ROULETTE IN RUSSIA AS BREZHNEV FADES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100070002-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: November 28, 1979
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100070002-2
STAT
:R'.:ICLE APpyIzEll
ON PAGE
Jack Anderson .
THE WASHINGTON POST
28 November 1979
oulkte- M-R-LLssia.'as' breAn.
e FadEA
Behind the grim, fortresslike walls evaiuanon Any successor win nave to guess as to which of' the-.six- leading
of the Kremlin, a . secret, Byzantine have the support of Politburo member. contenders will get .f. chief's
power struggle. is stirring.. At stake is Yuny V. Andropov, head of theperva seal of approval. But they-do discount
the succession, to aged and ailingLeo-,' lively powerful KGB secret police. the possibility .that Andropow will be
nid-8rezhnevCommunist'Partybossy, "TheKGBhasan impostantrole`to:.-'able-tograbthebransring forhimself.
and supreme ruler of the, soviet?'. play-In the succession process Orin- a ''-. He is 65 and iu poor health. Like for-
Union.. period _ of politicalY instability,,; the '- mer CIA chief G. orge Sush,:Androp?v.
At 7` , Brezhnev's days in power, arG~ CIA's secret daily intelligence report will also find.,that his' assignment as
clearly numbered, Even if he cheats , ihas:noted3=`Any, serious contender for Ahead of the secret oolicetwill prove
a
death for a few more years, the frailty the job: of general secretary must ,en-"serious Doliricai lability ::a: ,:i p,.:
of the dictator's health may soon force sure,that he has the tacit approval-of '
him to retire. the security organ if. . not its: active sup--,.
The failing Kremlin leader is. crafty p ort"
but cautious,, perverse but predictable. Operating virtually., unchecked by.
The policymakers in Washington feel a. the 14-member Politburo in. the savage
senseeof security simplyfroan,knowint y.; days of Josef S.talin'sone-man,rule:.th%
their adversary-.There is a nagging ap- ? 1 KGB s influence plummeted temporae
prehension... therefore, ?' over his., in-; a> fly., after its chief, the hated Lavrenti
creasingly imminentdeparture Berl was deposed and executed in
U.S. intelligence agencies are "work 1953? ' ` R
ing feverishly to identify the ultimate But in recent years, the KGB has re--!
winner of the Kremlin's"Russian rou- covered much, of its lost, power. ; `The
lette. The candidates for the. top job (1964) coup against Khrushchev, for ex=
are .already jockeying :for-- position, ample,. had the acquiescence ,of ..:the
forming alliances and expanding their-, the CIA..;eported
power bases for the showdown. The -This: resurgence puts Andropov, if
outcome will-have a Iasting'impact oa, not in the driver's seat; at least in a po-world affairs. sition to block the. succession of any-
.We reported earlier the interesting one he disapproves of. His influence in.
possibility ,that Grigory Romanov no . 7 the Politburo is. abetted by. the KGB
kin to the pre-revolution imperial'fam ; ties of two fellow members, Arvid Pel-.
ily-might assume Brezhnev's title. At she and: Kirin Mazurov.. Andropov is.
56, he's the youngest member of `the. ;; also-a close, personal. friend of. Brezh-
Politburo. CIA analysts believe his sue nev
cess or failure4 may._depend on hnw -The,; Kremlin. kingmaker:. is tall,
long Brezhnev remains In- power;. Ischolarly?.looking: and speaks Englishr
Romano'senances are thought to im- fluently... Sources told our.'assoelate.
Bob. Sherman that-Andropov Is~att."as ;.
provathe longer Brezhnex holds'on: _
Whether,. the, "young" `Romany' an `? old and less. art atreau rat wh fse
., older rival of if consortiuni'of hopefuls ga
takes over. from Brezhnev,one nt
thing is wThe eJI-for his Job exPaer wo ha1zaid a'.
certain, according to, a top-secret CIA
? ,.,.,,.. ., a -.1,1 .l :r::t-~~'. ::.4$."i` ~d' ^o} i, .,. ice. N.'9t y"~si:`-!- 'at?:'u;t.... ay; .:F .,r +.~~:;.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100070002-2