: In 65 volumes / Ch. ed. O. Yu. Schmidt, deputy. Ch. ed. F. N. Petrov, P. M. Kerzhentsev, F. A. Rotshtein, P. S. Zaslavsky. / Ed. K. E. Voroshilov, A. Ya. Vyshinsky. P.I. Lebedev-Polyansky and others - M.: Sov. encyclopedia, 1944-1947.
• Voroshilov K. E. Speech at the pre-election meeting of voters of the Minsk city electoral district on February 7, 1946 / Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1946. - 13 p.: portrait.
• Great Soviet Encyclopedia / Ed. S. I. Vavilova, K. E. Voroshilov, A. Ya. Vyshinsky [and others]. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. - M.: Sov. encyclopedia, 1947. - 1946 pp.: ill., cart., portrait.
• Voroshilov K. E. Speech at a meeting of voters of the Minsk city electoral district on March 7, 1950 / Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1950. - 24 p.: portrait. Same. - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1951. - 23 p.
• Skvortsov A. E. K. E. Voroshilov about physical culture / Skvortsov A. E. // Theory and practice of physics. culture. - 1951. - T. XIV. - Vol. 2. - pp. 96-103.
• Voroshilov K. E. 36th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution: Report on the celebrations. meeting Moscow Council November 6, 1953 / Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich. - M.: Goslitizdat, 1953. - 24 p.: portrait.
• Voroshilov K. E. Speech at a meeting of voters of the Kirov electoral district of the city of Leningrad on March 10, 1954 / Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1954. - 15 p.
• Voroshilov K. E. Along the glorious path of socialism / Voroshilov K. E. - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1955. - 15 p.
• Voroshilov K. E. Speech at the XX Congress of the CPSU on February 20, 1956 / Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1956. - 23 p.
• Voroshilov K. E. Stories about life: (Memoirs). Book 1 / Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich. - M.: Politizdat, 1968. - 368 p.: ill.
• Soviet Army / Preface. K. E. Voroshilova. - M.: Politizdat, 1969. - 446 p.: ill., portrait.
• About the Komsomol and youth: Collection / V. I. Lenin. M. I. Kalinin. S. M. Kirov. N.K. Krupskaya. V. V. Kuibyshev. A. V. Lunacharsky. G. K. Ordzhonikidze. M. V. Frunze. K. E. Voroshilov. - M.: Mol. Guard, 1970. - 447 p.
• Akshinsky V. S. Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov: Biogr. essay / Akshinsky V.S. - M.: Politizdat, 1974. - 287 pp.: ill.
• Kardashov V. I. Voroshilov / Kardashov V.I. - M.: Mol. Guard, 1976. - 368 pp.: ill., photogr.
• K. E. Voroshilov. Stories about life. Book 1

In art

Until his resignation as People's Commissar of Defense, Voroshilov, as the most influential military figure, was a living symbol of the Red Army and the growing military power of the Soviet Union. In the 20-30s, he was sung as a man who would lead to victory (“After all, Voroshilov, the first red officer, is with us - we will be able to stand up for the USSR!”). Voroshilov is the hero of numerous films where he was played:

• Alexey Gribov (“The Oath”, 1946, “The Fall of Berlin”, 1949, “Donetsk Miners”, 1951)
• Nikolai Bogolyubov (“Lenin in 1918”, 1938, “First Cavalry”, 1941, “Parkhomenko”, 1942, “Defense of Tsaritsyn”, 1942, “The Third Strike”, “Liberation”, 1968-1972))
• Yuri Tolubeev (“The Fall of Berlin”, 1st version)
• Daniil Sagal (“Blockade”, 1972)
• Viktor Lazarev (“Duma about Kovpak”, 1973-1976; “The Underground Regional Committee is Acting”, 1978)
• Igor Pushkarev (“December 20”, 1981)
• Wensley Pithi (“Red Monarch” (England, 1983)
• Vladimir Troshin (Oleko Dundich, 1958; “Battle for Moscow”, 1985, “Stalingrad”, Dark Nights in Sochi, 1989)
• Evgeny Zharikov (“First Cavalry”, 1984, “War in the Western Direction”, 1990)
• Anatoly Grachev (“Enemy of the People - Bukharin”, 1990)
• Sergei Nikonenko (“The Feasts of Belshazzar, or Night with Stalin”, 1989)
• Mikhail Kononov (“Inner Circle”, 1991)
• John Bowie (Stalin, 1992)
• Victor Eltsov ("Trotsky", 1993)
• Sergei Shekhovtsov (“Stalin: Inside the Terror”, England, 2003)
• Yuri Oleinikov (“Stalin. Live”, 2007)
• Alexander Mokhov (“Burnt by the Sun 2”, 2010)
• Valery Filonov (“Furtseva (TV series)”, 2011)

And also “Unforgettable 1919”, “Lenin in the Ring of Fire” (1993), “Moscow Saga” (2004), etc.

Voroshilov is mentioned in the song March of Soviet Tankmen as the First Marshal:

In some versions before 1956, the song “Polyushko-Field” had a verse about Voroshilov:

Voroshilov’s name also appears in the song “If Tomorrow is War” (1939):

And also in the march of the *red cavalrymen*

The poem “Letter to Voroshilov” by L. Kvitko is set to music (translation by S. Marshak, music by P. Akulenko).

Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov was born on January 23 (February 4), 1881 in the village of Verkhneye, Bakhmut district, Yekaterinoslav province (now the city of Lisichansk in Ukraine) in the family of railway worker Efrem Andreevich Voroshilov (1844-1907).

In 1893-1895, K. E. Voroshilov studied at the zemstvo school in the village of Vasilievka, Slavyansk district (now within the city limits of Alchevsk in Ukraine). Since 1896, he worked at the Yuryev Metallurgical Plant (Alchevskaya station), since 1903 - in Lugansk (now in Ukraine) at the G. Hartmann steam locomotive plant.

