The Assassination Attempt On V. I. Lenin. There Were Two Killers - Alternative View

2024 Author: Keith Bush | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 14:01

On August 30, 1918, in Moscow, on the territory of a plant that had belonged to businessman L. Mikhelson before its nationalization by Soviet power, there was an attempt on the life of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin). Lenin was the founder of the Bolshevik Party, its ideological leader, and after an armed coup in the fall of 1917 in the city of Petrograd (the revolutionary name of the city of St. Petersburg), when the Bolsheviks seized power, Lenin became the main political leader of the former Russian Empire. The story of the assassination attempt on the leader of the Russian proletariat raises many questions, most of which still have no clear answers. The most important of them are who shot and who organized the crime. There have been numerous attempts to answer these two important questions. Researchers,relying on the available historical documents (protocols of interrogations of the participants in the incident, memoirs of contemporaries of those events), had different opinions. As a result, three versions were formed. The first, a woman, a lone terrorist Fanny Kaplan [1], shot at Lenin for political reasons. Second, the attempt was organized by the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) Yakov Sverdlov [2] with the aim of seizing power in the Land of Soviets. Third, Lenin and his closest associates planned this assassination attempt in order to initiate a "bloody terror" against the internal political enemies of the Soviet state.the attempt was organized by the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) Yakov Sverdlov [2] with the aim of seizing power in the Land of Soviets. Third, Lenin and his closest associates planned this assassination attempt in order to initiate a "bloody terror" against the internal political enemies of the Soviet state.the attempt was organized by the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) Yakov Sverdlov [2] with the aim of seizing power in the Land of Soviets. Third, Lenin and his closest associates planned this assassination attempt in order to initiate a "bloody terror" against the internal political enemies of the Soviet state.

The latest version could have a right to exist if the shots at Lenin were fired with blank cartridges. In this case, the next day after the “assassination attempt”, the Bolsheviks would publish a text in the mass media with the following content: “the enemies of Soviet Power have committed a vile, insidious crime against the leader of the world proletariat, and only by a lucky chance the bullets did not hit Lenin”. And on the basis of this, they could organize terror of any scale and any "color". However, the shots were fired with live ammunition, and the leader of the revolution was seriously wounded, and in fact he could have died. Would Lenin have agreed to such a deadly drama staged by his associates? The answer is obvious, and therefore the third version is definitely not consistent.

At the end of August 2018, the Presidential Library named after B. N. Yeltsin (Moscow) published a small amount of new information about the attempt on Lenin's life [12]. The reason for the appearance of these materials is quite natural. August 30, 2018 marks exactly 100 years since the day when shots were fired on the territory of the Michelson plant at dusk, and it was necessary to somehow react to this event. Of course, the published information is of great interest. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of it, the author obtained unexpected results that, in addition to the already known facts on this dramatic event, make it possible to clarify, supplement, and in some ways even refute some of the circumstances of the attempt on Lenin's life.

Moscow, Friday, August 30. Morning day Evening

At about 11 o'clock in the morning, the Kremlin received an emergency message from the city of Petrograd, which indicated that there had been an attempt on the life of the chairman of the Petrograd Extraordinary Commission MS Uritsky [3], as a result of which he was killed. It was reported that the murder was committed by a member of the People's Socialist Party Leonid Kannegiser [4]; law enforcement agencies of the city were investigating the motives behind his actions. Lenin immediately sent there to the aid of the Petrograd investigators the chairman of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK) FE Dzerzhinsky [5] to conduct a thorough investigation of all the circumstances of the murder under his leadership. Then, during the day, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin worked with various state documents [6], [7], and in the evening he was supposed to speak at propaganda rallies in front of the workers of two enterprises in Moscow.

Before leaving for a meeting with the Moscow proletariat, Lenin had dinner at 17 o'clock, with his sister MI Ulyanova present. She, in connection with the attempt on Uritsky, turned to her brother with a request to cancel the trip to the planned rallies. Lenin ignored her appeal [6], [7]. Immediately after the end of lunch, the leader of the proletarian revolution in one of the Kremlin cars, unaccompanied by security guards, went to perform in front of the workers. Lenin and his personal chauffeur S. Gil were in the car [8]. As a rule, these speeches by the leaders of the Bolshevik Party began at six in the evening [50]. The first meeting was to take place at the former Bread Exchange at 18:00, the second - at the Michelson plant at 19:00. Lenin arrived at the Mikhelson plant at about seven o'clock in the evening [6], [7]. This is a very important circumstancebecause at 18 hours 26 minutes the sun went down and twilight came.

Calendar for 1918 showing the time of sunrise and sunset and the length of the day (Moscow time) [9].

Promotional video:

Twilight is the interval of time during which the Sun is under the Earth's horizon, but there is natural illumination of the sky, which is provided by the reflection of sunlight from the upper layers of the atmosphere and its luminescent glow caused by ionizing solar radiation. Twilight gradually turns into night, and their duration depends on the time of year, weather conditions and the geographical location of the area. Cloudiness and precipitation in the form of rain or snow will significantly reduce their duration. Unfortunately, there is no official information about the weather in Moscow on August 30, 1918 [10]. However, despite this, it is possible to determine the meteorological conditions of the evening of the day of the assassination.

After the shots at Lenin, not far from the production area of the Michelson plant, a woman was detained, who in one hand held a briefcase, and in the other hand an umbrella from the rain [11] [12]. The presence of her umbrella indicates that the sky over Moscow was covered by continuous clouds in the form of rain clouds, which did not exclude the possibility of a sudden onset of rain. It was for this reason that the woman had an umbrella. Naturally, due to the gloomy weather, it was getting dark very quickly.

The plant was located at the Third Shchipkovsky lane [6], [7]. Until 1916, it belonged to the English businessman Gopper, who then sold it to the millionaire Michelson and the plant was named after the new owner.

The location of the Gopper plant on the map of Moscow, 1915 (later it was the Michelson plant) [13].

At present, due to the numerous restructuring of the capital, Tretye Shchipkovsky Lane does not exist, and the plant where the attempt on Lenin's life took place, in September 1922 was renamed the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Plant (ZVI). On November 7, 1922, a memorial stone of polished red granite was erected at the place where they shot at the leader of the proletariat. It is located today in a public garden located near Pavlovskaya Street. An excursion to this place is organized for guests of the city of Moscow.

Memorial stone at the site of the assassination attempt (photograph of the 20th century) [21].

Assassination attempt

At about 19:00, Lenin's car stopped near the entrance-exit to the building of the grenade shop, in which the leader's speech was supposed to take place. The shop had this name in connection with the production of combat grenades for the army. Almost immediately after Lenin's arrival, a meeting began [27].

Crime scene (photo from the materials of the investigation file) [12].

From the testimony of the driver S. Gil, it follows that during the rally he was in the car, and Lenin's speech lasted about an hour, that is, it ended at about 20 pm. Lenin came out of the building, accompanied by up to 50 working people, and at a distance of three steps from the rear left side of the car was stopped by a woman who asked him a question [14]. This distance can be determined. The growth of the leader of the proletariat was 165 centimeters [15], the stride length corresponding to his height was 0.685 meters [16]. Therefore, when Lenin answered the woman's question, the distance of the proletarian leader in three steps from the car was 2.055 meters. During the dialogue between the participants in this conversation, shots were fired. Lenin began to slowly fall towards the right side of the body, falling forward. Panic broke out among the people present. Chauffeur S. Gil jumped out of the car with a weapon in his hand and ran up to the leader of the revolution. Lenin's body was located on the surface of the earth in a position "on the chest", he was alive and was conscious. Then, a woman ran up to the driver, who said that she was a paramedic, and even later, two men [14]. They lifted Lenin and put him in the back seat of the car. Ten to fifteen minutes elapsed after the assassination attempt to assist the leader of the proletariat. After that, the driver drove along Trety Shchipkovsky Lane to the intersection with Pavlovskaya Street, where, turning right towards Bolshaya Serpukhovskaya Street, he headed for the Kremlin [13]. Currently, the distance from the crime scene to the Kremlin is 7.7 kilometers [17]; the distance is short. However,the time to overcome it in 1918 can be determined taking into account the following factor. The roads in the city of Moscow were mostly paved with stones, and the car experienced significant concussion (shaking) while driving on them. This is confirmed by the testimony of the people who accompanied the wounded Lenin to the Kremlin [36].

Moscow city. One of the many stone-paved roads. 1922 [49].

Therefore, the driver S. Gil was forced to drive with the utmost care so as not to injure the bleeding Lenin, which determined the speed of movement, which hardly exceeded 40 - 45 kilometers per hour. Based on this, with the simplest calculation, we calculate that the distance of 7.7 kilometers was covered in 19.3 - 17.11 minutes, respectively, and based on this, we can conclude that Lenin was delivered to the Kremlin at 20:30. The wounded man independently, but supported by the persons accompanying him, made his way to his Kremlin apartment. A certain period of time was also spent on this. At about nine o'clock in the evening, the victim was already examined by the people's commissar-doctor A. Vinokurov, who made the first conclusion about his bullet wounds [12].

In this way, the weather conditions and the time interval of the events of that tragic day are established after 5 pm and until 9 pm. Shots at the Michelson plant were fired at eight in the evening. This is indicated, firstly, by the testimony of the detained Fanny Kaplan, who was later accused of committing an attempt on Lenin's life - “I arrived at the rally at about eight o'clock” [18], and secondly, the fact that Lenin's speech, which began at 19 o'clock and which lasted for about an hour, also ended at about eight o'clock in the evening [14], [27].

Lenin's wounds

Description of the wounds of the leader of the proletariat of Russia and information about his state of health during the recovery period are contained in the official bulletins from No. 1 to No. 36, which were published at that time daily in the media [12]. Bulletin No. 1 was published on August 30, 1918 at 23:00. It reported the following facts. Lenin received two "blind" gunshot wounds, that is, both bullets remained in the body of the leader. “One bullet entered under the left shoulder blade, went into the chest cavity, damaged the upper lobe of the lung, caused a hemorrhage into the pleura, and got stuck in the right side of the neck above the right collarbone. Another bullet penetrated the left shoulder, shattered the bone and lodged under the skin of the left shoulder region. There are manifestations of internal hemorrhage on the face”[12]. On September 1, 1918, Bulletin No. 7 was published. It informsthat after examining Lenin at seven o'clock in the evening, he was assigned an X-ray examination of the wounds [12]. On September 2, 1918, at 9:30 am in the morning, bulletin No. 9 publishes the results of an X-ray examination: “A wedged comminuted fracture of the left humerus at the border of the middle and upper third. Fracture of the inner part of the scapula. One bullet is in the soft tissues of the left shoulder girdle, and the other is in the soft parts of the right half of the neck. Hemorrhage into the cavity of the left pleura”[12]. One bullet is in the soft tissues of the left shoulder girdle, and the other is in the soft parts of the right half of the neck. Hemorrhage into the cavity of the left pleura”[12]. One bullet is in the soft tissues of the left shoulder girdle, and the other is in the soft parts of the right half of the neck. Hemorrhage into the cavity of the left pleura”[12].

Radiograph of Lenin's upper chest and neck [19]. (1 - broken humerus; 2 - bullet stuck in the shoulder; 3 - bullet stuck in the neck).

Later, on September 12, 1918, at eight o'clock in the evening, bulletin No. 36 reported: “… a bandage with an extension was put on the arm. … The regular bulletin is discontinued.” On September 18, 1918 at 20 o'clock, a message was published: “… The bandage is well tolerated. The position of the bullets under the skin and the complete absence of inflammatory reactions make it possible to postpone their removal until the bandage is removed. However, in 1918 the bullets were not recovered. Why? Answer. First, they did not bother Lenin then. Secondly, the leader of the revolution strove to return to active political activity as soon as possible; he categorically refused the operation, and the Kremlin doctors, quite naturally, did not dare to insist on it. But four years later, the leader of the Soviet state had serious health problems, in particular,severe headaches and even short-term loss of consciousness appeared. Famous professors of medicine from Germany were invited by the Government of the Land of Soviets. After examining Lenin, the doctors recommended an operation to remove both bullets. On April 23, 1922, one bullet was removed.

A bullet removed from Lenin's body on April 23, 1922 [20].

The second bullet was removed from Lenin's body after his death in 1924, as its presence prevented the embalming procedure. What bullet was removed in 1922? It is safe to say that it was taken from the shoulder of Lenin and there is a basis for this conclusion. The bullet was in the soft tissues not deep under the skin on the upper part of the shoulder, and this was a relatively simple and safe surgery. But removing a bullet from the neck posed a potential threat to Lenin's life, because in the place where it was located, according to the anatomical atlas of the human body, there is a large concentration of blood vessels, including those supplying blood to the brain. When trying to remove a bullet from the neck, there was a high probability of serious complications that could even cause the death of the leader of the proletariat. For this reason, Soviet surgeons decided not to risk it and did not remove it.

There is an assumption that the bullets that hit Lenin were poisoned with curare poison. It is a vegetable poison, and it is still used by the Indians of South America when hunting birds and wild animals [22]. According to historical chronicles, arrows poisoned with poison were used against humans during military conflicts between the tribes of this continent. By its consistency, it is a viscous liquid that has a dark brown color and is similar in its state of aggregation to fresh natural honey. A small amount of poison is applied to the tip of a small arrow, which, during the hunt, is placed in a tube made using a special technology from a certain type of plant. The deadly arrow is sent to the target as a result of a strong and sharp exhalation into the tube.

An Indian on the hunt (modern photography) [22].

When representatives of the fauna or humans enter the body, curare poison causes muscle paralysis and the living organism is completely immobilized for several seconds, and then it dies from respiratory arrest. Using the information about the action of the poison, let us analyze the physical condition of Lenin after the assassination attempt. On the production site of the Michelson plant, the wounded leader of the revolution did not have any syndromes of paralysis of movements or respiratory function. Lenin independently went to the apartment in the Kremlin [14]. In the published bulletins No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 of August 31, 1918, doctors stated that the wounded had a normal body temperature and full mobility [12]. No manifestation of the action of curare poison or any other toxic substance was also observed in the future, until Lenin's complete recovery (bulletins No. 6 - No. 36) [12]. Here is another argument proving that the bullets were not poisoned. During an attempt on Lenin's life, a woman was wounded in her left arm, who stopped the leader of the proletariat and asked him a question. After she received a through gunshot wound, she was conscious and capable [23], [24], [25]. She was taken to a hospital located on Pavlovskaya Street. Neither then nor later were the symptoms of poisoning in the wounded woman recorded. She was able to testify during the investigation of the circumstances of the assassination directly in the investigating authorities of the Cheka of the city of Moscow [26].she was conscious and capable [23], [24], [25]. She was taken to a hospital located on Pavlovskaya Street. Neither then nor later were the symptoms of poisoning in the wounded woman recorded. She was able to testify during the investigation of the circumstances of the assassination directly in the investigating authorities of the Cheka of the city of Moscow [26].she was conscious and capable [23], [24], [25]. She was taken to a hospital located on Pavlovskaya Street. Neither then nor later were the symptoms of poisoning in the wounded woman recorded. She was able to testify during the investigation of the circumstances of the assassination directly in the investigating authorities of the Cheka of the city of Moscow [26].

Based on the foregoing, it clearly follows that the version of the poisoned bullets is not consistent. This is a myth created by the Bolsheviks for propaganda purposes. The found injuries of bullets extracted from Lenin's body, in the form of cruciform notches on their outer shell and other traces, are explained by their deformation when colliding with hard bone tissue (one bullet shattered the humerus, the other broke the upper part of the left shoulder bone).

Assassination weapon

The weapon was found on the territory of the Michelson plant by a member of the Bolshevik party A. V. Kuznetsov, who was present at the rally and witnessed the assassination attempt. The next day, August 31, 1918, he appeared at the Zamoskvoretsky military commissariat and wrote a statement about it [28]. He was immediately sent to the Cheka. It is very strange, but he appeared there only on September 2, 1918, after when in the newspaper Izvestia Ts. I. K. Sovetov R. S. K. D. " on September 1, an appeal was published for assistance to the investigation in the search for the weapon of the crime. In these investigative bodies, the witness wrote a second statement about the found weapon [29].

In both statements, as well as in the transcript of his interrogation [30], the following is noted: the weapon of the crime was a Browning pistol. For unknown reasons, Soviet investigators did not establish a specific model for him. The author of this publication, 100 years after the assassination attempt on Lenin, will help them with this.

Photo No. 1 [31].

Photo No. 2 [32].

Photo # 1 shows a pistol found at the scene of the assassination attempt, which has become evidence in the investigation. Photo # 2 shows the Browning pistol, model 1900 (FN - Browning M1900). Comparative visual analysis of photographs fully proves the identity of these firearms. And one more interesting fact. The image in the form of a reduced copy of a pistol and a monogram or a monogram of two letters "F" and "N" on the cheeks of the handle of the "Browning" was applied until 1905 [54]. It was the trademark of the arms manufacturer of the Belgian company Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (abbreviated as FN). Consequently, the pistol in photo No. 1 with this logo was made in the period from 1900 to 1904 inclusive, which means that when the attempted assassination of Lenin in 1918, the weapon had a solid "age"that is, its service life ranged from 14 to 18 years.

Kuznetsov, a witness to the incident, said that he had heard three shots and his words were confirmed by the fact that there were four non-shot cartridges in the pistol clip he found [30]. The clip capacity of the Browning Model 1900 pistol was seven rounds, the caliber of which was 7.65 millimeters, and the length of the cartridge case was 17 millimeters. Pay attention to photo # 1, which, in addition to four unused cartridges, shows four cartridges without bullets. These shells were found on September 2, 1918, during a crime scene inspection during a staged incident.

Photo No. 3. Staging a crime [12], [33], [34].

In photo No. 3, numbers indicate: 1 - a man in the position of a woman who stopped Lenin and turned to him with a question; 2 - a man in the position of Lenin during the shots; 3 - a person who is in the position of one who shot at the leader of the proletariat. In the car, with a weapon in his right hand, this is the driver S. Gil, a witness of that tragic event. The locations of the actors were recreated based on the testimony of the participants in the rally. 4, 5, 6, 7 - positions of the cartridges found at the crime scene.

The question arises, how could there be eight rounds in the Browning pistol, if the capacity of its clip was designed for only seven rounds? In practice, this is possible and can be implemented as follows [35]. A full clip is inserted into the pistol, the weapon is removed from the safety mechanism and the bolt is distorted. One cartridge is automatically sent to the chamber of the pistol barrel. Then, having removed the clip, it is equipped with a new cartridge, after which the clip is reinserted into the pistol. Thus, the weapon will be equipped with a clip of seven rounds and one round, which is already in the barrel. As a result, the pistol has eight warheads. However, in this case, an insufficiently reliable safety mechanism did not provide complete safety of the shooter from an unauthorized shot when carrying a weapon with an eighth cartridge in the barrel [55]. It was this circumstance that posed a great danger to the killer, because any of his careless handling with a pistol or a push from the surrounding and excited crowd of people at the meeting could cause a premature shot, and, in this regard, lead to the disruption of the plan to assassinate Lenin. The organizers of the assassination attempt decided not to risk it, and for this reason …lead to the failure of the plan to assassinate Lenin. The organizers of the assassination attempt decided not to risk it, and for this reason …lead to the disruption of the plan to assassinate Lenin. The organizers of the assassination attempt decided not to risk it, and for this reason …

There were two killers

From the analysis of materials published by the Presidential Library named after B. N. Yeltsin [12], it follows that two people shot at Lenin, and each of them was fired from a Browning pistol, model 1900. This is confirmed by the fact that at the scene of the crime four cartridges of this type of weapon were found. The first shooter fired three shots, the second only one shot.

Photo No. 4. Lenin's jacket, on which the entrance holes from three bullets are fixed [20]. Bullet No. 1 hit the shoulder joint, shattered it and stopped under the skin in the upper part of the left shoulder. Bullet No. 2 broke the upper part of the left scapula, as a result of which it changed its trajectory and stopped in the upper right region of Lenin's neck. Bullet No. 3 passed through the space between the left hand and the body of the leader of the revolution without harming him. Note the location of the bullet inlets. Very good accuracy of fire, considering that the shots were fired in conditions of limited visibility (at dusk). It is quite obvious that the shot was a man with excellent eyesight and impeccable shooting skills, able to remain calm under any circumstances, and if he shot for the fourth time,then the bullet would inevitably hit the target. But that did not happen. Seeing after three shots that Lenin was falling, and, deciding that the murder had been committed, the shooter threw down his weapon and fled, taking advantage of the panic among the rally participants. It was his weapon with four not fired cartridges that the Bolshevik Kuznetsov found [30]. Then how to explain the presence of four shell casings found at the crime scene? The author of the publication has the answer to this question.

According to the official conclusion of the investigating authorities, the position of the casings 5, 6, 7 was explained by the spreading of their bodies by the fleeing people after three shots fired [12]. But investigators could not explain the position of cartridge case 4. But it exists and only in a single version of presentation. It is quite obvious that the shooter, who threw the weapon after three shots and fled the scene of the crime, could not fire the fourth shot. Therefore, sleeve 4 clearly indicates the presence of a second shooter. He was close to the first, but to the right of him in the direction of shooting. During the shot, there were no more people in the immediate environment of the second killer - they fled, and this is proved by the location of sleeve 4 relative to the location of sleeves 5, 6, 7. The fourth sleeve was extracted (thrown) from the pistol barrel to the right,parallel to the direction of fire and, without encountering obstacles, was on the ground in a standard position for her, and the bullet struck the woman who was standing next to Lenin.

And one more conclusion from the analysis of the circumstances of the attempt. The protesters scattering in panic shouted so loudly that they drowned out the sound of the fourth shot. That is why witnesses to the incident said they heard three shots [37]. However, the four shell casings found undeniably prove that Lenin was shot four times.

It can be argued that the second participant in the assassination attempt on the leader of the October revolution was a woman who had an extraordinary logic of thinking and phenomenal composure. Instead of escaping from the scene of the crime, as the first shooter did, after the shot she ran to the wounded Lenin. Chauffeur S. Gil was already there. The woman introduced herself as a paramedic and began to provide assistance to the leader of the proletariat [14]. Then, according to the testimony of the driver, two more men ran up to them. Their identities have been established [38]. Together, these four people put Lenin in the car. And now, the most important thing - after the events that happened, the woman - the paramedic has disappeared! According to the recollections of the driver S. Gil, upon arriving in the Kremlin after the assassination attempt, he walked in front of Lenin, showing the way to the leader's apartment to two men who accompanied and supported the wounded [39]. At the same time, the woman - paramedic was absent, although it is quite logical that she, as a medical worker, according to the duty of her profession, had to be with the victim until the arrival of qualified doctors. Her absence is confirmed by the protocol of interrogation of one of Lenin's escorts [40]. Moreover, this woman, as a witness to the incident, did not appear in the investigating authorities to testify.

The above arguments convincingly point to the involvement of the “paramedic” in the assassination attempt on Lenin. The woman helped put the wounded man in the car, but did not get into it. This is confirmed by the testimony of S. Gil: “four went to the Kremlin” [14], that is, the driver, the wounded Lenin and two men. When the car drove away from the plant, she disappeared forever into the twilight of the evening on August 30.

Another woman

After the assassination attempt, a lady was detained near the territory of the Michelson plant. In one hand she held a briefcase, in the other - an umbrella from the rain [11], [12]. The detained woman was taken to the Zamoskvoretsk military commissariat. Her name was Fanny Kaplan.

Fanny Kaplan, 1918 (photographs from investigative materials) [42].

During the first interrogation, Kaplan admitted that it was she who shot Lenin because of her disagreement with the Bolshevik policy. She also stated that she committed this act on her own initiative, and no one assisted her in committing the crime; she categorically denied her affiliation with any political organization [43]. An analysis of her behavior during the investigation clearly indicates that it was self-talk. Fanny Kaplan took all the blame for the crime on herself, and there are grounds for this conclusion. Firstly, this follows from the recognition of the famous former terrorist L. Konopleva, a participant in several attempts on the life of the leaders of the Bolshevik Party in 1917-1918, made by her during the trial in 1922: “If a terrorist is seized at the scene of the attempt, all responsibility for the terrorist he takes over the act. He is obliged to keep silent about being a member of the party of social revolutionaries, and to say that he acted on his own initiative and understanding”[36]. This is exactly what Kaplan did. Secondly, the former terrorist L. Konopleva later stated: “Fanny Kaplan was a person of impeccable purity, devoted to the idea and for the idea, capable of giving all her strength and even her own life” [44]. Kaplan did just that. She sacrificed her life. She was shot. She was shot. She was shot.

And now let us present facts proving that Fanny Kaplan did not shoot the leader of the proletariat. It is quite obvious that it is impossible to make accurate shots when a person has a briefcase in one hand and an umbrella in the other. During the search of Kaplan during her arrest, no evidence was found indicating her involvement in the assassination attempt [11] [41]. It is very strange, but there are no documents on the fingerprint examination of the detained woman's fingerprints on the pistol found [12]. Consequently, there is no evidence that the weapon was in her hand when the shots were fired. Of course, Soviet detectives invited Fanny Kaplan to take part in an investigative experiment on the territory of the Michelson plant. However, the woman refused, and this is understandable - Kaplan would not have been able to indicate her location during the production of shots,because she did not shoot at Lenin. Instead of an investigative experiment, a staging of the crime was organized, the results of which were included in the criminal case [12]. However, the staging is a show and for this reason it is not proof of Kaplan's guilt. And one more argument. Fanny Kaplan had impaired vision caused by a shell shock from an accidental bomb explosion in preparation for a terrorist attack in 1906. Convicted of terrorism to hard labor, she went blind there. Despite treatment, she was unable to fully restore her vision [36], [12], and she had at least the first degree of myopia [60]. Even in this case, in order to fire magnificently accurate shots at Lenin in the evening twilight, this woman had to shoot with glasses, but during the arrest they were not found with her [11] [41]. And generally speaking,the organizers of the assassination, of course, sane people, would never entrust the execution of the murder of V. Lenin to a half-blind woman.

Fanny Kaplan's fate

Without trial and only on the basis of oral confessions (Kaplan refused to sign the interrogation protocols), the woman was shot on September 3, 1918 in the Kremlin at 16:00 Moscow time, and then her corpse was burned in a metal barrel [45], [46]. After the cremation, this barrel was turned over at the place of the massacre and everything that remained of the accused was poured out of it, and her ashes were swallowed up by the Kremlin earth.

And one more mysterious circumstance. Kaplan was eliminated four days after the arrest. And the killer of Uritsky, who attempted on his life at 11 am on August 30 in the city of Petrograd, that is, on the same day when Lenin was shot in the evening, was killed two months after the crime he committed [4]. From the comparison of these two events, an impression is created that turns into solid confidence. There was a specific person who possessed great power and was interested in the quickest death of Fanny Kaplan in order to prevent the woman, broken by interrogations, from beginning to give truthful testimony, from which it would be possible to establish the true customer of Lenin's murder. And he was …

The man who benefited from Lenin's death

Let's analyze the situation on the day of the assassination attempt on Lenin. On the morning of August 30, L. Uritsky was killed in Petrograd. The leader of the proletariat immediately sent there the chief security officer of the republic of Soviets, Felix Dzerzhinsky, in order to clarify the circumstances of the incident. Other active leaders of the Bolshevik Party, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin, were also absent from Moscow. They were on the fronts of the Civil War, leading the struggle of the Red Army against the armies of former tsarist generals and their allies from the Entente bloc. Consequently, only Y. Sverdlov was in Lenin's inner circle on that tragic day. He was the second politically significant figure in the structure of government of the Soviet state, and in this regard, there are currently the following serious questions to him. First, why, based on the current situation on August 30,did he not provide heightened security for Lenin at the two planned rallies? Secondly, why did he not try to dissuade the leader of the proletariat from abstaining from speaking before the working people? For example, Lenin's sister made such an unsuccessful attempt [6], [7]. She felt in her heart the trouble impending on her brother, but in most cases men neglect female intuition. Lenin decided to participate in the rallies.

There is an explanation for Y. Sverdlov's inaction. He well remembered a confidential conversation with Lenin in the city of Petrograd in 1917, after an armed attack on a car in which the leader of the proletariat was traveling [36]. Lenin then said to his comrade-in-arms in the political struggle: "If something happens to me, then you will continue the work of the revolution." This phrase convincingly proves that in that conversation Lenin actually recognized Y. Sverdlov as his successor. The following episode is an indirect confirmation of the conversation. In the evening of August 30, immediately after the assassination attempt, Y. Sverdlov appeared in Lenin's apartment. At that moment in time, the possibility of the death of the leader of the proletariat from the received bullet wounds was not excluded. The frightened wife of Lenin in despair asked Sverdlov: "What will happen now?" He replied reassuringly:"We have with Ilyich (that is, with Lenin) agreed everything" [46]. Of course, in a state of stress, she did not understand the meaning of this phrase, but this remark clearly indicates that in the event of the death of the leader of the October coup, Ya. Sverdlov will lead the Land of Soviets.

The only condition for the implementation of the secret plan of J. Sverdlov to seize power was to be the physical elimination of Lenin, and this required time and favorable circumstances. And this situation developed on August 30, 1918. For the speedy realization of his goal, Y. Sverdlov had to turn to the leaders of the opposition party of social revolutionaries in the city of Moscow, with whom he was personally acquainted from the joint revolutionary struggle against the tsarist regime. By telephone, he promised to involve them in running the Soviet state if they organize the liquidation of Lenin. A political deal was struck. Sverdlov, knowing in advance the date of Lenin's speeches at the rallies, the time and places of their holding [6], [7], reported this information to the organizers of the assassination attempt,and in order to create conditions for the maximum vulnerability of the leader of the proletariat, he deliberately did not take any measures to ensure his safety.

The first terrorist group sent to the rally at the Bread Exchange was late. Lenin's speech there had already ended, and he left for the Michelson plant. The second group of terrorists, led by Fanny Kaplan, arrived at this production facility at about 20 pm [18]. The rally by this time also ended, but Lenin was near his car, surrounded by the workers of the enterprise and answered their questions. Shots rang out. The leader of the proletariat was wounded, but no one knew how dangerous these wounds could be for his life. After a preliminary examination of the physical condition of Lenin by the doctor A. Vinokurov [12], highly qualified medical specialists from the city of Moscow were immediately summoned to the victim in the Kremlin. By ten o'clock in the evening of that day, they delivered an unambiguous verdict - Lenin's life is out of danger [12], and J. Sverdlov realized that the murder attempt had failed, and he now needed to save his ass. He began to act. At 22 hours 40 minutes in the evening on August 30, that is, forty minutes after the appearance of the hopeful conclusion of the medical commission about the state of Lenin's health, Y. Sverdlov prepared a government document for urgent publication in the media in Russia and abroad [47].

