Fourteenth first. Jewish roots of the Komsomol Last Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee

UDC 94; 32.019.5

The Secretaries of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League on Komsomol (prepared by V. K. Krivoruchenko and B. A. Ruchkin)

annotation◊ The secretaries of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, who worked in the Komsomol in the 1950-9080s, were offered a questionnaire, to the questions of which they expressed their point of view. The answers were sent by the first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee of the 50s V. E. Semichastny, candidate of pedagogical sciences, secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee of the 50-60s L. K. Balyasnaya, candidate of philosophical sciences, secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee of the 60s Yu. Torsuev, first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee of the 80s V. I. Mironenko, first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee of the 80s V. M. Mishin.

Keywords: Komsomol, Komsomol cadres, history of the Komsomol, secretaries of the Komsomol Central Committee.

Abstract◊ Some secretaries of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (CC ALYCL) were offered a questionnaire. Here one can find their points of view on the questions. The following secretaries submitted their answers: the first secretary of the CC ALYCL in the 1950s V. E. Semichastnyi, Candidate of Science (pedagogy), the secretary the CC ALYCL in the 1950-1960s L. K. Baliasnaia, Candidate of Science (philosophy), the secretary the CC ALYCL in the 1960s Yu. V. Torsuev, the first secretary of the CC ALYCL in the 1980s V. I. Mironenko, the first secretary of the CC ALYCL in the 1980s V. M. Mishin.

Keywords: Komsomol, Komsomol staff, the history of Komsomol, secretaries, the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League.

Question: What was your path in the Komsomol before you were elected to the Komsomol Central Committee or approved as a responsible employee of its apparatus?

Semichastny V. E. : Secretary of the Komsomol organization of a comprehensive school, secretary of the district committee, secretary of the regional committee, secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the union republic, secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol; more precisely, he became a member of the Komsomol Central Committee when he was elected secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee of Ukraine.

Balyasnaya L.K. : Joined the Komsomol in November 1942; Secretary of the Komsomol organization of the school, Secretary of the Bureau of the Komsomol organization of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Institute, Mathematics teacher of the Zaporozhye Pedagogical Institute, Deputy of the district, city Council of People's Deputies, Secretary of the Zaporozhye Regional Committee of the Komsomol, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Ukraine, member of the Central Committee of the Komsomol since 1954, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol since 1954 1958.

Torsuev Yu. V. : Since 1950, secretary of the district committee, secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk regional committee, secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee, in 1962-1970 - secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee.

Mironenko V. I. : Joined the Komsomol in 1967, then all levels of Komsomol activity - primary organization, committee with the rights of a district university committee, district committee, Central Committee of the Komsomol from department head to first secretary.

Mishin V. M. : Komsomol activist at the technical school, secretary of the Komsomol committee of the plant, secretary of the Komsomol committee of the university, head of the working youth department of the Komsomol Central Committee, first secretary of the Moscow city committee, secretary, first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee.

Question: What part of your Komsomol biography do you particularly remember and do you talk about it with your friends and family?

Semichastny V. E. : 1950, trip as part of the delegation of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, meetings with Chinese youth. And also participation in the development of virgin and fallow lands. And most importantly - numerous meetings with people.

Balyasnaya L.K.: I keep in my memory and heart everything related to the Komsomol. The most precious thing is friendship, camaraderie, joint work to help the school, institute, hometown of Zaporozhye, participation of the Komsomol in grandiose construction projects, in various activities with children, with the pioneer organization, special care for orphans, orphanages, attention to the affairs of the Komsomol broad public, communication with interesting people. The Komsomol attracted them to itself like a magnet. The birthdays of the Komsomol, the pioneer organization, and the revival of many traditions became national holidays.

Torsuev Yu. V. : Active participation in the formation of a new person - spiritually rich, educated, with ideals and able to defend them. And the forms of this work are very diverse.

Mironenko V. I. : A lot of things. It's hard to pick out anything.

Mishin V. M. : Organization of Komsomol youth subbotniks during the reconstruction of ZIL, military sports camps for “troubled teenagers”, formation of Komsomol detachments for All-Union shock Komsomol construction projects and especially the first detachment at BAM, participation in the preparation and holding of the XI and XII festivals of youth and students in Havana and Moscow, meetings with outstanding people: leaders of communist and workers' parties, youth organizations, meetings and friendship with many wonderful people in our country and abroad.

Question: When you came to the Central Committee, you probably expected to introduce some of your own innovations into the life of the Komsomol. Which of your “owns” did you manage to implement, and which did you not, and why?

Semichastny V. E. : For the first time, it was possible to form the composition of the Secretaries of the Central Committee and the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Komsomol from representatives of all regions of the Union - Moscow, Leningrad, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. And secondly, the Komsomol began to live on its own, no longer receiving financial support from the party and the state.

