Cruise ship Georgia. Car-passenger ships of the "Belorussia" type. motor ship "Armenia" photo

Fragments from the new book “Vladimir Vysotsky without myths and legends”

Victor BAKIN, Daugavpils (Latvia)

On the set of “Dangerous Tours” in Odessa, Vysotsky was with Marina. She really liked the city. Its beautiful and famous stairs, Opera theatre, port...

The motor ship "Georgia" was in the port. The captain, Anatoly Garagulya, met them at the gangway with a charming, kind smile. The former military pilot became one of the best captains of the Black Sea Shipping Company. Most recently, Vysotsky was introduced to him by L. Kocharyan. Possessing an extraordinary sense of humor, the Ukrainian A. Garagulya, in order to match the name of the ship, jokingly spoke with a Georgian accent and usually introduced himself:

- Captain of the ship "Georgia" Ga-ra-gu-lia.

The motor ship "Georgia" was built in 1939 at the Polish shipyard "Swan Hanter" and was named "Sobeski" in honor of the famous commander and king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth J. Sobieski. In 1950, the ship was sold to the USSR, where it received the name “Georgia”. The cabins and salons are of extraordinary luxury, decorated with carpets, embossing and painting. The cabin in which Vladi and Vysotsky traveled was a real apartment, entirely covered in blue velvet. There are mirrors all around... And this makes the room seem even more spacious. The stunning bath features antique polished copper faucets. The delicious food completed the experience. It was still an old, pre-war “Georgia”, subsequently sold for scrap to Italy and replaced in 1975 by a new ship of Finnish construction, and captain A. Garagulya received a new ship under his command, which had the same name.

At that time, this floating comfortable hotel operated six-day cruises along the route: Odessa - Yalta - Novorossiysk - Sochi - Batumi - Odessa. They travel at night and enter ports during the day...

This time it was only a tour of the ship. Cruises will become Vladimir and Marina’s favorite vacation. The hospitable and generous captains of “Adjara”, “Shota Rustaveli”, “Georgia”, “Belarus” will always be happy to see them on board. According to the code of merchant shipping, the captain has the right to invite guests free of charge, and he usually arranged a luxury cabin for them. On the eve of the flight, the captain wrote a statement: “The luxury cabin needs renovation. Please remove it from sale." “The captain’s guest” - this is how Vysotsky’s position in cruise programs will be determined.

At that time, in Moscow, and indeed in the Union in general, the fact of Vysotsky’s acquaintance with Vladi was treated with distrust. Obviously, that’s why their appearance together caused delight and surprise. Lionella Pyryeva recalls: “... when we were filming with Vysotsky in Odessa on the “Dangerous Tour,” Marina came to see him. I drove up in a Volga. Volodya immediately saw her, flew up to her, then followed by a long, long kiss, as sometimes happens in films. The Odessans who surrounded them were absolutely delighted: “Oh, look here, this is Marina Vladi!”

Studio director V. Kostromenko recalls: “Once they brought “Queen of the Bees” to the studio, a French film for private viewing. Very few foreign films were bought then - firstly, it was very expensive, and secondly, they showed a lot of things that Soviet people did not need to see. In general, we began to look for a translator (the film was not dubbed), and then Marina said: “I was filming there, I’ll translate.” The hall was packed to capacity, Marina was sitting in the last row with a microphone, and we almost broke our necks: Marina was naked on the screen, dressed in the hall...”

Marina made many acquaintances and friends in Odessa...

“Once,” recalls Veronika Khalimonova, “we had lunch together at a small restaurant in Odessa. Volodya with Marina, Zhvanetsky, Kartsev, Ilchenko and Oleg and me. Volodya was calm, and Marina and Zhvanetsky were vigorously discussing how they could make a film.”

M. Zhvanetsky: “At that time, Vysotsky had the idea of ​​​​making a Russian-French program “Moscow - Paris”. “Misha, I sing and speak in Russian, Marina in French. We are both on stage - hosting a concert. The Moscow Music Hall often plays in Moscow - what could be better?” Great idea!"

