Post-war development of the country 1945 1953 briefly

POST-WAR RESTORATION OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet people had the opportunity to begin peaceful work. The main problems of the post-war period: 1) demobilization of the army: out of 11.5 million military personnel in 1945–1946. About 8.5 million people were transferred to the reserve, and they needed to be provided with housing, which in a devastated country was an impossible task. A large number of the population lived in barracks in the post-war years; 2) an urgent conversion was needed (transfer of the economy to peaceful footing), which could not but lead to a decline in industrial production. The enterprises of the southern metallurgical base, which were located in the Nazi-occupied territory of Ukraine, required restoration. The country's transition to a peaceful path was carried out with the help of the following measures.

1. In September 1945, the State Defense Committee was abolished. All functions of governing the country were concentrated in the hands of the Council of People's Commissars (in March 1946 it was transformed into the Council of Ministers of the USSR).

2. Already in August 1943, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation.” A significant part of the restoration work was done by the end of the war.

3. In March 1946, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved a plan for the restoration and further development economy for 1946–1950, according to which: it was planned to reach the pre-war level in national economic development, and then surpass it to a significant extent; priority development of heavy industry was envisaged; One of the conditions for fulfilling planned targets was considered to be the maximum use of scientific and technological progress.

The main source of the country's restoration, as well as victory in the war, was the selfless enthusiasm of the Soviet people: 1) during the years of the first post-war five-year plan (1946–1950), 6,200 industrial enterprises were restored and rebuilt; 2) in 1948, the pre-war level of industrial production was achieved; 3) in 1950, the level of pre-war production was exceeded by 73%; 4) the Stakhanov movement began again. For example, turners G. Bortkevich and P. Bykov showed an example of high-speed working methods; 5) the country’s economy did not lose its militaristic orientation even after the war: the Soviet government, even at the new stage, was constantly preparing for a war for survival in a capitalist environment; 6) the leadership of the country and personally I.V. Stalin showed great attention to the development of the military industry and related scientific research. L.P. was personally entrusted with overseeing the work on creating nuclear weapons (under the leadership of Academician I.V. Kurchatov). Beria; 7) the first test of a Soviet atomic bomb took place in 1949 at the test site in Semipalatinsk; 8) in 1947, the first Soviet ballistic missile was tested, which was developed under the leadership of S.P. Queen.

Satisfying the material needs of people, as in the pre-war years, was relegated to the background by the country's leadership. But already in 1947 the card system for food products. Its abolition, accelerated by the government for propaganda purposes, did little to make things easier: the average salary of workers was low, and high prices were rampant in stores. To overcome financial difficulties, a monetary reform was carried out.

The village, as in pre-war times, remained a source for pumping out funds that the state received through the practically unpaid labor of collective farmers. In 1946–1947 Due to drought, there was a poor grain harvest. The village was gripped by famine.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THE COUNTRY IN THE FIRST POST-WAR YEARS

During the war years, the economy of the Soviet Union suffered enormous material damage, estimated at approximately 3 trillion rubles, or 30% of the national wealth. About 27 million people died, and the number of people unable to work increased significantly. To restore industry and agriculture, huge financial resources were required, which the state did not possess. Having not accepted US assistance for political reasons, the Soviet government was forced to rely only on internal reserves, which led to a decrease in the standard of living of the population, primarily in the countryside.

The country faced an extremely difficult task. The territories under occupation were the most affected during the fighting. Industry and agriculture in these areas were destroyed by more than half. In addition, 1946 turned out to be a bad harvest, as a result of which agricultural production decreased by about 60% compared to pre-war levels. Industrial production in 1946 was 77% of the 1940 level.

In June 1945, the country began the transition to peacetime - a law was passed on the partial demobilization of the armed forces. Over three years, the army was reduced from 11.4 to 2.9 million people. In addition to 8.5 million military personnel, former prisoners of war, as well as Soviet citizens deported during the occupation to work in the countries of the Hitlerite coalition, also joined the national economy - about 5.2 million people in total. In September 1945, the state of emergency was lifted and the eight-hour working day was formally restored.

The process of restoring the national economy took approximately 5 years. Gross industrial output reached the pre-war level in 1948–1949, the most important branches of agriculture - in 1950. By 1950, it had basically been restored railway transport. Such rates were achieved due to the following factors. Firstly, in the process of conversion, i.e., transferring the economy to peaceful production, the country's military-industrial complex was preserved. Civil engineering has been established on its basis. Secondly, technical re-equipment of many industries was carried out using equipment captured and received as part of reparations. Thirdly, the labor of imprisoned Soviet citizens and prisoners of war from the countries of the former Nazi coalition was widely used. And finally, as already noted, the restoration of the national economy was achieved largely due to the ruin of the inhabitants of the collective farm village.

The standard of living of Soviet citizens after the crisis of the first post-war years began to gradually increase. In cities, after the abolition of the rationing system (December 1947), prices for a number of food and industrial goods decreased several times, and household incomes increased. In the countryside, the improvements were less noticeable, but even there, payments for workdays gradually increased, and taxes on household plots were reduced.

95. REPRESSIONS 1946–1953 SCIENCE AND CULTURE IN THE FIRST POST-WAR YEARS

After the end of the war, many Soviet citizens counted on changes in social political life society. They stopped blindly trusting the ideological dogmas of Stalinist socialism. Hence the numerous rumors about the dissolution of collective farms, the permission of private production, etc., which actively circulated among the population in the first post-war years. Hence the increase in social activity of society, especially among young people.

However, it was pointless to count on the democratization of society under conditions of strict authoritarian rule. The authorities responded with repressions aimed primarily at the intelligentsia and youth. The starting point of a new series of political processes was the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On the magazines Zvezda and Leningrad” (August 1946). In the same year, several trials of “anti-Soviet” youth groups took place in Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, etc. The most famous of the fabricated political cases of the period 1946–1953. - “Leningrad”, “Mingrelian” and “the case of the poisoning doctors”.

In addition to political oppositionists, the Soviet regime also had opponents with weapons in their hands. First of all, these are members of partisan detachments in Western Ukraine and the Baltic states, who fought against the new government until the mid-50s. In addition, in the first post-war years, trials took place against members of the Russian Liberation Army of General A.A. Vlasov, as well as over Nazi war criminals and accomplices of the occupiers. In addition to actual traitors, thousands of innocent citizens were convicted, including former prisoners of war and concentration camp prisoners. Actions to evict people to remote areas of the country on ethnic grounds continued.

Despite the difficult economic situation In the post-war period, the Soviet government paid significant attention to the development of science and education. In 1946–1950 spending on education increased by 1.5 times, and on science by 2.5 times. At the same time, the emphasis was placed on those branches of science that worked for the needs of the military-industrial complex. Design bureaus (“sharashkas”), staffed by imprisoned specialists, continued to function in this area; A number of research institutes are opening. Together with the active work of foreign intelligence, this allowed the USSR to destroy the US monopoly on the possession of nuclear weapons by 1949.

At the same time, a difficult situation is developing in branches of science not directly related to the military industry. The heaviest blow falls on cybernetics and genetics, which were effectively banned. The humanities, literature and art have seriously suffered from ideological dictates and pressure from the authorities. The decisive role in this was played by the campaign to combat “cosmopolitanism,” launched after 1946. Under the slogan of opposition to the “reactionary policies of the West,” individual cultural figures (D. Shostakovich, A. Akhmatova, M. Zoshchenko, etc.) were subjected to repression. and entire creative teams (magazines “Zvezda”, “Leningrad”, etc.)

Question 52. Economic and political reforms N.S. Khrushchev (1953-1964)

COURSE TO ELIMINATE STALIN'S CULT OF PERSONALITY. N.S. KHRUSHCHEV

After Stalin's death on March 5, 1953, the struggle for power in the country's leadership intensified. Attempt L.P. Beria failed to take the place of leader. On June 26, 1953, he was arrested and soon executed, not for his crimes, but on trumped-up charges of espionage. N.S. turned out to be the most successful in the struggle for power. Khrushchev (since September 1953 he was the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). But to finally strengthen his position N.S. Khrushchev had to overcome opposition from the old Stalinist guard. His main opponents were members of the Presidium of the Party Central Committee: V.M. Molotov, N.A. Bulganin, L.M. Kaganovich.

Overcoming Stalin's personality cult

One of the central places in the activities of N.S. Khrushchev was occupied with the work of liberating society from the most monstrous forms of the political regime that had developed in the country, especially in overcoming the cult of personality of I.V. Stalin: 1) criticism of this phenomenon began in the press; 2) law enforcement agencies were reorganized; 3) work was carried out to rehabilitate victims of repression; 4) the XX Congress of the CPSU (February 1956) was of general importance in the socio-political life of the country, at a closed meeting of which N.S. Khrushchev made a report “On the cult of personality and its consequences.” This report was not published, although it was widely discussed in the country's party organizations. (The text of the report was first published in the USSR in 1989)

Since 1953, radical changes began in the country's economy.

The development of a new agricultural policy began, the foundations of which were approved at the September (1953) Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee. Since 1954: 1) development of virgin and fallow lands. This was required in the interests of a quick solution to the grain problem. By 1958, 42 million hectares of land had been developed;

2) MTS was reorganized;

3) a course has been taken to consolidate collective farms;

4) personal subsidiary plots were curtailed. But the food problem continued to remain acute. The USSR began to buy grain abroad. After a short-term increase, yields in the virgin lands fell sharply due to soil erosion and droughts.

The reorientation of the economy towards the development of the agricultural sector was short-lived. Soon the principle of priority development of the production of means of production was restored, which was reflected in the plans of the sixth five-year plan and seven-year plan (1959–1965).

Course for the development of the industrial sector of the economy:

1) in these years, much attention was paid to the introduction of the latest scientific and technical achievements into production;

2) in 1957, the Law on the restructuring of industry and construction management was adopted. Organizational form Councils of the National Economy (Soviet Economic Councils) became the governing bodies.

Social events were carried out:

1) mass housing construction has been launched;

2) pensions were increased, and since 1964 they began to be issued to collective farmers for the first time;

3) in 1956–1957. workers and employees were transferred to a 7-hour working day.

During the leadership of N.S. Khrushchev adopted a new program of the CPSU, which defined specific terms and tasks for communist construction.

But the results of the reorganization of the economy and political structures (to a greater extent the division of party structures along production lines) threatened the stable existence of the party apparatus. In 1964 N.S. Khrushchev was removed from his post as leader of the country and sent into retirement.

80. "THAW"

The decade from 1954 to 1964 went down in the history of the country as the time of the “thaw”. The death of Stalin and the removal of Beria from power put an end to mass terror in the country. Political prisoners were returning from camps and prisons. Criticism of the “cult of Stalin’s personality” awakened Soviet society and gave rise to faith and hope for change for the better. Changes in social life gave a powerful impetus to the development of culture and art. A new type of worldview has emerged, a new type of person - a “sixties man” - a romantic who is not alien to principles, a readiness for social criticism with selfless faith in the ideals of Leninism and the revolution of the young Soviet man In the USSR in the 60s. The bard song is becoming widespread among young people. Original songs by V. Vysotsky, B. Okudzhava, A. Galich and others were distributed throughout the country, often in the form of handicraft recordings. Their spread was facilitated by the mass acquisition of tape recorders (“tape recorder revolution”).

1. Since the mid-50s. The management of culture became more democratic: previously banned poems by S. Yesenin, M. Tsvetaeva, A. Akhmatova, and stories by M. Zoshchenko were published.

2. 28 new magazines, 7 almanacs, 4 literary and artistic newspapers began to be published, in which works on previously forbidden topics were published. Thus, in the magazine " New world“A. Solzhenitsyn’s story “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” about mass terror and Stalin’s camps was published.

3. The party leadership admitted its erroneous decisions on some issues. Thus, the resolutions of the Central Committee of the CPSU were adopted on May 28, 1958 “On correcting errors in the evaluation of the operas “Bogdan Khmelnitsky”, “With all my heart””, etc.

4. Along with the bards, the youth of the 60s. was captured by the poetry of young writers: E. Yevtushenko,

A. Voznesensky, B. Akhmadulina, R. Rozhdestvensky. They have gained particular popularity unusual for Soviet literature manner of versification. In particular, Yevtushenko imitated the poetics of V. Mayakovsky, Voznesensky wrote in the style of the Western European avant-garde.

5. During International festival youth and students in 1957, held in Moscow, artists and sculptors of the “abstract” direction (E. Neizvestny) exhibited their works for the first time.

At the same time, the party leadership determined the boundaries of de-Stalinization, and ideological pressure continued in the spirit of traditional communist propaganda.

1. The censorship press did not weaken and continued to exist. Khrushchev himself repeatedly tried to determine the degree of freedom of writers.

2. The principles of Soviet literature, namely “partisanship,” which should “inspire” the writer to create, were still relevant. Liberalization took place within the framework of communist ideology.

3. The contradictions of ideological and political life were clearly reflected in the attitude of the authorities to the work of B. Pasternak (the novel “Doctor Zhivago”), M. Khutsiev (the film “I’m Twenty Years Old”), E. Neizvestny and others.

The “Pasternak case” clearly showed the limitations of Khrushchev’s “thaw”. B. Pasternak was unfairly expelled from the Union of Writers of the USSR because he published his novel “Doctor Zhivago” abroad. To avoid deportation from the country, he had to refuse the Nobel Prize, which was awarded to him for this work.

No less difficult was the fate of the outstanding poet I. Brodsky, whose poetic activity was declared parasitism. As a result, Brodsky was exiled, and after returning he was forced to leave the country.

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF MOSCOW

SAMARA BRANCH

STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF MOSCOW

"MOSCOW CITY PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY"

Department of Criminal Law

Discipline: History of the Fatherland

"Post-war development of the USSR 1945-1953"

SAMARA 2014

INTRODUCTION

The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) - the war between the USSR, Germany and its allies within the framework of the Second World War on the territory of the USSR and Germany. Germany attacked the USSR on June 22, 1941, with the expectation of a short military campaign, but the war dragged on for several years and ended in the complete defeat of Germany. The Great Patriotic War became a testament to the Second World War. Victory in the bloody war gave rise to people's hopes for a better life, weakening the pressure of the totalitarian state on the individual, and eliminating its most odious costs. The potential for changes in the political regime, economy, and culture opened up. The “democratic impulse” of the war, however, was opposed by the entire power of the System created by Stalin. Its position was not only weakened during the war, but seemed to strengthen even more in the post-war period. Even the victory in the war itself was identified in the mass consciousness with the victory of the totalitarian regime. Under these conditions, the struggle between democratic and totalitarian tendencies became the leitmotif of social development.

