Throughout the book, A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War From Stalin to Gorbachev, Zubok demonstrates the differing personalities of successive Soviet leaders. These contrasting personalities were critical in shaping the character of Moscow’s cold war. In chapter seven and chapter eight, in particular, Zubok’s work concerns his interpretation of Brezhnev. During the Brezhnev period, the Soviet Union and the United States entered an era of détente. Brezhnev was committed to the creation and proposal of the policy of détente. According to Zubok, Brezhnev strongly advocate détente with the United States because of his emotional belief in détente, his dream of being a peacemaker, and his desire to avoid war at all cost.
Brezhnev …show more content…
Zubok pointed out that Brezhnev was not a thinker, but his strong belief of “war must be avoided at all cost” caused him to become the main defender of détente (Zubok, 201). Brezhnev had no fear of nuclear attack because he believed in the Soviet retaliatory capabilities. However, he was more concerned “about the prospect of war and wanted to negotiate peace among the great powers” as well as the increasing costs of the arms race, which started to become a drain on the Soviet’s budget and economy (Zubok, 202). His genuine concern about peaceful negotiation and avoiding war at all costs can be seen through his desire to prevent military invasion during the Czechoslovak crisis. He feared that Soviet’s invasion would trigger NATO and the West response, which could lead to more military conflicts between the superpowers. Because of his dream of being a peacemaker, Brezhnev persistently reached out to the U.S. and German leaders and tried to formulate a grand international vision. In order to prevent détente from being attacked by domestic opposition, Brezhnev was willing to help Nixon deal with the pro-Jewish opposition. Although Brezhnev went out of his way to help his American ‘friend’, Nixon failed to deal with the Jewish-liberal-conservative opposition. This negatively affected the U.S. and Soviet
Brezhnev …show more content…
Zubok pointed out that Brezhnev was not a thinker, but his strong belief of “war must be avoided at all cost” caused him to become the main defender of détente (Zubok, 201). Brezhnev had no fear of nuclear attack because he believed in the Soviet retaliatory capabilities. However, he was more concerned “about the prospect of war and wanted to negotiate peace among the great powers” as well as the increasing costs of the arms race, which started to become a drain on the Soviet’s budget and economy (Zubok, 202). His genuine concern about peaceful negotiation and avoiding war at all costs can be seen through his desire to prevent military invasion during the Czechoslovak crisis. He feared that Soviet’s invasion would trigger NATO and the West response, which could lead to more military conflicts between the superpowers. Because of his dream of being a peacemaker, Brezhnev persistently reached out to the U.S. and German leaders and tried to formulate a grand international vision. In order to prevent détente from being attacked by domestic opposition, Brezhnev was willing to help Nixon deal with the pro-Jewish opposition. Although Brezhnev went out of his way to help his American ‘friend’, Nixon failed to deal with the Jewish-liberal-conservative opposition. This negatively affected the U.S. and Soviet