After Stalin's death on March 5 1953 A protracted crisis of power began in the USSR. The struggle for personal leadership lasted until the spring of 1958 and went through several stages.
On first Of these (March - June 1953), the struggle for power was led by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (which combined the functions of both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the MGB) L.P. Beria (with the support of G.M. Malenkov) and Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N.S. Khrushchev. Beria, at least in words, planned to carry out a serious democratization of Soviet society in general and party life in particular. It was proposed to return to Lenin’s – democratic – principles of party building. However, his methods were far from legitimate. So, Beria declared a broad amnesty in order to then, with an “iron hand,” restore order and, on this wave, come to power.
Beria's plans were not destined to come true. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was associated in the mass consciousness only with Stalinist repressions; his authority was minimal. Khrushchev decided to take advantage of this, defending the interests of the party bureaucracy, which was afraid of change. Relying on the support of the Ministry of Defense (primarily G.K. Zhukov), he organized and led a conspiracy against the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. June 6 1953 Mr. Beria was arrested at a meeting of the government presidium, and was soon shot as an “enemy” communist party and the Soviet people." He was accused of plotting to seize power and working for Western intelligence agencies.
From the summer of 1953 to February 1955, the struggle for power entered second stage. Now it has turned between the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, G.M., who was losing his position. Malenkov, who supported Beria in 1953 and gained strength N.S. Khrushchev. In January 1955, Malenkov was sharply criticized at the next Plenum of the Central Committee and was forced to resign. N.A. Bulganin became the new head of government.
Third stage (February 1955 - March 1958) was a time of confrontation between Khrushchev and the “old guard” of the Presidium of the Central Committee - Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich, Bulganin and others.
In an effort to strengthen his position, Khrushchev decided to make limited criticism of Stalin’s personality cult. In February 1956 on XX Congress of the CPSU he made a report " About the cult of personality" I.V. Stalin and his consequences" Khrushchev's popularity in the country increased significantly and this further alarmed the representatives of the “old guard”. In June 1957 By a majority vote, they adopted a decision at a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee to abolish the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee and to appoint Khrushchev as Minister of Agriculture. However, relying on the support of the army (Minister of Defense - Zhukov) and the KGB, Khrushchev managed to convene a Plenum of the Central Committee, at which Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich were declared an “anti-party group” and stripped of their posts. In March 1958, this stage of the struggle for power ended with the removal of Bulganin from the post of head of government and the appointment of Khrushchev to this post, who also retained the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee. Fearing competition from G.K. Zhukov, Khrushchev dismissed him in October 1957.
The criticism of Stalinism initiated by Khrushchev led to some liberalization of the social life of society (“thaw”). A wide campaign was launched to rehabilitate victims of repression. In April 1954, the MGB was transformed into the State Security Committee (KGB) under the USSR Council of Ministers. In 1956-1957 political charges against repressed peoples are dropped, except for the Volga Germans and Crimean Tatars; their statehood is restored. Internal party democracy was expanded.
At the same time, the general political course remained the same. At the 21st Congress of the CPSU (1959), the conclusion was made about the complete and final victory of socialism in the USSR and the transition to full-scale communist construction. At the XXII Congress (1961) a new program and party charter were adopted (the program for building communism by 1980)
Even Khrushchev’s moderately democratic measures aroused anxiety and fear among the party apparatus, which sought to ensure the stability of its position and no longer feared reprisals. The military expressed dissatisfaction with the significant reduction in the army. The disappointment of the intelligentsia, which did not accept “dosed democracy,” grew. The life of workers in the early 60s. after some improvement, it worsened again - the country was entering a period of protracted economic crisis. All this led to the fact that in the summer 1964 a conspiracy arose among senior members of the party and state leadership directed against Khrushchev. In October of the same year, the head of the party and government was accused of voluntarism and subjectivism and sent into retirement. First Secretary of the Central Committee (from 1966 - Secretary General) was elected L.I. Brezhnev, and A.N. became the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Kosygin. Thus, as a result of numerous transformations in 1953-1964. The political regime in the USSR began to move towards limited (“Soviet”) democracy. But this movement, initiated by the “tops,” did not rely on broad mass support and, therefore, was doomed to failure.
Economic reforms N.S. Khrushchev
The main economic problem of the USSR after the death of Stalin was crisis state Soviet agriculture. In 1953, a decision was made to increase state purchase prices for collective farms and reduce mandatory supplies, write off debts from collective farms, and reduce taxes on personal plots and sales on the free market. In 1954, the development of virgin lands of Northern Kazakhstan, Siberia, Altai and Southern Urals began ( development of virgin lands). Ill-considered actions during the development of virgin lands (lack of roads, wind protection structures) led to rapid depletion of the soil.
The start of reforms has brought encouraging results. However, in the conditions of the arms race, the Soviet government needed huge funds for the development of heavy industry. Their main sources continued to be agriculture and light industry. Therefore, after a short break, administrative pressure on collective farms is again intensifying. Since 1955, the so-called corn campaign - an attempt to solve agricultural problems by expanding corn plantings. " Corn epic» led to a decrease in grain yields. Since 1962, purchases of bread abroad began. In 1957, MTS was liquidated, the worn-out equipment of which was to be bought back by collective farms. This led to a reduction in the fleet of agricultural machinery and the ruin of many collective farms. The attack on household plots begins. In March 1962, agricultural management was restructured. Collective and state farm administrations (KSU) appeared.
Khrushchev saw the main problem of Soviet industry in the inability of sectoral ministries to take into account local characteristics. It was decided to replace the sectoral principle of economic management with a territorial one. On July 1, 1957, the Union Industrial Ministries were replaced by the Councils of the National Economy ( economic councils, СНХ). This reform led to an inflated administrative apparatus and disruption of economic ties between the regions of the country.
At the same time, in 1955-1960. A number of measures were taken to improve the life of the population, mainly urban. Salaries increased regularly. A law has been adopted to reduce the retirement age for workers and employees; work week. Since 1964, pensions have been introduced for collective farmers. They receive passports on the same basis as city residents. All types of tuition fees have been cancelled. There was massive housing construction, which was facilitated by the industry’s mastery of the production of cheap reinforced concrete building materials (“Khrushchev buildings”).
Early 60s opened serious problems in an economy that was largely destructured by thoughtless reforms and storming (the slogan “Catch up and overtake America!” was put forward). The government tried to solve these problems at the expense of the workers - wages were reduced and food prices increased. This led to an undermining of the authority of the top management and an increase in social tension: spontaneous uprisings of workers took place, the largest in November 1962 in Novocherkassk, and, ultimately, to the resignation of Khrushchev himself from all posts in October 1964.
Foreign policy in 1953-1964.
The reform course pursued by the Khrushchev administration was also reflected in foreign policy. The new foreign policy concept was formulated at the 20th Congress of the CPSU and included two main provisions:
- the need for peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems,
- multivariate ways to build socialism with simultaneous confirmation of the principle of “proletarian internationalism.
The urgent task of foreign policy after the death of Stalin was to establish relations with the countries of the socialist camp. Since 1953, attempts at rapprochement with China began. Relations with Yugoslavia were also regulated.
The positions of the CMEA are strengthening. In May 1955, the Warsaw Pact Organization was created as a counterweight to NATO.
