Attempt on Lenin. Fanny Kaplan. Secrets of History

History has shown countless times that any political leader who lingers for a long time in power and propagates radical revolutions, revolutions and changes, sooner or later becomes a target for assassination attempts on the part of opponents who do not agree with the chosen course. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov - the world-famous, legendary leader of the revolution, was no exception, like Hitler, Stalin, Pinochet and other odious historical figures. His life was repeatedly infringed upon by those who disagreed with the chosen political course and the way of its implementation.

What made Kaplan famous?

The attempt on Lenin, which took place in 1918, although it was unsuccessful, was widely publicized. This incident is described in many history textbooks, and as a prime culprit there is a certain Mrs. Kaplan, a 28-year-old terrorist. The unsuccessful attempt on Lenin's life resulted in the girl being caught and executed three days after the incident. But many historians doubt that Kaplan could come up with everything and organize independently. To date, the circle of those who probably could have been involved in the assassination, is greatly expanded. However, the very personality of Fanny Kaplan is of great interest to both professional historians and ordinary people.

Lenin: a short biography

The man who became the leader of the revolutionary movement and created by his political activity the most powerful support, thanks to which the revolution of 1917 in Russia was realized, was born in 1870. He was born in the city of Simbirsk. His elder brother, Alexander, was opposed to the tsarist regime. In 1987, he participated in an unsuccessful attempt on Alexander III. This fact strongly influenced Vladimir's future political position.

After graduating from a local school, Ulyanov-Lenin decided to enroll in the Faculty of Law at Kazan University. It is there that his active social activities begin. He strongly supports the "Narodnaya Volya" circle, which at that time was officially banned by the authorities. A student of Volodya Lenin also becomes an active participant in any student riots. Brief biography shows that studying at the university ends in the fact that he is expelled without the rights of restoration and assigns the status of the "unreliable person" that was widespread at that time.

Stage of formation of a political idea

After being expelled from the university, he returns to Kazan. In 1888 Ulyanov-Lenin became a member of one of the Marxist circles. His political consciousness is finally formed after studying the works of Engels, Plekhanov and Marx.

Under the impression of studied works, Lenin, whose revolution seemed to be the only possible way to end the tsarist regime, is gradually changing its political views. Of the clearly Narodnik, they become Social-Democratic.

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov begins to develop his own political model of the state, which in time will become known as Leninism. Approximately in this period, he begins to actively prepare for the revolution and is looking for one-man and assistants in the implementation of a coup. In the period from 1893 to 1895 gg. He actively publishes his scientific works, in which he describes the need for a new, socialist order.

A young activist is launching a powerful activity against the tsarist autocracy, for which in 1897 he was sent into exile for a year. Contrary to all prohibitions and restrictions, serving his sentence, he continues his activities. Being in exile, Ulyanov officially signs with his civic wife - Krupskaya.

Revolutionary period

In 1898, the landmark first congress of the Social-Democratic Party was held. This meeting was held secretly. It was headed by Lenin, and, despite the fact that only 9 people took part in it, it is believed that it was the beginning of the changes in the country. Thanks to this first congress, in almost 20 years, the revolution of 1917 in Russia took place.

In the period 1905-1907, when the first massive attempt was made to overthrow the tsar from the throne, Ulyanov was on the territory of Switzerland, but also from there collaborated with the Russian revolutionaries. For a short time he even managed to return to Petersburg and lead the revolutionaries. At the end of 1905, Vladimir Ilyich found himself in Finland, where he met Stalin.

Rise to power

Next time Lenin returned to Russia only in the fateful year of 1917. He immediately becomes the leader of another outbreak of uprising. After the long-awaited coup d'etat was accomplished, the whole power of governing the country passes into the hands of Ulyanov and his Bolshevik party.

Since the king was eliminated, the country needed a new government. It became the Council of People's Commissars, which Lenin successfully headed. Having come to power, he naturally begins to carry out reforms, which for some were very painful. Among them - the NEP, the replacement of Christianity with a new, single "faith" - communism. They created the Red Army, which participated in the Civil War until 1921.

The first steps of the new government were often hard and repressive. The civil war that broke out against this background continued until almost 1922. She was terrible and really bloody. Opponents and those who disagreed with the arrival of the Soviet authorities understood that it would not be possible to get rid of such a leader as Vladimir Ilyich, and began to prepare an attempt on Lenin.

