This irritability did not give him any peace at the Politburo meeting. He pushed Inessa away from him with an effort. a promise to remove it, send it somewhere for six months.
* * *
Dzhugashvili-Koba came to the Politburo meeting before everyone else. His intuition told him that he should be closer to Lenin. He found a corner where, if you sit down, you can see everyone, but no one can see you.
Koba began to think that Lenin should be removed as soon as the coup took place, but this was a seditious thought, and the future heir immediately dismissed this ideain a long box that could be opened at any time.
But to win unlimited trust is a win-win way. And while squinting both eyes, he looked at each of them, wondering who could become his rival after Lenins departure to the other world. Here Trotsky (Bronstein) sat down at the table where the leader should sit and ostentatiously picks his nose, and then drums on the table top with dirty fingers with uncut nails.
The revolution is out of danger now, he says brazenly.
Here is my first and most sworn enemy, Koba thought, and scratched his head. As soon as kartavy leaves, he, Trotsky (Bronstein), can take his place. I cant, I cant let this happen. I should think carefully about how to remove it. He shifted his gaze to Zinoviev, although the closest of the leaders entourage was sitting at a distance from the Presidium table, leaning over and drawing TIC-TAC-toe in his notebook. Heres another bastard. What is his real name, after all, a full-blooded Jew, licking the heels of a half-Jew and half-Kalmyk Lenin. Your second turn. More Rykov, more Katznelson, and a lot of them. All of you are the fifth column and it takes time to get even with you. There wont be more than one Jew in my Politburo.
Finally, Lenin entered, accompanied by Dzerzhinsky, to great applause. And Skye invisible in the distance. Lenin immediately began his speech, pacing up and down in front of the Politburo members.
Comrades, I assure you that the revolution is not in danger. We were joined by the Latvian Riflemen. You may have already heard that some of the Riflemen were restoring revolutionary order in the center of Petrograd on Nevsky Prospekt. Part of the bourgeoisie was liquidated, and their bodies were taken to a garbage cemetery far outside the city. Latvian comrades unreasonably spent a large number of cartridges. Why? because no one was hanged. But we must not only shoot, shoot, shoot, but also hang. I propose to establish: one hundred thousand rubles for one hanged person. Further. We must instruct the Sovnarkom to grant Latgales request to secede from Russia and give it independence as a thank-you for sending ten regiments of Latvian Riflemen to defend our revolution. Will there be objections from the members of the Politburo? No objection. Very well. And you, comrade Dzerzhinsky, take Jan Berezin, aka Peteris Kyuzis, aka Grishin, aka the old Man, to your Department of the Cheka. This is the future General. Comrade Cusis, come in and show yourself to the members of the Lenin Politburo.
I object, Kobas voice came from the shadows.
Ha ha ha, comrade Koba is hiding. Why should I object? You are the Secretary of the Central Committee, and comrade Cusis is only Dzerzhinskys Deputy, he is not your rival.
But there is a tee.. . Koba paused. He realized that he could have uttered the fateful word. But Lenin did not hear his heir, the bloodiest bandit, the future genius of all the working people of the USSR.
Comrade Dzerzhinsky! report to the members of the Politburo how the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly took place, and who particularly distinguished themselves.
We had to use machine guns against the crowd. As soon as the meeting of this lousy bourgeois constituent Assembly began, people with flowers and slogans rushed to the building where this last meeting was held. Comrade Cusis stood by. I asked him what to do. I know what to do, said Cusis. And then the machine guns were used. Of course, there was a squeak-screeching, blood, corpses, but the frightened crowd quickly disappeared among the Petrograd bourgeoisie. In General, I suggest that Petrograd be renamed Lenins fiefdom.
I object, Lenin exclaimed, but Dzerzhinsky well knew that Lenin was just showing off. What happened next, comrade Dzerzhinsky?
And then we visited the Constituent Assembly and politely asked them to stop this farce, blaming them for the death of several workers who were undoubtedly among this enthusiastic crowd with flowers in their hands.
