Death and funeral of Leonid Brezhnev
Encyclopedia
On 10 November 1982, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev
, the third General Secretary
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(CPSU) and the fifth leader of the Soviet Union, died a 75 year-old man after suffering a heart attack following years of serious ailments. His death was officially acknowledged on 11 November simultaneously by Soviet radio and television. After five days of national mourning, Brezhnev was given a state funeral
and then buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
. Yuri Andropov
, Brezhnev's successor as general secretary, was elected chairman of the committee preparing and managing Brezhnev's funeral. Brezhnev's funeral was on 15 November.
The funeral was attended by 32 heads of state, 15 heads of government, 14 foreign ministers and four prince
s; US President Ronald Reagan
refused to attend and sent George H. W. Bush
, the Vice President of the United States
, instead. The funeral speech was delivered by Andropov, Dmitriy Ustinov
, Anatoly Alexandrov
and a factory worker.
, jaw cancer
, emphysema
and circulatory disease. There were rumours of Brezhnev's death ever since the mid-1970s; he had been absent from important meetings demanded by protocol
and it was rumoured that his health was in decline. Brezhnev had rarely appeared in public for most of 1982 and was usually surrounded by doctors, although the Soviet Government insisted that he was not ill. He suffered a severe stroke in May 1982, but refused to relinquish office until he died on 10 November 1982 after suffering a heart attack. He was honoured with a state funeral in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
on the Red Square
after a five-day period of nationwide mourning.
The first hint of his death to the Soviet people
came on 7:15 p.m.
Moscow Time
, when the usual television programs were altered and a pop music concert was replaced by a documentary on Vladimir Lenin
. On Vremya
, the Soviet Union's state television newscast, the hosts wore somber clothes instead of their normally informal dress code. At first, Soviet citizens believed it was Andrei Kirilenko
who had died, as he had not been present at the 65th anniversary of the October Revolution
a few days earlier. Furthermore, other abrupt changes to the television line-up occurred, such as the appearance of an unscheduled program of war reminiscences and the replacement of an ice hockey
game on Channel Two with Tchaikovsky's Pathétique symphony
. Brezhnev's death was announced on 11 November simultaneously by Soviet radio and television
hosts. The television announcement was read by Igor Kirillov
with tears in his eyes at 11 a.m.
Moscow Time.
First World
commentators had already speculated that Brezhnev had died when he failed to sign a message of congratulations to José Eduardo dos Santos
, the President of Angola
, for the Angolan Independence Day
. This was a breach of protocol, and, as Brezhnev had earlier signed messages to all Soviet-aligned heads of state, the absence of his signature was seen as suspicious. The delay in declaring the death of Brezhnev was seen by some First World commentators as proof of the ongoing power struggle in the Soviet leadership over who would succeed him. Konstantin Chernenko
was seen as the most likely candidate to succeed Brezhnev.
was elected chairman of the committee in charge of arranging, managing and preparing Brezhnev's funeral. This election marked the beginning of Brezhnev's funeral. The occasion was seen as a sign by First World
commentators that Andropov was the most likely candidate for the position of general secretary.
During the funerals of Soviet leaders there was a custom of displaying their decorations on velvet cushions, which were carried in the procession behind the coffin. This task was traditionally given to an escort of senior officers, each carrying a cushion with one decoration on it. However, as Brezhnev had more than two hundred decorations, several were placed on each cushion. Brezhnev's funeral officer escort ultimately included forty-four persons.
Galina Brezhneva
, Brezhnev's disgraced daughter, was constantly followed by two burly guards. Andropov, Brezhnev's successor as general secretary, embraced Viktoria Brezhneva
but allegedly turned his back to Galina. This claim has been disputed, with a Time
article dating back to 1982 claiming that Andropov embraced both, and not just Viktoria. Even so, during Andropov's fifteen-month rule Galina stopped appearing in public. At the funeral, Andropov praised Brezhnev for his "struggle for the relaxation of international tensions and for delivering mankind from the threat of nuclear war" and his détente
policy. Andrei Kirilenko, a leading Politburo
member, burst into tears when confronting Viktoria at the funeral.