The “idea” was on the verge of implementation. A letter from M. Zhvanetsky to Vysotsky has been preserved.

On September 12, 1941, the advanced units of the 11th German Army approached Perekop, the northern border of Crimea. From that moment on, it became possible to escape from the peninsula only by sea.

All land routes were quickly taken under control by German troops. About a million civilians were trapped. The German trained troops were opposed by scattered troops of the Red Army, which did not give much chance of victory.

By the beginning of November 1941, residents fled Crimean peninsula has become widespread. With the approach of fascist troops, panic began in the cities. There was a real struggle to board any transport. The evacuation of the civilian population was carried out according to a single scheme from Sevastopol and Yalta to Tuapse in the Caucasus.

Motor ship « Armenia" moored at the beginning of November 1941 in the port of Sevastopol, it could not have been better suited for this purpose.

Motor ship « Armenia"was built at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad in November 1928 and belonged to the type of passenger ships" Abkhazia " A total of four ships of the same type were built: “ Abkhazia», « Georgia», « Crimea" And " Armenia» for the Black Sea Shipping Company. Motor ship « Armenia"successfully made flights to the Caucasus, transporting more than 10,000 people a year.

motor ship "Armenia" photo

construction of the motor ship "Armenia"

motor ship "Abkhazia"

motor ship "Georgia"

8 August 1941 double deck cargo-passenger ship during the period of hostilities it was converted into. Passenger cabins became medical wards, and special symbols appeared on the sides - the Red Cross.

On the morning of November 6, 1941, landing began on motor ship « Armenia" At first vessel was not moored to the pier, in order to avoid a crush and a possible assault, passengers were brought on board in boats. Suddenly an order was received from the headquarters of the Sevastopol defensive region to evacuate all medical personnel of the Black Sea Fleet from the city. As a result, the best doctors in Crimea ended up on the same ship. To carry out the order, Captain Vladimir Yakovlevich Plaushevsky had to motor ship « Armenia» moored to the Korabelnaya Bay pier and huge crowds of city residents immediately poured in looking for salvation. Everyone wanted to get on the ship. In panic, passengers began to make their way to the technical rooms on the lowest decks. The ship with evacuated people was overfilled. People stood tightly pressed against each other, but this was the only chance for salvation.

Crowded with frightened people at 17:00 on November 6, 1941, the motor ship "Armenia" unmoored from the quay wall and soon disappeared over the horizon and disappeared not only from the sight of those seeing off, but also from Soviet history.

The mourners of Sevastopol felt a sense of despair for not using their chance. But this would become a reality if it took a course on the established Caucasian route.
From Sevastopol motor ship « Armenia"carried away medical personnel of the Black Sea Fleet, hundreds of seriously wounded soldiers and thousands of civilians. The war at sea had not yet begun, so every minute was precious. The Caucasus was free and nothing stood in the way of saving people. But Captain Plaushevsky received an order from the main command of the Black Sea Fleet to go to Yalta and pick up several more passengers.

At 02:00 November 7 motor ship « Armenia"arrived at the port of Yalta. During this passage, the medical ship was delayed for 3 hours, waiting at the Balaklava roadstead for a transport with some cargo to be delivered on board. Loading several tightly sealed black boxes into the ship " Armenia» weighed anchor and continued its voyage. The accompanying NKVD agents remained on board to ensure the protection of the cargo.

Yalta is overcrowded motor ship « Armenia“Hundreds more frightened people dived in. Only at 08:00 on November 7, 1941, the medical ship was able to leave and head for Tuapse, losing invaluable time. Meanwhile, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Oktyabrsky, gave the order not to leave the port until dark, i.e. 19:00, but Captain Plaushevsky violated it. Just 10 km from Yalta in Gurzuf, Hitler’s troops were already rampaging. The captain made the most important decision in his life, and he gave the order to save the doctors entrusted to him, but it was too late.

