In the cold spring of 1943, the streets of Moscow were filled with the haze and tension of war. In the heart of power, an unknown drama is quietly unfolding.
Khrushchev, a man of great importance in Soviet politics, faced the most difficult choices and trials of his life.
His son, Leonid Khrushchev, was charged with treason and received a death sentence in a harsh war court.
In this stormy moment, Khrushchev struggled on the edge between power and affection. He stepped into Stalin's office three times, each time with an almost impossible hope of trying to save his son, who was about to be shot. Can Khrushchev's bitter plea touch that iron-hearted heart and change his son's tragic fate?
Leonid's War and Vacation
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Leonid Khrushchev joined the Soviet Air Force as a bomber pilot. He often flew heavy bombers, participated in strikes on enemy positions and logistical supply lines.
During a late-night bombing mission, his plane was ambushed by German fighters on its way back. The artillery fire of the German fighters hit Leonid's bomber with unerring accuracy, and fierce flames erupted in the engine parts. In a strong shaking and unstable flight condition, Leonid tried to control the damaged aircraft in an attempt to complete an emergency landing.
Eventually, his plane crashed into a forest not far from the front line. The impact of the crash caused Leonid multiple fractures and internal injuries.
Having been rescued by his own people, Leonid was urgently transferred to a military hospital in the rear after a simple first aid treatment. There, he underwent more specialized treatment and surgery, and was gradually pulled back from the line of life and death.
Although the body is gradually recovering, it is clear that it will take a longer period of recuperation to fully recover. Therefore, he was granted a leave of absence, left the smoke of the front and came to the city of Kuibyshev in the USSR.
Kuibyshev's accident
During a vacation in the city of Kuibyshev, Leonid met a group of sailors who had just returned from the sea. These sailors have accumulated tremendous stress during the long war environment, and they use the short breaks to find ways to decompress.
On a chance night, they met Leonid in a bar. Alcohol heats up the atmosphere, but it also spirals out of control.
As the evening progressed, a sailor asked Leonid to demonstrate his shooting skills in order to verify his accuracy as a pilot.
At the beginning, Leonid accepted the challenge with a relaxed mindset, and he successfully shot the bottleneck of the bottle, an act that won the applause of those present.
However, the ensuing challenge intensified, and the sailor was not satisfied with this, and demanded that Leonid shoot at the moving target, the bottle.
Under the instigation of alcohol and the masses, the atmosphere became more and more tense. Leonid, after hesitating, raised his pistol and aimed at the bottle, which was being raised by another sailor.
But this time, the situation took an unexpected turn. At the moment of pulling the trigger, the sailor with the bottle suddenly moved, causing the bullet to deviate from its trajectory and hit the eyebrow of another sailor, who fell to the ground in response, and the scene was silent.
When this tragedy happened, everyone present was stunned, and the laughter in the bar disappeared in an instant. Leonid also froze in place, and the gun in his hand seemed to become extremely heavy.
Subsequently, the bar was quickly taken under the control of the military police and emergency medical squads, while Leonid was immediately detained pending further investigation and trial.
The incident was quickly reported to the military hierarchy, and in wartime, the Soviet army took drastic measures against any behavior that could affect morale and discipline.
Leonid's actions were seen as an extremely serious mistake, and although he had no intention of killing, the consequences were irreversible.
According to the military law of the time, Leonid was sentenced to a heavy penalty of "eight years of service at the front", which reflected the strict control and high-pressure policy of the Soviet army on the behavior of soldiers at that time.
Hearing this, Khrushchev hurriedly returned to Moscow from the front. At the military and political level, Khrushchev knew that he would have to personally find Stalin in order to obtain forgiveness for his son.
In front of Stalin, Khrushchev tried his best to express his concern for his son, as well as regret and misfortune about the incident. However, in the wartime Soviet Union, even high-ranking officials like Khrushchev could not easily change the rulings of military discipline and law.
A twist of fate on the battlefield
On March 11, 1943, Leonid Khrushchev was reintegrated into the bomber formation of the Soviet Air Force and participated in attacks on German targets.
On the same day, his unit received an order to carry out a bombing mission at an important German logistics base in Kaluga province. Early in the morning, he and the other pilots, after a brief combat meeting, quickly rushed to their respective planes. The sky had just turned white, and the atmosphere at the airport was tense and solemn.
Leonid's bombers joined the formation, and with the roar of their engines, the planes took off one after another, cutting through the early morning mist and heading towards the target area.
During the flight, Leonid focused on the airspace ahead, and the other aircraft maintained a strict formation flight. Suddenly, German fighter groups burst out of the clouds and launched a fierce attack on the Soviet bomber formations.
