levo

2T The Crisis of Communism: The USSR and the Soviet Empire, 1953–2000

Brezhnev and His Leading Colleagues

  • 5 things to know
  • Component 2

Overview

Recall questions on Brezhnev's rise, character and aims, the roles of Kosygin, Podgorny, Suslov and Gromyko in the collective leadership, and the privileges of the nomenklatura and the corruption of the era.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What were the key characteristics of Brezhnev's personality and leadership style?

Key term

What was Brezhnev's primary aim as Soviet leader?

Key term

What position did Nikolai Podgorny hold under Brezhnev?

Key term

What special privileges did members of the nomenklatura enjoy?

Key term

What forms did endemic corruption take under Brezhnev?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How did Brezhnev initially come to power and with whom did he share leadership?

    Model answer

    Through a collective leadership arrangement shared with Kosygin as Premier and Podgorny as head of state, before gradually consolidating personal dominance by the early 1970s.

  2. 2

    What were the key characteristics of Brezhnev's personality and leadership style?

    Model answer

    Caution, conservatism, a preference for consensus and stability over reform, and personal vanity including accumulating medals and titles.

  3. 3

    What was Brezhnev's primary aim as Soviet leader?

    Model answer

    Stability and the preservation of the existing Soviet system, rejecting both Stalinist terror and Khrushchev's destabilising reforms.

  4. 4

    What role did Alexei Kosygin play in Brezhnev's government?

    Model answer

    He was responsible for economic management.

  5. 5

    What position did Nikolai Podgorny hold under Brezhnev?

    Model answer

    Ceremonial head of state.

  6. 6

    What was Mikhail Suslov's role in the Brezhnev government?

    Model answer

    Chief ideologist.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

1A The Age of the Crusades, c1071–1204
1B Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598
1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1603
1D Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1702

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Sir Grey.
EdwardHenryGeorge

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AMary restored the heresy laws.
BMary restored the Latin Mass.
CTraditional Catholic practices returned.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Henry II died on 6 July 1189 at Chinon.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in 2T The Crisis of Communism: The USSR and the Soviet Empire, 1953–2000, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.