Suicide note from the submarine "Kursk. Suicide note from the submarine "Kursk What the captain of the kolesnikov wrote

Kursk is a nuclear submarine that sank on August 12, 2000. She was the most modern submarine of the Russian Navy. The huge, in its length as a football stadium, in height with a 7-storey building is equipped with missiles, each of which is 40 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.

The Kursk, at a shallow depth for submarines of this type that conduct combat exercises, sank so shallow that it can be seen from the surface.

To understand well, you need to imagine Kursk in an upright position, its rear part would protrude 50 meters above sea level, and the hatch of the rescue airlock would be above the water.

Despite all this, the Russian fleet officially declares that it will take 30 hours to find Kursk.

Only 2 days later, on Monday evening, the incident was announced on television: On Sunday 13 August, Kursk sank with the entire crew. The fax poisoned in the media, signed by the press service of the Navy, begins with a lie: “Kursk lay down on the ground on Sunday the 13th, there were technical problems, nuclear weapons not on board. "

Admiral Georgy Kostev: Nuclear boats do not lay down on the ground, it must be something serious, and all divers know this.

Norwegian and British divers opened the hatch in 25 minutes! Whereas the Russians argued that it was impossible. They state with their camera that Kursk is completely flooded with water. And all the divers are dead. Unfortunately, when it became possible to use the LR-5, it was too late.

Notes were found there, two of them are Kolesnikov's and Sadilenko's. From these notes it was known that after the explosion the submariners in the 7th and 8th compartments remained alive there for some time (2.5 days), the note said: we were killed. Only part of that note was shown to the media. Other pages are classified.

Journalists of the newspaper "Life" managed to obtain information from the forensic expert Igor Gryaznov. He claims that another note was found in the pockets of Dmitry Kolesnikov, written 3 days after the accident. It was written for the commanders-in-chief and contains information about the death of Kursk. The medical examiner argued that Vice Admiral Motsak insisted on keeping quiet about this. The content of this letter will never be published. These discoveries once again confirm that the authorities deliberately set aside the Kursk crew to perish.

All the bodies of the sailors were removed from Kursk and opened. Ustinov wants to minimize the responsibility of Putin, who did not take any action to save the sailors. Ustinov claims that the explosion and fire on board killed most of the crew. But out of 118 sailors, only 3 bodies that were in the torpedo compartment cannot be identified, proving that only they were instantly killed.

The other day marks the 18th anniversary of the sinking of the Kursk nuclear-powered icebreaker. The events of that tragedy are still being discussed. And not only in Russia.

... Mid-August, 2000. The whole country froze, clinging to the television screens. Something out of the ordinary is happening in the Barents Sea ... They talk about our Antey-class superboat, which, for reasons not yet understood, “went to the ground”. The crew is alive. They knock on bulkheads, the announcer says. Then a message flashed through the Interfax channels: according to the Russian special services, a voluminous underwater object weighing up to 9 thousand tons of displacement is drifting in the Barents Sea to the Norwegian border. Then comes another curious message: CIA Director George Tennett is arriving in Moscow on a blitz visit.

After some time in " Russian newspaper"Comes a fax from the United States (apparently from fellow journalists) with a cryptic text:" Look for a boat with characteristic damage at the British Navy base in Scotland. " The fact of receiving such a telegram from overseas is confirmed by the journalist of "RG" (1997-2003) Elena Vasilkova.

The superboat from the Antey group is the Kursk nuclear submarine, the crew of which is 118 young, healthy and strong men- died on August 13, 2000. Why did this happen? Argumenty Nedeli offers a version of the events of August as presented by French journalists.

Cinema in the State Duma

JUNE 2007. The State Duma deputies are preparing to go on summer holidays, but in the spacious corridors of the building on Okhotny Ryad you don’t feel the coming of a vacation: the people's representatives are excitedly discussing something in muffled voices. "It can't be ...", "I don't believe", "These are the tricks of the French special services." One of the State Duma deputies, a very famous person in our country (he reads "Arguments of the week" constantly and has great respect for our publication), cautiously asks:

- Want to watch a thriller about the death of the Kursk submarine?

- Artistic?

- No, documentary. This footage was filmed by the French special services during the rescue operation of our nuclear submarine. They were spinning there all the time together with the Americans and Norwegians. Then these shots fell into the hands of French journalists. On the French channel France-2, Jean-Michel Carré's film was shown only once. And it was called "Kursk": a submarine in troubled water ".

Help "AN"

The nuclear submarine "Kursk" is a Project 949A nuclear submarine "Antey" (according to NATO classification - "Oscar-2"). Such nuclear-powered ships have a length of 154 m, a displacement of up to 18 thousand tons, a submersion depth of up to 500 m, an underwater speed of up to 28 knots (approximately 52 km / h), a crew of 130 people. The Anteevs are armed with 24 launchers of the Granit cruise missile complex (each of which is 40 times more powerful than the bomb dropped over Hiroshima).

So I saw a movie in the State Duma. 73 minutes of horror of returning to those days of August 2000.

According to the French version, we were still on the brink of World War III. And only an excerpt Russian leadership did not allow events to take an irreversible course. This, in any case, is the story of the French documentary Kursk: a submarine in troubled water. "

Bell ringing

LET'S BACK TO 2000. May. 11th number. The military news agency reports: “In August of this year. the Northern Fleet will host exercises of the emergency search forces of the fleet to provide assistance to the "flooded" nuclear submarine. The plan of the exercise has already been prepared and approved by the Department of Search and Rescue Operations of the Navy. As a result of the "accident", the submarine should lie on the ground, and the rescue vessel "Mikhail Rudnitsky" will provide an exit for the "injured crew" to the surface. People will be lifted from a depth of over 100 m using a special rescue "bell".

The rescuer "Mikhail Rudnitsky" really came to the aid of the nuclear submarine, but the scenario of this rescue turned out to be somewhat different ... According to the planned scenario, the "submerged" nuclear submarine was supposed to be the "Kursk". And he became one. But the nuclear submarine actually drowned. Bad rock?

Edmond Pope and the Crazy Cigar

FIRST shots of a French film: high-ranking Chinese military experts are present at the maneuvers in the Barents Sea. They should see a test launch of a new (crazy - as it is called) torpedo "Shkval", capable of moving under water at a speed of 500 km per hour. No one else in the world has such a weapon. This torpedo seems to have been “born in a shirt”: it develops its speed in a gas shell. Torpedo weight - 2 tons. China, as the French emphasize, has already bought the Shkval, but the Russians are offering an improved model.

The Americans strongly dislike these maneuvers and especially the "Chinese bride": they do not want Beijing to receive this crazy "cigar" from the Kremlin. And here the French documentary filmmakers recall the story of the arrest in Moscow of the American businessman Edmond Pope, one of the former employees US Navy Secret Services.

Pope is known to have discussed the details of the Shkval torpedo with its inventor Anatoly Babkin. But on his 27th visit to Russia in April 2000, the agent was arrested right at the hotel. He was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security colony. There was a lot of talk about the case, and soon after the Kursk was killed, Pope was allowed to go home because of his skin cancer. By the way, he is still alive.

Depleted uranium tipped torpedo

WHILE our Navy ships were preparing for maneuvers, two American submarines, Memphis and Toledo, were nearby. 11 hours 28 minutes. "Kursk" must fire a torpedo salvo. The boat floats to periscope depth. At this moment, the American submarine loses hydroacoustic contact with the target due to a sharp change in the depth of the Kursk and also floats up. According to French documentary filmmakers, it was the Los Angeles-class submarine Toledo. The commander of the "Kursk" Lyachin gives the command to circulate along the course to the right and to the left ...

The boats came steadily closer. And at some point the aft stabilizer of the Toledo touched the bow of the Kursk. Then the steel wing ripped open the outer skin of the Russian submarine, crushed the side torpedo tube with the K-84 rocket torpedo. Video footage shows long tears on the body. What's next? According to the French version, in order to prevent a possible attack of the Kursk against the Toledo (it is assumed that the Americans seem to have heard the opening of the plug of the Kursk torpedo tube), Memphis also fires the latest MK-48 torpedo at the Kursk.

The American MK-48 torpedo has a metal tip made of so-called depleted uranium, which allows it to pierce any metal without hindrance. The torpedo also carries many incendiary particles. This can explain the strongest fire in the bow compartments of the Kursk. The proof of the attack is a perfectly round hole with the metal of the hull of our submarine bent inward: it is perfectly visible in the film.

In the first minutes of the tragedy, 94 sailors were immediately killed. The boat began to fall to the ground. When struck, the turbines moved from the foundations, steam lines burst, and electrical equipment burst into flames. There was a second explosion, 100 times more powerful than the first. It was he who was recorded by the Norwegian seismological stations. The boat sank to a depth of 108 meters. Two nuclear reactors have stopped.

Later, in the second compartment, the back cover of the torpedo tube will be found, knocked out by an explosion of such force that it was welded to a solid inter-compartment bulkhead.

"Memphis" was also damaged in the bow. But I was able to leave. At a low speed, he moved to the Norwegian port of Bergen. From there he sailed to the British Isles and underwent a three-week refurbishment at Faslane (a British naval base in Scotland). Then I went home and walked half the way. But there was a great uproar in the US Congress: Congressmen demanded an investigation, and "Memphis" was sent back to Britain.

Confessions of a Norwegian Admiral

- SOME circumstances of the unfolding tragedy became known after the dismissal of the Norwegian admiral, commander of the northern force of Norway, Einar Skorgen, - say the French documentary filmmakers.

The stubborn admiral did not agree with the leadership of NATO, or rather, with the command of the US Navy, and back in August 2000, he allowed himself unequivocal hints about the involvement of the Americans in the disaster in the Barents Sea.

On August 17, 2000, Skorgen had to alert the Norwegian Navy Coast Guard aircraft, as 6 Russian aircraft were reported to have invaded Norwegian airspace. Admiral Skorgen was very surprised, because Russian pilots had never previously visited the area. Einar Skorgen urgently contacted by phone the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Kuroedov. He explained that the Russian pilots got carried away, trying to track down an unknown submarine that was leaving the Barents Sea. After a telephone conversation between the two admirals, the incident was settled.

According to Skorgen, by that time he had already heard that the Kursk had died in a collision with an American submarine. At first, the gray-haired admiral was sure that this was "propaganda." However, after the incident with the planes, Einar Skorgen changed his mind. He noticed that the American submarine "Memphis" actually called at the Norwegian port of Bergen on August 19, where Norwegian journalists managed to photograph it. But the Norwegian military claimed that no repairs were being carried out on the submarine. However, Admiral Skorgen believes that a secret order from the American command can serve as indirect evidence that something was wrong with the Memphis: to deliver 12 wives of American submarine crew officers to Norway from the United States. 12 submariners were killed on the Memphis during the collision with the Kursk.

