A difficult childhood, war, hungry years became an impetus for him to study well, and an attempt to learn Indian culture turned into the meaning of life. Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin, having graduated from the Institute international relations, began his career as an interpreter for an attaché in Pakistan. When the State Security Committee became interested in a capable young man as an employee, Leonid Vladimirovich considered it an honor and agreed to work for the good of his homeland. For two years he headed the foreign intelligence service. And with a career in the field of state security ended. At the age of 77, Leonid Vladimirovich committed suicide by shooting himself in his apartment.

Marina Grove

It was from this place that the life of the future intelligence officer and wit Leonid Vladimirovich began. Mother Shebarshina Praskovya Mikhailovna was born with Maryina Roshcha, she was born in 1909. After graduating from the seven-year plan, she went to work in an artel. In 1931 she married Vladimir Ivanovich, a native Muscovite. So, in 1935 Leonid was born, and a couple of years later - Valeria.

A family of four huddled in a little room on eight squares. Leonid, recalling that time, wrote that he sometimes had to sleep on the floor, since there was no place for a bed.

When my father was drafted into the army, life was difficult for a mother with two children. There was not enough bread, it was cold and hungry. But they were lucky: Vladimir Ivanovich returned from the front alive, although he was wounded. Life began to improve, the father got a job. But in 1951, Leonid's father died of an addiction to alcohol at the forty-third year of his life from a brain hemorrhage.

Studies

Shebarshin Leonid Vladimirovich, whose biography began with difficult childhood, being a schoolboy, he understood that power is in knowledge. Therefore, he read a lot (this habit was instilled in him by his father) and dreamed of helping his family: his mother and sister. Teaching was easy for him. In 1952 he received a certificate and a silver medal. At the same time, the entrance exams for students who graduated from high school with honors were canceled.

The first specialty that Leonid wanted to master was the profession of a military pilot-engineer. But upon admission, strict requirements were imposed on the health of the applicant. An attempt to study at the Zhukovsky Academy turned out to be a failure: the medical board advised Shebarshin not to risk it and take the documents. They justified this by saying that they will take it now, and later they will still be expelled for health reasons.

virgin soil

Having become an international student, Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin had to spend more money on the road from Maryina Roshcha to the institute and back. The family still lived in poverty. At night, the young man had to unload the wagons. And when Leonid mastered the Urdu language, he was able to copy manuscripts, for which he received more money than for physical labor.

Life went on as usual: successful sessions, favorite reading, medieval translations. Until in 1956, the student was sent to Kazakhstan to harvest. Leonid got the position of assistant combine operator. During this period, students not only learned the price of bread, but also rallied and earned money. And Shebarshin Leonid Vladimirovich also met his future wife.

Nina Pushkina was a student from the Chinese department. They returned from the virgin lands as an inseparable couple and signed a few months later. And already the family went to practice in Pakistan.

Hello Asia

The art of diplomatic conversation Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin began to study in the city of Karachi. He was appointed interpreter and assistant to the ambassador. They lived with Nina in the embassy building. The room was rather bad: damp and small. But at that time, the Shebarshin couple believed that you couldn’t imagine a better home. In the summer of 1959, their son Alexei was born. Soon, a junior employee of the embassy, ​​Leonid Vladimirovich, was transferred to the post of attache.

At the same time, Vladimir was engaged in the internal politics of Pakistan. And his knowledge of the Urdu language helped him in this. A long business trip was coming to an end, and the family left Karachi in 1962, returning to Moscow.

For four years in Asia, Leonid has grown professionally to the third secretary. And this is a significant achievement for a 27-year-old man. In Moscow, Shebarshin got a job at the Foreign Ministry in the department of Southeast Asia. Leonid's duties, as he himself wrote, consisted of boring official negotiations, correspondence and dreary party meetings. Compared to Pakistan, work in Russian Foreign Ministry didn't bring joy and wasn't interesting.

At that moment, Shebarshin received an offer to visit the KGB for a secret conversation. In the committee, he was offered to become a state security officer. So Leonid Vladimirovich got into the intelligence school.

Mastering a new profession

The future head of foreign intelligence, Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin, received theoretical and practical skills in the field of ensuring the country's security at the 101st intelligence school. Trained with him 5 people selected for this service.

New disciplines were studied, practical classes were held in the city. The goal was to identify the observation, to communicate with the source, and to compile reports. All this required a good physical training, fiction, emotional endurance. During training, Leonid came up with a scheme for the operation, which was later awarded with a prize. Later he applied it in his work, and the scheme justified itself.

