Gorbachev
Comes to Power
uBrezhnev, after many
years of poor health, died in November 1982.
uHis successor as general
secretary and head of state was Yuri Andropov, a former chairman of the
Soviet political police, the KGB.
šAndropov attempted a tough approach to Soviet problems, but
soon
disappeared from public view. He died in February of 1984.
uAfter him, Konstantin
Chernenko, a member of Brezhnev’s entourage for 35 years, lasted
only 13 uneventful months before he, too, died in office.
uOn March 11, 1985, the
Central Committee appointed the 54-year-old Mikhail Gorbachev, the youngest
member of the Politburo, as general secretary.