Vladimir Ivashko

Vladimir Ivashko Владимир Ивашко (Russian) Володимир Івашко (Ukrainian)
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine
In office 28 September 1989 – 22 June 1990
Preceded by	Volodymyr Shcherbytsky
Succeeded by	Stanislav Hurenko
Deputy General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 12 July 1990 – 29 August 1991
General Secretary	Mikhail Gorbachev
Preceded by	Yegor Ligachev
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Full member of the 27th, 28th Politburo
In office 9 December 1989 – 29 August 1991
Member of the 28th Secretariat
In office 14 July 1990 – 29 August 1991
Personal details
Born	28 October 1932 Poltava, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	13 November 1994(1994-11-13) (aged 62) Moscow, Russian Federation
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Signature

Vladimir Antonovich Ivashko (Russian: Влади́мир Анто́нович Ива́шко; Ukrainian: Володимир Антонович Івашко, Volodymyr Ivashko) (28 October 1932 – 13 November 1994), was a Soviet Ukrainian politician, briefly acting as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the period from 24 August 1991 to 29 August 1991. On 24 August Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, and on 29 August the CPSU was suspended by the Supreme Soviet. Before becoming General Secretary he had been voted Gorbachev's Deputy General Secretary within the Party on 12 July 1990, a newly created position as a result of the 28th Congress of the Communist Party

The Communist Party in between Gorbachev's resignation and its suspension was politically impotent. By the time of the 28th Congress in July 1990, the party was largely regarded as being unable to lead the country and had, in fifteen republics, split into opposing factions favouring either independent republics or the continuation of the Soviet Union. Stripped of its leading role in society, the party lost its authority to lead the nation or the cohesion that kept the party united. Actual political power lay in the positions of President of the Soviet Union (held by Gorbachev) and President of the Russian SFSR (held by Boris Yeltsin). During the August coup he did not make public statements but on behalf of the Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee distributed letters to local party organizations calling on them to uphold the CPSU.