Balyasnaya L.K. : The main dream was to intensify the activities of the Komsomol members themselves, the pioneers, to increase their role as the owners of their organization, to attract everyone’s attention to direct work with children. A dream come true. Students were involved in all Komsomol affairs to the best of their abilities. Raising children has become a national matter. I don’t remember a single initiative of mine that would not have been supported by the Central Committee of the CPSU, the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions, ministries, departments (even the Ministry of Defense), and creative unions.

Torsuev Yu. V. : If we proceed from formal calls, then these are shock construction projects, the development of a movement for a communist attitude towards work, the creation of the “Komsomol Searchlight”, the Council of Young Scientists, the organization of a sociological group in the Komsomol Central Committee, the introduction of scientific foundations into the activities of the Komsomol, the enrichment and creation of new forms of community youth unions of socialist countries. If we talk about the main thing, this is the desire to use the capabilities of the Komsomol to solve pressing, major issues in the lives of both young people and the entire country. A lot has been achieved. We failed - all of us together - to form a generation that would not allow the destruction of the Soviet Union and socialism.

Mironenko V. I. : Expanding the degree of internal freedom in the Komsomol for its members: freedom of the individual, to speak out, to act in accordance with their beliefs and interests. For example: the NTTM system, alternative elections, etc. It was partially possible to implement it. External circumstances and the internal resistance of the existing and very inertial system interfered.

Mishin V. M. : Together with my colleagues, I think, we managed to organize the work on the formation of Komsomol youth detachments in a more meaningful and practical way, to achieve a less consumerist attitude towards young people on the part of the heads of ministries, departments, and local party committees. To displace formalism in the organization of Komsomol political studies and in the work on admission to the Komsomol. To turn the attention of party committees (including the CPSU Central Committee) and society as a whole to the problems of children and youth. Prepare and adopt a fundamental document of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the Central Committee of the Komsomol “On the creation of a unified public-state system of scientific and technical creativity of youth,” which created unique legal and economic conditions for the activities of creative youth groups, from which many of today’s economic and financial structures. It was no longer possible for both subjective and objective reasons.

Question: What secrets of the structure of the Soviet political system did you learn while working in the Komsomol Central Committee? Did this knowledge affect your vision of the place and role of the Komsomol in the life of society?

Semichastny V. E. : I don’t know any secret devices of the Soviet political system, but I learned the technology and subtleties of managing the state and public organizations in detail, and all this was useful to me in my further work. My understanding of the Komsomol and its place in society has grown and strengthened significantly. The Komsomol occupied a worthy and rightful place.

Balyasnaya L.K.: After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, many secrets became publicly known. But neither then nor now did they influence my vision of the place and role of the Komsomol in the life of society. The Komsomol at all stages of its history has been an organization of creation, including youth in all spheres of society; took care of her upbringing, developing, protecting her interests, filling her with bright and interesting things.

Torsuev Yu. V. : In the party, state, and Komsomol in the upper echelons of power there were many qualified workers who knew the business. At the same time, the lack of a mechanism for the people and the party to control their “servants” led them to separation from the people and, ultimately, to the degeneration of the party-state nomenklatura.

Mironenko V. I. : When I came to the Komsomol Central Committee, I did not discover any special secrets, new or previously unknown to me. I was surprised that the first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee was not nearly as omnipotent as I thought. It also depends on many circumstances.

Mishin V. M. : Without idealizing the past, I must say: it was a pleasant surprise for me to learn that, despite the presence of excessive to the point of cloying glorification addressed to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and, a kind of ritual of quoting with or without the statements of the first leader, in the practical activities of the party leadership there was true collegiality. The leaders of the party and the country with whom I had to communicate had a serious attitude towards the Komsomol, and they considered the Komsomol as the most important component of the political system, and their attitude towards the personnel was respectful. Although there were exceptions locally.

Question: What do you see as the benefits and harms of the principle of party leadership of the Komsomol?

Semichastny V. E. : I have always treated the party leadership of the Komsomol with understanding and gratitude. We are talking about normal, intelligent leadership, and not about everyday supervision, fettering the initiative and independence of the organization. In conditions of one-party society and the presence of one youth organization, party leadership (support, assistance, personnel, etc.) is justified.

Balyasnaya L.K. : Benefit - recognition of the high role of the Komsomol in the life of society, youth, the country, in supporting the creation of conditions for its various activities, in encouraging Komsomol initiatives, in providing the right to make proposals on the problems of youth and children to any authorities, government bodies, public organizations. Harm - in many cases, the party bodies showed excessive guardianship, authoritarianism, suppression of initiative, and independence. Everything depended on the people working in both party and Komsomol bodies. I have retained the brightest memories, deep gratitude to the party leadership for their support during all 42 years of work in the Komsomol.

Torsuev Yu. V. : A party without youth is doomed to die. Therefore, from the point of view of the party, it must either have its own youth section, taking into account the specifics of youth, or an independent organization and an ideologically unified (or similar) youth organization. “From the point of view of youth,” they objectively need support, help and “understanding” guidance from older generations. The party leadership ensures generational unity and continuity. The question is that the “guiding” leadership of the party is not replaced by diktat.

