On March 9, 1953, a crowd of thousands gathered in the center of the Soviet capital - people came to say goodbye to the leader. History has previously known cases where the pandemonium led to numerous victims. For example, the tragedy on the Khodynsky field that occurred on the day of the coronation of Nicholas II. But in what happened in March 1953, many saw a terrible mystical sign: the executioner of his people continued to destroy Soviet people even after his death.
How many people died at the funeral of Stalin? What caused the crush in the area of Trubnaya Square?
The death of the Kremlin dictator
Both the life and death of the greatest dictator of the 20th century are still covered in an impenetrable veil of secrets. And so there is no definite answer to the question of how many people died at Stalin's funeral.
The news of the death of the leader shocked the whole country. The news of the death of Stalin was not indifferent to the inhabitants of other states. Died a man who for thirty years set the tone for world politics. A man who destroyed an essential part of his people, but at the same time turned backward Russia into a powerful Soviet Union.
Universal grief
Stalin was terrifying, at the same time instilling love and devotion. On March 5, one could see people in Soviet streets immersed in deep sadness. They did not grieve over the departed leader as much as they were in terrible uncertainty. Stalin died, and it became unclear how to live on, what to expect from tomorrow.
Soviet public holidays on March 8 talked exclusively about the demise of the Generalissimo. Mourning was declared, all entertainment events were canceled. According to the decree of the government, the coffin with the body of the leader was supposed to be transferred to the mausoleum on March 9. But here he did not stand long. In 1961, Stalin's body was taken out of the mausoleum.
Who was at the funeral?
On March 9, a crowd gathered at the Kremlin, most of which were visitors. Gloomy men in sheepskin coats, worried women in village-tied shawls, curious children and naively fearless teenagers - they all came to say goodbye to the "father of the peoples." It was announced that a nationwide farewell will take place in the Hall of Columns. The queue was colossal.
Stalin's funeral was a grand event in the Soviet Union. He ruled the country from 1924 until his death. During this period, a generation has grown up that did not know anything about life without it. He was perceived by a certain celestial. His personal life was classified. The country not only did not speak, but was even afraid to think that the generalissimo was just an ordinary person with its vices and shortcomings.
At the funeral of Stalin there were many teenagers. People of a more mature age also came to say goodbye to the leader. But there were no old people that day in the center of Moscow. Elderly people rarely attend such mass events. Although the researchers believe that the reason is different: those who remembered the pre-Stalin era and had the opportunity to compare did not want to participate in the mourning event.
On the eve of the tragedy
According to eyewitnesses, in those days people went to Moscow even from remote regions. It was impossible to buy tickets to the capital. On the eve of the funeral, the entrance to Moscow was closed, and train traffic was canceled. The police blocked the stations. But it was too late. The capital was literally drowning from the influx of people who first appeared in a huge unfamiliar city. These people turned into a scattered and poorly controlled crowd.
The police and the alarming army did everything possible to take control of the situation. They managed to do this, but only in part. The crowd is a terrible force, which even the most organized army cannot control. How many people died in a crush? At the funeral of Stalin several thousand people gathered. The exact number of visitors and Muscovites, of course, cannot be called. The death toll is classified data.
In the Hall of Columns
While the police tried in vain to prevent the tragedy, in the House of Unions framed by roses, green branches and red banners stood a coffin, to which there was an endless stream of people. The leaders were buried in his favorite everyday uniform. Crystal chandeliers in the Hall of Columns were tightened with black crepe, scarlet velvet panels were fixed on white columns. Spotlights on the streets of the capital illuminated the way to the House of Unions.
Farewell to the leader lasted three days. The entrance to the Hall of Columns was closed on the night of March 8. Preparations for the funeral began.
To the sounds of the mourning march
At exactly 12 o’clock an artillery salute was fired over the Kremlin. Five minutes of silence began across the country. What is happening in Moscow was reported on the radio in his characteristic solemn style by Yuri Levitan. True, he spoke only about the ceremony - about how the troops passed in front of the Mausoleum at the beginning of the first, about the planes that flew over the Kremlin. Nobody knew about the crowds in the country.
At the rally, speeches were made, which later became part of the documentary The Great Farewell. Around the time the embalmed body of the leader was transferred to the Mausoleum, a crush appeared near Trubnaya Square.
The terrible truth about the events of March 9
There are several versions of what caused the crush. It is noteworthy that not only researchers, but also witnesses give completely different facts.
In 1990, Yevgeny Yevtushenko made a film in which he spoke about the March events of 1953. The painting is called "The funeral of Stalin." How many people died in Moscow on March 9, 1953 is unknown. And therefore, historians call different numbers, based on various information and stories of witnesses. Yevtushenko, an eyewitness to those events, believed that several thousand people had died. According to his recollections, the bodies were taken out of town and buried in a common grave. Among those crushed were those who came to their senses, asking for help. They could still be saved. But the ambulance practically did not work.
On mourning days it was forbidden to ride along the central streets. Nobody needed the wounded. Nothing should have overshadowed the funeral of the Generalissimo. Such terrible facts are brought by Yevtushenko and other witnesses. However, no researcher can say how many people died at Stalin's funeral.
Scheduled Promotion
The events of March 9, 1953 are often compared with the tragedy that occurred on the day when Nicholas II ascended the throne. Some historians believe that the de-Stalinization of the country began with the desecration of the leader’s funeral. That is, the stampede did not happen by chance. On the sidelines of the Kremlin, rumors circulated about the significant and terrible phrase that Beria had thrown. The General Commissioner of State Security allegedly said: "Nikolai ended in Khodynka, and Stalin will end in a funeral." But this version is not confirmed by anything.
Christmas Boulevard
During the years of perestroika, information about how many people died during the funeral of Stalin was greatly exaggerated. They said that crowds were formed on March 9, not only in the vicinity of the Kremlin, but also in other areas of Moscow. In reality, the real tragedy did not occur everywhere, only in one place.
For people who came to say goodbye to the deceased Generalissimo, Christmas Boulevard, connecting Trubnaya Square with Sretenka, became a death trap. This street is very narrow and goes downhill. It was here, on Rozhdestvensky Boulevard, that a tragedy occurred. People who walked from the direction of Sretenka fell into small pits near the windows of the basement. When there is a huge crowd, a person does not have the opportunity to rise to his feet. Another, third falls on him. So begins a deadly crush.
Crowd in Red Square
Even today, sixty years after the leader’s death, no one gave the exact number of people who died during Stalin’s funeral. Neither historians nor state security officials have studied this issue. There is a version that people died not only on Rozhdestvensky Boulevard, but also on Red Square, which was fenced off by trucks that day. This fence was not removed even after a terrible crush began.
Some eyewitnesses claim: several hundred Muscovites and visitors suffered. Others, answering the question of how many people died on the day of Stalin's funeral, claim: from two thousand.
The historian Yuri Zhukov insists that there was a lot of space between the trucks allowing free passage, that is, the area was not blocked. However, the poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko in his memoirs talks about the bloody horror that swept several streets of the center of the capital. Which of them to believe? One can only guess how many people died at the funeral of Stalin. Photos where the tragedy did not take.
In March 1953, notes appeared in Soviet newspapers about people's grief, the ceremony in the Hall of Columns, and how much Joseph Vissarionovich did for the Soviet people. Unpleasant facts were not given in the press.
Ordinary citizens did not know not only how many people died during the funeral of Stalin, but even about the tragedy itself. It is impossible to restore the chronology of events. These historians give very approximate. According to one version, about three thousand people died. According to another, the crush occurred only on Rozhdestvensky Boulevard. According to the most conservative estimates, several hundred people died.