The foreign policy of the USSR in the initial period of the “thaw” was conducted under the conditions of the “Cold War”. To weaken it, new, more diplomatic, flexible approaches to solving world problems were required.
XX Congress of the CPSU (1956) was determined principle of world coexistence states with different socio-political systems, which allowed the USSR to focus its efforts on détente.
The policy of peaceful coexistence, alternating pressure with compromise and not leading to war, explains the seemingly complex interweaving of contradictory initiatives of Soviet diplomacy in the period 1956 - 1964. combining threats with proposals to ease world tensions.
The policy adopted towards the West presupposed, first of all, its full recognition of the results of the Second World War and the conquest of the “socialist camp”.
After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the most acute manifestations of the Cold War began to be overcome, economic, political and cultural connections between the USSR and capitalist countries.
N.S. Khrushchev and D. Eisenhower in the White House
In January 1954 in Berlin a meeting of the foreign ministers of the USA, Great Britain, France and the USSR took place, discussing issues related to Indochina, Korea, the German problem, collective security in Europe.
In July 1955, ten years after Postdam, the heads of the great powers met again in Geneva - USSR, Great Britain and France. The focus of the meeting was on the interconnected German question and the question of European security. In 1955 soviet government decided to return to their homeland all German prisoners of war in the USSR. Were installed diplomatic relations between the USSR and Germany. A major achievement in international sphere was the signing in May 1955 by representatives of the USSR, USA, England, France and Austria of the Treaty on the restoration of Austrian independence.
In June 1961. The first meeting of N.S. took place in Vienna. Khrushchev with new US President D. Kennedy. It was not her who decided to establish a direct telephone connection between the Kremlin and the White House. However, the situation in Berlin worsened again. As a result, on August 12, 1961, a concrete wall was erected around West Berlin and border checkpoints have been established. This caused even greater tension both in Berlin itself and in the international situation as a whole.
The situation in the Middle East remained no less tense, especially after the national democratic government of G.A. came to power in Egypt in 1952. Nasser.
The primary task in externally political sphere was fight for disarmament. In an effort to reverse the dangerous course of events, the USSR for the period 1956 - 1960. unilaterally reduced its Armed Forces by 4 million people. In March 1958, the Soviet Union unilaterally stopped testing all types of nuclear weapons, thereby expressing the hope that other countries would follow its example. However, this action did not find a response from the United States and its NATO allies. The concept of general and complete disarmament was introduced by the USSR in 1959 and 1960. for discussion of the XIV and XV sessions of the UN General Assembly.
Speech by N.S. Khrushchev at the XIV session of the UN General Assembly on September 18
But the United States and its allies blocked these Soviet proposals as well.
The political union of the Warsaw Pact countries - the USSR, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, East Germany and Czechoslovakia - set as its goal maintaining peace in Europe and ensuring the security of ATS states. The main areas of mutual cooperation between the ATS countries were: foreign trade, coordination of national economic plans, scientific and technological policy, cultural ties. Aid to the USSR grew socialist countries in the construction of industrial facilities.
However, the policy towards socialist countries was not only of the nature of cooperation, but also open intervention, when it came to the threat “ socialist camp” by anti-Soviet forces. So, in 1956. anti-Stalin and anti-Soviet protests took place in Poland. Khrushchev initially ordered tanks to be driven into Warsaw, but eventually decided to come to an agreement with representatives of the Polish resistance. But in Hungary in 1956. A more severe crisis broke out, and the uprising that broke out in Budapest was suppressed by the united armed forces of the countries participating in the Warsaw War.
IN 1962. overdue crisis in Cuba, when the Soviet leadership decided to install medium-range nuclear missiles there. The US government demanded that the installed missiles be dismantled, threatening to launch missile and bomb attacks on them in response. Prevent international conflict Only direct negotiations between US President D. Kennedy and N.S. helped. Khrushchev.
The Cuban crisis largely influenced the decline in the political authority of the Soviet leader in the international arena. Moreover, at this time his political actions also fell within the country, which was associated with mistakes, miscalculations and excesses of his voluntaristic course in the economy. Resignation of N.S. Khrushchev in 1964 was the result of the domestic and foreign policy failures of the man who held the first post in the party and government.
FOREIGN POLICY OF THE SOVIET UNION
From confrontation to peaceful coexistence. After Stalin's death, serious changes occurred in the field of foreign policy. Its very foundations began to change. Different points of view on the prospects for foreign policy among the country's top leaders have also emerged.
Beria believed that one should rely on peaceful coexistence with the West. He agreed to the unification of Germany on the condition that it become a neutral democratic state. Beria also proposed restoring relations with Yugoslavia. He considered the CMEA ineffective and proposed reforming it.
Malenkov proceeded from the fact that after the war the international situation developed in favor of the USSR and its allies. He understood that if nuclear war the entire world civilization will perish. Therefore, Malenkov was a supporter of the policy of peaceful coexistence. Over time, Khrushchev also came to these same views.
In contrast, Molotov rejected the idea of peaceful coexistence, believing that it was beneficial to the West. He proposed maintaining a tough confrontation between the two systems.
All leaders, however, were unanimous that the peaceful future of the Soviet people depended on the development of relations with the West.
The beginning of a dialogue with the West. The death of I.V. Stalin coincided with the coming to power of the new US President. On April 16, 1953, D. Eisenhower appealed to the Soviet leadership with a call to change the very atmosphere international relations, move from mutual distrust to cooperation. As concrete steps along this path, he proposed achieving peace in Korea, Indochina, and limiting the production of nuclear weapons.
The Soviet leadership responded to these proposals. In the summer of 1953, an armistice was signed in Korea. Georgia and Armenia announced that they have no territorial claims to Turkey. In 1954, an agreement was reached to end the war in Indochina. At the same time, the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Poland proposed convening a Pan-European Conference on Collective Security in Europe. In 1955, the victorious countries signed a State Treaty with Austria, according to which the USSR withdrew its troops from its territory. In the same year, the USSR announced the end of the state of war with Germany, and in 1956 - with Japan. Some senior Soviet leaders even proposed concluding a treaty of friendship and cooperation with the United States. However, this proposal did not find support from Khrushchev. At the same time, he believed that the guarantee of peace is not the achievement of equality nuclear forces The USSR and the USA (which was still far away), but “a complete cessation of production and destruction of nuclear weapons.”
After the USSR in the second half of the 50s. managed to achieve superiority in the creation of missile delivery systems for nuclear weapons (for the first time, US territory became vulnerable to attack), the nature of relations with the West noticeably tightened. In 1956, the threat of a Soviet nuclear attack thwarted the aggression of Western countries against Egypt and did not allow them to intervene in the Hungarian events. The same argument was decisive in the days of the Berlin crisis of 1961, when a wall was erected, dividing the western and eastern sectors of the German capital.
The most dangerous for the fate of the world turned out to be Caribbean crisis 1962, when, in response to the deployment of American nuclear missiles in Turkey, the USSR delivered medium-range nuclear missile weapons to Cuba. The world was on the brink of nuclear war. It was only avoided at the very last moment. The USSR agreed to remove nuclear weapons and missiles from Cuba, and the United States pledged not to attack the “Island of Freedom” and remove its missiles from Turkish bases. With the overcoming of the Cuban missile crisis, there was an improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States.
But after the death of Kennedy (November 1963) and the resignation of Khrushchev (October 1964), the process of normalization of relations between East and West was interrupted.
The beginning of the crisis of the world socialist system. Bonded by force, the “socialist camp” was heterogeneous from the very beginning, and its unity was very relative. Nevertheless, after Stalin’s death it not only survived, but also outwardly became even more durable - in May 1955 it was created military organization Warsaw Pact. Its task was not only to defend against an external enemy, but also to possibly suppress internal “unrest” in the participating countries themselves.
The situation began to change quickly after the renunciation of Stalinism was proclaimed at the 20th Congress of the CPSU and the declared variety of forms of transition of various countries to socialism. These conclusions were taken seriously in several socialist countries, where democratization processes began. In the fall of 1956, there was a change of leadership in Poland, where mass demonstrations and worker strikes began in the summer. Following this, part of the Hungarian population sharply criticized the leadership of the ruling Hungarian Workers' Party. Soviet troops were brought into Hungarian territory and suppressed the uprising raised by the population against the authorities. Events in Hungary and Poland pushed Khrushchev not only to tighten his policy towards socialist countries, but also to limit criticism of Stalinism within the USSR itself.
After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the second center of the world communist movement gradually began to form in China. He was joined by Albanian and Korean leaders, as well as some of the leaders of the communist movement in Asian countries. They reacted painfully to criticism of Stalin and Stalinism, as well as to the “thaw” in relations between the USSR and the USA. Mao Zedong said that “Soviet revisionism and American imperialism, acting in criminal conspiracy, have done so many vile and vile deeds that the revolutionary peoples of the whole world will not spare them.” Territorial claims against the USSR also began to be expressed openly. Khrushchev's attempts to get the Chinese position condemned by the world's communist parties led to an open split in the world communist movement.
This was another sign of the emerging crisis of the world socialist system.
USSR and "third world" countries. 1950s - early 1960s passed under the sign of the collapse of the colonial empires of England and France. The liberated countries sought to pursue an independent domestic and foreign policy, without joining either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. However, they had to experience significant pressure from both sides. To more successfully counter it, the Non-Aligned Movement was formed, uniting the countries of the “third world”.
The Soviet leadership viewed the liberated states as their allies in the “fight against imperialism.” First of all, ties with the leading countries of the Non-Aligned Movement began to strengthen: India, Indonesia, Egypt. Indian Prime Minister J. Nehru, Indonesian President Sukarno, and Egyptian President G. A. Nasser visited Moscow. The USSR provided military and economic assistance to developing countries. In India, a metallurgical plant was being built in Bhilai. Construction of the Aswan hydroelectric power station, the largest in Africa, has begun in Egypt. Large-scale supplies of Soviet weapons were carried out to the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. With Soviet military-political support, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, and Indonesia liberated the island of Timor from the Dutch.
Such close cooperation between the USSR and the countries of the “third world” could not but worry the United States and its allies. They also began to fight for influence on developing countries: in the Middle East they began to support Israel against Egypt, in South Asia - Pakistan against India. Western states also tried to deepen the contradictions between socialist countries.
SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE COUNTRY IN 1953-1964
The beginning of the “thaw” in spiritual life. The most serious changes after Stalin's death occurred in the spiritual life of the peoples of the Soviet Union. Figuratively speaking famous writer I. G. Ehrenburg, after the long Stalinist “winter”, a period of “thaw” began.
