In the early 80s of the XX century, the Soviet Union was in a state of economic and political crisis. Before there was the task of a comprehensive update. The reason for the broad transformations was the advent of a proactive and energetic team of reformers to governing the country, headed by the young party leader M.S. Gorbachev.

Mikhail Gorbachev believed that the socialist public was far from exhausting all its potential possibilities. It seemed to the new leader of the country that in order to restore the balance disturbed in the social sphere and the economy, it would be enough to accelerate economic development, to make society more open, to activate the so-called "human factor". It is for this reason that a course for acceleration, publicity and indigenous society was announced in the state.

Reasons for perestroika in the USSR

The new leadership came to power at a difficult time for the country. Even in the past decade, the rate of economic growth in the USSR fell sharply. The country's economy by that time was already holding only at the highest world levels. However, the energy situation has subsequently changed. Oil fell sharply, and the USSR lacked other reserves of economic growth.

The party elite, which at that time was headed by L.I. Brezhnev, could not decide on radical structural transformations in the economy, since this would require deviating from socialist principles: allowing private property and developing entrepreneurial initiative. This would inevitably lead to bourgeois socialist relations, which meant the collapse of the entire party-state system, built on the communist concept of development.

The country's political system was also in crisis. The elderly party leadership did not enjoy the authority and confidence of citizens. The party and state nomenklatura was inert and did not show initiative. The main criteria in the selection of candidates for leadership positions were adherence to the official ideology and loyalty to the authorities. Those who had high business qualities, knew how to be principled in solving important issues, the road to power was.

On the eve of perestroika, society was still under the influence of the dominant ideology. Television and radio vied with each other about the successes in socialist construction and the advantages of the way of life adopted in the USSR. However, the citizens of the country saw that in fact the economy and social sphere were in deep decline. Disappointment reigned in society and a dull social protest was brewing. It was during this peak period of stagnation that M.S. Gorbachev embarked on his perestroika reforms, which resulted in the USSR and the entire socialist camp.

Introduction 2

1. Perestroika in the USSR. Main events. 3

2. Russia during perestroika 3

3. Social life and culture during the Perestroika period. eight

4. Economy of Siberia during the perestroika period 12

Conclusion 18

Bibliography 21

Introduction

The concept of "perestroika" is very controversial: everyone means by it something that corresponds to his political views. I understand by the word "perestroika" as a set of socio-political processes in the period 1985-1991.

In the mid-1980s, the leadership of the CPSU proclaimed a course towards restructuring. In terms of the scale of the changes it caused in Europe, and throughout the world, it is rightly compared with such historical events as the Great French Revolution or October 1917 in Russia.

The relevance of the topic of work: undoubtedly, the topic of Perestroika in the USSR will not be relevant for a year or two, because the consequences of this step of the government, at that time still Soviet, affect nowadays. Until now, there are still discussions and disputes about whether it was necessary to change the course of the country so radically: economic and political, whether there were positive results, or it only negatively affected the situation in the country.

The purpose of this work was to study Perestroika as a historical stage in the life of the Russian people.

Work tasks:

List the main stages of the Restructuring;

Analyze the political and economic situation in the country;

Tell about the cultural and social life of that period;

Tell about Siberia during the Perestroika era.

1. Perestroika in the USSR. Main events.

In March 1985 g. to the post The Secretary General The Central Committee of the CPSU was elected M. S. Gorbachev, "Prohibition", at the end of the 80s. - the beginning of a decline in production, inflation, general deficit).

In January 1987 g. at the plenum of the Central Committee - the proclamation of the policy of "glasnost".

1988 year- by decision of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, a Commission for the Study of Stalinist repressions was created.

June 1988- XIX Conference of the CPSU (the beginning of the reform of the political system of the USSR, the law on cooperation).

February 1989- withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

May 1989- I exit people's deputies(sharp political polarization, the formation of opposing trends).

March 1990- III Congress of Soviets (election of Gorbachev as president of the USSR, abolition of the 6th article of the Constitution on the leading role of the CPSU).

August 1991... - putsch.

2. Russia during perestroika

In March 1985 g. M.S.Gorbachev was elected to the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, who set a course for changing the political and economic system of the USSR.

The lag behind the United States in the space arms race, the inability, for economic reasons, to respond to the "Star Wars" program convinced the ruling circles of the USSR that the competition in the high-tech sector was almost lost.

It was not at all about changing the system (the existing one was quite satisfactory for the ruling elite). They tried only to adapt this system to the new international conditions.

In the initial perestroika project, technology was at the forefront, and not the person who was assigned the incomprehensible role of the “human factor”.

The reasons for the crisis in the economy must be sought in the ugly structure of the country's national economy and the absence of serious incentives to work. All this should be multiplied by serious mistakes in management made at the beginning of perestroika.

At the XVII Congress of the CPSU, the question was posed correctly: to turn production towards the consumer and to activate the human factor. But how to achieve this goal? Gorbachev chose the completely Marxist method - the trial and error method.

At first there was “acceleration” - a naive attempt, using ideological incantations and appeals to “everyone in his workplace”, to make the rusted economic mechanism turn faster. But persuasion alone was not enough: only one-seventh of the main production assets was involved in the production of consumer goods. And the government started small-scale industrialization in order to ultimately modernize the backward light industry. All this, however, ended in failure already at the first stage: billions of dollars in state investments in basic industries disappeared without a trace in the general bedlam - light industry did not wait for new equipment, materials, technologies.

Then they reduced the purchase of consumer goods and threw foreign currency on the purchase of equipment abroad. The result is minimal. Some of the equipment remained in warehouses and in the open air due to the lack of production space. And what we managed to mount gave refusals. Entire production lines were idle due to improper operation, lack of spare parts, and poor quality of raw materials.

Finally, we realized that in the absence of incentives from producers, nothing can be changed in the economy. We decided to give the enterprises self-supporting independence. But limited freedom turned into only the right of uncontrolled spending of public funds and led to inflation of prices, a reduction in production volumes and a sharp increase in the money supply in cash circulation.

At the same time, the growth of earnings did not in any way affect the output of final consumer products, since money was paid not only to manufacturers of goods, but also to everyone else without exception.

The authorities' desire to look good without any reason played a bad joke with it. Without reducing the previous expenses, in the center and in the localities they developed countless social programs and pumped inflationary money into the economy. The inflated effective demand began to crush both trade and the consumer sector of industry.

The losses of the national economy from Gorbachev's reforms grew. The second wind did not come to socialism - the agony began

By the end of 1991, we had a hybrid of bureaucratic and economic markets (the former prevailed), we had almost complete (precisely due to the fundamental legal uncertainty regarding formal property rights) nomenclature capitalism. The dominant form was the ideal form for bureaucratic capitalism — the pseudo-state form of activity of private capital. In the political sphere - a hybrid of the Soviet and presidential forms of government, a post-communist and pre-democratic republic.

During the years of "perestroika", surprisingly little has been done to realistically reform the economic mechanism. The laws adopted by the union leadership expanded the rights of enterprises, allowed small-scale private and cooperative entrepreneurship, but did not affect the fundamental foundations of the command-distribution economy. The paralysis of the central government and, as a consequence, the weakening of state control over the national economy, the progressed disintegration of production ties between enterprises of different Union republics, the increased autocracy of directors, the short-sighted policy of artificial growth of incomes of the population and other populist measures in the economy - all this led to an increase during 1990 - 1991 economic crisis in the country. The destruction of the old economic system was not accompanied by the emergence of a new one in its place.

The country already had real freedom of speech, which grew out of the policy of "glasnost", a multi-party system was taking shape, elections were held on an alternative (from several candidates) basis, and a formally independent press appeared. But the advantageous position of one party remained - the CPSU, which had grown together with the state apparatus. The Soviet form of organization of state power did not provide for the generally recognized division of powers into legislative, executive and judicial branches. It was necessary to reform the state-political system of the country.

By the end of 1991, the economy of the USSR was in a catastrophic state. The decline in production accelerated. Compared to 1990, the national income has decreased by 20%. The state budget deficit, the excess of government spending over revenues, ranged from 20% to 30% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The growth of the money supply in the country threatened with the loss of state control over the financial system and hyperinflation, that is, inflation exceeding 50% per month, which could paralyze the entire economy.

