Georgy Karpovich Tsinev: biography. Tsinev Georgy Karpovich: biography and family Relations with superiors

Member of the USSR state security agencies, army general. Brother-in-law of L. I. Brezhnev.

Member of the CPSU(b) since 1932. In 1934 he graduated from the Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute. He worked at the metallurgical plant named after K. Liebknecht in Nizhnedneprovsk (now within the city of Dnepropetrovsk), was a foreman, engineer, and acting shop manager. Since 1939 - at party work in Dnepropetrovsk, secretary of the Lenin district party committee, city party committee.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War he was drafted into the Red Army. He was at the front in political positions: commissar of an artillery regiment, commissar of the headquarters of an operational group of forces, from February 1942 - deputy head of the political department of the Kalinin Front, in July - December 1942 - head of the political department of the 4th shock army, from May 1943 to the end war - head of the political department of the 57th Army. He took part in defensive battles in Ukraine, in the battle for Moscow, in the winter-spring battles of 1943 in the Kharkov region, in the battle for the Dnieper, in the battle for Right Bank Ukraine, in the liberation of the Moldavian SSR, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria. Major General (1945).

After the Victory he remained in military service. He served at the headquarters of the Soviet military administration in Austria, in 1950-1951 - Deputy High Commissioner in Austria from the USSR.

Since 1953 - in leadership positions in state security agencies (first in the Main Directorate of State Security of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, from 1954 - in the KGB of the USSR. He made a rapid career after L. I. Brezhnev, who was a relative, came to power. In 1966 year replaced I. A. Fadeikin as head of the 3rd Directorate of the KGB (military counterintelligence).Member of the KGB board from May 24, 1967, from July 24 of the same year replaced S. G. Bannikov as head of the 2nd Main (intelligence ) KGB Directorate Colonel General (October 1967) Since 1970 - Deputy Chairman of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

In fact, he had the status of Brezhnev’s trusted man in the KGB, personally and unofficially reported to him about everything that was happening in the KGB, primarily about the actions of its Chairman Yu. V. Andropov. He had a reputation as a person prone to intrigue and tyranny. Hero of Socialist Labor (05/04/1977). General of the Army (December 13, 1978; the oldest in this rank at the time of assignment - 71 years old). In 1982-1986 - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR. Since 1986 - in the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since 1992 - retired.

Member of the Central Audit Commission of the CPSU in 1971-1976. Candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee in 1976-1981, member of the CPSU Central Committee in 1981-1986. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 8-11 convocations.

(bottom row in the center)
Tsinev Georgy Karpovich
05.05.1907 - 31.05.1996

Tsinev Georgy Karpovich -Deputy Chairman of the State Security Committee (KGB) under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Colonel General.

Born on April 22 (May 5), 1907 in the city of Yekaterinoslav, now Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine). Ukrainian. In 1925-1929 he worked as a worker, assistant marker, and foreman at the Dnepropetrovsk plant named after Petrovsky. Member of the CPSU(b)/CPSU since 1932.

In 1934 he graduated from the Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute. In 1934-1939, foreman, engineer, acting head of the workshop at the Karl Liebknecht plant in Nizhnedneprovsk. In 1939-1940 - head of the metallurgical department of the Dnepropetrovsk regional committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine, then secretary of the Lenin district committee, in 1940-1941 second secretary of the city committee of the Communist Party (b)U in Dnepropetrovsk. Then he became closely acquainted with the first secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk regional party committee L.I. Brezhnev.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, from July 1941 in the Red Army in political work: commissar of an artillery regiment, from November 1941 - commissar of the headquarters of the operational group of the 21st Army of the Southwestern Front, from February 1942 - deputy head of the political department of the Kalinin Front, from July 1942 - head of the political department of the 4th Shock Army of the Kalinin Front, from May 1943 - head of the political department of the 57th Army on the 2nd Ukrainian and 3rd Ukrainian fronts, and from June 1945 - in the Southern Group of Forces. He took part in defensive battles in Ukraine in 1941, in the battle of Moscow, in the battles for Kharkov, in the battle for the Dnieper, in the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria.

After the war he remained in military service. From October 1945 - head of the economic department, from April 1946 to August 1950 - assistant to the High Commissioner of the Soviet part of the Allied Commission in Austria. From August 28, 1950 to July 28, 1951 - Deputy High Commissioner to Austria from the USSR.

In 1953 he graduated from the Higher Military Academy named after K.E. Voroshilov (Military Academy of the General Staff). From September 21, 1953 to June 24, 1958 - Head of the Directorate of Special Departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - KGB of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG); from June 24, 1958 to October 24, 1960 - head of the KGB Military Institute under the Council of Ministers of the USSR named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky. From October 24, 1960 to March 1961 - Head of the Special Directorate (special departments of strategic missile forces) in the 3rd Directorate (military counterintelligence) of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR; from March 1961 to June 1964 - head of the Special Directorate - deputy head of the 3rd directorate (military counterintelligence) of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR; from June 1964 to February 1966 - Deputy Head of the 3rd Directorate of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

From February 23, 1966 to July 24, 1967 - Head of the 3rd Directorate (military counterintelligence) of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Since May 24, 1967 - member of the KGB board under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

From July 24, 1967 to July 28, 1970 - head of the 2nd Main Directorate (counterintelligence) of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In 1968, he was part of the KGB task force in Czechoslovakia and took part in preparing the issue of sending troops of the Warsaw Pact countries into this country.

From July 28, 1970 to January 25, 1982 - Deputy Chairman of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR - KGB of the USSR. In accordance with the distribution of responsibilities, he supervised military counterintelligence (3rd Directorate) and the Investigation Department. In 1970-1974, he also supervised the 15th Directorate (maintenance of nuclear shelters for senior management), which later became the Main Directorate. Being a confidant of L.I. Brezhnev, he informed him about the situation with the KGB and the actions of its Chairman Yu.V. Andropov, and did not hide it at all.

For outstanding services in ensuring the security of the Motherland and in connection with the seventieth anniversary of his birth, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 4, 1977, Colonel General Georgy Karpovich Tsinev was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated December 13, 1978, Colonel General Georgy Karpovich Tsinev was awarded the military rank of “Army General” with the presentation of the corresponding Certificate of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the “Marshal Star” insignia. He became the oldest army general in the history of the USSR at the time he was awarded this rank (71 years old).

It is known that since Tsinev was the first head of the Directorate of Special Departments of the Strategic Missile Forces in 1960-1964, he managed in the 70s to ensure that the ranks of heads of special departments in the Strategic Missile Forces became one step higher than in special departments of other types Armed Forces and branches of the military. Thus, the head of the special department of the missile division began to have the rank of colonel, and the head of the special department of the missile army began to have the rank of major general. On May 25, 1982, the status of the entire military counterintelligence was raised - the 3rd Directorate of the KGB was again transformed into the 3rd Main Directorate, as it was before 1960.

After the death of Army General S.K. Tsvigun, from January 25, 1982 to December 1, 1985 - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR. Since January 1986 - military inspector-adviser of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since January 1992 - retired.

The opinions of former comrades about Tsinev in dozens of memoirs and articles are almost unanimously sharply negative. Completely devoted personally to L.I. Brezhnev and a person close to him, shamelessly taking advantage of this closeness. He was distinguished by a penchant for intrigue, rudeness towards subordinates, and vindictiveness.

Military ranks: regimental commissar (1941); Colonel (December 1942); Major General (04/19/1945); Lieutenant General (01/09/1957); Colonel General (10/27/1967); General of the Army (12/13/1978).

In 1971-1976, member of the Central Audit Commission of the CPSU. Since 1976 - candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee, in 1981-1986 - member of the CPSU Central Committee. Deputy of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR of the 8th-11th convocations (1970-1989).

Lived in the hero city of Moscow. Died May 31, 1996. He was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow.

Awarded three Orders of Lenin (12/29/1973, 05/04/1977, 05/04/1982), the Order of the October Revolution (06/04/1971), three Orders of the Red Banner (03/19/1944, 04/28/1945, 04/28/1980), the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2- 1st degree (11/03/1944), two Orders of the Patriotic War 1st degree (09/13/1944, 03/11/1985), Orders of the Patriotic War 2nd degree (09/27/1943), Red Banner of Labor (05/05/1967), medals, foreign orders and medals, including the Order of St. Alexander, 4th degree with swords (Bulgaria, 05/21/1945).

http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=9935

Mysterious Andropov. Lubyanka and its personnel, who decided everything

Hardware intrigues

A few days after his appointment as chairman of the KGB, on May 23, 1967, Andropov made Semyon Tsvigun his deputy, and the next day, on May 24, the head of military counterintelligence, Georgy Tsinev, was approved as a member of the KGB board.

Brezhnev’s son-in-law Yuri Mikhailovich Churbanov recalls that Tsvigun and Tsinev often visited Brezhnev’s dacha: “They enjoyed the special favor of Leonid Ilyich.”

“Tsvigun is tall, somewhat plump, with pleasant facial features,- writes General Boris Geraskin. - In his actions, he was slow, restrained, spoke with a noticeable Ukrainian accent... In relations with subordinates, he was often disingenuous: he said one thing to his face, but did another. Tsinev, in contrast to Tsvigun, is short, of ordinary appearance, always with a baldly shaved head. A man of lively mind, not lacking in insight, very energetic and active. He combined simplicity, accessibility and deceptive openness with capriciousness, unpredictability, susceptibility to gossip, lust for power and a painful desire to constantly be in sight... Tsinev never forgot anything, deeply harbored ill will and always found an opportunity to settle personal scores.”

Nikolai Romanovich Mironov, who before his death in a plane crash in October 1964 headed the department of administrative bodies of the Central Committee, knew Tsinev from Dnepropetrovsk. He said: “Where Tsinev appears, a swarm of sycophants always appears...

Tsinev controlled the Ninth Directorate of the KGB (the Politburo guard) and is said to have been in charge of bugging senior government officials. When in 1982, after the death of Suslov, Andropov moved to the Central Committee, he would be confident that he, too, was being eavesdropped.

Tsinev promoted people from military counterintelligence everywhere. After Lieutenant Ilyin tried to shoot Brezhnev in 1969, the head of the Leningrad KGB department (Ilyin was from Leningrad) Vasily Shumilov was removed from his post.

Tsvigun and Tsinev accompanied Andropov everywhere. Of course, these people were not just hanging around Andropov, they were Brezhnev’s spies. Leonid Ilyich knew his every step and breath...

If I were Andropov, I would pose the question on principle: either remove these people, or I will leave,” Semichastny told me.

Andropov did not raise such a question with Brezhnev, he remained silent, and put up with the fact that his two deputies recounted to Brezhnev everything that was happening in the committee.

Tsinev and Tsvigun kept an eye on who Andropov was receiving, and without an invitation they came to his office on the third floor with a high ceiling and a bust of Dzerzhinsky, when the Minister of Defense Dmitry Ustinov or the head of the 4th Main Directorate under the Ministry of Health, Academician Yevgeny Chazov, came to see the chairman .

Andropov understood that his every move was being watched. He seemed to have a good attitude towards his former subordinate in the Central Committee department, Alexander Evgenievich Bovin. But when the KGB intercepted a letter from Bovin, who complained that he was forced to waste his talent in the service of nonentities (that is, primarily the General Secretary), Yuri Vladimirovich hastened to report the letter to Brezhnev.

Moreover, another former subordinate of Andropov, Georgy Arkadyevich Arbatov, tried to dissuade the KGB chairman - why bring a letter to the general? Yuri Vladimirovich noted:

And I’m not sure that a copy of this letter has not already been given to Brezhnev. After all, the KGB is a complex institution, and they also keep an eye on the chairman.

There will be people who will report to Leonid Ilyich that the KGB chairman has concealed something concerning the General Secretary personally. Bovin was removed from the Central Committee apparatus.

“Andropov could win over his interlocutor,- Georgy Arbatov recalled. - I don’t know of cases when he deliberately did something mean. But Andropov could leave someone in trouble, not stand up for a person, even to whom he treated well. One of his negative traits was indecision, even fear, which often manifested itself not only in political affairs, but also when it was necessary to defend people, especially ideas... It seems to me that Yuri Vladimirovich himself, deep down in his soul, realized this. And I tried to find some kind of excuse for myself. He justified such compromises, concessions, and withdrawal from the struggle primarily by considerations of “tactical necessity”...

General Vadim Kirpichenko writes that the presence of Tsvigunai Tsinev put Andropov in a difficult position. He had to look back at them, look for special approaches to them, engage in diplomacy, instead of demanding results in his work. They both constantly reported something to Brezhnev personally.

This put Andropov in an awkward and delicate position. Sometimes Andropov complained about the conditions in which he had to work... But he did not allow himself to quarrel with his dangerous deputies.

"Andropov,- Chazov believes, - chose the surest path - he made both Tsvigun and Tsinev his closest assistants, constantly emphasizing his respect for them and his friendly disposition. I am sure that Brezhnev highly valued and loved Andropov in his own way, and the opinion of his two trusted people also had a certain significance.”

General's love for literature

In other KGB units, Tsinev was feared and disliked. The then deputy chief of intelligence, Lieutenant General Vitaly Pavlov, recalled how in the seventies an external counterintelligence officer was sent to Montreal to the world exhibition to keep an eye on the Soviet employees of the exhibition. There, in Montreal, Tsinev’s daughter ended up as a tourist. They began an affair, which ended with the counterintelligence officer getting divorced and marrying the daughter of the KGB deputy chairman.

For other KGB employees, a divorce would have cost at least a party penalty. And promotions and business trips abroad were postponed for a long time. But an exception was made for the deputy chairman's son-in-law. He was sent to the GDR to a general’s position, from where, according to General Pavlov, “there was a stream of complaints from employees of the KGB representative about the inappropriate behavior of the new deputy chief of staff.”

Tsinev was the first to become a colonel general - in October 1967, Tsvigun caught up with him only two years later. But they became army generals at the same time - in December 1978. And a year before that, both received gold stars of Heroes of Socialist Labor... At the same time, Tsvigun and Tsinev did not get along with each other, especially after Tsvigun became the first deputy chairman of the KGB. This also suited Brezhnev.

Benevolent in character, Tsvigun did not particularly offend anyone, so he left a good memory of himself. Semyon Kuzmich became interested in literary creativity. Tsvigun’s wife wrote prose under the pseudonym Rozalia Ermolyeva, and he also began to write - documentary books about the machinations of imperialist enemies, and then novels and film scripts under the transparent pseudonym S. Dneprov. Informed people even named the names of professional writers who “helped” Tsvigun in his literary work. They claim that the film scripts were written for him by Vadim Trunin, the author of the wonderful “Belorussky Station”.

Semyon Kuzmich's books were immediately published, and the scripts were quickly turned into full-length feature films. For the most part they were devoted to the partisan movement, and Tsvigun himself began to be considered a prominent partisan, although he spent the war in the rear.

In films based on his scripts, the main character, whom Tsvigun wrote from himself, was invariably played by Vyacheslav Tikhonov. Short and plump, Semyon Kuzmich looked nothing like the popular artist, the idol of those years, but, probably, in his dreams he saw himself exactly like that...

Tsvigun (under the pseudonym Colonel General S.K. Mishin) was also the main military consultant of the famous film “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” directed by Tatyana Lioznova from the script of Yulian Semenov.

Oleg Tabakov, who brilliantly played the role of the head of German foreign intelligence Schellenberg in the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” later said that after viewing the film, Andropov took him to a corner and whispered reproachfully:

Oleg, it’s immoral to play like that.

Changing of the Guard

When Alexander Bovin first visited Andropov at Lubyanka, upon entering the chairman’s reception room, he could not understand where Yuri Vladimirovich’s office was. There are cabinets, but there is no door to the office. It turns out that the entrance was just through the closet. Conspiracy.

“I now have my own plane,” Yuri Vladimirovich boasted to his former subordinate.

He quickly got a taste for the new job. Andropov is used to working on weekends. On one of the first Sundays, he ordered a gathering of the heads of departments and services. Not everyone was found, because the KGB leaders lived in dachas and did not have telephones. Andropov ordered that they install landline telephones and government communications devices, and install radiotelephones in cars.

Vadim Kirpichenko writes that together with Andropov, a small group of assistants came from the Central Committee. “At first they kept in a close flock,- Vadim Kirpichenko recalled, - and everyone tried to find out whether there was any ill will around Yuri Vladimirovich or, God forbid, whether some kind of sedition was brewing. This group was devoted to him personally and sought by all available means to work to increase his authority, which at times even looked ridiculous and naive due to the straightforwardness in praising the merits of the new chairman...”

All his assistants and secretaries - Pavel Laptev, Viktor Sharapov, Evgeny Kalgin, Yuri Plekhanov - became generals in the KGB.

Andropov wanted to know everything about the people he worked with and listened to any information about them, no matter who it came from. In August 1967, one Saturday, Colonel Eduard Nordman, who had been on duty all night, from the Second Main Directorate of Counterintelligence, was summoned to the chairman’s reception room to give information. The duty secretary, then still a lieutenant colonel, Yuri Plekhanov, recorded his message and reported to Andropov. He wished to speak personally with the officer. He ordered tea to be brought and began asking questions about the situation at the counterintelligence headquarters. Nordman recalled that he felt uncomfortable - what was it like for him, a colonel, to evaluate generals. But Andropov told him: “We talk like a communist to a communist, and not like a boss to a subordinate.”

His longtime employee Vladimir Kryuchkov became the head of Andropov’s secretariat. He worked for Andropov at the embassy in Budapest.

Andropov left for Moscow in 1957. But Kryuchkov remained at the embassy. But Yuri Vladimirovich did not forget the promising employee. Two years later, having settled in and taken root on Old Square, he invited Kryuchkov to join him: a position had been prepared for him as a referent in the Hungary and Romania sector of the CPSU Central Committee department for relations with communist and workers' parties of socialist countries.

In 1963, Kryuchkov became the head of the sector, and in 1965 he rose one more step and finally took the position for which he was most inclined: he became assistant secretary of the Central Committee Andropov.

Vladimir Kryuchkov followed Andropov to the KGB literally two days later. He had been Yuri Vladimirovich’s assistant for four years now, and Andropov had gotten used to him. Kryuchkov first received the previous position of assistant, but already in early July he was appointed head of the chairman’s secretariat.

Kryuchkov’s office on the third floor was located directly opposite the chairman’s; they shared a common reception area. Vladimir Aleksandrovich was always on hand, ready to give information, remind, carry out any instructions, and monitor the movement of papers.

Diligent, pedantic, helpful and reliable performer with an excellent memory, he became an ideal clerk. Major General Kryuchkov made a strong impression on the future intelligence chief Leonid Shebarshin, who came with a request to find the document handed over to Andropov.

“Vladimir Alexandrovich surprised me with his memory,- Shebarshin wrote. - Hearing the name of the document that came to him several months ago, he immediately opened the safe and immediately took out exactly what was required from a thick stack of papers. It seemed to me that I was dealing with a somewhat unusual person.”

On August 9, 1971, Andropov appointed him first deputy head of the first main directorate (intelligence). Vladimir Aleksandrovich described in his memoirs how Andropov invited him on a June evening and said:

Well, we can’t wait any longer. It's time to decide on your future work. Yes, and I understand that the first main department really needs a fresh deputy. Although I need you here too. What do you think?

A lot of independent work awaited Kryuchkov; the position of first deputy was a step towards even greater positions. But it was difficult for Kryuchkov to move into reconnaissance. He recalled how he was “uneasy at the thought that he would have to work at some distance” from Yuri Vladimirovich. But Andropov had already made his decision.

By that time they had worked together for seventeen years. Kryuchkov idolized the boss, was accustomed to the role of first assistant, but here he had to make decisions himself. But Vladimir Alexandrovich found a way out. His employees quickly noticed that he consulted Andropov on every little detail. The head of Soviet intelligence remained an assistant by character, way of thinking and behavior.

