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A bullet in the back of the head: the mysterious story of the murder of Soviet actress Zoya Fedorova

'12.01.2020'

Source: lady.tut.by

During her life, she managed to be twice a Stalin Prize laureate, a friend of Beria, a beloved American spy and imprisoned in camps. A lot of happiness, a lot of fame and a lot of suffering fell on her lot. She did not live only a few days before her 74th birthday, says lady.tut.by.

Photo: video frame YouTube / History

She, always a luxurious and well-groomed woman, was found in her own apartment with a shot through her head in an old robe and darned socks. And now, 40 years soon, they can’t find her killer. What happened on that tragic day with the darling of millions?

The future star of Soviet cinema was born on December 21, 1907 in St. Petersburg. Three daughters grew up in the family, Zoe - the youngest of all. The revolution of 1917 brought luck to the Fedorovs. His father, a metalworker, made his brilliant career in the Bolshevik Party with lightning speed. Already in 1918, the family moved to Moscow, as the former proletariat was appointed head of the passport service in the Kremlin.

Literally since childhood, Zoya has been ill with the theater, but her father is adamant: her daughter needs a “normal” profession. And she is satisfied with it after graduation from the school in Gosstrakh. To distract herself, every time after closing the office, Zoe disappears at noisy parties. There she has an affair with the military Cyril Prove. Suddenly he is arrested on suspicion of spying for Britain. Fedorova also comes under arrest as an accomplice.

At that time, instead of imprisonment, freedom awaited her. Personally, Heinrich Yagoda wrote on her case: “The incriminated c. Fedorova Z.A. the prosecution could not be established by the investigation, and therefore would have considered the case on charges of Z. Fedorova terminate the investigation and submit to the archive. "

Zoya uses the chance to start all over wisely: she enters the school at the theater of the revolution. Her first work in the cinema - an episode in the movie "Oncoming" was cut out from the picture during the final editing. But she invited all friends and relatives to the premiere! A full-fledged debut took place in the musical film "Harmony" (1933). After only three years, she enters the highest acting echelon: after the film “Girlfriends” (1936) - a touching story about three girls who voluntarily left the sisters of mercy to the front during the Civil War –– all-Union fame comes to her.

Equally well she managed both dramas and comedies. Only a wonderful duet with Ranevskaya in Chekhov's “Wedding” (1944) is worth it.

1937 made its adjustments. Father Zoe Fyodorovna was arrested on charges of spying for Germany and England and the intention to kill members of the government. Sentence - 10 years of high security camps. How did this affect Fedorova’s stellar career? No way. She even managed to secure a parole from Beria for the pope. In 1941, he returned from there with a seriously ill person, with amputated frostbitten fingers of both hands, and soon died. Mom Zoya Fedorova lost even earlier.

By the way, diametrically opposite rumors circulated about Fedorova and Beria. They gossiped that she reacted sharply to Beria’s courtship: “What do you allow yourself ?! You old monkey! .. ”, to which Lavrenty Pavlovich handed her a bouquet of roses with the words:“ This is not a bouquet. This is a wreath! ”

Others argued that this couple had a warm relationship since 1927, when Fedorova first came into the view of the OGPU-NKVD. You don’t know the truth today. But one way or another, later this friendship helped her little.

After the attack of fascist Germany on the USSR, the actress became a permanent member of the front-line brigades: she sang, danced, read poetry. The soldiers loved her very much and admired the bright performances.

In January 1945, she was introduced to the deputy head of the naval section of the American military mission, Jackson Tate. And the star of Soviet cinema, twice the Stalin Prize laureate, awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, falls in love like a girl. No one expected such a turn. And if we consider the plausible version that the actress was a secret agent, who was specially introduced into the circle of American diplomats, the situation was directly stalemate.

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Photo: video frame YouTube / History

On January 18, 1946, their common daughter, Victoria, is born, and on December 27, 1946, Fedorov is arrested.

“She was the initiator of the creation of an anti-Soviet group, conducted hostile agitation, allowed vicious attacks against the leaders of the CPSU (b) and the Soviet government, called on her accomplices to fight for the overthrow of the Soviet regime, expressed her personal willingness to commit a terrorist act against the head of the Soviet state.” And so on ... Sentence - 25 years in prison for her and exile for the whole family.

Desperate, Fedorova writes to Beria: “Dear Lavrenty Pavlovich! I appeal to you for help, save me. I can’t understand why they torment me so cruelly ... You have allowed me to turn to you for help in difficult times of my life. And now the hard moments came for me, even more than the hard ones, I would say deadly ... The crime charged to me and the entire course of the investigation resemble some kind of bloody comedy ... Bring me back to life! Bring me back to Moscow! Why should I die? My only hope is for your fair decision. 20.12.1947/XNUMX/XNUMX "

Beria did not respond to the pleas of the actress. She was released only in early 1955. Broken, tormented, but undefeated. Her older sister was sent to Vorkuta, where she died. The average “luckier” is more: along with young children and daughter Zoe, she was sent to Kazakhstan. The family is reunited.

The film career of the artist resumed just a few months after her release. In 1955, she starred in the successful film "Honeymoon", in 1956 there were already two films with her participation, in 1957 - five. In 1965, she was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

The most remembered film works of Fedorova in recent years have become small but vivid episodes. The role of the wife of the responsible official in “Girl Without an Address” (1957) turned out to be incredibly successful: “Pobolei, masik, Pobolei, they still will not appreciate it.”

The fashionable dance “To That Steppe” with Mikhail Pugovkin from “Wedding in the Robin” amused the audience of all ages to tears.

