What are the results of perestroika and its consequences. "perestroika" m.s

Perestroika (1985-1991) in the USSR was a large-scale phenomenon in the political, economic and social life of the state. Some people believe that its holding was an attempt to prevent the collapse of the country, while others, on the contrary, think that it pushed the Union to collapse. Let's find out what was perestroika in the USSR (1985-1991). Briefly try to characterize its causes and consequences.

background

So, how did perestroika begin in the USSR (1985-1991)? We will study the causes, stages and consequences a little later. Now we will focus on those processes that preceded this period in national history.

Like almost all phenomena in our life, the perestroika of 1985-1991 in the USSR has its own prehistory. In the 70s of the last century, the indicators of the well-being of the population reached an unprecedented level in the country. At the same time, it should be noted that a significant decrease in the rate of economic growth belongs to this period of time, for which in the future this entire period, with the light hand of M. S. Gorbachev, was called the “era of stagnation”.

Another negative phenomenon was the rather frequent shortage of goods, the cause of which, according to researchers, is the shortcomings of the planned economy.

To a large extent, the slowdown in industrial development was offset by the export of oil and gas. Just at that time, the USSR became one of the world's largest exporters of these natural resources, which was facilitated by the development of new deposits. At the same time, the increase in the share of oil and gas in the country's GDP made the economic indicators of the USSR significantly dependent on world prices for these resources.

But the very high cost of oil (due to the embargo of the Arab states on the supply of "black gold" to Western countries) helped smooth out most of the negative phenomena in the economy of the USSR. The well-being of the country's population was constantly increasing, and most ordinary citizens could not even imagine that everything could change soon. And so cool too...

At the same time, the country's leadership, headed by Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, could not or did not want to fundamentally change something in the management of the economy. High figures only covered up the abscess of economic problems that had accumulated in the USSR, which threatened to break through at any moment, as soon as external or internal conditions changed.

It was the change in these conditions that led to the process that is now known as Perestroika in the USSR 1985-1991.

Operation in Afghanistan and sanctions against the USSR

In 1979, the USSR launched a military operation in Afghanistan, which was officially presented as international assistance to the fraternal people. The introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan was not approved by the UN Security Council, which served as a pretext for the United States to apply a number of economic measures against the Union, which were of a sanctions nature, and to persuade the countries of Western Europe to support some of them.

True, despite all efforts, the US government failed to get the European states to freeze the construction of the large-scale Urengoy-Uzhgorod gas pipeline. But even those sanctions that were introduced could cause significant damage to the economy of the USSR. And the war in Afghanistan itself also required considerable material costs, and also contributed to an increase in the level of discontent among the population.

It was these events that became the first harbingers of the economic collapse of the USSR, but only war and sanctions were clearly not enough to see the fragility of the economic basis of the Land of Soviets.

Falling oil prices

As long as the cost of oil was kept within $100 per barrel, the Soviet Union could not pay much attention to the sanctions of Western states. Since the 1980s, there has been a significant decline in the global economy, which contributed to the fall in the cost of oil due to a decrease in demand. In addition, fixed prices for this resource were abandoned in 1983, and Saudi Arabia significantly increased its production of raw materials. This only contributed to the further continuation of the collapse in prices for "black gold". If in 1979 they asked for $104 per barrel of oil, then in 1986 these figures fell to $30, that is, the cost decreased by almost 3.5 times.

This could not have a positive impact on the economy of the USSR, which, back in the Brezhnev era, became heavily dependent on oil exports. In combination with the sanctions of the United States and other Western countries, as well as with the flaws of an inefficient management system, a sharp drop in the cost of "black gold" could lead to the collapse of the entire economy of the country.

The new leadership of the USSR, headed by M. S. Gorbachev, who became the leader of the state in 1985, understood that it was necessary to significantly change the structure of economic management, as well as to carry out reforms in all spheres of the country's life. It was the attempt to introduce these reforms that led to the emergence of such a phenomenon as perestroika (1985-1991) in the USSR.

Reasons for perestroika

What exactly were the reasons for perestroika in the USSR (1985-1991)? Let's look at them briefly below.

The main reason that prompted the country's leadership to think about the need for significant changes - both in the economy and in the socio-political structure as a whole - was the understanding that under the current conditions, the country is threatened with an economic collapse or, at best, a significant decline in all indicators. Of course, no one among the leaders of the country even thought about the reality of the collapse of the USSR in 1985.

The main factors that served as an impetus for understanding the full depth of the urgent economic, managerial and social problems were:

1. Military operation in Afghanistan.
2. The introduction of sanctions against the USSR.
3. Falling oil prices.
4. Imperfection of the control system.

These were the main reasons for Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991.

Start of perestroika

How did perestroika 1985-1991 start in the USSR?

As mentioned above, initially few people thought that the negative factors that existed in the economy and public life of the USSR could actually lead to the collapse of the country, so the restructuring was originally planned as a correction of individual shortcomings of the system.

March 1985 can be considered the beginning of perestroika, when the party leadership elected a relatively young and promising member of the Politburo, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, as General Secretary of the CPSU. At that time, he was 54 years old, which for many will seem not so little, but compared to the previous leaders of the country, he was really young. So, L. I. Brezhnev became General Secretary at the age of 59 and remained in this post until his death, which overtook him at 75 years old. Y. Andropov and K. Chernenko, who actually held the most important state post in the country after him, became general secretaries at 68 and 73, respectively, but were able to live only a little more than a year each after coming to power.

This state of affairs spoke of a significant stagnation of cadres in the higher echelons of the party. The appointment of such a relatively young and new person in the party leadership as Mikhail Gorbachev as the General Secretary should have to some extent influenced the solution of this problem.