In 1963, the Shebarshin family was given an apartment. A year later, Tatyana was born. She lived for 19 years and died of an asthma attack, having managed to give birth to her grandson.

intelligence officer

Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin, being an employee of PSU, was sent to the internal political group of the embassy in Pakistan. Having shown successful results in his work, in 1968 he took retraining courses at the KGB Institute. Three years later, Leonid Vladimirovich is already the first deputy resident of state security in India. And from 1975 to 1977, he independently manages agent networks in India.

Work in Asia ended with the appointment of Leonid Vladimirovich as the head of the PGU KGB. This period (1989-1991) in the country was designated in history as an active stage of perestroika. In the intelligence department, the idea of ​​friendly Soviet-American relations began to be imposed. Economic difficulties began, a shortage of goods. The superpower was losing its world leadership position.

After the August, Leonid Vladimirovich wrote a letter of resignation. These events were the beginning creative activity intelligence chief. In 1998, the book "Chronicles of Timelessness" was published, authored by Shebarshin Leonid Vladimirovich. The main aphorisms are relevant to this day. Another publication was the biographical book The Hand of Moscow, which was published in 1993.

In 2012, L. V. Shebarshin shot himself from a premium pistol.

Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin: quotes

It is said that the best creative works are created when their author is in a state of mental decline and disappointment. So Leonid Vladimirovich published a collection of aphorisms "Chronicles of Timelessness" after the experience of disappointment. The homeland, for the security of which he fought all his life, no longer exists. The "master adversary" (the term for the US in KGB circles) is now an ally.

• Was there anything in the history of our state other than mistakes and crimes?
• Soviet power gradually descended to theft. Democracy started with him.
• They swore that they were building a new state, but only private dachas were built.
• The new leader is better than any old one - such is the axiom of Russian political science.

Shebarshin L. V

From the life of the head of intelligence

FOREWORD

Once, in the October fog, I was walking along a Moscow street.

It was in 1992, many years of service in the KGB went farther and farther into the past, forgotten, dissolved in everyday bustle, names, faces, deeds were dragged on by the autumn damp haze. A little more time will pass, and it will be possible to recall with a sad smile that I once headed the most mysterious service of the old Soviet Union - the foreign intelligence of the State Security Committee.

In my youth, rejoicing at a good memory and training it, I often tried to remember what happened on the same day exactly a year, two years ago. If it was possible to restore at least some, the most insignificant event, the whole day would begin to emerge in its entirety, seemingly completely forgotten details would surface.

So, slowly walking along the dark and slovenly street, I began to remember where I was and what I was doing exactly a year ago, in October 1991. It was a day without events and without a face. Nina Vasilievna and I lived at a service dacha in Yasenevo, I wrote my memoirs and, tearing myself away from paper, walked for hours through the forest. There was nothing to cling to my memory, only a feeling of disappointment, anxiety, bitter resentment, which did not leave me for a long time after the resignation, came to life.

What happened exactly two years ago?

Arriving home, I began to delve into my messy archive - a pile of clippings, extracts, notes in notebooks, excerpts from newspapers and books neatly printed on thick square sheets, home-made brochures - something like intimate observations, the manuscript of the book “The Hand of Moscow”. The occupation absorbed me, and before my eyes slowly began to appear, like an image on a developed photograph, the October day of 1990 - detail after detail, faces, words, deeds. I again saw Yasenevo, the buildings of the First Main Directorate, began to relive the old worries and worries.

A lot has been written about Soviet intelligence, but very little is known for certain, because they wrote about it mainly for one purpose - to expose the villainous “hand of Moscow”, traitors and shifters wrote.

I thought that it makes sense to recreate one day in the life of the head of intelligence, which fell on an extremely disturbing and difficult time in the history of our state. To recreate in order to sometimes turn to the notes yourself, to return to the familiar atmosphere of reflections, actions and decisions, in order to feel alive again, at least for a few minutes. It would be even better if there were readers who would be interested in the inner life of such a mysterious, but for me as ordinary, institution as intelligence.

The October day has been restored and described. It turned out to be a story with no beginning and no end. I had to turn to other days, to turning points in the fate of intelligence and its chief.

