Defense Chief, 3 Gorbachev Supporters Join Politburo

The Communist Party’s Central Committee today appointed the defense minister, the KGB chief and two other officials to the Politburo in an indication that Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev is moving quickly to build a power base in the ruling body.

The official Tass press agency said three Gorbachev supporters were made full members of the ruling Politburo and Defense Minister Sergei Sokolov, a career military officer, was named a candidate or non-voting member.

KGB Chief Viktor Chebrikov was promoted from candidate to full member of the Politburo and Igor Ligachev and Nikolai Ryzhkov were named directly to full membership, Tass said. All three were seen as Gorbachev appointments.

In his address to the assembly, Gorbachev blasted the United States for creating a tense international situation and for “trampling underfoot” the interests of other countries such as Nicaragua.

“Responsibility for the present situation rests with the ruling circles of the U.S.A.,” Gorbachev said. “They continue to come out as initiators of the arms race and sabotage disarmament.”

The appointments indicated that Gorbachev, who succeeded the late Konstantin U. Chernenko in February, would quickly build the power base needed to rule the country.

The Politburo holds the real power in the Soviet Union despite official charts that show that power rests with the Party Congress, with the Central Committee running affairs between sittings.

The appointments bring the Politburo to 13 full members and 6 candidate members. Its numbers had shrunk to 10 full and 6 candidate members before Gorbachev took power. The Politburo has numbered as many as 15 full and 9 other members.

Tass also said the regular meeting of the Central Committee, a body of about 315 voting and 150 non-voting members, set the date for the 27th Party Congress for Feb. 25, 1986.

The 10-day meeting of 5,000 Communist Party members is held about every five years to write the plans that rule the centralized economy.