Andropov, Yury Vladimirovich

(1914–1984)

   Politician. Born to a father of a Don Cossack noble family and a mother of ethnic German origin, Yury Andropov was orphaned in his teens. He joined the Komsomol youth organization and became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1939. He fought as a partisan during World War II and then climbed the party ranks in Kareliya before moving to Moscow. He was ambassador to Hungary during the 1956 revolution and played a key role in its suppression. After returning to Moscow, he was elected to the CPSU Central Committee and then assumed the directorship of the KGB. Fearing a repeat of the Hungarian Revolution, Andropov took a hard line against the developments in Czechoslovakia, resulting in the draconian suppression of the “Prague Spring” of 1968. At home, he was at the forefront of the suppression of the burgeoning dissident movement in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). As a full member of the Politburo, he was a key supporter of the decision to initiate the Soviet-Afghan War in 1979. Upon the death of Leonid Brezhnev, he became general secretary of the CPSU on 12 November 1982. During his 15 months in office, he attempted to implement systemic reform through economic “acceleration” (uskoreniie>). His administration saw a shakeup of the nomenklatura>, with significant dismissals and personnel changes, particularly directed at corruption. Relations with the United States further deteriorated over arms control and the downing of Korean Air Flight 007 in 1983.

   His health quickly deteriorated, and, before passing, he recommended that Mikhail Gorbachev assume control of the Politburo, effectively designating the young Communist as his heir apparent. Despite his wishes, Konstantin Chernenko became the next premier. Andropov died due to complications from renal failure on 9 February 1984.