Domestic Responsibilities of Soviet Party
Central Committee Secretaries
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Domestic Rcsponsioililics
of Sovici Party
Central Com mil ice Secretaries
li Congeo* in lOTn, tao men -K. L.
inf M.ii-i" wC<Csdcled$MCCutl-
andtuClxr. rvplaeed the Ccntoicdnd ihc deceased r.ti. P. Ryabov.uir-ov's place on the
fte"
ui'snslci-cdgovcennieni post three years "aire, nod hn Secretarial KB"-oa apparently rcroini
Thechangct thattho*fait* precongrevs delibcralions have no<in any major ahi'li of responsibility lhal could incogc important Icadciship
Chan (CI alh CI*'cm |hit wCCk.'Chcrncoka.
while apparem'y enjoyingbroad maadatc io provioe re nei al direction tom rations oo personnel Qucilaont aad nutuiinrat reset buds, docs not seem to have lucccssfally chal. Kiiilcako't caeca-live authority in any ipeiifH area
Thereeen no clear signs ihai la,unless il be Brerhnevhat primaiy rcipon
libilily for oveiieeiag Ihe wrvt of ihe
Central Coaneaiitee depart me ts of
police and oru-is) dusiry, which Ryabov had supervised. The Politburo mayew iccrciars- to supervise these depart-ntrnti. but il is more likely that Brci-hncv willdelegate ihia tcsiutni ibility to incumbentperhaps dividing the furvciioeia between Chcrnenkontent* Gorbachev, thc newest-I* hasmovedto establishco-tralover agriculture and (dated fieldi. Hands lo gain inorc authority if Bretbnev follows thiaugh with hn plan to set up an agro.industrial tumericl
TJrnyariin. aad the IdrologKel
The met imponarlof Muihu. Ihc
senior party secretary in age at -ell as length oln the area of foreign policy Sostov. how -ever, also serves as ike guardian ef-Geological purity al
home und has overall respunubihit 'or iluec doniCMk Central Cornmiitce departments Propaganda. <
is." and St true andMe
Kirilrnlo. wbocswScaily topeevixN at leasi uac depart -nvcnl pri tonally. Suslov has increasingly cicrcucd his authorityoverseeing the wurk ufhc junior secretaryin turn >the work of ihe three department*.
SuilewI tendency to delegate authority ha> bnn mem
pronouaeed in the area of science. In
to have succetsfullt iniewened in deliberations in ihe USSR Academy of Sciences in favor of the can-diducy cu- respond ing member of thsIhc notoriously dog ma tit S. P. Trspcrnikov. head of the Derortmeni of See icesurational
I poni lie aboreDnriedlt appJicd nreswirc on the
academy lo elect A. Aleksanatruvas rtsprcsidtai Since lhat time. ho*ever. Sushiv fas been publ-ely much less active iathe affairs of the inttitution. He wut absent from" -le.my meeting9 lhal voirdagainst elcialing Trapcmikov Irom corresponding io lull membership Zimyania. who did panicipate. ahoo-tr Science Dav thai year aad nitended iSe academy! annual meeting
Inears, as Ihccmphaiit in science pohcy has sbilicd from basic research lo applied icchnology. Kirilcato and V.olgikhurtitipaicdtcacaadic meetings. Last yeai. foe esample.
Knilenioentral Ccimowtlee mufng o-
and partianottd in a
Gmrslaausccttngon ihcyeei When 7imyanin was oui ofor Science Day tati year. Dolgikh look hn place. Oolgikh and Kuilerifco. however, appear to cicrc.se their inlTueiice in this area through ihc CcniialCommitiecs induslrial depanaaentt and ihe State Commence for SCatncc and Technology rather than through the Department of Science and fduca tional Intlitutions.
Cantfientirt
t..nfidc/ili>l
and the Agricultural I'aekaite
U hik'Su^kit hie bceiintcctiveicccnl tears.
ihinrbaChcv.evident It
puidtd hi> portfolio soon'"*tut beyond agricultural production, lie has profited front the prcliminartHic/hnt> hits taken to creatonttendanceonfeienteun the doehtpmcnt
ifontplcs lata. December suggests lhat
I'ln. who chaired the meeting, is supervising lourgriculture, hit primary concern: Light and loud Industry: Trade and DomcMicold theDepartment of AgriculturalBuilding.'
Gorbachev took over tome of theseum hit predecessorthe land and light industrs functions. He was Ihc cote represent-utivcof the leadership lati year at Light Industry Wotkees" Day. and for Ihe lau two yea" ai Food Industry Worked" Day. Since (he food indullryind other light industry such as trililc and shoeagricultural tawhc auign-mint of these sectors to thc ugriculiurc secretary ii rational from an administrative point of view.
The inclusion of Trade and Domestic Service* in GortscheVc portfolio makes, keif, sense in functional terms, but thc originiof thiidepartment tugged that il may have alto been under the purvieweiccretary even before Gorbachev'* ascendancyf forte tn sol op nn afingle Central Committee depart-inent supervised light Industry, food indutlry. and trade. When trade and domestic service* wereout. thc agriculture tecreiaiy may have retained responsibility for than. No Central Committee tee-retary has attended functiont astocta ted with thistector in recent years, however, andof retpooiibillly for the lector it difficult. Unlikecere monies for meat other "workers"or etampk. no sccreiary hat attended the festivities for Trade Workers" Day sinceh Congress. Nonetheless,9 Gorbachev along wiib I. V.
I Sitliyi. -kmtail Iuk (turn the lint aecieurrasie o' JOntv*ad anCentral Committee department. TW tin tKatuiiutd tit name alone aaa participanta JO Jinurp mceftiAfu* ac rnu'-wr atil<tinii iMaO'can-wat. whine eveotlua Briatim- nmnff in OcMOK
Ccondc/iial
hipilunu>Kirilcnkiapngreuofe'iM. Miniti cooperative*.aCCOanlaVC In
Dcpirinientuf Ttade and Domestic Services.
Gorbachev may ultimately assume rctnon-Ubititt for the Chemical 1'crlili'ct Sector of the ChemicalDepartment at well. The recent creationcn Minttiry of Chemical Fertiliser, which had previouih been combinedingle ministry withhemical indutlry. raitcst the peniibilityimilar teparatinnlake place "ithin thetructure.
Gorbachevp-obabty reportidirotllvtoBre/hnevon agricultural mailers. Brcrhncv has long been the chief spokesman for agricultural interests uithin Ihc leader, ship, and lie evidently continues loreater activt interest in it'n area than in tome others. Occasionally, foiciampfc.hc pertonatly '>Brcrrncv presumably win continue to work wiihtrorbachcv in overseeing ihe depart menu tes pen-sibk for Ihe emerging agro-industrial complex.
Kiritrnko. Dolcikh, andairly defnite division of labor appears toetween Kirilenkoand OeJjikh for the nonagriculiurul seciott ofrilcnko evidently directly *opcr-visesar intent of Trmspo" andDolc'kh'tt primary responsibility is the Heavy Industry Department, which he heads. Both men arc active in supervising three other industrial depart -menll Chetnicjil Indutlry. Machine Bonding, and Consti u nii. In addition, they time supervision of thc moteandated Depart men for Planning Ond Finance Or cans. It thus appears thai Kirilcnao hat the overall reipwsibility forthetc areat with the assistance of Dolgiklt ita junior secret try loan arrangement similar to IhtSullov-Zimyactoiarid Brerhnev-Gorbachev relationship!
Dotgikh. rather than Kiritcnko. attends all ol then' celebrations corresponding to the sectors erf the Heavy Industry Department (Coal Indutlry. Ferrous Metallurgy,Geology. NonSerrois Metallurgy.andirilenko. on the other hand, attends functions associated with the Department of Trans-poiiation and Communications. He regularly attends Kaitrood Workers' Day. and last year he also attended River Heel Workers" Day.
