Taking Root

Seeds of hope for Andropov

Since he replaced Leonid Brezhnev last November, Soviet Leader Yuri Andropov has, whether by choice or political necessity, maintained a low domestic profile. Now, however, the name of the stooped and often visibly tired former KGB chief is beginning to sprout more frequently on the front pages of Soviet newspapers. Moreover, in a long Pravda article published last week, Defense Minister Marshal Dmitri Ustinov for the first time referred to Andropov as Chairman of the Defense Council. The new title meant that Andropov now holds a post equivalent to commander in chief, thereby occupying two of the three top positions once held by Brezhnev. (The office of President remains unfilled.) Some Kremlinologists infer that Andropov has been consolidating his powers over rivals like Konstantin Chernenko, a onetime Brezhnev protege, who has not been seen in public since March 30.

Andropov's prospects may be further strengthened thanks to last week's prediction by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the Soviet grain harvest over the coming year will increase by 14%. The last four Soviet harvests have been unnaturally scanty, so much so that the Soviet government refused to announce production figures for the past two seasons. But this year the U.S.D.A. forecasts a total Soviet grain production of around 200 million metric tons. That figure falls far short of 1978's record 237.4 million tons and of this year's optimistic target of 238 million tons. But, after two consecutive years of 160 or 180 million tons annually, the projected upswing heralds a notable improvement.

The Soviets may reap additional solace from the likelihood that the increase is caused not only by an unusually mild winter and early spring, but also by the conversion of recalcitrant farmers. They seem to be at last responding to the initiatives outlined in Brezhnev's controversial "Food Program," under which farmers throughout the Soviet Union have begun to form "contract brigades" that reward members with cash or produce whenever crops exceed a predetermined goal. Says a U.S. expert: "By the inefficient standards of Soviet agriculture, the contract system appears to be a step forward."

As if to underscore Andropov's authority, the Soviet news agency TASS announced last week that Nobel Peace Prizewinning Physicist Andrei Sakharov, exiled to the city of Gorki since 1980, would not be allowed to accept an invitation from Vienna University to teach there for a year. The ostensible reason: Sakharov, who helped develop the Soviet hydrogen bomb in the 1950s, knows too many state secrets. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.