The Public Politics of Aleksandr Nikolaevich Yakovlev, 1983-1989, Jonathan Harris.

Abstract

During the first five years of his reign as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CC/CPSU) M.S. Gorbachev has changed the structure of authority in the USSR's political system. He initially regarded the interlocking directorate of Politburo and Secretariat as the final source of authority and the ultimate driving force for his program of reform, the CC/CPSU as a miniparliament for the discussion and elaboration of his proposals, and the CPSU's apparatus of full time officials as the major instrument to assure the program's implementation. Gorbachev's initial definition seemed to be the logical expression of his own experience as a party official who became General Secretary only after an extensive career as a regional party leader, a Secretary of the CC/CPSU with a functional specialization, and considerable experience as a member of the Politburo.