Relevance of the topic: the relevance of the chosen topic lies in the fact that the period from 1945 to 1953 is one of the significant periods in the history of the USSR that deserves attention. These almost two decades are full of events. This is the post-war period of the labor feat of the Soviet people to restore the destroyed national economy, the successful testing of the first Soviet atomic bomb. These are the last years of the life of the “leader of all nations” I.V. Stalin, and then the end of Beria’s career. This is the transition to power of N.S. Khrushchev and the subsequent Khrushchev “thaw”, which brought with it transformations in the economic and political spheres, the spiritual revival of society.

1. SOVIET SOCIETY AFTER THE WAR

Victory in the war inspired people. Having gone through terrible trials in battle, many front-line soldiers rose in their own eyes and lost their pre-war illusions about the infallibility of the “leader” and the entire regime. For many, the usual fear of power, the authority of the “genius of all times and peoples” has disappeared. It seemed to many that, in meeting the desires of society, the authorities would certainly carry out liberal economic reforms: “collective farms would be dissolved,” censorship would be softened, “relaxations” would be given in ideology, and in general the regime would “soften.” However, this did not happen. On the contrary, the authorities, faced with a “ferment of minds,” began to tighten the rules in the country. Tense international situation, a feeling of upholding in the nuclear field, massive armed resistance to Soviet power in the Baltic republics and in the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus - all this became the reason for increasing police and ideological pressure on society.

The harsh spirit of martial law remained for a long time. Being 15 minutes late for work or leaving without permission early could land you in a camp according to the then-current law of 1940. A person’s freedom to change his place of work of his own free will was limited. This serfdom law was repealed only in 1956.

After the war, the Gulag was replenished with an abundant flow of new prisoners. In addition to collaborators who collaborated with the Germans, there were people who simply lived “under the Germans” and worked for a piece of bread. The camps also included former Soviet prisoners of war who had spent years in German concentration camps. Their only fault was that, abandoned by the command during the retreat, they did not die, but were captured. Repatriates from Western Europe“White” Cossacks, officers, and nobles captured or handed over by their allies.

The Benderites, the “forest brothers,” and all the “class alien and anti-Soviet elements” from the Baltic states and Ukraine also ended up there.

The Stalinist camp system acquired even more severe features in the post-war period. Some of the camps (the so-called “special purpose camps”) became similar to German concentration camps of extermination: prisoners had special striped clothing, numbers instead of surnames and names. These camps were no longer considered places for the “re-education” of enemies, but were factories for the extermination of prisoners. It is no coincidence that in the post-war period there were uprisings of prisoners. The organizers and leaders, as a rule, were former officers of the Red Army. Unlike many political prisoners of the 1930s, who thought that they were imprisoned “by mistake,” “by slander,” and that “the party would sort it out,” the new generation of prisoners did not harbor any illusions about the party and Stalin. For them, the entire “mustachioed” system was perceived as hostile. They fought it the same way they did while sitting in German concentration camps. After Stalin's death, these uprisings resulted in real battles with the army and even the regular army. The command used planes, tanks and other equipment against the rebel prisoners.

2. ECONOMIC RECOVERY

2.1 State of the USSR economy after the end of the war

The war resulted in huge human and material losses for the USSR. It claimed almost 27 million human lives. 1,710 cities and towns were destroyed, 70 thousand villages were destroyed, 31,850 factories and factories, 1,135 mines, 65 thousand km of railways were blown up and put out of action. Cultivated areas decreased by 36.8 million hectares. The country has lost approximately one third of its national wealth.

The country began to restore the economy in the year of the war, when in 1943. a special party and government resolution was adopted “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation.” Through the colossal efforts of the Soviet people, by the end of the war in these areas it was possible to restore industrial production to a third of the 1940 level. In 1944, the liberated areas provided over half of the national grain procurements, a quarter of livestock and poultry, and about a third of dairy products. However, the central task of reconstruction faced the country only after the end of the war.

2.2 Economic discussions 1945-1946

In August 1945, the government instructed the State Planning Committee (N. Voznesensky) to prepare a draft of the fourth five-year plan. During its discussion, proposals were made to somewhat soften the voluntaristic pressure in economic management and reorganize collective farms. The “democratic alternative” emerged during a closed discussion of the draft new Constitution of the USSR prepared in 1946. In it, in particular, along with the recognition of the authority of state property, the existence of small private farms of peasants and artisans, based on personal labor and excluding the exploitation of other people's labor, was allowed. During the discussion of this project by nomenklatura workers in the center and locally, ideas were voiced about the need to decentralize economic life, granting greater rights to the regions and people's commissariats. “From below” there were increasingly frequent calls for the liquidation of collective farms due to their inefficiency. As a rule, two arguments were given to justify these positions: firstly, the relative weakening of state pressure over the manufacturer during the war years, which gave a positive result; secondly, a direct analogy was drawn with the recovery period after civil war, when the revival of the economy began with the revival of the private sector, decentralization of management and the priority development of the light food industry.

However, in these discussions, the point of view of Stalin prevailed, who announced at the beginning of 1946 that he would continue the course taken before the war to complete the construction of socialism and build communism. This meant a return to the pre-war model of over-centralization in economic planning and management, and at the same time to those contradictions and disproportions between sectors of the economy that developed in the 30s.

2.3 Industrial development

The restoration of industry took place under very difficult conditions. In the first post-war years, the work of Soviet people was not much different from the military emergency. Constant shortage of products (the card system was abolished only in 1947), difficult working and living conditions, high level morbidity and mortality were explained to the population by the fact that the long-awaited peace had just arrived and life was about to get better. However, this did not happen. After the monetary reform of 1947, with an average salary of about 500 rubles per month, the cost of a kilogram of bread was 3-4 rubles, a kilogram of meat - 28-32 rubles, butter - over 60 rubles, a dozen eggs - about 11 rubles. To buy a wool suit, you had to pay three average monthly salaries. As before the war, from one to one and a half monthly salaries per year were spent on the purchase of bonds of forced government loans. Many working families still lived in dugouts and barracks, and sometimes worked in the open air or in unheated rooms, using old or worn-out equipment.

However, some wartime restrictions were lifted: the 8-hour working day and annual leave were reintroduced, and forced overtime was abolished. The restoration took place in conditions of a sharp increase in migration processes. Caused by the demobilization of the army, the repatriation of Soviet citizens from Europe, the return of refugees and evacuees from the eastern regions of the country. Another difficulty in the development of industry was its conversion, which was largely completed by 1947. Considerable funds were also spent on supporting the allied eastern European countries.

Huge losses in the war resulted in a shortage of labor, which, in turn, led to an increase in turnover of personnel seeking more favorable working conditions. These costs, as before, had to be compensated by increasing the transfer of funds from villages to cities and by developing the labor activity of workers. One of the most famous initiatives of those years was the “speed workers” movement, initiated by the Leningrad turner G.S. Bortkevich, who completed a 13-day output on a lathe in February 1948 in one shift. The movement became massive. At some enterprises, attempts were made to introduce self-financing. But to consolidate these innovations, no material incentive measures were taken; on the contrary, as labor productivity increased, prices were lowered. The administrative-command system benefited from achieving high production results without additional investments. For the first time in many years after the war, there was a tendency towards a wider use of scientific and technical developments in production, but it manifested itself mainly only at enterprises of the military-industrial complex (MIC), where, in the conditions of the outbreak of the Cold War, the process of developing nuclear and thermonuclear weapons was underway. , new missile systems, new models of tank and aircraft equipment. Along with the priority development of the military-industrial complex, priority was also given to mechanical engineering, metallurgy, fuel, and energy industries, the development of which accounted for 88% of capital investments in industry.

The light and food industries, as before, were financed on a residual basis (12%) and, naturally, did not satisfy even the minimum needs of the population.

In total, during the years of the 4th Five-Year Plan (1946-1950), 6,200 large enterprises were restored and rebuilt. In 1950, according to official data, industrial production exceeded pre-war levels by 73% (and in the new union republics - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova - 2-3 times). True, reparations and products of joint Soviet-East German enterprises were also included here. The main creator of these undoubted successes was the Soviet people.

Through his incredible efforts and sacrifices, as well as the high mobilization capabilities of the directive economic model, seemingly impossible economic results were achieved.

At the same time, the traditional policy of redistributing funds from the light and food industries, agriculture and social sphere in favor of heavy industry also played a role. Significant assistance was also provided by reparations received from Germany ($4.3 billion), which provided up to half the volume of industrial equipment installed during these years.

In addition, the labor of almost 9 million Soviet prisoners and about 2 million German and Japanese prisoners of war, who also contributed to the post-war reconstruction, was free, but very effective.

3. SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE COUNTRY

During the war and immediately after it, the intelligentsia, primarily scientific and creative, hoped for the liberalization of public life and the weakening of cruel party-state control. However, the international situation changed dramatically soon after the war. The Cold War began. Instead of cooperation, confrontation began. The leadership of the USSR set a course for immediately “tightening the screws” in relation to the intelligentsia, which had somewhat weakened in the last years of the war. In 1946-1949. Several resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks were adopted on cultural issues. We started with the Leningraders. After the defeat of the Leningrad writers, they took up theater, cinema, and music. The resolutions of the Party Central Committee “On the repertoire of drama theaters and measures to improve it” were adopted accordingly.

The transition to peaceful construction after the end of the Great Patriotic War required the reorganization of government bodies. In September 1945, the State Defense Committee was abolished; its functions were again distributed between the Council of People's Commissars, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. But the process of transformation of the authoritarian administrative system that developed in the USSR in the pre-war and especially during the war years was of a formal nature. As before, all power was concentrated in the hands of Stalin, who relied on a powerful repressive apparatus. Stalin, who received the shoulder straps of Generalissimo from the hands of his associates, was an unlimited dictator.

3.1 Literature

One of the first blows was dealt to Russian literature. In the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of August 14, 1946, “On the magazines “Zvezda” and “Leningrad”, these publications were accused of promoting ideas “alien to the spirit of the party”, providing a literary platform for “unprincipled”, ideologically harmful works. Special criticism The works of M. Zoshchenko and A.A. Akhmatova were subjected to the decree, who were called “vulgarities and scum of literature” in the decree. The magazine “Leningrad” was closed, and the leadership of the magazine “Zvezda” was replaced.

Even those writers whose work fully met the requirements of the party were subjected to sharp criticism. Thus, the head of the Writers' Union A.A. Fadeev was criticized for the initial version of the novel "The Young Guard", which did not sufficiently show the party leadership of young underground fighters; songwriter M.A. Isakovsky - for the pessimism of the poems "Enemies burned their home." Playwright A.P. Stein was criticized , writer Y.P. German and E.G. Kazakevich, M.L. Slonimsky. The result of the “struggle for the purity of literature” was the closure of a number of magazines, the banning of literary works, and sometimes even repression. their authors, and most importantly, stagnation in domestic literature.

3.2 Theater and cinema

Following literature, the party leadership was “strengthened” in theater and cinema. The resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated August 26, 1946 “On the repertoire of drama theaters and measures to improve it” condemned the predominance of the classical repertoire in the country’s theaters to the detriment of plays dedicated to the “pathos of the struggle for communism.”

And the few plays on modern themes found in the repertoire were criticized as weak and unprincipled, in which Soviet people appear “primitive and uncultured, with philistine tastes and morals,” and events are depicted “far-fetched and deceitful.” The Committee on Arts was criticized for the presence in the repertoire of plays that “idealize the lives of kings, khans, nobles”, for “the introduction into the theater repertoire of plays by bourgeois Western playwrights, openly preaching bourgeois views and morals.”

On September 4, 1946, a new resolution of the Central Committee appeared, this time devoted to criticism of the “lack of ideas” of a number of films. Among them were the films: “Big Life” (2nd series) by L. Lukov, telling about the difficulties of restoring Donbass after the war ( the ball was criticized for the “false portrayal of party workers” and the lack of showing “modern Donbass with its advanced technology and culture created during the years of Stalin’s five-year plans”); “Admiral Nakhimov” V.I. Pudovkina; "Ivan the Terrible" (2nd episode) S.M. Eisenstein (according to Stalin, this film created a false image of the tsar - indecisive and spineless, “like Hamlet”, incorrectly, the oprichnina was shown in a negative way). Outstanding film directors G. Kozentsev, L. Trauberg and others were also subjected to criticism. Development of the idea of ​​these resolutions, the weekly “Culture and Life” specially created by the authorities at the end of 1946 began a massive campaign of “Decadent tendencies” in the theater and demanded the exclusion of all plays by foreign authors.

3.3 Music

At the end of 1947, harsh ideological pressure fell on Soviet musicians. The occasion was the performance of three works commissioned by the authorities for the 30th anniversary October Revolution: Sixth Symphony by S. Syu Prokofiev, “Poems” by F.I. Khachaturian and the opera "Great Friendship" by V.I. Muradeli. In February 1948, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks issued a decree “On decadent tendencies in Soviet music,” where Muradeli was criticized. Other composers who “adhered to a formalistic, anti-national direction” were also criticized - S.S. Prokofiev, D.D. Shostakovich, A.I. Khachaturyan, N.Ya. Myaskovsky. After the release of this resolution, a purge began in the Union of Composers. The works of disgraced composers stopped being performed, and conservatories and theaters refused their services. Instead of their works, choral and solo praises of Stalin and happy life Soviet people under the leadership of the party heavenly life on the ground.

All this impoverished domestic culture, but also isolated it from the best achievements of world culture. And yet, despite the dictatorship and ideological blinders, cultural life had positive traits, first of all - in the development of a huge classical heritage.

