Leonid Brezhnev: Difference between revisions

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==Biography==

Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoye (now Kamianske, Ukraine) into a Russian worker's family in 1906. 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, succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary, while Alexei Kosygin succeeded Khrushchev in his post as Soviet Premier.

Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoye (now Kamianske, Ukraine) into a Russian worker's family in 1906. 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, 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 attempts 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 he sent the Soviet military to Afghanistan in an attempt to save the fragile regime, which was fighting a war against the CIA-backed mujahideen. However, in December 1981, he decided not to militarily intervene in Poland, instead allowing the country's government to impose martial law and effectively marking the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine.

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 ==Biography==
-Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoye (now Kamianske, Ukraine) into a Russian worker's family in 1906. 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, succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary, while Alexei Kosygin succeeded Khrushchev in his post as Soviet Premier.
+Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoye (now Kamianske, Ukraine) into a Russian worker's family in 1906. 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, 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 attempts 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 he sent the Soviet military to Afghanistan in an attempt to save the fragile regime, which was fighting a war against the CIA-backed mujahideen. However, in December 1981, he decided not to militarily intervene in Poland, instead allowing the country's government to impose martial law and effectively marking the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine.