In the village of Starye Gromyki, Gomel district, Mogilev province of Belarus, in a peasant family.

After finishing the seven-year school, he studied at a vocational school in Gomel, where he was secretary of the Komsomol cell, then at a technical school in Borisov. In 1931, he joined the party and was soon elected secretary of the technical school party organization.

After graduating from college, he entered the Minsk Economic Institute, but after the second year he studied as an external student. While studying in his second year at the institute, Andrei Gromyko began teaching at a rural school near Minsk, and then was appointed director of this school.

Gromyko is twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1969, 1979), awarded five Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Badge of Honor, and medals.

In the city of Gomel (Belarus) there is a bronze bust of Andrei Gromyko, and in Moscow there is a memorial plaque on the house in which he lived.

The material was prepared based on information and open sources

On July 2, 1985, Eduard Shevardnadze took office as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. The “dilettante” decided to recall some of the minister’s Soviet colleagues.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (party pseudonym, real name - Scriabin) was born on February 25 (March 9), 1890 in the settlement of Kukarka, Kukarsky district, Vyatka province (now the city of Sovetsk, Kirov region) in the family of Mikhail Prokhorovich Scriabin, clerk of the trading house of the merchant Yakov Nebogatikov.

V. M. Molotov spent his childhood years in Vyatka and Nolinsk. In 1902-1908 he studied at the 1st Kazan Real School. In the wake of the events of 1905, he joined the revolutionary movement, and in 1906 he joined the RSDLP. In April 1909, he was first arrested and exiled to the Vologda province.

After serving his exile, in 1911 V. M. Molotov came to St. Petersburg, passed the exams for a real school as an external student and entered the economics department of the Polytechnic Institute. From 1912, he collaborated with the Bolshevik newspaper Zvezda, then became secretary of the editorial board of the newspaper Pravda, and a member of the St. Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP. During the preparation of the publication of Pravda, I met I.V. Stalin.

After the arrest of the RSDLP faction in IV State Duma in 1914 he hid under the name Molotov. Since the autumn of 1914, he worked in Moscow to recreate the party organization destroyed by the secret police. In 1915, V. M. Molotov was arrested and exiled to the Irkutsk province for three years. In 1916 he escaped from exile and lived illegally.

V. M. Molotov met the February Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. He was a delegate to the VII (April) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP (b) (April 24-29, 1917), a delegate to the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) from the Petrograd organization. He was a member of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council and the Military Revolutionary Committee, which led the overthrow of the Provisional Government in October 1917.

After the establishment of Soviet power, V. M. Molotov was in leading party work. In 1919, he was chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial executive committee, and later became secretary of the Donetsk provincial committee of the RCP (b). In 1920 he was elected secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine.

In 1921-1930, V. M. Molotov served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Since 1921, he was a candidate member of the Politburo of the Party Central Committee, and in 1926 he became a member of the Politburo. He actively participated in the fight against the internal party opposition and became one of the close associates of I.V. Stalin.

In 1930-1941, V. M. Molotov headed the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, and at the same time, since May 1939, he was the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. An entire era in Soviet foreign policy is associated with his name. V. M. Molotov’s signature is on the non-aggression treaty with Nazi Germany of August 23, 1939 (the so-called “Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact”), assessments of which were and remain ambiguous.

It fell to V. M. Molotov to inform the Soviet people about the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR on June 22, 1941. The words he said then: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours,” went down in the history of the Great Patriotic War 1941−1945.

It was Molotov who informed the Soviet people about the attack of Nazi Germany

During the war years, V. M. Molotov served as First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, Deputy Chairman State Committee defense of the USSR. In 1943 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. V. M. Molotov took an active part in organizing and holding the Tehran (1943), Crimean (1945) and Potsdam (1945) conferences of the heads of government of the three allied powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, at which the main parameters of the post-war structure of Europe were determined.

V. M. Molotov remained as head of the NKID (from 1946 - the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs) until 1949, again heading the ministry in 1953-1957. From 1941 to 1957, he simultaneously held the position of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (since 1946, the Council of Ministers) of the USSR.

At the June plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in 1957, V. M. Molotov spoke out against N. S. Khrushchev, joining his opponents, who were condemned as an “anti-party group.” Together with its other members, he was removed from the governing bodies party and removed from all government posts.

