How rich was Brezhnev?
During the years of Perestroika, a struggle was announced against the system of privileges of the party nomenclature that had developed during the reign of Leonid Brezhnev. Legends and jokes about the fabulous wealth of the Secretary-General, his family and his entourage. It was hard to figure out what was true there and what was fiction.
One thing is clear, Leonid Ilyich did not lead an ascetic lifestyle and loved luxury goods, which was somewhat at odds with the image of the disinterested builder of communism. But can he be called a rich man in the modern sense of the word? Judge for yourself.
Treasures of the Secretary-General
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev led a huge and powerful country, was the first person in it. Naturally, he could afford much more than an ordinary citizen of the USSR.
Brezhnev loved fast driving and was fond of cars. It should be noted that he was
the owner of a solid collection of cars, which according to various sources totaled from 50 to 300 units. These were mainly exclusive models donated to him by state and party leaders from around the world.
His other passion was hunting. He often invited foreign figures to this fun. He managed to collect a collection of rare hunting rifles, which he was very proud of.
But his main collection included orders and medals. Brezhnev was awarded for any reason and without it. Take for example the fact that Leonid Ilyich was four times a Hero of the Soviet Union. And commemorative and jubilee medals were simply impossible to count.
Of course, he did not have personal yachts, planes and palaces, like the modern oligarchs, but this did not prevent him from enjoying all the benefits. His six-room apartment, which occupies an entire floor, and the cottage did not even belong to him personally, it was state property. Neither he nor his family members needed to wash, cook, clean. For this there was a servant.
How much did Ilyich earn?
Leonid Ilyich spent very little. And not because he lived modestly, but because there was nowhere to spend. Almost everything he needed, he received for free, being on full state support.
Moreover, his income in Soviet times was quite impressive. The official salary of all the secretaries of the Central Committee, including the General, was 800 rubles. It is believed that this amount is equivalent to 150 thousand modern Russian money. But especially for the "dear comrade" Brezhnev after 1974, they began to gradually raise it, so that by 1978 it had reached 1,5.
Not only that, like the previous Soviet Ilyich, this one earned by literary work. His imperishable creations, such as "Tselina", "Renaissance" and "Small Earth" were released in colossal circulation, which amounted to 15 million copies. They were real bestsellers in the USSR. The fee of the Secretary-General for these works reached 180 thousand rubles. It was impossible to imagine such an amount in the Soviet Union.
Soviet Wealth
It cannot be said that in the USSR many material goods were inaccessible to people, because they earned little. Of course, there were low-paid categories, but the vast majority of Soviet workers, if they worked honestly and were not alcoholics, the salary allowed themselves not to deny anything. Of course, within reason.
But Soviet society was organized in a complex way. To get some material wealth, it was not enough to earn money to buy them. It is also necessary to make some efforts and connect the connections in order to gain access to these benefits. These were the times of total deficit, when everyone got somewhere, using natural ingenuity with elements of corruption.
The party nomenclature, and especially Leonid Ilyich, did not have to do this. Simple Soviet people were jealous of this circumstance, and this was a sign of wealth and high standing. Representatives of the party elite did not stand in line and did not chase a deficit. They simply received unhindered access to all benefits. They could have any, even the most scarce food. Their wives could afford to choose fashion items from the latest Western catalogs.
The salary of the Soviet miner also allowed to buy all this, but he did not have the opportunity to get it all. People then, having money, for years stood in lines for a new apartment, which, after a few years, they received for free.
And if we recall the presence of servants and guards in Leonid Ilyich, then in the imagination of a simple resident of the USSR he seemed like some kind of fabulous padish.
Probably, in comparison with the property of modern oligarchs, the wealth of the party and state elite seems more than modest. The maximum with which they can be compared is with the property of a businessman of the average hand of a district scale.
You can argue, but what about the huge fleet of Leonid Ilyich? Isn't that wealth? Or his rather big dacha? But this should not be taken into account, because this property did not belong to Brezhnev. Everything that he controlled during his life passed after his death into state ownership, and was not transferred to the heirs.
And the famous Soviet corruption, in comparison with the millions of bribes of the post-Soviet times, seems to be just childish pranks.
