Kim Il Sung is dead. Large North Korean family: family ties of the leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un

Origin

Kim Il Sung was born on April 15, 1912 - exactly on the day when Atlantic waters sank the Titanic. His parents named him Song Ju (Become a Support). In the future, the newborn had many aliases: Khan Ber ( Morning Star), Chansung (Oldest Grandson), Dong Myung (Light from the East). He went down in history as Kim Il Sung (Rising Sun).

The native village of the future national leader Mangyonde (Ten thousand landscapes) was located 12 kilometers from Pyongyang. The boy's father, Kim Hyun Jik, tried many things: he was a teacher, was engaged in herbal medicine, collaborated with Protestant missions. The boy's mother, Kang Bang Sok, belonged to a fairly intelligent family (maternal grandfather, Kang Dong Wook, even founded high school and was a priest in the local Protestant church).

Kim Il Sung was born on the day of the Titanic disaster

The young Kim family lived with their parents in poverty and need. Has survived to this day native home The Rising Sun is a modest thatched hut.

Partizan

After Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905 Korea was annexed by Japan. Foreigners diligently suppressed any attempts by the inhabitants of the peninsula to achieve, if not independence, then at least improve their difficult position within the empire. New coil confrontation came in 1919. Thousands of Korean protesters were imprisoned or killed. The Kim family, fearing reprisals, went abroad to Chinese Manchuria.

AT adolescence Kim Song-chou joined an underground Marxist circle. This organization was quickly uncovered. In 1929, the 17-year-old revolutionary was imprisoned, but six months later he was released.

Kim then began to participate in the anti-Japanese guerrilla movement (Japanese aggression now threatened China directly). Then the Korean began to use the pseudonym of Kim Il Sung. The partisan was successfully promoted in the service. In 1936, he led his own detachment, and in 1937, together with his "division", attacked the Japanese-controlled town of Pochonbo. The battle was notable in that it ended with the first victory for the Korean independence fighters on the territory of the Korean Peninsula itself, and not in neighboring Manchuria.

Rise to power

Kim Il Sung's periodic successes propelled him to the leadership of the rebels, but could not turn the tide of the entire war. By the beginning of World War II, the Japanese had defeated most of the Korean troops. Under the circumstances, Kim, in response to an invitation from a representative of the Soviet Far Eastern Front, went to Khabarovsk. The rebels enlisted the support of the Comintern and received their own base near Ussuriysk. There Kim Il Sung met his wife Kim Jong Suk. In 1941, the couple had a son, Kim Jong Il, who succeeded his father and led the DPRK in 1994-2011.

Kim Il Sung's son Kim Jong Il was born in the USSR

In 1942, the partisan joined the Red Army. Together with his associates, he was preparing for a full-scale war with Japan, but the quick surrender of the empire after the defeat of Germany allowed the Soviet troops to occupy Pyongyang unhindered. Kim Il Sung returned to his homeland as the owner of the Order of the Red Banner and the captain of the Red Army.

Under Soviet patronage, a rapid ascent of the military to power began. In 1948, when the Red Army left Korea, Kim became chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the newly proclaimed DPRK, and a year later he headed the new Workers' Party of Korea.

Korean War

After the end of World War II, the victorious countries divided the Korean Peninsula into zones of occupation, as was done in Germany. The south became American, the north became Soviet. In Seoul, Lee Syngman came to power. Each regime considered itself the only legitimate one and prepared for open confrontation with its neighbor. Lee Syngman, for example, considered the campaign against Pyongyang " crusade against the Reds. And in the DPRK, according to the constitution, Seoul was the capital, while Pyongyang was called the "temporary capital."

The civil war between north and south began in 1950 after a surprise attack by the North Korean army on enemy positions. due to a dispute between two political systems 19 states were involved in the conflict. North Korea was supported by the USSR and China, South Korea— The United States and its European allies. So the confrontation between Pyongyang and Seoul almost escalated into the Third World War. Kim Il Sung led the North Korean army and was considered its commander in chief.

