“Brezhnev is rapidly rushing forward, ahead of Stalin...”
Sandra Novikova, journalist and blogger:
It is impossible to be the best, the best ruler of the 20th century was J.V. Stalin, but Brezhnev can, perhaps, be put in second place. And these people who called Brezhnev the best can also be understood: Stalinism is a harsh system, under Stalin people lived modestly and worked hard, but under Brezhnev they accumulated fat - it’s not for nothing that Brezhnev’s “stagnant” period is jokingly called the feast period. So from the point of view of the common man, the layman, Brezhnev is truly the best.
In general, here it is appropriate to again recall the comparison of Stalin with the captain of a ship that received a hole. The captain forced the team to work in an emergency manner, and the team, at the cost of enormous efforts, not only saved the sinking ship, but also turned it into a mighty nuclear aircraft carrier. But at the same time, part of the crew was washed overboard, and some had to be shot in order to nip the rebellion on the ship in the bud. So, we bow to the feat of the great helmsman and are grateful to his team. But no one wants to end up on a sinking ship again. Well, if we continue the comparison, then we will get that under Brezhnev, the mighty nuclear aircraft carrier called the USSR still proudly plowed the vastness of the world's oceans, and its crew, in principle, received good rations and a good salary. But this was not enough for the crew, and they looked with envy at the cruise ships, where carefree people walked, danced and sat at tables on the decks. Upon returning to her home ports, she fled to sell foreign clothes and speculate in currency, and believed foreign voices that sweetly hinted that if this bulky aircraft carrier was cut up and sold, then everyone would be able to buy themselves a yacht. And the team captain was getting old and stupid, and the team began to slowly laugh at him and tell jokes. And then another captain came, who sold and betrayed. And the team has now come to its senses and is nostalgic for Brezhnev’s “table socialism.”
Sergey Sibiryakov, political scientist, coordinator of the international expert group of the REX Information Agency.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev
More than thirty years have passed since we lived without this person. When we were little, it seemed to us that Brezhnev would always be there. His presence in our lives guaranteed a bright future. The generation of our grandfathers and parents still believed in a bright future, which would certainly become the present, and we are at the same time with them.
General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, Lenin Prize laureate, holder of countless orders Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev came to power in 1964, displacing his predecessor, and died at the age of 76. When he died, everyone and everyone began to laugh at him. Although, probably, making fun of the memory of a front-line soldier, no matter who he became after the war, general secretary or janitor, is not such a worthy thing.
Most people identify the almost 20 years of his reign with his last years in the Kremlin. He speaks indistinctly, is covered in orders, has poor understanding, the country has a cult of personality, gerontocracy and, in general, “stagnation.”
Behind the cliché and bias, neither the real personality of the Secretary General nor his real successes are visible.
But after some more time, people missed him. Today, the period of Brezhnev's rule is perceived as a mythological era, and the Secretary General himself is perceived as a completely cult character.
Firstly, Brezhnev was the most educated of all the general secretaries at the beginning of his reign. If Lenin did not truly graduate from law school, Stalin did not finish his studies at the Theological Academy, Khrushchev had no pretense of education at all, then Brezhnev was a first-class land surveyor, at the same time proving himself to be an excellent organizer at the university, knew a lot of poetry and generally read a lot, in any this can be found in his memories.
Mother - N.D. Brezhnev and father I. Ya. Brezhnev
Secondly, from a young age until 1975, Brezhnev was the standard of efficiency and strength. At 22, he was the head of the land department of the Bisertsky district, chairman of the district executive committee and at the same time a deputy of the district council. And if he hadn’t been incredibly energetic, he wouldn’t have had such a fast and impressive career. At 26 - director of the Kamensk Metallurgical College, at 35 - colonel, at 37 - head of the political department of the 18th Army, major general, at 39 - first secretary of the Zaporozhye regional committee, at 40 - first secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk regional committee, at 44 - deputy of the Supreme Council , 45 - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, 48 - Head of Kazakhstan, 50 - Member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, 54 - Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, 57 - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee
Victoria and Leonid Brezhnev (1927)
During the war, Brezhnev did not have strong patronage, and he did not reach any particular heights. At the beginning of the war he was promoted to the rank of colonel, at the end of the war he was a major general, having advanced only one rank. They didn’t spoil him in terms of awards either. By the end of the war, he had two Orders of the Red Banner, one of the Red Star, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky and two medals.
At that time this was not enough for a general. During the Victory Parade on Red Square, where Major General Brezhnev walked with the commander at the head of the combined column of his front, there were much fewer awards on his chest than other generals.
The combined regiment of the 4th Ukrainian Front is heading to the site of the Victory Parade on June 24. 1945 Ahead...Brezhnev
In any memories of him you will find words about his charm, sense of humor and insane efficiency, presentable appearance - thick eyebrows, snow-white teeth. There is an interesting fact in his biography - several times he fainted right at the production facilities that he led - due to 2-3 sleepless days before. Until his old age he loved to drive recklessly in a car. Henry Kissinger: “With Brezhnev at the wheel, we raced at high speed along narrow, winding country roads, so that we could only pray that some policeman would appear at the nearest intersection and put an end to this risky game.
L. I. Brezhnev - cadet of the Transbaikal armored school (1936)
But this was too incredible, because here, outside the city, even if there was a traffic inspector, he would hardly have dared to stop the car of the General Secretary of the Party." US President Richard Nixon testified to the same thing: "He insisted on immediately trying out the gift . He got behind the wheel and enthusiastically pushed me into the passenger seat. The head of my personal security turned pale when he saw me sit down inside.
Brigade Commissar L. I. Brezhnev (1942)
We raced down one of the narrow roads that circle the perimeter of Camp David. Brezhnev was used to moving unhindered through the central streets of Moscow, and I could only imagine what would happen if a Secret Service or Marine jeep suddenly appeared around the corner on this one-way road. In one place there was a very steep descent with a bright sign and the inscription: “Slow, dangerous turn.”
Even when I drove a sports car here, I pressed the brakes to move down the road. Brezhnev was traveling at more than 50 miles (80 km) per hour as we approached the descent. I leaned forward and said, “Slow descent, slow descent,” but he didn’t pay attention. We reached the end of the descent and the tires squealed as he slammed on the brakes and turned. After our trip, Brezhnev told me: “This is a very good car. He goes down the road very well." “You are a great driver,” I replied. “I could never turn here at the speed you were driving.” Diplomacy is not always an easy art.”
L. I. Brezhnev talks with soldiers before the battle on the Southern Front (1942)
The man on the posters, whose name was “dear Leonid Ilyich,” changed over the years - there were more awards on the jacket, and his face acquired a comic character. The jokes about Brezhnev were not funny; the tellers mostly copied their manner of speech.
