Word: leningraders
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...shuffles displayed a combination of determination and political virtuosity that promises to make him a formidable summiteer come November (see box). The first of his moves was made public in a one-sentence announcement following a closed-door meeting of the Communist Party's Central Committee. Romanov, 62, onetime Leningrad party chief and overseer of the Soviet Union's military- industrial complex, had been "relieved of his duties" on the Politburo "in connection with retirement on health grounds." The change was not unexpected. There had been rumors that Romanov is being treated for alcoholism in a sanatorium...
...about his supposed arrogance, ostentation and hard drinking. Such traits are sharply at variance with the image that Gorbachev is trying to develop as a reformer with a popular, man-in-the- factory style and as a campaigner against alcoholism. Says a Soviet academic: "Romanov had himself driven around Leningrad in an eight-car motorcade, disrupting traffic and annoying people...
Baryshnikov left the cosseted life at Leningrad's Kirov Ballet, where artistic challenges were rare and cultural politics strangulating. "I didn't have the patience, and I'm not smart enough," he says. "I love that country and those people, but I am an individualist, and there it is a crime...
...Kremlinologists noted the absence at last week's criticism session of Politburo Member Grigory Romanov, 62, once considered by some Western analysts as a contender for the party leadership. It was the second time recently that Romanov had failed to appear for a major Gorbachev speech. The abrasive former Leningrad party chief is officially said to be on vacation; most Kremlin analysts consider that explanation highly unlikely...
Soviet citizens barely had time last week to react to rare television footage of General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev mingling with people on the streets of Leningrad, trading one-liners and urging greater work discipline, when they were asked to digest another, more jarring piece of news: a sweeping crackdown on a national pastime -- drinking. The decree raises the drinking age from 18 to 21, delays the daily opening of liquor stores by three hours, calls for a gradual cut in vodka production and an eventual ban on port, which the Soviets consume in huge quantities. The measure also prescribes harsh...