All the heads of the Russian state went hunting, from tsars to general secretaries and presidents. The hunting of the first persons was not only fun, but also another political move. She did not disdain neither the princes nor the revolutionaries ...,
The Bolsheviks, destroying the "old world", spared hunting fun. “A man with a gun” is a Leninist phrase. Yes, and Vladimir Ilyich himself, living in an apartment on the territory of the Kremlin, regularly traveled to the hunting grounds of the estate of Count Potemkin on the border of the Moscow and Tver provinces. And today in the village of Shosha there is a hut where the leader stayed. 
Painting by A. Moravov “Lenin on the hunt”
The military often came here to hunt. The Moscow Military District built a wooden mansion in the vicinity of one of the local villages - a hunting station - a dog kennel, a shooting stand. 
After the war, as one of the gatehouses, according to the memoirs of the rangers, they used ... a padded German armored personnel carrier. But the farm itself, as the Germans were knocked out, at first was more engaged in cows and potatoes.
The end to the hunting history of these places, which began to revive soon after the war, was almost put in 1951 by Stalin. The leader himself was never a real hunter and did not like rifle fire. Hunting wild animals was considered a waste of time. But this did not mean that his devoted comrades-in-arms immediately sheathed their double-barreled shotguns. 
1934 One of the few photographs of the leader with weapons. Stalin jokingly aims his gun at the hall. The joke turned out to be black: many delegates were soon shot ...
The next head of the USSR and an avid hunter, Nikita Khrushchev, recalled this as follows:
“Stalin had a different attitude to hunting: sometimes he himself tried to go, and sometimes he spoke out sharply against ... Yes, he himself did not go hunting, but quite often he wasted more time than anyone else ... Wasted at the table , with wine, with endless lunches and dinners. Sometimes he even spoke unflatteringly about Lenin in connection with the hunt ... " 
Stalin (second from right) hunting. 30s
Hunting passions in Zavidovo near Moscow subsided, but special hunting reserves were organized away from Moscow: in the Carpathian forests (Truskavets), on the mountain trails of the Elbrus region (Mineralnye Vody), in Polissya (Belovezhskaya Pushcha).
The organizers of hunting fun were Yagoda, Yezhov, Beria. Nikolai Yezhov liked to relax in Mineralnye Vody. The territory of the secret facility was guarded by border guards. Heavy machine guns were placed in the corners of the central base. They shot bears, mountain goats and other game. Yezhov could lie in a hammock for hours and shoot from a pistol at vases of fruit ... 
The legendary Red Army cavalryman S.M. Budyonny demonstrates his trophy
In accuracy, the leader was inferior to his comrades-in-arms - Voroshilov, Budyonny, Lakoba, but after each successful shot they repeated in unison that it was Comrade Stalin who hit it. The eldest son of the leader, Yakov, who was left at the dacha, adapted to satisfy the hunting passion in a very non-standard way: the boy, taking advantage of his complete impunity, had fun shooting collective farm cows with a gun.
Such “pranks” aroused grumbling among the peasants, they even complained to Lakoba, but he tried so that information about the tricks of his son did not reach Joseph Vissarionovich. 
Voroshilov (far right) hunting. Photo taken in the 1930s.
"If gunpowder is nasty, then it's ours."
In the personal archive of Kliment Voroshilov, a large number of notes on hunting topics have been preserved, which he exchanged with colleagues right at meetings of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in the presence of Stalin.
On September 20, 1928, the chairman of the Presidium of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, Mikhail Tomsky, wrote to Marshal Voroshilov: “Where do you get smokeless gunpowder for hunting?” The marshal replies: “I really don’t know, but I can say that gunpowder is very nasty. I’ll find out from my guys, I can inform you if necessary.” And while the Politburo meeting is going on, Voroshilov writes the following note to Tomsky: “If nasty, then ours. A good one costs 20 rubles. pound, and foreign 15 p. kilo."
Voroshilov after the hunt
Lists for visiting Zavidov in the post-war period were personally approved by the Minister of War. Members of the All-Army Military Hunting Society paid 10 rubles for one day of safari, which was the cost of two kilograms of potatoes. For no reason and without being members of the society, according to the list of the minister, selected persons often came here: Chief of the General Staff Sergei Shtemenko, Chief of Logistics of the Armed Forces Andrei Khrulev, Chief of the Main Directorate of Personnel of the Military Department Filipp Golikov. There are about 70 regular VIP clients in total.
According to the estimates of the Ministry of State Control in 1951, the armed struggle against "harvest pests", the arrangement and maintenance of hunters, subsidies for three years amounted to more than 7 million rubles. It turned out that the army was missing about 100 tanks.
I.V. Stalin after hunting in the Don steppes. 1933
Part of the land was "occupied" by the generals without the permission of the local authorities for subsidiary plots. Almost half of the grown plant and animal products were sold by nosy ensigns to the left.
Having seen the cost of "military-scientific" work in the Tver forests, the generalissimo was furious. On August 1, 1951, he personally ordered the release of the "strategic" recreation center from idle winners. Land in the form of indemnity was transferred to the ownership of collective farmers. Service residential buildings and outbuildings went to the Kozlovskaya cloth factory at their book value.
Stalin with a hunting rifle. 1930
The question of what to do with domesticated animals hung in the air. But Stalin was not up to the details. The whole "Moscow Sea" - the nearby hunting farm of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - fell under the hot hand. In total, about a hundred such safaris became victims of the campaign to eliminate the reserves with their hunting huts two years before the death of the leader.
But the game from the hunting farms of the All-Army Military Hunting Society was regularly supplied to the Stalinist table: snipe, great snipe, water chickens and cracked teals. After the departure of the rangers, the Zavidovsky forests became the domain of poachers, who almost knocked out all the big game here.
Central hunting estate
"Voroshilovsky shooter" Nikita Khrushchev
The special status of the territory was returned almost immediately after the death of Stalin, in 1953. Moreover, Khrushchev, who began visiting Zavidovo even before the war, turned Zavidovo hunting not only into a regular pastime for members of the Politburo and generals, but also into a way to entertain high-ranking foreign guests.In the wake of the exposure of the cult of personality, Joseph Vissarionovich was reminded not only of the repressions against the Zavidovka boars in the 30s, but also an attempt on the national form of entertainment. Fans of male leisure, perhaps for the first and last time, felt the itch of Khrushchev's reformism with pleasure.
Thanks to the care of Nikita Sergeevich, Zavidovo gained a second wind. At the highest level, a historic decision was made to create several demonstration hunting farms. The “demilitarized” Zavidovo was to become the standard.
