Soviet Union mid-80s was in a rather sad state. Most correct definition, which can describe the essence of what was happening, perhaps, will be the word “stagnation”. All spheres and sectors of the life of the state were in stagnation: politics, economics, even cultural and public life. Something had to be done about this, but in order to get the clumsy state mechanism off the ground, it was necessary for a strong, charismatic personality to be in power. And such a person turned out to be M.S. Gorbachev.

Why was change so necessary for society? Let's try to sort out the main elements of the state structure that required updating

But this was just the tip of the iceberg. The system had outlived its usefulness, it had become unviable and was about to collapse - all that was needed was a push from the outside. And Gorbachev, who became the head of the state, “pushed” the unstable state colossus, which stood on feet of clay. What did he do and what did it lead to?

The essence of the reforms being carried out

Results of Gorbachev's reforms

In general, the reforms of M.S. Gorbachev were of great importance for further development states. Of course, not everything went smoothly, and almost immediately, as soon as glasnost was announced in the country, there were those willing to criticize the first President of the USSR. Yes, there were shortcomings: in particular, there was a very severe crisis in the economy, the consequences of which were then difficult to cope with for many years. But this is quite natural: after all, when the old system is destroyed, it takes time to establish the normal functioning of the new one. The economy was already on the verge of collapse, so its reform, along with the accompanying shocks, was inevitable.

The trace left by Gorbachev’s activities is especially noticeable in the external and domestic policy countries. B.N. Yeltsin “got” a completely different state than the one that existed literally 5-6 years before he came to power: it proclaimed glasnost, freedom to hold elections, and allowed a multi-party system. USSR under M.S. Gorbachev took the first difficult steps towards a developed democratic state. For the first time in many decades, one could freely express one’s thoughts out loud, even if they contradicted one’s views political leaders. The Cold War is over international situation noticeably “warmer”. People breathed in the air of long-awaited freedom and were finally able to feel like not cogs in a huge state machine, but full-fledged individuals with the right to their own opinion.

INTRODUCTION

The increasingly complex foreign and domestic political tasks of the USSR, the general level of development of society (escalation of the missile doctrine, the Afghan war, social apathy, ideological crisis, bureaucratization, stagnation in technology, etc.) required radical reforms, which were held back only by unreformable leadership. Changes that took place in 1985 led to the elimination of this obstacle. The time has come for political reform.

Crimean War 1853-1856 presented the government with a choice: either to preserve the serfdom that existed in the country and, as a consequence of this, ultimately, as a result of a political and financial-economic catastrophe, to lose not only the prestige and position of a great power, but also to threaten the existence of the autocracy in Russia, or to begin to carry out bourgeois reforms, the primary of which was the abolition of serfdom.

Political reforms M.S. Gorbachev. Search for ways to democratize society (1985-1991)

In March 1985 general secretary The Central Committee of the CPSU became M.S. Gorbachev. His election was associated with the support of the Minister of Foreign Affairs A.A. Gromyko, as well as the desire of Politburo members to end the so-called “five-year plan of deaths.” A number of stages can be roughly distinguished in the political development of the country. The first, from March 1985 to January 1987, took place under the slogan “more socialism.”

