Article d.h.s. Ganina about the role of Stalin in the defense of the city of Tsaritsyn, about how he exposed the White Guard underground and did not allow the surrender of the city and the front.

First of all, the whites' testimonies about Stalin are interesting, as well as the refutation of common tales that "white officers were drowned in barges near Tsaritsyn."
Well, Nosovich himself was a rather cunning and dodgy person who led the Reds by the nose for a long time, until Comrade Stalin crossed his path.

A few years ago in France, the author of these lines discovered a unique personal archive of a white agent in the Red Army, General Anatoly Leonidovich Nosovich (1878-1968). The officer's documents made it possible to lift the veil of secrecy over the events of the defense of Tsaritsyn in 1918 and the confrontation between the commissars led by I.V. Stalin and white underground workers at the headquarters of the North Caucasian Military District.

A.L. Nosovich (sitting second from left) and A.E. Snesarev (sitting third from left) at the front. March 1917

Tsaritsyn underground

In the spring and summer of 1918, a combat-ready Red Army was gradually created in Soviet Russia. In May 1918, a system of military districts emerged, among which was the North Caucasian. Strategically located important region, this district extended to the entire South of Russia, covering the vast territories not occupied by the Germans from the Azov-Black Sea coast and the borders of Ukraine to the Volga region. The district headquarters was in Tsaritsyn. The value of the district was exceptional. It was within its borders that armed clashes with the Don Cossacks and the Volunteer Army took place, the main front of the Civil War, the South, was born. The successes of the Whites on this front subsequently almost led to the collapse of the Bolshevik regime.

Qualified military specialists, former officers of the old army, were involved in the creation of the district administration and leadership of the troops. Thus, an experienced former general A.E. Snesarev, who later proved himself well in the Red Army. The headquarters of such a significant district inevitably attracted the attention of the enemy. On the instructions of the Moscow white underground, former General A.L. Nosovich, who occupied the most important post of chief of staff of the district. To implement his plan, Nosovich took advantage of friendly ties with Snesarev, which he had developed even before the revolution. Nosovich attracted a number of other underground officers as his assistants. First of all, the adjutant, former second lieutenant L.S. Sadkovsky and secretary, former lieutenant S.M. Kremkov.

L.S. Sadkovsky (standing) with his mother and brother

The fates of these people are like a detective. Sadkovsky fled to the Whites, then was captured by the Reds, chose the church path and became a bishop, died in 1948 in the Pskov-Caves Monastery. Kremkov stayed with the Reds, hid his underground work, was awarded the order Red Banner, made a career, later became chief of staff of the corps, was arrested in the "Spring" case, spent several years in camps, and in 1935 shot himself. For many years, the former white underground worker was in love with the famous revolutionary L.M. Reisner.

The position for assignments under Nosovich was taken by the former second lieutenant P.A. Tarasenkov. Comrade Nosovich, former Colonel V.P. Chebyshev, took over as head of the district artillery department. Came from Petrograd former captain 2nd rank P.Ya. Lokhmatov, who became Chebyshev's assistant. Another assistant to Nosovich turned out to be former Colonel A.A. Sosnitsky, who joined the organization already in Tsaritsyn. An acquaintance of Nosovich, former Colonel A.N. Kovalevsky, received the position of head of the mobilization department, but the degree of his involvement in underground work remains in question.

Snesarev suspected something was wrong. On May 18, 1918, he wrote in his diary: "In Soviet[s?] circles, the version is that Nosovich is gathering his guards[s], relatives, counter-revolutionaries ... This is a lie, and isn't he the author?" Over time, suspicions strengthened, but Snesarev did not betray his employee.

The underground workers maintained contact with Moscow with the help of couriers. Nosovich made contact with Colonel Khristich from the Serbian military mission and the French consul Charbaud, through whom he received information from the French military mission in Moscow.

The chief of staff of the district was entrusted with the task of forming five divisions. But for two and a half months he did not organize a single military unit. Seeing in the events that took place the continuation of the First World War and seeing in the Bolsheviks German agents, Nosovich led the fight against the transfer Black Sea Fleet the Germans. According to the testimony of the underground, during the period of the emergence of the Red Army, the very demand for discipline and legality introduced disorganization into the control system. Involuntary assistants were the commander of the Tsaritsyn Front I.V. Tulak and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Tsaritsyno Council Ya.Z. Erman. They, according to Nosovich, had a difficult relationship with the district headquarters, and the white agent skillfully fomented the conflict.

Nosovich’s work was as follows: “I had to not be late to bring discord and confusion by the time of the offensive, and the second was to hold out fruitful work in case the offensive was late until the last opportunity and at the right time to move from covert work at headquarters to active field work, providing direct assistance to the attackers with the help of counter-revolutionary action".

At the end of July 1918, Nosovich handed over to the Cossacks a plan to capture the village of Nizhne-Chirskaya, recommending the optimal direction of the counterattack. To organize an uprising in Tsaritsyn, a connection with the local officer underground was required. By the beginning of July, such a connection was established, it was possible to count on 500-600 officers. To arm the rebels, Chebyshev organized at the Tsaritsyn station an untouchable mobile reserve for 1000 rifles and 10-20 machine guns with ammunition.

I.V. Stalin. 1918

"Smart Commissar Dzhugashvili"

Of course, underground workers could not carry out subversive activities, remaining unexposed for a long time. Moreover, on May 31, 1918, a member of the Council of People's Commissars, People's Commissar for Nationalities I.V. was sent to Tsaritsyn. Stalin as the general head of the food business in the South of Russia, endowed with emergency powers.

The arrival of Stalin complicated the work of the underground, and subsequently led to the removal of Nosovich and his arrest. Stalin did not confine himself to food matters, but took all the questions of the defense of the South into his own hands, in connection with which a confrontation with the military could not but arise. Nosovich, in a report to the white command, noted that the work was hindered by the appearance of "the energetic and intelligent commissar Dzhugashvili, who solved my problem and, having arrested me, Kovalevsky and the entire artillery department, snatched the initiative from my hands. Stalin guessed about my work, but the general ... the situation did not give him enough material for my condemnation.

The white intelligence officer testified that the commissars' suspicions were justified: "Of course, our activities, although from the point of view of the letter of the law are quite correct, caused a lot of criticism from commanders, and especially the former Tsaritsyn leaders and, it must be confessed, that in spirit and instinct they were absolutely right. Terrible words: counter-revolutionaries and White Guards have long been uttered. Anonymous and open friendly warnings to rush and leave Tsaritsyn were not uncommon. But, I repeat, events were brewing. We had to remain at our post until the end. By the actions of [I.V.] Stalin and [S.K.] Minin, I was almost completely out of work. But their too energetic and, no doubt, against the rules established by the center, the measures and actions created strained relations between the commissariat of the North Caucasus, which, with their appearance, remained, in fact, out of work.