A number of unsuccessful attempts

Attempts to eliminate Ulyanov from power forcibly were made repeatedly. In the period from 1918 to 1919 and in subsequent years, Lenin tried to kill several times. The first attempt was carried out shortly after the Bolsheviks acquired power, namely 01/01/1918. On this day about half past seven in the evening the car in which Ulyanov was traveling tried to shoot.

By chance in this trip Lenin was not alone. He was accompanied by Maria Ulyanova, as well as the famous representative of the Swiss Social Democrats - Fritz Platten. This serious attempt on Lenin was unsuccessful, since after the first shot was heard, Platten ducked Vladimir Ilich's head with his hand. In this case, Fritz himself was wounded, and the leader of the Soviet revolution did not suffer at all. Despite the long search for the guilty, the terrorists were never found. Only after many years, a certain I. Shakhovskoy admitted that he acted as the organizer of this attempt. Being at that time in exile, he financed the terrorist act and allocated for its preparation a colossal at that time amount - almost half a million rubles.

The unsuccessful coup

After the approval of the power of the Soviets, it became clear to all opponents that the new regime can not be overthrown while its main ideologist, Lenin, is alive. The assassination attempt of 1918, organized by the Union of St. George Cavaliers, failed, without even having begun. On one of the January days in Sovnarkom, a man named Spiridonov addressed himself, who introduced himself as one of the St. George knights. He said that his organization had entrusted him with a special mission - to track down and kill Lenin. According to the soldier, for this he was promised 20 thousand rubles.

After the interrogation of Spiridonov, the Chekists ascertained the location of the central apartment of the Union of St. George Cavaliers and visited it with a search. There were found revolvers, explosives, and thanks to this fact, the truthfulness of Spiridonov's words is beyond doubt.

Attempt to rob the leader

Speaking about the numerous attempts on the life of Ulyanov, it is necessary to recall one strange incident that happened to Vladimir Ilyich in 1919. Official details of this story were kept in Lubyanka in case No. 240266, and it was strictly forbidden to disclose its details. In the people this event became known as the robbery of Lenin, and many facts in it are still not completely understood. There are several versions of what happened that night. In the winter of 1919, accompanied by his sister and driver, Lenin was on his way to Sokolniki. According to one version, there, in the hospital, was his wife, who had an incurable at that time disease - autoimmune thyroiditis. It was just to her that Lenin went to the hospital on January 19.

According to another version, he went to Sokolniki on a children's tree to congratulate children on Christmas Eve. At the same time, it may seem strange that the main ideologist of Soviet communism and atheism decided to congratulate the children on Christmas, in addition, on January 19. But many biographers explain this confusion by the fact that a year ago Russia switched to the Gregorian calendar, and all the dates were shifted by 13 days. Therefore Lenin went to the Christmas tree in fact not 19, but on the 6th, on the eve of Christmas.

The car with the leader was going to Sokolniki and when suddenly armed people of apparently gangster appearance tried to stop him, no one in the car had any doubts that another attempt on Lenin was taking place. For this reason, the driver - S. Gil - tried not to stop and slip through armed criminals. Ironically, Vladimir Ilyich, who at that time was absolutely confident in his authority and that ordinary gangsters would not dare to touch him, having learned that Lenin himself was before them, ordered the driver to stop.

Ilyich was forcibly dragged out of the cab of the car, pointing two guns at him, the robbers took his wallet, ID and browning. Then they ordered the driver to leave the car, plunged into the car and drove away. Despite the fact that Lenin called his name, because of the loud carburetor working in the car, the bandits did not hear him. They thought that before them was some businessman Levin. The robbers came to their senses only with time, when they began to examine the seized documents.

A certain gang of thieves Yakov Koshelkov led a gang of bandits. This evening the company planned to rob a large mansion and an apartment on the Arbat. To accomplish the planned gang, a car was needed, and they decided to just go out into the street, catch the first car they met and steal it. It so happened that the first on their way they met the car of Vladimir Ilyich.

Only after committing robbery, having read carefully the stolen documents, they understood who they had robbed, and since there was not much time after the incident, they decided to return. There was a version that Purses, realizing that before him was Lenin, wanted to return and kill him. According to another version, the bandit wanted to take the leader hostage, then to exchange it for his friends-prisoners who were in Butyrskaya prison. But these plans were not destined to come true. In a short time, Lenin and the driver got to the local council on foot, informed about the Cheka incident, and in a matter of minutes Vladimir Ilyich was guarded. Koshelkova managed to catch June 21, 1919. During the detention, he was wounded with a carbine and died soon.

