Petro Shelest Пётр Ефи́мович Ше́лест Петро Юхимович Шелест | |
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First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine | |
In office 23 June 1963 – 19 May 1972 | |
Preceded by | Nikolai Podgorny |
Succeeded by | Volodymyr Shcherbytsky |
Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union | |
In office 19 May 1972 – 7 May 1973 | |
Premier | Alexei Kosygin |
Full member of the 22nd, 23rd, 24th Politburo | |
In office 16 November 1964 – 27 April 1973 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Petro Yukhymovych Shelest 14 February 1908 Andriivtsi, Kharkov Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) |
Died | 22 January 1996 Moscow Oblast, Russia | (aged 87)
Nationality | Soviet Russian Ukrainian |
Political party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1928-1973) |
Signature | ![]() |
Petro Yukhymovych Shelest (Ukrainian: Петро Юхимович Шелест; Russian: Пётр Ефи́мович Ше́лест) (February 14, 1908 – January 22, 1996) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR.
Petro Shelest was born in a peasant Ukrainian family in a village near Kharkiv in 1908. In 1928 he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and in 1935 graduated from Mariupol' Metallurgical Institute.
Between 1943 and 1954 Shelest was a chief manager of several large factories in Leningrad and Kiev. Between 1954 and 1962 he was the Mayor of Kiev in addition to becoming a secretary of the Ukrainian Communist party. Soon he was promoted to the top position of first secretary of the Communist party of Ukrainian SSR and led it between 1963 and 1972. During his tenure and due to his cautious encouragement, there was a brief yet noticeable resurgence of the Ukrainian national culture. In 1968, Shelest was awarded the "Hero of Socialist Labor" title.
In 1972 he became deputy chairman of the Sovmin (USSR Council of Ministers). Shelest himself believed that his appointment was a result of the intrigues initiated by Brezhnev. In his memoirs, Shelest denounces his successor Shcherbitsky and Brezhnev as "intriguers" and criticized their style of government as "autocratic" and "non-comnunist". He found it hard do adapt to his new duties and resigned in 1973, citing health problems[1].
From 1973 to 1985 Shelest worked as a manager of an aircraft design bureau near Moscow. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he visited Ukraine several times and delivered lectures about his tenure as the Ukrainian leader. He died in Moscow in 1996.
References
- ^ "Юрий Яковлевич Фиалков — «Доля правды»". 2014-02-02. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
External links
- Shapoval, Yuri. "Petro Shelest, 100th anniversary of the birth of one of Ukraine's most spectacular political figure". Den'. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- Nahaylo, Bohdan (3 July 1988). ""National deviationist" Petro Shelest reappears after 15 years as non-person". The Ukrainian Weekly. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- Nahaylo, Bohdan (26 January 1996). "Petro Y. Shelest, 87, Ukraine Party Chief Ousted as 'Localist'". Reuters. The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- Kuzio, Taras (20 January 2011). "Nation must break vicious cycle". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
Party political offices | ||
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Preceded by Nikolai Podgorny |
1st Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine 1963–1972 |
Succeeded by Volodymyr Shcherbytsky |
Preceded by Hryhoriy Hryshko |
1st Secretary of the Communist Party of Kiev Oblast 1957–1962 |
Succeeded by Vasyl Drozdenko |