Mironenko V. I. : In the specific real conditions of the USSR, the party leadership provided influence, and, consequently, the opportunity for young people to solve various issues of their life, work, study, and recreation, which limited initiative and prevented them from learning to live and think independently.

Mishin V. M. : There is an absolute benefit in the selection and training of Komsomol personnel at all levels. The harm lies in petty supervision, extreme control, which, to a large extent, fetters the initiative of cadres and Komsomol organizations, often in the unconscious pushing of Komsomol committees to copy the style and methods of work of party committees.

Question: What gave the Komsomol Central Committee the right to speak on behalf of all youth (“Soviet youth unanimously approve, undividedly support...”)?

Semichastny V. E. : There were other statements by the Komsomol Central Committee: “Soviet youth demands, makes proposals, advocates, supports initiatives, campaigns, shock work, etc.” The Central Committee of the Komsomol and the entire Komsomol not only spoke on behalf of the youth, but also did everything for all youth, and not just for Komsomol members. I think that recently, uniting more than 60% of the country’s youth, the Komsomol and its governing bodies had the right to speak for all youth. Through its deeds and authority in the country and in society, the Komsomol has won such a right.

Balyasnaya L.K. : The Komsomol Central Committee could speak on behalf of all youth. He had constant connections with the Komsomol organizations of the union republics; Central Committee workers systematically visited the primary organizations, knew about the state of affairs, about the sentiments of young people. These issues were discussed at the bureau and plenums. There was a significant practice of teams headed by Central Committee secretaries leaving for long periods of time. At the same time, the Komsomol Central Committee had no reason to declare that “Soviet youth unanimously approves...”. It didn't reflect reality. Moreover, we ourselves were concerned about the troubles among young people, the negative attitude of some young people towards reality.

Torsuev Yu. V. : Firstly, most of the youth were in the Komsomol. Secondly, the Komsomol expressed (or sought to express) the deep, true interests of young people. Thirdly, the activities of the Komsomol in one way or another contributed to the formation of young people, their entry into life, regardless of whether a person was a member of the Komsomol or not.

Mironenko V. I. : I think that the Komsomol Central Committee never had the right to speak in the form that is given. Although he himself said something like this in his report at the congress. There was an element of wishful thinking to it.

Mishin V. M. : Probably, the fact that the Komsomol united most of the Soviet youth, and the fact that all the fundamental decisions of the Komsomol Central Committee were initially discussed in the primary Komsomol organizations, and after adoption were supported by everyone - both primary organizations and Komsomol committees of all levels. Although the expression “all Soviet youth approves...” was assessed by many of us at that time, to put it mildly, as incorrect and was perceived as a kind of cliche.

Question: What do you see as the benefits and harms of the struggle for the growth of the Union, its transformation into a multimillion-dollar mass organization of youth?

Semichastny V. E. : I don’t think it’s possible to make any assessment of this problem without taking into account the time and situation in the country (pre-war period, war, post-war situation, etc.). At each stage, the issue of Komsomol growth had to be resolved taking into account circumstances and time. At the same time, I am not very approving of the general admission of young people into the Komsomol at the last stage of its existence. Indeed, with this approach, the Komsomol lost its vanguard role, and this led to various kinds of consequences.

Balyasnaya L.K. : Undoubtedly, the pursuit of mass participation reduced the authority of the Komsomol among young people, its right to be called the vanguard of youth, and had a negative impact both on those who sincerely joined the Komsomol and on those who were forcefully drawn into its ranks. I have always been against mass formal admission to the Komsomol, against the fact that being in its ranks gives any privileges. Although life has confirmed that the Komsomol was an excellent school of education, friendship, and camaraderie. And how I would like every boy, every girl to go through this school.

Torsuev Yu. V. : Komsomol in the conditions of victorious socialism is a school in which one must “learn and learn” communism. It is important that as many young people as possible go through this “school”. Therefore, in principle, the Komsomol is an organization widely open to young people. In addition, as life has shown, the most “active”, most “correct” Komsomol members from among the “nomenklatura” turned out to be susceptible to the same diseases (careerism, commodism) as the party nomenklatura, without control “from below” by the broad masses. The “passivity” of many is our inability to “ignite” them.

Mironenko V. N. : This is a big omission. The question of numbers, taken in itself from the complex of problems of the organization, its nature, structure, external environment, is connected with the entire system of social and state institutions, has neither meaning nor answer. This is an attempt to judge the organization according to the laws of life of other organisms, and in general, it is not serious. That's not the point!

Mishin V. M. : As far as I remember, the Komsomol Central Committee never made decisions on increasing the number of Komsomol members. Moreover, we have repeatedly emphasized the need to fight against formalism in admission to the Komsomol. In my opinion, admission to the Komsomol even for “ideal” boys and girls was not harmful, since a member of the Union could be more actively influenced. And even if some Komsomol members did not value the honor of being a member of the Komsomol, still the prospect of considering your personal file was a good educational factor. It seems that for a young man there was a difference: not to join the Komsomol or to be expelled from the Komsomol.