In 1903, K. E. Voroshilov joined the RSDLP, and in 1904 he became a member of the Lugansk Bolshevik Committee. In 1905, he was chairman of the Lugansk Council, led a workers' strike and the creation of fighting squads. In 1906, he was elected as a delegate to the IV (Stockholm) Congress of the RSDLP, where he first met with. In 1907 he was a delegate to the V (London) Congress of the RSDLP.

In July 1907, K. E. Voroshilov was arrested and in October of the same year he was exiled to the city of Arkhangelsk province for a period of 3 years. In December 1907, he escaped from the prison to a place of exile and was sent by the Party Central Committee to work in Baku (now in Azerbaijan). During underground work in the city, he met. In 1908 he moved to, where he was arrested and returned to the Arkhangelsk province. In exile in the village in January 1911, K. E. Voroshilov was again arrested and served in Arkhangelsk prison until November, then he was sent to Mezensky district of Arkhangelsk province. Released from exile in 1912, he went to serve in the workers' cooperative at the Dumo plant in Alchevsk, but a few months later he was once again arrested and deported to the village of Cherdynsky district, Perm province. After his release from exile in 1914, he worked at the Tsaritsyn gun factory. During the First World War he lived in an illegal situation.

After the February Revolution of 1917, K. E. Voroshilov was a member of the Petrograd Soviet and was elected as a delegate to the VII (April) All-Russian Conference and the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b). From March to September 1917 he was chairman of the Lugansk Council and City Duma. In November 1917, he was a commissar of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee (for city administration), together with he led the work on organizing the Cheka.

At the beginning of March 1918, K. E. Voroshilov organized the 1st Lugansk Socialist Detachment, which defended Kharkov (now in Ukraine) from German-Austrian troops. During the Civil War of 1918-1920, he commanded the Tsaritsyn group of troops, was deputy commander and member of the Military Council of the Southern Front, commander of the 10th Army, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, commander of the Kharkov Military District, commander of the 14th Army and the internal Ukrainian Front. In 1919, K. E. Voroshilov became one of the organizers and a member of the RVS of the 1st Cavalry Army. In 1920, for his military services, he was awarded an honorary revolutionary weapon.

In 1921, at the head of a group of delegates to the Tenth Congress of the RCP (b), K. E. Voroshilov participated in the liquidation of the Kronstadt rebellion. In 1921-1924, he was a member of the South-Eastern Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), and commanded the troops of the North Caucasus Military District.

In 1924-1925, K. E. Voroshilov was the commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. After his death, he headed the Soviet defense department: in 1925-1934 he held the positions of People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs and Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR, in 1934-1940 he was People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. In 1935, one of the first Soviet military leaders, K. E. Voroshilov, was awarded the military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Since 1940, he was deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and chairman of the Defense Committee of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.

During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, K. E. Voroshilov was a member of the State Defense Committee, was the commander-in-chief of the forces of the North-Western direction, the commander of the troops of the Leningrad Front, and the commander-in-chief of the partisan movement. In 1943 he participated in the Tehran Conference.

In 1945-1947, K. E. Voroshilov headed the Union Control Commission in Hungary. In 1946-1953, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

In 1953-1960, K. E. Voroshilov was chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. From 1960 until the end of his life he was a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In 1921-1961 and 1966-1969, K. E. Voroshilov was a member of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) (VKP (b), CPSU), in 1926-1952 he was a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee, in 1952-1960 - a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee. During the Soviet years, he was elected as a delegate to the X - XXIII Party Congresses, and was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the first seven convocations.

K. E. Voroshilov was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (1956 and 1968), was a Hero of Socialist Labor (1960), and also a Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1957). Among his awards are 8 orders

We will not tell his biography, since it is more or less truthfully, with greater or lesser details, set out in books of recent years:

R. Medvedev “They surrounded Stalin”, M, 1990,

F. Volkov “The Rise and Fall of Stalin”, M, 1992,

V. Rogovin “Party of the Executed”, M, 1997,

D. Volkogonov “Etudes about time”, M, 1998,

O. Souvenirov “Tragedy of the Red Army. 1937-1938“, M. 1998,

Y. Rubtsov “Marshals of Stalin”, R-on-Don, 2000, etc.

Academician of the Academy of Military Sciences of the Russian Federation, honorary academician O. F. Suvenirov and Yu. Rubtsov in the above books called Voroshilov the executioner of the Red Army.

Best of the day

For most of his life, Voroshilov was in military work; moreover, from 1925, after the death of Frunze, he became People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, and from 1934 to 1940 he was People's Commissar of Defense. And before that, in February 1918, in his homeland in Lugansk, he formed a partisan detachment of 600 people. The detachment a few months later turned into the 5th Ukrainian Army, which Voroshilov commanded. Then he commanded the 10th Army, the 14th Army, and was a member of the RVS of the First Cavalry Army. In 1921-1924 he commanded the North Caucasus and Moscow military districts.

The assessment of his military activities is always negative.

The Cossack magazine “Don Wave” wrote in February 1919: “We must do justice to Voroshilov that if he is not a strategist in the generally accepted sense of the word, then, in any case, he cannot be denied the ability to resist stubbornly.”

Even earlier, A.E. Snesarev, military commander of the North Caucasus Military District and commander of the detachments defending Tsaritsyn, wrote in his memorandum addressed to the Chairman of the Supreme Military Council: “...t. Voroshilov, as a military commander, does not have the necessary qualities. He is not sufficiently imbued with the duty of service and does not adhere to the basic rules of commanding troops.”

Speaking at the Eighth Party Congress in 1919, Lenin said: “Voroshilov cited facts that indicate that there were terrible traces of partisanship... Comrade Voroshilov is to blame for the fact that he does not want to give up this old partisanship.”

In the summer of 1919, the 14th Army, commanded by Voroshilov, defended Kharkov. The army surrendered the city to Denikin's troops. The tribunal, examining the circumstances of the surrender of the city, came to the conclusion that the knowledge of the army commander did not allow him to be entrusted with even a battalion.

Chekist Zvederis - beginning. of the special department of the 1st Cavalry Army, whose path through Ukraine was called bloody and was accompanied by numerous pogroms, especially against Jews, came to the conclusion: banditry will not be eradicated in the army as long as such a person as Voroshilov exists.

An accurate description of Voroshilov was given by the first chairman of the Revolutionary Military Union and People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs L. D. Trotsky: “Voroshilov is a fiction. His authority was artificially created by totalitarian agitation. At a dizzying height, he remained what he had always been: a narrow-minded provincial without an outlook, without education, without military abilities and even without administrative abilities.”

And the results of the military service of the first red marshal are summed up in the recently extracted from the archives “Decision of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee (Protocol 36, paragraph 356) On the work of K. E. Voroshilov, April 1, 1942.”

1. War with Finland in 1939-1940. revealed great problems and backwardness in the leadership of NPOs. During this war, NPOs were unprepared to ensure the successful development of military operations. The Red Army did not have mortars and machine guns, there was no correct accounting of aircraft and tanks, there was no necessary winter clothing for the troops, the troops did not have food concentrates. It revealed the great neglect of such important NGO departments as the Main Artillery Directorate, the Combat Training Directorate, the Air Force Directorate, the low level of organization in military educational institutions, etc.

All this affected the prolongation of the war and led to unnecessary casualties. Comrade Voroshilov, being at that time the People's Commissar of Defense, was forced to admit at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks at the end of March 1940 the revealed insolvency of his leadership of the NGO.

Taking into account the state of affairs in the NGO and seeing that it was difficult for Comrade Voroshilov to cover such a big matter as the NGO, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks considered it necessary to relieve Comrade Voroshilov from the post of People's Commissar of Defense.

2. At the beginning of the war with Germany, comrade. Voroshilov was sent as commander-in-chief of the North-Western direction, whose main task was the defense of Leningrad. In his work in Leningrad, Comrade Voroshilov made serious mistakes.

In view of all this, the State Defense Committee recalled Comrade Voroshilov from Leningrad and gave him work on new military formations in the rear.

3. In view of the request of Comrade Voroshilov, he was sent in February to the Volkhov Front as a representative of Headquarters to assist the front command and stayed there for about a month. However, Comrade Voroshilov’s stay on the Volkhov Front did not give the desired results.

In view of the above, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks decides:

1. Admit that Comrade Voroshilov did not justify himself in the work entrusted to him at the front.

Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks I. Stalin.”

According to the prominent historian R. Medvedev, as a political personality, Voroshilov was significantly inferior to many of his “colleagues” in influence: he did not have the intelligence, cunning and business qualities of Mikoyan, he did not have the organizational abilities, activity and cruelty of Kaganovich, as well as the clerical efficiency and “stone ass” Molotov. Voroshilov did not know how to navigate, like Malenkov, the intricacies of apparatus intrigues; he lacked the enormous energy of Khrushchev, he did not have the theoretical knowledge and claims of Zhdanov or Voznesensky.

Such incompetence had to be worked out, and Voroshilov tried.

Already at the XIV Party Congress, in 1925, he stated: “Comrade Stalin, obviously, by nature or fate, is destined to formulate questions somewhat more successfully than any other member of the Politburo. Comrade Stalin is - I affirm this - the main member of the Politburo.”

In 1929, on the occasion of Stalin’s 50th anniversary, Voroshilov wrote an article “Stalin and the Red Army,” in which he wrote: “...In the period 1918-1920, Comrade Stalin was, perhaps, the only person whom the Central Committee threw from one battle front to another, choosing the most dangerous, most terrible places for the revolution...”

In 1935, speaking at the All-Union Congress of Stakhanovites, he called Stalin “the first marshal of the socialist revolution,” “the great marshal of victories on the fronts and the civil war and the socialist construction and strengthening of our party,” “the marshal of the communist movement of all mankind,” and even “the true marshal Communism."

In 1939, in the article “Stalin and the Construction of the Red Army,” Voroshilov writes: “Many volumes will be written about Stalin, the creator of the Red Army, its inspirer and organizer of victories, the author of the laws of strategy and tactics of the proletarian revolution.”

On Stalin’s 70th birthday in 1949, Voroshilov came to the conclusion that “the victorious Great Patriotic War will go down in history... as the triumph of the military-strategic and military genius of the great Stalin.”

Voroshilov was one of the first who began to glorify Stalin and instill his cult of personality. And when the tragic thirties approached, Voroshilov turned into a resigned and zealous executor of Stalin’s criminal policies.

He was among those who stirred up passions. Thus, at the February-March Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1937, he said: “... it is not excluded, on the contrary, even certain, and in the ranks of the army there are still many unidentified, undisclosed Japanese-German, Trotskyist-Zinovievite spies, saboteurs and terrorists "

From June 1 to June 4, 1937, at an extended meeting of the Military Council under the People's Commissar of Defense, Voroshilov made a report “On the disclosure by the NKVD of a counter-revolutionary conspiracy in the Red Army.” He stated in the report:

“The bodies of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs have uncovered in the army a long-existing, strictly clandestine counter-revolutionary fascist organization, operating with impunity, headed by people who were at the head of the army.” Voroshilov in his report called for “checking and purifying the army literally to the very

the last cracks...” This speech, like Stalin’s, was perceived by the NKVD as a direct directive for the mass purge of the army and navy.

A little over a year passed and he reported on the results of the cleaning. At a meeting of the Military Council held on November 29, 1938, Voroshilov said: “When last year a group of despicable traitors to our Motherland and the Red Army led by Tukhachevsky was discovered and destroyed by the court of the revolution, it could not have occurred to any of us, it did not occur, unfortunately that this abomination, this rot, this betrayal is so widely and deeply entrenched in the ranks of our army. Throughout 1937 and 1938, we had to mercilessly cleanse our ranks... we cleaned out more than 4 tens of thousands of people.” Such is the scale of the tragedy, such is the price of Voroshilov’s crime together with Stalin. Suffice it to say that after Tukhachevsky, all the other deputy people's commissars of defense - Egorov, Alksnis, Fedko and Orlov - were arrested and shot. Of the 837 people who were awarded personal military ranks from colonel to marshal in November 1935, 720 were repressed. Of the 16 people who received the ranks of army commanders and marshals, three survived the great purge: Voroshilov himself, Budyonny and Shaposhnikov. During the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army lost 180 senior command personnel from the division commander and above, and in several pre-war years, mainly in 1937-1938, more than 500 commanders with the rank of brigade commander to Marshal were arrested on far-fetched political charges. of which 412 were shot and 29 died in custody. But none of the prominent military leaders could be arrested without the knowledge and consent of the People's Commissar of Defense.