Indeed, having found a number of shortcomings in the work of the district military commissariat, from the second half of July 1918, Stalin and his associates, contrary to the military policy of the center, took a number of steps to eliminate the district headquarters.

As a result of Stalin's pressure, Snesarev was summoned to Moscow on July 19 to report to the Supreme Military Council, and was de facto recalled from the district. In connection with the departure of Snesarev, Nosovich became an acting director. military instructor. This made the white agent, as he wrote, "the sovereign arbiter of the fate of Tsaritsyn, remaining de jure subordinate to my commissars [K.Ya.] Zedin and [A.G.] Selivanov. During this period, I could surrender Tsaritsyn to the white forces at any given moment But I repeat ... There was not a word or a word about volunteers. And the Don command did everything not to take this necessary junction of routes and communications with the forces advancing from Siberia. "

N.A. County Commissioners Anisimov and K.Ya. Zedin were sent on long business trips. The management of operations passed to the Military Council of the district, consisting of I.V. Stalin, S.K. Minin and A.N. Kovalevsky (temporarily).

Chief of Staff of the 4th Rifle Corps S.M. Kremkov (left) and corps commander I.S. Kutyakov in Kislovodsk. October 1929

"Barge Policy"

The Military Council on August 4, 1918, "in order to improve the supply of the front" liquidated the district artillery department, and the district headquarters was also liquidated, replaced by the operational department under the Military Council. The next day, employees of the artillery department were arrested, who were placed in a floating prison on barges in the middle of the Volga. Allegations of barge sinking are fiction. After Tsaritsyn was occupied by the Whites in 1919, the Special Commission for Investigating the Atrocities of the Bolsheviks, which was under the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in the South of Russia, examined the barges and compiled detailed description these floating prisons. In particular, the difficult conditions of keeping those arrested on barges with the onset of cold weather in the autumn of 1918 were specially noted, but there was no talk of flooding.

There was a reason to arrest artillerymen. According to Nosovich, their activities can be characterized as active sabotage. White subsequently confirmed the fact of a conspiracy of gunners.

Nosovich was removed from his post, and K.E. was introduced to the Military Council of the district instead of Kovalevsky on August 4. Voroshilov. The defeat of the district military commissariat did not stop there - on August 6, the district economic department was liquidated. On August 10, 1918, Nosovich and Kovalevsky were arrested.

A.N. Kovalevsky

However, they did not hit the barge.

By this time, the center began to take measures to curb Tsaritsyn's arbitrariness. Some of the Tsaritsyn Bolsheviks also did not agree with Stalin's actions. On August 10, 1918, the Supreme Military Council decided to stop the liquidation of the district's institutions. On the spot, the line of the center was carried out by representatives of the Higher Military Inspectorate N.I. Podvoisky, as a result of whose intervention, on August 13, Nosovich and Kovalevsky were released on bail by the inspectorate. Their failure to complete tasks was attributed to sabotage local authorities and unresponsiveness of the center. The military experts were to be sent for interrogation to Balashov and further to Moscow, from where they were appointed.

On the same day, Nosovich and Kovalevsky, together with the inspection on the steamer "Groza", left for Kamyshin, which saved them.

Was Stalin right?

The Tsaritsyn arrests in August 1918 were carried out out of Stalin's desire for full power in the North Caucasus and due to distrust of the military experts. But, despite a different background, the figures of the anti-Bolshevik underground, including Nosovich himself and his employees, were under arrest. On the night of August 18, the Tsaritsyn Cheka arrested members of the underground officer organization of engineer N.P. Alekseev, with whom Nosovich had a connection (the Chekists did not know about this). At least 23 people (mostly junior officers) were shot. Had Nosovich lingered in Tsaritsyn, his fate would have been unenviable.

Often there are statements that in Tsaritsyn I.V. Stalin showed excessive cruelty, conspiracy cases were fabricated, military experts were unreasonably terrorized, and that the Tsaritsyn experience was the first test of the subsequent methods of Stalin's repressive policy. But such assessments contradict White's evidence.

The inhospitable Tsaritsyn Nosovich, who left during interrogations, confused the representatives of the Higher Military Inspectorate and did not give himself away. He denied connection with the underground, stating that "the post is almost a permanent temporary military instructor in such a way that, in any case, I'm not talking about 2 heads, so that, being the chief of staff, I can hold any threads of a conspiracy in my hands." Suspicions were removed from the military experts, and Nosovich received a new high appointment as assistant commander of the Soviet Southern Front.

Nosovich was an adventurous person. Having exhausted the possibilities of secret work, on October 24, 1918, he stole an official car, captured the commissar and went over to the side of the whites, passing them important information. The Stalinist group in the RCP(b) presented the incident as proof that their leader was right.

Nosovich tried to pass off his escape as a capture, so as not to let down his comrades in the underground. But this attempt was not crowned with success. Already on November 10, A.N. was arrested. Kovalevsky, November 14 - P.Ya. Lokhmatov and V.P. Chebyshev. According to some reports, Chebyshev managed to escape to the Whites, was promoted to general, but in the summer of 1919 he died under the same Tsaritsyn. According to other sources, he was shot. Lokhmatov and Kovalevsky were shot.

The fate of Nosovich himself turned out well - he emigrated to France and lived in Nice until 1968.

100 years ago, in mid-October 1918, the Cossack Don Army launched a second assault on Tsaritsyn. However, the second attack on Tsaritsyn failed. Krasnovtsy suffered severe defeat, which predetermined the transition of the Don under the rule of Denikin.

background

Don ataman Krasnov did not want to accept the failure of the August offensive of the Don army on Tsaritsyn. The failure of the August offensive against Tsaritsyn and the successes of General Denikin's Volunteer Army in the North Caucasus during the Second Kuban Campaign greatly annoyed and oppressed Ataman Krasnov, who clearly understood that the White Don government would not last long without success at the front. The Don circle, which took place in September 1918, decided on a new offensive against Tsaritsyn, according to which an additional mobilization of Cossacks into the army was launched.

In mid-September 1918, the Don Army launched a second offensive against Tsaritsyn. 38 thousand bayonets and sabers, 138 machine guns, 129 guns, 8 armored trains were thrown to storm the city. The 10th Red Army defending Tsaritsyn consisted of 40 thousand bayonets and sabers, 200 machine guns, 152 guns, 13 armored trains. As a result, the forces of the parties were approximately equal.

