Andropov Chernenko years. The Soviet Union during the reign of Yu.V. Andropov and K.U. Chernenko. Ukrainian from Siberia

Good afternoon, dear readers!

This time we will look at brief description activities of Andropov Yu.V. and K. Chernenko. Their time of “reign” was very short and was not marked by any grandiose events and changes, but, nevertheless, it is necessary to consider their small role in the history of our Fatherland.

It is worth saying that both figures have the same attitude towards the concept of “gerontocracy” in the Soviet period. Andropov became a leader of the country at the age of 68, Chernenko at the age of 73, and both ceased their activities due to death.

Yu.V. Andropov became General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in November 1982. From the very beginning of his activities as the head of the Union, he began to act actively. In his reports and works, he spoke positively about the work of the previous General Secretary (Brezhnev) and pointed to his plans to continue government work in the same direction, but with greater zeal. “Labor productivity is growing at a rate that cannot satisfy us,” Andropov emphasized in one of his reports. In order to stimulate the lazy Soviet society to work productively, he took the following measures:

• Made a personnel change at the top of the party
• Announced the beginning of an intensified fight against corruption, which proliferated due to Brezhnev’s connivance (the fight against this type of crime soon subsided)
• Strengthened measures to strengthen discipline (they caught latecomers walking in working hours along the streets and shops, etc.)
• In June 1983, the law “On Work Collectives and Increasing Their Role in the Management of Enterprises, Institutions, and Organizations” was adopted (but the law remained nominal, since command-administrative methods of management continued to be a priority in the economy)

Konstantin Ustinovich was already ill at that time. He was distinguished by a soft character and indecisiveness, and was an ideal candidate for an “intermediate figure.” The new leader continued his activities in line with the previous head of government. At the end of 1984, the program “Towards the Level of Requirements of Developed Socialism” was published. Some current problems of the theory, strategy and tactics of the CPSU,” which noted the USSR’s lag behind capitalist countries, and set out to improve socialism and boost the country’s economy. During his short tenure as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, he tried to fight the shadow economy, initiate a policy of acceleration and undertake some reforms. It is worth noting that it was under Chernenko in 1984 that our beloved holiday, Day of Knowledge (September 1), was introduced. Also, under his leadership, the Union team refused to take part in the 1984 Olympics, held in Los Angeles, in response to the American boycott in 1980.

On February 10, 1985, Chernenko died of cardiac arrest. His departure marked the end of the era of the rule of the elders, and the young and energetic Gorbachev was appointed in his place.

The Communist Party of Yu. Andropov chose Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko for his position. For many, this appointment was a surprise, since the new Secretary General had multiple health problems and, apparently, did not apply for this position at all. As a result, he remained in office for no more than a year and died of acute heart and liver failure.

Konstantin Chernenko, biography: early years of life

The future Secretary General was born in 1911 on September 11 into a peasant family. His childhood was spent in the distant Siberian village of Bolshaya Tes (since 1972, flooded with waters in the Yenisei province. His roots come from Little Russia (Ukraine). Back in the 18th century, Chernenko’s ancestors settled on the banks of the Yenisei and began farming. His father, Ustin Demidovich , after the death of his first wife, Konstantin’s mother and the other three children, he married a second time. But the relationship between his stepmother and his two stepsons and two stepdaughters did not work out, and they had a difficult life in their father’s house. Even as a child, Konstantin Chernenko worked as a laborer for local kulaks. Like all Soviet children, he was accepted into the pioneers, and at the age of 14 he joined the ranks of the Komsomol. And in 1926-1929 he studied at the rural youth school in the city of Novoselovo.

Service

In 1931, K. Chernenko was drafted into the army. He received a referral to one of the border military units located in Hogos, on the territory of the Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan (on the border with China). During his two years of service, Konstantin Chernenko demonstrated himself more than once the best side: took part in the liquidation of the legendary Bekmuratov gang, became a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and was elected secretary of the party organization of the border post.

Start of a career

Returning from service, Chernenko was appointed director of the regional house of party education in the city of Krasnoyarsk. At the same time, he becomes the head of the agitation and propaganda department in the Novoselovsky and Uyarsky districts. After the start Patriotic War he is elected secretary of the Communist Party of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Surely many, having read the biography of Konstantin Chernenko, will be surprised by his luck and ask the question: how did he manage to advance in his career so quickly? There is a version that his sister, Valentina, who was the “friend” of the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Comrade O. Aristov, played a big role in this.

