In the Soviet Union under Stalin’s repressions came as ordinary citizens and prominent figures of science and art.
Under Stalin, political arrests were the norm, and very often, the case was fabricated and was based on the denunciations, without any other evidence. Remember the Soviet celebrities who has experienced the horror of repression.
Ariadna Efron
A translator of prose and poetry, memoirs, artist, art critic, poet. The daughter of Sergei Efron and Marina Tsvetaeva’s the first family returned to the USSR.
After returning to the USSR, worked in the editorial of the Soviet journal Revue de Moscou (French); wrote articles, essays, reports, doing illustrations, translations.
On 27 August 1939 was arrested by the NKVD and sentenced under article 58-6 (Espionage) to 8 years in labor camps, under torture, was forced to testify against his father.
George Zhzhenov, people’s artist of the USSR
During the filming of “Komsomolsk” (1938) George Zhzhenov travelled by train to Komsomolsk-on-Amur. During the trip, on the train, met with an American official, who was traveling to Vladivostok to meet business delegations.
This meeting was noticed by the workers of the cinema that gave rise to the charges Zhzhenov in espionage activities. July 4, 1938, he was arrested on charges of espionage and sentenced to 5 years in labor camps.
Transported to Kolyma November 5, 1939.
In 1949, the burning was again arrested and exiled to Norilsk camp (Norillag), where in 1954 he returned to Leningrad in 1955 and was fully rehabilitated.
Alexander Vvedensky
Russian poet and playwright from the Association OBERIU, together with the other members of which were arrested in late 1931.
Vvedensky received a denunciation that he made a toast to the memory of Nicholas II. There is also a version that the reason for the arrest was the performance Vvedensky one of the friendly parties “of the former anthem”.
He was expelled in 1932 in the Kursk, then lived in Vologda, in Borisoglebsk. In 1936, the poet, was permitted to return to Leningrad.
27 Sep 1941 Alexander Vvedensky was arrested on charges of counter-revolutionary propaganda. One of the latest versions, in connection with the approach of German troops to Kharkov was escorted to the train to Kazan, but in a way 19 Dec 1941 died of pleurisy.
Osip Mandelstam
One of the greatest Russian poets of the XX century in November 1933, wrote anti-Stalin epigram “We live under him not sensing the country…” (“Kremlin Highlander”), which reads one and a half dozens of people. Boris Pasternak this act called suicide.
Someone from the audience told on Mandelstam, and on the night of 13 to 14 may 1934 he was arrested and sent into exile in Cherdyn (Perm Krai).
After a short release in the night of 1 to 2 may 1938 Osip was arrested again and taken to the Butyrka prison.
August 2 Special meeting of the NKVD sentenced Mandelstam to five years imprisonment in a forced labor camp. On 8 September he was sent by stage to the far East.
27 Dec 1938, Osip, died in a transit camp. Body Mandelstam until spring along with the other dead lay unburied. Then the whole “winter pile” was buried in a mass grave.
Vsevolod Meyerhold
Theorist and practitioner of theatrical grotesque, the author of “Theatrical October” and Creator of the actor’s system, called “biomechanics”, also became a victim of repression.
20 June 1939, Meyerhold was arrested in Leningrad; at the same time in his apartment in Moscow was searched. In the search Protocol recorded the complaint of his wife 3инаиды Reich, protesting against the methods of one of the NKVD agents. Soon (July 15) she was killed by unidentified persons.
“…I here the beat is sick shestidesyatiletiya the old man laid on the floor face down, rubber strap, beaten on the soles of the feet and back when sitting on a chair, the same rubber beaten on his legs […] the pain was such that she seemed to be sick sensitive places of the Lily feet the boiling water…” he wrote.
After three weeks of interrogation accompanied by torture, Meyerhold signed the necessary corollary evidence, and the jury sentenced the Director to be shot. 2 February 1940 the sentence was carried out. In 1955, the Supreme court of the USSR posthumously rehabilitated trains.
