Pyotr Mironovich Masherov is one of the most famous statesmen Soviet Union. Long time while leading the Belarusian SSR, he established himself as a competent manager and, perhaps, was rightfully considered the most beloved leader of the republic of that period. A remarkable fact is his high popularity among citizens of already independent Belarus. According to many of them, Masherov is an erudite and experienced politician, under whose leadership the BSSR achieved a leap in development and reached its greatest prosperity.
The date of his birth is not known for certain. It is generally accepted that the future politician was born on February 13 or 26, 1918. The parents of Pyotr Mironovich Masherov were ordinary peasants who lived in the Sennen district of Soviet Russia. Life for the peasant people at that time was extremely difficult. This is confirmed by the fact that out of eight children born, only five survived. In 1934, Peter graduated from school, after which he almost immediately entered the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. After graduation, he worked in his specialty as a teacher of physics and mathematics.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War immediately went to the front as a volunteer. Back in 1941 he was surrounded and captured. But he managed to escape. Created and headed a number of cells partisan movement who worked underground. Led important operations. Including the blowing up of several large bridges and other objects. He was wounded several times. For his courage and activities in 1944 he was nominated for the Hero of the Soviet Union award.
Immediately after the liberation of the BSSR began political activity: Secretary of regional committees, then deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1965, he was appointed to the highest government post in the republic - first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus. He was recommended for this post by his predecessor, Kirill Mazurov. During Masherov's reign, the growth of national income doubled, industry and agriculture grew rapidly. In 1978, he was awarded the honorary title of Hero of Socialist Labor. In addition, he had 7 Orders of Lenin, various Soviet and foreign medals.
Masherov’s death has become overgrown with conspiracy theories. The fact is that he died in a car accident near Smolevich. Moving in the direction of Zhodino, a truck loaded with potatoes crashed into the car in which the head of the republic was, which decided to suddenly overtake another truck that had stopped in front of the motorcade. As a result of the collision, Masherov himself, his driver and security guard were killed. Official investigation conducted by the USSR Prosecutor General's Office did not reveal the premeditated nature of the crime and the murder of a high-ranking official. However, there are still rumors that because of his popularity and possible imminent appointment as the leader of the Union Cabinet, and then possibly the position of Chairman of the CPSU Central Committee, representatives of the group that fought for power after Brezhnev’s departure decided to deal with him. In honor of the famous statesman named streets, hospital, enterprise, lyceum, school.
The first secretary of the Communist Party of the BSSR, Pyotr Masherov, is the most famous leader of Soviet Belarus. A partisan hero, he easily communicated with scientists at the Academy of Sciences and with tractor drivers in the field. February 13 marks the 100th anniversary of his birth. Previously, TUT.BY with Masherov’s daughter, and now he has formulated 10 questions about the life and career of the leader of the republic, trying to answer them as simply as possible.
Masherov - a hero of the Great Patriotic War?
Yes and yes again! There can be no doubt here. At the beginning of the war, Masherov volunteered to go to the front, but already in August 1941 he was surrounded and then captured. But the future leader of the BSSR was lucky: he managed to escape. Returning to Rossony, where he worked before the war, Pyotr Mironovich got a job at a school and soon created an underground group, mainly among teachers and his graduates (the future leader of the republic graduated from the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute, taught mathematics and physics in Rossony in 1939-1941 high school).
In the spring of 1942, Masherov, facing the threat of arrest, went into the forest and led the Shchors partisan detachment. He later became commissioner partisan brigade. Was wounded twice. The document on his nomination for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union noted that “Comrade Masherov is the first organizer of the partisan movement in the Rossony district of the Vitebsk region, which later grew into a nationwide uprising and created a huge partisan region of 10 thousand square meters. kilometers, completely throwing off the German yoke and restoring Soviet power».
These facts are in stark contrast to the biographies of other leaders of the Soviet Union. For example, Yuri Andropov was the first secretary of the Komsomol of the Karelo-Finnish SSR and organized the partisan movement from the rear. Konstantin Chernenko studied at the Moscow Higher School of Party Organizers under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1943−1945. It turns out that among the leaders of the Soviet Union, almost the only real participants in the hostilities were Masherov and Brezhnev, who fought on the famous “Malaya Zemlya”.
How did Masherov’s rise take place and who was his main competitor in the struggle for power?
Photo: archive of Natalia Masherova Masherov's main competitor is known. This is Tikhon Kiselev. It was a teacher rivalry. The school pages in the biography of Pyotr Mironovich are noted above. Tikhon Yakovlevich, a graduate of the Gomel Pedagogical Institute, worked as a teacher in schools in the Elsky district since 1936.
True, Kiselyov was not drafted into the army for health reasons. He was evacuated, during the war he worked as a teacher, then as a school director in the Stalingrad region.
Kiselev’s ascent “to Olympus” occurred almost in parallel with Masherov. Tikhon Yakovlevich managed to lead the Brest region (as the first secretary of the local regional committee), was the secretary and second secretary of the Central Committee of the CPB. Since 1959, he headed the government of the republic. Pyotr Mironovich headed the Komsomol of the BSSR, then was the second secretary of the Minsk regional committee, led the Brest region (replacing Kiselev), then worked in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus - secretary and second secretary (since 1962).
In 1965, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPB, Kirill Mazurov, was promoted to Moscow. The question arose about his successor. According to their own professional qualities both Kiselev and Masherov were quite suitable to occupy post No. 1 in the republic.
How did Pyotr Mironovich become the leader of the BSSR?
