Lived quietly and muffled

This is a whole era in the life of the country, and one of the longest and, to be honest, not the worst. Although, of course, there were bad things in it too. Analyzing this time, we recall the Helsinki agreements, the historic Soyuz-Apollo docking, the entry of troops into Afghanistan, the Olympics-80, the construction of the century, dissident processes and, of course, stagnation. Today in Pyatnitsa, eyewitnesses and experts talk about Brezhnev and his role in history.

Each person who lived in the 70-80s of the last century has his own image of that era. I also have it, and not just one, so this is an ambiguous period. The very first thing that comes to mind is the feeling: is it really going to be like this forever? Will the endless plenums and meetings in the Central Committee of the CPSU, the speeches of the dull Kremlin elders, the battles for the harvest, hockey matches on TV and queues, queues, queues never end ...

Recalls Arnold Kharitonov, famous journalist, writer:

“When Brezhnev came, we vaguely understood that they were fighting up there, and everyone thought that Brezhnev was a temporary figure. And in the end, he stayed in office until his death, 18 years. At this time, anecdotes entered our life, which never happened under Stalin and could not be. And interestingly, under Stalin everything was hidden, and under Brezhnev everyone knew everything: that he did not write the books “Small Land” and “Virgin Land” about the lovers and husbands of his daughter Galina. And one more thing: Brezhnev did not make any shocking movements. 18 years old and nothing to say. They lived quietly and muffled.

Arnold Innokentevich recalls the famous phrase: "History repeats itself twice: the first time in the form of a tragedy, the second - in the form of a farce." Undoubtedly, the Brezhnev era is a complete farce.

“Remember how he could hardly stand on his feet and could not speak. And this is his childhood love for various orders and medals! Everyone laughed at him. One day he came to Irkutsk, talked to an aircraft factory worker, and immediately this worker was given the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. I remember the last time it was shown on TV in 1982 during a visit to Baku. Together with Heydar Aliyev, they arrived at the monument to 26 Baku commissars. Aliyev held him very tightly by the arm. First, Brezhnev bowed towards the monument, then Aliev turned it around to the people, and for some reason he bowed again. Apparently, he didn’t understand what was going on.”

Just during these years, Arnold Kharitonov had a chance to work both in newspapers and on television, that is, at the forefront of the ideological front.

“Censorship was rampant. We were under two caps - the regional committee of the CPSU and the Komsomol. Behind every word, every photograph they imagined a catch, a provocation, a second meaning. Once I was called by the head of the press sector to reprimand me for a photo of a dog in a tattered vest. Like, the sailors will be indignant, how dare they put a vest on a dog - a symbol of the Soviet fleet. I was stunned: what a connection - sailors in many countries of the world wear vests, and even pirates wore them. I can tell hundreds of such cases.

Vladimir Demchikov, a blogger, publicist and impresario, recalls the numerous portraits of "dear Leonid Ilyich" and his colleagues in the Politburo, which were everywhere - from newspapers and house walls to schools and TV:

“Moreover, these images were deliberately made on the cheap. Some rags, plywood, frames for banners... Such deliberate modesty of the ubiquitous, the fragility of the unshakable. It was a little funny, a little pitiful, puzzling and perceived simply as a visual manifestation of the inherent absurdity of life. We avoided all of this."

Vladimir Sevastyanovich does not feel any emotions about that time, according to him, it was obvious that the country was simply rolling downhill by inertia.

Indeed, everything was exactly like this: plywood banners, obligation to go to demonstrations on May 1 and November 7, conversations in kitchens, jokes ... And the very image of Leonid Ilyich, who was called nothing more than a fiery Marxist-Leninist, an outstanding leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet state, the most prominent figure in the international communist and workers' movement, a tireless fighter for peace and friendship between peoples, appears through the prism of numerous anecdotes. But most importantly, no one was afraid of Brezhnev, and they were not taken seriously at all. Especially in recent years. Here it is worth remembering how he was buried, because in our country a funeral is, so to speak, the moment of truth. It is during the funeral that the true attitude of people towards a statesman is manifested. No, of course, there were official speeches, national mourning, but, to be honest, many breathed a sigh of relief, because they no longer had the strength to look at the helpless old man.

“We went to show our new film in the Nizhneudinsky district,” recalls Arnold Kharitonov, “the first secretary of the district party committee was with us. And here we are sitting in the hut, and on the radio they announce his death. I ask the secretary: “The show should probably be canceled?” He: “Why cancel? There was no team." “Well, maybe a minute of silence to announce?” - "Not. We can’t announce it ourselves, there was no team.” - “You are probably going to Nizhneudinsk now?” - "What for? After the film, let's go, have a drink, eat, and the next morning I'll go. And no one sobbed, only the watchman nailed the mourning ribbon to the flag. And when Stalin died, I remember very well, everyone was crying. Both adults and children."

Was there a stalemate?

For some, the Brezhnev era is hopeless darkness, stagnation, timelessness, while others remember this period as a time of rapid development.

“Of course, it was not stagnation,” I am sure Vladimir Aksenov, secretary of the Irkutsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for outreach work, - there was growth in the country in all sectors. Everything is known in comparison: under him, 38 poultry farms were built in the Irkutsk region, now only three are working. As for Leonid Ilyich himself, he was a practical and completely disinterested person. We evaluate it positively, although time required more. Everyone says - coupons, shortages, but I think that this was done artificially. Many of the conquests of that time were adopted by other countries, such as free medicine and education. And they still haven't given up on it."

According to Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Limnological Institute Mikhail Grachev, under Brezhnev there was a sense of calm. Yes, there were dissidents, but the attitude towards them was more humane than under Khrushchev. The people were no longer afraid. Students hung out slogans, read samizdat.

“Someone had stagnation,” the academician says, “I didn’t have any stagnation. I generally believe that times do not choose. Of course, there was a lot of alluvial, hence the jokes. The man became old, and the environment did not want to change anything.

For Viktor Borovsky, ex-director of Irkutskenergo and chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk region in 2000-2002, the Brezhnev era was also not a lost time, much less stagnation, on the contrary, it was in those years that he took place as a successful head of a large enterprise.