Nikolai Gumilev
Russian Silver age poet, the founder of the school of Acmeism, novelist, translator and literary critic did not hide his religious and political views — he openly baptized in the churches, said about their beliefs. So, on one of the poetry evenings he question from the audience: “What are your political beliefs?” answered: “I am a convinced monarchist”.
3 August 1921 Gumilev was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the conspiracy “Petrograd militant organization, V. N. Tagantsev. Few days comrades tried to rescue the other, but in spite of this, soon the poet was shot.
Nikolay Zabolotsky
Poet and translator March 19, 1938 he was arrested and then convicted on charges of anti-Soviet propaganda.
As the indictment of the case appeared zlopyhaniya critical articles and defamatory review “review” isagawa creature and ideological orientation of his work. From death he was saved by the fact that, despite the torture during interrogation, he denied the charge in creating a counterrevolutionary organization.
The term he was serving from February 1939 to may 1943 in the vostoklaga in the area of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, then in the system Altalaha Kulunda steppe.
Sergei Korolev
27 Jun 1938, Korolev was arrested on charges of sabotage. He was tortured, according to some, during which he broke both jaws.
Future aircraft designer was sentenced to 10 years in the camps. He will go to the Kolyma gold mine, Maldek. Nor starvation, nor scurvy, nor intolerable conditions of existence are unable to be broken Queen their first radio-controlled missile it will calculate directly into the wall of the barracks.
In may 1940 Korolev returns to Moscow. In Magadan he got on a steamship “Indigirka” (because of the employment of all places). It saved his life: following from Magadan to Vladivostok, the ship sank off the island of Hokkaido during the storm.
After 4 months of constructor again sentenced to 8 years and sent to a special prison where he works under the direction of Andrei Tupolev.
In prison, the inventor spent a year, as the USSR had before the war to build up military power.
Andrei Tupolev
The legendary Creator of the plane, too, was hit by a car Stalinist repression.
Tupolev, which over a lifetime have developed over one hundred types of aircraft that have set 78 world records, 21 Oct 1937, he was arrested.
He was accused of sabotage, of belonging to a counterrevolutionary organization and in transferring the drawings of Soviet aircraft to foreign intelligence.
So the great scientist backfired a working visit to the United States. Andrei Nikolaevich was sentenced to 15 years in the camps.
Tupolev was released in July 1941. He created and headed one of the main sharashka of the time — TSKB-29 in Moscow. Fully rehabilitated Andrei Tupolev was on 9 April 1955.
The great designer died in 1972. The main design bureaus of the country bears his name. The aircraft “Tu” are still one of the most popular in modern aviation.
Nikolay Likhachev
The famous Russian historian, palaeographer and critic, at his own expense Likhachev has created a unique historical and cultural Museum, which was then donated to the state.
Academician Likhachev was arrested January 28, 1930. Sentence — the reference to 5 years in Astrakhan.
Of the USSR Academy of Likhachev excluded, from work, of course, was fired.
Verdict not a word was said about the confiscation, but the GPU took absolutely everything of value, including books and manuscripts belonging to the family of academician.
In Astrakhan, the family was literally starving. In 1933, the Likhachevs returned from Leningrad. The work of Nikolai Petrovich did not take anywhere, even as an ordinary researcher.
Nikolai Vavilov
At the time of his arrest in August 1940, the great biologist was a member of the Academies in Prague, Edinburgh, and Halle, of course, in the Soviet Union.
In 1942, when wanted to feed the entire country Vavilov died of starvation in prison, in absentia was a member of the Royal society of London.
The investigation of the case of Nikolai Ivanovich lasted 11 months. He had to endure interrogation about 400 for a total of about 1700 hours.
In between interrogations, the scientist wrote in prison a book “History of agriculture” (World resources of agriculture and their use”), but all written by Vavilov in prison, was destroyed by the investigator — Lieutenant of the NKVD — “of no value”.
For “anti-Soviet activity” Nikolay Ivanovich Vavilov was sentenced to death. At the last moment the sentence was commuted 20 years ‘ imprisonment.
Great scientist died of starvation in the Saratov prison on January 26, 1943. He was buried in a common grave with the other dead prisoners. The exact place of burial is unknown.
