Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev Biography

Born in Kamenskoye, later Dneprodzerzhinsk, into a working-class family.

Begins working in the steel industry as a teenager in his home town.

Joins the Communist youth organization Komsomol, beginning a formal association with Soviet political institutions.

Graduates from the Kursk land-management and reclamation technical school.

Begins work as a land surveyor and local administrator after completing technical training.

Works in land administration in the Urals during the early collectivization period.

Joins the Communist Party while studying metallurgy in Dneprodzerzhinsk.

Returns home and begins studies at the Dneprodzerzhinsk Metallurgical Institute.

Completes his metallurgy degree and qualifies as an engineer.

Undertakes military training as a tank officer after completing his engineering studies.

Serves as director of the metallurgical technical school in Dneprodzerzhinsk.

Becomes deputy chairman of the local Soviet, advancing from engineering into public administration.

Takes charge of a department within the Dnepropetrovsk regional Communist Party organization.

Becomes a secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk regional Communist Party committee.

Helps oversee conversion of regional industry toward wartime armaments production.

Enters full-time Red Army political work after Germany invades the Soviet Union.

Serves in political administration supporting Soviet forces fighting on the southern sector of the Eastern Front.

Carries out senior political work with formations of the Eighteenth Army during wartime operations.

Is promoted to major general while serving as a political officer during the Second World War.

Serves in senior political administration as Soviet forces advance through Eastern Europe.

Ends the European war as a senior political officer with the rank of major general.

Returns to civilian party work and helps direct postwar reconstruction in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Oversees industrial reconstruction and party administration in the heavily damaged Dnepropetrovsk region.

Becomes First Secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk regional Communist Party organization.

Directs party consolidation and agricultural collectivization while leading the Moldavian Communist Party.

Becomes First Secretary of the Communist Party organization in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Is elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Is elected a Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee.

Advances into the senior Soviet party leadership after the Nineteenth Communist Party Congress.

Receives promotion to lieutenant general while serving in senior military political administration.

Is transferred to senior political administration in the Soviet Navy after Stalin's death.

Helps organize Communist Party personnel for Khrushchev's Virgin Lands agricultural campaign.

Moves to Kazakhstan as the party's second-ranking official, helping staff the expanding Virgin Lands campaign.

Replaces the previous republican party leader and assumes overall political responsibility for Kazakhstan.

Oversees the Kazakhstan party organization during a major Virgin Lands grain harvest.

Returns to Moscow as a Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee.

Becomes a full member of the CPSU Presidium, later renamed the Politburo.

Receives responsibility for strategic missile, defense and heavy-industry matters within the party leadership.

Holds senior party responsibility for defense industries during the period of the first Sputnik launch.

Becomes deputy chairman of the Central Committee bureau responsible for the Russian Soviet republic.

Becomes Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, serving as the Soviet Union's head of state.

Receives the title Hero of Socialist Labour while serving as Soviet head of state.

Emerges as Khrushchev's principal deputy in the day-to-day management of the Communist Party.

Returns from the ceremonial head-of-state post to active work in the Central Committee Secretariat.

Forms a collective leadership with Alexei Kosygin and Nikolai Podgorny after Khrushchev's removal.

Succeeds Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Communist Party.

Helps organize the party leadership move that removes Nikita Khrushchev from power.

Backs higher agricultural investment and procurement incentives at the March Central Committee plenum.

Supports economic reforms that restore central ministries while giving enterprises limited profitability incentives.

The Eighth Five-Year Plan begins under Brezhnev's leadership, emphasizing industrial expansion and economic stability.

Receives his first Hero of the Soviet Union title during his early years as party leader.

Takes the restored title of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The regional economic councils created during the Khrushchev period are abolished as central ministries regain authority.

Leads the Twenty-Third Party Congress as the title General Secretary is restored.

The KGB gains renewed political importance after Yuri Andropov becomes its chairman.

Supports renewed Soviet military assistance to Arab allies after the Six-Day War.

Joins Warsaw Pact leaders in criticizing the direction of political reforms in Czechoslovakia.

