Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Brezhnev led the Soviet Union from 1964 to his death in 1982, presiding over a period of strategic nuclear parity with the United States and the height of Soviet global influence — but also the beginning of the 'era of stagnation' that would leave the economy unreformed. He signed SALT I and the Helsinki Accords during the détente period of the early 1970s, but also authorised the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia (the 'Brezhnev Doctrine') and the catastrophic 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, decisions that would haunt the Soviet system long after his death.

• Lived: 1906 CE – 1982 CE
• Nationality: Soviet
• Roles: head_of_state, party_leader

Related

• The Cold War
• Prague Spring and Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia
• SALT I and the Era of Détente
• Helsinki Accords
• Soviet Military Invasion of Afghanistan — December 1979