Among the military who served in Afghanistan, there was a belief "If you got to Afghanistan by order, there is a chance of returning home alive, and if you asked for it yourself … it's better not to tempt fate." In 1983, in February, political observer Alexander Alexandrovich Kaverznev, after much persuasion, finally got a business trip to Afghanistan. He believed that he should enable the mothers, relatives and friends of our soldiers sent to this country to understand what ideals our guys leave their lives for.
The result of this trip was the film "Afghan Diary", which the journalist himself did not have time to edit: on March 29, 1983, a week after returning from Kabul, he died of an unknown disease. His fellow journalists, according to the surviving records, completed work on the "diary".
Unexpected and unclear
There are still many rumors and versions about the cause of death of Alexander Alexandrovich Kaverznev. When his friend and war correspondent Galina Shergova asked about his impressions of the trip to Afghanistan, he admitted that it was scary, especially when a rat attacked him during the night and bit him by the leg. According to one version, this could cause infection and subsequent death.
There is another version: at the airport, an officer of the Afghan army approached a group of correspondents and, turning to Alexander, asked: "Are you Kaverznev?" Having received an affirmative answer, he offered to drink for an acquaintance. Alexander agreed. They drank and after a short conversation, the journalist went to the plane. Friends meeting at the Moscow airport recall that Alexander Aleksandrovich Kaverznev, who arrived, looked very sick. However, explaining this state of fatigue from the trip and a cold, the journalist did not immediately turn to medicine. Only the next day, when the deterioration of his he alth became apparent, he called the local doctor, who diagnosed acute respiratory infections and prescribed the appropriate treatment.
However, the next day there was a sharp deterioration in he alth, and Kaverznev was admitted to the intensive care unit. His friends tried to do everything possible to deal with the diagnosis and get the necessary medicines. From Leningrad, at the request of Yu. Senkevich, epidemiologists flew in who worked with infections common in Asia and the East. However, no studies have been able to shed light onthe cause of the disease. The initial diagnosis of typhus was erroneous, as were all subsequent ones. Therefore, until now, the true cause of death of a talented journalist is shrouded in mystery. The poisoning version remains the most likely.
Kaverznev's grave is located at the Kuntsevo cemetery.
Riga childhood
Alexander was born on June 16, 1932 in the city of Riga. His father, also Alexander Kaverznev, graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary. He worked as a teacher of Russian language and literature in a Russian school. Then he went to work at the Riga Pedagogical Institute, where he became the head of the department of linguistics. He was not interested in politics.
And Alexander's love for literature is most likely from him.
After graduating from the 22nd Riga secondary school, Alexander entered the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute in 1949. Then there were 3 years of the army, and only then, working as a geologist, he entered the university at the correspondence department of the Faculty of History and Philology.
Alexander Alexandrovich Kaverznev had an excellent presentation style. This can be explained both by heredity and excellent upbringing.
Zigzags of fate
The journalistic biography of Alexander Alexandrovich Kaverznev began without fanfare, quite casually - from work as a correspondent for the large-circulation newspaper "Latvian sailor". Then there was work on the radio of Latvia. The style of his articles and the method of presenting the material differed sharply from the official-party style practiced in the 60s. Calm, confidential intonations aroused interest and drew attention to the reports. Kaverznev not only to ordinary listeners, but also to the leadership of the capital.
During the Soviet era, career ups were strictly planned: first work in the periphery, then in Moscow, then join the ranks of the CPSU, and only then, if you are considered worthy, you can think about working abroad. In the case of Kaverznev, this law did not work: without any training in the field of Moscow television and radio, he was sent to Budapest as a correspondent. Of all the Warsaw Pact countries, Hungary was the freest. Here it was possible to do what was forbidden in other countries of the socialist camp. Among other things, cooperative production was allowed here, which was then impossible to think about in the USSR.
Kaverznev, bypassing the then existing canons of presenting information "from abroad", in a very calm, friendly manner, told the citizens of the country of the Soviets about life in another world, about human relationships not burdened by party politics … It was similar to the so-called "talking in the kitchens" in Russia. Probably, the international journalist was at heart an "internal emigrant", despite his membership in the CPSU. Since in those days, according to the existing rules of the game, without joining the party, there was no question of any serious career as a journalist, obtaining a party card was a kind of pass to international journalism.
Alexander Aleksandrovich Kaverznev lived with his family in Budapest for 7 years, was a frequent guest of Janos Kadar, the leader of the Hungarian Communist Party. They were tiedfriendly relations. It should be noted that the establishment of trusting relationships will become a hallmark of the journalist Kaverznev, who will help him on business trips in countries such as Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, East Germany, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Cambodia, North Korea and Afghanistan.
Moscow period
After working in Hungary, the journalist returned to Moscow and started working at the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, being a political observer for Central Television and All-Union Radio. Being one of the hosts of the "International Panorama", Kaverznev shared the screen with such bison of international journalism as Bovin, Zorin, Seiful-Mulukov. Each of these political observers had their own unique style, their own vision of the state of the world and their own way of presenting material. Alexander became one of the best presenters of this program in the 70s and 80s.
In 1980, Alexander Kaverznev was awarded the title of Laureate of the State Prize, and later the Julius Fucik Prize of the International Organization of Journalists. It was a high praise for his work - and it was well deserved.
Hot spots
Kaverznev always worked "on the verge". This was especially true for work in hot spots of the planet:
- in Nicaragua in 1979, when dictator Anastasio Somoza was overthrown;
- in the DPRK, when, against the background of the approved "correct" text, only its intonation and photo will testify to the true situation of the "happy country" and itspeople;
- in Afghanistan, where he, making his way on the "Volga" without protection to the most dangerous areas of Kabul, spoke "eye to eye" with militants in prisons, Mujahideen, tired of the war, peasants, with weapons in their hands, going to work into the fields, soldiers and officers of the Afghan and Soviet armies.
The photos of Alexander Alexandrovich Kaverznev taken on these trips speak louder than words. He always believed that the world should be seen as it is, and tried to show all its shades to the audience.
Heirs of the surname
Alexander Kaverznev went to work in Hungary with his family. Native people were with him during the Moscow period, and the creation of the "Afghan Diary" also took place in front of his sons. Alexander Alexandrovich Kaverznev, Jr. (the eldest son of a journalist), was born on August 22, 1959 in Riga. He currently works as a journalist after graduating from the international department of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University. Since 1997, Alexander Jr. has been the General Director of ZAO Extra M Media.
The youngest son - Ilya Kaverznev, was born in 1962 also in Riga. He is engaged in artistic creation.
Minor planet No. 2949 named after Alexander Kaverznev.
