world socialist system. World History Describe the achievements and contradictions of the world socialist system
Description of the presentation on individual slides:
1 slide
Description of the slide:
World socialist system Formation of the world socialist system Stages of development of the world socialist system Disintegration of the world socialist system
2 slide
Description of the slide:
The first country in the history of mankind that built socialism - Soviet Russia On December 29, 1922, the RSFSR, Belarus, Ukraine and the republics of Transcaucasia signed an agreement on the formation of a new state - the USSR.
3 slide
Description of the slide:
The emergence of the socialist model beyond the framework of one country and its spread to Southeast Europe and Asia laid the foundation for the emergence of a community of countries, called the "world system of socialism" (MSS). At the end of the 80s. The world system of socialism included 15 states occupying 26.2% of the earth's territory and numbering 32.3% of the world's population.
4 slide
Description of the slide:
How it all began? After a long struggle with the Chinese invaders and the Russian White Guards in 1921, Mongolia achieved independence with the help of Soviet Russia. After the death of the last lama (in fact, the monarch), on November 6, 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed, a constitution was adopted, proclaiming the Great People's Assembly as the supreme body of state power.
5 slide
Description of the slide:
The spread of socialism in Europe As a result of the liberation mission of the Soviet Army in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, a course was set for socialist transformations. Today there are quite heated discussions on this issue. A significant part of researchers tend to believe that in 1944-1947. there were no people's democratic revolutions in the countries of this region, and the Soviet Union imposed the Stalinist model of social development on the liberated peoples. We can only partly agree with this point of view, since, in our opinion, it should be taken into account that in 1945-1946. broad democratic transformations were carried out in these countries, and bourgeois-democratic forms of statehood were often restored.
6 slide
Description of the slide:
The concept of the socialist camp was realized in the conclusion of treaties of friendship and post-war cooperation. Already at the turn of war and peace, it is possible to ascertain on the world stage a group of countries that, in essence, were a real military-political bloc. The basis of the relationship is the relationship of the communist parties with the USSR.
7 slide
Description of the slide:
The emerging system included 3 components: the fundamental unity of the socio-political goals of the regime that existed in the USSR and the communist parties in Eastern European countries; 2) partial mismatch of some specific interests of each of the parties - were limited in their manifestations; 3) hierarchy of relations within the camp: the USSR is the leading center.
8 slide
Description of the slide:
Capitalism was unambiguously presented only as "the path of suffering of peoples", and the procession of state socialism was portrayed as cloudless and triumphant. As a result, a "camp of socialism" appeared, opposed to the "camp of capitalism", and the division of the world economy into "two economies" was "theoretically" fixed.
9 slide
Description of the slide:
Terms of reforms In Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, immediately after the liberation, socialist transformations began. In the rest of the countries of South-Eastern Europe, the new course began to be implemented from the moment the essentially undivided power of national communist parties was established, as was the case in Czechoslovakia (February 1948), Romania (December 1947), Hungary (autumn 1947), Albania (February 1946), East Germany (October 1949), Poland (January 1947).
10 slide
Description of the slide:
"Model" of socialist construction: comprehensive nationalization of industrial sectors of the economy; forced cooperation, essentially nationalization of the agrarian sector; the ousting of private capital from the sphere of finance, trade: the establishment of total control of the state, the highest bodies of the ruling party over public life, in the field of spiritual culture, etc.; blind copying by the party leadership of the European socialist countries of the experience of the USSR without taking into account national specifics under the influence of Stalin's cruelest diktat in relation to the communist leadership of these countries.
11 slide
Description of the slide:
Negative consequences of accelerated transformations The accelerated creation of heavy industry led to the emergence of national economic disproportions, which affected the pace of liquidation of the consequences of post-war devastation, and had a deplorable effect on the growth of the living standards of the population of countries in comparison with countries that did not fall into the orbit of socialist construction. The forced cooperation of the countryside, as well as the displacement of private initiative from the sphere of handicrafts, trade and services, sharply reduced the production of consumer goods. Entrepreneurs who lost their property found themselves in opposition to the "people's power". Powerful social and political crises have repeatedly occurred in the countries of "people's democracy". The authorities reacted immediately, suppressing resistance to the new order. In 1953-1956. in Poland, Hungary, the GDR and Czechoslovakia, anti-government actions took place, which caused an increase in the repressive policy of the state against any dissent.
12 slide
Description of the slide:
Self-governing socialism in Yugoslavia In Yugoslavia, a model of self-governing socialism was created which assumed the following in general terms: economic freedom of labor collectives within enterprises, their activities on the basis of cost accounting with an indicative type of state planning; rejection of coercive cooperation in agriculture, fairly widespread use of commodity-money relations, etc.; maintaining the monopoly of the Communist Party in certain spheres of political and public life. The departure of the Yugoslav leadership from the "universal" Stalinist scheme of construction was the reason for its practical isolation for a number of years from the USSR and its allies.
13 slide
Description of the slide:
European Socialist Camp Socialist Republic of Albania (NSRA) People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) People's Republic of Hungary (HPR) German Democratic Republic (GDR) Polish People's Republic (PPR) Socialist Republic of Romania (SRR) Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Czechoslovak Socialist Republic ( Czechoslovakia) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)
14 slide
Description of the slide:
Asian Camp of Socialism Mongolia (MPR 1924-1992) China (PRC since 1949) Korea (DPRK since 1948) Vietnam (DRV since 1945, SRV since 1976) Laos (since 1975 Lao PDR) And etc.
15 slide
Description of the slide:
The Asian camp of socialism After the victory of the Chinese democratic revolution, the defeat of the army of Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), on October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was proclaimed. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and with the great help of the USSR, the country began to restore the national economy. At the same time, China most consistently used the Stalinist model of transformation.
16 slide
Description of the slide:
The "Great Leap Forward" The concept of the accelerated construction of socialism by Mao Zedong (1893-1976) was essentially a repetition of the Stalinist experiment, but in an even more rigid form. The most important task was to overtake and overtake the USSR by drastically breaking social relations, using the labor enthusiasm of the population, barracks forms of work and life, military discipline at all levels of social relations, etc. Discontent was suppressed with extreme cruelty: the "cultural revolution" resulted in large-scale repression against dissidents, stretching until the death of Mao.
17 slide
Description of the slide:
Vietnam The most authoritative force leading the struggle for independence in Vietnam was the Communist Party. Its leader Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) headed in September 1945 the provisional government of the proclaimed Democratic Republic of Vietnam. These circumstances determined the Marxist-socialist orientation of the subsequent course of the state. It was carried out in the context of the anti-colonial war, first with France (1946-1954), and then with the United States (1965-1973) and the struggle for reunification with the south of the country until 1975.
18 slide
Description of the slide:
North Korea Korea gained independence from Japan in 1945 and was divided in 1948 into two parts. North Korea was in the zone of influence of the USSR, and South Korea - the United States. In North Korea (DPRK), the dictatorial regime of Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) was established, which carried out the construction of a barracks society closed from the outside world, based on the most severe dictatorship of one person, total nationalization of property, life, etc. Nevertheless, the DPRK managed to achieve in the 50s. certain positive results in economic construction due to the development of the foundations of the industry, laid down under the Japanese conquerors and a high work culture, combined with the most severe industrial discipline.
19 slide
Description of the slide:
Laos During World War II, Laos was occupied by the Japanese, and in 1949 gained independence as part of a kingdom led by King Sisawang Wong. After the end of the Vietnam War, the United States ceased military activities in Indochina. The civil war in Laos ended in February 1973 with the signing of the Vientiane Agreement. Violating the agreement, the forces of the Pathet Lao in December 1975 took power in the country into their own hands. On December 2, 1975, King Savang Wathana was forced to abdicate. With the support of the USSR and Vietnam, the Lao People's Democratic Republic was formed in 1975, which entered the socialist camp.
