Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov

1914 Jun 15: Born at Nagutskaya, Stavropol region, son of railway man.

1930: Worker; joins Komsomol in Mozdok, North-Ossetskaya ASSR.

1932: Enters Rybinsk River Transport Tekhnikum, Yaroslav region.

1932-36: Works as sailor, navigator, and captain's assistant on Volga; then studies at Petrozavodsk State University and Higher Party School.

1936: Komsomol organizer at Volodarsky shipyard in Rybinsk.

1938: Appointed First Secretary of Yaroslav Obkom Komsomol.

1939: Joins Communist Party.

1940: Appointed First Secretary of Komsomol Karelia, territory newly ceded to USSR from Finland.

1941-44: A leader of partisan movement in Karleia in Great Patriotic War; probably worked from Soviet territory in Belomorsk.

1942: Writes article "We Will Defend You, Our Karelia" in Komsomol magazine Smena (No.23-4).

1944: Appointed 2nd Secretary of Petrozavodsk City Committee.

1947: Second Secretary of Karelo-Finnish Communist Party.

1951: Moves to central party apparatus in Moscow to work as inspector, then head of a sub-department of the Central Committee. Works with timber and cellulose industry.

1951 Apr 12: Pravda publishes article by Andropov, "On Party Control Of The Productivity of Labor in Industry."

1953: Appointed Counselor in Soviet Embassy in Hungary.

1954 Jul -1957 Mar: Ambassador to Hungary. Learns Hungarian language. (Hungarian Uprising Oct-Nov 1956; Suslov supervises Andropov during uprising.)

1957-1967: Head of Central Committee Department for Relations with Communist and Workers Parties in Socialist Nations; recommended for the job by Suslov.

1961 Oct: Elected member of Central Committee.

1962: Elected Secretary of Central Committee.

1963 Jul: Participates in composition of "Open Letter" on Sino-Soviet dispute, reaffirming principles of 20th & 22nd Party Congresses.

1964 Apr 22: As junior secretary of Central Committee, gives traditional speech on Lenin's birthday.

1964 Oct: Khrushchev deposed. Andropov tells subordinates "Khrushchev was not removed because of his criticism of Stalin's cult of personality and his policy of peaceful coexistence. But because he was inconsistent in this criticism and in this policy."[GA,110]

1965 Jan: Severely criticized by Presidum for insufficient "class position" in draft of instructions for Soviet delegation to Warsaw Pact meeting. Temporarily in disgrace.

1965: Suffers heart attack.

1965: Accompanies Kosygin on trip to Vietnam and China.

1967 May: Appointed head of KGB and made candidate member of Politburo.

1968: Heads Politburo commission on problem of Crimean Tartars.

1973: Made full member of Politburo.

1977 Sep: Gives speech at meeting in celebration of Feliks Dzherzhinsky's 100th birthday.

1979 Feb 21: Signs report documenting low-quality construction and design deviations at Chernobyl.

1982 Apr 22: Gives speech at Lenin's birthday party.

1982 May 24: Transferred from KGB to Secretariat. Moves into Suslov's old office. Given ideology portfolio. Becomes #2. Actually, Brezhnev and Tikhonov wanted Chernenko for this job, but this was opposed by Ustinov, Shcherbitsky, Gromyko, and Gorbachev.

1982 Nov 10, 8:30 A.M.: Brezhnev dies from heart attack.

1982 Nov 10, 4:00 P.M.: Politburo meets. Ustinov nominates Andropov as General Secretary and the majority is in favor.

1982 Nov 12: Plenum of Central Committee confirms Andropov as General Secretary. Chernenko nominates him, saying, "He will continue the Brezhnev style of leadership, Brezhnev's care for the interests of the people, Brezhnev's comradely relations with the party cadres."

1982 Nov 22: In speech to Party Plenum, he lists his economic priorities: improve management, increase productivity, improve quality of both labor and goods. Emphasizes the need to reduce losses and waste. Opens way to economic experimentation and considering "the experience of fraternal countries" (i.e., Hungary).

1982: Begins anti-alcohol campaign.

1982 Dec 11: Politburo approves anticorruption measures.

1982 Dec 15: New program to improve transportation system adopted by Soviet of Ministers. Plan includes better coordination between railways, merchant fleets, river transport, air cargo, and road freight systems. Link established between salaries and overall economic performance of transport system.

1982 Dec: Crackdown begins on unregistered freelance work, or moonlighting.

1982 Dec 21: To counter American "zero option", proposes to keep in Europe only as many missiles as are kept by France and Britain. This could mean reduction by two-thirds from 600 to 150 missiles. Signals possibility of accepting parity based on number of warheads, not just missiles.

1982 Dec 27: Despite expectations to the contrary, does not grant political amnesty on 60th Anniversary of the USSR.

1982 Dec 31: Proposes 25% reduction in all nuclear arsenals.

1982 Dec 31: Signals willingness for a summit with Reagan.

1983 Jan: Food prices increased subtly by diverting more food away from the state shops and to the unsubsidized, more expensive "cooperative" shops.

1983 Jan: Operation Trawl begins, rounding up absentee workers who are out shopping.

1983 Jan: Meets with Georgii Markov, Chairman of the Union of Soviet Writers. Andropov agrees that writers should be given some freedom but also argues that literature has the duty to help the Party and state in its struggle for order.

1983 Jan 31: Meets with workers and engineers at machine tool plant in Moscow. Calls for better discipline, stricter observance of the plan and a reduction in absenteeism, slow work, etc.

1983 Feb: Health begins to deteriorate.

1983 Mar: Dependent on kidney dialysis.

1983 Jan-Mar: Industrial production and labor productivity rise 5%.

1983 Apr: Gorbachev gives traditional speech on Lenin's birthday, marking his ascendancy.

1983 Jun 16: Elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

1983 Sep 1: Korean air liner shot down over Sakhalin.

1983 Dec 26: Party Plenum "acquaints self with the text" of Andropov's speech. Implication is that Andropov himself didn't speak.

1984 Feb 9: Dies.