Chernenko Is Dead in Moscow at 73; Gorbachev Succeeds Him and Urges Arms Control

Chernenko Is Dead in Moscow at 73; Gorbachev Succeeds Him and Urges Arms Control and Economic Vigor
Transfer is Swift New Leader, 54, Loses No Time in Offering His Own Program
By Serge Schmemann
Special to The New York Times

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Moscow, March 11 -- The Kremlin today announced the death of Konstantin U. Chernenko and, within hours, named Mikhail S. Gorbachev to succeed him as Soviet leader.

The announcement said Mr. Chernenko died Sunday evening after a grave illness at the age of 73. He had been in office 13 months, and had been ill much of the time, leaving a minor imprint on Soviet affairs.

The succession was the quickest in Soviet history, suggesting that it had been decided well in advance. Whereas the Central Committee had taken several days to name a successor to Leonid I. Brezhnev and Yuri V. Andropov, Mr. Gorbachev was confirmed in his new job 4 hours and 15 minutes after Mr. Chernenko's death was announced.

Youngest Leader Since Stalin

Mr. Gorbachev became, at 54, the youngest man to take charge of the Soviet Union since Stalin and the seventh to head the Soviet state.

''I am well aware of the great trust put in me and of the great responsibility connected with this,'' he said. ''I promise you, comrades, to do my utmost to faithfully serve our party, our people and the great Leninist cause.''

In his acceptance speech on being named General Secretary, he showed his impatience to start working.

''We are to achieve a decisive turn in transferring the national economy to the tracks of intensive development,'' he said. ''We should, we are bound to attain within the briefest period the most advanced scientific and technical positions, the highest world level in the productivity of social labor.''

Real Arms Cut Urged

In world affairs, he said he valued the ''successes of detente, achieved in the 1970's.'' Referring to the Soviet- American arms talks starting Tuesday in Geneva, Mr. Gorbachev said the Soviet Union sought a ''real and major reduction in arms stockpiles, and not the development of ever-new weapon systems, be it in space or on earth.''

The speech was one sign that the leadership intended to pursue business as usual despite Mr. Chernenko's death. The period of official mourning for Mr. Chernenko, who will be buried Wednesday in Red Square, is shorter than those of his predecessors.

The Geneva talks are to proceed as scheduled, and Prime Minister Nikolai A. Tikhonov and Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko met today with Roland Dumas, the visiting French Foreign Minister.

The businesslike approach seemed to underscore the Kremlin's confidence in handling the third transition in two and a half years, this time to a new generation of Soviet leaders whose careers have been formed since the Stalin era.

The transfer of power was dramatized by the fact that Mr. Gorbachev was nominated in the Central Committee by Mr. Gromyko, 75, the most influential of the older leaders.

The loss of Mr. Chernenko brought the number of full members in the Politburo down to 10, half of them 70 or older.

His death was announced at 2 P.M. (6 A.M. New York time), although it had been signaled by the curtailment of several high-level Soviet missions abroad and the playing of somber music on radio stations.

Medical Report Is Issued

A medical report confirmed that Mr. Chernenko suffered from pulmonary emphysema and heart problems, and it revealed that he had also been afflicted by chronic hepatitis, which worsened into cirrhosis of the liver.

The first hint that Mr. Gorbachev had been selected as successor was the announcement of the membership of the funeral commission, with Mr. Gorbachev at its head. In the past the chairman has been the successor.

Mr. Chernenko will lie in state in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions on Tuesday and Wednesday, and will be buried behind Lenin's Mausoleum.

The television news showed Mr. Chernenko laid out in the Hall of Columns. Politburo members led by Mr. Gorbachev stood a minute before the bier and then expressed condolences to Mr. Chernenko's wife, Anna, and other family members.

Mr. Chernenko was eulogized in terms reserved for senior officials, as an ''outstanding party and state figure, patriot and internationalist, consistent fighter for the triumph of the ideals of Communism and peace on earth.''

Stress Is on Uniting Ranks

The stress in the statements was on forming united ranks behind the Politburo and the party.

But beyond the familiar rites, the emphasis seemed on Mr. Gorbachev and the future.

Little known internationally as recently as three years ago and brought to the Politburo with the politically thankless task of overseeing the Soviet Union's problem-ridden agriculture, Mr. Gorbachev reached the forefront of Soviet politics through his association with Mr. Andropov.

Mr. Andropov had come to power determined to shake up the bureaucracy, discipline workers and jar the laggard economy into action. But as his health ebbed, he turned to Mr. Gorbachev for help.

On Mr. Andropov's death on Feb. 9, 1984, the Old Guard in the Politburo evidently chose to extend its hold on power a bit longer and picked Mr. Chernenko to be General Secretary. But Mr. Gorbachev emerged as the second-in-command of the party and as the heir to Mr. Andropov's unfinished program.

Although the pace of the experiments initiated by Mr. Andropov slowed under Mr. Chernenko, none was abandoned and some were actually extended, testifying both to the strength of Mr. Andropov's legacy and to Mr. Gorbachev's influence.

Pointed Reference to Andropov

In his speech today and in the hurry he demonstrated to get moving, Mr. Gorbachev made clear his legacy. While formally paying tribute to Mr. Chernenko's memory, he pointedly listed Mr. Andropov by name as architect of the strategy he would adopt.

He spoke of giving enterprises more independence and of increasing their interest in higher production. Sounding another theme raised by Mr. Andropov, Mr. Gorbachev talked of the need to provide people with more information. In foreign affairs, Mr. Gorbachev stressed the need for improved relations with China and with the West.

At the same time, Mr. Gorbachev took care to assure the military that it would receive ''everything necessary'' to maintain its defense capacity.

The shape of Mr. Gorbachev's program could become clearer next month, when a regular Central Committee meeting is scheduled. The session is expected to deal with science and technology, and could give the new leader an opportunity to bring new people into the Kremlin hierarchy.

Mr. Gorbachev also has more than eight months to plan for the next party congress, which is to approve a new party program, the next five-year plan, 1986 to 1990, and a new Central Committee, giving Mr. Gorbachev an opportunity to shape the ranks of the party elite to his taste.

Chernenko's Achievements

The rush to move ahead suggests that Mr. Chernenko will fade into relative historic obscurity. His achievements included a restructuring of education, to channel more students into vocational schools; an expansion of economic experiments, and a land reclamation program.

But Western diplomats believe he will be best remembered for keeping alive the changes initiated by Mr. Andropov, maintaining the campaign against corruption and the drive for labor discipline. In so doing, he may have supplied a smooth transition between the old generation and the new.

In foreign affairs, Mr. Chernenko presided over the return of the Soviet Union to negotiations with the United States after years of chill. The policies were associated more with Mr. Gromyko than with Mr. Chernenko, but, as in his economic policies, he was credited at least with not standing in the way of the revival of talks.

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