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Viktor Grishin | |
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Виктор Гришин | |
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| First Secretary of theMoscow City Committee of theCommunist Party | |
| In office 27 June 1967 – 24 December 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Nikolai Yegorychev |
| Succeeded by | Boris Yeltsin |
| Chairman of theAll-Union Central Council of Trade Unions | |
| In office 17 March 1956 – 11 July 1967 | |
| Preceded by | Nikolai Shvernik |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Shelepin |
| Full member of the24th,25th,26thPolitburo | |
| In office 9 April 1971 – 18 February 1986 | |
| Candidate member of the22nd,23rdPolitburo | |
| In office 31 October 1961 – 9 April 1971 | |
| Full member of the19th,20th,22nd,23rd,24th,25th,26thCentral Committee | |
| In office 16 October 1952 – 6 March 1986 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Viktor Vasilyevich Grishin 18 September [O.S. 5 September] 1914 |
| Died | 25 May 1992(1992-05-25) (aged 77) |
| Nationality | Soviet |
| Political party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1939–1986) |
Viktor Vasilyevich Grishin (Russian:Ви́ктор Васи́льевич Гри́шин; 18 September [O.S. 5 September] 1914 – 25 May 1992) was aSoviet politician. He was a candidate (1961–1971) and full member (1971–1986) of thePolitburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Grishin was born inSerpukhov, in theMoscow Governorate of theRussian Empire. In his early years, he worked on the Moscovy railroad, as a spike driver who retrofitted its railway system. He served in theRed Army from 1938 until 1940. In 1941, he was a Communist party functionary. He eventually rose to become leader of theCommunist party in the city ofMoscow from 1967 until 1985. He was renowned for his hardline stance.
During the final months ofKonstantin Chernenko's life, Grishin had been considered as a possible contender to succeed Chernenko asGeneral Secretary, and as a possible alternative toMikhail Gorbachev.[1] In an attempt to stress his closeness to Chernenko, he dragged the terminally ill Soviet leader out to vote in early 1985. This action by Grishin backfired and was almost universally viewed as a cruel act.[citation needed] After Chernenko's death in March 1985, he declined to put himself forward as a candidate for succession and instead offered his support, albeit lukewarm, to Gorbachev. Gorbachev was subsequently unanimously elected as theGeneral Secretary.
In late-December 1985, Grishin was replaced byBoris Yeltsin as the First Secretary of the Moscow party committee. On 18 February 1986, Grishin lost his position as a member of thePolitburo.[2]
In a 1991 interview with the conservative Russian newspaperMolodaya Gvardiya, he claimed the only reason he lost was because"younger Party leaders, such asYegor Ligachev, supported Gorbachev because they feared that if I had become Party boss, they would lose their posts."
On 25 May 1992, Grishin died at the age of 77. He suffered a heart attack at a welfare office in Moscow, where he went to register an increase in his state pension.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party 4 October 1967 – 23 December 1985 | Succeeded by |