This was manifested not only in the lifting of the most stringent restrictions on the activities of cultural masters, but also in the gradual resumption of cultural ties with foreign countries.
In 1957, in Moscow, in an atmosphere of festivity and openness unprecedented at that time, the VI World Festival of Youth and Students took place, marking the beginning of regular contacts between Soviet youth and their foreign peers.
Literary and journalistic works appeared that marked the birth of a new direction in Soviet literature - renovationism. Headed by his magazine " New world", the editor-in-chief of which at that time was A. T. Tvardovsky. Innovative articles by V. V. Ovechkin, F. A. Abramov, works by I. G. Erenburg ("The Thaw"), V. F. Panova ( "Seasons"), F.I. Panferova ("Volga-Mother River"), etc. In them, the authors for the first time raised the question of the destructiveness of the atmosphere of previous years for the intelligentsia. This was so bold that Tvardovsky was removed from the leadership of the magazine.
V. D. Dudintsev (“Not by Bread Alone”), D. A. Granin (“Seekers”), E. Ya. Dorosh (“Village Diary”) spoke about this in their works. Vivid works were created by recognized masters of literature - F. A. Abramov ("Brothers and Sisters"), M. A. Sholokhov ("Virgin Soil Upturned"), K. G. Paustovsky ("Golden Rose"). The multi-volume epics of V. P. Kataev ("Waves of the Black Sea"), V. A. Kaverin ("Open Book"), etc., which had been created for many years, were completed. The poem-reflection of A. T. Tvardovsky "Beyond the Distance - Distance" had a great resonance ", in which the Stalinist period of our history was comprehended.
Outstanding works about past war went down in history Russian literature these years, front-line writers Yu. V. Bondarev ("Battalions Ask for Fire", "Silence") and G. Ya. Baklanov ("An Inch of Earth", "The Dead Have No Shame").
A characteristic feature of the literature of the “Thaw” times was the formulation of problems previously closed to free discussion: the relationship between revolution and morality (“The Blue Notebook” by E. G. Kazakevich), the price of the victory of the people in the Great Patriotic War (“The Fate of Man” by M. A. Sholokhov ) and etc.
Art culture. Criticism of Stalin’s “cult of personality” in party documents led to a revision of previous ideological assessments in the field artistic culture. In 1958, in a special resolution of the Central Committee, charges were dropped against prominent figures of Russian musical culture - Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khachaturian and others.
Vivid musical works marked the beginning of the creative activity of young composers E.V. Denisov, A.P. Petrov, A.G. Shnitke, R.K. Shchedrin, A.Ya. Eshpai and others. These years saw the heyday of the work of the outstanding composer G. V. Sviridova. The whole country sang songs by A. N. Pakhmutova based on poems by N. A. Dobronravov “Song of Troubled Youth”, “Geologists”, “Girls”, etc.
In painting, the avant-garde art of the 1920s was rehabilitated. Along with those who called big interest works by famous masters ("Mother" by A. A. Plastov, "Self-Portrait in a Red Fez" by R. R. Falk, etc.), paintings by talented innovative artists V. I. Ivanov, V. E. Popkov, T. T. Salakhov, a new direction was established - a “severe style” with its laconicism in details and emphasized drama in the assessment of life phenomena. The objects of lively debate among the audience were the paintings “Our Everyday Life” and “Geologists” by P. F. Nikonov, “Rafters” by N. I. Andronov and others. True, conservatives in the leadership of the Academy of Arts in 1962 managed to get Khrushchev to publicly condemn the “abstractionists” " and "formalists". But it was no longer possible to ban their creativity.
The work of outstanding sculptors S. T. Konenkov and S. D. Erzi (Nefedov), who returned from a long emigration, returned to the Soviet audience. Konenkov's "Self-Portrait" and a series of female portraits of Erzya evoked a lively response from his contemporaries.
Thanks to the beginning of the “thaw,” domestic culture was enriched with many brilliant works that received recognition not only at home, but also abroad. For the first time, Soviet films received the Grand Prix at film festivals in Cannes ("The Cranes Are Flying" by M.K. Kalatozov) and Venice ("Ivan's Childhood" by A.A. Tarkovsky). New names of directors appeared in cinema, who determined its development for many years - S. F. Bondarchuk, L. I. Gaidai, G. N. Chukhrai, M. M. Khutsiev.
Updating the system of ideological control. Innovative works of art contributed to the formation of Soviet man a new, completely different mental attitude, and as a result - a change in the spiritual atmosphere in society. But this is precisely what worried the authorities. As a result, special resolutions of the Central Committee appeared that established the limits of “freedom of creativity” beyond which the intelligentsia could not go in criticizing the existing order. Otherwise, she was threatened with new persecution.
A striking example of such a policy was the “Pasternak case.” The publication in the West of the novel Doctor Zhivago, banned by the authorities, and the awarding of the Nobel Prize to B. L. Pasternak literally put him outside the law. He was expelled from the Writers' Union and was forced to refuse the prize in order to avoid deportation from the country.
In other cases, the authorities were not so harsh. A real shock for millions of people was the publication in “New World” of A. I. Solzhenitsyn’s stories “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”, “Matrenin’s Dvor”, which loudly declared the overcoming of the “cult of personality” in the minds of Soviet people.
At the same time, trying to prevent the massive nature of anti-Stalinist publications, which affected not only Stalinism, but also the entire existing system, Khrushchev specifically drew the attention of writers in his speeches to the fact that “this is very dangerous topic and difficult material" and it is necessary to deal with it, "observing a sense of proportion." Official "restrictions" acted in other spheres of culture. Not only writers and poets were regularly subjected to sharp criticism for "ideological dubiousness" and "underestimation of the role of the party" (A. A . Voznesensky, D. A. Granin, E. A. Evtushenko, K. G. Paustovsky, etc.), but also sculptors, artists, directors (E. I. Neizvestny, R. R. Falk, M. M. Khutsiev etc.), philosophers, historians.
Since direct repressions against the intelligentsia were now impossible, new forms of ideological influence on them were chosen. One of them was the regular holding of meetings between the leadership of the Central Committee and cultural figures, at which “evaluations” of their works and instructions were given on what should be done and how. All this had a restraining influence on the development of artistic culture.
Development of multinational culture. The democratization of nationality policy contributed to the further development of Soviet multinational culture.
With new ones literary works Ch. Aitmatov, T. Akhtanov, I. Guseinov, D. K. Shengelaya spoke. Yu. P. German completed his trilogy: “The Cause You Serve,” “My Dear Man,” and “I am Responsible for Everything.” A major event in literary life in the mid-50s. was the completion of M. O. Auezov’s many years of work on the epic “Abai’s Path,” which reveals pages of the life of the Kazakh people. Created in the mid-50s, it was very popular among readers. the magazine "Friendship of Peoples", which published works of writers and poets of different nationalities.
Outstanding poetic works were created by I. V. Abashidze ("Palestine, Palestine..."), M. Tursun-Zade ("Voice of Asia"), J. Marcinkevičius ("Blood and Ash"), E. Mezhelaitis ("Man"), M. Rylsky (“Roses and Grapes”), A. A. Akhmatova (“The Running of Time”), P. U. Brovka (“And the Days Go By”), etc.
Wide public recognition was awarded to the paintings of artists from the union republics - T. N. Yablonskaya from Ukraine, R. V. Kudrevich from Belarus, N. I. Bakhchevan from Moldova, R. R. Sturua from Georgia, O. Skulme from Latvia and etc.
Power and the church. The direction of the party leadership towards the extensive construction of communism could not but lead to a new wave of “struggle against the remnants of the past,” primarily against religion and the church. Since the late 50s. A new noisy anti-religious campaign began. Activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious denominations was placed under actual control local authorities authorities. Church elders were subject to approval by the authorities, and weddings, baptisms and funeral services began to be recorded in special books, from which the authorities then found out whether the participants in the ceremonies belonged to the party and the Komsomol (this was usually followed by exclusion from these organizations and troubles in the service or at the place of study ).
With the help of these measures, the authorities solved several problems at once: the bulk of believers were excluded from participation in religious affairs; religious activities were now completely under the control of the authorities; regarding these measures, a clear split emerged among the believers themselves, which turned into a split in church communities.
In the early 60s. a new wave of temple destruction began. The number of Orthodox parishes in the country for the period 1953-1963. dropped by more than half.
All this could not but give rise to mass movements in defense of the rights of believers. They demanded that the authorities implement the provisions of the 1936 constitution on freedom of conscience.
Education. Formed in the 30s. the educational system needed updating. It had to correspond to the prospects for the development of science and technology, new tasks of economic construction. In 1953-1964. State spending on education increased significantly, and the latest technical developments were introduced into the educational process. Separate education for boys and girls was eliminated. Thousands of new schools and dozens of new universities have opened. A complex of buildings of Moscow University on the Lenin Hills was put into operation.
At the same time, the growing needs of an extensively developing economy annually required hundreds of thousands of new workers for thousands of enterprises created in the country. Since 1956, “public calls” for young people to work on Komsomol shock construction sites have become a tradition. However, due to the lack of basic living conditions and the dominance of manual labor, many children returned home several months later.
In December 1958, the school reform project was approved. Instead of a seven-year period, compulsory eight-year education was introduced. Young people received secondary education by graduating from either a school for working (rural) youth without leaving work, or technical schools operating on the basis of an eight-year school, or a secondary three-year labor comprehensive school with industrial training. For those wishing to continue their studies at a university, mandatory work experience of at least 2 years was introduced.
Thus, the severity of the problem of labor influx into production was temporarily removed. However, for production managers, this created new problems with even higher staff turnover and low levels of labor and technological discipline among young workers.