At the same time, serious contradictions were noticeable within the socialist camp. In 1953, the Soviet army took part in the suppression of workers' protests in the GDR. In 1956 - in Hungary. Since 1956, relations between the USSR and Albania and China became more complicated, whose governments were dissatisfied with the criticism of Stalin’s “cult of personality.”
Another important area of foreign policy was relations with capitalist countries. Already in August 1953, in a speech by Malenkov, the idea of the need to ease international tension was first voiced. Then, in the summer 1953 g., passed a successful test hydrogen bomb(A.D. Sakharov). Continuing to promote the peace initiative, the USSR unilaterally carried out a series of reductions in the number of armed forces and declared a moratorium on nuclear tests. But this did not bring fundamental changes to the Cold War environment, since both the West and our country continued to build up and improve weapons.
One of the main issues in relations between East and West remained the problem of Germany. Here, the issues of the borders of the Federal Republic of Germany were still not resolved, in addition, the USSR prevented the inclusion of the Federal Republic of Germany into NATO. The strained relations between Germany and the GDR led to a crisis situation, the reason for which was the unresolved fate of West Berlin. August 13 1961 the so-called Berlin Wall.
The peak of the confrontation between East and West was Caribbean crisis caused by placement in 1962 American nuclear missiles in Turkey and the retaliatory deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba. The crisis, which brought the world to the brink of disaster, was resolved through mutual concessions - the USA withdrew missiles from Turkey, the USSR - from Cuba. In addition, the United States abandoned plans to eliminate the socialist state in Cuba.
A new round of tension begins as a result of the US armed intervention in the Vietnam War and sharp opposition to it in the Soviet Union (1964).
The third new direction of the USSR's foreign policy was relations with Third World countries. Here our country encourages the anti-colonial struggle and the creation of socialist regimes.
Culture of the USSR during the Thaw
Speech by N.S. Khrushchev at the XX Congress of the CPSU, condemnation of crimes of the highest officials made a great impression and marked the beginning of changes in public consciousness. The “thaw” was especially noticeable in literature and art. Rehabilitated V.E. Meyerhold, B.A. Pilnyak, O.E. Mandelstam, I.E. Babel, G.I. Serebryakova. S.A.’s poems are beginning to be published again. Yesenin, works by A.A. Akhmatova and M.M. Zoshchenko. At an art exhibition in Moscow in 1962, the avant-garde of the 20-30s was presented, long years not exhibited. The ideas of the “thaw” were reflected most fully on the pages of “The New World” (chief editor – A.T. Tvardovsky). It was in this magazine that the story of A.I. was published. Solzhenitsyn "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich."
From the second half of the 50s. International ties of Soviet culture are expanding - the Moscow Film Festival is being resumed, opening in 1958 international competition performers named after P.I. Tchaikovsky; The exhibition of the Museum of Fine Arts is being restored. Pushkin, international exhibitions are held. IN 1957 The VI World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Moscow. Expenditures on science have increased, many new research institutions have been opened. Since the 50s a large one is formed science Center in the East of the country - the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences - Novosibirsk Academgorodok.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s. The USSR plays a leading role in space exploration - October 4, 1957 the first artificial Earth satellite was launched into low-Earth orbit, April 12, 1961 the first manned flight took place spaceship(Yu.A. Gagarin). The “fathers” of Soviet cosmonautics were rocketry designer S.P. Korolev and rocket engine developer V.M. Chelomey.
The growth of the international authority of the USSR was also greatly facilitated by successes in the development of the “peaceful atom” - in 1957, the world’s first nuclear-powered icebreaker “Lenin” was launched.
In secondary schools, the reform is carried out under the slogan of “strengthening the connection between school and life.” Compulsory eight-year education on a “polytechnic” basis is being introduced. The duration of study increases to 11 years, and in addition to the matriculation certificate, graduates receive a certificate of specialty. In the mid-60s. Industrial classes are cancelled.
At the same time, the “thaw” in culture was combined with criticism of “decadent tendencies” and “underestimation of the leading role of the party.” Such writers and poets as A.A. were subjected to severe criticism. Voznesensky, D.A. Granin, V.D. Dudintsev, sculptors and artists E.N. Unknown, R.R. Falk, humanities scientists R. Pimenov, B. Weil. With the arrest of the latter, the first political case against ordinary citizens during the “Thaw” begins. The expulsion from the Union of Writers B.L. in 1958 received wide resonance throughout the world. Pasternak for publishing abroad the novel Doctor Zhivago. For political reasons, he was forced to refuse to receive Nobel Prize.
The Khrushchev Thaw period is the conventional name for a period in history that lasted from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. A feature of the period was a partial retreat from totalitarian politics Stalin era. The Khrushchev Thaw is the first attempt to understand the consequences of the Stalinist regime, which revealed the features of the socio-political policy of the Stalin era. The main event of this period is considered to be the 20th Congress of the CPSU, which criticized and condemned Stalin’s personality cult and criticized the implementation of repressive policies. February 1956 marked the beginning of a new era, which aimed to change social and political life, change the domestic and foreign policies of the state.
Events of the Khrushchev Thaw
The period of the Khrushchev Thaw is characterized by the following events:
- The process of rehabilitation of victims of repression began, the innocently convicted population was granted amnesty, and relatives of “enemies of the people” became innocent.
- The republics of the USSR received more political and legal rights.
- The year 1957 was marked by the return of Chechens and Balkars to their lands, from which they were evicted during Stalin's time due to accusations of treason. But such a decision did not apply to the Volga Germans and Crimean Tatars.
- Also, 1957 is famous for the holding of the International Festival of Youth and Students, which in turn speaks of the “slight discovery iron curtain", easing censorship.
- The result of these processes is the emergence of new public organizations. Trade union bodies are undergoing reorganization: the staff of the top level of the trade union system has been reduced, and the rights of primary organizations have been expanded.
- Passports were issued to people living in villages and collective farms.
- Swift lung development industry and agriculture.
- Active construction of cities.
- Improving the standard of living of the population.
One of the main achievements of the policy of 1953 - 1964. there was the implementation of social reforms, which included solving the issue of pensions, increasing incomes of the population, solving the housing problem, and introducing a five-day week. The period of the Khrushchev Thaw was a difficult time in the history of the Soviet state. For so much a short time(10 years) many transformations and innovations were carried out. The most important achievement was the exposure of the crimes of the Stalinist system, the population discovered the consequences of totalitarianism.
Results
So, the policy of the Khrushchev Thaw was superficial and did not affect the foundations of the totalitarian system. The dominant one-party system was preserved using the ideas of Marxism-Leninism. Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev did not intend to carry out complete de-Stalinization, because it meant admitting his own crimes. And since it was not possible to completely renounce Stalin’s time, Khrushchev’s transformations did not take root for long. In 1964, a conspiracy against Khrushchev matured, and from this period a new era in the history of the Soviet Union began.
A conventional name assigned to the period of the second half of the 50s - early 60s, associated with the political course in domestic and foreign policy.
The term was introduced by the Soviet writer I. Ehrenburg, who published the story “The Thaw” in the magazine “ New world"in 1954. Signs of a "thaw" appeared in the life of the country after Stalin's death: relative liberalization took place in the domestic and foreign policy of the USSR.
Report onXX congress. Criticism of the cult of personality.
