Zhdanov, Andrei

(1896–1948)

   Zhdanov was Joseph Stalin’s cultural and ideological commissar following World War II. During the Great Patriotic War, Zhdanov served as Communist Party boss in Leningrad during the siege. Following the war, Zhdanov was Stalin’s mouthpiece, attacking modern trends in literature, art, and film in a campaign known as the Zhdanovshchina (the Time of Zhdanov). He denounced the great poet Anna Akhmatova as “half nun, half harlot” and railed against anti-Russian and anti-Soviet trends in the arts. Stalin used the issue of ideological conformity to crack down on Jewish intellectuals and order the murder of the actor Solomon Mikhoels. The MGB also moved to destroy small literary groups that had sprung up during the war. Hundreds of students were arrested for participation in these groups.

   Zhdanov, in poor health, died of a heart attack as the campaign he unleashed began to gather speed. A young doctor denounced Zhdanov’s primary physicians to Stalin for mishandling his care: Zhdanov had been allowed out of bed prematurely after suffering a series of heart attacks. Stalin paid no attention to the denunciation at the time, but he had the letter placed in a special file. Four years later he would use the denunciation as the spark to begin his last great purge, the Doctors’ Plot. Even in death, Zhdanov served Stalin.