Gennady Vasilyevich Kolbin (; 7 May 1927 – 15 January 1998) was the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR from 16 December 1986 to 22 June 1989.
Early life
Kolbin was born in 1927 in
Nizhny Tagil. From 1942 to 1943, he served as an apprentice of a model designer at a factory and a shoemaker in Nizhny Tagil. In 1943, he started studying at the Nizhny Tagil Mining and Metallurgical College. From 1947 to 1959, he served as designer-technologist, head of the technological bureau, deputy head, head and deputy chief engineer at the plant in Nizhny Tagil. Kolbin joined the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
in 1954.
In 1955 he graduated from the
Ural Polytechnic Institute named after S. M. Kirov in absentia and later studied in graduate school.
Political career
In 1959, he served as secretary of the party committee at the plant. In 1962 , he served as Second Secretary and First Secretary of the Lenin District Committee of the CPSU of Nizhny Tagil. From 1962 to 1970, he served as Second Secretary and First Secretary of the Nizhny Tagil City Committee of the CPSU.
From 1970 to 1975, Kolbin was appointed as Secretary and later as Second Secretary of the
Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU. Kolbin then served as the Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Georgia. He served the Deputy of the
Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR from 1975 to 1984. After leaving, in 1976, to Moscow, following promotion as the first secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU, Yakov P. Ryabov was considered as the main candidate for the post of first secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU. However, at the suggestion of Ryabov, acting secretary of the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU,
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...
, was nominated for this post.
Kolbin was appointed as the First Secretary of the
Ulyanovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU, from 1983 to 1986. On his initiative, the Microelectronics Center, a branch of
Moscow State University
Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
, was opened in Ulyanovsk, and a decision was made to build the
President Bridge across the
Volga River
The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...
. He served as the Deputy of the
Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR from 1971 to 1975.
Kolbin served as the Deputy of the
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1989. He also served as the Member of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...
from 1987 to 1989.
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan
In 1986, Kolbin was appointed as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Kazakhstan. He replaced
Dinmukhamed Kunaev, who previously served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, from 1964. Kolbin had not worked in the
Kazakh SSR prior to his appointment. He was appointed by
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
in an attempt to root out corruption in the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR. Kolbin served as the Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR from 1987 to 1989 and member of the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR from 1987 to 1989.
As an outsider to Kazakhstan, he was not well received there. His appointment resulted in violent protests in the Kazakh capital
Almaty
Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...
and other cities, with several thousand protesters killed and hundreds injured. This revolt is now known as "
Jeltoqsan",
Kazakh for "December". It is reported that the outgoing first secretary, Dinmukhamed Kunaev, participated in organizing the protests, which involved 60,000 protesters. The report of Kunaev participation is likely fabricated, given that Kunaev was under home arrest at the time, isolated and was not allowed to communicate with anyone.
In June 1989, Kolbin was replaced by Kazakh
Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kolbin was then transferred to a position in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
.
Further political positions
Following his transfer to Moscow, Kolbin served as the Chairman of the
People's Control Commission from 1989 to 1990. He served as the People's Deputy of the USSR from 1989 to 1991. He retired from all political positions in December 1990.
Later life
From December 1990 onwards, Kolbin was a personal pensioner of federal significance. From 1992 to 1998, he served as the chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Mosuralbank.
Колбина показали казахским руководителям еще летом 1986 года
/ref>
On 15 January 1998, while travelling onboard the Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro) is a rapid transit system in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. It serves the capital city of Moscow and the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy, and Kotelniki. Opened in 1935 with one l ...
to visit his daughter, Kolbin suddenly felt unwell and collapsed in the metro, and died of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. He was buried at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
.
Personal life
Kolbin was married to Sofya Ivanovna Kolbina (1926–1998). They had two daughters; Marina (born 1950) and Natalia (1952–1984).
Honours and awards
References
*Martin McCauley
Who's Who in Russia Since 1900
Routledge, 1997, ; p. 116
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolbin, Gennady
1927 births
1998 deaths
People from Nizhny Tagil
Members of the Central Committee of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
First secretaries of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1971–1975
Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Tenth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Russian communists
Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery