Starman_ The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin - Jamie Doran [96]
Russayev could not be of much help on his own. Back at his desk in the Lubyanka the next morning, after a sleepless night, he decided to ask advice from one of his KGB seniors, Major-General Konstantin Makharov, a man he respected. ‘Makharov’s department dealt with space issues in relation to personnel. He used to work very closely with Korolev, but he was gone, and [his successor] Mishin wasn’t the same kind of man. The guys in my department also contributed to this work, but Mishin was impossible to deal with, particularly when firm decisions were required. He always needed a lot of guidance . . . I went to Makharov’s office and told him there was a serious problem with the rocket. He listened to me very carefully, and then he said, “I’m going to do something. In the meantime don’t leave your desk today. Not even for one second.” I kept my promise, and I’d only been back at my desk for a short while when he sent for me again. He gave me a letter, prepared by a team mobilized by Yuri Gagarin. Most of the cosmonauts took part in the research. Makharov told me to take the letter upstairs and see Ivan Fadyekin, Head of Department Three.’
This ‘letter’ consisted of a covering note, along with the ten-page document describing all 203 problems in the Soyuz hardware. Russayev insists, ‘I didn’t read it. I simply didn’t have the time.’ Just as likely, his instincts as a KGB man warned him that sneaking a look at the document might be very dangerous for him. As soon as he saw it, Fadyekin decided the same thing and dodged the responsibility straight away. ‘I don’t have the expertise for this.’ He redirected Russayev to a much more dangerous man in the Lubyanka: Georgi Tsinev.
Tsinev was a close personal friend of Leonid Brezhnev; in fact, he was related by marriage, and they had fought alongside each other in the war. If anyone could deliver an important message straight into the hands of the First Secretary, Tsinev could. Unfortunately for Russayev, things were not quite that simple. Tsinev was rising fast within the KGB, helped along by his powerful patron in the Kremlin. He was not going to allow any irritations to disturb that cosy relationship. ‘While reading the letter, Tsinev looked at me, gauging my reactions to see if I’d read it or not,’ Russayev explains. He had the inescapable feeling that Tsinev already knew the document thoroughly and was not remotely interested in its technical details. ‘He was glaring at me very intently, watching me like a hawk, and suddenly he asked, “How would you like a promotion up to my department?” He even offered me a better office.’
Russayev was now in great danger. Tsinev was trying to buy him off with a promotion, at the same time as placing him in a department where he could be more closely monitored. If Russayev accepted the deal, he would lose any chance of helping Komarov and Gagarin’s cause. On the other hand, if he rejected Tsinev’s offer, the consequences did not bear thinking about. ‘It was all part of the game, I suppose. I was very angry, but I couldn’t let it show. I declined Tsinev’s offer very carefully, explaining that I wasn’t really qualified for the work in his department.’
Tsinev kept hold of the document and it was never seen again. Within weeks, Fadyekin was transferred to a junior consular office in Iran, merely for the crime of glancing through it. Makharov was fired immediately, without a pension, and Tsinev took over as chief of an entire counter-intelligence department. Russayev was stripped of any responsibility for space affairs, and transferred to an insignificant staff training department outside Moscow, well away from the Lubyanka.