Pros and cons of reform Gorbachev essay. Foreign policy of the USSR in the years of perestroika. Principles of foreign and domestic policy
72. Foreign policy countries in 1985–1991.
During the years of perestroika, the foreign policy of the USSR changed dramatically, which resulted in the prevention of the threat nuclear war on the one hand, the collapse of the socialist system on the other.
"New Political Thinking". IN 1987 M.S. Gorbachev announced the policy new political thinking". The leaders of this course were the head of the USSR Foreign Ministry E. A. Shevardnadze(born 1928) and member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU A.N. Yakovlev(1923–2005).
Basic principles " new political thinking»:
1. Easing tension between East and West, eliminating the split of the world into two hostile systems - socialist and capitalist, recognizing the world as one and interdependent.
2. The use in resolving international issues is not the balance of power between the two systems, but the balance of their interests.
3. Rejection of the principle of proletarian (socialist) internationalism, recognition of the priority of universal human values over others (class, national, ideological).
4. Settlement of regional conflicts (in Afghanistan, etc.).
5. Expansion of economic ties with all states.
The implementation of this course in some areas had positive consequences, in others it led to failures.
USSR and USA. During annual meetings M.S. Gorbachev with the US President R. Reagan, then D. Bush Sr. agreements were signed on the destruction of medium and short-range missiles (1987) and on the limitation of strategic offensive weapons (1991 - agreement on START-1). The reduction of nuclear weapons began - however, mainly due to the elimination of Soviet missiles.
In 1989, the foreign ministers of 33 European states, the United States and Canada adopted Vienna Declaration on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Then negotiations were held in Vienna between the member states of the Warsaw Treaty Organization and NATO on the reduction of conventional armed forces from the Atlantic to the Urals. Hotbeds of international tension and local conflicts have been liquidated. By 1989, the conclusion was made Soviet troops from Afghanistan. II Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR recognized Afghan war political mistake.
USSR and Japan. In 1991, during a visit to Tokyo, M.S. Gorbachev officially recognized the existence of a territorial issue - the state ownership of the four Kuril Islands.
Relations between the USSR and China . After Moscow fulfilled the conditions of China (the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and Mongolia, and the Vietnamese from Cambodia), during Gorbachev's visit to China in 1989, agreements were signed between the two powers on political, economic and cultural cooperation, on border trade.
The collapse of the socialist camp. "Velvet Revolutions". In 1989, a hasty (and socially unsecured) withdrawal of troops from Soviet bases in Central and Eastern Europe began. This caused the rapid collapse of the socialist camp. In 1989–1990 in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria there were bloodless (soft, or "velvet") revolutions. Power passed peacefully from the communist parties to the national democratic forces. The exception was Romania, where bloody clashes took place. Romanian dictator N. Ceausescu in 1989 he was overthrown and publicly shot along with his wife.
In Yugoslavia, the fall of the communist regime led to the collapse of the country. Croatia and Slovenia declared themselves independent republics. Hostilities broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina between Serbian, Croatian and Muslim communities.
The countries of the former socialist camp have taken a course towards moving away from the USSR and rapprochement with the West. They expressed their readiness to join NATO and the Common Market. In 1991, the CMEA and the Department of Internal Affairs were dissolved. The socialist community ceased to exist.
German unification . In 1989, the communist leader of the GDR E. Honecker resigned. The Berlin Wall, which served as a symbol of ideological confrontation in Europe, was destroyed. In 1990, at negotiations with the German Chancellor G. Kolem M. Gorbachev agreed to the creation of a single German state and the entry of a single Germany into NATO. In August 1990, the GDR became part of the FRG and ceased to exist as a sovereign state.
The fall of the international prestige of the USSR. Left without old allies and without acquiring new ones, the USSR lost the initiative in international affairs and entered the fairway of the foreign policy of the NATO countries. The worsening economic situation in the USSR prompted the Gorbachev administration to turn in 1990-1991. for financial support to the leading powers of the world ("big seven") - the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan. The West provided the USSR with humanitarian aid in the form of food and medicine. Serious financial assistance did not follow. In 1991, under the Baker-Shevardnadze agreement, the USSR gratuitously transferred to the United States maritime territorial waters in pacific ocean an area of four Poland. Positions of the USSR in the world in 1985–1991. weakened sharply.
The policy of the USSR in the countries of the "third" world. The USSR, which experienced great economic difficulties, in the second half. 1980s ceased intervention in conflicts in Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Nicaragua and other "hot spots". Economic and military aid to developing countries has been drastically reduced. regime was abolished aparteAndYes(racial discrimination) in South Africa. In 1990, the USSR condemned Iraq's aggression against Kuwait and advocated the use of force against the aggressor, supporting the Desert Storm operation undertaken by the US against Iraq. Thus, for the first time, the USSR took a common position with the West in a regional conflict.
The results of the "new political thinking": pros and cons.
pros: -improved relations with the West, strengthened international security, detente;
There was an awareness of the world as a single whole, in which there should be no place for the threat of mutual destruction, the use of military force;
An entire class of nuclear missile weapons was destroyed;
The USSR got rid of the unbearable burden of the arms race and confrontation with the West. The world has become safer, the threat of a new war has disappeared;
Economic cooperation with the West expanded;
The end of the twentieth century, the century of the two most bloody wars in the history of mankind, the century of the establishment of a new world order, in which we still exist, cannot be imagined without mentioning such a landmark, and at the same time controversial figure in domestic and world politics as Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.
His name is associated with the end of the global confrontation between two fundamentally different ways of developing our civilization. You can even say the confrontation of two systems that are different in their ideology and principles of life order: communist and capitalist. The centers of this confrontation were two superpowers - the USA and the USSR, at the head of the latter was Mikhail Sergeevich.
Brief biographical information
Here it is necessary to describe at least the very edge of his biography, but only in order to understand those steps and features in his policy, which he pursued while in power. Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the village. Privolnoe, Stavropol Territory. He grew up in a family of working peasants, from his youth he was busy in the field, working with his father. In 1950, he graduated from high school and entered the law faculty of the Moscow State University. There he meets his future wife Raisa. Already in 1952 he joined the party.
After graduation, he was assigned to serve in the USSR Prosecutor's Office, but due to the circumstances that developed at that time, connected with the exposure of the cult of the leader of the peoples, he was recalled from the service entrusted to him. His political activity began with his return to Stavropol.
In 1966, after a long and stubborn Komsomol activity, Mikhail Sergeevich was appointed first secretary of the local city committee. It is there that his main drawback is revealed - selfless work, which prevented him from demanding the fulfillment of his decrees from his subordinates. There is an opinion that this shortcoming led to the disintegration of the country. By 1978, Gorbachev was appointed to the post of Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, in which he was until his election. general secretary March 11, 1985.
The essence of Gorbachev's policy
The years of his reign radically changed both the situation in the Soviet Union itself and the situation in the world as a whole. We will start, perhaps, with a description of the changes that have taken place in the world, since everything is more or less clear and unambiguous here, and only then we will move to the field of internal political and ideological changes and transformations in our country.
These transformations still contain great amount questions left unassessed or having radically opposite points of view in relation to society.
Advantages of the current policy
Advantages of foreign policy
And so, what can we say about the restructuring in foreign policy that Gorbachev led? While not yet the first person of the state, he made his first visit to Canada in May 1983. It was there that Mikhail Sergeevich gained his first fame in the West, where he was rated as a bold and energetic politician. While there, he became very interested in the Western economic model, their moral values, including democracy. That same year, after being appointed General Secretary, Gorbachev met with President Reagan of the United States.
The result of lengthy negotiations is the establishment of a course for improving relations between the two countries, the signing of a number of treaties (including START), which in the future will remove the tension hanging over the world. They also agreed to reduce the amount of chemical and nuclear weapons up to its complete elimination. The West in its own person applauded and welcomed the new Soviet reformer.
