General secretaries of the USSR in chronological order

General secretaries of the USSR in chronological order. Today they are already just a part of history, and once their faces were familiar to every single inhabitant of a vast country. The political system in the Soviet Union was such that citizens did not choose their leaders. The decision to appoint the next general secretary was made by the ruling elite. But, nevertheless, the people respected the state leaders and, for the most part, perceived this state of affairs as a given.

Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Stalin)

Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, better known as Stalin, was born on December 18, 1879 in the Georgian city of Gori. He became the first general secretary of the CPSU. He received this position in 1922, when Lenin was still alive, and until the death of the latter he played a secondary role in government.

When Vladimir Ilyich died, a serious struggle began for the highest post. Many of Stalin's competitors had a much better chance of taking him, but thanks to tough, uncompromising actions, Iosif Vissarionovich managed to emerge victorious from the game. Most of the other applicants were physically destroyed, some left the country.

In just a few years of rule, Stalin took the whole country under his "hedgehogs". By the beginning of the 1930s, he finally established himself as the sole leader of the people. The policy of the dictator went down in history:

mass repressions;

· total dispossession;

collectivization.

For this, Stalin was branded by his own followers during the “thaw”. But there is something for which Joseph Vissarionovich, according to historians, is worthy of praise. This is, first of all, the rapid transformation of a ruined country into an industrial and military giant, as well as a victory over fascism. It is quite possible that if the "cult of personality" was not so condemned by all, these achievements would have been unrealistic. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin died on March 5, 1953.

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was born on April 15, 1894 in the Kursk province (the village of Kalinovka) into a simple working-class family. Participated in the Civil War, where he took the side of the Bolsheviks. In the CPSU since 1918. In the late 1930s he was appointed secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

Khrushchev took over the Soviet state shortly after Stalin's death. At first, he had to compete with Georgy Malenkov, who also claimed the highest post and at that time was actually the leader of the country, chairing the Council of Ministers. But in the end, the coveted chair still remained with Nikita Sergeevich.

When Khrushchev was General Secretary, the Soviet country:

launched the first man into space and developed this sphere in every possible way;

· Actively built up five-story buildings, today called "Khrushchev";

planted the lion's share of the fields with corn, for which Nikita Sergeevich was even nicknamed the "maize man".

This ruler went down in history primarily with his legendary speech at the 20th Party Congress in 1956, where he branded Stalin and his bloody policies. From that moment, the so-called “thaw” began in the Soviet Union, when the grip of the state was loosened, cultural figures received some freedom, etc. All this lasted until the removal of Khrushchev from his post on October 14, 1964.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was born in the Dnepropetrovsk region (village Kamenskoye) on December 19, 1906. His father was a metallurgist. In the CPSU since 1931. Main post countries occupied as a result of a conspiracy. It was Leonid Ilyich who led the group of members of the Central Committee that ousted Khrushchev.

The Brezhnev era in the history of the Soviet state is characterized as stagnation. The latter appeared as follows:

· the development of the country has stopped in almost all areas, except for the military-industrial;

The USSR began to seriously lag behind Western countries;

Citizens again felt the grip of the state, repressions and persecution of dissidents began.

Leonid Ilyich tried to improve relations with the United States, which had aggravated back in the time of Khrushchev, but he did not succeed very well. The arms race continued, and after the introduction Soviet troops to Afghanistan, it was impossible to even think about any kind of reconciliation. Brezhnev held a high post until his death, which occurred on November 10, 1982.

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was born in the station town of Nagutskoye ( Stavropol region) June 15, 1914. His father was a railroad worker. In the CPSU since 1939. He was active, which contributed to his rapid rise up the career ladder.

At the time of Brezhnev's death, Andropov headed the Committee state security. He was elected by his associates to the highest post. The board of this general secretary covers a period of less than two years. During this time, Yuri Vladimirovich managed to fight a little with corruption in power. But he did nothing drastic. On February 9, 1984, Andropov died. The reason for this was a serious illness.

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was born in 1911 on September 24 in the Yenisei province (the village of Bolshaya Tes). His parents were peasants. In the CPSU since 1931. Since 1966 - Deputy of the Supreme Council. Appointed General Secretary of the CPSU on February 13, 1984.

Chernenko became the successor of Andropov's policy of identifying corrupt officials. He was in power for less than a year. The cause of his death on March 10, 1985 was also a serious illness.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the North Caucasus (the village of Privolnoe). His parents were peasants. In the CPSU since 1952. Appeared to be active public figure. Moved quickly along the party line.

He was appointed Secretary General on March 11, 1985. He went down in history with the policy of "perestroika", which provided for the introduction of glasnost, the development of democracy, the provision of certain economic freedoms and other liberties to the population. Gorbachev's reforms led to mass unemployment, the liquidation of state-owned enterprises, and a total shortage of goods. This causes an ambiguous attitude towards the ruler on the part of the citizens of the former USSR, which collapsed just during the reign of Mikhail Sergeyevich.

But in the West, Gorbachev is one of the most respected Russian politicians. He was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Gorbachev was Secretary General until August 23, 1991, and the USSR headed until December 25 of the same year.

All deceased general secretaries of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are buried near the Kremlin wall. Their list was closed by Chernenko. Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev is still alive. In 2017, he turned 86 years old.

Photos of the General Secretaries of the USSR in chronological order

Stalin

Khrushchev

Brezhnev

Andropov

Chernenko

Who ruled after Stalin in the USSR? It was Georgy Malenkov. His political biography was a truly phenomenal combination of ups and downs. At one time, he was considered the successor to the leader of the peoples and was even the de facto leader of the Soviet state. He was one of the most experienced apparatchiks and was famous for his ability to calculate many moves ahead. In addition, those who were in power after Stalin had a unique memory. On the other hand, he was expelled from the party during the Khrushchev era. They say he has not been rehabilitated so far, unlike his associates. However, the one who ruled after Stalin was able to endure all this and remain faithful to his cause until death. Although, they say, in old age he overestimated a lot ...

