Alexei Kosygin: 1904-1980
When Alexei Kosygin resigned as Soviet Premier last October after more than 40 years of service to the state and the Communist Party, no honors or tributes were bestowed upon the veteran leader. Among the 14 other Politburo members, only Leonid Brezhnev was moved to acknowledge "cordial gratitude" to Kosygin. Even that faint praise came after international surprise over Kosygin's unceremonious exit from power. Last week news of Kosygin's death of a heart attack in the Kremlin hospital was treated in more generous fashion. A day and a half after the event, the Soviet government and Communist Party made...