Ekaterina Semyonovna Svanidze went down in history as the first wife of Joseph Dzhugashvili. Their marriage did not last long and left behind many mysteries and questions. His wife, who gave a son and great love, Stalin remembered all his life.
A family
Catherine was born in Tiflis in 1885. Her parents were ruined Georgian nobles, besides Kato, five more children were born in the family. In the district, the girl was known as an excellent dressmaker, among her clients were many representatives of the aristocracy of the city, the wife of the chief of the gendarmerie and the chief police officer.
Once in the house number three on Freilinskaya street, where the Svanidze family lived, Joseph Dzhugashvili appeared. The guest was invited by Catherine's brother Alexander. The young people were linked by education at the seminary and revolutionary activity. At first glance, Stalin was conquered by a black-eyed beauty with a shock of hair. A few days later, the future leader introduced his chosen one to Keke's mother, she agreed to the marriage.
Marriage
The wedding of Kato and Joseph took place in July 1906 at the Church of St. David. The wedding took place in secret, Stalin even had to show a passport for someone else's name - Galiashvili. Such caution was due to the fact that the revolutionary was in an illegal position and was wanted by the police. The head of the new family was barely 26 years old, his wife was five years younger.
The police became aware of Dzhugashvili's marriage. Surveillance began on the young wife, and soon followed by an arrest. Katerina was then in her third month of pregnancy. The revolutionary did not appear in the police, and the girl was able to be released thanks to her high-ranking acquaintances and the troubles of her relatives.
In the spring of 1907, the couple had a son, Yakov. It would seem that happiness should finally come to their family. But Catherine with her husband and child in her arms again fled from the police. This time they hid in Baku and changed apartments several times. Kato developed tuberculosis, and Joseph took his sick wife and son to Tiflis. He himself was swallowed up by revolutionary work.
Farewell to wife
Joseph rushed in when he was informed about the serious condition of his wife. He found her emaciated and immediately felt an imminent demise. Katerina died the next day in her husband's arms. Rumor has it that at the funeral he jumped into the grave and sobbed inconsolably. The grief-stricken husband demanded to bury them together until his friends pulled him out. After a while, Dzhugashvili took the party pseudonym Stalin, he argued that with the death of Kato Svanidze “his good feelings for people died” and his heart became steel.
Yakov's biography was tragic. The father did not love his son, he considered him guilty for the death of his wife, because caring for the child undermined her strength. Until the age of 14, the boy was brought up by his mother's relatives in Georgia. He met Stalin when a new wife, Nadezhda Alilueva, appeared in the personal life of the famous father. The father-son relationship was full of conflicts and contradictions. At the beginning of the war, Yakov went to the front and died in German captivity.
