Out of Action

Ustinov misses a parade

With each passing year the Nov. 7 parade before a lineup of Kremlin leaders atop the Lenin Mausoleum in Red Square has come to resemble a mystery play rather than a military pageant. Leonid Brezhnev died only three days after he made a faltering appearance in biting weather in 1982. His ailing successor, the late Yuri Andropov, gave hints of his imminent demise when he failed to show up for last year's ceremony. This year it was Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov who was missing. Questioned by a Western reporter, Politburo Member Viktor Grishin allowed that Ustinov, who has not been seen in public since September, was suffering from a "sore throat." U.S. analysts did not believe Ustinov was dying, but, as one Washington Kremlinologist put it, "colds in the U.S.S.R. tend to be fatal."

There were unconfirmed reports that the 76-year-old Defense Minister was indeed seriously ill, perhaps suffering from a liver disease or felled by a stroke. Western analysts believe that Warsaw Pact Commander Viktor Kulikov, 63, is the most plausible contender to succeed him. One civilian thought to be in the running is Grigori Romanov, 61, the former Leningrad party chief who joined the Central Committee Secretariat last year.

In a speech to the Politburo last week, Soviet President Konstantin Chernenko called for an increase in his country's defense capability. Then, in answers to written questions submitted by NBC News Correspondent Marvin Kalb, Chernenko suddenly appeared more conciliatory. If Washington is sincere about arms-limitation talks, he said, "we could, at last, start moving toward more normal relations between our two countries."