Career start

Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov was born in 1901 in Orenburg. His father worked on the railroad. Despite the fact that noble blood flowed in his veins, he was considered a rather petty employee. His ancestors were from Macedonia. The grandfather of the Soviet leader chose the army path, was a colonel, and his brother was a rear admiral. The mother of a party leader was the daughter of a blacksmith.

In 1919, after graduating from the classical gymnasium, George was drafted into the Red Army. The following year, he joined the Bolshevik Party, becoming a political worker for an entire squadron.

After the Civil War, he studied at the Bauman School, but, having dropped out of school, began working in the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee. It was 1925.

Five years later, under the patronage of L. Kaganovich, he began to head the organizational department of the capital's city committee of the CPSU (b). Note that Stalin really liked this young official. He was intelligent and devoted to the general secretary...

Selection Malenkov

In the second half of the 1930s, there were purges of the opposition in the capital's party organization, which became the prelude to future political repressions. It was Malenkov who then led this "selection" of the party nomenklatura. Later, with the sanction of the functionary, almost all the old communist cadres were repressed. He himself came to the regions in order to intensify the fight against "enemies of the people." He used to be a witness to interrogations. True, the functionary, in fact, was only an executor of the direct instructions of the leader of the peoples.

Roads of war

When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Malenkov managed to show his organizational talent. He had to professionally and fairly quickly solve many economic and personnel issues. He has always supported developments in the tank and rocket industries. In addition, it was he who made it possible for Marshal Zhukov to stop the seemingly inevitable collapse of the Leningrad Front.

In 1942, this party leader ended up in Stalingrad and was engaged, among other things, in organizing the defense of the city. On his orders, the urban population began to evacuate.

In the same year, thanks to his efforts, the Astrakhan defensive region was strengthened. So, modern boats and other watercraft appeared in the Volga and Caspian flotilla.

Later, he took an active part in the preparation of the battle on Kursk Bulge, after which he focused on the restoration of the liberated territories, heading the appropriate committee.

post-war period

Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich began to turn into the second figure in the country and the party.

When the war ended, he dealt with issues related to the dismantling of German industry. By and large, this work has been constantly criticized. The fact is that many of the influential departments tried to get this equipment. As a result, an appropriate commission was created, which adopted unexpected decision. German industry was no longer dismantled, and enterprises that were based in the territories of East Germany began to produce goods for the Soviet Union as reparations.

Rise of a functionary

In mid-autumn 1952, the Soviet leader instructed Malenkov to make a report at the next congress of the Communist Party. Thus, the party functionary, in fact, was presented as Stalin's successor.

Apparently, the leader put forward him as a compromise figure. She suited both the party elite and the security forces.

A few months later, Stalin was gone. And Malenkov, in turn, became the head of the Soviet government. Of course, before him this post was held by the deceased general secretary.

Malenkov's reforms

Malenkov's reforms began literally immediately. Historians also call them "perestroika" and believe that this reform could greatly change the entire structure National economy.

The head of government in the period after Stalin's death announced to the people a completely new life. He promised that the two systems - capitalism and socialism - would coexist peacefully. He was the first leader of the Soviet Union to warn against atomic weapons. In addition, he was determined to put an end to the politics of the cult of personality by moving to the collective leadership of the state. He recalled that the late leader criticized the members of the Central Committee for the cult planted around him. True, there was no significant reaction to this proposal of the new prime minister at all.

In addition, the one who ruled after Stalin and before Khrushchev decided to lift a number of bans - on crossing borders, foreign press, customs transit. Unfortunately, the new head tried to present this policy as a natural continuation of the previous course. That is why Soviet citizens, in fact, not only did not pay attention to "perestroika", but also did not remember it.

Career decline

By the way, it was Malenkov, as the head of government, who came up with the idea to halve the remuneration of party officials, that is, the so-called. "envelopes". By the way, before him, Stalin offered the same thing shortly before his death. Now, thanks to the relevant resolution, this initiative has been implemented, but it has caused even greater irritation on the part of the party nomenklatura, including N. Khrushchev. As a result, Malenkov was removed from his post. And all his "perestroika" was practically curtailed. At the same time, "ration" bonuses to officials were restored.

Nevertheless, the ex-head of government remained in the cabinet. He directed all Soviet power plants, which began to work much more successfully and more efficiently. Malenkov also promptly resolved issues related to the social arrangement of employees, workers and their families. Accordingly, all this increased his popularity. Even though she was already tall. But in the middle of the summer of 1957 he was "exiled" to the hydroelectric power station in Ust-Kamenogorsk, in Kazakhstan. When he arrived there, the whole city rose to meet him.

In three years former minister has already headed the thermal power plant in Ekibastuz. And also on arrival, a lot of people appeared who carried his portraits ...

Many did not like his well-deserved fame. And the very next year, the one who was in power after Stalin was expelled from the party, sent to retire.

Last years

Once retired, Malenkov returned to Moscow. He retained some privileges. In any case, he bought food in a special store for party officials. But, despite this, he periodically went to his dacha in Kratovo by train.

And in the 80s, the one who ruled after Stalin suddenly turned to the Orthodox faith. This was, perhaps, his last "turn" of fate. Many saw him in the temple. In addition, he periodically listened to radio programs about Christianity. He also became a reader in churches. By the way, in these years he lost a lot of weight. Perhaps that is why no one touched him and did not recognize him.

He died at the very beginning of January 1988. He was buried at the Novokuntsevsky churchyard in the capital. Note that he was buried according to the Christian rite. In the Soviet media of those times there were no reports of his death. But there were obituaries in Western periodicals. And very extensive...

