Anna Chernenko

Anna Chernenko (Russian: Анна Черненко, née Lyubimova; 3 September 1913 – 25 December 2010) was the wife of Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko.[1][2]

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Dmitrievna and the family name is Chernenko.

Anna Chernenko
Born
Anna Dmitrievna Lyubimova

3 September 1913
Died25 December 2010(2010-12-25) (aged 97)
OccupationTechnician
Known forWife of Konstantin Chernenko

Biography

Anna Dmitrievna Lyubimova was born into an illiterate family and joined the Pioneer movement and Komsomol in the 1930s.[3] She was educated as a tractor technician.[4]

She was the second spouse of Konstantin Chernenko, and the couple had three children: a son and two daughters.[3] She served as the director of the University of Culture.[3] In addition, she worked for Moscow cultural organizations for nearly thirty years, particularly in the house on Kutuzovsky Prospekt.[3][5] However, Anna left professional life later due to the objection of her sister-in-law who insisted that she should focus on her family.[6]

Anna's spouse, Konstantin Chernenko, served as the Soviet head of state from 11 April 1984 to 10 March 1985. She reportedly protested over the election of her husband as party leader in 1984, saying "his health would never stand the strain."[4] When a red line was installed in their bedroom following the appointment of Chernenko it was kept on her side of the bed.[3][4] She answered the calls and mostly refused to wake him.[4] During this period, she was the patron of Soviet movies.[7]

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

References
  1. Черненко К.У. (1911-1985) (in Russian)
  2. Анна Дмитриевна Любимова (Черненко) b. 3 септембар 1913 d. 2010 - Индекс потомака (in Russian)
  3. Larisa Vasilyeva (1994). Kremlin Wives. New York: Arcade Publishing. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-55970-260-7.
  4. Andrew Higgins (17 January 1993). "Secret lives of Kremlin wives". The Independent. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  5. Isobel Montgomery (21 September 1999). "Raisa Gorbachev". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  6. Lynne Attwood (Summer 1996). ""Hearing a Woman's Voice": Female Perspectives on Change in Russia and the Former Soviet Union". Journal of Women's History. 8 (2): 184. doi:10.1353/jowh.2010.0440. S2CID 143698854.
  7. "Konstantin U. Chernenko, Soviet Leader". Associated Press. 11 March 1985. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  8. Yegor Ligachev (1993). Inside Gorbachev's Kremlin. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-6794-1392-9.
  9. John Regonamanye (24 June 2013). "Spouses of local politicians must come out into public arena". Sunday Standard. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
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