Dneprodzerzhinsk is not called Brezhnev's city for nothing. So many years have passed since his death and since those perestroika times when the name of the former General Secretary was anathematized, but Leonid Ilyich is still popular in his homeland.
Moreover, recently the name of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev has experienced something of a rebirth. First, a memorial plaque appeared on the wall of the house where the famous General Secretary once lived (many still call this building "Lenin's house"). Then another memorial plaque appeared on the wall of the university where Brezhnev studied.
And quite recently, Brezhnev's name was given to one of Dneprodzerzhinsk's palaces of culture. Previously it bore the name of the writer Maxim Gorky. But local deputies apparently reasoned that although Gorky was a great proletarian writer, he has nothing to do with Dneprodzerzhinsk. So it is better that the building bears the name of a famous fellow countryman. Let us hope that after this the life of the palace will change – today the building is going through hard times and needs not only renaming but also significant financial investment.
Yet several decades ago, Brezhnev's name was not held in such honor in Dneprodzerzhinsk. In the early 1980s, immediately after the General Secretary's death, the Zavodskoy district of the city was renamed Brezhnevsky, but then they changed their minds and returned the old name. A massive bronze plaque with his image was removed from the university wall. Even the monument was splashed with paint. In 2006, on the occasion of Brezhnev's 100th birthday, some deputies proposed naming a left-bank residential area or a central recreation park after him. But the city council refused.
But today Leonid Ilyich is again held in high esteem, especially among older people who believe that the years of Brezhnev's rule were the best for Dneprodzerzhinsk. Under him, almost the entire left-bank part of the city, the bridge over the Dnieper, the hydroelectric dam, and many other facilities were built. They say that thanks to Brezhnev, the first tram line was laid in the city in the 1930s. Which other leader can boast such achievements?
And young people also respect Leonid Ilyich – newlyweds traditionally lay flowers at the foot of his monument, and schoolchildren and students are regularly taken to the museum to see the exhibition dedicated to Brezhnev. If this continues, perhaps Leonid Ilyich will soon become another honorary citizen of Dneprodzerzhinsk. A few years ago the authorities refused to award him this title. But now times have changed...
By the way, quite recently in Dnepropetrovsk a park appeared named after Leonid Ilyich's associate – former Interior Minister Shchelokov. So Brezhnev's cause lives on and triumphs not only in Dneprodzerzhinsk.
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