As Marshal Blucher paid with his life for insufficient zeal

After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, lists of innocent victims of Stalin's terror were published in the "secret report". The conclusion arose that as a result of the violation of the Leninist norms of party and country leadership, many talented generals died whose managerial skills in the Great Patriotic War could become invaluable. The names of Gamarnik, Tukhachevsky, Yakir were mentioned. Marshal Blucher, a hero of the Civil War , also suffered .

The name is not Russian, although its owner is a peasant son from the Yaroslavl province. The fact is that in the era of Napoleonic wars there was such a Prussian field marshal who played a significant role in defeating Bonaparte's army at Waterloo. The landlord, the owner of the great-grandfather of the future commander, gave one of his peasants this nickname because of the heroic participation of the one in the Crimean War. The great-grandson was born either in 1889, or in 1890.

Vasily Blyukher, when he grew up, worked in St. Petersburg, first in running errands at the store, then at the car-building plant. He was distinguished by his restless disposition, early joined the class struggle and even was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

Since the beginning of the World War, Blucher was mobilized, but did not immediately arrive at the front. At first he served in the Kremlin guard, and when he got to the front line, he distinguished himself in battles, for which he was awarded a medal and two George crosses. In a non-commissioned officer, after receiving a serious wound, Vasily was commissioned in full and, working at the shipyards in Sormovo, joined the RSDLP.

The career that Blucher Vasily Konstantinovich made during the Civil War is astonishing. The biography, which became accessible to a wide circle of readers after 1956, contains scant information that he, starting with the modest position of the clerk of the 102nd reserve, has for a few months "grown" to a member of the Samara Revolutionary Committee.

Taking an active part in the Civil War, he became the most awarded order of the Red Army. On his chest were as many as four "Red Banner", so many did not have anyone.

The Far East in 1921 became the place where Marshal Blucher reached the peak of his career. Numerous armed clashes with the Japanese militarists, White Chinese and whiteguard military formations operating from the territory of Manchuria, usually ended for the red commander successfully. Actually, he was awarded the rank of marshal for the victory of the troops of the Far Eastern District in the battles for the KVZhD.

Then there was a trial of Tukhachevsky and other "conspirators" (Eideman, Uborevich, Feldman, Putnaya and Korka), in which Marshal Blyukher took an active part together with Ulrich and Budyonny. Honored hero of the Civil War stigmatized traitors and traitors, not realizing that soon he will take their place. Having proved his loyalty, he returned to his official duties, but the conflict on Lake Hassan in 1938 and his results alerted JV Stalin. Formally, everything was fine, the aggressor was defeated, but certain circumstances reported by "who needs to" to Moscow revealed a number of shortcomings in the management of the troops.

Stalin learned that Marshal Blucher was drinking a lot, and not tea at all. In the work he took a passive position, he does not do much business, he settles personal problems more and more. In those harsh times, managers of this rank were not sent to retirement. It was much easier to accuse an unwanted warlord of criminal negligence or espionage, which was done.

Marshal Blucher was in some ways lucky. His health, undermined by injuries and really excessive consumption of alcohol, could not stand Lefort torture, he died in 1938, on November 9, without waiting for the trial. The sentence was declared to him on March 10, 1939, posthumously.