Brezhnev's rule. Soviet economy in the era of Leonid Brezhnev

Years of government: 1964-1982

From the biography

• Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev headed the USSR from 1964 to 1982. He was the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and from 1966 General Secretary, from 1977 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
• Brezhnev was born in the family of a metallurgical worker, graduated from the metallurgical institute, began to make a trade union, and from 1931 a political career.
• During World War II, he rose to the rank of major general. He was the head of the department of the Southern Front.
• Especially quickly it began to advance after the war. In 1963, he took an active part in preparing the removal of Khrushchev, and after the "party coup" in 1964, he became the de facto leader of the USSR - the First Secretary of the Central Committee.
• The Brezhnev period is called the period of "détente of international tension", the era of "developed socialism" and at the same time - "stagnation".
• “Dear Leonid Ilyich” was the only way they addressed Brezhnev. He was very fond of praise, he did not see what was behind the words - the usual sycophancy. It was under Brezhnev that it was customary to kiss at a meeting. It was a sign of respect, of course, often external.

• Brezhnev loved luxury. He had a huge collection of cars, which formally belonged to the state. He also collected weapons and gold. He loved medals and awards. His entire chest was covered with them. And Brezhnev also loved hunting. This was his passion. Preparing for the hunt is a real ceremonial, with bears, which the Secretary General “hunted” so successfully. Even here, on vacation, everyone played along with Brezhnev. And he just didn't notice.
• It is a known fact that Brezhnev was a very sentimental, unforgiving person. It was easy to persuade him in something, to pity him with tears and achieve his goal. This was often used by Brezhnev's entourage. In general, he was a calm, kind, sympathetic person, trusting, which often let him down.

Historical portrait of Brezhnev L.I.

Activities

1. Domestic policy

2. Foreign policy

RESULTS OF ACTIVITIES

• The period of L.I. Brezhnev was distinguished by inconsistency, inconsistency, the initiated transformations were not brought to the end. The USSR remained a country with a command-administrative system of economy, which ultimately led to stagnation.
• The leading role of the Communist Party continued to remain, the bureaucratic system strengthened, and corruption flourished in power structures.

• The ideologization of culture led to the persecution of dissidents and repressions against them. Although it should be noted the creation of a large number of talented works, the further development of science, technology, and culture in general.
• There were both negative and positive results in foreign policy. The USSR continued the policy of a superpower, imposed its principles and ideas on the countries of Eastern Europe, if necessary using force to dictate over them. He supported developing countries, striving to spread the ideas of socialism in them. He strove for peace and cooperation with the United States and Western countries, although at the same time he showed aggression, for example, he started a war in Afghanistan.

Thus, the rule of L.I. Brezhnev led to stagnation in the economy, the dominance of the party apparatus within the framework of the command-administrative system. The country was waiting for the changes that M.S. Gorbachev would start in 1985.

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"The era of stagnation" - this is how publicists characterize the economic and political state of the USSR during the reign of L. I. Brezhnev (from 1964 to 1982). The conservatism and lack of political foresight of General Secretary Brezhnev brought the Soviet economy closer to collapse. He gave particular preference to the development of the military-industrial complex, for which the bulk of the budget was spent. A powerful complex was created, but this had a negative impact on the economy as a whole and exacerbated the crisis in the country. There is a slowdown in scientific and technological progress, economic reforms "freeze", the growth rates of agriculture and industry are sharply reduced. All these factors began to lead the Soviet Union to lagging behind the leaders of world powers in development. At the same time, the internal political situation was not developing in the best way. A new Constitution of the USSR is adopted. The fundamental law of the country spoke of the sovereignty of the people as the main principle of power. In fact, everything was different. Under Brezhnev, the bureaucratic apparatus is growing and strengthening. Party members and associates of Leonid Ilyich freely engage in arbitrariness, embezzlement, abuse their official position. Corruption flourishes among officials. There is an active fight against dissidents. Under the leadership of Brezhnev, the state security agencies used repressive measures against members of human rights movements. Censorship is getting tougher. The persecution of literary figures for their works is resumed. However, in addition to the negative moments in the domestic policy of the USSR, one should single out such an important historical event as the first manned spacewalk (1965).

Soviet foreign policy under Brezhnev

As for the foreign policy pursued by Brezhnev, it was ambiguous. The USSR, together with the powerful powers the USA and Great Britain, sign a number of treaties (on the peaceful use of outer space, on the non-proliferation of nuclear and bacteriological weapons, and others). Many cooperation agreements are being adopted with various countries (Egypt, India, Syria, Iraq, etc.). Along with the adoption of peaceful political resolutions, during the years of Brezhnev's rule, decisions were made on the entry of Soviet troops, together with some European troops, into the territory of Czechoslovakia (August 1968). Less than ten years later, in 1979, Soviet troops are sent to Afghanistan. In addition, L. I. Brezhnev is the initiator of the doctrine of limiting sovereignty for the socialist states. In other words, those states that would try to disregard the leadership of the Soviet Union when building their foreign and domestic policies could be subject to certain sanctions (from simple intimidation to military invasion). Such an aggressive behavior of the USSR devalued the previous peace treaties. The Soviet Union under the leadership of Brezhnev was rapidly approaching collapse.

37. Foreign policy of the USSR in the 1950s - early 1980s.

Soviet foreign policy solved the main problem of this period - reducing the confrontation between East and West.

The relations between the USSR and the capitalist countries became more balanced.

In order to ease international tension, a number of treaties were signed: a quadripartite agreement on West Berlin, a Soviet-American treaty on the limitation of anti-missile defense systems, etc.

In the summer of 1966, French President Charles de Gaulle visited Moscow, and in 1970, German Chancellor W. Brandt (having arrived in Moscow, he concluded an agreement with the USSR on the non-use of force in relations). The negotiations confirmed the post-war borders. On December 21, 1972, the FRG declared its recognition of the GDR. Both German states were admitted to the UN.

In 1972, meetings were held with American Presidents R. Nixon and D. Ford, who replaced him. A course was outlined towards detente in relations between the two powers.

On May 26, 1972, the SALT-1 agreement was concluded in Moscow. The parties agreed to limit the number of intercontinental missiles and submarine-launched missiles. In 1978, the SALT-2 treaty was concluded on limiting underground nuclear tests and missile defense: The volume of Soviet-American trade increased 8 times.

