Everything was wrong: the true story of the life and death of Pavlik Morozov

November 14 marked the 100th anniversary of Pavlik Morozov, perhaps the most famous Soviet pioneer.

Photo: Nikita Chebakov. Pavlik Morozov / RIA Novosti

According to the official version, at the age of 13 years he exposed the crimes of his father-fist and was killed for this by his relatives.

Pavlik made a cult hero. His name was entered in the Book of Honor of the All-Union Pioneer Organization under the number 001.

In the picture of artist Nikita Chebakov created in 1952, a teenager in a red tie, holding her head high, throws angry words into the face of a bearded obscurantist. In fact, Pavlik never wore a tie.

Pavlik had followers.

On March 16, 1934, “Pionerskaya Pravda” published a letter from Olya Balykina, which began with the words: “I bring to the attention of the OGPU authorities that outrages are happening in the village of Otrada...” and ended: “I am taking everyone out to fresh water. Then let the higher authorities do what they want with them.”

Tanker "Pavlik Morozov" in the port of Baku, 1981. Photo: TASS

The girl listed all who, from her point of view, violated something, not forgetting her own father.

Pronya Kolybin reported on his mother, who went into the field to collect fallen grains to feed him. The mother was imprisoned, the son was sent to rest in Artek.

Mitya Gordienko caught hungry people in the field several times. After his denunciation of a certain married couple, the husband was sentenced to death, and the wife to ten years in the camps. Mitya received a personalized watch, a pioneer suit, boots and an annual subscription to the local newspaper Lenin's Grandchildren.

In 1936, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR decided to erect a monument to Pavlik Morozov in the Alexander Garden near the Kremlin. However, in the end, it was installed 12 years later in a children's park on Presnya.

Morozov Pavel led a devoted, active struggle with the class enemy, exposed the kulak tricks.

From the indictment for the murder of Pavlik Morozov, 1932 year

In August 1991, the monument was demolished. The attitude towards the former hero turned 180 degrees. “Don’t be Pavlik Morozov!” the elders now say to the little sneaks.

Writer Yuri Druzhnikov published an exposing book “Informer 001, or the Ascension of Pavlik Morozov.” The rock band “Crematorium” wrote the song “Pavlik Morozov” about how all our troubles come from people like them.

Meanwhile, the investigation conducted by the Ural journalist Eugenia Medyakova led to a completely unexpected result: Pavlik did not commit what was attributed to him, and had no relation to the arrest of his father.

Dysfunctional family

Pavlik's father, Stolypin's immigrant Trofim Morozov, in 1910, settled in the village of Gerasimovka, Tobolsk province, and got married. Paul was the eldest of five children.

According to the memoirs of his brother Alexei, his father “loved only himself and vodka.” Morozov Sr. first drank and fought with his wife, then left for another woman. So Paul had reasons to dislike him even without politics.

In the pioneering organization, the boy never was due to the lack of such in the village.

Relations with the relatives of the father, who accused Pavel Tatyana’s mother of the rupture, reached scandals and fights.

All male household chores fell on the teenager. According to the recollections of his school teacher Lydia Isakova, he often missed lessons because of work in the field.

“To some now Pavlik seems like a boy stuffed with slogans in a clean pioneer uniform. But because of his poverty, he never even saw this uniform; he didn’t take part in pioneer parades, didn’t wear portraits, and didn’t shout out greetings to the leaders,” she said.

Trofim Morozov was not a kulak, but a poor man, which is why he became the chairman of the village council. His “crimes” consisted in the fact that he issued certificates to kulaks from central Russia exiled beyond the Urals, allowing them to leave and get a job at a factory or construction site, that is, he actually saved people.

True, according to the recollections of fellow villagers and the investigation materials, he did not do this disinterestedly, but “took three skins for forms with stamps” in money and things.

22 November 1931, during a police raid on Tavda station, was detained by special settler Zvorykin. Under him, there were two blank forms with stamps of the Gerasimovskiy village council, for which, according to him, he paid Trofim Morozov 105 rubles.

On November 26, Morozov was arrested and put on trial. Nothing particularly scary, by the standards of that time, did not happen to him: he was sentenced to 10 years, but after working for three years on the construction of the White Sea Canal, he was early released and even awarded the order for shock work.

It turned out that several more chairmen of the local village councils were engaged in the same business.

At trial, Pavlik testified against his father, as did his mother, who after the release of Trofim Morozov, left the village, fearing a meeting with her ex-husband. But there is no trace of his denunciation of his father.

Pavlik’s testimony in Trofim Morozov’s investigative case isn’t, because he didn’t make any statements

Evgenia Medyakova, journalist

The version that the prosecution of Trofim Morozov began with a statement by Pavlik filed on 25 on November 1931 of the year arose from the light hand of the investigator in the case of his murder of Elizar Shepelev.

Many years later, in an interview with the magazine “Man and Law,” Shepelev, who was retired by that time, said: “I can’t understand why on earth I wrote all this, there is no evidence in the case that the boy contacted the investigative authorities and what exactly was the reason for this.” he was killed. I probably meant that Pavel testified when Trofim was tried. It turns out that because of my inaccurately written words, the boy is accused of informing!”

Tragedy in the forest

2 September 1932, that is, about nine months after the arrest of Trofim Morozov, Pavel and his 8-year-old brother Fyodor went to the forest for berries and did not return. September 6 fellow villager found their bodies in the aspen forest with numerous stab wounds.

The court ruled that the murder was committed by Father Trofim and, accordingly, the boys grandfather Sergey Morozov and their cousin 19-year-old Danila, and the local fist Arseny Kulukanov knocked them into an evil deed. Grandmother Pavel and Fedor Ksenia also took part as an accomplice. Danila Morozov and Kulukanov were shot, grandfather and grandmother died in prison.

Previously, people came to him with bugles and drums. Now - with censer and prayers. Today it is clear that he is neither a hero nor a traitor. And certainly not a pioneer. We have distorted history beyond recognition

Nina Kupratsevich, director of the Pavlik Morozov Museum in Gerasimovka

Local journalist, recent collectivization commissioner Pyotr Solomein, on instructions from the regional party committee, quickly wrote a book about the “brave Ural eaglet” and the “brutal fist,” which formed the basis of the legend about Pavlik Morozov. The story was widely disseminated.

According to Russian historian, professor at Oxford University Katherine Kelly, the children were victims of a property dispute between their grandfather and mother.

It is also likely that the killers really considered Pavlik an informer - why not, if they wrote about it in the newspapers and talked about it on the radio?

Read also on ForumDaily:

Pension in the USA: a complete guide on how to secure a decent old age in America

The FBI has declassified documents about the surveillance of ex-adviser to trump

Dollar: the history of the American symbol

School in the USA through the eyes of Moscow parents

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.