Word: dmitry
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...many, uneasy with the prospect of a new transition, believed reports that he was convalescing. So a guessing game began. Some Soviets thought that Vasili Kuznetsov, the oldest member of the ruling elite, might have died on the eve of his 83rd birthday. Others figured it was Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov, 75, who had canceled an official visit to India a week earlier. But a worried Moscow housewife gave voice to the fear she shared with many of her compatriots: "It would be terrible if Andropov has died. We don't need another change...
Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, 74, moved up one rung in the hierarchy last March when he was unexpectedly promoted to the post of First Deputy Premier. It was a clear indication that Gromyko had emerged, along with Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov, as a key power-broker in the post-Brezhnev era. But after more than 26 years as Foreign Minister, during which he has worked with nine U.S. Secretaries of State, the "Grim Grom," as he is known in Western diplomatic circles, has not built a political power base at home. Gromyko has never appeared overly ambitious to hold...
...army general's uniform in the closet. But if the late Soviet leader gave every appearance of being a civilian, his ties to the military Establishment came under increasing scrutiny during his brief tenure. Andropov, it was believed, owed a debt to the military because Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov had backed him in the race to succeed Brezhnev. In what many saw as a disquieting sign of the brass hats' growing power, it was the military's Chief of Staff, Nikolai Ogarkov, who stepped forward to explain the Soviet decision to shoot down Korean Air Line Flight...
...highest levels, the sprawling Soviet military narrows into a streamlined chain of command. Directly under Minister of Defense Dmitri Ustinov, a member of the top-secret Defense Council headed by Andropov, are Viktor Kulikov, commander in chief of the Warsaw Pact forces, and Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Ogarkov. The commanders of the Soviet services take their orders from Ogarkov...
...changes can be counted as personal triumphs for Andropov is another question. The push to pump younger blood into the aging body politic during Andropov's time in power would certainly have promoted the interests of his supporters throughout the security 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...