Question: One of the fundamental principles of the life of the Komsomol is the principle of democratic centralism. What can you say today about the possibility of applying this principle in youth organizations?

Semichastny V. E. : Different youth organizations may have different principles for their construction and activities. It all depends on the goals and objectives proclaimed by the youth organization. The Communist Party created the Komsomol not as a cultural and educational organization and not as a club for entertainment and satisfying only its own personal interests. The Komsomol was created under the party to help in building the state. Such an organization must observe discipline and democracy, the principle of subordination of the minority to the majority. Organizations themselves must choose their own development path. The lack of clear principles has led to what we have.

Balyasnaya L.K.: The trouble is not that this principle was the basis of the life of the Komsomol, but in the mistakes that were made in its implementation, in the distortion of the very essence of democratic centralism. While determining the strategic directions of Komsomol activity, improving its organization, taking care of increasing discipline and a sense of responsibility, the Komsomol Central Committee and local Komsomol committees missed the issues of self-government in primary organizations, the development of independence, initiative, and creativity of the Komsomol members themselves. The principle itself is quite viable. At the present stage, there is a need for a creative understanding of this principle from the perspective of management theory, an analysis of the practice of its implementation, especially the reasons that give rise to fatal consequences, and a creative implementation of the principle of democratic centralism by smart and responsible people.

Torsuev Yu. V.: The principle is very good, it is “volume”, dialectical, aimed at self-development of both the “top” and the “bottom” (their interaction). The question is its application. In our actual conditions it was more “centralism” than “democracy” (this is true in wartime or other emergency circumstances). In “peaceful” conditions the emphasis should be on “democracy”. In the current conditions, it is necessary to strengthen both centralism (unity of action) and democracy (coherence of unity of action, participation of the “lower classes” in the development of decisions, and not just blind execution).

Mironenko V.I.: The so-called principles of democratic centralism themselves are the only form of existence of any community of people. It was a simple experiment, pure empirics. No one who is going to create a more or less viable public organization that sets goals for itself and really strives to achieve these goals will be able to avoid using these principles.

Mishin V.M.: Democratic centralism, in my opinion, is a good principle for the life of an organization, since it includes two equivalent concepts. For the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that democracy in the real activities of the Komsomol was the norm. Suffice it to say that the secretaries of the Komsomol committees regularly reported and went through the purgatory of closed secret voting. It should be remembered that if the secretary of the Komsomol committee received at least a few dozen votes “against”, after some time, by an agreed decision of the higher Komsomol committee and the party committee, he was “gently” transferred to either economic or linear party work. For comparison with the current rampant “democracy”, when you can be “popularly elected” if almost 12.5% ​​of voters voted for you.

Question: How would you comment on the statement: “The Komsomol is not just age”?

Semichastny V. E.: The Komsomol laid a fairly solid foundation in a person for the rest of his life, and in this case this statement corresponds to its content, and for some members of the Komsomol the Komsomol is “from and to...”, and this phrase means nothing.

Balyasnaya L.K. : My personal experience, the experience of my friends confirms the correctness and peculiarity of these words. I have been in the Komsomol practically my entire life. And she not only was, but lived through all his bright, varied, amazingly interesting activities. From 1942 to 1956, I was a member of the Komsomol, and the life of the Komsomol was part of my life, and since 1964, working as Deputy Minister of Education, I dealt with the problems of raising children and protecting their rights, I was organically connected with the Komsomol. Even now, in my state of mind, I am ready to be in the ranks of that Komsomol.

Torsuev Yu. V. : True, if staying or working in the Komsomol laid the foundation for life. True, as a motto, as a slogan, as a requirement for the Komsomol itself to instill in a person an “ageless” soul. If this is not the case, it is an empty phrase.

Mironenko V. I. : For those who were there, this is not just age, but the best age, the best part of life - youth.

Mishin V. M. : Komsomol is not just an age, Komsomol has become the destiny for many millions of Soviet people of all generations, and our current brotherhood, our solidarity.

Question: Among former Komsomol activists, there was a belief that the last composition of the Komsomol Central Committee easily “surrendered” the Komsomol to the democrats, because they were more concerned about the organization of their personal destiny. What is your opinion, to what extent did the fate of the Komsomol at the last stage of its existence depend on the personalities of its functionaries?

Semichastny V. E. : I think that these reasoning and beliefs are true. True, their older comrades also helped them in this.

Balyasnaya L.K. : Unfortunately, it is true that the last composition of the Central Committee “gave in” to the Komsomol; moreover, it initiated the liquidation of a unique organization, thereby depriving youth and children of support and protection in such a difficult time, squandering a powerful base for educating young people (newspapers, magazines, publishing houses , youth palaces, holiday homes, schools of Komsomol activists and much, much more). The fate of the Komsomol at all stages depended on the personalities of its functionaries. And the last part of the bureau, the secretariat, bears personal responsibility for the dissolution of the Komsomol.

Torsuev Yu. V. : Yes, he betrayed and sold. True, “under the leadership” of the party elite.

