Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (Russian: Леони́д Ильи́ч Бре́жнев; IPA: [lʲɪɐˈnʲid ɪlʲˈjitɕ ˈbrʲeʐnʲɪf] ( listen); Ukrainian: Леоні́д Іллі́ч Бре́жнєв, 19 December 1906 (O.S. 6 December) – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in length. During Brezhnev's rule, the global influence of the Soviet Union grew dramatically, in part because of the expansion of the Soviet military during this time, but his tenure as leader has often been criticised for marking the beginning of a period of economic stagnation in which serious economic problems were overlooked, problems which eventually led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoe into a Russian worker's family. After graduating from the Dniprodzerzhynsk Metallurgical Technicum, he became a metallurgical engineer in the iron and steel industry, in Ukraine. He joined Komsomol in 1923, and in 1929 became an active member of the Communist Party. He was drafted into immediate military service during World War II and left the army in 1946 with the rank of Major General. In 1952 Brezhnev became a member of the Central Committee, and in 1964, Brezhnev succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary. Alexei Kosygin succeeded Khrushchev in his post as Chairman of the Council of Ministers.
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961.
Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing his undergraduate work at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937, and returned to California to practice law. He and his wife, Pat Nixon, moved to Washington to work for the federal government in 1942. He subsequently served in the United States Navy during World War II. Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950. His pursuit of the Hiss Case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist, and elevated him to national prominence. He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election. Nixon served for eight years as vice president. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and lost a race for Governor of California in 1962. In 1968, he ran again for the presidency and was elected.
Plot
Today, in 2008, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic are two independent, democratic states and members of the EU and NATO. Forty years ago, more precisely on 21 August 1968, this thought would have failed to provoke even a smirk in Prague and Bratislava - so far-fetched, so very remote was any chance for change and self-determination. On that summer day, troops of the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia with 460 000 soldiers and 7000 tanks. It was the largest military operation since the Second World War. With this act of force, the Soviet Union brought a brief period of social and political freedom to a grinding halt. This abrupt end to a period of feverish reform activity went down in history as the Prague Spring. August 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the crushing of the Prague Spring. Over the last few years, many state archives have opened their doors to historians. Today, a lot more background information about the occupation, the political setting and key players is available than only a few years ago. The history The focus is on the political events between January and August 1968, the escalating conflict between the reforms prompted by party leader Alexander Dubcek and the Kreml.
Keywords: armor, cold-war-era, docudrama, place-name-in-title, warsaw-pact, year-1968
Plot
Following the premature death of his mother, Karol Wojtyla is brought up by his father in the Polish city of Krakow during the first half of the 20th century. An outstanding student with a magnetic personality, he dreams of becoming an actor. When his homeland is invaded by the Nazis in 1939, he and his friends secretly oppose the systematic persecution of their Polish culture. But, with the death of his father and the lacerating solitude which accompanies this loss, Karol's personal "resistance" takes on a new form and he decides to follow a priestly vocation. At the end of the war, Poland falls into the grip of Soviet totalitarianism. The newly ordained Karol is constantly surrounded by young people whom he teaches to safeguard and defend human dignity. He could be considered a serious threat to the regime, but the Communist authorities merely see him as an innocuous intellectual and even encourage his nomination for the position of bishop. Karol Wojtila is the youngest bishop in the history of Poland. When he is appointed Cardinal, Karol is more intransigent in the spiritual guidance of his homeland, becoming a real and proper thorn in the side of the Communist government. And the whole Catholic world begins to wonder who he is. On the death of Pope John Paul I in 1978, the cardinals of the Conclave decide that Woytjla is the right man to lead replace him. Thus Karol leaves his beloved Poland to become Pope John Paul II. His free, unconventional attitude alarms several prelates, but immediately wins the hearts of the people. In a age paralyzed by fear and ideology, the new Pope shows everybody again the overwhelming fascination of Christianity: this is the beginning of a deep change, which will affect the whole world and the Church itself, as a sort of "contagion". He miraculously survives an attempt on his life in 1981, and not even this event curbs his mission. Thanks to his unshakable tenacity , Pope John Paul II helps to change the course of history: the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 decrees the collapse of Communism. But the Pope does not stop being the voice of Christ, even among the injustices of the capitalistic Western world, even among the provocations and challenges of modern times . The Great Jubilee of 2000 is the most moving evidence of his mission: 3 million young people in love with the Pope gather in Rome, bringing with them the whole world's hopes. This world has learned to look to him, now old and shaky, as a ray of light in the heart of darkness.
Keywords: assassination-attempt, bishop, cardinal-the-priest, catholic-church, character-name-in-title, charisma, church, crowd, destiny, fame
The faith to inspire millions begins with the power of one.
Plot
Comedy about two high school girls who wander off during a class trip to the White House and meet President Richard Nixon. They become the official dog walkers for Nixon's dog Checkers, and become his secret advisors during the Watergate scandal.
Keywords: 1970s, adolescent-girl, alternate-history, black-humor, box-office-flop, break-in, burglary, character-name-in-title, conspiracy, contest
He was tricky. They were better.
