The problem is that G. Romanov was not even considered as a likely candidate for the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee after the death of Yu. Andropov on February 9, 1984. There was no struggle at all and no other candidates except Chernenko were proposed and were not considered - Chernenko, who was the second person in leadership under Andropov, ex officio chaired the Politburo meeting on February 10, stood up and proposed resolving the issue of a new secretary general. One of the senior members of the party Areopagus, in terms of age and position, immediately spoke - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR N. Tikhonov and proposed him, Chernenko, as a candidate. Everyone supported and elected him, despite the fact that it was already known that Chernenko was seriously, terminally ill.
There is a story about as if Andropov saw M. Gorbachev as his replacement. But she is doubtful.
Seriously ill and foreboding imminent death, Andropov allegedly wanted to repeat the “successor” operation, which L. Brezhnev carried out against him about 1.5 years earlier. In May 1982, after the death of the all-powerful M. Suslov, the main ideologist of the party and a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee since the time of Stalin, Brezhnev transferred Andropov from the KGB of the USSR and made him, instead of Suslov, actually the second person in the party and the state - the secretary of the Central Committee, who led meetings and the Politburo ( and this was the main body of state power in the USSR), and the Secretariat of the Central Committee. Everyone (primarily in the nomenklatura) understood that Andropov was the heir. Brezhnev retired and all the levers of governing the country were turned to Andropov. Therefore, his election in November 1982 as the new Secretary General after Brezhnev’s death only formalized the real state of affairs. For the first time in Soviet history the transfer of power took place painlessly, according to a pre-orchestrated scenario.
According to A. Volsky, a former assistant to the secretary general, in December 1983 Andropov, in connection with the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, which was held without his participation on December 29, allegedly included an insert in his report at this Plenum with a request that Gorbachev conduct Secretariat meetings during his illness. In the Kremlin language of that time, this meant determining a successor. However, in the final text of the report distributed to members of the Central Committee and participants of the Plenum, the fragment with this request was missing. All documents for the Politburo and Plenums at that time were previously passed through the apparatus of K. Chernenko - the General Department of the Central Committee. At this bureaucratic stage, this phrase seemed to disappear.
It is difficult to say how true this is, since there is no other evidence that the will of the powerful party leader was ignored Even during his lifetime – the question was not just extraordinary, but fundamental, one of the most important – about the next leader. Failure to comply with such an important instruction of the Secretary General should have led to serious proceedings and consequences, but nothing is known about them.
Moreover, Chernenko was formally already the second person, leading meetings of the Politburo and the Secretariat - he was chosen for this position at the suggestion of Andropov himself. To change him to Gorbachev, according to the rules in force at that time, one had to turn not to the Plenum, which did not decide such issues on its own, but to the Politburo, bring the relevant issue to the meeting, gather strength and come to this meeting yourself, or hold it in your chamber in Kuntsevo hospital. At a minimum, it was necessary to call members of the Politburo, inform them of such a wish, and listen to their opinion. However, nothing of the kind was done.
The plenum, which was about 300-350 people representing the highest nomenklatura in the country (with the exception of a couple of workers and milkmaids who were elected there for the appearance of internal party democracy), did not itself elect anyone - it only approved the proposal previously adopted in the Politburo.
Gorbachev- then he was not yet 53 years old - he was the youngest member of the Politburo. He, of course, internally harbored ambitions and aspired to be elected Secretary General. But the unspoken principle of seniority worked rigidly in the Politburo. Among the members of the Politburo, despite formal equality, those who were older in age and tenure in the party leadership had more apparatus weight. When considering issues at the Politburo, they could object and upset those who were younger. The latter had no right to object to their elders - this would be a monstrous and unforgivable offense. When members of the Politburo as a whole appeared in public - party congresses, Central Committee Plenums, ceremonial meetings - they strictly observed the order of exit and seating.
The “bench” of senior members of the Politburo was impressive - N. Tikhonov, who replaced the recently deceased Kosygin as head of government, Defense Minister D. Ustinov, also, like Suslov, in leadership since Stalin’s times, K. Chernenko, who led the entire party apparatus, Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1957 A. Gromyko, leader of Moscow V. Grishin, leader of Ukraine V. Shcherbitsky. The long-term leader of Kazakhstan, D. Kunaev, due to his nationality, did not apply for the post of Secretary General and had no chance of being elected.
There was no fighting at the Politburo meeting on February 10, everything was resolved amicably. Chernenko turned out to be the figure who caused the least irritation among everyone. Yes, and the order had to be observed. That's what they decided on.
Under these conditions, Gorbachev could not simply raise his hand and say: “I offer myself.” That's not how things were done. Someone should have supported him, but there was no one.
Romanov could not do this either - his position in the Politburo was even weaker than Gorbachev’s.
Romanov, the first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU, was one of the “young” and could not claim anything in the ranks of his older comrades. He was clearly inferior to Gorbachev - if we had to choose between the “young” - in intellectual and organizational abilities.
For some reason, Gorbachev perceived him as his competitor in March 1985 during the new elections after Chernenko’s death, but then he, Gorbachev, had already gained a lot of political weight and became the second person in leadership after Chernenko. In addition, the position of Gromyko, who by that time had become the oldest member of the Politburo (Tikhonov and Ustinov had died), also played a big role. What would have happened if Romanov had been elected after all? It's hard to say anything definitive. Almost nothing was known about him even in nomenklatura circles - traits of his character, way of thinking, not to mention some ideas, which are indicative and speak about the real position of a person in the structure of power. Romanov was considered a "conservative" , i.e. a man who firmly believed in communist principles and was ready to resist any changes. After his transfer from the Leningrad Regional Committee to Moscow, he, as Secretary of the Central Committee oversaw the military-industrial complex, those. this is some version of the current curator of this complex, Comrade Rogozin. In general, that says it all. It would most likely be bad
Moscow, Russia
Communist Party of the Russian Federation (1993-2008)
Grigory Vasilievich Romanov( - ) - Soviet party and statesman. Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee (1976-1985). Candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee (1973-1976). Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (1983-1985), first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU (1970-1983). After the collapse of the USSR, he joined the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, where he held leadership positions.
Biography
The construction of the Leningrad Sports and Concert Complex named after. V.I. Lenin. The Youth Palace was built on the banks of the Malaya Nevka. A monument to V.V. Mayakovsky was erected on the street named after the poet. A research institute for the health of children and adolescents has been opened on Aptekarsky Island. On August 21, 1976, Leningrad switched to seven-digit telephone numbering.
In public opinion he was perceived as a supporter of the “hard line”. He was a real contender for the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee after the death of Yu. V. Andropov and the subsequent K. U. Chernenko, however, in the first case, a compromise candidate was elected - the seriously ill Chernenko, after whose death M. S. Gorbachev managed to seize power.
According to Andrei Sidorenko, citing the words of V. M. Chebrikov, it was Romanov who wanted to see Yu. V. Andropov as his successor. At the time of Chernenko's death, Romanov was on vacation in Palanga, Lithuania.
Grigory Romanov died on June 3, 2008 in Moscow. He was buried on June 6 at the Kuntsevo cemetery.
Performance evaluations
In Leningrad, Romanov was called “master.” Because the 13 Romanov years - those that he led the region and the city - are later recognized as the most successful in the life of the region in the entire twentieth century. Under Romanov, more than fifty scientific and production associations will appear here, a record number of metro stations will be opened, the famous Kirovets tractor and the even more famous Arktika icebreaker, the first to reach the North Pole, will be built. Leningradskaya will be launched nuclear power plant. [Valentin Nikiforov], first secretary of the Vyborg district party committee of Leningrad
Grigory Romanov was one of the most odious party leaders and was personally responsible for many abominations committed under his direct leadership and with his highest approval. Boris Vishnevsky, political scientist
The story of Romanov’s personality is noteworthy in that at first it will seem typical for many in Soviet time. The atypicality begins with the manifestation of his remarkable mind as an organizer, capable of recognizing the national significance of his current work, like everyone else’s, and raising it to the highest possible level. Organizational talent is a rare phenomenon at all times. He singled out Romanov among many.
He fiercely hated and persecuted all cultural figures who “did not adapt.” Under him, in 1980, the case of the writer and historian Konstantin Azadovsky, who worked as the head of the department, was fabricated foreign languages at the Mukhinsky School. Under him, Sergei Yursky was forced to leave the city. At the same time, the version about the expulsion of Arkady Raikin from Leningrad is not confirmed, since he moved to Moscow on the initiative of his son for the organization of the Satyricon Theater, and such a move would have been impossible without the sanctions of the party leadership of the USSR (Brezhnev), which was given after studying characteristics of the actor issued by the local party authorities (Romanov).Under Romanov, Joseph Brodsky and Sergei Dovlatov were expelled from the USSR, but such a decision was not made at the level of the city of Leningrad.
Grigory Vasilyevich stated that “almost all Jews are citizens of a country that is a potential enemy” Nina Katerli
He made it so that the entire city center was in communal apartments - because the vacated rooms were occupied strangers. And when he began construction of the dam and Sergei Zalygin wrote in “New World” that the Gulf of Finland would rot, Romanov replied: well, to hell with it, it will rot - so we’ll fill it up... Many musicians, actors, artists under him moved to Moscow - to work under It was impossible for the Romanovs. Yuri Vdovin, human rights activist
Under Romanov, dissident Yuli Rybakov was imprisoned on a fabricated criminal case; under Romanov, objectionable performances and concerts were banned. It should be noted, however, that it was under Romanov that the first rock opera in the USSR, Orpheus and Eurydice, was staged and continuously performed for ten years (1975-1985), and in 1981 the Leningrad Rock Club opened its doors - the first in the USSR there is a similar freedom-loving institution.
Personally, Grigory Romanov gave the impression of a deeply decent and principled person. He was also distinguished by his evenness in dealing with people, no matter who was in front of him. As far as I know, a kind, warm atmosphere reigned in his family... If Gorbachev had not managed to seize power and commit all his dirty deeds of betraying the interests of the country, if instead of Gorbachev Grigory Romanov had been chosen for the post of General Secretary (and he was from this in one step), then you and I would continue to live in the Soviet Union, of course, reformed, modernized, but prosperous and strong.
During the years when G.V. Romanov headed the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU, there were positive changes that occurred in agriculture, in the field of culture, education and health care Leningrad region. During the thirteen-year period that Romanov headed the region, a number of large agricultural construction projects came into operation here, and a significant step forward was made in the development of industrial poultry farming. The huge buildings of poultry farms and other agro-industrial facilities rightfully became a monument to those years. It is noteworthy that the foundations laid in those years have not only been preserved, but have also been further developed and, moreover, are being multiplied at the present time. Thus, agriculture in the Leningrad region has reached a completely new level. Thanks to the implementation of priority national projects, agricultural production uses Newest technologies. Currently, livestock and poultry farming in the Leningrad region are considered one of the most advanced in Russian Federation. A lot was done under Romanov in the field of culture. The system of rural libraries received a significant impetus in development. Houses of culture were built.
Romanov's statements
“Union of Struggle for Personal Freedom” (group of V. A. Dzibalov; 6 people were arrested in 1971); distribution of leaflets calling for a boycott of the elections (Yu. E. Minkovsky was arrested in 1973), in defense of A. I. Solzhenitsyn (L. L. Verdi was arrested in 1974); activities of the “Circle of Friends of Socialist Legality” (O. N. Moskvin was arrested in 1977); protests against the entry Soviet troops to Afghanistan (B.S. Mirkin was arrested in 1981); demonstrations: in memory of the Decembrists at the Bronze Horseman (12/14/1975), artists and writers at the Peter and Paul Fortress (May-June, 1976), in defense of human rights on December 10, 1977, 1978, 1979; inscription on the wall of the Sovereign Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress: “You crucify freedom, but the human soul has no shackles” (Yu. A. Rybakov, O. A. Volkov were arrested in 1976).
Another form was the activity of various independent associations: the Leningrad branch of the Russian Public Fund, the Fund for Assistance to the Families of Political Prisoners (1974-83, managers - V. I. Isakova, V. T. Repin, V. N. Gaenko), independent trade union work ( SMOT - Free Interprofessional Association of Workers, created in 1978; L. Ya. Volokhonsky was arrested in 1979, V. E. Borisov was expelled from the country in 1981, V. I. Sytinsky was arrested in 1984); seminar on general theory of systems (1968-82, at the apartment of S. Yu. Maslov), women's club "Maria"; religious and philosophical seminar by T. M. Goricheva (1974-80); Christian seminar and publication of the magazine “Community” (1974-79, V. Yu. Poresh was arrested in 1979); editing source Sat. “Memory” (A. B. Roginsky was arrested in 1981); distribution of Seventh-day Adventist publications (I. S. Zvyagin was arrested in 1980, L. K. Nagritskaite in 1981, etc.); apartment art exhibitions (G. N. Mikhailov was arrested in 1979); organization of groups for Hatha yoga classes (A.I. Ivanov, preventive conversation held in 1973, continued to engage in criminal activities, arrested in 1977, articles of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR “Private business activity”, “Illegal healing”, “Manufacture or sale of pornographic objects” and “Dissemination of deliberately false fabrications discrediting the Soviet state and social system”, 8,520 rubles of unearned income were confiscated). A special place was occupied by Jewish national associations - the Leningrad Zionist Organization (G. I. Butman, M. S. Korenblit and others were arrested in 1970); seminar of Jewish “refuseniks” (1979-81, E. Lein was arrested in 1981).
Family
Wife (since 1946) - Anna Stepanovna.
Daughter Valentina graduated from Leningrad State University. A. A. Zhdanova, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, taught at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov, in 1996-1998 Chairman of the Board of Directors of CB Russian Industrial Bank, since 1998 Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bankhaus Erbe AG (in 1992-1998 International Bank of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior), Her husband is O. I. Gaidanov.
