The leader of the out-of-towners

If you look at the sculptural image of the Monk Ilya Muromets, made by the anthropologist Gerasimov using his own method of reconstruction, and at the photograph of Budyonny, it becomes clear that this is the same type of person. But Muromets was canonized five hundred years after his death, and Budyonny was recognized by the people as a saint during his lifetime. And even long before he occupied any high official position.

The Dragoon Regiment, in which Budyonny served, remained faithful to the emperor until the last moment, then tried to serve the Provisional Government, and no revolutionary spirit appeared in it. However, the army disintegrated, and there was nothing the dragoons could do about it. With his persistent dream of a stud farm, Semyon Mikhailovich returned to his homeland and found himself drawn into the revolution, willy-nilly.

For a long time, no one understood what was happening around and what to do. Semyon Mikhailovich did not have a particularly clear idea of ​​the political situation. But, since the only thing he knew how to do was war, he organized a military unit and began to fight. He had no particular doubts about who to join.

On the Don at that moment a confrontation between the local population - the Cossacks - and the newcomers - non-residents began. Moreover, the division according to political sympathies was clear - the Cossacks were for the whites, and those from outside the city were for the reds.

Budyonny didn’t have much choice. Circumstances assigned him to the Bolsheviks.

Budyonny had absolutely no intention of fighting with his fellow countrymen. His wife Nadenka and the stud farm were waiting for him, and he didn’t care about anything else.

But he couldn't get home. The Cossack village of Platovskaya was occupied by whites. Budyonny, without hesitation, recruited an army to enter the village.

At first, Budyonny’s detachment was small, seven people. With such an army, he attacked a detachment of Cossacks twice as large, defeated it, took away weapons and accepted as many new recruits as he could arm. There were now 24 Budennovites, and Semyon Mikhailovich attacked Platovskaya. Finally, he was able to meet his legal wife, whom he left almost immediately after his honeymoon.

But in the village there were 400 political prisoners - pro-Bolshevik-minded non-residents. Freed by Budyonny, they joined his detachment.

Budyonny's eighth feat

It didn’t work out with the stud farm again. But how nice it was to meet my wife! In 1904, Semyon went to war, and was able to come for a short stay only in 1914. Then four more years of separation passed, and the family was finally reunited. Together with Nadezhda Ivanovna, who became a nurse, Budyonny went through the entire Civil War.

First, Budyonny’s group teamed up with the detachment of Boris Dumenko, the future division commander. Then they accepted several more detachments and a cavalry division was formed.

Budyonny joined Voroshilov’s troops as commander of the Special Cavalry Division. With this division, Semyon Mikhailovich carried out a raid against the Whites: he defeated twenty-three infantry and cavalry regiments, captured fifteen thousand people, captured seventy guns, two hundred machine guns and three thousand carts with ammunition. For this campaign, Budyonny received the Order of the Red Banner, and his division became the backbone of the First Cavalry Army.

Budyonny's ninth feat

Cavalry played a colossal role in the Russian Civil War. And Budyonny was a major cavalry commander - and he soon became popularly known. For the battles near Tsaritsyn he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Battle.

And Budyonny’s discipline was much higher than in other red cavalry units. This meant that, if in other units the soldiers did what they wanted and bothering them with orders was dangerous for the commander, then Semyon Mikhailovich controlled his subordinates at least partially. That is, of course, his subordinates behaved in the spirit of the times - they robbed, and raped, and could go over to the enemy. But Budyonny could somehow hold all this bandit freedom in his hands. And even though he had to resort to harsh measures - for example, once, in order to restore order, he shot two hundred rioters in his division - the main thing is that he had sufficient authority for this.

On the other hand, his best friend Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov and other Bolsheviks constantly suspected him that he could become an ataman like Father Makhno and lead some kind of powerful anti-Bolshevik uprising.

Politics in terms of ideas and slogans worried Budyonny little. However, he was by no means a simpleton and had a good understanding of real politics. An amazing fact: despite the fact that Semyon Budyonny could rush into the attack almost alone, he always went to meetings at headquarters, just in case, accompanied by a large group of his most ferocious thugs.

He feared his comrades more than his enemies.

Trotsky spoke of Budyonny and his horsemen like this: “This is a real gang, and Budyonny is the chieftain-leader. This is a modern Razin, and it is not known where he will lead his gang: today for the Reds, and tomorrow for the Whites, and they will all follow him.”

Budyonny, for his part, also could not stand Trotsky, considering him an arrogant ambitious man and a hater of Russia, just as, incidentally, all military commanders did not like Trotsky. Therefore, Budyonny supported Stalin.

On December 6, 1919, the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Tsaritsyn Front, Stalin and Voroshilov, arrived at Budyonny’s headquarters in the village of Veliko-Mikhalovka. It was a significant day for Semyon Mikhailovich - Stalin announced to the troops that Budyonny’s cavalry corps was being renamed into the Cavalry Army, to which artillery, armored trains, aviation and armored cars were added.

The next day, the guests went on an official visit to the front line - and, by coincidence, they were attacked by superior enemy forces.

Semyon Mikhailovich, at the head of a small reserve detachment, rushed into battle.

Further events, apparently, were imprinted in the memory of Joseph Vissarionovich for the rest of his life. You can get an idea of ​​how Budyonny fought from the phrase that the far from faint-hearted Stalin said to him after the battle:

- Semyon Mikhailovich, this is monstrous! Is it really impossible to do without such sacrifices??

Budyonny as a unit of lethality

Since then, Stalin knew well what Budyonny’s expression “ my job is to chop“... At heart, Semyon Mikhailovich remained a dashing fighter even during the celebration of his ninetieth anniversary.

When, during the holiday celebrations, Budyonny was asked what he would like to wish to the youth, he replied: “ You know, God forbid there be another war, we’ve had enough of wars. But if suddenly it happens, this is what I will advise young people - if you chop, then to the saddle".

It seems that after the battle of Veliko-Mikhalovka, Stalin came up with a unit for measuring lethality in battle. Namely, Budyonny’s saber strike. “One Budyonny” is the force of influence on the enemy, guaranteeing lethal outcome.

One day an infantry helmet was brought to Stalin’s office - the same one that was adopted for service before the Great Patriotic War. We discussed metal composition, shape, streamlining, strength, and various design characteristics. Stalin was generally pleased, emphasizing that the helmet is the most important part of a soldier’s equipment. There should be no mistake here. But theoretical calculations and strength of strength are one thing, and a visual test of strength is another.

Joseph Vissarionovich decided not to allow voluntarism and test the theory with practice. He asked to call Budyonny. " Semyon Mikhailovich, everyone knows that you cut your enemy to the saddle. Try this helmet ".

Semyon Mikhailovich pulled out a saber - and he always carried a ceremonial saber in an official setting - and unleashed a monstrous blow on the helmet. The saber slid across the helmet and did not cut it. Stalin grinned: " You all know what Semyon Mikhailovich’s punching power is. I accept this military equipment ".

Disaster on the love front

In 1921, Budyonny became a member of the Revolutionary Military Council. Since 1923 - member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. For the common man it was a great triumph. But soon a great tragedy occurred in the life of Semyon Mikhailovich.

In 1924, his wife, Nadezhda Ivanovna Budyonnaya, died as a result of a ridiculous accident.

This happened in their home, in the presence of guests. Nadezhda Ivanovna took the revolver, cheerfully said that she would shoot herself now - and shot herself. Even eyewitnesses could not say with certainty whether she was trying to hide her despair behind feigned gaiety or whether an accident had actually occurred. But, apparently, not all was well in the Budyonny family.

They said that Budyonny had an affair with a certain singer. And after Nadezhda Ivanovna’s suicide, bad rumors spread. Gossipers accused Budyonny of having shot his wife who was interfering with him.

This was obvious nonsense, because everything happened in front of a large crowd of people.

A few months later, another woman appeared in Budyonny’s house - conservatory student Olga Stefanovna Mikhailova, the same homewrecker singer. The complete opposite of Semyon Mikhailovich’s first wife. And in the second marriage, problems immediately arose.

Olga Stefanovna led a bohemian lifestyle and was interested in theatrical affairs. She visited the German and Japanese embassies and stayed there until late. She was surrounded by dubious, from the point of view of the NKVD, characters.

Finally, she openly cheated on Semyon Mikhailovich.

She did not want to have children on principle.

It ended with Semyon Mikhailovich being summoned to Stalin, and later to Yezhov, and they convincingly explained to him that it was necessary to restore order in the family. It is interesting that at first Joseph Vissarionovich nevertheless called Semyon Mikhailovich himself for a frank conversation...

It was a complete defeat.

Budyonny knew how to break into a pillbox fortified with grenades; how to take enemy convoys by surprise with small forces. He knew how to break through the enemy’s chains, surround and break one of the flanks, and then catch up and chop the other into cabbage. But he did not know the skillful techniques of positional warfare on the personal front and the ways to conquer the obstinate female heart.

Then Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov got down to business, who, on the contrary, was very interested in the hidden areas of human life. He quickly collected various incriminating evidence against Olga Stefanovna and in 1937 she was arrested.

Budyonny didn’t bother much about her. But in conclusion, he helped.

Revenge for defeat

Semyon Mikhailovich immediately after the arrest of his second wife moved his mother-in-law, Varvara Ivanovna, into the house. And Varvara Ivanovna’s niece, Masha, came to visit. She was 19, and Semyon Mikhailovich was 54.

Varvara Ivanovna decided not to let Budyonny out of the family under any circumstances and prepared both Maria and Semyon Mikhailovich as they should. Considering that he was a people's idol, this turned out to be not difficult. Masha adored Budyonny as only a young girl can love an imaginary hero - with the difference that her idol was right in front of her. And that over time this love did not cool, but only intensified.

So Budyonny married the niece of his second wife.

His previous marriages were childless. Maria Vasilievna bore him three children. With her he found complete happiness.

The age difference did not bother them. Maria Vasilievna said that she did not marry citizen Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny, born in 1883, but a national hero, a legendary personality, an epic hero, an ideal man. Thus, all the propaganda of the USSR contributed to Budyonny’s family happiness.

But the most amazing thing is that the romantic halo around her husband in the eyes of Maria Vasilievna never went out. Perhaps Semyon Mikhailovich was much closer to his folklore image than one might assume... In any case, in terms of physical condition, even in his old age he could give odds to any young man.

Budyonny's eternal youth

Budyonny’s grandson recalled such an incident. One day the whole family was sitting in front of the TV - one of the first devices with a large lens - and watching the performances of gymnasts. And then the athlete Azaryan first made his famous cross on the rings, the Azaryan cross, when the gymnast turns on the rings from side to side.

And I must say, this gymnastic element made a splash in world gymnastics. After the competition in London in 1955, the press called it fantastic - then few athletes could repeat it.

Semyon Mikhailovich was in another room and everyone unanimously began to call him to look at the curiosity. Budyonny looked and snorted - what’s wrong with that?

Everyone went to the cinema hall, which also served as a gym. There were also rings. Budyonny jumped up cheerfully, pulled himself up on the rings and made Azaryan’s cross no worse than Azaryan himself. Semyon Mikhailovich was then sixty-two years old (if this event is described correctly, then he was already 72 years old - R.S.).

At that time, no one would have been surprised at such physical vigor of Semyon Mikhailovich. But Azaryan’s cross is mere trifle compared to the feats that Budyonny performed in the folk epic. Everyone knew: if something happened, the commander of the First Cavalry could handle any tank division with his bare hands. And if he picks up a saber, he will cut down the whole front. And as a last resort, he has a Maxim machine gun in his attic - this was discussed in another legend about Budyonny.

Allegedly, in 1937, an NKVD detachment arrived at his dacha with the aim of arresting him. Semyon Mikhailovich climbed onto the roof, unsheathed Maxim and gave a burst of fire at the feet of the uninvited guests. And then he called Stalin and yelled: - " Joseph, there is an obvious counter-revolution here! They want to arrest me, what should I do? "Stalin laughed and asked: -" Will there be enough cartridges for half an hour? " – "Enough ". – "Well, hold on for now ". And he gave the order to leave Budyonny alone.

This is the ending of this legend. Stalin called Budyonny again and said: “ Semyon Mikhailovich, but the machine gun needs to be handed over, it’s a mess " Budyonny replied: “ There is a machine gun to hand over, Comrade Commander-in-Chief “- and he and Klim Voroshilov took Marshal Maxim to the armory. And on the way back, Klim Voroshilov began to spin. " You, Syoma, are now completely defenseless. You no longer have a machine gun ». – « Don't worry, Klim – answered Semyon Budyonny to his faithful friend – I also have a howitzer buried in my garden. Now we'll get home and I'll drag it to the attic ».

What is undeniably true in this story is that Semyon Mikhailovich was a man of a broad soul and great fearlessness.

In fact, Budyonny did not have any special friendship with Voroshilov. This happened back in the Civil War, where they apparently felt like rivals. But they began to be friends after Voroshilov was removed from all posts.

This was generally typical for the Budyonnys - everyone who did not greet them, being in favor, immediately became friends of the family, falling into disgrace. For example, during the life of Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky, his wife Raisa Yakovlevna was surrounded by crowds of friends and admirers, and she pointedly did not notice any of the Budyonnys. As soon as Malinovsky died, a vacuum formed around her, and she immediately found solace in the house of a man who was alien to double-mindedness - Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny.

Dream come true

Semyon Mikhailovich fought for some time on the fronts of World War II, but, firstly, no amount of art would have been enough to defeat the German army at the beginning of the war, and secondly, the scale of operations was unusually large for Budyonny. He was given a less responsible position, although he remained a marshal and a star of Soviet ideology. But he got the opportunity to get closely involved in stud farms.

He, as a breeder, personally bred two breeds of horses - the Budennovskaya and the Terek Arab. To do this, it took him, respectively, twenty-five years and twenty-two years of work at the Pyatigorsk stud farm. This became one of the comforting results of his life.

Among others - seven Orders of Lenin, six Orders of the Red Banner, golden military weapons with the Order of the Red Banner, honorary revolutionary firearms with the Order of the Red Banner, honorary weapons - checkers with the image of the State Emblem of the USSR, and so on and so forth.

But, of course, that’s not what Semyon Budyonny is famous for. His job was heroic - chopping - and he did his job no worse than other heroes. Let us remember how “The epic about Ilya Muromets and Volga” ends. These lines are quite suitable for Budyonny.

And the red sun shone here

And over Other - bad - lands.

A glorious hero rides across the field,

Marshal Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich!

Interesting facts not included in this article:

On May 7, 1918, a competition was announced in the RSFSR to develop new uniforms for military personnel of the Red Army, in which famous Russian artists V. M. Vasnetsov, B. M. Kustodiev, M. D. Ezuchevsky, S. Arkadyevsky and others took part. December 18 In 1918, based on the works submitted to the competition, the RVSR approved a new type of winter headdress made of uniform cloth. For its epic appearance, at the first time of its existence, the Red Army helmet received the name “heroka”; later it was called by the names of the military leaders, whose units were the first to receive new uniforms - M. V. Frunze and S. M. Budyonny: “Frunzevka” and “Budenovka” " The latter name has taken root and is included in Russian language dictionaries.

