About the book: 2015 / This volume publishes two books by historian Roy Medvedev under one cover. One - a political biography of L. I. Brezhnev - was written in 1988–1990. and published in the USSR in 1991. The second - a political biography of Yu. V. Andropov - was written in 1993–1998, published in Russia in 1999. The presentation of this book took place in June 1999 at the expanded board of the FSB, chaired by V. V. Putin. In Russia, a book about Andropov was published six times. It was translated and published in China. In the books of R. A. Medvedev we see not only political biographies of two prominent figures of the USSR, but also a reflection of the history of the Soviet Union in the 50s–80s.