In 1957-1960, V. M. Molotov was the USSR Ambassador to the Mongolian People's Republic, and in 1960-1962 he headed the Soviet representative office at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. In 1962 he was recalled from Vienna and expelled from the CPSU. By order of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs of September 12, 1963, V. M. Molotov was released from work in the ministry due to his retirement.

In 1984, with the sanction of K.U. Chernenko, V.M. Molotov was reinstated in the CPSU while maintaining his party experience.

V. M. Molotov died in Moscow on November 8, 1986 and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Andrei Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky, a descendant of an old Polish noble family, a former Menshevik, who signed the order for the arrest of Lenin, it would seem, was doomed to fall into the millstones of the system. Surprisingly, instead, he himself came to power, holding the positions of: Prosecutor of the USSR, Prosecutor of the RSFSR, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rector of Moscow State University.

He owed this largely to his personal qualities, because even his opponents often note his deep education and outstanding oratorical abilities. It is for this reason that Vyshinsky’s lectures and court speeches have always attracted the attention of not only the professional legal community, but also the entire population. His performance was also noted. Already as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he worked from 11 a.m. until 4-5 a.m. the next day.

This is what contributed to his contribution to legal science. At one time, his works on criminology, criminal procedure, theory of state and law, and international law were considered classics. Even now, the concept of sectoral division of the legal system developed by A. Ya. Vyshinsky lies at the foundation of modern Russian jurisprudence.

As Minister, Vyshinsky worked from 11 a.m. until 4-5 a.m. the next day

But nevertheless, A. Ya. Vyshinsky went down in history as the “chief Soviet prosecutor” at the trials of the 1930s. For this reason, his name is almost always associated with the period of the Great Terror. The “Moscow trials” undoubtedly did not comply with the principles of a fair trial. Based on circumstantial evidence, the innocent were sentenced to death or long prison terms.

He was also characterized as an “inquisitor” by the extrajudicial form of sentencing in which he participated—the so-called “two,” officially the Commission of the NKVD of the USSR and the Prosecutor of the USSR. Accused of in this case were deprived of even a formal trial.

However, let me quote Vyshinsky himself: “It would be a big mistake to see the prosecutor’s office’s accusatory work as its main content. The main task of the prosecutor’s office is to be a guide and guardian of the rule of law.”

As Prosecutor of the USSR, his main task was the reform of the prosecutorial and investigative apparatus. The following problems had to be overcome: low education of prosecutors and investigators, staff shortages, bureaucracy, and negligence. As a result, a unique system of supervision over compliance with the law was formed, which the prosecutor's office remains at the present time.

The direction of Vyshinsky’s actions was even of a human rights nature, as far as this was possible in the conditions of totalitarian reality. For example, in January 1936, he initiated a review of cases against collective farmers and representatives of rural authorities convicted of theft in the early 30s. Tens of thousands of them were released.

Less well known are activities aimed at supporting Soviet defense. In numerous speeches and writings, he defended the independence and procedural powers of lawyers, often criticizing his colleagues for neglecting the defense. However, the declared ideals were not realized in practice, if we recall, for example, the “troikas”, which were the opposite of the adversarial process.

The diplomatic career of A. Ya. Vyshinsky is no less interesting. IN last years During his life, he served as the permanent representative of the USSR to the UN. In his speeches, he expressed authoritative opinions on many areas of international politics and international law. His speech on the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is well known - Vyshinsky foresaw problems with the implementation of the proclaimed rights, which are only now being noticed in the scientific and professional community.

The personality of Andrei Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky is ambiguous. On the one hand, participation in punitive justice. On the other hand, scientific and professional achievements, strong personal qualities, and the desire to achieve the ideal of “socialist legality.” It is they who force even Vyshinsky’s most fierce opponent to recognize in him that bearer of the highest values ​​- “a man of his craft.”

We can conclude that it is possible to be one under totalitarianism. This was confirmed by A. Ya. Vyshinsky.

Born into a family of railway workshop workers. After the family moved to Tashkent, he studied first at the gymnasium and then at the secondary school.

In 1926 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Institute of Red Professorships.

Since 1926 - in the justice authorities, in 1926-1928 he worked as a prosecutor in Yakutia. Since 1929 - at scientific work. In 1933-1935 he worked in the political department of one of the Siberian state farms. After the publication of a number of notable articles, he was invited to the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since 1935 - in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (Department of Science). As Leonid Mlechin reports, at one of the meetings on scientific issues, Shepilov “allowed himself to object to Stalin.” Stalin suggested that he back down, but Shepilov stood his ground, as a result of which he was expelled from the Central Committee and spent seven months without work.

