Soviet Union Back to Work, Comrades

By John Moody

The strains of the Internationale, the Communist anthem, faded as Mikhail Gorbachev rose one last time to drive home his message in the Kremlin's cavernous Palace of Congresses. He began by hailing the 5,000 delegates and distinguished foreign guests at the 27th Communist Party Congress, which had given him a resounding mandate to revitalize the country's sputtering economy. Then he threw down the gauntlet. "Here's to the work we've done, comrades," declared the General Secretary. "And now for the work yet to be done."

Gorbachev seemed eager to stop talking about change and to begin making it happen. The conclusion of the ten-day congress preceded by only a few days the anniversary of the Soviet leader's first year in power, a period that has seen a new push for less liquor and more labor, tighter work discipline and more thrift. It was high time, Gorbachev made clear, to begin realizing those goals. In its final week, the congress rubber-stamped two separate economic outlines that bear the Gorbachev seal. Both emphasize the rebuilding of obsolete factories and concentration on machine-tool production, consumer goods and computer technology. But Gorbachev's defense of the centrally planned Soviet economy indicated that, unlike China's leaders, he is not prepared to tamper with the foundations of Marxist-Leninist theory.

The congress re-elected more than half the members of the party's Central Committee, which sets party policy. Gorbachev, however, overhauled the powerful Secretariat of the Central Committee, which oversees the day-to-day running of the country. Boris Ponomarev, 81, in charge of relations with nonruling Communist parties, retired from both the Politburo, where he was a nonvoting candidate member, and the Secretariat. Vasili Kuznetsov, 85, the frail First Vice President, gave up his alternate Politburo seat.

Anatoli Dobrynin, 66, the Soviet Union's longtime Ambassador to Washington, will join the Secretariat, probably as a foreign policy adviser. His 24 years of service in Washington have earned him a reputation as a tough but pragmatic U.S. adversary who could be both charming and deceptive (see box). His inclusion in the inner circle of power suggests that U.S.-Soviet relations have become Gorbachev's overriding foreign policy concern. The leading candidates to replace Dobrynin as Ambassador to Washington are Yuli Vorontsov, 56, the Kremlin's suave Ambassador to Paris, and two Deputy Foreign Ministers, Viktor Komplektov, 54, and Georgi Kornienko, 61.

Other key Gorbachev appointments:

LEV ZAIKOV, 62, the former Leningrad party boss who was already in the Secretariat, became a full member of the Politburo. Zaikov thus becomes one of the most powerful men in the country, along with Gorbachev and Party Ideologist Yegor Ligachev.

ALEXANDER YAKOVLEV, 62, Ambassador to Canada from 1973 to 1983, who most recently controlled the propaganda department, joined Dobrynin in the Secretariat. His elevation bolstered rumors that the entire propaganda machinery would fall under Yakovlev's purview.

ALEXANDRA BIRYUKOVA, 57, a trade-union official, was Gorbachev's surprise appointment to the Secretariat. A former textile worker, Biryukova has been a Central Committee member for the past decade. Western diplomats viewed her selection as a gesture to Soviet women, who constitute more than half of the population and the work force.

As he celebrated his 55th birthday last week, Gorbachev seemed pleased with the results of the party congress. "Nothing remained outside the sphere of critical analysis," he said. "This, comrades, is in the best traditions of our party and of Bolshevism."

Indeed, some of the delegates wasted no time getting into the spirit of things. Konstantin Petrov, from the Voroshilovgrad region, demanded, "Why not make a movie that will teach children about coal mining? I can remember only one good book about coal miners, and that was written 30 years ago." Delegates were not surprised to learn that Petrov was a retired miner. Valentina Plenova, 55, a spunky factory worker, took the floor to complain about the inertia at many industrial enterprises. Said she: "We still work like yesterday." Later Plenova's deeper feelings surfaced. "I'm in love with my leader," she blurted. "In love!" She then paid Gorbachev, the object of her affection, the ultimate compliment. During the 5 1/2-hour speech that he delivered to the congress two weeks ago, she recalled, "I wasn't even sleepy." It is on that kind of wakeful worker that Gorbachev is pinning his hopes.

With reporting by James O. Jackson and Nancy Traver/Moscow