June 1991 is memorable for the fact that the presidential elections in Russia were held and, in my opinion, the fate of the Soviet state was sealed. August and September of the same year were marked by the collapse of the old KGB and the beginning of new troubles for the great country falling apart. In September, my service ended, which for many years was the meaning and content of my whole life. So, a few days in the life of an intelligence chief and one in the life of a former intelligence officer who just can't get used to the fact that he is a "former".

OCTOBER NINETY

“When in the foliage, damp and rusty.

A bunch of rowan will turn red ... "

The autumn forest near Moscow is sad, but the gray wet tape of the road is decorated with bright spots. maple leaves and in some places, if you look carefully around, bunches of mountain ash really turn red. The morning air is cool and delicious, there has been no snow yet, autumn is coming to an end, the forest, sky, grass, people live in anticipation of the coming winter.

Early autumn morning best time in order to calmly and soberly look at life and oneself. The look is not distorted by either sorrows or joys, yesterday's worries, anxieties and hopes under the low cool sky seem empty, and you wonder: did they really prevent you from falling asleep? After all, everything is so simple, and a clear plan of action appears in my head, which slipped away yesterday when I was looking for a solution and did not find it. The vicissitudes of life... Uninvited guest suddenly there is a phrase: “Life seems hard only in the evenings. It's unbearable in the morning." Today it is not so.

Half an hour of energetic walking ahead, half an hour alone with yourself, moving towards a long day.

A figure in a blue tracksuit and a colorful knitted cap runs along the side path, waving its arms. KGB Chairman Kryuchkov morning exercises. Vladimir Alexandrovich has an iron will, constancy of habits and beliefs. Morning work-out for him not only (and I suspect not so much) a physical, but also a spiritual need. Life forced this man to go to bed at dawn or not go to bed at all, but never could make him refuse to exercise. Yesterday the chairman fell asleep not earlier than one in the morning. I know this for sure - at half past twelve he woke me up with a phone call from the car on the way to the dacha. I bow politely, Vladimir Alexandrovich waves his hand and, to my relief, continues to run. Rarely is it different. He pauses and gives some order, usually urgent, and this means that there will not be a quiet day.

At the gates of the dacha village there is a huge black "ZIL", waiting for the chairman, the black "Volga" of the guards, polished to an unthinkable brilliance. Nearby is a group of smart and very polite young people in civilian clothes, with whom we bow amicably. These are security officers. More recently, it was called the Ninth Directorate, "Nine" and was, for some not entirely clear reason, renamed in the course of a cosmetic "perestroika" into the KGB. Personal protection in our world means belonging to the highest spheres, belonging to the Power, personal comfort and an extreme degree of isolation from society. Once, in Stalin's times, the circle of those protected was prohibitively wide - party functionaries to secretaries of regional committees, ministers, prominent scientists, then it narrowed down to members and candidate members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and later extended to members of the State Committee created by Gorbachev for some unknown purpose. advice. "Nine" lived, grew, adapted to new times and honestly served.

In a few minutes, the chairman will appear, go along the same autumn leaf-strewn road as I did, and ZIL and Volga will follow him at a respectful distance. The territory is fenced, equipped with a reliable alarm system, and the guarded person can walk several hundred meters alone without being at risk of unwanted meetings. Perhaps one of the PGU generals living in the same village will catch up with him with a quick run, hastily share in a hot whisper breaking news from intelligence and receive an approving nod from his superiors. In the afternoon, Kryuchkov may ask some unexpected question: “What is going on with Petrov (or Sidorov) there?” I will pretend to be surprised, ask how the chairman got information on such an empty case, he will mutter something mysterious, I will promise to complete the proceedings and report to him in detail later. The situation is clear to both of us - I know who managed to run up to the chairman with fresh, scandalous news, and he knows that I know it. An innocent game of busy people is going on, but there is some sense in it: the head of intelligence should not forget that his every word, every action, every gesture will be confidentially communicated to the chairman. I don't like whisperers, although I don't hold a grudge against them. In the end, they carry information not to the side, but to our highest authorities.

Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin is a brilliant intelligence professional, a deep analyst and a very honest and honest man- was last leader First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR. He kept and protected the agents, analyzed the information in conditions...

• July 19, 2018, 19:00

Genre: ,

Lieutenant General Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin for 29 years of service has gone from a detective to the head of Soviet foreign intelligence. He was an eyewitness to the disastrous "perestroika".

This book is the result of a long, thoughtful reflection on the features of...