Photo: archive of Natalia Masherova Usually the leaders of the republic were appointed in Moscow. But a year earlier, Brezhnev replaced Khrushchev, and the Belarusian party elite of the BSSR was unexpectedly allowed to choose their own leader.
In 1965, the name of the leader of the BSSR was determined... by voting! True, not nationwide, but narrowly, at a meeting of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus (the Belarusian analogue of the All-Union Politburo, the governing body of the Communist Party). During the voting, Masherov and Kiselev received the same number of votes. The decisive opinion was the opinion of Vasily Kozlov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the BSSR. He was ill and therefore did not attend the vote. The officials went to his apartment, and there Kozlov cast his vote for Masherov.
In the future, Moscow did not allow such liberties. The next time the Belarusian communists were able to choose a leader only in 1990.
And Kiselev had no choice but to continue working with Masherov as head of the government. Perhaps, in the economic successes of the republic of that time, Kiselev’s merits were no less, if not more, than those of his boss. In 1978, Tikhon Yakovlevich was taken to work in Moscow (Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR). Two years later, Masherov died in an accident, and Kiselev returned to Minsk, taking over his position. But he was given only three years to live.
Why did Masherov lead the BSSR for so long?
Photo: archive of Natalia Masherova Indeed, Masherov was in power for an unprecedentedly long time: from 1965 to 1980. Among Belarusian leaders, only Alexander Lukashenko managed to break his record. But the longevity of the leader of the BSSR can be explained simply: he came to power at the right time, a year after Brezhnev became the leader of the USSR. Leonid Ilyich had stability at heart. Therefore, if the official was not an opponent of Brezhnev and recognized his primacy, he could remain in his position for decades (even after the death of the leader).
For example, at the same time as Masherov, the Soviet republics were headed by Heydar Aliyev (1969−1982, Azerbaijan), Petras Grishkevicius (1974−1987, Lithuania), Dinmukhamed Kunaev (1964−1986, Kazakhstan), Vladimir Shcherbitsky (1972−1989, Ukraine) and other. Chairman of the Council of Ministers Alexei Kosygin and KGB chief Yuri Andropov, interior ministers Nikolai Shchelokov and USSR Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko held their positions all or almost all the time Brezhnev was in power. Therefore, there is no need to make Masherov an oppositionist - he suited the Kremlin, otherwise he would not have remained in his position.
Was he a leader on a regional or national scale?
Mikhas Lynkov, Petr Masherov and Rygor Shirma. Photo: from the archive of Natalia Masherova Masherov’s supporters prove that he was a leader of an all-Union scale, who was known in all the republics. Critics argue that he remained a republic-level leader. The truth, as often happens, is in the middle.
Pyotr Mironovich had all the makings and even the potential to lead the country from Moscow offices. Another question is that he was not really allowed there.
Vasily Sharapov (during the time of Pyotr Mironovich - chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee and first secretary of the Minsk City Party Committee) wrote in his memoirs that Masherov really wanted to get to Moscow and saw himself as the secretary of the CPSU Central Committee for ideology (people who held this position were unofficially called “man” in the USSR No. 2"). But " eminence grise“Mikhail Suslov, who was himself responsible for ideology, deliberately set up the Belarusian leader: in the early 1970s, he instructed him to speak at the CPSU Congress with criticism of European communist parties. Pyotr Mironovich could not refuse. But representatives of these parties began to protest. For this, Masherov was criticized by the Politburo, which, according to Sharapov, put an end to his Moscow ambitions.
For objectivity, we can recall that in 1966 Masherov became a candidate member of the Politburo and remained in this status until his death. But during this time, 12 people were elected to the Politburo. Why was Pyotr Mironovich ignored for so long?
It’s just that since the mid-1950s, among candidates for members of the Politburo, a place was actually “reserved” for first secretaries Communist Party Belarus.
This position was held by all the leaders of the BSSR, starting with Mazurov. In fact, the candidate for membership in the Politburo was not Pyotr Masherov, but the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPB.
What are the results of the 15-year “Masherov era”?
The results are quite ambiguous (although this period is perceived in the mass consciousness almost as a “golden age”).
If we talk about culture, then Pyotr Mironovich’s personal relations with “creative workers” were almost exemplary (of course, we are talking about those who did not violate the “rules of the game”). Most of them remember Masherov kind words. But at the same time, the scope of use of the Belarusian language was steadily declining, one after another Belarusian schools were closed. A little more time would have passed, and the works of writers favored by the authorities would simply have no readers left. Masherov himself rarely spoke publicly in Belarusian. Were you afraid or didn’t want to? A rhetorical question. Although - let's be objective - it was under him that Gennady Buravkin became the chairman of the BSSR State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting, who carried out the Belarusianization of his department.
Film “Peter Mironych”, 1995, director Yuri Lysyatov, cameramen N. Sidorchenko, F. Kuchar; film studio "Belarusfilm"
Not everything is clear and with conservation historical memory. On the one hand, it was under Masherov that large-scale perpetuation of the memory of the Great Patriotic War began. On the other hand, it was during his reign that the demolition of Nemiga, the old Minsk district, took place. There was no smell of ideology here, there was no pressure from the union center, so the area could have been preserved. But Pyotr Mironovich, who was well acquainted with the arguments of opponents of demolition (this is evidenced by the memoirs of a high-ranking employee of the Central Committee Ales Petrashkevich), remained deaf to the pleas and requests, sending the historical building under the knife.