Gorbachev's actions to eliminate the "Iron Curtain" brought him recognition around the world, in 1990 he was awarded Nobel Prize world, for a significant contribution to the development of friendly dialogue and cooperation between all countries of the world.
Pros of Domestic Policy
Well, now let's move, as they say, to our garden. Here before everything was much more complicated and rougher than on the outer contour. Undoubtedly, the advantages of Gorbachev's policy are obvious: society received freedom, moral and political emancipation, the foundations of a democratic way of society (elections, a multi-party system, etc.), freedom of religion.
Equivalence was established different forms property, the first signs market economy. Finally, the arms race was stopped, causing huge damage national economy.
Disadvantages of the current policy
Cons of foreign policy
Excessive naivety and unjustified confidence in yesterday's opponents led to the fact that the so-called mutual concessions in fact turned out to be concessions only on our part, which greatly shook national security and respect from many peoples of the world. We have lost almost all the levers of geopolitical influence and withdrew ourselves from the international political arena.
Disadvantages of domestic politics
There were more than enough drawbacks in his actions in domestic politics as well. Take for example the well-known anti-alcohol campaign, the so-called "dry law", it ran counter to the spirit of freedom, as it had signs of administrative coercion.
A kind of indecisiveness of Mikhail Sergeevich in decision-making hindered the transformation of the economic model of the state. The settlement of the contradictions of politics, interethnic clashes, on the basis of which the state collapsed, was never realized.
Conclusion
The main criticism of Gorbachev, of course, is accusations of his unacceptable indecision, which as a result led to his forced resignation of the post of head of state, the coming to power of an even more controversial figure in the person of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, as a result of a fatal agreement in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and the collapse of a great country.
In short, a lot has been done in the short years of his reign: you can praise for something, scold for something, but not to take into account the fact that the world has completely changed and will never be the same again - it would be at least wrong. Thanks to such major world transformations and changes at the global level, he remains one of the largest figures in world politics in the history of our time.
Please tell me what were the pros and cons of Gorbachev's rule? and got the best answer
Answer from Yatiana Sharapova[guru]
minus - dry law,
pluses - perestroika, glasnost, acceleration
ps Gorbachev did not break up the USSR, it was destroyed by top officials and heads of governments of the three union republics:
Boris Yeltsin and Gennady Burbulis (RSFSR),
Stanislav Shushkevich and Vyacheslav Kebich (BSSR),
Leonid Kravchuk and Vitold Fokin (Ukraine).
Source: Belovezhskaya agreement
Answer from -=Boatswain=-[master]
+ USSR razed, -destroyed the Berlin Wall.
Answer from Experienced[guru]
the collapse of a great state ... there are no pluses.
Answer from Jovetlana[guru]
No pros, only cons! Break - do not build! broke. everything that could be broken and built nothing in return. Fuck him!!
Answer from Trust[guru]
there was neither one nor the other, Gorbachev - there was none and the board is the same
Answer from Konstantin Petrov[guru]
for Gaider's pluses and praises addressed to you -1
Answer from Sergei Semenkov[guru]
Women listened to him so much that men were even alert to drink))
Answer from Mikhas[guru]
Of the benefits appeared cooperatives.
Of the minuses - racketeers 🙂
Answer from Ђimur Ivanov[guru]
I respect Gorbachev, but he cannot be asked for political miscalculations. As a politician, he turned out to be useless. However, we must give him his due, he was a good man, and most importantly, his thoughts were completely bright. He wished well for Russia...
Answer from Alexander Guzhvenko[guru]
A huge plus for the gypsies. I myself heard that the gypsies were ready to cast a monument to him out of gold, in gratitude for the vodka speculation.
Answer from Vladimir Gribov[guru]
He said a lot, even right, did a lot, but wrong. As a result, the collapse of the USSR.
Answer from Heinrich Zhukov[guru]
Big minus! Inability to govern the country! And when he chooses "caudle" but not the people, it will always be so, collapse
Answer from User deleted[guru]
Not a single plus! .. He seemed to do everything on purpose the other way around! First of all, with his fucking liberalization, he destroyed the entire system of government and the national economy! Could it have been done without it? Of course yes! the main problem Socialism in the USSR is LOW LABOR PRODUCTIVITY!... Where did it come from? There are two reasons for this - outdated equipment, productive equipment that did not correspond to the time, and the worker's low interest in the results of his labor .... from each according to his ability, to each according to his work! Was this principle unrealistic to implement???? As for the outdated material and technical base .... there were resources .... for example, the military-industrial complex regularly updated weapons and military equipment in the army .... In terms of the quality of army equipment, we were ahead of the rest! So what prevented the creation of such a complex on the SCALE OF THE WHOLE (and not just the army) ECONOMY ?? ? IN last resort it was possible to direct a significant part of the resources of the military-industrial complex to modernize the economy ... We had a COMMAND-ADMINISTRATIVE management system and liberalizing it is tantamount to SUICIDE! (a simple example ... plant A was obliged to supply components to plant B .... but since now he does not owe anything to anyone, he is looking for a more profitable "buyer" of his products ... this can lead, among other things, to the fact that plant B will default on its obligation to C, and that in turn to A ... that is, the one who started this process suffered about it .... so throughout the economy ... the failure of one enterprise to default on its obligations could cause a chain of failures paralyzing the whole industry!) This Hunchback COULD NOT UNDERSTAND!! ! Did he hope for the consciousness of citizens?? ? I doubt it... Strange behavior... Having SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES... WE ARE REMOVING THE IDEOLOGICAL SHIELD... and thereby opening up to the enemy!! FOR WHAT?? ? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?? ? Why destroy the FOUNDATIONS of SOCIETY if you just wanted economic prosperity? ... and much, much more .... looking at the era of Gorbachev-Yeltsin, you come to the conclusion that THE PEOPLE'S ECONOMY WAS CONSCIOUSLY AND PURPOSELY DESTROYED .... in many ways, this process is still continues!... I really, really want to know when this process will stop and we will start to CREATE?!
One of the most popular Russian politicians in the West during the last decades of the twentieth century is Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev. The years of his reign greatly changed our country, as well as the situation in the world. This is one of the most controversial figures, according to public opinion. Gorbachev's perestroika causes an ambiguous attitude in our country. This politician is called both the gravedigger of the Soviet Union and the great reformer.
Biography of Gorbachev
Gorbachev's story begins in 1931, on March 2. It was then that Mikhail Sergeevich was born. He was born in Stavropol, in the village of Privolnoye. He was born and raised in a peasant family. In 1948, he worked with his father on a combine and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for success in harvesting. Gorbachev graduated in 1950 silver medal school. After that, he entered the law faculty of Moscow University. Gorbachev later admitted that at that time he had a rather vague idea of what law and jurisprudence were. However, he was impressed by the position of the prosecutor or judge.
IN student years Gorbachev lived in a hostel, received one time increased scholarship for Komsomol work and excellent studies, but nevertheless barely made ends meet. He became a party member in 1952.
Once in a club Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich met Raisa Titarenko, a student of the Faculty of Philosophy. They got married in 1953, in September. Mikhail Sergeevich graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 and was sent to work in the USSR Prosecutor's Office for distribution. However, it was then that the government adopted a decree according to which it was forbidden to employ graduates of law schools in the central prosecutor's offices and courts. Khrushchev, as well as his associates, considered that one of the reasons for the repression carried out in the 1930s was the dominance of inexperienced young judges and prosecutors in the bodies, ready to obey any instructions from the leadership. So Mikhail Sergeevich, whose two grandfathers suffered from repression, became a victim of the struggle against the cult of personality and its consequences.
At administrative work
Gorbachev returned to Stavropol and decided not to contact the prosecutor's office anymore. He got a job in the department of agitation and propaganda in the regional committee of the Komsomol - he became the deputy head of this department. Komsomol, and then the party career of Mikhail Sergeevich developed very successfully. Political activity Gorbachev has borne fruit. He was appointed in 1961 the first secretary of the local regional committee of the Komsomol. Gorbachev is already next year starts party work, and then, in 1966, becomes the first secretary of the Stavropol City Party Committee.
