PPSh 41 for construction cartridges. Shpagin system submachine gun: Drum roll of the Red Army
Tragedy at Luzhniki
Tragedy in Luzhniki (at the Grand Sports Arena) - a mass stampede with human casualties, occurred on Wednesday October 20, 1982 at the end of the UEFA Cup match “Spartak Moscow” - “FC Haarlem”.
The match was played to the end and ended with a victory for Spartak 2:0. Having learned about what happened, Shvetsov said that he regretted the goal he scored. The only message that appeared in the press (the newspaper “Evening Moscow”) looked like this: “Yesterday in Luzhniki after the end of a football match, an accident occurred. There are casualties among the fans."
The twentieth is a bloody Wednesday;
We will remember this terrible day forever.
The UEFA Cup match was ending.
“Haarlem” and our “Spartak” (Moscow) played.
Not missing a real chance, Shvetsov scored a beautiful goal,
And the final whistle sounded - the death match ended.
And we were all very happy, because we won today.
We didn’t know then about the dirty tricks of the vile cop
We were all allowed into one passage,
Fifteen thousand is strength
And there were steps in the ice,
And all the railings broke.
There they stretched out their hands piteously,
More than one fan died there,
And sounds came from the crowd:
“Get back, guys, everyone back!”
When the crowd there parted,
There were screams, there was blood,
And so much blood was shed there;
And who will be responsible for this blood?
Who is guilty? From whom are all the demands?
I can no longer answer.
The cops hushed up all the questions,
And only friends lie in their graves.
The investigation of the disaster was carried out by order of Yu. V. Andropov (three weeks after the event, who became the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee) in an extremely short time. According to official figures, 66 people died; According to unofficial reports, the number of seriously injured alone exceeded 300. The management of the Great Sports Arena was found guilty. Fans consider the main cause of the events to be the actions of the police; There is an old fan song, the lyrics to which were written a few days after the tragedy.
The black secret of Luzhniki. October 20, 1982
In history, sooner or later everything comes to the surface. Even what they are trying to drown under the thickness of years. But to the surface modern days the secret does not emerge on its own. She was hidden for seven years. And in today’s material we lift the curtain on the tragedy that happened in Luzhniki on October 20, 1982. Let us reveal it a little, because there is still a lot left in the black secret of Luzhniki mysterious circumstances... Guided by this thought, the editors of "Soviet Sport" instructed its correspondents to raise from the bottom of the years one secret hidden from the people.
The Sheffield stadium tragedy shocked the world. The largest television companies on the planet broadcast hours-long reports from the scene. The domestic State Television and Radio did not disappoint, showing us a football stadium that became notorious throughout the world in a matter of hours.
And we... We looked at the screen, saw on it a football field covered with flowers, a field of human sorrow. And a completely different stadium came to mind...
Do you know why football matches are not held in Luzhniki at the end of October? Official references to the poor condition of the grass can hardly be considered valid - at Dynamo, for example, at this time the lawn is no better, but the games are going on. Even international ones. So grass is not a reason, but a reason. The reason, long and carefully hushed up by the initiates, lies elsewhere: these initiates are very afraid to see flowers on the Luzhniki football field. Flowers in memory of the dead.
We knew and did not know about this tragedy. They believed and did not believe. And how could one believe that at the main stadium of the country, with its experience of hosting major events, dozens of people could die in a matter of minutes?
But it was. It was a frozen, icy day on October 20, 1982. Then the Moscow “Spartak” met in the Luzhniki Stadium in the UEFA Cup match with the Dutch “Haarlem”. On that black day, the first autumn snow began to fall early in the morning. howled icy wind, the mercury in thermometers dropped to minus ten. In a word, the weather suddenly became the kind of weather that a good dog owner would regret.
And yet the true fans did not stay at home. After all, the last match of the international season was played. And that the cold and bad weather will warm them up - “Spartak” will warm them up.
That evening, however, only about ten thousand tickets were sold. The Luzhniki administration decided that all spectators could easily fit on one stand - stand "C". This makes it easier to keep order. They gathered young people into separate sectors, and then surrounded them as a “potentially troublesome element” with a double police ring. And there was no need to worry about possible riots at the stadium.
Yes, in essence there were no riots. True, the police detained a dozen or two people who were trying to compensate for the lack of degrees on the street by the number of degrees taken inside. But let us remember that this happened before the real fight against drunkenness began, so there was nothing out of the ordinary in this fact. Moreover, the fans tried to wave red and white flags a couple of times. But since the fight with the fans, unlike the drunks, was already in full swing, the guards of order quickly forced the banners to fold up and pulled about ten people out of the crowd. For warning. The youth sectors became quiet, subsequently showing emotions only on unfortunate occasions. And there were a lot of them during the match - the Spartak team turned out to be too wasteful that day in implementing scoring situations. So, until the very last minute, the goal of the Dutch club, which, it must be said, is very middle class, was taken only once.
From this last, ninetieth minute of the match, a new countdown begins - the time of tragedy. Sergei Shvetsov, the hero of the match, once burst out in a conversation with one of us: “Eh, I wish I hadn’t scored that goal!”
Many fans had already stopped believing in the luck of the Muscovites and allowed themselves to shorten the match time by a few minutes - they reached for the exit. At minus ten, an hour and a half on the podium is not an easy test... The police, chilled in the wind, very actively invited them to this. As soon as the first spectators began to descend the stairs, a living corridor of uniforms was immediately formed, where young fans were especially persistently escorted (in other words, pushed).
Oh, this notorious police corridor! How many copies have already been broken around it, but no - after every football or hockey match we are forced to continue to cautiously walk along this corridor invented by who knows who and when.
Yes, you understand,” the commander of the police detachment convinced one of us special purpose at the Main Department of Internal Affairs of the Moscow City Executive Committee, police colonel D. Ivanov, - such a corridor is a forced measure. And its only goal is to ensure the safety of people. After all, the capacity of metro stations is limited. Our specialists made an exact calculation of how wide this corridor should be for the metro to operate smoothly.
Well, the reasons are clear. But is there really no other way out? We have a proposal for those specialists who “calculated” the required width of the corridor. Let them calculate how many buses will be needed to take some of the fans to neighboring metro stations - this will significantly increase the capacity of those located next to the stadium. Yes, of course there will be additional costs. And considerable ones. But is a police cordon worth the small expense? After all, it consists of several thousand law enforcement officers, who at this very time should not pretend to be a wall, but fight crime. Who can count the damage from the bruises and bumps you inevitably get in a crowd? And who, finally, will calculate the moral damage from the humiliation that people experience in such corridors?
Anyone who has ever been to Luzhniki knows: when leaving the upper sectors, spectators first find themselves on the landing between the first and second floors, and from there a flight of stairs leads straight to the street. There are many of these marches in the stadium. But on October 20, 1982, in the sector where mostly young people were gathered, only one was unlocked. One single narrow passage for several thousand people. This can only be explained by the desire of the stadium workers to make their lives easier. To yourself - but not to others.
What such a policy leads to is known. Let us recall only one case, also hidden from the people, the events at the Sokolniki Sports Palace in 1976. One of us was then present at a hockey match between Soviet and Canadian juniors, which ended tragically. And then most of the exits were closed and several dozen people died in the resulting crush. This story is still waiting for its chroniclers. But one thing is certain: no lessons were learned from it. True, some were punished, others were fired. But not about these lessons we're talking about. We affirm: if what happened in 1976 had been made necessary conclusions, then the tragedy would not have happened in 1982...
So, as soon as the first spectators rose from their seats, the police, in cooperation with the administration, began an operation, which in the specific jargon of law enforcement agencies is called “cleaning up.” One can argue about the stylistic merits of this term, but it conveys the essence of the actions quite accurately - the fans began to be pushed towards the exit. People streamed down, pushing and sliding in an orderly manner down the icy steps. And at this very time, a cry of delight was suddenly born in the frosty air. Shvetsov did not allow Haarlem to go home lightly. Twenty seconds before the final whistle, he finally scored the second ball into the visitors' goal. And in the stands they wildly welcomed the success of their favorites.
And those who have already reached the lower steps? They naturally wanted to know what happened twenty seconds before the end of the match at the stadium they left at such an inopportune time. Almost abandoned. And they turned back.
At this moment, the cry of delight turned into a cry of horror. For, let us remember, there was only one way out. And from above, more and more people continued to be pushed into the twilight passage of the tunnel. Those who tried to stop were hurriedly told: “It’s over already. They scored - well, enjoy yourself on the street. Go home, go home. Don’t stop on the way!” And those who, even after that, were not in too much of a hurry to join the crush, were helped - pushed in the back.
The crowd from above accelerated. From below she accelerated herself. And two uncontrollable streams met on that same ill-fated narrow staircase.
It was something terrible. We could not move, and the crowd was pressing both from above and from below. There was no longer any way to cope with the distraught people. I saw how some police officer, a major I think, jumped into the crowd to stop it. But what could he do? It was already late. And he remained in the crowd.
Since then, Volodya Andreev no longer goes to football. He, an avid Spartak fan in the past, bypasses the stadiums and switches the TV to another program if he sees the green quadrangle of a football field on the screen. But he was lucky: he survived in that human meat grinder...
On the unforgettable evening of October 20, one of us was playing basketball in the hall of the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena. Another happened to be driving along the Moskva River embankment shortly after the end of the match. One saw how the mutilated bodies of people were placed on the frozen stone ground, but two policemen quickly took him out of the stadium. Another was pushed to the sidewalk by a line of speeding ambulances with their lights on. We were twenty years old at the time, and we, not strangers to sports, could well have ended up in stand “C”. We realized that something terrible had happened at the stadium. But what? Luzhniki was immediately cordoned off by the police and internal troops- the tragedy was surrounded.
And it is still protected.
We know many journalists who tried to write about her. But before today Only “Evening Moscow” spoke about what happened on October 21, 1982. And even then in passing: “Yesterday in Luzhniki after the end of a football match, an accident occurred. There were casualties among the fans.” There was a taboo on the topic - unspoken, of course, but no less effective.
At that time it was believed that everything was fine in our state. And it just can't be bad. And suddenly - this! So they pretended that nothing had happened. Meanwhile, doctors were picking up dozens of corpses in Luzhniki on October 20. And we drove from there" ambulances"by morgues.
That was, if you remember, the time of the apotheosis of the fight against fans. You cannot shout in the stands - you must sit decorously, as if in a theater. Putting a hat with the colors of your favorite team or a “rose” (as fans call scarves) on your head is almost a criminal offense. What about "rose"! Anyone who even tries to wear a badge is already a fan. Atta him!
The police squads, tripled in number without any reason (the annoyingly “patronized” spectators were not too eager to watch football at the turn of the 70s and 80s), were by no means inactive. Fans - both true and suspected - were taken to police rooms near the stadium, registered, registered, fined, reported to work or to institutes. In other words, they tried with all their might to make them outcasts from society, so that they would have someone to point the finger at if necessary. And they succeeded in this.
It’s scary to say, but the tragedy in Luzhniki helped youth affairs officials from the Komsomol. “The fans are to blame for everything” - this version has become official. And in the 135th police station stationed in Luzhniki, everyone was shown red and white T-shirts, allegedly picked up at the stadium after the match. But for some reason no one thought that at a temperature of minus ten, only a rare, excuse me, individual could go to football in a T-shirt. Well, no one cared about such little things back then.
So it turned out that this dark day not only killed the children of many parents - everything was done to kill the good memory of them.
We have met many of these prematurely aged fathers and mothers. They cried and talked about those who did not let these tears dry all seven years that passed after the tragedy.
Their sons were ordinary guys - workers, students, schoolchildren. Moderately diligent, sometimes careless beyond measure - this is so characteristic of youth. Many, many of them were persuaded by their fathers and mothers not to go to Luzhniki on such a terribly cold and windy day. Oh, if only they had listened to that good advice!
When night fell on Moscow, none of them returned home. The parents rushed to the police station, but they could not answer them - there was no information. Then they rushed to Luzhniki, to the stadium, which was cordoned off. They were not allowed through the cordon, and they stood behind the police line, lost in the unknown.
Then, in the morning, they rushed around the capital's morgues, trying to identify and being afraid to identify the bodies of their sons. And then they waited for thirteen long days, because only then, by someone’s nameless, but clearly high-ranking order, were they allowed to bury their children. “Bad” children who caused everyone so much unnecessary trouble and trouble.
The coffins with their bodies were allowed to be brought home on the way to the cemetery. Exactly forty minutes - no more. Say goodbye in the presence of police officers. And then in an organized manner, with an escort - on the last journey. The only thing they were allowed to do themselves was to choose cemeteries. They chose different ones, and now, after years, they regret that they had more than one - if something happened to one of them, the sisters and brothers would, by misfortune, look after the grave as if they were caring for their son. However, here, too, it seems that everything was thought out - the authorities did not need a memorial, and it is not easy to find graves in different cemeteries.
At the very main question parents: who is to blame for the death of their children? - they were answered immediately: the children themselves. They created a tense situation. That's why blood was shed. Are you thirsty for someone else's blood? Wait, there will be a trial.
Until his very meeting, until February 8, 1983, they fought in search of lawyers. Nobody undertook to protect the dead. So no lawyers were found. Now the failed defenders unanimously called on us to remember what time it was like then.
“Who,” they asked, “would you like us to blame? Courage, civil and professional, also, you know, has its limits...” Well, they have now become bolder - then they refused without explanation.
The court presented the main culprit as the commandant of the Big Sports Arena, Panchikhin, who worked until terrible day in this position for two and a half months, and determined his punishment at 1.5 years of correctional labor. The cases of the then managers of the stadium - Lyzhin, Kokryshev, Koryagin - were brought into separate proceedings and did not end with a guilty verdict. The question of why ensuring the safety of thousands of people leaving the stadium was entrusted to such an inexperienced worker remained unanswered at the trial. The actions of the police officers did not receive any assessment at all - Judge Nikitin did not take too much into account the testimony of the surviving victims. If they wanted blood, they say, you get Panchikhin.
But the parents of the dead children didn’t want blood. It wasn't about revenge - it was about a lesson. So that this tragedy does not happen again. But, alas, no one heard their voices - letters addressed to high authorities remained unanswered. Let us at least today, almost seven years later, listen to them.
We want and wanted only one thing - to know the true culprits of the death of our children, - the voice of Nina Aleksandrovna Novostroeva, who lost only son, trembling - A person who has worked at the stadium for almost a week cannot be responsible for everything. But the truth has been surrounded for us all these years by a conspiracy of silence and lies. We were never able to find the truth. Since they couldn’t find the personal belongings of the dead, the guys were given to us completely naked. Just as over the years we have not been able to get to the ill-fated staircase even once on the anniversary of their death - it is specially closed from us. Just as they were unable to obtain help in erecting monuments on their graves - all promises of help on the day of the funeral turned out to be empty words. They were called hooligans. Which of these people knew our children during life in order to make them outcasts after death? How to break through this routine of callousness, ossification, indifference? “Why did you let them in there?” - the then chairman of the Moscow City Court calmly answered all these questions. Not really remembering myself anymore, I told him that, apparently, we would be able to talk as equals only when grief came to his family. Of course, not everyone was so stone-hearted. We remember with what pain some police officers told us about the tragedy. We remember those of them who tried, without sparing their lives, to shepherd our children. But we cannot forgive those who tacitly approved the dirty fuss around this tragedy.
After the Sheffield tragedy, Soviet Sport published a black list of football victims who died in different time in stadiums around the world. Luzhniki was then placed in this row, but exact number Of course, they couldn’t bring in the dead. Unfortunately, we cannot do this now, although our readers ask us to do so. The Luzhniki secret remains a black secret. The court did not name the exact number of victims at the time. It is almost impossible to determine it: even today our archives, as you know, are closed and guarded, perhaps, more tightly than defense factories. The prosecutor's office claims that 66 people died. The parents of the dead children say that there were more victims and we have no reason not to believe this.
We are indebted to those guys who died seven years ago at Luzhniki. And therefore we promise that on October 20, no matter what, we will come to the stairs where the tragedy occurred. And let's put flowers on it. From U.S. And, we hope, from all of you.
The time has come to tell the truth about those who died, and about those who are guilty of the tragedy, about those who hid this tragedy from us. Justice has no statute of limitations.
Not long ago, one of us had to attend a friendly football match between Soviet and British diplomats. And when the referee interrupted the meeting and announced a minute of silence in memory of those killed in Sheffield, the thought struck me painfully: “Why hasn’t a minute of silence been declared at a single game of the USSR championship in six seasons? Why do we honor the memory of the dead Englishmen and forget the dead compatriots? Why? .."
“Don’t bring up the old stuff, guys,” they gave us advice more than once while we were preparing this material. “Why do you need this?”
Then, so that the tragedy does not repeat itself.