The Moscow militsiya
sealed off downtown Moscow during the funeral on 15 November. Large avenues were tightly guarded by the police and the Moscow military garrison. The soldiers, who stood in front of the House of the Unions
, wore black-edged red armbands. The House of the Unions was decorated by numerous red flag
s and other communist symbols
. Brezhnev's body lay in state
for three days at the House of the Unions. On the third day the coffin was carried by Soviet military officers to the Lenin Mausoleum on the Red Square
, where it was greeted by speeches by Andropov, Minister of Defence Dmitriy Ustinov
, Anatoly Alexandrov
, the President of the Academy of Sciences, and a factory worker. After the speeches, pallbearers, led by Andropov and Nikolai Tikhonov
, Chairman
of the Council of Ministers, carried the coffin to another location close to the mausoleum. It was here that Brezhnev's family made their farewell. Before the body was laid to rest Viktoria kissed Brezhnev on the face in accordance with Russian traditions. As Brezhnev's body was lowered into the grave a military squad saluted while an orchestra played the Soviet national anthem
. According to Time magazine Brezhnev's death was mourned by the majority of Soviets
.
Brezhnev's body sustained two falls. As the coffin was lifted into place for the lying in state at the Column Hall of the House of the Unions, Brezhnev's body fell through the bottom. After that, a new, metal-plated coffin was made, and as it was lowered into the grave, the funeral servants could not handle its weight and the coffin fell with a loud crash into the grave hole. This account, however, was contested by Georgy Kovalenko, one of the funeral servants—according to him, twenty minutes before the deposition of the coffin he was asked by the Kremlin custodian Semyon Shornikov to lower the coffin simultaneously with the chime of bells.
s. Among the foreign dignitaries to attend the funeral were Indira Gandhi
of India, Pierre Mauroy
of France, Babrak Karmal
of Afghanistan
, Fidel Castro
of Cuba, Huang Hu of the People's Republic of China, Wojciech Jaruzelski
of Poland
and Hafez al-Assad
of Syria, among others. Assad declared seven days of mourning in Syria when Brezhnev's death was announced. Ronald Reagan
, the President of the United States
, did not attend, and sent a delegation headed by Vice President
George H. W. Bush
. Secretary of State
George Shultz, Central Intelligence Agency
Director William Casey and National Security Advisor
William P. Clark tried to persuade Reagan to attend the funeral. Reagan rejected the idea; furthermore, he stated that he had no intention to alter US policy towards the Soviet Union because of Brezhnev's death.
, the President of the United States
, who woke up at 3:35 a.m. to write a two-paragraph message about Brezhnev. Reagan called Brezhnev "one of the world's most important figures for nearly two decades" and expressed hopes for the improvement of Soviet–US relations. Pope John Paul II
promised "a particular thought for the memory of the illustrious departed one", while former West German Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt
said Brezhnev's death would "be painfully felt". The government
of the People's Republic of China
(PRC) expressed "deep condolences" and Indira Gandhi
, the Prime Minister of India
, said "he [Brezhnev] stood by us in our moment of need".
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
, the third General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
(CPSU) and the fifth leader of the Soviet Union, died a 75 year-old man after suffering a heart attack following years of serious ailments. His death was officially acknowledged on 11 November simultaneously by Soviet radio and television. After five days of national mourning, Brezhnev was given a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
and then buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik victims of the October Revolution were buried in mass graves on Red Square. It is centered on both sides of Lenin's Mausoleum, initially built in wood in 1924 and rebuilt in granite in 1929–1930...
. Yuri Andropov
Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
, Brezhnev's successor as general secretary, was elected chairman of the committee preparing and managing Brezhnev's funeral. Brezhnev's funeral was on 15 November.
The funeral was attended by 32 heads of state, 15 heads of government, 14 foreign ministers and four prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
s; US President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
refused to attend and sent George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, the Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, instead. The funeral speech was delivered by Andropov, Dmitriy Ustinov
Dmitriy Ustinov
Dmitriy Feodorovich Ustinov was Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union from 1976 until his death.-Early life:Dimitry Feodorovich Ustinov was born in a working-class family in Samara. During the civil war, when hunger became intolerable, his sick father went to Samarkand, leaving Dimitry as head...