From the very beginning, Gorbachev showed himself to be an experienced politician, justifying the description given to him by Gromyko at the March plenum of the CPSU Central Committee: “He has a pleasant smile, but iron teeth.” At the April plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in 1985, Gorbachev’s supporters became full members of the Politburo: Central Committee secretaries E.K. Ligachev and N.I. Ryzhkov, KGB Chairman V.M. Chebrikov; candidate member of the Politburo - Marshal of the Soviet Union, Minister of Defense S.L. Sokolov. In July 1985 A.A. Gromyko holds the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council, and E.A. becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs and at the same time a member of the Politburo. Shevardnadze. A “Gorbachev majority” is emerging in the Politburo. Opponents of Gorbachev are gradually being removed from the Politburo: G.V. Romanov (July 1985), N.A. Tikhonov (October 1985), V.V. Grishin (December 1985), D.A. Kunaev (January 1987), G.A. Aliyev (October 1987) and others. They are being replaced by proteges of the new Secretary General: B.N. Yeltsin, A.N. Yakovlev, A.I. Lukyanov, V.A. Medvedev. Personnel changes sometimes led to serious local conflicts, as happened in 1986 in Kazakhstan, when, after the removal of Kunaev, the local national elite did not accept the candidacy of Gorbachev-Kolbin. The unrest in Almaty prompted Moscow to choose a new, compromise candidate. In general, in 1985-1988. Gorbachev managed to complete the personnel purge that Andropov had begun. In three years, 85% of the composition of the Central Committee was renewed, which far exceeded the figures for 1934-1939, when they amounted to about 77%. The apotheosis of personnel changes was the 19th Party Conference in 1988, when, at its conclusion, the representatives of the “Kremlin elders” who remained in the leadership, including Gromyko, Solomentsev, and Dolgikh, were removed from the Politburo and the Central Committee of the CPSU. Simultaneously with the personnel changes, the political renewal of society began, which was expressed, first of all, in the fight against corruption and the nomenklatura. The conductor of Gorbachev’s ideas in Moscow was B. N. Yeltsin, who replaced Grishin as first secretary of the Moscow regional committee of the CPSU, declaring: “We are undergoing such a restructuring in Moscow that there are not enough places in prisons for everyone we want to imprison.” Of the 33 district committee secretaries in Moscow, 23 were removed, some several times. During Yeltsin's tenure at the head of the Moscow organization of the CPSU, more than 800 trade workers were imprisoned for various crimes. The renewal of society was seen, first of all, in the fight against corruption, while the methods of management and implementation of reforms remained prescriptive. In fact, it was about party reform from above through the party system government agencies. However, the emerging resistance to these reforms on the part of a significant part of the party functionaries, noticeable already in 1986, led Gorbachev to realize the need to expand the social base by attracting the intelligentsia to participate in the perestroika process. The impetus for the policy of glasnost was the events of April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which revealed the moral inferiority of the previous party control over information. In May, congresses of the Union of Cinematographers and the Union of Theater Workers were held, where a change of leadership was made, and the Unions were respectively headed by E. Klimov and M. Shatrov. Appointments were also made to central magazines and newspapers: the editorial board of “New World” was headed by S. Zalygin, “Znamya” - G. Baklanov, “Ogonka” - V. Korotich, “Moskovsky Komsomolets” - E. Yakovlev, “Arguments and Facts” - V. Starkov. Personnel changes in management creative unions and the editors of periodicals pursued the goal of neutralizing the emerging party opposition to Gorbachev’s reforms. Tragic circumstances the destruction of the motor ship Admiral Nakhimov in the summer of 1986 and the nuclear submarine Komsomolets in October of the same year convinced Gorbachev of the need for glasnost. At the January 1987 plenum, the policy of glasnost was officially enshrined as the basis of the ongoing political reforms. The next stage, 1987-1988, can be characterized as a stage taking place under the slogan “more democracy”, in which the class concept of democracy was replaced by a universal (liberal) understanding.

In 1987-1989 previously unpublished and prohibited works were published: “Requiem” by A. Akhmatova, “Sofya Petrovna” by L. Chukovskaya, “Doctor Zhivago” by B. Pasternak and other books. Books by A. Rybakov “Children of Arbat”, V. Dudintsev “White Clothes”, D. Granin “Bison”, V. Grossman “Life and Fate”, A. Pristavkin “The Golden Cloud Spent the Night”, etc. are published. In conditions of glasnost throughout the country in 1987-1988. Numerous political associations and societies are formed: popular fronts in Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, major cities Russia, Lithuanian “Sąjūdis”, Ukrainian “Rukh”, “Free Georgia” and other organizations. Established stereotypes regarding the historical past of the USSR are being revised, and the rehabilitation process, interrupted during the Brezhnev period, is being resumed. In February 1988, the Commission for additional study of materials related to the repressions that took place during the 30-40s and early 50s came to the conclusion that the cases against N.I. were falsified. Bukharin, A.I. Rykov and other defendants at the third Moscow trial in 1938.

The policy of glasnost, which at times took a harsh approach negative character in relation to the entire historical past of the USSR, led to the consolidation within the Politburo of conservative-minded individuals who did not accept the direction of most perestroika materials in periodicals. The formation of opposition to reforms in the Politburo was also facilitated by the command and administrative methods of carrying out reforms in the initial period of perestroika, as well as by the affected party and nomenklatura interests. Also, Gorbachev’s opponents were critical of the ongoing economic reforms, in which they saw capitulation to the capitalist system.

E.K. became the leader of the conservatives in the Politburo. Ligachev. It was he who achieved the removal of B.N. from the post of first secretary of the Moscow Regional Committee of the CPSU in 1987. Yeltsin, as well as publications on March 13, 1988 in “ Soviet Russia» article by N. Andreeva “I can’t give up principles”, where the policy of glasnost was criticized. More than three weeks of silence from the intelligentsia, stunned by the article published in the central organ of the CPSU, proved the precariousness of Gorbachev’s position in the clash with the party leadership. Gorbachev's bet on communist reformers and the intelligentsia turned out to be insufficient. A new expansion of the social base of perestroika was required both to continue the reforms and to strengthen the position of Gorbachev himself. Elections to the highest bodies of power have opened new stage- stage of disengagement in the perestroika camp (1989-1991).

In March 1989, elections to the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR took place. Gorbachev was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council at the First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, which opened in May. Despite the fact that many representatives of the party nomenklatura did not qualify for single-mandate constituencies, Gorbachev managed to enlist the support of the majority of the congress. At the same time, finding themselves in a relative minority, radical deputies formed an Interregional Group of People's Deputies on the last day of the congress (group co-chairs: Sakharov, Yeltsin, Afanasyev, Popov, Palm). They advocated accelerating political and economic transformations in the USSR and radical reform of Soviet society. In the fall of 1989, the Second Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR took place, taking place against the backdrop of revolutionary transformations in Eastern Europe. Events in the countries of the former socialist bloc contributed to the polarization of the congress. The radical minority, which after the death of Sakharov during the days of the congress was headed by Yeltsin, demanded the abolition of Article 6 of the USSR Constitution, which secured the monopoly of the CPSU on power. In turn, the conservative majority pointed to the destabilizing disintegration processes in the USSR and, consequently, to the need to strengthen the powers of the center (the “Union” group). Under these conditions, Gorbachev, during the break between the II and III Congresses of People's Deputies of the USSR, goes to the abolition of Article 6, while simultaneously raising the issue of the need for additional powers executive power. The III Congress on March 15, 1990 agrees to the introduction of the institution of presidency in the USSR and at the congress elects M.S. as President of the USSR. Gorbachev. Later B.N. Yeltsin is already openly switching to anti-communist positions and starting a struggle for power. He managed to unite forces of completely different political orientations into a single coalition on the platform of a common struggle against the CPSU.

A number of historians (Sogrin V.V.) explain the political transformations of that time within the framework of the theory of modernization. The theory of modernization itself took shape after the Second World War in the bosom of Western, primarily American, social science. Its most influential exponents, Talcott Parsons, Seymour Lipset, Reinhard Bendix and their followers, proceeded from the division of all societies into traditional and modern. Transformation process traditional societies(and initially all were such) into modern ones (in English “modern”, hence the term “modernization” to denote the process) constituted, according to their conclusion, the basis of socio-historical progress. The main features of the formed modern society the right of an individual to own and dispose of property, the free formation and legalization of various economic, social and political interests and associations, the legislative consolidation and inalienability of civil and political human rights, representative government and separation of powers, economic and political pluralism, vertical and horizontal social mobility were recognized, rational bureaucracy. It is obvious that the fundamental features of modern society are the essence character traits societies of Western civilization.

The extension of the theory of modernization to Russian history, the fact that one of its main through lines is the adoption of social models of Western civilization, turned out to be offensive and unacceptable for nationalist-minded people. Russian politicians and ideologists. But from a cognitive point of view, the question is not whether the use of Western models is humiliating or not humiliating for Russia, but whether it has the character of a long-term historical trend and whether it influenced progressive change Russian society. Unbiased Review Russian history gives grounds to answer this question in the affirmative. In the light of modernization theory, the modern radical transformation of Russian society can also be divided into three stages. On the first - in 1985-1986. - M. Gorbachev and his entourage used predominantly command and administrative measures to reform Soviet society, similar to those already resorted to by N. Khrushchev and Yuri Andropov. The measures of this stage - the law on state acceptance, the reorganization of ministries, school reform, the anti-alcohol campaign, the accelerated development of mechanical engineering, etc. - not only did not produce the expected results, but even aggravated the economic and social problems of the USSR. The first stage essentially demonstrated the complete exhaustion of the possibilities for modernizing society based on the command-administrative model.

At the second stage - 1987-1991. - M. Gorbachev and his associates tried to replace command-administrative socialism with a kind of Soviet model of democratic socialism, which was designed to liberate the economic and social potential of society. The new strategy produced results completely unforeseen by its creators. Economic reforms failed, but political democratization not only took root, but also acquired its own inertia beyond Gorbachev’s control. It was in its wake that modernization began to incorporate liberal democratic models: within two or three years, political pluralism took shape, civil society and a multi-party system began to emerge. Neither the command administrative system, nor the socialist system, nor the USSR itself could withstand its scope and pressure. The last victim peaceful political revolution, which grew out of Gorbachev’s political reforms, became the architect of perestroika himself.

With the collapse of the USSR and the end of the communist regime in Russia, the third stage of modernization began, carried out by Boris Yeltsin and the radicals according to “pure” liberal models.