As you know, Ya. Gamarnik is the first deputy people's commissar of defense, beginning. Political department of the Red Army, committed suicide on the eve of his inevitable arrest. This happened on May 31, 1937 after the deputy sent to Gamarnik on behalf of Voroshilov. beginning PU Red Army Bulin and the beginning. The administration of the NGO Smorodinov announced to Gamarnik an order from the NGO to dismiss him from the Red Army. In an order dated June 12, 1937, Voroshilov called him “a traitor and a coward who was afraid to appear before the court of the Soviet people.” The People's Commissar did not indicate in the order that all the accusations were a figment of the imagination of Stalin and the NKVD investigators, that physical and moral methods of coercion were used against those arrested, cruelly extorting false confessions and testimonies.

By a Politburo resolution of April 17, 1937, Voroshilov was included in the “permanent commission,” which was entrusted with preparing for the PB, and “in case of special urgency” with resolving “issues of a secret nature.” Only the members of this commission (Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov, Yezhov) developed the strategy and tactics of the great purge and had a complete understanding of its scale. In addition, since 1926 he was a member of the Politburo.

At first, he tried to protect some of his subordinates, but after the Tukhachevsky trial, Voroshilov began, as a rule, to endorse arrest lists without objection. As Khrushchev reported at the 20th Congress, Yezhov alone sent 383 lists, including thousands of names of persons whose sentences required approval by members of the PB. Of these lists, 362 were signed by Stalin, 373 by Molotov, 195 by Voroshilov, 191 by Kaganovich, and 177 by Zhdanov.

Voroshilov took an active part in the murder of Marshal Tukhachevsky, 1st rank army commanders Yakir and Uborevich, 2nd rank army commander Kork, corps commanders Eideman, Feldman, Primakov, Putna. In April-May 1937, he sent Stalin one after another a series of notes with the following content:

“Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) comrade. Stalin

I ask you to exclude from the Military Council under the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR: M.N. Tukhachevsky, R.P. Eideman, R.V. Longva, N.A. Efimov, E.F. Appog, as expelled from the ranks of the Red Army.

Then “expelled” were replaced with “dismissed”.

In the following days, he sent the same notes to Stalin, in which he included Gorbachev, Kazansky, Kork, Kutyakov, Feldman, Lapin, Yakir, Uborevich, Germanovich, Sangursky, Oshley and others. He apparently did not care that the entire Military Council turned out to be “spy”, “fascist”.

Before making the final decision to arrest Tukhachevsky, Stalin listened to Molotov, Voroshilov and Yezhov. Voroshilov did not hide his long-standing hostility towards Tukhachevsky. Voroshilov took part in a meeting with Stalin where the indictment was considered. Voroshilov predetermined their verdict; in order No. 972 of June 7, 1937, he wrote: “...The agent of Japanese-German fascism, Trotsky, will learn this time that his faithful henchmen, the Gamarniks and Tukhachevskys, Yakirs, Urevichi and other bastards, who lackeyly served capitalism, will be wiped off the face of the earth, and their memory will be cursed and forgotten.” Voroshilov, just like Stalin and Molotov, was sent all the interrogation protocols, he took part in confrontations and, as it recently became known from V. Leskov’s book “Stalin and the Tukhachevsky Conspiracy,” he personally SHOOT Yakir. There is a start message. Directorate of Higher Educational Institutions of the Red Army A.I. Todorsky that Voroshilov, a few days after the execution, spoke about the behavior of those doomed to death before execution. This is further evidence of his participation in the execution.

The June trial of 1937, after which Tukhachevsky and others were shot on June 12, 1937, became the signal for the launch of a extermination campaign against military personnel. Just 9 days after this execution, 980 commanders and political workers were arrested, including 29 brigade commanders, 37 division commanders, 21 corps commanders, 16 regimental commissars, 17 brigade and 7 divisional commissars.

And this seemed insufficient to Voroshilov. At a special meeting of the Military Council under the People's Commissar of Defense on November 21, 1937, dedicated to the “cleansing” of the army, Voroshilov reproached the commander of the Belorussian Military District, I.P. Belov, who was later executed, that the “cleansing” in the Belorussian District was being carried out poorly.

Here are some of Voroshilov’s personal instructions on group arrests:

On May 28, 1937, the NKVD of the USSR compiled a list of employees of the Art Directorate of the Red Army, who had testimony from those arrested as participants in a military-Trotskyist conspiracy. The list contained the names of 26 commanders of the Red Army. The list contains Voroshilov’s resolution: “Comrade. Yezhov. TAKE ALL THE SCASTERS. 28. V. 1937. K. Voroshilov.”

June 5, 1937 beginning. From the special department of the GUGB NKVD, Leplevsky asks Voroshilov for consent to arrest 17 people at once - “participants in the anti-Soviet military-Trotskyist conspiracy. Resolution: “I don’t mind. KV. 15.VI. 37.”

On June 11, 1937, Leplevsky asks Voroshilov for consent to arrest the commander of the 26th Cavalry Division, Zybin. Two days later a resolution appears: “Arrest. KV. 13.VI. 37".

June 29, 1937 is already a new beginning. The special department of the GUGB Nikolaev-Zhurid applies for permission to arrest another victim. We are talking about the head of the department of military communications of the Military Transport Academy of the Red Army, military engineer 2nd rank G. E. Kuni. Resolution of the People's Commissar: “Arrest. KV. 1. VIII. 37“.

In August 1937, the following letter was sent from the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR to the NKVD of the USSR about the arrest of a number of prominent senior military officials:

“I inform you of the resolution of the People’s Commissar of Defense of the USSR based on Leplevsky’s information:

1. About the deputy. beginning political department of the KVO corps commissar Khorosh M. L.

"To arrest. K.V.“.