Just make sure they dont get together again. We do not intend to share power with anyone, comrades. This is very important. Comrade Sky! where is comrade Skye and and Vatzetis? Cusis, call them. And here they are, my dears. Such brave soldiers. Look at them and imitate them. What a bearing, everyone has a fighting spirit! Vatsetis am asking to approve commander of the Northern front, and Skaya henceforth chief of my security and commandant of Smolny. Comrade Trotsky, Vatsetis is now yours. The fate of the revolution is in your hands. And, in General, we should think about changing the capital of the proletarian state. There are too many enemies in Petrograd. In addition, the Germans may come here. But this is still just a thought, just a hint, although it is all very important. 77
As soon as the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd, and the first night of St. Bartholomews day passed in the city, an eerie silence reigned for a while; the city froze as if it had died out. But not for long. The proletariat, dazed with happiness, came out into the deserted streets and without thinking, set to work; the proletariat was armed with everything. Who a chisel, a hammer who, who stabbed who shotgun whos hunting rifle, even a scythe without a handle, the thugs of the larger caliber was Browning, pistols, grenades and automatic weapons. The city was already asleep, except for cafes, restaurants, and night brothels. No one could have imagined that this night would be the last, that the warm, cozy home in the subconscious state would have to be changed to the cold waters of the Neva and there give their last breaths. All kinds of hatred, evil poverty, including murderers released from prison, were waiting for this night like manna from heaven.
The center of Petrograd was the first to suffer. The sound of hammers and axes resounded through the front doors. Those on duty were happy to open the front doors and even joined their fellow believers, led them to their rooms and lit candles. The first victims were the masters daughters, then their wives, who were brutally raped right there in their beds in front of the master, and then stabbed with bayonets, and then dragged to be thrown into the Neva, some dressed in thin underwear, some naked, bleeding.
Somewhere there was a looting of shops, retail stores, various warehouses with food supplies.
Lenin had already realized that this was too much and would not do any good, but it was impossible to stop the raging crowd. And was it worth it? the proletariat has been fighting for power for so long, it has got this power, it has earned the opportunity to take a crack at it, and let it blow off steam.
But courage, debauchery, and drunkenness were followed by the demand: bread, bread!
All the raging proletarians, including the gopniks, quickly ground up the loot and, stunned by the unexpected good, turned their proletarian eyes to the new authorities. There was a terrible question and demand in those eyes: why is there no bread? why? feed the revolutionaries. Here, for the first time, the Soviet government had to begin a difficult problem the problem of leading the proletarian masses.
And this mission could only be led by Lenin-the hope of all the humiliated and insulted. And Lenin was not at a loss. He immediately accused the haves, already dead, of sabotaging-they put the bread away, so that it did not get to the proletariat, but the proletariat will still survive, and in the meantime, each Gopnik a gram of stale rye, sometimes covered with mold, bread, a pinch of salt and two frozen potatoes. Nothing else. There were difficulties, or rather interruptions even with water. But gopniki (residents of the city hostel of the proletariat)were not satisfied with this, they were looking for someone to Rob.
There were very few residents of Petrograd, mostly on the outskirts, the center was completely cut out, there was not much to buy, even frozen potatoes, so everyone suffered, except the servants of the people, who gorged themselves on delicacies in Smolny. But the proletariat, accustomed to difficulties, bravely endured hardships, including starvation, in the hope that the leader would solve this problem.
The Soviet government distributed the vacated housing among the revolutionaries, primarily among the leadership, and the remainder among the gopniki.
The most comfortable apartments were occupied by servants of the people. The former caste of high-ranking officials of the capital was forced to go to heaven ahead of schedule, and the one that miraculously survived, these pitiful remnants, was forced to make room, move the whole family into one room, where the servants used to live, and the servants on the contrary occupied the best rooms with first-class furniture, dishes and silverware. And that was the great good of the Soviet government, it was partial, selective, so to speak experimental, for show. Bourgeois exploiters who were lucky enough to survive were usually arrested by the red Commissars and shot in their basements without trial. How dare they stay alive? Lenin charged Dzerzhinsky with this question, and the Democrat Felix Edmundovich, a Polish Jew who had become the executioner of the Russian people, invented many ways to kill the recalcitrant, but the best of them was a shot in the back of the head. As a butcher plunges a knife into the heart of a submissive animal, so Dzerzhinsky put the barrel to the back of the victims head and pulled the trigger. The victim twitched once and fell into an eternal sleep. No shouting at you, no matting, no pleading for mercy, and the sound of the shot turned into a musical chord. Especially for Lenin, who, with Asiatic cruelty, like a true son of Tamerlane, demanded the massacre of the innocent only because they belonged to the highest caste and formed the color, backbone, and brain of Russia. He hated the intelligentsia and did not hesitate to call it shit. And Dzerzhinsky succeeded in basement operations like no other. He tried with all his strength.
