Major events in politics during perestroika. How perestroika began in the USSR. Chronological framework of perestroika

Restructuring

Rebuilding- the general name of the new course of the Soviet party leadership, the totality of political and economic changes that took place in the USSR from 1985 to 1991.

This period is directly related to the name of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M.S.Gorbachev, who initiated large, deep, ambiguous changes in all spheres of Soviet society. The year 1987 is considered the beginning of perestroika, when perestroika was first declared a new direction of state development at the January plenum of the CPSU Central Committee.

Restructuring can be roughly divided into three stages:

First stage (March 1985 - January 1987)

This period was characterized by the recognition of some of the shortcomings of the existing political and economic system of the USSR and attempts to correct them with several large campaigns of an administrative nature (the so-called "Acceleration") - an anti-alcohol campaign, "the fight against unearned income", the introduction of government acceptance, a demonstration of the fight against corruption. No radical steps have yet been taken during this period; outwardly, almost everything remained as before. At the same time, in 1985-86, the bulk of the old cadres of the Brezhnev draft were replaced with a new management team. It was then that A. N. Yakovlev, E. K. Ligachev, N. I. Ryzhkov, B. N. Yeltsin, A. I. Lukyanov and other active participants in future events were introduced to the country's leadership. Nikolai Ryzhkov recalled (in the newspaper Novy Vzglyad, 1992):

In November 1982, I was - quite unexpectedly - elected secretary of the Central Committee, and Andropov introduced me to the team preparing the reforms. It included Gorbachev, Dolgikh ... We began to deal with the economy, and with that began perestroika in 1985, where the results of what was done in 83-84 were practically used. If you didn’t do it, it would be even worse.

Second stage (January 1987 - June 1989)

An attempt to reform socialism in the spirit of democratic socialism. It is characterized by the beginning of large-scale reforms in all spheres of Soviet society. In public life, a policy of glasnost is proclaimed - the softening of censorship in the media and the lifting of bans on what used to be considered taboo. In the economy, private entrepreneurship is legalized in the form of cooperatives, and joint ventures with foreign companies are being actively created. In international politics, the main doctrine is "New Thinking" - a course to abandon the class approach in diplomacy and improve relations with the West. Part of the population is gripped by euphoria from long-awaited changes and unprecedented freedom by Soviet standards. At the same time, during this period, general instability begins to gradually increase in the country: the economic situation is deteriorating, separatist sentiments appear on the national outskirts, and the first interethnic clashes break out.

Third stage (June 1989-1991)

The final stage, during this period, there is a sharp destabilization of the political situation in the country: after the Congress, the confrontation between the communist regime and the new political forces that emerged as a result of the democratization of society begins. Difficulties in the economy escalate into a full-blown crisis. A chronic commodity shortage reaches its climax: empty store shelves are becoming a symbol of the turn of the 1980s-1990s. Perestroika euphoria in society is being replaced by disappointment, uncertainty about the future and massive anti-communist sentiments. Since 1990, the main idea is no longer the "improvement of socialism", but the building of democracy and a market economy of the capitalist type. "New thinking" in the international arena boils down to unilateral concessions to the West, as a result of which the USSR is losing many of its positions and in fact ceases to be a superpower that controlled half of the world a few years ago. In Russia and other republics of the Union, separatist-minded forces come to power - a "parade of sovereignties" begins. The natural result of this development of events was the elimination of the power of the CPSU and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Term

They were replaced by the proteges of the new General Secretary: A.N. Yakovlev, who was one of the most staunch supporters of reforms, V.A.Medvedev, A.I. Lukyanov, B.N. Yeltsin (later Yeltsin was expelled from the Politburo on February 18 1988). During 1985-1986, Gorbachev renewed the composition of the Politburo by two-thirds, 60% of the secretaries of regional committees and 40% of the members of the Central Committee of the CPSU were replaced.

Domestic policy

At a meeting of the Politburo in April 1986, Gorbachev first announced the need for a Plenum on personnel issues. Only there it was possible to make a cardinal decision to change the personnel policy. In June 1986, at a meeting with the secretaries and heads of departments of the CPSU Central Committee, Gorbachev said: “Without a 'small revolution' nothing will come of the party, because the real power lies with the party bodies. The people will not pull on an apparatus that does nothing for perestroika. "

From the end of 1986, previously forbidden literary works began to be published, films lying on the shelves were shown (the first of them was Tengiz Abuladze's film "Repentance").

In May 1986, the V Congress of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR opened, at which the entire board of the Union was unexpectedly re-elected. According to this scenario, changes subsequently occurred in other creative unions.

In December 1986, A. D. Sakharov and his wife E. G. Bonner were released from exile in Gorky. In February 1987, 140 dissidents were released from prison by way of a pardon. They immediately became involved in social life. The scattered, small dissident movement, which ended its active existence in 1983, was revived again under the slogans of the democratic movement. Several dozen informal, gradually politicized, poorly organized organizations appeared (the most famous of which was the Democratic Union, formed in May 1988, which held two anti-communist rallies in Moscow in August-September 1988), the first independent newspapers and magazines.

In 1987-1988, such previously unpublished and forbidden works were published as "Children of the Arbat" by A. N. Rybakov, "Life and Fate" by V. S. Grossman, "Requiem" by A. A. Akhmatova, "Sofya Petrovna" by L. K. Chukovskaya, "Doctor Zhivago" by BL Pasternak.

In 1987, the first non-state television associations were created, such as NIKA-TV (Independent Information Television Channel) and ATV (Association of Author's Television). In contrast to the dry semi-official program "Vremya", night issues of TSN appeared. The leaders in this regard were the youth programs "12th Floor" and "Vzglyad", programs of the Leningrad television.

But at the same time, measures were outlined to preserve the role of the CPSU in the country. Previously, the supreme body of legislative power was the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, elected by the population according to territorial and national-territorial districts. Now the Supreme Soviet was to be elected by the Congress of People's Deputies, ⅔ of whom, in turn, were to be elected by the population. The remaining 750 people were to be elected by "public organizations", with the CPSU choosing the largest number of deputies. This reform was formalized in law at the end of 1988.

The party conference also made a decision to combine the posts of the head of the party committee and the chairman of the Council of the corresponding level. Since this leader was elected by the population, such an innovation was supposed to bring energetic and practical people to leading party posts, capable of solving local problems, and not just engaging in ideology.

Nationalism and separatism

Conflict in Almaty

Main article: December 1986 events (Kazakhstan)

In December 1986, after the Kazakh D. Kunayev was dismissed from the post of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and the appointment of the Russian G. Kolbin in his place, riots broke out in Alma-Ata. Demonstrations by Kazakh youth who opposed Kolbin (since he had nothing to do with Kazakhstan) were suppressed by the authorities.

Azerbaijan and Armenia

As of mid-July, about 20 thousand people (more than 4 thousand families) left Armenia for Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, the Central Committee of the CPAz is trying to normalize the situation in the places of compact residence of Azerbaijanis in Armenia. Refugees from Azerbaijan continue to arrive in the Armenian SSR. According to local authorities, as of July 13, 7265 people (1598 families) arrived in Armenia from Baku, Sumgait, Mingechevir, Kazakh, Shamkhor and other cities of Azerbaijan. ...

On July 18, a meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was held, at which the decisions of the Supreme Soviets of the Armenian SSR and Azerbaijan SSR on Nagorno-Karabakh were considered and a Resolution on this issue was adopted. The Resolution noted that, having considered the request of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR of June 15, 1988 on the transition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region to the Armenian SSR (in connection with the petition of the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO) and the decision of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR of June 17, 1988 On the inadmissibility of transferring NKAO to the Armenian SSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet considers it impossible to change the borders and the constitutionally established national-territorial division of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR. In September, a state of emergency and a curfew were introduced in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and the Aghdam region of the Azerbaijan SSR. In the same month, the Azerbaijani population was expelled from Stepanakert, and the Armenian from Shushi. In Armenia, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR made a decision to dissolve the “Karabakh” committee. However, attempts by party and state bodies to reassure the population have no effect. In Yerevan and some other cities of Armenia, calls for the organization of strikes, rallies and hunger strikes continue. On September 22, the work of a number of enterprises and urban transport of Yerevan, Leninakan, Abovyan, Charentsavan, as well as the Echmiadzin region was stopped. In Yerevan, along with the police, military units are involved in ensuring order on the streets. ...