An important element of the structure of the domestic economy is the overestimated level of employment in comparison with its normal value. Hence the artificial and very significant underestimation of the level of labor productivity and, accordingly, even greater tension in the consumer market. A striking example of this situation is the situation that arose in 1991, when a 12% drop in GNP over 9 months was practically not accompanied by a decrease in the number of employed, but occurred only due to a decrease in labor productivity. The gap between actual effective employment grew and was bridged with the only possible means — inflation in both its forms — deficit and price rises. The further growth of this gap forms another factor in the rate of inflation growth, which must be reckoned with.

The accelerated growth of wages and benefits, which began in 1989, increased the pent-up demand; by the end of the year, most goods had disappeared from state trade, but were sold at exorbitant prices in commercial stores and on the black market. Between 1985 and 1991, retail prices almost tripled, and government price controls could not stop inflation. Unexpected interruptions in the supply of various consumer goods to the population caused "crises" (tobacco, sugar, vodka) and huge queues. A normalized distribution of many products (by coupons) was introduced. People feared possible hunger.

Western creditors had serious doubts about the solvency of the USSR. The total external debt of the Soviet Union by the end of 1991 amounted to more than $ 100 billion, taking into account mutual debts, the net debt of the USSR in convertible currency in real terms was estimated at about $ 60 billion. Until 1989, 25-30% of the amount of Soviet exports in convertible currency was spent on servicing external debt (paying off interest, etc.), but then, due to a sharp drop in oil exports, the Soviet Union had to sell gold reserves to acquire the missing currency. By the end of 1991, the USSR could no longer fulfill its international obligations to service its external debt. Economic reform became inevitable and vital.

Why was the restructuring of the nomenclature necessary and what did it actually get?

The most active part of the liberal-democratic intelligentsia, for the most part, were people associated with the authorities.

The mass detachments of the nomenklatura proper reacted quite calmly and rather sympathetically to the "anti-communist revolution." That is why it happened so easily, bloodlessly, at the same time it remained "half-hearted", and for many it turned into a deception of their social expectations and hopes.

The nature of the nomenklatura-antinomenclature revolution became quite obvious, when everyone saw that it was the nomenklatura that had enriched itself first in the course of the division of property.

Today, the consequences of choices made in the early nineties of this century are evident. The country is ruined. Ethnic disputes, territorial claims, armed clashes and full-scale wars have become a nightmare reality today. All in all, during the years of Gorbachev's "perestroika" and Yeltsin's reforms (1985 - 1995), more than 240 bloody conflicts and wars arose on the territory of the USSR, the total number of victims of which amounted to half a million people.

In 1990 - 1991, we certainly experienced a global geopolitical catastrophe. She was unexpected for the majority of Soviet people.

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 develop 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 replaced by disappointment, uncertainty about tomorrow 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 organs. 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 prohibited works as "Children of the Arbat" by A. N. Rybakov, "Life and Fate" by V. S. Grossman, "Requiem" by A. A. Akhmatova, "Sophia 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 . about the unacceptability of the transfer of the NKAO to the Armenian SSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Council considers it impossible to change the borders and established on constitutional basis the 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 the Soviet computing technology seems disastrous. … 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 manifested itself in more than 20 billion losses of budget revenues, a transition to the category of scarce products that were previously on the free market (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 was held, at which a number of economic and social programs providing for new investment and structural policies. 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 foreign policy 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 the 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
  • End of the Afghan War with withdrawal 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 internal 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 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 state’s enormous fortune 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 excessive 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 has long ago entered required level", No one checked or discussed, it was immediately discarded - it was only about 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 living standards contradicted historical memory 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%:
    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
    including:
    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 of December 22, 1988 No. 1526 "on the approval of the regulation on self-supporting foreign trade organizations ..."), revising the approach to the relationship of state bodies and manufacturing enterprises(USSR Law "On State Enterprise (Association)" dated June 30, 1987).

    Methodological approaches to the analysis of restructuring

    In works of art

    • In the 1990s, the well-known 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. The term "catastrophe" after the publication of the book began to be used in Russian media to denote the restructuring itself.

    see also

    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: 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 "1986: Congress of the winners". 1987: The Third Frontier
    • D. Travin

    Introduction

    1Reasons and goals of perestroika

    2Stages of restructuring

    Chapter 2. Results of perestroika

    1 The collapse of the USSR

    2 Reasons for failure of modernization

    Conclusion


    Introduction


    By the mid-1980s. the Soviet management system found itself in a state of acute systemic crisis. One of the main reasons for the crisis was the transformation of the party apparatus into a certain privileged stratum of society. The ruling elite preached a double morality, which discredited it in the eyes of the people. Popular confidence in the authorities and the existing political system fell sharply.

    Under the conditions of a one-party system, elections to government bodies were purely formal, had no alternative, and ultimately served only as a cover to preserve the nomenklatura principle of selection and placement of personnel. Elections to members of district, regional (territorial), republican party committees and to the congresses of the CPSU took place through the election of delegates from the primary organizations according to a list that was lowered from above and approved in advance. The lack of information and any control led to a deterioration in the state of the party and state apparatus and caused more and more popular discontent.

    History and results of perestroika in the USSR 1985-1991 today it has not lost its sharpness, because, being a part of the history of our country, it leaves an imprint on the current state of affairs in the domestic and foreign policy of Russia. The relevance of studying the reasons for the failure of the country's modernization shortly before the collapse of the USSR lies in the fact that this is a time of global changes in the life of society, which affected not just one country, but the community of peoples, a huge power. The events of those days are still controversial and give rise to a lot of research.

    The aim of this work is to analyze the reasons for the failed restructuring of the USSR in 1985-1991.

    To achieve this goal, the following tasks were identified:

    .Consider the reasons and goals of restructuring

    .Highlight the stages of restructuring

    .Analyze the events leading to the collapse of the USSR

    .Analyze the reasons for the failure of modernization

    The object of the research is the social relations that existed during the period of perestroika reforms, and the subject is the period of perestroika in the USSR.


    Chapter 1. The reasons for perestroika in the USSR


    1.1Reasons and goals of perestroika


    Strengthening in the late 1970s - early 1980s. the conservation of political and state structures made it obvious that the country's leadership was unable to bring society out of the crisis, which was acquiring a systemic character. In all spheres of society's life, negative phenomena were growing, accompanied by indifference and social apathy of citizens. One of the main reasons for the growing political alienation was the command-administrative style of leadership that was established in the era of Stalin and revived during the years of stagnation.

    In addition, there was an economic crisis in the country. Agriculture was in a ruined state, industry did not develop, since most of the efforts of the state authorities were aimed at maintaining the "arms race" in foreign policy. The socialist countries depended on subsidies from the Soviet Union, that is, the country's collapse was approaching. This time is called the "stagnation" period.

    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 young population of the country experienced a great distrust of the authorities, that is, the crisis was also observed in the ideological sphere. In this situation, it became urgent to change the outdated economic mechanism, the very methods of governing the country and society. At the same time all less people believed in the truth of the communist values ​​declared by the authorities. The emergence and development of the dissident movement in all regions of the USSR, which, in fact, represented the beginning of the formation of elements of the “anti-system” within the framework of the existing political system, also testified to the crisis state of society.

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

    On February 1984, Yu. V. Andropov, who had been leading the country for incomplete 15 months, died. And although his measures to overcome the crisis of power in the country were met with approval by the people, since everyone was tired of bureaucratic arbitrariness and wanted to see changes, they did not bring results.

    After Andropov's death, 73-year-old K.U. Chernenko, to whose appointment the aging nomenklatura pinned hopes of saving the existing system and preserving its positions in power structures. However, as subsequent events showed, the old and sick leader of the party and state was not suitable for this role. Not only in society, but also in the party leadership itself, there was a growing awareness of the need for a radical restructuring of government and society.

