USSR in the post-war world. The defeat of Germany and its satellites in the war radically changed the balance of power in the world. The USSR has become one of the leading world powers, without which, according to Molotov, not a single issue of international life should now be resolved.

However, during the war years, the power of the United States grew even more. Their gross national product rose by 70%, and the economic and human losses were minimal. Having become an international creditor during the war years, the United States got the opportunity to expand its influence on other countries and peoples. President Truman declared in 1945 that the victory in World War II "brought the American people to the task of ruling the world." The gradual departure of the American administration from the wartime agreements began.

All this led to the fact that instead of cooperation in Soviet-American relations, a period of mutual distrust and suspicion set in. The Soviet Union was worried about the US nuclear monopoly, attempts to dictate terms in relations with other countries. America saw a threat to its security in the growing influence of the USSR in the world. All this led to the start of the Cold War.

Beginning of the Cold War. "Cooling" began almost with the last volleys of the war in Europe. Three days after the victory over Germany, the United States announced the termination of the supply of military equipment to the USSR and not only stopped its shipment, but also returned American ships with such supplies that were already off the coast of the Soviet Union.

After the successful testing of nuclear weapons by the Americans, Truman's position became even tougher. The United States gradually departed from the agreements already reached during the war years. In particular, it was decided not to divide the defeated Japan into zones of occupation (only American units were introduced into it). This alarmed Stalin, pushing him to increase his influence on those countries on whose territory Soviet troops were at that time. In turn, this led to an increase in the suspicion of Western leaders. It intensified even more due to the sharp growth in the number of communists in these countries (their number tripled in Western Europe between 1939 and 1946).

Former Prime Minister of England W. Churchill accused the USSR of "limitless expansion of its power and its doctrines" in the world. Truman soon proclaimed a program of measures to "save" Europe from Soviet expansion (the "Truman Doctrine"). He offered to provide large-scale economic assistance to the countries of Europe (the conditions for providing this assistance were later set out in the "Marshall Plan"); create a military-political union of Western countries under the auspices of the United States (it was the NATO bloc created in 1949); deploy a network of American military bases along the borders of the USSR; support internal opposition in countries of Eastern Europe; use conventional weapons and nuclear weapons to blackmail Soviet leadership. All this was supposed not only to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR (the doctrine of containment of socialism), but also to force the Soviet Union to withdraw into its former borders (the doctrine of the rejection of socialism).

Stalin announced these plans as a call to war against the USSR. Since the summer of 1947, Europe has been divided into allies of two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. The formation of economic and military-political structures of the East and West began.

Formation of the "socialist camp". VKP(b) and the communist movement. By this time, communist governments existed only in Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. However, since 1947 the process of their formation has been accelerated in other countries of "people's democracy": Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia. In the same year, a pro-Soviet regime was established in North Korea. In October 1949, the Communists came to power in China. The political dependence of these countries on the USSR was ensured not so much by the military presence Soviet troops(they were far from being in all the countries of "people's democracy"), but rather huge material assistance. For 1945-1952 the amount of only long-term concessional loans to these countries amounted to 15 billion rubles. (3 billion dollars).

In 1949, the economic foundations of the Soviet bloc were formalized. For this purpose, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was created. For military-political cooperation, a Coordinating Committee was first created, and then, already in 1955, the Warsaw Pact Organization.

After the war, the Communists were in power not only in the people's democracies, but also in a number of large Western countries. This reflected the great contribution that the left forces made to the defeat of fascism.

Since the summer of 1947, in the conditions of the emerging final break between the USSR and the West, Stalin tried to reunite the communists of different countries organizationally. Instead of the Comintern, which was abolished in 1943, the Cominform was formed in September 1947. He was given the task of "exchanging experience" between the communist parties. However, in the course of this "exchange" "studies" of entire parties began, which, from Stalin's point of view, did not act energetically enough against the United States and its allies. The communist parties of France, Italy and Yugoslavia were the first to receive such criticism.

Then the struggle against "opportunism" began in the ruling communist parties of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Albania. Most often, this concern for the "cleanliness of the ranks" resulted in a settling of scores, a struggle for power in the party leadership. As a result, this led to the death of thousands of communists in the countries of Eastern Europe.

All those leaders of the countries of the "socialist camp" who had own opinion about the ways of building a new society. Only the leader of Yugoslavia, I. B. Tito, escaped this fate. However, relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia were severed. After that, none of the leaders of the countries of Eastern Europe spoke of "different paths" to socialism.

Korean War. The most serious clash between the USSR and the USA was the war in Korea. After the withdrawal of Soviet (in 1948) and American (in 1949) troops from Korea (which had been there since the end of World War II), the governments of both the South and North Korea intensified preparations for the unification of the country by force.

On June 25, 1950, referring to the provocations of the South, the DPRK launched an offensive with a huge army. On the fourth day, the troops of the North occupied the capital of the southerners, Seoul. There was a threat of a complete military defeat of South Korea. Under these conditions, the United States, through the UN Security Council, passed a resolution condemning the aggression of the DPRK and began to form a single military coalition against it. About 40 countries declared their desire to assist in the fight against the aggressor. Soon, the allied troops landed at the port of Chemulpo and began the liberation of South Korean territory. The success of the allies was unexpected for the northerners and quickly created a threat of defeat for their army. North Korea appealed to the USSR and China for help. Soon from the Soviet Union began to arrive modern views military equipment (including jet aircraft MiG-15), military specialists arrive. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers moved from China to help. At the cost of heavy losses, the front line was leveled, and ground battles ceased. The Korean War claimed the lives of 9 million Koreans, up to 1 million Chinese, 54,000 Americans, and many Soviet soldiers and officers. She showed that cold war" can easily turn into a "hot one". This was understood not only in Washington, but also in Moscow. After General Eisenhower's victory in the presidential election in 1952, both sides began to search for a way out of the impasse in international relations.

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The results of the Second World War radically changed the balance of power in the world:

1) the USSR became one of the leading world powers, without which not a single issue of international life was now resolved;

2) at the same time, the dominance and power of the United States increased during the war years, which allowed the American administration already in the 40s. start moving away from the agreements of the war period.

All this led to the fact that a period of sharp cooling set in in Soviet-American relations, the beginning of the "cold war" was laid.

The Soviet Union was concerned about the US nuclear monopoly, their attempt to dictate in relations with other countries. At the same time, the United States was alarmed by the great growth of the prestige of the USSR in Europe and throughout the world.

The US administration in 1947 adopted the "Marshall Plan", the essence of which was to revive the Western European economy through the provision of financial assistance and the latest technology from across the ocean. Such assistance was not provided to those regimes where the communist parties had influence. The desire of Western European countries and the United States to ensure political stability and military security resulted in the formation of the NATO bloc in 1949.

At the same time, the following activities were carried out in the countries of Eastern Europe:

1) in the countries occupied by the Soviet troops, a socio-political system developed, similar to the Stalinist model of state socialism;

2) the formation of friendly political regimes in Eastern Europe was the main goal of the foreign policy of the Soviet leadership in the early postwar years;

3) in 1945–1948. The USSR concluded bilateral agreements with Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and Yugoslavia;

4) a military bloc of socialist states was created - the Warsaw Pact Organization (OVD);

5) an economic association was created - the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA).

After World War II began collapse of the world colonial system. The USSR took advantage of it to establish its influence in a number of countries that had freed themselves from colonial dependence on almost all continents - in Asia, Africa, and later in Latin America. This was successfully facilitated by the international image of the Soviet Union and its opposition to the former colonial powers.

A bipolar world was formed, in which the camp of the capitalist countries led by the USA and the socialist camp led by the USSR were in a state of confrontation. The rivalry of countries, called the "cold war", manifested itself not only in the military-technical field, but also in the spheres of economy and culture.

Relations between the USA and the USSR became especially aggravated during the war in Korea (1950-1953). During the war, the USSR and China supported the pro-communist forces, and the United States - their opponents. As a result of the war, the country was divided into two states: North and South Korea.

The decisive contribution of the Soviet Union to the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition over fascism led to serious changes in the international arena.

The world authority of the USSR increased as one of the victorious countries in the fight against fascism, it was again perceived as a great power. The influence of our state in Eastern Europe and in China was predominant. In the second half of the 1940s. communist regimes were formed in these countries. To a large extent, this was due to the presence of Soviet troops on their territories and the large material assistance from the USSR.

But gradually the contradictions between the former allies in World War II began to worsen.

The speech of W. Churchill "Muscles of the World" in Fulton (USA) on March 5, 1946, where he called on Western countries to fight "the expansion of totalitarian communism", became the manifesto of the confrontation.

In Moscow, this speech was perceived as a political challenge. I.V. Stalin sharply responded to W. Churchill in the Pravda newspaper, noting: "... that, in fact, Mr. Churchill is now in the position of warmongers." The confrontation intensified further, and the Cold War broke out on both sides.

Then the initiative to develop confrontational actions in line with the Cold War passed to the United States. In February 1947, President G. Truman, in his annual message to the US Congress, proposed specific measures against the spread of Soviet influence, which included economic assistance to Europe, the formation of a military-political alliance under the leadership of the United States, the deployment of American military bases along Soviet borders, as well as providing support to opposition movements in Eastern Europe.

An important milestone in American expansion was the program of economic assistance to countries affected by Nazi aggression, proclaimed on June 5, 1947 by US Secretary of State J. Marshall.

Moscow defiantly refused to participate in the "Marshall Plan" and put pressure on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, forcing them to do the same.

The Kremlin's response to the "Marshall Plan" was the creation in September 1947 of the Information Bureau of the Communist Parties (Cominform) in order to strengthen control over the communist movement in the world and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Cominform focused only on the Soviet model of the formation of socialism, condemning the previously existing concept of "national paths to socialism." In 1947–1948 at the suggestion of the Soviet leadership in the countries of Eastern Europe, a series of revelations took place against a number of party and state leaders accused of sabotage and deviations from the agreed line of socialist construction.

In 1948, relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia sharply worsened. The head of this state I.B. Tito strove for leadership in the Balkans and put forward the idea of ​​​​creating a Balkan federation under the leadership of Yugoslavia, due to his own ambitions and authority, he refused to act under the dictates of I.V. Stalin. Cominform in June 1948 issued a resolution on the situation in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, accusing its leaders of departing from the Marxist-Leninist ideology. Further, the conflict deepened, which led to the rupture of all relations between the two countries.

Refusing to participate in the implementation of the "Marshall Plan", the countries of Eastern Europe, on the initiative of the USSR, created in January 1949 their own international economic organization - the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). Its main tasks were the material support of the countries of the pro-Soviet bloc, as well as their economic integration. All activities of the CMEA were based on planning and directive principles and were permeated with the recognition of the political leadership of the USSR in the socialist camp.

In the late 1940s - early 1960s. the confrontation between the USSR and the USA intensified in Europe and Asia.

As part of the implementation of the Marshall Plan, on the initiative of the United States, on April 4, 1949, a military-political alliance was created - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which included the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Iceland. Later, Turkey and Greece (1952) and the FRG (1955) joined NATO.

An acute problem remained the confrontation in Germany occupied by the Allied forces, in which the country was being divided into two parts: western and eastern. In September 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was formed from the western zones of occupation, and in October of the same year, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed in the Soviet zone.

In the Far East in 1950–1953 The Korean War broke out between North and South, which became an almost open military clash between the opposing blocs. The Soviet Union and China provided political, material and human assistance to North Korea, and the United States to South Korea. The war went on with varying success. As a result, none of the parties managed to achieve a decisive military advantage. In July 1953, peace was established in Korea, but the country remained split into two states, which have survived to this day.

19.2. The creation of atomic weapons and the beginning of nuclear confrontation

In the 1940s atomic weapons were created, which became the determining factor in international relations.

On the territory of the USA, in Los Alamos, in 1942, an American nuclear center was established. On its basis, work began on the creation of an atomic bomb. The overall management of the project was entrusted to the talented nuclear physicist R. Oppenheimer. By the summer of 1945, the Americans managed to assemble two atomic bombs. The first explosion was carried out at the test site in Alamogordo on July 16, 1945 and was timed to coincide with the meeting of the leaders of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France in Potsdam.

As already noted, on August 6 and 9, 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The use of nuclear weapons was not caused by military necessity. Ruling circles The United States pursued political goals. They wanted to demonstrate their strength to intimidate the USSR and other countries.

The beginning of the Soviet atomic project also dates back to 1942. When I.V. Stalin received information about the desire of the United States and Germany to master this superweapon, he uttered one phrase: "We must do it."

In the spring of 1943, I.V. Kurchatov.

On August 29, 1949, the first Soviet atomic bomb was successfully tested at the test site near Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. The nuclear monopoly of the United States was eliminated, and the confrontation between the two great powers became thermonuclear.

The creators of domestic atomic weapons were academicians I.V. Kurchatov, Yu.B. Khariton, Ya.B. Zeldovich.

Yu.B. Khariton at the end of his life in 1995 uttered warning words: “Conscious of my involvement in remarkable scientific and engineering achievements ... today, at a more than mature age, I am aware of our involvement in the terrible death of people, in the monstrous damage caused to the nature of our home - the Earth …

God grant that those who come after us find a way, find firmness of spirit and determination in themselves, striving for the best, not to do the worst.

19.3. Post-war economic development of the country

The war destroyed about one third of the entire national wealth of the country. A huge number of factories and plants, mines, railways and other industrial facilities.

Restoration work began during the Great Patriotic War, immediately after the liberation of part of the occupied territories. In August 1943, a special resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation" was adopted. By the end of the war, as a result of the titanic efforts of our workers, it was possible to recreate part of industrial production.

However, the main restoration processes took place after the victorious end of the war, during the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1946-1950). As in the years of the first five-year plans, the emphasis in the development of industry was placed on heavy industry. The level of pre-war industrial production was reached by 1948. In total, 6,200 large enterprises were restored and built again.

Agriculture in the fourth five-year plan did not have time to reach the pre-war level. This was achieved only in the next five years.

At the same time, the country faced enormous difficulties and problems. In 1946, famine broke out in a number of regions, as a result of both the drought and the traditional policy of the state in relation to agriculture. From the village, as in the period of collectivization, resources and funds were taken for the development of industry and, accordingly, for ensuring foreign policy tasks (in particular, in 1946-1947 the USSR exported 2.5 million tons of grain to Europe at preferential prices).

The war and its aftermath - the card supply system for the population - upset the country's financial system. The critical situation in the consumer market, the expansion of natural exchange, inflationary processes jeopardized the program for the restoration of the national economy, so the question of monetary reform arose. On December 16, 1947, the implementation of the monetary reform began in the USSR, cards for food and industrial goods were canceled. Money was put into circulation, which was exchanged within a week (until December 22, 1947) for the available old cash at a ratio of 1:10 (i.e., 10 old rubles were equated to one new ruble).

Prices for bread, flour, pasta, cereals, and beer were falling everywhere. But at the same time, prices for meat, fish, sugar, salt, vodka, milk, eggs, vegetables, fabrics, shoes, knitwear were not changed.

It is quite obvious that the reform pursued confiscation purposes and "ate" part of the savings of the Soviet people.

Since 1949, prices began to decline steadily, but the purchasing power of the population was extremely low, which created the illusion of abundance and an improvement in life. The financial situation of the population was aggravated by compulsory state loans from the people through subscription and purchase of various bonds.

19.4. Social and political life

After the abolition of the highest body of state power in the country during the Great Patriotic War - the State Defense Committee - all power continued to remain in the hands of the party and state apparatus, which was headed solely by I.V. Stalin, who was both the head of government (since 1941) and the leader of the Communist Party. Combined the highest state and party posts and other leaders (G.M. Malenkov, N.A. Voznesensky, L.P. Beria, L.M. Kaganovich, K.E. Voroshilov, etc.).

In fact, all power in the country was still in the hands of I.V. Stalin. The highest party body - the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks - met irregularly and extremely rarely. For everyday work I.V. Stalin created a system of "threes", "sixes", "sevens" with a changing composition. Having outlined a decision, he approved it together with specific persons called in for discussion, who were members of the Politburo, the Orgburo, the secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party or the Council of Ministers. Thus, until the death of I.V. Stalin, the system of the highest party-Soviet power functioned.

Immediately after the war, a new round of political repression began in the country. This was explained primarily by Stalin's desire to recreate the atmosphere of fear as the main component of the authoritarian regime, to eliminate the elements of freedom that appeared as a result of the victory of the people in the war. Such a policy was also used as a means of struggle for power in the political leadership.

The treatment of prisoners of war returning to the USSR, already from the summer of 1945, testified to the tightening of the regime. Only 20% of the 2 million repatriated prisoners of war received permission to return home. Most of those who were captured were sent to camps or sentenced to exile for at least five years.

I.V. Stalin did not trust the military, constantly kept them under the control of the state security agencies and systematically subjected them to repression. One of the first was in 1946 "the case of aviators." The Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force A.A. was arrested and convicted for wrecking in the aviation industry. Novikov, People's Commissar of Aviation Industry A.I. Shakhurin, Air Marshal S.A. Khudyakov, chief engineer of the Air Force A.K. Repin and others.

He was subjected to disgrace in 1946-1948. and Marshal G.K. Zhukov, who was removed from leading military posts and sent to command the Odessa, and then the Urals military district. Military leaders close to him were repressed: generals V.N. Gordov, F.T. Rybalchenko, V.V. Kryukov, V.K. Telegin, former Marshal G.I. Sandpiper.

The so-called "Leningrad case" (1949-1950) was fabricated, as a result of which prominent state and party workers were repressed (N.A. Voznesensky, A.A. Kuznetsov, P.S. Popkov, M.I. Rodionov, I F. Kapustin, P. G. Lazutin and others).

All of them were charged with treason, allegedly consisting in organizing subversive work in the party and state bodies, striving to turn the Leningrad party organization into their support for the fight against the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, violating state plans, etc.

The court sentenced six of the accused (mentioned above) to capital punishment, the rest to various terms imprisonment.

However, at this stage, the “Leningrad case” did not end. In 1950–1952 over 200 senior party and Soviet workers in Leningrad were convicted and sentenced to death and long prison terms.

April 30, 1954, after the death of I.V. Stalin, the Supreme Court of the USSR rehabilitated all the defendants in this case, many of them posthumously.

After the Stalinist terror of the 1930s. the wave of mass repressions rose again. An anti-Semitic campaign began to unfold under the guise of fighting "rootless cosmopolitanism." There were arrests and executions of representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia.

The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was dissolved, which during the war years was engaged in collecting funds from the Jewish communities of different countries (mainly in the USA) to support the Soviet Union. Its leaders - S. Lozovsky, B. Shimelianovich, P. Markish, L. Kvitko and others were arrested and convicted in the summer of 1952 by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, subsequently they were shot. Under mysterious circumstances, the famous actor and director S. Mikhoels died, P. Zhemchuzhina (wife of V.M. Molotov) was also imprisoned.

On January 13, 1953, TASS reported on the arrest of a group of doctors - M. Vovsi, B. Kogan, B. Feldman, J. Etinger, and others. It was announced that a terrorist group of doctors wanted to shorten the lives of active workers in the Soviet state through sabotage treatment. They were also accused of involvement in foreign intelligence services.

On March 5, 1953, I.V. died. Stalin. A month later, the arrested doctors were released and found not guilty.

Foreign policy THE USSR.

1945 opened a new page in the history of the 20th century. The geopolitical structure of the world as a result of the defeat of Germany and its allies acquired new centers of influence, the world became more and more bipolar. In the alignment of forces between West and East, the main role now belonged to the United States and the Soviet Union.

The international position of the USSR after the war, in which it won at the cost of heavy losses, was contradictory.

The country was ruined. At the same time, its leaders had legal right claim a prominent role in the life of the world community. The USSR benefited from the occupation of the vast territory of most of Europe, and its army was the most numerous in the world. At the same time, in the field of certain types of military technology, both the United States and Great Britain were far ahead of the USSR.