The unmaking of the president
Bob Halderman: I have met yams with more going on upstairs than these two.
Arlene Lorenzo: War is not healthy for children and other living things.
Dick: Checkers - shut up. Or I'll feed you to the Chinese.
Betsy Jobs: You kicked Checkers, you're prejudiced and you have a potty mouth.
Dick: I've got a way with young people. They trust me.
Mrs. Spinnler: Every lie is another brick in the pathway to hell.
Arlene Lorenzo: We have a very important school report on turquoise jewelry due in two days, and we can't find any books on it, and the President's having us followed. It's too much pressure.
Arlene Lorenzo: How dare those people treat us like we're stupid teenage girls.::Betsy Jobs: We are stupid teenage girls.::Arlene Lorenzo: No. We're human beings, and we're American citizens. And four score and seven years ago our forefathers... did something.
Betsy Jobs: Checkers pooped.::Rose Mary Woods: Girls, the President's dog doesn't "poop." He "does his business."
Betsy Jobs: [shouting] You can't let dick control your life.
Plot
Director Oliver Stone's exploration of former president Richard Nixon's strict Quaker upbringing, his nascent political strivings in law school, and his strangely self-effacing courtship of his wife, Pat. The contradictions in his character are revealed early, in the vicious campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas and the oddly masochistic Checkers speech. His defeat at the hands of the hated and envied John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election, followed by the loss of the 1962 California gubernatorial race, seem to signal the end of his career. Yet, although wholly lacking in charisma, Nixon remains a brilliant political operator, seizing the opportunity provided by the backlash against the antiwar movement to take the presidency in 1968. It is only when safely in office, running far ahead in the polls for the 1972 presidential election, that his growing paranoia comes to full flower, triggering the Watergate scandal.
Keywords: 1920s, 1930s, 1960s, 1970s, alcoholism, american-president, brother-brother-relationship, campaign, career, character-name-in-title
He had greatness within his grasp.
He changed the world, but lost a nation.
Triumphant in Victory, Bitter in Defeat. He Changed the World, But Lost a Nation.
Shattered by a dangerous web of conspiracy, betrayal and intrigue!
[after the Kent State shootings]::Richard M. Nixon: I'd like to offer my condolences to those families. But Nixon can't.
Richard M. Nixon: Presidents don't threaten. They don't have to.
Richard M. Nixon: They can't impeach me for bombing Cambodia. The president can bomb anybody he likes.
John Dean: There's a cancer in the presidency and it's growing.
Richard M. Nixon: Always remember: others may hate you. But those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.
Richard M. Nixon: [to a portrait of Kennedy] When they look at you, they see what they want to be. When they look at me, they see what they are.
Pat Nixon: I was thinking tonight - do you remember, Dick? Do you remember when you used to drive me on dates with the other boys? You didn't want to let me out of your sight.::Richard M. Nixon: Yeah, sure, a long time ago.::Pat Nixon: Yes, it's been a long time...::[sensing a signal, recoils]::Richard M. Nixon: I don't need that, buddy. I'm not Jack Kennedy.::Pat Nixon: [rebuffed] No, you're not. So stop comparing yourself to him. You have no reason to. You have everything you ever wanted. You've earned it. Why can't you just enjoy it?::Richard M. Nixon: I do. I do. In my own way.::Pat Nixon: Then what are you scared of, honey?::Richard M. Nixon: I'm not scared, buddy... You don't understand. They're playing for keeps, buddy. The press, the kids, the liberals - they're out there, trying to figure out how to tear me down.::Pat Nixon: They're all your enemies?::Richard M. Nixon: Yes!::Pat Nixon: You personally?::Richard M. Nixon: Yes! This is about me. Why can't you understand that, you of all people? It's not the war - It's Nixon! They want to destroy Nixon! And if I expose myself even the slightest bit they'll tear my insides out. Do you want that? Do you want to see that, buddy? It's not pretty.::Pat Nixon: Sometimes I think that's what you want.::Richard M. Nixon: [contemptuous] What the hell are you saying? Are you drunk? Jesus, you sound just like them now! I've got to keep fighting, buddy, for the country. These people running things, the elite... they're soft, chickenshit faggots! They just want to cover their asses and meet girls and tear each other down. Oh, God, this country's in deep, deep trouble, buddy... and I have to see this through. Mother would've wanted no less of me.::Pat Nixon: I just wish... you knew how much I love you, that's all. It took me a long time to fall in love with you, Dick. But I did. And it doesn't make you happy. You want them to love you... [motions outward, indicating the public]::Richard M. Nixon: [interjects] No, I don't. I'm not Jack...::Pat Nixon: But they never will, Dick. No matter how many elections you win, they never will.
Julie Nixon: [hesitantly] Did you, Daddy? Did you cover it up?::Richard M. Nixon: Do you think I would do something like that, honey?
Pat Nixon: When do the rest of us stop PAYING OFF YOUR DEBTS?
[while Nixon is being wheeled through hospital on a stretcher]::Alexander Haig: I'm in charge here!
He made his name as a warrior. He made history as a peacemaker.