20 slide
Description of the slide:
Asia, Africa, America Europe - People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (PDR) - People's Republic of Angola (NRA) Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) People's Republic of Benin (PRB) Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) People's Democratic Republic of Yemen - People's Republic of Kampuchea ( PRC) - People's Republic of China (PRC) - People's Republic of the Congo (PRC) - Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) - Republic of Cuba - Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) - People's Republic of Mozambique (PRM) - Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) ) - Democratic Republic of Somalia - People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (NDRE) - Socialist Republic of Albania (NSRA) - People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) - People's Republic of Hungary (HPR) - German Democratic Republic (GDR) - Polish People's Republic (Poland) - Socialist Republic of Romania (SRR) - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) - Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (Czechoslovakia) - Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)
21 slide
Description of the slide:
Successes and contradictions of socialist construction In the late 50s, 60s, 70s. Most of the ICC countries have managed to achieve certain positive results in the development of the national economy, ensuring an increase in the living standards of the population. However, during this period, negative trends were also clearly identified, primarily in the economic sphere. The socialist (command-administrative) model, which had become stronger in all MCC countries without exception, fettered the initiative of economic entities and did not allow adequate response to new phenomena and trends in the global economic process. This became especially evident in connection with the beginning of the 1950s. scientific and technological revolution. Began stadial lag social. countries from the world pace of development.
22 slide
Description of the slide:
Contradictions within the MSS Despite the criticism of some of the most ugly features of Stalinism at the 20th Congress, the leadership of the CPSU left intact the regime of the undivided power of the party-state apparatus. Moreover, the Soviet leadership continued to maintain an authoritarian style in relations between the USSR and the ICC countries. To a large extent, this was the reason for the repeated deterioration of relations with Yugoslavia in the late 1950s. and a protracted conflict with Albania and China, although the ambitions of the party elite of the last two countries no less influenced the deterioration of relations with the USSR.
23 slide
Description of the slide:
The collapse of the "Prague Spring" The dramatic events of the Czechoslovak crisis of 1967-1968. In response to the broad public movement of citizens of Czechoslovakia for economic and political reforms, the leadership of the USSR, with the active participation of Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR and Poland, on August 21, 1968, sent its troops into an essentially sovereign state under the pretext of protecting it "from the forces of internal and external counter-revolution" . This action significantly undermined the authority of the MCC and clearly demonstrated the party nomenclature's rejection of genuine, rather than declarative, changes. The suppression of the Czechoslovakian democratic movement undermined the authority of the SSR at the world level.
24 slide
Description of the slide:
The Role of the CMEA An important milestone in the history of the formation of the world socialist system can be considered the creation of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in January 1949. CMEA promoted economic, scientific and technical cooperation between the originally European socialist countries. Military-political cooperation was carried out within the framework of the Warsaw Pact created in May 1955.
25 slide
Description of the slide:
The tasks of the CMEA in 1949 - the task of regulating foreign trade relations on the basis of bilateral agreements 1954 - a decision was made to coordinate the national economic plans of the participating countries 60s. - a number of agreements on specialization and cooperation of production, on the international division of labor Large international economic organizations have been created, such as the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, Intermetall, the Institute for Standardization, etc. In 1971, a Comprehensive Program for Cooperation and Development of the Member Countries was adopted CMEA based on integration.
arose after the Second World War with the release of socialism beyond the boundaries of one country. Its emergence was an important factor in the weakening and narrowing of the sphere of influence of imperialism. The further development of military-political, economic, ideological relations between the socialist countries of Eastern Europe led to the formation of the Warsaw Pact and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, which actually consolidated the formation of a commonwealth of socialist countries with common ideological, political, economic positions, united by the common goal of building socialism and communism. M. s. With. and the world socialist commonwealth are concepts of the same type, provided that the states included in the M. with. The communist and workers' parties that lead them follow a political course agreed upon among themselves and adhere to common ideological views on the world social process and on the building of socialism and communism. In most socialist countries, their belonging to M. s. With. enshrined in constitutional and program documents. For example, in the Constitution - the Basic Law of the Soviet state - it is written: "The USSR, as an integral part of the world system of socialism, the socialist community, develops and strengthens friendship and cooperation, comradely mutual assistance with the countries of socialism on the basis of the principle of socialist internationalism, actively participates in economic integration and in the international socialist division of labor” (Article 30). The beginning of M.'s education with. With. put the Great October Socialist Revolution. During its existence, socialism has significantly changed the political picture of the world. If in 1917-19. it accounted for up to 8% of the population, 16% of the territory and less than 3% of world industrial production, in 1981 these figures were respectively about 33%, more than 26% and more than 40%. The growth of the socialist system is historically accomplished through the all-round development of each country within it and all of them together, as well as through the expansion of its composition as a result of an irreversible objective process of falling away from world capitalism more and more countries. Each socialist country has its own rates of economic development. But objectively natural is the faster growth of countries that in the past lagged behind in their development, which is necessary to equalize economic levels within the framework of international economic development. With. Alignment of social and economic conditions within M. of page. With. is a lengthy process. We must also take into account the fact that with the transition to the socialist path of new countries, differences in the socio-economic order will again and again arise, connected with the non-simultaneity of socialist revolutions and with differences in the levels of development of the productive forces, economy, and culture. The further development of the productive forces and production relations, the correct policy of the Marxist-Leninist parties make it possible, under the conditions of a common social system, the coincidence of the fundamental interests and goals of the socialist countries, to overcome difficulties and eliminate existing differences. Socialist countries are sovereign states. Their unity is determined by the expansion and deepening of their mutual cooperation (bilateral and multilateral) on the basis of comradely mutual assistance and mutual benefit. Socialist development, having gone beyond the boundaries of a single state, naturally gave rise to international cooperation among the peoples of the new world in order to rapidly advance the economy, culture, and well-being of the working people, to jointly defend their gains, and to resist imperialism, which is trying to divide the peoples of the countries of international socialism. s., ensuring peace, creating the most important international conditions for building a classless society. A special sphere of international economic, political, ideological, and cultural ties arose (see Socialist Integration). The political consolidation and economic integration of the socialist countries is an indisputable law of the development of each of them and of the M. s. With. generally. Neglect of this law, ignoring the need for fraternal cooperation, refusal to use the advantages and possibilities of M. s. With. signify a break with socialist internationalism, with Marxism-Leninism, a transition to the positions of nationalism. Close all-round cooperation of the socialist countries allows to consider M. of page. With. not as a simple arithmetic sum of states with the same type of socio-political system, but as a new world socio-economic organism, taking shape and developing according to its own special laws. Economic interaction of the states of M. with. With. contributes not only to the economic but also to the social alignment of countries, that is, to the overcoming of differences in their class structure, which is one of the most important prerequisites for the international rapprochement of the peoples of the socialist countries. “The CPSU and other fraternal parties are taking a course to turn the next two five-year plans into a period of intensive industrial, scientific and technical cooperation between the socialist countries. Life itself sets the task of supplementing the coordination of plans with the coordination of economic policy as a whole. The agenda also includes such issues as the convergence of the structures of economic mechanisms, the further development of direct ties between ministries, associations and enterprises participating in cooperation, the creation of joint firms, and other forms of combining our efforts and resources are possible” (Materials of the XXVI Congress of the CPSU, p. . 7-8).
18.1. Formation of the world system of socialism
A significant historical event of the post-war period was popular democratic revolutions in a number of European countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Asia: Vietnam, China, Korea and a little earlier - the revolution in Mongolia. To a large extent, the political orientation in these countries was determined under the influence of the presence of Soviet troops on the territory of most of them, carrying out a liberation mission during the Second World War. This also largely contributed to the fact that in most countries cardinal transformations began in the political, socio-economic and other spheres in accordance with the Stalinist model, characterized by the highest degree of centralization of the national economy and the dominance of the party-state bureaucracy.
The emergence of the socialist model beyond the framework of one country and its spread to Southeast Europe and Asia laid the foundation for the emergence of a community of countries, called "world socialist system"(MSS). In 1959 Cuba and in 1975 Laos entered the orbit of a new system that lasted more than 40 years.
At the end of the 80s. The world system of socialism included 15 states occupying 26.2% of the earth's territory and numbering 32.3% of the world's population.
Taking even just these quantitative indicators into account, one can speak of the world system of socialism as an essential factor in post-war international life, requiring more in-depth consideration.
