Viktor Belenko: biography, family, betrayal, photo and later life. Traitor - Belenko, overtook the plane to Japan

Viktor Ivanovich Belenko (born February 15, 1947). Born in Nalchik in a working family. After the divorce of his parents at the age of two, he was left by his mother and was brought up by relatives, and then by his father and stepmother. In 1965 he graduated from high school with a silver medal. In 1967, Belenko entered the Armavir Higher Military aviation school pilots, graduated in 1971. Pilot-instructor at the Stavropol Higher Military Aviation School. Viktor was characterized as an excellent officer. Member of the CPSU. Elected a member of the Komsomol and party bureau. In 1975 he was transferred to Far East(at his request). As a senior pilot, he flew a MiG-25P interceptor fighter.

Belenko had reason to be dissatisfied with his official position. His term of service in the military rank of senior lieutenant ended on January 10, 1976, but until September the rank of captain due to the sluggishness of command he did not receive (the mass assignment of the next ranks to Soviet military personnel took place either by the Day of the SA and the Navy in February, or by the Day of the VOSR in November).

On September 6, 1976, at 06:45, Belenko took off from the Sokolovka airfield to perform a flight exercise. After breaking away from his training flight partner, Belenko descended to a height of about 30 meters, which allowed him to avoid detection by both Soviet and Japanese radars. At 9: On 15, Japanese radio broadcast that the MiG-25P aircraft landed at Hakodate Airport (Hokkaido Island). The rest of day 6 and the night from September 6 to September 7 will surely be remembered by Japanese air defense officers forever: self-defense fighters took off 143 times to intercept Soviet aircraft, in flocks flying near about. Hokkaido. Subsequently, the Japanese authorities made an official notification that Belenko had asked for political asylum. The Japanese refused. On September 9, he was taken to the USA. the return of the aircraft, advising the Americans to leave it for study for another couple of years). It was reassembled, but was not allowed to fly and was used as a teaching aid.

On September 28, 1976, TASS issued a press release with the text of the official reaction of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the incident, which stated that Belenko had made an "forced" landing, was "taken out" to the United States against his will. Belenko's landing was described as being made "under unclear circumstances" , publications in the Western press that Belenko's flight was deliberate were called a "propaganda campaign", the assumptions that Belenko's flight was an escape were called false, officers. Representative of the USSR Foreign Ministry L. V. Krylov stated: "It's all a lie, from beginning to end."

Belenko himself was surprised by his awareness: “I never thought about the fact that I know so much.” After three months of his stay in the United States, intelligence officials said that they would need not a few months, but at least another year to communicate with Belenko to collect all the information they were interested in, he turned out to be such a valuable shot for them.

The excesses in the actions of the party and official elite, which by that time had become systematic and massive, were studied and revealed. visible results). Persons from among the senior and senior air defense officers who were found responsible for the escape by the commission that conducted the investigation were brought to disciplinary responsibility. The Military Collegium Supreme Court USSR citizen Viktor Ivanovich Belenko, born in 1947, was convicted in absentia under Article 64 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (“Treason to the Motherland”) and sentenced to death by firing squad.

The Soviet leadership tried to put pressure on Japan, threatening, if the pilot did not return, along with the aircraft, to unilaterally interrupt the fulfillment of his contractual obligations under bilateral foreign trade agreements, in particular, close access for Japanese investment in the Soviet economy, stop Japanese participation in the construction of Soviet industrial enterprises, the exchange of nuclear energy technologies ... This immediately affected the investment climate. The economic consequences of the resulting tension (and the losses of the USSR due to the position taken by the Soviet leadership) more long time made themselves felt in Soviet-Japanese trade. But despite a number of unfriendly steps on the part of the Soviet leadership, the Japanese tried in every possible way to maintain partnerships with the USSR.

Returning the plane to the USSR, Japan issued an invoice of $40,000 for organizing an unforeseen parking of a foreign aircraft at a Japanese airport and other expenses. the Soviet side was not paid. (from Wikipedia)

Sadovnikov (a KGB agent under diplomatic cover) was allowed to meet with him. He told the defector: “The government knows that you went off course, you were forced to land, and then drugs were used. I came to help you return home to your beloved wife and son The pilot interrupted him: “You don’t need to agitate me. I flew to Japan voluntarily.” When Belenko was taken away, Sadovnikov said in a whisper: “We don’t like traitors. Sooner or later we will find you.” After some time, information appeared in the Soviet press about the death of a defector in a car accident.

In the United States, Belenko first taught at a military academy, then went into business. Across the ocean, Belenko remarried, three children were born. Now Viktor Ivanovich lives alone. (Igor Osipchuk, "FACTS")

In an interview, he spoke about his first impressions of America: “The first visit to the supermarket was under the supervision of people from the CIA, and I thought it was a staging. I did not believe that this store could be real. unusual guest, then they could play a prank on me. After all, it was such a beautiful spacious building with incredible amount goods and NO QUEUES!!! There are long queues everywhere in Russia. Subsequently, I realized that the supermarket is real.

It was difficult to find good canned food in Russia, I bought a variety of canned foods every day. Once I bought a seemingly ordinary jar and fried its contents with potatoes, onions and garlic - it turned out delicious. The next morning, my friends told me that I ate canned chicken for cats. But they were delicious! They were the best canned food for

people who are still doing in Russia today! ”Belenko told reporters that came to Russia in 1995. And this despite the fact that when Soviet Union he was sentenced to capital punishment.

For figures of Soviet art and pop music, Belenko’s escape closed the road to Japan for a long time. Tours in Japan fell through for Soviet musical groups, even for those who had already received Soviet exit and Japanese entry visas and were literally “sitting on their suitcases”, the tours were canceled without explanations of the reasons by the chiefs of the Soviet stage.

The summer and autumn of 1976 turned out to be rich and varied. aviation incidents for the USSR and the countries of socialist orientation, where Soviet aircraft recently arrived. On June 14, a Syrian Air Force pilot, Flight Lieutenant Mahmoud Musleh Yasin, flew his MiG-23 to Iraq, and on July 17, another Syrian pilot, a celebrated hero of the War doomsday captain Abdul Kadar al-Termanini fled there on a MiG-21. Seventeen days after the successful escape, Belenko escaped on an An-2 plane to Iran, reserve lieutenant Valentin Zosimov. In the New York Times, September 1976 was called "national flight month "From the USSR. (Wikipedia).

A special group of the KGB was engaged in the investigation of the defector's case. In the process of clarifying the circumstances of the betrayal, more than 150 colleagues, friends, relatives were interviewed, including the spouse who remained in the USSR. As a result, it turned out that Belenko was interested in the Western standard of living. In one of the conversations, he said that in America the military there are fewer pilots, and the conditions of service and pay are better than those of the Soviets. Belenko's wife: her husband condemned the defector pilot Safronov, who hijacked a plane to Iran and forbade her to correspond with a friend living in Italy. The version that the Soviet pilot was recruited in advance is not confirmed. Western and Japanese media inflated this theory for propaganda purposes. Weather conditions were simple, Belenko was a skilled pilot and could always orient himself by the sun or coastline. japanese island Hokkaido. Leaving the training area, he dropped to 250 meters and so flew 130 kilometers to get away from the radar systems.

His passport, diplomas, certificates and other documents disappeared from the apartment. The traitor often had conflicts with the command on the basis of dissatisfaction with the service. Once he filed a report about his unwillingness to serve under the command of commanders who abused alcohol.

Victor was not satisfied with his career either. His term of service as a senior lieutenant expired in the winter, he never received the title of captain due to the negligence of command. and Victor's temper, before the last flight he was pale, his hands were shaking. The investigation concluded that the pilot Belenko committed treason for personal gain. He knew that Western countries will gladly accept not only the pilot, but also his combat vehicle, the most modern MiG-25 at that time, nicknamed the “Flying Fox” by the Americans. The plane was Belenko’s “ticket” to a new life. In the USSR, the pilot was accused of treason and sentenced to death in absentia.

None Soviet aircraft there was no such conflicting information, and none of our aircraft, except for the MiG-25. didn't get a nickname "UNBREAKABLE" .About the flights of MiGs over Israel, it was written many times. At one time, there were legends in the MAI about the flights of the MnG-25 over Western Europe.

In Japan, no one remembers the Russian pilot who betrayed his homeland. Director Akiro Mitsumori, commissioned by the Nexus channel, made a film about him. The knowledge possessed by the Soviet pilot turned out to be very valuable for American specialists and they worked closely with him for several years. received citizenship and naturalized. Belenko taught at one of the American military academies and advised aircraft companies. A book was even written on the basis of his manuscript. After his theoretical knowledge became outdated, the Soviet defector lectured about the USSR. However, with the collapse of the geopolitical enemy, this information no one was interested in the states anymore. In the 90s, he tried to do business.

Belenko quickly forgot his Russian wife and married an American. In the USA, he had three children , after the divorce, the house remained with his wife. At the time of filming, Viktor Belenko was 69 years old, he lived in a rented hotel room and looked like an unsettled person.

After the MIG-25P was involuntarily declassified, export restrictions were lifted from it. Iraq immediately took advantage of this and purchased 20 aircraft. Syria went further and acquired 30 aircraft, Algeria did not lag behind. -25PD (modified interceptor)

Born: February 15, 1947 in the city of Nalchik. It seems that he has not died yet, but he is lost ...
September 6, 1976 flew to Japan on the MiG-25P interceptor (tail number 31). Received political asylum in the United States.

Version based on excerpts from Wiki:

Born in Nalchik in a working-class family. In 1965 he graduated from high school with a silver medal. Before being drafted into the army, he worked at the enterprises of Omsk.

In 1967 he entered the Armavir Higher Pilot School, which he successfully graduated in 1971. He was sent to serve as an instructor pilot at the Stavropol Aviation School. In service characteristics and attestations throughout the service in the army, he was characterized positively. Member of the CPSU. He was elected a member of the Komsomol and party bureau. In 1975, he was transferred to the Far East (at his request) and was assigned to the 11th Separate Air Defense Fighter Aviation Regiment (Chuguevka (Primorsky Territory). As a senior pilot, he flew the MiG-25P interceptor fighter (tail number - "31") .

September 6, 1976 at 06:45 Belenko took off from the Sokolovka airfield (Primorsky Krai) to perform a flight exercise. At 09:15, Japanese radio broadcast that the MiG-25P aircraft, piloted by the Soviet pilot Belenko, landed at Hakodate Airport (Hokkaido Island). Subsequently, the Japanese authorities made an official notification that Belenko had asked for political asylum. On September 9, he was taken to the USA. The aircraft was disassembled, subjected to a detailed study by Japanese and American specialists, and returned to the USSR on November 15, 1976.

To investigate Belenko's escape, a special group of the KGB of the USSR was created. In order to comprehensively study his personality, one hundred and sixteen people from among relatives and colleagues were interviewed. Data were collected on the state of health, relationships with the command and in the family, moral and political qualities, and attitudes towards Soviet reality. At the same time, there were no data on treasonous intentions. It was not noted that he was interested in the standard of living in the West, in particular the American one. Among his entourage, he condemned the former pilot-instructor of the Armavir school Safronov, who flew to Iran in 1973.

According to his wife, he did not listen to foreign radio broadcasts himself and did not allow her to listen. Forbidden to correspond with a school friend who married a foreigner and lived in Italy. At the same time, it became known that Belenko once expressed dissatisfaction with the living conditions of the flight crew, an unregulated working day, and the frequent cancellation of days off. At the same time, he said that American pilots were less busy in the service.

Various insinuations circulated in the West that Belenko had been recruited by American intelligence before his escape were not confirmed. Apparently, they were made for propaganda purposes.

The data obtained during the operational investigation, in their entirety, did not give grounds to believe that Belenko flew abroad, guided by selfish motives.

Issues related to the possibility of a forced landing of Belenko in Japan were subjected to deep study. There were good reasons for this. He had a fairly high theoretical background and, as a pilot, a sufficient level of flight training on the MiG-25P aircraft. This is evidenced by the fact that the flight was carried out from the duty forces to intercept a control target that followed a course in the coastal area (between Nakhodka and Vladivostok.) The possibility of an emergency landing was also indicated by Belenko's unusual behavior at Hakodate airport (shot from gun, did not allow to take pictures, demanded to cover the plane). Attention was drawn to the attitude of the Japanese police towards him, who, when taking him out of the airfield, put a bag over his head and roughly pushed him into the car.

On the other hand, the conclusions of specialists, objective data of devices, conclusions about technical condition systems and equipment of the aircraft indicated that the forced landing of the MiG-25P in Japan was unlikely. The flight took place in simple weather conditions. Coastline clearly visible from all heights. The pilot could see the sun and navigate by it.

According to the conclusion of the State Research Institute of the Air Force, which examined the objective data of the automatic flight parameters recording system (SARPP) returned by the Japanese along with the aircraft, Belenko practically kept a direct course to the island of Hokkaido and did not make any turns. The examination confirmed that the SARPP film belonged to his aircraft.

The SARPP system also recorded that Belenko left the training area towards the sea, dropping sharply to 250 m. At this height, he flew over the sea surface from the coastline of the USSR for about 130 km. Such actions of the pilot, according to experts, could indicate his desire to get away from radar tracking.

Belenko’s personal documents (certificate of a 1st class instructor pilot, school-leaving certificate, diploma of graduation from a military school, birth certificate) were not found among his belongings and relatives, although according to his wife they were in their apartment. The report of the foreign press noted that Belenko was returned the documents confiscated from him during the police detention, among which is a birth certificate. It can be assumed that Belenko took all these documents with him.

A comprehensive study of Belenko's personality, his behavior in the service and at home showed that he repeatedly had acute conflict situations with the command. So, during his service at the Stavropol Aviation School, he expressed an insistent desire to leave instructor work and, in this regard, he sought various opportunities for transfer to a combat regiment. However, these attempts were not successful, since the command, as a rule, did not release instructor pilots from the school to the troops. For this reason, he began to show discontent and sharply aggravated relations with the commanders. In 1975, he submitted a report to the head of the school with a request to dismiss him from the Soviet Army, arguing that he did not want to serve with commanders who constantly abuse alcohol, which was partially true.

During the first six months of service in a new place, Belenko has established himself with positive side, successfully completed a retraining course on a new type of MiG-25P aircraft for him, was appointed acting chief of staff of the squadron, and was elected deputy secretary of the party bureau of the squadron. He treated his duties in good faith. He did not express dissatisfaction with his position or disorder.

Around July 1976, oddities in his behavior began to be noticed. He became nervous, agitated. Painfully experienced the delay in the assignment of the next military rank of captain and with the appointment to the post of chief of staff of the squadron promised during the transfer.

On September 6, despite the conflict situation, he was included in scheduled flights and arrived at the airfield. When he was heading for a combat aircraft to fly, one of the pilots noticed that Belenko was pale, red spots appeared on his face and neck. After landing in the cockpit, being in a state of nervous excitement, with trembling hands, he could not connect the radio station chip for a long time and was able to do this only with the help of a technician.

The materials of the investigation testified that Belenko really had reason to be dissatisfied with his official position. His term of service in the military rank of "senior lieutenant" ended on January 10, 1976, but until September he did not receive the rank of captain due to the sluggishness of command. The promised post of chief of staff of the squadron gave him the right to enter the academy, where he was very eager.

The investigation concluded that the flight was made intentionally, although without direct treasonous intentions. Belenko's actions were decisively influenced by the negative traits of his character: selfishness, increased self-esteem, resentment, irritable malice, which aggravated in a conflict situation.

Life in the USA The reliability of this section of the article has been called into question. It is necessary to verify the accuracy of the facts stated in this section.

Having received political asylum from the Americans (with the active assistance of US President Gerald Ford), Belenko taught air combat techniques at one of the military academies for several years.

Belenko was included among the specialists of the group formed by the CIA, which studied the tape recordings of the negotiations of Soviet pilots with the ground during the incident with the Korean passenger plane shot down in the Far East in September 1983.

It is also known that in 1982 Belenko contacted the employees of the Soviet military attache in the United States on the issue of returning to his homeland. However, for unknown reasons, he did not bring his intention to the end.

Here is how Belenko described visiting the supermarket:
My first visit to the supermarket was under the supervision of the CIA, and I thought it was staged. I did not believe that this store could be real. It seemed to me that since I was an unusual guest, they could play a prank on me. After all, it was such a beautiful spacious building with an incredible amount of goods and without queues. In Russia, everyone is used to long lines. Subsequently, when I realized that the supermarket was real, I enjoyed getting to know new products. In Russia of that time, however, and in the present - it is difficult to find good canned food. So I bought a variety of canned foods every day. Once I bought a jar with the inscription "Lunch" and fried its contents with potatoes, onions and garlic - it turned out delicious. The next morning, my friends told me that I had eaten canned chicken for cats. But they were delicious! They were better than those canned food for people that are still made in Russia today!

In a marriage with an American, he had three children. After the divorce, according to the terms of the marriage contract, he left the house to his second wife. In 1980, in collaboration with writer John Barron, he published the book "MiG Pilot" (John Barron, "MIG Pilot").

In addition to the moral and political damage, Belenko's escape inflicted material damage on the USSR, estimated at about 2 billion rubles, since it was necessary to urgently change the equipment of the "friend or foe" "Silicon" recognition system throughout the country to the "Password" system (the latter, however, by 1976 it had already been developed).

Comments 7

Tom

What the hell ..... the Americans, apparently, are made of more durable material? No?! And which of them was sold for canned Whiskas of "higher quality" or left the family forever for the sake of "life's blessings"?

Viktor Ivanovich Belenko(born February 15, Nalchik) - Soviet pilot-defector who gained notoriety as a political refugee. On September 6, 1976, he flew to Japan on a MiG-25 interceptor and handed over the then-secret aircraft to the West. Received political asylum in the USA.

Biography

early years

Service in the Armed Forces

Flight

After breaking away from a training flight partner, Belenko descended to a height of about 30 m, which allowed him to avoid detection by both Soviet and Japanese radars. Delving into air space Japan, Belenko climbed to a height of about 6000 m and was spotted by Japanese air defense systems; The Japanese failed to contact Belenko, since the MiG-25 radio was tuned to a different frequency. Fighters were raised to intercept the unknown intruder, however, by the time they appeared, Belenko again descended and disappeared from the radar. Belenko planned to land at Chitose Air Base, but due to a lack of fuel, he was forced to land at the nearest airfield, which turned out to be Hokodate.

Investigation

In order to comprehensively study his personality, one hundred and sixteen people from among relatives and colleagues were interviewed. Data were collected on the state of health, relationships with the command and in the family, moral and political qualities, and attitudes towards Soviet reality. At the same time, there were no data on treasonous intentions. It was not noted that he was interested in the standard of living in the West, in particular the American one.

At the same time, it became known that Belenko once expressed dissatisfaction with the living conditions of the flight crew, an unregulated working day, and the frequent cancellation of days off. At the same time, he said that American pilots were less busy in the service.

Various insinuations circulated in the West that Belenko had been recruited by American intelligence before his escape were not confirmed. Apparently, they were made for propaganda purposes.

The data obtained during the operational investigation, in their entirety, did not give grounds to believe that Belenko flew abroad, guided by selfish motives.

Forced landing version

Issues related to the possibility of a forced landing of Belenko in Japan were subjected to deep study. There were good reasons for this. He had a fairly high theoretical background and, as a pilot, a sufficient level of flight training on the MiG-25P aircraft. This is evidenced by the fact that the flight was carried out from the duty forces to intercept the control target, following the course in the coastline area (between Nakhodka and Vladivostok).

The possibility of a forced landing was also indicated by Belenko's unusual behavior at the Hakodate airport (he fired a pistol, did not allow photography, demanded that the plane be covered). Attention was drawn to the attitude of the Japanese police towards him, who, when taking him out of the airfield, put a bag over his head and roughly pushed him into the car.

This version is untenable, since during a search of his apartment after escaping, under the windowsill they found a map (made by V. Belenko) with calculations for a flight to China. According to Vladimir Tsarkov (Head of Aviation of the 10th Air Defense Army in 1976) this map was fake with the intent to "cover your tracks" after the escape. [ ]

Escape version

On the other hand, the conclusions of experts, the objective data of the instruments, the conclusions about the technical condition of the systems and equipment of the aircraft indicated that the forced landing of the MiG-25P in Japan was unlikely. The flight took place in simple weather conditions. The coastline was clearly visible from all heights. The pilot could see the sun and navigate by it.

Returning the plane to the USSR, Japan billed 40 thousand US dollars for the damage caused by Belenko to the Hokodate airport. The account has not been paid.

It is enough to look into textbooks or declassified documents to understand that the theme of betrayal runs like a red thread through the entire history of our country. The homeland was betrayed by governors, persons of royal blood and pilots. About one of the pilots - Viktor Belenko - we will provide information in this publication.

Former Soviet pilot better known in our country as a traitor and spy. How did it happen that the officer decided on a real treason? How did he manage to hijack the plane while being under the gun of air defense? What reward did Viktor Ivanovich receive for this kidnapping? For what reason did he leave his family and run away alone, never contacting loved ones again? About all this in order.

Biography Belenko

The future traitor pilot was born in the city of Nalchik in mid-February 1947. The boy's parents were workers. When they parted, my mother left two-year-old Vitya in the care of relatives, and later took him to new family father. Viktor Belenko graduated from school in 1965, and with good results - the graduate received a silver medal. Before going to the army to repay the country, Victor managed to work at several enterprises in the city of Omsk.