Foreign policy developed in the following areas:

1) relations with former allies: the struggle for spheres of influence in Europe, the problems of post-war Germany; the work of the USSR against propaganda and unleashing a new war;

2) relations with the countries of the socialist camp: economic assistance, political pressure, conflicts;

3) the activities of the USSR in the UN.

With the end of the Patriotic War, there were changes in the relations between the USSR and the former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. "Cold War" - this is the name given to the foreign policy pursued by both sides in relation to each other in the second half of the 40s and early 90s. It was characterized primarily by the hostile political actions of the parties. Forceful methods were used to solve international problems. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR in the initial period of the Cold War was V. M. Molotov, and from 1949 to 1953 - A. Ya. Vyshinsky.

The beginning of the Cold War is considered to be the speech of W. Churchill in Fulton in March 1946, where he spoke about the communist threat. In February 1947, in a message to Congress, US President G. Truman launched a program of measures to save Europe from Soviet expansion: economic assistance, the formation of a military-political alliance under the auspices of the United States, the deployment of US military bases near Soviet borders, support for internal opposition in Eastern Europe , if necessary - the use of armed forces against the USSR, etc.

The confrontation of the parties was clearly manifested in 1947 in connection with the Marshall Plan put forward by the USA. The program provided for the provision of economic assistance to European countries that suffered during the Second World War. The USSR and the people's democracies were invited to participate in the conference on this occasion. 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 manifestations 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 states of Western Europe. Two years later, the signing of the military-political alliance between the United States, Australia and New Zealand (ANZUS) took place. The formation of these blocs helped strengthen the position of the United States in different regions peace.

The confrontation between the two blocs of states manifested itself in a number of crisis situations, the confrontation over the German question was especially acute. The peace conference in Paris (1946) ended unsuccessfully, did not lead the former allies to an agreement on the problem of German reunification. A number of subsequent actions by both sides led only to a split in Germany: the Western countries refused to recognize the exact border of Germany along the Oder and Neisse rivers, the USSR in its zone of occupation carried out socio-economic transformations (nationalization of industry, agrarian reform) according to the Soviet model, the Western powers held elections to the West German Constituent Assembly and put into circulation a new monetary unit, the USSR established a transport blockade of West Berlin (1948).

As a result, in 1949 two German states were formed - the FRG and the GDR . In the early 50s. The German question escalated again in connection with the rearmament of the FRG and its attempts to join NATO.

The confrontation between the former allies reached its peak at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s. 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 control. According to Soviet leaders, this association could strengthen the position of the anti-imperialist camp in this region of Asia. During the period of preparation for the war and during the hostilities, the government of the USSR 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 military operations. The war was stopped only in 1953 after lengthy diplomatic negotiations.

The West began to actively support anti-socialist forces and movements within the "socialist camp" - in the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe.

The Soviet Union took an active part in solving the most important international issues and, above all, in settling the post-war situation in Europe. Left-wing, democratic forces came to power in seven countries of Central and Eastern Europe. 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, nationalization big industry, banks and transport. The established political organization of society was called people's democracy. It was seen as a form of proletarian dictatorship.

In 1947, at a meeting of representatives of the communist parties of the countries of Eastern Europe, the Communist Information Bureau was created. He was responsible for coordinating the actions of the Communist parties. The conference documents formulated the thesis of dividing the world into two camps - imperialist and democratic, anti-imperialist. The position on the confrontation on the world stage of two social systems underlay the foreign policy views of the party and state leadership of the USSR.

In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) was formed, designed to organize and provide economic support to the "countries of people's democracy" within the sphere of influence of the USSR. And in 1955, in response to the hostile policy of the Western powers, the Warsaw Treaty Organization was created.

Treaties of friendship and mutual assistance were concluded between the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe. Military and other types of assistance were envisaged if one of the parties was involved in hostilities. It was planned to develop economic and cultural ties, to hold conferences on international issues affecting the interests of the contracting parties.

In the conditions of tougher confrontation in the relations between the former allies, the Soviet Union carried out work against the propaganda of a new war. The main arena of his activity was the United Nations (UN). This international organization was established in 1945. It united 51 states. Its goal was to strengthen peace and security and develop cooperation between states. At UN sessions, Soviet representatives came up with proposals for the reduction of conventional weapons and the prohibition of atomic weapons, and for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the territories of foreign states. All these proposals, as a rule, were blocked by representatives of the United States and its allies. The USSR unilaterally withdrew troops from the territories of several states, where they had been introduced during the war years.

Thus, the foreign policy activity of the USSR in the second half of the 40s and early 50s. was contradictory. The policy of the "cold war" - the confrontation between East and West - to a large extent contributed to the growth of tension in the world. In addition, the costs of assistance to the countries of "people's democracy" and countries that fell into the sphere of influence of the USSR were significant. The expansion of the international influence of the USSR was accompanied by an aggravation of political tension both within the "socialist bloc" and within the country.

Implementation of political and economic reforms in 1953-1964. period of collective leadership. XX Congress of the CPSU. Reforms of N.S. Khrushchev in the field of agriculture and industry management. Political loss of N.S. Khrushchev.

On March 5, 1953, Stalin died. The absence of a reliable, legitimate mechanism for the transfer of power caused a long crisis, a struggle for the right to possess it. N. S. Khrushchev, M. A. Suslov, P. N. Pospelov and others were elected to the secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

Officially, after Stalin's death, the so-called "collective leadership", the inner circle of the dictator, came to power. On March 6, 1953, at a joint meeting of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU were approved: G. M. Malenkov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), L. P. Beria (First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers USSR, Minister of Internal Affairs and State Security), V. M. Molotov (First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and Minister of Foreign Affairs), K. E. Voroshilov (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR), N. A. Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), A. I. Mikoyan (Minister of Trade), M. V. Saburov (Chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR) and M. G. Pervukhin (Minister of Power Plants and Electrical Industry).

Based on the prevailing balance of power, the struggle for power unfolded among the "young" generation, who fell into the immediate environment of Stalin in the 30s. During the struggle, three key figures were identified: Malenkov, Beria and Khrushchev. The struggle for power that unfolded between them was objectively also a struggle for the choice of a variant of social transformations.

On the one hand, there is a need for change in society, in the economy, in party and state structures. The grief over Stalin's death was not shared by those who suffered during the years of Stalinism. By the beginning of 1950, there were 5.5 million prisoners in the USSR, and there were about 140 special camps of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On the other hand, in the eyes of most of his contemporaries, Stalin was the spokesman for public interests, the guarantor of progress towards communism, and the defender of the people. For many Soviet people, Stalin's death was a great shock. On the eve and on the day of the funeral in Moscow, thousands of people went to the Hall of Columns to say goodbye to the leader. And this fact must be given an objective assessment. Far from all the people who said goodbye to Stalin that day were driven by simple curiosity. In our opinion, the mechanism of this phenomenon is much more complicated. The death of Stalin did not destroy the totalitarian system, there were factors that hindered this process:

Victory in the Great Patriotic War;

Feeling of pride for the Motherland, confidence in tomorrow;

Successes in the restoration of the destroyed economy, preservation of opportunities for further development of the economy;

Decades of fear and purges created an atmosphere of unanimity - there was no organized opposition in the country;

Semi-peasant nature of the country's development (despite the successes of industrialization);

The spread of the Soviet model of socialism in other countries, the creation of a myth about its perfection.

However, after Stalin's death, a spontaneous process of de-Stalinization of society began.

In 1953-1956. (before the XX Congress of the CPSU), in line with this policy, the following measures were taken:

A review of the "Leningrad case" began;

The Gulag was liquidated;

In 1953, L.P. Beria was expelled from the party as an enemy of the people; L.P. Beria was arrested and shot;

In April 1954, the MGB was transformed into the State Security Committee under the Council of Ministers of the USSR;

Since September 1953, a review of the decisions of the former collegiums of the OGPU, the NKVD, etc. began. A special commission was created under the chairmanship of P. N. Pospelov to rehabilitate the innocent victims of repression. By the beginning of 1956, about 16,000 people had been rehabilitated;

Some former security officials have been put on trial for falsifying cases;

The press began to criticize the personality cult of I. V. Stalin.

Thus, the beginning of the course towards the democratization of the life of society was laid.

In 1953-1954. A struggle for power unfolded between Malenkov, Khrushchev and Beria. Having inherited the traditionally important - after Lenin and Stalin - post of head of government, Malenkov had powerful levers of power. Presiding at meetings of the Presidium of the Central Committee, Malenkov actually turned out to be the first person in the party. However, both he and his then weaker competitor Khrushchev, and all the "collective leadership" were afraid and hated Beria, feeling a certain precariousness of their position because of him.

Khrushchev, at considerable risk to himself, managed to rally the entire top leadership against Beria and win over the army.

On June 26, 1953, at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which turned into a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee along the way, Beria was unexpectedly accused of a number of crimes and immediately arrested by Zhukov, K.S. Moskalenko and a number of other generals and officers. After a short investigation in December 1953, Beria was convicted and shot as "an enemy of the Communist Party and the Soviet people." According to official information, the trial that pronounced the death sentence and the execution of Beria took place in December 1953; according to other versions, emanating, in particular, from Khrushchev, he was shot immediately after his arrest.

The removal of Beria weakened Malenkov's position in front of his political rival, Khrushchev.

Already at the first Presidium of the Central Committee after Stalin's funeral on March 10, 1953, Malenkov announced the need to end the "policy of the personality cult." Initially, the issue of overcoming the cult was reduced to the restructuring of propaganda, and the Central Committee wanted to limit itself to this. But in July, at a plenum of the Central Committee, Malenkov declared that "it's not just about propaganda," but about the very principles of leadership.

In August 1953, Malenkov proposed a new course:

The development of light industry, the production of consumer goods, the reduction in the production of means of production;

Solving the food problem and bringing agriculture out of a protracted crisis. To do this, it was planned to reduce the agricultural tax (2.5 times in 1954), write off arrears on it, increase the size of household plots of collective farmers, increase procurement prices for agricultural products, expand opportunities for the development of the collective farm market, as well as a significant increase in capital investments and supplies of equipment to the village. The development of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan, Siberia and the Volga region was recognized as an important means of rapidly increasing grain production.

