All Hail to the Chief

By Leroy A. Binns Ph.D.

Throughout the past two years Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev has continued to captivate the international arena with his charm and wits. His previous engagements with President Ronald Reagan have dealt a severe blow to the Stalin era and given added dimension to East/West relations. However as if that were not enough the General Secretary has left the world in awe once more with his zeal at the historic Soviet party conference.

At last week’s governmental exchange the first in 47 years Gorbachev aroused Soviet delegates by voicing disgust at a decaying Soviet economy but most importantly he called for significant transformation for perestroika to be realized. The Soviet leader’s aspirations included a loosening of party power on the daily affairs of government and industry, an introduction of democratic procedures to make political institutions more responsive to rank and file, increased power to councils that operate at each level of government and the rewriting of the legal code along democratic lines among others. Moreover much to the dismay of the Western press the televised event not only gave rise to the above mentioned recommendations but its aftermath. This spectacle entailed two unexpected requests for the ousters of one time minister of foreign affairs Andrei Gromiko and the number 2 party leader Yegor Ligachev for their inability to foster growth within the Soviet Union, a lengthy and profound debate between the latter and former party boss Boris Yeltsin in which both accused each other of groundless and mistaken tactics and equally as important a vivid account by Gorbachev that attributed Yeltsin’s failures to intolerance to party reforms.

In spite of these and other adverse political dissent among staunch party supporters, US news correspondents and politicians are nonetheless of the opinion that given the present mood existing within the Soviet political hierarchy Gorbachev’s insights may wear thin. In fact in a recent dialogue between Nightline’s Ted Koppel and ABC’s foreign correspondent Pierre Salinger the French newsman questioned the level of Soviet endurance in relation to democratic reform while on Capitol to Capitol the Speaker of the House of Representatives Jim Wright aired concern with respect to glasnost and its arch rival the old Soviet vanguard. Nonetheless political trends have released positive signals worldwide.

Gorbachev’s new thinking has began to transcend theoretical boundaries as he strives to enhance USSR/Third World relations. At present the Soviet leadership is removing troops from Afghanistan while coercing Sandinista/Contra negotiations. They are also engaged in conversation pertinent to the withdrawal of Cuban soldiers from Angola and the Middle East conflict. Across the Soviet empire their policies are weakening previous immigration laws thus allowing an increasing amount of Soviet Jews the opportunity to migrate to Israel and advancing freedom of speech as seen through the Armenians’ cries for self autonomy and promoting economic growth. By endorsing the INF treaty the Russians have secured large sums of revenue for agricultural and industrial sectors.

In short one assertion holds true; the summit has given the Soviets a mandate for change and thus created a new era of Soviet political discourse.