A landmark event in the political life of the country was the report “On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences,” read by Khrushchev at a closed meeting of the 20th Congress of the CPSU in February 1956 and which became an absolute surprise for the delegates of the congress. The report spoke for the first time about the crimes of I.V. Stalin against the party, he was opposed to V.I. Lenin. It contained not only general discussions, but also a story about the fate of several arrestees. These were members of the Central Committee and the Politburo: N. Voskresensky, A. Kuznetsov, N. Postyshev and others. Khrushchev spoke about the torture of them and about their letters before execution. It is interesting that in the USSR the full text of Khrushchev’s report was first published in the open press only in 1989.
In 1957, a decree was issued prohibiting the naming of states and public figures to streets and cities during their lifetime. On the other hand, criticism of the “cult of personality” allowed Khrushchev to deal with his political opponents within the country, as well as to change leadership in a number of countries in Eastern Europe. The foreign policy effect of the report was also ambiguous and led to a serious cooling of relations with Albania, China, North Korea and Romania. In 1956 there were major unrest in Poland and Hungary.
Rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation of victims of Stalinism began almost immediately after the death of I.V. Stalin and the execution of L.P. Beria, but it gained greater scope after the report of N.S. Khrushchev, when a commission was created headed by him to investigate violations of the law during the period of the cult of personality. By the fall of 1956, the majority of political prisoners were released, among them were party leaders, as well as miraculously surviving Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. At the same time, the rehabilitation did not affect the “dispossessed” and a number of prominent party figures: G.E. Zinovieva, L.B. Kameneva, N.I. Bukharin and others. A legislative reform was carried out: “declaring an enemy of the people” was excluded from the list of penalties, and the number of articles on liability for political crimes was reduced. The number of Gulag prisoners decreased by more than 2 times.
In 1956-1957 The statehood of a number of republics, arbitrarily liquidated under Stalin, was restored, and their residents (Chechens, Ingush, Kalmyks, etc.) were allowed to return to their homes. However, here too the leaders of the CPSU were inconsistent: Crimean Tatars and the Volga Germans were not given such permission.
At the XXII Congress of the CPSU in October 1961, the words of N.S. were again heard. Khrushchev, who condemned Stalin and his defenders. According to the resolution of the congress, on the night of October 31 to November 1, Stalin’s body was taken out of the Mausoleum and buried in a grave near the Kremlin wall. Monuments to Stalin were also secretly demolished throughout the country. The only exception was the monument in his hometown of Gori. On November 30, the Moscow metro station named after the leader was renamed “Semyonovskaya”. Stalin's closest associates, Kaganovich, Malenkov and Molotov, who were retired, were expelled from the party.
Economic and social reforms.
During the “thaw” period, the Soviet economy was modernized, space exploration began, and in 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly into space. The state's social obligations expanded, pensions were introduced, the working day was shortened, education fees were abolished, and the standard of living in the city and countryside increased noticeably. However, acute social contradictions also persisted, which led to conflicts, the most famous of which were unrest in
Foreign policy.
Economic successes allowed the USSR to solve broad foreign policy problems - to maintain its sphere of influence (including by military means, as in the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956) and expand the “socialist camp”. One of the first initiatives of N.S. Khrushchev was the restoration of Soviet-Yugoslav relations in 1955. In the 50-60s. Communists and their allies came to power in several countries in Asia and Africa, and even in close proximity to the United States in Cuba. The new principles of the USSR's foreign policy were proclaimed: the diversity of forms of transition of various countries to socialism, the need for peaceful coexistence, and the possibility of preventing military action.
In confirmation of the new foreign policy course, the USSR reduced its armed forces by almost 2 times. From 5.8 million people at the beginning of 1955, the number was increased to 3.6 million people by December 1959. As part of this, military bases around the world were eliminated. In the spring of 1958, testing of thermonuclear weapons ceased.
The first post-war meetings take place on top level between the USSR and the USA. Despite this, in 1962 an acute outbreak broke out, putting the world in immediate danger of starting nuclear war. The following year, there was a split in the “socialist camp” associated with the Sino-Soviet conflict.
"Sixties".
Criticism of the “cult of personality”, the beginning of rehabilitation of the repressed, some freedom and successes of Soviet society (in science and technology) aroused the enthusiasm of the intelligentsia, especially young people, who later made up an entire generation social movement, known as the "sixties". This was the title of an article by S. Rassadin, published in the magazine “Yunost” in 1960, which dealt with writers and readers of the new generation. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the art song genre became popular. The founder and most prominent representative of this trend was Bulat Okudzhava. Together with talented poets of that time: R.I. Rozhdestvensky, E.A. Evtushenko, A.A. Voznesensky and B.A. Akhmadulina, he performed at extremely popular evenings at the Polytechnic Museum. At the same time, both in society and in the party there were heated discussions between “physicists” (technocrats) and “lyricists” (humanitarians), between Stalinists and anti-Stalinists.
Expansion of cultural ties.
Cultural contacts between the USSR and with outside world. In 1956, on the initiative of I. Ehrenburg, the first exhibition of forty works by Picasso took place in Moscow. She immediately revealed an ambivalent attitude towards him - reserved official reaction and queues of thousands at the Museum of Fine Arts. A.C. Pushkin, where it took place. In the summer of 1957, the International Festival of Youth and Students was held in Moscow. In 1959, on the initiative of the Minister of Culture E.A. Furtseva resumed the Moscow International Film Festival. The festival's big prize was won by S. Bondarchuk's film “The Fate of a Man.” In 1963, a scandal broke out because the main prize was given to Frederico Fellini's film fantasy "8 ½".
Literary magazines.
For the first time in the history of the USSR, literary magazines became platforms where supporters of different opinions had the opportunity to publish their articles. Conservative authors, who considered the “thaw” a harmful deviation from the course towards building communism, published mainly in the magazines “October” and “Neva”. Anti-Stalinist positions were taken by the editors of the magazines Yunost and Novy Mir, as well as Literaturnaya Gazeta (since 1959). At the same time, supporters of both directions referred to the ideas of Lenin, but had different attitudes towards the era of Stalin. In the 1950s films were released that both glorified the party ("Communist", directed by Yu. Raizman) and ridiculed the Soviet leaders ("Carnival Night", directed by E.A. Ryazanov). Films also appeared that were not ideological in nature, but addressed the theme of war in a new way: G.N. Chukhrai “Ballad of a Soldier”, M.M. Kalatozov’s “The Cranes Are Flying,” which won the Palme d’Or at the 1958 Cannes International Film Festival.
Participants in legal disputes of that time did not go beyond the ideology of building socialism. Attempts by even famous writers to go beyond these boundaries were considered unacceptable. Thus, in 1957, he published the novel “Doctor Zhivago” in the West, which described the events of the civil war from a non-Bolshevik perspective. For this novel in 1958 B.L. Pasternak was awarded the prestigious international Nobel Prize in Literature. But in the USSR, Pasternak’s work was condemned as anti-Soviet, and under pressure from the authorities he was forced to refuse the prize.
Attitude to the church.
