Both supporters and critics of the Soviet leader recall in the debate the phrase that the responsibility of parents does not extend to their children. We checked whether Stalin actually said this phrase.

The statement that Stalin owns the phrase “The son is not responsible for his father” is found in the materials "Komsomolskaya Pravda" And Radio Liberty, V online collections of quotes and on the project website "Immortal Barracks". “The son is not responsible for his father” - the title of one of the chapters of the poem by Alexander Tvardovsky "By right of memory".

Many publications mentioning this phrase allegedly said by Stalin claim that the leader said it at the end of 1935 at a meeting of combine operators. The words “The son is not responsible for his father” became Stalin’s answer to the speech of one of the peasants that, although his father was a kulak, the speaker himself “will honestly fight ... for the construction of socialism.” As the authors of some texts about this clarify, the corresponding evidence is in the issue of the newspaper Pravda dated December 4, 1935.

Almost a third this issue Pravda is indeed dedicated to the meeting of “advanced combine operators and combine operators” with members of the Central Committee and the government, which took place on December 1, 1935. The first page is entirely occupied by the text of the speech that Stalin made at the meeting, most of the second page - the speeches of delegates from the Volga German Republic, the Sverdlovsk and Kharkov regions, the Azerbaijan SSR and Georgia. But the line “A son is not responsible for his father” is not in this issue of Pravda.

However, the newspaper spoke about the meeting with combine operators more than once. Published on December 2 Number 331 "Pravda" for 1935. A significant part of the newspaper was also devoted to the meeting of leading workers and Soviet leaders; readers in this issue were also invited to familiarize themselves with the performances of the shock workers. Among them was a combine operator named Tilba from the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Tilba began his speech by greeting Stalin “on behalf of the Bashkir combine operators-Stakhanovites.” Immediately after this, he told those present: “Comrades, I am the son of a kulak. My father was dispossessed in 1930 and exiled.” Then Tilba told how in just a few years he worked his way up to “the best combine operator on the state farm,” how many hectares of land he harvested and how much fuel he saved. The announcement of record figures was accompanied by applause. “Although the local authorities did not send me to Moscow as a delegate, Comrade Yakovlev, thanks to him, called me as the best combine operator. Although I am the son of a kulak, I will honestly fight for the cause of the workers and peasants and for the building of socialism,” Tilba continues. Further in the newspaper, Stalin’s remark “The son does not answer for his father” is indicated; the speaker proclaims: “Long live the Communist Party, our leader, Comrade Stalin!”, applause and cries of “Hurray!” are heard, Tilba shakes hands with those sitting on the podium.