The era of the reign of the USSR Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev left in the history of a number of contradictory facts. The life of a politician was not easy, and the expediency of his decisions is now being actively challenged. It can be argued that he was an extraordinary person who achieved significant success. Well, what he did good and bad – let us leave these proceedings historian and politicians. For you, however, a small collection of obscure facts about Brezhnev has been collected that may seem rather curious.
The characteristic of Leonid Ilyich, preserved in the archives, dated 1942, describes him as a person who shuns a dirty job and does not have knowledge in the field of military affairs. Because of the habit of Brezhnev to kiss a triple kiss on the cheeks and lips are still called “Brezhnev”. He was and remains the only person in history who possessed five Stars of the Hero – honorary orders. One of the hobbies of the secretary general was the game of dominoes. At the helm of the USSR, Leonid Brezhnev spent eighteen years.
During World War II, Brezhnev was a political worker. At the front, he never visited, doing in the war years management activities. Leonid Ilyich was a fan of the Spartak football club, as well as the eponymous hockey club. A significant role in the political advancement of the future general secretary was played by Nikita Khrushchev. Brezhnev during his life received more than a hundred awards, both Soviet and international. In the 70s, Brezhnev’s memoirs were published in three volumes. However, he did not write them himself – the trinity of writers worked on books. Two of them received orders, and Brezhnev himself received 180 thousand rubles (a monstrously huge amount of money for the USSR) and the Lenin Prize. In old age, he repeatedly fell asleep during meetings and speeches, and sometimes spoke. And because of the treatment at the same time earned a drug addiction to one of the drugs. For six years, the city of Naberezhnye Chelny wore the name of Brezhnev.
The Secretary General was awarded the Order “Victory”, but subsequently the award was canceled, since Leonid Ilyich did not fight at the front personally. These conditions were mandatory for the presentation of this honorary order. It was from Brezhnev that the New Year’s tradition of congratulating the citizens of the country on its leader began. When, because of health problems, the doctors banned Leonid Ilyich from smoking, he asked others to smoke, and he stood beside him and inhaled tobacco smoke. Citizens of the Soviet Union were informed about the death of Brezhnev only two days after he passed away.
