On March 19, 1962, Vasily Stalin – the son of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin died in Kazan. He was 40 years old, just two days before his birthday. His life ended far from Moscow, without power, without the military position he once held, and after years of imprisonment, forced settlement and severe alcohol addiction.
The official cause of death was acute heart failure on the background of alcohol intoxication. According to later published data, his body was buried at the Arskoye Cemetery in Kazan, and in 2002 his ashes were transferred to the Troekurovsky Cemetery in Moscow.
From General to Prisoner
Vasily Iosifovich Stalin was born on March 21, 1921 in Moscow. His mother, Nadezhda Alliluyeva, died when he was still a child, and his father gradually made him part of the closed world of the Soviet elite.
During World War II, Vasily served in the Air Force and commanded aviation units. He received several decorations, and in 1949 he was promoted to lieutenant general of aviation. After the war, he headed the Air Force of the Moscow Military District.
However, his military career was accompanied by problems with alcohol and a series of incidents. After the death of Joseph Stalin on March 5, 1953, Vasily lost the patronage that had secured him his father's high position. He was removed from his post and arrested on April 28 of that year.
In 1955, he was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges related to anti-government statements and abuse of office. His sister Svetlana Alliluyeva later described how her brother accused their father's associates of having killed him. In a story quoted by the New York Review of Books, Vasily shouted: “They killed my father, the scumbags!“
His last years
Vasily was released early on January 11, 1960, but his freedom was limited. After trying to seek permission to move to China, he was forbidden to live in Moscow and Georgia. He chose Kazan, where he was sent in April 1961.
He lived in the city under the surname Dzhugashvili. On January 9, 1962, local authorities issued him a passport with that name. According to Kommersant, his health was already seriously damaged, and despite medical warnings, he continued to drink alcohol. He died on March 19.
There was a discrepancy even in the first reports. Time magazine reported in April 1962 that Vasily had died in Saratov and that the cause was described in various ways - from suicide to excessive drinking. Later reports, as well as the details of his funeral, point to Kazan.
The version of a violent death remains part of the historical disputes surrounding him, but is not supported by public evidence. In 1999, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of Russia overturned the political charges against Vasily Stalin. This did not change the end of his life - the son of the man who ruled the USSR for decades died isolated and far from the center of power.
Sources: kommersant.ru, content.time.com, nybooks.com