ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part is concerned with the actual characteristics of political leadership in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. It examines the development of Soviet leadership comparing the earlier record with that of Leonid Brezhnev and his colleagues both in personal and organizational terms. The part identifies aspects of the organizational arrangements of Soviet leadership and also examines the positions of leading Politburo members and their records at successive Party plenums. It discusses stabilizing and destabilizing factors that may be relevant for the future. The part explores several aspects of change in the top-level political leadership of the East European communist countries. It deals with the possibilities open to East European leaders to carry out national policies. The part presents the questions of policy possibilities and competence to the behavior of contemporary East European political leadership.
