Russia Under Andropov

Archive Report

New Leadears; Old Problems

Andropov's Selection and Its Significance

Two months after the selection of Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov as leader of the Soviet Union, there are still many unanswered questions about the man and the policies he is likely to pursue. On the surface, Andropov seems firmly in control. He was chosen as head of the Soviet Communist Party on Nov. 12, within two days of Leonid I. Brezhnev's death. This was the first time since the death of founding father Vladimir Ilich Lenin, in 1924, that the immediate transition period was not marked by a collective leadership and inter-party feuds.

It remains unclear, however, whether Andropov can institute needed economic reforms without offending the Communist Party bureaucracy that Brezhnev pampered. Will he be forced to continue ...

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