Legacy of Leonid Brezhnev

This article is part of a series about Leonid Brezhnev
Early life Dnipropetrovsk clan First, then General Secretary of the CPSU 1964–1982 Brezhnev Era Era of Stagnation Collective leadership Economic reforms 1965 1973 1979 Shadow economy Assassination attempt Bulldozer Exhibition Baikal–Amur Mainline 1977 Constitution Cult of personality Brezhnev's trilogy Food Programme Opposition Sinyavsky–Daniel trial Moscow Helsinki Group Punitive psychiatry Foreign policy Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Brezhnev Doctrine Soviet–Afghan War Cold War détente 1962–1979 1979–1985 Death and state funeral Legacy Media gallery
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The full understanding of the history of the late Soviet Union and of its successor, the Russian Federation, requires the assessment of the legacy of Leonid Brezhnev, the third General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and twice Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Leonid Brezhnev was the leader of the CPSU from 1964 until his death in 1982, whose eighteen-year tenure has been recognized for developing the most powerful military,^[1] and for social and economic stagnation in the late Soviet Union.

While his rule provided stability to his country and increased the standard of living,^[2] there was also a heritage of political and personal values. When Brezhnev died he left behind a gerontocracy, a group of leaders who were significantly older than most of the adult population. Despite his failures in domestic reforms, his foreign affairs and defence policies consolidated the position of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as a superpower. His popularity among the citizenry waned during his last years, and the Soviet people's belief in communism and Marxism–Leninism slowly withered away but support still continued to be evident, even on the eve of his death. Following his death, political wrangling led to harsh criticism of both him and his family. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, drew support from communists and the Soviet population by criticising Brezhnev's rule, and referred to his rule as the "Era of Stagnation". Nevertheless, Brezhnev has received consistently high approval ratings in the public polls.