4. FOREIGN POLICY OF THE USSR IN 1945-1953

war Stalin politics industry

The international position of the USSR after the end of the war, which it won at the cost of heavy losses, was extremely paradoxical. The country was devastated. At the same time, its leaders had the legal right to claim a prominent role in the life of the pestilence community. But the balance of forces was perhaps the worst for the USSR during its entire existence. Soviet managers were acutely aware of this situation, which made them feel vulnerable, but at the same time they believed that the USSR was a great power. In this situation, there were two approaches: either to maintain cooperation with the former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, or to expand the sphere of Soviet influence.

After the Yalta Conference, due to some passivity of the Western powers in international relations, the second approach prevailed. In an increasingly polarized world, this policy led in subsequent years to the formation of blocs and confrontation. At the beginning of March 1946, Churchill delivered his famous speech in Fulton, in the presence of President Truman, in which two strategic goals of the West in relation to the USSR were formulated: to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR and its communist ideology, and then to push the socialist system to pre-war borders, to achieve its weakening and liquidation of the USSR itself. The same idea was expressed by US President Henry Truman in his message to Congress in February 1947. The United States did not hide its desire to achieve world domination.

For its part, the USSR was in a hurry to strengthen its influence on the liberated Soviet army countries, embarking on active “denazification” of their occupation zone, agrarian reform, nationalization of industrial enterprises and the creation of mixed Soviet-German enterprises that worked exclusively for the USSR.

On June 5, 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall proposed to allocate significant financial resources for the restoration of European countries, “to help Europeans regain economic health, without which instability and peace are impossible.” In July, a conference was scheduled in Paris, open to all countries, including the USSR. The foreign ministers of England and France warmly supported the “Marshal's plan” for the Soviet delegation led by Molotov to put forward conditions for the Soviet government to maintain freedom to spend the portion of funds allocated to it and choose economic policy. After these conditions were rejected, Moscow refused to participate in the “Marshal Plan” and insisted on the adoption of similar decisions by the governments of countries within its sphere of influence.

In January 1947 The Americans and the British united their occupation zones in Germany into a single one, and later the part of Germany controlled by France was annexed to it. This further intensified the confrontation between the USSR and the West.

June 24, 1948 The Soviet side completely blocked the western zones in Berlin. The West was forced to organize " air bridge", which supplied the city until May 12, 1949, when the blockade was finally lifted.

May 23, 1949 In the Western occupation zone, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany was adopted and government bodies were formed. In response, on October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in the Eastern occupation zone, to which the Soviet Union transferred all civil powers. The split of the united state of Germany and the German people became a symbol of the split of the world into two hostile systems: capitalist and socialist.

5 . THE DEATH OF STALIN AND THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER

With the death of Stalin (March 5, 1953), an entire era ended. An era when a system based on the apparatus, on repressive bodies, developed and strengthened. On the eve of Stalin's funeral, a meeting was held in the Kremlin, to which only those most knowledgeable about the state of affairs of the party and state were invited. Among them there were not even a number of members of the Presidium of the Central Committee. Without convening an official plenum of the Central Committee, the meeting participants made decisions that, in their opinion, were designed to ensure the continuity of power. Malenkov became Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He was nominated for this post by Beria. In turn, Malenkov proposed uniting the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of State Security under the leadership of Beria. Other changes were made to the leadership team. At this meeting, Khrushchev managed to achieve a decision on the return of G.K. to Moscow. Zhukov, who at that time commanded the Ural Military District. The position of First Secretary was not introduced in the party, but Khrushchev, as the only one of the secretaries of the Central Committee of the party included in the Presidium of the Central Committee, actually took control of the cadres of the party apparatus.

The most influential political figures in the leadership were Malenkov, Beria and Khrushchev. The balance was extremely unstable. The policy of the new leadership in the spring days of 1953 was contradictory, reflecting the contradictions in its composition. At Zhukov’s request, a large group of military personnel returned from prison. But the Gulag continued to exist, the same slogans and portraits of Stalin hung everywhere.

Each of the contenders for power sought to seize it in their own way. Beria - through control over state security agencies and troops. Malenkov - declaring his desire to pursue a popular policy of improving the well-being of the people, calling for "2-3 years to achieve the creation in our country of an abundance of food for the population and raw materials for light industry." Khrushchev took the initiative to unite members of the leadership for an action against Beria. By cunning and persuasion, threats that he would not spare anyone, Khrushchev achieved his goal. In mid-July 1953 At one of the meetings in the Kremlin, which was chaired by Malenkov, Khrushchev accused Beria of careerism, nationalism, and connections with the English Mussavatist (i.e., bourgeois Azerbaijani) intelligence service. Khrushchev was supported by Bulganin, Molotov and others.

In September 1953 N.S. Khrushchev was elected First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Articles about the dangers of the cult of personality began to appear in the press. In 1954, Khrushchev made several trips around the country, which became an innovation in political life. His popularity grew. Malenkov retreated into the shadows. But the most important thing is that, on the initiative of N.S. Khrushchev and under his personal control the Gulag was liquidated. Millions of innocently repressed people were given the opportunity to return home. It was a great humanitarian act, important step in the process of de-Stalinization of Soviet society

CONCLUSION

Thus, in the post-war period from 1445 to 1953, the Soviet Union went through a difficult historical path. Humanity has gone through enormous difficulties. Physically destroyed, starved or killed violent death millions of people. We are talking about a genuine demographic catastrophe, unprecedented in the history of Russia throughout its centuries-old history.

Second half of the 20th century in the history of the Fatherland, this is the time when the victory over fascism gave impetus to the democratic renewal of the system. This manifested itself either in attempts at reforms or alternated with periods of “tightening the screws” and public apathy. These phenomena accompanied Soviet society throughout its entire post-war history. During the period under review, the country went from the final formation of a totalitarian-bureaucratic system to its decomposition and collapse.

REFERENCES

1. Orlov A.S., Georgiev V.A. History of Russia - Prospekt Publishing House, 2010. - 528 p.

2. Zuev N.M. Domestic history: A textbook for high school students and those entering universities. - M.: Publishing house "ONICS 21st century", 2009. - 544 p. (pp. 371-407).

3. Sakharov A.N., Rakhmatullin L.E. and others. History of Russia - M.: Astrel Publishing House, 2010. - 943 p. (pp. 657-690).

4. Chernobaev A.A., Gorelov N.E., Zuev M.N. and others. History of Russia - Higher School, 2008-614 p. (pp. 432-522).

5. Publishing and trading corporation "Dashkov and K", 2010. -800 p. (pp. 419-445).

6. Derevyanko A.P., Shabelnikova N.A. History of Russia. - M.: TK Welby, Prospekt Publishing House, 2009-560p. (P.363-379).

7. History of the Fatherland. Part II (mid-19th - end of 20th centuries) - M: UGATU Publishing House, 1996.

8. Isachenkov, E.I. Stamping with rubber and liquid [Text]: textbook for universities/E.I. Isachenkov - M.: Mechanical Engineering, 1967.-367p.

9. Anuchin, A.M., Antonenkov O.D. Explosion stamping. Fundamentals of theory [Text]: textbook for universities / A.M. Anuchin - M.: Mechanical Engineering, 1972. - 152 p.

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In the social and political life of the USSR in 1945-47. the influence was very noticeable democratic impulse of war(some tendency towards weakening of the Soviet totalitarian system). The main reason for the democratic impulse was the relatively close acquaintance of the Soviet people with the Western way of life (during the liberation of Europe, in the process of communicating with the allies). The horrors of war suffered by our people, which led to a revision of the value system, also played an important role.

The response to the democratic impulse was twofold:

1. Minimal steps were taken towards the “democratization” of society. In September 1945, the state of emergency was ended and the unconstitutional government body, the State Defense Committee, was abolished. Congresses of public and political organizations of the USSR resumed. In 1946, the Council of People's Commissars was transformed into the Council of Ministers, and the People's Commissariats into ministries. In 1947, a monetary reform was carried out and the card system was abolished.
2. There was a significant tightening of the totalitarian regime. A new wave of repression began. The main blow, this time, was dealt to repatriates - prisoners of war and forcibly displaced persons returning to their homeland. Cultural figures who felt the influence of new trends more acutely than others also suffered (see section “Cultural Life of the USSR 1945-1953”), and the party and economic elite - the “Leningrad Affair” (1948), in which over 200 people were shot , Chairman of the State Planning Committee N.A. was shot. Voznesensky. The last act repressions began with the “case of doctors” (January 1953), accused of attempting to poison the country’s top leadership.

A characteristic feature of the first post-war years was the deportation of entire peoples of the USSR, which began in 1943, on charges of collaboration with the fascists (Chechens, Ingush and Crimean Tatars). All these repressive measures allow historians to call the years 1945-1953. " the apogee of Stalinism" The main economic tasks of the post-war period were demilitarization and restoration of the destroyed economy.

Sources of resources for restoration were:

1. High mobilization abilities of the directive economy (due to new construction, additional sources of raw materials, fuel, etc.).
2. Reparations from Germany and its allies.
3. Free labor of Gulag prisoners and prisoners of war.
4. Redistribution of funds from light industry and the social sphere in favor of industrial sectors.
5. Transfer of funds from the agricultural sector of the economy to the industrial sector.

In March 1946, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a reconstruction plan, which outlined the main directions and indicators. The demilitarization of the economy ended mainly by 1947, accompanied by the simultaneous modernization of the military-industrial complex, which played an increasingly prominent role in the context of the beginning of the Cold War. Another priority sector was heavy industry, mainly mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and the fuel and energy complex. In general, during the years of the 4th Five-Year Plan (1946-1950), industrial production in the country increased and in 1950 exceeded pre-war indicators - the restoration of the country was generally completed.

Agriculture emerged from the war very weakened. However, despite the drought of 1946, the state began to reduce household plots and introduced a number of decrees punishing encroachment on state or collective farm property. Taxes were increased significantly. All this led to the fact that agriculture, which, in the early 50s. barely reached the pre-war level of production and entered a period of stagnation (stagnation).

Thus, post-war economic development continued along the path of industrialization. Alternative options, which provided for the primary development of light industry and agriculture (project by G.M. Malenkov, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), were rejected due to the difficult international situation.

Foreign policy of the USSR in 1945-1953. Beginning of the Cold War

Signs of the Cold War:

1. Existence is relatively sustainable bipolar world– the presence in the world of two superpowers balancing each other’s influence, to which other states gravitated to one degree or another.
2. “Block politics” is the creation of opposing military-political blocs by superpowers. 1949 g. – creation of NATO, 1955 g. – OVD (Warsaw Pact Organization).
3. « Arms race"- the USSR and the USA increasing the number of weapons in order to achieve qualitative superiority. The “arms race” ended by the beginning of the 1970s. in connection with the achievement of parity (balance, equality) in the number of weapons. From this moment begins " détente policy"- a policy aimed at eliminating the threat of nuclear war and reducing the level of international tension. “Détente” ended after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan ( 1979 G.)
4. Formation of an “enemy image” among one’s own population in relation to the ideological enemy. In the USSR, this policy was manifested in the creation of “ iron curtain» - systems of international self-isolation. In the USA, “McCarthyism” is being carried out - the persecution of supporters of “left” ideas.
5. Periodically emerging armed conflicts that threaten to escalate the Cold War into a full-scale war.

Causes of the Cold War:

1. Victory in World War II led to a sharp strengthening of the USSR and the USA.
2. The imperial ambitions of Stalin, who sought to expand the zone of influence of the USSR into the territories of Turkey, Tripolitania (Libya) and Iran.
3. The US nuclear monopoly, attempts at dictatorship in relations with other countries.
4. Ineradicable ideological contradictions between two superpowers.
5. Formation of a socialist camp controlled by the USSR in Eastern Europe.

The date of the beginning of the Cold War is considered to be March 1946, when W. Churchill made a speech in Fulton (USA) in the presence of President G. Truman, in which he accused the USSR of “the limitless spread of its power and its doctrines” in the world. Soon, President Truman announced a program of measures to “save” Europe from Soviet expansion (“ Truman Doctrine"). He proposed providing large-scale economic assistance to European countries (“Marshall Plan”); create a military-political alliance of Western countries under the auspices of the United States (NATO); place a network of US military bases along the borders of the USSR; support internal opposition in Eastern European countries. All this was supposed not only to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR ( doctrine of containment of socialism), but also to force the Soviet Union to return to its former borders ( doctrine of rejecting socialism).

By this time, communist governments existed only in Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. However, from 1947 to 1949. socialist systems are also developing in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, North Korea, and China. The USSR provides them with enormous financial assistance.

IN 1949 The economic foundations of the Soviet bloc were formed. For this purpose it was created Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. For military-political cooperation, the Warsaw Pact Organization was formed in 1955. Within the framework of the commonwealth, no “independence” was allowed. Relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia (Joseph Broz Tito), which was seeking its path to socialism, were severed. At the end of the 1940s. Relations with China (Mao Zedong) deteriorated sharply.

The first serious clash between the USSR and the USA was the Korean War ( 1950-53 gg.). The Soviet state supports the communist regime of North Korea (DPRK, Kim Il Sung), the USA supports the bourgeois government of South Korea. The Soviet Union supplied modern types to the DPRK military equipment(including MiG-15 jet aircraft), military specialists. As a result of the conflict, the Korean Peninsula was officially divided into two parts.

Thus, the international position of the USSR in the first post-war years was determined by the status of one of the two world superpowers won during the war. The confrontation between the USSR and the USA and the outbreak of the Cold War marked the beginning of the division of the world into two warring military-political camps.

Cultural life of the USSR 1945-1953.

Despite the extremely tense economic situation, the Soviet government is seeking funds for the development of science, public education, and cultural institutions. Universal restored primary education, and since 1952, education in the amount of 7 grades has become compulsory; Evening schools are opened for working youth. Television begins regular broadcasting. At the same time, control over the intelligentsia, weakened during the war, is being restored. In the summer of 1946, a campaign against “petty-bourgeois individualism” and cosmopolitanism began. It was led by A.A. Zhdanov. August 14 1946 the resolutions of the Party Central Committee on magazines were adopted Leningrad" And " Star”, who were persecuted for publishing the works of A. Akhmatova and M. Zoshchenko. A.A. was appointed first secretary of the board of the Writers' Union. Fadeev, who was tasked with bringing order to this organization.

On September 4, 1946, the resolution of the Central Committee of the Party “On unprincipled films” was issued - a ban was imposed on the distribution of the films “Big Life” (Part 2), “Admiral Nakhimov” and the second series of “Ivan the Terrible” by Eisenstein.

