Brezhnev

American  

[brezh-nef, brye-zhnyif] / ˈbrɛʒ nɛf, ˈbryɛ ʒnyɪf /

noun

1. Leonid Ilyich 1906–82, Russian political leader: first secretary of the Soviet Communist Party 1964–66; general secretary 1966–82; president of the Soviet Union 1960–64, 1977–82.

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Brezhnev British  

/ ˈbrɛʒnɛf, ˈbrjɛʒnɪf /

noun

1. Leonid Ilyich (lɪaˈnit ˈilitʃ). 1906–82, Soviet statesman; president of the Soviet Union (1977–82); general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party (1964–82)

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Example Sentences

Peter Udell, who ran the BBC's East European service remembers what happened when Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev died in 1982.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Corruption and organized crime have been endemic in the former Soviet space since the Brezhnev era.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

In the early 1980s, however, the leaders of the two superpowers of that time, Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev and President Ronald Reagan, teamed up to drive a knife through that particular fantasy.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2025

It was the first East-West security agreement since the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty on nuclear weapons signed by Jimmy Carter and Leonid I. Brezhnev in 1979.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2024

I guess that was sort of comforting—and I bet it made Leonid Brezhnev tremble in his boots—especially if he really did have it in for Camillo Junior High.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt