Brezhnev reconsidered

"Leonid Brezhnev was the leader of the Soviet Union for almost two decades when it was at the height of its powers. It provides insight into the life and times of one of the twentieth century's most neglected political leaders at a crucial time in the history of both the Soviet Union and the Cold War. The topics covered include: Brezhnev's leadership style; superpower relations; the nationalities question; the economic performance of the USSR; intellectual life; and the origins of perestroika. By incorporating much of the new material available in Russian, and revisiting the existing literature in the West, the book challenges the received wisdom about the Brezhnev years as a time of stagnation and decay."--BOOK JACKET.