Murder at “Zhdanovskaya” station

How were those who killed the KGB major punished?

On December 26, 1980, Major Vyacheslav Afanasyev, the officer in charge of the 8th department of the USSR State Security Committee (KGB), which deals with the protection, encryption and decryption of technical means of communication, disappeared. There was another thing that made this event extraordinary.

In May of the same year, another KGB employee, Major Viktor Shaymov, disappeared with his wife and daughter, and there was no information about their fate. Only USAWhen Aldridge Ames, an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), began spying on the USSR in 1985, Sheimov chose to USAthat he was kidnapped to news gave. But sooner than Afanasyev’s fate news caught.

The next day, a half-naked man with serious injuries was found near the country houses in Pekhorka settlement. Despite the frosty night, the man was still alive, but unconscious. His documents were missing, but the militiamen, who were looking around, found a notepad. They called the phone numbers there and found out that the unknown person was Vyacheslav Afanasyev. The officer died on January 1 before regaining consciousness.

Primary version, major car it was assumed that he was shot, thrown to another place in order to lose track. Already near the place where it was found, there were tire tracks belonging to the “Volga” car. Another version was robbery. But the investigation slowly revealed a more amazing fact: Afanasyev was killed by the militia.

***

Major Afanasyev, who is married and the father of two daughters, caught a cold a few days before the incident and did not go to work after taking a sick leave. But December 26 was his birthday, he was turning 40 years old. Moreover, two of his close friends had returned from the war in Afghanistan. The trio decided to celebrate these two significant events in one of the conspiratorial apartments belonging to the KGB.

Afanasyev first visited the workplace. Because the KGB to its employees before the New Year holiday he was giving the gift. This gift included some foods that were in short supply in the country, such as smoked sausage, marinated pickled Bulgarian tomatoes, and canned gorbusha, a type of salmon. Then he went to the Central department store, bought himself a new pair of shoes and headed to the meeting place nearby.

The party with alcoholic drinks ended around 21:00. In the end, two friends gave the major a brandy as a birthday present. Afanasyev put the cognac and the half-finished vodka bottle next to the food he bought at work – in his briefcase, and the friends got off at the “Nogin Square” (now: “Kitay-gorod”) metro station. When you get on the train, two “afghan” stood on his feet, and Afanasyev with his arms sat down and immediately dozed off. Drink had a strong hold on the major: he led a healthy lifestyle and his body was not used to alcohol.

All three friends had to get off at Taganskaya station and board another train. The two got off, and when they turned back, they did not see Afanasyev, and now they noticed that he was asleep in the departing carriage. But they did not pay special attention to it. The major would probably wake up at one of the stations and come back. What could happen to a person with a card of the most terrible organization of the USSR – the KGB?

***

Due to his misfortune, Afanasyev did not wake up on the way, and the train (or train) brought him to the station “Zhdanovskaya” (now: “Vikhino”), which was the last on that line at that time. The major, who was still asleep here, was woken up by two female station guards. Until Afanasyev, who was drunk on the one hand and woke up on the other hand, woke up, the guards looked through his briefcase and saw the shortage of food in it. In such cases, they go to the militia station at the station news militias used to threaten drunken citizens in various ways – for example, by reporting to the workplace – and took away their food (sometimes even their money), and they also gave something to the guards.

When the police arrived, Afanasyev had already regained consciousness and showed them his ID confirming that he was a KGB employee. But the militiamen were also drunkards, very drunkards themselves, and their eyes were dizzy when they heard about the contents of the passenger’s briefcase: smoked sausage, pickled tomatoes, canned gourds, vodka and cognac. According to them, a person needed nothing more for complete happiness. That’s why they ignored even the KGB card, twisted Afanasyev’s arm and took him to the militia room. However, according to the instructions, they did not have the right to detain a KGB employee.

