Narusova shared her memories of Sobchak

This day marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Anatoly Sobchak, the first mayor of St. Petersburg. "Izvestia" talked to the politician's widow, Senator Lyudmila Narusova.

"He stood out because he was able to clearly formulate his thought, to justify it, not just to say, but to argue. He stood out for his emotionality, stood out even for the fact that he was dressed differently than the whole dull gray mass of men in identical jackets. And he stood out for being right, which he believed in. You can always feel it, and that's what leads you," she said.

The most important political changes of the end of XX century are connected with Sobchak's name. On June 12, 1991, simultaneously with the election of the President of the Russian Federation in Leningrad for the first time citizens elected a city mayor. Already in the first round with the result of 66.1% Anatoly Sobchak won. Residents of the Northern Capital chose not only the mayor, but also returned the city its historical name - St. Petersburg.

Sobchak played an equally important role during the attempted putsch of the State Committee on State of Emergency (GKChP) in August 1991. He was able to negotiate with the commander of the military district Viktor Samsonov that the military would not take active measures. The politician addressed the people directly from the window of his office in the Mariinsky Palace, urging them not to obey the illegal decisions of the GKChP.

"Before Anatoly Alexandrovich stood on the window sill, his assistant asked him to put on a bulletproof vest, it was dangerous after all. To which he replied: "You know, I want to go out to people so that they don't have fear. If they see me wearing a bulletproof vest, they will realize that I myself am afraid. That's why I won't (put on a bulletproof vest. - Ed.)," Narusova shared.

Read more in the exclusive material "Izvestia":

"Sobchak wrote the history of the first stage of modern Russia".