The reason for the failure of economic reform M.S. Gorbachev saw resistance as a nomenklatura. This prompted him to try to rely on the activity of the masses. Thus, without completing economic transformations, the country's leadership moved on to political reform.

The start of the constitutional reform, which became the central link of political transformations, was given by the XIX All-Union Party Conference (June 28 - July 1, 1988). The provision on the need to make changes and additions to the Constitution of the USSR was included in two resolutions: “On the democratization of Soviet society and reform political system" and "On urgent measures for the practical implementation of reform of the country's political system." The conference decided to reform the system of Soviets, which constituted political basis USSR and the basis of the state apparatus. Ensuring the full power of the Soviets was identified as the decisive direction of the reform of the political system Mukhaev R.T. History of public administration in Russia. - M.: Unity-Dana, 2007. - p. 109..

However, the main decision of the conference was the provision proposed by Gorbachev and included in the resolution “On Democratization” on combining the positions of chairmen of the Soviets and first secretaries of the relevant party committees from bottom to top. To this decision - on the widespread combination of positions of party and Soviet leaders - M.S. Gorbachev attached key importance. According to him, if it had not passed, he would not have voted for the entire resolution on democratization. Personally, it allowed him, combining the positions of General Secretary and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, to control the entire vertical of the party- state power History of public administration in Russia: Textbook. - M.: Unity-Dana, 2007. - p. 148..

In October 1988 M.S. Gorbachev combined the positions of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces. On November 29, 1988, based on his report, the extraordinary XII session of the USSR Supreme Council of the 11th convocation adopted two laws: “On amendments and additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the USSR” and “On the elections of people's deputies of the USSR.” According to these laws, the highest authorities of the Soviet Union were radically restructured.

The Congress of People's Deputies (SND), consisting of 2,250 people, became the highest body of state power.

The Congress, from among its members, elected the Supreme Council consisting of 544 people as a permanent legislative, administrative and control body of state power (it consisted of two chambers equal in number and rights: the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities). The position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was abolished. The Presidium of the Supreme Council itself was preserved. His main task was to ensure the operation of the SND and the Armed Forces. Unlike the old Presidium, the new one was not given the right to make changes to legislation, issue regulatory decrees, or replace the Supreme Council History of Russia during the intersessional period. Modern times. 1945-1999. - M.: AST, Astrel, Olympus, 2007. - p. 142..

The Constitution was supplemented by the idea of ​​​​separation of legislative and executive powers from the judiciary by establishing a new body - the Constitutional Oversight Committee (CCN). Elected by the congress, he relied only on the Constitution in his activities. His task was to supervise union and republican legislation in terms of its compliance with the Basic Law. The committee, however, was not supervised by the acts adopted by the USSR SND, and it did not have the right to cancel them, even if they contradicted the Constitution and laws of the USSR. He could only state this contradiction Omelchenko N.A. History of public administration in Russia. - M.: Prospekt, 2009. - p. 139..

Changes in the electoral system provided not only for the election of deputies from territorial and national-territorial constituencies, but also direct representation from officially registered public organizations. The CPSU was included among them for the first time. The principle of alternative elections (from several candidates) has been constitutionally enshrined. For the preliminary selection of candidates for deputies from the districts, a filter was created in the form of district election meetings.

The innovations contained a major flaw - a deviation from the democratic principles of the electoral system (enshrined in the Constitutions of the USSR of 1936 and 1977): direct elections of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were replaced by two-stage elections with a mandatory annual renewal of its composition by 1/5. It turned out that as soon as his deputies gained experience, they needed to be replaced with new ones. Members of the governing bodies of public organizations (mainly nomenklatura workers) had more votes than ordinary voters.

Political practice on the basis of adopted laws began to be implemented in March - June 1989, when people's deputies of the USSR were elected and their First Congress took place (May 25 - June 9, 1989). The congress elected the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (M.S. Gorbachev), his first deputy (A.I. Lukyanov), and approved the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (N.I. Ryzhkov). The congress did not make any additions or changes to the Constitution, but the issue of the development of constitutional reform was raised by V.A. Shestakov. Recent history Russia. - M.: AST, Astrel, VKT, 2008. - p. 174..

Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev warned deputies against hasty adjustments to the current Constitution, since it is “too important a political document to adapt its text to certain emerging situations” Vorontsov V.A. Contemporary history of Russia. Shocks without therapy of the Yeltsin era. - M.: Academic project, 2009. - p. 127..

At the same time, he declared the need to enshrine “revolutionary transformations” in the new Constitution.