It's not easy with the economy either. As Valery Boldin, Gorbachev’s assistant and member of the State Emergency Committee, noted, among the union republics “only Russia and Belarus were donors, and Ukraine provided for itself,” all the rest were subsidized. The successes of the BSSR were not least associated with the implementation of the all-Union Kosygin reform, which, in particular, provided for the introduction of economic management methods instead of command ones. The arrival of Masherov in 1965 coincided with the beginning of this reform. But still, there are merits of Pyotr Mironovich and his associates in these successes. It is not for nothing that the growth rate of the Belarusian economy was perhaps the highest among the Union republics. What is not a reason to be proud!
But for contrast, let us present other figures that Nikolai Dementey, Secretary of the CPB Central Committee for Agriculture, names in his memoirs (he openly admires Masherov). According to his data, in 1980, out of 2698 farms in the republic, 1225 ended the year with a profit, and 1473 (more than half) with losses! Moreover, we are dealing with official Soviet statistics. That is, the reality could look even worse.
Unfortunately, it was Masherov who supported the thoughtless reclamation of Polesie, which destroyed both the nature of the region and the traditional way of life of the Poleshuks. Under him, industry developed rapidly, and Belarus finally turned into an “assembly shop” of the USSR. But the villages began to decline. “As long as the so-called unpromising pastures, towns and villages were barred from all development, the villages withered away and became obsolete,” wrote Ales Petrashkevich. Young people left the villages en masse - and this is also the result of Masherov’s reign.
Is it true that before Masherov’s death they were going to take him to Moscow and he could become one of the leaders of the USSR?
Photo: archive of Natalia Masherova Natalya Masherova, the daughter of the leader of the BSSR, and her husband Vladimir Petrov are sure of this. According to their version, in 1980 Masherov was offered the position of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Alexei Kosygin, who held this position, was seriously ill and allegedly did not mind. “Petr Masherov did not live to see the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in Moscow for two weeks,” Vladimir Petrov. “Instead of Kosygin, Nikolai Tikhonov was then appointed, and at the same plenum, one might say, the political star of Mikhail Gorbachev rose.”
But their story raises skepticism. Let's start with the fact that people familiar with Moscow political cuisine (members of the Politburo, secretaries of the Central Committee, their assistants, security guards, doctors, etc.) wrote dozens of memoirs - an entire library. For example, in their memoirs you can find out that Brezhnev intended both his closest ally Konstantin Chernenko and the leader of Ukraine Vladimir Shcherbitsky to take his place.
In any case, preparations for personnel movements of this level could not go unnoticed and should have been reflected at least in conversations (if not in the preparation of documents). But mentions of possible destination Masherov is not in any source! Moreover, in their memoirs, the Moscow elite did not mention Pyotr Mironovich at all (excluding stories about his death).
Second point. In 1976, Alexey Kosygin actually experienced clinical death. As the manager of the affairs of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Mikhail Smirtyukov, said, as soon as he came to his senses, he called Smirtyukov and asked him to prepare “a note to the Politburo stating that Tikhonov will perform my duties during the illness, and send it to me for signature.” Let us add that Nikolai Tikhonov, Kosygin’s first deputy, supported a good relationship both with him and with Brezhnev (Tikhonov was a representative of the so-called Dnepropetrovsk clan, to which the secretary general’s fellow countrymen belonged). Kosygin’s health did not return until 1980; Tikhonov often replaced him in this position. Therefore, his appointment seemed absolutely logical.
In addition, there were no national clans behind Pyotr Mironovich, and he had no patrons in Moscow. Therefore, until Masherov’s daughter provides at least some documents or other evidence, her story will remain just a beautiful legend.
Was the car accident involving the leader of the BSSR staged?
Photo: archive of Natalia Masherova Rumors about Masherov’s non-accidental death have been circulating for a long time. Here is another quote from a recent interview with his daughter: “The family is sure: the car accident in which Pyotr Masherov died was faked. They can’t say who exactly.” If after 38 years even the intended customers are unknown, maybe they simply don’t exist?
There are two “arguments” in favor of killing Masherov. The first is his future transfer to Moscow. But if Pyotr Mironovich did not have much chance of moving, then what motives for the murder can be discussed? There is no need to idealize the Kremlin leadership. But the execution of Lavrentiy Beria in 1953 was perhaps the last example when an unsuccessful contender for power was sent to the next world. After this, officials who lost the fight for portfolios were sent to retirement or to diplomatic work, or appointed to small positions. But no one killed anyone, and it is completely unclear for what merit Masherov should be an exception.
The second argument is also known. The candidate member of the Politburo was guarded, so supposedly he could not die by accident. In response, we present an excerpt from the memoirs of the KGB general, Belarusian Eduard Nordman (the peak of his career was the head of the KGB of the Uzbek SSR). Nordman was friends with Masherov (both were partisans) and recalled a conversation with Pyotr Mironovich, which took place a year before his death. Nordman then noticed that the escort vehicle, which, if necessary, should take the blow of another vehicle, walks 500-600 meters ahead and does not cover the car of the leader of the republic. To which he replied that he does not like long tuples. If in 1980 an escort vehicle had walked in front of Masherov’s “seagull”, it would have taken the hit of an outgoing truck. Therefore, most likely, Pyotr Mironovich became a victim of a tragic coincidence.
What is the secret of Masherov’s popularity?
Newsreel “Savetskaya Belarus”, No. 7, 1974, director R. Dzodzieva, cameramen V. Puzhevich, G. Leibman, E. Sokolov, N. Yuzhik; film studio "Belarusfilm"
Of course, there are several reasons. Let's mention only the most important ones. People sincerely respected Pyotr Mironovich for his participation in the partisan movement and for the well-deserved star of Hero of the Soviet Union. After the fact, his death could have played a role in Masherov’s popularity.
