USSR NATIONAL AFFAIRS DEATH OF BREZHNEV

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00049R001202850014-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 6, 2006
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: November 15, 1982
• Content Type: REPORT

III. 15 Nov 82 P 9 USSR NATIONAL AFFAIRS
DEATH OF BREZHNEV
Chernenko is slightly behind between Andropov and Tikhonov. The other leaders are
standing behind them in no clear order. Brezhnev's family is then shown kissing
Brezhnev. The women are crying.
At 0944 GMT workers place the lid on the coffin and twve it to the grave. The family
then moves forward to the graveside. After a pause of several moments the doff in is
lowered into the grave and an artillery salute can be heard. The national anthem is
then played and whistles can be heard blowing. Brezhnev's family then moves forward
and his widow, followed by other members of his family, throws earth into the grave.
Andropov and other leaders then come forward and also throw earth into the grave.
Factory whistles continue to blow, and the chimneys of a factory near the Kremlin are
shown. The leadership then stands in line near the grave in the following order, from
left to right, Grishin, Ustinov, Andropov, Tikhonov, Gromyko, Romanov, Kunayev and
Chernenko. Scenes are shown of Red Square, and there is a brief shot of soldiers
placing Brezhnev's medals on his grave. Brezhnev's widow is then escorted to the
graveside. Red Square is then shown.
At 0954 GMT the leadership can be seen going back to the top of the mausoleum. A
military parade then begins. From right to left can be seen, Grishin, Gromyko,
Chernenko, Tikhonov, Andropov, Ustinov, Shcherbitskiy, Kunayev, Romanov and Rashidov.
The last military formation passes the mausoleum at 1004 GMT, whereupon the relay
concludes.
Andropov Speech
LD151056 Moscow Domestic Service in Russian 0901 GMT 15 Nov 82
[Speech by Yuriy Andropov at, 15 November funeral ceremony for Leonid Ilich Brezhnev
in Red Square -- live]
[Text] Comrades:
Our party, our people and all progressive mankind have suffered a heavy loss. We are
paying today our last respects to Leonid Ilich Brezhnev, a glorious son of our homeland,
a fiery Marxist-Leninist, an outstanding leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet
state, a prominent leader of the international communist and working class movement,
a tireless fighter for peace and the friendship of the peoples.
Let me first of all express profound condolences to Leonid Brezhnev's family and
relatives.
Leonid Ilich belonged to the pleiad of political leaders who grew up and were tempered.
during the years of the Soviet people's selfless struggle for consolidating the gains
of the Great October Revolution, for the fulfillment of Lenin's behests, for building
socialism in our country and for its freedom and independence.
A worker and soldier, an outstanding organizer and a wise politician, Leonid Ilich
Brezhnev was tied to the people by close and unbreakable bonds. All his life and
activities were subordinated to serving the interests of the working people. He
devoted all his great talent, all his tremendous energies to the cause of building a
society of developed socialism, a society of freedom and social justice, of brotherhood
of working people.
An extremely important period in the history of our party and country was associated
with the activities of Leonid Ilich Brezhnev in the highest positions of authority
in the party and the state. It was under his leadership that the party's policy,
permeated with constant concern for the working man, for raising the people's
welfare, was worked out and consistently implemented and the Leninist standards of
party and state life and the beneficial atmosphere of close joint work were firmly
established.
Approved For Release 2006/05/25 : CIA-RDP84B00049R001202850014-4
 III. 15 Nov 82 P 10 USSR NATIONAL AFFAIRS
DEATH OF BREZHNEV
Leonid Ilich Brezhnev will always be remembered by the peoples as an outstanding fighter
for a lasting peace and peaceful cooperation among. the peoples. He consistently
fought, with all the ardor of his soul, for the relaxation of international tension, for
delivering mankind from the threat of a nuclear war, for strengthening the cohesion of
the socialist community and the unity of the international communist movement.
Comrades, at this hour of grief, paying our last homage to Leonid Ilich Brezhnev, all
our party and its Central Committee declare their determination to pursue firmly and
consistently the strategic line in home and foreign policy, which was worked out under
the beneficial influence of Leonid Ilich Brezhnev.
Rallying still closer around the party, its Leninist Central Committee and its
collective leadership, the Soviet people voice their support for the policy of the party
and their boundless trust in it. The party will continue to do everything necessary to
further raise the living standards of the people, for developing the democratic
mainstays of Soviet society, for strengthening the economic and defensive might of the
country, for strengthening the friendship of the fraternal peoples of the USSR. The
CPSU Central Committee will undeviatingly translate into life the decisions of the 26th
congress of the party and the will of the Soviet people.
We shall do everything possible for further increasing the cohesion of the great
community of socialist states, the unity of the ranks of communists of the whole world
in the struggle for common aims and ideals. We shall guard and develop our solidarity
and our cooperation with the countries that have gained freedom from colonial oppression,
with the struggle of the peoples for national independence and social progress. We
shall always be loyal to the cause of the struggle for peace and international detente.
In the complicated international situation when the forces of imperialism are trying to
push the peoples onto the road of hostility and military confrontation, the party and
the state will firmly uphold the vital interests of our homeland, and maintain great
vigilance and readiness to give a crushing rebuff to any attempt at aggression. They
will redouble their efforts in the struggle for the security of the peoples and
strengthen cooperation with all the peace forces of the world. We are always ready for
honest, equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with any state that desires it.
In these days of sorrow we are keenly aware of the support and solidarity of the
working people of the socialist countries; the fraternal parties and all fighters for
social progress with our party and the Soviet people. We are grateful to them for
this. We are also grateful to the governments and peoples of numerous countries in
all continents who paid homage these days to the memory of Leonid Ilich Brezhnev.
Comrades, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union firmly declares that the cause of the
working class, the working people, the cause of communism and peace, to which Leonid
Ilich Brezhnev devoted all his life, is and will continue to be the supreme aim and
meaning of all its activities.
Farewell, dear Leonid Ilich. Memory of you will never dim in our hearts. Your cause
will be continued in the deeds of our party and people!
I delcare the funeral meeting devoted to the memory of Leonid Ilich Brezhnev open.
Approved For Release 2006/05/25 : CIA-RDP84B00049R001202850014-4