Soviet Union: A Demonstration of Unity

Andropov gets a new title, but doubts about his strength remain

Painfully, haltingly, the stooped figure moved across the dais of the vast, neoclassical chamber in the Great Kremlin Palace. As the 1,500 delegates of the Supreme Soviet rose to their feet to deliver a tumult of applause, Yuri Andropov's strained face stared ahead without a smile. Hurriedly, the leadership pushed through the session's most important item of business. After an effusive nominating speech by Konstantin Chernenko, Andropov's principal rival on the Politburo, the delegates voted unanimously to confer upon Andropov the ceremonial...