Valentina Istomina: biography, personal life. Ekonomika Stalin

As practice shows, the more time passes after the death of a well-known historical personality - the more myths that come to life. So it happened with the most iconic figure of the USSR - Joseph Stalin. In addition to disputes about whether he was a cruel executioner or a savior of the nation, many are interested in his personal life. In this regard, periodicals are often full of stories about women of Stalin.

Valentina Istomina is a housekeeper who worked for many years in the house of the head of the USSR and during the reorganization became the heroine of numerous rumors. It was said that she was the secret mistress of the Leader and gave birth to his daughter, and then changed it with the security chief. Is this information true or is the innocent woman simply a victim of the slander of the yellow press? Let's find out about this.

Biography of Valentina Istomina in the early years

Before you deal with rumors about the secret novel by Istomina and Stalin, you should know about this biography of this woman.

Valentina Vasilievna Istomina (maiden name - Zhbychkina) was born on 7/11/1917, just on the day when a revolution took place that changed the lives of millions of people. However, the family Zhbychkin, who lived in the village of Donok (modern Orel region, Korsakovsky district), was not up to the political upheavals - it was necessary to work to survive.

In addition to Vali, Zhbichkin had 3 more sons - Pavel, Fedor and Vasily. Later, when Valentina Istomina became Stalin's housekeeper, she was able to attach Pavel and Fedor to work in the company of his employer.

Little is known about the girl's early years. According to official data, at the age of 18 she came to Moscow, where she got a job at a factory. At the same time, some sources claim that before she could conquer the capital, Valya received a medical education at the Oryol paramedic and midwifery school.

New career prospects

For most historians, it remains a mystery how Valentina Istomina managed to attract the attention of the chief of the guard, Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik, and to get a job as a hostess's sister at the dacha in Zubalovo.

Most likely an experienced employee of the state security was interested not only in the pretty appearance of the girl, but also in her mind and her economy. After all, without all these qualities, Istomin (then still Zhbychkin) could not have held the post of housekeeper for so many years.

Especially, according to the testimony of Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva, until Valentina Vasilievna worked in Zubalovo two girls - Klava and Zina, but none of them managed to stay in this post for a long time.

As for the period when Valentina Istomina became the housekeeper of the country's first person, the same Alliluyeva claims that the woman first worked at the dacha in Zubalovo for 3 years and only then moved to the dacha in Kuntsevo. However, other sources say that Valentina Vasilievna immediately began working in Kuntsevo, beginning in 1935 until her master's death in 1953.

At the post of Stalin's housekeeper

According to the personal protection of the head of the USSR, Valentina Vasilievna Istomina always differed not only in pleasant appearance, but also in an easygoing manner. In addition, she was a good cook and an excellent housewife, containing a cottage in perfect cleanliness.

In addition to the above qualities, the girl was wise beyond the years. She knew how to listen, but do not talk too much. It is not surprising that in just a couple of years, Istomina became almost the only person whom Stalin really trusted. And not only to put things in order in his home and monitor the neatness of clothes, but also to take care of his health. According to eyewitnesses, the head of the country almost always did not trust doctors, but from the hand of Valyusha he accepted absolutely any medicine without a murmur.

After the war, when Stalin's health got worse and worse, he spent most of his time in Kuntsevo, in the company of his housekeeper. And at the end of the forties, the Chief even began to take Valentina with him on trips around the country.

Closer to his death, Stalin and Valentin Istomin practically did not part. And after the death of Joseph Vissarionovich, it was she who prepared his body for the funeral ceremony.

Marriage

The fact that Valentina Istomina was the mistress of the head of the USSR, gossiped even during Stalin's lifetime. However, usually talked about this in a whisper and only those who knew about the existence of Valentine, and there were few such.

Despite these rumors, Valentina Istomina managed to arrange her personal life without problems, however, only in thirty years. Her choice was Ivan Arsenievich Istomin, who worked in military structures.

According to eyewitnesses, the couple lived peacefully all their lives. And even the close ones spoke of them as a happy family.

At the same time, Istomin had no children of his own. However, after the death of Valentina's brother Vasily at the front, she took her son Anatoly to his home.

Death of the Leader and reaction to it by his housekeeper

The date of March 5, 1953 became one of the key in the life of Valentina Istomina. On this day her employer died, and concurrently the head of a huge country.

As mentioned above, it was the sister-landlady who was given the sorrowful burden-to wash the body and prepare it for subsequent mummification, as was done with Lenin in the Mausoleum.

According to Svetlana Alliluyeva, during her farewell to her father, his housekeeper fell to her knees before the deceased and sobbed bitterly, like a husband deprived of her husband.

The fate of Valentina Istomina after Stalin's death

And it was Valentina Vasilyevna from what to cry, because with the death of the Leader, she lost her job, which provided her with all the blessings for almost 18 years.

Fortunately, the fate of Istomin proved to be much better than that of her colleagues from Stalin's personal guard. She received a personal pension and since 35 years has never worked again.