Yuri Vladimirovich, of course, needed different people. But using the example of Kryuchkov, you can try to understand what qualities he valued most of all: diligence and devotion. Andropov's entourage included stronger figures, brighter intellectuals, and more skilled professionals. But he nominated just such people for the first roles.

The new head of the secretariat was Pavel Laptev, who started in the Central Committee department as an assistant for Albania. Laptev immediately received the rank of colonel, while for career KGB officers the path to colonel's shoulder straps took twenty years.

Andropov made sinologist Viktor Sharapov, who worked for ten years at Pravda, his assistant. Yuri Vladimirovich drew attention to his publications and invited him to his place, explaining: “It will be necessary to prepare speeches and materials for the Politburo.”

Like Pavel Laptev, Major General Sharapov followed Andropov to Staraya Square in 1982.

After Andropov's death, he was an assistant for socialist countries to both Chernenko and Gorbachev, and in March 1988 he went as ambassador to Bulgaria. Yuri Plekhanov and Evgeniy Kalgin worked as secretaries. These were trusted people.

Evgeny Kalgin sat in Andropov’s reception room both in the KGB and in the Central Committee. After Andropov's death, he was returned to Lubyanka and appointed head of the 12th department of the KGB, which was responsible for wiretapping telephone conversations and premises, as well as intercepting messages transmitted by fax. During the August 1991 putsch, Kalgin was tasked with organizing the wiretapping of Russian leaders, starting with Boris Yeltsin. Kalgin carried out the order, so after the failure of the putsch he lost his job.

Yuri Plekhanov, who graduated from the pedagogical institute in absentia and switched from Komsomol work to party work, also began as a duty secretary. After Andropov’s death, he was also returned to the KGB. He received the rank of lieutenant general and became the head of the 9th Directorate, which was responsible for protecting senior management. After the August putsch, when Plekhanov ordered Gorbachev to be isolated in Foros, he was stripped of his rank and awards and served seventeen months in Matrosskaya Tishina prison.

However, in the summer of 2002, President Putin signed a decree returning to Plekhanov the rank of lieutenant general, awards and pension. But on the day the presidential decree was issued, Plekhanov died, probably never knowing that he was a general again...

General Sergei Antonov became the head of the 9th Directorate under Andropov. An artilleryman by military specialty, he graduated from the Military Academy of Armored and Motorized Forces in 1949 and was enrolled in the Higher Intelligence School of the Information Committee under the Council of Ministers. Antonov served in intelligence for more than fifteen years and did not belong to any clans. Apparently, this is how Antonov attracted the attention of Andropov, who recommended him to Brezhnev. The fact is that the head of the nine reported directly to the general secretary.

The Kremlin regiment was subordinate to the head of the ninth directorate. They recruited only Slavs and only people from worker-peasant families. Promising students were sent to warrant officer school, after which they were entrusted with guarding the facilities. The most capable were trained and taken on as personal guards.

In August 1974, Andropov replaced Antonov with Yuri Storozhev. Lieutenant General Antonov was not offended; he was formally promoted - made deputy chairman of the KGB. But only the 15th Directorate, created in March 1969, was subordinate to him. The task of the 15th Directorate is to save the lives of the country's leaders in the event of a nuclear war.

"We need to help Yuri"

The leadership of the committee, as usual, was strengthened by party cadres. Among them was the second secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk regional committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Viktor Chebrikov.

He recalled how he was unexpectedly called to Moscow without explaining anything. Ivan Kapitonov, the Central Committee's secretary for personnel, brought him to Brezhnev. He read Chebrikov’s profile, which he liked (after all, he comes from Dnepropetrovsk!), asked a few questions about affairs in the region and said:

We sent Yuri to the KGB. Several people are needed to help him and strengthen his organs.

So Chebrikov was approved as a member of the KGB board, and three days later he was appointed head of the personnel department. Formally, his new post seemed low. But in reality, the chief personnel officer of the KGB is a key position. No wonder Brezhnev himself expressed a desire to look at it. At the same time, several more party workers from different regions and from different positions were sent to the KGB.

Chebrikov was a strict, firm, efficient worker who punctually observed party canons. His former guard said: “He was a tough army man. Strict boss. No questions, no sentimentality - just service, charter and instructions.” His subordinates hardly enjoyed communicating with him.

Chebrikov was a boring person,” recalls General Viktor Ivanenko, “it was impossible to get a single fresh word from him. At his meeting, people were sad and left his office empty-headed...

But the bosses liked the chief personnel officer. Andropov liked Viktor Mikhailovich for his reliability and diligence. Chebrikov, as a Dnepropetrovsk resident, was considered Brezhnev's man, but in fact he was devoted body and soul to Andropov. He did not claim leadership, did not try to take the chairman’s chair and did not engage in intrigue.

Yuri Vladimirovich appreciated this, got used to completely relying on him, and a year later, in September 1968, promoted him to deputy chairman. In 1971, Chebrikov became a candidate member of the Central Committee, and ten years later - a member of the Central Committee. High party status was a sign of the chairman's favor. Chebrikov was perhaps the only person in the leadership of the committee whom Andropov trusted.

Lieutenant General Vadim Kirpichenko writes that in his role as deputy chairman of the KGB, Chebrikov led the development of operational equipment and the fight against dissidence. Through his efforts, a powerful operational and technical complex was created for the needs of the committee. Viktor Mikhailovich received a state prize on a secret list in 1980. For what? He never answered this question. People in the know claim that he was given the prize for the construction of an underground control center for the country in case of war.

Take out the chicken droppings and poison the dog!

Andropov immediately discovered a disorder in the economy entrusted to him: in his opinion, under Khrushchev the security apparatus was reduced too much!

Indeed, Shelepin and Semichastny disbanded local state security agencies where there were and could not be foreign spies, where there were no military facilities that needed to be guarded. Andropov was guided by a different logic. He not only wanted to show the security officers that he would do everything to strengthen the role and prosperity of the committee. He considered it necessary to strengthen control over the entire country and restore the structure that existed under Stalin.

Yuri Vladimirovich addressed a note to Brezhnev: “After the creation of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR in March 1954, counterintelligence units, especially in the field, were noticeably reduced in number. If at the time of the creation of the State Security Committee there were 25,375 employees working in counterintelligence, then currently there are 14,263. While before 1954 there were operational counterintelligence units in all administrative regions of the country, then as of June 25 this year. There are 734 KGB apparatus for 3,300 districts. In many regions and republics there are 1-3 city (district) apparatuses, and in the Buryat, Mari ASSR, Belgorod, Kursk, Oryol, Ryazan regions (RSFSR), Kara-Kalpak ASSR, Kashka-Darya, Samarkand, Khorezm regions (Uzbek SSR), Kokchetav, North Kazakhstan and Ural regions (Kazakh SSR) there are no KGB apparatuses in any region. Thus, the counterintelligence service in most parts of the country does not have its own lower level.”

The mere listing of the regions testified to how right Andropov’s predecessors were, who did not want to waste money and create district and city departments that obviously would have nothing to do...

But new times were coming on Old Square and Lubyanka. Brezhnev supported Andropov. On July 17, 1967, the Politburo agreed with the proposal of the new KGB chairman: “Allow the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, in addition to the existing ones, to form 2000 KGB apparatus in cities and regions during 1967.

We consider it expedient to rename the offices of the KGB Commissioners in cities and districts into city district departments of the KGB...” On the same day, an equally secret government decree was issued, signed by Kosygin: “1. Increase the staffing level of the KGB by 2,250 units, including 1,750 officers, 500 sergeants and civilians. Of these, there are 100 officers in the central apparatus. 2. Introduce an additional 250 passenger cars into the KGB staff, including 10 in the central apparatus.”

The new chairman impressed his subordinates with his resourcefulness. General Oleg Kalugin, one of Andropov's nominees, described one serious operation. The KGB received information that the Americans wanted to recruit the wife of a Soviet resident by playing on her unusual sexual preferences: she chose a dog. The meeting was conducted by Andropov himself. The KGB chairman proposed a bold solution - to poison the dog. But domestic chemistry did not take care of the dog’s strong body; the dog was only paralyzed, to the great chagrin of its owner...

The main thing that Andropov did in the KGB was to return the department to a comprehensive character. He compensated for the damage caused by the cuts carried out under Khrushchev, restored the number and then further increased the committee’s apparatus. The Committee regained that secret power that had been undermined by Khrushchev’s disdainful attitude towards the security officers and their department.

From the book of the former first deputy chairman of the KGB, Philip Bobkov, you can find out what the local KGB bodies were doing. For example: a woman sat on a bench, not suspecting that a foreign tourist was sitting next to her. It was immediately added to the file cabinet: a relationship with a foreigner. And this meant restrictions on hiring and a ban on traveling abroad.

KGB inspector Joseph Legan writes about how a team from the inspection department came to the Gorky region to check the work of security officers in the town of Dzerzhinsky. It turned out what the local security officers were doing, following the instructions of the regional administration.

"City Department,- recalls Legan, - informed the city party committee and the city executive committee about the collection and removal of chicken manure to collective and state farm fields, the repair of tractors and other equipment.” The team came to the conclusion that the city department was dealing with “issues that were not within the competence of state security agencies.” The head of the Gorky regional department, Lieutenant General Yuri Danilov, did not agree with the opinion of the capital’s inspectors. He reproached them for “not understanding the party’s policy regarding the development of agriculture”:

Failure to remove chicken manure from the poultry farm leads to the chickens being poisoned and dying, the shells of the eggs becoming thin, and because of this, a large percentage of eggs are destroyed...

Before Andropov, the KGB was a state committee under the Council of Ministers. He achieved an increase in the state status of his department. On July 5, 1978, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR was finally removed from subordination to the government, received a special supra-departmental status and began to be called simply: the KGB of the USSR. Territorial state security bodies began to be called departments for territories and regions.

The instructions of the KGB became mandatory for all institutions of the country, except for the Central Committee of the Party. Andropov restored all regional levels of state security that were disbanded by his predecessors, state security departments at large enterprises and in higher educational institutions.

Do not spare the general's stripes!

Yuri Vladimirovich spoke rarely, spoke calmly and slowly. The vast majority of his subordinates have never seen the chairman alive. They pictured the image of a great man sitting somewhere in the sky.

Andropov cared about the material well-being of his subordinates, and they responded to him with complete devotion. But they were even more grateful that the committee's prestige had increased. Conversations about what state security did under Stalin are a thing of the past. In the history of the organs, only the bright image of the knight of the revolution Felix Dzerzhinsky remained, and service in the KGB became enviable.

Serving in the KGB seemed like a romantic affair. This was reinforced by the consciousness of one’s own exclusivity, involvement in something secret, inaccessible to others. Although the lower-level employees were not informed of anything special. The bosses did not want their subordinates to know anything beyond the scope of their direct duties. But they were paid a good salary, given apartments, food orders, the KGB had its own clinics, hospitals, studios, rest homes and sanatoriums, where they went practically for free.

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Retired

Georgy Karpovich Tsinev(May 5 (Old style April 22), Yekaterinoslav - May 31) - figure in the state security agencies of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor (5/4/1977), army general (12/13/1978). First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR (January 1982 - November 1985). Member of the CPSU Central Committee (1981 - 1986). Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR

Biography

After the Victory he remained in military service. From June 1946 he served as assistant to the High Commissioner on the executive committee of the Soviet part of the Allied Commission for Austria. In May 1948 he was sent to study, and in 1950 he graduated from the Higher Military Academy named after K. E. Voroshilov. In -1951 - Deputy High Commissioner to Austria from the USSR.

In fact, he had the status of Brezhnev’s trusted man in the KGB, personally and unofficially reported to him about everything that was happening in the KGB, primarily about the actions of its Chairman Yu. V. Andropov. He had a reputation as a person prone to intrigue and tyranny. “Tsinev had independent direct access to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L. I. Brezhnev, which significantly complicated the work of the KGB, especially in terms of personnel,” noted General I. L. Ustinov. In January - November 1985 - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR. Since November 1985 - in the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since 1992 - retired.

Ranks

Awards

State Prize of the RSFSR named after the Vasilyev brothers (1983) - for participation in the creation (as chief consultant) of the film "Syndicate-2"

Write a review of the article "Tsinev, Georgy Karpovich"

Literature

/ ed. M. M. Kozlova. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1985. - 832 p. - 500,000 copies.
Degtyarev K. SMERSH. - M.: Yauza Eksmo, 2009. - P. 640-641. - 736 p. - (Encyclopedia of Special Services). - 4000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-36775-7.

Notes

Links

Website "Heroes of the Country".

An excerpt characterizing Tsinev, Georgy Karpovich

To each of Napoleon’s phrases, Balashev wanted and had something to object to; He constantly made the movement of a man who wanted to say something, but Napoleon interrupted him. For example, about the madness of the Swedes, Balashev wanted to say that Sweden is an island when Russia is for it; but Napoleon shouted angrily to drown out his voice. Napoleon was in that state of irritation in which you need to talk, talk and talk, only in order to prove to yourself that you are right. It became difficult for Balashev: he, as an ambassador, was afraid of losing his dignity and felt the need to object; but, as a person, he shrank morally before forgetting the causeless anger in which Napoleon, obviously, was. He knew that all the words now spoken by Napoleon did not matter, that he himself, when he came to his senses, would be ashamed of them. Balashev stood with his eyes downcast, looking at Napoleon’s moving thick legs, and tried to avoid his gaze.
- What do these allies of yours mean to me? - said Napoleon. – My allies are the Poles: there are eighty thousand of them, they fight like lions. And there will be two hundred thousand of them.
And, probably even more indignant that, having said this, he told an obvious lie and that Balashev stood silently in front of him in the same pose submissive to his fate, he turned sharply back, walked up to Balashev’s very face and, making energetic and quick gestures with his white hands, he almost shouted:
“Know that if you shake Prussia against me, know that I will erase it from the map of Europe,” he said with a pale face distorted with anger, striking the other with an energetic gesture of one small hand. - Yes, I will throw you beyond the Dvina, beyond the Dnieper and will restore against you that barrier that Europe was criminal and blind in allowing to be destroyed. Yes, that’s what will happen to you, that’s what you won by moving away from me,” he said and silently walked around the room several times, trembling his thick shoulders. He put a snuff box in his vest pocket, took it out again, put it to his nose several times and stopped in front of Balashev. He paused, looked mockingly straight into Balashev’s eyes and said in a quiet voice: “Et cependant quel beau regne aurait pu avoir votre maitre!”
Balashev, feeling the need to object, said that from the Russian side things were not presented in such a gloomy way. Napoleon was silent, continuing to look at him mockingly and, obviously, not listening to him. Balashev said that in Russia they expect all the best from the war. Napoleon condescendingly nodded his head, as if saying: “I know, it’s your duty to say so, but you yourself don’t believe in it, you’re convinced by me.”
At the end of Balashev’s speech, Napoleon took out his snuffbox again, sniffed from it and, as a signal, tapped his foot twice on the floor. The door opened; a respectfully bending chamberlain handed the emperor his hat and gloves, another handed him a handkerchief. Napoleon, not looking at them, turned to Balashev.
“Assure Emperor Alexander on my behalf,” said the father, taking his hat, “that I am as devoted to him as before: I admire him completely and highly value his high qualities.” Je ne vous retiens plus, general, vous recevrez ma lettre a l "Empereur. [I don’t hold you back any longer, general, you will receive my letter to the sovereign.] - And Napoleon walked quickly to the door. From the reception room everyone rushed forward and down the stairs.

After everything that Napoleon said to him, after these outbursts of anger and after the last dryly spoken words:
“Je ne vous retiens plus, general, vous recevrez ma lettre,” Balashev was sure that Napoleon not only would not want to see him, but would try not to see him - the offended ambassador and, most importantly, a witness to his obscene fervor. But, to his surprise, Balashev, through Duroc, received an invitation to the emperor’s table that day.
Bessieres, Caulaincourt and Berthier were at dinner. Napoleon met Balashev with a cheerful and affectionate look. Not only did he not show any expression of shyness or self-reproach for the morning outburst, but, on the contrary, he tried to encourage Balashev. It was clear that for a long time now the possibility of mistakes did not exist for Napoleon in his belief and that in his concept everything that he did was good, not because it coincided with the idea of what is good and bad, but because he did This.
The Emperor was very cheerful after his horseback ride through Vilna, in which crowds of people enthusiastically greeted and saw him off. In all the windows of the streets along which he passed, his carpets, banners, and monograms were displayed, and the Polish ladies, welcoming him, waved their scarves at him.
At dinner, having seated Balashev next to him, he treated him not only kindly, but treated him as if he considered Balashev among his courtiers, among those people who sympathized with his plans and should have rejoiced at his successes. Among other things, he started talking about Moscow and began asking Balashev about the Russian capital, not only as an inquisitive traveler asks about a new place that he intends to visit, but as if with the conviction that Balashev, as a Russian, should be flattered by this curiosity.
– How many residents are there in Moscow, how many houses? Is it true that Moscow is called Moscou la sainte? [saint?] How many churches are there in Moscow? - he asked.
And in response to the fact that there are more than two hundred churches, he said:
– Why such an abyss of churches?
“Russians are very pious,” answered Balashev.
“However, a large number of monasteries and churches is always a sign of the backwardness of the people,” said Napoleon, looking back at Caulaincourt to evaluate this judgment.
Balashev respectfully allowed himself to disagree with the opinion of the French emperor.
“Every country has its own customs,” he said.
“But nowhere in Europe is there anything like this,” said Napoleon.
“I apologize to your Majesty,” said Balashev, “besides Russia, there is also Spain, where there are also many churches and monasteries.”
This answer from Balashev, which hinted at the recent defeat of the French in Spain, was highly appreciated later, according to Balashev’s stories, at the court of Emperor Alexander and was appreciated very little now, at Napoleon’s dinner, and passed unnoticed.
It was clear from the indifferent and perplexed faces of the gentlemen marshals that they were perplexed as to what the joke was, which Balashev’s intonation hinted at. “If there was one, then we did not understand her or she is not at all witty,” said the expressions on the faces of the marshals. This answer was so little appreciated that Napoleon did not even notice it and naively asked Balashev about which cities there is a direct road to Moscow from here. Balashev, who was on the alert all the time during dinner, replied that comme tout chemin mene a Rome, tout chemin mene a Moscow, [just as every road, according to the proverb, leads to Rome, so all roads lead to Moscow,] that there are many roads, and that among these different paths there is the road to Poltava, which Charles XII chose, said Balashev, involuntarily flushing with pleasure at the success of this answer. Before Balashev had time to finish the last words: “Poltawa,” Caulaincourt began talking about the inconveniences of the road from St. Petersburg to Moscow and about his St. Petersburg memories.
After lunch we went to drink coffee in Napoleon’s office, which four days ago had been the office of Emperor Alexander. Napoleon sat down, touching the coffee in a Sevres cup, and pointed to Balashev’s chair.
There is a certain after-dinner mood in a person that, stronger than any reasonable reason, makes a person be pleased with himself and consider everyone his friends. Napoleon was in this position. It seemed to him that he was surrounded by people who adored him. He was convinced that Balashev, after his dinner, was his friend and admirer. Napoleon turned to him with a pleasant and slightly mocking smile.
– This is the same room, as I was told, in which Emperor Alexander lived. Strange, isn't it, General? - he said, obviously without doubting that this address could not but be pleasant to his interlocutor, since it proved the superiority of him, Napoleon, over Alexander.
Balashev could not answer this and silently bowed his head.
“Yes, in this room, four days ago, Wintzingerode and Stein conferred,” Napoleon continued with the same mocking, confident smile. “What I cannot understand,” he said, “is that Emperor Alexander brought all my personal enemies closer to himself.” I do not understand this. Didn't he think that I could do the same? - he asked Balashev with a question, and, obviously, this memory pushed him again into that trace of morning anger that was still fresh in him.
“And let him know that I will do it,” said Napoleon, standing up and pushing his cup away with his hand. - I will expel all his relatives from Germany, Wirtemberg, Baden, Weimar... yes, I will expel them. Let him prepare refuge for them in Russia!
Balashev bowed his head, showing with his appearance that he would like to take his leave and is listening only because he cannot help but listen to what is being said to him. Napoleon did not notice this expression; he addressed Balashev not as an ambassador of his enemy, but as a man who was now completely devoted to him and should rejoice at the humiliation of his former master.
– And why did Emperor Alexander take command of the troops? What is this for? War is my craft, and his business is to reign, not to command troops. Why did he take on such responsibility?
Napoleon again took the snuff-box, silently walked around the room several times and suddenly suddenly approached Balashev and with a slight smile, so confidently, quickly, simply, as if he were doing something not only important, but also pleasant for Balashev, he raised his hand to the face of the forty-year-old Russian general and, taking him by the ear, tugged him slightly, smiling with only his lips.

