Author Biography
Andrei Zhdanov (1896-1948) was a Soviet politician, the Soviet Union’s “propagandist-in-chief” after the World War II. He was responsible for developing the Soviet cultural policy up to the death of Iosif Stalin. Having joined the Bolsheviks in 1915, he quickly rose through the Party ranks. He became a close associate of Stalin, who made him secretary of the Central Committee in 1934. Later, following the assassination of Sergei Kirov (December 1934), he was promoted to Leningrad Party chief. He would go on to play a major role during the Great Purge, and in 1939, he was promoted to full membership of the Politbiuro, as well as head of the Central Committee’s Propaganda Department. His political standing was undermined during the World War II 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 defence of the besieged city of Leningrad. After the war, he led a campaign of denouncement of artists. Initially considered the successor-in-waiting to Stalin, Zhdanov suffered from ill health and died of heart failure in 1948.