Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»People
    People 2 Mins Read

    Leonid Brezhnev

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    A protégé of Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev came to power (after he and Aleksei Kosygin forced Khrushchev to resign) as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1964 – 82) and was president from 1977 to 1982.

    Domestically he was conservative, while abroad the USSR was established as a military and political superpower during the Brezhnev era, extending its influence in Africa and Asia.

    Born in the Ukraine, Brezhnev joined the Communist Party in the 1920s. In 1938 he was made head of propaganda by the new Ukrainian party chief Khrushchev and ascended in the local party hierarchy.

    After World War II he caught the attention of the Party’s leader, Stalin, who inducted Brezhnev into the secretariat and Politburo in 1952.

    Brezhnev was removed from these posts after Stalin’s death in 1953 but returned in 1956 with Khrushchev’s patronage. In 1960, as criticism of Khrushchev mounted, Brezhnev was moved to the ceremonial post of state president and began to criticise Khrushchev’s policies openly.

    Brezhnev stepped down as president in 1963 and returned to the Politburo and Secretariat. He was elected general secretary of the Communist Party in 1964 when Khrushchev was ousted and gradually came to dominate the conservative and consensual coalition.

    In 1977 he regained the additional title of state president under the new constitution.

    He suffered an illness (thought to have been a stroke or heart attack) in April 1976 that was believed to have affected his thought and speech so severely that he was not able to make decisions.

    These were made by his entourage, for example, committing troops to Afghanistan to prop up the government.

    Within the USSR, economic difficulties mounted; the Brezhnev era was a period of caution and stagnation, although outwardly imperialist.

    Brezhnev died on 10 November 1982 and was quickly succeeded in his post as General Secretary by Yuri Andropov. Mikhail Gorbachev, who would lead the USSR from 1985 to 1991, denounced his legacy and drove the process of liberalisation of the Soviet Union.

    Related Posts

    • Neville Bonner
      Neville Bonner
      Neville Thomas Bonner was the first Aborigine to be elected to Australia's federal parliament. He lived in poverty in the…
    • Joh Bjelke-Petersen
      Joh Bjelke-Petersen
      1 9 1 1 - 2 0 0 5 Johannes ("Joh") Bjelke-Petersen was an Australian right-wing politician, leader of the…
    • Lee Harvey Oswald
      Lee Harvey Oswald
      Lee Harvey Oswald was born in New Orleans on 18 October 1939, two months after the death of his father.…
    • Robert Muldoon
      Robert Muldoon
      1 9 2 1 - 1 9 9 2 New Zealand National Party right-of-centre politician and NZ prime minister from…
    • Red Bikini Girl (1979)
      Red Bikini Girl (1979)
      On 16 January 1979, a young Ukrainian woman jumped from the Russian cruise ship Leonid Sobinov in Sydney Harbour wearing only…
    • Richard Nixon
      Richard Nixon
      1 9 1 3 - 1 9 9 4 Unless you were actually there, it's hard to imagine just how…
    • Malcolm Fraser
      Malcolm Fraser
      John Malcolm Fraser was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1930. The grandson of an influential politician and businessman, Fraser was…
    • Fred Dagg
      Fred Dagg
      Fred Dagg was actually New Zealand-born comedian and political satirist John Clarke, who appeared as Dagg on television always wearing…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleBrat Pack
    Next Article Jim Callaghan

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • My Sister Eileen
      1 9 6 0 (USA) 26 x 30 minute episodes Wise-cracking, […]
    • Thundercloud
      1 9 7 9 (UK) 13 x 30 minute episodes Lt. Cmdr. […]
    • Fantales
      These chocolate-covered caramel chews were introduced by […]
    • Beetlejuice (1988)
      Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis play Barbara and Adam Maitland […]
    • Alec Douglas-Home
      Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home served as British Prime […]
    • Getting Together
      1 9 7 1 – 1 9 7 2 (USA) 14 x 30 minute episodes Getting […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.