Leonid Brezhnev

President of the Soviet Union (1960-1964) and first secretary of the Communist Party (1964-1982)

• Born: December 19, 1906
• Birthplace: Kamenskoye, Ukraine, Russian Empire (now Dniprodzerzhynsk, Ukraine)
• Died: November 10, 1982
• Place of death: Moscow, Soviet Union (now in Russia)

Brezhnev had an administrative record as party chief and head of government that was characterized by emphasis on continuity and the status quo in domestic policy. His record also led to an increase in military strength and a mixture in foreign policy of cautious adventurism, arms control agreements with the United States, and military intervention in two neighboring states.

Early Life

Leonid Brezhnev (LAY-oh-nihd BREHZ-nehf), of ethnic Russian background, was born in Kamenskoye (now Dniprodzerzhynsk), Ukraine. He was the son and grandson of factory workers in the local steel mill, and he began work in the same plant at age fifteen. As a young boy at the time of the 1917 revolutionary period and the following civil war, he recalled the strikes and turmoil in his native town. Brezhnev joined the Komsomol in 1923 at age seventeen. He was graduated (1927) from an institute in Kursk as an agricultural specialist and moved to the Urals region to work as an economic administrator and a local government official. He joined the Communist Party in 1931 at age twenty-five and entered a metallurgical institute in Dniprodzerzhynsk the same year. Graduating in 1935, he entered a Red Army training school for tank drivers. In 1937, Brezhnev became the vice chair of the Dniprodzerzhynsk soviet but soon after moved into administrative work in the Communist Party.

In February, 1939, he became secretary of the regional party committee in Dnipropetrovsk, a major industrial center in the Ukraine. After the start of the war in Europe, Brezhnev was selected for the newly created post of secretary for the Defense Industry in the region, responsible for overseeing the transition of local plants for possible war production. In 1941, following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, he volunteered for military service and served in the role of a political officer. By war’s end, he was a major general and chief of the Political Department of the Fourth Ukrainian Front. He saw some limited military combat service in the Black Sea, Caucasus, and Ukraine regions. Following the war, he became party head of the Zaporozhye region in the Ukraine (1946-1947) and then held the same post in the Dnipropetrovsk region of the Ukraine. His primary task was to oversee economic reconstruction of the areas damaged by the war.

Life’s Work

Brezhnev made his record as a loyal party administrator who provided steady leadership and fulfilled the responsibilities assigned to him. He slowly but steadily rose in the Communist Party apparatus to higher positions, eventually culminating with his selection as first secretary of the Communist Party in October, 1964, replacing Nikita S. Khrushchev. (The office was retitled general-secretary in 1966.)

At age forty-three, Brezhnev was selected to be first secretary of the Moldavian Republic Communist Party and worked there from 1950 to 1952. He then rose to national party positions in late 1952, with his election to the Communist Party Central Committee, the Party Secretariat, and (as a candidate member) the Communist Party Presidium. Scholars interpret this advancement as part of Joseph Stalin’s preparations to purge the older party leadership in favor of new and younger subordinates. Brezhnev, in his mid-forties, apparently was being groomed for new leadership responsibilities, but, with Stalin’s death in March, 1953, Brezhnev lost his secretariat and presidium positions.

During 1953-1954, Brezhnev worked in the ministry of defense as the first deputy chief of the main political administration with the rank of lieutenant general. His responsibility was to ensure ideological and political loyalty to the party and government. He returned to direct party service in early 1954 as second secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party and was later promoted to first secretary in August, 1955. During the mid-1950’s, Brezhnev implemented Khrushchev’s “Virgin Lands” scheme and won more fame for the initial success of this ambitious agricultural undertaking. He was reelected to the Central Committee of the party in 1956, as well as returning to both the Secretariat and the ruling Party Presidium as a candidate member. He was raised to full membership in the Presidium in June, 1957. These promotions marked Brezhnev as a Khrushchev associate who benefited from loyalty to his chief.