The lessons of the USSR. Historically Unresolved Problems as Factors in the Emergence, Development and Decay of the USSR Nikanorov Spartak Petrovich

9. USSR after Stalin's death

9. USSR after Stalin's death

Stage characteristic

Drawing lessons from this historical period is particularly important. This stage is the rapid, in just 40 years, the destruction of what was achieved by Stalin. Of course, the course of history at this stage consists not only of destruction, there are also remarkable achievements in many, including key areas. But a careful examination of them shows that they are all only repetitions of the line defined and carried out by Stalin. Many in the country, of course, not all, distinctly aware of their historical mission. For Stalin, the greatness of the country had greater value, how happy life population. Stalin was a sovereign. Individuals or groups that openly or covertly undermined the USSR were exterminated. Not “everyone is busy with their own business”, but “everyone is doing one common thing”. After the death of Stalin, of the five General Secretaries, this idea was continued only by Brezhnev.

A common feature of the entire post-Stalin era of the USSR (March 1953 - December 1991) is in the loss of perspective and focus, clarity and rigidity of the work of the state apparatus, which is incompatible with the principles of Soviet socialism. The centralized planning system was ineffective in the conditions of rapid scientific and technological development due to the fact that the local initiative required numerous approvals. The weakening of goal-setting and goal-achievement, a sluggish response to the necessary ongoing changes, the nominal nature of planning and reporting on the implementation of the plan, the postponement of deadlines, the decline in the culture and discipline of leadership, the war in Afghanistan, which only led to great casualties. Growing lag in scientific and technological development. Hence the desire of high leadership to shift their functions to lower levels, constant delays in the formation of the annual budget, following one after another reorganization of the state apparatus. Control over the activities of organizations has weakened. The distrust of organizations that arose in government agencies led to the desire to “squeeze” the organization in “plans coming down from above”. As a result - a variety of imitation tricks of organizations in the implementation of the decisions of the Center. Under Stalin, all this was impossible. Speaking in the language of management theory, the reason was the negative feedback that had developed in the management of the state.

However, a highly centralized system government controlled continued to maintain its advantages over the market West. In some areas, the return of Soviet science and technology was many times greater than that of the West. The USSR outnumbered the US in arms exports. In mass production of consumer goods and in terms of the quality of services, the USSR lost, in limited production it was equal or ahead. The development of production in the USSR was limited by the fact that the world market did not let its products. But this restriction was partially lifted by the CMEA countries. Therefore, the excess of production capacities available in the USSR and in the CMEA countries under its control (possible only under socialism) could not be used in full. In terms of the share of production, the USSR did not lag behind, and in conditions of severe isolation developed on the principles of self-sufficiency, produced everything necessary for itself. But the share of consumption was small in comparison with the share of mechanical engineering. The independence of the activities of machine-building industries and organizations led to a low unification of parts and types of materials, which is impossible in a market economy. The planned economy was not focused on ensuring its technical and economic efficiency. Nevertheless, the USSR developed the fastest of all, including the United States, and provided significant savings in resources.

Stalin was in power for 31 years. From the moment of his death on March 2, 1953, when he was 74 years old, to the liquidation of the USSR in 1992, 39 years passed. During this time, five General Secretaries Central Committee of the CPSU. On average, eight years each. Between their lines, apart from the sharp covert war for the power of one or another party clan, there was a struggle to change or preserve the political ideology, domestic and foreign policy, social and state form of the USSR.

The first in 1953 to take power N.S. Khrushchev(1894–1971). He was 59 years old. From the age of 32, N.S. Khrushchev at party work in the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine. In 1944–1947 - Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine, then - 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine. During the Great Patriotic War - a member of a number of Councils of Fronts. Since 1949 - Secretary of the CPSU (b) and 1st Secretary of the Moscow Committee of the CPSU (b). In 1953 (it is clear why) he became the 1st (and not General) Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Member of the Central Committee of the CPSU N.S. Khrushchev was from 1934 to 1966, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee from 1939 to 1964. Some authors claim that Khrushchev could neither read nor write. Probably well thought...

N.S. Khrushchev in the late 30s was one of the most important organizers of repressions in Moscow and Ukraine. It is known that the organizers of the repressions, in order to curry favor with Stalin, increased the number of those repressed beyond what was really necessary. The decision to carry out the punishments provided for in the list of the repressed could only be made personally by Stalin. When such a list was brought to him for approval, Stalin pointed to those who should be excluded. To which he was sometimes told: "You were busy, the sentences have already been carried out." Well, Khrushchev managed to become a support for Stalin in order to kill and curse him?

In the second half of the 1940s, he was one of the organizers of the struggle against cosmopolitanism (admiration for "foreignness"). But this did not prevent him from becoming the initiator of a "thaw" in domestic and foreign policy, which, allegedly, is better than strict discipline. In 1956, at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, he exposed Stalin's "personality cult".

The regime established by Mao Zedong was more severe than that of Stalin. Nevertheless, in China, the cult of worship of Mao as the great founder of the PRC and the leader of the nation persists even after his death, and it never occurs to anyone to "take Mao out of the mausoleum."

The policy pursued by N.S. Khrushchev, was inconsistent and anti-Stalinist. He transferred the management of the national economy from the sectoral principle to the territorial one. This led to the collapse of the centralized form of government and the inefficiency of the branch. As a result - to huge losses in the national economy, a delay in its development. This transformation was canceled under L. I. Brezhnev, the branch principle was restored.

But N.S. Khrushchev limited the privileges of the party and state apparatus (to eliminate the “Stalinists” from it?). He improved the living conditions of the population, organized the mass construction of residential buildings ("Khrushchev"), made society more open. In 1954, two air defense rings around Moscow and the world's first nuclear power plant were put into operation. In 1957 the first satellite was launched, in 1961 Gagarin's space flight. Strived to expand international relations.

At the same time, N. S. Khrushchev carried out the suppression of "dissenters", sent troops to Hungary in 1956, shot a workers' demonstration in Novo-Cherkassk in 1962, aggravated the confrontation with the West (the Berlin crisis, 1961, created the Caribbean crisis , 1962). He set unattainable goals for the country: "to catch up and overtake America", "to build communism by 1980". He threatened with a shoe taken from his foot from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly. After a visit to the United States, at the invitation of Eisenhower, he becomes a liberal communist. By decision of N. S. Khrushchev, A. N. Kosygin prepared the transfer of a part of the public property of the national economy to private property. Although in 1952 in the book “ Economic problems socialism in the USSR” Stalin argued that the transfer of private property to the state was the best form of nationalization, but already at the end of 1952 he spoke out against the state monopoly in the economy. Stalin outlined these reforms six months before his death for approval at a meeting of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

By 1962, the party and state apparatuses were convinced of the ostentatious activities and the inability of N. S. Khrushchev to lead the socialist state. By decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU in October 1964, N. S. Khrushchev was removed from his duties as 1st Secretary and member of the Politburo of the Central Committee, but remained a member of the Central Committee for another 2 years. N. S. Khrushchev was in power for 11 years. He resigned from his post when he was 70 years old.

The 58-year-old was elected to the post of 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in October 1964 L.I. Brezhnev (1906–1982) who organized the removal of N.S. Khrushchev. In 1966, this post began to be called "Secretary General" again. L.I. Brezhnev held this post for 18 years, until his death, which occurred when he was 76 years old. In the last years of his life he was seriously ill. He was not a destroyer of the line pursued by Stalin, like Khrushchev, but he was not able to deeply understand it and correctly carry it out in completely new conditions. The consequence was his superficial, outward imitation of Stalin.

When the Great Patriotic War began, Leonid Brezhnev was 36 years old. During the war and after it, until the end of his life, he was in party work: 1st secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine, 1st secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova. In 1953 - Head of the Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy. Then - the 2nd and 1st secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. From 1952 to 1964 (with interruptions) - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the USSR Defense Council. As under Stalin, under Brezhnev the authoritarian regime was preserved.

Since 1965, measures have been taken to improve the work of the national economy. The next Congress of the CPSU pointed out the need to create associations, use "economic methods" in management, higher rates of growth in labor productivity and profitability of production, strengthen cost accounting, accurately record the deadlines for completing tasks, select options that will give the fastest return, encourage saving time and strict tracking its wastefulness, eliminating unnecessary links in bureaucratic procedures, ensuring prompt decision-making. It provided for the constant development of all sectors of the economy, the creation of conditions for the use of the abilities of all members of society, the convergence of science and technology, the acceleration of the development and implementation of a new efficient technique. The reform of 1965 began the practical use of commodity-money "levers" in the body of socialist production relations. These decisions were of great political economic significance.

It was assumed that these measures would make it possible to create a "mature socialist society", "developed socialism".

In fact, during the reign of L. I. Brezhnev, negative phenomena gradually increased in the economy, in the social and spiritual life of society. The economy became more and more extensive and consumerist. For example, the engineering industry of the USSR began to produce mainly equipment for the production of consumer products. The reason was the extreme conservatism of social forms. The country began to live by selling oil and gas. At the beginning of L. I. Brezhnev's rule, a course was pursued to ease international tension, and then he began to conduct an intensified militarization of the country, thereby supporting the arms race provoked by the United States. L. I. Brezhnev, having heard enough of his assistants, in public speaking insisted on the use of systems analysis. The defense department of the Central Committee of the CPSU supported the development of the target planning system used by the United States (the then famous PERT). But the conservative system of central planning throughout the country was unable to master either system analysis or target planning. It is possible that the US understood the subversive nature of these attempts.

In 1965 Chief Engineer One of the defense design bureaus, Anatoly Vasilyevich Pivovarov, told me: "Not a single Government Decree is being implemented." Under Stalin, this was absolutely impossible.

At the same time, the 2nd secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee, Yuri Vladimirovich Torsuev, invited two then famous explorers P. G. Kuznetsov and S. P. Nikanorov and invited them to answer one question:

"Komsomol with the party or with the party?"

A month later, he was presented with a voluminous report, which substantiated the need for the Komsomol to be independent youth organization which takes into account the policy pursued by the party. Torsuev, having briefly read the report, said: “Do you want me to be arrested?” Soon the Komsomol Central Committee dismissed him from the post of 2nd Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee.

In 1966, a group of specialists, of which I was a member, was invited by the head of the Technical Directorate of the USSR Minstankoprom. She asked us one question: “Why has almost the whole world abandoned metal cutting and switched to physical processing methods, while we continue to cut?”. Under " physical methods”was understood, for example, to obtain accurate, completely finished metal products (such as a car body) from a sheet of metal of the required thickness by a single hydraulic impact on the sheet lying above the mold, with pressure on water of thousands of atmospheres. Our answer was unequivocal: because the centralized planning system in the form used by the USSR stifled initiative. It was believed that only the top understand everything correctly, and only they look ahead, all the rest - favorite word in the USSR - performers.

In 1969, the International Conference "The Tasks of the Fight Against Imperialism at the Present Stage and the Unity of Action of the Communist and Workers' Parties and All Anti-Imperialist Forces" was held.

In 1973, a brigade-economic calculation was introduced in construction, in 1976 - a team contract, 1977 - a through team contract. In 1977 - the transfer of all house-building plants to self-supporting, which improved their economic performance.

During this period, changes were made in the capitalist countries, bringing them closer to the forms used by the USSR. State incentives have been introduced for the production carried out by the monopolies by providing them with an increasing share of the national income. Government funding for industrial development programs and scientific research. Programs for the economic development of the country are drawn up.

In 1974, "Guidelines for the development of state plans for the development of the national economy" were put into effect.

In the middle - late 70s and early 80s, under the impression of the economic difficulties of the USSR, the use of socialism was abandoned throughout the world. Worldwide disappointment in the results of direct state management. In England, the refusal of the state to participate in economic activity: "it is necessary to look for more flexible forms of public control." There has been massive denationalization in Africa. Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, Czechoslovakia abandoned socialism. Deng Xiaoping said when introducing socialist capitalism to China: “It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white. It is important that she catch mice.” Gandhi in India stated that "socialism is depleting the people's wealth." There was an anti-state and anti-socialist revolt of the world economy.

