Biography of Pavel Grachev. Biography of Pavel Grachev Where is Pavel Grachev

Pavel Sergeevich Grachev was the most famous and scandalous Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. He held this post from 1992 to 1996. Coming from a simple worker-peasant family (father is a mechanic, mother is a milkmaid), he went through a difficult path to the very pinnacle of power and did a lot to ensure that he would be remembered for a long time in this position.

Achievement list

Pavel Grachev was born in the Tula region in 1948. After school I went to the Airborne Forces School in Ryazan. Upon graduation, he served in a reconnaissance company in Kaunas (Lithuania), then on the territory of the Russian Federation. In 1981 he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in absentia. Served in Afghanistan. For his service he was awarded the Gold Hero Star. Then he served in various command positions.

Since the end of 1990, with the rank of major general, he became commander of the USSR Airborne Forces. After 2 months, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, which was more appropriate for his position. During his military service, Grachev proved himself only positively. He was repeatedly wounded, shell-shocked, participated in testing new equipment, made over 600 parachute jumps, etc.

Grachev's actions during the putsch

During the August events in Moscow in 1991, Pavel Grachev initially followed the orders of the State Emergency Committee. Under his command, the 106th Airborne Division entered the capital and took custody of the main facilities. This happened on August 19. After 2 days, Grachev sharply changed his opinion about the events taking place, expressed his disagreement with the forceful methods of seizing power to the State Emergency Committee and went over to the side of the president.

He gave the order to use heavy armored vehicles and personnel under the command of Alexander Lebed “to protect” the White House. Later, during the investigation into the State Emergency Committee case, Grachev stated that he did not intend to give the order to storm the White House. On August 23, the president appointed Pavel Grachev as first deputy minister of defense. At the same time, the lieutenant general was promoted to rank. From that moment on, his career quickly took off.

As minister

In May 1992, Pavel Sergeevich became the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation and received the rank of army general. During an interview with a correspondent of the Trud newspaper, Grachev admitted that he did not consider himself worthy of such a high post (he had, they say, not enough experience). But Yeltsin convinced him. At his new post, Pavel Grachev formed the entire cabinet, selecting people from those who served in Afghanistan.

The minister opposed the rapid withdrawal of troops from the Baltic states, Central Asia and Transcaucasia, rightly believing that it was first necessary to create conditions for military personnel in their homeland, and then transfer them to a new duty station. Grachev sought to strengthen the Russian army by prohibiting the formation of politicized organizations within its ranks.

During his command there were also contradictory, even strange steps. For example, Grachev ordered that almost half of the weapons of the Russian Army be transferred to the disposal of Dudayev’s militants. The minister explained this by saying that it was not possible to remove weapons from the territories captured by the Dudayevites. A couple of years later, separatists fired at Russian soldiers from these machine guns.

Relation to Grachev

At first, the personality and actions of Pavel Sergeevich did not cause much debate. In 1993, the opposition's attitude towards the minister changed dramatically. After the October riots in Moscow, Grachev clearly demonstrated that he was ready to raise the army against the civilian population. Shortly before this, he stated the exact opposite: the army should not interfere in resolving internal political conflicts.

Grachev opposed the entry of troops into Chechnya. For this he was criticized by both Chernomyrdin and Yeltsin himself. At the same time, the minister personally led the military operations in Chechnya, and rather unsuccessfully. After several crushing defeats he returned to Moscow.

Grachev was subjected to sharp criticism for many of his actions and statements. For example, at the beginning of the Chechen War, he threatened to restore order in Chechnya in two hours with one parachute regiment, and when asked how much time he needed to prepare, he answered: “Three days.”

In January 1995, Grachev said that “eighteen-year-old boys” in Chechnya are dying “with a smile,” speaking of dead Russian soldiers.

In 1993, in order to relieve himself of responsibility, he asked Yeltsin for written permission if necessary to open fire on the White House. After the Grozny “successes,” Grachev began to advocate a gradual reduction of the army and its transfer to a contract basis.

Scandals

In 1997, Pavel Grachev was appointed advisor to the general director of Rosvooruzhenie. Next year - advisor to the general director of Rosoboronexport. In 2007, Grachev was dismissed from his last post due to the “abolition” of this and some other positions.

One of the most high-profile scandals was the case of corruption in the top military leadership of units located in Germany. This was in the early 90s. Alexander Lebed stated that Grachev was involved in this case and, using ill-gotten money, purchased several Mercedes abroad. Grachev was not brought to justice in this case, but he did not dispute his guilt in any way.

The personality of Pavel Sergeevich Grachev is known to most people interested in politics. He held a high position in the most difficult time for the country, and devoted most of his life to military activities. In order to learn about the biography of Pavel Sergeevich Grachev, as well as to get better acquainted with the successes in the career of a military man, you just need to read the material in the article.

Youth

Pavel Sergeevich Grachev was born on the first day of the new year 1948. His birthplace is a small village located near Tula. Pavel Sergeevich's family was the simplest: his father, Sergei Grachev, worked as a mechanic at a factory, and his mother was a milkmaid in his native village.

Education

In 1964, Pavel Sergeevich Grachev successfully graduated from school, and the next year he entered the Airborne Forces School, which is located in Ryazan. Upon completion of his studies, in 1969, Grachev was awarded a gold medal in several specialties. In 1978, already an experienced military man, Pavel Sergeevich attended a course of lectures at the military academy, which bears the name of Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze. He also graduated with honors. After his studies, Grachev was sent to Afghanistan.

Beginning of a military career

Since 1969, for several years, Grachev commanded a reconnaissance platoon of the Airborne Division, located in the city of Kaunas, which is located in Lithuania. For the next four years, Pavel Sergeevich commanded a company of cadets at the Ryazan Airborne School, and until 1978, Grachev served as commander of a training battalion.

Military activities after the fighting in Afghanistan

Grachev returned to the USSR in 1983 after participating in the Afghan armed conflict, where he served as deputy commander, and later himself began to command a guards regiment. Pavel Sergeevich was sent to Kaunas, where he served as chief of staff. The good service was appreciated: in 1984, Grachev received the rank of colonel ahead of schedule, and in November 1986 he was awarded a new rank - major general.

Awards and titles

In May 1988, Pavel Sergeevich Grachev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Grachev received this honorary award for the fact that the combat mission, under his strict leadership, was completed with minimal human losses; in particular, Pavel Sergeevich showed himself well in the most difficult combat operation “Magistral”.

Participation in the August putsch and further promotion

On August 20, 1991, Grachev received an order to send troops to Moscow to guard the most important facilities. He carried out this order, sending the Tula 106th Airborne Division on a combat mission. On August 23, Pavel Sergeevich was appointed First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. At the beginning of November this year, in connection with the resignation of the cabinet of ministers, he began to perform duties related to defense issues. Grachev believed that it was necessary to create a common defense system for the CIS countries.

April 1992 was marked by another high appointment of a serviceman, this time he became Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia. His duties included control over military units under the jurisdiction of the Russian troops. In May 1992, Pavel Sergeevich was appointed army general. The first army general in the history of the Russian Federation.

Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation

Career advancement proceeded by leaps and bounds. On May 18, 1992, Pavel Sergeevich took over as Minister of Defense. Grachev distributed most of the top ranks in the ministry to his colleagues in Afghanistan. He opposed liberties in the army and considered unity of command the only possible option for conducting affairs in the armed forces. He banned the All-Russian Officers' Assembly and the trade union of military personnel, which caused indignation among the military.

In June 1992, Grachev's decision to transfer half of all weapons belonging to the Soviet army to the Chechen politician Dudayev caused a great stir. Pavel Sergeevich called this forced measures, since the weapons actually already belonged to the militants, and there was no way to take them out. This situation had a very negative impact on the military clash that took place two years later, when the transferred weapons were fired at Russian soldiers.

Pavel Sergeevich Grachev supported Russian President Boris Yeltsin, which caused a sharply negative attitude from the opposition. On October 3, there were riots in Moscow, during which Grachev, despite his statements that the army should only perform functions of protecting the Motherland and not interfere in the internal affairs of the State, sent troops into the city and stormed the parliament building.

Pavel Sergeevich repeatedly admitted that he was opposed to the entry of Russian troops into Chechnya, but his opinion was not shared by Yeltsin and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Chernomyrdin. The management of military operations in Grozny did not end very successfully, and Grachev returned to Moscow. Since then, he began to be subjected to even greater criticism not only from opposition groups, but also from former comrades.

Activities of Pavel Sergeevich after the end of his military career

In December 1997, Grachev added another position to his track record, becoming an adviser to the general director in the large company Rosvooruzheniye. In 2000, Pavel Sergeevich was elected president of the Airborne Forces - Combat Brotherhood Foundation. Since 2007, he worked as an adviser to the general director at the A. S. Popov radio plant. In the same year he was transferred to the reserve.

Investigations and charges

Secretary of the Security Council A. Lebed stated that the thefts committed by Grachev became the cause of the armed conflict in Chechnya. The media actively supported this position of Lebed and accused Pavel Sergeevich of repeatedly illegally purchasing expensive cars. Grachev himself did not refute this information in any way, but he was not involved in the investigations either.

In October 1994, the murder of journalist Dmitry Kholodov was committed, in which Grachev was suspected. In addition to Pavel Sergeevich, some officers were accused in the case. All the defendants were acquitted, but the crime was never solved. An investigator of the Shchelkovo investigative department recalled about Pavel Sergeevich Grachev that during interrogations the former Minister of Defense behaved very confidently, which confused even experienced police officers. The investigator did not understand the nature of such confidence: either Grachev really had nothing to hide, or he knew that serious evidence would never be found against him.

last years of life

On the night of September 11-12, Grachev was admitted to the cardiology intensive care unit of the hospital named after. Vishnevsky, which is located in the city of Krasnogorsk near Moscow. Pavel Sergeevich passed away on September 23, 2012. The media called the cause of death of Pavel Sergeevich Grachev a severe hypertensive crisis, and according to one version, it could have been poisoning. The official message from the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the real cause of Grachev’s death was acute inflammation of the brain. He is survived by his wife and two adult children.

