[Episode 1 of 4]Welcome to our new four part series on the latter years of the Soviet Union, its fall, Putin's early life and his subsequent rise to power.Today's episode focuses on Brezhnev, Putin's formative years, his early KGB career and Gorbachev's descent into chaos.Was Putin a nationalist or a communist? What changed from Brezhnev to Gorbachev? What was Putin doing in East Germany during the Soviet twilight years?Next episode out tomorrow - or get them all at once by heading to restishistorypod.com!Producer: Dom JohnsonExec Producers: Tony Pastor & Jack Davenport*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.comTwitter: @TheRestHistory@holland_tom@dcsandbrook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices