The infamous Moscow Trials organized by Stalin and his cabal from 1936 were not only the dictator's successful attempt to consolidate his position in power by eliminating any real or imagined contenders, but also an attempt to vindicate of the tragic and fatal errors of his policy.
In the "Trial of 21", in 1938, the main protagonist was Nikolay Bukharin , one of the protagonists of the Bolshevik movement, Alexei Rykov , former high-ranking party and government official, Nikolay Krechinski , former ambassador to Germany, Kristian Rakowski, former ambassador to Britain and France, the wretched Iaconda , former interior minister and head of the murderous NKVD now reaping what he sowed, Mikhail Chernov , former Minister of Agriculture and many others.
As always, the accused admitted their guilt, even if one or two initially resisted. However, Chernov did not belong to the "brave" category . He admitted everything, imaginary, fabricated facts presented by the prosecutor Andrei Vyshinsky , another wretch who later took part in the war against Greece during the Civil War.
Chernov went so far as to admit that he sabotaged the production of butter in the USSR by throwing broken glass and nails into the butter and destroying 50 loads of eggs... When he "revealed" his "crime" a riot broke out in court... The "crime" was terrifying in a country where millions died of hunger a few years ago.
"Grinded glass and nails in butter," thundered prosecutor Vysinski in his final arraignment, before calling for the defendants to be executed. “What a terrible act, worse than all the other seemingly trivial crimes... Fifty loads of eggs deliberately destroyed. It is now clear why there is famine in the midst of plenty"... said the shameless Vysinski.
Of the 21 accused, 18 were executed. Bukharin was forced to watch the executions of the others before he was executed. In vain Giaconda begged for mercy by offering himself as a laborer in the forced labour. Jezoff's replacement was relentless. After all, Yezhov was also executed in 1940... replaced by the other wretch, Beria.