Editing Pyotr Masherov (section)

=== Conflicts with Soviet leadership ===
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| caption1          = Leonid Brezhnev
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| caption2          = Mikhail Suslov
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As an independent thinker, Masherov set himself apart from many others within the CPSU at the time. While many of his compatriots chose to closely adhere to the positions of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, Masherov instead pursued his own course, developing Belarus and frequently acting without seeking guidance from Moscow. Masherov's relationship with Brezhnev has been subject to wildly varying accounts, with some, such as Olga Masherova, stating that Brezhnev was hopeful that Masherov would achieve higher office.<ref name=":7" /> Others, like Viktor Shevelukha, claim that the vain Brezhnev was envious of Masherov, who was genuinely loved by the Belarusian people, something Brezhnev could not replicate at the national level.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shevelukha|first=Viktor|title=In Those Years, the Republic Grew by Leaps and Bounds|pages=137}}</ref>

Masherov had a complicated relationship with [[Mikhail Suslov]], Second Secretary of the CPSU and the party's primary ideologue. Suslov allegedly sabotaged Masherov's attempts to move upwards by inviting him to the [[24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|24th Congress of the CPSU]] in 1971 and requesting that he give a speech criticising [[Eurocommunism]]. This was despite the attendance of Eurocommunist politicians, including [[Georges Marchais]] and [[Dolores Ibárruri]] (head of the [[French Communist Party]] and honorary president of the [[Spanish Communist Party]] respectively), and caused a diplomatic incident which dealt a serious blow to any further political aspirations of Masherov.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Antipenko|first=Valentin|date=13 February 2018|title=Pyotr Masherov: the Road to Immortality|url=https://teleskop.media/2018/02/13/pyotr-mironovich-masherov-doroga-v-bessmertie/|access-date=29 July 2021|website=Telescope Media}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kozlov|first=Igor|date=16 March 2018|title=The Centenary of a Friend|url=https://mogilevnews.by/news/16-03-2018-15-09/49437|access-date=29 July 2021|website=Mogilev News|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128093120/https://mogilevnews.by/news/16-03-2018-15-09/49437|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Antanovich|first=Ivan|title="Hallowed be Thy Name..."|pages=178–179}}</ref> However, according to a 1977 CIA report, Masherov, as well as his political allies Mazurov and Zimyanin, had backing from Suslov, as well as Premier Alexei Kosygin, in opposition to the establishment of Brezhnev's cult of personality.<ref name=":9" />