Having moved to a distance of about 25 miles from the Crimean Peninsula " Armenia"was attacked by two torpedoes from a German He-111H bomber, which ignored its markings. At 11:29, the ship with 7,000 medical personnel and civilians sank in the Black Sea at a depth of 472 meters. In a terrible tragedy, only 8 passengers on the boat managed to escape.

This huge number of deaths on one ship seems incredible, but even more surprising is the fact that in our time no one knows about one of the most monstrous maritime disasters in the history of the Second World War. After all, on board motor ship « Armenia"More people died than on the legendary liners "" and "".

Information about this tragedy was kept in the strictest confidence. Recently, Ukrainian historians managed to discover these details. The cause of the death of the ship was two unplanned stops, which led to loss of time. The command of the Black Sea Fleet gave an order that made a number of mistakes, but the doctors lost ship could have saved thousands of lives of soldiers and officers who fought against Nazi Germany.

And only one person, Vladimir Yakovlevich Plaushevsky, took responsibility for the unacceptable mistakes of his leadership. Having violated the order, he took the last opportunity to save people, which was no longer possible to prevent.

On May 9, 2010, several veterans of the Great Patriotic War will lay wreaths in the area where the tragedy supposedly occurred.

Technical data of the passenger ship "Armenia":
Length - 112.1 m;
Width - 15.5 m;
Side height - 7.7 m;
Displacement - 5770 tons;
Power plant - two diesel engines with a capacity of 4000 hp. With.;
Speed ​​- 14.5 knots;
Number of passengers - up to 980 people;
Crew - 96 people;

50 years ago the XVI Olympic Games took place in Melbourne. Interestingly, 10 cities applied to host them, and 9 of them represented the American continent, but the IOC gave preference to Melbourne. For athletes from the Northern Hemisphere, participation in the Olympic Games-56 was associated with significant difficulties: unusual timing of the competition (November-December), high transportation costs. Nevertheless, USSR athletes performed brilliantly at the Games, winning 37 gold, 29 silver and 32 bronze medals. Odessa shooter Yuri Nikandrov showed a worthy result: speaking on the trench stand, he took a high, 5th place.

But not only Yu. Nikandrov represented our city in Australia. The task of delivering athletes to Melbourne and back (both Soviet and other socialist countries) was entrusted to the crew of the Georgia ship. Among those who made this historic flight half a century ago was Nikolai Nikolaevich Yanchev. We offer readers his memoirs.

IN 1956 Black Sea maritime shipping company had only four diesel-electric ships: “Russia” (capacity 500 people), “Pobeda” (400), “Ukraine” (412) and “Gruzia”, which could carry 800 passengers. This circumstance turned out to be decisive when choosing a vessel. However, "Georgia" left the stocks back in 1939. The double-acting engines of the Burmeister and Wein system were unique, and the ChMP did not have the spare parts necessary for repairs. The crew had to do the incredible: the shortest possible time repair power plant and ensure its reliable, trouble-free operation. I joined the ship in 1954 and held the position of second engineer. It was me who was appointed by the senior mechanic Grigory Vasilyevich Ostrovidov as the head of the repair team. The issue of ensuring reliable operation of ship machinery was resolved at an extended meeting with the participation of the ship management service. The shipping company's mechanic-mentor S.F. Bezruchenko was pessimistic. His main argument was based on the fact that the refrigerated installation of provisioning chambers and air conditioning systems would not be able to operate at seawater temperatures above 32 degrees. And in the Red Sea it reaches 34 and higher. But we also dealt with this problem. And the captain of the ship, Alizar Shabanovich Gogitidze, personally reported to A.I. Mikoyan: “Georgia” is ready to fulfill the government’s task. Anastas Ivanovich then held the post of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers - that’s the importance attached to our mission.