But most importantly, Pyotr Mironovich was radically different from most of his colleagues - completely closed, stern people who, at best, opened up in a home environment. Charming, charismatic, quite public (of course, to the extent permitted) Pyotr Mironovich in many ways seemed to be their complete opposite.
Masherov loved and knew how to talk with people. Although he was a talented actor who could and knew how to exploit his talent, he communicated with ordinary citizens not for show or TV pictures. No wonder his famous helicopter flights and landing in the middle of a field were perceived by local residents as examples of true democracy.
It would seem that three Belarusians have reached greater heights than Pyotr Mironovich: Kirill Mazurov, Andrei Gromyko and Nikolai Slyunkov became members of the Politburo, while Masherov remained only a candidate. Mazurov and especially Slyunkov had a good understanding of economics, by Soviet standards. But both they and Gromyko would have no chance if the country had held free presidential elections. But Pyotr Mironovich - of which there can be no doubt - could compete for victory. After all, even in the conditions of the USSR, he tried to remain an active politician. And also - a living person in power with his own pros and cons.
What is the contribution of Pyotr Mironovich to the history of the country and the development of modern Belarus?
Perhaps, without exception, all of Masherov’s predecessors in the position of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPB (regardless of whether they were Belarusians by nationality or not) perceived Belarus as a transit station, as an opportunity to curry favor and make a career in Moscow. As we already know, Masherov also dreamed of this, but circumstances forced him to stay in Belarus and stay here for a long time.
Whether Pyotr Mironovich wanted it or not, he turned out to be perhaps the first national leader of Belarus. More precisely, Soviet Belarus. And this fact will forever leave Masherov in the history of the country.
On the one hand, it was under his leadership that the republic reached those economic heights that provided its citizens with a relatively decent (compared to residents of other republics) standard of living. And in the future they made it possible to create a not-so-worst springboard for market reforms (the fact that this chance was not taken advantage of in the 1990s is not the fault of the Belarusian leader). On the other hand, in many ways it is in Masherov’s era that we should look for the origins of the problems that concern Belarusian society even in the 21st century. Gigantomania industrial enterprises and the backwardness of the village, inattention to the environment and the destruction of ancient buildings. You list these characteristics and don’t understand whether you’re talking about Masherov’s time or our day.
Perhaps no Belarusian leader evokes such contradictory feelings, emotions and assessments as Pyotr Mironovich. Perhaps the reason is that Belarus, in many respects, still lives in his time. This means that we are not only arguing about Masherov, but through his biography we are trying to understand today.
The video materials were prepared by the leading archivist of the department for the use of documents and information of the BGAKFFD, Elena Poleshchuk.
Pyotr Mironovich Masherov(Belarus. Pyotr Mironavich Masheray, born Mashereau(Belarus. Mashera); January 31 (February 13), 1918, Shirki village, Sennensky district of the Western region (now Sennensky district of the Vitebsk region) - October 4, 1980) - a prominent Soviet and Belarusian party leader.
Member of the CPSU(b) since March 1943. First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus since 1965, candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee since 1966.
Hero of the Soviet Union (15.8.1944), Hero Socialist Labor (1978).
Biography
Born into a poor peasant family Mashero Miron Vasilievich And Daria Petrovna. Pyotr Mironovich's great-great-grandfather was a Frenchman, a soldier of the Napoleonic army who remained on the territory of the Sennen district in 1812 after the retreat.
The great-great-grandfather of Pyotr Mironovich Masherov was a French soldier named Mashereau, who fell behind in 1812 due to injury from his unit and remained after the retreat of Napoleonic army on the territory of the Sennensky district of the Mogilev province... He remained to live near Vitebsk and even converted to Orthodoxy. Then he married a local peasant woman... Newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda”, 02/21/2008
Of the eight children born into the Masherov family, five survived:
Pavel (general, headed the political department of the headquarters of the Belarusian Military District),
Matryona, Peter, Olga (endocrinologist, worked at the Grodno Medical Institute), Nadezhda.
In 1934 he entered the pedagogical faculty of the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute. Since 1935, he was a student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute named after S. M. Kirov, graduating in 1939. By assignment, in 1939-1941 he worked as a teacher of mathematics and physics at a secondary school in the regional center of Rossony, Vitebsk region.
During the Great Patriotic War, from the first days, he volunteered in the ranks of the Red Army. He is surrounded and escapes from captivity in August 1941. Under the nickname Dubnyak- one of the organizers and leaders of the partisan movement in Belarus.
In August 1941 he organized and led the underground in Rossony. Since April 1942, commander of the partisan detachment named after N.A. Shchors. The detachment led by him in August 1942 carried out a major operation - the explosion of a bridge across the river. Drissa on railway Vitebsk - Riga.
Since March 1943, commissar of the partisan brigade named after K.K. Rokossovsky. Since September 1943, first secretary of the Vileika underground regional committee of the Komsomol of Belarus.
In 1944 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In an atmosphere of unheard-of terror, when many local workers lost faith in the victory of our country, Comrade. Masherov, with great determination and exceptional caution, united around himself the youth of Rossony... The first organizer of the partisan movement in the Rossony district of the Vitebsk region, which later grew into a nationwide uprising and created a huge partisan region of 10 thousand square kilometers, which completely threw off the German yoke and restored the Soviet power. Twice wounded, Comrade Masherov, during the two-year struggle against the German invaders, showed personal courage and bravery, devoting all his strength, knowledge and abilities to this fight and not sparing his life. Worthy of being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. From the nomination for awarding the title
After the liberation of Belarus, from July 1944 he worked as the first secretary of the Molodechno and Minsk regional committees of the LKSMB.