Eastern European countries
As noted, an important prerequisite for the formation of the MSS was the liberation mission of the Soviet Army in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Today there are quite heated discussions on this issue. A significant part of researchers tend to believe that in 1944-1947. there were no people's democratic revolutions in the countries of this region, and the Soviet Union imposed the Stalinist model of social development on the liberated peoples. We can only partly agree with this point of view, since, in our opinion, it should be taken into account that in 1945-1946. broad democratic transformations were carried out in these countries, and bourgeois-democratic forms of statehood were often restored. This is evidenced, in particular, by the bourgeois orientation of agrarian reforms in the absence of nationalization of land, the preservation of the private sector in small and medium-sized industry, retail trade and the service sector, and finally the existence of a multi-party system, including the highest level of power. If in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia immediately after liberation a course was taken for socialist transformations, then in the rest of the countries of South-Eastern Europe the new course began to be implemented from the moment the essentially undivided power of the national communist parties was established, as was the case in Czechoslovakia (February 1948), Romania (December 1947), Hungary (autumn 1947), Albania (February 1946), East Germany (October 1949), Poland (January 1947). Thus, in a number of countries, during the one and a half to two years after the war, the possibility of an alternative, non-socialist path remained.
1949 can be considered a kind of pause that drew a line under the prehistory of the MSS, and the 50s can be distinguished as a relatively independent stage of the forced creation of a "new" society, according to the "universal model" of the USSR, the constituent features of which are quite well known. This is a comprehensive nationalization of industrial sectors of the economy, forced cooperation, and in essence the nationalization of the agricultural sector, the displacement of private capital from the sphere of finance, trade, the establishment of total control of the state, the supreme bodies of the ruling party over public life, in the field of spiritual culture, etc.
Assessing the results of the course of building the foundations of socialism in the countries of South-Eastern Europe, one should state, on the whole, rather the negative effect of these transformations. Thus, the accelerated creation of heavy industry led to the emergence of national economic disproportions, which affected the pace of liquidation of the consequences of post-war devastation and could not but affect the growth in the standard of living of the population of countries in comparison with countries that did not fall into the orbit of socialist construction. Similar results were obtained in the course of coercive cooperation of the village, as well as the displacement of private initiative from the sphere of handicrafts, trade and services. As an argument confirming such conclusions, one can consider powerful socio-political crises in Poland, Hungary, the GDR and Czechoslovakia in 1953-1956, on the one hand, and a sharp increase in the repressive policy of the state against any dissent, on the other. Until recently, a fairly common explanation for the causes of such difficulties in building socialism in the countries we are considering was blind copying by their leadership of the experience of the USSR without taking into account national specifics under the influence of Stalin's cruelest diktat in relation to the communist leadership of these countries.
Self-governing socialism of Yugoslavia
However, there was another model of socialist construction, carried out in those years in Yugoslavia - model of self-governing socialism. It assumed in general terms the following: the economic freedom of labor collectives within the framework of enterprises, their activity on the basis of cost accounting with an indicative type of state planning; renunciation of coercive cooperation in agriculture, fairly widespread use of commodity-money relations, etc., but on the condition that the Communist Party's monopoly in certain spheres of political and public life is maintained. The departure of the Yugoslav leadership from the "universal" Stalinist scheme of construction was the reason for its practical isolation for a number of years from the USSR and its allies. Only after the condemnation of Stalinism at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, only in 1955 did relations between the socialist countries and Yugoslavia begin to gradually normalize. Some positive economic and social effect obtained from the introduction of a more balanced economic model in Yugoslavia would seem to confirm the argument of the supporters of the above point of view on the causes of the crises of the 1950s.
Formation of CMEA
An important milestone in the history of the formation of the world system of socialism can be considered the creation of the Council Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in January 1949, economic, scientific and technical cooperation was carried out through the CMEA of the originally European socialist countries. Military-political cooperation was carried out within the framework of the military unit created in May 1955. Warsaw Pact.
It should be noted that the socialist countries of Europe remained a relatively dynamically developing part of the MSS. At its other extreme were Mongolia, China, North Korea, and Vietnam. These countries most consistently used the Stalinist model of building socialism, namely: within the framework of a rigid one-party system, they resolutely eradicated elements of market, private property relations.
Mongolia
Mongolia was the first to embark on this path. After the coup of 1921 in the capital of Mongolia (the city of Urga), the power of the people's government was proclaimed, and in 1924 - the People's Republic. Transformations began in the country under the strong influence of the northern neighbor - the USSR. By the end of the 40s. in Mongolia there was a process of moving away from the primitive nomadic life through the construction of mainly large enterprises in the field of the mining industry, the spread of agricultural farms. Since 1948, the country began to accelerate the construction of the foundations of socialism on the model of the USSR, copying its experience and repeating mistakes. The ruling party set the task of turning Mongolia into an agrarian-industrial country, regardless of its peculiarities, its civilizational base essentially different from the USSR, religious traditions, and so on.
China
China remains the largest socialist country in Asia to this day.
After the victory of the revolution, the defeat of the Chiang army Kaishi ( 1887-1975) was proclaimed on October 1, 1949. People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and with the great help of the USSR, the country began to restore the national economy. At the same time, China most consistently used the Stalinist model of transformation. And after the 20th Congress of the CPSU, which condemned some of the vices of Stalinism, China opposed itself to the new course of the "big brother", turning into an arena of an unprecedented scale experiment called the "Great Leap Forward." The concept of accelerated construction of socialism Mao Zedong(1893-1976) was essentially a repetition of the Stalinist experiment, but in an even more severe form. The most important task was to overtake and overtake the USSR by drastically breaking social relations, using the labor enthusiasm of the population, barracks forms of work and life, military discipline at all levels of social relations, etc. As a result, already at the end of the 50s, the country's population began to experience hunger. This caused unrest in society and among the leadership of the party. The response of Mao and his supporters was the "cultural revolution". This was the name given to the "great helmsman" of a large-scale campaign of repression against dissidents, which stretched out until the death of Mao. Until that moment, the PRC, being considered a socialist country, was nevertheless, as it were, outside the borders of the MSS, as evidenced, in particular, even by its armed clashes with the USSR in the late 1960s.
Vietnam
The most authoritative force leading the struggle for the independence of Vietnam was the Communist Party. Her leader Ho Chi Minh(1890-1969) headed in September 1945 the provisional government of the proclaimed Democratic Republic of Vietnam. These circumstances determined the Marxist-socialist orientation of the subsequent course of the state. It was carried out in the conditions of an anti-colonial war, first with France (1946-1954), and then with the USA (1965-1973) and the struggle for reunification with the south of the country until 1975. Thus, the construction of the foundations of socialism proceeded for a long time in military conditions, which had a considerable influence on the features of the reforms, which increasingly acquired a Stalinist-Maoist coloring.
North Korea Cuba
A similar picture was observed in Korea, which gained independence from Japan in 1945 and was divided in 1948 into two parts. North Korea was in the zone of influence of the USSR, and South Korea -
USA. A dictatorial regime has been established in North Korea (DPRK) Kim Il Sung(1912-1994), who carried out the construction of a barracks society, closed from the outside world, based on the most severe dictate of one person, total nationalization of property, life, etc. Nevertheless, the DPRK managed to achieve in the 50s. certain positive results in economic construction due to the development of the foundations of the industry, laid down under the Japanese conquerors and a high work culture, combined with the most severe industrial discipline.
At the end of the period under review in the history of the MSS, an anti-colonial revolution took place in Cuba (January 1959). The US hostile policy towards the young republic and the Soviet Union's resolute support for it determined the socialist orientation of the Cuban leadership.
18.2. Stages of development of the world socialist system
Late 50s, 60s, 70s. Most of the ICC countries have managed to achieve certain positive results in the development of the national economy, ensuring an increase in the living standards of the population. However, during this period, negative trends were also clearly identified, primarily in the economic sphere. The socialist model, which had become stronger in all the MCC countries without exception, fettered the initiative of economic entities and did not allow an adequate response to new phenomena and trends in the world economic process. This became especially evident in connection with the beginning of the 1950s. scientific and technological revolution. As it developed, the ICC countries lagged more and more behind the advanced capitalist countries in terms of the rate of introduction of scientific and technological achievements into production, mainly in the field of electronic computers, energy and resource-saving industries and technologies. Attempts to partially reform this model, undertaken in these years, did not give positive results. The reason for the failure of the reforms was the strongest resistance to them by the party-state nomenklatura, which basically determined the extreme inconsistency and, as a result, the failure of the reform process.
