The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word BREZHNEV
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
B
R
E
Z
H
N
E
V
More clues leading to the result BREZHNEV
- … Soviet leader, restoring Ivan the Terrible, last letters of literati lost
- Cold war Russian bishop never wanders outside Zürich’s boundaries
- Leader that was Zulu embraced by elevated Archdeacon Basil?
- Bowled with reverse swing trapping unknown hard Northern big-hitter
- 1970s leader the last character to be embraced by retiring Archdeacon Basil?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Leader that was" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case leader that was = brezhnev.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.