Secrets of Andropov Chairman of the KGB of the USSR Andropov was a respected leader for the security officers of the 60-80s. For a long time his portraits hung in the offices of some operational workers. On the author’s desk, also as a sign of the same respect and veneration for the big boss, there was

Interregnum. Andropov and Chernenko A strange fate befell Yuri Andropov. In terms of culture and abilities, he undoubtedly surpassed most of his peers in the Brezhnev leadership. In the 60s, intellectual reformers preferred him. But

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (1911-1985) - Soviet statesman and party leader, who served in the period from February 13, 1984 to April 10, 1985. post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

Biography of K. Chernenko briefly

The future leader of the country was born in the Yenisei province, into a peasant family. Having received his primary education, he graduated from the rest of his “universities” along the party line.

In 1929, young Chernenko was appointed head of the agitation and propaganda department of the district committee. Two years later he served in Kazakhstan as a commander of a border detachment, and there he joined the ranks of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).

In subsequent years, until the fateful acquaintance in 1950 with L.I. y, was a party functionary of various ranks. Friendship with Brezhnev brought Chernenko to Moscow, to the apparatus of the CPSU Central Committee.

During the reign of L.I. Brezhnev headed the general department of the CPSU Central Committee. Konstantin Ustinovich was called Brezhnev’s “secretary”, he handled documents so skillfully and efficiently.

In fact, he became Brezhnev’s main adviser, his shadow, and it is no coincidence that Chernenko was seen as Brezhnev’s successor. This happened, but only after a short period of Yu.V. Andropov (1982-1984). By this time, Konstantin Ustinovich was seriously ill and was perceived by many as a passing figure.

Main activities

Domestic policy:

• tightening censorship;
• school reform aimed at supplementing universal compulsory education with vocational education;
• strengthening trade unions;
• care for veterans of the Great Patriotic War;
• fight against the shadow economy.

Foreign policy:

• warming in international relations;
• détente in relations with China.

Many undertakings of K.U. Chernenko's projects remained unfinished or were half-hearted. After his death, a new leader came to power - M.S. and perestroika began.

Results of the board

• Ideologization of pop and theatrical arts;
• connection between education and production;
• boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics;
• the emergence of a new holiday - the Day of Knowledge.

Chernenko's most remarkable feature is the absence of any remarkableness.

Parisian newspaper “Russian Thought”, March 1984

UNANIMOUSLY

On April 11, 1984, after the death of Andropov K.U. Chernenko was unanimously elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. When 73-year-old Chernenko received the highest position in the Soviet state, he no longer had either the physical or spiritual strength to lead the vast country. He himself was seriously ill, and therefore was seen as an intermediate figure. Konstantin Chernenko spent a significant part of his reign at the Central Clinical Hospital, where meetings of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee were even held.

During the reign of K.U. Chernenko undertook several projects that were never successful: school reform, turning of the northern rivers, strengthening the role of trade unions.

Under Chernenko, the Day of Knowledge was officially introduced as a holiday (September 1, 1984). In June 1983, Chernenko criticized Russian rock performers, equating their performances to illegal business activities that violated the monopoly of the Rosconcert company, and threatened with imprisonment. Under Chernenko, post-Brezhnev and post-Maoist détente began in relations with the PRC, but relations with the United States remained extremely tense; in 1984, the USSR, in response to the US boycott of the Moscow Olympics, boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics. During this period, the USSR was visited for the first time by King Juan Carlos I, the head of the Spanish state. Under Chernenko, there were no significant changes in the composition of the Politburo and the Council of Ministers.

Many active investigations and repressions against various kinds of corrupt officials of the Brezhnev era, begun under Andropov, were partially suspended under Chernenko. Cases that did not develop were put on hold. So, for example, the Uzbek case actually stopped; the investigation against Nikolai Shchelokov was suspended, which was soon continued. The investigation into the “diamond case” was stopped and Galina Brezhneva’s house arrest was lifted. However, some high-profile cases continued. Thus, already under Chernenko, the former head of the Eliseevsky store Sokolov was shot, and after the investigation was resumed, the former Minister of Internal Affairs Shchelokov committed suicide.

The Secretary General reinstated 94-year-old V. M. Molotov to the CPSU; Molotov, being 21 years older than Chernenko, also outlived him, dying at the age of 96. He personally announced the decision to rehabilitate and reinstate Molotov in the party. Two days before his death, Chernenko, supported by Grishin, suddenly appeared on television and with difficulty uttered several welcoming phrases.

Konstantin Ustinovich died on March 10, 1985 after 1 year and 25 days of rule and became the last one buried at the Kremlin wall. There is a bust on his grave. Chernenko’s death ended a 5-year period during which a significant part of Brezhnev’s Politburo passed away (the so-called “era of magnificent funerals”). Chernenko turned out to be the oldest of all Soviet leaders to ever receive the post of General Secretary. Mikhail Gorbachev, a representative of the next generation of the Politburo, was elected his successor in this post the very next day.

CONTEMPORARIES AND HISTORIANS ABOUT CHERNENKO

A party of twenty million, in the name of some consideration of continuity, chose no one to take the highest path! He was a sweet, simple, poorly educated man who spent his entire life next to Brezhnev. He was in charge of the office for Leonid Ilyich. I loved coming to his receptions - he was a sentimental man. He was a wonderful head of the letters department! Chernenko laid out a stack of letters that, in his opinion, should have been sent to newspapers, read them aloud, groaned, gasped, and even shed a tear when the letters were too unhappy. And this is the General Secretary of the party...

A.I. Adzhubey, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Izvestia

Unable to cope with the mountain of work that fell on him in his new post... Chernenko, like the sick Brezhnev, entrusted the preparation, and in many ways, the solution of major problems to a narrow circle of people closest to him in the leadership - the same Ustinov, Gromyko, Tikhonov, as well as Grishin.

Chernenko was completely detached from earthly affairs, because he knew little about economics, not to mention science, technology, and culture.

V. Afanasyev, former editor-in-chief of Pravda

The Sverdlovsk hall was already almost full... The provincial elite was already all here. And everything was as usual: they kissed passionately, greeted each other loudly through the rows, shared “news” about the snow, about the prospects for the harvest, in a word, there was “party talk” between their own people, who felt like masters of life. In this discord, I never heard Andropov’s name or talk about his death...

At about twenty minutes to eleven the hall fell silent. The waiting began. With every minute the tension grew, the atmosphere seemed to be filled with electricity... The tension reached its climax. All eyes are directed towards the left door behind the stage, where the exit to the presidium is: who is first?!

At exactly 11 o'clock Chernenko's head appeared in the doorway. Behind him are Tikhonov, Gromyko, Ustinov, Gorbachev and others.

The audience reacted with silence...

A.S. Chernyaev, assistant M.S. Gorbachev (about the atmosphere of the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, held in the Kremlin in February 1984 regarding the election of Chernenko)

I have repeatedly asked myself the question: how did it happen that this man, weak both physically and in many other respects, who did not have sufficient erudition for this, nor experience of real government work, nor knowledge, ended up in the highest leadership position of a huge state? economy? After all, the colleagues who elected him, and Konstantin Ustinovich himself, for that matter, couldn’t help but see this?

A.M. Aleksandrov-Agentov, assistant to Chernenko

This was the Big Priest of an inexorable, powerful, well-functioning, constantly working bureaucratic machine. Chernenko became a giant in office, but remained a dwarf in spirit.

YES. Volkogonov

... Of course, Andropov was a very smart man and a high-class leader. Konstantin Ustinovich treated him very respectfully, and Andropov treated Chernenko with caution.

...My husband drank only cognac or vodka on holidays. But I didn't drink much. I don't remember him being drunk.

...He loved Yesenin and Nekrasov very much, he knew them by heart. I also loved Tvardovsky. Of course, he idolized Pushkin and Lermontov. When we were walking in the park on vacation in Kislovodsk, he read me the poem “I go out alone on the road.” In general, our marriage was happy. Kostya never offended me either by word or action. From his look, from his first reaction, I understood that he was dissatisfied with something, and I tried to improve the matter. We all forgave each other. And we lived together for 42 happy years.

HELL. Chernenko, wife of Konstantin Ustinovich

Having stood at the head of the party and the state, Chernenko honestly tried to fulfill the role of the leader of the country. But this was not given to him - both due to the lack of appropriate talent, breadth of knowledge and views, and due to his character. But most importantly, he was a seriously ill man.

