The truecompositionofpowerinthe men whowieldit. Kremlin isknownonlytothethirteen cal powerinMikhailGorbachev's flings unacceptablemembersoutof be certainofthestructurepower the "keymeninKremlin"and papers werefilledwithreportson et GeneralSecretary,USnews- President ReaganandthenewSovi- . BeforetheWashington occasional volcaniceruptionthat at thehighestechelonsofCom- "the Gorbachevteam." summit lastDecemberbetween evidence ithasaboutbehind-the- the clubthatUSgainswhatlittle munist Party.Itisonlythroughthe great effectonhowitdealswiththe bachev's ownpoliticalsituationhas cause howtheWestviewsGor- THE POLITBURO its operations? this organization,itsinfluence,and Unionasawhole. Politburo isworthwhile,ifonlybe- scenes affairs. BY HARRIETFASTSCOTT of thePartybetween plenumsofthe the CommunistPartyof Soviet reau") oftheCentralCommittee of iticheskoye Buro, G Central . making body thatdirectsthework Union (CPSU)isthekey policy- 54 The plainfactisthatnoonecan The Politburo(shortfor What, then,arethefactsabout Even so,attemptingtocrackthe discern thereallineupofpoliti- REAT efforts arebeingmadeto or "PoliticalBu- Pol- back intohistorythantheOctober by hispseudonym,NikolaiLenin, Revolution of1917. ry, onethatreachesevenfurther fore theReduprisingbegan,twelve exile. was smuggledintoPetrogradfrom wig fordisguise,andcallinghimself Ulyanov, clean-shaven,wearinga met withLeninintheapartmentof members oftheCentralCommittee tions beganfortheapproachingup- there thatfeverishfinalprepara- G. K.SukhanovatNo.32onthe guidance totherevolution, butwas The firstseven-manPolitburo,in- the (precursoroftoday's rising. Karpovka Embankment.Itwas til afterthe8th PartyCongressin function asapermanent agencyun- The CenterofPower disbanded notlongafter. iev, AndreyBubnov,andGrigoriy lin, LevKamenev,GrigoriyZinov- cluding LeonTrotskiy,JosephSta- Politburo tobeheadedbyLenin. KGB), proposedtheformationofa Lenin. Thisgroupgavepolitical Sokolnikov, wasorganizedby Three dayslater,fifteenbe- On October7,1917,VladimirI. It hasalongandcheckeredhisto- The Politburodidnotbegin to Feliks Dzerzhinskiy,founderof