There is a legend that during the battles for the Crimea, when Budyonny checked the captured cartridges - whether they were smokeless or not - he brought a cigarette to them. The gunpowder flared up and singed one mustache, which turned gray. Since then, Semyon Mikhailovich has been painting it. Budyonny wanted to completely shave his mustache, but Stalin did not allow it: “This, Semyon, is not your mustache, but the people’s...”

Budyonny's headset

The Museum of the First Cavalry Army houses S. M. Budyonny’s headset, donated to the museum in 1979.

Played the accordion. Having a good ear, he often played “The Lady” to Stalin himself. There are rare recordings left where you can hear the button accordion in the hands of Budyonny, in particular, the record “Duet of Accordion Players”, where Budyonny performs the harmonica part of the German system, and the famous Rostov button accordion player Grigory Zaitsev performs the accordion part.

Budyonny kept and wore the crosses of St. George received during the First World War on a separate jacket.

Spoken foreign languages: German, French, Turkish, English

The following are named after S. M. Budyonny:

♦military march of the Red Army - Budyonny’s march;

♦ riding horse breed - “Budyonnovskaya”.

♦Military Academy of Communications (city of St. Petersburg), full name - Military Academy of Communications named after Marshal of the Soviet Union S. M. Budyonny.

♦Honorary citizen of Rostov-on-Don, the hero city of Volgograd, Serpukhov.

♦A bronze bust was installed in the city of Rostov-on-Don, where an avenue is named after the legendary commander.

♦The monument was erected on Budyonny Square in the city of Donetsk.

♦The bust of S.M. Budyonny was installed in the homeland of the 1st Cavalry Army - in the village of Velikomikhailovka, Novooskolsky district, Belgorod region.

♦The city of Prikumsk, Stavropol Territory, was renamed Budyonnovsk in 1973.

♦Avenues, streets, squares, squares and parks in many cities and villages of Russia and the states of the former USSR are named after the Hero; warships and civilian vessels; industrial and agricultural enterprises; educational establishments...

He died at the age of 90 on October 26, 1973 in Moscow from a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried on October 30 on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall. A monument was erected at the grave. Budyonny's widow, Maria Vasilievna, who was 33 years younger than him, died in 2006, also at the age of 90. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

They were very different people, one might even say, representatives of two different worlds: the nonresident peasant Budyonny and the sophisticated nobleman Tukhachevsky. Semyon Mikhailovich was ten years older than the failed Red Bonaparte; from childhood he learned that such peasant labor and social injustice bordering on racism. Also social. Indeed, in the eyes of the Cossacks, non-residents remained second-class people, which some village residents themselves wrote about - just read the most interesting and extremely honest memoirs of one of the most worthy representatives of this class - Kuban resident Colonel Fyodor Eliseev.

“Denikin, we must give him his due, was determined to keep Rostov and Novocherkassk and regain the strategic initiative at the first opportunity.”

Budyonny did not receive a higher military education in the Russian Empire; he was drafted into the army and remained in it; he had combat experience in the Russian-Japanese and the First World War. He was almost shot for hitting a sergeant who humiliated him. Tukhachevsky graduated from the elite Alexander School and began serving in the Semenovsky Guards Regiment.

The collapse of the Imperial Army was met in different ways: Budyonny - with the rank of sergeant, a full Knight of St. George, Tukhachevsky - a second lieutenant who whiled away his time in German captivity. Both voluntarily, almost without hesitation, joined the Red Army - just figure out now for what reasons. They became famous for their victories and in peacetime rose to the rank of deputy people's commissar of defense, becoming part of the Soviet military elite, however, they could be considered one of them already at the end of the Civil War.

It is known that the military leaders did not like each other, but their destinies radically diverged in 1937, on the eve of World War II, when the country could not afford key command positions in the Red Army to be occupied by amateurs in matters of strategy and operational art - primarily Tukhachevsky and his comrades-in-arms, who headed the most important military districts: Yakir, Blucher, Uborevich, some of them, in addition to everything else, were also executioners of their own people - Jonah Emmanuilovich and Mikhail Nikolaevich himself, I mean. The latter, according to investigators, led a military conspiracy in the Red Army, and his closest henchmen included the named figures, excluding Blucher.

Whether there was a military conspiracy or not is still an open question. However, needless to say that on the eve of aggression, even a hypothetical “fifth column” in the highest echelons of power is extremely dangerous. And the examples of military coups in Europe carried out by Pilsudski and Franco were well known to the Soviet leadership. And the fact that the named military leaders, I repeat, remained amateurs regarding the tasks assigned by their official duties, is beyond doubt. True, until recently Tukhachevsky and his comrades were in the rank of undeservedly repressed “outstanding commanders,” whose death allegedly led to terrible losses in the Red Army and allowed the Germans to blockade Leningrad and reach Moscow and the Caucasus.

Jokes and facts

Thus was born – “thanks” to Khrushchev – the first myth. Around the same time, another one appeared - about the simple-minded and narrow-minded Budyonny, with his allegedly uttered phrase directed against the motorization of troops: “The horse will still show itself,” and an anecdote about how Semyon Mikhailovich was going to shoot back with a machine gun from the NKVD officers who came to arrest him.

Khrushchev’s propagandists preferred to forget that Budyonny’s enemies called Red Murat. And the above tales about the marshal are not the only ones with the help of which the image of the dim-witted grunt was sculpted. That they are a myth, identical, as Losev wrote, with reality? The most real one. He was a slasher. Close-minded? From the point of view of fundamental both civil and military education, despite his graduation from the Military Academy. Frunze, perhaps, yes. But Red Murat compensated for the lack of fundamental knowledge with self-education and God-given military talent - he was recognized by his comrades not only in the Civil War, but also in the Great Patriotic War.

In addition, even if Budyonny’s training at the Military Academy was partly formal in nature - after all, he attended lectures as an inspector of the Red Army cavalry, nevertheless, the future marshal tried with all his might to catch up and bring his knowledge into line with the tasks that he had to solve in the field. occupied high positions. To do this, Semyon Mikhailovich took lessons from the outstanding domestic military theorist, Lieutenant General Andrei Evgenievich Snesarev. And I also talked a lot with Infantry General Alexei Alekseevich Brusilov. By the way, Snesarev characterized Red Murat as follows: “I noticed Budyonny’s extraordinary abilities even under Tsaritsyn ( in the summer of 1918, Semyon Mikhailovich headed the cavalry division defending the city as part of the 10th Army, and Snesarev held the position of military commander of the North Caucasus Military District. – THEIR.), in battles on the Southern Front. He fought well thanks to his innate military talent.”

Regarding Tukhachevsky’s academic education: the marshal did not have it, not even a formal one. But he headed the Military Academy of the Red Army. I wasn't shy. Maybe, like Budyonny, he also sought to make up for lost time in terms of knowledge, especially after his failed Polish campaign? No. Moreover, he poisoned the outstanding military theorist, Major General Alexander Andreevich Svechin. However, enough has been written about Tukhachevsky’s absurd projects in the post of Deputy People’s Commissar of Defense for Armaments; his propaganda works, which for a long time were presented as almost a treasury of military-scientific thought, have long been published. Consider the Marshal’s assertion that the future in the coming war does not belong to a tracked tank, but to a wheeled-tracked and high-speed one. Budyonny had a different opinion on this matter - more correct, as history has shown.

The military leaders repressed in the Tukhachevsky case were indeed outstanding, only not military leaders, but careerists and demagogues. Unlike Semyon Mikhailovich, ridiculed by Khrushchev’s propaganda, Tukhachevsky and his accomplices in the military conspiracy in the Red Army, I repeat, did not study and did not intend to study, although brilliant opportunities opened up for this. Anticipating a possible objection, I note: I am far from the idea of ​​calling the training in the Reichswehr academic courses taken by Tukhachevsky, Yakir and Uborevich during their trip to Germany a fundamental military education.

