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

Lydia Gromyko
Лидия Громыко
Born
Lydia Dmitrievna Grinevich

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

Biography

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Lydia Dmitrievna Grinevich was born in a village in Minsk Governorate 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

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  1. 1 2 3 "Соседи по парте (Neighbors on the desk)". Rosenbloom (in Russian). Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Craig R. Whitney (4 July 1989). "Andrei A. Gromyko: Flinty Face of Postwar Soviet Diplomacy". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 Thom Shanker; Vincent J. Schodolski (4 July 1989). "Soviet Statesman Andrei Gromyko, 79". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "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. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. 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.