Pavlik Frost betrayed his father. Why is Pavlik Morozov famous? Pavlik Morozov: history

Most of the people living in the countries of the former USSR will be able to answer the question of what Pavlik Morozov did. Indeed, its history is well known, and the name has long become a household name. True, unlike the communist version, history has now acquired a rather negative character. What did Pavlik Morozov do? A feat worthy of being known and remembered for many centuries to come? Or is it an ordinary denunciation that has nothing to do with heroism? In search of the truth, one will have to hear the supporters of both versions.

background

Pavlik Morozov was the oldest child in the family of Tatyana and Trofim Morozov. In addition to him, the parents grew up three more boys. As far as we know from the surviving memories, the family lived on the verge of poverty - the guys didn’t even really have clothes. A piece of bread was obtained with difficulty, but, despite this, the boys attended school and diligently learned to read and write.

Their father worked as the chairman of the Gerasimovsky village council and was far from the most popular person. As it became known later, the children "swelled from hunger" not because of the poor earnings of their father. It's just that the money did not reach the house, settling in the pockets of card cheats and vodka dealers.

And Trofim Morozov turned over considerable sums, and he had a completely thieves' biography. Pavlik Morozov knew what his father was doing: appropriation of confiscated things, various documentary speculations, as well as covering those who had not yet been dispossessed. In a word, he actively interfered with the advancement of state policy. It can even be said that Pavlik's father himself became a full-fledged fist.

The starving children did not even know about it, because very soon daddy finally stopped appearing at home, moving to his mistress. From this point on, the continuation of the story diverges. For some, it acquires a connotation of heroism, while for others it is perceived as an ordinary judicial situation. But what did Pavlik Morozov do?

USSR version

Pioneer Pavlik Morozov was an ardent admirer of the teachings of Marx and Lenin and sought to ensure that his state and people came to a bright communist future. The very idea that his own father was doing everything to break the achievements of the October Revolution was disgusting to him. As a loving son and a person with high moral principles, the hero Pavlik Morozov hoped that his father would come to his senses and become right. But everything has a limit. And at some point the boy's cup of patience overflowed.

As the only man in the family, after the departure of his father, he had to carry the entire household. He renounced his parent, and when the family ties finally weakened, he acted like a true communist. Pavlik Morozov wrote a denunciation against his father, where he fully described all his crimes and connections with the kulaks, after which he took the paper to the appropriate authorities. Trofim was arrested and sentenced to 10 years.

Rebuild version

Like any Soviet idol, the young Pavlik Morozov also had to "fall". The truth about his life immediately began to be investigated by historians who turned over dozens of archives to find out what the essence of the pioneer's act was.

Based on these data, they concluded: Pavlik Morozov did not hand over his father into the hands of the Soviet law enforcement system. He only gave testimony, which helped to once again make sure that Trofim is an enemy of the people and a corrupt official who has committed many crimes. In fact, the father of the pioneer was caught, as they say, "hot" - they found fake documents with his signatures. In addition, it should be noted that many members of the village council were arrested and convicted along with him.

Why Pavlik Morozov betrayed his father, if you can call it testifying about the crimes of his relative, you can understand. Probably, the young pioneer did not even think much about kinship - from childhood, dad was a real "scourge" for the family, who did not let his wife or children pass. For example, he stubbornly did not let the boys go to school, believing that they did not need a letter. This despite the fact that Pavlik had an incredible craving for knowledge.

In addition, Trofim Morozov at that time was no longer even a family man, living with his new passion and drinking endlessly. He didn't just not care about the children - he didn't even think about them. Therefore, the son's act is understandable - for him it was already a stranger who managed to bring a lot of evil to the Morozovs' house.

But the story is not over

In fact, there would be no hero if it were not for the events that occurred further, which led to the fact that Pavlik Morozov became a real great martyr of the Soviet era. A close friend of the family (Paul's godfather) Arseny Kulukanov decided on revenge. Since he had previously actively dealt with Trofim, and was a "fist", the arrest of a close comrade hit the future killer's financial situation very badly.

When he learned that Pavel and Fyodor had gone into the forest for berries, he persuaded his middle brother Danila, as well as the grandfather of the Morozovs, Sergey, to go after them. What exactly happened then is unknown. We know only one thing - our hero (Pavlik Morozov) and his younger brother were brutally murdered, or, to be more precise, stabbed to death.

The evidence against the "gang" that had gathered for the murder was the found household knife and Danila's bloodied clothes. DNA examinations did not yet exist, therefore the investigation decided that the blood on the shirt belonged to the brothers of the arrested person. All participants in the crime were found guilty and shot. Danila Morozov immediately recognized all the accusations as true, grandfather Sergei either denied or confirmed his guilt, and only Kulukanov preferred to go into deep defense during the trial.