There have been positive developments in relations with Great Britain, the FRG, Italy, France and other capitalist powers.

On July 30, 1975, the All-European Conference on Security and Cooperation (CSCE) was held in Helsinki. It was attended by 33 states, the final document fixed ten principles in the relations of the CSCE participating countries: sovereign equality of states, their territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-interference in internal affairs, respect for human rights, equality of peoples, mutually beneficial cooperation, fulfillment of obligations under international law.

The development of cooperation with the people's democracies continued. The USSR was faced with the task of strengthening the socialist camp, uniting it in political, military and economic relations.

In 1971, a program was adopted for the economic integration of the CMEA member countries, which had a positive impact on the development of the economies of the socialist countries. However, the isolation of the CMEA from the world economy adversely affected the pace of economic development, which in turn became the cause of crisis situations in relations between the socialist countries.

In 1968, in Czechoslovakia, the leadership of the Communist Party, headed by A. Dubcek, made an attempt to carry out democratic transformations in society and build socialism with a "human face". In response to the territory of Czechoslovakia, joint troops of five countries participating in the Warsaw Pact were introduced. A change of government was made, at the head of which G. Gusak was placed by Moscow.

In May 1970, Czechoslovakia signed an alliance agreement with the USSR. Czechoslovakia, Poland and the GDR became the stronghold of socialism in Europe. These events caused colossal damage to the international prestige of the USSR and had serious foreign policy consequences.

In 1969, the territorial conflict between the USSR and China ended in armed clashes on the Damansky Peninsula.

The conflict in Poland was provoked by a sharp rise in prices, which caused a wave of protest. The struggle for independence was organized by the Solidarity trade union headed by the popular leader L. Vapensa. On December 13, 1981 martial law was introduced in Poland.

Since 1973, negotiations have been held between the countries of the Warsaw Pact and NATO on the reduction of armed forces in Europe. However, the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in December 1979 crossed out all efforts, the negotiations reached an impasse.

38. Course M.S. Gorbachev on the "renewal of society". Socio-economic and political transformations in the USSR (1985-1991)

By the early 1980s, the Soviet Union was seriously lagging behind the advanced countries of the West. The civilian sectors of the economy developed extremely slowly, while billions of rubles were spent on the arms race and maintenance of the army. The outdated political system hindered the development of the country. In 1985, the Soviet Union was headed by a young and energetic leader, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev. He announced the beginning of perestroika. It was supposed to accelerate economic growth through the development of new technologies, strengthening discipline and people's interest in the results of their work. The people supported the policy of the new leader and believed in him. In foreign policy, Gorbachev spoke out in support of a new course, called "new thinking." The USSR refused to confront the West and offered to end the Cold War. USA. Negotiations were held with US President Ronald Reagan. In the course of them, agreements were reached on easing international tension and reducing nuclear stockpiles. Gorbachev (or "Gorbi", as he was called in the West) became the world's most popular politician. However, Gorbachev's domestic policy was controversial, many plans were not thought out and unrealistic. During the anti-alcohol campaign, the most valuable vineyards were destroyed. The promises given to the people were not fulfilled (each family had a separate apartment by 2000). A heavy blow to perestroika was the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. The territories of three republics (Ukraine, Belarus, Russia) were exposed to radioactive contamination. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and move from a 30-kilometer zone to safer areas. It was common practice for the Soviet Union to conceal information about accidents and misfortunes. It turned out that in the USSR factories did not burn, planes did not fall, submarines did not sink. But the Chernobyl accident was so huge that it was not possible to hide it. Gorbachev and his entourage had to announce the transition to a policy of glasnost. Wishing to accelerate the course of reforms, Gorbachev from the late 1980s. began the process of democratization of the political system. In 1989, free elections were held in the USSR (for the first time since 1917). Leading publicists ("foremen of perestroika") in publications that came out in millions of copies revealed the crimes of Soviet leaders. However, glasnost and democratization called into question the monopoly of the CPSU on power, which was the basis of the Soviet state. Economic reforms (the creation of cooperatives, commercial banks) were inconsistent, often causing sharp rejection from society. The most necessary products and goods began to disappear from the shops, huge queues stretched out on the streets of large and small cities. By the early 1990s, Gorbachev's credibility and popularity had been eroded. The main reason is the drop in the standard of living of the bulk of the population. The policy of perestroika has reached an impasse. With the collapse of the USSR, it was defeated, but led to the formation of the foundations of market relations, and significantly expanded civil liberties.

39. Foreign policy of Russia 1985 – 1990s.

With the beginning of the perestroika process, serious changes began to take place in the foreign policy of the USSR. With the departure from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs A. A. Gromyko, a change in the leadership of the ministry took place. People with a new way of thinking came into foreign policy.

The foreign policy course began to be chosen on the basis of expert opinion.

Gorbachev announced the priority of universal human values ​​over class ones and the rejection of the main postulate of Soviet ideology about the split of the world into two opposing socio-political systems. The world was recognized as one and indivisible.

The main instrument for resolving international issues was not the balance of power, but the balance of their interests. Based on this, the main directions of foreign policy were determined: mitigation of the confrontation between East and West through negotiations, settlement of regional conflicts, expansion of economic ties with the world community.

Special importance was attached to Soviet-American relations. "Summit meetings" became annual, as a result, agreements were signed on the destruction of medium-range and shorter-range missiles. In July 1991, MS Gorbachev and George W. Bush signed an agreement on the limitation of offensive weapons. Significant success has been achieved in the negotiation process to reduce the number of conventional weapons in Europe. By signing this treaty in November 1990, the USSR put forward a counter initiative and unilaterally reduced the number of ground forces by 500 thousand people.

April 1991 M.S. Gorbachev paid a visit to Japan to pave the way for the signing of a peace treaty and the revival of bilateral relations. The Soviet delegation officially recognized the existence of territorial disagreements with Japan related to the change of borders as a result of their revision in 1945.

In May 1989, as a result of the visit of the Soviet delegation to Beijing, relations with China were normalized and long-term agreements on political, economic and cultural cooperation were signed.

An end was put to the senseless war of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The process of settlement and withdrawal of troops was carried out in stages: in February 1988, the withdrawal of troops was announced, which began on May 15, 1988 and ended in February 1989.

