The great Soviet era, a time of beautiful slogans and historical achievements, gave birth to a whole generation of "random" people, favored with attention and endowed with power by the country's leaders and who became outcasts of society after the change of the ruling "elite", persecuted by new "masters" of life, forcing them to answer for their sins. patrons. Such was Yuri Mikhailovich Churbanov, a man abandoned by fate to the very top, and then mercilessly thrown down from there. To the general public in Soviet times, he was well known as the "son-in-law" of the Soviet Union, the husband of the daughter of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev himself. However, after the death of his famous father-in-law, Churbanov fell out of favor, becoming a kind of scapegoat for the Gorbachev cabinet. But the "fault" of this man, perhaps, consisted only in the fact that he chose the "wrong" woman. Or maybe, on the contrary, he found exactly what he was striving for? After all, the rapid career growth of Yuri Mikhailovich is associated precisely with his proximity to the head of state. However, in fairness, it should be noted that even before he met Galina Brezhneva, his life was filled with many interesting events and significant achievements, which Yuri Mikhailovich achieved on his own, thanks to his mind and patience.
Yuri Churbanov was born in the capital of Russia on November 11, 1936 and was the eldest child in a Soviet family with three children. The boy's father was a party worker and headed the Timiryazevsky regional executive committee of Moscow. After graduating from the 706th secondary school located in the Leningrad region of the capital, at the insistence of his father, the young man entered a vocational school, and then got a job at the Znamya Truda plant as a fitter-assembler of aviation units.
A nice and intelligent guy immediately became popular in the team, soon Yuri was elected secretary of the Komsomol organization of the plant, and then appointed an instructor of the Leningrad District Komsomol Committee. At the age of twenty-five, Yuri Churbanov married Tamara Valtseferova, with whom he had two children. In parallel with his main job, the young father studied in absentia at the law faculty of the country's main university, Moscow State University. Lomonosov, who successfully graduated in 1964. Work as head of department of the Central Committee of the Komsomol from 1964 to 1967 and the subsequent transition to service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs took up a lot of his time, and therefore family life cracked. Even close friends later, Yuri Mikhailovich did not like to tell the reasons for the collapse of his first marriage.
In 1967, Churbanov was appointed deputy head of the political department in the Main Directorate of Correctional Labor Institutions (correctional labor institutions) of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. In this capacity, Yuri Mikhailovich worked until 1971. In the same period, he was awarded the rank of colonel ahead of schedule. It would seem that everything is going for him as well as possible, except for the ruined marriage. And it was then on his way that he met the attractive, and most importantly promising daughter of Leonid Ilyich Galina. Which of these two components attracted the thirty-four-year-old Churbanov more to the forty-one-year-old daughter of the General Secretary, only he himself could tell.
The fateful meeting itself took place in the restaurant of the Moscow House of Architects on Shchusev Street (Granatny Lane), where Yuri Churbanov, together with a friend, went to celebrate the Old New Year. After a while, in the back of the room, he noticed a small company sitting at the same table. He knew some of them (Igor Shchelokov, the son of the Minister of Internal Affairs, as well as his wife Nonna). Churbanov approached them to say hello and was introduced to the rest of the company. Among them was the daughter of the Secretary General, Galina Leonidovna. After their acquaintance, Brezhnev herself made an appointment with Yuri Mikhailovich.
Just a week later, Galina Leonidovna invited her new admirer to her parents' house and introduced the lieutenant colonel to her father. It should be noted that Brezhnev's previous hobbies did not please Brezhnev at all. She, of course, was not a fantastic beauty, but she knew how to present herself effectively and always enjoyed success with young people. However, her extreme frivolity and inconstancy was noted. Numerous novels, which did not at all correspond to the image of a respectable offspring of a major Soviet Department official, greatly upset the General Secretary. Apologizing for his negligent daughter, Leonid Ilyich liked to say that with one eye he had to follow the state, and with the other, Galina, who from time to time unexpectedly throws various "surprises" at him.
She extremely upset her father with her first marriage, choosing as her wife an ordinary circus performer who was twenty years older than the girl. In addition, in revenge for Brezhnev, who imposed a ban on her desire to become an actress after school, Galina began to work with her new husband in the circus! After the father almost resigned himself to his daughter's trick, she began to start new demonstrative and stormy novels, which simply brought Brezhnev to white heat. When the father found out about Galina's next marriage, this time with the illusionist Igor Kio (which, by the way, lasted only nine days), he gave the order to completely cancel the data on the conclusion of this union, taking away the passports from the couple in love.
And now, finally, when the daughter brought into the house a decent, from the point of view of the General Secretary, a man, a man who took place in life, Brezhnev was extremely happy. And therefore, three months later, when she announced her intention to remarry, Leonid Ilyich did not pose any obstacles, hoping that her daughter would finally come to his senses and settle down. A magnificent wedding, to which only the closest friends and relatives were invited, took a walk at the Brezhnev dacha in Zaryadye, and as a wedding gift the main parent presented the young people with an apartment on Bolshaya Bronnaya.
Of course, the close relationship with the head of state has borne fruit. Churbanov's career began to develop rapidly, his patron and friend was now Nikolai Shchelokov himself, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. First of all, in 1971, "son-in-law" was appointed deputy chief of the Political Directorate of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he worked until 1975. After that, Churbanov became the head of the same department. In 1974, Yuri Mikhailovich was promoted to major general, and three years later - to lieutenant general. Already in 1977, Shchelokov, with the assistance of Brezhnev, put Churbanov as his deputy, and in February 1980, Yuri Mikhailovich moved to the post of First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.
Oddly enough, but Yuri's only problem during this period of his life was his wife, who constantly tried to satisfy her seething temperament, and also began to abuse alcohol. Their marriage lasted nineteen long years, but it seems that Yuri and Galina never really became close people. Many said that if the spouses had common children, everything could have turned out differently, but, alas…. All her time, despite the fictitious positions that Galina Leonidovna held according to the documents, she devoted to bohemian life among artists and artists, leading a completely carefree and non-binding existence. Trying to realize himself to the best of his strength and abilities in the most responsible positions entrusted to him, Churbanov, after a hard day, often had to catch his spouse from his boyfriends and bring her to life.
During the Olympics in Moscow, Churbanov was awarded the State Prize for his enormous contribution to ensuring order at the Olympic Games, and the next year he became Colonel General. In addition to his main position, Yuri Mikhailovich was also elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet, a candidate member of the Central Committee and a member of the Central Auditing Commission of the Communist Party. We can say that he reached the heights of the political Olympus, but the problem was that his ascent coincided with the decline of the Land of the Soviets as a whole. The era of Brezhnev, which had lasted for many years, was coming to an end. In those years, against the background of the absence of unemployment, the workers of most enterprises simply sat out their working day, and in Soviet stores the counters resembled refrigerators with the notorious mouse, despite the fact that the collective and state farms reported on new achievements and overfulfillment of all their plans. The union republics reported on the volume of harvests, which simply could not have been, but no one paid attention to such trifles, because awards and titles were handed out to the right and to the left. Against the general "gray" background, the state and party elite stood out strongly, providing for which special distributors of goods and products were involved. A significant piece of the pie also went to Churbanov, who drove a Mercedes with several numbers in the trunk. As Galina Leonidovna later told the investigation, this car was presented to the General Secretary by Erich Honecker himself (long-term leader of the GDR), and he, in a friendly way, gave it to his beloved son-in-law.
Life for Yuri Mikhailovich changed dramatically after November 10, 1982, when "dear" Leonid Ilyich died, and Yuri Andropov, who came to power, decided to initiate a number of illustrative "anti-corruption cases." Interestingly, the persons involved in these cases were mainly persons from the circle of the former Secretary General. In addition, Churbanov's immediate boss Shchelokov was a longtime opponent of the new "ruler" of the state.
