Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev

Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev

Body of Leonid Brezhnev, lying in state at the Pillar (Column) Hall of the House of the Unions
Date	10–15 November 1982 (1982-11-10 – 1982-11-15) (42 years ago)
Location	Moscow, Soviet Union
Organized by	Yuri Andropov
Participants	Eulogists Yuri Andropov Dmitry Ustinov Anatoly Alexandrov Viktor Pushkarev Alexei Gordienko Pallbearers Yuri Andropov Nikolai Tikhonov Konstantin Chernenko Dmitry Ustinov Andrei Gromyko Viktor Grishin Mikhail Gorbachev Dinmukhamed Kunaev Volodymyr Shcherbytsky
Burial	Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Lying in state	Pillar (Column) Hall House of the Unions
Honor guard	Taman Division Kantemir Division
Funeral reception hosts	Yuri Andropov Nikolai Tikhonov Andrei Gromyko Vasili Kuznetsov

This article is part of a series about Leonid Brezhnev
Early life Dnipropetrovsk clan First, then General Secretary of the CPSU 1964–1982 Brezhnev Era Era of Stagnation Collective leadership Economic reforms 1965 1973 1979 Shadow economy Assassination attempt Bulldozer Exhibition Baikal–Amur Mainline 1977 Constitution Cult of personality Brezhnev's trilogy Food Programme Opposition Sinyavsky–Daniel trial Moscow Helsinki Group Punitive psychiatry Foreign policy Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Brezhnev Doctrine Soviet–Afghan War Cold War détente 1962–1979 1979–1985 Death and state funeral Legacy Media gallery
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On 10 November 1982, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, the third General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and the fifth leader of the Soviet Union, died at the age of 75 after suffering heart failure following years of serious ailments. His death was officially acknowledged on 11 November simultaneously by Soviet radio and television. Brezhnev was given a state funeral after three full days of national mourning, then buried in an individual tomb on Red Square at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. Yuri Andropov, Brezhnev's eventual successor as general secretary, was chairman of the committee in charge of managing Brezhnev's funeral, held on 15 November 1982, five days after his death.

The funeral was attended by forty‑seven heads and deputy heads of state, twenty‑three heads and deputy heads of government, forty heads of foreign government ministries, six leaders of foreign legislatures, and five princes. Most of the world's Communist party-led nations in 1982 were represented, while forty‑seven Communist parties from countries where the party was not in power also sent representatives. United States President Ronald Reagan sent Vice President George H. W. Bush. Eulogies were given by Yuri Andropov, Dmitry Ustinov, Anatoly Alexandrov, Viktor Pushkarev, and Alexei Gordienko.