Lydia Gromyko
Born
Lydia Dmitrievna Grinevich

14 April 1911
Minsk Region, Russian Empire
Died9 March 2004(2004-03-09) (aged 92)
Moscow, Russia
NationalityBelarusian
Alma materMinsk Institute of Agricultural Science
Known forWife of Andrei Gromyko
Children2

Lydia Gromyko (Russian: Лидия Громыко; née Grinevich (Гриневич); 14 April 1911 – 9 March 2004) was a Belarusian teacher who was the wife of Soviet diplomat Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989).

Biography

Lydia Dmitrievna Grinevich was born in a village in the Minsk region on 14 April 1911.[1] She was a daughter of Belarusian peasants.[2]

She met Andrei Gromyko in Minsk where they were both studying agriculture at the Minsk Institute of Agricultural Science.[1][3][4] They married in 1931.[5] The marriage was harmonious[6] and affectionate.[2] They had two children: a son, Anatoly, and a daughter, Emilia.[2][3] Anatoly (1932–2017) served as a diplomat and was an academic.[7]

Lydia worked as a teacher and was fluent in English.[4] In addition, she was learned in politics and literature.[4] Her major interest was painting.[4] Her husband was the head of the Supreme Soviet from 2 July 1985 to 1 October 1988. She was regularly seen in public which was not common in the Soviet Union.[4][8] There were rumours that she and Raisa Gorbacheva did not get along.[9] Lydia died on 9 March 2004, at age 92.[1][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Соседи по парте (Neighbors on the desk)". Rosenbloom (in Russian). Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Craig R. Whitney (4 July 1989). "Andrei A. Gromyko: Flinty Face of Postwar Soviet Diplomacy". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  3. ^ a b Thom Shanker; Vincent J. Schodolski (4 July 1989). "Soviet Statesman Andrei Gromyko, 79". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Biography of Andrey Andreyevich Gromyko" (PDF). Ford Library Museum. 31 May 1974. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Cold War: Biographies" (PDF). GALE. Retrieved 3 September 2013.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Ilya Zemtsov (1989). Chernenko. The Last Bolshevik: The Soviet Union on the Eve of Perestroika. New York: Transaction Publishers. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-4128-1945-9.
  7. ^ Martin McCauley (1997). "Gromyko, Anatoly Andreevich". Who's Who in Russia since 1900. London: Routledge. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-4151-3898-7.
  8. ^ Steve Goldstein (4 July 1989). "Gromyko, Always A Loyalist In The Soviet Leadership, Dies At 79". Philly. Moscow. AP. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  9. ^ "Gromyko's Wife, Not Raisa, to Escort 1st Lady". Los Angeles Times. Moscow. Reuters. 25 May 1988. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  10. ^ Мікалай Зяньковіч; Николай Зенькович (2005). Самые секретные родственники (The Most Secret Families) (in Russian). Moscow: OLMA-Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-5-94850-408-7.
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