Pictured: Marshal V. I. Chuikov with I. G. Paderin (left), 1964.
When I began researching Marshal Chuikov’s life and work in early 2020, I dove (with great zeal) into his translated books The Battle for Stalingrad, The Fall of Berlin, and Mission to China. Since this time, I have gained resources for other texts (thankfully Google Chrome will translate these for me) and have thoroughly enjoyed reading Chuikov’s epic stories and articles and hearing his recorded speeches online.
Western readers of his works often note Chuikov’s remarks regarding Khrushchev as well as his praise of the Communist Party, but it is important to remember a few things. First, books were reviewed and edited prior to publishing in alignment with leadership at the time. If a book was to be released and distributed, certain guidelines had to be followed. Regarding the Communist Party, political workers helped soldiers better understand their role in defending the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War. One must recall that Marshal Chuikov was a young revolutionary who joined the Communist Party early in his life and believed in its merits. The Workers and Peasants Red Army (RKKA) provided an outstanding career path for Chuikov, one which might not have been accessible to him in Tsarist Russia.
In researching Vasily Ivanovich’s texts, I discovered that he had a literary assistant who was also a prolific writer and Great Patriotic War veteran. Ivan Grigorievich Paderin, who was a political worker in the Red Army, also wrote several books and aided various veterans as they wrote their memoirs as well:
“Ivan Paderin fought near Moscow and Stalingrad, ended the war in Berlin as deputy commander of the 220th Guards Regiment of the 79th Guards Division for political affairs. He wrote the books On the Main Direction, Through the Fire, In the Fire of Stalingrad, Trust, Commander of the Immortals, Burns of the Heart. In addition, Ivan Grigorievich recorded and literary processed four volumes of memoirs by Marshal V. Chuikov, books by the Secretary of the Stalingrad Regional Committee of the CPSU, A. Chuyanov’s On the Rapids of the Century, [famous sniper] V. Zaitsev’s There Was no Land for Us Beyond the Volga, F. Vasiliev’s Care soldiers, and I. Dmitrishina’s At the Call of Memory. Here is what Marshal Chuikov wrote about Paderin: ‘I personally know Ivan Paderin from the September days of 1942, from the heavy battles for Stalingrad. In front of my eyes, he, the commissar of the battalion, raised the soldiers to attack, dispelled fear and confusion. The further life of Ivan Paderin also flowed before my eyes. In the last assault on Berlin, he led the soldiers to storm the imperial office, where Hitler's headquarters were located.’”