Sergey Dorenko: "I remember Putin seven years ago, immediately after the tragedy with the Kursk submarine. What exactly was he afraid of then?"

These days 17 years ago, 150 km northwest of Severomorsk, the Kursk submarine died. For the new president, Vladimir Putin, it was a test that he, as many believed, could not stand it. One of Putin’s ardent critics was now the late television journalist Sergei Dorenko. For this he was discharged a wolf ticket. Seven years after the tragedy, Sergei Dorenko wrote about this for The New Times

Seven years ago, in the Barents Sea, 150 kilometers northwest of Severomorsk, the Kursk anti-Avianous underwater submarine missile cruiser sank.

On board there were 118 submariners. Seven days after flooding to the salvation of the sailors, specialists from Norway were finally attracted. But it was too late. On August 23, 2000, national mourning was announced in the country. The State Commission, investigating the causes and circumstances of this tragedy, came to the conclusion that "there was a spontaneous explosion of a torpedo, which entailed an explosion of the entire torpedo compartment." Vladimir Putin to the question of the leading American television channel CNN Larry King about what happened to the Kursk submarine, replied: "She drowned." The reaction of the authorities to the tragedy with the submarine was completely inadequate, according to Sergey Dorenko, at that time the leading Analytical program “Time” on ORT. The report from Vidyevo, where the widows of the submariners lived then, became the last in his television career.

Messages about heavy patients from Monday train "Nevsky Express" are interspersed in the news stream with news about the august entertainment of Putin and Albert II. August friends, for example, liked the throat singing. And they sang them. And the discs were presented inadvertently. Really great? I recall Putin seven years ago - suppressed, irritated, looking for a way to seem adequate - immediately after the tragedy with the Kursk submarine.

Why was he afraid then and is not afraid now? What exactly was he afraid then?

"Hired for a hundred dollars of whores"

In that August, I was not in Moscow. Rested in Crimea at the hospitable kuchma. In Foros. He arrived in Moscow on August 26. My program (the program "Time" on the ORT channel - now the first channel), the first after vacation, was supposed to be aired on September 2. And it was necessary to break through to Vidyevo, into the garrison, where Kursk was previously based. And it was necessary to enlist the support of all sorts of bosses: it was hard to let in Vidyevo - both the military, border guards, and specialists.

I met with Boris Berezovsky, then still a co -owner of ORT. I asked for help. Rather, he even asked for advice. Because Boris by that time had already started to constantly write Putin public letters in the manner of Prince Kurbsky, only Putin did not answer his Kurbsky in letters. So there was no big hardware from Boris. He himself understood. He said: “Call Voloshin1, and the channel will help. The plane will be urgently hired to Murmansk, when it will be necessary. ” Boris also told that while I was not, Tatyana Koshkareva with Rustam Narzikulov - they then managed the Time program - there was a plot where two young widows of officers from Kursk spoke about the stale and insincerity of the authorities. The widows complained. And they did not know yet that they were now the widows. They did not really realize themselves in this capacity. They were some stupidly optimistic in the sittz dresses in peas. Girls - 25 years old. They took their children to their parents in the hinterland. Something like that. So, Berezovsky said that after this plot, Vladimir Putin himself called the authorities of the Time program: they say, television people hired a hundred dollars who would slander him to dump him. It seems so smoothly and put it: "They hired whores to dump him." Maybe they slander? Putin called Berezovsky, or Shabdurasulov (the former chapter of Channel One), or Kostya Ernst - I don’t remember and I don’t want to find out now. Because for me in my story about Kursk, it was not important not this, but my impression of Putin’s inner world and his ability to feel other people's pain. I went and looked in the archive this plot with the widows. Dresses above the knees. Not black, of course. The girls are pretty - plaintive, unhappy, but pretty. Clean and on whores they are not at all. Putin himself saw the plot? Did their dresses confuse their dresses?

