BREZHNEV, LEONID

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000100740022-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2010
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: January 27, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00552R000100740022-7
JACK ANDERSON GOOD MORNING AMERICA SHOW 27 JANUARY 1981
(Verbatim)
The Central Intelligence Agency is preparing for President
Reagan a secret profile of his chief adversary. 'Soviet leader
Leonid Brezhnev is. now 74. He's plaa'd with poor, sometimes
painful health. Now the secret CIA assessment states, I:;m
quotingthat rezhnev':s- aj or~heal th problems arecardiovascular
~_.
.Ne-has`bothyperteri5on and _yaTterial sclerotic ?heart:"disease:=}
He probably' has a=pacemaker. He's inclined to1aake too; much"mediJ
cation",
which affects his mood. Listen to this fascinating excerpt. Brezhnev,has been ydescrib-ed:atimes _as-depressed and at other.. times
as, ., __'.ner `and~animat_ed'. He's long been prone to great
lertnergetic;
mood_wi~?;7w_!rig:s :_-- But there is~no ey dencethat his-;_intellectiual?ability/
,has been sign ificantlytiaffected _by-these emotional problems; an'
- - "- --"-" of:his-judgment:"or,contact with reality... tno ;signofa_::less
Still on several occasions he has been described as unable to con-
centrate, inattentive, and fatigued. This could reflect the de-
pletion of his limited physical reserves.or the effects of excessive
medication. But they can also be symptons of depression. The
Kremlin's czar also suffers, In quoting, periodically intense
facial pain. This is described in the secret anAlysis as trigemi-
nal nerve pain. Let me read again from the report. This probably
explains some of Brezhnev's unusual behavior, his seemingly un-
warranted dissatisfaction with his dental care, the frequent rubbing
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00552R000100740022-7