Escape from the corridors of the Foreign Ministry - Part 2

The search also produced at our country house in the village Valentinovka. This cottage was built in 1947 by some head of construction, which is then executed. Dacha referred to a member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, LI Timofeev, literary critic, who had no legs. Therefore, in the large two-story house had a very strong oak doors and the windows iron bars. On a plot of 30 acres of pine trees grew more than 100 in the early years, when his parents bought the cottage, where I found even mushrooms. Previously, we had a small cottage, but with the same site, which was located next to the newly acquired. Grandmother changed her surcharge (I think 10 thousand rubles) to a large, and trying to reach a professor at Warsaw. But the family of Professor Warsaw lived there a few years and then left for Israel, selling a house or a relative of the mistress of the famous sculptor E. Unknown, who made the monument NS Khrushchev at the Novodevichy Cemetery. Not far from our house lived Isaac Schwartz, with whom we became friends. He said that the famous ballerina MM Plisetskaya is his niece.
Far from our cottage was a dacha cooperative Maly Theater, home to many of the popular artists of the USSR: MI Zharov, VI Korshunov, Y. Nikulin, TI Shmyga, etc. In 1980, I met a little girl Zharov. Shaking hands with the oldest actor (born in 1899), I said: "This is your granddaughter?" - "No, you are. I'm not that old. It's granddaughter, "- he said. Yuri Nikulin - great clown and actor - repeatedly driving past our house. Interestingly, when he was sitting in the car "Volvo", he always said hello first, but when I went by car "Volga", for some reason do not. The co-op also Maly Theater grandfather lived my first wife, Lieutenant-General II Smirnov, who during World War II was the deputy chairman of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council.
The dacha we were driving the Investigation department of the KGB "Volga" wagon-enabled siren. When we got out of the car, and OA Dobrovolsky has used the argument to me following the Russian saying: "The law that post, and it is possible to bypass." Seeing cottage, KGB investigators began to count the number of years needed to accumulate money from their salary (400 rubles a month) to buy such a house. Examined him and the site, they said that you can hide an elephant - a year and just look you will not find. There has not been any valuables or compromising father securities. Collections of documents were seized on Disarmament "for official use only", published by the Foreign Ministry of the USSR, and the novel by Boris Pasternak "Doctor Zhivago" in French.
Summerhouse was cooperative, and you can not remove it itself, but merely the carrying amount equal to 9 thousand rubles. So I said, MI Kurysheva that it's better to take away the money of two sberknizhek. Supposed to return one of them (at $ 15 thousand). "It will be better for you and for us" - I said, and thought to himself that the cottage is much more expensive than it was 15 thousand.
IK Peretrukhin said in his book that, as expected, no search, no interviews with family members Shevchenko any merit prompt attention to no avail.
In the case of my father called me a few times in the investigation department of the KGB Major About . A Dobrovolsky (he retired in the early 90's, Colonel). Head of the investigation team has handled several large office in Lefortovo prison (actually prison), where there were traitors and dissidents and suspected of major economic crimes. After the shooting of the White House in 1993, there has got to Vice President A. Rutskoi who spent a while, but had time to grow up in that time a representative beard, which he stalked out of jail. In Stalin's time place "preliminary" conclusion is in the main building on the square KGB Felix Dzerzhinsky.
Investigator complained about the fact that against the father did not have any incriminating evidence and its materials. The search also did not add. Dobrovolsky spread his hands and wondered why Shevchenko, with high regard, an enviable position in the society, a valuable property, a beautiful apartment in a luxury country house near Moscow and 10 km from the Moscow Ring Road, committed such an act. "What else was it necessary?" - Exclaimed KGB major. I strongly recall that I said my father in the last years, in order to somehow explain his conduct. Talked about my trip in 1974 to New York and how I gave a book AI Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago" KGB resident in this city, General BA Solomatin (Dobrovolsky said that this fact does not need to be committed to the testimony), about how his father was not afraid at his apartment in the U.S. that it can listen to the Americans (but would not have heard of KGB agents), he suspected his personal chauffeur ties with the KGB, his plans of writing and publishing the book in the United States without notifying the Soviet authorities. I remembered that when he returned in the autumn 1977, in a taxi (from the personal car, he refused, fearing to hear the KGB) to my house, in a small studio apartment my first wife on Rustaveli Street, the father immediately turned off the phone, and we talked with him in the 6-meter dishes. "You have a very nice apartment. When I was young, I have a no ", - said my father. I showed my father made up a memo about what to do Soviet diplomat to become ambassador (to make gifts superiors to please him in every way, never to speak ill of leadership in the presence of subordinates, and so on). Father turned pale and immediately broke this record to bits and dropped them in the toilet. "The KGB knows everything. Gromyko even afraid of him. You think they do not know that your mother and grandmother are selling things in Moscow, bought in New York? "- Said my father.
