Chapter 29: Stalin’s Pleasures
Probably, after Stalin’s “purging” of his only, completely selfless friend, Yenukidze, none of Stalin’s countless crimes will surprise us anymore. I think, however, that the reader will not be uninterested in knowing the details of another crime of murder. Here we are talking about the murder of the head of the Kremlin guard, Paul Kerr, who was particularly close to Stalin.
Pauker was originally from Hungary. He was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I and was captured by the Russians in 1916. When the October Revolution broke out, Pauker did not return to his homeland: he had no Home, no property, and no future there. Before joining the army, he worked as a barber at the Budapest Light Opera and as an errand boy for a famous singer. He himself aspired to fame and was fond of bragging, as if the actors of the Light Opera had found in him a “remarkable dramatic talent” and were eager to have him on stage.
It seems that Bockel was not boasting, but he did have the talent of a comedian. One can see how well he imitates his boss’s gestures and tells jokes with a real sense of humor. But I think his real talent is the art of clowning, and only on such a stage can he achieve the coveted fame. To complete the portrait of Bokor, a few more strokes should be added: his lips are incredibly red and fleshy; a pair of dark, burning eyes are always fixed on Kremlin dignitaries and high-ranking officials, and they always exude heartfelt admiration and dog-like loyalty. It was these rather modest virtues that kept Paokel from ending up in the stormy waters of the Russian Revolution.
After joining the Bolshevik Party, Pauker was assigned to work for the purge committee. His lack of knowledge and indifference to politics led him to assume the position of a general operative there, working on arrests and searches. His work lacked access to senior leaders and opportunities for promotion. With this in mind, he decided to use his craft and skills, which he already had in his hometown, and soon became a barber and personal orderly of the deputy head of the purge committee, Mininsky. As the son of a Tsarist minister, Mininsky appreciated this clever servant. From then on, Pauker was always at his side. Even when he went to Germany for medical treatment in 1925, he took him with him.
Gradually, the influence of Paul Kerr was felt throughout the entire State Political Security Directorate. Mininsky appointed him as the head of the Operations Directorate. After Lenin’s death, the then head of the Kremlin guard, Abram Beleniki, was relieved of his duties, and Paulkor became responsible for the security of Stalin and other Politburo members.
Pauker was to Stalin’s liking. Stalin did not like to surround himself with people who were committed to revolutionary ideals, he considered such people unreliable and dangerous. A man dedicated to a noble ideal would follow a political leader only if he saw that leader as a purveyor of that ideal. If he sees that this leader has abandoned and betrayed the noble ideal out of personal interest, he will immediately see the idol of yesterday as the enemy of today. In this respect, Bokel is absolutely reliable: his nature dictates that he will never have any lofty ideals and will not even make mistakes to become a political opponent. He was not interested in anything but personal promotion. And the commodity of official hats, he wanted as much as Stalin could give him.
Lenin’s personal guard had only two members. After Lenin was shot by Kaplan, the number of the guard was only increased to four. But after Stalin came to power, the guard he had created for himself consisted of several thousand agents, not counting the special units in the various branches that were always nearby and on full alert. Such a large guard force was built up for Stalin by Bokor. On the thirty-five kilometer road from the Kremlin to Stalin’s residence in the suburbs alone, more than three thousand people were responsible for security. Among them were plain clothes, patrols in vehicles, and a sophisticated alarm system and intercoms.
This large number of secret teams was distributed in houses, in the bushes and behind trees in various places along the entire route of Smurlin’s march. If an unrelated car remained for even a minute, it was immediately surrounded by plainclothesmen who checked the documents of the driver and passengers and questioned them about the purpose of their departure. As soon as Stalin’s car left the gates of the Kremlin, the thirty-five-kilometer highway was immediately declared to be in a state of war. In the limousine, Stalin always sat next to Bokor, who was dressed in an officer’s uniform.
Abram Beleniki was simply the captain of the guard of Lenin and other members of the government. He strictly maintained a hierarchical distance between himself and the guarded officer. And Paokol occupied such a position that the members of the Politburo thought he was almost their equal. He concentrated in his own hands the power to provide them with Food, clothing, cars, and villas; he not only satisfied their desires, but even knew how to ignite them. He imported for the Politburo members the latest cars, good dogs, expensive wines and radio sets from abroad; he bought for their wives from Paris clothes, silk products, perfumes and other luxuries that would satisfy them; he also bought expensive toys for their children. It was as if Paokel had become a Santa Claus, the only difference being that he distributed gifts throughout the year. Because of this, he was particularly popular among the wives and children of all Politburo members.
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