Daughter Natalya (married, since 1974, Radchenko).Awards
- Hero of Socialist Labor ()
- Medal "For Military Merit" (10/15/1944)
Memory
Mentions in art
Write a review of the article "Romanov, Grigory Vasilievich"
Notes
- « Our dear Roman Avdeevich» D. A. Granin (satire on Grigory Romanov)
Mayors
St. Petersburg -
Petrograd
( -):Soviet period
(1917-):"Dual Power"
regional committee and Lensoviet
( -1991):Post-Soviet
period (s):Excerpt characterizing Romanov, Grigory Vasilievich
“Your Excellency, your Excellency, your Excellency...” the bereitor said stubbornly, without looking at Pierre and, apparently, having lost hope of waking him up, swinging him by the shoulder.
- What? Began? Is it time? - Pierre spoke, waking up.
“If you please hear the firing,” said the bereitor, a retired soldier, “all the gentlemen have already left, the most illustrious ones themselves have passed a long time ago.”
Pierre quickly got dressed and ran out onto the porch. It was clear, fresh, dewy and cheerful outside. The sun, having just broken out from behind the cloud that was obscuring it, splashed half-broken rays through the roofs of the opposite street, onto the dew-covered dust of the road, onto the walls of the houses, onto the windows of the fence and onto Pierre’s horses standing at the hut. The roar of the guns could be heard more clearly in the yard. An adjutant with a Cossack trotted down the street.
- It's time, Count, it's time! - shouted the adjutant.
Having ordered his horse to be led, Pierre walked down the street to the mound from which he had looked at the battlefield yesterday. On this mound there was a crowd of military men, and the French conversation of the staff could be heard, and the gray head of Kutuzov could be seen with his white cap with a red band and the gray back of his head, sunk into his shoulders. Kutuzov looked through the pipe ahead along the main road.
Entering the entrance steps to the mound, Pierre looked ahead of him and froze in admiration at the beauty of the spectacle. It was the same panorama that he had admired yesterday from this mound; but now this entire area was covered with troops and the smoke of gunfire, and the slanting rays of the bright sun, rising from behind, to the left of Pierre, cast a piercing golden and pink tint light and dark, long shadows. The distant forests that completed the panorama, as if carved from some precious yellow-green stone, were visible with their curved line of peaks on the horizon, and between them, behind Valuev, cut through the great Smolensk road, all covered with troops. Golden fields and copses glittered closer. Troops were visible everywhere - in front, right and left. It was all lively, majestic and unexpected; but what struck Pierre most of all was the view of the battlefield itself, Borodino and the ravine above Kolocheya on both sides of it.
Above Kolocha, in Borodino and on both sides of it, especially to the left, where in the marshy banks Voina flows into Kolocha, there was that fog that melts, blurs and shines through when the bright sun comes out and magically colors and outlines everything visible through it. This fog was joined by the smoke of shots, and through this fog and smoke the lightning of the morning light flashed everywhere - now on the water, now on the dew, now on the bayonets of the troops crowded along the banks and in Borodino. Through this fog one could see a white church, here and there the roofs of Borodin's huts, here and there solid masses of soldiers, here and there green boxes and cannons. And it all moved, or seemed to move, because fog and smoke stretched throughout this entire space. Both in this area of the lowlands near Borodino, covered with fog, and outside it, above and especially to the left along the entire line, through forests, across fields, in the lowlands, on the tops of elevations, cannons, sometimes solitary, constantly appeared by themselves, out of nothing, sometimes huddled, sometimes rare, sometimes frequent clouds of smoke, which, swelling, growing, swirling, merging, were visible throughout this space.
These smokes of shots and, strange to say, their sounds produced the main beauty of the spectacle.
Puff! - suddenly a round, dense smoke was visible, playing with purple, gray and milky white colors, and boom! – the sound of this smoke was heard a second later.
“Poof poof” - two smokes rose, pushing and merging; and “boom boom” - the sounds confirmed what the eye saw.
Pierre looked back at the first smoke, which he left as a round dense ball, and already in its place there were balls of smoke stretching to the side, and poof... (with a stop) poof poof - three more, four more were born, and for each, with the same arrangements, boom... boom boom boom - beautiful, firm, true sounds answered. It seemed that these smokes were running, that they were standing, and forests, fields and shiny bayonets were running past them. On the left side, across the fields and bushes, these large smokes were constantly appearing with their solemn echoes, and closer still, in the valleys and forests, small gun smokes flared up, not having time to round off, and in the same way gave their little echoes. Tah ta ta tah - the guns crackled, although often, but incorrectly and poorly in comparison with gun shots.
Pierre wanted to be where these smokes were, these shiny bayonets and cannons, this movement, these sounds. He looked back at Kutuzov and his retinue to compare his impressions with others. Everyone was exactly like him, and, as it seemed to him, they were looking forward to the battlefield with the same feeling. All faces now shone with that hidden warmth (chaleur latente) of feeling that Pierre had noticed yesterday and which he understood completely after his conversation with Prince Andrei.
“Go, my dear, go, Christ is with you,” said Kutuzov, without taking his eyes off the battlefield, to the general standing next to him.
Having heard the order, this general walked past Pierre, towards the exit from the mound.
- To the crossing! – the general said coldly and sternly in response to one of the staff asking where he was going. “And I, and I,” thought Pierre and followed the general in the direction.
The general mounted the horse that the Cossack handed to him. Pierre approached his rider, who was holding the horses. Having asked which was quieter, Pierre climbed onto the horse, grabbed the mane, pressed the heels of his outstretched legs to the horse’s belly and, feeling that his glasses were falling off and that he was unable to take his hands off the mane and reins, galloped after the general, exciting the smiles of the staff, from the mound looking at him.The general, whom Pierre was galloping after, went down the mountain, turned sharply to the left, and Pierre, having lost sight of him, galloped into the ranks of the infantry soldiers walking ahead of him. He tried to get out of them, now to the right, now to the left; but everywhere there were soldiers, with equally preoccupied faces, busy with some invisible, but obviously important matter. Everyone looked at this fat man in a white hat with the same dissatisfied, questioning look, who for some unknown reason was trampling them with his horse.
- Why is he driving in the middle of the battalion! – one shouted at him. Another pushed his horse with the butt, and Pierre, clinging to the bow and barely holding the darting horse, jumped out in front of the soldier, where there was more space.
There was a bridge ahead of him, and other soldiers stood at the bridge, shooting. Pierre drove up to them. Without knowing it, Pierre drove to the bridge over Kolocha, which was between Gorki and Borodino and which the French attacked in the first action of the battle (having occupied Borodino). Pierre saw that there was a bridge in front of him and that on both sides of the bridge and in the meadow, in those rows of lying hay that he had noticed yesterday, soldiers were doing something in the smoke; but, despite the incessant shooting that took place in this place, he did not think that this was the battlefield. He did not hear the sounds of bullets screaming from all sides, or shells flying over him, he did not see the enemy who was on the other side of the river, and for a long time he did not see the dead and wounded, although many fell not far from him. With a smile never leaving his face, he looked around him.