A week after the search and immediate confiscation of the most valuable things a lawyer friend of his wife V. Schneerson again advised take left valuables in the apartment my father-in of Lieutenant General Boris Smirnov in a military town in the village of Balashikha. A few rider on a military "jeep" was removed antiques, antique furniture, seven suitcases with clothes equivalent to the mother for a total of about 300 thousand rubles in 1978 prices.
Indeed, about two weeks after that came the district court officer , which was to rewrite all of the remaining items in our apartment (not included in the list, compiled by investigators KGB). I immediately called the OA Dobrovolsky and handed the phone to the bailiff. After a conversation with the head of the investigative group KGB she stopped underlie its inventory. Then the bailiff was the check list of the things listed in the inventory of the property, investigators compiled the KGB, with real objects that were in the apartment. It should be noted that my first wife, Marina, persuaded me to replace the new luxury boas (fox with a muzzle and paws fox) the old, which was owned by his mother. The latter is also proposed that the new large mohair rugs to their old. Finding a substitute, the bailiff was terribly angry and the act. "Why rugs are smaller and they are obviously synthetic?" - She asked. "Maybe they are dried out or incorrectly measured the" - I answered her. After a while I called MI Kuryshev and demanded the return of boas, which I did. Replaced blankets and remained at Tiffany's. A few months later I received a certified letter from the prosecutor's Leninsky district that I am relieved of criminal responsibility under the amnesty. The district court officer asked the prosecutor's office in connection with the replacement of the arrested things against me was filed. Unfortunately, this is a unique document of amnesty, I did not save on memory. Confirmed his father's words about the omnipotence of the KGB in Russia. I remembered another saying OA D.: "The law that pole, which turned - there and came out».
Equivalent to the numerous things, cloth and curtains, which were included in the inventory, and a huge new refrigerator manufactured by the American company "General Electric" were removed by order of the district bailiff. On the fridge should tell more. My sister and I decided to use the refrigerator. However, knowing in advance about the arrival of the bailiff of our area, my sister suggested to leave it for a number of products on and off (for "pleasant" smell). When the bailiff came to the refrigerator, we were told that it does not pass through a door in the kitchen (I specifically for this shot the door off its hinges). "We need to break the box door, because it was made later than the set refrigerator here" - I lied. Box door was made of oak. "Well, then, are paid a thousand rubles," - said the court administrator. This amount assessed KGB investigators refrigerator. "We thought, loan money," - I said. After the departure of the bailiff, I washed my fridge, turned it on, but the "curse" American technique did not work, it seems that he has spoiled the smell. This was a new super-modern model. I called the repair service of imported refrigerators. "We already manufacture the appliance is of the firm, a sophisticated technology, and we can not fix it", - told me. Therefore, when the bailiff called a few days later, I told her that I was able to pull out the fridge and she can take it.
So epic search and seizure of the property was completed. In autumn 1978, MI Kuryshev told me that my father was sentenced by the Supreme Court of the RSFSR to death (in absentia) - execution with confiscation of personal property belonging to him. OD Kalugin said in an interview with Russian television in November 2003, it was extremely harsh punishment for a civilian. So usually punish the traitors of the KGB and the GRU. At a closed session of the court was questioned as a witness and GS Staszewski. Peretrukhin recalls in his book that one of my father's friends happened to see on the table oversaw its deputy foreign minister telegram KGB Shevchenko. Arriving in New York, he immediately spoke of a telegram Shevchenko. As you know, my father also received an urgent call to Moscow, and Staszewski not advised him to go there.
Peretrukhin writes that speaking at the trial attorney admitted to him at the end of the process, which would be very surprised if he had known that C. (Peretrukhin afraid to give the name completely diplomat), questioned at the hearing, was at work in the system of the MFA. "Contrary to the opinion of the prosecutor, he did not touch it," - concludes retired KGB colonel. OA Grinevsky notes in his book "Secrets of Soviet diplomacy": "Staszewski ten years was restricted to travel abroad. However, the Department of HMO, and then UPOVRa, where he became deputy director of the department, will only benefit. Lovely worker, he almost did not get out of the office, carrying on all the Office for Disarmament. In the midst of restructuring friends began punching him go, to start at least to some socialist country, but did not have time: Staszewski died - heart gave out. " Incidentally, shortly before his death, he received the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR.

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