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People
Activity
Affiliation
Position(set)
Citizenship
Background
Era
People of the Soviet Union
People of the Chinese revolution and the People’s Republic
People of the wider world
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Georgy Nikolayevich Flyorov Георгий Николаевич Флёров
One letter that woke Stalin, one element that bears his name
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1913–1990
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Sergei Mitrofanovich Kovalev Сергей Митрофанович Ковалёв
Soviet ideologue who codified the Brezhnev Doctrine in the pages of Pravda
Ideology and propaganda · Soviet Union state institutions
1913–1990
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Gustáv Husák Gustáv Husák
Czechoslovakia's longest-serving leader, who crushed the Prague Spring and built 'normalization'
Political and party leadership · Czechoslovakia state institutions
1913–1991
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Viktor Ivanovich Kuznetsov Виктор Иванович Кузнецов
The tallest and most silent of the Great Six, the father of Soviet gyroscopic guidance, from Sputnik to Buran
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1913–1991
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Nikolai Ivanovich Savinkin Николай Иванович Савинкин
The personnel gatekeeper of the Soviet power ministries for 19 years under Brezhnev
Social movements and organizing · Soviet Communist Party and Bolsheviks
1913–1993
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Peko Dapčević Пеко Дапчевић
A Partisan commander who helped turn insurgent formations into a regular army
Military command · Yugoslavia state institutions
1913–1999
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Vladimir Alekseyevich Kirillin Владимир Алексеевич Кириллин
Architect of Soviet civilian R&D policy in the age of the scientific-technical revolution
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1913–1999
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Alexander Ivanovich Alexeyev Александр Иванович Алексеев
KGB officer turned first Soviet ambassador to Cuba who won Castro's trust and warned Khrushchev against the missile deployment
Diplomacy and international organization · Soviet Union state institutions
1913–2001
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Edward Gierek Edward Gierek
First Secretary who led a decade of Western-credit modernisation: only for debt and Solidarity to bring the curtain down
Political and party leadership · Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR)
1913–2001
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Xi Zhongxun 习仲勋
A founder of the northern Shaanxi base, purged for sixteen years, who opened Guangdong’s special economic zones
Government and administration · People’s Republic of China state institutions
1913–2002
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Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov Тихон Николаевич Хренников
Gatekeeper of Soviet music for 43 years
Literature and arts · Soviet Union state institutions
1913–2007
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Aimé Césaire Aimé Césaire
Co-founder of Négritude, pioneering critic of colonialism
Literature and arts · French Communist Party (PCF)
1913–2008
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Mikhail Sergeyevich Solomentsev Михаил Сергеевич Соломенцев
Brezhnev-era industrial technocrat who ran the Russian republic for 12 years
Government and administration · Soviet Union state institutions
1913–2008
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Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov Сергей Владимирович Михалков
The poet who wrote the anthem for Stalin, Brezhnev, and Putin
Literature and arts · Soviet Union state institutions
1913–2009
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Georgy Nikolayevich Babakin Георгий Николаевич Бабакин
Chief Designer behind Luna 9 and Lunokhod, the man whose robots reached the Moon and Venus first
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1971
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Viktor Aleksandrovich Davidenko Виктор Александрович Давиденко
A pioneer of two-stage thermonuclear design
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1983
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Pavel Stepanovich Kutakhov Павел Степанович Кутахов
Longest-serving Soviet Air Force chief, the fighter ace who led Soviet air power to its Cold War zenith
Military command · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1984
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Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey Владимир Николаевич Челомей
The missile designer who overtook Korolev under Khrushchev's patronage, then faded when his patron fell
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1984
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Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov Юрий Владимирович Андропов
The paradox: a reformer’s patron inside the KGB
Security, intelligence and policing · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1984
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Aleksandr Davidovich Nadiradze Александр Давидович Надирадзе
The Georgian-born secret father of the Soviet mobile ICBM force
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1987
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Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich Яков Борисович Зельдович
Three-time Hero of Socialist Labor, a self-taught physicist who became the theorist of Soviet nuclear weapons and a giant of cosmology
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1987
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Kirill Trofimovich Mazurov Кирилл Трофимович Мазуров
Belarusian partisan leader who rose to Brezhnev's Politburo and served as USSR First Deputy Premier for thirteen years
Government and administration · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1989
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Vladimir Fyodorovich Tolubko Владимир Фёдорович Толубко
The SRF commander who brought Soviet missile forces to strategic parity with the United States
Military command · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1989
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Georgy Aleksandrovich Tyulin Георгий Александрович Тюлин
The man who said 'go' for Tereshkova, Leonov, and Lunokhod
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1990
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Jiang Qing 江青