Since 1938 - Scientific Secretary of the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

In the first days of the war, he volunteered to go to the front as part of the Moscow militia, although he had a “reservation” as a professor and the opportunity to go to Kazakhstan as director of the Institute of Economics. From 1941 to 1946 - in the Soviet Army. He worked his way up from a private to major general, head of the Political Department of the 4th Guards Army.

In 1956, Khrushchev achieved the removal of Molotov from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, installing his comrade-in-arms Shepilov in his place. On June 2, 1956, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Shepilov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, replacing Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov in this post.

In June 1956, the Soviet Foreign Minister toured the Middle East for the first time in history, visiting Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Greece. During negotiations in Egypt with President Nasser in June 1956, he gave secret consent to the USSR to sponsor the construction of the Aswan Dam. At the same time, Shepilov, due to the nature of his previous activities, not being a professional international affairs specialist, was impressed by the truly “pharaonic” reception that the then President of Egypt Nasser gave him, and upon returning to Moscow he managed to convince Khrushchev to speed up the establishment of relations with Arab countries the Middle East as opposed to normalizing relations with Israel. It should be taken into account that during the Second World War almost all political elite countries of the Middle East, one way or another, collaborated with Nazi Germany, and Nasser himself and his brothers then studied at German higher military educational institutions.

Represented the USSR's position on the Suez crisis and the uprising in Hungary in 1956. He headed the Soviet delegation at the London Suez Canal Conference.

Contributed to the normalization of Soviet-Japanese relations: in October 1956, a joint declaration was signed with Japan, ending the state of war. The USSR and Japan exchanged ambassadors.

In its speech at the 20th Congress, the CPSU called for the forcible export of socialism outside the USSR. At the same time, he participated in the preparation of Khrushchev’s report “On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences,” but the prepared version of the report was significantly changed.

Shepilov called for the forced export of socialism outside the USSR

When Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich tried to remove Khrushchev at a meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee in June 1957, presenting him with a whole list of accusations, Shepilov suddenly also began to criticize Khrushchev for establishing his own “cult of personality,” although he was never a member of this group. As a result of the defeat of the group of Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee that followed on June 22, 1957, the formulation “anti-party group of Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich and Shepilov who joined them” was born.

There is another, less literary-spectacular explanation for the origins of the formulation using the word “aligned”: a group that would consist of eight members would be awkward to call a “breakaway anti-party group”, since it turned out to be a clear majority, and this would be obvious even to readers of Pravda. To be called "factional schismatics", there had to be no more than seven members of the group; Shepilov was eighth.

It sounds more reasonable to assume that, unlike the seven members of the “anti-party group” - members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, Shepilov was defined as a “joiner”, since, as a candidate member of the Presidium, he did not have the right to a decisive vote in the voting.

Shepilov was relieved of all party and government posts. Since 1957 - director, since 1959 - deputy director of the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR, in 1960-1982 - archaeographer, then senior archaeographer at the Main Archival Directorate under the USSR Council of Ministers.

Since the cliché “and Shepilov, who joined them,” was actively discussed in the press, a joke appeared: “The longest surname is And Shepilov, who joined them”; when a half-liter bottle of vodka was divided “for three,” the fourth drinking companion was nicknamed “Shepilov,” etc. Thanks to this phrase, the name of the party functionary was recognized by millions of Soviet citizens. Shepilov’s own memoirs are polemically entitled “Non-Aligned”; they are sharply critical of Khrushchev.

Shepilov himself, according to his memoirs, considered the case fabricated. He was expelled from the party in 1962, reinstated in 1976, and in 1991 reinstated in the USSR Academy of Sciences. Retired since 1982.

Of all the Russian and Soviet foreign ministers, only one, Andrei Andreevich Gromyko, served in this post for a legendary length of time - twenty-eight years. His name was well known not only in the Soviet Union, but also far beyond its borders. His position as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR made him famous throughout the world.

The diplomatic fate of A. A. Gromyko was such that for almost half a century he was at the center of world politics and earned the respect of even his political opponents. In diplomatic circles he was called the “patriarch of diplomacy”, “the most informed foreign minister in the world.” His legacy, despite the fact that the Soviet era is far behind, is still relevant today.

