TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/090991/0909009.000

Text File | 1992-08-28 | 3.7 KB | 77 lines

                                                                              WORLD, Page 46

SOVIET UNION

A Communist, a Patriot, a Soldier


By WILLIAM J. CROWE JR.

[Admiral William J. Crowe Jr., former Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, was Akhromeyev's counterpart as the U.S. senior
commander.]


    Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Fyodorovich Akhromeyev was
my friend. His death last week by his own hand was a tragedy that
mirrors the convulsions racking the Soviet Union. He was a
communist, a patriot and a soldier, and my guess is that he would
have listed his affiliations in that order. His entire life was
spent in the service of the motherland and the party, beginning
in 1940 when he enlisted in the army. World War II left an
indelible stamp on him. Close to 80% of Soviet men born in 1923,
the year of his birth, did not survive the war.

    For all his fierce patriotism and devotion to the party,
Akhromeyev was a modern man who understood that many things were
wrong with his country and much had to change if the Soviet Union
was to remain a great power. He detested nuclear weapons and
genuinely wanted to reach an agreement reducing long-range
nuclear arsenals. He did much to bring a recalcitrant Soviet
military to the bargaining table and decrease tensions between
our forces.

    In December 1987 the marshal visited Washington for the first
time. He was accompanying President Gorbachev for the signing of
the treaty that eliminated intermediate-range nuclear missiles. I
invited him to call on me at the Pentagon. When he arrived two
mornings later for breakfast, he was alone. Here was the leader
of the Soviet military marching into the enemy's camp, without
security people or a gaggle of aides. It was an impressive
display of self-confidence. At that meeting he told me the two
things in his life that he was most proud of were his
participation in the "Great Patriotic War" and being present at
the signing of this treaty.

    Despite his willingness to innovate, he had not foreseen
where reforms would eventually lead. He told me in 1989 that he
had not appreciated how deep the dissatisfaction was in his own
country. He wanted improvements but could not accommodate a
complete rejection of the past: the unification of Germany, the
ignominious end of the Warsaw Pact, the pressure to reduce
expenditures and troops.

    We met in Moscow last year, both of us retired from our
military posts. He said, "You didn't destroy the Communist
Party. We did. And while it was happening, my heart broke a
thousand times every day." He went on: "It's very depressing to
be told that everything you have worked and fought for for over
50 years is wrong."

    When the burden of these disappointments became too great for
him, he decided he could no longer live with them. He was a man
of honor, integrity and intelligence. He was devoted to Marxist-
Leninist ideals, taking great pride that he owned little more
than the clothes on his back. His narrow view of capitalism
sparked our most vigorous argument.

    Some have insinuated that Marshal Akhromeyev was involved in
the coup attempt. I have no way of knowing, but my instincts tell
me he wasn't. He often spoke to me of his amazement that
Americans believed that Soviet generals decided the course of his
country's history, which he vigorously denied. At the same time
he believed deeply in the need for a strong Soviet military.

    In the end, he could not reconcile his contradictory beliefs
with the counter-currents that were sweeping over him. That
cannot take away from his contribution to arms control, to
fashioning a more cooperative U.S.-Soviet relationship and to
reducing the tensions that plagued both our houses for 45 years.