Brezhnev briefly. Leonid Brezhnev: biography and personal life. What Brezhnev did for the Soviet people

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, whose years of rule fell on the so-called era of stagnation, does not cause such heated debate among his compatriots as Stalin or even Khrushchev. However, this personality also evokes very contradictory assessments, and the corresponding period left very different impressions in the public consciousness.

Leonid Brezhnev. Years of USSR rule

Today, this period is associated primarily with light industry and the Union’s growing lag behind its main Western competitor in

Heavy. Leonid Brezhnev, whose reign spanned 1964-1982, even came to power in an unusual way for those times. In the previous forty years of the existence of the Soviet state, it was difficult to imagine that its leader could be removed from office through bureaucratic mechanisms. Both Lenin and Stalin, despite the contradictory assessments of their activities, were figures of such magnitude that a change of power could and did take place only after their deaths. Nikita Khrushchev put an end to totalitarianism in the state, including party purges. The 20th Congress of the CPSU in 1956 contributed a lot to this. The state has never again had such a large-scale and single leader. As a result, Khrushchev was removed by party decision in 1964. His successor was Leonid Brezhnev, whose years of rule began with the decision of the plenum. This period became the apogee of the development of the Soviet country and at the same time the beginning of its collapse.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. Years of government and trends in domestic politics

Today this page national history It is customary to call it stagnation, recalling the shortage of essential goods and the stagnation of the economy. To be fair, it is worth noting that one of Leonid Ilyich’s first political decisions in office was the rollout of economic reforms. The activity, which began in 1965, was aimed at partially transferring it to a market track. The independence of large companies was significantly expanded economic enterprises states, instruments were introduced to ensure material

employee incentives. And indeed, the reform began to produce brilliant results. Brezhnev period became the most successful in the entire history of the country. However, the reformers never completed their undertakings. The reform, which provided for economic liberalization, which provided obvious results, was not supported by social and political liberalization. The introduction of market mechanisms at large economic facilities was not complemented by the liberalization of market relations themselves in the country. In fact, the half-hearted nature of the reforms determined the slowdown in the pace of development already in the early 1970s. In addition, at this time oil deposits were discovered in Siberia, promising easy income for the treasury, after which state leaders finally lost interest in reforming economic and social life. In the future, the well-known trends of “tightening the screws” are increasingly growing (mass executions have never been repeated, but homes for the mentally ill have become the talk of the town), a decrease in the profitability of production, when the industry required more and more investments, but produced less and less results. The imbalance of the state economy is becoming increasingly evident. The need to invest resources in negatively affects the lungs, resulting in the notorious commodity shortage.

L.I. Brezhnev. Years of government and trends in foreign policy

In addition to internal problems, despite all efforts, failures in the international arena are becoming increasingly obvious. If in the Khrushchev era, despite all its absurd epics, the USSR spoke on an equal footing with the United States during the period and was the first in space exploration, then in 1969 the Americans were for the first time ahead of the Union in landing on the Moon. The last great success of the domestic space program was the first successful landing of a spacecraft on Mars. Fermentation is beginning more and more intensely in the friendly republics of the socialist camp. to a large extent laid the foundation for the problems that clearly manifested themselves during perestroika and pushed the state to the final collapse.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev born on December 19, 1906 (old style) in the family of a metallurgist in the village of Kamenskoye (now Dneprodzerzhinsk). He began his working life at the age of fifteen. After graduating in 1927 Kursk Land Management and Reclamation College worked as a land surveyor in the Kokhanovsky district of the Orsha district of the Belarusian SSR. He joined the Komsomol in 1923, and became a member of the CPSU (b) in 1931. In 1935 he graduated metallurgical institute in Dneprodzerzhinsk, where he worked as an engineer at a metallurgical plant.

Brezhnev was nominated to his first responsible post in the Dnepropetrovsk regional party committee in 1938, when he was about 32 years old. At that time, Brezhnev's career was not the fastest. Brezhnev was not a careerist who worked his way up by elbowing aside other contenders and betraying his friends. Even then, he was distinguished by his calmness, loyalty to his colleagues and superiors, and did not push forward on his own as much as others pushed him forward. At the very first stage, Brezhnev was promoted forward by his friend at the Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute K. S. Grushevoy, who was the first secretary of the Dneprodzerzhinsk city party committee. After the war, Grushevoy remained in political work in the army. He died in 1982 with the rank of colonel general. Brezhnev, who was present at this funeral, suddenly fell in front of his friend’s coffin, bursting into sobs. This episode remained incomprehensible to many.

During the war, Brezhnev did not have strong patronage, and he made little progress. At the beginning of the war he was awarded the rank of colonel, at the end of the war he was major general. They didn’t spoil him in terms of awards either. By the end of the war he had two Orders of the Red Banner, one Red Star, Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky and two medals. At that time, this was quite a small amount for a general. During the Victory Parade on Red Square, where Major General Brezhnev walked with the commander at the head of the combined column of his front, he had much fewer awards on his chest than other generals.

After the war, Brezhnev owed his promotion to Khrushchev, which he is silent about in his memoirs.

After working in Zaporozhye, Brezhnev, also on the recommendation of Khrushchev, was promoted to the post First Secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Party Committee, and in 1950 - to the post First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (6) of Moldova. On XIX Party Congress in the fall of 1952, Brezhnev, as the leader of the Moldovan communists, was elected to the CPSU Central Committee. For a short time, he even became a member of the Presidium (as a candidate) and the Secretariat of the Central Committee, which were significantly expanded at Stalin’s proposal. During the congress, Stalin saw Brezhnev for the first time. He drew attention to the prominent Brezhnev. Stalin was told that this was the party leader of the Moldavian SSR. “What a handsome Moldovan”- said Stalin. On November 7, 1952, Brezhnev stood on the podium of the Mausoleum for the first time. Until March 1953, Brezhnev, like other members of the Presidium, was in Moscow and waited for them to gather for a meeting and distribute responsibilities. In Moldova he was already released from work. But Stalin never collected them.

After Stalin's death, the composition of the Presidium and Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee was immediately reduced. Brezhnev was also removed from the composition, but he did not return to Moldova, but was appointed Head of the Political Directorate of the USSR Navy. He was promoted to lieutenant general and had to put on his military uniform again. In the Central Committee, Brezhnev invariably supported Khrushchev.

At the beginning of 1954, the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee sent him to Kazakhstan to lead development of virgin lands. He returned to Moscow only in 1956 and after XX Congress of the CPSU became again one of the secretaries of the Central Committee and a candidate member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. Brezhnev was supposed to control the development of heavy industry, later defense and aerospace, but all major issues were decided personally by Khrushchev, and Brezhnev acted as a calm and devoted assistant. After the June Plenum of the Central Committee in 1957, Brezhnev became a member of the Presidium. Khrushchev appreciated his loyalty, but did not consider him a strong enough worker.

After the retirement of K. E. Voroshilov, Brezhnev became his successor at the post Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In some Western biographies, this appointment is assessed almost as Brezhnev’s defeat in the struggle for power. But in reality, Brezhnev was not an active participant in this struggle and was very pleased with the new appointment. He did not then aspire to the post of head of the party or government. He was quite satisfied with the role of the “third” man in leadership. Back in 1956-1957. he managed to transfer to Moscow some people with whom he had worked in Moldova and Ukraine. One of the first were S. P. Trapeznikov And K. U. Chernenko who began working in Brezhnev’s personal secretariat. In the Presidium of the Supreme Council, it was Chernenko who became the head of Brezhnev’s office. In 1963, when F. R. Kozlov lost not only Khrushchev's favor, but was also struck down by a stroke; Khrushchev hesitated for a long time when choosing his new favorite. Ultimately, his choice fell on Brezhnev, who was elected Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Khrushchev was in very good health and expected to remain in power for a long time. Meanwhile, Brezhnev himself was dissatisfied with this decision of Khrushchev, although the move to the Secretariat increased his real power and influence. He was not eager to plunge into the extremely difficult and troublesome work of the secretary of the Central Committee. Brezhnev was not the organizer of Khrushchev’s removal, although he knew about the impending action. Among its main organizers there was no agreement on many issues. In order not to deepen disagreements that could derail the whole matter, they agreed to the election of Brezhnev, assuming that this would be a temporary solution. Leonid Ilyich gave his consent.

Brezhnev's vanity

Even under Brezhnev's predecessor, Khrushchev, the tradition of presenting the highest awards of the Soviet Union to party leaders in connection with anniversaries or holidays began. Khrushchev, was awarded three gold medals, the Hammer and Sickle of the Hero of Socialism. Labor and one gold star of Hero of the USSR. Brezhnev continued the established tradition. As a political worker, Brezhnev did not take part in the largest and most decisive battles Patriotic War. One of the most important episodes in the combat biography of the 18th Army was the capture and retention of a bridgehead south of Novorossiysk for 225 days in 1943, which was called "Small Land".

Among the people, Brezhnev's love for titles and decorations and awards caused many jokes and anecdotes. After the war, under Stalin, Brezhnev was awarded Order of Lenin. For 9 years of Khrushchev's leadership, Brezhnev was awarded Order of Lenin and Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. After Brezhnev came to lead the country and the party, awards began to pour in on him like from a cornucopia. By the end of his life, he had many more orders and medals than Stalin, Malenkov and Khrushchev combined. At the same time, he really wanted to receive military orders. He was awarded four times title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which according to the statute can be assigned only three times (only G.K. Zhukov was an exception). Dozens of times he received the title of Hero and the highest orders of all socialist countries. He was awarded orders of countries Latin America and Africa. Brezhnev was awarded the highest Soviet military Order "Victory", which was awarded only to the largest commanders, and at the same time for outstanding victories on the scale of fronts or groups of fronts. Naturally, with so many highest military awards, Brezhnev could not be satisfied with the rank of lieutenant general. In 1976, Brezhnev was awarded the title Marshal of the USSR. Brezhnev came to the next meeting with veterans of the 18th Army in a raincoat and, entering the room, commanded: "Attention! The marshal is coming! Throwing off his cloak, he appeared before the veterans in a new marshal's uniform. Pointing to the marshal stars on his shoulder straps, Brezhnev proudly said: “I’ve achieved it!”.

Marshal Brezhnev in full regalia. Late 1970s.

Soviet awards of L. I. Brezhnev
Orders of the USSR
8 Orders of Lenin 1 Order "Victory"* 2 Orders of the October Revolution 2 Orders of the Red Banner 1 Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree 1st Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, II degree 1 Order of the Red Star. Total: 16 orders.
USSR medals
4 Gold Star medals of Hero of the Soviet Union 1 medal “Hammer and Sickle” of the Hero of Socialist Labor 1 medal “For the Defense of Odessa” 1 medal “For the Defense of the Caucasus” 1 medal "For the liberation of Warsaw" 1 medal “For the liberation of Prague” 1 medal “For strengthening the military community” 1 medal “For valiant labor in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945” 1 medal “For victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945” 1 medal “For the restoration of iron and steel enterprises in the South” 1 medal “For the development of virgin lands” 1 medal “In memory of the 250th anniversary of Leningrad” 1 medal “In memory of the 1500th anniversary of Kyiv” 1 medal “40 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR” 1 medal “50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR” 1 medal “60 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR” 1 medal "20 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" 1 medal "30 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" 1 medal “For valiant work. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" Total: 22 medals.
Notes
* The award was canceled by the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev in 1989.

Brezhnev in a narrow circle

Brezhnev got lost at various kinds of solemn ceremonies, sometimes hiding this confusion with unnatural inactivity. But in a narrower circle, during frequent meetings or on days off, Brezhnev could be a completely different person, more independent, resourceful, and sometimes showing a sense of humor. Almost all politicians who dealt with him remember this, of course, even before the onset of his serious illness. Apparently understanding this, Brezhnev soon began to prefer to conduct important negotiations at his dacha in Oreanda in Crimea or in the Zavidovo hunting ground near Moscow.

Former Chancellor of Germany V. Brandt, with whom Brezhnev met more than once, wrote in his memoirs:

“Unlike Kosygin, my immediate negotiating partner in 1970, who was mostly cool and calm, Brezhnev could be impulsive, even angry. Changes in mood, Russian soul, quick tears are possible. He had a sense of humor. He not only spent many hours swimming in Oreanda, but also talked and laughed a lot. He talked about the history of his country, but only about the last decades... It was obvious that Brezhnev tried to take care of his appearance. His figure did not correspond to the ideas that might have arisen from his official photographs. He was in no way an imposing person, and, despite the weight of his body, he gave the impression of an elegant, lively, energetic and cheerful person. His facial expressions and gestures gave away a southerner, especially if he felt relaxed during the conversation. He came from the Ukrainian industrial region, where various national influences were mixed. More than anything else, the second had an impact on the formation of Brezhnev as a person. World War. He spoke with great and slightly naive excitement about how Hitler managed to deceive Stalin..."

