In today's times, it's the same as if Andrei Malakhov and KVN's program had not been aired at the same time without explanation. And when, late in the evening, the announcer, finishing the broadcast, suddenly did not announce the program for the next day, it became clear that something out of the ordinary had happened. The next morning, the whole country found out - the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Leonid Brezhnev died. The most beautiful leader The man who led the country for 18 years has passed away. The hero of numerous jokes, a politician with whom the concept of "the era of stagnation" is firmly connected. For three days the country plunged into mourning. Then the state of mourning will become habitual - one by one the elderly and sick Soviet politicians will die. However, it was Brezhnev's death that caused a real feeling of depression in society. The country understood that the era was gone, and it was not clear what would come to replace it. My friend, who at that time was serving in the army, recalled the feeling of confusion and even slight fear that gripped him and his colleagues in those days. "How are we going to go on?" A silent question hung in the air. When in 1964, after the removal of Nikita Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, his place was taken by 58-year-old Leonid Brezhnev, most of the leading Soviet party leaders perceived him as a temporary, transitional figure. Brezhnev was not distinguished by charisma, was not a major ideologist and an outstanding economic figure. Supervising the space program from the Central Committee of the CPSU, the future general secretary was never a key figure in this project. And the appointment in 1960 of Leonid Ilyich as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev himself considered strengthening his own power. Brezhnev did not seem to anyone a figure capable of playing his own political game. Perhaps, what really could not be denied to Brezhnev was his personal charm. In 1952, Joseph Stalin himself drew attention to the handsome man in the corridors of power. “What a handsome Moldavian!” - the leader threw, looking at the head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova, Leonid Brezhnev. Stalin was mistaken in only one thing: the future general secretary was from Ukraine. But the beauty of the young Brezhnev was appreciated not only by Joseph Vissarionovich, but also by women, whose attention Leonid Ilyich was not deprived of until the very last days. But Brezhnev, who for the time being kept on the sidelines, took full advantage of his chance. Leonid Ilyich turned out to be a master of subtle political intrigue, with the help of which he managed to get rid of all competitors, placing people loyal to him in the most important posts. The era of rapid "stagnation" The times of Brezhnev were truly "vegetarian": the overthrown Khrushchev, albeit under the supervision of the secret services, quietly and peacefully ended his days in the status of a personal pensioner of allied significance. Other replayed competitors were relegated to third roles, but did not follow the stage and were not transferred to the status of "enemies of the people." After the revolutionary upheavals, industrialization, collectivization of the Stalinist period, after the massive building of communism during the Khrushchev era, Leonid Brezhnev brought to the elite and the country as a whole what they craved most of all - stability. The development did not stop at all, but became more smooth and balanced. It was during the reign of Leonid Brezhnev Soviet Union reached the second, and even the first stage in the world in terms of most economic indicators. Eighth Five-Year Plan - from 1966 to 1970 - turned out to be the most successful for all the years of the existence of the planned economy of the USSR. It was under Brezhnev that Alexei Kosygin became head of government, whose economic reforms were aimed at improving the efficiency, profitability and financial independence of enterprises. It was during this period of time that the state came to grips with the issues of improving the welfare of citizens. Issues of increasing output and improving the quality of consumer goods became one of the key issues during the Brezhnev era. During the 18 years of Brezhnev's rule, the economy of the USSR grew two and a half times, state spending on social spending was tripled, and the growth in real consumption of the population increased two and a half times. It was under Leonid Brezhnev that the pace of housing construction in the USSR reached 60 million square meters in year. We should not forget the fact that we are talking about free housing, which the state provided to those on the waiting list, and did not sell it at prices that are unaffordable to most. Under Brezhnev, electricity production in the country tripled, large-scale gasification of housing was carried out - the number of apartments with gas stoves increased from 3 to 40 million. It was during the Brezhnev period that the development of Siberian oil and gas fields began, the creation of a system of export oil and gas pipelines, which to this day serve as the main source of filling the state budget. The enumeration of the results of the rapid development of the USSR under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev can be continued indefinitely. It should not be forgotten that it was during this period that the Soviet Union reached the pinnacle of its power in the international arena, moving from confrontation to peaceful coexistence and cooperation with the West. Late recognition The main thing that Brezhnev gave the country was confidence in tomorrow. Eternal self-sacrifice for the sake of the future faded into the background, the possibility of a prosperous existence here and now appeared. But the last phrase is always remembered. Brezhnev's announced policy of "cadre stability" had back side- aging managers remained in their posts even when the effectiveness of their activities fell to almost zero. The Secretary General himself became a victim of this "stability" - an aging and seriously ill person, who himself raised the issue of his resignation, turned out to be a puppet in the hands of his entourage. The desire to preserve their own position turned out to be more important for them than the prospects for the development of the country. While the ailing Brezhnev, who fell into senile sentimentality, rejoiced with childish spontaneity at all new awards and titles, clouds were already gathering over the country. The needs of the population, seized upon material wealth, grew faster than the possibilities of the economy. Party officials, despising the state ideology, actively engaged in personal enrichment. The once handsome Brezhnev, having turned into a ruin, into last years became a national laughing stock and the hero of endless jokes. “Vegetarian time” did not threaten their writers with severe punishments, and folklore flourished in all its glory: “Meeting of the Politburo. Brezhnev gets up and says: - I propose to award Comrade Brezhnev with the order posthumously. They say to him: “So you haven’t died yet!” Brezhnev replies: “But for now I vilify him like that.” Much later it will become clear: they laughed not at the unfortunate old man, exhausted by the disease, but at the system, which turned out to be incapable of stopping the factually incompetent person at the highest state post. To be honest, the country was waiting for the death of Leonid Brezhnev, just as his exhausted relatives are waiting for the death of his long and seriously ill grandfather. When this finally happened, the citizens, having seen the Secretary General on his last journey, began to expect changes for the better. How expensive is the peace that the Brezhnev era gave people will become clear only after the great upheavals of perestroika, the collapse of the USSR and the “dashing 90s”. Three decades later, Russians who have felt the difference, in various opinion polls, recognize Leonid Brezhnev as one of the best leaders in the history of the country.

