Andrei Zhdanov

Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov (Russian: Андрей Александрович Жданов, IPA: [ɐnˈdrʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ˈʐdanəf] ; 26 February [O.S. 14 February] 1896 – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician. He was the Soviet Union's "propagandist-in-chief" after the Second World War, and was responsible for developing the Soviet cultural policy, the Zhdanov Doctrine, which remained in effect until the death of Joseph Stalin. Zhdanov was considered Stalin's most likely successor but died before him.

Zhdanov joined the Bolsheviks in 1915 and quickly rose through the party ranks. A close associate of Stalin, he became a secretary of the Central Committee in 1934, and later that year he was promoted to Leningrad party chief following the assassination of Sergei Kirov. He would go on to play a major role during the Great Purge. In 1939, he was promoted to full membership of the Politburo and as head of the Central Committee's Propaganda Department. Zhdanov's political standing was undermined during the Second World War due to his association with the Soviet–Finnish War and the failed Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Nevertheless, he played a leading role in the Soviet takeover of Estonia and defense of Leningrad.

After the war, Zhdanov was tasked by Stalin with directing cultural policy. His campaign, known as the Zhdanovshchina, was strictly enforced and led to the denouncement of artists including Anna Akhmatova and Dmitri Shostakovich. He also oversaw the creation of the Cominform in 1947. Initially considered the successor-in-waiting to Stalin, Zhdanov suffered from ill health and fell out of favour as a result of the Tito–Stalin split. He died of heart failure in 1948, resulting in a rise in the political fortunes of Georgy Malenkov.