Propaganda

The Soviet nomenklatura simply could not miss such an opportunity. And the point is not even in the very fact of testifying against the father - this happened all the time at that time, but in disgusting and low revenge for this. Now Pavlik Morozov is a pioneer hero.

The crime, which received publicity in the press, produced a huge response. The authorities cited him as proof of the cruelty and greed of the "kulaks": they say, look what they are ready for because of the loss of material gain. Massive repressions began. Dispossession broke out with renewed vigor, and now any wealthy citizen was in danger.

The fact that Pavlik Morozov betrayed his father was lowered - after all, he did it for the sake of a just cause. The boy who put his life in the foundation of building communism has become a real legend. He was set as an example to follow.

Pavlik Morozov, the feat of the young communist and fighter for the ideas of October, became the subject of a huge number of books, productions, songs and poems. His personality occupied a truly enormous place in the culture of the USSR. In fact, it is very simple to assess the scale of propaganda - now everyone knows the general plot of what happened to this boy. He was supposed to show the children how much more important collective values are in comparison with personal and family interests.

Druzhnikov and his theory

In connection with such close attention of the authorities to the incident, the writer Yuri Druzhnikov put forward the idea of falsifying the crime and deliberately killing Pavlik by the authorities for his further "canonization". This version formed the basis of the study, which later resulted in the book "Informer 001".

It questioned the entire pioneer biography. Pavlik Morozov Druzhnikov was brutally murdered by the OGPU. This assertion is based on two facts. The first one is the record of interviewing a witness allegedly found by the writer in the case of the murder of the Morozov brothers. Everything would be fine, but the protocol was drawn up two days before the discovery of the corpses and the identification of the criminals.

The second position, which Druzhnikov cites, is the absolutely illogical behavior of the killer. According to all the "rules", such a cruel crime should have been tried as best as possible to hide, but the accused did everything literally the other way around. The killers did not bother to bury the corpses or at least somehow hide them, but left them in full view right next to the road. The crime weapon was carelessly thrown at home, and no one thought to get rid of the bloody clothes. Indeed, there are some contradictions in this, isn't it?

On the basis of these theses, the writer concludes that before us is an unreal story. Pavlik Morozov was killed by order, specifically in order to create a myth. Druzhnikov states that according to the materials of the case, which are available in the archives, it is clear that the judge and witnesses are confused and are talking incoherent nonsense. In addition, the accused repeatedly tried to say that they were tortured.

Soviet propaganda hushed up the attitude of fellow villagers to the denunciation of the boy. The writer claims that "Pashka the Communist" is the least offensive nickname of all that the guy received for his "feat".

Reply to Druzhnikov

Druzhnikov's version deeply offended Pavel's only surviving brother, who, after the publication of the book in the UK, declared that he could not tolerate such treatment of the memory of his relative.

He wrote an open letter to the newspapers, where he condemned the "trial" that was arranged for Pavlik. In it, he recalls that in addition to the legend, there is also a real person, a real family who suffered from these events. He cites the times of Stalin, also full of slander and hatred, as an example, and asks: "Are all these 'writers' different from the liars of that time in many ways?"

In addition, it is alleged that the arguments found by Druzhnikov do not coincide with the memories of the teacher. For example, she denies that Pavlik was not a pioneer. Indeed, in his book, the writer says that only after the tragic death of the boy was he assigned to a youth organization in order to create a cult. However, the teacher remembers exactly how a pioneer detachment was created in the village, and the joyful Pavlik received his red tie, which was then taken off and trampled by his father. She was even going to sue an international court to defend the already immortalized heroic story called Pavlik Morozov. History did not wait for this moment, as it turned out that, in fact, Druzhnikov and his theory were not taken seriously by anyone.

Among British historians, this book literally caused ridicule and criticism, as the writer contradicted himself. For example, he wrote clearly and clearly that there is no more unreliable source of information than Soviet documents, especially if they relate to the legal system. And the author himself used these records to his advantage.

Ultimately, no one argues - the facts of the crime in the USSR were clearly hushed up and hidden. The whole story was presented exclusively in tones favorable to the leadership. However, there is no evidence that everything that happened is a fiction and a deliberately planned operation. The case rather proves how cleverly any incident can be turned out by propaganda.

Supreme Court

and the related crime were not overlooked during the prosecution's investigation into the rehabilitation of victims of political cases. Attempts were made to find evidence of an ideological background in the murder of the boy. The commission conducted a deep and thorough investigation, after which it declared with responsibility: the murder of Pavel and Fedor is pure criminality. This meant, first of all, the recognition by the new government of a low and vile crime, and on the other hand, it overthrew Pavlik from his pedestal, declaring him dead not at all in the fight against the kulaks.

antihero

Now Pavlik Morozov acts more like an anti-hero. In the age of capitalism, when everyone should think about himself and his family, and not about the general team, the people, his "feat" can hardly be called such.

