Leonid Brezhnev

A Man of His Time
The allied victory over Hitler and his Nazi army brought relief to the world because it was not just a military victory but a moral victory as well. The immediate effect of overcoming Hitler’s horrendous regime created a bond between many nations that most believed would be sustained for many years. But this period of relief was short lived with the beginning of the Cold War. At the conclusion of World War II, the U.S.S.R. aggressively intervened in the affairs of the satellite communist countries, which they indirectly controlled. These actions, coupled with the Soviet Union being recognized as a major superpower, caused strained relations with the United States and heightened tensions. Even though there were many leaders in Russia during the Cold war, none was more committed to expanding communism and Soviet power than Leonid Brezhnev. He proved to be a pivotal character in post WW II era. A study in contrasts, Leonid Brezhnev protected communism and the U.S.S.R’s interests escalating tensions with the United States during the Cold War in the 1960’s and 70’s, while also using seemingly peaceful actions and political intuitiveness, that led to a cooling off period between the rivals.
A significant step taken by Brezhnev in protecting Communism was in Czechoslovakia that raised tensions with the United States. During Brezhnev’s term, he escalated tensions with Czechoslovakia in what is called the Prague Spring. In January of 1968, a reformer, Alexander Dubcek, was elected Secretary of the Communist party in Czechoslovakia. He deviated from the control of the Soviet Union Communist party by creating and establishing cultural and economic reforms. The purpose of this Prague Spring reform was to give the civilians more freedom in speech, travel, and the media. Since the civilians of Czechoslovakia were given more freedom, they became more comfortable without Soviet Union control. Unfortunately, the Czechoslovakians publicly criticized the way Brezhnev intervened in their country through radio broadcasts and newspapers. The communist party disagreed, and in July 1968, the Communists stated that the foundation by which socialist countries are guided must be based on “socialist internationalism” and “comradely mutual aid”(Tripp 197). Brezhnev failed to get Dubcek to follow Soviet directives in controlling the media, and resorted to military action in August of 1968 when he invaded Czechoslovakia. Brezhnev defended his actions by stating his reasons; “ The defense of socialism is the international duty of the communists” and that “Communists, cannot but draw from the events in Czechoslovakia”(Brezhnev, “Our Duty”103). To prevent other satellite communist countries from following Czechoslovakia’s example, Leonid Brezhnev established a policy called the Brezhnev Doctrine.
Leonid Brezhnev’s creation of his doctrine caused worldwide chaos and clashed with United States policy. The purpose of the Brezhnev doctrine signified “ hegemony of a single Communist party” that included other communist countries acting as cabinets, and that only through the Soviet Union’s leadership “could socialism progress”(Tripp 197). This doctrine was used by the Soviets to help reassure alliances and their control of satellite countries. However, this guideline “ hastened fragmentation of international communist solidity” (Tripp 197). Yugoslavia and Romania “denounced the implications of Brezhnev’s belief” (Tripp 197). Like a domino effect, China also rejected his ideas causing border action along the Ussuri River in 1969. Most importantly, the United States became very angry about this rule, because it increased the influence of Communism in other countries like Greece, which was already influenced by Communist ideas. Also, the containment plan in the Truman Doctrine, which stated that America would protect Greece from rising communism, was challenged. The mistrust escalated more rapidly when the U.S.S.R. warned the United States not to “meddle in internal Soviet Union issues of Jewish emigration,” which the Soviets believed was justified by the Brezhnev Doctrine. So because of the Brezhnev Doctrine, the United States could not intervene in the Soviet’s internal state of affairs. The significance of this broad, detailed, doctrine was that it created an excuse for Brezhnev to do whatever he wanted in his Communistic bubble to increase his power. Ironically, Brezhnev’s Doctrine proved so vague in details that he himself used the document to help justify the U.S.S.R’s invasion of Afghanistan.
In December of 1979, the intervention of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan created a new form of mistrust between the U.S.S.R. and the United States. Communism rose rapidly through the Marxist-oriented People’s Democratic Party in Afghanistan, and the Soviets did not trust the “extremism of the country’s new leaders” (Tripp 198). Unfortunately for them, their suspicions were right. The death of Soviet advisers in the Herat Revolt in 1979 prompted Brezhnev to invade with an army of about 90 thousand men to Afghanistan. This “misguided invasion brought rapid international condemnation,” especially from the United States (Tripp 198). The refusal of SALT II by America indicated that the arms race was back on, and the Cold War might become an actual war with no limitations of nuclear weapons to stop either side. Tensions heightened so much that the newly elected President, Ronald Reagan, labeled the U.S.S.R. as an “Evil Empire” (Tripp 198). The most shocking result was the boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. The United States distrusted the Soviets so much by now that they refused to have anything to do with them even though this event had no political or military purposes. The administration of President Ronald Reagan also assisted anti-communists fighting against the Soviet Union to “maintain a Vietnam-like war in Afghanistan,” which caused the U.S.S.R.’s own defeat with heavy casualties and costly funds (Tripp 198). In spite of this hostility between the Soviet Union and the United States, Brezhnev conducted peaceful acts to calm down the Cold War.
During the 1970’s, America and the Soviet Union experienced a period of Détente, cooling off, that improved relations and decreased frictions brought on through political and military means. Clearly both maintained their nuclear power, especially Brezhnev with “Military buildup in conventional and nuclear systems” that consumed Russia’s “budgetary priorities” (Stults 524). The creation of the ABM’s, anti-ballistic missile, caused both countries to worry that one of them might launch a “preemptive strike against the other” (Stults 524). Luckily, instead of that, Brezhnev and the United States agreed in 1972 to the Antiballistic Missile treaty, which limited the launching of these missiles. Significantly, both nations realized the power of the other. For the sake of the U.S.S.R. and her people, Leonid protected Communism while also giving some concessions to his enemy. Correspondingly in 1975, the Soviet Union signed the Helsinki Accords with the United States in order to establish recognition of borders after World War II, which thereby acknowledged the Soviet Unions control of satellite communist States and the citizens that resided there. The hostility the Soviet Union and the United States had for each other was reduced because Brezhnev was satisfied, for the moment, because borders, that he already theoretically owned, were now official. This realization of major military power the Soviet Union had obtained, parallel to the United States, instigated new productive talks to prevent each other from starting the next world war.
America and the Soviet Union held the world’s most extensive nuclear weapons arsenal, which led to the realization that a limitation on weapons was in the best interest of both nations and the world. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in 1972 was the beginning off a cooling off period and provided a slowing down or freeze in the creation of missiles in both countries. The necessity of SALT was mainly for the slowing down of missile production by the Soviet Union, because Brezhnev already had at least 1500 ICBM missiles, and the Americans had only 1000, since they discontinued making ICBM missiles after 1967. So the SALT talks “acknowledged the legitimacy of nuclear parity with the United States”(Tripp 197). Brezhnev applauded this, because military recognition was “seen as good for Russia in the history books”(Kissinger 3). Both superpowers got something that they wanted which helped ease the tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Leonid Brezhnev embodied the U.S.S.R’s interests in spite of the escalating tensions with the United States during the Cold War, as well as being politically perceptive in handling diplomatic negotiations with the United States. Leonid Brezhnev justified his rise to power to ensure the superiority of his nation and for communism to spread thus demonstrating himself as an effective leader for the Soviet Union. Even so, Brezhnev demoralized people and stole their freedom in the countries he controlled. In his own words Leonid Brezhnev stated, “ Long live the international solidarity of the peoples building socialism and communism” and to praise communism through its origin by “glory to the great eternally alive, all-conquering reaching of Marxism-Leninism” (Brezhnev, “Our Duty” 105). The ideal of communism can absolutely work metaphorically. Brezhnev wants “ an improved manner of leading society,” and the “improvement of socialist democracy” through his idealistically wonderful communist principle (Brezhnev, “Speeches” 3) But the only problem for communism is man himself. It is the greedy nature of man that prevents the communistic idea of consideration of others before him.