Later, the ship "Peter the Great" discovered a green-white emergency buoy near the site of the tragedy in the Barents Sea (this is NATO paint, we have white-red buoys - "AN"). This emergency buoy - as already revealed - belonged to the American submarine Memphis.

Severely damaged "Toledo" hid after the collision. The bow of the boat was broken, the propeller and the steering group were partially destroyed. Within two days, the crew managed to cope with the consequences of the collision. And on August 15, 2000, under the cover of two NATO Orions, the crew was able to take the submarine to depth. "Toledo" was sent to one of the US docks.

“The collision took place on a collision course,” the filmmakers explain. - The Russian nuclear-powered ship turned out to be lower than the foreign submarine, which struck the Kursk with a keel sheet. As a result of the collision at the Russian submarine, the cabin fences were demolished, and the elements that ensure the emergence of the pop-up rescue chamber were damaged. An explosion on board the Kursk submarine led to the formation of a large hole about one and a half square meters in the left part of its bow compartment.

DIRECT SPEECH

Admiral Eduard Baltin, Hero Soviet Union, atomic submariner:

- I will not say anything about the death of the Kursk submarine. I have my personal, professional opinion. But I don't believe there was a collision with an American submarine. There is no certainty. Doubtful. It is highly doubtful. As for the film. Have money. There is a director. There is a rental. We need fried facts. And the movie works!

Hero of the Soviet Union, Admiral Vladimir Chernavin (today - President of the Union of Submariners of the Russian Navy):

- In those days, I did not give a single interview about the sinking of the Kursk submarine. And I want to keep my alibi. I have not seen the film, but you must admit, all these are just assumptions. No proof! There is an official version.

Hydrogen peroxide torpedo

Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov (already former) was entrusted with investigating the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine. But Ustinov, having not yet begun the investigation, already reports that the explosion of an old training torpedo on hydrogen peroxide was the cause of the death of the Kursk nuclear submarine. However, hydrogen peroxide torpedoes have not been used in all fleets of the world for more than 30 years, and the Kursk is an ultra-modern boat! V. Ustinov will finish his investigation in 1 year and 10 months: it will fit on 2,000 pages, but the conclusion of the Prosecutor General of Russia will be the same: the Kursk was destroyed by an old torpedo. " But the commission under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov in the first days after the sinking of the submarine named three possible versions of the disaster: a collision with an underwater object; the explosion of a drifting mine during the war; emergency situation in the first compartment of the nuclear-powered ship. The old hydrogen peroxide torpedo in the versions of the Klebanov commission did not even pass.

In 2005, they celebrated 5 years from the date of the sinking of the submarine. In one of his interviews, the former commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, when asked by a reporter about the death of the Kursk nuclear submarine, suddenly said: "I know the truth about the Kursk, but the time has not yet come to tell it."

Note by Lieutenant-Commander Kolesnikov

“U-865568 DEATH token” the commander of the turbine group of the Kursk nuclear submarine, 26-year-old Lieutenant-Commander Dmitry Kolesnikov did not take on that trip. Now this badge is worn by his widow - Olga Kolesnikova. Was that a bad omen? Dmitry Kolesnikov was raised from the submerged submarine very first. In the breast pocket of his jacket they found a burnt leaf from a notebook: “Olya, I love you, don’t worry too much ...” And further: “It’s dark to write here, but I’ll try to feel. Here in the list are the personnel of the compartments, which are located in the 8th and 9th and will try to get out. Hello everyone. There is no need to despair. Kolesnikov ". On the back there is a detailed list of sailors with combat numbers, with notes on the roll call. The captain of the submarine "Kursk" Gennady Lyachin died in the first seconds of the disaster: his first compartment was demolished as if by a guillotine. All that remained of the captain was his jacket and little finger ...

And only 400 days later, the relatives received the bodies of the dead sailors.

Six of the 24 Granit missiles with nuclear warheads were damaged. They were sent to the Nerpa plant in Olenya Bay (Kola Peninsula) for disposal. The nuclear submarine "Kursk" was lifted from the bottom of the Barents Sea without the first compartment. The relatives of the deceased sailors were told that there were explosives there, so it was dangerous to lift this compartment to the surface. The compartment remained at the scene of the accident.

And then the nuclear submarine "Kursk" was taken to the island, cut, sawn and melted.

There was a ship - and no ...

Of course, retelling the French version of those tragic events, we did not pursue the goal of questioning the conclusions of the Prosecutor General's Office about the true reason for the loss of the Kursk. But the mysterious death of the super submarine belongs to the category of marine secrets that excite the imagination and after many years. Such, for example, was the death of the Titanic. The French version attracted us by the fact that, if hypothetically, everything was so, it becomes clear what happened next. In any case, a noticeable warming of relations with the United States began. All this could be considered as moral compensation our leadership for endurance. Just imagine what would have happened when the Toledo and Memphis were attacked and sunk by the Russian Navy? Actually, it would already be a war.

And the last thing. Today, such a case is already difficult to imagine. The army and navy again become the main pillar of the state. And on the last maneuvers in the North Sea, there were few curious people who risked being near our ships. There is such a law - an eye for an eye. Nobody canceled it.

REFERENCE "AN"

IN THE HISTORY of the Soviet and Russian Navy, there were more than two dozen collisions between submarines and foreign submarines.

Clashes in the Northern Fleet:

1. 1968 nuclear submarine "K-131" with an unidentified nuclear submarine of the US Navy.

2. 1969 nuclear submarine "K-19" with the nuclear submarine Gato of the US Navy;

3. 1970 nuclear submarine "K-69" with an unidentified nuclear submarine of the US Navy;

4. 1981 nuclear submarine "K-211" with an unidentified nuclear submarine of the US Navy;

5 1983 nuclear submarine "K-449" with an unidentified US Navy nuclear submarine;

6. 1986 nuclear submarine "TK-12" with the nuclear submarine "Splendid" of the British Navy;

7. 1992 the nuclear submarine "K-276" in our territorial waters with the nuclear submarine "Baton Rouge" of the US Navy;

8. 1993 nuclear submarine "Borisoglebsk" with the nuclear submarine "Grayling" of the US Navy.

In the Pacific:

1. 1970 in the training ground near Kamchatka nuclear submarine "K-108" and nuclear submarine "Totog" of the US Navy;

2. 1974 in the same area of ​​the nuclear submarine "K-408" with the nuclear submarine "Pintado" of the US Navy;

3. 1981 in the Gulf of Peter the Great the nuclear submarine "K-324" with an unidentified US Navy nuclear submarine.

The list goes on.

NOTES BY CAPTAIN RIKORD'S FLEET ABOUT HIS SWIMMING TO THE JAPANESE SHORE IN 1812 AND 1813 AND ABOUT RELATIONS WITH THE JAPANESE

The capture by the Japanese of Captain Golovnin at the island of Kunashir. - The sloop is unanchored and approaches the fortress. - The Japanese are starting to shoot at us with cannons; we answer them, shoot down one battery, but we could not cause any harm to the main fortress. - Our attempts to explain ourselves to the Japanese, but without success. - The trick they used to take possession of our boat. - We leave a letter and some things for the prisoners of our compatriots on the shore and sail to Okhotsk. - Arrival in Okhotsk and my departure to Irkutsk, difficulties and dangers of this path. - In the spring I am returning to Okhotsk again with the Japanese Leonzaim. - Preparing the sloop for the campaign, on which I take 6 Japanese people brought from Kamchatka and set off for the island of Kunashiru. - The danger that threatened us with a shipwreck at the island of St. Jonah. - Arrival at the Bay of Treason. - Our unsuccessful attempts to open negotiations with the Japanese. - The stubbornness and anger of Leonzaima and his announcement that our prisoners were killed. - I release the Japanese brought on the sloop to the shore and take other people from the Japanese ship, including the chief, from whom we learn that ours are alive. - Our departure with the Japanese taken from Kunashir and a safe arrival in Kamchatka.

1811 of the year on the 11th at 11 o'clock in the middle of the night and, if we count according to the ancient custom from September, then the 11th month of July, that sad incident befell us, which will remain in the memory of all those who served on the sloop "Diana" indelible for the rest of their lives and will always renew sorrowful feelings at the memory of it. The readers know that the misfortune that befell Captain Golovnin, which plunged us into deep melancholy and struck our spirit with bewilderment, was unexpected. It destroyed all our flattering views of the possibility of returning this year to the fatherland, which we enjoyed when we set off from Kamchatka for the inventory of the Kuril Islands, for when the fatal blow was accomplished by separating us in the most terrible way from our worthy and beloved boss and from our five-year-old colleagues I no longer thought about returning to my relatives and friends, but everyone put their firm trust in God and unanimously decided, both the officers and the team, not to leave the Japanese shores until we tried all possible means to free our colleagues, if they were alive. If, as we sometimes believed, they were killed - until we take proper revenge on the same shores.

Having escorted Mr. Golovnin with everyone who had come ashore with him through the telescopes to the very city gates, where they were led in, accompanied by a great number of people and, as it seemed to us, by excellent multicolored attire, significant Japanese officials, and following the same rules as Mr. Golovnin, I I didn’t suspect the Japanese at all of treachery and was so blinded by the confidence in the sincerity of their actions that, remaining on the sloop, I was busy putting everything in the best order in case the Japanese arrived, together with Mr. Golovnin as kind visitors.

In the midst of such occupations, at about noon, our ears are suddenly struck by the shots fired on the shore and the extreme cry of the people, who were running in a crowd from the city gates straight to the boat, in which Mr. Golovnin rode down to them. Through the telescopes, we clearly saw how this people, who fled in disorder, snatched masts, sails, oars and other accessories from the boat. Incidentally, it seemed to us that one of our rowers was carried by the furry smokers in their arms to the city gates, where they all ran in and locked behind them. At the same moment, the deepest silence fell: the whole village on the sea side was covered with striped paper material, and therefore it was impossible to see what was happening there, and outside of it no one showed up.

With this violent act of the Japanese, a cruel bewilderment about the fate of our colleagues who remained in the city tormented our imaginations. Anyone can more conveniently comprehend by their own feelings, believing themselves in our place, than I can describe it. Anyone who has read Japanese history can easily imagine what we should expect from the vengeful disposition of the Japanese.

Without wasting a minute, I ordered an anchor, and we went closer to the city, believing that the Japanese, seeing a warship near them, would change their minds and, perhaps, agree, entering into negotiations, to hand over our captured by them. But the depth, which soon decreased to two and a half fathoms, forced us to anchor even at a rather distance from the city, to which, although our cannonballs could reach, they were not in a position to inflict significant harm. And while we were preparing the sloop for action, the Japanese opened fire with a battery placed on the mountain, with which the cannonballs were taken some more distance further than our sloop. Preserving the honor of the national and respected by all enlightened powers, and now offended flag and feeling the rightness of my cause, I was ordered to open fire on the city with cannonballs. About 170 shots were fired from the sloop: we managed to shoot down the battery mentioned on the mountain. Moreover, we noticed that they did not make the desired impression on the city, which was closed from the sea side by an earthen rampart; nor did their shots do any damage to the sloop. Therefore, I considered it useless to continue to remain in this position, ordered to stop firing and to remove from the anchor.