1. The number of wounds and shell shocks Pavel Sergeevich Grachev received during his service is amazing: he was shell-shocked eight times and received about ten wounds.
2. Despite the fact that the official date of birth of Pavel Sergeevich is January 1, 1948, he stated that he was born on December 27, 1947.
3. During his military service, Pavel Sergeevich made an astonishing number of parachute jumps - he jumped from an airplane 647 times.
4. Pavel Sergeevich Grachev became the youngest army general in Russian history. He was awarded this title at the age of 44.
5. In 1993, Grachev participated in the finalization of the new constitution of Russia.
6. Pavel Sergeevich believed that the army should be formed according to a mixed principle and a contractual basis should be introduced.
7. It is interesting that there is a full namesake of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, who is on the board of directors of the Polyus Gold company - Pavel Sergeevich Grachev, the biographies of these famous men are often confused due to the same names. Such confusion has repeatedly created awkward situations. Thus, in an article about the director of Polyus Gold, Pavel Sergeevich Grachev, a photograph of his namesake, a military man, was posted.

From the very beginning

Born on January 1, 1948 in the village of Rvy, Leninsky district, Tula region, into a working-class family, Russian.

In 1969 he graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne School, in 1981 - from the Military Academy. Frunze (with honors), in June 1990 - Academy of the General Staff.

In 1969-71 he served as commander of a reconnaissance platoon of an airborne division in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR. In 1971-72 he was commander of a platoon of cadets at the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, in 1972-75 - commander of a company of cadets at the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. From 1975 to 1978 - commander of the training parachute battalion of the training airborne division.

In 1978-81 he was a student at the M.V. Frunze Military Academy.

From 1981 to 1983 he was in Afghanistan: in 1981-82 - deputy commander of the separate 354th parachute regiment as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, in 1982-83 - commander of the separate 354th parachute regiment.

From 1983 to 1985 - chief of staff of the 7th division in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR.

In 1985 he was returned to Afghanistan, until 1988 he was the commander of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division named after the 60th anniversary of the USSR. In total, he served in Afghanistan for 5 years and 3 months. For his services in the Afghan campaign, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (“for completing combat missions with minimal casualties”). The award ceremony took place after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
After studying (1988-90) at the Academy of the General Staff, he became deputy commander in 1990, and from December 30, 1990 - commander of the Airborne Forces (Airborne Forces).

He demonstrated personal loyalty to the USSR Minister of Defense Dmitry Yazov and called him “father.”

In January 1991, he ensured the implementation of the order of the USSR Minister of Defense Yazov to send two regiments of the Pskov Airborne Division to Lithuania. The pretext was to provide assistance to the military registration and enlistment offices of the republic in the forced recruitment into the army of persons evading conscription. On the eve of the Vilnius events of January 1991, Grachev spoke out in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper against the use of landing troops in interethnic conflicts. In his opinion, this is the business of the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs troops. For this statement he received reprimand from Marshal Yazov, however, without any consequences for his career. At the beginning of 1991, Grachev actually did not participate in directing the actions of the paratroopers in the Baltic states, whose activities were coordinated by General Vladislav Achalov during this period.

On August 19, 1991, following the order of the State Emergency Committee to send troops into Moscow, he ensured the arrival of the 106th Tula Airborne Division in the capital and its taking under the protection of strategically important objects. At the first stage of the coup attempt, he acted in accordance with the instructions of Marshal Yazov: he prepared paratroopers together with KGB special forces and Ministry of Internal Affairs troops to storm the building of the RSFSR Armed Forces. At the same time, he maintained contacts with the Russian leadership, in particular with Yuri Skokov, with whom he was on friendly terms for a long time.

On the afternoon of August 20, together with other high-ranking military men (in particular, Air Marshal Shaposhnikov, generals Vladislav Achalov and Boris Gromov), he expressed his negative opinion to the leaders of the State Emergency Committee about the plan to seize the White House, and then informed the Russian leadership that the airborne units were not will storm the White House (according to General Achalov, Grachev said he was sick, when Achalov and Gromov, convinced that the storming of the White House would lead to huge casualties, went to report their point of view to a member of the State Emergency Committee, General Valentin Varennikov. According to the recollections of General Alexander Lebed, Grachev conveyed through him to the White House with a message about the time of the proposed assault on the White House - and not information that the Airborne Forces will not participate in the assault).

Not having confidence that the military would carry out the order, the State Emergency Committee canceled the initial decision and the order for the assault was not given. Grachev himself subsequently claimed that he “refused to participate in the storming of the Russian White House.”

After the failure of the coup attempt, Grachev received an offer from Yeltsin to take the post of Minister of Defense of the RSFSR (not provided for by the then state structure of the republic) instead of Konstantin Kobets, who was appointed to this position on August 19. Together with a group of military men, Grachev convinced Yeltsin not to create a republican Ministry of Defense, so that a split along national lines would not occur in the armed forces of the USSR. Instead of the ministry, the Russian State Committee for Defense Issues was created with a staff of about 300 people - a coordinating body between the USSR Ministry of Defense and Russian government structures.

On August 23, 1991, Grachev was appointed Chairman of the Russian State Committee for Defense Issues with a promotion from Major General to Colonel General and became First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. After the formation of the CIS, Grachev became, accordingly, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the CIS (CIS Joint Forces).

At this time, General Grachev acted as a supporter of unified armed forces. He stated that the army should not interfere in resolving the internal problems of the state, no matter how acute they may be. He spoke out against possible purges in the army.

On April 3, 1992, Grachev was appointed First Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia (whose duties were temporarily performed by Russian President Yeltsin). At the beginning of May, Grachev was temporarily entrusted with direct leadership of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with the right to issue directives, orders and instructions on the Armed Forces - while simultaneously conferring the military rank of army general.

Units of the armed forces stationed in Russia, the Baltic states, Transcaucasia, some areas of Central Asia, and outside the former USSR came under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The ministry's senior leadership was formed mainly from Afghan veterans. One of the deputy ministers was the former commander of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, who signed the pre-coup “Word to the People.” Boris Gromov.

One of Grachev's first orders as Minister of Defense was to allow Russian troops located in zones of ethnic conflicts to open fire in the event of an attack on military units. Grachev opposed the accelerated withdrawal of Russian troops from Poland and the Baltic states, justifying this by the fact that Russia does not yet have the resources necessary to solve the social problems of military personnel and members of their families.

In the first time after his appointment, Grachev was almost not criticized by the national-patriotic and communist opposition, many of whose leaders considered him a person ideologically close to them. However, later, especially after the statement in the fall of 1992 about the support of the President by the army, the opposition’s attitude towards Grachev changed to sharply critical. The "Union of Officers" held a "court of honor" against Grachev.
He tried to prevent the weakening of unity of command in the army and its politicization. They were banned from the All-Russian Officers' Assembly, an independent trade union of military personnel, and some politicized officers were dismissed from the army, for example, the leader of the "Union of Officers" Stanislav Terekhov.
In 1993, in his speech at the Supreme Council of Russia after the President’s March statement on the “introduction of a special order for governing the country,” Grachev, like other power ministers, declared his loyalty to the Constitution, at the same time clearly made it clear that he was on Yeltsin’s side. Before the April referendum, he stated that he would vote in support of the President.

In May 1993, by order of Yeltsin, he was introduced into the working commission for finalizing the presidential draft of the Russian Constitution.
In April 1993, the Russian prosecutor's office began an investigation into corruption in a group of Russian troops in Germany, in which, according to his opponents, Grachev was also involved.

Grachev, as well as other senior military commanders (Shaposhnikov, Kobets, Volkogonov, etc.), were repeatedly accused of privatizing in 1992, at reduced prices, state-owned dachas of the former USSR Ministry of Defense in the village of Arkhangelskoye near Moscow.
In September 1993, after presidential decree N1400 dissolving parliament, Grachev said that the army should obey only President Yeltsin and “will not interfere in political battles until the moment when political passions turn into nationwide confrontation.” On October 3, when bloody riots began in Moscow (the capture of the mayor's office, the storming of Ostankino, etc.), after some delay he called troops to Moscow, who the next day after the tank shelling stormed the parliament building.

Attended the pre-election congress of the People's Patriotic Party (leader Alexander Kotenev) in October 1993 and expressed support for it.
On October 20, 1993, by presidential decree, he was appointed a member of the Russian Security Council.

In the press, both national-patriotic and communist ("Zavtra", "Soviet Russia"), and radical-democratic ("Moskovsky Komsomolets"), Grachev was repeatedly accused of patronizing General Burlakov, whose name is associated with rampant corruption in the Western Group of Forces in Germany. In the newspaper "Zavtra" Grachev was given the nickname "Pasha-Mercedes" - for his love for cars of the corresponding brand. After the murder of Dmitry Kholodov, an employee of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, on October 17, 1994, who had repeatedly written about corruption in the army, the editors of the newspaper actually accused Grachev of this murder: “General democracy is on the alert! Destroying everyone who does not fit into its statutory framework becomes a priority task. Messrs. Grachev, Burlakov and others like them, hiding the big and small sins of their activities in the wide pockets of their striped pants, will sooner or later get theirs, if not from justice, then from the Lord God." Grachev himself suggested that the murder of Kholodov “was intended as a provocation against the Minister of Defense, the GRU and the Armed Forces as a whole.”

In November 1994, a number of career officers of the Russian army (mainly tank crews and pilots from military units of the Moscow Military District), with the knowledge of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, entered into contracts with the Federal Counterintelligence Service and were sent to Chechnya to participate in hostilities on the side of the opposition to Chechen President Johor Dudayev. Several Russian officers were captured by Dudayev. The Minister of Defense, denying his knowledge of the participation of his subordinates in hostilities on the territory of Chechnya, called the captured officers deserters and mercenaries. To confirm his non-involvement in the events in Chechnya, he stated that Grozny could be taken in two hours with the forces of one airborne regiment. Later, the participation of Russian officers in the storming of Grozny was documented. In response to rumors about Grachev's imminent resignation, Boris Yeltsin called him the best defense minister of recent decades.

On November 30, 1994, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was included in the Group for the Management of Actions for the Disarmament of Bandit Formations in Chechnya. In December 1994 - January 1995, from the headquarters in Mozdok, he personally led the military operations of the Russian army in the Chechen Republic.

After the failure of several offensive operations in Grozny, he returned to Moscow. From that time on he was subjected to continuous criticism in the State
Duma and in periodicals across the entire political spectrum - both for belonging to a group of politicians and military men who advocate a forceful solution to the Chechen problem, and for the losses and failures of Russian troops in Chechnya. Responding to criticism, in a television program he called the chairman of the Defense Committee in the State Duma of the first convocation, Sergei Yushenkov, a “bastard,” and human rights activist Sergei Kovalev, a traitor.

Many officers who actively advocated military reform sharply criticized Grachev for actually refusing reforms and for
a policy pursued, in their opinion, only in the selfish interests of the top generals.

Considered an enemy of generals Boris Gromov and Alexander Lebed, who both left the army in 1994-95 largely due to their relationships with Grachev.

At the beginning of May 1995, Grachev approached the government with a proposal to transfer control over the arms trade to his department. He believed that this would allow Russia to maintain its position in the global arms market. For Russia’s loss of traditional arms sales markets and the reduction in the volume of arms exports by $800 million in 1994, Grachev blamed the bloated bureaucratic system and, above all, the Rosvooruzheniye company, which not only does not explain to buyers “who to order weapons and who will supply order,” but also creates a situation where manufacturing enterprises “are not receiving part of their profits.”

With the appointment of Alexander Lebed as Secretary of the Security Council, on June 18, 1996 he was relieved of his post as Minister of Defense.
In February 1997, at a meeting of the State Duma, the head of the Defense Committee, Lev Rokhlin, announced that the former leadership of the Ministry of Defense, without official orders from the government, carried out a free supply to Armenia of 84 T-72 tanks, 40 infantry fighting vehicles, as well as spare parts worth 7 billion rubles. On April 2, he also made a detailed report on this matter at a closed meeting of parliament. According to Lev Rokhlin, the total amount of Russian losses exceeded $1 billion. Based on the results of the inspection, the head of the Main Control Directorate of the President, Vladimir Putin, said that there were indeed violations, but “during the inspection, we did not find documents that would indicate that Grachev gave direct instructions, orders in this regard."

In June 1997, a message appeared about the possibility of Grachev being appointed Russian ambassador to NATO headquarters.
On December 18, 1997, Evgeny Ananyev took up the duties of the chief military adviser to the General Director of the Rosvooruzheniye company, but began to officially perform his duties only on April 27, 1998. (In 2000, the organization was renamed Rosoboronexport).

According to the Kommersant newspaper, the cost of repairing Grachev's office at Rosvooruzheniye amounted to $150,000.

In April 2000, he was elected president of the Regional Public Fund for Assistance and Assistance to Airborne Forces "Airborne Forces - Combat Brotherhood".

On February 26, 2001, he acted as a witness at the trial in the case of Dmitry Kholodov. He admitted that at one time he ordered the commander of the Airborne Forces Podkolzin to “deal with” Kholodov, but did not mean the murder of the journalist. Grachev also stated that he is confident that the defendants are not involved in the murder.

On March 11, 2002, it became known that Grachev was appointed chairman of the General Staff commission to verify the 106th Tula Airborne Division. According to the Kommersant newspaper, this appointment meant that the likelihood of Grachev returning to the army was very high. (Kommersant, March 12, 2002)

On March 24, 2004, a repeat trial of the murder of journalist Kholodov began in the Moscow District Military Court. The court interrogated Grachev, who again stated that he did not give the order to kill Kholodov. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the head of intelligence of the Airborne Forces, Pavel Popovskikh, took the statements of Grachev, who called for “to shut up the mouth and break the legs of journalist Kholodov,” as an instruction from his superiors and decided to physically eliminate him. On October 17, 1994, the journalist was given a token from a storage room at the Kazan station, in which there was a diplomat with “sensational documents about the Ministry of Defense.” He brought the case to the editorial office, and when he opened it, there was an explosion that killed him.”
He spoke out for a gradual reduction of the armed forces, calculated for the period until 1996. The final size of the Russian army, in his opinion, should be 1-1.5 million people. He believes that the army should be recruited on a mixed basis with a subsequent transition to a contract basis.

Hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, the Red Star, "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", and the Afghan Order of the Red Banner.

Master of Sports in Skiing.

Wife Lyubov Alekseevna. Two sons. The eldest, Sergei, born in 1970, a serviceman, graduated from the same Airborne Forces School that his father, the youngest, graduated from
Valery, born in 1975 - cadet of the Security Academy of the Russian Federation.

Grachev: Kholodov probably assembled the bomb himself

In the Moscow military court, during the trial of the murder of journalist Dmitry Kholodov, former head of the Ministry of Defense Pavel Grachev said: when he gave the order to deal with journalists who discredit the army, he did not mean their physical elimination. As a Granei.Ru correspondent reports from the courtroom, Grachev emphasized that if any of his subordinates misinterpreted his order, then “this is their problem.”

To a direct question whether Grachev gave the order to “deal with” Kholodov, the former minister replied as follows: “Firstly, I don’t see anything criminal in this word – “deal with”. Secondly, I did not order the murder of the journalist.” The general explained that at the board meeting they were ordered to deal with every journalist for every article discrediting the army. “To sort it out,” according to Grachev, meant “to talk to every journalist, to find the source of the nonsense” that discredits the army, and “to set the author on the right path.” For this good purpose, the Minister of Defense took journalists with him on all his business trips and reported to them whenever possible. At the board at which he spoke about the need to deal with journalists, representatives of the Airborne Forces command were present, who “heard everything.” As for the accused former head of the airborne intelligence department, Pavel Popovskikh, then, according to Grachev, his position was too low, and he could not attend the board meetings.

At the court hearing, it was announced that Pavel Grachev was a suspect in a separate criminal case for the murder of Dmitry Kholodov, but this case was closed. The former minister’s surprise knew no bounds: “So, a criminal case was opened against me? Does that mean I was a criminal?” Grachev was sure that the investigators interrogated him as a witness, and not as a suspect.

Then they explained to the ex-minister: the suspicions against him were based on the testimony of Colonel Popovsky. The colonel claimed that the minister asked him to deal with the journalists. Grachev turned to Popovskikh and asked: “Did you give such testimony?” The accused replied: "No." At the same time, the former minister admitted that he separately addressed the Airborne Forces command with instructions to talk with Kholodov, since the journalist had repeatedly visited the 45th Airborne Regiment (the commander of the special detachment of this regiment, Vladimir Morozov, and his two deputies are accused in the case) and “wrote well about situation in the regiment."

The former minister also explained why he forbade Kholodov from attending meetings of the Ministry of Defense, interviewing Grachev himself and attending his press conferences. According to the general, after one meeting he met with Kholodov in the foyer and directly asked the journalist why he preferred to write lies about the situation in the army. To this, according to Grachev, Kholodov replied: “I have no complaints against you personally, but I get good money for my articles and will continue to write.” When asked who could confirm these words, the ex-minister replied: “there were people walking around,” but he doesn’t know whether anyone can confirm.

Grachev confirmed that his reaction to Kholodov’s publications was negative. “My colleagues and I” believed that Kholodov’s articles were ordered, Grachev said, they discredited the army, Grachev himself and members of his family, in particular, the minister’s son. In his opinion, the editor-in-chief of MK, Pavel Gusev, could have ordered the articles.

In the fall of 1996, the now retired Grachev was asked for a meeting by media tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky. The former minister "reluctantly agreed." Gusinsky said that he wanted to apologize to Grachev. He suggested doing it publicly, in front of the press. The entrepreneur refused. Then Grachev decided to find out what they were actually apologizing to him for. It turns out that during the events of October 1993, Gusinsky “and his colleagues” decided that Grachev could get into a tank, drive it into the Kremlin and establish a military dictatorship. When this did not happen, Gusinsky decided that “something just didn’t work out for Grachev,” but he could try again. “They decided that I didn’t think it through, didn’t finish it, but I can think it through and finish it,” explained the former head of the Ministry of Defense. And then it was decided to start a campaign to discredit Grachev in the media. The task was entrusted to Pavel Gusev, says Grachev.

According to the former minister, Gusev personally told him that he had found a certain soldier and for $1,000 asked him to tell him that he, the soldier, allegedly saw “these guys (the defendants - Ed.) preparing a suitcase." Grachev is sure that “these guys” could not prepare a crime in this way, because they were too good professionals. He does not know what kind of explosive device was used to kill the journalist. "Maybe Dima
“I made it myself,” Grachev suggested.

Grachev also recalled the scandalous broadcast on Vladimir Pozner’s “We” program in December 1993. 15 minutes before the broadcast, when the head of the Ministry of Defense was sitting in the dressing room, his security guard came running to him and said that Kholodov had come to the checkpoint with some woman. When the woman was asked to open the bag she came with, it turned out that her son’s head was there, she brought it to show it, “so that everyone would know what the rules are in the army.” Having learned about this, Grachev wanted to refuse to participate in the program, but Posner persuaded him to stay. According to Grachev, the woman was not allowed into the studio. Kholodov was there, but did not try to ask him questions about it.

