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The26thCongress of theCommunist Party of theSoviet Union (26th Congress of the CPSU,Russian:XXVI съезд КПСС) opened on February 23, 1981, with a five-hour address by theGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party and the chairman (president) of thePresidium of the Supreme SovietLeonid Brezhnev. This was the last Congress for Brezhnev, whodied in 1982. Brezhnev proposed another round ofarms control talks. At a time when an aging Soviet leadership faced adecline in economic growth, severe food problems at home, grave uncertainties about its future relationship with theUnited States, and unsettling events inPoland, the congress ended its week of speeches by unanimously confirming the existing leadership. The congress elected the26th Central Committee.
The 1st Plenary Session of the 26th Central Committee elected the26th Politburo. The members of the 26th Politburo were all members of the25th Politburo. The 14 voting members, whose average age was 69, and eight non-voting members (average age 65) were all reelected. None of the present members of the Politburo was a likely long term successor to General Secretary Brezhnev, who was 74. After oustingNikita Khrushchev in 1964, Brezhnev did not repeat Khrushchev's mistake of placing a younger rival in a commanding position from which he could attain supreme power.[1]