Word: politburo
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...real problem lies in deciding what relation, if any, exists between the state of Chernenko's health and the way decisions are being made in the twelve-man Soviet Politburo. Specialist opinion varies widely, but there is broad agreement that the Kremlin is preoccupied by the recurring problem of succession. The process is more complicated and painful than usual because it is the third period of uncertainty in two years (Leonid Brezhnev died in November 1982, Yuri Andropov last February). The upshot, says Harvard University Professor Richard Pipes, is "a profound crisis and lack of direction." Kremlinologist Marshall Goldman...
...political mechanism going until they decide what to do. For the moment, it looks like a collective leadership with everyone very much in charge of his own portfolio." According to Middlebury College President Olin Robison, who has had frequent dealings with high-level Soviet officials, collective leadership in the Politburo has gradually grown more diffuse since Chernenko took office. Says he: "There is no longer any strong personality at the center. The people around Chernenko are stronger than...
Those explanations dovetail nicely with the apparent rise in Gromyko's influence. He derives clout from long experience as the Kremlin's top diplomat and a flawless record of cleaving to the collective Politburo line. Says Uri Ra'anan, professor at Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy: "I am astounded at Gromyko's authority. He has absolutely no political power base." Agrees Pipes: "By default, he has moved...
However complicated the Politburo's internal state of affairs, Chernenko's public appearances indicate an effort on the part of the leadership to keep his image at center stage. Indeed, some analysts speculate that such recent Soviet actions as the harsh treatment of Dissident Andrei Sakharov and the pressure brought to bear on East German Party Leader Erich Honecker to cancel a trip to West Germany are similar bids to reinforce the regime's monolithic authority. Another such incident may have been the sudden announcement two weeks ago that Moscow's outspoken Military Chief of Staff...
...that the succession crisis is far from resolved, they point out that the Kremlin's options are limited. Adam Ulam, director of Harvard's Russian Research Center, and others note that any aspirant for the top Soviet leadership post must be both a full member of the Politburo and a secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee, which comprises more than 300 members. The importance of having those two titles became clear when Andropov was hastily made a party secretary as a prelude to assuming the top job. The only men who fit the bill...