More than ever, animals began to acclimatize in the reserve. They built picnic houses. Khrushchev himself set the tone: he dined with members of the Presidium of the Central Committee, received foreign delegations in the fresh air, and was photographed against the backdrop of hunting trophies. Along the way, political issues were resolved. Including with high-ranking foreigners - brothers Fidel and Raul Castro, Josip Broz Tito.
Nikita Sergeevich was a real hunter - "truthful", as the huntsmen called him. Plus, he was a great shot. There was even a shooting range at the dacha in Ogaryovo, where he, together with the guards, trained in skeet shooting. Perhaps that is why he loved duck hunting most of all, where he could burn to his heart's content. Naturally, the first secretary always occupied the first place.
In his memoirs, Khrushchev recalled a pre-war trip with Bulganin and Malenkov to Zavidovo, where Voroshilov was already at that time: “Please do not understand me as some typical bouncer hunter, but I really managed to kill one duck more than Voroshilov. Why am I talking about this? Yes, because everywhere we rattled: "Voroshilov shooters." Voroshilov, they say, shot from a rifle and hunting weapons better than anyone. And in fact, he was a good shooter, but only this company in the press was of a very sycophant character.
But what's for sure, ahead of Khrushchev on the hunt, both in terms of the accuracy of shots and the number of trophies, was contraindicated. For example, Nikolai Podgorny (at the time of Khrushchev - secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. - A.G.), specifying how many ducks Nikita Sergeevich shot, significantly reduced his results and urgently warned us about silence.
Quite often, Khrushchev's satellite production exceeded his results, but they were in no hurry to announce this. If the Owner's remark followed that they fired fairly that morning, then, for example, Podgorny, modestly lowering his eyes, uttered: "Smeared, Nikita Sergeevich ... I'm such a hunter."
The only person in the Khrushchev company who dared to leave at dawn before the "master" was Dmitry Stepanovich Polyansky (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. - Ed.). But among the frequent guests of Zavidov was another enthusiastic hunter - a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU Alexei Kirichenko.
Khrushchev and other members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU hunting in Zavidovo
One of the dramatic stories in which Kirichenko and Khrushchev collided was recalled by the son of the First Secretary Sergei:
“... A wild boar jumped out into that corral on his father. He ran, exposing his father to his left side. The father took aim and fired a zhakan - a lead bullet loaded into a smoothbore gun. The boar sat down for a moment ... but did not fall, but, staggering, continued to run. And then Kirichenko fired at him.
The boar dropped dead. "My!" Kirichenko exclaimed. “Excuse me,” my father objected, “I shot first and hit it right.” “But he fell after my shot. You probably missed." “How did you miss it? - the father was indignant. "Let's do an examination."
"How is it - missed?" - the father was indignant (to the words of Kirichenko. - Ed.). Father was proud of his accuracy, and the offensive word "missed" touched him to the quick.
Marshal Grechko was chosen as the "judge". The father jokingly protested - Kirichenko's son is married to Grechko's daughter. But the marshal swore to judge impartially ... Grechko, with a conspiratorial look, pulled a piece of lead out of his pocket and solemnly proclaimed: "It belongs to Oleksa!", That is, Kirichenko. “What did I say? - Kirichenko smiled and added: - I told you, you missed.
My father frowned and stared down at his plate. Grechko paused: “But another zhakan killed the boar ... Death came from a shot by Nikita Sergeevich, and, according to custom, he is awarded with a spruce branch.” Father fired from the side, and Kirichenko - almost in the forehead, his jacket went between the shoulder blades and, without hitting the heart, got stuck in the body. A side shot hit the boar in the ear and exited in the eye.
At the table, it was not possible to attach a branch to the bald head of his father, Grechko put it on the side of his plate. Now my father was smiling victoriously, and Kirichenko sniffed offendedly. "Fuck you all to the devil, you damned sycophants!" he suddenly shouted, jumped out from behind the table and rushed to the door.
Stop yelling! Khrushchev shouted then. Thanks guys for getting it right. Come, have a drink, and I'll be with you. And with you, comrade Kirichenko, I would not go into reconnaissance! Khrushchev got into the car and, without saying goodbye, left for Moscow ... ".
By the way, soon Kirichenko lost his party post. It was said that his resignation was not least influenced by the incident on the hunt.
Finnish red riding hoods
The complete opposite of the inveterate shooters was Anastas Mikoyan, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. He rarely came to Zavidovo, when foreign guests visited the farm. In this case, driven hunting was more often carried out in Zavidovo: the hunters stand in a line every 15-20 meters on the numbers - along the forest quarter, about a kilometer by kilometer in size, and the huntsmen, shouting, drive the beast out on them.Vladimir Cherkasov, the son of Ilya Ivanovich Cherkasov, the farm manager of those years, recalls the following story:
“Once, after the end of the corral, my father, removing the shooters from the numbers, did not find Mikoyan on his number. Footprints in the snow led into the forest perpendicular to the shooting line ... The hair on my father's head stood up along with his hat. It turned out that the guard of the member of the Politburo considered: if you go forward, you will have a better view. The hunter, thus, was in the sector of shelling of neighboring rooms. The angry father, having called the security officer aside, explained to him in all available expressions that a helpful fool is more dangerous than an enemy.
Head of Finland Urho Kaleva Kekkonen hunting in the Moscow region. 1965
By the way, another funny episode is connected with the example of "ensuring safety" on the hunt. In December 1965, Khrushchev brought Finnish President Urho Kalev Kekkonen to Zavidovo. Finn knew a lot about hunting. Senior hunter Khokhlov recalls:
“The Finnish guests surprised the Soviet leadership and especially the Zavidovo rangers by the fact that the president, the ambassador and the persons accompanying them, when they were put on the numbers, put on bright (red, yellow and orange) sports caps and asked us where the shooting tower was, on who needs to get up. Towers are needed so that the bullet flies from top to bottom. These are the requirements in Finland.” Khrushchev ordered in response: “Study, the main hunters, understand?”
Needless to say, towers soon appeared on the farm? But they still did not offer colorful hats to the members of the Politburo ...
Partisans in the forest!
However, the first foreign guests of the Zavidovsky hunting farm - in December 1962 - were members of the Yugoslav delegation headed by Marshal Josip Broz Tito. According to the recollections of veterans - employees of the economy of those years, the entire team was literally raised "on its hind legs".
Josip Broz Tito and Nikita Khrushchev.
