Mikhail Suslov: a man with the face of an aged student
The Communist ascetic
Stalin noticed the lanky, bespectacled young man. Mikhail Andreevich, like no one else, could quickly find the right quote from the works of Lenin, Marx and Engels at the right moment. And in those days when there was no Internet at hand, such talents were valued at their weight in gold.
Mikhail Andreevich Suslov.
There is an opinion that Stalin still left an heir. And it wasn't Malenkov or Kosygin. And certainly not Khrushchev. The leader wanted the party to be headed by the same ascetic as him, Suslov Mikhail Andreevich.
In the Kremlin dining hall, he didn't look at the delicacies he could afford. His usual meal was mashed potatoes with sausage. After dinner, he always left 80 kopecks on the table. He didn't want to eat at someone else's expense.
He wore the same draped coat, gray raincoat, and old-fashioned suit. He always wore galoshes in chilly weather. But no one could accuse Mikhail Andreyevich of being dirty. Once at one meeting, Brezhnev even joked: "Why don't we chip in, comrades, for a new suit for Mikhail Andreevich?" Suslov accepted the criticism of his comrades and the next day came in a new suit.
And for what purposes, you may ask, did he spend his salary as a member of the Politburo? "It's for charity. I transferred them to orphanages and hospitals. I bought books for the library in my homeland." He helped build the memorial at Piskarevskoye Cemetery.
Naturally, a person like Suslov could not afford to smoke and drink alcoholic beverages. There was always boiled water in his glass. Anyone who didn't know Mikhail Andreevich intimately was surprised that he never got drunk, no matter how much he drank.
Kvass can not be prepared without wort, and ideology - without Suslov (his surname goes from wort in Russian). So Brezhnev jokingly spoke about Suslov.
Suslov's demonic reputation was created by his "ward comrades". On duty, he supervised the creative intelligentsia, and they did not climb into their pockets for a word. Many of their brethren were afraid of him.
However, contrary to the prevailing stereotype, Suslov was not a primitive cracker. When Ehrenburg published his article in defense of lyricism in the age of electronics, where he gave an example that a lilac branch would be useful in space, Suslov warmly supported the poet.
Leaders of the party and the Soviet government on a walk in the Kremlin during a break between meetings of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU. From left to right-foreground: F. P. Kozlov, N. S. Khrushchev, M. A. Suslov, L. I. Brezhnev
However, he was deathly opposed to publishing any work whose content could in one way or another harm the foundations of Communist teaching. By the way, students of that time should say "thank you" to Suslov for the opportunity to study scientific communism for two courses.
Mikhail Andreevich never scolded anyone. He was always friendly and respectful, even to his opponents. But if it was necessary, he acted methodically, culturally and quite harshly. It was Suslov who brought order to Poland when the political crisis broke out there.
Suslov once helped Khrushchev justify the harmful nature of the cult of personality. He also supported him in 1957, when the old Bolsheviks tried to remove the First Secretary. But in 1964, Suslov did not support Khrushchev. In his report to the plenum of the Central Committee, he publicly revealed the whole truth about "Tsar Nikita". He really hated Nikita Khrushchev's adventurism lately.
Brezhnev's main soloist
"A man with the face of an aged student," French President Giscard d'Estaing said of the country's main ideologist. The Frenchman hit the nail on the head with his statement, so Suslov's behavior did not have the slightest touch of sensuality, characteristic of many of his comrades in the Central Committee. At any age, young and attentive eyes looked at the interlocutor from under the glasses.
Suslov was the main soloist in the Brezhnev Orchestra. Brezhnev appreciated Mikhail Andreevich's efficiency, lack of intrigue on his part, and indifference to authority. And the authority of Suslov was very useful to Leonid Ilyich. He was known abroad as a follower of Russian revolutionary traditions.
Mikhail Andreevich died in January 1982. At his funeral, Brezhnev could not hold back tears. "We are losing the best people," was all Leonid Ilyich could say. Suslov believed in the party's ideals until his last day.
No one then could have imagined that with the death of Mikhail Suslov, the "five-year funeral plan" for members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee would begin.
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С уважением,
Бойко Ирина Львовна
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