54 Facts About Pyotr Masherov

Pyotr Masherov ruled until his sudden death in 1980, after his vehicle was hit by a potato truck.

Pyotr Masherov was known for his down-to-earth demeanour and for his humility, separating him from much of the rest of the upper echelons of Soviet government during the Era of Stagnation, a time period in which corruption and resistance to reform ran rampant.

Pyotr Masherov was closely affiliated with reformists in the Soviet Union such as Alexei Kosygin, and was prior to his death considered a possible successor to Yuri Andropov in the case that he were to succeed Leonid Brezhnev as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Pyotr Masherov Mironovich Mashero was born on 26 February 1919 in the village of Shirki, Sennensky Uyezd, in the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia.

Pyotr Masherov's father was Miron Vasilyevich Mashero and his mother was Daria Petrovna Lyakhovskaya.

Pyotr Masherov had seven siblings, of whom four survived to adulthood.

Pyotr Masherov's education was troublesome; though he graduated primary school, he originally only received a partial secondary education.

Pyotr Masherov had to walk 18 kilometres to and from school, on homemade skis during the winter.

In 1933 Pyotr Masherov moved to Dvorishche, in Rasony District, where his older brother Pavel was a teacher in history and geography.

Pyotr Masherov was very active in sports during his studies, participating in both skiing and skating.

Pyotr Masherov graduated in 1939 and became a teacher the same year.

From 1939 until 1941, Pyotr Masherov worked as a teacher of physics and mathematics at the secondary school in Rasony.

Pyotr Masherov proved to be popular among the students and was respected in the area.

Pyotr Masherov supervised the work of the school's drama circle and would even star in some plays, such as Alexander Ostrovsky's The Forest.

In 1941, with the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, Pyotr Masherov volunteered to join the Red Army.

Pyotr Masherov escaped captivity after jumping out of the train while it was moving through Rasony district, suffering bruises and scratches, and walked to Rasony, where he remained.

Pyotr Masherov was elected as leader by the partisans, a move later agreed to by the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement.

Pyotr Masherov would be wounded another time and became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1943, while at the front.

In September 1943, Pyotr Masherov was promoted yet again, this time to the position of First Secretary of the Vileyka Underground Regional Committee of the Komsomol.

In 1944, Pyotr Masherov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his services as the "first organiser of the partisan movement in the Rasony district of the Vitebsk Region, which later grew into a popular uprising and created a huge partisan land of 10 thousand square kilometres".

On 1 August 1955, Pyotr Masherov was elected as First Secretary of the Brest Regional Committee of the CPB.

In Brest, Pyotr Masherov's activities were similar to what he would later do as First Secretary of the CPB; money was invested into the advancement of mechanical engineering and both a museum and memorial complex were created to memorialise the defense of Brest Fortress.

In Brest, Pyotr Masherov lived in what had formerly been the house of a deputy of the Polish Sejm, and usually walked to his office without security.

Belarusian cosmonaut Pyotr Klimuk recalled that Masherov was held in high regard in the Brest Region while he served as First Secretary of the Regional Committee.

Pyotr Masherov had been Second Secretary of the CPB under Kirill Mazurov since 1962.

Therefore, when Mazurov retired from his position as First Secretary to become First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union in 1965 it was logical for Pyotr Masherov to succeed him.

However, Pyotr Masherov wrote to Brezhnev, and eventually received support for the construction of a metro in Minsk, in the process working his former rival Kiselyov.

Pyotr Masherov did much as First Secretary to modernise Minsk, the nation's capital.

Pyotr Masherov pursued a rapid modernisation of the city, in the process destroying much of the original town which had survived the Second World War.

Pyotr Masherov's efforts proved moderately successful; by 1977 the grain harvest had increased to 7.3 million tons.

Pyotr Masherov raised eyebrows in 1974 when he appointed biologist Viktor Shevelukha as secretary of agriculture in the Central Committee of the CPB.

Pyotr Masherov worked with scientists from across the USSR, including Nikolai Borisevich, Mstislav Keldysh, Anatoly Alexandrov, Borys Paton, Alexander Prokhorov, Nikolay Basov, and Nikita Moiseyev, among others.

Pyotr Masherov worked tirelessly to get up-to-date equipment for institutes, including notably purchasing the first echocardiography machine in the BSSR for the Cardiography Research Institute.

Pyotr Masherov promoted the expansion of educational institutions; the Brest State Technical University, the Pavel Sukhoi State Technical University of Gomel, the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts, and Polotsk State University were all constructed by Pyotr Masherov's government.

Pyotr Masherov supported increased teaching of foreign languages as well as education on Belarusian culture.

Pyotr Masherov retained good relations with the Komsomol as First Secretary; it was on his initiative that the BSSR's Komsomol school was opened, as one of the first in the Soviet Union.

However, on the other hand he strongly criticised the widespread practise of many Belarusians leaving the BSSR to work on Komsomol construction projects; many of these workers would not return, resulting in what Pyotr Masherov termed a "demographic crisis".

Pyotr Masherov was responsible for making the Belarusian contributions to the Soviet war effort more well-known across the Soviet Union.

Pyotr Masherov successfully pushed for Brest Fortress and Minsk to be awarded the title of Hero City despite reservations from Soviet leadership.

Pyotr Masherov was mentioned as a possible candidate for multiple positions within the Soviet government.

Pyotr Masherov had a complicated relationship with Mikhail Suslov, Second Secretary of the CPSU and the party's primary ideologue.

Near Smalyavichy, Pyotr Masherov's vehicle suffered a head-on collision with a potato truck.

Pyotr Masherov's funeral was held on 8 October 1980, in Minsk.

Pyotr Masherov's legacy has been profoundly felt in Belarus, owing to the economic reforms begun under his leadership, as well as recognition of the Second World War's impact on Belarusian society.

Pyotr Masherov was responsible for the construction of the monument to the Khatyn massacre, the Mound of Glory and the Minsk Metro.

Pyotr Masherov supported the production of Elem Klimov's film Come and See, overruling lower functionaries who had rejected Klimov's proposal and personally greenlighting filming.

In 2018 the Belarusian Left Party "A Just World" proposed renaming the Minsk Metro in Pyotr Masherov's honour, explaining that it was due to his persistence that the metro was constructed.

Conversely, Cyhankou notes that Pyotr Masherov worked to protect and strengthen the position of Belarusian-language literature within the Soviet Union.

Dissident writer Aliaksei Karpiuk, who was expelled from the Communist Party for his criticism of local officials, similarly credited Pyotr Masherov with restoring his party membership and fighting the central Soviet government's targeting of both Karpiuk himself and fellow writer Vasil Bykau.

Pyotr Masherov was known for his welcoming demeanour and willingness to help others; western diplomats who had met him described him as "urbane and intelligent".

Pyotr Masherov enjoyed ballet and theatre, and often visited performances.

Pyotr Masherov enjoyed reading, banya, and association football; he interrupted his vacation on the Black Sea to watch the 1980 Summer Olympics' qualifying matches for football, which were held in Minsk.

Flights with Pyotr Masherov began very early in the morning, typically around 4:00, and would last the entire day with many stops.

Pyotr Masherov ran in the 2001 Belarusian presidential election and placed well in polls, but withdrew following a tirade against her by incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko, saying that she did not intend for her campaign to become "confrontational".