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From the book Stalin's Inner Circle. Companions of the leader author Medvedev Roy Alexandrovich

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Topic #20

USSR AFTER STALIN in the 1950s

LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY AFTER THE DEATH OF STALIN (1953–1955)

At the end 1952 was arrested by the MGB large groupKremlin doctors, who were accused of deliberately killing the leaders of the party and state (in 1945 - the 1st secretary of the Moscow city party committee and chairman of the Sovinformburo Alexander Sergeevich Shcherbakov, in 1948 - Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov). The majority of those arrested were Jews by nationality, which gave reason to declare "disclosure of a Zionist terrorist group of killer doctors", "associated with the international Jewish bourgeois-nationalist organization "Joint"". A TASS report about this was published in Pravda on January 13, 1953. “The pests were exposed” by the doctor Lidia Timashuk, who was awarded the Order of Lenin for this (in April 1953, after Stalin’s death, the decree on awarding was canceled “as incorrect”). The arrest of the doctors was supposed to be the end of the anti-Semitic campaign in the USSR: after the public execution of the killer doctors, mass repressions would be brought down on all Jews, they would be evicted to Siberia, etc. personal doctor Stalin, Professor V. N. Vinogradov, who, having discovered that the leader had a disorder of cerebral circulation and multiple small hemorrhages in the brain, said that Stalin needed to move away from active work. Stalin regarded this as a desire to deprive him of power (in 1922 he did the same with Lenin, isolating him in Gorki).

Organizers "Doctors' Affairs" were L.P. Beria and new minister State Security Officer S. D. Ignatiev, the executor was the head of the investigative unit of the MGB, Major Ryumin. In this way, Stalin was deprived of the help of the most qualified doctors, and the very first serious cerebral hemorrhage became fatal for him.

(A month after Stalin's death, a report was published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the verification of this case, on the illegality of the arrests, on the use of methods of investigation in the MGB that were unacceptable and prohibited by Soviet laws. The doctors were released, Major Ryumin was arrested and shot in the summer of 1954, six months after Beria. )

March 2, 1953 Stalin was struck by a blow at his dacha in Kuntsevo near Moscow, and for about half a day he was not provided with any help. Stalin's condition was hopeless ("Cheyne-Stokes breath"). Without regaining consciousness Stalin died at 21.50 March 5, 1953 From March 1953 to October 1961, Stalin's body was in the Mausoleum next to Lenin's body. On the day of the funeral (March 9) there was a stampede in Moscow, hundreds of people were killed or maimed.

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR(Stalin's successor as head of government) became George Maximilianovich Malenkov. His first deputies were L.P. Beria, V.M. Molotov, N.A. Bulganin and L.M. Kaganovich.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR(formally it was the position of the head of state) March 15 at the session of the Supreme Council was approved Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov.

MIA and MGB were united within the framework of the new Ministry of the Interior (MVD), the Minister of the Interior again (after 1946) became Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria. In 1953, an amnesty was held, and many criminals were released ("The Cold Summer of 53rd"). The country's crime rate has risen sharply (a new surge after 1945–1947). Beria intended to use this situation to strengthen the powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for his own purposes.

Minister of Foreign Affairs again (after 1949) became Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov(A. Ya. Vyshinsky, who held this position, was sent to the USA by the Permanent Representative of the USSR to the UN, where he died of a heart attack).

Minister of War remained (since 1947, replaced Stalin himself in this post). Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky became his first deputies.

Thus, after the death of Stalin, the period of disgrace for V. M. Molotov, K. E. Voroshilov and G. K. Zhukov ended.

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was the only secretary of the Central Committee who was part of the top party leadership - the Bureau of the Presidium. It was decided to release him from the duties of the 1st Secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee, so that he could concentrate on work in the Central Committee. In fact, Khrushchev became manage the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU, although formally he has not yet become the First Secretary. G. M. Malenkov and L. P. Beria, actually leading the country after Stalin's death, intended to concentrate power in the Council of Ministers - the government of the USSR. They needed the party apparatus for the precise execution of government decisions. In Khrushchev, they saw a simple performer who did not pretend to power. (They made the same mistake as Zinoviev and Kamenev, who in 1922 recommended Stalin for the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP(b).)

Beria and Malenkov understood the need for changes in the country, but while maintaining the essence of the regime. Beria took the initiative to normalize relations with Yugoslavia, Malenkov urged to take care of the material and cultural needs of the people. But the leadership of the party and the state was afraid that Beria, relying on the organs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, would sooner or later want to take all power into his own hands and eliminate all his rivals. Khrushchev initiated the elimination of Beria. Malenkov was the last to agree to the elimination of his friend Beria.

AT June 1953 Beria was arrested at a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee in the Kremlin. The arrest was made by 6 officers led by marshals Zhukov and Moskalenko. Before that, all the guards in the Kremlin were replaced by the military, and Zhukov brought Tamanskaya and Kantemirovskaya tank divisions to warn possible actions employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the release of Beria. The people were informed that the Plenum of the Central Committee, held on July 2–7, exposed “the agent of the British and Musavatist (bourgeois Azerbaijani) intelligence, the enemy of the people Beria”, who “wormed his way into confidence” in the leadership of the party and state, sought to “place the organs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs over the party” and establish their personal power in the country. Beria was removed from all posts, expelled from the party, convicted by a military tribunal (chairman - Marshal I. S. Konev) and at the end December 1953 shot.

AT September 1953 Khrushchev was elected 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The term "cult of personality" was first mentioned in the press. Verbatim records of the Plenums of the Central Committee (glasnost) began to be published. The people got the opportunity to visit the Kremlin museums. The process of rehabilitation of the innocently convicted has begun. Khrushchev's popularity grew, and the military and party apparatus supported him. In fact, Khrushchev became the first person in the state.

In 1955 Malenkov declared his unwillingness to hold the post of head of government. new Chairman Council of Ministers became Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin, and Malenkov became the Minister of Power Plants.