This is how the career of this politician gradually developed. Even then, the main shortcoming of this future reformer appeared: Mikhail Sergeevich, accustomed to selflessly working, could not ensure that his orders were conscientiously carried out by his subordinates. This characterization of Gorbachev, according to some, led to the collapse of the USSR.
Moscow
Gorbachev in November 1978 becomes the secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. An important role in this appointment was played by the recommendations of L. I. Brezhnev's closest associates - Andropov, Suslov and Chernenko. Mikhail Sergeevich after 2 years becomes the youngest of all members of the Politburo. He wants to become the first person in the state and in the party in the near future. Even the fact that Gorbachev, in essence, occupied a "penal post" - responsible for Agriculture secretary. After all, this sector of the Soviet economy was the most disadvantaged. Mikhail Sergeevich still remained in this position after Brezhnev's death. But Andropov already then advised him to delve into all matters in order to be ready at any moment to take full responsibility. When Andropov died and Chernenko came to power for a short time, Mikhail Sergeevich became the second person in the party, as well as the most likely "heir" of this general secretary.
In the political circles of the West, Gorbachev was first known for his visit to Canada in 1983, in May. He went there for a week with the personal permission of Andropov, who was General Secretary at that time. Pierre Trudeau, the prime minister of this country, became the first major leader of the West to receive Gorbachev personally and treat him with sympathy. Meeting with other Canadian politicians, Gorbachev gained a reputation in this country as an energetic and ambitious politician, who contrasted sharply with his elderly colleagues from the Politburo. He showed considerable interest in the methods of economic management and the moral values of the West, including democracy.
Gorbachev's perestroika
Chernenko's death opened the way to power for Gorbachev. On March 11, 1985, the Plenum of the Central Committee elected Gorbachev as General Secretary. Mikhail Sergeevich in the same year at the April plenum proclaimed a course towards accelerating the development of the country and perestroika. These terms, which appeared under Andropov, did not immediately become widespread. This happened only after the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, which was held in February 1986. Gorbachev called glasnost one of the main conditions for the success of the upcoming reforms. Gorbachev's time could not yet be called full-fledged freedom of speech. But it was possible, at least, to speak in the press about the shortcomings of society, without touching, however, the foundations of the Soviet system and the members of the Politburo. However, already in 1987, in January, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev declared that there should be no zones closed to criticism in society.
Principles of foreign and domestic policy
New general secretary did not have a clear reform plan. Only the memory of Khrushchev's "thaw" remained with Gorbachev. In addition, he believed that the appeals of the leaders, if they were honest, and these appeals themselves were correct, could reach ordinary performers within the framework of the party-state system that existed at that time and thereby change the better life. Gorbachev was firmly convinced of this. The years of his reign were marked by the fact that for all 6 years he spoke about the need for united and energetic actions, about the need for everyone to act constructively.
He hoped that, being the leader of a socialist state, he could win world prestige, based not on fear, but, above all, on a reasonable policy, unwillingness to justify the country's totalitarian past. Gorbachev, whose years of rule are often referred to as "perestroika", believed that new political thinking should prevail. It should include recognition of the priority of universal human values over national and class values, the need to unite states and peoples to jointly solve the problems facing humanity.
Publicity policy
During the reign of Gorbachev, general democratization began in our country. Political persecution has ceased. The oppression of censorship has weakened. Many prominent people returned from exile and prisons: Marchenko, Sakharov, and others. The policy of glasnost, which was launched by the Soviet leadership, changed the spiritual life of the country's population. Increased interest in television, radio, print media. In 1986 alone, magazines and newspapers acquired more than 14 million new readers. All these, of course, are essential advantages of Gorbachev and his policy.
Mikhail Sergeevich's slogan, under which he carried out all the transformations, was the following: "More democracy, more socialism." However, his understanding of socialism gradually changed. Back in 1985, in April, Gorbachev said at the Politburo that when Khrushchev incredible size brought criticism of Stalin's actions, it brought only great damage to the country. Glasnost soon led to more bigger wave anti-Stalinist criticism, which during the years of the "thaw" never dreamed of.