Gorbachev immediately made it clear that he was going to carry out a number of changes in various fields of activity in the country. True, at that time it was not yet clear how far this would all go.

In April 1985, the Secretary General announced the need to accelerate the economic development of the USSR. It was the term “acceleration” that most often referred to the first stage of perestroika, which lasted until 1987 and did not involve fundamental changes in the system. Its tasks included only the introduction of some administrative reforms. Also, the acceleration assumed an increase in the pace of development of engineering and heavy industry. But in the end, the actions of the government did not give the desired result.

In May 1985, Gorbachev announced that it was time for everyone to rebuild. It is from this statement that the term "perestroika" originated, but its introduction into wide use belongs to a later period.

I stage of restructuring

The first stage of perestroika, which was also called "acceleration", can be considered the time from 1985 to 1987. As mentioned above, all innovations then were mainly of an administrative nature. Then, in 1985, an anti-alcohol campaign was launched, the goal of which was to reduce the level of alcoholism in the country, which had reached a critical point. But in the course of this campaign, a number of unpopular measures among the people were taken, which can be considered "excesses". In particular, a huge number of vineyards were destroyed, a virtual ban was introduced on the presence of alcoholic beverages at family and other celebrations held by party members. In addition, the anti-alcohol campaign led to a shortage of alcoholic beverages in stores and a significant increase in their cost.

At the first stage, the fight against corruption and unearned income of citizens was also declared. The positive aspects of this period include a significant injection of new personnel into the party leadership who wanted to carry out truly significant reforms. Among these people, B. Yeltsin and

The Chernobyl tragedy that occurred in 1986 demonstrated the inability of the existing system not only to prevent a catastrophe, but also to effectively deal with its consequences. The emergency situation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was hidden by the authorities for several days, which endangered millions of people living near the disaster zone. This indicated that the country's leadership was acting by old methods, which, of course, did not please the population.

In addition, the reforms carried out until then proved to be ineffective, as economic indicators continued to fall, and dissatisfaction with the leadership's policies grew in society. This fact contributed to the realization by Gorbachev and some other representatives of the party elite of the fact that half measures are not enough, but cardinal reforms must be carried out in order to save the situation.

Goals of perestroika

The state of affairs described above contributed to the fact that the country's leadership was not immediately able to determine the specific goals of perestroika in the USSR (1985-1991). The table below briefly characterizes them.

The main goal that faced the USSR during the years of perestroika in 1985-1991 was the creation of an effective mechanism for governing the state through systemic reforms.

II stage

It was the tasks described above that were basic for the leadership of the USSR during the perestroika period of 1985-1991. at the second stage of this process, the beginning of which can be considered 1987.

It was at this time that censorship was significantly mitigated, which was expressed in the so-called glasnost policy. It provided for the admissibility of discussing in society topics that were previously either hushed up or banned. was a significant step towards the democratization of the system, but at the same time had a number of negative consequences. The flow of open information, for which society, which was behind the Iron Curtain for decades, was simply not ready, contributed to a radical revision of the ideals of communism, ideological and moral decay, and the emergence of nationalist and separatist sentiments in the country. In particular, in 1988 an inter-ethnic armed conflict began in Nagorno-Karabakh.

It was also allowed to conduct certain types of individual entrepreneurial activities, in particular, in the form of cooperatives.

In foreign policy, the USSR made significant concessions to the United States in the hope of lifting sanctions. Gorbachev's meetings with American President Reagan were quite frequent, during which agreements on disarmament were reached. In 1989, Soviet troops were finally withdrawn from Afghanistan.

But it should be noted that at the second stage of perestroika, the tasks set for building democratic socialism were never achieved.

Perestroika at stage III

The third stage of perestroika, which began in the second half of 1989, was marked by the fact that the processes taking place in the country began to get out of control of the central government. Now she was forced to adapt to them only.

The country passed Republican authorities proclaimed the priority of local laws and regulations over the all-Union, if they were in conflict with each other. And in March 1990, Lithuania announced its withdrawal from the Soviet Union.

In 1990, the presidential office was introduced, to which the deputies elected Mikhail Gorbachev. In the future, it was planned to conduct the election of the president by direct popular vote.

At the same time, it became clear that the former format of relations between the republics of the USSR could no longer be maintained. It was planned to reorganize it into a "soft federation" under the name of the year, whose supporters wanted the conservation of the old system, put an end to this idea.

post-perestroika

After the suppression of the putsch, most of the republics of the USSR announced their withdrawal from its composition and declared independence. And what is the result? What did the restructuring lead to? passed in unsuccessful efforts to stabilize the situation in the country. In the fall of 1991, an attempt was made to transform the former superpower into a SSG confederation, which ended in failure.

The main task that stood at the fourth stage of perestroika, which is also called post-perestroika, was the liquidation of the USSR and the formalization of relations between the republics of the former Union. This goal was actually achieved in Belovezhskaya Pushcha at the meeting of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Later, most of the other republics joined the Belovezhskaya Pushcha agreements.

By the end of 1991, the USSR even formally ceased to exist.

Results

We have studied the processes that took place in the USSR during the period of perestroika (1985-1991), briefly dwelled on the causes and stages of this phenomenon. Now it's time to talk about the results.

First of all, it must be said about the collapse that perestroika suffered in the USSR (1985-1991). The results both for the leading circles and for the country as a whole were disappointing. The country broke up into a number of independent states, armed conflicts began in some of them, a catastrophic decline in economic indicators occurred, the communist idea was completely discredited, and the CPSU was liquidated.

