How many political murders were committed in the USSR for the sake of "perestroika"

The path to the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union, today known to all of us under the name of "perestroika", was not only filled with a huge number of intrigues in the country's top party and state leadership. It was also abundantly watered with the blood of those who could prevent the implementation of the sinister plan to destroy our country, stood in the way of its authors and direct executors. The seemingly natural or completely accidental deaths of the "top officials" of the USSR and a number of its union republics were in fact beneficial to certain forces, which prompts us to a number of serious questions.

In those days, any reflections on such topics were an absolute "taboo" - after all, in the Land of Soviets, in principle, there could not be a struggle for power, "palace coups" and, moreover, political murders. However, today, having examined the events of the 70s - 90s of the last century carefully and without ideological "blinders", one can come to completely unexpected and even shocking conclusions. Taken not as individual tragic events, but in aggregate, the deaths of Soviet and party leaders form a clear system, the essence of which is quite obvious.

"The Communist Party, the entire Soviet people suffered a heavy loss ..."

It was with these (or approximately such) words that usually began official reports about the death of certain party or state leaders of the USSR. And these were really serious losses - every time experienced leaders, professionals, and “proven personnel” dropped out of the cage. Each such withdrawal changed the already complex and contradictory "alignment" within the Kremlin, weakening certain "centers of power" and giving rise to new ones. The special operation to completely dismantle the Soviet Union, the first stage of which ended in failure when Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power, was simply "paused". It was resumed in the mid-70s, when Leonid Brezhnev's health seriously deteriorated, which opened up "operational space" for the conspirators. In early 1976, after the General Secretary suffered a clinical death, it became clear to almost all of his entourage: "not a tenant." It was here that a new stage in the implementation of the scenario of the destruction of the USSR was launched. Hence, accordingly, a series of "strange" deaths begins. The first on the list was the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal Andrei Grechko ... This is more than understandable.

To seize real power in the Soviet Union, where the “first person” of the state was formally the chairman of the Council of Ministers, but in reality the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, it would seem that only complete control over the party apparatus was needed. In fact, this was not entirely true. It was possible to ascend "to the top" by purely hardware intrigues. But only reliance on the army and the "organs" allowed him to sit on it. As a matter of fact, Khrushchev in 1953 had enough warriors for a coup. Again, the support of Georgy Zhukov saved him from the first attempt at displacement. However, having subsequently lost it, Nikita Sergeevich left the Kremlin "with his things for the exit."

Suppose that some high-ranking officials in the USSR decide to start a power struggle. Therefore, they should control at least the Ministry of Defense and the KGB. Such a "group of comrades", as it turned out later, was the "triumvirate" of Andropov-Ustinov-Gromyko. But at the time of the events I described, they had only half of the necessary "trump cards" in their hands - the Committee was led by Yuri Andropov, but the Ministry of Defense was in the hands of the inflexible and completely uncontrollable Grechko. This marshal, as far as we know, did not even bow to the General Secretary (who, by the way, it was under his command that fought in the Great Patriotic War). According to reliable information, it was Grechko who stubbornly resisted, opposing the assignment of "dear Leonid Ilyich" the rank of marshal. Some, by the way, are of the opinion that this was the cause of his death. Unlikely.

This does not fit into the usual style of Brezhnev's actions. A lot of Podgorny, who thought about himself, he simply quietly fused into an honorary retirement. But give the order for liquidation? And the manner of elimination (assuming that this was exactly it) was painfully characteristic ... The death of the marshal was more than strange. According to the numerous recollections of comrades-in-arms and colleagues (you can imagine how many of them were at the head of the Ministry of Defense), in his 72 years, the Marshal for health reasons and the level of physical training could "plug" some lieutenants in the belt. And suddenly - he fell asleep and did not wake up, just before some important meeting. Moreover, it happened on the territory of the outbuilding, where Grechko strictly forbade even family members to enter. That is - in the complete absence of witnesses and eyewitnesses.

Someone on this occasion builds wild versions that the Minister of Defense in this very outbuilding "indulged in sinful pleasures" from which he died ... Yeah, on the territory of the state dacha, stuffed with servants and security, in front of many relatives - from his wife to the great-granddaughter! Indeed, one should not "try" on the people of that time the modern customs and vices of those in power ... This, excuse me, is nonsense, not version. But the presence at that time in the arsenal of the KGB, with the head of which Grechko had far from friendly relations, which were not determined by the analysis of poisons, which gave precisely the effect of "natural" death in a dream that occurred some time after their introduction into the victim's body is a fact. Some time later, two more "untimely deaths" will take place in the Kremlin, as if "copied" from Grechko's death. We are talking about the secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Fedor Kulakov, who was in charge of the agro-industrial sector, and the second secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Mikhail Suslov, who was responsible for the most important ideological issues in the party. Kulakov, two years after Grechko, also arrived at the dacha, sat well with the guests and calmly went to rest. In the morning he did not wake up ... With Suslov it was even more interesting - his death overtook him in the government hospital, the famous "Kremlin", from where he was about to be discharged. However, an overnight massive stroke put an end to his career and life path.

We will return to this more than mysterious and strange death a little later. In the meantime, I will allow myself, looking ahead, to mention that in 1982 Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev himself will die according to approximately the same "scenario". What is characteristic - in all the cases I mentioned, near a high-ranking leader (including even the General Secretary!) At a critical moment, for some reason, there was no personal doctor who usually stayed with such persons relentlessly. Also, a significant part of the guards, if not all of them, were removed from them. At that time, the KGB was exclusively in charge of the protection of the "top officials" of the state. As for the doctors ... This is where another, extremely interesting topic begins.

"After a serious and prolonged illness ..."

