Who managed to make successful (and not so) attempts on the heads of state

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

One person can change the course of history, there is a lot of evidence for that. However, this also implies the opposite statement that the disappearance of one person who plays an important role in the political arena can play a key role for the whole history. A striking example of this is the attempt on Hitler's life, organized in 1939. Had he been at the podium just a couple of minutes longer, the Second World War might not have happened. It is not surprising that the first persons of states and cult politicians often became victims of assassination attempts, some of which became successful.

With the "light" hand of Karakozov

It cannot be said that this strange gentleman was a pioneer in the assassination attempt on heads of state. But this was the first planned assassination attempt with the use of a firearm, and not an attempt to suffocate with a pillow in a dream or to pierce the temple with a snuffbox. This "historic" event took place in April 1866. Alexander II was walking to his carriage after a walk in the Summer Garden of St. Petersburg, when suddenly a bullet whistled a couple of centimeters from him.

The gendarmes immediately seized the gunman; he introduced himself as Alexei Petrov. However, law enforcement officers had to beat off the attacker from the crowd, because as soon as people realized what had happened, and it took just a few seconds, they attacked him. During interrogation, he said that he decided to get even with the emperor, because he did not give the land to the people. In fact, the young man (at that time he was only 25 years old), his name was Dmitry Karakozov, before that he had already managed to distribute handwritten leaflets calling for a revolution and the overthrow of the current government. He strove to establish a socialist system, which required the destruction of the monarch.

However, the story does not end there, there was another hero here, who was then elevated to a nobleman for his merits. Karakozov was not at all a bad shooter and could have perfectly hit right in the head, moreover, he was in the immediate vicinity of the king, but a certain peasant Osip Komissarov managed to push the shooter, making the shot inaccurate. The act of Komissarov was appreciated and he was elevated to the nobility, becoming Komissarov-Kostroma.

Karakozov was soon executed, but this was far from the only attempt on the life of Alexander II. In total, he suffered ten assassination attempts, the next happened a year later. It was organized by the Polish national Anton Berezovsky. It was in France, the emperor was there on a visit and rode in an open cart with the French emperor. At that moment, when the wagon caught up with the crowd, the man fired point-blank. But the original scenario was repeated - the security officer hit the shooter in the arm and the bullets hit the horse. He called the suppression of the Polish uprising the reason for his action.

Apparently by this time the emperor had gained enough experience, because during the third assassination attempt, no one pushed the shooter, and Alexander II was able to dodge all the bullets on his own. The shooter was Alexander Soloviev, who belonged to the current of social revolutionaries. A couple of years later, they tried to derail the train on which the emperor and his family members were traveling. For this, the members of the group even got a job as a railway service personnel.

The mine had already been laid, it seemed that nothing could go wrong, but the tsar's train changed its route. But there was a second group, which laid the device on this route, but here, too, there was a mistake - the mine did not work. The third group was led by Sophia Perovskaya, and they were already working on the approaches to Moscow, there were more guards here, so getting on the way was not an easy task. For this, even a tunnel was dug, the bomb was successfully planted.

Surprisingly, the entire elaborate plan of all three brigades failed miserably. Usually the tsar's train consisted of two trains, in one his luggage, in the other he himself. The luggage usually went in front, but something happened on the road, and the emperor himself drove forward, and the luggage was driving in the back. The third subversive brigade did not know anything about this and blew up the second train, which contained the luggage.

However, Sofya Perovskaya did not calm down on this, a new plan began to be developed. At that time, cellars were being renovated in the Winter Palace, including the wine cellar, which was located directly under the dining room. Stepan Khalturin got a job there, who hid dynamite in building materials. Stepan himself often remained alone with the emperor in the office and had a lot of opportunities to make a successful assassination attempt, but he was won over by the gentle character, openness and kindness of the emperor, who treated the workers very politely.

The bomb was planted under the dining room, but dinner was delayed due to late guests, and the explosion occurred on time, but none of the dignitaries were injured.

The last attempt, which eventually became successful, was known in advance, and the conspirators were even arrested. But the emperor did not take the warning seriously enough, because the assassination attempt was far from the first, he believed that the Lord himself was guarding it. He visited his cousin and drove back to the palace through the Catherine Canal. People's Volunteers were already waiting near the canal. A conditional signal for action was to be a wave of Perovskaya's handkerchief, after which 4 bombs were to fly into the carriage from all directions.

The first bomb that was thrown into the carriage was not fatal for Alexander and he wished to see the one who attempted on him, instead of hastily leaving the scene. The second culprit threw a bomb right at his feet. This assassination attempt was successful.

Fate was prepared for something else

The last Russian monarch, Nicholas II, almost died at the hands of the revolutionaries even before he inherited the throne. He visited Japan, walked by the lake with the Japanese and Greek princes. They were carried by rickshaws, and the road was guarded by the police, but suddenly one of them rushed at Nikolai with a sword, but the young man got his bearings in time and dodged.

The distraught policeman was immediately twisted, and the Tsarevich received two small wounds on his head. The Japanese side considered this incident a shame for their country, it was even decided to forbid naming children by the name of the criminal, and the relatives of the attacker became outcasts.

The attacker himself was sentenced to life work, but lived only a few months. The reason for the attack was never established, but most agreed that he had mental problems.

Soviet leaders at gunpoint

Vladimir Lenin was the first to open a series of assassination attempts on Soviet leaders; the first attempt to send him to the next world was made back in January 1918. He was returning from a rally, where he spoke to the Red Army before being sent to the front. On the bridge, his car came under fire, and so strong that bullets pierced the body and exited through the windshield. But Vladimir Ilyich remained intact.

