Anna Chernenko

Anna Dmitrievna Chernenko (née Lyubimova) (1913 – 2010) 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.[1] She was educated as a tractor technician[2]

She was the second spouse of Konstantin Chernenko.[3] They had three children; a son and two daughters.[3] She served as the director of the University of Culture.[1] In addition, she worked for Moscow cultural organizations for nearly thirty years, particularly in the house on Kutuzovsky Prospect.[1][4] She was also a patron of Soviet movies.[5]

She was the spouse of the Soviet head of state from 11 April 1984 to 10 March 1985.[6] She reportedly protested over the election of her husband as party leader in 1984, saying "his health would never stand the strain."[2] When a red line installed in their bedroom following the appointment of Konstantin Chernenko, it was kept on her side of the bed.[1][2] She answered the calls and mostly refused to wake him.[2]

She was described as a modest, kind, shy and courageous woman.[1][7] She was not a public figure like other spouses of the Soviet leaders[8] and she was seen with her husband in parliamentary elections in March 1984.[5] The other public appearance was in her husband's funeral in March 1985.[3][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Larisa Vasilyeva (1994). Kremlin Wives. Arcade Publishing. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-55970-260-7. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Andrew Higgins (17 January 1993). "Secret lives of Kremlin wives". The Independent. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Prominent Russians: Konstantin Chernenko". RT. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Isobel Montgomery (21 September 1999). "Raisa Gorbachev". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Konstantin U. Chernenko, Soviet Leader". Associated Press. 11 March 1985. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet". Rulers. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  7. ↑ Yegor Ligachev (1993). Inside Gorbachev's Kremlin. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. p. 54. Retrieved 3 September 2013.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  8. ↑ John Regonamanye (24 June 2013). "Spouses of local politicians must come out into public arena". Sunday Standard. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  9. ↑ Serge Schmemann (11 March 1985). "Chernenko Is Dead in Moscow at 73". The New York Times (Moscow). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
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