Sergei Mlazhkovsky, like Smirnov, was a young worker who joined the Bolsheviks in 1905. In 1917, he successfully led the Urals workers’ uprising; During the civil war, he had fought against the Galtafa party and had been smirnov’s former subordinate. Since then, they have formed a deep friendship.
Whereas Smirnov, with his superior intelligence and knowledge, had become a distinguished statesman, Mratchkowski appeared to have no color, no knowledge, and no understanding of party and state politics.
After Lenin’s death, Stalin began to pick his supporters to form his cabinet. So that they could crowd out Lenin’s comrades. At this point, Mratchkowski caught Stalin’s attention because his revolutionary experience suited Stalin’s needs.
Indeed, his whole experience has been extraordinary. He was even born in the tsar’s prison, where his mother had been imprisoned for revolutionary activities. His father was also a Bolshevik, a former worker. His grandfather, one of the founders of the Workers’ Union of Southern Russia, was also part of the working class. So Sergei Mlazykowski’s active involvement in the October Revolution and the civil war was a continuation and extension of the family tradition.
It was a pity that Stalin could not bring Mrazkowski to his side. The latter joined the opposition along with old civil war friends, first and foremost with Smirnov.
When the opposition collapsed, Stalin tried to woo him with offers of high military office, but still failed.
The civil war has taken its toll on Mr Mlazkowski’s body. He had been injured several times, leaving him with a concussion. As you get older, your temper becomes extremely irritable and difficult to control. And. One of his quirks is that he is a self-confessed military strategist who despises those who did not fight in the civil war.
Knowing all this, Slutsky decided to take advantage of This extreme conceit of Mlazykowski. He skilfully inflamed the vanity of the man on trial, and lost no time in giving him elaborate and fabricated compliments.
To Slutsky’s surprise, it did not take him long to persuade Mlazykowski, who agreed to provide the necessary evidence in court and to help Slutsky persuade Smirnov. In his talks with Slutsky, Mratchkowski repeatedly expressed regret that he had not listened to Stalin in 1932.
“Stalin said to me, ‘Break with them. What’s hanging you, a glorious worker, on those Jews? ‘And he promised to make me commander of a grand command, but I refused…”
Since Stalin expected to sway Mlazykowski with such a superficial anti-semitic remark, it is safe to assume that Stalin did not think much of his level of literacy. On the other hand; Having been exiled from his home country, far from high military posts and unable to attend military parades, Mr Mlachkowski probably thought many times that if he had taken Stalin’s advice, everything would have been different.
After slutsky had compiled the transcript of his interrogation, in which Mlazhkowski had slandered both himself and Smirnov, he immediately sent it to Yakoda. He was sure that the document would be passed to Stalin in time, and that Stalin would have noticed the signature of another man below, “Interrogator – State Security Commissioner II, A. Slutsky.”
Locked up in an interior ministry cell and feeling his life hanging by a hair, Mlachkowski clung to a last hope, begging Stalin to forgive him and save his head. He was completely at the mercy of the Interior Ministry and intended to help interrogators destroy the resistance of his former fellow rebels.
Convinced that He could count on Mlazykowski’s help, Slutsky turned back to smirnov. In confronting Smirnov, Mratchkowski tried to persuade him to “disarm” the Politburo and make the necessary confessions in court. One of his main arguments was: “Zinoviev and Kamenev have agreed to a restatement, and now that they’re all here, there’s no way out.”
Smirnov was so shocked by Mratchkowski’s words and deeds that he declared that he would not slander himself and would be loyal to Stalin. “I remind you, Ivan Nikijic, that I am entirely at the command of the party. That means I have an obligation to accuse you in court! ‘ Smirnov’s answer to this is; “I knew you were a coward!
The words stung Mr Mlazkowski. He had always regarded himself as a hero of the civil war, and of course could not bear to be so judged, and so judged, by his own superiors. He shouted angrily into Smirnov’s face:
“You think you can get out of this dirty business without getting your shirt dirty?”
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