Anatoly Ivanovich Luk'yanov

(b. Smolensk, 7 May 1930) Russian; CPSU Central Committee member 1986 – 91 and Secretary 1987 – 91, chair of the Supreme Soviet 1990 – 1 Having worked in a factory from the age of 13, Luk'yanov was later educated in law at Moscow University (where he became friends with Gorbachev) and joined the Communist Party in 1955. He became a Doctor of Juridical Sciences and a legal consultant, first for the Council of Ministers and then the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet. From 1983 he worked in the Central Committee apparatus, first as head of the General Department (assisting the General Secretary) and later as Secretary and head of the Administrative Organs Department (supervising the military and KGB). Elected to the Congress of People's Deputies in 1989, he became deputy chair to (Gorbachev) of the Supreme Soviet and Chair in 1990, when Gorbachev moved to the executive presidency. He was responsible for overseeing much of the new legislation, but became increasingly conservative. In August 1991 he was involved in the putsch against Gorbachev and was arrested and accused of treason, but was later amnestied. He became a prominent force in the Russian Communist Party when it was relegalized.

(b. 1930), chair of the USSR Supreme Soviet during the August 1991 coup attempt.

Anatoly Lukyanov studied law at Moscow State University, graduating in 1953. While at the university, he chaired the University Komsomol branch, and Mikhail Gorbachev was deputy chair. Lukyanov joined the Party in 1955 and began a career within the Party apparatus. He was appointed to the Central Committee Secretariat in 1987. By 1988, Lukyanov was named a candidate member of the Politburo and first deputy chair of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet.

The first USSR Congress of People's Deputies elected Lukyanov chairman of the newly reconfigured Supreme Soviet in 1990. This post allowed him to control the parliamentary agenda. He was repeatedly accused of stonewalling legislation he did not like and putting bills he supported to vote multiple times if they were voted down.

Despite his close personal links with Gorbachev, Lukyanov sided with opponents of Gorbachev's policies. The hard-line Soyuz faction particularly favored Lukyanov over Gorbachev. During his December 1990 resignation speech to the Congress, Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze specifically criticized Lukyanov for interfering in Soviet-German relations and for his desire for a dictatorship.

As Gorbachev's new Union Treaty neared ratification in summer 1991, hard-line members of the Soviet leadership hierarchy staged a coup to overthrow Gorbachev and prevent adoption of the treaty. Though Lukyanov was not a member of the State Committee for the State of Emergency that briefly seized power August 19 - 21, 1991, he supported their efforts. Lukyanov was arrested following the coup's collapse, then amnestied in February 1994 and elected to the Russian Duma in 1995 and 1999, where he chaired the parliamentary committee on government reform.

Bibliography

Wishnevsky, Julia. (1991). "Anatolii Luk'yanov: Gorbachev's Conservative Rival?" RFE/RL Report on the USSR 3(23):8 - 14.

—ANN E. ROBERTSON

Anatoly Lukyanov

Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov (Russian: Анатолий Иванович Лукьянов) (born 7 May 1930 in Smolensk) is a Russian Communist politician who was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR between 15 March 1990 and 22 August 1991. He published a few books of poetry under his own name and under the pseudonyms Osenev (Осенев) and Dneprov (Днепров).

Biography

Lukyanov was born to a working-class family in Smolensk. In 1953 he graduated from the Law School of the Moscow State University. From 1956 to 1961 he was a legal consultant at the Council of Ministers, while from 1961 to 1976 he was a referent at the Supreme Soviet. From 1976 to 1988 he worked for the apparatus of the Communist Party. Lukyanov was a secretary of the Central Committee of the KPSS from January 1987 and a cadidate member of the Politburo from September 1988.^[1]

He befriended Mikhail Gorbachev in law school,^[2] later becoming a political ally. Lukyanov was elected vice-chairman of the Supreme Soviet in March 1989 and chairman the following year.^[3] In 1991, Ivan Silayev accused him of being the leading force behind the Soviet coup attempt of 1991.^[4] Lukyanov was arrested on 29 August 1991, and held for fifteen months on charges of conspiracy.^[5] Throughout the investigation, Lukyanov denied complicity.^[6]

In 1996, Lukyanov was the adviser of Gennady Zyuganov.^[7]

Election to Duma

Lukyanov was elected as a deputy to the first three State Dumas of the Russian Federation (1993, 1995 and 1999). His last title was as Chairman of the Duma Committee on Constitutional Law ( Председатель Комитета ГД по конституционному законодательству и государственному строительству). He did not participate in the elections of 2004 and instead became a board member of a company called OEG Petroservis.^[8] He is also the Chairman of the Central Consultation Council of the Russian Communist Party and a member of the Union of Writers of Russia.

References

1. ^ A. I. Luk'ianov, V vodovorote rossiiskoi smuty (Moscow: Kniga i Biznes, 1999), 3.
2. ^ The Deal Is Already Done For Gorbachev's Coup Book, The New York Times, October 4, 1991 p. 1D
3. ^ Luk'ianov, V vodovorote rossiiskoi smuty, 3.
4. ^ Soviet Turmoil; The Soviet Coup and Its Aftermath: A Recap, in The New York Times, August 25, 1991, p. 16
5. ^ Russia Coup Trial Is Yielding A Maze, in The New York Times, August 21, 1992, p. 3
6. ^ Luk'ianov, V vodovorote rossiiskoi smuty, 4.
7. ^ Muse of Anti-Yeltsin Forces: He Is Feared, Never Ignored, in The New York Times, May 2, 1996
8. ^ Lukyanov's page on the OEG Petroservis website (Russian)

External links

• Biography (Russian)
• Biography (Russian)
• Examples of his poetry (Russian)

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