In August 1964, a decision was made on secondary education based on ten years as the main type of education.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE USSR IN THE MID-1960s - 1980s
Growing conservative tendencies. L. I. Brezhnev. After N. S. Khrushchev was removed from the leadership of the party and state, L. I. Brezhnev became the leader of the country. He advanced to party work during the mass purge of the 1930s, becoming secretary of the regional party committee. During the war, Brezhnev was the head of the political department of the army, the political department of the front, and then led regional and republican party organizations. In the early 60s. he became the formal head of state (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR). In terms of his personal qualities, Brezhnev was a sociable, friendly and sympathetic person. He could well meet those who asked him for help and support. He loved walks in the fresh air and swimming. He was a passionate hunter and car enthusiast. I watched movies with interest, especially about the war. Brezhnev was neither an outstanding theorist nor a brilliant organizer, and he himself understood this. He considered the main thing in the political assessment of his personality to be that he took into account the psychology of people and knew how to select personnel. IN totalitarian system these qualities were decisive for a leader. Later, with age, Brezhnev lost his sense of reality and became subject to outright flattery, just as a child rejoiced at numerous awards and prizes, which he sincerely perceived as a popular appreciation of his work. As a result, by the end of his life, Brezhnev was awarded 122 orders and medals, including 4 times the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union, the Gold Star of the Hero of Socialist Labor, 8 Orders of Lenin, the military order of Victory, etc. In conditions of growing illness, he entrusted more and more cases to his closest associates - Yu. V. Andropov, A. A. Gromyko, D. F. Ustinov. In his name, things were increasingly being done that he did not approve or support.
Brezhnev's 18-year reign became a "golden age" for the party and state nomenklatura. The party apparatus was tired of the numerous reorganizations of the Khrushchev era and therefore happily accepted Brezhnev’s main slogan - “to ensure personnel stability.” In fact, this meant conservation not only political structures, but also lifelong occupation of nomenklatura posts. Corruption among government officials flourished.
Soon the "stability of personnel" led to the fact that average age The country's top leaders have crossed the 70-year mark. Their physical “extinction” began - in the period between the XXVI and XXVII Congresses of the CPSU (1981-1986), three General Secretaries of the Central Committee died (and a total of 9 members and candidate members of the Politburo of the Central Committee out of 22). It is no coincidence that the eleventh five-year plan was called the “five-year plan of a magnificent funeral,” and the abbreviation USSR in folklore began to stand for “Country of the Oldest Leaders.”
There has also been an unspoken “rehabilitation” of Stalin. Officially, no one canceled the decisions of the XX and XXII Congresses of the CPSU, but mention of them was no longer associated with the condemnation of the “cult of personality.”
Strengthening party control. The new status of the party apparatus had to be formally consolidated. At the next, XXIII Congress of the CPSU in 1966, all changes to the Charter made by Khrushchev to weaken the position of the party apparatus were canceled. Chief among them was the limitation of the duration of party office. At the XXIV Congress in 1971, it was decided to expand the range of institutions and organizations in which party committees had the right to control the activities of the administration.
Party committees of ministries and departments received the right to intervene in issues government controlled. The privileges of the nomenclature were also expanded, allowing its representatives, even with an average salary, to have first-class housing, medical care, and dachas. Of particular importance, in conditions of constant shortages of food and light industry goods, was the supply of responsible workers. For 80 rubles. in the “medicinal nutrition canteen” the family of a representative of the nomenklatura elite could eat various delicacies for a month (balyk, sausages, cheeses, caviar, confectionery), which ordinary citizens had long forgotten.
The number of workers in the party and state apparatus also grew, and the number of various institutions increased. If in 1965, with the revival of line ministries, their number was 29, then by the mid-80s. - already 160. 18 million people were employed in the management system - almost every seventh worker.
The growing role of the military-industrial complex. Since the mid-60s. The country's leadership set the task of achieving military-strategic parity (equality) with the United States. Not only has the expanded production of nuclear and missile weapons and conventional weapons begun, but also the development of the latest combat systems. Under these conditions, the role and influence of the army command and the leadership of military production grew even more.
The apogee of the process of merging the state and military-industrial elite was the appointment in 1976 of the Minister of Defense of Politburo member D. F. Ustinov, who throughout the post-war years headed, first, various branches of military production, and from the beginning of the 60s. - the entire defense industry. For the first time in the history of the country, the head of the army turned from a simple executor of the decisions of the political leadership into a participant in the development and adoption of these decisions themselves. The results became obvious pretty quickly. The USSR began annually producing almost 5 times more tanks and armored personnel carriers than the United States, and by the mid-80s it had. 64 thousand tanks (NATO countries have 22 thousand). The Soviet Union had 3 times more nuclear submarines, bombers strategic purpose- 2 times, guns and mortars - 7 times. The armies of 130 countries around the world were armed with Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifles. The share of military expenditures in the gross national product of the USSR in some years reached 30%.
The role of the KGB has also increased noticeably - not only in ensuring control over society, but also in making the most important political decisions. It is no coincidence that Brezhnev’s successor as leader of the party and state was former chairman KGB Yu. V. Andropov.
The concept of "developed socialism". Brezhnev and his entourage understood perfectly well that there could be no talk of any “building communism by 1980.” Therefore, at first they stopped calling the date promised by Khrushchev, and then they started talking about communism as a long-term prospect.
The new concept replaced the program of “building communism” already in 1967, when Brezhnev announced the creation of a “developed socialist society” in the country. This conclusion was based on the actual fact of completion of construction economic fundamentals industrial society in USSR. However, the authors of the new concept spoke about the homogeneity of the society built in the country, the final solution to the national question, and the absence of real contradictions. This should have meant that there could no longer be internal sources of conflict and upheaval in society. This concept was consolidated in new constitution countries.
Constitution of the USSR 1977. Each Soviet leader sought to develop his own constitution. Brezhnev was no exception. On October 7, 1977, the country's fourth constitution in 60 years was adopted. The preamble of the new Basic Law stated that a developed socialist society had been built in the USSR, and formulated its features in the economy, political, and spiritual life. It was first noted that social base society consists not only of the working class and peasantry, but also of the intelligentsia. It also contained a conclusion about the Soviet people as a new community of people. Article six officially consolidated the leading position of the CPSU in the life of society. The dominant position of the Center in relations with the republics was also emphasized.
Among the social and economic rights of Soviet citizens, the constitution also outlined a number of new ones: the right to work, to free education, medical care, recreation, pensions, and housing. In contrast to the situation in 1936, immediately after the approval of the constitution, the Supreme Council adopted relevant laws that ensured the implementation of these important rights. The possibilities have been significantly expanded public organizations: trade unions and the Komsomol received the right to introduce bills for discussion in the Supreme Council and nominate candidates for supreme and local government bodies.
The 1977 Constitution was democratic in nature. It was strengthened by the fact that for the first time the most important international obligations USSR - the main provisions of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe signed in Helsinki in 1975 by the Soviet Union together with other European countries, with the participation of the USA and Canada.
However, the gap between word and deed, the preservation of strict party dictatorship in all spheres of social life inevitably led to the fact that many of the rights written in the new constitution ultimately remained only on paper.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY IN THE MID-1960s - 1980s
Economic discussions of the first half of the 60s. Economic difficulties and failures of the early 60s. sparked lively discussions not only in high circles party leadership, but also among experts in the field of economics. The impetus for these discussions was largely given by the population's discussion of the draft CPSU Program and the Constitution of the USSR. In September 1962, Pravda published an article by the Kharkov scientist E. G. Liberman, “Plan, Profit, Premium,” in which he proposed to evaluate the activities of enterprises not in terms of gross production (which was what party documents aimed at), but in terms of volume the profit that remained after its sale. It was proposed not only to revive material incentives for the manufacturer, but also to free him from petty supervision in matters of planning and sales. These proposals were literally revolutionary in nature, since they struck at the very foundation of the existing economic system.
Lieberman's proposals were supported not only by the largest Soviet economists(academicians L.V. Kantorovich, V.S. Nemchinov, V.V. Novozhilov), but also N.S. Khrushchev, who allowed an “economic experiment” to be carried out at two textile factories.
A. N. Kosygin, who in October 1964 became the head of the Soviet government instead of Khrushchev, also approved these ideas. He extended the experiment to enterprises in other industries and announced the beginning of the development of a full-scale economic reform.
Agrarian reform of 1965. Economic reform began with agriculture. In March 1965, the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee adopted a program for restructuring the agricultural sector of the economy. It was decided to significantly increase investment in development social sphere villages (construction of residential buildings, hospitals, schools, cinemas, libraries), increase purchase prices for agricultural products, establish a firm government procurement plan for six years, introduce a 50 percent premium to the base price for excess sales of products to the state, write off debts and arrears of past years. The prohibitions on running private farms were somewhat relaxed. However, administrative mechanisms continued to remain the main instrument of agricultural policy.
However, the results of the reform were felt very quickly. Expensive equipment was purchased, chemicalization and land reclamation programs were launched, and construction of grandiose livestock breeding and processing complexes was underway. In 1970, the total profitability of state farm production was 22%, and collective farm production - 34%.
However, the reform was hindered chronic problems collective farm system. Enormous funds allocated for the development of the country's agriculture (for 1966-1980, their amount amounted to about 400 billion rubles, which at the official exchange rate was equal to 660 billion dollars) literally “went into the sand.” Without including the factor of personal interest, they were used extremely irrationally.
In addition, the introduction of stable and fairly high monetary salaries on collective farms, with a ban on having an effective subsidiary plot and selling its products, led to an increase in dependency sentiment. It got to the point that even the vegetable harvest was annually harvested not by the peasants themselves, but by millions of students, schoolchildren, workers and office workers. Losses harvested ranged from 20 to 40%. By the beginning of the 80s. collective and state farms again turned out to be unprofitable.
"Kosygin" reform in industry. In September 1965, the next plenum of the Central Committee considered issues of industrial reform. The proposed measures were the most radical in all the years of Soviet power, although they did not affect the foundations of directive economics.
The first direction of the reform was a change in directive planning. It was announced that the number of indicators determined “from above” would be reduced to a minimum. One of them was still gross output. But now a quality indicator was also introduced.
Another direction of the reform was strengthening economic incentives for producers. Part of the income of enterprises was allowed to remain at their own disposal and used in three directions: for material incentives for workers and employees, for the construction of housing and social facilities, and for the development of production.
Economic councils were abolished, and sectoral ministries were restored. True, it was announced that they would now not be “dictators”, but “partners”. But few people believed in this. On the contrary, it was precisely the thesis about the broad powers of ministries that was in irreconcilable contradiction with the proclaimed “independence” of enterprises.
The Eighth Five-Year Plan (1966-1970) showed that even in such a limited form, the reform produces considerable economic results. The volume of industrial production over these years has increased almost 1.5 times. The quality of products has also increased. During the years of the Eighth Five-Year Plan, about 1,900 large industrial enterprises were built, including the Volzhsky Automobile Plant in Tolyatti, the world's largest Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station, the West Siberian and Karaganda metallurgical plants, and a number of nuclear power plants. Large oil production complexes came into operation in the Tyumen region. Construction of the Kama Automobile Plant (KAMAZ) and the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) began.