Since July 1946, secretary, and since October 1947, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Belarus. In July 1954, he was elected second secretary of the Minsk regional party committee, and in August 1955, first secretary of the Brest regional committee of the Communist Party of Belarus. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 3rd-5th and 7th-10th convocations.
Since 1959, secretary, since 1962, second secretary, and since March 1965, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus (on the recommendation of his predecessor, Kirill Mazurov, who was leaving for promotion).
In 1978 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.
Family: wife Polina Andreevna(nee Galanova, native of Shklovsky district, Mogilev region, died February 23, 2002), 2 daughters - Natalya and Elena.
Death 
Monument at the grave of P. M. Masherov at the Eastern Cemetery in Minsk
Pyotr Masherov died on October 4, 1980 in a car accident on the Moscow-Minsk highway at the turn to the poultry farm in the city of Smolevichi: on the way of his motorcade, accompanied by the traffic police, a dump truck loaded with potatoes (GAZ-SAZ-53B from the Zhodino experimental base) unexpectedly drove out. There were numerous rumors among the people about the involvement of his inner circle Secretary General The Central Committee of the CPSU L.I. Brezhnev to this tragedy (allegedly with the aim of removing the popular candidate for the post of General Secretary), but no reliable evidence of this was ever found. Vyacheslav Kebich, the first prime minister of independent Belarus, does not consider the disaster to be accidental.
My father did not live to see the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee for less than two weeks. Everything was decided. He went to Kosygin's place. I understand that my father interfered with many people. It was then, in October 1980, that Gorbachev’s star “rose.” N. P. Masherova Now that I know what technical means owned by the KGB, I am inclined to the version about the organized nature of the accident that led to the death of Masherov. Ahead of the motorcade, at a distance unnoticeable for escort, is moving a car stuffed with special equipment designed to expose the driver and passengers of car X to radiation. All that remained was to find an obstacle on the road into which the irradiated driver would crash. V.I. Kalinichenko, investigator No answer to main question- about the tragic death of the leader. Not everything is clear, and there are different versions of this accident. Why is the escort car separated by 150 meters at that intersection? Arkady Rusetsky, Doctor of History. sciences
During the investigation, it was found out that the traffic police on duty at the Minsk Regional Executive Committee was not warned about the passage of Masherov’s motorcade along the Minsk region highway. Therefore, the traffic police did not take the necessary measures. However, this fact is explained by the fact that Pyotr Mironovich usually decided on the route already on the way. On the other hand, even if the traffic police officer on duty knew about the route, it would not have played any role; Pyotr Masherov did not allow roads to be blocked for himself.
A certain GAZ-53 driver N. Pustovit was found responsible for the accident, which resulted in the death of 3 people - Masherov, his driver and a security guard. The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, but after five years he was released early.
- On the eve of May 9, Yaroslav Evdokimov took part in a government concert, where Pyotr Masherov was. The former partisan was captivated by the song “Field of Memory” by Leonid Zakhlevny and Vladimir Neklyaev, which the singer soulfully sang, and soon he ordered that Evdokimov be awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Belarusian SSR.
- The daughter of Pyotr Masherov, Natalya Masherova, stood as a candidate for presidential elections 2001 in Belarus, but subsequently withdrew from the elections.
Awards
- Hero of the Soviet Union (1944)
- Hero of Socialist Labor (1978)
- Seven Orders of Lenin
- Soviet and foreign medals
Memory
Postage stamp of the Republic of Belarus, 1998
Many objects in Belarus are named after Pyotr Masherov.
- In 1980, Parkovaya Highway, one of the central avenues of Minsk, was named after him (however, in 2005 it was renamed Pobediteley Avenue, and three other streets were named Masherov Avenue).
- In 1998, Vitebsk state university named after P. M. Masherov.
- Marathons dedicated to the memory of Pyotr Masherov are held annually in the Sennen district.
- Every year in the city of Vitebsk and the Vitebsk region competitions are held orienteering, dedicated to the memory of P. M. Masherov.
- The name of P. M. Masherov is borne by the state enterprise “State Farm named after Masherov” (the village of Moshkany, Sennensky district, Vitebsk region), as well as the agricultural production complex “Masherovsky” (the village of Krytyshin, Ivanovo district, Brest region).
- A round-the-world cargo ship attached to the Baltic Shipping Company was named in honor of P. M. Masherov.
Documentaries
- “Kill the reformer!” “The investigation was carried out” with Leonid Kanevsky.
- Kremlin funeral. Petr Masherov. Documentary from the series "Kremlin funeral".
Pyotr Mironovich Masherov(Belarusian Pyotr Mironavich Masherau, born Mashereau(Belarus. Mashera); January 31 (February 13), 1918, village of Shirki, Sennensky district of the Western region (now Sennensky district of the Vitebsk region, Belarus) - October 4, 1980, near Smolevichi, Minsk region, BSSR, USSR) - a prominent Soviet and Belarusian party leader.
Member of the CPSU(b) since March 1943. First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus since 1965, candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee since 1966.
Born into a poor peasant family, Miron Vasilyevich and Daria Petrovna Mashero. Pyotr Mironovich's great-great-grandfather was French (Fr. Macheraut), a soldier of the Napoleonic army who remained after the retreat on the territory of the Sennen district in 1812.