In November - December 1988, mass pogroms took place in Azerbaijan and Armenia, accompanied by violence and killings of civilians. According to various sources, pogroms on the territory of Armenia lead to the death of 20 to 30 Azerbaijanis. According to the Armenian side, 26 Azerbaijanis died in Armenia as a result of violations on ethnic grounds in three years (from 1988 to 1990), including 23 from November 27 to December 3, 1988, one in 1989, and two in 1990. ... At the same time, 17 Armenians were killed in clashes with Azerbaijanis in Armenia. In Azerbaijan, the largest Armenian pogroms take place in Baku, Kirovabad, Shemakha, Shamkhor, Mingechaur, and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. A state of emergency has been introduced in a number of cities in Azerbaijan and Armenia. At this time, there is the largest flow of refugees - hundreds of thousands of people from both sides.

In the winter of 1988-1989, the deportation of the population of the Armenian villages of the rural areas of the AzSSR is carried out - including the northern part of Nagorno-Karabakh (not included in the NKAO) - the mountainous and foothill parts of the Khanlar, Dashkesan, Shamkhor and Gadabay regions, as well as the city of Kirovabad (Ganja) ... Upon completion of these events, the Armenian population of the Azerbaijan SSR is concentrated in the NKAO, the Shaumyan region, four villages of the Khanlar region (Getashen, Martunashen, Azad and Kamo) and in Baku (where it decreased from about 215 thousand to 50 thousand people during the year) ...

Baltics

On June 10-14, 1988, over one hundred thousand people visited the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds. The events of June-September 1988 went down in history as the "Singing Revolution".

On June 17, 1988, a delegation of the Estonian Communist Party at the 19th Party Conference of the CPSU made a proposal to transfer additional powers in all spheres of social, political and economic life to the republican authorities.

On September 11, 1988, a musical and political event "Song of Estonia" was held at the Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn, which brought together about 300,000 Estonians, that is, about a third of the Estonian people. During the event, the call for Estonian independence was publicly voiced.

Economy

By the mid-1980s, all the problems of the planned economy that existed in the USSR became aggravated. The existing deficit of consumer goods, including food, has sharply increased. A significant drop in revenues from oil exports (budget revenues from oil exports fell by 30% in 1985-1986) led to a shortage of foreign exchange for imports, including consumer goods. According to a number of authors, the USSR lagging behind in the development of science-intensive sectors of the economy was growing. So, A. S. Narinyani wrote in 1985: “ The situation in Soviet computing appears to be catastrophic. … The gap separating us from the world level is growing faster and faster… We are close to the fact that now not only will we not be able to copy Western prototypes, but in general we will be unable to even follow the world level of development.»

At the April 1985 Plenium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, it was for the first time openly announced about the economic and social problems existing in the USSR. According to M. S. Gorbachev, the country was in a pre-crisis state. A particularly difficult situation has developed in agriculture, where production losses amounted to about 30%. During the procurement and transportation of livestock, 100 thousand tons of products were lost annually, fish - 1 million tons, potatoes - 1 million tons, beets - 1.5 million tons. mechanical engineering as the basis for re-equipping the entire national economy (the so-called "acceleration").

The program "Intensification-90", adopted in 1986, provided for the advanced development of the consumer goods sector by 1.7 times in comparison with other branches of mechanical engineering and, to a certain extent, was a continuation of previous reforms. At the same time, the imbalances in investment policy led to the undermining of non-priority industries.

In addition to this, in the initial period of perestroika, several insufficiently thought out decisions were made. In May 1985, the CPSU Central Committee issued a Resolution "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism." This decision was aimed at solving both social and economic problems, primarily labor discipline, and was supposed to contribute to the growth of labor productivity, its quality. It was envisaged to reduce the production of vodka and other alcoholic beverages by 10% per year. By 1988, the production of fruit and berry wines was to be stopped. These measures led to a temporary decrease in mortality in the country, but their economic effect was negative and was expressed in more than 20 billion loss of budget revenues, a transition to the category of scarce products that were previously available for sale (juices, cereals, caramel, etc.) , a sharp increase in home brewing and an increase in mortality due to poisoning with fake alcohol and surrogates. By the end of 1986, the consumer budget was destroyed.

At the beginning of 1986, the 27th Congress of the CPSU took place, at which a number of economic and social programs were adopted, providing for a new investment and structural policy. In addition to "Intensification-90", it was planned to implement such long-term programs as "Housing-2000" and others.

On January 13, 1987, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted Resolution No. 48, which allowed the creation of joint ventures with the participation of Soviet organizations and firms from capitalist and developing countries.
On June 11, 1987, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 665 "On the transfer of enterprises and organizations of the branches of the national economy to full cost accounting and self-financing" was adopted. On June 30, 1987, the USSR Law "On State Enterprise (Association)" was adopted, which redistributed powers between ministries and enterprises in favor of the latter. Products manufactured after the fulfillment of the state order could be sold by the manufacturer at free prices. The number of ministries and departments was reduced, and cost accounting was introduced into all branches of the national economy. However, the granting of the right to choose directors to the labor collectives of state-owned enterprises and the granting of the authority to enterprises to regulate wages led to the dependence of enterprise directors on the decisions of labor collectives and an increase in wages that was not ensured by the availability of an appropriate volume of goods in the consumer market.

Foreign policy

Having come to power, Mikhail Gorbachev took a course towards improving relations with the United States. One of the reasons for this was the desire to reduce exorbitant military spending (25% of the USSR state budget). The policy of "New Thinking" in international affairs was proclaimed.

At the same time, in the first two years of Gorbachev's rule, the foreign policy of the USSR remained quite tough. Gorbachev's first meeting with US President Ronald Reagan in Geneva in the fall of 1985 ended with the little-binding solemn Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Nuclear War. On January 15, 1986, the "Soviet Government Statement" was published containing a program of nuclear disarmament by 2000. The USSR called on the leading countries of the world to join the moratorium on nuclear tests observed by the Soviet Union since the summer of 1985 and to gradually reduce various types of nuclear weapons.

The Soviet policy in Afghanistan was subjected to some adjustments, where the USSR replaced the country's leadership in May 1986. The new PDPA General Secretary M. Najibullah proclaimed a course of national reconciliation, adopted a new Constitution, according to which he was elected President of Afghanistan in 1987. The Soviet Union sought to strengthen the position of the new leadership in order to subsequently begin the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country.

In October 1986, a meeting of Soviet and American leaders took place in Reykjavik, which marked the beginning of a new foreign policy course for the USSR: the Soviet Union for the first time expressed its readiness to make serious concessions to its opponents. Although Mikhail Gorbachev still bargained hard on the terms of the treaty and in the end the meeting ended in nothing, Soviet initiatives had a great international resonance. The meeting in Reykjavik largely predetermined subsequent events.

On June 12, 1990, with 907 votes "For" with a total of 13 votes "Against", the I Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the "Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the RSFSR." It proclaimed that “To ensure political, economic and legal guarantees of the sovereignty of the RSFSR, the following is established: completeness of power of the RSFSR in solving all issues of state and public life, with the exception of those that are voluntarily transferred to the jurisdiction of the USSR; the supremacy of the Constitution of the RSFSR and the Laws of the RSFSR throughout the territory of the RSFSR; the effect of acts of the USSR that conflict with the sovereign rights of the RSFSR is suspended by the Republic on its territory "... This marked the beginning of the "war of laws" between the RSFSR and the Union Center.