Five days after the death of Brezhnev, Andropov summoned Yuri Mikhailovich to his place and made him unequivocally that he would not reprisal him and his family. Less fortunate was the chief of Churbanov, who, after being removed from his ministerial position (two days after the death of Leonid Ilyich) and deprived of all awards, could not withstand the psychological pressure and committed suicide by shooting himself with a hunting rifle on December 13, 1984. Churbanov was initially only demoted, but this situation did not last long. In March 1985, along with the newly minted General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, another wave of changes and purges came. A few months later, Yuri Mikhailovich was removed from his post as First Deputy Minister and was appointed to a much less prestigious position as Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And less than a year later, Churbanov was dismissed, indicating the reason for the dismissal "for length of service." At almost the same time, the former General Secretary's son-in-law was under surveillance, and on January 14, 1987, he was arrested as a defendant in the "Uzbek" case.
A whole series of criminal cases on large-scale corruption and economic crimes in the Uzbek SSR was called "Khlopkov" or "Uzbek case". The investigation was carried out from the late 1970s until 1989 and caused a major public outcry in the Soviet Union. In total, over eight hundred criminal cases were initiated, in which more than four thousand people were imprisoned for various periods. A number of "high-profile" arrests were made, among others the minister of the cotton industry of Uzbekistan (capital punishment), the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the republic, the secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, and the first secretaries of a number of regional committees were convicted. All of them were accused of embezzlement, bribes, and postscripts, despite the fact that many were not even associated with the cotton industry. Some of the defendants in the case committed suicide.
Churbanov's arrest took place right in the office of the head of the investigative unit of the General Prosecutor's Office - German Karakozov. The Rolex presented by Brezhnev, braces and a tie were removed from Yuri Mikhailovich, and the laces were pulled out of his shoes. All the way to the isolation ward, he had to support the falling trousers with his hands. While in the Lefortovo chambers, Churbanov wrote complaints. He wrote until an old acquaintance, the chairman of the KGB, Viktor Chebrikov, came to visit him. He told him: “You, Yura, know the rules of the game like no one else. The decision to arrest was taken by the Politburo, and you know very well that our Politburo is not mistaken."
They tried to accuse Churbanov of corruption actions, imputing to him the accusation of receiving astronomical sums of money, but most of the episodes in his case were never proved. Investigators also did not hide the fact that Yuri was just a bargaining pawn in the game of a new "ruler" eager for demonstrative changes. They tried to persuade him to confess everything, so that it does not get worse, so that they do not give the highest measure …. Churbanov knew the Soviet system: both the judicial system and in the sphere of the execution of sentences. I remembered how at one time Khrushchev shot the currency dealers, despite the fact that the laws are not retroactive. As a result, he admitted only three episodes: receiving as a bribe an Uzbek robe and skullcap with gold embroidery found at his dacha, an expensive coffee service, and money in the amount of ninety thousand rubles (although the initial amount was one and a half million).
At the end of a high-profile trial, which took place from September 5 to December 31, 1988, he was convicted by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court and sentenced to twelve years in prison with confiscation of all property. Also, in accordance with the verdict, Churbanov was deprived of his awards (the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star and fourteen more medals) and his military rank. From “son-in-law number one” he instantly turned into “prisoner number one”. He turned out to be the only major official of the "great stagnation" times who ended up in prison. Churbanov did not have to serve the full term; in 1993, he was released on parole.
From a conversation with the former investigator for especially important cases under the Prosecutor General Vladimir Kalinichenko: “I remember well the whipping up of passions around Yuri Churbanov. Karakozov (investigator for especially important cases) consulted with me: should I arrest or not? I said that I consider this a wrong decision - there is less real guilt than political engagement. Nevertheless, Churbanov was arrested. Initially, there were more than a hundred cases of his criminal activity, mostly bribes. When the case was finished, Vyacheslav Mirtov (the investigator for especially important cases) left about ten episodes, the rest, as not proven and not taking place, disappeared."
