The Brezhnev Doctrine was a policy put forth by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in 1968, which stated that the Soviet Union would intervene in the internal affairs of any socialist country that was threatened by counter-revolution or the overthrow of communism. The doctrine was used to justify Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and in Afghanistan in 1979. The doctrine was also used to justify the Soviet Union's support of communist governments and parties in other countries, and was a key element of Soviet foreign policy during the Cold War.