Short answers, pulled from the story.
Yuri Andropov was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death on the 9th of February 1984. He was the first former head of the KGB to become General Secretary, having led the KGB from 1967 to 1982.
Andropov earned the name "The Butcher of Budapest" for his role in crushing the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. As Soviet Ambassador to Hungary at the time, he convinced First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev that military intervention was necessary, leading to the arrest of Hungarian leaders and the execution of Imre Nagy and others.
Andropov led the Soviet Union for approximately 15 months. He was elected General Secretary on the 12th of November 1982, two days after Brezhnev's death, and died in office on the 9th of February 1984 at the age of 69.
Andropov cracked down on workplace absenteeism, introduced penalties for tardiness, and gave select industries greater autonomy from state regulations. His policies produced a 4% rise in industrial output and increased investment in technologies such as robotics. He also dismissed 18 ministers and 37 regional party secretaries in an anti-corruption campaign.
Andropov and Fifth Directorate head Filipp Bobkov originated the use of psychiatry for punitive purposes. On the 29th of April 1969, Andropov submitted to the Central Committee a plan to create a network of psychiatric hospitals to suppress dissidents. The campaign targeted figures including Andrei Sakharov and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Konstantin Chernenko succeeded Andropov despite Andropov's wish for Mikhail Gorbachev to take over. Chernenko was already terminally ill and died in office in March 1985 after 13 months. Gorbachev then became General Secretary, implemented perestroika and glasnost, and the Soviet Union was dissolved on the 26th of December 1991.