Conducts direct talks with Alexander Dubcek and the Czechoslovak leadership over the Prague Spring reforms.

Supports a Warsaw Pact warning demanding that Czechoslovak leaders defend the Communist political system.

Warsaw Pact leaders meeting at Bratislava affirm Marxism-Leninism and collective responsibility for defending socialism.

The policy later called the Brezhnev Doctrine asserts a Soviet right to defend Communist rule within the Eastern Bloc.

Brezhnev secures support from allied Warsaw Pact leaders for intervention against the Prague Spring.

The Soviet leadership approves military intervention against the Prague Spring reform movement.

Soviet forces detain Alexander Dubcek and other Czechoslovak reform leaders during the Warsaw Pact intervention.

Dubcek and other detained Czechoslovak leaders are taken to Moscow for negotiations with the Soviet leadership.

Warsaw Pact forces enter Czechoslovakia and end the Prague Spring reform experiment.

Oversees negotiations resulting in the Moscow Protocol after the invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Publicly articulates the principle of limited sovereignty later widely known as the Brezhnev Doctrine.

The Soviet leadership confronts a serious border crisis with China following armed clashes along the Ussuri River.

Continues the large strategic weapons programme intended to achieve nuclear parity with the United States.

The Soviet Union and United States begin formal Strategic Arms Limitation Talks during his leadership.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty enters into force during Brezhnev's leadership.

Uses the centenary of Lenin's birth to reaffirm Communist Party leadership and Soviet international priorities.

Presents the principal report to the Twenty-Fourth Communist Party Congress.

Discusses possible mutual force reductions in Europe with Willy Brandt.

Meets West German Chancellor Willy Brandt for extensive talks on European security and East-West relations.

Presses Willy Brandt for progress toward a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Holds talks with French President Georges Pompidou on European security, economic relations and international crises.

Begins an official visit to France, strengthening Soviet engagement with Western Europe.

Signs principles of Soviet-French cooperation with Georges Pompidou at the end of his French visit.

Egypt expels thousands of Soviet military advisers as relations with Moscow deteriorate.

Holds a lengthy private Kremlin meeting with Richard Nixon at the opening of the Moscow summit.

Meets Richard Nixon in Moscow during a landmark superpower summit focused on détente and arms control.

Signs the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Richard Nixon during the Moscow summit.

Signs the SALT I Interim Agreement with Richard Nixon, limiting strategic offensive missile launchers.

Agrees with Richard Nixon on Basic Principles intended to guide relations between the two superpowers.

Concludes the Moscow summit with a joint commitment to reduce confrontation and expand peaceful cooperation.

The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty enters into force after ratification by the Soviet Union and United States.

Presses for rapid progress toward a European security conference during discussions with Willy Brandt.

Discusses mutual and balanced force reductions in Europe with West German leaders.

Begins four days of talks in West Germany with Chancellor Willy Brandt.

Begins his major United States visit for summit talks with Richard Nixon.

Holds opening White House discussions with Richard Nixon on arms control and superpower relations.

Continues summit negotiations with Richard Nixon at Camp David.

Signs an agreement with Richard Nixon committing both governments to avoid nuclear confrontation.

Continues discussions with Richard Nixon in California during the final phase of his United States visit.

Addresses the American public on television near the conclusion of his summit visit.

Meets Georges Pompidou in Paris immediately after completing his United States summit visit.

Exchanges urgent messages with Richard Nixon as the Yom Kippur War creates a superpower confrontation.

Holds extended discussions with Richard Nixon at the Soviet leadership residence in Crimea.

Hosts Richard Nixon for another summit focused on arms control, economic cooperation and détente.

Concludes the Nixon summit with a joint communiqué covering strategic arms, trade and international security.

Signs the Threshold Test Ban Treaty limiting underground nuclear weapon tests.

Meets United States President Gerald Ford for the first time at Vladivostok.

Issues a joint statement with Gerald Ford setting prospective limits on strategic nuclear delivery systems.

Agrees with Gerald Ford on a framework for a future SALT II treaty.

