Nikolay Kruchina
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Yefimovich Kruchina ' onMouseout='HidePop("90766")' href="/topics/Altai_Krai">Altai Krai
) - August 26, 1991, Moscow
), was a top Soviet
communist official, the administrator of affairs of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(CPSU) since 1983 and until his death, effectively the party's chief treasurer who was responsible for its enormous assets (popularly dubbed as the party's gold), estimated to be worth nearly $9 billion, which have never been located thereafter.
, in 1965-1978 -- the First Secretary of the Tselinograd Oblast Committee of the Communist Party in the Kazakh SSR
. In 1973 he was awarded Hero of Socialist Labor
. In 1971 Kruchina entered the Central Auditing Committee of the CPSU. In 1971 he became a candidate member and in 1976 a full member of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1978-1983 served as a first deputy chairman of the Agricultural Department of the CPSU then headed by Mikhail Gorbachev
, became its Chairman after Gorbachev in 1983 and in the same year, after Yury Andropov's assumption of power, finally replaced Georgy Pavlov as the party's administrator of affairs (upravlyayushchiy delami). It is known that Kruchina's office transferred millions of dollars as a Soviet help to foreign Communist Parties. For the last time Kruchina visited his office on August 19, the day the abortive Soviet coup attempt of 1991
started. In 1966-1989 he was also a Deputy in the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union and in 1989-1991 People's Deputy of the Soviet Union.
, Adviser to the President of the USSR on military affairs, allegedly hanged himself in his office on August 24. Kruchina's predecessor, Georgy Pavlov, died the same way as Kruchina did, on October 6. On October 17 Dmitry Lisovolik, former deputy chief of the party's international department, followed his way several weeks after investigators found $600,000 in the office of his boss, Valentin Falin
. Kruchina was laid to rest at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery
.
Altai Krai
Altai Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It borders with, clockwise from the south, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul...
) - August 26, 1991, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
), was a top Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
communist official, the administrator of affairs of the Central Committee
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
(CPSU) since 1983 and until his death, effectively the party's chief treasurer who was responsible for its enormous assets (popularly dubbed as the party's gold), estimated to be worth nearly $9 billion, which have never been located thereafter.
Career
Kruchina joined the party in 1949. In 1962 he became an instructor for the Agricultural Department of the CPSU. In 1963-1965 he was a secretary of the Tselinny Krai Committee of the Communist Party in the Kazakh SSRKazakh SSR
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kazakh SSR for short, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union.At in area, it was the second largest constituent republic in the USSR, after the Russian SFSR. Its capital was Alma-Ata . Today it is the independent state of...
, in 1965-1978 -- the First Secretary of the Tselinograd Oblast Committee of the Communist Party in the Kazakh SSR
Kazakh SSR
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kazakh SSR for short, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union.At in area, it was the second largest constituent republic in the USSR, after the Russian SFSR. Its capital was Alma-Ata . Today it is the independent state of...
. In 1973 he was awarded Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labour was an honorary title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. It was the highest degree of distinction for exceptional achievements in national economy and culture...
. In 1971 Kruchina entered the Central Auditing Committee of the CPSU. In 1971 he became a candidate member and in 1976 a full member of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1978-1983 served as a first deputy chairman of the Agricultural Department of the CPSU then headed by Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, became its Chairman after Gorbachev in 1983 and in the same year, after Yury Andropov's assumption of power, finally replaced Georgy Pavlov as the party's administrator of affairs (upravlyayushchiy delami). It is known that Kruchina's office transferred millions of dollars as a Soviet help to foreign Communist Parties. For the last time Kruchina visited his office on August 19, the day the abortive Soviet coup attempt of 1991
Soviet coup attempt of 1991
The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , also known as the August Putsch or August Coup , was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev...
started. In 1966-1989 he was also a Deputy in the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union and in 1989-1991 People's Deputy of the Soviet Union.
Death
Kruchina died as a result of falling out of the window of his apartment in Moscow in the early morning of August 26, five days after the coup attempt. Still, he allegedly left two suicide notes, where it was claimed that he was not a plotter, despite having never been publicly linked to the attempted coup. This wasn't the only alleged suicide among the Soviet leadership those days; Soviet Interior Minister Boris Pugo, one of the plotters, allegedly shot his wife and himself in their apartment on August 22, while Marshal Sergei AkhromeyevSergei Akhromeyev
Sergey Fyodorovich Akhromeyev was a soviet military figure, Hero of the Soviet Union , Marshal of the Soviet Union .Akhromeyev was a Naval Infantry junior officer during the German-Soviet War, serving with distinction on the Leningrad front. At one point he was ordered to guard and hold a road on...
, Adviser to the President of the USSR on military affairs, allegedly hanged himself in his office on August 24. Kruchina's predecessor, Georgy Pavlov, died the same way as Kruchina did, on October 6. On October 17 Dmitry Lisovolik, former deputy chief of the party's international department, followed his way several weeks after investigators found $600,000 in the office of his boss, Valentin Falin
Valentin Falin
Valentin Mikhaylovich Falin is a former Soviet diplomat and politician. Born in Leningrad he graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1950. From 1951–1958 he worked at the USSR Foreign Ministry. From 1971 – 78 he was the Ambassador of the USSR to the German Federal...
. Kruchina was laid to rest at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery
Troyekurovskoye Cemetery
The Troyekurovskoye Cemetery , sometimes called the Novo-Kuntsevskoye Cemetery , is a Russian cemetery. It is located next to the Moscow Highway Ring Road, in the former village of Troyekurovo, on the edge of western Moscow...
.
Further reading
- Бунич, Игорь Львович. Золото Партии: Историческая хроника. – Санкт-Петербург: Шанс, 1992. P. 245-314. ISBN 5760000027.
External links
- Kruchina's tomb (in Russian)
- Черняев, А. 1990 год. Из дневников // НЛО 2007, №84.