# 1952 in the Soviet Union

The following lists events that happened during 1952 in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

## Incumbents

* General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union — Joseph Stalin (until 16 October)
* Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union — Nikolay Shvernik
* Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union — Joseph Stalin

## Events

* Mingrelian Affair
* Doctors' plot: A group of prominent Moscow doctors, mostly Jewish, is falsely accused of conspiring to assassinate Soviet leaders.

### June

* June 13 — Catalina affair: Two Swedish aircraft are shot down by Soviet fighter jets over the Baltic.

### August

* August 12 — Night of the Murdered Poets: Thirteen Soviet Jews are executed on false charges.

### October

* October 5–14 — The 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is held.

### November

* November 5 — The 1952 Severo-Kurilsk tsunami kills 2,336 people in the town of Severo-Kurilsk.

### December

* December 15 — The Shch class submarine S-117 is lost due to unknown causes.

## Births

* January 1
** Nikolay Dudov, 3rd Governor of Magadan Oblast
** Yury Zacharanka, 2nd Minister of Internal Affairs of Belarus (d. 1999)
* January 2
** Elvira Saadi, gymnast
** Indulis Emsis, 18th Prime Minister of Latvia
* January 30
** Valery Khalilov, Russian military band conductor (d. 2016)
** Anatoly Yefremov, 2nd Governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast (d. 2009)
* February 15 — Nikolai Sorokin, Russian theatre and film actor (d. 2013)
* February 21 — Vitaly Churkin, Russian diplomat (d. 2017)
* February 23 — Oleg Korolyov, 3rd Governor of Lipetsk Oblast
* February 27 — Yuri Shafranik, 3rd Minister of Energy of Russia
* March 2 — Sergei Stepashin, 5th Prime Minister of Russia
* March 9 — Konstantin Tolstoshein, Acting Governor of Primorsky Krai
* March 18 — Yuriy Vynnychuk, Ukrainian journalist, writer and editor
* March 23 — Antonina Dvoryanets, Ukrainian hydraulic engineer and political activist (d. 2014)
* March 27 — Akejan Kajegeldin, 2nd Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
* April 25 — Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey player
* May 3 — Leonid Khachiyan, Soviet and American mathematician (d. 2005)
* May 4 — Semyon Zubakin, 3rd Head of the Altai Republic
* May 5 — Anatoly Artamonov, 4th Governor of Kaluga Oblast
* May 18 — Yury Komarovsky, 1st Governor of Nenets Autonomous Okrug
* June 14 — Robert Lepikson, 9th Minister of the Interior of Estonia (d. 2006)
* July 14 — Nikolay Poluyanov, 1st Governor of Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug
* August 1 — Petro Symonenko, Ukrainian politician
* August 20 — Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec
* September 12 — Sergey Karaganov, Russian political scientist
* October 5 — Emomali Rahmon, 3rd President of Tajikstan
* October 7
** Vladimir Putin, 2nd and 4th President of Russia
** Ludmilla Tourischeva, gymnast
* October 14 — Nikolai Andrianov, Soviet and Russian gymnast (d. 2011)
* October 19 — Mykhailo Yezhel, 10th Minister of Defence of Ukraine
* November 5 — Oleg Blokhin, Soviet and Ukrainian football player and manager
* December 29 — Külliki Saldre, Estonian actress

## Deaths

* March 9 — Alexandra Kollontai, revolutionary, politician, diplomat and Marxist theoretician (b. 1872)
* March 15 — Mikhail Doller, film director (b. 1889)
* April 15 — Viktor Chernov, revolutionary and one of the founders of the Russian Socialist Revolutionary Party (b. 1873)
* May 2 — Matrona Nikonova, Orthodox nun and saint (b. 1881)
* June 8 — Sergey Merkurov, sculptor (b. 1881)
* August 12 — Peretz Markish, poet (b. 1895)
* September 15 — Hugo Raudsepp, playwright (b. 1883)