Even Malenkov, in his first speeches as head of government, spoke about the need to increase the production of consumer goods (group "B") and the priority of group "B" over group "A" (production of means of production), about changing attitudes towards agriculture. Khrushchev criticized the outstripping pace of development of group "B", saying that without a powerful heavy industry, the country's defense capability and the rise of agriculture cannot be ensured. The main problem in the economy was the agrarian problem: there was a shortage of grain in the country, although Malenkov announced XIX Congress CPSU in 1952 that "the grain problem in the USSR has been solved."

Task number 1. Was G. M. Malenkov right when he spoke about the priority of group "B" over group "A"?

September (1953) Plenum of the Central Committee decided to increase purchase price for agricultural products (for meat - 5.5 times, for milk and butter - 2 times, for vegetables - 2 times and for grain - 1.5 times), take off debt from collective farms cut taxes on personal farms of collective farmers, not to redistribute income between collective farms (equalization condemned). Khrushchev declared that the improvement of the life of the people is impossible without the rise of agriculture and the improvement of the life of the collective farmers. Were reduced mandatory deliveries agricultural products to the state, reduced(subsequently cancelled) household taxes. This led to a greater interest of collective farmers in production, and the supply of cities improved. In peasant farms, the number of poultry increased, cows appeared. By the spring of 1954, 100,000 graduates were sent to collective farms and state farms.

Referring to the grain problem, Khrushchev said that Malenkov's statement at the 19th Party Congress about its solution was not true, and that the shortage of grain impeded the growth in the production of meat, milk and butter. Solving the grain problem was possible in two ways: the first - increase in yield, which required fertilizers and an increase in the culture of agriculture and would not give an immediate return, the second - expansion of cultivated areas.

In order to immediately increase grain production, it was decided to develop virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, the Volga region and Southern Urals. People landed right in the steppes, in off-road conditions, without basic amenities, lived in tents in the winter steppe, there was not enough equipment.

February-March (1954) Plenum of the Central Committee approved the decision to development of virgin lands . Already in the spring of 1954, 17 million hectares of land were raised and 124 grain state farms were created. The leaders of Kazakhstan, who insisted on preserving traditional sheep breeding, were replaced: Panteleimon Kondratievich became the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan Ponomarenko, and the 2nd secretary - Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. In 1954–1955 350 thousand people went to work in 425 virgin state farms on Komsomol vouchers. In the record-breaking year of 1956, virgin lands produced 40% of the country's total grain. At the same time, grain production in the arid steppes required a high degree of agricultural culture and was highly dependent on weather conditions. In the future, extensive (without the introduction of scientific achievements and new technologies) farming methods led to the impoverishment of the fertile soil layer and a drop in yields due to wind erosion of the soil.

Thus, Khrushchev's attempt to solve the grain problem within the framework of the collective farm system failed, but grain production increased, which made it possible to eliminate bread lines and start free sale of flour. However, there was not enough grain for the needs of animal husbandry (for fattening beef cattle).

Task number 2. Was the development of virgin lands justified in the USSR?
XX CONGRESS OF THE CPSU. HIS SOLUTIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE

C 14 to 25 February 1956 The 20th Congress of the CPSU was held, which determined the final turn to de-Stalinization Soviet society, liberalization domestic economic and political life, expanding foreign policy ties and establishing friendly relations with a number of foreign countries

The report at the congress was made by Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev. Key points international part of the report:

a) the fact is stated that it was formed and exists world system of socialism("socialist camp");

b) a desire is expressed cooperation with everyone social democratic movements and parties (under Stalin, social democracy was considered the worst enemy of the working-class movement, since it distracts the workers from the revolutionary struggle with peaceful slogans);

c) stated that transition forms various countries towards socialism can be diverse, including the possible way for the communists and socialists to win the parliamentary majority following the results of the elections and carry out all the necessary socialist transformations by peaceful, parliamentary means (under Stalin, such statements would have been followed by an accusation of opportunism);

d) the principle is emphasized peaceful coexistence two systems (socialist and capitalist), building confidence and cooperation; socialism does not need to be exported: the working people of the capitalist countries will establish socialism themselves when they are convinced of its advantages;

e) danger of war persists, but her inevitability is no more, since the forces of the world (socialist, labor movement, Third World countries" - developing countries Asia, Africa and Latin America) stronger than the forces war.

The report provided an analysis of the internal economic situation USSR and tasks in the field of economics:

a) electrify the entire national economy, accelerate the electrification of railways;

b) create a powerful energy, metallurgical and machine-building base in Siberia and on Far East;

c) in the VI Five-Year Plan (1956-1960) to increase production industrial products by 65%, catch up with the developed capitalist countries in per capita output;

G) in agriculture to bring the annual grain harvest to 11 billion poods (1 pood = 16 kg), to fully provide the country with potatoes and vegetables in 2 years, to double the production of meat in a five-year period, focusing mainly on development pig breeding;

e) sharply increase crops corn, primarily to provide livestock with fodder (Khrushchev, working after the war as the 1st secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, saw that corn yields high yields; it was a mistake to distribute corn crops in areas where it had never been cultivated before and could not produce high crops - in Belarus, the Baltic states, the Tula, Leningrad regions, etc.); in 1953 there were 3.5 million hectares under corn, and in 1955 - already 17.9 million hectares.

Decisions of the XX Congress in social policy:

a) to transfer all workers and employees during the VI five-year plan to a 7-hour working day with a 6-day working week, from 1957 to begin the transfer individual industries economy on 5-day work week with an 8-hour work day;

b) increase volume housing construction by 2 times due to its transfer to industrial rails (transition to large-panel housing construction, when the elements of houses are produced at house-building factories, and at the construction site they are only assembled into a single whole). Khrushchev called for the creation of a socialist architectural style - durable, economical, beautiful. This is how “Khrushchev” houses appeared with separate apartments of a small area, but they were also a great joy for those who moved there from communal apartments and post-war barracks;

c) Khrushchev called for an increase release household appliances and to expansion catering networks to liberate the Soviet woman;

d) from September 1, 1956 canceled introduced in 1940 tuition fee in high schools, technical schools and universities;

d) it was decided raise the salary low-wage workers by 30% and increase the minimum pensions up to 350 rubles (since February 1, 1961 - 35 rubles); it was considered expedient that the salary of the heads of enterprises depended on the results achieved.