• May 26, 2015, 23:47

Genre: ,

In March 2015, the 80th anniversary of the birth of the last head of foreign intelligence of the KGB of the USSR, Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin, is celebrated. This memorable date coincided with the other - in the same month, thirty years ago, Mikhail Gorbachev stood at the head of the Soviet Union and the so-called "perestroika" began.

L.V. Shebarshin was an eyewitness to this disastrous "perestroika" - in his book he writes about the conditions in which the employees of the State Security of the USSR had to work then. The topics of recruitment, relations with foreign agents, obtaining information, "illegal" intelligence are revealed against the background of the crisis of power and society that has affected intelligence.

Many years have passed since then. Some of us managed to fully adapt to new realities, but not L.V. Shebarshin, a legendary scout whose decency, honesty and courage was recognized even by his enemies, at the age of 77 committed suicide.

The book includes memoirs and latest interviews lieutenant general...

• April 8, 2014, 13:56

Genre: ,

In March 2012, the former head of the USSR foreign intelligence, L.V., tragically died. Shebarshin - according to the official version, he committed suicide. His death caused a lot of rumors in Russian society, as Leonid Shebarshin was one of the most knowledgeable top leaders of the KGB.

In the book presented to your attention, L.V. Shebarshin talks about his life and work for more than thirty years; about the events that caused "the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century" - the collapse of the Soviet Union. A picture of confrontation is shown Soviet intelligence and Western intelligence services, as well as the role of the latter in the collapse of the USSR and the establishment of a new political system in ...

• April 2, 2014, 02:03

Genre: ,

In the book of memoirs of the last head of foreign intelligence of the KGB of the USSR L.V. Shebarshin recreated the events preceding the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as those few days of the "August coup" in 1991, which became a turning point in the fate of a great country. The topics of recruitment, relations with foreign agents, obtaining information, "illegal" intelligence are revealed against the background of the crisis of power and society that has affected intelligence.

More than 30 years have passed since the collapse of the USSR. Some of us have managed to fully adapt to new realities. But not L.V. Shebarshin. The legendary intelligence officer, head of the Soviet foreign intelligence service, whose decency, honesty and courage were recognized even by his enemies, in 2012 committed suicide. Is it because his sharp analytical mind, knowledge and experience were not needed by the rebuilt Russia ...

The book includes memoirs and interviews...

• February 20, 2014, 01:13

Genre: ,

In March 2012, the former head of the USSR foreign intelligence, L.V., tragically died. Shebarshin - according to the official version, he committed suicide. His death caused a lot of rumors in Russian society, since Leonid Shebarshin was one of the most knowledgeable top leaders of the KGB. +

History, unfortunately, always remains an instrument of today's politics, and the one who owns the past controls both the present and the future. But time is relentless. The current Third Great Russian Distemper with its confusion, devastation, temporary leaders and age-old problems, with its bloody wars, catastrophes, putschs and conspiracies will also sink into the past. The great turmoil will become a thing of the past, but according to the immutable law of history, it will be invisibly present in the lives of all future generations of Russian people, just as it is present now.

And is a simple and literate Russian man with his hopes, fears, joys and sorrows doomed to disappear into nothing, leaving no trace for inquisitive descendants? Surely no one will be interested in what thoughts a resident of Russia overcame at the end of the 20th century, did he have a soul not for official presentation, but for his own use?

It seems that our descendants may turn out to be more inquisitive and kinder than one could expect in our unsettled and cruel times. It is to their attention that the actual and witty aphorisms of Leonid Shebarshin are offered, which are interesting already because their author headed the foreign intelligence of the KGB for many years...

Secrets of the Office. The life and death of General Shebarshin Povolyaev Valery Dmitrievich

Shebarshin Jr.

Shebarshin Jr.

Leonid Vladimirovich and Nina Vasilyevna had two children, both were born abroad: son Lesha and daughter Tanya.

Tanya - her husband's surname was Nasupkina - died of a severe asthma attack in the arms of a crying father, Tatyana's son Seryozha was about two months old at that time, he still did not understand what was happening, and although his father, Yuri Vasilyevich Nasupkin, was ready to deal with him , the grandson was decisively taken to his grandfather Leonid. Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin.

Son in law he said:

- Yura, you have a life ahead of you, a great life, you will probably create your own family, there will be a lot of trouble, give Earring to me to raise. You can come at any time to see him, even at night.