“I can’t say anything bad about that era and about Brezhnev himself. This is the business of politicians: they wanted to change the regime, so they used the word “stagnation”. I worked at Irkutskenergo, there was rapid construction going on.”

Viktor Mitrofanovich said that at that time he worked at CHPP-9 in Angarsk. And when the problem of lack of capacity arose, he personally went to solve it in the Central Committee of the Party and the State Planning Commission, where they listened to him carefully and made a decision very quickly. That is, in those days there were no bureaucratic barriers: all issues were resolved promptly.

And another important point. At that time there were social elevators. Viktor Borovsky is a clear example of this. The son of a weaver and a military man, he had no connections at the top, but he was appointed to lead a large enterprise, and after that he was elected a deputy of the Angarsk Council of People's Deputies. That is, capable and active people under Brezhnev were identified and promoted. This is to the question of the supposedly existing negative selection in the Soviet years, which some publicists are so fond of talking about today.

Let us also recall that it was under Leonid Ilyich that science developed rapidly. Clear evidence of this is the Irkutsk Scientific Center. Tells Vera Rogozhina, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Institute of the Earth's Crust, People's Deputy of the USSR (1989-1991):

“I can say one thing: I worked and did not feel any stagnation. Under him, I had the opportunity to realize all my scientific tasks. Our institute developed, money was given for research as much as needed. There were prospects, no one interfered with us, we could travel in the field, we were given helicopters and equipment. Everyone got an apartment. And for free. Yes, meat stamps appeared in the early 80s. But there was a cooperative store where you could buy the same sausage, but not for 2.20, but for 5 rubles. And all the products at that time were natural: when they brought sausage, the smell stood for several hundred meters, because it was real.

We will return to the topic of coupons and total deficits, but first we need to figure out: was there a stagnation after all or not? In general, when you think about the Brezhnev era, you always experience a kind of, as they say now, a break in the pattern. Why stagnation, if it was in the 1970s that so much was built in the USSR that neither before nor after Brezhnev was built? Let us recall the all-Union shock construction projects: the Ust-Ilimskaya hydroelectric power station, BAM, KamAZ, the Druzhba oil pipeline, etc.

Word to the historian Alexander Shubin, Candidate of Sciences, Associate Professor of the East Siberian Institute of Economics and Law:

“The Brezhnev era can be divided into two periods - from 1964 to 1976 and from 1976 to 1982. The first period of his reign was successful. It was then that our economy reached high rates of development. And what is very important, for the first time in the history of the USSR, the production of consumer goods was going at a faster pace. That is, they began to produce clothes, furniture, televisions, refrigerators, etc. I remember as soon as I got married in 1979 and immediately received a warrant for an apartment, my wife and I went to the store and calmly bought a refrigerator. And before, you had to stand in line for three years.”

During this period, wages began to rise. Recall that under Khrushchev, honorary diplomas and titles were the main incentives for increasing efficiency.

Cash prizes were symbolic, five rubles, no more. Under Brezhnev, they began to pay the 13th salary. Enterprises have the opportunity to allocate part of the earned funds for housing construction. The foreign policy of the USSR was also successful. A cooperation agreement with the United States, the Helsinki Act, was signed. The USSR constantly came up with peace initiatives, which increased our authority in the international arena.

But it was not possible to keep this course. Late Brezhnev is the revival of imperial politics in its purest form.

We again began to spend huge amounts of money on defense, the production of tanks and weapons. The money also went to support friendly regimes in other countries. And the apotheosis of this unreasonable policy was the introduction of troops into Afghanistan. All this eventually undermined the country's economy, and we spoiled relations with the whole world. Thus, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was a major political figure until the mid-70s, and after that he was a minor politician of the era of Alla Pugacheva.

Historian, Ph.D. Sergei Schmidt managed to catch the Brezhnev era. When the General Secretary died, he was 11 years old, and he perfectly remembers both the deficit and talk about the queue, but he also remembers the rapid housing construction in Irkutsk, and the fact that the families of classmates received apartments.

“Not a single historian will deny that 18 years of Brezhnev's rule is the most peaceful period in the history of the country in the 20th century. Paradoxical as it may seem, but the Brezhnev era is actually the birth of private life in the USSR, the formation of a new individualistic psychology, freed from Stalinist totalitarianism and the sixties "collectivism". You can talk about the Soviet deficit for a long time, but it was in the era of stagnation that the foundations of the modern consumer society and consumer psychology were formed.

Yes, the Brezhnev USSR was doomed, like any authoritarian-conservative regime. He did not much outlive his symbol and creator. An attempt to "reboot" a thoroughly frozen system led to its collapse. However, for a researcher free from the prejudices of zoological anti-Sovietism, the significance of this period in Russian history is undeniable, and Brezhnev's Soviet society is in some ways much more interesting than the Soviet society of the era of Stalin and Khrushchev.

And read and watch

Contradictions are at every turn. They say: when the scoop was strangled freedom, including creative. But for some reason, it was under Leonid Ilyich that the heyday of Soviet cinema took place. And the films loved since childhood, which can be watched endlessly and from any place, were created just then: “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha”, “Kalina Krasnaya”, “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, “Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson” and many others. It was during the Brezhnev years that Andrei Tarkovsky filmed Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Stalker and the absolute masterpiece of all time Mirror. There is a version that censorship even in some way encouraged artists to look for new forms and metaphors. Interestingly, many films of that time are generally devoid of an ideological component, for example, The Irony of Fate by Eldar Ryazanov looks like a story that could happen in any country. And after all, somehow they were missed on the screens of cinemas. Although, of course, many films went on the shelf, this cannot be denied.

At the same time, outstanding theater directors worked: Yuri Lyubimov, Anatoly Efros, Oleg Efremov, Georgy Tovstonogov. Yes, they had problems, and not everyone was allowed to stage, but they still worked and created legendary performances. And Brezhnev personally did not allow the famous Taganka Theater to be shut down, that's a fact.

Also during this period, a great interest in various spiritual teachings and philosophical knowledge appeared in society. And it doesn't seem to be banned. This was especially carried away among scientists and the intelligentsia.