Of the eight children born in the Masherov family, five survived: Pavel (general, headed the political department of the headquarters of the Belarusian Military District), Matryona, Peter, Olga (endocrinologist, worked at the Grodno Medical Institute), Nadezhda.
In 1934 he entered the pedagogical faculty of the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute. Since 1935, he was a student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute named after S. M. Kirov, graduating in 1939. By assignment, in 1939-1941 he worked as a teacher of mathematics and physics at a secondary school in the regional center of Rossony, Vitebsk region.
During the Great Patriotic War, from the first days, he volunteered in the ranks of the Red Army. He is surrounded and escapes from captivity in August 1941. Under the nickname Dubnyak, he is one of the organizers and leaders of the partisan movement in Belarus. In August 1941 he organized and led the underground in Rossony. Since April 1942 - commander of the partisan detachment named after N. A. Shchors. The detachment led by him in August 1942 carried out a major operation - the explosion of a bridge across the river. Drissa on the Vitebsk - Riga railway. Since March 1943 - commissar of the partisan brigade named after K.K. Rokossovsky. Since September 1943 - first secretary of the Vileika underground regional committee of the Komsomol of Belarus. In 1944 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
| In an atmosphere of unheard-of terror, when many local workers lost faith in the victory of our country, Comrade. Masherov, with great determination and exceptional caution, united the youth of Rossony around himself... The first organizer of the partisan movement in the Rossony district of the Vitebsk region, which later grew into a nationwide uprising and created a huge partisan region of 10 thousand square kilometers, completely throwing off the German yoke and restoring the Soviet power. Twice wounded, Comrade Masherov, during the two-year struggle against the German invaders, showed personal courage and bravery, devoting all his strength, knowledge and abilities to this fight and not sparing his life. Worthy of being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. From the nomination for awarding the title |
After the liberation of Belarus, from July 1944 he worked as the first secretary of the Molodechno and Minsk regional committees of the LKSMB. From July 1946 - secretary, and from October 1947 - first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Belarus. In July 1954, he was elected second secretary of the Minsk regional party committee, and in August 1955, first secretary of the Brest regional committee of the Communist Party of Belarus. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 3rd-5th and 7th-10th convocations.
Since 1959, secretary, since 1962 - second secretary, and since March 1965 - first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus (on the recommendation of his predecessor, Kirill Mazurov, who was leaving for promotion). In 1978 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.
Family: wife Polina Andreevna (nee Galanova, native of the Shklovsky district of the Mogilev region, died February 23, 2002), 2 daughters - Natalya and Elena.
Death
Pyotr Masherov died on October 4, 1980 in a car accident on the Moscow-Minsk highway at the turn to the poultry farm in the city of Smolevichi: on the way of his motorcade, accompanied by the traffic police, a dump truck loaded with potatoes (GAZ-SAZ-53B from the Zhodino experimental base) suddenly drove out. There were numerous rumors among the people about the involvement of the inner circle of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L.I. Brezhnev in this tragedy (allegedly with the aim of removing a popular candidate for the post of General Secretary), but no reliable evidence of this was ever found. Vyacheslav Kebich, the first prime minister of independent Belarus, does not consider the disaster to be accidental.
During the investigation, it was found out that the traffic police on duty at the Minsk Regional Executive Committee was not warned about the passage of Masherov’s motorcade along the Minsk region highway. Therefore, the traffic police did not take the necessary measures. However, this fact is explained by the fact that Pyotr Mironovich usually decided on the route already on the way. On the other hand, even if the traffic police officer on duty knew about the route, it would not have played any role; Pyotr Masherov did not allow roads to be blocked for himself.
The driver of the GAZ-53, a certain N. Pustovit, was found to be at fault for the accident, which resulted in the death of 3 people - Masherov, his driver and a security guard. The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, but after five years he was released early.
He was buried in Minsk at the Eastern Cemetery.
Interesting Facts
- On the eve of May 9, Yaroslav Evdokimov took part in a government concert, where Pyotr Masherov was. The former partisan was captivated by the song “Field of Memory” by Leonid Zakhlevny and Vladimir Neklyaev, which the singer soulfully sang, and soon he ordered that Evdokimov be awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Belarusian SSR.
- Pyotr Masherov's daughter, Natalya Masherova, stood as a candidate in the 2001 presidential elections in Belarus, but subsequently withdrew from the elections.
Awards
- Hero of the Soviet Union (1944)
- Hero of Socialist Labor (1978)
- 7 Orders of Lenin
- Order of Georgiy Dimitrov
- Soviet and foreign medals
Memory
Many objects in Belarus are named after Pyotr Masherov. In particular, the state enterprise “State Farm named after Masherov” (the village of Moshkany, Sennensky district, Vitebsk region), as well as the agricultural production complex “Masherovsky” (the village of Krytyshin, Ivanovo district, Brest region); a round-the-world cargo ship attached to the Baltic Shipping Company, secondary school No. 137 in Minsk (Masherov oversaw its construction in the early-mid 1970s), as well as the Minsk Automatic Lines Plant. In 1980, Parkovaya Highway, one of the central avenues of Minsk, was named after Masherov (however, in 2005 it was renamed Pobediteley Avenue, and Varvasheni Street was named Masherov Avenue). In 1998, Vitebsk State University was named after P. M. Masherov.
Marathons are held annually in the Sennen district, and orienteering competitions dedicated to the memory of Pyotr Masherov are held in Vitebsk and the Vitebsk region.