However, this is all preamble. There have long been discussions among military historians about the advisability of the actions of the 1st Cavalry in the Lvov region in August 1920: they say, if it had turned to Warsaw in time, the Polish campaign would have been won by Tukhachevsky. In my opinion, Red Murat in his memoirs gave a detailed answer to all the claims made against him, and Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov in his work “To the Vistula. To the history of the 1920 campaign” also explained the reasons for the failures of the offensive carried out under the leadership of Tukhachevsky.

Meeting in the carriage

But not everyone knows that fate brought the two commanders together for the first time back in March 1920 in Bataysk. In the carriage of the commander of the Caucasian Front, Tukhachevsky, who was recently appointed to this position. The troops entrusted to him had just completed the Tikhoretsk operation, during which the 1st Cavalry played a decisive role. And its army commander, together with a member of the Revolutionary Military Council, Voroshilov, went to Rostov in order to resolve a number of issues with the supply of the army. Having learned that a train of a new front was stationed in Bataysk, we decided to go and get acquainted. Budyonny described this meeting as follows. “We decided to introduce ourselves to Tukhachevsky, report on the state of the army and learn about the new task. Entering the carriage, we met Tukhachevsky in a narrow passage in front of the cabin. After we introduced ourselves to him, he sternly asked:

“Snesarev was not mistaken in his characterization of Red Murat: innate military talent”

- Why didn’t you follow my order to strike in the direction of the village of Mechetinskaya ( order No. 368 of February 28, 1920. – THEIR.) and led the cavalry army to the Torgovaya area?

To Tukhachevsky’s stern question, I calmly answered him that a cavalry attack from the Platovskaya area strictly west in the direction of Mechetinskaya in the specific situation that had developed by that time was inappropriate for the following reasons: the cavalry, tired of the forced march, could not advance across the steppe, covered with deep snow, where neither housing nor food could be found.

But the main thing was that severe frosts began, during which leaving the army in the steppe meant deliberately destroying it, which was confirmed by the fate of General Pavlov’s group.

Therefore, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Cavalry decided to deviate somewhat to the right - into populated areas where it was possible to get food and warm people, and then, in cooperation with the rifle formations of the 10th Army, defeat the enemy and continue moving in the indicated direction. Events showed that the decision of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Army was justified.”

At first glance, the dialogue is like a dialogue, even an ordinary one in the conditions of the Civil War - friction between the commanders and commanders of the fronts often occurred then among both the Reds and their opponents. However, this conversation is direct evidence of how, with his decision to advance in the direction of Torgovaya, Budyonny saved the 1st Cavalry from death, and the front armies from a completely possible defeat and a likely turning point in the war in favor of the Whites.

To understand this, let's move from the slush of March 1920 to the frosty December of the previous year. A little more than a month has passed since the end of the fierce oncoming battle between the Volunteer Army of Lieutenant General Vladimir May-Maevsky and the left flank of the Don Army of Lieutenant General Vladimir Sidorin with the troops of the Red Southern Front. Not at all as a result of Budyonny’s actions, as Soviet historiography claimed, but thanks to the passivity of the left flank of the Don Army, which had every chance of defeating the left flank of the Southern Front, namely the 8th Army, the Reds won and wrested the strategic initiative from the enemy’s hands.

In December the front reached the Don. It would seem that the defeat of the Denikinites is inevitable. However, it only seemed so. Both the White and Bolshevik troops were exhausted and overworked, and the Cossacks were largely demoralized. But at the same time, the Bolshevik units were cut off from their rear and supply bases. The Donets, on the contrary, were on the territory of their native villages and understood: if they retreated further, all the “charms” of the Red Terror would return to the Don. It is also necessary to take into account the presence of another enemy of both the Reds and the Whites, which mercilessly mowed down their ranks - the typhus epidemic.

The numerical strength of the parties in December 1919 was almost equal. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (AFSR), Lieutenant General Anton Denikin, we must give him his due, despite the difficult setbacks of the last month and exhausting conflicts with the commander of the Volunteer Army, Lieutenant General Peter Wrangel, was firmly determined to hold Rostov and Novocherkassk, to prevent the Reds from the right bank of the Don and, at the first opportunity, regain the strategic initiative. Rostov was supposed to be defended by volunteers, the Don capital - parts of Sidorin, who united in his hands the command of the Don people and volunteers - their army, after serious losses, was consolidated into a separate corps, headed instead of Wrangel by Lieutenant General Alexander Kutepov.

The volunteers fought successfully and drove the enemy away from Rostov. They, in fact, did not lose their presence of mind even during the retreat from Orel to Donbass. The actions of the Don people were also successful in some places, but, as often happened during the Civil War, the outcome of the battle was decided by a moral factor: Lieutenant General Konstantin Mamontov, who led the Don cavalry, did not believe in victory and took the Cossacks beyond the Don. Contrary to the orders of the commander in chief. This allowed the Red 9th Army to take Novocherkassk, devaluing the success of the volunteers near Rostov and going to their rear. Kutepov's units had to break through the city captured by the enemy to the left bank of the Don.

The troops of the South-Eastern Front, transformed into the Caucasus Front in January 1920, under the command of former Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Shorin, were supposed to cross the river and develop an offensive in the North Caucasus. The 1st Cavalry also became part of the front. Shorin threw it into a frontal attack in the direction of Bataysk. I thought, rightly, that the Don people had completely disintegrated and would not offer significant resistance. Wrong. Frontal attacks did not bring success, but led to losses among the cavalrymen, as well as to an acute conflict between Budyonny and Shorin. In the end, Moscow was also dissatisfied with the simple actions of the Comfront, replacing it first with former Colonel Fyodor Afanasyev, and in February 1920 with Tukhachevsky.

At that time, both sides were preparing for an offensive. Denikin planned a strike in the direction of Rostov; at the headquarters of the Caucasian Front, in turn, they decided to bypass the enemy’s right flank and go to his rear with a strike on Tikhoretskaya. According to the commander-in-chief of the AFSR, “the number of troops was approximately the same for both opponents, fluctuating between 40–50 thousand for us and 50–60 thousand for the Bolsheviks.” In general, these data are confirmed by Soviet authors, such as Budyonny.

Don orders

In January 1920, as if having recovered from the darkness of failures and retreat, the Donets defeated the divisions of Budyonny and another legendary Red commander, Boris Dumenko, who had crossed Manych. However, again, as in the story of the Red 8th Army, which was almost defeated in November 1919, the Cossacks did not organize the pursuit and the tactical success did not develop into a strategic one. Nevertheless, in early February, Denikin issued a directive to launch a general offensive. It started successfully - volunteers returned Rostov. At the same time, the headquarters of the Caucasian Front made a decision: to abandon fruitless frontal attacks and transfer the 1st Cavalry up to Manych for a deeper bypass of the enemy.

The Whites were well aware of the threat of an enemy breakthrough in the Tikhoretskaya area and access to the rear of the entire AFSR group, so the equestrian group of Lieutenant General Alexander Pavlov was concentrated against Budyonny. Its basis was the 4th Don Corps - the same one, at the head of which Mamontov carried out the famous raid on the Red rear in August-September 1919, described by Alexei Tolstoy “Walking through the Torment”. The corps was perhaps the most combat-ready in the Don Army. Unfortunately for the Cossacks, Mamontov contracted typhus and died in February 1920, which was decisive for the whites. Pavlov could hardly be called a successful replacement, although his units managed to defeat Guy’s cavalry division and the legendary 28th Infantry Division of Vladimir Azin. But then the general led the Donets along the left, deserted bank of the Manych into severe cold and blizzards, with essentially no winter quarters. It seems that Pavlov considered it necessary to move along the right bank, his officers also insisted on this, but, agreeing with them, the group commander motivated his decision by his reluctance to violate the order of his superiors. The frost on that tragic night for the Cossacks, according to the recollections of the Don division commander, Major General Sergiy Pozdnyshev, reached 20–27 degrees.

