Word: politburo
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...high Asiatic cheekbones, seemed unpretentious. As the new Soviet leader went through his paces last week, his dark suit appeared to hang awkwardly from his broad, slightly hunched shoulders. He seemed almost relieved after a Kremlin reception to enjoy a few private moments of male camaraderie with his elderly Politburo comrades, revealing a glint of gold as he smiled once or twice...
...definitive about the direction that his regime might take. The coming months would show whether he was capable of amassing the same power that his recent predecessors had or whether he would have to share the titles and trappings of Soviet rule with his colleagues on the Politburo...
...policy, Chernenko does not appear to be any more willing than Andropov to resume nuclear arms talks. Nor does he seem to be eager for an early summit meeting with Reagan. Given Chernenko's limited experience with diplomacy and defense, he will probably rely on the advice of two Politburo veterans, Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and Defense Minister Ustinov. Richard Thomas, director of the Center for Strategic Technology at Texas A&M University, believes that Chernenko will "rest on the oars a bit, see how the wind is blowing and move accordingly...
...leader's rise to power. A Western envoy concluded that Chernenko's acceptance speech was almost three times as long as Andropov's because he had to please more factions. Many Soviet experts viewed the delay in announcing a new leader as an indication of serious divisions within the Politburo. But in fact there was no concrete information about what took place between Andropov's death and the announcement of Chernenko's elevation...
...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...