-0 Pete r Turnley/BLACK STAR

•

•

• r • virumme

•

•

•

•

The Kremlin is a clear symbol of the . Much less clear is what takes place behind the walls of the old Russian citadel. March 1919. Soon, however, it be- In the current Politburo, it is Gor- was appointed in 1973 to the Polit- came the center of power, usurping bachev himself, now about to em- buro. He has since July 1985 been the role of the bark on his fourth year in the Gener- Chairman of the Presidium of the itself. al Secretary's post, who clearly Supreme Soviet—"President" of Composed of thirteen men today dominates the action. the nation. Until that time, the posi- and never more than fifteen, the This is not to say, however, that tion of "President" had since 1977 Politburo includes heads of higher there is a uniformity of views im- been held by the General Secretary Party and state agencies as well as posed by Gorbachev. The Politburo, himself. Largely ceremonial, the the most influential and experi- in fact, is a microcosm of Soviet post is seen as Gorbachev's reward enced political figures of the day. power and policies, reflecting the to Gromyko for his support in the Every five years, at the week- various regions, professions, and succession struggle. Gromyko from long Party Congress, delegates as- economic interests of society at 1957 to 1985 served as Minister of semble to pick, among other things, large. Foreign Affairs. During World War a new Central Committee of the II and after, Gromyko acted as Sovi- CPSU. In 1986, 5,000 delegates, The Current Lineup et Ambassador in Washington. representing nearly 20,000,000 Par- That much is made clear in a list- • Yegor Ligachev, sixty-seven, ty members, selected 307 members ing of the current lineup of mem- an aeronautical engineer, was also and 107 candidate (nonvoting) bers. among the first of the Gorbachev members. • Mikhail S. Gorbachev, a law- appointments in 1985. As "second Central must hold at yer, is at fifty-seven the youngest of Secretary," he runs the Secretariat least one plenum every six months. the Politburo's members. In Andrey for Gorbachev. Western press re- The first of these is held before the Gromyko's 1985 speech nominating porting portrays Ligachev as being Congress adjourns and is intended Gorbachev for General Secretary, more "conservative" than Gor- for the sole purpose of choosing a he pointed out that Gorbachev had bachev, but there is little evidence new Politburo that will carry out been a Party Secretary since 1978 one way or the other about this. He broad Party policy. They also select and a full Politburo member since also is in charge of ideology and Par- a new Secretariat that will handle 1980. Gromyko further noted that ty personnel, placing Gorbachev the day-to-day work of the Party Gorbachev had supervised the Sec- supporters in key Party slots. through departments. retariat for his predecessor, Kon- • Aleksandr Yakovlev, sixty-five, Simple though it sounds, the Po- stantin Chernenko, and had also a diplomat, was elevated to full presided over Politburo meetings when Chernenko was not there. "A man of strong convictions" is the way that Gromyko described Gor- bachev. Gromyko warned that the "tele- scopes" of the world were focused on the Soviet Union. They are look- ing for cracks in the Soviet leader- ship, he said, but added, "We will Gorbachev not give our political enemies satis- Ryzhkov Gromyko faction on that score." litburo selection process is a ritual Gromyko did not fail to mention membership in 1987. Since 1986, he fraught with intrigue and political that Gorbachev had given close at- has been the Secretary in charge of significance of the highest order. Ul- tention to the armed forces. In Polit- ideology, propaganda, and culture. timate power rests in the hands of buro meetings, said Gromyko, the A former exchange student at Co- this small group. The most impor- new leader had advised members of lumbia University in , he tant political, social, economic, and the necessity to "keep our powder accompanied Gorbachev to the Ice- Party questions are decided at dry." Gorbachev, contended Gro- land summit in 1986 and to the meetings of the Politburo. myko, always defended the "strug- Washington summit in 1987. He is a How does it operate? The Polit- gle" for peace and the need to keep specialist on the United States and buro runs on the basis of "democrat- Soviet defenses at the "necessary Canada, having served ten years as ic centralism," that is, "strict Party level" as "the holiest of holies" for ambassador in Ottawa. discipline and subordination of the all Soviet citizens. • Lev Zaykov, sixty-four, an en- minority to the majority" and • Nikolay Ryzhkov, fifty-eight, gineer, was appointed to the Polit- "unconditional commitment to de- an engineer, is also a Politburo buro in 1986. A Party Secretary cisions of higher agencies by lower member. He was one of the first of since 1985, he is believed to be re- ones." the new Politburo appointees under sponsible for defense industry. In Translated, this means that once Gorbachev, his elevation coming in late 1987, Zaykov became First Sec- the leadership reaches a decision, April 1985. He became Chairman of retary of the City Party no dissent is permitted or tolerated. the Council of Ministers—"Pre- Committee. The Moscow Party is The Party's actions are strictly sub- mier"—later that same year. second only to the Ukrainian Com- ordinated to one center—the Polit- • Andrey Gromyko, seventy- munist Party in size. He replaced buro. eight, an economist and diplomat, the maverick after the