Brezhnev awards are not pieces of gold hung on the chest out of extravagance and vanity. Of his 55 awards, 22 were received on a general basis and for absolutely serious merit. 7 orders - military, received for successes in the war, incl. rare, “elite” orders - the Red Banner, for example, “for special courage, dedication and courage during direct combat activities”, had medals for the defense of Odessa, the Caucasus, for the liberation of Warsaw, Prague - is it really possible for a young and unknown person from a peasant family to receive these Did you give rewards through connections? It is known that Malaya Zemlya, where he fought, was bombed around the clock (no wonder he received a shell shock); within 7 months there were no birds, animals, or trees left on the territory.
Delegation of Georgian workers in the 18th Army. L. I. Brezhnev in the top row, far right (1943)
In adulthood, long before becoming Secretary General, Brezhnev received the medal “For the restoration of a ferrous metallurgy enterprise in the south” and “For the development of virgin lands.” Yes, at the end of his life, the chest of the leader of the USSR was indeed covered with armor of medals and orders - but not so much from vanity, but from the desire of the leaders of friendly republics to express their respect to the Secretary General, so he received the “Order of Independence” of New Guinea, 2 first class stars "Star of Indonesia", "Order of the Revolution" of the Republic of Yemen, Order of the Sun of Peru, first degree, Order of the Star of Honor from Ethiopia. This is how these stars accumulated - first through real merit, then from real servants.
By the way, maybe it was precisely because he himself went through the war that during his reign so much was done for veterans? Until 1965, even on anniversary dates, May 9 was not celebrated, there were not even days off - so, former soldiers sometimes got together for a drink, nothing more. It was under Brezhnev that benefits were introduced for WWII veterans, for them - free travel on public transport and increased pensions, and the title “Hero City” was introduced for cities that distinguished themselves in WWII.
Everyone got used to the presence of Leonid Ilyich and the broadcast of his long speeches at party congresses was perceived as a carpet on the wall.
Under Brezhnev, the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves increased 5 times (from 1964 to 1982). GDP grows TRIPLE (annual growth - 10%), the inflation rate is about 1%. If you go to the Rosavtodor website, you will see that the 2 decades of Leonid Ilyich’s reign are called the “golden twenty years”, because the growth in the rate of road construction under him reached 20% per year, the volume of motorcycle construction grew by 10% per year, the Baikal-Amur railway is being built d highway. The metro in Moscow and other cities has turned from a tourist attraction into real public transport. In the era of “stagnation”, new cities were built - Nizhnevartovsk, Kogalym, Nadym, Noyabrsk, Novy Urengoy, Neftyuugansk, Kachkanar.
Factories are being built - AvtoVAZ, KAMAZ, about 30 new models of transport are being created, airports are being built - Sheremetyevo-2, Pulkovo. Of the 13 hydroelectric power stations currently operating, 11 were built under Brezhnev, incl. Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station and Krasnoyarsk. Virgin land was raised - after all, when the decision was made to “raise” it, the country faced the threat of famine. 45 million hectares of land were sown, grain production increased 2 (!) times. Expenses for the company are 37 billion, profit - 63. The foreign trade turnover of the USSR grows 15 times from 1960 to 1985, from 10 billion to 150 billion, and the USSR ranks first in the world in air transportation.
No one was interested in what Brezhnev did in his post, but everyone knew about his weakness for the female sex, food, good drink, hunting and expensive cars.
It is very easy to find out about the social sphere under Brezhnev - ask your parents or remember it yourself. Were there endless queues, eternal shortages, empty shelves, unemployment, lack of housing, poverty, a feeling of life “behind the Iron Curtain”? Under Brezhnev, over 3 five-year plans (from 1965 to 1980), 1.5 billion square meters were built. m of housing - 160 million people received new apartments and houses, despite the fact that the state took on 2/3 of the purchase of an apartment, people also had dachas that were “banned” under Khrushchev - 6 acres per person. Pensions for disabled people are increased (1964).
The length of service in the army is reduced by 1 year, the six-day working week is replaced by a five-day one, the national income grows by 5%, the income of citizens grows 1.5 times, the Labor Code - Code of Labor Laws is issued, in accordance with which collective farmers are issued passports, the system " workdays”, a guaranteed salary is established. Motherhood and the institution of family are provided with enormous support - at the birth of their second child, the mother begins to receive monthly payments in the amount of 100 rubles, child benefits increase, and there is no unemployment.
The food basket is on par with the USA and France in terms of quality and cost. The persecution of believers stops, the Crimean Tatars are rehabilitated, and the number of scientists increases 3 times. Maybe that’s why the population of the USSR under Brezhnev grew by 20 million people (see the 1970 and 1979 census) because it was a good time to live?
Space industry. If we take the main milestones of its development under Brezhnev, the picture will be like this: 1965 - the Institute of Space Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences was opened, the first manned spacewalk, 1966 - the first landing on the Moon of the Luna-9 automatic station, 1966 - the launch of the world's first artificial satellite Moons "Luna-10", 1967 - the world's first automatic docking of the spacecraft Kosmos-186 and Kosmos-188, 1971 - the first in the world to reach the surface of Mars by the station "Mars-2". The first artificial satellite of Mars was created, the completion of the Luna program - for the exploration of the Moon, the delivery of lunar soil, Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2, the implementation of a series of programs for manned astronautics at the Salyut orbital stations and the development of the Mir station and the spacecraft " Buran", 1972 - "Soyuz" - "Apollo", the famous docking of two satellites or the handshake of the USSR and the USA.
The favorite topic of Moscow social conversation was gossip about the rich personal life of Galya's daughter - her lovers, circus magicians, diamonds and scandals. Actually, Leonid Ilyich and his family were brought to the very top by chance and, in fact, until the end they remained the family of an ordinary provincial party official, a Soviet tradesman. The Secretary General himself was a simple man, he didn’t grab stars from the sky, so he didn’t arouse hostility towards himself.
Rather, on the contrary (especially in the late 60s and early 70s), his charming appearance, free manners and sense of humor endeared him.
With Nixon
Foreign policy. The time of Brezhnev is generally considered in historiography to be a time of detente. Brezhnev meets with the heads of many countries, primarily with the presidents of the United States; in particular, he visited Nixon in America and invited him here. Thanks to Brezhnev and his team, in 1965 the UN adopted the USSR resolution on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and a convention was signed banning bacteriological weapons.
Visit to the USA (1973). On the right is Richard Nixon, behind Brezhnev is E.I. Chazov.
With Nixon
1968 In Czechoslovakia, under the auspices of the new leader, Prague begins to move away from Moscow, censorship is abolished - the USSR and the ideas of socialism begin to be ridiculed (in particular, by the well-known and still popular Radio Liberty), rallies begin throughout the country for “trial of the Red tyrants”, some begin to advocate “socialism with a human face”, others - for maintaining the powers of the Soviets, as a result - the threat of a real civil war.
With Gerald Ford
The geopolitical reasons for the entry of Soviet troops there are also clear - the transition of Czechoslovakia to the Western camp of capitalism meant the turn of the entire Central Europe there. In fact, one of the first attempts at the Orange Revolution was suppressed by force. Whether the Soviet leadership acted correctly or not, I don’t know.
1979. Deployment of troops into Afghanistan. In a country for which the battle for centuries between Britain and Russia was called the “Great Game” - control over the junction of South and Central Asia ensures control over all of Central Asia. A year before the deployment of troops in Afghanistan, a revolution takes place and, as usually happens, a civil war begins. The Afghan leadership officially asks the USSR to send in its troops, to which Brezhnev replies: “I think that... it’s not right for us to get drawn into this war now. We must explain... to our Afghan comrades that we can help them with everything they need...
L. I. Brezhnev and Jimmy Carter sign the SALT-2 agreement. Vienna, 1979
The participation of our troops in Afghanistan could harm not only us, but especially them.” Initially, the Soviet leadership did not want to enter the war, but our American partners did everything to strengthen the Mujahideen and freedom warriors, which they are not ashamed to say themselves. This conflict is a common move by an ideological, economic and political enemy, the essence of which is to create a hot spot on the enemy’s border.
In 1983, a representative of the US State Department officially admitted the fact of providing military assistance to the Mujahideen; according to experts from the US Department of Defense, the US CIA supplied the Mujahideen with 1000 Stinger missiles, and of this amount, about 350 were spent during the Afghan war. After the end of the war, the US Congress allocated $65 million for the operation to purchase MANPADS and missiles, and some of them were purchased, but up to 400 Stingers remained in Afghanistan. And we can talk about propaganda as much as we want, but is there really not enough documentary evidence of the American hand in Afghanistan?
09/23/1971 President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito and General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1907-1982) (from left to right) during a meeting at the airport. Boris Kaufman/RIA Novosti
Especially foreigners - and all those advances in Soviet-American relations, relations with Germany, largely owe to Brezhnev as a person, and not to a politician. It was later that he turned into a walking mummy, and the country froze like water in a puddle.
L. I. Brezhnev with representatives of the clergy at a reception in the Kremlin on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution (1977). From left to right: the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Alexy (future patriarch), Patriarch Pimen, chief rabbi of the Moscow synagogue Yakov Fishman.
In essence, Brezhnev was slowly dying before the eyes of the whole world. In recent years, he had several heart attacks and strokes, and resuscitators brought him back from clinical death several times.
A lot of influential people from his circle were interested in Brezhnev appearing in public from time to time, at least as a formal head of state. As a result, the old age, infirmity and illness of the Soviet leader became the subject not so much of sympathy and pity on the part of his fellow citizens, but of irritation and ridicule, which sounded more and more openly.
Watching brave Afghans fight against modern military equipment with simple weapons is a real inspiration for everyone who loves freedom. Their courage teaches us the most important lesson - there are things in this world worth protecting. On behalf of all Americans, I say to the people of Afghanistan - we admire your heroism, your dedication to freedom, your ongoing struggle against your oppressors.
Ronald Reagan, 1983
... my uncle called Dmitry Ustinov every day and, using the generally accepted folklore dialect, asked: “When will this ... war end?” Angry and blushing, the general secretary shouted into the phone: “Dima, you promised me that this wouldn’t last long. Our children are dying there!”
— Lyubov Brezhneva, niece of L. I. Brezhnev
“What should I regret? This covert operation [supporting Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan] was a great idea. As a result, the Russians fell into the Afghan trap, and you want me to regret it? What is more important for world history? Taliban or collapse of the Soviet Empire?
Zbigniew Brzezinski
L. I. Brezhnev at the regional agricultural exhibition in Kamensky district, 1951
From a conversation with I.I. Bodyulom
It was during the reign of Brezhnev that Moldova became a developed republic...
..The Republic has never been a dependent. We raised 350 thousand tons of meat per year in live weight, and delivered 140 thousand tons to Moscow. I remember that in 1975, the USSR produced 8.3 billion conventional cans of fruits and vegetables. The MSSR accounted for two billion. Moldova produced 45% of all tobacco produced in the USSR! Leonid Ilyich used to tell me: “Moldova is simply saving the Soviet Union. If it weren't for you, we would have to buy tobacco abroad for gold!
- ...What do you think of the current documentaries and feature films about the Secretary General?
- The creators of such paintings do not know the era well. They skim over trifles, give them everyday satire, political chatter. They are interested in what Brezhnev ate, with whom and how he slept... And the head of such a huge state must be judged by economic indicators and the solution of social issues!
Within the framework of the USSR, the republic had restrictions, but thanks to the fact that the MSSR was part of a huge country, Moldova developed so quickly and became a prosperous region.
During the years when Brezhnev was in power, the Moldavian SSR experienced its heyday. The future Secretary General led Soviet Moldova for almost two years (from 1950 to the fall of 1952).
Under Brezhnev, Moldova was in second place in terms of living standards in the Union (urban, rural), after Georgia! Having gained independence, we, together with Georgia, slipped...you know where
In general... for our happy childhood.. THANK YOU! Dear Leonid Ilyich! And let's remember him like this!
478568 05/01/1973 Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Vladimir Musaelyan/RIA Novosti
Leonid Brezhnev was born in 1906 in Ukraine in Kamenskoye (now Dneprodzerzhinsk, Dnepropetrovsk region). In 1923 he joined the Komsomol. He graduated from the Kursk Land Management College in 1927 and the Dneprodzerzhinsk Metallurgical Institute in 1935. He received the profession of land surveyor and engineer, and later became closely involved in party work.
1. War and “Little Land”
During the Great Patriotic War, Brezhnev was a political worker in the Red Army, participating in the mobilization of the population and the transfer of industry to the rear. First, Brezhnev was given the rank of colonel, then - major general. By the end of the war, he was the head of the political department of the 4th Ukrainian Front. In 1943, Soviet troops recaptured a piece of land near Novorossiysk from a numerically superior enemy and held it for 225 days. This place was called “Small Land”. This episode of the Second World War became famous after the release of Brezhnev’s memoirs, which stated that he participated in the defense of “Malaya Zemlya.” According to historians, this episode in the book was significantly embellished.
2. The role of Khrushchev in Brezhnev’s career
Nikita Khrushchev played a significant role in Brezhnev’s promotion up the career ladder. In the late 1930s, Brezhnev quickly rose through the ranks of the party bodies of the Dnepropetrovsk region. Khrushchev at that time was the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
In the 1950s, Khrushchev helped Brezhnev get into the central bodies of the party, first he led the Central Committee of the party in Moldova, then in Kazakhstan. In addition, Brezhnev participated in the arrest of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lavrenty Beria, accused of espionage for foreign countries. In 1957, Brezhnev became a member of the Politburo of the CPSU, and in 1960 he was appointed chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In the 1950s, Brezhnev supported Khrushchev, but in 1964 he participated in a conspiracy against him and replaced him as head of state. “Khrushchev debunked the cult of Stalin after his death, and we debunked the cult of Khrushchev during his lifetime,” Brezhnev later said.