March 1989. Cold spring evening. Icy steps underfoot. Police corridor. “It’s over already. Come on in. Go home, go home. Don’t stop on the way!” This is a picture of the current football season. It looks like it, doesn't it?
This is the worst thing - forgetting the lessons of the past.
Sergey Mikulik, Sergey Toporov
The stadium was not yet equipped with a roof over the stands, and by the start of the game only two stands were cleared of snow and opened for fans: “A” (west) and “C” (east). Both stands accommodated 23 thousand spectators.
During the match, there were only about four thousand spectators in stand "A", the majority of fans (about 12 thousand) preferred stand "C", which is located closer to the metro. Most of the fans came to support Spartak; there were only about a hundred Dutch fans.
Until the very last minute of the match, the score was 1:0 in favor of Spartak, and many frozen spectators reached for the exit. According to some sources, the police directed people down the steps; according to others, only one exit from the podium was open.
The tragedy happened on last minute match. Twenty seconds before the final whistle, Sergei Shvetsov scored the second goal against the guests. Hearing the joyful roar of Spartak fans, the spectators who had managed to leave the stands turned back and encountered a stream of people going down. In a narrow space, on the icy steps, a crush arose. Those who stumbled and fell were immediately trampled by the crowd. The metal railings also could not withstand the load, which is why people with high altitude fell onto bare concrete.
According to the official version of the investigation, 66 people died as a result of the tragedy. According to unofficial information, which long years was not disclosed, about 340 people lost their lives that day.
The Soviet authorities tried to hide information about the tragedy. The next day, the only message appeared in the newspaper “Evening Moscow” - a small note on the last page: “On October 20, after a football match at the Grand Sports Arena of the Central Stadium named after V.I. Lenin, when the spectators were leaving, as a result of a violation of the order of movement of people, an accident occurred. There are injuries. An investigation into the circumstances of the incident is underway."
The truth about what happened at the match was revealed to the authorities only in 1989.
During the investigation of the tragedy, it was established that during the stampede there were only fans on the stairs; there were no police officers among the dead.
As a forensic medical examination showed, all 66 people died from compression asphyxia as a result of compression of the chest and abdomen. None of the victims died in the hospital or in ambulances. 61 people were injured and injured, including 21 seriously.
Officially, the main culprits of the tragedy were named as the director of the stadium Viktor Kokryshev, his deputy Lyzhin and the commandant of the stadium Yuri Panchikhin, who worked in this position for two and a half months. A criminal case was initiated against these persons under Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (negligent performance of official powers). The court sentenced each of them to three years in prison. However, at this time an amnesty was issued in connection with the 60th anniversary of the founding of the USSR, under which Kokryshev and Lyzhin fell. Panchikhin's prison term was reduced by half. He was sent to forced labor.
The commander of the police unit that ensured the protection of public order on stand "C", Major Semyon Koryagin, was held criminally liable. But due to the injury received in the stampede at the stadium, the case against him was separated into separate proceedings, and later he was granted an amnesty.
In 1992, on the territory of the Luzhniki sports complex, a monument “To those who died in the stadiums of the world” was erected (architect - Georgy Lunacharsky, sculptor - Mikhail Skovorodin). The plaque at the memorial reads: “This monument was erected to the children who died on October 20, 1982 after a football match between Spartak Moscow and Haarlem from Holland. Remember them.”
October 20, 2007 at the Luzhniki Stadium, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the tragedy. The match featured veterans of Spartak and Haarlem, including participants in the 1982 game: Rinat Dasaev, Sergei Rodionov, Fedor Cherenkov, Sergei Shvetsov, the Dutch Eduard Metgood, Keith Masefield, Frank van Leen, Peter Kehr and others.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
In the most beautiful country in the world, the USSR, a priori nothing bad could happen, there were no winds, no thunderstorms, no storms, no volcanoes erupting, no trains derailing, no ships sinking, no planes crashing, all year round the birds could be heard singing and the sun never set. This tragedy did not happen at the stadium either. Or rather, for many years it existed only for the special services and relatives of the victims.
35 years ago, on October 20, 1982, a tragedy occurred in Luzhniki, which was included in the list of the most terrible disasters at stadiums in the world. In the terrible stampede after the UEFA Cup match "Spartak" - "Haarlem", according to official data, 66 people died, according to unofficial figures - several hundred.
Background
The first match of the 1/16 UEFA 1982 draw “Spartak” was supposed to play with the Dutch “Haarlem”. In the previous round, the white-reds defeated London's Arsenal, and now they planned to consolidate this success.
On the eve of the game, a 10-degree frost hit Moscow and the first snow of the fall fell, covering the Luzhniki stands, the roof of which had not yet been built. Not all fans were ready to freeze in the stands; only 16 thousand tickets were sold for the match. Since the stadium was supposed to be 1/5 full, the administration ordered the clearing of only two stands - “A” and “C”.
The match started at 19:00. Already in the 16th minute of the game, Edgar Hess scored the first goal against Haarlem from a free kick. Towards the end of the match, not expecting any more goals, a significant part of the by that time rather frozen fans began to leave their seats in the stands and headed for the exits. Most of the fans in Stand C moved to stairs No. 1, which was closer to the metro. Just 20 seconds before the final whistle of the referee, Sergei Shvetsov scored the second goal against Haarlem. It was at these moments, at the exit from the “C” stand, that the most terrible tragedy in the entire history of national sports.
Crush
Most of the fans - about 14 thousand people - were located in stand "C" closest to the metro station. Everyone was very cold during the game, and many began to leave the stands even before it ended. According to eyewitnesses, the stampede began when a girl fell on the lower steps of the stairs leading to the exit. Those in front stopped to pick it up, but the dense stream of those descending continued to press on.
