Background
Kol’bin, Gennadii was born in 1927.
Kol’bin, Gennadii was born in 1927.
Graduated from the Ural Polytechnical Institute, 1955.
Started as a technical designer, promoted to chief of a technical office, shop superintendent, deputy chief engineer in a plant in Nizhnii Tagil, 1947-1959. Top party positions, 1959-1962. 2nd Secretary of Nizhnii Tagil City Committee, 1962-1964.
1st Secretary, then Secretary, of Sverdlovsk Oblast’ Committee, 1964-1971. 2nd Secretary of the Central Committee and member of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Georgian CP, 1975. Candidate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1975-1981.
Full member from 1981. Replaced Kunaev as party boss in Kazakhstan SSR, December 1986, in the anti-corruption drive by M. Gorbachev. His appointment was met with demonstrations by Kazakhs in AlmaAta, protesting against the appointment of a non-Kazakh to the local party leadership.