    Chernenko died in March 1985. At the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee held on March 11, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected the new General Secretary of the Central Committee, who quickly rose to the top of the party pyramid and by that time was the second person in the party. His short-term leadership of the country by historical standards (less than 7 years) was not only distinguished by an incredible development of events in its drama, but also marked the last, final stage of Soviet statehood.

    The goals of the government in carrying out perestroika were ambitious. First, the management plans included updating the country's production base in technical terms. It was planned to modernize production and increase the output of machinery and equipment, however, not by improving the work of enterprises, but by tightening labor discipline, introducing state control over the quality of products.

    Secondly, it was planned to transfer economic relations within the Union to a new level. In the mid-1990s. the country's leadership decided to introduce the concept of private ownership of the means of production. A serious change in investment policy was also envisaged: a reduction in expensive capital construction and an acceleration of the technical re-equipment of enterprises.

    However, all this was not supported by any program of concrete transformations, and the results of such actions will be discussed below.


    1.2Stages of restructuring


    Changes in all spheres of society were originally planned to be carried out in six years in three stages. Gorbachev's reforms were based on three main slogans: "glasnost", "acceleration", "perestroika". The main course of the movement was proclaimed - to accelerate the socio-economic development of the country.

    To solve this problem, it was necessary to break the braking mechanism (another new expression that came into use after the speeches of MS Gorbachev); create a reliable acceleration mechanism. The main idea is to combine the scientific and technological revolution with the planned economy and to bring into action the entire potential of socialism. The purpose of acceleration was seen as ensuring the materially and spiritually rich, socially dynamic life of Soviet people, to reveal even more fully and brighter the possibilities and advantages of a civilization of a historically new type. The main stake was placed on the human factor, the living creativity of the masses, the development of democracy, socialist self-government, new principles for nominating leaders, expanding publicity, and new political thinking. It was supposed on this basis to quickly reverse unfavorable trends in the economy and, relying, as stated in official documents, on the possibilities and advantages of socialism, to accelerate the country's socio-economic development, to give the economy the necessary dynamism, to open up space for the initiative and creativity inherent in the very nature of the Soviet system. According to the calculations of the reformers, by 2000 the Soviet Union was supposed to catch up with the United States in terms of industrial production. The goal was to almost double the national income by the end of the century, doubling the production potential and transforming it qualitatively.

    The essence of the acceleration was announced at the April plenum of the Central Committee (Central Committee) of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) in 1985. Acceleration was understood as greater integration of science and technology, decentralization of management in the economy, development of the private sector of the economy, while the public sector is still dominant. In essence, it was about replacing the command-administrative system of management with a mixed one. As a result of the acceleration, the laws “On the General Principles of Entrepreneurship in the USSR”, “On Cooperatives”, “On the State Enterprise” appeared. However, these measures did not lead to the expected effect.

    Conservative cadres opposing changes were declared the main brake on the renovation. Therefore, the new leadership began its restructuring policy with a change of personnel. In 1985-1986. there was a renewal of all leading party structures, both at the central and local levels. The party's personnel policy was the subject of a special discussion at the January 1987 plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, which recognized the need to renew the party and state cadres in order to accelerate reforms. The most conservative-minded elements associated with the Brezhnev times were removed from the Politburo: N. A. Tikhonov, V. V. Grishin, D. A. Kunaev, A. A. Gromyko, G. A. Aliev, etc. the first difficulties in reforming society, criticism of the "conservatives" intensified. In general, for 1985-1990. 85% of the leading workers of the Central Committee of the CPSU were replaced (for comparison: in 1934-1939, during the years of mass purges, the renewal of the Central Committee of the party was 77%), at the republican level - up to 70%.

    The fact that the chosen course of acceleration did not bring the expected results became clear already by 1987, therefore, at the next plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in January 1987, Gorbachev announced a new task - to begin restructuring, wider in scope, in the spheres of society. Important factors that hindered the implementation of the reform were the prevailing negative attitude towards private entrepreneurship among the broad masses, as well as active opposition to changes on the part of conservative circles in the leadership of the CPSU, who accused Gorbachev of "betraying the cause of socialism", "restoration of capitalism", with which the leader of the ruling Communist Party did not could not be considered. To a large extent, this explains the inconsistency and half-heartedness of most of the reforms begun in the economy in the first years of perestroika. Decisions were made, but their implementation was either delayed or postponed for a long time.

    Initially, perestroika meant carrying out a complex of economic and political measures aimed at breaking down the economic mechanism of inhibition and creating an acceleration mechanism; socialist self-government of the masses, socialist enterprise and full cost accounting; a decisive turn towards science; priority social sphere; social justice and the deliverance of society from distortions of socialist morality. Figuratively, the task of perestroika was defined somewhat incomprehensibly for citizens: the construction of "socialism with a human face."

    As a result of unsuccessful reforms in the political and spiritual spheres of society, glasnost becomes the main idea, which manifested itself in the weakening of censorship, in the legalization (legality) of pluralism, when alternative, other points of view on the development of the USSR began to be recognized in politics. It became possible to freely discuss the political, socio-economic and cultural life of the country. The consequence of publicity was the emergence of many one-day parties, alternative publications, etc.

    Glasnost has led to the undermining of the ideological indisputability of party decisions and assessments. Resumed, on the initiative of the new leadership, under the banner of the restoration of Lenin's provisions on socialism, criticism of Stalinism grew into criticism of the command-administrative system and socialism as a whole generated by it. Crises of modernization of the country “in pursuit”, through which Russia had already passed more than once, emerged and intensified: a crisis of legitimacy, a crisis of identity, a crisis of participation, etc. various issues the renewal of society led to the politicization and ideological polarization of ever wider sections of the population. Interethnic contradictions intensified, the number of interethnic conflicts, the basis of which was for the most part a struggle for power, accompanied by the exorbitant ambitions of regional elites and the whipping up of national passions.

    In the economic sphere of society, one of the methods of restructuring was the introduction of "economic management methods" and the transition of enterprises to full cost accounting and self-financing. It became possible for enterprises to choose how to spend the profit that remained after settlements with the state. They had the opportunity to act according to two models of cost accounting. In the case of one of them, the profit could be formed after the payment of wages to employees according to the standards. In this case, the amount of profit affected only the amount of bonuses to employees. When using the second model, the wages of employees directly depended on the size of the profit received.

    In addition, a radical change took place in the entire structure of economic management - the transitional link between the ministry and the enterprise was eliminated, and the structure itself and the number of ministries were reorganized. So, in November 1985, six agricultural departments were abolished and the USSR State Agroprom was established. Further transformations in this system were called "ministerial leapfrog", when ministries and departments were either merged or abolished, then re-created. In the end, in 1986 it became clear that the economic management apparatus in the country was incompetent.

    In June 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a decree, progressive for that time, "On the Concept of Transition to a Regulated Market Economy." However, the implementation of the measures outlined in it and the laws adopted in connection with this, providing for the transfer of industrial enterprises to lease, gradual demonopolization, decentralization and denationalization of property, the creation of joint-stock companies, was postponed until 1991, and the transfer of only 20% of enterprises to lease was stretched to 1995

    All this not only did not contribute to the solution of the task of "acceleration", which was soon replaced by the slogan of "strong social policy", but also led to a deepening of the economic crisis. Since 1988, there has been a general decline in production in agriculture, and in industry the decline began in 1989. According to official data, the budget deficit in 1989 exceeded 100 billion rubles. (11% of the gross national product). Gold reserves fell tenfold in 1991 compared to 1985, which was due to the country's growing dependence on food purchases abroad. All this happened against the background of a sharp deterioration in the living conditions of the bulk of the population.

    The beginning of the political reform was laid by the 19th All-Union Conference of the CPSU, which took place on June 28 - July 1, 1988, which adopted a detailed program of democratization of the country's social and political life. As a priority measure, in order to restore the sovereignty of the soviets, it was decided to redistribute power functions from executive bodies (executive committee apparatus) to elected representative ones, from party structures to Soviet ones. In order to make this transition as painless as possible, it was proposed at the first stage to combine the posts of party and Soviet leaders (first secretary and chairman of the council) from top to bottom. Within the framework of the concept of a "socialist rule of law", for the first time, attention was focused on the need for separation of powers, and the formation of "Soviet parliamentarism" began. To this end, at the suggestion of Gorbachev, a two-tier system of representative bodies was to be restored (following the model of the 1918 Constitution). A new supreme body of power was created - the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, the Supreme Soviet, elected by secret ballot from among the deputies of the Congress, turned into a kind of permanent "parliament". At the same time, amendments were made to the electoral legislation: elections were to be held on an alternative basis, 1/3 of the deputy corps was formed from public organizations. The functions of the Presidium of the Supreme Council changed: it was deprived of any law-making powers. An innovation related to the open formation of the government was also proposed. Completely new to the Soviet political system was the creation of such a democratic institution as the Constitutional Review Committee, which was supposed to monitor compliance with the country's Constitution.

    In March 1989, elections of People's Deputies of the USSR were held, for the first time held in an atmosphere of open competition between candidates, in the context of a rapid growth in the political activity of the population (almost 90% of voters included in the lists came to polling stations). At the I Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, which opened its work on May 25, 1989, Gorbachev was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In the second stage political reform the creation of new structures of bodies of power and administration began in the republics, territories and regions, cities and districts. In the spring of 1990, elections of delegates to the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR took place. Boris N. Yeltsin was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. On June 12, 1990, the 1st Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration on the Sovereignty of the RSFSR.

    The elections to the new authorities have radically changed the political situation in the country. The party began to lose the initiative in transforming society, which gradually shifted to supporters of more radical changes, who received a significant number of mandates in the new government bodies. At the Congress of People's Deputies, and then in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the first parliamentary opposition began to form. In particular, an Interregional Deputy Group was formed, the leaders of which - well-known public politicians (Y. Afanasyev, B. Yeltsin, V. Palm, G. Popov, A. Sakharov) put forward the following as the main provisions of the transformation program: the recognition of private property, decentralization of government, expansion of the economic independence of the republics and increasing their sovereignty, and a number of others.

    One of the main points that united the growing opposition to the ruling party was the demand for the abolition of Art. 6 of the Constitution, which secured the monopoly position of the CPSU in society. Within the party itself, political platforms are beginning to form, which significantly differed in their positions from the official line of the party leadership.

    In January 1990, at the initiative of a number of party clubs and party organizations that gathered at a conference in Moscow, the "Democratic Platform in the CPSU" was created, which advocated a radical reform of the CPSU and its transformation into a democratic parliamentary party. The transformation of the Communist Party from a state-economic body into a political organization was also insisted on by the “Marxist Platform”, which was issued on the eve of the last in the history of the party at the 28th Congress of the CPSU (July 1990), and sharply criticized the “barracks-communist model of the CPSU”. After the congress, the "Democratic Platform" announced its withdrawal from the CPSU, thus initiating the collapse of the party. After that, leaving the party became widespread. At the same time, there was a consolidation of conservative forces in the CPSU, which sharply condemned Gorbachev's "opportunist" line in matters of party leadership. In June 1990, the Communist Party of the RSFSR was formed, the leadership of which took a rather traditionalist position and was in fierce opposition to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

    In March 1990, Article 6 of the USSR Constitution on the leading role of the CPSU in society was abolished, which led to the split of the CPSU into a number of parties. Notable role The Communist Party of the RSFSR (KPRF) and the Russian Party of Communists (RCP) played in the country's political life from the first days of its creation. The Russian Communist Workers' Party (RKWP) took shape. At the initial stage of their activity, they all saw their main task in a return to communist ideology (taking into account the changes that have taken place in the country), as well as in strengthening the role of the state in economic life.

    The development of democratic processes contributed to the creation and growth of new public organizations, movements and initiatives, laid the foundation for the formation of a multi-party system. The first party to declare itself oppositional to the CPSU was the Democratic Union, formed in May 1988, with V. Novodvorskaya as one of its leaders. At the same time, popular fronts appeared in the Baltic States, which were the first independent mass organizations... The largest of the liberal parties was the Democratic Party of Russia, which was formed in May 1990 (leader N. Travkin). At the beginning of 1991, the USSR Ministry of Justice registered 312 public associations. In general, more than 10 thousand amateur associations and organizations have emerged throughout the country, more than 20 parties of various kinds - from social democratic to Christian and monarchical.

    Also in March 1990, at the III Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, it was decided to introduce a fundamentally new post for Russia as President of the USSR. On March 14, the Law "On the Establishment of the Presidency of the USSR and Amendments and Additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the USSR" was adopted. Simultaneously with the introduction of the institution of the presidency, which was later adopted by many republics and autonomies, Art. 6 of the Constitution. According to the law, the President, who was the head of state, was elected not by direct vote, but at a meeting of the Congress of People's Deputies. Any citizen of the USSR, not younger than 35 and not older than 65 years old, could become one. The post of vice-president was envisaged, who was elected together with the President at his suggestion and performed certain of his functions on behalf of the President, replaced the President in his absence or if he was unable to carry out his duties. The first (and last) President of the USSR was elected Gorbachev, Vice-President - G. I. Yanaev.


    Chapter 2. Results of perestroika


    1 The collapse of the USSR

    perestroika soviet disintegration

    After the elections of People's Deputies of the RSFSR (spring 1990) and the adoption of the Declaration on the Sovereignty of the RSFSR, relations between the Soviet and Russian leaderships began to deteriorate. The introduction of the institution of the President, as conceived by the authors of the reform, was intended to stabilize the situation in the country, to create the basis for the formation of a rule of law in the USSR, in which there is no place for the monopoly of one party, and equality of all before the law is ensured. At the same time, the establishment of a strong presidential power, based on the will of the people in the person of their representatives in parliament, made it possible for Gorbachev to to a certain extent free himself from the tutelage of the party apparatus, a significant part of which did not share the policy of the Secretary General.

    However, as subsequent events showed, the introduction of the institution of the presidency not only did not stabilize the situation in the country, but made it even more complicated, since the new institution of the presidency, providing for the separation of powers, did not fit well with the remaining omnipotence of the soviets. According to the researchers, later it was this contradiction that determined the acute nature of the political struggle in the country.

    By this time, interethnic contradictions had reached the utmost acuteness. In February 1991, at a nationwide referendum in Lithuania, a large part of the population spoke out for "independence" and the building of a democratic state, marking the beginning of the "parade of sovereignties". In response, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU condemned the events in the Baltic states as "anti-communist hysteria incited by the enemies of perestroika." At the same time, an attempt was made to restore the former power in the Baltic republics by force. In response to these actions, the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin demanded the resignation of the President of the USSR and the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

    Taking into account the aggravation of interethnic contradictions and the strengthening of centrifugal forces in the Union, the IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR on December 25, 1990 adopted a resolution to hold a nationwide referendum on March 17, 1991 on the issue of preserving the USSR. Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, and the Baltic republics opposed the holding of such a referendum. Of the 147 million citizens of the USSR who participated in the referendum, 112 million spoke in favor of the need to preserve the Union as a renewed federation of equal sovereign republics, in which the rights and freedoms of a person of any nationality will be fully guaranteed.

    By the summer of 1991, most of the union republics of the USSR had passed laws on sovereignty, which forced Gorbachev to speed up the development of a new union treaty. Its signing was scheduled for August 20, 1991. However, conservative forces prevailed in the union leadership, seeking to disrupt the signing of the treaty and restore the Soviet Union in its former form.

    In the absence of President Gorbachev, who was effectively blocked in his Crimean residence - Foros, on the night of August 19, the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP) was created. The first step of the State Emergency Committee, which included Vice President G.I. Yanaev (appointed to act as President of the USSR), Prime Minister V.S. Pavlov, Minister of Defense Marshal D.T. Yazov, Chairman of the KGB V.A. Kryuchkov, Minister of Internal Affairs B. Pugo and others, began to refuse to sign the union agreement. Martial law was introduced in Moscow. By decrees of the State Emergency Committee, it was announced that the power structures that had operated contrary to the 1977 Constitution were disbanded, the activities of opposition parties and movements were suspended, and strict control over the media was introduced. President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin and the Russian leadership that supported him (head of government I.S. Silaev, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council R.I. was declared illegal.

