In 1984 and 1985, the swift succession in the USSR's leadership affected all levels of Soviet society. This eighth volume in a series of biennial reports on the Soviet Union analyzes domestic affairs, economics, and foreign policy in light of that succession.

The Federal Institute for East European and International Studies in Cologne was established in 1961 as an academically autonomous research institution. It operates under the administrative and financial authority of Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Foreword to the US Edition -- Introduction -- Domestic Politics -- Secretaries General Come and Go -- The Party Apparatus Under Andropov and Chernenko -- The Government Apparatus Under Andropov and Chernenko -- Military and Political Decisionmaking Processes -- The Role of the Secret Service -- Ideology as a Key to Politics -- How to Mobilize the Soviet Working World: Discipline or Participation? -- The New School Reform -- Why Does the Party Need Sociologists and Psychologists? -- Science and Technology -- Churches in the Soviet Union -- Cultural Policy, Culture, Opposition -- The Economy -- The Soviet Economy at the End of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan: Counting on Gorbachev -- Problems of Soviet Investment Policy -- Economic Growth and Transportation: Stop at the Performance Limit? -- Trends in Soviet Defense Expenditures: Facts and Speculation -- Siberia: Resource or Burden? -- Soviet Economic Reforms: Higher Achievement as a Result of New Premises? -- Soviet Foreign Trade Restricted by Foreign Policy? -- Foreign Policy -- Gorbachev: A New Manager for the Soviet Superpower -- Soviet Policy Vis-à-vis the United States -- Arms Limitation and Arms Control in Soviet Policy Towards the West -- Relations Between the USSR and the Federal Republic of Germany -- The Soviet Policy of Hegemony and the Crisis of Authority in Eastern Europe -- Soviet Policy Towards the Middle East: Minimizing Risks, New Initiatives -- Soviet Policy Towards China: Détente with Setbacks -- Soviet Policy Towards Japan and Korea -- States with a Socialist Orientation: A Soviet Model of Partnership -- Appendix Tables and Figures -- Research Reports of the Institute Relating to Subjects Covered in This Book