Andrei Zhdanov, Russian civil servant and politician (b. 1896)
Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov (Russian: Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Жда́нов, IPA: [ɐnˈdrej ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐdanəf]; 26 February [O.S. 14 February] 1896 – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet Communist Party leader, and cultural ideologist. After World War II, Zhdanov was thought to be the successor-in-waiting to Joseph Stalin but died before him. He has been described as the "propagandist-in-chief" of the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1948.