Yuri Andropov - Decline
When Yu. Andropov rose to the rostrum of the Mausoleum at Brezhnev's funeral to pronounce the first public speech as a new leader, he looked tired, but by no means a seriously ill person. Throughout 1982, as, indeed, before, Andropov demonstrated tremendous efficiency. He appeared in his office at exactly 9 o'clock in the morning and left home late at night. However, even at home and in the car, he managed to look through the morning newspapers, and going home at night, took with him a lot of papers for viewing.
Friends knew, however, that Andropov had serious health problems. As early as the mid-1960s, Andropov was in the hospital for two or three months because of cardiac disorders. And he suffered from diabetes, which affected his kidney. Even from his youth Andropov suffered from a chronic kidney disease. However, a moderate way of life, a careful diet, well-designed prophylaxis made it possible to compensate for the consequences of all these diseases, and they practically did not affect its performance.
A more severe disease Andropov brought from Afghanistan, where he flew in early 1980 [other accounts report the trip in 1981]. The standard accounts generally relate something along the lines of "From a secret trip to Afghanistan, Yuri Vladimirovich brought a serious illness. It was provisionally called "Asian flu" - it dealt a serious blow to all internal organs, especially on diseased kidneys. Even after discharge from the hospital, Yu. V. Andropov had fainting and unexpected temporary exacerbations that deprived him of his previous capacity for work."
Most accounts reference the uncertainty of the diagnosis ["provisionally called "Asian flu""]. There is no particular reason for Andropov to have contractred flu in in Afghanistan at that time, nor are the catastrophic body-wide symptoms commonly thought to be associated with influenza.
In 1957-58, "Asian flu" [Influenza A (H2N2)], caused about 70,000 deaths in the United States. First identified in China in late February 1957, the Asian flu spread to the United States by June 1957. The Asian Flu killed about 2 million people worldwide. Outbreaks of Asian flu were reported in China in April 1957. The pandemic circled the globe in less than a year. It peaked in the United States in November 1957. Disease outbreaks occur when disease cases exceed what would normally be expected in a defined community, geographic area, or season. Influenza pandemics occur when there is a significant genetic change in a circulating strain of influenza. There were no subsequent Asian Flu pandemics, nor is Influenza A (H2N2) reported to be endemic to Afghanistan. H5N1 Avian Influenza cases have been reported in poultry in Afghanistan, but no human cases have been reported.
Symptoms of influenza include fever, achiness, respiratory difficulties, and extreme fatigue the effects of which can last up to two weeks for some people. Health problems due to flu are typically severe and complicated infections of the respiratory tract, rather than involvement of organ systems outside the normal range of the influenza virus.
Renal complications of influenza A virus infections are uncommon but can contribute to a deterioration in the patient's condition, which include acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients, rhabdomyolysis, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), acute glomerulonephritis (AGN), disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), Goodpasture's syndrome, and acute tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN). Despite inconclusive evidence that the influenza virus can cause human renal disease, the secondary pathways that can be triggered by viral infections may be even more significant in producing various degrees of renal dysfunction. The occurrence of renal failure during an episode of influenza represents a serious complication which may influence significantly the morbidity and mortality of patients with this viral infection. And an article titled "Cardiac and Other Complications of Asian Influenza in the Recent Tennessee Outbreak" dated in November 1958 reported that those with prior heart disorders had further complications of those heart disorders by the Asian flu.
The doctors themselves, who were responsible for the health of the members of the Politburo, as a rule, played down the danger and severity of the disease of their patients. By the end of 1983, the secretary general began to experience serious health problems. Renal diabetes had haunted him all his life. He constantly used the device "artificial kidney". Doctors optimistically promised him another 5-6 years of life, and Andropov for this period made a plan for reforming the socialist economy on the rails of order, discipline and incentives through new mechanisms, but he could not implement it.
The health of Andropov in the first months of 1983 continued to deteriorate, and at the end of February 1983 led to a complete renal failure. From now on, he could live, only applying not sporadically, but constantly the device "artificial kidney". In May and June, Andropov became increasingly difficult to move, let alone climb the stairs or get out of the car without assistance. He no longer came to the Central Committee every day and transferred part of the work and meetings to the office of his Moscow residence.
Doctors Victor and Svetlana Topolyansky, based on the most authoritative medical sources, noted: " With chronic renal insufficiency, intellectual-mnestic functions are gradually violated , i.e. the intellect decreases and memory suffers more and more, both short-term and long-term. In persons who are on chronic dialysis (artificial kidney), these disorders progress significantly: the ability to analyze current events and the situation as a whole, the speed of decision-making, the comprehension of the situation, the ability to memorize and reproduce certain events in memory is deteriorating. Along with this, depressive disorders, which are not uncommon in chronic renal insufficiency, increase noticeably during chronic dialysis".
A. De Sousa noted "Patients on dialysis are in a situation of abject dependence on a machine, a procedure and a group of qualified medical professionals for the rest of his/her life.1 No other medical condition has such a degree of dependence for the maintenance treatment of a chronic illness.... Delirium is a common phenomenon observed in dialysis patients due to electrolyte imbalances that may occur after a dialysis run termed as the dialysis disequilibrium syndrome... Extreme anxiety and anxiety somatic symptoms such as breathlessness, palpitations, chest pain, sweating and fear of dying may occur in renal failure cases. Many a times, these symptoms are not associated with any triggers and may occur unexpectedly. There are, on the other hand, many reasons regarding the occurrence of anxiety. The process of dialysis and a multitude of potential medical complications give the patient a lot to worry and anticipate about.... Renal failure patients ... often feel that they are overdoctored..."
The chief Kremlin physician Evgeny Ivanovich Chazov recalls that the question of Andropov in the fall of eighty-two: "How much do I have left?" - he promised him five years. In fact, ten months remained relatively full. The general secretary's health declined rapidly during the tense summer and fall of 1983. In July and August 1983, Andropov's health continued to deteriorate. He had unstable ulcers on his feet, hand tremor increased, most of the time he worked in a country house, often without getting out of bed.
Foreign observers at the end of 1983 constantly asked themselves: who rules the country in the absence of Andropov? Answering this, the chief of the General Staff, Marshal N. V. Ogarkov, said that it was Andropov, in spite of some indisposition, "taking full-scale part in the leadership of the country, the army and the defense of the country." Yuri Vladimirovich refused such an opportunity and, on the contrary, preferred a maximum of seclusion. Traces of illnesses had a marked effect on his appearance, and he did not want the people to see his new leader as weak and sick.
After disappearing from public view for several months, at the end of January 1984, a dramatic deterioration occurred in the state of Andropov. Medicine was powerless to do anything, because the changes in the body were fast and irreversible. February 9, 1984 at 16 hours 50 minutes Yuri Vladimirovich died.
Sergey Grigoryants notes tha " .... while fully agreeing with the researchers and KGB officers that Andropov's death was deliberately accelerated, I believe that the trusted "Kremlin doctor" Evgeny Chazov could be the initiator of this. ... Chazov well remembered how Suslov's doctor lived for a short time, and after Andropov came to power, he was no longer needed anymore. And an understanding of Chazov's role in the killing of Brezhnev, Andropov, and then Chernenko, and not only them,"
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