CHERNENKO'S COMEBACK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00287R001401120002-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: November 30, 1984
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11 :CIA-RDP85T00287R001401120002-3
Central Intelligence Agency
wasp,+~. n. c. msos
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
30 November 1484
Chernenko's Comeback
Summa ry
Since resuming public appearances in September, Soviet
General Secretary Konstantin Chernenko has projected an image
of activism in foreign and domestic affairs and undercut the
party's number two man, Mikhail Gorbachev. In light of
Chernenko's chronic ill health, his resurgence may be only
temporary. Still, he has displayed a physical and political
vigor that may enable him to be more than the figurehead his
detractors have claimed and require his rivals to maneuver
adroitly to protect their positions. The decision not to hold
a Central Committee plenum prior to the Supreme Soviet session
in late November may reflect an effort to avoid leadership
conflict for the time being over key personnel issues. If,
however, Defense Minister Dmitriy Ustinov's illness is as
serious as rumored, the Politburo may soon be faced with the
potentially divisive task of designating his successor--an
event that ~Ul_,d provide a major test of Chernenko's political
strength. ~ ~
1. Chernenko resumed public appearances on 5 September,
with his physical health apparently on the mend, but still
ailing politically. His absence from Moscow for several weeks
had given rise to rumors that his death was imminent and that
This memorandum was prepared by of the Office of Soviet
Analysis. Comments or questions ma a rect o the author or
to Chief, Policy Analysis Division,
SOVA M 84-109.06X
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whether or not he recovered, his career was finished. While
he was away from the capital, Gorbachev reportedly had chaired
the weekly Politburo meetings and had received the protocol
treatment normally accorded the party's leader. Chernenko
probably perceived Gorbachev's prominence as politically
threatening. It eventually contributed to a situation in
which Pravda's editor publicly stated that Gorbachev could be
described as a "second General Secretary."
Polishing Chernenko's Image
2. Chernenko's initial public appearances in September
had all the earmarks of carefully staged efforts to
demonstrate he was back on the job without exposing him to
lengthy scrutiny or taxing his stamina. By month's end,
however, he apparently had acquired sufficient physical
strength to launch a campaign to regain the political
initiative and strengthen his authority:
-- On 25 September, he made a major speech to the Soviet
Writers' Union that gave him the opportunity to
refurbish his credentials as the party's chief
ideological spokesman.
-- On 27 September, he received a major award from his
colleagues not required by normal Kremlin protocol and
was identified as "Supreme Commander in Chief" by
Ustinov--a title not accorded the General Secretary by
another Politburo member since the Stalin era.
-- On 5 October, he gave another major speech to the People's
Control Committee, stressing his commitment to the
discipline campaign and to economic reform.
- On 15 October, he granted an exclusive interview to a
Washington Post correspondent that received extraordinary
attention in tFie Soviet and Western press.
-- On 23 October, he delivered the opening speech at a Central
Committee plenum on agriculture, unveiling a land
reclamation program that other speakers touted as his
initiative.
- On 15 November, at a Politburo meeting attended by all the
first secretaries of the Soviet republics, he gave a major
speech on the economic plan for 1985 that was read aloud on
the evening news and published the following day--
unprecedented publicity for a Politburo speech.
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