The first offensive of the KPA (Korean people's army) was successful, but after taking Seoul, the communists quickly ran into serious problems. Command staff turned out to be insufficiently experienced, artillery was poorly used. A nationwide uprising against Syngman Rhee's regime never began. Gradually, the situation for the KPA only got worse. The Americans landed troops on the peninsula and, together with the allies, liberated Seoul.

The intervention of the superpowers made the conflict intractable. The war ended in 1953: territorial changes turned out to be insignificant, the status quo was actually maintained, and Korea remained a divided country.

Leader

After the ceasefire (the DPRK refused to comply with it in 2013), Kim Il Sung's position within his country was strengthened to the maximum. The “crackdown” began, the economy became rigidly centralized and militarized. Market trade and private household plots were banned. As a result of all this, an economic decline began in North Korea, which turned the DPRK into mirror reflection prosperous southern neighbour.

Portraits of Kim Il Sung hang in every public institution in North Korea

The stronger the stagnation of society and economy became, the more power passed directly to Kim Il Sung. In 1972, he was elected the first president of the DPRK. The post of chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers was abolished, which symbolized the final rejection of the model of collective management within the party.

In contrast to "imported Marxism", the DPRK developed its own national communist ideology, Juche (Kimersinism). It became the formal justification for Kim Il Sung's personality cult. The head of state received the chieftain titles of the Sun of the Nation, Marshal of the Mighty Republic, Iron All-Conquering Commander, etc. His portraits became required attribute any business or residential premises.

Kim actively traveled around the country. It is believed that every month he spent 20 days on the road. At least once a year, he visited every province in small North Korea. The leader controlled literally everything in the country. Only he decided how to properly use the smoke factory, whether to open a new duck farm and which street to build in a provincial town. This method of personal control helped shape his image of a living deity.

At the end of his life, the elder Kim actively promoted his son. In 1980, Chen Il was announced as the official successor to his father. A kind of communist monarchy has developed in North Korea.

Kim Il Sung died in 1994, and in 1998 he was proclaimed Eternal President of the DPRK. The paradox of this decision lies in the fact that the late head of state de jure remains in power today.

] General edition translation by V.P. Tkachenko. Translated from Korean by A.T. Irgebaeva, V.P. Tkachenko.
(Moscow: Politizdat, 1987)
Scan, OCR, processing, Djv format: ???, provided by: Mikhail, 2014

• CONTENT:
  From a conversation with a delegation from the Telegraph Agency Soviet Union. March 31, 1984 (3).
  General Secretary of the Central Committee Communist Party Soviet Union Comrade Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev (14).
  From the answers to the questions of the editor-in-chief of the Japanese political-theoretical journal Sekai. June 9, 1985 (17).
  Answers to the questions of the deputy director of "Granma" - an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. June 29, 1985 (48).
  The Korean people will always fight together with the fraternal Cuban people at the forefront of the struggle against imperialism. From a speech at a mass rally in Pyongyang in honor of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Chairman State Council and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba F. Castro. March 10, 1986 (66).
  Prevention of war and preservation of peace is an urgent task of mankind. Speech at a reception in honor of participants in the Pyongyang international conference dedicated to the fight against nuclear weapons for peace on the Korean peninsula. September 6, 1986 (79).
  The fraternal friendship and solidarity of the socialist countries is a sure guarantee of victory in the joint struggle for peace, socialism and communism. From a speech at a mass rally in Pyongyang in honor of the party and state delegation of the Polish People's Republic headed by the First Secretary of the PUWP Central Committee, Chairman of the State Council of the PPR V. Jaruzelsky. September 27, 1986 (89).
  Mythic Mission modern literature. Speech at a reception in honor of the participants of the Pyongyang International Literary Symposium and the session of the Executive Board of the Association of Asian and African Writers. September 29, 1986 (99).
  Strengthening comradely cohesion and developing relations of friendship and cooperation between socialist countries- an important guarantee of victory in the struggle against imperialism, for the triumph of the cause of socialism and communism. From a speech at a mass rally in Pyongyang in honor of Secretary General Central Committee of the SED, Chairman of the State Council of the GDR E. Honecker. October 20, 1986 (107).
  Speech at a dinner in the Kremlin during a visit to the Soviet Union. October 24, 1986 (117).
  The brotherly friendship and solidarity between the Korean and Mongolian peoples, formed in the course of the struggle for the realization of common goals and ideals, will be eternal. From a speech at a mass rally in Pyongyang in honor of the party and state delegation of the Mongolian People's Republic, headed by General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Chairman of the Presidium of the Great People's Khural of the Mongolian People's Republic J. Batmunkh. November 20, 1986 (125).
  Behind complete victory socialism. Political speech at the first session of the Supreme National Assembly Democratic People's Republic of Korea of ​​the eighth convocation. December 80, 1986 (135).
  Kim Il Sung ( Curriculum vitae) (181).

