Skier Alexander Bessmertnykh: “I’m not a number, I’m a person!”

Three and a half years ago, a Kuzbass resident Alexander Bessmertnykh brought Russia a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Sochi. In March 2017, he again won silver, but at the World Championships in Finland, and in May he began active preparations for the 2018 Olympics in South Korea.

On the eve of the first pre-Olympic training camp in Izhevsk, the skier met with a correspondent from Kemerovo Newspaper. Over a cup of mint tea, Alexander Bessmertnykh admitted how he won his first championship, calculated how many kilometers he skis a year, and told him what bedtime stories his daughter reads to him.

Credit skis and torn boots

- Sasha, how did you get into sports? And why did you choose skis?

In Berezovsky, we had nothing else except skiing, wrestling and barbells in my childhood. I walked everywhere, but eventually only skis remained. Why they? My father ran himself, and I kept him company. My childhood was in the nineties, when the whole country was in a fever. Thank you for the parents' efforts.

By the way, I won’t say when and how I started skiing. I was probably four or five years old. But I remember my first skis! These were “Bullfinches” - cool, wooden ones.

-Are they still intact?

Yes, what kind! Even the tapes of the first competitions have not survived. Very sorry. At a young age you think: oh, how many more competitions there will be! So a lot of things were lost, which were an indicator that you can give results without having anything.

You know, I won my first national championship using boots that a friend sold me for 400 rubles. They had a hole in the sock, which I covered with adhesive tape and ran on them.

- Seriously?!

It couldn't be more serious! You just can’t imagine what lengths mentors sometimes go to in order to send an athlete to competitions. At one time, skier Vladimir Vilisov’s father or coach sold a cow to buy him skis. Most athletes experience this. With work to overcome.

- I think people from the outside think that everything is much simpler... I ran 15 kilometerslight - and a champion.

People make little attempt to understand the essence of the process. They show a picture - it’s beautiful, but no one knows what’s behind this picture. My father had to take out a loan for his first serious skis! But it was on them that I later won the world championship.

It happened all the time. Kruglov’s father pawned the medal to send his son to the competition... This episode was later included in the film “Champions”. It's great that this was somehow preserved in memory.

I now understand that I also needed to collect something as a memory of the sport. There is a dream, of course, to organize an exhibition of cups, medals, and equipment at the ski base in Berezovsky. I hope we will do all this within two years. For now I just want to relax. In a couple of years, the vacation will definitely be longer.

- Is this in the context of ending a career? Isn't it too early?

How early is it? I definitely plan to run for two more years. And then... then it will be clear: there is a result - we continue, if not, we leave. This is scary, of course, because I can’t do anything else - just play sports professionally.

In the ninth grade I decided so and left school for the Olympic Reserve School, because I realized that sport should become a profession. A higher education for an athlete is also a necessity. Sport ends sooner or later.

But studying should be real studying, and not “you’re an athlete, if you run, we’ll give you a pass.” I studied at the Omsk University of Physical Culture. We taught for seven years - thanks to them for that. But I know the profession not only in theory, but also in practice. This will help a lot if I decide to go into sports administration work after my career. After all, all my ideas are related to the development of cross-country skiing in the Kemerovo region, but not in Kemerovo or Berezovsky, but throughout the entire region.

9,000 kilometers of track

- What number are you preparing for in the National Team for the Olympics?

I'm not a number, I'm a person! Numbering is not for me. We have the absolute leader of the team - Ustyugov, the rest are trying to keep up. Vylegzhanin, Legko and Belov - if they had not been disqualified - I am sure they could have fought on equal terms with me. Young athletes are stepping on their toes.

Among the athletes predicted to receive awards at the 2018 Olympics are you and Sergei Ustyugov. How do you feel about such forecasts?

Honestly? I don't like forecasts. This year I came to the National Championships after the “fifty-kopeck” event in Oslo, after the stage in Canada, where I took two podiums at the World Cup stage in the classical style, and they greeted me with the words: “Oh, what are you going to do now! Oh!". On the “fifty kopeck” medal they even hung the medal on the chest beforehand. I said: “As it turns out, so it turns out.” As a result, he took 15th place. Well, the skis didn't go! We didn't go - that's all.