Composers are the next target of persecution. In February 1948, the Central Committee adopted a resolution “On decadent tendencies in Soviet music”, condemning V.I. Muradeli, later a campaign begins against “formalist” composers - S.S. Prokofieva, A.I. Khachaturyan, D.D. Shostakovich, N.Ya. Myaskovsky.

Ideological control covers all spheres of spiritual life. The Party actively interferes in the research of not only historians and philosophers, but also philologists, mathematicians, and biologists, condemning some sciences as “bourgeois.” Wave mechanics, cybernetics, psychoanalysis and genetics were subjected to severe defeat.

Foreign policy. After the war, the authority of

USSR, diplomatic relations were established with 52 countries (before the war - with 26). With the participation of the USSR in 1946 it was held Paris Peace Conference, whose participants considered based on democratic principles treaties with former allies of Germany: Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Finland. In 1947, these agreements were signed. Prominent role

The USSR began to play in the United Nations (UN) created in 1945, where Ukraine and Belarus were also represented. In 1945-1946. Soviet lawyers spoke at Nuremberg trials over the main Nazi war criminals. The USSR provided economic assistance to many countries, especially those that entered the world socialist system and former colonial states.

The anti-Hitler coalition, which played a certain role in the war, began to collapse, and the contradictions between the two systems intensified again. In February 1946

V In his election speech, Stalin accused England and the United States of aggressive policies.

IN response Churchill, speaking on March 5 in the American city of Fulton, called on “to show the Russians strength, to unite against Eastern communism.” The United States expanded the number of military bases and reduced the volume of trade with the USSR and its supporters. In relation to the capitalist world, the “Iron Curtain” policy (self-isolation of the USSR) was established. Started"cold war"(from 1946 to the end of the 80s) - a state of confrontation (confrontation) between two systems, characterized by an arms race, relationships from a position of strength, the threat of nuclear war, and purely official diplomatic ties.

IN 1947 The Information Bureau of Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominform) was created, through which Stalin influenced the labor movement of the world. In 1948 there wasYugoslav conflict: Stalin opposed the agreement between Bulgaria and Yugoslavia to create the Balkan Federation, considering this a break in the united front of socialism. Yugoslavia declared a position of self-reliance. Through Cominform, Stalin achieved the isolation of Yugoslavia. The USSR and the socialist countries broke off relations with it. Yugoslavia passed to non-alignment policy - the movement of non-participation of countries in military-political blocs for peace and security of peoples against colonialism and racism. In 1953, diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia were restored.

Events of 1949:

1. Germany is divided into the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and West Berlin.

2. NATO was formed - the military Organization of the North Atlantic Pact in Europe.

3. CMEA - Council for Mutual Economic Assistance of Socialist Countries was formed.

4. The USSR began to possess atomic weapons, and a temporary military equilibrium emerged.

5. On October 1, the creation of the Chinese People's Republic, and her enemies settled on about. Taiwan.

6. Vietnam is divided into two states, one of which - the Democratic Republic of Vietnam - has followed the socialist path. The base of socialism arose in Asia: the MPR, the PRC, the DRV, and the DPRK.

7. In Paris, the First Congress proclaimed the creation of an international peace movement. The Chairman of the WPC - the World Peace Council - was the French scientist F. Joliot-Curie. In 1955, the Warsaw Pact Organization was formed. military organization European socialist countries as opposed to NATO. In 1957, the European Economic Community (EEC) - the Common Market - emerged. The USSR pursued a policy of pressure on socialist countries and sought to influence developing countries.

Stalin was preparing for the third world war, strengthening military potential in Eastern Europe, stationing armed forces in the Far East near the US borders, and using propaganda to form the “image of the enemy.”

Restoration of the national economy. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the second convocation, elected in 1946, adopted a plan forfourth five-year plan(1946-1950), according to which three years were allocated to restore the pre-war level,

A two years to surpass it. A “labor front” was opened. In March 1946 the Council People's Commissars transformed into the Council of Ministers (CoM)

USSR led by I.V. Stalin. In 1949, the head of the State Planning Committee N.A. Voznesensky was accused of understating the five-year plan and was arrested. At the direction of Stalin, new tasks were given, which had a negative impact on the economy and slowed down the growth of the people’s already low standard of living.

Thanks to the heroism of the masses, industry exceeded the level of 1940 by 70%, up to 6 thousand enterprises, mainly heavy industry, were restored and built. In counterbalance to the growing atomic threat of capitalist countries, the military-industrial complex (MIC) was strengthened.

IN agriculture There were not enough workers and equipment, the acreage was reduced, coercive measures were tightened, fees and taxes were increased, and the drought of 1946 had a serious impact. In five years, only the pre-war level was achieved. In 1947, a monetary reform was carried out and the card system was abolished. Despite some improvement in city life, the villages were starving, the labor regime in the countryside worsened, and the outflow of people to the city increased. By the end of the 40s. the course was again taken to boost the economy through agriculture and strengthening command-and-will methods of leadership, using the labor of prisoners of the expanded GULAG system.

In the post-war years, there was a process of centralization of public administration, increase in bureaucracy, and party power in the country. Soviet people who visited Europe during the war could compare the situation in their country with that of a foreign country: the people expected an improvement in life, a softening of the regime, and an expansion of democratic foundations. In 1946, a draft of a new, more progressive Constitution was prepared, and in 1947 a draft of a new Program of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) appeared. These documents were not published, they were discussed in a narrow circle and were rejected.

Instead of expanding democracy, Stalin returned to a policy of repression. Started fight against cosmopolitanism, it was believed that the people had lost faith in the Soviet system and advocated the establishment of bourgeois order. Cosmopolitanism – rejection of patriotic traditions, national independence and culture, preaching the ideology of world citizenship.

The campaign against the “rootless cosmopolitans” was led by A.A. Zhdanov. In 1946, a resolution was adopted “On the magazines “Zvezda” and “Leningrad”; accusations fell on A.A. Akhmatov, M.M. Zoshchenko and other writers. This was followed by decisions on the repertoire of drama theatres, on the film “Big Life”, on the opera by V.I. Muradeli “Great Friendship” and others. The work of D.D. was considered an anti-national formalistic movement. Shostakovich, S.S. Prokofieva, N.Ya. Myaskovsky, A.I. Khachaturyan. “Scientific discussions” were held to defame Soviet scientists. Stalin took part in them. False scientists T.D. received great support. Lysenko, O.B. Lepeshinskaya, who imposed their “discoveries” (theories about heredity, the extracellular structure of living matter), denying the conclusions of science, defaming scientists. Cybernetics, genetics, etc. were declared pseudosciences. At the same time, nationalism was inflamed. The cult of “Russian priority” was instilled; to please Stalin, it was subjected to even greater falsification national history. At the end of 1948, a blow fell on theater critics who allegedly wanted to slander the Soviet people. Several generals from G.K.’s entourage were arrested. Zhukov, he himself was removed from the post of Deputy Minister of Defense and sent to head the Odessa Military District. The Minister of Aviation Industry A.I. was imprisoned. Shakhurin, Air Marshal A.A. Novikov.

Arose "Leningrad affair" fabricated in the late 40s. on charges of prominent figures of the party and state of intending to turn Leningrad into a support for the fight against Stalin and his entourage, to create an independent Russian Communist Party, and to declare Leningrad the capital of Russia. In 1950, N.A. was shot. Voznesensky - head of the economy during the war years, chairman of the State Planning Committee, member of the Politburo of the Party Central Committee; M.I. Rodionov – Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR; A.A. Kuznetsov - one of the organizers of the defense of Leningrad, secretary of the party Central Committee; P.S. Popkov is the secretary of the Leningrad regional party committee. More than 200 city workers were repressed, up to 2 thousand people were removed from their posts.

Fabricated in 1951 "The Mingrelian Case". Stalin decided to deal with Beria (a Mingrelian by nationality). He was suspended from work in the state security agencies, and people close to him were arrested. The new Minister of State Security Ignatiev updated the composition of the ministry.

The “Doctors' Case” arose in early 1953, when newspapers reported the arrest (arrests began in September 1952) of a group of doctors from the Kremlin hospital (academician V.Kh. Vasilenko and V.N. Vinogradov, I.A. Rapoport , M.S. Vovsi, etc.), “responsible” for the death of A.A. Zhdanov in 1948 and allegedly tried to kill some other government officials. There was open bullying medical workers. After Stalin’s death, this shameful “case”, which was opposed by the world public, was stopped.

If at the end of the war there were 1.5 million people in the Gulag, then by 1953 this figure increased by a million people, reaching a record value in the entire Russian history.

Chronology

1946 – The IV five-year plan for the development of the national economy was adopted.

1947-1956 – activities of the Information Bureau of Communist and Workers' Parties.

1948, August - session of VASKHNIL, defeat of geneticists and victory of trends led by T.D. Lysenko.

1948-1952 – campaign against “cosmopolitanism” in literature, art, science, education.

1949 – 1991 – activities of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). 1952, October 5-14 – 19th Congress of the CPSU.

Test questions and assignments

1. Prepare a written essay on the topic: “The Cold War: causes, essence, characteristic features and impact on world development.”

2. What is the Marshall Plan?

3. What factors hampered the development of national culture and had a destructive effect on it in 40-50s of the twentieth century?

Further reading

1. Berezovaya L.G., Berlyakova N.P. History of Russian culture: Part 2 - M., 2002.

2. Zubkova E. Post-war Soviet society: politics and everyday life

ness. 1945-1953. – M., 2000.

3. Soviet society: emergence, development, historical finale: In 2 vols.

– M., 1990. – T. 2.

USSR in the mid-50s - mid-60s. XX century

1953) a course was taken “toward collective leadership”; N.S. Khrushchev led the party, G.M. Malenkov became Chairman of the Council of Ministers, K.E. Voroshilov - head of state. L.P. Beria received the post of Minister of Internal Affairs and State Security, V.M. Molotov - Minister of Foreign Affairs, N.A. Bulganin - Minister of Defense.

Malenkov began to play a leading role, who was the first to speak out in 1953 against “Stalin’s ugly personality cult, which was causing serious damage to the leadership of the party and the country.” He followed the path of reforms, advocated for a social reorientation of the economy, for a “steep rise in the production of consumer goods,” for stimulating peasant labor and bringing agriculture out of the crisis (a 2.5-fold reduction in agricultural tax, writing off tax arrears for previous years, increasing private farms, increase in procurement prices, expansion of the collective farm market, etc.). Malenkov was one of the first to recognize the need for political rehabilitation of the repressed.

In 1953, it was possible to eliminate Beria and his henchmen, who had led terror in the country for many years. Democratic norms of legality were restored, which entailed a strengthening of the role of the Soviets, public organizations, return of the rights of repatriated peoples, fulfillment of the party’s statutory requirements. Malenkov spoke out against the expansion of the bureaucratic apparatus and for détente in international politics. Such a figure disturbed Khrushchev, who relied on the apparatus and did not allow authorities to be higher than himself. In 1955, Malenkov became the Minister of Power Plants of the USSR, and N.A. was nominated as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Bulganin. G.K. was appointed Minister of Defense. Zhukov.

The changes that took place in the life of the country after the death of Stalin were called by the writer Ilya Erenburg the “thaw.”

XX The CPSU congress took place in February 1956. It considered the report

O the work of the party since 1952, a decision was made to prepare a new CPSU Program, directives for the sixth five-year plan were approved(1956-1960), new approaches to foreign and domestic policy issues were developed, a report was heard from N.S. Khrushchev "On the cult of personality and its consequences."

The congress made the following theoretical conclusions about the events taking place in the world:

1. The world system of socialism has been created, which becomes the leading force in the world. The sphere of influence of capitalism is narrowing, which makes it more reactionary.

2. The most important regulator of the world is peaceful coexistence as a competition between two systems.

3. In a revolutionary struggle there can be no “export” of revolution; its victory depends not on the presence of a global social system, but on the internal conditions in each country. It is impossible to “export” revolutions, and allow “export of counter-revolution” when capitalist countries suppress the revolutionary movement in various countries with their military intervention.

4. V.I. Lenin put forward the thesis about the inevitability of world wars in the era of imperialism. It could be considered fair in a period when imperialism was an all-encompassing system. Now the situation has changed, and there is an opportunity to prevent a new one world war. We must strengthen our defenses, resist aggression, and expand our struggle for peace.

5. Various forms of countries’ transition to socialism are possible, both armed and peaceful. It was assumed that it was possible to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat through parliament if the majority in it supported the socialist path of development.

In domestic policy, the task was put forward to catch up and overtake the developed capitalist countries “in a short historical period,” for which the need to move to long-term planning for 10-15 years based on technical progress, the creation of new economic regions in the East.

At the last closed meeting of the congress on February 25, N.S. Khrushchev delivered a report in which he exposed the criminality of Stalin’s personality cult, his illusory “greatness,” showed the enormous harm caused to the state and the party, and also concluded that the repetition of such a cult was inadmissible. But the report did not reveal the objective reasons for what happened; everything came down only to Stalin’s subjective qualities. The cult of Stalin determined the causes of all the troubles the country experienced in past years. Khrushchev never admitted that the origins of Stalin’s crimes were in the political system itself. Khrushchev’s report at the 20th Congress of the CPSU was published only later

33 years old.

XX Party Congress – a milestone in Soviet history. After him, a critical reassessment of history began, a new understanding of the development of the world communist movement, the reasons for its split. In the resolution of the CPSU Central Committee “On overcoming

on the cult of personality and its consequences" dated June 30, 1956, an attempt was made to theoretically comprehend it. Cult of personality - exalting the role of one person, attributing to him a decisive influence on the course of historical development, when the individual replaces the party. Marxism proceeds from the thesis that the people are the creator of history. In the struggle of the proletariat, a revolutionary party—a collective leader—is formed. The party stands for the authority of the leader, but against the cult. The main thing is the leadership of the party, not the individual. Life has shown that attempts to exalt the cult of personality were repeated in Soviet history. The objective prerequisites for this phenomenon are associated with the structure of the party, its centralization and the power of leaders headed by the “leader”, with the party dictatorship, the unification of the party and the state, with totalitarianism.

