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Looking Back on the Life of Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev

The leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, left, proposes a toast at the State Department in Washington after signing a U.S.-Soviet cooperation deal. Others from left, interpreter Viktor Sukhodrev, Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, President Nixon and Secretary of State William F. Rogers, June 19, 1973. AP
Leonid Brezhnev hunts at the Zavidovo hunting lodge. Vladimir Musaelyan / TASS
President Gerald Ford shakes hands with Leonid Brezhnev as he tries on Ford's fur coat, just prior to the two leaders' formal meeting in Vladivostok, Soviet Union, Nov. 24, 1974. AP
Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honecker kiss after Brezhnev was honored with the title, "Hero of the German Democratic Republic" and the "Karl Marx Medal," Oct. 4, 1979. This moment inspired Russian artist Dmitry Vrubel to create his famous painting on a segment of East Side Gallery in Berlin, Germany. Helmuth Lohmann / AP
Leonid Brezhnev smokes at his dacha outside Moscow. Vladimir Musaelyan / TASS
Leonid Brezhnev, center, is seen with cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova, Vladimir Shatalov and Georgy Beregovoi Zvyozdny Gorodok (Star City), Moscow Region. TASS
Leonid Brezhnev on vacation in Crimea, Aug.1, 1973. Vladimir Musaelyan / TASS

Former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev would have celebrated his 110th birthday on Dec.19.

The Moscow Times has trawled through the archives to find iconic shots of the man who pioneered detente, oversaw the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and led the Soviet economy into stagnation.

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