A. A. Gromyko was born on July 5, 1909 in the village of Starye Gromyki, Vetkovsky district, Gomel region. In 1932 he graduated from the Economic Institute, in 1936 - graduate school at the All-Russian Research Institute of Economics Agriculture, Doctor of Economic Sciences (since 1956). In 1939 he was transferred to the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs (NKID) of the USSR. By this time, as a result of repressions, almost all the leading cadres of Soviet diplomacy had been destroyed, and Gromyko began to quickly make his career. At just under 30 years old, a native of the Belarusian hinterland with a PhD in Economics, almost immediately after joining the NKID, received the responsible post of head of the Department of American Countries. It was an unusually steep rise, even for those times when careers were created and destroyed overnight. No sooner had the young diplomat settled into his new apartments on Smolenskaya Square than he was summoned to the Kremlin. Stalin, in the presence of Molotov, said: “Comrade Gromyko, we intend to send you to work at the USSR Embassy in the USA as an adviser.” Thus, A. Gromyko became an adviser to the embassy in the United States for four years and at the same time an envoy to Cuba.

In 1946-1949. deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and at the same time in 1946-1948. fast. Representative of the USSR to the UN, 1949-1952. and 1953-1957 first deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, in 1952-1953. USSR Ambassador to Great Britain, in April 1957 Gromyko was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and served in this post until July 1985. Since 1983, First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers. In 1985-1988 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The diplomatic talent of Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was quickly noticed abroad. The authority of Andrei Gromyko, recognized by the West, was of the highest standard. In August 1947, Times magazine wrote: "As the Soviet Union's permanent representative on the Security Council, Gromyko does his job with breathtaking competence."

At the same time, with light hand Western journalists, Andrei Gromyko, as an active participant in the Cold War, became the owner of a whole series of unflattering nicknames like “Andrei the Wolf”, “robot misanthrope”, “man without a face”, “modern Neanderthal”, etc. Gromyko became well Known in international circles for his perpetually dissatisfied and gloomy expression, as well as his extremely unyielding actions, which has earned him the nickname "Mr. No". Regarding this nickname, A. A. Gromyko noted: “They heard my “no” much less often than I heard their “know,” because we put forward much more proposals. In their newspapers they called me “Mr. No” because I did not allow myself to be manipulated. Whoever sought this wanted to manipulate the Soviet Union. We are a great power and we won’t allow anyone to do this!”

Thanks to his intransigence, Gromyko received the nickname "Mr. No"

However, Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, noted in his memoirs: “I found Gromyko a more pleasant interlocutor than I imagined him from the stories about this sarcastic “Mr. No.” He gave the impression of a correct and imperturbable person, reserved in a pleasant Anglo-Saxon manner. He knew how to make it clear in an unobtrusive manner how much experience he had.”

A. A. Gromyko adhered extremely firmly to the approved position. " Soviet Union in the international arena, it’s me,” thought Andrei Gromyko. - All our successes in the negotiations that led to the conclusion of important international treaties and agreements are explained by the fact that I was confidently firm and even adamant, especially when I saw that they were talking to me, and therefore to the Soviet Union, from a position of strength or playing in "cat and mouse". I never fawned over Westerners and after being hit on one cheek, I did not turn the other. Moreover, I acted in such a way that my overly obstinate opponent would have a hard time.”

Many did not know that A. A. Gromyko had a delightful sense of humor. His remarks could include pointed comments that came as a surprise during tense moments when receiving delegations. Henry Kissinger, coming to Moscow, was constantly afraid of eavesdropping by the KGB. Once, during a meeting, he pointed to a chandelier hanging in the room and asked the KGB to make him a copy of American documents, since the Americans’ copying equipment was “out of order.” Gromyko answered him in the same tone that chandeliers were made during the reign of the tsars and they could only contain microphones.

Among the most important achievements, Andrei Gromyko singled out four points: the creation of the UN, the development of agreements to limit nuclear weapons, the legalization of borders in Europe and, finally, the recognition of the USSR as a great power.

Few people today remember that the UN was conceived in Moscow. It was here in October 1943 that the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain declared that the world needed an international security organization. It was easy to declare, but difficult to do. Gromyko stood at the origins of the UN; the Charter of this organization bears his signature. In 1946, he became the first Soviet representative to the UN and at the same time deputy and then first deputy minister of foreign affairs. Gromyko was a participant and subsequently the head of our country’s delegation at 22 sessions of the UN General Assembly.

“The question of questions,” the “super task,” as A. A. Gromyko himself put it, was for him the process of negotiations to control the arms race, both conventional and nuclear. He went through all the stages of the post-war disarmament epic. Already in 1946, on behalf of the USSR, A. A. Gromyko made a proposal for a general reduction and regulation of weapons and a ban on the military use of atomic energy. Gromyko considered the Test Ban Treaty signed on August 5, 1963 to be a source of special pride. nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, negotiations on which have dragged on since 1958.

Another priority foreign policy A. A. Gromyko believed that the results of World War II would be consolidated. This is, first of all, a settlement around West Berlin, the formalization of the status quo with the two German states, Germany and the GDR, and then pan-European affairs.

The historical agreements of the USSR (and then Poland and Czechoslovakia) with Germany in 1970-1971, as well as the 1971 quadripartite agreement on West Berlin, required enormous strength, persistence and flexibility from Moscow. How great the personal role of A. A. Gromyko in the preparation of these fundamental documents for peace in Europe is evident from the fact that to develop the text of the Moscow Treaty of 1970, he held 15 meetings with Chancellor W. Brandt’s adviser E. Bar and the same number with the minister Foreign Affairs V. Sheel.

It was they and the previous efforts that cleared the way for détente and the convening of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The significance of the Final Act signed in August 1975 in Helsinki had a global scale. It was, in essence, a code of conduct for states in key areas of relations, including military-political. The inviolability of post-war borders in Europe was secured, to which A. A. Gromyko attached special importance, and the preconditions were created for strengthening European stability and security.

It was thanks to the efforts of A. A. Gromyko that all the i’s were dotted between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. In September 1984, at the initiative of the Americans, a meeting between Andrei Gromyko and Ronald Reagan took place in Washington. These were Reagan's first negotiations with a representative of the Soviet leadership. Reagan recognized the Soviet Union as a superpower. But another statement became even more significant. Let me remind you of the words spoken by the herald of the myth of the “evil empire” after the end of the meeting in the White House: “The United States respects the status of the Soviet Union as a superpower... and we have no desire to change it social system" Thus, Gromyko's diplomacy obtained from the United States official recognition of the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the Soviet Union.

Thanks to Gromyko, relations between the USSR and the USA were stabilized

Andrei Gromyko carried in his memory many facts that had been forgotten by wide circles of the international community. “Can you imagine,” Andrei Gromyko told his son, “it’s none other than the polished Macmillan, the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Since this was at the height of the Cold War, he makes attacks on us. Well, I would say that the usual UN cuisine is working, with all its political, diplomatic and propaganda techniques. I sit and think about how to respond to these attacks on occasion, during debates. Suddenly, Nikita Sergeevich, who was sitting next to me, bends down and, as I first thought, was looking for something under the table. I even moved away a little so as not to disturb him. And suddenly I see him pull out his shoe and start pounding it on the surface of the table. Frankly speaking, my first thought was that Khrushchev felt ill. But after a moment I realized that our leader was protesting in this way, seeking to embarrass MacMillan. I became all tense and, against my will, began to bang on the table with my fists - after all, I had to somehow support the head of the Soviet delegation. I didn’t look in Khrushchev’s direction, I was embarrassed. The situation was truly comical. And what’s surprising is that you can make dozens of smart and even brilliant speeches, but no one will remember the speaker in decades, Khrushchev’s shoe will not be forgotten.

As a result of almost half a century of practice, A. A. Gromyko developed for himself the “golden rules” of diplomatic work, which, however, are relevant not only for diplomats:

- it is absolutely unacceptable to immediately reveal all your cards to the other side, to want to solve the problem in one fell swoop;

— careful use of summits; poorly prepared, they do more harm than good;

- you cannot allow yourself to be manipulated either by crude or sophisticated means;

— Success in foreign policy requires a realistic assessment of the situation. It is even more important that this reality does not disappear;

— the most difficult thing is to consolidate the real situation through diplomatic agreements and international legal formalization of a compromise;

- constant struggle for initiative. In diplomacy, initiative is The best way protection of state interests.

A. A. Gromyko believed that diplomatic activity is hard work, requiring those who engage in it to mobilize all their knowledge and abilities. The task of a diplomat is “to fight to the end for the interests of his country, without harming others.” “To work across the entire range of international relations, to find useful connections between seemingly separate processes,” this thought was a kind of constant in his diplomatic activity. “The main thing in diplomacy is compromise, harmony between states and their leaders.”

In October 1988, Andrei Andreevich retired and worked on his memoirs. He passed away on July 2, 1989. “The State, the Fatherland is us,” he liked to say. “If we don’t do it, no one will.”

Born on January 25, 1928 in the village of Mamati, Lanchkhuti district (Guria).

Graduated from Tbilisi Medical College. In 1959 he graduated from Kutaisi Pedagogical Institute. A. Tsulukidze.

Since 1946, at Komsomol and party work. From 1961 to 1964 he was the first secretary of the district committee of the Communist Party of Georgia in Mtskheta, and then the first secretary of the Pervomaisky district party committee of Tbilisi. In the period from 1964 to 1972 - First Deputy Minister for the Protection of Public Order, then - Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia. From 1972 to 1985 - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. In this post, he carried out a highly publicized campaign against the shadow market and corruption, which, however, did not lead to the eradication of these phenomena.

In 1985-1990 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, from 1985 to 1990 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9–11 convocations. In 1990-1991 - People's Deputy of the USSR.

In December 1990, he resigned “in protest against the impending dictatorship” and in the same year left the ranks of the CPSU. In November 1991, at the invitation of Gorbachev, he again headed the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs (called at that time the Ministry of Foreign Relations), but after the collapse of the USSR a month later this position was abolished.

Shevardnadze was one of Gorbachev's associates in pursuing the policy of perestroika

In December 1991, the Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR E. A. Shevardnadze was one of the first among the leaders of the USSR to recognize the Belovezhskaya Agreements and the upcoming demise of the USSR.

E. A. Shevardnadze was one of M. S. Gorbachev’s associates in pursuing the policy of perestroika, glasnost and détente.

Sources

1. http://firstolymp.ru/2014/05/28/andrej-yanuarevich-vyshinskij/
2. http://krsk.mid.ru/gromyko-andrej-andreevic

Gromyko Andrey Andreevich- Soviet diplomat and statesman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Doctor of Economics.

Born on July 5 (18), 1909 in the village of Starye Gromyki, now Vetkovsky district, Gomel region (Belarus), in the peasant family of Andrei Matveevich Gramyko-Burmakov (1876–1933) and Olga Evgenievna Bekarevich (1884–1948). From the age of 13 I went with my father to earn money. After graduating from a seven-year school (1923), he studied at a vocational school and technical school in the city of Gomel.

In 1932 he graduated from the Minsk Agricultural Institute and entered graduate school. In 1934, as part of a group of graduate students, he was transferred to Moscow. In 1936, he graduated from graduate school at the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Agricultural Economics in Moscow, defending his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences. Since 1936, senior researcher, then scientific secretary of the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Since 1939 in diplomatic work. Gromyko's brilliant career in 1939–1957 was associated with powerful political upheavals in the country, to which he himself had no direct connection. In 1939, head of the department of American countries of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. In 1939–1943, advisor to the USSR Embassy in the USA. In 1943–1946, the USSR Ambassador to the USA and part-time envoy to Cuba. Later – permanent representative of the USSR to the UN (1946–1948), deputy (1946–1949) and first deputy (1949–1952, 1953–1957) Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, USSR Ambassador to Great Britain (1952–1953).

In 1957, Gromyko’s book “Export of American Capital” was published, which allowed the Academic Council of Lomonosov Moscow State University to award Gromyko the degree of Doctor of Economics.

In February 1957, Gromyko was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR (he held this post for 28 years). Having come to diplomacy from science, Gromyko remained an outsider in the party hierarchy, having not been “tested” by party work. Top management needed him as a competent specialist, as an official. At the same time, among the officials who filled the top of the party hierarchy, he remained a diplomat. Gromyko assessed the situation relatively soberly, but, trying not to conflict with figures who had real power, he usually gave in when his opinion differed from the position of key members of the Politburo, primarily the leaders of the KGB and the USSR Ministry of Defense.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 17, 1969, Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

In 1973–1988, member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Gromyko was a member of the narrow leadership of the Politburo and became a symbol of Soviet foreign policy in the 1960s and 1970s. For his intransigence, he received the nickname “Mr. NO” in the USA. An impenetrable mask shackled the face of the cautious diplomat and politician. Under the leadership of Gromyko, the main agreements of “détente” were developed; he opposed intervention in the Afghan war. In 1983–1985, he simultaneously served as First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 17, 1979, Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was awarded the Order of Lenin and the second gold medal “Hammer and Sickle”.

