ABSTRACT
Mikhail Gorbachev is a relatively young member of the Politburo, only 54 in 1985. Moreover, the lifespan of the deceased members of the Politburo reached the mid-70s. Among the most striking changes in Politburo demographics over the years has been the steady increase in the age of entry into the Politburo. Again, the data presented above substantiates the projection that the average age of the Politburo is destined again to rise, possibly surpassing 70 years before the end of the 1980s. The freshman Politburo member Gorbachev persuaded the full Politburo to endorse publicly the KOLLEKTIVNYI PODRYAD scheme for organizing the work and accounting on the farms. Although never directly admitted, clearly the key reason why the rural cities scheme was abandoned was a realization on the part of the Politburo that their successful construction would have required huge, largely non-productive, investments.