Tukhachevsky, who by that time headed the Caucasian Front, ordered Budyonny to advance in the direction of Mechetinskaya, as stated in the passage from Red Murat’s memoirs quoted above. Actually, the route of Budyonny’s units was supposed to run through the same territory, open to all winds and devoid of winter shelters.

Now let's imagine the consequences if Red Murat carried out Tukhachevsky's order. For Budyonny, the situation was aggravated by the fact that he was tens of kilometers away from his rear base and had to rely, as he later recalled, “only on local funds and trophies... he had to feed his horses mainly with unharvested wheat.”

This characterizes in a very unsightly light the commander of the front, who set an essentially strategic task for the 1st Cavalry, but did not properly study the theater of military operations, did not take into account weather conditions, did not take into account the actual absence of a rear base at Red Murat and ultimately doomed the elite cavalry units of the Caucasian Front to a senseless death in the deserted steppe.

In this situation, Budyonny acted quite like Suvorov: “If I said left, but you see right. Don't listen to me! A local always knows better!” The competent independent actions of the army commander became the key to the success of not only the 1st Cavalry, but to a large extent the entire Red operation to defeat the enemy in the North Caucasus, which ended with his evacuation to Novorossiysk. But history could have turned out differently, just as the outcome of the Civil War could have turned out differently if Budyonny had blindly carried out Tukhachevsky’s order to attack Mechetinskaya.

In conclusion: it was not my task to form new myths about either Tukhachevsky or Budyonny. Both contributed to the Red victory in the Civil War. But personally, I don’t think that the former second lieutenant’s star would have risen if he had initially fought in the south of Russia, where Denikin had at his disposal much more trained and competent officers than Kolchak. Pilsudski had a sufficient number of these. The result is known.

And Budyonny, especially in the battles near Tsaritsyn and in the operation discussed here, demonstrated both initiative and talent. It is quite possible that Wrangel would not have been able to take “Red Verdun” if the commander of the 10th had listened to the advice of Budyonny, who led the cavalry corps in June 1919. And it was Semyon Mikhailovich’s divisions and his firm and competent leadership that prevented the complete disintegration of the 10th after the fall of Tsaritsyn and the collapse of the left flank of the Southern Front. Snesarev was not mistaken in the above description of Red Murat. Budyonny also showed independence of judgment and the ability to take responsibility during the Great Patriotic War. But that's another story.

SPY MANIACY.
ARREST OF MARSHAL BUDENNY'S SECOND WIFE

In the first months of 1937, Semyon Mikhailovich was invited to his place for a conversation by Stalin. He informed the marshal that Yezhov, who heads the NKVD, has information that Budyonny’s wife, Olga Stefanovna Budennaya-Mikhailova, is behaving very indecently and provocatively, compromising her high-ranking husband.

Stalin warned Semyon Mikhailovich that such compromise would not be beneficial to the party from any side and it would not allow it. Joseph Vissarionovich invited Budyonny to meet with Yezhov himself.

Such a meeting soon took place. On it, Yezhov directly told the marshal that his wife was no longer the first; For a year she has been the mistress of her fellow artist, the leading tenor of the Bolshoi Theater Alekseev. In addition, he told Budyonny that Olga Stefanovna was friends with the wife of Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Marshal Egorov Galina Egorova and the wife of People's Commissar of Education Bubnova. They visit foreign embassies, are familiar with many diplomatic officials, they stayed at the Japanese embassy's dacha until three o'clock in the morning. The friends have a constant need for large sums of money, Budennaya-Mikhailova plays at the races, she had a racing program with her at the Italian embassy at the hippodrome.

Yezhov told Budyonny that he considered it advisable to arrest Olga Stefanovna and during interrogations to find out the nature of her connections with foreign embassies. If it turns out that there is nothing illegal in her actions, then she can then be released.

Semyon Mikhailovich replied that he saw no reason to arrest his wife, since there was no hard evidence about her political crimes, and treason was a purely personal matter; they would figure it out themselves. Yezhov warned that the observation would continue, but for now he asked not to say anything to Olga Stefanovna.

In May of the thirty-seventh, Yezhov brought Stalin documents allegedly stolen during a fire in the building of the German Abwehr and then ending up in the Czechoslovak government, and bought by Yezhov for a huge sum at that time - three million rubles. These were photocopies of orders and reports from the Wehrmacht about the organization of surveillance of those high-ranking employees of the German military machine who were in contact with Tukhachevsky and could meet with him on duty. On one of these documents there is a resolution and the signature of the Fuhrer himself, and an examination confirmed the authenticity of both the handwriting and the signature.

And another document explaining such close attention to Tukhachevsky’s personality ended up in that folder: a letter from Mikhail Nikolayevich himself to his like-minded people about the need for a coup d’etat and the seizure of power in the country by a group of military men. Tukhachevsky’s signature was also confirmed by examination data. The letter included such names as Yakir, Putna, Primakov.

The same information was received from the former head of the Red Army headquarters, Medvedev, listing the same names.

Stalin did not think for long, and a month later the first trial of the military took place - the first, but not the last: Stalin ordered to burn out the infection with a hot iron. In the dock were Tukhachevsky, Yakir, Feldman, Eideman, Putna, Primakov, Kork and Uborevich. The chairman of the court was Ulrich, the members of the court were Budyonny, Blucher, Shaposhnikov and others.

Semyon Mikhailovich, who had been watching Tukhachevsky all these years like an ambush tiger, had his time waiting. After all, this boy, an upstart, an unfinished nobleman once dared to cause a lot of unpleasant moments for a national hero. It was Tukhachevsky who placed full responsibility for the death of the Gai and Azin divisions on Budyonny, it was Tukhachevsky who accused Semyon Mikhailovich of disobeying orders and the struggle for power even at their very first meeting, it was Tukhachevsky who blamed Budyonny for the unsuccessful actions in the twentieth year, which determined the fate of the world revolution .

Semyon Mikhailovich had many reasons to hate Tukhachevsky and want his death, but Stalin treated Tukhachevsky very respectfully, appreciating the young military leader’s intelligence, business acumen and desire for everything new. Motorized infantry, paratroopers - all these were Tukhachevsky’s initiatives, which were actively welcomed by Stalin. He could not expect such innovations from the same Budyonny and Voroshilov, who were not very eager, and could no longer accept many innovations. Therefore, Semyon Mikhailovich had to wait in the wings, wait for the moment when the dangerous enemy would falter even a little, in order to push him to the abyss and finish him off. Natural instinct: who among us has not dreamed of the death of an enemy.

The hour of reckoning has arrived. Semyon Mikhailovich made the biggest and harshest speech, accusing Tukhachevsky, Yakir and Uborevich of many mortal sins, and most importantly, of high treason, expressed in persistent attempts to create large tank formations by cutting costs on cavalry.

During the trial, much attention was paid to the issue of collusion between the defendants in order to remove People's Commissar Voroshilov from leadership. This accusation was confirmed by all participants in the process, saying that an appeal to the Party Central Committee on this issue was being prepared.

In May, Stalin proposed appointing Budyonny as commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District; by that time, Joseph Vissarionovich’s proposals had already become orders, and on June 6, the marshal began to perform new duties with the release of his previous position as chief of cavalry. Semyon Mikhailovich was in demand again - Stalin needed trusted people in key positions. He knew that the army was divided between supporters of Voroshilov and Tukhachevsky, and in order to eliminate the split in the military leadership he had to make a choice between personal loyalty and advanced military science. Stalin chose the first.