- Why is this guy driving in front of the line? – someone shouted at him again.
“Take it left, take it right,” they shouted to him. Pierre turned to the right and unexpectedly moved in with the adjutant of General Raevsky, whom he knew. This adjutant looked angrily at Pierre, obviously intending to shout at him too, but, recognizing him, nodded his head to him.
- How are you here? – he said and galloped on.
Pierre, feeling out of place and idle, afraid to interfere with someone again, galloped after the adjutant.
- This is here, what? Can I come with you? - he asked.
“Now, now,” answered the adjutant and, galloping up to the fat colonel standing in the meadow, he handed him something and then turned to Pierre.
- Why did you come here, Count? - he told him with a smile. -Are you all curious?
“Yes, yes,” said Pierre. But the adjutant, turning his horse, rode on.
“Thank God here,” said the adjutant, “but on Bagration’s left flank there is a terrible heat going on.”
- Really? asked Pierre. - Where is this?
- Yes, come with me to the mound, we can see from us. “But our battery is still bearable,” said the adjutant. - Well, are you going?
“Yes, I’m with you,” said Pierre, looking around him and looking for his guard with his eyes. Here, only for the first time, Pierre saw the wounded, wandering on foot and carried on stretchers. In the same meadow with fragrant rows of hay through which he drove yesterday, across the rows, his head awkwardly turned, one soldier lay motionless with a fallen shako. - Why wasn’t this raised? - Pierre began; but, seeing the stern face of the adjutant, looking back in the same direction, he fell silent.
Pierre did not find his guard and, together with his adjutant, drove down the ravine to the Raevsky mound. Pierre's horse lagged behind the adjutant and shook him evenly.
“Apparently you’re not used to riding a horse, Count?” – asked the adjutant.
“No, nothing, but she’s jumping around a lot,” Pierre said in bewilderment.
“Eh!.. yes, she’s wounded,” said the adjutant, “right front, above the knee.” Must be a bullet. Congratulations, Count,” he said, “le bapteme de feu [baptism by fire].
Having driven through the smoke through the sixth corps, behind the artillery, which, pushed forward, was firing, deafening with its shots, they arrived at a small forest. The forest was cool, quiet and smelled of autumn. Pierre and the adjutant dismounted from their horses and entered the mountain on foot.
- Is the general here? – asked the adjutant, approaching the mound.
“We were there now, let’s go here,” they answered him, pointing to the right.
The adjutant looked back at Pierre, as if not knowing what to do with him now.
“Don’t worry,” said Pierre. – I’ll go to the mound, okay?
- Yes, go, you can see everything from there and it’s not so dangerous. And I'll pick you up.
Pierre went to the battery, and the adjutant went further. They did not see each other again, and much later Pierre learned that this adjutant’s arm was torn off that day.
The mound that Pierre entered was the famous one (later known among the Russians under the name of the kurgan battery, or Raevsky’s battery, and among the French under the name la grande redoute, la fatale redoute, la redoute du center [the great redoubt, the fatal redoubt, the central redoubt ] a place around which tens of thousands of people were positioned and which the French considered the most important point of the position.
This redoubt consisted of a mound on which ditches were dug on three sides. In a place dug in by ditches there were ten firing cannons, stuck out into the opening of the shafts.
There were cannons lined up with the mound on both sides, also firing incessantly. A little behind the guns stood the infantry troops. Entering this mound, Pierre did not think that this place, dug in with small ditches, on which several cannons stood and fired, was the most important place in the battle.
To Pierre, on the contrary, it seemed that this place (precisely because he was on it) was one of the most insignificant places of the battle.
Entering the mound, Pierre sat down at the end of the ditch surrounding the battery, and with an unconsciously joyful smile looked at what was happening around him. From time to time, Pierre still stood up with the same smile and, trying not to disturb the soldiers who were loading and rolling guns, constantly running past him with bags and charges, walked around the battery. The guns from this battery fired continuously one after another, deafening with their sounds and covering the entire area with gunpowder smoke.
In contrast to the creepiness that was felt between the infantry soldiers of the cover, here, on the battery, where a small number of people busy with work are white limited, separated from others by a ditch - here one felt the same and common to everyone, as if a family revival.
The appearance of the non-military figure of Pierre in a white hat initially struck these people unpleasantly. The soldiers, passing by him, glanced sideways at his figure in surprise and even fear. The senior artillery officer, a tall, long-legged, pockmarked man, as if to watch the action of the last gun, approached Pierre and looked at him curiously.
A young, round-faced officer, still a perfect child, apparently just released from the corps, very diligently disposing of the two guns entrusted to him, addressed Pierre sternly.
“Mister, let me ask you to leave the road,” he told him, “it’s not allowed here.”
The soldiers shook their heads disapprovingly, looking at Pierre. But when everyone was convinced that this man in a white hat not only did nothing wrong, but either sat quietly on the slope of the rampart, or with a timid smile, courteously avoiding the soldiers, walked along the battery under gunfire as calmly as along the boulevard, then Little by little, the feeling of hostile bewilderment towards him began to turn into affectionate and playful sympathy, similar to that which soldiers have for their animals: dogs, roosters, goats and in general animals living with military commands. These soldiers immediately mentally accepted Pierre into their family, appropriated them and gave him a nickname. “Our master” they nicknamed him and laughed affectionately about him among themselves.
One cannonball exploded into the ground two steps away from Pierre. He, cleaning the soil sprinkled with the cannonball from his dress, looked around him with a smile.
- And why aren’t you afraid, master, really! - the red-faced, broad soldier turned to Pierre, baring his strong white teeth.
-Are you afraid? asked Pierre.
- How then? - answered the soldier. - After all, she will not have mercy. She will smack and her guts will be out. “You can’t help but be afraid,” he said, laughing.
Several soldiers with cheerful and affectionate faces stopped next to Pierre. It was as if they did not expect him to speak like everyone else, and this discovery delighted them.
- Our business is soldierly. But master, it’s so amazing. That's it master!
- In places! - the young officer shouted at the soldiers gathered around Pierre. This young officer, apparently, was fulfilling his position for the first or second time and therefore treated both the soldiers and the commander with particular clarity and formality.
The rolling fire of cannons and rifles intensified throughout the entire field, especially to the left, where Bagration’s flashes were, but because of the smoke of the shots, it was impossible to see almost anything from the place where Pierre was. Moreover, observing the seemingly family (separated from all others) circle of people who were on the battery absorbed all of Pierre’s attention. His first unconscious joyful excitement, produced by the sight and sounds of the battlefield, was now replaced, especially after the sight of this lonely soldier lying in the meadow, by another feeling. Now sitting on the slope of the ditch, he observed the faces surrounding him.
By ten o'clock twenty people had already been carried away from the battery; two guns were broken, shells hit the battery more and more often, and long-range bullets flew in, buzzing and whistling. But the people who were at the battery did not seem to notice this; Cheerful talk and jokes were heard from all sides.
