«General Beda flew through the side window of the 'Chaika'». A little-known 1976 accident in which the second most important person in the BSSR and a combat pilot-general died

Leonid Beda (in glasses) and Fyodor Surganov in the center of the frame. The photo was taken shortly before the catastrophe.

The area of the «Riga» department store in Minsk is where Surganov Street intersects with Beda Street. Probably, many local residents do not even suspect that such a neighborhood is not accidental. On the day of the tragedy, December 26, 1976, these two prominent statesmen were also nearby, in the same car.

Fyodor Surganov: from partisan underground to the pinnacle of power in the BSSR

We know Fyodor Surganov as one of the leaders of the Byelorussian SSR, the closest associate of Pyotr Masherov and Tikhon Kiselev. A man who was part of the team of leaders tasked with rebuilding the republic in the post-war period, laying and developing its industrial and economic potential.

During the war, he was one of the organizers and leaders of the partisan movement and the Komsomol underground — selecting young people for destruction squads, forming self-defense groups, and helping to publish underground newspapers and leaflets in the occupied territory. Fate brought him together with Masherov in 1943, when Surganov was sent behind enemy lines. At that time, he landed by plane at an airfield in the Naliboki Pushcha, joined the partisan movement, and took over the leadership of underground Komsomol organizations in the Baranovichi and Vileyka regions. He participated in combat operations.

Павялічыць

A fragment dedicated to Surganov in the exposition of the Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk

After the war, Surganov linked his life with party work and quickly advanced up the career ladder. He headed the executive committee of the Minsk region, served as secretary of the regional party committee, and then became the second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus. In 1971, Surganov headed the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic, becoming the second most important figure in the power hierarchy of the BSSR after Pyotr Masherov, who held the highest party post.

As the official responsible for agriculture, Fyodor Surganov was cautious about agrarian reforms and did not allow the widespread craze for corn and other Khrushchev's innovations. In 1969, he opened the Khatyn memorial complex and lit the eternal flame there — this moment can be found on YouTube. And in 1974, he met American President Richard Nixon on Belarusian soil. This was the first visit of a US leader to Minsk in history.

Soviet newspapers called that time «a period of international detente,» and The New York Times, for convenience, introduced Surganov to its readers as the president of the Belarusian republic.

Павялічыць

Fyodor Surganov (center) at the opening of the Khatyn complex, 1969

Leonid Beda: Front-line Pilot, Twice Hero, and Commander of Military Aviation

Leonid Beda went down in history as an outstanding military pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war, he made 214 combat sorties in an Il-2 attack aircraft. He participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, liberated Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, fought in offensive operations in Poland and East Prussia.

One of his first combat sorties almost became his last. At that time, the squadron attacked enemy echelons in the railway junction area near Stalingrad. In the first pass at the target, bombs were supposed to be dropped, but Leonid Beda mistakenly fired unguided rockets. In the second pass, he fired from the cannon and only on the way back remembered about the bombs, which were strictly forbidden to return with. Then the young pilot made a risky decision to return alone to enemy positions. During the attack, he drew fire from all anti-aircraft guns and a «Messerschmitt» flight, which literally riddled the Il-2.

Beda was wounded in the head but managed to reach the airfield. Later, 380 shell and large-caliber bullet holes were counted on the aircraft's fuselage.

Павялічыць

Commander of an assault regiment squadron Leonid Beda among female bomber pilots

Almost throughout the war, Beda flew with a single air gunner, Semyon Romanov. Although the life of an attack pilot at the front was usually short, an air gunner, on average, lived even less, as he was much less protected than the pilot. German fighters often attacked from behind, dropping below the Il-2, into the «blind spot» where the air gunner could not see them, and then shot down the defenseless aircraft. But Beda mastered a counter-technique: he performed a «barrel roll,» flipping the aircraft upside down, and in this position, the air gunner, albeit inverted, could fire.

During the war, Leonid Beda rose from pilot to assistant regimental commander for air-gunnery service. Despite his surname (Beda means «misfortune» in Belarusian), he always had success in battles. For the pilot and his entourage, he became something like a lucky charm. It happened that groups under Beda's command successfully completed tasks with minimal losses. And all the pilots of the squadron under his command finished the war with the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union.

After the war, he continued to serve in the armed forces. The career of the twice Hero developed rapidly. Beda commanded a regiment, a division, and in the 1970s became commander of the aviation of the Belarusian Military District.

