Word: romanov
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...General Secretary because of his deteriorating health. But the newspaper insisted that Gorbachev was still the likely successor, even if Chernenko might remain, in a strictly ceremonial capacity, as President of the U.S.S.R. Gorbachev's main competitor for the leadership, the Sunday Times said, was still Politburo Member Grigori Romanov, 61. Yet another rumor circulating in the corridors of Whitehall had it that the late Defense Minister Ustinov had left a last will and testament urging the Politburo to choose Gorbachev as party leader...
...most important aspect of Gorbachev's status is that he is simultaneously a member of the Politburo and of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, which runs the country on a day-to-day basis. Only Chernenko and Leadership Hopeful Romanov share that distinction. It is a vitally important one: because of the leadership vacuum created by Chernenko's failing health, the Secretariat now appears to have greater control of the entire Soviet system. ; As "Senior Secretary" in the organization, Gorbachev has been able to increase his sway throughout the bureaucracy and fill the key positions of the institution with...
...Romanov might be the ideal age to please both the old guard and younger Politburo members. Yet Romanov, the secretary in charge of heavy industry and the military, has apparently not gained much in political clout or influence lately. Also, his Leningrad background is a handicap in the Moscow-centered world of Kremlin politics. Nonetheless he remains a major candidate in the eyes of many analysts, on the basis of having avoided appointment as the successor to Defense Minister Ustinov, a job that would probably have taken Romanov out of contention for party leadership...
...intently as a potential successor to Chernenko is Mikhail Gorbachev, 53. He deeply impressed his British hosts last December with his relaxed, authoritative manner during an official visit; at times he already seems to be talking and acting like No. 2. Gorbachev's closest rival appears to be Grigori Romanov, who at 61 is also a youngster by Politburo standards. Romanov is considered to be more dogmatic than Gorbachev, with strong ties to the defense establishment. If Gorbachev and Romanov cancel each other out in some restrained contest for power, then the favorite choice of the Kremlin watchers...
President Konstantin Chernenko, 73, was conspicuously absent from the funeral ceremonies; his doctors had apparently advised him to stay out of the cold. Later in the week he made an appearance at a Kremlin awards ceremony. In his absence Politburo Member Mikhail Gorbachev, 53, and Romanov, the most likely candidates from the younger generation to succeed to Chernenko's party- leadership job, were prominent at the ceremonies. Even without the ministerial title, Romanov may prove to be a decisive figure in allocating military expenditures and could emerge as stiff competition to Gorbachev, now believed to be the front runner...