Uman biography diplomat

The face from the past. Manuscripts, as you know, are not burning. The faces of people, their fate, who, it would seem, are deleted from history, are zealous of ruthless time, suddenly, overnight, come out of the deaf darkness of oblivion. The Gallery "Jewish Faces", carefully collected by the Kharkov Museum of the Holocaust, is another evidence -based confirmation. Umansky from this meeting and a brief commentary on them are only three newspaper lines.

In the process of working on the novel “The Joint” I had to meet with the name of this famous diplomat, who was one of the friends of the famous great master of the Jewish stage of Solomon Mikhoels. Konstantin Aleksandrovich Umansky lived a bright, excitingly interesting, but to the offensive short life - incomplete forty -four years. No, he did not get into a bloody meat grinder of the thirty -seventh year and, fortunately, maybe he did not live to the All -Union Narofobsky campaign of forty -ninth.

Nevertheless, his tragic death in the aviation disaster was, as it is now becoming a clear, far from an accidental action, but planned and carried out by the USSR State Security authorities. But - about everything in order. Konstantin Aleksandrovich was born in G. soon after the October Revolution, he enters Moscow University, and after its completion, he completes his studies at the Institute of Red Professors.

Since the year, K. Umansk member of the Bolshevik party. Konstantin Umansky, even in a gymnasium bench, he showed outstanding linguistic abilities, at the university perfectly mastered the main European languages, collaborated in many central newspapers and magazines, edited the newspaper "Art". Umansky was a magnificent expert and connoisseur of painting of the first years of the revolution.

He was not even eighteen when he wrote in German by order of one of the Berlin publishers the book “New Russian Art” - about the work of the “Left” artists - Lentulov, Malevich, Shagala, Saryan, whose works will be declared formalistic and anti -people. But in those years, a living breeze of freedom still believed. In the city of Konstantin Aleksandrovich, they are invited to work in the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs.

What to give preference to journalism or diplomacy? He chooses the latter, and becomes the head of the department of the drug addict. The charming, erudite, witty K. Umansky met and accompanied many famous foreign guests in Moscow, who then came to the “Red Capital”: B. Show, L. Feikhtwanger, A. repeatedly received “Higher Honor” - translated I. Stalin’s conversations with foreign political figures.

Konstantin Umansky with the daughter of Nina Moscow, G. is published for the first time. And although in the year, immediately after the outbreak of war, he was replaced by M. Litvinov in this post, the happy star of Konstantin Umansky did not roll. Many countries began to establish or restore diplomatic relations with the USSR. In November, at one time, in the city of Umansky by the ambassador of the Soviet Union to Mexico.

He rejoiced: a lively work, a new world, new people, and here he, the lucky and the beam of fate, comprehends the terrible grief. From childhood, his daughter was friends with Volodya Shakhurin, the son of the People's Commissar of Aviation Industry. In high school, there was a trembling, bashful, absorbed in whole, love. When my father was appointed to Mexico, Nina said this to Volodya.

For two days the young man persuaded Nina to stay, but she was adamant. On the eve of his departure, Volodya called her and offered to meet on a large stone bridge - the place of their usual meetings both families lived nearby, in the famous house on the embankment. And then Volodya grabbed a trophy Walter from his pocket, presented to him by one of Mikoyan’s sons, and pressed the trigger.

The shot banged, Nina fell. He immediately put the next bullet into himself, Ilya Ehrenburg recalls: “I will never forget the night when Konstantin Alexandrovich came to me. He could hardly speak, sat with his head bowing, covering his face with his hands. A few days later he left for Mexico. His wife, Raisa Mikhailovna, left almost in an unconscious state.

A year later, Umansky wrote to me: “The grief I had experienced finally crushed me. Raisa Mikhailovna - disabled person. And our condition is much worse than on the day when I said goodbye to you, but even in these minutes of sorrow and despair, Uman could not afford to forget that he was the envoy of the country leading mortal battle with fascism. To realize his main task - to strengthen cooperation between the USSR and Mexico - Umansky used every suitable opportunity - performances, techniques, interviews.

In October, during a visit to Mexico by a delegation of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee of the USSR, he stood on the rostrum of the huge stadium of Mexico City near Mikhoels, calling the West countries to immediately discover the second front. He enjoyed influence in the circles of the creative intelligentsia of Mexico. However, not everyone liked the active activity of the Soviet ambassador.The reactionary press made angry attacks on the Mexican government, which allows the Soviet diplomat "to conduct Bolshevik propaganda." The Kremlin Agents School under the leadership of Umansky.

" The author of the article ,us, by the way, two weeks before the death of Umansky, warned the neighboring countries of Latin America Nicaragua, Guatemal, Costa Rica from the invasion of “Kremlin agents”. And the decree on the appointment of Umansky as an ambassador part-time in Costa Rica was already signed. It was too late to cancel the decree. Yes, Stalin did not like to deviate from his decisions.

A simple way out was found: there is no person - there is no problem. The very next day, Pravda placed the modest obituary of Umansky, but really grieved about the deceased after Mexico. At a mourning meeting in Mexico City, dedicated to K. Umansky, politicians, artists, writers performed. One Mexican poetess even read her "ode to Konstantin Umansky." Many telegrams received from different countries, where they knew and remembered Umansky, were also read out.

Including - from US President Roosevelt. The mourning meeting was attended by all the surviving employees of the Soviet embassy. Zinovy ​​Sagalov, the editors thank Dmitry Kamyshan from Lviv, who transferred the photograph from the family archive to the editorial office and confirmed the history of the death of Umansky's daughter.