Suslov, Mikhail Andreyevich [key], 1902–82, Soviet politician and ideologist. A Communist party member since 1921, he rose to prominence in the party hierarchy in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In 1941 he was named to the party's central committee. He rapidly gained distinction as a leading party theoretician, noted for his condemnation of deviations from Soviet policy, particularly for his anti-Yugoslav propaganda in 1948. In 1955 he became a member of the presidium (later politburo) of the central committee. A shrewd political maneuverer, he supported Nikita Khrushchev's bid for power in 1957, but in 1964 was influential in both the downfall of Khrushchev and the installation of Brezhnev.
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