| Ivan Bodiul | |
|---|---|
| First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party | |
| In office 28 May 1961 – 30 December 1980 |
|
| Premier | Alexandru Diordiţă Petru Pascari Semion Grossu |
| Preceded by | Zinovie Serdiuk |
| Succeeded by | Semion Grossu |
| Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union | |
| In office 19 December 1980 – 30 May 1985 |
|
| Preceded by | Alexey Antonov |
| Succeeded by | Boris Shcherbina |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 January 1918 Alexandrovca, Mykolaiv Oblast |
| Political party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
| Other political affiliations |
Communist Party of Moldova |
| Spouse(s) | Claudia |
Ivan Ivanovich Bodiul (born 21 December 1917 (1 January 1918), Alexandrovca) was a Moldovan SSR politician.
Ivan Ivanovich Bodiul was born on 3 January 1918, in Alexandrovca, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine. In spite of his Romanian origin, He was a very bad speaker of the Romanian language.
Ivan Bodiul was the First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party (28 May 1961 - 30 December 1980). Bodiul was one of the most authoritarian rulers of Soviet Moldavia. During first part of his rule he pointed on the fight with nationalism, sabotage and Zionism. A number of dissidents were imprisoned, including members of the Communist Party, while others were punished. His main supporters were the 2nd secretaries of the Communist Party (Yuri Melkov (until 1973), Nikolay Merenishchev (1973-1981), who came from Russia and the KGB, whose chairmen were Ivan Savchenko (until 1966), Piotr Chvertko (1966-1974) and Arkady Ragozin (1974-1979). Bodiul continued the fight for atheism, during which many of the churches were closed or destroyed. In the second part of his rule (since 1976) the antinational policy was less accentuated. Yet, a relative increase in economical development of the Moldavian SSR was obtained. Bodiul is known also as one of the most loyal followers of Leonid Brezhnev.
After spending a few years as deputy Prime Minister of Moldova (1980-1985), he retired in May 1985 and moved to Moscow. He obtained a PhD in Philosophy (1985). His daughters, Svetlana and Natalia Bodiul, live in Italy.
In December 1976, Ivan Bodiul and his wife Claudia were the first high-level Moldovan visitors to Romania since World War II. At one of his meetings in Bucharest, Bodiul said that "the good relationship was initiated by Ceauşescu's visit to Soviet Moldavia, which led to the expansion of contacts and exchanges in all fields." In August 1976, Bodiul met Ceauşescu and his wife at the frontier and escorted them to Chişinău.[1] Bodiul was decorated by many Soviet orders and medals, including 4 Orders of Lenin.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Zinovie Serdiuk |
First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party 28 May 1961-30 December 1980 |
Succeeded by Semion Grossu |
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