Nasupkin agreed with Leonid Vladimirovich, often came, fiddled with his son, and so it was for a long time. Then he got married - life took its toll.

And Serezha grew up, studied, his grandfather bought him a small apartment in which he now lives.

If the late daughter Tatyana looked like her father - well, just a spitting copy, then Shebarshin's son Alexei Leonidovich looks like his mother - Nina Vasilievna. Also a leaked copy. The same eyes, the same oval of the face, the same content.

We met with Alexei Leonidovich in Prilukov's office, talked about my father for two hours, probably, if not more. Alexey Leonidovich graduated from the same institute as his father, and very successfully passed the steps of the hierarchical Foreign Ministry ladder from a junior “pre-diplomatic” employee to an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, he was engaged, like his father, in the “Indian region” - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other countries included in this complex node.

When the tiny Seryozhka was left without a mother, Alexei Leonidovich and his wife also wanted to take him to their place, but the grandfather did not give them his grandson, he decided to take care of Seryozha himself.

Alexei loved his father, it was evident, despite his restraint, and it was, perhaps, impossible not to love Shebarshin Sr. He loved Shebarshin Jr. and his mother, she was as bright a person as Leonid Vladimirovich, and at the same time was a good addition to him. Who knows, maybe Shebarshin would not have made the career that he did if he did not have such a wife. Even after the death of Nina Vasilievna, he did not marry, remained faithful to her.

Despite the loneliness in a large apartment - after all, children and grandchildren have already left their native nest, scattered, and loneliness is a very difficult thing.

Shebarshin Jr. talks about her mother with undisguised tenderness: she graduated from school, like her father, with a silver medal, studied at the institute on the same course with Leonid Vladimirovich, studied China and easily learned the most difficult language. But, having married Leonid Shebarshin, she completely subordinated herself to her husband, his cares and aspirations. In her youth, Nina Vasilievna was a first-class athlete, participated in all-Union competitions, despite her small height, was a high jump champion, played for the Wings - the Wings of the Soviets team ...

I remember when I was working on a long article about the Shebarshin family for the Semya newspaper, I made a mistake, wrote that Nina Vasilievna was born in Pskov (and I still don’t know what prompted me to make such a rash statement), and when I arrived to Shebarshin, already with a bundle of newspapers, Nina Vasilievna said in a kind of timid and quiet voice:

- You know, Valery, I was not born in Pskov ...

Shebarshin immediately intervened in the conversation, shouted jokingly:

- Tsyts, mother, where it is written, there she was born!

The younger Shebarshin talked a lot about India, about life there, about hunting ... Leonid Vladimirovich knew how to famously shoot from a gun, flying in, and there were almost no cases when he missed.

By the way, here in Moscow, at the shooting range, Shebarshin also showed brilliant results. He was friends with the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Logvinov, therefore, when time allowed, he went to the shooting gallery of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And, to the surprise of experienced operatives, he "fired" at almost any police master from all types of weapons.

But back to India. I asked Alexei Leonidovich to tell some story about his father, when he had a great influence on him.

- Actually, the children were afraid of their father - probably, this is how it should be in every family: someone must have unshakable authority. Our father had such authority ... If he asked to do something, they did it immediately.

The story that Alexey Leonidovich told is interesting both from the point of view of psychology and from the point of view of education.

Father and mother were in Delhi, and Alexei was in Moscow - in the capital, not like in Delhi, one could get good school preparation ...

And it just so happened that Alexei Shebarshin did not go to school foreign language, English - well, it didn’t go, and that’s it. At least cry. And there was reason to cry when Alexei was slapped with one deuce, and then another.

They called, of course, the father. But there is no father - he is abroad ... They called the mother. She is also not in Moscow - she stays behind the cordon with her father. All in all, things were getting worse.

On vacation, Alexei flew to his father and there, in Delhi, he did not hide anything, he told everything.

The father was upset - he himself knew English perfectly - why is the son not given the language? In the end, the father did this: he took a colorful English comic book from the bookshelf, marked a few pages and said to his son:

– The task is as follows: to translate these pages in a day, in the evening, when I come home from work, retell them in English. All clear?

In the evening Aleksei retelled the translated text to his father, the next day he received a new task - to translate the next few pages and retell them in the evening.