Gromyko supported the nomination of M.S. Gorbachev to power and proposed his candidacy for the post Secretary General Central Committee of the CPSU. His vote as the most authoritative member of the Politburo was decisive. M.S. Gorbachev sought to personally lead foreign policy, and therefore in June 1985 he replaced Gromyko with E.A. Shevardnadze as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. As gratitude for his support, in 1985 Gromyko took the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1985–1988).

Since October 1988 - retired.

In 1952–1956, a candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee, in 1956–1959 and 1961–1989, a member of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1946–1950 and 1958–1989, deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Gromyko - author scientific works on issues of international relations, chairman of the commission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR for the publication of diplomatic documents, member of the editorial commission on the history of diplomacy. Author of the autobiographical book “Andrei Gromyko. Memorable" (1988).

A. A. Gromyko was a major figure in the Soviet state apparatus for many years; he was a diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union.

Origin. Education

A. A. Gromyko was born into a poor peasant family on July 18, 1909 in Belarus: the village of Starye Gromyki, Gomel district, Moshlev province. At the age of 13, he had to go with his father to earn money. After graduating from seven-year school, he went to Gomel, studied first at a vocational school, then at a technical school, and then in Minsk he graduated from institute and graduate school.

Carier start

In 1934, having passed the security check required at that time, Gromyko was transferred to Moscow along with several other graduate students. After he defended his Ph.D. thesis (1936), he was accepted to the position of senior researcher at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where he soon rose to the position of scientific secretary.

Diplomatic work

Since 1939, for many years, A. A. Gromyko was in the most important areas of the country's diplomatic activity. At first he headed a department specializing in American countries at the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs. Soon, in the same 1939, he was appointed adviser to the USSR Embassy in the United States of America. From 1943 to 1946, he served as the USSR Ambassador simultaneously to the USA and Cuba. In 1946, he became the Soviet representative of the UN Security Council and simultaneously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR.

Potsdam (Berlin) Conference

In 1945 (July 17 - August 2), the famous Potsdam Conference of the heads of the victorious countries took place, where the USSR was represented by Stalin, the USA by Truman, and the UK by Churchill and Attlee. Gromyko was one of the participants in this conference as part of the USSR delegation as its ambassador to the USA. In his last interview, which he gave to Vitaly Korotich for the Ogonyok magazine (No. 30, July 1989), Gromyko spoke in detail about this historical event. In particular, he recalled the episode when Truman, in a conversation with Stalin, as if by chance, announced that the United States had created weapons of enormous, terrible destructive power and that tests were already underway.

He thanked him for the information and did not seem to attach much importance to it. But upon returning to Moscow, he met with Kuchatov. And soon the first nuclear weapons tests took place in the Soviet Union. But if the United States dropped its bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the USSR never used these weapons against people. From then on, the so-called “arms race” began, which changed the world for several decades.

In Moscow

In 1948, A. A. Gromyko was summoned to Moscow, where he was appointed first deputy minister of foreign affairs, and served in this position from 1949 to 1952. Then he served as ambassador of the Soviet Union to Great Britain for almost a year (1952 - 1953). Then, until the end of his career, he worked in Moscow, in senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1953 - 1957), and then Minister of Foreign Affairs of our country (1957 - 1985). For several years he served as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Resigned on October 1, 1988.

Diplomatic contribution

A. A. Gromyko participated in and then headed the Soviet delegation at twenty-two sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In the seventies and eighties in the West, many considered him “diplomat number 1.” And this is not accidental. He played a huge role in the fate of Palestine in 1947, in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, contributed to the prevention of India's war with Pakistan in 1966, as well as the signing of many agreements and treaties with the United States in the period 1968 - 1979.

Gromyko represented the USSR in the development of the historic agreement between our country, Czechoslovakia and Poland with the Federal Republic of Germany (1970 - 71) and the quadripartite agreement on West Berlin (1973). These documents formed the basis for the convening of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (1973). Gromyko's diplomacy contributed to ending the US war in Vietnam, as evidenced by the agreement signed in 1973. Paris Agreement. And the Helsinki Treaty (August 1975), in the signing of which A. A. Gromyko participated, was no longer a document of a European, but a global scale.