    At their call, thousands of Muscovites took up defensive positions around the building of the Supreme Soviet of Russia. On August 21, the coup was suppressed, and its organizers were arrested. Returning to Moscow on the same day, Gorbachev, three days later, made a statement about resigning from his functions as General Secretary of the PC CPSU.

    After the August events of 1991, the fate of the Union was decided. Most of the republics refused to sign the union treaty. The last months of 1991 were the time of the final collapse of the USSR. The Congress of People's Deputies was dissolved, the Supreme Soviet was radically reformed, and most of the Union ministries were liquidated. The supreme body was the State Council of the USSR, which included the president of the USSR and the heads of the union republics. The first decision of the State Council was the recognition of the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania was the first of the union republics to proclaim independence and secession from the Soviet Union. On December 1, a referendum was held in Ukraine, and the majority spoke about the independence of the republic. On December 7-8, 1991, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine Yeltsin and Kravchuk and the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus Shushkevich, having met in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, announced the termination of the existence of the USSR and the formation of three republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States of the CIS. In the future, all the former republics of the USSR, with the exception of the Baltic ones, entered the CIS.

    The collapse of the USSR took place on December 6, 1991, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (BSSR), a meeting of the leaders of the three sovereign states of Russia (B.N. Yeltsin), Ukraine (L. Kravchuk) and Belarus (S. Shushkevich) took place. On December 8, they announced the termination of the union treaty of 1922 and the end of the activities of the state structures of the former Union. At the same time, an agreement was reached on the creation of the CIS - the Commonwealth of Independent States (without Georgia and the Baltic States). The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist.


    2.2 Reasons for upgrade failure


    Despite all his popularity, Gorbachev was often criticized for the too high price the country had to pay for the perestroika reforms: too large concessions and massive disarmament, which he made as a result of the new Soviet-American relations, as well as his policy of non-interference in the affairs of socialist countries. Europe.

    Consider what caused the failures domestically. Economic reforms did not bring the desired results, and the crisis in the country did not subside. The workers demanded higher wages and better working conditions. The government responded by issuing all more money, which only intensified the rise in prices. Thus, goods sold in state stores quickly disappeared from the shelves and were already sold by speculators at inflated prices. In Moscow, for the first time after the Great Patriotic War, food cards were introduced.

    The external debt of the USSR also increased, becoming three times more than it was before perestroika. The economic downturn was further exacerbated by political tensions between socialist forces and movements that upheld the principles of capitalism.

    Interethnic clashes arose among representatives of different republics of the USSR, between those who supported the idea of ​​the USSR, and those who advocated the creation of independent states. The latter became more and more, which, in the end, became one of the reasons for the collapse of the USSR. However, such an outcome was laid even by the Bolsheviks at the very beginning of the organization of the USSR - the right of peoples to self-determination was clearly spelled out in Soviet ideology, up to and including separation.

    With the collapse of the CPSU, that powerful institution that united all the power structures of the USSR disappeared; The Council of Deputies could not perform those cementing functions, since it was only a superstructure that had no influence in the province. Actually, like the President of the USSR, he did not have them, since he was elected by the same Council of Deputies.

    The time bomb, laid under the state system of Russia even during the creation of the Soviet Union, was ready to explode after perestroika. Those centralized power structures, which had a base of collective relations, laid down during the time of the Russian Empire and strengthened during the existence of the Soviet Union, at the turn of the 80-90s. began to lose their strength. In the failures of perestroika and the collapse of the USSR, the economic crisis and the collapse of power structures, the destruction of Soviet ideology, the lack of clear goals in politics and, as a consequence, the confusion of the broad masses of the population, who do not understand how to act in critical situations.

    In addition to all this, there were no those who were interested in preserving the USSR, especially after the 1991 putsch. Republican governments wanted a radical redistribution of power in their favor long before August 1991, as local politicians were behind them. And after the putsch, some declared independence as their motto in order to gain power, while others - to preserve it. Nobody really cared about any objective interests ordinary people, about improving their standard of living, or about ways out of the economic crisis, or about the inevitability national conflicts up to civil war... The republican power structures were only interested in abolishing the Council of Deputies and the post of President of the USSR. The last straw the events of the fall of 1991 began, at which the 69-year history of the USSR ended.


    Conclusion


    In my work, the goal was to analyze the reasons for the failed modernization of the USSR during perestroika.

    The first chapter examines the reasons and goals of perestroika. So, it was found out that the need for changes in the state arose as a result of the increasing in the early 1980s. distrust of the population of the USSR to the leadership, an ideological crisis. The ruling elite formed a closed institution with almost hereditary rights, there was only one communist party, and elections were actually held only at the first level. In addition, there was a so-called "stagnation" in the economic sphere. All this contributed to the emergence of new politicians and new ideas for managing the country.

    The second paragraph of the first chapter outlined the main stages and directions of the restructuring begun by M.S. Gorbachev. Changes took place in all spheres of society - in political, cultural, economic. The main slogans of the perestroika program were - acceleration of socio-economic development, publicity, democratization.

    The second chapter analyzes the events that led to the collapse of the USSR and the reasons for the failures of perestroika.

    The main reason for the collapse of the USSR can be considered the inflamed ethnic strife between the union republics. While those in power were striving to preserve and increase it, forgetting about the interests of the people, the movement for independence and secession was growing.

    In general, the reforms of the 1980s were not crowned with success due to their unpreparedness, inconsistency, lack of a clear strategy, and inconsistency of changes in the economy and politics.

    References and sources


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    2.Bokhanov A.N., Gorinov M.M. and other history of Russia from ancient times to the end of the XX century. - Book 3. - M .: AST, 2001 .-- 348 p.

    .Zagladin N.V. The history of homeland. - M., Russian word, 2003.

    .Ignatov V.G. (editor-in-chief) History of Russian government. Textbook. Rostov n / a: Phoenix, 2002 .-- 608 p.

    .The history of public administration in Russia: a textbook for university students enrolled in economic specialties, specializing in State and Municipal Administration (080504) / Ed. A.N. Markova, Yu.K. Fedulova. - 3rd ed., Rev. and add. - M .: UNITI-DANA, 2007 .-- 319 p.

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    .Economic reforms in Russia (IX-XX): Textbook. allowance / Ed. A.N. Romanova, A.N. Markova. M .: Economic education, 1993.

