Soviet Union: Under an Invisible Hand

In absentia, Andropov guides two key Kremlin meetings

The rush-hour traffic on Moscow's broad boulevards was moving at a crawl when the convoys of black ZIL limousines, amber lights gleaming, appeared out of the morning mist. The motorcades whipped by at 70 m.p.h., down empty center lanes marked off for official traffic. The more than 300 members of the Communist Party's Central Committee were on their way to the Kremlin for their annual winter session. All of them but one. There was no hint of the whereabouts of the Soviet Union's head of...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!