"f-
nubile activity in ihn sector is cspccialli pronounced with regard lorail transport During ihe last two years he hn been Ihc speaker ai several Railway Ministry conferences, and en one occasion be partic-puicdession oribe Rail-ray Mi nisi ryollegium. In ihe area of communications he has been lea*it year ItChernenko -nospoke, conferenw of communications workers; Kirilcnkodid not ailcnd. This indicates thai Chernenko may have assumed some respoosibiliiyin this area.
In "lew ol" hi* long public adsujcucy of increased invest, ment tu thc machine-building induslry.ctive involvement In this area is not lurprisirui. He has worked closely for years with the head of the Machine-Building; Depariment. He has been particularly active in thc area of transport machinery, but he also gave thc speechajor conference on machine tool building last year. Moreover, he has been prominent in overseeing the elcetrie power induslry. which evidently comes under thc jurisdiction of the Machine Buildingirilcnko eoosisiently tuends Electric Power Workers- Day. and he spoke at power industry conference* both this year and last. Oolgikh. however, has also been active In this field. It is he, for caamptc. who has attended Machine-Builders- Day.
Similarly, both men have beea involved in supervising the departments of Conttructico.ndustry, and Planning and Finance Organs. Oolgikh hasarger rule in overseeing construction projects in (he petroleum and gat industry, while Kirilcnko has been heavily involved In supervising transport construction Kirilcnko attended Builders' Day last year, and gave the major addressentral Committee conference on Motor Technologyolgikh. who attends both Oil and Gas Workers- Day and Chemical Work-en' Day, hat been somewhat more active than KirUeakoin lupervising the departments of Chemical Industry and Planning and Finance Organs. Last year he represented Ihe leadership at two important rneei-ings apparently connected with the work of the latter department. In April be was the only secretary who took paneeting on pricing, and in July he
' Atlhoigh lint SWvsuy mile trcm toenail,t* beputmeftt ofwrr.UKeUOiaauo-riated wah ii nf thelr UlOUnr. BuilSwc Dcpunaurt
-If 1 'it' wile.
addressed* meeting of party admimUralort andarvdewrv^ve
Chrmenko and theVpa.irtsrnt, Vauhcd into ihc upper ranks cf ihc leadership on thc basis of bis close pcisooal relationship with Brerhnev. Chernenko participatesride ranger* publiccspitc his public visibility, however, thereat no evidence lhal he hascspanded hisaccrciartal rcspon-sibilitics beyond his supervision of ibc Generalent, the Letters Department, and the Administration of Affairs. These three deparuncnu perform politically tensiiive executive tasksfor the Central Commiiiee but do not involve Chernenko in Ihc substance of policytnakinc ot impWntoiioo io any important area.
Chernenko hat headed the General DepartmentS In this capacity he oversees ihc handling ofons generated by the Politburo and Sec. rctariai. supervises the drafting and coordination of speeches and othernd lutes on various procedural aspects of ilwdecitionmaking process.
hat it now the Letters Oepartmcn!ector in the General Department. The creationew Central Commiiiee deparimentu-reaucraiic gain for Chernenko, who has been in ihe forerromampaign for greater cffieial respc-wivc-neis to complaints from thc popuUtion. The change. Isowever. did not ducal) cricruaeh oo ihe institutional or functional territory of any ether secretary or add measurably town authority
The AdministralicnofAITairxlrlceciuivaleniefa Centra! Committee department, is charged with broad-ranging support of the Central Committee, apparently including ihc computer tea lion or Central Committee personnel files and lite publication of party drxumenu. The Administration of Affairs probably works closely with ihe General Depan ment. This fact, as well as Ihc fact lhal Chernenko has edited numerous collections nf parly decamenis, suggests lhat heIhc Administration of Affairs.
ork
Kirilcnko evidently continues to have overall respon-sibilily.and Kapitonov direct (esponsihihiy. lot thc
rganiFituinai Pan| Vt uik liieli
Kapitunut li-.'i. Tbn department ha* the important
lub .it nuwnj the
e- Ibc loi.atty oegi-niialion. ptimaeilt. through jpno-nimeni.CHiont.
i.iiii moriover ihc Ijnyea'* suggest lhat Chctncolu hai been movinghe general area uf peivirI work, lit hat written eat enet-lions of nuna cement technique and effectiveofunions, and several (tally newspapers andiiiIi Inn re'cired to him it an minority on cadres matter* Lati year heentral Com.mii ire cadret study session, ail prtaa renews of hit latett honk implied once again that hain cj pert on the tcleetionand training of cadtti. as well at
un the "Lentniil tiyleolcictthilett.
Cherncnko't public appcaranect do not indicate lhat he hat attumed any definite resrauitiiliiy in this area.
rrgans and Defensen Searchecrftnry*
Theo supervised the Depart, menl ofalind Kaauea.ad some
eespom-bitiiy for ihr Department of Admmitiraiivc
Ocans. Since Ryabov'i removal, however, no tee-rctary hai regularly appeared al Innctiom attocialed with these departments Nooverriding precedent exists for combining oversight of Ihetc tuonreai. and Ihe portfolio ndi) have been divided. In the pn*l. the tec-retary for civilian heavy indistry hai occasionallydefense mdwiiry as well. On the rcitibhc le-el. (he organiiaiMtnel teereiaty generally ka>for the RGB andury
Usiinov and Uir jhnev may ctccisc considerableconiiol over thcie areas. Usiinov continues to have contact with de'tnsc industry officials, although il is unclear whether he it acting ia hat capacity at Defense Minister or at dc facto secretary for defrntererhncv probably lupervi-es adtuiaaitlr alive organt more closely lhan moil areas.
m US.
-
I T
Ulaiathiilaii
umber of functions nm eitied wath adnitnitiralive organ* ATong wilh
Miaaiaa Day da HW. Chcrnento did not tfcow up tor hbtriii Day tail tear.
to no clearmerged Cher acakit antnded Aeroflot Day thia ycai.ui the two pnvui.it yean Gorbachev did the honoii In tccent ycuit Chirnenkoha* olio attended the several awardor cosmonauts, ban it wat Brezhnev who pre-tented the awards Cheencnhoout melt tigncd mahlary oaHiaaries.aeeetiry (or adaaaaorg am prctouaabty uouVd
Gorbachev might assume ictponsibilitv for al lean pari of the administrative organi package, lie twice attended Aeroflot Day, aad Ins backgroundimaperviie the iudicuiy. which itso theOrgant Al Oawaaauaf one of theLegniatrvcConsmiinoni of ihe USSK Supreme Soviet, heintroduced new leg illation on thc courts and public prosecutors' office Goibachev'i failurel* lend the tccent funeral ofudenlo Chiefof the Soviet Union, however, nrnvidet eoun teraaibatg evidence.
The Sreirtariat and the Parly Caogrr-ts
There is no evidence thai ihc authority of any Central Committee tccretary has increasedayor changes in lhe Soviet power configuration ath Congress Norn there rcaito tnearwe* much change in personnel on ihc Secretarial There is no mi wmk/ of secretarial potations to be Tilled or
furd difitaoo of lesso-si bitty aaaong them B'rihac-
canreauignrciponsibiliiica among seeaoaraci ai lie sect fit. Contidcnng hit record of avoiding personnel Changes when possible, il ncmi likely that Brerhrsrv will prefer to uiitiie trusted auocuies alrcadi on the Secretariat to handle Ihc one apparently unaingncd area -Defense Industry aad Admiat-siratn-trather lhan appOaoi alor Itus purpOH Ihe out loot,onnauation cd Ihe comadertble lunctaonal itabilnr lhal has chaiacicr-ij-ed the Secretarial over Ike pall teveial years
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Original document.
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