On June 12, 1990, the USSR Law "On the Press and Other Mass Media" was adopted. He banned censorship and guaranteed freedom of the media.

The process of "sovereignization of Russia" led to the adoption on November 1, 1990 of the "Decree on the economic sovereignty of Russia."

During the period under review, various parties were formed. Most of the parties operated on the territory of one union republic, which contributed to the strengthening of the separatism of the union republics, including the RSFSR. For the most part, the newly formed parties were in opposition to the CPSU.

The CPSU was going through a serious crisis during this period. Various political trends emerged in it. The XXVIII Congress of the CPSU (July 1990) led to the withdrawal from the CPSU of the most radical members, headed by Boris Yeltsin. The size of the party in 1990 decreased from 20 to 15 million people, the Communist Parties of the Baltic republics declared themselves independent.

Economy

By 1989, it became clear that the attempt to reform the economy within the framework of the socialist system had failed. The introduction of certain market elements into the state-planned economy (self-financing of state enterprises, small private entrepreneurship) did not give a positive result. The country was sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of a chronic commodity deficit and a general economic crisis. In the fall of 1989, sugar coupons were introduced in Moscow for the first time after the war. Industrial accidents and disasters have become more frequent. The state budget for 1989 was drawn up with a deficit for the first time in a long time.

In this regard, the country's leadership began to seriously consider the possibility of transition to a full-fledged market economy, which until recently was unquestionably rejected as contrary to socialist foundations. After the 1st Congress of People's Deputies, a new Government of the USSR was formed, headed by N.I. Ryzhkov. It consisted of 8 academicians and corresponding members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, about 20 doctors and candidates of sciences. The new government initially focused on the implementation of radical economic reforms and fundamentally different management methods. In this regard, the structure of the Government has changed significantly and the number of line ministries has significantly decreased: from 52 to 32, that is, by almost 40%.

In May 1990, NI Ryzhkov spoke at a meeting of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a report on the economic program of the Government. Ryzhkov outlined the concept of the transition to a regulated market economy developed by the Abalkin Commission. It provided for a price reform. This speech led to an emergency in Moscow trade: while Ryzhkov was speaking in the Kremlin, everything in the city was sold: a month's supply of vegetable and butter, a three-month supply of pancake flour, cereals sold 7-8 times more than usual, instead of 100 tons of salt - 200 ...

A wave of rallies swept across the country demanding not to raise prices. Mikhail Gorbachev, who has repeatedly promised that prices in the USSR will remain at the same level, distanced himself from the government program. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR postponed the implementation of the reform, inviting the Government to finalize its concept.

But the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers in 1991 were reduced to a two-fold increase in prices from April 2, 1991 (they, however, remained regulated), as well as to the exchange of 50- and 100-ruble banknotes for new-type banknotes (Pavlov's Monetary Reform). The exchange was carried out for only 3 days on January 23-25, 1991 and with serious restrictions. This was explained by the fact that shadow dealers allegedly accumulated huge amounts in large banknotes. The economy of the USSR in 1991 was going through a deep crisis, which manifested itself in an 11% decline in production, a 20-30% budget deficit, and a huge external debt of $ 103.9 billion. Not only food, but also soap, matches were distributed according to cards, cards were often not purchased. “Muscovite cards” appeared in the capital; they simply did not sell anything to nonresidents. Republican and regional customs, republican and local "money" appeared.)

Comparison of some economic indicators in the USSR before and after perestroika

Nationalism and separatism

Armenia and Azerbaijan

On May 27, 1990, an armed clash between the Armenian "self-defense units" and the internal troops took place, as a result of which two soldiers and 14 militants were killed.

Georgia

middle Asia

Moldova and Transnistria

Baltics

Chronology of events

1985 year

May 7, 1985 - Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism, to eradicate moonshine."

1986 year

May 23, 1986 - Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On measures to strengthen the fight against unearned income."
November 19, 1986 - The USSR Armed Forces adopted the Law of the USSR "On Individual Labor Activity".

1987 year

May 6, 1987 - The first unauthorized demonstration of a non-governmental and non-communist organization, the Memory Society, in Moscow.
June 25, 1987 - The plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU considered the issue "On the tasks of the party for the radical restructuring of economic management."
June 30, 1987 - The USSR Law "On the State Enterprise (Association)" was adopted.
July 30, 1987 - The Law on the Procedure for Appealing the Misconduct of Officials to the Court, which infringes upon the rights of a citizen, was adopted
August 1987 - Unlimited newspaper and magazine subscriptions allowed for the first time.

1988 year

1989 year

January 1989 - The first free nomination of candidates for People's Deputies of the USSR began.
April 1989 - events in Tbilisi.
June 1989 - The First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.

1990 year

January 1990 - pogroms of Armenians in Baku. The introduction of troops into the city.
Spring 1990 - The Law on Property in the USSR was adopted.

Post-rebuild events

International changes

Withdrawal of medium and short-range missiles from Europe
Reduction of nuclear weapons
The collapse of the socialist camp and the Warsaw Pact (according to the Protocol on the complete termination of the Treaty on July 1, 1991)
Unification of Germany with the subsequent withdrawal of Soviet troops
The end of the Afghan war with the withdrawal of Soviet troops (February 15)
Restoration of diplomatic relations with Albania (July 30) and Israel (January 3)

The introduction of democratic freedoms

Partial freedom of speech, publicity, abolition of censorship, liquidation of special depositories.
Pluralism of opinions.
Partial freedom of movement of citizens abroad, the possibility of free emigration.
The introduction of pluralism of power and the abolition of the one-party system.
Permitting private enterprise (movement of cooperatives) and private property.
Ending the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious organizations.
May 1989 - Gorbachev issues a decree according to which student students are no longer conscripted into the army, students who have already been drafted return to universities.
Relaxation in the legal circulation of long-barreled weapons
Cancellation of criminal prosecution for male homosexuality (sodomy)

National conflicts, wars and incidents

December 1986 events (Kazakhstan)

in Uzbekistan (conflict with Meskhetian Turks)

in Kyrgyzstan (conflict in Osh, Fergana Valley)

Changes in the economy and domestic life

Cultural policy

removal of censorship from Western culture.
lifting the ban on Russian rock.

Changes in the KPSS

Withdrawal of "aksakals" from the Politburo (09/30/1988) [ neutrality?]
Withdrawal of "aksakals" from the Central Committee of the CPSU (04.24.1989) [ neutrality?]

Catastrophes

Since the beginning of perestroika in the USSR, natural and man-made disasters have received a great public response, although sometimes with serious delays due to attempts by party structures to hide information:

July 10 - Tu-154 of Aeroflot airline (flight Tashkent-Karshi-Orenburg-Leningrad), having entered a tailspin, crashed near the city of Uchkuduk (Uzbekistan). 200 people were killed. This is the largest plane crash in terms of the number of victims that occurred on the territory of the USSR.
April 26 - Chernobyl accident - several dozen deaths from radiation; more than 600 thousand "liquidators" who participated in the elimination of the consequences; 200 thousand people were resettled; more than 200,000 km² of territory are contaminated; 5 million hectares of land were withdrawn from agricultural use.
August 31 - shipwreck of the steamer Admiral Nakhimov 423 dead
June 4 - explosion at the Arzamas-1 railway station
December 7 - Earthquake in Spitak 25,000 dead
June 3 - Gas explosion and train disaster near Ufa 575 dead
April 7 - the sinking of the nuclear submarine "Komsomolets" 45 dead

Terrorist attacks

September 20, 1986 - the seizure of the Tu-134 aircraft at the Ufa airport.
March 8, 1988 - the Ovechkin family hijacks the Tu-154 aircraft on the Irkutsk-Kurgan-Leningrad flight.