The Legendary Kaplan

The most famous attempt on Lenin, whose date falls on August 30, 1918, occurred after his speech at the Moscow Michelson Plant. Three gunshots were fired, and this time the bullets hit Ilyich. According to the official version, Fani Kaplan made accurate shots, which is called only "terrorist-eserovka". This attempt caused many to get agitated for Lenin's life, since the injuries were really serious. History Kaplan remembered as a terrorist who shot at the leader. But today, when the biography of Lenin and his entourage is studied carefully, many facts from the history of that attempt seem strange. The question arises whether Kaplan really shot.

A Brief Historical Reference

This girl was born in Ukraine in the Volyn region in 1890. Her father worked as a teacher in a Jewish school, and until the age of 16, the daughter wore his name - Roydman. He was a deeply religious person, very tolerant of the authorities and could not think that one of his daughters would ever choose the path of terror.

Kaplan's parents emigrated to America after a certain time, and she changed her surname, and then began to use another's passport. Left unattended, the girl joins the Bolsheviks and begins to participate in the revolutionary struggle. Most often she was engaged in the transportation of subject literature. In addition, young Kaplan had to transport and more serious things, for example, bombs. During one such trip she was detained by the tsar's guard, and since at that moment Fanny was a minor, she was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of being shot.

Considering Kaplan as the main person in the attempt on Lenin, it is important to note the fact that the girl had very serious vision problems (which later will force many researchers to doubt whether the accurate shots could be produced by the hand of a half-blind, short-sighted woman). According to one of the existing versions, she began to lose her eyesight after she suffered from the explosion of a homemade bomb, which she made with her civil husband in a clandestine apartment. According to another version, Fanny began to fall blind as a result of a wound in the head, which she received before her arrest. The problem with the eyes was so serious that Kaplan, while serving hard labor, even wanted to commit suicide.

After an unexpected amnesty in 1917, she received the long-awaited freedom and went to one of the Crimean sanatoriums to improve her health, and then went to surgery in Kharkov. After that, her vision was allegedly restored.

Being in exile, Fanny became very close to the imprisoned SRs. Gradually, her views changed to Social-Democratic. The news of the October coup she took critically, and the further actions of the Bolsheviks led her to disappointment. Later, when testifying under investigation, Kaplan would say that the idea to kill Lenin as a traitor to the revolution had visited her in the Crimea.

Returning to Moscow, she meets with the SRs and discusses with them the possibility of an attempt.

Strange Attack

On the fateful day of August 30, 1918, M. Uritsky, the chairman of the Cheka, was killed in Petrograd. Lenin was informed about this one of the first, he was strongly recommended to abandon the planned performance at the Mikhelson plant. But he ignored this warning and went to the workers with a speech without any protection.

After the end of his speech, Lenin was going to the car, when suddenly three shots were heard from the crowd. In the beginning of the chaos Kaplan was detained, as someone from the crowd cried out that she had shot. The woman was arrested, and at first she denied her communion to the incident, and then, during another interrogation in the Cheka, suddenly confessed. During the brief investigation, she did not surrender any of the possible accomplices and claimed that she had arranged the attempt on her own.

The big suspicion is that in addition to recognizing Fanny herself, there is no longer a single witness who would have seen that she was shooting. At the time of the detention of weapons with her also was not. Only five days later the pistol was brought to the Cheka by one of the plant's workers who allegedly found him in the factory yard. Bullets from Lenin's body were extracted not immediately, but in a few years. It was then that it turned out that their caliber does not quite match the type of pistol taken as evidence. The main witness in this case, the driver Ilyich, at first said that he saw how the woman's hand fired, but he changed his testimony during the investigation about 5 times. Kaplan herself admitted that she was shooting around 8 pm, but the Pravda newspaper published information that the attempt on the leader was committed at 21:00. The driver said that the attempt was about tentatively at 23:00.

These and other inaccuracies compel many to think today that in fact this legendary attempt was staged by the Bolsheviks themselves. The summer of 1918 was marked by a noticeable crisis, and the authorities lost their shaky authority. Such an attempt on the leader made it possible to unleash a bloody terror against the Socialist-Revolutionaries, thus starting the Civil War.

Kaplan was executed very quickly, she was shot on September 3, and Lenin lived safely until 1924.