For a whole semester, Belenko studied at the Omsk Medical Institute, at the same time he managed to study at the DOSAAF flying club. 1967 was marked by the fact that Victor was able to enter the Armavir Higher Pilot School. It was he who successfully graduated 4 years later. Right after that young man was sent to serve at the Stavropol Aviation School, where he received the position of an instructor pilot. It should be noted that all the performance characteristics and certifications received by Viktor Belenko throughout his army career spoke of him as a positive person: Viktor Ivanovich was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was repeatedly elected a member of the Komsomol and party bureau.

First difficulties

True, the first difficulties began quite soon: specialists who subsequently studied Belenko’s behavior both in service and at home noted that Viktor Ivanovich repeatedly had various conflict situations, mainly with command. He even filed a report in which he asked to be dismissed from the Soviet army. The reason was banal and even vulgar: the pilot wrote that he did not want to serve shoulder to shoulder with those commanders who could not stop drinking alcohol. In 1975, a young officer asked to be transferred to the Far East. Then he was assigned to the fighter aviation regiment of the 11th separate air defense army. He got the position of senior pilot, Viktor Belenko flew the MiG-25P interceptor fighter.

In a new place

Only six months have passed since Officer Belenko got to a new duty station. Here he proved himself exclusively on the positive side, very successfully managed to complete a retraining course, received the position of acting chief of staff of the squadron, and became deputy secretary of the local party bureau. Colleagues noted: Viktor Belenko was surprisingly conscientious about his official duties, he never had problems with command, the pilot did not express dissatisfaction with the disorder of his life.

True, after a short time, in the middle of the summer of 1976, fellow soldiers began to notice certain oddities in the behavior of the pilot: Viktor Ivanovich became too excited, nervous. Quite painfully, he suffered the delay in conferring the next military rank.

Early September 1976. Marshal Savitsky arrives on the territory of the Far East. Its main purpose is to test the combat readiness of the air defense forces. It was on this day, September 6, that the pilots had to flawlessly perform training flights. However, during the training session, something unexpected and very strange happened: the plane, which was flown by the Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko, suddenly disappeared from the radar. He suddenly gained altitude, and then began to dive straight into the sea. Experts thought: there was a serious technical malfunction, the plane crashed, and the pilot died. Of course, duty helicopters immediately took to the air, but a little later it was possible to find out: the pilot simply deceived the radars, he went down, thus simulating a fall, and then simply disappeared behind a large hill and deepened into Japanese airspace.

Flight

As soon as Viktor Belenko managed to climb to a height of about 6 thousand meters, Japanese air defense systems noticed him. However, the Japanese military failed to contact him, the thing is that the MiG-25 radio was tuned to a different frequency. Of course, in order to intercept the unknown intruder, fighters were raised, however, they were not needed, because when they appeared, Belenko again went down and disappeared from the radar. Initially, Viktor Ivanovich planned to land at the Chitose air base, but he failed to do this, the reason is banal - there was not enough fuel. Therefore, Viktor Belenko's plane landed at the nearest airfield. It turned out to be Hakodate - a civilian airfield.

How did the Japanese see it?

The events of September 6, 1976 unfolded in the spirit of an American blockbuster. The pilot, who landed on the island of Hokkaido, got out of the plane, fired twice into the air from his service pistol and demanded that the plane be hidden. The airport, of course, was closed to flights for several hours.

A few minutes later, when to the place emergency landing representatives of the civil airport arrived, a young defector lieutenant Viktor Belenko (he was then only 29 years old) announced: he intends to surrender. The fugitive requested political asylum in the United States of America. Note that the officer’s escape from the Soviet Union was rather unusual: usually the inhabitants of the USSR requested asylum in a foreign embassy located on the territory of their homeland, or they fled from the ship when it entered a foreign port.

Interest in the MiG-25

In general, the plane on which Belenko flew more than 600 km, and which now buried its wheels in the ground near the fence of the Japanese airfield, was the most secret Soviet combat vehicle. In the West, its existence was known in 1970: reconnaissance satellites, which at that time observed Soviet airfields (of course, military ones), and discovered new type aircraft, outwardly resembling a fighter of incredible size. Most of all, Western military experts were alarmed by the too gigantic wing area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe object.

By the way, for a fighter big square wings are a huge advantage, because thanks to it a powerful lifting force arises, and the weight of the aircraft is evenly distributed over the surface, that is, the device becomes more maneuverable. Military experts carefully studied the images received from reconnaissance satellites and came to the conclusion that the new Soviet combat vehicle has amazing maneuverability, besides, it is equipped with a pair of truly huge engines. However, a number of questions remained unanswered: what maximum speed MiG-25? Were there in the West combat aircraft who could compare with him in terms of their speed performance?

