Former Soviet leader in an audible decline? (8)
I believe the answer is:
andropov
'former soviet leader' is the definition.
'andropov' can be an answer for 'leader' (I have seen 'Soviet leader' mean 'andropov' so perhaps 'leader' could also mean 'andropov'). I'm not sure about the 'former soviet' bit.
'an audible decline?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'an' could be 'a' and 'a' is located in the answer.
'decline?' could be 'drop' (dropping is a kind of declining) and 'drop' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'nov' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for andropov that I've seen before include "Yuri -, Soviet president nineteen eighty three to nineteen eighty four" , "Soviet politician" , "Soviet leader" .)