HIST 236 Chapter Notes - Chapter reading: Leonid Brezhnev, Mikhail Gorbachev, Alcohol Monopoly
19 Oct 2018
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Document Summary
The brezhnev regime was seen as a return to normalcy in which an institutional pluralism similar to characterizing western democracies had taken shape. His reign is often seen as a golden era of stability and consumer abundance, when soviet achievements in space exploration and sport were envied by the world. The era was a time of modernization, stability and accomplishment and a time of decay, stagnation and corruption. The primary goal was to make modernity revolutionary. His brand of orthodox leninism was a reaction to the failures of khrushchev. A common loathing of khrushchev"s style of rule was key in uniting the collective leadership of the inner core of the brezhnev politburo. The first two years of his rule witnessed the rapid reversal of about every institutional and cultural initiative undertaken in the decade before. His politburo moved towards free cultural expression that had been permitted as part of the thaw.
