Abstract

Kremlin Seismograph

The brief revival of free speech in Czechoslovakia during 1968 gave to that country's intellectuals a chance to speak out frankly about the politics of totalitarianism. It could be said publicly that under Communist Party rule the process of choosing between different methods of solving national problems takes the devious form of "lobby conspiracies" and "palace revolutions." This generalization certainly applied to the political situation in the Soviet Union after the death of socialist leader Joseph Stalin. A series of dramatic shifts at the highest level of government resulted from fierce struggles over power and policy, which until the last moment were concealed from the general public. The former subordinates of political leader Nikita S. Khrushchev wield his former vast power on a more or less equal basis and maintain an appearance of unity. There have been no big shake-ups in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia's latest version of "collective leadership." Actually, not a few policy surprises have originated from behind the Kremlin wall during recent months. A careful reading of the Soviet press suggests that the four-year collective leadership is deeply divided on a number of key issues.