Back in 1956, the Soviet leader visited a Yugoslav colleague and was amazed at the scope of the elite hunting organization. A hunting palace, excellent huntsmen, a huge number of animals and birds, well-trained servants - we did not have such a thing. Will! With his characteristic decisiveness, Khrushchev gave the command to resolve an important state issue in a short time.
It is impossible to "attach" a wild animal to a specific place, the huntsmen have to work hard in organizing the corral, showing observation, and gain experience in studying the habits of animals for years.
Khrushchev and Tito (standing with his back) inspect a hunting trophy.
Recalling that hunt, Anatoly Khokhlov said that Khrushchev praised the guests after the first day: “You shoot well, comrades Yugoslavs.” - “What, in vain did we walk in the partisans for so long?” Tito responded immediately. But the beast all the time left Tito himself to the side, and the elderly marshal's eye was no longer the same.
Khrushchev asked Cherkasov: “Well, Lieutenant Colonel, how is it? Can we do it?" He, shrinking, answered: “We will try, Nikita Sergeevich!” In front of one of the last corrals, Brezhnev (at that time Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet) said with a threat: “Well, lieutenant colonel, someone’s head should not be taken off, sorry, shoulder strap, if this corral is empty.” And so it happened: Tito was never able to get anyone, and Cherkasov was soon sent into retirement.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev hunting. 1955
"Harem" for Castro
Fidel Castro is perhaps one of the few leaders of foreign states who visited Zavidovo twice - in May 1963 and January 1964. The Cuban leader's winter hunting, it seems, somehow did not really stick in the memory of local huntsmen. Well, except for the fact that he easily went to visit them, could have a glass or two in their company, and even sleighed members of the Soviet government. But this is sparingly remembered. But the huntsmen talk about spring hunting with pleasure.
Fidel Castro In Zavidovo.
In "Zavidovo" in a special duck house, it is also called a harem, they kept several dozen mallard ducks, which were used as decoys to lure drakes.
“I placed one of the ducks in a dark barn two weeks before the arrival of the guests,” shared Anatoly Khokhlov, a senior hunter. - In case that if all the other decoys suddenly become silent, then this one will scream with joy that she finally saw the white light. Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev arrived at Zavidovo on 3 May. And, after a little snack, we immediately went to the pond ...
V. Shcherbakov (senior huntsman) suddenly said: “Just in case, I’ll take“ your ”duck, suddenly ours won’t work today, and you take all three baskets (6 ducks), some will work. It is necessary that the Boss (N. S. Khrushchev) succeed in hunting. This, you know, is the main thing.
Fidel Castro rolls his comrades-in-arms on Russian sleds. Zavidovo. 1964 Photo by V. Egorov
Fidel Castro looked around with interest, smoked another cigar and, pointing at ducks flying and floating on the mirror-like surface of the pool, clicked his tongue, saying: “Karasho!” Wishing Castro "no fluff or feathers!", we went to the boat moored near the shore 150 - 200 meters from the hut where Fidel was.
I noticed that when the decoy was landing, drakes were flying over us with a characteristic squawk, but the decoy was silent. Silent and "reserve players" that sat in the baskets.
About half an hour later we heard an inviting quack and a single shot in the area where Khrushchev was hunting. A duck “worked” that saw a white light after a long confinement in a barn. Quacking with joy, as we joked later.
In our country, the best decoys were silent. Disappointed and annoyed that the hunt had failed on such a wonderful spring evening, we returned to the pier, where Khrushchev was already waiting for us. A memorable conversation with Nikita Sergeevich took place on the pier - why didn't the ducks work? I tried to convince the Owner that I could not order them and that the silence of the decoys on the hunt happens ... His only argument was: “It worked for me!”
After the “educational” conversation, Khrushchev and Castro left for the central hunting station, and Ivan Kolodyazhny (head of the hunting farm) joked: “Do you want to go to Kolyma to raise a hunting farm?”
Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro after a successful hunt
... In the same composition on May 4, we went to the evening dawn, taking three decoy ducks, including the one that distinguished itself on the hunt with Khrushchev. This time she "helped" Fidel. We landed her, and she immediately "earned" in full force. Before we reached the boat, a shot rang out, then a second, and there was a noise from a bird beating on the water. When I looked up, I saw Castro walking towards us. In one hand he held two handsome drakes.
On the pier, Nikita Sergeevich congratulated the guest on a successful hunt and, turning to me, said with a joyful smile: “And you said that you can’t make a decoy duck work!”
On January 13, 1964, Castro made his second official visit to the Soviet Union. Well, he came to Zavidovo again - already on driven hunting. The day before the arrival of the guests, the temperature dropped to minus 20°C. The best huntsmen of the farm shrugged their shoulders and frightenedly reported that “they don’t know where even the moose have gone, since the animals do not leave a trace.”
The "owner" - Nikita Khrushchev - decided that the hunt with Cuban friends would take place in any weather. In the morning, having captured sheepskin coats for the Cuban comrades, the rangers went to the place and instructed the guests. True, they forgot to warn the Cubans that animals can be shot not only in the head.
Then everyone was very surprised when they examined the trophies: not only the elk and wild boar, but also the foxes and hares that got into the corral were shot in the head. Like the "Yugoslav comrades", the Cubans also fought partisans and shot accurately.
From the memoirs of Peter Shelest, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine:
“In mid-January 1964, Nikita Khrushchev, together with Fidel Castro, came to Zalesye (a hunting ground near Kiev. - Auth.) to hunt ... The hunt was a success, as they say, to glory. Khrushchev killed two big boars, two goats, four birds with one stone. Castro killed a deer, two goats, a wild boar. In addition, they made a couple of "pens", the production was also considerable ... "
From this, however, it was hardly easier for the rangers. There were no thick trees in this section of the forest, behind which it was possible, as usual, to hide from a stray bullet. This time, when the shooting began, the hunters-beaters had to fall into the snow ...
It was Zavidovo and other hunting grounds that Khrushchev loved so much that, ironically, became the place where a conspiracy was spun against him.
A few days before the start of the October (1964) plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, where Nikita Sergeevich was overthrown from all posts, a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR Gennady Voronov received an invitation personally from Leonid Brezhnev to go to Zavidovo to hunt ...
Later, Voronov wrote: “After the hunt, the feast was, as usual, short. When we were getting ready to go home, Andropov suggested that I go to Moscow in the same car with Brezhnev. As soon as we got on the highway, Andropov lifted the glass that separated the back seat from the driver and security guard in the cabin, and informed me about the impending overthrow of Khrushchev.
