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One of the most eccentric actions in the life of the first president of Russia many call the episode at the American airfield in 1989, when the politician allegedly coped the need right on the runway. We checked how true this information is.

According to legend, in 1989 the future President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin, for the first time in the United States, in front of the members of the Soviet delegation and shocking Americans urged either on the wing, or on the chassis of the aircraft, and then, as if nothing had happened, took the bouquet extended to him. This story is regularly mentioned along with other eccentric antics of Yeltsin, such as conducting German orchestra and Neva From an airplane to negotiations with the Prime Minister of Ireland, since “overslept, and the security did not wake” (both incidents occurred in 1994).

You can read about this case, in particular, on the sites "Radio Liberty","Gazeta.ru", TV channel"Tsargrad", As well as in the journal Esquire. Among others, a political scientist is mentioned from the United States Sergey Kara-Murza, writers Tamara May And Alexander Prokhanov.

On September 9, 1989, Boris Yeltsin, then the People’s Deputy of the USSR, for the first time in his life He went In the United States, as a private person at the invitation of the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Obternlin College, Johns Hopkins University, Esalen Institute, as well as several members of the American Congress. The trip lasted nine days and caused a great resonance both in the Soviet Union and Ocean. In the USSR, there were reasons for this: in addition to the foreign policy aspect, the intra -party struggle played its role, which Yeltsin in absentia led by the leadership of the CPSU, led by Mikhail Gorbachev, was very popular among the people.

After the return of Yeltsin to the Central Committee of the party and the Politburo began to act statements outraged citizens regarding the behavior of the deputy on the other side of the iron curtain. The scandal was the article by the article by journalist Vittorio Dzucconi in an authoritative Italian newspaper La Reppublicawhere he spoke about the ongoing drunkenness of Yeltsin in the United States (politician supposedly In five days, I used two bottles of vodka, four bottles of whiskey and a countless cocktail), about the lecture in an inadequate state of the University of Jones Hopkins in Baltimore, as well as the purchases of numerous video recorders and video cassettes. The article was reprinted in the newspaper "Is it true".

Yeltsin is categorically Refuted These accusations are similar Entered Politics translator Harris Colester, assistant Lev Sukhanov And the head of the program of Soviet-American exchanges of the Institute, Esalen Harrison, who constantly accompanied him on a trip. The latter only stated that one of the evenings Yeltsin and four more men sawed a bottle of whiskey, and "this is not drunkenness." Some Expressive view The witnesses explained Yeltsin at a lecture in Baltimore with an almost complete lack of sleep on the trip (the schedule was very tense), as well as accepted sleeping pills.

Subsequently Dzucconi He clarified that he could not confirm any of the written observations, since it was based on the stories of unnamed Russian emigrants, as well as on the article in The Washington Post. The American newspaper then published refutation From Coolester, Harrison and Stephen Müller, President of the University of Jones Hopkins. And Alfred Ross, who allegedly spoke about video equipment and cassettes, and at all It turned out fictional character. However, many years later Harrison declaredThat most of the time in the USA Yeltsin was still "aggressively drunk."

The story of the short need of the plane in front of the witnesses in the United States then did not publicly publicize and began to spread a little later (in the archive Newspapers.com “verified” could not detect publications Earlier 1991). It is believed that the incident occurred upon arrival in Baltimore from New York on the night of September 11 to 12. David Rockefeller’s personal aircraft, on which Yeltsin flew, Landed In the state of Maryland in the midnight area. Soviet politics On the road accompaniedIn addition to Sukhanov, Coulter and Harrison, the People’s Deputy of the USSR Viktor Yaroshenko, the observer of the Komsomolskaya Pravda Pavel Voshchanov, the chairman of the board of the Social Inventions of the USSR Gennady Alunsko and two bodyguards. The Baltimore is a delegation Meet University President Jones Hopkins Stephen Müller, mayor of Kurt Shmoke and public representatives. By testimony Cooleter, at the time of arrival at Maryland Yeltsin, was already “lying down” from fatigue and “resembled a lunatic”.

Yaroshenko in his book "Five years near the president"And Sukhanov in the work"How Yeltsin became president»We described in great detail that trip to the United States in 1989. They do not report anything about the trick at the Baltimore airport. Alonshorstko did not write memories of the future of the President of the Russian Federation. However, the entrepreneur and People's Deputy of the USSR Artyom Tarasov in his book "Confession of the capitalist"Mentions" a good friend Venus "(immediately making it clear that the name was changed), who organized Yeltsin’s trip to the United States and supposedly witnessed a scandalous situation near the aircraft. Most likely, Tarasov has in mind precisely Alianko, who was his partner According to Mosintk, he really acted as the organizer of a visit from the Soviet side. True, Tarasov’s story is filled with dubious details - for example, photographs of the incident, which, according to him, managed to take an American journalist, apparently, was not.

Finally, Pavel Voshchanov, the fourth citizen of the USSR, accompanied Yeltsin on a trip, - wrote a book called “Notes of a political rogue". In it, he tells in detail how Yeltsin, coming off the ramp and looking around, sharply turned in the opposite direction and went beyond the plane, and his subsequent actions were given a stream running from under the aircraft. “And then there is an even more incredible one-Yeltsin, fastening the fly on the go, comes out from behind the plane and, extending his hand to greeting, as if nothing had happened to meet the people. Already at night, but for some reason he says his unchanging: “Huten Morhen!”, What finally finishes the lady with flowers. She publishes some kind of wheezing that one must understand as a welcoming “welcome!”, And, having evaded hands, puts a bouquet of flowers that has become a meaningless attribute, ”the author concludes his story about this episode.

How later asserted Yeltsin’s perennial guard Alexander Korzhakov (he did not go to the USA), there is no documentary evidence of this act, but he took place: “As luck would have it, no one ... nor the camera, nor the film cameras were only the writers. All this was seen, a lot of witnesses, but they could not capture ... ”Korzhakov himself, he said, received information from one of the participants in the trip, but did not give the name of the witness.

As for confirmation from the American side, Russian sources usually mention "Confidential memorandum Selected colleagues and friends regarding Boris Yeltsin’s trip to the United States ”, allegedly compiled by the American curator of the visit by Jim Harrison. This document illuminates Yeltsin’s visit in detail, and the case said to the airport: “When the plane landed, Yeltsin went down from the ladder, but instead of welcoming the delegation that was waiting for him, he walked along the runway to the tail of the aircraft and, turning his back to us, began to urinate on the rear wheels of the aircraft. Shocked, we stood in an awkward silence, not knowing what to think. Yeltsin returned, without saying a word, shook his hands to officials, received a bouquet of flowers from a young woman and sat down with a limousine who was waiting for him. Everyone pretended as if nothing had happened. Members of the delegation were delivered to the university where they were supposed to stop. "

There was no confidence in the authenticity of this document, because, as noted in his book "The death of the empire"The US Ambassador to the USSR in 1987-1991 Jack Matlock, his" Russian translation "deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR began to receive anonymously by mail from Switzerland shortly after Yeltsin’s trip, and the text itself is full of negative characteristics in relation to the politician. According to Matlock, the paper could well be the product of the KGB. In the US press, the Memorandum was “verified” those years row American newspapers). Nevertheless, in the State Archive of the Russian Federation Store The typewritten version of the letter in two languages. Note that at least the full version of the memorandum, contrary to the words of Matlock, appeared no earlier than March 1990, as follows from her text.

“Verified” was contacted by e -mail with the alleged author of the “confidential memorandum” by Jim Harrison. He had not heard about the document with this name, but, having familiarized himself with the text, he described it as a compilation of his private messages made by an unknown person. He refused the authorship of part of the statements in the text. Nevertheless, Harrison confirmed that the story of the future president of the Russian Federation at the Baltimore Airport actually happened.

Thus, information about Yeltsin’s act is confirmed by the American organizer of his trip and one of the members of the Soviet delegation. In addition, there is a story about the impressions of another participant in the trip from the Soviet side of his good friend. It is important to note that Viktor Yaroshenko and Lev Sukhanov, who did not mention this case, later worked closely with Yeltsin (Sukhanov was nine years old, was his assistant, Yaroshenko - a political associate and close friend), so they could only omit this detail out of respect for the Russian president. In all likelihood, this case actually happened.

Supplement dated 13.11.23: The text added confirmation of the verified case from Jim Harrison, the organizer of Boris Yeltsin’s trip from the American side.

Photo on the cover: ""Yeltsin Center"

Most likely, the truth

What do our verdicts mean?