Publisher's note: The collection of selected works of the General Secretary of the WPK Central Committee, President of the DPRK Kim Il Sung includes speeches and interviews covering the period from 1984 to 1986. They reflect revolutionary, party and state activity Kim Il Sung. The published works examine the fundamental issues of building socialism in the DPRK, as well as topical international problems.
The book is intended for party and scientific workers, for all readers interested in topical issues current international situation.

Kim Il Sung is the permanent leader of North Korea, the developer of Korean Marxism. He ruled the Land of Morning Calm for 50 years. Some consider him an outstanding politician, a master of political intrigue. Others rank among the most brutal dictators of the 20th century. The life of this unique person, which has gone from simple boy from a poor Korean village to the "eternal president" is full of mysterious events.

The biography of Kim Il Sung is full of fiction, and it is sometimes difficult to separate the truth from a beautiful fairy tale. Few people know that for 50 years this man ruled under a false name, and his real name is Kim Song-ju.

The Eternal President of Korea was born on April 15, 1912 in the village of Namni in the family of a rural teacher and herbalist. At the age of 20, Kim Song-ju became the commander of an anti-Japanese detachment in China. He quickly advances in the service and that's when he takes on a pseudonym - Kim Il Sung, which means " rising Sun". There is no doubt that Kim was a successful guerrilla commander who successfully fought under the hellish conditions of the Japanese occupation.

As for the personal life of the future leader, then riddles begin. According to one version, his first wife fought with him in the detachment, then in 1940 she was captured by the Japanese and executed. According to another official version, his first wife since 1940 was the daughter of a farmhand Kim Jong Suk. It turns out that when his first lover was executed, he immediately married another? In 1942, their first son appears, according to the official version, he was born on sacred mountain Paektusan.

In 1991, in the Alma-Ata newspaper in Korean appeared " Open letter President Kim Il Sung." Written by Yoo Sen-Cher former boss operational headquarters Korean People's Army, claimed that Kim Il Sung shamefully fled under blows Japanese army into Soviet territory and he miraculously managed to get away from the Japanese. And it was in the Soviet Primorye that his son was born. “You can't forget all this. But remembering all this is a shame ... ".

It is also unclear how Kim Il Sung came to power in North Korea. After all, he belonged to the Korean lower classes, did not have higher education, and all the basic ideas about the social and economic life received in political studies in partisan detachments. In addition, in 1945, when he returned to North Korea, many believed that the guerrilla commander had been replaced, as everyone was amazed at his too youthful appearance. This assertion even made its way into American intelligence reports. The Soviet military authorities even organized a demonstration trip of Kim Il Sung to his native village along with correspondents.

Replaced or real, but having seized power, Kim Il Sung became the permanent leader of this long-suffering country for many years and brought the principles of socialism in the territory entrusted to him to the point of absurdity. The economy has become fully planned, everywhere - the distribution system. Probably, this was not even in our country in the most frenzied socialist times. For example, household plots and market trade were declared a bourgeois-feudal relic and liquidated. Strictly defined portions of rice, flour, and sugar were given to each family.

The Koreans copied the personality cult of Stalin, but even in this they surpassed their northern brother, the USSR. It all started with the renaming of Pyongyang University in honor of the beloved leader. Further more. Monuments were erected to Kim Il Sung, his biography was studied, colorful glossy magazines were published with numerous portraits of the leader. In a poor country, magnificent festivities were held in honor of the beloved president, on which portraits of the country's leader were hung next to the portraits of Marx, Lenin, Stalin.

After the 1960s The personality cult of the Korean leader began to take on unprecedented forms, and was especially evident on the day of his 60th birthday. The country even adopted a new constitution, in which Comrade Kim Il Sung is described as a genius of ideas, an all-conquering steel commander, and a great revolutionary. Every book in Korea was required to contain quotes from the speeches of the leader, criticism was considered a state crime and led to jail.

The stability of North Korean society was ensured only by strict control and mass indoctrination. In terms of the scope of repressive organs, North Korea has surpassed all the states of the world. The population of the country was divided into several dozen families who lived in one block or house and were bound by mutual responsibility with the unlimited power of the head of the group. Without the consent of the headman, a simple Korean could not invite guests to his place, spend the night outside the house.

There were more than 120,000 political prisoners in the country alone. In the late 1950s, public executions were practiced in stadiums.

However, the leader himself and his son did not deny themselves anything. They had a special group of female servants under the meaningful name of "Joy", in which only young, beautiful, unmarried women with good origins are selected. A special requirement was also the presence of virginity. To make Kim's joy eternal, the Institute of Longevity, located in Pyongyang, was engaged in maintaining health. In order to rejuvenate Kim Il Sung's body and strengthen his male function doctors used a human placenta. Especially for the leader, virgins of 14–15 years old were impregnated, then provoking premature birth. The Institute managed the procurement of high quality products abroad.

Despite nationwide concern for his health, Kim Il Sung died of a heart attack at the age of 82. His death was mourned by the whole nation. The great Kim was buried in the mausoleum, declaring a three-year mourning in the country. For 5 months, more than 23 million people climbed the hill where he was buried. By a decree dated July 8, 1997, the country adopted a calendar with the chronology from the birth of Kim Il Sung, and the date of his birth became the "Day of the Sun." Amendments to the constitution were adopted: the post of president was abolished, since Kim Il Sung became the Eternal President of the DPRK.

His son, Kim Jong Il, continued his father's work, actually receiving the throne after his death. He became the "guarantee of the unification of the Motherland", the "fate of the nation", the "bright star of Paektusan" and, like Stalin, the "father of the people." Although Kim Jong Il himself was not particularly musical, special composers wrote six operas for him, and he was declared a great composer. He was also praised as a great architect.

Kim Jong Il surpassed his father in terms of repression. Under his rule, labor concentration camps were created, public executions were carried out, and women were forced to have abortions. Western states repeatedly accused North Korea of ​​violating human rights and found signs of slavery in his labor system. The socialist planned economy failed miserably, the impoverished country looked pathetic against the backdrop of the rapid development of capitalist North Korea.

AT different countries brigades of North Koreans were sent, including Russia, Kazakhstan, who worked from morning to night for the good of the motherland. Of course, access to information has opened the eyes of many Koreans to the true state of affairs. From the country, the labor camps, cases of desertion became more frequent, but the retribution in cases of capture was terrible. At the first attempt to escape - imprisonment in a labor camp, for the second - the death penalty.

The "Sun of the Nation" died on board his own armored train, but no one knew about it for 2 days. It was announced - "from mental and physical overwork caused by continuous inspection trips around the country in the interests of building a prosperous state." It is said that on the day of his death, even the bears woke up from hibernation to mourn for great loss, and flocks of magpies began to circle over the spire of the mausoleum of Kim Il Sung to inform his father of the death of his son. Three months of mourning followed. Those who didn't mourn this grief enough faced labor camps. It was strictly forbidden at that time to use mobile communications.

Currently, the third son of Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un (Kim III), has become the new head of state. He is also a "new star", a "brilliant comrade" and a "genius among geniuses". military strategy". He also has a nuclear button.

Kim Il Sung

(b. 1912 - d. 1994)

Dictator, permanent leader of the DPRK, creator of the Juche doctrine.

The long-lived dictator who led North Korea for half a century, the “Great Leader, the Sun of the Nation, the Marshal of the Mighty Republic” is Kim Il Sung. Biographical data about him are rather contradictory, and there are practically no records of many years of his life.

Was born future leader in the village of Mangyongde near Pyongyang on April 15, 1912. His father, a representative of the grassroots Korean intelligentsia, was a believing Protestant, a Christian activist associated with religious organizations. At times he taught at primary schools. Mother was the daughter of a village teacher. In addition to Kim Il Sung, who was called Kim Song-ju in childhood, the family had two more sons. They were poor, they were in need. Need forced parents in the early 20s. to move from Japanese-occupied Korea to Manchuria, where little Kim Il Sung was educated in Chinese school and mastered perfectly Chinese. The study was rather tightly controlled by the father. For several years the boy returned home, but already in 1925 he left his native place. The following year, my father died.

While studying in China, in Kirin, Kim Il Sung joined an underground Marxist circle created by Chinese Komsomol members. In 1929, the circle was opened by the authorities, and its members ended up in prison. Six months later, a 17-year-old teenager, having left prison without finishing school, went to partisan detachment is one of many created by the CCP to fight the Japanese invaders. Already in 1932, Kim Il Sung joined the Chinese Communist Party. He fought well and quickly advanced in the service: in 1934 he was a platoon commander in the Second Partisan Army, which fought against the Japanese near the Korean-Chinese border, and after 2 years he commanded the 6th division. The name of Kim Il Sung became famous after a successful raid on Pocheonbo, when a gendarmerie post and some Japanese institutions. Rumors about "commander Kim Il Sung" then spread throughout Korea, and the authorities promised a reward for any information about his whereabouts. At the end of the 30s. he was already the commander of the 2nd operational region, and all partisan units in Jiangdao province were subordinate to him. However, at this time, the position of the Manchu partisans deteriorated sharply: in battles with the Japanese, they suffered heavy losses. Of the senior leaders of the 2nd Army, only Kim Il Sung survived, whom the Japanese hunted with particular fury. In this situation, in December 1940, together with 13 fighters, he broke through to the north and, crossing the Amur ice, ended up on the territory of the USSR. Having passed the required test, after a few months the 28-year-old partisan commander became a student of courses at the Khabarovsk Infantry School.

Personal life Kim Il Sung was on the whole successful. True, the first wife of Kim Hyo Sunn, who fought in his detachment, was captured by the Japanese, which they reported as a great triumph. Her further fate is unknown. At the end of the 30s. Kim Il Sung married Kim Choch-sung, the daughter of a North Korean farm laborer who had been fighting in a guerrilla unit since the age of 16. In 1941, their son was born on Soviet territory, who was named by the Russian name Yura (today he is the leader of the DPRK, known to the whole world as Kim Jong Il). Then they had two more children.

In 1942, in the village of Vyatsk near Khabarovsk, the 88th Rifle Brigade was formed from the Korean partisans who crossed over to Soviet territory, in which the young captain of the Red Army Kim Il Sung was appointed commander of the battalion. It was a special forces brigade. Some of its fighters participated in reconnaissance and sabotage operations in Manchuria. True, Kim Il Sung himself did not participate in any operations during the war. But he really liked the life of a career officer, and he did not see his future outside the army: the academy, the command of a regiment, a division. Many even then began to note the lust for power of the young officer. The 88th brigade did not take part in the fleeting war with Japan. After the war, it was disbanded, and its soldiers and officers were sent to the liberated cities of Manchuria and Korea as assistants to the Soviet military commandants and to ensure communication between the military authorities and the local population. Kim Il Sung was appointed assistant commandant of Pyongyang, the future capital of North Korea. He arrived in Korea in October 1945 on the Pugachev steamer. His arrival turned out to be just in time, since the attempt of the Soviet command to rely on nationalist groups failed, and the local communist movement was not so strong, but was too striving for independence. So the young officer Soviet army with a heroic guerrilla biography turned out to be the best figure for the role of "the leader of the progressive forces of Korea." On October 14, the commander of the 25th Army, I. M. Chistyakov, presented Kim Il Sung at a rally as a "national hero" and "famous partisan leader." From this began his ascent to the heights of power.

In December 1945, Kim Il Sung was appointed chairman of the North Korean Organizing Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea, and in February next year by decision of the Soviet military authorities, he headed the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea - the country's provisional government. This was a formal position, because even after the proclamation of the DPRK in 1948, the Soviet military authorities and the advisory apparatus, which constituted key documents and decision makers. Even the appointment of officers to a position higher than the regiment commander until the mid-50s. it was necessary to coordinate with the Soviet embassy.

The first years of Kim Il Sung's stay in his homeland were overshadowed by two tragedies: in 1947, his son drowned, and in 1949, his wife died during childbirth. During this period, there was a sharp confrontation in the country, divided by decision Potsdam conference into zones of occupation - the Soviet North and the American South. Both regimes claimed to be the sole legitimate unifier of the country. Things were moving towards war, but Kim Il Sung was not the most resolute supporter of resolving the Korean problem by military means. The decision to start a war was made in the spring of 1950 in Moscow during the visit of Kim Il Sung and his conversations with Stalin.

During the war 1950–1951 The leadership of the DPRK is located in bunkers carved into the rocky ground at a depth of several tens of meters. The main burden of the fighting fell on the Chinese troops sent to Korea at the request of Kim Il Sung and with the blessing of the Soviet government. The Koreans, on the other hand, acted in secondary directions and provided protection for the rear. During the war there was a weakening Soviet influence and the strengthening of the independence of Kim Il Sung, who began to get a taste of power. He showed himself to be a master of political intrigue, showed the ability to maneuver and use the contradictions of both opponents and allies. The only thing he sorely lacked was education, and he did not have time to engage in self-education.

The beginning was marked by the struggle of Kim Il Sung for sovereignty in the country. All his efforts were aimed at destroying the North Korean elite - four groups that were at war with each other. Their destruction gave Kim Il Sung the opportunity to get rid of Soviet and Chinese control. However, the massacre of them led to the fact that delegations headed by A.I. arrived from the USSR and China. Mikoyan and Peng Dehuai, who threatened to remove Kim Il Sung himself from the leadership of the country. He was forced to make concessions, but the role of a puppet imposed on him forced him from the mid-50s. persistently and cautiously distance themselves from their patrons. The DPRK was then very dependent on the economic and military aid USSR and China, therefore, skillfully maneuvering, Kim Il Sung managed to ensure that this assistance did not stop. At first, he was more inclined towards the PRC, which was facilitated by cultural closeness, the joint struggle and criticism of Stalin that unfolded in the USSR. This caused resentment Soviet leadership and cutbacks in aid that have brought several sectors of the economy to the brink of collapse. In connection with the conflict between the USSR and the People's Republic of China and which began in China " cultural revolution» Kim Il Sung began to distance himself from China, taking a neutral position in the conflict. This, of course, caused discontent in both Moscow and Beijing, but never led to a reduction in aid.

By the end of the 50s. Kim Il Sung, having destroyed (physically or expelled from the country) the opposing, mostly pro-Soviet groups, gained full power. Only old comrades-in-arms in the partisan struggle, whom he trusted, were appointed to the highest posts. Then there was a refusal to copy Soviet models and established their own methods of organizing production, their own cultural and moral values, based on the ideas of "Juche", propaganda of the superiority of everything Korean over foreign. Hard planning began, the militarization of the economy, "labor armies" were created, where workers were divided into military units (platoons, companies, etc.) and submitted to commanders. Household plots and market trade were forbidden. The basis of the economy was declared "reliance on own forces”, and the ideal is a completely self-sustaining, tightly controlled production unit. But all this led to a sharp reduction in economic growth and to an even greater decline than before. standard of living population. Kim Il Sung was strong in the struggle for power, but not in governing the country. From the 70s. stability in the state was ensured only by strict control over the population, combined with massive indoctrination. The population of the country was divided into groups into several families living in the same block or house. They were bound by mutual responsibility. The head of the group had a lot of power. Even going to visit was impossible without his consent. And there was no free movement around the country without the consent of the security service. There were camps for political prisoners. The practice included public executions - executions in stadiums. Since 1972, with the celebration of Kim Il Sung's 60th birthday, a campaign began to praise him as the most illustrious leader of the modern world: "Great Leader, Sun of the Nation, Iron All-Conquering Commander, Marshal of the Mighty Republic, Pledge of the Liberation of Mankind." All adult Koreans were required to wear badges with a portrait of Kim Il Sung. In general, his portraits hung everywhere. On the slopes of the mountains, toasts were carved in his honor with multi-meter letters. Across the country, monuments were erected only to Kim Il Sung and his family. The birthday of the Great Leader has become public holiday; biography has been studied since kindergarten; works were learned by heart; the places he visited were marked with memorial plaques; children in kindergartens were obliged to thank the leader in chorus before dinner for a happy childhood; songs were composed in his honor; the heroes of the films performed feats inspired by love for him. Universities began to teach a special philosophical discipline suryeongwang - driving science.

