Leonid Brežnev

Leonid Brezhnev Леонід Брежнєв
Brezhnev in East Berlin in 1967
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 14 October 1964 – 10 November 1982
Preceded by	Nikita Khrushchev
Succeeded by	Yuri Andropov
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
In office 16 June 1977 – 10 November 1982
Preceded by	Nikolai Podgorny
Succeeded by	Yuri Andropov
In office 7 May 1960 – 15 July 1964
Preceded by	Kliment Voroshilov
Succeeded by	Anastas Mikoyan
Personal details
Born	Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1906-12-19)19 December 1906 Kamenskoye, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	10 November 1982(1982-11-10) (aged 75) Zarechye, near Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow
Citizenship	Soviet
Nationality	Ukrainian
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Spouse(s)	Viktoria Brezhneva
Children	Galina Brezhneva Yuri Brezhnev
Residence	Zarechye, near Moscow
Profession	Metallurgical engineer, civil servant
Awards	(Full list of awards and decorations)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Red Army Soviet Army
Years of service	1941–1982
Rank	Marshal of the Soviet Union (1976–1982)
Commands	Soviet Armed Forces
Battles/wars	World War II
Central institution membership 1957–1982: Full member, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Politburo 1957–1982: Member, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Secretariat 1956–1957: Candidate member, 20th Presidium 1952–1953: Candidate member, 19th Presidium 1952–1982: Full member, 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Central Committee Other political offices held 1964–1982: Chairman, Defense Council 1964–1966: Chairman, Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian SFSR Jan.–Mar. 1958: Deputy Chairman, Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian SFSR 1955–1956: First Secretary, Communist Party of Kazakhstan 1950–1952: First Secretary, Communist Party of Moldavia 1947–1950: First Secretary, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Committee 1946–1947: First Secretary, Zaporizhia Regional Committee 1940–1941: Head, Defense Industry Department of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Committee 1938–1939: Head, Trade Department of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Committee 1937–1938: Deputy Chairman, Dnipropetrovsk City Council 1936–1937: Director, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Committee Military offices held 1953–1954: Deputy Head, Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy 1953: Head, Political Department of the Ministry of the Navy 1945–1946: Head, Political Directorate of the Carpathian Military District May–Jul. 1945: Head, Political Directorate of the Fourth Ukrainian Front 1944–1945: Deputy Head, Political Directorate of the Fourth Ukrainian Front 1943–1944: Head, Political Department of the 18th Army of the North Caucasian Front 1942–1943: Deputy Head, Political Department of the Black Sea Group of the Transcaucasian Front 1941–1942: Deputy Head, Political Department of the Southern Front Leader of the Soviet Union ← Khrushchev Andropov →

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (/ˈbrɛʒnɛf/;Russian: Леони́д Ильи́ч Бре́жнев; IPA: [lʲɪɐˈnʲid ɪˈlʲjitɕ ˈbrʲɛʐnʲɪf]; Ukrainian: Леоні́д Іллі́ч Бре́жнєв, 19 December 1906 (O.S. 6 December) – 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982 as the General Secretary of the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), presiding over the country until his death and funeral in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in duration. During Brezhnev's rule, the global influence of the Soviet Union grew dramatically, in part because of the expansion of the Soviet military during this time. His tenure as leader was marked by the beginning of an era of economic and social stagnation in the Soviet Union.

Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoye (now Kamianske, Ukraine) into a Russian worker's family in 1906. After graduating from the Dniprodzerzhynsk Metallurgical Technicum, he became a metallurgical engineer in the iron and steel industry, in Ukraine. He joined the Komsomol in 1923 and became an active member of the CPSU by 1929. With the onset of World War II, he was drafted into immediate military service and left the army in 1946 with the rank of major general. In 1952, Brezhnev was promoted to the Central Committee and, in 1964, succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.