Routledge studies in the history of Russia and Eastern Europe ;
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Includes bibliographical references (pages [216]-221) and index
Introduction -- The Ukrainian crucible -- Brezhnev and World War II -- The death of Stalin and rise of Khrushchev -- Brezhnev's domestic politics -- Brezhnev's life at the top -- Confronting the military industrial complex -- Dissidence and human rights -- International politics: peacemaker under pressure -- The Soviet bloc, the Brezhnev doctrine and Ostpolitik -- US presidents and the nuclear arms race -- The mixed blessings brought by Brezhnev's new German friendship: the Helsinki Conference and its aftermath -- Brezhnev's blind spot: Africa and Middle East -- South and Central Asia: challenges that Brezhnev could not ignore -- Brezhnev's confrontation with China -- Brezhnev and the fall of the Soviet state -- Downhill all the way