Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
What kind of person is Yagoda? As the actual leader of the Cheka in the late 1920s of the Soviet Union, saying he was a good person would probably be unbelievable to anyone. During this time, the political security agency he led conducted multiple purges.
After the assassination of Kirov in 1934, the famous "Great Purge" movement began. Yagoda, who was in charge of the security department, naturally became the first person directly responsible for the anti-revolutionary movement (his successors were Yezhov and Beria). That month, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and others were arrested by the security department under Yagoda on suspicion of "plotting to murder Kirov."
In January of the following year, Zinoviev and Kamenev were put on trial. During this trial, Yagoda swiftly executed or exiled many people, but Zinoviev and Kamenev were only sentenced to ten years in prison. It wasn't until the first public trial in Moscow in 1936 that Yagoda sentenced the two to death, and on August 25 of the same year, supervised the execution of Zinoviev and Kamenev.
Although a large number of people were arrested in the early stages of the purge by Yagoda, including his own niece, it should be noted that many innocent individuals were later released, which was something that neither Yezhov nor Beria could achieve.
This indicates that Yagoda's actions were motivated on one hand by the need to protect the party and the Soviet regime, and to combat counter-revolutionaries. On the other hand, he was also under political pressure to carry out the purge due to having his own people in positions of power, and there was not much personal ambition for power involved in his directives. This sets him apart from his successors.
Therefore, what is often seen is that Yagoda walks a tightrope between repression and protection. In this regard, Stalin commented in a telegram to the members of the Politburo on September 25, 1936: " Yagoda has clearly failed to excel in exposing the work of the Trotsky-Zinoviev group. The State Political Directorate has delayed this work for four years."
So, from a more objective perspective, Yagoda is a person with a thunderous and compassionate heart. But for someone in his position, a leader needs a person with thunderous methods and an iron heart. Stalin quickly replaced this man, who was not effective in counter-revolution.
When the cunning rabbit dies, the stool pigeon is cooked. Within two years, Yagoda was framed and executed on charges of colluding with the Bukharin group.
Regarding whether Yagoda truly colluded with the Bukharin group in history, some viewpoints believe that it did exist.
Some views believe that it is a fabrication and a false accusation.
Other views believe that Stalin instructed Yagoda to approach the Bukharin group insincerely, and after eliminating Bukharin's influence, made it appear true. Using this evidence, Yagoda was also sent to prison.
In any case, at least in this dimension, Yagoda did not receive such an order from Stalin, and he currently has no collusion with Bukharin.
Yagoda did not immediately return to his residence after parting ways with Bukharin. He walked out of the Kremlin and continued along the red wall.
He used to like to stroll around Red Square, but now he plans to go and pay his respects at Lenin's mausoleum. Whenever Yagoda has a difficult decision to make, he comes here to seek guidance from his mentor, hoping for life advice. Lenin's mausoleum is a famous building in Moscow, located on the west side of Red Square, and is constructed of red granite and black labradorite.
proletariat revolutionary mentor Lenin's body is placed in a crystal casket inside the building.
"Please show your identification."
The guard at the door stopped Yagoda, as Lenin's mausoleum was not open at the time and required identification for entry.
They of this level do not know that the bald man in front of them is the head of Cheka.
However, after showing his identification in Yagoda, the guard who took the identification glanced at the name, his hand trembled, and he almost dropped the identification.
"Salute to you, comrade of Yagoda."
The security guard, with a mournful face, said that he was trembling all over and afraid that the rumored cannibal demon king in front of him would capture and dismember him in prison.
"Can I go in now?"
Yagoda ignored the middle-aged man's fear, as he encountered prisoners looking at him with such eyes every day, and had become immune to it.
"Of course you can."
The security guard came to his senses and watched as the deputy director swaggered into the Lenin Mausoleum, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
"This is really unbelievable."
The security guard on duty with him exclaimed in shock, "This is not just seeing a ghost, it's even scarier than seeing a ghost." With a heavy weight lifted from his heart, the middle-aged man immediately burst into curses.
"I will apply to switch to the morning shift tomorrow. Damn it, who can handle seeing this devil in the middle of the night."
······
Yagoda Walking through the gate, he slowly moved forward along the passage of the palace. The road was not long, and soon he arrived at his destination.
Although it has been three years, the memories of Yagoda are still very clear. In my impression, he returned to his home country in 1917 to participate in the October Revolution and was part of the team that stormed the Winter Palace. On that night, the Romanov dynasty collapsed, and the new Soviet regime was established in Moscow.
After that, he has been following Lenin to build Communism together in the Soviet Union.
Although compared to the great mentor's achievements, Yagoda seems insignificant.
But he has always been proud of his participation in the three-year civil war, winning against the White Army and foreign intervention forces, well, the Black Army is certainly not included in the credit book.
In the future plans of Yagoda, one should always follow Lenin as a mentor to build Communism. In his mind, the only person who can lead the Soviet Union is himself.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. The remnants of the Tsar and the bourgeoisie were not willing to give up and quickly launched a fierce counterattack against the newly established Soviet regime, making several assassination attempts on important leaders of the Soviet Union, including Lenin.
After surviving an assassination attempt, Lenin suffered serious injuries and his health deteriorated rapidly. He soon suffered a stroke and became bedridden.
On January 21, 1924 at 6:50 am, the great leader of Communism passed away in the village of Gorki near Moscow. Yagoda personally attended Lenin's funeral and served as a guardian of the mausoleum for a considerable period of time, being familiar with all the changes that took place there. On the 25th of that year, A. Shchusev made a sketch of the mausoleum design, and on January 27, 1924, a temporary wooden structure was hastily built to house Lenin's crystal coffin.
In 1925, Lenin's tomb was rebuilt to appear more magnificent, but it still remained a wooden structure. In Yagoda's view, these things still couldn't match Lenin's contributions, as he was the great leader who created a magnificent country. "In the future, I will rebuild this place using polished red granite and black marble."
Yagoda couldn't help but shout out loud, his words echoing through the hall.
"But before that, Comrade Lenin, can you tell me what I should do?"
Yagoda stared at the body of Lenin in the crystal coffin, hoping he would open his eyes and give him an answer.
Ultimately, should one obey the highest leader's instructions to carry out a sweeping purge of comrades, helping to clear all obstacles on the country road to their control? Or should one uphold democracy within the party, supporting the existence of different voices and turning a blind eye to Bukharin's secret actions? Yagoda gazes earnestly at Comrade Lenin inside the crystal coffin, wishing so much at this moment that Lenin is just asleep.
No, he believes that Lenin has just fallen asleep and will wake up, then stand up from the crystal coffin and greet himself with a smile. Lenin is forever young in his heart and will never die. If Yagoda lived another forty years, he might sincerely agree when he hears Alexandra Nikolaevna Bakmutova's evaluation of Lenin in "The Battle Continues" created in 1974.
A young lady left the residence of Krupskaya under the cover of night. The Cheka surrounding her turned a blind eye; those who worked here had been carefully selected by the Politburo and were absolutely loyal, otherwise Stalin would not have allowed them to work here.
However, the shrewd Stalin overlooked one thing, which is that Krupskaya had also worked in Cheka.
She was one of the founders of the early Soviet intelligence agencies, and many people in later generations believe that the famous movie character Black Widow was created based on her.
Compared to her ability to turn people, Cheka's methods are just child's play.
Comment 0 Comment Count