Member of the CPSU(b) since 1932.

Biography

Graduated from the Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute (1934). In 1934-1939 he worked at the Nizhnedneprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant named after K. Liebknecht. Since 1939 - at party work in Dnepropetrovsk, secretary of the Lenin district party committee, since 1940 - second secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk city party committee.

Drafted into the Red Army in November 1941, participant in the Great Patriotic War. He was at the front in political positions: from November 1941 - commissar of the headquarters of the operational group of troops of the 21st Army, from February 1942 - deputy head of the political department of the Kalinin Front, in July - December 1942 - head of the political department of the 4th Shock Army on Kalininsky front, from May 1943 until the end of the war - head of the political department of the 57th Army. He took part in defensive battles in Ukraine, in the battle for Moscow, in the winter-spring battles of 1943 in the Kharkov region, in the battle for the Dnieper, in the battle for Right Bank Ukraine, in the liberation of the Moldavian SSR, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria.

After the Victory he remained in military service. From June 1946 he served as assistant to the High Commissioner on the executive committee of the Soviet part of the Allied Commission for Austria. In May 1948 he was sent to study, and in 1950 he graduated from the Higher Military Academy named after K. E. Voroshilov. In 1950-1951 - Deputy High Commissioner in Austria from the USSR.

Since 1953 - in leadership positions in state security agencies (first in the Main Directorate of State Security of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, from 1954 - in the KGB of the USSR. Since September 1953 - Head of the Directorate of Special Departments for the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Since June 1958 year - head of the Military Institute of the KGB of the USSR named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky. From September 1960 - head of the Special Directorate in the 3rd Directorate of the KGB of the USSR, and from May 1961 - head of the Special Directorate - deputy head of the 3rd Directorate of the KGB of the USSR. Made a rapid career after L. I. Brezhnev, who was a relative, came to power. In February 1966, he replaced I. A. Fadeikin as head of the 3rd Directorate of the KGB (military counterintelligence). Member of the KGB board from May 24, 1967, from July 24 of that the same year, replaced S. G. Bannikov as head of the 2nd Main (Counterintelligence) Directorate of the KGB.Since August 1970 - Deputy Chairman of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

Lived in the city of Moscow. Died on May 31, 1996. He was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow.

Ranks

Major General (04/19/1945)
Lieutenant General (01/09/1957)
Colonel General (10/27/1967).
General of the Army (12/13/1978)

Awards

Hero of Socialist Labor (05/04/1977).
3 Orders of Lenin
Order of the October Revolution
3 Orders of the Red Banner
Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky II degree
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st and 2nd degree
Order of the Red Banner of Labor
various medals of the USSR
foreign orders and medals

State Prize of the RSFSR named after the Vasilyev brothers (1983) - for participation in the creation (as chief consultant) of the film "Syndicate-2"

Rank Part Commanded

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Job title

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Battles/wars Awards and prizes

The order of Lenin	The order of Lenin	The order of Lenin	Order of the October Revolution
Order of the Red Banner	Order of the Red Banner	Order of the Red Banner	Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky II degree
	Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree	Order of the Patriotic War, II degree	Order of the Red Banner of Labor
Medal "For Military Merit"	Jubilee medal “For valiant labor (For military valor). In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"	40px	Medal "For victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945"
40px	40px	40px	40px
40px	40px	40px	40px
40px	40px	40px	40px
40px	40px	40px	Medal "For Impeccable Service" 1st class
Medal "For Impeccable Service" II degree

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Connections

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Retired Autograph

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Biography

In fact, he had the status of Brezhnev’s trusted man in the KGB, personally and unofficially reported to him about everything that was happening in the KGB, primarily about the actions of its Chairman Yu. V. Andropov. He had a reputation as a person prone to intrigue and tyranny. “Tsinev had independent direct access to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L. I. Brezhnev, which significantly complicated the work of the KGB, especially in terms of personnel,” noted General I. L. Ustinov. In January - November 1985 - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR. Since November 1985 - in the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since 1992 - retired.

Ranks

Awards

State Prize of the RSFSR named after the Vasilyev brothers (1983) - for participation in the creation (as chief consultant) of the film "Syndicate-2"

Write a review of the article "Tsinev, Georgy Karpovich"

Literature

/ ed. M. M. Kozlova. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1985. - 832 p. - 500,000 copies.
Degtyarev K. SMERSH. - M.: Yauza Eksmo, 2009. - P. 640-641. - 736 p. - (Encyclopedia of Special Services). - 4000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-36775-7.

