Eastern European and Soviet Department: Foreign Policy of the Soviet Union

A file containing documents relating to Soviet foreign policy. Subjects covered in the file include the likelihood of a change in policy under the new Soviet leader, Yurii Andropov; the views of the American Secretary of State, George Shultz, on the subject; and suggestions that the Soviet Committee for State Security (K.G.B.) was manufacturing an image of Andropov as a flexible, liberal leader. Other subjects discussed in the file include reactions from Eastern European countries on the transfer of power; analysis of a speech by Andropov's predecessor, Leonid Brezhnev, shortly before his death; and a NATO study of Soviet policy trends and their implications. Documents in the file include a speech by a leading Soviet politician, Boris Ponomarev, emphasising Soviet "peace-loving" policies; and a West German government report on the Soviet foreign ministry and its role in the decision-making process.