Brezhnev & The Decline of The Soviet Union Documentary

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For early access to our videos, discounted merch and many other exclusive perks please support us as a Patron or Member... Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepeopleprofiles Buy me a Coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/peopleprofiles KZbin Membership: kzbin.info/door/D6TPU-PvTMvqgzC_AM7_uAjoin or follow us on Twitter! twitter.com/tpprofiles

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

You guys are the Best! You always make My day😊😊😊❤❤❤❤

[@hullutsuhna]

uhh, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (aka. the summit that resulted in the Helsinki Accords-) was the work of President Kekkonen, not Brezhnev.

[@jjhonecker7644]

ПРАВДА!!!!!!! ВЫ ГОВОРИТЕ ФАКТЫ, НАШ ДРУГ, ЭТО БЫЛИ ХОРОШИЕ ВРЕМЕНА!!!

[@blotski]

I remember a joke from the Brezhnev days in the USSR A ghost train is travelling through the snows of Siberia with Lenin, Stalin and Brezhnev on board. It breaks down and everyone is stranded. Lenin says "let's organise the train staff into collectives and pass a resolution for the train to work". Stalin says "no, no, no. Let's arrest all the train staff, shoot the driver and replace him with a secret policeman". Brezhnev says "can't we just pull down the blinds, close our eyes, sway from side to side making train noises and pretend the train is moving?"

[@dalemcilwain]

Good joke! 😄😄😄😄😄

[@thedualtransition6070]

Funny how it was Stalin who industrialized the Soviet Union in a decade so that it could defeat the Nazis. Seems like he would have been the best one to run the train service. If the Western BS was even mildly true the Soviet Union would have been easily overrun by the Nazis.

[@josefstrauss9017]

But what does Chruschtschow do? He leaves the train, releases all the Train Staff and Passengers, takes a piss in Stalins Drink and grows some Corn 🌽 near the train tracks.

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

Oh Dear....

[@matthiaspfisterer2066]

@@josefstrauss9017 Yes, i also knew it with Khrushchev: After Stalin has the entire train personnel shot, Khrushchev denounces this a deviation from the Leninist Principles and has the good names of the train personnel posthumously restored. As the train still doesn´t show any signs of movement, Brezhnev quietly rises, closes the window curtains, sits down again with closed eyes and starts to rhythmically rock up and down on his seat while saying: "tadam-tadam-tadam-tadam..."

[@bigjared8946]

"I don't always surf the internet but when I do, eyebrows." ~Brezhnev

[@johnstudd4245]

The internet did not exist when he was alive.

[@robtrawick1]

@@johnstudd4245DUH

[@erniebuchinski3614]

Move over, Frida Kahlo . . .

[@bigjared8946]

@@johnstudd4245 You sound fun

[@dalemcilwain]

😂😂😂

[@Guitcad1]

Very interesting. I grew up in the waning days of Brezhnev and I remember hearing his name a lot on the news. I remember how uneasy everybody seemed when Brezhnev died, because nobody here in the US knew what was going to happen next.

[@martinjenkins6467]

Yes same here was a Teenager in Australia. After he died a series of old Sick men took over. 83 was scary when They shot the Korean airliner down And tensions with President Reagan froze. Thought there was going to be Nuclear war. The stress of it and other Problems sent me into depression That year.

[@s.yemchenko5010]

According to what my parents and grandparents told me, in the USSR many people were also worried for the future after Brezhnev died.

[@Flyinghigh888]

​@@martinjenkins6467That was Yuri Andropov. He almost kick started W.W.3in 1983. He believed Ronald Reagan attempted to attack USSR with his constant anti communism rhetorics!

[@brandonlyon730]

@@martinjenkins6467 Ironically Gorbachev was the only Soviet head of State to have been born in the USSR itself, everyone else was old enough to have originally been born in the old Russia empire when they still had a Tsar.

[@eliotness4029]

believe me or not in USSR also nobody has no idea what was going to happen next.

[@Barralet58]

For many older Russians this was a golden age of stability, full employment and a major housing programme. They contrast it with the instability of Gorbachev and Yeltsin.

[@francoluissotomayor5521]

Illusions but yes, it was

[@petedavies408]

Are talking about the gulags?

[@alfonsasgrinevicius7477]

During this golden age the empire of evil became helluva rotten. I lived in it.

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

@@alfonsasgrinevicius7477 Please do tell us more..!! Have you ever thought about creating your own channel with the experiences that you, and others encounterd..?

[@arostwocents]

For many younger westerners, we fondly wish we were alive during times pre mass migration with good jobs, good standard of living, cheap housing and social homes for all 😢

[@nguzabantu5391]

Those of us who grew up in the 79s and 80s, remember hearing a lot about Brezhnev. His name was synonymous with Soviet Union. He definitely played a key role to influence contemporary world history.

[@f4ust85]

Ironically, a man who introduced something dubbed "The Era of Stagnation" by the official Russian historiography is by far the most popular Soviet/Russian statesman today, although he the one who largely ignored long-term anachronisms and economical problems and started military adventures that cost the USSR much of its prestige, or what was left of it. After Czechoslovakia alone, nobody in the west considered communism anything idealistic and progressive.

