Viktoria Brezhnev; Widow of Ex-Soviet Leader

Viktoria Brezhnev, 87, the rarely seen widow of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Born in Kursk, she married Brezhnev in 1928. Although he was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1964 until his death in 1982, she shunned the limelight and was rarely mentioned in the Soviet or international press. She stepped out of the shadow of privacy briefly in 1974 to entertain visiting First Lady Pat Nixon at tea. According to the book “The Kremlin Wives,” Mrs. Brezhnev had little education but worked as a nurse before giving birth to her two children, Galina and Yuri. When her husband traveled, Mrs. Brezhnev usually stayed home, and was said to prefer cooking to Kremlin intrigue. She was known for her borscht and other simple dishes. On Wednesday in Moscow of complications of diabetes.