E.I. Chazov, academician

Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich was born September 11 (24), 1911 in a family of peasants in Siberia, in the village of Bolshaya Tes, Minusinsk district, Yenisei province. His ancestors were Little Russians (Ukrainians), who settled on the banks of the Yenisei at the end of the 18th century. In 1926, Konstantin Chernenko joined the Komsomol. After completing his candidate's experience, he joined the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1931 while serving in the Red Army on the border with China. In 1933–1941 he headed the propaganda and agitation department at the Novoselkovsky and Uyarsky district party committees of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. In 1941–1943 Chernenko held the position Secretary of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Party Committee, but then left this post to receive an education at the Higher School of Party Organizers under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in Moscow (1943–1945). Upon graduation, he was sent to Penza as secretary of the local regional committee (1945–1948). Chernenko continued his career in Moldova becoming Head of the Department of Propaganda and Agitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova(1948–1956). At this time, he met L. I. Brezhnev, who later (1956) transferred Chernenko to Moscow Head of the Mass Agitation Sector under the Department of Propaganda and Agitation of the CPSU Central Committee. From May 1960 to July 1965, Chernenko was the head of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, whose chairman in 1960–1964 was Brezhnev.

When Brezhnev took over the party leadership, Chernenko was appointed Head of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee(July 1965 – November 1982). Elected as a candidate member of the Central Committee (1966–1971) at the XXIII Party Congress, Chernenko was already XXIV Congress becomes member of the Central Committee(1971–1985). Elected in 1976 Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee(March 5, 1976 – February 13, 1984), and then became part of candidates for Politburo membership(October 3, 1977 – November 27, 1978). His promotion to Politburo members(November 27, 1978 – March 10, 1985). Chernenko was considered a close ally and promoter of Brezhnev, but after the death of the latter he could not find sufficient support among factions in the party leadership to take the post of General Secretary, which eventually went to Yu. V. Andropov, elected by the Plenum of the Central Committee on November 12, 1982.

Andropov's reforms, aimed at combating corruption and reducing privileges in the highest spheres of the party apparatus, caused a negative reaction from party officials. In an attempt to resuscitate the Brezhnev era, the aging Politburo, whose seven members died in old age between 1982 and 1984, leaned toward the candidacy of K. U. Chernenko who was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee February 13, 1984 after Andropov's death. April 11, 1984. Chernenko was also elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, but rapidly deteriorating health did not allow him to exercise real control of the country. His frequent absences due to illness led to the conclusion that his election to senior party and government positions was only a temporary measure. Died March 10, 1985 in Moscow. He became the last one buried at the Kremlin wall.

Events during Chernenko's reign:

• 1984 - restoration of V. M. Molotov to the party.
• 1984 - Knowledge Day was introduced - September 1.
• 1984 - retaliatory boycott of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
• 1985 - Chernenko dies, having been at the head of the party and state for just over a year.

The first ruler of the young Country of Soviets, which arose as a result of the October Revolution of 1917, was the head of the RCP (b) - the Bolshevik Party - Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), who led the “revolution of workers and peasants”. All subsequent rulers of the USSR held the post of general secretary of the central committee of this organization, which, starting in 1922, became known as the CPSU - the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Let us note that the ideology of the system ruling the country denied the possibility of holding any national elections or voting. The change of the highest leaders of the state was carried out by the ruling elite itself, either after the death of their predecessor, or as a result of coups, accompanied by serious internal party struggle. The article will list the rulers of the USSR in chronological order and highlight the main stages in the life path of some of the most prominent historical figures.

Ulyanov (Lenin) Vladimir Ilyich (1870-1924)

One of the most famous figures in the history of Soviet Russia. Vladimir Ulyanov stood at the origins of its creation, was the organizer and one of the leaders of the event, which gave rise to the world's first communist state. Having led a coup in October 1917 aimed at overthrowing the provisional government, he took the post of chairman of the Council of People's Commissars - the post of leader of a new country formed from the ruins of the Russian Empire.

His merit is considered to be the peace treaty of 1918 with Germany, which marked the end of the NEP - the government's new economic policy, which was supposed to lead the country out of the abyss of widespread poverty and hunger. All the rulers of the USSR considered themselves “faithful Leninists” and in every possible way praised Vladimir Ulyanov as a great statesman.

