Also of note in the USSR

December 3, 1982

A ranking Soviet official has told The Christian Science Monitor that thought is being given to awarding the ideology and foreign affairs portfolio in the party Central Committee's Secretariat to Konstantin Chernenko, a close Brezhnev protege once himself considered a strong candidate for the top party job. ''But it is too early to say for sure,'' the official added, speaking Nov. 25.