Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev , 1906-82, Soviet leader. He joined (1931) the Communist party and rose steadily in its hierarchy. In 1952 he became a secretary of the party's central committee. After suffering a slight political setback following Joseph Stalin 's death (1953), Brezhnev filled a number of party posts. In 1957, as protégé of Nikita Khrushchev , he became a member of the presidium (later politburo) of the central committee. He was (1960-64) chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Soviet, or titular head of state. Following Nikita Khrushchev's fall from power in 1964, which Brezhnev helped to engineer, he was named first secretary (later general secretary) of the Communist party.

Although sharing power with Alexei Kosygin , Brezhnev emerged as the chief figure in Soviet politics. In 1968, in support of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, he enunciated the "Brezhnev doctrine," asserting that the USSR could intervene in the domestic affairs of any Soviet bloc nation if Communist rule were threatened. While maintaining a tight rein in Eastern Europe, he favored closer relations with the Western powers, and he helped (1972-74) bring about a détente with the United States. In 1977 he assumed the presidency of the USSR, thereby becoming head of state and head of the party. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, cold war tensions returned with an acceleration in the arms race, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the continued intransigence toward political and economic reform within the Soviet bloc, such as the imposition of martial law in Poland. Following his death, he was succeeded by Yuri Andropov . Under Mikhail Gorbachev , Brezhnev's regime was criticized for its corruption and failed economic policies.

Bibliography: See M. McCauley, ed., The Soviet Union under Brezhnev (1983); I. Navazelskis, Leonid Brezhnev (1988).

Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich (1906–82) Soviet statesman. He was President of the Praesidium of the Supreme Soviet (i.e. titular head of state) (1960–64). As First Secretary of the Communist Party, he replaced KHRUSHCHEV (1964). Through these two offices he came to exercise effective control over Soviet policy, though initially he shared power with KOSYGIN. Brezhnev's period in power was marked by the intensified persecution of dissidents at home and attempted DÉTENTE, followed by renewed COLD WAR, in foreign affairs. He was largely responsible for the decision to invade CZECHOSLOVAKIA in 1968, maintaining the doctrine that one socialist state may interfere in the affairs of another if the continuance of socialism is at risk.

Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich (1906–82) Soviet statesman, effective ruler from the mid-1960s until his death. He rose through party ranks to become secretary to the central committee of the Soviet Communist Party (1952) and a member of the Presidium (later Politburo) (1957). In 1964 he helped plan the downfall of Nikita Khrushchev and became party general secretary, at first sharing power with Aleksei Kosygin. In 1977 he became president of the Soviet Union. He pursued a hard line against reforms at home and in Eastern Europe but also sought to reduce tensions with the West. After the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968), he promulgated the ‘Brezhnev Doctrine’ confirming Soviet domination of satellite states, as seen in the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.