At the end of the 50s. In connection with the course towards building communism, the state's policy towards the church is again becoming tougher, and persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church has resumed. Secretary of the Central Committee L.F. Ilyichev, in a speech in December 1961, declared: “Religion, which has always been in modern conditions an anachronism, is now becoming an intolerable obstacle on our path to communism.” Achieving a “society without religion” was declared a program goal. Not only did atheist propaganda intensify, but also the number of religious associations decreased. So in 1958 there were only 18.6 thousand, including Orthodox - 13.4 thousand, in 1961 - 16 and 11 thousand, respectively.
The end of the "thaw".
On December 1, 1962, an exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Moscow branch of the Union of Artists (MOSH) of the USSR was to open in the Moscow Manege. The exhibition received the approval of E.A. Furtseva. Part of the exhibition’s works was presented in the “New Reality” exhibition, prepared by more than 60 artists representing the artistic direction organized in the late 1940s by the painter E.M. Belyutin, who carried out the traditions of the Russian avant-garde of the early 20th century. Khrushchev, who came to the exhibition, walked around the large hall three times where the exhibition was located. He then rapidly moved from one picture to another, then returned back, gradually losing his temper, he moved on to vulgar abuse towards artists and their works. The next day, immediately after the publication of the Pravda newspaper with an accusatory article, many Muscovites came to the Manege, but the exhibition had already been removed. However, there was no persecution of the artists.
On November 29, 1963, the feuilleton “Near-Literary Drone” appeared in print, in which the poet Joseph Brodsky was ridiculed. The writer was arrested and sentenced to 5 years of exile for parasitism. After which something unprecedented happened in Soviet society: an open campaign began in defense of the poet. About two dozen writers spoke out for his acquittal. Letters in defense of Brodsky were signed by D.D. Shostakovich, S.Ya. Marshak, K.I. Chukovsky, K.G. Paustovsky, A.T. Tvardovsky, Yu.P. German and others. Under the pressure of wide public outcry, in 1965 the poet was returned from exile. In 1972, I. Brodsky left the country, and in 1987 he became a Nobel Prize laureate.
As part of the campaign to debunk the “cult of personality” I.V. Stalin, former prisoner A. Solzhenitsyn was allowed to publish the story “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” which tells about life in Stalin’s camps. This story, shocking in its brutal truth, was published in November 1962 in Novy Mir with special permission from the Presidium of the Central Committee, and brought Solzhenitsyn great fame. The magazine issue became a real rarity, many began to rewrite the story by hand, and this is how “samizdat” arose. The duality of the “Thaw” era is evidenced by the fact that, having allowed the publication of “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” the party leadership at the same time banned the publication of a novel in “The First Circle,” which tells about Solzhenitsyn’s work during the years of imprisonment in the “sharashka” in Marfino.
The strengthening of voluntarism in Khrushchev’s policies, endless reforms and transformations, plans for reforming the party, the introduction of the principle of rotation in appointments to positions, as well as the First Secretary’s rudeness in communication gradually led him to isolation and undermined Khrushchev’s authority both among the people and in the party leadership. Under these conditions, Khrushchev’s inner circle decided to remove him from power, which was done at the October plenum of 1964. The country calmly greeted Khrushchev’s removal from office and the end of the “thaw.” This is what N.S. himself wrote. Khrushchev in his memoirs about this controversial period: “Deciding on the coming of the thaw, and going towards it consciously, the leadership of the USSR, including me, was at the same time afraid of it: lest it lead to a flood that would overwhelm us, and with which we it will be difficult to cope... We wanted to release the creative powers of people, but in such a way that new creations would contribute to the strengthening of socialism. It’s like what, as people say, you want it, and you inject it, and your mother doesn’t tell you to. That's how it was."
On the evening of March 5, 1953, after several days of sudden illness, I.V. died. Stalin. In the last hours of his life, the leader’s inner circle shared power, trying to legitimize their position and revise the decisions of the 19th Congress of the CPSU. The head of the government was G.M. Malenkov. L.P. Beria received the post of Minister of Internal Affairs, which included the Ministry of State Security. N.S. Khrushchev remained Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The “disgraced” Mikoyan and Molotov regained their positions. To this day, there are different versions of Stalin’s illness and death: natural death, murder, deliberate delay in calling doctors. It is clear that Stalin's death was beneficial to many of those around him.
The struggle for power in the spring-summer of 1953 was associated with determining the country's development strategy. Numerous problems required solutions. The country could not maintain a huge army, have 2.5 million prisoners, spend money on “great construction projects,” continue to exploit the peasantry, incite conflicts around the world, and create new enemies. The instability of the ruling layer and threats of repression worsened the controllability of the state. All members of the political leadership understood the need for change. But everyone determined the priorities and depth of the inevitable changes in their own way. The first ideologists of the reforms were Beria and Malenkov. Since June 1953, Khrushchev became a supporter of reforms. A more conservative position was taken by Molotov, Kaganovich and Voroshilov.
At the initiative of Beria, on March 27, 1953, an amnesty decree was adopted, according to which about 1 million people sentenced to up to 5 years were released: those who were late for work and truants, women with children under 10 years old, the elderly, etc. Contrary to popular belief, the amnesty did not apply to murderers and bandits, but it did not affect political prisoners either. This action (more than a third of prisoners who had acquired criminal experience in the camps and were not equipped in the everyday sense were released) caused a wave of crime in the cities.
At the beginning of April 1953, the “doctors’ case” was terminated. The official report spoke for the first time about the responsibility of Ministry of Internal Affairs employees who used “prohibited interrogation methods.” Soon, those convicted in other post-war political trials (“Mingrelian case”, “Aviators’ case”) were released. In June 1953, Beria submitted to the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee a proposal to limit the rights of the Special Meeting under the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. Steps were taken to reform the Gulag system “due to economic inefficiency”; a number of enterprises were transferred to line ministries.
Beria's initiatives went beyond the competence of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He advocated changing the personnel policy in the republics, proposing, in particular, broad promotion of national personnel to the leadership. Beria insisted on normalizing relations with Yugoslavia, as well as abandoning the costly construction of socialism in the GDR and creating a neutral, united Germany. The phenomenon of Beria in the history of the USSR has not yet been fully explored. He gained a reputation as a villain and executioner. It seems that such an assessment suffers from simplicity.
Of course, Beria is responsible for crimes committed by the authorities, but to the same extent as his comrades Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov, Khrushchev and others. Beria, due to his position, was the most informed person as part of the leadership, knowing best " pain points“system, all the information about what the population of the country was primarily against was flowing to him through the security agencies. Beria's activity aroused fears among other members of the political leadership of his “sworn friends.”
Beria was feared and hated by the army leadership. The local nomenklatura was controlled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was not responsible for anything, but interfered in everything. His comrades began to suspect Beria of preparing his own dictatorship. Thus, Beria became a symbol of threat. He was feared and hated by all major political forces. By preliminary agreement between Malenkov, Khrushchev and Defense Minister Bulganin, on June 26, 1953, at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, Beria was arrested. The performers of the “operation” were Marshal Zhukov, commander of the Moscow Military District Moskalenko and several officers.
At the beginning of July 1953, a plenum of the Central Committee was held, at which the image of a state criminal, a spy of “international imperialism”, a conspirator, “an enemy who wanted to restore power for the restoration of capitalism” was created. From now on, Beria becomes, according to modern researcher R.G. Pihoi, “a kind of drain of the history of the party, the source of everything that did not correspond to the canonized ideas about the role of the party.” Thus, a specific “political intriguer” was declared guilty of everything, and not the system of power, not Stalin. In December 1953, at a closed meeting of the Supreme Court of the USSR, Beria and his closest assistants were sentenced to death for treason.
The beginning of the "thaw".
The “Beria case” acquired a powerful public resonance, raising hopes for a change in the political atmosphere in the country. An important result of the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee was the confirmation of the principle of party leadership. The logical result was the introduction at the September 1953 plenum of the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, which Khrushchev received. It was he who gradually began to seize the initiative for transformations, later called the “Khrushchev Thaw.”
Time from late 1953 to early 1955. characterized by a power struggle between Khrushchev and Malenkov. Their rivalry unfolded against the backdrop of defining strategy economic development countries. Malenkov intended to change priorities in economic development by increasing the share of production of consumer goods. Khrushchev insisted on maintaining the previous Stalinist course on the primary development of the heavy defense industry. A particularly acute situation arose in agriculture, which had to be brought out of a state of complete devastation.
In August 1953, at a session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Malenkov announced a reduction in taxes from peasants and providing peasants with basic social rights(primarily partial issuance of passports). The new agricultural policy was finally formulated at the September (1953) plenum. It was directly stated about the dire situation in the countryside. Khrushchev announced a significant increase in government purchase prices for agricultural products, the cancellation of collective farm debt, and the need to increase investment in the agricultural sector of the economy.
These measures made it possible to somewhat improve the food situation, stimulated the development of private production of meat, milk, and vegetables, and made the lives of millions of USSR citizens easier. In 1954, to solve the grain problem, the development of virgin and fallow lands began in Western Siberia and Kazakhstan.
The next step was the selective rehabilitation of victims of Stalin's terror. In April 1954, those convicted under the so-called “ Leningrad case" During 1953-1955 All major political cases of the post-war period were reviewed, extrajudicial bodies were abolished, prosecutorial supervision was restored and strengthened, etc. But the political processes of the 1930s were practically not revised.
In addition, rehabilitation was very slow. In 1954-1955 Only 88 thousand prisoners were released. At this rate, it would take decades to process millions of applications. Strikes and uprisings began in the camps themselves. One of the largest was the uprising in Kengir (Kazakhstan) in the spring and summer of 1954 under the slogan “Long live the Soviet Constitution!” The uprising lasted 42 days and was suppressed only with the help of tanks and infantry.
The “undercover” struggle between Khrushchev and Malenkov ended in victory for the former. In February 1955, a session of the Supreme Council relieved Malenkov from the post of head of government. At the previous January (1955) plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, Malenkov was blamed for his economic and foreign policy views (for example, discussions about the possible death of humanity in a nuclear war). A weighty argument was his involvement in the repressions.
He was for the first time publicly accused of collaborating with Beria, of being responsible for the “Leningrad affair” and a number of other political processes of the 40s and early 50s. The consequence of this was new rehabilitations. During 1955-1956 The topic of repression and attitude towards Stalin is gradually becoming the main one in society. Not only the fate of the party and political leadership, but also the party’s place in the country’s political system depended on its decision.
Considering the history of the first post-Stalin decade, we should especially note the importance XX Congress of the CPSU. It became a turning point in the development of Soviet society and radically changed the situation in the international communist movement thanks to Khrushchev’s secret report “On the cult of personality and its consequences,” read on February 25, 1956 at a closed meeting.
The decision of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee to read this report at the congress was not unanimous. The report came as a shock to the vast majority of delegates. For the first time, many learned about Lenin’s so-called “testament” and his proposal to remove Stalin from the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee. The report spoke of purges and “illegal methods of investigation,” with the help of which absolutely incredible confessions were wrested from thousands of communists.
Khrushchev painted the image of Stalin as an executioner, guilty of the destruction of the “Leninist Guard”, who shot the 17th Congress. Thus, Khrushchev sought to blame Stalin, Yezhov and Beria for everything bad in the past and thereby rehabilitate the party, the ideas of socialism and communism. This made it possible to bypass the question of the system of organization of power, in the depths of which the debunked “cult” matured and developed.
Khrushchev particularly focused on Stalin’s guilt in initial period war. But there was no complete picture of the repressions: the revelations did not concern collectivization, the famine of the 1930s, repressions against ordinary citizens, and the fight against Trotskyists and oppositionists of “all stripes” was recognized as one of Stalin’s most important achievements. In general, the report did not claim theoretical depth and analysis of such a phenomenon as Stalinism.
The closed meeting of the 20th Party Congress was not recorded in shorthand and the debate was not opened. It was decided to familiarize communists and Komsomol members with the “secret report,” as well as “non-party activists,” without publishing it in the press. They read an already edited version of Khrushchev’s report. This caused a huge public outcry. The entire spectrum of opinions was present: from disappointment with the incompleteness of the question of the “cult”, the demands of the party trial of Stalin, to rejection of such a quick and sharp rejection of values that were unshakable just yesterday. There was a growing desire in society to get answers to numerous questions: about the cost of transformation; about what of the tragedies of the past was generated by Stalin personally, and what was predetermined by the party itself and the idea of building a “bright future.”
The desire to introduce criticism within a certain framework was manifested in the resolution of the CPSU Central Committee of June 30, 1956 “On overcoming the cult of personality and its consequences.” It was a step back compared to the “secret report” at the 20th Congress. Stalin was now characterized as “a man who fought for the cause of socialism,” and his crimes as “certain restrictions on intra-party Soviet democracy, inevitable in conditions of a fierce struggle against the class enemy.” In this way, Stalin's activities were explained and justified. The application of the principle: on the one hand, an outstanding figure devoted to the cause of socialism, on the other, a person who abused power, was supposed to remove the severity of criticism of the orders of the recent past, and certainly not to transfer this criticism to the present.
Over the next 30 years, criticism of Stalin in Soviet historiography was limited and opportunistic. This was manifested in the fact that, firstly, Stalin’s activities were separated from the construction of socialism and thereby, in essence, the administrative command system was justified. Secondly, the full scale of the repressions was not revealed and Lenin’s closest associates Trotsky, Bukharin, Kamenev, Zinoviev and others were not rehabilitated. Thirdly, the question of personal responsibility of Stalin’s closest circle and numerous perpetrators of terror was not raised.
Nevertheless, the significance of criticism of Stalin’s personality cult cannot be overestimated. There has been a turn towards democracy and reforms in society. The system of total fear was largely destroyed. The decisions of the 20th Congress meant a renunciation of the use of repression and terror in the internal party struggle and guaranteed security for the upper and middle layers of the party nomenklatura. The rehabilitation process not only took on a massive, ubiquitous character, but was also embodied in the restoration of the rights of entire peoples who suffered during Stalin’s time.
Khrushchev’s policy of de-Stalinization, his numerous economic initiatives, which were not always distinguished by thoughtfulness and integrity, and adventurous statements (the slogan “Catch up and surpass America in meat and milk production per capita,” put forward in May 1957) caused growing discontent among the conservative part of the party. state apparatus. An expression of this was the speech of the so-called “anti-party group” within the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee.
Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganovich, using the support of the majority, tried at a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee in June 1957 to remove Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee (it was planned to eliminate this post altogether) and appoint him Minister of Agriculture. Accusations were brought against him of violating the principles of “collective leadership”, of forming a cult of his own personality, and of rash foreign policy actions. However, Khrushchev, having secured the support of members of the Central Committee, demanded the urgent convening of a plenum. Important role played by the support of Khrushchev by the Minister of Defense G.K. Zhukov.
At the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, the actions of Khrushchev's opponents were condemned. A manifestation of some democratization of the party was the fact that for the first time in many decades, the plenum of the Central Committee, rather than a narrow circle of members of the Presidium, acted as the decisive authority. Finally, the oppositionists themselves remained free and members of the party. They were removed from the Central Committee and demoted. Khrushchev was given the opportunity to continue his reform activities. However, the rational that was contained in Khrushchev’s criticism was not noticed for the time being by either himself or his circle.
The role of G.K. Zhukova in June 1957 showed the leadership the potential for army intervention in political life countries. During Zhukov’s visit to Yugoslavia and Albania in the fall of 1957, Khrushchev indiscriminately accused him of “Bonapartism” and overestimating his military merits. He was accused of “severing” the Armed Forces from the party and creating the prototype of the future special forces without the approval of the Central Committee of the Central Intelligence School. At the end of October 1957, Zhukov was removed from the post of Minister of Defense. From March 1958, Khrushchev began to combine leadership of the party and the state (he took the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), which was the beginning of his sole rule.
He owed his triumph to the political elite of that time and, above all, to the party apparatus. This largely determined his future political line and forced adaptation to the interests of this layer. At the same time, the defeat of the “anti-party group”, the removal of Zhukov and the transformation of Khrushchev into the sole leader deprived him of any legal opposition that would restrain his not always thoughtful steps and warn against mistakes.
Socio-economic reforms.
The primary task of the economic policy of the new leadership was some decentralization of industry management and the transfer of enterprises to republican subordination. Another direction was the course to accelerate technological progress. The result was the emergence nuclear power plant and icebreaker, jet civil aircraft Tu104, accelerated development of the chemical industry.
In the military sphere, nuclear submarines and missile-carrying aircraft appeared. Epochal events that go far beyond the purely scientific achievements, began the launch on October 4, 1957 of the world's first artificial Earth satellite and on April 12, 1961, a spacecraft with a person on board. The first cosmonaut in the world was Yu.A. Gagarin.
In 1957, a restructuring of economic management began, the main goal of which was the transition from a sectoral to a territorial principle. A National Economy Council was created in each economic region. In total, 105 economic councils were created and 141 ministries were liquidated. The reform pursued the following goals: decentralization of management, strengthening of territorial and interdepartmental connections, increasing the independence of production entities.
Initially, the reform brought tangible results: the decision-making path was shortened, counter transportation of goods was reduced, and hundreds of similar small industries were closed. In the 50s, according to some researchers, the growth rate industrial production and national income were the highest in Soviet history. But this did not fundamentally change the dead-end economic system itself. The fundamentals of the administrative-command system remained unchanged. Moreover, the capital's bureaucracy, which had lost part of its power, showed dissatisfaction.
Reforms in the agricultural sector were even less successful. Here Khrushchev’s impulsiveness and improvisation were especially clearly manifested. For example, the introduction of corn was in itself a reasonable step for the development of livestock farming, but the development of new varieties in relation to Russian conditions required at least 10 years, and the return was expected immediately. In addition, the “queen of the fields” was planted all the way to the northern regions of the Arkhangelsk region.
The development of virgin lands turned into another campaign, supposedly capable of immediately solving all food problems. But after a short-term growth (in 1956-1958, virgin lands produced more than half of the harvested bread), harvests there fell sharply due to soil erosion, droughts and other natural phenomena that scientists warned about. This was an extensive development path.
Since the late 50s. the principles of material interest of collective farmers in the results of labor began to be violated again. Administrative reorganizations and campaigns began, inevitable in the existing system. A striking example became the “meat campaign in Ryazan”: a promise to triple meat production in 3 years.
The result was a sharp reduction in the number of cows put under the knife, and the suicide of the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU. Similar things, albeit on a smaller scale, happened everywhere. At the same time, under the banner of eliminating differences between city and countryside and building communism, restrictions and even elimination of peasants’ personal farmsteads began. Outflow increased rural residents and, above all, young people in the cities. All this caused irreparable damage to the village.
The most successful were social reforms. Illiteracy was finally eliminated. The practice of forced (so-called “voluntary”) government loans has ceased. Since 1957, industrial housing construction began in the cities of “Khrushchev” five-story buildings. They began a change in the type of housing for millions of people: from communal apartments to separate apartments.
In 1956, old-age pensions were introduced in all state sectors (before that they were received by a limited number of workers), and in 1964 they began to be issued to collective farmers for the first time. Anti-worker laws were repealed: criminal liability for absenteeism and systematic lateness to work. Wages and the population's consumption of industrial and food products have increased significantly. There was a reduction in the working day (up to 7 hours) and the working week.
Spiritual life.
The first decade after Stalin's death was marked by significant changes in spiritual life. “The Thaw” (after the title of I. G. Ehrenburg’s story) marked the beginning of the liberation of public consciousness from dogmas and ideological stereotypes. Representatives of literature were the first to respond to the changes that began in society (works by Dudintsev, Granin, Panova, Rozov, etc.).
The work of Babel, Bulgakov, Tynyanov and others was rehabilitated. After the 20th Congress, the magazines “Moscow”, “Neva”, “Youth”, “Foreign Literature”, “Friendship of Peoples” and others appeared. A special role was played by the magazine “New World”, headed by Tvardovsky. Here, in November 1962, Solzhenitsyn’s story “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” was published, telling about the life of prisoners.
The decision to publish it was made at a meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee under personal pressure from Khrushchev. A feature of the “thaw” was the emergence of so-called “pop” poetry; young authors Voznesensky, Yevtushenko, Rozhdestvensky, Akhmadulina gathered large audiences in Moscow. Cinema achieved significant success during this period. The best films: “The Cranes Are Flying” (dir. Kalatozov), “The Ballad of a Soldier” (dir. Chukhrai), “The Fate of a Man” (dir. Bondarchuk) received recognition not only in the USSR, but also in the world. The CPSU Central Committee recognized the previous assessments of the work of outstanding composers Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khachaturian and others as unfair.
However, the “thaw” in spiritual life was also a contradictory phenomenon, since it had well-defined boundaries. The authorities found new methods of influencing the intelligentsia. Since 1957, meetings between the leaders of the CPSU Central Committee and figures of art and literature have become regular. At these meetings, everything that did not fit into the official ideology was condemned. At the same time, everything that was personally incomprehensible to Khrushchev himself was denied. The personal tastes of the country's leader acquired the character of official assessments.
The loudest scandal erupted in December 1962, when Khrushchev, while visiting an exhibition in the Manege, criticized the works of young avant-garde artists, which were difficult for him to understand. One of the most striking examples of persecution of cultural figures was the “Pasternak case.” Publication in the West of the novel Doctor Zhivago, which was not allowed to be published in the USSR by censors, and the award to B.N. Pasternak's Nobel Prize resulted in persecution of the writer. He was expelled from the Writers' Union and, in order to avoid expulsion from the country, refused the Nobel Prize. The intelligentsia was still required to be “soldiers of the party” or to adapt to the existing order.
Foreign policy.
Considering foreign policy in the Khrushchev decade, it is necessary to note its contradictory nature. In the summer of 1953, a compromise was reached between the USSR and the USA, which resulted in the signing of an armistice in Korea. In the mid-50s, Europe consisted of two opposing blocs. In response to West Germany's accession to NATO, in 1955 the countries of the socialist bloc created the Warsaw Pact Organization.
But at the same time, the foundations for stabilization in this part of the world began to be laid. The USSR normalized relations with Yugoslavia. At the 20th Congress of the CPSU, theses were substantiated about the peaceful coexistence of the two systems, about their peaceful competition, about the possibility of preventing wars in the modern era, about the variety of forms of transition of different countries to socialism. At the same time, the actions of the Soviet leadership in the international arena were not always in line with these ideas.
The process initiated by the 20th Congress caused a crisis within the socialist camp. In the countries of Eastern Europe, which built socialism on the Stalinist model, a departure from this model began. Especially sharp character These processes were purchased in Poland and Hungary. In Poland, the Communist Party managed to maintain power by updating the country's leadership. In Hungary in October 1956, thousands of anti-Soviet demonstrations began, which escalated into armed action. Bloody reprisals began against state security and party officials. Under these conditions, the Soviet Union used armed force.
The pockets of armed resistance were suppressed. On November 7, 1956, the new leader of Hungary, J. Kadar, arrived in Budapest in a Soviet armored vehicle. The USSR created a precedent when disputes in the socialist camp were resolved using Soviet weapons and fulfilled the well-known rule in Europe in the first half of the 19th century. the role of Russia as a gendarme who brought “order” to Poland and Hungary.
In the USSR, helping one's ally was considered an international duty. Maintaining a forceful balance between the USSR and the USA, as well as ensuring peace “from a position of strength” after the events in Hungary became the main line of foreign policy behavior of the Soviet Union. The Hungarian events were also reflected in the USSR. They became one of the reasons for the student unrest that swept across almost the entire country.
Berlin remained one of the hottest spots in the world from 1958 to 1961. In August 1961, by decision of the political leadership of the Warsaw Pact countries, the Berlin Wall was erected overnight, a strip of fortifications that completely isolated West Berlin from the rest of the GDR. She became a symbol of the Cold War. The main instrument for maintaining the balance of power was the arms race, which concerned, first of all, the production of nuclear charges and the means of delivering them to targets. In August 1953, the USSR announced the successful testing of a hydrogen bomb, and the production of intercontinental ballistic missiles continued.
At the same time, Moscow understood the danger of further escalation of arms. The Soviet Union launched a series of disarmament initiatives, unilaterally reducing the size of its army by 3.3 million people. But these measures were not successful. One of the reasons was that peace initiatives were accompanied by constant saber-rattling. In addition, peace-loving statements were often combined with Khrushchev’s impulsive improvisations, such as “We will bury you (that is, the USA)!” or that the USSR makes “rockets like sausages.”
The Cold War reached its climax in the fall of 1962, when the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out. In 1959, revolutionary rebels led by F. Castro came to power in Cuba. In April 1961, with US support, Castro's opponents tried to land on the island. The landing force was destroyed. A rapid rapprochement between Cuba and the USSR began. In the summer of 1962, Soviet missiles appeared in Cuba, posing a direct threat to the United States. The confrontation reached its peak at the end of October 1962. For several days the world was on the brink of nuclear war. It was avoided only thanks to a secret compromise between Kennedy and Khrushchev. Soviet missiles were withdrawn from Cuba in exchange for the US promise to renounce aggression against this country and the dismantling of American nuclear missiles in Turkey.
After the Caribbean crisis, a period of relative detente began in Soviet-American relations and international relations generally. A direct line of communication was established between the Kremlin and the White House. But after Kennedy's assassination (1963) and Khrushchev's resignation, this process was interrupted.
The events of 1962 deepened the split in Soviet-Chinese relations, which began after the 20th Congress. Chinese leader Mao Zedong believed that there was no need to fear a nuclear war and accused Khrushchev of capitulation. Much attention was paid to the development of relations with the states of the “third world” (developing countries). During these years, the colonial system collapsed. Dozens of new states were being formed, primarily in Africa. The USSR sought to extend its influence to these parts of the world. In 1956, the Egyptian leadership nationalized the Suez Canal.
In October 1956, Israel, England and France began fighting against Egypt. The Soviet ultimatum played a huge role in stopping them. At the same time, economic cooperation with Egypt, India, Indonesia and other countries is developing. The USSR provided them with assistance in the construction of industrial and agricultural facilities and personnel training. The main foreign policy result of this period was to prove that, with mutual desire, both superpowers (the USSR and the USA) can conduct a dialogue with each other and overcome international crises.
The Thaw Crisis.
High growth rates of industrial production in the 50s. served as the basis for optimistic forecasts. In 1959, the XXI Congress of the CPSU declared that socialism in the USSR had won a complete and final victory. The new, third Party Program adopted at the XXII Congress (1961) set the task of creating the material and technical base of communism by 1980. For this, the task was put forward to “catch up and overtake America in the main types of industrial and agricultural products.” The utopianism of the program goals of this document is obvious today. Only a small part of the planned plans was achieved.
At the same time, the propaganda of the communist myth became increasingly disconnected from reality. In 1963, a food crisis broke out in the country. There was not enough bread in the cities, and huge queues lined up for it. For the first time in the history of the USSR, grain was purchased abroad (in the first year, 12 million tons were purchased, which cost the state $1 billion). After this, purchases of imported grain became the norm. In 1962, the government announced an increase in prices for meat and dairy products (in fact, the first price increase officially announced by the state after the war and the abolition of the rationing system).
This immediately caused mass discontent and indignation, especially in the working environment. Workers' discontent reached its apogee in Novocherkassk, where a 7,000-strong workers' demonstration took place. With the knowledge of the top leaders of the CPSU Mikoyan and Kozlov, she was shot by the troops. 23 people died, 49 were arrested, seven of them were sentenced to death.
Removal of N.S. Khrushchev.
All this led to a decline in Khrushchev's authority. The failure of his domestic policy was obvious. In army circles, dissatisfaction with Khrushchev was caused by large-scale cuts in the armed forces. Officers who served for many years were forced to go into civilian life without a profession, without a sufficient pension, and without the opportunity to find the desired job. Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were deprived of a number of privileges. The party and economic bureaucracy was dissatisfied with the countless reorganizations of management structures, which led to frequent changes of personnel. In addition, the new Party Charter adopted at the XXII Congress provided for the rotation (renewal) of personnel, which especially affected the interests of the nomenklatura, which sought to get rid of the “irrepressible reformer.”
Khrushchev's vulnerability was significantly increased by his mistakes in personnel policy and some personal qualities: impulsiveness, a tendency to make ill-conceived, hasty decisions, low level culture. Moreover, it was in 1962-1963. An ideological campaign to excessively praise Khrushchev (“the great Leninist”, “the great fighter for peace”, etc.) began to grow, which, against the backdrop of economic difficulties and the recent exposure of the cult of Stalin, further undermined his authority.