A little later, the new aircraft was also reported from the Middle East. So, in the spring of 1971, Israeli radars noticed an unusual object. He flew at a speed three times the speed of sound, at an altitude of about twenty kilometers! Neither the Israeli military nor their American consultants have seen anything like this before. When, some time later, the plane was discovered again, the Israeli military decided to raise the fighters to intercept, but the speed of the fighters was not even enough to get close to the mysterious target.

It was then that the US Department of Defense analyzed all the information collected and came to the conclusion that it was dealing with a very big problem. The US military was 100% sure that the aircraft found by the Israeli Air Force was the same aircraft that spy satellites had spotted on Soviet military airfields. It was obvious: the Soviet Union had an incredibly fast and maneuverable fighter, in terms of its performance exceeding those that were in service with all the world's air forces. Then it seemed that this aircraft would remain a mysterious and very terrible threat, however, only if it was not possible to get one copy for its study. Simply put, if one of the Soviet military pilots does not escape, of course, taking a combat vehicle with him.

Why did Belenko decide to do this?

At first glance, the MiG-25 pilot Viktor Belenko was a completely exemplary citizen of the Soviet Union. You should start with the fact that he was a fighter pilot, it was thanks to this status that he had certain benefits that were not available to an ordinary citizen of the Union of Socialist Republics. However, Viktor Ivanovich early became disillusioned with Soviet reality, and in his personal life he had a lot of problems. Although the family had Small child The marriage was on the brink of collapse. Viktor Belenko doubted the advantages of the Soviet way of life, he also thought that the United States of America was hardly the personification of evil as the means of mass media THE USSR. In an interview in 1996, Viktor Ivanovich will tell reporters:

In those days, Soviet propaganda portrayed America as a corrupt, decaying society, but I had my doubts about that.

The young officer understood: it was the new combat aircraft, on which he then flew, that should become his ticket to a happy life. The unit in which pilot Viktor Belenko served was based in Primorye, at an airfield called Chuguevka. The airfield was separated from the border with Japan by a little more than 600 km. Why did the lieutenant choose Japan? The thing is that, despite the high speeds and altitude, the MiG-25 was not the most convenient aircraft due to the high fuel consumption. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible to get to the nearest US air base without refueling.

Even today, attempts to find out what prompted the young man to take such an unthinkable step do not stop. Military observers of the country say: the traitor pilot Viktor Belenko was distinguished by truly crazy ambition, he believed that he was underestimated. It was the real paranoia of self-love! Belenko was worried that his chest was not hung with orders, that his tunic was not decorated with huge stars, and his pictures were not published on the front pages of newspapers and were not hung on honor boards.

How did the recruitment happen?

There are a lot of rumors and gossip about this. One of the most popular versions is the one according to which Viktor Belenko was simply relaxing in a restaurant on Black Sea coast, where he met with a representative of the special services. True, no check given fact did not confirm. But colleagues say: there were a lot of oddities in the behavior of the young pilot. He preferred to spend his holidays in the provincial northern towns, he never shared his impressions of the rest. Victor taught English language, although he simply had no one to communicate with him, there was only one English teacher in the whole city who could keep the pilot company. Belenko was eager to join the fighter squadron, and this despite the fact that he was repeatedly warned: it is not worth waiting for a promotion at this place - the age is not the same. In addition, he would have been quickly suspended from flying, because he was 29 years old.

Vladimir Sopryakov, who during the Soviet years was the deputy resident of the KGB in Japan, once met with the traitor pilot Viktor Belenko. The pilot told him: there was still a meeting with the Americans. It happened in Vladivostok. A representative of the secret services of an enemy country told him about the American base where the plane was required to land.

First Person Escape

On September 6, pilot Viktor Belenko and his partner took to the skies in order to perform training control. Both aircraft were unarmed. Belenko prepared an approximate escape route in advance, and his fighter was refueled "to the eyeballs." At some point, Viktor Ivanovich realized that it was time. He broke away from his partner, descended to an extremely low altitude and headed towards Japanese shores. He had to go at the lowest possible height - about three tens of meters. He did this quite consciously, because at the first stage of the flight he could be detected by radars - both Soviet and Japanese.

