ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of change in Soviet leadership to some preliminary questions on change in policy leadership in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe. It focuses on Communist Party leadership and the highest organ of Communist Party leadership, the Politburo or Presidium. One major element in the examination of leadership in Eastern Europe is the capacity of that leadership to carry out policy. The Soviets seemed to be saying that they wanted the countries of Eastern Europe to follow their leadership in the areas of foreign policy, defense, and certain aspects of ideology, culture, and economic organization. In East Europe Politburo level recruitment appeared willing to sacrifice education for political dependability and perhaps regarded the former as unnecessary or potentially disruptive if the principal policy leadership was to come from Moscow. Communist Party political leaderships in different countries and at different times have met the problem by a variety of means.
