Soviet Union 1991

Second update

"Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin, Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces, died in an intercontinental missile test at the Tyuratam Scientific Research and Testing Site in 1960. An accident occurred during the launch of the P16 intercontinental missile. Unfortunately, Buried in flames, he became the first Soviet marshal to die in an accident. Deputy Director of the Latam Test Site Nosov, Heads of the Tyuratam Test Site Administration Grigoryantz and Ostashov Vice Chairman of the State Missile Test Committee Grishin, and Chief Designer of the Missile Control System Kono. Pulev, deputy chief designers of the 586 Special Design Bureau Berlin and Koncevoy, deputy chief designers of the Glushko Design Bureau Felsov..."

"Comrade Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov, the first pilot to enter space multiple times and the first Soviet cosmonaut to die during manned spaceflight, died in April 1967 Soyuz accident.”

It was supposed to be a celebration to celebrate the successful launch of the Lotus satellite, but Yanayev's speech seemed a bit unreasonable. He did not praise the success of the Soviet space department, but uncharacteristically recounted the failed missile launch incident. The joy that originally hung on people's faces slowly subsided. They listened to Yanayev's speech carefully and saw unconcealable sadness on the face of the communist leader.

"I want to talk about the death of Comrade Komarov. When ground personnel inspected the Soyuz 1 spacecraft, they found more than 200 structural problems that would make flying the spacecraft in space dangerous. However, No one dared to report these issues to Brezhnev, the then Soviet leader, for fear of being demoted or fired, so the mission went ahead as planned, which ultimately led to tragedy.”

"And the first Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Rocket Force, Nedelin, in order to take the lead in the competition with the United States and at the same time repay Khrushchev's kindness in promoting him to the artillery chief last year, appeared in the intercontinental missile preparations for launch. Some glitches rejected Baikonu In order to launch as early as possible and gain time, the chief engineer had to violate the rules and allow the inspection of various systems at the same time, instead of going one by one as required, which ultimately led to that. An accident happened."

There was silence all around. Yanayev's voice was not very loud, but it had a shocking power that made everyone listen to what he said quietly.

“Here, what I want to explain to you is that the Soviet aerospace sector, as a pillar industry, has immeasurable status and prospects, but I also do not want you to follow the path of Khrushchev and Brezhnev. During this period, I ignored the safety of other people for the sake of competition, and chose to turn a blind eye when I could have avoided the tragedy. Likewise, I don’t want to see the tragedy of Comrade Nedelin and Comrade Komarov happen again.”

Yanayev picked up the bouquet of flowers on the stage and said to everyone, "This is why I chose to come here with a bouquet of flowers, to apologize to the heroes who died in the space accident and to our past. Apologize for the mistakes they made. Although they are buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery with a state funeral, I hope their souls lingering in Baikonur can rest in peace."

Apologize? General Secretary Yanayev actually apologized for the mistakes made by previous leaders?

No one dared to question Yanayev's decision, and no one dared to stop Yanayev's actions. In the stunned eyes of others, Yanayev walked directly out of the launch center and walked towards the cemetery where the aircraft debris was buried. The Buran still lay quietly in the warehouse, losing its former glory, and the huge abandoned engine of the N1 rocket was half-buried in the loess. The glory of the past has gone with the wind, but the lessons learned from their failures have become the driving force to guide the Soviet aerospace industry to move forward.

"They were heroes once." Minister Rykoptev, standing next to Yanayev, said slowly.

Yanayev placed the bouquet of flowers in front of the stone monument, which was established in 1995 to commemorate the heroes who sacrificed their lives in the history of Soviet aviation. The names of the victims of each accident are engraved on the stone tablet. In the tragic accident in 1960 alone, more than 90 people died.

The densely packed stone monuments record the tragic sacrifices in the history of Soviet aviation development. Just like the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the sacrifices of these people set off alarm bells for the entire country.

Yanayev denied Minister Rykoputev’s statement, “They were heroes before, they are heroes now, and they will also be heroes of the Soviet Union in the future. Although they sleep under the yellow sand and their names are unknown, history cannot be erased after all. The merits of these people.”

Yanayev stared at the name on the tombstone. The youngest victim was only 22 years old, a soldier who had been in the army for less than two years. The young face in the black and white photo made Yanayev look a little dazzling.

He said to himself, "When faced with an accident, don't we let the people do it?"

"Comrade Rykoputev, just do me a favor." Yanayev turned around, his eyes looked very serious, and he said word by word, "Just for the sake of this country, do me a favor."

"General Secretary Yanayev, what do you want me to do for you?" Rykoptev was a little uncomfortable with the sudden change of attitude of the General Secretary, but he still agreed.

Yanayev pointed to the name on the tombstone and said slowly, "The Soviet Union no longer needs such heroes."

Yanayev turned around, looked at the debris of the rocket launch buried in the yellow sand, and said seriously, "Why do you need to use such a cruel method to create a Soviet hero? Many accidents can obviously be avoided, just because of fear Accountability from the top? Are you afraid of being demoted or fired? Would you rather use your life to create Soviet-style miracles? With all due respect, if anyone has such an idea, I will be the first to let him go. Get out of position."

What Yanayev said made Minister Rykoptev break out in cold sweat. It was the first time that he encountered a national leader who told him these things that could not be revealed in such a straightforward manner. At the same time, he also understood why the guards stayed away from Yanayev and himself. It turned out to be to create an environment for secret conversations.

"That's why I say that there are enough people who have received the Heroic Medal in the history of the Soviet Union. I don't want to see other family members receiving the Heroic Medal on their behalf. I don't want to see a crying and heartbroken mother. , a heartbroken wife and a child who has lost his father, I have had enough of it all.”

Yanayev patted Rykoptev on the shoulder, "I hope you can take care of yourself. There are already enough names on this stone tablet. There is almost no room for it. Don't let me see new names appear on it. ”

Yanayev turned and left, leaving Minister Rykoptev standing there alone looking at the stone monument in a daze. (To be continued.)