The defense of Tsaritsyn was still led by I. V. Stalin and K. E. Voroshilov. From September 12 to September 20, 1918, Stalin was not in Tsaritsyn, he temporarily left for Moscow to resolve a number of issues. On September 15, a meeting of V. I. Lenin, Ya. M. Sverdlov and J. V. Stalin took place on the issues of the Tsaritsyn Front. On September 17, I. V. Stalin was appointed a member of the Revolutionary Military Council Southern Front. K. E. Voroshilov was appointed a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front and assistant to the commander of the Southern Front P. P. Sytin. On September 22, Stalin returns from Moscow to Tsaritsyn. Voroshilov during this period is doing a great job of putting in order the Red troops, exhausted by almost six weeks of continuous fighting (First Defense). Tired, bloodless units were replaced by reserve units, replenished troops, and for this they carried out new mobilizations of workers and peasants, restored ammunition stocks, repaired armored trains, armored vehicles, etc.

The second defense of Tsaritsyn

On September 21, 1918, the Cossack army went on the offensive and defeated the 10th Red Army, pushing it back from the Don to the suburbs of Tsaritsyn by the beginning of October. Fierce battles unfolded on September 27 - 30 in the central sector - in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bKrivo-Muzginskaya. At the end of September, the White Guards began to act around the city from the south, captured Gniloaksayskaya on October 2, and Tinguta on October 8. The Cossacks to the north and south of the city went to the Volga, cut the Tsaritsyn-Tikhoretskaya railway, taking the city in pincers.

In the first half of October, the Don Army drove the Reds out of the suburbs of Tsaritsyn: Sarepta, Beketovka, Otrada, reaching the last line of defense of the city by October 15, 1918. whites. There was a huge gap in the defense of the Reds. The situation for the Reds was saved by two armored trains under the command of Alyabyev, who quickly moved to the breakthrough area and put up a fire screen for the enemy, rushing to the district railway. Later, 100 artillery pieces were also transferred there under the command of Kulik, the ships of the Volga flotilla.

On October 17, the Whites were preparing a decisive assault on Tsaritsyn. The situation was critical. The turning point near Tsaritsyn in favor of the 10th Red Army was decided by the arrival of the “Steel Division” of Dmitry Zhloba from the Caucasus, who quarreled with the commander-in-chief of the Red Army of the North Caucasus Sorokin and took his division from the Caucasian front to Tsaritsyn. "Steel Division" The "Steel" division made an 800-km march from the Nevinnomysskaya station to Tsaritsyn and on October 15 dealt a crushing blow to the assault units of the Don Army from the rear. The blow between Tundutovo and Sarepta fell on the Astrakhan division of the Don army. During the 45-minute battle, the Steel Division utterly defeated the enemy, and the commander of the Astrakhan detachment, General Demyanov, was killed and his headquarters was captured. After the defeat of the Astrakhan division, the Don troops of the North-Eastern Front, commanded by General Mamantov, were under the threat of encirclement and were forced to retreat from Tsaritsyn.

However, not only the Redneck division turned the tide. The Red Command prepared a counterattack. On October 17, all the artillery available at the front was concentrated on the offensive site of the Don Army in the Voroponovo area - more than 200 guns and 10 armored trains (out of 15 operating near Tsaritsyn). When the Cossacks launched an offensive, they were met with powerful artillery and machine-gun fire. At the same time, the Red Army men hit their ranks. Having suffered heavy losses from the fire of red batteries and armored trains, the whites retreated. Even many who had seen the front-line soldiers were struck by this fierce battle. The ascent uphill to Sadovaya and Voroponovo was literally littered with corpses. October 18 JV Stalin telegraphs V. I. Lenin about the defeat of the Krasnov troops near Tsaritsyn.

As a result, the second offensive of the whites was repelled. The assault on the city failed, and the Reds launched a counteroffensive. Having suffered heavy losses, the Don army began to retreat and by October 25 retreated beyond the Don. Many Cossack regiments were destroyed, and the Cossacks also lost a lot of ammunition and ammunition, the stocks of which were now difficult to replenish (Germany could no longer replenish the stocks of the Don Republic).

In the winter of 1918-1819, the Whites made their third attempt to take Tsaritsyn. On December 21, the Ust-Medveditsky cavalry of Colonel Golubintsev launched an offensive, reaching the Volga north of Tsaritsyn and cutting the red front. The Red Command deployed Dumenko's cavalry against Golubintsev. Fierce battles ensued, with varying success. Meanwhile, parts of General Mamantov came close to Tsaritsyn. To the south of Tsaritsyn, Gorodovikov's red cavalry was defeated and driven back to the city outskirts. However, frosts and the moral decay of parts of the Don army, the advance of the Don people to Tsaritsyn was stopped. In mid-February 1919, units of the Don Army were forced to retreat from Tsaritsyn again.

M. Grekov. Comrades Stalin, Voroshilov and Shchadenko in the trenches near Tsaritsyn

Results

Thus, the Red Tsaritsyn held out under the onslaught of the Don army. The city on the Volga in 1918 could become perhaps the main symbol of the Red Army's resilience. The defenders of Tsaritsyn rejected Ataman Krasnov's proposals to surrender the city. According to the military specialist L. L. Klyuev, “Krasnov threatened both God and the Entente, and tanks, and gases. But these threats did not intimidate the defenders of the revolutionary Tsaritsyn. Red Tsaritsyn still stood like a granite rock. Krasnov was unable to solve the problem of securing the Don region from the east. In turn, I. V. Stalin declared the defense of the city the central task of the day for Soviet Russia.

Tsaritsyn really had the most important military-political and strategic importance for Soviet Russia. If Tsaritsyn had been taken in 1918, then the Don people could have developed an offensive in the northern direction, the prospect of interaction and even unification of the Don and Volga anti-Bolshevik fronts arose. The retention of Tsaritsyn during this period allowed the Reds to use the fragmentation of the White forces and beat the enemy in parts.

How not to treat Stalin, but it must be recognized that his presence in Tsaritsyn contributed to the fact that an effective defense system was organized in the city. In Tsaritsyn, Stalin solidified his reputation as one of the most authoritative and tough organizers of the Bolshevik Party. It is not surprising that it was in Tsaritsyn that the confrontation between the line of Stalin (Russian communists, Bolshevik-Stalinists) and Trotsky (revolutionary internationalists, Trotskyists who acted in the interests of the West) began.

Also in Tsaritsyn could be seen in the first roles and future marshals Soviet Union K. E. Voroshilov and G. I. Kulik. Voroshilov, indeed, was very popular with the soldiers and commanded the 10th Army, often personally leading the battle. “There is nowhere to retreat, the Volga is behind us, we have one way forward, against the enemy,” Voroshilov told the Red Army men, and the soldiers, forgetting about fatigue, went forward, crushing the enemy’s elite units. The name of Voroshilov in connection with the heroic defense of Tsaritsyn became known throughout the country. For several months of the civil war, Kliment Efremovich advanced as one of the largest red military leaders, as a commander, dearly beloved by ordinary soldiers, who enjoys great authority among junior commanders. Kulik was the head of the artillery of the front, skillfully led it. Here, near Tsaritsyn, S. M. Budyonny also showed himself.

