31.03.2022

The story of the 14th Dalai Lama’s present to Leonid Brezhnev

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Brezhnev spent most of his time at his dacha in Zarechye, and Lama – the name of the cat – settled with him. It was given a separate room.
Leonid Brezhnev first became acquainted with the cat's prophetic abilities on January 22, 1969, when the country was celebrating the return of three Russian cosmonauts to Earth. Cars with heroes and members of the government were greeted by jubilant Muscovites. As soon as the government ‘Chayka’ approached the Borovitsky Gate, a man fired. He confused cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy with the head of the Soviet state.
As a result, the astronaut was injured. Brezhnev, however, remained unharmed. Strange thing was that all that morning the fluffy security guard did not leave his master for a split second so that eventually they had to lock him up. Then Brezhnev remembered the strange way Lama acted. There were many such cases when the cat literally saved the Secretary General.
In March 1982, Leonid Brezhnev went on a trip to Uzbekistan. The visit’s schedule was tight, and the security team decided to exclude a visit to some aircraft plant. But Brezhnev suddenly balked. The head of security, Ryabenko, said Lama was also against it - the cat made a real riot in the residence, but this only made Brezhnev to insist on his decision. With a minimum number of guards, the delegation arrived at the plant. In the assembly shop, the rafters that supported the nearly finished aircraft suddenly creaked.

It was the workers who were waiting for the meeting that began to move on them, the centre of gravity was shifted, and the huge wooden platform slide down. Luckily, no one was particularly hurt. Rashidov escaped with a head injury, Brezhnev was only scared. By chance, Ryabenko's boss looked at his watch which showed 13:23.

It was, as we learned later, a terrible coincidence. It was at this time that Lama the cat, with some incredible effort, gnawed through a metal leash, rushed over the fence and jumped right under the wheels of a passing car. Thus, the voluntarily given feline life of Brezhnev's mental twin saved the owner from death.