    • The subject and method of the history of the domestic state and law
      • The subject of the history of the domestic state and law
      • The method of the history of the domestic state and law
      • Periodization of the history of the domestic state and law
    • Old Russian state and law (IX - early XII century.)
      • Formation of the Old Russian state
        • Historical factors of the formation of the Old Russian state
      • Social system Old Russian state
        • Feudal-dependent population: sources of education and classification
      • State system of the Old Russian state
      • The system of law in the Old Russian state
        • Ownership in the Old Russian state
        • Law of Obligations in the Old Russian State
        • Marriage and family and inheritance law in the Old Russian state
        • Criminal law and trial in the Old Russian state
    • The state and law of Russia during the period of feudal fragmentation (early XII-XIV centuries)
      • Feudal fragmentation in Russia
      • Features of the socio-political system of the Galicia-Volyn principality
      • Social and political structure of the Vladimir-Suzdal land
      • Social and political system and law of Novgorod and Pskov
      • State and law of the Golden Horde
    • Formation of the Russian centralized state
      • Prerequisites for the formation of the Russian centralized state
      • Social system in the Russian centralized state
      • State system in the Russian centralized state
      • Development of law in the Russian centralized state
    • Estates-representative monarchy in Russia (mid-16th - mid-17th century)
      • Social system during the period of the estate-representative monarchy
      • State system during the period of the estate-representative monarchy
        • Police and prisons in ser. XVI - mid. XVII century
      • Development of law in the period of the estate-representative monarchy
        • Civil law in the middle. XVI - mid. XVII century
        • Criminal law in the Code of 1649
        • Legal proceedings in the Code of 1649
    • Formation and development of an absolute monarchy in Russia (second half of the 17th-18th centuries)
      • Historical preconditions for the emergence of an absolute monarchy in Russia
      • The social system of the period of absolute monarchy in Russia
      • State system of the period of absolute monarchy in Russia
        • Police in absolutist Russia
        • Prisons, exile and hard labor in the 17th-18th centuries
        • Reforms of the era palace coups
        • Reforms during the reign of Catherine II
      • Development of law under Peter I
        • Criminal law under Peter I
        • Civil law under Peter I
        • Family and inheritance law in the 17th-18th centuries
        • The emergence of environmental legislation
    • The state and law of Russia during the period of the disintegration of the serf system and the growth of capitalist relations (first half of the 19th century)
      • The social system during the decay of the serf system
      • State system of Russia in the nineteenth century
        • State reform authorities
        • His Imperial Majesty's own office
        • The system of police bodies in the first half of the 19th century.
        • The prison system of Russia in the nineteenth century
      • Form development state unity
        • Finland's status within the Russian Empire
        • The incorporation of Poland into the Russian Empire
      • Systematization of the legislation of the Russian Empire
    • The state and law of Russia during the establishment of capitalism (second half of the 19th century)
      • Abolition of serfdom
      • Zemskaya and city reforms
      • Local government in the second half of the 19th century.
      • Judicial reform in the second half of the 19th century
      • Military reform in the second half of the 19th century.
      • Reform of the police and prison system in the second half of the 19th century.
      • Financial reform in Russia in the second half of the XIX century.
      • Reforms of the education system and censorship
      • Church in the system of government of tsarist Russia
      • Counter-reforms of the 1880-1890s
      • The development of Russian law in the second half of the XIX century.
        • Civil law of Russia in the second half of the XIX century.
        • Family and inheritance law in Russia in the second half of the 19th century.
    • State and law of Russia during the period of the first Russian revolution and before the outbreak of the First world war (1900-1914)
      • Background and course of the first Russian revolution
      • Changes in the social structure of Russia
        • Agrarian reform P.A. Stolypin
        • Formation of political parties in Russia at the beginning of the XX century.
      • Changes in the state system of Russia
        • Reform of state bodies
        • Establishment of the State Duma
        • The punitive measures of P.A. Stolypin
        • The fight against crime at the beginning of the XX century.
      • Changes in law in Russia at the beginning of the XX century.
    • State and law of Russia during the First World War
      • Changes in the state apparatus
      • Changes in the field of law during the First World War
    • The state and law of Russia during the February bourgeois-democratic republic (February - October 1917)
      • February Revolution of 1917
      • Dual power in Russia
        • Solving the issue of the state unity of the country
        • Reform of the prison system in February - October 1917
        • Changes in the state apparatus
      • Activities of the Soviets
      • Legal activity of the Provisional Government
    • Creation of the Soviet state and law (October 1917 - 1918)
      • All-Russian Congress of Soviets and its decrees
      • Fundamental changes in the social order
      • The demolition of the bourgeois and the creation of a new Soviet state apparatus
        • Powers and activities of the Soviets
        • Military Revolutionary Committees
        • Soviet armed forces
        • Working militia
        • Changes in the judicial and penitentiary systems after the October Revolution
      • Nation-building
      • Constitution of the RSFSR 1918
      • Creation of the foundations of Soviet law
    • Soviet state and law during the Civil War and intervention (1918-1920)
      • Civil war and intervention
      • Soviet state apparatus
      • Armed Forces and Law Enforcement
        • Reorganization of the police in 1918-1920
        • The activities of the Cheka during the Civil War
        • Judicial system during the civil war
      • Military Union of Soviet Republics
      • Development of law in the context of the Civil War
    • Soviet state and law during the new economic policy(1921-1929)
      • Nation-building. Formation of the USSR
        • Declaration and Treaty on the formation of the USSR
      • Development of the state apparatus of the RSFSR
        • Reconstruction of the national economy after the civil war
        • Judicial authorities during the NEP
        • Creation of the Soviet prosecutor's office
        • Police of the USSR during the NEP period
        • Correctional labor institutions of the USSR during the NEP period
        • Codification of law during the NEP period
    • Soviet state and law in the period of radical breakdown of social relations (1930-1941)
      • State management of the economy
        • Collective farm construction
        • National Economy Planning and Reorganization of Management Bodies
      • State management of social and cultural processes
      • Law enforcement reforms in the 1930s
      • Reorganization of the armed forces in the 1930s
      • USSR Constitution 1936
      • Development of the USSR as a union state
      • Development of law in 1930-1941
    • Soviet state and law during the Great Patriotic War
      • Great Patriotic War and the restructuring of the work of the Soviet state apparatus
      • Changes in the organization of state unity
      • The development of Soviet law during the Great Patriotic War
    • The Soviet state and law in the post-war years of the restoration of the national economy (1945-1953)
      • The internal political situation and foreign policy of the USSR in the first post-war years
      • Development of the state apparatus in the post-war years
        • The system of corrective labor institutions in the post-war years
      • Development of Soviet law in the post-war years
    • Soviet state and law during the period of liberalization of social relations (mid-1950s - mid-1960s)
      • Development of the external functions of the Soviet state
      • The development of the form of state unity in the mid-1950s.
      • The restructuring of the state apparatus of the USSR in the mid-1950s.
      • The development of Soviet law in the mid-1950s - mid-1960s.
    • The Soviet state and law during the period of slowdown in the rate of social development (mid-1960s - mid-1980s)
      • Development of external functions of the state
      • USSR Constitution 1977
      • The form of state unity according to the Constitution of the USSR of 1977
        • Development of the state apparatus
        • Law enforcement in the mid-1960s - mid-1980s.
        • The bodies of justice of the USSR in the 1980s.
      • Development of law in the middle. 1960s - mid. 1900s
      • Correctional labor institutions in the middle. 1960s - mid. 1900s
    • Formation of the state and law of the Russian Federation. The collapse of the USSR (mid 1980s - 1990s)
      • The policy of "perestroika" and its main content
      • The main directions of development of the political regime and state system
      • The collapse of the USSR
      • External consequences of the collapse of the USSR for Russia. Commonwealth of Independent States
      • Formation of the state apparatus of new Russia
      • Development of the form of state unity of the Russian Federation
      • Development of law during the collapse of the USSR and the formation of the Russian Federation

    The policy of "perestroika" and its main content

    In March 1985, a change in the party leadership took place in the USSR. The new leader M.S. In assessing the situation in the country, Gorbachev combined optimism with elements of criticism. The latter was quite appropriate. Unfavorable trends have appeared in the development of the economy. Over the past ten years, the pace of economic development has noticeably slowed down. The growth in the national economy was mainly due to extensive methods. The production apparatus had aged and needed a significant upgrade. The country lagged more and more behind the Western states in terms of technology. The state of affairs in the agro-industrial sector was difficult.

    The supply of food to the population was accompanied by considerable difficulties. The needs of citizens in industrial goods were not fully satisfied. Since the early 1980s. the statistics showed stagnation of the population's income. There were stagnant phenomena in the economic and social relations... There was an expectation of change in society, although there were no signs of a revolutionary situation. Socio-economic reforms are ripe. But what were they supposed to be? There was no clarity and unanimity on this issue in the country. New strategies: acceleration and restructuring. The decisive choice was made by the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, held in April 1985. The plenum proposed a versatile and ambitious program aimed at achieving a new qualitative state of society. It included the highest world level of labor productivity, improving social relations, improving people's lives, activating the entire system of political and social institutions, deepening socialist democracy, and self-government of the people. However, in the report of M.S. Gorbachev at the plenum of the Central Committee, the achievement of a new qualitative state of society was not correlated with such traditional tasks as improving developed socialism or building communism.

    It was clear that the announced approach of a new stage of social development would require many efforts and a long time. For these reasons, the plenum of the Central Committee focused on closer and more concrete economic problems. Of the various possible ways to resolve them, this party body chose a significant acceleration of the development of the national economy on the basis of an intensification of the economy, scientific and technological progress, the restructuring of structural and investment policies, and an increase in organization. At the same time, mechanical engineering was chosen as the key means of achieving the expected results, the pace of development of which was supposed to increase by 1.5-2 times over the next 12th five-year plan.