The defense of Tsaritsyn was connected with the organization for the first time in the Red Army of large cavalry formations. On November 1, 1918, there were already more than 10 thousand cavalrymen on the Tsaritsyno front, of which Budyonny's cavalry corps was later formed, which then turned into the 1st Cavalry Army.

As a result, the defense of Tsaritsyn buried the plan to create a Cossack autonomous Don region. The Cossacks, after the defeats, began to decompose. The regular Cossack "Young Army" formed by Krasnov, despite the great attention paid to it by the ataman, did not become a serious force - its spirit was weak. The ataman even complained that the year 1917 was repeating again at the front. The Cossacks began to go over to the side of the Bolsheviks in masses and surrender to the Red Army, whose victories, according to Lenin, "worked wonders." The Bolsheviks with "tremendous speed" took possession of vast territories south of Tsaritsyn. As a result, by the end of December 1918, the Don was again in danger of the arrival of the Bolsheviks; only the White Volunteer Army could save the region from the Reds. Germany fell and could no longer support its figure - Krasnov, it was necessary to replace the defeated Germanophiles with people who were guided by the Entente.

Realizing the inevitability of a new powerful offensive of the Reds on the Don and submitting to the pressure of the allies, Krasnov went to unite and subjugate Denikin. Krasnov left his post, the Don Circle accepted this: at that moment the Reds were 16 versts from Novocherkassk, and the situation seemed hopeless even to the ataman's closest circle. On February 2 (15), 1919, Krasnov's resignation was accepted. The era of Krasnov ended, the ataman left his post. Troop chieftain On February 6, 1919, General A. Bogaevsky was chosen, a brave officer, but modest and not aspiring to power. Now Don obeyed Denikin.

Civil War. Battles for Tsaritsyn

Where and how did Stalin's military abilities develop, when and how did he accumulate combat experience?

The first event of a strategic scale, in which Stalin not only took part, but also played a leading role, took place in 1918 near Tsaritsyn. Moreover, his participation in that big battle began not in the position of a military leader, but only as a food commissar.

Let me remind you that, then surrounded on all sides by fronts, Petrograd turned out to be cut off from the provinces, which supplied the capital with bread and other products. Hunger began to suffocate not only the inhabitants of the huge city, but also the revolution itself. It was necessary to take urgent measures to improve the supply of food. One of these actions was the decision of the Central Committee to send Stalin as a food commissar to Tsaritsyn, through which it was possible to carry grain from the Volga and the North Caucasus, bypassing Denikin's army, which occupied Ukraine and the Don grain expanses.

Understanding and emphasizing the importance of this event, the Chairman of the Council People's Commissars V. Ulyanov (Lenin) signed a special mandate:

“Member of the Council of People's Commissars, People's Commissar Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin is appointed by the Council of People's Commissars as the general head of the food business in the South of Russia, vested with emergency rights. Local and regional councils of people's commissars, councils of deputies, revolutionary committees, headquarters and heads of detachments, railway organizations and station chiefs, organizations merchant fleet, river and sea, postal-telegraph and food organizations and emissaries undertake to carry out the order of Comrade Stalin.

Describing the affairs of historical figures, they usually omit details from their personal lives. And in vain: sometimes everyday, purely personal moments have a certain influence on the behavior of historical figures and, consequently, on the course of events.

Here, I think it would be appropriate to talk about little known fact from the life of Joseph Vissarionovich. This case undoubtedly had a certain psychological impact on Stalin's behavior in Tsaritsyn. The fact is that Stalin, returning from exile in 1917, settled in the family of his old acquaintances, the Alliluyevs. They once provided shelter to Stalin - after escaping from exile in 1915. After the February Revolution, he again lived with the Alliluyevs as in a safe house, and then, in a fever October revolution, and remained in this family - it was not up to apartment worries at that time.

But there is reason, and quite convincing, to believe that Dzhugashvili stayed with the Alliluyevs not only because of the lack of his own apartment. The fact is that the daughter Nadenka grew up with the Alliluyevs, she was in her seventeenth year at that time. Being brought up in the family of a revolutionary, she, a pure and ardent nature, considered her party comrades who came to her father's house as romantic heroes, she really liked them, and she dreamed of being like them. And suddenly one of these legendary heroes settles in the apartment. He escaped from exile many times and once already hid in this family.

She remembered all this, so she looked at the mysterious black-haired Dzhugashvili with admiring eyes, with a booming heart.

All this could not help but notice the 38-year-old "uncle-revolutionary." Things went so far that despite the difference in age and regardless of how the party comrades would regard all this, Stalin took Nadya with him to Tsaritsyn. Probably, Stalin wanted to show off his significance in front of his young beloved: he drove her in a personal saloon car and looked forward to how Nadia would see him in the big things that he was going to do with the mandate of Lenin himself.

Stalin arrived in Tsaritsyn on June 6, 1918. He remained to live in the saloon car, which was guarded by the St. Petersburg Red Guards who came with him. As an extraordinary commissar, Stalin began to call for a report not only the leaders of local party and Soviet authorities, but also the military. The latter, not understanding at first what the civilian food commissar had to do with them, did not obey him very much and continued to go about their business.

Commander of the North Caucasian District, former lieutenant general tsarist army Snesarev skillfully led the actions of his subordinate troops and created a reliable defense of Tsaritsyn. Andrei Evgenievich was an experienced front-line general, he graduated from the Academy of the General Staff before the war. According to his progressive convictions, which probably developed during the years when he was a student at Moscow University, Snesarev decided to serve the revolution and voluntarily joined the Red Army. He was very necessary and useful to the revolution. Lenin highly valued such people, he recommended using former military experts who know their business on all fronts, ”and in order to prevent the possible betrayal of some of them, appoint commissars to the military experts.

Stalin's attitude towards former officers was clearly suspicious. He considered them conspirators. And in this respect, he disagreed with Lenin's opinion on the question of the use of military specialists. Having met the cool attitude of the military in Tsaritsyn, Stalin sent a telegram to the Central Committee to Lenin, demanding for himself the authority to intervene in military affairs, because he discovered great unrest here.

At first, the Central Committee did not give Stalin such powers, believing that he should deal with the main thing for which he was sent - food.

Stalin managed to send several echelons of bread to starving Petersburg, thereby rendering a great service to the revolution.