2. About the commander-commissar of the 1st cavalry. corps division commander Demichev.

"To arrest. K.V.“.

3. About the beginning Communications Department KVO brigade commander Ignatovich Yu. I.

"To arrest. K.V.“.

4. About the cavalry commander. corps division commander Grigoriev P.P.

"To arrest. K.V.“.

5. About the commander of the 58th SD, brigade commander G. A. Kaptsevich.

"To arrest. K.V.“.

6. About the head of the 2nd department of the headquarters of the KVO, Colonel M. M. Rodionov.

"To arrest. K.V.“.

Etc., in total this list included Voroshilov’s decisions to arrest 142 leading military officials. I tried to trace the fate of the named commanders: Khorosh and Ignatovich were shot on October 15, 1937, Rodionov on October 16, 1937, Demichev on November 19, 1937, Grigoriev on November 20, 1937, Kaptsevich on October 17, 1938.

On January 29, 1938, Nikolaev-Zhurid sent Voroshilov a request for the arrest of brigade commander Khlebnikov. Resolution of the People's Commissar: “Arrest Khlebnikov. KV. 7. II. 38“.

May 17, 1938 Deputy People's Commissar of the NKVD Frinovsky writes to Voroshilov “about the need to arrest” 15 people. Resolution of the People's Commissar: “I agree to the arrest of these persons. KV. 19. V. 38“.

Here are a few of his personal telegrams out of many hundreds of similar ones:

“Sverdlovsk. Goilita. At No. 117. Find, arrest and judge strictly." July 1, 1937 K. Voroshilov.

“Vladivostok. Kireev, Okunev. At No. 2454. Fire him, and if there are suspicions that he is involved in his wife’s affairs, arrest him. July 21, 1937 K. Voroshilov”

"Tbilisi. Kuibyshev, Anse. At No. 342. Fire. At No. 344. Judge and shoot. At No. 346. Fire. October 2, 1937 K. Voroshilov."

On a report that corps commissar N.A. Savko called the arrest of one of the military leaders a misunderstanding at a party meeting, Voroshilov wrote: “Arrest.” On October 5, 1937, he was sentenced to death.

Voroshilov has many other vile acts on his conscience: he summoned Yakir and Uborevich to Moscow for a meeting, ordering them to travel by train; on the way they were arrested in Bryansk and Smolensk, respectively; he sent Marshal Blucher to Sochi to rest at his dacha, and there he and his wife were arrested; Deputy Commander of the PriVO Troops Kutyakov I.S. resisted the NKVD agents during arrest, but having received a telegram from the People’s Commissar “I order you to surrender and go to Moscow,” Kutyakov surrendered, was arrested and shot on July 28, 1938; First Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR Fedko I.F. resisted the NKVD workers during the arrest and called Voroshilov, who offered to stop resisting and promised to look into it. Fedko was arrested and shot on February 26, 1939, etc. Stalin in a narrow circle - with Molotov and Voroshilov - discussed the results of the “investigation” in the case of Marshal Egorov. He was arrested and shot on February 23, 1939. On a letter from Army Commander 2nd Rank Dybenko, Stalin wrote: “Voroshilov.” Dybenko was shot on July 29, 1938. Etc.

The arrested commanders and their wives turned to Voroshilov, asking them to sort things out and help. On August 21, 1936, Major Kuzmichev wrote to Voroshilov, on September 26, corps commander Primakov, on June 9, 1937 - by Army Commander 1st Rank Yakir, on September 12, 1937 - by Army Commander 1st Rank I. Belov, in mid-September - by Army Commander 2nd Rank Sedyakin, on December 5, 1937 - brigade commander Kolosov, in early 1938 - Marshal Egorov, in April 1938 - division commander Kokhansky, division commissar Kropichev, in May 1939 - division commander Turzhansky, in December 1939 - Major Kulik, February 12, 1940 - corps commissar Berezkin, etc. .

On March 23, 1937, Voroshilov received a letter from the wife of the arrested commander of the troops of the Ural Military District Garkavoy, on June 3 - the wife of the arrested Yakir wrote, on September 10 - the wife of the arrested commander of the Kharkov Military District Dubovoy, on June 14, 1939 - the wife of the arrested commander of the Kyiv Military District Fedko and etc.

There is no evidence that Voroshilov responded to any of these appeals.

All this allowed the former member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, former Secretary of the Central Committee A.N. Yakovlev to give the following characterization of Voroshilov:

“Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov. With his sanction, the extermination of senior military leaders and political workers of the Red Army was organized. In the 1930s, out of 5 marshals - 3, out of 16 army commanders - 15, out of 67 corps commanders - 60, out of 199 division commanders - 136, out of 4 fleet flagships - 4, out of 6 first-rank flagships - 6, out of 15 flagships of the second rank - 9. All 17 army commissars of the first and second rank, as well as 25 of the 29 corps commissars, were shot. When Voroshilov was People's Commissar of Defense in the Red Army, over 36 thousand middle and senior commanders were repressed in 1936-1940 alone. The FSB archive revealed more than 300 sanctions from Voroshilov for the arrest of prominent army commanders. In fact, before World War II, the country’s armed forces were decapitated.” (“Krestosev”, M., 2000). The result of this is known: 27 million Soviet people died during the war.

And in conclusion, one more touch to Voroshilov’s characterization. Victoria Yanovna (Gamarnik’s daughter) recalled many years later: “Upon returning from exile, Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan helped me a lot. After exile, Anastas Ivanovich helped me and Mira (Vladimir Ieronimovna Uborevich - daughter of I. Uborevich. I.P.) with money, an apartment, care. Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, I know, warmed Yakir’s family. Not everyone, not everyone, rushed to our aid even when it became possible. At the same time, Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov refused to accept Svetlana Tukhachevskaya. I don't know why. Maybe you didn’t have the courage to look Svetlana in the eyes?”

