Volodymyr Shcherbytsky

Volodymyr Shcherbytsky Володи́мир Щерби́цький
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine
In office 25 May 1972 – 28 September 1989
Preceded by	Petro Shelest
Succeeded by	Vladimir Ivashko
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
In office 23 October 1965 – 25 May 1972
Preceded by	Ivan Kazanets
Succeeded by	Oleksandr Liashko
In office 28 February 1961 – 26 June 1963
Preceded by	Nikifor Kalchenko
Succeeded by	Ivan Kazanets
First Secretary of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine
In office 7 July 1963 – 23 October 1965
Preceded by	Nikita Tolubeev
Succeeded by	Oleksiy Vatchenko
In office December 1955 – December 1957
Preceded by	Andrei Kirilenko
Succeeded by	Anton Gayevoy
Full member of the 24th , 25th, 26th, 27th Politburo
In office 9 April 1971 – 20 September 1989
Candidate member of the 22nd Politburo
In office 6 December 1965 – 8 April 1966
In office 31 October 1961 – 13 December 1963
Full member of the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th Central Committee
In office 31 October 1961 – 31 October 1983
Personal details
Born	17 February 1918 Verkhnodniprovsk, Ukrainian People's Republic
Died	16 February 1990 (aged 71) Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Soviet
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Volodymyr Vasylyovych Shcherbytsky (Ukrainian: Володи́мир Васи́льович Щерби́цький, Russian: Влади́мир Васи́льевич Щерби́цкий; IPA: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vɐˈsʲilʲɪvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪrˈbʲitskʲɪj]; 17 February 1918, Verkhnodniprovsk — 16 February 1990) was a Ukrainian and Soviet politician. He was a leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine from 1972 to 1989. During World War II, he participated in the invasion of Iran by the Soviet forces (see Iran crisis of 1946).

Biography

An influential figure in the Soviet Union, a member of Soviet politburo since 1971, he was a close ally to the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. His rule of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was characterized by the expanded policies of re-centralisation and suppression of dissent. While supporting Russification policies, he still allowed the Ukrainian language to keep circulating side-by-side with Russian in this traditionally bilingual republic. Scherbytsky's power base was arguably one of the most corrupt and conservative among the Soviet republics.^[1]

He was one of the supporters of Mikhail Gorbachev in his takeover of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which ultimately led to the implementation of reforms that dramatically altered the country and its future. At the same time, Scherbytsky opposed these democratic changes.

He is also held responsible for concealing the real scale of the Chernobyl Accident even to the central government in Moscow and for holding a May Day demonstration in Kiev only five days after the accident happened, when the public was still severely exposed to nuclear radiation. In 1990 he died from pneumonia (official version), while some close to him people were talking about a suicide . On February 17, 1990 Shcherbytsky was called for a witness testimony in relations to the Chernobyl disaster.

Awards

Volodymyr Shcherbytsky was twice awarded the Hero of Socialist Labour — in 1974 and 1977. During his public service he also received numerous other civil and state awards and recognitions, including the Order of Lenin (in 1958, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1983 and 1988), the Order of October Revolution (in 1978 and 1982), the Order of the Patriotic War, I class (in 1985) and various medals.^[2]

References

1. Democratic Changes and Authoritarian Reactions in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova By Karen Dawisha, Bruce Parrott. Cambridge University Press, 1997 ISBN 0-521-59732-3, ISBN 978-0-521-59732-6. p. 337
2. http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/uk/publish/article?showHidden=1&art_id=1261563&cat_id=661258

External links

• Shcherbytsky Volodymyr Vasylyovych, from the Ukrainian Government Portal