The betrayal of one's own father is viewed from a completely different position, as a low and vile act. Now in culture, the boy has become a symbol of an informer who was not worthy of being recorded as pioneer heroes. Pavlik Morozov has become a negative character for many. This is evidenced by the destroyed monuments to the hero.

Many see mercenary intent in his testimony - he sought to take revenge on his father for his childhood. Allegedly, Tatyana Morozova did the same, trying to intimidate her husband and force him to return home after the trial. Some writers and culturologists find the very meaning of Pavlik's feat terrible - an example for children that teaches them to inform and betray.

Conclusion

Probably, we will never fully find out who Pavlik Morozov really is. Its history is ambiguous and is still full of secrets and understatement. Of course, you can look at it from completely different angles, presenting information as you like.

But, as they say, there was a cult, but there was also a personality. It is worth trying to look at the whole tragedy from another angle, given the difficult time in which Pavlik Morozov and his family lived. It was an era of terrible change, a painful, cruel and destructive period. The USSR lost a lot of intelligent and smart people in connection with the purges. People lived in constant fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

In fact, at the center of events lies the simple tragedy of another family that lived at that time. Pavlik is neither a hero nor a traitor. He is just a young man who has become a victim of cruelty and revenge. And we can talk about mystification and propaganda as much as we like, but we should never forget about the existence of a real person.

In every totalitarian power there was a similar story. Even in Nazi Germany there was a hero boy who fell at a young age for the sake of an idea. And so it always is, because this image is one of the most advantageous for the propaganda machine. Isn't it time to just forget the whole story? To pay tribute to an innocently fallen child and no longer use it as evidence of anything, no matter whether the greed of the kulaks or the horrors of the USSR.

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Pavlik Morozov is a legendary person around whom there is always a lot of controversy. These disputes do not stop at the present time, since it is still impossible to answer the main question of who Pavlik Morozov is - a hero or a traitor. There is little information about what this boy did and what his fate is, so it’s impossible to figure out this story until the end.

There is only the official version of his date of birth and how the boy died. All other events remain an occasion for discussions about the act of this pioneer to continue.

Origin, life

It is known that Pavel Trofimovich Morozov was born in mid-November 1918. His father, Trofim Sergeevich, came to the village Gerasimovka, Tobolsk province in 1910. He belonged to ethnic Belarusians, therefore, in his own way origin he belonged to the Stolypin settlers.

The family of Trofim Sergeevich Morozov and Tatyana Semyonovna Baidakova, who lived in the Turin district, had five children:

Pavel.
George.
Fedor.
Novel.
Alexei.

There is information that the paternal grandfather was once a gendarme, and the grandmother was known for a long time as a horse thief. Their acquaintance was unusual: when my grandmother was in prison, her grandfather guarded her. There they met and then they began to live together.

In the family of the pioneer, besides him, there were four more brothers. But George died as a baby. It is known that the third son, Fedor, was born around 1924. The rest of the brothers' birth dates are unknown.

family tragedy

According to reliable information, Trofim Sergeevich until 1931 was the chairman of the village council of Gerasimovka. Soon after childbirth he left his wife and children and went to live with a neighbor. But despite the fact that Antonina Amosova became his civil wife, Trofim Morozov continued to beat his wife and children. Pavlik's teacher also spoke about this.

Grandfather Sergey also hated his daughter-in-law, as she was against living in one, common household. Tatyana Semyonovna insisted on the division as soon as she appeared in this family. Not only the father did not love his family and did not treat her respectfully, but the grandfather and grandmother behaved in this way towards their grandchildren as if they were strangers. Alexei, the youngest of the brothers, recalled that they never treated their grandchildren with anything, they were never friendly and affectionate towards them.

They were also negative about going to school. They also had a grandson Danila, whom they did not let into school. Constantly, both Tatyana and her children were told that Danila would be the owner even without a letter, but Tatyana's children had only one fate - become farmhands. At the same time, they did not skimp on rude expressions and, according to Alexei Morozov, Pavlik's younger brother, they even called them "puppies."

Everyone in the village lived in poverty, but Pavlik Morozov liked to go to school. Despite the fact that after the departure of his father from the family, he became an older man, and all the chores for the peasant economy fell on his childish shoulders, the pioneer still sought to learn something.

