Editing Pyotr Masherov (section)

== Death ==
On the evening of 4 October 1980, Masherov left the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia, going to [[Zhodzina]]. Due to flaws which had been found in the ZIL which Masherov typically rode in, he instead elected to ride in the [[GAZ-13]] which had been the vehicle driven previously. During the ride, Masherov was sitting in the front passenger seat and a security officer was sitting in the back seat. Near [[Smalyavichy]], Masherov's vehicle suffered a head-on collision with a potato truck. Everyone in the GAZ-13 was instantly killed while the truck driver suffered severe injuries and was hospitalised.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Shakhnovich|first=Tatiana|date=9 October 2013|title="Masherov's 'Seagull' crashed into me, like a wall"|url=https://www.kp.ru/daily/26144.3/3033068/|access-date=24 July 2021|website=[[Komsomolskaya Pravda]]}}</ref> The [[Procurator General of the Soviet Union]] and the [[KGB]] conducted an investigation into the incident and found it to be an accident; the driver of the potato truck, Nikolai Pustovit, was declared guilty of a traffic safety violation resulting in the deaths of two or more people and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour. However, in 1982, Pustovit's sentence was reduced as part of a general amnesty, and in 1985 he was released.<ref name=":5" />

Masherov's funeral was held on 8 October 1980, in Minsk. Tens of thousands of Minsk residents were in attendance, but [[Mikhail Zimyanin]] and [[Petras Griškevičius]] were the only high-ranking Soviet officials present following an instruction from the government banning any members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from attending.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bogomolov|first=Alexei|title=Legends of the Leading Figures of the USSR|year=2016 |isbn=978-5-17-094974-8|pages=228|publisher=Izdadelʹstvo AST }}</ref>

=== Conspiracy theories ===
Conspiracy theories exist regarding Masherov's death and the alleged role played by Soviet politicians. According to these theories, Masherov was killed on the orders of the higher echelons of Soviet power out of fear of him rising in the ranks. The chief organiser of the conspiracy often varies, but [[Yuri Andropov]] is most commonly accused.<ref name=":2" /> Multiple members of the [[Belarusian democracy movement]], including former Prime Minister [[Vyacheslav Kebich]] (whose political rise was supported by Masherov) and Natalia Masherova (Masherov's daughter) have both stated their belief that Masherov was assassinated.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Shestakova|first=Olga|date=13 February 2008|title=Prime Minister of Belarus 1990-1994 Vyacheslav Kebich: The accident in which Masherov died was not accidental|url=https://www.kp.ru/daily/24049.4/102432/|access-date=24 July 2021|website=[[Komsomolskaya Pravda]]}}</ref>