3. “Handsome Moldovan”
In Moscow, at the 19th Party Congress, Stalin drew attention to the tall and healthy Brezhnev. At that time he served as head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Moldova. According to contemporaries, the leader said about Brezhnev: “What a handsome Moldovan!”
4. Brezhnev and the plane
In 1961, when Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Brezhnev was flying on a visit to Guinea and Ghana, fighter jets appeared in the sky next to his Il-18 plane. At first, Brezhnev thought it was an honorary escort, but the fighters began shooting. Pilot Boris Bugaev was able to take the plane out of the fire, and Brezhnev was not injured.
5. Awards
Brezhnev had more than a hundred different awards, including international ones. He had four "Gold Stars" of the Hero of the Soviet Union, and was also a Hero of Socialist Labor. In recent years, Brezhnev rejoiced at awards like a child. Brezhnev was also awarded the Order of Victory, which was awarded for outstanding success in leading large-scale military operations. In 1989, Gorbachev signed a decree depriving Brezhnev of this order posthumously due to the fact that the award contradicted the status of the order.
6. Memoirs of Brezhnev
At the end of the 1970s, Brezhnev's memoirs were published. It was believed that their author was Leonid Ilyich himself, but in fact the books were written by essayist Anatoly Agranovsky, Izvestia publicist Arkady Sakhnin and Pravda newspaper correspondent Alexander Murzin. Several other journalists also took part in the book's release. Brezhnev's memoirs were included in the school literature curriculum. For his memoirs, Brezhnev received the Lenin Prize and a fee of 180 thousand rubles, but the compilers did not receive any money, although Murzin and Sakhnin were awarded orders.
7. Brezhnev and New Year
Brezhnev started the tradition of congratulating the people on the New Year. He made his first televised congratulations on December 31, 1970. This tradition still exists, and every year state leaders address the people on New Year's Eve.
8. Brezhnev and the kiss on the Berlin Wall
Brezhnev liked to greet politicians with a kiss. First he kissed them on one cheek, then on the other, and then on the lips. This kiss was called “triple Brezhnev.” Among those whom Brezhnev kissed were Yugoslav leader Joseph Broz Tito, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and even US President Jimmy Carter. In addition, Brezhnev tried to kiss the head of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but was unsuccessful.
Brezhnev's kiss with East German leader Eric Honecker was depicted by artist Dmitry Vrubel on the Berlin Wall in 1990. The artist called the work “Lord! Help me survive among this mortal love." In 2009, the graffiti was washed off the wall for restoration, but Vrubel painted his work anew.
9. Clinical death
In 1976, Brezhnev experienced clinical death and was unable to work normally for several months after that. Resuscitation doctors began to constantly monitor him. The Secretary General's speech and thinking were impaired, and he began to go deaf. In addition, Brezhnev suffered several heart attacks and strokes during his life. His health condition was no secret to the people as people often saw him on television.
10. Failed assassination attempt on Brezhnev
On January 22, 1969, during a meeting of cosmonauts, junior lieutenant Viktor Ilyin tried to assassinate Brezhnev. Wearing a stolen police uniform, he stood in a police cordon and, when a motorcade passed by, began shooting. Ilyin thought that the Secretary General himself was in the car, but in fact there were cosmonauts Leonov, Tereshkova, Beregovoy and Nikolaev in it. Ilyin killed the driver and wounded the astronauts. An escort motorcyclist was also wounded, who rode in the direction of Ilyin and blocked the motorcade. Ilyin was detained. Brezhnev was not injured - he was driving in another car separately from the motorcade. In addition, in 1977 and 1978, the KGB had information that attempts were being made on Brezhnev’s life during his visits to France and Germany. They were prevented from entering, and the visits went smoothly.
11. Bad habits
Brezhnev always loved to smoke, and when he was forbidden to do so for health reasons, he forced others to smoke and inhaled tobacco smoke. In recent years, according to the recollections of contemporaries, Brezhnev became addicted to strong sleeping pills and could take four or five tablets at night.
12. “The Age of Stagnation”
The time when Brezhnev led the USSR was first called the period of “developed socialism”, and later - the “era of stagnation”. This period was characterized by the absence of political upheavals. Construction was underway, industry and science were developing. The standard of living of the population has increased. At the same time, the economy of the USSR, although it was stable, was stagnant and lagged behind the economies of foreign countries in terms of development. Trade in scarce goods “under the counter” flourished. The political course after the “thaw” became more rigid, and persecution of dissidents began. At the same time, party officials were aging; young people were not replacing them. The level of corruption has increased and the bureaucracy has expanded. In addition, the level of alcohol production and consumption has increased.
13. Brezhnev and the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia
In 1968, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubcek, began a reform to democratize the country and decentralize administrative power. Dubcek promised to give the people of Czechoslovakia democratic freedoms, and the country's intelligentsia supported him. This period was called the “Prague Spring”. Brezhnev, in turn, sharply condemned Dubcek's reforms, believing that socialist countries should not deviate from the general principles of socialism. On this basis, the USSR sent its troops into the country, after which the reforms were practically curtailed. In addition, Warsaw Pact countries brought troops into the country.
14. Afghan war
By 1979, Afghanistan was led by a pro-Soviet government opposed by the Mujahideen. The country's leadership asked the USSR for military assistance; Soviet senior officials decided to use this request in order to prevent forces hostile to the USSR from coming to power in Afghanistan. Brezhnev agreed to this. He thought that the campaign would not last long, but the war dragged on for ten years. Over the years, the Soviet Union lost approximately 15 thousand soldiers. Victory was not achieved in this way, and although the USSR troops controlled the cities and carried out large-scale military operations, many Afghans helped the Mujahideen. The USSR intervened in the civil war, but achieved nothing; Soviet troops had to be withdrawn from the country. The civil war in Afghanistan is still ongoing.
15. Brezhnev's funeral
On November 10, the day of the Secretary General’s death, the concert dedicated to Police Day was canceled. At the same time, the country was informed about Brezhnev’s death only two days later. The funeral of the Secretary General in 1982 was the most pompous since Stalin's, it was attended by a huge number of guests, including international ones. The funeral event on Red Square was attended by the highest officials of the Communist Party and the state. Delegations from many countries of the world, not only socialist ones, also came to the funeral. Present, in particular, were the Chairman of the Cuban State Council Fidel Castro and US Vice President George H. W. Bush. Radio and television broadcast the ceremony live.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was in power for 18 years - a whole era for the Soviet state. You can treat his personality and the years of his reign as you please, calling them “stagnation” or a “golden age,” but Brezhnev is part of our history, and no one can cancel this.