But already in the summer of the same year, there was another one, this time a more successful attempt. Right during the performance, an Socialist Revolutionary fired at him, two bullets hit the leader, his condition was grave. She was captured on the same day, she insisted that she wanted to kill Lenin because he had betrayed the ideas of socialism. Despite the fact that Lenin survived, his health was too weak, the consequences of these wounds will remind him of himself all his life.

After the execution, the terrorist herself was placed in a wooden barrel and burned so that no trace of her would remain.

Stalin is a vivid example of the fact that the number of attempts on the life of a leader is determined not by the people's love for their leader, but by the effectiveness of the work of the special services. There were many enemies of Stalin and those who wanted his death, and there was only one attempt on his life. It's just that everyone else was prevented at the development stage, and everyone who came under the slightest suspicion was immediately exiled or shot.

In 1942, corporal Savely Dmitriev, right on Red Square, began to shoot the car in which the People's Commissar Anastas Mikoyan was. None of those who were in the car were injured, and during interrogation Savely admitted that he was sure that Stalin was in the car. The shooter could actually accumulate anger at Stalin, because he was the son of a peasant who once stood firmly on his feet, and even an Old Believer. It is clear that the millstones of history grind the fate of Savely, leaving not a single living place from his childhood and past. However, according to another version, behind the guy with an unstable psyche there were other people who tried to "row the heat with someone else's hands." As a result, the preference was given to the first version and Dmitriev became a lone psycho already according to the version of the investigation.

This case has become one in a chain, confirming the fact that it is much easier for special services to disclose and prevent the work of a group than a lone psycho, because it is almost impossible to assume that a person who does not pursue other goals than personal grievances and ambitions will come to mind. Therefore, the attempt on Leonid Brezhnev was also not prevented. A junior lieutenant named Viktor Ilyin changed into a policeman's uniform, managed to get two pistols and conceived a change of power in the country.

The uniform helped him to penetrate the Kremlin, where they were preparing for the meeting of the Soyuz spacecraft. After waiting for the cortege to appear, he fired at the car in which, from his point of view, Brezhnev was supposed to be. But cosmonauts were driving in the car, as a result of the shelling, a young driver died, one of the cosmonauts was wounded. The shooter himself was shot down on a motorcycle by the attendants. Ilyin was recognized as a patient, he was treated in psychiatric clinics for more than 20 years.

In our country, the last attempt on the life of the head of state took place in 1990 on Mikhail Gorbachev. It happened during a holiday, a plant worker fired from a sawn-off shotgun towards the President of the USSR. But the police sergeant reacted in time and thanks to his efficiency and ingenuity, no one was hurt. During interrogation, he admitted that he was planning an assassination attempt, because Gorbachev had established totalitarianism in the country, from which the factory locksmith was very tired. Another high-ranking official was to be next. Shmonov was also recognized as an unhealthy person.

It is noteworthy that the fate of Shmonov is a clear demonstration of how much human rights have changed in the country and how much freedom has increased. The man who attempted to assassinate the first person of the state, not only was not executed, shot, but did not even spend a day in prison. He spent 4 years in a psychiatric clinic and was released. He behaved at ease. He even tried to run for the State Duma.

Attempts on the lives of foreign heads of state

Abraham Lincoln was re-elected for a second term in 1865 and, it would seem, could live in peace. The civil war between the north and south was ended, slavery was abolished and the integrity of the country was preserved. However, all these achievements did not mean that Lincoln ran out of enemies.

He was in the theater when one of the actors, who was also an agent, sneaked into the president's box and shot him in the head. Moreover, the gunman himself managed to escape, as the commotion and panic began. The President died the next morning, a real pursuit began for the criminal, he was caught a few weeks later and died in a shootout during his detention.

Perhaps the most famous successful assassination attempt on the head of state is the shooting at Kennedy. Blatant in its audacity and luck, this incident has spawned many rumors even more than 50 years later. And all because the culprit was never found. And such, when the heads of state act as victims, and what happened is practically a spit in the face of the entire system of the country's special services, it is extremely rare.

John F. Kennedy was preparing for the presidential elections and arrived in Dallas. He rode through the streets in an open car, greeting the local population. The first bullet hit in the back, and the second in the head. They managed to take the wounded man to the hospital alive, but he died there a few hours later. At the same time, the first suspect was arrested, but he categorically denied his guilt, which, in principle, is not typical for those who dream of overthrowing the government. Despite the fact that this man was convicted of this murder, many are still convinced that much more influential people are behind this high-profile case.

Another US president, Ronald Reagan, was only two months in office when he was assassinated. He was speaking to trade unions when a man came out of the crowd and shot him point-blank more than five times. By a happy coincidence, only one bullet hit the president, and then it ricocheted. His press secretary and one policeman were injured. The reason for this act was sick love and not at all for the president. The shooter dreamed of becoming famous (and the murder of the president would definitely glorify him), so that the actress, with whom he was unrequitedly in love, would pay attention to him.

The Pope is also a rather dangerous position, because they are also assassinated. In 1981, at that time Pope John Paul II came out to the people who were greeting him, and from the crowd they opened fire on him. Despite the fact that the shooter managed to seriously injure his dad, he survived, although later he had serious health problems. The terrorist turned out to be a member of the Turkish group, he was detained right at the scene of the shooting.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but after sitting for several years, he decided to confess that the KGB and the Bulgarian special services were behind the assassination attempt. An investigation was launched, after which there were additional arrests. However, they did not receive the real terms, since there was no real evidence and direct evidence of their guilt. The shooter himself spent dozens of years in different prisons, but in 2010 he was released. It is likely that he also belonged to that very dangerous part of the shooters who plan the case alone because of some of their own motives, and the head of state becomes the main target for them because of fame and general attention.