Leonid Brezhnev

Biography

Leonid Brezhnev was a Soviet politician and party figure who held the highest leadership position in the CPSU for 18 years. He rose rapidly through the ranks during World War II, becoming a major general, before being promoted to the party's Central Committee in 1952. In 1964, he led the removal of Nikita Khrushchev as leader of the Soviet Union and became First Secretary of the CPSU.