In a month, Alexey translated, retold, and in fact - learned the entire thick comic book, from cover to cover, along with the text, several hundred new English words, and when he arrived in Moscow, he surprised everyone in his class, and first of all, the teacher of English language… She even opened her mouth in surprise. He even surpassed the distinguished local honors student Vera Kuzina. Faith, it seems, still cannot forgive Alexei Shebarshin for that defeat.

And since that time, Alexey’s language has gone - and not only English ... As a result, in 1982 he graduated from the legendary MGIMO University, the Eastern Department of the Faculty of International Relations, and became a diplomat. He worked in India for nine years, in Pakistan for five years, and in Sri Lanka as an ambassador for four years. In total, Shebarshin Jr. worked in the system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for twenty-nine years.

In the Union, special boarding schools were created for children whose parents were abroad. One, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was located in Chkalovskaya, the second, through the KGB, was located near the Izmailovsky Park metro station, Alexei studied in such a boarding school for four years - in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grades.

Of course, it’s better when children are with their parents - then it’s easier to raise them, and it’s easier to manage a family, but the father reasoned fairly: in the embassy school, all sciences would have been easy for Alexei, but this ease would have been visible - he would have been given five only for the fact that he is the son of Shebarshin, teachers would indulge, but no one will indulge in a boarding school, everyone is equal there, both the children of extraordinary plenipotentiary ambassadors and the children of “pre-diplomatic” workers study there ... Therefore, it’s better to study in Moscow, in a boarding school.

Aleksey Shebarshin had the warmest memories of the boarding school - it was a kind of school fraternity that had its own unspoken charter and its own code of honor, its own hierarchy and its own priorities. For all that, no one pinched anyone - everyone was equal.

Of course, it sometimes happened that, while at the boarding school, the son of the commandant of the embassy looked with some envy at the son of the ambassador, but this happened so rarely that the children did not even notice. But parents could be calm for their children.

When Alexei finished school, his father arrived. He put two bottles of good champagne on the table - not some quickly composed wine that is brewed in a bucket like early beer, but real champagne - he said with pleased warmth in his voice:

- This is for you and your friends, - then he pointed to the bookshelf, there was a block of the cherished and so rare in Moscow "Marlboro" - delicious American cigarettes, - he showed silently, without any accompanying words ...

Yes, actually, and without that everything was clear.

By the way, Aleksey Shebarshin never learned to drink, he didn’t even drink where it was necessary to drink, one might say, the protocol required it, and he tried to explain himself very gently to those who insisted that he must take a glass in his hands.

But the habit of smoking, and smoking often, was instilled in him - he inherited from his father. After school, Alexei had an institute, after the institute he worked for several months in the central office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then for five years in our embassy in Delhi, then he became an attaché. And the attache is already a person with green diplomatic "peels" in his pocket.

It was interesting to work in India, and Alexey Leonidovich was grateful that his father had instilled in him an interest, and later love, for this country. Alexei met a lot of unusual things in life, he learned a lot, and, to be honest, he began to look at life with different eyes: after all, every country, its philosophy, people and customs, culture and household way of life be sure to leave an imprint on the person who came to it.

And he didn’t just come, but decided to work, spend several years in the country… Alexey Shebarshin very quickly came to the conclusion that it was more interesting to work in the East than in the West.

Here the people are cleaner, more delicate, more friendly, simpler than in the West, the attitude towards Russians is more respectful ... And in the West, a person will smile very often, say pleasant words, and keep a stone in his bosom. And at the first opportunity, when the interlocutor loses vigilance, he will warm with this stone.

There are more than enough examples of this. So Alexey Leonidovich quite rightly believes that he himself was lucky, and his father was lucky - those countries and lands to which they were led by the diplomatic road (and, accordingly, education) are very interesting.

After India, Shebarshin Jr. worked for five years in Pakistan. His mission was difficult - he was looking for Soviet prisoners of war captured by dushmans in Afghanistan and transported to Pakistan.

However, dushmans captured not only the military, but also civilians. In particular, at the very beginning of the Afghan campaign, one prominent geologist was hired, who was engaged in a matter very necessary for the whole of Afghanistan - he was looking for water in a country suffering from lack of water and found it, found a lot of water. The same Kabul can receive it today as much as it considers necessary.

The geologist had a lot of merits - he went through the war in front-line reconnaissance, had many orders, worked in Afghanistan as the head of the geological contract, his last name is Akhrimyuk.

His own Afghan driver helped steal the geologist, and no matter how much later our reconnaissance groups went around the Afghan provinces to free the captive, they did not find him - they returned with nothing.

