The man who enjoyed Stalin’s absolute trust Archive photo; Russia Beyond Earning the trust of the incredibly cautious and suspicious Soviet leader was no mean task. Alexander Shcherbakov was one of the few people who managed to do it.
Today, few people in Russia remember the name of this man. Whereas in Stalin’s time, the head of Soviet propaganda, Alexander Sergeyevich Shcherbakov, was one of the most influential people in the USSR. Furthermore, he had every chance of some day becoming the head of state. But it was not to be.
Meteoric rise
After the victory in the Russian Civil War, the Soviet leadership faced an acute personnel problem. There were many brilliant military commanders, but a dire shortage of civilian specialists. In those circumstances, Alexander Sergeyevich, a born leader and a good organizer, who had several university degrees, was worth his weight in gold.