People on the lower steps were knocked down and crushed. At the bottom of the stairs a mountain of human bodies, chain reaction falls went up, and unsuspecting fans continued to leave the stands, crushing those who were already on the stairs. The railings could not stand it: they bent and fell off in places, with upper tiers people began to fall down the stairs onto the concrete floor.
Surviving participants in the events who found themselves crushed by the crowd recall that they lost consciousness because they could not breathe: the weight of the pressing bodies compressed their chest so much. Living people and already lifeless bodies lay in 8-10 layers.
Meanwhile, football players, foreign fans and journalists left the stadium through another exit. The first ambulances arrived at the stadium an hour after the tragedy began. By that time, police officers had already escorted most of the fans out of the arena. The bodies of 64 victims were piled at the Lenin monument, the corpses were covered with flags.
Consequences
Publications in sports publications the next day were devoted to the details of the game and the victory of Spartak. Information about the tragedy did not appear in the press. Only in “Evening Moscow”, on the last page in the “Incidents” section, a short article was published about what happened, in which not a word was said about the victims. Here is the text of that publication:
“On October 20, 1982, after a football match at the Grand Sports Arena of the Central Stadium named after V.I. Lenin, when the spectators were leaving, an accident occurred as a result of a violation of the order of people's movement. There are casualties. An investigation into the circumstances of the incident is underway."
The investigation of the case came under the special control of Yuri Andropov, who then headed the KGB. Three months later, the case materials were sent to court. It was established that 66 people, most of them teenagers, died at the exit from Grandstand C of the Luzhniki Stadium. The most common cause of death was compression asphyxia - people suffocated under the weight of bodies that squeezed and broke their chests.
The cause of the tragedy was said to be an accident. In the dock were the director of the Grand Sports Arena of the stadium. Lenina V.A. Kokryshev and Chief Commandant Yu.L. Panchikhin. On November 26, an indictment was presented to them and for the remainder of the investigation they were taken into custody in Butyrka prison. Yuri Panchikhin was appointed commandant of the BSA just two and a half months before the tragedy. Viktor Kokryshev was expelled from the ranks of members of the CPSU two days after the tragedy. Kokryshev and Panchikhin were both sentenced by the court to 3 years in prison, which was the maximum punishment under Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR on liability for negligent performance of their official duties. However, at this time an amnesty was issued in connection with the 60th anniversary of the formation of the USSR. Kokryshev came under amnesty as a person with government awards, and was released from punishment. Panchikhin, due to the amnesty, his prison term was reduced by half. He was sent to forced labor in the Moscow region, and then to Kalinin.
Also subject to criminal liability were Deputy Director of the BSA K.V. Lyzhin and the commander of the police unit that ensured the protection of public order on stand “C”, Major S.M. Koryagin. But due to the illness of both (the first, a WWII veteran, went to the hospital with a heart attack; and the second was seriously injured - the crowd threw him onto the concrete when he tried to stop the blockage), the materials regarding them were separated into separate proceedings. Later, both also came under amnesty as persons with government awards
They began to talk in detail about the tragedy only during perestroika. In July 1989, the article “The Black Secret of Luzhniki” was published in Soviet Sport, which, in particular, stated that on October 20, 1982, 340 people died at the exit from the “C” stand. It did not provide any evidence of such statistics. The information was reprinted by the presenters Western media, and it was from these publications that the Haarlem players learned about the tragedy.
Memoirs of journalist Alexander Prosvetov:
SNOWBALLS AS A WEAPON OF PROTEST
We could very well be in their place. We are three 26-year-old friends who went to the Spartak - Haarlem match on October 20, 1982. On November 1, the author of these lines flew to work as a TASS correspondent in Benin, and this was my farewell trip to football with Artem and Mikhail. Human memory does not store all details. But much of that evening stuck with her forever.
Almost all the spectators were placed in the Eastern Stand, which later became Stand C. The seating was a bit cramped, but the police did not have to disperse their forces. The sliding bars at the entrance to the sector were suddenly closed, leaving a small opening the size of a gate. This “innovation” made it easier for law enforcement officers to check the passports of young people. Minors unaccompanied by adults were not allowed to attend evening events back then, and only a mouse could slip through such a gap. It was forbidden to shout in the stadium. One or the other was taken out of the stands for all sorts of exclamations. In response, fortunately it just fell out wet snow, snowballs were thrown at the policemen. At first there were timid single attempts, but gradually the shelling intensified. The police had not yet switched to winter uniforms, so their employees wore caps. After well-aimed throws with different sides they flew off their heads amid joyful laughter.
“The police were truly confused - and the unthinkable happened: they retreated from the podium,” said Artem Petrov, a scientist working in America. - The people began to celebrate the victory over the tyrants. But most importantly, I remember that after the final whistle I convinced you and Misha: “There’s no need to rush, let the crowd disperse.” When we eventually went down into the corridor under the stands, you were indignant that the policeman grabbed the teenager’s scarf. He responded: “Look what’s going on there!” But for some reason he let the boy go.
To be honest, I don’t remember this. But I didn’t forget how two policemen carried a soldier who sagged lifelessly in his overcoat, like in a hammock.
“We were returned to the podium, where we sat for another quarter of an hour, and then went out into the street through another sector,” Artem continued. - From a distance we saw that people were lying on the handrails of the stairs, their bodies bent over. And we realized: they are dead. The newspapers the next day said nothing. We later found out what happened from “enemy voices” from various acquaintances.
