Who ruled the USSR in 1980. How many general secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee were there in the USSR?

He began his career after graduating from 4 classes of the zemstvo school in the house of the nobleman Mordukhai-Bolotovsky. Here he served as a footman.

Then there were difficult ordeals in search of work, later a position as an apprentice under a turner at the Old Arsenal gun factory.

And then there was the Putilov plant. Here he first encountered underground revolutionary organizations of workers, whose activities he had long heard about. He immediately joined them, joined the Social Democratic Party and even organized his own educational circle at the plant.

After his first arrest and release, he went to the Caucasus (he was prohibited from living in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area), where he continued his revolutionary activities.

After a brief second imprisonment, he moved to Revel, where he also actively established connections with revolutionary figures and activists. He begins to write articles for Iskra, collaborates with the newspaper as a correspondent, distributor, liaison, etc.

Over the course of several years, he was arrested 14 times! But he continued his activities. By 1917, he played an important role in the Petrograd Bolshevik organization and was elected a member of the executive commission of the St. Petersburg party committee. Actively participated in the development of the revolutionary program.

At the end of March 1919, Lenin personally proposed his candidacy for the post of chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. At the same time, F. Dzerzhinsky, A. Beloborodov, N. Krestinsky and others applied for this post.

The first document that Kalinin presented during the meeting was a declaration containing the immediate tasks of the All-Union Central Executive Committee.

During the civil war, he often visited the fronts, conducted active propaganda work among the fighters, and traveled to villages and villages, where he held conversations with peasants. Despite his high position, he was easy to communicate and knew how to find an approach to anyone. In addition, he himself was from a peasant family and worked at a factory for many years. All this inspired confidence in him and forced people to listen to his words.

For many years, people faced with a problem or injustice wrote to Kalinin, and in most cases received real help.

In 1932, thanks to him, the operation to deport several tens of thousands of dispossessed families and expelled from collective farms was stopped.

After the end of the war, issues of economic and social development of the country became a priority for Kalinin. Together with Lenin, he developed plans and documents for electrification, restoration of heavy industry, the transport system and agriculture.

It could not have been done without him when choosing the statute of the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, drawing up the Declaration on the Formation of the USSR, the Union Treaty, the Constitution and other significant documents.

During the 1st Congress of Soviets of the USSR, he was elected one of the chairmen of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.

The main area of activity in foreign policy was the recognition of the country of the Soviets by other states.

In all his affairs, even after Lenin's death, he clearly adhered to the line of development outlined by Ilyich.

On the first day of winter 1934 he signed a decree, which subsequently gave the green light for mass repressions.

In January 1938 he became chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He worked in this position for more than 8 years. He resigned from his post a few months before his death.

Due to the stampede that occurred during his coronation, many people died. Thus, the name “Bloody” was attached to the kindest philanthropist Nikolai. In 1898, caring for world peace, he issued a manifesto calling on all countries in the world to completely disarm. After this, a special commission met in The Hague to develop a number of measures that could further prevent bloody clashes between countries and peoples. But the peace-loving emperor had to fight. First in the First World War, then the Bolshevik coup broke out, as a result of which the monarch was overthrown, and then he and his family were shot in Yekaterinburg.

The Orthodox Church canonized Nikolai Romanov and his entire family as saints.

Lvov Georgy Evgenievich (1917)

After the February Revolution, he became Chairman of the Provisional Government, which he headed from March 2, 1917 to July 8, 1917. Subsequently he emigrated to France after the October Revolution.

Alexander Fedorovich (1917)

He was the chairman of the Provisional Government after Lvov.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Ulyanov) (1917 - 1922)

After the revolution in October 1917, in a short 5 years, a new state was formed - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922). One of the main ideologists and leader of the Bolshevik revolution. It was V.I. who proclaimed two decrees in 1917: the first on ending the war, and the second on the abolition of private land ownership and the transfer of all territories that previously belonged to landowners for the use of workers. He died before the age of 54 in Gorki. His body rests in Moscow, in the Mausoleum on Red Square.

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (Dzhugashvili) (1922 - 1953)

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. A totalitarian regime and a bloody dictatorship were established in the country. He forcibly carried out collectivization in the country, driving the peasants into collective farms and depriving them of property and passports, effectively renewing serfdom. At the cost of hunger he arranged industrialization. During his reign, massive arrests and executions of all dissidents, as well as “enemies of the people,” were carried out in the country. Most of the country's intelligentsia perished in Stalin's Gulags. He won the Second World War, defeating Hitler's Germany with his allies. Died of a stroke.