Notes

An excerpt characterizing Tsinev, Georgy Karpovich

Caraffa began to play openly. And I had no choice but to face the danger face to face...
– What do you want from me, Your Eminence? Wouldn't it be easier to say it directly, saving us both from this unnecessary, cheap game? We are smart enough people that, even with differences in views, we can respect each other.
My legs were giving way from horror, but for some reason Caraffa didn’t notice this. He glared at my face with a flaming gaze, not answering and not noticing anything around. I couldn’t understand what was happening, and this whole dangerous comedy frightened me more and more... But then something completely unexpected happened, something completely outside the usual framework... Caraffa came very close to me, that’s all also, without taking his burning eyes off, and almost without breathing, he whispered:
– You cannot be from God... You are too beautiful! You are a witch!!! A woman has no right to be so beautiful! You are from the Devil!..
And turning around, he rushed out of the house without looking back, as if Satan himself was chasing him... I stood in complete shock, still expecting to hear his steps, but nothing happened. Gradually coming to my senses, and finally managing to relax my stiff body, I took a deep breath and... lost consciousness. I woke up on the bed, drinking hot wine from the hands of my dear maid Kei. But immediately, remembering what had happened, she jumped to her feet and began to rush around the room, not having any idea what to do... Time passed, and she had to do something, come up with something in order to somehow protect herself and your family from this two-legged monster. I knew for sure that now all the games were over, that the war had begun. But our forces, to my great regret, were very, very unequal... Naturally, I could defeat him in my own way... I could even simply stop his bloodthirsty heart. And all these horrors would end immediately. But the fact is that, even at thirty-six years old, I was still too pure and kind to kill... I never took a life, on the contrary, I very often gave it back. And even such a terrible person as Karaffa was, she could not yet execute...
The next morning there was a loud knock on the door. My heart has stopped. I knew - it was the Inquisition... They took me away, accusing me of “verbalism and witchcraft, stupefying honest citizens with false predictions and heresy”... That was the end.
The room they put me in was very damp and dark, but for some reason it seemed to me that I wouldn’t stay in it for long. At noon Caraffa came...
– Oh, I beg your pardon, Madonna Isidora, you were given someone else’s room. This is not for you, of course.
– What is all this game for, monsignor? – I asked, proudly (as it seemed to me), raising my head. “I would prefer simply the truth, and I would like to know what I am really accused of.” My family, as you know, is very respected and loved in Venice, and it would be better for you if the accusations were based on truth.
Caraffa would never know how much effort it took me to look proud then!.. I understood perfectly well that hardly anyone or anything could help me. But I couldn't let him see my fear. And so she continued, trying to bring him out of that calmly ironic state, which apparently was his kind of defense. And which I absolutely couldn’t stand.
– Will you deign to tell me what my fault is, or will you leave this pleasure to your faithful “vassals”?!
“I do not advise you to boil, Madonna Isidora,” Caraffa said calmly. – As far as I know, all of your beloved Venice knows that you are a Witch. And besides, the strongest who once lived. Yes, you didn’t hide this, did you?
Suddenly I completely calmed down. Yes, it was true - I never hid my abilities... I was proud of them, like my mother. So now, in front of this crazy fanatic, will I betray my soul and renounce who I am?!
– You are right, Your Eminence, I am a Witch. But I am not from the Devil, nor from God. I am free in my soul, I KNOW... And you can never take this away from me. You can only kill me. But even then I will remain who I am... Only in that case, you will never see me again...
I blindly threw a weak blow... There was no confidence that it would work. But Caraffa suddenly turned pale, and I realized that I was right. No matter how much this unpredictable man hated the female half, he had a strange and dangerous feeling for me, which I could not yet accurately define. But the main thing is that it was there! And that was the only thing that mattered so far. And it would be possible to figure it out later, if now Karaff managed to “catch” this simple female bait... But I didn’t know then how strong the will of this unusual person was... The confusion disappeared as quickly as it came. The cold and calm cardinal stood before me again.
“It would be a huge loss for everyone who appreciates beauty, Madonna.” But too much beauty can be dangerous, as it destroys pure souls. And yours will definitely not leave anyone indifferent, so it will be better if it simply ceases to exist...
Caraffa left. And my hair stood on end - so strong did he strike fear into my tired, lonely soul... I was alone. All my loved ones and relatives were somewhere on the other side of these stone walls, and I was by no means sure that I would ever see them again... My beloved little Anna was huddled in Florence with the Medici, and I really hoped that Caraffa did not know where or who had it. My husband, who adored me, was with her at my request and did not know that I had been captured. I had no hope. I was truly all alone.
From that ill-fated day, endless trials began against the famous “Witch of Venice,” that is, over me... But Venice was a truly free city and did not allow its children to be destroyed so easily. The Inquisition was hated by everyone, and Caraffa had to reckon with this. Therefore, I was tried by the “supreme tribunal of the Inquisition,” which accused me of all possible vices, most of which I had never even heard of. The only bright thing that happened during all this terrible time was the unexpected and very strong support of friends, which forced Karaffa to be much more careful in his accusations, but this did not help me escape from his dangerous clutches.
Time passed, and I knew that a dangerous moment was coming when Caraffa would launch an attack. So far it was just a “not very beautiful performance” that had been going on for more than a year, almost day after day. And this, according to their concepts, apparently was supposed to somehow calm me down or even give me some tiny false hope that all this would someday end, and that I might even “go home happily”... For some reason, I “put to sleep”, apparently wanting to hit even harder. But Caraffa was wrong. I knew he was just biding his time. I just didn’t know what yet.
And such a day has finally come... In the morning they announced to me that “since my “case”” is especially important, and the local Inquisition is not able to solve it, I am being sent to Rome, at the blessed will of the Pope, so that finally gave me his “fair verdict”.
This was the end... No one in the world could help me if I fell into the hands of the Roman Inquisition. Caraffa rejoiced! He celebrated his victory. I was almost dead.

So, a week later, in all its dark “grandeur,” the “holy” city of Rome appeared before me... Apart from the beauty of the palaces, cathedrals and churches, the city was very gloomy and surprisingly dirty. And for me it was also the city of my death, since I knew that there was no escape from Caraffa here.
They settled me in some very large palace, without explaining anything, without saying a word. I was served by a mute maid, which, again, did not bode well. But one circumstance still inspired a “ghostly” hope - I was settled in a castle, and not directly in a cell for the accused, which could mean that I would be given the opportunity to defend myself.
I was wrong...
The next morning Caraffa appeared. He was fresh and very happy, which, unfortunately, did not bode well for me.
By sitting down in a chair right in front of me, but without asking permission, Caraffa made it clear that he was the master here, and I was just a defendant in a beautiful cage...
“I hope you made it through the journey easily, Madonna Isidora?” – he said in a deliberately polite tone. - How are your rooms? Do you need anything?
- Oh yeah! I would like to return home! – Playing along with his tone, I answered jokingly.
I knew that I had practically nothing to lose, since I had almost lost my life. Therefore, having decided not to give Karaffa the pleasure of breaking me, I tried my best not to show him how scared I was...
This is not death, which is what I feared most. I was afraid even of the thought that I would never see those whom I loved so deeply and selflessly - my family. That, most likely, I will never hug my little Anna again... I will not teach her what my mother taught me, and what I could do myself... That I will leave her completely defenseless against evil and pain... And that already I won’t tell her anything I wanted or should have said.
I felt sorry for my wonderful husband, who I knew would have a very hard time bearing the loss of me. How cold and empty his soul will be!.. And I will never even be able to tell him the last “goodbye”...
And most of all I felt sorry for my father, for whom I was the meaning of his life, his guiding “star” that illuminated his difficult thorny path... After my mother “left”, I became for him everything that was left to teach and hope that one fine day I will become what he so persistently tried to “blind” me into...