Ekaterina Alexeyevna Furzeva

Ekaterina Furzewa (1964)

Yekaterina Furtseva ( Russian Екатерина Алексеевна Фурцева ; born November 24 ^{. Jul} / 7. December 1910 ^greg. In vyshny volochyok , Tver province , Russian Empire ; † 24. October 1974 in Moscow ) was a Soviet politician . She was one of only two women (with approx. 118 members) who became members of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (from 1952 to 1966: Presidium), the politically highest body of the CPSU, between 1917 and 1991 : Ekaterina Furzewa from 1957 to 1961 and Galina Semyonova from 1990 to 1991.

Youth and early career

After finishing secondary school and completing specialist training at a factory, Furzewa worked as a weaver. At the same time, she made a career within the Komsomol Communist Youth Association , where within a few years she rose to head the organizational department of the Komsomol Territory Organization in Crimea . In 1930, at the age of 20, she became a member of the CPSU (B) . She became interested in aviation at a young age, took university courses in civil aviation from 1933–35 and was assistant to the political department of Aeroflot's aeronautical engineering center from 1933–1936 .

From 1937 to 1942 she studied chemical fine technology in Moscow and in 1941 she received her diploma as a chemical engineer. In 1942 she was appointed secretary of the Moscow Frunze District Committee, where she was responsible for cadre issues. In this post she proved to be a staunch supporter of Stalin . During one session she denounced the "lack of in-depth study of the works of Stalin". She was unpopular and feared because of her strict adherence to the line. Her style of presentation, however, differed greatly from the other secretaries customary at the time. She had such a powerful voice that it reached the entire hall without a microphone. And she never read her speeches from the paper, but learned them by heart even before her performances. This made it appear that she was speaking freely and improvisationally.

Furzewa attached great importance to the "ideological re-education" of scientists. After Stalin's speech in the spring of 1946, she demanded that all “scientific tasks” at institutes and other research facilities that were under the control of the Frunze District Committee of Moscow be terminated “within one year”. On January 21, 1949, she got to know Stalin personally during a reception, which for her, a simple district secretary, was a great and unusual honor.

After the dismissal of the First Secretary of the Moscow party organization Popov and the appointment of Khrushchev as the new strong man in the Soviet capital, Furzeva was first appointed second (from 1950 to 1954) and then first (from 1954 to 1957) city secretary of the Moscow party organization. In this capacity she was responsible for the prosecution of alleged "murderer doctors", the last Stalinist cleansing operation, which was immediately abandoned after Stalin's death. In the field of literature and art in particular, she proved to be ruthless, sharply dismissed all “unproletarian writers” and incessantly called for vigilance. So she refused the writer Alexander Twardowski's request not to call him the "son of a kulak ".

Rise and fall in the leadership of the party

She was already a candidate for the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1952 and became a full member of this body in 1956. From 1956 to 1960 she was the first woman member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and from 1956 to 1957 she was the first woman candidate for the Politburo of the CPSU. Supported by Nikita Khrushchev , she was elected to the CPSU Politburo from 1957 to 1961 as the first woman.

It is safe to say that Khrushchev was very fond of Fartheva's company, as he often took it with him on trips abroad. This led to speculation in the western tabloids about possible secret relations between Khrushchev and Furzewa, they were referred to in an exaggerated way as "Russia's Red Tsarina". She was elegant and fashion-conscious, which increasingly angered Nikita Khrushchev, who began her decline in power as part of the so-called 60s revision in the party (renewal requirement for leadership members in the CPSU) from 1960 onwards. Although she became Minister of Culture in 1960 and Deputy Prime Minister for two years, she lost together with Aristov and Ignatov in 1961 the more important office in the party presidium and even her seat in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, but was re-elected in 1966.

Minister

She also became known beyond the borders of the USSR as the Union and Republic Minister for Popular Education (Culture). This office she held from 1960 to 1964 in the cabinet Khrushchev and from 1964 until her death in 1974 in the cabinet of Kosygin . In 1960 she was the only woman in the government. She initiated the “ International Moscow Film Festival ”, established the “International Tchaikovsky Music Competition” and directed the construction of the large sports stadium in Luzhniki , Moscow. It also made things easier for many artists. In the last few years she has held her ministerial office mainly on a representative basis.

death

After personal crises (divorce, second marriage), a “dacha affair” (unresolved funding) and being voted out of office again as a member of the Supreme Soviet, her life probably ended in 1974 by suicide . Officially, she died of heart failure. She was buried in Moscow in the Novodevichy Cemetery .

The death of Ekaterina Furzeva was regretted by Soviet artists and writers. Trying to balance differences in the country's cultural life and to alleviate conflict situations, her services to Soviet culture were recognized.

literature

Bertold Spuler: Regents and Governments of the World Würzburg Ploetz 1953 ff.
Merle Fainsod : How Russia Is Ruled Cologne / Berlin Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1965
Michel Tatu: Power and Powerlessness in the Kremlin Berlin Ullstein, 1968
E. Taranow. Pervaya dama Moskvy. Strichi k portretu Furzewoj, in: Kentavr, 1992, Nov. – Dec. 1992, pp. 59-75.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Der Spiegel Geschichte issue 6/2016, page 107

personal data
SURNAME	Furzewa, Ekaterina Alexejewna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Екатерина Алексеевна Фурцева
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Soviet politician
DATE OF BIRTH	December 7, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH	Vyshny Volochok
DATE OF DEATH	October 24, 1974
Place of death	Moscow

[1] Der Spiegel Geschichte issue 6/2016, page 107