Voroshilov - a mirror of the politics of the All-Union Communist Party of Belarus
plotsi 18.12.2010 04:08:01

Despite my relatively young age by historical standards, I would like to add that I knew, or rather, saw in 1974 close to the man whom Voroshilov in 1937 sent as an enemy of the people to the camps to certain death. But this brigade commander (last name can be specified) survived. There were purple bumps on his back, probably formed after being beaten with metal rods. The view is creepy. But, surprisingly, in public he said that our leadership had to do this, otherwise they would not have held on, built and won. I still can’t understand whether he was speaking sincerely or whether he was so scared to death. But then for the first time I understood the cost of building our communism. And this was the merit of Stalin’s sycophants like Voroshilov. And for this he and his followers must answer. And no less severe than their “troikas”.

Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov had a long life. He died just shy of 89 years old. Last year, 1916, was the 135th anniversary of the former idol of millions. But no one noticed him. But at one time cities and factories, tanks and ships were named after Voroshilov. All young pioneers dreamed of earning the honorary title “Voroshilov Shooter”. Klim Voroshilov was a symbol of the Soviet dream - a simple mechanic who became the People's Commissar of Defense and even the head of state.

Unsweet childhood

He was born in January 1881 in the Lugansk region, in the village of Verkhneye (now the city of Lisichansk). Subsequently, in his memoirs, which Kliment Efremovich called “Stories about Life,” he recalled pictures of his childhood: the endless steppe, the waste heaps of mines, the shore of the Seversky Donets and eternally hungry brothers and sisters. Klim's father, Efrem Andreevich, had a quarrelsome character, was quick-tempered, did not tolerate injustice, and therefore did not succeed in life. He lost his job one after another and eventually became a lineman with a pittance salary. Klim's mother, quiet and meek Maria Vasilievna, never contradicted her husband, although he often raised his hand to her. She endured poverty stoically, grabbed any job, and was both a laundress and a cook. And when the family was completely broke financially, the children went to beg.

Meeting with Lenin

At the age of seven, Klim went to graze cattle, and then got a job in a mine. The work was hard: from early morning until late evening he selected rock from the mined coal. The young worker was paid a pittance - 10 kopecks a day. A friend of the Voroshilov family, teacher Ryzhkov, encouraged Klim to go to school and then helped him get a job at a metallurgical plant in Lugansk. Then there were the Social Democratic circle, rallies and strikes, the party pseudonym “Volodya”, denunciations to the police, the transportation of twenty smuggled revolvers to Rostov. At the fourth congress of the RSDLP in Stockholm, Klim Voroshilo met with Lenin. Full of impressions, returning to Lugansk, he staged almost a revolution in the city - with the arson of the prison. An arrest followed, followed by three years of northern exile.

Raised like family

Klim at that time was very fond of the daughter of an Odessa broker, Golda Gorbman. For her participation in the Socialist Revolutionary underground, she was exiled to Kholmogory. Klim really wanted to take Golda as his wife, but according to the laws of that time, exiles could only marry if the bride converted to Orthodoxy. Apparently, Golda loved her Klim very much, because she decided to change her faith.

She also changed her name, becoming Catherine. No matter how life turned out later, Klim never cheated on his wife (and they lived together for 50 years). But this is a rare case for Bolshevik leaders. And even when an unsuccessful operation disfigured the woman, Klim did not leave her, did not find someone more beautiful and younger.

The only thing that upset the couple was the lack of children. Then they took in adopted children: three-year-old Petya, whose father was shot by the whites, nine-year-old Lenya, whose father was a friend of Voroshilov. When Mikhail Frunze passed away, the Voroshilovs also took care of his children, Timur and Tatyana. And, I must say, they raised their adopted children as if they were their own. All sons chose the military profession.

So he became commander

In April 1918, the commanders of the Red Guard detachments gathered at the Rudakovo station near Lugansk. The situation was difficult. The Germans were advancing from the west, and the Cossacks of Ataman Krasnov were advancing from the east. There is an urgent need to unite forces and choose a common commander. Klim Voroshilov became commander of the 5th Soviet Army.

Klim did not immediately agree to take this position; he refused for a long time. Subsequently, it turned out that Voroshilov was preparing these elections. He acted using different methods: he either persuaded or intimidated the red leaders. In appearance, Kliment Efremovich looked like a simpleton, but his will and endurance were iron. It was they who later helped him stay on political Olympus.

With a Mauser in hand

Having retreated with the 5-1 army to the Volga, the newly-minted army commander took over the 10th Army, which defended Tsaritsyn from the Whites. The only route connecting the Soviet Republic with the outside world ran through this city. Here commander Voroshilov first showed himself in all his glory. He led the men into the attack with a Mauser in his hand. His arsenal included not only calls, but also swearing and kicks. After the fights, he decided to relax. This “relaxation”, expressed in drinking and partying, and a fight with a patrol, was described in a note published in the newspaper Pravda.

The article was published at the instigation of Trotsky (Voroshilov’s relationship with him did not immediately work out). When military experts arrived from Moscow, Klim sent them to prison instead of headquarters. This overflowed Trotsky's patience. Voroshilov was sent to Ukraine. And there the situation was incomprehensible: everyone fought against everyone: whites, reds, greens, Petliurists, Makhnovists. But Klim felt comfortable.

“He willingly agrees with everyone”

Kliment Efremovich relied on Semyon Budyonny and his 1st Cavalry Army. This army was not typical for that time: it was replenished and fed at the expense of the civilian population, and in the occupied areas it behaved like a gang of robbers. But courage and loyalty to her comrades were valued above all else in her. Voroshilov showed his best side here too. He was like a fish in water. He went on the attack along with everyone else. He didn’t hold up well in the saddle, but he shot well and gave commands in a thunderous voice.

In March of the twenty-first year, at the head of the combined detachment of the 10th Congress, Voroshilov went to suppress the Kronstadt rebellion. He was cold-blooded and did not hide from bullets. Miraculously, he remained unharmed: the losses among the attackers (as usual under the command of Voroshilov) were enormous. Tukhachesky said about Voroshilov: “Of course, he is very dull, but he has a positive quality: he does not try to be a sage and willingly agrees with everything.”

