Attempted assassination of Leonid Brezhnev 22 January 1969 By Soviet Army’s deserter Shot motorcade with 4 Soviet cosmonauts and Brezhnev Would-be assassin Viktor Ivanovich Ilyin, 1947 Have been forced conscripted into army in 1968 Was distressed by the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia On 21 January 1969, Ilyin stole two standard-issue Makarov handguns and deserted his army unit Also stole police umiform Cosmonauts' motorcade Motorcade was bearing the successful cosmonauts of Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 to an important of cial ceremony fi The four honorees rode in an open convertible at the front of the line, waving to spectators while a line of closed limousines trailed behind them Assassination attempt At 2:15 p.m. on 22 January 1969, as the motorcade passed through the gate, Ilyin drew pistols in both hands Ignoring the waving cosmonauts, he opened re on the second car in the line, which was lled with other cosmonauts such as Alexei Leonov and Valentina Tereshkova fi fi fi 14 Times he shot the limousine, killing the driver. The other occupants suffered only super cial wounds Aftermath Ilyin underwent a lengthy interrogation led by KGB chief and future Soviet leader Yuri Andropov His motivation to assassinate Brezhnev was to have him replaced with his Second Secretary and Party Ideologue Mikhail Suslov fi He was pronounced insane and sent to Kazan Psychiatric Hospital where he was kept in solitary con nement until 1988