Domestic policy
Considering the pros and cons of the “Brezhnev” years, you begin to understand the pensioners who remember those years with such warmth. This is not just nostalgia for the long-gone times when they were young, it is a longing for a truly good and stable life.
Main advantages:
- Economic recovery of the country. Brezhnev's rule began with changes in the country's economy - enterprises were transferred to self-financing to pay for their products and improve their quality through economic incentives for employees. Simply put, Brezhnev tried to make plants and factories profitable and increase the material incentives of workers. It was a real reform, but it gradually died out. However, within a few years, industrial production increased by 50%, national income increased, and by the 1970s, almost 2,000 enterprises were built in the USSR.
- Stability in the country. An adult working person in the Soviet Union could be confident in his future - he would always have a roof over his head, a job and some material benefits.
- There was no unemployment. At all. There have always been jobs.
- Social sphere. Social spending under Brezhnev increased 3 times. Salaries increased, the birth rate too, general medical examination of the population was introduced, life expectancy increased, education was the best in the world, the number of communal apartments gradually decreased - a lot of housing was built. Yes, you had to wait 10-15 years for your own apartment, but the state provided it for free!
- Standard of living of ordinary citizens. Yes, we lived well. Are the salaries low? So there is no need to strain yourself. Housing, education, healthcare are free, utilities are pennies, and sausage is 2-20.
- Liberal regime. The fact that Brezhnev is accused of a sentimental character and inability to make firm decisions explains his rather loyal attitude towards dissent. Yes, there was censorship, communist demagoguery, dissidents were persecuted and punished, but there was no “witch hunt”. There were only a few people convicted under “anti-Soviet” articles; more often, dissidents were simply expelled from the country.
- "Stagnation". The economy practically stopped developing in the 1970s. She demanded reforms, but the general welfare of the country (thanks to the oil “boom”) allowed Brezhnev not to think about it. The growth of industry and agriculture ceased, a food crisis was brewing, and in technology the Soviet Union lagged behind developed countries for many decades.
- Corruption. Corruption under Brezhnev reached appalling proportions, especially in the last years of his rule. The army of Soviet officials, inspired by the Secretary General's connivance towards the unseemly actions of his family members, stole and took bribes in the millions.
- Shadow economy. The shortage of basic goods and products contributed to the emergence of a “black” market. Speculation flourished, theft at state enterprises reached unprecedented proportions, and underground production emerged.
Foreign policy
Brezhnev's foreign policy was quite contradictory, and yet his undeniable merit is the easing of international tension, the reconciliation of the socialist and capitalist camps of countries. If he had not pursued an active policy of “mine clearance,” who knows whether the world would exist today at all.
Pros of foreign policy:
- The policy of "détente". By the mid-1970s, the nuclear forces of the USSR and the USA were equal. Despite the fact that the Soviet Union had become a superpower by this time, it was Brezhnev who initiated the policy of “détente” in international relations. In 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was concluded, and in 1969, the agreement “On measures to reduce the risk of a nuclear war between the USSR and the USA”. In 1972, a completely unprecedented event happened - President Nixon visited Moscow. An economic “thaw” between the USSR and the West also began.
- Strategic and political power of the country. In the 1970s, the Soviet Union was at the zenith of its power: it had overtaken the United States in nuclear power, created a fleet that made the country a leading naval power and the strongest army, and became a country with not just authority, but a leading position in creating international relations.
Main disadvantages:
- Invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1968, mass anti-Soviet protests began in Czechoslovakia, and the country tried to deviate from the socialist model of development. Brezhnev decided on “armed assistance.” Soviet troops entered Czechoslovakia, and several clashes occurred with Czech soldiers and militias. The Czechs, who twenty years ago celebrated the liberation of the country by Soviet troops from the Nazis, were shocked by the invasion of the same army to quell the unrest. The occupation of the country prevented Czechoslovakia's possible exit from the Soviet bloc. The deployment of troops was condemned not only by Western countries, but also by Yugoslavia, Romania and the People's Republic of China.
- Deteriorating relations with the People's Republic of China. Under Brezhnev, relations with China greatly deteriorated, laying claim to the border areas that were transferred to Russia before the revolution. It came to the point of major armed conflicts on the border and the seizure of Russian territories by the Chinese. War was brewing. Only a personal meeting between Chairman of the Council of Ministers Kosygin and the Prime Minister of China made it possible to avoid it, but Soviet-Chinese relations remained hostile. And only in 1989, after Brezhnev’s death, they were normalized through negotiations.
- Intervention in Afghanistan. In 1978, a civil war began between the government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Western-backed opposition - the Mujahideen and Islamists. In December 1979, Soviet troops were brought into the country to support the government. The seizure of power by the opposition was prevented, but the war with the participation of the Soviet military continued for another 10 years.
Brezhnev died in 1982. Many years later. Russia is no longer the Soviet Union. Having coped with many troubles, she survived. Putin's long rule has given the country relative stability. In addition, Russia has become freer and more civilized. But has it become better to live there?
Victor Denninghaus, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Deputy Director of the German Historical Institute in Moscow in 2009-2013, and Andrey Savin, Candidate of Historical Sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of History SB RAS, told Lenta.ru about how a political career undermined the health of Leonid Brezhnev, as well as about his bad habits, inability to retire and contribution to improving the well-being of Soviet citizens.
“Lenta.ru”: Stalin selected party leaders into his circle not only on the principle of loyalty, but also on endurance and efficiency. When Brezhnev began climbing his career ladder, did he already have health problems?
Denninghouse: The specific lifestyle, nervous stress and fear of arousing the wrath of the Kremlin authorities could not but affect the physical condition of the party-Soviet elite. Brezhnev, who began his career rise in the 1930s, was no exception here.
And yet we know little about the health of young Brezhnev. It is known that he suffered from typhus in the winter of 1920-1921, was engaged in heavy physical work (he worked as a fireman at a factory in Dneprodzerzhinsk in 1931-1935), was drafted into the army in 1935, that is, he turned out to be physically fit for military service, and went through all war, was wounded and shell-shocked. In 1951, Brezhnev had a heart attack, although at that time he was still quite a young man. He then held the post of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova, and when he became secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and then general secretary, he again suffered a micro-infarction, a hypertensive crisis.
Despite his early health problems, Brezhnev stood out for his work activity. His career successes during the reign of Stalin and later Khrushchev were evidence that they valued Brezhnev not only for his loyalty, but also for his ability to work and his ability to complete complex tasks assigned to him on time.
Savin: It should be noted here that the Soviet state system was formed in such a way that everything was closed to the first person in the state. As a result, the leader’s health status acquired the most important political significance in the issue of power. In answering questions about Brezhnev’s health here, we rely heavily on Brezhnev’s own work notes, which he kept for at least the last 40 years of his life.
