Pavlik Morozov
Encyclopedia
Pavel Trofimovich Morozov , better known by the diminutive
Pavlik, was a Soviet
youth praised by the Soviet press as a martyr
. His story, dated to 1932, is that of a 13-year old boy who denounced his father to the authorities and was in turn killed by his family. His story was a subject of reading, songs, plays, a symphonic poem, a full-length opera
and six biographies. The cult
had a huge impact on the moral norms of generations of children. There is very little original evidence related to the story, much of it hearsay
provided by second-hand witnesses. According to modern research, the story (denunciation, trial) is most likely false, although Pavlik was a real child who was killed. Morozov's story was the basis of Bezhin Meadow
, an unreleased film from 1937 that was directed by Sergei Eisenstein
.
s in Gerasimovka
, a small village 350 kilometers north-east of Yekaterinburg
(then known as Sverdlovsk), Morozov was a dedicated communist
who led the Young Pioneers
at his school, and a supporter of Stalin's collectivization of farms
. In 1932, at the age of 13, Morozov reported his father to the political police (GPU
). Supposedly, Morozov's father, the Chairman of the Village Soviet, had been "forging documents and selling them to the bandits and enemies of the Soviet State" (as the sentence read). The elder Morozov, Trofim, was sentenced to ten years in a labour camp
, and later executed. However, Pavlik's family did not take kindly to his activities: on September 3 of that year, his uncle, grandfather, grandmother and a cousin murdered him, along with his younger brother. All of them except the uncle were rounded up by the GPU and convicted to "the highest measure of social defense" - execution by a firing squad.
Thousands of telegrams from all over the Soviet Union urged the judge to show no mercy for Pavlik's killers. The Soviet government declared Pavlik Morozov a glorious martyr who had been murdered by reactionaries
. Statue
s of him were built, and numerous schools and youth groups were named in his honour. An opera
and numerous songs were written about him. Gerasimovka's school, which Morozov attended, became a shrine
and children from all over the Soviet Union went on school excursions to visit it.
During the investigation of Trofim Morozov's case his wife, Tatyana Morozova, Pavel's mother, stated that Trofim Morozov used to beat her and bring home valuables received as payment for selling forged documents. According to this testimony, Pavel, who was only 13 at that time, merely confirmed evidence given by his mother.
of the fabrication of the Pavlik Morozov legend.
In the mid-1980s Yuri Druzhnikov
, a dissident writer expelled from the Soviet Writers' Union, performed an investigation, met with surviving eyewitnesses, and wrote a documentary book about Pavlik. Originally circulated in samizdat
, it was published in the U.K. in Russian (Юрий Дружников, Доносчик 001, или Вознесение Павлика Морозова) in 1988 and soon thereafter translated into several languages. The first English translation appeared in 1996 under the title "Informer 001: The Myth of Pavlik Morozov." In his book, Druzhnikov disputes every aspect of the Soviet propaganda version of Pavlik's life. For example, different sources in Soviet literature list different ages for Pavlik at death, and show photographs of different boys. Pavlik was not a Pioneer when he was killed. According to the Soviet sources, Pavlik's grandfather was responsible for his murder; according to Druzhnikov, the grandfather was heartbroken about the death of Pavlik, organized the search when the boy went missing, and maintained his innocence during the trial. While not saying it outright, Druzhnikov hints that Pavlik was killed by a GPU officer, whom Druzhnikov met while doing his research.
Catriona Kelly in her 2005 book Comrade Pavlik: The Rise and Fall of a Soviet Boy Hero agrees with Druzhnikov that the official version of the account is almost wholly fictional, the evidence sketchy and based mostly on second-hand reports by alleged witnesses, and that Pavlik did not inform on his parents but was murdered after a mundane squabble. Kelly also shows how the official version's emphasis shifted to suit the changing times and propaganda
lines: in some accounts, Pavlik's father's crime was not forging the documents, but hoarding grain; in others, he was denounced not to the secret police, but to the school-teacher. In some accounts, the method of Pavlik's death was decapitation by saw. The one surviving photograph of him shows a malnourished
child, who bears almost no resemblance to the statues and pictures in children's books. It has also been said that he was nearly illiterate and was coerced to inform on his father by his mother, after Pavlik's father deserted the family.
Kelly, who had access to the official archives of the case, states that Druzhnikov's theory that Pavlik was killed by the GPU is unlikely. Druzhnikov accuses Kelly of extensive plagiarism from his book, and also of "dependence on those who have admitted her to archives", i.e. from employees of the FSB - successors of the GPU. Kelly published an extensive reply in Russian in the journal Voprosy literatury, but as the journal redaction wrote, failed to convince on many points and was rude to the pathbreaker.
According to the most recent research, Gerasimovka was described in the Soviet press as a "kulak
nest" because all villagers refused to join the kolkhoz
, a state-controlled collective farm during the collectivization. Pavlik informed on neighbours when they did something wrong, including his own father who left the family for another woman. Pavlik was not a Pioneer, although he wanted to be one. There is no evidence that the family was involved in the murder of the boy, which was probably a work of other teenagers with whom Pavlik had a squabble over a gun.
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
Pavlik, was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
youth praised by the Soviet press as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
. His story, dated to 1932, is that of a 13-year old boy who denounced his father to the authorities and was in turn killed by his family. His story was a subject of reading, songs, plays, a symphonic poem, a full-length opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and six biographies. The cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
had a huge impact on the moral norms of generations of children. There is very little original evidence related to the story, much of it hearsay
Hearsay
Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...
provided by second-hand witnesses. According to modern research, the story (denunciation, trial) is most likely false, although Pavlik was a real child who was killed. Morozov's story was the basis of Bezhin Meadow
Bezhin Meadow
Bezhin Meadow is a 1937 Soviet film famous for having been suppressed and believed destroyed before its completion. Directed by Sergei Eisenstein, it tells the story of a young farm boy whose father attempts to betray the government for political reasons by sabotaging the year's harvest and the...
, an unreleased film from 1937 that was directed by Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
.
The propaganda story
The most popular account of the story is as follows: born to poor peasantPeasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s in Gerasimovka
Gerasimovka, Sverdlovsk Oblast
Gerasimovka is rural locality in Tavdinsky District of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia.The village is notable as the place of Pavlik Morozov's life and murder...
, a small village 350 kilometers north-east of Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
(then known as Sverdlovsk), Morozov was a dedicated communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
who led the Young Pioneers
Young Pioneers
- Organizations :*Pioneer movement various communist youth movements*Young Pioneers Charity A charity run by young people for young people.- Fiction :*Young Pioneers - a 1932 book by Rose Wilder Lane, also known as "Let the Hurricane Roar"...
at his school, and a supporter of Stalin's collectivization of farms
Collectivisation in the USSR
Collectivization in the Soviet Union was a policy pursued under Stalin between 1928 and 1940. The goal of this policy was to consolidate individual land and labour into collective farms...
. In 1932, at the age of 13, Morozov reported his father to the political police (GPU
State Political Directorate
The State Political Directorate was the secret police of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1934...
). Supposedly, Morozov's father, the Chairman of the Village Soviet, had been "forging documents and selling them to the bandits and enemies of the Soviet State" (as the sentence read). The elder Morozov, Trofim, was sentenced to ten years in a labour camp
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, and later executed. However, Pavlik's family did not take kindly to his activities: on September 3 of that year, his uncle, grandfather, grandmother and a cousin murdered him, along with his younger brother. All of them except the uncle were rounded up by the GPU and convicted to "the highest measure of social defense" - execution by a firing squad.
Thousands of telegrams from all over the Soviet Union urged the judge to show no mercy for Pavlik's killers. The Soviet government declared Pavlik Morozov a glorious martyr who had been murdered by reactionaries
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
. Statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
s of him were built, and numerous schools and youth groups were named in his honour. An opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and numerous songs were written about him. Gerasimovka's school, which Morozov attended, became a shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
and children from all over the Soviet Union went on school excursions to visit it.
During the investigation of Trofim Morozov's case his wife, Tatyana Morozova, Pavel's mother, stated that Trofim Morozov used to beat her and bring home valuables received as payment for selling forged documents. According to this testimony, Pavel, who was only 13 at that time, merely confirmed evidence given by his mother.
Later research and controversy
Evidence has emerged since the dissolution of the Soviet UnionDissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
of the fabrication of the Pavlik Morozov legend.
In the mid-1980s Yuri Druzhnikov
Yuri Ilyich Druzhnikov
Yuri Ilyich Druzhnikov was born Yuri Izrailevich Alperovich on the 17 April 1933 in Moscow, USSR. He died on the 14 May 2008 in Davis, California....
, a dissident writer expelled from the Soviet Writers' Union, performed an investigation, met with surviving eyewitnesses, and wrote a documentary book about Pavlik. Originally circulated in samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
, it was published in the U.K. in Russian (Юрий Дружников, Доносчик 001, или Вознесение Павлика Морозова) in 1988 and soon thereafter translated into several languages. The first English translation appeared in 1996 under the title "Informer 001: The Myth of Pavlik Morozov." In his book, Druzhnikov disputes every aspect of the Soviet propaganda version of Pavlik's life. For example, different sources in Soviet literature list different ages for Pavlik at death, and show photographs of different boys. Pavlik was not a Pioneer when he was killed. According to the Soviet sources, Pavlik's grandfather was responsible for his murder; according to Druzhnikov, the grandfather was heartbroken about the death of Pavlik, organized the search when the boy went missing, and maintained his innocence during the trial. While not saying it outright, Druzhnikov hints that Pavlik was killed by a GPU officer, whom Druzhnikov met while doing his research.
Catriona Kelly in her 2005 book Comrade Pavlik: The Rise and Fall of a Soviet Boy Hero agrees with Druzhnikov that the official version of the account is almost wholly fictional, the evidence sketchy and based mostly on second-hand reports by alleged witnesses, and that Pavlik did not inform on his parents but was murdered after a mundane squabble. Kelly also shows how the official version's emphasis shifted to suit the changing times and propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
lines: in some accounts, Pavlik's father's crime was not forging the documents, but hoarding grain; in others, he was denounced not to the secret police, but to the school-teacher. In some accounts, the method of Pavlik's death was decapitation by saw. The one surviving photograph of him shows a malnourished
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
child, who bears almost no resemblance to the statues and pictures in children's books. It has also been said that he was nearly illiterate and was coerced to inform on his father by his mother, after Pavlik's father deserted the family.
Kelly, who had access to the official archives of the case, states that Druzhnikov's theory that Pavlik was killed by the GPU is unlikely. Druzhnikov accuses Kelly of extensive plagiarism from his book, and also of "dependence on those who have admitted her to archives", i.e. from employees of the FSB - successors of the GPU. Kelly published an extensive reply in Russian in the journal Voprosy literatury, but as the journal redaction wrote, failed to convince on many points and was rude to the pathbreaker.
According to the most recent research, Gerasimovka was described in the Soviet press as a "kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
nest" because all villagers refused to join the kolkhoz
Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
, a state-controlled collective farm during the collectivization. Pavlik informed on neighbours when they did something wrong, including his own father who left the family for another woman. Pavlik was not a Pioneer, although he wanted to be one. There is no evidence that the family was involved in the murder of the boy, which was probably a work of other teenagers with whom Pavlik had a squabble over a gun.