Brezhnev inserted only remarks into the conversation. Putting glasses on his nose, all the way he rustled sheets with a list of members of the Central Committee: he put pluses against some names, minuses against others, counted, crossed out badges, changed minuses to pluses and muttered: "There will be a balance, there will be a win-win." Andropov added: "If Khrushchev balks, we will show him the documents on the arrests in 1935-1937, where there are his signatures..."
Fearless Brezhnev
In the days of Brezhnev, the inability to hunt was considered bad form. The Secretary General himself indulged in this passion from early autumn to spring, mainly in Zavidovo.
General Secretary after a successful hunt Photo by V. Musaelyan
Vladimir Medvedev, deputy head of Brezhnev's bodyguard, noted in his memoirs: “Leonid Ilyich shot brilliantly and knew a lot about guns. Comrades, comrades-in-arms - both ours and foreign ones - knowing his weakness, gave him the most luxurious guns on his birthdays and on any other suitable days.
At a nearby dacha, in the District, in a special room, he kept about ninety barrels in three large safes! A good gun cost at the time when money had a price, fifty thousand, no less. Favorite guns were three or four smooth-bore, all imported, for hunting ducks, geese, other birds and small animals - hares, foxes, etc.; and the same number, three or four, rifled guns, imported and Tula, for serious living creatures - wild boar, elk, deer.
A gift to Brezhnev from American gunsmiths - two exclusive revolvers with serial numbers LIB-1 (Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev-1) and LIB-2. Decorated with rich engraving, trimmed with gold and ivory, they are a work of art in themselves. On the handle there is an inscription in Russian: “The Colt Arms Company to General Secretary L. I. Brezhnev”
Brezhnev was bewitched by this passion. Under him, the reserve in Zavidovo acquired a special significance. The highway to the special hunting grounds was kept in exemplary condition. The protection of the reserve has been strengthened. A tall fence was erected along the local railway line so that when chasing an elk or a wild boar, they, which is good, would not fall under the train.
Leonid Ilyich often traveled to Zavidov and back, either driving a Cadillac given to him by President Nixon or driving a Rolls-Royce (a gift from Armand Hammer). One such trip almost ended tragically. Brezhnev also demonstrated his recklessness to Secretary of State Kissinger, who recalled with horror one such unplanned rally along the winding roads of the Konakovo region.
Two types of hunting were practiced under Brezhnev in Zavidovo: driven and from towers. The first requires experience and excellent physical fitness. Leonid Ilyich, according to the stories of rangers, liked to hunt from a tower. He calmly treated the “setups” when they feed the beast and the same wild boars, say, become semi-domestic cattle. With Brezhnev, trips to Zavidovo always followed a well-established scheme: vodka, a bathhouse and shooting ...
The wild boar was hunted in enclosures of several tens of hectares, so that it was possible to walk a billhook of 350 kilograms. Individual animals were prepared for the first persons of the country, but elderly leaders had to sit in an “ambush” and for an hour waiting for the beast to come out.
In fact, it is gambling, but tedious work. The boar is a cautious animal. Vision is poor, but smell and hearing are excellent. Therefore, no perfume, cologne, tobacco. But it was not possible to wean Brezhnev and some of his associates from smoking even when hunting, which is why the rangers had to accustom the boars to the smell of tobacco.
Leonid Brezhnev liked to smoke while hunting so that mosquitoes would not bite. "Zavidovo", 1972
Hunter Alexander Kormiltsev recalled:
"We're sitting on top. The beast comes out, I open the window, Brezhnev shoots. I see perfectly well that I hit well - the boar was already thrown aside. But the bully is still gone! They quickly found blood on both sides of the trail, ran. I can’t say how I felt, but suddenly I turned around - the boar was already flying at us ...
In a jump, I kicked Leonid Ilyich in the back, and he fell on one side of the path, and I jumped on the other. The boar flew forward down the path, leaving its blood on my boot. About twenty meters later he turned around, stopped and stared at us. Leonid Ilyich jumped up and pointed a rifle at me. I show him: turn around, look!
He looked around - at that time the boar laid down his ears and lay down, clearly intending to re-throw. Leonid Ilyich took aim and with a well-aimed shot finished off the wounded animal. Here Brezhnev came to his senses. He came up to me, hugged me, kissed me. He took off his watch and gave it to me.
Here are a few fragments from Leonid Brezhnev's "hunting" notebooks dedicated to his stay at Zavidovo:
“May 15 (1976), Saturday… I didn’t call anyone. At 11 o'clock in the afternoon I got behind the wheel and drove to Zavidovo. Had a good time on the boat. He killed 3 ducks - he didn’t go to the harem (duckling. - A.G.). I could not stand it, I went to the forest.
"September 25 (1976). Saturday ... I left in the afternoon - on the "President" (American car. - A. G.) to Zavidovo ... 11 pcs. k. (We are apparently talking about mallards. - A. G.) 1 elk. 1 deer.
"January 7 (1977). At 4 o'clock there was a meeting of the Politburo - they discussed it. After the PB, he left for Zavidovo ... "
When the Secretary General came to Zavidovo, he literally changed. Below are the memoirs of the Deputy Head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU A. Chernyaev.
“... Once Leonid Ilyich appeared girded with a military belt, with an American-type holster (handle out). He spectacularly drew a pistol and pointed it at Georgy Arbatov's stomach. (In 1967 - 1995 - Director of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. - A. G.) He recoiled. "Don't be afraid, academician, I'm joking!"
Brezhnev explained to us that he took this unique silent pistol from the KGB, which has tremendous stopping power, no less than the Colt given to him in the United States.
He told how he finished off a wounded boar from this pistol, pierced him through and through, and he was still kicking his legs and, when they moved away, he jumped up and ran another 50 meters: “Here are strengths! Surprisingly tenacious beast!
VIP-hunters took animal meat for themselves. True, not immediately: before being sent to the state dachas, he was checked in the veterinary service. And the money was sent to the reserve-hunting economy from the 9th department of the KGB - 2 rubles 10 kopecks per kilo. That was the price of beef on the market then.
On vacation in Zavidovo, Leonid Ilyich liked to ride a snowmobile Photo by V. Musaelyan
Zavidovsky reserve under Brezhnev was not officially recognized as the residence of the head of state, but nevertheless changed beyond recognition, gradually acquiring a fashionable gloss. At the same time, the locals do not recall any special security "special forces" strictness ...
In the early 70s, a swimming pool and a comfortable annex to the hotel were built for Leonid Ilyich and his guests. Three new artesian wells were additionally drilled, treatment facilities, a laundry room and a cold store for trophies were built. By special order of the main hunter of the country, they even built a sausage-smoking workshop, where deer, elk and wild boars were dissected and cooked.
From this mini-meat-packing plant, the head of the Soviet Union sent a "deficit" to his colleagues in the Politburo through the couriers. "Brezhnev's ration" was considered the highest manifestation of affection for the official. Dishes in the form of cutlets from boar meat fell into the Zavidov canteen for the guys from the ninth (security) department of the KGB.
Henry Kissinger and the "political safari"
Brezhnev, like other leaders, liked to bring his high-ranking guests to Zavidovo. What importance the Secretary General attached to this can be judged by the note (see photo) that he sent to his assistant in March 1974, when US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger came to the USSR.
Brezhnev's note in which he proposes to invite Kissinger to hunt.
Here is how the former Soviet ambassador to the United States Alexander Dobrynin recalls this:
“Despite the complexity of the negotiations, by the end of the meeting, Brezhnev suggested to Kissinger “to stretch and go hunting for a wild boar.”
I saw that the Secretary of State was not very enthusiastic about such an undertaking: who knows what can happen on a hunt. He began to say that he was not a hunter and did not know how to handle firearms very well. Brezhnev cheerfully said that "we will show how to do it." Then Kissinger noticed that he did not have suitable clothes for hunting on such a frosty day. Brezhnev immediately ordered to bring a hat, padded jacket, boots, "rented" from the guards.
In this outfit, the assistant to the president looked rather comical, but it was warm. After that, Brezhnev "took Henry with him", and they, together with the huntsman, went hunting.
Leonid Brezhnev and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger after the hunt
As Brezhnev later jokingly said, when he handed the gun to Kissinger on the spot, he held it so clumsily that "he could shoot his companions instead of wild boars." Therefore, they decided to entrust him with the role of "foreign observer of the hunt for Russian wild boars."
Kissinger actively joked about this whole adventure in the evening, saying that one of the boars himself died of a broken heart when he saw such an unlucky hunter "...
In the late 70s, the sick general secretary stopped holding the gun. But to give up hunting for him was tantamount to confessing to himself: old age had finally won.
“During the shooting, weakened hands did not press a rifle with a telescopic sight tightly to the shoulder,” Medvedev recalls. - After the shots, it recoiled back, and it broke his face with a sight. He returned to Moscow - his nose, then his eyebrow, then his forehead were smashed into blood. Doctors tried to somehow cover up, whiten the wounds. He stopped in front of the mirror, and somehow childishly complained to an unknown person: “Well, again ... How now to go to work with a black eye!”
Once, while hunting, he fired from a car and broke his eyebrow. The next day he fired from a tower and broke the bridge of his nose. Both wounds are quite severe, bloody. The most unpleasant thing is that literally in a day or two a trip to Prague and Bratislava was coming. The doctors fiddled with his face for a long time, covering up the wounds several times a day during the whole trip.
After this incident, Leonid Ilyich himself sadly realized: he was no longer a shooter. But he did not give up the hunt. He also sat on a tower or in a car, just waited for the beast, but ... did not shoot. He handed over the gun to us, "attached." We shoot, and he is worried nearby ... "
From the trophy list of L. I. Brezhnev “On February 10, 1967, while hunting in the Zavidovsky reserve and hunting economy of the USSR Ministry of Defense, L. I. Brezhnev shot (got) a 7-year-old deer weighing 193 kg and scored a total of 316.5 points. Overall rating of the horns: "excellent". For this result, the hunter L. I. Brezhnev was awarded the GOLD MEDAL.
The exhibition hall of the Federal Archives opened a historical and documentary exhibition “Brezhnev. To the 109th anniversary of the birth. According to experts, this is the largest exposition dedicated to the famous Soviet General Secretary. Among the interesting artifacts there are those that are associated with Leonid Ilyich's passion for hunting.
Many of Brezhnev's autographs are shown on stands and in showcases: his written appeals, abstracts of speeches... Of particular interest are working diary entries.
“They were previously kept in the Kremlin archives and have never been exhibited publicly,” said Mikhail Prozumenshchikov, deputy. Director of the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History, whose specialists prepared the exhibition. — These are not “protocol” texts. Leonid Ilyich kept his notes, as they say, for the soul, not caring about their accuracy, orderliness.
Here, thoughts are mixed about political and economic issues, mentions of official events, work on documents, vacations ... The first of the discovered records date back to 1944, when the army political worker Brezhnev was in Ukraine, in Uzhgorod. Subsequently, there were quite large gaps, but since then, when he was at the head of the party, Leonid Ilyich began to make diary entries almost daily.
He wrote with a pen, with multi-colored felt-tip pens - in notebooks, notebooks, often just on separate sheets ... Considering that in many cases there is no date on these sheets, it is sometimes difficult to determine what time a given entry belongs to ...
Some of Brezhnev's notes mention his hunting "sally".
“May 15, Saturday. Didn't call anyone. At 11 o'clock in the afternoon I got behind the wheel and drove to Zavidovo. Had a good time on the boat. I killed three ducks... I could not stand it, I went to the forest...”
“August 27, Saturday. Was on the hunt. Boar and deer. Big mist...
And here is evidence of how Brezhnev loved to solve important political international issues "in nature" - in the informal atmosphere of a hunting reserve. The note dates from 1974, when the Soviet Secretary General was on a visit to America, and was addressed by Leonid Ilyich to his personal translator V. Sukhodrev: “You write him (meaning the American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. - Auth.) a note in English that I am glad to go with him to Zavidovo ... when Mr. Kissinger thinks it's the right time. I would like this trip to take place - we would understand each other better without a protocol.
Nearby on the display is a photograph transferred to the exhibition from a private collection showing the result of such an invitation: Brezhnev and Kissinger are walking along a clearing in the reserved Zavidov forests, accompanied by the same interpreter Sukhodrev and a huntsman carrying a hunting rifle.
Another interesting Brezhnev autograph, which is dated October 1974: a text intended for the head of the Soviet embassy in the capital of Germany (of course, it was transmitted through special communications channels). Germany - Bonn. to the Soviet ambassador in person. Valentin Mikhailovich! Tomorrow, on October 23, two cargoes will be sent by train through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by a special courier to your name. In one - two guns, which I ask you to hand over to the doctors. The contents of the second (boar) I send to you personally. L. Brezhnev.