, Anatoly Alexandrov
Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov
Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov was a Russian physicist, director of the Kurchatov Institute, academician and the President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences...
and a factory worker.
Death and declaration
Brezhnev had struggled with several ailments since 1974, most notably heart disease, leukemiaLeukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, jaw cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
and circulatory disease. There were rumours of Brezhnev's death ever since the mid-1970s; he had been absent from important meetings demanded by protocol
Protocol (politics)
Protocol can mean any logbook or other artifact of a political meeting between persons from different nations, such as the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. The most notorious example of a forged logbook is "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"....
and it was rumoured that his health was in decline. Brezhnev had rarely appeared in public for most of 1982 and was usually surrounded by doctors, although the Soviet Government insisted that he was not ill. He suffered a severe stroke in May 1982, but refused to relinquish office until he died on 10 November 1982 after suffering a heart attack. He was honoured with a state funeral in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik victims of the October Revolution were buried in mass graves on Red Square. It is centered on both sides of Lenin's Mausoleum, initially built in wood in 1924 and rebuilt in granite in 1929–1930...
on the Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
after a five-day period of nationwide mourning.
The first hint of his death to the Soviet people
Soviet people
Soviet people or Soviet nation was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Initially used as a nonspecific reference to the Soviet population, it was eventually declared to be a "new historical, social and international unity of people".-Nationality politics in early Soviet...
came on 7:15 p.m.
12-hour clock
The 12-hour clock is a time conversion convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods called ante meridiem and post meridiem...
Moscow Time
Moscow Time
Moscow Time is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second westernmost of the nine time zones of Russia. Moscow Time has been UTC+4 year-round since 27 March 2011....
, when the usual television programs were altered and a pop music concert was replaced by a documentary on Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
. On Vremya
Vremya
Vremya is the state television newscast of the Russian Federation and is shown on Channel One Russia and previously on the First Programme of the Central Television of the USSR...
, the Soviet Union's state television newscast, the hosts wore somber clothes instead of their normally informal dress code. At first, Soviet citizens believed it was Andrei Kirilenko
Andrei Kirilenko (politician)
Andrei Pavlovich Kirilenko was a Soviet statesman from the start to the end of the Cold War. In 1906, Kirilenko was born in Alexeyevka, Belgorod Oblast, Russian Empire, to a Russian working class family. He graduated in the 1920s from a local vocational school, and again in the mid-to-late 1930s...
who had died, as he had not been present at the 65th anniversary of the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
a few days earlier. Furthermore, other abrupt changes to the television line-up occurred, such as the appearance of an unscheduled program of war reminiscences and the replacement of an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
game on Channel Two with Tchaikovsky's Pathétique symphony
Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)
The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, Pathétique is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony, written between February and the end of August 1893. The composer led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 16/28 October of that year, nine days before his death...
. Brezhnev's death was announced on 11 November simultaneously by Soviet radio and television
Television in the Soviet Union
Television in the Soviet Union was owned by the state and was under its tight control and Soviet censorship.The governing body in the former Soviet Union was "USSR State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting or USSR Gosteleradio , which was in charge both of Soviet Central...
hosts. The television announcement was read by Igor Kirillov
Igor Kirillov
Igor Leonidovich Kirillov is a prominent former news anchor for Central Television of the USSR , the main state broadcaster of the Soviet Union...
with tears in his eyes at 11 a.m.
24-hour clock
The 24-hour clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, indicated by the hours passed since midnight, from 0 to 23. This system is the most commonly used time notation in the world today...
Moscow Time.
First World
First World
The concept of the First World first originated during the Cold War, where it was used to describe countries that were aligned with the United States. These countries were democratic and capitalistic. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the term "First World" took on a...
commentators had already speculated that Brezhnev had died when he failed to sign a message of congratulations to José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...
, the President of Angola
President of Angola
The President of the Republic of Angola is both head of state and head of government in Angola. While the President appoints a Prime Minister, executive authority usually belongs to the President....
, for the Angolan Independence Day
Public holidays in Angola
Angola has fifteen public holidays over the year.These are:* January 1 – New Year's Day* January 4 – Colonial Repression Martyrs' Day* January 26 – Luanda's Day* February 4 – Day of the Armed Struggle, in memory of the Baixa de Cassanje revolt...
