This updated and expanded biographical directory is the first in the series of directories published by Radio Liberty since 1981 to include photographs. The volume provides detailed information about the careers and lives of current members of top Soviet party and government bodies, officials of the armed forces, and diplomats. Also represented are a number of middle-ranking officials who stand a good chance of attaining top-level posts in the next few years. Entries are in alphabetical order, and each entry includes a biographical sketch, a career chronology, a summary of the content of published articles and speeches, and details of political alignment and connections. The volume is current through summer 1990 and documents the substantial recent turnover in party organizations such as the Central Committee and in state bodies such as the newly elected Council of People's Deputies. It is an indispensable reference for scholars, business people, journalists, government officials, and others trying to follow the rapid changes taking place in the USSR.
