From Jack F. Matlock’s Reagan and Gorbachev
>I was able to observe Brezhnev at ceremonial functions in the spring and summer of 1981 when I was in charge of the American embassy in Moscow. He was not only incapable of speaking without a script, but often had trouble reading even simple texts. Moscow intellectuals would joke about the leader's condition. One prominent writer regaled us over dinner with Brezhnev imitations. One of them went as follows:
>Brezhnev goes to the airport to greet Margaret Thatcher. When she come out of the plane, he goes forward, looks at the paper in his hand, and reads "Welcome, Indira Gandhi!". Gromyko, standing beside him, whispers, "Not Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher”. Brezhnev looks at the paper again and repeats, "Welcome Indira Gandhi "Margaret Thatcher, Margaret Thatcher. Gromyko prompts, voice rising. Brezhnev turns to him and, waving his script, says. "I know she is Margaret Thatcher, but it says here Indira Gandhi”.
>This was only a slight exaggeration. When Brezhnev was seeing off a visiting chief of state at the VIP airport terminal west of Moscow, he and Gromyko walked past a group of journalists there covering the event. One called out in Russian, "How did the meeting go?" The voice was loud and clear but Brezhnev did not understand. The journalist repeated the question, even louder. Brezhnev turned to Gromyko, walking beside him, and asked, “Chto on skazal?" (What'd he say?). Gromyko replied, "Skazhi khonosho” (Just say fine). Brezhnev thereupon turned to the journalists and, face beaming with the satisfaction of a person who has just solved an intricate puzzle said, "Khorosho. Khorosho" (Fine. Fine).