Two years later, our army intelligence probed the camps of the Mujahideen in the adjacent territory, so the commander was shown a lonely grave overgrown with weeds:

- Here lies your shuravi ...

It was the grave of a purely civilian - not military - person: a glorious geologist who did so much for Afghanistan - he was simply tortured.

All our civilians who came at that time on business trips to Afghanistan were given weapons - pistols. Basically it was the Makarovs. Weapons were not given in order to fight the dushmans and show heroism, they were given so that the Shuravi (Soviet, that means) could not be captured alive.

This is also the East, the same magical East smelling of spices, which we so often admire, capable of captivating and making the most pragmatic, tough person into an incorrigible romantic.

I can imagine how many hopes our guys, who found themselves in the dushman dungeons, endured hunger, and torture, and humiliation, had with people who were busy looking for prisoners.

I had to contact all the "charity organizations" that could help in the search, and first of all with the Red Cross. The Red Cross helped a lot, often and, most importantly, effectively.

Once the Red Cross handed over to our embassy in Islamabad a letter from a prisoner of war - a Tajik boy named Tashrifov.

The boy sent a letter to his father, who lives in the Pamir Mountains, saying that he would never return home, he had a great life, he was among his Islamic brothers and did not regret anything.

This letter, of course, was read at the embassy, ​​it did not please any of the employees, but according to the law, all letters that the Red Cross employees transmitted had to be forwarded to the addressees.

It was decided to forward this letter to the unfortunate father, who had lost his son.

But here's the thing - in the rush, no one paid attention to the envelope. And on the envelope, in addition to the address, the following was written: "The Afghan enemy is nearby."

It was a signal: the letter was written under dictation, the boy soldier was kept locked up and they were not going to let him out.

Soviet Ambassador Viktor Pavlovich Yakunin took the letter, took the envelope and went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he demanded that this matter be carefully sorted out.

Officials from the ministry were forced to retreat, their representative went to the camp where the spooks were based. The Tajik boy ended up there… He was brought to Islamabad. Meanwhile, the boy's father arrived from the Soviet Union, rushed to his son, tears in his eyes.

Why did you decide to leave me? Did I bring you up badly, did I infringe on you in some way?

And the boy could not answer anything, his throat was also clogged with tears - he hugged his father and cried.

Then, having come to his senses, he told under what circumstances the letter was written, how they pressured him and dictated every word ... If he had not obeyed, they would certainly have been killed.

Soon the father and son of the Tashrifovs left for the Soviet Union, for Tajikistan, and the Pakistani side was forced once again to admit the presence of hostile forces on its territory. Soviet Union camps...

When a very difficult August 1991 came and riots broke out in Moscow, Shebarshin Jr. was returning by car from Peshawar to Islamabad and heard a message on the radio about what was happening in the Soviet capital. It became alarming, very alarming: after all, the father is such a person that he will not stand aside ... Despite all his kindness, his inability to offend anyone, his decency and unwillingness to interfere in any squabbles.

God forbid, something would happen to him... Alexey Leonidovich was afraid of this - even his throat was intercepted and there was nothing to breathe.

Back in Islamabad, he started calling his father. At home, at the dacha, at work, long dreary beeps sounded in response. It seems that emptiness is measured with such beeps ...

Shebarshin Jr. was nervous and called, called, called to Moscow.

I called two days later. Father was alive and well, his voice was only very tired and preoccupied. Aleksey Leonidovich understood well the burden that lay on him.

I wanted to immediately go to Moscow, see my father, see my mother ... But for this it was necessary to abandon all the affairs with the prisoners of war that he led, to cut off a very difficult search. This could never be allowed to happen. And yes, he needed a lot of help. strangers who found themselves in the dushman pits. I had to wait for vacation, my turn.

But all vacations at the embassy were frozen, the reason was the most banal - there was not enough money. Financing of diplomacy was reduced in all respects (and what is diplomacy! - for the sake of enrichment, achieving a dwarf goal - to grow their own billionaire oligarchs, thousands of the most important factories, including defense ones, were put on their side, entire industries disappeared), in Alexei Leonidovich managed to get to Moscow only two years later.

Father was cheerful, well-behaved and looked good, he had his own opinion on everything that was happening around, kept in touch with friends and colleagues. In general, he was full of optimism. It was some kind of renewed person, and Shebarshin Jr. liked him.