But at the end of July, the enemy went on the offensive. General Krasnov intended to seize Tsaritsyn with the forces of the White Cossack army and unite with the rebellious Czechoslovak corps, the Ural and Orenburg White Cossacks. The unification of the counter-revolutionary forces would cut off the northern part of Russia from the southern part, from where food was supplied to Petrograd and Moscow. The loss of Tsaritsyn would have been a catastrophe that was difficult to repair.

By cutting off Tsaritsyn from the northern Caucasus, the Whites deprived Stalin of the opportunity to fulfill his main task, for which he was sent here, that is, to mobilize food resources and send them to Moscow and Petrograd. Bread remained in the south, and Tsaritsyn, isolated from it, did not have its own bread. Stalin is making every effort to fulfill the instructions of the Central Committee and Lenin:

“I drive and scold everyone who needs it, I hope we will restore it soon. You can be sure that we will not spare anyone - neither ourselves nor others, but we will still give bread. If our military "specialists" (shoemakers!) had not slept and were not idle, the line would not have been interrupted; and if the line is restored, then not thanks to the military, but in spite of them ...

As for the hysterical ones, be sure that our hand will not waver, we will act in a hostile way with the enemies.

“The matter is complicated by the fact that the headquarters of the North Caucasian District turned out to be completely unsuitable for the conditions of the struggle against the counter-revolution. The point is not only that our “specialists” are psychologically incapable of a decisive war against the counter-revolution, but also that they, as “staff” workers, who can only “draw blueprints” and give plans for reorganization, are absolutely indifferent to operational actions .. and generally feel like strangers, guests. The military commissars were unable to fill the gap ...

I don't think I have the right to look at it with indifference. I will correct these and many other shortcomings on the ground, I will take a number of measures and will take them up to the removal of officials and commanders ruining the cause, despite formal difficulties, which I will break if necessary. At the same time, it is clear that I take full responsibility before all higher institutions.”

The supply of the center of the country with bread was interrupted. Lenin conveyed to Stalin: “... about food, I must say that today they do not give out at all either in St. Petersburg or in Moscow. The situation is quite bad. Let me know if you can take emergency measures, because there is nowhere else to get it from you ... ”

Stalin replied that “before the restoration of the route, the delivery of bread is unthinkable ... in the coming days it will not be possible to help with bread. In ten days we hope to restore the line ... ”But not days, but months passed, and the situation worsened.

The situation was extremely tense not only at the front, but also in the rear: in Petrograd there was an uprising of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, an attempt on Lenin's life. A lot of elements hostile to the new government have accumulated in Tsaritsyn: Socialist-Revolutionaries, terrorists, anarchists, monarchists, former officers. There was an organized counter-revolutionary underground.

It seems to me that the role of Stalin in the fight against internal counter-revolution will be more clearly presented in the mouth of a participant in the events of those days, the former head of the operational department of the army, Colonel Nosovich, who defected to the Whites and on February 3, 1919 published the following in the White Guard magazine Donskaya Volna:

“Stalin’s main importance was the supply of food to the northern provinces, and to carry out this task he had unlimited powers ...

The Mud-Tsaritsyn line was finally cut. There was only one way to get supplies and keep in touch in the north: the Volga. In the south, after the “volunteers” occupied Tikhoretskaya, the situation also became very precarious. And for Stalin, who draws his (grain) supplies exclusively from the Stavropol province, this situation bordered on the unsuccessful end of his mission in the south. It is not in the rules, obviously, for such a person as Stalin to deviate from the work he once started. We must do justice to him, that his energy can be envied by any of the old administrators, and his ability to apply himself to business and circumstances should be learned by many.

Gradually, as he remained idle, or rather, along with the reduction of his direct task, Stalin began to enter into all departments of city administration, and, mainly, into the broad tasks of defending Tsaritsyn in particular and everything. Caucasian Front generally.

By this time, the atmosphere in Tsaritsyn had thickened. The Tsaritsyn Cheka worked at full speed. Not a day passed without various conspiracies being discovered in the most seemingly reliable places. All the prisons in the city were overflowing...

The struggle at the front reached extreme tension... From July 20, Stalin turned out to be the main engine and the main arbiter. A simple conversation over a direct wire with the center about the inconvenience and inconsistency for the cause of the real organization of the administration of the region led to the fact that Moscow gave an order by which Stalin was placed at the head of all military and civil administration ... ”

“By this time, the local counter-revolutionary organization, standing on the platform of the Constituent Assembly, had grown significantly stronger and, having received money from Moscow, was preparing for active action to help the Don Cossacks in the liberation of Tsaritsyn.

Unfortunately, the head of this organization, engineer Alekseev, who arrived from Moscow, and his two sons were little familiar with the current situation, and due to an incorrectly drawn up plan based on recruiting the active Serbian battalion, which was under the state emergency, into the ranks of the actively participating, the organization was discovered .. .

Stalin's resolution was short: "shoot". Engineer Alekseev, his two sons, and with them a significant number of officers, who were partly in the organization, and partly on suspicion of complicity in it, were captured by the Cheka and immediately shot without any trial.

About the cleansing of the Whites, Nosovich writes:

“A characteristic feature of this dispersal was Stalin's attitude to leading telegrams from the center. When Trotsky, worried about the destruction of the administration of the districts, established with such difficulty, sent a telegram about the need to leave the headquarters and the commissariat on the same conditions and give them the opportunity to work, Stalin made a categorical and meaningful inscription on the telegram: “Do not take into account!”

So this telegram was not taken into account, and all the artillery and part of the headquarters continue to sit on the barge in Tsaritsyn.

Stalin telegraphed to Moscow:

“... For the good of the cause, I need military powers. I already wrote about this, but did not receive a response. Very well. In this case, I myself, without formalities, will overthrow all the commanders and commissars who ruin the cause. This is what the interests of the cause suggest to me, and, of course, the absence of a piece of paper from Trotsky will not stop me.

Under the "absence of a piece of paper" Stalin meant that Trotsky, as chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, did not give Stalin the authority to interfere in the affairs of the military command.

Indeed, he was “not stopped” by the lack of “legitimate” powers; on Stalin’s orders, Snesarev and almost all former officers from the headquarters were arrested. Several hundred arrested officers were placed on a barge and kept there under guard.

The fate of these officers, or rather, the use of such drastic measures by Stalin in Moscow, was written more than once: several groups of officers were taken out and shot from the barge, and in general they intended to flood this barge. A special commission headed by A. I. Okulov was even sent to Tsaritsyn to investigate this fact.

The commission dealt with the accusation of the arrested, most of them were released, including General Snesarev. In order to separate Snesarev from Stalin, the general was appointed commander of the Western Front.

