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Leonid Brezhnev ruled 1964-1982. Famous for his bushy eyebrows!. Brezhnev/ GDR leader, Honecker kiss , 1979. A hardliner.
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A hardliner • Seen as a hard line Communist but not as tyrannical as Stalin, Brezhnev initially showed no intention of lessening the Cold War but by the time of his death in 1982, Brezhnev had met Richard Nixon, the US President, and some detected a thaw in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Background • Born in 1906 in Ukraine • Working class family • Joined the Party in 1931 • Helped Stalin with forced collectivisation/ind • WWII – served as Major General in Red Army • Effective administrator
Famous for… • A desire to maintain the status quo • Commitment to arms control • Keeping socialist countries within Soviet sphere (Brezhnev doctrine) • Encouraged a cult of personality • Legacy of political and economic stagnation • Hardline tactics to the satellite states