Word: politburos
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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That unprecedented day of protest was only the beginning of a momentous week in the history of the People's Republic of China. The country's Politburo, apparently meeting in Chairman Mao Tse-tung's private quarters in the Forbidden City, made several crucial changes in the country's leadership. First, the Peking leadership brought to an abrupt climax the intense ideological campaign against the notorious "capitalist reader" Teng Hsiao-p'ing (TIME Cover, Jan. 19), the wily little bureaucrat who only three months ago was considered Chou En-lai's sure successor...
...halted it, as the Government is still demanding. In exchange, the U.S. has removed some equipment from the embassy. Among other things, U.S. surveillance gear has allegedly been used for a project called Gamma Guppy that has tried to eavesdrop on conversations conducted by members of the Soviet Politburo in their limousines. The State Department refused to comment on the compromise, but officials said wire-mesh guards ("mosquito screens" that deflect 90% of the microwaves) have been installed across embassy windows...
When the Congress concluded its eleven-day session in Moscow last week, Brezhnev, 69, appeared to be more secure than ever in his power. He was reappointed to the all-powerful Politburo and re-elected party General Secretary. While the collective leadership is certainly not dead, Brezhnev is indisputably primus inter pares. He gave a five-hour keynote speech, belying speculation that he is incapacitated by ill-health. Throughout the Congress, he received tributes surpassing anything that has been said about a Soviet leader since Joseph Stalin. Uzbekistan Party Secretary Sharaf R. Rashidov, for example, rhapsodized over his leader...
...contrast, Premier Aleksei Kosygin, 71, seems to have slipped, although he too kept his Politburo seat. His address on the economy ran only two hours, and, as he spoke, Brezhnev's chair on the dais was conspicuously-and un-precedentedly-vacant. That could indicate that Brezhnev intended to rebuff Kosygin, or that he was bored with the proceedings, since he and the rest of the Politburo had already read and approved the Premier's remarks. What may be more revealing than Brezhnev's absence, suggested U.S. analysts, is that Kosygin limited himself to economic matters. Noted...
According to a U.S. analyst, the Kosygin speech meant "a more-of-the-same approach, on a more realistic basis." There were a few changes in the Politburo-Agriculture Minister Dmitry Polyonsky was made a scapegoat for the dismal harvests, and was dropped from the ruling body, while two candidate members were promoted to full membership. But the aging Soviet leadership remains basically unchanged and will probably continue pursuing essentially the same policies...