Voice from the Past e-bog

In 1971, when a scandal shook Soviet Belarus and threatened to bring downthe highest-level leaders of the state, a new phrase began to circulate among theBelarusian people: Soon everyone knew the definition of a Boroda Caseasecret pool of money and goods, siphoned from Consumer Union warehousesand used by senior officials, who didnt hesitate to spend the embezzled moneyon extravagances at a time when the average citizen was forced to stand in linejust to buy bread. But what of the Boroda Case namesake? When the scandal broke, MatveyBoroda, a Consumer Union Chairman, found himself at the center of a trialthat dominated headlines, destroyed lives, and, ultimately, sent Boroda to jailfor ten years. From a KGB prison cell, Boroda pleaded with secretaries of theCommunist Party to reexamine his role in what would become known as Case92: While higher ranking officials had escaped prosecution, Boroda had becomea scapegoat, serving time for the crimes of his superiors. The so-called first Godfather of the USSR, or a great but humble man who onlywanted to be successful in his workwho was Matvey Boroda? The answer liesnot in the files of Case 92, nor in the government workers testimonies, nor inthe stories created by the media. The answer lies in these pages, where myth andtruth intersect to create a Voice From the Past.