Volodymyr Shcherbytsky Володи́мир Щерби́цький |
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First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine | |
In office 25 May 1972 – 28 September 1989 |
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Preceded by | Petro Shelest |
Succeeded by | Vladimir Ivashko |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic | |
In office 23 October 1965 – 25 May 1972 |
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Preceded by | Ivan Kazanets |
Succeeded by | Oleksandr Liashko |
In office 28 February 1961 – 26 June 1963 |
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Preceded by | Nikifor Kalchenko |
Succeeded by | Ivan Kazanets |
First Secretary of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine | |
In office 7 July 1963 – 23 October 1965 |
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Preceded by | Nikita Tolubeev |
Succeeded by | Oleksiy Vatchenko |
In office December 1955 – December 1957 |
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Preceded by | Andrei Kirilenko |
Succeeded by | Anton Gayevoy |
Full member of the 24th , 25th, 26th, 27th Politburo | |
In office 9 April 1971 – 20 September 1989 |
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Candidate member of the 22nd Politburo | |
In office 6 December 1965 – 8 April 1966 |
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In office 31 October 1961 – 13 December 1963 |
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Full member of the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th Central Committee | |
In office 31 October 1961 – 31 October 1983 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Verkhnodniprovsk, Ukrainian People's Republic |
17 February 1918
Died | 16 February 1990 (aged 71) Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
Nationality | Soviet |
Political party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
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Volodymyr Vasylyovych Shcherbytsky (Ukrainian: Володи́мир Васи́льович Щерби́цький, Russian: Влади́мир Васи́льевич Щерби́цкий; IPA: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vɐˈsʲilʲɪvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪrˈbʲitskʲɪj]; 17 February 1918, Verkhnodniprovsk — 16 February 1990) was a Ukrainian and Soviet politician. He was a leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine from 1972 to 1989. During World War II, he participated in the invasion of Iran by the Soviet forces (see Iran crisis of 1946).
An influential figure in the Soviet Union, a member of Soviet politburo since 1971, he was a close ally to the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. His rule of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was characterized by the expanded policies of re-centralisation and suppression of dissent. While supporting Russification policies, he still allowed the Ukrainian language to keep circulating side-by-side with Russian in this traditionally bilingual republic. Scherbytsky's power base was arguably one of the most corrupt and conservative among the Soviet republics.
He was one of the supporters of Mikhail Gorbachev in his takeover of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which ultimately led to the implementation of reforms that dramatically altered the country and its future. At the same time, Scherbytsky opposed these democratic changes.