He was on good terms with his teacher so he often referred to her. He missed many lessons as he worked in the fields and at home, but he always took books to read. But even this was difficult for him, since there was always no time. He always tried to catch up with the material that he missed. He studied well. The desire to learn, according to the teacher L. Isakova, the boy was strong. Pavlik even tried to teach his mother to read and write.

The fate and crime of Trofim Morozov

As soon as Trofim Sergeevich Morozov became chairman of the village council, he soon began to use power for selfish purposes. By the way, this is also mentioned in detail in the criminal case that was opened against Trofim Morozov. There were even witnesses the fact that, using his power, confiscating some things from dispossessed families, he began to appropriate them for himself.

In addition, he, realizing that the special settlers needed certificates, gave them out for a fee, speculating on them. For their crimes Trofim Sergeevich Morozov was convicted in 1931. By this time, he had already been removed from the post of chairman of the village council. For all his crimes, he received 10 years.

The accusation stated that he "befriended the kulaks", "hid their farms from taxation", and then, when he was no longer in the village council, he contributed to "the flight of special settlers by selling documents." Fake certificates to people who were dispossessed gave them the opportunity to leave the place where they were exiled.

It is also known how later, after the trial, the life of Trofim Morozov developed. He, as a prisoner, participated in the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. Having worked hard for 3 years, he returned to the village of Gerasimovka with a reward. For shock and excellent work he was awarded the order. And after a while he moved to Tyumen and settled there.

The fate of the family of Pavlik Morozov

Pavlik's mother looked very pretty woman. This was remembered by all the contemporaries of this tragic story. By nature, Tatyana was simple and kind. Of course, she was afraid of her ex-husband, and there was no one to protect her. Therefore, in order not to meet with her ex-husband and his relatives anymore, after the murder of her sons, she left.

It is known that only after the end of the Great Patriotic War, she settled permanently in the city of Alupka, where she died in 1983. There were several versions about how the life of the brothers Pavlik Morozov turned out. Yes, Roman younger brother, according to one version, died at the front. But there is another version: in the war he was seriously wounded, but survived and became disabled. Therefore, he died shortly after the end of the war.

All versions about the fate of the brothers claim one thing: Alexei became the only successor to the Morozov family. But his fate was not easy either, because during the war he was captured and for a long time he was considered an enemy of the people. He was married, in this marriage two children were born:

Denis.
Pavel.

Alexey Morozov did not live long with his wife and soon after the divorce he settled in his mother's house in Alupka. The fact that he was the brother of Pavlik Morozov, Alexey tried to never tell anyone. For the first time, he voiced this only at the time when, at the end of 1980, during Perestroika, they began to talk badly about his brother.

The official version of Pavlik Morozov's story

At school, the pioneer studied well and was a ringleader and leader among his peers. Wikipedia says about Pavlik Morozov that he independently organized a pioneer detachment in the village, which became the first in Gerasimovka. By official version the boy, despite his young age, believed in communist ideas.

In 1930, according to historical data, he betrayed his father and informed him that he was forging certificates to the kulaks about their dispossession. As a result, because of this denunciation, Pavlik's father was arrested and sentenced to 10 years. Despite the fact that he was released three years later, there is a version that he was shot.

Currently, there are several assumptions as to why Pavlik Morozov denounced his father, because it is still impossible to decide who this pioneer is - a hero or a traitor.

Myths about the act of a pioneer

There are several myths about what really happened. All of them differ from the main official version:

Version of the writer Vladimir Bushin.
The version of the journalist Yuri Druzhnikov.

Vladimir Bushin was sure that there was no political intent in Pavlik's act. He wasn't going to betray him. According to the writer, the boy hoped that his father could be scared a little, and he would return to the family. After all, the boy was the eldest in the family, and his mother needed help. Pavlik did not think at all about what the consequences would be.

As the writer assures, the boy was not even a pioneer, and the pioneer organization in his village appeared much later. In some portraits, Pavlik is depicted in a pioneer tie, but, as it turns out, he was also completed much later.

There is a version that Pavlik did not write any denunciations about his father at all. And against Trofim, who was detained for those fictitious certificates that happened to be in the possession of the Chekists, his ex-wife Tatyana testified at the trial.

Yuri Druzhnikov, a historian, writer and journalist, claimed in his book that the child wrote a denunciation of his father on behalf of his mother. And it was not his father's relatives who killed him, but an OGPU agent. But later it was proved by the court that, nevertheless, the reprisal against the boy was arranged by his uncle and grandfather. Aleksei Morozov vehemently opposed this version. He was able to prove that his brother was not a traitor, but just a boy whose life was tragic. He was able to prove that his relatives specially went to the forest to kill Pavlusha.

tragic death

For his deed, the boy paid with his life. When, after the trial of his father, he went to the forest to pick berries, he was slaughtered there along with his younger brother. It happened on September 3rd. The mother at that time left for Tavda to sell the calf. The children wanted to spend the night in the forest. They knew that no one would look for them.