The main goals set by perestroika were never achieved. On the contrary, the situation worsened even more. The only positive moments can be seen only in the democratization of society and in the emergence of market relations. During the perestroika period of 1985-1991, the USSR was a state that was unable to withstand external and internal challenges.

perestroika (1985 – 1991 ) - a period in the history of the USSR, during which there were cardinal changes in the life of Soviet society, their result was the rejection of the communist path of development and the collapse of the USSR. There is another definition: economic policy aimed at eliminating stagnant phenomena in the economy (deficit of goods, lack of interest in work).

Causes of perestroika in the USSR.

The systemic socio-economic crisis caused by the arms race in the foreign policy of the USSR, the financial dependence of the socialist countries on Soviet subsidies. Unwillingness to change the command-administrative system of management in accordance with the new conditions - in domestic politics ("stagnation"). The aging of the Soviet elite; omnipotence of the nomenklatura; rigid centralization of production; shortage of both consumer goods and durable goods.

All these factors led to the realization of the changes necessary for the further development of Soviet society. These changes began to be personified by M. S. Gorbachev, who became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in March 1985.

Course of events.

It is possible to single out a number of processes that are embodied in the era perestroika in the USSR. The first of these is publicity. Publicity manifested itself in the weakening of censorship, in the legalization pluralism when alternative, other points of view on the development of the USSR began to be recognized in politics. An unimpeded discussion of the political, socio-economic and cultural life of the country became possible. The consequence of glasnost was the emergence of many one-day parties, alternative publications, etc.

Glasnost led to the fact that in March 1990, Article 6 of the USSR Constitution on the leading role of the CPSU in society was canceled. This led to the split of the CPSU into a number of parties. A prominent role in the political life of the country from the first days of its creation was played by the Communist Party of the RSFSR (KPRF) and the Russian Party of Communists (RKP). The Russian Communist Workers' Party (RKRP) took shape. At the initial stage of their activities, they all saw their main task in returning to communist ideology, as well as in strengthening the role of the state in economic life.

The next process is accelerating socio-economic development. Its essence was announced at the April plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1985. Acceleration was understood as a greater integration of science and technology, the decentralization of management in the economy, the development of the private sector of the economy under the dominance of the public sector so far.

In essence, it was about replacing the command-administrative system of management with a mixed one. The acceleration led to the appearance of the laws "On the General Principles of Entrepreneurship in the USSR", "On Cooperatives", and "On the State Enterprise". However, these measures did not lead to the expected effect.

In foreign policy perestroika led to the so-called "velvet revolutions" Glasnost and the weakening of censorship revealed not only socio-economic problems and contradictions within the socialist camp, but also the growth of nationalist sentiments in the countries of this camp.

In 1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed, Germany began to unite into one state. The Cold War has ended. In countries where there were socialist regimes, liberal-democratic regimes are emerging, there is a breakthrough to market and mixed economic systems. The camp of socialism finally collapsed in 1989-90, when the countries of the socialist camp declared themselves sovereign, the phenomenon of "Parade of sovereignties".

AT 1990 Yeltsin becomes head of the RSFSR. June 12, 1990- Declaration of sovereignty of the RSFSR. From now on, Russia is in an independent policy from other republics. June 12, 1991- the first election of the Russian president. Yeltsin renames the RSFSR into the Russian Federation. The old symbols are returning: the tricolor flag, the coat of arms. Sovereignization of Russia is taking place (preparations are underway for the future constitution of the Russian Federation). Russia becomes an example for other republics. Each republic has presidents, its own parliament (Congress of People's Deputies), and a supreme council (government). Some countries (the Baltics) openly announced their withdrawal from the USSR. They are united by criticism of Gorbachev, his policy is not perceived. Anti-communists or, as they called themselves, “democrats” appear. Communist parties were in all the republics, 15 states appeared. The Constitution of the USSR did not work. Gorbachev made attempts to use force on the republics in order to preserve the USSR, but he did not succeed. Gorbachev decides to come up with a new Soviet treaty. AT March 1991 he holds a referendum and the question of the preservation of the USSR is raised there. More than 76% of the population voted for the preservation of the Soviet Union, but in an updated form. In some republics there was no referendum (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Georgia).

AT April 1991 a meeting of the presidents took place in Novo-Ogaryovo (Moscow region). At this meeting, it was decided to form a new union of 9 republics (Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan) in order to draw up a new union treaty. Its signing is scheduled for August 20, 1991. But the plan was thwarted by the August coup. Soviet conservatives planned to return to the former Soviet Union with the help of a coup d'etat (Yanaev (Vice President of the USSR), General Pugo (Minister of the Interior), Yazov (Minister of Defense), Kryuchkov (Chairman of the KGB)). These people created the GKChP.

August 19- Gorbachev is arrested in Foros. It was announced in the country that Gorbachev could not perform his duties due to illness, Yanaev became president instead. All exits from Moscow were blocked. Television and radio were taken over. Only one channel worked and repeatedly showed ballet and Swan Lake. Yanaev spoke on television, proclaiming a decree on the state of emergency of the country for 6 months. Troops are brought into Moscow, the activities of all parties are prohibited, it is forbidden to hold rallies and strikes. Yeltsin led the resistance to the coup. He announced that the actions of the State Emergency Committee were illegal, demanded the return of Gorbachev, called for a general strike and for the defense of the White House (the building where the Supreme Council of the RSFSR was located). On the night of August 20 putsch thwarted.

This led to a change in the social order in our country. The collapse of the USSR took place in December 1991, a meeting of the leaders of three sovereign states took place in Belovezhskaya Pushcha: Russia (B.N. Yeltsin), Ukraine (L. Kravchuk) and Belarus (S. Shushkevich). On December 8, they announced the termination of the union treaty of 1922 and the termination of the activities of the state structures of the former Union. At the same time, an agreement was reached on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

On December 25, 1991, M.S. Gorbachev announced the resignation of the powers of the President of the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics officially ceased to exist.

The results of perestroika in the USSR.

1. The weakening of the command-administrative system of management and an attempt to transform it led to an explosion of political, socio-economic and nationalist contradictions that were formed throughout the entire previous development of the USSR.

2. The arms race and other prerequisites mentioned above led to uncontrolled processes in the internal political development of the USSR.

3. All these factors led to the collapse of the USSR. American President Ronald Reagan began to call the USSR - "Evil Empire".

A systemic crisis has been brewing in the country for a long time, and it manifested itself. According to some historians, the reasons for the collapse of the USSR were laid down under I.V. Stalin, when people were taught to obey the center, which was supposed to have 90% power and 100% authority. It is not the fault of the further leaders of the USSR that they did not have it.

In the wildest fantasies, it was impossible to imagine in 1985 how the outlandish perestroika, filled with dramatic inspiration and terrible content, at the same time inspiring great hopes and tragic disappointments, would end. The comprehensive reform has turned into a revolutionary transformation of society.

Few people then knew what perestroika meant in essence, but the majority conscientiously tried to follow the general line of the party. It turned out what happened.

The implementation of perestroika was influenced by the consistent involvement in the process of the "shadow economy", which merged into an ever closer alliance with the nomenklatura. The perestroika initiated by the Soviet bureaucracy had the aim of radically transforming Soviet society. The central problem of all that was happening was the question of the redistribution of property.

The symbiosis of the nomenklatura and the “shadow business”, for the sake of their financial and economic interests, brought the redistribution of public property to the collapse of the Soviet Union. So the initial attempt at reform with a bourgeois-democratic tinge turned into a criminal-bureaucratic revolution that changed the world.

What was originally intended

At the end of March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Full of good intentions (it is known where they lead), the Secretary General, with the approval of the "Kremlin elders", launched the process of transformation. Around the ambitious reformer, a circle of people formed who, at the very least, were able to formulate a new course for the development of the USSR.

In the new program, there were plans to improve Soviet socialism by introducing elements of "real Western democracy" into it. A little later, on the basis of the ideas of the new course, a reform project was born, which assumed:

• expansion of economic independence of enterprises;
• restoration of the private sector in the economy;
• liquidation of state monopoly in foreign trade;
• reduction in the number of administrative instances;
• recognition of equal rights of all existing forms of ownership in agriculture.

Perestroika began with "acceleration"

It all started in 1985, in April at the Plenum of the Party, during the discussion of the situation prevailing in all spheres of life in Soviet society, it was decided to give new dynamics to the socio-economic development of the USSR.

In 1986, it became clear that the reform model adopted was not working. In February, M. S. Gorbachev, speaking in the city of Togliatti in front of the workers of the automobile plant, for the first time uttered the word “perestroika”, and after his May visit to Leningrad, where the General Secretary called the entire socio-political process “perestroika” at the party activists, the press made it the slogan of the new course.

Socialist scenery is losing relevance

Reforms were perceived by people far ambiguously. People rushed about in ignorance: what to do? Many words are spoken from the stands, but no one can understand what “perestroika” is. But something needs to be done, and then “the province went to write” they were reorganized, whoever is in what much. The authorities had to "let the genie out of the bottle" and call it "Glasnost!"

Stage, time frame, slogan		Facilities
Second phase, "Perestroika and Glasnost"	"Conservative modernization" in the political and economic life of the country. internal party reforms.	Beginning of political reforms. The proclamation of Glasnost, the softening of censorship, the rise in popularity of new media. The beginning of the development of entrepreneurship based on private initiative (cooperatives and self-employment).	The split of society into democrats and communists. The government withdraws itself from course correction, the processes of restructuring become uncontrollable. Republican elites get out of control, inter-ethnic conflicts begin.

The collapse of socialism and the triumph of capitalism

The third and final stage of perestroika took place in an environment of sharp destabilization of the political and economic situation.

Stage, time frame, slogan		Facilities
third stage, 1990 - 1991 "Deepening Reforms"	Deepening political and economic reforms. Building a democracy and a Western-style market economy.	The abolition of the monopoly of the CPSU on power (article of the Constitution of the USSR, 1977). Introduction of the post of President of the USSR. Development of ways of transition to a market economy.	Rising to a critical level of contradictions in politics. August 1991 GKChP coup. Crisis and collapse of perestroika. The collapse of the Soviet society and the state.

The reason for the catastrophic end of the perestroika epic is considered by many to be ill-conceived, half-heartedness and delaying reforms. In subsequent years, some "foremen of perestroika" recognized the malice of their deeds. It is also necessary to take into account the factor of external influence on the internal processes in the USSR, which gradually deepened from stage to stage.

Experts' opinions on the reasons for Perestroika differ in many respects, but experts agree on one thing - the need for change was long overdue long before the start of Gorbachev's reforms. Not everyone agrees that Gorbachev was the initiator of Perestroika. From the point of view of some, he was only a pawn in the hands of the Western elites.

Finish what you started

According to former Soviet premier Nikolai Ryzhkov, the idea of ​​perestroika first came from Yuri Andropov. The Soviet leader stated that fundamental problems had accumulated in the economy that needed to be urgently addressed. However, the death of the General Secretary interrupted his undertakings.
One of the first trends of Perestroika was the rejuvenation of the Soviet Politburo. Weak party elders began to gradually give way to young, energetic cadres, among whom came the main ideologist of change, Gorbachev. However, at first the new General Secretary did not think about global changes.
In April 1985, at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Gorbachev confirmed the continuity of the party's course and its general line, aimed at "improving the society of developed socialism." The Secretary General either really believed, or lied, that our country "has ascended to the heights of economic and social progress, where a working man has become the master of the country, the creator of his own destiny."

