Public debate in America has now become a question of loyalty
---------- BTW, Brezhnev is not liked in Russia at all (though there is a Brezhnev party, headed by his grandson. I think they get 0.2% of the vote, something in that range.). People will tell you that during the Brezhnev era it would have still been possible to reform the system, but that he slept and played with his medals while the country fell into stagnation. Andropov, incidentally, is very popular -- he is perceived as a reformer, and is particularly well-liked for his anti-corruption campaign.
On a strictly human level, you gotta sorta feel sorry for Brezhnev. Giving himself a medal every other month and trying to create a cult of personality around himself while everybody was laughing at him behind his back. He was a national joke.
And what a daughter. Galina Brezhnev is a train wreck.
Chris Doss The Russia Journal