After the 20th Party Congress, the group of V.M. Molotova, L.M. Kaganovich, G.M. Malenkova and others tried to deprive Khrushchev of leadership, but his authority grew so much that the June Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in 1957 removed the group members from the party Central Committee, and in 1961 they were expelled from the party. Khrushchev, fearing the authority of G.K. Zhukov, in 1957 achieved his removal from the CPSU Central Committee and his release from the post of Minister of Defense. Violating the decision on non-combining leadership positions made in 1953, Khrushchev replaced N.A. in 1958. Bulganin and became Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Gradually, a regime of Khrushchev’s personal power began to take shape, which was supported by the party-state nomenklatura - a circle of people appointed to positions by party bodies and forming a privileged bureaucracy standing above the people.

Economic life of the country. In the 50s XX century construction of many power plants was underway, railways, powerful plants, canals, block housing construction was mastered. The country's economy continued to develop along an extensive path, but the task of intensification was already being set. A scientific and technological revolution began in the USSR, and the State Committee for New Technology was created. In 1954, the Obninsk nuclear power plant (nuclear power plant) was put into operation, in 1957 the first artificial satellite was launched into space, in 1959 the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" was launched.

To solve the grain problem in 1954-1960. 42 million hectares of virgin and fallow lands were raised. By 1960, the level of industry was 5.2 times higher than in 1940, while the level of agricultural production over these 20 years increased by only 60%. Reckless economic development led to disproportions between sectors of the economy and environmental damage, which threatened an environmental crisis and a decline in the country's economic power. Harvests on the developed virgin lands decreased, and in 1963 grain imports from abroad began.

IN Corn crops were forcibly introduced into agriculture, collective farmers were prohibited from having personal plots, which sharply worsened the situation on the collective farm market. MTS liquidated(machine and tractor stations), and collective farms had to buy out equipment and maintain it, which led to a technical weakening of agriculture. The consolidation of collective farms was carried out: if in 1955 there were 85 thousand of them, then in 1960 there were 45 thousand left. It was assumed that collective farms would gradually be transformed into state farms and collective farm-cooperative property would merge with state ownership.

Social policy. Based on significant achievements in the economy, it became possible to raise wages, increase pensions, begin pension provision for collective farmers for the first time, cancel the internal loans obligatory for the people, and switch to a 7-hour working day. The leadership led by Khrushchev came to the conclusion that socialism had been built “completely and completely” in the USSR. The slogan was put forward: “Catch up and overtake America.” It was believed that the practical possibility of building communism had arisen. In 1961, the XXII Party Congress adopted a new CPSU Program, one of the sections of which was devoted to building communism. It was adventuristic utopianism. At the direction of N.S. Khrushchev divided the party, Soviet, trade union, Komsomol bodies into industrial and rural, which significantly increased the number of apparatus workers. Many line ministries were liquidated, and local economic councils were created on the principle of decentralization, which developed localism and disrupted the country's unified planned economy.

The measures taken at this time worsened the situation of the people and caused protest. In 1962 there was conflict in Novocherkassk, where the authorities sent troops against the workers, there were killed and wounded, of the 105 convicted, 7 people were shot. Workers' unrest swept through the cities of Donbass, Kuzbass, and Ivanovo, and were suppressed by military force.

Khrushchev treated the creative intelligentsia extremely rudely. The human rights movement began, and leaving the country—the “brain drain”—increased. Khrushchev's policy is, in essence, a policy of unpredictability, slogan promises, and endless transformations.

IN October 1964 Khrushchev was removed from power for voluntarism is the imposition of one’s will, when what is desired is presented as reality without taking into account real possibilities. L.I. came to the leadership. Brezhnev, who in 1954-1956 led the party organization of Kazakhstan during the period of virgin soil, then was secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and in 1960-1964. served as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - head of state.

Foreign policy of the USSR. Foreign policy was based on the conclusions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU" on changing the balance of power in the world in favor of socialism, on the growth ideological struggle and the desire of capitalist countries to strangle the revolutionary movement. The only way to regulate relations between states was to proclaim the peaceful coexistence of the two systems. The Cold War has temporarily weakened. In 1955, a meeting of the heads of government of the USSR, England, France, and the USA took place to normalize relations in Europe.

The USSR unilaterally reduced the size of its army, suspended nuclear tests, and improved relations with Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran, Japan and other countries.

However, the policy of forceful pressure continued. Thus, in 1956, military intervention in Hungary suppressed the movement led by Imre Nagy for an independent course without Soviet dictate. In 1961, at the request of the USSR, a wall was built in Berlin, separating the capital of the GDR from West Berlin.

In the mid-50s. The USSR decided to help Egypt during Suez crisis 1956 The head of Egypt, Nasser, announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal, which led to aggression by England, France, and Israel, which was repulsed with the support of the USSR and other countries. Soviet builders helped build the Aswan Dam on the river. Nile. In violation of USSR legislation, Khrushchev awarded Nasser the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

IN In 1958, an agreement was concluded with the United States on cooperation in the field of culture and economics; in 1959, Khrushchev visited the United States, and the following year he spoke at the UN. Khrushchev was unpredictable not only in domestic but also in foreign policy. In 1962 aroseCaribbean (missile) crisis. After the victory of the revolution on January 1, 1959, Cuba followed the socialist path. For

her 42 Soviet missiles and military units were sent there to protect against possible American aggression. The United States declared a military blockade of Cuba. Through negotiations and the withdrawal of Soviet equipment from Cuba, the crisis was overcome, and the search for ways to ease tension began.

IN In 1962, the World Congress for Disarmament was held in Moscow; in 1963, an agreement was concluded between the USSR, the USA and England banning the testing of nuclear weapons in three areas: in water, atmosphere, space; in 1964, the USSR announced measures to weaken the arms race. Aid to developing countries grew, for which huge amounts of money were spent, causing increasing discontent in the country. At the beginning 60s Relations with China and Albania deteriorated, which negatively affected the world system of socialism and the communist movement.

Culture. The 20th Congress of the CPSU and the “thaw” period changed the situation in the country, which influenced the development of culture.

Education. After the war, cultural centers were restored: educational institutions, theaters, museums, etc. Labor training was introduced in schools, and a transition to compulsory 8-year education took place (1958). The system of evening and correspondence education has expanded significantly. The institutes preferably accepted those who came from production. New universities and technical schools opened. Workplaces in production were freed up for students, and student work teams were created in the summer. The task was set

transition to compulsory secondary education based on “strengthening the connection between school and life.” However, a weak material base and a shortage of scientific and teaching personnel have reduced the level of specialist training.

Science. Soviet scientists achieved great achievements during these years. In 1956, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research was opened in Dubna (I.V. Kurchatov). A year later, the creation of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk) began. A number of domestic physicists have been awarded the Nobel Prize: N.N. Semenov, who created the theory of chain reactions and the theory of thermal explosion of gas mixtures (1956), I.E. Tamm, I.M. Franc iP.A. Cherenkov, who developed the theory of radiation (1958), A.M. Prokhorov and N.G. Basov, substantiated the foundations of quantum electronics (1964). The laureate in 1962 was L.D. Landau for his work on superfluidity and superconductivity. Scientists have made major discoveries in the field of theoretical physics N.N. Bogolyubov, M.A. Lavrentiev,

M.A. Leontovich et al.

IN 1949 The USSR became the owner of an atomic bomb, and then, thanks to research HELL. Sakharov and other scientists - the hydrogen bomb (1953). A.N. Tupolev created the supersonic aircraft Tu-144 (1956). Practical cosmonautics was headed by S.P. Korolev. April 12, 1961 Yu.A. Gagarin made the first flight into space, in the same year G.S. Titov, in 1963 the world learned about the first female cosmonaut V.V. Tereshkova, in 1965 A.A. Leonov went into outer space. Television entered life and automation was introduced. USSR

became one of the countries that actively developed scientific and technical potential, but was unable to maintain priority.

In literature, along with the military theme, the features of modern life, new names appeared: F. Abramov, D.A. Granin,

VF. Tendryakov, V.D. Dudintsev, V.M. Shukshin and others. In 1965, Nobe laureate

Lev Prize became M.A. Sholokhov. A.T. Tvardovsky wrote the poem “Terkin in the Other World”, headed the magazine “New World”, where he published the story by A.I. Solzhenitsyn “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” (1962). New magazines have appeared: “Moscow”, “Youth”, “ Foreign literature"etc. Cinematography, theater, musical art, painting.

However, persecution of the creative intelligentsia began again, and the pressure of “socialist realism” and party dictatorship intensified. Head of the Writers' Union A.A. Fadeev noted that art was “ruined by the self-confident, ignorant leadership of the party.” During the Stalinist regime he participated

V repressions against writers, and, having fallen into disgrace, committed suicide in 1956. In 1964, Tvardovsky was relieved of the leadership of the New World magazine. In 1957 B.L. Pasternak was expelled from the Writers' Union and was forced to refuse to receive the Nobel Prize in 1958 (for the novel Doctor Zhivago, published abroad). A human rights movement began, the publication of banned literature through the “samizdat” system, and assistance to those repressed was organized. Their own bards appeared. The work of V.S. has received universal recognition. Vysotsky.

The departure of creative intelligentsia from the country has increased. The "thaw" gave way to "frost".

Chronology

1953, September 13 – election of N.S. Khrushchev First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. 1953, September - the beginning of the rehabilitation of victims of repression.

1954, February-March - a course was adopted for the development of virgin and fallow lands. 1954, March - transformation of the Ministry of State Security into the State Security Committee (KGB).

1954 - the world's first nuclear power plant was created in the USSR. 1956, March 14-25 – XX Congress of the CPSU.

1957, February - rehabilitation of repressive peoples: Chechens, Ingush, Balkars, Karachais, Kalmyks; the beginning of their return to their homeland.

1957, June - an attempt by the “anti-party group” (G.M. Malenkov, V.M. Molotov, L.M. Kaganovich, etc.) to remove N.S. Khrushchev from the leadership of the party and its defeat.

1957, October 4 – launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in the USSR. 1961, April 12 - the first manned flight into space.

Test questions and assignments

1. How did the Thaw era affect the development of culture?

2. To consolidate the material studied, make a table of the transformations carried out during the period. 50s - mid. 60s XX century in political, social, cultural fields. Formulate your assessment of this period

national history. Name of columns of the table: 1. Political sphere. 2. Social sphere. 3. Sphere of culture. 4. Your rating.

Further reading

1. Zubkova E.Yu. Society and reforms. 1945-1964. – M., 1993.

2. History of Russia / A.A. Chernobaev, I.E. Gorelov, M.N. Zuev. – M., 2003.

3. Openkin L.A. Thaw: how is it? was (1953-1955). – M., 1991.

4. Light and shadows of the “great decade”. N.S. Khrushchev and his time. – L., 1989.

USSR in the mid-60s - mid-80s. XX century

Socio-economic development. After the resignation of N.S. Khrushchev in ok-

In September 1964, the country's leadership again returned to the principle of non-combining posts. L.I. Brezhnev headed the Central Committee of the party, A.N. became the head of government. Kosygin, whose name is associated with attempts at reform, is headed by A.I. Mikoyan.

The division of bodies according to sectoral principles was eliminated, economic councils were abolished and ministries were restored, the planning system was changed while expanding the rights of enterprises, and many Khrushchev “innovations” were canceled. All this was carried out under the leadership of A.N. Kosygin, who initiated economic reforms.

Reforms of 1965 In 1965, two Plenums of the CPSU Central Committee were held, the decisions of which were aimed at developing the economy. The March Plenum reviewed the situation in agriculture. It was recognized as necessary to strengthen the combination of public and personal interests, stimulate the work of peasants, partially remove measures limiting the conduct of personal subsidiary farming, significantly increase appropriations, provide rural areas with equipment, raise the role of agricultural science, introduce a procedure for procuring products at increased purchasing prices, and expand construction in rural areas. The September Plenum was devoted to the problems of industry, where labor stimulation and the introduction of economic management methods were also taken as a basis. If earlier the main indicator was the output of gross output in value terms and enterprises sought to produce the most expensive products, now the main thing is the sale of everything produced and making a profit, part of which remained for the enterprise, went towards its expansion and encouraging the work of workers. There was a transition to self-financing, and local initiative was taken into account. In 1966-1967 A reform of wholesale prices was carried out: instead of low wholesale prices, prices were introduced that ensured the self-financing of enterprises. Planned mandatory indicators have been reduced. However, the criterion remained the percentage of mandatory tasks, and not the economic efficiency of labor. Based on the economic reform of 1965, a plan was prepared eighth five year plan(1966-1970), which gave the best indicators of the country's development (1,900 enterprises came into operation). In 1967, the Quality Mark was introduced.

However, the reform did not affect political structures; everything had to be coordinated with the CPSU Central Committee; the bureaucratic apparatus, supported by Brezhnev, opposed the reform. Huge amounts of money were invested in the military complex and in foreign loans to many countries. Profits were increasingly taken away from enterprises, the treasury was emptying, command-administrative methods of leadership prevailed, the rights of enterprises were not expanded, the power of ministries and departments increased as a need to “increase the level of party leadership.”

The successes of the reform turned out to be temporary. Grain had to be imported again, agriculture was increasingly losing staff, and the urban population increased. The country has not entered a period of technological revolution. The world was undergoing a transition from an industrial to an information society based on the use of computer systems. In an agrarian society, the main resource of development was land, in an industrial society – plants and factories, in a new society – a combination of computer science, the rapid pace of computerization, high-tech industries, resource- and energy-saving technologies.

The USSR lagged significantly behind advanced countries, produced obsolete products, and continued to develop industries characteristic of the industrial period. The main reason for the lag was the crisis of the entire socialist

skaya system. The 1965 reform could not save the situation, came into conflict with the existing system and was curtailed. In 1979, another attempt was made to improve the economic mechanism by increasing the role of the party leadership. However, these measures were also ineffective. The directive economic model has exhausted its resources. In 1980 A.N. Kosygin was replaced by N.A. Tikhonov.

The lag of the economy, which was still extensive in nature, was covered up by slogans about the introduction of intensification, the struggle for quality and economy. There was a great shortage of labor, as the birth rate decreased, many workers retired, and the majority of young people studied at universities and technical schools. The equipment has worn out significantly, fuel and energy sources have moved beyond the Urals, which has caused an increase in the cost of transportation. Huge amounts of money were spent on the military-industrial complex and on maintaining a significantly expanded bureaucracy. The industry of Moscow and Leningrad was replenished with limit workers - people invited to work from the periphery.