October 1980, highway Minsk - Brest. The ambulance doctors and police who arrived on the report of an accident see a terrible picture: a crumpled GAZ-53 truck, from the back of which potatoes continue to spill out all over the road, and a black, twisted, burning pile of scrap metal, in which one can hardly recognize the government “Seagull”. There are three people in the car - two are dead, and another one, despite the efforts of resuscitators, will not even make it to the hospital.
The most terrible guesses were confirmed almost immediately: among the dead was the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, hero of the war and the Union, Pyotr Masherov.
GREAT-GRANDSON OF A FRENCH
One of the main pages in modern history Belarus might not have happened if not for a pure accident that happened in these places two centuries ago. A soldier of the Napoleonic army named Machereau, who valiantly fought against the Russian troops, was wounded during the retreat of the French troops. The detachment did not notice the loss of a fighter: Mashero fell behind, and local residents showed kindness to a defeated enemy.
The Frenchman not only settled in the Sennen district of the Mogilev province, but also acquired a wife, a local peasant woman, and then a son, Erema. He moved the emphasis in his last name from the last syllable to the second. It was Pyotr Masherov himself who was destined to add the letter “v” to the end after graduating from school. The great-great-grandson of that same French soldier.
He was destined to be born in the village of Shirki in the same Mogilev province in 1918, where his ancestors lived for more than a century. Childhood - surrounded by bookshelves, from which Petya was accustomed to pulling works of Russian classics from childhood.
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He begins to write poetry himself, but at the local school he gets more “A’s” in physics and mathematics. This predetermines the choice of university - Vitebsk Pedagogical University, and profession - teacher of physics and mathematics. As a student, he picks up three hobbies that will save his life just a few years later: astronomy, archery and long-distance skiing.
200 KILOMETERS BY THE STARS
1939 Pyotr Masherov, a vibrant 21-year-old teacher who has just left his student days, is assigned to the regional center of Rossony, in the Vitebsk region. In addition to his main job, he organizes a theater group and a tourism section at the school. And also a theater group, in which he not only directs productions, but also plays some roles with the children.
In Rossony, Masherov falls in love with a girl, Polina, who works as a dentist. And in order to make acquaintances, he imitates toothache and lies under the drill - still the pre-war one, but almost without anesthesia. It was worth the patience: he would live his whole life with Polina Galanova and go through the war side by side - they would serve in the same partisan detachment.
So handsome, strict, smart,” Polina recalled already in the 80s in an interview with Soviet television. – He enjoyed great authority. I knew that he was a very good physicist and that his students loved him very much. Of course, I really liked him.
A year later they got married, and a year later war came to Belarus.
Masherov joins the volunteer battalion, but in the first months of the Nazi offensive the Nazis cannot be restrained. The Rossony fighters retreat along with the front line and after just a few days the whole detachment, together with a 23-year-old physics teacher, is first surrounded and then captured, loaded into freight cars and sent to an unknown direction.
Realizing that this trip does not bode well for the passengers, Masherov tears out the bars from the window and jumps off the train at full speed, squeezing through the narrow opening. Another person decided to escape. The fate of the rest remained unknown.
Having escaped from captivity, Masherov wandered at first as if in a fog at random. A glance at the sky - and the maps of the starry sky, which the future hero of the Soviet Union memorized while still studying at the institute, came to life in his memory. He will cover more than 200 kilometers on foot through the forests - good sports training helped. Large settlements Masherov walked around at night, guided by large constellations. The return journey to Rossony took more than two weeks. By that time, the regional center was already occupied by the Germans.
"BEHIND ME! ATTACK!"
Plan further actions was brewing in the head of the future leader of Belarus all the time he wandered through the forests. Masherov gets a job at the school, takes on the additional job of an accountant, and one evening teaches two Germans from a patrol that suddenly came to check on him to play “Dog Waltz” on the piano. They laugh a lot, and the Nazis are surprised by the rare decoration of the house for the Belarusian hinterland and the abundance of serious books.
I managed to gain the trust of the occupiers almost immediately. The Nazis at first reacted to something that came from nowhere young man wary, but soon they stopped expecting a dirty trick from the intelligent teacher.
In fact, just a few weeks after returning to Rossony, Masherov assembles an underground group. It includes former and current students of the teacher. In addition to direct sabotage duties, they collect weapons and print leaflets.
Having thus survived the first military winter in Rossony, in the spring the detachment goes into the forests, and its leader receives the nickname Dubnyak.
“On April 19, 1942, Comrade Masherov with a small group of his closest comrades in underground work went out into the forest to openly fight the German invaders. The baptism of fire for the small detachment, numbering only 15 people, was an ambush on the Rossony-Klyastitsy highway. In this ambush, after shelling a passenger car, Masherov shouted “Follow me! Attack!" rushed at the firing German officers, and was wounded in the leg,” says the personal file of the head of the detachment.
That first military operation turned out to be extremely successful: several fascist officers were killed, equipment was destroyed, and secret Gestapo documentation was captured.
It is impossible to receive treatment after being wounded in the forest, and Dubnyak returns to Rossony, to his home with his mother Daria Petrovna. There are barracks 300 meters away, and fascist patrols are snooping around the town, looking for saboteurs or their accomplices. Two soldiers enter Daria Petrovna’s house, look around briefly and leave. These turned out to be the same officers who had been taught to play the piano here a few months earlier. They decided that they should not look for enemies in the house of such a refined man. At that time Masherov was hiding under the bed in the next room.
