Later Life, Death and Recognition
When compared to other Soviet politicians who shared the same fate, Kirilenko's downfall was, according to historian R. Judson Mitchell, a "relatively easy" fall from power. At Brezhnev's lying-in-state and subsequent funeral, he was allowed to stand next besides Brezhnev's family even if he wasn't a member of the Soviet leadership at the time. Kirilenko made his last public appearance in 1983, and was given an honorary retirement the same year. Mitchell believes that Andropov gave Kirilenko the honorary retirement so that he could win over Kirilenko's "organisational tail", literally Kirilenko's appointees to top-ranking offices during his years in service. He lived the rest of his life in Moscow, Russian SFSR, and died on 12 May 1990. He was buried at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery. During his lifetime, he was awarded the Hero of Socialist Labour twice, and he received six Orders of Lenin and one Order of the October Revolution.
Read more about this topic: Andrei Kirilenko (politician)
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