But while the commission was traveling, Stalin, Voroshilov and other associates managed to hide the ends in the water, in the truest sense of the word.

For a long time there were rumors that not everything became known to the commission at that time. For example, I heard about the sinking of another barge from elderly commanders in 1939, when I became a cadet at a military school.

In the autumn of 1918, the White troops reached the approaches to Tsaritsyn and in some places broke through to the Volga. The most critical situation arose in January 1919, when General Krasnov brought in fresh forces and, having broken through the Reds' defenses, moved towards Tsaritsyn. The commander of the Southern Front, created by that time, Sytin, and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council, Stalin, had no reserves to counter the breakthrough.

In this most difficult situation, Stalin did not lose his head, showed firmness and found a way out. Here, for the first time, his ability to think on an operational-strategic scale is manifested.

Those who were in those days next to Stalin in the salon-car recall that Stalin was much more excited than usual, almost did not stop smoking his pipe, but spoke in his even, firm voice, and this calmed those around him.

Stalin understood: as soon as he concentrated all the leadership in his hands, then the responsibility for the defeat would fall on him. But what to do? There are no reserves. The enemy will take Tsaritsyn almost unhindered.

Stalin suggested that General Krasnov's units were probably already ready to celebrate the victory. It always lulls vigilance. There are many examples in history when a premature triumph led to the loss of success gained in battle.

- What is happening now at the location of General Krasnov? Stalin asked, addressing no one in particular. Those present fell silent. A representative from the headquarters of the front reported:

- They are preparing to enter Tsaritsyn, the main forces are being built in columns in the Dubovka area. A small vanguard will go ahead to shoot down the remnants of our troops.

Stalin angrily banged his pipe on the table.

- Perfect! Vanguard skip and crack down on it in our depths.

– But this means opening the way for the main enemy forces...

“An absolutely fair remark,” said Stalin. He felt confident because he had found a way out of the impasse. Stalin even smiled: - The main forces of the enemy will go not to the city, but to their death.

- But who...

- Chief of artillery, Comrade Kulik, how many guns do you have in the Dubovka area?

- I have nothing here ... - Kulik began to justify himself.

How many on the whole front? Stalin interrupted impatiently.

- There will be a hundred guns ...

- All these guns immediately, without wasting a minute, begin to concentrate on Dubovka. Send reliable people to the batteries. Drive everyone in the tail and mane! To focus on Dubovka during the night. Bring all the shells here. Did you understand me? Enemy in euphoria. The victory turned their heads. So we will hit with all the artillery on these stupid heads! And the consolidated cavalry division of Dumenko should be concentrated here, to Dubovka. Her task is to beat and chase the enemy after he is knocked over by artillery!

During the night, all artillery was drawn up and took up firing positions near Dubovka. Division Dumenko went to the designated area. Stalin's psychological analysis of the enemy was fully confirmed. The troops of General Krasnov marched in columns along the roads behind the vanguard. The cavalry, also in formation, moved along the roads. A heavy, huge mass of troops flowed in a thick stream towards Tsaritsyn.

The impact of artillery, in such a concentrated, unprecedented quantity, and even with the utmost rate of fire, was not only unexpected, but also destructive. Shells burst in the thick of people, in a few minutes a huge space was covered with corpses, soldiers ran in different directions. Dumenko's division under the command of Budyonny (Dumenko fell ill) famously pursued the retreating. Other parts of the front also went on the offensive. Krasnov's troops were repulsed from Tsaritsyn.

This brilliant victory strengthened Stalin's authority. The city was defended, the whites were driven back. And who was in charge of all this? - Stalin! And another person helped a lot - Kulik. And this is natural: decisive role in this battle, artillery played, used by the original, not previously used, its concentration on the main direction and massive fire. And who is the commander of the artillery? - Kulik! Thank Kulik after that, too, was stable for many years.

Well, relations at the level of front leadership developed as usual, Stalin continued to show his character. Rather, he remained himself and could not behave differently.

As mentioned above, in September 1918, Pavel Pavlovich Sytin, also a former tsarist general, general staff officer, who also voluntarily joined the Red Army in January 1918, was appointed the new commander of the created Southern Front.

From the very first days, Stalin began to clash with the new commander Sytin. And even independently removed him from command of the front. Thus, Stalin refused to obey the order of the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic of Trotsky on non-interference in the operational orders of the front commander. Trotsky appealed to the Central Committee. The chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Ya. M. Sverdlov, telegraphed Stalin and Voroshilov to Tsaritsyn: “All decisions of the Revolutionary Military Council (republic) are binding on the military councils of the fronts. Without subjugation, there is no united army... There should be no conflicts.” But Stalin did not take into account the instructions of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and continued to act at his own discretion.

In order to correct this situation, the Central Committee was forced to recall Stalin to Moscow. Sytin was left in command of the troops of the front.

Summing up the results of Stalin's first independent contact with military strategy, we note his wisdom, energy, determination, firmness, especially in difficult situations. All this good qualities military leader. Stalin gained experience in organizing and conducting major army operations. I got acquainted with the activities of the headquarters, the role of which, however, I clearly did not understand. Along with this, it became obvious that Stalin did not always use wide powers and power sparingly. This already gave the Central Committee and party comrades a reason to be wary. But in the tense days of the civil war, it was not up to that. And some people considered all this in that situation not as vices, but as virtues, especially since this was confirmed by the real result - Stalin defended Tsaritsyn. The winners are not judged, and the victory at Tsaritsyn really had a strategic scale.

From the book The Black Book of Communism: Crimes. Terror. Repression the author Bartoszek Karel

The Civil War and the War of National Liberation If the signing of the Soviet-German pact in September 1939 provoked a negative reaction from most of the communist parties, since their members could not agree that Stalin had abandoned

From the book Empire [Than modern world obliged to Britain] author Ferguson Niall

The Civil War This was the moment when the British ideal of freedom took a turn. The moment when the British Empire began to tear itself apart. Near Lexington, Massachusetts, the "Redcoats" for the first time entered into a skirmish with the American colonists. it

From the book Weapons of the Great Powers [From a spear to an atomic bomb] author Coggins Jack

CIVIL WAR The long and bloody struggle that followed these events was a citizen-soldier war. The US Army in 1861 numbered slightly over 16,000 officers and men, and most of them were scattered along the long frontier of the country. Faithful to their oath

From the book Together or Apart? The fate of the Jews in Russia. Notes on the margins of the dilogy by A. I. Solzhenitsyn author Reznik Semyon Efimovich

Civil War If Lenin started the civil war with the "Decree on Peace", then with the "Decree on Land" - more than anything else - he won it. Bolshevik slogans coincided with the aspirations of the bulk of the people - the peasantry. This was recognized not only by the "rotten intellectuals"

From the book History of Russia [for students of technical universities] author Shubin Alexander Vladlenovich

§ 3. CIVIL WAR The main participants in the war. With growing food shortages in largest cities On May 13, 1918, a decree was issued in Russia "On the emergency powers of the People's Commissar for Food", known as the Decree on Food

From the book Roman History in Persons author Osterman Lev Abramovich

VOLUME II CIVIL WAR

From Julius Caesar author Utchenko Sergey Lvovich

6. The Civil War The civil war, its course and main stages are covered in the sources much more fully and comprehensively than the military operations in Gaul. Of course, we are talking, as a rule, about later authors and testimonies: only “Notes on

From the book 500 famous historical events author Karnatsevich Vladislav Leonidovich

US CIVIL WAR Sending slaves to new masters The issue of maintaining slave ownership has been raised in the United States since the very beginning of the existence of the state. It was clear that slavery was completely inconsistent with the progressive principles of the Declaration of Rights.

