Leonid Brezhnev was born on 6 December 1906 in Kamyanske. A Soviet leader, Brezhnev rose through the Communist Party and took part in the removal of Nikita Khrushchev in 1964, becoming General Secretary of the party and effectively leading the country until his death in 1982. His long rule combined a period of relative stability and a major military buildup with growing economic stagnation. He pursued détente with the West, signing arms limitation agreements with the United States, but also ordered the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia to end the Prague Spring and announced a doctrine justifying such interventions. In 1979 he sent troops into Afghanistan, beginning a war that lasted until 1989 and weakened the Soviet system.
Before and after
- 25 September 1906Birth of Dmitri Shostakovich
- 9 October 1906Birth of Léopold Sédar Senghor
- 14 October 1906Birth of Hannah Arendt
- 22 October 1906Death of Paul Cézanne
- 6 December 1906Birth of Leonid Brezhnev
- c. 1907Birth of Sergei Korolev
- 1907Construction of Palacio de Cibeles
- 1907Construction of Imperial College London
- 1907Rise of cubism
More in Wars, politics & history
- 16 December 1773Boston Tea Party
- from 14 July 1789 to 9 November 1799French Revolution
- from 1821 to 1829Greek War of Independence
- from 12 April 1861 to 9 April 1865American Civil War
- from 24 April 1877 to 3 March 1878Tenth Russo-Turkish War
- 27 August 1896Anglo-Zanzibar War
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.