leonid ilyich brezhnev

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LEONID ILYICH BREZHNEV By: Viktor Gombocz Russian History Per. 7

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Page 1: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

LEONID ILYICH BREZHNEV

By: Viktor Gombocz Russian History Per. 7

Page 2: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

BACKGROUND

Born: Wednesday, December 19, 1906 Died: Wednesday, November 10, 1982 (aged 75) Served as: General Secretary of the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union (October 14, 1964-November 10, 1982) and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (May 7, 1960-July 15, 1964 and June 16, 1977-November 10, 1982)

Nationality: Soviet Ethnicity: Russian-Ukrainian Political party: Communist Party of the Soviet Union Spouse(s): Viktoria Brezhneva Profession: Metallurgical Engineer, Civil servant

Page 3: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

EARLY LIFE

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was born on Wednesday, December 19, 1906, in Kamenskoye, Ukraine, to a steel working family.

Received a technical education, first in land management, and then in metallurgy, like many of the youth of the era following the Russian Revolution.

Entered the iron and steel industries as an engineer in the east of Ukraine, joining the Komsomol, a youth branch of the Communist Party. In 1931, he joined the main party.

Page 4: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

LIFE UNDER JOSEPH STALIN

When he was drafted into the army, he was sent to a tank school and later took a position as a political commissar of a tank company.

After brief stunts at a metallurgical technical college and a regional center in Dnepropetrovsk, he became the party secretary responsible for the vital defense industries.

As a staunch Stalinist, Brezhnev survived the purge of 1937-39 and rose progressively through the party ranks.

Page 5: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

ROLE IN WORLD WAR II

When the Germans attacked the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, he became involved in the evacuation of the city’s industries in the east of Russia.

When the Red Army regrouped and initiated a counterassault, Brezhnev served under the senior political commissioner, Nikita Khrushchev.

Following the end of World War II, he worked on reconstruction projects in Ukraine until he was called into service as a deputy in the Supreme Soviet in 1950.

Was inducted into the Central Committee of the Communist Party and eventually into the Presidium, the predecessor of the Politburo, in 1952.

Page 6: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

AFTER STALIN’S DEATH

A short time after Stalin died in March 1953, Khrushchev rose to power and appointed Brezhnev to senior-level positions, like the head of the Political Directorate of the Army and Navy, and Party First Secretary of Kazakhstan.

Was recalled to Moscow in 1956 and entrusted with control of the defense industry, capital construction, and the space program.

When Khrushchev did battle with the ‘’old guard’’ of pro-Stalinist sympathizers- namely Georgy Malenkov and Vyacheslav Molotov- Brezhnev backed him.

After the ouster of the ‘’Anti-Party Group’’, Brezhnev was promoted to be a full member of the Presidium.

Page 7: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

BREZHNEV THE DIPLOMAT

As Khrushchev's right-hand man, he ascended to the post of President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in May 1960, making him Head of State.

This allowed him to travel abroad as a diplomat. He acquired his taste for expensive western clothes and

cars. Although still loyal to Khrushchev, it was clear among

senior advisors that their aging leader was losing his effectiveness and needed to retire.

Became the Secretary of the Central Committee. In October 1964, while the 70-year-old Khrushchev was on

vacation, he usurped the top position of Party First Secretary.

Page 8: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

BREZHNEV THE DIPLOMAT (CONT.)

Joining the new regime were Prime Minister Aleksei Kosygin and Head of State Anastas Mikoyan, who hatched the initial plan to depose Khrushchev.

Mikoyan’s stay was short-lived; he retired in 1965 and was replaced with Nikolai Podgorny.

Page 9: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

BREZHNEV THE PARTY LEADER

Unexpectedly, Brezhnev started to reverse some of Khrushchev's policies and reembraced those of the tyrannical Stalin.

As he claimed the title of General Secretary, he praised Stalin.

Dissident writers Yuri Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky were imprisoned for six years for ‘’anti-Soviet activities.’’

The KGB, the Soviet version of the secret police, enjoyed a resumption of power under its chairman, Yuri Andropov.

Page 10: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

PRAGUE SPRING

The first international ‘’situation’’ for Brezhnev happened in 1968 when Czechoslovak leader Alexander Dubček attempted to liberalize the Communist system in his country.

Brezhnev publicly condemned Dubček as ‘’revisionist’’ and ‘’anti-Soviet’’ invoking provisions of the Warsaw Pact to crush the Prague Spring.

Brezhnev claimed that the USSR had a right to ‘’safeguard socialism.’’

That maneuver came to be called the ‘’Brezhnev Doctrine’’ , although Khrushchev used the tactic 12 years prior in Hungary.

Page 11: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

COOLING OF COLD WAR TENSIONS WITH CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES Cold war tensions continued through meetings with

Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1965, while Sino-Soviet relations remained poor.

In 1969, the two sides exchanged gunfire across their common border on the Ussuri River.

The same year, Brezhnev escaped an attempt on his life by one of his own army officers, Viktor Ilyin.

Page 12: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

COOLING OF COLD WAR TENSIONS WITH CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES (CONT).

As Sino-American relations started to soften in 1971, Brezhnev turned to the United States to request a reopening of negotiations concerning the stop on nuclear weapons.

A meeting with President Richard M. Nixon in May 1972 led to the signing of the first SALT agreement, kicking off the era of ‘’Détente.’’

Another international agreement, the Helsinki Final Act, signed in 1975, was the highlight of détente in the Brezhnev era, as it solidified in the Soviet position in Eastern Europe, afterward drawing political opposition in the United States.

The right of Soviet Jews to emigrate was the crux of the issue.

Page 13: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

NEW TENSIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES As U.S. prestige faltered from the military defeat in

Vietnam and the Watergate Scandal, the Soviets extended their political and diplomatic influence in Africa and the Middle East.

But ultimately, what power the Soviets had, both at home and abroad, was dependent on a homeland economy that had been referred to as ‘’stagnant.’’

Although Stalin had initiated the industrialization of the USSR in the 1930s, the nation was decidedly agrarian.

The ‘’rising standard of living’’ promised by the regime had not materialized.

Page 14: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

NEW TENSIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES (CONT.)

Additionally, staggering expenditures on the military and space programs, coupled with the need to import grain at premium market prices, left little capital to invest in modernization.

State-endorsed health and education programs, and public housing quality, all suffered as a result.

Brezhnev, who held power longer than any other Soviet leader apart from Stalin, had a knack for international diplomacy, which culminated in the SALT II treaty signed with U.S. President Jimmy Carter in the summer of 1979.

Domestic matters were left to such aides-de-camp as agriculture head Mikhail Gorbachev, later to become General Secretary of the Communist Party.

Page 15: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

FINAL YEARS AND DEATH

Had the SALT II treaty been the apex of the Brezhnev regime, his inner circle’s decision to invade Afghanistan in December 1979 was the nadir.

It led to the abrupt end of détente, with the United States imposing a grain embargo on the Soviet Union, magnifying the problems of its economic sector.

Brezhnev's health was declining for several years. In March 1982, he suffered a stroke, and died of a heart attack on Wednesday, November 10, 1982.

Page 16: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

FUNERAL

Brezhnev’s funeral was held on Monday, November 15, 1982, in Red Square in Moscow.

Page 17: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

AWARDS AND HONORS

Major General and Marshal of the Soviet Union. 4 x Hero of the Soviet Union.

Page 18: Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1883.html