📅 12 Novèmber 1982
The Central Committee selected former KGB chief Andropov two days after Brezhnev’s death. His short tenure pursued discipline and limited administrative changes without loosening one-party control.
📅 2 Novèmber 1983
The annual command-post exercise practiced nuclear release procedures during a period of acute mistrust. Declassified records show Soviet intelligence closely watched it; historians debate the scale...
📅 9 Febrüari 1984
Andropov died after a short and often illness-interrupted tenure. His government’s limited discipline campaign did not resolve deeper economic problems or the war in Afghanistan.
