Pyotr Masherov

Pyotr Masherov Пётр Машэ́раў
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia
In office 30 March 1965 – 14 October 1980
Preceded by	Kirill Mazurov
Succeeded by	Tikhon Kiselyov
Personal details
Born	26 February 1918(1918-02-26) Gomel Region, Russian Empire
Died	4 October 1980(1980-10-04) (aged 62) Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Soviet
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of Byelorussia
Profession	Civil servant

Pyotr Mironovich Masherov (Belarusian: Пётр Міро́навіч Машэ́раў; Russian: Пётр Миро́нович Маше́ров; February 26 [O.S. February 13] 1918 - October 4, 1980) was the first secretary of Belarusian committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union and a communist leader of Soviet Belarus.

Overview

Pyotr Masherov was born as Pyatro Mashera in a village in Vitsebsk region of Belarus and before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in 1941 worked as a high school physics and math teacher. Between 1942 and 1944 Masherov led an underground group of Soviet partisans in Belarus and was awarded title Hero of the Soviet Union in August 1944.

In 1965 after holding some key positions in Belarusian regions and in Minsk Pyotr Masherov became the first secretary of the Communist party in Belarus.

He was de facto the president of Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Many had considered him the likely successor of the aging General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev.

In 1978 Pyotr Masherov was awarded Hero of Socialist Labor title for his contributions to the development of Belorussian republic.

Accident

He died in an automobile accident when his car, escorted by police, collided with a produce truck (potatoes) that had unexpectedly entered the freeway. It was declared an accident but some think that it was staged by the KGB to eliminate a strong potential candidate for the leadership in USSR.

See also

• List of people who died in road accidents