What to see in Berlin. Berlin Wall. Kiss of the Secretary General. What was Leonid Brezhnev really like?

You can’t just come to Berlin and look at a piece of the wall. The Berlin Wall is not one place, but a whole complex of pieces scattered throughout the city. The main parts are the East Side Gallery and the Gedenkstaette Berliner Mauer (Memorial).

In order not just to look at the wall, but to get at least a little insight into this place, you need to know at least a brief history of it. I tried not to overload with numbers and facts, but to present it briefly in a few paragraphs.

The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 as a result of the conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries. The wall represented the dividing line between the GDR and West Berlin. The border that appeared overnight soon turned into concrete wall, over which ran barbed wire charged with high voltage current. Also in front of the wall was metal grill, this completely made it impossible to cross the border illegally. In addition to all of the above, checkpoints and observation towers were installed.

Such a dramatic event occurred in the life of the city, when suddenly the streets, metro lines and tram tracks were divided into two parts and many lost their jobs, relatives, and friends. People were confused, many did not want to put up with this, and tried to escape, finding various types escape. They fled through dug tunnels, flew over hot air balloon, used a cable to climb over the wall, some were forced to get out through windows that faced the West, at a time when the entrance to the houses was from the East.

A few years later, the situation improved and people were allowed to cross the border using passes to visit relatives. That’s when the idea arose to take people out in cars, hiding them in the trunk or under the hood. For such purposes, specially converted cars were used. Some hid people in suitcases. But all this did not last long, since for the escape they were arrested and even shot, taking the lives of hundreds of people. In order to somehow see their relatives, people approached the wall, climbed onto ladders or cars, so that they could see better. They showed the children or simply looked at each other from a distance.

The concrete that had long divided Berliners was destroyed in 1989. The moment the wall fell was happiness and joy for West and East Berliners, now reunited.

East Side Gallery

Today the Berlin Wall is its restored remains scattered throughout the city. The longest fragment of the wall is located at Mühlenstraße , in the Friedrichshain area and has the name .

The easiest way to get to this section of the wall is by metro, because... there are stations at both ends of the wall Ostbahnhof And Warschauer Straße . The following trains/trains go to Ostbahnhof from Alexanderplatz S5,S7,S75,RE1,RE2 andRE7, and before Warschauer Straße S5, S7 and S75 only.

It's better to go to the farthest station Warschauer Straße and from there start examining the wall, this is point 1 on the map. There are several reasons for this. First, at the same time you can take a look at another attraction of Berlin with a complex name. The second one is Berlin Wall Museum , which is also located at this end of the wall.

When you exit the subway, look for a landmark (point 3 on the map), he is in the photo below.

There is no need to cross the bridge, you just need to reach it; the Berlin Wall begins in front of it. This is what the beginning of the wall looks like.

The Berlin Wall is very bright due to graffiti, so it will be difficult to pass by it. You will have to walk about 1 km. Although the distance is not great, it can take several hours, especially if you visit the museum (point 4 on the map).

Entrance to the museum, which is located almost at the beginning of the wall, is 12.5 € for adults, 6.5 € for students, and free for children under 10 years old. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

After the museum we walk along the wall where you can see such historical masterpieces of graffiti, which are slowly falling into disrepair due to vandals.

Here is the famous - graffiti created by D. Vrubel. Crowds of tourists gather near this place to take pictures with the famous fragment of the Berlin Wall.

I also waited my turn for a photo against the backdrop of a brotherly kiss, and then some more photos of the Berlin Wall.

The second end of the wall ends at a street intersection Str. der Pariser Kommune And Mühlenstraße . The Ostbahnhof station is also not far away, as described above (point 2 on the map).

Gedenkstaette Berliner Mauer – Berlin Wall Memorial

The next place dedicated to the Berlin Wall is the memorial on Bernauer Strasse. The memorial is located between Bernauer Straße and Berlin Nordbahnhof metro stations.

You can get directly from the East Side Gallery to the Gedenkstaette Berliner Mauer only by taking the M10 tram from the Warschauer Straße station, but it makes a large arc around the city and takes about 30 minutes. Therefore, it is better to travel with metro transfers, which will take no more than 15 minutes.

One of the parts of the memorial is called the “window of memory”, on the territory of which there is a rusty wall with photographs of those who died while trying to escape through the windows of houses. It is also dedicated to all Berliners who in various ways tried to get over the wall.

Memory window

This memorial is the largest, by visiting which you can not only get an idea of where the wall was and what it looked like, but also touch the history of Berlin. There is also a watchtower and a chapel on the territory of the memorial complex.