Meets Gerald Ford during the European security summit and discusses arms control and bilateral relations.

Addresses the European security conference and presents détente as a foundation for lasting peace.

Meets French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing during the Helsinki summit.

Signs the Helsinki Final Act with leaders of thirty-four other participating states.

Defends détente while promising continued support for allied Communist governments and liberation movements.

Reaffirms détente while declaring continued Soviet support for Communist and national liberation movements.

Opens the Twenty-Fifth Communist Party Congress and addresses thousands of Soviet and foreign delegates.

Emerges from the Twenty-Fifth Party Congress with his leadership position firmly reaffirmed.

Receives the military rank Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Takes part in the conference of European Communist and workers' parties in East Berlin.

Receives a second Hero of the Soviet Union title during his seventieth-birthday celebrations.

Chairs the commission responsible for preparing the new Soviet constitution.

A new Soviet constitution is adopted during Brezhnev's leadership, describing the USSR as a developed socialist society.

Expands Soviet political and military backing for Ethiopia during the conflict with Somalia.

Combines the Communist Party leadership with the formal Soviet head-of-state position.

Becomes Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet while remaining Communist Party leader.

Promulgates the new constitution presenting the Soviet Union as a developed socialist society.

Soviet Jewish emigration rises sharply during the later Brezhnev period.

Receives the Soviet Order of Victory, an award normally associated with senior Second World War commanders.

Makes a four-day official visit to West Germany for talks with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.

Discusses SALT, European troop reductions and bilateral relations with Helmut Schmidt.

Hosts the signing of the Soviet-Vietnamese Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and emphasizes its strategic importance.

Receives his third Hero of the Soviet Union title.

Meets Jimmy Carter for strategic arms and broader superpower discussions.

Arrives in Vienna for summit negotiations with United States President Jimmy Carter.

Signs the SALT II Treaty with Jimmy Carter, setting limits on strategic nuclear delivery systems.

Issues a joint summit statement with Jimmy Carter supporting continued strategic arms negotiations.

Joins the Politburo decision approving Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

Soviet forces enter Afghanistan in a major military intervention intended to preserve a pro-Soviet government.

The Soviet intervention replaces Hafizullah Amin with Babrak Karmal as Afghanistan's leader.

Soviet special forces disable Kabul's communications hub during the operation against Hafizullah Amin.

Soviet special forces seize key government, military and communications sites in Kabul.

Soviet special forces storm Tajbeg Palace and Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin is killed.

Soviet-controlled Radio Kabul announces the removal of Hafizullah Amin's government.

Soviet forces conduct operations against Mujahidin positions in the Panjshir Valley.

The United Nations General Assembly condemns the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and calls for withdrawal.

Formally opens the Moscow Summer Olympic Games amid a major Western boycott.

Discusses Middle Eastern security and Soviet-Syrian cooperation with Hafez al-Assad.

Signs a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad.

Discusses Afghanistan, regional security and Soviet-Indian relations with Indira Gandhi.

Visits India and is received by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.

Coordinates Soviet-bloc pressure on Poland as the Solidarity movement challenges Communist Party authority.

Uses the Twenty-Sixth Party Congress to call for another round of arms-control negotiations.

Opens his final Communist Party Congress with a lengthy report on domestic and international policy.

The Communist Party leadership is reconfirmed after the Twenty-Sixth Congress.

Discusses nuclear missiles, European security and arms negotiations with Helmut Schmidt.

Travels to West Germany for discussions with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt during renewed East-West tensions.

Receives a fourth Hero of the Soviet Union title late in his political career.

Supports the Polish Communist government's suppression of Solidarity after martial law is imposed.

Informal diplomatic contacts explore possible terms for a future Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Announces through a message to the United Nations that the Soviet Union will not be the first to use nuclear weapons.

Makes one of his final public appearances during the Revolution Day ceremonies shortly before his death.

Dies near Moscow at age seventy-five after eighteen years as Soviet Communist Party leader.

Receives a state funeral in Moscow attended by Soviet officials and foreign leaders.