During the imprisonment of Yuri Mikhailovich, and to serve his sentence, he was sent to a colony for former employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Nizhny Tagil (where he made aluminum bowls for ice cream), Galina Brezhneva, taking advantage of the situation, filed for a divorce. In 1990, she even managed to return the property confiscated during her husband's arrest. It was only after his release that Yuri Churbanov learned that Galina had broken up with him, and many of those who allegedly brought him bribes had long been acquitted. On the fifth day after his return, Churbanov came to his wife in his old house. After he said: "No joy, no tears, no kisses, no emotions - a common meeting."
After the camp, Yuri Mikhailovich lived for some time with his sister Svetlana. For a whole year she put Churbanov on his feet. After six years in prison, he developed his first serious health problems. In 1994, he married his old friend Lyudmila Kuznetsova, a calm, sincere and intelligent woman who worked at that time at Moscow State University. It is safe to say that, despite previous unsuccessful marriages, Yuri Mikhailovich still found his happiness with her.
Many friends turned their backs on him. Among the remaining comrades was Vladimir Resin, who became the first deputy mayor of Moscow. In 1997, he arranged for Churbanov to be the head of the security service of the Rosstern monopoly company, which produced almost all of the capital's cement. And in 1999 he was elected to the post of deputy president of the Spartak hockey club. Journalists did not give a pass to Yuri Mikhailovich, Churbanov often spoke to the press with stories about his test and his boss, was engaged in writing memoirs about a bygone era. With a bitter grin, Yuri told reporters that he dreamed of living until the time when the authorities would figure out his case and return the state awards.
Concerning his conclusion, Yuri Churbanov said the following: “Look for yourself, I am the husband of the beloved and only daughter of the Secretary General. Power, opportunities more than enough! I was charged with Uzbek robes, a roll of linoleum and, most importantly, bribes. I will say this: if I wanted something, it was enough just to say. The next day I had it! And no signatures. Do you think with Gorbachev, it was different for some of the top echelon leaders? Someone dealt with household issues himself, some had wives, but most were provided by specially trained people. Why, in your opinion, was the Administrative Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU created? And then everything depended only on the person. Some people lost their heads from greed and permissiveness."
The fate of Galina Leonidovna was less successful. The remnants of his father's fortune quickly evaporated, and along with them numerous friends and fans disappeared. As a result, the alcohol dependence of the useless aging heiress brought her to a psychiatric clinic, where she died on June 30, 1998 at the age of sixty-nine. And seven years later, Churbanov's health, decayed during his stay in prison, also began to falter. In 2005, he had his first stroke, and three years later - the second, after which he could no longer get out of bed.
For the last five long years of his life, helpless, paralyzed Yuri Mikhailovich spent within the walls of his apartment. His third wife turned out to be capable of real self-sacrifice, tenderly and touchingly looked after him until the last days of his life. She rarely spoke to the press, she did not like to give interviews. Yes, no one was interested in Churbanov's health; in recent years, the sick person was forgotten by everyone. He died on October 7, 2013. The modest funeral held on October 10 at the Mitinskoye cemetery passed almost unnoticed by the press and the public, which once again confirms the words of the wise about how quickly "worldly glory passes".
After the death of Yuri Mikhailovich, the State Duma deputies raised the question of the need to rehabilitate Churbanov, noting that if we discard all the tinsel of the indicative political persecution of this historical personality, this person's significant contribution to the formation and development of the Ministry of Internal Affairs services in the USSR remains on the surface.
Boris Yeltsin's words about Yuri Churbanov, expressed by him in one interview: "Good man, got in for nothing."
I would like to end the article with the words of Irek Khisamiev, retired police colonel, deputy chairman of the Council of Veterans of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan: “Today on TV, almost every day, huge boxes and bags of money are shown, which are confiscated from those who are equal to Churbanov in positions and titles. They seize and seize, but there is no punishment…. Yuri Mikhailovich was a faithful assistant to the legendary Shchelokov - the Reformer with a capital letter. When others came to power and began to crack down on the old team, Nikolai Anisimovich, who lives by the principle "I have the honor!", Shot himself. And Churbanov was simply sent to prison for some embroidered Uzbek dressing gowns…. Believe me - instead of indiscriminately blaming him, you need to understand the inner tragedy of this person. You can't treat your history like that …”.