Nine months of preparation lie ahead. Of course, I want to win more than one medal in Korea, but no one knows what will happen in reality. I will try to give my 100%.

- Did the disqualifications of athletes greatly affect the atmosphere in the team?

This is a working moment. A miner goes to work without thinking about whether the coal will be sold or not at the market price. He goes to do his job and do it well. We also. It is clear that thoughts fly by “what if it doesn’t?”, but they must be driven away.

Have you seen the track in Pyeongchang on which you will run for a medal?

Only on TV! Normal route. Not Sochi, but quite. They are unique everywhere. But we’ll still go a week or two before the races and look at everything in detail.

What will be the preparation for the Olympics?

Typically the fees last 20 days. The first pre-Olympic training camp in Izhevsk will last 10 days, then examination in Moscow, treatment in Sochi or Belokurikha.

Training camps in Estonia will begin on June 13. This will be a small fraction of what we usually do. Every year we try to experiment - we not only need to show ourselves at the Olympics, but also look for new moves and schemes. This time the coach suggested resting a little more. This does not mean “lying on the couch,” but driving 500 kilometers less than usual.

- How much is it usually?

The annual volume that we usually drive/run/ride is 9,000 kilometers (the distance from the extreme western to the extreme eastern border of Russia. - Note by author). This includes roller skates, cross-country skis. This is without a bike. It's funny, but I drive about the same amount in a year in my car.

- Gifted by the president? By the way, why didn’t you sell it like other athletes?

Yes, because I would never buy such a car! I would take something simpler for myself. Someone did just that, but invested, for example, in housing, which he did not have.

- The 2016-2017 season turned out to be fruitful! What are your impressions of him?

Double. Some things worked out, some didn’t. Of course, I wanted personal medals, because a relay is a relay. It is clear that the Russian National Team is a very strong team, and if you get into it, you can be 99% sure that you will win a medal. And the personal race is your race.

We walked onto the relay podium upset because we got silver, and someone said: “The time has come when the Russian Team is not happy with second place.” This is a good sign - it means we can be on the first place, we know how to achieve it.

The national team is the national team, and the “cups” are apart

- Sasha, are you a superstitious person?

I? Absolutely not.

- So, all the stories about athletes spitting over their left shoulder and getting up only with their right foot are a myth?

There are no superstitious people in ski racing. There were races when I tried to “bring good things” from the previous ones, tried to develop my own algorithm of actions. Nothing worked. I quit this job.

- When it comes to the individual competition, is there competition in the Russian cross-country skiing team?

Our athlete Alexander Legkov once said: “Why are you fighting among yourself? You are fighting other countries!”, and I agree with him. Well, why should I fight with Ustyugov if there are plenty of other opponents on the track who need to be beaten?

We have normal, good relationships in our team. Everyone respects each other, there is no bickering. To laugh it off, to make fun of it - yes. One day Legkov was preparing for a race with Chernousov. The weather is warm, and Chernousov’s “cups” - special things for poles so that they don’t fall into the loose snow - are the wrong size. He asked Legkov: “Sanya, give me a bigger cup,” and he replied: “Well, no! We are friends in the room, but on the track it’s every man for himself!” Ilya found the devices, but if he hadn’t found them, I’m sure Sanya would have given them to him.

Sasha, I personally watched you play basketball and football, I know that you were involved in boxing and hockey... Are there any sports in which you have not yet played?

Eat! This is curling (laughs). Simply because it doesn’t exist in Kuzbass yet. If it happens, I’ll try myself in it. Everything is ahead. I like to spend my free time actively, rather than lying on the couch. I really like to walk with my child. Our pine forest is a wonderful place, but many people don’t go there, they don’t even know that hares run there. They sit on the computer and that’s it. And I’m glad that most of the time I run, jump, and not sit with the phone in my hands.

Tales of Polina's daughter

- How did the family adapt to the schedule of the athlete dad?

I'm used to it! This is precisely a habit; a person gets used to everything. And I think my wife is a hero. I sometimes think that it’s not too good to spend so little time with a child. But I know many people who are at home all year round, but they leave for work at seven - the children are still sleeping, they come at nine - the children are already asleep, there is no communication at all. I don't know what is better in this situation. Due to the difference in time zones, of course, it is difficult to communicate with my wife and daughter. You don’t know whether you’ll be on schedule or not...