Criticism

There are several versions of why the restructuring did take place. Some scholars argue that perestroika was mainly a breeding ground for the seizure of property by the Soviet elite, or the nomenklatura, which was more interested in “privatizing” the huge state of the state in 1991 than in preserving it. Obviously, the actions were carried out both from one side and from the other. Let us dwell in more detail on the second catalyst for the destruction of the Soviet state.

As one of the possible versions, they even put forward the fact that the Soviet elite actually had a scanty compared to what the elite of the impoverished banana republics have, and in comparison with what the elite of developed countries owns. Based on this, it is argued that even in Khrushchev's times, part of the party elite took a course to change the Soviet system, with the goal of turning from managers into owners of state property. Within the framework of this theory, no one planned to create any free market economy.

Some researchers (for example, V.S.Shironin, S.G. Kara-Murza) see the victory of perestroika as primarily a product of the activities of the Western special services, who, with the help of their ramified network of "agents of influence" and external pressure, deftly exploited shortcomings and miscalculations in the economic and state building of the USSR for the destruction of the Soviet Union and the entire socialist camp. "Agents of influence" acted according to the scenario described by VM Molotov in the early 1930s: " sought to plan individual industries in such a way as to achieve the greatest disparity between them: they reduced planning assumptions and exaggerated difficulties, invested excessively large funds in some enterprises and delayed the growth of others. Making ineffective costs and deadening capital, ... they hoped to lead the Soviet state to a financial crisis and disruption of socialist construction a".

The Soviet way of life took shape under the influence of specific natural and historical circumstances. Based on these circumstances, the generations that created the Soviet system determined the main selection criterion - the reduction of suffering. On this path, the Soviet system achieved world-recognized successes, in the USSR the main sources of mass suffering and fear were eliminated - poverty, unemployment, homelessness, hunger, criminal, political and ethnic violence, as well as mass death in a war with a stronger enemy. For this, great sacrifices were made, but already from the 60s a stable and growing prosperity arose. An alternative criterion was the criterion for the increase in pleasures. The Soviet life order was created by generations that endured difficult trials: accelerated industrialization, war and reconstruction. Their experience determined the choice. During perestroika, its ideologists persuaded the politically active part of society to change their choice - to take the path of increasing pleasure and neglect the danger of mass suffering. We are talking about a fundamental change, which is not limited to a change in the political, state and social order (although it is inevitably expressed in them)

Although the directly indicated choice was not formulated (more precisely, attempts to formulate it were suppressed by the leadership of the CPSU, which determined access to the podium), the statements associated with it were very transparent. Thus, the demand to make a massive flow of funds from heavy industry to light industry acquired the character of not an economic decision, but a fundamental political choice. The leading ideologist of perestroika A. N. Yakovlev said: “ A truly tectonic shift towards the production of consumer goods is needed. The solution to this problem can only be paradoxical: to carry out a large-scale reorientation of the economy in favor of the consumer ... We can do this, our economy, culture, education, the whole society have long ago reached the required initial level».

The clause that “the economy had already reached the required level” was not checked or discussed at the same time, it was immediately discarded - it was only about a tectonic shift. Immediately, even through the planning mechanism, a sharp reduction in investments in heavy industry and energy was carried out (the Energy Program, which brought the USSR to the level of reliable energy supply, was terminated). Even more eloquent was the ideological campaign aimed at curtailing the defense industry, created in the USSR precisely on the basis of the principle of reducing suffering.

This change in the criterion of life order contradicted the historical memory of the Russian people and those insurmountable restrictions imposed by the geographic and geopolitical reality, the availability of resources and the level of development of the country. To agree to such a change was to reject the voice of common sense. (S. G. Kara-Murza, "Manipulation of consciousness")

In support of the above theory, the following statistics are provided:

Soviet nomenclature in the post-Soviet Russian elite, 1995, in%:

including:
	President's entourage	Party leaders	Regional "elite"	Government	Business - "elite"
Total from the Soviet nomenclature	75,5	57,1	82,3	74,3	61,0
party	21,2	65,0	17,8	0	13,1
Komsomol	0	5,0	1,8	0	37,7
Soviet	63,6	25,0	78,6	26,9	3,3
economic	9,1	5,0	0	42,3	37,7
another	6,1	10,0	0	30,8	8,2

The retired ideologues of perestroika themselves have repeatedly stated that perestroika did not have any clear ideological basis. However, some activities that have begun at least since 1987 cast doubt on this point of view. While at the initial stage the common expression "more socialism" remained the official slogan, a latent change in the legislative framework in the economy began, which threatened to undermine the functioning of the previous planned system: the actual abolition of the state monopoly on foreign economic activity (for example, Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated December 22, 1988 No. 1526 "on the approval of the regulation on self-supporting foreign trade organizations ..."), revision of the approach to the relationship between state bodies and industrial enterprises (USSR Law "On a state enterprise (association)" dated June 30, 1987).

Methodological approaches to the analysis of restructuring

In works of art

In the 1990s, the famous Russian émigré philosopher Alexander Zinoviev wrote the book "Catastroika", in which he described the process of the collapse of the centuries-old Russian state called the USSR. After the book was published, the term "catastrophe" began to be used in the Russian media to refer to perestroika itself.

Literature

Scientific works

A.S.Barsenkov Introduction to modern Russian history 1985-1991. - M .: Aspect Press, 2002 .-- 367 p. - ISBN 5-7567-0162-1
Bezborodov A.B., Eliseeva N.V., Shestakov V.A. Perestroika and the collapse of the USSR. 1985-1993. - SPb. : Norma, 2010 .-- 216 p. - ISBN 978-5-87857-162-3
Geller M. Ya. Gorbachev: victory of glasnost, defeat of perestroika // Soviet society: emergence, development, historical finale... - RGGU, 1997. - T. 2. - ISBN 5-7281-0129-1.
Pikhoya R.G. Soviet Union: History of Power. 1945-1991. - M .: Publishing house of RAGS, 1998 .-- 734 p. - ISBN 5-7729-0025-0
Polynov M.F. The historical background of perestroika in the USSR. 1946-1985 - SPb. : Alter Ego, 2010 .-- 511 p. - ISBN 978-5-91573-025-9
Sogrin V.V. Political history of modern Russia. 1985-2001: from Gorbachev to Putin. - M .: Infra-M, 2001 .-- 272 p. - ISBN 5-7777-0161-2
The Tragedy of a Great Power: the National Question and the Collapse of the Soviet Union / Ed. G. N. Sevostyanova. - M .: Socio-political thought, 2005 .-- 600 p. - ISBN 5-902168-41-4
A. V. Shubin The Paradoxes of Perestroika: A Lost Chance of the USSR. - M .: Veche, 2005 .-- 480 p. - ISBN 5-9533-0706-3
Yasin E.G. Russian economy. The origins and panorama of market reforms. - M .: Publishing house of the State University Higher School of Economics, 2003 .-- 437 p. - ISBN 5-7598-0113-9

Memories and documents

Denisov A.A. Through the eyes of a People's Deputy of the USSR. - SPb. : Publishing house of Polytechnic. University, 2006 .-- 660 p. - ISBN 5-7422-1264-X
Alexander Yakovlev. Restructuring: 1985-1991. Unpublished, little-known, forgotten. - M .: International Fund "Democracy", 2008. - ISBN 978-5-89511-015-7

Links

A selection of documents on the restructuring on the website of the "Gorbachev Fund"
Reader on the history of Russia. FROM THE USSR TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. 1985-2001

Edward Glezin"January Spring"
Edward Glezin"Liberation of Sakharov"
Edward Glezin"Yeltsin asked for resignation"
Boffa J.“From the USSR to Russia. The story of an unfinished crisis. 1964-1994 ".
Cohen S."Was it possible to reform the Soviet system"
Shironin V.“The KGB is the CIA. The secret springs of restructuring "
D. Travin “Prologue: a meeting of four secretaries general. 1985: Moscow Spring "
D. Travin

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

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

The implementation of perestroika was influenced by the consistent involvement in the process of the "shadow economy", which merged into an ever closer alliance with the nomenclature. Perestroika, begun by the Soviet bureaucracy, had the goal of a radical transformation of Soviet society. The central problem of all that was happening was the issue of redistribution of property.

