Leonid Brezhnev - 1968 Ruler of Soviet Union

Leonid Brezhnev was a Soviet politician who played a significant role in shaping the history of the Soviet Union. He served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982 and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1960 to 1964 and again from 1977 to 1982. Brezhnev's 18-year term as General Secretary was second only to Joseph Stalin's in duration.

Brezhnev was born into a working-class family in Kamianske, Ukraine, in 1906. He joined the Communist party's youth league in 1923 and became an official party member in 1929. When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, he joined the Red Army as a commissar and rapidly rose through the ranks to become a major general during World War II. After the war, he was promoted to the party's Central Committee in 1952 and became a full member of the Politburo by 1957. In 1964, he replaced Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the CPSU, the most powerful position in the country.

Brezhnev's conservative and pragmatic approach to governance was in sharp contrast to Khrushchev's impulsive and often controversial policies. He was known for reaching decisions through consensus and minimizing dissent among the party leadership. Under Brezhnev's leadership, the Soviet Union made significant gains in the international arena, including achieving nuclear parity with the United States and strengthening its control over Central and Eastern Europe. Additionally, his efforts to push for détente between the two Cold War superpowers helped to reduce tensions between the two nations.

However, Brezhnev's disregard for political reform resulted in a period of societal decline known as the Brezhnev Stagnation. The country experienced pervasive corruption, falling economic growth, and a rapidly growing technological gap with the United States. Additionally, the massive arms buildup and widespread military interventionism under Brezhnev's leadership strained the Soviet economy, leading to a period of economic hardship in the latter years of his rule.

Brezhnev's health rapidly declined after 1975, and he increasingly withdrew from international affairs, although he maintained his hold on power. He passed away in 1982 and was succeeded as General Secretary by Yuri Andropov.

Brezhnev's legacy is a mixed one, with some historians viewing his tenure as a time of political stability and foreign policy success, while others see it as a period of corruption, inefficiency, and economic stagnation. Nevertheless, his role in shaping the Soviet Union during one of the most volatile periods of its history cannot be ignored, and he remains a significant figure in the history of 20th-century politics.