Boris Yevdokimovich Shcherbina ( uk, Борис Євдокимович Щербина, Borys Yevdokymovych Shcherbyna, russian: Борис Евдокимович Щербина; 5 October 1919 – 22 August 1990) was a Ukrainian Soviet politician who served as a Deputy Chairman of the
Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ɛsɛsɛˈsɛr; sometimes abbreviated to ''Sovmin'' or referred to as the '' ...
from 1984 to 1989. During this period he supervised Soviet crisis management of two major catastrophes: the
1986 Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 nuclear reactor, reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainia ...
and the
1988 Armenian earthquake
The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurred ...
.
Life
Shcherbina was born in
Debaltsevo,
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
(now Debaltseve,
Donetsk Oblast,
Ukraine) on October 5, 1919 to the family of a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
railroad worker. He joined the
CPSU
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
in 1939 and volunteered for army service during the
Winter War with
Finland. He was married to Raisa Pavlovna and the two had one son, Yuri Borisovich.
Shcherbina is credited with co-founding the oil and gas industry in
Western Siberia
Western Siberia or West Siberia (russian: Западная Сибирь, Zapadnaya Sibir'; kk, Батыс Сібір) is a part of the larger region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russian Federation. It lies between the Ural region ...
while serving as the CPSU first secretary in
Tyumen Oblast and later as the
Minister of Construction of Oil and Gas Industries (1973–1984). In 1976, Shcherbina had become a member of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee directe ...
and kept the position until his death.
In 1984, he became a Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and as such was in charge of dealing with the
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nucl ...
outcome in 1986. Shcherbina served in a similar role after the catastrophic
1988 Armenian earthquake
The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurred ...
.
He proposed inviting international rescuers – from Austria and Czechoslovakia – who had thermal imagers and specially trained dogs at their disposal to search for living people.
In 1990, he opposed the election of
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
to the chairmanship of the
Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR
The Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR (russian: Верховный Совет РСФСР, ''Verkhovny Sovet RSFSR''), later Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation (russian: Верховный Совет Российской Федерации, ...
, describing him as "a man of low moral qualities", whose election would "pave the way for the darkest period in our country's history".
Death
Shcherbina died in
Moscow in 1990, aged 70.
It is unclear if his death was related to radiation as a 1988 decree, drafted by himself, prevented Soviet doctors from citing radiation as a cause of death or illness.
Honors and awards
In his position of Minister of Oil and Gas, he was awarded the honorific title of
Hero of Socialist Labour for major contributions to the development of the country's oil and gas industry, which was the highest award for achievements within the national economy. During his life, he was also awarded four
Orders of Lenin, the
Order of the October Revolution
The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...
and two
Orders of the Red Banner of Labour.
In
Gyumri, Armenia, a street was named after him in his honour. On 10 November 2004, a bust of Shcherbina was erected in Nikolai Nemtsov Square in
Tyumen,
Tyumen Oblast.
In popular culture
Shcherbina is portrayed by
Vernon Dobtcheff
Vernon Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a British actor, best known for his roles on television and film, he has acted in numerous stage productions.
Biography
Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Pre ...
in the BBC docudrama ''
Surviving Disaster
''Surviving Disaster'' is a 2006 BBC, Discovery Channel, and ProSieben co-production documentary-drama series about disasters in the 20th century, starring people who survived them. It was produced in association with France 5.
It is narrated b ...
'' (2006) and by
Stellan Skarsgård in the Sky/HBO miniseries ''
Chernobyl
Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about n ...
'' (2019).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shcherbina, Boris
1919 births
1990 deaths
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Eleventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Heroes of Socialist Labour
Ninth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
People associated with the Chernobyl disaster
People from Debaltseve
People from Yekaterinoslav Governorate
People of the Winter War
People's commissars and ministers of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Tenth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union