However, by the end of the 60s. the reform began to decline. Along with it, economic indicators went downhill. In addition to economic ones, there were also political reasons: Similar innovations in Czechoslovakia led to the beginning of the dismantling of the political system. And Brezhnev could not allow this either in Czechoslovakia, much less in his own country.
The directive model of economic development has finally exhausted its resource. It could continue to develop by inertia for some time. But historically it was doomed.
Achievements of Soviet science and technology. 1960s - early 1980s were marked by a number of fundamental scientific discoveries and technical developments. As before, they were concentrated in areas closely related to military production - in nuclear physics, rocket science, and aviation technology.
In the second half of the 60s. outer space was actively explored. Soviet cosmonauts moved from single space flights to collective multi-day expeditions into low-Earth orbit. The use of fundamentally new Soyuz spacecraft began. Long-term orbital space stations "Salyut" were created. In 1966, the automatic interplanetary station Luna-9 made a soft landing on the Moon for the first time in history. Luna 16 delivered samples of lunar soil to Earth in 1970. In the same year, the first automatic self-propelled vehicle “Lunokhod-1” was delivered to the Moon and successfully began operation. Soviet descent spacecraft were the first to reach the surface of Venus and Mars and began to study their atmosphere and soil. In 1975, the first joint Soviet-American space flight took place on the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft, which opened the era of international space cooperation.
In 1975, the world's largest thermonuclear installation, Tokamak-10, began operation, at which a developed thermonuclear reaction was carried out in laboratory conditions for the first time.
In the second half of the 60s. a concept was developed and the country's Unified Energy System (UES) began to be created.
Soviet designers, engineers and technicians achieved great success. In 1965, the world's largest transport aircraft, Antey, was created at the design bureau of O.K. Antonov. In December 1975, the world's first supersonic passenger aircraft, the Tu-144, began operation (A. N. Tupolev Design Bureau). Since 1976, the first Soviet airbus “Il-86” (Design Bureau S.V. Ilyushin) began transporting passengers and cargo. In 1975, Belarusian automakers created the largest BelAZ dump truck with a carrying capacity of 110 tons. In 1974, the largest nuclear icebreaker Arktika was launched.
At the same time, the achievements of science and technology had little effect on the state of mechanization and automation of production, especially in construction and agriculture.
Features of social policy. In 1965-1984. The urban population has grown significantly. It increased from 130 million to 180 million people. The authorities have moved to restrict registration in a number of cities across the country. Over the same years, the number of rural residents decreased from 105 million to 96 million people. In some areas of the country, city dwellers made up 75% of the total population, with the villages almost completely abandoned (Non-Black Earth Region of the RSFSR, etc.).
An important social achievement of this time was that by the mid-80s. The share of people with higher and secondary education was almost 70%.
Rapid growth in the number of citizens, as well as the population southern republics countries gave rise to new problems. Despite the significant increase in the volume of housing, the number of people on the waiting list for housing increased every year. There was no unemployment only due to the continuation of extensive industrial construction. But in the republics of Central Asia it gradually became widespread (albeit hidden).
Reduced health care spending soon led to the USSR moving to 35th place in the world in terms of life expectancy and 50th place in child mortality.
Population growth and falling agricultural production have led to worsening food shortages. As a result, by the beginning of the 80s. in many regions of the country, the card system, liquidated in 1947, began to be reintroduced. According to the level of consumption of the USSR, by the beginning of the 80s. took only 77th place.
The share of wages in the national income created in the industry of the USSR was only 36.5% (1985), while in the USA it was 64%, and in some other Western countries it was up to 80%. The rest was “eaten up” by the arms race, unwise management, and support for pro-communist regimes in other countries.
SPIRITUAL LIFE OF SOVIET SOCIETY IN THE 1960s - the first half of the 1980s
Crisis of official ideology. The gap between the statements of party ideologists and the realities of life was so great that people already from the second half of the 60s. stopped trusting official propaganda. Gradually, building communism from the main slogan of the day turned into a reason for numerous jokes and ridicule.
Gradually, people lost not only faith in the final goal, but also the ideological incentive to work (there was no economic incentive before). The concept of “developed socialism” was so vague and incomprehensible even to party leaders that it could not explain for a long time the reasons for the failures in building communism. In the early 80s. it was necessary to “correct” it too. In 1982, a new concept was announced - “further improvement of developed socialism.” It was noted that this process is objectively inevitable and so long that it will require “an entire historical era.”
Since 1980 passed, and communism was not built (moreover, just at that time, an unprecedented shortage of everyday food products broke out), it was announced that it was necessary to make changes to the CPSU Program. The official ideology has finally reached a dead end.
Dissident movement. The crisis of communist ideology became obvious to part of the intelligentsia already in the first half of the 60s. True, at that time no one had put forward ideological views other than communist ones. The talk was about the “renewal” of Marxism-Leninism, its “creative development.”
Since the mid-60s. a movement of dissidents gradually began to form in the country. It initially incorporated three main directions: human rights (which demanded that the authorities fulfill all those rights that were contained in the Constitution of the USSR), national liberation and religious. The ideological basis of the dissident movement was represented by both liberalism (whose representatives considered ensuring freedom and human rights to be the basis) and nationalism (whose supporters believed that main goal should be the construction or revival of a national state). The main theorist of the first direction was A.D. Sakharov, the second - A.I. Solzhenitsyn. True, commitment to liberalism did not prevent A.D. Sakharov from speaking out for the need for convergence (merger) of the USSR and the West by combining the best features of both civilizations.
The beginning of the dissident movement is considered to be the wave of protests and demonstrations that followed the arrest in 1965 of writers A. D. Sinyavsky and Yu. M. Daniel. They were accused of publishing their works abroad and were sentenced to 7 years in the camps and 5 years in exile.
In 1969, the country's first open public organization not controlled by the authorities was created - the Initiative Group for the Defense of Human Rights in the USSR (N. E. Gorbanevskaya, S. A. Kovalev, etc.). In 1976, a group to promote the implementation of the Helsinki Agreements in the Soviet Union, headed by Yu. F. Orlov, arose in Moscow.
For the first time in many years, dissent also penetrated the ranks of the army. In 1969, the “Union of Struggle for Democratic Rights” was opened, consisting of officers of the Baltic Fleet. In 1975, the political officer of the large anti-submarine ship "Storozhevoy", captain of the 3rd rank V. Sablin, managed to take the ship from Riga to Leningrad in order to appeal to the country's leadership with an appeal against "embezzlement and demagoguery, window dressing and lies" reigning in society. Bombers scrambled into the air and stopped the ship. Sablin was shot for “treason to the Motherland.”
All this testified to the growing gap between government and society.
Strengthening the fight against “bourgeois” culture. The authorities saw only one reason for the dissident movement and other “informal phenomena” - “the machinations of the imperialists.” Already in the mid-60s. the thesis about the “exacerbation of the ideological struggle” was formulated. This was nothing more than a modernized version of the infamous Stalinist provision on the aggravation of class struggle as we move towards socialism. In the 30s. this provision was used to justify massive political repression. An “updated” version of it in the 60-70s. also had to explain phenomena unusual for society (dissident movement, crisis of official ideology, etc.). It was convenient not only for justifying criticism, but also for a number of restrictions in spiritual life. As for the dissidents, each of them was inevitably presented as an “agent of influence” of the West or simply a spy.
The seventies passed under the sign of the intensification of the “struggle against bourgeois culture.” As in the late 40s, plays by many foreign authors were removed from the theater repertoire. Concerts of famous performers were cancelled. The distribution of the best Western films was prohibited. The reasons, as a rule, were critical assessments of Soviet reality expressed in the language of art, as well as condemnation of the entry of USSR troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968, and in the late 70s into Afghanistan.
Contradictions in the development of artistic culture. Official position The party leadership's attitude towards culture did not change after Khrushchev's resignation. It boiled down to the traditional “golden mean” - the rejection of “denigration”, on the one hand, and the “varnishing of reality”, on the other. But at party congresses and official meetings, the floor was given, as a rule, to those who tried not to notice the problems of life around them.
The authorities “recommended” cultural figures to create works on industrial themes, in which everything usually came down to the personal shortcomings of the heroes, the costs of their upbringing and education. In them, everything ended happily after the intervention of an independent and infallible arbiter in the person of a party official.
Soon, the party authorities not only began to give orders to cultural figures for the number and themes of films or performances, but also to determine the performers of the main roles. This could not but lead to the stagnation of artistic culture.
As a result, many cultural figures were forced to emigrate. The writers V.P. Aksenov, A.I. Solzhenitsyn, V.E. Maksimov, A.A. Zinoviev, V.P. Nekrasov, V.N. Voinovich, the poet I.A. Brodsky, the film director A. A. Tarkovsky, theater director Yu. P. Lyubimov, cellist M. L. Rostropovich, opera singer G. P. Vishnevskaya.
Objectively, the official ideology was opposed by representatives of “village” prose (F. A. Abramov, V. P. Astafiev, V. I. Belov, V. G. Rasputin, B. A. Mozhaev, V. M. Shukshin, etc.), in figurative form, showing the tragic consequences of complete collectivization for the Russian village. B. L. Vasiliev and Yu. V. Trifonov wrote about the enduring problems of morality.
Popular directors G. A. Tovstonogov, A. V. Efros, M. A. Zakharov, O. N. Efremov, G. B. Volchek, T. E. Abuladze offered their views on the meaning of life and the role of the intelligentsia in it. also many theater (E. A. Lebedev, K. Yu. Lavrov, O. V. Basilashvili, S. Yu. Yursky, T. V. Doronina, R. Ya. Plyatt) and film actors (V. V. Tikhonov, I O. Gorbachev, M. A. Ulyanov, N. V. Mordyukova, etc.).
In cinema, this period saw the heyday of the creativity of S. F. Bondarchuk ("War and Peace", "Waterloo", "They Fought for the Motherland", "Father Sergius"), Yu. N. Ozerov (film epic "Liberation", "Soldiers" Freedom"), S. I. Rostotsky ("We'll Live Until Monday", "And the Dawns Here Are Quiet...", "White Beam - Black Ear"), T. M. Lioznova ("Seventeen Moments of Spring"), A. A. Tarkovsky ("Andrei Rublev", "Solaris", "Stalker", "Nostalgia"), E. A. Ryazanov ("The Irony of Fate", "Garage", "Office Romance"), L. I. Gaidai ("Prisoner of the Caucasus ", "The Diamond Arm").
Outstanding successes and world recognition were achieved by the masters of Soviet ballet M. M. Plisetskaya, N. I. Bessmertnova, M. E. Liepa, V. V. Vasiliev, E. S. Maksimova, N. V. Pavlova, V. M. Gordeev , A. B. Godunov, M. N. Baryshnikov and others. In emigration, the high brand of Russian ballet art was carried by R. X. Nureyev.
The art of opera was represented by the skill of I. K. Arkhipova, V. A. Atlantov, Z. L. Sotkilov, E. V. Obraztsova, T. I. Sinyavskaya, E. E. Nesterenko, B. T. Shtokolov, A. A Eisen et al.
People's artists of the USSR I. S. Glazunov and A. M. Shilov reached true peaks in their creativity.
Famous sculptors N.V. Tomsky, V.E. Vuchetich, L.E. Kerbel created bright sculptural compositions. Among the most significant are the monumental and decorative sculptural ensembles on Mamayev Kurgan (Volgograd), in the Brest Fortress, Kyiv, Novorossiysk.
A bright page of culture of the 60-70s. became the "tape revolution". The whole country listened to recordings of songs and performances performed by V. S. Vysotsky, Yu. Ch. Kim, B. Sh. Okudzhava, M. M. Zhvanetsky. The greatest master of the satirical genre was A.I. Raikin, who in his miniatures castigated the vices of society.
During these years, the favorite pop performers for millions of our compatriots were I. D. Kobzon, M. A. Kristalinskaya, M. M. Magomaev, E. S. Piekha, E. A. Khil, A. B. Pugacheva, S. M . Rotaru, L. V. Leshchenko, V. Ya. Leontyev.
Education system. In the 60-70s. The education system has taken a step forward. The number of high school graduates grew rapidly. In the 70s The state set the task of ensuring universal secondary education. As a result, from 1970 to 1985, the number of people with such education almost tripled. But the quality of the knowledge received did not improve: dropouts due to poor academic performance stopped, and there was no real competition in the selection for study in the 9th and 10th grades.
The network of senior educational institutions countries. By the beginning of the 80s. they produced over 1 million specialists annually.
However, both universities and schools continued to focus young people on solving problems inherent in early industrial society. Attempts to change this situation with the help of the 1984 reform did not bring success, not only due to the lack of material resources, but also because it was necessary to change not only the education system, but also the socio-economic system as a whole.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND NATIONAL MOVEMENTS IN THE USSR IN THE MID-1960s - 1980s
"New historical community". In 1972, the country celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the USSR. The results of the development of the Soviet federal state. They were quite impressive. The rates of development of the republics of Central Asia were the highest. If in 1922 the illiteracy rate of the population here was 95%, now the same number of residents of the region had higher, secondary and incomplete secondary education. The volume of industrial production over these years has increased in Kazakhstan by 600 times, in Tajikistan - by 500, in Kyrgyzstan - by 400, in Uzbekistan - by 240, in Turkmenistan - by 130 times (in fairly developed Ukraine - by 176 times). Only in the Uzbek SSR in 1972 there were more specialists with higher and secondary specialized education working than in the national economy of the entire USSR at the end of the 20s. The Baltic republics have also reached a high level of development - industrial production in Latvia has increased 31 times since 1940, in Estonia - 32 times, and in Lithuania - 37 times. All these results were achieved collective work all peoples of the country.
In the second half of the 60s. an ideological conclusion about the Soviet people as a new historical community of people took shape. It matured gradually. Initially, this directive itself was voiced in a report dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. Then it was stated that this community signifies the result of many years of rapprochement between socialist nations and peoples. The main thing that unites these nations and forms a single Soviet people, stated in party documents, is “a common goal - the building of communism.”
Soon, party theorists decided that ideological unity was clearly not enough. In the early 70s. the previous provisions were supplemented by the conclusion that the “single national economic complex” that had developed in the country was the “material basis for the friendship of peoples” of the USSR. This provision was enshrined in the 1977 Constitution.
Theoretical setting about the Soviet people as new form community of people could not but affect the political course pursued by the party leadership on the national question.
The course proclaimed by the country's leadership for the further internationalization of Soviet society inevitably came into conflict with the processes of growth of national self-awareness and the previous experience of relations between the Center and the republics.
Increasing contradictions between the Center and the republics. During the implementation of the 1965 reform, the authorities placed serious emphasis on the development of specialization of the economy of the union republics. Each of them had to develop traditional production: Kazakhstan - growing grain and obtaining livestock products; Uzbekistan - cotton growing; Turkmenistan - gas and oil production; Moldova - growing vegetables and fruits; Baltic republics - agriculture and fisheries.
In the interests of rapid integration of the economies of the Union republics, the industrial development of the less developed of them proceeded at an accelerated pace. The fastest growth rates were in Belarus, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Lithuania. This led not only to high economic indicators for the entire country, but also to overcoming the isolation of the republics. At the same time, rapid industrial construction in these regions, with the leading role of the Union ministries, further strengthened the role of the Center in relations with the republics.
In the 70s all those rights and powers of the union and autonomous republics, both in economic and political matters, that were granted to them in the 50s were practically eliminated. The peoples of the Union republics lost even limited control over their economy and could not solve many problems of cultural development without sanction from Moscow. In addition, due to the lack of local qualified personnel, engineers and technicians from Russia were resettled to the republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia. This was sometimes perceived even at the everyday level as a violent expansion of other traditions and cultures and strengthened nationalism. National movements revived again.
National movements. National movements at this stage of development of the union state acted as a form of protection of national cultures from the policy of leveling and unification pursued by the Center. Any attempts by the intelligentsia to raise at least some problem of their national culture or language were declared a manifestation of nationalism and were considered hostile. In 1971 in Ukraine, in the context of a decrease in the number of national schools and a reduction in teaching in Ukrainian in universities, many began to demand a return to the previous situation. For this, not only the participants in student protests were punished, but also the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine P. E. Shelest was removed from his post.
In the conditions of growing dissent in the country, national movements began to occupy an increasing share of it.
To the already existing movements for the right of Germans to leave for Germany, for the return of the Crimean Tatars and Meskhetian Turks to their native places, a mass movement of Jews for leaving for Israel was added in 1967. with their own active actions participants in national movements were able to achieve a lot. In 1972, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR abolished all restrictions on the choice of place of residence by Soviet Germans throughout the country. However, the autonomy of the Volga Germans was never restored. As a result, from the country for 1970-1986. More than 72 thousand Germans emigrated. Departure of Soviet Jews to their “historical homeland” for 1967-1985. exceeded 275 thousand people.
The most widespread and active in the 70s. there were national movements in the Baltic republics. Their participants demanded not only respect for civil rights, but also the removal of restrictions on the activities of the church. Almost 150 thousand people signed a petition addressed to Brezhnev, in which Lithuanians demanded the reopening of the cathedral in Klaipeda, which had been closed by the authorities.
Many nationalist groups and organizations also operated in Ukraine. Clashes in connection with the discussion of the draft of a new constitution took place in 1978 in Georgia, where thousands of people took to the streets demanding that the provision on Georgian as the state language be preserved in this document. In 1977, members of the National United Party of Armenia carried out several explosions in protest, including in the Moscow metro.
The surge of nationalism in the union republics could not but lead to the formation of the Russian national movement. Its participants advocated the abandonment of nation-state building and the transition to an administrative-territorial division of the country. They also demanded greater respect for the Russian people anywhere in the country. The ideologists of the Russian national movement in these years were A. I. Solzhenitsyn, I. R. Shafarevich, I. S. Glazunov, V. A. Soloukhin.
One of the most large organizations Russian movement was the All-Russian Social-Christian Union for the Liberation of the People (VSKHSON), created in the mid-60s. in Leningrad. The ideology of this organization was based on the rejection of communist construction and the construction of a national Orthodox state. Despite the defeat of VSKHSON, by the end of the 70s - early 80s. The Russian national movement became one of the most significant in the country.
The activities of national movements in the USSR were supported by foreign emigrant centers - the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Peoples, the Central Asian Research Center, etc. They provided material support to participants in the movements.
Evolution of national policy. With the growth of national movements, the authorities were forced to adjust national policies. Direct repression, as a rule, was used only against participants in open forms of protest. In relation to the leadership and intelligentsia of the Union republics, a policy of flirtation was pursued. For 20 years (1965-1984), thousands of cultural, industrial and agricultural workers from the Union republics were awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and awarded the country's highest orders.
Another wave of “indigenization” of the party and state elite of the union republics has begun. As a result, for example, the proportion of Kazakhs in the top leadership of Kazakhstan by the beginning of the 80s. almost doubled and amounted to 60%. The second secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Parties of the republics, as a rule, Russians, turned out to be only “observers” of the ongoing processes. At the same time, the authorities seemed completely oblivious to the phenomena that were taking place in autonomous republics, national areas and districts. Even in official documents devoted to national problems, the discussion was exclusively about the Union republics. In the 1977 constitution, national minorities and national groups were not even mentioned.
All this led to the gradual maturation of a crisis in interethnic relations.
FOREIGN POLICY OF THE USSR IN THE MID-1960s - 1980s
International situation in the mid-1960s. In the mid-1960s. The situation in the world has become more complicated again. The war that the United States waged in Vietnam cooled relations between the USSR and the USA for a long time. The June 1967 Israeli attack on neighboring Arab countries almost led to the start of a direct military clash between the USSR and the West. Ideological disputes with China continued with its advance of territorial claims to 1.5 million square meters. km of Soviet lands in Primorye, Amur region, Transbaikalia, Central Asia. This sharply complicated bilateral relations, and in 1969 led to a large-scale armed conflict on Damansky Island.
If criticism of Stalinism contributed to the cooling of relations between the CPSU and the Communist Parties of China, Albania, and Korea, then the beginning of the “rehabilitation” of Stalinism alienated the largest European communist parties, primarily the French and Italian, from it.
At the same time, by the end of the 60s. The Soviet Union managed to achieve strategic parity with the United States in nuclear missile weapons. This opened up the possibility of easing international tensions. The reasons why both sides agreed to normalize relations were different. The USSR believed that this was a sign of weakness on the part of the West. The United States believed that political regimes in the USSR and its allied countries retained their strength only in conditions of severe military confrontation. And therefore they hoped that peaceful coexistence would cause their downfall. A ten-year period began, called the “era of detente.”