Representatives of the injured party - the parents of Dmitry Kholodov - asked Grachev to remember whether the minister on this program spoke about the internal enemies of the army and whether he mentioned Kholodov among them. Grachev admitted that he mentioned enemies, but he does not remember whether he mentioned Kholodov’s name. Then the victims said: their son was going to go on air with questions to the minister, but he pointed to Kholodov and said - look, he is an enemy of the army. This episode was not aired. Grachev denied this statement. Then the judge spoke and stated that the court had viewed the full recording of the broadcast. Indeed, the head of the Ministry of Defense said there: the army has internal enemies, “for example, Kholodov.”

Representatives of the victims asked Grachev to indicate any article by Kholodov that would contain lies about Grachev and the army. Grachev refused. He added that the lies that Kholodov wrote about the minister’s son were enough, after which he was forced to end his military career. When asked by the victims why Kholodov was not sued, Grachev replied, “it was useless.” According to him, he talked with Kholodov himself and asked his press secretary to influence the journalist, but all this was in vain. “Why didn’t Kholodov sue me?” - asked Grachev. The victims noted that Grachev began to publicly accuse Kholodov only after the death of the journalist.

Finally, Grachev stated that his resignation from the post of Minister of Defense was not connected with the “Kholodov case.” He explained: Lebed, having become Secretary of the Security Council, insisted that the Minister of Defense also report to him. Grachev could not bear this and resigned.

Dmitry Kholodov died on October 17, 1994 in the building of the editorial office of Moskovsky Komsomolets as a result of the explosion of a booby trap that was placed in a “diplomat” briefcase. The prosecutor's office accuses six people of the murder of the 27-year-old correspondent: the former head of the airborne intelligence department Pavel Popovskikh, the commander of the special detachment of the 45th airborne regiment Vladimir Morozov, his two deputies Alexander Soroka and Konstantin Mirzayants, the deputy head of the Ross security company Alexander Kapuntsov and businessman Konstantin Barkovsky. According to investigators, he organized the murder of the Popovskys “out of careerist motives.”

The ease, even swagger, with which the ex-Minister of Defense behaved in the court presence, addressing first the judge, then the accused, then the public, suggests that Pavel Sergeevich has long since recovered from the fright of those days when the public was almost I am sure of the involvement of Pasha-Mercedes in the death of journalist Dmitry Kholodov. Of course, the fear had passed long before the ex-minister’s current appearance in court. But there was caution - as if something might not work out. Therefore, I did not communicate with the press; at the first trial I answered briefly and clearly as a soldier. And suddenly such liberation. He even allowed himself to transparently hint that Kholodov died fulfilling some hellish anti-Grachev plan of MK editor Pavel Gusev and tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky. [...]

Letter to Yeltsin

According to the director of Rybinsk Motors JSC Valery Shelgunov, the day before the results of the competition for the sale of a state-owned stake of 37% of the shares of Rybinsk Motors JSC were scheduled for December 29, 1995, Defense Minister Pavel Grachev and Chairman of the State Defense Industry Committee Viktor Glukhikh signed a joint appeal to President Yeltsin asking him to intervene in the situation. The authors of the letter noted that their position is shared by the head of the administration of the Yaroslavl region, the presidential plenipotentiary representative in the region, the State Committee for Defense Industry, the Ministry of Defense, the chairman of the Federation Council, the Accounts Chamber, general designers and chairmen of a number of State Duma committees. The letter was signed by Grachev in the hospital and Yeltsin could not personally deliver it to him. It went through the office of the President's aides.

According to the management of Rybinsk Motors JSC, the letter did not fall into the hands of Yeltsin, but went to Viktor Chernomyrdin. In January 1996, V. Glukhikh was removed from his position.

According to Valery Voskoboynikov, a joint letter from Defense Minister Pavel Grachev and Chairman of the State Defense Industry Committee Viktor Glukhikh was the reason for the withdrawal from the loans-for-shares auctions of the Arsenyev Aviation Company Progress, the Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk APO, the Design Bureau named after. Sukhoi.

As you know, only descendants can judge the role of a person in history. Therefore, today no one can say with certainty whether Pavel Sergeevich Grachev was right when he performed certain actions at a time when he held the most important government posts and gave orders on which the fate of thousands of people depended. At one time, his brilliant career aroused the envy of many colleagues, while many often forgot what the first Russian had to go through before he reached the highest echelons of power.

Childhood and young years

Grachev Pavel Sergeevich was born in January 1948 in the village of Rva, in the Tula region. His father was a simple mechanic, and his mother was a milkmaid. The future military leader was restless and showed an interest in sports, and most of all he liked basketball. After finishing 11 classes, he entered the famous RVVD command school, deciding to forever connect his life with the army.