The precarious position of Malenkov was rapidly deteriorating. At the January (1955) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Khrushchev accused Malenkov of not showing himself to be a “sufficiently mature and firm Bolshevik leader”, “claimed not only to lead the activities of the government, but also to lead the Presidium of the Central Committee” and strove for “ cheap popularity" among the people. I recalled close relations with Beria, and participation in the "Leningrad case".

In February 1955, at a session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Malenkov officially "asked" for his resignation. The request was naturally granted. N. A. Bulganin replaced him as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Although Malenkov was appointed Minister of Power Plants, and at the same time - Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, his political career has been completed.

Khrushchev, having stepped (under the influence of the logic of the struggle for power) much further than Malenkov in the liberalization of society, in debunking Stalin, nevertheless, failed to preserve some of Malenkov's important undertakings in the socio-economic sphere.

XX Party Congress.

Attempts to democratize social and political life. Until the spring of 1956, changes in the political sphere of Soviet society were hardly noticeable. In 1954-1955. only a few thousand political prisoners were released. Some changes have taken place in the administrative apparatus, where a struggle has unfolded against bureaucratic methods of administration. The Presidiums of the Supreme Soviets of the Union Republics began to work on a regular basis, and the role of the Plenums of the Central Committee was restored.

The 20th Congress of the CPSU (February 1956) was of great importance in the beginning liberalization of social and political life. The report on the work of the Central Committee of the Party and the directives of the Sixth Five-Year Plan for National Economic Development were discussed at the congress. Due to the sharply negative position of V. M. Molotov, K. E. Voroshilov, L. M. Kaganovich and G. M. Malenkov, the question of Stalin was not raised.

As a result of the compromise, the report "On the cult of personality and its consequences" was read out at a closed session of the congress.

The significance of this unprecedented step, which Khrushchev decided to take, was enormous. Having overthrown Stalin from the pedestal, Khrushchev removed at the same time the “halo of inviolability” from the first person and her entourage in general.

The 20th Congress marked the beginning of a critical rethinking of world socialist practice and the development of the international communist movement. The process initiated by the 20th Congress subsequently led to a split in the practically monolithic communist movement. Party groups formed:

1) recognizing some of Stalin's "mistakes" and orienting themselves towards the CPSU;

2) those who do not recognize the criticism of Stalin and are guided by the Communist Party of China;

The main directions of the course towards decentralization of the system of state administration and development (in strictly controlled forms of mass activity):

In January 1957, measures were outlined to somewhat expand the powers of the material and financial base of local Soviets, to overcome bureaucracy in them and to involve the public in their work;

The All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions was reorganized. Instead of 47 sectoral trade unions, 23 were formed. The apparatus of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the central committees of trade unions decreased by 3 times. The vast majority of primary trade union organizations led not by "liberated workers", but by activists. The rights of trade unions have expanded;

A surge in the social activity of young people and the revival of the activities of the Komsomol. About 350 thousand young men and women left for the development of virgin lands. At the "call" of the CPSU and the Komsomol, about 300 thousand young people went to the largest construction sites. Khrushchev's course to expand international contacts was reflected in the formation in 1956 of the Committee of Youth Organizations and in the holding of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow in 1957, which became an unprecedented event for a closed country;

Attention was paid to the development of other public organizations working under the leadership of local Councils: street and quarter committees, public assistance commissions at house administrations, police assistance brigades, parental councils at schools and house administrations, sanitary teams, club councils, boards of trustees at orphanages, councils of labor veterans, etc.

In the second half of the 50s. continued policy aimed at restoring the rule of law in the socio-political sphere. The justice system was reformed to strengthen the rule of law. New criminal legislation was developed and approved, and the Regulations on Prosecutorial Supervision were adopted. The legislative powers of the Union republics were expanded. Additional rights in the economic and political spheres were given to the highest structures of the USSR and the union republics. Work on the rehabilitation of victims of repression did not stop.

At the end of the 50s. unfounded accusations against the deported peoples were dropped.

Thus, in the mid-1950s some liberalization of the totalitarian system that existed in the country was carried out. But the measures taken were generally of a transitional nature. The scope and focus of subsequent steps depended on the following factors:

Khrushchev's actions as a reformer;

Direct alignment of forces in the leadership;

Society's reactions to the measures already implemented and the slogans put forward.

The policy of de-Stalinization pursued by N. S. Khrushchev, numerous restructurings in the political and economic spheres caused growing dissatisfaction with part of the party-state apparatus. The rapid growth of Khrushchev's popularity contributed to the formation of an anti-Khrushchev opposition in the leadership, later called the "anti-party group". They were united not only by the fear of further revelations (this did not affect everyone), a more conservative attitude in general and disagreement with Khrushchev on certain issues of specific policy. First of all, the members of the group were united by Khrushchev's attempts to establish himself as the sole leader - without a "collective leadership". The implementation of his plan would mean a political collapse, both for all the former Stalin's associates, and for the people he nominated for responsible party and government posts.

At a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee in June 1957, Molotov and Malenkov unexpectedly raised the question of Khrushchev's removal from the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. 7 out of 11 members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU (Bulganin, Voroshilov, Kaganovich, Malenkov, Molotov, Pervukhin and Saburov) demanded the resignation of N. S. Khrushchev. They accused him of violating the principles of "collective leadership" and establishing their own cult, of unauthorized and thoughtless foreign policy actions, and of economic voluntarism.

However, Khrushchev refused to comply and demanded the convening of the Plenum of the Central Committee. With the support of members of the renewed Central Committee, the army represented by Zhukov and the KGB (I. A. Serov), the Plenum was already convened on June 22. He worked until June 29th. On it, the actions of the oppositionists were condemned as factional.

After the elimination of the "opposition", changes were made in the composition of the highest authorities. In particular, K. E. Voroshilov was relieved of his duties as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - T. I. Brezhnev took his place.

The next act of political struggle was the unexpected removal of Zhukov from the post of Minister of Defense (during his visit to Albania). Apparently, this strong and popular personality in the country instilled some fears in Khrushchev, hindered the establishment of his control over the army. Therefore, despite the absence of conflicts between them, Khrushchev decided to "insure himself." Marshal Malinovsky, related to Khrushchev by family ties, was appointed to the post of Minister of Defense.

The elimination of the conservative opposition and the transformation of Khrushchev into the sole leader had, paradoxically, very contradictory consequences for the fate of the “thaw”. Having lost the opposition from the right, Khrushchev quickly began to "left": it was from this moment that the famous jumps of the "great decade" and high-profile campaigns of those years began. In the political sphere, democratization was temporarily suspended.

At the same time, the cult of Khrushchev is being formed. Since 1958, he began to combine two positions: First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and Chairman of the Council of Ministers (head of government). Thus, since the late 1950s Khrushchev concentrated in his hands the highest party and state power.

In 1959, the extraordinary 21st Congress of the CPSU (convened to adopt a seven-year national economic plan for 1959-1965 instead of the failed Sixth Five-Year Plan) stated that socialism in the USSR had won a complete and final victory. From this followed the conclusion that the Soviet Union had entered a period of extensive building of communism.

The 22nd Congress (1961) adopted a new, third, Party Program - a program for building communism by 1980. To do this, it was supposed to overtake the leading capitalist powers in per capita output, achieve an abundance of material and cultural benefits, eliminate hard physical labor, etc. The conclusion is drawn that the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat in the USSR has turned into a nationwide state. Implementation of program tasks was planned for the next two decades. The congress adopted a new charter of the CPSU, providing for the expansion of the rights of party cells, the introduction of a system of rotation (renewal) of party posts, and the expansion of social principles in party work.

Thus, in the socio-political sphere from the mid-50s to the mid-60s. conflicting trends were observed. On the one hand, the process of political democratization proceeded in the country. On the other hand, the administrative-command system continued to exist. Khrushchev did not rise to the realization of the need for structural changes, he was not ready for the democratization of public institutions, the reform of public life.

Transformations in the economy and social sphere. In the second half of 1953, transformations began in the country's economy. The need for reforms in agriculture was caused by the following reasons:

From the 20s. the village developed as a raw material appendage of the city;

The exchange of products was not equivalent;

Due to low purchase prices, farming costs exceeded profits;

Taxes were raised;

MTS services became expensive;

The activities of all agricultural enterprises were strictly regulated;

Low wages prevailed.

There was a need for changes in agricultural production, its accelerated rise in order to provide the population with food and light industry products. Improving the well-being of the people was declared one of the central tasks of the new leadership. To resolve it, the development of a new agrarian policy began, the foundations of which were approved at the September (1953) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The central place in it was occupied by:

1. increase in investment in agricultural production. Increased funding for agricultural sectors. In 1956, the amount of funds allocated to the agricultural sector amounted to 18% of total capital investments (in 1955 - only 7%);

2. increase in state purchase prices for agricultural products. The system of planning agricultural production has changed. From now on, the state determined only the volume of procurement of products to be delivered;

3. improvement of tax policy. Taxes were reduced from private subsidiary plots of peasants and a new system of taxation was introduced (per unit of land area);

4. expansion of the economic independence of collective farms. Settlements of farms with MTS were streamlined: fixed rates were set for paying for services, depending on the actual harvest. Steps were taken to improve the technical equipment of collective farms and state farms. Deliveries of tractors and agricultural machinery to the countryside have increased.

However, the administrative methods of leadership and the desire for immediate success led to the inconsistency of this line in agrarian policy.

The Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1954 set a course for the development of virgin and fallow lands. More than 350,000 settlers arrived in the eastern regions of the country - in the Southern Urals, in Siberia, Kazakhstan - to lift the virgin lands. The reason for the development of land in the zone of risky farming is the food crisis. The development of virgin lands, carried out by storm, blocked the way for investment, technology, personnel in agriculture in the European part of the country and slowed down the progress of the reform. Positive factors: a large base for the production of valuable varieties of wheat has been created, the role of Western and Eastern Siberia in the development of agriculture has increased, and the rise of agriculture has begun.

The beginning of the reforms brought positive results (for three years, agricultural production increased by 25%). However, in May 1957, at a meeting of representatives of collective farmers, Khrushchev put forward the slogan "Catch up and overtake America!" (mainly for the production of meat and dairy products). 1957-1959 marked by a series of administrative reforms and campaigns ("corn", "meat", "dairy records"). In 1957, the MTS were liquidated, the equipment of which was transferred to the collective farms in ownership by means of a buyout. This led to a reduction in the fleet of agricultural machines and the withdrawal of significant funds from the collective farms. The progressive reform was not thought through to the end, since the collective farms and state farms did not have enough funds to buy equipment.

The second reform was a new enlargement of collective farms. Its goal was the formation of large associations that could further promote the industrialization of agriculture. In an effort to fulfill their inflated obligations, the leaders of the collective farms launch an offensive against household plots (they cut off household plots, force them to sell personal livestock to the collective farm, etc.). In March 1962, the administration of agriculture was restructured. Collective-farm and state-farm administrations (KSU) appeared in the districts, similar committees appeared in the regions and republics.

Reforms of the 50-60s did not improve the situation in agriculture; on the contrary, they contributed to the deepening of the crisis: in 1963, for the first time in the history of the USSR, grain was purchased abroad.

The causes of the crisis in agriculture were multifaceted:

1) primarily affected by the lack of funds to finance the village;

2) the retreat from the policy of caring for the countryside, which was characteristic of the mid-1950s, had an extremely negative impact on agriculture. The principles of the material interest of collective farmers in the results of labor began to be violated again. Countless, sometimes obviously ill-conceived administrative and economic reorganizations and campaigns began. Reorganization of agricultural management, transformation of part of collective farms into state farms, consolidation of farms, reorganization of state machine and tractor stations with the sale of their equipment to collective farms, widespread planting of corn, even in those areas where it does not ripen, Khrushchev's voluntaristic call for tripling meat production in 3 years and, finally, the policy of limiting and even eliminating the personal farmstead of the peasants - all this caused irreparable damage to the countryside;

3) the underlying causes of the crisis in the Soviet countryside were the changes that had begun in the collective farm system after the liquidation of the Stalinist system of repressions. The issuance of passports to peasants allowed them to gain freedom of movement and move to cities where there was a much higher standard of living. The elimination of the threat of reprisals for failure to fulfill the established number of "workdays" on the collective farm undermined an important incentive to work in the "public economy", since work on a personal farmstead was much more profitable. This circumstance, as well as the desire to get closer to a fully socialized communist economy, prompted Khrushchev to attempt to eliminate the personal peasant farmstead. This not only caused enormous damage to agricultural production, but also pushed new millions of peasants into the cities, serving as an important stage in the "depeasantization" of the Soviet countryside.

The reorientation of the economy towards the development of the agricultural sector and light industry was short-lived. The country's leadership did not have a detailed concept of transformations in the field of the economy. In 1955, the principle of the priority development of the production of means of production began to be restored, which was reflected in the plans for the Sixth Five-Year Plan and the Seven-Year Plan (1959-1965). At the turn of the 50-60s. almost 3/4 of the total volume of industrial output was accounted for by group "A" (production of means of production). Mechanical engineering and instrument making developed at high rates. The mechanization of production processes in industry continued. Capital construction has become widespread.

In the second half of the 50s. the development of the country's industry has risen to a qualitatively new level. It included about 300 branches and types of production. At the same time, a rigid, centralized control system hindered the development of industry. Qualitative shifts in its structure required changes in the forms and methods of managing industrial sectors.

In 1957, a law was passed on the restructuring of the management of industry and construction. In accordance with it, the former sectoral system of leadership, carried out through ministries and departments, was abolished. The main organizational form of management became the Councils of the National Economy - economic councils. The country has created 105 economic regions on the basis of the existing administrative division. All industrial enterprises and construction sites located on their territory were transferred to the jurisdiction of local economic councils, except for defense enterprises. Most of the sectoral ministries were abolished. It was assumed that the transition to a territorial management system would remove barriers to the development of industry and strengthen economic ties within regions and republics. The effect of the reform was short-lived. In general, it manifested itself until the new governing bodies were strengthened and formed into a stable system. Having retained the essence of the administrative-command mechanism, the reform replaced the shortcomings of the sectoral management system with the defects of the territorial system with sectoral imbalance and parochial tendencies of the economic councils that soon became apparent. Moreover, a unified technical and technological policy within industrial sectors was violated. As a result of the reform, the management of industry has become more complex and less qualified.

Thus, Khrushchev's reforms in the field of agriculture and industry stimulated the decentralization of economic management. However, they were ill-conceived, which affected economic and social development.

Early 60s. revealed serious problems in the economy, which was largely caused by ill-considered reforms and storming. The government tried to solve these problems at the expense of the workers (by almost a third, tariff rates for production were reduced and food prices increased by almost the same amount). This led to an increase in social tension: the events in Novocherkassk, where in 1962 a demonstration of workers took place, caused by an increase in food prices and their shortage. The demonstration was suppressed by the authorities. 1962 is considered the year of the end of the "Khrushchev thaw".

In October 1964 Khrushchev decided to rest at his dacha in Pitsunda.

The day of October 12 turned out to be especially tense. For the first time in history, three cosmonauts - V. Komarov, K. Feoktistov and B. Egorov rose above the Earth in one ship. Khrushchev was constantly called by the flight directors and reported on the affairs at the cosmodrome. Meanwhile, an expanded meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU has already begun in the Kremlin, at which Suslov and Shelepin raised the question of the immediate removal of Khrushchev from all posts.

The meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU was attended by 22 people. In addition to members and candidate members of the Presidium, the USSR ministers A. Gromyko and R. Malinovsky, several secretaries of regional committees were also here.

Khrushchev himself presided over the meeting, no transcript was kept. The discussion was stormy, sharp, frank, at times very rude. Khrushchev resolutely denied the accusations against him, he himself accused the members of the Presidium present of the mistakes they had made. Khrushchev was defended by one Mikoyan, who said that Khrushchev's activity is a big political capital of the party, it has no right to squander it so easily. But Mikoyan was not supported by anyone present. It was obvious - including for Khrushchev - that the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which in June 1957 supported him and rejected the decision of the Presidium, this time would not be on the side of Khrushchev. Nevertheless, among the 330 members and candidate members of the Central Committee, Khrushchev could have more than a dozen supporters, and the discussion at the Plenum could not have been very smooth - and the members of the Presidium of the Central Committee sought to avoid this. However, it was not possible to convince Khrushchev to "voluntarily" resign, and the meeting, which began on October 13, had to be interrupted late at night for rest. Everyone went home, agreeing to resume the meeting on the morning of 14 October. However, at night, Khrushchev called Mikoyan, who also did not go to bed: “If they don’t want me, then so be it. I won't mind anymore."

The next day, the meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee lasted no more than an hour and a half. It was recommended to elect L. I. Brezhnev as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and A. N. Kosygin as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

In the afternoon of October 14, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU opened in the Kremlin, whose members arrived in Moscow in advance from all over the country.

The Plenum session was opened by Leonid Brezhnev. AI Mikoyan presided. Khrushchev, who did not utter a word, was also present at the meeting. The report at the Plenum was made by M. A. Suslov. The report did not contain an attempt to analyze the activities of Khrushchev for 11 years, to sum up or draw conclusions. It was an extremely superficial document, in which everything boiled down mainly to listing Khrushchev's personal shortcomings or mistakes, and along with serious criticisms, the report also contained minor details, minor nit-picking.

Suslov said that Khrushchev made major mistakes in his work, in the leadership of the party and the government, he made rash, hasty decisions. In the last 2-3 years, Khrushchev has concentrated all power in his hands and began to abuse it. He attributed all achievements and successes in the country to personal merits, completely ceased to reckon with the members of the Presidium, treated them, insulted them, did not listen to their opinion, and constantly lectured. Despite repeated appeals to him by members of the Presidium, he ignored their remarks.

For the most part, these comments were correct. But Khrushchev concentrated all power in his hands 5-6 years ago, and the members of the Presidium turned to him with critical remarks too little, and more often agreed with him. Most of the ill-conceived and hasty decisions Khrushchev nevertheless carried through the Presidium and the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

In conclusion, Suslov raised the question: could Khrushchev have been called to order earlier? The members of the Presidium did this, they warned Khrushchev, but apart from a rude rebuff and insults, they did not hear anything from him, although he did not undertake repressions against the members of the Presidium. It is more difficult to fight a living cult than a dead one. If Stalin destroyed physically, then Khrushchev suppressed morally. At the end of the report, Suslov said that the removal of Khrushchev was not a manifestation of weakness, but of courage and strength, and this should serve as a lesson for the future.

During Suslov's report, members of the Central Committee often shouted out remarks directed against Khrushchev and testified to the accumulated irritation. When Suslov said that it was going to the Khrushchev cult, they shouted out from the audience: "He has long been a cult." Suslov said that, judging by the remarks, the Plenum approved the decision of the Presidium and therefore there was no need to open the debate. The decision was adopted unanimously in the following wording: N. S. Khrushchev is relieved of his posts due to his advanced age and state of health. Another decision was made: to prevent from now on combining the positions of the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in one person.

USSR in the mid-1960s - the first half of the 1980s. L.N. Brezhnev. Economic (Kosygin) reform of 1965 Growing crisis in the economic, political and socio-spiritual spheres.

Change of political course and constitutional construction. On October 14, 1964, at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, N. S. Khrushchev was removed from all state and party posts. He was charged with: the collapse of the economy, belittling the role of party and Soviet bodies, the desire for one-man rule.

With the resignation of N. S. Khrushchev, the process of liberalization of socio-political life was completed, the transformations he had begun were completed. A new leadership has come to power.

The positions of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers were divided. L. I. Brezhnev became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (since 1968 - the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU). It was he who was one of the initiators and organizers of the removal of N. S. Khrushchev. A cautious, conservative man, he most of all strove for the stability of society. A. N. Kosygin was appointed head of government.

