To make matters worse for Chernenko, he did not have control over the Politburo ; both Andrei Gromyko and Dmitriy Ustinov were both very independent politically, and the Politburo still contained several leading Andropov protégés, such as Gorbachev, Vorotnikov, Solomontsev and Heydar Aliyev.

For example, Gorbachev quickly became the party's de facto Second Secretary, even though Chernenko did not support him.

In contrast to previous general secretaries, Chernenko did not control the Cadre Department of the Central Committee, making Chernenko's position considerably weaker.

However, Chernenko did strengthen his position considerably at the beginning of 1985, not long before his death.

Despite calls for renewed détente, Chernenko did little to prevent the escalation of the Cold War with the United States.

He was succeeded in office by Konstantin Chernenko, who was destined to serve even less time in office ( 13 months ) than Andropov did before his death in office.

Chernenko did come up with a solution, to make it law that the Party leader would also become the leader of the Government apparatus.

Chernenko represented a return to the policies of the late Brezhnev era.

According to the Chief Kremlin physician, Dr. Yevgeny I. Chazov, Chernenko had also developed both chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Lenin and Stalin were placed inside the Lenin Mausoleum while Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko were interred in individual graves in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis along the Kremlin wall.

Chernenko was also Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 11 April 1984 until his death.

* 1984 – Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

* February 13 – Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Four days after Andropov's death, on 9 February 1984, Chernenko was elected as the party's General Secretary.

Kremvax was announced on April 1, 1984 in a posting ostensibly originated there by Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko.

At the Central Committee plenary session on 13 February 1984, four days after Andropov's death, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Premier, and Politburo member Nikolai Tikhonov moved that Chernenko be elected general secretary, and the Committee duly voted him in.

In November 1984 Chernenko met with Britain's Labour Party leader, Neil Kinnock.

In the spring of 1984, Chernenko was hospitalized for over a month, but kept working by sending the Politburo notes and letters.

By the end of 1984, Chernenko could hardly leave the Central Clinical Hospital, a heavily guarded facility in west Moscow, and the Politburo was affixing a facsimile of his signature to all letters, as Chernenko had done with Andropov's when he was dying.

Chernenko was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, 1976, in 1981 and in 1984 he was awarded Hero of the Socialist Labour: on the latter occasion, Minister of Defence Ustinov underlined his rule as an " outstanding political figure, a loyal and unwavering continuer of the cause of the great Lenin "; in 1981 he was awarded with the Bulgarian Order of Georgi Dimitrov and in 1982 he received the Lenin Prize for his " Human Rights in Soviet Society.

" The Soviet Succession: From Andropov to Chernenko ," World Today, 40, April 1984, 134 – 41.

* Daniels, Robert V. " The Chernenko Comeback ," New Leader, 67, 20 February 1984, 3 – 5.

" Chernenko in Office ," International Perspectives, May – June 1984, 19 – 21.

Upon Andropov's death in 1984, the aged Konstantin Chernenko took power ; after his death the following year, it became clear to the party hierarchy that younger leadership was needed.

On February 9, 1984 Andropov died and was succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko who in turn died on March 10, 1985.

Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko further rehabiliated Molotov ; in 1984 Molotov was even allowed to seek a membership in the Communist Party.

Upon the deaths of Leonid Brezhnev ( 1982 ), Yuri Andropov ( 1984 ) and Konstantin Chernenko ( 1985 ), Kuznetzov became acting chairman of the Presidiumthe Soviet Union's acting head of state.

When Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary in 1985, Ligachev was promoted to become a Secretary of higher status, and was generally viewed as one of Gorbachev ’ s primary allies: he had helped organize a pro-Gorbachev faction in hope of having Gorbachev succeed Andropov in 1984, although this attempt failed ( instead, Konstantin Chernenko was chosen as a stop-gap candidate ).

Andropov died on February 9, 1984 and Chernenko was elected his replacement on February 13 but Chernenko was a compromise stopgap candidate as Gorbachev – Andropov's protege – lacked sufficient support in the Politburo.

Chernenko, the official second-ranking secretary, competed for power with Mikhail Gorbachev.

Chernenko was elected as a compromise candidate by the Politburo ; the Central Committee could never have accepted another candidate, considering that the majority of the Central Committee members were old Brezhnev appointees.

Even so, several leading Politburo members supported Chernenko, such as Nikolai Tikhonov and Viktor Grishin.

Chernenko never got complete control over the Central Committee and Party apparatus ; while Andropov never succeeded in removing the majority of Brezhnev appointees in the Central Committee, he had succeeding in dividing the Central Committee along factional lines.

In this confusion, Chernenko was never able to become a strong leader.

The distribution of power within the Central Committee turned Chernenko into little more than a figurehead.

Chernenko died on 10 March 1985, and the Central Committee appointed Gorbachev General Secretary on 11 March.

Of these three, Konayev and Shcherbytsky were Brezhnevites, and Vorotnikov, while not supporting Gorbachev, took it for granted that Gorbachev would succeed Chernenko.

At the same meeting, Grishin was asked to chair the commission responsible for Chernenko's funeral ; Grishin turned down the offer, claiming that Gorbachev was closer to Chernenko than he was.

But Andropov's ability to reshape the top leadership was constrained by his poor health and the influence of his rival ( and longtime ally of Leonid Brezhnev ) Konstantin Chernenko, who had previously supervised personnel matters in the Central Committee.

At 71, Konstantin Chernenko was in poor health, suffering from emphysema, and unable to play an active role in policy making when he was chosen, after lengthy discussion, to succeed Andropov.

Chernenko advocated more investment in consumer goods and services and in agriculture.

Although Chernenko had called for renewed détente with the West, little progress was made towards closing the rift in East − West relations during his rule.

Chernenko gave Gorbachev high party positions that provided significant influence in the Politburo, and Gorbachev was able to gain the vital support of Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in the struggle for succession.

When Chernenko died in March 1985, Gorbachev assumed power unopposed.

Following the death of terminally ill Konstantin Chernenko, the Politburo elected Mikhail Gorbachev to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ( CPSU ) in March 1985, marking the rise of a new generation of leadership.

The Godley & Creme-directed video depicted a wrestling match between then-President Ronald Reagan and then-Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko for the benefit of group members and an eagerly belligerent assembly of representatives from the world's nations, the event ultimately degenerating into complete global destruction.

Due to some violent scenes (" Reagan " biting " Chernenko "' s ear, etc.