Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (/ˈbrɛʒnɛf/; Russian: Леони́д Ильи́ч Бре́жнев; IPA: [lʲɪɐˈnʲid ɪˈlʲjitɕ ˈbrʲɛʐnʲɪf] (13px ); Ukrainian: Леоні́д Іллі́ч Бре́жнєв, 19 December 1906 (O.S. 6 December) – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in duration. During Brezhnev's rule, the global influence of the Soviet Union grew dramatically, in part because of the expansion of the Soviet military during this time. His tenure as leader was marked by the beginning of an era of economic and social stagnation in the Soviet Union.Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoe into a Russian worker's family. After graduating from the Dniprodzerzhynsk Metallurgical Technicum, he became a metallurgical engineer in the iron and steel industry, in Ukraine. He joined Komsomol in 1923, and in 1929 became an active member of the CPSU. He was drafted into immediate military service during World War II and left the army in 1946 with the rank of Major General. In 1952 Brezhnev became a member of the Central Committee, and in 1964, Brezhnev succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary, while Alexei Kosygin succeeded Khrushchev in his post as Soviet premier.As a leader, Brezhnev took care to consult his colleagues before acting, but his attempt to govern without meaningful economic reforms led to a national decline by the mid-1970s, a period referred to as the Era of Stagnation. A significant increase in military expenditure, which by the time of Brezhnev's death stood at approximately 12.5% of the country's GNP, and an aging and ineffective leadership set the stage for a dwindling GNP compared to Western nations. While at the helm of the USSR, Brezhnev pushed for détente between the Eastern and Western countries. At the same time he presided over the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia to stop the Prague Spring, and his last major decision in power was to send the Soviet military to Afghanistan in an attempt to save the fragile regime, which was fighting a war against the mujahideen.After suffering from various illnesses for several years, Brezhnev died on 10 November 1982 and was quickly succeeded in his post as General Secretary by Yuri Andropov. Brezhnev had fostered a cult of personality, although not nearly to the same degree as Stalin. Mikhail Gorbachev, who would lead the USSR from 1985 to 1991, denounced his legacy and drove the process of liberalisation of the Soviet Union. In spite of this, opinion polls in Russia show Brezhnev to be the most popular Russian leader of the 20th century.
His penchant for medals, always wore multiple (self awarded) gold stars on suits.
2
Extremely bushy eyebrows.
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Fact
1
One of Brezhnev's sons controlled the produce market in the USSR. He made a fortune by moving fruits and vegetables around the country (on government planes and trucks) producing shortages and driving up prices, and then cashing in.
2
During his regime, alcoholism in Russia rose exponentially every year.
3
In his memoirs, former President Richard Nixon alleged that Brezhnev was a "ladies man", and had appeared at Camp David with his own personal masseuse.
4
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1964-1982).
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Brezhnev
2005
TV Series story
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Moscow 1980: Games of the XXII Olympiad
1980
TV Mini-Series
Himself
ETYK - päämääränä rauha
1980
Documentary short
Himself
Mitä UKK näki Neuvostoliitossa?
1977
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Chuck Connors in the U.S.S.R.
1973
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Kontraste
1973
TV Series
Himself
Reise in die Gegenwart
1966
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Siberia: How the East Was Won
2004
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Doomsday Clock
2004
TV Movie
Himself
The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear
2004
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself
Unsere Besten
2003
TV Series
Himself
Save Our History
2003
TV Series documentary
Himself
CIA: Guerres secrètes
2003
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Burning Wall
2002
Documentary
Himself
:03 from Gold
2002
TV Movie documentary
Himself (uncredited)
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
2002
Documentary
Himself (uncredited)
Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team
2001
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Sworn to Secrecy: Secrets of War
2000-2001
TV Series documentary
Himself
The Century: America's Time
1999
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself - Soviet Leader
Bigbít
1998-1999
TV Series documentary
Himself
Cold War
1998
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself
Cronkite Remembers
1997
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself (uncredited)
The Wall
1997
TV Movie documentary
Himself (uncredited)
Kostamus-sinfonia
1996
TV Movie
Himself
Biography
1995
TV Series documentary
Himself
Underground
1995
Himself (at funeral of Tito) (uncredited)
Mies varjossa
1994
TV Series documentary
Himself
Battle for the Soul of Russia
1992
Documentary
Himself (uncredited)
Peter's Friends
1992
Himself (unconfirmed, uncredited)
Memories of 1970-1991
1991
TV Series documentary
Himself
Prica iz Hrvatske
1991
Himself (uncredited)
JFK
1991
Himself - Behind Khrushchev (uncredited)
Hört die Signale
1991
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself
11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried
1989
TV Movie documentary
Himself (unconfirmed, uncredited)
Vietnam: A Television History
1983
TV Series documentary
Himself
Weekend World
1975-1982
TV Series
Himself
Sicherheitsstufe 1
1978
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Apollo Soyuz
1975
Documentary short
Himself
Wilhelm Pieck - Sohn seines Volkes
1975
Documentary
Himself (as Leonid Breschnew)
La société du spectacle
1974
Documentary
Himself
Executive Action
1973
Himself - Applauds Test Ban Treaty: Beside Khrushchev (uncredited)
Bij de beesten af
1972
Documentary
Himself (uncredited)
Czechoslovakia 1918-1968
1969
Documentary short
Himself (uncredited)
Barrikade
1966
Documentary short
Himself
Urho Kekkonen
1961
Documentary short
Himself
The Eighties
2016
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself - General Secretary, Communist Party of the U.S.S.R.
Baumeister der Republik
2016
TV Series documentary
Himself
It Was Alright in the 70s
2015
TV Series documentary
Himself
The Sixties
2014
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself - USSR Premier
Teurer Freikauf - Das Geschäft mit den Rumäniendeutschen
2013
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The '80s: The Decade That Made Us
2013
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself
Palme
2012
Documentary
Himself (uncredited)
Reagan
2011
Documentary
Himself
Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention
2010
TV Series documentary
Himself
Moy otets Evgeniy
2010
Documentary
Himself
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
2010
Documentary
Himself
Friendship!
2010
Himself (uncredited)
A Wall in Berlin
2009
Documentary
Himself (uncredited)
Yhteinen sävel
2009
TV Series documentary
Himself
Die Fliegerkosmonauten
2009
Documentary
Himself
L'affaire Farewell
2009
Himself (uncredited)
Disko ja tuumasõda
2009
Documentary
Himself
Double Take
2009
Documentary
Himself (uncredited)
Great Planes
2008
TV Series documentary
Himself
Henry Kissinger - Geheimnisse einer Supermacht
2008
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Planspiel Atomkrieg - Raketenpoker um die Nachrüstung