Павялічыць

The day of the catastrophe: 1976, December, Belovezhskaya Pushcha

And now we move to 1976. On that winter day, Fyodor Surganov and Leonid Beda found themselves at the same airfield in the Pruzhany district, from where they were returning to Minsk in a government «Chaika» car as part of a motorcade and got into a car accident.

In late December 1976, the entire top leadership of the BSSR was in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha, where Raúl Castro, Fidel's younger brother, the second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, was a guest.

Cuban leaders maintained especially warm relations with the leadership of the Belarusian republic. The first meeting between Pyotr Masherov and Fidel Castro took place in 1966 in Cuba. The two partisan leaders quickly found common ground. One had years of struggle in the underground and partisan life in the Rason forests behind him, the other — an insurgent struggle in the Sierra Maestra mountains.

As early as 1972, while visiting the USSR, Fidel Castro insisted on visiting Minsk and meeting Masherov again. His brother Raúl also became imbued with stories about Belarus' partisan past and visited the republic as soon as the opportunity arose — in December 1976.

The day before, in the Kremlin, he participated in the festivities dedicated to Leonid Brezhnev's 70th birthday, after which he decided to go to Minsk — he held a number of protocol meetings, visited Khatyn, and then departed for Belovezhskaya Pushcha — to relax and hunt.

Павялічыць

Raul Castro (third from right) in Khatyn, December 1976. Photo: BelTA

Masherov and Kiselyov, both passionate hunters, joined the Cuban guest and his family in the forest. But, according to the recollections of the gamekeepers, it was Raúl Castro's wife, Vilma, who surprised everyone the most — she could hit a small coin from ten paces, not to mention wild boars! The Cuban woman shocked everyone with her sniper skills during a driven hunt. Where such accuracy came from, they didn't particularly ponder. Meanwhile, Raúl Castro's wife was one of the leaders of the revolution and participated in battles.

The day before Raúl's departure, Fyodor Surganov also joined the company. According to etiquette, he, along with other leaders, was to escort the high-ranking guest. On the morning of December 26, the entire delegation left the government residence in Belovezhskaya Pushcha for the Zasimovichi military airfield in the Pruzhany district, where two planes were already preparing for takeoff — a civilian one for Castro and a military one. Leonid Beda arrived on the latter to personally pick up Masherov and take him to Minsk.

Why Surganov and Beda didn't fly to Minsk by plane

One of the last people to see Surganov and Beda alive and talk to them two hours before their death was KGB Colonel Alexey Krivoshein. That day, his task was to ensure the security of VIP guests at the airport. In 2003, he first shared his memories with the newspaper «Sovetskaya Belorussia». Here's what he recounted:

«That day the weather was terrible. Special equipment and dozens of soldiers, it seemed, were uselessly fighting the snow on the runway. A minute later, it was covered again. The planes were preparing for takeoff. And then a cavalcade of black government cars appeared. I was amazed at the enormous speed at which they were moving in such difficult weather conditions. Pyotr Mironovich, after greeting us, reproached us for not providing good weather. He was joking, of course.

But Beda was clearly not inclined to perceive jokes. He immediately began to beg Castro to refuse the flight. However, it was clear that everything here was decided by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus. Pyotr Mironovich asked the commander of the government plane to approach and asked aloud: «Can you take off?» Of course, the answer was affirmative.

And just as the plane with Raúl Castro took off, Beda's anxious exclamation suddenly (for me, at least) rang out: «Where, oh where are you pulling up the nose so high? Level it, I tell you, level it!» The machine was moving almost perpendicularly to the ground at that moment. Ace pilot Beda understood better than anyone else that the climax was about to come. However, the plane in the most miraculous way suddenly assumed a stable position and soon disappeared from sight behind the dark clouds.

«Then I'll fly too,» said Masherov. At this point, Beda, not mincing words, said everything he thought about it, and Pyotr Mironovich gave in. It was decided to go by car.»

It should be noted that Leonid Beda's son, Leonid Leonidovich, later presented a slightly different version to journalists. According to him, his father was actually suggesting that Masherov fly to Minsk. He claimed that the weather in Pruzhany allowed takeoff, but Minsk was covered in fog. However, the forecast was favorable, and Beda advised waiting another hour and a half — and then taking off. That way, they would arrive in the capital in 2-2.5 hours, which would be much faster than driving along the old Brest highway. But Masherov allegedly still gave the order to travel by car.

