As Chernenko gets another title, a younger leader's star continues to rise he Soviet people know Konstantin Chernenko as a staunch fighter for Communism and peace. He has shown remarkable qualities of leadership throughout his many years of service," and has devoted "all his knowledge to building the economy and defense potential of the Soviet Union." That was but one of the tributes to their new leader that the 1,500 members of the Supreme Soviet, the country's nominal parliament, heard last week as they gathered in the Great Kremlin Palace. Speaking in a mellifluous if slightly nervous baritone, the Politburo's youngest member, Mikhail Gorbachev, went on to laud Chernenko as "a tested leader of the Leninist type" and a man of "outstanding political and organizational abilities and immense life experience." The delegates hardly needed the glowing accolades to be persuaded of Chernenko's virtues. No sooner had Gorbachev finished his brief nominating speech than all hands in the vaulted chamber shot up in unanimous approval of his proposal that Chernenko be elected President.
The decision was a personal triumph for the Siberian-born party worker and propagandist who succeeded the late Yuri Andropov in February. Leonid Brezhnev, Chernenko's longtime mentor, had waited 13 years to assume the largely ceremonial position of President, and it had taken Andropov seven months. But Chernenko, 72, had garnered the country's three key posts—General Secretary of the Communist Party, Chairman of the Defense Council, and now President—in only two months. As the parliamentary deputies rose to their feet and began to clap in rhythm, the stocky, silver-haired Chernenko savored the moment. He raised his right arm in a salute, then clasped his hands above his head like a victorious prizefighter.
Chernenko's quick election to the post seemed to indicate that Brezhnev and Andropov had established that the party leader should also be Chairman of the Defense Council and President. In his nominating speech, Gorbachev made clear that combining the two posts was of "great importance for pursuing foreign policy." But whether the new Soviet leader has the clout commensurate with his many new titles remains an open question.
Looking tan and fit, Chernenko seemed very much in charge as he moved to take his seat at center stage in the
Great Kremlin Palace. He was flanked by the men of the Politburo's old guard who now wield the most influence behind the scenes: Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov, 75, Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, 74, and Premier Nikolai Tikhonov, 78. But one measure of the shifting alignment of power in the post-Andropov era was the attention paid to Gorbachev, 53. Ever since Andropov's death, there have been indications that Gorbachev was in effect the country's new No. 2 man. The fact that he should be the one to nominate Chernenko for the presidency seemed to confirm that a cautious transfer of power to the next generation had begun. The same honor was given to Chernenko when Andropov got the job last June.