When Stalin died, the country grieved

Over six decades have passed since the day Stalin died, and the mystery of his death still haunts historians. Numerous publications and memories on this subject are so contradictory that they are rather confusing than clear anything.

Despite the abundance of eyewitness accounts, the attitude towards them causes quite reasonable mistrust. Conclusions made on the basis of political interests may also be correct or formed on the basis of carefully selected testimony, many of which are probably fictitious.

However, there are documentary confirmations of some events related to the day when Stalin died, and their veracity is beyond doubt.

On the last day of February, the "host" was visited by four members of the Politburo: Bulganin, Khrushchev, Malenkov and Beria. What was discussed, it is not known, but, apparently, it was not a pleasant pastime for old friends-Bolsheviks for a cup of tea. The actions of the Secretary General at the time of the Nineteenth Congress, clearly aimed at ousting the "long-standing" members of the Politburo, numerous arrests and the mysterious deaths of high-ranking officials and military officers led to the darkest thoughts.

It is possible that the old party comrades tried to convince the leader of his personal devotion and usefulness. As far as they managed to do this, it is not known, but the fact is that the security guards found Joseph Vissarionovich lying on the floor of the cottage the next day. He did not show signs of life. All the medical assistance consisted in transferring the insensible body to the sofa, and even in a telephone call to the Kremlin.

When decades later some historians tried to answer the question about what Stalin had died from, the conclusion suggested itself: the elderly person became ill, no one helped him. Whether there was a poisoning, whether it was a stroke, never to find out, and the doctor who performed the autopsy died shortly.

The fact that the father of all peoples can no longer stand up, politburo, to put it mildly, guessed. On March 4, the Soviet people announced the grave illness that had befallen him. If the probability of recovery were not zero, no one would decide to do this.

When Stalin died, a message was broadcast on the radio containing medical details, including a reference to the notorious Cheyne-Stokes breathing. The goal was to convince the public of the proper care shown in relation to the leader. In fact, Kremlin doctors, who could provide qualified assistance, were on a "business trip", they rode in freight cars to the northeast. By the way, they were released almost immediately, at the beginning of April, and recognized as absolutely innocent.

After Stalin died, the policy of the USSR began to change abruptly. The Korean War was over , diplomatic relations with Israel were restored, the rehabilitation of political prisoners began, amnesties were held. Of course, the nature of these metamorphoses did not speak of the fact that the nature of communism has become different. The general idea has been preserved, the methods have become more rational.

On the day Stalin died, the inevitable happened. Having got rid of the hated leader, the remaining members of the Politburo came close to the question of the next leader, and clung to a ruthless battle.