Brezhnev

Schattenberg has done a service in rescuing the Brezhnev period from obscurity. The Morning Star

[Offers an] unparalleled examination of the Brezhnev papers. Literary Review

Brezhnev, by Susanne Schattenberg, explores the life and leadership of Leonid Brezhnev, who was the leader of the Soviet Union for eighteen years, surpassing all but Stalin in tenure. During his leadership, Brezhnev implemented the Brezhnev Doctrine, which intensified the Cold War, and led the Soviet Union into momentous foreign policy blunders like the invasion of Afghanistan. To many in the West, he is considered responsible for the stagnation, and to some, even the collapse, of the Soviet Union. However, much of this narrative has been shaped by the only two English-language biographies available, both released before Brezhnev’s death and without the benefit of archival research, alongside Brezhnev’s own astonishingly inaccurate memoirs, crafted for propaganda.

Now newly translated from German, Schattenberg’s authoritative book seeks to dismantle the oversimplified portrayal of Brezhnev as merely a stagnating Stalinist. Drawing on extensive archival research and previously unexamined documents, the book presents a more nuanced view of Brezhnev. From his early, apolitical ambitions of becoming an actor, to his rapid ascent through the Party ranks, his misunderstood involvement in Khrushchev’s ousting, and his surprising pro-Western foreign policy aims, Schattenberg closely examines Brezhnev's deft consolidation and management of power, leading up to his descent into addiction and premature death.

For Schattenberg, this is a tale of a flawed and ineffectual idealist. For the West, her biography argues that Brezhnev deserves reevaluation as one of the most compelling and influential political figures of the twentieth century.