ABSTRACT
On many occasions during the conference, Gorbachev personally interrupted a speaker to make a point, ask a question, interject a remark, or reproach a delegate. The exchange with Viktor I. Postnikov, who referred to party officials as a "mafia," was a typical example of such exchanges. The Soviet media regularly reported these exchanges and thus helped to present Gorbachev as being in total control of the conference—attentive and ready to interfere at any moment.
