Overview of Leonid Brezhnev's influence on the Soviet Union
This article is part of a series about
Leonid Brezhnev
Early life
Dnipropetrovsk clan
First, then General Secretary of the CPSU 1964–1982
Brezhnev Era
Era of Stagnation
Collective leadership
Economic reforms
1965
1973
1979
Shadow economy
Assassination attempt
Bulldozer Exhibition
Baikal–Amur Mainline
1977 Constitution
Cult of personality
Brezhnev's trilogy
Food Programme
Opposition
Sinyavsky–Daniel trial
Moscow Helsinki Group
Punitive psychiatry
Foreign policy
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
Brezhnev Doctrine
Soviet–Afghan War
Cold War détente
1962–1979
1979–1985
Death and state funeral
Legacy
Media gallery
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The full understanding of the history of the late Soviet Union and of its successor, the Russian Federation, requires the assessment of the legacy of Leonid Brezhnev, the third General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and twice Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Leonid Brezhnev was the leader of the CPSU from 1964 until his death in 1982, whose eighteen-year tenure has been recognized for developing the most powerful military,[1] and for social and economic stagnation in the late Soviet Union.
While his rule provided stablity to his country and increased the standard of living,[2] there was also a heritage of political and personal values. When Brezhnev died he left behind a gerontocracy, a group of leaders who were significantly older than most of the adult population. Despite his failures in domestic reforms, his foreign affairs and defence policies consolidated the position of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as a superpower. His popularity among the citizenry waned during his last years, and the Soviet people's belief in communism and Marxism–Leninism slowly withered away but support still continued to be evident, even on the eve of his death. Following his death, political wrangling led to harsh criticism of both him and his family. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, drew support from communists and the Soviet population by criticising Brezhnev's rule, and referred to his rule as the "Era of Stagnation". Nevertheless, Brezhnev has received consistently high approval ratings in the public polls.
^Shlapentokh, V. (2017). A Normal Totalitarian Society: How the Soviet Union Functioned and How It Collapsed. Taylor & Francis. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-315-48272-9.
^Cite error: The named reference donald was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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