In 2015, the famous Time magazine published a list of the richest people of all times and peoples. Among them were Genghis Khan, Bill Gates, Rockefeller and many others. But the most surprising thing is that Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was on the list.
What is left after Stalin
At first glance, it is somehow strange to consider the head of the Country of Soviets a rich man, because there is an opinion that he was a great ascetic. For example, the myth is very popular that after Stalin's death only his cap, darned jacket and holey boots remained.
There is a significant amount of truth in this. The boots were indeed full of holes. Stalin preferred soft shoes in which he cut holes so that she would not rub his bone. The Leader, unfortunately, had sore legs. This fact is known from the memoirs of Nikolai Baybakov, People's Commissar of the Oil Industry.
In addition to these things, a safe was found with Joseph Vissarionovich, where three and a half million Soviet rubles were kept. Every penny of this amount was confirmed by receipts, which were kept in the same safe. The "father of nations" received this money as royalties for published works. Among other things, he left two savings books, one of which was 900 rubles, and the second - 30 thousand.
Leader's Income
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Publication fees were not the only source of income for Joseph Vissarionovich. The General Secretary was not only the head of the Soviet state, but also a civil servant, which means he received a salary for his activities. At first, it was modest and was much less than the average salary in the country, but then it began to grow quite rapidly.
By the end of her reign, she had already reached 10 thousand rubles. To understand the size of this amount, we can cite as an example the price of a Moskvich car, which was then 9 thousand rubles.
The expenses of Joseph Vissarionovich
Actually, the Leader of the Nations practically did not use money. He did not know at all what it cost, and more often than not he did not carry even little things with him. His only regular item of expenditure was the payment of membership party dues, the amount of which was 300 rubles a month. The rest of the money he was in the habit of putting in bags and keeping it on his desk.
Stalin had nowhere to spend them, because he was fully supported by the state. He did not need to buy things or groceries, pay a communal apartment.
Significant sums were spent on servicing the Generalissimo. It was necessary to maintain numerous summer cottages, apartments, houses. Some of them were rather big. Take, for example, the Near Dacha in Kuntsevo, the central hall of which alone had an area of 150 square meters. Of course, not all of Stalin's dachas were as impressive, but in total there were more than a dozen of them.
Each dacha was guarded and was constantly ready to receive the Master. Doctors, cooks and other servants regularly received their salaries. The Leader's personal bodyguard alone numbered several hundred people.
Naturally, the maintenance of Stalin cost the treasury tens of millions of rubles.
But it should be noted that Joseph Vissarionovich did not surround himself with luxury. He behaved quite modestly. He had another passion - Stalin was a born leader, born to control millions of destinies and lives. One can argue for a long time what role he played for our state - positive or negative. But one thing is certain: he was an outstanding historical figure who made a significant contribution to the formation of the country in which we live today.
Author: Sergey Kuzmitsky