The Japanese, apparently emboldened by our ceasefire, fired indiscriminately throughout our distance from the city. Not having a sufficient number of people on the sloop, with whom it would be possible to make the landing, we were not in a position to undertake anything decisive in favor of our unfortunate comrades (all the people on the sloop remained with 51 officers).

The loss of their beloved and revered captain, who about them in the crossing of the great seas and during the changes of different climates applied little diligence, the loss of other colleagues, who were expelled by treachery from their midst and, perhaps, as was believed, in the most cruel way, killed - all this to an incredible degree upset the servants on the sloop and aroused in them a desire to take revenge on the treachery to such an extent that everyone was ready to rush into the middle of the city with a vengeful hand or deliver freedom to their compatriots, or, paying a dear price for the treachery of the Japanese, sacrifice life itself. With such people and with such feelings, it would not be difficult to make a strong impression on the insidious enemies, but then the sloop would remain without any protection and could easily be put on fire. Consequently, any successful and unsuccessful attempt on the life of Russia would remain forever unknown, and the information we collected in this last expedition when describing the southern Kuril Islands and a lot of time and work worthwhile describing the geographical position of these places would not bring any expected benefit either.

Moving further from the city, we anchored at such a distance that the cannonballs from the fortress could not reach us, and in the meantime it was necessary to write a letter to our captain who was captured. In it, we set out how sensitive we were to lose in the deprivation of our boss and colleagues, and how unjust and contrary to popular law the action of the Kunashir boss was; informed that we were now going to Okhotsk to report to the higher authorities that every one on the sloop would be ready to lay down their lives if others did not have the means to rescue them. The letter was signed by all the officers and placed in a tub standing on the roadstead. Towards evening, we still pulled back on the delivery further from the coast and spent the night in every readiness to repel an unexpected attack of the enemy.

In the morning we saw with the help of telescopes the belongings taken out of the city on pack horses, probably with the intention that we did not try to burn the city by any means. At eight o'clock in the morning, guided, although with extreme sadness, by the necessary position of service, by an order given from myself I took the sloop and the command under my command and demanded from all the officers who remained on the sloop a written opinion about the means, which of them would recognize for the best to the rescue of our compatriots. The general opinion is supposed to leave the hostile actions, from which the fate of the captives may still become worse, and the Japanese, perhaps, will encroach on their life, if it is still preserved, and go to Okhotsk to report this to the higher authorities, who can choose reliable means to rescue the captured, if they are alive, or to avenge the treachery and violation of popular law in the event of their death.

At dawn, I sent the navigator's assistant Sredny in a boat to the tub placed in the roadstead to inspect whether our letter had been taken the day before yesterday. Before reaching it, he heard a drumbeat in the city and returned in the hope that he would be attacked from the city on rowing ships. And in fact we noticed one canoe that had fallen off, but she, having driven a little from the shore, put down the tub with black weather vane again. Seeing this, we immediately weighed anchor, intending to sail closer to the city and send a rowing vessel away from us to inspect the mentioned tub, whether there was in this letter or anything else, by which we could inquire about the fate of our comrades. But they soon noticed that this tub was attached to a rope, at which the end was on the shore, with the help of which they insensibly pulled it to the shore, thinking in this way to lure the boat closer and take possession of it. Noticing this deceit, we immediately anchored. At the slightest opportunity, we caressed ourselves with the hope of learning about the fate of our unfortunate companions, for from the very time they became victims of Japanese treachery, their fate was completely unknown to us.

On the one hand, we thought that the vindictiveness of Asia, with such a hostile disposition, would not allow them to leave our prisoners alive for a long time, and on the other, we reasoned that the Japanese government, praised by everyone for its special prudence, of course, would not dare to take revenge on seven people. , caught in his power. Lost in this way in obscurity, we could not think of anything better than to show the Japanese that we consider our comrades alive and that we in no way imagine that in Japan the life of those who were captured would not be preserved as well as in other enlightened states. At this end, I sent midshipman Filatov to one village left without people, located on the cape, ordering him to leave the linen, razors and several books for each of the officers, prepared and packed separately with inscriptions for each of the officers, and a dress for the sailors.

On the 14th, with sorrowful feelings, we left the Bay of Treason, which was justly named by this name by the officers of the sloop "Diana", and went by the direct route to the Okhotsk port, being at all times surrounded by an impenetrable thick fog. This foggy weather alone caused some trouble for this voyage; the winds were favorable and moderate. But the most terrible of all storms raged in my soul, while we swam for several days in the quiet of the winds in the sight of the hated island of Kunashir! A faint ray of hope at times strengthened my dull spirit. I was flattered by the dream that we were not yet forever parted from our comrades; From morning until evening I examined the entire sea coast through a telescope, hoping to see one of them, on a canoe, escaped from cruel captivity at the suggestion of providence itself.

But when we went out into the space of the Eastern Ocean, where our vision was only a few yards behind the thick fog, then the darkest thoughts took possession of me and did not stop filling my imagination with various dreams day and night. I lived in a cabin, which my friend Golovnin had occupied for five years, and in which many things remained in the same order as they had been laid down by him on the very day of his departure to the ill-fated coast. All this reminded very vividly of his recent presence.

The officers who came to me with reports often made mistakes out of habit, calling me by the name of Mr. Golovnin, and with these mistakes they renewed the grief that drew tears from them and me. What torment tormented my soul! How long ago, I thought, had I talked to him about the opportunity presented itself to restore good agreement with the Japanese, which had been broken by the reckless act of one daring man, and in the hope of such success, we rejoiced together and mentally triumphed that we would become useful to our Fatherland. But what cruel turn followed instead? Mr. Golovnin with two excellent officers and four sailors will be driven away from us by a people known in Europe only for the fierce opposition of Christians to persecution, and their fate is covered with an impenetrable veil for us. Such reflections drove me to despair all the way.

After sixteen days of safe sailing, the buildings of the city of Okhotsk appeared to our gaze, as if growing out of the ocean. The newly built church was taller and more beautiful than any other building. The low-lying promontory, or, better to say, the sea bank, on which the city is built, is not first opened from the sea, as after examining all the buildings.

Wanting to get in touch without wasting time with the port, I ordered to fire from the cannon when raising the flag, and, waiting for the pilot from the shore, we drifted. Soon Lieutenant Shakhov came to us from the port chief with an order to show us the best place... According to his designation, we anchored. After that, I set off for Okhotsk to report on our misfortune and loss on the Japanese shores to the chief of the port of the fleet, Captain Minitsky, with whom Mr. Golovnin and I had an equal friendship since our service in the English fleet. He expressed his sincere condolences for the misfortune that befell us. By the most zealous acceptance of mutual participation, by his prudent advice and by all the benefits that depended on him, he somewhat eased my grief, aggravated by the thought that from one simple report of my report about the capture of Mr. me ways for him to rescue.

Seeing that my stay in Okhotsk during a long winter was completely useless for service, I went, with the consent of Captain Minitsky, to Irkutsk in September with the intention of following to St. to the Japanese shores for the release of our compatriots who remained in captivity.

This ended the campaign, which cost us tables of labors and donations, which we endured with all firmness in the comforting thought that, having fulfilled the will of our government, we will render this service by spreading new information about the most remote places and upon our return we will taste pleasant peace among our compatriots. But contrary to all hopes, a terrible misfortune befell our boss and associates!

I had to manage in one winter to make the proposed trip to St. Petersburg and back to Okhotsk, and therefore I was forced, without wasting time waiting for the winter journey to Yakutsk (where I arrived at the end of September), to ride again on horseback to Irkutsk itself, which I managed to execute in 56 days. I rode the entire distance on horseback 3000 versts. I must confess that this land campaign was for me the most difficult of all I have accomplished: the vertical shaking of horseback riding is the most painful thing in the world for a sailor accustomed to rushing on smooth sea waves! Bearing in mind haste, I sometimes dared to pass two large stations a day, 45 miles each, but then not a single joint remained in me without the greatest relaxation. Even the jaws refused to fulfill their duties.

Moreover, the autumn path from Yakutsk to Irkutsk, possible only for horseback riding, is the most dangerous. Most of the ride is done along the trails on the steep slopes that make up the banks of the Lena River. In many places, the springs flowing from their tops are frozen over with convex, very slippery ice, called scum by the inhabitants of the Lena; and as Yakut horses do not shoe at all, they almost always fall when crossing the ice. Once, not having examined such a dangerous scum and rode pretty soon, I fell off my horse and, not having time to free my legs from the stirrups, rolled down the slope with her and paid for my indiscretion by injuring one leg. Having finished so cheaply, I thanked Providence that I did not break my neck. I advise everyone who is compelled to ride this Arctic road on horseback not to think about it, because the horses there have a bad habit of constantly climbing up the slope, and when you hit the scum with such a steepness, you cannot vouch in the event of a fall with the horse for keeping deep thoughts filled head.

Arriving in Irkutsk, I was very kindly received by Mr. Civil Governor Nikolai Ivanovich Treskin, to whom I was supposed to appear in the absence of the Siberian Governor-General. He announced to me that having received my report on the misfortune through the Okhotsk chief, he had long ago forwarded it to the authorities, together with a request for permission to send an expedition to the Japanese shores to rescue Captain Golovnin and other participants in his disaster. This unexpected, though favorable for me, circumstance (for that was the only reason I undertook the arduous trip from Okhotsk to St. Petersburg) made me agree with the assumption of the Governor to stay in Irkutsk awaiting the decision of the higher authorities.

Meanwhile, having taken a great part in the ill-luck of Captain Golovnin, he took up with me the outline of the proposed expedition, which was soon sent for consideration to His Excellency Mr. Siberian Governor-General Ivan Borisovich Pestel. But due to the very important political circumstances that existed at that time, the monarch's approval did not follow, but I was ordered to return to Okhotsk with permission from my superiors to go with the sloop "Diana" to continue our unfinished inventory and add with this to go to the island of Kunashiru to check on the fate our compatriots captured by the Japanese.

During the winter, the Japanese Leonzaimo, known to readers (from Mr. Golovnin's notes), was brought to Irkutsk at a special call from the civil governor, who received him very favorably. Every effort was made to enlighten him about the affectionate disposition of our government towards the Japanese. He, understanding our language quite well, seemed convinced of this and assured us that all Russians in Japan were alive and our business would end peacefully. With this Japanese I went back to Okhotsk, but not on horseback, but in deceased winter carts along the smooth Lena River to Yakutsk, where we arrived at the end of March.

