introduction
"The Book of Baoren An": "Man is inherently dead, or heavier than Taishan, or lighter than Hong Mao, and the use of what is used is also different." "Looking at the long river of Chinese history, some people have left their names in history because of their great achievements; some people have been blamed by future generations for the crimes they have committed for thousands of years; and some people have done little although they are in high positions, and have no sense of existence in history.
In the history of the former Soviet Union, there is a leader who belongs to the last kind of person, although he served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the COMMUNIST Party of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Is an undisputed leader,
But there has never been much presence and influence to speak of. This man was Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko
, that is, the sixth leader of the Soviet Union. The leaders before him were all well-known and famous figures in history, such as Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andrompov, and every name was resounding.
Only he seemed to have never appeared.
▲ Chernenko standard image
Chernenko was born in Siberia to poor peasants at the bottom of society.
It is precisely because of the poor family that Chernenko is very sensible, not only studying hard from an early age, but also sometimes going to be a child laborer in a home to supplement the family. Chernenko was able to jump the dragon gate because at that time, when the Soviet Union was rapidly rising, he joined the army by riding the trend of society, and at the age of twenty, he joined the COMMUNIST Party of the Soviet Union and embarked on his own political path.
▲ The Kremlin overlooks
By the age of thirty-four, Chernenko had become secretary of the Penza State Committee and was very active in politics. Chernenko's political achievements were outstanding, and he did things vigorously, so he soon received the attention of the central government and his career was open.
Twenty years later, he quickly rose to the ranks of high-ranking officials, serving as director of the General Affairs Department of the CPSU Central Committee, alternate member of the Central Committee, and later rose through the ranks.
02
Chernenko's most important thanks to the Soviet leader at the time, Brezhnev, along the way, were given this journey.
As it is said in the "Horse Saying", "There is Bole in the world, and then there is a thousand-mile horse." Brezhnev had great trust in Chernenko and even trained him as his successor, and Brezhnev also had the title of "chief steward".
After Brezhnev's death, Chernenko did not have the support of most factions in the party, so he did not become the leader as he wished.
Old photo of Brezhnev
But who knew that Andropov, who took office, was in a deteriorating state of health, and soon the Soviet Union had to face the problem of electing a new leader again. This time, the members of the Central Committee set their sights on Chernenko. thereupon
Chernenko, who was seventy-three years old at the time, was elected General Secretary and became the oldest supreme leader of the CPSU since the October Revolution.
Regrettably, due to his advanced age, Chernenko's physical condition was not good.
After only thirteen months in office, he followed in the footsteps of his predecessor and passed away, when Chernenko was 74 years old.
And his successor was Gorbachev, who was known all over the world.
Stalin at the "Yalta Conference"
In just thirteen months, Chernenko made no outstanding contribution, which made him the weakest and least influential of the leaders of the Soviet Union.
Even more tragically, the Soviet people were not impressed by this leader, who had been in office for an extremely short time. For example, when people think of Lenin, they think that he led the people on the road of revolution, the greatest father of the Soviet Union;
Mention Stalin, you can think of his iron fist, leading the Soviet military and civilians to victory in World War II, and is also the main founder of the Soviet model;
The mention of Khrushchev reminds one of the determination to reform, the abolition of the secret police system, and the breaking of the ice in relations with Western countries.
▲ Khrushchev and Kennedy old photo
Speaking of Brezhnev, people will recall that under his leadership, the military strength of the Soviet Union was greatly enhanced.
The Soviet Union surpassed the United States in number of nuclear weapons, and its national power reached its peak and became a well-deserved superpower, all thanks to him. Even Andreipov, who has been in power for an equally short time, has carried out drastic reforms, actively carried out personnel adjustments, rebounded and suppressed, constantly straightened out labor discipline, and improved the state's economic mechanism.
Gorbachev announces his resignation (marking the collapse of the Soviet Union)
In addition, in the minds of the Soviet people at that time, Andropov was a great "ming emperor" like Peter the Great.
Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he was the most positive of the many former Soviet leaders. Speaking of Gorbachev, the other merits need not be said, and the mere fact that he brought down the Soviet Union is firmly remembered by the world
。 Chernenko, on the other hand, although he continued the policies of the Andropov era during his reign, he did not make major moves, neither reform nor anti-corruption.
The economic and military strength of the Soviet Union was not significantly improved by him, so it gradually became the bleakest of the many pearls.
It has been forgotten in history.
epilogue
Chernenko was born poor but was able to sit in the position of national leader step by step with his own efforts, and his strength is self-evident, but unfortunately, the timing is not good, and it is doomed that he could not be written in the glorious history of the Soviet Union at the age of 73.
Resources:
"Bao Ren An Shu", "Ma Shuo", "General History of the Soviet Union", "History of the Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union"