Tragedies Of The USSR, Which Were Hidden From The People

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Information classified as "secret": what the Soviet newspapers were silent about

In the minds of many contemporaries, the opinion that the Soviet era was unusually happy, calm and serene is thoroughly rooted and exists: people were different - better, and life was easier and safer. But is it really so?

Content

• 1 Tragedies of the USSR that no one knew about

  • 1.1 Explosion of nuclear waste in Chelyabinsk
  • 1.2 Explosion at Baikonur
  • 1.3 Fire in the Chuvash school (Elbarusovo)
  • 1.4 Novocherkassk tragedy: shooting of protesters
  • 1.5 The fall of a military aircraft in Svetlogorsk
  • 1.6 Hijacking of a civil aircraft in Novosibirsk
  • 1.7 Aircraft collision over Dneprodzerzhinsk
  • 1.8 Airplane crash with the command of the Pacific Fleet
  • 1.9 Collapse of an escalator in the Moscow metro
  • 1.10 Crush in Luzhniki
  • 1.11 Wreck of the cruise ship "Alexander Suvorov"
  • 1.12 Explosion of passenger trains in Ufa

Tragedies of the USSR that no one knew about

Classification of this or that information is a common practice for states from ancient times to the present day. Moreover, information that can undermine the authority of the current government, provoke mass panic and chaos, and undermine the established ideology. For these reasons, many terrible tragedies in the USSR were concealed, about which many still do not know.

Explosion of nuclear waste in Chelyabinsk

In 1957, the first radiation accident in the history of our country took place at the Mayak chemical plant. An explosion thundered in a tank with nuclear waste, causing the release of radioactive substances in the amount of 20 million Curies. There were no fatalities during the explosion, but the zone of radioactive destruction spread to the Chelyabinsk, Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions.

The first radiation accident in our country was an explosion at the Mayak plant

On the first day after the accident, people were evacuated from the settlements, military units and colonies closest to the epicenter. During the week - residents of settlements affected by the blast wave. There was no further publicity of the incident: information about the emergency was carefully hidden from the population of the country, and especially from the inhabitants of the Urals.

Explosion at Baikonur

On October 24, 1960, the tragedy claimed the lives of about 126 people. The launch of an intercontinental missile was timed to coincide with the 43rd anniversary of the October Socialist Revolution. When the engine was started, the fuel tanks collapsed, provoking a rocket fuel spill and causing a fire.

The explosion at Baikonur in 1960 was the first and only accident at the cosmodrome

Information about the incident was classified, the human victims were hidden or attributed to accidents not related to the cosmodrome. The data was released only after 1989.

Fire in the Chuvash school (Elbarusovo)

In November 1961, a fire broke out during a school concert. The cause of the accident was the inept actions of the physics teacher during the repair of the gasoline engine in the room adjacent to the improvised assembly hall. The fire killed 4 teachers and 106 children.

3 of his colleagues and 106 children died due to the fault of the physics teacher

Novocherkassk tragedy: shooting of protesters

From June 1 to June 2, 1962, a terrible drama unfolded in Novocherkassk, which claimed many lives. Exhausted by food shortages, rising prices, as well as increasing production rates, the employees of the electric locomotive plant stopped production and went on strike. The number of strikers grew rapidly, the situation became tense.

The power in the person of Khrushchev was ordered to suppress the resistance by any possible means. It was not possible to disperse the aggressive crowd of strikers peacefully. Then the authorities opened fire to kill. As a result of the actions taken, 26 people were killed. Another 45 people went to hospitals with gunshot wounds. 112 people were convicted for participating in the rally, 7 of them were sentenced to death.

Demand to raise wages led to mass execution

The fall of a military plane in Svetlogorsk

On May 16, 1972, despite bad weather conditions and thickening fog, the AN-24T, belonging to the Baltic Fleet, made a planned flight. Flying at a low altitude, the plane caught the crown of a tree, which caused it to demolish the second floor of the kindergarten and fell nearby. The fuel spilled as a result of the fall triggered a fire.

A military plane demolished the second floor of a kindergarten during a planned flight

The accident killed all the crew members (8 people), 3 educators and 24 children. According to unofficial data, in addition to poor visibility, the decisive factor was that the pilots were in a state of alcoholic intoxication. Immediately after the crash, representatives of the authorities cordoned off the territory. Telephones and electricity were cut off in the city, patrols were on duty in the streets. The morning after the tragedy, not a trace remained of the kindergarten: a square appeared in its place.

Hijacking of a civil aircraft in Novosibirsk

On September 26, 1976, the AN-2 was hijacked by a civil aviation pilot. Having flown several circles over the city, the hijacker directed the maize into a residential building. Later it turned out that the pilot's act was dictated by a thirst for revenge on his ex-wife. The latter left him, taking the child. As a result of the accident, 4 people died: a pilot and a woman with two five-year-old children, who came to visit the ill-fated house.

Civil aviation pilot hijacked plane hijacked plane for revenge

Aircraft collision over Dneprodzerzhinsk

In 1979, over the territory of Dneprodzerzhinsk, two TU-134 aircraft collided. The crash killed 178 people. The actions of an inexperienced dispatcher are considered the cause of the accident. The situation was complicated by the fact that at the same time they were holding the 3rd corridor for Chernenko. When the dispatcher saw that the planes were on a converging trajectory, one of them was given the command to climb. Confirmation followed. Ironically, the pilot of the third plane took over the command.

In 1979, passenger planes collided over Dneprodzerzhinsk

Airplane crash with the command of the Pacific Fleet

In 1981, a TU-104 crashed in the Leningrad region. The accident killed 52 people, 16 of whom were admirals of the Pacific Fleet. The official version of the fall is considered to be overload: on board the plane, in addition to people, there were furniture, household appliances, food that were in short supply at that time, as well as safes with military documentation.

During the crash of the Tu-104, 16 admirals of the Pacific Fleet were killed

Escalator collapse in the Moscow metro

On February 17, 1982, an escalator collapsed at the Aviamotornaya station in the evening rush hour. The resulting massive panic and stampede led to disastrous results: 8 people died, 30 were injured of varying severity.

The collapse of the escalator at the Aviamotornaya station occurred in the evening rush hour

The stampede in the Luzhniki

On October 20, 1982, the UEFA Cup match took place: Moscow Spartak vs. Dutch Haarlem. Shortly before the end of the game, the score was 1: 0 in favor of Spartak. Not expecting a change, the frozen fans rushed to the exit, when suddenly a Spartak player scored a goal. The distraught crowd of fans rushed into the stands.

According to official data, 66 people died as a result of the stampede, according to unofficial data, about 350.

The Luzhniki stampede killed 66 people

The wreck of the cruise ship "Alexander Suvorov"

In 1983, the cruise ship "Alexander Suvorov" was wrecked. At a speed of 25 km / h, the ship entered the non-navigable span of the Ulyanovsk bridge. The bridge structure cut off the top of the liner. A freight train passing at the same time over the bridge greatly aggravated the situation: the cars overturned, and the cargo (coal, firewood, grain) fell onto the ship.

The cruise ship "Alexander Suvorov" crashed in 1983

The number of victims reached from 176 to 600 people.

Explosion of passenger trains in Ufa

In 1989, not far from Ufa, there was an explosion of two passenger trains on the route "Novosibirsk - Adler" and "Adler - Novosibirsk". As a result of the emergency, 575 people died, 623 were injured of varying severity. The cause of the accident was a leak of a liquefied gas-gasoline mixture, which occurred due to the formation of a hole in the pipeline "Western Siberia - Ural - Volga region".

If the information about the increased gas pollution near the railway tracks had been timely listened to, the accident could have been avoided

The past of our country is full of dark spots and the above examples, unfortunately, are not the only ones. Reading about such incidents, one involuntarily wonders: was the Soviet time so calm and serene? Or was the illusion of happiness and security inspired by ignorance of the true state of affairs?