In Absentia

Is Brezhnev ill or on holiday?

Ever since reports circulated late last month that Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev had been hospitalized following a four-day trip to Tashkent, rumors have been rife that he was gravely ill and possibly dying. Soviet officials maintained, however, that Brezhnev, 75, who has a history of cardiovascular ailments, was simply taking his annual April vacation and resting at his country home outside of Moscow. As of last week Brezhnev had made no public appearances for three weeks, but there were signs that he was carrying on at least some of his official duties.

In an interview with Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper, Brezhnev rejected President Reagan's proposal, made earlier this month, that the two leaders meet informally in New York this June after the disarmament talks at the United Nations General Assembly. Instead, the Soviet President proposed a "well-prepared" summit meeting with Reagan at a neutral site, such as Switzerland or Finland, some time next fall. White House Spokesman Larry Speakes responded that Reagan still hoped to see Brezhnev in June. "Right now there is no change of plans," Speakes said.

Brezhnev, or aides acting on his behalf, performed a full range of ceremonial chores last week. Telegrams were sent to North Korean Leader Kim II Sung, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and French President Francois Mitterrand. At the same time, a number of Muscovites claimed to have seen Brezhnev's black ZIL limousine, security abreast, speeding toward the Kremlin. One unidentified Russian also reported seeing the Soviet leader visiting the Granovsky Street clinic in Moscow, where Brezhnev is customarily examined by his doctors.

The most credible line of speculation is that Brezhnev was suffering either from exhaustion or from a slight stroke when he returned from Tashkent, and is now recuperating. Nikolai Blokhin, president of the Soviet Academy of Medical Sciences, told colleagues at a conference of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War held in Cambridge, England, that he had spoken to Brezhnev only days before and had invited him to meet with the organization's leaders later this year. Insisted Blokhin: "President Brezhnev is taking his routine winter vacation."

If Brezhnev turns up this week in Moscow for the annual festivities marking the birthday of Vladimir I. Lenin, founder of the Soviet state--an important occasion on the Kremlin calendar--the rumors may be put to rest. But if he is absent, speculation about his deteriorating health is sure to intensify. -

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