War and post-war years

From 1943-1945 he receives a referral to Moscow to study at the Higher School of Party Organizers. In a word, Konstantin Chernenko, whose photo is posted in the article, spent the entire war in the rear and did not participate in any of the hostilities. Nevertheless, during this period he received one award - “For Valiant Labor.” While still a student at the party school, he was appointed to the post of secretary of the regional committee of the Penza region, where he worked until 1948. Then from the center he receives an order to move to the Moldavian SSR and head the propaganda and agitation department of the Central Committee of the republic.

Meeting Brezhnev

In Chisinau, Chernenko meets Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. This meeting becomes a turning point in his fate. The two men begin to feel a strong liking for each other, which soon develops into a strong friendship. After this, their career paths intertwine in the most intimate way. In 1953, at the age of 42, Chernenko graduated from the Chisinau Pedagogical Institute in absentia and received a diploma higher education. Three years later, returning to Moscow, not without the patronage of Leonid Ilyich, he received the post of head of the propaganda department and from 1960 to 1965. heads the secretariat of the USSR PVS. In the same year, Chernenko became head of the main department of the Central Committee, where he worked until 1982. During the same period, he became the secretary of the Communist Party. For many members of the Central Committee, it becomes clear that the closest person to the new Secretary General is Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko. The years were the most fruitful for him, and he climbed the career ladder almost to the very top. In addition to the positions he held officially, he acted as Leonid Ilyich’s most trusted person. Many envied him, but were also afraid of him.

Gray cardinal

Sometimes it seemed that the country was ruled not by Brezhnev, but by Konstantin Chernenko, because it was he who performed many of the functions of the Secretary General. And then they called him the “gray eminence” because they guessed that all important decisions came from him. Leonid Ilyich respected his opinion in almost everything. In a word, Chernenko became an irreplaceable person for him. In addition, Brezhnev felt that Kostya (as he affectionately called him) did not pose any threat to his power, since he felt comfortable in the “position” of the right hand of the country’s leader.

Trips

Brezhnev’s dependence on Chernenko reached such proportions that he could not take a single step without him. Chernenko accompanied the Secretary General on trips abroad. In 1975 they visited Finland on an official visit, and in 1979 they went to Austria. There were several more visits to socialist countries.

Personal life

K. Chernenko was married twice. His first wife was Faina Vasilievna, who bore him a son and a daughter. Several years of married life showed that their marriage was a mistake, and the couple broke up. Nevertheless, Konstantin Ustinovich took care of his children, and later worked on their career advancement. Thus, while still a very young man, his son became the 1st secretary of the city committee of the city of Tomsk. My daughter, Vera, had the opportunity to go to study in Washington. Konstantin Ustinovich married for the second time in 1944. His new wife was Anna Dmitrievna. A wise, prudent woman. They say that she knew how to give the right advice to her husband and that it was she who contributed to the emergence of a strong friendship between Brezhnev and Chernenko.

Prophecies... belated

Since 1974, Brezhnev was seriously ill. And his entourage, of course, thought about who would become his successor. Since in those years Chernenko was the person closest to the Secretary General, he was considered the main candidate for the post of head of state. However, when Brezhnev died in his sleep in November 1982, Gromyko and Andropov were the first to be called to him. Today, the details of the day of the Soviet leader’s death are already known, and some details give rise to thought. At the bedside of the deceased, in a narrow circle, it was decided that Brezhnev would be replaced as General Secretary by... no, not Chernenko, but Yuri Andropov. However, he did not have to hold this position for long, and a year later the prophecies came true: Konstantin Ustinovich became the head of the Soviet Union. There is a version that his election was facilitated by a decision secretly made by the “aging” Politburo, dreaming of restoration, or rather, resuscitation of the Brezhnev era.

Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich: foreign and domestic policy

On February 13, 1984, two months before the death of Yu. Andropov, the country learned the name of the new Secretary General. He became Konstantin Chernenko, the same eminence gray during Brezhnev’s reign. He was 73 years old and had serious health problems. Nevertheless, the new Secretary General took an active part in the creation of the new Constitution of the USSR. During his years of service to the Fatherland, he was awarded the Order of the Golden Star three times and the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

In April of the same year, after Andropov's death, he was elected chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council. During the short time of his reign, despite frequent deterioration in health, Chernenko still managed to mark it with several important events. Several school education reforms were carried out under him. September 1st became officially known as the Day of Knowledge in the country. Chernenko drew attention to the harmful influence of Western rock music on young people; as a result, the country waged a fight against amateur musical groups. As for foreign policy, during his reign a warming of relations with the PRC, as well as with Spain, began to be observed. For the first time in the history of diplomatic relations, the King of Spain arrived in Moscow. But with the United States, on the contrary, relations have deteriorated even further. The decision was made to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

You can read more about the 390 days of his reign in Viktor Pribytkov’s book “The Apparatus of Konstantin Chernenko.” There are plenty here interesting facts which will shed light on that short period in

K.U. Chernenko died in a hospital in 1985, on March 10, and was the last party leader of the USSR to be buried near the Kremlin walls.

Andropov believed that it was necessary to ensure the acceleration of the socio-economic development of the USSR - mainly by introducing discipline in every workplace and fighting corruption. Under Andropov, criminal cases, which had previously been slowed down by Brezhnev’s entourage, were set in motion. About a fifth of the top party and government leaders were removed from their posts. A particularly widespread purge took place in Uzbekistan, where major scams in the supply of cotton were revealed. The first secretary of the republic, Sh. R. Rashidov, escaped arrest because he died suddenly.

“Putting things in order” affected everyone Soviet man. Now the authorities carefully monitored the implementation of every instruction, even the most absurd. The police raided shops, cinemas and hairdressers, detaining anyone who could not explain why they were there during working hours.

However, Andropov understood that in this way it was possible to mobilize the labor activity of workers only for a short time. For a longer acceleration it was necessary to somehow interest the workers. To develop the reform program, Andropov involved relatively young members of the Central Committee and the Politburo, such as M. S. Gorbachev and G. V. Romanov. Gorbachev was inclined to the need to strengthen market mechanisms and weaken departmental bureaucracy, while Romanov advocated a more decisive fight against localism and strengthening the state vertical control.

In the summer of 1982, a special department was created in the Central Committee under the leadership of N. I. Ryzhkov to prepare economic reform. At the beginning of 1983, Yu. V. Andropov instructed M. S. Gorbachev and N. I. Ryzhkov to begin preparing economic reform. Prominent scientists were involved in the development of the party-state course: academicians A. G. Aganbegyan, G. A. Arbatov, T. I. Zaslavskaya, O. T. Bogomolov, doctors of economic sciences L. I. Abalkin, N. Ya. Petrakov and some others whose views were mainly market-oriented. In June 1983, the Law on Labor Collectives was adopted, formally granting workers the right to participate in the management of the affairs of the enterprise. However, no real mechanism for the implementation of these rights was provided.

In order to more accurately determine how increasing the market interest of workers in the results of their labor will affect the socialist economy, Andropov decided to conduct a large-scale experiment. For this purpose, certain industries and large enterprises were singled out in a number of republics of the USSR. They introduced a dependence of wages on profits, and enterprises themselves could set prices and develop product samples. This was an expanded version of self-financing.

On February 9, 1984, Andropov died. The Politburo nominated K.U. Chernenko to the post of General Secretary, whose state of health left no hope for his long reign. This was a transitional figure, necessary for applicants for supreme power in the country in order to gain time to strengthen their positions.

Chernenko was an experienced CPSU apparatchik. Many saw him as a successor to Brezhnev’s work, a protégé of the conservative wing of the Politburo. However, in practice, Chernenko continued many of Andropov’s initiatives. Under him, investigations into corruption and abuses of officials were resumed.

Sick and weakening before our eyes, Chernenko entrusted the solution of current political and economic issues to other members of the Politburo. As the death of the next secretary general approached, the struggle for power intensified between his “comrades-in-arms.” Supporters of continuing Andropov's course, Ustinov and Gromyko supported Gorbachev's candidacy for the post of party leader. Gorbachev achieved an appointment to an important post in the Central Committee apparatus - he was supposed to conduct Politburo meetings in Chernenko’s absence. A powerful coalition of regional clans of the nomenklatura, the agrarian lobby, representatives of the director corps and law enforcement agencies has formed around the second secretary of the Central Committee. However, there were other influential contenders for the post of General Secretary: Chairman of the Council of Ministers N.A. Tikhonov, an old comrade of Brezhnev, as well as G.V. Romanov, who was responsible for the military-industrial complex. The positions of each group were not stable.

Chernenko died on March 10, 1985. At Gromyko’s suggestion, the Politburo nominated Gorbachev for the post of General Secretary. Other members of the Politburo did not dare to contradict the most influential member of the Brezhnev team. The candidacy of a relatively young and energetic party leader aroused the support of the Central Committee and great hopes in society.

CONCLUSIONS

In the second half of the 1960s. socio-economic and political development The USSR stabilized, which, together with the reform of 1965, gave new impetus to economic growth. In the 1970s The bureaucratic economy of the USSR was gradually drawn into a state of crisis. It was characterized by a drop in the growth rate of production as a result of a lack of interest in efficient labor, aging equipment, a lack of wasteful resources, and an inability to meet the demands of the population, which increased and became more complex as the level of culture grew. It became increasingly difficult to solve foreign policy problems, since the USSR had to spend large amounts of money on the arms race.

The dominance of the conservative bureaucracy did not allow the current situation to be improved, since the immutability of socio-economic structures was beneficial to it. After the death of L. I. Brezhnev in 1982, Yu. V. Andropov and his entourage made cautious attempts to transform and accelerate the development of the Soviet economy. The détente of international tension gave way to a new round of the Cold War. The USSR faced the need for changes in both domestic and foreign policy.

General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee since February 13, 1984 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR since April 11, 1984 Deputy - since 1966 Member of the CPSU since 1931, CPSU Central Committee - since 1971 (candidate since 1966), member of the Politburo of the Central Committee CPSU since 1978 (candidate since 1977).

Born on September 11 (24), 1911 in the village of Bolshaya Tes, now Novoselovsky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, into a peasant family. Russian.

Chernenko - years of youth

His father, Ustin Demidovich, was an immigrant from Ukraine. He worked in copper mines and gold mines in Siberia. Almost nothing is known about the name of Chernenko’s mother; she died of typhus in 1919. Ustin married a second time. From his first marriage there were two daughters and two sons.

WITH early years Konstantin Chernenko worked for hire from the kulaks. But all subsequent work activity Chernenko is associated with leadership work in Komsomol, and then in party organizations.

In 1929-30 Konstantin Chernenko headed the propaganda and agitation department of the Novoselovsky district committee of the Komsomol of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Graduated from a 3-year school for rural youth. His political convictions made it possible for him to be appointed head of the propaganda and agitation department of the Komsomol district committee.

In 1930-33 Chernenko served in border troops NKVD of the USSR, at the border outposts of Khorgos and Narynkol in Kazakhstan. Member of the CPSU(b)/CPSU since 1931. He was the secretary of the party organization of the 49th border detachment, commanded the border detachment and participated in the liquidation of Bekmuratov’s gang.

In the pre-war years, he became secretary of the Krasnoyarsk regional party committee.

In 1943-1945. Konstantin Ustinovich studied in Moscow, at the Higher School of Party Organizers. During the Great Patriotic War, Party Secretary K. Chernenko worked to mobilize communists, workers of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and for the successful implementation of military orders, training reserves for the active army, he was awarded the medal “For Valiant Labor.”

For the next three years, Konstantin Chernenko worked as secretary of the regional committee for ideology in the Penza region, then until 1956 he headed the department of propaganda and agitation in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova. It was there, in the early 1950s, that he met Brezhnev, then first secretary. Business communication grew into a friendship that lasted until the end of life. With the help of Brezhnev, K. Chernenko made a unique party career, while not possessing any noticeable qualities of a leader.

Since 1950, the career of K.W. Chernenko is inextricably linked with her career.
In 1953, K. Chernenko graduated from the Chisinau Pedagogical Institute.

In 1956, Chernenko was promoted to the apparatus of the CPSU Central Committee to the position of head of the sector of the Propaganda Department. Since 1960, he worked as the head of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1965, he was approved as head of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee.

