Mikhail Suslov

Mikhail Suslov
Михаил Суслов
Suslov in 1964
Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 6 December 1965 – 25 January 1982
Preceded by	Nikolai Podgorny
Succeeded by	Konstantin Chernenko (de facto)
In office 14 September 1953 – 17 December 1957 [verification needed]
Preceded by	Nikita Khrushchev
Succeeded by	Alexei Kirichenko
Senior Secretary of Ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 31 August 1948 – 25 January 1982
Preceded by	Andrei Zhdanov
Succeeded by	Konstantin Chernenko (acting)
First Secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee
In office 1939 – November 1944
Preceded by	Dmitry Goncharov
Succeeded by	Aleksandr Orlov
Personal details
Born	Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov (1902-11-21)21 November 1902 Shakhovskoye, Russian Empire
Died	25 January 1982(1982-01-25) (aged 79) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting place	Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow
Nationality	Soviet
Political party	CPSU (1921–1982)
Spouse	Yelizaveta Alexandrovna ​ ​ (died 1972)​
Children	2
Residence	Kutuzovsky Prospekt
Alma mater	Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Profession	Civil servant economist
Awards	Hero of Socialist Labor (twice)
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch/service	Soviet partisans
Years of service	1941–1945
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front Battle of the Caucasus Baltic guerrilla war Hungarian Uprising
Central institution membership 1952–1953 & 1955–1982: Full, 19th, 20th–21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Politburo 1947–1982: Member, 18th, 19th, 20th–21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Secretariat 1946–1952: 18th Orgburo 1939–1984: Full member, 18th, 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, & 26th Central Committee Other political offices held 1949–1952: Head of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee 1949–1950: Editor-in-chief of Pravda 1947–1948: Head of the Agitation & Propaganda Department of the Central Committee 1946–1949 & 1953–1954: Head of the International Department of the Central Committee

Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov (Russian: Михаи́л Андре́евич Су́слов; 21 November [O.S. 8 November] 1902 – 25 January 1982) was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1965, and as unofficial chief ideologue of the party until his death in 1982. Suslov was responsible for party democracy and power separation within the Communist Party. His hardline attitude resisting change made him one of the foremost orthodox communist Soviet leaders.

Born in rural Russia in 1902, Suslov became a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1921 and studied economics for much of the 1920s. He left his job as a teacher in 1931 to pursue politics full-time, becoming one of the many Soviet politicians who took part in the mass repression begun by Joseph Stalin's regime. He was made First Secretary of Stavropol Krai administrative area in 1939. During World War II, Suslov headed the local Stavropol guerrilla movement.

After the war, Suslov became a member of the Organisational Bureau (Orgburo) of the Central Committee in 1946. In June 1950, he was elected to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. From 16 October 1952 onwards, he was a full member of the 19th Presidium of the CPSU. In the ensuing shuffle of the Soviet leadership following Stalin's death, Suslov lost much of the recognition and influence he had previously earned. However, by the late 1950s, he had risen to become the leader of the party opposition to First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev. When Khrushchev was ousted in 1964, Suslov supported the establishment of a collective leadership. He also supported inner-party democracy and opposed the reestablishment of the one-man rule as seen during the Stalin and Khrushchev eras. During the Brezhnev era, Suslov was considered to be the party's chief ideologue and second-in-command. His death on 25 January 1982 is viewed as starting the battle to succeed Leonid Brezhnev as general secretary.