56 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1988 latter was ousted for "gross political Party. He has met many times with buro and the Secretariat. They are errors." Zaykov will probably be Secretary of State George Shultz on Ligachev, Nikonov, Yakovlev, giving up his post in the Secretariat arms-control matters and summit Slyunkov, and Zaykov. as a result his assumption of the new planning. A subcategory of this "Party" duties. • Vitaliy Vorotnikov, sixty-two, group is formed of regional Party • Viktor Nikonov, fifty-nine, an an aeronautical engineer, was raised bosses. It includes Shcherbitskiy of agricultural expert, was appointed in status to full Politburo member- the Ukraine and Zaykov, who now to the Politburo in mid-1987. He ship in June 1983. At that time, he runs the Moscow Party Committee. graduated from the Azov-Black Sea became "Premier" of the Russian These are the two largest Commu- Agricultural Institute. The first man Soviet Federated Socialist Re- nist Party organizations in the Sovi- to be added to the Secretariat under public. He served as Soviet envoy et Union. Solomentsev, as Party Gorbachev, Nikonov is responsible to 's from 1979 to control chairman, is in another sub- for Soviet agriculture—one of the 1982. category as well. most important jobs in the country. • , seventy- Next in line behind the "Party" • Nikolay Slyunkov, fifty-eight, four, an engineer, was appointed to group is what is known as the an engineer, was elevated to full Po- the Politburo in 1983 after twelve "government" group, which com- litburo membership in mid-1987. On years as a candidate. As chairman prises individuals who are affiliated the Secretariat since January 1977, of the Central Committee's Party primarily with the institutions of for- Slyunkov is currently responsible Control Committee, he is responsi- mal administration. for general economics. It is possible ble for Party discipline. From 1966 First among those members that he will take over responsibility to 1971, Solomentsev was in the whose primary functions are in the for defense industry from Zaykov. Secretariat, overseeing heavy in- Soviet "government" is "Premier" From 1965 to 1974, he was director dustry. For twelve years, he served Ryzhkov, Chairman of the Council of the Minsk Tractor Production as "Premier" of the Russian Re- of Ministers in Moscow. Also in this Combine, part of the vast USSR public. category are Chebrikov, head of the military-industrial complex. Belo- • Vladimir Shcherbitskiy, seven- KGB; Shevardnadze, Foreign Min- russian by nationality, he was First ty, a chemical engineer, received ister; and Vorotnikov, Chairman of Secretary of the Belorussian Com- full Politburo membership status in the Russian Republic's Council of munist Party until 1987. 1971. He had been a Politburo alter- Ministers. General of the Army • , sixty-four, a nate from 1961 until he was ousted Drnitriy Yazov, Minister of Defense in 1963. Ukrainian by nationality, he has long been associated with the Dnepropetrovsk "Mafia" around . Brezhnev re- turned him to the Politburo as an alternate in 1965, after Brezhnev's rise to power. Shcherbitskiy was "Premier" of the Ukraine until 1972, when he became First Secretary of the Ukrainian . Ligachev Yakovlev Due to his position as Ukrainian Zaykov Nikonov Party chief, Shcherbitskiy was in metallurgist, was elevated to full the running to succeed his late men- but only a candidate Politburo mem- membership in the Politburo in tor in 1982. But the stagnation and ber, falls in this group. April 1985. Holder of the rank of corruption of Brezhnev's last days, Finally, there is the body that General of the Army, Chebrikov associated with the Dneprope- deals with "state" interests and that took over as head of the KGB in trovsk "Mafia," probably sank his formalizes Party decisions into law. 1982 when Yuriy Andropov was ap- chances. As Chairman of the Presidium of the pointed to the Secretariat as the Par- Supreme Soviet, Gromyko func- ty's ideologist. Chebrikov had been Three Groups tions as head of the state group in Andropov's deputy since 1968. Each of these thirteen members the Politburo. • , sixty, a of the Politburo has his own power So secret is another subgroup of historian, was appointed to full Po- base and set of priorities. Each, the Politburo that its existence was litburo membership when he be- however, can be placed into one of not even mentioned officially until came Minister of Foreign Affairs in three general groupings. 1976. This is the Council of De- 1985. Shevardnadze and Gorbachev At the top of the power structure, fense. both reached the Party's inner circle in the view of most experts, is the Today, all that is really known for in 1978: Shevardnadze joined the so-called "Party" group, which by certain is that Gorbachev is the Politburo as a candidate member, dint of numbers and resources holds chairman of the Council of Defense. and Gorbachev became part of the the principal levers of power. In 1977, the new Constitution of the Secretariat. A Georgian by nation- Gorbachev, as General Secretary, USSR spelled out a few details of ality, he headed the MVD police heads the group. Working most how it is formed. Brezhnev's later there before becoming First Secre- closely with him are five additional biographies credit him with being tary of the Georgian Communist men—all members of both the Polit- chairman of the Council of Defense AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1988 57 since becoming Party leader in in Gorbachev's favor, making possi- Over the past three years, politi- 1964. ble the next move. cal maneuvering has led to the ap- Determining the membership of July 1985: At a critical meeting of pointment of no fewer than eight the Council is mostly guesswork. In the Central Committee, Grigoriy new men, all younger than the men addition to Gorbachev, Politburo Romanov, Gorbachev's archrival in they replaced but older than Gor- members Ryzhkov and Gromyko, the succession struggle and reputed bachev himself. All can be said to be representing government and state, favorite of the military-industrial supporters of Gorbachev to a great- undoubtedly have seats in the coun- complex, was forced to resign er or lesser degree. cil. Defense Minister Yazov and "because of his health." KGB Head Chebrikov should also At the same time, Shevardnadze A Glimpse Inside be members. Moreover, Ligachev, joined the Politburo and became What happened at Politburo Yakovlev, and either Zaykov or Foreign Minister. Gromyko himself meetings remained a mystery until Slyunkov may take part as well be- moved to a largely ceremonial post Soviet newspapers, in 1982, began cause of the fact that they are also in where he could put to use his long to publish summaries of the ses- the Secretariat. experience in foreign affairs to help sions. Accounts of recent meetings the man he supported. have proved at times to be illuminat- Musical Chairs September 1985: The well-re- ing. Far more revealing of the chang- garded Nikolay A. Tikhonov, sev- For example, the Pravda summa- ing balance of power in the Polit- enty-nine at the time and chairman ry of the Politburo meeting on May buro—and of Gorbachev's possible of the USSR's Council of Ministers, 30,1987, was devoted entirely to the influence—is the record of the com- requested retirement. landing in of the West ings and goings of Politburo mem- February 1986: On the eve of the German teenager, Mathias Rust, bers since Gorbachev became the 27th Party Congress, a plenum who had piloted his private aircraft General Secretary. stripped Viktor Gri shin of his Polit- into the Soviet Union on a peace On becoming General Secretary, buro membership. As Party Secre- mission just a few days before. Gorbachev inherited a "board of di- tary in Moscow, Grishin reportedly The summary began by describ- rectors" from Konstantin Cher- tried but failed to edge out Gor- ing a report on the "violation" of nenko. Politburo members do not bachev for the General Secretary's Soviet airspace that was given by resign when a new leader comes post. Defense Minister Sergei Sokolov. aboard; the new leader has to ma- March 1986: The 27th Party Con- Then the Pravda account revealed that the lightplane from the Ham- burg air club had been detected on radar immediately on crossing the border. Even though Soviet fighters flew over it twice, the Politburo noted that the Troops of Air Defense Command displayed "intolerable unconcern and indecisiveness" in stopping the flight. This fact was taken as proof of Slyunkov Chebrikov Shevardnadze Vorotnikov "serious flaws in the organization of keeping a combat alert" in the air, "a neuver carefully to eliminate those gress added Zaykov to the Polit- lack of necessary vigilance and dis- who oppose him and to bring in his buro. cipline," and "major omissions in own supporters. January 1987: Dinmukhamed A. leadership of troops from the Minis- What has happened in the three Kunayev, seventy-three, a Kazakh try of Defense." years since Gorbachev and the nine and Muslim and former Brezhnev As a result, the Politburo found it other incumbent Politburo mem- crony, was censured for corruption necessary to relieve Chief Marshal bers attended Chernenko's funeral? and ousted from the Politburo. of Aviation A. I. Koldunov of his Five have been removed, one by July 1987: Slyunkov, Yakovlev, duties as Deputy Minister of De- one—two in 1985, one in 1986, and and Nikonov were added to the Po- fense and Commander in Chief of two more in 1987. While these five litburo. the Troops of Air Defense because were departing, four new members October 1987: G. A. Aliyev, six- of "negligence and lack of organiza- were being added in 1985, one new ty-one, an Azerbaydzhanets, also a tion in cutting short the indicated one in 1986, and three more in 1987. Muslim, and First Deputy Chair- intrusion." The removals and promotions man of the USSR Council of Minis- The Politburo, Pravda continued, came in several stages. ters, requested retirement for rea- also decided to "strengthen the April 1985: At this time, the Cen- sons of poor health and departed leadership" of the Ministry of De- tral Committee held its first regular from the ranks of the Politburo. fense. This meant that Marshal of meeting since Gorbachev took over. As the year 1988 began, the re- the Soviet Union Sokolov was Three of his supporters—Ligachev, maining four holdovers from the sacked. There was a tiny notice on Ryzhkov, and Chebrikov—are pre-Gorbachev era—Shcherbitskiy, page one naming General of the brought in at a single stroke. This Gromyko, Solomentsev, and Vorot- Army Dmitriy Yazov as new Minis- tipped the balance in the Politburo nikov—were still on the Politburo. ter of Defense. 