| Oleg Shenin | |
| Order: | Chairman of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (2001) |
| Term Start: | 22 January 2001 |
| Term End: | 28 May 2009 |
| Predecessor: | None |
| Successor: | Vladimir Berezin |
| Order2: | Chairman of the Council of the Union of Communist Parties |
| Term Start2: | 26 March 1993 |
| Term End2: | 22 January 2001 |
| Predecessor2: | Vladimir Ivashko (Acting General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1991) |
| Successor2: | Gennady Zyuganov |
| Order3: | Full member of the 28th Politburo |
| Term Start3: | 14 July 1990 |
| Term End3: | 29 August 1991 |
| Party: | Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
| Birth Date: | 2 July 1937 |
| Nationality: | Russian |
| Otherparty: | Communist Party of the Soviet Union (2001) |
| Allegiance: | Soviet Union |
| Native Name Lang: | ru |
Oleg Semyonovich Shenin (ru|Олег Семёнович Шенин|link=no; 2 July 1937 - 28 May 2009[1]) was the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Shenin), which should not be confused with the larger UCP-CPSU.
Shenin was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; he was also a member of the Politburo and Secretariat from 1990 to 1991. During the Soviet coup attempt of 1991, he was a member of the group of CPSU CC members who tried to regain control of the country in order to re-establish the Soviet Union.[2] On 23 August he was jailed for his involvement in the events.[3] In October 1992, for health reasons, he was released with a change in the preventive measure to a recognizance not to leave.[4] He was given amnesty in 1994.[5]
Shenin was the founding Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP-CPSU) from 1993, until he broke away from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) in 2001, after its leader Gennady Zyuganov refused to back the creation of a united Communist Party of Russia and Belarus.[6] Zyuganov then replaced Shenin as chairman of the Council of the Union of Communist Parties-CPSU.[7]
In September 1997, he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang.[8]
Shenin applied to run as a presidential candidate for the 2008 Russian presidential election but was denied registration for failing to complete some paperwork correctly.[9] According to Shenin, his candidacy was rejected because he did not provide a letter from his employer; he described this as an "idiotic pretext" because he had been retired for years.[10]
Shenin died on 28 May 2009 aged 71 from a severe and prolonged illness.