Contradictions within the MSS
AT To a certain extent, this was facilitated by the domestic and foreign policy of the ruling circles of the USSR. Despite the criticism of some of the most ugly features of Stalinism at the 20th Congress, the leadership of the CPSU left intact the regime of the undivided power of the party and state apparatus. Moreover, the Soviet leadership continued to maintain an authoritarian style in relations between the USSR and the ICC countries. To a large extent, this was the reason for the repeated deterioration of relations with Yugoslavia in the late 1950s. and a protracted conflict with Albania and China, although the ambitions of the party elite of the last two countries no less influenced the deterioration of relations with the USSR.
The dramatic events of the Czechoslovak crisis of 1967-1968 demonstrated the style of relations within the MSS most clearly. In response to the broad social movement of citizens of Czechoslovakia for economic and political reforms, the leadership of the USSR, with the active participation of Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR and Poland, on August 21, 1968, brought its troops into an essentially sovereign state under the pretext of protecting it "from the forces of internal and external counter-revolution ". This action significantly undermined the authority of the MCC and clearly demonstrated the party nomenclature's rejection of genuine, rather than declarative, changes.
In this regard, it is interesting to note that against the backdrop of serious crisis phenomena, the leadership of the socialist countries of Europe, assessing the achievements of the 50-60s. in the economic sphere came to the conclusion about the completion of the stage of building socialism and the transition to a new stage - "the construction of developed socialism." This conclusion was supported by the ideologists of the new stage, in particular by the fact that the share of the socialist countries in world industrial production reached 100% in the 1960s. about one third, and in the global national income, one quarter.
The role of the CMEA
One of the essential arguments was the fact that, in their opinion, the development of economic relations within the MSS along the CMEA line was quite dynamic. If in 1949 the CMEA was faced with the task of regulating foreign trade relations on the basis of bilateral agreements, then since 1954 a decision was made to coordinate the national economic plans of the countries participating in it, and in the 60s. followed, a number of agreements on specialization and cooperation of production, on the international division of labor. Large international economic organizations were created, such as the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, Intermetall, the Institute for Standardization, etc. In 1971, the Comprehensive Program for Cooperation and Development of the CMEA Member Countries on the Basis of Integration was adopted. In addition, according to the estimates of the ideologists of the transition to a new historical stage in the construction of communism in most European countries of the MSS, a new social structure of the population has developed on the basis of completely victorious socialist relations, etc.
In the first half of the 1970s, in most countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, very stable growth rates of industrial production were indeed maintained, averaging 6-8% annually. To a large extent, this was achieved by an extensive method, i.e. the growth of production capacities and the growth of simple quantitative indicators in the field of electricity production, steel smelting, mining, and engineering products.
However, by the mid-1970s the socio-economic and political situation began to deteriorate. At that time, in countries with a market economy, under the influence of scientific and technological revolution, a restructuring of the national economy began, associated with the transition from an extensive to an intensive type of economic development. This process was accompanied crisis phenomena both within these countries and at the global level, which, in turn, could not but affect the foreign economic positions of MCC entities. The growing lag of the ICC countries in the scientific and technical sphere steadily led to the loss of the positions they had won in the world market. The domestic market of the socialist countries also experienced difficulties. By the 80s. the unacceptable lagging behind of industries producing goods and services from the extractive and heavy industries that were still afloat led to a total shortage of consumer goods. This caused not only a relative, but also an absolute deterioration in the living conditions of the population and, as a result, became the reason for the growing discontent of citizens. The demand for radical political and socio-economic transformations is becoming almost universal.
Complications from the mid-70s.
The crisis situation was also clearly indicated in the sphere of interstate economic cooperation, based on administrative decisions that often do not take into account the interests of the CMEA member countries, but also in a real reduction in the volume of mutual trade.
Events in Poland
Poland became a kind of detonator for the subsequent reform process. Already in the early 70s. There were mass demonstrations of workers against the economic policy of the government, an independent trade union association of workers, Solidarity, arose.
The manifestation of the growing crisis was also observed in other countries. But until the mid-80s. the ruling communist parties still had the opportunity to keep the situation under control, there were still some reserves to contain the economic and social crisis, including the power ones. Only after the beginning of transformations in the USSR in the second half of the 80s. the movement for reform in most of the ISA countries has grown markedly.
18.3. The collapse of the world socialist system
Democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe
AT late 80s. a wave of democratic revolutions took place in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, which eliminated monopoly power
ruling communist parties, replacing it with a democratic form of government. The revolutions unfolded almost simultaneously - in the second half of 1989, but took place in various forms. So, in most countries, the change of power took place peacefully (Poland, Hungary, the GDR, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria), while in Romania - as a result of an armed uprising.
Democratic revolutions were a necessary condition for subsequent transformations in the sphere of economic relations. Market relations began to be restored everywhere, the process of denationalization was proceeding rapidly, the national economic structure was changing, and private capital began to play an ever greater role. These processes continue today, strengthened by the victory of the democratic forces in our country in August 1991.
However, their course is quite tortuous, often inconsistent. If we leave aside the national costs of reforms, the mistakes of the new leadership of each of the countries, then the mistakes associated with a conscious line towards the economic disintegration of the former allies of the MSS and the CMEA, against the backdrop of an integrating Europe, are incomprehensible and difficult to explain. Mutual repulsion of former partners hardly contributes to a faster entry one by one into new economic and political alliances, and also hardly has a positive effect on the internal reform of each of the former socialist countries.
Chinese politics
After the death of Mao Zedong, his successors were faced with the task of overcoming the deepest crisis into which the "cultural revolution" plunged the country. It was found on the path of a radical restructuring of the structure of socio-economic relations. In the course of the economic reform, which began in the autumn of 1979, significant results were achieved in economic development. On the basis of the liquidation of the communes, the distribution of land to the peasants, the interest of the worker in the results of labor was restored. The introduction of market relations in the countryside was accompanied by no less radical reforms in industry. The role of state planning and administrative control over production was limited, the creation of cooperative and private enterprises was encouraged, the system of financing, wholesale trade, etc. underwent changes. , issuance of shares and loans in order to expand above-plan production. The system of the state and party apparatus, law enforcement agencies and, above all, the army underwent some reforms. In other words, the easing of the rigid totalitarian regime began.
The result of the reforms of the 80s. The PRC experienced unprecedented rates of economic growth (12-18% per year), a sharp improvement in living standards, and new positive developments in public life. A distinctive feature of the Chinese reforms was the preservation of the traditional socialist management model, which inevitably brought to the fore the problems of a socio-political and ideological nature in the late 1980s. Today, the Chinese leadership adheres to the concept of building "socialism with Chinese characteristics", apparently trying to avoid the deep social upheavals and collisions experienced by Russia and other countries of the former MSS. China follows the path of building market relations, bourgeois liberalization, but with a certain consideration of civilizational features and national traditions.
Vietnam. Laos. Mongolia. North Korea.
Like the Chinese way of reforming the economy and public life, Vietnam and Laos are following. Modernization brought known positive results, but less tangible than in China. Perhaps this is due to their later entry into the period of market transformations, a lower initial level, and the heavy legacy of a long military policy. Mongolia is no exception. Following in the wake of market reforms, liberalization of public relations, it not only actively attracts foreign capital, but also actively revives national traditions.
North Korea remains a completely immobile, unreformed country from the former camp of socialism. Here, the system of essentially personal dictates of the Kim Il Sung clan is preserved. Obviously, this country will not be able to stay in a state of practical self-isolation and even confrontation with most of the world's states for a long time.
Cuba
The situation in one more country of the former MSS, Cuba, remains rather complicated. During the short history of socialism, this island state has in general terms repeated the path traveled by most of the MSS countries. Deprived of their support, its leadership continues to adhere to the concept of building socialism, remains faithful to Marxist ideals, while the country is experiencing growing economic and social difficulties. The position of Cuba is also aggravated as a result of the ongoing confrontation with the powerful USA since the liberation revolution.