58 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1988 The Bloody Past buro. Fourteen—nearly two- turned to the Central Committee for Even these strains in the transfer thirds—died during this same peri- support. Marshal Georgiy Zhukov, of power in the Politburo since 1985 od. Defense Minister, dispatched mili- pale by comparison with internal Only two—Lenin himself and a tary aircraft to bring Khrushchev struggles of the past. lesser figure—died in their beds. supporters to Moscow for a show- Starting even before Lenin died The other twelve—all of them im- down vote. When the vote was tal- in January 1924, Stalin and two portant figures in the Revolution— lied at the Central Committee ple- other founding —Ka- met grisly ends in Stalin's purges. num, Khrushchev had defeated his menev and Zinoviev—banded to- Some, in despair, died by their own opponents. gether to prevent Trotskiy from tak- hands. Khrushchev rewarded Zhukov by ing over the leadership in the post- The roll of the dead: elevating him from candidate status Lenin period. Through his hold on • Sergey M. Kirov, murdered to full membership in the Politburo. the Secretariat, Stalin began replac- 1934. Ironically, Zhukov was ousted with- ing Trotskiy's supporters with his • Lev B. Kamenev, executed in four months for manifesting own. 1936. "Napoleonic tendencies." Not until Once he had stopped Trotskiy, • Grigoriy Zinoviev, executed 1973, sixteen years later, would any however, Stalin turned on Kamenev 1936. Defense Minister reach the ranks of and Zinoviev themselves, joining • Mikhail P. Tomskiy, suicide the Politburo. This, however, did forces with Nikolay Bukharin, Al- 1936. not stop Politburo members from eksey Rykhov, and Mikhail Tom- • Grigory K. Ordzhonikidze, sui- approving a huge buildup of nuclear skiy to form a new majority. In turn, cide 1937. and conventional weapons. Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Trotskiy • Nikolai N. Krestinskiy, ex- In the early 1960s, Khrushchev's were all ousted from the Politburo. ecuted 1938. heir apparent, , threat- Stalin was not finished. Having • Aleksey I. Rykhov, executed ened to unseat him prematurely. removed the members of the so- 1938. Khrushchev decided to stay on. called "," Stalin • Nikolay I. Bukharin, executed Kozlov was thwarted and even- moved against Bukharin, Tomskiy, 1938. tually hospitalized with a heart at- and Rykhov on grounds that they • Yan E. Rudzutak, executed tack. Five months later, Khru- were "Right Deviationists." All 1938. shchev was ousted, accused by were threatened with expulsion • Stanislav V. Kosior, executed others on the Politburo of "hare- 1938. brained scheming" and "willful- • , executed 1939. ness." Leonid Brezhnev, Aleksey • Leon D. Trotskiy, murdered Kosygin, and Nikolay Podgornyy 1940. took over the reins of power. After the war, Stalin once again If persistent rumors are to be be- turned on those closest to him. Ac- lieved, Brezhnev survived a number cording to Khrushchev, Stalin "had of attempts to remove him during plans to finish off the old members his eighteen-year career as Soviet of the Politburo." Andrey A. An- General Secretary in the Kremlin. dreyev was ousted. Klimentiy Always successful in turning the Solomentsev Shcherbitskiy Voroshilov was accused of being a plotters aside, Brezhnev in the end British spy and forbidden to attend died of natural causes in his dacha. from the Politburo if they didn't hew Politburo meetings. Vyacheslav Five of the Old Bolsheviks who to Stalin's line on policy. Ultimately, Molotov and Anastas were had served on the Politburo in the they were stripped of their posi- under suspicion. Only the death of days of Lenin and Stalin before tions. Stalin himself, in March 1953, pre- World War II and had managed to Another rival, Sergey Kirov, was vented yet another bloody purge. survive Stalin's purges lived on into murdered in 1934—this clearly In 1957, Khrushchev, too, faced the 1960s, 1970s, and even the being the work of Stalin. The major opposition from what became 1980s. The last of the tribe, Molo- putative "search" for Kirov's killer known as the "anti-Party group," tov, did not pass away until well into served as a convenient pretext for composed of Molotov, Georgiy Mal- 1987—long enough for him to ob- Stalin to unleash a ferocious purge enkov, , and serve the familiar, intricate maneu- in which hundreds of thousands of Maksim Saburov. Khrushchev, verings between yet another Soviet Soviet citizens perished. Included challenged in the Politburo (at that General Secretary and his Po- were many current and former time, it was called the Presidium), litburo. • members of the Politburo.

Familiar, Intricate Maneuverings Harriet Fast Scott, a Washington consultant on Soviet military affairs, is a member Here are the figures. of the General Advisory Commission on Arms Control and Disarmament. She has lived and traveled extensively in the USSR and maintains one of the largest From the time of the October private libraries in the US of Soviet military publications. Her translation and Revolution in 1917 until the out- analysis of the Third Edition of Marshal V. D. Sokolovskiy's Soviet Military break of war in 1941, a total of twen- Strategy is a standard reference, as are three of her other books—The Armed ty-three Communist Party leaders Forces of the USSR, The Soviet Art of War, and The Soviet Control Structure, all gained membership in the Polit- coauthored with her husband, Dr. William F Scott. AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1988 59