Up to the beginning of perestroika, Valentina Istomina, in addition to high pension payments, exceeding her husband's salary, also received a lot of other benefits. So they with the spouse had a separate apartment in Orlikovy lane, a summer residence in Moscow suburbs and the car "Zaporozhets". At the same time, Valentina Vasilievna felt quite well-off and no additional work-outs, like needlework was not engaged. In her spare time she read a lot and was fond of cooking.

Recent years and death

With the onset of perestroika, the prosperous life of the Istomin family was in jeopardy. The special pension was canceled. But thanks to the rank of security officer and a lot of incentive awards, Valentina Istomina continued to receive good money.

During the period of the beginning of publicity, journalists began to take an interest in the personal life of the former Leader. After learning about the close relationship with Valentina Vasilyevna, a woman no longer young at that time began to ask for an interview. Despite the fact that Istomina was promised good money for telling me about her life with Stalin, she never agreed to these proposals.

Moreover, it turned out that even many of her relatives did not know who Valentina Istomina worked in the past.

She died of a stroke at the end of 1995 at a state security hospital in Moscow. They buried her in the Khovansky cemetery.

Valentina's husband - Ivan Istomin, survived her for only 6 years.

"Stalin-live"

After the death of Valentina Istomina, rumors of her novel with Stalin began to spread even more intensively, because now she could not refute them.

In 2007, a television series about the life of the head of the USSR "Stalin-live" was shot. This project presented a version of the writers about the history of relations between Valentina Istomina and Stalin. And with obvious hints of their intimate connection.

The story of the betrayal of Istominoy

Also about these relations was filmed a documentary telefilm "The investigation was conducted with Leonid Kanevsky. The Secret Life of the Kremlin Celestials. " In it, the story of Joseph Vissarionovich and his housekeeper played with new colors.

The creators of the project claimed that the chief of the guard of the Leader, Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik (who helped Istomina get the place of the housekeeper), was in love with her. And one day, when Stalin fell seriously ill and many believed that he would soon die, raped an unhappy woman.

When the head of state recovered and learned about the incident, he dealt with Vlasik, imprisoned him for 10 years. Istomina was also hit: she was arrested and exiled to Magadan. After a little cooling down, Stalin realized that the housekeeper was a victim of the situation, and brought her back.

There is another version of this story, according to which Valentina Vasilievna had an affair with the security chief, and when her employer found out about it - she had to lie.

Most historians claim that this legend is a fiction of pure water. As evidence they cite the testimony of Stalin's personal guards. They argued that if Istomina had been exiled or arrested, they would have been ordered not to allow her to the protected facility. And this has never happened.

Did Istomina and Stalin have a secret daughter?

In the same documentary telefilm, the theory was put forward about the birth of a daughter from Valentina Istomina from her employer.

This assumption is denied both by the entourage of the Leader, and by native housekeepers.

However, the same relatives of Istomina do not rule out the fact that she could have been pregnant with Stalin and had an abortion ordered by him.

A novel or something else?

But was this novel really? After all, no one more or less serious evidence of this relationship is still not there. All that tabloids represent is only the conjectures of others.

However, if there was no novel between Stalin and his housekeeper, why did the head of state value his maid so highly?

To begin with, it is worth remembering that in 1935 (when Valentina Istomina began working as a housekeeper under Stalin's companion), the leader of the world proletariat was already 56 years old. His health, undermined in the years of revolutionary youth, gradually deteriorated. Does he need a young mistress, who only came from the village yesterday (although he could get any woman in the country)? It is unlikely. But he badly needed a good nurse. After all, if you remember that Valentina had a medical education, then she perfectly suited this role. In addition, according to the same personal protection of Joseph Vissarionovich, a trusting relationship with Valechka from Stalin began with the fact that she cured him of a cold.

So, if you look at the connection between the head of the USSR and his housekeeper not as a love relationship, but as a nurse and a patient, it becomes clear why Stalin had a habit of taking her with him on many trips, and in recent years and did not part with it at all. It also becomes clear why, according to the guards, they often met Istomin leaving the leader's bedroom at night. A woman could simply inject, give medicines, or measure the pressure and temperature of her known patient before bed, as is done in many hospitals.

The same version can later explain the marriage and the absence of children from Valentina Vasilyevna. Every working woman will confirm that employers negatively regard the availability of young children from their subordinates. Thus, not wanting to lose her place, Istomina could drag with marriage to 30, and then also postpone the appearance of her own children.

For the same reason, Valentina Vasilievna was so killed after Stalin's death. She did not mourn for her husband (as Alliluyev believed), but for the employer. After all, it was impossible to find such a well-paid place near the first person of the state.

About indifference Istominoy to Stalin, as a person, is evidenced by the fact that he never went to his grave, although he was regularly paid for his pension for the rest of his life.

By the way, it is incomprehensible why the leader's housekeeper, the only one among his entourage, retained his pension and benefits. Perhaps those who claim that she helped her employer die are right. Or maybe a woman over the years of work was able to make friends not only with her boss, but also his associates.