Konstantin Chernenko

Konstantin Chernenko Константин Черненко
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 13 February 1984 – 10 March 1985
Preceded by	Yuri Andropov
Succeeded by	Mikhail Gorbachev
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
In office 11 April 1984 – 10 March 1985
Preceded by	Yuri Andropov
Succeeded by	Andrei Gromyko
Personal details
Born	Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (1911-09-24)24 September 1911 Bolshaya Tes, Yeniseysk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	10 March 1985(1985-03-10) (aged 73) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting place	Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow, Russian Federation
Citizenship	Soviet
Nationality	Russian
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Spouse(s)	Faina Vassilyevna Chernenko Anna Dmitrievna Lyubimova
Children	Albert Chernenko Vera Chernenko Yelena Chernenko Vladimir Chernenko
Awards
Signature
Central institution membership 1971–1985: Full member of the 24th, 25th, 26th Central Committee 1978–1985: Full member of the 25th, 26th Politburo 1977–1978: Candidate member of the 25th Politburo 1976–1985: Member of the 25th, 26th Secretariat Other political offices held 1984–1985: Chairman, Defense Council 1965–1982: Head of the General Department of the Central Committee Leader of the Soviet Union ← Andropov Gorbachev →

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (/tʃɜːrˈnɛŋkoʊ/;Russian: Константи́н Усти́нович Черне́нко; IPA: [kənˈstɐntʲin ustʲinɐˈvʲɪtɕ tɕɨrˈnʲenkə], 24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the fifth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He led the Soviet Union from 13 February 1984 until his death thirteen months later, on 10 March 1985. Chernenko was also Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 11 April 1984 until his death.

Chernenko was born to a poor family in the village of Bolshaya Tes (now in Novosyolovsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai) on 24 September 1911. His father, Ustin Demidovich (of Ukrainian origin), worked in copper and gold mines while his mother (of Jewish origin) took care of the farm work.

Chernenko joined the Komsomol (Communist Youth League) in 1929, and became a full member of the Communist Party in 1931. From 1930 to 1933, he served in the Soviet frontier guards on the Soviet-Chinese border. After completing his military service, he returned to Krasnoyarsk as a propagandist. In 1933 he worked in the Propaganda Department of the Novosyolovsky District Party Committee. A few years later he was promoted head of the same department in Uyarsk Raykom. Chernenko then steadily rose through the Party ranks, becoming the Director of the Krasnoyarsk House of Party Enlightenment then in 1939, the Deputy Head of the AgitProp Department of Krasnoyarsk Territorial Committee and finally, in 1941 he was appointed Secretary of the Territorial Party Committee for Propaganda. It was in the 1940s that Chernenko established a close relationship with Fyodor Kulakov. In 1945, he acquired a diploma from a party training school in Moscow, and in 1953 he finished a correspondence course for schoolteachers.