G. Kissinger also called Brezhnev “real Russian, full of feelings, with rude humor”. When Kissinger, already as US Secretary of State, came to Moscow in 1973 to negotiate Brezhnev’s visit to the United States, almost all of these five-day negotiations took place in the Zavidovo hunting ground during walks, hunting, lunches and dinners. Brezhnev even demonstrated to the guest his art of driving a car. Kissinger writes in his memoirs:

“One day he took me to the black Cadillac that Nixon gave him a year ago on Dobrynin’s advice. With Brezhnev at the wheel, we raced high speed along narrow, winding country roads, so that one could only pray that a policeman would appear at the nearest intersection and put an end to this risky game. But this was too incredible, because even if there was any traffic policeman here, outside the city, he would hardly have dared to stop the car of the General Secretary of the Party. The fast ride ended at the pier. Brezhnev placed me on a hydrofoil boat, which, fortunately, he did not drive himself. But I had the impression that this boat should break the speed record that the Secretary General set during our car trip.”

Brezhnev behaved very directly at many receptions, for example, on the occasion of the flight into space of a joint Soviet-American crew under the project "Soyuz - Apollo". However, the Soviet people did not see or know such a cheerful and spontaneous Brezhnev. In addition, the image of a younger Brezhnev, who was not very often shown on television at that time, was supplanted in the minds of the people by the image of a seriously ill, sedentary and tongue-tied man who appeared on our television screens almost every day in the last 5-6 years of his life.

Benevolence and sentimentality

Brezhnev was generally a benevolent person, he did not like complications and conflicts neither in politics nor in personal relationships with their colleagues. When such a conflict did arise, Brezhnev tried to avoid extreme solutions. When there were conflicts within management, very few people retired. Most of the “disgraced” leaders remained in the “nomenklatura”, but only 2-3 steps lower. A member of the Politburo could become a deputy minister, and a former minister, secretary of the regional party committee, member of the CPSU Central Committee was sent as ambassador to a small country: Denmark, Belgium, Australia, Norway.

This benevolence often turned into connivance, which dishonest people also took advantage of. Brezhnev often left at his posts not only guilty workers, but also employees who had stolen. It is known that Without the sanction of the Politburo, judicial authorities cannot conduct an investigation into the case of any member of the CPSU Central Committee.

It often happened that Brezhnev cried at official receptions. This sentimentality, so little characteristic of politicians, sometimes benefited... art. For example, back in the early 70s, a film by A. Smirnov was created "Belorussky Station". This picture was not allowed on the screen, believing that the film did not present the Moscow police in the best light. Defenders of the painting secured a viewing of it with the participation of members of the Politburo. There is an episode in the film where it is shown how fellow soldiers who met by chance and after many years sing a song about the airborne battalion in which they all once served. This song, composed by B. Okudzhava, touched Brezhnev, and he cried. Of course, the film was immediately approved for distribution, and since then the song about the airborne battalion has almost always been included in the repertoire of concerts attended by Brezhnev.

The end of Brezhnev's earthly life

Even at the age of 50 and even 60, Brezhnev lived without worrying too much about his health. He did not give up all the pleasures that life can give and which do not always contribute to longevity.

Brezhnev's first serious health problems appeared, apparently, in 1969-1970. Doctors began to be constantly on duty next to him, and medical offices were equipped in the places where he lived. At the beginning of 1976, something happened to Brezhnev that is commonly called clinical death. However, he was brought back to life, although for two months he could not work, because his thinking and speech were impaired. Since then, a group of resuscitation doctors, armed with the necessary equipment, has always been next to Brezhnev. Although the health of our leaders is one of the closely guarded state secrets, Brezhnev's progressive infirmity was obvious to all who could see him on their television screens. American journalist Simon Head wrote:

“Every time this corpulent figure ventures beyond the Kremlin walls, the outside world looks closely for signs of deteriorating health. With the death of M. Suslov, another pillar of the Soviet regime, this is eerie close attention can only get stronger. During the November (1981) meetings with Helmut Schmidt, when Brezhnev almost fell while walking, he at times looked as if he could not last a day.”

In essence, he was slowly dying in front of the whole world. He had several heart attacks and strokes in the last six years, and resuscitators brought him back from clinical death several times. The last time this happened was in April 1982 after an accident in Tashkent.

Of course, Brezhnev’s painful condition began to affect his ability to govern the country. He was forced to frequently interrupt his duties or delegate them to his ever-growing staff of personal assistants. Brezhnev's working day was shortened by several hours. He began to go on vacation not only in the summer, but also in the spring. Gradually, it became increasingly difficult for him to carry out even simple protocol duties, and he stopped understanding what was happening around him. However, many influential, deeply corrupt, corrupt people from his circle were interested in Brezhnev appearing in public from time to time, at least as a formal head of state. They literally led him by the hand and reached the worst: the old age, infirmity and illness of the Soviet leader became objects not so much of the sympathy and pity of his fellow citizens, but of irritation and ridicule, which were expressed more and more openly.

Even on the afternoon of November 7, 1982, during the parade and demonstration, Brezhnev stood for several hours in a row, despite bad weather, on the podium of the Mausoleum, and foreign newspapers wrote that he looked even better than usual. The end came, however, after just three days. In the morning during breakfast, Brezhnev went into his office to get something and did not return for a long time. The concerned wife followed him from the dining room and saw him lying on the carpet near the desk. The doctors' efforts were unsuccessful this time, and four hours after Brezhnev's heart stopped, they announced his death. The next day The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Soviet government officially notified the world of the death of L. I. Brezhnev.

Events during Brezhnev's reign:

1966 - the position of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee was restored, and L. I. Brezhnev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee.
1968 - entry of ATS troops into Prague, Czechoslovakia, in connection with the statement of radical reforms by A. Dubcek.
1970 - Lunokhod-1 was delivered to the Moon. The first on the Moon was the automatic interplanetary station (AMS) Luna-2, which left a sign with the Soviet coat of arms back in 1959.
WITH 1974 - construction of BAM by Komsomol members.
1977 - adoption of the new constitution of the USSR.
1979 - the introduction of a limited contingent of Soviet troops (OCSV) into Afghanistan to strengthen the southern borders of the Soviet Union.
1980 - Olympics in Moscow. The United States initiated a boycott of the 1980 Olympics in connection with the deployment of troops to Afghanistan, which was supported by 64 countries.

>Biographies of famous people

Brief biography of Leonid Brezhnev

Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich - Soviet statesman and party leader; veteran of the Great Patriotic War; General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Born in the village of Kamenskoye (now Dneproderzhinsk) on December 19, 1906, in the family of an ordinary worker. At the age of 9, the future politician entered the gymnasium, and at the age of 15 he went to work at the Kursk Oil Mill. Since 1923 he was a member of the Komsomol.

In 1927, he completed his studies at the Kursk Land Management College and entered the Dneproderzhynsk Metallurgical Institute, after which he was appointed its director. During the same period, he served one year in the army, and in 1938 he was appointed head of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party. He was not a careerist by nature and therefore did not quickly move up the career ladder. However, having served as head of the political department and political department during the war of 1941-1945, he was awarded the rank of major general.

In 1952, at the insistence of Stalin, he was appointed secretary of the Central Committee. Two years later, he was sent to Kazakhstan, now on the recommendation of Khrushchev, to the post of second and then first secretary of the republic’s Communist Party. In 1956, he was again elected secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and a year later, he joined the Presidium, of which he was subsequently appointed chairman. Distinctive feature Brezhnev had a love for all kinds of awards and titles.

Even during the reign of Stalin, he was awarded his first Order of Lenin. The second similar order was issued to him by Khrushchev. During the years when he personally was the leader, awards and military orders simply rained down on him in abundance. Thus, by the end of his life, Leonid Ilyich had the largest number of orders and medals. In 1976, he was awarded the rank of Marshal of the USSR. In a narrow circle he was a completely different person. Brezhnev liked to conduct negotiations at his dacha in Crimea or at a hunting lodge in the Moscow region.