Historian Vladimir Potseluev is sure that such words were intended for the still strong conservative environment. Knowing the true state of Soviet society, Gorbachev nonetheless cautiously introduced the idea of ​​small economic transformations. He still operated on the old nomenklatura theses, such as: "The main content of the modern era is the transition from capitalism to socialism and communism."
On the other hand, Gorbachev really believed that reforms could not only eliminate the imbalance in Soviet society, but also lead it to a new round of social prosperity. Thus, the ideologists of Perestroika, discussing the country's development plan for the next 15 years, were going to provide each family with a separate apartment or house, which would be a clear indicator of the growth in the well-being of Soviet people.
Gorbachev was determined to use the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution to bring the forms of socialist management "in line with modern conditions and needs." He stated that the country should achieve “a significant acceleration of socio-economic progress. There is simply no other way."
It is known that Gorbachev came up with the idea of ​​conducting shock socio-economic therapy as early as 1987, i.e. five years before Yeltsin and Gaidar used it. However, in the late 1980s, this proposal did not go beyond the inner circle and did not receive wide publicity.

Publicity policy

One of the goals of Gorbachev's Perestroika was to achieve a certain degree of openness of the leadership to the people. At the January 1987 plenum, the General Secretary proclaimed the policy of glasnost, about which he spoke so much to the secretaries of the regional party committees. “People, working people, should know well what is happening in the country, what difficulties, what problems arise in work,” Gorbachev stressed.
The Secretary General himself, unlike past Soviet leaders, boldly went out to the people, spoke about current problems in the country, talked about plans and prospects, and willingly entered into discussions with his interlocutors. Gorbachev's former ally Ryzhkov was skeptical of such openness. He noted that Gorbachev was more interested not in the country, but in how he himself looked against its background.
Nevertheless, the policy of glasnost has borne fruit. The process of critical rethinking of the past has affected almost all public spheres. The films “Agony” by Elem Klimov and “Repentance” by Tengiz Abuladze, the novels “Children of the Arbat” by Anatoly Rybakov and “White Clothes” by Vladimir Dudintsev became the catalyst for publicity.
One of the manifestations of glasnost was the acquisition of freedoms unthinkable in the "era of stagnation." It became possible to openly express one's opinion, publish literature banned in the USSR, and return dissidents. In April 1988, Gorbachev received Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Russia in the Kremlin, which was a turning point in resolving the issue of returning the Church's property and the adoption of a law on religious freedom (published in 1990).

crisis of power

According to historian Dmitry Volkogonov, Perestroika and the collapse of the USSR that followed it were a foregone conclusion. According to him, the last "leader" of the Soviet Union only "delineated in relief the end of the totalitarian system", the beginning of which was laid by Lenin. Thus, for Volkogonov, the "tragedy of Soviet history", the final stage of which was Perestroika, which in turn ended in the collapse of the country, was "predetermined by the Leninist experiment."
Some researchers see Perestroika as a "post-communist transformation" that by all indications resembles classical revolutions. So, Irina Starodubrovskaya and Vladimir Mau in the book "Great Revolutions: From Cromwell to Putin" compare Gorbachev's transformations with the socialist revolution of 1917, arguing that they do not have fundamental differences in external parameters.

The crisis of power, according to many sociologists, was perhaps the most important reason that prompted the new leadership of the country to a radical restructuring of party structures. The collapse of the system that followed, from the point of view of some, was due to a combination of subjective factors and a lack of understanding by the party leaders of the essence of the Soviet system. Others claim that attempts to preserve the Soviet system were initially doomed to failure, since the CPSU, "having usurped power", turned into "a brake on social development", and therefore left the historical arena. In other words, no one and nothing could save the USSR from disaster.
Academician Tatyana Zaslavkaya believed that Gorbachev was late with the reforms. The country could still be kept afloat if these transformations were carried out earlier. By the mid-1980s, in her opinion, the Soviet system had already worked out all its social resources, and therefore was doomed.

Forward to capitalism!

As the historian Alexander Barsenkov notes, the prerequisites for Gorbachev's reforms were technological innovations that appeared in developed countries and marked the entry of world civilization into a new era. These new trends required the Soviet leadership to search for an "adequate reaction" to what was happening, in order to finally keep up with the progressive public.
Many historians have drawn attention to the fact that initially the changes took place on a political basis developed in the early 1980s, and only after the increase in the number of economic problems did the Soviet leadership set a course for "priority transformation".

A number of other researchers see the essence of Perestroika in the transition from a centrally planned economy to capitalist relations. In their opinion, by the mid-1990s, transnational corporations began to create a new world legal order. Their goal was to maintain control over natural resources and concentrate them in the hands of the industrial and financial elite of the world. The Soviet party elite did not remain aloof from these processes.
There is an even bolder assumption that Perestroika was conceived with the active participation of the World Bank and provided: at the first stage, the initial accumulation of capital through the total sale of national wealth and scarce goods, at the second, the seizure of land and production. It was then that the social position of people in the USSR began to be determined by the thickness of the pocket.
Some economists believe that Perestroika and the subsequent reforms of the 1990s did not lead to capitalism, but only helped “feudalize the country, transferring all past “socialist gains” to a narrow stratum of the highest nomenklatura clan.”

Western diversion

Foreign experts often point to the diversity of Perestroika in the USSR. From the point of view of the Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells, it had four vectors. The first is the "liberation of the countries of the Soviet empire" in Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War; the second is economic reform; the third is the gradual liberalization of public opinion and the media; the fourth is the "controlled" democratization and decentralization of the communist system. All this could not but lead to a loosening of the foundations of the Soviet state structure, which, according to some Russian experts, was beneficial to the West.

