Viktor Ilyin

Viktor Ilyin ("Виктор Иванович Ильин", b. 1948) was a Second Lieutenant in the Soviet Army who tried to assassinate Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev on January 22 1969.

Background

Victor Ilyin was born in Leningrad from alcoholic parents who were soon deprived of parental rights. He was placed in an orphanage and later adopted by a married couple. In 1968 he graduated from Leningrad school of topography and was drafted to the army. He was serving in a topographical detachment in the town Lomonosov. He continued to live in Leningrad with his stepmother and grandmother commuting to the army unit every day.

Assassination attempt

On January 21, 1969, Victor Ilyin left the army unit taking two Makarov PM and four magazines of ammunition with him. He went to Leningrad and flew to Moscow. He stayed at his uncle, a police officer. He explained that he came to see the celebration of the cosmonauts (Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 crews) which was to be held the following day, where Leonid Brezhnev would be present as well. On January 22 in the morning he left his uncle's flat in his police uniform, and went to the Moscow Kremlin. His uniform prevented any suspicions. He stood in a police cordon just between two police squads so that one squad thought that he is from the other squad. The governmental motorcade approached the gate at about 2PM. Victor Ilyin knew that Brezhnev's car always comes second in the motorcade. He skipped the first car and fired 16 bullets in 6 seconds on the windshield of the second car.

However, the second car had only the driver and four cosmonauts in it: Alexei Leonov, Andrian Nikolayev, Valentina Tereshkova and Georgi Beregovoi. Beregovoi, sitting at the front, was somewhat similar in appearance to Brezhnev, which might also have contributed to Ilyin's mistake. The driver was shot to death while the cosmonauts ducked and escaped the bullets. Beregovoi was slightly wounded with a piece of glass and a bullet scratched Nikolayev's back. A motorcyclist from the escort was also injured when he intentionally crashed into Victor Ilyin, who was immediately detained by KGB. The official press release stated that it was the attempt to assassinate the cosmonauts.

Later years

Victor Ilyin was charged on 5 articles of the penal code: libelous propaganda, terrorism attempt, murder, weapon theft, and desertion. Criminal investigators never doubted his sanity, however, in May 1970 he was sent to a mental institution in Kazan where he lived in total isolation in a tiny cell. In 1988 his mother arranged to move him to another mental institution in Leningrad. In 1990, he was released by a decision of Military board of the Supreme court. He was given a flat in Leningrad where he lives up to this day. He successfully sued the army to get his salary for 20 years, as he was not formally dismissed from the army. He states that he does not regret anything except the death of the innocent driver and troubles for two of his friends who were convicted to 5 years in jail for participation in anti-Soviet conversations and failure to report it to the authorities.

Motives

Ilyin disapproved of the political system in the country, of Soviet invasion into Czechoslovakia and admired Kennedy's murderer. Just before the events he had finished his relationship with a girlfriend and learnt that he was adopted.

In 1977, during the ongoing discussion of the new Soviet constitution he suggested a new article to be added: "Every citizen has a right for terrorism in case the government and the Party stick to a policy that does not conform to the constitution".

Conspiracy theory

On January 21, army commanders already knew that a soldier had escaped with two loaded guns, and it was known that he flew to Moscow after they found his notes. Ilyin's uncle also reported to the authorities that his nephew had stolen his uniform and intended to sneak into the Kremlin. Despite knowledge of the circumstances, the fact he was wearing a summer uniform and looked different, Ilyin was not apprehended. On the other hand, Brezhnev was out of danger: he was in an armored limo that entered the Kremlin through another gate. This has lead to a suggestion that KGB knew about Ilyin's plans but deliberately let him carry them out.

Public opinion

It was difficult for the authorities to conceal the event partly because the greeting of cosmonauts was broadcast live on TV. It was suddenly interrupted, which indicated that something extraordinary happened. A day after the media reported that someone was shooting at the cosmonauts but according to the opinions of Western journalists, no one in the USSR doubted that the assailant meant to shoot Brezhnev. Rumors were that there were two attackers, that a machine gun was used and that the attacker was a Jew (due to Ilyin's gypsy-like appearance). According to Western opinion, people were on the whole indifferent to the event. They joked that Ilyin is guilty only of missing Brezhnev.

Links

* http://nabat.al.ru/2006/gkg152b.htm
* http://www.pereplet.ru/space/jan69.html
* http://english.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2005-1-31