At this time of the year, spring blooms in all countries blessed by nature, but winter still reigned here, and so severe that the ice floes used by the poor people instead of glass in the windows were not, as usual, replaced by mica with the onset of the thaw, and the road to Okhotsk was covered very deep snow, from which travel on horseback was impossible. Neither I nor my Japanese had patience to wait for the snow to melt, and we set off on horseback on reindeer, having their masters, kind Tungus, as leaders. I must do justice to this beautiful and most useful animal in the service of man: riding on him is much quieter than on a horse. The deer runs smoothly without any shaking, and is so humble that when it happened to fall from him, he remained in place, as if rooted to the spot. In the early days, we were quite often exposed to this because of the extreme awkwardness of sitting on a small aquatic saddle without stirrups, imposed on the very front shoulder blades, for the deer is very weak in back and does not tolerate any burden in the middle of the back.

Arriving in Okhotsk, I found the sloop repaired in the most essential parts. All the necessary correction, due to the great in many respects inconvenience of the Okhota River, was not possible to put into action. Despite, however, such obstacles, with the assistance of the active head of the port, Mr. The Russian state... Therefore, I consider it fair on this occasion to express my gratitude to this excellent boss, who greatly contributed to the upcoming and happily completed journey. To multiply the crew of the sloop "Diana" he added one non-commissioned officer and ten soldiers from the Okhotsk naval company, and for the safest sailing he gave under my command one of the Okhotsk transports - brig "Zotik", on which Lieutenant Filatov was made commander, one of the officers the sloop commanded by me. In addition, Lieutenant Yakushkin dropped out of my team to command another Okhotsk transport - "Pavla", which was going to Kamchatka with provisions.

On July 18, 1812, being in perfect readiness to sail, I took on the sloop six Japanese people who had escaped from a Japanese ship wrecked on the Kamchatka shores to take them back to their fatherland. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon on July 22, we set off, accompanied by the brig "Zotik".

My intention was to follow the shortest route to Kunashir, that is, the Peak Canal, or at least the de Vries Strait. On our way to the very island of Kunashir, nothing particularly remarkable happened, except that we were once exposed to extreme danger. At about noon on July 27, the cloudy sky cleared so that we could well determine our place, from which at noon the island of St. Jonah was 37 miles south. This island was discovered by Commander Billings during his voyage on the ship "Glory to Russia", undertaken by him from Okhotsk to Kamchatka. Geographical position his on astronomical observations very correctly identified by Captain Kruzenshtern. In general, it can be said that all those places that this skillful navigator identified can serve as almost as accurate a check of chronometers as the Greenwich Observatory.

Therefore, we did not in the least doubt our true position from this island, just as our place at noon of this day was determined with sufficient accuracy. That is why we began to rule in such a way as to pass the island 10 miles away, and I ordered the brig "Zotik" through a signal to stay half a mile from us. My intention was, weather permitting, to explore the island of St. Iona, which is very rarely seen by Okhotsk transports and company ships, since it does not lie on the path of the usual route from Kamchatka to Okhotsk.

From midnight to June 28, the wind continued to blow in thick fog, through which at 2 o'clock we saw a tall stone right in front of us at a distance of no more than 20 sazhens. Then our position was the most dangerous one can imagine: in the middle of the ocean, at such a close distance from the rocky rock, against which the ship could break into small pieces in a minute, it was impossible to even think of deliverance. But providence was pleased to save us from the disaster that lay ahead of us. In an instant, having turned away, we reduced the speed of the sloop, and although, having done this, it was impossible to avoid the imminent danger altogether, it was possible to reduce the damage caused to the ship by hitting a stone or being driven to the shallows. Having reduced the speed of the sloop, we received one light blow from the bow and, seeing a clear passage to the south, went into it and passed the aforementioned stone and other stones still open in the fog in a small strait.

Having passed these gates, we again, having reduced the speed, surrendered to the mercy of the current and went out in another strait between new stones to a safe depth. After that, having filled the sails, we departed from these dangerous stones. The brig "Zotik" through a foggy signal was given to know about the imminent danger, but he, keeping in the wind with us, escaped the great calamity that threatened us.

At four o'clock the fog cleared, and we saw all the greatness of the danger, which we got rid of. The whole island of St. Jonah with the stones surrounding him opened up very clearly. It is about a mile in circumference and looks more like a large stone of a conical figure protruding from the sea than an island, rocky and impregnable from everywhere. To the east, at a close distance from it, there are four large stones, but between them we were carried by the current behind the thick fog between them, we could not notice.

When we looked at these giants, which are terrible for sailors in the midst of the ocean, rising from the water, our imagination was filled with much greater horror than we were embraced on the last fateful night. The danger that we were suddenly exposed to passed so quickly that the fear of death, which inevitably had to follow, when the sloop, it seemed, should have hit and shattered on the first rock that stood straight ahead, did not have time to revive in us. But going around it in such a close distance that one could have run into it, suddenly the sloop, touching the shallow, shook three times strongly. I confess that this shock shook my whole soul. Meanwhile, the waves hitting the rocks, tearing the air, drowned out every command given on the sloop with a terrible noise, and my heart sank with the last thought that in a general shipwreck all the Japanese would also perish, through the shipwreck sent to us by providence as a means to free our languishing in captivity. colleagues.

In addition to the island of St. Jonah, during the clearing weather we had the pleasure of seeing brig Zotik not far from us. Having thus given us a look around, a thick fog covered us, as before, and our vision, behind the thickness of it, extended around only a few sazhens. After this dangerous incident, we, besides the usual obstacles at sea from opposite winds, did not meet anything special curiosity that deserved. We saw the first land at three o'clock in the afternoon on 12 August; This constituted the northern part of the Urup Island. Opposite winds and fogs did not allow us to pass the Strait of de Vries before the 15th, and the same obstacles kept us off the coast of the islands of Iturup, Chikotan and Kunashir for another 13 days, so we entered the harbor of the last of these islands not before the 26th of August.

Having surveyed all the fortifications in the harbor and passing them no further than a cannon shot, we noticed a battery made again about 14 guns in 2 tiers. The Japanese hiding in the village did not fire at us from the very minute of our arrival in the bay, and we could not see any movement. The entire village on the sea side was hung with striped cloth, through which only the roofs of the large barracks were visible; their rowing ships were all pulled ashore. From this outward appearance we had reason to conclude that the Japanese had brought themselves to a better position against last year's defensive position, which is why we stopped at anchor two miles from the village. It is said above that among the Japanese there was one somewhat intelligible Russian on the "Diana", named Leonzaimo. He was taken out 6 years before that Lieutenant Khvostov. With the help of this person, a short letter was made in Japanese to the chief commander of the island, the meaning of which was extracted from a note delivered to me from the lord of the Irkutsk civil governor.

Mr. Governor, announcing in a note of his reasons why the sloop "Diana" landed on the Japanese shores, and describing the treasonous act in the capture of Captain Golovnin, concluded the following: the highest command of our Great Emperor, we return all Japanese shipwrecked off the coast of Kamchatka to their homeland. May this serve as proof that there was not and is not the slightest hostile intention on our part; and we are confident that the captured Lieutenant-Commander Golovnin and others, taken on the island of Kunashir, will also be returned as completely innocent people who have not caused any harm. But if, in addition to our expectations, our prisoners will not be returned now, whether due to the lack of permission from the highest Japanese government or for some other reason, then our ships will again come to the Japanese shores to demand these of our people in the next summer. "

In translating this note by Leonzaimo, on whom I had pinned all my hopes in assiduous assistance in favor of our cause, I clearly revealed my cunning. A few days before our arrival in Kunashir, I asked him to start translating, but he always responded that the note was lengthy and he could not translate it, “I,” he said in broken Russian, “interpret what you tell me, and I will writing a short letter, we have a helluva lot of tricky writing a long letter, Japanese manners do not like bowing; write the very deeds, we have a Chinese, write all that, then write, completely lose your mind. " After such a Japanese morality, I had to agree that he would state at least one meaning. On the day of our arrival in Kunashir, having called him into the cabin, I asked for a letter. He handed it to me on a half-sheet, covered with writing all around. By the property of their hieroglyphic language to express a whole utterance in one letter, it had to contain a detailed description of matters that seemed to him important for communicating to his government, therefore, very disadvantageous for us. I immediately told him that it is very great for one of our subjects, and that it is true that they added much of their own; I demanded that he read it to me, as best he could, in Russian.

Not in the least offended, he explained that there were three letters: one brief about our case; another about the Japanese shipwreck in Kamchatka; the third is about his own misfortunes in Russia. To this I announced to him that now it was only necessary to send our note, and other letters could be left until a future occasion. If he certainly wants to send his letters now, then he should leave me copies of these. He immediately rewrote, without any excuse, a section of our short note; he stopped at others, saying that it was very difficult to rewrite. "How can it be surprising when you yourself wrote?" He replied, angry: "No, I'd rather break it!" - and with these words he grabbed a penknife, cut off the part of the sheet on which two letters were written, put it in his mouth and, with an insidious and vindictive look, began to chew and swallowed in a few seconds in my presence. What they contained remains a mystery to us. And to this cunning, apparently evil Japanese, necessity forced me to entrust myself! I only needed to be sure if the remaining piece was really describing our case.

During the campaign, often engaging with him in conversations about various subjects regarding Japan, I wrote down some translations of words from Russian into Japanese and was curious to know, without any intention at that time, how some Russian surnames that came to my mind are written in Japanese, including the first name The unfortunate Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, who was always present in my memory. I asked him to show me the place on the note where Mr. Golovnin's surname was written, and after comparing the type of letters with those previously written by him, I was completely convinced that it was about him.

I instructed one of our Japanese to deliver this letter personally to the chief of the island; we landed him on the shore opposite the place where we were anchored. The Japanese were soon greeted by furry smokers, who, one must think, supervised all our movements, hiding in the tall and thick grass. Our Japanese went with them to the village and as soon as he approached the gate, they began to fire cannonballs from the batteries directly into the bay; these were the first shots since our arrival. I asked Leonzaim why they are firing when they see that only one person who has left the Russian ship is walking with bold steps towards the village? He replied: "In Japan, everything is so, such a law: do not kill a person, but you have to shoot." This incomprehensible act of the Japanese almost completely destroyed in me the comforting thought that had been born about the possibility of negotiating with them.

At first, overlooking the bay, we came close to the village, and they did not fire at us. But the reception given to our parliamentarian plunged me into despair again, for it was difficult to comprehend the real reason for these shots: there was no movement on the sloop, and our boat, which was taking the Japanese to the shore, was already with the sloop. A crowd of people surrounded our Japanese man at the gate, and we soon lost sight of him. Three days passed in vain waiting for his return.