Mironenko V. I. : It’s not for me to judge, I myself am one of those who, as they say, “passed.” The accusation of surrendering the Komsomol to the Democrats is very close to accusing the then leadership of the country of surrendering Germany to the Germans, Czechoslovakia to the Czechs and Slovaks, etc.

Mishin V. M. : The Komsomol could have had a different fate, but in history there is no subjunctive mood.

Question: What, in your opinion, from the experience of the Komsomol will find its application in the lives of young people of the 21st century?

Semichastny V. E. : The experience of the Komsomol, in my opinion, will be applied to its overwhelming extent in the lives of young people at all times. In the name of this I lived, worked and tirelessly promote the experience of the Komsomol even now.

Balyasnaya L.K. : The Komsomol’s experience in uniting young people, involving them in meaningful activities of society, creating conditions for the development of creativity, organizing leisure time, and protecting their interests is unique; experience of support, assistance, camaraderie, international brotherhood, in developing the need to live in the interests of the Motherland; experience working with children, children's organizations, associations, supporting children who have lost parental care. Everything connected with childhood was the Komsomol’s native cause. Without this, youth organizations and movements have no future, no continuity of generations.

Torsuev Yu. V.: Involving young people in active participation in the affairs of society, in avant-garde participation in solving the most pressing problems of the whole society. Attracting public attention to the fate of young people, caring for them and forming a worthy replacement, continuation of the best that exists in a given society, continuation and development of what was done in the Komsomol (and society), but did not receive proper development - self-creation by everyone as a free person , master of himself; self-government, self-organization, self-activity, self-realization, in which “for oneself” and “for another” are identical.

Mironenko V. I. : The ability to do everything possible in an impossible situation to ensure that every young person has the right and real opportunity to become what he can and wants to become. If the youth of the 21st century are smart, they will take everything. What he uses is another matter.

Mishin V. M. : A lot. Experience in differentiated work with various categories of youth, labor associations of schoolchildren, student construction teams, schools for young scientists and specialists, heroic-patriotic education, organization of physical education and sports work among children and youth.

Bibliographer. description: Secretaries of the Komsomol Central Committee about the Komsomol / Prep. V. K. Krivoruchenko, B. A. Ruchkin [Electronic resource] // Information humanitarian portal “Knowledge. Understanding. Skill". 2013. No. 4 (July - August). URL: [archived in WebCite] (access date: dd.mm.yyyy).

receipt date: 24.07.2013.

The fanfare on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the Komsomol died down, the Komsomol veterans who built factories and towns began to cry, and their glasses clinked at the words: “Do you remember?” Indeed, a lot was done, and sincerely at the call of the heart and at the behest of the soul. And who have become today those who called Komsomol members to labor feats, demanded lack of silver, punished for wearing jeans and indulging in Western culture. On one of the Internet forums they provided a list of current high officials and oligarchs who began their careers in the Komsomol.

– Vladimir Zyukin – first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee (1990–1991). Head of the brokerage company Creighton Capital.

– Viktor Mironenko – first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee (1986–1990). Coordinating Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Russia, Advisor to the President of the Gorbachev Foundation Mikhail Gorbachev, Director of the International Institute “Youth for a Culture of Peace and Democracy” UNESCO.

– Viktor Mishin – first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee (1982–1986). Chief of Staff, Secretary of the Political Council of the Fatherland movement (1998–1999), Chairman of the Board of Crocus Bank, Member of the Board and Board of Trustees of the Moscow English Club.

– Evgeny Tyazhelnikov – first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee (1968–1982). Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia, professor at the Youth Institute in Moscow, chairman of the Moscow community “Chelyabinsk” (2001–2003).

– Lyudmila Shvetsova – Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee (1981–1989). First Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Government.

– Stanislav Smirnov – first secretary of the Komsomol Moscow City Committee (1985–1989), secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee (1989–1990). President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (1991–2001). Re-elected for gross violations in the performance of his duties.

– Joseph Ordzhonikidze – first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee of Georgia, secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee (1990–1991). Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Government.

– Valentina Matvienko – department head, secretary, first secretary of the Petrograd regional committee of the Komsomol (1972–1977), secretary, second, first secretary of the Leningrad regional committee of the Komsomol (1977–1984). Governor of St. Petersburg.

– Sergei Kiriyenko – second secretary of the Nizhny Novgorod regional committee of the Komsomol (1990–1992). Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Volga Federal District.

– Mikhail Khodorkovsky – Deputy Secretary of the Frunzensky District Committee of the Komsomol of Moscow (1986–1987), Director of the Center for Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth (1987–1989). Chairman of the Board of Oil Company Yukos.

