Leo was born in the Ukraine and died in
Moscow. He was first man in the government of the Soviet
Union from 1964 until his death.
Leonid Brezhnev started out as a land surveyor (
George
Washington comes to mind.) He studied at the
Dniprodzerzhinsk
Metallurgical Institute and graduated in 1935.
Leonid Brezhnev's
Career
1931 - Member of the Communist Party
1935 - Graduated from DMI
1939 - Secretary of the party committee in
Dnipropetrovsk
1943 - Major general
1950 - First secretary of the Communist Party in Moldavia
1952 - Member of the Central Committee and the
Politburo
1953 - Lieutenant general (due to
Stalin's death)
1954 - Second secretary of the Communist Party in Kazakstan
1955 - First secretary of the Communist Party in Kazakstan
1956 - Back to his post as member of the Central Committee and the
Politburo
1960 - Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
1964, July - Second secretary of the Central Committee
1964, October - First secretary of the Central Committee (after
getting rid of
Khrushchev)
1976 - Marshal of the Soviet Union
THE BREZHNEV DOCTRINE, 1968
In 1967 / 1968, Czechoslovakia, led by Alexander Dubcek,
tried to wiggle its course a little bit away from that of the other
communist countries. This brave solo performance became known as the
Prague Spring.
Brezhnev wasn't thrilled and decided to invade Czechoslovakia in
1968. Thus, the Prague Spring ended when Warsaw Pact troops invaded
Prague on the night of August 20 / 21, 1968.
Alexander Dubcek was arrested and taken to Moscow. He was made
ambassador to Turkey in 1970. Once out of the general
limelight, Alexander Dubcek got kicked out of the party, returned
to Czechoslovakia and died in 1992 after a car accident.
Back to 1968.
In November 1968, Brezhnev justified the invasion in a speech. He
felt that Czechoslovakia's behavior
became a threat to "other socialist countries." Brezhnev's
opinion on
the matter became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine.
You can read the translated transcript of Brezhnev's speech, aka
The Brezhnev Doctrine, online and for free, provided by the
Fordham University.
Thirty
years later, in 1998, it was debated how important the Prague Spring
really was.
Here is a BBC article.
END OF PRAGUE SPRING, AUGUST 1968
CLICK PIC TO READ BBC ARTICLE
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
In 1972, Brezhnev signed
SALT I, an agreement with the United
States to reduce the production of strategic missiles.
Attempted
Assassinations on Leonid Brezhnev
January 1969 - Moscow, Russia:
A Soviet army lieutenant disguised as a policeman opened fire on
Brezhnev as he was being driven to the Kremlin. Brezhnev escaped
unharmed. The guy was declared deranged and put in a mental
hospital.
Check out
Assassinations in History.
Brezhnev's
Accomplishments
Under Leo Brezhnev's management the Soviet Union became one of the
world's leading nations in military (think nuclear weapons) and scientific (think space
program) progress.
This success, however, cost the Soviet Union a lot of
money. Thus, Brezhnev was also responsible
for a drop in the general standard of living.
After Brezhnev
Yury Andropov became Leonid Brezhnev's successor as Soviet
Premier. Andropov died 15 months later and was replaced by
Konstantin Chernenko.
