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Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (1914-1984) was Director of the [[KGB]] from 1967 to 1982, and in 1982 was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), succeeding [[Leonid Brezhnev]]. Despite his hard-line past, which included a leading role in the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 (he was Soviet Ambassador to Hungary at the time) and in the suppression of the [[Prague Spring]] in 1968, and the 1979 Soviet invasion of [[Afghanistan]], Andropov was perceived in the West as a moderniser, and an opponent of the stagnation and corruption which was one of many factors impeding the Soviet economy. Apparently vigorous when he assumed supreme office, it was a surprise when his health rapidly declined. Following renal failure, he died on 9 February 1984 and was succeeded by the geriatric [[Konstantin Chernenko]].

'''Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov''' (1914-1984) was Director of the [[KGB]] from 1967 to 1982, and in 1982 was elected General Secretary of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU), succeeding [[Leonid Brezhnev]]. Despite his hard-line past, which included a leading role in the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 (he was Soviet Ambassador to [[Hungary]] at the time) and in the suppression of the [[Prague Spring]] in 1968, and the 1979 Soviet invasion of [[Afghanistan]], Andropov was perceived in the West as a moderniser, and an opponent of the stagnation and corruption which was one of many factors impeding the Soviet economy. Apparently vigorous when he assumed supreme office, it was a surprise when his health rapidly declined. Following renal failure, he died on 9 February 1984 and was succeeded by the geriatric [[Konstantin Chernenko]].

[[Category:Communists]]

[[Category:Communists]]

[[Category:Soviet Union]]

[[Category:Soviet Union]]

[[Category:Russian People]]

[[Category:Russian People]]