How it was 18.07.2000 (2000)

The act of terrorism in Arkhangelsk, 1954.

May 1, 1954 during a festive demonstration on the Trade Union Square twice convicted Nikolai Romanov rose to the podium and opened fire from a stolen pistol.

Assistant Commander of the White Sea garrison, Lieutenant-General A. Soloviev and Deputy Chairman of the Arkhangelsk City Executive Committee S. Kharitonov perished On the spot, the head of the agricultural department of the regional committee of the CPSU M.A. Ogarkov and the member of the regional committee D. D.Tomilov were injured.

Victims could be more, the terrorist still had another shot not fired.

Fortunately, the colonel of the border troops Sergey Bobkov, who was walking in the column of demonstrators with his children and was in front of the rostrum at the moment of shooting, did not lose his grip, he helped detain the terrorist.

The case was handled by the prosecutor's office of the White Sea Military District and the KGB. Gradually the business was gaining momentum, more and more people, relatives, friends and acquaintances of NG Romanov were drawn into it, but no connections were found between them.

Even carried out forensic psychiatric examination of the accused, which for those years was a rarity.

According to the results of the investigation, the terrorist was found to be sane, and on 12 December 1954 the military tribunal of the White Sea Military District, having examined the circumstances of the case at a closed hearing, sentenced N. Romanov to the death penalty.

The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR rejected the petition for clemency and left the verdict unchanged.

On March 9, 1955, the verdict was carried out.

Almost 45 years about this act of terrorism was known only from the words of a few eyewitnesses.

The true story of what really happened on May 1, 1954 in Arkhangelsk, was hidden in the archives of the military prosecutor's office and the KGB. The criminal case itself Was declassified only on May 5, 2000, thanks to the efforts of the Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation Andrei Sukhomlinov.

Andrei Sukhomlinov, doctor Voldemar Popov, employee of the military tribunal Valentina Bachina and historian Vitaly Lelchuk are restoring the trial and assessing it taking into account the peculiarities of the historical era.

Included are a fragment of an interview with Sergei Bobkov, Jr. about the feat of his father and the comments of Judge Anatoly Ukolov on the specifics of the criminal case.

Chronicle frames were added: the Arkhangelsk demonstration, the funeral of SM Kirov, the life of Soviet people in the 1950s in large cities and heavy construction sites.