And four days later, one of the local residents found their corpses. There were numerous stab wounds on the body. By this time, they were already looking for them, because the day before the mother returned home and, not finding the boys, immediately told the police. The whole village was looking for them.

Aleksey, the middle brother, told his mother, and then confirmed this in court, that on September 3 he saw Danila, who was walking from the forest. When the boy, who was already 11 years old, asked if he had seen his brothers, he just laughed. The child also remembered what Danila Morozov was wearing:

Woven trousers.
Black shirt.

When the house of my grandfather, Sergei Sergeevich Morozov, was searched, these things were found. As the mother of slaughtered children recalled, grandmother Aksinya Morozova, meeting her on the street, spoke with a grin about slaughtered children.

Upon discovery of the bodies of children, reports of examination of the bodies were drawn up, which were signed:

Local policeman Titov Yakov.
P. Makarov, paramedic.
Pyotr Ermakov, witness.
Abraham of the Book, understood.
Ivan Barkin, witness.

In the first act of the crime scene inspection, it is written that Pavel was lying not far from the road, and a red bag was put on his head. He received several blows. The fatal blow was to the stomach. Scattered cranberries lay next to the body, and a basket lay a little further on. The shirt on the child was torn, and a huge blood stain spread on the back. The boy's blue eyes were open and his mouth was closed.

The corpse of the second boy was a little further from his brother. Fedor was hit on the head with a stick. First, most likely, he was hit in the left temple, and then they stabbed him in the stomach. There was a bloody streak on the baby's right cheek, his hand was cut with a knife to the bone. From the incision on the abdomen, which fell above the navel, the internal organs were visible.

The second act of examination was already done by paramedic Markov after he washed the bodies and examined them. So, the paramedic counted four knife wounds on Pavlik:

On the chest on the right side.
Substratum area.
Left side.
From the right side.

According to the paramedic, the fourth wound was fatal for the boy. He had another stab wound on the thumb of his left hand. Most likely, the boy was trying to defend himself somehow. The Morozov brothers were buried in Gerasimovka.

Trial

When the events of this crime were restored, it turned out that the initiator of this murder was Arseniy Kulukanov, a fist. He learned that the boys had gone into the forest, and offered their cousin to kill Pavel, giving 5 rubles for this. Danila went home, started harrowing, and then, passing the conversation on to his grandfather Sergei, took a knife and went into the forest. Grandfather went with him.

As soon as they met the boys, Danila immediately stabbed Pavlik with a knife. Fedya tried to run away, but his grandfather detained him, and Danila stabbed him too. When Fedor was already dead and Danila was convinced of this, he again returned to Pavlik and struck him a few more blows.

The murder of the Morozov brothers was widely publicized, and the authorities used it to finally crack down on the kulaks and organize collective farms.

The trial of the boys' killers took place in one of the clubs in Tavda, and it was indicative. All the accusations were confirmed by Danila Morozov himself. The rest of the defendants in this case pleaded not guilty. The following items were evidence:

Economic knife of Sergey Morozov.
The bloody clothes of Danila Morozov, which Alexei described. But the man himself claimed that he slaughtered a calf in these clothes for Pavlik's mother.

By court decision, the grandfather and cousin of the boys were guilty of this crime. And the uncle and godfather of Pavlik Arseniy Kulukanov was announced as the organizer. Grandmother Xenia was declared an accomplice. The verdict was harsh: Arseny and Danila were shot, and grandma and grandfather died in prison.

The act of Pavlik Morozov in literature.

The Soviet authorities regarded the boy's act as a feat that he accomplished for the good of the people. Hiding some of the facts of his life, the pioneer was made a hero and a role model. Therefore, literature could not pass by this act.

So, already in 1934, Sergei Mikhalkov and Franz Szabo created the touching “Song of Pavlik Morozov”. At the same time, Vitaly Gubarev wrote a story about a boy-hero for younger children. In the post-war period, poems were written about the brave boy by Stepan Shchipachev and Elena Khorinskaya. Children at school learned a poem about him by heart.

Today, there are many opinions about Pavlik's act, but this story has not yet been fully disclosed. And even in the archives there are many serious contradictions. Therefore, the question of what he did - a feat or a betrayal - remains open.

09/10/2003 The mystery of the life and death of Pavlik Morozov

Tyumen. September 3 marks the 71st anniversary of the death of Pavlik Morozov. He, along with his younger brother Fedya, was killed for denouncing his father to the Chekists. The village of Gerasimovka, where Pavlik was born and buried, is located 40 kilometers from the regional center of Tavda, Sverdlovsk Region.

In Soviet times, when the pioneer hero Pavlik Morozov was a model for the younger generation, an asphalt road was laid in the village and the House-Museum was built. Tourists from all over the country were taken by bus - 10-15 excursions a day. Now Gerasimovka is known only to old-timers and historians. The memorial complex is closed and is in a deplorable state.

Train of mystery

Streets in dozens of Russian cities still bear the name of Pavlik Morozov, although the main monument to the hero with a banner in his hand has long been removed from its pedestal in a park on Moscow's Krasnaya Presnya. After his death, he was forever inscribed in the history of the pioneers at number 001, and now his name has become a symbol of betrayal.

"There is still no clarity in this case. Even in the materials that are available, inconsistencies can be found, but no re-analysis has been carried out," says Anna Pastukhova, chairman of the Yekaterinburg branch of the Memorial human rights society. She believes that it is too early to close the case of Pavlik Morozov, "who has become a bargaining chip in adult games."

After several decades, it is already difficult to understand where is the myth about a 14-year-old boy who allegedly sacrificed his life in the fight against the "kulaks" who hid bread from the village poor, and where is the real life of a semi-literate teenager from a large village family.

Informer 001

The first attempt to make an independent investigation into the life of Pavlik was made back in the mid-80s by the Moscow prose writer Yuri Druzhnikov, who later wrote the book Informer 001, or the Ascension of Pavlik Morozov, translated into several foreign languages. During the investigation, Druzhnikov was able to talk with some of the boy's surviving relatives, including his mother, Tatyana Morozova, whom Soviet propaganda turned into the heroic mother of the pioneer hero.

The death of Pavlik was blamed on his closest relatives - grandfather Sergei Morozov, his wife Xenia, cousin Danila and godfather - Armenia Kulukanov. Druzhnikov was the first to question the verdict. The trial itself was conducted in violation of the law, and "the main evidence of the guilt of the defendants were quotations from the reports of Stalin and Molotov that the class struggle intensified in certain areas, and the accused were an illustration of the correctness of their statements."

Druzhnikov, now a lecturer at the University of California, believes that Pavlik's denunciation of his father was made by him at the "instigation of his mother, whom his father left behind, having gone to another."

“He was never a pioneer either, he was made a pioneer after his death,” says Druzhnikov. “And most importantly, I revealed secret documents that Pavlik and his brother were killed not by kulaks, but by two NKVD officers: one is a voluntary and the second is a professional. They killed and pinned the blame on relatives who did not want to join the collective farm. By the way, the convicts were not kulaks either. They were forced to dig a hole for themselves, stripped naked and shot for example. This is how Stalin's directive on total collectivization was carried out locally. And the pioneer hero was needed two years later, when the Writers' Union was created and the boy was named the first positive hero of socialist realism.

Poor Pavlik Morozov

On September 3, 1982, the country widely celebrated the 50th anniversary of the death of the pioneer hero Pavlik Morozov, who was brutally murdered by bandits-kulaks. And a few years later, the memory of the hero began to be debunked, who allegedly turned out to be a juvenile informer against his own father. Meanwhile, the famous revolutionary Shlisselburger N. Morozov told the truth about the tragedy that had unfolded in the Urals to the writer Alexei Tolstoy back in 1939 ... This mysterious story is told in an article by the Tsarskoye Selo local historian, our longtime author Fyodor Morozov.

About twenty years ago, I remember, Lenin's rooms in secondary, music and sports schools throughout the country were covered with portraits of Pavlik Morozov. And the stories about the young pioneer, who allegedly exposed the hostile activities of his father, a fist, who hid grain from starving workers, and for this he was brutally murdered by his own grandfather and brother, the fists, diluted the radio stations "Mayak" and "Youth" almost every Saturday.

During the reign of Andropov, the feat of Pavlik received a new interpretation. His father turned from a kulak into a village headman, who enjoyed a reputation among his fellow villagers as a respected, decent person, but succumbed to intimidation by bandits hiding in the forests, to whom he issued false certificates. And in 1984, it suddenly turned out that Pavlik Morozov himself was not at all the one for whom he had been given out for fifty years ...

The family of Trofim Morozov - the head of the village of Gerasimovka, Tavdinsky district, Sverdlovsk region - was, it turns out, very pious and did not miss a single Sunday service and church holiday. Moreover, both sons of the headman, Pavel and Fedor, often helped the local priest, for which he taught them to read and write. On the day of death on September 3, 1932, when both brothers were returning home from the local priest, they were slaughtered not far from their native village.

