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Video: Why the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR and his wife voluntarily passed away: the tragedy of the Shchelokovs
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
On February 19, 1983, a shot was fired in the house of the almighty minister of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the official version, Svetlana Shchelokova, the spouse of a high-ranking security official, took her own life in her bedroom. Not long before this, the family was under the scrutiny of the entire Union. Shchelokov was stripped of his position, title and all privileges. Accustomed to swimming in wealth, Svetlana could not cope with a new life without diamonds and high receptions. Shelokova was used to living in luxury, which ruined both her and her husband.
Wife of the almighty minister
Svetlana Popova (nee) grew up in a poor Krasnodar family of an ordinary worker. Following the example of many Soviet women, with the advent of the Great Patriotic War, she went to the front as a nurse. At the height of the war, in 1943, the girl met her future husband Nikolai. A year later, the young people officially signed, and Shchelokov was soon appointed to a high position. Finding herself in the role of the wife of a promising deputy minister of industry of the Ukrainian republic, Svetlana was even confused. Having taken a bite of life trials in childhood, and then in the war, the woman was not ready to accept her new high status.
The wife of the nomenclature leader entered the Kiev Medical Institute, deciding to become an otolaryngologist. Sveta was known at that time as a responsive and sociable person. In the difficult post-war years, she was the soul of the entire course. No longer worrying about her daily bread, Svetlana often helped her classmates. Many of her college friends recalled how she fed hungry students with gourmet meals and scarce foods that she got through pull. Shelokov, who did not look for a soul in his young wife, did not in the least interfere with this, fulfilling any kind-hearted wishes of his Svetlana.
Diamond hunter
Shchelokov's next appointment was a post in Moldova. The couple lived happily and peacefully until Nikolai Anisimovich was sent to Moscow. First, he took the post of All-Union Minister of Public Order, and already in 1968 he became Minister of the Interior. Shchelokova, as if anticipating something, was very worried about moving to the capital. This was a turning point in their common destiny. After a short time, Svetlana was unrecognizable. She began to spend a lot of money on antiques, collecting the rarest collections. The woman did not even disdain the confiscated wealth of the plunderers of state property. And in high society, she was called a diamond hunter. Since then, there have been certificates of Mercedes of the Shchelokov family.
The initiates said that 6 brand new cars were sent from Germany for the Moscow Olympics-80, three of which settled in the personal property of the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He himself had a weakness for a beautiful life, being interested in painting and works of eminent masters. Knowing about the hobbies of the first policeman in the country, generals and high officials from other departments presented Shchelokov with gifts of unprecedented value on his birthdays. Among them was the original hand of the great artist Savrasov. Later, during searches, investigators will admire the huge amount of valuables in the apartment, where even a crystal chandelier shone in the restroom.
Svetlana openly and with pleasure demonstrated her well-being. She made friends with all the directors of the capital's jewelers, converging on this with the daughter of Secretary General Brezhnev. Together they were engaged in the fact that, having learned about the upcoming increase in the price of jewelry, they bought them in Moscow. Then, of course, they resold with a good plus. Muscovites who moved in high circles whispered that their friends were members of the "diamond mafia." When, before the New Year-1982, the murdered actress Zoya Fedorova was found in an apartment on Kutuzovsky Prospect, rumors about Svetlana Shchelokova's involvement spread throughout the capital. It was rumored that the minister's wife dreamed of taking possession of the actress's unique diamond necklace, which she inherited in the forties from a wealthy foreign lover.
The end of a rich life
With the arrival at the helm of the Chekist Andropov, the long-term cloudless existence of the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR ended at once. Prosperity under Brezhnev with a record period of service at the head of the power ministry went to hell. Andropov saw a venerable corrupt official in Shchelokov, removing him from his post and starting large-scale investigations. Despite all the achievements of Shchelokov in the police sphere, it was impossible to call Andropov's accusations unfounded. The Shchelokovs owned wealth that was unthinkable for a Soviet person - cars, rare antiques, originals of expensive works of art and even the values of the executed "guilds".
Voluntary withdrawal
Svetlana Shchelokova, like her husband, was constantly summoned for interrogations. Andropov put an end to the cloudless life of both the minister and his wife. Eyewitnesses recalled that Svetlana reacted to those events extremely emotionally. Andropov, who was not in good health, disappeared for a while in February 1983. Rumors spread throughout Moscow that Svetlana Shchelokova had shot at him, who then shot herself. But in view of the strict secrecy of such cases, reliable evidence of a possible incident was not recorded. According to the generally accepted version, Svetlana killed herself with her husband's award weapon after another search. On that day, Nikolai Anisimovich in his hearts accused his wife of what was happening because of her greed, and she could not stand it.
After the suicide of his wife, Nikolai Shchelokov did not last long - less than one year. His life ended in the same way as that of Svetlana. Shchelokov cut off his way with a hunting rifle. On the eve, with a difficult hand, Andropov Nikolai Anisimovich was deprived of all the Brezhnev awards and state regalia, leaving only the military alone. And on December 13, 1984, the disgraced minister did not wait for the further development of events and made the last decision.
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