Leonid Brezhnev is the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, an active political figure who created many controversies around his policies. The period of Brezhnev's rule is usually called a period of stagnation. This is due to a serious decline in the country's economy as a result of unsuccessful reforms.
He was born in Ukraine on December 19, 1906 in Kamensky (today Dneprodzerzhinsk). At the beginning of 1927 he graduated from the Kursk College with a degree in land management, and in 1935 he graduated from the evening department of the Dneprodzerzhinsk Metallurgical Institute, combining his studies with work as a fireman at the Dnieper plant.
After completing military service in 1935-1936, he began to quickly move up and in 1939 became secretary of the regional committee, which was responsible for the work of the city's military enterprises.
During the Second World War, Leonid Brezhnev was a brigade commissar and showed his best side. During this period, N. Khrushchev became his mentor, and in 1946, on his recommendation, Brezhnev received the position of 1st Secretary of the Zaporozhye Regional Party Committee. In 1956, he took the post of Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee for the defense industry and under his control was heavy industry, military enterprises, and the space program. Thus, expanding his influence, he supported N. Khrushchev in the fight against Stalin’s old guard and opened his way straight to the Politburo.
Conspiracy and the path to power
In 1963, the Second Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Frol Kozlov, left his post for health reasons, thereby marking the beginning of a political intrigue directed against Khrushchev. He was his faithful comrade-in-arms, and his responsibilities were shared by the Chairman of the Presidium, Leonid Brezhnev, and the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Nikolai Podgorny.
On October 12, the Secretary General received an invitation to a meeting of the Central Committee “to resolve urgent issues.” The meeting began on October 13 in the Kremlin. In his speech, Brezhnev spoke negatively about the activities of the Secretary General and spoke about his numerous economic and political mistakes. On the morning of October 14, Khrushchev abandoned the struggle for power and was removed. And Leonid Brezhnev took his place.
Galina Brezhneva, her daughter and granddaughter
Galina Brezhneva. / Photo: www.chert-poberi.ru
Throughout her life, the “Kremlin princess” delighted her father with her irrepressible and loud novels. The only exception was the period of her first marriage. Married to Evgeniy Milaev, Galina took care of the housework, helped her husband, a circus performer, gave birth to a daughter, Victoria, and raised her husband’s two children from her first marriage.
Galina accompanied her husband on all tours, and therefore her grandmother, Victoria Petrovna, began raising her daughter. However, the influential grandfather also did not stand aside. He, like his wife, loved his granddaughter very much and spent every free minute with her.
V.P. Brezhnev with his daughter Galina, granddaughter Victoria and great-granddaughter Galina. / Photo: www.contragents.ru
The daughter repeatedly became the object of rumors and gossip. She unabashedly had affairs both during her marriage and when she was divorced, and she loved the jewelry that she collected. Another weakness of this woman is known. Over time, Galina Leonidovna fell passionately in love with alcohol.
READ ALSO: A marriage that lasted 9 days: Galina Brezhneva and Igor Kio >>
After the death of her father, the secretary general’s daughter actually became an alcoholic while locked up in a dacha near Moscow. Then she moved to a Moscow apartment, where neighbors began to complain about constant drunken brawls. Daughter Victoria was eventually forced to take her mother to a psychiatric clinic for treatment for alcoholism. It was there that Kremlin princess Galina Brezhneva died as a result in 1998.
The fate of the granddaughter of the Secretary General Victoria also did not turn out in the best way. She was married twice, both times to actors Mikhail Filippov and Gennady Varakuta. After two divorces, I was left alone.
Granddaughter of Leonid Brezhnev Victoria. / Photo: www.mtdata.ru
As fate would have it, daughter Galina was also treated for alcoholism in a psychiatric clinic, and Victoria herself fell for the scammers and was left homeless. In the last years of her life, Victoria Filippova struggled with cancer. She died in January 2020.
Galina Filippova is Brezhnev's great-granddaughter. / Photo: www.logyka.net
Galina, the great-granddaughter of the Secretary General, did not maintain any contact with her mother for a long time. Left homeless, she even spent the night in garages and children's summer houses. Later she spent a long time in a psychiatric clinic. After a television program about Galina’s fate, she was given an apartment in Zvenigorod, where she lives.
Mother and daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Brezhnev. / Photo: www.pust-govoriat.ru
The great-granddaughter of Leonid Brezhnev is in desperate need. She receives a pension, which, according to her, is only enough for coffee, cigarettes and rent. Galina Leonidovna's jewelry disappeared without a trace. But she does not maintain contact with her relatives, children and grandchildren of Yuri Leonidovich Brezhnev.
Foreign policy
Brezhnev's foreign policy is controversial. On one side of the scale is establishing a dialogue with capitalist countries and an active disarmament policy. In 1972, an agreement was concluded to limit the number of intercontinental and submarine-launched missiles (SALT-1). In 1978, the Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Tests (SALT-2). As a result, the volume of Soviet-American trade increased greatly.
On the other side of the scale is interference in the politics of Czechoslovakia, which caused serious damage to the international prestige of the USSR. The deployment of troops to Afghanistan in 1979, the territorial conflict between the USSR and China in 1969, which ended in armed clashes on the Damansky Peninsula.
To sum up the political activities of Leonid Brezhnev, we can say that by the beginning of the 1980s, the Soviet Union lagged far behind Western countries. Civilian industries developed extremely slowly, and huge budgets were spent on the arms race and maintaining the army. By this point, the outdated political system had completely outlived its usefulness.
