Word: ogarkov
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...after Chernenko walked stiffly back onto center stage, there were more signs and wonders in the Kremlin. The official news agency TASS announced in a tersely worded bulletin that Military Chief of Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov, 66, had given up his post "in connection with a new appointment." The sudden change caught Western observers and Soviet officials alike completely off guard. Said a Washington military analyst: "It may be really important in terms of the succession struggle, or it may only be turmoil in the armed forces...
...before the dramatic announcement, Ogarkov had been seen in public at a farewell ceremony for the Finnish Chief of Staff. Exactly a year ago, the marshal had proved to be a confident and tough spokesman for his country when he presented the Soviet explanation for the downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in an unusual press conference. Such indications of Ogarkov's growing prominence had led many Kremlin watchers to view him as a possible successor to Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov, and there was initial speculation last week that his "reassignment" might be part of sweeping changes...
Judging from the way the Soviet press covered the news, it seemed more likely that Ogarkov had been abruptly sacked and left in limbo. The official army newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda ran a large photograph and biography of the new Chief of Staff, Marshal Sergei Akhromeyev, 61, on the front page and relegated Ogarkov to a few lines of tiny print. Pravda buried the announcement of his departure on the back page...
...better ways to do it than with a 747 jumbojet full of civilians." Moscow certainly remains eager to promote its version of events. It has taken the unusual step of allowing a well-known U.S. investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh, to interview Soviet Chief of Staff Nikolai Ogarkov about the shooting and to visit a Soviet airbase...
...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...