After the death of General Secretary of the Communist Party Yu. Andropov, Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was chosen for his post. For many, this appointment was a surprise, since the new Secretary General had multiple he alth problems and, apparently, did not apply for this position at all. As a result, he stayed in his post for no more than a year and died of acute heart and liver failure.
Konstantin Chernenko, biography: early years of life
The future General Secretary was born in 1911 on September 11 in a peasant family. He spent his childhood in the distant Siberian village of Bolshaya Tes (since 1972 flooded with the waters of the Krasnoyarsk reservoir) in the Yenisei province. Its roots come from Little Russia (Ukraine). Back in the 18th century, Chernenko's ancestors settled on the banks of the Yenisei and began to farm. His father, Ustin Demidovich, after the death of his first wife, mother of Konstantin and the other three children, married a second time. But the stepmother's relationship with two stepsons and two stepdaughters did not work out, and they had a difficult life in their father's house. As a child, Konstantin Chernenko worked as a laborer for local kulaks. Like all Soviet children, he was accepted as a pioneer, and at the age of 14 he joined the Komsomol. And in 1926-1929. studied at the school of rural youth in the town of Novoselovo.
Service
In 1931, K. Chernenko was drafted into the army. He was sent to one of the border military units located in Hogos, on the territory of the Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan (on the border with China). Over the two years of his service, Konstantin Chernenko has shown his best side more than once: he took part in the liquidation of the legendary Bekmuratov gang, became a member of the CPSU (b), was elected secretary of the party organization of the frontier post.
Career start
Returning from service, Chernenko is 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 outbreak of World War II, he was 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 will wonder: how did he manage to advance so quickly in the service? There is a version that his sister, Valentina, who was a “girlfriend” 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 a higher schoolparty 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 department of propaganda and agitation of the Central Committee of the republic.
Meet Brezhnev
In Chisinau, Chernenko meets Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. This meeting becomes a turning point in his life. The two men begin to feel strong sympathy for each other, which soon develops into a strong friendship. After that, their career paths intertwine in the most intimate way. In 1953, at the age of 42, Chernenko graduated from the Pedagogical Institute of Chisinau in absentia and received a diploma of 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 of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and from 1960 to 1965. head of the secretariat of the PVS of the USSR. In the same year, Chernenko became the head of the main department of the Central Committee, where he worked until 1982. In the same period, he becomes the secretary of the CP. For many members of the Central Committee, it becomes clear that the closest person to the new Secretary General is Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich. The years of Brezhnev's rule were the most fruitful for him, and he ascended the career ladder almost to the very top. In addition to the positions he heldofficially, he acted as the most trusted person of Leonid Ilyich. Many envied him, but were also afraid.
Grey cardinal
Sometimes it seemed that the country was ruled not by Brezhnev, but by Konstantin Chernenko, because it was he who performed many functions for the Secretary General. And then he was nicknamed the “grey eminence”, because they guessed that all important decisions come from him. Leonid Ilyich reckoned with his opinion in almost everything. In a word, Chernenko became an indispensable 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 leader of the country.
Trips
Brezhnev's dependence on Chernenko reached such proportions that he could not take a step without him. Chernenko accompanied the General Secretary on trips abroad. In 1975 they paid an official visit to Finland, and in 1979 they went to Austria. There were several more visits to socialist countries.
Private life
K. Chernenko 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 in the future he was engaged in 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. Daughter, Vera, had the opportunity to go to study in Washington. Inthe second time Konstantin Ustinovich married in 1944. Anna Dmitrievna became his new wife. Wise, thoughtful 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…belatedly
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 closest person to the Secretary General, it was he who 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 death of the Soviet leader are already known, and some details give rise to reflection. At the bed of the deceased, in a narrow circle, it was decided that Brezhnev would be replaced as Secretary General by … no, not Chernenko, but Yuri Andropov. However, he did not have to hold this position for a long time, 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 the restoration, or rather, the resuscitation of the Brezhnev era.
Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich: foreign and domestic policy
February 13, 1984, two months before the death of Yuri Andropov, the country learned the name of the new Secretary General. They became Konstantin Chernenko - the same gray eminence under the rule of Brezhnev. He was73 years old, and he had serious he alth problems. Nevertheless, the new Secretary General took an active part in the creation of the new Constitution of the USSR. During the years of service to the Fatherland, he was awarded the Order of the Golden Star and the title of Hero of Socialist Labor three times.
In April of the same year, after Andropov's death, he was elected chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council. In the short time of his reign, despite the frequent deterioration of his he alth, Chernenko still managed to commemorate him with several important events. Under him, several reforms of school education were made. September 1 in the country officially became known as the Day of Knowledge. Chernenko drew attention to the detrimental effect of Western rock music on young people, as a result, a struggle was waged in the country with amateur musical groups. As for foreign policy, during his reign, there was a warming of relations with China, as well as with Spain. 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 deteriorated even more. The decision was made to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
More details about the 390 days of his reign can be found in Viktor Pribytkov's book “Konstantin Chernenko's Apparatus”. There are many interesting facts here that will shed light on that short period in the life of the Soviet Union.
K. U. Chernenko died in a hospital in 1985, on March 10, and was the last party leader of the USSR who was buried near the Kremlin walls.
