On September 10, 1982, two months before the death of Brezhnev, he suddenly summoned Nikolai Anisimovich Sholokov, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and ordered Xiaolokov Cov arrested Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov within 3 days.
▲Andropov
Speaking of which, Andropov was reused during the Khrushchev period. In particular, as a diplomatic ambassador, he performed outstandingly during the anti-government armed uprising in Hungary. Therefore, he was appreciated and valued by Khrushchev and was appointed Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. As a close associate of Khrushchev, he followed Khrushchev on many overseas visits.
However, as Khrushchev was forced to hand over power and retire, Andropov was also dismissed from his post as Secretary of the Central Committee and changed to Chairman of the KGB .
Originally, it was difficult for Andropov to recreate the glory of the Khrushchev period, but during Brezhnev’s administration, one thing happened that made Andropov regain Brezhnev’s respect and trust. , and as a result, he once again became the number two figure after Brezhnev.
On January 22, 1969, as planned, Brezhnev would go to Kovnukovo Airport to participate in an event to welcome the returning aerospace hero Boris Volinlov and others.
Just before departure, Andropov suddenly arranged for Brezhnev, who was originally supposed to take the No. 2 car, to take the No. 3 car, and asked Beregovoi, an aerospace expert who looked very similar to Brezhnev, to take the No. 3 car. Got on car No. 2.
As the motorcade was moving, a gunman quickly emerged from the bustling crowd and stood in front of Car No. 2. He pulled out his pistol and fired several shots into the car. The gunman was quickly controlled, and both Beregovoi and the driver suffered varying degrees of injuries.
This accident was obviously directed at Bozhnetsov, so the frightened Bozhnetsov directly ordered the car to turn around and go home.
Since then, Andropov regained Borznetsov's trust. In addition, Andropov performed well in the "Prague Spring" and Afghan War, so Bozhnezov paid more and more attention to him, and soon he became second only to Bozhnezov. Zov's No. 2 figure, and also received high praise from Brezhnev.
▲Xiaolokov
So, why did Brezhnev suddenly turn his back and want to arrest Andropov?
This has to talk about the Minister of Internal Affairs Xiaolokov.
Speaking of which, Sholokov was also an official promoted by Khrushchev.
When Khrushchev was the first secretary of Ukraine , he was dissatisfied with the generally low educational level of Ukrainian officials, so he promoted Xiaolokov, who had a university degree, to the Executive Committee of the Dnipropetrovsk City Soviet President. And Sholokov did not live up to Khrushchev's promotion. In the three years before the war, he not only rebuilt the local military factory, but also expanded the coal industry in the Donbas region, ensuring that all parts of Ukraine Coal supply.
In addition, Xiaolokov also restored the cultural life of Dnepropetrovsk city . He not only rebuilt the opera and ballet theaters, but also invited major theater troupes in Moscow for cultural exchanges to promote local cultural development.
After Khrushchev came to power, Xiaolokov was appointed Secretary of the Central Committee of Moldova. Moldova is a barren place. There is not only no fertile land, but also no minerals. However, Sholokov just turned it into the largest wine producing area in the Soviet Union, and he was therefore transferred to Moscow and served as the first officer of the Politburo. Second Secretary and Chairman of the National Economic Council.
After Brezhnev came to power, Sholokov sat on the bench for a while, but he quickly gained Brezhnev's trust and became one of Brezhnev's "Dnepropetrovs" Sk Gang".
In 1966, Brezhnev rebuilt the Ministry of Internal Affairs that had been disbanded by Khrushchev. Sholokov, who had outstanding ability, was promoted and appointed Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Brezhnev valued Sholokov very much. Even when Sholokov was transferred to Moscow, he even let Sholokov live upstairs in his home and let Sholokov live with his family. The family lived for a while.
Of course, Xiaolokov returned the favor and brought Brezhnev's son-in-law into the Ministry of Internal Affairs and appointed him as deputy minister.
▲Brezhnev and his family
Xiaolokov is really good at making things happen. As soon as he took office, he improved the treatment of the grassroots police, gave them new and beautiful uniforms, and equipped the urban-level internal affairs department with transportation and technical equipment. Under his suggestions, the police enjoyed Housing provident fund and other benefits. Therefore, as Minister of the Interior, Sholokov received unanimous support from the entire Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Xiaolokov was kind and gentle to others, and was very sociable. Therefore, he had a deep friendship with the powerful people in the political arena. Throughout the Bozhnev era, many people were recommended by him and promoted in their official careers. And he also helped Bozhnev win over people's hearts, thus establishing his own intricate network of contacts.
However, Xiaolokov also has a political opponent, and that is Andropov, who is also the head of the powerful department. The overt and covert fighting between the two men never stopped throughout the Brezhnev period.
For example, when dealing with the famous writer Solzhenitsyn, the two people had completely different attitudes.
Solzhenitsyn wrote an early book "A Day in the Life of Ivan Derisovich" that exposed the shady story of Stalin Soviet labor camps. This book was highly praised by Khrushchev. With his approval, the book became a bestseller at the time. Solzhenitsyn even almost won the Lenin Literature Prize for this book.
After Brezhnev came to power, because he restored Stalinism , "A Day in the Life of Ivan Derisovich" became a banned book and was not allowed to be published and sold, and Solzhenitsyn also Identified as a reactionary and openly opposed to the Soviet system at the time, the KGB arrested Solzhenitsyn.
Interestingly, after Solzhenitsyn was arrested, his novels "The First Circle" and "Cancer Ward" were not only published abroad, but also caused a sensation. Even in 1970, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature for "The First Circle". Naturally, at Andropov's suggestion, the Soviet authorities banned Solzhenitsyn from attending the Nobel Prize ceremony. and prepared to deport him and deprive him of Soviet citizenship.
At this time, Xiaolokov, who always respected cultural workers, raised objections to Brezhnev. He believed that Solzhenitsyn was a unique and indispensable writer in the history of Soviet literature. Therefore, he disapproved of Andropov's suggestion and believed that Andropov's move would make Solzhenitsyn fall into the arms of Western countries and, with the support of Western countries, become the backbone of anti-Soviet activities. .
However, Androkov is obviously much smarter. He not only secretly collected Solzhenitsyn's "black materials", but also played a guiding role in public opinion. Therefore, in the end, Solzhenitsyn was not only deprived of Soviet citizenship, but also deported. Andropov thus won the battle.
▲Solzhenitsyn
Another time, a high-society lady reported to the police station, claiming that two of her valuable furs had been stolen. During the subsequent investigation, the police discovered that the source of the two furs was not from official formal sales channels. At that time, fur was an industry monopolized by the Soviet government due to its huge profits. However, after the police discovered that there was something wrong with the source of the lady's furs, they did not investigate further and closed the case hastily.
After Andropov learned about the incident, he thought it was something serious, so he asked the KGB to conduct a secret investigation. As a result, they discovered a huge underground fur production black industry chain, and this industry chain involved bribing officials, falsifying data, and smuggling. He took the wealth that originally belonged to the country and put it into his own pocket.
Due to the staggering amount of money, cracking this black industry organization must be a great achievement, so Andropov is ready to close the net to fish.
At this moment, Xiaolokov came to the door and asked why the KGB intervened in the police case and was so sneaky? Andropov knew that Rokov was a popular figure around Brezhnev, so he proposed to handle the case together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
But Sholokov knew that this case involved many high-level officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In order to protect those officials, Sholokov rejected Andropov's kindness and firmly stated that this case could only be handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the KGB Can't interfere.
Of course Andropov couldn't watch the duck fly away, so he also rudely rejected Xiaolokov, and after the two broke up, he carried out the arrest with lightning speed. arresting action.
Although the arrest went smoothly, due to Xiaolokov's obstruction, the internal affairs officials involved in the case were not punished as they should be, which made Andropov very angry.
In Brezhnev's later years, Andropov had built the KGB into an institution that was notorious throughout the Soviet Union. His strength also deeply impressed Brezhnev, so the power-hungry Brezhnev also became wary of Andropov.
Xiaolokov knew very well that his power and wealth came from Brezhnev, and Brezhnev's physical condition was deteriorating, and the power in his hands would soon change hands. Therefore, he had to strike first and give Andropov a fatal blow when Brezhnev was in power, in order to retain his power and wealth.
▲Andropov, who was elected head of state
On September 10, 1982, Brezhnev, whose condition had deteriorated, met with Sholokov.
Sholokov provided Brezhnev with a large amount of "black material" about Andropov, and reported to Brezhnev that Andropov was plotting "anti-party actions". There is a danger of a coup to seize power.
Brezhnev was able to ascend to a high position because of the success of the coup. Of course he knew what the coup meant. Therefore, before he had time to investigate, he ordered Sholokov to arrest Andropov within 3 days, and "Find out its anti-party conspiracy."
Sholokov immediately dispatched three special agents to Andropov's home, the KGB headquarters and the central building. Originally, Xiaolokov wanted to quickly disintegrate Andropov's power while arresting him.
Unexpectedly, someone within the secret service revealed the news to Andropov, so Andropov turned his army around and ambushed the KGB elite on the way the secret service passed. After a small-scale firefight, the two sides The KGB eventually took control of three special service units.
Since then, Andropov increased security measures against Brezhnev in the name of "protecting the leader." Since then, Xiaolokov has never had a chance to get close to Brezhnev, and naturally it will be difficult for him to have a chance to confront Andropov.
On November 10, 1982, Brezhnev died of illness. Subsequently, Andropov was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After Andropov came to power, Sholokov was first dismissed from all posts due to serious corruption, and then expelled from the party and stripped of all medals of honor and titles.
On December 13, 1984, the desperate Xiaolokov committed suicide by swallowing a gun.
Before his death, he complained to Chernenko that he had never betrayed the party and its line in his life. He had followed the path designated by the party since he was a child, neither left nor right, and had no other hobbies except work. If he had been accused of taking advantage of his privilege, the charge would have been true of most leaders.
However, at this time, Chernenko also knew that he was no match for Andropov, so he had no choice but to rely on him. Therefore, when hearing Xiaolokov's complaints, he could only remain silent.
