Word: brezhnevs
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...After Brezhnev's long, debilitating illness, many in the Soviet Union had hoped that his successor would be able to project a reassuring image of vigor and strength. But as early as Andropov's appearance at the state reception following Brezhnev's funeral, many foreign dignitaries were struck by the telltale signs of frailty and age that belied his reputation for mental agility. During the visit of Finnish President Mauno Koivisto in June 1983, Andropov had to be helped to his seat at a Kremlin banquet. When the Soviet leader met with West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl...
Andropov's time in power may have been marked by failures at home and abroad, but important, if measured, steps were taken to overhaul and rejuvenate the gerontocratic party machine. Brezhnev holdovers who hoped to retain cherished sinecures at the middle and lower levels of the bureaucracy found their jobs going to younger men. At least 34 of an estimated 150 provincial party posts changed hands during Andropov's 15 months in power. It was the largest turnover of party officials around the country in two decades...
...Andropov was too physically frail to attend last December's party plenum, he appeared to come out of the meeting politically stronger. The balance of power in the Politburo seemed to tilt in his favor by the appointment of two new men whose careers had been stalled under Brezhnev. Politburo Newcomer Vitali Vorotnikov, 58, joined a number of younger leaders who appeared to owe their growing prominence to the ailing leader. They included former Azerbaijan Party Chief Geidar Aliyev, 60, who was the first Andropov appointee to the party's inner circle, and two technocrats, Nikolai Ryzhkov...
...services and the military. Indeed, Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov was believed to have been instrumental in helping Andropov secure the top party post. But if the late Soviet leader made some moves to shake up the party, he did nothing to challenge a defense establishment grown so large under Brezhnev that no one man could control...
...when Brezhnev wanted to strengthen party control of the KGB, Andropov was the consensus choice to lead the organization. He became a candidate member of the Politburo at the same time and a full voting member in 1973. During his 15 years at the head of the Soviet security and intelligence empire, Andropov transformed a demoralized organization into a thoroughly professional force capable not only of keeping order at home but of advancing Soviet interests abroad with growing sophistication. In contrast to predecessors who used mass terror to suppress dissent, Andropov employed a broad range of punishments selectively tailored...