Details of the catastrophe: how Surganov's «Chaika» crashed into a bus

The first three cars of the Brest region State Automobile Inspectorate led the convoy, followed by Masherov's «Chaika,» then Kiselyov's car, in which the wives were traveling. Tikhon Kiselyov himself got into Surganov's car. Leonid Beda literally jumped in there on the fly. Another traffic police car closed the motorcade.

During a stop at a gas station in Ivatsevichi, Kiselyov moved from Surganov's car to join the wives, thereby, as it turned out later, saving his life. Only minutes remained until the collision. And here, different versions appear again. According to one of them, Surganov's car was delayed at the gas station, and the driver had to catch up with the speeding motorcade.

At the same time, Masherov's daughter Natalya claimed in an interview that Masherov and Surganov had switched places in the motorcade. Allegedly, at the gas station, Fyodor Anisimovich said: «You haven't refueled yet, Petya, let me go ahead, I'll be in your place just this once.»

Fyodor Surganov's son, Evgeny, described the car accident in the most detail. As a KGB officer, he conducted his own investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy and in 2010 shared his findings with «Komsomolskaya Pravda».

According to him, two buses were moving ahead of the motorcade. The driver of the first noticed the approaching traffic police cars and stopped — but not on the shoulder, but on the road. The driver of the LAZ bus, which was following him, did not have time to react and crashed into the rear of the first bus. The LAZ turned sideways halfway across the road — and Surganov's «Chaika» slammed into it.

«The convoy had already passed by this point, and my father's 'Chaika' was just catching up to it,» Surganov's son recounted. «The collision was very strong. My father died instantly… Leonid Ignatievich Beda flew through the side window, but that didn't save him… The only survivor was the driver. If only he had been more experienced! I checked everything by seconds: he had time to slow down, turn the steering wheel — and the car would have flown into the field. Maybe it would even have overturned, but someone might have survived. But he confessed that instead of acting when he saw a wall in front of him, he fainted from fear and didn't even brake!»

Павялічыць

Later, Evgeny Surganov also learned the details about the driver of that LAZ, Nedelsky. He worked at a factory in Lviv, transporting vehicles after painting. The day before, he had been deprived of his license. But he put a fake license plate on one of the buses, found fellow travelers, and rushed to Belarus for the weekend to buy cheap food for the New Year.

On March 3, 1977, the Supreme Court of the BSSR found Nedelsky guilty of the accident and sentenced him to 15 years in prison for violating traffic rules, which resulted in the death of two people. He served about 6 years, and then, after an amnesty, returned to his homeland in Lviv in 1983.

Naturally, the death of such high-ranking officials could not but give rise to rumors of a political conspiracy. In reality, there was only a tragic combination of circumstances and a gross violation of the rules for escorting the first persons of the state.

Why the accident with Surganov didn't deter Masherov

Four years later, Pyotr Masherov crashed under similar circumstances. The accident occurred on the same highway, in the Smolevichi district. Only this time, there were not buses ahead, but two trucks. One of them, as in the previous case, braked and remained on the roadway, while the second crashed into its rear and drove into the oncoming lane — directly towards the «Chaika.»

In both cases, the escort crews sped ahead without ensuring safety, without checking if all oncoming cars had stopped. Reflecting on the causes of the tragedies, Evgeny Surganov stated: «Unfortunately, both Masherov and my father died because they paid too little attention to their own entourage.»

One of the drivers in Masherov's motorcade, Oleg Slesarenko, later admitted that deviations from escort rules were systemic in those years. Routes for official trips around the country were not coordinated in detail with the traffic police, no posts were set up on highways, and traffic was not blocked. Masherov often chose where to go himself and changed routes on the fly. He did not deny himself fast driving. Was such a risk justified?

This is a question to which it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer. On the one hand, high-profile government leaders were often forced to consider operational needs and save time, which required flexibility and speed. On the other hand, such risks inevitably increased the likelihood of tragedies.

According to Leonid Beda's son, it is also important to consider the fact that Masherov and his associates often perceived any restrictions as excessive. As former front-line soldiers, they did not attach due importance to dangers in peacetime.

Traffic police officers, however, lacked the courage to insist on observing elementary safety rules, fearing the wrath of their superiors. This was the case in 1976, when Surganov and Beda died, and it repeated in 1980, when Masherov passed away.

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