Brezhnev: The Making of a Statesman

Description

Leonid Brezhnev was leader of the Soviet Union for eighteen years, a term of leadership second only in length to that of Stalin. He presided over the Brezhnev Doctrine, which accelerated the Cold War, and led the Soviet Union through catastrophic foreign policy decisions such as the invasion of Afghanistan. To many in the West, he is responsible for the stagnation (and to some even collapse) of the Soviet Union. But much of this history has been based on the only two English-language biographies (both published before Brezhnev’s death and without access to archival sources) and Brezhnev’s own astonishingly untrue memoirs – written for propaganda purposes. Newly translated from German, Schattenberg’s magisterial book systematically dismantles the stereotypical and one-dimensional view of Brezhnev as the stagnating Stalinist by drawing on a wealth of archival research and documents not previously studied in English. The Brezhnev that emerges is a complex one, from his early apolitical years, when he dreamed of becoming an actor, through his swift and surprising rise through the Party ranks. From his hitherto misunderstood role in Khrushchev’s ousting and appointment as his successor, to his somewhat pro-Western foreign policy aims, deft consolidation and management of power, and ultimate descent into addiction and untimely death. For Schattenberg, this is the story of a flawed and ineffectual idealist – for the West, this biography makes a convincing case that Brezhnev should be reappraised as one of the most interesting and important political figures of the twentieth century. Cover Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Illustrations Glossary and list of abbreviations Leonid Brezhnev Chronology of life events Note on translation Introduction A man without a biography Archives and files Brezhnev’s ‘memoirs’ Brezhnev’s ‘diaries’ and his photographer 1 Dreams of the Stage, or an Ordinary Soviet Man Striving for education and bourgeois prosperity Time out of joint: revolution and civil war, 1917–1920 Land manager in turbulent times, 1927–1930 Evening classes and activism, 1931–1935 Shock worker-engineer and director again, 1935/36 Summary 2 ‘How the Steel was Tempered’, or a Career Amidst Terror and War Rise during the Great Terror The ‘Great Patriotic War’ In the Carpathians 3 In Stalin’s Shadow, or a General Secretary’s Apprenticeship I Patronage Zaporozh’ye Dnepropetrovsk In Moldavia Stalin’s extra in Moscow 4 Under Khrushchev, or a General Secretary’s Apprenticeship II Virgin lands under the plough Khrushchev’s right-hand man President of the Soviet Union Khrushchev ousted 5 The Caring General Secretary, or Collective Leadership as Theatre Trust and care: Brezhnev’s scenario of power Familiarity in the Politburo, or Lënya, Kostya and Andryusha Male bonding 6 Live and Let Live, or ‘Everyone should be able to live and work in peace’ Benefactor and carer The consumption course Brezhnev versus Kosygin and Gosplan ‘The cadres decide everything’ 7 ‘Developed Socialism’, or Re-launching the Soviet Project? ‘Developed socialism’ Re-Stalinization? The BAM – the last of the Mohicans 8 Emotions and Pills in the Cold War, or How to Play the Western Statesman Concordia domi … or consensus in the East … … foris pax , or peace with the West The return to mistrust Faltering foreign policy 9 Craving Glory and Physical Decline, or the Loneliness of the General Secretary The cult of personality Addiction Family and death Epilogue Notes Sources and Bibliography Index