In 1989, the Ogonyok magazine published a new version, according to which it turned out that Pavlik Morozov, in principle, could not be a pioneer, since the nearest pioneer organization at that time was 120 kilometers from Gerasimovka. The reason for his murder was as if purely domestic. Pavlik's mother allegedly died, and his relationship with his stepmother did not work out. A strange and terrible role in the events was played by the jealousy of Morozov's neighbor, who, on behalf of Pavlik, wrote a denunciation to the Tavdinsky department of the GPU, casting a shadow of suspicion on the unsuspecting boy. During interrogations, Pavlik allegedly answered insulting questions with silence, which was taken as his confession in writing the denunciation. Mad with shame and grief, grandmother Aksinya decided in her own way to deal with Pavlik and his brother. Watching them on a forest road late in the evening of September 3, 1932, she strangled them ...

In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, this story looks different. Pavlik Morozov handed over his father, who allegedly sold documents to the enemies of the people, to the secretary of the Tavdinsky district party committee back in 1930, and at the same time appeared in court as an accuser of his own ancestor. At the same time, Pavlik Morozov was allegedly elected chairman of the council of the pioneer detachment of Gerasimovka. And in 1932, Pavlik, being a 14-year-old teenager, allegedly headed local food detachments to seize surplus grain from the kulaks of the entire Tavdinsky district, for which the kulaks slaughtered him along with his brother on a forest road (TSB 1954, vol. 28, p. 310 ).

Meanwhile, back in 1939, the famous honorary academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, revolutionary Schlisselburger Nikolai Morozov, outraged by the proximity of his surname to the surname of Pavlik in the first Soviet encyclopedia of 1936, undertook an investigation of this case, so to speak, in hot pursuit. And I found out that everything was completely different from what was said and written in all the then official sources. According to Morozov's investigation, it turned out that Pavlik was not a pioneer, just as he was not an informer. At the trial against the head of the family, he acted as a witness and defended his father with all his might, which there were still many witnesses at that time: the court session in Tavda was held with open doors.

The honorary academician failed to talk with the secretary of the Tavdinsky district committee, to whom Pavlik allegedly whispered in his ear about the atrocities of his father: by that time the official had already been shot as an enemy of the people. But in the case of the murder of Pavel and Fyodor Morozov, Nikolai Alexandrovich discovered the testimony of members of the Morozov family - mother, sister and uncle. In her explanatory note, Tatyana Semyonovna, Pavel's mother, obviously under dictation, called her son a snitch, and blamed his grandfather, grandmother and uncle Danila for his death. In the same note, she first called Pavlik a pioneer. “My son Pavel, no matter what he saw or heard about this kulak gang, always reported them to the village council. Because of this, the kulaks hated him and in every possible way wanted to wipe out this young pioneer from the face of the earth.” (A curious detail: Pavlik's father was the chairman of the Gerasimovsky village council, so it turns out that he passed denunciations on his father and relatives to his father himself!)

As a result of meetings and conversations with the surviving Morozov relatives, the academician found out that a conflict had long been ripening in the family. By writing out left-wing documents, Trofim Morozov brought terrible misfortune to the family. Endless showdowns at night eventually led to a divorce and division of property. Taking advantage of the opportunity, numerous "well-wishers" intervened in the case, a train of denunciations about Trofim Sergeyevich, grandmother Aksinya and grandfather Sergey reached the Tavdinsky district committee and the district police department. All the slanders were allegedly written from the words of Pavlik by the local policeman Ivan Poputchik and the hut Pyotr Yeltsin. On their basis, the trial of Trofim Morozov was hastily concocted.
By that time, Pavlik himself knew how to write, so the denunciations allegedly recorded from his words that went to the area were 100% fakes! For some reason, Pavel was not asked questions about his "denunciations" at the trial. Nevertheless, although the guilt of Trofim Sergeevich was not proven, he got a sentence, and the Morozov family was almost repressed as a kulak family. This happened, however, two years later, and the district police officer demanded that Pavel himself testify against his grandfather and grandmother, respected in the district. Morozov, as their eldest grandson, resolutely refused, saying that he would beg a priest he knew for such thoughts and suggestions to anathematize the district police officer. Pavel's conversation with the district police officer took place on September 1, 1932, and Pavel managed to convey its content to his confessor. And on September 3, he, together with his brother, returning from the church, did not reach the house ... Two days later, the bodies of the tormented brothers were found literally a stone's throw from the village. On the same day, the district police officer had terrible suspicions, and he conducted searches in the house of grandfather Pavlik and his cousin Danila, where he found bloody pants, a shirt and a knife. What kind of fool keeps such evidence in the house? The precinct was not going to answer such a stupid question from fellow villagers, he did not care about trifles.

On September 8, the district police officer, with the support of the opera from Tavda, knocked out testimony from Danila Morozov that the brothers were stabbed to death by the neighbor of the Morozovs, Efrem Shatrakov, who, Danila, only kept both "pioneers". The district police officer I. Poputchik added to the case of the murder of the brothers the last one, allegedly written from the words of Pavlik by the district police officer, "denunciation" against Shatrakov's neighbor, who allegedly concealed large surpluses of grain. On the same day, a strange explanatory note from Pavlik's mother appeared, in which he already appears as a pioneer and scammer, and the grandfather, grandmother and cousin Danila are called the main culprits of the tragedy.

On September 12, Danila changed his testimony and declared guilty of the death of the brothers of their own 80-year-old infirm grandfather Sergei Sergeyevich, who was not even able to keep up with his grandchildren, not to mention raising a knife over their heads! In the final version of the investigation, it is already indicated that the bloody "evidence" was found in the house of his grandfather, S.S. Morozov ...

The court sentenced the grandfather and cousin Pavlik Morozov, and at the same time the grandmother "for non-information" to be shot, while Shatrakov's neighbor was released from the courtroom as "repentant" ...

According to Tatyana Semyonovna, Pavlik's mother, the testimony against her grandfather was beaten out of her by employees of the Tavdinsky department of the OGPU by threats of reprisals against the whole family.

Honorary academician N.A. Morozov brought this maternal recognition with him in 1939 from Gerasimovka; he showed it to his acquaintances, in particular, to the deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, writer Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy. However, he was afraid to launch the document.

Just before his death in 1946, Morozov handed over the confessions of Pavlik's mother to Tsarskoye Selo local historians, from whose funds they were stolen in April 1951. Vladimir Nikolayevich Smirnov, at that time the deputy chairman of the local section of local lore, told me about this.

Before the war, no one tried to shoot at least a small documentary about the most legendary pioneer of the era ... Is it because, apart from the Tavda Chekists and their rough cooking, there was nothing to shoot?

The name of Pavlik Morozov forever remained crap, the truth-bearers of all generations ruffled him at every corner and, no matter how scary, they rattle him to this day. Who and when will anathematize them for such fanaticism and mockery of the memory of innocent people?

Watch in advance "Logicology - about the fate of man"

Who is Pavlik Morozov? In the post-war years, a lot of controversy erupted around his legendary personality. Some saw a hero in his face, others claimed that he was an informer and did not accomplish any feat. The information that is established reliably is not enough to restore all the details of the event. Therefore, many of the nuances were added by the journalists themselves. Official confirmation is only the fact of his death from a knife, date of birth and death. All other events are subject to discussion.

Official version

In the Soviet Union, Pavel belonged to a host of so-called pioneer heroes. Pavlik Morozov was born in the Urals in 1918. He studied well at school and was a ringleader among his peers testify to the fact that he was an excellent student and was a leader among his peers. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia contains information that Pavel Morozov organized the first pioneer detachment in his village. The boy grew up in a large family. At an early age, he lost his father, who left for another woman, leaving the children in the care of his mother. Despite the fact that many worries after the departure of his father fell on the shoulders of Paul, he showed a great desire to study. This was later told by his teacher L.P. Isakova.

At his young age, he firmly believed in communist ideas. In 1930, according to the official version, he denounced his father, who, being the chairman of the village council, forged certificates to the kulaks that they were allegedly dispossessed.

As a result, Father Pavel was sentenced to 10 years. For his heroic deed, the boy paid with his life: he and his younger brother were slaughtered in the forest when the boys were picking berries. All members of the Morozov family were later accused of the massacre. His own paternal grandfather Sergey and 19-year-old cousin Danila, as well as grandmother Ksenia (as an accomplice) and Pavel's godfather - Arseniy Kulukanov, who was his uncle (as a village kulak - as the initiator and organizer of the murder) were found guilty of the murder of Yuyli . After the trial, Arseny Kulukanov and Danila Morozov were shot, octogenarian Sergei and Ksenia Morozov died in prison. Another uncle of Pavlik, Arseniy Silin, was also accused of complicity in the murder, but during the trial he was acquitted.

Interestingly, Pavlik's father, convicted of forgery, returned from the camps three years later. He participated in the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal and, after working for three years, returned home with an order for hard work, and then settled in Tyumen.

The act of Pavel Morozov was regarded by the Soviet authorities as a feat for the benefit of the people. He believed in a bright future and made a significant contribution to the building of communism, for which he paid with his life. They made a real hero out of Pavlik, while hiding some dubious facts from his life. Over time, this whole story turned into a legend, which became an example for many compatriots.

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