During all this time, our occupation consisted of looking at the shore through the telescopes from morning to evening, so that all objects, down to the slightest stamen (from the place where we landed our Japanese, to the very village), completely became familiar to us. Regardless, however, of this, often to our imagination they seemed to move, and deceived by such a ghost exclaimed with delight: "Our Japanese is coming!" Sometimes, for a long time, we were all in error, this happened during the ascent of the sun in thick air, when from the refraction of rays all objects increase in an extremely strange form. We imagined Japanese crows wandering with their wings spread along the shore in their wide robes. Leonzaimo himself did not let go of the trumpets for several hours in a row and seemed greatly alarmed, seeing that no one was emerging from the village, which seemed to have turned into a closed coffin for us.

At nightfall, we always kept the sloop in battle formation. The deep silence was only broken by the echoes of the signals of our sentries, which, spreading throughout the bay, anticipated our hidden enemies that we were not asleep. Having a need for water, I ordered to send rowing ships with armed men to the river to pour barrels with water and at the same time disembarked another Japanese to inform the chief why the ships had gone to the shore from the Russian ship. I wanted Leonzaimo to write a short note about this, but he refused, saying: "When no answer is made to the first letter, then I am afraid to write more according to our laws," and advised me to send a note in Russian that could be interpreted by the person being sent Japanese, which I did.

A few hours later, this Japanese man returned and announced that he had been introduced to the chief and gave him my note, but he did not accept it. Then our Japanese recounted to him in words that people had come down from the Russian ship to pour water near the river, to which the chief replied: “Okay, let them take water, and you go back!” - and, without saying another word, left. Our Japanese, although he remained for some time in the circle of furry smokers, due to his ignorance of the Kuril language, could not learn anything from them. The Japanese, who, as he told us, stood at a distance, did not dare to approach him, and finally the smokers almost forcibly escorted him out the gate. Out of his innocence, the Japanese admitted to me that he had a desire to stay on the shore and asked the chief with tears to allow him at least one night to stay in the village, but he was angry and refused.

From such actions with our poor Japanese, we concluded that we did not accept the first one better, but he, probably fearing from the Japanese distrust of returning to the sloop without any information about the fate of our prisoners, hid in the mountains or, perhaps, made his way to some other - some village on the island.

Wanting to stock up on water in one day, I ordered at four o'clock in the afternoon to send the rest of the empty barrels to the shore. The Japanese, who were watching over all our movements, when our rowing ships began to approach the coast, began to fire blank charges from the cannons from the batteries. Avoiding any action that might seem unpleasant to them, I immediately ordered a signal to be given that all rowing ships should return to the sloop. The Japanese, noticing this, stopped firing. During our seven-day stay in the Bay of Treason, we clearly saw that the Japanese in all their actions showed the greatest distrust of us, and the head of the island - whether by his own arbitrariness or by order of the higher authorities - refused to have any relations with us at all.

We were in the greatest bewilderment by what means to find out about the fate of our prisoners. Last summer, things that belonged to these unfortunate people were left in a fishing village; we wanted to make sure if they were taken by the Japanese. For this I ordered the commander of the brig "Zotik" Lieutenant Filatov to set sail and go to that village with armed men to inspect the things left behind. When the brig approached the coast, they fired from the cannons from the batteries, but there was nothing to fear from the distance. A few hours later, Lieutenant Filatov, having completed the assigned task, informed me that he had not found anything of the things belonging to the prisoners in the house. This seemed to us a good sign, and the thought that our compatriots were alive encouraged us all.

The next day I again sent a Japanese man ashore to notify the chief of the need for the Zotik to go to the fishing village; a short note in Japanese was also sent with him. It took me the greatest effort to persuade Leonzyme to write it. It contained a proposal that the head of the island should come to meet me for negotiations. In the same note, I wanted to describe in even more detail the intention with which our boat went to the fishing village, but the obnoxious Leonzaimo remained adamant. The sent Japanese returned to us the next day early in the morning, and through Leonzaim we learned from him that the chief had accepted the note, but without giving any written answer from himself, he only ordered to say: "Okay, let the Russian captain come to the city for negotiations." ...

Such a response was the same as a refusal, and therefore it would be foolish for me to agree to this invitation. Regarding the notification why our people went ashore to the fishing village, the chief answered: “What things? They were then returned back. " This ambiguous answer upset the comforting thought of the existence of our prisoners. Our Japanese was also received, as well as the former: they did not let him spend the night in the village. And he spent the night in the grass opposite our sloop. To continue such unsatisfactory negotiations through our Japanese, who do not know the Russian language, turned out to be completely useless. We did not receive a single written reply from the chief to the letters sent from us in Japanese at different times. And, apparently, there was nothing else for us to do but to move away from the local shores again with a painful feeling of uncertainty.

I did not dare to send the Japanese Leonzaim, who knows Russian, to the shore for negotiations with the head of the island unless absolutely necessary, fearing that if he was detained on the island or did not want to return from there himself, we would lose the only translator in him, and therefore I decided use the following method in advance. I recognized it possible and correct, without disturbing our peaceful disposition to the Japanese, to dock inadvertently to one of the Japanese ships passing through the strait, and without using weapons to seize the main Japanese, from whom it would be possible to receive accurate news about the fate of our prisoners, and through then free yourself, the officers and the team from the painful inactive situation and get rid of the second parish to the island of Kunashir, which did not in the least promise the best success in the enterprise. For experience has completely assured us that all measures to achieve the desired end were useless.

Unfortunately, for three days not a single vessel appeared in the strait, and we thought that their navigation had stopped due to the autumn time. Now the last untested hope remained for Leonzyme, that is, to send him ashore to obtain possible information, and in order to test the disposition of his thoughts, I first announced that he should write a letter to his house, for the sloop would go to sea tomorrow. Then his face changed all over and, with a noticeable compulsion, thanking me for the notification, said: "Okay, I'll write, just so they don't wait for me home any more." And then he continued to say with ardor: "Even kill me myself, I will not go to sea anymore, I have nothing left but to die between the Russians." With such thoughts, a person could not be useful to us in any way; the bitterness of his feelings could not but be recognized as just, knowing his six-year suffering in Russia. And I even feared that he, having lost the hope of returning to his fatherland, would not encroach on his life in a moment of despair, and therefore I had to decide to let him go ashore, so that he, knowing in detail all the circumstances of the unfortunate incident with us, would present to the chief in the present in the form of our present parish, and bowed to him to enter into negotiations with us.

When I announced this Leonzaim, he vowed to return without fail, no matter what information he received, unless the chief detained him by force. For such a sales case, I took the following caution: together with Leonzaim, I sent another Japanese, who had already been in the village once, and supplied the first with three tickets: the first read “Captain Golovnin with the others is in Kunashir”; on the second - "Captain Golovnin with others was taken to the city of Matsmai, Nagasaki, Eddo"; on the third - "Captain Golovnin with others killed." When giving these tickets to Leonzaim, I asked him, if the boss would not allow him to return to us, to give a ticket corresponding to the information received with a city mark or other note to the Japanese accompanying him.

On September 4 they were landed ashore. The next day, to everyone's joy, we saw both of them returning from the village, and immediately a boat was sent from us to fetch them. We fondled ourselves with the hope that Leonzaimo would finally deliver us satisfactory information. Without losing sight of them, we saw through the telescopes that the other Japanese turned aside and disappeared into the thick grass, and only Leonzaimo came to us on the sent boat. When I asked where the other Japanese had gone, he replied that he didn’t know.

Meanwhile, we all looked forward to hearing the news he had brought. But he expressed a desire to inform me of them in the cabin, where, under Lieutenant Rudakov, he began to retell the difficulty with which he was admitted to the chief, who, as if not allowing him to utter anything, asked: “Why did the ship's captain not come ashore to take advice? " Leonzaimo replied: "I don't know, but now he sent me to you to ask you where Captain Golovnin and the other prisoners are." Between fear and hope, we awaited the answer made to this question by the boss, but Leonzaimo, stammering, began to inquire if I would do bad things to him if he spoke the truth. And having received assurances from me about the opposite, he announced to us the terrible news in the following words: "Captain Golovnin and all the others have been killed!"

Such news, which struck all of us with deep sadness, produced over everyone that natural feeling that we could no longer gaze indifferently to the shore where the blood of our friends was shed. Lacking any instructions from my superiors on how to act in this case, I recognized it as legitimate to perform on the villains what we could and, as it seemed to me, just revenge, being firmly convinced that our government would not ignore such a villainous act on the part of the Japanese. I should only have had a surer proof than the words of Leonzyme alone. For this, I sent him back to the shore to ask the Japanese chief for a written confirmation of this. With this, Leonzaim and the remaining four Japanese sailors were promised complete liberation when we decided to act on the enemy. Meanwhile, I ordered on both ships to be ready for an attack on a Japanese village.

Leonzaimo wanted to return that day, but we did not see him. The next day, he also did not appear from the village, it was completely hopeless to wait longer for his return. In order to be convinced of the terrible truth about the death of our prisoners, which, by the failure of Leonzyme's failure to return, became, to our great consolation, doubtful, I had already made a firm intention not to leave the bay until the opportunity presented itself to capture a real Japanese from the shore or from some ship in order to find out the real truth whether our prisoners are still alive.

On September 6 in the morning we saw a Japanese canoe riding. I sent Lieutenant Rudakov on two rowing ships to take possession of it, appointing under his command two officers - Messrs. Sredny and Savelyev, who volunteered for this first enemy action. Our sent detachment soon returned with a canoe, which he captured near the shore. The Japanese who were on it fled, and only two of them and one furry chicken were caught by Mr. Savelyev on the bank in dense reeds, from which, however, we could not get any information about our prisoners. When I started talking to them, they immediately fell to their knees and answered all my questions with a hiss: "Heh, heh!" No amount of caresses could make them verbal animals. "My God," I thought, "how miraculously it will be possible for us to enter into an explanation with this incomprehensible people someday?"

This text is an introductory fragment.

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G pewter is an ancient genus. Not Rurik, of course, but a family tree of a century and a half is also a lot. The first of the surnames in historical documents was the "service man" Ignatius Golovnin. For special military services he was awarded the coat of arms and patrimony. However, the ancient is ancient, but impoverished and, as they say, without pretensions. They were "nobility" for themselves on the sly in Gulynki - an old village in the Ryazan province. Here, on April 8 (19), 1776, the first-born of Mikhail Vasilyevich and Alexandra Ivanovna (nee Verderevskaya) appeared, who was named Vasily.

For such small-scale noble offspring as Vasya Golovnin, fate was painted almost before birth. Grandfather and father served in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, and at the age of six Vasily was also enrolled as a sergeant. Further, as Mikhail Vasilyevich saw, according to the knurled one: the son needs to go through the ranks, reach the rank of major, go into honorary retirement and settle in his native Gulynki.

Did not work out. The father and mother died early, and the guardian relatives decided that an orphan (whose opinion was not asked for a short time by no one) would go to the sea part. The reason was simple: the guard demanded money. Vasily did not have them, and his relatives did not want to spend money on the undergrowth. In the Naval Cadet Corps, where the young man was assigned in 1788, everything was simpler.