. This was a breach of protocol, and, as Brezhnev had earlier signed messages to all Soviet-aligned heads of state, the absence of his signature was seen as suspicious. The delay in declaring the death of Brezhnev was seen by some First World commentators as proof of the ongoing power struggle in the Soviet leadership over who would succeed him. Konstantin Chernenko
Konstantin Chernenko
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was a Soviet politician and the fifth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He led the Soviet Union from 13 February 1984 until his death thirteen months later, on 10 March 1985...
was seen as the most likely candidate to succeed Brezhnev.
Funeral service
On 11 November Yuri AndropovYuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
was elected chairman of the committee in charge of arranging, managing and preparing Brezhnev's funeral. This election marked the beginning of Brezhnev's funeral. The occasion was seen as a sign by First World
First World
The concept of the First World first originated during the Cold War, where it was used to describe countries that were aligned with the United States. These countries were democratic and capitalistic. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the term "First World" took on a...
commentators that Andropov was the most likely candidate for the position of general secretary.
During the funerals of Soviet leaders there was a custom of displaying their decorations on velvet cushions, which were carried in the procession behind the coffin. This task was traditionally given to an escort of senior officers, each carrying a cushion with one decoration on it. However, as Brezhnev had more than two hundred decorations, several were placed on each cushion. Brezhnev's funeral officer escort ultimately included forty-four persons.
Galina Brezhneva
Galina Brezhneva
Galina Leonidovna Brezhneva was the daughter of Soviet politician and longtime General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev and Viktoria Brezhneva.-Life and death:...
, Brezhnev's disgraced daughter, was constantly followed by two burly guards. Andropov, Brezhnev's successor as general secretary, embraced Viktoria Brezhneva
Viktoria Brezhneva
Viktoria Petrovna Brezhneva was the wife of Soviet politician and longtime General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. She was the mother of Yuri Brezhnev and Galina Brezhneva.-Life:...
but allegedly turned his back to Galina. This claim has been disputed, with a Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
article dating back to 1982 claiming that Andropov embraced both, and not just Viktoria. Even so, during Andropov's fifteen-month rule Galina stopped appearing in public. At the funeral, Andropov praised Brezhnev for his "struggle for the relaxation of international tensions and for delivering mankind from the threat of nuclear war" and his détente
Détente
Détente is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War...
policy. Andrei Kirilenko, a leading Politburo
Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Politburo , known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.-Duties and responsibilities:The...
member, burst into tears when confronting Viktoria at the funeral.
The Moscow militsiya
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
sealed off downtown Moscow during the funeral on 15 November. Large avenues were tightly guarded by the police and the Moscow military garrison. The soldiers, who stood in front of the House of the Unions
House of the Unions
The House of the Unions or called "Palace of Unions" is the historical building in Moscow, Russia. It is situated on the corner of Bolshyaya Dmitrovka and Okhotny Ryad streets.-Origins:...
, wore black-edged red armbands. The House of the Unions was decorated by numerous red flag
Red flag
In politics, a red flag is a symbol of Socialism, or Communism, or sometimes left-wing politics in general. It has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution. Socialists adopted the symbol during the Revolutions of 1848 and it became a symbol of communism as a result of its...
s and other communist symbols
Communist symbolism
Communist symbolism consists of a series of symbols that represent a variety of themes associated with communism. These themes may include revolution, the proletariat, the peasantry, agriculture, or international solidarity...
. Brezhnev's body lay in state
Lying in state
Lying in state is a term used to describe the tradition in which a coffin is placed on view to allow the public at large to pay their respects to the deceased. It traditionally takes place in the principal government building of a country or city...
for three days at the House of the Unions. On the third day the coffin was carried by Soviet military officers to the Lenin Mausoleum on the Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
, where it was greeted by speeches by Andropov, Minister of Defence Dmitriy Ustinov
Dmitriy Ustinov
Dmitriy Feodorovich Ustinov was Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union from 1976 until his death.-Early life:Dimitry Feodorovich Ustinov was born in a working-class family in Samara. During the civil war, when hunger became intolerable, his sick father went to Samarkand, leaving Dimitry as head...