The Brezhnev "team" that came to power did not have a single positive program of activity. However, there was a negative attitude, and it consisted in stopping the countless transformations that violated the stability of the existence of the bureaucracy. This, in turn, meant the cessation of further attempts to democratize society and the party and the curtailment of criticism of the "cult of personality", since the further debunking of Stalin undermined the foundations of the totalitarian system. However, the new course did not take off immediately. He went in the struggle of three directions.

1. Some of the new leaders, including A. N. Kosygin and Secretary of the Central Committee of the party Yu. V. Andropov, considered it necessary to continue the reformist course in the economy and further liberalize social and political life in order to strengthen the existing system. The inertial factor also acted in the same direction, since the development of plans for economic transformations was actively carried out in the last years of Khrushchev's rule.

2. L. I. Brezhnev, as a typical "apparatchik", did not have a definite political platform. He was forced to form a course that would provide him with the support of the apparatus. Among the nomenclature, not only conservative, but also pro-Stalinist sentiments prevailed. These circumstances, combined with Brezhnev's personal inclinations (alien to extremism), led to the establishment of a conservative course. However, even in the political sphere, this turn took place relatively smoothly, and reforms continued in the economy for several more years.

3. A more conservative path of development was defended by M. A. Suslov, A. N. Shelepin and some other workers of the party and state apparatus. They associated the achievement of social stability with a revision of the political course of recent years, with the rejection of the policy of de-Stalinization and reforms. However, despite the nostalgia for Stalin's times, which continued and even intensified throughout Brezhnev's reign, he himself did not go for an open restoration of Stalinism.

New trends in politics began immediately after the removal of Khrushchev. In November 1964, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU restored the "unity" of party, Soviet and other bodies, divided in 1962. The XXIII Congress of the CPSU (1966) removed from the Party Charter instructions on the norms and turnover of the composition of party bodies and secretaries of party organizations. Only the formal principle of the systematic renewal of party bodies and the succession of leadership was written down. Brezhnev was "elected" not the first, but the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1968). The session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR held in August 1966 "elected" N.V. Podgorny as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

After the removal of Khrushchev, a period of quiet "rehabilitation" of Stalin began. Increasingly, not only his name, but also the image begins to be present in works of art, films, memoirs, periodicals. Although the Stalinists failed to achieve the full rehabilitation of Stalin, the very question of overcoming the "cult of personality" was removed. The rehabilitation of the victims of Stalin's repressions also stopped.

The open expression of the conservative course manifested itself in the following directions:

In foreign policy: the "Prague Spring" and the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia;

In political and cultural life: the tightening of censorship and the fight against dissent, weak protest attempts by the intelligentsia were used by the authorities to “tighten the screws”;

In the economy: the reform of the economic mechanism began to curtail (however, there were also internal, actually economic reasons);

Conservative, dogmatic tendencies in ideology and social sciences intensified.

In the second half of the 60s. the ideologists of the CPSU were forced to look for answers to questions inherited from the previous period, which was so turbulent for the system. As a result, the concept of "developed socialism" was constructed.

In official documents, “developed socialism” was interpreted as an obligatory stage on the path of Soviet society to communism, during which it was necessary to achieve an organic connection of all spheres of public life. The main provisions of the concept:

1) the theoretical provisions on the communist perspective contained in the party documents of previous years, in particular in the Program of the CPSU, were not questioned;

2) shortcomings and crisis phenomena that existed in society were considered as the result of contradictions inevitable in the process of its development. The policy of "improving" socialism was supposed to contribute to the elimination of its shortcomings;

3) declared the achievement in the USSR of equality of the republics in terms of economic and cultural development and the solution of the national question;

4) the provision was approved on the homogeneity of society and the formation of a new historical community - the Soviet people;

5) the persecution of dissent received an ideological justification in the form of an officially adopted thesis about the aggravation of the ideological struggle between the two systems in the conditions of peaceful coexistence. This conclusion was a modification of the well-known Stalinist thesis about the aggravation of the class struggle as we move towards socialism.

The new Constitution was adopted on October 7, 1977 at the extraordinary seventh session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the tenth convocation.

The Council of Ministers, the Government of the USSR, became the supreme executive and administrative body of the state.

According to the new Constitution, the structure of the state remained the same: the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which met annually at the session, was the highest legislative body, the deputies of the councils of different levels, as it were, represented the interests of all strata of society. The economy was managed by the Council of Ministers, from which issues of culture, the humanities, and education were practically withdrawn and subordinated to the ideological department of the Party Central Committee.

From the end of the 60s. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers became only the "chief business executive", but not the official head of the executive branch. Functions of the country's representation abroad since the beginning of the 70s. passed to the General Secretary, who was thus de facto recognized as the head of the Soviet state.

The supreme power of the party nomenklatura was merging with the command of the Armed Forces: the Minister of Defense was a member of the Politburo, the rank of first secretary of the regional party committee was equated to military rank general.

In the development of social and political life, two trends were traced: democratic and anti-democratic. On the one hand, in the 70s and early 80s. the number of public associations (trade unions, Komsomol, etc.) grew intensively. On the other hand, all mass associations were under the control of party organizations. The activities of public structures created the illusion of participation in the management of the broad masses of the population.

Under the control of the party was the daily work of all structures of state power in the center and in the field. Its management of the economy became a natural phenomenon. By the beginning of the 80s. the “party-state” system gradually took shape, which retained the continuity of the institutions of power that were generated by the October Revolution and finally took shape in the 1930s. The most important aspects of this succession were:

Rejection of the principle of separation of powers;

Lack of parliamentarism;

Political monopoly;

The transformation of party structures into supranational ones.

A natural continuation of the processes of moral decay of society was the growth of crime, especially theft and bribery. According to rough estimates, the capital of the shadow economy at the turn of the 70-80s. reached 70-89 billion rubles. Crime in society grew rapidly. However, the thesis about its reduction was officially widely disseminated.

70-80s marked by a strong stabilization of the elite and the cessation of its replenishment from the outside, turning into a fairly closed privileged caste. The achieved "stability" of the leading cadres did not stimulate reforms and innovations in all spheres of life. Political conservatism deepened as the leaders in power aged. In 1980 average age members of the Politburo was 71 years old. The core of the ruling elite were: L. I. Brezhnev - General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, A. N. Kosygin - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (until 1980), then - until 1985 - N. A. Tikhonov, M. A. Suslov - Secretary of the Central Committee for Ideology (until 1982).

The processes that took place in the ideological, and in other spheres of society, are due to changes in the real mechanisms of power, in the balance of power in the party elite. The main trend here was the steady strengthening of Brezhnev's personal power.

Unlike Stalin and even Khrushchev, Brezhnev used power with caution. Moreover, he even preferred to do nothing if he was faced with a complex, intractable problem, and such problems became more and more. His "weakness" was collecting titles, awards, and accepting outright flattery. At first, perhaps, all this was used to strengthen the power of the "young" General Secretary, but then quickly turned into an end in itself. The campaign to exalt Brezhnev began in the late 1960s, but gained momentum only in the next decade. In 1973, a special resolution was adopted on methods to "improve the authority" of the leader. Television was obliged to show Brezhnev and other members of the Politburo in a ratio of 3: 1. In June 1977, he became Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He is awarded five stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union and Socialist Labor, the Order of Victory, eight Orders of Lenin, two Orders of the October Revolution, becomes a laureate of the Lenin Peace Prize and the Lenin Prize for Literature (for the trilogy "Small Land", "Renaissance", "Virgin Land").

Treating business executives with some disdain, Brezhnev seeks to strengthen his alliance with the military. By the 30th anniversary of the Victory, he received the rank of Army General, and a year later - Marshal of the Soviet Union. As Chairman of the Defense Council, he, at least formally, headed the entire military-industrial complex of the country.

In parallel with this, there was a moral decay of society. It seems to have legalized double morality, double standards of life - official and real. The example was set by the Secretary General himself, who in private conversations recognized the normal and shadow economy, and bribes of officials. Brezhnev himself gave "examples" of personnel policy. As already noted, he appointed his relatives or persons personally devoted to him to responsible posts.

The disintegration of the leading cadres of the party and the state, which took place before the eyes of millions of ordinary citizens, led not only to a decline in the prestige of the government and the social system it represented, but also caused social apathy and the spread of drunkenness. Obvious to all insanity of the highest authorities, incapable of governing the country, corruption and nepotism in the highest echelons of power - all this caused the Soviet people political apathy and ridicule, which found expression in jokes.

Thus, in the mid 60's and early 80's. there is a turn from liberal politics to the conservative one, which is accompanied by the strengthening of the command-administrative system.

Contradictions of economic and social development. Reforms and reorganizations in the economy of the late 50s and early 60s. did not lead to positive changes in the national economy, which was still extensive in nature:

The pace of economic development was falling;

The growth of national income slowed down;

Decreased productivity;

Construction in progress grew;

Products were produced that did not find a market, etc.

The implementation of the economic reform was preceded by a lengthy discussion in which economic workers and prominent scientists and economists, including V. S. Nemchinov, L. M. Birman, and others, took part. During the discussion, thoughts were expressed about the need to introduce full cost accounting and self-sufficiency of enterprises. These ideas were regarded as untimely, however, some principles of a market economy (profit, cost accounting) were incorporated into the reform.

There are two views on the ways of reforming the economy:

Continued priority development of agriculture, and then - heavy industry (L. I. Brezhnev);

Orientation towards the development of light industry (A. N. Kosygin).

In 1965, a new administrative centralization began, the abolition of economic councils and the restoration of industrial ministries. Large state committees were created (Goskomtsen, Gossnab, State Committee for Science and Technology). Businesses have gained some autonomy.

The beginning of the reform was laid by the decisions of the March and September (1965) Plenums of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The March plenum focused on the mechanisms of agricultural management:

Set new order planning: the main emphasis in rural policy is on increasing the role of the Ministry of Agriculture in planning and managing agricultural production, the plan for mandatory grain purchases was reduced, which was declared unchanged for 10 years;

Purchase prices increased (in addition, above-plan purchases were to be made at increased prices);

Increased investment;

There was a redistribution of national income in favor of agriculture;

Measures began to be taken to solve the social problems of the village;

Reduced taxes;

Restrictions on private farming have been lifted.

