Soviet Union Back to Work, Comrades

Shuffling the Kremlin deck

The strains of the Internationale, the Communist anthem, faded as Mikhail Gorbachev rose one last time to drive home his message in the Kremlin's cavernous Palace of Congresses. He began by hailing the 5,000 delegates and distinguished foreign guests at the 27th Communist Party Congress, which had given him a resounding mandate to revitalize the country's sputtering economy. Then he threw down the gauntlet. "Here's to the work we've done, comrades," declared the General Secretary. "And now for the work yet to be done."

Gorbachev seemed eager to stop talking about change and to begin making it happen. The conclusion of...

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