Another remains of the wall can be seen on Potsdamer Platz, and on the nearby Erna Berger Straße - a watchtower. There is also a museum dedicated to the wall. open air, which is called the topography of terror, located on Niederkirchnerstraße. One of the most famous checkpoints on Friedrichstraße, Checkpoint Charlie, has been preserved in Berlin. Pieces of the wall can also be seen on one of the main squares of the city, Alexanderplatz.

You can organize a short walk along the remains of the Berlin Wall like I did, but it will take several hours if you don’t visit museums.

The tradition of triple kisses dates back to the times Ancient Rus'. On certain time this tradition was forgotten, but Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev decided to resume this greeting ritual. His kisses became the talk of the town, and many photographs and newsreels have survived to this day, depicting how sincerely the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee kissed his foreign (and not only colleagues). Some people accepted this manifestation of friendship with favor, but for others it was a real punishment.

The Secretary General's first kiss

In 1968 Soviet Union visited by Palestinian politician Yasser Arafat. Leonid Brezhnev, who by that time had been holding the post of General Secretary for 4 years, was delighted with this man and was very disposed towards him. Perhaps that’s why, and also following Russian tradition, that’s why I couldn’t resist and gave the guest kisses. This was the first threefold kiss of the Secretary General of the Central Committee. WITH at this moment The history of Brezhnev's signature kisses began.

If the first kiss was successful, the second became a real nuisance for the head of Yugoslavia. During Leonid Ilyich's visit to this country, he decided to demonstrate his warm feelings to Joseph Tito. But it seems he miscalculated his strength. According to eyewitnesses, after kissing the Soviet leader, Tito’s lip burst and blood began to appear.

One of Leonid Brezhnev's most memorable kisses occurred with the leader of the GDR, Erich Honecker. The triple greeting became a sign of peace and friendship between states.

The artist Dmitry Vrubel on this occasion already in 1990 created graffiti on the Berlin Wall, which he called “Lord! Help me survive among this mortal love."

Passionate kisses addressed to women

Brezhnev was not indifferent to the female sex, so he could kiss not only the leader of the state, a man, but also a lady. The first person to whom the Secretary General bestowed such an honor was Indira Gandhi, the leader of India. His threefold “attention” touched the woman very much. A photo of the kiss can be seen in Indira's apartment, which has now become a museum.

However, Leonid Ilyich also paid attention to mere mortals, and they didn’t mind. The choreography teacher became the second foreigner to learn how Brezhnev kisses. A woman handed flowers to the Soviet leader after his speech, and he was so emotional that he could not resist and kissed her in front of everyone.

But Castro and Thatcher are against it!

It is worth saying that not everyone was impressed by this behavior of the Secretary General. Many found the most non-trivial ways to avoid such popularity. So, Fidel Castro, fearing that he would be laughed at in his homeland, left the plane, at the ramp of which Brezhnev was waiting for him, with a cigar in his teeth. There was no need to kiss.

Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu outright refused to embrace and kiss Leonid Ilyich. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was not so straightforward, but she was able to dodge the Secretary General's kiss.

Yuri Andropov was Brezhnev's comrade-in-arms and often saw his “smacks.” When the KGB chairman was nearby, he watched what was happening with a smile and even applauded. However, he once spoke very negatively about the secretary general’s kisses. And when Leonid Brezhnev traditionally kissed the next leader, who at that time had a cold, Andropov called such behavior an abomination.

And in conclusion...

And don’t think that General Secretary Brezhnek’s kisses have sunk into oblivion along with him. The first (and last) president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, continued this tradition. In 1986, Erich Honecker again received a kiss from the new General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.

And in continuation of the Brezhnev theme, a story about

Having led the country in 1964, Brezhnev immediately won the sympathy of people. He even looked favorably different from his predecessor - short and round Khrushchev. German Chancellor Willy Brandt noted: despite his heaviness, Brezhnev gave the impression of an elegant person. No wonder: suits and sportswear for Leonid Ilya were sewn individually.

Brezhnev always watched his weight. There were many scales not only in his apartment and work rooms, but also at his dacha in Zarechye, and at the hunting farm in Zavidovo. One of the doctors back in Dnepropetrovsk told him that, due to the characteristics of his body, he should sleep at least 9 hours. And Brezhnev, whenever possible, took an hour and a half to sleep after lunch. True, the afternoon rest did not contribute to maintaining a slender figure, and Leonid Ilyich recent years respected life strict diet- cutlets made from several times rolled minced meat with cream, beets, cabbage, cheesecakes, tea.

Swimmer

Growing up on the banks of the Dnieper, Brezhnev was a good swimmer. In warm weather, I did not get out of the pool at the dacha, and during my vacation in Crimea I swam far out to sea. His wife Victoria Petrovna used to say: “Well, I sailed to Turkey again.” In the water next to the Secretary General there was always a security officer, and under the water there were swimmers of a special group created after the Prime Minister of Australia, who also knew how to swim well, disappeared without a trace during a swim in 1967.

Brezhnev presented his Politburo colleagues with hunting trophies. Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (right). 1955 Photo: RIA Novosti

Shooter

Brezhnev knew how to handle weapons from his Komsomol youth: he got his first pistol when he started working as a land surveyor. Deputy Chief of Security of the Secretary General Medvedev I recalled that about 90 guns were stored at the Secretary General’s dacha alone. In 1973, at a reception with US President Nixon favorite American actor of the Secretary General and leading actor in the western “Shooter” Chuck Connors presented Brezhnev with two Colts and a cowboy hat. And in 1974 President Ford in Vladivostok, he presented the Secretary General with exclusive Colts with factory markings LIB-1 and LIB-2 (Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev). Leonid Ilyich often appeared hunting with a cowboy Colt in an open holster.

Colt system revolvers. Gift from US President Gerald Ford to General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev. Photo: RIA Novosti / Oleg Lastochkin

Reckless

Brezhnev learned to drive a car while still at the front and retained his passion for driving fast and good cars until the end of his life. Even in September 1982, 2 months before his death, he drove the car himself a little, leaving Crimea forever. For a long time I could not forget the trip with Brezhnev at breakneck speed along the roads near Moscow US Secretary of State Kissinger. And President Nixon recalled with horror the races at the Camp David residence, when Brezhnev decided to test out the Lincoln given to him.

Viewer

On TV, Brezhnev watched mainly the programs “Time” and “Wick”, programs about nature. He loved comedies and films about war. I reviewed “Seventeen Moments of Spring” several times and ordered an award for the creators of the film, and for the leading actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov give the title of Hero (according to legend, at first he wanted to award intelligence officer Isaev). Brezhnev more than once saved films that officials did not allow for distribution: “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, “White Sun of the Desert” and others... In addition, the Secretary General loved watching hockey matches. Once he even ignored the party congress and came to Luzhniki to watch the game of his favorite team, CSKA. The chairman of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, having learned about Brezhnev’s presence at the match, forbade showing the government box.

General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev makes a report. 1982 Photo: RIA Novosti

Speaker

His frequent stops when reading reports and his unintelligible diction made a depressing impression. But this happened mainly due to the condition of the oral mucosa. Neither Soviet nor German doctors were able to completely solve Brezhnev’s dental problems. Also, cerebral atherosclerosis and strong sedatives, which kept the Secretary General in a state of half-asleep, did not contribute to intelligible speech. Moreover, he washed down the pills with a strong tincture, believing that this way they were better absorbed.

Smoker

From this bad habit Brezhnev could not refuse, even when he was hunting. And the huntsmen scattered cigarette butts in the places where animals were fed, so that the animals would get used to the smell of tobacco. For the Secretary General, they developed a special cigarette case with a counter that dispensed strictly one cigarette per hour. But Brezhnev also carried an ordinary pack in another pocket. When the doctors finally forbade the Secretary General to smoke, he began to ask the guards... to fumigate himself.

Doctors unsuccessfully fought his craving for cigarettes.\b Photo: RIA Novosti / Anatoly Garanin

Loving

The objects of Brezhnev's famous kisses were, among many, US President Jimmy Carter And Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi. “Triple Brezhnev” - kisses on the cheeks and lips - was not liked by everyone, and some managed to avoid it. For example, Fidel Castro When meeting with Leonid Ilyich, he deliberately kept a lit cigar in his mouth. Local bosses took advantage of Brezhnev’s passion for kisses, slipping pretty girls along with his bread and salt during receptions. By the way, among “Brezhnev’s women” his front-line love is often mentioned Tamara Laverchenko And nurse Nina Korovyakova, who was said to have gotten him hooked on pills. In general, many novels were attributed to him, but not a single one famous woman in relations with him they did not notice.

Visit of L.I. Brezhnev to the Republic of Cuba. Leonid Brezhnev and Fidel Castro. Photo: RIA Novosti / Eduard Pesov

Joker

The Secretary General, about whom many jokes were written, was not afraid to joke about himself. At one of the meetings with the people, he suddenly asked people a question about how they recognized him, and he himself answered - probably by his eyebrows.

In addition to his political statements, which later became catchphrases, Brezhnev was known as the undisputed champion of power kissing, despite the fact that kissing is rare in the political sphere.

We have collected interesting details of the most famous kisses of the Secretary General.

It is unlikely that in the 70s there would have been at least one Czech who did not know what a “triple Brezhnev” was (one kiss on both cheeks and the final one on the lips). Kiss of Leonid Ilyich and the General Secretary Communist Party Czechoslovakia Gustav Husak made such an impression on the inhabitants of the fraternal country that memories of this historical event are still alive in the hearts of Czechs.

Brezhnev once attempted to kiss the Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu. However, the Romanian was the only one who directly and categorically refused this ritual, as he was extremely squeamish.

In 1971, there was another failed attempt at the “triple Brezhnev”, this time the victim of the Secretary General was supposed to be Margaret Thatcher. However, the Iron Lady managed to tactfully dodge this friendly gesture, which was unacceptable to the prim British.

In 1973, when the Iron Curtain opened, a delegation from the United States came to the USSR. After the Secretary General’s heartfelt speech, a young American woman approached him with flowers, whom the loving Secretary General immediately kissed with his characteristic passion and dedication. The hitherto inconspicuous choreography teacher Annie Hollman overnight became famous throughout the world.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, was the only American president to receive a kiss from the famous Soviet leader.

Brezhnev's friendly kiss with Josip Broz Tito was so powerful that, according to rumors, it even damaged the Yugoslav leader's lip.

In 1968, Yasser Arafat visited the USSR for the first time, where he had a meeting with the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The Palestinian leader quickly gained the Kremlin's trust, as Brezhnev's famous triple kiss can attest.

The passionate kiss of Leonid Ilyich with Indira Gandhi, captured in the photograph, takes its place in her apartment, turned into a museum, along with other relics associated with the name of this great woman.

In 1974, the Cuban leader, flying to the USSR for the first time, already knew about the Secretary General’s ritual of kissing guests upon meeting, and also knew that he would become a laughing stock in his homeland if he allowed this to happen. But an original solution was found. Fidel Castro ran down the ramp with a huge smoking cigar in his teeth, which did not allow Brezhnev to disgrace the Cuban in front of his compatriots.

Leonid Ilyich's most famous kiss was with Erich Honecker, leader of the GDR, in 1971. This act of friendship between peoples was even depicted on the Berlin Wall by the young but very talented artist Dmitry Vrubel. The "Brotherly Kiss" became a symbol of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was a humane and gentle person. It’s not for nothing that the time when he ruled the USSR was called the “thaw.” He became famous for his eyebrows, orders and medals. But most of all, the world knows Brezhnev’s famous kiss. The leader of the USSR loved to kiss. And not only with women. Such an “honor” from Secretary General The highest-ranking representatives of other powers were also awarded. After all, given Brezhnev’s status, almost no one was able to dodge.

Brezhnev's famous kiss

It consisted of the following: the leader of the USSR took the “victim” into his tight embrace and kissed first on the left cheek, then on the right, and finally on the lips. This is where the famous name “Triple Brezhnev” came from.

It is not known for certain where Brezhnev’s famous kiss originates. But there is an assumption that the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who first came to the Soviet Union in 1968 and quickly won the trust of Leonid Ilyich, is to blame. The fact is that kissing three times is an Arab tradition, according to which this gesture means mutual trust and affection for a person.

A few facts about the famous kiss

It is quite difficult to count those whom the Soviet leader kissed; it is much easier to count those who were able to tactfully evade.

Failed “Triple Brezhnev”

Margaret Thatcher. In 1971, the prim Englishwoman and “Iron Lady” was able to timely and tactfully dodge the passionate embrace of the Soviet leader.
Fidel Castro. In 1974, the Cuban leader flew to the USSR for the first time. He already knew in advance about Leonid Ilyich’s predilection for kissing everyone when he met, and also knew that if he allowed this, he would be ridiculed in his homeland. Therefore, Fidel, in order to avoid shame, came down with a huge smoking cigar in his mouth.
Nicolae Ceausescu. The Romanian leader was the only one who directly refused to kiss the Secretary General, as he was a very squeamish person.

By the way, scientists have proven that kissing is very good for health. And, apparently, Leonid Brezhnev knew about this even then. So kiss your health!