By 1960, Brezhnev’s relations with Khrushchev seem to have weakened, as Khrushchev was entering the final period of his rule. Brezhnev again gave up his Secretariat position in 1960 and was elected chair of the Supreme Soviet Presidium (the titular head of state or “president”), with primarily ceremonial functions. He resumed duties in the Secretariat in mid-1963 and relinquished the head of state position in June, 1964. Khrushchev’s ouster as party head in October, 1964, immediately resulted in Brezhnev’s selection as first secretary, and he held that responsibility until his death in November, 1982. It was in this office that he made his mark and left a mixed legacy to his successors.

The years of collective leadership Brezhnev as party head and Aleksei Kosygin as government head worked reasonably well until the latter’s resignation in October, 1980, and death soon after. In fact, Brezhnev steadily expanded his influence and visibility over the period. During the Brezhnev years, the Soviet Union saw a number of achievements: continued piloted space efforts, growing emphasis on military strength, the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, expanded relations with other world Communist parties, and the holding of important party congresses. Brezhnev expanded his functions and titles, becoming marshal of the Soviet Union in May, 1976 (the only party leader besides Stalin to hold that rank) as well as chair of the Defense Council. In 1977, he became chair of the Supreme Soviet Presidium and held that position until his death.

On the domestic scene, the Brezhnev era soon developed a reputation as a conservative and status quo administration. The Party apparatus was more tightly controlled, and few significant changes in the Communist Party Presidium (renamed the “Politburo”) and other agencies occurred until the early 1970’s. Literary dissidents felt continued harassment, beginning with the arrest of Andrei Donatovich Sinyavsky and Yuli Markovich Daniel in 1965 and their trial in early 1966. The problems with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, which led to the author’s forcible deportation in February, 1974, are widely known. Andrei Sakharov’s human rights activity from 1968 onward eventually led to his banishment to the city of Gorky in 1980. Despite promises of domestic reform and human rights, as specified in the 1975 Helsinki Accord, repression continued throughout the Brezhnev years as a dominant motif.

Economic policies returned to the more centralized system, as the later Khrushchev experiments were terminated. Virtually no innovations appeared during the Brezhnev years after 1965, and the economy suffered as a result of the old ideological priorities and institutional administrative structure. Improved relations with the United States in the early 1970’s permitted substantial imports of grain to cover shortages in Soviet agriculture. Industrial growth rates fell, and both quality and quantity suffered. This was especially true in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s during the remaining years of the Brezhnev leadership.

In foreign policy, the Soviet Union showed a diversity of options and tactics. Military buildup in conventional and nuclear systems dominated the budgetary priorities for the period. The party’s tough and uncompromising attitude can be seen in the military intervention in Czechoslovakia in August, 1968, to oust the reform movement of Alexander Dubček, in what came to be known as the Brezhnev Doctrine. In the Western Hemisphere, the Soviet Union continued its role as the major patron of Fidel Castro’s Cuba and also began the penetration of Central America by its support of the Sandinista movement in Nicaragua. The Soviet decision to shape events in Afghanistan eventually led to the introduction of Soviet troops in December, 1979, and the emergence of a full-scale war, which lasted a decade in that neighboring state.

Soviet relations with the United States varied widely, affected by the Glassboro Summit (1967), the Czech intervention (1968), the era of détente in the early 1970’s with the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) I (signed 1972), a cooling in the mid- and later 1970’s, and the signing of SALT II (1979). Throughout the Brezhnev era, Soviet foreign policy remained in the hands of the experienced and competent Andrei Gromyko as foreign minister. Relations with the People’s Republic of China remained poor, including Sino-Soviet skirmishes on the Ussuri River frontier in 1969. Soviet influence in the Middle East fluctuated, especially in Egypt in the early 1970’s. Brezhnev traveled widely in the 1960’s and 1970’s to both communist and noncommunist nations.

By the time of the Twenty-fifth Party Congress in 1975, Brezhnev’s health and abilities began a marked deterioration. This decline continued for the remaining years of his life, until his death in Moscow on November 10, 1982, at the age of seventy-five.

Significance

The latter years of Brezhnev’s life gave ample evidence of his faltering leadership and the problems he was not able to face and resolve. Since his death, the deleterious effects of his rule have become all too painfully evident. During the era of Mikhail Gorbachev, the inadequacies and damage of the Brezhnev period were widely publicized as what is called the “era of stagnation.” Economic problems were the usual focus along with the Brezhnev “command” system of decision making, the existence of cronyism, and corruption within the Communist Party. The attacks on Brezhnev, who was given an official state funeral in 1982, affected members of his immediate family even to the imposition of jail sentences. Brezhnev’s name was also removed from towns, schools, and streets that had been named in his honor.

On the positive side, Brezhnev’s leadership reveals strengths and positive attributes. He ended Khrushchev’s increasingly desperate efforts to find a “quick fix” for domestic and foreign problems. Brezhnev provided stability and a sense of continuity in both domestic and foreign policy. The Soviet economy grew during his years in office, although not at rates sought. The standard of living for many Soviet citizens improved, and construction of new housing was an ongoing priority. Food prices were kept low by heavy state subsidies. Medical care was expanded, and educational programs absorbed large numbers of Soviet youth. Space technology efforts had extensive funding and successes. No one doubts that the Soviet Union became militarily stronger and more formidable under Brezhnev’s efforts to provide greater national security, but an unfulfilled agenda remained at his death to challenge his successors.

Bibliography

Academy of Sciences of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Leonid I. Brezhnev: Pages from His Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978. This revealing Soviet biography of Brezhnev is notable for its omissions of important information, excessive praise, and overstated ideological fervor. It does cover the main outlines of his life and presents Brezhnev as an excellent leader and world statesman.

Bacon, Edwin, and Mark Sandle, eds. Brezhnev Reconsidered. New York: Palgrave, 2002. A collection of essays that aim to reconsider Brezhnev’s economic policies, his relations with the developing world, and other aspects of his leadership.

Breslauer, George W. Khrushchev and Brezhnev as Leaders: Building Authority in Soviet Politics. London: Allen & Unwin, 1982. A carefully researched study of Brezhnev’s leadership since 1964, with penetrating assessment of the results as affected in three time periods, by economic concerns, and by party issues. Portrays Brezhnev as a “consensus” leader. Provides alternative interpretations of Brezhnev’s policies but indicates the author’s own preference.

Dornberg, John. Brezhnev: The Masks of Power. New York: Basic Books, 1974. Readable account of Brezhnev’s background, rising career in the Communist Party, and first decade as general-secretary. Portrays him as an ideological and political conservative who brought stability to his nation. Anecdotes reveal Brezhnev’s personality in the period before the onset of the “era of stagnation” and other problems in the later Brezhnev era.

Gelman, Harry. The Brezhnev Politburo and the Decline of Detente. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1984. Gelman effectively studies the objectives and techniques underlying Soviet foreign policy in the Brezhnev era. He includes the external and domestic factors. Factions and disputes within the Politburo and the party apparatus are reviewed. The author sees the Soviet Union seeking foreign policy opportunities but not according to a “master plan.”

Murphy, Paul J. Brezhnev: Soviet Politician. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1981. This straightforward political biography gives a detailed account of Brezhnev’s early party career and rise to power in 1964. Provides good coverage of his political maneuvering and leadership from 1964 to 1980. Portrays Brezhnev as capable, shrewd and scheming, and essentially a Stalinist in outlook.

Smith, Hedrick. The Russians. New York: Ballantine Books, 1984. A well-known account by a Pulitzer Prize recipient describing the Soviet Union in the 1970’s. Excellent balance of anecdotal description and careful analysis of the nation’s people, leaders, ideology, and daily life. Brezhnev’s leadership and influence are assessed, especially for his last years.

Tompson, William. The Soviet Union Under Brezhnev. Harlow, England: Pearson/Longman, 2003. Succinct overview of Brezhnev’s administration, including his domestic, foreign, and economic policies. Also covers social and cultural changes in the Soviet Union during his term in office.