Another Brezhnev: What is left behind the frames of the official chronicle of "dear Leonid Ilyich"

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

Many people remember Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev as he was in recent years - an almost helpless old man who only cares about his own awards and regalia. However, those who were next to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee for many years remembered him as completely different. For 13 years, next to Brezhnev was his personal photographer Vladimir Musaelyan, whose memories of the secretary general are strikingly different from the image outlined by the biographers of Leonid Ilyich.

Personal photographer of the secretary general

Vladimir Musaelyan, who was fond of photography since childhood, began working at an aircraft plant, where he received a very decent salary for those times and was a very respected person at the enterprise. When he began to send his photographs to the magazine "Soviet Photo", the talented photographer was noticed, and in 1960 he was invited to practice at the TASS Photo Chronicle.

Vladimir Musaelyan without a shadow of hesitation changed his profession, withstood misunderstanding and criticism from relatives and began to do what he loved. He specialized in political reporting and coverage of the achievements of the space industry, was personally acquainted with many astronauts, and repeatedly filmed the launch of spaceships from Baikonur.

After a successful photo report on the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Kazakh Republic, Vladimir Gurgenovich was assigned to accompany Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev on a trip to Central Asia. Brezhnev did not immediately notice the newcomer in the escort team. For six months, the secretary general did not seem to see the photographer and did not address him in any way. When Musaelyan began to ask the leadership to remove from him the duties of escorting the General Secretary, Leonid Zamyatin, who headed TASS at that time, advised the subordinate not to rush.

During the next business trip, Brezhnev, not seeing a man with a camera near, immediately asked where Volodya Musaelyan was. He pronounced the name of the photographer clearly, without confusing or distorting anything. It became clear that the secretary general was just looking closely at the new person for a long time. Vladimir Musaelyan became his own in the team and was next to Leonid Ilyich until his death.

Without pathos

Brezhnev did not immediately accept a person into his circle. He looked closely for a long time and, if imbued with confidence in a newcomer, then brought him closer to himself almost forever. At the same time, he never confused the names of those who served him and the entire Brezhnev family.

Leonid Ilyich never forgot to congratulate any of the staff on his birthday, he always gave some nice gifts. Men usually received cufflinks and tie pins from him, and Brezhnev usually presented beautiful light shawls or scarves to women.

He was very attentive to those who were with him. And he was always interested in the well-being of not only the employee himself, but also the affairs of his children or second halves. And I never made a mistake in the names of children, wives or husbands.

In the archives of Vladimir Musaelyan, a photograph has been preserved where Leonid Brezhnev, during a boat trip, treats his "entourage" with beer and lemonade. At the same time, waiters, maids and doctors sit in armchairs, and the secretary general opens bottles with his own hands, pours drinks and serves them to those who served him.

After important negotiations or long trips, Brezhnev certainly organized a feast for those who helped in organizing the event. Members of the Politburo and doctors, nurses, security guards and photographers could sit at the same table. On the part of officials, dissatisfaction with dinners with the service staff was often sounded, but Leonid Ilyich simply did not take this into account.

A leader with a human face

If any of Brezhnev's service personnel needed help, the employee received it immediately. Vladimir Musaelyan himself survived thanks to Leonid Ilyich. When, at the age of forty, the photographer had a massive heart attack, by order of Brezhnev he was transferred to the Kremlin hospital, and the best doctors were involved in his treatment.

There is a known case when a woman from Odessa reached Brezhnev's dacha in the Crimea, having successfully overcome all cordons under cover of night. When the beam of a searchlight shone on the water, she simply turned her head, her dark hair merged with the water, and she swam unhindered to the shore, swimming around the long pier. Brezhnev not only accepted the "violator", but also worried about her fate. A woman with a child was left without housing and registration through the efforts of her ex-husband. By order of the Secretary-General, she was given a separate apartment.

Repeatedly Leonid Ilyich stood up for ordinary people. So it was with a conscript soldier who fell asleep while clearing snow on the runway. As a result, a snowblower crashed into an airplane on which French journalists who accompanied French President Georges Pompidou flew in.

No one of the arrivals was hurt, but the soldier himself broke his arm, and his face was severely cut with shards of glass. They even managed to initiate a criminal case against him, but Brezhnev ordered the soldier to be treated and then sent on leave to his parents. The secretary general called those who were not able to properly organize the work of clearing the runway from snow so that people did not fall asleep while driving, but worked in shifts.

Leonid Ilyich passionately loved hunting. During the hunt, he rested and recuperated. Vladimir Musaelyan, in his memoirs about the secretary general, was surprised that Brezhnev's biographers talk about the carcasses of wild animals prepared in advance, which were allegedly brought to the leader after the hunt.

In fact, he got real pleasure from the process and was upset if he didn’t “shoot” a moose or wild boar from the first shot. Once he only wounded a boar, and the huntsman finished him off with a knife. Brezhnev then shook his head and said: "This is no longer a hunt, but a murder, it turns out." After the hunt, the carcasses were butchered, and the secretary general "distributed" the parts to friends and colleagues.

There were many shortcomings in the reign of Leonid Brezhnev, but one cannot remain silent about what kind of person the General Secretary was.

In Soviet times, officials from cinema always tried to play it safe and often, just in case, did not allow one or another film to be shown, so as not to incur the wrath of high authorities. However, the bosses often turned out to be much more far-sighted and more liberal than their subordinates. Many films, which have gained immense popularity, were released only thanks to personally the General Secretary of the CPSU Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev.