"Ignorance blessed"

To the anniversary of Valeria Novodvorskaya

Today, Valeria Novodvorskaya would have turned 70. She was young, daring and fearless until the very last day with all her hundred and fifty kilograms and diseases. Dry hunger strikes came around, she kept them many times. Lera herself says - in her book “Above the abyss in a lie”, in conversations under the camera and without, in chatter on the road in the car.

We all had a series of events. Everyone who lived at this time. First, Brodsky’s business. But I still remember this. Firstly, Peter, and secondly, the publicity was very small. Yes, and I did not enter this environment. Thirdly, I was 14 years old. And about Daniel and Sinyavsky, they had wit themselves to write. They wrote too much about this, so everyone was in the know ... people thought. And finally - Czechoslovakia. Everything has already become clear here. And then you create an underground student organization - forward and with a song.

The song looked like this
“By naivety, it seemed to me that I would wake someone (Decembrists, Herzen, Narodnaya Volya). It remained to have a alarm. I have a plan of my operation “Trust”, not very honest, but not very stupid: to spread leaflets more abruptly, in the Palace of Congresses or in another theater on holidays on behalf of the organization of resistance, supposedly mass; let yourself arrest; In the investigation, not specifically calling anyone, to tell that there is a mass organization of resistance, struggling against the system, and that soon it will move on to terrorist attacks; To frighten (sic!) By this, the Chekists, to throw their accusations on behalf of the three generations, destroyed by them, to expose the regime on the open (holy simplicity!) Court, to achieve a sentence to the shot, to breathe hope into the souls of people, to die in the highest category, like my beloved binding, and then, instead of a fictional organization, the real ones will be created: people will be silent, and they will be ashamed, and they are ashamed, and they are shameful and that they are silent, and they are shame Everyone will rise. The plan did not take into account reality at all, and so was good for everyone ” (from the book“ Above the abyss in lies ”) .

“The idea with the theater was born to me that evening when in the Operetta Theater from some box or from a balcony to our stalls, a program fell. My whole corner raised his head, some of the eyes sparkled eagerly, and one spectator even said in an undertone: "And if it were something else?" I realized that people are waiting for something like that. The theater is an ideal option, you can throw a lot of leaflets at once, no one will have time to stop, and they will also fly perfectly.

The decision was made, the day was chosen: December 5, the Constitution Day. The Palace of Congresses promised the greatest effect, there a huge hall and on a festive day they will give something ideological. It remained to come up with the text. For some leaflets, it was written in prose (the party’s crimes, the charms of democracy, the tasks of resistance, the need for an armed struggle against communism, which is fascism, an invitation to join the resistance groups). This charm was signed by the Moscow Resistance Group. The text was bitter enough, it was about Hungary and Czechoslovakia. He was somewhat pathetic (in moderation), but was not ridiculous. Despair weanes from vulgar optimism, but still confidence in victory over the Soviet “public and state” system was expressed there.

It is very convenient to throw leaflets down - they fly well. The stalls are eagerly enough and hides behind the bosom. I had 128 leaflets, only 42 copies were returned back. The rest of the citizens hid everything else. October October is not the best option, but symbolism. Of course, it was necessary to train. For a long time on chairs I trained to scatter a fan. So that they do not fall, but scattered. I specially did everything before the performance. So that later people can calmly watch the action. Just before the start of the performance, when everyone has already come from the buffet, but the performance has not yet begun. ”

“If at the age of 19 I knew that everything was in vain, most likely I would have arranged self -immolation on the square (and there were few successful ones, they ended with the same arrests and special tours), but could not fight. At first, ignorance is blessed. Now I know everything, but now I can live with this in anticipation of that happy day when I finally call my antagonists such irritation that I will be able to die with it. But then I did not believe my wise teachers, and thank God. ”

The court took place in the absence of the accused, as it was recognized as an examination of the Serbian Institute for the Insane with a diagnosis: “Schizophrenia. Paranoid development of personality. " The prosecutor in his speech said that the actions of Novodvorskaya are closed with the actions of terrorists who shot at the astronauts (“Chronicle of current events”, release 13) .

However, on the way of Novodvorskaya there were also opponents-people. In its understanding.

"So I respect that I would immediately shoot"
“There was a major in the 108th department. His father died in the 37th, and he lurked not very good feelings towards power. <...> Here he once made us a compliment, saying what 15 days there - I respect you so much that I would immediately shoot you. And he clearly put forward a scale that is suitable for today: if you take 100,000 people to the streets, I will order my people to stand respectfully in a cordon and not interfere with anything. If you withdraw from 300 to 500 thousand, I have a damage from the inside, and we will all sit, and no one will go out into the street. And if you get a million, then I will take off the uniform and go with you myself. ”

On May 8, 1988, Novodvorskaya became one of the creators of the First Opposition Party in the USSR - the Democratic Union. From 1987 to May 1991, she organized anti -Soviet rallies and demonstrations unauthorized by the authorities in Moscow, for which she was delayed by the police and underwent administrative arrests of a total of 17 times.

Sometimes arrests took place with anecdotal details.

They ordered to free
“Suddenly, investigators, having previously covered me and Igor Tsarkov with leaflets, say - sit down and write: you will never engage in anti -state activities again, and we will close the matter, change the preventive measure. This meant a provocation. I sit down and write that, firstly, I will continue anti-Soviet activities, secondly, I do not repent of anything, thirdly (I was so scared) that even in some cases I consider acts of terror in relation to comrades from the Politburo, from the Central Committee of the CPSU. I just did not know what else to write so that they would not let me out ... They all read ... and left. Then they come, two hours later, green. And they say, we don’t understand anything, they ordered to free anyway ... I said that I won’t go, demanded a copy of all interrogations from all the protocols, and they handed it to me. They pushed me literally. I ended up in the courtyard of Lefortovo Prison and began to wait for Tsarkov. And they finished the poor thing that, look, Novodvorskaya on the street is freezing, waiting for you ... I was soaked at that moment, where to go drowning. But thank God, I guessed to call Larisa Bogoraz, and she said that it was not necessary to drown, that Gorbachev ordered to close all the affairs of the 70th, against women and Tsarkov who joined them ... "

In a private life, she was good -natured, curious, naive and softer. The mentioned Tsarkov said that he once had a black terrier nicknamed Abbas, whom Lera adored and bravely undertook to walk. Brave, because, being without a master's visualization, Abbasik chopped a leash from the heart and flew in his male affairs, dragging the fall of Leru on the ground. This treachery did not affect her love for the dog.

She entered the "echo" with the words "Hello, my loved ones!" And she fed all the sweets - from the editor -in -chief to the guard. Once I sent me a rather big jar of black caviar for my birthday. I was horrified and tried to return a bribe. I called her in terrible anger. The inimitable countallo said in response:

"Kitten, well, I like to feel like Savva Morozov in relation to you."

Terribly loved all sorts of beautiful trinkets, perfumes and scarves. I taught me that sneakers should be chosen as carefully as the car.

I loved the fried potatoes of cooking my husband. The last time I asked for a visit to the “potatoes” four days before I got to the hospital.