A wave of repression began, sweeping away both the top military commanders and the junior command staff of the country's armed forces. The go-ahead for the witch hunt was received from the highest leadership, and a host of scumbags pursuing personal gain, informers of all stripes and simply envious people did not fail to take advantage of this. Numerous arrests had to be justified somehow, and continuous lines of fabrication of cases began to work. One thing clung to another, then a third - and now the process became uncontrollable, out of control.

In August 1937, Budyonny went with an inspection to the troops, to the Gorokhovets camps. He spent the entire summer traveling after his new assignment, eliminating shortcomings identified in parts of the district. At this time, his wife Olga Stefanovna was arrested. Budyonny, having learned about this, did not take any decisive measures. Why? Was the fearless marshal really that afraid? Hardly. Under all circumstances, Semyon Mikhailovich remained a man. And the main duty of a man is to protect his family, to protect the people he loves and for whom he is responsible to his conscience. But he didn’t really have a family with Olga Stefanovna, there was only life together for twelve years in the same apartment. As for love, what kind of love is there for a person who openly cheats with another for a long time.

Semyon Mikhailovich did not help his wife at the risk to himself. Can he be blamed for this? In addition, Budyonny had no idea what his wife did in her free time: he has his own social circle, she has hers, and who knows what she does there, what conversations she has at embassies. And the fact that among foreign diplomatic services a good third of the personnel worked for the foreign intelligence of their countries, there was no doubt about it.

The testimony of Egorova, who was arrested a little later, said that her communication with the Polish ambassador Lukasiewicz gradually grew from just friendly into something more, Lukasiewicz made it clear that friendship required some kind of proof and showed interest in the field of aviation and weapons of the Red Army, as well as its movements. In the future, the same attention begins to be paid to Tukhachevskaya. First dances, sitting next to each other while eating, many other little things that “raise” authority in the eyes of others. And the wives of military leaders could tell interested listeners a lot.

In the same testimony of Egorova, the following episode occurs: “After dinner, Budyonny sat down next to me and asked if I knew about the arrest of Olga Stefanovna. I answered in the affirmative and asked what happened, he answered me that she and Bubnova turned out to be spies. First - a spy for the Polish state, the second is a spy for three states.

Olga Stefanovna led the life of a spy for seven years, lived with some Pole from the embassy, ​​received 20,000 for her work. I first heard here from Budyonny that Olga Stefanovna and Bubnova talked about me during interrogation as the leader of a spy group, that I gave them spy assignments. Budyonny warned me to be prepared for any surprises."

And when Budennaya-Mikhailova began to testify, she said something like this! If her first testimony is quite plausible, she writes that although Semyon Mikhailovich loved her very much, he made her feel his superiority, with all his behavior he showed that he deserved all these privileges that they enjoy, cars and holiday homes of the Central Executive Committee , and her job was to look after him and take care of his health and good mood, then a little later she wrote a letter addressed to the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Yezhov, in which literally from the very first lines she began to slander Budyonny in every possible way, often talking outright nonsense. From her testimony it emerged that Semyon Mikhailovich constantly carried out secret criminal activities against Stalin and Voroshilov, that he had some dark connections on the Don, and that from the beginning of 1937 he became an ally of Tukhachevsky in the anti-Stalinist struggle.

Later, after returning from prison, Olga Stefanovna said that she was forced to testify against Budyonny through torture and beatings, that she was told that he had already been arrested and was testifying against her. She also said that she was subjected to gang rape, that fame followed her everywhere, as if she wanted to poison Budyonny, and everyone hated her for this. However, in the “case” of Olga Stefanovna there is testimony from a certain informer, a “decoy,” who reported to her superiors that Budyonny’s ex-wife said a lot of negative information about him, allegedly that during a trip to Siberia he organized rebel detachments to organize a military coup, and that She did not tell the investigation about this because she was afraid of Budyonny’s revenge and she was not asked about it (!). In addition, the sex worker reported that it is very difficult to talk to Olga Stefanovna - she often falls into a state of severe depression.

It seems that already at this time Budyonny’s ex-wife was mentally ill. However, this did not prevent her from being sentenced in 1939 to eight years in the camps. Further in the case there is information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Vladimir Region, which indicates that Mikhailova repeatedly told her cellmates about her hostile attitude towards the existing system and intended to continue the fight against Soviet power after serving her sentence. Taking all this into account, it was proposed that Mikhailov, who was a socially dangerous element, should not be released from prison after her term expired - in 1945, but that she should be given another three years in prison.

In 1948, she was sent into exile in the Krasnoyarsk region. One former prisoner who met her in exile later said that she worked as a cleaner in a high school, was very alienated and intimidated, said that she suffered as the wife of a marshal, that Semyon Mikhailovich was very ill and did not accept anyone at ninety-four years old, and she conducted the investigation at the NKVD herself.

Only in July 1955 did Budyonny finally forgive the grievances and write a letter to the Main Military Prosecutor's Office asking to allow Olga Mikhailova to return to Moscow. Thanks to this letter, the seriously ill Olga Stefanovna was able to come to the capital. Budyonny helped her in any way he could: he got her into a hospital and secured an apartment. Occasionally she came to visit Semyon Mikhailovich, but she did this extremely rarely, believing that this might be unpleasant for his new wife.

Yes, if they had a normal family, if Olga Stefanovna had been a loving wife and mother of his children, Semyon Mikhailovich would not have given her up to be devoured by the state machine without a fight, he would have fought to the end and either saved her, or laid down his head with her. However, he did not tarnish himself by slandering his unfaithful wife, did not make public renunciations and sprinkle ashes on his head because he did not notice the enemy spy nearby.

And the fact that Budyonny, although he showed increased caution during this cruel time, did not bury his head in the sand, is evidenced by at least this fact: when they began to imprison directors of stud farms, Semyon Mikhailovich did not remain silent, he went to Voroshilov. The cautious Kliment Efremovich sent him to Stalin, and Budyonny went all the way - he convinced the “father of all nations” to leave the honored veterans alone. Budyonny also helped the division commander P.A. Belov.

Such facts speak volumes - few people at that time dared to stand up even for close relatives; the same Marshal Yegorov, after his arrest, wrote denunciations against his wife, and there are thousands of such examples.

Meanwhile, Beria, who came to the place of the executed Yezhov, sharpened his teeth against both Budyonny and Voroshilov. For Beria, there was one criterion for treating his colleagues in the highest echelon of power: first of all, the vile Lavrentiy tried to set up those who enjoyed Stalin’s special trust. This was the case with Molotov and Kalinin, and it could have been the same with Voroshilov and Budyonny, but these nuts were too tough for Beria. For many years, people have been telling the following anecdotal story: Semyon Mikhailovich is looking - three marshals have already been imprisoned, they are about to get to him. He went to the dacha, dug up two Maximas hidden in the garden and installed them in the attic. He sees NKVD cars coming. They stopped, got out of the cars and began to break down the gate. Budyonny opened fire, those who arrived were hit and began to crawl away, then tried to go around the house from the other side. Semyon Mikhailovich moved to the second machine gun and again opened hurricane fire. The Chekists began to dig in, and Budyonny contacted Stalin by phone: “Joseph Vissarionovich, they came for me, they want to take me!”

I defend myself with machine guns.

Will the cartridges last long?

Ten boxes, I can hold out for two hours.

Okay, let's figure it out.

The battle continued, the NKVD men could not take Budyonny, they waited until the cartridges ran out. An hour and a half later, a semi-truck pulled up, some boss jumped out, and the security officers stopped shooting. They threw the wounded and dead into the back of the semi-truck and went home. The phone rang: “Semyon Mikhailovich, it was a misunderstanding, the culprits have been punished, rest assured.”

Budyonny took a breath, swept the spent cartridges into the corner. Suddenly the bell rings again:

Comrade Budyonny, where did you get your machine guns?

And this, Joseph Vissarionovich, is a personalized weapon, they were presented to me by the soldiers of the First Cavalry along with a saber and a revolver, which were awarded to me by the Revolutionary Military Council and you personally.

It’s wonderful that the soldiers love their commander so much. However, it is a mess that these machine guns were directed against our punitive authorities. Need to pass.

Budyonny called Voroshilov, and together they took the Maxims to the arsenal. They are going back - Semyon Mikhailovich is joyful, smiling, asking Voroshilov why he is sad.

You are left without protection, Semyon Mikhailovich. The machine guns were surrendered.

Well, don't worry about it! I have a cannon and buckshot shells buried in my garden, tomorrow I’ll drag them into the attic.

Here's the story. This, of course, is a legend; people really wanted that at least someone could avoid going to the chopping block like a sheep and resist the all-powerful authorities. And it’s not for nothing that this role in folk art was assigned to Budyonny - who, if not him. By the way, there are eyewitness accounts that Semyon Mikhailovich always kept a pistol with him when traveling, and before going to bed he would drive a cartridge into the barrel and leave the weapon at arm’s length. And there was no doubt that, if necessary, he would not hesitate for a moment to use his weapon. The one who shoots first is right, the main thing is to stay alive, and then we’ll figure it out. Budyonny himself explained this habit by the influence of the Civil War, when any surprise could happen.

Olga Stefanovna’s mother, Varvara Ivanovna, lived with the Budyonnys in a Moscow apartment. Sometimes she was visited by her own niece Maria, who came to Moscow in 1936 from Kursk and entered the dental institute. After the arrest of her cousin, Olga Stefanovna, Varvara Ivanovna asked Maria to help with the housework. This is how Semyon Mikhailovich met her, and after some time he proposed - about six months had passed since Olga Stefanovna’s arrest.

As Maria Vasilievna herself later recalled, she was very confused - Budyonny was something higher for her, a beloved hero, a superman. I rushed to consult my aunt - she said: “Come out. I know he is a very good person, but they can’t be together with Olga, he’ll marry someone anyway.”

At first, Budyonny, out of embarrassment, called his young wife first “you”, sometimes “you,” but she could not call him “you” at all, she called him by his first name and patronymic. He got angry in response: “I am your husband, and Semyon Mikhailovich is sitting on a horse.”

Despite the big age difference, thirty-three years, they immediately got used to each other, became attached to each other, and lived very amicably. Of course, no one then could have imagined that Budyonny, whose first wife shot herself and the second disappeared in prison, would live a long and happy life with his third wife, longer than with his two previous wives combined.

After the wedding, naturally, a new wave of rumors swept through the capital: “In his old age, Budyonny began an affair with a young housekeeper, and so that his former wife would not interfere, he took her to the Lubyanka.” “Budyenny’s third wife has fifty fur coats, when she hangs them out to dry, it’s a sight to behold!”

Meanwhile, Semyon Mikhailovich was finally lucky in his family life: in August 1938, his son was born, and literally a year later, a daughter. The marshal doted on his wife and children. Maria Vasilievna also tried to please her husband: it was not a pity to leave college, but after the birth of her daughter she had to - the Budyonnys did not want to leave their children with nannies, even with relatives. After the birth of their first child, Maria’s parents moved to Moscow and began to live with the newlyweds. Budyonny’s mother and his sister Tatyana lived with them. So the company was a motley bunch, but they lived very friendly, both before the war and later, during the evacuation. During the war, Semyon Mikhailovich’s mother often repeated: “At least live until the end of the war, otherwise you will die and wonder how it ended.”

Yes, Budyonny thought, it was his fault that he didn’t have children, but it turned out that everything was in perfect order with him, and in what other way - you’ll envy! The third son, Misha, was born in 1944, when Semyon Mikhailovich was already over sixty.

Budyonny hid his family happiness from the Kremlin miasma, tried to keep his wife away from politics, politicians and their wives. And she was young, just a girl, and the wives of Molotov, Voroshilov, Kaganovich were all big bosses, much older. So Maria communicated more and more with the wives of military leaders.

You can be sure that Semyon Mikhailovich would not give this wife of his to anyone, even in the name of high ideals, even in the name of the proletarian revolution. And the same Beria felt that this was not Kalinin or Molotov, who humbly waited for their wives from prison, here they could get a bullet without any high words and long showdowns. I understood - and tried not to notice Budyonny’s wife, forgot about her existence. And with a strong rear behind him, Semyon Mikhailovich himself felt more confident and calm. I once said to my wife: “Thank you, Maria, you extended my life, created a family. I want to go home after work. All my life I have dreamed of working with children.”

A letter he wrote to his wife in September 1941 says a lot about Budyonny’s personal life:

“Hello, my dear mommy! I received your letter and remembered September 20, which connected us for life. It seems to me that you and I grew up together from childhood and live to this day. I love you infinitely and until the end of my last heartbeat I will love. You are my most beloved being in life, you who brought happiness to our dear children. I think that everything will end well and we will be together again. Say hello to your mother, Malanya Nikitichna and all of ours. I kiss Seryozha warmly and "Ninochka. I wish you all happiness and health. Hello, my dear, I kiss you warmly, your Semyon."

By the way, this letter was written without a single grammatical error. But when Budyonny wrote the introductory dictation upon entering the academy, he made so many mistakes that, in his own words, “he was discouraged.”

The situation in the world was becoming more and more tense. Few people doubted that the country could not avoid a big war, but Stalin hoped to delay its start, because as a result of the repressions, the combat readiness of the army left much to be desired. The war with Finland demonstrated many of the weaknesses of our military machine and the fact that jingoism alone will not get you far. Voroshilov became quiet, Kliment Efremovich could not understand how it happened: they were going to beat the enemy with little blood and a mighty blow, but they couldn’t deliver a mighty blow, and a lot of blood was shed, and more and more Soviet troops. Budyonny had nothing special to say about the Finnish war; the cavalry practically did not participate in the fighting. It was concluded that the role of this type of troops in modern warfare is insignificant, and the number of cavalry divisions was reduced to thirteen, although each was given a tank regiment for reinforcement.

In April 1940, Stalin convened the Main Military Council, which summed up the results of the Finnish military campaign. The main conclusion is that the cult of traditions and experience of the Civil War prevents the command staff from rebuilding in a new way.

In May of the same year, Voroshilov was removed from the post of People's Commissar of Defense, which he held for many years in a row, and was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, and Semyon Mikhailovich, who had proven himself well as commander of the Moscow Military District, resigned his position and was promoted - in July he Timoshenko was appointed first deputy people's commissar of defense.

Of course, the fact that the Red Army at the decisive moment turned out to be unprepared for a modern war is largely the fault of Stalin and Voroshilov, and, consequently, of Budyonny, who supported them. Not only were people disliked by this trio removed from the army, but their own people, tested for loyalty, were put in their place, regardless of education and mental abilities. Most of the nominees are former soldiers and commanders of the Cavalry. People who were capable of a maximum regiment were placed at the head of divisions and corps. As a result, by the summer of forty-one, about 90 percent of the commanders at the division-army level were promoted by Voroshilov and Budyonny, whom they knew from the First Cavalry, and this sin is the largest on Semyon Mikhailovich’s conscience. However, let the one who has himself been delivered from the sin of “his people” cast the first stone.

Stalin understood that the army was not ready, but hoped to have time to put it in order by gaining a little time. That is why he did not take any response to the numerous provocations of the German side and forbade troops to respond to the escalation of the situation. However, Stalin’s calculations to be the most dexterous and to begin military operations at a convenient moment for him did not come true: after analyzing the actions of the Red Army in the Finnish campaign, Hitler decided that there was no better moment for an attack.

