(2 of 9)
It was observed by a Western analyst—and such observations are both the meat and the bones of Kremlinology—that Chernenko seemed to breathe at least three times as often as his neighbor on the reviewing stand, Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov, 75. Later, the new General Secretary was seen to be barely able to keep his arm raised in a salute as crack Soviet troops marched past.
After meeting Chernenko, British Social Democratic Leader David Owen, a physician, said that he thought the new Soviet leader was suffering from emphysema, a disease marked by shortness of breath.
Given the confusing circumstances of the latest succession, not the least of which was the fact that 93 hours passed before the Central Committee announced its decision, it was far too early to make judgments about Chernenko's future or be definitive about the direction that his regime might take. The coming months would show whether he was capable of amassing the same power that his recent predecessors had or whether he would have to share the titles and trappings of Soviet rule with his colleagues on the Politburo.
Warned Dimitri Simes, a senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: "We overestimated Andropov. The danger now is to underestimate Chernenko."
For the moment, the new Soviet leader, whatever his drawbacks, plunged vigorously into the mandatory round of receptions and speechmaking. In his international debut, he seemed intent both on exuding confidence and authority and on reversing his longstanding image as nothing more than Brezhnev's loyal aide.
After a state funeral for Andropov in Red Square attended by thousands, Chernenko received more than 170 foreign dignitaries amid czarist-era splendor in the Kremlin's Hall of St. George. Unlike his predecessor, who had engaged in reception-line diplomacy following Brezhnev's funeral, Chernenko shook hands stiffly, his face rarely creasing into the smile of the practiced politician. He did not appear to greet such Communist stalwarts as Cuban Leader Fidel Castro or Polish Premier Wojciech Jaruzelski with any more enthusiasm than he greeted Vice President George Bush or British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Whatever personal words Chernenko had were apparently reserved for private sessions, such as the meeting he held with Warsaw Pact leaders. He also conferred with Castro, Afghanistan Party Leader Babrak Karmal and Nicaraguan Junta Coordinator Daniel Ortega Saavedra. Chernenko pointedly snubbed Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, whose leadership has been challenged by pro-Syrian rebels and who had to watch the funeral from a section reserved for the ambassadors of Western and neutral countries. China's Vice Premier Wan Li, the highest-ranking Chinese leader to set foot in Moscow in more than two decades, was received by Soviet Deputy Premier Geidar Aliyev, in strict conformity with protocol.