FIRING GENERAL

Meet (if anyone knows): Major General Vasily Mikhailovich Blokhin security This valiant general served the motherland not sparing the stomach. But even more, he did not spare the stomach of another. Kill - it was not just a job but a vocation.

It is believed that during the years of his "work" Vasili Blokhin personally shot from 10 OOO to 15 OOO people. Some researchers have called even more terrible figures - up to 50 thousand. Persons. Blokhin Born in 1895 in a poor peasant family in the village Gavrilovo Vladimir province. In 1918 he joined the Red Army - Assistant Chief of the military office, a platoon commander. In 1921 he joined the Cheka - the platoon commander of troops of the Cheka. Since 1926, the commander of the NKVD of the USSR. Almost 30 years of supervised executions in the NKVD-MGB-MVD. Personally shot many famous convicts, including Tukhachevsky, Yakir, Uborevicha Smilga, Karahan, Kviringa, Chubarya, Kosarev, Eiche, Kosiora Yezhov Frinovsky Mikhail Koltsov, Babel, Meyerhold. Loved the circle of close friends to remember the details of executions, savoring the details. Behind "heroic" deeds birthplace of Vasily Mikhailovich awarded the Order of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, Order of the Patriotic War First Class, Honorary Cheka-GPU, a lot of medals. For a long faultless service has been awarded the car "Pobeda", inscribed gold watch and a personal weapon. In 1953, dismissed from the MGB for health reasons, and in 1954 stripped of his rank of Major-General "as discredited during his work in the bodies ... and unworthy in connection with this high rank of general." But the clouds before were gathering over the head of the valiant general. At the beginning of 1939, when Beria vengeance cleaned NKVD from Yezhov frames received material that Commandant Blokhin was too close to the former secretary of the NKVD Bulanov, unmasked as an enemy of the people. Then it was seen as proof of their participation in the "conspiratorial plans." Beria, preparing a decree to arrest Blokhin, went to Stalin for sanction. However, to his surprise, was refused. In 1953, Beria shown at the inquest: "With me IV Stalin did not agree, saying that such people do not need to plant, they do the dirty work. Immediately he called the head of security of NS Vlasik and asked him whether Blokhin involved in the enforcement of sentences, and whether to arrest him? Vlasic said that play with him and play his assistant AM Cancers, and praised the Blokhin. " Beria, returning to his office, summoned Blokhin and workers "special groups" to talk. Results of the "educational" talks reflected the people's commissar sent to the archives, and not execution of the decision: "Sov. Secret. Blokhin was summoned me and senior staff commandant, I was informed that some of the evidence on them. Promised to work hard and continue to be loyal to the Party and the Soviet government. February 20, 1939 Beria. "There is more to the question of Blokhin, Stalin did not return. Eyewitnesses recalled that the process of execution delivered Blokhin supreme pleasure. He was preparing to be shot, as an experienced surgeon in a complex operation: slowly wore a leather jacket, gloves pulled up to the elbows, busily correcting long apron, famously shifted slightly to one side with a long visor cap and having fun looking around himself in the mirror. After that, check the gun and went to "work". Of all the weapons preferred German Walther, which is characterized by high reliability and a little heated at the "large amount of work."It happened that a working day Vasily despatch up to 200 people and at the same time felt fine. In 1940, Blokhin led mass shooting captured Polish officers in Ostashkov camp near Tver, where 6,300 people were killed. During the trip Blokhin personally shot 600 people. In the same year he received his first military orders of the Red Banner. For the execution of Poles in Kalinin with Blokhin from Moscow were sent executioners NKVD Major Nikolai Sinegubov and Brigade Commander Michael Kryvenko. Blokhin had brought with him from Moscow and two excavator. One of them was the NKVD, Staff gravedigger Antonov. The massacre of Polish prisoners of war began April 5, 1940 Poles were delivered to the NKVD building, where they were shot. The corpses were taken out of the car 32 kilometers from Kalinin to the village of Copper, where excavated trenches were dug to 6,300 people. In executions except Blokhin was attended by about 30 people Sinegubov, Krivenko, employees of regional management of NKVD Pavlov and Roubanov, prison guards and drivers. On the first day on the penalty brought 343 people. Executioners worked through the night, but they failed to "fulfill" all in the dark and had to shoot after sunrise. Blokhin was ordered to further daily penalty delivered by 250 people. Kalinin Head of the regional department of the NKVD Major-General Dmitry Tokarev on interrogation revealed as the first day of shooting to his office and went Blokhin said: "" Well, let's go. " We went. And then I saw all this horror ... Blokhin pulled his special clothes: brown leather hat, long brown leather apron, brown leather gloves with gauntlets above the elbows. On me, it made ​​a huge impression - I saw the executioner! ". Tokarevskiy Blokhin detail description corresponds to that with reference to the veterans of the NKVD resulted in his book Theodore smoothly: "In the sewing workshop administrative management of NKVD Blokhin sewed on his order long before the floor, a leather apron, leather cap and leather gloves with sockets - not to splatter the blood of clothes. "Before executions Blokhin forbade drinking vodka, but every bloody night ended with drunken feasts. Blokhin ordered vodka boxes. When all Poles were killed, Blokhin had arranged a farewell "banquet" for torturers. After Stalin's death, the executioner of the village Gavrilovo Vladimir region solemnly carried to retire "for health reasons". Was stripped of his rank of Major General and KGB pension. In a small Moscow courtyards neighbors often seen basking in the sun old man. Sometimes he played dominoes with the same pensioners, and it seems nothing from them was no different. And only occasionally, in the rare moments of the game, when not very much luck with the stone, his eyes bloodshot pensioner, he was furious, and it seemed to opponents that he was ready to kill them ... Those who knew about the previous life of Vasily Mikhailovich instinctively retreated to a safe distance. According to the medical report, Blokhin suffered from hypertension 3rd degree. He died of a heart attack, according to other sources - was shot. Ironically buried in Donskoy Cemetery, where nameless pit poured the ashes of his cremated victims. Cemetery watchman told me that at night near the grave of Basil Blokhin often heard a muffled groan. However, perhaps it was just the wind ... In the late 1960s, the rank of general and orders Blokhin back ...