Reversing from the Cul-de-Sac, 1984–87

Abstract

One of the main problems during these years was the fact that due to the advanced age of the Soviet leadership there was both too much and too little continuity in the direction of policy: too much in the sense that the core of the leadership had remained the same since the high-point of the Brezhnev era when a firm consensus had been formed; too little in the sense that the post of General Secretary changed hands all too frequently from 1982 to 1985, and that the reigning General Secretary was often too infirm to rule, far less impose innovations in foreign or domestic policy. The changes that did occur were more apparent than real, more a matter of words than deeds. This was perhaps most evident with respect to the problem of nuclear weapons in Europe.