The policy of renunciation of the use of force in international relations, including in relation to the allies, accelerated the process of the fall of communist regimes in the countries of Eastern Europe. In Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, the GDR, new democratic forces came to power.

In November 1989, the Berlin Wall ceased to exist - a symbol of the division of Europe. The leaders of the new states took a course towards breaking ties with the USSR and rapprochement with the countries of the West.

July 1, 1991 legally formalized the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. By this time, Soviet troops had left Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

The biggest problem in European politics, the "German question", was solved. In 1990, German Chancellor G. Kohl met with MS Gorbachev in Moscow. During the negotiations, an agreement was reached on the unification of the two German states and the entry of a united Germany into NATO. In March of the same year, multi-party elections were held in the GDR, in which the bloc of bourgeois-conservative parties won.

In November, the GDR became part of the FRG.

During the period of perestroika, the USSR was integrated into the world community. The work of representatives of the USSR in international conferences and meetings of leaders of leading countries began.

In the West, a sharp turn in foreign policy was associated with the name of Soviet President Gorbachev. In 1990 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Confidence in the USSR grew.

40. Russia at the beginning of the XXI century: the economic and political life of the country.

"Revolution from above" in Russia in the 90s. led to the formation of the labor market, goods, housing, stock market. However, these changes were only the beginning of the transitional period of the economy.

The failed putsch of the State Emergency Committee and the completion of perestroika meant not only the end of socialist reformism in the USSR, but also the victory of those political forces that saw the change in the model of social development as the only way out of the country's protracted crisis. It was a conscious choice not only of the authorities, but also of the majority of society. "Revolution from above" in Russia in the 90s. led to the formation of the labor market, goods, housing, stock market. However, these changes were only the beginning of the transitional period of the economy.

In the course of political transformations, the Soviet system of power organization was dismantled. Instead, the formation of a political system based on the separation of powers began.

Due to the redistribution of power between the weakened federal center and the regions that are gaining strength (primarily national ones), centrifugal tendencies have intensified. In this situation, the preservation of the state unity of the country was the most important task.

Many problems of spiritual life were associated with a change in the model of social development, the transition from the dominance of the only communist ideology in previous years to ideological pluralism, the rejection of a number of traditional moral values, and the borrowing of Western mass culture. The collapse of the USSR radically changed Russia's geostrategic position. The unified security and defense system of the country was destroyed. NATO has come close to the borders of Russia. At the same time, Russia itself, having overcome its former isolation from Western countries, has found itself, as never before, integrated into many international structures.

By the beginning of the XXI century. Russia has lost the status of a great world power. Occupying 12% of the world's land, by the end of the 20th century. produced only 1% of the world's gross domestic product. There was a crisis in federal relations and in the social sphere. The standard of living of the population fell to a minimum. It was necessary to take urgent measures to remedy the situation.

A new strategic course was proposed by V.V. Putin, who relied on strengthening statehood and achieving through this the revival and prosperity of the country, taking into account all the positive experience accumulated at all stages of the national history of the 20th century. By implementing it, in a short historical period, the country managed to:

in the economy, to enter the final stage of building a state socially oriented market;

in politics, to create a model of a political system freed from interference in the affairs of power by both domestic oligarchs and foreign states and international organizations;

in the spiritual life to ensure observance of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, the development of a global network of communications, Russia's involvement in the global cultural and information space;

in foreign policy to formulate the essence of national interests at a new stage of development and begin to address them.

The era during which Brezhnev led the party and the country soon after him began to be called "stagnation." However, this is not entirely true. During these years, the Soviet country actively developed, became stronger, the economy strengthened, breakthrough technologies appeared in military affairs and the space field, which could lead the USSR in the 21st century to the place of the undisputed leader of mankind.

The Soviet Union was militarily and economically a superpower. Our armed forces were the most powerful and combat-ready on the planet. No one could abandon the direct export of the USSR. In 1975, the share of the USSR in the production of world industrial output was 20%, and the gross domestic product - 10% of the world. Until 1985, the USSR ranked 2nd in the world and 1st in Europe in industrial production. Already in the sixties, the USSR produced more than any other country, including the United States, iron, manganese and chromium ores, coal and coke, cement, potash salts, tractors, diesel and electric locomotives, cotton, flax and some other types of products. Since 1975, the USSR has become the world leader in the production of iron, steel, oil, and mineral fertilizers.

It can be noted that the USSR came out on top in the world in the production of cement, since 1966 it was noticeably ahead of the United States and Great Britain in this indicator per capita. This is a very important indicator, in fact, the "bread" of the industry. Thus, well-known economists Jorge Lopez and Les Ruddock, specialists in macroeconomics, evaluate the dynamics of cement consumption, along with cargo transportation, as a basic indicator of the economic health of the state. The growth of cement production is the growth of the economy as a whole, the country's GDP.

In addition to highly developed machine tool building, heavy engineering, oil and oil refining industries, the USSR was a leader in the field of cosmonautics and rocket science, nuclear energy, laser technology, optics, aircraft manufacturing (including civil), as well as in the production of first-class military products. For example, in the 1980s, the USSR occupied a leading position in the world machine tool industry. Machine-tool products were exported not only to developing countries, but also to Japan, Canada, the USA and Germany. The Soviet Union was the de facto leader in robotics. In total, more than 100 thousand units of industrial robotics were produced in the Soviet Union. They replaced more than one million workers (the 1990s were all destroyed). One of the most notable achievements of domestic robotics and science was the creation in the Design Bureau. Lavochkin "Lunokhod-1". It was the Soviet apparatus that became the world's first planetary rover, which successfully completed its mission on the surface of another celestial body. The scientific and technological revolution in the USSR promised unprecedented prospects for the country and all mankind.

In addition, the USSR managed to create an effective economic system of the socialist countries - the CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). In 1975, all the CMEA countries produced about a third of the world's industrial output and more than a quarter of the world's national income, while the population of the CMEA member countries was only 9.4% of the planet's population. For 1951-1975 the share of socialist countries in world industrial output has doubled. In 1950 it was about 20%. The USSR produced more than 60% of the industrial output of the CMEA member countries, while the share of capitalist industrialized countries decreased from 80% to a little over 50%.

For comparison, at present, most of the countries of the former social bloc in Europe (which became members of the EU and NATO) are in socio-economic and cultural decline. States fell into debt bondage to the IMF, Western banks. The economy was privatized (plundered), collapsed, industry was methodically destroyed, part of agriculture, governments fell into credit bondage, states were relegated to the role of markets for the products of the core countries of the capitalist world, partly agricultural appendages, suppliers of cheap labor, "brothels" (sex tourism) richer Western countries, etc. The population is rapidly dying out and moving in search of work and personal happiness to Germany, Austria, England, etc. For example, in Bulgaria, the population has decreased from 9 million people to 7 million people, and the country continues to die. By the middle of XXI, there will be no historical Bulgaria, as well as a single Bulgarian ethnic group.

People in the Union lived in complete security (internal and external), had the best education and science in the world, one of the best systems of education and social protection of a person. A quarter of the world's scientists worked in the USSR! 5 million students studied at universities, they were taught by half a million teachers. In the USSR, there were no mass social diseases inherent in the capitalist world: mass poverty, an army of homeless children, prostitutes, drug addicts, bandits, degenerate perverts. In the USSR, there was no blatant social injustice, as in the current "democratic" and capitalist (or neo-feudal) Russian Federation, where a few percent of the population owns 90% of the wealth of the entire country, and half of the population lives in poverty or on the verge of poverty. The Soviet Union was not afraid of Islamic radicalism, cave nationalism and other archaism, which is currently dragging humanity into the past. Indeed, it was a period of "developed socialism." It is clear that there were many shortcomings, but in general it was an excellent base for the development of Soviet civilization and society. Not surprisingly, according to the results of a public opinion poll in 2013, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was recognized as the best head of state in Russia-USSR in the 20th century.

At the same time, the existence of the USSR allowed a whole group of countries - the "third world" - to be outside the camp of capitalist countries led by the United States and the NATO bloc, or the socialist camp. And in the Western, capitalist world, its owners had to restrain their appetites, support the so-called. "middle class", "signboard of capitalism", so that the population of Western countries does not want socialist transformations and revolution. After the collapse of the USSR, the middle class in the West was put under the knife, it is rapidly declining, since there is no longer a need for it. A classic scheme of the neo-slave-owning (post-capitalist) world is being built: the rich and the very rich with servants, including the creative sphere and technical staff, and the poor and the very poor.

Enemies of the Soviet project and civilization called "stagnation" the Brezhnev era, since their expectations to continue the "perestroika" that Khrushchev began did not come true. It is not surprising that in the Soviet Union the term "stagnation" originates from the political report of the Central Committee of the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, read by M. S. Gorbachev, in which it was stated that "stagnation began to appear in the life of society" both in economic and in social spheres. And under the “best German” Gorbachev, such a “positive dynamic” began that very quickly only “horns and legs” remained from the USSR and the socialist bloc.

The main problem of the Brezhnev era was that the Soviet elite did not find the courage to speak about the biased assessments of Stalin, about excesses in overcoming the cult of personality, about Khrushchev’s unprecedented gross mistakes in domestic and foreign policy, and most importantly, to return to the Stalinist program to create a society of creation and ministry, golden age societies. In the Brezhnev USSR there was no full-fledged Idea, as with the Stalinist USSR, only substitutes. That is, the decay of the Soviet elite continued, albeit at a slower pace, which ultimately led the Soviet (Russian) civilization to the catastrophe of 1985-1993. and defeat in World War III (the so-called cold war).

Nikita Khrushchev was displaced by the party-state elite dissatisfied with his "voluntarism". Khrushchev destroyed everything too quickly, his “perestroika” was fraught with undesirable consequences for many in the party, state and military elite of the USSR. Therefore, the same figures who previously supported him - Mikoyan, Suslov and Brezhnev - became the engines of the conspiracy against Nikita Sergeevich. Brezhnev was a promoter of the 1930s, when party workers quickly rose to the top, replacing the destroyed "Leninist guard". Brezhnev showed himself well as a political worker in the war, skillfully worked to restore the post-war economy. And he was among the "young" whom Stalin noticed and put in the highest echelons of power in the last years of his life. Brezhnev, even under Khrushchev, distinguished himself as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, raising virgin soil and participating in the preparations for the construction of the cosmodrome. Since May 1960, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

It is clear that Brezhnev was not the main secret opposition to Khrushchev. Among the Soviet leaders were more experienced and authoritative people. However, the same Suslov and Mikoyan lost the first role to him. Brezhnev was considered by other more significant figures as a temporary, compromise figure. These figures planned to continue Khrushchev's course, but without "excesses" and without Khrushchev himself, with his authoritarian leadership style.

But a few miscalculated. Brezhnev retained power and gradually renewed the leadership of the country and the party. In particular, Anastas Mikoyan was dismissed. In 1967, the Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Alexander Shelepin, fell into disgrace, his protege, the head of the KGB, Vladimir Semichastny, was dismissed "in honorable resignation" to the insignificant post of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR and expelled from all-Union political life.

Overcoming the colossal mistakes of Khrushchev and his people in domestic and foreign policy became the main task of Brezhnev's new course, while the predecessor was not subjected to public criticism. The new leadership of the Union - Brezhnev, Kosygin, Podgorny, Suslov - had to take urgent measures to rectify the situation into which Khrushchev had driven the Soviet Union. The party reform was immediately abolished, the industrial and agricultural party organizations again merged together. Economic councils were liquidated, normal branch ministries were restored. The school reform with “professional” education was also cancelled. To remove the food problem, which appeared due to the destructive "reforms" of Khrushchev, they continued to purchase food abroad. In order to relieve tension among the people, the collective farmers were given back the opportunity to have personal plots, debts were written off to collective farms and state farms, purchase prices were increased, and a surcharge was established for the sale of above-planned products to the state. Under Brezhnev, collective farmers began to receive wages and pensions, they were exempted from taxes, which, under Khrushchev, were imposed on almost every tree and head of livestock or poultry in household plots (to which the peasants responded by slaughtering livestock). The implementation of the program for the comprehensive mechanization of agricultural production has begun. At the beginning of Brezhnev's rule, the rise in prices for consumer goods, which began in 1961 as a result of Khrushchev's "reforms", was stopped. They froze religious persecution, which flourished under Khrushchev (a second wave swept across the country to close and destroy churches, many of which were restored under Stalin). The housing problem was quite successfully solved: by the beginning of the 1980s, 80% of families had separate apartments (they got them for free!).

Efforts were made to normalize the situation in the industry. At the suggestion of Kosygin, new methods were introduced. The independence of enterprises expanded, the number of planned indicators that were lowered from above decreased, self-supporting mechanisms were introduced with the ability to use part of the profits for social, cultural and domestic needs. Introduced material incentives for workers and employees. The accelerated construction of enterprises for the production of consumer goods begins. It is worth saying that much of what was done in the field of industry and agriculture was tried back in 1951 - early 1953, that is, in the last Stalin years, according to the proposals of Shepilov and Kosygin.

Thus, on the whole, Brezhnev's domestic policy was in the interests of the masses. The conceptual problem was that Leonid Ilyich did not dare to revise the results of the XX Congress of the CPSU in 1956, where Khrushchev made a report "On Stalin's personality cult and its consequences". That is, the main "garbage" that Khrushchev and the Khrushchevites threw on the grave of the greatest political leader in Russia, and indeed in world history, was not raked up.

Brezhnev, by default, tried to pursue the Stalinist course (neo-Stalinism) in the yard of spheres, but he did not have the courage to do the main thing. In particular, at the XXIII Congress of the CPSU (1966), Brezhnev planned to speak about the bias of Stalin's assessments in Khrushchev's "closed" report, about excesses in overcoming the cult of personality, about the unprecedented gross mistakes of the Khrushchev government in relation to China, Albania, a number of foreign communist parties. That is, those countries and communist parties that refused to renounce Stalin's course. But the Khrushchevites who remained in the leadership of the USSR and supporters of the "liberalization" of the USSR, that is, representatives of the gradually decaying Soviet elite, which ultimately would lead to the collapse of Soviet civilization, rebelled against this plan. Also against the restoration of the historical truth about Stalin and his time were those leaders of the socialist countries who have already found themselves in the policy of rapprochement with the West (like Tito). Brezhnev did not dare to go against everyone and rehabilitate Stalin, he was not a leader of such a rank as Stalin or Fidel Castro ("and one man in the field").

As a result, the enthusiasm of the people faded. It was no longer possible to lift him up and inspire him to great achievements. The last surge of the spiritual energy of the people manifested itself during the development of virgin lands, calls to "catch up and overtake America", to the promise that "the current generation will live under communism." But then it became that the people were deceived. Khrushchev's "excesses" exhausted the people's energy. The outrages and major mistakes of Khrushchev's "reforms" undermined the spiritual and ideological sphere of Soviet civilization. Under Brezhnev there were also loud slogans. They proclaimed "decisive" and "defining" years, the "five-year plan of quality", etc. However, this no longer worked as before. The people did not trust the ideologues. There were shock racks in the country - KamAZ, BAM, Atommash, giant gas and oil pipelines that stretched from Siberia to the western borders. But the hype was mostly ostentatious. A solemn send-off was organized for young people to the “construction sites of communism”, but most people were already going to the “shock” construction sites in order to earn money.

The second attempt to rehabilitate Stalin was made on the eve of the 90th anniversary of Stalin's birth (1969). A resolution of the Central Committee was being prepared to correct errors in the assessment of its activities. But again, the external and internal opposition did not allow this to be done. Only in 1970, under pressure from Beijing, a bust was erected on Stalin's grave.

This "inconsistency" of Moscow under Brezhnev also affected the foreign policy of the USSR. On the one hand, we provided assistance to Vietnam during the American aggression, supported Egypt and Syria in the fight against Israel and the intrigues of the West. They helped many countries of the Arab world to follow the path of Arab national socialism. Restored order in Czechoslovakia. Actively developed the Warsaw Pact and CMEA. The USSR normalized relations with the leading Western countries. Charles de Gaulle visited Moscow, the USSR became close to France. They established relations with Germany, where Willy Brandt was chancellor. Negotiations in Moscow in 1970 led to the conclusion of an agreement under which countries renounced the use of force against each other. Post-war borders were recognized. In 1972, the FRG recognizes the socialist GDR. Both German states joined the UN. Soviet-American summit meetings resumed. We achieved parity on intercontinental missiles with the United States. Washington was forced to enter into negotiations on the limitation of strategic arms. The real victory was the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1975 in Helsinki. We consolidated the political and territorial results of the Second World War, the principles of the inviolability of borders, the territorial integrity of states, non-interference in the internal affairs of foreign states (everything was destroyed during and after the collapse of the USSR) were recognized.

On the other hand, the course towards confrontation with China continued, to the point that they feared a war with the Celestial Empire more than with NATO, and kept a powerful strike group of troops on the borders with China. That is, instead of crushing "imperialism" together with China and building socialism on the planet, they spent a lot of resources and forces on its "containment". As a result, Beijing went to rapprochement with Washington. It was not possible to achieve full agreement with Romania, Albania, Cuba, North Korea and North Vietnam (Stalin was respected almost everywhere). Brezhnev was opposed to the increased military activity of the USSR in Afghanistan, but succumbed to the pressure of the "military party". As a result, Afghanistan became a big problem, both due to the aggravation of international politics and the increased burden on the economy of the USSR. The problem of Afghanistan had to be solved by diplomatic methods, by intelligence forces, by special operations forces, but not by a combined arms operation.

In general, deterioration is planned in the second half of Brezhnev's rule. It was associated with the growing influence of the "comrades-in-arms", who expressed the interests of the degenerate Soviet nomenklatura. The Soviet "elite" wanted to follow the course of "rapprochement" with the West, enter the "world community", "privatize" people's property and become "masters of life". This ultimately led to the catastrophe of 1985-1993, when the liberal-bourgeois counter-revolution took place. Brezhnev, as an ally of Stalin and a veteran of the Great War, would not agree to this. But he did not have a will of steel and he was gradually "worked", and the general secretary changed course to please the persistent comrades. He developed "delusions of grandeur", created a new "cult of personality. In particular, he was awarded all sorts of orders, prizes, medals, and the most active figures from the Politburo called him "Lenin today", "an outstanding commander of the Great Patriotic War." Brezhnev undeservedly became Marshal of the Soviet Union, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, was awarded the Order of Victory, etc.