Relations with the West. Leaders of East and West have undertaken whole line important steps aimed at melting the ice of the Cold War.
In the summer of 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was signed. In 1969, leading Western countries supported the USSR's proposal to hold a Pan-European Conference on Security and Cooperation. In the summer of 1970, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Germany, according to which the post-war borders in Europe were recognized. Later, Germany concluded such agreements with Poland and Czechoslovakia. In 1971, a quadripartite agreement (USSR, USA, England and France) on West Berlin was signed, which determined the status of this city. In 1972, mutual recognition of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany took place.
The start of a new period in East-West relations began with the first ever visit of a US President (R. Nixon) to Moscow in May 1972, when key agreements were signed that still determine relations between countries: on the foundations of relationships, on the limitation of systems missile defense (BMD) and strategic offensive weapons (SALT-1). This success was consolidated in 1973 during L. I. Brezhnev’s visit to the United States, when an agreement was signed to prevent nuclear war.
All this led to the fact that for the first time in many years the very climate of international relations began to change.
Helsinki meeting. The apogee of the era of detente was the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. In Helsinki in the summer of 1975, the heads of state and government of 33 European countries, as well as the United States and Canada, signed the Final Act. It enshrined the principles on which states promised to build relationships: sovereign equality; non-use of force or threat of force; the inviolability of post-war borders; territorial integrity; peaceful settlement of disputes; non-interference in internal affairs; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Permanent structures were created that were supposed to monitor compliance with these principles and ensure their implementation.
As it turned out, the USSR and the West assessed the significance of the Conference differently and interpreted its Final Act. Soviet leaders believed that the main thing was to ensure the inviolability of post-war borders. Their Western colleagues emphasized the observance of human rights in socialist countries. Their assistance to dissidents in the Warsaw Pact countries increased.
Soon the foundation of the detente showed the first cracks. The West began to accuse the USSR of violating human rights and persecuting dissidents. The Soviet leadership began deploying medium-range nuclear missiles on the territory of the GDR and Czechoslovakia, which was not formally prohibited, but changed the strategic balance in Europe. Attempts to re-negotiate a reduction in the military threat were unsuccessful. The SALT II treaty, signed in the summer of 1979 in Vienna, was never ratified by the US Senate due to the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. The era of detente ended with the first salvos of Soviet guns in this country. The time had begun for a new tough confrontation between East and West.
Regional conflicts. War in Afghanistan. Under conditions of military-strategic parity, direct military confrontation between the USSR and the USA became impossible. Therefore, it was transferred to the regional level.
Since the mid-60s. For almost ten years, the USSR provided large-scale assistance to Vietnam, which was fighting US aggression. The victory of the Vietnamese people in 1975 was perceived in the USSR as their own.
When Israel's war against Egypt, Syria and Jordan began in the summer of 1967, the USSR not only broke off diplomatic relations with the aggressor country, but also sent large quantities of weapons and several military advisers to the Arab states, and brought a navy into the Mediterranean Sea, ready use nuclear weapons if the conflict escalates. The aggression was stopped only after the head of the Soviet government, A.N. Kosygin, addressed the US President, which contained a direct threat “from a position of strength.”
In the 70s - early 80s. soviet weapons and military advisers were used as the main instrument of confrontation with the United States in Laos, Kampuchea, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Yemen, Nicaragua. Tens of billions of dollars were spent on these actions. It was assumed that the countries helped by the USSR would follow the path of socialism.
The Soviet leadership placed particular hopes on Afghanistan, where pro-communist leaders came to power in the spring of 1978. Soon a fierce struggle for power broke out between them, resulting in a civil war. The Afghan government has repeatedly asked for the deployment of Soviet troops to “maintain stability in the region.” Each time Brezhnev refused. Only after they managed to convince him that if Soviet troops were not brought into Afghanistan, the Americans would enter, he agreed to the introduction of a “limited military contingent.” On December 25, 1979, our troops entered Afghanistan. This was a fatal mistake by the Soviet leaders. With the arrival of units of the Soviet Army, the civil war acquired a new quality: now both sides fought not so much with each other, but with Soviet soldiers. It cost the Afghan people almost 1 million killed and several million refugees.
The Afghan war dealt an irreparable blow to the international prestige of the USSR. For our country it became “Soviet Vietnam”.
USSR and the crisis of world socialism. World socialist system entered a period of protracted crisis. In 1968, 12 years after the Hungarian events, Czechoslovakia tried to take the path of democratic change. The new leader of her Communist Party, A. Dubcek, announced an economic reform that included encouraging market mechanisms and self-government of enterprises while maintaining the traditional economic model. In the political sphere, it was planned to introduce alternative elections and rebuild the ruling party. Not everyone in the leadership of Czechoslovakia supported these plans. Some of its members turned to Moscow with a request for urgent assistance. Brezhnev, not wanting to send troops into Czechoslovakia, at the same time could not “lose” it.
As a result, in August 1968, the united troops of the Warsaw Pact countries were introduced into Czechoslovakia. This attempt to “unite the socialist community” in fact led to the opposite results and accelerated its split. Albania withdrew from the Warsaw Pact, and China, Romania, Yugoslavia, and North Korea moved even further away from the USSR.
After the Prague Spring, the USSR proposed changing the nature of cooperation with its allies. The socialist program was adopted economic integration, which significantly increased the role of the USSR in the commonwealth and limited the sovereignty of socialist countries. These measures in the West began to be called the “Brezhnev Doctrine.” But they did not save the “socialist commonwealth” from impending collapse.
Workers' protests in Poland were gaining momentum. They led to the creation of the first independent socio-political force in the socialist camp - the Solidarity trade union. In 1981, Poland's communist leadership had to declare martial law to prevent a change of power.
In 1979, a war broke out between two socialist countries - China and Vietnam - in which the USSR supported the Vietnamese.
All this indicated that the world socialist system was living out its last years.
CPSU and the world communist movement. Destructive processes grew even faster in the world communist movement. With the beginning of the “rehabilitation” of Stalinism, the communists of France and Italy left the CPSU. The entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia further deepened the contradictions between the leadership of the CPSU and the leaders of other communist parties both in Europe and Asia, Latin America. In 1969, Brezhnev decided to convene an International Conference of Communist and Workers' Parties to support his course, which revealed serious differences between communists in different countries.
The military actions of the USSR in various regions, especially the war in Afghanistan, further alienated its recent allies - the Communist Parties of France, England, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Japan and other countries - from the CPSU. A mass withdrawal of communists from these organizations began. It stopped somewhat only after the main Marxist principles began to disappear from the program documents of the communist parties - about the dictatorship of the proletariat, the world revolution, atheism, and democratic centralism as the basis for the construction of the parties themselves. On the contrary, the most important components of the liberal doctrine began to appear in them - about individual freedom and human rights, diversity of forms of property, democracy, etc.
What you need to know about this topic:
Socio-economic and political development of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Nicholas II.
Domestic policy tsarism. Nicholas II. Increased repression. "Police Socialism"
Russo-Japanese War. Reasons, progress, results.
Revolution 1905 - 1907 Character, driving forces and features of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907. stages of the revolution. The reasons for the defeat and the significance of the revolution.
Elections to the State Duma. I State Duma. The agrarian question in the Duma. Dispersal of the Duma. II State Duma. Coup d'etat of June 3, 1907
Third June political system. Electoral law June 3, 1907 III State Duma. The alignment of political forces in the Duma. Activities of the Duma. Government terror. Decline of the labor movement in 1907-1910.
Stolypin agrarian reform.
IV State Duma. Party composition and Duma factions. Activities of the Duma.
Political crisis in Russia on the eve of the war. Labor movement summer of 1914. Crisis at the top.
International position of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
The beginning of the First World War. Origin and nature of the war. Russia's entry into the war. Attitude to the war of parties and classes.
Progress of military operations. Strategic forces and plans of the parties. Results of the war. Role Eastern Front in the first world war.
The Russian economy during the First World War.
Worker and peasant movement in 1915-1916. Revolutionary movement in the army and navy. The growth of anti-war sentiment. Formation of the bourgeois opposition.
Russian culture of the 19th - early 20th centuries.
The aggravation of socio-political contradictions in the country in January-February 1917. The beginning, prerequisites and nature of the revolution. Uprising in Petrograd. Education Petrograd Soviet. Interim Committee State Duma. Order N I. Formation of the Provisional Government. Abdication of Nicholas II. The reasons for the emergence of dual power and its essence. The February revolution in Moscow, at the front, in the provinces.
From February to October. The policy of the Provisional Government regarding war and peace, on agrarian, national, and labor issues. Relations between the Provisional Government and the Soviets. Arrival of V.I. Lenin in Petrograd.
Political parties(Cadets, Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Bolsheviks): political programs, influence among the masses.
Crises of the Provisional Government. Attempted military coup in the country. The growth of revolutionary sentiment among the masses. Bolshevization of the capital's Soviets.
Preparation and conduct of an armed uprising in Petrograd.
II All-Russian Congress of Soviets. Decisions about power, peace, land. Formation of government and management bodies. Composition of the first Soviet government.
Victory of the armed uprising in Moscow. Government agreement with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. Elections to the Constituent Assembly, its convocation and dispersal.
The first socio-economic transformations in the fields of industry, agriculture, finance, labor and women's issues. Church and State.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, its terms and significance.
Economic tasks of the Soviet government in the spring of 1918. Aggravation of the food issue. Introduction of food dictatorship. Working food detachments. Combeds.
The revolt of the left Socialist Revolutionaries and the collapse of the two-party system in Russia.
The first Soviet Constitution.
Reasons for intervention and civil war. Progress of military operations. Human and material losses during the civil war and military intervention.
Domestic policy of the Soviet leadership during the war. "War communism". GOELRO plan.
The policy of the new government regarding culture.
Foreign policy. Treaties with border countries. Russia's participation in the Genoa, Hague, Moscow and Lausanne conferences. Diplomatic recognition of the USSR by the main capitalist countries.
Domestic policy. Socio-economic and political crisis of the early 20s. Famine 1921-1922 Transition to new economic policy. The essence of NEP. NEP in the field of agriculture, trade, industry. Financial reform. Economic recovery. Crises during the NEP period and its collapse.
Projects for the creation of the USSR. I Congress of Soviets of the USSR. The first government and the Constitution of the USSR.
Illness and death of V.I. Lenin. Intra-party struggle. The beginning of the formation of Stalin's regime.