Of course, our ship was inferior in comfort to today's modern liners, but for the mid-50s it looked quite decent. And the passengers were not overly spoiled. Soon the first delegations began to arrive. It was necessary not only to accommodate people, but also to load up with sports equipment - yachts, canoes, kayaks, bicycles and so on. A number of teams - football players, water polo players, boxers, volleyball players and others - traveled to Melbourne by air, and we all walked back to Vladivostok together.

Finally, the ship moored from the Odessa pier and headed for the Australian shores. I will not describe the beauty of the journey: we, the sailors, and the athletes too, had no time for them then. Everyone did their job. The situation on the ship was difficult. It was 1956, and famous events were taking place in Hungary. But the Hungarian athletes were next to the Soviet ones. They asked our radio operators every hour: what was happening at home?

A. Sh. Gogitidze decided to dock the next day in order to avoid provocations in connection with the anniversary of the October Revolution and the uprising in Hungary. However, everything went smoothly. Thousands of people greeted us. Australia was home to many immigrants from Russia and Ukraine, especially Western Ukraine. Everyone wanted to talk to their fellow countrymen, ask about life, find out how their hometown, village, village had changed. At the same time, we were also enlightened regarding individual freedom, working conditions and wages.

The athletes left the ship and settled in the Olympic Village. Well, we became their ardent fans. I had an amazing meeting - with a friend of my youth, Petya Breus. In 1948, we graduated from the naval school together. Peter was already distinguished by high results in swimming, but soon switched to water polo. At the same time, he achieved such success that he was included in the USSR national team. In Melbourne, he, together with aces B. Goikhman, M. Rykhak, P. Mshvenieradze and other athletes, won a bronze medal. And the Hungarian team blocked their path to gold. This duel turned into a real battlefield. Sports faded into the background. Illegal methods were used. The referee did not hide his bias. For the first time I witnessed how politics interferes with such a peaceful phenomenon as sports. In order not to return to this topic again, I’ll tell you about one more case. One of the leaders of the Hungarian delegation unexpectedly returned to the ship and asked the captain to provide him with a cabin, as he feared for his life. And he had the most serious reasons: upon returning to his room, he smelled household gas.

However, no political events could overshadow the main thing - the start of the Olympics. The crew of “Georgia” was “sick” with all their might. I was among the most avid fans and tried to attend as many competitions as possible. Until now, the magnificent victories of the indomitable Vladimir Kuts, the charming Larisa Latynina, the elegant Vladimir Yengibaryan, and his boxing colleagues Shatkov, Safronov, Mukhin are still unforgettable “frames”. But football, of course, occupied a special place. How we screamed during the semi-final match with the Bulgarians! We could be heard even in Moscow. Yes, yes, this is not an exaggeration, since our group was located literally next to the commentary booth from which Nikolai Ozerov was reporting. 12 minutes before the end of the game they scored a goal. Everything was decided by the amazing skill of Eduard Streltsov - he first equalized the score and then scored the winning goal. How can one not admire the courage of Nikolai Tishchenko! He didn't leave the field despite playing with a broken collarbone! After this match, I was not only hoarse, but even sick, for real.

We returned through Vladivostok. The calculation was this: to arrive home by December 30 so that the Olympic heroes could meet New Year in the home circle. The mood was wonderful. Petya Breus introduced me to football players who became Olympic champions. Lev Yashin gave me a book by another legendary goalkeeper, Alexei Khomich, on which all members of the team left their autographs. And, just imagine, I gave this unique specimen to the ship’s plant manager. I will give two reasons in my defense. Firstly, my colleague was a more serious fan than me - he regularly went to Soborka and knew the results of all the matches of the national championship. Secondly... The fact is that the players had a winter break, and the winnings Olympic Games put not only the players, but also the coaches in a good mood. And the “birthdays” began - one after another. And here you can’t do without the help of the food manager - he was responsible for distributing champagne.