But I grew up in the garrisons, understand? I know that lieutenant wives have no mourning outfits. And this is why: mother’s and grandmother's mourning dresses are stored far away, in their hometown, and they don’t keep mourning in the garrison itself - they don’t hold from superstition. In the garrisons, people are preparing to meet death all their lives and persuade her all their lives, death, not to come. My father, for example, shaved and washed in addition before the flights, put on pure underwear. “It's a shame,” he said, “if they later find it in non -storage and with holey socks, because I am a combat pilot.” And with my friend, Volodka Dokuchaev, my father never changed specially before the flights - he thought it was possible to get trouble if you change clothes. So, imagine that our mothers - mine and Volodkin, for example, would have acquired mourning dresses. I think the fathers would have sent them to a crazy house instantly.

"We can pay this and so"

Now tell me if I was in vain angry with Putin for widows? Maybe Berezovsky exaggerated what, but I commanded? But I'm already angry. And I did not call Voloshin. On the contrary, Voloshin called me. And he called to talk. They talked for a long time. Almost two hours. Voloshin left the conversations about Kursk, and asked a lot of television. Time pulled, as it turned out later. He walked away, called, then he said: "Would you go to Vladimir Vladimirovich?" I agreed. Why not go in?

It was August 31, 2000. Putin is not a word about Kursk again. He began with the fact that Berezovsky is inadequate. He said firmly - and began to wait for my answer. I immediately confirmed that I had already heard this from Yumashev and from Voloshin and that Chatsky was also inadequate, but it was not a matter of Chatsky to some extent, although in it too.

Putin said: we will now work differently, he will personally lead the Channel One. I agreed with this. Himself so. If the apostle Peter told me that Putin was eliminated from the leadership of the first channel, and the apostle personally brings, I would be more delighted - this is complete uncontrolled and anarchy, but we need it.

“You will be a member of my team,” Putin said. Then I objected. All these teams are intrigues, systems, I don’t know how, I haven’t been in the teams before and I don’t want to be new.

“Then we will work directly with you,” Putin suggested. I supported it very much. Directly with readiness and enthusiasm. “Here,” I say, “there is still such a convenience that nothing needs to be changed, because we worked directly before, so we will continue the old.” Further, Putin said something strange that the whole previous conversation shake. “We want to do so,” the president said, “so that your life is comfortable ... so that you do not need ... I want you to know that we have it with this,” he moved his fingers in the air, as if he was counting money, “we have no problems with this.” Then the pause dragged on. I was silent, and he was silent. Then he, as it were, with a gesture - put two piles on the table and explained: "We can pay this and so." This meant official earnings and black nal, as I understand it. I was completely embarrassed. He blinked stupidly with his eyes over the flag of my country and on the coat of arms on the wall. He asked: "So you are in my team?" “No, I'm better in the team of viewers,” I answered.

“Well, I see you have not yet decided,” said Vladimir Vladimirovich.

So it became clear - the conversation is over. Already at the door he said: "I want to go to Vidyevo tomorrow." Putin: "Go."

A Alexander Voloshin met me outside the door: "Have you agreed on everything?"

I said: “Yes, the president sends me to Vidyevo. Call, please warn, tell the generals that literally everything-special and specialists, commanders and border guards-must build, put on kokoshniks and wait for me with bread and salt. "

He called Berezovsky, said that I needed a plane in the morning. He said that he had just the commander in chief offered money under the coat of arms. I walked right on the phone and screamed in the Kremlin. He shouted: “You see, Borya, if he had said nothing, and Voloshin had already said that he has a specially arranged Jew who would take care of my fees, I would not be offended, but he is an officer and an important place, do you understand?

"Nothing personal"

I shouted. The president did not send me to Vidyevo. But Voloshin brought a terrible horror to the generals. I really met me as a chief chill. On the Voronezh nuclear boat, I remember, the Specialist took me by the sleeve and said that he had an order to let me go on some kind of remote control, but there is a job instruction. “Pity, Sergey Leonidovich,” he prayed, “now one team, and tomorrow is another, but they will put me in. I ask you, do not go to this room with a video camera. ” I asked the operators not to walk and did not go myself. And this was the only room on submarines or in the apartments of widows, where they did not take me. All: kindergartens, colleagues, training classes on the ground and submarines - everything was mobilized for us Voloshin.

They issued this program on September 2. The Ostankino TV tower burned all day, and began to work at eight in the evening on Saturday, and the Vidyevskaya program went nine. A week later, the boss asked me to come in, Kostya Ernst. I began to say that I should take a bunch of materials from the new program. About Vididaevskaya - not a word. I listened absently and with regret. Shortly before that, I strongly recommended that Putin Kostin leave on Channel One and said that Kostya was good and would not sell. And so on. And I looked at Kostya like a nephew of some kind of forgotten. He said: “Kostya, we solve the issues without you. Do not take over too much. This is not your business. What will go in my program, I don’t want to discuss with you. ”

Kostya spoke in a loud voice on duty, as if under a record. And when he spent me to the door, he said quietly and in a human voice, bending over: “The old man, nothing personal, the coming Personal.” And something else added good. And I promised to never hold on to him.

So why was Putin in a panic after Kursk, why didn’t even try to hide confusion? And then, you remember, during the Nord-Ost, he was again in a panic, according to the testimony of people close to him, but could not take it to people. And during Beslan, he was just nervous, gave the reins, but acted on the pattern and without panic. And now such a trifle as a train, going downhill, does not interrupt the sweet glamor with Alber II. Habit? Or seven years ago he was really sure that he could remove television? And the widows and dead sailors interested him only from this point of view: will they lower the rating or not, will they dump or not?

How the submarines were poured

From 1945 to 2007, the naval forces around the world lost at least 30 submarines (pl) in the sky

From 1945 to 2007, the Navy of the USSR and the Russian Federation lost at least 12 submarines (including five nuclear submarines (nuclear submarines), two of which were subsequently raised)

December 14, 1952 in the Sea of ​​Japan was the diesel S-117 diesel (52 people)

On August 22, 1957, the diesel PL M-351 sank in the Black Sea (raised after 5 days, no one died)

September 26, 1957 in the Baltic Sea died diesel PL M-256 (35 people)

January 11, 1961 in the Catherine Harbor (near the city of Polyarny) exploded and sank the diesel PL B-37 (112 people)

January 27, 1961 in the Barents Sea sank a diesel missile S-80 (68 people)

On March 8, 1968, near the Hawaiian Islands, after a collision with the American submarine, the diesel missile sank K-129 (97 people) sank

On November 11, 1970, the K-8 Premier League (52 people) died in the Bay of the Gulf

On October 24, 1981, in the Gulf of Peter the Great, after a collision with the surface ship, the S-178 diesel PL died (32 people)

June 23, 1983 in Kamchatka (in Krasheninnikov Bay) sank the K-429 Premier League (17 people)

October 6, 1986 in the area of ​​Bermuda Islands sank the K-219 Premier League (4 people)

April 7, 1989 in the Norwegian Sea died the K-278 Komsomolets Premier League (42 people);

On August 12, 2000, the Kursk Premier League died in the Barents Sea (118 people)

On August 30, 2003, during transportation for cutting from Gremikha to the Polyarny, the K-159 nuclear submarine (9 people) sank

According to the estimates of Rear Admiral Nikolai Mormul, from 1961 to 2000 in accidents at the Soviet/Russian Premier League at least 507 people were killed. According to the correspondent of The New Times, at least 400 of our submariners were killed with diesel trains and disasters of diesel submarines. Given the victims on Kursk and K-159, the total number of dead submariners of the Navy of the USSR and the Russian Federation reaches 1034 people.

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1 Alexander Voloshin - at that time the head of the presidential administration.

First published in No. 28 of August 20, 2007