CHERNENKO'S COMEBACK

Document Type: 
Collection: 
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
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
November 30, 1984
Content Type: 
MEMO
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PDF icon CIA-RDP85T00287R001401120002-3.pdf330.92 KB
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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 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11 :CIA-RDP85T00287R001401120002-3 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11 :CIA-RDP85T00287R001401120002-3 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. Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11 :CIA-RDP85T00287R001401120002-3