[@dannyzero692]

If only today's socialists could only see what the USSR has done to the people's under its control and influence, capitalism may not be perfect or fair but it's still far better than what communism always become.

[@f4ust85]

@@kingfuqurmahmen6792 So you mean the early 50s with paranoid Stalin, post war famines, gulags and 30 000 000 dead, or the botched reforms of Khrushchev? If anything, USSR was interesting in the 1920s and then under Glasnost, those were the only times when it had some idealism, optimism and vital force of people who believed in it, other than that it was just geriatric dictatorship of boomers.

[@dipakbose2677]

Why should anyone in the Soviet Union should care about the opinion of the Anglo Americans who are the enemies of Russia?????

[@jaysteele1031]

@@dipakbose2677 believe it or not, the Soviet Union no longer exists and conflating it with modern Russia is a good indication that you don't have a clue what you're writing about.

[@crazyguy3816]

He was a conservative, self-fellating Russian strongman, often quiet about his personal life and lackluster in his personal ability. Why wouldn't Russians love him?

[@KOUROSHjan]

I saw him with the Shah in Tehran traveling in the motorcade during his state visit in 1974. I was 12 years old at the time, waving small Soviet and Iranian flags to greet them. It was so amusing for us to see that unlike the Shah, he had taken his jacket and tie off, while lucking his hands over his head waving them back and forth responding to the crowd. I clearly remember saying to myself "what a clown". But now I realize, that was a populistic gesture to win the heart of masses by portraying himself as a down to earth leader as oppose to the pompous and affluent Shah.

[@Cy5208]

I thought they were the Shah was totally anti communist. & Having trouble finding a reference for that visit.

[@user-bo8eq7ki5w]

probably only American idiots “wave their arms” in order to win the trust of the masses”? ))))

[@jonamshapouri1518]

Javid Shah

[@user-bo8eq7ki5w]

However, it is true that the "Islamic Revolution" threw this "Shah" out of Iran because he did not wave his hands (when you were 12 years old))))))

[@normcameron2316]

Thank you for this. I was a youth at the time of Brezhnev in power. This video shows us a more civilized, pragmatic, less ideological person than we thought Russians to be. One of my first memories as I learned to read were pamphlets about what to do in case of a nuclear attack. Another one was air raid sirens located here and there, just in case. There were not so subtle threats to Russian families living here, messages like "We know where you are". This was after the Korean War and during the Vietnam War leading to the Afghan War. "The West" was and is skeptic of Russia with reason. Now we are back to square one, the efforts of Brezhnev and others have been overturned. Back to Crazy Times.

[@vetinaris1297]

Yeah but this time you have a truly unhinged person who is running for office so wiser minds cannot prevail if he wins.

[@adamwatson6916]

So threatening Russians living in the west is somehow justified?" Is it acceptable to be Skeptical of people simply for being Russian ? Have you considered that the western view of Russian people is Largely a creation of western propagandists? I'm sure the U.S is completely innocent in the whole thing and has done nothing to make other countries skeptical of America . Why are Americans so afraid of anyone not American .

[@brechnevettabatendip6922]

My name is Brechnev Etta from Cameroon 🇨🇲 I was named by my Father as a child, today I am 35 years old, and i decided to check the story of the man i was named after, his story is a confirmation that names can influence a child's behavior, in secondary school i studied Biology, chemistry, physics, maths geography economics etc, in the university i studied Agriculture, i love Agriculture a whole lot. And i joined the Cameroon 🇨🇲 military after my university and when the English resistance arised in Cameroon, i had to flee to Dubai and now i am into Engineering. Watching this stories today i really wish to become this man Brezhnev

[@michaeldy3157]

He was a tyrant . under him many were sent to camps.

[@saleemds]

I really like how is your documentary is chronologically and smoothly transitioned between different eras and topics . Keep up the great work.

[@ayakoendohigh1369]

Truly excellent work. I understand (and, to a certain extent, respect) Brezhnev much more. Thank you for your work of balanced and non-ideological history!

[@MM22966]

I unexpectedly enjoyed this profile. I wouldn't want to be ruled by Brezhnev (or live in the Soviet Union, period), but you really captured how much even the greatest leaders are prisoners of their times, and how the length of their lives manipulates how they are remembered - more for the last years than the first. It strikes me that Brez and Henry VIII of England have a lot in common.

[@stevencooke6451]

Except Henry seemed able to attract wives for whatever reason. Brezhnev was a survivor, someone who knew how to play the game and not be purged,

[@vetinaris1297]

Henry was one of the worst Kings we ever had. Even by standards of monarchy, he was bad.

[@memofromessex]

Really good stuff. No BS, straight to the story, easy to listen to and follow and informative. Some KZbinrs are more obsessed with talking around the subject without getting to the subject matter, but this was perfect clarity.