“I myself, as a graduate student, participated in the work of the Novosibirsk group Integral,” recalls Nikolai Vasiliev, Philosopher, Candidate of Sciences, Head of the Department of Humanitarian Disciplines at the Russian Law Academy of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. - No one forbade us to hold Roerich readings. I listened to the speech of Svyatoslav Roerich twice. I saw Lev Gumilyov when he returned from exile. Imagine! His ideas were disseminated through various articles and collections. I personally belonged to the association of Zen Buddhists, and we mastered this culture from a cognitive standpoint. And all this happened quite officially at seminars in the House of Scientists. The Brezhnev period is a great creative time: science, space, art.”

And television! It was customary to kick him, they say, one lie and propaganda. But remember that under the “totalitarian” Brezhnev regime, in addition to the programs “I Serve the Soviet Union” and “Lenin University of Millions”, the legendary and even avant-garde KVN, What? Where? When?”, “You Can Do It” and “Funny Guys”. And interestingly, the heroes of these programs looked absolutely normal, modern young people, not crushed by propaganda. That is, the communist ideology was on its own, and people lived and developed on their own. Especially the youth. It differed little from the youth in Europe. I listened to the same music (although I had to get it out), dressed the same way, went to discos the same way.

Coupons, shortages, queues

Until the end of the seventies, there were no big problems with products. I was a child, but I remember huge heads of cheese and hams hanging on hooks in our deli. Then there were queues for sausage, and quite wild ones, you had to stand in them for hours without hope, because the sausage could suddenly end in front of you.

Gradually, standing in lines in the USSR became the meaning of life. Seeing the line, people automatically got into it, not even knowing what they were selling.

In 1980 (and according to some sources, in 1979), coupons for meat and butter were introduced in Irkutsk. Two coupons per person per month. On the ticket you could take 800 g of sausage, or a pack of dumplings, or a soup set, or a chicken, or 10 cutlets. Coupons were issued in the house management strictly according to the passport for all family members, including newborns. Moreover, the presence of a coupon was not a guarantee of the purchase of the desired product.

“It was good luck to take two packs of dumplings for one coupon, which were stretched for several days,” recalls the sociologist, dean of the social faculty of the Institute of Social Sciences of ISU, candidate of philosophical sciences Evgenia Goltsova. - Coupons were not merchandised in all stores, so there were always queues, crush and even tragedy. In a grocery store on Zhukovsky Street, the buttons from my coat were somehow torn off in a stampede.

Interestingly, people did not particularly grumble and even welcomed the introduction of the coupon system. They said: let 800 grams of sausage, but everyone will have enough. Later, after Brezhnev's death, coupons for vodka, sugar, toilet and laundry soap, and vegetable oil appeared.

double morality

And now, more than 30 years later, many Russians have begun to feel nostalgic for the Brezhnev era. On the Web, you can find dozens of forums where people write that there was no better time in their life. Why?

“Firstly, people tend to forget everything,” Evgenia Goltsova explains, “especially the bad. The social memory of our population is short. People have forgotten Stalin's sins and in the same way they have forgotten all the bad things that happened under Brezhnev. I remember how in the spring of 1979 we, students, were gathered in the gym of the technical school and held a rally in support of the decision of the party and government to send troops to Afghanistan. Around the same time, a graduate of our technical school, the brother of my classmate, joined the army. And a few months later he returned ... in a zinc coffin.

Secondly, many of those who today say that everything was fine under Brezhnev were then much younger. And in youth, as they say, "the girls were more beautiful, and the sausage was tastier." For many, longing for the Brezhnev years is a longing for bygone youth.

Thirdly, we must not forget that everything is known in comparison. There is interesting data from VTsIOM at the beginning of the 2000s on the attitude of the population towards the Brezhnev era, in which people rated it with a plus sign. Why? Because those who had just survived the "dashing" 90s answered. Under Brezhnev, they already had something: a job, an apartment, a dacha, a sense of stability, but in the 90s they had to survive. People were losing their savings, jobs, loved ones... Therefore, many began to remember the old days with nostalgia.

However, not everyone is nostalgic for Brezhnev's stability. Because it was then that such phenomena as deficit, blat appeared. According to the sociologist, in the 1980s, the needs and interests of the population grew, and the possibilities of satisfying them lagged behind. The so-called double morality appeared, which was reflected in art. Many films were shot in which this was condemned: “Award”, “I ask for words”, “Alien letters”, “Joke”, etc. As a result of adapting to such a life, people developed a kind of immunity, which was otherwise called indifference, that is don't take anything seriously. And of course, the alcoholization of society. People drank from hopelessness, from lies, from constant breaks in the pattern.

Thus, ideology came into conflict with real life. Many experts believe that in the 1970s, Soviet society had already moved away from the Leninist ideology, in fact it had become bourgeois. The main values ​​of that period are an apartment, six acres, a Romanian wall, a Czech chandelier. And, of course, people are already tired of the slogans "The plans of the party are the plans of the people."

Historian, professor at ISU Viktor Dyatlov believes that it is necessary to separate the personality of Brezhnev himself and his era.

“The era of stagnation is a very inadequate definition,” says the professor. - In fact, this is an era of huge internal transformations associated with the ideological demobilization of society, and in many respects the authorities. For socialism, as an ideocratic system, this is death. Unanimity, the dissolution of a person in the state, unity, mobilization - these are the most important conditions for existence.

Under Brezhnev, society began to lose faith in a bright future, in the justice and justification of the existing system of relations. Socialism offered to live in conditions of constant mobilization and ideological excitement, constant struggle. And people are just tired. They wanted simple human joys.

“I would define stagnation as a process of privatization of a person. People in the mass did not rebel, they did not become ideological opponents of socialism. They just started living for themselves. And it was this life that pronounced a death sentence on the system for itself. Yes, and the government itself was disappointed in the mobilization, under Brezhnev there were no more mass repressions. And the regime began to rot alive. Cynicism and doublethink became the norm. Publicly they said one thing, in the kitchen - another, they thought the third. Socialism gradually turned into a ritual, into an empty shell in which no one believed. And he collapsed himself, fell apart, as they say, out of the blue. No war, no cataclysms, no internal opposition. Not one of the 18 million members of the CPSU came to his defense in 1991.”

In conclusion, it begs to throw a bridge from the era of stagnation to our time. Today in Russia we have almost everything that was under Brezhnev: stability, pride in the state, and even the stores have everything. Only for some reason new Tarkovskys and Lyubimovs do not appear.

• The independent think tank Yuri Levada recently asked Russians which of the last century's leaders they value most and remember best. And the citizens chose Brezhnev, who - at first with a firm, and then with an increasingly weak hand - ruled the empire from 1964 to 1982. And although liberals are tearing their hair out, there is nothing to be surprised here. ( An excerpt from an article by Vatslav Radzivinovich “Dear Leonid Ilyich”).

Memorial plaque on the house where the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev lived. Until recently, he was the hero of jokes, and today he is the leader in popularity among Russian historical figures in opinion polls. How do they remember the one whose era was called the "Brezhnev stagnation"?

It took twenty-two years to restore the memorial plaque on the house where Brezhnev lived. This is a beautiful, literally related, but still a copy. The original has a mysterious history. At one time, they got rid of it, like a trinket that went out of fashion. Either they were sold to Germany, or they were presented to the German people. This was done by a big man, the then deputy mayor of Moscow Sergey Stankevich.

He received a written thanks from the private museum Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. The owners, Hildebrand collectors, continue to claim that they found the bronze plaque at some sawmill. There is a twist in this situation. Why it is unclear.

It is also impossible to understand why they tried to erase the memory of Brezhnev, but did not encroach on Andropov. The board is intact. On the same house: Kutuzovsky, 26. The house, however, was always called "Brezhnevsky" by the people.

"I was young. I was 30 years old. I couldn't keep up with him. He had lunch for eight minutes. I left the table hungry at first. Throw everything away and go to the cars. Then I learned to eat quickly. I still eat quickly," - recalls Brezhnev's personal photographer Vladimir Musaelyan.

Energetic, mobile, delving into everything Brezhnev. After Khrushchev's throwing, unpredictability, he brought calm and meaningfulness.

There is no space station "Mir" yet. There is only a layout. But Brezhnev knows what it will be, and enthusiastically tells Fidel Castro about it.

And shock Komsomol construction! A tradition that created a heroic halo of romance around hard work. The entire oil and gas industry of the North appeared under Berzhnev.

"Over this period of time, the country has moved forward - both in terms of defense, and in terms of economic development, and in terms of international prestige. Indeed, during the Brezhnev period, the Cold War was put to an end, and the meeting with the American president took place. And it did not take place simply at the request of the Americans, but in connection with the state of the Soviet Union, "said Vladimir Dolgikh, in 1972-1988 - Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

“I said that I was quite good-natured, democratic and smoked a pipe all the time. He is a pipe smoker. Leonid Ilyich was very interested in this story, and he immediately gave the order to find a good pipe for a gift to Ford,” recalls Valentin Zorin.

The Soviet people were not supposed to know about Brezhnev's gifts. And about the gifts from the sharks of capitalism, which the Secretary General rejoiced like a child, even more so. Rolls-Royce, Mercedes, boat trips, a weakness for the female sex - this is also Brezhnev. Sociable, imposing, he easily attracted attention.

In the mid-70s, the country recognized another Brezhnev, and the fact that the Secretary General could not utter a word without a piece of paper was the lesser of evils. Leonid Ilyich passed - a stroke, insomnia, life on stimulants and sleeping pills. And then - the death of his mother, who devastated him internally.

Heavy and senseless party events did not change anything. The economy moved by inertia. The USSR was the only country in the world whose nuclear submarines could suddenly surface off the beach of San Francisco, but its military power cost its citizens to give up basic benefits. Ideological rigidity created an atmosphere of despondency, but the only person who could tell Brezhnev about his retirement was his wife.

“He and his wife were watching TV in the country, and Victoria Pavlovna said: “Lenya, look at who you look like! You don't walk or speak. Retire,” said Oleg Storovov, in 1974-1982 he was the commandant of the Zarechye-6 state dacha, a retired colonel of the KGB of the USSR.

“For some period, Brezhnev considered Vladimir Vasilyevich Shcherbitsky, the leader of Ukraine, as his successor. At some stage, he stopped his thoughts about a successor, because he was surrounded by three figures, without whom he could not do anything,” explained Vadim Medvedev, in 1988-1990 - deputy head of the propaganda department of the Central Committee of the CPSU, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

Ustinov, Andropov, Kosygin - a triumvirate for which Brezhnev was a guarantee of predictability. There were others who knew that such predictability was a disaster.

Inozemtsev, Arbatov - economists who tried to shake the general secretary.

“In Zavidovo, during one get-together, I was sitting a little further, and they were talking to him. Everything was heard. He suddenly says this phrase: “Yes, of course, it’s necessary, but this, guys, without me, after me,” said Karen Brutents, in 1976-1986 - Deputy Head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

It turns out that there was no Brezhnev era. There were at least two eras. According to the Levada Center, today Russians sympathize with Leonid Ilyich more than any politician who led the country in the 20th century. For some, it is nostalgia when you remember how kind the neighbors were to each other, and you forget how long the queues at the grocery store were. For others, this is the memory of a great country and a leader who managed to lead it without shocks.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

More than thirty years have passed since we live without this man. When we were little, it seemed to us that Brezhnev would always be. His presence in our lives guaranteed a bright future. The generation of our grandfathers and parents still believed in a bright future, which would certainly become real, well, we are at one with them.

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, laureate of the Lenin Prize, holder of countless orders, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev came to power in 1964, deposing his predecessor, and died at the age of 76 years. When he died, all and sundry began to laugh at him. Although, probably, making fun of the memory of a front-line soldier, no matter who he becomes after the war, general secretary or janitor, is not such a worthy thing.

Most people identify almost 20 years of his reign with his last years in the Kremlin. He speaks indistinctly, all in orders, does not think well, there is a cult of personality in the country, gerontocracy and, in general, “stagnation”.
Behind the cliches and prejudice, neither the real personality of the Secretary General, nor his real successes are visible.

But after a while, people got bored of him. Today, the period of Brezhnev's rule is perceived as a mythological era, and the Secretary General himself as a completely cult character.

Firstly, Brezhnev was at the beginning of his reign the most educated of all secretaries general. If Lenin did not truly graduate from the law institute, Stalin did not finish his studies at the theological academy, Khrushchev generally had no pretense of education, then Brezhnev was a first-class land surveyor, while showing himself to be an excellent organizer at the university, knew a lot of poetry and generally read a lot, in any memories of him can be found.

Mother - N. D. Brezhnev and father I. Ya. Brezhnev

Secondly, from a young age until 1975, Brezhnev was the standard of efficiency and strength. At 22, he was the head of the land department of the Bisert district, chairman of the district executive committee and at the same time a deputy of the district council. And if he had not been insanely energetic, he would not have had such a career - fast and impressive. At 26 he was the director of the Kamensk Metallurgical College, at 35 he was a colonel, at 37 he was the head of the political department of the 18th army, major general, at 39 he was the first secretary of the Zaporozhye regional committee, at 40 he was the first secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk regional committee, at 44 he was a deputy of the Supreme Council , 45 - Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, 48 - Head of Kazakhstan, 50 - Member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, 54 - Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, 57 - Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU

Victoria and Leonid Brezhnev (1927)

During the war years, Brezhnev did not have strong patronage, and he did not reach special heights. At the beginning of the war he was promoted to the rank of colonel, at the end of the war he was a major general, having advanced only one rank. They did not indulge him in terms of awards. By the end of the war, he had two orders of the Red Banner, one - the Red Star, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky and two medals.

At that time, for a general, this was not enough. During the Victory Parade on Red Square, where Major General Brezhnev walked along with the commander at the head of the consolidated column of his front, there were much fewer awards on his chest than other generals.

The consolidated regiment of the 4th Ukrainian Front follows the venue of the Victory Parade on 24.06. 1945 Ahead .... Brezhnev

In any memories of him you will find words about his charm, sense of humor and insane performance, presentable appearance - thick eyebrows, snow-white teeth. There is an interesting fact in his biography - several times he fainted right at the productions that he led - due to 2-3 sleepless days before that. Until his old age, he loved to ride in a car. Henry Kissinger: “With Brezhnev at the wheel, we rushed at high speed along narrow winding country roads, so that one could only pray that some policeman would appear at the nearest intersection and put an end to this risky game.

L. I. Brezhnev - cadet of the Trans-Baikal armored school (1936)

But it was too incredible, because here, outside the city, if there was a traffic inspector, he would hardly have dared to stop the car of the General Secretary of the Party.", US President Richard Nixon testified to the same: "He insisted on immediately trying out the gift . He got behind the wheel and enthusiastically pushed me into the passenger seat. The head of my bodyguard turned pale when he saw me getting inside.

Brigadier Commissar L. I. Brezhnev (1942)

We rushed along one of the narrow roads that run around the perimeter around Camp David. Brezhnev was accustomed to moving unhindered through the central streets of Moscow, and I could only imagine what would happen if a Secret Service jeep or Marines suddenly appeared around a corner on this one-way road. In one place there was a very steep descent with a bright sign and the inscription: "Slow, dangerous turn."

Even when I was driving a sports car here, I used the brakes to get off the road. Brezhnev was driving over 50 miles (80 km) per hour as we approached the descent. I leaned forward and said, "Slow descent, slow descent," but he ignored it. We reached the end of the descent, tires screeching as he slammed on the brakes and turned. After our trip, Brezhnev told me: “This is a very good car. He's doing great on the road." “You are a great driver,” I replied. “I could never turn here at the speed you were driving.” Diplomacy is not always an easy art."

L. I. Brezhnev talking with soldiers before the battle on the Southern Front (1942)

The man on the posters, whose name was “dear Leonid Ilyich”, changed over the years - there were more awards on the jacket, and the face acquired a comical character. Anecdotes about Brezhnev were not funny, their narrators basically copied the manner of speech.

Brezhnev's awards are not pieces of gold hung on the chest out of folly and vanity. Of his 55 awards, 22 were received on a general basis and for absolutely serious merits. 7 orders - combat, received for success in the war, incl. rare, "elite" orders - the Red Banner, for example, "for special courage, dedication and courage in direct combat activities", had medals for the defense of Odessa, the Caucasus, for the liberation of Warsaw, Prague - is it really a young and unknown native of a peasant family these Did they give rewards? It is known that Malaya Zemlya, where he fought, was bombed around the clock (it was not for nothing that he received a shell shock), for 7 months there were no birds, no animals, no trees left on the territory.

Delegation of workers of Georgia in the 18th army. L. I. Brezhnev in the top row, far right (1943)

In adulthood, long before becoming Secretary General, Brezhnev receives a medal "For the restoration of the ferrous metallurgy enterprise of the south", "For the development of virgin lands". Yes, at the end of his life, the chest of the leader of the USSR is indeed covered with armor from medals and orders - but not so much from vanity, but from the desire of the leaders of friendly republics to express their respect to the Secretary General, so he received the "Order of Independence" of New Guinea, 2 stars of the first class "Star of Indonesia", "Order of the Revolution" of the Republic of Yemen, Order of the "Sun of Peru" of the first degree, Order of the "Star of Honor" from Ethiopia. So these stars accumulated - first with real merits, then from real servants.

By the way, maybe it was because he himself went through the war that so much was done for veterans during his reign? Until 1965, even on anniversaries, May 9 was not celebrated, there was not even a day off - so, former soldiers sometimes gathered for a glass, no more. It was under Brezhnev that benefits were introduced for veterans of the Second World War, for them - free travel in public transport and increased pensions, the title of "Hero City" was introduced for cities that distinguished themselves in the Second World War.

Everyone got used to the presence of Leonid Ilyich and the broadcast of his long speeches at party congresses was perceived as a carpet on the wall.

Under Brezhnev, the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves increased 5 times (from 1964 to 1982). GDP grows THREE times (annual growth - 10%), inflation rate - about 1%. If you go to the website of Rosavtodor, you will see that 2 decades of Leonid Ilyich’s reign are called the “golden twenty years”, because the growth in the rate of road construction under him reached 20% per year, the volume of motor-building grew by 10% per year, the Baikal-Amur railroad is being built d highway. the metro in Moscow and other cities has turned from a tourist attraction into a real public transport. In the era of "stagnation" new cities are being built - Nizhnevartovsk, Kogalym, Nadym, Noyabrsk, Novy Urengoy, Neftyuugansk, Kachkanar.

