DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: First, our CNN 20 segment: a look back at the death of Soviet leader Yuri Andropov.</s>CHARLES BIERBAUER, CNN SR. WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I wasn't in Washington when Andropov died. We were all out -- or a lot of us were all out in Iowa because it was the time of the Iowa caucuses. And I was awakened in Des Moines, Iowa, the morning of Andropov's death, and groggily answered the phone. They said, "Andropov's dead. Tell us what you know." So, my recollection is I sort of propped myself up in bed and started recounting what I knew about Andropov over the phone to try and fill in some of the blanks about what this Soviet leader had been about. Andropov himself was a bit of a mystery because he had been the head of the KGB, the secret service.</s>MARK DULMAGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Part of the reason for Andropov's recluse-like behavior may have been symbolic. The invisibility added a mystic power to Andropov's image. But the main reason was almost undoubtedly Andropov's ill health.</s>BIERBAUER: This has been sort of typical of the Soviet and even the Russian pattern of protecting their leaders. There would be these mysterious disappearances sometimes for a few days, sometimes at great length.</s>DULMAGE: The last time Andropov was seen in public was August 18th, when he met in Moscow with nine U.S. senators. After that, Andropov's absence was first explained by saying he was on vacation, and then it was said he had a cold. What was really wrong with Yuri Andropov remained a mystery, as did most of the details of the Soviet leader's life.
CNN 20: Soviet Leader Andropov Dies, February 9, 1984