“The weather was disgusting, and the game as a whole was gloomy,” said Mikhail Snyatkovsky, a businessman. - Everyone is frozen. Some spectators secretly drank - then it was much easier to carry with you than now. They even threw ice cubes at the policemen. The second goal against Haarlem, scored in the last minute by Shvetsov, caused incredible jubilation. Everyone was overcome with euphoria. People who had already left the sector rushed back to find out what happened, and maybe, if they were lucky, to watch a replay on the light board.
Sergei Shvetsov said that he learned about the tragedy the day after the match from Nikolai Petrovich Starostin. At the same time, the author famous phrase: “It would be better if I hadn’t scored that goal,” he admitted that it was unpleasant for him to mentally return to that day.
- Why don’t they ask how I scored four goals for Neftchi? No, everyone is interested in the “fatal goal.” I had such a job - to score goals. Nevertheless, the residue remained for the rest of my life.
According to the investigation, Shvetsov’s goal did not aggravate the situation, but perhaps even alleviated it, since some of the spectators - who were just leaving the numerous “hatches” of the upper floor of the stadium to the gallery to the stairs - rushed back and, thereby, weakened the pressure on already walking up the flight of stairs. Below, in a compressed mass of people, with a crush, it was absolutely impossible to turn around and, moreover, create a counter flow.
Coming out of the stadium, we saw a terrible sight: lifeless bodies were hanging on the railings, and there was only one ambulance nearby,” Snyatkovsky clarified.
- Then, on the way to Sportivnaya, we met a whole convoy of medical vehicles...
- I don’t remember this. But we were definitely shocked. We rode on the subway in silence - we completely forgot about the match. And when we arrived home, we started calling each other and asking: “How are you, have you left?” The condition was terrible. It's still scary to remember. But we, in fact, did not end up in that hell.
I stated our impressions, really, not out of boasting. It is no merit to be in the epicenter of an earthquake and survive, because heavy beams and slabs did not fall on you. But there is still a picture before my eyes: a pile of bodies lies on the stairs, heads down. Some people get up with great difficulty and hobble, limping, away from this horror...
COMMANDANT IN THE ROLE OF SWITCHMAN
...Mikhail Zazulenko had a table set at home after the Spartak - Haarlem match - the guy turned eighteen.
“The police are definitely to blame for the death of our children,” his father, Yuri Leonidovich Zazulenko, told me. “At that time I myself worked in the KGB and had the opportunity to familiarize myself with the circumstances of the case in great detail, I saw photographs from the scene of the event. The major had the key to the lattice gate, who locked it and left. There was a small opening left. And the crowd pressed, so much so that the 20-millimeter-thick railings unraveled under pressure. People were literally pressed together. Everyone has the same diagnosis - asphyxia, that is, suffocation. Of course, I doubt the “66 dead” figure.
There were so many corpses in three morgues, but they were taken to four. Even if only one person got into the fourth, then there are already 67. At the trial, they found the switchman, and the police were whitewashed. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Shchelokov, was still in force. When Andropov (an ardent opponent of Shchelokov) came to power, he was elected general secretary Central Committee on November 12, 1982), I hoped that he would promote this matter. But Andropov had no time for us. On the other hand, we should have written to him, in which case he might have taken our business seriously, but we didn’t realize it.
Questions remain. Some talk about two colliding streams of people, and Vladimir Aleshin, for example, who headed the Luzhniki spot complex in December 1982, at a meeting with SE journalists, said that the police wanted to pull out the intruders who were throwing snowballs from the crowd, but the fans held on tight hands. Someone slipped on the icy stairs... It is significant that everyone today blames the law enforcement agencies, but the same ones remained as if they had nothing to do with it.
The leaders of the stadium were in the dock: the director, his deputy and the commandant. The first two escaped sentence (according to Aleshin, the deputy, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, was helped, in particular, military awards). The commandant, who was sentenced to three years, but due to the amnesty, served half of the term, took the rap for everyone.
I met this man at a reception at the Dutch Embassy. We talked, although he noted that he had not communicated with compatriot journalists for 25 years. My wife resolutely intervened in the conversation: “I don’t want my grandchildren to read this. We’ve already suffered enough. We weren’t hired for any important jobs with a criminal record in our passport.” I promised not to name my name in the newspaper.
“When the tragedy occurred, the police were not on the scene: they were sent to the Dutch bus,” said the wife of the ex-commandant. - And they made my husband the scapegoat, as the youngest - he was then a little over thirty.
“I was charged with ridiculous charges,” the former commandant emphasized. - One of the points said that I could not establish the right relationship with law enforcement agencies. In fact, the trouble happened because the police escalated the situation from the very beginning; their officers behaved tactlessly towards the fans.
The work collective was ready to take me on bail, as was customary then, but Aleshin refused to sign the letter.
LIFE FOR SPARTAK
It is noteworthy that the relatives of the victims do not hold a grudge against the commandant. “We, parents, don’t blame him,” Raisa Mikhailovna Viktorova, who lost her only son in 1982 and headed an informal committee of fathers and mothers, directly told me.
“When the prosecutor’s office was called for the first time, we formed a core of activists of five people,” she said. - Later others joined - there were about twenty people. Among the victims were not only Muscovites, but also residents of Kuibyshev, Tambov, Ryazan, Chekhov and Serpukhov near Moscow.
- After that match, I spent the whole night looking for my Oleg, a 3rd year student at the Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation. He turned 20 in August. I called hospitals and contacted the police. “He’s with some girl, and you’re worried,” they told me. Oleg arrived at the morgue at six in the morning. This means that he lay all night near the Lenin monument, where the corpses were stacked in stacks. I learned this from the case materials, which the investigator suggested that I familiarize myself with.
