Konstantin Chernenko is a Soviet party and statesman. He was elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, but held this post for only a year.
Childhood, adolescence
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was born on September 24, 1911 in the village of Bolshaya Tes. His father mined non-ferrous metals, and his mother was actively involved in crop production. The mother of the future secretary general passed away very early. Konstantin Chernenko at that time was only 8 years old. The father, left with four children, soon got married. The relationship between the children and their stepmother did not work out.
Chernenko graduated from a rural school, and in 1934 he was drafted into the army. Almost at the same time he was elected secretary of the party organization of the border outpost. After the war, he became the secretary of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Party Committee.
Career
The career of Konstantin Chernenko was rapidly gaining momentum, which was surprising for a young man with not the most brilliant education. His half-sister Valentina, who had certain connections in the Krasnoyarsk Communist Party, helped him in climbing the career ladder.
In 1943-1945, Chernenko studied at the higher school of party organizers located in the capital. In the postwar years, he worked as the secretary of the Penza regional party committee. The top management decided to transfer him to Moscow to the central office, but after a few weeks the decision was canceled. The reason was questions about the moral character of a candidate for a high post. Chernenko was known for his numerous love affairs.
Since 1950, Konstantin Ustinovich worked as the head of the propaganda and agitation department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova. There he met Leonid Brezhnev and since then his career has been inextricably linked with that of Leonid Ilyich. In 1953, Chernenko graduated from one of the departments of the University of Chisinau and became a certified history teacher. When Leonid Brezhnev was transferred to Moscow, he was also sent to the capital to manage the propaganda department of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
Since 1960, Chernenko headed the secretariat of the USSR PVS, and a little later became the head of the main department of the Central Committee. When Brezhnev came to power, Chernenko's career began to rapidly gain momentum. Konstantin Ustinovich managed to work in various positions, but in fact he was the right-hand man of the general secretary. He was called the "gray eminence". It was Chernenko who took part in the discussion of matters of state importance, accompanied Brezhnev on almost all business trips.
Chernenko was considered by many to be the main successor of Leonid Ilyich. But when the head of state was gone, Andropov was not elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Andropov stayed as general secretary for only 2 years and in 1984 power passed to Chernenko.
At the time of his appointment to the highest state post, Konstantin Ustinovich was already 73 years old. He had health problems, but this did not stop him from carrying out a series of reforms. Chernenko was guided by the course taken by his predecessor, but he also adopted a number of innovations:
- a ban on rock music has been established;
- school reform was carried out;
- the role of trade unions has been strengthened.
During the reign of Chernenko, relations with the PRC and Spain improved significantly, but everything was still difficult with the United States. There is an opinion that the fight against corruption started by Andropov under Chernenko has stopped, but this is not the case. Many high-profile cases under Konstantin Ustinovich developed, but little was written about this in the press. During the year of his reign, several economic reforms were outlined, but they were not destined to be implemented.
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was awarded many state awards. He was awarded:
- four Orders of Lenin;
- three Orders of the Red Banner of Labor;
- medal "60 years of the armed forces of the USSR";
- Order of Karl Marx (German Democratic Republic).
Chernenko spent only a year as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. He spent half of his term in the Central Clinical Hospital due to a sharp deterioration in his health. Sometimes even Politburo meetings were held within the walls of the hospital. According to some reports, the secretary general tried to leave his post, but did not receive consent. Historians and political scientists give different assessments of Chernenko's rule. Most of them believe that Konstantin Ustinovich did not cope with the management of the state, but it was not so much a lack of necessary knowledge and a tough character that prevented him, but a serious illness.
Personal life
Konstantin Ustinovich was officially married twice. Faina Vasilievna became his first wife. In a marriage with her, two children were born - Albert and Lydia. Son Albert later headed the Novosibirsk Party School.
In 1944, Chernenko married Anna Dmitrievna Lyubimova. She gave him three children; son Vladimir and daughters Vera and Elena. Vladimir subsequently became deputy chairman of the USSR State Committee for Cinematography. Daughter Elena defended her dissertation in philosophy, and Vera left to study and stayed abroad, working at the embassy.
In 2015, some documents were declassified, according to which Konstantin Ustinovich still had wives whom he abandoned with the children. The family did not comment on this information.
Chernenko died in 1985. He died of sudden cardiac arrest. Konstantin Ustinovich became the last of the Kremlin leaders to be buried near the Kremlin walls. In memory of the leader of the state, several cities and streets were renamed, but very soon their historical names were returned to them. In 2017, a bust of Konstantin Chernenko was installed on the Alley of Russian leaders.
