Leonid Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoe on December 19th 1906 to a typical working family. At an early age he became a certified metallurgical engineer in the iron and steel industry and worked in Ukraine. In 1923 Leonid joined the Komsomol then soon became a member of the Communist Party in 1929. However, during the second world war Leonid was immediately drafted to service and fought against the German invasion. It was during these years in his military service that Leonid was promoted to the head of the Political Department of the 18th Army and played an important role as the 1st Ukraine Front as the Red Army advanced back on the Germans leading to their retreat. Leonid had also become good friends with Nikita Khrushchev who would later play an important role in his life.
Leonid left the Red Army in 1946 with the rank of Major General to pursue a political career alongside his friend Khrushchev. Khrushchev eventually became the Party leader of the Communist Party but ensured that Leonid would remain by his side throughout the ranks. As Khrushchev rose in power so did Leonid, first as Party First Secretary of the Communist Party overseeing agricultural growth throughout the USSR then to Second Secretary to the Central Committee where he oversaw such important work like the defense industry, capital construction, and the space program.
Over time unfortunately, Leonid’s personal friend Khrushchev grew erratic and unstable with his age. So much in fact that many political leaders were beginning to doubt his overall performance. In 1963 Leonid became a major role in the conspiracy to throw Khrushchev out of office based on his lack of ability to command and control a nation. This conspiracy being a capital offense would tarnish Leonid’s reputation and even possibly put him to death. However, after much time Leonid and many of his political colleagues appealed to the Central Committee that Khrushchev was at fault for economic failures and immodest behavior. Leonid was able to successfully convince many party members which led to the removal of Khrushchev from office.
It was not long after this that Leonid was able to step into office as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on October 14th 1964. It was during Leonid’s reign that many historians refer to this time as ‘The Brezhnev Years.’ He served as General Secretary until his death at the age of 75 on November 10th 1982. He was then succeeded by Yuri Andropov.
Sources:
“Russia The Wild East: The Brezhnev Years” BBC Radio