The period between the death of Leonid Brezhnev in 1982 and the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 is often glossed over in histories of the Soviet Union. Yet, much of what happened in this time period provides vital context for the turmoil that would rock the USSR in the coming decade. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

The Guerilla forces who faced the Red Army in Afghanistan have been defined in various lights. To some, they were the heroic defenders of Afghanistan's freedom. To others, they were bloodthirsty terrorists. In truth, they were mostly ordinary people forced to live in extraordinary and difficult times. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

The war in Afghanistan was a bridge between the old Soviet Union and the new Russia. The soldiers of the Red Army who fought in it came from every republic and region of the USSR, and the war left an indelible mark on those who survived. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

Between 1973 and 1979, there were three violent coups in Afghanistan, generating a crisis that culminated in the full-scale Soviet invasion of the country. It would be a war with few, if any, redeeming qualities. There were no good guys and everybody lost. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

Afghanistan is a country at the crossroads of the world. Just about every major Eurasian Empire has been entangled in Afghan affairs at some point. The history of Afghanistan brings clarity not just to our understanding of the decline of the Soviet Union, but the entire modern world. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

The Soviet Union was an officially and aggressively atheist state. However, religious traditions were strongly rooted among the peoples of the USSR. Even amidst an atmosphere of persecution, various Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities persevered and even thrived. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

As Brezhnev pushed back against the reforms of his predecessor, members of the Soviet intelligentsia who had been inspired by the Khrushchev thaw, refused to be silenced. By the 1970's, underground human rights organizations were springing up all over the USSR. While the KGB could destroy individual groups, they had greater difficulty containing the ideas that inspired them. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

When the Soviet Union and several Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, it put an end to the reforms of the Prague Spring. However, it also fractured the Communist World, leading Albania to defect from the Warsaw Pact and deepening the Soviet rift with China. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

The Brezhnev era was, socially and politically, the most stable in the history of the USSR. However, it is also the period in which its economic decline accelerated. The complete collapse of the 80's and 90's had its roots in the mismanagement of the 60's and 70's. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support

In October 1964, a plot was executed to force Nikita Khrushchev from power. Khrushchev's fall, not so coincidentally, was concurrent with the rise of his protege - Leonid Brezhnev. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyspherepodcast/support