As a result of the collapse of the world socialist system, a line has been drawn under more than 40 years of totalitarian period in the history of most countries of Eastern Europe. The alignment of forces has undergone significant changes not only on the European continent, but also in Asia. Apparently, the bloc system of relations on the world stage as a whole is disappearing into oblivion.
However, the relatively long period of coexistence of countries within the framework of the MCC, in our opinion, cannot pass without leaving its mark. Obviously, in the future, the establishment of relations between former allies, and often close neighbors with common geographical borders, is inevitable, but on the basis of a new balance of interests, indispensable consideration of national, civilizational specifics and mutual benefit.
Questions for self-examination
1. When was the world system of socialism formed, what main stages did it pass in its development?
2. What factors caused the slowdown in the economic growth of the socialist countries in the 70s? What caused the intensification of contradictions between them?
3. What features can you name in the socio-economic development of the countries that were part of the world socialist system at the present stage?
The results of the war brought about fundamental changes in the international situation.
The war ended the half-century struggle of the imperialist states for world leadership, the United States becomes the dominant "superpower" in the capitalist world. The Soviet Union, although it suffered heavy losses, emerged from the war as a mighty military force and gained enormous prestige in the world community. This correlation of forces in the interformational contradiction largely determined social development in the post-war world.
As a result of the war, the world system of capitalism turned out to be significantly weakened as a whole. In the Western European center: Germany and Italy - defeated; France, subjected to German occupation, reduced production to 30% of pre-war; England, whose debt increased 3 times, was directly dependent on the United States. Another center of the imperialist system (Japan) was also destroyed. The only country that dramatically increased its financial, economic, and military power as a result of the war was the United States of America. The Second World War, like the First, turned into a "golden" rain for the United States. The volume of their industrial output has more than doubled, the national income has grown from $97 billion in 1941 to $161 billion in 1944. Taking advantage of the weakness of its competitors, the United States is seizing the bulk of the world market and laying claim to world domination.
In all capitalist countries, popular sympathy for the socialist idea has increased significantly, and the influence of the communist and socialist parties, which led the anti-fascist struggle, has increased, and their representatives entered the governments of many states. In the colonies and dependent countries, the struggle against the invaders caused a rise in national self-consciousness, a desire for state independence and social reorganization.
The socialist and communist movements in the countries of various continents, the anti-imperialist struggle in the dependent states and the national liberation struggle of the colonial peoples merged into a single world revolutionary stream. The growth of the might of the USSR, its example and the Soviet Union's support for the peoples in the struggle against imperialism contributed to the development of democratic processes in the world.
Under the prevailing historical conditions, world social development included three main directions.
The first is the development of socialism. It proceeded in the following specific historical forms: 1) the development of the USSR as a stronghold of the world socialist system; 2) the transition to the socialist path of development of countries and peoples of various civilizations in Europe, Asia and Latin America, the formation of a world socialist system; 3) the development of elements of socialism within the capitalist countries - the continuation of the process of "socialization" of capitalism due to internal causes and under the influence of the example of the socialist countries. All this shows the general regularity of the transition of the world community to the socialist system.
The second is the transition of the capitalist formation to the world-monopoly stage. National state-monopoly capitalism (GMK), which was formed in the first half of the 20th century, is developing into a new stage, into world-monopoly capitalism (WMC) - "global imperialism" with the economic, political and military center in the United States.
The third is the national liberation movement in the colonial and dependent countries. As a result of the struggle for independence, these countries are moving to an independent path of development in various forms of the social structure of society.
All three components of the world historical process developed in mutual connection in a concretely developing historical situation, closely intertwined with each other. Imperialism, led by the United States, by force of arms, economic, financial, informational and ideological pressure counteracted the development of the socialist system and the national liberation movement of a socialist orientation.
The most important event of the first post-war years was the transition to the socialist path of development of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, where, in the course of liberation from fascism, people's power was established and people's democratic republics were formed. Albania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia fell away from the system of capitalism in Europe. They consistently carried out socialist transformations. Everywhere the property of those who collaborated with the fascists was confiscated, large-scale industry, banks, and transport were nationalized; carried out land reform. In a tense political struggle, the bourgeois elements were defeated, and the political parties of the working class and peasantry were established in power. The Soviet Union paralyzed imperialism's attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the people's democratic states; the presence of Soviet troops prevented them from unleashing a civil war and organizing intervention. At the same time, the Soviet administration provided support to the forces of socialist orientation.
The victory of the socialist revolution in China was of great historical significance. As a result of many years of armed struggle, the power of the Kuomintang government was overthrown, and on October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was formed. The Communist Party of China came to power and began socialist reforms. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) embarked on the path of socialist development. In general, in the first years after the Second World War, eleven states went over to the construction of socialism. The world process of development of the socialist system began in the countries of various civilizations.
The transition of the United States to confrontation with the USSR, the creation of the NATO bloc The deployment of the "cold war"
Developing the contours of the post-war world order, the leaders of the great powers of the anti-Hitler coalition (which had agreements between themselves on friendship and cooperation after the war) agreed on the main approaches to the problems of the post-war world at conferences in Yalta and Potsdam (1945).
Their essence was that, along with the delimitation of spheres of influence between the victorious countries, it was planned to ensure broad international cooperation to eliminate the consequences of the war and develop a reliable mechanism for international control over the security of all peoples, over political and military stability in the world by the activities of the United Nations (UN) established in 1945
However, already during the Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945), differences emerged in the approaches of the Western powers and the USSR to the post-war order of the world. The leading political circles of the United States and Britain saw in the emerging historical situation a threat to their position in the world and the existence of capitalism as a whole. The first step in the official confrontation with the USSR was Truman's violation of Roosevelt's promise given at the Yalta Conference to Stalin to withdraw American troops from Europe 6 months after the end of the war. Then delays began in the preparation and conclusion of peace treaties with Germany's former allies. Only on February 10, 1947, agreements were signed with Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland. The undoubted merit of the USSR in this peaceful settlement based on the cooperation of all the main powers of the anti-Hitler coalition was that the treaties did not contain provisions that infringe on the political and economic independence of the defeated states, the national dignity of their peoples. The treaties provided for territorial changes, taking into account the national interests of the states participating in the fight against fascism.
The retention by the United States, Britain and France of a powerful group of troops in their zones of occupation of Germany and the turn of the policy of the former allies towards confrontation with the USSR led to the deployment of the Soviet Army in Germany and other European countries. The Soviet Union failed to get the allies to fulfill the agreement on the creation of a united democratic Germany. In the western zone of occupation, a separate German state is being created - the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). In response to this, with the support of the USSR, an eastern German state is formed - the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
The economy of European states and Japan, destroyed by the war, required great economic efforts and investments to restore. American imperialism used this situation to establish its hegemony by creating a single economic space of the capitalist world based on the dollar financial system and the development of transnational corporations (TNCs), tying Europe and Japan to the US economy. These goals corresponded to the "Marshall Plan" (US Secretary of State), which provided for economic assistance to countries on certain political conditions.
A kind of declaration of the "cold war" was the speech of W. Churchill in Fulton (USA) on March 5, 1946, in which he called for uniting forces against the "threat of communism" and creating a military-political alliance against the USSR. These ideas are set forth in President Truman's official message to Congress on March 12, 1947: "the fight against communism" is declared the main goal of US policy. A draft of the USSR ultimatum was found in the Truman archives. Beginning in September 1945, plans for a preventive war against the USSR using nuclear weapons were being developed at the headquarters of the US armed forces. As the US nuclear potential increased, these plans, in accordance with the military doctrine of "massive retaliation", became more and more dangerous. The threat of nuclear war against the USSR was real.