The building, founded in 1752 and transferred from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt in 1771, knew better times... The premises where the cadets lived and studied were dilapidated, the supply, which was already not bad, was aggravated by the traditional Russian “steal”. The law of conservation of energy and supply from the state treasury worked here one hundred percent: if it arrives somewhere, then somewhere it necessarily decreases. It arrived in the pockets of the commanding officers, and, to be honest, the higher authorities, diminished in the stomachs of the cadets, who, in order to provide themselves with food, often had to "use the services" of neighboring vegetable gardens.

However, the Marine cadet corps performed regularly - regularly released batches of midshipmen, many of whom glorified Russia in all parts of the world and the ocean. Vasily Golovnin also studied. And immediately went to war. On the one hand - here it is, the life of a naval sailor: a handsome battleship, a formidable, but just and all-knowing commander, "the smoke of formidable battles." On the other hand ... This, in fact, was a real war, and on it they could really kill. Cannonballs and bullets - they do not understand who is in front of them: an old sea wolf, for whom death in battle is more honorable and dearer than in bed from weakness and disease, or a fourteen-year-old midshipman who has not really seen life yet.

Relatives fought. The statesmen and historians probably knew well what their cousins ​​and cousins, the Swedish king Gustav III and the Russian Empress Catherine II, did not share, but the midshipman of the 66-gun battleship Fleet of Her Majesty "Don't touch me" Vasily Golovnin was not supposed to talk about this.

Immediately after entering the corps, Golovnin began to keep a "Notebook" - a remarkable document in which he scrupulously recorded all the events that happened to him during his service from 1788 to 1817.

About his stay in the war with the Swedes, Vasily is extremely laconic: "He took part in a threefold battle", meaning two battles at Krasnaya Gorka on May 23 and 24, 1790, which ended without an obvious advantage of one of the sides, and the Vyborg battle on June 22, in which the Russian fleet won. Already from his youth, Golovnin's character is manifested - modest, without protruding his merits and talents. After all, he not only participated, but received a combat medal. And this means - did not sit in the hold, showed himself, despite his "land" origin, as a real sailor.

* * *

Vasily was supposed to complete his studies at the Marine Corps in 1792. final exams he was the second in the number of points scored among the entire issue. But his comrades became warrant officers, and he was made a "second year". The reason is the small age of midshipman Golovnin: he has not yet turned seventeen. Here it is, justice: for a war at fourteen - please, but letting out a capable student and allowing him to put on the midshipman's uniform is still too small.

And again Vasily showed a strong character beyond his years. A sailor, of course, was not supposed to cry, but it hurt to the point of tears. However, he did not become limp, he survived and, since it happened so, he persistently continued to study further. This additional year gave Golovnin almost more than the previous four. He took up physics, literature, English - inferior in those days in "fashion" to French, but, as it turned out, very useful in further service... And then, in Last year in the corps, absorbing one after another books about distant wanderings, Vasily fired up travel.

In January 1793, the long-awaited promotion of Golovnin to the rank of warrant officer took place. On the estate, in Gulynki, things were not going well, it would be necessary to take care of the economy, but Vasily prefers sea voyages to the duties of a landowner. He secured an appointment for the transport on which the Russian embassy was sent to Stockholm, now friendly. In 1795-1796 served on the ships "Raphael" and "Pimen", as part of the squadron of Vice Admiral PI Khanykov, which opposed the French in the North Sea. And in April 1798 Vasily Golovnin was appointed a flag officer for the squadron of Rear Admiral MK Makarov, the junior flagship of Vice Admiral Khanykov.

This is already a serious position, “direct assistant to the commander,” as it was said in the naval instructions. Often people were assigned to it, under patronage. Golovnin had no patronage, but Mikhail Kondratyevich Makarov noticed the energetic and inquisitive officer even without her. And I was not mistaken. “Very good behavior, knows his position well and performs it with zealous zeal for the service,” wrote Makarov in 1801 about Golovnin, who had already become a lieutenant at that time. - And besides, according to his knowledge of English language, was used to translate English signals and other matters ... Therefore, I put it on my duty to recommend him worthy for promotion and continue to have my teammates to have. "

Contrary to the wishes of Rear Admiral Makarov, Golovnin did not serve for long under his command. In June 1802, he was among the twelve best young officers of the Russian fleet sent to England - to improve, study, learn from experience. Then such business trips lasted not months - years. I had to see a lot, although in his "Notebook" Vasily Mikhailovich was brief: he served on different English ships, for four years on seven, sailed in different seas. During these years, Britain competed with France for supremacy at sea, Golovnin had a chance to participate in the hostilities of the British in the Mediterranean and the West Indies, to serve under the famous admirals Cornwallis, Nelson, Collingwood. The last two left commendable certifications to the Russian sailor. It is not a small honor, by the way, but Golovnin is true to himself - there is not a word about it in his notes.

In early August 1806 Vasily Mikhailovich returned to Kronstadt. Twenty days later, Lieutenant Golovnin received the first ship, the Diana, under his command. At first glance, the ship is nondescript - a three-masted sloop converted from an ordinary timber transport, sixty crew members, twenty-two cannons. But Diana was not meant to be fought.

Just a few days before Golovnin's return from England, the Nadezhda and Neva moored in the Kronstadt port - the ships on which Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky made the first round-the-world expedition in the history of the Russian fleet. Golovnin and his "Diana" had to continue what they had begun. The government decided to send the sloop on a round-the-world expedition, the main goal of which was geographical discoveries in the northern part. The Pacific... Along the way, "Diana" was supposed to deliver cargo to Okhotsk, in those years - the main port of Russia on its eastern outskirts.

For almost a year, Golovnin, his deputy Peter Rikord, with whom Vasily Mikhailovich had a long-term friendship, and the crew carefully selected by the captain himself prepared the Diana for long journeys. In addition, Golovnin processed the materials of a business trip to England (the result was the book "Comparative Notes on the Condition of the English and Russian Fleets") and, on the instructions of the Naval Ministry, was involved in the compilation of the Code of military and naval signals for day and night time, which was used in the Russian fleet for more than quarter of a century.

July 25, 1807 "Diana" weighed anchor. The fact that the journey would not be easy became clear literally from the very first miles traveled: in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, the ship was caught in a storm, with a thunderstorm that Golovnin had never seen in other seas.

The first stop was made on August 7 in Copenhagen. Bad news awaited Russian sailors here, which, as it turned out, were the harbingers of future troubles. The situation in the Danish capital was tense. In times Napoleonic Wars Denmark, largely due to the hostile actions of the British fleet, sided with France. Having entered into an alliance with Napoleon, Denmark was preparing to join the continental blockade of Britain. But the British preempted the enemy and on August 16 landed troops on the Danish coast. Since the Danish kingdom was at that time an ally of Russia in the Baltic, this caused discontent Russian government and led to an exacerbation of relations between St. Petersburg and London.

"Diana" managed to leave Copenhagen before the Anglo-Danish war began. But she was on her way to the British shores. Arriving in Portsmouth, Vasily Mikhailovich immediately realized that the situation was heating up. By agreement with the British government, the trade department was to supply the Russian ship with the necessary supplies. However, Golovnin was required to pay the duty that was levied on merchant ships, although the Diana was listed as a warship. It took the intervention of the Russian consul to resolve this situation.

Vasily Mikhailovich felt what the "misunderstanding" between the two countries could turn out to be, and therefore decided to play it safe. While his "Diana" was in Portsmouth, he went to London - to procure special permission from the British government to conduct scientific research in the colonial waters of the empire. In the capital at some point it seemed that his fears were in vain - he learned that the squadron of Admiral Senyavin was about to arrive in Portsmouth with a friendly (!) Visit. But I got the paper I needed.

By the end of October, all formalities were settled, and on the 31st, "Diana" left Portsmouth. The sloop crossed the Atlantic Ocean for two months. On January 2, 1808, the earth appeared on the horizon - acquaintance with South America for Russian sailors began from the small Brazilian island of St. Catherine. After a ten-day stay, the captain had to make a decision - how to go further. There are two options: to go around Cape Horn, or to head for Africa, bypass the Cape of Good Hope and go through the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. The first route is shorter, but the "Diana", which did not differ in speed, will not reach Cape Horn before March. And this means that there is a high probability of becoming a "hostage" of the strongest westerly winds. And Golovnin decided to change the route, turning to the Cape of Good Hope.

* * *

The passage to the shores of the African continent went well, the weather was favorable for the Russian sailors. On April 18, Vasily Mikhailovich noted in his Notebook: “At 6 o'clock, suddenly opened to us, right in front of us, the coast of the Cape of Good Hope ... You can hardly imagine a more magnificent picture, like the view of this coast, in which it presented itself to us. The sky above him was perfectly clear, and not a single cloud was visible on the high Table Mountain or on the others around it. The rays of the rising sun from behind the mountains, spilling a reddish color in the air, depicted or, better to say, cast superbly all the slopes, steepness and small elevations and irregularities located on the tops of the mountains. "

Vasily Mikhailovich, like any sailor, was pleased - the long journey was over, there is time and opportunity to relax, enjoy the surrounding beauty. An English squadron was stationed in Simonstown Bay, in the British Cape Colony, where the Diana anchored. There, on the flagship Resonable, Golovnin sent his deputy on a compulsory courtesy visit.

Time passed, and Rikord did not return. Finally a boat appeared, but instead of Rickord, a British lieutenant boarded the Diana. Courteously, but very coldly, he reported that two empires, the British and the Russian, were at war.

What happened during the time while "Diana" sailed from South America to the shores of Africa? Without going into details and without ranking according to the principle of "who is right and who is wrong," we will note the main thing. After being defeated in the campaigns of 1806 and 1807, Alexander I was forced to start negotiations with Napoleon. On June 25, in Tilsit (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Region), a meeting of the two emperors took place, as a result of which a peace was signed between Russia and Prussia with one side and France with the other. Russian empire joined the continental blockade of Great Britain, and after the British captured Copenhagen on November 7, 1807, hostilities began.

Although the clashes between the fleets of the two states, which were fought in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Barents and Baltic Seas, were not large-scale, for Golovnin and his subordinates it was little consolation. The gloomy situation looked like this: "Diana", a military ship, entered the territorial waters of a hostile state (unfortunately, during the transition, Golovnin did not meet a single ship and no one could warn him about the start of the war), she was surrounded by superior enemy forces, resisting was not only useless, but simply stupid. So, "Diana" became a prize ship, the fate of her and the crew was to be decided by the command of the British squadron.

The last hope remained - for the "protection letter" received in London. To some extent, it worked - the British officers did not dare to “take Diana as a prize” and were forced to refer the question of her fate to the consideration of their higher authorities. Russian sailors found themselves in some kind of limbo: they were not considered prisoners, but "detained until further notice from their superiors." And it, apparently, did not intend to give these orders, despite the fact that Golovnin repeatedly wrote to Kapshtat, and to London, to the British Admiralty. At the same time, it was decided in Simonstown (perhaps on an unspoken "recommendation" from above) that since the Russians are not considered prisoners, it is not at all necessary to feed them and supply them with everything they need.

