Publicly triumphant Soviet Union defends fragility and excesses
Hedrick Smith profiles Brezhnev era Russia, a powerful state signaling detente while fearing Western lag. It parries external diplomacy with internal controls, highlights resource wealth yet hides foreign exchange and gas field facts, and maintains elite privilege amid shortages. The public face contrasts with private insecurity and nationalist crackdowns.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hedrick Smith
New York Times
Moscow
Soviet Union
Leonid I. Brezhnev
Russians See System as Best Despite Lower Living Standards
Many ordinary Russians view their system as superior to the West and Eastern Europe, believing it offers better living today than a decade or two ago. They prioritize present improvement over comparisons with other nations.
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West
Eastern
Europe
Brezhnev Tops Kremlin Power and Style in Moscow Drive
Leonid Brezhnev projects confidence as Soviet leader and driver, keeping tight control while presenting a public image of robust leadership. He chairs a three hour Kremlin news conference alone, eclipsing Kosygin and Podgorny, and maintains a disciplined schedule with a private life shielded from the public. Brezhnev, born December 19 1906 in Dnepropetrovsk, rose through the party ranks, led the Khrushchev era farm program, and presided over the Brezhnev Doctrine. He enjoys hunting, driving a ZIL limousine, and attends Dynamo Moscow games, while managing health rumors with a strict routine.
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Kremlin
Soviet Union
Politburo
Brezhnev
Nikita S. Khrushchev
Khrushchev
Stalin
Dnepropetrovsk
Ukraine
Moldavia
Moscow
Krushchev
West
Czechoslovakia
Dynamo Moscow
Brezhnev Visit Signals Peace Move Amid Shifting Global Ties
Washington column notes how the Brezhnev trip reframes Cold War anxieties from a potential nuclear showdown to economic diplomacy. It compares Khrushchev era fears with today’s Watergate era, stressing Nixon’s push for détente and Soviet aims to leverage Western economies.
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Brezhnev
United States
Europe
China
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