Yuri Andropov

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (????? ????????????? ?????????), (June 2 (O.S.) = June 15 (N.S.), 1914 – February 9, 1984) was a Soviet politician and General Secretary of the CPSU from November 12, 1982 until his death just sixteen months later.

Andropov's legacy

Andropov died of kidney failure on February 9, 1984, after several months of failing health, and was succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko.

Related Topics:
February 9 - 1984 - Konstantin Chernenko

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Andropov's legacy remains the subject of much debate within Russia and elsewhere, both amongst scholars and in the popular media. He remains the constant focus of television documentaries and popular non-fiction, particularly around important anniversaries.

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Despite his hard-line stance in Hungary and the numerous banishments and intrigues for which he was responsible during his long tenure as head of the KGB, he has become widely regarded by many commentators as a humane reformer; they cite evidence that he promoted Mikhail Gorbachev through the ranks of the party and was regarded by many as comparatively tolerant as a KGB chief. He was certainly generally regarded as inclined to more gradual reform than was Gorbachev; the bulk of the speculation centres around whether Andropov would have reformed the USSR in a manner which did not result in its eventual destruction.

Related Topics:
KGB - Mikhail Gorbachev - Party - Eventual destruction

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The short time he spent as leader, much of it in a state of extreme frailty, leaves debaters few concrete indications as to the nature of any hypothetical extended rule. As with the shortened rule of Lenin, speculators are left much room to advocate favourite theories and to develop the minor cult of personality which has formed around him.

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