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Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (Константи́н Усти́нович Черне́нко) ( September 24, 1911 - March 10, 1985) was a Soviet politician and General Secretary of the CPSU who led the Soviet Union from February 13, 1984 until his death in 1985. Chernenko was also Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from April 11, 1984, until his death.1 Chernenko's history
Chernenko was born in Bolshaya Tes , Novosyolovsky District , Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia. He joined Komsomol in 1926 and the Communist Party in 19311931 is the common year starting on Thursday. see link for calendar) Events January January 4 Female aviator Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa January 6 Thomas Edison submits his last patent application. January 22 Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as the. After a brief stint in the Frontier Guard, on the SinoThe People's Republic of China PRC comprises most of the cultural, historic, and geographic area known as China. Since its founding in 1949, it has been led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is the world's most populous country, with a population-Soviet border, he was a career politician. After work in the regions, he was called to MoscowMoscow ( Russian: Moskva capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 878. The city's population is rapidly increasing, with 11. 2 million inhabitants counted in 2004. The city is in the federal district called Central Russia (which is in 1960Events January-February January 1 Independence of Cameroon January 9 Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt January 11 Chad declares its independence. January 14 Ralph Chubb, the gay poet and printer, dies at Fair Oak Cottage in Hampshire. January 23 and promoted under the aegis of Leonid BrezhnevLeonid Ilyich Brezhnev ( Russian: ) ( December 19, 1906 November 10, 1982) was effective ruler of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, though at first in partnership with others. He was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964, becoming a candidate member of the Central CommitteeCommunist Party of China meets in 2002 The Central Committee is a leading body of an organization, most often a political party, especially Communist parties. However other organizations have Central Committees such as the Mennonite church (see Mennonite in 1966Events January January 1 In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. January 2 Strike of public transportation workers in New York City ends January 13 January 3 First Acid Test at the Fil and a full member in 1971. He joined the Politburo in October 1977, becoming a full member in November 1978.
2 Power struggle and election as General Secretary
In 1965 Chernenko became Director of Personnel in the party's General Department. He continued his work as a clerk but he now held a powerful position. He had knowledge about all the top people in the party and monitored wiretapping and surveillance devices in offices, but his main job was to sign hundreds of documents every day. He did this for 20 years. Even when he became General Secretary, he continued to sign papers, although thanks to Soviet bureaucracy his signature meant little more than it did in his previous position. Eventually, when he became ill, he was no longer physically able to sign documents and a facsimile was used instead, further devaluing his signature.
Following the death of Brezhnev in 1982, Chernenko lost the power struggle due to anti-Brezhnev forces, including the KGB and the Red Army, and instead Yuri Andropov, the former head of the KGB, was nominated as General Secretary. When Andropov died in February 1984 after less than 15 months in office, Chernenko was elected to replace him, despite concerns over his health.
