Suslov, Mikhail Andreyevich

Suslov, Mikhail Andreyevich, 1902-82, Soviet politician and ideologist. A Communist party member since 1921, he rose to prominence in the party hierarchy in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In 1941 he was named to the party's central committee. He rapidly gained distinction as a leading party theoretician, noted for his condemnation of deviations from Soviet policy, particularly for his anti-Yugoslav propaganda in 1948. In 1955 he became a member of the presidium (later politburo) of the central committee. A shrewd political maneuverer, he supported Nikita Khrushchev's bid for power in 1957, but in 1964 was influential in both the downfall of Khrushchev and the installation of Brezhnev.

(born Nov. 21, 1902, Shakhovskoye, Russia—died Jan. 25, 1982, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Soviet ideologue. He joined the Communist Party in 1921 and was sent to Moscow for his education, after which he taught economics. In the 1930s he helped supervise the Stalinist purges in the Urals and Ukraine. Later a leading official in the Caucasus, he supervised the deportation of ethnic minorities in World War II. He was appointed to the Politburo in 1952, and from 1955 he held a pivotal position in the ruling clique. A political conservative, he helped Nikita Khrushchev quell a conspiracy in the Politburo in 1957, but he organized the bloodless coup in 1964 that ousted Khrushchev and substituted Leonid Brezhnev. Thereafter, he concentrated on relations between the Soviet Communist Party and other communist parties around the world.

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Count Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich (Михаи́л Андре́евич Милора́дович) (October 12, 1771 – December 26, 1825) was a Russian general prominent during the Napoleonic wars. Miloradovich came from a princely family with its origins among the Serbian nobles Miloradović-Hrabren of Herzegovina.

Miloradovich saw service under Suvorov in the wars against Turkey and Poland, and in the campaign of Italy and Switzerland (1799) earned much distinction as a commander of advanced troops. In 1805, having attained the rank of lieutenant-general, he served under Mikhail Kutuzov in the campaign of Austerlitz, taking part in the actions of Enns and Krems and in the decisive battle of 2 December, in which his column held the Pratzen Heights.

In the Turkish War he distinguished himself a number of times. He was awarded a diamond-decorated rapier with the inscription "For bravery and salvation of Bucharest" (1806); he defeated Turks at Obileşti (present-day Romania, 1807); for the battle at Rassevat fortress (Bulgaria, 1809) he was made General of Infantry in 1810.

During Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Miloradovich was one of the most prominent and successful Russian commanders. At the Battle of Borodino he led the reserve militia, and later commanded the Russian rearguard which delayed the French occupation of Moscow. After Napoleon began his retreat, Miloradovich defeated the French at the Battle of Vyazma. His corps was thereafter one of those most active in the pursuit of Napoleon's Grande Armee. In 1813 he led the rear-guard of the Allies at the Battle of Bautzen. At the victory of Kulm he was present in command of a Russian-Prussian corps, which he also led in the Battle of Leipzig. In the 1814 campaign, Miloradovich commanded the Allied contingent operating in the Netherlands.

From 1818 to the time of his death he was military governor of Saint Petersburg. On 26 December [O.S. 14 December] 1825, he went to pacify the Decembrist officers at the Senate Square. Being popular with the army, he almost succeeded in his exhortations to the officers, when one of the more radical rebels, Pyotr Kakhovsky, shot him dead.

The modern Russian historian Vladimir Bryukhanov in his book The Conspiracy of Count Miloradovich speculates that Miloradovich was actually the chief orchestrator of the Decembrist conspiracy rather than its victim. He alleges that the Decembrists planned to make him a dictator in the case of success and to shoot him in the case of failure.

References

External links

• Miloradovich bio, in Russian