By March 1971 it became apparent that Brezhnev was the leader of the country, with Kosygin as the spokesman of the five-year plan and Podgorny's position within the collective leadership strengthened.
I marts 1971 var det blevet klart, at Bresjnev var landets leder, Kosygin var talsmand for femårsplanen, og Podgornijs position var blevet styrket i det kollektive lederskab.