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

What was originally intended

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

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

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

Restructuring began with "acceleration"

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

In 1986, it became clear that the adopted reform model was not working. In February, Mikhail Gorbachev, speaking in the city of Togliatti in front of the workers of the automobile plant, first uttered the word "perestroika", and after his May visit to Leningrad, where the General Secretary called the entire social and political process at the party activist, the press made it the slogan of the new course.

Socialist decorations lose their relevance

Reforms were perceived by people far from being unambiguous. People rushed about in ignorance: what to do? Many words are spoken from the stands, but no one can understand what "perestroika" is. But something needs to be done, then “the province went to write” was rebuilt, who in what way. The authorities had to "release the genie from the bottle" and call it "Glasnost!"

Stage, time frame, slogan		Funds
Second phase, "Perestroika and Glasnost"	"Conservative modernization" in the political and economic life of the country. Internal party reforms.	The beginning of political reforms. The proclamation of "Glasnost", the softening of censorship, the rise in popularity of new media. The beginning of the development of entrepreneurship on the basis of private initiative (cooperatives and self-employment).	The split of society into democrats and communists. The authorities are withdrawing themselves from the course correction, and the restructuring processes become uncontrollable. Republican elites get out of control, interethnic conflicts begin.

Stage, time frame, slogan

Funds

Second phase,

"Perestroika and Glasnost"

"Conservative modernization" in the political and economic life of the country.

Internal party reforms.

The beginning of political reforms.
The proclamation of "Glasnost", the softening of censorship, the rise in popularity of new media.
The beginning of the development of entrepreneurship on the basis of private initiative (cooperatives and self-employment).

The split of society into democrats and communists.
The authorities are withdrawing themselves from the course correction, and the restructuring processes become uncontrollable.
Republican elites get out of control, interethnic conflicts begin.

The collapse of socialism and the triumph of capitalism

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

Stage, time frame, slogan		Funds
Third stage, 1990 - 1991 "Deepening Reforms"	Deepening political and economic reforms. Building a Western-style democracy and market economy.	The abolition of the CPSU monopoly on power (Art. Constitution of the USSR 1977). Introduction of the post of President of the USSR. Development of ways of transition to a market economy.	The rise to a critical level of controversy in politics. The coup of the State Emergency Committee in August 1991. The crisis and the collapse of perestroika. The landslide collapse of the Soviet society and state.

Stage, time frame, slogan

Funds

Third stage,

1990 - 1991

"Deepening Reforms"

Deepening political and economic reforms.

Building a Western-style democracy and market economy.

The abolition of the CPSU monopoly on power (Art. Constitution of the USSR 1977).
Introduction of the post of President of the USSR.
Development of ways of transition to a market economy.

The rise to a critical level of controversy in politics.
The coup of the State Emergency Committee in August 1991.
The crisis and the collapse of perestroika.
The landslide collapse of the Soviet society and state.

Many believe that the reason for the catastrophic end of the perestroika epic is the lack of thought, half-heartedness and protraction of reforms. In subsequent years, some "perestroika superintendents" admitted the malice of their actions. It is also necessary to take into account the factor of external influence on the internal processes in the USSR, which gradually deepened from stage to stage.

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Abstract on the topic:

"Perestroika in the USSR: causes, course, consequences"

Introduction

§1. Reasons for perestroika in the USSR

§2. The course of perestroika in the USSR

§3. The consequences of perestroika in the USSR

Conclusion

Bibliography

Vveating

Since the mid 80s. and especially from the beginning of the 90s. in Russia, as well as in the USSR as a whole, serious changes began to take place. These changes affected all aspects of the socio-economic and especially the political life of Soviet society. They proceeded very quickly, were contradictory and had serious consequences for Russia and all the republics that were part of the Soviet Union.

At the same time, the political events that took place in the Soviet Union and its republics were reflected in the process of world political history.

Perestroika is a very high-profile period in the history of the USSR. The policy of perestroika, initiated by a part of the leadership of the CPSU headed by Mikhail Gorbachev, led to significant changes in the life of the country and the world as a whole. During perestroika, problems that had been accumulating for decades were exposed, especially in the economy and the international sphere. Added to all this were the mistakes and miscalculations made in the process of carrying out the reforms themselves. The political confrontation between the forces advocating the socialist path of development, parties and movements that link the country's future with the organization of life on the principles of capitalism, as well as issues of the future appearance of the Soviet Union, relations between union and republican bodies of state power and administration, has sharply escalated. By the early 1990s, perestroika led to an aggravation of the crisis in all spheres of society and to the further collapse of the USSR.

§1. Reasons for perestroika in the USSR

By the beginning of the 80s. The Soviet Union has reached a new technical level, new industries have developed (electronics, precision instrument making, the nuclear industry, etc.). The creation of industrial, scientific-production, agro-industrial, inter-collective farm associations has become a mass phenomenon. A unified energy system, a transport system, an automatic communication system, oil and gas supply were formed and operated. The economic ties of the republics and regions have become closer. However, the administrative - command system of management, the practice of planning and the guardianship of the decision-making bodies over the enterprises persisted.

The country's leadership at the congresses of the CPSU has repeatedly made decisions aimed at overcoming the dictates of the departmental bureaucracy, at developing economic methods of management, and expanding the independence of the enterprise. However, these decisions remained on paper. There was no transition from extensive to intensive economic development. The scientific and technical process was sluggish. As before, progressive changes were restrained by the old management system. Serious deformations have accumulated in planning. Miscalculations were made in commodity-money relations. Cooperative forms of farming were underestimated. Weakened economic control over the use of forms of ownership. Gross blunders were made in economic policy.

The course towards increasing the incomes of the population, increasing its education and improving housing conditions contributed to the development of needs, an increase in demand for new, better quality goods and consumer goods. However, the production of consumer goods, the organization of food supply, the development of the service sector, trade, transport, the culture and recreation industry, and medical services were at a low level. In the 60s - the first half of the 80s. a deep need arose for social and economic renewal, for the development of new policies and new priorities. However, this need has not been met. As a result, the deformations in economic and social life intensified more and more.

1. The systemic socio-economic crisis caused by the arms race in the foreign policy of the USSR, the financial dependence of the socialist countries on Soviet subsidies. Unwillingness to change the command-administrative system of management in accordance with the new conditions - in internal politics ("stagnation").

2. There were also accompanying prerequisites and reasons for perestroika in the USSR: the aging of the Soviet elite, whose average age was within 70 years; the omnipotence of the nomenclature; rigid centralization of production; shortage of both consumer goods and durable goods.

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

§2. The course of perestroika in the USSR

First stage: April 1985-1986 It was initiated by the April Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which proclaimed a course to accelerate the country's socio-economic development by intensifying production based on the implementation of the achievements of scientific and technological progress. In this process, the key role was assigned to mechanical engineering. The priority in development was given to machine-tool building, computer technology, microelectronics and instrument-making, to improve control and planning bodies. For this purpose, a number of new administrative structures were created: the Bureau of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for mechanical engineering, the State Committee for Computer Engineering and Informatics, etc. A decision was made on the need to create non-departmental control over the observance of standards (in the mid-1980s, only 29% of machine-building products met world standards). State acceptance of manufactured products (state acceptance) is introduced at the enterprises, which by the beginning of 1988 existed at 2 thousand enterprises.

