born June 15, 1914, Nagutskoye, Russia
died Feb 9, 1984, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.
Soviet leader.
He joined the Communist Party in 1939 and rose rapidly in the party hierarchy. His tenure as head of the KGB (1967–82) was noted for its suppression of political dissidents. In 1982 he succeeded Leonid Brezhnev as general secretary of the party's Central Committee, but ill health quickly overtook him, and he accomplished little else before his death 15 months later.