[@JeFFBaCKPaiN]

At the end of the film, I noticed the same things, along with the rapid-fire pace of the narrator. The challenging names and political terminology, accompanied by authentic footage in the background, followed a clear trajectory. The repetition of character names helped make them more familiar. Additionally, there was a quick recap of the story, allowing viewers to construct their own perspective on the characters and the overall narrative. Often, historical stories can become convoluted by irrelevant side paths, including names and events that don’t contribute to the context. To truly understand history, it’s crucial to stay within the context and timeline. Rather than attempting to memorize every detail, focusing on small yet complete stories that fit into the broader historical narrative can lead to lasting comprehension. In my personal experience, this approach works best for me, especially since I have a terrible memory. My memory is so bad that I can’t remember what my point was, but it’s a good video🧐

[@vonzigle]

Thank you for a well done documentary. Learned much about Brezhnev I was unaware of previously…. .

[@elisafrye2115]

THANK YOU FOR THIS GEM! At the age of 90, I am an American woman who has lived through the Complicated History of “ The Modern World of Nations And Their Relationships, both Cultural and Military.” And because of my husband’s work as a highly respected university administrator, was, to my astonishment, privileged to meet both of the Gorbachevs and Eduardo Shevardnadze. But have always been left feeling overwhelmed by my ignorance of Russian history-especially that of the growth and decline of Communism. Heartfelt thanks for this amazingly detailed biographical study of Leonid Breznev and his rise and fall. It is just what I needed to get a better grasp of World History and the effect that world leaders have on all of us across our now-tiny planet. We all, who lived in optimistic awareness through the fall of Russian Communism, once had such hope for world detente and peace…and now The Age Of Putin and the ugly re-growth of world Fascism has destroyed our sad little dreams. ( Partly, I blame the current failure of American Secondary Education for this dismal failure of awareness)

[@evenbet9603]

God bless you mam, I'm just a youngster at 63 and I couldn't agree more regarding the disappointment you have felt since the fall of the USSR. Some even asserted it was the end of history. Unfortunately in America our secondary students took it to mean no more studying. To be fair to students though we have some awful history--and English--teachers pretending to teach in our secondary schools.

[@exidy-yt]

This excellent documentary of a man I knew very little about dispite being born during his reign as the head of the Soviet Union needs and deserves far more then the quarter-million views it currently has. I can't wait to see if other videos on this channel are as well put together!

[@budwyzer77]

If Brezhnev had passed away in 1975 he may have been regarded as a benevolent and successful leader. Sure, the USSR kept 5,000 political prisoners under his reign but that's nothing compared to Lenin and Stalin.

[@user-yi9jm5rd7s]

А что загнивающий запад в сша в 1975 сделал бесплатное образование доступно медицина? Достоиные пенсии и зарплаты%?

[@user-yi9jm5rd7s]

В 1975 году СССР по ВВП обгонял США на 2 процента... У вас нищие РАБОЧИИ были в трейлерх жили... А у нас в домах квартирах... Стакан бензина стоили как стакан газировки...

[@TheJonathanNewton]

He was younger when he died than Sir Mick Jagger is today. And we always thought of Brezhnev as ancient… 😱

[@XhumpersX]

Turns out cigarettes and vodka aren't great for you.

[@markfrancis5164]

Jaggers must be on the right drugs…

[@XhumpersX]

@@markfrancis5164 Jagger has been sober for decades. The level of drug abuse for musicians is typically greatly exaggerated as a whole for the free advertizing/branding and because of a few over-represented examples of genuine addicts that often don't make it to 40.

[@user-bo8eq7ki5w]

@@XhumpersX Well, yes ! "ROCK MUSICIANS - BEES AGAINST HONEY"))))

[@mlytle0]

Extraordinary documentary, extremely well done.

[@ethanramos4441]

“God will not forgive us if we fail” Leonid Brezhnev

[@Olliemets]

Excellent. The algorythm dropped this in my lap and I really enjoyed. Nice job putting this together. Never knew much about him and always wondered how anyone climbed and survived through the Stalin, WW2 etc. Seemed like a very bright guy who learned a lot on the job through many different assignments. Definitley a climber with a keen intuition of what was going on politically in the heirarchy of Soviet leadership. As a long time (now retired) vet of the corporate world, have to tip my hat to his machiavellian survival skills, always managing to advace his career.

[@eliotness4029]

he had very good interpersonal skills. how to look like a good friend to everybody. even foreign leaders became his friends.

[@tally1604]

There is a funny anecdote that in preparation for SALT treaty talks when meeting with Kissinger he said, we must make it work, God will not forgive us if we fail. Which was very striking coming from the leader of the world's fist officially atheist polity.

[@MrNiceGuyHistory]

Nice observation. Many communists view the state/party as a supreme deity. It may also be that he wasn't a true believer in the ideology and just adopted it as the winds of opportunity shifted in that direction.

[@budwyzer77]

Stalin went to Confession several times during WWII. The priest took his secrets to the grave.

[@user-oc1cz5co3j]

When Dr. Radhakrishnan, the then Indian Ambassador to Moscow and the future President of India met Stalin and said: God bless you, Stalin's eyes got filled with tears.