Gromyko died on July 2, 1989. His grave is in the cemetery.

THE USSR. Thanks to his instincts and personal qualities, he was able to hold on as head of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 28 years. No one else has been able to repeat this. It was not for nothing that he was considered diplomat No. 1. Although he also had mistakes in his career. About this person and we'll talk in the article.

Basic biography facts

Andrei Gromyko was born on July 5, 1909 in the village of Starye Gromyki (the territory of modern Belarus). He came from a poor family, and at the age of 13 he began to earn a living by helping his father. Education of a future diplomat:

• seven-year school;
• vocational school (Gomel);
• Staroborisovsky Agricultural College;
• Economic Institute (Minsk);
• postgraduate studies at the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR;
• received academic degree at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

To work in the department of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Gromyko, whose biography is being considered, met two main requirements. Namely, he was of peasant-proletarian origin and spoke a foreign language.

Thus began his career in diplomacy. Already in 1939, Andrei Andreevich was appointed adviser to the USSR mission in the USA from 1939 to 1943. From 1943 to 1946 he was appointed Soviet ambassador to the United States. In addition, he took an active part in diplomatic relations with Cuba, preparation for the three world wars (Potsdam, Yalta). The diplomat had a direct relationship with

Participation in the UN

The Soviet politician Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was one of those who stood at the origins of the UN in the post-war period. It is his flourish that stands under the Charter of the international organization. He was a participant and later the head of the USSR delegation at sessions of the UN General Assembly.

In the Security Council, the diplomat had which he used to defend the foreign policy interests of the USSR.

Work at the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Andrei Gromyko was the head of the USSR Foreign Ministry from 1957 to 1985. During this time, he contributed to the negotiation process on, among other things, the reduction of nuclear tests.

Due to his tough style in conducting diplomatic negotiations, the diplomat began to be called “Mr. No” in the foreign press. Although he himself noted that in negotiations he had to hear negative answers from his opponents much more often.

The diplomat experienced the greatest difficulties in working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Khrushchev, who was not satisfied with the lack of flexibility in Andrei Andreevich’s negotiations. The situation changed under Brezhnev's leadership of the country. They developed a trusting relationship. This period is considered the heyday of the influence of diplomat No. 1 on state and party affairs of the USSR.

Until the end of his life, Gromyko was involved in government affairs. He retired in 1988 and died less than a year later.

Involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis

By 1962, the confrontation between the USSR and the USA had reached its climax. This period was called To a certain extent, what happened was related to the position of the diplomat. Andrei Gromyko held negotiations on this issue with John Kennedy, but, not having reliable information, the Soviet statesman could not conduct them at the proper level.

The essence of the conflict between the two superpowers of that time was the USSR's deployment of its nuclear-powered missiles on Cuban territory. The weapons were placed off the coast of the United States and classified as “top secret.” Therefore, Andrei Andreevich, whose biography is being reviewed, knew nothing about Gromyko’s operation.

After the United States provided images confirming that the Soviet Union was indeed using Cuban territory to create a military threat against the United States, a decision was made to implement a “quarantine.” This meant that all ships within a certain distance from Cuba were subject to inspection.

The Soviet Union decided to remove the missiles, and the threat of nuclear war was removed. The world lived in anticipation of war for 38 days. The resolution of the Cuban missile crisis led to detente in relations between East and West. Has begun new period in international relations.

A street and a school in the city of Vetka (Belarus) are named in honor of such a political figure as Andrei Andreevich Gromyko. And in Gomel, a bronze bust was erected to him. By 2009, compatriots issued a postage stamp dedicated to the diplomat.

There are a number of unconfirmed facts about the diplomat’s activities:

• in 1985, at a meeting of the Politburo, it was Andrei Andreevich who proposed the candidacy of Mikhail Gorbachev for the highest post in the country, but after 1988 he began to regret his decision;
• he expressed his motto in diplomacy in one phrase: “Better ten years of negotiations than one day of war”;
• despite the strong Belarusian accent in pronunciation, the statesman knew English perfectly, as evidenced by the memoirs of translator Viktor Sukhodrev;
• from 1958 to 1987 he was editor-in-chief of the monthly International Affairs.