In 1949, the NATO military-political bloc (“North Atlantic Union”) was created, directed against the USSR. It is then joined by the US-created regional alliances around the USSR and China. In 1954 and 1955 SEATO and CENTO were formed, in which the USA, Great Britain and France involved 25 more states of Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
In the period 1945 - 1955. the economy of the leading capitalist countries, having gone through several crises, recovered and picked up growth rates in the general system of world economic relations around the economic center - the United States. In the 60s. three centers have again formed in the capitalist world: the main center is the USA and Canada; the second is Western Europe, where the FRG is gaining more and more power; the third is Japan, which makes extensive use of American and European technologies, combining them with the national characteristics of the organization of labor at enterprises. In contrast to the pre-war system of state-monopoly capitalism, Europe and Japan are now closely linked politically, financially and technologically with the United States, which led the formation of global ties of world-monopoly capitalism in their national interests.
The formation of the CMC system was accompanied by a process of sharp confrontation with the developing world system of socialism and the waging of local wars against the national liberation movement in the colonial and dependent countries. In the period 1945 - 1969. The USA, England, France and other NATO countries participated in more than 70 wars and local conflicts in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The United States during this period received the title of "gendarme of the world." The United States of America is launching a nuclear arms race and going over to waging a "cold war" against the USSR. After the expiration of the secrecy period, the plans for waging a nuclear war against the USSR and the countries of the socialist community, developed by the American command, were made public. All of them envisaged an attack on the USSR by the United States of America as the first to deliver massive nuclear strikes on cities: June 1946 - the Pinger plan - 20 cities of the USSR; August 1947 - Boiler plan - 25 cities in the USSR and 18 in Eastern Europe; January 1948 - Grabber plan, then Chariotir, Halfmoon, Fleetwood; June 1949 - "Drop Shot". According to the latest plan, it was planned to use 300 atomic bombs and 250 thousand tons of conventional bombs to destroy 85% of Soviet industry, 154 NATO divisions to occupy the USSR and divide it into 20-25 puppet states. The plan called for the widespread use of "dissidents" to wage "psychological warfare". “Psychological warfare is an extremely important weapon for promoting dissent and betrayal among the Soviet people; it will undermine his morals, sow confusion and create disorganization in the country. Achieve a combination of psychological, economic and underground warfare with plans for military operations. It is known that such plans were developed before 1982 with several thousand targets.
In the late 40s - early 50s. the US and NATO leadership are developing a comprehensive concept of the Cold War. Its ultimate goal is the overthrow of governments and the destruction of the socialist (“communist”) system. The Cold War, according to this concept, includes all forms of struggle characteristic of waging a full-scale total war: economic, diplomatic, ideological and psychological, subversive activities and the introduction of proteges into the country's leadership. The conduct of direct hostilities is replaced by the threat of the use of nuclear weapons with an exhausting arms race. The leading place in the complex of these measures was occupied by "psychological warfare". In the 50s. "" was accepted by NATO military theorists as a special form of modern warfare on a par with total nuclear, limited and local wars. The concept of the "cold war" was reflected in a number of works by NATO military theorists, among which was the translation of E. Kingston-McClory's work "Military Policy and Strategy" published in 1963 in the USSR.
In accordance with this concept, a long-term program of purposeful destructive actions has been developed using the superior economic potential of the capitalist countries and the achievements of science and technology. It was believed that the USSR lags behind the United States in development: industry by 15 years, technical by 5-10 years, transport by 10 years, and nuclear weapons by 5-10 years. And although these calculations, especially with regard to nuclear weapons, were not confirmed, the initial superiority of the combined economic potential of the developed capitalist countries created difficult conditions for the USSR in economic and military confrontation.
The arms race was a heavy burden on Soviet society, significantly reducing its ability to compete in social and economic competition with the world capitalist system. However, the real threat of war when the United States achieved decisive military superiority forced the leadership of the USSR to respond to it by increasing its military power as a real condition for maintaining peace. The struggle for peace also became the main direction of the diplomatic activity of the Soviet Union.
For the conduct of the "cold war" in the United States in the 50s - 60s. a powerful scientific base is being created for studying the state and developing methods for the destruction of the USSR and the world socialist system - research centers for "Sovietology" and "study of socialist countries". Centers for the training of personnel capable of active subversive activities - psychologists, economists, journalists and historians - specialists in anti-communism, closely cooperate with them. For this, materials and specialists exported from Nazi Germany, anti-Soviet emigrant centers, a secret network of agents that have been working against the USSR since the 1920s are used. All the experience of psychological warfare, accumulated during the Second World War by the United States and Nazi Germany, and a powerful financial force (26-28 billion dollars annually) are involved. The calculation was made for a long struggle against the change of generations in the leadership, for the natural departure of the “generation of winners”, for the decay and degeneration of a new generation of Soviet leaders.
Attaching great importance to the information and psychological warfare, the US leadership creates a world information control center (USIA) and powerful propaganda centers - "Voice of America", "Freedom", "Free Europe", "Deutsche Welle", etc. In 1997, English television showed a program about how the CIA in the 50s. even created a special art, in every sense an alternative to Soviet socialist realism, called "abstract expressionism". With strong financial support through charitable societies, this direction in art began to be rapidly planted in many countries.
While deploying the "cold war" against the USSR and the socialist countries, the American leadership and its allies at the same time directed their efforts to strengthening their rear against the "threat of communism." In the 40s - 50s. in the USA and Western Europe, an active struggle against the communist movement (“McCarthyism”) and subversive activities within it are launched, and bourgeois influence on the social democratic movement is growing. Sophisticated anti-Soviet propaganda is being carried out in all countries in order to create an image of the enemy in the face of the USSR and the communists of all countries as "agents of the Kremlin." In the minds of the peoples of Europe and America, the image of the USSR as a fighter against fascism and a liberator of peoples under the influence of psychological warfare was gradually replaced by the image of a "red aggressor" and "occupier".
Raising the economy through American assistance and exploitation of the colonies, the bourgeoisie of Western Europe had the opportunity already in the mid-1950s. raise the standard of living of the population and introduce a number of social guarantees. The process of "socialization" of capitalism received a new impetus. Western propaganda skillfully presented these measures, opposing the "Western way of life" to the complexities of social development in the countries of the socialist community. This was how the rear of world capitalism was strengthened for the conduct of the Cold War, which played an important role in the general course of the confrontation between the two social systems.
Formation of the world system of socialism. The development of the anti-imperialist struggle, the collapse of colonialism
The formation of socialism in the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia took place under difficult conditions. Historically, socialism was established in the economically underdeveloped, predominantly agrarian countries (with the exception of Czechoslovakia, partly the GDR and Hungary). The war inflicted heavy damage on their economy (especially the GDR, China, Vietnam). The restoration of the economy destroyed by the war in the new socialist states was carried out simultaneously with the restructuring of the economy and social transformations on a socialist basis. This process took place with the active political and material support of the USSR. The "Marshall Plan", which provided for economic assistance to the United States of America on political terms, was rejected by the leadership of these countries. On the basis of a planned economy in all countries by 1948-1949. the pre-war level of production was reached (in the GDR by 1950) and, in accordance with the plans for economic development, industrialization and cooperative agriculture began. The rates of economic development, the growth of the living standards of the population and the development of the social sphere exceeded those of the capitalist countries.
In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) was established - an economic and political union of socialist countries to help organize systematic economic and cultural cooperation. The CMEA included Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Albania (from the end of 1961 it did not participate in the work of the CMEA). Subsequently, the organization included the GDR (1950), Mongolia (1962), Vietnam (1978), Cuba (1972). The creation of the CMEA formalized the formation of the world socialist system headed by the USSR and contributed to the rapid economic and social development of the states included in the Council.
An "iron curtain" is being lowered between the capitalist world and the socialist countries (by efforts on both sides). It prevents not only the hostile influence and penetration of the capitalist world into the socialist countries, but also economic, scientific, technical and cultural exchange. Imperialism is also trying to "reject communism" by using military force against individual socialist countries: a war is unleashed in Korea, in Vietnam, and an invasion of Cuba is carried out. The firm foreign policy of the USSR, the active political struggle for peace, and its direct support for the struggle of the socialist countries do not allow imperialism to stop their development along the socialist path by force of arms.
The war in Korea (1950 - 1953) was the first large-scale military clash between imperialism and the countries of the socialist community formed after the Second World War, the first major local war of the postwar period. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from North Korea, and later American troops from South Korea, two Korean states were formed: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea. The desire to unify Korea by force of arms was shown by both Korean states.
The war began on June 25, 1950 with border clashes, after which the Korean People's Army (KPA) went on the offensive. The defeat of the South Korean troops and the threat of losing their foothold on the Asian continent caused the US to intervene in the civil war in Korea. The US government achieved a UN decision approving the participation of the armed forces of the US and 15 other capitalist states in the intervention. On July 1, the American command began the transfer of the 8th American Army from Japan and massive bombing of military facilities and troops of the DPRK. But the offensive under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Kim Il Sung continued, the KPA liberated 90% of the territory of Korea.
On September 15, having accumulated superior forces, the enemy launched a counteroffensive with a powerful landing in the rear of the KPA. At the end of the month, the invaders took Seoul, and in October they captured Pyongyang and reached the Korean-Chinese border. The help of China and the USSR made it possible to restore the combat effectiveness of the KPA; at the end of October, the North Korean troops and parts of the Chinese volunteers launched a counteroffensive. Over the next 8 months, during stubborn battles, the territory of the DPRK was liberated and the front stabilized on the 38th parallel, from where hostilities began. The confrontation continued for another 2 years, when negotiations were underway. The DPRK held out, and on July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement was signed. The United States was unable to solve the "Korean problem" by military means.
The 64th Fighter Air Corps of the Soviet Armed Forces, which is part of the United Air Army, participated in the war. During the war, Soviet pilots shot down 1,097 enemy planes, 212 with anti-aircraft artillery fire. 3,504 military personnel were awarded orders and medals, 22 pilots received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Losses amounted to 125 pilots and 335 aircraft. (Russia (USSR) in local wars and military conflicts of the second half of the 20th century - M., 2000.)
In 1961, an attempt by the United States to intervene in Cuba ended in failure. Operation Pluto included air bombing and amphibious landings in the Playa Giron area on 17 April. The struggle against the aggressors assumed a nationwide character. Within 2 days, the Cuban army under the leadership of Fidel Castro defeated the landing, on April 20 completed the liquidation and capture of the surviving groups of mercenaries from Cuban counter-revolutionaries. On April 18, the Soviet Union issued a resolute statement of readiness to provide the Cuban people with the necessary assistance and support. The subsequent blockade of Cuba by the American fleet and the threat of a new intervention in October 1962 caused serious military measures by the USSR in support of the Cuban people. The outbreak of the crisis led to the threat of nuclear war. The United States was forced to retreat, to abandon the invasion, and the USSR, for its part, compromised on the deployment of its weapons in Cuba. Socialism on the island of Liberty survived.
The largest US aggression against a socialist country in Asia was the Vietnam War (1964-1973). The puppet "Saigon" regime in South Vietnam served as a springboard for the deployment of the war, against which the armed struggle of the People's Liberation Front of South Vietnam rose up for unification with North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam). Having increased its grouping in South Vietnam to 90 thousand people, the United States is moving to open intervention. On August 2, 1964, they provoked a collision between their ships and DRV torpedo boats, and on August 7, the US Congress officially approved the aggression. The unfolding US war against Vietnam had two periods: the deployment of aggression from August 5, 1964 to November 1, 1968 and the curtailment of the scale of the war - from November 1968 to January 27, 1973.
Against the DRV, the United States used its air and naval forces in order to undermine the economy, the morale of the people and stop providing assistance to the patriots of South Vietnam. Bombing with napalm and the spraying of toxic agents was also carried out in Laos and Cambodia. Ground forces were actively used in military operations against the patriots of South Vietnam. As a result of prolonged fighting and partisan actions, the troops of the Popular Front managed to liberate the territory with a population of 1.5 million people. The Soviet Union carried out the supply of weapons and equipment to the DRV by sea, despite the blockade of the coast by the US Navy. The US leadership was forced to negotiate, and on November 1, 1968, the American bombing of North Vietnam ceased. An important role in the defense of the DRV was played by missile systems supplied by the USSR.
In June 1969, the Congress of People's Representatives proclaimed the formation of the Republic of South Vietnam (RSV). The army of the Republic of South Ossetia numbered over 1 million people and increased its strikes against the enemy. The United States, in accordance with the "Nixon Doctrine", is moving to the "Vietnamization of the war" in Indochina, shifting the main burden of the struggle to the Saigon army. The crushing blows of the army of the South Vietnam, the political, economic and military support of the USSR and the progressive forces of the world, as well as the rise of the pacifist movement in the United States against the many years of war with heavy losses, forced the American political leadership to conclude an agreement to end the war. It was signed in Paris on January 27, 1973. The regime of South Vietnam was overthrown in 1975.
According to American data, the United States spent $140 billion on the war, 2.5 million American troops took part in it, 58,000 were killed, about 2,000 were missing, and 472 pilots were captured. The American nation felt defeated and humiliated. The "Vietnam Syndrome" affects the US to this day. In July 1976, reunification was completed and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was formed. On the whole, world imperialism has not succeeded in stopping the transition to socialism in the countries of Asia and Latin America by military force.
The strengthening of the NATO bloc caused retaliatory measures by the countries of the socialist community. Six years after its creation in 1955, a military-political union of socialist countries was formed - the Warsaw Pact Organization (OVR). With the help of the USSR, the armed forces of Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Albania are being strengthened (withdrew from the organization in 1968).
In the 50s - 60s. the economy of the countries of the socialist community developed at a steady high rate (about 10% per year on average). The established world socialist system is rapidly building up its economic potential and military might. The Soviet Union, having reached the forefront of world scientific, technological and social progress, actively contributed to the rise of the countries of the socialist community. The countries of Eastern Europe have turned from agrarian to industrial-agrarian. From 1956 - 1957 CMEA member countries switched to specialization and co-production, and the practice of coordinating national economic plans was introduced. In 1964, the International Bank for Economic Cooperation was established to regulate international payments. The economies of China, Vietnam, and Korea developed more independently; cooperation with the USSR proceeded on a bilateral basis, taking into account the peculiarities of the economic development of countries and the specific historical situation.
The development of the world socialist system was supported by communist parties in many countries of the world. The international communist movement has been an important factor in the world historical process. After the liquidation of the Comintern, international contacts of the CPSU(b) went on on a bilateral basis. In 1947, a new body was created - the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties. After its dissolution in April 1956, periodic meetings of the communist and workers' parties were held, at which political positions were agreed.
The formation of the world socialist system is a complex social process. The sharp differences in economic, political and social development, national cultures and traditions required a variety of approaches to the formation of a new social system, the originality of the ways and pace of social change in each country. The absolutization of the Soviet model in the development of socialism, under the influence of objective and subjective factors, in a number of cases came into conflict with the peculiarities of the national development of countries, and the class struggle did not die out in them. This led to crises with the use of military force: in the GDR in 1951, in Poland in 1953, in Hungary in 1956, in Czechoslovakia in 1968. The subversive activities of the West played a significant role in exacerbating the contradictions.
Simultaneously with the development of the world socialist system, a stormy process of national liberation movement is going on in the colonial and dependent countries. Centuries-old colonial empires are collapsing: British, French, Belgian, Portuguese. Indonesia, India, a number of countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia are seeking independence in the Third World countries. The destruction of the colonial system has begun. The USSR, holding back the aggression of the USA, NATO, Israel, provides active assistance (including military) to the liberation movements and strengthens its influence in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The liberated countries are looking for independent ways of development, some of them are drawn into the military-military system, and some adjoin the world socialist system. The struggle of the colonial peoples for their independence and an independent path of development by the end of the 60s. led to the complete collapse of the colonial system. More than 100 new states have entered the world community.
The resolute support of the Arab movement against the US and Israel, as well as the Cuban revolution by the Soviet Union, stopped the aggressive actions of imperialism. The aggravation of the international situation during these years (the Middle East crisis of 1956 and 1957; the Caribbean crisis of 1962) several times brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The growth of the military and economic might of the USSR, the consolidation of anti-imperialist forces, and a sober approach to assessing the international situation in moments of crisis made it possible to avoid a nuclear catastrophe. Kennedy and Khrushchev laid the foundation for harmonizing the interests of the USA and the USSR on the principles of compromise. However, Kennedy was soon killed, the mystery of his assassination has not yet been solved.
