Word: kulakov
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Just how Gorbachev rose out of provincial obscurity is still somewhat mysterious. As late as 1978, few outside Stavropol Krai had ever heard of him. The best answer seems to be that he attracted a number of powerful patrons. The first was Fyodor Kulakov, who as party boss in Stavropol first spotted Gorbachev as having great promise. After Kulakov became Agriculture Secretary for the entire Soviet Union, Gorbachev eventually succeeded him in Stavropol -- and Kulakov apparently made sure his protege became known in Moscow. In 1977 the "Ipatovsky method," a new technique of harvesting grain quickly by using flying squads...
...young party chief's reputation pleased two important spa guests: Mikhail Suslov, then the chief Soviet ideologist, and KGB Chief Yuri Andropov, both austere figures disgusted by the corruption of the Brezhnev era. When Kulakov died in 1978, he left vacant the position of Communist Party Central Committee Secretary in charge of agriculture. To fill it, General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, presumably acting on the advice of Suslov and Andropov, chose a man he had evidently met only recently: Gorbachev. That meeting occurred on Sept. 19, 1978, at the tiny railroad station in Mineralnye Vody, where Brezhnev's train stopped...
DIED. Fyodor Kulakov, 60, Soviet Politburo member and former National Party Secretary for Agriculture; of a heart attack; in Moscow. The youngest man to serve simultaneously on the 14-member Politburo and the Secretariat, Kulakov rode out the disastrous grain harvest of 1975 and was reportedly being groomed to succeed Brezhnev. Named Party Secretary for Agriculture in 1965 and Politburo member in 1971. Kulakov resigned his Secretariat post in 1976 to broaden his expertise. That year he delivered the keynote address at the traditional celebration of the Bolshevik Revolution, and his attendance at Yugoslavia's congress last month confirmed...
...would be reasonable to look for Brezhnev's heir among leaders now in their middle or late 50s. In this age group, though, the Kremlin's cupboard is nearly bare. Only three of the 15 Politburo members are under 60; only one of these. Fyodor Kulakov, 58, appears to be correctly positioned for a run at the top job. Kulakov, an agronomist and highly visible Brezhnev protege, delivered the keynote speech at this year's traditional observation of the Bolshevik Revolution...
...Politburo Member Andrei Kirilenko, 69, an old Brezhnev crony, who has acted for Brezhnev during his recent illnesses. Kiril Mazurov, 61, at present Kosygin's standin, is expected to inherit the premiership. Potential second-stage succes sors to Brezhnev's job include such relative youngsters as Fyodor Kulakov, 58, who supervises agriculture for the par ty, and Konstantin Katushev, 48, the Party Secretary in charge of keeping East European parties in line...