In 1982, Leonid Brezhnev died at his dacha "District-6". The funeral had the most pompous character in the history of the USSR, representatives of 35 countries of the world came to say goodbye to the head of the socialist republic.
Brief biography of Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich was born in Ukraine in Kamenskoye on December 19, 1906. For 18 years he headed the highest posts in the USSR. The future general secretary was the eldest son in a family of workers, after him Yakov and Vera were born. In 1915 he entered the gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1921. In 1923 he was admitted to the Komsomol. In 1927 he graduated from a land surveying technical school, after studying he worked as a land surveyor, first in his homeland, then he was transferred to the Urals.
In 1935 he graduated from the evening faculty of the DMI (Metallurgical Institute) with an engineering degree. He served as a political commissar in the Red Army for a year until 1936, where he also completed motorization courses, and upon graduation received the rank of lieutenant. In 1950 he worked as the first secretary of the Central Committee of Moldova, since 1954 he was transferred to Kazakhstan. In 1964, he participated in the group for the removal of N. S. Khrushchev from his post, and even proposed physical measures for elimination.
In the same year, 1964, on October 14, Brezhnev waselected first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. According to Biryukov, the appointment was supposed to be a temporary measure, pending the selection of a permanent general secretary. But Leonid Ilyich launched an extensive program to restore the Leninist principles, and after a few months no one even thought about removing the head of state.
Nervous work
Stalin singled out his associate from the numerous guards for his phenomenal performance, but constantly controlled the activities of Brezhnev. The period when Leonid Ilyich served as the head of the metallurgical plant was filled with night calls, regular stress and overwork. According to his wife, Victoria Petrovna, in order not to fall out of the “cage”, her husband worked for days on end. Constant nervous tension, which did not allow him to relax even for a day, a huge number of cigarettes smoked, undermined Brezhnev's he alth. Mikhail Zhikharev, who worked with him in Kazakhstan, recalls that Leonid Ilyich fainted from fatigue, he was taken to the hospital, but after a few hours he was back at work.
Along with constant fatigue, Brezhnev's he alth was undermined by fear. The unpredictable nature of Stalin, the intrigues of his comrades-in-arms and the constant attention of the people to his activities at some point broke this energetic person. And yet, Stalin favored an active ally, according to him: the most devoted person is Brezhnev. The funeral of Stalin, his idol and mentor, Leonid Ilyich suffered as a sudden blow from behind. At the memorial service, he cried, not hiding his emotions.
According to personal recollections from the diary, the first stroke occurred in 1959 after a sharp conversation with AI Kirichenko. The whole situation was complicated by the fact that Brezhnev himself did not like hospitals and doctors. He was considered a difficult patient to keep in bed. In 1968, the Secretary General suffers a hypertensive crisis right in the Kremlin, refuses hospitalization and tries to work further. As a result, speech apparatus problems began. In 1974, historians observed the decline of the independent politician Brezhnev.
The night of death
On the morning of November 10, Viktoria Petrovna, Brezhnev's wife, got up at 8 for the nurse to give her an insulin injection. Leonid Ilyich was lying on his side, and she did not wake him up. Vladimir Sobachenkov, the secretary general's personal bodyguard, went to see him about 20 minutes later, opened the bedroom curtains, turned on the small light. Upon closer examination, the young man realized that the Secretary General was not breathing, and immediately called the intensive care unit. Doctor Chazov E. I. went 12 minutes before the ambulance in a private car. The doctor personally announced the death of her husband Victoria Brezhneva and asked the guards to inform the higher authorities about the tragic event.
Pribytkov V. (employee of the Central Committee of the CPSU) comments:
"I was struck by the fact that on the night of death there was no medical post in the dacha."
Medvedev V. (bodyguard) recalls:
We knew the days were counting. Everyone wanted the event to happen on a different day.”
The date of the funeral of Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich was appointed by a special decree for November 15.