By the fall of 1964, Khrushchev’s opponents had secured the support of the leaders of the army, the KGB and the party apparatus. On October 13, 1964, Khrushchev, who was on vacation in Pitsunda (Caucasus), was summoned to Moscow for a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee, at which he was presented with a long list of charges. Only Mikoyan spoke in his defense. At the plenum of the Central Committee that opened after this, Khrushchev was removed from all his posts and sent into retirement. Officially, this was explained by the state of health of the country's leader. L.I. was elected First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Brezhnev, and the post of head of government was taken by A.N. Kosygin. Plenum participants emphasized the need for collective leadership.
Thus, Khrushchev’s removal occurred as a result of a formally legal act at the Plenum of the Central Committee, “by simple voting.” This resolution of the conflict without arrests and repression can be considered the main result of the past decade. Khrushchev's resignation, despite the fact that it was the result of a conspiracy, did not cause discontent in the country. Both the population and the nomenklatura greeted the decisions of the plenum with approval. Society longed for stability. Few people realized that along with Khrushchev’s resignation, the era of the “thaw” also ended.
The Thaw in the USSR is a conditional unofficial name for the period that lasted from the mid-50s to the mid-60s. It is characterized by significant changes, in particular, the debunking of Stalin’s personality cult, the liberalization of freedom of speech, and the reduction of censorship. Western literature became more accessible. In relation to the political and social life of that era, certain relaxations were also observed, which Soviet reality had not seen since the 20s.
And some moments in the history of the USSR generally occurred for the first time: condemnation of one’s own mistakes, the past, repressions. Unfortunately, this did not become a deep process, did not change the essence of the events taking place: universal control, centralization of power and much more remained in the USSR, at least until perestroika, and some things disappeared only with the collapse of the Soviet Union. But the influence of Khrushchev’s thaw was felt for a long time. The authorities demonstrated that dictatorship is not necessary.
Spiritual life has also changed quite interestingly. In the USSR they began to show more attention to everything Western and demonstrate greater openness. Creativity was subject to less censorship. Attempts to achieve certain changes in the management of the national economy also date back to this period. They are characterized by some naivety, since for successful implementation they required more serious and in-depth study. However, these changes still had positive results.
The Thaw period struck the majority in the USSR with criticism of Stalin's personality cult. However, it also showed that many did not agree with the policies being implemented. A striking example was the rapprochement with Yugoslavia, with which the dictator broke off relations. In addition, we should not forget about what event happened in the USSR during the Thaw: the liquidation of the Gulag. This was also directly related to the condemnation of repression and the outbreak of riots. Some historians note that over time this system It became increasingly unprofitable to maintain, so perhaps there was a commercial motive in destroying the structure from the inside.
Nevertheless, the Thaw period also includes the proclamation of a course for peaceful coexistence with Western countries. The emphasis was placed on the fact that it is very important to be able to get along in one big world. It should be noted that the nomenklatura rejoiced at these changes and quite willingly supported them, because under Stalin almost everyone was in danger. Now I didn’t have to constantly fear for my life. So for many, the thaw period had only positive aspects.
Khrushchev’s policy turned out to be quite loyal for prisoners of war: many Japanese and Germans were simply sent home to their countries. It is worth noting that we are talking about tens of thousands of people. Most of the deported peoples were allowed to return to their places of former residence. Labor legislation has noticeably softened: criminal liability for absenteeism has been abolished, and there is also talk of decriminalizing other articles. The concept of “enemy of the people” was also removed from the Criminal Code.
There were also certain advances in the international arena. They agreed with the USSR on the withdrawal of occupation forces from Austria and that the state would maintain political neutrality. In this regard, the Thaw period gave the West more than they initially expected. He showed that it is difficult with the Soviet Union, but it is possible to negotiate. And this was what they wanted most after World War II.
Controversies
At the same time, during the Thaw period in the USSR, Joseph Brodsky was arrested, Pasternak was persecuted for publishing his work in Italy, and the uprising in Grozny and Novocherkassk was suppressed (the latter with the use of weapons). In addition to the above, currency traders were shot in violation of the fundamental principles of law (Rokotov’s case), for whom the case was reviewed three times. The death sentence was imposed after the law giving the corresponding right came into force. As is known, criminal law does not and cannot have retroactive effect, with the exception of individual situations amnesty. However, here this principle was simply ignored. This decision caused protests even from the investigators who led the case. But it was not possible to influence the situation: the sentence was carried out.
The episode with Brodsky turned out to be quite scandalous and unpleasant for the USSR, characterized by attempts to attract the attention of the Soviet intelligentsia and the world community. As a result, it was possible to ensure that the poet’s sentence was reduced. And active liberation activities became the foundation for the emergence of a human rights movement in the USSR, which is still developing today. Attention was drawn to the issue of human rights in the Soviet Union, people began to talk about it, which was simply impossible to imagine during Steel’s life. This already showed certain progress in the public consciousness, but did not make society completely healthy.
Changes in art
The topic of de-Stalinization, the need and importance of change was raised in the film “Clear Sky”. Pasternak was able to publish Doctor Zhivago in Milan, although he subsequently encountered problems associated with it. They published Solzhenitsyn, which, again, was impossible to imagine before. Leonid Gaidai and Eldar Ryazanov began to realize themselves as directors. The film “Carnival Night” turned into a real cultural event; there were other interesting works.
Negative changes
It cannot be said that all changes, without exception, were unequivocally positive. Changes in architecture turned out to be quite negative for the USSR. In an effort to quickly provide everyone with housing, it was decided to abandon “unnecessary decoration”, as long as it did not interfere with the functionality of the houses. As a result, the buildings turned out to be standard, monotonous, they began to look like template boxes and lost their individuality. The area per person was significantly reduced. The issue of audibility worsened: houses appeared in which what was being said on one floor could be heard without problems across several floors. Unfortunately, such standards in construction remained until the collapse of the USSR, changing for the most part only for the worse.
Positive Feedback
The appearance of the thaw gave rise to another phenomenon - the sixties, that is, young people who went through the war (or their relatives) became disillusioned with Stalin. However, they decided that the communist government had nothing to do with it, having heard about the debunking of the personality cult. They actively opposed the image of the dictator - Lenin, romanticized the revolution and existing ideals.
As a result, as many researchers note, the emergence of such mitigation looks somewhat ambiguous. Of course, liberalization of the regime and greater creative freedom are positive. However, the people had the feeling that the Soviet government really knew how to admit its mistakes, to draw conclusions that there would be no return to the old ways, that something was moving towards improvement and correction.
Meanwhile, the execution, contrary to the legislation in force at that time, of currency traders very eloquently showed that all the changes relate to the form rather than the essence of what is happening. The Gulag was disbanded, but at the same time, those who were directly related to the crimes that took place there were not convicted. They did not publicly declare the inadmissibility of such methods in relation to people. Soviet authority did not admit responsibility for what she actually allowed.
Such exposure would have been too dangerous for the nomenklatura itself, which in one way or another was part of the Stalinist repressive machine. Some carried out criminal decrees, and some even took the initiative. In the end, Stalin's condemnation was cautious. He was still recognized as an outstanding figure of his era. The genocide he carried out was called “mistakes” that took place, according to Soviet figures, "closer to the end".
To summarize, it can be noted that there have certainly been certain positive changes. But there were much fewer of them, and many were temporary. And some achievements on the path to liberalization were reversed due to the arrival of Brezhnev. Therefore, speaking about the positive aspects, we must not forget about the negative ones.