Politicians recall that he could show a sense of humor and resourcefulness. During public ceremonies of various kinds, he became a little lost and absent-minded. The Secretary General's health began to deteriorate in the 1960s. In 1976 he transferred clinical death, but doctors managed to save him. He died in 1982, having suffered several strokes and heart attacks over the course of last years life, and was buried near the Kremlin wall. U statesman there was one son and one daughter.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was born on December 19, 1906, in the village. Kamenskoye (now Dneprodzerzhinsk, Ukraine) in a family of workers. Already in 1921, Brezhnev worked at the Kursk Oil Mill. In 1927 he graduated from the Kursk Land Management College, and in 1935 from the Dneprodzerzhinsk Metallurgical Institute. Worked as Deputy Chairman of the Bisersky District Executive Committee Sverdlovsk region(1929-1930), director of the metallurgical technical school in Dneprodzerzhinsk (1936-1937). Member of the CPSU since 1931. In 1935-1936 he served in the army. Since 1938, he headed the department of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and since 1939 - secretary of the regional committee.

During the Great Patriotic War, Leonid Brezhnev was deputy head of the political department of the Southern Front; from 1943 - head of the political department of the 18th Army; from 1945 - head of the political department of the 4th Ukrainian Front. He ended the war with the rank of major general, awarded to him in 1943.

In the post-war years (1946-1950) L.I. Brezhnev took the post of first secretary of the Zaporozhye, then Dnepropetrovsk regional committees. Since 1950 he was the first secretary of Moldova. At the 19th Party Congress in 1952, on the recommendation of Brezhnev, he was elected Secretary of the Party Central Committee and a candidate member of the Presidium of the Party Central Committee. In 1953-1954 he worked as deputy head of the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy.

In 1954, at the suggestion of N.S. Khrushchev, Brezhnev was sent to work in Kazakhstan, where he first held the post of second, and from 1955, first secretary of the republic’s Communist Party. Since 1957, member of the presidium and secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. As a person enjoying Khrushchev's full confidence, in 1960 he was appointed chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1964, Leonid Brezhnev led a conspiracy against Khrushchev, after whose removal he took the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

For style government controlled Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was characterized by conservatism. He had neither the political will nor the vision of the country's development prospects. The economy showed trends of stagnation, which in the 1970s were compensated by a favorable foreign economic situation for the USSR. Economic reforms of the 1960s were curtailed, the growth rate of industry and agriculture began to decline sharply, scientific and technological progress slowed down. The Soviet Union was increasingly lagging behind the leading world powers in its development.

Gradually, party and political life began to become bureaucratized and formalized, which ultimately led to the destruction of initiative from below.

In the field of foreign policy L.I. Brezhnev did a lot to achieve political detente in the 1970s. US-Soviet strategic arms limitation treaties were concluded, which, however, were not supported by adequate confidence and control measures. The process of détente was understood differently by the American and Soviet sides. After the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979, this process was curtailed, and a period of growing tension in interstate relations began between the USA and the USSR.

In relations with the socialist countries-allies in the camp L.I. Brezhnev initiated the doctrine of “limited sovereignty,” which provided for acts of intimidation up to and including military invasion of those countries that tried to carry out internal and independent activities independent of the USSR. foreign policy. In 1968, Brezhnev agreed to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by troops of the Warsaw Pact countries. In 1980, preparations were made for military intervention in Poland.

Since the mid-1970s. health L.I. Brezhnev's situation deteriorated sharply, and by the early 1980s he was already essentially incompetent as a politician. His physical weakness and inability to lead the country and adequately assess the situation were used to their advantage during the struggle for power by influential members of the political leadership of the USSR. Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev died on November 10, 1982 in Moscow.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was born on December 19, 1906, in the village. Kamenskoye (now Dneprodzerzhinsk, Ukraine) in a family of workers. Already in 1921, Brezhnev worked at the Kursk Oil Mill. In 1927 he graduated from the Kursk Land Management College, and in 1935 from the Dneprodzerzhinsk Metallurgical Institute. He worked as deputy chairman of the Bisersky district executive committee of the Sverdlovsk region (1929-1930), director of the metallurgical technical school in Dneprodzerzhinsk (1936-1937). Member of the CPSU since 1931. In 1935-1936 he served in the army. Since 1938, he headed the department of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and since 1939 - secretary of the regional committee.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev's style of government was characterized by conservatism. He had neither the political will nor the vision of the country's development prospects. The economy showed trends of stagnation, which in the 1970s were compensated by a favorable foreign economic situation for the USSR. Economic reforms of the 1960s were curtailed, the growth rate of industry and agriculture began to decline sharply, scientific and technological progress slowed down. The Soviet Union was increasingly lagging behind the leading world powers in its development.