Leonid Brezhnev New Year's Address (1979) [Subtitled]

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8 жыл бұрын

In late December 1979, Leonid Il'ich Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR sat in front of a television camera in a make-shift Moscow studio to record a New Year's Address to Soviet Youth. At the time, Brezhnev had been de facto head of the world's "second" superpower for some fifteen years.
Seventy-three-years old, seriously overweight, addicted to alcohol and sleeping pills, and suffering from a host of health problems (including severe arteriosclerosis and the aftereffects of several heart attacks and minor strokes), the Soviet Premier was a (barely) living symbol of the wreckage that had become the "Soviet Experiment." Despite these daunting challenges, Il'ich persevered. He completed not one but two takes of the ceremonial address albeit amid slurred speech and obvious signs of his compromised physical and mental capacities.
The address was standard late Soviet-era pablum: expressions of dismay over war, hunger, and want; posturing about the Soviet government's solicitous regard for the well-being of its children; and hopeful assertions of the more joyous future to come.
Only days prior to recording his New Year's address, the Communist Party chief had authorized the Soviet Red Army and Air Force to invade the neighboring state of Afghanistan. The ensuing military occupation would inaugurate a decades-long tragedy that outlasted not only Brezhnev, but the USSR itself.

Пікірлер: 18

@channelingusllcix3512 7 жыл бұрын

Have you heard the joke where Brezhnev is showing his elderly mother around the Kremlin? He's showing her the expensive paintings on the wall, the fine china, the authentic oak desk he uses and the Mercedes the gov provides for him. "Look mother, look at all we have achieved!" His mother replies "Yes, yes, Leonoid that is all fine and well but what if the Bolsheviks come back?"

@brianrunyon266 8 жыл бұрын

He was in pretty bad shape at this point.

@seek_9097 8 жыл бұрын

THOSE BROWS 😓

@ridrod93 8 жыл бұрын

Fellow looked like he was ready to keel over while speaking!

@farraswijaya9267 8 жыл бұрын

December '79: the beginning of soviet afghanistan war

@wilsonfisk6626 7 жыл бұрын

At this point in time he had already suffered a stroke. Brezhnev was incredibly vain. Wonder what the ordinary Soviet citizen thought of their General Secretary with his extremely slurred speech?

@TomG1990 7 жыл бұрын

"I remember the blizzard. Your grandmother and I had to wear... hats... and ear muffs... and galoshes... and scarves... and... oh, those didn't exist then. But it was... a cold winter. I used to have to... use a shovel... and things like that..." Of course they would pick the most charismatic person they could find to deliver the speech.

@jlalis 8 жыл бұрын

poor grandpa

@popovikrg836 7 жыл бұрын

On these times he was the best friend of Bulgaria and that's why we will always love him. Many people speak bad for the komunism but for my country I can say that in the time of comunism we rised the population from around 3,5 milions to 9 milion population. The comunist countries as Bulgaria and USSR had the best holiday systems, the best sport model and the best health polytic and the best social polytic and the best education system and the education was absolutely for everyone rich or poor or poorest! Also the people in Bulgaria did not know what does narcotic mean until year 1989. Can you even imagine entire country without narcotics? By this time the people in the "democratic"countries were dying from drugs and in the same time the people in BG did not know what that mean. But the problem was that the communism needed very very big changes needed to be improved and needed to give the people to make their own business. For examp look the chinese model but even this model needs improvements. All we can be sure that the communism is not dead.