Leonid Breshnev: News Report of His Death November 10, 1982

Soviet Prime Minister, Leonid Breshnev, has died. He was 75 years old. Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 1906 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union as General Secretary of the governing Communist Party (19641982) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (19601964, 19771982). His 18year term as general secretary was second only to Joseph Stalin s in duration. While Brezhnev s rule was characterised by political stability and notable foreign policy successes, it was also marked by corruption, inefficiency, economic stagnation, and rapidly growing technological gaps with the West.