In general, Brezhnev, especially in recent years, was a vain person in life, but not in his own texts. In his diaries, he was honest with himself - he understood who he was, that he did not try to work for the public, he had no idea about publishing his notes. If Hitler had a stenographer who recorded his every word “for history,” Brezhnev did not have this. Again, he was being honest with himself. This conclusion is extremely important for the interpretation of Brezhnev’s records; they can be trusted.
It turns out that after Brezhnev entered the party elite in 1937, he began to pay for his career with his health?
Denninghouse: A person enters the so-called “clip”, and in order to remain in it, he must work hard and constantly demonstrate his activity. According to Brezhnev’s wife, Victoria Petrovna, Stalin singled him out from the general mass of his guard precisely by the criterion of efficiency. Victoria Petrovna often recalled constant night calls during the period when Brezhnev was restoring metallurgical plants after the war. He was chronically sleep deprived and was all on edge. She recalled that Brezhnev slept for the first time when the first blast furnace produced metal. That is, he could not relax for months, years, and was always in nervous tension.
Moreover, Brezhnev had to show all the time that he was healthy, although at such a pace of work it was simply impossible to maintain health at an acceptable level. Firstly, the constant lack of sleep had an effect. Then he got nervous and smoked a lot. Therefore, the body naturally malfunctioned.
In Moldova, he continued to work his ass off. According to his personal secretary, Brezhnev came to work at 10 am and worked until three or four in the morning. The same work schedule has been maintained in Kazakhstan. An employee of the agricultural department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, Mikhail Zhikharev, wrote that Brezhnev more than once lost consciousness from chronic lack of sleep and ended up in a hospital bed.
This evidence is confirmed by Brezhnev’s working records from 1957-1964. His list of responsibilities as Secretary of the Central Committee for the Defense Industry was very wide and varied - from monitoring the launch of satellites and missiles to knocking out missing components for defense enterprises. Working hours were not standardized. In his diaries he wrote: “left home at nine o’clock in the evening,” “worked until 10 o’clock in the evening,” “worked until 12 o’clock in the evening.” And so almost every day.
Along with ordinary ailments, Brezhnev in his notes also highlighted more serious health problems caused by stress. For example, April 1959: “A.I. [Kirichenko - V.D./A.S.] offended me terribly. I had a heart attack and was out of commission for almost a day.”
Brezhnev came to power in 1964 already burdened with a whole load of illnesses and unhealthy habits: smoking, lack of sleep, sedentary lifestyle. However, despite this, in the first years of his stay in the Kremlin, he continued to work hard and actively.
“When I met Leonid Ilyich, he was a young, active, very strong politician. An insightful person who has done a lot for the country,” noted the head of the Kremlin medicine, Yevgeny Chazov, who first met with the Secretary General in early January 1967. “I never ceased to be amazed at his temperament, energy, and physical strength,” recalled Brezhnev’s personal bodyguard Vladimir Medvedev.
Speaking about how much his career influenced Brezhnev’s health, we can figuratively say this: if he had been not a general secretary, but a village postman and delivered letters from house to house, he would most likely have lived much longer.
Savin: We found in the archive, in Brezhnev’s personal collection, two Politburo resolutions. One is dated May 1951: “To Comrade Stalin. Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova Brezhnev asks the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks to grant a month’s leave for treatment.” Brezhnev’s petition was supported by the head of the department of party, trade union and Komsomol bodies Ignatiev, a very prominent functionary. He was given this leave after the heart attack that we have already mentioned.
A year later, in June 1952, the same thing happens again - the Politburo decides to grant Brezhnev an extraordinary leave for health reasons. In February 1953, he was again sent on leave for two months for treatment - in those years such decisions were not made unless absolutely necessary. That is, it was precisely an extraordinary situation, which means that Brezhnev was already unwell at that time.
As you know, Stalin worked at night, and the whole country, the entire elite adjusted to him. Everyone sat and waited for a call from the Kremlin. Brezhnev also sat and waited. This mode of work was not conducive to health. To prove this, there is a document dated April 1947 - a draft resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) “On the regime of work and rest for leading officials of the party and government.” I quote: “An analysis of data on the health status of leading party and government personnel showed that a number of people, even relatively young people, were diagnosed with serious diseases of the heart, blood vessels and nervous system with a significant decrease in working capacity. One of the causes of these diseases is hard work not only during the day, but also at night, and often even on holidays.” The diseases listed here are “golden” diseases, diseases of the elite.
What did the process of how the health of top officials and high-ranking party leaders were monitored in the USSR?
Denninghouse: For this purpose, an entire structure was created in the country - special clinics, special hospitals. I don’t think that Brezhnev had a personal doctor before being elected to the highest party position. Later - without fail.
But the question is how he responded to medicine. His guards said that he did not like examinations, and doctors considered him a difficult patient.
Photo: Vladimir Musaelyan / RIA Novosti
Let us return to the fact that the entire system of power was closed on one person. In 1968, for example, Brezhnev did not sleep for days because of the Prague Spring. Apparently, the frequent use of sedatives and sleeping pills during this stressful time for the Secretary General seriously undermined his health.
On August 25, during the next meeting, Brezhnev’s diction was impaired, weakness appeared, he was forced to lie down on the table - the Secretary General suffered a hypertensive crisis in the presence of his subordinates. The doctors came and tried to send him home to rest, but he stayed.
An echo of this crisis was Brezhnev’s two-month stay in the Barvikha clinical sanatorium. After this event, the Secretary General increasingly found himself in a hospital bed at the Central Clinical Hospital. Along with the summer vacation, he began to rest in the winter, and on business trips he increasingly received packages of medicine from his secretaries.
Despite the attempt to maintain his previous activity, Brezhnev could no longer do without medical care and medical procedures. His sleep was especially disturbed - he increasingly resorted to taking potent sedatives and sleeping pills, which, according to doctors, caused him depression and lethargy.
At the same time, in fact, until the mid-1970s, Brezhnev remained quite healthy for comrades from the Central Committee and local party leaders, not to mention ordinary mortals. Few people know that he came to the Kremlin from a special hospital and, having completed all the ritual procedures, went back for treatment.
On December 26, 1974, he again found himself in a hospital bed. According to Evgeny Chazov, already on the eve of negotiations with US President Gerald Ford on the way to Vladivostok, Brezhnev had a severe breakdown. Medvedev’s personal bodyguard was more specific: “On the train, Brezhnev had a cerebrovascular accident, he fell into a state of insanity.”
The end of 1974 marked the beginning of Brezhnev's decline as an independent politician. It was from this time that various rumors arose about his clinical death, heart disease, paralysis, and so on. At the same time, the main organizational work of the Brezhnev reception center was entirely focused on Konstantin Chernenko, including making decisions on the admission of selected persons to the “body” of the Secretary General or a direct call to his personal phone. Not a single Politburo meeting was complete without Chernenko.
The same Chernenko, in case of illness of the Secretary General, had a facsimile and could put stamps with Brezhnev’s signature on documents. But this was, of course, a big risk for him; he was responsible for making decisions independently. Therefore, he rather used it for routine documents, rather than for any serious decisions - in these cases, the final decision was made solely by Brezhnev, even if he was seriously ill. The same Afghanistan - although many say that it was a collective decision, the last resort was still the sick Brezhnev.
The trends in the decline of Brezhnev’s ability to work, clearly evident after 1975, gradually gained momentum, occasionally giving way to high activity. He increasingly began to come to work late and go home early, spending more time at his dacha. The range of telephone conversations, with the exception of the traditional calls to first secretaries before the harvest, sharply narrowed, as did the number of receptions, which included only people close to him. The main responsibilities of the Secretary General were limited only to holding regular Politburo meetings, the duration of which was constantly decreasing - from several hours to 40 minutes.
How did Brezhnev feel about public policy? Everyone remembers that by his last days a new cult of personality began to emerge.
Savin: Under Stalin, every image of the leader was approved by the apparatus and subjected to censorship. Under Brezhnev, television is actively developing, and this is an excellent propaganda tool - the Secretary General communicates directly with Soviet citizens. But it’s one thing when the leader appears before the public in the guise of a dandy, in excellent condition. And it was completely different when every Soviet family began to see an aging, muttering, decrepit Brezhnev over time. And this is his tragedy - he could not do anything about it. He was forced to attend all these public meetings, sessions, and read many hours (six hours) of reports at congresses. And everyone saw it.
Why did the authorities become so discredited? Because all these things, which previously were not public at the “tsar-people” distance, have now become visible and accessible. Everyone saw how Brezhnev muttered, made mistakes and the like. And this is not only his personal tragedy, but also the tragedy of the entire country.
And what is also very important is that Brezhnev’s health, which was “broadcast” through television to the whole country, essentially discredited the Soviet government, which turned into the power of the elderly, into a gerontocracy.
Denninghouse: There is such a sad story: one of the Politburo members went to the toilet and disappeared. According to the guards, they were forced to break down the doors, and it turns out he just fell asleep there. Or the same Medvedev recalled: “In Poland, after negotiations, our delegation descended a large steep staircase. I looked back and saw: Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was falling somehow awkwardly, shoulder down. Either his foot slipped off the step, or he stumbled, but he collapsed helplessly, rolled sideways down the front steps and continued to roll on the floor below, finally burying himself in Gromyko’s feet. “Let’s go, let’s go, don’t look back,” Brezhnev said quickly.”
According to Medvedev, Gromyko himself, the head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry, was not in the best shape. At the ceremony to present Brezhnev with the next gold star of Hero, Gromyko became ill and began to collapse. On one side, Andropov, who was standing next to him, pressed against him, on the other, someone else squeezed through. And so, squeezed on both sides, Andrei Andreevich was carried out of the hall in a semi-fainting state.
Kliment Voroshilov could walk normally without support only in a straight line, because he skidded when turning, and his bodyguards had to turn him, otherwise he would fall. Andrei Kirilenko, actually the third person in the party, began to experience brain atrophy. The exception was Kosygin, who very pedantically monitored his health, but in 1976 he, too, capsized in a kayak and almost drowned due to a circulatory disorder in the brain. That is, against this background, Brezhnev was still relatively healthy.
Did this undulating state of Brezhnev's health somehow affect his personal life?
Denninghaus: Brezhnev’s personal life was not distinguished by the publicity that Gorbachev and his wife Raisa had. Brezhnev had a clear division of responsibilities in the family, which we also see with Khrushchev - his wife should never interfere in his official affairs. For example, Brezhnev did not allow his wife to use security for her personal needs.
His same bodyguards noted more than once that Brezhnev and his wife had a very good relationship, especially during the period of his illness, without any special excesses, although there are a lot of legends about his other, parallel life and love interests. In this regard, I personally trust the information of his guards more. In general, each of them lived his own life: Brezhnev was involved in politics, and his wife was involved in children and home. Recalling their life together, Brezhnev’s wife more than once emphasized that her husband never complained about his health without special reasons.
Question about Brezhnev's addictions. How is this reflected in his diaries and what place did smoking, alcohol, and sleeping pills have in his life?
Deninghaus: Alcohol did not play any big role for Brezhnev - his comrades said that he could not drink. They even talk about a trick with the secretary general’s personal glass with thick glass, which created the visual impression that he was drinking with others on equal terms. In recent years, he was offered tea as dark as cognac.
Savin: But with smoking, this is a completely different story, he was a passionate smoker, he lit one cigarette after another, and largely because of smoking, he developed health problems that brought him to such a serious condition. Difficulties arose with dentures because the mucous membrane of a smoker’s mouth is inflamed. And Brezhnev really wanted to get rid of speech defects, to speak clearly, this became a real fix idea for him.
Denninghouse: There are different theories, for example, that his jaw muscular system was weakened, and therefore he spoke poorly. But there is another version. He visited the dentist frequently, and his problems there were indeed related to smoking. Doctors constantly told him that he needed to quit smoking. In the mid-1970s, he stopped smoking, although it was difficult for him.
Savin: His diaries contain constant entries about visits to dentists. This is a sore subject for Brezhnev. These problems with prostheses - even the Germans could not help him. But he wanted to speak clearly and distinctly so much that he was ready to carry these doctors in his arms. I even sent them my hunting trophies. In one of his letters he wrote: “Send a pig to the German doctors.” They were frozen and sent by plane to Germany.
Doctors convinced Brezhnev that if you quit smoking, it would be easier to solve your dental problems. And he quit smoking, and these fumigation tricks begin. His sleep problems immediately worsen.
Denninghouse: Until 1975, he was a heavy smoker. Already being Secretary General, Brezhnev received a cigarette case with a timer as a gift, which he was terribly proud of. And after all, he was given with a meaning - so that he would smoke less. The cigarette case opened at a given time, for example, once an hour, but since he had a lot of this time, he shot out the cigarettes of all the staff and those present at meetings. The security knew about this, it was a whole problem.
Imagine the situation: a man is swimming in a pool and asks the guards to fumigate him - he swam up to the side, they smoked on him, swam another 25 or 50 meters, and inhaled the smoke again. At night, security came to his bedroom at certain hours and had to fumigate him, because he simply could not fall asleep without tobacco smoke. And when he stopped smoking, his dependence on pills increased; he could not switch off or relax without them.
It was very important for Brezhnev to be healthy and attractive. For example, from April 1977, he began to scrupulously monitor his weight, noting almost every day the slightest changes in his diary - before swimming, after swimming, in clothes and naked.
He loved himself and wanted to look good in public. We know that he personally ordered a hairdryer for himself in the GDR through Ambassador Abrasimov, and styled his hair several times a day - this was important to him. When his hair started falling out, he was terribly nervous. Accessories and things were also important to him. Fashionable suits that were sewn for him, underwear that was specially searched for and ordered for him, they could even bring trousers by plane along with a tailor if he was on vacation. And here he is suddenly sick!