According to one of the conspiracy theories, the collapse of the USSR was the result of an information-psychological war waged by the United States against the Soviet Union. A major role in this process, based on the statements of conspiracy theorists, was assigned to the fifth column - individual ideologues of the USSR, who "turned scientific communism into a parody of science" and "smeared over the Soviet past of the country" with black paint. In order to destroy the most important link in government - the CPSU, the fifth column conducted an intensive campaign to discredit the party, and the "Gorbachev group" organized a "mass change of personnel", placing its people in key positions in all government bodies.

Publicist Leonid Shelepin emphasizes that with the destruction of the CPSU, the creation of a network structure of democrats began with the active participation of the West. After the dismemberment of the country, its wealth passed into the hands of "an insignificant group of oligarchs", and the bulk of the population was "on the verge of survival." Thus, the result of Perestroika was the forcibly imposed socio-political system, "imitating the Western one."

perestroika- the general name of the reforms and the new ideology of the Soviet party leadership, used to denote large and controversial changes in the economic and political structure of the USSR, initiated by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M. S. Gorbachev in 1986-1991.

In May 1986, Gorbachev visited Leningrad, where, at a meeting with the party activists of the Leningrad city committee of the CPSU, he first used the word "perestroika" to refer to the socio-political process:

“Apparently, comrades, we all need to reorganize. Everyone".

The term was picked up by the media and became the slogan of the new era that began in the USSR.

For your information,(because in many textbooks since 1985):

"Legally" the beginning of perestroika is considered 1987, when at the January plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU perestroika was declared the direction of development of the state.

Background.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power. By that time, the USSR was already on the verge of a deep crisis, both in the economy and in the social sphere. The efficiency of social production was steadily declining, and the arms race was a heavy burden on the country's economy. In fact, all spheres of society needed to be updated.

Characteristics of the pre-perestroika administrative system: strict administrative and directive tasks, a centralized system of material and technical supply, strict regulation of the activities of enterprises and organizations. Management of the economy as a whole, and each of its branches, each enterprise, large or small, was carried out mainly by administrative methods with the help of targeted directive tasks. The command-and-order form of government alienated people both from labor itself and from its results, turning public property into a draw. This mechanism, as well as the political system, was personified in the people who reproduced it. The bureaucratic apparatus maintained a system that allowed its ideas to occupy profitable positions, to be "at the top", regardless of the actual state of affairs in the national economy.

The April (1985) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU proclaimed a new strategy - the acceleration of the socio-economic development of the country. By the mid-1980s, the imminent need for change was clear to many in the country. Therefore, proposed in those conditions by M.S. Gorbachev's "perestroika" found a lively response in all strata of Soviet society.

If we try to defineperestroika , then in my opinion,"perestroika" - this is the creation of an effective mechanism for accelerating the socio-economic development of society; comprehensive development of democracy strengthening discipline and order respect for the value and dignity of the individual; renunciation of command and administration, encouragement of innovation; a turn to science, a combination of scientific and technological achievements with the economy, etc.

Restructuring tasks.

The entry of the USSR into the era of radical transformation dates back to April 1985 and is associated with the name of the new General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU M.S. Gorbachev (elected to this post at the March Plenum of the Central Committee).

The new course proposed by Gorbachev assumed the modernization of the Soviet system, the introduction of structural and organizational changes in economic, social, political and ideological mechanisms.

In the new strategy, personnel policy acquired particular importance, which was expressed, on the one hand, in the fight against negative phenomena in the party and state apparatus (corruption, bribery, etc.), on the other hand, in the elimination of political opponents of Gorbachev and his course (in the Moscow and Leningrad party organizations, in the Central Committee of the Communist Parties of the Union Republics).

The ideology of reform.

Initially (beginning in 1985), the strategy was to improve socialism and accelerate socialist development. At the January 1987 Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and then at the XIX All-Union Party Conference (summer 1988) M.S. Gorbachev laid out a new ideology and strategy for reform. For the first time, the presence of deformations in the political system was recognized and the task was to create a new model - socialism with a human face.

The ideology of perestroika included some liberal democratic principles (separation of powers, representative democracy (parliamentarism), protection of civil and political human rights). At the 19th Party Conference, the goal of creating a civil (legal) society in the USSR was proclaimed for the first time.

Democratization and Glasnost became the essential expressions of the new concept of socialism. Democratization touched the political system, but it was also seen as the basis for the implementation of radical economic reforms.

At this stage of perestroika, publicity and criticism of the deformations of socialism in the economy, politics, and the spiritual sphere were widely developed. Many works of theorists and practitioners of Bolshevism, who were once declared enemies of the people, as well as figures of Russian emigration of various generations, became available to the Soviet people.

Democratization of the political system.

Within the framework of democratization, political pluralism took shape. In 1990, Article 6 of the Constitution was abolished, which secured the monopoly position of the CPSU in society, which opened up the possibility for the formation of a legal multi-party system in the USSR. Its legal basis was reflected in the Law on Public Associations (1990).

In the autumn of 1988, a radical wing emerged in the camp of reformers, in which the role of leaders belonged to A.D. Sakharov, B.N. Yeltsin and others. The radicals disputed power with Gorbachev and demanded the dismantling of the unitary state. After the spring elections of 1990 to local councils and party committees, forces in opposition to the leadership of the CPSU - representatives of the Democratic Russia movement (leader - E.T. Gaidar) also came to power in Moscow and Leningrad. 1989-1990 became a period of revitalization of informal movements, the organization of opposition parties.

Gorbachev and his supporters tried to limit the activities of the radicals. Yeltsin was ousted from leadership. But, having created the opportunity to eliminate the hegemony of the CPSU, Gorbachev and his associates did not realize the impossibility of returning to the old. By the beginning of 1991, Gorbachev's centrist policy increasingly coincided with the position of the conservatives.

Economic reforms.

Acceleration strategy and methods of its implementation.

The key concept in the reform strategy of M.S. Gorbachev was the acceleration of the production of means of production, the social sphere, and scientific and technological progress. The priority task of economic reforms was recognized as the accelerated development of mechanical engineering as the basis for the re-equipment of the entire national economy. At the same time, emphasis was placed on strengthening production and performance discipline (measures to combat drunkenness and alcoholism); product quality control (Law on state acceptance).

Economic reform 1987

The economic reform, developed by well-known economists - L. Abalkin, A. Aganbegyan, P. Bunich and others, was carried out in accordance with the concept of self-supporting socialism.

The reform project included:

Expanding the independence of enterprises on the principles of cost accounting and self-financing;

Gradual revival of the private sector of the economy, primarily through the development of the cooperative movement;

Renunciation of the monopoly of foreign trade;

Deep integration into the global market;

Reducing the number of sectoral ministries and departments between which it was supposed to establish partnerships;

Recognition of equality in the countryside of the five main forms of management (collective farms, state farms, agro-combines, rental cooperatives, farms).

The implementation of the reform was characterized by inconsistency and half-heartedness. In the course of the transformations, there was no reform of credit, pricing policy, or a centralized supply system. However, despite this, the reform contributed to the formation of the private sector in the economy. In 1988, the Law on Cooperation and the Law on Individual Labor Activity (ITA) were adopted. The new laws opened the possibility for private activity in more than 30 types of production of goods and services. By the spring of 1991, more than 7 million people were employed in the cooperative sector and another 1 million people were self-employed. The reverse side of this process was the legalization of the shadow economy.

Industrial democratization.

In 1987, the Law on the State Enterprise (Association) was adopted. Enterprises were transferred to self-sufficiency and self-supporting, receiving the right to foreign economic activity, the creation of joint ventures. At the same time, most of the manufactured products were still included in the state order and, therefore, were withdrawn from free sale.

Under the Law on Labor Collectives, a system of electing heads of enterprises and institutions was introduced.

Agricultural reform.

Changes in agriculture began with the reform of state farms and collective farms. In May 1988, it was announced that it was expedient to switch to a lease contract in the countryside (under a land lease agreement for 50 years with the right to dispose of the resulting products). By the summer of 1991, only 2% of the land was cultivated on lease terms and 3% of the livestock was kept. In general, no major changes were achieved in agricultural policy. One of the main reasons was the nature of government food policy. For many years, prices for basic foodstuffs were maintained at a low level with low growth rates of agricultural production, which was facilitated by subsidizing both the producer (up to 80%) and the consumer (1/3 of the Russian budget) of food. The deficit budget could not cope with such a load. No law was passed on the transfer of land to private ownership and the increase in household plots.

The economic results showed the inconsistency of the ongoing reforms. Remaining within the framework of the socialist economic system - universal planning, distribution of resources, state ownership of the means of production, etc. - the national economy of the country, at the same time, lost its administrative-command levers, coercion on the part of the party. At the same time, market mechanisms were not created. After some initial successes, driven by the enthusiasm for renewal, the economic downturn began. Since 1988, there has been a general decline in agricultural production. As a result, the population faced a shortage of food products, even in Moscow their rationed distribution was introduced. Since 1990, a general reduction in industrial production has begun.

500 days program.

In the summer of 1990, instead of accelerating, a course was proclaimed for the transition to a market economy, scheduled for 1991, that is, by the end of the 12th five-year plan (1985-1990). However, in contrast to the plans of the official leadership for a phased (over several years) introduction of the market, a plan was developed (known as the 500 days program), aimed at a quick breakthrough in market relations, supported by the opposition to Gorbachev, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin.

The authors of the next project were a group of economists academician S. Shatalin, G. Yavlinsky, B. Fedorov and others. During the first half of the term, it was planned: the transfer of enterprises to forced lease, large-scale privatization and decentralization of the economy, the introduction of antimonopoly legislation. During the second half, it was supposed to remove mainly state control over prices, allow a recession in the basic sectors of the economy, regulated unemployment and inflation in order to drastically restructure the economy. This project created a real basis for the economic union of the republics, but contained significant elements of utopianism and could lead to unpredictable social consequences. Under pressure from conservatives, Gorbachev withdrew his support for this program.

Let's analyze the restructuring in stages.

Stages of restructuring:

The initial period was characterized by the recognition of some ("individual") shortcomings of the existing political and economic system of the USSR and attempts to correct them with several major administrative campaigns - Acceleration of the development of the national economy, an anti-alcohol campaign, "the fight against unearned income", the introduction of state acceptance, a demonstration of the fight against corruption. No radical steps have yet been taken during this period, outwardly almost everything remained the same. The majority of the old cadres of the Brezhnev draft were replaced with a new team of managers.

By the end of 1986 - the beginning of 1987, the Gorbachev team came to the conclusion that the situation in the country could not be changed by administrative measures and made an attempt to reform the system in the spirit of democratic socialism. This step was facilitated by two blows to the Soviet economy in 1986: a sharp drop in oil prices and the Chernobyl disaster. The new stage was characterized by the beginning of large-scale reforms in all spheres of the life of Soviet society (although some measures began to be taken as early as the end of 1986, for example, the Law "On individual labor activity"). In public life, a policy of publicity is proclaimed - mitigation of censorship in the media. In the economy, private entrepreneurship in the form of cooperatives is legalized, joint ventures with foreign companies are being actively created. In international politics, the main doctrine is "New Thinking" - a course towards the rejection of the class approach in diplomacy and the improvement of relations with the West. Part of the population (mainly young people and intelligentsia) is euphoric from the long-awaited changes and unprecedented freedom by Soviet standards. At the same time, during this period, general instability began to gradually increase in the country: the economic situation worsened, separatist sentiments appeared on the national outskirts, and the first interethnic clashes broke out (Karabakh).