Where are the tsarist gendarmes to the Communist fighters in leather jackets, bulging eyes and just shaved off their paces, who renounced their faith and became hussars!? For many years, Soviet propaganda hammered into the minds of its citizens that Lenin was the father of children, the most humane man on earth, and Dzerzhinsky was the father of all people. such a good boy, was implacable to the enemies of the revolution, the people and the state. But the tsarist gendarmes its just bad people. For this shameless, and admittedly successful, lie, we must thank the leader and his associates.
The well-to-do people who passed The Bartholomew nights were confiscated good clothes, gold jewelry, supplies of bread, money, transferred to the smallest room without mattresses and blankets, and to avoid starvation, left them potato peels. People deprived of all rights, clothing and food, could not help grumbling, and even tried to take revenge on the executioners. There were cases when red Commissars suddenly disappeared during such raids
Dzerzhinsky reported to Lenin on the disappearances of the red Commissars.
These are bourgeois terrorists! Lenin said, banging his fist on the table. I remind you, this is unacceptable, take hostages, lock them in specially equipped basements; put up guards and if in three days they do not indicate the location of the captured Commissar, then shoot every single one children, the elderly, the sick, fathers and mothers. If our Commissar is an important person, shoot not only the family, but also relatives: brothers and sisters.
If we take several people hostage and shoot them, it will not do much, expressed his thought Dzerzhinsky.
And you take as many hostages as you can, twenty, thirty, a hundred, a whole block. And shoot everyone, but so that others can hear and see. Do not spare your cartridges, do not show bourgeois pity for the enemies of the revolution. Let it be a science for them. Go ahead, comrade Dzerzhinsky! Act, act, and act again.
His red eyes were protruding, he waved his arms, and the saliva that spattered in all directions was considered bullets that hit the enemies of the revolution.
Yes, I know what to do, Vladimir Ilyich, but this is a small experiment, another one, so to speak with the isolation of the hosts and potato peelings. Well, here it is, this experiment has borne fruit. This proves once again how much the bourgeois hate us and the revolution as a whole.
Dzerzhinsky began to notice that Lenin was behaving somewhat inappropriately, losing control of himself.
As soon as the thug Dzerzhinsky came out, Bronstein appeared with a massive folder in his hands. Lenin was delighted, as if he had not seen him for a long time.
7
Comrade T... Oh, please sit down. Please, please, make yourself comfortable, comrade Trotsky. What do you have in this folder? Reports of those shot and hanged? Report immediately. The more, the better. Shoot, shoot, and shoot again. The revolution does not tolerate bourgeois humanism. My brother was shot, no, hanged, or shot? Well, to hell with them shot or hanged, whats the difference. Go ahead and report. How do the Commissars work there with their punitive detachments? You keep an eye on them, with one eye, and report, report.
Trotsky hesitated. He didnt know what to do. His folder didnt contain any such information. But under the chiefs piercing gaze, he faltered and confessed.
They shot a lot, but they didnt keep any information. This is the dung of history, Vladimir Ilyich, as you yourself said recently. And I have such an article was born. Cut out all, and settle the Jews on the liberated land
Wait for that. Although how many millions of Russian fools will die should not interest us, let bourgeois historians calculate until they come to an end. This is very important. And heres what. Me just came comrade Dzerzhinsky, Iafter he left, I had a brilliant idea. What if we turn the imperialist war into a civil war? According to comrade Dzerzhinsky, the resistance of the exploiting classes is growing in Petrograd. This means that they can take up arms, and this is a threat to the conquests of the Soviet power. We need to strengthen measures. Peter, of course, we will crush, already crushed, or rather crushed, and if necessary, drown in blood. In St. Petersburg, Kronstadt, let Tukhachevsky prove himself. It will be the blood of exploiters and imperialists, but not the blood of the masses. Now, comrade Trotsky, the resistance of the exploiting classes will probably take place all over the country. I feel it, it keeps me awake. This is the fourth night I havent slept. What to do? Well, tell me what to do, youre the only smartest Jew Ive invited from all over Europe. And they responded, but each of them has its own interests, and I need the interests of the revolution to be in the foreground.