[@_EmmaGrace789]

I’m always waiting for the next video … by far my favorite channel

[@keithrowell653]

Thank you for shining a light on the internal machinations of what was always to me just a procession of names with no background. Although I'm generally distrustful of authoritative narratives, you make him come across as a reasonable person astride an immense slowly evolving system brought undone by "Events, dear boy, events'"

[@frankbertuzzi4782]

My understanding is that Brezhnev was trying to protect Taraki by telling to have Amin removed from power. However, Amin's informants found out about this and alerted him. Once Taraki returned to Kabul was when Amin had him executed. It was THIS, along with Amin's communication with the U.S. that the U.S.S.R. invaded.

[@devvrat8231]

In general knowledge classes, we were taught that USSR was fine till Nikita Khrushchev but when Brezhnev overthrew him, he started investing heavily in Defence sector, taking resources away from Agricultural and Industrial sector, triggering the Era of Stagnation. We were also taught that he increased bureaucracy which lead to increase in corruption and Nepotism. When Gorbachev came, he tried to fix the economy but it was nearly an impossible task due to the 18 years of economic stagnation, furthermore Chernobyl disaster put him at a even worse position.

[@hthind94]

Brilliant video. Learned a lot! Thank you!

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

Thank you for this very well done presentation, in much appreciation.. This adds much in what I have read..

[@j-man6001]

This was a very good documentary! Very well made and love the old footage. Good work!

[@Lex5576]

I always wondered whatever happened to the two Colt Single Action Army revolvers that Chuck Connors gave to Brezhnev when he came to the United States? Brezhnev was very fond of American western films and television shows, especially The Rifleman. For a time, The Rifleman was one of only a handful of non-Communist created shows to appear on Soviet television.

[@sergeymanakov6267]

where do you keep bringing this nonsense from?

[@Lex5576]

@@sergeymanakov6267 “Keep”??? Keep implies I’ve posted more than once. FYI smartass, I posted once and it’s based on facts.

[@cedricliggins7528]

Secretary Brehnev was a global statesman. Whose brand of statesmanship is sorely needed and missed today.

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

I would have to say, I agree with you...

[@sergecashman4822]

He was not a monster on the level of Stalin, Lenin or Hitler. Or Putin for that matter. For most of his life he was just a party careerist. But he was responsible for implementing policies resulting in the death, imprisonment and enslavement of tens of millions. My grandfather had a similar background but only rose to the level of the Apparat of the Central Committee. It was an extremely weird world that they lived in. All based on personal connections, all influence and power bestowed by the party. The party elite lived in an environment completely separated from common people, so it's hard to tell how they saw reality. Like, they had their separate distribution centers (raspredelitel) instead of shops, where you could actually get items not available to the regular public - nothing special, just quality meat and fish products, caviar, alcohol, fruits and vegetables, regular stuff you'd see in a contemporary high end supermarket... While regular population had to wait in line for two hours on an odd chance a supermarket sold bananas or two days in line if a sports store sold Adidas sneakers. When I was growing up in the 70s and 80s he was a joke. Only you couldn't make that joke publicly. Again - he's responsible for countless death and suffering so who cares he liked to drive expensive cars. He's guilty as all of them are. My grandfather never learned how to drive because the Central Committee provided him with a car and a chauffeur.

[@eliotness4029]

mentally limited people. dont u know western billionaire have different way of living compared with ordinal western people. they eat different food. they drive different cars. it is a big surprise for u?

[@JoseGomez-cz1vc]

Shortages and misery was exactly the same in places like Cuba, no difference, same with corruption

[@sergecashman4822]

@@JoseGomez-cz1vc Very true. And places like Cuba and Ukraine used to be major suppliers of agricultural products to the world, before authoritarian governments took over. It takes a lot of effort from people like Brezhnev to really mess things up... 😃

[@raymondhartmeijer9300]

@@sergecashman4822 Cuba has a hard time trading goods because of the economic embargo placed on them by the US. Blaming that on the supposed 'authoritarian nature' of the government is having it backwards. You really think a government likes to see their own people dealing with shortages? As for 'the party elite living in a completly seperate environment', it says in THIS video, that Brezhnev moved to Moscow living in a three-room apartment. Basic stuff. So apart from a few food items they could acquire being party-workers, that doesn't sound like living 'completely seperatly' from the people

[@sergecashman4822]

@@raymondhartmeijer9300 I haven't been to Cuba so I won't argue about that too much. However I spent miserable 19 years in the Soviet Union so I absolutely stand by what I say. The party elite (and as you can understand there's only one party) had a completely different life from regular people like doctors, engineers, university professors etc. Never even mind the working class. At least working class had something to steal... A three room apartment was not an easy thing to get without powerful connections. Even moving to Moscow was an extremely difficult thing to achieve, almost completely impossible for a regular person. Remember - all real estate belonged to the government controlled by the party. My grandparents on both sides were able to move to Moscow because of either a high rank in the party or a mid-rank in the KGB. And they had other perks like dachas (summer houses, which in this case means a large mansion with a huge garden in a gated community), they lived in buildings where only party officials were allowed to live, they were allowed to travel abroad and buy foreign merchandise, the list goes on. One thing they were not entitled to is their own opinion. On joke about Brezhnev as he was the leader of USSR goes like this - "I don't mind freeing the dissidents from prisons, but what the ones above me are going to say?"

[@outlawJosieFox]

You guys have truly outdone yourselves. I learned so much from this particular documentary. Kudos.

[@bhutochakrabarti4173]

This is a more better documentary on him and more detailed . He seems to be a more reforming leader than the hard-line image i had of him.

[@jeffreykalb9752]

He was a hard-liner. This program is pure Soviet hagiography.

[@Gurra_Gforce]

@@jeffreykalb9752 Directly involved in the Holodomor - Mass starving of millions of Ukrainians

[@kenosabi]

Says the dude that's never left the west and most likely has never left his home state. 🙃

[@Gurra_Gforce]

@@kenosabi Mon cherie, my home "state" would be Stockholm, Sweden. And yes, been to Russia and the US. "The Holodomor,[a] also known as the Great Ukrainian Famine,[b] was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930-1933 which affected the major grain-producing areas of the Soviet Union. "

[@PlumbuM871]

@@Gurra_Gforce My grandmother lived in the Kursk region of Soviet Russia. In the 1930s, they often experienced famine; due to severe spring frosts, it was not possible to harvest crops in the fields. So they ate dandelion roots, nettles and the like. There were no domestic animals in the villages, so they had to eat pigeons. On January 17, 1940 in Moscow it was -42 degrees Celsius, a record for those years. That's why what they call the Holodomor was not planned. They could always feed themselves if they harvested locally. So tell your tales somewhere else

[@jameshogan6142]

I remember Brezhnev featuring in news and current affairs during the 1970's and he was usually portrayed through the lens of western political outlook but far from being the remote heartless autocrat he comes across in this documentary as a very intelligent thoughtful and moderate statesman who favoured consensus over coercion and who did his best to enhance the conditions of the people he governed. His tenure as general secretary set the template for Mikhail Gorbachev's diplomatic relations with other world leaders.

[@stefansoder6903]

It's all about interpretations, but I feel this documentary paints a too light a picture of this man.

[@pavelstrelchuk216]

Exactly they skip over a bunch of bad things he did

[@johnschlesinger2009]

Thanks for an outstanding programme: hugely informative and very balanced.

[@peternewman7940]

There is a darker side. What was Brezhnev's role in Ukraine during the holodomor? Who presided over the incarceration of human rights advocates in psychiatric institutions where they were stupified with drugs?

[@Sp00nexe]

Brezhnev didn't have anything to do with the Holodomor, everything points to him being completely uninterested in the campaign against so-called "wreckers" and in arresting Kulaks. He was a logistical genius, and the areas he governed faired relatively well.

[@jamesricker3997]

Brezhnev wasn't involved in the Holodomor, if he was he most likely wouldn't have survived the 1930s.Stalin removed most of the people who could connect him to it.

[@user-dm4vh5cc8n]

During the mythical “holodomor” Brezhnev was 20 years old, so his role doesn’t even exist. All this “human rights advocates” were traitors and were punished legally

[@NostalgicMem0ries]

Your comment is based on false assumptions and historical distortions. Brezhnev was not involved in the Holodomor, which took place in 1932-33, when he was a regional party secretary in Dnepropetrovsk. He had no authority or responsibility over the policies that caused the famine in Ukraine and other regions of the Soviet Union . Brezhnev became the leader of the Soviet Union only in 1964, after the death of Stalin and the ousting of Khrushchev. He presided over a period of political repression, but also of détente with the West and economic stagnation . He developed the **Brezhnev Doctrine**, which allowed for Soviet intervention in cases where "the essential common interests of other socialist countries are threatened by one of their number" . This doctrine was used to justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Afghanistan in 1979, but it had nothing to do with the Holodomor or Ukraine . As for the incarceration of human rights advocates in psychiatric institutions, this was a practice that began under Khrushchev and continued under Brezhnev, but it was not limited to Ukraine or to dissidents of Ukrainian origin. It affected many people who opposed or criticized the Soviet regime, regardless of their nationality or ethnicity . Moreover, this practice was condemned by many Jewish activists and intellectuals, who also suffered from discrimination and persecution in the Soviet Union . Jews in Ukraine were not complicit in the Holodomor or the repression of human rights; on the contrary, they were often victims of both . Therefore, your comment is misleading and inaccurate. It tries to blame Brezhnev and Jews for crimes that they did not commit or were not responsible for. It also ignores the complex and tragic history of Ukraine and its relations with Russia and other neighboring countries. You should learn more about the facts before making such baseless accusations.

[@mikehimes7944]

​@@NostalgicMem0riesnice bot post, but methinks you protest too much. He never mentioned anyone's religion.

[@xyz11355]

best documentary i've seen on Brezhnev. Well done..

[@QuizVortex.1]

This is my favorite content of yours, love it. Thanks for your effort 😍😍😍

[@AChapstickOrange]

41:13 I didn't know Brezhnev drove around here in Ontario! That's pretty cool! :D

[@giannb5145]

Most Russians today consider Brezhnev the best leader of the 20th century, but this only after experiencing Gorbachev and Yeltsin. When he died in 1982 he wasn't missed, and Gorbachev blamed him for pretty much everything, especially corruption, but this always was sthe stituation in Russia, and it could be stopped only with extreme Stalin-style terror. In retrospect, Brezhnev was a very down-to-earth, realistic, and quite successful leader, both domestically and externally. Also, he is quite fondly remembered by religious people, both Christian and Muslim, because he unofficially stopped the persecution of religious activity.

[@flowname]

no they don't, speak for yourself

[@Lionfish5656]

​@@flownamenot according to opinion polls. Maybe among defectors & younger Russians.

[@KS-PNW]

Speak for yourself

[@johnrohdejensen1218]

Excelent and informative profile of Brezhnev. I remember him from the news in my early youth but I have found it very difficult to learn more about the man until now. A complicated man who looked out for himself but also did a lot of positive things for his country. BUT eventually he ran out of juice and the country crashed into the limitations of its economic system. I remember him as a sinister figure in TV but the cold war were not a time for nuances.

[@iconoclastic12007]

I am no expert on the subject of this documentary, however, it seems particularly flattering when contrasting Brezhnev to his counterparts.

[@arthurvane3901]

I liked it but it did not mention how one of the faults of his rule because he posed so much funding into the defence budget, how he was Bailey involved in soviet foreign affairs that was all Gromyko doing, and last how his family life had completely fallen apart and how he was dying or baly functioning how he wanted to divorce but could not for publicity reasons or how he was barely talking to his children and how he was not sort of ruling near the time if his death.

[@onenamlit3861]

I'm intrigued by the image at 12:28, when the narration begins to discuss the Stalin Purge. Do you have any info on what/who/when is depicted in this photo? The American flag in the photo makes me think it was taken in the US, but that wouldn't fit the narration. I've had no luck with a Google image search, but that may be because of the low quality of the screenshot I used to search. Any info would be appreciated! Well-done documentary, btw. I learned a lot.

[@PlumbuM871]

I’m almost sure that the man in the bottom row on the far right is Semyon Budyonny. As far as I know, he has never been to the USA, so it is somewhere in Moscow or Leningrad

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content guys! You always come through! Suggestion: last leader of the soviet union mikhail gorgachev

[@Kuznet609]

I think talking about Gorbachev's role in the Soviet Union is difficult because Gorbachev seems to have been influenced by different groups and powers and there are still many inconsistencies regarding Gorbachev's role in Soviet Union. For example, Gorbachev simply tolerated the Belovezha Accords (which led to the fall of the Soviet Union), even though he was informed early on. There were many very strange events under Gorbachev. An example: "One of his most important operations was codenamed "Ljutsch" (Russian for beam). The KGB agents included in it were supposed to recruit agents of influence from reform-minded forces in the GDR who would disempower the Honecker apparatus and the SED regime in the interests of Moscow should democratize. The GDR citizens addressed by "Ljuch" people included officials of the SED and GDR block parties, Stasi and army officers, journalists and scientists, but also civil rights activists influenced by Gorbachev's ideas. The reunification and the unification process ended Operation "Lyuch"

[@richwinds7179]

No, Taylor Swift

[@eliotness4029]

too stupid

[@genrihk164]

@@richwinds7179 No, Jonathan Swift.

[@FNHaole]

It’s difficult to assess a Soviet’s character, as the system was a cutthroat arena where silence and treachery were critical skills to merely stay alive. I think Brezhnev, like every other Soviet survivalist, willed his ideals upon himself to stay in the game. It seems like he’d have made an effective manager, had he been born, raised, cultured, and educated in a capitalist society.

[@georgepresley5120]

He had a lot of democratic character..

[@paulhellander2791]

Very well presented. I learned a lot of new stuff. Paul in Oz.

[@Commander800]

Fantastic documentary! He was a very different Soviet Leader to say the least and I think lead to people like Gorbachev, which lead to the end of the Soviet Union, but I think that was for the better and worse in many regards.

[@tristanfaith]

At 37:23 , I believe the line should read "the Virgin Land Program in Kazakhstan"?

[@tankrabbit534]

I remember the jokes. He had all soviet recognitions, only two eluded him: Heroic Mother and Hero City.

[@jean-louislalonde6070]

He received one as the best writer of the USSR.

[@sathishballal8173]

His unplanned interference in Afghanisthan affairs became the beginning of the Soviat Unions' downfall.

[@sarikagoode1505]

Afghanistan, still undefeated.

[@pji4994]

Wanted to hear more about his relationship with Nixon.

