📅 12 November 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.
📅 13 February 1984
The elderly Chernenko succeeded Andropov, continuing the rapid leadership turnover of the early 1980s. The choice highlighted the aging of the political elite and the narrowing space for reform.
📅 11 March 1985
The Central Committee chose Gorbachev, the youngest Soviet leader in decades. He inherited an empire-wide system marked by economic problems, national inequalities, restricted public debate, and a war...
📅 23 April 1985
Gorbachev’s first major policy initiative emphasized faster economic and technological development. The campaign began before perestroika became a broad reform program and retained top-down...
📅 27 January 1987
Gorbachev called for democratization within the party and greater competition in elections. The proposals widened public debate but kept reform under party leadership and did not yet establish...
