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Events on Friday 12 November 1982 2
1982 – 1984Andropov in powerKGB chief leads the USSR — 1982 to 1984Andropov led the Soviet Union for just 15 months before his death from kidney failure. Despite the brief tenure, he began some anti-corruption campaigns and promoted younger reformers including Mikhail Gorbachev.
1982Yuri Andropov becomes Soviet leaderFormer KGB chief succeeds BrezhnevYuri Andropov was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union following the death of Leonid Brezhnev. The former KGB chairman launched a brief campaign against corruption and workplace absenteeism before his own death in 1984.