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev (1953 - 1964)

After Stalin's death, having entered into an alliance with Malenkov, he removed Beria from power and took the place of General Secretary of the Communist Party. He debunked Stalin's personality cult. In 1960, at a meeting of the UN Assembly, he called on countries to disarmament and asked to include China in the Security Council. But the foreign policy of the USSR since 1961 became increasingly tougher. The agreement on a three-year moratorium on nuclear weapons testing was violated by the USSR. The Cold War began with Western countries and, first of all, with the United States.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1964 - 1982)

He led a conspiracy against N.S., as a result of which he was removed from the position of General Secretary. The time of his reign is called “stagnation”. Total shortage of absolutely all consumer goods. The whole country is standing in kilometer-long queues. Corruption is rampant. Many public figures, persecuted for dissent, leave the country. This wave of emigration was later called the “brain drain.” L.I.'s last public appearance took place in 1982. He hosted the Parade on Red Square. That same year he passed away.

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (1983 - 1984)

Former head of the KGB. Having become the General Secretary, he treated his position accordingly. During working hours, he prohibited the appearance of adults on the streets without a good reason. Died of kidney failure.

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (1984 - 1985)

No one in the country took the appointment of the seriously ill 72-year-old Chernenok to the post of General Secretary seriously. He was considered a kind of “intermediate” figure. He spent most of his reign of the USSR in the Central Clinical Hospital. He became the last ruler of the country to be buried near the Kremlin wall.

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev (1985 - 1991)

The first and only president of the USSR. He began a series of democratic reforms in the country, called “Perestroika”. He rid the country of the Iron Curtain and stopped the persecution of dissidents. Freedom of speech appeared in the country. Opened the market for trade with Western countries. Stopped the Cold War. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin (1991 - 1999)

He was twice elected to the post of President of the Russian Federation. The economic crisis in the country caused by the collapse of the USSR exacerbated contradictions in the country's political system. Yeltsin's opponent was Vice President Rutskoi, who stormed the Ostankino television center and the Moscow City Hall and launched a coup d'état, which was suppressed. I was seriously ill. During his illness, the country was temporarily ruled by V.S. Chernomyrdin. B.I. Yeltsin announced his resignation in his New Year's address to the Russians. He died in 2007.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (1999 - 2008)

Appointed by Yeltsin as acting President, after the elections he became the full-fledged president of the country.

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (2008 - 2012)

Protégé V.V. Putin. He served as president for four years, after which V.V. became president again. Putin.

General Secretaries (General Secretaries) of the USSR... Once upon a time, their faces were known to almost every resident of our huge country. Today they are only part of history. Each of these political figures committed actions and deeds that were assessed later, and not always positively. It should be noted that the general secretaries were chosen not by the people, but by the ruling elite. In this article we will present a list of general secretaries of the USSR (with photos) in chronological order.

J.V. Stalin (Dzhugashvili)

This politician was born in the Georgian city of Gori on December 18, 1879 in the family of a shoemaker. In 1922, while V.I. was still alive. Lenin (Ulyanov), he was appointed first general secretary. It is he who heads the list of general secretaries of the USSR in chronological order. However, it should be noted that while Lenin was alive, Joseph Vissarionovich played a secondary role in governing the state. After the death of the “leader of the proletariat,” a serious struggle broke out for the highest government post. Numerous competitors of I.V. Dzhugashvili had every chance of taking this post. But thanks to uncompromising and sometimes even harsh actions and political intrigues, Stalin emerged victorious from the game and managed to establish a regime of personal power. Let us note that most of the applicants were simply physically destroyed, and the rest were forced to leave the country. In a fairly short period of time, Stalin managed to take the country into a tight grip. In the early thirties, Joseph Vissarionovich became the sole leader of the people.

The policy of this USSR Secretary General went down in history:

mass repressions;
collectivization;
total dispossession.

In the 37-38 years of the last century, mass terror was carried out, in which the number of victims reached 1,500,000 people. In addition, historians blame Joseph Vissarionovich for his policy of forced collectivization, mass repressions that occurred in all layers of society, and the forced industrialization of the country. Some of the leader’s character traits affected the country’s internal politics:

sharpness;
thirst for unlimited power;
high self-esteem;
intolerance of other people's judgment.

Cult of personality

Photos of the Secretary General of the USSR, as well as other leaders who have ever held this post, can be found in the presented article. We can say with confidence that Stalin’s cult of personality had a very tragic impact on the fate of millions of different people: scientific and creative intelligentsia, government and party leaders, and the military.

For all this, during the Thaw, Joseph Stalin was branded by his followers. But not all the leader’s actions are reprehensible. According to historians, there are also moments for which Stalin deserves praise. Of course, the most important thing is the victory over fascism. In addition, there was a fairly rapid transformation of the destroyed country into an industrial and even military giant. There is an opinion that if it were not for Stalin’s personality cult, which is now condemned by everyone, many achievements would have been impossible. The death of Joseph Vissarionovich occurred on March 5, 1953. Let's look at all the general secretaries of the USSR in order.

N. S. Khrushchev

Nikita Sergeevich was born in the Kursk province on April 15, 1894, into an ordinary working-class family. He took part in the civil war on the side of the Bolsheviks. He was a member of the CPSU since 1918. At the end of the thirties, he was appointed secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Nikita Sergeevich headed the Soviet Union some time after the death of Stalin. It should be said that he had to compete for this post with G. Malenkov, who chaired the Council of Ministers and at that time was actually the leader of the country. But still, the leading role went to Nikita Sergeevich.

During the reign of Khrushchev N.S. as Secretary General of the USSR in the country:

The first man was launched into space, and all sorts of developments in this area took place.
A huge part of the fields were planted with corn, thanks to which Khrushchev was nicknamed the “corn farmer.”
During his reign, active construction of five-story buildings began, which later became known as “Khrushchev buildings.”

Khrushchev became one of the initiators of the “thaw” in foreign and domestic policy, the rehabilitation of victims of repression. This politician made an unsuccessful attempt to modernize the party-state system. He also announced a significant improvement (on a par with capitalist countries) in living conditions for the Soviet people. At the XX and XXII Congresses of the CPSU, in 1956 and 1961. accordingly, he spoke harshly about the activities of Joseph Stalin and his cult of personality. However, the construction of a nomenklatura regime in the country, the forceful dispersal of demonstrations (in 1956 - in Tbilisi, in 1962 - in Novocherkassk), the Berlin (1961) and Caribbean (1962) crises, the aggravation of relations with China, the building of communism by 1980 and the well-known political call to “catch up and overtake America!” - all this made Khrushchev’s policy inconsistent. And on October 14, 1964, Nikita Sergeevich was relieved of his position. Khrushchev died on September 11, 1971, after a long illness.

L. I. Brezhnev

The third in order on the list of general secretaries of the USSR is L. I. Brezhnev. Born in the village of Kamenskoye in the Dnepropetrovsk region on December 19, 1906. Member of the CPSU since 1931. He took the position of General Secretary as a result of a conspiracy. Leonid Ilyich was the leader of a group of members of the Central Committee (Central Committee) that removed Nikita Khrushchev. The era of Brezhnev's rule in the history of our country is characterized as stagnation. This happened for the following reasons:

except for the military-industrial sphere, the country's development was stopped;
The Soviet Union began to lag significantly behind Western countries;
Repression and persecution began again, people again felt the grip of the state.

Note that during the reign of this politician there were both negative and favorable sides. At the very beginning of his reign, Leonid Ilyich played a positive role in the life of the state. He curtailed all the unreasonable undertakings created by Khrushchev in the economic sphere. In the first years of Brezhnev's rule, enterprises were given more independence, material incentives, and the number of planned indicators was reduced. Brezhnev tried to establish good relations with the United States, but he never succeeded. But after the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, this became impossible.

Period of stagnation

By the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s, Brezhnev's entourage was more concerned about their own clan interests and often ignored the interests of the state as a whole. The politician’s inner circle pleased the sick leader in everything and awarded him orders and medals. The reign of Leonid Ilyich lasted for 18 years, he was in power the longest, with the exception of Stalin. The eighties in the Soviet Union are characterized as a “period of stagnation.” Although, after the devastation of the 90s, it is increasingly presented as a period of peace, state power, prosperity and stability. Most likely, these opinions have a right to be, because the entire Brezhnev period of rule is heterogeneous in nature. L.I. Brezhnev held his position until November 10, 1982, until his death.

Yu. V. Andropov

This politician spent less than 2 years as Secretary General of the USSR. Yuri Vladimirovich was born into the family of a railway worker on June 15, 1914. His homeland is the Stavropol Territory, the city of Nagutskoye. Party member since 1939. Thanks to the fact that the politician was active, he quickly climbed the career ladder. At the time of Brezhnev’s death, Yuri Vladimirovich headed the State Security Committee.

He was nominated for the post of General Secretary by his comrades. Andropov set himself the task of reforming the Soviet state, trying to prevent the impending socio-economic crisis. But, unfortunately, I didn’t have time. During the reign of Yuri Vladimirovich, special attention was paid to labor discipline in the workplace. While serving as Secretary General of the USSR, Andropov opposed the numerous privileges that were provided to employees of the state and party apparatus. Andropov showed this by personal example, refusing most of them. After his death on February 9, 1984 (due to a long illness), this politician was least criticized and most of all aroused public support.

K. U. Chernenko

On September 24, 1911, Konstantin Chernenko was born into a peasant family in the Yeisk province. He has been in the ranks of the CPSU since 1931. He was appointed to the position of General Secretary on February 13, 1984, immediately after Yu.V. Andropova. While governing the state, he continued the policies of his predecessor. He served as Secretary General for about a year. The death of the politician occurred on March 10, 1985, the cause was a serious illness.

M.S. Gorbachev

The politician's date of birth was March 2, 1931; his parents were simple peasants. Gorbachev’s homeland is the village of Privolnoye in the North Caucasus. He joined the ranks of the Communist Party in 1952. He acted as an active public figure, so he quickly moved up the party line. Mikhail Sergeevich completes the list of general secretaries of the USSR. He was appointed to this position on March 11, 1985. Later he became the only and last president of the USSR. The era of his reign went down in history with the policy of “perestroika”. It provided for the development of democracy, the introduction of openness, and the provision of economic freedom to the people. These reforms of Mikhail Sergeevich led to mass unemployment, a total shortage of goods and the liquidation of a huge number of state-owned enterprises.

Collapse of the Union

During the reign of this politician, the USSR collapsed. All fraternal republics of the Soviet Union declared their independence. It should be noted that in the West, M. S. Gorbachev is considered perhaps the most respected Russian politician. Mikhail Sergeevich has the Nobel Peace Prize. Gorbachev served as General Secretary until August 24, 1991. He headed the Soviet Union until December 25 of the same year. In 2018, Mikhail Sergeevich turned 87 years old.

Led the country from October 14, 1964 to November 10, 1982. Positions held: First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
October 14, 1964 – April 8, 1966
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
April 8, 1966 - November 10, 1982
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1906–1982), General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1964 to 1982. Born on December 6 (19), 1906 into a Russian family in Dneprodzerzhinsk (until 1936 - Kamenskoye) in southeastern Ukraine.

In 1923 he joined the Komsomol; from 1931 – member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). In 1935 he graduated from the Dneprodzerzhinsk Metallurgical Institute. After completing his military service, Brezhnev was involved in party work and quickly made a career in the party apparatus of the Dnepropetrovsk region. He was promoted during the purges of the late 1930s with the support of N.S. Khrushchev, at that time the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. He was the head of the political department of the 4th Ukrainian Front during the Great Patriotic War.

In 1950, Khrushchev introduced Brezhnev to the central bodies of the party, after which he was twice appointed as the highest party leader at the republican level - in Moldova (1950–1952) and Kazakhstan (1955–1956). Brezhnev was responsible for the implementation of the agricultural development program in Kazakhstan (development of virgin lands). In 1957 he became a member of the Politburo of the CPSU, and in 1960–1964 - chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In 1964, Brezhnev participated in the October plot to remove Khrushchev from power, whose voluntaristic leadership of the country was causing increasingly serious discontent. Brezhnev became the first (from 1966 - General) Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and the Council of Ministers was headed by A.N. Kosygin. In 1977, Brezhnev also became head of state (chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Council).

Brezhnev was a consistent supporter of the policy of detente - in 1972 in Moscow he signed important agreements with US President R. Nixon; the following year he visited the USA; in 1975 he was the main initiator of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the signing of the Helsinki Agreements. In the USSR, his 18 years in power turned out to be the calmest and most stable in social terms, housing construction was actively developing (almost 50 percent of the housing stock of the USSR was built), the population received free apartments, a system of free medical care was developing, all types of education were free, aerospace, automotive, oil and gas and military industries. On the other hand, Brezhnev did not hesitate to suppress dissent both in the USSR and in other countries of the “socialist camp” - in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the GDR.

In the 1970s, the defense capability of the USSR reached such a level that the Soviet armed forces could single-handedly withstand the combined armies of the entire NATO bloc. The authority of the Soviet Union at that time was unusually high in the countries of the “third world”, which, thanks to the military power of the USSR, which balanced the policies of the Western powers, could not fear NATO. However, having become involved in the arms race in the 1980s, especially in the fight against the Star Wars program, the Soviet Union began to spend prohibitively large amounts of money on military purposes at the expense of the civilian sectors of the economy. The country began to experience an acute shortage of consumer goods and food products; “food trains” from the provinces arrived in the capital, on which residents of remote areas exported food from Moscow.

Since the late 1970s, large-scale corruption began at all levels of government. Brezhny’s serious foreign policy mistake was the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1980, during which significant economic and military resources were diverted to support the Afghan government, and the USSR became involved in the internal political struggle of various clans of Afghan society. Around the same time, Brezhnev’s health condition deteriorated sharply; he raised the question of his resignation several times, but his Politburo comrades, primarily M.A. Suslov, driven by personal interests and the desire to remain in power, persuaded him not to retire. By the end of the 1980s, the country had already observed a personality cult of Brezhnev, comparable to a similar cult of Khrushchev. Surrounded by the praise of his aging colleagues, Brezhnev remained in power until his death. The system of “praising the leader” was preserved even after Brezhnev’s death – under Andropov, Chernenko and Gorbachev.

During the reign of M.S. Gorbachev, the Brezhnev era was called the “years of stagnation.” However, Gorbachev's "leadership" of the country turned out to be much more disastrous for it and ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

See also:
BREZHNEV LEONID ILYICH (TSB) FROM THE BIOGRAPHICAL CHRONICLE OF L.I. BREZHNEV
1906, December 19. Born into the family of Ilya Yakovlevich and Natalya Denisovna Brezhnev in the city of Kamenskoye (from 1936 - Dneprodzerzhinsk) of the Yekaterinoslav province in Ukraine.

1915. Admitted to the Kamensk men's classical gymnasium.

1921. Graduates from the First Labor School (former gymnasium) in Kamenskoye. Fireman at the Dnieper Metallurgical Plant. Worker at an oil mill in Kursk.

1923. Enters the Kursk Land Management College to study and joins the Komsomol.

1927. Graduates from technical school and begins working as a land surveyor in the Kursk region.

1927–1928. Moves to Sverdlovsk, works as deputy district land commissioner, head of the land department in the Sverdlovsk region.

1929. Accepted as a candidate member of the CPSU(b).

1930. Works as deputy head of the district land administration in Sverdlovsk.

1930–1931. Student at the Kalinin Institute of Agricultural Machinery in Moscow.

1931. Chairman of the trade union committee of the Institute. Arsenichev in Kamenskoye. October 24. Accepted as a member of the CPSU(b).

1932–1933. Secretary of the party committee of the Arsenichev Institute in Kamenskoye.

1933–1935. Director of the metallurgical technical school in Kamenskoye.

1935. Graduates with honors from the Arsenichev Institute in Kamenskoye (in absentia) and receives the specialty of thermal engineer. Works as a shift supervisor in the power shop at the Dzerzhinsky plant.

1935. Cadet at the armored school in Chita. Political instructor of the tank company of the 14th mechanized corps of the DCK.

1937–1938. Deputy Chairman of the City Council of Dneprodzerzhinsk.

1938. Head of the trade department of the Dnepropetrovsk regional committee of the Communist Party (b)U.

1940. Secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Bolsheviks) for the defense industry.

1942, March. Awarded the first military award - the Order of the Red Banner. Appointed Deputy Head of the Political Directorate of the Black Sea Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front.

1943. In connection with the abolition of old military ranks, Brigade Commissar Brezhnev was awarded a new rank - colonel. April 1st. Appointed head of the political department of the 18th Army.

1945, May. Appointed head of the political department of the 4th Ukrainian Front. June 24. Participates in the Victory Parade in Moscow. Appointed head of the political department of the Carpathian Military District.

1952, October. Delivers a speech at the 19th Congress of the CPSU. October 16. At the plenum after the end of the 19th Party Congress, he was elected, at the suggestion of Stalin, as a candidate member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

1953, March. Appointed head of the Political Directorate of the Navy, deputy head of the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy. The military rank of lieutenant general is awarded. June 26. Included in the capture group for the purpose of arresting Beria.

1956, February. At the plenum of the Central Committee of the Party after the end of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, he was elected as a candidate member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in charge of issues of defense, heavy engineering and capital construction.

1957, June. Sufferes a micro-infarction. June. Supports N.S. Khrushchev in his fight against the “anti-party group”, is elected a member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee.

1958. Deputy Chairman of the Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee for the RSFSR (part-time).

1961. Awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

1963. Elected Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

1964, July. Leaves the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, focusing on the activities of the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

1966, March 29. Makes a report at the XXIII Congress of the CPSU. April 8. Elected member of the Politburo, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

1968, July–August. Presides over meetings of the Politburo, where the issue of sending troops of the Warsaw Pact countries into Czechoslovakia is decided.

1970, August 12. Signs, together with German Chancellor W. Brandt, the Moscow Treaty between the USSR and Germany.

1972, May. Signs in Moscow, together with US President Richard Nixon, the Interim Agreement on Certain Measures in the Field of Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms and the Treaty on the Organization of Missile Defense Systems between the USSR and the USA.

1973. Awarded the International Lenin Prize “For Strengthening Peace Between Nations.”

1975, August. Participates in Helsinki in the signing of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. November 27. Awarded by the World Peace Council with the F. Joliot Curie Gold Peace Medal.

1976, February 24. Delivers a report at the XXV Congress of the CPSU. May 8. Awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. December 19th. In connection with the 70th anniversary of his birth, he was awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

1976. Sufferes a stroke.

1977, May 24. At the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, a decision is made to combine the posts of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. June 16. Elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

1977. Awarded the highest award in the field of social sciences - the Karl Marx Gold Medal.

1978. Memoirs “Malaya Zemlya”, “Renaissance”, “Virgin Land” are published. February 20th. Awarded the highest military order "Victory" (after his death, the Decree on the award was canceled). December 19th. Awarded the third "Golden Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

1979, June 18. In Vienna, together with D. Carter, he signs the Treaty between the USSR and the USA on the Limitation of Strategic Arms. December. Authorizes the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan.

1980, March 31. Presentation of the Lenin Prize in Literature. October 13. Awarded the International Golden Mercury Prize for peace and cooperation. December 18. Awarded the second Order of the October Revolution (the only award).

1981, February 23. Delivers a report at the XXVI Congress of the CPSU. December 19th. In connection with the 75th anniversary of his birth, he was awarded the fourth Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

1982, March 23. An incident at the Tashkent Aviation Plant (collapse of an overpass along with people), during which L.I. Brezhnev received a fracture of the collarbone of his right hand. 10th of November. Death of L.I. Brezhnev. 15th of November. 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 the reign of Brezhnev:
1968 - the entry of ATS troops into Prague, Czechoslovakia, in connection with the statement of radical reforms by A. Dubcek.
1970 - Lunokhod 1 was delivered to the Moon. The first on the Moon was the automatic interplanetary station (AMS) Luna-2, which left a sign with the Soviet coat of arms back in 1959.
Since 1974 - construction of the BAM by Komsomol members.
1977 - adoption of the new constitution of the USSR.
1979 - the introduction of a limited contingent of Soviet troops (OCSV) into Afghanistan to strengthen the southern borders of the Soviet Union.
1980 - Olympics in Moscow. The United States initiated a boycott of the 1980 Olympics in connection with the deployment of troops to Afghanistan, which was supported by 64 countries.

Image caption The royal family hid the illness of the heir to the throne

Disputes about the state of health of President Vladimir Putin bring to mind the Russian tradition: the first person was considered as an earthly deity, which was disrespectful and should not be remembered in vain.

Possessing virtually unlimited lifelong power, the rulers of Russia fell ill and died like mere mortals. They say that in the 1950s, one of the liberal-minded young “stadium poets” once said: “They only have no control over heart attacks!”

Discussion of the personal lives of leaders, including their physical condition, was prohibited. Russia is not America, where analysis data of presidents and presidential candidates and their blood pressure figures are published.

Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, as you know, suffered from congenital hemophilia - a hereditary disease in which the blood does not clot normally, and any injury can lead to death from internal hemorrhage.

The only person capable of improving his condition in some way still incomprehensible to science was Grigory Rasputin, who was, in modern terms, a strong psychic.

Nicholas II and his wife categorically did not want to make public the fact that their only son was actually disabled. Even the ministers only knew in general terms that the Tsarevich had health problems. Ordinary people, seeing the heir during rare public appearances in the arms of a hefty sailor, considered him a victim of an assassination attempt by terrorists.

Whether Alexey Nikolaevich would subsequently be able to lead the country or not is unknown. His life was cut short by a KGB bullet when he was less than 14 years old.

Vladimir Lenin

Image caption Lenin was the only Soviet leader whose health was an open secret

The founder of the Soviet state died unusually early, at 54, from progressive atherosclerosis. An autopsy showed cerebral vascular damage incompatible with life. There were rumors that the development of the disease was provoked by untreated syphilis, but there is no evidence of this.

Lenin suffered his first stroke, which resulted in partial paralysis and loss of speech, on May 26, 1922. After this, he spent more than a year and a half at his dacha in Gorki in a helpless state, interrupted by short remissions.

Lenin is the only Soviet leader whose physical condition was not a secret. Medical bulletins were published regularly. At the same time, his comrades-in-arms assured him until his last days that the leader would recover. Joseph Stalin, who visited Lenin in Gorki more often than other members of the leadership, published optimistic reports in Pravda about how he and Ilyich cheerfully joked about reinsurance doctors.

Joseph Stalin

Image caption Stalin's illness was reported the day before his death

In recent years, the “Leader of Nations” suffered from severe damage to the cardiovascular system, probably aggravated by an unhealthy lifestyle: he worked a lot, turning night into day, ate fatty and spicy foods, smoked and drank, and did not like to be examined and treated.

According to some reports, the “doctors’ affair” began when professor-cardiologist Kogan advised a high-ranking patient to get more rest. The suspicious dictator saw this as someone’s attempt to remove him from business.

Having started the “doctors’ case,” Stalin was left without qualified medical care at all. Even those closest to him could not talk to him about this topic, and he intimidated the staff so much that after a stroke that happened on March 1, 1953 at the Nizhny Dacha, he lay on the floor for several hours, since he had previously forbidden the guards to disturb him without calling him.

Even after Stalin turned 70, public discussion of his health and forecasts of what would happen to the country after his departure were absolutely impossible in the USSR. The idea that we would ever be left “without him” was considered blasphemous.

The people were first informed about Stalin's illness the day before his death, when he had long been unconscious.

Leonid Brezhnev

Image caption Brezhnev "ruled without regaining consciousness"

In recent years, Leonid Brezhnev, as people joked, “ruled without regaining consciousness.” The very possibility of such jokes confirmed that after Stalin the country had changed a lot.

The 75-year-old Secretary General had plenty of aging diseases. Mention was made, in particular, of sluggish leukemia. However, it is difficult to say what exactly he died from.

Doctors spoke of a general weakening of the body caused by the abuse of sedatives and sleeping pills and causing memory loss, loss of coordination and speech disorder.

In 1979, Brezhnev lost consciousness during a Politburo meeting.

“You know, Mikhail,” Yuri Andropov said to Mikhail Gorbachev, who had just been transferred to Moscow and was not accustomed to such scenes, “we must do everything to support Leonid Ilyich in this situation. This is a question of stability.”

Brezhnev was politically killed by television. In earlier times, his condition could have been hidden, but in the 1970s it was impossible to avoid regularly appearing on screen, including live television.

The obvious inadequacy of the leader, combined with the complete lack of official information, caused an extremely negative reaction from society. Instead of pitying the sick person, the people responded with jokes and anecdotes.

Yuri Andropov

Image caption Andropov suffered from kidney damage

Yuri Andropov suffered from severe kidney damage for most of his life, from which he eventually died.

The disease caused increased blood pressure. In the mid-1960s, Andropov was intensively treated for hypertension, but this did not produce results, and there was a question about his retirement due to disability.

Kremlin doctor Yevgeny Chazov made a dizzying career thanks to the fact that he gave the head of the KGB the correct diagnosis and gave him about 15 years of active life.

In June 1982, at the plenum of the Central Committee, when the speaker called from the podium to “give a party assessment” to the spreaders of rumors, Andropov unexpectedly intervened and said in a harsh tone that he was “for the last time warning” those who talk too much in conversations with foreigners. According to researchers, he meant, first of all, leaks of information about his health.

In September, Andropov went on vacation to Crimea, caught a cold there and never got out of bed. In the Kremlin hospital, he regularly underwent hemodialysis - a blood purification procedure using equipment that replaces the normal functioning of the kidneys.

Unlike Brezhnev, who once fell asleep and did not wake up, Andropov died long and painfully.

Konstantin Chernenko

Image caption Chernenko rarely appeared in public and spoke breathlessly

After Andropov's death, the need to give the country a young, dynamic leader was obvious to everyone. But the old members of the Politburo nominated 72-year-old Konstantin Chernenko, who was formally the No. 2 man, as general secretary.

As the former Minister of Health of the USSR Boris Petrovsky later recalled, they all thought exclusively about how to die at their posts; they had no time for the country, and even more so, no time for reforms.

Chernenko had been suffering from pulmonary emphysema for a long time, while heading the state, he hardly worked, rarely appeared in public, spoke, choking and swallowing his words.

In August 1983, he suffered severe poisoning after eating fish on vacation in the Crimea that he had personally caught and smoked from his dacha neighbor, USSR Minister of Internal Affairs Vitaly Fedorchuk. Many were treated to the gift, but nothing bad happened to anyone else.

Konstantin Chernenko died on March 10, 1985. Three days earlier, elections to the Supreme Soviet were held in the USSR. The television showed the Secretary General walking up to the ballot box with an unsteady gait, dropping a ballot into it, languidly waving his hand and muttering: “Okay.”

Boris Yeltsin

Image caption Yeltsin, as far as is known, suffered five heart attacks

Boris Yeltsin suffered from severe heart disease and reportedly suffered five heart attacks.

The first president of Russia was always proud of the fact that nothing bothered him, he went in for sports, swam in icy water and largely built his image on this, and was accustomed to endure ailments on his feet.

Yeltsin's health deteriorated sharply in the summer of 1995, but with elections ahead, he refused extensive treatment, although doctors warned of "irreparable harm to his health." According to journalist Alexander Khinshtein, he said: “After the elections, at least cut them, but now leave me alone.”

On June 26, 1996, a week before the second round of elections, Yeltsin suffered a heart attack in Kaliningrad, which was hidden with great difficulty.

On August 15, immediately after taking office, the president went to the clinic where he underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. This time he conscientiously followed all the doctors’ instructions.

In conditions of freedom of speech, it was difficult to hide the truth about the state of health of the head of state, but those around him tried their best. In extreme cases, it was recognized that he had ischemia and temporary colds. Press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky said that the president rarely appears in public because he is extremely busy working with documents, but his handshake is ironclad.

Separately, the issue of Boris Yeltsin’s relationship with alcohol should be mentioned. Political opponents constantly discussed this topic. One of the main slogans of the communists during the 1996 campaign was: “Instead of the drunken Elya, we will choose Zyuganov!”

Meanwhile, Yeltsin appeared in public “under the influence” the only time - during the famous conducting of the orchestra in Berlin.

The former head of the presidential security, Alexander Korzhakov, who had no reason to defend his former boss, wrote in his memoirs that in September 1994, in Shannon, Yeltsin did not get off the plane to meet with the Prime Minister of Ireland not because of intoxication, but because of a heart attack. After a quick consultation, the advisers decided that people should believe the “alcoholic” version rather than admit that the leader was seriously ill.

Resignation, regime and peace had a beneficial effect on Boris Yeltsin’s health. He lived in retirement for almost eight years, although in 1999, according to doctors, he was in serious condition.

Is it worth hiding the truth?

According to experts, illness is, of course, not a plus for a statesman, but in the era of the Internet, hiding the truth is pointless, and with skillful PR, you can even extract political dividends from it.

As an example, analysts point to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who made good publicity out of his fight against cancer. Supporters got a reason to be proud that their idol does not burn in the fire and even in the face of illness thinks about the country, and they rallied around him even more.