Relationship with cousin
Andrei's relationship with his cousin Victoria (Galina's only daughter) was not easy. He did not even allow her to be buried at the Novodevichy cemetery next to her mother.
There's beauty behind the mask: the story of a nurse who works on the front lines
Russian nobles did not work, but where did they get the money and what did they spend it on?
Homemade cured bacon. Grandma gave me a recipe for a delicious hearty dish
People who knew him closely claim that Victoria did everything possible to ruin his life. And solely because of his selfishness.
Andrei hoped to make a political career and received a serious offer. But he was given a condition - to first restore order in his own family.
It was about the relationship between Victoria and Galina. The daughter abandoned her mother and sent her to a mental hospital. In addition, she sold all the apartments that were inherited to her. She did it all in plain sight. They demanded from Andrei that he stop the scandals between them. Otherwise, no one will believe that he is able to control people.
He had a difficult conversation with Victoria. He posed the question to her point blank. After all, she spoiled his future too. She left her daughter, Brezhnev’s great-granddaughter, in poverty.
Vika grew up capricious and never worked. As an adult, I fell in love with a handsome young man. In order for him to stay close to her, he had to have a lot of money.
After that meeting, their relationship ended. He never forgave his refusal to help him.
About other
Despite controversial political decisions, squares in Moscow, Leningrad, and Kyiv were named after Leonid Brezhnev. There were also monuments and memorials (a granite bust at the Kremlin wall, a memorial on the building of the Dnieper Technical University). Several streets in small towns are named after him. Many feature films and documentaries have been produced. Among others, there are worthy representatives that are recommended for familiarization.
Leonid Brezhnev with his daughter Galina.
Brother
Andrey was the youngest child in the family. His older brother Leonid was born in 1956. He is now 62 years old.
Only the young will understand. Nikita Presnyakov explained why not everyone loves his music
For any holiday I cook Turkish chicken. The family loves this dish
Ksenia Katalymova said that “Peace, Friendship, Chewing Gum” is a special series for her
He taught at Moscow State University at the Faculty of Chemistry. He worked at one of the capital's enterprises, which specialized in the development of shampoos and chemical additives.
His personal life did not work out, just like his brother’s. He divorced his wife, despite the fact that they raised three children, son Yuri and daughters Maria and Alina.
Death
In the last years of his life, Leonid Ilyich experienced serious health problems. The end of his political career is considered to be the end of 1974. Afterwards, it becomes known about the clinical death, paralysis, and problems with the cardiovascular system. It was obvious that he could no longer rule a huge state. According to relatives, in recent months he asked to retire, but could not leave for unknown reasons.
The death of the Secretary General occurred on the morning of November 10, 1982. The official cause is sudden cardiac arrest.
Relatives in disgrace
Andrei decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, Yuri Leonidovich, who served in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. And he entered MGIMO. His fellow students were Alexei Mitrofanov , now a fugitive State Duma deputy, as well as future businessman Vladimir Potanin . But the main thing is that during his studies he fell in love with a pretty student Nadya Lyamina . And he married her.
It seemed that this couple was doomed to happiness. Lyamina bore him two wonderful sons. Andrey slowly mastered the basics of foreign trade. But then the “crowned” grandfather dies, and everything collapses.
With the arrival of Gorbachev, persecution began against Brezhnev's relatives, including his grandchildren. In particular, Andrei’s cousin Victoria, daughter of Galina Brezhneva . “My cousins, Andrei and his sister Lena, began to get hints at work about leaving,” Vika told us. — By that time, Andrei had graduated from MGIMO and got a job as a minor clerk in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So, every day the personnel department employees reminded him that he needed to look for another service. And he pretended not to hear, hoping that everything would work out.”
Leonid Ilyich's widow Victoria Petrovna still hoped for the conscience of the new government.
Once at the Kremlin “bachelorette party” dedicated to March 8, she met the wife of the new Secretary General, Raisa Gorbacheva . When asked to leave her grandchildren alone, Raisa Maksimovna affectionately promised to help. “Of course, of course, dear, what a conversation there can be!” - she cooed. The very next day, Andrei and Lena had to say goodbye to work.
“I was working at the book fair at VDNKh then, and I was also soon fired under the guise of layoffs,” Vika told us. “And then for several years they didn’t hire us anywhere.” Okay, I had a husband, but what was it like for Andrey and Lena? Andryusha has two little boys in his arms, so his wife Nadenka Lyamina had to work hard from morning to night.”
Divorce from first wife
Andrei's first wife was Nadezhda Lyamina. They had two sons - Leonid and Dmitry. Their marriage broke up when Nadezhda went to the oligarch Alexander Mamut.
What is the zodiac sign of Nicholas II and how did it affect the emperor’s character?
The student who became a mother was condemned. It turned out that the girl was keeping a secret about her daughter.
Mariana Arias is known for her role in “Wild Angel”: what she looks like today
Andrei understood that, with all his love for his sons, he was not able to provide the level of education and prosperity that his stepfather provided them with. This was a strong blow to his pride.
In 2002, Nadezhda died young, at only 41 years old, from pneumonia. Andrei suffered even more, suspecting that she would have remained alive if they had not divorced.
Family life did not work out with his second wife Elena. They soon divorced, she lived separately with her children, maintaining virtually no contact with Andrei.
