Boris Bazhanov
Boris Bazhanov | |
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Born | Boris Georgiyevich Bazhanov 9 August 1900 Mogilev-Podolskiy, Russian Empire |
Died | 30 December 1982 Paris, France | (aged 82)
Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris |
Other names |
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Citizenship |
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Known for | defector |
Boris Georgiyevich Bazhanov (Russian: Бори́с Гео́ргиевич Бажа́нов; 9 August 1900 – 30 December 1982) was a
Bazhanov was the
David W. Doyle, who translated Bazhanov's book "Bazhanov and the Damnation of Stalin", described him as "a usually reliable source," but that "he should be read with caution where he displays bias or discusses his own motive".[3] Russian historian Yuri Emelyanov has also criticized Bazhanov's memoirs for historical inaccuracies such as factual errors, confusion of dates, and sensationalism.[4] Similarly, Western historian Robert Conquest, viewed his account as "useful" although not "always authenticable" of his time as Stalin's secretary.[5]
Early life
Boris Georgiyevich Bazhanov was born on 9 August 1900, in
Communist Party membership
Bazhanov joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1919, recalling later that he'd had to choose between
On 9 August 1923, Bazhanov was appointed as the
Stalin's assistant
As General Secretary Stalin's assistant, Bazhanov became Secretary of the Politburo and was responsible for taking notes of the meetings.
From 1923 to 1924, Bazhanov attended all of the Politburo meetings, working in Stalin's Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee and for the Politburo until the end of 1925.[15][16][2] In the early 1920s, Bazhanov's role in Stalin's inner circle was smaller than that of the "group of five" composed of Yakov Brezanovsky, Ivan Tovstukha, Amayak Nazaretyan, Georgy Kanner, and Lev Mekhlis, but his influence with Stalin increased after Brezanovsky and Nazaretyan left the secretariat, and he held various positions at the Politburo from 1925 until 1928.[17][18][16]
Defection
On 1 January 1928, Bazhanov
Bazhanov became an enemy of Stalin and an
WW2 and collaboration
Allegedly, upon the outbreak of the
Later career and death
In the conclusion of the 1978 book The Storm Petrels: The Flight of the First Soviet Defectors,[1] Bazhanov remarked on "the twisted path of Marxism":
You know, as I do, that our civilization stands on the edge of an abyss ... Those who seek to destroy it put forth an ideal. This ideal [of communism] has been proven false by the experience of the last sixty years ... the problem of bringing freedom back to Russia is not insoluble ... the youth of Russia no longer believe in the system, despite the fact that they have known nothing else. If the West [develops its] confidence and unity, [it] can win the battle for our civilization and set humanity on the true path to progress, not the twisted path of Marxism.[28]
Bazhanov published an edition of his memoirs in France in 1980, entitled Memoirs of a Secretary of Stalin's.
Editions of Bazhanov's memoirs
Retracted parts of the first edition
The 1930 edition of Bazhanov's memoir had him becoming an anti-communist well before he came to Moscow and took up positions with the Central Committee. In later editions, Bazhanov retracted these statements, explaining that in reality he soured on the communist ideology during 1923 to 1924, while working at the Central Committee. However, he was bound to protect his closet-dissident friends remaining behind in the USSR, by casting himself as a "lone avenger" figure.[citation needed]
List of editions
- Bajanov, Boris (1930). Avec Staline dans le Kremlin (With Stalin in the Kremlin) (Paris: Les Éditions de France) (in French). Editions de France. OL 1367658M.
- Bazhanov, Boris (1930). Pokhishchenie generala A.P. Kutepova bolʹshevikami; sli︠e︡dstvennye i politicheskie materialy.: sli︠e︡dstvennye i politicheskie materialy. Imp. "Pascal".
- Bazhanov, Boris (1931). Stalin, der rote Diktator. P. Aretz.
- Bazhanov, Boris (1931). Al servicio de Stalin: El zar rojo de todas las Rusias. Ulises.
- Bašanov, Boris (1933). Ich war Stalins Sekretär. Ullstein.
- Bazhanov, Boris (1977). Ich war Stalins Sekretar (Aufl ed.). Ullstein. ISBN 3-550-17350-4.
- Bazhanov, Boris (1979). Bajanov révèle Staline. Souvenirs d'un ancien secrétaire de Staline. Gallimard. ISBN 2070298876.
- Bazhanov, Boris (1990). Vospominaniia byvshego sekretaria Stalina. SP Sofinta. ASIN B0000D6JAZ.
- Bazhanov, Boris (30 April 1990). Bazhanov and the Damnation of Stalin. Translated by ]
- Bazhanov, Boris (1992). Vospominaniia byvshego sekretaria Stalina. Kn-vo "Vsemirnoe slovo". ISBN 5-86442-004-2.
- Bazhanov, Boris (1993). Hokmdarlar: Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Husein. Iazychy, Baku. ISBN 5-560-01210-6. Archived from the originalon 8 June 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
- Bazhanov, Boris (1993). Воспоминания бывшего секретаря Сталина. ТЕРРА. ISBN 5-300-01278-5.
See also
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-8179-8231-0. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
- ^ ISBN 0-231-06350-4. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
Bazhanov.
- ^ Bazhanov 1990, p. 13.
- ^ ""Откровения" секретаря Сталина". www.stoletie.ru. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-670-84089-2.
- ^ a b c Martens, Ludo (25 August 1995). Another view of Stalin. Progressive Labor Party (United States). Archived from the original on 26 June 2002. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Boris Bazhanov • Authors • Iztok-Zapad Publishing House". Издателство "Изток-Запад". Retrieved 27 December 2019.
- ^ Bazhanov 1990, p. 1.
- ^ Bazhanov 1990, pp. 2, 222.
- ^ Bazhanov 1990, pp. 3.
- ^ Bazhanov 1990, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Bajanov 2003: 2–3
- ^ a b c d e "Newly Revealed Document May Solve Mystery About Trotsky". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1 April 1990. p. 9D. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
- JSTOR 4288968.
- ^ Kun 2003: 93
- ^ a b Bajanov 2003: 4–5
- ^ Kun 2003: 285–286
- ^ Kun 2003: 93, 286
- ^ "Bazhanov and the Damnation of Stalin". Ohio Swallow. 1990.
- JSTOR 131097.
- ^ Kotkin, Stephen (2014). Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928. Penguin Random House. chapter 14.
- ^ Kun 2003: 296, writing "Bazhanov, the only assistant at Stalin's secretariat who later turned against the Soviet regime, mentions a number of such cases ..."
- ^ ISBN 0-7146-5050-1. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
- ^ Bazhanov 1990, p. 208.
- ISBN 978-0-393-28584-0.
- ^ "Борис Бажанов". www.hrono.ru. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Воспоминания бывшего секретаря Сталина". 1001.ru (in Russian). 26 October 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ISBN 0-15-185223-5.
References
- Bajanov, Boris (1930). Avec Staline dans le Kremlin (With Stalin in the Kremlin) (Paris: Les Éditions de France) (in French). OL 1367658M. Retrieved 6 November 2008. (As translated and/or interpreted by Martens, Ludo (25 August 1995). Another view of Stalin. Progressive Labor Party (United States). Archived from the originalon 26 June 2002. Retrieved 6 November 2008.)
- Bazhanov, Boris (1990). Bazhanov and the Damnation of Stalin. Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-8214-0948-0.
- Kun, Miklós (2003). Stalin: An Unknown Portrait. ISBN 963-9241-19-9. Retrieved 6 November 2008.