This went on for ten months. Vasily Mikhailovich, a researcher in spirit, studied the flora and fauna of the area, compiled a detailed description of the Cape of Good Hope, studied, as far as possible, the life of the indigenous population. And he continued to write letters. When he realized that it was useless, he decided to run away. Here, first of all, it was necessary to resolve the "dilemma of honor", because earlier Golovnin had promised the British not to attempt to escape: to extract the command entrusted to me from the extremity that threatened us. "

The "technical" part - how to get out of the depths of the bay from under the prows of many enemy ships - Golovnin decided, leaving with the permission of the British several times in a boat at sea. The research mindset helped here too: Vasily Mikhailovich determined that if in the bay where the Diana was stationed, in dry weather a west or north-west wind blows, then at the same time in the open sea the south or south-east prevails. This allowed the captain to pinpoint the right moment to escape. It came on May 16. The British squadron was sailing low. When the north-westerly wind began to intensify and it began to get dark, Golovnin decided it was time. He gave the order to set storm sails and cut the anchor lines (it was too long and noisy to choose anchors).

There is a version that the command of the English squadron deliberately did not interfere with the flight of the Russian ship. It has not been confirmed by anything, although it is not without grounds. For the British, "Diana" became a burden: to look indifferently at how soon Russian sailors would begin to die of hunger, it would be somehow "inconvenient", but there was no reason to help them either. That is why they allegedly decided to let the Russians go in peace, although the nearest ship immediately informed the flagship that sails were being set on the Diana. But even so, this does not at all diminish the courage and determination of Golovnin - he could not know for sure about the intentions of the British, whatever they were. And therefore he wrote in his diary, having every right to do so: "This day for many reasons is one of the most critical and remarkable in my life."

As they say in such cases, there were two news for the Russian sailors. Good - the wind and the weather favored the fast pace of the "Diana" again. Bad - I had to eat moldy breadcrumbs and corned beef, there was not enough fresh water... It was possible to replenish supplies on the island of Tanna in the New Hebrides archipelago (now owned by the state of Vanuatu), where Diana arrived on May 25, 1809. Golovnin, who respected any people, regardless of the degree of their "savagery", quickly and successfully managed to establish contact with the locals.

After a week's stay, "Diana" hit the road again. On August 13, she crossed the equator, on September 23 reached the shores of Kamchatka, and on the 25th - entered the Petropavlovsk bay. The voyage, which lasted 794 days (of which 326 the ship was sailing, 468 - was at anchor), the end was put.

However, this point was with a continuation. Almost immediately after the Diana arrived in Petropavlovsk, Vasily Mikhailovich began to prepare the ship for spring navigation. He also did not want to spend the winter idle - months of "sitting" in one place was too tiring. He equipped the sleds and set out in mid-January 1810, taking the young warrant officer Nikandr Filatov as his companion. Moving from one settlement of Kamchadals to another, making transitions of forty to fifty versts, in two months they traveled around the peninsula. The trip turned out to be instructive and useful - Golovnin, whom Kamchatka at first “didn’t look at”, on closer acquaintance saw the enormous potential and resources of this distant land.

* * *

At the end of April 1811 "Diana" again went to sea. Golovnin was instructed to describe and determine the astronomical position of the Kuril and Shantar Islands and the shores of the Tatar Strait. Vasily Mikhailovich, already promoted to lieutenant-captain and awarded several orders, intended to start an inventory from the Strait of Hope, go south of Hokkaido and then climb along the eastern coast of Sakhalin to the Shantar Islands.

Having finished his exploration of the islands of the Kuril ridge, the inhabitants of which considered themselves Russian subjects, Golovnin sent Diana further. Vasily Mikhailovich, approaching the Japanese possessions, acted with caution, however, since the expedition was of a peaceful nature, he did not avoid contacts with the Japanese. Due to strong wind and fog, "Diana" was forced to maneuver for two weeks off the coast of the islands of Kunashir, Iturup and Shikotan. The ship was running out of food and water, and the captain decided to go to Kunashir, where, according to available information, there was a convenient harbor. On July 4, the Diana anchored. Golovnin, together with midshipman Fyodor Mur, navigator's assistant Andrei Khlebnikov and sailors Simonov, Makarov, Shkayev and Vasiliev went ashore ...

About what happened next, about the Japanese captivity, which lasted more than two years, Vasily Mikhailovich told in the book that this article anticipates. To the question "how was it?" Golovnin answered in more than detail, but we will dwell on why this happened.

You will have to start from afar, from the middle of the 16th century, when the first Europeans - first the Portuguese, and then the Spaniards - came to the Japanese shores. At first, everything went well and to mutual benefit - trade was actively developing, and after the merchants, missionaries, mainly Jesuits, soon appeared. Local feudal lords not only allowed them to preach freely, but they themselves actively adopted Christianity and forced their vassals to do so.

"At the beginning of the issue of an emergency in the Barents Sea. During the exercise, the Kursk multipurpose nuclear submarine, which was at sea in the exercise area, did not get in touch at the scheduled time ..."

All news broadcasts of Russian TV channels began with such messages on Monday, August 14, 2000. For two days the nuclear submarine missile carrier "Kursk" lay at the bottom of the Barents Sea, 175 kilometers from Murmansk. Then it took another 9 days for the leadership of the Northern Fleet to announce the official version of what had happened: an experimental peroxide-hydrogen torpedo of Project 65-76 exploded in the stern of the submarine. It is now well known that one of the crew members wrote to relatives a week before the ship went to sea: "We have death on board." On August 12, 2000, death took on a monstrous incarnation. Shortly before noon, during an exercise in the Barents Sea, the submarine ascended to periscope depth to fire a torpedo salvo at the targets of the mock enemy. At 11:28 am, the Norwegian seismic station recorded the first explosion, the power of which ranged from 150 to 200 kilograms in TNT equivalent. From that moment, the countdown of the tragedy began, the name of which was "Kursk".

In early August 2000, exercises are underway in the Barents Sea. On July 20, a practical 65-76 PV peroxide torpedo was loaded on board. On August 12, an hour before noon, a conditional enemy, an "aircraft carrier group" headed by the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great, was going through the Kursk's firing area, along which K-141 was to launch a practical torpedo between 11:40 and 13:40.

At 11:28:26 am, the acoustics of the Northern Fleet flagship recorded the first explosion, at 11:30:42 - the second.

It is for the Norwegian seismic stations - a small earthquake. Between explosions with a nose trim of 40 degrees, the Kursk sinks to the bottom. A depth of 108 meters for a cruiser 154 in length is ridiculous. If you put it upright, a third of the body will rise above the water.

At 13:50 in the logbook at the command post of the Northern Fleet, an entry appears: "At 13:50, start to act according to the worst scenario", but only 10 hours later they announce a combat alert. At 4:38 am, Peter the Great discovers the Kursk. Only at 8:33 - almost a day after the accident - a search plane takes off. Divers repeatedly descend to the bottom - to no avail. The cruiser is banked to the starboard side, and it is impossible to dock hermetically to the coaming platform. Living people remain behind the hatch of the 9th compartment. At least until 11 a.m. on August 14, surface ships' acoustics detect a tapped SOS. After a week, they will still ask for help from the Norwegians. When, after 30 hours, they open the hatch of the 9th compartment, there will be water inside. No air bubbles that the relatives hoped for.

There will be many versions of what happened. According to the official, the first explosion was a practical torpedo that had fallen into disrepair (from unofficial versions, the crew did not know how to handle it). Because of the explosion, the first - torpedo - compartment is flooded with water, and the boat is lowered to the ground. In a collision with the bottom (according to another version - because of a fire), the entire ammunition load of the torpedoes detonates, instantly killing 95 people - the closed space of the boat becomes a crematorium with a 500-degree temperature.

Lieutenant Commander Dmitry Kolesnikov and 22 other people in the water and without light move to the aft 9th compartment. The 27-year-old officer writes a famous note, thanks to which the names of those who died not as a result of the explosion and the last time stamp are known: 15:15 (August 12).

Among the versions of the death of "Kursk" - an attack by American submarines "Memphis" or "Toledo", who watched the tests of the torpedo-missile "Shkval": having heard the opening of the K-141 torpedo tube, the American decided that they were going to attack it, and did it first (they say , in conditions of warming relations with the United States, the Russian leadership decided to sacrifice the lives of 118 people and not to arrange the third world war). From the facts: Russian mass media will be filming exclusively the left side of the already raised Kursk. A round hole with concave edges on the starboard side will remain only in the shots of French documentary filmmakers - they will immediately recall the MK48 torpedo. A variant of this conspiracy theory is the explosion of a Russian torpedo 65-76 PV due to contact with the nose rudders of the Toledo - either accidental or deliberate. There was also a version of "friendly fire": the anti-ship missile that came out of the "Peter the Great" hit the "Kursk".

A year later, the whole country knows what GIANT 4 is (the barge that will transport the raised cruiser), how many technological holes will be cut in the hull (26) and why the first compartment is cut off with a huge saw under water (to protect it from detonation). The Dutch are raising the Kursk, but it seems like the whole world.

President Putin will long be reminded of the grin, the phrase "she drowned" in an interview with Larry King and the fact that he interrupted his vacation in Sochi only 5 days later. Putin would say in plain text: “I would not blame the military,” although it was obvious that the official versions about what happened to the submarine changed one after another. The president's meeting with the relatives of those killed in Vidyaevo without television cameras, he said in his hearts “there’s no shisha in the country” and the confession “I’m ready to answer questions for my hundred days, and for those 15 years I’m ready to sit with you on a bench and ask them to others ”In the mass consciousness will not receive the same distribution.

Putin was not afraid to come to the raging people: "Well, and a suicide ... we will tear him to pieces," - with such a mood they greeted the president. The country looks at the apartment of the widow of the commander of the newest nuclear cruiser and does not believe: peeling paint on the walls of the dimly lit entrance - in such entrances Russia lives in the early 2000s. The cortege of the president, traveling to Vidyaevo, is headed by a police five - no "black geldings." ORT, owned by Boris Berezovsky, who went into opposition to the president, shows it all.

The media response is far from unanimous. On August 15, Krasnaya Zvezda writes: "Communication has been established with the submarine, there is contact with the personnel" (later - before Kolesnikov's note appears - the officials will unanimously say: "The crew died in the first hours after the accident"). Synchronization of the NTV correspondent on August 16: "Foreign aid was accepted by Russia only three days after it was offered by several countries." On August 17, Izvestia describes in detail the President's tanning in Sochi. In the report, a rhetorical question full of cynicism: "They say that Putin was very worried - he knows (or already knew?) The commander of the Kursk personally." Front page of MK from August 21: a photo of President Putin on vacation in Sochi, Defense Minister Sergeev playing billiards, and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Kuroyedov with the caption "They do not sink."

