It was a social class of mostly elderly, mostly inflexible, often veterans of WW2, always part of the Soviet Nomenklatura, often repressive, some times corrupt, often KGB members, always men, mostly Russians, some times warlike, always politically extreme party officials, almost all hated or feared reforms and some times opposed detente with the West. Lieoned Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt leaders are often put in this social group.