Anti-alcohol campaign: On May 7, 1985, the CPSU Central Committee adopted a resolution "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism." In accordance with it, in each work collective it was required to create an atmosphere of intolerance to drunkenness and violations of discipline. Also, to combat drunkenness, it was envisaged to annually reduce the production and sale of alcoholic beverages and by 1988 to completely stop the production of fruit and berry wines. The anti-alcohol campaign initially met with some success. Alcohol consumption has dropped markedly (according to official data, in 1984, per capita consumption was 8.4 liters in 1985 - 7.2; 1987 - 3.3). The number of industrial injuries and deaths has decreased. However, the negative consequences were much more significant. The production of moonshine began everywhere, as a result of which there was a shortage of sugar, and the quality of bread decreased due to the lack of yeast. The lack of alcohol affected industry and medicine. The consumption of surrogate alcohol has increased. (In 1987, 11 thousand people died from the use of chemical liquids, especially antifreeze and methyl alcohol). Reduced budget revenues. For 1985-87. the state has lost more than 37 billion rubles. Under these conditions, in the fall of 1988, the government was forced to lift the restriction on the sale of alcoholic beverages. Increasing labor productivity by strengthening discipline and order in all sectors of the economy. The strengthening of discipline began with a massive anti-alcohol campaign.

In the same vein, in May 1986, a decree was adopted aimed at combating unearned income (requisition of agricultural products from local markets, demolition of greenhouses and other "unauthorized objects", etc.). Improvement of material incentives for labor and activation of social policy. To this end, a number of decrees were adopted on raising the salaries of scientists, raising pensions and benefits, introducing new benefits for participants in the Great Patriotic War, etc.

In general, the first period of reforms was characterized by the predominance of the administrative approach to solving economic problems. The basic principles of the Soviet economy remained unchanged.

At the second stage of reforms (1987-1989), the concept of "perestroika" was formed and the first attempts were made to liberalize the economy.

The beginning of this was laid by the January (1987) plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU. On it, a decision was made to introduce self-government in production. It was to be carried out through the creation of councils of labor collectives, which were endowed with decisive powers on a wide range of issues. The plenary session recommended introducing the election of managers in production and reporting of officials to labor collectives.

On January 1, 1988, the law “On the State Enterprise (Association)” came into force: instead of the plan, a “state order” was introduced, after which the enterprises were allowed to independently sell their products. From now on, the manufacturer had to build its activities on the basis of full cost accounting and self-financing. The indicator of economic activity is profit (!). Enterprises received independence in determining the size of the workforce, setting wages, and choosing business partners. The activities of unprofitable and insolvent enterprises could be terminated. The role of the center was reduced to the preparation of a general plan and determination of the volume of state orders.

Some changes are taking place in foreign economic policy. Since 1987, a number of ministries and departments have acquired the right to independently carry out export-import operations in the external market. The creation in the USSR of mixed (joint) enterprises and associations with the participation of foreign firms was allowed. (Moreover, in the authorized capital, the Soviet part had to exceed 50%, and the director of the enterprise had to be a citizen of the USSR). By the end of 1988, more than 100 enterprises with joint capital were operating in the country. However, their creation was slow (bureaucratic red tape, high tax rates, lack of legislative protection of investments).

On July 1, 1988, the law “On cooperation in the USSR” is enacted. Cooperative enterprises, along with state ones, were recognized as the main link in the national economy. Cooperatives could operate in agriculture, industry, construction, transport, trade, and public catering. According to the Soviet leadership, cooperatives were supposed to help saturate the consumer market with goods and services. In mid-1988, laws were passed that allowed private activity in more than 30 types of production of goods and services.

In the countryside, the equality of five forms of management was recognized: collective farms, state farms, agricultural complexes, rental cooperatives and peasant (farmer) households. Collective farms, according to the new regulation (1988), could independently set the size of individual allotments and the number of livestock in subsidiary plots. The villagers received the right to lease land for a period of 50 years and fully dispose of the products produced.

At the end of the 1980s, the structures of state power were also transformed. They were started by the XIX All-Union Party Conference. A sharp struggle between the opinions of the supporters and opponents of perestroika on the issue of the tasks of the country's development unfolded there. Most of the delegates supported the point of view of M. Gorbachev about the urgent need for economic reform and transformation of the political system of society.

The democratization of public life was one of the tasks of perestroika, its most essential characteristic at that time. It permeated all spheres of society, in the sphere of politics it assumed a change in the very mechanism of power, a transition from hierarchical management of society for workers through a relatively narrow ruling stratum, to self-government of workers. In the economic sphere, democratization was focused on changing the mechanism for the implementation of public and personal property, so that labor collectives and all workers received real rights of masters of social production, and the opportunity to show individual labor initiative.

In 1988. implementing the decision of the XIX Conference, the structure of the supreme bodies of power and the electoral system of the country were changed through the constitutional reform. A new legislative body was established - the Congress of People's Deputies, which met once a year. He elected from among his members the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Chairman. Similar structures were created in the union republics.

Also, the reform approved the post of the President of the USSR, endowed with broad powers. The President became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR, appointed and removed the military command. The President represented the USSR Armed Forces, and then the Congress of People's Deputies for approval and dismissal of the Chairman of the USSR Government, the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, the Chairman of the USSR Supreme Arbitration Court and the personal composition of the USSR Constitutional Supervision Committee.

As perestroika developed, it became more and more obvious that its fate rests on the state of the political system, the political life of society. The growing public attention to the problems of social development showed more and more that without radical changes in public life, it is impossible to solve either economic or social problems. The original idea of the reformers about preserving the socialist political system and only partially democratizing it, became more and more utopian.

The differences between the reformers and the emerging social movements, primarily the new labor movements, were very serious. A federation of independent trade unions of Russia was formed, a congress of miners announced the creation of a new miners' trade union, similar steps were taken by workers in a number of other industries. The past congress of councils of labor collectives and workers' committees expressed readiness to share responsibility for the course of economic transformations in the country, to prevent the uncontrolled sale of state property, the transformation of the previously all-powerful ministries into new monopoly associations, concerns and associations.

By that time, the life support system was in an extremely difficult situation, the domestic food and industrial supply was noticeably reduced, the transport, telecommunications and other systems were seriously damaged, the housing and communal services were declining. An orientation toward elite expensive medical care, paid higher education and the provision of benefits to various categories of workers began to take shape.

In these conditions M. Gorbachev and a team of reformers were looking for various ways out of the crisis. And here an important role was played by the restoration of relations between church and state. Several meetings of Gorbachev with the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Pimen and representatives of other religious denominations took place. In 1988. at the state level, jubilee celebrations were held in connection with the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus. New religious communities were registered, religious educational institutions were opened, and the circulation of published religious literature increased. The religious buildings that had been taken away from them were returned to the believers. The authorities have given permission to build new temples. Church figures were given the opportunity, along with all citizens, to participate in public life; several prominent church hierarchs were elected as deputies to the country's Supreme Soviet.

The ongoing economic reform did not improve the state of affairs in the national economy; the growth rates of industrial production dropped sharply. The size of the budget deficit increased, unemployment grew, mass demonstrations of workers who were not satisfied with the economic policy of the state intensified, and powerful strikes of miners began.

In relation to agricultural enterprises, the party reformers from the very beginning took a tough stance, M. Gorbachev's associate A. Yakovlev directly proclaimed that it was necessary to destroy the Bolshevik community - the collective farm.

The anti-collective farm information campaign and hostility towards collective farms peaked in the early 90s. The agrarian policy of the reformers, based on the destruction of collective farms and state farms, and the planting of farming came to a standstill. The failure of the agricultural reform largely deprived Gorbachev of public support, since for many the criterion for evaluating his activities was the availability of food in stores.

The reforms being carried out in the country fundamentally affected the armed forces; the reorganization of this state institution took place in an atmosphere of a tough ideological campaign against the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Considering them the most conservative part of the Soviet state, the ideologists of perestroika tried to psychologically disarm them. Actions were purposefully carried out to destroy the positive image of all the armed forces in the public mind and to undermine the self-esteem of the officer corps.

Following its peace-loving policy, the Soviet government unilaterally declared a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing, and the deployment of medium-range missiles in the European part of the country was also suspended. To the detriment of national interests and unnecessarily, Soviet troops and military equipment were withdrawn from the territory of the GDR, the armed forces were reduced by 500 thousand people. The conversion of military production began and the transfer of military factories to the production of civilian products, mainly consumer goods. Under public pressure in February 1989. the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed, but for another two years, Afghanistan received assistance with weapons and ammunition. Without preconditions, the withdrawn Soviet troops were stationed in unprepared military camps; as a result, the morale in the troops was rapidly falling.

A real step towards the implementation of political reform and the creation of the rule of law was the reform of the law enforcement system of the USSR. Serious changes in the psychology of Soviet people could not but affect the activities of the court, prosecutor's office, state security agencies and the police. In the conditions of building the rule of law, democratization of public life, harmonization of legislation, much has changed in the activities of the internal affairs bodies. The restructuring in the political and economic life of the country contributed to the deterioration of law and order and the growth of crime, the registration discipline was significantly weakened, the concealment of crimes from registration and illegal prosecution flourished. By this time, the conditions for the formation of organized crime and banditry had developed in society.

In 1989-1991. there have been outwardly subtle, but important changes in all law enforcement agencies (the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, the court, the prosecutor's office), this is the departure from the system of most of the qualified personnel. This was prompted by objective reasons: strong pressure from the press, which discredited these bodies, the rapid decline in wages, which in these bodies cannot be compensated for by side earnings, the inadequacy of social guarantees to the standard of living and, most importantly, the squeezing out of the professional core of the Soviet orientation. All this led to a significant increase in crime, violations of public order, a decrease in the level of public safety of the population and an acceleration of the collapse of the USSR.

§3. The consequences of perestroika in the USSR

The consequences of perestroika are extremely ambiguous and multifaceted. Undoubtedly, the receipt by society of social and political freedoms, publicity and the reform of the planned distribution economy are positive aspects. However, the processes that took place during the perestroika period in the USSR in 1985 - 1991 led to the collapse of the USSR and the aggravation of interethnic conflicts that had been smoldering for a long time. The weakening of power, both in the center and in the localities, a sharp decline in the standard of living of the population, the undermining of the scientific base, and so on.

The collapse of the USSR was the result of mistakes in the ruling environment and the impact of external factors. Throughout the history of the Soviet state, attempts were made to reform the socialist system, but all the reforms were incomplete. In society, there was a gradual alienation of the people from power, it had no social support. Even extremely moderate, evolutionary reforms were opposed by real forces, the old production relations, the existing administrative apparatus, and ossified economic thinking.

The reforms were doomed for another reason. The transformations in the country's economy were not supported by transformations in the political and social spheres, the overwhelming majority of resources were directed to the development of the military-industrial complex.

Although it was necessary to develop high-tech industries, to invest in the field of computer technology. Instead, heavy industry developed overwhelmingly. In the field of foreign policy, the USSR made colossal costs of wars. Waging the Cold War took up huge amounts of money, the United States set itself the goal of exhausting the Soviet Union with a large-scale arms race.

Attempts by the USSR leadership to make the bureaucratic system more efficient without significant structural changes, increased exactingness and control, and the fight against individual vices did not bring the country out of a crisis state.

anti-alcoholic perestroika glasnost gorbachev

Conclusion

The collapse of the Soviet system was inevitable, since while maintaining the foundations of the old system, the democratization of the old institutions of power was reduced only to replacing outwardly new, but authoritarian institutions. The democratic Gorbachev regime was never able to overcome the internal conflict with the lingering foundations of the previous political system.

All of the above does not diminish the significance of the restructuring that has taken place. The greatness and at the same time the tragedy of perestroika will be appreciated and studied over time. Ultimately, this was yet another attempt at a dash, carried out by unusual and therefore ineffective methods.

The history of the state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is over. The numerous reasons for the death of a mighty country are still just becoming the subject of study by historians. Humanity knows no other example of the death of a superpower without external military intervention. Utopia came to an end, because the very attempt to create an ideal state was doomed from the beginning. Many scientists and historians have predicted what a terrible price, years later, will have to pay for the experiment begun in Russia.

It is naive to believe that Gorbachev or those leaders who gathered in December 1991. in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, predetermined the collapse of the USSR. The political system has outlived its usefulness. This conclusion was made before 1991.

Bibliography

1. Gorbachev, M.S. Perestroika and new thinking for our country and for the whole world / M.S. Gorbachev. - M .: Politizdat, 1989 .-- 271 p.

2. Gorbachev, M.S. Persistently move forward (Speech at a meeting of the activists of the Leningrad Party Organization on May 17, 1985) / M.S. Gorbachev. - M .: Politizdat, 1985.

3. Batalov E. Perestroika and the fate of Russia.

4. Butenko V. "Where and where we are from", Lenizdat, 1990.

5. J. Boffa "History of the Soviet Union"; M: International relations, 1994.

6. "Perestroika and the modern world", otv. ed. T.T. Timofeev; M: International relations, 1989.

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REBUILDING

the official course of the country's development, proclaimed by the ruling elite of the USSR, headed by M. Gorbachev in 1985.

A set of actions by the party and state leadership of the country that provoked a large-scale crisis that led to the collapse of statehood, the collapse of the country's economic system and the decline of the social and spiritual sphere.

One of the most dramatic periods in Russian history, which ended with the liquidation of an entire state and opened the era of the deepest systemic crisis that covered all spheres of Russian life without exception, the consequences of which will affect the country for a long time to come.

The chronological framework of perestroika is 1985–91.

In 1985, the April Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, headed by M. Gorbachev, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, who had come to power a month earlier, proclaimed a course towards "accelerating the socio-economic development" of the country. It was then that the foundations of the concept of perestroika were laid.

It was assumed that the adoption of decisive measures to overcome the apparent decline in economic growth, the lag of such industries as mechanical engineering, from the world level in a relatively short time will make it possible to bring the national economy of the USSR to new frontiers, which, in turn, will activate social policy and lead to a noticeable improvement in the well-being of the country's citizens. For this, it was envisaged to improve the structure of economic management and stimulate the material interest of workers as a result of their labor. However, even the first attempts to pursue a course for acceleration failed, meeting resistance from the numerous bureaucratic apparatus.

The first two nationwide campaigns of the new leadership turned out to be a failure: the fight against drunkenness and the fight against unearned income.

As a result of the anti-alcohol campaign, the amount of alcohol consumption (even taking into account all types of surrogates) decreased by a third, again reaching the 1986 level only in 1994, and in addition, an increase in life expectancy was recorded. However, carried out without preparing public opinion, this campaign turned into a sharp reduction in the sale of alcohol in the country, “wine queues” appeared, prices for alcohol increased, and barbaric felling of vineyards was carried out. All this led to an increase in social tension, speculation with moonshine and, as a consequence, the "sugar crisis".

The second initiative of M. Gorbachev was just as deplorable in its results, from which it was not the tycoons of the “shadow economy,” who stole with the connivance of the corrupt bureaucracy, who suffered, but real producers of products, primarily agricultural. This led to higher food prices and a shortage of goods on the shelves.

The lack of complete clarity among the country's top political leadership about the depth of the crisis and, as a consequence, a consistent program to overcome it, determined the subsequent actions of M. Gorbachev, their chaotic nature, destructive for statehood.

Fighting for power with the supporters of the "old course" in the Politburo, Gorbachev increasingly relied on the support of anti-state forces, whose goal was to achieve a state of "controlled chaos" in the country and the destruction of the state. It was with their submission that at the very beginning of 1987 the “glasnost” policy was proclaimed. Its purpose was to destroy the ideological foundations of the existing system by first criticizing the shortcomings of socialism in order to purify it, then completely rejecting socialism in favor of capitalism, and then destroying the state, history, etc.