“WORTHY OF THE TITLE HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION”
The detachment's largest operation was an attack on the German garrison stationed on the strategic Vitebsk-Riga railway. The Nazis were lured onto a bridge over the Drissa River. At the height of the battle, the invaders saw a raft floating towards the bridge and, perhaps, did not attach much importance to it - they did not know that it was filled with five tons of explosives. A few seconds later there was an explosion.
Not only the destruction of the invaders was the goal of the detachment. The bridge is the only crossing over the river; along it, German trains delivered more and more soldiers to occupied Leningrad. It took the Nazis almost a month to restore the structure. The entire sabotage was planned by Masherov himself.
Trouble struck in the early autumn of 1942. The arrested partisan liaison begins to testify. The Germans learn the names of not only ordinary members of the detachment; Masherov’s surname also comes up. Daria Petrovna and several other women were terribly tortured, but they did not say a word to the Nazis. A few days later they were all shot on the shore of a local lake.
Having learned about the arrest of his mother, Dubnyak gathers all the forces at his disposal and attracts others partisan detachments and with one powerful swift attack knocks the Germans out of Rossony. But it was already too late...
After another six months, Dubnyak becomes commissar of the Rokossovsky brigade, then heads the Vileika underground district committee of the Komsomol. But even when already in leading partisan positions, Masherov personally develops and takes part in all combat operations. After the liberation of Belarus, he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
“Comrade Masherov is the first organizer of the partisan movement in the Rossony district of the Vitebsk region, which later grew into a nationwide uprising and created a huge partisan region of 10 thousand square meters. kilometers, completely throwing off the German yoke and restoring Soviet power. Twice wounded, Comrade Masherov showed personal courage and courage during the two-year struggle against the German invaders, devoting all his strength, knowledge and abilities to this fight and not sparing his life. He is worthy of being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union,” says the presentation for the award.
FROM PARTIZAN TO THE HEAD OF BELARUS
Four years of war have left smoking ruins in place of the young, growing Soviet Belarus. The Nazis burned more than 600 villages, many of them along with their residents. During the war, every fourth Belarusian died.
Pyotr Masherov began to engage in administrative work back in 1944. But what administrative work it was! The liberated country had to be raised from its knees: the factories were destroyed, and those that remained were oriented toward the front, and not toward peaceful life, to which they needed to gradually return; houses and communications were destroyed; There is a catastrophic shortage of men.
Masherov is not just a war hero, he is an excellent organizer. He is entrusted with the Molodechno Regional Committee, where he works as the first secretary of the Komsomol of Belarus. Molodechno was destroyed by 90%, but Masherov, together with other leaders of the region, decides not only to restore the strategic railway junction, but also to enlarge it. The city is growing in size, and the launch of a machine tool plant is being prepared. Masherov’s successes are noticed in Minsk.
1946 - he is the secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Belarus, a year later - the 1st secretary, after another seven - the second secretary of the Minsk Regional Party Committee. His career is clearly going uphill; many see Masherov as the future leader of the Soviet republic. But Pyotr Mironovich himself does not pay attention to rumors - he just works, works, works.
The richer and economically stronger our republic becomes, the stronger the security will be on the entire planet... Our people, who know well the price of peace and the price of war, see their primary duty in working even better in the name of a bright tomorrow and tirelessly strengthening economic power, he would say many years later.
Successes in Minsk open the way for him to his first big independent position - first secretary of the Brest Regional Committee. He will devote 4 years to “gubernatorial” work, the region will become one of the best in the republic in all respects, and, having convinced Moscow of his readiness to carry out the most serious tasks, Masherov is taken back to Minsk. Forever already. In March 1965, having gone through several more career steps, Masherov became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party of Belarus (and at the same time, a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR). He will spend 15 years in this position.
HEIRS OF BREZHNEV
Selflessness in work and modesty in life, active kindness and democracy - these are the norms of human existence. This is the foundation on which everyone's talents and abilities are revealed. Live for the sake of others, not be a slave to money, maintain freedom of thoughts and high ideological convictions, for which it is worth living and working, - said Pyotr Masherov in one of his speeches.
Having set the highest moral and professional standards for himself, the man who was once easily called by the nickname Dubnyak is building factories in Mozyr and Grodno, Mogilev and Gomel; triples the national income of the republic; four – gross production; raises scientific and technical potential to world standards. And also, he does not forget about the farmers. In terms of agricultural production, Belarus alone is becoming one of the world leaders.
“It was very interesting to work with Pyotr Mironovich,” wrote the former head of the Supreme Council of Belarus Nikolai Dementey in his memoirs. - But it was also difficult, because you were in constant creative tension in the name of the effectiveness of the ideas put forward. Pyotr Mironovich was a deep analyst, an insightful psychologist, and had a philosophical mind. “He never forgave anyone for mistakes in his work, but he never took revenge or humiliated anyone.”
Masherov went through the war and saw grief with his own eyes, and therefore especially values the memory of human exploits and tragedies. Under him, Minsk finally received the title of hero city, the memorial complexes “Khatyn” and “Brest Hero Fortress” were built. But the head of Belarus refused to have a monument at the site of his mother’s death and burial for many years. And when he agreed, he asked that it be only a modest stele.
Masherov is one of the fathers of the Minsk metro, but he was not destined to live to see its opening. A tragic coincidence of circumstances - a change of transport from a helicopter to a car, a truck with potatoes driving into the oncoming lane, the country's leader's dislike for the roads blocked because of him, inconsistency with escort vehicles - cut short the life of a young leader by Soviet standards, who was expected to be promoted any day now. to Moscow. And then the highest post in the USSR.
Veniamin Lykov