The reform of agriculture was continued in 1977-1978.

in production associations: collective farms, state farms, enterprises Food Industry, research laboratories. In 1982, the "Food Program" was adopted, which provides for the creation of an agro-industrial complex - agro-industrial complexes. A stake is being placed on agro-industrial integration - organized cooperation between collective farms and state farms with the branches of industry serving them. The construction of regional agro-industrial associations (RAPO) begins. In 1985, the State Agroprom of the USSR was created. Despite all efforts, agriculture continued to be the weakest sector of the economy. In just 15 years, the country experienced the worst crop failures 8 times (1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984). Losses occurred not only due to natural and climatic conditions, but also due to poor organization of labor, excessive administration, etc.

The most radical since the 20s. The reform of industrial management marked the beginning of the decision of the September (1965) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The essence of the innovations was to strengthen the economic levers and expand the independence of enterprises as an economic link.

The economic reform was based on the developments of a group of economists led by Lieberman, set out in two resolutions: "On Improving Planning and Stimulating Production and the Economy" and "On the State Production Enterprise under Socialism."

The main provisions of the reform:

The number of mandatory indicators descended from above has been reduced;

The share of profits remained at the disposal of enterprises (funds were created for material incentives, social, cultural and domestic development, self-financing of production);

Self-financing was proclaimed;

A firm payment, independent of profit, was introduced for the production assets used by enterprises;

Financing of industrial construction was carried out with the help of loans;

It was not allowed to change plans without agreement with the enterprises.

On the whole, providing for the mechanism of internal self-regulation, the material interest of producers in the results and quality of labor, the reform did not encroach on the directive economy. Despite its internal contradictions, the 1965 reform produced some positive results in the short term: the performance indicators for the 8th five-year plan (1966-1970) were positive, especially in comparison with later five-year plans. But then, in 1972-1973, there was a change in economic priorities.

This turn was explained by a complex of objective and subjective, external and internal reasons. In particular, in connection with the aggravation of Soviet-Chinese relations, the development of the Far East (which prompted the accelerated construction of the BAM) acquired strategic importance, and the role of the military-industrial complex and the Armed Forces increased. In connection with the increase since the early 70's. on the world market for oil and energy prices, the Soviet leadership preferred to take the easy path, which would give the fastest results - the path of exporting raw materials and energy resources. Only in the 70s. The USSR received about 170 billion "petrodollars", the structure of its exports acquired a pronounced "colonial character": in 1985, almost 55% accounted for fuel and raw materials exports. But since the beginning of the 80s, in connection with the transition of the Western economy to energy-saving technologies, the flow of "petrodollars" began to decrease - the internal diseases of the socialist economy began to come to the surface.

In general, in the economic development of the country in the 60-80s. researchers distinguish three periods:

1965-mid 70s - an attempt to implement Lieberman's economic course: accelerated construction of enterprises for the production of consumer goods begins.

Mid 70s-1983 - the beginning of "stagnation and individual attempts at transformation." In 1972-1973. priority shifted from light to heavy industry. The main funds were directed to the development of Siberia, the development of energy, the defense industry.

1983-1984 - Attempts of economic reforms by Yu. V. Andropov. An attempt to carry out a "large-scale economic experiment" involving the weakening of central planning and distribution, greater freedom of enterprises, an increase in the role of workers, changes in pricing at the level of enterprises and regions, etc.

At the turn of the 70-80s. a new stage of scientific and technological revolution has begun in the world. The level of development of the country began to be determined by the use of microelectronic technology.

Economic development results:

Curtailment of reforms in the second half of the 70s and early 80s;

Formalization of planning;

Physical wear and obsolescence of equipment;

Investing money mainly in the construction of new enterprises, and not in modernization, which led to a large proportion of manual and low-skilled labor;

A significant increase in military spending (high-tech industries worked for military orders, the share of military spending in the gross national product was about 23%, which led to large disproportions);

Significant growth of the shadow economy.

The tasks of the eleventh five-year plan (1981-1985) were not fulfilled in any of the indicators.

In the 70s and early 80s. investments in the social sphere have been sharply reduced. Growth wages was carried out without taking into account the real results of the work of workers. Financing according to the "residual" principle had a particularly hard impact on the living conditions of the rural population. The provision of the village with medical and preschool institutions, consumer service enterprises.

At the same time, for the period from 1965 to the beginning of the 80s. Some successes have been achieved in raising the material standard of living of the Soviet people. Collective farmers began to receive monthly cash wages, pensions and scholarships grew, there was a developed system of free social services, tangible benefits were established for pensioners, the disabled, and participants in the Patriotic War. Housing construction continued - state and collective farm-cooperative.

The inability of the authorities to direct the development of the social sphere caused inevitable contradictions:

Numerous labor initiatives and various forms of social competition, in the absence of incentives, turned into short-term (by the next anniversary) campaigns and window dressing;

The equalization of wages social production awakened private initiative, the so-called "shadow economy" in its minor manifestations: "left" earnings, theft in production, etc.;

People were dissatisfied with queues in shops and the lack of a diverse range of food and industrial products (deficit). The low quality of domestic goods prompted a pursuit of imported goods (and this, in turn, gave rise to speculation);

The savings of the population in savings banks, which were not provided with goods and services, grew, which was considered by the authorities as an indicator of the growth in the standard of living of Soviet people;

The work of transport, the low efficiency of free medical care, and the quality of services were criticized.

The economic (Kosygin) reform was a complex of five groups of measures:

1. The bodies of territorial economic management and planning were liquidated - the councils of the national economy, created in 1957, the enterprises became the main economic unit. The system of sectoral management of industry, all-Union, Union-Republican and Republican ministries and departments were restored.

2. The number of directive planned indicators was reduced (from 30 to 9). The indicators remained valid for: the total volume of production in current wholesale prices; the most important products in physical terms; the general payroll; total amount profit and profitability, expressed as the ratio of profit to the amount of fixed assets and normalized working capital; payments to the budget and appropriations from the budget; the total volume of capital investments; assignments for the introduction of new technology; volume of deliveries of raw materials, materials and equipment.

3. The economic independence of enterprises expanded. Enterprises were obliged to independently determine the detailed range and range of products, to invest in production at their own expense, to establish long-term contractual relationships with suppliers and consumers, to determine the number of personnel, the amount of their material incentives. For non-fulfillment of contractual obligations, enterprises were subject to financial sanctions, and the importance of economic arbitration increased.

4. Key importance was attached to integral indicators economic efficiency production - profit and profitability. At the expense of profits, enterprises were able to form a number of funds - funds for the development of production, material incentives, socio-cultural purposes, housing construction, etc. Enterprises could use the funds at their discretion (of course, within the framework of existing legislation).

5. Pricing policy: the wholesale selling price was supposed to provide the enterprise with a given profitability of production. Long-term standards were introduced - the norms of the planned cost of production that were not subject to revision for a certain period.

In agriculture, purchase prices for products increased by 1.5-2 times, preferential payment for excess harvest was introduced, prices for spare parts and equipment were reduced, and income tax rates for peasants were reduced.

The main directions of the foreign policy of the USSR in 1965-1985. Brezhnev Doctrine. Events in Czechoslovakia 1968 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (1972-1975). The entry of troops into Afghanistan 1979

Since 1945, the foreign policy of the USSR was carried out at several levels:

The diplomacy of the Soviet state as such;

Relations of the CPSU(b) - CPSU with foreign communist and workers' parties;

The USSR - the countries of the socialist camp and the rest of the world.

The correlation of these various aspects of foreign policy depended on many factors, and above all on the prevailing tendencies and contradictions in the internal policy of the Soviet Union.

The main feature characteristic of the foreign policy of the USSR in the mid-1960s and early 1980s was its even greater ideologization.

Main tasks in foreign policy remained:

Elimination of the threat of the collapse of the socialist system, its consolidation in political, military and economic relations;

Normalization of relations between East and West (“coexistence in cooperation”). This course was taken only after the exacerbation in the early 70s. the conflict with China and the beginning of the latter's rapprochement with the United States, when the Soviet leaders sensed the emergence of a new danger;

Support for "friendly" regimes and movements in the countries of the "third world". This policy was especially active (sometimes developing into direct intervention) in relation to countries that were in the direct sphere of influence of the USSR (for example, Afghanistan).

The most important event of the 70s. was the resumption of Soviet-American summit meetings. Beginning with R. Nixon's visit to Moscow in May

FOREIGN POLICY OF THE USSR IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD. THE BEGINNING OF THE COLD WAR

USSR in the post-war world. The defeat of Germany and its satellites in the war radically changed the balance of power in the world. The USSR has become one of the leading world powers, without which, according to Molotov, not a single issue of international life should now be resolved.

However, during the war years, the power of the United States grew even more. Their gross national product rose by 70%, and the economic and human losses were minimal. Having become an international creditor during the war years, the United States got the opportunity to expand its influence on other countries and peoples. President Truman declared in 1945 that the victory in World War II "brought the American people to the task of ruling the world." The gradual departure of the American administration from the wartime agreements began.

All this led to the fact that instead of cooperation in Soviet-American relations, a period of mutual distrust and suspicion set in. The Soviet Union was worried about the US nuclear monopoly, attempts to dictate terms in relations with other countries. America saw a threat to its security in the growing influence of the USSR in the world. All this led to the start of the Cold War.

Beginning of the Cold War."Cooling" began almost with the last volleys of the war in Europe. Three days after the victory over Germany, the United States announced the termination of the supply of military equipment to the USSR and not only stopped its shipment, but also returned American ships with such supplies that were already off the coast of the Soviet Union.

After the successful testing of nuclear weapons by the Americans, Truman's position became even tougher. The United States gradually departed from the agreements already reached during the war years. In particular, it was decided not to divide the defeated Japan into zones of occupation (only American units were introduced into it). This alarmed Stalin, pushing him to increase his influence on those countries on whose territory Soviet troops were at that time. In turn, this led to an increase in the suspicion of Western leaders. It intensified even more due to the sharp growth in the number of communists in these countries (their number tripled in Western Europe between 1939 and 1946).

