Awards of the Leaders of the Bolsheviks, the Organizers of the October Events and the Defense of Tsaritsyn According to the Documents of the Stalingrad Istpart

Introduction. The article is a direct continuation of the article published in Science Journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. International Relations (2022) devoted to the preparation of the collective portfolio (“vignettes”) of the heroes of the Revolution of 1917 and the Defense of Tsaritsyn in 1918– 1920. The subject of the article is an analysis of the preparation of awards for veterans in connection with the 15th anniversary of the Red Army with the aim of establishing the real asset of the Bolsheviks. Methods and materials. The award-winning materials of the Stalingrad Istpart are critically analyzed using the methods of textual analysis and prosopography. Observations and conclusions. In May 1932, the secretary of the Stalingrad “five” of the Lower Volga Regional Department, T.M. Seregin, prepared a list of 100 Bolshevik veterans for the award commission of the Stalingrad City Council. Stalingrad veterans, in turn, submitted a list of 34 people to the commission. The draft documents provoked sharp criticism of the Moscow Circle of veterans of the Revolution and Defense of Tsaritsyn formed by that time at the “All-Union Society of Old Bolsheviks.” The Moscow circle made a proposal to allocate a “narrow asset” (managers) to be awarded with orders and a “broad asset” (middle managers) – only to “encourage.” The proposal was rejected by the Stalingrad City Council. On the basis of both lists, a portfolio of 31 people and an award list of 34 Bolshevik senior managers were created. The proposals of Muscovites provoked a negative reaction from the Stalingrad circle of “Red Partisans” formed by that time. As a result of heated disputes, it was decided to ask the country’s leadership to award the Orders of the Red Banner to 24 people, Lenin to 6 people, regional awards to 40, and city awards to 9 veterans. A new project portfolio (“vignettes”) was compiled, on which 129 people were already placed. Thanks to these disputes, it was possible to identify the real, and not the mythical, circle of Bolshevik leaders of the October events and the Defense of Tsaritsyn and assess their contribution to the victory over the counter-revolution.