The ailments of the Soviet leaders: why only Khrushchev was in excellent condition, and the rest of the leaders were a mystery to doctors

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

Truly omnipotent Soviet leaders, like all mortal people, grew old and died over time. Neither first-class medicine nor colossal resources were able to heal the rare ailments that the rulers of the USSR suffered from. Therefore, they had to be carefully masked so that at public events no one would see the formidable leaders weak.

The strange disease of Lenin, which baffled neurosurgeons

The first leader of Soviet Russia, V. I. Lenin, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1924, only 53 years old. The official diagnosis of German doctors was strange: Abnutzungssclerose - sclerosis from vascular wear. No one else was given such a diagnosis.

The leader suffered from dizziness, lost consciousness - and turned to German doctors, he did not trust Russian doctors. Experts considered that the leader was working too hard. But short-term paralysis of the limbs soon began. The famous neurosurgeon Otfried Förster was summoned, he began to treat the patient with walks in the fresh air. Perhaps he didn’t believe in medicines anymore.

The patient's condition deteriorated rapidly. Western experts could not understand why atherosclerosis manifested itself very early, in such a strong form. In the last year of his life, the Soviet leader was almost immobilized, only Nadezhda Krupskaya communicated with him.

Autopsy revealed impressive calcium inclusions in the left hemisphere of the brain - when the instruments were touched, they jingled slightly. And the pathologies of the vessels characteristic of syphilis, which are often talked about until now, have not been found.

The amazing calcification of the cerebral vessels prompted the hypothesis of American neurologists in 2012 that V. I. Lenin had a gene mutation that led to the liming of blood vessels. Usually, the newly discovered disease affects the limbs, so the case remains unique.

Why Stalin was left without medical supervision

Joseph Vissarionovich tried to look strong and healthy, he carefully concealed his ailments. Lenin's example showed that the weak can find themselves isolated and without power. There was no television, it was possible to imitate permanent health. But there were illnesses, and the leader was often left alone with them. Stalin had a dying, dysfunctional left hand, doctors diagnosed atrophy of the shoulder and elbow joints of the left hand as a result of childhood trauma. The leader also suffered from polyarthritis, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and even suffered a stroke at the end of the war. There was also a gastric resection operation, after which the weakened body was difficult to recover.

The notorious paranoia was attributed to Stalin on the basis of excessive suspicion of everyone. But not a single doctor dared to make an official diagnosis of the leader's mental state - it was dangerous for the life of the doctor himself.

Of the luminaries of medicine, Stalin trusted only the main Kremlin therapist, Academician Vinogradov. But in 1952 he was arrested in the "doctors' case" and imprisoned. And at the time of the stroke that happened to the leader in 1953, there were no relatives or doctors next to him.

Lying motionless on the floor, Stalin was found by security guards on the evening of March 1. The helpless patient was transferred to his bedroom, and Lavrenty Beria quickly arrived at the Kremlin after a call. But the doctors showed up only the next morning. Whether this was caused by fear of the anger of the formidable master or the deliberate action of his associates, it is difficult to say.

The doctors could no longer help and only made a conclusion: paralysis as a result of a stroke with concomitant bleeding into the stomach. In the official medical report on the cause of death on March 5, bleeding was no longer mentioned. This gave rise to rumors about the poisoning of the country's leader at an official reception on February 28, a day before the strike happened.

How pensioner Khrushchev was treated for a heart attack

The new secretary general was a man of excellent health and practically did not get sick until the age of 70. The secrecy adopted in Kremlin medicine did not interest Nikita Sergeevich too much. Already in retirement, he developed heart problems.

It was difficult for the active Khrushchev to come to terms with the reference to the dacha and complete isolation under the supervision of guards. The active and restive ex-general secretary found a way out of boredom in writing memoirs, which he dictated to a tape recorder for several years. His son Sergei helped to save and transport the films abroad. The memoirs came out in 1970, and the impudent pensioner was summoned to the Party Control Committee for study.