Factories are being built - AvtoVAZ, KAMAZ, about 30 new models of transport are being created, airports are being built - Sheremetyevo - 2, Pulkovo. Of the 13 HPPs currently operating, 11 were built under Brezhnev - incl. Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP and Krasnoyarsk. The virgin lands were raised - after all, when the decision was made to "raise" it, the country faced the threat of famine. 45 million hectares of land were sown, grain production increased by 2 (!) times. Expenses for the company - 37 billion, profit - 63. The foreign trade turnover of the USSR grows 15 times from 1960 to 1985, from 10 billion to 150 billion, and in terms of air transportation the USSR ranks first in the world.

No one was interested in what Brezhnev was doing in his post, but everyone knew about his weakness for the female sex, food, good drinks, hunting and expensive cars.

It is very easy to learn about the social sphere under Brezhnev - ask your parents or remember for yourself. Were there endless lines, perpetual shortages, empty shelves, unemployment, homelessness, poverty, a sense of life behind the Iron Curtain? Under Brezhnev, 1.5 billion sq. m. of housing - 160 million people received new apartments and houses, despite the fact that 2/3 of the purchase of an apartment was taken over by the state, people also had dachas "forbidden" under Khrushchev - 6 acres per person. Increased pensions for the disabled (1964).

The term of service in the army is reduced by 1 year, the six-day working week is replaced by a five-day one, the national income grows by 5%, the incomes of citizens grow by 1.5 times, the Labor Code is issued - the Code of Labor Laws, in accordance with which collective farmers are issued passports, the system is canceled " workdays, guaranteed wages. Motherhood and the institution of the family are given tremendous support - at the birth of a second child, the mother begins to receive monthly payments in the amount of 100 rubles, child benefits grow, and there is no unemployment.

The food basket in terms of quality and cost reaches the level of the USA and France. The persecution of believers is stopped, the Crimean Tatars are being rehabilitated, and the number of scientists is increasing by 3 times. Maybe that's why the population of the USSR under Brezhnev grew by 20 million people (see the census of 1970 and 1979) that it was a good time to live?

Space industry. If we take the main milestones of its development under Brezhnev, the picture will be as follows: 1965 - the Institute of Space Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences was opened, the first manned spacewalk, 1966 - the first landing on the moon of the automatic station Luna-9, 1966 - the launch of the world's first artificial satellite Moon "Luna-10", 1967 - the world's first automatic docking of the spacecraft Kosmos-186 and Kosmos-188, 1971 - the first in the world to reach the surface of Mars by the station "Mars-2". The first artificial satellite of Mars was created, the completion of the Luna program for lunar exploration, the delivery of lunar soil, Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2, the implementation of a series of manned space programs on the Salyut orbital stations and the development of the Mir station and spacecraft " Buran", 1972 - "Soyuz" - "Apollo", the famous docking of two satellites or the handshake of the USSR and the USA.

A favorite topic of Moscow secular conversations was gossip about the rich personal life of Galya's daughter - her lovers, circus magicians, diamonds and scandals. Actually, Leonid Ilyich and his family were brought to the very top by chance and, in fact, until the end they remained the family of an ordinary provincial party official, a Soviet petty bourgeois. The General Secretary himself was a simple peasant, there were not enough stars from the sky, therefore he did not arouse hostility.

Rather, on the contrary (especially in the late 60s - early 70s), his charming appearance, free manners and sense of humor were conducive.

With Nixon

Foreign policy. Brezhnev's time is usually considered in historiography as the time of detente. Brezhnev meets with the heads of many countries, primarily with the presidents of the United States, in particular, he visited Nixon in America and invited him here. Thanks to Brezhnev and his team, in 1965 the UN adopted a resolution of the USSR on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, and a convention was signed on the prohibition of bacteriological weapons.

Visit to the USA (1973). On the right - Richard Nixon, behind Brezhnev - E. I. Chazov.

With Nixon

1968 In Czechoslovakia, under the auspices of the new leader, Prague begins to move away from Moscow, censorship is abolished - the USSR and the ideas of socialism begin to be ridiculed (in particular, by the well-known and still popular Radio Liberty), rallies for the "trial of red tyrants" begin all over the country, some begin to advocate "socialism with a human face", others - for the preservation of the powers of the Soviets, as a result - the threat of a real civil war.

With Gerald Ford

The geopolitical reasons for the introduction of Soviet troops there are also understandable - the transition of Czechoslovakia to the western camp of capitalism meant the turn of all Central Europe there. In fact, one of the first attempts at the Orange Revolution was suppressed by force. Whether the Soviet leadership did the right thing or not, I don’t know.

1979. The entry of troops into Afghanistan. To the country, the battle for which between Britain and Russia has been called the "Great Game" for centuries - control over the junction of South and Central Asia ensures control over all of Central Asia. A year before the introduction of troops in Afghanistan, a revolution is made and, as is usually the case, a civil war begins. The Afghan leadership officially asks the USSR to send in its troops, to which Brezhnev replies: “I think that ... we should not be drawn into this war now. It is necessary to explain… to the Afghan comrades that we can help them with everything they need…

Leonid Brezhnev and Jimmy Carter sign the SALT-2 agreement. Vienna, 1979

The participation of our troops in Afghanistan can harm not only us, but above all them.” Initially, the Soviet leadership did not want to enter the war, but our American partners did everything to strengthen the Mujahideen and the warriors of freedom, which they do not hesitate to say themselves. This conflict is a common move of an ideological, economic and political enemy, the essence of which is to create a hot spot on the enemy's border.

In 1983, a representative of the US State Department officially recognized the fact that military assistance was provided to the Mujahideen, according to experts from the US Department of Defense, the US CIA supplied the Mujahideen with 1,000 Stinger missiles, and of this amount, about 350 were spent during the Afghan war. After the end of the war, the US Congress allocated $65 million for an operation to buy MANPADS and missiles, and some of them were bought out, but up to 400 Stingers remained in Afghanistan. And you can talk about propaganda as much as you like, but is there really little documentary evidence of the American hand in Afghanistan?

09/23/1971 President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1907-1982) (from left to right) during a meeting at the airport. Boris Kaufman/RIA Novosti

Especially foreigners - and all those advances in Soviet-American relations, relations with the FRG are largely due to Brezhnev, as a person, and not a politician. It was later that he turned into a walking mummy, and the country froze like water in a puddle.

Leonid Brezhnev with representatives of the clergy at a reception in the Kremlin on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution (1977). From left to right: Metropolitan Alexy (future patriarch), head of the Moscow Patriarchate, Patriarch Pimen, chief rabbi of the Moscow Synagogue Yakov Fishman.

In essence, Brezhnev was slowly dying before the eyes of the whole world. In recent years, he had several heart attacks and strokes, and resuscitators several times brought him out of a state of clinical death.

A lot of influential people from his entourage were interested in Brezhnev appearing in public from time to time, at least as a formal head of state. As a result, the old age, infirmity and illness of the Soviet leader became the subject not so much of sympathy and pity on the part of his fellow citizens, but of irritation and ridicule, which sounded more and more openly.

Watching brave Afghans fight against modern military equipment with the simplest weapons is a real inspiration for everyone who loves freedom. Their courage teaches us the most important lesson - there are things in this world that are worth protecting. On behalf of all Americans, I say to the people of Afghanistan, we admire your heroism, your dedication to freedom, your ongoing struggle against your oppressors.

Ronald Reagan, 1983

... my uncle called Dmitry Ustinov every day and, using the generally accepted folklore dialect, asked: "When will this ... war end?" Angry and blushing, the general secretary shouted into the phone: “Dima, you promised me that this would not be for long. Our children are dying there!”

- Lyubov Brezhnev, niece of L. I. Brezhnev

“What should I regret? This covert operation [supporting Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan] was a great idea. As a result, the Russians fell into the Afghan trap, and you want me to regret it? What is more important for world history? Taliban or collapse of the Soviet empire?
Zbigniew Brzezinski

L. I. Brezhnev at the regional agricultural exhibition of the Kamensky district, 1951

From a conversation with I.I. bodyulom

It was during the era of Brezhnev that Moldova became a developed republic ...
..The Republic has never been a dependent. We grew 350 thousand tons of meat per year in live weight, and handed over 140 thousand tons to Moscow. I remember that in 1975 the USSR produced 8.3 billion conditional cans of fruits and vegetables. The MSSR accounted for two billion. Moldova produced 45% of all tobacco produced in the USSR! Leonid Ilyich used to say to me: “Moldova is simply saving the Soviet Union. If not for you, we would have to buy tobacco abroad for gold!

- ... And how do you like the current documentary and feature films about the Secretary General?
- The creators of such paintings do not know the era well. They slip on trifles, give them everyday satire, political chatter. They are interested in what Brezhnev ate, with whom and how he slept ... And the head of such a huge state should be judged by economic indicators and the solution of social issues!
Within the framework of the USSR, the republic had limitations, but due to the fact that the MSSR was part of a huge country, Moldova developed so quickly and became a flourishing land.

During the years when Brezhnev was in power, the Moldavian SSR experienced its heyday. The future general secretary led Soviet Moldova for almost two years (from 1950 to autumn 1952).

Under Brezhnev, Moldova was in second place in terms of living standards in the Union (city, village), after Georgia! Having gained independence, we, together with Georgia, rolled down ... you know where

In general ... for our happy childhood .. THANK YOU! Dear Leonid Ilyich! And let's remember it like this!

478568 05/01/1973 Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Vladimir Musaelyan/RIA Novosti

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was in power for 18 years - a whole era for the Soviet state. You can treat his personality and the years of his reign as you like, calling them “stagnation” or “golden age”, but Brezhnev is a part of our history, and no one will cancel this.

Domestic politics

Considering the pros and cons of the "Brezhnev" years, you begin to understand the pensioners who remember those years with such warmth. It's not just nostalgia for the bygone times when they were young, it's a longing for a really good and stable life.

Main advantages:

• The economic recovery of the country. Brezhnev's rule began with changes in the country's economy - enterprises were transferred to self-supporting to pay off their products, improve their quality through economic incentives for employees. Simply put, Brezhnev tried to make plants and factories profitable and increase the material interest of workers. It was a real reform, but it gradually died out. Nevertheless, in a few years, industrial production increased by 50%, the national income increased, and by the 1970s, almost 2,000 enterprises had been built in the USSR.
• Stability in the country. An adult working person in the Soviet Union could be sure of his future - he would always have a roof over his head, a job and some material benefits.
• There was no unemployment. At all. There have always been jobs.
• Social sphere. Social spending under Brezhnev increased 3 times. Wages increased, the birth rate too, a general medical examination of the population was introduced, life expectancy increased, education was the best in the world, the number of communal apartments gradually decreased - a lot of housing was built. Yes, you had to wait 10-15 years for your own apartment, but the state provided it for free!
• The standard of living of ordinary citizens. Yes, they lived well. Are the salaries low? So you don't have to freak out. Housing, education, healthcare are free, utilities are pennies, and sausage is 2-20.
• liberal regime. The fact that Brezhnev is blamed for his sentimental nature and inability to make firm decisions explains his rather loyal attitude towards dissent. Yes, there was censorship, communist demagogy, dissidents were persecuted and punished, but there was no “witch hunt”. There were only a few convicted under "anti-Soviet" articles, more often dissidents were simply expelled from the country.

• "Stagnation". The economy practically stopped developing in the 1970s. She demanded reforms, but the general welfare of the country (thanks to the oil "boom") allowed Brezhnev not to think about it. The growth of industry and agriculture stopped, a food crisis was brewing, and in technology the Soviet Union lagged behind the developed countries for many decades.
• Corruption. Corruption under Brezhnev reached appalling proportions, especially in the last years of his rule. The army of Soviet officials, inspired by the General Secretary's condoning attitude towards the unseemly actions of his family members, stole and took millions of bribes.
• Shadow economy. The shortage of basic goods and products contributed to the emergence of a "black" market. Speculation flourished, theft at state enterprises reached unprecedented proportions, and underground production arose.

Foreign policy

Brezhnev's foreign policy was rather contradictory, and yet his indisputable merit was the easing of international tension, the reconciliation of the socialist and capitalist camps of countries. If he did not lead an active policy of "demining", who knows - there would be a world in general now.

Advantages of foreign policy:

• The policy of "détente". By the mid-1970s, the nuclear forces of the USSR and the United States were equal. Despite the fact that the Soviet Union had become a superpower by this time, it was Brezhnev who initiated the policy of "détente" in international relations. In 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was concluded, in 1969, an agreement "On measures to reduce the danger of a nuclear war between the USSR and the USA." In 1972, a completely unprecedented event happened - President Nixon visited Moscow. An economic "thaw" between the USSR and the West also began.
• Strategic and political power of the country. In the 1970s, the Soviet Union was at the zenith of its power: it caught up with the United States in nuclear power, created a fleet that made the country the leading naval power and the strongest army, and became a country with not just authority, but a leading position in the creation of international relations.

Main cons:

• Invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1968, mass anti-Soviet protests began in Czechoslovakia, the country tried to deviate from the socialist model of development. Brezhnev decided on "armed assistance". Soviet troops entered Czechoslovakia, there were several clashes with Czech soldiers and militias. The Czechs, who were celebrating the liberation of the country by Soviet troops from the Nazis twenty years ago, were shocked by the invasion of the same army to suppress unrest. The occupation of the country prevented a possible exit of Czechoslovakia from the Soviet bloc. The entry of troops was condemned not only by Western countries, but also by Yugoslavia, Romania and the People's Republic of China.
• Deteriorating relations with the People's Republic of China. Under Brezhnev, relations with China, which lay claim to the border areas that had been ceded to Russia before the revolution, became very aggravated. It came to major armed conflicts on the border and the seizure of Russian territories by the Chinese. War was brewing. Only a personal meeting between Chairman of the Council of Ministers Kosygin and the Chinese Prime Minister made it possible to avoid it, but Sino-Soviet relations remained hostile. And only in 1989, after the death of Brezhnev, they were normalized through negotiations.
• Intervention in Afghanistan. In 1978, a civil war broke out between the government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Western-backed opposition, the Mujahideen and Islamists. In December 1979, Soviet troops entered the country to support the government. The seizure of power by the oppositionists was prevented, but the war with the participation of the Soviet military continued for another 10 years.

Brezhnev died in 1982. Many years later. Russia is no longer the Soviet Union. Having coped with many troubles, she survived. Putin's long rule has given the country relative stability. In addition, Russia has become freer, more civilized. But has it become better to live in it?

It is difficult to be objective when evaluating the person who led the country of your childhood. And even more so, answering the question whether he was better or worse than other leaders of the Russian Empire-USSR-Russia of the 20th century model.

I well remember my grandfather's contempt for Leonid Ilyich. Although he did not share his thoughts on what exactly caused such an attitude. But his own impartial opinion about Brezhnev was formed on the day when the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU was awarded the third star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Somehow it didn’t fit in the kid’s head, how in peacetime you can equal the number of stars with Kozhedub and Pokryshkin. But maybe he was better in the first decade of his reign? In the war years, there he is - an eagle!
Having become older, passing numerous exams either at the institute or at Moscow State University, having penetrated the special depository of Leninka while preparing a dissertation / the topic of which had nothing to do with history /, having received an avalanche of information from the Gorbachev-Yeltsin times, the relation to "dear comrade Leonid Ilyich "has not changed. Was he better than Gobachev? It is unlikely, given that it was he who created the prerequisites for the "perestroika" to come to power and the destruction of the country. However, this is obvious only to specialists who studied the documents of the same Andropov, who tried to avoid collapse, but did not succeed. Better Khrushchev? With a mass of claims against Khrushchev, one cannot deny the merits of the "maize man". To liberalize the post-Stalinist USSR and relocate people from dugouts to "Khrushchevs" is a labor feat.

In general, the question "Who is better?" recognized as incorrect - no answer. Yes, and it cannot be - too in different historical times, emperors-general secretaries-presidents led the country.

However, the specialists of the Levada Center, famous for their huge fees and foreign grants, managed to get an answer to this question. The best ruler of Russia in the 20th century, the inhabitants of Russia called Brezhnev, who first held the post of first and then general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU from 1964 to 1982.

56 percent of the respondents are positive about Brezhnev, 29 percent are negative. The second place was taken by Joseph Stalin - he was rated positively by exactly half of the respondents, and 38 percent - negatively. This is followed by Nicholas II (48 percent for, 35 against) and Nikita Khrushchev (45 percent for and 35 against). The lowest positive rating - 5 percent - was received by Vladimir Lenin.

In my opinion - absolutely undeserved. The collapse of the Russian Empire is blamed on him absolutely in vain - the February Revolution and the Provisional Government certainly have an indirect relationship with the Bolsheviks. In reality, Lenin and 40 thousand (only!) Bolsheviks managed to pick up the government abandoned by the same Nikolai in difficult times, keep it and the country from collapsing, and /zic!/ even restore the economy - "golden chervonets, NEP, recognition of private property. Vladimir Ilyich was a realist, and adjusted to the situation.Iosif Vissarionovich did not have such knowledge and preferred to follow a simpler path - the path of a dictatorship that did not take into account the laws of the economic development of society (a mistake noticed by Lenin in Civil).

In many ways, if not mostly, this predetermined the further stagnation and collapse of the USSR.

The anti-rating was headed by Mikhail Gorbachev (66 percent of respondents, to put it mildly, dislike him) and Boris Yeltsin (64 percent). In the positive part of the rating, both politicians received a little more than 20 percent of the vote.

The Levada Center poll was conducted on April 19-22, 2013 among 1,500 respondents in 45 regions of Russia.

REFERENCE. According to Izvestia, over the past four months, the Levada Center has received 3.9 million rubles from the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Poland and Korea. Lev Gudkov notes that the funds received from foreign funds make up an insignificant part of the budget of the Levada Center: in different years, about 1.5-3%. From which it follows that the guys do not live in poverty, earning at least 4.3 million dollars a year.

	Nicholas II				Brezhnev	Gorbachev
positive
Quicker positive
Quicker negative
negative