In the melee in the air, Leonid tried his best to maneuver the aircraft to evade it, and at the same time complete the bombing mission of the ground target.
But the German fighter attack was extremely ferocious, and his plane was quickly put into focus.
The cannon flames of a German fighter jet hit Leonid's engine directly, causing a fire in an instant.
Faced with a sudden disaster, Leonid tried to control the burning plane and try to stabilize it, but the situation was irreparable. Eventually, a cloud of black smoke was left in the sky, and his plane fell out of control.
After the crash, Leonid survived, but was seriously injured. The Germans quickly took control of the crash site and took him away as a prisoner of war.
During his captivity, Leonid was subjected to severe interrogation and persecution. The Germans tried to use his identity and cast it as a propaganda tool for Soviet betrayal.
Through careful planning and manipulation, the Nazi propaganda department presented Leonid to the public, describing him as a "hero" in opposition to the Stalin regime and the Soviet system.
Leonid's rebellion and trial
Leonid Khrushchev, as a prisoner of war, played an important role in the Nazi propaganda machine, and his image and rhetoric were widely used to undermine the morale and will to resist in the Soviet Union.
Such acts were severely condemned in the Soviet Union as a betrayal of the Motherland and a violation of the highest wartime crime - treason.
The Soviet government and the traitorous department attached great importance to this, invested a lot of resources and manpower, and finally succeeded in recapturing Leonid from the control of Nazi Germany through various channels and means.
Upon his return to the USSR, Leonid was sent directly to the military court of the Moscow Military District for trial. In court, his actions were scrutinized, and all evidence pointed to treason for his actions while he was a prisoner of war. At that time of great war and ideological antagonism, Leonid's actions were recognized as a great betrayal of the Soviet Union and its army, and as a result, the military tribunal of the Moscow Military District finally sentenced him to death.
Hearing the news of his son's death sentence, Khrushchev felt extremely hopeless. As a politician, he was well aware of his place in the Soviet political system and Stalin's exacting demands for discipline and loyalty.
But as a father, he was unwilling to give up and decided to intercede with Stalin himself, hoping to win his son's chance of survival.
Khrushchev, having been allowed to meet Stalin, did not adopt any bureaucratic or statesman posture, but showed extreme humility and despair.
He knelt in front of Stalin, with his hands on the ground, hunched over, and expressed his plea in as low a posture as possible.
This move of Khrushchev in front of Stalin was intended to express the importance he attached to the life of his son, as well as his absolute obedience to Stalin's decisions.
However, Stalin did not tolerate such expressions of personal feelings. In Stalin's eyes, any form of betrayal could not be forgiven, even if it came from one of his senior political leaders.
Stalin indifferently ordered Khrushchev to leave, and his attitude made it clear that the decision of the state and the army would not be changed by personal relations.
This meeting left a deep impression on Khrushchev's heart, and at the same time reflected the extreme requirements of discipline and loyalty in the Soviet Union under Stalin's rule.
Khrushchev was forced to leave Stalin's office, and his request failed to change the fate of Leonid.
The interweaving of family and fate
Khrushchev, having failed to achieve his goal when he pleaded with Stalin, did not give up, and his insistence made him decide to try again.
A few days later, Khrushchev again came to Stalin's office and again pleaded for the life and death of his son. He knew that this might be the last chance, but he was also aware of Stalin's decision-making style and attitude to treason.
At this meeting, Khrushchev's behavior was even more extreme, he walked up to Stalin and hugged Stalin's legs, an act that was extremely rare and dangerous in the political environment of the Soviet Union.
Such a move, almost unprecedented in the halls of power, showed Khrushchev's desperation for the fate of his son.
Stalin appeared indifferent to this, and he did not waver in any way by Khrushchev's actions. Stalin then ordered his guards and Bosk Lyobeschev to take Khrushchev out of his office.
This order was quickly carried out, and the guards stepped forward, pulled Khrushchev away from Stalin and forcibly led him to the next room.
During the process of being taken to the next room, Khrushchev was extremely emotionally broken, and he continued to mutter words asking for forgiveness for his son.
The situation looked getting worse, and Stalin, noticing Khrushchev's mental and physical state, ordered doctors to come and examine and care for him.
Despite the fact that Khrushchev was in a state of high emotional breakdown, doctors and paramedics dutifully provided him with the necessary medical assistance.
Despite Khrushchev's best efforts, in the end he failed to change the fate of his son. Leonid's sentence was carried out, he was taken to the place of execution, where he eventually collapsed under the bullets of the firing squad.
Resources
Why Khrushchev Kneeled to Stalin