Vladimir Sobachenkov

Vladimir Sobachenkov, Vladimir Medvedev, Aleksandr Ryabenko and Leonid Brezhnev in the 1970s. Ryabenko was the head of Brezhnev's security and Medvedev and Sobachenkov his deputies

Vladimir Sobachenkov (Russian: Владимир Собаченков) is a retired Soviet KGB officer who served as a bodyguard of Leonid Brezhnev.

On 23 March 1982, a platform with people collapsed above Brezhnev and his entourage at a factory near Tashkent. Sobachenkov was standing next to Brezhnev and managed to protect him from a direct hit. Brezhnev suffered a concussion and a broken clavicle, whereas part of the skin was removed from Sobachenkov's head. He was hospitalized, but rejoined Brezhnev's security team in an hour.^[1]

It was Sobachenkov and Vladimir Medvedev who found Brezhnev dead in his bed in the morning of 10 November 1982.^[2][3] After Brezhnev's death, his security team was disbanded. Sobachenkov was offered a low-profile position, but refused and retired from the KGB.^[4]

References

Bibliography

• Medvedev, Vladimir (1994). Человек за спиной. Russlit. ISBN 5865080520.