At the same time, the country increasingly exported oil, gas, and electricity, turning into a raw material appendage of the capitalist world. The import of grain, food, and consumer goods increased, and a “shadow economy” appeared. Gigantomania flourished, the construction of the BAM and the Cheboksary hydroelectric station began, flooding a huge territory. The construction of numerous industrial facilities was often not economically feasible. They depleted the economy and turned into “unfinished construction”. The equipment was quickly aging, and the produced product samples did not meet international standards. Agriculture was falling further and further behind, productivity was declining, and losses of agricultural products during harvesting, storage and transportation were high. Developed in 1982 Food program, calculated until 1990. But all the decisions made remained on paper, words were at odds with deeds. As they said in the late 80s, a “braking mechanism” was taking shape; the country was heading towards stagnation, when production indicators tend to zero and a crisis sets in.

Social and political life. Together with Brezhnev, the mainly conservative wing of the ruling party, which opposed fundamental changes, came to leadership of the country. The course of the party congresses held under Khrushchev was rejected, the name of Stalin was again exalted, the apparatus system of leadership was strengthened, and the political demagoguery carried out by the ideological leader M.A. intensified. Suslov. Instead of “building communism”, the task of creating a “mature, developed socialist society” was put forward.

At the XXIV Congress of the CPSU in 1971, it was announced that the USSR had entered the stage developed socialism, which was characterized as a society in which a nation-wide state had emerged with high economic potential, with the complete dominance of state property, the unity of the Soviet people, and the increased role of the party, which became the “party of all the people.” All these attitudes covered up the arbitrariness that was happening in the country, the freezing of living standards, the decline of morals, and the policy of rewards and praise. New ministries and departments were created; colossal funds were wasted

for the maintenance of the apparatus, the number of which reached 18 million people. Corruption and mafia developed. A power elite was formed, the cult of Brezhnev was formed, who headed the state in 1977, replacing N.V. Podgorny, who held this post since 1965. Brezhnev became a marshal, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor, and had the most prestigious awards.

In 1977, the Constitution of “developed socialism” was adopted, which was supposed to cover up the extremely difficult situation of the country. The Constitution recorded the creation of a “state of the whole people”, noted the expansion of democracy and at the same time, for the first time, openly indicated the leading role of the party (Article 6) as the core of the political system. Rights and freedoms have expanded, for example, the right to housing, freedom of creativity, the right to criticize, etc. The basis of the political system of the USSR was proclaimed Councils of People's Deputies. However, real power remained with the party: lists of candidates for deputies and their speeches were corrected by party bodies; laws prepared “from above” were adopted unanimously. The republics did not have equality: thus, small Estonia was endowed with greater rights than the huge Bashkiria, since the latter was only an autonomous, and not a union, republic. A number of peoples did not have their rights, for example, the Crimean Tatars, the Volga Germans, etc. The rule of law was violated: dissidents were arrested, exiled, deported, and psychiatric hospitals were used to isolate people. The Constitution turned out to be a fictitious document and was of a declarative nature.

The party leadership put forward the official idea of ​​intensifying the ideological struggle between the two systems in conditions of peaceful coexistence, which led to a tightening of domestic politics. Bribery, corruption, and nepotism flourished in the country's governing bodies. Brezhnev himself began “collecting” foreign passenger cars. This situation significantly strengthened the dissident movement, which was brutally suppressed.

15 years of Brezhnev's leadership led the state to a state of collapse. Totalitarian society entered a period of deep crisis, which was supposed to end with the collapse of the socialist state.

For 15 months (1982-1984) the party was led by Yu.V. Andropov is an employee of the CPSU Central Committee, ambassador to Hungary in 1953-1957, who participated in the “Hungarian conflict” of 1956, for 15 years (1967-1982) he headed the KGB. Andropov was a supporter of the bloody suppression of events in Czechoslovakia (1968), advocated the introduction of martial law in Poland (1981) and Soviet troops in Afghanistan (1979). Since May 1982, he replaced Suslov in the CPSU Central Committee (after his death), and became responsible for ideology. He was distinguished by his competence, great efficiency, energy, and understanding of the need for change. He began to pursue a tough domestic and foreign policy, showed intolerance towards dissent, and instilled command and force methods of leadership. Relying on the KGB, Andropov sought to strengthen discipline and order in the country, undertook the fight against the mafia and waste, and persecuted dissidents. By 1984, up to a thousand people were again repressed, violations of constitutional norms continued, and food prices were raised. Since June 1983 Yu.V. Andropov headed the state. He advocated modernization and strengthening of socialist

Russian system, questioned the possibility of the country’s rapid entry into communism. In foreign policy, he curtailed détente, interrupting negotiations on limiting nuclear weapons in Europe in 1983.

After his death, the conservative wing of the CPSU Central Committee nominated K.U. to the leadership of the party. Chernenko, under whom a course was taken to return the Brezhnev order. An extremely ill man, he held a leadership position for a year (February 1984 - March 1985).

20 years (1964-1984) became a period of missed opportunities for the USSR, when the country lagged significantly behind the leading countries of the world.

Foreign policy. An extremely ideological foreign policy was based on the intensification of the struggle between the two systems and the impossibility of long-term peaceful coexistence, which led to tougher confrontation. International relations were built on the positions of the achieved military balance between the USSR and the USA (two superpowers) and were characterized by duality: on the one hand, the struggle for peace, on the other, the subordination of socialist countries to their political principles, military intervention in the affairs of sovereign states. Thus, in August 1968, the USSR, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and the GDR defeated the people's forces of Czechoslovakia led by Alexander Dubcek, who advocated an independent path of development. The new leadership with G. Husak restored pro-Soviet order. This approach to foreign policy in the world is called "Brezhnev Doctrine" - a course towards strengthening control over the economies of the CMEA countries under the guise of “labor integration”, based on the principle of “limited sovereignty”. The Soviet leadership intended with this policy to improve the economic situation of the country and dictate its terms to the states of the “commonwealth”. Romania opposed this, reducing its participation in the CMEA. The deterioration of living conditions in Poland led to unrest in 1980 led by the independent trade union Solidarity (headed by Lech Walesa). The USSR, fearing repeated open interventions, through General Wojciech Jaruzelski, who established martial law in the country, took measures to normalize the situation in Poland in order to maintain its influence.

Since 1967, relations with Israel have been severed for 20 years, which is recognized as a mistake. In 1970, an agreement was concluded with West Germany on the inviolability of post-war borders in Europe and the renunciation of the use of force. The same agreement was signed between the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland, and in 1972 the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic recognized each other's status.

In 1971, the Soviet leadership put forward a Peace Program, which proposed reducing military spending and ensuring European security by concluding treaties banning nuclear, chemical, and bacteriological weapons. Since June 1973, a meeting of foreign ministers of 33 European countries, as well as the United States and Canada, began work in Helsinki to develop an agreement on security in Europe, and on August 1, 1975, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe was signed. This document proclaimed the inviolability of post-war borders, the sovereignty

countries, their equality, non-use of force and peaceful settlement controversial issues, respect for human rights, proved the possibility of joint action by countries of different political systems and served as the basis for the creation of European security, on the basis of which the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) arose.

IN In May 1972, US President R. Nixon visited Moscow for the first time. An agreement was signed during the visit SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation) and the Basics of Relations between the USSR and the USA. In the first half of the 70s. There was a turn towards detente.

IN In January 1973, the Paris Agreement was signed to end the war waged by the United States and restore peace in Vietnam. In 1976, the USSR proposed to ensure the security of Asia, stop the arms race and move

To reducing stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, concluding a global treaty on the non-use of force, eliminating inequality in economic relations.

IN 1978 agreement signed SALT-2 on limiting medium-range missiles. In the early 80s. The USSR opposed the struggle for military superiority and put forward proposals to expand the zone of confidence-building measures: inviting military observers from different countries during the period of maneuvers of their troops, declaring a moratorium (temporary postponement) on the deployment of new medium-range missiles in Europe, freezing existing weapons.

However, peace proposals diverged from actions, and the established period of detente was short-lived. In the USSR, defense spending increased and interference in the affairs of other countries continued. During this period, Soviet troops were in Europe, Vietnam, Syria, Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. In December 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan under the slogan of “international assistance” and the protection of democratic forces. More than one and a half million Afghan soldiers participated in this war for ten years, which cost 17 thousand lives. Only in February 1989 was the war stopped, which further worsened the country's economy and significantly undermined international authority and the morale of the people. Trying to influence countries around the world,

The USSR provided political, material, and military support to developing countries, especially those who took the path of “socialist orientation”: Angola, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Kampuchea, etc.

Culture. The development of culture is associated with scientific and technological progress. In the second half of the 60s. set course for universal secondary education, and at 70-

X gg. – to strengthen career guidance. According to the 1977 Constitution, secondary education became compulsory. Schools began to be equipped with technical equipment, and free textbooks were introduced in 1978. IN 1983-1984 a school reform was carried out, the purpose of which was to connect schooling with the needs of the economy. In the mid-80s. The school began teaching children from the age of 6, moving to the 11th year. The USSR occupied one of the first places in the number of specialists produced, but their knowledge met the country’s needs less and less and did not correspond to the world level. Crisis events

The changes in the country have affected education. By the end of 1985, the level of expenditure on education was approximately equal to the level of 1940.

In science, the works of M.V. have received recognition. Keldysh, who developed the theory of aerodynamics and cosmonautics, and headed in 1961-1975. Academy of Sciences. In 1975, physicist L.V. Kantorovich won the Nobel Prize for developing the fundamentals linear programming. In 1978, this title was awarded to one of the oldest scientists, P.L. Kapitsa. Under the leadership of S.P. Queen continued space exploration. In 1975, the world's first international Soviet-American flight took place, the Soyuz-19 spacecraft docked with

A.A. Leonov and V.N. Kubasov "Apollo" with T. Strafford, D. Slay-

tone, V. Brandt. In the 1970s Foreign cosmonauts began to participate in space flights. However, at this time the USSR began to lose many of its positions and lagged significantly behind in computerization and in solving many scientific problems.

In literature such writers as S.P. Zalygin, B.L. Va-

silyev, V.V. Bykov, V.P. Astafiev, V.G. Rasputin and others who opposed the existing regime in the country. In 1965, writers A. Sinyavsky and Y. Daniel were arrested and sentenced to 7 years in camps and 5 years in exile for publishing their works abroad, which were then imported to the USSR. In 1967, the poet Yu. Galanskov and publicist A. Ginzburg were arrested. Censorship has tightened, political processes have resumed, and the persecution of cultural figures has resumed. All this could not but cause the strengthening of the human rights and dissident (dissidence - dissent) movement, which set as its task monitoring the implementation of the Helsinki Agreements in the USSR and the 1977 Constitution, and the release of political prisoners. In 1974, A.I. was expelled from the country. Solzhenitsyn. HELL. Sakharov openly opposed the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan and

V 1980 forcibly sent to Gorky ( Nizhny Novgorod), where he stayed for 7 years. Many cultural figures were forced to leave the USSR. The famous conductor Mstislav Rostropovich and singer Galina Vishnevskaya were deprived of Soviet citizenship as “spiritual degenerates”. Andrei Tarkovsky, Yuri Lyubimov, Viktor Nekrasov, Joseph Brodsky, Ernst Neizvestny and others ended up abroad.

Ideological literature was imposed on the people. The works of many writers were banned. “Samizdat” developed. At the same time, 6 volumes of Brezhnev’s “works” were published, his “works” appeared: “Little Earth”, “Virgin Land”, “Renaissance”. Myth-making developed, for example, “socialism is the most progressive system,” and the image of the enemy in the guise of “decaying imperialism” was imposed, because of which we have many problems and an insufficiently high standard of living. Propaganda was based on opposition: they have the corruption of culture, we have high morality and education; they had unemployment, we had the right to work, etc. All this ceased to apply. The people demanded change. The regime has completely degenerated.

Chronology

1968 - Warsaw Pact troops entered Czechoslovakia to suppress resistance to the communist regime.

1972 – Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) between

USSR and USA.

1977 – adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR.

1979 – entry of a limited Soviet military contingent into Afghanistan. 1980 – XXII Olympic Games in Moscow.

Test questions and assignments

1. Write a paper on the topic: “The economic reform of 1965 and its consequences.”

2. Make a table with the following sections: programs that were implemented in socio-economic sphere in the 70s - early 80s, what they envisaged and what their results were.

3. Was the systemic crisis of society in the USSR inevitable, in your opinion?

4. What is dissidence? What role did it play in the life of society?

Further reading

1. Russia in the twentieth century: People, ideas, power. – M., 2002.

2. Danilov A.A. History of dissent in Russia: Soviet period. 1917-1993. – Ufa, 1995.

3. Soviet society. Emergence, development, historical ending. –

Table of contents:
1. Introduction to the abstract……………………………………………………………….3
2. Introduction to the topic…………………………………………………………………….4
3. Soviet society after the war……………………………………………………5

4. Socio-economic and political development of the USSR in 1945-1953………………………………………………………………………………………… ……..6

4.1 The state of the USSR economy after the end of the war…………6
4.2 Economic discussions 1945 - 1946……………………………...7
4.3 Industrial development…………………………………………………………… …...…8
4.4 Agriculture………………………………………………………………10

5. Socio-political and cultural life of the country...11

5.1 Literature…………………………………………………… …………………..14
5.2 Theater and cinema……………………………………………………………… ...15
5.3 Music……………………………………………………….. .………………………16
6. Foreign policy of the USSR in 1945-1953………………………17
7. Death of Stalin. The struggle for power…………………………………...21
8. Conclusion (Final part on the topic)……………………………..23
9. Conclusion on the abstract……………………………………………………………....25
10. Literature…………………………………………………………………….26

Introduction to the abstract.
Among the problems associated with the end of the Great Patriotic War, the question of the post-war development of the USSR (1945-1953) has attracted the close attention of researchers in recent years. This topic also attracted my attention.
The main tasks are to find answers to the questions posed:
How did the USSR develop in the post-war period?
What difficulties did the country encounter in the post-war period?
What was the main task in the country in the post-war period?
How has the country changed?