- Bearing in mind the difficult path you have traveled, please answer, will you send your children to sports?

I already gave it away! My five-year-old daughter Polina is already involved in figure skating. And not even three, but five times a week, training! This sport is young in Kuzbass, it’s time to develop it.

But I don’t make any ambitious plans: if she becomes an athlete, that’s great; if she doesn’t, then that’s the way it should be. My daughter goes to preparatory school, dancing, singing, figure skating... She is a versatile child. Many people say: “You don’t give your child childhood!”, but does childhood mean sitting in front of the TV or computer? Childhood is activity, communication, emotions.

Sasha, are you a stern father?

Vice versa! I rarely see my daughter, so I allow everything. My wife Dasha is responsible for “strict upbringing” in the family, because the main part of it rests with her.

My daughter and I love to read books before bed, like everyone else. We tell each other fairy tales. Polina usually commands: “You tell me two fairy tales and I tell you one.” She makes such funny mixes of “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Kolobok”!

Would you like to change anything in your life?

I think I'm a happy person. And it seems to me that the percentage of happy people on this planet is not that high. So I'm glad to be among them. Globally, I wouldn’t change anything about my reality. I enjoy my work and life - this is the most important thing!

Credit skis and torn boots

– Sasha, how did you get into sports? And why did you choose skis?

– In Berezovsky, apart from skiing, wrestling and barbells, there was nothing else in my childhood. I walked everywhere, but eventually only skis remained. Why they? My father ran himself, and I kept him company. My childhood was in the nineties, when the whole country was in a fever. Thank you for the parents' efforts.

By the way, I won’t say when and how I started skiing. I was probably four or five years old. But I remember my first skis! These were “Bullfinches” – cool, wooden ones.

-Are they still intact?

- Yes, what kind! Even the tapes of the first competitions have not survived. Very sorry. At a young age you think: oh, how many more competitions there will be! So a lot of things were lost, which were an indicator that you can give results without having anything.

You know, I won my first national championship using boots that a friend sold me for 400 rubles. They had a hole in the sock, which I covered with adhesive tape and ran on them.

- Seriously?!

– It couldn’t be more serious! You just can’t imagine what lengths mentors sometimes go to in order to send an athlete to competitions. At one time, skier Vladimir Vilisov’s father or coach sold a cow to buy him skis. Most athletes experience this. With work to overcome.

– I think it seems to people from the outside that everything is much simpler... I ran 15 kilometerslight - and a champion.

– People rarely try to understand the essence of the process. They show a picture - it’s beautiful, but no one knows what’s behind this picture. My father had to take out a loan for his first serious skis! But it was on them that I later won the world championship.

– Is this in the context of ending a career? Isn't it too early?

- How early is it? I definitely plan to run for two more years. And then... then it will be clear: there is a result - we continue, if not, we leave. This is scary, of course, because I can’t do anything else - just play sports professionally.

9,000 kilometers of track

– What number are you preparing for in the National Team for the Olympics?

– I’m not a number, I’m a person! Numbering is not for me. We have the absolute leader of the team - Ustyugov, the rest are trying to keep up. Vylegzhanin, Legkov and Belov - if they had not been disqualified - I am sure they could have fought on equal terms with me. Young athletes are stepping on their toes.

– Among the athletes who are predicted to receive awards at the 2018 Olympics are you and Sergei Ustyugov. How do you feel about such forecasts?

- Honestly? I don't like forecasts. This year I came to the National Championships after the “fifty-kopeck” event in Oslo, after the stage in Canada, where I took two podiums at the World Cup stage in the classical style, and they greeted me with the words: “Oh, what are you going to do now! Oh!". On the “fifty kopeck” medal they even hung the medal on the chest beforehand. I said: “As it turns out, so it turns out.” As a result, he took 15th place. Well, the skis didn't go! We didn’t go – that’s all.

Nine months of preparation lie ahead. Of course, I want to win more than one medal in Korea, but no one knows what will happen in reality. I will try to give my 100%.

– Did the disqualifications of athletes greatly affect the atmosphere in the team?

- This is a working moment. A miner goes to work without thinking about whether the coal will be sold or not at the market price. He goes to do his job and do it well. We also. It is clear that thoughts fly by “what if it doesn’t?”, but they must be driven away.

– Did you see the track in Pyeongchang on which you will run for a medal?

-Only on TV! Normal route. Not Sochi, but quite. They are unique everywhere. But we’ll still go a week or two before the races and look at everything in detail.

– What will be the preparation for the Olympics?

– Usually the training lasts 20 days. The first pre-Olympic training camp in Izhevsk will last 10 days, then examination in Moscow, treatment in Sochi or Belokurikha.

Training camps in Estonia will begin on June 13. This will be a small fraction of what we usually do. Every year we try to experiment - we not only need to show ourselves at the Olympics, but also look for new moves and schemes. This time the coach suggested resting a little more. This means not “lying on the couch”, driving 500 kilometers less than usual.

– How much is it usually?

– The annual volume that we usually drive/run/roll is 9000 kilometers (the distance from the extreme western to the extreme eastern border of Russia. – Note by the author). This includes roller skates, cross-country skis. This is without a bike. It's funny, but I drive about the same amount in a year in my car.

– Gifted by the president? By the way, why didn’t you sell it like other athletes?

- Yes, because I would never buy such a car! I would take something simpler for myself. Someone did just that, but invested, for example, in housing, which he did not have.

– The 2016–2017 season turned out to be fruitful! What are your impressions of him?

- Twofold. Some things worked out, some didn’t. Of course, I wanted personal medals, because a relay is a relay. It is clear that the Russian National Team is a very strong team, and if you get into it, you can be 99% sure that you will win a medal. And the personal race is your race.

The national team is the national team, and the “cups” are apart

– Sasha, are you a superstitious person?

- I? Absolutely not.

– So, all the stories about athletes spitting over their left shoulder and standing up only on their right foot are a myth?

– There are no superstitious people in ski racing. There were races when I tried to “bring good things” from the previous ones, tried to develop my own algorithm of actions. Nothing worked. I quit this job.

– When it comes to the individual competition, is there competition in the Russian cross-country skiing team?

– Our athlete Alexander Legkov once said: “Why are you fighting among yourself? You are fighting other countries!” - and I agree with him. Well, why should I fight with Ustyugov if there are plenty of other opponents on the track who need to be beaten?

We have normal, good relationships in our team. Everyone respects each other, there is no bickering. Make a joke, make a joke - yes. One day Legkov was preparing for a race with Chernousov. The weather is warm, and Chernousov’s “cups” - special things for poles so that they don’t fall into the loose snow - are the wrong size. He asked Legkov: “Sanya, give me a bigger cup,” and he replied: “Well, no! We are friends in the room, but on the track it’s every man for himself!” Ilya found the devices, but if he hadn’t found them, I’m sure Sanya would have given them to him.

– Sasha, I personally watched you play basketball and football, I know that you were involved in boxing and hockey... Are there any sports in which you have not yet played?

- Eat! This is curling (laughs). Simply because it doesn’t exist in Kuzbass yet. If it happens, I’ll try myself in it. Everything is ahead. I like to spend my free time actively, rather than lying on the couch. I really like to walk with my child. Our pine forest is a wonderful place, but many people don’t go there, they don’t even know that hares run there. They sit on the computer and that’s it. And I’m glad that most of the time I run, jump, and not sit with the phone in my hands.

Tales of Polina's daughter

– How did the family adapt to the schedule of the athlete dad?

- I'm used to it! This is precisely a habit; a person gets used to everything. And I think my wife is a hero. I sometimes think that it is not too good to spend so little time with a child. But I know many people who are at home all year round, but they leave for work at seven - the children are still sleeping, they come at nine - the children are already asleep, there is no communication at all. I don't know what is better in this situation. Due to the difference in time zones, of course, it is difficult to communicate with my wife and daughter. You don’t know whether you’ll be on schedule or not...

– Bearing in mind the difficult path you have traveled yourself, please answer, will you send your children to sports?

- I already gave it away! My five-year-old daughter Polina is already involved in figure skating. And not even three, but five times a week, training! This sport is young in Kuzbass, it’s time to develop it.

But I don’t make any ambitious plans: if she becomes an athlete, that’s great; if she doesn’t, then that’s the way it should be. My daughter goes to preparatory school, dancing, singing, figure skating... She is a versatile child. Many people say: “You don’t give your child a childhood!” But is childhood all about sitting in front of the TV or computer? Childhood is activity, communication, emotions.

- Sasha, are you a stern father?

- Vice versa! I rarely see my daughter, so I allow everything. My wife Dasha is responsible for “strict upbringing” in the family, because the main part of it lies with her.

– Would you like to change anything in your life?

– I think I'm a happy person. And it seems to me that the percentage of happy people on this planet is not that high. So I'm glad to be among them. Globally, I wouldn’t change anything about my reality. I get a kick out of my work and life – that’s the most important thing!

Olga Kovalenko,

Born on November 10, 1933 in the city of Biysk, Altai Territory. Father - Bessmertnykh Alexander Ivanovich (1907-1943). Mother - Bessmertnykh Maria Vasilievna (1908-1995). Wife - Bessmertnykh Marina Vladimirovna (born 1954). Daughter - Bessmertnykh Maria Alexandrovna (born 1961). Son - Bessmertnykh Arseny Aleksandrovich (born 1991).

Before leaving to study in Moscow, Alexander Bessmertnykh lived in Gorno-Altaisk, which at that time was the capital of an autonomous national region bordering China and Mongolia (now the Altai Republic). Russian and Altai blood flows in his veins (his mother was half Altai - a representative of an ancient people whose roots go back to distant Scythian times). Father, Alexander Ivanovich, worked as an engineer and factory director. In the first months of the Great Patriotic War he went to fight and died at the front on March 8, 1943. Raising 4 children, the eldest of whom was Alexander, fell on the mother’s shoulders.

In 1951, Alexander Bessmertnykh entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, specializing in the field of international law and international relations of Western countries. Soon after graduating from university in 1957, he defended his dissertation for the degree of candidate of legal sciences.

Even before graduating from MGIMO, which was an unprecedented case, Bessmertnykh was invited to work at the USSR Foreign Ministry. He had to finish his studies at the institute and work in the press department of the ministry at the same time. The young diplomat quickly stood out for his erudition, good knowledge of the English language, and also for the fact that he wrote several successful speeches for N.S. Khrushchev.

Famous diplomat Yu.N. Chernyakov, in his book about the foreign ministers of the USSR, wrote: “In 1959-60, I was directly connected with him through my service in the press department, in the group for working with foreign correspondents. Even then, Bessmertnykh’s attaché was distinguished by his education, high business qualities, very good knowledge of foreign languages, endurance and contact in relations with a very difficult contingent of journalists accredited by the press department... Subsequently, working for many years in the ministry apparatus, I had the opportunity to observe the professional growth of this one of the most capable and knowledgeable Soviet diplomats. volume of international information and knowing almost all the most important problems of the foreign policy of regions and individual states, he specialized in Soviet-American relations, especially in negotiations between the USSR and the USA in the field of limiting nuclear weapons" (Yu.N. Chernyakov Diplomats, officials and others. New York: Azimuth, 1996. P. 81).

In 1960-66, Bessmertnykh worked as a translator, then in the Department of Political and Security Council Affairs of the UN Secretariat in New York. A.A. Gromyko drew attention to him in 1966 and ordered to include him in the group of his assistants, where Alexander Alexandrovich led the American direction and disarmament issues.

In 1970, Alexander Bessmertnykh was sent to the USSR Embassy in Washington, where, as first secretary, adviser, then adviser-envoy, he dealt with a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues. As the American Biographical Yearbook noted, “during his 13 years of work at the Soviet Embassy in Washington, Bessmertnykh became a model diplomat who skillfully represented his country” (New York, vol. 52, no. 6, p. 10-14).

Over the years, he had the opportunity to meet and work (in the absence of the ambassador, often remaining charge d'affaires of the USSR) with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, with Secretaries of State Kissinger, Vance, Hague, Shultz, Baker, and Presidential National Security Advisors Brzezinski , Scowcroft, Powell, senators, congressmen, leaders in science, business and the media.

At the beginning of 1983 A.A. Bessmertnykh is appointed a member of the board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of the department of the USA and Canada.

In 1988, Alexander Alexandrovich became first deputy minister, whose sphere of activity, along with previous areas, included responsibility for policy in the Near and Middle East. Having established personal contacts with the leaders of many states, he played a significant role in strengthening the position of the USSR in these regions. Bessmertnykh proceeded from the need to defend the national interests of the country. In one of his publications (1982), he wrote that “in any situation it is necessary to act, first of all, from a position of realism, a balanced and cold-blooded consideration of one’s own and others’ interests. Politics should be built on the basis of fresh, extraordinary thinking, generated exclusively by the specifics of the late 20th century.”

In 1990, Alexander Bessmertnykh was appointed ambassador to Washington. The Americans received this appointment with satisfaction, seeing it as a demonstration by Gorbachev of his intention to continue the line of cooperation with the United States, to achieve serious agreements on arms limitation and reduction, and to develop bilateral ties in all areas. The Washington Post newspaper, in particular, wrote (April 25, 1990) that “Bessmertnykh can become the same super-ambassador that Anatoly Dobrynin was before him.”

The ambassador met with the country's leadership, including on issues of Iraq's aggression against Kuwait, actively worked in Congress, in business circles, and developed friendly contacts with the creative intelligentsia. He paid great attention to relations with the press, explaining Moscow's domestic and foreign policies. American journalists appreciated the opportunity to have constant access to the ambassador in Washington, who, as noted, conducted conversations in a free and relaxed manner, in fluent English.

After the departure of E.A. Shevardnadze from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in December 1990 M.S. Gorbachev chose A.A. Bessmertnykh, whom he knew well since 1985, when he, as a member of the board of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of the US and Canada department, participated in the preparation of Gorbachev’s first meeting with US President R. Reagan in Geneva. Subsequently, he was a participant in all Soviet-American summit meetings without exception, as well as important negotiations with the United States on nuclear and space weapons, regional problems and bilateral relations. The President of the USSR relied on a professional diplomat who played a prominent role as Deputy and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs not only in these areas, but also in developing policies regarding the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, which he was actively involved in in 1986-90 years.

Representing A.A. Bessmertnykh On January 15, 1991, at a session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the President of the USSR stated that he proposed to approve a person of “great professionalism, broad views and high culture” as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs. Members of parliament, representing a diverse political environment, gave the new candidate unanimous support - 421 deputies voted for him, only three votes were cast against. No candidate for minister or prime minister has received such high praise from Russian legislators.

Parish A.A. Bessmertnykh's leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was of particular importance for the national diplomatic service. “The new minister, in essence, was the first head of a diplomatic department in Soviet history who was fully a professional diplomat, that is, a diplomat both by education (before the Bessmertnykh, none of the leaders of the NKID and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had the appropriate education), and by the nature of the previous appointment work (half of his predecessors - Trotsky, Molotov, Shepilov, Shevardnadze - became leaders of Soviet diplomacy, having been transferred from leading party work or other public service)" (V.A. Kuzmin. The vicissitudes of professional diplomacy by A.A. Bessmertnykh. Yekaterinburg, 1999 8).

The English newspaper "Daily Telegraph" wrote on February 2, 1991 that "one can hardly imagine more unfavorable circumstances than those in which Alexander Bessmertnykh became Minister of Foreign Affairs..."

Already in the first days of their activity, Bessmertnykh managed to relieve the excessive tension that arose between the superpowers due to the crisis in the Baltic states, to keep the White House from adopting sanctions against Moscow, while maintaining open and closed contacts. It was “the triumph of the Immortals, achieved during the first diplomatic duel as Foreign Minister,” wrote the famous American researcher Raymond Garthoff (R. Garthoff. The Great Transition. Washington, 1994. P. 446).

Tangible progress has been made in the Middle East. As co-chairs of the future international peace conference on the Middle East, the two powers acted as equal players in the region for the first time. Developing Moscow's tactics, Bessmertnykh, who launched active consultations with Arab countries (visiting the main ones), with the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, came to the conclusion that direct contacts with Israel on settlement issues were necessary, while simultaneously working towards restoring diplomatic relations. He was the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR to ever visit Israel - before him, no Soviet head of diplomatic department had dared to do this. The minister’s line led to the holding of the Madrid Conference, important for the destinies of the region, in the fall of 1991, which would not have happened if the two superpowers had not joined forces for the first time in the post-war era. This was a real success for domestic diplomacy in a critically important region.

Bessmertnykh was the author of the “concept of creating a belt of friendship and cooperation around the Soviet Union.” It was based on the idea that, without weakening attention to relations with the United States, the leading powers of the West and the states of the Third World, to accelerate the development of ties with all states along the perimeter of the country, many of which, for various reasons, had previously found themselves on the periphery of Soviet interests. In this way, an attempt was made to restore the positive elements of its historical policy acceptable to modern Russia.

Among the priorities was the task of developing relations with our eastern neighbor - Japan. The position was developed by the minister together with specialists from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its essence was to interrupt the logic of building bilateral relations imposed by the Japanese side: first resolve the “territorial issue” and then develop relations. Bessmertnykh proposed the exact opposite logic: to raise the level of bilateral ties in various areas to a level where it would be possible to resolve any issues remaining on the agenda.

Soviet-Chinese relations, in addition to political aggravations, were burdened for decades by the unresolved border problem. Specialists from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other departments have been conducting difficult negotiations for 30 years. The new minister fell to the final part of the negotiations - to complete the coordination of the remaining issues and achieve the signing of an agreement on the border with China, the length of which was 7.5 thousand kilometers.

Steps were also taken to develop ties with South Korea, in particular, an agreement was reached on the preparation of an agreement on good neighborliness and cooperation.

Important links in the weaving of the friendship belt around the USSR were Iran and Türkiye. Bessmertnykh worked intently on expanding and strengthening ties with these states.

The minister was particularly concerned about relations with Eastern Europe, where, as a result of changes on the continent itself and in the world, the threads of alliance and friendship were noticeably weakening. Bessmertnykh understood that after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union could not allow a vacuum to form in the security system in Eastern Europe, dangerous for the interests of the USSR and the entire region. The Minister came to the conclusion that the most expedient and practically feasible option would be to develop and conclude bilateral agreements with former members of the Warsaw Pact, which would provide for a clear system of taking into account the security interests of the parties.

The first country with whose Foreign Minister Bessmertnykh signed an agreement was Romania. Next in line were Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. Negotiations with Poland did not go well. Unfortunately, internal events in the USSR, which led to the collapse of the state, did not allow the full implementation of the plan to replace the previously existing military alliance with a chain of bilateral treaties that ensured the same interests, but in a form corresponding to the new era.

In the context of growing tensions in the Balkans, the minister was aware of the need to strengthen work with Greece, which was among the “blank spots” of our foreign policy. Bessmertnykh made an official visit to Athens - it was the first visit of this kind in the entire history of Greece. There he held negotiations with Greek leaders and initialed a fundamental bilateral document - the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, embodying the new atmosphere and content of relations between the two countries.

Having visited Germany, Italy, Portugal, England, Spain, France, and the Scandinavian countries, the minister strengthened relations with the rest of Europe. He signed the first agreements with the Council of Europe, which plays an important role in the life of the continent.

Serious attention was paid to developing ties with Africa (he signed, in particular, a quadripartite agreement on Angola), Latin America, and ASEAN countries.

It was an extremely difficult task to untie the tightly tied knots of security policy. He led the way towards the rapid completion of negotiations on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons. The last, most difficult issues were agreed upon in July 1991. The START I treaty was prepared and signed at the end of July during President Reagan’s visit to Moscow. It capped a process that began in the 1960s towards resolving the nuclear strategic issue between the two powers.

Processes within the country were undermining diplomacy, as Bessmertnykh foresaw. Having lost his rivalry with Yeltsin, Gorbachev agreed with all the demands of the Russian president, including replacing the leadership of all central departments of the country. This also affected the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bessmertnykh retired, leaving behind a short but one of the most intense and productive periods of Russian diplomacy. He also went down in history as the last foreign minister of a superpower.

In subsequent years, he continues to be active in the international arena as president of the Foreign Policy Association, chairman of the World Council of Former Foreign Ministers, co-chairman of the Windsor Forum (Russian-British Elite Dialogue), Russian-American Political Forum, trustee of a number of major universities. Elected vice-president of the International Academy of Creativity, member of the Academy of Social and Political Sciences of the Russian Federation, corresponding member of the Chilean Academy of Political, Social and Humanitarian Sciences.

Awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples, Honor, medals, and other insignia, including the Certificate of Honor of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR.

Lives and works in Moscow.