More than six decades have passed since the day when Stalin died, and the mystery of his death still haunts historians. Numerous publications and memoirs on this subject are so contradictory that they confuse rather than clarify anything.
Despite the abundance of eyewitness accounts, the attitude towards them causes quite reasonable distrust. Inferences drawn from political interests may also be correct, or formed from carefully selected evidence, many of which are likely fictional.
However, there is also documentary evidence of some events related to the day when Stalin died, and their veracity is not in doubt.
On the last day of February, the "master" was visited by four members of the Politburo: Bulganin, Khrushchev, Malenkov and Beria. What the conversation was about is unknown, but, apparently, it was not a pleasant pastime of old Bolshevik friends over a mug of tea. The actions of the General Secretary during the 19th Congress, which were clearly aimed at ousting the "sitting" members of the Politburo, numerous arrests and mysterious deaths of high-ranking officials and the military, led to the most gloomythoughts.
It is quite possible that the old party comrades tried to convince the leader of their personal loy alty and usefulness. It is not known how successful they were, but the fact is that the guards found Iosif Vissarionovich lying on the floor of the dacha the very next day. He showed no signs of life. All medical assistance consisted of transferring the unconscious body to the sofa, and even a phone call to the Kremlin.
When, decades later, some historians tried to answer the question of what Stalin died from, the conclusion suggested itself: the elderly man became ill, no one helped him. Whether there was poisoning, whether it was a stroke, will never be known, and the doctor who performed the autopsy died soon after.
The Politburo, to put it mildly, guessed that the father of all nations would no longer rise. On March 4, the Soviet people were informed of a serious illness that had befallen them. If the probability of recovery was not equal to zero, no one would dare to do this.
When Stalin died, a radio message was broadcast containing medical details, including mention of the infamous Cheyne-Stokes breath. The goal was to convince the public of the proper care shown towards the leader. In fact, the Kremlin's doctors, capable of providing qualified assistance, were on a "business trip", they were traveling in freight cars to the northeast. By the way, almost immediately, in early April, they were released and found absolutely innocent.
After Stalin died, the politics of the USSRstarted to change dramatically. The Korean War was over, diplomatic relations with Israel were restored, the rehabilitation of political prisoners began, amnesties were passed. Of course, the nature of these metamorphoses did not mean that the nature of communism had changed. The general idea has been preserved, just the methods have become more rational.
The day Stalin died, the inevitable happened. Having got rid of the hated leader, the remaining members of the Politburo came close to the question of the next leader, and grappled in a merciless battle.