[@arthurvane3901]

Do a one about Zhou Enlai he was china’s 1st Premier from 1954 till his death in 1976 and 1st Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1949-1958 seems right after Moa and Deng Oh do Jiang Zemin now that he’s died last year

[@Gurra_Gforce]

Do one about Pedos!!!

[@richwinds7179]

No, Taylor Swift

[@kallekonttinen1738]

Just realized that I had same major in university than Brezhnev.. and have even worked in similar jobs as he did in begining of he's caree..

[@mslim8412]

Is there a Gorbachev People Profiles documentary?

[@xoninx]

Brezhnev was a product of his time, system and situation. He had great strengths and the weaknesses that usual come with strengt that is unchecked in any way.

[@guillermosantamaria5212]

Who wrote the music for this magnificent documentary?

[@MikeSiemens88]

Thx for the very detailed view of this man & the circumstances that molded him into the leader he was.

[@dsoldo1509]

Imagine that disaster in the Brezhnev era, that according to statistical data, for those 18 years of his rule, 160 million Soviet citizens acquired their own apartments or houses ??? Some got apartments built by the state, and some got extremely cheap state loans to build their own houses - horror! Such a catastrophe has never happened in the west ....

[@Crislovalova1]

Nice reference to German Chancellor Willy Brandt. Would love to have you do a documentary on him in the future.

[@norbertschmitz3358]

Why? A traitor, womaniser, hypocrite, coward etc. etc.! Just Google..... Radikalen erlass..... A cheap con man with no honour!

[@marguskiis7711]

GBR remained the loyal friend to USSR until the end. Thats why Gorby allowed the unification so easily.

[@norbertschmitz3358]

@@marguskiis7711 My previous comment regarding Brandt has been deleted! What does GBR stand for....GDR?

[@marguskiis7711]

​@@norbertschmitz3358 West, yes, West Germany had very good relationships with USSR from 1972 onwards

[@jackharrison6771]

Great video, thanks. I'll always be convinced that compared with his two two predecessors, he was the best possible choice. After the extremes of Stalin and Khrushchev , the USSR needed a safe, in charge. Stalin and Khrushchev terrified the nation; in their own way; and I dare say Western leaders breathed a little easier, with Détente?.

[@prognrollinlineflow]

I personally detect IT at 52:07 when polish Palace of Culture and Art is shown while the talk is about the continuation of the appraisal of Stalin

[@Coalwarrior2012]

Very informative program.

[@samfisher2306]

I was just curious about the history of the cold war and it was interesting learning about this guy. He went through a tumultuous time in the Soviet era.

[@thehillbillygamer2183]

Everybody's supposed to be equal but the people that were on the government have servants and mansions and eat the best food and have the beautiful women take advantage everywhere they can

[@thomasdahlquist7119]

Some people are more equal than others. / not mine

[@marguskiis7711]

His death was literally the end of USSR too.

[@rufusolani4920]

Growing up in Jamaica, during the 70s, I remember admiring Brezhnev, and followed the "rise and fall of all the Others after him,.. amazing times, back then, when..

[@notsosilentmajority1]

It's interesting that the video states (14:55) that Stalin believed the deal between Germany and the Soviet Union would only delay war with Germany but Hitler attacked (15:25) "earlier than Stalin had anticipated". The most common opinion is that Stalin was completely taken by surprise and thought the report of Germany's attack was inaccurate at first. Saying that Stalin had Molotov agree to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact simply to buy time for the Soviet Union to prepare for war with Germany does not ring true.

[@georgepresley5120]

Exactly.Winston Churchill tried to warn Stalin about Hitler's plans but he ignored. Soviet spies based in Japan even gave him the exact date Hitler was planning to attack USSR but still he refused to believe. He was caught off guard and heavy industry had to be quickly moved to avoid capture by the German army

[@FelicianaDelacruz]

Great documentary about this man. While it may be termed the "Era of Stagnation" it might be better termed the "Era of Stability" After Kruschev's constant changes and reshuffling of things. This really gives a much better insight to Brezhnev as opposed to what the western press was putting out there. Thanks so much for sharing this interesting and informative documentary.

[@stevecoscia]

Informative video - I learned much. I was born in 1954. During my formative years (1960s and 1970s), much political competition existed between the USA and the USSR. The American media painted the Soviet Union as a repressive and evil country. The Afghanistan invasion only solidified that perception. Yet the 1960s Kennedy and King assassinations didn't do the USA any favors. I knew little about Brezhnev until today. There was more to the man than what I thought I knew. Thanks for sharing this.

[@georgepresley5120]

Brezhnev seems like a reasonable guy. He wasn't blood thirsty like Stalin and opened the Soviet union to the world. I was born in the late eighties but I think 1960-1980 period was very interesting

[@scottw11354]

Very informative..ive always thought of him as a mean old dude who was planning something evil. There was so much more to him

[@matthewkituyi7182]

Do one for Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, Mao Mao Anying, Mao Anqing and Georgy Zhukov.

[@yetigriff]

Manners!

[@matthewkituyi7182]

@@yetigriff Manners for what? Your stupid exclamation!?

