Thoughts on Reading Eighteen Years of Brezhnev

First of all, I want to say that because my family doesn't have biographies of Soviet leaders, this book is similar to biographies of celebrities. Let me talk about my feelings about reading this book.

This book is very well written and runs through the events of Brezhnev's reign. From these political events, his attitude towards reform and the change of leadership, we can profoundly reflect his personality characteristics. Conversely, Brezhnev's personality characteristics will inevitably have a great influence on his ruling style. Under the Soviet Union's model of unity of party and government, one-party dictatorship and one-person dictatorship, the dark side (or shortcomings) of Brezhnev's personality will be on the Soviet Union.

Bo's success is inseparable from his personality. To paraphrase a famous saying, "Character determines fate",

Let's learn more about Brezhnev through his personality and ruling style.

Brezhnev took office and adopted a relatively steady policy. His policy is to "keep the inheritance as much as possible and avoid going to extremes". 1968 After the "Prague Spring" in Czechoslovakia was suppressed, Brezhnev's ruling style obviously tended to be conservative.

From the point of view of being an ordinary person, Brezhnev is definitely a good man. He is compassionate, soft-hearted and even prone to tears. He has shed tears on serious diplomatic occasions many times. Brezhnev was always gentle and considerate to people and shared his worries for others. All the people who have had all contact with Brezhnev have deep feelings for him.

From the outside, Brezhnev is also a likable person. He has a broad, chiseled face, always with a gentle, charitable and charming smile; Big eyes, thick eyebrows and burly figure show a man's fortitude and spirit. He loves driving and hunting, and he likes watching movies and performances very much. As the country's top leader, he often personally awarded various medals to his favorite actors.

Brezhnev's talent is mediocre. He has no higher education, and his knowledge is not profound enough and his professional ability is not strong. Whether working in local departments or serving as the top leader of the party and the state, Brezhnev's questioning shortcomings are obvious. He lacks in-depth thinking about his work, can't grasp the essence of things, and rarely completes his work tasks creatively. When speaking to the public, he always reads the manuscript drafted by his secretary word for word. Once out of the speech, it is difficult for him to say a word independently.

Brezhnev is also a short-sighted leader who lacks national leadership. He always muddled through problems, tried to cover up contradictions and did not pursue a thorough solution to the problems, which bought a deep hidden danger for the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

In a word, Brezhnev's eighteen years occupy a very important position in the history of the Soviet Union, which deserves our study.