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Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Miguel, 1960–, Cuban political leader. Trained as an electrical engineer, he served (1982–85) as a radio specialist in the armed forces and taught at the Villa Clara provinc...

Chernenko, Konstantin Ustinovich

(Encyclopedia)Chernenko, Konstantin Ustinovich kŏstəntyēēnˈ ōōstyēēnˈəvich chĭrnyĕnˈkô [key], 1911–85, Soviet political leader. A protégé of Leonid Brezhnev, he rose through Communist party ranks...

Kirov, Sergei Mironovich

(Encyclopedia)Kirov, Sergei Mironovich syĭrgāˈ mērôˈnəvĭch kēˈrəf [key], 1888–1934, Russian Soviet leader. He fought in the civil war of 1918–20 and rose to power as one of Stalin's most trusted aide...

Kania, Stanisław

(Encyclopedia)Kania, Stanisław stənēēˈswäf käˈnyə [key], 1927–2020, Polish political leader. He joined the Communist party in 1945, becoming a member of the Central Committee in 1968 and of the Politburo...

Beria, Lavrenti Pavlovich

(Encyclopedia)Beria, Lavrenti Pavlovich ləvrĕnˈtyē pävˈləvĭch bâˈrēə [key], 1899–1953, Soviet Communist leader, b. Georgia. He rose to prominence in the Cheka (secret police) in Georgia and the Transc...

Ulbricht, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Ulbricht, Walter välˈtər o͝olˈbrĭkht [key], 1893–1973, Communist leader in the German Democratic Republic. A founder of the German Communist party, he fled Germany in 1933 and went to Moscow, ...

Zhivkov, Todor

(Encyclopedia)Zhivkov, Todor tôˈdôr zhĭvkôfˈ [key], 1911–98, Bulgarian political leader. A printer, and a Communist party member from 1932, he rose to prominence as a partisan leader during World War II and...

Liu Shaoqi

(Encyclopedia)Liu Shaoqi or Liu Shao-ch'i both: lyo͞o shou-chē [key], 1898?–1969, Chinese Communist political leader. Liu joined (1920) a Comintern organization in Shanghai, where he studied Russian. While in M...

Voroshilov, Kliment Yefremovich

(Encyclopedia)Voroshilov, Kliment Yefremovich vôrəshēˈlŏf, Rus. klyĭmyĕntˈ yəfrĕmˈəvĭch vərəshēˈləf [key], 1881–1969, Soviet military leader and public official. A Bolshevik from 1903, he was an...

Zhdanov, Andrei Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Zhdanov, Andrei Aleksandrovich əndrāˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch zhdäˈnôf [key], 1896–1948, Soviet Communist leader. A loyal supporter of Stalin, he was made (1934) secretary of the Leningrad Comm...

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