Bodyguards for general secretaries: Why Khrushchev and Gorbachev despised their guards, and Brezhnev was accompanied by submariners

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

Many books have been written about the protection of Soviet secretaries general and many films have been filmed. The bodyguards from the special unit lived the lives of their charges. But even the absolute dedication of the guards was not always appreciated by the first persons of the state. Some of the bodyguards even managed to become a favorite of the leaders, an influential person, and then just as quickly go to be shot. And sometimes an ordinary walk of the secretary general could turn into a nightmare for the guards.

The first Stalinist bodyguards and the execution of the chief of security

Only 6 years after coming to power, Stalin acquired a personal guard. Because he believed that during this period the activities of foreign structures to eliminate the leader intensified. When Stalin was planning a trip to resorts, a letter train with a 20-ton armored saloon car and a motor ship were specially prepared. Until the last moment, no one knew what kind of transport the leader would use.

There were legends about the staff of highly professional drivers of Joseph Vissarionovich. The officers of the Special Purpose Garage carried out thorough inspections of land transport, participated in the technical training of watercraft, organized complex chains of movement of the first state official on interchangeable modes of transport. But despite all these measures, Stalin got into road accidents several times, and this on condition that he usually moved no faster than 50 km / h.

As Dmitry Fonarev, an employee of the 9th KGB Directorate in reserve, recalls, Stalin respected the guards for their scrupulous work. The fate of Karl Pauker, who for some time served as chief of security for Joseph Vissarionovich, is unusual. Pauker was one of the few who managed to get into the boss's confidence so much that he was even allowed to shave Stalin. But it all ended with the fact that the close guard was accused of espionage and shot. By the way, a little later, Pauker's successor, Comrade Kurskaya, also shot himself, and the next head of the bodyguard, Dagin, was arrested. And only Nikolai Vlasik, who took this dangerous post in 1938, succeeded in ensuring the safety of the first persons.

From that time on, unique solutions began to be applied. Along one of the highways, along which the Stalinist motorcade regularly moved, unreliable persons were evicted from their houses, and Chekists and party members settled in their place. Special attention was now paid to the selection and training of security special cadres; the first training center and training camp for training specialists was created. Vlasik's administration acted especially diligently during the war years.

The guards did not leave Stalin a single step, picking up offices and lodging places for the leader during the trips, being responsible for supplies and transport. During the Second World War, the Chekists prevented a lot of terrorist operations, up to and including attempts to assassinate the leader. The security system of Vlasik's time was so schooled that, according to Hans Rattenhuber, Hitler's head of security, the Nazis copied the Soviet experience to organize the safety of the Fuhrer.

The absurd Khrushchev and the problems in the work of the special services

After Stalin's death, the protection of the leaders of the party and the government in general was entrusted to the 9th Directorate of the KGB. Within the structure of the Nine, a powerful unit was created that was responsible for the safety of party leaders on foreign trips, which was not the case under the “restricted” Stalin. As soon as the 9th department received information about the upcoming visit of the head of the country to another state, a group of specialists was immediately sent there. These people studied the general situation, entered into contacts with local special services, clarified the details of the state protocol, worked out the specifics of traffic. A transport plane delivered cars with drivers from Moscow to the country of destination. They had to have time to study all the routes of the planned trips, get acquainted with sidings, all kinds of institutions and parking lots.

The fact that Khrushchev hated the gathering of special security agents around him caused particular problems for the protection. The general secretary, according to the recollections of one of the security officers Alexei Salnikov, tried to be more among people. I could easily walk into a store and chat with customers. Sometimes he chastised the guards for restricting him in anything. One of the chiefs of the nine, Mikhail Dokuchaev, noted the same, saying that Khrushchev was always dissatisfied with the employees of the Security Service. He treated the guards severely, rudely and did not show the slightest concern for the people risking their lives for him.

Risky Brezhnev and bodyguards-submariners

Leonid Brezhnev was a unique leader in terms of security. In addition to the fact that he was assassinated more than once, he himself put his life in danger. Leonid Ilyich was known as an avid car enthusiast and accelerated to unimaginable speed. Once in the Crimea, he was carrying female doctors and, having decided to show off his skills in front of the ladies, he accelerated on a mountain serpentine, lost control of the control and literally hovered over the cliff, having slowed down at the last second.

In the same risky scenario, Brezhnev loved to swim. He did not leave the water for several hours. A bodyguard was supposed to be next to him, a boat with two more sailed nearby, and then a boat with a resuscitator and scuba divers went. Once Leonid Ilyich fell into a powerful current. Abruptly refusing the help of the guards, he chose to get out on his own. But his companions were carried several kilometers away. Fortunately, they reached the coastline and returned on foot.

By the mid-70s, Brezhnev inflated the 9th KGB Directorate to an unprecedented state. The security team numbered in the thousands and consisted of two dozen departments. Unlike the loner Stalin and the absurd Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev treated the guards in his own way. He did not allow himself any arrogance and arrogance. However, Brezhnev's illness in his declining years added to his protection concerns. The Secretary General's bodyguards literally turned into nannies, indulging the boss's unhealthy whims and having no voice.

Gorbachev's disregard for the bodyguard class

After his appointment, Gorbachev parted with all the guards who had served him faithfully since 1978. Yuri Plekhanov, at that time the head of the 9th Directorate, was ordered to pick up completely new "clean" people who had not previously been involved in the protection of high-ranking officials. However, contrary to this order, Gorbachev took the Brezhnev Medvedev, who went down in history as twice the head of the security of the General Secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee, as the chief of his guard.

Gorbachev's attitude to personal protection was similar to that of Khrushchev. Both showed disdain to the bodyguards. But in the case of Mikhail Sergeevich, pride was mingled with the general hostility. The secretary general did not hide the fact that he did not see the people accompanying him similar to his own in terms of intelligence.

The secretary general's security staff was divided into two groups. The first, external, accompanied Gorbachev and his wife on all domestic and foreign trips. The second group was responsible for guarding the dacha and apartment. The number of dacha guards depended on whether the boss was at home. In his absence, observation posts were additionally located around the house. A sound electrical alarm was installed over the entire area of the summer cottage. The dacha was run by the commandant, who was responsible for both security and the general condition of the dacha territory. This responsible post went to the professional military from the "nine".

Even representatives of the maintenance staff had military ranks. In Foros, the president was guarded by five hundred armed men. There were also three divisions of the sea guard. Gorbachev's beach was protected from underwater sabotage by an oversensitive alarm system. And on his walks in the water area, the president was accompanied by border ships, An-24 and Mi-8.

By the way, people of lesser status would also benefit from professional security. For example, women politicians whose careers cost their lives.