Leonid Brezhnev was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964-1984. During his leadership, the liberalisation policies of Khruschev were reversed. The USSR entered a period of social, cultural, and political repression which, while not on the scale of Stalin, was certainly worse than it had been under Khruschev. Meanwhile, the USSR's economy stagnated under the enormous expense of the military and the catastrophic invasion of Afghanistan. While Brezhnev's leadership was generally stable, in hindsight his decisions would lead to instability which would culminate in the dissolution of the USSR.
After Brezhnev's death, he was succeeded by Yuri Andropov, the former KGB director who was known for the brutal suppression of dissent not just in the USSR, but in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Afghanistan as well. Andropov would die after about a year, though, of kidney failure. But, what if Andropov survived? What would happen to the USSR and the world with Andropov as General Secretary?
Andropov's own successor was Konstantin Chernenko, a sickly old man who had risen to prominence after a career mostly in the USSR's propaganda machine, and was generally viewed as a weak leader even at the time. He would also die after barely a year. What would a USSR under Chernenko look like?
Chernenko was succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev, whose policies and historical influence is well-known. However, by the time Gorbachev came to power, the USSR had already gone through a couple years without effective leadership, and the rift between different factions of the Communist Party had widened. Could either Andropov or Chernenko have righted the ship of state if they only had more time? Or was the USSR doomed by the 1980s, and was collapse inevitable?
After Brezhnev's death, he was succeeded by Yuri Andropov, the former KGB director who was known for the brutal suppression of dissent not just in the USSR, but in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Afghanistan as well. Andropov would die after about a year, though, of kidney failure. But, what if Andropov survived? What would happen to the USSR and the world with Andropov as General Secretary?
Andropov's own successor was Konstantin Chernenko, a sickly old man who had risen to prominence after a career mostly in the USSR's propaganda machine, and was generally viewed as a weak leader even at the time. He would also die after barely a year. What would a USSR under Chernenko look like?
Chernenko was succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev, whose policies and historical influence is well-known. However, by the time Gorbachev came to power, the USSR had already gone through a couple years without effective leadership, and the rift between different factions of the Communist Party had widened. Could either Andropov or Chernenko have righted the ship of state if they only had more time? Or was the USSR doomed by the 1980s, and was collapse inevitable?