Merits and bad deeds

Voroshilov did not contradict Stalin, who demanded a speedy restructuring of the army. The new People's Commissar of Defense led the army for 15 years. During this time, mass production of weapons was established. If in 1928 the RKK had only 9 tanks, then in 1937 there were almost 17 thousand, more than any other country in the world. The Pacific and Northern fleets were created on the sea frontiers, and the construction of torpedo boats and submarines began. Voroshilov also contributed to the creation of airborne troops. One day Budyonny invited Voroshilov to jump with a parachute. He refused, and Budyonny jumped (for which he received a reprimand from Stalin).

Voroshilov agreed with the leader in 1937, signing “execution lists” as a member of the Politburo. And authorizing the arrest of officers without ever standing up for anyone. When it came to his longtime enemy Tukhachevsky, Voroshilov wrote a resolution on the list: “Comrade. Yezhov. Take all the scoundrels."

Kliment Efremovich literally felt with his skin: if he opposed repression and showed insufficient zeal, he himself would become a victim. And Voroshilov was saved from disfavor by the war with Finland, which resulted in huge casualties. After the “debriefing” in May 1940, the post of People's Commissar of Defense was taken by Marshal Timoshenko.

When Voroshilov was a diplomat

And then the Great Patriotic War. On the Western Front, Voroshilov did his usual thing - he inspired and punished. When neither one nor the other helped, the marshal was transferred to Leningrad. There he still managed to delay the enemy and even organized an offensive near Soltsy, encircling Manstein’s tank corps. In fairness, it must be said that he still walked in the line of soldiers (with a pistol towards German tanks). But in this war, “cavalry methods” no longer worked. The Germans closed the blockade ring.

But Voroshilov turned out to be a good diplomat. He conducted difficult negotiations on a truce with Romania, Finland, and Hungary. Voroshilov did not know a single language, but, nevertheless, found a common language with representatives of various countries. And he found himself completely at ease after Stalin’s death, when instead of the faceless Shvernik he was appointed Chairman of the Supreme Council. He became the formal head of state! In this position, he traveled all over the world, receiving many gifts. From Mao Zedong he received a pagoda made of rock crystal, from Ho Chi Minh - a carved elephant tusk, from Marshal Tito - a golden cigarette case. And only in his old age did Voroshilov make a mistake. This happened when he joined the “anti-party group” of Molotov and Kaganovich. He had to humbly repent, and he was spared.

Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov is a world-famous personality.

The first revolutionary, red officer, Stalin's People's Commissar. This is approximately how he was remembered in history.

Anti-Stalinists describe Voroshilov as a stupid executor of Stalin’s will, a horseman who understands nothing about the development of the army.

Stalinists, on the contrary, describe him as a competent specialist, although more of a political figure.

But behind all this there was actually another person.

The real Klim Voroshilov committed too many contradictory actions to be invested in the image of either the “bloody Stalinist People’s Commissar” or the “ideal favorite of the people.”

He almost lost the Finnish War, but saved Helsinki from destruction.

Under his command, Leningrad was almost lost in the fall of 1941; only a change of command saved the situation.

He easily handed over his supporters in the Red Army to Yezhov and his security officers - Egorov, Blucher, Belov, Fedko, Goryachev, Kashirin and many others...

Who supported him in the fight against Tukhachevsky and was his faithful support

Not to mention the fact that Voroshilov took an active part in the annexation of Crimea to Ukraine.

Namely, in 1954, as chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, he signed a decree on the inclusion of Crimea in the Ukrainian SSR, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Pereyaslav Rada.

And unlike the soapy Universal of Sobornost of 1919, which never came into effect, the document signed by Voroshilov still remains a confirmation of the territorial borders of Ukraine.

Ukrainian nationalists could appreciate such a great contribution of a fellow countryman to the territory of Ukraine.

THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

It is often written that Voroshilov considered himself Russian - but it is unclear on what this opinion is based

Voroshilov never said that he was Russian and did not consider himself as such

Soviet biographers avoided naming the surname of Kliment Efremovich’s parents, using a masterpiece of party casuistry:

"Voroshilov's father, Voroshilov's mother."

The problem, however, was the nationality of the beloved People's Commissar.

In fact, his parents were Ukrainians. The first marshal himself was proud of his belonging to the Ukrainian nation.

General Pyotr Grigorenko recalled:

“I introduce myself when it’s my turn. Kliment Efremovich offers his hand. Then he hugs the waist and we walk side by side: “Grigorenko? Ukrainian? Haven’t you forgotten your language?”

Grigorenko responded in verse:

How can you forget

The language I taught you

We are all very happy to say,

Our nenka is sweet!

Voroshilov replied:

“I’m also Ukrainian. Oh, you and Shevchenko know! That's right! There is no need to forget yours!

I'm not Voroshilov. Then the Russians added more “v”.

And I am Voroshilo. My grandfather is still alive, so in the village they call him Grandfather Voroshilo.”

DURING THE CIVIL WAR

After the February Revolution of 1917, he was a member of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, a delegate to the Seventh (April) All-Russian Conference and the Sixth Congress of the RSDLP(b).

From March 1917 - Chairman of the Lugansk Bolshevik Committee, from August - Chairman of the Lugansk Council and City Duma (until September 1917)

In November 1917, during the days of the October Revolution, Voroshilov was a commissar of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee (for city administration). Together with F. E. Dzerzhinsky, he worked on organizing the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK).

At the beginning of March 1918, Voroshilov organized the First Lugansk Socialist Detachment, which defended the city of Kharkov from German-Austrian troops.

During the Civil War - commander of the Tsaritsyn group of forces, deputy commander and member of the Military Council of the Southern Front, commander of the 10th Army (October 3 - December 18, 1918)

There he became close to I. Stalin and two more Ukrainians were there - G. Kulik and S. Timoshenko

People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (January - June 1919), commander of the Kharkov Military District, commander of the 14th Army and the internal Ukrainian Front.

He could not be denied courage and bravery.