- Chinenka! - the soldier shouted at the approaching grenade flying with a whistle. - Not here! To the infantry! – another added with laughter, noticing that the grenade flew over and hit the covering ranks.
- What, friend? - another soldier laughed at the man who crouched under the flying cannonball.
Several soldiers gathered at the rampart, looking at what was happening ahead.
“And they took off the chain, you see, they went back,” they said, pointing across the shaft.
“Mind your job,” the old non-commissioned officer shouted at them. “We’ve gone back, so it’s time to go back.” - And the non-commissioned officer, taking one of the soldiers by the shoulder, pushed him with his knee. There was laughter.
- Roll towards the fifth gun! - they shouted from one side.
“At once, more amicably, in the burlatsky style,” the cheerful cries of those changing the gun were heard.
“Oh, I almost knocked off our master’s hat,” the red-faced joker laughed at Pierre, showing his teeth. “Eh, clumsy,” he added reproachfully to the cannonball that hit the wheel and the man’s leg.
- Come on, you foxes! - another laughed at the bending militiamen entering the battery behind the wounded man.
- Isn’t the porridge tasty? Ah, crows, they slaughtered! - they shouted at the militia, who hesitated in front of the soldier with a severed leg.
“Something else, kid,” they mimicked the men. – They don’t like passion.
Pierre noticed how after each cannonball that hit, after each loss, the general revival flared up more and more.
As if from an approaching thundercloud, more and more often, lighter and brighter, lightning of a hidden, flaring fire flashed on the faces of all these people (as if in rebuff to what was happening).
Pierre did not look forward to the battlefield and was not interested in knowing what was happening there: he was completely absorbed in the contemplation of this increasingly flaring fire, which in the same way (he felt) was flaring up in his soul.
At ten o'clock the infantry soldiers who were in front of the battery in the bushes and along the Kamenka River retreated. From the battery it was visible how they ran back past it, carrying the wounded on their guns. Some general with his retinue entered the mound and, after talking with the colonel, looked angrily at Pierre, went down again, ordering the infantry cover stationed behind the battery to lie down so as to be less exposed to shots. Following this, in the ranks of the infantry, to the right of the battery, a drum and command shouts were heard, and from the battery it was visible how the ranks of the infantry moved forward.
Pierre looked through the shaft. One face in particular caught his eye. It was an officer who, with a pale young face, walked backwards, carrying a lowered sword, and looked around uneasily.
The rows of infantry soldiers disappeared into the smoke, and their prolonged screams and frequent gunfire could be heard. A few minutes later, crowds of wounded and stretchers passed from there. Shells began to hit the battery even more often. Several people lay uncleaned. The soldiers moved more busily and more animatedly around the guns. Nobody paid attention to Pierre anymore. Once or twice they shouted angrily at him for being on the road. The senior officer, with a frowning face, moved with large, fast steps from one gun to another. The young officer, flushed even more, commanded the soldiers even more diligently. The soldiers fired, turned, loaded, and did their job with tense panache. They bounced as they walked, as if on springs.
A thundercloud had moved in, and the fire that Pierre had been watching burned brightly in all their faces. He stood next to the senior officer. The young officer ran up to the elder officer, with his hand on his shako.
- I have the honor to report, Mr. Colonel, there are only eight charges, would you order to continue firing? - he asked.
- Buckshot! - Without answering, the senior officer shouted, looking through the rampart.
Suddenly something happened; The officer gasped and, curling up, sat down on the ground, like a shot bird in flight. Everything became strange, unclear and cloudy in Pierre’s eyes.
One after another, the cannonballs whistled and hit the parapet, the soldiers, and the cannons. Pierre, who had not heard these sounds before, now only heard these sounds alone. To the side of the battery, on the right, the soldiers were running, shouting “Hurray,” not forward, but backward, as it seemed to Pierre.
The cannonball hit the very edge of the shaft in front of which Pierre stood, sprinkled earth, and a black ball flashed in his eyes, and at the same instant it smacked into something. The militia who had entered the battery ran back.
- All with buckshot! - the officer shouted.
The non-commissioned officer ran up to the senior officer and in a frightened whisper (as a butler reports to his owner at dinner that there is no more wine required) said that there were no more charges.
- Robbers, what are they doing! - the officer shouted, turning to Pierre. The senior officer's face was red and sweaty, his frowning eyes sparkling. – Run to the reserves, bring the boxes! - he shouted, angrily looking around Pierre and turning to his soldier.
“I’ll go,” said Pierre. The officer, without answering him, walked in the other direction with long steps.
– Don’t shoot... Wait! - he shouted.
The soldier, who was ordered to go for the charges, collided with Pierre.
“Eh, master, there’s no place for you here,” he said and ran downstairs. Pierre ran after the soldier, going around the place where the young officer was sitting.
One, another, a third cannonball flew over him, hitting in front, from the sides, from behind. Pierre ran downstairs. "Where am I going?" - he suddenly remembered, already running up to the green boxes. He stopped, undecided whether to go back or forward. Suddenly a terrible shock threw him back to the ground. At the same instant, the brilliance of a large fire illuminated him, and at the same instant a deafening thunder, crackling and whistling sound rang in his ears.
Pierre, having woken up, was sitting on his backside, leaning his hands on the ground; the box he was near was not there; only green burnt boards and rags were lying on the scorched grass, and the horse, shaking its shaft with fragments, galloped away from him, and the other, like Pierre himself, lay on the ground and squealed shrilly, protractedly.Pierre, unconscious from fear, jumped up and ran back to the battery, as the only refuge from all the horrors that surrounded him.
While Pierre was entering the trench, he noticed that no shots were heard at the battery, but some people were doing something there. Pierre did not have time to understand what kind of people they were. He saw the senior colonel lying with his back to him on the rampart, as if examining something below, and he saw one soldier he noticed, who, breaking forward from the people holding his hand, shouted: “Brothers!” – and saw something else strange.
But he had not yet had time to realize that the colonel had been killed, that the one shouting “brothers!” There was a prisoner who, in front of his eyes, was bayoneted in the back by another soldier. As soon as he ran into the trench, a thin, yellow, sweaty-faced man in a blue uniform, with a sword in his hand, ran at him, shouting something. Pierre, instinctively defending himself from the push, since they, without seeing, ran away from each other, put out his hands and grabbed this man (it was a French officer) with one hand by the shoulder, with the other by the proud. The officer, releasing his sword, grabbed Pierre by the collar.
Grigory Romanov was born on February 7, 1923 in the village of Zikhnovo, now Borovichi district of the Novgorod region, into a peasant family. Participant of the Great Patriotic War. He fought as a signalman on the Leningrad and Baltic fronts. Member of the CPSU since 1944. In 1953 he graduated in absentia from the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute. In 1946-1954, designer, head of the sector of the Central Design Bureau at the plant named after. A. A. Zhdanova (Leningrad) Ministry of Construction Industry. In 1955-1957, secretary of the party committee, party organizer of the CPSU Central Committee at the same plant.
In 1957-1961 - secretary, first secretary of the Kirov district committee of the CPSU of Leningrad. In 1961-62, Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee of the CPSU. In 1962-1963 secretary, in 1963-1970 second secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU (in 1963-1964 second secretary of the Leningrad Industrial Regional Committee of the CPSU).
From September 16, 1970 to June 21, 1983 - First Secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU. During this period, a resolution was adopted “On the construction of structures to protect Leningrad from floods” (dams) - after a long break, construction was completed in 2011. Leningrad metro stations are open: Lomonosovskaya, Elizarovskaya, Zvezdnaya, Kupchino, Lesnaya, Vyborgskaya, Akademicheskaya, Politekhnicheskaya, Ploshchad Muzhestva, Leninsky Prospekt", "Veteranov Avenue", "Civil Avenue", "Komsomolskaya", "Primorskaya", "Proletarskaya", "Obukhovo", "Udelnaya", "Pionerskaya", "Chernaya Rechka".
The construction of the Leningrad Sports and Concert Complex named after. V.I. Lenin. The Youth Palace was built on the banks of the Malaya Nevka. A monument to V.V. Mayakovsky was erected on the street named after the poet. A research institute for the health of children and adolescents has been opened on Aptekarsky Island. Leningrad switched to seven-digit telephone numbering.
At the 23rd and 24th Congresses of the CPSU he was elected a member of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1973-1976 - candidate member, in 1976-1985 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1983-1985 - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.
Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 7-11 convocations; in 1971-84 - member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
In public opinion he was perceived as a supporter of the “hard line”. He was considered as a real contender for the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee after the death of Yu. V. Andropov, but as a result of the behind-the-scenes struggle of factions, a compromise candidate was accepted - the terminally ill K. U. Chernenko, after whose death a candidate from another faction came to power - M. S. Gorbachev, who relied on democratization and openness.
By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation B. N. Yeltsin No. 101 of January 28, 1998, G. V. Romanov was established with a personal pension for his significant contribution to the development of domestic mechanical engineering and the defense industry.
Member of the Central Advisory Council under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
Grigory Romanov died on June 3, 2008 in Moscow. He was buried on June 6 at the Kuntsevo cemetery.
Performance evaluations
Romanov's statements
Suppression of the dissident movement and dissidents in Leningrad
During Romanov's leadership in Leningrad, various forms of the dissident movement were actively suppressed:
“Union of Struggle for Personal Freedom” (group of V. A. Dzibalov; 6 people were arrested in 1971); distribution of leaflets calling for a boycott of the elections (Yu. E. Minkovsky was arrested in 1973), in defense of A. I. Solzhenitsyn (L. L. Verdi was arrested in 1974); activities of the “Circle of Friends of Socialist Legality” (O. N. Moskvin was arrested in 1977); protests against the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan (B.S. Mirkin was arrested in 1981); demonstrations: in memory of the Decembrists at the Bronze Horseman (12/14/1975), artists and writers at the Peter and Paul Fortress (May-June, 1976), in defense of human rights on December 10, 1977, 1978, 1979; inscription on the wall of the Sovereign Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress: “You crucify freedom, but the human soul has no shackles” (Yu. A. Rybakov, O. A. Volkov were arrested in 1976).
Another form was the activity of various independent associations: the Leningrad branch of the Russian Public Fund, the Fund for Assistance to the Families of Political Prisoners (1974-83, managers - V. I. Isakova, V. T. Repin, V. N. Gaenko), independent trade union work ( SMOT - Free Interprofessional Association of Workers, created in 1978; L. Ya. Volokhonsky was arrested in 1979, V. E. Borisov was expelled from the country in 1981, V. I. Sytinsky was arrested in 1984); seminar on general theory of systems (1968-82, at the apartment of S. Yu. Maslov), women's club "Maria"; religious and philosophical seminar by T. M. Goricheva (1974-80); Christian seminar and publication of the magazine “Community” (1974-79, V. Yu. Poresh was arrested in 1979); editing source Sat. “Memory” (A. B. Roginsky was arrested in 1981); distribution of Seventh-day Adventist publications (I. S. Zvyagin was arrested in 1980, L. K. Nagritskaite in 1981, etc.); apartment art exhibitions (G. N. Mikhailov was arrested in 1979); organization of groups for Hatha yoga classes (A.I. Ivanov was arrested in 1977). A special place was occupied by Jewish national associations - the Leningrad Zionist Organization (G. I. Butman, M. S. Korenblit and others were arrested in 1970); seminar of Jewish “refuseniks” (1979-81, E. Lein was arrested in 1981).
Characteristic is the emergence of literature that is not oriented towards censorship. Among its creators are M. R. Kheifets (author of the preface to Brodsky’s collection of poems, arrested in 1974), D. E. Axelrod (author of the novel “The Krasovsky Brothers,” arrested in 1982), poet K. M. Azadovsky (arrested in 1982). For the production and distribution of samizdat and tamizdat, the group of G.V. Davydov - V.V. Petrova (1973), M.M. Klimov (1982), M.B. Meilakh (1983), G.A. Donskoy (1983) were arrested ), M.V. Polyakov (1983); forced to emigrate E. G. Etkind (1976), L. S. Druskin (1980), S. V. Dedyulin (1981), etc.
Awards
- Hero of Socialist Labor (1983)
- Three Orders of Lenin
- Order of the October Revolution
- Order of the Red Banner of Labor
- Order of the Badge of Honor
- Medals
Memory
On May 17, 2011, a memorial plaque to Grigory Romanov was installed on the facade of house 1/5 on Kuibysheva Street in St. Petersburg, which caused a mixed reaction from St. Petersburg residents.
On February 7, 1923, Grigory Romanov, head of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU, “Master of Leningrad,” was born.
Private bussiness
Grigory Vasilievich Romanov (1923—2008) born in the village of Zikhnovo, Novgorod region. He was the sixth most youngest child in a large peasant family. In 1938, Grigory graduated with honors from an incomplete high school and entered the Leningrad Shipbuilding College.
During the Great Patriotic War he was a signalman on the Leningrad and Baltic fronts. In 1944 he joined the CPSU(b). At the end of the war, he returned to the technical school and in 1946 defended his diploma with honors, receiving the specialty of a shipbuilding technician, after which he was sent to work at TsKB-53 of the A. A. Zhdanov shipyard in Leningrad.
In 1953, Romanov graduated in absentia from the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute with a degree in shipbuilding engineer. In 1954-1957 he held the positions of secretary of the party committee, and then party organizer of the CPSU Central Committee at the same plant.
Subsequently, his career developed along the party line. In 1957-1961, Romanov served as secretary, first secretary of the Kirov district committee of the CPSU of Leningrad. In 1961-1962 - Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee of the CPSU. In 1962-1963, secretary, in 1963-1970 - second secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU.
On September 16, 1970, he was appointed first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU and held this post until 1983. In 1983 he moved to Moscow.
