Anna Chernenko: “I cried when I learned that my husband became Secretary General! Interesting facts about the penultimate leader of the USSR Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko Brief description of the period of Chernenko's reign

Chernenko's most remarkable feature is the absence of any remarkableness.

Parisian newspaper “Russian Thought”, March 1984

UNANIMOUSLY

On April 11, 1984, after the death of Andropov K.U. Chernenko was unanimously elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. When 73-year-old Chernenko received the highest position in the Soviet state, he no longer had either the physical or spiritual strength to lead the vast country. He himself was seriously ill, and therefore was seen as an intermediate figure. Konstantin Chernenko spent a significant part of his reign at the Central Clinical Hospital, where meetings of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee were even held.

During the reign of K.U. Chernenko undertook several projects that were never successful: school reform, turning of the northern rivers, strengthening the role of trade unions.

Under Chernenko, the Day of Knowledge was officially introduced as a holiday (September 1, 1984). In June 1983, Chernenko criticized Russian rock performers, equating their performances to illegal business activities that violated the monopoly of the Rosconcert company, and threatened with imprisonment. Under Chernenko, post-Brezhnev and post-Maoist détente began in relations with the PRC, but relations with the United States remained extremely tense; in 1984, the USSR, in response to the US boycott of the Moscow Olympics, boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics. During this period, the USSR was visited for the first time by King Juan Carlos I, the head of the Spanish state. Under Chernenko, there were no significant changes in the composition of the Politburo and the Council of Ministers.

Many active investigations and repressions against various kinds of corrupt officials of the Brezhnev era, begun under Andropov, were partially suspended under Chernenko. Cases that did not develop were put on hold. So, for example, the Uzbek case actually stopped; the investigation against Nikolai Shchelokov was suspended, which was soon continued. The investigation into the “diamond case” was stopped and Galina Brezhneva’s house arrest was lifted. However, some high-profile cases continued. Thus, already under Chernenko, the former head of the Eliseevsky store Sokolov was shot, and after the investigation was resumed, the former Minister of Internal Affairs Shchelokov committed suicide.

The Secretary General reinstated 94-year-old V. M. Molotov to the CPSU; Molotov, being 21 years older than Chernenko, also outlived him, dying at the age of 96. He personally announced the decision to rehabilitate and reinstate Molotov in the party. Two days before his death, Chernenko, supported by Grishin, suddenly appeared on television and with difficulty uttered several welcoming phrases.

Konstantin Ustinovich died on March 10, 1985 after 1 year and 25 days of rule and became the last one buried at the Kremlin wall. There is a bust on his grave. Chernenko’s death ended a 5-year period during which a significant part of Brezhnev’s Politburo passed away (the so-called “era of magnificent funerals”). Chernenko turned out to be the oldest of all Soviet leaders to ever receive the post of General Secretary. Mikhail Gorbachev, a representative of the next generation of the Politburo, was elected his successor in this post the very next day.

CONTEMPORARIES AND HISTORIANS ABOUT CHERNENKO

A party of twenty million, in the name of some consideration of continuity, chose no one to take the highest path! He was a sweet, simple, poorly educated man who spent his entire life next to Brezhnev. He was in charge of the office for Leonid Ilyich. I loved coming to his receptions - he was a sentimental man. He was a wonderful head of the letters department! Chernenko laid out a stack of letters that, in his opinion, should have been sent to newspapers, read them aloud, groaned, gasped, and even shed a tear when the letters were too unhappy. And this is the General Secretary of the party...

A.I. Adzhubey, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Izvestia

Unable to cope with the mountain of work that fell on him in his new post... Chernenko, like the sick Brezhnev, entrusted the preparation, and in many ways, the solution of major problems to a narrow circle of people closest to him in the leadership - the same Ustinov, Gromyko, Tikhonov, as well as Grishin.

Chernenko was completely detached from earthly affairs, because he knew little about economics, not to mention science, technology, and culture.

V. Afanasyev, former editor-in-chief of Pravda

The Sverdlovsk hall was already almost full... The provincial elite was already all here. And everything was as usual: they kissed passionately, greeted each other loudly through the rows, shared “news” about the snow, about the prospects for the harvest, in a word, there was “party talk” between their own people, who felt like masters of life. In this discord, I never heard Andropov’s name or talk about his death...

At about twenty minutes to eleven the hall fell silent. The waiting began. With every minute the tension grew, the atmosphere seemed to be filled with electricity... The tension reached its climax. All eyes are directed towards the left door behind the stage, where the exit to the presidium is: who is first?!

At exactly 11 o'clock Chernenko's head appeared in the doorway. Behind him are Tikhonov, Gromyko, Ustinov, Gorbachev and others.

The audience reacted with silence...