Much more could be said about this amazing flight, but it’s time to wrap it up. Just think, 50 years have passed! But my memory will always remain in my memory of the Olympic everyday life in Melbourne, which brought us so much joy.

Nikolay Yanchev.

Member of the Council of Fleet Veterans of the GSK ChMP, 2nd mechanic of the m/v "Gruzia" in 1956.

The motor ship "Georgia" is the flagship of the Black Sea passenger fleet.

On deck - Olympic champions on football. Do you recognize? First on the left is Igor Netto, third is Eduard Streltsov. First on the right is Nikita Simonyan, who later worked in Odessa as the head coach of Chernomorets; fifth - Lev Yashin.

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In the same year, the ambulance transport was disbanded and returned to the civilian department. During the war years, "Lvov" carried out 35 evacuation flights and delivered 12,431 people to the rear. The ship sounded the “combat alarm” 325 times and evaded attacks from more than 900 enemy aircraft. More than 700 aerial bombs exploded near its side, and more than 300 holes were found in the hull. 26 torpedoes were fired at the transport, and it sank twice. Seventeen crew members were killed and forty-five were wounded. After repairs in 1946-1947. The ship was again put on the Odessa-Batumi line. In 1950, there was another repair and in 1952 the ship was transferred to the Odessa-Zhdanov-Sochi line.

On its last voyage, "Lvov" left Odessa on October 11, 1964 and passed through all the ports of the Black Sea region, where its routes ran during the war. Then the ship was handed over to the youngest sailors - the children's flotilla. At first the ship was anchored in Odessa, and then it was transferred to Kherson, where young sailors came to it for more than two decades. The corridors and cabins of the ship were filled with future sailors, mechanics, radio operators, and captains. Many of those who sailed the seas and oceans of the planet or worked at the country’s most powerful shipbuilding factories began their lives on the decks of the Lvov motor ship. The Spanish “internationalist” liner served its second homeland honorably and is worthy of the grateful memory of its descendants.

An unexpected addition to the Black Sea passenger fleet after the war were two former Polish liners. In 1949, the steam turbine ship "Jagiello" arrived from Poland, which was built in 1939 in Germany for Turkey under the name "Dogu", then requisitioned by Germany itself. The ship received a new name - "Duala". The British who captured the ship after the war gave it the name "Empire Ock". The ship took part in military transport until 1946, when it was transferred to the Soviet Union for reparations, which temporarily transferred the steam turbine ship to Poland, where it was given the name "Jagiello".

In 1949, the liner was returned to the USSR and received the name "Peter the Great". The vessel had a total capacity of 6,261 GRT. The length of the liner's hull was 125.1 m, width - 16.1 m, draft - 6.63 m. Two steam turbines with low steam pressure allowed the ship to reach a full speed of 15 knots.

"Peter the Great" carried 610 passengers, but the ship turned out to be shaky, with debilitating rocking, which frightened tourists.

In 1974, the liner was sold for scrap to Spain and towed to the port of Castellon for dismantling.

Another liner that arrived on the Black Sea from Poland was the Sobieski motor ship. The ship was built in 1939 at a shipyard in Newcastle (UK). The total capacity of the liner was 11,030 GRT. Hull length - 155.9 m, width - 20.5 m, draft - 7.72 m. Two eight-cylinder Kinkade diesel engines drove two propellers and provided a full speed of 16 knots. The ship could carry 850 passengers. The liner at one time was specially built to operate on the Gdynia (Gdansk) - New York line. During the war, Sobieski, as a military transport, took part in landing operations near Narvik, Madagascar, Sicily, Salerno, North Africa and Normandy. At the end of the war, the ship was returned in 1946 to the Gdynia - New York line.

In 1950, the Poles handed over the ship to Sovtorgflot (Odessa Black Sea Shipping Company). The ship received a new name "Georgia", and started regular flights on the Crimean-Caucasian line in the Black Sea. The ship served without accidents until April 1975, when it was excluded from the Black Sea Shipping Company and sold for scrapping in the Italian port of La Spezia.

As clean trophies after the war, some more ships were transferred to the Black Sea Shipping Company for reparations from Romania, an ally of Germany. The first real addition to the passenger fleet on the Black Sea was a beautiful snow-white liner named “Ukraine”. Before the war, this ship belonged to royal Romania and even then it semi-officially had the nickname “White Swan of the Black Sea.” And the liners "Bessarabia" and "Transylvania" were designed in Denmark according to a Romanian order in 1934. June 26, 1938. "Transylvania" entered service. Three months later, the construction of Bessarabia was completed. It was envisaged that both ships would be used on the line Constanta - Istanbul - Piraeus - Alexandria - Jaffa - Haifa - Beirut - Alexandria - Piraeus - Istanbul - Constanta. But the outbreak of the Second World War dashed these plans. Until April 1940, the liners transported Polish Jewish refugees from Constanta to Beirut. Twice during the war, both liners almost became targets of Soviet submarines that were moving to positions near the Bosphorus. The Romanian government was forced to delay the return of the ships to their homeland and leave them in the roadstead of Istanbul until the end of hostilities. Well, then the ships parted ways: “Transylvania” was left to Romania, and “Bessarabia” was transferred to the USSR. Romanian "Transylvania" until the beginning of the 70s carried out Passenger Transportation in the Black, Aegean and Adriatic seas, off the coast of North Africa. Sometimes she called at Odessa and the ship from afar could be mistaken for the m/d "Ukraine"

Poem by Vladimir Vysotsky to Anatoly Garagula. We bring to your attention another poem by Vladimir Vysotsky - “Well, that’s all! The deep sleep is over!

OK it's all over Now! Deep sleep over!
Nobody allows anything!
I'm leaving, separate, lonely
Along the airfield from which they take off!

I will visit the above-water monastery,
That other people call the ship.
My captain, my friend and my savior!
Let's at least forget something!

Let's forget something - I need it, it's possible!
That's it - a woman you know!
Remembering everything is simply impossible.
Yes, it’s simple and unnecessary - what are we?

1969

Interesting Facts:

Garagulya Anatoly Grigorievich (1922-2004) - captain long voyage, participant in the Great Patriotic War. It’s interesting that Anatoly Grigorievich fought in the sky - he was a pilot, and after the war he decided to conquer water element— entered and graduated from the Odessa Higher Naval School. Since 1965 - captain of the motor ship "Georgia", and after its decommissioning in 1975 - captain of a new motor ship with the same name (though new motor ship did not have the individuality and luxury of his predecessor, which displeased the captain).

Anatoly Garagulya was friends with famous cultural figures who traveled on the Georgia ship, which cruised the Black Sea. Among them are Vladimir Vysotsky, Marina Vladi, Vasily Aksenov, Konstantin Vanshenkin, Bulat Okudzhava, Pyotr Todorovsky and others.

Vysotsky and Vladi rested their souls on the ship, hiding from prying eyes. The couple stayed in a spacious cabin and ate in the captain's personal dining room. This is how the ship is described in the memoirs of Marina Vladi: “The cabins and salons are of extraordinary luxury. “Georgia” is richly decorated with carpets, embossing and painting... Tolya arranged everything wonderfully: the cabin is filled with flowers, on the table there are fruits, pies and a bottle of Georgian wine. We don’t know where to start...” There are many photographs in which Vysotsky and Vladi are captured together with Anatoly Garagulya on the captain’s bridge of the ship. During the cruise on the Georgia, Vysotsky wrote many wonderful poems.

Anatoly Garagulya starred in films - he played the captain of the ship "Gloria" in the film "The Crown of the Russian Empire, or the Elusive Ones Again" in 1970. Vladimir Vysotsky dedicated poems to Anatoly Garagula, the most famous of which is “Man Overboard.”

 

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