Industrialization and collectivization. Development and implementation of the first five-year plans. Socialist competition - goal, forms, leaders.
Formation and strengthening state system economic management.
The course towards complete collectivization. Dispossession.
Results of industrialization and collectivization.
Political, national-state development in the 30s. Intra-party struggle. Political repression. Formation of the nomenklatura as a layer of managers. Stalin's regime and the USSR Constitution of 1936
Soviet culture in the 20-30s.
Foreign policy of the second half of the 20s - mid-30s.
Domestic policy. Growth of military production. Emergency measures in the field of labor legislation. Measures to solve the grain problem. Armed forces. The growth of the Red Army. Military reform. Repressions against the command cadres of the Red Army and the Red Army.
Foreign policy. Non-aggression pact and treaty of friendship and borders between the USSR and Germany. Entry of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus into the USSR. Soviet-Finnish war. Inclusion of the Baltic republics and other territories into the USSR.
Periodization of the Great Patriotic War. The initial stage of the war. Turning the country into a military camp. Military defeats 1941-1942 and their reasons. Major military events. Surrender of Nazi Germany. Participation of the USSR in the war with Japan.
Soviet rear during the war.
Deportation of peoples.
Guerrilla warfare.
Human and material losses during the war.
Creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. Declaration of the United Nations. The problem of the second front. "Big Three" conferences. Problems of post-war peace settlement and comprehensive cooperation. USSR and UN.
The beginning of the Cold War. The USSR's contribution to the creation of the "socialist camp". CMEA education.
Domestic policy of the USSR in the mid-40s - early 50s. Recovery National economy.
Social and political life. Policy in the field of science and culture. Continued repression. "Leningrad case". Campaign against cosmopolitanism. "The Doctors' Case"
Socio-economic development of Soviet society in the mid-50s - the first half of the 60s.
Socio-political development: XX Congress of the CPSU and condemnation of Stalin’s personality cult. Rehabilitation of victims of repression and deportation. Internal party struggle in the second half of the 50s.
Foreign policy: creation of the Department of Internal Affairs. Entry of Soviet troops into Hungary. Exacerbation of Soviet-Chinese relations. Split of the "socialist camp". Soviet-American relations and the Cuban missile crisis. USSR and "third world" countries. Reduction in the size of the armed forces of the USSR. Moscow Treaty of Limitation nuclear tests.
USSR in the mid-60s - first half of the 80s.
Socio-economic development: economic reform 1965
Increasing difficulties in economic development. Declining rates of socio-economic growth.
Constitution of the USSR 1977
Social and political life of the USSR in the 1970s - early 1980s.
Foreign policy: Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Consolidation of post-war borders in Europe. Moscow Treaty with Germany. Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Soviet-American treaties of the 70s. Soviet-Chinese relations. Entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan. Exacerbation of international tension and the USSR. Strengthening Soviet-American confrontation in the early 80s.
USSR in 1985-1991.
Domestic policy: an attempt to accelerate the socio-economic development of the country. An attempt to reform the political system of Soviet society. Congresses of People's Deputies. Election of the President of the USSR. Multi-party system. Exacerbation of the political crisis.
Exacerbation of the national question. Attempts to reform the national-state structure of the USSR. Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR. "Novoogaryovsky trial". Collapse of the USSR.
Foreign policy: Soviet-American relations and the problem of disarmament. Agreements with leading capitalist countries. Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Changing relations with the countries of the socialist community. Collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact Organization.
Russian Federation in 1992-2000.
Domestic policy: " Shock therapy"in the economy: price liberalization, stages of privatization of commercial and industrial enterprises. Fall in production. Increased social tension. Growth and slowdown in financial inflation. Intensification of the struggle between the executive and legislative branch. Dissolution of the Supreme Council and the Congress of People's Deputies. October events of 1993. Abolition of local bodies of Soviet power. Elections to the Federal Assembly. Constitution of the Russian Federation 1993 Formation of a presidential republic. Aggravation and overcoming national conflicts in the North Caucasus.
Parliamentary elections of 1995. Presidential elections of 1996. Power and opposition. An attempt to return to the course of liberal reforms (spring 1997) and its failure. Financial crisis of August 1998: causes, economic and political consequences. "Second Chechen War". Parliamentary elections of 1999 and early presidential elections of 2000. Foreign policy: Russia in the CIS. Participation Russian troops in the “hot spots” of the neighboring countries: Moldova, Georgia, Tajikistan. Relations between Russia and foreign countries. Withdrawal of Russian troops from Europe and neighboring countries. Russian-American agreements. Russia and NATO. Russia and the Council of Europe. Yugoslav crises (1999-2000) and Russia’s position.
- Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. History of the state and peoples of Russia. XX century.
After the 20th Party Congress, the rehabilitation of the innocently repressed began; since 1957, deported peoples began to return to their native places: Chechens, Kalmyks, Balkars, etc.
Khrushchev began to carry out reforms.
In the field of management:
In each economic region, sectoral ministries were dissolved and National Economic Councils (Sovnarkhoz) were created; Subsequently, the consolidation of economic councils took place (republican Economic Councils and Economic Councils of the USSR were formed).
There was decentralization of management;
There is a reduction in management staff, etc.
A reform of party organizations was carried out, which were now divided into industrial and agricultural.
Reforms were also carried out in the field of agriculture:
Consolidation of collective farms (I wanted to create agricultural cities, i.e. peasants had to live in apartments and work on collective farms);
Canceled the debts of collective farms;
Procurement prices were increased;
There was a lot of investment in the village;
The tax on personal plots was abolished;
Peasants received passports
In 1954, the development of virgin lands began (Kazakhstan, Southern Urals, Eastern Siberia). In the first years, the virgin lands paid off, and large harvests were harvested, but then all the successes came to naught.
Reorganization of MTS (machine and tractor stations) - they had to be bought out by collective farms (many collective farms went bankrupt due to this buyout);
Corn production (but there were unfavorable climatic conditions for this).
In 1957 Khrushchev threw out the slogan “Catch up and overtake America” in economic development, but there were no conditions for this, so “postscripts” appeared.
In the field of science and culture, ideological pressure was weakened. A real breakthrough in these years was achieved primarily in astronautics. The achievements of Soviet scientists in this field ensured the USSR leadership in the world for a whole decade. October 4, 1957 was implemented launch of the world's first artificial Earth satellite.
In 1957, the world's first icebreaker with a nuclear power plant was launched in the Soviet Union. The Institute of Nuclear Research was opened in the city of Dubna in the Moscow region.
Khrushchev tried to solve the housing problem - the construction of the so-called. "Khrushchev" Among other things, pensions were doubled and the retirement period for city residents was reduced; The period of maternity leave has been increased; the state refused loans and borrowed its debts to the population (it promised to pay them off in 20 years); introduced compulsory secondary education; waived all tuition fees; The Gulag was destroyed, etc.
In 1959, at the XXI Party Congress, Khrushchev announced the complete and final victory of socialism in the USSR and announced the beginning of the construction of communism (he promised communism by 2000).
In general, the era of Khrushchev’s reforms is usually divided into two stages. The first (1953-1958) was dominated by positive economic results. On the second (1958-1964) negative. This period is characterized by a new crisis in agriculture, a decline in production in all sectors of the economy.
In 1962-1963 The country experienced an economic crisis. The rate of agricultural production fell virtually to the level of the early 1950s. A decline in industrial production began, which was a consequence of the exhaustion of the possibilities of extensive development methods. Expecting to increase the interest of collective farmers in increasing the production of meat and dairy products, the government increased retail prices for meat and butter. At the same time, this step was accompanied by a wage freeze. Taken together, both of these measures led to discontent among the broad masses of the population. Anti-government protests took place in a number of cities.
In Novocherkassk, local authorities used internal troops against demonstrators, which led to dozens of civilian casualties. The country found itself on the verge of an acute political crisis. First of all, the party nomenklatura was dissatisfied with Khrushchev’s policies. In addition, the prestige of the First Secretary was undermined by the Cuban Missile Crisis and the breakdown of relations with China. Ultimately, in 1964. A conspiracy arose against Khrushchev, led by L.I. Brezhnev. Khrushchev was accused of “voluntarism” in governing the country, after which he was forced to sign a letter of resignation. Brezhnev became the new First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.
Foreign policy of the USSR in the 50-60s.
Main directions in foreign policy:
1 - the state of the Cold War with the West
2 - rapid expansion of the socialist camp.
During the reign of Khrushchev, a course was taken towards the policy of “détente”; its main provisions were formulated at the 20th Party Congress:
Peaceful coexistence with capitalist countries;
The victory of socialism is also possible through parliamentary means;
Methods for building socialism may be different, depending on the specific conditions of a particular country.
This policy led to some stabilization of international relations - the USSR established diplomatic relations with Germany, concluded a trade agreement with Japan, etc.
The uprising in Hungary was suppressed (1956 - they also wanted to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact.
The USSR's policy towards the former was successful colonial countries: friendly relations were established with India and Egypt (after participating in the Suez crisis of 1956 on the side of Egypt).
In the mid-60s. There is a certain stabilization of international relations. In August 1963, an agreement was signed in Moscow banning nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, space and under water. This was the first strategic arms limitation agreement.
The main tasks of foreign policy during Brezhnev's time:
Preventing the collapse of the world socialist system;
Normalization of relations with the West;
Support for friendly regimes and movements in third world countries.
Thus, by the end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s. After a series of crises, relations between East and West began to stabilize.
Changes in the international arena. Foreign policy activities Soviet state in the second half of the 40s, it was carried out in an atmosphere of profound changes in the international arena. Victory in the Patriotic War increased the authority of the USSR. In 1945, it had diplomatic relations with 52 states (compared to 26 in the pre-war years). The Soviet Union hosted Active participation in resolving the most important international issues, and above all in resolving the post-war situation in Europe.
In seven countries of Central and Eastern Europe, leftist, democratic forces came to power. The new governments created in them were headed by representatives of the communist and workers' parties. The leaders of Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia carried out agrarian reforms in their countries, the nationalization of large industry, banks and transport. Established political organization society was called people's democracy. It was seen as one of the forms of proletarian dictatorship.
In 1947, at a meeting of representatives of nine communist parties of Eastern European countries, the Communist Information Bureau (Cominformburo) was created. He was entrusted with coordinating the actions of the communist parties of the people's democracies, which began to call themselves socialist. The documents of the meeting formulated the thesis about dividing the world into two camps: imperialist and democratic, anti-imperialist. The concept of two camps, of confrontation on the world stage between two social systems lay at the heart of the foreign policy views of the party and state leadership of the USSR. These views were reflected, in particular, in the work of I.V. Stalin "Economic problems of socialism in the USSR". The work also contained the conclusion about the inevitability of wars in the world as long as imperialism exists.
Treaties of friendship and mutual assistance were concluded between the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe. Identical treaties linked the Soviet Union with the GDR, created on the territory of East Germany,
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China People's Republic(PRC). The agreement with China provided for a loan of $300 million. The right of the USSR and China to use the former CER was confirmed. The countries reached an agreement on joint actions in the event of aggression by any of the states. Diplomatic relations were established with states that gained independence as a result of the national liberation struggle that unfolded in them (the so-called developing countries).
The beginning of the Cold War. With the end of the Patriotic War, changes occurred in the relationship of the USSR with its former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. “Cold War” was the name given to the foreign policy pursued by both sides towards each other in the second half of the 40s and early 90s. It was characterized primarily by hostile political actions of the parties. Forceful methods were used to solve international problems. The USSR Foreign Ministers of the initial period of the Cold War were V.M. Molotov, and since 1949 AD. Vyshinsky.
The confrontation between the parties clearly manifested itself in 1947 in connection with the Marshall Plan put forward by the United States. The program developed by US Secretary of State J. Marshall provided for the provision of economic assistance to European countries that suffered during the Second World War. The USSR and people's democracies were invited to participate in a conference on this matter. The Soviet government regarded the Marshall Plan as a weapon of anti-Soviet policy and refused to participate in the conference. At his insistence, the countries of Eastern Europe invited to the conference also announced their refusal to participate in the Marshall Plan.
One of the forms of manifestation of the Cold War was the formation of political and military-political blocs. In 1949, the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) was created. It included the USA, Canada and several Western European countries. Two years later, the military-political alliance between the United States, Australia and New Zealand (ANZUS) was signed. The formation of these blocs contributed to the strengthening of the US position in different regions of the world.
In the context of increasing confrontation between former allies, the Soviet Union worked against propaganda new war. The main arena of his activities was the United Nations (UN). This international organization was created in 1945. It united 51 states. Its goal was to strengthen peace and security and develop cooperation between states. At UN sessions, Soviet representatives made proposals to reduce conventional weapons and ban atomic weapons, and to withdraw foreign troops from the territories of foreign states. All these proposals, as a rule, were blocked by US representatives and their allies. The USSR unilaterally withdrew troops from the territories of several states where they had been deployed during the war years.
Representatives of Soviet public organizations actively participated in the peace movement, which took shape organizationally in the late 40s. More than 115 million citizens of the country signed the Stockholm Appeal adopted by the Standing Committee of the World Peace Congress (1950). It contained demands for the prohibition of atomic weapons and the establishment of international control over the implementation of this decision.
The confrontation between the former allies reached its greatest intensity at the turn of the 40s and 50s in connection with the Korean War. In 1950, the leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea made an attempt to unite the two Korean states under its leadership. According to Soviet leaders, this association could strengthen the position of the anti-imperialist camp in this region of Asia. During the preparation for the war and during hostilities, the USSR government provided financial, military and technical assistance to North Korea. The leadership of the PRC, at the insistence of I.V. Stalin sent several military divisions to North Korea to participate in combat operations. The war was ended only in 1953 after lengthy diplomatic negotiations.
USSR and Eastern European countries. One of the leading directions of foreign policy in post-war years was the establishment of friendly relations with the states of Eastern Europe. Soviet diplomacy provided assistance to Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania in the preparation of peace treaties with them (signed in Paris in 1947). In accordance with trade agreements, the Soviet Union supplied grain, raw materials for industry, and fertilizers for agriculture to Eastern European countries on preferential terms. In 1949, in order to expand economic cooperation and trade between countries, an intergovernmental economic organization, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), was created. It included Albania (until 1961), Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and since 1949 the GDR. The seat of the CMEA Secretariat was Moscow. One of the reasons for the creation of CMEA was the boycott by Western countries of trade relations with the USSR and the states of Eastern Europe.
The main directions of relations between the USSR and Eastern European countries were determined by bilateral agreements between them. Military and other types of assistance were provided in the event that one of the parties became involved in hostilities. It was planned to develop economic and cultural ties and hold conferences on international issues affecting the interests of the contracting parties.
Already at the initial stage of cooperation between the USSR and the states of Eastern Europe, contradictions and conflicts appeared in their relations. They were mainly associated with the search and choice of the path to building socialism in these states. According to the leaders of some countries, in particular, W. Gomulka (Poland) and K. Gottwald (Czechoslovakia), the Soviet path of development was not the only one for building socialism. The desire of the USSR leadership to establish the Soviet model of building socialism and to unify ideological and political concepts led to the Soviet-Yugoslav conflict. The reason for it was Yugoslavia’s refusal to participate in the federation with Bulgaria recommended by the Soviet leaders. In addition, the Yugoslav side refused to fulfill the terms of the agreement on mandatory consultations with the USSR on issues of national foreign policy. Yugoslav leaders were accused of retreating from joint actions with socialist countries. In August 1949, the USSR broke off diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia.
Results foreign policy activities The USSR in the second half of the 40s and early 50s were contradictory. Its position in the international arena has strengthened. At the same time, the policy of confrontation between East and West significantly contributed to the growth of tension in the world.
Difficulties in economic sphere, ideologization of socio-political life, increased international tension - these were the results of the development of society in the first post-war years. During this period, the regime of personal power of I.V. became even stronger. Stalin, the command-administrative system became tougher. During these same years in public consciousness the idea of the need for change in society became more and more clearly formed. Death of I.V. Stalin (March 1953) facilitated the search for a way out of the contradictions that entangled all spheres of public life.
The foreign policy of the USSR in the initial period of the Thaw was conducted under the conditions of the Cold War. To weaken it, new, more diplomatic, flexible approaches to solving world problems were required.
The XX Congress of the CPSU (1956) was determined the principle of peaceful coexistence of states with different socio-political systems, which allowed the USSR to direct efforts to defuse international tension. The policy of peaceful coexistence, alternating pressure with compromise and not leading to war, explains the seemingly complex interweaving of contradictory initiatives of Soviet diplomacy in the period 1956–1964, which combined threats with proposals for détente.
The policy adopted towards the West presupposed, first of all, its full recognition of the results of the Second World War and the conquest of the socialist camp.
After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the most acute manifestations of the Cold War began to be overcome, and economic, political and cultural ties between the USSR and capitalist countries began to be established. In January 1954, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the USA, Great Britain, France and the USSR was held in Berlin, discussing issues related to Indochina, Korea, the German problem, and collective security in Europe.
In July 1955, the heads of the great powers - the USSR, Great Britain and France - met in Geneva. The focus of the meeting was on the interconnected German question and the question of European security. In the same year, the Soviet government decided to return to their homeland all German prisoners of war in the USSR. Diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and Germany. A major achievement in the international sphere was the signing in May 1955 of the Treaty on the Restoration of Austrian Independence by representatives of the USSR, USA, England, France and Austria. In June 1961, the first meeting of N. S. Khrushchev with the new US President D. Kennedy took place in Vienna.
The primary task in the foreign policy sphere was the struggle for disarmament. In an effort to reverse the dangerous course of events, the USSR unilaterally reduced its Armed Forces by 4 million people between 1956 and 1960. In March 1958, the Soviet Union unilaterally stopped testing all types of nuclear weapons, thereby expressing the hope that other countries would follow its example. However, this action did not find a response from the United States and its NATO allies. The concept of general and complete disarmament was introduced by the USSR in 1959 and 1960. for discussion of the XIV and XV sessions of the UN General Assembly. But the United States and its allies blocked these Soviet proposals as well.
The political union of the Warsaw Pact countries, which included the USSR, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, the GDR and Czechoslovakia, set as its task the maintenance of peace in Europe and ensuring the security of the Warsaw States. The main areas of mutual cooperation between the ATS countries were foreign trade, coordination of national economic plans, scientific and technological policy, and cultural ties. The USSR's assistance to socialist countries in the construction of industrial facilities increased.
At the same time, the policy towards socialist countries was not only of the nature of cooperation, but also of open intervention when it came to the threat to the socialist camp from anti-Soviet forces. Thus, in 1956, anti-Stalin and anti-Soviet protests took place in Poland. Khrushchev initially ordered the introduction of tanks into Warsaw, but ultimately decided to negotiate with representatives of the Polish resistance. At the same time, a more severe crisis broke out in Hungary in 1956, and the uprising that broke out in Budapest was suppressed by the united armed forces of the countries participating in the Warsaw Warfare.
In 1962, a political crisis arose in Cuba when the Soviet leadership decided to install medium-range nuclear missiles there. The US government demanded that the installed missiles be dismantled, threatening to launch missile and bomb attacks on them in response. Only direct negotiations between US President D. Kennedy and N. S. Khrushchev helped prevent an international conflict.
The Cuban crisis largely influenced the decline in the political authority of the Soviet leader in the international arena. Moreover, by this time his political actions within the country had fallen, which was associated with mistakes, miscalculations and excesses of his voluntaristic course in the economy. The resignation of N. S. Khrushchev in 1964 was the result of domestic and foreign policy failures of the man who held the first post in the party and government.
Chronological table
1947 Marshall Plan, developed by the United States to provide economic assistance to European countries.
1949 Creation of NATO.
1955 Creation of the Warsaw Pact Organization.
1957 Launch of the first artificial Earth satellite.
1959–1965 Seven-year plan for the development of the national economy of the USSR.
1961, October XXII Congress of the CPSU. Adoption of a new Party Program - the program for building communism.
Control questions
1. How did the post-war restoration of the national economy of the USSR take place?
2. How did the political system develop in the world after the end of World War II?
3. What is “ cold war»?
4. What international organizations were created in the post-war period?
5. What is a “thaw”? How do you understand this term?
6. What is the significance of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, how did the domestic and foreign policy of the USSR change after 1956?
7. What economic reforms were carried out during the Khrushchev “thaw”?
8. When was the new CPSU Program adopted and what tasks for Soviet society were set in it?
9. How did the opposition’s protest against N.S. Khrushchev end in 1957?
10. What reforms were undertaken by N. S. Khrushchev in the period from 1958 to 1964? What are their results?
11. What was the policy of peaceful coexistence? When was it adopted and how was it implemented?
12. What was the reason for the resignation of N. S. Khrushchev in 1964?
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