What was going on when I was born?

The last three days have seen the largest flurry of political activity since Leonid I. Brezhnev's death in November, but two high-level meetings have ended with little sign that the Kremlin is any closer to bold initiatives that could shake up a sagging economy or ease tensions with the United States. Doubts about Yuri V. Andropov's authority have been eased by his appointment as head of state as well as party leader. But his health remains in question and the speech that he delivered to the party's Central Committee Wednesday, together with an earlier one by Konstantin U. Chernenko, another major Politburo figure, bore a conservative stamp that suggested that the Andropov era may do more to reinforce the coercive aspects of Soviet life than to reinvigorate the increasingly exhausted Soviet system. In foreign policy, too, there was little sign of new moves to reopen a dialogue with the United States, wind down the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan or encourage a growth of popular support for the Communist authorities in Poland. To the contrary, much of what Mr. Andropov and other leaders said implied that the Kremlin feels it is time to remind the West of Moscow's unyielding resolution to defend Soviet positions.

Yuri V. Andropov today added the largely titular position of head of state to his job as general secretary of the Communist Party, thereby assuming the third of the major positions left vacant in November by the death of Leonid I. Brezhnev. Mr. Andropov was elected to the position by a show of hands at a session of the Supreme Soviet, the nominal legislature. As usual in Soviet practice, he was the only candidate. He was formally nominated for the job by Konstantin U. Chernenko, the aide to Mr. Brezhnev who lost to Mr. Andropov in the contest to succeed as party leader.

''Together with all my compatriots, especially with those who are most acutely tasting the bitterness of disappointment, humiliation, suffering, of being deprived of their freedom, of being wronged, of having their dignity trampled upon, I stand beneath the cross of Christ.'' - Pope John Paul II, in Poland. (A1:6.)

Representatives of more than 100 art, cultural and educational institutions told Mayor Koch yesterday they opposed his plan to collect property taxes from many institutions that traditionally have enjoyed exemptions. Speaking at an unusual City Hall hearing conducted by the Mayor, the speakers said taxing the institutions, which range from large museums to small ethnic centers, probably would drive them out of the city, if not out of existence. In either case, the speakers said, the city would be the poorer.

International The Pope went home and allied himself at once with the victims of the martial law restrictions imposed in Poland 18 months ago. John Paul II confronted the nation's political troubles with unusually tough, direct references, both in his arrival at Warsaw's airport and a homily in St. John's Cathedral, which rang with applause. (Page A1, Column 6.) The Pope's return to Poland is considered the most personal of his 18 foreign journeys. Polish priests at the Vatican said John Paul II had an acute sense of personal responsibility for the joyous and tragic events that have swept Poland since his first visit there as Pope in 1979. (A9:1-4.)

An article in Business Day Wednesday about Norton Simon Inc. incorrectly identified the owner of the Congoleum Corporation. The company is owned by its management, creditors, the First Boston Corporation and Century Capital Associates.

ONE of the joys of summer is slinking into a cool, dark movie house and being transported away from eye-blinding sun, hot sidewalks and soggy clothes into a world where only the flickering screen images suffer. Which may be why film festivals particularly thrive at this time of year. No fewer than six festivals await this weekend and beyond for New York's wilted souls: in Chinatown, at the Museum of Modern Art, in the Queens Museum, at the Japan Society, in TriBeCa and at a pair of theaters in Greenwich Village and on the Upper West Side. The sixth Asian American International Film Festival opens at 7 tonight at the new Rosemary Theater, 133 Canal Street, just off the Bowery, with the United States premiere of ''Turumba,'' a Philippine feature by Kidlat Tahimik, and ''The Silence,'' a short from Japan by Michael Toshiyuki Uno. Mr. Tahimik tells a sardonic tale about the effects of the Munich Olympics and Western commercialism on a Filipino village. ''The Silence,'' which was nominated for an Academy Award for best live-action short, has been compared to Kon Ichikawa's ''Burmese Harp'' in its exploration of life and death in the Vietnam War.

The Senate voted tonight to repeal a 1982 tax law that would require financial institutions to withhold 10 percent of the interest and dividends paid to most of their customers beginning July 1. The legislation, which includes several provisions intended to require fuller reporting by taxpayers of interest and dividend income, was approved by a vote of 86 to 4 after months of contention. The bill also contains three unrelated provisions, sponsored by President Reagan, that are meant to discourage a veto. Mr. Reagan has threatened to veto a repeal bill, but there have been recent indications that he might let it become law. These three provisions would provide assistance to companies working in depressed areas, give trade concessions to Caribbean countries and strengthen the President's authority to retaliate against foreign trade practices that he deems unfair.

New data indicating that the economic recovery is a strong one sent stock prices sharply higher yesterday in the heaviest trading in more than a month, with the widely followed Dow Jones industrial average closing at its second consecutive record high. Analysts said that quite apart from the latest reports on the strength of the economy, the latest rally in stock prices that has sent the Dow up 63 points since June 9 was based primarily on the widely held belief that interest rates would either remain as they are or decline again. ''The key to the rally is interest rates,'' said Monte Gordon, research director of the Dreyfus Corporation. The Dow average, which is made up of 30 prominent issues, rose 11.02 points, to 1,248.30. On Wednesday, it had climbed 10.02 points to a record 1,237.28. The previous record was 1,232.59, set on May 6.

The opening moves were made this week in the latest match between the Polish Government and international banks. Both sides met Monday and Tuesday in Vienna to talk about rescheduling about $2.5 billion in bank debt due this year that the Poles say they cannot pay. But economists say a more fundamental issue - one that apparently was not discussed this week - may be the real import of the talks, which resume later this month in Zurich. That issue is what Poland has to do to regain access to Western credit markets for the funds it desperately needs to finance an economic recovery.

The Senate voted, 86 to 4, to repeal tax withholding on income from interest and dividends. The bill now goes to conference, where three provisions meant to deter a threatened Reagan veto must be reconciled with a differing House version. The withholding, adopted just nine months ago as part of a move to cut budget deficits, was to take effect July 1. But if Congress fails to complete action by then, the start of withholding will be delayed a month. (Page A1.) New housing starts rose 19.1 percent during May to an annual rate of 1.79 million units, the highest level in three and a half years, the Commerce Department reported. Economists said the rise demonstrated that a robust recovery is under way. They attributed the gain to lower interest rates and favorable weather. Building permits also gained. (D1.)

In the last year, more American banks - 42 - have failed than in any other 12-month period since World War II. But the nation's depositors go about their business with hardly a worry, let alone resorting to the runs on banks that plagued the financial system half a century ago. It was the Banking Act of 1933, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 50 years ago today, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation it created, that brought peace of mind to American savers. That law, one of the enduring legacies of the New Deal, was praised here today in a flurry of birthday celebrations.