A.S. Chernyaev, assistant M.S. Gorbachev (about the atmosphere of the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, held in the Kremlin in February 1984 regarding the election of Chernenko)

I have repeatedly asked myself the question: how did it happen that this man, weak both physically and in many other respects, who did not have sufficient erudition for this, nor experience of real government work, nor knowledge, ended up in the highest leadership position of a huge state? economy? After all, the colleagues who elected him, and Konstantin Ustinovich himself, for that matter, couldn’t help but see this?

A.M. Aleksandrov-Agentov, assistant to Chernenko

This was the Big Priest of an inexorable, powerful, well-functioning, constantly working bureaucratic machine. Chernenko became a giant in office, but remained a dwarf in spirit.

YES. Volkogonov

... Of course, Andropov was a very smart man and a high-class leader. Konstantin Ustinovich treated him very respectfully, and Andropov treated Chernenko with caution.

...My husband drank only cognac or vodka on holidays. But I didn't drink much. I don't remember him being drunk.

...He loved Yesenin and Nekrasov very much, he knew them by heart. I also loved Tvardovsky. Of course, he idolized Pushkin and Lermontov. When we were walking in the park on vacation in Kislovodsk, he read me the poem “I go out alone on the road.” In general, our marriage was happy. Kostya never offended me either by word or action. From his look, from his first reaction, I understood that he was dissatisfied with something, and I tried to improve the matter. We all forgave each other. And we lived together for 42 happy years.

HELL. Chernenko, wife of Konstantin Ustinovich

Having stood at the head of the party and the state, Chernenko honestly tried to fulfill the role of the leader of the country. But this was not given to him - both due to the lack of appropriate talent, breadth of knowledge and views, and due to his character. But most importantly, he was a seriously ill man.

E.I. Chazov, academician

Led the country from February 13, 1984 to March 10, 1985. Positions held: General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Born on September 11, 1911 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory in the village of Bolshaya Tes, Novoselovsky District, into a simple peasant family. Lost my mother early. He graduated from three classes of a rural school. After the Civil War in the 1920s, he worked in the Komsomol district committee as head of the propaganda and agitation department in Novoselovo.

In the early 1930s he served at a border post in Kazakhstan. While serving in the Red Army, he joined the ranks of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). After finishing his military service, Chernenko moved up the party line, and by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War he was appointed secretary of the Krasnoyarsk regional party committee.

In 1943–1945, K.U. Chernenko studied in Moscow at the Higher School of Party Organizers, from which he graduated with honors. In 1945–1948 he worked as secretary of the Central Committee of the Penza Regional Party Committee. Having proven himself well in the Penza Regional Committee, he received a promotion, and in 1948 he was appointed head of the agitation and propaganda department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of the Moldavian SSR, where he met the first secretary of the Communist Party of Moldova L.I. Brezhnev. All subsequent activities of Chernenko are inextricably linked with Brezhnev, whose business relations while working in the Central Committee of the Moldavian SSR grew into personal friendship.

In 1956, Brezhnev was transferred to Moscow as secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Chernenko relentlessly follows him and is appointed assistant to the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and later - head of the sector in the propaganda department. In 1960–1964, Brezhnev held the high position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Chernenko in 1960–1965 – head of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

After the removal of N.S. Khrushchev in 1964, Brezhnev became the de facto head of state. Since 1966, Brezhnev has been the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and Chernenko has become a candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee. From 1965 to 1982 he headed the general department of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1976 he became a member of the CPSU Central Committee, and in 1977 - a candidate member of the Politburo.

Chernenko was prone to painstaking, labor-intensive, routine hardware work. After sorting and carefully processing, he provided the huge flow of information passing through him to Brezhnev. Chernenko had a phenomenal memory and was known as Brezhnev’s “personal secretary.” He was extremely hardworking, punctual, efficient and devoted to the ideals of socialism and personally to Brezhnev, who had unlimited trust in Konstantin Ustinovich.

In 1975, he was part of the official delegation of the USSR during the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe held in Helsinki, Finland, and in 1979 he accompanied Brezhnev in Vienna on disarmament issues.

Chernenko was rightfully considered Brezhnev’s successor, but he could not resist Yu.V. Andropov in the struggle for power as the General Secretary of the CPSU. After the death of Brezhnev, it was Chernenko who, at an extraordinary plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, proposed the candidacy of Yu.V. Andropov for the leadership post. Chernenko’s tactical move turned out to be absolutely correct, and he managed to retain his position in the Central Committee during Andropov’s reign.

After the death of Andropov, on February 13, 1984, the seriously ill Chernenko, at the age of 72, was unanimously elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The period of his reign as Secretary General is characterized by extremely complex relations with the United States and Western European countries. In 1984, the USSR and all Warsaw Pact countries were forced to abandon the Olympic Games, which were held in Los Angeles, America, after the blockade of the 1980 Moscow Olympics by capitalist countries.

During Chernenko's reign, no important changes occurred in the country that were planned during Andropov's lifetime. Many historians are inclined to believe that under Chernenko the Brezhnev times of the “golden stagnation” returned. Numerous repressions against high-ranking corrupt officials, begun under Andropov, were suspended. Galina Brezhneva, involved in the “diamond case,” was released from house arrest. In relation to N.A. Shchelokov, on the contrary, Chernenko did not take any rehabilitation measures, as a result of which the former Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR committed suicide. A high-profile case regarding the theft of the director of the Moscow Eliseevsky store, Sokolov, ended with the execution of the latter.

However, it was under Chernenko that there was a significant improvement in relations between the USSR and the People's Republic of China and Albania; the role of trade unions has increased; The level of cooperation within the CMEA has increased. In 1984, the USSR became a world leader in the production and consumption of electricity.

Chernenko restored to the party prominent statesmen of the Stalin era, demoted by Khrushchev - V.M. Molotov, L.M. Kaganovich, G.M. Malenkov. The party card was presented to Molotov personally by Chernenko.

Before his death, Chernenko signed a decree renaming Volgograd to Stalingrad. A resolution of the CPSU Central Committee was being prepared “On correcting the subjective approach and excesses that took place in the second half of the 1950s - early 1960s when assessing the activities of I.V. Stalin and his closest associates.” He also personally invited Stalin’s daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva to the USSR, who returned to Moscow, where she lived until the fall of 1986.

Chernenko died on March 10, 1985 in Moscow at the age of 74 from heart failure. He was the last to be buried on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

Chernenko was awarded the star of Hero of Socialist Labor in 1976, 1981 and 1982.

Was married twice. From his first marriage, Chernenko had a son, Albert; from his second, a son, Vladimir, and daughters, Vera and Elena.

See also:
CHERNENKO KONSTANTIN USTINOVICH (TSB) FROM THE BIOGRAPHICAL CHRONICLE OF K.U.CHERNENKO
1911, September 11. Born in the village of Bolshaya Tes, Novoselovsky district, Krasnoyarsk Territory.

1929–1930. Works as head of the propaganda and agitation department of the Novoselovsky district committee of the Komsomol of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

1930-1933. Service in the border troops.

1931. Joins the CPSU(b). Soon he was elected secretary of the party organization of the 49th border detachment, stationed in the Taldy-Kurgan region of Kazakhstan.

1933–1941. Works in the Krasnoyarsk region as the head of the propaganda and agitation department of the Novoselovsky and Uyarsky district party committees, director of the Krasnoyarsk regional house of party education.

1941–1943. Secretary of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) for propaganda and agitation.

1943–1945. Study at the Higher School of Party Organizers under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.

1945–1948. Works as secretary of the Penza regional party committee.

1948–1956. Works as head of the propaganda and agitation department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova.

1956–1960. Heads the sector of the propaganda department of the CPSU Central Committee.

1960–1965. Head of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

1965. Approved by the head of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee; works in this position until 1982.

1966–1971. Candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee.

1975, July 30 – August 1. Participates in the work of the Soviet delegation at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki).

1976. February-March. He is one of the technical organizers of the XXV Congress of the CPSU. 5th of March. At the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, held after the 25th Party Congress, he was elected Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. March. Receives the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

1977. Elected as a candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.

1980. K.U. Chernenko’s book “Issues of the work of the party and state apparatus” is published. December. Participates in the work of the Second Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba.

1982. Receives the Lenin Prize.

1983, June 14. Presents a report at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee on “Topical Issues of the Party’s Ideological, Mass-Political Work.” August. Smoked fish poisoning in Crimea, which had serious health consequences.

1984, February 10. At a meeting of the Politburo, a decision was made to recommend K.U. Chernenko for the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

February 13. At an extraordinary Plenum of the Party Central Committee, he is elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. April 10th. Delivers a speech at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee on improving the work of the Councils of People's Deputies. 11 April. Elected at the First Session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the eleventh convocation as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR. September. Awarded the third “Golden Star” of the Hero of Socialist Labor. October 23. Conducts the second and last Plenum of the Party Central Committee in his life (after February 1984) as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

1985, February 7. The last time he appears is in his office. 10th of March. At 19.20 - death of K.U. Chernenko. March 13. Funeral in Moscow on Red Square.

Source of information: A.A. Dantsev. Rulers of Russia: 20th century. Rostov-on-Don, Phoenix publishing house, 2000. Events during Chernenko’s reign:
1984 - reinstatement in the party of V.M. Molotov.
1984 - Knowledge Day was introduced - September 1.
1984 - retaliatory boycott of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
1985 - Chernenko dies, having been at the head of the party and state for just over a year. He became the last person buried near the Kremlin wall.

The Communist Party of Yu. Andropov chose Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko for his position. For many, this appointment was a surprise, since the new Secretary General had multiple health problems and, apparently, did not apply for this position at all. As a result, he remained in office for no more than a year and died of acute heart and liver failure.

Konstantin Chernenko, biography: early years of life

The future Secretary General was born in 1911 on September 11 into a peasant family. His childhood was spent in the distant Siberian village of Bolshaya Tes (since 1972, flooded with waters in the Yenisei province. His roots come from Little Russia (Ukraine). Back in the 18th century, Chernenko’s ancestors settled on the banks of the Yenisei and began farming. His father, Ustin Demidovich , after the death of his first wife, Konstantin's mother and the other three children, he married a second time. But the relationship between his stepmother and his two stepsons and two stepdaughters did not work out, and they had a difficult life in their father's house. Even as a child, Konstantin Chernenko worked as a laborer for local kulaks Like all Soviet children, he was accepted into the pioneers, and joined the Komsomol at the age of 14. And in 1926-1929 he studied at the school for rural youth in the city of Novoselovo.

Service

In 1931, K. Chernenko was drafted into the army. He received a referral to one of the border military units located in Hogos, on the territory of the Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan (on the border with China). During his two years of service, Konstantin Chernenko showed his best side more than once: he took part in the liquidation of the legendary Bekmuratov gang, became a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and was elected secretary of the party organization of the border post.

Carier start

Returning from service, Chernenko was 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 ask the question: how did he manage to advance in his career so quickly? There is a version that his sister, Valentina, who was the “friend” 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 the Higher School of Party 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 propaganda and agitation department of the Central Committee of the republic.

Meeting Brezhnev

In Chisinau, Chernenko meets Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. This meeting becomes a turning point in his fate. The two men begin to feel a strong liking for each other, which soon develops into a strong friendship. After this, their career paths intertwine in the most intimate way. In 1953, at the age of 42, Chernenko graduated from the Chisinau Pedagogical Institute 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 and from 1960 to 1965. heads the secretariat of the USSR PVS. In the same year, Chernenko became head of the main department of the Central Committee, where he worked until 1982. During the same period, he became the secretary of the Communist Party. For many members of the Central Committee, it becomes clear that the closest person to the new Secretary General is Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko. The years were the most fruitful for him, and he climbed the career ladder almost to the very top. In addition to the positions he held officially, he acted as Leonid Ilyich’s most trusted person. Many envied him, but were also afraid of him.

Eminence grise

Sometimes it seemed that the country was ruled not by Brezhnev, but by Konstantin Chernenko, because it was he who performed many of the functions of the Secretary General. And then they called him the “gray eminence” because they guessed that all important decisions came from him. Leonid Ilyich respected his opinion in almost everything. In a word, Chernenko became an irreplaceable 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 country’s leader.

Trips

Brezhnev’s dependence on Chernenko reached such proportions that he could not take a single step without him. Chernenko accompanied the Secretary General on trips abroad. In 1975 they visited Finland on an official visit, and in 1979 they went to Austria. There were several more visits to socialist countries.

Personal life

K. Chernenko was 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 later worked on 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. My daughter, Vera, had the opportunity to go to study in Washington. Konstantin Ustinovich married for the second time in 1944. His new wife was Anna Dmitrievna. A wise, prudent 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... belated

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 person closest to the Secretary General, he 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 day of the Soviet leader’s death are already known, and some details give rise to thought. At the bedside of the deceased, in a narrow circle, it was decided that Brezhnev would be replaced as General Secretary by... no, not Chernenko, but Yuri Andropov. However, he did not have to hold this position for long, 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 restoration, or rather, resuscitation of the Brezhnev era.

Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich: foreign and domestic policy

On February 13, 1984, two months before the death of Yu. Andropov, the country learned the name of the new Secretary General. He became Konstantin Chernenko, the same eminence gray during Brezhnev’s reign. He was 73 years old and had serious health problems. Nevertheless, the new Secretary General took an active part in the creation of the new Constitution of the USSR. During his years of service to the Fatherland, he was awarded the Order of the Golden Star three times and the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

In April of the same year, after Andropov's death, he was elected chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council. During the short time of his reign, despite frequent deterioration in health, Chernenko still managed to mark it with several important events. Several school education reforms were carried out under him. September 1st became officially known as the Day of Knowledge in the country. Chernenko drew attention to the harmful influence of Western rock music on young people; as a result, the country waged a fight against amateur musical groups. As for foreign policy, during his reign a warming of relations with the PRC, as well as with Spain, began to be observed. 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 have deteriorated even further. The decision was made to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

You can read more about the 390 days of his reign in Viktor Pribytkov’s book “The Apparatus of Konstantin Chernenko.” There are many interesting facts here that will shed light on that short period in

K.U. Chernenko died in a hospital in 1985, on March 10, and was the last party leader of the USSR to be buried near the Kremlin walls.

On September 24, 1911, in the village of Bolshaya Tes, Minusinsk district (it went under water after the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Yenisei), the penultimate General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, was born.

Some historians and researchers (including V. Pribytkov in his book “Chernenko”, ZhZL series, 2009) argue that he could have saved the USSR from the collapse, but did not have time to do this - the Secretary General did not have enough time - 13 months to there was very little for the highest position.

We have collected the most interesting facts from the biography of Konstantin Ustinovich and invite you to familiarize yourself with them.

Career growth of Konstantin Chernenko started thanks to my older sister Valentina. Smart, powerful Valentina Ustinovna worked as the head of the organizational department of the Krasnoyarsk City Committee of the CPSU and was in a long-term love relationship with the first secretary of the Krasnoyarsk regional committee, Oleg Aristov. Aristov, at the request of Valentina Chernenko, took care of her brother Kostya - first sent him to study at the Higher Party School, then employed him in various party organizations of the region, promoting his protégé through the ranks, until Chernenko took the post of one of the secretaries of the regional party committee in Penza, and then he did not head the department of propaganda and agitation in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova.

For three years of work in Penza Chernenko distinguished himself by, which trained 26 thousand party agitators. And during the 7 years that Konstantin Ustinovich headed the propaganda department in Chisinau, over 300 thousand copies of books of Lenin’s works were translated into Moldavian, published and distributed - one for every five citizens living in the territory of the republic.

In Moldavia, working under the leadership of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev proved himself to be an indispensable organizer of any issues and became close and friends with Brezhnev for life. Since the 50th year of the last century, Chernenko’s life path has been inextricably linked with the location and desires of Leonid Ilyich.

Brezhnev, of course, I took it right away Chernenko to Moscow, as soon as he moved into it. And he did not part with Konstantin Ustinovich until his last breath, trusting him absolutely, unconditionally, often voicing Chernenko’s decisions, sincerely accepting them as his own (the Secretary General always called him, the only one of his comrades, by name: “Kostya”). He was entrusted with the management of his entire apparatus - the organizational department of the CPSU Central Committee.

Heading the organizational department Konstantin Ustinovich quickly subjugated the entire apparatus of the Central Committee, one might say he created it, and then spread his experience throughout the country. Now everything moved like a well-oiled clockwork: memos, certificates, reports, reports. Everything is clear, in the order established by Konstantin Ustinovich. The most talented organizer, Chernenko, could sort out, polish, and launch any business into smooth operation. The party apparatus and local governing bodies fenced themselves off from the masses with an impenetrable mass of paper - they simply stopped dealing with people, everything was listened to, discussed, decided only in paper report form. In this sense, Konstantin Ustinovich can probably be called an inspired, simply brilliant bureaucrat.

All documents have been translated to machine media and a data bank of the Central Committee nomenclature was created. Due to the incredible amount of pieces of paper that had to be endlessly carried from office to office, from the Kremlin (Politburo) to Staraya Square (Central Committee) and back, the virtuoso of paper thought, Konstantin Ustinovich, came up with and organized an underground pneumatic mail, for which he was rightly awarded the State Prize - That's how much people's money was saved on couriers alone!

Already since the late 70s everyone knew, that Chernenko is Brezhnev’s successor, that’s how they treated him. But when Leonid Ilyich died, two candidates emerged - the security forces nominated Andropov to the main post in the country. The aged Politburo wavered and agreed. In the treacherous behind-the-scenes struggle, the latter undoubtedly had more skills. As a consolation prize, as soon as Andropov became Secretary General, Chernenko was given the Lenin Prize - he already had three Heroes of Labor, and Konstantin Ustinovich received one of them with the wording “... and in connection with his 73rd anniversary”! Three times Heroes of Labor, besides Chernenko, in the entire history of the party among the members of the Politburo, there were only Khrushchev and Kunaev.

February 13, 1984 already very ill(asthma, heart, liver) Konstantin Ustinovich (who never aspired to power), nevertheless, became the first person in the country - the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Exactly 13 months without three days - on March 10 of the following year he died. And he spent most of his time in office in the hospital - in early August, while on vacation, he poisoned himself with smoked fish, ended up in the hospital and never came out. Politburo meetings were held in the chamber of the Central Clinical Hospital. The first thing he did in his new position was to stop the investigation into the “diamond case” and lift Galina Brezhneva’s house arrest.

(I would like to think that if Chernenko had been alive, his friend’s daughter would not have had to die in a mental hospital).

As Secretary General, in addition to resolving the accumulated current issues (for example, the boycott of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, unfreezing relations with China), Konstantin Ustinovich put forward a number of unparalleled initiatives: the complete rehabilitation of Stalin; school reform and strengthening the role of trade unions (he did not have time to do any of this except to declare September 1 a public holiday, turning it into Knowledge Day and reinstate 94-year-old V. M. Molotov in the party).

But Chernenko managed to fight with amateur pop groups of “dubious quality” that “cause ideological and aesthetic damage” (at that time these included “Bravo”, “Kino”, “Aquarium”, “Center” and many other talented groups). Here they worked brilliantly - semi-legally organized performances in cultural centers, cinemas, and apartments were equated to illegal entrepreneurial activity with a subsequent real sentence (for which, for example, Zhanna Aguzarova went to prison).

Interestingly, the same Chernenko, who dispersed rock bands, had simply saved the Moscow football club Spartak a few years earlier. In 1976, Konstantin Ustinovich, a supporter of Spartak, was so upset when his favorite team was relegated from the major league that he decided to intervene in the organizational processes of the club, and did not manage it for long. He brought Konstantin Beskov from Dynamo, called the Starostin brothers, promised any support and kept his word: he built a base in Tarasovka, solved the players’ housing problems and, to top it off, appointed Aeroflot Spartak players as “chiefs” (which, in addition to all other benefits, solved the problem with flights ). Result: Spartak champion! But, of course, I had to work for three years. Overwhelmed with joy, the football players ordered and presented Chernenko with a vase with their autographs and portraits. Konstantin Ustinovich was happy.

After the death of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko They buried him with all honors near the Kremlin wall. He became the last person to receive this honor - no one else was buried in the necropolis on Red Square. With his departure, a period of five years ended, aptly called the “era of magnificent funerals,” during which most members of the Brezhnev Politburo, including three general secretaries, died.

We were going, as always, to perpetuate the memory and rename the city of Penza to the city of Chernenko, but settled on assigning the surname of Konstantin Ustinovich to a couple of streets around the country (in the city of Astrakhan; and in Moscow there was one Chernenko street - in the Golyanovo district, but after perestroika it was returned to the previous one Name). Plus, the city of Sharypovo in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the city of Sholdanesti in Moldova were renamed - these settlements are still called “Chernenko”.

This man became the last leader of the USSR to be buried in the Kremlin wall. March 10 marked exactly 30 years since the death of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko. Replaced Chernenko in March 1985 by M.S. Gorbachev became the last Secretary General, as well as the first and last President in the history of the USSR. With the name of Chernenko in the country, the “era of magnificent funerals” ended, which lasted 2.5 years: from November 1982 to March 1985. Chernenko was replaced as head of state by Yu.V. Andropov, however, he worked in this position for only 13 months. After his death, the Soviet power had only 6.5 years left to live.
The future Secretary General was born on September 11 (24), 1911 in the village of Bolshaya Tes, now Novoselovsky District, Krasnoyarsk Territory, into a peasant family. Russian. His father, Ustin Demidovich, was an immigrant from Ukraine. He worked in copper mines and gold mines in Siberia. Almost nothing is known about the name of Kharitina Dmitrievna Chernenko’s mother; she died of typhus in 1919. Ustin married a second time. From his first marriage there were two daughters and two sons.

From an early age, Konstantin Chernenko worked for hire from the kulaks. But Chernenko’s entire subsequent work activity was connected with leadership work in Komsomol, and then in party organizations.

In 1929-30 Konstantin Chernenko headed the propaganda and agitation department of the Novoselovsky district committee of the Komsomol of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Graduated from a 3-year school for rural youth. His political convictions made it possible for him to be appointed head of the propaganda and agitation department of the Komsomol district committee.

In 1930-33 Chernenko served in the border troops of the NKVD of the USSR, at the Khorgos and Narynkol border outposts in Kazakhstan. Member of the CPSU(b)/CPSU since 1931. He was the secretary of the party organization of the 49th border detachment, commanded the border detachment and participated in the liquidation of Bekmuratov’s gang.

In the pre-war years, he became secretary of the Krasnoyarsk regional party committee.

In 1943-1945. Konstantin Ustinovich studied in Moscow, at the Higher School of Party Organizers. During the Great Patriotic War, party secretary K. Chernenko worked to mobilize communists and workers of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and was awarded the medal “For Valiant Labor” for the successful implementation of military orders and the preparation of reserves for the active army.

For the next three years, Konstantin Chernenko worked as secretary of the regional committee for ideology in the Penza region, then until 1956 he headed the department of propaganda and agitation in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova. It was there, in the early 1950s, that he met Brezhnev, then first secretary. Business communication grew into a friendship that lasted until the end of life. With the help of Brezhnev, K. Chernenko made a unique party career, while not possessing noticeable qualities of a leader.

Since 1950, the career of K.W. Chernenko is inextricably linked with Brezhnev’s career.

In 1953, K. Chernenko graduated from the Chisinau Pedagogical Institute.

In 1956, Chernenko was promoted to the apparatus of the CPSU Central Committee to the position of head of the sector of the Propaganda Department. Since 1960, he worked as the head of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1965, he was approved as head of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee.

From May 1960 to July 1965, Chernenko was the head of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, whose chairman in 1960-1964 was Brezhnev.

When Brezhnev took over the party leadership, Chernenko was appointed head of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee (July 1965 - November 1982). Elected as a candidate member of the Central Committee (1966-1971) at the XXIII Party Congress, Chernenko already at the XXIV Congress became a member of the Central Committee (1971-1985). In 1976, he was elected Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (March 5, 1976 - February 13, 1984), and then joined the list of candidates for membership in the Politburo (October 3, 1977 - November 27, 1978). Soon followed by his nomination as a member of the Politburo (November 27, 1978 - March 10, 1985). Chernenko was considered a close ally and promoter of Brezhnev, but after the death of the latter he could not find sufficient support among groups in the party leadership to take the post of General Secretary, which eventually went to Yu. V. Andropov, elected by the Plenum of the Central Committee on November 12, 1982.

During the reign of Brezhnev, Konstantin Chernenko was the head of the general department of the CPSU Central Committee, and it was through him that a large number of documents and entire dossiers went to the top of the party. He was an “organizer” of the highest class. In charge of mail addressed to the Secretary General; wrote down preliminary answers. Chernenko was aware of everything that was happening in the highest echelon of the party. I felt comfortable in the supporting roles. Suffering from bronchial asthma, Konstantin Chernenko got out of bed at any suggestion from Brezhnev to go hunting. Brezhnev generously rewarded Konstantin Ustinovich, promoting him up the party ladder, and completely trusted him.

Twice Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko accompanied Leonid Brezhnev on trips abroad: in 1975 - to Helsinki at the International Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in 1979 - at negotiations in Vienna on disarmament issues.

Since the late 1970s. Chernenko was considered one of Brezhnev's possible successors. But after Brezhnev's death in 1982, Andropov gained the upper hand.

Andropov's reforms, aimed at combating corruption and reducing privileges in the highest spheres of the party apparatus, caused a negative reaction from party officials. In an attempt to revive the Brezhnev era, the aging Politburo, seven of whose members died in old age between 1982 and 1984, leaned towards the candidacy of K. U. Chernenko, who was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee on February 13, 1984 after Andropov's death.

K.U. Chernenko on the podium of the Mausoleum

April 11, 1984. Chernenko was also elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, but his rapidly deteriorating health did not allow him to exercise real governance of the country. His frequent absences due to illness led to the conclusion that his election to senior party and government positions was only a temporary measure.

Chernenko did not have the qualities necessary for the head of state, and the leaders of 70 - early. 80s People began to call them “old farts,” the living of whom, already under Gorbachev, turned into “scoops.” Indeed, Brezhnev was 76 at the time of his death, Chernenko was 72 at the time of his appointment as Secretary General. Ministers Suslov, Gromyko and Kosygin have long since passed 70.

Many modern historians and publicists believe that K. Chernenko, who headed the party and the country in February 1984 after the death of Andropov, curtailed the course of reforms begun by his predecessor. However, this point of view is fraught with bias. In fact, many of Andropov’s useful initiatives were not only continued, but also significantly expanded. This applies to the fight against the shadow economy, the acceleration policy, and many other areas of reform of the previous months. He, in a somewhat modernized sound, begins to use a word that in a few years will become a symbol of an albeit short, but entire historical era: “The system of governing the country, our entire economic mechanism, needs a serious restructuring. It involves a large-scale economic experiment in empowering and increasing the responsibility of enterprises.” In a speech at the October (1984) Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, K. U. Chernenko, speaking about the beginning of preparations for the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, indicated that the party had identified the main ways to achieve new frontiers of socio-economic development. This is the accelerated development of social production, the maximum use of intensive growth factors. The basis for this is scientific and technological progress, which makes it possible to accelerate the pace of development of the country's productive forces.

There is a version that Andropov began the fight against corruption, and Chernenko, as a loyal Brezhnevite, slowed it down. But that's not true. The well-known “Uzbek affair,” begun under Andropov, was developed under Chernenko. All the actions to restore order that Andropov began, only in a less provocative, softer and calmer form, continued under Chernenko - no one was caught in bathhouses and cinemas. The investigation into the “diamond case” was stopped, and Galina Brezhneva’s house arrest was lifted. However, some high-profile cases continued. So, already under Chernenko, the former head of the Eliseevsky store Sokolov was shot, after the resumption of the investigation, the former Minister of Internal Affairs N.A. Shchelokov committed suicide.

During Chernenko's reign, several unsuccessful projects were undertaken: the complete political rehabilitation of Stalin, school reform, strengthening the role of trade unions. Under him, the Day of Knowledge was officially introduced as a holiday (September 1, 1984). In June 1983, Chernenko gave a keynote speech “Current issues of ideological and mass political work of the party.” In it, in particular, Konstantin Ustinovich criticized amateur pop groups with a repertoire of “dubious quality” that “cause ideological and aesthetic damage.” This report was the beginning of a large-scale struggle against independent music performers in 1983-84, mainly against Russian rock performers. Performing at apartment buildings and similar amateur concerts was equated to illegal business activity, violating the monopoly of the Rosconcert company, and was threatened with imprisonment.

At the same time, it was under Chernenko that Boris Vasiliev’s anti-Stalinist story “Tomorrow There Was War” was published.

Chernenko on the cover of Time magazine

Under Chernenko, post-Brezhnev and post-Maoist détente began in relations with the PRC, but relations with the United States remained extremely tense; in 1984, the USSR, in response to the boycott of the Moscow Olympics by the United States and its allies, boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics. During this period, the USSR was visited for the first time by the head of the Spanish state, King Juan Carlos I. There were no new appointments to the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Central Committee under Chernenko, but M. S. Gorbachev was promoted to second place in the leadership instead of N. A. Tikhonov.

According to some allegations, at the beginning of 1985, the seriously ill K. U. Chernenko tried to leave his post, but did not receive consent.
At the suggestion of Richard Kosolapov, the Secretary General reinstated 94-year-old V. M. Molotov to the CPSU; Molotov, being 21 years older than Chernenko, also outlived him, dying at the age of 96. The decision to rehabilitate and reinstate Molotov in the party was personally announced by the Secretary General. This gave rise to a popular joke: “Chernenko is preparing a successor for himself.” Two days before his death, Chernenko, while being treated at the Central Clinical Hospital, supported by Grishin, suddenly appeared on television during the elections to the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (where 100% of the votes were cast for him) and with difficulty uttered several welcoming phrases.

Konstantin Ustinovich died after 1 year and 25 days of reign and became the last person buried at the Kremlin wall. March 10, 1985 K.W. Chernenko died. He was buried on March 13, 1985 in Moscow on Red Square near the Kremlin wall. There is a bust on his grave.

Chernenko’s death ended a 5-year period during which a significant part of Brezhnev’s Politburo passed away (the so-called “era of magnificent funerals”). Chernenko turned out to be the oldest of all Soviet leaders to ever receive the post of General Secretary. Mikhail Gorbachev, a representative of the next generation of the Politburo, was elected his successor in this post the very next day.

Chernenko was awarded 4 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, many medals, as well as the highest award of the German Democratic Republic - the Order of Karl Marx, the highest award of the People's Republic of Bulgaria - the Order of Georgi Dimitrov and medals from foreign countries. He was awarded the title of Lenin Prize laureate (1982).

Chernenko’s memory, according to an established ritual, was immortalized. The town of Sharypovo and Krasnoyarskaya Street in the Moscow district of Golyanovo were briefly named in honor of Chernenko.

The most objective characteristic of K.U. Chernenko was given by Academician E.I. Chazov: “Having stood at the head of the party and the state, Chernenko honestly tried to fulfill the role of the leader of the country. But this was not given to him - both due to the lack of appropriate talent, breadth of knowledge and views, and due to his character. But the most important thing is that he was a seriously ill person.”

Jokes about Secretary General Chernenko.

***
— How does monarchy differ from socialism?
- Under a monarchy, power is transferred from father to son, and under socialism - from grandfather to grandfather.

***
Armenian radio:
— What was Andropov’s funeral like?
— Dress rehearsal for Chernenko’s funeral.

***
Armenian radio:
— Why doesn’t the Soviet leadership want to send its athletes to the Olympics in Los Angeles?
— He’s afraid that they will run further than the finish line.

***
Brezhnev learned that Andropov “caught a cold” and did not climb the Mausoleum on November 7. He writes to him from the other world: “I heard that you are coming to us, so don’t forget to grab a couple of spoons - for you and me!”
Soon Andropov arrived in the next world. Brezhnev:
- Well, did you take the spoons? Let's!
- Oh, I forgot!
“Well, now you’ll be like us, slurping gruel with a hammer and sickle.”
- Write, Lenya, Chernenko, before it’s too late!

***
Chernenko's funeral is underway. Rabinovich is trying to get closer to the funeral procession. He manages to get through the first cordon of police, the second - of military personnel, breaking through the third - of KGB officers, they stop him and ask:
- Do you have an invitation?
- No, I have a subscription!

***
TASS message:
“Today, at 9:00, after a serious and long illness, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR K. U. Chernenko, without regaining consciousness, began to fulfill his duties.”

***
After Chernenko’s funeral, the Kremlin rang:
— Hello, is this the Kremlin? Don't you need general secretaries?
-Are you sick?
- Yes, and very old...

***
At the extraordinary plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, two decisions were made:
Elect Comrade K. U. Chernenko General Secretary.
Bury him on Red Square.

***
Vovochka asks the teacher at school:
- Is it true that Comrade Chernenko is as small as me?
- Where did you get this from?
- Yes, dad said that he doesn’t care about Chernenko.

***
The doctor tells Chernenko the diagnosis
— Unfortunately, you have emphysema.
- God bless! Otherwise I thought I had a cold.

***
TASS refutation:
“In connection with reports that appeared in the Western press about the poor state of health of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Comrade Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, TASS is authorized to declare that Comrade Chernenko is quite healthy: at 8:00 he relieved himself, at 9:00 he relieved himself greatly, and at 10:00 he wakes up and gets out of bed.”

***
Program "Time". Announcer Igor Kirillov in a black suit:
- Dear comrades! Of course, you will laugh, but we have suffered a heavy loss again...

P.S. Both laughter and sin! :)

Materials used kremlion.ru And sovtime.ru