Former Prime Minister of England W. Churchill accused the USSR of "limitless expansion of its power and its doctrines" in the world. Truman soon proclaimed a program of measures to "save" Europe from Soviet expansion (the "Truman Doctrine"). He offered to provide large-scale economic assistance to the countries of Europe (the conditions for providing this assistance were later set out in the "Marshall Plan"); create a military-political union of Western countries under the auspices of the United States (it was the NATO bloc created in 1949); deploy a network of American military bases along the borders of the USSR; to support internal opposition in the countries of Eastern Europe; use conventional weapons and nuclear weapons to blackmail the Soviet leadership. All this was supposed not only to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR (the doctrine of containment of socialism), but also to force the Soviet Union to withdraw into its former borders (the doctrine of the rejection of socialism).

Stalin announced these plans as a call to war against the USSR. Since the summer of 1947, Europe has been divided into allies of two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. The formation of economic and military-political structures of the East and West began.

Formation of the "socialist camp". VKP(b) and the communist movement. By this time, communist governments existed only in Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. However, since 1947 the process of their formation has been accelerated in other countries of "people's democracy": Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia. In the same year, a pro-Soviet regime was established in North Korea. In October 1949, the Communists came to power in China. The political dependence of these countries on the USSR was provided not so much by the military presence of Soviet troops (they were far from being in all countries of "people's democracy"), but by huge material assistance. For 1945-1952 the amount of only long-term concessional loans to these countries amounted to 15 billion rubles. (3 billion dollars).

In 1949, the economic foundations of the Soviet bloc were formalized. For this purpose, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was created. For military-political cooperation, a Coordinating Committee was first created, and then, already in 1955, the Warsaw Pact Organization.

After the war, the Communists were in power not only in the people's democracies, but also in a number of large Western countries. This reflected the great contribution that the left forces made to the defeat of fascism.

Since the summer of 1947, in the conditions of the emerging final break between the USSR and the West, Stalin tried to reunite the communists of different countries organizationally. Instead of the Comintern, which was abolished in 1943, the Cominform was formed in September 1947. He was given the task of "exchanging experience" between the communist parties. However, in the course of this "exchange" "studies" of entire parties began, which, from Stalin's point of view, did not act energetically enough against the United States and its allies. The communist parties of France, Italy and Yugoslavia were the first to receive such criticism.

Then the struggle against "opportunism" began in the ruling communist parties of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Albania. Most often, this concern for the "cleanliness of the ranks" resulted in a settling of scores, a struggle for power in the party leadership. As a result, this led to the death of thousands of communists in the countries of Eastern Europe.

All those leaders of the countries of the "socialist camp" who had their own opinion on the ways of building a new society were declared enemies. Only the leader of Yugoslavia, I. B. Tito, escaped this fate. However, relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia were severed. After that, none of the leaders of the countries of Eastern Europe spoke of "different paths" to socialism.

Korean War. The most serious clash between the USSR and the USA was the war in Korea. After the withdrawal of Soviet (in 1948) and American (in 1949) troops from Korea (which had been there since the end of World War II), the governments of both South and North Korea intensified preparations for the unification of the country by force.

On June 25, 1950, referring to the provocations of the South, the DPRK launched an offensive with a huge army. On the fourth day, the troops of the North occupied the capital of the southerners, Seoul. There was a threat of a complete military defeat of South Korea. Under these conditions, the United States, through the UN Security Council, passed a resolution condemning the aggression of the DPRK and began to form a single military coalition against it. About 40 countries declared their desire to assist in the fight against the aggressor. Soon, the allied troops landed at the port of Chemulpo and began the liberation of South Korean territory. The success of the allies was unexpected for the northerners and quickly created a threat of defeat for their army. North Korea appealed to the USSR and China for help. Soon, modern types of military equipment (including MiG-15 jet aircraft) began to arrive from the Soviet Union, and military specialists arrived. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers moved from China to help. At the cost of heavy losses, the front line was leveled, and ground battles ceased.

The Korean War claimed the lives of 9 million Koreans, up to 1 million Chinese, 54,000 Americans, and many Soviet soldiers and officers. She showed that the "cold war" can easily develop into a "hot" one. This was understood not only in Washington, but also in Moscow. After General Eisenhower's victory in the 1952 presidential election, both sides began to search for a way out of the impasse in international relations.

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 of tsarism. Nicholas II. Strengthening repression. "Police socialism".

Russo-Japanese War. Reasons, course, results.

Revolution of 1905 - 1907 The nature, 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'état June 3, 1907

Third June political system. Electoral law June 3, 1907 III State Duma. The alignment of political forces in the Duma. Duma activity. government terror. The decline of the labor movement in 1907-1910

Stolypin agrarian reform.

IV State Duma. Party composition and Duma factions. Duma activity.

The political crisis in Russia on the eve of the war. The labor movement in the summer of 1914 Crisis of the top.

The international position of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

Beginning of the First World War. Origin and nature of war. Russia's entry into the war. Attitude towards the war of parties and classes.

The course of hostilities. Strategic forces and plans of the parties. Results of the war. The role of the Eastern Front in the First World War.

The Russian economy during the First World War.

Workers' and peasants' movement in 1915-1916. Revolutionary movement in the army and navy. Growing anti-war sentiment. Formation of the bourgeois opposition.

Russian culture of the 19th - early 20th centuries.

Aggravation of socio-political contradictions in the country in January-February 1917. The beginning, prerequisites and nature of the revolution. Uprising in Petrograd. Formation of the Petrograd Soviet. Provisional Committee State Duma. Order N I. Formation of the Provisional Government. Abdication of Nicholas II. Causes of dual power and its essence. February coup 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, labor issues. Relations between the Provisional Government and the Soviets. The arrival of V.I. Lenin in Petrograd.

Political parties (Kadets, Social Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Bolsheviks): political programs, influence among the masses.

Crises of the Provisional Government. An attempted military coup in the country. Growth of revolutionary sentiment among the masses. Bolshevization of the capital Soviets.

Preparation and conduct of an armed uprising in Petrograd.

II All-Russian Congress of Soviets. Decisions about power, peace, land. Formation of public authorities and management. Composition of the first Soviet government.

The victory of the armed uprising in Moscow. Government agreement with the Left SRs. Elections in constituent Assembly, its convocation and dissolution.

The first socio-economic transformations in the field 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. The introduction of food dictatorship. Working squads. Comedy.

The revolt of the left SRs and the collapse of the two-party system in Russia.

First Soviet Constitution.

Causes of intervention and civil war. The course of hostilities. Human and material losses of the period of the civil war and military intervention.

The internal policy of the Soviet leadership during the war. "War Communism". GOELRO plan.

The policy of the new government in relation to culture.

Foreign policy. Treaties with border countries. Participation of Russia 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 of 1921-1922 Transition to a new economic policy. The essence of the NEP. NEP in the field of agriculture, trade, industry. financial reform. Economic recovery. Crises during the NEP and its curtailment.

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. Intraparty struggle. The beginning of the formation of Stalin's regime of power.

Industrialization and collectivization. Development and implementation of the first five-year plans. Socialist competition - purpose, 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. Intraparty struggle. Political repression. Formation of the nomenklatura as a layer of managers. Stalinist regime and the constitution of the USSR in 1936

Soviet culture in the 20-30s.

Foreign policy of the second half of the 20s - mid-30s.

Domestic policy. The growth of military production. Emergency measures in the area labor law. Measures to solve the grain problem. Military establishment. Growth of the Red Army. military reform. Repressions against the command personnel of the Red Army and the Red Army.

Foreign policy. Non-aggression pact and treaty of friendship and borders between the USSR and Germany. The entry of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus into the USSR. Soviet-Finnish war. The inclusion of the Baltic republics and other territories in 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 Capitulation of Nazi Germany. Participation of the USSR in the war with Japan.

Soviet rear during the war.

Deportation of peoples.

Partisan struggle.

Human and material losses during the war.

Creation of the anti-Hitler coalition. Declaration of the United Nations. The problem of the second front. Conferences of the "Big Three". Problems of post-war peace settlement and all-round cooperation. USSR and UN.

Beginning of the Cold War. The contribution of the USSR to the creation of the "socialist camp". CMEA formation.

Domestic policy of the USSR in the mid-1940s - early 1950s. Restoration of the national economy.

Socio-political life. Politics in the field of science and culture. Continued repression. "Leningrad business". Campaign against cosmopolitanism. "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 the condemnation of Stalin's personality cult. Rehabilitation of victims of repressions and deportations. Intra-party struggle in the second half of the 1950s.

Foreign policy: the creation of the ATS. The entry of Soviet troops into Hungary. Exacerbation of Soviet-Chinese relations. The split of the "socialist camp". Soviet-American Relations and the Caribbean Crisis. USSR and third world countries. Reducing the strength of the armed forces of the USSR. Moscow Treaty on the Limitation of Nuclear Tests.

USSR in the mid-60s - the first half of the 80s.

Socio-economic development: economic reform 1965

Growing difficulties of economic development. Decline in the rate of socio-economic growth.

USSR Constitution 1977

Socio-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. The entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan. Exacerbation of international tension and the USSR. Strengthening of the 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 at reform political system 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 on State Sovereignty of the RSFSR. "Novogarevsky process". The collapse of the USSR.

Foreign policy: Soviet-American relations and the problem of disarmament. Treaties with leading capitalist countries. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Changing relations with the countries of the socialist community. Disintegration of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact.

the 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. The escalation of the struggle between the executive and legislature. The dissolution of the Supreme Soviet and the Congress of People's Deputies. October events of 1993. Abolition of local bodies of Soviet power. Elections to the Federal Assembly. The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 Formation of the presidential republic. Aggravation and overcoming of national conflicts in the North Caucasus.

Parliamentary elections 1995 Presidential elections 1996 Power and opposition. Trying to get back on track liberal reforms(Spring 1997) and her failure. The financial crisis of August 1998: causes, economic and political consequences. "Second Chechen War". Parliamentary elections in 1999 and early presidential elections in 2000 Foreign policy: Russia in the CIS. Participation of Russian troops in the "hot spots" of the near abroad: Moldova, Georgia, Tajikistan. Russia's relations with far-abroad countries. Withdrawal of Russian troops from Europe and CIS 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.