A heart attack that happened in 1971 was actually provoked by a showdown in the Central Committee. Khrushchev ended up in the Kremlin hospital on Granovsky Street. The head of the Fourth Main Directorate, Yevgeny Chazov, talked about the communication between the famous patient who barely got up on his feet with the staff, who listened with interest to the stories "from the life of the leaders."

Soon a second heart attack followed, from which Nikita Sergeevich never recovered. He died in the Kuntsevo hospital on September 11, 1971 at the age of 77.

A bouquet of Brezhnev's diseases: problems with coherent speech, diction, coordination of movement

Leonid Ilyich was a sick man, and his first heart attack happened under Stalin. The new secretary general had something to hide - the system of secrecy of data on the health of top officials of the state turned out to be useful. The head of the Kremlin, Academician Chazov, personally monitored so that Brezhnev's state of health did not become known. When the General Secretary was hospitalized, even members of the Central Committee were not allowed to see him.

Leonid Ilyich had an unstable nervous system, it seemed to him that he was not sleeping well. The constant intake of sleeping pills became a habit. In the morning, the doctors had to give him stimulants so that he could appear in public. The abrupt transition from sleep to activity destroyed the body.

Gradually, Brezhnev ceased to cope with the work and only voiced the decisions of the party apparatus. He confused words, moved badly - complete secrecy made the reason for such a state incomprehensible. Chazov spoke about the only heart attack - at the age of 44. But there were frequent hypertensive crises, asthenic syndrome developed from sleeping pills. Weakness appeared, inability to perform any activity.

Rumors arose due to slurred speech: they talked about muscle atrophy and even oncology. In fact, continuous smoking caused inflammation of the oral mucosa, which did not allow the installation of strong dentures.

And in March 1982, when a very elderly leader visited the Tashkent aircraft plant, an accident occurred: a wooden structure collapsed on him with spectators stuck to it. Brezhnev's collarbone was broken, the injury was not very significant, but for the elderly man it had serious consequences. A few months later - on November 10 - Leonid Ilyich died of cardiac arrest, a little short of his 76th birthday.

How Yuri Andropov was saved from disability, and Chernenko's body "broke" from low-quality fish

Brezhnev's successor, Yuri Andropov, was not in good health either. It was believed that he suffered from severe hypertension, and the Kremlin doctors were going to transfer him to disability. However, Evgeny Chazov decided to check the content of the hormone aldosterone in the body, which occurs in case of kidney problems. Tests have confirmed a rare disorder, aldosteronism. The general secretary was prescribed a drug that allowed blood pressure to normalize and improve heart function. The disability issue was dropped.

And yet, Yuri Andropov, due to a severe kidney disease, led the state for only a year and three months. He had a sharp mind and an excellent memory, but most often he wrote instructions and orders from the hospital. Andropov hoped to stay at the helm for 6 years, but it turned out differently. He died in February 1984. But the Kremlin medicine gave him at least 15 years of life.

Andropov's successor, Konstantin Chernenko, became the general secretary of the Central Committee, already seriously ill - he did not appear at events, and he often sent written orders to the Kremlin from home or from the hospital.

Chernenko had pulmonary emphysema, which caused shortness of breath and significantly impaired speech. In addition, in 1983, he was severely poisoned by smoked fish. Intoxication caused serious complications, and he became practically disabled. There were even rumors about deliberate poisoning, but this could not be true: all family members ate the ill-fated fish.

In recent months, Chernenko could no longer walk and moved around the Kremlin in a wheelchair. He led the country for only 1 year and a month and died at 73 from cardiac arrest. The years of Andropov's and Chernenko's rule were popularly called "the five-year lavish funeral".

In the past, with a low level of medicine and unsanitary conditions, kings and emperors died much more often and younger. And hundreds of thousands of lives were claimed 8 of the most massive deadly epidemics in human history.