, Anatoly Alexandrov
Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov
Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov was a Russian physicist, director of the Kurchatov Institute, academician and the President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences...
, the President of the Academy of Sciences, and a factory worker. After the speeches, pallbearers, led by Andropov and Nikolai Tikhonov
Nikolai Tikhonov
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was a Soviet Russian-Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1980 to 1985, and as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, literally First Vice Premier, from 1976 to 1980...
, Chairman
Premier of the Soviet Union
The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
of the Council of Ministers, carried the coffin to another location close to the mausoleum. It was here that Brezhnev's family made their farewell. Before the body was laid to rest Viktoria kissed Brezhnev on the face in accordance with Russian traditions. As Brezhnev's body was lowered into the grave a military squad saluted while an orchestra played the Soviet national anthem
National Anthem of the Soviet Union
The National Anthem of the Soviet Union or the State Anthem of the USSR was introduced during World War II on March 15, 1944, replacing The Internationale as the official national anthem of the Soviet Union as well as the national anthem of the Russian SFSR...
. According to Time magazine Brezhnev's death was mourned by the majority of Soviets
Soviet people
Soviet people or Soviet nation was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Initially used as a nonspecific reference to the Soviet population, it was eventually declared to be a "new historical, social and international unity of people".-Nationality politics in early Soviet...
.
Brezhnev's body sustained two falls. As the coffin was lifted into place for the lying in state at the Column Hall of the House of the Unions, Brezhnev's body fell through the bottom. After that, a new, metal-plated coffin was made, and as it was lowered into the grave, the funeral servants could not handle its weight and the coffin fell with a loud crash into the grave hole. This account, however, was contested by Georgy Kovalenko, one of the funeral servants—according to him, twenty minutes before the deposition of the coffin he was asked by the Kremlin custodian Semyon Shornikov to lower the coffin simultaneously with the chime of bells.
Foreign dignitaries
The funeral was attended by 32 heads of state, 15 heads of government, 14 foreign ministers and four princePrince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
s. Among the foreign dignitaries to attend the funeral were Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
of India, Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy is a French Socialist politician and former Prime Minister under François Mitterrand . Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille.-Biography:...
of France, Babrak Karmal
Babrak Karmal
Babrak Karmal was the third President of Afghanistan during the period of the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He is the best known of the Marxist leadership....
of Afghanistan
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a government of Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992. It was both ideologically close to and economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and was a major belligerent of the Afghan Civil War.- Saur Revolution :...
, Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
of Cuba, Huang Hu of the People's Republic of China, Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski is a retired Polish military officer and Communist politician. He was the last Communist leader of Poland from 1981 to 1989, Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985 and the country's head of state from 1985 to 1990. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's...
of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
and Hafez al-Assad
Hafez al-Assad
Hafez ibn 'Ali ibn Sulayman al-Assad or more commonly Hafez al-Assad was the President of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule consolidated the power of the central government after decades of coups and counter-coups, such as Operation Wappen in 1957 conducted by the Eisenhower administration and...
of Syria, among others. Assad declared seven days of mourning in Syria when Brezhnev's death was announced. Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, did not attend, and sent a delegation headed by Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
. Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
George Shultz, Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
Director William Casey and National Security Advisor
National Security Advisor (United States)
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...
William P. Clark tried to persuade Reagan to attend the funeral. Reagan rejected the idea; furthermore, he stated that he had no intention to alter US policy towards the Soviet Union because of Brezhnev's death.
Condolences
Among notable condolences was one from Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, who woke up at 3:35 a.m. to write a two-paragraph message about Brezhnev. Reagan called Brezhnev "one of the world's most important figures for nearly two decades" and expressed hopes for the improvement of Soviet–US relations. Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
promised "a particular thought for the memory of the illustrious departed one", while former West German Chancellor
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting...
said Brezhnev's death would "be painfully felt". The government
Government of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC) expressed "deep condolences" and Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
, the Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
, said "he [Brezhnev] stood by us in our moment of need".
External links
- Video of deposition of the coffin
- Brezhnev's tomb in Moscow at WikimapiaWikimapiaWikiMapia is a privately owned, online map and satellite imaging resource that combines Google Maps with a wiki system, allowing users to add information, in the form of a note, to any location on Earth. Users may currently use this information for free...