    The 27th Congress of the CPSU, held in February-March 1986, confirmed the directions of reforms chosen by the April plenum of the Central Committee, while expanding and concretizing many of its directives. In particular, the congress made an acceptance of the need to open up space for the initiative and creativity of the masses, the further development of democracy, self-government of the people, the strengthening of the rule of law, the expansion of publicity, and the psychological restructuring of cadres. In principle, the outlined measures fit into the usual Soviet standards for improving society and did not contain any new recipes for bringing the economy to new frontiers.

    From June 1986, the acceleration strategy was unexpectedly reoriented towards the “restructuring” policy. The new term reflected the need for versatile transformations that served the purpose of eliminating subjective and objective inhibiting factors on the way to accelerating socio-economic development. M.S. Gorbachev began to intensively instill into the public consciousness the idea that perestroika is a revolution "from above", and the CPSU is its vanguard. At the same time, criticism of the existing social order began, which often received the name "barracks socialism". The ideas of "popular socialism", "socialism with a human face", "more socialism", the use of the ideas of NEP in modern conditions, "mixed economy", "Swedish" model of socialism were widely discussed.

    The first year and a half of perestroika led to some growth in industrial production, but these were far from the expected results. Moreover, the country's financial situation deteriorated. The anti-alcohol campaign and the fall in world oil prices have reduced budget revenues. The budget deficit was covered by loans and unsecured issues. The growth of wages outpaced the rise in labor productivity. Contributions to the accumulation and development fund were declining.

    Analysis of the current situation led the party leadership to the conclusion that the implementation of the tasks of perestroika was hampered by the inertia and bureaucracy of the state and party apparatus.

    In January 1987, the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee adopted an important resolution, which emphasized the decisive dependence of the success of perestroika on personnel policy, on how quickly and deeply the party apparatus becomes imbued with the awareness of the need for revolutionary changes in society. Given the inertia of the party and state apparatus, it was proposed to use a significant expansion of democracy, accountability of elected officials, publicity, criticism (especially from below) and self-criticism, ensuring the rights of citizens, increasing the role of the court and the independence of judges, inflowing new forces into the governing body, and revitalizing the work of the Soviets. This plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU gave an impetus to a decisive renewal of the middle and higher echelons of the leading cadres of Party and Soviet bodies. A number of prominent leaders were removed from the Politburo and the Central Committee. 1986-1989 82% of the first secretaries of the regional committees and 91% of the first secretaries of the regional committees were replaced.

    The absence of the desired economic results was the result not so much of the influence of the subjective factor (inertia of the leading cadres) as of the influence of many objective circumstances. The June 1987 plenum of the Central Committee dealt with the issues of their elimination. He decided to decentralize planning, dramatically expand the boundaries of the independence of enterprises, transfer them to full cost accounting and self-financing, achieve widespread use of collective contracting, introduce self-government of the labor collective, establish a direct dependence of the level of its income on work efficiency. These measures were designed to promote the development of enterprises in accordance with the laws of the economy. In turn, the planning and economic departments were obliged to manage the economy on the basis of economic methods.

    In April 1989, the restructuring of economic relations and management in the agro-industrial complex began on the same principles.

    The economic results of 1987 were worse than in the previous year. Inflationary processes have begun. The state budget deficit has increased. There was a hidden increase in prices under the guise of improving the quality of goods. The prime cost of many types of goods turned out to be higher than their value.

    In 1988-1989. the financial and economic situation in the USSR continued to be difficult. In 1989, the promised turn for the better in the national economy did not take place: 30% of industrial enterprises did not fulfill production plan... The emerging private sector of the economy exploited the socialist sector at the expense of the difference between free and state prices. Business processes went against "perestroika".

    In the period between these two economic reforms, the course was given to the implementation of a grandiose political reform. It was approved by the 19th All-Union Conference of the CPSU in the summer of 1988. The modernization of the political structure was supposed to give a new impetus to the development of the economy. But even on the eve of the party conference of M.S. Gorbachev announced a "new political thinking", the core of which was the priority of "universal human values."

    The party conference spoke in favor of the full revival of intra-party democracy, a clear delineation of the functions of state and party bodies, leaving the latter to solve only problems political leadership... Measures were outlined to democratize Soviet society and its political system, radically increase the role of the Soviets, combat bureaucracy, modernize national relations, develop publicity and carry out legal reform. The party conference set the task of building a legal state in the USSR.

    First political reform. It was carried out for about a year and a half from the end of 1988. It expanded democracy and significantly increased the role of the Soviets in the management of public affairs. On the basis of the elections, new representative bodies of the USSR and the union republics were created, and one of them - the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - became permanent government agency... And although most of the seats in it belonged to members of the ruling party, the leading role of the CPSU was greatly weakened. A very influential and well-organized interregional deputy group was created within it, which took an oppositional position towards the CPSU, although it also included the communists. It had its own program, which included such provisions as a market economy, a multi-party system, freedom to secede from the USSR, and freedom of the press.

    The democratization of the regime changed the course of socio-political processes. "Perestroika" as a revolution "from above", carried out by the central government, has ceased to be such. The development of events began to take on an increasingly spontaneous character, largely beyond the control of the authorities. After the 19th All-Union Party Conference, the party committees were at a loss and practically stopped their work. The new management mechanism did not take shape, since the Soviets, especially in the union republics, behaved inert in the political niche freed up for them. On the contrary, the anti-socialist and nationalist forces intensified sharply and the initiative began to gradually pass to them. Glasnost as a means of "perestroika" has become an instrument of criticism of socialism. The latter, since 1989, acquired a frontal and intense character and contributed to the penetration of bourgeois ideals into the public consciousness. Governing bodies The CPSU did not wage any struggle against these phenomena.

    Second political reform. At the beginning of 1990, speeches took place in the country demanding further democratization. The democrats called them the "February revolution" of 1990. The authorities were forced to carry out a second political reform: to eliminate the leading role of the CPSU, constitutionally consolidate private property, and introduce the post of President of the USSR.

    A significant success of the anti-socialist forces and an indicator of their influence was their independent demonstration on May 1, 1990 on Red Square in Moscow under anti-socialist and anti-Soviet slogans. The CPSU itself was in crisis. M.S. Gorbachev was able to convince the party to revise the fundamental provisions of the current Program of the CPSU, which in fact means a rejection of the old socialist doctrine. The programmatic statement of the XXVIII Congress (July 1990) "Towards a humane, democratic socialism" included such attitudes as a multi-structured economy, a variety of forms of ownership, a regulated market, civil society, and separation of powers. The goals of the CPSU were indicated very vaguely. It was declared a party of "socialist choice and communist perspective", which implied a continuation of the search for this path and a very wide freedom of maneuver.

    The recognition of private property and the planned privatization of the people's wealth no longer left any doubt about the bourgeois direction of Russia's social development. The unsuccessful coup of August 19-21, 1991, carried out by a number of senior officials of the Union leadership, triggered the "August revolution" in Russia, which led to the leadership of bourgeois-oriented leaders and became the direct cause of the collapse of the USSR.

    In addition to solving internal political problems, perestroika also included international aspects. Moreover, the improvement of the international position of the USSR was seen as a necessary condition for the implementation of the plan of perestroika. Therefore, since 1986, the foreign policy activity of the Soviet state has sharply increased, aimed at bringing closer international detente. An understanding was reached with the United States and other leading Western countries. An agreement was signed between the USSR and the USA on the elimination of intermediate and shorter-range missiles. The Paris treaty with the participation of the USSR stopped the race conventional weapons... The Soviet Union ended the incomprehensible and devastating war in Afghanistan and withdrew its troops from there. The USSR agreed in 1990 to the liquidation of the GDR and the incorporation of its population and territory into the FRG. By the end of perestroika, the Cold War ended with the defeat of the USSR.

    The policy of perestroika in the USSR was the impetus for carrying out similar transformations in the socialist states of Europe. The processes of social transformation went quickly and communist regimes the region soon collapsed. Pro-bourgeois forces came to power. The Warsaw Pact Organization and CMEA were disbanded in the summer of 1991.

    The policy of "perestroika" as a way of improving socialism ended in complete collapse. Its finale brought about a revival of capitalism. Such an unexpected result requires an assessment of the “restructuring” policy and the production of an analysis of the reasons that led precisely to this result.

    Assessment of restructuring processes. In the political literature, the assessment of the policy of "perestroika" is characterized by a wide range of opinions, including those with directly opposite views on the problem. There are many intermediate positions between these polar points of view.

    Supporters of the bourgeois path of development of Russia give "perestroika" a high assessment, consider it a "great revolution." Politicians and scientists with a socialist orientation, as well as some other authors declare perestroika " the greatest tragedy"," Catastrophe "," catastrophe "," treason ". "The architect of perestroika" M.S. Some call Gorbachev “an outstanding world leader”, “the best German”, “man of the decade”, others see him as “Manilov”, “would-be reformer” and even “traitor”, “Judas”, “Herostratus”.

    In order to understand this kaleidoscope of opinions, it is necessary to find out the undeniably positive and undeniably negative results of this policy, and then compare them with each other and strike a balance.

    "Perestroika" caused such positive changes as democratization of the political system and political regime, pluralism, glasnost, elimination of the remnants of totalitarianism, the reality of most constitutional rights, and above all individual freedom, wide access of imported goods to the domestic market. It demilitalized the country, contributed to the elimination of the threat of a world war, and a more complete involvement of Russia in the world market.

    Negative moments There are many more “perestroika”, and they are often larger than many of its advantages. Perestroika triggered a great crisis that has plagued Russia for about 15 years. There was a destruction of the country's economy and social sphere, a multiple drop in the standard of living of the population, a decrease in the social protection of citizens, an increase in unemployment and social tension due to the formation of antagonistic classes, an increase in crime and moral degradation, bloody conflicts on the territory of the USSR and its collapse. The decline in the role of Russia in international relations, the strengthening of its economic dependence on the developed countries of the West. "Perestroika" did not bring closer the solution of the most pressing economic problems - the restructuring of the national economy and the modernization of the country's technopark.

    As you can see, the overall result is not in favor of a positive assessment of "perestroika" 1 V.V. Putin, President of the Russian Federation, in a message The Federal Assembly The Russian Federation called the incident "a real drama" for the Russian people (see: Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 2005. April 26)..

    Now let us analyze the reasons that led perestroika to the final that took place in reality. As the initial idea for further reasoning, we should put the idea that this policy was not sufficiently scientifically substantiated, although, given the enormous scale of the proposed or real changes, the corresponding developments were absolutely necessary. She did not have a clear plan, was superficial and at some moments resembled hasty improvisations. The difficulties arising in the course of its implementation were not always assessed correctly and the proposed means of overcoming were erroneous or controversial.

    Let's start with a statement of the main socio-economic problems of Soviet society in the mid-1980s. There are several of them: a decrease in the growth of gross domestic product, an economy burdened by military spending, stagnation of the population's standard of living, and an incorrect pricing policy. All of them are closely interconnected and interdependent. The decrease in the volume of GDP growth was the result of insufficient introduction of new technologies. This problem could be solved through the structural reform of the national economy, primarily industry.

    Funds for these purposes could be obtained by reducing military spending. GDP growth, a greater orientation of the economy towards the production of consumer goods would cause an increase in living standards. But the primary measure was the reform of prices, since the existing pricing policy created imbalances, distortions and was the cause of a number of economic absurdities. However, all these problems could be solved within the framework of the existing economy and did not require a formation shift.

    M.S. Gorbachev decided to change the socio-economic situation in the USSR through the accelerated development of mechanical engineering, directing huge capital investments into this sector. The choice of this vector of change is controversial and poorly grounded. Indeed, why was it necessary to start not with agriculture, as China did? Or why not the development of science-intensive technologies, which led to the effective development of the economy in a number of advanced Western countries? Moreover, they were widely represented in the military sector of the economy. And in general, why make a responsible decision on the ways of further development of society just a month after coming to power? It seems that there are traces of haste.

    Despite the large injections into the economy, while the old price parity remained unchanged, the success was insignificant. The hopes were not justified, as there were no strong incentives for manufacturers. Moreover, the more the production volumes increased, the more the losses of many enterprises grew. The analysis of the situation made by M.S. Gorbachev in January 1987 at the plenum of the Central Committee, turned out to be mistaken: in the absence of proper results, it was mainly the leading cadres who were accused. M.S. Gorbachev overestimated the inhibiting influence of leaders on the course of social processes and did not see any miscalculations in the sequence of his actions to carry out "perestroika". A three-year personnel leapfrog began, which led to a complete renewal of the management core. Workers who did not have sufficient training and experience gained access to power.

    Further, without proper preparation and subsequent adjustment, a responsible decision is made to fully transfer industrial and agricultural enterprises to cost accounting and self-sufficiency. This step was wrong and contributed to the collapse of the economy. Many enterprises have become debtors due to the lack of working capital.

    Since the end of 1989, the authorities announced the entry of the USSR economy into the "socialist market". Even in the presence of all other necessary conditions, a normal market could not arise, since there was no competition mechanism in the conditions of exiting the planned economy. In addition, government orders, which replaced the planned targets, did not practically differ from the latter. The creation of a market economy at this stage was more declarative than a real step.

    However, the state lost control over the growth of wages and prices. This caused inflation, led to a fall in the role of the ruble, an exacerbation of the deficit and the rampant of speculative capital. Since 1990, a noticeable drop in production volumes began. The ill-considered actions of M.S. Gorbachev was unleashed by the economic crisis in the country.

    The Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its leader M.S. Gorbachev began "perestroika" in conditions of enthusiasm and full support for the ideas of renewal by the population. At the same time, the society was determined to achieve quick results, as promised by M.S. Gorbachev. However, they did not appear, moreover, the economic situation worsened. Therefore, the policy of "perestroika" began to cause disappointment and distrust. The social base of this course was sharply reduced. In such an environment, in order to maintain his rating, M.S. Gorbachev decided to carry out a radical political reform, enshrined in the decisions of the XIX All-Union Conference of the CPSU.

    It was necessary for the creation of a democratic political regime, but it began to be implemented out of time, in the context of the growing economic crisis and at a rapid pace. In addition, the "new thinking" presupposed softer methods of government leadership. As a result, the authorities lost the necessary control over economic and political processes, the degree of state leadership of society fell sharply, development began to acquire a spontaneous character, which largely led to the collapse of "perestroika".

    M.S. Gorbachev spent a lot of energy on fighting his opponents within the party and the state apparatus, on “dismantling the braking mechanism,” on suppressing the resistance of the counter-perestroika forces. However, he did not pay due attention to the real danger posed by the forces of bourgeois revenge, which by their actions caused the tragic ending of the policy of "perestroika".

    These forces are heterogeneous in their sources, but the essence is as follows:

    1. the shadow economy and criminal capital that surfaced at the end of perestroika in connection with the liberalization of the regime;
    2. international pressure ("world behind the scenes");
    3. bourgeois degeneration of a part of the CPSU, primarily within its governing core (the CPSU Central Committee objectively in many ways contributed to the restoration of capitalism in Russia).

    However, the most main reason the collapse of perestroika is associated with such a subjective fact as the personality of M.S. Gorbachev. He, by his own admission, made in a speech at a seminar at the American University in Turkey, had a lifelong goal "to destroy communism, an intolerable dictatorship over people." However, for the time being, he hid this way of thinking from the members of the CPSU and the citizens of the country, but at the same time remained in the post of leader of the party, which aims to build communism.

    To achieve his goal, he "had to replace the entire leadership of the CPSU and the USSR, as well as the leadership in all socialist countries." His ideal at that time "was the path of the social democratic countries." In the light of this recognition, the meaning of those personnel changes that began in the January 1987 plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU becomes clearer. And is it any wonder that perestroika was defeated.