LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Leonid Brezhnev
built 257 days ago
Leonid Brezhnev was the codename of a well-known dummy secretary production series first created by Politburo in 1970 in response to the USA prototype Richard Nixon. The series were very successful in USSR throughout the Cold War under the name 'Brezhny' and were primarly designed to replace the existing leader of the Communist Party while he goes on vacations or generally takes some rest. Moreover and unlike its American copy, late prototypes of Brezhny (approx. 1978 - 1985) were ... used to simply simulate the existance of the Communist Party leader and Politburo secretary while actually having none at all. Russian scientists attempted to interest the Brezhnev dummy line in the Neil Clark doll series with limited success.
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Leonid Brezhnev was the dominant leader of the Soviet Union from 1966, when he became general secretary of the Communist Party, until his death in 1982. During the 1970s, he became marshal of the Soviet Union and chair of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet... making him the first Soviet leader since Joseph Stalin to hold the top military and civilian posts. Brezhnev was responsible for international Soviet expansion, yet he also helped open the era of détente with the West.
A movie about Leonid Brezhnev, with many interesting film clips from the past showing heavy industry, places, wars, Jurij Gagarin and other heroes of the Soviet union. The chairmen smile. Leaders from the People's Republics and other friends come to Moscow: Erich Honecker, Nicolae Ceausescu and others, but not Alexander Dubcek. Urho Kekkonen comes by train, as he always did, and Brezhnev is waiting at the station. Conferences are held with Western leaders like Willy Brandt, Harold Wilson and Gerald Ford. Brezhnev visits France and Cuba.
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The ascension of Yuri Andropov to power after the death of Leonid Brezhnev in January 1980 greatly strengthened the position of his protegé Gorbachev. Both men showed impatience with outmoded administrative practices and with the inefficiences of the Soviet Union's economy. Andropov's death returned the U.S.S.R. briefly to a period of drift under the weak and ailing Konstantin Chernenko, but Gorbachev continued to impress his colleagues with his loyal and energetic party service. Beginning in October 1980 he was a member of the ruling Politburo.
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Leonid Brezhnev was born on December 6th 1906 in Ukraine, into the family of a hereditary metallurgical worker. At 15 he was already working on the same metallurgical plant as his grandfather, father and brother. After the Civil war of 1918 -1920 the factory was shut down for reconstruction. The Brezhnev family was forced to move to the village and switch over to agricultural work.
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Leonid Brezhnev was elected the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1964 and advanced to the office of general secretary in 1966. In addition, he took over the Presidium of the USSR’s Supreme Council in 1977, having consolidated all authority in the country. Brezhnev retained the offices till his death.
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Leonid Brezhnev