Gorbachev immediately made a reservation that “now, in the midst of reforms, we do not yet have the opportunity to take into account the whole range of issues that should be reflected in the new Basic Law” Derkach O., Bykov V. Gorbachev. Correspondence of perestroika survivors. - M.: ProzaiK, 2009. - p. 85.. The strange logic of the Chairman of the Supreme Court was clarified by the resolution of the congress: to simultaneously solve both problems - to supplement the current Constitution, and to immediately begin work on preparing a new Constitution (the Constitution of “democratic socialism”).

The congress formed a Constitutional Commission consisting of 107 people. Its chairman was M.S. Gorbachev, deputy - A.I. Lukyanov. 55% of the commission members were representatives of the highest party leadership - secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee, republican Central Committees, regional committees, regional committees, members of the CPSU Central Committee and its apparatus.

About 40% represented the scientific and creative intelligentsia. Among the rest are one metropolitan and two workers. The commission included four leaders of the opposition, which formed an interregional deputy group (MDG) at the congress - B.N. Yeltsin, G.Kh. Popov, A.D. Sakharov, A.A. Sobchak.

Academician Sakharov proposed preparing two alternative drafts of the Constitution and considering them “on an equal basis.” The congress did not support this proposal. Nevertheless, Sakharov, as one of the co-chairs of the MDG, took the initiative and by December 1989 prepared his draft Constitution. The commission, headed by Gorbachev, which included prominent lawyers, under whose leadership entire institutions worked, was unable to develop the project in several years.

In December 1989, the Second Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR took place. The MDG presented the “Sakharov Constitution” - a radical project that proposed to radically reshape the national-state structure, eliminate the hierarchical structure of the USSR and turn into subjects of the Union (“structural components”) all the national-state and national-administrative entities that existed at that time, numbering more than 50. All autonomies were withdrawn from the Russian Federation, and the remaining part was divided into four districts (European Russia, the Urals, Western Siberia, Eastern Siberia) “with complete economic independence.” Although formally the “Sakharov constitution” preserved the territorial integrity of the state, in reality an attempt at such a transformation of the USSR would have led it to an even faster collapse of V.V. Fortunatov. Contemporary history of Russia in persons. 1917-2008. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2009. - p. 97..

The Second Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR discussed issues, clarifications, changes and additions to the current Constitution of the USSR and adopted three constitutional laws:

1. On clarification of certain provisions of the Constitution (Basic Law) of the USSR on issues of the order of activities of the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and their bodies.

2. On changes and additions to the Constitution of the USSR on issues of the electoral system.

3. On amendments and additions to Art. 125 of the USSR Constitution. In addition to these laws, the Congress adopted a resolution “On instructions to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Constitutional Commission on certain constitutional issues” V.A. Shestakov. Contemporary history of Russia. - M.: AST, Astrel, VKT, 2008. - p. 174..

According to these laws, the union republics received the right to independently decide the issue of establishing a Congress of People's Deputies; The Supreme Soviet of the USSR received the right to express no confidence in the government of the USSR; teams of secondary special and higher educational institutions received the right to nominate candidates for people's deputies; public organizations lost the right to directly elect people's deputies; constitutional supervision extended not only to projects, but also to laws and other acts adopted by the SND. The Second Congress instructed the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to adopt a series of constitutional laws and submit to the next congress proposals to introduce related changes and additions to the Constitution of the USSR.

The decisions of the Second Congress of People's Deputies completed the first stage of constitutional reform in the USSR, during which there was a gradual transfer of power from the party to the Soviets, from the CPSU Central Committee to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The old square gave way to the Kremlin. At the second stage, the struggle for power unfolded in the Kremlin itself. It took place against the backdrop of a sharp aggravation of the socio-economic situation in the country. Economic policy government, defined in 1988, gave its first results in 1989 - the economy collapsed. Everything became scarce. An “economic war” began between republics, territories, regions, and cities over inventory.

In the first seven months of 1989, strikes took place in more than 500 labor collectives. Since July 1989, a wave of strikes swept through the most important coal regions of the country - the Kuznetsk, Donetsk and Pechora basins. Then strikes occurred periodically in different cities. At first they were limited to economic demands, but in June 1990, at a congress in Donetsk, the Independent Trade Union of Miners was formed and it was decided to declare a general political strike.

In October-November, a general strike of Vorkuta miners took place demanding the actual transfer of power to the Soviets, land to the peasants, and factory workers.

The Extraordinary III Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR introduced radical changes to the political and economic systems of society. On March 12, 1990, A.I. made a report “On the introduction of amendments and additions to the Constitution of the USSR and the establishment of the post of President” at the congress. Lukyanov. He proposed changing the form of the state system that had developed in the country after 1917, sharply limiting the power of the Soviets, transferring it to the newly established institution of the President, largely independent of the representative bodies of power V.V. Fortunatov. Contemporary history of Russia in persons. 1917-2008. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2009. - p. 109..

Chairman of the Constitutional Oversight Committee S.S. Alekseev justified the need for the institution of the presidency by the fact that the slogan “All power to the Soviets!” contradicts the idea of ​​separation of powers and leads to dictatorship.

The change in the course of political reform (from the power of the Soviets to the power of the President, from democracy to autocracy) was also justified by other arguments: firstly, the urgent need to stabilize the internal political situation in the country; secondly, by strengthening personal responsibility for the ongoing reforms.

Gorbachev and his like-minded people spoke at the congress more radically than the radical democrats who protested against the introduction of the post of President.

On March 14, 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR adopted the Law “On the establishment of the post of President of the USSR and the introduction of amendments and additions to the Constitution of the USSR.” In the political sphere, the main provisions of the Law were as follows: the institution of a strong presidency was established; the provision of Article 6 of the Constitution on the leading role of the CPSU as the core of the political system was eliminated; a multi-party system was introduced.

The Supreme Soviet of the USSR lost its administrative functions, retaining legislative and control functions. The law integrated the President into the structure of the executive power, entrusting most of the activities of the Council of Ministers to him. The president was vested with the right of legislative initiative, approval of laws and many other rights (comparable to the rights of the American president). The president was to be elected by universal suffrage. The highest bodies of Soviet power (SND and the USSR Supreme Council) could control its work only in the form of hearing annual reports on the state of the country. The law of March 14, 1990 did not create a presidential form of government in the USSR - it only outlined a combination of features of parliamentary and presidential republics within the framework and on the basis of Soviet power, i.e., it introduced a mixed form of government. History of Russia. Modern times. 1945-1999. - M.: AST, Astrel, Olympus, 2007. - p. 155..

However, this trend very soon began to transform into a trend of a strong president and a weak parliament with the aim of providing legal support for the legalization of private property.

In violation of the law they themselves adopted, the congress delegates elected the first President of the USSR.

In March 1985, M.S. became the new General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Gorbachev, who launched reforms called “Perestroika”. Gorbachev first used this term in his report at the 27th Congress of the CPSU (February 1986), but the word “perestroika” itself was taken from the vocabulary of the Stalin era (late 20s - early 30s). Main result These reforms are the dismantling of the communist totalitarian regime in the USSR and the beginning of the democratization of the Soviet state.

The main direction of Gorbachev's reforms was a serious reorganization of the party-state apparatus, which was carried out different methods. All six years of “perestroika” there was a purge of the party and state apparatus from Brezhnev cadres, which was partly explained by the usual procedure when replacing a totalitarian leader - the coming to power of his personal team and the elimination of the predecessor's team, partly by the struggle between conservative and democratic groups in the party leadership. By 1990, the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee was completely renewed.
In July 1990, the last member of the Politburo who joined this body under Brezhnev, Vorotnikov, was removed from it. At the same time, Gorbachev’s purge of the Politburo took less time than Stalin’s half a century before it. Gorbachev managed to carry it out in five years, while Stalin took six years. Only in 1930 was Tomsky removed from the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, who joined this body during Lenin’s lifetime. The composition of the CPSU Central Committee has been updated by 85%. The apogee of his purge of Brezhnev cadres was the April 1989 Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, when 110 of its members “voluntarily” left the Central Committee, mostly from the conservative wing of the party, opponents of “perestroika.” In the republican Central Committees, 45-77% of their composition was replaced; in the regional and district party committees, by February 1989,
89 thousand party workers. At the same time, the state apparatus was being cleansed. Already in 1985, many members of the Soviet government were replaced, and in just six years of “perestroika” about 1 million civil servants were laid off.

The relationship between the party and the state apparatus has seriously changed. Already in 1985, Gorbachev abandoned the usual replacement for the Soviet leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the International Department of the CPSU Central Committee, and the head of this department was not a party worker, but a professional diplomat, Dobrynin, a former Soviet ambassador in USA. At the same time, the main direction foreign policy USSR - relations with socialist states - moved from the international department of the CPSU Central Committee to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Later, the idea of ​​redistributing power in favor of the state apparatus formed the basis of Gorbachev’s constitutional reform of 1988-1990. Its idea was put forward at the XIX All-Union Party Conference (May-June 1988), legally (in the form of amendments to the Constitution of the USSR) this reform was formalized at the session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in October 1988, and carried out in 1989-1990. At the 19th Party Conference, a fundamental political decision was made: the CPSU continues to govern the state, but refuses direct directives and instructions, which was expressed in the slogan “All power to the soviets!” However, the transfer of part of the power by the party to the soviets was an ill-conceived action, because at that time in the USSR there were no laws defining the functions and powers of councils, sources of their financing, etc. The transformation of councils into real authorities took place at all levels of the state apparatus. Gorbachev became the President of the USSR in March 1990, and his closest assistants A. Yakovlev and E. Shevardnadze moved from the Politburo to a new government body - the Presidential Council, which became the headquarters of “perestroika”. In the central administration, an attempt was made to replace the party leadership (CPSU congresses and Central Committee plenums, at which the most important political decisions were made) with a new Soviet parliament - the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. It was very different from the old union parliament, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Elections of people's deputies were alternative, the two-level (1918 model) system of representative bodies of power was restored - the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (the same two-level structure of the highest bodies of state power, congresses of people's deputies and Supreme Soviets, was created in 1990 in union republics).

Constitutional reform 1988-1990 was a serious step towards the democratization of the Soviet state, but it also had numerous shortcomings. The elections of people's deputies of the USSR were not entirely democratic. A third of people's deputies (750 out of 2250) were actually not elected, but were appointed by the Central Committee of the CPSU and organizations and institutions completely controlled by it (VLKSM, trade unions, USSR Academy of Sciences, etc.), although formally they were “elected” at party, trade union, Komsomol meetings and etc. In half of the single-mandate districts there was only one candidate, as a rule - the secretary of the regional or district party committee. The elections were not multi-party, they took place without observers from candidates, etc. The refusal of the CPSU from its “leading role” was largely devalued by the fact that the Party Central Committee “recommended” combining the positions of party committee secretaries and chairmen of councils at the appropriate level in one person (thus, the first secretary of the Tula Regional Committee of the CPSU, Yu.I. Litvintsev, became the chairman of the Tula Regional Council).

This was explained by the fact that the main goal of the constitutional reform of 1988-1990. and other political reforms of Gorbachev was to strengthen his personal power by creating its double support - on the party and on the state apparatus. However, this attempt failed. The party apparatus, frightened by Gorbachev’s purges and the reduction of its power, for the most part stood in opposition to “perestroika” (Gorbachev was supported by no more than 30% of the members of the CPSU Central Committee), and the state apparatus was very weak due to the lack of experience in leading the state and acute political struggle, which paralyzed the work of the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR and other government bodies.

By the mid-80s, in socio-economic and political spheres life Soviet republics crisis phenomena were observed. It has become obvious that socialist society is hopelessly lagging behind more developed countries peace. In order to avoid a final collapse and improve the situation in the country, the government of the USSR carried out economic reforms in 1985-1991.

Prerequisites for reform

In the 80s, the economy was on the verge of collapse. Throughout the country, there was a slowdown in the pace of its development, and in some sectors of the national economy there was a strong decline in the level of production. The inefficiency of socialist economic methods was most clearly manifested in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, the metalworking industry and other industries. Although in 1985 the USSR produced about 150 thousand tons of steel, which was more than in the USA, the country still did not have enough metal. The reason for this was the imperfect technology of its melting, in which most of the raw materials turned into chips. The situation was aggravated by mismanagement, due to which tons of metal simply rusted in the open air.

Economic reforms of the USSR 1985-1991. were necessary not only because of problems in the field of heavy industry. In the early 80s, domestically produced machines and machines were assessed in the Soviet Union. Of all the objects inspected, and there were about 20 thousand of them, the third part was considered technically obsolete and unsuitable for use. Low-quality equipment was subject to discontinuation, but it continued to be produced.

Despite the fact that the Soviet Union Special attention devoted to the development of the defense industry, it also turned out to be uncompetitive in the world market. When the microprocessor revolution took place throughout the Western world at the turn of the 70s and 80s, huge amounts of money were spent in the USSR to maintain the arms race. Because of this, sufficient funds were not allocated for the development of science and technology. Soviet society began to lag further and further behind Western society in terms of technological and industrial development.

The political and economic reforms of 1985-1991 were also due to the fall in the real standard of living of the population. Compared to the end of the 60s, by 1980 they decreased by almost 3 times. Soviet people increasingly heard the word “deficit.” All spheres of life were affected by bureaucracy and corruption. There was a decline in the morality and integrity of the common man.

Gorbachev's rise to power

In the spring of 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary General. Realizing that the country's economy was on the verge of collapse, he proclaimed a course to reform it. Something new appeared on television Soviet people the word “perestroika”, the meaning of which was to overcome stagnant processes, create an effective and reliable management mechanism aimed at improving and accelerating development in the social and economic spheres of life.