Leonidas I is one of the kings of ancient Sparta in Greece. The only act thanks to which he entered the annals of history was the unequal battle of Thermopylae, during which he died heroically. This battle is the most famous of the history of the second Persian invasion of Greece. Later, the hero became a model of military prowess and patriotism.

Spartan king Leonidas: biography

What is known about him today? The main information from the life of the Spartan king Leonidas I has survived to this day thanks to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. He came from the Agiad family. According to the data that Herodotus cites in his work "History", the roots of this dynasty go back to the legendary ancient Greek hero Hercules, the son of Zeus.

The exact date of birth of Leonid I is not determined, presumably, this is the 20s. 6th century BC e. Almost nothing is known about his life. In his youth he received a good physical training like the other spartan boys. This is also evidenced by the fact that at the moment historical battle at Thermopylae, he was no longer young - he was 40-50 years old, but the physique of the Greek military leader was strong and athletic.

His father, Alexandrides II, was the first representative of the agiads. He had 4 sons - Cleomenes, Doria, Leonidas and Cleombrotus. The first wife, the daughter of Alexandrida's sister, could not get pregnant for a long time, but he did not want to part with her. Then the representatives of the government board of Ancient Sparta allowed him to become a bigamist so that the line of kings would not stop. From the second wife Cleomenes was born, and a year later the first wife Alexandrida gave birth to the other three sons.

Ascension to the throne

After Leonidas I in 520 BC. e. popular assembly decided to elect Cleomenes king of Sparta. Doria did not agree with this and left the state. He tried to establish his settlement in Africa, then in Sicily. After 10 years, he was killed, and in 487 BC. e. Cleomenes also died.

The cause of the latter's death is not known for certain. According to one version, he lost his mind and was arrested at the initiative of his brothers, and subsequently committed suicide. According to another hypothesis, Cleomenes was killed on the orders of the government board or Leonid I. After this tragic event, the latter was able to become the full ruler of Sparta. The years of the reign of King Leonid - 491-480. BC e.

Family and Children

The wife of King Leonidas - Gorgo - also belonged to the Agiad family. She was the daughter of his half-brother, the ruler of Sparta, Cleomenes I. In those days, marriages between close relatives were the norm in society, it was forbidden only to children from one mother. Childbearing in Sparta was greatly encouraged, and motherhood was the main purpose of a woman. There is even a historical anecdote, according to which, when asked how Greek women manage to manage their spouses, Gorgo answered: “We are the only ones who give birth to husbands.”

The wife of the Spartan king was beautiful, for her large and languid eyes she was called Volooka from childhood. At the age of 17, when her mother died, the girl was raised by her aunt, who instilled in her a love of poetry.

According to some researchers, Gorgo was not the first wife of Leonid. Before her, he had been married for 15 years to Mnesimacha, who bore him two daughters and two sons. Both boys died in early age. The eldest daughter Dorida was 18 and the youngest Penelope 15 when Leonidas, at the urging of his older brother and elected officials, divorced their mother and married Gorga. This was done for political reasons.

