 The majority of Politburo members under Brezhnev were conservative communists . Even so , Podgorny remained one of the most liberal @-@ minded members in the Era of Stagnation . Other liberal @-@ minded Politburo members included Kosygin and Andrei Kirilenko . Factionalism within the Soviet leadership in the 1960s led Podgorny to become more active ; he held several speeches in Moscow and went on numerous state visits at the expense of Brezhnev and Kosygin 's popularity . There was speculation in Soviet society that Podgorny was trying to replace Kosygin as Premier , or even Brezhnev as General Secretary , due to his increasing presence in the late 1960s . The 24th Party Congress , while reaffirming Brezhnev 's and Kosygin 's respective positions , made it clear that Podgorny had become a major player in Soviet politics . The collective leadership was eventually left powerless in the late 1970s when Brezhnev had close to full control over the Politburo . 