Stages of economic reforms 1985-1991

The reform of the Soviet economy can be divided into several stages.

1. In 1985-1986, the Soviet government led by Gorbachev tried to preserve the socialist system by accelerating the pace of development, re-equipping the engineering industry and activating human resources.
2. In 1987, economic reform began. Its meaning was to maintain centralized control during the transition from administrative methods to economic ones.
3. In 1989-1990, they announced a course for a gradual transition from a socialist economic model to a market one. The anti-crisis program “500 days” was developed.
4. In 1991, a monetary reform was carried out. The economic recovery has been derailed by inconsistent government actions.

Acceleration policy

The economic reforms of 1985-1991 began with the proclamation of a course to accelerate the country's development. In the fall of 1985, Gorbachev called on enterprise managers to organize a multi-shift work schedule, introduce socialist competitions into practice, and monitor compliance labor discipline in production, improve These actions, according to Moscow, should have a positive impact on increasing labor productivity and accelerating the socio-economic sphere of life throughout the USSR. A priority role was given to the engineering industry, the products of which were planned to be used for the re-equipment of the national economy.

The acceleration course announced by M. Gorbachev implied a significant increase in the economy. Until 2000, the Soviet leadership planned to double the production potential and national income of the state, and increase labor productivity by 2.5 times.

Under Gorbachev, an uncompromising fight against drunkenness began. According to the politician and his entourage, the anti-alcohol campaign was supposed to have a positive impact on strengthening discipline and increasing labor productivity. In many regions, factories producing wine and vodka products were closed, and vineyards were mercilessly cut down. As a result of this policy, the production of alcoholic beverages in the USSR decreased by 2 times. Due to the liquidation of wine and vodka enterprises, the country suffered multi-million dollar losses. A lack of money in the state budget has led to delays in salaries. To make up for the missing funds, the government decided to print new money.

Economic reforms of 1985-1991 in the USSR manifested themselves in the prohibition of Soviet citizens from making profit from unearned income. For private employment, unauthorized trading and other types of activities not controlled by the state, a person could go to prison for up to 5 years. But it soon became clear that such measures were ineffective, and in November 1986 a law was passed allowing individual labor activity in the USSR.

The acceleration of the development of mechanical engineering led to a reduction in funding for other areas of industry. Because of this, consumer goods began to disappear from free sale. Scientific and technological revolution, which during the perestroika process was given special role, never received its development. Crisis phenomena further weakened the state. By the end of 1986, it became obvious that a qualitative reform of the economy was impossible to carry out due to an imperfect state planning system.

Economic transformations 1987-1989

In 1987, the post of prime minister was taken by promising to stabilize the economy in a year and a half. His government launched a series of reforms aimed at creating a socialist market. From now on, enterprises were transferred to self-financing, they were granted partial self-government, and the scope of their independence expanded. Organizations received the right to cooperate with partners from foreign countries, and their leaders no longer obeyed either the market or officials. The first cooperatives associated with shadow structures began to appear. The result of such a policy for the USSR was unfavorable: the government ceased to control the state's economy. The transition to a socialist market became impossible. Economic reforms of 1985-1991 did not bring the expected results.

Further attempts to restore the economy

The search for a way out of the crisis continued. In 1989, Soviet economists G. Yavlinsky and S. Shatalin developed the “500 days” program. Its essence was the transfer of state-owned enterprises into the hands of private individuals and the country’s transition to market relations. At the same time, the document did not pay attention to such problems as reforming the political system of the state, privatization of real estate, denationalization of land ownership, and carrying out monetary reform. Economists promised that the implementation of their concept would not affect the financial situation of the population. The program approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was supposed to come into force in October 1990. But it had one significant drawback: it did not reflect the interests of the nomenklatura elite. Because of this, Gorbachev last moment another program was chosen, which could not ensure the transition to market relations.

One of the last attempts to stabilize economic situation was the implementation of monetary reform in 1991. Gorbachev planned to use it to replenish the treasury and stop it. But the reform led to an uncontrollable rise in prices and a decrease in the living standards of the people. Population dissatisfaction has reached its limit. Strikes swept across many regions of the state. National separatism began to manifest itself everywhere.

results

The results of the economic reform of 1985-1991 were disastrous. Instead of restoring the national economy, the government’s actions further aggravated the situation in the country. None of the planned reforms were ever completed. Having destroyed the previous management structures, the authorities were unable to create new ones. Under these conditions, the collapse of the huge country became inevitable.