Third stage(June 1989-1991) (late rebuilding)

The final stage, during this period, there is a sharp destabilization of the political situation in the country: after the First Congress of People's Deputies, the confrontation between the Communist Party and the new political groups that emerged as a result of the democratization of society begins. Initially initiated at the initiative from above, in the second half of 1989 the changes get out of control of the authorities. Difficulties in the economy develop into a full-blown crisis. The chronic commodity shortage reaches its climax: empty store shelves become a symbol of the turn of the 1980s-1990s. Perestroika euphoria in society is replaced by disappointment, uncertainty about the future and massive anti-communist anti-Soviet sentiments.

Since 1990, the main idea is no longer "improving socialism", but building democracy and a market economy of the capitalist type. In 1990-91. The USSR is essentially no longer a socialist country: private property is legalized, cooperation begins to take the form of Western-style business, and at the same time state enterprises, factories, plants, combines, and farms begin to close. There are such social phenomena as mass poverty and unemployment. Pricing is still centralized, but at the beginning of 1991, two financial sector reforms were carried out - monetary and price, due to which huge masses of the population find themselves below the poverty line. In Russia and other republics of the Union, separatist-minded forces come to power - a "parade of sovereignties" begins. The logical outcome of this development of events was the elimination of the power of the CPSU and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Summing up, it should be noted that the Soviet nomenklatura began the "revolutionary perestroika" with well-thought-out goals. In the process of redistribution of property and privileges, the following happened:

1. the merger of some of the representatives of all nomenclatures,

2. The "new" nomenklatura brought the division of property to the destruction of the Center and the collapse of the USSR,

3. The new political elite lifted all restrictions on financial and economic activity, as it met its social interests.

If we briefly characterize the situation that has arisen, it should be noted that the transition to a new state in the country was carried out not by the bourgeois-democratic, but by the criminal-bureaucratic way. Nomenklatura privatization and bureaucratic liberalization created a kind of fusion, vaguely reminiscent of market relations. As a result, already in 1992, such phenomena as low efficient production, lack of incentives for economic activity, and structural imbalances began to appear. All this actually paralyzed the country's ability to normal development. The measures taken within the framework of the “perestroika” policy led to the undermining of the financial system, the imbalance of the economy, the formation of a shortage of goods and laid the material foundations for the collapse of the USSR. With the end of the “perestroika” policy, the question of where Russia was going was already clear. Russia has entered a phase of economic and social regression. Thanks to the so-called. "perestroika" Russia turned out to be thrown back decades in its development. The country was faced with a situation where, in the sphere of the economy, the backlog developed into the stage of destruction of the industrial and agricultural potential, historically established ties and infrastructure. Goods of domestic producers began to disappear from the domestic market. Scientific and technological progress was blocked. As a result of the state of the economy, Russia in the early 1990s found itself in an exceptionally difficult position. In essence, the sources of economic development were seriously destroyed, large-scale investments were suspended; curtailed high-tech production; research activities, the material and experimental base of fundamental sciences, etc., have been significantly reduced. The life support system was in an extremely difficult situation, domestic food and industrial provision was noticeably reduced; serious damage was caused to transport, telecommunications and other systems; housing and communal services fell into decay; an orientation towards elite expensive medical care, paid higher education, and much more began to take shape. Everything that was discussed above, like many other things, was the result of "perestroika", which gave rise to the negative dynamics of the development of the Russian economy.

Here are a few examples, for information: in the agricultural sector, funding, sown areas, livestock, production of mineral fertilizers, machinery, etc. are declining. The physical volume of Russian GDP to the beginning. 1992 was less than 20% of the US GDP. By the beginning of 1992, Russia closed the third ten countries in terms of total GDP and moved into the group of developing countries in terms of its per capita calculation. Losses incurred due to the destruction of research and production, design and other teams, if they are recoverable, then only in the long term. The consequences of the resulting restructuring are also evidenced by the data cited by American experts: the country's gold reserves have decreased 11 times, the ruble has decreased against the dollar by more than 150 times, oil exports have more than halved. During Gorbachev's tenure in power, the external debt increased 5 times.

Conclusion.

Perestroika was destined to be the last in the 20th century. attempt to reform the socialist system.

The policy of perestroika and glasnost, announced by the country's leadership headed by M. S. Gorbachev, led from the mid-80s. to a sharp aggravation of interethnic relations and a genuine explosion of nationalism in the USSR. These processes were based on underlying causes, rooted in the distant past. The authorities did not study interethnic and national problems in the country, but fenced off from reality with ideological guidelines about a “close-knit family of fraternal peoples” and a new historical community created in the USSR - the “Soviet people” - the next myths of “developed socialism”.

At the same time, perestroika was of great historical significance.

During the period of perestroika (1985-1991), the system of the totalitarian regime was finally destroyed in Soviet society. Society has become open to the outside world. In the wake of democratization, political pluralism and a multi-party system took shape in the USSR, and elements of civil society began to take shape.

However, the economic reforms of the era of M.S. Gorbachev failed, and by the end of the 80s. communist reformers finally exhausted their creative potential. As a result, the cleansing of socialism from totalitarianism was followed by the collapse of the socialist system itself. Gorbachev's period of perestroika ended with the collapse of the USSR.