“My Volodya was not allowed to play football alone - he was still in the 8th grade,” Svetlana Grigorievna Anikina shared her memories. - So his friends advised him: ask one of the adults to say at the entrance that you are with him. In the morning I rushed to Sklif and suddenly met Andropov there (by that time he was the secretary of the CPSU Central Committee; Andropov left the leadership of the KGB in May 1982). He was talking with the head physician in the corridor. He asked what I was doing here. She replied that she had heard that dead children were brought here. Andropov gave instructions to help. And he said: “There are a lot of corpses there.”
“When my husband left, he said: “I will give my life for Spartak,” said Guzel Talipovna Abdulina. - Who would have thought that his words would turn out to be prophetic? I was left with my four and a half year old son in my arms.
“Oleg wasn’t particularly interested in football,” Nina Maksimovna Borisova noted, in turn. - He played hockey. But the Komsomol committee of the technical school issued tickets for the match with the parting words: “You must support our Soviet team.” And the son said that he couldn’t help but go. And then they began to deliberately make hooligans out of our children.
“They demanded that they bring testimonials from their place of study, the dead were tested for alcohol content, and husbands who were members of the CPSU were told: “Get rid of your wives,” they were threatened with expulsion from the party, they were held back during promotions,” Nina Aleksevna is still indignant Novostruev, whose son Mikhail was also a technical school student.
The court hearing, initially scheduled in the center of Moscow, was moved to the area of the Molodezhnaya metro station, at that time a distant outskirts of the city. The women said they walked like criminals through a long line.
“The authorities were not afraid of us, but of the performances of Spartak fans,” noted Raisa Viktorova. “They didn’t let me into the court at all, because the summons was sent only in the name of my husband. I started a scandal. I didn't care at that moment. Not much time had passed, and we were ready to tear the entire police to pieces. The case consisted of 12 volumes. Nevertheless, one day was enough for the trial. They came to the conclusion that it was just an accident and punished one commandant. Many years later, an investigator named Speer, who was working on our case, became seriously ill. He was tormented by his conscience, and he wanted to apologize to us, his parents, for following the lead of the authorities, but he didn’t have time. And from the first day we knew that the police were to blame. When a year later they came to the place where our guys died to honor their memory, KGB officers stood around with inscrutable faces in black jackets and ties. They didn't even allow us to lay flowers. We threw them over the fence. All sorts of obstacles were created for almost ten years. For the tenth anniversary, a memorial was erected in Luzhniki, and I bow deeply to the people who paid attention to us and found sponsors.
For Yuri Leonidovich Zazulenko, the question about help caused strong emotions:
- We were compensated only for the cost of the clothes that the dead were wearing, and they also paid for the funeral. What kind of help could we be talking about? Aleshin did not let us erect a monument for ten years. Luzhkov was caught while he was playing football. He also kicked back.
A MONUMENT AS STRONG AS OAK
In the 80s, Georgy Sergeevich Lunacharsky, an architect by training, headed the Spartak fans club. Together with the sculptor Mikhail Skovorodin, they became the authors of the monument in Luzhniki.
“The decision to create the monument was made by our fan association,” said Lunacharsky. - When I visited Luzhkov, I said that we want to make a memorial sign. Thus, we lulled the vigilance of the authorities: they thought that we wanted to attach a memorial plaque. We prepared two dozen options. At the same time, they tried to give the monument an international sound. That’s why the inscription “To those who died in the stadiums of the world” was made in four languages.
The monument was brought to Luzhniki on two KAMAZ trucks when the 10th anniversary of the tragedy was just celebrated. This is a huge structure - the monument goes six meters underground so that it stands firmly, like an oak tree that cannot be pulled out. It was installed by two specialists and five or six members of the fan club all day - from six in the morning to six in the evening.
On the day of the tenth anniversary of the tragedy, a monument “To those who died in the stadiums of the world” was unveiled at the western stand of Luzhniki. Meetings of participants in those events at this monument have become annual. It was after the events of October 20, 1982 that black was added to the official colors of Spartak’s symbols.
Sources.
The Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-41) became one of the symbols of the Red Army and the Great Patriotic War. For several years the Soviet defense industry manufactured over 6 million units of this, which became the main submachine gun in the army. Despite wide use PPSh-41 had some disadvantages. It was considered too heavy (especially when using a drum magazine) and inconvenient for use by armored vehicle crews. In addition, the wooden stock was susceptible to unpleasant phenomena associated with exposure to moisture.
At the very beginning of 1942, taking into account all the complaints from the front, G.S. Shpagin created an updated version of his submachine gun. The modified weapon had only one difference from the base model: instead of a stock with a butt, it had a removable butt made of wood. Apparently, the PPSh-41 modernization project was created in a hurry, which is why prototype updated weapons couldn't pass the test. From February 25 to March 5, 1942 Main artillery department(GAU) conducted comparative tests of several new submachine guns presented by different design teams. In addition to Shpagin, V.A. presented their works. Degtyarev, S.A. Korovin, A.I. Sudaev and others. The PPSh-41 with the new stock did not pass the test. The butt mount was unreliable and did not suit the military.
After the February and March tests G.S. Shpagin decided to carry out a more serious modernization of his submachine gun. The goal of the second PPSh-41 update project was to lighten and simplify the design, completely eliminate or reduce the number of wooden parts, as well as optimize the technological aspects of production. The updated submachine gun was named PPSh-2.
The basis of the PPSh-2 design was a new receiver rectangular shape, which could be made by cold stamping. General principles The operation of the automation remained the same, but most elements of the weapon have undergone noticeable changes. At the bottom of the receiver was attached a unit that combined the fire control handle, the trigger guard and the magazine receiving shaft. On back surface The receiver was equipped with a mechanism for attaching the wooden butt, which made it possible to remove it. In the future, it was planned to develop a folding metal butt. Inside the receiver there was a space for storing a cleaning rod.
