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Brezhnev joined the Communist Party youth division, the Komsomol, in 1923, and the Party itself in 1929. [10] From 1935 to 1936 he completed the compulsory term of military service. After taking courses at a tank school, he served as a political commissar in a tank factory.
Brezhnev's family, Yuri, Galina and Yuri Churbanov, were investigated and both Yuris were arrested on charges of political corruption during Mikhail Gorbachev's administration. [11] Churbanov, Brezhnev's son-in-law, was sentenced to twelve years in prison on charges of large-scale embezzlement and corruption.
Brezhnev realized the need for a shift from Nikita Khrushchev's idea of "different paths to socialism" towards one that fostered a more unified vision throughout the socialist camp. [16] "Economic integration, political consolidation, a return to ideological orthodoxy, and inter-Party cooperation became the new watchwords of Soviet bloc relations."
By Brezhnev's death in 1982, Soviet economic growth had, according to several historians, nearly come to a standstill. The stabilization policy brought about after Khrushchev's removal established a ruling gerontocracy, and political corruption became a normal phenomenon. Brezhnev, however, never initiated any large-scale anti-corruption campaigns.
In October 1964, Brezhnev replaced Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Communist Party. Despite being the de jure head of the party, he was initially forced to govern the country as part of a troika alongside the Soviet Union's Premier, Alexei Kosygin and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet's Presidium, Nikolai Podgorny. However, by the 1970s ...
Ustinov's eulogy similarly touched on Brezhnev's role as an "outstanding architect of détente" while mentioning Brezhnev's position as political commissar in the Soviet 18th Army during World War II, noting how Brezhnev led his men "with the fiery party word". [96]
In October 1988, draft amendments and additions to the 1977 Constitution were published in the Soviet media for public discussion. Following the public review process, the Supreme Soviet adopted the amendments and additions in December 1988. The amendments and additions substantially and fundamentally changed the electoral and political systems.
After Brezhnev's death, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko were able to rule the country in the same way as Brezhnev had. [27] Mikhail Gorbachev ruled the Soviet Union as General Secretary until 1990, when the Communist Party lost its monopoly of power over the political system.