Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich

(1906–1982)

   Brezhnev was a crucial figure in the leadership of the Soviet Union from 1964 when he became first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, until his death in 1982, and was the central figure in the Soviet leadership from the 1970s on. The main themes associated with his leadership were “developed socialism,” “scientific and technological revolution,” “peaceful coexistence” and the “Brezhnev Doctrine.” The first of these, “developed socialism,” was a theoretical innovation used to describe the then current status of the Soviet Union. Socialism had been achieved and gradual change was transforming this “developed socialism” into communism. The “scientific and technological revolution” was the primary driving force that would bring about communism, and, as a worldwide phenomenon, would heighten the inherent contradictions of capitalism leading to its collapse. “Peaceful coexistence” describes the détente between the Soviet Union and the capitalist world (primarily the United States), although it did not preclude continued ideological competition, the arms race, and widespread economic and military intervention including “proxy wars” in the Third World. The “Brezhnev Doctrine” outlined in 1971 describes the Soviet Union’s position on change in the socialist world. It made clear that any attempt to depart from the Soviet Union’s view of socialism in Eastern Bloc countries would not be tolerated, and, if necessary, would be dealt with by military intervention as in Czechoslovakia in 1968 (see PRAGUE SPRING).