What pills did those close to him secretly carry to the Secretary General?
Denninghouse: Mainly sleeping pills. Drug addiction played an important role in the change from apathy to activity and the deterioration of Brezhnev’s performance. His diary contains repeated, camouflaged evidence of the transfer of medicines to the Secretary General by the First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR Semyon Tsvigun, as well as Konstantin Chernenko, Yuri Andropov and other people who knew him closely, including the treating staff.
Photo: Anatoly Garanin / RIA Novosti
Brezhnev carefully recorded everything related to the sleeping pills and the arrival of the package with pills until the last days of his life: “I talked with Andropov. Received”, “Talked to Tsvigun. Four pieces”, “I received yellow ones from Andropov” and so on.
Sometimes he realized that they had given him something wrong - the placebo effect had no effect on him. Then he began to swallow handfuls of what he found, sometimes washing it all down with “zubrovka” - someone told him that then the medicines worked better. From time to time, even Andropov himself was forced to get a bottle of this miraculous drug for the sick General Secretary.
And he could not get out of this vicious circle. He was embarrassed by this, as can be seen from his own notes: “brought”, “ordered”, “cut”. And this is a personal tragedy of a person - he understood that he could not fall asleep without pills, disconnect from everyday problems. And even his wife recalled that on the last day before his death, Brezhnev, as always, took his pills, because without them he simply could not exist.
That is, we can say that Brezhnev was brought to his grave by a whole complex of factors?
Denninghouse: Certainly. First of all, his career and the stresses that accompany it. In fact, the life he had built himself killed him, despite the fact that he constantly tried to compensate for all these stresses by hunting and relaxing. He actually hunted until the last day. He could no longer shoot himself - the guards were shooting, but he still enjoyed this process.
As I already said, Brezhnev could not disconnect from his workday routine - encryption, letters, meetings. The pressure of power on all areas of his personal life, the constant rituals of power and the need to participate in them, in fact, reduced his health to nothing.
In 1982, before the May plenum of the Central Committee on Agriculture, he said that he could not speak - two months ago in Tashkent, while visiting an aircraft factory, scaffolding fell on him, he broke his collarbone, and his ear was damaged. The pain was severe, the collarbone didn’t really knit together, and they said to him: “Leonid Ilyich, what would it be like without you, well, we have to.”
As a result, Brezhnev was forced, despite his physical suffering and illness, to read this report. The security guard said that he walked to the podium, pale, staggering, and barely made it back, actually falling into a chair. That is, a person has found himself in this power structure, at the very top, and he must constantly move forward or pretend that he is moving. If it doesn’t work out, he is simply forced to do it by his environment, which depends on him and rests on him.
Savin: And he himself plays by these rules. He did not have the strength to take a logical step forward and develop the precedent of Khrushchev’s forced resignation. Brezhnev’s authority was undeniable, he was not threatened by the “palace” conspiracy, but he could have left on his own, voluntarily giving up power. This did not happen. As a result, Brezhnev, seriously ill and rapidly decrepit, was forced to remain a leader until the last, to follow his chosen path to the end.
Denninghouse: The man was in power for 18 years, and without him many important issues could not be resolved, despite all his illnesses, illnesses and emergencies. Judging by his work schedule, it is clear that Brezhnev was looking for an opportunity to somehow escape from this whirlpool of daily, endless responsibilities: by the end of the 1970s, he began to regularly go to circus performances, concerts, sports matches, and even attended the ballet.
The same phase of “active rest” took place with the Secretary General during the period of preparation for the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan - his schedule at this time included constant hockey matches at Luzhniki - every second or third day. Apparently, this relaxed him, charged him with energy, and he went to the stadium with great eagerness. Another way for him to escape from work was hunting and cars.
He got drive from the car. Outside the city, quite often he drove the car himself - he moved into the driver's seat. He liked to drive at high speeds and crashed cars.
And the last question. To what extent did Brezhnev as a politician reflect his times?
Denninghouse: He came from the bottom and clearly understood what a hard life was. Even with all his position, Brezhnev until the end of his life was afraid of losing his acquired status. He was well aware of all the benefits of the existing hierarchy of power and appreciated them. Brezhnev knew how much he earned, down to the penny, regularly inquired about his fees, and transferred money to a savings book, including for his wife.
At the end of her life, Victoria Petrovna said that she did not know prices, for example, how much tomatoes cost on the market. Unlike his wife, Brezhnev tried to take care of the “little man”, took care of his needs and requests, although, of course, he was far from the world of an ordinary Soviet citizen.
Savin: During the Brezhnev years, for the first time, Soviet people got dressed, put on shoes, acquired housing, household appliances, personal cars, and began to eat more or less decently. That is, he was the first of the Soviet leaders who looked into the people's plate not to take something from it, but to try to put something into it.
Denninghouse: Despite all the criticism leveled at him, under Brezhnev private property begins to play a completely different role. Money becomes perhaps the main measure of success. The roots of perestroika are there, in Brezhnev’s time.
Savin: Brezhnev implemented a policy of “increasing the growth of the welfare of the Soviet people.” Why are people nostalgic for Soviet times? They are not nostalgic for the Leninist period, nor for the Stalinist one, nor for the Khrushchevian one. This is nostalgia for the Brezhnev era, and specifically for the 1970s.
Brezhnev really was a mirror of the so-called stagnation. For example, the notorious Brezhnev passion for awards. There were all sorts of jokes about Brezhnev's orders - about an operation to expand the chest, a dropped jacket that caused an earthquake, and so on. But we must understand that he not only rewarded himself. This is the time when the stick and repression left the Soviet system, and Brezhnev relied on carrots and moral encouragement.
He tried to boost the planned Soviet economy, which was functioning with serious glitches, through awards. In 1964, Khrushchev left power, and, according to statistics, this was the time with the lowest number of awards - literally five to six thousand awarded that year. After Brezhnev came to power the next year, there were already one hundred and twenty thousand recipients, then millions of recipients a year, because a whole series of anniversary medals were established. He awarded not only himself, but almost every adult Soviet person had a badge of honor, even if it was the “Veteran of Labor” medal.
Starting from food, clothes, cars, apartments, awards, Brezhnev in many ways brilliantly embodied in his personality this time when Soviet ideology remained dominant, but the people and the government adapted to each other. There was some kind of unspoken agreement: the government is loyal to the population, provided that the population does not question ideological dogmas, is loyal to the government if the government provides them with social security and a certain level of well-being, and also turns a blind eye to the shadow economy, low labor productivity and personal farming of collective farmers . One astute American historian called this system “the little deal.” And even when perestroika began, even if people thought about reforms, it was still only within the framework of this Soviet system. That is, for the most part, no one needed capitalism back then. Brezhnev showed that one can live well under socialism.