Petras Griškevičius

Petras Griškevičius
Petras Griškevičius
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania
	In office; 18 February 1974 – 14 November 1987
Preceded by	Antanas Sniečkus
Succeeded by	Ringaudas Songaila
Personal details
Born	19 July 1924; Kriaunos,Rokiškis District,Lithuania
Died	14 November 1987(aged 63); Vilnius,Lithuanian SSR,Soviet Union
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union(1945–1987)
Occupation	military officer, politician

Petras Petrovičius Griškevičius(Russian:Пя́трас Пя́трович Гришкя́вичюс;19 July 1924 – 14 November 1987) was a Lithuanian communist party official in theLithuanian SSR.He was the First Secretary of theLithuanian Communist Party(de factoleader of Lithuania) from 1974 to his death.

Early life and military career[edit]

He was born on 19 July 1924 in the village of Kriaunos, in theRokiškis districtof theRepublic of Lithuania.He began his career in 1941 as a collective farmer in theeastern part of Chelyabinsk Region.At the beginning ofWorld War II,Griškevičius retreated into theRussian SFSR.During the war, he was a member of the16th Rifle Division(1942–1943) and aSoviet partisan(1943–1944) in Rokiškis district.^[1]

Party career[edit]

After joining the communist party in 1945, he slowly rose through the ranks.^[2]He worked in press censorship (1950–1955) before moving to the Vilnius City Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania. There he worked at the secretariat (1955–1964) and central committee (1964–1971), becoming the first secretary in 1971.^[2]

Leader of Soviet Lithuania[edit]

After the death ofAntanas Sniečkusin 1974, Griškevičius succeeded him as the First Secretary of the Lithuanian Communist Party. He was also a delegate of theSupreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR(since 1965), delegate of theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Union(since 1974), and member of theCentral Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union(since 1976).^[1]Griškevičius was described as aBrezhnevite,^[3]conservative and "mediocreapparatchik",who opposedperestroikaand especiallyglasnost.^[4]He supported suppression of Lithuanian history and cultural heritage, replacing them withSoviet propaganda.^[5]

Personal life and death[edit]

He died in Vilnius on November 14, 1987, and was buried at theAntakalnis Cemetery.

Awards[edit]

TwoOrders of Lenin,July 18, 1974; July 18, 1984
Order of the October Revolution,25 August 1971
Order of the Patriotic War,1st degree, May 10, 1965
Order of the Patriotic WarII degree, March 11, 1985
TwoOrders of the Red Banner of Labor,October 1, 1965; March 17, 1981
Order of the Badge of Honour,July 20, 1950
Medal "For Distinguished Labour",December 24, 1960
Medal "To a Partisan of the Patriotic War"I degree, September 14, 1944
other medals

References[edit]

^^a ^bZinkus, Jonas; et al., eds. (1985–1988). "Griškevičius, Petras".Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija(in Lithuanian). Vol. I. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 667.LCCN 86232954.
^^a ^bMisiunas, Romuald J.; Rein Taagepera; Georg von Rauch (1983).The Baltic States, years of dependence, 1940-1980.University of California Press. p. 197.ISBN 978-0-520-04625-2.
^O'Connor, Kevin (2003).The history of the Baltic States.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 150.ISBN 978-0-313-32355-3.
^Denber, Rachel (1992).The Soviet nationality reader: the disintegration in context.Westview Press. p. 443.ISBN 978-0-8133-1027-5.
^Ashbourne, Alexandra (1999).Lithuania: the rebirth of a nation, 1991-1994.Lexington Books. p. 18.ISBN 978-0-7391-0027-1.

Party political offices
Preceded by Antanas Sniečkus	First Secretary of theCommunist Party of Lithuania(LKP) 1974–1987	Succeeded by Ringaudas Songaila

[zinkus-1] Zinkus, Jonas; et al., eds. (1985–1988). "Griškevičius, Petras".Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija(in Lithuanian). Vol. I. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 667.LCCN 86232954.

[misiun-2] Misiunas, Romuald J.; Rein Taagepera; Georg von Rauch (1983).The Baltic States, years of dependence, 1940-1980.University of California Press. p. 197.ISBN 978-0-520-04625-2.

[occon-3] O'Connor, Kevin (2003).The history of the Baltic States.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 150.ISBN 978-0-313-32355-3.

[denber-4] Denber, Rachel (1992).The Soviet nationality reader: the disintegration in context.Westview Press. p. 443.ISBN 978-0-8133-1027-5.

[ash-5] Ashbourne, Alexandra (1999).Lithuania: the rebirth of a nation, 1991-1994.Lexington Books. p. 18.ISBN 978-0-7391-0027-1.

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v t e Leaders of Lithuaniasince 1919
Presidents(1919–1940)	Antanas Smetona Aleksandras Stulginskis Kazys Grinius Jonas Staugaitis Aleksandras Stulginskis Antanas Smetona Antanas Merkys¹ Justas Paleckis¹ Jonas Žemaitis⁴
LKPFirst Secretaries²	Antanas Sniečkus Petras Griškevičius Ringaudas Songaila Algirdas Brazauskas
Presidents(since 1990)	Vytautas Landsbergis³ Algirdas Brazauskas Valdas Adamkus Rolandas Paksas Artūras Paulauskas Valdas Adamkus Dalia Grybauskaitė Gitanas Nausėda
¹Not recognized as a legitimate president ²De factoheads of state;de jureheads of state were Chairmen of the Presidium of theSupreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR ³Was head of state, but not recognized as president ⁴Posthumously recognized in March 2009 Italicsdenote acting leaders

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