Andrei Zhdanov
Encyclopedia
Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov ' onMouseout='HidePop("55211")' href="/topics/Mariupol">Mariupol
– 31 August 1948, Moscow
) was a Soviet
politician.
(Bolshevik
) in 1915 and was promoted through the party ranks, becoming the All-Union Communist Party
manager in Leningrad
after the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934. He was an endorser of Socialist Realism
in art.
Zhdanov was Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet from 20 July 1938–20 June 1947.
Though somewhat less active than Vyacheslav Molotov
, Joseph Stalin
, Lazar Kaganovich
and Kliment Voroshilov
, Zhdanov was a major perpetrator of the Great Terror
and personally approved 176 documented execution lists.
In June 1940, he was sent to Estonia
to supervise the establishment of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
and its annexation into the USSR.
During World War II
, Zhdanov was in charge of the defence of Leningrad
. After the cease-fire agreement
between Finland
and the USSR was signed in Moscow on 4 September 1944, Zhdanov directed the Allied Control Commission in Finland
until the Paris peace treaty
of 1947.
Zhdanov was appointed by Joseph Stalin
to direct the Soviet Union's cultural policy in 1946. His first action (in December 1946) was to censor Russian writers such as Anna Akhmatova
and Mikhail Zoshchenko
. He formulated what became known as the Zhdanov Doctrine
("The only conflict that is possible in Soviet culture is the conflict between good and best").
During 1946–1947, Zhdanov was Chairman of the Soviet of the Union
.
In 1947, he organized the Cominform
, designed to coordinate the communist parties of Europe
. In February 1948, he initiated purges among musicians, widely known as a struggle against formalism
. Dmitri Shostakovich
, Sergei Prokofiev
, Aram Khachaturian
and many other composers were reprimanded during this period.
He died on 31 August 1948 in Moscow
of heart failure; Nikita Khrushchev
recalled in Khrushchev Remembers that Zhdanov was an alcoholic, and that during his "last days", Stalin would shout at him to stop drinking and insist that he drink only fruit juice. Stalin had talked of Zhdanov being his successor but Zhdanov's ill health gave his rivals, Lavrentiy Beria
and Georgy Malenkov
, an opportunity to undermine him.
His son, Yuri
(1919–2006), married Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva
, in 1949. The marriage ended in divorce in 1950. They had one daughter, Yekaterina.
He was one of the accused during the U.S. House of Representatives' Kersten Committee investigation in 1953.
, was re-named Zhdanov at Joseph Stalin
's instigation in 1948, and a monument to Zhdanov was built in the central square of the city in his honor. The name reverted to Mariupol in 1989, and the monument was dismantled in 1990.
Mariupol
Mariupol , formerly known as Zhdanov , is a port city in southeastern Ukraine. It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Mariupol is the largest city in Priazovye - a geographical region around Azov Sea, divided by Russia and Ukraine - and is also a popular sea...
– 31 August 1948, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
politician.
Life
Zhdanov enlisted with the Russian Social Democratic Labour PartyRussian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
(Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
) in 1915 and was promoted through the party ranks, becoming the All-Union Communist Party
All-Union Communist Party
All-Union Communist Party may refer to the following political parties:* All-Union Communist Party was the name of the ruling party of the Soviet Union from 1925-1952, before the name changed to Communist Party of the Soviet Union....
manager in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
after the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934. He was an endorser of Socialist Realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
in art.
Zhdanov was Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet from 20 July 1938–20 June 1947.
Though somewhat less active than Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, Lazar Kaganovich
Lazar Kaganovich
Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich was a Soviet politician and administrator and one of the main associates of Joseph Stalin.-Early life:Kaganovich was born in 1893 to Jewish parents in the village of Kabany, Radomyshl uyezd, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire...
and Kliment Voroshilov
Kliment Voroshilov
Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov , popularly known as Klim Voroshilov was a Soviet military officer, politician, and statesman...
, Zhdanov was a major perpetrator of the Great Terror
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
and personally approved 176 documented execution lists.
In June 1940, he was sent to Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
to supervise the establishment of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic , often abbreviated as Estonian SSR or ESSR, was a republic of the Soviet Union, administered by and subordinated to the Government of the Soviet Union...
and its annexation into the USSR.
During World War II
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, Zhdanov was in charge of the defence of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
. After the cease-fire agreement
Moscow Armistice
The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on September 19, 1944, ending the Continuation War...
between Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and the USSR was signed in Moscow on 4 September 1944, Zhdanov directed the Allied Control Commission in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
until the Paris peace treaty
Paris Peace Treaties, 1947
The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of treaties with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland .The...
of 1947.
Zhdanov was appointed by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
to direct the Soviet Union's cultural policy in 1946. His first action (in December 1946) was to censor Russian writers such as Anna Akhmatova
Anna Akhmatova
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko , better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova , was a Russian and Soviet modernist poet, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Russian canon.Harrington p11...
and Mikhail Zoshchenko
Mikhail Zoshchenko
-Biography:Zoshchenko was born in 1895, in Poltava, but spent most of his life in St. Petersburg / Leningrad. His Ukrainian father was a mosaicist responsible for the exterior decoration of the Suvorov Museum in Saint Petersburg. The future writer attended the Faculty of Law at the Saint Petersburg...
. He formulated what became known as the Zhdanov Doctrine
Zhdanov Doctrine
The Zhdanov Doctrine was a Soviet cultural doctrine developed by the Central Committee secretary Andrei Zhdanov in 1946. It proposed that the world was divided into two camps: the imperialistic, headed by the United States; and democratic, headed by the Soviet Union...
("The only conflict that is possible in Soviet culture is the conflict between good and best").
During 1946–1947, Zhdanov was Chairman of the Soviet of the Union
Soviet of the Union
Soviet of the Union , was one of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in accordance with the principles of Soviet democracy, and with the rule that there be one deputy for...
.
In 1947, he organized the Cominform
Cominform
Founded in 1947, Cominform is the common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties...
, designed to coordinate the communist parties of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In February 1948, he initiated purges among musicians, widely known as a struggle against formalism
Russian formalism
Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in Russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. It includes the work of a number of highly influential Russian and Soviet scholars such as Viktor Shklovsky, Yuri Tynianov, Vladimir Propp, Boris Eichenbaum, Roman Jakobson, Grigory Vinokur who...
. Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
and many other composers were reprimanded during this period.
He died on 31 August 1948 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
of heart failure; Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
recalled in Khrushchev Remembers that Zhdanov was an alcoholic, and that during his "last days", Stalin would shout at him to stop drinking and insist that he drink only fruit juice. Stalin had talked of Zhdanov being his successor but Zhdanov's ill health gave his rivals, Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Georgian Soviet politician and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and Deputy Premier in the postwar years ....
and Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death, he became Premier of the Soviet Union and was in 1953 briefly considered the most powerful Soviet politician before being overshadowed by Nikita...
, an opportunity to undermine him.
His son, Yuri
Yuri Zhdanov
Yuri Andreyevich Zhdanov was a Russian chemistry professor and rector of the University of Rostov. He was the son of Soviet politician Andrei Zhdanov and a former husband of Joseph Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva....
(1919–2006), married Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva
Svetlana Alliluyeva
Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva , later known as Lana Peters, was the youngest child and only daughter of Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin's second wife...
, in 1949. The marriage ended in divorce in 1950. They had one daughter, Yekaterina.
He was one of the accused during the U.S. House of Representatives' Kersten Committee investigation in 1953.
Ideology
Until the late 1950s, Zhdanov's ideological code, known as the Zhdanov doctrine, Zhdanovism or zhdanovshchina, defined cultural production in the Soviet Union. Zhdanov intended to create a new philosophy of art-making for the entire world. His method reduced all of culture to a sort of chart, wherein a given symbol corresponded to a simple moral value. Zhdanov and his associates further sought to eliminate foreign influence from Soviet art, proclaiming that "incorrect art" was an ideological diversion.Honours and awards
- Two Orders of Lenin
- Order of the Red BannerOrder of the Red BannerThe Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
- Order of SuvorovOrder of SuvorovThe Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
, 1st class - Order of KutuzovOrder of KutuzovThe Order of Kutuzov is a Soviet and Russian military award, named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov ....
, 1st class - Order of the Red Banner of LabourOrder of the Red Banner of LabourThe Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
- Medal for the Defence of LeningradMedal for the Defence of Leningradthumb|200px|right|The Medal for the Defence of LeningradThe Medal for the Defence of Leningrad was established on December 22, 1942, and was awarded to all members of the Soviet Army, Navy, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and civil citizens who took part in the defense of Leningrad during its siege...
- Medal For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945
City of Zhdanov
His birth-place, MariupolMariupol
Mariupol , formerly known as Zhdanov , is a port city in southeastern Ukraine. It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Mariupol is the largest city in Priazovye - a geographical region around Azov Sea, divided by Russia and Ukraine - and is also a popular sea...
, was re-named Zhdanov at Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's instigation in 1948, and a monument to Zhdanov was built in the central square of the city in his honor. The name reverted to Mariupol in 1989, and the monument was dismantled in 1990.