YURI TO BE WITH US FOR A WHILE: U.S. DOCS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85B01152R000100110028-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 13, 2007
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: July 10, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

YuritObe. t4'ith us for a W96:
power In the Kremlin; it always behaves the same.
Andropov's rule has not dramatically differed
from the "last years-of Brezhnev, when many
.Russians and-foreign.analysts assumed dramatic
innovations would occur as soon as the Old Man
By LAM-EELS NELSON-' ' dJea -
VL'ashington (News Buruu)-V4'henSoviet.Pres? I. AJ~'DROPO ', THOUGH firmly 'In command,
.,...1 is-like Ere-hnev--no dictator. He mnst rely on
grail ? fast -wee. Lne Atne4JCan Intelligence .coo
trained 'to diagnose sickly foreign leader:.from ~nPLr a-n ?st experts
afar, sprang into action'.- Goverment 'do not dispute that Andre
_';pov.s death rnUbt touch off a prolonged and ,
After peering at news films of Andropov's possibly paralyzing struggle for power. But ffi,
perfoiznance at a meeting with West German -s*y the evidence d o e s suggest thatiiis bealth-
Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the spy doctors gave 'in irrunlnent danger?
this prognosis on the Myear-old former-.KGB a does noVbay*-e out kidney aRm~n : ,
chief: He haimoderately -ye uf hem and lung AZshetmex`s`Nerse~scnility). Parkinson's diseasq
problems, but has a " chance of living out thfor Ho dgkin'Cdisesse,` one expert said, dismissing
4year. Arnericans might as well get'used t.0 dealing virtually all '-the long-range diagnosis rude-of
with faun for the foreseeable future. Andropov during the week'Hehrs a cardiovtaccw,~
Andropov, who replaced Leonid Brezhnev list' ~larii 'oDJem; ta0ug21 QiCQttlreocczcbasl
December, has forcefully established hiznselt au ...:.y
the Soviet Union's preeminent leader. In addition ' a=
to replacing Brezhnev is general secretary of. the T}tis expert Challenged reports from the Wes!
Communist Party, Andropov also inherited Bresh? -Gezninir delegation that Mdropov wrs.iorced to
nev's role as chairman of the Defense Council and, trains Kohl's .arrival because he was undergolna =
last month. became president. _ kidney dialysis. 1Tbezab ao_ known disesse,tdrats
can be treated by a one-toot dialysis,f be gaid.. ?11
you
_!!eed di lys}s':t a11. you need tt two pr.thraas
BUT HIS APPARENT difficulty in walking his
?~lazrs a weele - And he has shown no sign of that"
unexplained absences and a tremor. In his left- A-?- ------
hand have made his health 'a question mar$. - AS FOR REPORTS that the tremor in Andro-
prompting some analysts, like former-national pov s left hand indicated serious illness, the
security adviser Zblgniew Brzezinski, to conclude ? trPut =aid. ; .!! &J,1) ops enough illness to
that Andropov'Is only a temporary leader. soon to, cassias=hisJhand to shilte:1- would steaks svheti3t?
be replaced by healthier-but probably not i. _ t s..at rGet,-We=ia_w_his_band- _'et_.es."'lt d1dn't
younger-colleagues. .' . , NO. V.
"The current regime Is more transitional than . Further, political analysts of Soviet affairs ?
any that has followed the death of a Soviet ruler; voiced. strong doubts that Andropov's Politburo,
Brzezinski said last week- "11 is more transitional colleagues- huvt cibtmisted him with star:
than (Georgi) M.alenkov after the death of Stalin. pcz r H bs ~a known to be seas- us* 1117
The man (Andropov) Is clearly very ill. Brit all his If the medical experts are wrong and Andropo`r
associates are his own age, and they are not. dies soon or becomes incapacitated, his successor
prepared to step aside for a younger generation.- Is almost certain to come from his own age group
So whoever - replaces Andropov would also be in the Politburo. The Krrlnlin is still a geron-
transitional. The Soviet Vnion is in for in sin. tocracy, one analyst said. `It is not about to move
-- -- successor wowa ne Defense Minister- Dmitry
the United States to be cautious in dealing with -. Ustinov--or even Foreign minister Andrei Crou>y-
the Soviet Union. Its leadership, he says, is in no ko. Grigori Rornanov Leningrad P 'l
mood for dramatic or sweeping changes In theeader is a
U.S.-Soviet relationship. Andropov might also not.
be well enough to,entertain the thought 'of a
possible summit meeting with President Reagan.
Former Ambassador to Moscow Malcolm Toon
argues that it does not really matter who holds top
Approved For Release 2007/12/13: CIA-RDP85B01152R000100110028-7
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
10 July 1983
perennial long-shot.
Toon predicts a `troika" formed of Brezhnev's
former crony KonstanUn Chernenko, Rornanov
and Mikhall Gorbachev, an agricultural specialist
A U.S. Intelligence analyst says Ustinov. with
his military background, and Cromyko. who has
concentrated on foreign affairs, are both too
narrowly focused for top power. His guess is trade.
union leader Vlktor Grishin. But Andrnnnv_ he
Approved For Release 2007/12/13: CIA-RDP85BOl 152R000100110028-7