Kotov biography Wikipedia

It operates with the financial support of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation Region on August 6, Adaman. The amazing life and mysterious death of Grigory Kotovsky on August 6, one of the most famous figures of the Civil War, Grigory Kotovsky was killed. One of his closest associates was accused of the murder, but he did not have a motive.

Perhaps no other professional criminal managed to make such a career in the Soviet country. He traveled from an ordinary raid to the corps commander, Soviet children were brought up with his example. Kotovsky firmly entered the Soviet folklore, becoming one of the most recognizable characters in war, a character in legends and jokes. Life found out how Kotovsky managed to turn from a bandit into a respected statesman.

Childhood Grigory Kotovsky was born in a very wealthy family in the year.

His father Ivan Katovsky before the revolution, his surname was written through "A" worked as a mechanic at the distillery of a very rich landowner from the Manuk Beyev clan. When he was two years old, his mother died. At the age of five, Little Gregory fell from the roof and remained a staircase for life. Kotovsky had no reason to complain about an impassable need in childhood.

Although in all biographies published after his death it was reported that he had grown in extreme need, this is only a standard propaganda technique. His father earned well. And after his death from tuberculosis, the landowner Manuk-Bey played an active role in Gregory's life. He treated Kotovsky’s father well and even became the godfather of the boy. The landowner undertook to help Gregory get a job in life.

He sent him to the Chisinau real school. But Kotovsky spent only a few months there. Since childhood, he was distinguished by an unbridled character and constantly got involved in fights. In the end, he was expelled for poor behavior, and he returned back. Meanwhile, his sister married the manager of one of the local factories. Gregory also did not converge with him and once attacked his fists.

Manuk-Bay still hoped that Gregory’s violent temple was a consequence of the transitional age. He exhausted his cradle training at the Kokorozensky School, where agronomists and winemakers were prepared. The landowner promised that he would send Kotovsky to Germany to the highest agricultural courses if he coped with his studies. A few years later, Manuk Bey died, not having time to fulfill his promise.

In this school, students lived in a full board. And Kotovsky seemed to take up the mind. He sang in the local choir, studied German intensely. Difficulties began in practice. Before receiving a diploma, students were obliged to go through it. Kotovsky admitted to one of the landowners, but was soon expelled to steal money. Kotovsky himself assured that the estate was robbed, but he did not take the money.

Then he recruited to another landowner, but here he could not resist the temptation and appropriated the money, then hit the run. True, in Soviet times, he assured that he did not steal any money, but stood up for mercilessly operated farm laborers and broke the cruel landowner, for which he was beaten by servants and thrown into the forest. After that, Kotovsky could no longer get to any landowner.

To find a job, he forged a letter of recommendation, but his deception was disclosed, and he first ended up in prison for forgery and theft. True, very soon he was released due to the "nervous disease." In prison, he met another life and was imbued with respect for the thieves' world. But he became a professional criminal a little later. The thieves' life said goodbye to the career of the agronomist, Kotovsky changed several low -skilled works.

He worked at a brewing factory, then on lifting work. For some time he was engaged in small crime. He was drafted into the army in the year. A revolution began in the country, and Kotovsky decided that his time was coming. After a fight with Feldfebel, he was on a guardhouse, from where he fled. Having fled from the army, Kotovsky put together a gang. At that time, he called himself ataman hellish.

His profiles were raids on the rich estates of the landowners. As a rule, the armed Kotovsky simply went into the estate and sincerely talked with the landowner, pointing a pistol on him. But in some cases, when it was bored or the landowner came across intractable, he arranged "illumination", that is, he set fire to the house. He robbed not only estates, but also shops, as well as apartments.

In Soviet times, it was argued that Kotovsky distributed all the money to the poor or sent to the Red Cross. But this, of course, is not so. Kotovsky really had a craving for spectacular theater gestures. He could come to the village and scatter the peasants with a pre -prepared trifle. Or in the heat of feelings to give some maid several rubles, but no more. When the publication of the book about Kotovsky was being prepared in the year, the witnesses of his good deeds were searched.

Several people managed to find, but according to their stories, it really was a few rubles.Only one maid remembered that Kotovsky, when the robbery of her patron, gave her 30 rubles a monthly salary of an unskilled laborer, the janitor received more. However, her story can be called into question. According to her, he gave her 30 rubles to buy a horse and a cow.

Apparently, this story was not in the know in the prices of the year. In those days, a cow cost about 50 rubles, and a good horse is even more expensive. Buying for 30 rubles both a horse and a cow could be with the same success as now for 10-15 thousand rubles to purchase a car. But even in the USSR it was not denied that Kotovsky led a lifestyle, which was far from ascetic: "On his own exit, it was important to sit in the Phaeton, Kotovsky appeared in Chisinau, stopped in first -bit hotels, bought first places in theaters, visited confectionery and restaurants." Large amounts went on the maintenance of police officers.

Kotovsky’s legendary elusiveness was explained by two things. Firstly, there was a revolution in the country, with widespread street battles, terror and expropriations. Law enforcement officers were not enough. Secondly, Kotovsky recruited most of the local police officers. The holiday of disobedience lasted a year. When the situation began to straighten out, the governor demanded to end banditism.

The police did not want to lose their jobs, so Kotovsky was ended with the elusiveness of Kotovsky in a few days. In February, he was in prison. Later they condemned the police bribed by him. True, most of his gang remained at large and organized an escape to him, attacking the protection of the prison. But unsuccessful: the police arrived in time for the aid. However, a few months later Kotovsky was able to flee.

His accomplices, with the help of a woman who pretended to be a nobleman, managed to transfer cigarettes with opium with which he treated the overseer. The sleeping guard could no longer interfere with his escape. But at large, Kotovsky remained for about a month. Already in September he was again caught. Now he was supposed to judge for desertion and several dozen armed raids.

Kutorga at the court Kotovsky assured that he committed all the crimes for political reasons, and not at all criminal attitude to political attitude in those days was softer and that he was a fighter for the rights of workers. In anticipation of the verdict in prison, Kotovsky decided to get weight on the move, challenging the power of the criminal authority named Zagari. In a bloody fight, the wall on the Zagari wall was killed by one of Kotovsky’s supporters, whose superiority now no one disputed.

Meanwhile, the court sentenced him to 12 years in hard labor and he was transferred to Siberia. Kotovsky seemed to come to terms with his fate and even began to actively cooperate with the administration. In prison, he, remembering his youth, began to sing in the choir. In hard labor, he recruited for railway work and even advanced to the tenant. With this, he hoped to earn an amnesty, there were rumors that in honor of the flight of the Romanov’s house, an amnesty would be given to everyone.

They really gave an amnesty, but only prisoners in political affairs. And Kotovsky was considered a criminal. Then he decided to run again. Later, already in Soviet times, he assured that he killed two guards during the escape, but this was not so. In fact, the hard labor was very poorly guarded, there was still a winter taiga around, and the chances of the fugitives were small.

Kotovsky took a chance and survived.