PPSh-2 lost its characteristic rectangular barrel casing. The new shortened casing covered only part of the barrel near the receiver and served as a forend. To compensate for barrel flip, the PPSh-2 received an original U-shaped muzzle compensator. It was assumed that the new compensator, having a much simpler design, would not be inferior in its characteristics to the system used on the basic PPSh-41.
PPSh-2, like PPSh-41, had automatic blowback action. The design of the shutter and the principle of its operation remain the same. The fire was supposed to be fired from the rear sear. When the trigger was pressed, the bolt was in the rearmost position and, when released, moved forward under the pressure of the return spring. While moving, the bolt captured a cartridge from the magazine and sent it into the barrel. The firing pin was rigidly attached to the bolt cup and struck the cartridge primer when the bolt moved to the extreme forward position. When moving backwards under the influence of recoil, the bolt was slowed down by a return spring and an additional fiber shock absorber, after which it was again engaged by the sear.
G.S. Shpagin redesigned the trigger mechanism of the weapon. To simplify the design, and also due to the features combat use PPSh-2 submachine guns lost the ability to fire single shots. This, in particular, made it possible to completely remove several parts of the fire translator from the design. Another way to simplify the design was a new fuse. Its functions were performed by a specially shaped shield located on the right side of the receiver. This shield could cover the cartridge ejection window and the bolt handle slot, as well as block the latter in the forward or rear position. For blocking, there were two grooves in the shield.
Complaints from front-line soldiers led to the abandonment of the drum magazine. PPSh-2 could only use box magazines with a capacity of 35 rounds. The modernized submachine gun had a magazine receiving shaft, which did not allow the use of magazines designed for the PPSh-41.
The PPSh-2 sights consisted of a fixed front sight on the barrel, behind the compensator, and a spring-loaded rear sight. The latter made it possible to conduct targeted fire at distances of 100 and 200 meters.
The goal of the deep modernization of the Shpagin submachine gun was not only to improve combat qualities, but also to optimize production technology. Compared to the base model, the new PPSh-2 was even easier to manufacture. All metal parts, with the exception of the barrel and bolt, could be stamped from steel sheets. The weapon was assembled by riveting and spot welding. Thus, the most labor-intensive element of the design was the complex-shaped wooden stock. However, plans for further development The project included the development of a folding mechanical stock that would be easier to manufacture.
PPSh-2 and several other new submachine guns were tested by the GAU commission from April 26 to May 12, 1942. The technological side of the new project immediately received approval from the commission. In addition, the weapon was praised for reducing the rate of fire to an acceptable level. However, experts were not satisfied with other features of the promising submachine gun. Thus, accuracy when firing in short bursts was considered insufficient, and when shooting without using a stock, this parameter went beyond reasonable limits. The reliability of PPSh-2 operation decreased due to the thickening of the lubricant in the cold, as well as due to contact with receiver sand. The original muzzle compensator did its job effectively, but produced too much flash. Because of this, the PPSh-2 could not be used for firing from a tank.
Despite the reduction in the number of parts used, PPSh-2 did not become lighter than the base model. The curb weight of the updated submachine gun remained at the same level. The weight of the weapon with the loaded magazine and additional kit did not fit into the customer’s requirements.
Eventually total shortcomings for which there was no time to correct exceeded all the existing advantages. G.S. Shpagin tried to correct some design flaws, but, as shown further events, the PPSh-2 submachine gun did not suit the military in its updated form. In June 1942, the GAU conducted military tests submachine guns that helped make final choice. The commission recognized the Sudaev PPS submachine gun as the best, which soon went into mass production.
Based on the results of comparing several samples, G.S. Shpagin stopped work on the PPSh-2 project. Until the end of the Great Patriotic War, the PPSh-41 remained the main submachine gun of the Red Army.
Characteristics
Caliber: 7.62×25 mm TT
Weight: 5.45 kg with a 71-round drum; 4.3 kg with 35-round horn; 3.63 kg without magazine
Length: 843 mm
Barrel length: 269 mm
Rate of fire: 900 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 71 rounds in a drum magazine or 35 rounds in a horn (box) magazine
Effective range: 200 meters
PPSh-41 (Submachine Gun designed by Shpagin) was created in 1941 to replace the expensive Degtyarev PPD-40 submachine gun. In the same year it was adopted by the Red Army. The PPSh-41 was a simple and cheap to manufacture wartime weapon, and was produced in significant quantities - in total, about 5 or 6 million PPSh-41s were produced during the war years. Shortly after the war, the PPSh-41 was withdrawn from service Soviet army, however, it was widely exported to pro-Soviet countries developing countries, and in Africa it could be seen even in the 1980s.
Technically, PCA is automatic weapon, operating on the free shutter principle. The fire is fired from the rear sear (from the open bolt). The firing pin is fixedly mounted on the shutter mirror. The fire mode switch (single/automatic) is located inside the trigger guard, in front of trigger, the safety is made in the form of a slider on the bolt cocking handle and locks the bolt in the front or rear position. The bolt box and barrel casing are stamped from steel, the front part of the barrel casing protrudes forward beyond the muzzle and serves as a muzzle brake-compensator. The stock is wooden, most often made of birch.
Sights initially included a sector sight and a fixed front sight, later a reversible L-shaped rear sight with settings for 100 and 200 meters. Early PPSh were equipped with drum magazines for 71 cartridges from PPD-40, but drum magazines were complex and expensive to manufacture, and not very reliable and convenient, and also required an individual fit to the weapon, so in 1942, carob (box) magazines with 35 rounds were developed.
The advantages of PPSh include high effective firing range, simplicity and low cost. Among the disadvantages, it is worth noting its significant weight and dimensions, high rate of fire, as well as a tendency to involuntary shots when falling on a hard surface.