For twenty years, from 1966 to 1986, he was a member of the CPSU Central Committee. From 1976 to 1985 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1983-1985, after moving to Moscow, he was Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, responsible for the military-industrial complex.
After Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, he retired from political activity. On July 1, 1985, Romanov was removed from the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee and sent into retirement “for health reasons.”
Grigory Romanov spent the last years of his life in Moscow, with his eldest daughter Valentina. Died on June 3, 2008. He was buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery.
What is he famous for?
Grigory Romanov, the most influential of the Brezhnev-era “governors,” ruled Leningrad for a total of 13 years. In the city they called him “The Boss.” The “Romanov” era was remembered for massive construction, and his name became part of folk toponymy. Thus, the complex of structures for protecting Leningrad from floods, the construction of which began under him, began to be popularly called the “Romanovna Dam”.
The most famous joke about the first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee sounded like this: “In Leningrad everything is as before: Zimny stands, Eliseev trades, Romanov rules.”
During the years that Romanov ruled, the region experienced serious positive changes in agriculture, education and health care; greatest number metro stations and housing, there was an active resettlement of hostels. Under him, the largest scientific and production associations were created in Leningrad. “Romanov was one of the few who sought and found a concrete way to combine the advantages of a planned socialist economy with the achievements of scientific and technological progress,” Yuri Belov wrote about him.
However, the period of Romanov’s “management” is associated not only with massive construction projects and attempts to solve social problems, but also with the persecution of cultural figures and the active suppression of all forms of the dissident movement in Leningrad.
According to the recollections of Galina Mshanskaya, who had worked at Leningrad Television since 1961, the city had blacklists of artists who were prohibited from accessing television and radio broadcasts. In addition, Sergei Yursky and Arkady Raikin were secretly banned. According to human rights activist Yuri Vdovin, during Romanov’s reign, many musicians, actors and artists moved from Leningrad to Moscow because “it was impossible to work under Romanov.”
Under Romanov, Joseph Brodsky and Sergei Dovlatov were expelled from the USSR, although this decision was not made at the city level.
In 2010, the government of St. Petersburg adopted a resolution to install a memorial plaque to Grigory Romanov in the city, which caused indignation among the St. Petersburg intelligentsia. An appeal demanding the cancellation of this decision was signed by Boris Strugatsky, Alexey German, Oleg Basilashvili, Alexander Kushner, Henrietta Yanovskaya, Yuri Shevchuk and many other artists and human rights activists.
“We remember well the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU Grigory Romanov - a man who stifled culture, science, art and freedom, who hated the intelligentsia, expelled artists, poets and painters from the city, and did everything to turn Leningrad into “ great city with the regional fate,” says the article, the authors of which demanded the immediate repeal of “this outrageous resolution.”
Despite public protests, in May 2011, a memorial plaque was installed on the facade of house 1/5 on Kuibysheva Street. In February 2012, unknown persons poured blood-red paint over the memorial plaque, as well as the wall next to it.
What you need to know
Grigory Romanov
Grigory Romanov was a real contender for the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee after the deaths of both Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko.
According to Romanov himself, Brezhnev called him his successor. “Leonid Ilyich often told me: “You, Grigory, will take my place.” And he told Fidel Castro that Romanov would be there, and Giscard D'Estaing. I was in very good standing with Brezhnev. And when Andropov came, he directly told me: “I need you in Moscow. Ustinov is breaking wood, spending a lot of money on the defense industry , we no longer have enough,” Romanov said in an interview with Russian Life magazine.
Western Sovietologists also named Romanov among possible successors to Leonid Brezhnev back in the late 1970s, as he was considered a strong political player.
It is believed that it was precisely to weaken the position of Grigory Romanov that the rumor was started that the first secretary of the Leningrad regional committee allegedly in 1974 celebrated the wedding of his youngest daughter on a grand scale in the Tauride Palace, “borrowing” for this purpose from the Hermitage an antique royal ceremonial service for 144 persons , which the guests partially smashed at the height of the holiday. The sensation was published by the German magazine Der Spiegel, and then it was retold by Radio Liberty and the Voice of America. As a result, rumors about the wedding spread instantly, despite the fact that Soviet newspapers wrote nothing about it.
According to former first Secretary of the Kronstadt District Party Committee Viktor Lobko, the spread of the story could be beneficial to Chernenko, who at that time headed the general department of the CPSU Central Committee and wanted to replace Brezhnev as General Secretary. “In those days, Romanov was only 60 years old, and he could well have been considered the main candidate for the post of Secretary General. Chernenko understood this and sent information around the country that said in a streamlined form: “In the Leningrad organization of the CPSU there are leaders who allow themselves...”, and so on. But the last name was not mentioned. Everyone knew Romanov, but one could only guess about the leader in question. The information was immediately actively picked up by the Western media and went to promote it,” Lobko said in an interview with the St. Petersburg weekly Delo.
To verify this information, it is stated that The Supreme Council The RSFSR even established a special commission, which found that the rumor did not contain a word of truth, but this story affected the entire subsequent political career of Grigory Romanov and, perhaps, cost him the post of General Secretary.
According to contemporaries, it was Romanov that Yuri Andropov wanted to see as his successor, but after his death, the already seriously ill Chernenko, who suited everyone, was chosen. At the time of Chernenko’s death, Romanov was on vacation in Palanga, Lithuania. According to Romanov, neither he nor Gorbachev’s other opponents were notified of the extraordinary plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, which took place the day after Chernenko’s death, so Gorbachev was approved by the General Secretary in the absence of competitors.
Many believe that a victory for Grigory Romanov would mean a fundamentally different scenario later life THE USSR. Romanov “would have taken all measures and would not have allowed the deliberate collapse of Soviet Union“,” stated Anatoly Lukyanov.
“If instead of Gorbachev, Grigory Romanov had been chosen for the post of General Secretary (and he was one step away from this), then you and I would still continue to live in the Soviet Union, of course, reformed, modernized, but prosperous and strong,” also Oleg Baklanov is sure.
The techno-opera “2032: Legend of the Unfulfilled Future” by composer Viktor Argonov, created in 2007, shows an alternative future in which Grigory Romanov, after the death of Chernenko, is elected general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, as a result of which the USSR manages to avoid stagnation and collapse.
Direct speech
“The story of Romanov’s personality is remarkable in that at first it will seem typical for many in Soviet times. The atypicality begins with the manifestation of his remarkable mind as an organizer, capable of recognizing the national significance of his current work, like everyone else’s, and raising it to the highest possible level. Organizational talent is a rare phenomenon at all times. He singled out Romanov among many,” Yuri Belov.
“He was a man of his time. Leningrad defended during the war. Received a thorough technical education. Built ships. To some extent, his worldview had a sign of technocracy, which had a positive effect on the style of his party and state work. And in personal terms, Grigory Romanov gave the impression of a deeply decent, principled person,” from the memoirs of Oleg Baklanov, Minister of General Engineering of the USSR.
