The first years after the death of Stalin. From Lenin to Putin: what and how Russian leaders were ill

Who ruled after Stalin in the USSR? It was Georgy Malenkov. His political biography was a truly phenomenal combination of ups and downs. At one time, he was considered the successor to the leader of the peoples and was even the de facto leader of the Soviet state. He was one of the most experienced apparatchiks and was famous for his ability to calculate many moves ahead. In addition, those who were in power after Stalin had a unique memory. On the other hand, he was expelled from the party during the Khrushchev era. They say he has not been rehabilitated so far, unlike his associates. However, the one who ruled after Stalin was able to endure all this and remain faithful to his cause until death. Although, they say, in old age he overestimated a lot ...

Career start

Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov was born in 1901 in Orenburg. His father worked on the railroad. Despite the fact that noble blood flowed in his veins, he was considered a rather petty employee. His ancestors were from Macedonia. The grandfather of the Soviet leader chose the army path, was a colonel, and his brother was a rear admiral. The mother of a party leader was the daughter of a blacksmith.

In 1919, after graduating from the classical gymnasium, George was drafted into the Red Army. The following year, he joined the Bolshevik Party, becoming a political worker for an entire squadron.

After the Civil War, he studied at the Bauman School, but, having dropped out of school, began working in the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee. It was 1925.

Five years later, under the patronage of L. Kaganovich, he began to head the organizational department of the capital's city committee of the CPSU (b). Note that Stalin really liked this young official. He was intelligent and devoted to the general secretary...

Selection Malenkov

In the second half of the 1930s, there were purges of the opposition in the capital's party organization, which became the prelude to future political repressions. It was Malenkov who then led this "selection" of the party nomenklatura. Later, with the sanction of the functionary, almost all the old communist cadres were repressed. He himself came to the regions in order to intensify the fight against "enemies of the people." He used to be a witness to interrogations. True, the functionary, in fact, was only an executor of the direct instructions of the leader of the peoples.

Roads of war

When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Malenkov managed to show his organizational talent. He had to professionally and fairly quickly solve many economic and personnel issues. He has always supported developments in the tank and rocket industries. In addition, it was he who made it possible for Marshal Zhukov to stop the seemingly inevitable collapse of the Leningrad Front.

In 1942, this party leader ended up in Stalingrad and was engaged, among other things, in organizing the defense of the city. On his orders, the urban population began to evacuate.

In the same year, thanks to his efforts, the Astrakhan defensive region was strengthened. So, modern boats and other watercraft appeared in the Volga and Caspian flotilla.

Later, he took an active part in the preparations for the Battle of Kursk, after which he focused on the restoration of the liberated territories, heading the appropriate committee.

post-war period

Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich began to turn into the second figure in the country and the party.

When the war ended, he dealt with issues related to the dismantling of German industry. By and large, this work has been constantly criticized. The fact is that many of the influential departments tried to get this equipment. As a result, an appropriate commission was created, which made an unexpected decision. German industry was no longer dismantled, and enterprises that were based in the territories of East Germany began to produce goods for the Soviet Union as reparations.

Rise of a functionary

In mid-autumn 1952, the Soviet leader instructed Malenkov to make a report at the next congress of the Communist Party. Thus, the party functionary, in fact, was presented as Stalin's successor.

Apparently, the leader put forward him as a compromise figure. She suited both the party elite and the security forces.

A few months later, Stalin was gone. And Malenkov, in turn, became the head of the Soviet government. Of course, before him this post was held by the deceased general secretary.

Malenkov's reforms

Malenkov's reforms began literally immediately. Historians also call them "perestroika" and believe that this reform could greatly change the entire structure of the national economy.

The head of government in the period after Stalin's death announced to the people a completely new life. He promised that the two systems - capitalism and socialism - would coexist peacefully. He was the first leader of the Soviet Union to warn against atomic weapons. In addition, he was determined to put an end to the politics of the cult of personality by moving to the collective leadership of the state. He recalled that the late leader criticized the members of the Central Committee for the cult planted around him. True, there was no significant reaction to this proposal of the new prime minister at all.

In addition, the one who ruled after Stalin and before Khrushchev decided to lift a number of bans - on crossing borders, foreign press, customs transit. Unfortunately, the new head tried to present this policy as a natural continuation of the previous course. That is why Soviet citizens, in fact, not only did not pay attention to "perestroika", but also did not remember it.

Career decline

By the way, it was Malenkov, as the head of government, who came up with the idea to halve the remuneration of party officials, that is, the so-called. "envelopes". By the way, before him, Stalin offered the same thing shortly before his death. Now, thanks to the relevant resolution, this initiative has been implemented, but it has caused even greater irritation on the part of the party nomenklatura, including N. Khrushchev. As a result, Malenkov was removed from his post. And all his "perestroika" was practically curtailed. At the same time, "ration" bonuses to officials were restored.

Nevertheless, the ex-head of government remained in the cabinet. He directed all Soviet power plants, which began to work much more successfully and more efficiently. Malenkov also promptly resolved issues related to the social arrangement of employees, workers and their families. Accordingly, all this increased his popularity. Even though she was already tall. But in the middle of the summer of 1957 he was "exiled" to the hydroelectric power station in Ust-Kamenogorsk, in Kazakhstan. When he arrived there, the whole city rose to meet him.

Three years later, the former minister headed the thermal power plant in Ekibastuz. And also on arrival, a lot of people appeared who carried his portraits ...

Many did not like his well-deserved fame. And the very next year, the one who was in power after Stalin was expelled from the party, sent to retire.

Last years

Once retired, Malenkov returned to Moscow. He retained some privileges. In any case, he bought food in a special store for party officials. But, despite this, he periodically went to his dacha in Kratovo by train.

And in the 80s, the one who ruled after Stalin suddenly turned to the Orthodox faith. This was, perhaps, his last "turn" of fate. Many saw him in the temple. In addition, he periodically listened to radio programs about Christianity. He also became a reader in churches. By the way, in these years he lost a lot of weight. Perhaps that is why no one touched him and did not recognize him.

He died at the very beginning of January 1988. He was buried at the Novokuntsevsky churchyard in the capital. Note that he was buried according to the Christian rite. In the Soviet media of those times there were no reports of his death. But there were obituaries in Western periodicals. And very extensive...

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The path of the Soviet Union finally ended in 1991, although in a sense, its agony lasted until 1993. The final privatization started only in 1992-1993, simultaneously with the transition to a new monetary system.

The bright period of the Soviet Union, more precisely, its dying, was the so-called "perestroika". But what brought the USSR first under perestroika, and then under the final dismantling of socialism and the Soviet system?

The year 1953 was marked by the death of the long-term de facto leader of the USSR, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. After his death, a struggle for power began between the most influential members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU. On March 5, 1953, the most influential members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU were Malenkov, Beria, Molotov, Voroshilov, Khrushchev, Bulganin, Kaganovich, Mikoyan. On September 7, 1953, at the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, N. S. Khrushchev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

At the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU in February 1956, Stalin's personality cult was condemned. But the most important mine was planted under the very structure of the Leninist principle of the Soviet state at the XXII Congress in October 1961. This congress removed the main principle of building a communist society - the dictatorship of the proletariat, replacing it with the anti-scientific concept of a "state of the whole people". What was also terrible here was that this congress became a virtual mass of voiceless delegates. They accepted all the principles of a virtual revolution in the Soviet system. The first shoots of decentralization of the economic mechanism followed. But since the pioneers often do not stay in power for a long time, already in 1964 the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU removed N. S. Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

This time is often called the "restoration of the Stalinist order", the freezing of reforms. But this is only narrow-minded thinking and a simplified worldview, in which there is no scientific approach. Because already in 1965 the tactic of market reforms won out in the socialist economy. The "People's State" came into its own. In fact, under the strict planning of the national economic complex, the result was summed up. The unified national economic complex began to unravel, and subsequently to disintegrate. One of the authors of the reform was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A. N. Kosygin. Reformers constantly boast that as a result of their reform, enterprises have gained "independence." In fact, this gave power to the directors of enterprises and the right to conduct speculative transactions. As a result, these actions led to the gradual emergence of a shortage of necessary products for the population.

We all remember the "golden days" of Soviet cinema in the 1970s. For example, in the film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession”, the viewer is clearly shown how the actor Demyanenko, who plays the role of Shurik, buys the semiconductors he needs not in stores that are closed for repairs or for lunch for some reason, but from a speculator. A speculator who was kind of "condemned and condemned" by the Soviet society of that period.

The political and economic literature of that time acquires a unique anti-scientific terminology of "developed socialism". But what is "developed socialism"? Strictly following the Marxist-Leninist philosophy, we all know that socialism is a transitional period between capitalism and communism, a period of the withering away of the old order. An acute class struggle led by the working class. And what do we get as a result? That some incomprehensible stage of something appears there.

The same thing happened in the party apparatus. Hardened careerists and opportunists rather than ideologically hardened people began to willingly join the CPSU. The party apparatus becomes virtually uncontrolled by society. No trace of the dictatorship of the proletariat remains here.

In politics, at the same time, there is a tendency towards the irremovability of leading cadres, their physical aging and decrepitude. Career ambitions emerge. Soviet cinematography also did not ignore this moment. In some places this was ridiculed, but there were also brilliant tapes of that time that gave a critical analysis of the ongoing processes. For example, the film of 1982 - the social drama "Magistral", which posed with all its frankness the problem of decomposition and degradation in a single industry - on the railway. But in the films of that time, mainly in comedies, we already find direct glorifications of individualism, ridicule of the working man. In this field, the film "Office Romance" especially distinguished itself.

There are already systematic disruptions in trade. Of course, now the directors of enterprises are in fact the masters of their destinies, they have “independence”.

Anti-communists often mention in their "scientific" and anti-scientific writings that in the 1980s the country was already seriously ill. Only an enemy can be closer than a friend. Even if we do not take into account the frank slop that the anti-communists poured out on the USSR, a rather difficult situation actually loomed in the country.

For example, I myself remember well how in the early 1980s we traveled from the “undeveloped” Pskov region of the RSFSR to the “developed” and “advanced” Estonian SSR for groceries.

Such a country approached the turn of the mid-1980s. Even from the films of that period, it is already clear that the country no longer believes in building communism. Even the 1977 film "Racers" clearly shows what ideas were in the minds of the townsfolk, although at that time they also tried to show the character of this film in a negative light.

In 1985, after a series of deaths of "irreplaceable" leaders, a relatively young politician, M. S. Gorbachev, came to power. His long speeches, the very meaning of which went into the void, could go on for many hours. But the time was such that the people, as in the old days, believed the deceitful reformers, since the main thing on their minds was changes in life. But what happens to the layman? What do I want - I do not know?

Perestroika became a catalyst for accelerating all the destructive processes in the USSR, which had been accumulating and smoldering for a long time. Already by 1986, openly anti-Soviet elements appeared, which set as their goal the dismantling of the workers' state and the restoration of the bourgeois order. By 1988 it was already an irreversible process.

Anti-Soviet groups of that period appeared in the culture of that time - "Nautilus Pompilius" and "Civil Defense". According to an old habit, the authorities try to "drive" everything that does not fit into the framework of the official culture. However, even here dialectics threw out strange things. Subsequently, it was the "Civil Defense" that became a bright revolutionary beacon of anti-capitalist protest, thereby forever fixing all the contradictory phenomena of that era behind the Soviet era, as rather Soviet than anti-Soviet phenomena. But even the criticism of that time was at a fairly professional level, which was clearly reflected in the song of the Aria group - “What did you do with your dream?”, where the entire path traveled is actually overturned as erroneous.

In its wake, the era of perestroika brought out the most disgusting characters, the vast majority of whom were just members of the CPSU. In Russia, B. N. Yeltsin became such a person, who lowered the country into a bloody mess. This is the shooting of the bourgeois parliament, which, out of habit, still had a Soviet shell, this is the Chechen war. In Latvia, such a character was the former member of the CPSU A. V. Gorbunov, who continued to rule bourgeois Latvia until the mid-1990s. These characters were praised by the Soviet encyclopedias of the 1980s, calling them "outstanding leaders of the party and government."

"Sausage inhabitants" usually judge the Soviet era by perestroika horror stories about Stalin's "terror", through the prism of their narrow-minded perception of empty shelves and shortages. But their mind refuses to accept the fact that it was the large-scale decentralization and capitalization of the country that led the USSR to such results.

But how much strength and mind of the ideological Bolsheviks was applied in order to raise their country to the cosmic level of development by the mid-1950s, to go through a terrible war with the most terrible enemy on Earth - fascism. The dismantling of communist development, which began in the 1950s, continued for more than 30 years, preserving the main features of socialist development and a just society. After all, at the beginning of its journey, the Communist Party was a truly ideological party - the vanguard of the working class, a beacon of the development of society.

Throughout this story, it is clearly manifested that not owning one's ideological weapon - Marxism-Leninism, leads the leaders of the party to the betrayal of the entire people.

We did not set ourselves the goal of analyzing in detail all the stages of the decomposition of Soviet society. The purpose of this article is only to describe the chronology of some significant events of Soviet life and its individual significant aspects of the post-Stalin period.

Nevertheless, it would be fair to mention that the relative modernization of the country continued throughout the entire period of the country's existence. Until the end of the 1980s, we observed the positive development of many social institutions and technological development. Somewhere the pace of development slowed down significantly, something continued to remain at a very high level. Medicine and education developed, cities were built, infrastructure improved. The country moved forward by inertia.

In the Dark Ages, our path went at an accelerated pace and irreversibly only since 1991.

Andrey Krasny

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Over the 69 years of the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, several people have become the head of the country. The first ruler of the new state was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (real name Ulyanov), who led the Bolshevik Party during the October Revolution. Then the role of the head of state was actually performed by a person who held the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union).

IN AND. Lenin

The first significant decision of the new Russian government was the refusal to participate in the bloody world war. Lenin managed to achieve it, despite the fact that some members of the party were against the conclusion of peace on unfavorable terms (the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk). Having saved hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of lives, the Bolsheviks immediately put them at risk in another war - the civil one. The fight against the interventionists, anarchists and White Guards, as well as other opponents of the Soviet regime, brought quite a few human casualties.

In 1921, Lenin initiated the transition from the policy of war communism to the New Economic Policy (NEP), which contributed to the rapid recovery of the country's economy and national economy. Lenin also contributed to the establishment of a one-party system in the country and the formation of the Union of Socialist Republics. The USSR in the form in which it was created did not meet the requirements of Lenin, however, he did not manage to make significant changes.

In 1922, the hard work and the consequences of the assassination attempt made on him by the Socialist-Revolutionary Fanny Kaplan in 1918 made themselves felt: Lenin fell seriously ill. He took less and less part in government and other people came to the fore. Lenin himself spoke with concern about his possible successor, the general secretary of the party, Stalin: “Comrade Stalin, having become general secretary, has concentrated immense power in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be able to use this power with sufficient caution.” On January 21, 1924, Lenin died, and Stalin, as expected, became his successor.

One of the main directions to which V.I. Lenin paid great attention to the development of the Russian economy. At the direction of the first leader of the country of the Soviets, many factories for the production of equipment were organized, the completion of the AMO automobile plant (later ZiL) in Moscow began. Lenin paid great attention to the development of domestic energy and electronics. Perhaps if fate had given the “leader of the world proletariat” (as Lenin was often called) more time, he would have raised the country to a high level.

I.V. Stalin

A tougher policy was pursued by Lenin's successor, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (real name Dzhugashvili), who in 1922 took the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Now the name of Stalin is mainly associated with the so-called "Stalinist repressions" of the 30s, when several million inhabitants of the USSR were deprived of their property (the so-called "dispossession"), went to prison or were executed for political reasons (for condemning the current government).
Indeed, the years of Stalin's rule left a bloody trail in the history of Russia, but there were also positive features of this period. During this time, from an agrarian country with a secondary economy, the Soviet Union turned into a world power with a huge industrial and military potential. The development of the economy and industry affected the years of the Great Patriotic War, which, although it cost the Soviet people dearly, was nevertheless won. Already during the hostilities, it was possible to establish a good supply of the army, to create new types of weapons. After the war, many were restored at an accelerated pace, destroyed almost to the foundation of the city.

N.S. Khrushchev

Shortly after Stalin's death (March 1953), Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (September 13, 1953). This leader of the CPSU became famous, perhaps, most of all for his extraordinary deeds, many of which are still remembered. So, in 1960, at the UN General Assembly, Nikita Sergeevich took off his shoe and, threatening to show Kuz'kin's mother, began to knock on the podium with it in protest against the speech of the Filipino delegate. The period of Khrushchev's rule is associated with the development of an arms race between the USSR and the USA (the so-called "Cold Out"). In 1962, the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba almost led to a military conflict with the United States.

Of the positive changes that occurred during the reign of Khrushchev, one can note the rehabilitation of the victims of Stalinist repressions (having taken the post of general secretary, Khrushchev initiated the dismissal of Beria and his arrest), the development of agriculture through the development of unplowed lands (virgin lands), as well as the development of industry. It was during the reign of Khrushchev that the first launch of an artificial satellite of the Earth and the first manned flight into space took place. The period of Khrushchev's rule has an unofficial name - "Khrushchev's thaw."

L.I. Brezhnev

Khrushchev was replaced as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee by Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (October 14, 1964). For the first time, a party leader was replaced not after his death, but by removal from office. The era of Brezhnev's rule went down in history as "stagnation". The fact is that the Secretary General was a staunch conservative and an opponent of any reforms. The Cold War continued, which caused most of the resources to go to the military industry at the expense of other areas. Therefore, during this period, the country practically stopped in its technical development and began to lose to other leading powers of the world (excluding the military industry). In 1980, the XXII Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow, which were boycotted by some countries (USA, Germany and others), in protest against the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan.

During the Brezhnev era, some attempts were made to defuse tensions with the United States: US-Soviet treaties on the limitation of strategic offensive arms were concluded. But these attempts were crossed out by the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979. In the late 80s, Brezhnev was no longer actually able to govern the country and was only considered the leader of the party. On November 10, 1982, he died at his dacha.

Yu. V. Andropov

On November 12, Khrushchev's place was taken by Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, who previously headed the State Security Committee (KGB). He achieved sufficient support among party leaders, therefore, despite the resistance of former supporters of Brezhnev, he was elected General Secretary, and then Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Having taken the helm, Andropov proclaimed a course for socio-economic transformation. But all the reforms were reduced to administrative measures, strengthening discipline and exposing corruption in the highest circles. In foreign policy, the confrontation with the West only intensified. Andropov strove to strengthen his personal power: in June 1983 he held the post of chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, while remaining secretary general. However, Andropov did not stay in power for long: he died on February 9, 1984 due to kidney disease, before he could make significant changes in the life of the country.

K.U. Chernenko

On February 13, 1984, the post of head of the Soviet state was taken by Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, who was considered a contender for the post of general secretary even after the death of Brezhnev. Chernenko held this important post at the age of 72, being seriously ill, so it was clear that this was only a temporary figure. During the reign of Chernenko, a number of reforms were undertaken, which were never brought to their logical conclusion. On September 1, 1984, the Day of Knowledge was celebrated for the first time in the country. March 10, 1985 Chernenko died. His place was taken by Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, who later became the first and last president of the USSR.

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

Disputes about the state of health of President Vladimir Putin make us recall the Russian tradition: the first person was considered as an earthly deity, which was not supposed to be remembered irreverently and in vain.

Possessing practically unlimited power for life, the rulers of Russia fell ill and died like mere mortals. It is said that in the 1950s, one of the liberal-minded young "stadium poets" once said: "Only they have no control over heart attacks!"

Discussion of the personal lives of the leaders, including their physical condition, was banned. Russia is not America, where the 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 blood does not coagulate 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, in modern terms, was a strong psychic.

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

Whether Alexei Nikolayevich could subsequently lead the country, or not, is unknown. His life at less than 14 years was cut short by a KGB bullet.

Vladimir Lenin

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

The first stroke, which resulted in partial paralysis and loss of speech, happened to Lenin on May 26, 1922. After that, for more than a year and a half he was at the 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, comrades-in-arms assured until the last days that the leader would recover. Joseph Stalin, who visited Lenin in Gorki more often than other members of the leadership, posted optimistic reports in Pravda about how he and Ilyich joked merrily about reinsurer doctors.

Joseph Stalin

The “Leader of the Peoples” in recent years suffered from severe damage to the cardiovascular system, probably aggravated by an unhealthy lifestyle: he worked hard, while 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' case" began with the fact that professor-cardiologist Kogan advised a high-ranking patient to rest more. 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 the closest people could not talk to him on this topic, and he intimidated the servants so much that after a stroke that happened on March 1, 1953 at the Near Dacha, he lay on the floor for several hours, as he had previously forbidden the guards to disturb him without calling.

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 "without him" was considered blasphemous.

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

Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Brezhnev in recent years, as the 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 general secretary had enough senile illnesses. In particular, sluggish leukemia was mentioned. However, it is difficult to say from what, in fact, he died.

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

In 1979, Brezhnev lost consciousness during a meeting of the Politburo.

"You know, Mikhail," Yuri Andropov said to Mikhail Gorbachev, who had just been transferred to Moscow and was not accustomed to such scenes, "everything must be done to support Leonid Ilyich in this position as well. This is a matter of stability."

Brezhnev was politically killed by television. In the old days, his condition could have been hidden, but in the 1970s it was impossible to avoid regular appearances on the screen, including on the air.

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

Yuri Andropov

Yuri Andropov most of his life suffered from severe kidney damage, from which, in the end, he died.

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

Kremlin doctor Yevgeny Chazov had a dazzling career thanks to the fact that he correctly diagnosed the head of the KGB 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 rostrum to "give a party assessment" to the spreaders of rumors, Andropov unexpectedly intervened and said in a harsh tone that he was "warning for the last time" those who talk too much in conversations with foreigners. According to the researchers, he meant, first of all, leaks of information about his health.

In September, Andropov went on vacation to the Crimea, where he caught a cold and never got out of bed again. 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 a long and painful death.

Konstantin Chernenko

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, 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 in office, they had no time for the country, and even more so, no time for reforms.

Chernenko had suffered from emphysema for a long time, heading the state, almost did not work, rarely appeared in public, spoke, choking and swallowing words.

In August 1983, he suffered a severe poisoning after eating on vacation in the Crimea fish caught and smoked by his neighbor in the country, Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR 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. Television showed the General Secretary, who unsteadily walked up to the ballot box, dropped the ballot into it, languidly waved his hand and slurred: "Good."

Boris Yeltsin

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 takes him, went in for sports, swam in ice water and built his image on this in many respects, and was used to enduring ailments on his feet.

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

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

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

In the conditions of freedom of speech, it was difficult to hide the truth about the state of health of the head of state, but the entourage tried as best they could. It was admitted, in extreme cases, 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 iron.

Separately, the question of Boris Yeltsin's relationship with alcohol should be mentioned. Political opponents constantly exaggerated this topic. One of the main slogans of the Communists during the 1996 campaign was: "Instead of the drunken El, let's choose Zyuganov!"

Meanwhile, Yeltsin appeared in public "under the fly" the only time - during the famous conducting of the orchestra in Berlin.

The former head of the presidential guard, Alexander Korzhakov, who had no reason to shield the former chief, 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.

Retirement, regime and peace had a beneficial effect on the health of Boris Yeltsin. 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 certainly not a plus for a statesman, but in the era of the Internet it is pointless to hide the truth, and with skillful PR, one 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 rallied around him even stronger.

With the death of Stalin - the "father of the peoples" and the "architect of communism" - in 1953, a struggle for power began, because the one established by him assumed that the same autocratic leader would be at the helm of the USSR, who would take the reins of government into his own hands.

The only difference was that the main contenders for power were all in favor of the abolition of this very cult and the liberalization of the country's political course.

Who ruled after Stalin?

A serious struggle unfolded between the three main contenders, who initially represented a triumvirate - Georgy Malenkov (chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), Lavrenty Beria (minister of the united Ministry of Internal Affairs) and Nikita Khrushchev (secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). Each of them wanted to take a seat, but victory could only go to the candidate whose candidacy would be supported by a party whose members enjoyed great authority and had the necessary connections. In addition, all of them were united by the desire to achieve stability, end the era of repression and gain more freedom in their actions. That is why the question of who ruled after Stalin's death does not always have an unambiguous answer - after all, there were three people at once fighting for power.

Triumvirate in power: the beginning of the split

The triumvirate created under Stalin divided the power. Most of it was concentrated in the hands of Malenkov and Beria. Khrushchev was assigned the role of secretary, not so significant in the eyes of his rivals. However, they underestimated the ambitious and assertive party member, who stood out for his extraordinary thinking and intuition.

For those who ruled the country after Stalin, it was important to understand who should be eliminated from the competition in the first place. The first target was Lavrenty Beria. Khrushchev and Malenkov were aware of the dossier on each of them that the Minister of the Interior, who was in charge of the entire system of repressive agencies, had. In this regard, in July 1953, Beria was arrested, accusing him of espionage and some other crimes, thereby eliminating such a dangerous enemy.

Malenkov and his politics

Khrushchev's authority as the organizer of this conspiracy increased significantly, and his influence on other party members increased. However, while Malenkov was Chairman of the Council of Ministers, key decisions and policy directions depended on him. At the first meeting of the Presidium, a course was taken towards de-Stalinization and the establishment of a collective government of the country: it was planned to abolish the cult of personality, but to do it in such a way as not to detract from the merits of the “father of nations”. The main task set by Malenkov was to develop the economy taking into account the interests of the population. He proposed a rather extensive program of changes, which was not adopted at a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Then Malenkov put forward the same proposals at the session of the Supreme Council, where they were approved. For the first time since Stalin's absolute rule, a decision was made not by the party, but by an official authority. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Politburo were forced to agree to this.

Further history will show that among those who ruled after Stalin, Malenkov will be the most "effective" in his decisions. The set of measures he adopted to combat bureaucracy in the state and party apparatus, to develop the food and light industries, and to expand the independence of collective farms, bore fruit: 1954-1956, for the first time after the end of the war, showed an increase in the rural population and an increase in agricultural production, which for many years decline and stagnation became profitable. The effect of these measures persisted until 1958. It is this five-year plan that is considered the most productive and productive after the death of Stalin.

It was clear to those who ruled after Stalin that it would not be possible to achieve such success in the light industry, since Malenkov’s proposals for its development contradicted the tasks of the next five-year plan, which emphasized the promotion

I tried to approach the solution of problems from a rational point of view, applying economic rather than ideological considerations. However, this order did not suit the party nomenklatura (headed by Khrushchev), which had practically lost its predominant role in the life of the state. This was a weighty argument against Malenkov, who, under pressure from the party, submitted his resignation in February 1955. Khrushchev's ally Malenkov took his place and became one of his deputies, but after the dispersal of the anti-party group in 1957 (of which he was a member), he was expelled from the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee along with his supporters. Khrushchev took advantage of this situation and in 1958 also removed Malenkov from the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers, taking his place and becoming the one who ruled after Stalin in the USSR.

Thus, he concentrated in his hands almost complete power. He got rid of the two most powerful competitors and led the country.

Who ruled the country after the death of Stalin and the removal of Malenkov?

Those 11 years that Khrushchev ruled the USSR are rich in various events and reforms. There were many problems on the agenda that the state faced after industrialization, war and attempts to restore the economy. The main milestones that remember the era of Khrushchev's rule are as follows:

1. The virgin lands development policy (not supported by scientific study) increased the amount of sown area, but did not take into account the climatic features that hampered the development of agriculture in the developed territories.
2. "Corn Campaign", the purpose of which was to catch up and overtake the United States, which received good harvests of this crop. The area under corn has doubled to the detriment of rye and wheat. But the result was sad - climatic conditions did not allow for a high yield, and the reduction in areas for other crops provoked low rates for their collection. The campaign failed miserably in 1962, and its result was an increase in the price of butter and meat, which caused discontent among the population.
3. The beginning of perestroika is the mass construction of houses, which allowed many families to move from hostels and communal apartments to apartments (the so-called "Khrushchevs").

The results of Khrushchev's reign

Among those who ruled after Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev stood out for his non-standard and not always well-thought-out approach to reforming within the state. Despite numerous projects that were put into practice, their inconsistency led to Khrushchev's removal from office in 1964.