NOT since Nikita Khrushchev emerged as top man in the Kremlin had the Politburo received such a shakeup. In the most confident and decisive political move of his eight years as head of the Soviet Communist Party, Leonid Brezhnev last week eased out two enemies from the ruling Politburo and replaced them with four powerful and seemingly loyal allies.
The timing of the leadership reshuffle was masterly. Scheduled to make historic visits to West Germany in May and to the U.S. in June, Brezhnev will now take off with the fullest possible domestic...
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