“He was the city’s first anti-Semite! He fiercely hated and persecuted all cultural figures who “did not adapt”,” writer Nina Katerli about Grigory Romanov.
“I stopped the publication of Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev’s book “Byzantine Legends”. The editor of this book was Sofya Polyakova, a Jew. I invite Likhachev to my place and ask him directly: “Why do you attract such people to work?” He asks: “Which ones?” Me: “Those that are not needed.” He: “Jews, or what?” Me: “Yes.” For some reason this also offended him, although I was right - Jews then took anti-Soviet positions, and we had to prevent their activities,” Grigory Romanov. "Master of Leningrad"
5 facts about Grigory Romanov
- At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Gregory began an affair with a girl, Anya. However, her father did not like the student at the shipbuilding college. During the blockade, Anya found Grigory Romanov in the hospital where he was lying and recovering from dystrophy. After the war she became his wife.
- Grigory Romanov survived all 900 days of the siege in Leningrad. And until the end of his life, everything connected with the blockade, according to the recollections of contemporaries, “was painted a special color for Romanov.” A person’s request was treated with special care if it was a request from a blockade survivor. At the same time, Romanov had a sharply negative attitude towards Daniil Granin, towards what he said and wrote about the blockade, in particular, in the “Siege Book”.
- According to the memoirs of Dmitry Likhachev, a podium was installed in Grigory Romanov’s office, thanks to which he always towered above his interlocutor.
- By decree of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin in 1998, Romanov was established a personal pension for his significant contribution to the development of domestic mechanical engineering and the defense industry.
- Grigory Romanov remained a communist until the end of his life. After the liquidation of the CPSU, he joined the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and was a member of the Central Advisory Council under the Central Committee of the party. Paid membership dues to the Communist Party until last days own life.
Materials about Grigory Romanov
Yesterday it became known that Grigory Romanov, a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee from 1976 to 1985, who was considered a rival of Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s, died. Eyewitnesses of those events are confident that the victory of Comrade Romanov in the internal party struggle would mean the preservation of the USSR.
Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov was born on February 7, 1923 in the village of Zikhnovo (Novgorod region). To the Great Patriotic War served as a signalman. After the war, he graduated from the shipbuilding institute and worked at the Leningrad Zhdanov plant, where his party career began in 1955. Since 1970 - first secretary of the Leningrad regional committee of the CPSU. Since 1973 - candidate, since 1976 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Since 1983 - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Retired since July 1985.
In the mid-1980s, Grigory Romanov was considered the main rival of Mikhail Gorbachev for the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. This was confirmed to Kommersant, in particular, by Anatoly Lukyanov (member of the Central Audit Commission, hereinafter the positions for 1985 are indicated.— "Ъ"). Grigory Romanov, as Comrade Lukyanov emphasizes, “was the first on the list of members of the Politburo,” which included Yuri Andropov (General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in 1982-1984.— "Ъ") "intended to nominate him as general secretary." Former deputy of Grigory Romanov, Vladimir Khodyrev (in 1985, head of the Leningrad executive committee) claims that “when he was transferred for promotion to Moscow, he had every chance of becoming general secretary, but then Gorbachev chatted everyone up, and the West was afraid of him, this also played a role role".
Let us note that Grigory Romanov was considered a strong political player even before Mikhail Gorbachev appeared in Moscow. Western Kremlinologists remembered Comrade Romanov among the possible successors of Leonid Brezhnev back in the late 1970s. At the same time, a rumor was started about Comrade Romanov, which in the 1990s would have been assessed as a classic example of black PR. Allegedly, the first secretary of the Leningrad regional committee celebrated the wedding of his youngest daughter in the Tauride Palace on a grand scale, and at the height of the celebration for the health of the newlyweds, an antique service from the Hermitage was smashed. During the times of glasnost, this story came out again, but no reliable evidence of this was found. “And all these slander, that when he gave his daughter in marriage, he took sets from the Hermitage for the wedding, were slander,” which was spread “for the purpose of discrediting,” Comrade Lukyanov claims.
Those who worked with Grigory Romanov in Leningrad note his administrative abilities and energy. “He lived for the city, the country, and was a very talented and capable organizer,” said Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Viktor Lobko (from 1978 to 1983 - first secretary of the Kronstadt district committee of the CPSU). “Under Romanov, a comprehensive plan for the social development of Leningrad until 2005 was developed, according to which the Chinese are now developing Shanghai one by one,” says Comrade Khodyrev. “It was Romanov who was the ideologist of the unification of the city and the Leningrad region and lobbied in the Politburo and the Council of Ministers for the creation of a united police, united vocational education and land committees,” says Boris Petrov (leader of the Leningrad Komsomol).
Responses about Comrade Romanov’s attitude towards the creative intelligentsia are more contradictory. Galina Mshanskaya, who has worked at Leningrad Television since 1961, told Kommersant that under Romanov in Leningrad there were blacklists of artists who were denied access to television and radio airwaves. This list included, in particular, popular foreign singers. In addition, Sergei Yursky and Arkady Raikin were secretly banned. Natella Tovstonogov, the sister of the main director of the BDT Georgy Tovstonogov, told Kommersant that “It was very difficult for Tovstonogov under Romanov, because of this his heart was damaged. A KGB car followed him from the theater to his home, our apartment 24 hours a day Romanov did not call Tovstonogov to the carpet, but when asked why he did not attend the performances, he told him: “Be grateful that I don’t go, otherwise I would have banned a lot of things.”
However, the granddaughter of Dmitry Likhachev, journalist of the St. Petersburg “Vesti” Zinaida Kurbatova, says that “Romanov was not such a monster as many people think. Grandfather went to see him more than once, he recalled that a podium was installed in Romanov’s office so that he always towered over his interlocutor. But despite this, grandfather managed to come to an agreement with him.”
According to eyewitnesses of the events of the mid-1980s, the victory of Grigory Romanov would have meant a fundamentally different scenario for the USSR. Comrade Lukyanov is confident that he “would firmly defend the socialist choice and the Soviet system,” and also “would take all measures and would not allow the deliberate collapse of the Soviet Union.” Valentin Kuptsov (secretary of the Vologda regional committee) also believes that “under General Secretary Romanov, “we would have been a strong union state to this day.”
It is now difficult to say how true these statements are. The confrontation between Mikhail Gorbachev and Grigory Romanov was a classic example of a “battle of bulldogs under the rug,” in which issues of ideology may not have had the fundamental importance now attributed to them. Rather, the fact that Mikhail Gorbachev was considered a more negotiable and willing to compromise person played a role. And the current complaints about how the election of Grigory Romanov would benefit the USSR can be considered a collective self-justification for the choice in favor of Mikhail Gorbachev.
In March 1985, Comrade Gorbachev became General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and on July 1, 1985, Comrade Romanov was removed from the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee and retired “for health reasons.” After this, Comrade Romanov was not seen in active political activity.
Anna Kommersant-Pushkarskaya, St. Petersburg; Viktor Kommersant-Khamraev