November 11, 1982
On this day, the country has not yetknew about the death of the Secretary General. The official notice came out only on November 12, but everyone felt that something had happened. At 12 noon, all classes in schools are urgently canceled, railway stations and Red Square are blocked. On television, a change of programs, instead of entertaining films and a planned concert, they put on a historical drama and ballet.
A commission for the “Kremlin funeral” is being urgently created. Brezhnev was transported to the city morgue, where he was dressed and made up. Y. Andropov was appointed responsible for the event, as the future successor to the Secretary General.
A folk tragedy
November 12 at 10 o'clock in the morning the news of the death of Leonid Ilyich was announced on television. Mourning has been declared in the camp, all events have been cancelled. The era of Brezhnev is over. The people of Russia, despite the seditious jokes about breast expansion for orders and sluggish diction, loved the Secretary General. It was under him that journalism and the press began to flourish, after Stalin's strict censorship. Although the household did not know the price of the products, Leonid Brezhnev requested statistics every week and knew perfectly well how much a kilogram of tomatoes cost. His most zealous desire was to prove to the whole world that under socialism people can live in abundance.
But, remembering the terrible stampede at the burial of Stalin, in which many people died, the government closed all roads to Moscow. Only elected citizens and representatives of foreign countries could honor the memory. Brezhnev, whose funeral struck the imagination with its scale, significance and scope of the mourning ceremony, in histhe last path went under the sad thoughts about the coming changes in the country.
Progress of the funeral (stage 1)
From 12 November to 15 inclusive, mourning has been declared in the country. It is forbidden to hold any events, schools, kindergartens, most enterprises and factories are closed. All programs have been canceled on television and radio, classical ballet is on the air.
The chronicle of Brezhnev's funeral begins with a farewell at the House of the Unions. Anyone could come to the Hall of Columns to pay their last respects to the Secretary General of a huge country. An Indian delegation headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organizations Yasser Arafat arrived to honor the memory.
November 15 from 5.00 am to 11.00 am - watch of honorable mourning for members of the Politburo, prominent figures of art and culture, representatives and ministers of economic sectors. Metropolitans Pimen and Filaret came to honor the memory. The coffin was decorated with mourning ribbons of 40 centimeters and thousands of wreaths.
From 11.00 am to 11.20 am, only relatives, wife Viktoria Petrovna, daughter Galina, son Yuri, brother Yakov and sister Vera remained near the deceased.
At 11.30, to the sounds of a funeral march, the coffin was placed on a gun carriage and slowly carried out of the hall to Red Square. The first in the farewell procession were family members, associates of the Secretary General, members of the Politburo, state and party leaders. Wreaths and ribbons were carried in front of the deceased, as well as numerous awards.
At 12.45 coffinlowered into the grave. The National Anthem sounds, after it a salute from artillery pieces, factories, cars are buzzing, sirens on the railway and the pier turn on - a symbol of the death of Brezhnev. The funeral moves to the second stage.
Progress of the funeral (stage 2)
At 13.00, party leaders and leaders rise to the Mausoleum. The parade of the troops of the Moscow garrison begins.
The meeting of mourning was opened by Andropov, followed by farewell speeches by other associates of the Secretary General. Afterwards, representatives of foreign countries approached the grave to pay tribute to the great man.
The whole country watched live as Brezhnev Leonid set off on his last journey. The funeral was broadcast on the first channel of the Ostankino television and on the radio.
Myth and real curiosities
The situation with orders became the first overlay in the ceremony. By tradition, each order and medal should be placed on a separate pillow. But there were many awards, so they decided to take out several orders, which reduced Brezhnev's funeral. Leonid Ilyich, despite ridicule, not only loved to receive orders, but also awarded others with them with the same pleasure.
The second myth about the fallen coffin is refuted by everyone personally present at the ceremony. According to them, the blow, which on television sounds like the sound of a falling object, is a cannon volley that accompanied the burial and funeral of Brezhnev. "They dropped the coffin" is an implausible legend.