Voroshilov was more suitable than anyone else for the fight in Ukraine. He was an opponent of the Germans, an opponent of Petliura and a supporter of the sovereignty of Ukraine.

An interesting aspect from his personal life.

29-year-old Voroshilov met his wife, exiled Socialist-Revolutionary Golda Grobman, in the settlement of Kholmogory, where he was sent at the beginning of the 20th century by the Russian police for repeated escapes from prison.

According to his recollections, it was an extremely happy time.

The archives of the Higher Party School preserved a biography written by Golda in her own hand:

“I, Golda Davidovna Grobman, was born in 1887 into a Jewish family. My father David Leibovich Grobman was a commission agent, or rather, did not have any specific occupation. He was ill for many years and died in 1910. The family lived in poverty, and the mother often helped out by serving the tenants. In 1897 I entered school in Odessa, from which I graduated in 1902.

After graduating from college, I went to a ladies' dress workshop, but soon began sewing for customers at home on a daily basis. In 1904 she began to take part in the revolutionary movement. From 1906 to 1907 she was arrested twice...”

Before meeting Voroshilov, Golda Grobman met with another famous Bolshevik, Avel Enukidze.

In practically photographs of Voroshilov from Stalin, one feature is clearly visible - he always tried to stand next to Stalin, closer than anyone else... emphasizing his position

Which, by the way, was not noticed by Stalin’s other associates

Ukrainian nationalist Voroshilov to the left of Stalin, Russian nationalist Malenkov to the right of Stalin

Column Hall of the House of Unions. Funeral of Zhdanov. In the guard of honor are Malenkov, Voroshilov, Stalin. 1948.

The role of the Ukrainian Voroshilov is purely symbolic. Now the pro-Russian group of G. Malenkov has power

IN FINNISH AND DOMESTIC

He showed himself very poorly in both companies.

The Finnish war was clearly a failure and he was replaced from the post of commander to another Ukrainian - Tymoshenko

The results of the Finnish campaign were considered in April 1940 at an extended meeting of the Main Military Council.

At this meeting, L. Z. Mehlis spoke a lot and quite sharply about the mistakes of the People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov.

Decisions were made aimed at strengthening the combat capability of the Red Army. Unofficially, Stalin gave instructions to rehabilitate and release some of the repressed Red Army commanders. At the same time, a decision was made to relieve Voroshilov from his duties as People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR.

S.K. Timoshenko was appointed to this post. During the defense of Tsaritsyn, Timoshenko commanded a regiment; in the First Cavalry Army he was a division commander. After the death of I.E. Yakir, Timoshenko headed the Kiev Military District, and from January 1940 he commanded troops on the Soviet-Finnish front.

In order to somehow soften the blow to Voroshilov’s prestige, he was awarded the Order of Lenin and appointed Deputy Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars.

In February 1941, the name of Voroshilov was given to the Academy of the General Staff. However, his real influence in the party and military hierarchy has clearly diminished.

During the Great Patriotic War, Marshal of the Soviet Union K. E. Voroshilov was a member of the State Defense Committee (GKO) with its formation on June 30, 1941, and from July 10, 1941, Commander-in-Chief of the North-Western Direction.

The general results of his leadership can be summarized as follows:

1. The Baltic states are occupied by the Wehrmacht

2. The Wehrmacht came close to Leningrad and the capture of the city became almost a done deal.

3. The Baltic fleet is destroyed

There is correspondence between Zhdanov-Voroshilov and Stalin during the critical days of September 1941.

Stalin accused Voroshilov of not using resources to protect the city and not reporting the state of affairs

In the end, Voroshilov was removed from command and sent to lead the rear...in his place they sent a Russian, G.K. Zhukov

He became the first Ukrainian to lose trust

AFTER THE WAR

After the war, Voroshilov was almost completely removed from important government decisions.

Now Voroshilov was put in charge of the Bureau of Culture under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. This Bureau was in charge of the activities of the country's theaters. Committee for Cinematography, book publishing.

In Voroshilov’s office in the Kremlin one could now meet not generals, but directors, directors of large publishing houses, and some artists. Of course, the main cultural issues were also being resolved today apart from Voroshilov.

Stalin not only alienated Voroshilov from himself, but repeatedly expressed to him in the presence of other members of the Central Committee political

So at one of the Politburo meetings after the war, the question of ways to develop the Soviet Navy was discussed.

This was an extended meeting to which the commanders of the main fleets were invited. As usual, Stalin invited everyone present to speak out.

Voroshilov's opinion, however, did not coincide with the opinion of the majority.

Concluding the debate, Stalin not only rejected Voroshilov’s proposals, but at the same time

“I don’t understand why Comrade Voroshilov wants to weaken the Soviet Navy.”

Stalin repeated this phrase two more times.

After the meeting, all its participants went, at Stalin’s invitation, to watch the film “City Lights,” which Stalin had already seen many times.

When the lights came on after the end of the film, Stalin turned around and, seeing Voroshilov sitting alone, suddenly stood up and, approaching, put his hand on his shoulder.

Deputy Navy Admiral of the USSR Fleet I.S. Isakov, who was present at this Politburo meeting, wrote down his impressions immediately upon arriving home.

Often he was not invited to Politburo meetings.

Nevertheless, in 1952, Voroshilov chaired some meetings of the 19th Party Congress and closed this congress with a short speech (Stalin spoke after the formal closing of the congress).

Voroshilov was elected to the expanded Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee and to the Bureau of the Presidium of nine people.

CONCLUSION

Marshal of the USSR Kliment Voroshilov does not in any way fit the image of a “bloody executioner” or a talented marshal or an impeccable patriot.

He perfectly remembered V.I. Lenin’s unequivocal promise to give independence to Ukraine and probably counted on this.

But years passed, and his beloved Ukraine did not gain independence, and the next one who gave “guarantees” was Hitler....so to think what these very Leningrad oddities of Voroshilov were.

Stalin probably understood this and perhaps suspected him of something and removed him from the leadership of the country

In this case, Stalin’s hint at the post-war meeting on fleet issues is understandable. He warned him...