The nuclear missile power of the USSR forced the United States in the early 60s. change the military doctrine of nuclear "retaliation" to a "flexible response strategy", and the achievement by the Soviet Union by the end of the 60s. military-strategic parity ensured the stability of the international situation for many years.
In general, capitalism by the end of the 60s. turned out to be significantly reduced. But it retained its viability, its financial and economic power, and most importantly, the pace of scientific and technological progress. The United States managed to achieve the complete consolidation of all capitalist countries under its leadership in the general opposition to the socialist system, as well as to create new economic and political levers for subordinating the newly-liberated countries to the world capitalist system (“neo-colonialism”). The confrontation between the two world systems, the inter-formational contradiction of capitalism and socialism comes to the end of the 60s. into a new phase.
ESSAY
in the discipline "History"
on the topic "Causes and course of the collapse of the world socialist system"
Completed: student gr. TX-9-12 Aliev S.Z.
Checked by: teacher Serebryakov A.V.
Naberezhnye Chelny
2015
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….1
The collapse of the world system of socialism - Formation and stages of development of the world system of socialism……………………………………………...2-5
Contradictions within the world system of socialism………………….6-8
The collapse of the world socialist system…………………………………..9-11
Conclusion………………………………………………………………..12-13
References…………………………………………………………...14
Introduction
The end of the 20th century ended with the collapse of the "socialist" society, which caused numerous consequences:
1) the collapse of the world system of socialism began to be interpreted as an indicator of the inaccuracy or obsolescence of Marx's formational theory;
2) the only model of "socialism" remained in force - "market"
3) the term "socialism" broke away from formational theory, began to simply mean a kind of "welfare state" in the spirit of European social democracy.
Socialism, as a formation that arose as a result of the scientific and technological revolution, underwent evolutionary formation and development throughout the entire 20th century.
Happened at the turn of the 80s and 90s. 20th century fundamental changes in the world marked the beginning of a new geopolitical era. Their consequences and scales have not yet been fully comprehended by the world community. However, it cannot be denied that the formation of a new political picture of the world was decisively influenced by two events of a world-historical scale.
First, the bipolar world collapsed: the two-bloc, bipolar world order turned, in principle, into a unipolar world system, and the boundaries of political influence and eco-political dominance of the only superpower, the United States, expanded significantly.
Secondly, globalization has declared itself in full force, it has entered an intensive phase of development, world integration processes have acquired a stormy and all-encompassing character.
The collapse of the world socialist system, the abolition of power and political structures not only removed the main obstacle to the growth of economic, political and military expansion of financial monopolies throughout the planet, but also opened the floodgates for a boundless and uncontrolled boom of globalization in its imperialist expression.
The collapse of the world socialist system - Formation and stages of development of the world socialist system
To a large extent, the political orientation in the countries was determined under the influence of the presence of Soviet troops on the territory of most of them, carrying out a liberation mission during the Second World War. This largely contributed to the fact that in most countries cardinal transformations began in the political, socio-economic and other spheres in accordance with the Stalinist model, characterized by the highest degree of centralization of the national economy and the dominance of the party-state bureaucracy.
The emergence of the socialist model beyond the framework of one country and its spread to Southeast Europe and Asia laid the foundation for the emergence of a community of countries, called the "world socialist system". In 1959 Cuba and in 1975 Laos entered the orbit of a new system that lasted more than 40 years.
At the end of the 80s. The world system of socialism included 15 states occupying 26.2% of the earth's territory and numbering 32.3% of the world's population.
"Taking into account even just these quantitative indicators, one can speak of the world system of socialism as an essential factor in post-war international life, requiring more in-depth consideration."
An important prerequisite for the formation of the world socialist system was the liberation mission of the Soviet Army in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. A significant part of researchers tend to believe that in 1944-1947. there were no people's democratic revolutions in the countries of this region, and the Soviet Union imposed the Stalinist model of social development on the liberated peoples. In 1945-1946. broad democratic transformations were carried out in these countries, and bourgeois-democratic forms of statehood were often restored. This is confirmed, in particular: the bourgeois orientation of agrarian reforms in the absence of land nationalization, the preservation of the private sector in small and medium
industry, retail trade and services, the presence of a multi-party system, including the highest level of power. If in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia immediately after liberation a course was taken for socialist transformations, then in the rest of the countries of South-Eastern Europe the new course began to be implemented from the moment the essentially undivided power of the national communist parties was established, as was the case in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, Romania in December 1947 G.
Thus, in a number of countries, during the one and a half to two years after the war, the possibility of an alternative, non-socialist path remained.
Assessing the results of the course of building the foundations of socialism in the countries of South-Eastern Europe, one should state, on the whole, rather the negative effect of these transformations. Thus, the accelerated creation of heavy industry led to the emergence of national economic disproportions, which affected the pace of liquidation of the consequences of post-war devastation and could not but affect the growth in the standard of living of the population of countries in comparison with countries that did not fall into the orbit of socialist construction. Similar results were obtained in the course of coercive cooperation of the village, as well as the displacement of private initiative from the sphere of handicrafts, trade and services.
The departure of the Yugoslav leadership from the "universal" Stalinist construction scheme was the reason for its practical isolation for a number of years from the USSR and its allies. Only after the condemnation of Stalinism at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, only in 1955 did relations between the socialist countries and Yugoslavia begin to gradually normalize.
An important milestone in the history of the formation of the world socialist system can be considered the creation of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in January 1949. Through the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, economic, scientific and technical cooperation was carried out from the originally European socialist countries. Military-political cooperation was carried out within the framework of the Warsaw Pact created in May 1955.
The socialist countries of Europe remained a relatively dynamically developing part of the world socialist system. At its other extreme were Mongolia, China, North Korea, and Vietnam. These countries most consistently used the Stalinist model of building socialism, namely: within the framework of a rigid one-party system, they resolutely eradicated elements of market, private property relations.
China remains the largest socialist country in Asia to this day.
After the victory of the revolution, the defeat of the army of Chiang Kai-shek, on October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and with the great help of the USSR, the country began to restore the national economy. At the same time, China most consistently used the Stalinist model of transformation. And after the 20th Congress of the CPSU, which condemned some of the vices of Stalinism, China opposed itself to the new course of the “big brother”, turning into an arena of an unprecedented scale experiment called the “great leap forward”. The concept of the accelerated construction of socialism by Mao Zedong was essentially a repetition of the Stalinist experiment, but in an even more severe form. The most important task was to overtake and overtake the USSR by drastically breaking social relations, using the labor enthusiasm of the population, barracks forms of work and life, military discipline at all levels of social relations, etc. As a result, already at the end of the 50s, the country's population began to experience hunger. This caused unrest in society and among the leadership of the party. The response of Mao and his supporters was the "cultural revolution". This was the name of the "great helmsman" of a large-scale campaign of repression against dissidents, stretching until the death of Mao. “Until this moment, the PRC, being considered a socialist country, nevertheless, was, as it were, outside the boundaries of the world socialist system, as evidenced, in particular, even by its armed clashes with the USSR at the end of the 60s.”
Thus, the construction of the foundations of socialism for a long time proceeded in military conditions, which had a considerable influence on the features of the reforms, which increasingly acquired a Stalinist-Maoist coloring.
Late 50s, 60s, 70s. Most of the countries of the world socialist system have succeeded in achieving certain positive results in the development of their national economies, ensuring an increase in the living standards of the population. However, during this period, negative trends were also clearly identified, primarily in the economic sphere. The socialist model, which had become stronger in all countries without exception, fettered the initiative of economic entities and did not allow adequate response to new phenomena and trends in the world economic process. This became especially evident in connection with the beginning in the 1950s. scientific and technological revolution. As it developed, the countries of the world socialist system lagged more and more behind the advanced capitalist countries in terms of the rate of introduction of scientific and technological achievements into production, mainly in the field of electronic computers, energy and resource-saving industries and technologies. Attempts to partially reform this model, undertaken in these years, did not give positive results. The reason for the failure of the reforms was the strongest resistance to them by the party-state nomenklatura, which basically determined the extreme inconsistency and, as a result, the failure of the reform process.