Is it true that Lenin died of syphilis?

For many decades there have been rumors for many decades that the cause of the death of the founder of the Soviet state was either a sexually transmitted disease or its consequences. We checked whether such rumors have any base.

In 2009, the British edition The Telegraph It was reported that the historian and writer Helen Rappaport, having studied the documents, came to the conclusion: the leader of the world proletariat "died of Syphilis, which he picked up from the Paris prostitute in 1902." This is allegedly evidenced by the report of the world famous scientist Ivan Pavlov, which says that "the revolution made a crazy with the syphilis of the brain." This news was distributed World And Russian resources. Also at different times, according to the media, they came to this conclusion Israeli doctors and Russian neurophysiologist Valery Novosyolov.

However, this version is not new. In the days of the USSR, it was actively mentioned in emigrant literature ("Conspiracy of the Red Bonaparte" (1958) Boris Solonevich, "New Economic Policy and the Crisis of the Party after the death of Lenin" (1971) Nikolai Valentinov, "Armageddon: in a circle fifth" (1972) Pavel Gorbachevsky), and in the country the Soviets itself was transferred from mouth to mouth.

Countsthat the first to a public print assumption about syphilis as the cause of the death of V.I. Lenin made the head of the skin and sexually transmitted diseases of the Imperial Nikolaev University (city of Saratov) Vladislav Terebinsky. During the Civil War, he emigrated to the Balkans, where he published the work "On the causes of the death of V. I. Lenin according to the opening protocol (Lues Cerebri)." Terebinsky did not possess serious documents, so his assumption is difficult to evaluate. Let's see how it is with the documents.

Vladimir Lenin died at 18:50 on January 21, 1924, having experienced three strokes in two years before. The next day, an autopsy was made, the result of which was a detailed protocol, signed by 11 specialists, led by Professor Abrikosov. Two key sections are an anatomical diagnosis and conclusion: “anatomical diagnosis. Common arteriosclerosis of arteries with a pronounced damage to the arteries of the brain. Arteriosclerosis of the descending part of the aorta. Hypertrophy of the left ventricle of the heart. Multiple foci of yellow softening (on the basis of sclerosis of the vessels) in the left hemisphere of the brain in the period of resorption and transformation into cysts. Fresh hemorrhage in the vascular plexus of the brain under the quatrains. Bone corn with the left shoulder bone. The encapsulated bullet in the soft tissues of the upper left shoulder.

Conclusion. The basis of the disease of the deceased is the common vessel arteriosclerosis on the basis of their premature wear. Due to the narrowing of the gaps of the arteries of the brain and the violation of its nutrition from the insufficient blood flow, focal softening of the brain tissue occurred, explaining all previous symptoms of the disease (paralysis, speech disorders). The immediate cause of death was: 1) increased circulatory disorders in the brain and 2) hemorrhage in the soft cerebral shell in the area of ​​the quadruple. ”

Moreover, on February 14, 1924, Alexei Abrikosov after an additional study signed The new conclusion, in which noted: “A microscopic study confirmed the opening data, establishing that the only basis of all changes is atherosclerosis of the arterial system with a predominant damage to the arteries of the brain. No indications of the specific nature of the process (syphilis, etc.) were found either in the vascular system or other organs. ”

It would seem very clear? However, not everything is so simple. One of the main arguments of the adherents of the “syphilitic” theory of Lenin's disease is the mention of Salvarsan, a drug created to combat syphilis in the 1922 recipe. However, as noted by the authors of the article in the journal "Knowledge is power"At that time, the doctors invariably followed the rule “In Dubio Suspice Luem” (“In doubtful cases, look for syphilis”): “There was an assumption that the cause of Lenin’s illness was neglected syphilis. By the way, he himself also did not exclude such an opportunity and therefore took Salvarsan, and in 1923 he still tried to be treated with mercury and bismuth. The invitation of Max Nonne, the author of the classic reference book Syphilis and the Nervous System (1902) and one of the authoritative specialists in this area, who knew how to diagnose later forms of syphilis, was not accidental. However, the conjecture was refuted. “Absolutely nothing testified to syphilis,” Nonna later wrote down. However, the very presence of this doctor gave rise to rumors about syphilis in Lenin. In Lenin’s biographies, one can still meet an echo of these rumors. ”

Next, we turn to the arguments of Valery Novosyolov. A few years ago, the revelations of this specialist Disractible For many popular media. He argued that, as an exception, in the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI), access to the 410-page diary of Ulyanov doctors (1922–1924), which was closed for reading by ordinary mortals. In 1999, this restriction at the request of Lenin’s niece was extended for 25 years (the first 75 years were a standard term according to the law), and before their expiration, Novoselov could not give a detailed assessment of the diary in his book, but from what he read, the neurosyphilis should supposedly.

