Andrei Zhdanov

Andrei Zhdanov
Андрей Жданов
Zhdanov in 1945
Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 10 February 1934 – 31 August 1948
Head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 21 March 1939 – 6 September 1940
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Georgy Aleksandrov
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR
In office 15 July 1938 – 20 June 1947
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Mikhail Tarasov
First Secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the Soviet Union
In office 15 December 1934 – 17 January 1945
Preceded by	Sergei Kirov
Succeeded by	Alexey Kuznetsov
Personal details
Born	Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov 26 February [O.S. 14 February] 1896 Mariupol, Mariupol uezd, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	31 August 1948(1948-08-31) (aged 52) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting place	Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow
Nationality	Russian Empire  Russian Republic  Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic  Soviet Union
Political party	RSDLP(b) (1915–1918) VKP(b) (1918–1948)
Children	Yuri
Occupation	Civil servant
Awards	Several others (see below)
Military service
Rank	Colonel general
Central institution membership 1939–1948: Full member, 18th Politburo 1934–1939: Candidate member, 17th Politburo 1934–1948: Member, 17th & 18th Secretariat 1934–1948: Member, 17th & 18th Orgburo 1930–1948: Full member, 16th and 17th Central Committee 1925–1930: Candidate member, 14th and 15th Central Committee Other political offices held 1946–1947: Chairman, Soviet of the Union 1944-1947: Director, Allied Control Commission

Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov (Russian: Андрей Александрович Жданов, IPA: [ɐnˈdrʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ˈʐdanəf] ^ⓘ; 26 February [O.S. 14 February] 1896 – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician. He was the Soviet Union's "propagandist-in-chief" after the Second World War,^[1] and was responsible for developing the Soviet cultural policy, the Zhdanov Doctrine, which remained in effect until the death of Joseph Stalin. Zhdanov was considered Stalin's most likely successor but died before him.

Zhdanov joined the Bolsheviks in 1915 and quickly rose through the party ranks. A close associate of Stalin, he became a secretary of the Central Committee in 1934, and later that year he was promoted to Leningrad party chief following the assassination of Sergei Kirov. He would go on to play a major role during the Great Purge. In 1939, he was promoted to full membership of the Politburo and as head of the Central Committee's Propaganda Department. Zhdanov's political standing was undermined during the Second World War due to his association with the Soviet–Finnish War and the failed Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Nevertheless, he played a leading role in the Soviet takeover of Estonia and defense of Leningrad.

After the war, Zhdanov was tasked by Stalin with directing cultural policy. His campaign, known as the Zhdanovshchina, was strictly enforced and led to the denouncement of artists including Anna Akhmatova and Dmitri Shostakovich. He also oversaw the creation of the Cominform in 1947. Initially considered the successor-in-waiting to Stalin, Zhdanov suffered from ill health and fell out of favour as a result of the Tito–Stalin split. He died of heart failure in 1948, resulting in a rise in the political fortunes of Georgy Malenkov.