Котов Василий Афанасьевич – один из печально known politicians of the past. Like many of his contemporaries, he fell victim to the harsh regime of Comrade Stalin. And what is sadder of all: only a small part of the information that sheds light on the work of Vasily Kotov has reached our days. After all, in those days, "objectionable" documents quickly disappeared from the archives of the bodies of the Soviet Themis.
Vasily Afanasyevich was born in 1885 in theDorokhov of Moscow province. His father was a simple postal worker, because of which the family lived on a meager salary. However, soon and this money was gone. When the boy was 13 years old, the head of the family died, leaving the boy a round orphan (the history of the mother is unknown to historians).
Дабы не умереть с голоду, Василий Котов is arranged to work as an apprentice in a blacksmith shop. This was a very successful move, because he allowed the young man not only to acquire his own money, but also to get a technical education. Later, the ability to work with metal will more than once play into the hands of an ambitious Kotov.
After graduation, Vasily Kotovarranged to work at the factory Abrikosov. In those years it was a very famous confectionery, producing the best sweets in Moscow. As for Vasily Afanasevich himself, the management of the firm always saw him as a reliable employee, and therefore boldly trusted him to manage the cash register.
In 1915, Vasily Kotov, through negligencejoined the ranks of the Social Democrats, which soon turns out to be a big problem for him. So, according to an anonymous tip, he is accused of some fraud, which is the reason for drafting a lawsuit. The good of the court is merciful, if you can say so, and only condemns to an administrative deportation from the capital.
In connection with this, the lights of the October Revolution VasilyKotov met in Rostov-on-Don. Here he quickly found friends among the Communists. Soon he himself joined the Red Army. Thus, expulsion from Moscow pushed him to a new political activity aimed at strengthening the power of the people.
After the revolution, Vasily Kotov got a jobin the Moscow locksmith. However, less than a year later, he switched to party activities. Thanks to this, in 1919 he was appointed secretary of the Sokolniki district of Moscow. In this position he stayed until 1925.
After that, Vasil Kotov's career was swiftgo up. He is appointed secretary of the party committee, then promoted to a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1930). Subsequently, he even served as a manager of the construction trust of the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR (1933-1935 gg.). And yet this post becomes the last in his life, because soon his person will be superfluous on the political scene of that time.
It is difficult to say what triggered therepression of Vasily Kotov. All documents are either classified, or erased from the face of the earth. Only what is known is true: in September 1936 he was tried according to Art. 58-7 and 58-8 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (preparation and organization of a terrorist act). As a consequence, the maximum penalty is execution. The verdict was carried out on May 27, 1937.
И лишь в 1958 году, после смерти товарища Stalin, the court reviewed the case of Kotov. All the judges agreed that the verdict was initially untrue, and acquitted Vasily Afanasyevich. Then (in 1962) he was returned to the ranks of the members of the CPSU. What is true, such a decision is unlikely to have already redeemed the damage that was inflicted on the family of Kotov.