They emptied the major’s briefcase in the room and started beating him. At this time, the militias with the surnames Lobanov and Popov stand out, Chief Inspector Rassokhin also observes. Among them, only Selivanov was awake and understood that what was happening was not normal. He calls the duty officer of the department they belong to and informs them about what happened. Horrified by what he heard, the guard orders the KGB officer to be released immediately.

When Afanasyev took his briefcase and shoe box and left the room, he made a mistake that decided his fate. It seems that since he himself is drunk, he does not fully understand how inadequate the militias are. At the door, he faces Lobanov and Popov and makes a statement like “it won’t end like this, I’ll start a game on your head.” Militias hesitate for a while and decide that it cannot be left like this. Lobanov and Popov ran after Afanasyev, scolded and dragged him back into the room.

This time, Afanasyev was beaten more mercilessly and soon after he lost consciousness. Selivanov again contacts the department officer. On duty this time of the department chief calls Major Boris Baryshev’s house. Baryshev was also in a party of eating and drinking and was not very sane when he arrived at the scene. If there was, maybe he would not involve himself in this crime, he would accept the fact that in the worst case he would be fired for the actions of his subordinates.

But now Baryshev made another decision. He decided not to leave Afanasyev alive in order to lose track. It occurred to Rassokhi to take the victim around Pekhorka settlement. There were service garden houses of the KGB. If Afanasyev’s body was found there, it would be thought that he was visiting someone and was attacked by robbers.

They put the half-life KGB officer on Baryshev’s “Volga” and arrived near Pekhorka. Here, Baryshev ordered to finish Afanasyev’s work. Rassokhin, Lobanov and Popov hit the major several more times, including with a piece of iron, assumed that he was dead, and took off his outer clothes to create the appearance of robbery.

But all these measures did not help. Prosecutor General’s Office of the USSRflour The investigation conducted by Vladimir Kalinichenko, special investigator of important cases, soon found the right track, and on January 14, the metro militia imprisonment they were done. The investigation revealed that they repeatedly robbed and beat drunken citizens. It was even revealed that Lobanov killed another person (not related to the subway). According to the verdict of the court, Baryshev, Rassokhin, Lobanov and Popov were sentenced to death and shot. Four people with different terms imprisonment received the punishment, only Selivanov was not brought to justice.

Needless to say, such a one crime His case was considered a state secret and he was investigated court was held in closed conditions. The first information about this murder appeared in the press only in 1989. In 1992, a feature film called “Murder on Zhdanovskaya” was shot.

***

The event took place in an extremely important period of the USSR. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev’s health was deteriorating day by day, and who would be the next leader became more and more important. KGB chairman Yuri Andropov himself aspired to power and him Political It was supported by two influential members of the bureau – Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrey Gromyko and Minister of Defense Dmitry Ustinov. In fact, during the last years of Brezhnev, this triumvirate ruled the country.

Minister of Internal Affairs Nikolai Shelokov was not considered one of Andropov’s friends. It is true that Shelokov could not compete with Andropov in terms of reputation, he never did Political He was not a member of the Bureau. Moreover, the post he holds higher It was not considered a successful step for the government. But he could support someone else, he could put his reputation on the other side of the scale.

Therefore, Andropov used the “Zhdanovskaya murder” to extensively investigate the activities of the militia, where he found countless flaws, violations, and even crimes. But Shelokov was considered one of Brezhnev’s closest friends, their friendship began in the 1930s. Therefore, nothing could be done against Shelokov during Brezhnev’s lifetime.

Brezhnev in November 1982 10died in That day was celebrated as militia day in the USSR, and the fact that Brezhnev died on this day seemed to have a symbolic meaning. 16 years interior minister Shelokov’s rapid decline began. Andropov, who was elected as the new head of the Communist Party, removed his rival from his position on December 17. The process resulted in Shelokov committing suicide on December 13, 1984, who was stripped of all orders and medals, as well as the rank of army general, except for the war awards he won in the war.