Leonid Irinay Brezhnev

Leonid Irina Brezhnev was born on December 19, 1906, into a family of metallurgical workers in the city of Dniproterzhinsk. He entered the steel mill at the age of 15 and joined the Communist Youth League at the age of 17. In 1931, Brezhnev joined the Communist Party and studied at the Dniproterzhinsk Metallurgical Institute, where he also served as the party secretary. After graduation, he became a metallurgical engineer. In 1939 he became the party secretary of the Dnipropodrovsk Oblast.

During the Soviet-German War, Brezhnev engaged in political work on the front line, successively serving as deputy director of the Political Department of the Southern Front Army, director of the Political Department of the 18th Army Group, and deputy director of the Political Department of the 4th Front Army of Ukraine. In 1943, he was awarded the rank of Major General. Brezhnev served as the first secretary of the Chaborosh Prefecture of the Communist Party of Ukraine since 1946, and four years later, he was transferred to the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova. In 1952, Brezhnev was elected as a member of the Central Committee at the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China (Bolshevik), and then as Secretary of the Central Committee. One year later, he was transferred to deputy director of the General Political Department of the Soviet Army and was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General. Since 1954, he served as the Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and the First Secretary the following year. At the 12th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Brezhnev was re-elected as a member and secretary of the Central Committee. 1960-1964 In 1964, he served as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. In October 1964, he was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and General Secretary two years later. In 1975, he was awarded the rank of general, and the following year he was awarded the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Since 1977, Brezhnev has concurrently served as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the National Defense Commission of the Soviet Union, combining the power of the party, government and military.

During Brezhnev's tenure as the top leader of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union made significant progress in economic, cultural, and social development. However, in his later years, the practice of not objectively measuring achievements prevailed, and customary formulas and frames that did not reflect the new reality largely hindered people from exploring the way forward. There were inconsistencies in words and deeds. As a result, the rate of economic growth slowed down significantly in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Due to the one-sided emphasis on developing heavy industry and maintaining huge military spending, people's living standards rose slowly.

Brezhnev pursued hegemonism and expansionist policies abroad. He brazenly sent troops to Czechoslovakia in 1968, supported Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978, and invaded Afghanistan in 1979. He was condemned by international public opinion.

At 8:30 on November 10, 1982 (Moscow time), Brezhnev died suddenly at his apartment on Kutuzov Street, Moscow. He was 76 years old.