From the book Secrets of Political Murders author Utchenko Sergey Lvovich

Civil War How, however, events developed on early stage war, after crossing the Rubicon? Arimin was captured that same night, at dawn. Caesar met no resistance here. In Arimiye, the tribunes of the people who fled to him were waiting for him. It is possible that with

From the book Hundred Years War author Perrois Edouard

From the book History of Russia. Factor analysis. Volume 1. From ancient times to the Great Troubles author Nefedov Sergey Alexandrovich

5.16. Civil War During the famine of 1601-1603, masses of starving people sought refuge in the grain-producing South. On the southern outskirts, the peasants had large stocks of grain, and the local population did not know hunger. The influx of refugees caused prices to rise here too; in 1603 a quarter of rye

From the book Italy. Country history author Lintner Valerio

Civil War The next stage of development, which soon turned into a civil war, was caused by a military crisis, which was put forward by Gaius Marius, a native of the Volscian land who had come out of the bottom and made a name for himself by defeating King Jugurtha in Africa. He first became a tribune in 119

From the book Commanders of the Great Patriotic War. Book 2 author Kopylov Nikolai Alexandrovich

Civil War In October 1917, he deliberately joined the Red Guard. During the Civil War, he was part of the Red Guard detachment, commanded a squadron, cavalry division, regiment, brigade. In 1919 he joined the RCP(b). Fought on the Eastern Front. On the

From the book Wolf's Milk author Gubin Andrey Terent'evich

CIVIL WAR Silence conjures blue and distant over the mountains. Sleepily the forests stretch upwards, where hundreds of rivers and rivulets fall from the diamond hat of Elbrus, where the jungle of poppies, alpine roses and huge sunflower-shaped daisies bloom. A world of wonderful peace. Lumps of nests on the branches.

From the book General History. History of the New Age. 8th grade author Burin Sergey Nikolaevich

§ 15. Civil War in the United States The growth of "inevitable conflict"During the first half of the XIX century. The number of black slaves in the United States was constantly growing. By the middle of the century, it exceeded 3 million people. In the North and West of the country, the attitude towards slavery as a whole has always been

From the book Education of the USSR (1917-1924) author Grosul Vladislav

CIVIL WAR

The defense of Tsaritsyn is the collective name of a number of operations of the Red Army to defend Tsaritsyn from the Don Army of General P.N. Krasnov and the Caucasian Volunteer Army of General P.N. Wrangel.

The strategic importance of Tsaritsyn was determined by the fact that it was an important communications hub that connected the central regions Soviet Republic with the Lower Volga region, the North Caucasus and Central Asia and through which the center was supplied with food, fuel, etc. For white command the capture of Tsaritsyn created the possibility of connecting with the troops of Ataman A. I. Dutov and provided the right flank of the White Army in the main Voronezh direction for Krasnov.

In May 1918, due to the aggravation of the food situation in the country, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR appointed Stalin responsible for the supply of food in southern Russia and was sent as an extraordinary representative of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the procurement and export of grain from the North Caucasus to industrial centers. Arriving in Tsaritsyn on June 6, 1918, Stalin took power in the city into his own hands, led the defense in the Tsaritsyn area from the troops of Ataman Krasnov, using harsh measures and arrests. However, the very first military measures taken by Stalin together with Voroshilov turned into defeats for the Red Army.

The troops of the Red Army in the Tsaritsyno sector (about 40 thousand bayonets and sabers, over 100 guns) consisted of scattered detachments; the most combat-ready were detachments from the 3rd and 5th Ukrainian armies who retreated here under the onslaught of the German invaders. On July 22, the Military Council of the North Caucasian Military District was created (chairman I. V. Stalin, member K. E. Voroshilov and S. K. Minin).

In July 1918, Krasnov's Don Army (up to 45 thousand bayonets and sabers, 610 machine guns, over 150 guns) launched the first attack on Tsaritsyn: Colonel Polyakov's detachment (up to 10 thousand bayonets and sabers) had the task of striking from the South from the Velikoknyazheskaya ; the task force of General K. K. Mamontov (about 12 thousand bayonets and sabers), concentrated in the Verkhnekurmoyarskaya - Kalach region, was to attack Tsaritsyn with the main forces; the task force of General A.P. Fitskhelaurov (about 20 thousand bayonets and sabers) struck from the Kremenskaya, Ust-Medveditskaya, Chaplyzhenskaya area to Kamyshin.

Blaming the “military experts” for the defeats of the Red Army, Stalin made large-scale arrests and executions. Ataman Krasnov came close to the city and semi-blocked it. Trotsky, chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council, telegraphed Lenin with a request to recall Stalin immediately, arguing that "things in the Tsaritsyno sector are going very badly, despite the superiority in forces." Stalin was recalled, withdrawn from the RVS of the Southern Front and sent to Moscow.

Shortly after Stalin's departure, in the 20th of August, the Whites were driven back from the city, but the further counteroffensive of the Red Army bogged down.

On September 17, 1918, the Don Army under the command of General Denisov begins a new offensive. She managed to capture a number settlements on the approaches to Tsaritsyn. From 27 to 30 September, fierce battles were going on in the area of ​​the Krivomuzginskaya station. The Whites had to shift the direction of the main attack south of Tsaritsyn, they managed to capture the Zhutovo station and cut off the 1st Don and Kotelnikovskaya divisions of the 10th Army. The fighting unfolded in the area of ​​Sarepta, Beketovka, Otrada. Tsaritsyn was covered from Pichuga - in the north to Sarepta - in the south. The defenders of the city were in dire need of ammunition and uniforms.

Fierce fighting continued until October 18, when the Red Army went on the offensive and pushed the Whites back to the Don. General Krasnov left the post of ataman of the Great Don Army and was forced to leave Russia. The Don army came under the command of General A.I. Denikin and became part of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (VSYuR).

On May 4, 1919, the Caucasian Volunteer Army under the command of General P.N. Wrangel, which was part of the VSYUR, went on the offensive in the Tsaritsyno direction. The Whites managed to capture the Torgovaya station (now Salsk) and by June 1 reach the line of the Aksai River. The 10th Red Army did not have sufficient forces to stop the advance of the enemy. AT plight the neighboring 9th and 11th armies also turned out to be, a large gap formed between them. The counterattacks of the red cavalry were local in nature and could not change the general situation. Red Tsaritsyn faced the threat of encirclement. On June 11, the Whites managed to capture Sarepta, less than 30 miles remained to the city.

On June 12, 1919, a state of siege was again declared in Tsaritsyn. The Whites will approach Beketovka. In fierce battles that took place from June 15 to June 19, the Red Guards managed to drive Denikin out of the Voroponovo station. On June 20, the Reds managed to recapture Basargino and Karpovskaya. But on June 29, the Caucasian Army launched a new offensive with the support of 17 tanks of the First Tank Division, formed in Yekaterinodar, and five armored trains: the light Oryol, General Alekseev, Forward for the Motherland, Ataman Samsonov, and the heavy United Russia”, and broke through the front of the 10th Red Army. Of the tanks formed into 4 tank detachments of 4 tanks, eight pieces were heavy cannon Mk, and nine were machine guns, of which one (“extra”, 17th) was the British crew of the one-armed Captain Cox “from sports”. By the end of the day, the red units were ordered to leave Tsaritsyn. General Denikin solemnly entered the city, on July 3 he signed a directive on a campaign against Moscow.

On August 18, the Red troops launched a counteroffensive with the support of the ships of the military flotilla and the landing detachment of sailors I.K. Kozhanov. Kamyshin was taken on August 22, Dubovka on September 1, Kachalino on September 3, Rynok-Orlovka on September 4. On September 5, the Red Army began the assault on Tsaritsyn. However, it was not possible to take the city immediately. Only the landing force of Kozhanov, supported by sailors, was successful. 28th and 38th rifle divisions could not break through and come to the aid of the paratroopers. Kozhanovites retreated to their original lines. The fighting continued from 6 to 8 September.

At the end of November 1919, the troops of the South-Eastern Front went on the offensive. Serious success was brought by the raid of the combined cavalry group B. M. Dumenko in the rear of the whites; The six thousandth corps of General Toporkov was defeated. The 10th Army was able to improve its positions and prepare for a new attack on Tsaritsyn, the battles for which had begun. On December 28, the 50th Taman division of E.I. Kovtyukh, which was part of the 11th army, advanced from behind the Volga. The 37th division of P.E. Dybenko from the 10th Army advanced along the right bank to Tsaritsyn. On the night of January 3, 1920, the troops of the Red Army entered Tsaritsyn. At two in the morning on January 3, 1920, Tsaritsyn was finally taken by the Reds.

DISH "MAKI" COPPER PLATE
PLATE KUZNETSOV

ASHTRAY	A CUP	FRUIT BOWL	ICON
IRON	INKWELL	BOX	OAK POT

It is not entirely true that only with the advent of a certain age we are literally “covered with a wave of nostalgia” when we hear the melody of youth, or see some attributes of that time. Even quite Small child begins to yearn for his favorite toy, if someone took it away or hid it. We are all, to some extent, in love with old things, because they keep the spirit of an entire era in themselves. It is not enough for us to read about it in books or on the Internet. We want to have a real antique that you can touch and smell. Just remember your feelings when you picked up a Soviet-era book with slightly yellowed pages exuding a sweetish aroma, especially when turning over them, or when you looked at black and white photographs of your parents or grandparents, those with an uneven white border. By the way, for many, such shots remain the most beloved so far, despite the low quality of such shots. The point here is not in the image, but in that feeling of spiritual warmth that fills us when they come across our eyes.

If in our life there are no “objects from the past” due to endless moving and change of residence, then you can buy antiques in our antique online store. Antique stores are especially popular now, because not everyone has the opportunity to visit such outlets, and they are concentrated mainly only in large cities.

Here you can buy antiques of various subjects

To dot all the "i", it should be said that antique shop is a special institution that carries out the purchase, sale, exchange, restoration and examination of antiques and provides a number of other services related to the sale of antiques.

Antiques are some old things that have a fairly high value. It can be: antique jewelry, appliances, coins, books, interior items, figurines, dishes and more.

However, in a number of countries, different things are considered antiques: in Russia, the status of an “old thing” is given to an object that is already more than 50 years old, and in the USA - objects made before 1830. On the other hand, in each country, different antiques have different values. In China, antique porcelain is of greater value than in Russia or the United States.

In other words, when buying antiques it should be remembered that its price depends on the following characteristics: age, uniqueness of performance, method of manufacture (everyone knows that handmade work is valued much higher than mass production), historical, artistic or cultural value and other reasons.

antique shop- rather risky business. The point is not only the laboriousness of finding the necessary product and the long period of time during which this item will be sold, but also the ability to distinguish a fake from the original.

In addition, an antiques shop must meet a number of standards in order to gain a proper reputation in the market. If we are talking about an antique online store, then it should have a wide range of products presented. If an antiques store exists not only on the World Wide Web, then it must also be large enough for the client to be comfortable wandering between antiques, and, secondly, have a beautiful interior and a pleasant atmosphere.

In our antiques store there are very rare items that can impress even a venerable collector.

Antiques have magical powers: touching them once, you will turn into a big fan of them, antiques will take their rightful place in the interior of your home.

In our online antique store you can buy antiques variety of topics at affordable prices. To facilitate the search, all products are divided into special groups: paintings, icons, rural life, interior items, etc. Also in the catalog you will be able to find old books, postcards, posters, silverware, chinaware and much more.

In addition, in our online antique store you can purchase original gifts, furniture and kitchen utensils that can enliven the interior of your home, make it more refined.

Sale of antiques in Russia, as in many European cities, such as Paris, London and Stockholm, has its own characteristics. First of all, these are high costs for the purchase of antiques, however, the responsibility of the store selling antiques is also quite high, since these things represent a certain material and cultural and historical value.

By purchasing antiques in our store, you can be sure of the authenticity of the purchased items.

Our antique store employs only qualified consultants and appraisers who can easily distinguish the original from fakes.

We strive to make our antique online store interesting for collectors, and for fans of antiquity and for the most ordinary connoisseurs of beauty, who have good taste and know the value of things. Thus, one of our priority areas is the constant expansion of the range, both through dealers and through cooperation with other companies involved in the sale of antiques.