In 1966-71 K.U. Chernenko is a candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee. At the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, in March 1971, he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and in March 1976, at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, which took place after the XXV Party Congress, he was elected secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 2, 1976, for the successful and fruitful leadership of party organizations and for active and conscientious work in the apparatus of the CPSU Central Committee, Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

Since 1977, K.U. Chernenko is a candidate member of the Politburo, and since 1978 - a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Chernenko headed the CPSU delegations at congresses communist parties Denmark in 1976 and Greece in 1978.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 23, 1981, he was awarded the title of twice Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

During the reign of Brezhnev, Konstantin Chernenko was the head of the general department of the CPSU Central Committee, it was through him that the large number documents and entire dossiers on the top of the party. He was an “organizer” of the highest class. In charge of mail addressed to the Secretary General; wrote down preliminary answers. Chernenko was aware of everything that was happening in the highest echelon of the party. I felt comfortable in the supporting roles. Suffering from bronchial asthma, Konstantin Chernenko got out of bed at any suggestion from Brezhnev to go hunting. Brezhnev generously rewarded Konstantin Ustinovich, promoting him up the party ladder, and completely trusted him.
Twice Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko accompanied Leonid Brezhnev on trips abroad: in 1975 - to Helsinki at the International Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in 1979 - at negotiations in Vienna on disarmament issues.

Since the late 1970s. Chernenko was considered one of Brezhnev's possible successors.

But after Brezhnev’s death in 1982,

In February 1982, Chernenko was among the laureates awarded the Lenin Prize. He also received the third title of Hero, on his seventy-third birthday.

Short reign of Chernenko

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.

Chernenko was seriously ill and was seen as an intermediate figure. Konstantin Chernenko spent a significant part of his reign in Central Clinical Hospital, where even meetings of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee were held.

In the hospital (shortly before his death), Chernenko was presented with a certificate of election as a people's deputy of the RSFSR.

During the reign of K.U. Chernenko, several unsuccessful projects were undertaken: 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 entrepreneurial activity, violating the monopoly of the Rosconcert company, and threatened with imprisonment.

Under K. 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.

Active investigations and repressions did not stop under Chernenko. However, he reinstated 94-year-old V. M. Molotov into the CPSU.

Death of Chernenko

Konstantin Ustinovich died after 1 year and 25 days of reign and became the last one buried at the Kremlin wall. March 10, 1985 K.W. Chernenko died.
He was buried on March 13, 1985 in Moscow on Red Square near 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.

Chernenko was awarded 4 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, many medals, as well as the highest award of the German Democratic Republic - the Order of Karl Marx, the highest award of the People's Republic of Bulgaria - the Order of Georgi Dimitrov and medals foreign countries. He was awarded the title of Lenin Prize laureate (1982).

Chernenko’s memory, according to an established ritual, was immortalized. The town of Sharypovo and Krasnoyarskaya Street in the Moscow district of Golyanovo were briefly named in honor of Chernenko.

The most objective characteristic of K.U. Chernenko was given by Academician E.I. Chazov: “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 the most important thing is that he was a seriously ill person.”

Chernenko was married twice:

• on Faina Vasilievna, a native of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. From her marriage there were 2 children: Albert (was secretary of the Tomsk city committee of the CPSU, then deputy dean of the Tomsk Faculty of Law located in Novosibirsk state university) and Lydia.
• on Anna Dmitrievna, a native of the Rostov region. Children from her marriage: Vladimir, Vera (teacher) and Elena (worked in Washington at the Soviet embassy).

Chairman KGB Soviet Union, was elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee November 12, 1982, a day after the death of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev from a heart attack.

Yuri Vladimirovich, like a typical KGB officer, immediately began his activities as Secretary General by establishing order. The persecution of dissidents and various kinds of “sectarians” intensified. Most of the weakened and fattened officials (especially representatives of the “Dnepropetrovsk mafia”, that is, “friends” of Brezhnev and Khrushchev from central and eastern Ukraine) were removed from their posts, and some were sent to jail.

Yuri Andropov could well have become the person who could lead the Union out of Brezhnev’s “stagnation”, as well as prevent the crisis that occurred seven years later. But on February 9, 1984, the Secretary General died, according to an official statement, from kidney failure caused by long-standing renal failure. However, according to an interview with the last KGB chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov to Komsomolskaya Pravda in 2007, Yuri Vladimirovich struggled with a serious illness - brain cancer - for more than 10 years, and in the last days of his leadership the disease progressed. As a result, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee shot himself.

Chernenko.

February 13, 1984 Central Committee CPSU elected Konstantin Ustinovich General Secretary Chernenko, a soft, weak and very sick person. At the time of election, the newly elected Secretary General suffered from severe heart, pulmonary and kidney failure. However, such a candidate was beneficial to the bureaucrats from the Politburo. All the officials removed by Andropov, including representatives of the “Dnepropetrovsk clan,” were returned as soon as possible.

Chernenko conceived several serious reforms in the sphere of labor and education, but did not have time to implement them.