Anna Chernenko (russian: Анна Черненко,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Lyubimova; 3 September 1913 – 25 December 2010) was the wife of Soviet leader

Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko uk, Костянтин Устинович Черненко, translit=Kostiantyn Ustynovych Chernenko (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the seventh General Secretary of the Commun ...

Biography

Anna Dmitrievna Lyubimova was born into an illiterate family and joined the

Pioneer movement A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically join the Young Communist League ...

and Komsomol in the 1930s. She was educated as a tractor technician. She was the second spouse of Konstantin Chernenko, and the couple had three children: a son and two daughters. She served as the director of the University of Culture. In addition, she worked for Moscow cultural organizations for nearly thirty years, particularly in the house on

Kutuzovsky Prospekt Kutuzovsky Prospekt (russian: Куту́зовский проспе́кт) is a major radial avenue in Moscow, Russia, named after Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, leader of the Russian field army during the French invasion of Russia. The prospe ...

. However, Anna left professional life later due to the objection of her sister-in-law who insisted that she should focus on her family. Anna's spouse, Konstantin Chernenko, served as the Soviet head of state from 11 April 1984 to 10 March 1985. She reportedly protested over the election of her husband as party leader in 1984, saying "his health would never stand the strain." When a red line was installed in their bedroom following the appointment of Chernenko it was kept on her side of the bed. She answered the calls and mostly refused to wake him. During this period, she was the patron of Soviet movies. Anna was described as a modest, kind, shy and courageous woman. She was not a public figure like other spouses of the Soviet leaders and was seen with her husband in parliamentary elections in March 1984. The other public appearance was in her husband's funeral in March 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chernenko, Anna 20th-century Russian women 1913 births 2010 deaths Soviet women Spouses of Russian and Soviet national leaders