Admiral Popov will take off his cap on the air and apologize "for not saving your men." In 2001, he will leave the post of Commander of the Federation Council and become a member of the Federation Council. Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Kuroedov will command the Navy until 2005. Marshal Sergeev will resign in March 2001 and will work as an assistant to the president for three years. President Vladimir Putin will be successfully elected for two more terms, with a break for the White House seat. Of the 118 bodies of those killed on the Kursk, 115 will be identified.

32 submariners were buried in St. Petersburg, at the cemetery named after St. Seraphim of Sarov.

1.

in Murmansk, on the observation deck near the Church of the Savior on the Waters

On August 26, 2000, a decree of the President of Russia was signed to perpetuate the memory of its crew. On September 11, 2000, one of the mountain peaks of the Central Caucasian ridge was named "Kursk" - in honor of the dead crew members of the submarine "Kursk".

The granite monument is engraved with the words: "Do not despair!" They are taken from a letter from Lieutenant Dmitry Kolesnikov, which he wrote them in the battered 9th compartment of a sunken submarine. there, for 10 long days, 23 surviving submariners were waiting for help.

"KURSK". Letters from the abyss ...

Who will tell us a couple of words of honor about death,
It's a pity that the fallen sailors have no black boxes -
The pencil breaks, it's cold, it's dark
Captain Kolesnikov is writing a letter to us.

There are a few of us left on the cold day -
Three compartments blown up, two still on fire
I know there is no escape, but if you believe, wait
You will find my letter on your chest.

Kursk torn with a torn grave, froze,
Saying goodbye, cutting the ropes of torn veins.
It's cloudy over the water, seagulls, ships,
On the ground, the submarine sleeps, but how far from the ground.

After that they will lie for a long time about what happened,
Will the commission tell you how hard it is to die,
Who among us are the same age, who is the hero, who is a schmuck ...
Captain Kolesnikov is writing a letter to us.

Y. Shevchuk

Mystic?

In 1995 the nuclear submarine "KURSK" became part of the Northern Fleet of Russia.

This is what the sign for the submarine descent looked like. Look closely at the details of the sign.
The coat of arms of the city of Kursk, against which there are three partridges flying up ...
Harmless birds, so what? All the more so - the coat of arms of the sponsored boat of the city ...
But, since ancient times, sailors from all over the world have their own traditions, laws and signs ...
M and s t and k a ... But in the sea language, birds flying into the sky are souls
dead sailors. But such a coat of arms flaunted on the submarine's wheelhouse ...
In the center of the sign, as it should be, the Andreevsky flag flutters ... and on the sides-
Russian flag at half-mast ... But this is only 1994 ...

https://defendingrussia.ru/a/podlodka_k_141_kursk-3457/

http://www.svoboda.org/a/24674230.html

In the photo Dmitry Kolesnikov

As follows from the report of diving operations conducted by our divers, on October 25, it contains the following entry: "During the inspection, two sheets of A4 paper were found on one of the unidentified corpses." These sheets were probably ripped out of some magazine because they had tables in typographic type under the heading "Section 4. Remarks by Reviewers", and in the upper right corner of the front side were handwritten in pen of blue color numbering entries: "67" and "69", respectively. It is so customary on boats that all sheets of operational logbooks, and not only secret ones, are numbered in a similar way, laced up and fastened with the ship's seal for packages.

On the obverse side of sheet no. 66 there is a handwritten text with the following content:
"List of l / s 6,7,8,9 ot., Located in the 9th compartment after the accident on 12.08.2000." And below this entry is a list of surnames numbered from 1 to 23. It begins with the line: "1, 5-6-31 - Mainagashev" and ends with the line: "23. 5-88-21 - Neustroev ". There are two columns to the right of the last names. In the first, 13.34 is written on top, and then a "+" sign is put in front of each surname. In the second column from the top, it was not possible to make out the time, there are no pluses opposite the names, only opposite the names: Kubikov, Kuznetsov, Anikeev, Kozaderov, sailor Borisov and warrant officer Borisov, Neustroev there is a check mark. Below the list of surnames there is an entry: "13.58 (upward arrow) R 7 ot". There are no more records on this sheet at number 66.

On the reverse side of sheet No. 69 there is an entry with the following content:
"13.15. All personnel from 6, 7 and 8 compartments moved to 9. There are 23 of us here. The state of health is bad. Weakened by the action of carbon monoxide. The pressure rises. We are running out of regenerative cartridges. Upon reaching the surface, we will not withstand the decompression. There are not enough belts on individual breathing apparatus. There are no carabiners on the stoppers. We will last no more than a day. "

Then another entry: “15.15. It's dark to write here, but I'll try to touch. There seems to be no chance: 10-20 percent. Let's hope at least someone reads it. Here's a list personnel compartments that are in the 9th and will try to get out. Hello everyone, there is no need to despair. Kolesnikov ".

I managed to install the software this list who was in the 9th compartment:
1. Chief petty officer of the contract service Mainagashev VV, 6th compartment.
2. Sailor Korkin A.A., 6 compartment.
3. Lieutenant-Commander Aryapov R.R., 6 compartment.
4. Warrant officer Ishmuradov FM, compartment 7.
5. Sailor Naletov IE, 7 compartment.
6. Foreman 2 articles of contract service Sadovoy VS, 7 compartment.
7. Sailor Sidyukhin V.Yu., 7 compartment.
8. Sailor AN Nekrasov, compartment 7.
9. Sailor Martynov R.V., compartment 7.
10. Foreman 2 articles of contract service Gesler RA, 8 compartment.
11. Sailor Kubikov R.V., 8 compartment.
12. Senior warrant officer Kuznetsov V.V., 8 compartment.
13. Foreman 2 articles of contract service Anikeev R.V., 8 compartment.
14. Senior warrant officer V.V. Kozaderov, compartment 8.
15. Sailor Borisov Yu.A., 8 compartment.
16. Senior warrant officer Borisov A.M., 8 compartment.
17. Lieutenant-Commander D.R. Kolesnikov, compartment 7.
18. Lieutenant-Commander Sadilenko S.V., 8 compartment.
19. Senior Lieutenant Brazhkin A.V., compartment 9.
20. Warrant officer Bochkov M.A., 9 compartment.
21. Foreman 2 articles of contract service Leonov DA, 9 compartment.
22. Petty officer 1 article of the contract service Zubaidulin RR, 7 compartment.
23. Chief ship sergeant major of the contract service Neustroev AV, compartment 8.

The note became the object of intense interest. Reports of "new" and "previously unknown" parts of the note excited the public, stirring up an idle, in general, interest in this aspect of the tragedy. Idle, because it was immediately clear: a person who is in the 9th compartment of the boat farthest from the accident site cannot know anything about the cause of the accident. The maximum that can be understood from being there is that there were several explosions.
The note does not contain facts that would “reveal the secret” of what happened on the Kursk. The fact that it is not published is due to two understandable reasons.

Firstly, it is in the materials of the investigation, the disclosure of which is illegal.
Secondly, the note, as was said by the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy from the very beginning, at a meeting with the wives of the sailors in Vidyaevo, in addition to talking about the number of personnel in the compartment, is also of a purely personal nature, since it contains words , addressed to the wife, and from this point of view, her publication - for whatever reason - would be immoral. The submariners' relatives are already the object of excitement interest. So, the note does not contain any secrets - it is a purely private document, a letter to his wife, a letter of an exclusively personal nature.

Nine months later, on July 16, 2001, before the stage of preparing the Kursk for the ascent, the chief diving doctor of the Navy, Colonel of the Medical Service Sergei Nikonov, told about this note: “Again, a note, it has been published almost in full. There is not a single word left out. Trust me, please, you will see this when there really is an opportunity to be convinced of this, maybe her photograph will be published or something else. Not a single word is left out of it. What was said in this note is the information that concerns everyone. And then personal, for the wife. It's literally one line. It is really of a purely personal nature, there is no information in it that allows one to judge anything, about any reasons or about what was going on in the boat, there is nothing like that there at all. In the part in which it was sounded, it influenced very seriously the nature of diving operations. It became clear that the guys were concentrated in the 9th compartment, which means there was nothing to look for in other compartments, so there was no need to climb into other compartments, cut them, and this is quite a lot of work. Kolesnikov's note, it not only narrowed it down, it seriously facilitated the work. We would have slashed the whole boat, but here we concentrated on the 9th compartment, and, in general, it became clear that if the task is to lift bodies, then there is nothing to climb into other compartments. "
A year after the death of the Kursk, the promoter of the President of the Russian Federation Sergei Yastrzhembsky was asked: "When will Kolesnikov's note be published in full?" He replied: “The timing of the publication of the note by Lieutenant-Commander Dmitry Kolesnikov is determined by the investigating authorities. Only the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office will determine this term. "

Dmitry Kolesnikov's wife, Olga, whose wedding they played 4 months before the death of Kursk, said this about this note: “I saw the note, but they didn’t give it to me. They gave a photocopy of what was dedicated to me, this is his will to me. The note was not given because on back side her surnames of 22 people who were with him in the compartment were recorded. They were not given because not all of them were raised, and they did not want to disclose to relatives who were still in the compartment. I was told that I would receive the note when the criminal case was closed. But we will never know the truth, since the case will be immortal. "

She also said that they often put short notes to each other, which then involuntarily came across them in various unexpected situations. For example, she could put a piece of paper in his sock with the words: "I love you!" He could write the same thing in the bathroom, or put a note in the sugar bowl. A few days before his death, he wrote her a quatrain. She says that at that time they were too happy, and he could not write such words, but for some reason he wrote them. Here they are:

And when the hour comes to die
Although I drive such thoughts,
I'll have to whisper then:
"Darling, I love you!"

A copy of the note briefly flashed in the frame in her hands, it was clear that it contained a list of personnel who were in the compartment, and even opposite each surname was a + sign, as the military usually notes the presence of people when they call them. Columns were also made nearby for further roll calls. But she, this verification in the 9th compartment turned out to be the last for everyone.

And the content of the note to his wife became known, she herself then showed a copy of it, on which one could read: “Olga, I love you, do not worry too much.
G.V. Hi. Hello to me. (Signature in the form of an unreadable stroke).
On November 1, the wife and parents of Dmitry Kolesnikov flew from Severomorsk on a naval aircraft. They took with them the body of the lieutenant commander. The funeral of the heroically deceased commander of the turbine group of the Kursk division of the movement, Dmitry Kolesnikov, will take place on Thursday at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.

In September 2001, one of the TV journalists was shown 77 volumes of the criminal case on the death of the Kursk in the prosecutor's office, and the investigator opened one of the volumes, in which a genuine note appeared in front of the camera. For several seconds it flashed on the screen, but one could see how Dmitry Kolesnikov's handwriting changed when there was already little oxygen in the compartment, when each letter was difficult to reach.