Introduction.
Victory in the bloody war opened a new page in the history of the country. It gave rise to people's hopes for a better life, a weakening of the pressure of the totalitarian state on the individual, and the elimination of its most odious costs. The potential for changes in the political regime, economy, and culture opened up.
The “democratic impulse” of the war, however, was opposed by the entire power of the System created by Stalin. Its positions not only were not weakened during the war, but seemed to have become even stronger in the post-war period. Even the victory in the war itself was widely identified
consciousness with the victory of the totalitarian regime.
Under these conditions, the struggle between democratic and totalitarian tendencies became the leitmotif of social development.

Soviet society after the war.
The end of the Great Patriotic War had a significant impact on the socio-political development of society. Over the course of three and a half years, about 8.5 million former soldiers were demobilized from the army and returned to civilian life. Over 4 million repatriates returned to their homeland - prisoners of war, residents of occupied areas driven into captivity, and some emigrants. Having endured the incredible hardships of wartime, the population expected improved working and living conditions, positive changes in society, and a softening of the political regime. As in previous years, for the majority these hopes were associated with the name of I.V. Stalin. At the end of the war, I.V. Stalin was relieved of his duties as People's Commissar of Defense, but retained the post of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. He continued to remain a member of the Politburo and the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The authority of I.V., which increased during the war years. Stalin was supported by the entire system of administrative, bureaucratic and ideological apparatus. 1
In 1946-1947 on behalf of I.V. Stalin, drafts of a new Constitution of the USSR and the Program of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) were developed. The constitutional project provided for some development of democratic principles in the life of society. Thus, simultaneously with the recognition of the state form of ownership as the dominant one, the existence of small peasant farming based on personal labor was allowed. However, all proposals were rejected, and subsequently work on the draft documents ceased. The population's expectations for changes for the better were not destined to come true. Soon after the end of the war, the country's leadership took measures to tighten its internal political course. 2

Socio-economic development of the USSR in 1945-1953.
The state of the USSR economy after the end of the war.
The war resulted in huge human and material losses for the USSR. It claimed almost 27 million human lives. 1,710 cities and towns were destroyed, 70 thousand villages were destroyed, 31,850 factories and factories, 1,135 mines, 65 thousand km of railways were blown up and put out of action. Cultivated areas decreased by 36.8 million hectares. The country has lost approximately one third of its national wealth. 3
The country began to restore the economy in the year of the war, when in 1943. a special party and government resolution was adopted “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation.” With the colossal efforts of the Soviet people, by the end of the war in these areas it was possible to restore industrial production to a third of the 1940 level. The liberated areas in 1944 provided over half of the national grain procurements, a quarter of livestock and poultry, and about a third of dairy products. However, the central task of reconstruction arose before the country only after the end of the war. 4

Economic discussions 1945 - 1946
In August 1945, the government instructed the State Planning Committee (N. Voznesensky) to prepare a draft of the fourth five-year plan. During its discussion, proposals were made to somewhat soften the voluntaristic pressure in economic management and reorganize collective farms. The “democratic alternative” also emerged during the closed discussion of the draft new Constitution of the USSR prepared in 1946. In it, in particular, along with the recognition of the authority of state property, the existence of small private farms of peasants and artisans, based on personal labor and excluding the exploitation of other people's labor, was allowed. During the discussion of this project by nomenklatura workers in the center and locally, ideas were voiced about the need to decentralize economic life and provide greater rights to the regions and people's commissariats. “From below” there were increasingly frequent calls for the liquidation of collective farms due to their inefficiency. As a rule, two arguments were given to justify these positions: firstly, the relative weakening of state pressure over the manufacturer during the war years, which gave a positive result; secondly, a direct analogy was drawn with the recovery period after the civil war, when the revival of the economy began with the revival of the private sector, decentralization of management and the priority development of the light and food industries.
However, in these discussions, the point of view of Stalin prevailed, who announced at the beginning of 1946 that he would continue the course taken before the war to complete the construction of socialism and build communism. This meant a return to the pre-war model of over-centralization in economic planning and management, and at the same time to those contradictions and disproportions between sectors of the economy that developed in the 30s. 5

Industrial development.
The restoration of industry took place under very difficult conditions. In the first post-war years, the work of Soviet people was not much different from the military emergency. The constant shortage of food (the rationing system was abolished only in 1947), the most difficult working and living conditions, and the high level of morbidity and mortality were explained to the population by the fact that the long-awaited peace had just arrived and life was about to get better. However, this did not happen. 6
After the monetary reform of 1947, with an average salary of about 500 rubles per month, the cost of a kilogram of bread was 3-4 rubles, a kilogram of meat - 28-32 rubles, butter - over 60 rubles, a dozen eggs - about 11 rubles. To buy a wool suit, you need
was to pay three average monthly salaries. As before the war, from one to one and a half monthly salaries per year were spent on the purchase of bonds of forced government loans. Many working families still lived in dugouts and barracks, and sometimes worked in the open air or in unheated rooms, using old or worn-out equipment.
However, some wartime restrictions were lifted: the 8-hour working day and annual leave were reintroduced, and forced overtime was abolished. The restoration took place in conditions of a sharp increase in migration processes. Caused by the demobilization of the army (its number decreased from 11.4 million people in 1945 to 2.9 million in 1948), the repatriation of Soviet citizens from Europe, the return of refugees and evacuees from the eastern regions of the country. Another difficulty in the development of industry was its conversion, which was largely completed by 1947. Considerable funds were also spent on supporting the allied Eastern European countries. 7
Huge losses in the war resulted in a shortage of labor, which, in turn, led to an increase in turnover of personnel seeking more favorable working conditions. 8
These costs, as before, had to be compensated by increasing the transfer of funds from villages to cities and by developing the labor activity of workers. One of the most famous initiatives of those years was the “speed workers” movement, initiated by the Leningrad turner G.S. Bortkevich, who completed a 13-day output on a lathe in February 1948 in one shift. The movement became massive. At some enterprises, attempts were made to introduce self-financing. But to consolidate these innovations, no material incentive measures were taken; on the contrary, as labor productivity increased, prices were lowered. The administrative-command system benefited from achieving high production results without additional investments.
For the first time in many years after the war, there was a tendency towards a wider use of scientific and technical developments in production, but it manifested itself mainly only at enterprises of the military-industrial complex (MIC), where, in the conditions of the outbreak of the Cold War, the process of developing nuclear and thermonuclear weapons was underway , new missile systems, new models of tank and aircraft equipment.
Along with the priority development of the military-industrial complex, priority was also given to mechanical engineering, metallurgy, fuel, and energy industries, the development of which accounted for 88% of capital investments in industry. The light and food industries, as before, were financed on a residual basis (12%) and, naturally, did not satisfy even the minimum needs of the population.
In total, during the years of the 4th Five-Year Plan (1946-1950), 6,200 large enterprises were restored and rebuilt. In 1950, according to official data, industrial production exceeded pre-war levels by 73% (and in the new union republics - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova - 2-3 times). True, reparations and products of joint Soviet-East German enterprises were also included here.
The main creator of these undoubted successes was the Soviet people. Through his incredible efforts and sacrifices, as well as the high mobilization capabilities of the directive economic model, seemingly impossible economic results were achieved. At the same time, the traditional policy of redistributing funds from the light and food industries, agriculture and social sphere in favor of heavy industry also played a role. Significant assistance was also provided by reparations received from Germany ($4.3 billion), which provided up to half the volume of industrial equipment installed during these years. In addition, the labor of almost 9 million Soviet prisoners and about 2 million German and Japanese prisoners of war, who also contributed to the post-war reconstruction, was free, but very effective. 9

Agriculture.
The country's agriculture emerged from the war even more weakened. gross output which in 1945 did not exceed 60% of the pre-war level. The situation in it worsened even more due to the drought of 1946, which caused severe famine.
Nevertheless, the unequal exchange of goods between the city and the countryside continued after this. Through government procurement, collective farms compensated for only a fifth of the costs of milk production, a tenth for grain, and a twentieth for meat. Peasants working on the collective farm received practically nothing. The only thing that saved me was the farming. However, the state dealt a significant blow to him too. For the period from 1946-1949. 10.6 million hectares of land from peasant plots were cut off in favor of collective farms. Taxes on income from market sales were significantly increased. Market trade itself was allowed only to those peasants whose collective farms fulfilled state supplies. Each peasant farm was obliged to hand over meat, milk, eggs, and wool to the state as a tax for a plot of land. In 1948, collective farmers were “recommended” to sell small livestock to the state (which was allowed to be kept by the collective farm charter), which caused a massive slaughter of pigs, sheep, and goats throughout the country (up to 2 million heads). Pre-war norms that limited the freedom of movement of collective farmers were preserved: they were actually deprived of the opportunity to have passports, they were not covered by temporary disability pay, and they were deprived of pension benefits. The monetary reform of 1947 also hit the peasantry, who kept their savings at home, hardest. 10 By the end of the 4th Five-Year Plan, the disastrous economic situation of collective farms required their next reform. However, the authorities saw its essence not in material incentives for the manufacturer, but in yet another structural restructuring.
With the help of strong-willed measures taken and at the cost of enormous efforts of the peasantry in the early 50s. managed to bring the country's agriculture to the pre-war level of production. However, the deprivation of the peasants' remaining incentives to work brought the country's agriculture close to an unprecedented crisis and forced the government to take emergency measures to supply food to the cities and army.
Thus, the return of the USSR to the pre-war model of economic development caused a significant deterioration in economic indicators in the post-war period, which was a natural result of the implementation of the plan taken in the late 20s. course. 11
Socio-political and cultural life of the country.
The transition to peaceful construction after the end of the Great Patriotic War required the reorganization of government bodies. In September 1945, the State Defense Committee was abolished. Its functions were again distributed between the Council of People's Commissars, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. But the process of transformation of the authoritarian administrative system that developed in the USSR in the pre-war and especially during the war years was of a formal nature. As before, all power was concentrated in the hands of Stalin, who relied on a powerful repressive apparatus. Stalin, who received the shoulder straps of Generalissimo from the hands of his associates, was an unlimited dictator.
People who endured the difficulties and hardships of wartime hoped for changes for the better. The demobilized and evacuees returned home with hope. However, most often they became prisoners of the Gulag. Many were shot. Those who remained free had difficulties with work and registration. 12
In 1946, the People's Commissariats were renamed respectively into the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR and the Ministry of State Security of the USSR. The influence of these structures on the internal political life of the country in the 40s - early 50s. was huge and comprehensive, there was an established system of total espionage, suppression of the slightest manifestations of dissent. The methods of operation of the repressive apparatus have changed compared to the period of the 20-30s, turning it into a well-functioning punitive mechanism, an obedient instrument of the supreme power. The attention of state leaders was directed not so much to the development of effective measures to boost the economy, but to the search for specific “culprits” for its unsatisfactory development.
The first repressions fell on the military, whose increasing influence Stalin feared. Even a trial against Zhukov was being prepared. Many prominent military leaders were arrested. There was a struggle for power between supporters of repression (Malenkov, Beria) and younger figures inclined to liberalize the administrative-command system (Kuznetsov, Voznesensky, Rodionov). After the death of Zhdanov in 1948, Stalin’s old entourage won. The so-called “Leningrad case” is being fabricated. The main accused were Voznesensky, Kuznetsov, Rodionov and others. The organizers of the non-existent anti-party group were sentenced to death, about 2 thousand Leningrad communists were repressed.
The development of science and culture in the USSR in the post-war years was combined with a tougher fight against any, even the slightest, deviations from the “tasks of socialist construction.” 13
In 1946, the Soviet government significantly increased spending on science; it was 2.5 times higher than the previous year's spending. This year, the Academies of Sciences of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania were restored, and created in Kazakhstan, Latvia and Estonia. The second half of the 40s was the time of organizing a whole series of research institutes, which later became part of the golden fund of Soviet science. Among them were the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Science, the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, the Institute of Applied Physics, the Institute of Atomic Energy and many others. At the same time, special design bureaus located in the system of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs continued to exist and expand.
The war and repression of the 30s dealt a heavy blow to the intelligentsia, so in the 40s and early 50s the Soviet Union had a huge shortage of specialists with higher and secondary education. Higher education, which experienced an acute shortage of qualified personnel, was in a fever. The difficulties faced by the education sector in the USSR were resolved by lowering the educational level. Although teachers and university lecturers, like all scientific workers, had their salaries significantly increased and a number of benefits provided, their training was lower even compared to the 30s. Most school teachers were trained in short-term courses or in teacher training institutes using a shortened program. Despite all this, the country switched to universal seven-year education. The lowering of the general educational level subsequently led to crisis phenomena in the science and economy of the Soviet state, but at that time it had a quick effect, creating the illusion of accelerated scientific and technological development of society. In the 40s and early 50s, Soviet science and technology achieved a number of successes, primarily in the field of physics, chemistry, and precision engineering, but all of them were mainly aimed at military needs and contributed to the build-up of the military power of the world's first " socialist" state. In 1949, the USSR tested an atomic bomb, and research in the field of chemical and bacteriological weapons was intensive.
At the same time, branches of science that were not directly related to defense were subjected to severe pressure and even bans.
If in the development of exact and natural sciences the interference and dictates of the party-state apparatus were a brake, then for the humanities they became simply a disaster. During the first post-war decade, not a single significant achievement appeared in the humanities, and not a single outstanding work appeared in the field of literature and art. 14
The pressure and control on science and art from the party-state apparatus was great. Artistic and scientific principles were not the priority of the creative intelligentsia, but were “brought into life” from high stands, after which they became immutable truths. In 1947, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee A.A. took part in a discussion on philosophy. Zhdanov, and in the discussion on linguistics in 1950 and political economy in 1951 - Stalin himself. All this led to the gradual degradation of humanities in the USSR. 15
The campaign against cosmopolitanism, which unfolded in the late 40s and early 50s, also had a negative impact on the development of science, literature and art. Its goal was to denigrate everything non-Soviet, non-socialist, to put a barrier between the Soviet people and the cultural achievements of Western countries. Therefore, a blow was dealt to that part of the Soviet intelligentsia that sought to show the achievements of the West more objectively than was allowed in government circles. As a result of this campaign, many scientists and artists were subjected to repression, were dismissed from their positions and even ended up in prison and exile. The party and government openly and actively interfered in the work of literary and artistic figures, which led to a decline in the artistic and ideological level and the formation of mediocre art that embellished Soviet reality.
All this led to a sharp reduction in the number of new films, performances and works of art, an increase in mediocrity, and the deliberate destruction of the great Russian artistic tradition of the 19th - early 20th centuries. 16

