Yuri Zhukov (politician)

Yuri Zhukov (Юрий Жуков), born Georgy Aleksandrovich Zhukov (Георгий Александрович Жуков; 23 April 1908, Almazna – 31 May 1991, Moscow) was a Soviet journalist, publicist and political figure.

Zhukov was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Around 1938-1945 he toured Dalkrai and wrote books on the Soviet Far East and Japan.

Later, he sat on the editorial board of Soviet daily Pravda (1946-1987); he was also a columnist of the paper. Zhukov served as the newspaper's Paris correspondent in 1948-1952. From 1952 to 1957 he was the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper.

In 1957 he became the first Chairman of the powerful State Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (GKKS), an organ that took sizable portion of responsibilities from the Soviet Foreign Ministry from 1957 to 1967. Zhukov would oversee preparations and signing of the first agreement on cultural exchanges with the United States (Lacy-Zarubin act, signed in January 1958) and the Soviet national exhibition in New York in summer 1959. He also hosted Vice President Richard Nixon on an unofficial visit to the Soviet Union July 23 - August 2, 1959 to open the American National Exhibition in Sokolniki Park in Moscow.

In the late 1950s he was a speechwriter for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Peace Committee (1962-1982) and Chairman (1982-1987).

He was a candidate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.