After the assassination of a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Stalin began to consider finding a substitute, and the state security services found Yevshey Rubensky, who worked as accountants. Late one night, a group of people came to Rubensky's house and, without explanation, pushed him into a well-covered car and took him to a small building in a forest.
One morning, several men in white coats took Rubensky to a room, changed his hairstyle, and glued him to a mustache and makeup. At this time came an officer with a serious expression, who looked carefully at Rubensky and said, "Comrade, the Party and the government have entrusted you with an important task. As he spoke, he pulled Rubensky to the mirror. Rubensky was stunned in the mirror...
The surgeon performed several plastic surgeries on Rubensky: his nose was raised, his face was planted with pockmarks, and then he was asked to imitate Stalin's habits, tone, manners, and so on. Two months later, Rubensky was brought before Stalin himself.
Stalin examined the "second Stalin" carefully and asked some questions, as if hesitating. Then a waitress walked in with a drink, and when she saw the two Stalins, she couldn't help but scream, and the tray fell to the ground. Only then did Stalin believe that he already had a realistic stand-in.
A week later, Rubensky made his debut: he met with a British delegation in place of Stalin. Things went so well that even the security guards and the translators didn't see a flaw. Stalin himself watched the whole process through the curtains in the next room, and he was satisfied. From then on, Rubensky's new life began.
Rubensky lived in a villa on the outskirts of Moscow and enjoyed generous treatment, sumptuous food. He liked to watch movies, so he set up a small screening room for him. But his dealings with the outside world were completely cut off. Once he asked about his family situation, but he was given a gentle and firm suggestion to forget about it and concentrate on his work. And his work was indeed busy enough: sometimes he had to drive from his villa to the Kremlin, and sometimes he had to meet with unimportant foreign delegations and local representatives.
Stalin became increasingly suspicious in his later years, and Rubensky was not spared, being arrested in 1949, and the accusation against him was truly ridiculous: the destruction of the image of the leader. He was shaved off his beard and imprisoned in a labor camp.
After Stalin's death, although the accusations of injustice against Rubensky had been dropped, he could not stay in the big city and return to his hometown due to his special experience. So he was escorted all the way to Stalinabad and received a sizable pension, but was not allowed to leave the city. Since then, he has been paid a pension every month. The people who came were different every time, most of them were simply dressed and did not attract attention. Rubensky went out on his own, and only went to the small shops nearby. Twice a year, though, he would wear an ironed suit and go downtown and stand in front of the monument for a long time.
Rubensky's life is legendary, but also unfortunate. His home was gone, and he was never able to find any clues to his loved ones. He didn't start another family until the end of his life.