ABSTRACT
Very little of the demographic data recorded on the pages that follow stems from own original research into primary sources. Such sources, along with own judgement, have been the base for making some few changes in, or additions to, the material presented in the biographies. While most of the data dealt with is "hard", some of it is more subjective. The vast majority of the material examined and analyzed was the painstaking work of previous scholars and researchers. The biographical work formerly done at the Institute and carried on by radio free europe/radio liberty researchers is an invaluable treasure trove of information about prominent Soviet personalities from Lenin and Gorky to Gorbachev and Solzhenitsyn. Those researchers have devoted thousands of hours pouring through Soviet publications. A major premise of the study is that even in the Soviet Union the overwhelming major concern of top political leaders is with domestic events and problems.
