Word: brezhnevs
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...blunt talk, in the view of U.S. diplomats, did not signal a fundamental change in the Kremlin's attitude toward the U.S. Instead, Brezhnev's message seemed to be tailored for his military audience, and may have been a concerted effort to reassure the Soviet defense establishment that the civilian leadership would not be one-upped by the Reagan Administration's increases in U.S. defense spending. Said William Hyland, a noted Kremlinologist: "It is as if Brezhnev were saying to the armed forces, 'I'm still in charge. I'm not dead...
Western diplomats believe the unusual session may have been called to help set up an occasion where major differences of opinion could be aired before they could affect the looming struggle over Brezhnev's successor. In recent months, there have been indications that some elements in the military have not been pleased with certain policy decisions. Some generals, for example, reportedly disapproved of Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko's statement to the United Nations last summer that the Soviet Union would not be the first country to use nuclear weapons...
...response to these fears, Brezhnev said the Kremlin planned to improve the Soviet Union's combat readiness "in all respects," including technology. Says Hyland: "Brezhnev told the military leaders he understood their problems and concerns. But he was also telling them they had to support the Brezhnev conduct of foreign and domestic policy...
...days later, in a speech apparently intended to balance Brezhnev's, Politburo Member Chernenko told a crowd in Tbilisi, the capital of Soviet Georgia, that Moscow remained committed to better relations with the U.S.-even if that means waiting for the next Administration. "If Washington proves unable to rise above primitive antiCommunism, well, then we are sufficiently strong and we can wait," he said. Chernenko added a complaint often heard from Soviet officials: "For almost two years the rulers of the U.S. have been 'flexing their muscles.' For almost two years myths about a 'Soviet threat...
Washington is officially saying little about the trip, during which the 200 American delegates may attend a dinner with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev. Delegates are fully aware, however, that they must avoid running afoul of the U.S. ban on the sale of certain high-technology products as well as those related to the pipeline. The purpose of the two-day visit, says Council Spokesman William Forrester, will be to "seek ways of expanding permissible trade." That leaves the door open for a vast array of products ranging from spark plugs to fertilizer...