After the meal, Manturov drank kvass in the hall with the visiting Kaganovich and discussed the development of Soviet heavy industry; Katia went upstairs and chatted with her sister Tatiana. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Voroshilov, on the other hand, continued to drink with Budyonny in the hall, and the two of them had already drunk a lot of vodka during the meal, but they were still not the slightest drunk, and they were still very conscious.

There's no way, Maozi's alcohol consumption is so good, and both of them are mixed from the army, and they have been drinking spirits for decades, can the alcohol be bad?

Of course, there is always a limit to how much alcohol you can drink. After drinking for more than an hour, both of them were already drunk and began to talk nonsense. At the beginning, they were just talking about some trivial things in the army, and there was nothing special.

But later, Budyonny began to say something about his wife, attracting the attention of others.

"Krim, there's something I've been holding on for a long time and want someone to talk to." Budyonny took the bottle and said to Voroshilov drunkenly.

"What's the matter? Just say it to me. Voroshilov looked very drunk, but when he spoke, his words were still clear.

"Last July, I did the dumbest thing in my life."

Kaganovich, who was more than ten meters away, knew what Budyonny was referring to as soon as he heard it. He stopped his discussion with Manturov, turned his head, and listened intently to Budyonny's drunken words.

"Do you know how stupid I am? I personally sent Olya to the Lubyanka prison! ”

Olya? Who are they?

She was Budyonny's wife, Olga Stepanovna Mikhailova.

This woman is 20 years younger than Budyonny and is an opera singer.

In July 1937, Yezhov reported to Marshal Budyonny that his wife had visited foreign embassies and suspected her of being a foreign spy.

In order to protect himself from the frenzied purge, Budyonny learned of the news and immediately took his wife to Lubyanka prison for interrogation.

Later, Olga was sent to the Gula camp, where she was forcibly ......

It was only after Stalin's death that Budyonny dared to write a letter to the Soviet prosecutor's office, asking for his wife's reputation to be restored, stating the whole insane course of the case, that the Soviet government was willing to release Olga.

"Comrade Budyonny, Olga is a foreign spy, you should send her to prison." Voroshilov poured half a bottle of vodka and continued: "If it were me, if I had known that Lina (Voroshilov's wife Ekaterina) was a foreign spy, I would have handed her over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs the same. ”

"Spies?" In a fit of rage, Budyonny threw the bottle in his hand out, "Poof! With a bang, the bottle exploded, and shards of glass were scattered all over the ground. Fortunately, the bottle was empty, and Budyonny threw it far enough, and the bottle landed in a remote enough place not to hurt anyone.

"Isn't she a spy?" Voroshilov asked.

"She had only been to the embassy once, and she hadn't done anything at all. The next day, Yezhov came to the door and said that she was suspected of being involved in espionage activities and should be arrested. ”

Voroshilov looked puzzled and asked in surprise: "Is it?" Then why did you send her to prison? ”

"Why? For self-preservation. In this year, a trip to the embassy and a meeting with anyone who has a chance of being convicted can be charged with espionage. If I don't send her to prison, I'm afraid I'll never have a chance to come here and drink with you, but I'll be sent to Camp Gula.

If I'm lucky, I should be driven to your son-in-law's apartment building, and if I'm unlucky, I'll be sent to the North Pole and frozen to death.

At that time, you will be left with only one of the five marshals of the Soviet Union. You are well deserved - the first marshal! ”

At this time, Manturov, who had been silent for a long time, began to speak. "Well, Comrade Budyonny, since your wife has made no mistake, why should you worry about your own conviction?"

Budyonny slowly turned his head and said to Manturov: "Young man, ...... in these years."

Manturov didn't understand Budyonny's drunken words at all. First, the drunken Budyonny could not pronounce clearly, and second, the distance between the two was a bit far, and it was difficult for Manturov to speak clearly, although he was very good hearing.

Lazar Kaganovic stood up, carefully avoiding the shards of glass on the ground, and walked in front of Budyonny. "Comrade Budyonny, you drank too much. Go back and rest. ”

"Nope! I'm not drunk! Lazar, come, have a few bottles with me! ”

"Oh, no. I don't want to drink too much. ”

Voroshilov, who drank supermanably, poured another half bottle of vodka and, drunkenly, said to Kaganovich: "Lazar, drink a few bottles with me." ”

"No, no."

"Then Lazar, don't bother us. I said to Semyon that I wouldn't get drunk tonight. Voroshilov turned his head, glanced at Manturov, and then said to Kaganovich: "Lazar, didn't you just have a good conversation with him?" If my son-in-law says something wrong, please help me testify against him without giving me face. ”

"That'...... All right. Kaganovic said helplessly.

………………………………

The next morning, in the Kremlin.

"Comrade Stalin, I received information that Comrade Budyonny, while drinking at Comrade Voroshilov's house last night, spit out something that should not have been said." Beria, the newly appointed head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said to Stalin.

Stalin took his large pipe and said: "Comrade Beria, what did he say?" ”

"He told the ins and outs of the case of his wife, Olga Mikhailova."

Stalin took a puff of his cigarette and asked: "What did he say?" ”

"Comrade Stalin, Comrade Budyonny said that his wife only asked a foreign friend to buy a few Soviet novels and sent them to the embassy for the embassy to help pass them on, and did not engage in any espionage activities. He sent his wife to prison because he feared he would be implicated in the purge. ”

Stalin turned his tiger-like, yellow-brown eyes and asked, "Who is there?" ”

"There was Marshal Voroshilov, as well as Comrade Lazar Kaganovich and Comrade Verradimo Fedorovich Manturov, First Secretary of the Novosibirsk Regional Committee."

Stalin looked at the Order of Lenin on the table and said: "Villadimo Manturov? I just happened to have something I wanted to ask him. He was also at Klimant's house last night? ”

"Yes, he lives in Comrade Voroshilov's dacha now."

As soon as Beria left, Stalin called Voroshilov's dacha.

The person who answered the phone was again Tatiana Frunze - Voroshilov's adopted daughter and the biological daughter of General Frunze.

As soon as someone answered the phone, Stalin could not wait to say: "I am looking for Comrade Viradimo Manturov." ”

"Who are you?"

"My name is Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin."

Hearing Stalin's name, Tatiana suddenly became excited and said: "Comrade Stalin! I'm going to call him, please wait. ”

Tatiana slipped out of Manturov's room, opened the door, and shouted to the room: "Brother-in-law, Comrade Manturov, Comrade Stalin has called and said that he is looking for you. ”

Manturov rubbed his eyes, then put on his glasses and said: "I heard me right, Comrade Stalin?" ”

"Yes."

Manturov hurriedly walked to the phone, picked it up, and said nervously: "Comrade Stalin, are you looking for me?" ”

"See you in the Kremlin at two o'clock in the afternoon, young man."

"Yes!"

"Before you come, please think about what happened last night. Think about what Comrade Budyonny said? ”

Hearing this, Manturov suddenly shuddered, why did what happened in Voroshilov's house reach Stalin's ears so quickly?

"Good...... The "