USSR denies Brezhnev will resign

The Soviet Foreign Ministry denied a Newsweek magazine report that President Brezhnev will resign for health reasons.

Newsweek quoted a 10-page US ''intelligence document'' which concludes that, regardless of his physical condition, Mr. Brezhnev will probably be unable to hold on to his position and will likely be replaced at the Communist Party's Central Committee meeting in May.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman denied the report, saying it ''did not correspond with reality.''

''Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev is on a routine winter holiday,'' he said. Asked whether Brezhnev had been hospitalized last month, the spokesman said he had no information on the subject.

Meanwhile Pravda, the party newspaper, published in its Sunday editions a terse, two-paragraph announcement in Brezhnev's name, apparently to silence speculation on his condition -- but the vagueness of Pravda's story seems to have raised more questions than it answered.

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to USSR denies Brezhnev will resign
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0406/040621.html
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us