And the image of the watchman “Halloween, the hostel is listening” in “Moscow does not believe in tears” was the final chord of her career.

It was rumored that the Oscar was awarded to this film precisely because in the United States since the time of the affair with the American Fedorova had her own people. One way or another, but after this work, she said: “That's it, I'm retiring. It's time to relax. "

Suddenly, at the end of 1973, Zoe's fatal love - Jackson Tate - appeared. The man sent two invitations to the States to Moscow: her and her daughter. He was seriously ill and could not come to his native women on his own. First, the exit visa was approved by the daughter. She left in 1975 and, as expected, did not return. Two years later, Zoe also received permission to visit the United States. She immediately flew away, but after some time she returned to her homeland, although she could have stayed. Zoya visited her daughter several times: she married an American pilot and gave birth to a son.

Thunder struck on December 11, 1981. Zoya Fedorova was shot in the back of the head in her own apartment. The body was discovered by the nephew of the actress, who immediately called the police to the scene. The case was loud and resonant. Investigators worked day and night - but over the past 40 years, things have not moved forward. Who invented such a cunning murder and who could benefit from the death of an elderly actress?

On that day, Zoya Fedorova agreed to meet with her friend Margarita Nabokova on some “very important” case at home. A friend came to the meeting, but no one was home. She left a note: “What happened, Zoe? I rushed to a taxi, but you are not at home! How can this be so. Margarita. " It was at 13 hours 10 minutes. Water was pouring in the apartment, a radio was playing. Margarita was sure that Zoe was at home and simply did not open it to her.

“She knocked, she knocked for a very long time. Perhaps there at that time, there was even a killer. She should have arrived at this time, and there, during this period of time, someone slipped in, ”Vladimir Menshov will later share his suspicions.

Margarita will come again - at 17.00. And after that he will sound the alarm, cause Zoe’s nephew with a set of spare keys. He will come, come in and find a terrible picture: his aunt was sitting at the table with a handset in his hands, and his whole face was covered in blood.

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Photo: video frame YouTube / History

This is what the investigator who came on call recalls.

Sergey Butenin: “She wore a dark-colored quilted robe, very old and greasy. There were slippers on his feet. And what struck me (nevertheless, she was a well-known person, was watching her appearance): she wore such socks worn on the heels of her home knit, even, in my opinion, a little darned with other threads. "

Zoe wore reading glasses in a rough horn-rimmed frame, which she never wore "in people", but only among her own. So the victim knew his killer and trusted him?

This conclusion is confirmed by the examination protocol:

“The situation in the rooms is not broken. Door locks and cabinet locks are intact. There are no signs of hacking. Traces of violence and traces of struggle in the rooms are not visible. ” Experts also concluded that the shot was fired from a distance of 15 centimeters. The hair on the back of his head was supposed to be fluffy, while Zoe’s remained in a bundle. Did someone comb the artist?

A search began among friends of Zoya Fedorova. It was not easy. There were more than four thousand phone numbers in her notebook.

And not one of these four thousand people helped the investigation.

“Interrogated Rolan Bykov, Nikita Mikhalkov. When so many people pass through you, willy-nilly you have to poke around in dirty laundry. And each of the actors asks: don’t tell anyone about it, don’t write it down. We tried to conduct more confidential conversations, not in a protocol, but this did not produce results. We delved into Mosfilm porridge, in squabbles, who dragged some kind of fur coat there, who sold shoes, knocks another, this one informs. And there was practically no information of operational interest in the case. Only standard questions and the same answers: yes, no, I don’t know, I haven’t seen ”, the investigator Boris Krivoshein recalled.

True, all Fedorova's acquaintances repeated as one: “She even locks the door for all three locks and a chain during the day. And at night he moves a stepladder to the door. ”

Such vigilance was largely due to the fact that recently in her mailbox often eerie photos were thrown: portraits of Zoe with a gouged eye. Who would have thought that someone's sick fantasy would become a reality: the bullet that killed Fedorov went through her head, knocking out her left eye.

Bit by bit and the picture of the crime began to clear up.

“Most likely, she was killed because of money: she borrowed something from someone, or, on the contrary, they borrowed from her and did not want to return,” said the investigators.

And only after several decades at the initiative of the grandson of the actress, this case will come up again. And then the investigators will be more talkative and share their thoughts on the terrible crime, which will be voiced, including on television talk shows.

Version 1: trace of special services. The KGB was involved in the murder of Fedorova. If you admit that the rumors about the cooperation of the actress with the authorities are true, then this is not so unlikely. Then it turns out that once paid for the willfulness of the intelligence agent Fedorov, this time they did not forgive and "removed". They were afraid that she would finally leave for the USA (and she was going to do it) and would blab everything she saw and knew. It is also possible that Fedorova was a double agent who was liquidated by "her".

Version 2: the diamond mafia. After her release from prison, having acquired the necessary connections there, Zoya Fedorova entered the so-called diamond mafia, where she was actively engaged in the purchase and resale of jewelry, antiques and art objects. Otherwise, where would she get the money for a new luxurious apartment on Kutuzovsky Prospekt? As a result, she was killed by diamond hunters or colleagues (among whom were the daughter of Secretary General Brezhnev Galina and the wife of the Minister of the Interior Svetlana Shchelokova).

The official version and the answer to the question: "To whom did Zoya Fedorova interfere and who dealt with her?" This story still excites people. Based on the murder, Julian Semenov wrote the novel "The Secret of Kutuzovsky Prospekt." Also about Zoya Fedorova filmed autobiographical series. And no wonder: such an unusual life story, culminating in a crime drama, can not be imagined.

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