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Yuri Andropov. 1914-1984. Early Years. Son of a railway worked Worked as a telegraph operator Attended technical college at Petrozavodsk University Joined the Communist Party in 1939 Made head of the Komsomol in the Karelo Finnish Autonomous Republic. The Turning Point.
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Yuri Andropov 1914-1984
Early Years • Son of a railway worked • Worked as a telegraph operator • Attended technical college at Petrozavodsk University • Joined the Communist Party in 1939 • Made head of the Komsomol in the Karelo Finnish Autonomous Republic
The Turning Point • Transferred to Moscow in 1951 • Assigned to the party’s Secretariat staff (considered a training ground for future Soviet officials) • Acted as the ambassador to Hungary (1954-1957) • Helped coordinate the Soviet invasion in future years
Prelude to Power • 1967 became head of the KGB • extremely repressive • known for his suppression of political dissidents • Elected to the Politburo • Brezhnev’s death prompted him to position himself for power • resigned his KGB post in 1982 • Chosen by the Communist Party to succeed Brezhnev • consolidated power by becoming chairman on June 16th 1983 • August 1983 he fell ill and was never seen again in public • Accomplished very little and was succeeded by his rival Chernenko
Rise and Fall • Brezhnev’s death prompted him to position himself for power • resigned his KGB post in 1982 • Chosen by the Communist Party to succeed Brezhnev • consolidated power by becoming chariman on June 16th 1983 • August 1983 he fell ill and was never seen again in public • Accomplished very little and was succeeded by his rival Chernenko