In it, he actually announced the beginning of the "Red Terror", which was aimed at destroying the internal enemies of the Soviet Republic, and, as follows from an analysis of the document's context, primarily against the leaders and members of the Social Revolutionary Party. The question is: what caused the specific focus on the elimination of the people of this particular political group? Answer: because it was necessary to urgently neutralize the witnesses of the secret political deal concluded between them and Y. Sverdlov. And it becomes completely clear the reason why Fanny Kaplan was destroyed without trial on the fourth day after her arrest. This woman was a member of the Social Revolutionary Party, the leader of a terrorist group that committed a crime at the Michelson plant and, of course, she had information about the organizers of the assassination attempt. In this regard, Fanny Kaplan became an extremely undesirable and very dangerous person involved in the investigation of the circumstances of the assassination attempt on Lenin and J. Sverdlov, who had a presentiment of the threat posed by her to his political career and life, gave instructions to eliminate her. However, he did not know that two people had shot at Lenin, and one of the shooters was neither Fanny Kaplan, but a completely different woman.

Her name is Lydia Konopleva

After February 1917, she, a former anarchist, became a member of the Social Revolutionary Party and was an implacable and active enemy of the Bolshevik Party, absolutely convinced that terror against them was necessary [45]. But for the implementation of terrorist acts, large amounts of money were needed, which could actually be obtained only through criminal actions (robberies). After one of these armed raids, the law enforcement agencies of the Soviet government in the city of Petrograd detained L. Konopleva. There was enough evidence of her participation in this episode, and she was well aware that she could be shot. By that time L. Konoplyova had a small child - a son, whose name was Boris [45], [53]. This circumstance predetermined her fate. The detained woman agreed to the offer of the investigating authorities to become an informant. Thus, she became a double agent. She was assigned two tasks: first, to report on the plans of the counter-revolutionary organization, whose leaders fully trusted L. Konopleva, and secondly, under no circumstances to allow her to be exposed as an agent of the Cheka. A very limited circle of people knew about her recruitment, including the leader of the Bolsheviks of the city of Petrograd, Grigory Zinoviev, who at that time held two significant political posts, corresponding in modern terms to the posts of the mayor of the city and the governor of the region. [51]. When information was received from L. Konopleva about her being sent to Moscow to take part in the assassination attempt on Lenin, G. Zinoviev deliberately did not interfere with the implementation of this operation and forbade the Moscow security authorities to report the impending terrorist act. He hopedthat after the murder of Lenin, he will have the opportunity to seize power in the Soviet Republic. Another Bolshevik Yakov Sverdlov also sought to lead the Land of Soviets, which was also possible only if the leader of the proletariat was destroyed. Thus, independently of each other, the ultimate goal of these two people completely coincided, but each of them went to achieve it in its own way.

Ya. Sverdlov concluded a political deal with the leaders of the Social Revolutionary Party of the city of Moscow, leaving them to decide who would kill V. Lenin. L. Konopleva was a member of one of the two terrorist groups. In the political game of G. Zinoviev, his passed pawn or trump card was also L. Konopleva, an agent of the Cheka of the city of Petrograd. And now let's analyze the development of events at the crossroads of which this woman was.

Lydia Konopleva arrived in Moscow from the city of Petrograd by train in March 1918 and settled in the terrorist base camp, which was located in the suburbs of the new capital of the Soviet state [36], [45]. In the afternoon of August 30, an urgent order was received there to create two terrorist groups to assassinate Lenin. L. Konopleva did not have the opportunity to warn the Cheka of the city of Petrograd about the planned action, and she was strictly forbidden to cooperate with a similar organization in the city of Moscow. Moreover, she was recruited as a murder performer as part of a second group of terrorists led by Fanny Kaplan, directed to the Michelson plant. It is quite logical that her refusal to participate in a terrorist act would arouse suspicion among the conspirators. Thus, the woman found herself in a very difficult position. However, she was a person with a pronounced phenomenal intuition, which allowed her to make an extraordinary, but the only correct decision in the current situation. To provide an alibi to the leaders of the Social Revolutionary Party, Lydia Konopleva shoots, but her weapon was deliberately directed away from Lenin's body, and for this reason, the bullet hit the woman who spoke to the leader of the proletariat. After the shot, L. Konopleva ran to the victim and provided him with assistance, thereby providing the people around her with the impression that she was not involved in the attempted assassination. The further actions of this woman, namely, the fact that she did not accompany the wounded man, fled the scene of the crime and did not appear in the investigative bodies of the Cheka of the city of Moscow to testify, have a logical and convincing explanation. She had to continue to fulfill her double agent mission.

The evidence that L. Konopleva was associated with the punitive authorities of the Soviet Republic are the following amazing facts from her biography [36], [44], [45], [50].

1. After the assassination attempt on Lenin, she ceases to work in the party of social revolutionaries and leaves the members of this political organization at the end of 1918.