These gifts from the Secretary General are gratitude for the help in a dental problem. Brezhnev was very tormented with the dentures put on him in the “Kremlin” (they did not fit tightly on the gums, because of this the speech of the Soviet leader became unintelligible, “clattering”), and asked our ambassador to West Germany V.M. Falin to find good German specialists. That request was fulfilled, West German dentists made excellent prostheses for Brezhnev using the latest technology.
Separate showcases and stands are devoted to the hunting hobbies of Leonid Ilyich. Several trophy sheets filled in in 1962, 1973, photographs depicting Brezhnev at his favorite “gun” leisure, his hunting jacket and hat are shown ... There is also a very interesting exhibit - a handwritten diary, which at the end of 1950 -x - early 1960s. led by the head of the hunting farm "Zavidovo" lieutenant colonel Ilya Ivanovich Cherkasov (this unique document is kept in the family archive and handed over for the current exhibition by Cherkasov's son). On the eve of the opening of the exhibition, the ROG correspondent managed to leaf through the diary. Here are some of the entries there:
“January 14, 1962 Collective hunting for wild boar and elk consisting of: Brezhnev L.I., Kozlov F.R., Grechko A.A., Moskalenko K.S., ... The first circle was driven in the state farm forest near the square. 5 Sokolsky forestry, near Kleshchevo. There was one boar in the circle, which appeared to Grechko and, despite the pressure of the beaters, went back. I saw a fox in the circle during the rut.
The second drove a circle in square. 7 Sokolsky forestry. ... The third was driven square. 45. ... There were 40 heads of boars. ... Grechko killed a wild boar that came up behind him. Brezhnev was approached by a party of wild boars, of which he killed a piglet and slightly wounded one. Between me and Brezhnev came a party of wild boars 45 paces from me, I did not shoot, so as not to interfere with Brezhnev. The fourth drove a circle at the corral. A party of wild boars came to Brezhnev, he did not allow them, shot to no avail and wrapped the boars in a circle. ... An elk-cow came out to Brezhnev. He shot at her, then Prudnikov shot at her, and she, being wounded, came at me and was killed ... "
“December 2, 1962. Collective hunting for elks and wild boars, consisting of: Khrushchev N.S., Khrushchev S.N., Polyansky D.S., Voronov G.I., Malinovsky R.Ya., Grechko A.A. , Chuikov V.I. and I. The first to drive was a forest of local importance near the village. Gavrilkovo on sq. 7. There were 2 wild boars in the circle, which the huntsman Burov saw, they broke through to the side, and nothing came out on No. The second was driven by a forest of local importance per sq. 5. There were up to 25 boars in the circle. The party went to Polyansky, - he shot to no avail. A large wild boar came to S.N. Khrushchev. He missed. The boar walked towards me. Between me and the boar there was one security worker who lay down so that I could shoot. I fired three shots at the boar from the Winchester, shooting higher than the lying one, and of course, to no avail ... "
“December 16, 1962 Boar and elk hunting with: N.S. Khrushchev, Kosygin A.N., Brezhnev L.I., Gromyko A.A., Josip Broz Tito ... and two more Yugoslavs. ... The first was driven 45 to 59. Three wild boars went out between the numbers. …
A strong overhang on the branches limits visibility, and the boars were not shot. ... The third was driven square. 73 per sq. 74. Wild boars, up to 20-25 heads, went along the numbers, visible to Tito, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and others. The second batch of boars passed between the numbers, and one pig was killed by Krajacic. The fourth was driven square. 72 per sq. 57. Boars were surrounded by Gromov between two roads and during the rut went back to square. 87. After the fourth drive, we went for breakfast and didn’t hunt anymore.”
“December 30, 1962 Boar hunting with N.S. Khrushchev. They put N.S. Khrushchev on the tower in the square. 72, 150 meters from Gromov's lodge for boar bait. He fired at a pig that left after being shot, and at a pig that was killed on the spot. At the place where the pig was shot, we found blood, and Shcherbakov, following her trail, soon shouted: “Ready!” The pig moved about 100 steps and fell ... "
"Killed in 1962: elk - 4, lynx - 2, fox - 1, barn - 15, mallard - 3. Total - 23."
“January 20, 1963 Hunting for moose and wild boars as part of F.R. Kozlova, L.I. Brezhnev, Makarova E.M. and me. The first circle was driven by the paddock. A party of wild boars, red deer and roe deer came out to me, I did not shoot. L.I. Brezhnev killed the deer. The second drove square. 42 per sq. 56, there was nothing. In the evening F.R. Kozlov sat on a tower near Kleshchevo, killed a pig for 4 years ... L.I. Brezhnev sat in apt. 72 killed a boar for 5 years.
“January 26, 1963 Hunting for wild boars from towers. … L.I. Brezhnev in apt. 72 killed two boars for 2 years.
“January 27, 1963 Hunting for moose and wild boars. ... The second was driven square. 32 per sq. 42. On L.I. Brezhnev came deer, he did not shoot. F.R. Kozlov missed the boars. In the evening from the towers F.R. Kozlov, near the village of Gavrilkovo, missed the boar and moved to Kleshchev, without waiting for the boars to leave, he moved to the quarter. 45, where he fired again and missed. L.I. Brezhnev, without waiting for the boars in the square. 70, moved to apt. 72, where he wounded a pig, finished off by Gromov on January 28.
Historical and documentary exhibition “Brezhnev. To the 109th anniversary of the birth” is held from December 19 to February 28.
NOVEMBER 10 marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Leonid Brezhnev, whose name is associated with both the heyday and decline of the era of socialism in the USSR. According to VTsIOM polls, 9% of Russians still consider him the most outstanding leader of the country in the 20th century.
ANDREI BREZHNEV, in a sense, continued the work of his grandfather - this summer he created the "New Communist Party". However, the grandson of the General Secretary combines politics with business in a completely un-Soviet way, owning a bar in the center of Moscow. There he made an appointment with the AiF correspondent.
He wanted to leave on his own
IN YOUR opinion, what brought Brezhnev to the grave?
Even being deeply ill, he worked hard. At 9 am I was already in the Kremlin. He came home at 6-7 pm and again worked until dinner. Then I watched "Time" and went to bed. But sleeping pills didn't always help. Grandfather often asked his acquaintances, the same old men from the Politburo: "Andrey (Gromyko. - Ed.), And what do you take to fall asleep?" I consider it the fault of the Central Committee and the doctors that he was indulged in his passion for pills. No one insisted on natural relaxation - walking, swimming in the pool.
Did he listen to the doctors?
When he was banned from smoking, he quit. True, he did not get rid of the craving for smoke. When watching TV, and nearby one of the guards was smoking, the grandfather asked him to sit next to him so that he could smell the tobacco.