From the Shanghai stage to the pinnacle of the Cultural Revolution: Mao's wife who led the Gang of Four and remade Chinese revolutionary art
Ideology and propaganda · People’s Republic of China state institutions
1914–1991
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Viktor Vasilyevich Grishin Виктор Васильевич Гришин
The face of the Brezhnev era who ran Moscow for eighteen years and died while re-applying for his pension
Social movements and organizing · Soviet Communist Party and Bolsheviks
1914–1992
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Vitālijs Petrovich Rubenis Виталий Петрович Рубен
The Latvian who chaired the Soviet of Nationalities for a decade under Brezhnev
Legislature and state representation · Soviet Union state institutions
1914–1994
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Mikhail Vasilyevich Zimyanin Михаил Васильевич Зимянин
Brezhnev's 'number two party ideologist' after Suslov
Ideology and propaganda · Soviet Communist Party and Bolsheviks
1914–1995
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Aleksei Mikhailovich Shkolnikov Алексей Михайлович Школьников
The apparatchik who ran three oblasts under Khrushchev and rose to People's Control
Social movements and organizing · Soviet Communist Party and Bolsheviks
1914–2003
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Nouhak Phoumsavan ໜູຮັກ ພູມສະຫວັນ
Lao revolutionary leader and president
Political and party leadership · Lao People's Revolutionary Party
1914–2008
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Claudia Jones Claudia Jones
The Black feminist Marxist who pioneered intersectional analysis, and created the Notting Hill Carnival
Social movements and organizing · Communist Party USA (CPUSA)
1915–1964
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Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov Константин Михайлович Симонов
The poet of 'Wait for Me': six-time Stalin Prize-winning war correspondent and literary bureaucrat
Literature and arts · Soviet Communist Party and Bolsheviks
1915–1979
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Leonid Arkadyevich Kostandov Леонид Аркадьевич Костандов
Longest-serving chemical industry minister who led the Brezhnev-era chemicalization drive
Industry and production · Soviet Union state institutions
1915–1984
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Chen Yonggui 陈永贵
The peasant leader of the model village behind “In agriculture, learn from Dazhai”, who rose to vice-premier
Agriculture and land policy · People’s Republic of China state institutions
1915–1986
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Marian Rybicki Marian Rybicki
A legal functionary who defined order against a workers’ revolt
Law and justice · Poland state institutions
1915–1987
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Hu Yaobang 胡耀邦
The reformist general secretary who rehabilitated the Cultural Revolution’s victims and freed thought; his death sparked the 1989 protests
Political and party leadership · People’s Republic of China state institutions
1915–1989
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Georgy Ageevich Lobov Георгий Агеевич Лобов
The Soviet fighter commander who led the battle over MiG Alley
Military command · Soviet Union state institutions
1915–1994
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Józef Światło Józef Światło
Deputy head of Poland’s security Department X whose 1953 defection and broadcasts exposed the ministry’s torture and purges
Security, intelligence and policing · Poland state institutions
1915–1994
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Yevgeny Petrovich Pitovranov Евгений Петрович Питовранов
A survivor who transformed from Stalin's counter-intelligence chief to Brezhnev's trade diplomat
Security, intelligence and policing · Soviet Union state institutions
1915–1999
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Boris Viktorovich Rauschenbach Борис Викторович Раушенбах
From labor camp to Vostok: pioneer of spaceflight control and guidance
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1915–2001
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Alexander Pavlovich Lyashko Александр Павлович Ляшко
The Donetsk-born Soviet economic manager who led Ukraine's government for 15 years through the Brezhnev era
Government and administration · Soviet Union state institutions
1915–2002
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Ivan Vasilyevich Kapitonov Иван Васильевич Капитонов
The personnel chief who ran the nomenklatura for 21 years under Brezhnev
Social movements and organizing · Soviet Communist Party and Bolsheviks
1915–2002
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Stepan Vasilievich Chervonenko Степан Васильевич Червоненко
Soviet ambassador for 24 years across the Sino-Soviet split, Prague Spring, and détente
Diplomacy and international organization · Soviet Union state institutions
1915–2003
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Viktor Nikolayevich Polyakov Виктор Николаевич Поляков
The first general director of VAZ who built Soviet mass automobility on the banks of the Volga
Industry and production · Soviet Union state institutions
1915–2004
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Santiago Carrillo Santiago Carrillo
The Eurocommunist architect who lit a cigarette at gunpoint
Political and party leadership · Communist Party of Spain (PCE)
1915–2012
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Ziya Nuriyevich Nuriyev Зия Нуриевич Нуриев
Bashkir deputy premier who ran Brezhnev's agro-industrial complex
Agriculture and land policy · Soviet Union state institutions
1915–2012
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Vladimir Ivanovich Komarov Владимир Иванович Комаров
Abakumov's deputy interrogator who beat prisoners and fabricated protocols in the Leningrad Affair
Security, intelligence and policing · Soviet Union state institutions
1916–1954
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Valentin Dmitrievich Shashin Валентин Дмитриевич Шашин
The minister who made the USSR #1 in oil, then warned against over-pumping
Industry and production · Soviet Union state institutions
1916–1977
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Helmut Gröttrup Helmut Gröttrup
From Peenemünde to Gorodomlya, the German rocket engineer who designed the conceptual ancestor of the R-7
Science and technology · Soviet Union state institutions
1916–1981
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Vasily Alexandrovich Kazakov Василий Александрович Казаков
From factory technologist to aviation minister: a military-industrial administrator who rose through every rung
Industry and production · Soviet Union state institutions
1916–1981