2. In 1919 - 1920 L. Konopleva was recruited by the Cheka to participate in secret intelligence operations in Poland.

3. In February 1921 she became a member of the Bolshevik Party.

4. In the same year, she was arranged for a teaching job in the organs of the GPU (the former organization of the Cheka) to give lectures on explosives and explosive devices. The former terrorist had substantial practical experience in this area of expertise.

5. At the direction of the organs of the GPU, she gives revelatory testimony at the political process organized by the Bolsheviks against the leaders and members of the Social Revolutionary Party in 1922. The court sentenced almost all of the accused to death. And now the shocking fact No. 1 - witness L. Konopleva was also sentenced to death. The second shocking fact is that two days after she was sentenced, the top leadership of the Bolshevik Party granted amnesty to the woman.

6. After the amnesty, Lydia Konopleva continued to work in various institutions of the Soviet Republic until 1937.

Lydia Konopleva (photograph of the thirties of the twentieth century) [52].

In 1937, the woman was arrested and shot in June. The reason for the liquidation is quite obvious - Konopleva knew too much.

Conclusion

Fanny Kaplan did not shoot at Lenin, but, without a doubt, was involved in the attempt on the life of the leader of the proletariat. On the territory of the Michelson plant, she served as the coordinator of the actions of the direct perpetrators of the terrorist act, of whom there were two. The first shooter fired three shots, the second shooter only one shot. The name of the first killer has not been established. The second shooter, based on the above arguments, was a woman and her name was Lydia Konopleva. The death of Lenin at that time was beneficial to two statesmen of the Soviet Republic - Yakov Sverdlov and Grigory Zinoviev. Independently of each other, they had one goal - to seize power, which was possible only as a result of the physical removal of V. Lenin. However, after the assassination attempt, the leader of the proletariat survived,and these two main conspirators fell on very difficult times, which ultimately led to their death. Y. Sverdlov died under task circumstances in 1919. G. Zinoviev was removed from power in January 1925, convicted by a Bolshevik court, and shot in 1936.

Afterword, which is indispensable

It is quite logical to carry out a simple comparative instrumental analysis of the traces of the pistol trigger firing mechanism on the primer of each of the four found casings. Such a trace is an individual calling card of a weapon. Even within the same model range, there are no two identical deformation marks from the impact of the striker in terms of the structural pattern, just as there are no two identical fingerprints all over the world. And then it will be indisputably proven that three casings belong to the found pistol, and the fourth case belongs to the same type, but completely different weapon, from which the second shooter fired. However, there is a problem. The evidence disappeared after 1925, but it can be proven to exist before it disappeared.

Photo from the book “Cheka. Main documents”[56].

It shows a Browning pistol, model 1900, casings and cartridges that were material evidence of the attempt on Lenin's life, as well as a bullet fixed on a substrate material, which was removed from the body of the leader of the proletariat. There is an explanatory inscription "We certify the authenticity of the bullet" and the signatures of the doctors who participated in the surgical operation to remove it. The date is “25. IV. 1922 ".

Further. The famous Russian artist VN Pchelin [59] after the death of the leader of the proletariat in 1924 conceived to paint the picture "Attempt on Lenin." The Bolshevik government supported his idea and supported him by providing all the necessary materials. The result of his preliminary work on the painting was a sketch of the pistol from which they fired at Lenin. The characteristic details of the assassination weapon are clearly visible, indisputably indicating that the artist painted from the original. The sketch dates back to 1925. Consequently, during this period of time, the pistol existed, and V. N. Pchelin saw it.

Sketch by artist V. N. Pchelin. 1925 year. ("Museum of V. I. Lenin", former "Central Museum of V. I. Lenin", Moscow) [57].

After 1925 and until now, there is no information about the location of the weapon, four cartridges and four cartridge cases.

Two more intriguing facts

A fragment of a photograph from the book “Cheka. Main documents”[56].

A fragment of contemporary photography from the "Museum of V. I. Lenin" in Moscow [58].

Each of them shows a bullet removed from the body of the leader of the proletariat in 1922. Now attention. First, the locations of the bullets in these photographs differ from each other by 180 degrees. Secondly, visually, it seems that these are completely different bullets in shape. Explanations for these contradictions should be sought in the classified archives of the investigating authorities. Most likely, there is also evidence of a crime that disappeared after 1925, namely a pistol, cartridges and four cartridges, proving that there were two killers.

By the way, where is the second bullet that was removed from Lenin's body after his death in 1924? There is no photo of her in open media sources. The exposition of the Museum of V. I. Lenin (Moscow), she is also not represented, although it is quite logical that her presence there, next to the first bullet removed from the body of the leader of the proletariat, would be appropriate. The author of the publication has two options for answering this question. Either the people who investigated the circumstances of the assassination, motivated or unmotivated, decided that the second bullet should be in secret archives, and it is still stored there in some nondescript box, dusty from time to time, in complete oblivion. Either the second bullet was unintentionally destroyed along with the waste of Lenin's body embalming process,and this could really have happened in a hurry and nervous situation in preparation for the funeral of the leader of the Russian proletariat, and this is the most likely reason for her disappearance.

Author: Vasily Sapozhnikov

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