Is it true that Brezhnev survived more than one clinical death?
I don't know about it. There were strokes ... I think he should have left in 1978 or 1980. He himself at the table with his grandmother often raised this topic - they say, it's time to rest. But the flattery of the environment is a great power. He was convinced of his indispensability, only advised to rest more.
It's a shame that many people remember Brezhnev as a caricature character - decrepit, sick ... After all, in fact, he was a very cheerful person. He loved wine, women, he liked to have a good rest.
Rumor has it that the wife suffered because of this.
Grandma was really jealous. If you believe the parental stories, sometimes she made scenes ... I don’t know if he cheated on Victoria Petrovna. Maybe there were some intrigues. But hardly anything serious. He was constantly followed by guards. The maximum he could do was to flirt, to allow himself some liberties in the office.
Feel the secretary?
You should have seen those secretaries. All proven, with pre-revolutionary work experience.
What about booze? Or did the guards hide the bottles too?
Leonid Ilyich drank, but he never got drunk to death. I remember that at the dacha, when Minister of Defense Ustinov came, my grandmother put a half-liter flask of bison for two of them. With a good snack, toasts, they credited her and limited themselves to this. No hash.
With Kissinger on the hunt, he also, I remember, "crushed" half a liter.
There was such a case. While Leonid Ilyich and the US Secretary of State were sitting on the tower, waiting for wild boars, my grandfather quietly got a bottle of vodka, the interpreter Sukhodrev - either bacon or cucumber. Grandfather gave Kissinger a drink and at the same time resolved issues under the SALT treaty.
They say that Brezhnev loved only fast driving more than hunting. He even dropped off the driver and took the wheel himself.
Occasionally. For example, while relaxing in the Crimea, the grandfather got behind the wheel when he was driving from his dacha to hunt in the reserve. But such trips can hardly be called independent. A security guard was sitting nearby, traffic police cars were walking in front and behind. Even if he deliberately wanted to get into an accident, it would not have succeeded.
And he could not break away from the bodyguards?
No, of course not. He couldn't even go to the toilet without security.
Is it true that Brezhnev collected a whole collection of foreign cars?
Cars were often donated, but they stood in the garages of the 9th Directorate of the KGB or the Kremlin. After the death of my grandfather, my grandmother was left with three Mercedes. She gave one to her sister, one to her brother, one to me. He is still on the go.
Who interfered with "tsatski"?
DID Leonid Ilyich have any domestic weaknesses?
He was madly in love with finger-thick gray Soviet pasta. Loved beef udder. I liked that the whole family gathered at the table at the same time, so that it was noisy. He liked to play dominoes. A company was formed with the grandmother, the commandant and someone else, and the goat was slaughtered.
Brezhnev hated dogs and cats. But he loved pigeons. At the dacha, he already had two dovecotes, and his grandfather waved a pole with a rag with abandon. Therefore, he was often presented with all sorts of different tumblers.
Where are two hundred Brezhnev orders and medals now stored?
I hope that in Gokhran. After the death of my grandfather, all the awards were first left to Victoria Petrovna, but then they were forced to hand them over to the Gokhran. Apparently, they were afraid of theft.
People frankly laughed at the addiction of the Secretary General to "tsatsks". Did he not notice it?
May be. But who bothered? He didn't take anything from anyone. He did not build dachas for himself, he did not make a fortune.
How adequately did Brezhnev assess the state of the country?
I think he had all the information and had no illusions. I saw that people live hard, but bearable. Despite the fact that we helped half of Africa and Asia, the USSR had 3-4% economic growth per year.
Of course, Brezhnev has a large share of the blame. For the fact that the leading cadres have not changed for 20-30 years. For the fact that we lived like in a corked barrel. It was necessary to open the borders with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia - there would have been at least some kind of outlet ... But for some reason today no one remembers that under Brezhnev a factory was built in Togliatti and people began to buy Zhiguli. With him appeared home telephones. They stopped building "Khrushchev", normal houses appeared. Everything was both good and bad.
Anecdotes of the times of stagnation
Brezhnev reads a report at the party congress:
The socialist states go navno... (thinks). - Nagavno ... (frowns). - Nagavno ... (here they whisper to him: turn the page, they say). - Keeping pace with the times...
Brezhnev after handing him another Star:
Comrades! They say here that I have won many awards and never refuse them. This is not true. For example, I recently refused the highest award of the state of Mauritania - a golden nose ring!
The Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR report with regret that after a severe and prolonged illness, without regaining consciousness, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev returned to work.
In previous issues, we introduced you to the memoirs of Generals Dokuchaev and Korolev, as well as Colonel Kuzovlev. Today we publish their continuation - we will talk about the protection of Dmitry Ustinov and Leonid Brezhnev.
People's Commissar at 32
What was the difference between "the last of the Mohicans" Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov, who stood together with Korolev at the origins of Soviet cosmonautics, and at the end of his life became the Minister of Defense of the USSR? Konstantin Feoktistov, Korolev's colleague in building a ship for Gagarin, told me that Ustinov was worthy of a monument during his lifetime!
Ustinov was a man of the highest capacity for work. He could work 20 hours a day. In 1941, at the age of 32, Stalin appointed him people's commissar of the defense industry. Ustinov said:
It was necessary to report to Stalin about new models of military equipment orally, without a note, it was necessary to give a full description and compare it with the latest samples of foreign equipment of the same type. If I allowed myself to look at the note, Stalin would say: "You are not ready today, come back tomorrow."
Dmitry Fedorovich once remembered how in the spring of 1942 in Izhevsk he was presented with an Izh motorcycle. He decided to run it in and went to the dacha along the Rublevsky highway. At the turn, the motorcycle skidded. Ustinov ended up in a ditch unconscious...
“After I was discharged from the hospital, Stalin invited me to his place and asked:
Comrade Ustinov, do you know what time we live in?
I know, Comrade Stalin.
Do you have a company car?
Yes, Comrade Stalin.
Why do you ride a motorcycle?
There will be no more of this, Comrade Stalin!
Then go, Comrade Ustinov, and take care of state affairs. And if this happens again, then we will not have another conversation with you!
I left the office without feeling my legs ... "
Dmitry Fedorovich did not like very much if his instructions were written down in a notebook in his presence. When the new commandant Alexander Zaitsev, contrary to the advice, tried to write down the order of the guarded, Ustinov stopped him and asked to replace the employee.
Having become Minister of Defense, Ustinov quickly brought order to the General Staff. If earlier some elderly members of the military council allowed themselves to doze during the meeting, then Ustinov, noticing the man who had fallen asleep, immediately turned to him: "Marshal such and such, what is your opinion on the issue under discussion?" The answer was: "Ah-ah-ah ..." And the laughter of the neighbors. After that, no one dared to take a nap.
After the Politburo - on the hunt
Well, what do you remember about Brezhnev?
The main hobby in the life of Leonid Ilyich was hunting. He hunted from early autumn to spring in the hunting area "Zavidovo". Shooting boars.
Every Thursday after the meeting of the Politburo, the comrades invited by him went hunting. Sometimes the meeting lasted only forty minutes. Each hunter was given a small case containing a quarter of cognac and sandwiches.
The hunting ground had a residence. In it, the participants of the hunt gathered. After drinking a glass, they had dinner. At the table, they shared their impressions of hunting and talked about state affairs. Almost everyone stayed overnight at the residence. We, attached, settled down to have dinner in the next room. We were also offered a stack of peppercorns.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was a very modest and artel man. He treated well not only his own, but also other attached, who came to "Zavidovo" with their guards. In dealing with him, we did not feel any tension, but, of course, we respected the General Secretary.
What kind of relations did the members of the Politburo have besides work, fishing and hunting?
Only official and no personal. It seemed that they were afraid that something unkind would be thought of them. For example, in order not to be suspected of trying to collude.
In this regard, I will give a case. The Mazurovs' dacha (K.T. Mazurov - First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. - Ed.) was adjacent to the Kulakovs' state dacha (F.D. Kulakov - Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. - Ed.). They had a common fence. There was a door in the fence through which agronomists and park workers communicated. And so, by order of Kulakov, they hammered the door with large nails. Now, if there was a need to meet, we had to go to the entrance gate of the protected objects. However, few people once again wanted to take advantage of this opportunity ...
Even on the birthdays of Kirill Trofimovich Mazurov, only Ivan Kapitonov, who was the family's matchmaker, came to his dacha.
First Wives Club
And how did the wives of the Politburo members behave?
If the members of the Politburo practically did not communicate outside of work, then their wives often spent time together. The initiator of the meetings was Mazurova Yanina Stanislavovna. Quite often, the wives gathered at the Mazurovs' dacha to play canasta. There is a card game.
Among the guests of Yanina Stanislavovna were: Victoria Brezhneva, Irina Grishina, Tamara Kapitonova, Valentina Ponomareva. In the early 70s, Lydia Pelshe also participated in "bachelorette parties".
The wives of Politburo members entrusted me with the organization of trips to exhibitions of foreign light industry goods, which were held in the pavilions of VDNKh and in Sokolniki. At their request, I happened to organize excursions to the enterprises of the perfume industry in Moscow, where they were offered samples of creams, shampoos and other products.
Victoria Petrovna Brezhneva was a modest, charming and friendly woman. It seemed that she was not interested in her husband's political affairs. She was simply the caring wife of the General Secretary. When she came to the Mazurovs' dacha for a "bachelorette party", she always brought some fruit that was not yet on sale. In the spring she would bring melons and large tomatoes or whatever. But her daughter Galina Leonidovna, coming to a special store for high-demand goods, could easily say: "Now we are in power ..." This is very sad, but true.
All these women enjoyed spending their leisure time in communication with each other. I have never seen such communication between the wives of Politburo members, both in the past and in the future.
Walks along Kutuzovsky
How did Brezhnev spend his evenings?
In the second half of the 60s, I returned to work in the 18th department of the 9th department of the KGB of the USSR. In the late evenings, a “five on duty” was sent from the department (at the request of Brezhnev’s security chief A. Ya. Ryabenko), that is, five officers to accompany Brezhnev during his walks after work along Kutuzovsky Prospekt (from house number 26, where he lived) . Brezhnev liked to walk towards Poklonnaya Gora and back. After that, he said goodbye to us, thanked all the guys and went home. He was a very sociable person and treated us with respect.
During one of the walks we met a group of girls. They all smoked. When Leonid Ilyich came up to them, he asked: "Girls, do you smoke?" They laughed and replied: "We not only smoke, but also ... do something else!" And they ran away. The statement was very suggestive. Brezhnev stopped and, looking after them, said: "These are the fighting girls!" He chuckled and laughed, well, we are with him.
Golden man
Did Brezhnev use his official position?
I remember December 1976. The country was going to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The communist parties of the republics, regional committees, regional committees and many enterprises prepared gifts. Viktoria Petrovna, wife of Leonid Ilyich, also worked among the wives of members and candidate members of the Politburo and secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU. She asked them to make gifts... albeit small, but of gold or silver.
Yanina Stanislavovna Mazurova and I went to the jewelry store. There she bought a set of silver cups and a sugar bowl. In addition, by her order, the artist Vasiliev painted a portrait of L. I. Brezhnev in his younger years, when he participated in the battles on Malaya Zemlya and held the rank of colonel. The portrait was executed superbly and was called "Memory of the Heart". I brought this portrait and a silver service to Brezhnev's dacha and asked Pavel Suloev, commandant of the facility, to put the gift on the sofa, in a conspicuous place. He did just that. There were many very expensive gifts, and Mazurov's gift looked modest against their background. But he could not compete with the regions and republics.
The Mazurovs waited a long time for a call from the Brezhnevs. Worried. They even asked me: did I take the gift? However, after some time, Leonid Ilyich nevertheless expressed his gratitude. And the Mazurovs calmed down. Brezhnev hung a portrait in his office ...
feast period
At the ceremonial meeting in the DPT on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the General Secretary, there were many statesmen speaking. Many of them extolled his achievements in the economic development of the country, and some speakers, speaking about the Great Patriotic War and noting the victory of the 18th Army on Malaya Zemlya, glorified the talent of Brezhnev, who was just the head of the political department of this army. Some agreed that the battle for Malaya Zemlya in the Novorossiysk region became the main milestone in the defeat of the fascist armies. And only in passing they mentioned the battles near Moscow, Stalingrad and on the Kursk Bulge. Even the marshals devoted most of their speeches to the victory in Malaya Zemlya.
This period in the activities of Brezhnev and other leaders of the country was not so much stagnant as drinking.
Life has shown that one cannot stay at the head of state for a long time. In recent years, Leonid Ilyich shuffled his feet on the floor and, while reading a report, caught his false teeth in his mouth. It was unpleasant to look at. He was losing respect for himself. And no one believed in him as the leader of the Communist Party and the country. By the end of the 70s, he turned into a miserable old man.
