Word: session
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...second session of the Congress of People's Deputies had barely begun last week when a bald, stoop-shouldered man hesitantly made his way to the front of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. Mikhail Gorbachev motioned for Deputy Andrei Sakharov to step up to the podium, then settled back in his seat, not quite sure what to expect...
...subdued Gorbachev looked on, Politburo member Vitali Vorotnikov opened the next day's session of the Congress by asking the Deputies to stand in a moment of silent tribute. Considering the abuse that was once heaped on the former dissident, Vorotnikov's words of praise groaned with irony. "Everything that Sakharov did," he said, "was dictated by his keen conscience and profound humanistic convictions." Whatever bitterness Sakharov's friends may have felt about the way he was treated in the past, the authorities, at least, tried to make amends. An official obituary published on Saturday in the party daily, Pravda...
When grumbling could be heard at the suggestion that Monday's session be cut short to allow Deputies to attend the funeral, Gorbachev intervened, noting that "we ought to pay our respects to Andrei Dimitreyevich." Approached by reporters, Gorbachev delivered a eulogy of his own, hinting at his genuine feelings for the man who had so often challenged him to move further and faster toward overhauling their struggling country. "It is a great loss," he said. "You could agree or not agree with him, but you knew he was a man of conviction and sincerity. He was not a political...
...middle ground. He feints left, moves right and usually lands in the center. But such compromise policies come at a price, contributing to a widespread feeling that Gorbachev has no clear policies for the future. As Deputy Nina Dedeneva, a textile worker from Omsk, complained at last week's session, "People have ceased to believe in perestroika because the difficulties have only increased, while the period for overcoming them has become too long." Now the Kremlin has asked the people for another five years, and that could prove to be more time than Gorbachev can afford...
...earliest the bill is expected to reach the House floor is tomorrow since no formal House session is scheduled for today, and it is expected to take a day to write the formal comprise report once House-Senate negotiations are completed...