Anna Chernenko
Anna Dmitrievna Chernenko (née Lyubimova) (3 September 1913 – 2010[1]) was the wife of Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko.
Biography
Anna Dmitrievna Lyubimova was born into an illiterate family and joined the Pioneer movement and the Komsomol in the 1930s.[2] She was educated as a tractor technician[3]
She was the second spouse of Konstantin Chernenko.[4] They had three children; a son and two daughters.[4] She served as the director of the University of Culture.[2] In addition, she worked for Moscow cultural organizations for nearly thirty years, particularly in the house on Kutuzovsky Prospect.[2][5] She was also a patron of Soviet movies.[6]
She was the spouse of the Soviet head of state from 11 April 1984 to 10 March 1985.[7] She reportedly protested over the election of her husband as party leader in 1984, saying "his health would never stand the strain."[3] When a red line installed in their bedroom following the appointment of Konstantin Chernenko, it was kept on her side of the bed.[2][3] She answered the calls and mostly refused to wake him.[3]
She was described as a modest, kind, shy and courageous woman.[2][8] She was not a public figure like other spouses of the Soviet leaders[9] and she was seen with her husband in parliamentary elections in March 1984.[6] The other public appearance was in her husband's funeral in March 1985.[4][10]
References
- ^ http://sr.rodovid.org/wk/Посебно:ChartInventory/267101
- ^ a b c d e Larisa Vasilyeva (1994). Kremlin Wives. Arcade Publishing. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-55970-260-7. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ a b c d Andrew Higgins (17 January 1993). "Secret lives of Kremlin wives". The Independent. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ a b c "Prominent Russians: Konstantin Chernenko". RT. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ Isobel Montgomery (21 September 1999). "Raisa Gorbachev". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Konstantin U. Chernenko, Soviet Leader". Associated Press. 11 March 1985. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
- ^ "Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet". Rulers. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ Yegor Ligachev (1993). Inside Gorbachev's Kremlin. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. p. 54. Retrieved 3 September 2013. – via Questia (subscription required)
- ^ John Regonamanye (24 June 2013). "Spouses of local politicians must come out into public arena". Sunday Standard. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ Serge Schmemann (11 March 1985). "Chernenko Is Dead in Moscow at 73". The New York Times. Moscow. Retrieved 3 September 2013.