If you do not go into the causes and consequences, then the Brezhnev era can be called the heyday of the Soviet state. Indeed, it is not for nothing that, according to the polls, many residents of Russia consider Leonid Ilyich the most effective leader of the country of the 20th century.
One thing is clear, Leonid Ilyich did not lead an ascetic lifestyle and loved luxury goods, which was somewhat at odds with the image of the disinterested builder of communism. But can he be called a rich man in the modern sense of the word? Judge for yourself.
Treasures of the Secretary-General
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev led a huge and powerful country, was the first person in it. Naturally, he could afford much more than an ordinary citizen of the USSR.
Brezhnev loved fast driving and was fond of cars. It should be noted that he was
the owner of a solid collection of cars, which according to various sources totaled from 50 to 300 units. These were mainly exclusive models donated to him by state and party leaders from around the world.
His other passion was hunting. He often invited foreign figures to this fun. He managed to collect a collection of rare hunting rifles, which he was very proud of.
But his main collection included orders and medals. Brezhnev was awarded for any reason and without it. Take for example the fact that Leonid Ilyich was four times a Hero of the Soviet Union. And commemorative and jubilee medals were simply impossible to count.
Of course, he did not have personal yachts, planes and palaces, like the modern oligarchs, but this did not prevent him from enjoying all the benefits. His six-room apartment, which occupies an entire floor, and the cottage did not even belong to him personally, it was state property. Neither he nor his family members needed to wash, cook, clean. For this there was a servant.
How much did Ilyich earn?
Leonid Ilyich spent very little. And not because he lived modestly, but because there was nowhere to spend. Almost everything he needed, he received for free, being on full state support.
Moreover, his income in Soviet times was quite impressive. The official salary of all the secretaries of the Central Committee, including the General, was 800 rubles. It is believed that this amount is equivalent to 150 thousand modern Russian money. But especially for the "dear comrade" Brezhnev after 1974, they began to gradually raise it, so that by 1978 it had reached 1,5.
Not only that, like the previous Soviet Ilyich, this one earned by literary work. His imperishable creations, such as "Tselina", "Renaissance" and "Small Earth" were released in colossal circulation, which amounted to 15 million copies. They were real bestsellers in the USSR. The fee of the Secretary-General for these works reached 180 thousand rubles. It was impossible to imagine such an amount in the Soviet Union.
Soviet Wealth
It cannot be said that in the USSR many material goods were inaccessible to people, because they earned little. Of course, there were low-paid categories, but the vast majority of Soviet workers, if they worked honestly and were not alcoholics, the salary allowed themselves not to deny anything. Of course, within reason.
But Soviet society was organized in a complex way. To get some material wealth, it was not enough to earn money to buy them. It is also necessary to make some efforts and connect the connections in order to gain access to these benefits. These were the times of total deficit, when everyone got somewhere, using natural ingenuity with elements of corruption.
The party nomenclature, and especially Leonid Ilyich, did not have to do this. Simple Soviet people were jealous of this circumstance, and this was a sign of wealth and high standing. Representatives of the party elite did not stand in line and did not chase a deficit. They simply received unhindered access to all benefits. They could have any, even the most scarce food. Their wives could afford to choose fashion items from the latest Western catalogs.
The salary of the Soviet miner also allowed to buy all this, but he did not have the opportunity to get it all. People then, having money, for years stood in lines for a new apartment, which, after a few years, they received for free.
And if we recall the presence of servants and guards in Leonid Ilyich, then in the imagination of a simple resident of the USSR he seemed like some kind of fabulous padish.
Probably, in comparison with the property of modern oligarchs, the wealth of the party and state elite seems more than modest. The maximum with which they can be compared is with the property of a businessman of the average hand of a district scale.
You can argue, but what about the huge fleet of Leonid Ilyich? Isn't that wealth? Or his rather big dacha? But this should not be taken into account, because this property did not belong to Brezhnev. Everything that he controlled during his life passed after his death into state ownership, and was not transferred to the heirs.
And the famous Soviet corruption, in comparison with the millions of bribes of the post-Soviet times, seems to be just childish pranks.
If you do not go into the causes and consequences, then the Brezhnev era can be called the heyday of the Soviet state. Indeed, it is not for nothing that, according to the polls, many residents of Russia consider Leonid Ilyich the most effective leader of the country of the 20th century.
Information