– Alexander Voloshin – released secretary of the Komsomol committee of the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya station (1982–1983). Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation (1998–2003)

— Boris Pastukhov — 1977-1982. - First Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee. 1978-1986 - Member of the CPSU Central Committee.
1986-1989 — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR to the Kingdom of Denmark. 1989 - December 1991 — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR to the Republic of Afghanistan. From January 1992 to February 1996 - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Since February 3, 1996 - First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for CIS Affairs. On September 25, 1998, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was appointed to the post of Minister for CIS Affairs. In August 1999, he was included in the federal list of candidates for State Duma deputies of the Fatherland - All Russia electoral bloc (number 10 in the central part of the list). On December 19, 1999, he was elected to the State Duma of the third convocation on the federal list of the OVR. On February 9, 2000, he was elected chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Relations with Compatriots from the Fatherland - All Russia faction. In December 2003, he was elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the fourth convocation.
— Vladimir Kobyashev — 2nd secretary of the Voronezh regional committee of the Komsomol in the late 80s. Vladimir Kobyashev worked in the Voronezh regional administration under the previous governors - Alexander Tsapin, Alexander Kovalev, Ivan Shabanov, and managed to hold on under the current governor Vladimir Kulakov. Head of the regional administration.

Third salary in the country

But those days are gone.

And our conversation - on the eve of Viktor Maksimovich’s 70th birthday (he celebrates it on May 14) - takes place, as they say, informally, “without pomp.” Two cups of coffee in a modest office at MK, telephone calls and thunderous shouts over the editorial radio: “Politics department, urgently for layout! You have a tail (the amount of text that needs to be reduced. - Auth.)!».

I can’t rid myself, if not of trepidation, then of excitement - Mishin himself is in front of me. Legend of the Komsomol. Leader. Fourteenth first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee. Although we have known each other for a long time, as they say, the “levels” were different: when Viktor Maksimovich led the Komsomol, I was the “first” of the Gorky regional committee of the Komsomol (Gorky is now Nizhny Novgorod).

Who would Mishin be if perestroika had not happened? Now you are 70, by the standards of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee - a child’s age...

If perestroika had not happened, Mishin would not have been a great leader.

- Why?

I don’t know... Maybe because the brightest, most important things in my life probably happened in the Komsomol. As a matter of fact, it offends me when some people say: “Komsomol mafia.” If the “Komsomol mafia” is an honest and friendly family, then yes - we were just such a family. There was no greater solidarity than in the Komsomol - I say this as a person who worked for many days in trade unions, in the Central Committee of the CPSU, and in the party apparatus. Our relations in the Komsomol arose not according to the principle of “profitable - not profitable,” but according to the principle of “like it or not.” The only way! We were guided more by emotions than by any rational things.

- Do you regret that the country has turned around like this?

In general, no, I don’t regret it. Although the Chinese model, I must admit, is closer to me, and it is more effective. But to be honest, I - both from the point of view of material and from the point of view of internal freedom - now live an order of magnitude better than under Soviet rule. Although at that time I received the third or fourth salary in the country.

- How much is this?

As the first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee, I received 750 rubles. The General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee received 850 rubles, and the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers received the same amount. Deputy chairmen and ministers of the first category received the same amount as me. It was a big salary.

Egor Kuzmich hung up

You are too much of a personality to be smooth, predictable, and conflict-free. When was it really difficult for Mishin?

Not everyone remembers this surname now - Ligachev. And Yegor Kuzmich was the second person in the party after the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Gorbachev. And it was with Ligachev that my relationship did not work out. Perhaps the reason for this was his reaction to the resolution of the Bureau of the Komsomol Central Committee on awarding Lenin Komsomol prizes at the end of October 1984.

On the day the list of awardees is published, call via ATS-1. Yegor Kuzmich called. And immediately in a raised tone: the Komsomol does not understand the importance of classical art and folk art. I objected: they say, this is not entirely true, the bureau of the Komsomol Central Committee awarded prizes to Nadezhda Babkina, the ensemble of spoon players and other folk groups. But Yegor Kuzmich sharply expressed displeasure that the prize was awarded to Valery Leontyev... He interrupted me: “Get ready for a serious conversation in the CPSU Central Committee.” I will not talk about the epithets expressed about the popular singer. Then I uttered a phrase that I still remember: “Dear Yegor Kuzmich, if the CPSU Central Committee considers the collegial decision of the Komsomol Central Committee Bureau to award the prize to Valery Leontyev erroneous, I am ready to bear personal responsibility...”. After my statement, Yegor Kuzmich hung up.

- Did you find at least three general secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee alone?

The wrong word is "caught". I worked with them. Including the “five-year period of magnificent funerals”, when Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko died, and then Gorbachev came. Would you like me to tell you how the XII World Festival of Youth and Students was born in Moscow?

I'm especially proud of him. The Olympic Bear is often remembered - yes, the Moscow Olympics in 1980 were wonderful, but we also achieved very powerful representation - delegations from 146 countries came to the festival. I will say more: we did not want to hold the festival - it was assumed that the French communist youth movement would take the initiative, that the festival would be in France - with our support, of course. Suddenly at the last moment - bam! - The French are “raking” back. I go to Andropov, he was then the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee: “Yuri Vladimirovich, so and so, friends from the French communist youth movement are rolling back. If the festival movement is useful for the implementation of the foreign policy of the Soviet Union, then the festival should be held in Moscow.” Andropov thought: “This is the easiest solution. Ask Ponomarev to talk to Kadar (Janos Kadar - General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. - Auth.). I called the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Ponomarev: “Boris Nikolaevich, we want to consult with you on behalf of Yuri Vladimirovich. He: “Come.” I go to him, he calls Kadar in front of me, he spoke Russian well, I hear him answer Ponomarev: “You know, I must consult with my comrades from the Politburo, weigh all the pros and cons.” I immediately called Csaba Hamori (first secretary of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Komsomol - Auth.), he is a member of the Politburo at that time, he knows the situation: “Viktor, I am 100 percent sure that Kadar will refuse. The economic situation in the country, despite your help, is extremely difficult.” I go to Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, talk about the history of the festival - time is running out, I say: either yes, that is, hold it in Moscow, or no. I leave a note to the CPSU Central Committee. He promptly describes it by department, and in short, that’s how it started.

We can be proud of much that has been done in the Komsomol. You can’t tell everything in one interview, but it’s impossible not to remember BAM. I am proud that I took a direct part in the formation of the first detachment of volunteers named after the XVII Komsomol Congress! More than once I flew in a helicopter throughout the BAM, and rode on the first train when through traffic opened on the highway - even before the completion of the Severomuysky tunnel. Today BAM operates at full capacity, exceeding its design, and the importance of the mainline is increasing every day!

- About Mikhail Gorbachev - what does he mean in your biography? You left the Komsomol with him, right?

This is a difficult question for me, and not only for me. At first I thought that a progressive leader had come, but that’s how we perceived him - ours, a Komsomol member, almost one of the collective farmers, with an ineradicable South Russian dialect... In fact, when you talk to him, it feels like there is glass between us. You see him, hear him, but it’s like he’s behind glass.

Once he received me, we were talking about current problems, and he suddenly - I still can’t forget this phrase: “Yes, the topic is important, so Raisa Maksimovna has repeatedly emphasized that we need to work more actively with student youth.” At first I couldn’t figure out who he was quoting? I know Ushinsky, I know Makarenko, and, after all, I know Krupskaya. Who is Raisa Maksimovna? Only later did I understand, I’m not joking.

Yes, he is an unhappy person, he feels sorry for Raisa Maksimovna. Only Raisa Maksimovna. Isn’t it a pity that you ruined the country, how many people died, how many friends? Nikolai Efimovich Kruchina (manager of the affairs of the CPSU Central Committee, committed suicide on August 26, 1991. - Auth.) passed away solely, in my deep conviction, because of his betrayal. I couldn't bear it.

The protest has slipped somewhere

- Do you like the way modern Russia lives, its socio-political realities?

I’ll tell you this, Sergei, you’re still a little younger. Every morning I inoculate myself with not giving a damn, to put it mildly, in order to withstand these, as you said, Russian realities.

Look at the same rallies on Bolotnaya and Sakharov. I think it was a natural protest, people didn’t come for money - they were fed up. And the authorities caught this protest: some movements began - both in parties and in elections. But now, due to I don’t know what circumstances - either the Kremlin somehow cunningly began to work with the “non-systemic” opposition, or some kind of “tackling” took place, but the situation has changed. The protest slipped somewhere.

- This year the Komsomol turns 95 years old. Does everyone know that, as always, the main work of preparation is yours?

Let me explain: we - I mean the three co-chairs of the organizing committee, Tyazhelnikov, Pastukhov and Mishin - are also growing up along with the Komsomol. Objectively, seventy-year-olds and those younger are the most capable stratum. But we are preparing together, of course, for October 29 - no matter how difficult it is now. Do you remember what powerful forces put on Komsomol concerts in our time? Now who can you count on? To hold a concert at the State Kremlin Palace, you need five million - in rubles, of course. In general, the 95th anniversary is a reason to talk not only about anniversary events - the Kremlin should finally start creating a unified all-Russian youth organization! We had such a proposal.

- As far as I know, Komsomol veterans led by you have more than once addressed letters to Vladimir Putin?

Yes. And he seemed to say: yes, we need an organization - a powerful, youth organization. We are ready to help with advice and deeds. But for now there is silence. But what they Seliger are doing is complete nonsense, and the so-called personnel reserves are essentially profanation. Why was Komsomol great? Because it was a natural training school.

- Did the former first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee communicate with President Putin personally?

No. Never communicated.

- Last question. Do you consider yourself a happy person?

Certainly. He grew up in a working-class family, walked up the serious ladder of life without “shaggy paws”, and was not the last person in the Komsomol. The family believes that I am a “first generation intellectual” - I am the first of the Mishins to receive a higher education. My mother and father are from the Don, from the village of Olkhovets. My father is a hard worker and remained alive after the war, although he fought as the commander of a machine gun squad. Mom is a housewife, she had three of us: two tomboys and a daughter. They lived a difficult life, like many did back then. One of the strong impressions: my older sister Valentina joined the Komsomol in the 7th grade, but there was no money for a photograph - and she cut out her photo from the school collective card to take to the district committee. And mom! I learned to read and write on my own, not at school. But she was terribly proud that she gave us a higher education.

- What does your wife do?

Galina Vladimirovna worked at MISS, as an assistant professor, and recently retired. Son - Maxim, born in 74th year. Works at Crocus-Expo as deputy head of the department, graduated from two institutes. He has his own Viktor Maksimovich Mishin - my grandson and full namesake. There are also grandchildren - Daria and Timofey.

- To be honest, your irrepressible energy has always amazed us!

Seryozha, I’ll give all my friends a simple recipe, I stick to it - I go to the pool three times a week, I’ve been riding a horse for forty-six years, I do equestrian physical training - every Sunday when I’m in Moscow, at fifteen minutes to nine I’m at Planernaya. The horse is a massage of a man’s “second heart,” as is known. And it’s very psychologically unburdening. Well, it’s a bathhouse, of course - with friends, one team, we’ve been going to the Olimpiyskiy for twenty-five years. We need to move, guys, we need to move.

- Happy birthday, Viktor Maksimovich!

The interview used materials from Viktor Mishin’s just published book “Where the Motherland Begins” and the book “Salute, Festival!”

FROM THE MK DOSSIER

Mishin Viktor Maksimovich. Born on May 14, 1943 in Moscow. He graduated from an industrial technical school and worked as a foreman at a reinforced concrete products factory. Graduated from MISS with a degree in civil engineering. There he also worked as a senior engineer in the research sector.

From 1968 to 1971 - Second Secretary of the Moskvoretsky District Committee of the Komsomol, First Secretary of the Soviet District Committee of the Komsomol of Moscow. From 1971 to 1976 - Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the Komsomol (MGK), head. Department of Working Youth of the Komsomol Central Committee. From 1976 to 1979 - First Secretary of the Komsomol Moscow City Committee. From 1978 to 1982 - Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee. From December 1982 to June 1986 - First Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee.

After leaving the Komsomol, Viktor Mishin: Secretary of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions (1986–1991), 1st deputy. Managing Director of the CPSU Central Committee (January-August 1991), deputy. General Director of the Ecoprom consortium (1991–1994), General Director of the Olympic Lottery enterprise (1994–1995), Vice President of the International Reform Fund (1995–1996). Since 1996 - Chairman of the Board of the commercial bank Crocus Bank.

What is Komsomol? The decoding of the concept will be very familiar to our compatriots of the middle and older generations. But many young people will probably have difficulty explaining what it is. Let us remember this relic of a bygone state.

Komsomol: decoding and essence

In the Soviet country, they were very fond of abbreviations and compound words. These are GULAG, VCHK, DOSAAF, SMERSH, OBKhSS, GTO, general secretary, regional committee, research institute and many others in this countless number of terms unfamiliar to people from the outside, but easily recognizable to tens of millions of residents of the union republics. The abbreviation Komsomol was also in this row. The decoding of the concept was as follows: All-Union Leninist Communist Youth League. In short, it could also be called simply the Communist Youth Council.

Central Committee of the Komsomol: transcript

This organization, although formally considered a product of amateur youth activities, of course, was actually organized at the will of the country's top leadership. In the likeness of the Komsomol had its own Central Committee,
that is, the central committee, which served as the highest body of the youth wing and directed all the work of Komsomol cells and bodies. Every district committee of the Komsomol in every corner of every republic was subordinate to the committee.

History of Komsomol

By its nature, the Komsomol was a mass socio-political organization for all Soviet youth. received by boys and girls upon reaching 14 years of age (that is, the organ was the next step for yesterday’s pioneers). Komsomol was created as the youth wing of the Communist Party the day before in 1917. Of course, the organization did not immediately take its final form. In the first half of 1917, its Petrograd prototype was called the “Socialist League of Working Youth.” The inspiration for its creation was Vladimir Lenin. A year later, the organization grew into an all-Russian one, and even later it expanded its activities to other Soviet republics, existing until the death of the state itself, whose brainchild

she appeared.

The role of the Komsomol in the life of the Soviet country

Union was This word is often used today as a reproach to the heritage of our people. However, along with the negative tendencies inherent in such systems, they often also have positive aspects. An important fundamental characteristic of anyone is the widespread control of the life of society in all its spheres: social, economic, political, spiritual. The state not only ensures its own sustainability, but also manages the process of educating its citizens: control over the content of literature and cinema, propaganda of humanistic ideas. At the first stage of its existence, the Komsomol was an important tool in promoting education among the peasant masses, eliminating illiteracy, and so on. Later, the Komsomol was at the forefront of Soviet youth, demonstrating examples of the highest achievements in sports, science and other possible realizations.

(1902-1937), executed

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Books

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• Komsomol volunteers. Collective portrait of the Komsomol. Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Komsomol, Alla Faatovna Sushchinskaya, This is a collective Portrait of the Komsomol. Not ordered, but sincere, voluntary research. A unique collection of memories of dozens of people (historical figures and current ones) and the answer... Category: Russian literature Publisher: VECHE, Manufacturer: