Nikolai Podgorny

Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny (Russian Николай Викторович Подгорный, scientific transliteration Nikolai Podgorny Viktorovič; * 5.jul / 18 February 1903greg in Karlovka, .. † 11 January 1983 in Moscow ) was a Soviet politician of Ukrainian origin. From 1965 to 1977 he was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and thus head of state of the Soviet Union.

Biography

Rise in Ukraine

Podgorny graduated from 1923 to 1926 at the Technical Institute of Food Industry of the National Technical University of Ukraine in Kiev to study engineering. In 1930 he joined the Communist Party. The Ukrainian was promoted as Yekaterina Furtseva and Alexei Kirichenko initially by the Ukrainian party leader (1938-1949) Nikita Khrushchev. From 1939 to 1940 he was Deputy Minister of the food industry in the Ukrainian SSR and 1940-1942 Deputy Minister of the Food Industry of the USSR. From 1942 to 1944 he served as director of the Moscow Institute for the food industry. Once again, he was from 1944 to 1946 Deputy Minister of the food industry in the Ukrainian SSR.

After the Second World War Podgorny took from 1946 to 1950 the function of the permanent representative of the Ukrainian Council of Ministers in the Government of the USSR in Moscow true. But only in 1950, after Khrushchev 's departure from Ukraine, Podgorny entered the Ukrainian party apparatus and rose quickly. He was secretary of the 1950 First Oblastkomitees of Kharkov, as Leonid Melnikov, an opponent of Khrushchev, the Ukrainian party led. From 1953 to 1957 he was then Second Secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party, as the same time Kirichenko was party leader in Ukraine. From 1952 to 1965 he was a member of the Auditing Committee of the CPSU. Finally, in 1956 he became a member of the Central Committee ( CC) of the CPSU. From 1957 to 1963 he was First Secretary of the Communist Party finally Ukraine as successor to Kirichenko. In this office he was succeeded by Pyotr Shelest. During this time, Khrushchev practiced several times strongly criticized Podgorny, eg in 1960 on the occasion of the poor harvest in Ukraine, which he did with his followers in general.

Politburo member and Head of State

In June 1958 Podgorny became a candidate of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. On 4 May 1960, he left as a full member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, the highest political body of the USSR ( from 1966 Politburo ) on. He supported the run by Khrushchev de-Stalinization, coupled with the exclusion of Molotov, Malenkov and Kaganovich from the party and offices. When XXII. Congress of the CPSU in October 1961 there was again a settlement with the Stalinist opponents, and Podgorny and JW Spiridonov ( First Secretary of Leningrad) and Mazurov ( First Secretary of the Belorussian Communist Party ) held to the main speeches. In matters of agriculture, he offered the party leader by critical contributions quite forehead. From 1963 to 1964 he was secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In the fall of Nikita Khrushchev as party leader of the Communist Party, he supported more restrained his successor Leonid Brezhnev. In the Politburo he remained until May 24, 1977.

On December 9, 1965 Podgorny was elected chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and followed Mikoyan in the office, which he was also the head of state of the Soviet Union in the formal sense. However, in the power structure of the Soviet Union, the Office was ranked significantly lower than that of the Secretary-General of the party (or First Secretary ). During this time, party leader Brezhnev, Kosygin and Podgorny were Prime Minister - in that order - as the powerful Führungstroika the USSR. The " chief ideologist " Mikhail Suslov should, however, become increasingly important and overtake Podgorny in the power structure. Between the more reformist and the conservative Podgorny, Suslov came increasingly to different views, including reforms in the industry, with Suslov was able to prevail for the rather heavy military industry.

Podgornys resignation as head of state and a member of the Politburo took place on May 24, 1977 after a power struggle with Brezhnev, who took over the post of head of state in personal union with the General Secretary of the CPSU.

Podgorny received numerous decorations, was four times awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and received seven times the Order of Lenin