KGB CHIEF 'LAUNDERING' SELF FOR TOP JOB

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000100740008-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2010
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: April 25, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00552R000100740008-3
ARTICLE AYF M--RED
ON PAGE
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
25 April 1982
U eringtT seit
. d''
By Jim Gallagher
Moscow Correspondent
C,-.cago Trbuna Press Service
MOSCOW _ YuH Andropov, the head.,
of the Soviet secret.police, the dreaded.
KGB, has always been a puzzle to West-
.ern Kremlin. watchers.
The public record suggests a ruthless
..man with much blood on his hands. As
ambassador to Budapest in 1954, the tall,
scholarly-looking Andropov helped stage.
the Soviet invasion of Hungary. Later, as
KGB chief, he was deeply involved in the
Afghanistan invasion and the military
takeover in Poland...
Here at home, Andropov, 67, presided
over the harsh, systematic crackdown
that has virtually destroyed the Soviet
dissident movement and sent many of its
leaders to labor camps,or into Siberian
exile.
In spite of all this, there somehow.
persists a radically different impression
of the private Andropov, who is said to be
the most urbane and. 'sophisticated Krem-
lin figure, a collector of art, a connois-
seur of, fine wines, a.manwho reads good
literature, not political: tracts -.much
like the KGB: chief depicted by Frederick
Forsyth In '!The-Devil's Alternative.'
BASED ON his speeches ahd `Informa
tion from Soviet sources, some Western
analysts even su3pe6t'that, in his heart,
Andropov might-be one of the more prag-
matic and tolerant of the top officials
Getting a better, fix on the real And-..
11 ropov has suddenly become a principal?
concern of Kremlin watchers. According'
to reliable Soviet sources, Andropov has,
emerged from the Kremlin infighting of
recent, weeks as a much more powerful
figure and has positioned himself to'
make a= grab. for= the :numberone?. joti--
General Secretary of the Communist Par-
f- should Leonid Brezhnev suddenly de-
part the political scene... .:
'
reports
One well-placed. Soviet, source
that Andropov will' soon leave, his ? KGB .
post to head up the powerful ideological,
apparat, a position which Brezhnev was
apparently trying to win for his long-time
If Andropov does make this move; he
will be trying: to. put some distance
between himself Wand his secret police
past, since .it is generally.* assumed here
that no man can move directly from the
KGB post to top man in the Communist.
Party. This is a legacy of. the virulent
abuse of the KGB during the Stalinist
THE IDEOLOGY job was left vacant in
January by the death of Mikhail Suslov,
the former number two Soviet leader.
Kremlinologists believe that. Brezhnev's
efforts on Chernenko's .behalf,. which
were aimed at annointing. him as heir
apparent, touched off the current power
struggle. `"...:.;
Soviet sources say that the Chernenko
ploy provoked bitter opposition within the
ruling Politburo, and that both Andropov
and Defense Minister -Dmitry Ustinov
moved to intervene. Chernenko's chances
were dealt a serious blow when Brezhnev
reportedly took ill at" the end of March
after a stroke-like. attack, and dropped.
from public view for almost., a'month, the
sources maintain
The 70-year-old ; thernenko, who has
-been Brezhnev's. aide.de. camp for more,
than three decades,-'had.'a'surprisingly`
high profile during February. and March
.And. Soviet sources said that he was doing
Susiov's job on a temporary basis..;
But as soon as Brezhnevv became ill,
reportedly while flying , back to ,Moscow
from Central Asia .on. Ma rch.25, Chernen-'
ko also dropped from public view. Krem-
.linologists saw this as further proof 'that
Chernenko, unlike Andropov and Ustinov,
has. no power Base. of his own and is?
dependent upon-Brezhnev for any further
advancement.
BREZHNEV IS said by Soviet sources
to have experienced "spasms of the blood
Vessels of the brain" after maintaining a.
grueling schedule for a man in his frail
health throughout most of-March. Repor-
tedly, he did so. in order to dispell the-.`
impression that be'is. no longer strong
enough to handle his job, and to convince.
those opposed to Chernenko's elevation
that he was still a force to be reckoned
"Brezhnev finally: reappeared last
Thursday afternoon ,`at. a gala Kremlin
ceremony marking -the birthday of
Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet
state. He looked thinner and more feeble,
but he walked erect and needed assist-
ance only when, he climbed steps. He
clearly had the use of both arms and was
able to turn his head in both directions,
?which most likely could not have been the
;case.if he had' suffered a serious stroke,
as some Western .press reports claimed.
t . Brezhnev's attendance at the televised
fete came 'as a surprise to many Wester-
Hers here. because a spate of rumors that
`he was near death had spread through.
Moscow in the days just before, and even
many ordinary Soviet citizens were con-
.vinced that his passing was imminent.
THE LENiN'S DAY rite held a second
surprise~as well, the selection of And-
ropov to deliver the prestigious anniver
sary speech. In retrospect some Kremlin
watchers believe that this was the more
.significant development, since it indi-
:rated that the KGB chief had the clout-to
.:push himself forward at a highly critical
time when the whole country was think-
ing about. the post-Brezhnev succession
,and wondering who might replace him.
"This has to be seen as a signal. that
'Andropov is now one of the key players,"
;a skilled Western analyst explained:. If
::he weren't, other .politburo members
:would have blocked him. You. can be sure
,that they all wanted to give.that speech."
Taken together with the earlier reports
,from Soviet sources that Andropov was
about to become a much more visible
figure,, Western analysts saw -his selec-. {
tion to make the speech as indicative of a.
.political ascendancy.
But they cautioned that it is. still too
soon to write Chernenko off or make too
much of Andropov's chances. The fate of
the former still depends to a great extent
on 'Brezhnev's health, they believe, and if
the 7S year-old Soviet leader comes back
to form, which is now considered rather
unlikely, the political picture will be wide.
open, they expect.
co,'~JtTF
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00552R000100740008-3