III.

Soviet Leader

In 1964 Brezhnev was a key figure in the deposition of his former mentor, Khrushchev, who was accused by his party colleagues of sponsoring a variety of poorly planned and unsuccessful projects. Brezhnev replaced Khrushchev as first secretary of the Communist Party. For several years he shared power with Aleksey Kosygin, who was head of government as prime minister, and with Nikolay Podgorny, who was head of state. In 1977 Brezhnev replaced Podgorny as chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and thus became head of state as well as head of the Communist Party.

During Brezhnev’s rule, the Soviet Union first experienced a period of stability followed by stagnation. In contrast to the dramatic shifts in policy introduced by his predecessors, Brezhnev displayed a more cautious approach to leadership. He also promoted stability within the ruling elite and gave significant policy-making powers to the bureaucracy. Rejecting the populism of Khrushchev, Brezhnev believed that technical progress and scientific management would solve the Soviet Union’s troubles. This approach initially led to positive results in the economy as well as to progress in improving relations with the West. However, Brezhnev’s initiatives ran into difficulty in both areas.