The main ideologist of the project, the "architect of perestroika", Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee A. Yakovlev, gave the go-ahead for the media to start appearing materials about the "crimes of the Stalinist regime" and the need to return to the "Leninist norms" of party and state life.

The unbridled anti-Stalinist campaign reached its climax by the beginning of 1988, when the real study of history was practically replaced by large-scale falsification. There are data on "tens of millions of those shot", etc.

The psychological attack on public consciousness was aimed at sowing doubt about the correctness of the existing system, that the life of many generations of Soviet people was wasted. Spiritual confusion was intensified by the growth of social tension. After a sharp drop in oil prices, artificially caused by the West, in the fall of 1985, the Soviet economy cracked at the seams, and in a matter of months the USSR, which largely lived on "petrodollars", began to turn from a superpower into a debtor country, and the national debt tripled.

Industry and agriculture fell into decay and were not able not only to compete with world producers, but even to provide their own population with everything they needed. The reliance on private entrepreneurial initiative only exacerbated the situation.

The USSR Law "On Individual Labor Activity", adopted in 1987, opened the way for speculation and led to an increase in social tension. A cooperator selling "boiled" jeans received tens of times more money than an employee of any Soviet enterprise.

The rapid development of the cooperative movement in 1988–89. was the beginning of the phase of formation of the initial capital, which soon became cramped within the framework of trade and intermediation. Gradually, in the place of industry giants, joint-stock companies, firms, concerns appeared, then banks, where money was accumulated, for which whole industries were subsequently bought out. At the same time, state extremism in the field of taxation (up to 70-90% of income was collected from private entrepreneurs) pushed them to find ways to avoid paying taxes, which has become a mass phenomenon.

According to the Law of the USSR "On the State Enterprise (Association)" (1987), it became possible to leave the fixed assets of enterprises in the ownership of the state, and distribute the profit privately. Labor collectives in a "democratic" way chose the director not the best business executive, but the one who promised a large salary. The bank, on whose accounts the company's profits were concentrated, at the request of the management was obliged to cash out any amount to pay additional salaries and bonuses. As a result, the population had a lot of unsecured money, which was spent not on deposits in savings banks, as it was before, but on the purchase of consumer goods, long-term storage products and luxury goods.

Despite the fact that the growth of labor productivity and product quality did not occur, this spurred inflation and served to destroy the financial system of the state. Shortages of goods and long queues in stores have become a daily occurrence.

In 1987, 3 permits were issued: the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, the decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 49, as well as the joint decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 1074 on the decentralization of foreign economic activity, which gave all Soviet enterprises and cooperatives the right to enter the foreign market. Thus, the state gave up its monopoly on foreign trade.

The wealth of the Soviet people flowed to the West in echelons - from metal to high-tech equipment, where it was sold at bargain prices. Cheap clothes, cigarettes, chocolate bars and so on were brought back.

The processes of implanting market relations in the USSR were criticized even in the West. The well-known anti-communist J. Soros wrote: “One can talk about a market economy, but one cannot talk about a market society. In addition to markets, society needs institutions that serve social goals such as political freedom and social justice. During this period, Russia had every chance to take advantage of this and be at the forefront. But instead, “directors” burdened with an inferiority complex led the country to “wild capitalism.” A similar position was expressed by Nobel Prize Laureates in Economics, for example, J. Galbraith.

The leaders of the Western powers hastened to take advantage of the confusion in the USSR, seeing a chance to weaken the country as much as possible and deprive it of its superpower status. M. Gorbachev indulged them in this as best he could, showing amazing softness and shortsightedness. Having succumbed to R. Reagan's bluff with the SDI program, he agreed to extremely unfavorable conditions for nuclear disarmament, having signed an agreement with the American side in 1987 on the elimination of medium-range missiles stationed in Europe.

In 1990, Gorbachev signed the Charter for a New Europe in Paris, which entailed the collapse of the Soviet military bloc, the loss of positions in Europe, and the withdrawal of troops from the territories of Eastern European countries. Against the background of failures in economic and foreign policy activities, a consistent policy of spiritual aggression against the people continued.

Already at the end of 1987, the powerful promotion of B. Yeltsin, the "progressive" first secretary of the Moscow regional party committee, who suffered "for the truth", began. It was his pro-Western-oriented part of the party leadership who prepared for the role of the new ruler of Russia instead of the inconsistent, cowardly Gorbachev, who, having fulfilled his unenviable role of a destroyer, became unnecessary for the West.

Gorbachev was still trying to master the situation: at the 19th All-Union Party Conference, proclaiming "humane, democratic socialism" (repeating in many respects the slogans of the provocation orchestrated in 1968 by the US CIA - the so-called "Prague Spring"), he proposed a short draft of electoral reform, according to to which alternative elections were allowed. A third of the seats were assigned to the CPSU.

According to this scheme, the elections of the people's deputies of the Union took place. The I Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, held on May 25, 1989, played a fatal role in the life of the country. It was on it that openly anti-Russian, anti-state forces, actively supported by Western financial structures, took shape and legitimized. The interregional deputy group, which no longer concealed its rejection of socialism, even the "humane" Gorbachev's, was headed, as expected, by the disgraced Yeltsin. Since that time, the process of the country's collapse has gone “on the rise”.

Gorbachev was rapidly losing his power and former influence. The situation did not change either when he was elected by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR as the country's president. New parties arose in society, and centrifugal tendencies grew.

Already in 1990, the Baltic republics became practically independent, there were bloody clashes in the Caucasus - in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, as well as in Central Asia. Gorbachev succumbed to numerous provocations and used force to "restore order" in Tbilisi, Vilnius, Riga, Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions. The few who perished were immediately declared “victims who died for the freedom of the people,” which intensified anti-Soviet sentiments and pushed the cowardly leaderships of the republics to a direct proclamation of independence.

In 1990, the state sovereignty of the RSFSR was proclaimed, a year later B. Yeltsin became the president of Russia. Having finally let go of the levers of government of the country, Gorbachev made a last attempt to establish control over the situation. He initiated work on the signing of a new Union Treaty, which actually legalized the collapse of the Union. But on the eve of its signing, some of the country's leaders tried, by creating the State Emergency Committee, to preserve the state, but this step was poorly prepared, even Yeltsin's supporters knew about it. They were just waiting for the opportunity to seize the chance to face the "representatives of the strict order."

The "August putsch" on August 19-21, 1991 was turned by Yeltsin's supporters into a grandiose political spectacle. In fact, it was this time that can be considered the date of the final collapse of the country (although this was legally formalized only by the Belovezhskaya Agreements, the resignation of Gorbachev and the December session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR) and the complete collapse of perestroika.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Restructuring can be roughly divided into three stages:

First stage (March 1985 - January 1987)

Second stage (January 1987 - June 1989)

Third stage (June 1989-1991)

Term

Domestic policy

Nationalism and separatism

Conflict in Almaty

Azerbaijan and Armenia

Baltics

Economy

Foreign policy

Economy

Nationalism and separatism

Armenia and Azerbaijan

Georgia

middle Asia

Moldova and Transnistria

Baltics

Chronology of events

1985 year

1986 year

1987 year

1988 year

1989 year

1990 year

Post-rebuild events

International changes

The introduction of democratic freedoms

National conflicts, wars and incidents

Changes in the economy and domestic life

Cultural policy

Changes in the KPSS

Catastrophes

Terrorist attacks

Criticism

Methodological approaches to the analysis of restructuring

In works of art

see also

Literature

Scientific works

Memories and documents

Links

What was originally intended

Restructuring began with "acceleration"

Socialist decorations lose their relevance

The collapse of socialism and the triumph of capitalism

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