Japanese air traffic controllers were taken by surprise: they absolutely suddenly noticed the plane, which rose to a height of six kilometers. Of course, there were repeated attempts to establish contact, none of them were successful. Belenko flew from memory, he had previously carefully studied the maps. Initially, his plans included landing in one place, but the fuel was running out, and an airfield was urgently needed in order to land. The Japanese understood what was happening only after Viktor Belenko landed the plane. They had to deal with a defector pilot who "came complete" with a top-secret fighter. Of course, the provincial airport was flooded with representatives of various special services in an instant. The CIA specialists simply could not believe their luck.

Of course, the authorities of the country of the Soviets had to somehow react to what happened. Quite soon after the incident, the news announced: the Soviet pilot was forced to land in Japan. Belenko's stepmother and wife were brought to Moscow. A press conference was held, during which both women claimed: Victor could not apply for asylum in another country, in addition, they begged him to immediately return home.

The authorities of the Soviet Union also demanded the return of the pilot and the plane. True, while negotiations continued, the MiG-25 was delivered to the nearest air base. Here it was taken apart and studied for several weeks, trying to get full view about everyone technical specifications cars.

MiG is not so scary

In the course of research, experts found out: this is not a super fighter at all. Aircraft MiG-25 with tail number"31" turned out to be a machine for very narrow tasks. In combat capacity, he was noticeably inferior to other aircraft, was quite expensive and clumsy. It also wasn't particularly effective. That is, the threat that horrified the West turned out to be just a fiction.

Experts said: all that this fighter is capable of is only fast acceleration after takeoff and fast flight in a straight line. That is, the MiG-25 made it possible to intercept an intruder aircraft, in addition, it could be used for reconnaissance purposes. On this, all his virtues ended. The disassembled combat vehicle was partially assembled, loaded onto a ship and sent back to the Soviet Union. It is worth noting that the Japanese authorities even billed Moscow for $40,000. It was decided that it was this amount that would be able to cover the transportation of the car and compensate for the damage that defector pilot Viktor Belenko inflicted on a civilian airfield. This happened only two months after the escape. The damage to the USSR amounted to about two billion rubles! The fact is that because of one pilot in the country, it was necessary to urgently change the identification system on each aircraft.

The fate of the traitor Viktor Belenko

How the fate of Viktor Ivanovich developed in America was hidden for quite a long time. He never returned to the Soviet Union, President Jimmy Carter personally approved the issuance of American citizenship to a young officer. However, what subsequently happened to him was overgrown with a huge number of rumors. Of course, the location of Belenko was known to the State Security Committee, but there was no order to destroy the traitor - a new conflict would simply ruin an already difficult relationship. However, Belenko himself spent his whole life in fear and was afraid of the revenge of the Soviet Union. Probably, it was for this reason that Viktor Belenko never saw his wife and child again. However, if you believe the information heard from neighbors and fellow soldiers, relations in the family were initially not the warmest.

Soviet and Russian military journalist Viktor Nikolaevich Baranets once told a story about the life and fate of the traitor Viktor Belenko, heard from one of the intelligence officers. Once a runaway pilot flew through one of the American airports. He was moving along the escalator tape, and one of the intelligence officers of the Soviet Union, who had previously served in the air force, was riding towards him. Viktor Ivanovich immediately recognized his colleague. The scout lifted his black glasses and looked at the traitor attentively, out of fright Victor dropped his suitcase, jumped off the escalator, ran to the toilet and began to call the police for help. It happened at the very beginning of the 2000s. However, back in 1983, the traitor Viktor Belenko, who made a daring escape, appeared small note in the Soviet press. The publication reported: Belenko died in the States during a plane crash. That is how the authorities of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics put an end to this ugly story. The spy himself bought a house, met love, began teaching at the Air Force Academy. In America, he was considered a dissident, and in the Soviet Union - a traitor.

According to some sources, the fate of Viktor Belenko was not so good: it was rumored that he divorced his wife quite quickly, began to drink alcohol, last years spent his life in complete solitude, and died in 2006. The cause was either a car accident or a heart attack. It is still not clear whether Viktor Ivanovich was a recruited spy or a deserter. New details that periodically appear only add to the mystery of the fugitive pilot. The crime case is still classified.

By the way, the escape of Viktor Belenko led to the fact that foreign planes are refueled for only one task. It is believed that this is the only way they will not have enough fuel in order to cross the ocean and get to any military base another country.

In the early autumn of 1976, an international scandal broke out: the Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko, who served in the Far East, escaped to Japan in the latest MiG-25 fighter, and then asked for political asylum in the United States. In the USSR, he left behind a wife and a 4-year-old child, whom he never saw again. Abroad, he was called a dissident, and at home he is still considered a traitor, deserter and spy.