It should be noted that immediately after the “reconciliation with the Germans,” the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Lenin, unleashed internal terror against dissent and the legacy of tsarism, which claimed millions of lives. The NEP policy also did not last long and was canceled shortly after his death, which occurred on January 21, 1924.

Dzhugashvili (Stalin) Joseph Vissarionovich (1879-1953)

Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary in 1922. However, right up to the death of V.I. Lenin, he remained in the secondary leadership role of the state, inferior in popularity to his other comrades, who also aimed to become the rulers of the USSR. Nevertheless, after the death of the leader of the world proletariat, Stalin quickly eliminated his main opponents, accusing them of betraying the ideals of the revolution.

By the early 1930s, he became the sole leader of nations, capable of deciding the fate of millions of citizens with the stroke of a pen. His policy of forced collectivization and dispossession, which replaced the NEP, as well as mass repressions against people dissatisfied with the current government, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of USSR citizens. However, the period of Stalin's reign is noticeable not only in its bloody trail; it is worth noting the positive aspects of his leadership. In a short time, the Union turned from a country with a third-rate economy into a powerful industrial power that won the battle against fascism.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, many cities in the western part of the USSR, destroyed almost to the ground, were quickly restored, and their industry became even more efficient. The rulers of the USSR, who held the highest position after Joseph Stalin, denied his leading role in the development of the state and characterized his reign as a period of the cult of the leader’s personality.

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich (1894-1971)

Coming from a simple peasant family, N.S. Khrushchev took the helm of the party shortly after Stalin’s death, which occurred. During the first years of his reign, he waged a behind-the-scenes struggle with G.M. Malenkov, who held the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers and was the de facto leader of the state.

In 1956, Khrushchev read a report on Stalin’s repressions at the 20th Party Congress, condemning the actions of his predecessor. The reign of Nikita Sergeevich was marked by the development of the space program - the launch of an artificial satellite and the first human flight into space. His new one allowed many citizens of the country to move from cramped communal apartments to more comfortable separate housing. The houses that were built en masse at that time are still popularly called “Khrushchev buildings.”

Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich (1907-1982)

On October 14, 1964, N. S. Khrushchev was removed from his post by a group of members of the Central Committee under the leadership of L. I. Brezhnev. For the first time in the history of the state, the rulers of the USSR were replaced in order not after the death of the leader, but as a result of an internal party conspiracy. The Brezhnev era in Russian history is known as stagnation. The country stopped developing and began to lose to the leading world powers, lagging behind them in all sectors, excluding military-industrial.

Brezhnev made some attempts to improve relations with the United States, which were damaged in 1962, when N.S. Khrushchev ordered the deployment of missiles with nuclear warheads in Cuba. Agreements were signed with the American leadership that limited the arms race. However, all the efforts of L.I. Brezhnev to defuse the situation were canceled out by the introduction of troops into Afghanistan.

Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich (1914-1984)

After Brezhnev's death on November 10, 1982, his place was taken by Yu. Andropov, who had previously headed the KGB - the USSR State Security Committee. He set a course for reforms and transformations in the social and economic spheres. His reign was marked by the initiation of criminal cases exposing corruption in government circles. However, Yuri Vladimirovich did not have time to make any changes in the life of the state, as he had serious health problems and died on February 9, 1984.

Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich (1911-1985)

Since February 13, 1984, he held the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. He continued the policy of his predecessor to expose corruption in the echelons of power. He was very ill and died in 1985, having held the highest government post for just over a year. All past rulers of the USSR, according to the order established in the state, were buried with K.U. Chernenko was the last on this list.

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich (1931)

M. S. Gorbachev is the most famous Russian politician of the late twentieth century. He won love and popularity in the West, but his rule evokes ambivalent feelings among the citizens of his country. If Europeans and Americans call him a great reformer, many people in Russia consider him the destroyer of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev proclaimed domestic economic and political reforms, carried out under the slogan “Perestroika, Glasnost, Acceleration!”, which led to massive shortages of food and industrial goods, unemployment and a drop in the standard of living of the population.

It would be wrong to assert that the era of M. S. Gorbachev’s rule had only negative consequences for the life of our country. In Russia, the concepts of a multi-party system, freedom of religion and the press appeared. For his foreign policy, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The rulers of the USSR and Russia, neither before nor after Mikhail Sergeevich, were awarded such an honor.