When was Konstantin Chernenko born and where?
Konstantin Chernenko was born on the 24th of September 1911 in the Siberian village of Bolshaya Tes. He came from a poor family before joining the Komsomol Communist Youth League in 1929.
Konstantin Chernenko was born on the 24th of September 1911 in the Siberian village of Bolshaya Tes. He came from a poor family before joining the Komsomol Communist Youth League in 1929.
Konstantin Chernenko became General Secretary after Yuri Andropov died on the 9th of February 1984. The Politburo elected him as a transitional leader despite his deteriorating health and lack of support within the party.
On the 8th of May 1984 under Konstantin Chernenko's leadership the USSR announced its intention not to participate in the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. This boycott joined 14 Eastern Bloc satellites and allies including Cuba but not Romania.
Konstantin Chernenko suffered from emphysema right-sided heart failure chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver which worsened significantly in the last three weeks of February 1985. He fell into a coma on the 10th of March at 15:00 and died later that evening at 19:20 at age 73.
Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary by the Party Central Committee session on the 11th of March following Konstantin Chernenko's death. Soviet newspapers reported both events on the same day with Page 1 covering Gorbachev's election and Page 2 announcing Chernenko's demise.