Konstantin Chernenko

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Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Obrero agrícola, Konstantin Chernenko (o Chernienko) estudió en el Instituto Pedagógico de Kishinev. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.Born to a Russian peasant family in the Yeniseysk region of Siberia, Chernenko joined the Like his predecessor, Chernenko began showing signs of deteriorating health shortly after taking office. …

There he met and won the confidence of In 1965, Chernenko became Director of Personnel in the party's General Department. He led the Soviet Union from 13 February 1984 until his death on 10 March 1985. His very frequent absences from office left little doubt that his reign had only been an interim measure in a longer struggle between conservatives and reformers. En 1931 ingresó en el Partido Comunista y diez años después era secretario del mismo en su región natal siberiana.

He joined Komsomol in 1926 and the Communist Party in 1931. After a brief stint in the Frontier Guard on the Sino-Soviet border, he became a career politician. His second wife, Anna Dmitrevna Lyubimova, bore him two daughters, Yelena (who worked at the Institute of Party History) and Vera (who worked at the Soviet Embassy in The history of this article since it was imported to Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

When Brezhnev died... When Brezhnev died on November 10, 1982, he was succeeded as party leader by Yury Andropov, although his chosen successor was

The turning point in Chernenko’s career was his assignment in 1948 to head the Communist Party’s propaganda department in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Regionalism became stronger as the centre faltered.

This article was most recently revised and updated by

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the fifth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Toward the end of his life, Brezhnev lost control of the country. Konstantin Chernenko.

Soviet Union: The Interregnum: Andropov and ChernenkoToward the end of his life, Brezhnev lost control of the country. From 1930 to 1933, he served in the Soviet frontier guards on the Soviet-Chinese border. Chernenko was born in Bolshaya Tes, Novosyolovsky District, Novosyolovsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia. History at your fingertips By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In the years preceding his election as General Secretary, Konstantin Chernenko fully immersed himself in ideological and party work; he headed Soviet delegations abroad, accompanied Brezhnev to important conferences (including the one that took place in Helsinki in 1976), and was in the commission that set up the new Constitution passed in 1977. He became the third Soviet leader to die in just two years time, and, upon being informed in the middle of the night of his death, United States President Chernenko was given a state funeral and buried in the After the death of a Soviet leader, it was customary for his successor to open and review the objects contained in his personal safe. No one has ever discovered what he had intended to do with the money.

When Gorbachev had the safe opened, they found a small folder of personal papers and large bundles of money stuffed into the safe. After a brief stint in the Frontier Guard on the Sino-Soviet border, he became a career politician.

Chernenko was born in Bolshaya Tes, Novosyolovsky District, Novosyolovsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia. Konstantin Chernenko, in full Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, (born September 11 [September 24, New Style], 1911, Bolshaya Tes, Yeniseysk, Russian Empire [now in Krasnoyarsk kray, Russia]—died March 10, 1985, Moscow), chief political leader of the Soviet Union from February 1984 until his death in 1985.

In his new powerful position, he had knowledge about the top people in the party and monitored wiretapping and surveillance devices in offices; however, his main job was to sign hundreds of documents every day. Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn! The turning point in Chernenko’s career was his assignment in 1948 to head the Communist Party’s propaganda department in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.