Kotov Vasily Afanasyevich is one of the notorious politicians of the past. Like many of his contemporaries, he became a victim of the harsh regime of Comrade Stalin. And what is sadder of all: only a small part of the information that sheds light on the case of Vasily Kotov has survived to this day. Indeed, in those days, “objectionable” documents quickly disappeared from the archives of the Soviet Themis.
Vasily Kotov: biography of early years
Vasily Afanasyevich was born in 1885 in Dorokhovo, Moscow province. His father was a simple postal employee, which is why the family lived on a meager salary. However, soon this money was gone. When the boy was 13 years old, the head of the family died, leaving the boy an orphan (historians do not know anything about the fate of his mother).
In order not to die of hunger, Vasily Kotov gets a job as an apprentice in a blacksmith shop. It was a very successful move, as it allowed the young man not only to acquire his own money, but also to receive a technical education. Later skillworking with metal will play into the hands of the ambitious Kotov more than once.
After graduation, Vasily Kotov gets a job at Abrikosov's factory. In those years, it was a very famous confectionery, producing the best sweets in Moscow. As for Vasily Afanasievich himself, the company's management has always seen him as a reliable employee, and therefore boldly trusted him with the right to manage the cash register.
Lights of the October Revolution
In 1915, Vasily Kotov inadvertently joins the ranks of the Social Democrats, which soon turns into big problems for him. So, on an anonymous tip, he is accused of some fraud, which serves as a pretext for drawing up a court case. Fortunately, the court is merciful, if I may say so, and only sentences to administrative expulsion from the capital.
In this regard, Vasily Kotov met the fires of the October Revolution in Rostov-on-Don. Here he quickly found friends among the communists. Soon he himself joined the ranks of the Red Army. Thus, the expulsion from Moscow prompted him to new political activities aimed at strengthening the power of the people.
Party activities
After the revolution, Vasily Kotov got a job in a Moscow locksmith. However, less than a year later, he switched to party activities. Thanks to this, in 1919 he was appointed party secretary of the Sokolnichesky district of Moscow. He remained in this position until 1925.
After that, Vasil Kotov's career is rapidly going up. He is appointed secretaryparty committee, then promoted to a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1930). Subsequently, he even rose to the rank of manager of the construction trust of the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR (1933-1935). And yet this position becomes the last in his life, because soon his person will be superfluous on the political scene of that time.
Execution and acquittal
It is difficult to say what prompted the repression of Vasily Kotov. All documents are either classified or wiped off the face of the earth. What is truly known is that in September 1936 he was tried under Art. 58-7 and 58-8 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (preparation and organization of a terrorist act). As a result, the death pen alty is execution. The sentence was carried out on May 27, 1937.
And only in 1958, after the death of Comrade Stalin, the court reviewed the Kotov case. All the judges agreed that the verdict was initially wrong, and acquitted Vasily Afanasyevich. Following this (in 1962), he was returned to the ranks of the members of the CPSU. What is true, such a decision could hardly atone for the damage that was inflicted on the Kotov family.