Works Cited
Brezhnev, Leonid l. “Our Internationalist Duty.” Vital Speeches Of The Day 36.4 (1969): 101. -105. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Brezhnev, Leonid. “Speech by Leonid Brezhnev at the meeting of the party and state leaders of the warsaw pact.” Wilson Center Digital Archive. Wilson Center, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Kissinger, Henry. “Memorandum For The President.” Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. Gerald R. Ford Library, 2008. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Stults, Taylor. “Leonid Brezhnev.” Great Lives from History The 20th Century. Ed. Robert F. Gorman. Vol.2. Pasadena, California, 2008, 523-526. Print.
Tripp, Michael W. “Leonid llich Brezhnev.” Biography Encyclopedia of 20th-Century World Leaders. Ed. John Powell. Vol.1. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2000. 196-199. Print.

Cited: Brezhnev, Leonid l. “Our Internationalist Duty.” Vital Speeches Of The Day 36.4 (1969): 101. -105. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. Brezhnev, Leonid. “Speech by Leonid Brezhnev at the meeting of the party and state leaders of the warsaw pact.” Wilson Center Digital Archive. Wilson Center, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. Kissinger, Henry. “Memorandum For The President.” Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. Gerald R. Ford Library, 2008. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. Stults, Taylor. “Leonid Brezhnev.” Great Lives from History The 20th Century. Ed. Robert F. Gorman. Vol.2. Pasadena, California, 2008, 523-526. Print. Tripp, Michael W. “Leonid llich Brezhnev.” Biography Encyclopedia of 20th-Century World Leaders. Ed. John Powell. Vol.1. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2000. 196-199. Print.