Literature.
One of the first blows was dealt to Russian literature. In the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of August 14, 1946, “On the magazines Zvezda and Leningrad,” these publications were accused of promoting ideas “alien to the spirit of the party” and providing a literary platform for “ideologically harmful works.” Special criticism were subjected to M.M. Zoshchenko, A.A. Akhmatova, called in the resolution "vulgarities and scum of literature." people in an ugly caricature form,” and Akhmatova is a typical representative of “empty, unprincipled poetry, alien to our people,” imbued with “the spirit of pessimism and decadence ... old salon poetry.” The Leningrad magazine was closed, and the leadership of the Zvezda magazine was replaced .17
Even those writers whose work fully met the requirements of the party were subjected to sharp criticism. Thus, the head of the Writers' Union A.A. Fadeev was criticized for the original version of the novel The Young Guard, which did not sufficiently show the party leadership of young underground fighters; songwriter M.A. Isakovsky - for the pessimism of the poem "Enemies burned their home." Playwright A.P. was criticized. Stein, writers Yu.P. Herman and E.G. Kazakevich, M.L. Slonimsky. Literary criticism also developed into direct repression. During the fight against the “cosmopolitans” P.D. were shot. Markish and L.M. Kvitko, an investigation was conducted into the “case” of I.G. Ehrenburg, V.S. Grossman, S.Ya. Marshak.
Subsequently, other resolutions on literary issues were adopted: “On the magazine “Crocodile” (1948), “On measures to improve the magazine “Ogonyok” (1948), “On the magazine “Znamya” (1949), "On the shortcomings of the Krokodil magazine and measures to improve it" (1951)
etc. The result of the “struggle for the purity of literature” was the closure of a number of magazines, the prohibition of literary works, the “elaboration” and sometimes repression of their authors, and most importantly - stagnation in domestic literature. 18

Theater and cinema.
Following literature, the party leadership was “strengthened” in theater and cinema. The resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated August 26, 1946 “On the repertoire of drama theaters and measures to improve it” condemned the predominance of the classical repertoire in the country’s theaters to the detriment of plays dedicated to the “pathos of the struggle for communism.” And the few plays on modern themes found in the repertoire were criticized as weak and unprincipled, in which Soviet people appear “primitive and uncultured, with philistine tastes and morals,” and events are depicted “far-fetched and deceitful.” The Committee on Arts was criticized for the presence in the repertoire of plays that “idealize the lives of kings, khans, nobles”, for “the introduction into the theater repertoire of plays by bourgeois Western playwrights, openly preaching bourgeois views and morals.”
On September 4, 1946, a new resolution of the Central Committee appeared, this time devoted to criticism of the “lack of ideas” of a number of films. Among them were the following films: “Big Life” (2nd series) by L. Lukov, which talks about the difficulties of restoring Donbass after the war (the ball was criticized for the “false portrayal of party workers” and the lack of showing “modern Donbass with its advanced technology and culture , created during the years of Stalin's five-year plans"); "Admiral Nakhimov" V.I. Pudovkina; "Ivan the Terrible" (2nd episode) S.M. Eisenstein (according to Stalin, this film created a false image of the tsar - indecisive and characterless, “like Hamlet”; the oprichnina was incorrectly shown in a negative way). Outstanding film directors G. Kozintsev, L. Trauberg and others were also criticized.
Developing the ideas of these resolutions, the weekly “Culture and Life”, specially created by the authorities, at the end of 1946 began a mass campaign against “decadent tendencies” in the theater and demanded the exclusion of all plays by foreign authors from the theater repertoire. 19 20

Music.
At the end of 1947, harsh ideological pressure fell on Soviet musicians. The occasion was the performance of three works commissioned by the authorities for the 30th anniversary of the October Revolution: the Sixth Symphony by S.S. Prokofiev, "Poems" by F.I. Khachaturian and the opera "Great Friendship" by V.I. Muradeli. In February 1948, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks issued a resolution “On decadent tendencies in Soviet music,” where Muradeli was criticized for “neglecting the best traditions and experience of classical opera in general, Russian classical opera in particular.”
Other composers “adhering to a formalistic, anti-national direction” were also criticized - S.S. Prokofiev, D.D. Shostakovich, A.I. Khachaturyan, N.Ya. Myaskovsky. After the release of this resolution, a purge began in the Union of Composers. The works of disgraced composers stopped being performed, and conservatories and theaters refused their services. Instead of their works, there were choral and solo praises of Stalin and the happy life of the Soviet people, who, under the leadership of the party, were building a heavenly life on earth.
All this not only impoverished Russian culture, but also isolated it from the best achievements of world culture. And yet, despite the dictates and ideological blinders, cultural life also had positive features, primarily in the development of a huge classical heritage. 21

Foreign policy of the USSR.
The international position of the USSR after the war, which it won at the cost of heavy losses, was extremely paradoxical. The country was ruined. At the same time, its leaders had the legal right to claim a prominent role in the life of the world community. However, the balance of forces was perhaps the worst for the USSR during its entire existence. Yes, he benefited from occupying large parts of Europe, and his army was the largest in the world. At the same time, in the field of military technology, the USA and Great Britain are far ahead of the USSR, whose industrial potential in the western regions also suffered huge losses. Soviet leaders were clearly aware of this situation, which made them feel a strong sense of vulnerability, but at the same time they believed that the USSR was a great power. In this situation, two approaches were possible: either maintain cooperation with former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, or expand the sphere of Soviet influence. 22
After the Yalta Conference, due to some passivity of the Western powers in international relations, the second approach prevailed. In an increasingly polarized world, this policy led in subsequent years to the formation of blocs and confrontation.
At the beginning of March 1946, Churchill delivered his famous speech in Fulton, in the presence of President Truman, in which two strategic goals of the West in relation to the USSR were formulated: to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR and its communist ideology, and then to push back the socialist system to the pre-war borders, to achieve its weakening and the liquidation of the USSR itself. 23 The same thought in February 1947. US President Truman spoke in his message to Congress. The United States did not hide its desire to achieve world domination. 24
For its part, the USSR hurried to strengthen its influence on the countries liberated by the Soviet Army, embarking on active “denazification” of its occupation zone, agrarian reform, nationalization of industrial enterprises and the creation of mixed Soviet-German enterprises that worked exclusively for the USSR. 25
On June 5, 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall proposed to allocate significant financial resources for the restoration of European countries, “to help Europeans regain economic health, without which neither stability nor peace is possible.”
In July, a conference was scheduled in Paris, open to all countries, including the USSR. The foreign ministers of England and France warmly supported the Marshall Plan, and the Soviet delegation led by Molotov put forward the condition that the Soviet government retain freedom in spending the portion of funds allocated to it and in choosing economic policies. After these conditions were rejected, Moscow refused to participate in the Marshall Plan and insisted that the governments of countries within its sphere of influence make similar decisions. Western Europe received $12.4 billion from the United States and was able to short term revive the destroyed economy and form modern market structures. The positions of local communist parties there weakened, and the influence of the United States strengthened significantly. 26
The deterioration of the international climate continued throughout 1947, marked by an increasingly noticeable pull of Eastern European countries into the orbit of the USSR. In January 1947, the Americans and the British united their occupation zones in Germany into a single one, and later the part of Germany controlled by France was annexed to it. This further intensified the confrontation between the USSR and the West. 27
On June 24, 1948, the Soviet side completely blocked the western zones in Berlin. The West was forced to organize an "air bridge" that supplied the city until May 12, 1949, when the blockade was finally lifted.
On May 23, 1949, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany was adopted in the Western occupation zone and government bodies were formed. In response, on October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in the Eastern occupation zone, to which the Soviet Union transferred all civil powers. The split of the united state of Germany and the German people became a symbol of the split of the world into two hostile systems: capitalist and socialist.
1949-1950 became the culmination of the Cold War, marked by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) on April 4, 1949, whose “openly aggressive nature” was tirelessly exposed by the USSR, the Korean War and the rearmament of Germany. But the same year also brought satisfaction to the Soviet leaders: the successful test of the first Soviet atomic bomb (September 1949) and the victory of the Chinese communists.
Thus, in the post-war world, the contradictions of the socio-economic systems of socialism and capitalism took on the character of an ideological confrontation between “Western democracy” and “Eastern communism”, which split the world into two warring camps, called “East” and “West”, with centers in the USSR and USA. In Eastern European countries internal transformations occurred with the direct participation of the USSR. Without taking into account local conditions, the socialist experience was implanted here, and the decisions made by Moscow were binding on all socialist countries.

The beginning of the Cold War: signs and causes.
The main content of Soviet foreign policy in the post-war period was the “Cold War”, i.e. ideological confrontation between the USSR and the USA, periodically developing into local armed conflicts. 28
Signs of the Cold War:

The existence of a relatively stable bipolar world is the presence in the world of two superpowers that balance each other’s influence, to which other states gravitate to one degree or another.
“Block politics” is the creation of opposing military-political blocs by superpowers. 1949 - creation of NATO, 1955 - Warsaw Pact Organization.
“Arms race” - the increase in the number of weapons by the USSR and the USA in order to achieve qualitative superiority. The “arms race” ended by the beginning of the 1970s. in connection with the achievement of parity (balance, equality) in the number of weapons. From this moment on, the “policy of detente” begins - a policy aimed at eliminating the threat of nuclear war and reducing the level of international tension. “Détente” ended after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan (1979)
Formation of an “enemy image” among one’s own population in relation to the ideological enemy. In the USSR, this policy was manifested in the creation of the “Iron Curtain” - a system of international self-isolation. In the USA, “McCarthyism” is being carried out - the persecution of supporters of “left” ideas.
Periodically emerging armed conflicts that threaten to escalate the Cold War into a full-scale war. 29

Causes of the Cold War:

Victory in World War II led to a sharp strengthening of the USSR and the USA.
The imperial ambitions of Stalin sought to expand the zone of influence of the USSR into the territories of Turkey, Tripolitania (Libya) and Iran.
The US nuclear monopoly, attempts at dictatorship in relations with other countries.
Ineradicable ideological contradictions between the two superpowers.
Formation of a socialist camp controlled by the USSR in Eastern Europe. 30

The date of the beginning of the Cold War is considered to be March 1946, when W. Churchill made a speech in Fulton (USA) in the presence of President G. Truman, in which he accused the USSR of “the limitless spread of its power and its doctrines” in the world. Soon, President Truman announced a program of measures to “save” Europe from Soviet expansion (the “Truman Doctrine”). He proposed providing large-scale economic assistance to European countries (“Marshall Plan”); create a military-political alliance of Western countries under the auspices of the United States (NATO); place a network of US military bases along the borders of the USSR; support internal opposition in Eastern European countries. All this was supposed not only to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR (the doctrine of containing socialism), but also to force the Soviet Union to return to its previous borders (the doctrine of rolling back socialism). 31
By this time, communist governments existed only in Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. However, from 1947 to 1949. socialist systems are also developing in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, North Korea, and China. The USSR provides them with enormous financial assistance. 32
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, the Warsaw Pact Organization was formed in 1955. Within the framework of the commonwealth, no “independence” was allowed. Relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia (Joseph Broz Tito), which was seeking its path to socialism, were severed. At the end of the 1940s. Relations with China (Mao Zedong) deteriorated sharply. 33
The first serious clash between the USSR and the USA was the Korean War (1950-53). The Soviet state supports the communist regime of North Korea (DPRK, Kim Il Sung), the USA supports the bourgeois government of South Korea. The Soviet Union supplied the DPRK with modern types of military equipment (including MiG-15 jet aircraft) and military specialists. As a result of the conflict, the Korean Peninsula was officially divided into two parts.
Thus, the international position of the USSR in the first post-war years was determined by the status of one of the two world superpowers won during the war. The confrontation between the USSR and the USA and the outbreak of the Cold War marked the beginning of the division of the world into two warring military-political camps. 34

The death of Stalin and the struggle for power.

With the death of Stalin (March 5, 1953), an entire era ended. An era when a system based on the apparatus, on repressive bodies, developed and strengthened. On the eve of Stalin's funeral, a meeting was held in the Kremlin to which only those most knowledgeable about the state of affairs in the party and state were invited. Among them there were not even a number of members of the Presidium of the Central Committee. Without convening an official plenum of the Central Committee, the meeting participants made decisions that, in their opinion, were designed to ensure the continuity of power. Malenkov became Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He was nominated for this post by Beria. In turn, Malenkov proposed uniting the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of State Security under the leadership of Beria. Other changes were made to the leadership team. At this meeting, Khrushchev managed to achieve a decision on the return of G.K. to Moscow. Zhukov, who at that time commanded the Ural Military District. The position of First Secretary was not introduced in the party, but Khrushchev, as the only one of the secretaries of the Central Committee of the party included in the Presidium of the Central Committee, actually took control of the cadres of the party apparatus. 35
The most influential political figures in the leadership were Malenkov, Beria and Khrushchev. The balance was extremely unstable.
The policy of the new leadership in the spring days of 1953. was controversial, reflecting the contradictions in its composition. At Zhukov’s request, a large group of military personnel returned from prison. But the Gulag continued to exist, the same slogans and portraits of Stalin hung everywhere.
Each of the contenders for power sought to seize it in their own way. Beria - through control over state security agencies and troops. Malenkov - declaring his desire to pursue a popular policy of improving the well-being of the people, “to take care of the maximum satisfaction of their material and cultural needs,” calling for “in 2–3 years to achieve the creation in our country of an abundance of food for the population and raw materials for light industry.” 36
Khrushchev took the initiative to unite members of the leadership for an action against Beria. By cunning and persuasion, threats that he would not spare anyone, Khrushchev achieved his goal. In mid-July 1953, at one of the meetings in the Kremlin, which was chaired by Malenkov, Khrushchev made accusations against Beria of careerism, nationalism, and connections with the English Mussavatist
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