The young man studied diligently and received praise from his commanders more than once. In 1969, Pavel Sergeevich Grachev received a diploma with honors, and he was awarded the rank of lieutenant and the qualification of a reviewer-translator.

Service in the ranks of the USSR Armed Forces

Grachev Pavel Sergeevich, whose biography and career until 1980 were quite typical for young military men who were his peers, at the age of 21 was appointed to the position of commander of a reconnaissance platoon in one of the units stationed on the territory of the Lithuanian SSR.

Then he was sent to serve in his native Ryazan school for four years, where he held various positions and worked directly with cadets. In 1975, Grachev became the commander of the training battalion of the 44th training airborne division, and in 1978 he continued his education at the Military Academy named after. M. V. Frunze.

Afghanistan

Completion of Pavel Grachev's studies at the Academy. M.V. Frunze coincided with the beginning of the last local war in the history of the USSR. A promising young commander who showed great promise was immediately sent to Afghanistan, where he spent the next three years. During this period, he continues his career growth, and after returning to his homeland, he is prematurely awarded the rank of colonel.

1985-1991

Pavel Grachev's second trip to Afghanistan ends with the withdrawal of the Limited contingent of Soviet troops, which included the 103rd Guards Airborne Division under his command.

In commemoration of the military leader's merits during hostilities, in May 1988 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Following the old saying “Live forever, learn forever,” Grachev Pavel Sergeevich again goes to study and enters the Military Academy of the General Staff, after which he is appointed to the position of deputy, and then the USSR.

Transfer to Yeltsin's team

The turning point in Grachev’s biography was after which he more than once had to make important political decisions. In particular, he, along with generals Gromov and Achalov, refused to submit to the State Emergency Committee and ordered his subordinates to take the White House under protection. Upon the return of M. Gorbachev from the Crimean Foros, Grachev was appointed first deputy and a few days later he was awarded the rank of colonel general.

The military leader’s career growth did not stop there. In particular, in May 1992, Boris Yeltsin signed a decree according to which Pavel Sergeevich Grachev was appointed Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, whose photos have repeatedly appeared on the pages of newspapers in connection with operations in local conflict zones in the territory of the former USSR.

Chechen War

The debate about the role played by Pavel Sergeevich Grachev (Hero of the Soviet Union) during the events in the Caucasus in the first half of the 90s is still ongoing. In particular, he was subjected to fierce criticism, since in June 1992 he ordered the transfer to Dzhokhar Dudayev of half of all weapons belonging to the Russian army, which were stored on the territory of Chechnya. According to Grachev, it was still impossible to remove the ammunition. However, the fact remains that just two and a half years later these weapons were used against Russian soldiers.

At the same time, in 1994, Grachev was unable to avoid a conflict with Yeltsin, who considered that a week was ample time to gather military force and enter Chechnya. The experienced commander tried to convince the president that this was too short a time, but they did not listen to him. Pavel Sergeevich even met in Chechnya with the heads of the so-called Ichkeria, before Russian troops entered their territory, but, unfortunately, this did not yield any results.

The military leader retired at the age of 59 and took up social activities. Before that, he was actually betrayed by Yeltsin - in accordance with the latter’s pre-election agreements with the general

Personal life

Throughout his life, Pavel Grachev had a reliable rear. His wife, Lyubov Alekseevna, experienced with him all the hardships of the fate of an officer’s wife, with her constant travel and exhausting expectations of her husband from dangerous business trips. In addition, there were many rumors about her husband’s infidelity, but Lyubov Alekseevna did not believe them, and Pavel Sergeevich Grachev always remained her only love.

The military leader's family had a hard time with the loss of their beloved husband and father, who died in September 2012 at the age of 64.

Biography

GRACHEV Pavel Sergeevich (January 1, 1948 - September 23, 2012), statesman and military leader of the Russian Federation, army general. Born in the village of Rvy, now Leninsky district, Tula region. In military service since 1965. Graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School in 1969, the Military Academy named after. M.V. Frunze in 1981, Military Academy of the General Staff in 1990. Since September 1969 P.S. Grachev is the commander of a reconnaissance platoon and a company of cadets of the Ryazan Airborne School, commander of a training parachute battalion. Since 1981 - deputy commander, and since July 1982 - commander of a separate guards parachute regiment in Afghanistan. Since June 1983 - Chief of Staff of the Guards Airborne Division. In 1985-1988 - Commander of the Guards Airborne Division in Afghanistan. Since June 1990 - first deputy commander, and since December 1990 - commander of the Airborne Forces. From August to December 1991 - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. In 1992, Grachev was awarded the rank of army general. Since January 1992 - First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States, since April - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. From May 1992 to June 1996 - Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. In this post, he formed the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, prepared reforms in the Armed Forces in accordance with the instructions of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief - the President of the Russian Federation.

P.S. Grachev - Hero of the Soviet Union. Awarded two Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner, Order of the Red Star, “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 3rd class, “Badge of Honor” and medals.