However, there are several points that in this story are doubtful.

1. Novoselov claims that, according to the card index, he was the first to read this document. Considering that almost a century has passed since the day of Lenin’s death, and much higher -ranking people could probably contact the archive than a simple neurophysiologist, it looks somewhat strange. Still, the question of the cause of the death of the leader of a huge country, even after the restructuring and collapse of the USSR, could be studied somewhat more serious.

2. The German -speaking term Abnützungssclerose (“sclerosis from the wear”), according to Novoselov, did not exist and was used for the first and only time. This is not entirely true. Although it cannot be found in modern medicine, you can find it in German multi -volume 1911 (as ABNUTZUNGSKLEROSE) dedicated to pathological anatomy. It is possible that apricot or one of his colleagues was familiar with this labor, otherwise why did they need to insert the German-speaking term into the Russian-speaking text. 

3. The word "syphilis" or "neurosyphilis" in the diary, In their own words Novosyolova, is not found anywhere. It concludes about this disease based on the methods and means of treatment.

4. All three doctors who conducted the diary were neurologists. At the same time, a specialist in neurosyphilis, as Novoselov himself admits, can only be called Alexei Kozhevnikov.

5. In various interviews of Novoselov there is the following statement: “The main attending physician of German origin Max Nonne, a leading specialist in Germany’s neurosephilis, who arrived in 1923 and confirmed the correctness of treatment to this period by Russian doctors.” However, from the wording “Vladimir Ilyich’s disease ... it is based on the disease of the corresponding blood vessels. Recognizing the correct treatment that was still used, the consultation finds that this disease, judging by the course and data of an objective examination, belongs to those in which almost complete restoration of health is possible. Currently, the manifestations of the disease are gradually decreasing ... ”It does not follow that this remark applies to purely anti -syphilitic drugs. Moreover, Novoselov, affirmingthat Nonna, according to the canons of medical ethics, kept silence until the end of his life, or does not know, or consciously misses the above quote From the German diaries: "Absolutely nothing testified to syphilis."

Note that there are other arguments not in favor of syphilitic theory. So, in 1991, academician Boris Petrovsky (former Minister of Health of the USSR) devoted to Lenin vast study, from which, in particular, concluded that she could not be associated with a wound from Socialist -Revolutionary, Fanny Kaplan on August 30, 1918. Having excluded this version that is quite popular in early Soviet literature, he at the same time confirmed all the primary conclusions of the doctors who opened the leader: “The very history of the disease of V. I. Lenin, the genuine protocols of the autopsy of his body and microscopic studies absolutely accurately determine the diagnosis of the disease: atherosclerosis of the left carotid artery, softening of the brain and, as a climax, hemorrhage in the zone of vitality important centers of the brain. " Boris Petrovsky lived up to 95 years, having died in 2004, but did not make any revelations for the rest of his life.

Denied The symptoms of syphilis and other specialists who examined Lenin are an optometrist Averbach and the German therapist Clemperer (also in diaries many years later, far from the USSR). Moreover, the brain of Lenin, or rather, its elements stored at the institute of the brain, were studied many times by specialists, but no conclusions about lesion by syphilis were made.

Thus, you can summarize some result. Apparently, the suspicions that Vladimir Ilyich Lenin had syphilis, existed at least at the beginning of the aggravation of his illness. This was a natural assumption for his time, and Lenin even took appropriate drugs. However, no practical research on paper has confirmed these suspicions today. Therefore, the arguments that are given in modern articles, today, before the autopsy of all archives, are insufficient to conclude that Lenin has died from syphilis or its consequences. The lower verdict is not a medical assessment, but the opinion of the weight, the fundamental of the arguments, which call the official version of the death of the Soviet leader.

Image on the cover: Wikipedia

Most likely not true

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