In addition, Brezhnev became increasingly ill and less involved in daily work. It is possible that he was deliberately poisoned. Leonid Ilyich himself felt that it was time to take a well-deserved rest. Since 1978, he has repeatedly stated his desire to retire, but the environment did not want to hear about it. They benefited from such a leader, weak and big, behind whose back it was possible to conduct their own course. In the last years of Brezhnev's rule, the infiltration of the future destroyers of the USSR into the top leadership of the country as a whole was completed. The KGB was also under their control. So, it was Andropov who introduced Brezhnev to Gorbachev, while hinting at the need for continuity in the course. Since then, the career of a young Stavropol functionary has taken off sharply.

It is clear that in the later years of Brezhnev the situation in the economy also worsened, although there were no irreversible problems. Economic growth slowed down (but it continued). Increased dependence on the sale of hydrocarbons, dependence on food supplies. A significant part of the foreign exchange earnings from the export of oil and oil products, natural gas was spent on food imports and the purchase of consumer goods. The situation in agriculture has worsened. In just 15 years, the country experienced the worst crop failures 8 times (1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984). Losses were not only due to harsh natural and climatic conditions, but also to poor organization of labor, etc. The destruction of the Russian village under Khrushchev, excessive urbanization also affected, which worsened demography. The number of incompetent officials grew in various sectors of the economy, in the areas of management, which led to a decline in the quality of government in the USSR. A shadow "gray" economy developed (from underground workshops to crime). A new social stratum was actively formed - the underground business dealers, the first criminal organizations, which would take an active part in the collapse of the Union. This social stratum developed especially rapidly in the national outskirts - in the Transcaucasus, the North Caucasus and Central Asia. There was an increase in crime, there was an alcoholization of the population. In addition, the priority development of the national outskirts (the Baltic states, Transcaucasia, Central Asia) at the expense of the Great Russian provinces created an inflated self-esteem among the local population, the opinion that “enough to feed Moscow”, etc.

Thus, the Brezhnev era cannot be called "stagnation". Two main trends can be distinguished:

1) according to the course set in the Stalin era, the Soviet state actively continued to develop, was a leader in military affairs, space, peaceful and military atom, machine tool building, robotics, etc. The population grew, we had the best school in the world, were the most educated and reading nation. The social security of the population was at the highest level. That is, there were all the makings to become a world leader, to make a brilliant breakthrough into the 21st century. But for this it is necessary to restore the course of Stalin, to create a society of creation and service, to return the great Idea to the people. However, Brezhnev could not do this, apparently, he was not, in his psychology, a warrior or a Brahmin priest;

2) the decomposition of the Soviet elite continued, although Khrushchev's main destructive "reforms" were neutralized. The destroyers-"rebuilders" gradually took the leading positions in the party. In the national outskirts, there was a link between party degenerates who were no longer communists, with the future "new Russians", with crime. This "swamp" eventually gave up the Soviet project, the Soviet civilization, in order to "live beautifully", as in the West.

Enemies of Soviet civilization and the USSR called Brezhnev’s time “stagnation”, since they failed to destroy the Union in the 1960s and 1970s, the liberalization and plunder of the Soviet state had to be postponed until the turn of the 1990s. For ordinary people, the Brezhnev era was the best time in the history of the USSR-Russia: they had a peaceful sky above their heads, they did not starve, did not fight, did not know the mass social ulcers of the West and East, their life and well-being improved from year to year and grew.

The period of the life of the USSR in 1965-1980 is rightly called the Brezhnev era or, in the language of perestroika, the period of "stagnation". As in any historical period, so in the Brezhnev era, there are pluses and minuses.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev and the years of his reign do not cause such heated debate among compatriots as Stalin or even Khrushchev. However, this person also causes very contradictory assessments, and the corresponding period left a variety of impressions in the memory of the people. In the first part (http://inance.ru/2016/04/brezn...), we examined the coming to power of Brezhnev and some indicators of his era.

In this article, we will continue to consider the main points of the reign of Leonid Brezhnev.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BREZHNEV ERA

Conservation of the political regime

In almost twenty years of Brezhnev's rule, the administrative and managerial apparatus has changed little. Tired of constant reshuffles and reorganizations, party members happily accepted Brezhnev's main slogan - "ensure stability" - which led not only to the absence of serious changes in the structure of the ruling apparatus, but actually froze it.

For the entire period, there were no reshuffles in the party, and all positions actually became for life. As a result, the average age of members of the public administration structure was 60-70 years. This situation also led to the strengthening of party control - the party now controlled the activities of many, even extremely small, state institutions.

The growing role of the military sphere

The country was in a state of cold war with the United States, so one of the main tasks was to increase its military power. During this period, weapons began to be produced in large quantities, including nuclear and missile weapons, and new combat systems were actively developed.

Industry, as in the period of the Great Patriotic War, largely worked for the military sphere. The role of the KGB increased again not only in domestic but also in foreign policy.

The decline of the agricultural industry and the cessation of economic development

Despite the fact that, in general, the country was successfully moving forward, prosperity was growing, the economy sharply slowed down the pace of its development. The main funds of the USSR received from the sale of oil, most of the enterprises gradually moved to large cities, and agriculture slowly decayed.

Social life

Natural population growth in Russia

Despite the fact that the further development of the economy inspired fears, the everyday life of citizens has improved significantly, well-being has grown. Many citizens of the USSR had the opportunity to improve their living conditions in one way or another, many became owners of good cars and other quality things.

By the mid-1970s, the growth of non-resource sectors of the economy slowed down considerably. Signs of this were the backlog in high-tech areas, poor product quality, inefficient production and low labor productivity. Agriculture experienced problems, and the country spent a lot of money on food purchases.

Foreign policy

At the time of Brezhnev's rise to power, Soviet foreign policy power seemed less impressive than at the end of the Stalin era, both in dominating the communist bloc and in rivalry with the United States. Caribbean crisis marked the boundaries of nuclear escalation. In the US, the presidency Kennedy, despite the signing of the Moscow Treaty in August 1963, was marked by a vigorous intensification of the nuclear and conventional arms race, which gave America an impressive military superiority over the USSR. Brezhnev managed to reverse this trend. In less than ten years, the USSR achieved nuclear parity with the West and created a powerful fleet.

In relation to the Eastern European satellites, the Soviet bosses adopted a strategy that soon became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine. That Soviet foreign policy was ready to apply it without hesitation was demonstrated events in Czechoslovakia. In 1968, an attempt by the Czech communist leader Alexander Dubček to broadly liberalize the political and economic system (under the slogan "socialism with a human face") provoked rejection in Moscow, which feared a repetition Hungarian events 1956. In July 1968, the USSR declared the Prague Spring "revisionist" and "anti-Soviet". On August 21, 1968, after unsuccessful pressure on Dubcek, Brezhnev ordered Warsaw Pact forces to invade Czechoslovakia and replace its government with people loyal to the Soviet Union. This brutal intervention determined for two decades the limits of the autonomy that Moscow's foreign policy was willing to grant to its satellites. However, Brezhnev did not punish Ceausescu's Romania, which did not take part in the intervention, and Enver Hoxha's Albania, which, in protest, withdrew from Warsaw Pact and CMEA. The reconciliation achieved by Khrushchev with the obstinate Tito in 1955, under Brezhnev, was not challenged. Despite all the alarming forecasts of Western alarmists about the upcoming Soviet invasion of Yugoslavia, Brezhnev not only did not undertake it, but even went to Tito's funeral in May 1980.

But relations with the People's Republic of China continued to deteriorate under Brezhnev, until bloody border skirmishes in 1969. The restoration of Sino-American relations in early 1971 marked a new stage in foreign policy history. In 1972 President Richard Nixon traveled to China to meet Mao Tse-tung. This rapprochement showed a deep crack in the communist bloc, which had previously flaunted its unity. It convinced Brezhnev of the need for a policy of détente with the West. This policy was intended to prevent the formation of a dangerous anti-Soviet alliance.

The policy of détente began with Nixon's visit to Moscow in May 1972 and the signing of an agreement on that occasion. OSV-1 on the limitation of nuclear weapons. In Vietnam, despite the mining on May 8, 1972 of the port of Haiphong (the reason for a certain "coldness" of Nixon's reception in Moscow), the Soviet Union facilitated the signing of the Paris Agreements on January 27, 1973. They allowed the Americans, who had been mired for ten years in Southeast Asia, to save face for a while - until April 1973. The zenith of détente was the signing Helsinki Final Act in 1975 between the Soviet Union, European and North American states. Soviet foreign policy saw a fundamental success in the recognition by the West of the borders established at the end of the Second World War.

In return, the Soviet Union adopted a clause stating that the states parties to the Helsinki Agreement would respect human rights and fundamental freedoms - including freedom of religion and conscience. These principles were not put into practice in the USSR, but internal opponents of communist regimes could now appeal to them in their opposition to power.

So did the Soviet dissidents - for example, Andrey Sakharov who founded the Moscow Helsinki Group.

marginal notes

Although it may well be that the democratizers, nurtured through the KGB, should have acted as "goat provocateurs" (http://cyclowiki.org/wiki/%D0%...) for the dissident movement, but either got out of control, or there were groups in the KGB that bet on them. There are rumors that Navalny is a project of our special services, performing the same provocative role (http://echo.msk.ru/blog/oreh/1...).

The problem of the emigration of Soviet Jews also became a source of strong disagreement. It could not be resolved at the meeting between Brezhnev and the President Gerald Ford in Vladivostok in November 1974. A little later, the USSR, demanding respect for its sovereignty, even chose to break the economic agreement in the United States, whose condition was the requirement to give Jews the right to free emigration to Israel.

OSV-1 and prisoner in 1979 OSV-2 declared nuclear parity between the two superpowers. However, under the leadership of the Trotskyists, the USSR continued its degradation, which is an example of the fate of the navy under the leadership of Admiral Gorshkov.

THE SIGNIFICANCE AND RESULTS OF THE PERIOD OF LEONID BREZHNEV'S GOVERNMENT - BRILLIANT SUCCESS AS A GUARANTEE OF FUTURE DEFEATS

Unfortunately, despite the fact that during these years the country lived very measuredly and stably, processes took place in the economy that could not but hit the life of the USSR in the future.

1. With the fall in oil prices, all “stagnation” phenomena were exposed and it became clear that during the period of stability the economy had become lagging behind and could no longer support the state only on its own.

2. For the formation of a qualitatively new policy, radical changes were not carried out: an appropriate scientific and educational base was not created, a sharp increase in the efficiency of production, its scientific and technical equipment was not carried out, a strong social policy was not built, the development of democratic principles in the management of society, etc. d.

For such a revolution in politics, a theoretical reassessment of the Soviet and party experience was needed, as well as the rejection of many dogmas of the Marxist-Leninist ideology.

3. This time is often called the "twenty years of missed opportunities", the "Brezhnev era", as the leadership adopted a conservative traditionalist course. The program for reforming the management system of Soviet society, which was hatched by Stalin from the second half of the 1940s, assumed the separation of the functions of the state and the party. At the same time, the real center of power had to move to the Council of Ministers of the USSR. It was precisely the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers, which Stalin held, that was of key importance in the late Stalinist power hierarchy, and the functions of the CPSU (b) were supposed to be limited to the tasks of ideological education. Khrushchev's program was exactly the opposite. During the process of de-Stalinization, he continued the line of turning the USSR into a party state, a line that had been started under Lenin. As for Brezhnev and his associates, it was they who, despite their antipathy towards Khrushchev personally, completed the process of de-Stalinization that had begun. In systemic terms, this meant the transfer of all power to the party apparatus, the preservation of strict party control over the state security agencies and the armed forces.

4. The party-state elite - the nomenclature has significantly strengthened its power. Negative tendencies were growing in the structure of public administration. In the late Soviet party state, there was a process of merging of the party and Soviet administrative apparatus, which led to widespread duplication of managerial functions. This process not only did not contribute to the optimization of the management of the national economy and society as a whole, but also diverted the attention of the party apparatus from questions of organizational and ideological work, that is, from precisely the range of problems on which Stalin, in his failed reforms of the state administration system, intended to focus attention. party bodies.

5 Protectionism, nepotism, nepotism penetrated the highest authorities. The natural companions of these processes were: corruption of unprecedented proportions and the shadow economy. Thus the partocracy consolidated its position as a new class of exploiters.

6. The transformation of membership in the party into a necessary condition for career advancement, joining the party nomenclature, as well as the fall in the prestige of power, the spread of drunkenness, intrigue, servility, servility.

7. The stability of the Soviet economy at that time is associated with the oil boom of the 1970s. This situation deprived the country's leadership of any incentive to modernize economic and social life, which was aggravated by the advanced age and poor health of top leaders. In fact, negative trends were growing in the economy, the technical and technological lag behind the capitalist countries was increasing.

8. The style of Brezhnev's government is characterized by conservatism. As a politician, Brezhnev was not able to clearly see the prospects for the development of the state. The political life of the Union of the Brezhnev era was characterized by the growth of the bureaucratic apparatus and the strengthening of its arbitrariness.

9. The functioning of the Soviet ideological machine, which, under the leadership of Brezhnev's faithful ally M.A. Suslova reached the peak of her power in the 1970s. However, the effectiveness of its activities, that is, the degree of influence on the ideological and behavioral attitudes of the Soviet people, was steadily declining.

Colossal funds were spent on ideological work in the Soviet Union under Brezhnev and Suslov, books, reports and speeches by the leaders of the party and government were published in huge editions, visual agitation was used on a colossal scale. However, it was obviously not effective, because the real problems were not discussed.

marginal notes

An interesting fact, but it was during the Brezhnev era that the very controversial documentary “Secret and Overt (Goals and Acts of the Zionists)” was filmed, which was filmed by Boris Karpov and Dmitry Zhukov in 1973 by order of the ideologists of the Central Committee of the CPSU and was supposed to criticize Israel’s policy in the Middle East from the point of view of the Soviet regime. But the authors have clearly crossed the line of what is permitted, which could be allowed by the agents of influence operating in the country. He was immediately declared "anti-Semitic" and "Black Hundred".

The front-line cameraman Leonid Kogan, who wrote denunciations in the name of Brezhnev, was most indignant. As a result, the film was personally banned by the chairman of the KGB, Yuri Andropov (Fleckenstein by his mother), and did not get into wide release. Nevertheless, Karpov took out a shortened version of the film from the editing room, which was then shown at private screenings among anti-Zionist party officials.

Now everyone can watch the film:

All this did not help - ideological indoctrination of the traditional type no longer had the expected impact, and real, albeit unofficial control over the ideological discourse in the country slowly but surely flowed into the hands of such "rulers of thoughts" of the Soviet intelligentsia as A. Solzhenitsyn, A. Sakharov , A. Galich and "city of London, BBC". The result was the emergence in the 1960s and 1970s of entire generations of Soviet intellectuals who, as successfully noted in the famous film “Kopeyka” by Ivan Dykhovichny, loved their wife, physics more than anything in the world (option: philosophy, philology, mathematics - further down the list) and dissidents and hated the Soviet government, which gave them everything.

THE COLLAPSE OF THE BREZHNEV ERA - THE LACK OF A WORLDVIEW PARADIGM OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY

Society needed a transition to a new worldview level (which, in turn, required the development of sociology, psychology and the entire humanities in general) and the modernization of other areas based on strong worldview rears. Today it is quite obvious that the forces and means for such an ideal solution were not available in the mid-60s.

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In 1965, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The Brezhnev period in the domestic arena is characterized by the rise of Stalin's personality. During this period in the USSR, the image of Stalin appears massively in front of people. The decisive role of Stalin in the victory over Germany is again spoken of. The Brezhnev period was marked by new transformations for the country. First of all, Brezhnev's reforms affected agriculture. Ultimately, the problems in agriculture were due to the fact that the personnel who were responsible for spending the money were not competent. The government allocated huge amounts from the budget to stimulate agriculture, but locally the money was distributed to buy expensive, often unnecessary, equipment. Brezhnev's reforms also affected the wages of collective farm workers. Now they were paid a fixed, very low, rate. Despite the huge efforts made by the state to stabilize agriculture, during the Brezhnev period, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bfields in the country decreased by 22 million hectares, and the total crop losses reached 40%.

Brezhnev's reforms

In September 1965, Brezhnev's reforms in the field of industry began. For the first time, the question was raised about the quality of products, while maintaining high production volumes. To this end, during the management period of Brezhnev, the state began to leave part of the earnings to enterprises, which they could spend as material incentives for employees. Initially, it was said to give enterprises more autonomy, but in fact the power of the Ministries was strengthened. At the initial stage, these Brezhnev reforms produced an immediate result. In the period 1966-1970, the volume of production in the whole country increased by 50%. Then there was a regression. All economic indicators crept down.

Brezhnev's foreign policy, in the first years of his government, was characterized by an aggravation of relations with the United States. The reason for this was the Vietnam War, which was unleashed by the Pentagon. At the same time, the governments of these countries did not take critical steps. As a result, by the end of 1969, a cycle of normalization of relations between the USSR and the USA was outlined. In May 1972, the first ever visit of a US President to Moscow took place. During Nixon's visit, several documents were signed, the most important of which were an agreement on limiting the deployment of air defense and missile defense systems, as well as an agreement on the reduction of offensive weapons. Brezhnev responded to this in 1973 with his visit to Washington. A document was signed there on limiting the nuclear program.

Brezhnev's foreign policy

Meanwhile, Brezhnev's entire foreign policy was aimed at dividing spheres of influence in the world with the United States. This explains the number of conflicts in the world, in which representatives of the USSR and the USA took part, directly or indirectly. From 1964 to 1975, the Soviet government provided assistance to Vietnam in the fight against the United States. In addition, the USSR actively helped India, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Guinea and other countries in the struggle for independence.

During the entire reign of Leonid Ilyich, Brezhnev's foreign policy did not undergo significant changes. On December 25, 1979, the USSR sent troops into Afghanistan. This war brought nothing to the Soviet state in political terms. But it cost the lives of 14 thousand dead Soviet soldiers. More than 300 thousand are listed as missing.

Foreign policy paid great attention to relations with other socialist countries. They were given all kinds of help, but the further the more it became clear that the "Soviet camp" was in crisis.