A pompous palace was built for Kim Il Sung on the outskirts of Pyongyang, and many luxurious residences were built throughout the country. However, the leader preferred to travel a lot (he did not like planes) around the country, accompanied by reliable numerous guards, visiting villages, enterprises, and institutions. In 1965, he married Kim Song-ae, a young secretary of one of his bodyguards. They had two sons and a daughter.

In the early 70s. Kim Il Sung had the idea to make his son his heir. Weak protests among the highest officials ended in the disappearance of the dissatisfied. In 1980, Kim Jong Il was officially proclaimed the heir of his father, the "Great Carrier of the World Juche Revolutionary Cause." After the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994, he concentrated all power in the country in his hands, pursuing a policy of tyranny and political "isolation of the DPRK on the basis of the doctrine of the Chukchi."

Since then Yakov Novichenko became a national hero of North Korea. He was awarded the title of Hero of Labor of the DPRK, a monument was erected in Pyongyang, Feature Film"A second for a feat." His family still regularly travels to the DPRK, and Korean schoolchildren study the feat of a Soviet officer from textbooks.

A miraculous rescue happened on March 1, 1946. A platoon of junior lieutenant Novichenko was assigned to guard the government tribune at the Pyongyang railway station square. The military was brought long before the rally, and in order to pass the time, Yakov sat down on the steps to read - he just took the book "Brusilovsky Breakthrough" with him. Then he hid it, tucking it in his belt, and went to arrange people.

The rally has started... Kim Il Sung he said something from the podium, a crowd of thousands of Koreans stood around, when suddenly a grenade flew out from somewhere in the front rows (the one who threw it was immediately grabbed and dragged away). She flew exactly towards the podium, but bounced off it and fell down next to Lieutenant Novichenko ... Yakov leaned over, grabbed the grenade with his hand, looked around ... “Novichenko, drop it!” someone shouted. And where to throw? People around... And Yakov fell to the ground, pressing his hand with a grenade to his stomach. Then there was an explosion, something bright slashed across his eyes... He didn't remember anything else.

Junior Lieutenant Novichenko. A photo:

“In front of us was a completely mutilated man, who had nothing left alive,” a woman on duty in the hospital later made a note. Medical Major Elizaveta Bogdanova. “The right arm was torn off, numerous injuries to the chest, the left eye was knocked out, wounds in other parts of the body.” But he was alive! “Say thanks to the book - it saved you,” the hospital surgeon will tell him. - If not for her, no surgery would be required. Would you, a serviceman, in the next world.

The lieutenant spent more than two months in the hospital. Every day he was sent flowers and fruits from Kim Il Sung, the leader's adjutant handed over a silver cigarette case with the inscription: "To Hero Novichenko from Chairman Kim Il Sung." And the division commander announced the news: “You are presented for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union!”

"We won't call the trepacha"

Discharged, Yakov returned to his native village of Travnoe Novosibirsk region. With an injured eye and no hand right hand. He had not been there for 8 long years, since he left for the army in 1938 - his wife was then pregnant. Service was on Far East, and then the Great Patriotic War began, and the soldier remained in the ranks. Participated in the liberation of Korea, and then with a group Soviet troops arrived in Pyongyang. So I ended up on the forecourt of the capital during that rally.

“Before, it seemed to me that a hero should also look like a hero - stately, swift, fighting. But Yakov Novichenko was not like my imagined image. He turned out to be a modest, gentle man, - recalls Boris Krishtul, director of the film "A second for a feat"(A film about the feat of Novichenko was filmed in 1985 jointly by the USSR and the DPRK, but our filmmakers were not allowed to turn around, the picture turned out to be too Korean and did not appeal to Soviet citizens.

Wherein director Urazbaev famous for the "traffic inspector", the performer of the role of Novichenko Andrey Martynov- the painting "... And the dawns here are quiet", director Krishtul - "Crew", etc. - Ed.). - When we met with Novichenko before filming, he told how at first the villagers listened to his story about saving Kim Il Sung. The whole village was waiting for the postman to bring an award decree on awarding their countryman the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But he still wasn’t there ... And over time, the fellow villagers, who only yesterday considered it their duty to come up and greet Yakov, began to pass by or shout indignantly: “You, hero, didn’t put on a star?” They stopped inviting guests: “We won’t invite this trepach.” And when they discussed the possible candidacy of Novichenko for the post of new chairman of the collective farm (there were few men left after the war), the secretary of the district committee said: "A person who once deceived cannot be trusted." This was the last straw... And Novichenko wrote a letter to the Ministry of Defense. No answer came ... But suddenly, in the fall of 1951, the postman brought a summons to the draft board. “Awarded! - the news shook the village, but disappointment immediately came - not with the star of the Hero, but with the Order of the Red Banner of War. Most likely, Kim Il Sung's meeting with Stalin who was reminded by the Korean leader how Soviet officer saved his life. But Stalin refused to give the Hero. Since then, Jacob stopped hoping. It was then that his wife and children, and he had six of them, felt that he did not like to talk about the war. And if the word “grenade” sounded on the radio or TV, an awkward silence hung in the family, and her head went out on the porch to smoke.

"Stop the armored train, I'll get off"

“On a spring day in 1984, grandfather was mowing the grass in the yard when they came to him and said: “Get ready to meet Kim Il Sung.” Can you imagine how surprised he was? granddaughter says Lyudmila Novichenko about. - It turns out that the Korean leader was on an armored train to Moscow and decided to stop in Novosibirsk to see his savior. Representatives of the KGB found my grandfather and brought him to the station. They met, talked (the Korean leader spoke good Russian), and Kim Il Sung invited him with his wife and children to visit. Since then, every year our family has traveled to North Korea on the occasion of national holidays or anniversaries. Grandfather met with Kim Il Sung many times.

Yakov Novichenko on a trip to Korea. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Despite his injuries, grandfather was strong and active person. I rarely got sick. Sometimes his hand ached at the weather, but he did not complain. Always worked hard. He was the director of the incubator station, then the chairman of the village council, in retirement he led an active public life. And he was always a passionate book reader, it was not in vain that it was the book that saved him from death - he read a lot fiction and the press, kept abreast of events in the country and the world. And he was very upset when he heard about the death of Kim Il Sung on July 8, 1994. And then he himself passed away exactly 5 months later, on December 8, 1994. Grandfather was then 80 years old. 20 years later, on his 100th birthday, the DPRK ambassador to Russia personally came to Travnoye (which is 300 km from Novosibirsk!) to open a memorial plaque and erect a monument on the grave (after a meeting with the Korean leader in 1984, the family was given an apartment in Novosibirsk, but they always spent the summer in the countryside. - Ed.).

Memorial plaque on the house of Ya. T. Novichenko. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Our family still visits North Korea regularly. Now grandchildren and even great-grandchildren are traveling, who did not find their grandfather alive. The last time was in April of this year, on the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung. When we are asked about the policy of the DPRK, their bombs and nuclear threats, we always say: "Our family is out of politics." It's true. We simple people living in the outback of Russia. And our grandfather was a simple village worker. Where is he and where is Kim Il Sung? But we are very grateful to the Korean leader for not forgetting our grandfather's deed. It is good that, even after a long 38 years, the truth was revealed during the life of his grandfather. At least he was able to prove that he was not deceiving anyone. It was very important to him."