Gennady Ivanovich Voronov (; – 1 April 1994) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

- Russian statesman who was from 1962 to 1971 the

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, literally meaning Premier or Prime Minister.

Biography

Voronov was born in

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

province, Russia, the son of a teacher. Trained as an electrician, he graduated from an Industrial Inst

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

itute in 1936. In 1937, during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

, when mass arrests created vacancies for new party officials, he was appointed head of the

Agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...

department at district level in Tomsk. In 1939, he was appointed second secretary, and in 1948, First Secretary of the Chita regional party committee. He was a member of the Central Committee in 1952-76. In May 1955, the head of the soviet communist party,

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

had him transferred to Moscow as Director of Egg Farming in the USSR Ministry of Agriculture. While Khrushchev was engaged in a power struggle with

Georgy Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov (8 January 1902 O.S. 26 December 1901">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 26 December 1901ref name=":6"> – 14 January 1988) was a Soviet politician who br ...

and others, Voronov showed his loyalty by signing a written statement demanding that Malenkov and five others should be sacked and subjected to an investigation to consider whether they should be expelled from the party. In 1957-61, he was First Secretary of the Orenburg regional party committee. In January 1961, Voronov was recalled to Moscow and appointed a candidate member of the Praesidium (or

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

and deputy chairman of the bureau in charge of the communist party in the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. He was promoted to the post of 'prime minister' of the RSFSR in December 1962. His specialist field was agriculture. According to the journalist Michel Tatu, who was based in Moscow at the time: A former party official who worked with Voronov described him of sounding like a "mannered provincial lecturer" than a high ranking statesman, who "talked a lot about attention to agriculture, especially animal husbandry, tediously." At the Central Committee plenum which removed Khrushchev from office, Voronov complained that he had not been allowed to express an opinion for three and a half years without being shouted at by Khrushchev, who considered himself an expert on agriculture. When Khrushchev tried to defend himself, Voronov shouted at him "You have no friends here!" But his relations with the new General Secretary,

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

were no better. They clashed on a series of matters, including the decision to invade Czechoslovakia in 1968, which Voronov opposed. In 1971, he was removed from office and relegated to the lesser position of Chairman of the USSR People's Control Committee. He resigned in April 1973, and was removed from the Politburo, and retired on a pension.

Awards

Voronov was awarded two Orders of Lenin.

References