Viktoria Brezhneva

Viktoria Petrovna Brezhneva (Russian: Викто́рия Петро́вна Бре́жнева; née Denisova; 11 December 1908 – 5 July 1995) was the wife of Soviet politician and longtime General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. She was the mother of Yuri Brezhnev and Galina Brezhneva.

Viktoria Brezhneva Виктория Брежнева
Spouse of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 16 June 1977 – 10 November 1982
Preceded by	Natalya Podgornaya
Succeeded by	Tatyana Andropova
In office 7 May 1960 – 15 July 1965
Preceded by	Ekaterina Voroshilova
Succeeded by	Ashkhen Mikoyan
Personal details
Born	Viktoria Petrovna Denisova 11 December 1908 Belgorod, Kursk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	5 July 1995 (aged 86) Moscow, Russian Federation
Nationality	Soviet and Russian
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Spouse(s)	Leonid Brezhnev ​ ​ (m. 1928; died 1982)​
Children	Galina Yuri

Biography

Leonid and Viktoria Brezhnev as a young couple, 1926.

She was born in Belgorod in 1908 as Viktoria Petrovna Denisova (Дени́сова).[1] It is claimed by historian Robert Service that she was of Jewish ancestry; however this is disputed and Denisova herself has dismissed having any Jewish ancestry.[2] She met Leonid Brezhnev in 1926 and they married in 1928. The following year Viktoria gave birth to their first child, Galina. Four years later, their second child, Yuri, was born.[3] Viktoria's relationship with Brezhnev was described as "old fashioned" and one that "without exaggeration [could] be called gentle".[4]

According to the memoirs of Brezhnev's relatives, Viktoria encouraged Brezhnev's materialistic outlook.[5] During Brezhnev's General Secretaryship Viktoria remained at the sidelines; she did not like attracting public attention.[3] Her last appearance in public was at Brezhnev's state funeral in 1982.[4] Following the death of Brezhnev, Viktoria lived on for another 13 years, dying after struggling for several years with diabetes in 1995.[3] She lived in Brezhnev's old apartment for the remainder of her life. Her own daughter, Galina, did not attend the funeral although the rest of the family did.[4]

References

1. Vronskaya, Jeanne (11 July 1995). "OBITUARY: Victoria Brezhnev". The Independent. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
2. Robert Service (2009). History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty-first Century. Penguin Books Ltd. p. 382. ISBN 0-14-103797-0.
3. Виктория Петровна Брежнева [Viktoria Petrovna Brezhnev] (in Russian). All Biography. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
4. Moskvin, Vitaliy. ПОХОРОНЫ БРЕЖНЕВОЙ [Brezhnev's funeral] (in Russian). ZN. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
5. Moskvin, Vitaliy. Виктория Брежнева [Viktoria Brezhnev] (in Russian). Nashekino. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2010.