The Spartan king was very worried about this, as he had good relations with his former family. He often visited his ex-wife and children. Mnesimacha never remarried because she loved him just as much.

In the year Leonidas was killed, Gorgo gave birth to her only child. After the Battle of Thermopylae, Plistarch, the son of Leonidas I, became the successor of his father. The uncle, Cleombrotus, was appointed regent for the boy, and after the death of the latter, his son Pausanias. Plistarch did not leave behind children, and the line of Leonidas, king of Sparta, was interrupted.

Greco-Persian Wars

At the end of the VI century. BC e. The Persian Empire has become a powerful state with claims to world domination. It included such developed territories as Egypt, Babylon, Lydia, Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor. The beginning of the Greco-Persian wars is associated with the anti-Persian uprising in 500 BC. e. (Ionian revolt). After 6 years it was suppressed. According to Herodotus, this was the impetus for the Persian attack on the Balkan Peninsula.

The first military campaign was organized by them in 492 BC. e., but due to a strong storm, the Persian fleet suffered heavy losses, thanks to which the Greeks received a respite lasting 2 years. In many cities of the ancient Greek state, defeatist moods formed among the population, and only Sparta and Athens showed determination to fight the formidable enemy. In both cities, the ambassadors of the Persian king Darius I were executed, who arrived there with a proposal to recognize the power of the Achaemenid dynasty.

Up to 480 BC. e. fate favored the Greeks. The Persians were defeated, and as a result, the Greeks had the opportunity to prepare for a future war and build their own fleet. In addition, the forces of the Persian state at that moment were aimed at suppressing uprisings in Egypt and within the country.

In 481 BC. e. at the congress in Corinth, a common defensive alliance of the Hellenes (Sparta and Athens) was created. The supreme command of the land and sea forces was transferred to the Spartan king Leonidas. When the Persians approached the borders of Greece, it was decided to meet them in the Tempe Gorge, on the border of Macedonia and Thessaly. The Thermopylae Gorge was chosen as the second echelon of defense.

In the narrowest part of the gorge then only one cart could pass. In addition, there were old defensive structures built once to protect against Thessalian raids. In ancient times, this was the only overland route from northern Greece to its middle part.

About 7,000 warriors from various regions arrived to conduct a defensive operation, among which was a small elite detachment of Spartans numbering 300 people. This military unit was never disbanded, even in peacetime. It was used mainly within Sparta and could be quickly mobilized for foreign policy purposes. Other allies refused to help Leonid on the pretext that it was necessary to complete the Olympic Games, the beginning of which coincided with a military campaign.

When Persian king Xerxes I approached the Thermopylae Gorge with his huge army (according to modern historians, it numbered from 70 to 300 thousand soldiers), most of the commanders of the Hellenic detachments decided to retreat. The countless army of the Persians struck fear into the hearts of the Greek military leaders. In such a difficult situation, the Spartan king Leonidas I was forced to make the only possible decision for himself: to defend the gorge, even if there was no chance of surviving the battle.

Death

Xerxes I gave the Spartan king 4 days to think, waiting for the rest of the Persian army to pull up. On the fifth day, he sent his detachments of warriors from Media and Kissia to the gorge, the number of which greatly exceeded the Greek unit. This attack, as well as the next two days, was repulsed. The long spears and heavy shields of the Greeks gave them a distinct advantage over the Persians, who had shorter spears, braided shields and armor made from woven linen. According to some estimates, about 10 thousand Persians were killed during these defensive battles.

The Greek detachment consisted entirely of heavy infantry, which easily blocked the narrow passage of the Thermopylae Gorge. The Spartans also used a cunning strategy: they pretended to retreat so that the Persians would pursue them. Then they suddenly turned and attacked, taking their enemies by surprise.

The outcome of the battle of Thermopylae was decided by the oversight of the detachment of the Phocians, who were supposed to defend another mountain path leading around the mountain. According to Herodotus, a traitor from the Thessalian tribe showed this road to the Persians, but modern historians believe that the Persian reconnaissance detachments themselves could have learned about its existence. At nightfall, Xerxes sent his soldiers along a mountain path to attack the Greeks from the rear. The Phocians noticed the Persians too late and, without offering any resistance, fled.

Of all the allies of the Spartan king Leonidas, by the end of the battle, only 2 small detachments remained. According to one legend, he even insisted that the allies retreat from Thermopylae so that their sons could continue the line and save the Greek army for subsequent battles. At that time, there was already a shortage of warriors in Sparta, so King Leonid formed his detachment only from those men who already had children.

During a fierce fight, he was killed. The culmination of this event was the struggle for the body of the hero. The Greeks managed to recapture it from the Persians, and they retreated to one of the hills. The entire detachment of Leonidas was destroyed, except for two Spartans who did not participate in the battle. Upon returning to their homeland, dishonor awaited them, one of them was given the nickname Coward, and the second committed suicide.

Revenge of Xerxes

According to the contemporaries of the Spartan king Leonidas, no one felt such strong hatred for him as the Persian ruler. Immediately after the end of the battle, he decided to personally inspect the battlefield. Seeing the corpse of Leonid, he ordered to abuse him - they cut off his head and put the dead man on a stake.

Usually this was done with the rebels, and not with the soldiers who fell in a fair fight. It was a blasphemous act on the part of Xerxes. Thus, the Persian king wanted to express his personal hostile feelings towards Leonidas, who destroyed two of his brothers and put up active resistance.

There is also a legend according to which, at the demand of Xerxes to surrender, Leonidas uttered the catch phrase: "Come and take it." These words were subsequently carved on the basis of a monument built in honor of this commander in Sparta.

The image of the hero in art

The feat of Tsar Leonid I inspired many artists, writers and artists. The image of a hero fighting for freedom at the cost of his life was sung in the works of the English poet R. Glover (the poem "Leonid"), David Mallet, Byron, V. Hugo (the poem "Three Hundred") and others. The name of the king of Sparta from the Agids clan was also mentioned by A. S. Pushkin, V. V. Mayakovsky.

In the picture french artist Jacques Louis David "Leonidas at Thermopylae", written in 1814, the commander is depicted in preparation for the decisive battle. Next to his half-naked figure is the altar of the famous ancestor - Hercules. Napoleon Bonaparte was familiar with this canvas of the artist, and when asked whether the vanquished person could be the hero of the picture, he replied that the name of Leonid was the only one that had come down to us through the depths of epochs, and all the rest were lost in history.

In 1962, director of Polish origin Rudolf Mate made the film "Three Hundred Spartans", dedicated to the feat of the Spartan king. The most striking scenes in this film are those in which the hero and his associates refuse to surrender to the Persians in exchange for mercy. Inspired by this film, an American illustrator created in 1998 a comic book graphic novel about this event, which was filmed in 2007 by American film director Zack Snyder.

In 2014, another Israeli director, Noam Murro, made another film adaptation of the battle of King Leonidas, Three Hundred Spartans: The Rise of an Empire, but the 1962 film has the greatest historical accuracy.

Criticism

Before his death, Leonid I knew that the Persians were approaching his detachment from the side where no one expected them. But still he decided to defend himself and die, doing his duty. There were many disputes about the expediency of such a decision even among ancient historians. The rest of the commanders were inclined to think that they should retreat before it was too late. They tried to convince their leader of this as well.

It is possible that the final decision of King Leonidas of Sparta was influenced by the religiosity inherent in him and his compatriots. Even at the very beginning of the Greco-Persian wars, the Delphic oracles predicted that Sparta would be destroyed or their king would die. Leonid himself acted as high priest and understood the meaning of this prediction in such a way that the cost of saving the homeland was his death. On the other hand, defending the Thermopylae Gorge, he provided an opportunity for the allied troops to save their soldiers and gave time to catch up with the rest of the Greek army.

The writings of ancient Greek writers also mention that before the king’s departure from the city, funeral games were arranged, and one of his parting words for his wife was the wish to find a new husband.

memory of a hero

Soon after the destruction of the detachment of the Spartan king Leonid in the Battle of Thermopylae, all the fallen soldiers were buried at the place of their death. In the same place, the hero's contemporaries erected 5 stelae with epitaphs and a stone lion (the name Leonid in Greek means "lion"). This monument is still at the site of the battle.

After 40 years, the remains of the hero were transferred to Sparta, and a festive celebration was held annually near his tombstone, competitions were held and speeches were made. In our time, a monument was erected to the hero in Thermopylae in 1968. The battle scene is depicted on the monument. The Spartan king is still revered and flowers are laid at his monument.

Even in ancient times, this feat became canonical, a kind of moral bar for the Greeks. The hero was mentioned in his works by the Athenian comedian Aristophanes, the writer Pausanias, Plutarch, who wrote his biography, which has not survived to our time. The defeat of the Greeks at Thermopylae was only formal. This battle turned out to be a culturally significant event that had more historical meaning than any other victory.

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