Anti-alcohol reform
The idea of this reform was initially very positive. Gorbachev wanted to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed in the country per capita, as well as begin the fight against drunkenness. However, the campaign, as a result of too radical actions, led to unexpected results. The reform itself and the further rejection of the state monopoly led to the fact that the bulk of the income in this area went to the shadow sector. A lot of start-up capital in the 90s was knocked together on "drunk" money by private traders. The treasury quickly emptied. As a result of this reform, many valuable vineyards were cut down, which led to the disappearance of entire sectors of industry in some republics (in particular, in Georgia). The anti-alcohol reform also contributed to the growth of moonshine, substance abuse and drug addiction, and multibillion-dollar losses formed in the budget.
Gorbachev's reforms in foreign policy
In November 1985, Gorbachev met with Ronald Reagan, President of the United States. Both sides recognized the need to improve bilateral relations, as well as to improve the entire international situation. Gorbachev's foreign policy led to the conclusion of the START treaties. Mikhail Sergeevich, with a statement dated 01/15/1986, put forward a number of major initiatives devoted to foreign policy issues. Chemical and nuclear weapons were to be completely eliminated by the year 2000, and strict control was to be exercised during their destruction and storage. All these are the most important reforms of Gorbachev.
Reasons for failure
In contrast to the course aimed at openness, when it was enough just to order the weakening and then actually abolish censorship, his other undertakings (for example, the sensational anti-alcohol campaign) were a combination with propaganda of administrative coercion. Gorbachev, whose years of rule were marked by an increase in freedom in all areas, at the end of his reign, becoming president, sought to rely, unlike his predecessors, not on the party apparatus, but on a team of assistants and the government. He leaned more and more towards the social democratic model. S. S. Shatalin said that he managed to turn the general secretary into a convinced Menshevik. But Mikhail Sergeevich abandoned the dogmas of communism too slowly, only under the influence of the growth of anti-communist sentiments in society. Gorbachev, even during the events of 1991 (the August coup), expected to retain power and, returning from Foros (Crimea), where he had a state dacha, declared that he believed in the values of socialism and would fight for them, heading the reformed Communist Party. It is obvious that he was never able to rebuild himself. Mikhail Sergeevich in many respects remained a party secretary, who was accustomed not only to privileges, but also to power independent of the people's will.
Merits of M. S. Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeevich, in his last speech as president of the country, took credit for the fact that the population of the state received freedom, spiritually and politically liberated. Freedom of the press, free elections, a multi-party system, representative bodies of power, and religious freedoms have become real. Human rights were recognized as the highest principle. A movement towards a new multi-structural economy began, the equality of forms of ownership was approved. Gorbachev finally did away with cold war. During his reign, the militarization of the country and the arms race, which disfigured the economy, morality and public consciousness, were stopped.
The foreign policy of Gorbachev, who finally eliminated " iron curtain", provided Mikhail Sergeevich with respect throughout the world. In 1990, the President of the USSR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for activities aimed at developing cooperation between countries.
At the same time, some indecision of Mikhail Sergeyevich, his desire to find a compromise that would suit both radicals and conservatives, led to the fact that transformations in the state economy never began. The political settlement of contradictions, interethnic enmity, which eventually ruined the country, was never achieved. History is hardly capable of answering the question of whether, in Gorbachev's place, anyone else could have saved the USSR and the socialist system.
Conclusion
The subject of supreme power, as the ruler of the state, must have full rights. MS Gorbachev, the leader of the party, who concentrated state and party power in his person, without being popularly elected to this post, in this respect was significantly inferior in the eyes of the public to B. Yeltsin. The latter became, in the end, the president of Russia (1991). Gorbachev, as if compensating for this shortcoming during his reign, increased his power, tried to achieve various powers. However, he did not comply with the laws and did not force others to do so. Therefore, the characterization of Gorbachev is so ambiguous. Politics is, first of all, the art of acting wisely.
Among the many accusations leveled against Gorbachev, perhaps the most significant was that he was indecisive. However, if we compare the significant scale of the breakthrough made by him, and short term being in power, this can be argued. In addition to all of the above, the Gorbachev era was marked by the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the holding of the first competitive free elections in the history of Russia, the elimination of the party's monopoly on power that existed before him. As a result of Gorbachev's reforms, the world has changed significantly. He will never be the same again. Without political will and courage, it is impossible to do this. One can relate to Gorbachev in different ways, but, of course, this is one of the largest figures in modern history.
Mikhail Gorbachev's two grandfathers were teetotalers, his father also had no addiction to alcohol, not exceeding one hundred grams of front-line measures. Gorbachev himself also had no desire to drink. However, the anti-alcohol campaign, remembered by everyone for its awkwardness and administrative busts, was not at all his personal initiative.
In an interview with a correspondent Komsomolskaya Pravda", who came to the last Soviet General Secretary on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the anti-drinking campaign, Mikhail Gorbachev spoke about his first alcoholic experience. He, still a teenager - his father and his comrades - on the front - they poured burning alcohol into an aluminum mug to wash the end of the first harvest. The overwhelming impression immediately repulsed interest in alcohol: "You see in front of you a person who has never had the desire to drink."
The threat of drunkenness in Gorbachev's house was discussed more than once. Raisa Maksimovna, teaching philosophy at an agricultural institute, told her husband that after work, colleagues find out every other day whose turn it is to go for wine. True, they decided to ask her to buy sausages for a snack.
In the evening she told her husband: "Listen, something abnormal is happening! Something must be done."
But this, despite the fashionable opinion about great influence on Gorbachev, his wife, did not make him the initiator of the anti-alcohol campaign. Everything was serious, boring and irrevocable.
It's just that by that time the Central Committee had already been planning anti-alcohol measures for six years, starting under Brezhnev. Moreover, according to Gorbachev, he did it not out of good faith. "Leonid Ilyich was forced to agree with this idea." Brezhnev, in fact, was against it, and the campaign was delayed.
I remember Gromyko (Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR) said: "We are going from hunting economy"Zavidovo", I say: listen, Leonid (they were on you), something must be done. Horror! The whole country drinks. Brezhnev is silent. We are driving (Leonid Ilyich himself is driving - he loved cars). And suddenly the general says: “You know what, Andrey, our Russian people cannot live without vodka,” Mikhail Gorbachev told KP.
But gradually Brezhnev was persuaded, and Andropov, becoming General Secretary, got involved in this "topic", and Chernenko.
When the campaign was prepared, a letter was written to 200 major labor collectives. Everyone supported anti-alcohol measures, even bitter drunkards. Someone radically proposed even a "dry law".
Although there were also sarcastic responses about the fact that you "up there, you drank your share, but with the people - to hell with it ?!"
I remember that we vigorously discussed this at the Politburo,” recalls Mikhail Gorbachev.
In reality, the anti-alcohol campaign met with great rejection. Gorbachev became the hero of ditties and jokes. The elite Crimean vineyards were cut down, the budget lost 12 billion rubles.
It was not necessary to close trade and provoke moonshine. Everything had to be done gradually. Not with an ax to the head, - this is how Gorbachev himself assesses the campaign today.
He recognizes it as his mistake, noting that the main ideologist of its implementation was still Yegor Ligachev. The then symbol of retrograde and some kind of rigidity of mind and position, Yegor Ligachev was then, however, the ideologist of everything.
Solomentsev led the campaign. Mikhail Gorbachev believes that, despite the excesses, it also had positive results: the death rate decreased - 1.6 million fewer people died during the campaign than in previous years. The number of accidents at work and on the roads has sharply decreased. And more children were born.
The campaign, however, was curtailed, rather, for financial and economic reasons. Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov, then chairman of the Council of Ministers, according to Mikhail Gorbachev, "shed tears": we are losing such money.
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