Budyonny was not actually a Cossack, as many people think. He was from out of town. These are those who lived in the region of the Don Army but were not Cossacks.

Like all out-of-towners, he hated the Cossacks. During the Civil War, the Cossacks were either pro-white or neutral. All nonresidents were for the Reds. And Budyonny too.

Budyonny was not very tall. Height: 172.

But he was distinguished by enormous strength, dexterity and courage.

In the 50s, a Soviet Armenian gymnast was the first in the world to make a cross on the rings. And while hanging on the cross, he turned left and right. The whole world was in awe. Semyon Mikhailovich listened to his relatives admire the gymnast and was surprised: “What’s wrong with that?”

There were sports equipment in the cinema in his mansion. There were also rings hanging there. Budyonny jumped onto the rings, made a cross and twirled like that gymnast. He was then about 70 years old...

Four Georges was the limit. But Budyonny received 5 Georgievs.

Because he was deprived of one cross. For breaking the jaw of Sergeant Khestanov with a blow from his fist. (Budyony was the first fist maker in the village as a child). Actually, this was punishable by execution at the front, but the command decided that if such heroes were shot, then who would fight? And Budyonny was deprived of one award instead of execution. But soon he earned it again. Thus, Budyonny was awarded five Georges.

Budyonny was extremely brave and could rush with a saber at several enemies, but he feared his own more than his enemies. He came to all meetings at headquarters only with half a platoon of his most ferocious thugs.
He himself always carried a saber with him. He was a great master of chopping.

Once, already on the Tsaritsyn front, Budyonny, riding around the troops with Stalin, came across a Cossack patrol of either 5 or 6 Cossacks. Budyonny rushed at them and before the Cossacks realized what was happening, he cut them all down.

Stalin looked at the corpses, cut in two by a brave blow: from above from the shoulder to the saddle or with a side blow across the body, he joked gloomily: “You, Semyon, should be kinder with people, or something...”

But after that, Stalin began to patronize Budyonny and move him up with him. He needed such a charismatic fighter to confront Trotsky, the People's Commissar for Military Affairs.

Trotsky and the entire Red military command of the southern front did not trust Budyonny. Trotsky believed it was right for troops to fight out of fear of punishment and being fooled by ideology. And he considered such charismatics as Budyonny, Makhno, Chapaev and others to be Pugachevites and did not see external obstacles to prevent them from joining the White camp and withdrawing their army. That's why I didn't trust them. But Budyonny was protected from reprisals not only by his thugs, but also by Stalin.

When one of the Red army commanders informed Lenin that Budyonny’s army, having taken Voronezh, committed an unprecedented pogrom, violence and looting in the city. And he demanded to deal with Budyonny and his army, Lenin replied: “What to do with them? They were starving and cold in the steppe for a year. They endured hardships for the sake of the victory of the revolution. And now they have broken into a rich city. Who can stop them now until they get enough?”

Once Lenin, when meeting with Budyonny, asked: “Well, how is fighting?” “With God’s help,” Budyonny answered. Lenin laughed: “Well, with this help you will defeat everyone.”

Budyonny was never a church member. But he told the following story to his family:
Once during the First World War he was transported across the Black Sea to the Turkish front. Sitting on the deck at night, he saw the Mother of God appearing before him. The Mother of God told him: “I will protect you from death. Not a single bullet will touch you.” “Why do I have such mercy?” Budyonny asked, “I kill people.”

“And for this,” answered the Mother of God, “that you are doing this not out of self-interest, but for the sake of people.”

And indeed, since then, not a single bullet or shrapnel has touched Budyonny. In Turkestan, he went on the attack against machine-gun fire. His cloak had been pierced dozens of times. But not a single bullet even scratched him.

Local residents believed that Budyonny was protected either by Allah or Iblis. And they tried to cut off a piece of Budyonny’s overcoat. They believed that if they covered the heart with this flap, neither a shrapnel nor a bullet would hit it.

Another story is told:

Yezhov sent people to arrest Budyonny. Budyonny holed up in the attic of his mansion and fired back at the security officers with a machine gun. They did not dare to approach. Budyonny called Stalin:

“Koba! The enemies of the people want to kill your faithful ally!”

Stalin asked:
“Do you have a lot of cartridges?”

"Enough!"

“Well, hold on.”

Soon a black limousine drove up to the security officers. A man in black came out. And he said something to the besiegers. They packed up and left.

According to rumors, Stalin called Yezhov and said: “Leave the fool alone! He’s not dangerous to us!”

Afterwards, Voroshilov came to Budyonny and said, patting the hero on the shoulder, “And you, Syoma, still give up the machine gun!”

I had to give it away

During the Patriotic War, Budyonny was put in command of the troops out of old memory. But the war changed and rustic grunts were no longer in demand. Budyonny was suspended.

After that, he held only representative positions in the government system and had no real power.

After the Civil War, Budyonny dreamed of starting a stud farm and breeding horses. And he realized this dream already as Minister of Horse Breeding. A ministry that was created specifically for Budyonny. Under his leadership, as a result of many years of work, new breeds of horses were developed - Budennovsky and Terek.

Jockeys at the hippodromes did not like the “Semyonmikhalychs” for their evil temper.

Personal life

Not only the military biography, but also the personal life of Semyon Budyonny was eventful. There were also tragic pages in it. The marshal's first wife, the same Cossack Nadya from the neighboring village with whom he married in 1903, accompanied her husband during the Civil War. She was responsible for supplying the medical unit. Nadezhda died in 1924. According to one version, it was an accident. The woman allegedly accidentally pulled the trigger of a loaded gun. But there is another version. They say that her angry husband shot her after learning about her infidelity. According to the third version, Nadya was shot during a scandal that she caused to her unfaithful husband.

Historians are inclined to believe the first version, because the fatal shot was fired in front of many witnesses who saw that it was Nadezhda who pulled the trigger.

It seems that the army commander did not grieve for long. Some say that he married the beauty and opera singer Olga Budnitskaya almost on the second day after his wife’s death. Others say that the wedding took place six months later. The woman was 20 years younger than her husband. And since Budyonny loved her incredibly and at the same time had incredible capabilities, his beloved Olenka got everything she wanted: she entered the conservatory and became a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater. But Mikhailova (she chose this stage name for herself) stubbornly ignored her husband’s only request - to give birth to children - arguing that she did not want to spoil her figure. Allegedly, she could not imagine her life without the theater.

As it turned out, she couldn’t imagine it without tenor Alekseev, which, of course, the omnipresent NKVD knew about. But when Mikhailova often attended receptions at foreign embassies, Stalin informed Budyonny. Rumor has it that after the conversation he personally took his wife to Lubyanka. The marshal's wife was arrested and accused of espionage.

During the life of the Generalissimo, Semyon Mikhailovich did not even try to alleviate her fate. They say he was sure that Olga was dead. But in 1956, having learned that the woman was alive, the ex-husband made every effort to get Mikhailova out. Subsequently, he took care of her, and the woman even visited the Budyonny family.

For the third time, Semyon Budyonny’s personal life turned out happily. After his wife’s arrest, he married Mikhailova’s cousin, Maria, who was more than 30 years younger than him and whom he subsequently loved and spoiled incredibly. Masha gave birth to her husband three children: in 1938, a son, Sergei, in 1939, a daughter, Nina, and in 1944, a second son, Misha.

Daughter Nina became the second wife of the famous artist Mikhail Derzhavin and gave birth to her father two grandchildren.

Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny died on October 26, 1973, at the age of 91, in Moscow, from a cerebral hemorrhage. On October 30 he was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall. A monument was erected at the grave.

Budyonny's widow, Maria Vasilievna, who was 33 years younger than him, died in 2006 at the age of 90. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.