It so happened that the absolute majority of the party and state leaders of the Soviet Union were "regular clients" of the IV Main Directorate under the USSR Ministry of Health, the very notorious "Kremlin". From 1967 to 1991, Academician Yevgeny Chazov was in charge of this medical unit, which not only "kept a finger on the pulse" of all the leaders of the USSR, but also in reality held their lives in his hands. So - later it turned out that this man was ... How could I put it mildly? Well, let's turn to the professional jargon of operatives: the “confidant” of the KGB chairman Yuri Andropov. There is evidence that they had regular meetings in safe houses. There were clearly conversations that could not be entrusted to either the Kremlin walls or even the offices on the Lubyanka. At the very least, Chazov covered the state of health of his own high-ranking patients in the most detailed way to Andropov. Including - and their weaknesses, the subtlest influence on which a person could be sent to the next world without much effort.

Apparently, this is exactly how it was done. Let's return, as I promised, to the death of Mikhail Suslov. This old man, according to the recollections of his contemporaries, led a downright ascetic lifestyle and, as a result, was burdened with a much smaller number of ailments than is assumed at his venerable age. At the beginning of 1982, in the "Kremlin" he was not undergoing treatment, but a planned medical examination - tests, cardiogram and the like. According to his daughter's recollections, Suslov was eager to return to work - literally the next day. But then they brought him "some pills." After taking them (at the urgent request of the doctor), he became ill almost immediately. The second secretary of the Central Committee did not survive the night. By the way, the same doctor who “treated” him to a strange drug later “committed suicide”. Well, according to the official version ...

"Strange pills" also appear in the memories of Brezhnev's death. Rather, in his personal diary, which later revealed a record of some "yellow sleeping pills" that he received shortly before his death ... personally from Andropov! By the way, in general, the entire last period of Leonid Ilyich's life is some kind of continuous tangle of riddles, filled with absolutely contradictory data, completely inconsistent with each other. Yes, on March 23, 1982, a heavy metal beam fell on the General Secretary during his stay in Tashkent at a local aircraft plant, breaking the collarbone and causing damage to internal organs. It is still unclear what it was all about - a tragic accident or a planned assassination attempt, which dealt a serious blow to the already not good health of Leonid Ilyich ... However, according to other memories - relatives and friends, people from the immediate environment, literally on the eve of leaving life he was cheerful enough. Not only "defended" the parade and demonstration on November 7 at the Mausoleum, but also on the 9th went hunting in his beloved Zavidovo. Yes, and just before his death, Brezhnev did not complain about the deterioration of health, on the contrary, he spoke about the upcoming "difficult day", preparations for the Plenum of the Central Committee.

There is every reason to believe that it was at this event that he should have officially named Vladimir Shcherbitsky as his successor. And Andropov knew about it. Is this not the origin of the "pills", the sudden absence of a personal doctor? By the way, the chairman of the KGB was the first at the deathbed of the deceased General Secretary. And he instantly took possession of the famous "Brezhnev portfolio", which contained something so important that the head of state practically never parted with it. What was there? "Slaughter compromising" on members of the Central Committee? On Andropov himself? Eh, to find out the truth ...

The funeral of Brezhnev ended the second series of "strange deaths", into which both the sudden death of Suslov and the more than mysterious "suicide" of General of the Army Semyon Tsvigun "fit in". Everyone considered this campaigner a man appointed by Brezhnev to the post of deputy chairman of the USSR KGB to "look after" Andropov, whom the secretary general categorically (and not without reason) did not trust. At one time it was said a lot about the fact that Tsvigun allegedly "became a defendant in cases of corruption", took bribes in some absolutely fantastic amounts ... Fearing exposure and shame, he shot himself. But the story of this “suicide” itself looks extremely ridiculous and stretched - the general allegedly fired a bullet into himself in the courtyard of his own dacha, from his guard's pistol, without leaving a suicide note and without saying goodbye to anyone. I will say one thing - such people did not leave like that ...

In October 1980, on a rural road, the car of the first secretary of the Communist Party of Belarus, Pyotr Masherov, who was about to become a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee and head of the USSR Council of Ministers, would be crushed by a blow from an unknown dump truck. This incident was preceded by more than characteristic circumstances - the chairman of the KGB of Belarus and, subsequently, the head of Masherov's personal security was suddenly replaced. The armored car, on which the "first" usually moved, also unexpectedly got into repair, as a result of which he set off on a fatal trip in the usual "Chaika", which could not stand a collision with a truck. And, by the way, the traffic police officers, who were obliged to "clear" the road for persons of this level, protecting them from such incidents, for some reason knew absolutely nothing about this route ...

The unification of all the tragic cases I have listed under a certain "common denominator", their reduction to the execution of a single plan, someone's ill will, could well be attributed to a craving for conspiracy theories, if not ... If not for their specific consequences. I will try to be brief in the listing. So: After the death of Andrei Grechko, Dmitry Ustinov was appointed Minister of Defense - Andropov's most faithful ally and, subsequently, Gorbachev. In 1978, in place of Fyodor Kulakov, no one (except Yuri Andropov) became the secretary of the Central Committee for agriculture (except for Yuri Andropov), a previously unknown party leader from Stavropol, Mikhail Gorbachev. The death of Tsvigun saved the KGB chairman from Brezhnev's supervision and, as far as is known, opened the way to many secrets and secrets that he kept under personal control. The death of Suslov opened the way from the Lubyanka to the Central Committee of the party for Andropov himself. At the 1980 plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, there was the only "vacancy" in the Politburo. There were two candidates - Pyotr Masherov and ... Mikhail Gorbachev. Conclusions, dear readers, you can make yourself.