[@user-wz8tr4ps9o]

@@matthewkituyi7182 say please and ask nicely.

[@Clapperofcheeks5000]

@@matthewkituyi7182manners your mum will smack your bum

[@yetigriff]

@@matthewkituyi7182 please and thank you

[@upresins]

@29:58 That's Jason 'The Mechanic' Statham driving a tractor.

[@roger_melly5025]

Very interesting article

[@sputumtube]

Despite the huge differences between 'the west' and Russia, it's not difficult to have a grudging respect for this man. Excellent video - I learned a lot.

[@NostalgicMem0ries]

best ussr leader from perspective of ussr people. 70s were peak ussr

[@bhutochakrabarti4173]

Hmm. I wonder if Andropov survived long enough ussr would have survived I guess. But Andropov also made a lot of decisions which contributed to the collapse.

[@eliotness4029]

@@NostalgicMem0ries only before 1970 he was good. later he was too old. too lazy to do something good

[@NostalgicMem0ries]

@@eliotness4029 age is major issue for world leaders, usa is great example, two grandpas running for president again...

[@eliotness4029]

@@NostalgicMem0ries usa want check on his own skin how good or bad it was in USSR in 1980

[@Akula114]

Excellent production, a really superb documentary! In answer to your two questions at the end: Yes.

[@binaway]

Towards the end of his life he should have been replaced. There was just no mechanism in the Soviets state to replace a leader other than their death. Towards his end he didn't appear to still be a capable leader

[@farangkohsamui8782]

Breschnjew soll ein starker Raucher und Trinker gewesen sein...

[@mik3952]

Good video!!

[@chuckselvage3157]

Great doco thanks.👍

[@Oumegi]

"Where he prepared the territories for annexation" ... "When they liberated Czechoslovakia" said just few seconds of each other. I don't think that's how liberation works :)

[@marcokite]

yup - doubt if the Czechs or Slovaks thought they had been liberated

[@imperskiikulak446]

For the USSR, it was just liberation, because in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, there were many former Nazis among the protesters.

[@Gonzo_-zb5mf]

Brezhnev was definitively a better leader than his predecessor Chrustschow and all the people in power during the first years of the SU, the 30's, 40's, 50's. The economic problems can also origin from the environment: These were the first moves to colonize land that had never been colonized before. Moreover, in Kazakhstan, where water is a scarce commodity, his usual ways to pay farmers more and to give party members a second chance didn´t work so well with too less water. If he had not become that ill, he likely would have wanted Gorbatchow to become his successor. This doc shed new light on his early life, too. So thank you very much for uploading!

[@erikriza7165]

"I kissed President James Carter on the lips in public." -Brezhnev

[@manuelantonioalvarezalonso4042]

Me parece que hizo un buen trabajo, dentro de lo posible.

[@raab2569]

This is exactly how corporations work......"who makes decisions (whether bad or good) to look good to my bosses" Bosses are like "who is on (MY) team""" Everyone just looking out for who are close their close own. It's not a party/ideological thing, it's a "i/my family gets a better life" and thus the human struggle emergences.

[@Olliemets]

My thoughts exactly. Exhibit A for those Machievelians looking to climb the Corp ladder. Signed- Happily retired Corp vet.

[@janveit2226]

It is an excellent video.

[@miriamzajfman4305]

Excellent Documentary !

[@mattgeorge90]

One of the best channels on KZbin!

[@GorazdCvetic]

Good documentary, not blinded by ideologies. In the description of the time before June 1941, what is perhaps missing is pointing out Stalin's decision to eliminate most of the Red Army leadership during the Great Purge 1937-1939 and during the 1941 Red Army Purge, the decision which probably significantly prolonged World War II. Yet most of Russian citizens now admire and respect Stalin and Putin more than any other historical personality.

[@Jenseduca]

The key word is "probably". What do you do when the top Army command is planing a coup right at the time when a war at your doorstep? Well, I have another "probably" for you, probably it saved USSR from loosing to Germans. Whatever "probably" there is the fact remains - the Soviets won that war, the most destructive war in human history and it was under Stalins leadership.

[@joro8604]

Well done. Good background on the detente. So complicated.

[@thehillbillygamer2183]

So Brad's neck was in charge of basically stealing the people's land and murdering them if they didn't like it

[@fredk9999]

Amazing! Thank you for the brilliant presentation

[@franciscoguillermojauregui6725]

Quite different a Sovit leader. Extraordinary documentary

[@user-ni9ix7st9t]

Love the video can you do Puyi and Emil Maurice ❤

[@krakenkraken1]

Excelente Documental

[@paulwiths]

I still go with Germany being the main guilty party. They knew that the schlieffen plan would be unlikely to deliver their knock out blow once Russia's massive armament program was finished in 1917. The Germans also had the power to reign in the Austrians at any time, but they never did. I think it was a case of a war that they might win now or never a few years later. They also had made preparations, such as the widening of the kiel canal by 1914

[@johnnyraider]

Thanks!

[@PeopleProfiles]

Thank you!