In the history of the Soviet state, Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik is known as the head of the bodyguard of Joseph Stalin, who devoted 25 years of his biography to the service of the leader of the Soviet Union.
Childhood
Nikolai Vlasik was born in 1896 in a small Belarusian village in the Grodno province. Parents were peasants, the family lived very poorly. As a 13-year-old boy, Kolya was forced to go to work. He took up adult work in order to somehow help his parents, he was a laborer, a digger.
Nikolai Vlasik had no education, only three classes of study at a local church school. Despite this, he achieved great success in his career, made a significant contribution to the security organization of leading government officials, in particular Joseph Stalin.
Military service
In the spring of 1915, the young man was called up for service as an infantryman in the Ostrog Regiment. For military distinctions during the First World War, Nikolai Sidorovich was awarded the St. George Cross. During the period of revolutionary actions, Vlasik sided with the Soviets. He did not work long in the Moscow police, then enlisted in the army. He fought heroically on the fronts of the Civil War, fought under Tsaritsyn, commanded a company.
Career
Since 1918, Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik began a rapid career growth. He joined the Bolshevik party, served in the Cheka, eventually renamed the OGPU, and held the post of senior branch.
In 1927, a special security structure was created, led by field investigator Vlasik. Four years later, he became the personal guard of Stalin and his family. When Stalin was widowed, Nikolai took upon himself the responsibility of raising his children, actively resolving everyday issues. He developed a special security system for the country's leader; in fact, Vlasik was the shadow of a leader. It is worth noting his idea to transport state leaders in a cavalcade of identical-looking cars. Only proxies knew which one the leader was in.
End of career
Among Stalin’s circle, besides loyal people, there were enemies. The main such "well-wisher" was Beria, Vlasik stood in his way. Beria organized conspiracies, collected incriminating evidence against Nikolai Sidorovich, did it in such a way as to arouse suspicion of Stalin in his personal bodyguard. In turn, Vlasik devoted every second of his life to the safety of the head of state.
Beria achieved his goal, and at the end of the spring of 1952 the leader transferred his personal bodyguard to the post of deputy head of the forced labor camp in the Urals. Then came the arrest and imprisonment in the "doctors' case". After all, the head of the Kremlin guard ensured the "trustworthiness of the professors", which treated members of the government. After long daily interrogations, Vlasik was exiled to the colony for 10 years and deprived of his services to his homeland.
A year after the dismissal of Vlasik from the guard, Stalin died. Under the 1953 amnesty, the term of exile was reduced to half, and after another three years Nikolai was released.
Personal life
The general married in 1934 on Maria Semenovna Kovbasko. Soon the couple had a daughter, Nadezhda. Nikolai paid little attention to his family, the work was paramount. He rarely saw his wife and daughter. Often Vlasik had to spend the night in the next room near the leader’s bedroom.
In addition to military service, Nikolai was fond of photography. His work is associated with relatives and friends of Stalin.