In the report of the Central Committee, the name of Stalin was mentioned with respect: the report was approved by the Bureau of the Presidium of the Central Committee, in which the majority was against exposing the cult of personality, primarily V. M. Molotov, G. M. Malenkov, K. E. Voroshilov, L. M. Kaganovich, themselves involved in mass repressions. Khrushchev believed that it was necessary to tell the truth and repent in order to restore the confidence of ordinary communists and the common people in the leadership of the party. Despite the objections of Stalin's associates, Khrushchev in the evening last day work of the congress (February 25) gathered closed session at which he made a presentation "About the cult of personality and its consequences", in which for the first time he openly connected "deviations from the Leninist norms of party life" and what was happening in the country lawlessness and arbitrariness with the name of Stalin. Khrushchev's speech was a courageous step, because he himself, implicitly believing Stalin, signed sanctions for the destruction of "enemies of the people."

The congress delegates learned for the first time about many things: about Lenin's characterization of Stalin in the supplement to the "Letter to the Congress"; that most of the delegates to the 17th Party Congress (1934) were killed for "counter-revolutionary crimes"; that the confessions of many prominent figures of the party and the state about their participation in sabotage and espionage were extorted from them under torture; about the falsification of Moscow litigation 30s; about torture with the permission of the Central Committee of the Party (Stalin's letter to the NKVD in 1937); that Stalin personally signed 383 "execution" lists; on violation of collective norms of leadership; about Stalin's gross miscalculations during the war, etc. By decision of the congress, a commission was formed to investigate the circumstances of the murder of Sergei Mironovich Kirov.

What we know today in all details came as a shock to the congress delegates. Khrushchev's report was classified for the Soviet people until 1989, although it was immediately published in the West. The text of the report was read out to the communists at closed party meetings; notes were not allowed. After such meetings, people were taken away with heart attacks. Many have lost faith in what they lived for (the suicide of the writer Alexander Fadeev in 1956 was caused, in particular, by this circumstance). The lack of clarity in assessing the Stalinist regime led to a pro-Stalinist demonstration of Georgian youth in Tbilisi in October 1956, who were shot.

Based on the decision of the XX Congress June 30, 1956 decision of the Central Committee "On overcoming the cult of personality and its consequences". Stalin's "individual mistakes" were condemned there, but the system he created was not called into question, neither the names of those who were guilty of lawlessness (except for Beria), nor the facts of lawlessness themselves were named. It was stated that the cult of personality could not change the nature of our system. After this decision, mass rehabilitation illegally repressed. They were released without returning the confiscated property and were given compensation in the amount of 2 months of earnings before arrest. The executioners and scammers, meanwhile, continued to work in their places, avoiding punishment.

Task number 3. What decisions of the XX Congress of the CPSU, in principle, could not be taken under Stalin and why?
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE USSR

From the mid 50s. an era has begun scientific and technological revolution (NTR). First of all, it was expressed in the application atomic energy for peaceful purposes, as well as in the development outer space. In 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant, the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, was put into operation; The nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" was put into operation. Scientific and technological revolution in the USSR developed within the framework of military-industrial complex.

October 4, 1957 launched the first artificial satellite Earth. In the USSR, more and more powerful samples of ballistic missiles were developed and tested. After test flights of the dogs Laika (without a descent vehicle), and then Belka and Strelka (returned to Earth) April 12, 1961 man flew into space for the first time Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin(left as a senior lieutenant, after 108 minutes of flight - 1 orbit around the Earth - landed as a major).

The era of scientific and technological revolution was accompanied by qualitatively new catastrophes. In 1957, a radioactive release occurred at the Mayak plant in the Chelyabinsk region, and the radioactive trace was not eliminated, and the consequences of contamination are still being felt. In 1960, it exploded at the start ballistic missile. Marshal M. I. Nedelin, several generals, hundreds of engineers, soldiers, and officers burned alive.

The oil and gas industry developed rapidly, oil and gas pipelines were built. Priority attention was paid to the construction of ferrous metallurgy enterprises.

In the mid 50s. it became clear that super-centralized management of the economy, when any minor issues are resolved only at the level of the ministry, does not justify itself and hinders the development of production. In addition, the ministries duplicated each other's activities. On the line of different ministries, counter-transportations of the same goods were carried out. In 1957, the economic reform began . The entire territory of the USSR was divided into 105 economic regions, in each of which territorial economic management bodies were established - councils of the national economy (sovnarkhozes). Each economic council included one or more regions and developed as a single economic system devoid of departmental contradictions. Economic councils got the right independent planning, could establish among themselves direct economic ties. The need for the existence of large all-Union ministries disappeared, about 60 ministries were liquidated, their functions were transferred to the economic councils; only 10 most important ones remained, which could not be divided (the Ministry of Defense, the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Communications, Communications, etc.).

In 1957–1958, when the ministries had already been abolished and the economic councils had not yet been formed, the national economy worked most efficiently, as it got out of control and guardianship of the overgrown bureaucratic apparatus. Dissatisfaction with the economic council reform was primarily expressed by officials who lost their posts. Gradually, the employees of the abolished ministries became part of the apparatus of the economic councils or the branch departments of the State Planning Commission, and the number of bureaucratic apparatus that controlled the economy did not practically decrease.

Task number 4. What are the positive and negative sides of the economic reform in the USSR?

Enterprises in the 1950s appeared communist labor brigades, but the incentives were still only moral (a pennant for winning the competition), the salary was time-based - almost the same for both the leaders and the laggards.

In the field of agriculture, the reform was that in 1958 all equipment of state machine and tractor stations (MTS) was mandatory sold to collective farms. Only large rich farms benefited from this, for which it was convenient and profitable to maintain their own equipment. Most of the rest did not have the funds to either buy the equipment or maintain it, so when they were forced to buy the equipment, they were on the verge of ruin. In addition, the machine operators did not want to move to the collective farms along with the equipment and looked for other jobs in the city so as not to worsen their standard of living. The bankrupt collective farms were written off their debts and turned into state farms - state-owned agricultural enterprises.

Khrushchev's visit to the USA once again convinced him of the need to develop corn (after visiting the fields of the farmer Garst, who grew hybrid corn). A new wave has begun corn campaign: corn was sown up to Yakutia and the Arkhangelsk region. The blame for the fact that it does not grow there was shifted to the local leadership (“they let things take their course”). At the same time, American varieties of corn gave good yields in the Ukraine, the Kuban, and other southern regions of the country.

At the end of the 50s. The 1st secretary of the Ryazan regional party committee, Larionov, announced that he would increase meat procurement in the region by 3 times in one year. As a result, all collective-farm dairy cattle of the region, cattle confiscated from the population, and cattle bought in other regions with huge bank loans were put to slaughter. The next year there was a sharp drop in the level of agricultural production in the Ryazan and neighboring regions. Larionov shot himself.

Khrushchev personally traveled around the country and supervised agriculture. With 1958 started again struggle with personal subsidiary farms. Collective farmers trading in the markets were called speculators and parasites. Citizens were forbidden to keep livestock. In the mid 50s. private farms provided 50% of the meat produced in the country, in 1959 - only 20%. Another campaign was the fight against squandering on a state scale (“you don’t need to make museums wherever Pushkin has been”).

In 1957 were expanded budgetary rights of the union republics, they were partially transferred to the functions of the State Planning Commission. By the end of the 50s. began equalization of the pace of their development. The development of industry in Central Asia and Kazakhstan was provided by labor from the central regions of Russia, and unemployment appeared among the local population traditionally employed in agriculture. Lands between the republics of Central Asia were redistributed without taking into account the national composition of the inhabitants and their desires. All this became the basis for ethnic conflicts in future. AT 1954 Crimea was transferred from the RSFSR to Ukraine in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. The decision of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU was not even supported by an official act of state bodies.

By the end of 1958, there were failures in the implementation of the Sixth Five-Year Plan. AT January 1959 took place XXI (Extraordinary) Congress of the CPSU, who took seven year plan development of the national economy for 1959–1965. (the last 2 years of the 6th Five-Year Plan + the 7th Five-Year Plan) to establish a long-term perspective of economic planning. The seven-year plan provided for: an increase in industrial output by 80% (actual fulfillment - 84%), an increase in agricultural production by 70% (actual fulfillment - 15%). By the end of the seven-year plan, it was planned to overtake and overtake the United States in per capita agricultural production, and by 1970 in industrial production.

The first ruler of the young Land of Soviets, which arose as a result of the October Revolution of 1917, was the head of the RCP (b) - the Bolshevik Party - Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), who led the "revolution of workers and peasants." All subsequent rulers of the USSR served as Secretary General of the Central Committee of this organization, which, starting from 1922, became known as the CPSU - communist party Soviet Union.

It should be noted that the ideology of the system ruling in the country denied the possibility of holding any nationwide elections or voting. The change of the top leaders of the state was carried out by the ruling elite itself, either after the death of its predecessor, or as a result of coups accompanied by serious inner-party struggle. The article will list the rulers of the USSR in chronological order and mark the main stages life path some of the most prominent historical figures.

Ulyanov (Lenin) Vladimir Ilyich (1870-1924)

One of the most famous figures in history Soviet Russia. Vladimir Ulyanov stood at the origins of its creation, was the organizer and one of the leaders of the event that gave rise to the world's first communist state. Leading a coup in October 1917 aimed at overthrowing the provisional government, he assumed the position of chairman of the Council of People's Commissars - the post of leader of a new country formed on the ruins of the Russian Empire.

His merit is the 1918 peace treaty with Germany, which marked the end of the NEP - a new economic policy government, which was supposed to lead the country out of the abyss of widespread poverty and hunger. All the rulers of the USSR considered themselves "faithful Leninists" and praised Vladimir Ulyanov in every possible way as a great statesman.

It should be noted that immediately after “reconciliation with the Germans”, the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Lenin, unleashed internal terror against dissent and the legacy of tsarism, which claimed millions of lives. The NEP policy also did not last long and was abolished shortly after his death on January 21, 1924.

Dzhugashvili (Stalin) Joseph Vissarionovich (1879-1953)

Joseph Stalin became the first general secretary in 1922. However, until the death of V. I. Lenin, he remained on the sidelines of the leadership of the state, inferior in popularity to his other associates, who also aimed at the rulers of the USSR. Nevertheless, after the death of the leader of the world proletariat, Stalin a short time eliminated his main opponents, accusing them of betraying the ideals of the revolution.

By the beginning of the 1930s, he became the sole leader of the peoples, capable of deciding the fate of millions of citizens with a stroke of the pen. The policy of forced collectivization and dispossession pursued by him, which came to replace the NEP, as well as mass repressions against persons dissatisfied with the current government, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens of the USSR. However, the period of Stalin's rule is noticeable not only by the bloody trail, it is worth noting the positive aspects of his leadership. In a short time, the Union has gone from being a third-rate economy to a powerful industrial power that has won the battle against fascism.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War many cities in the western part of the USSR, destroyed almost to the ground, were quickly restored, and their industry began to work even more efficiently. The rulers of the USSR, who held the highest post after Joseph Stalin, denied him leadership in the development of the state and characterized the time of his reign as a period of the personality cult of the leader.

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich (1894-1971)

Coming from a simple peasant family, N. S. Khrushchev became at the helm of the party shortly after the death of Stalin, which occurred in the first years of his reign, he waged an undercover struggle with G. M. Malenkov, who held the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers and was the de facto leader of the state.

In 1956, Khrushchev read out a report on Stalin's repressions at the Twentieth Party Congress, condemning the actions of his predecessor. The reign of Nikita Sergeevich was marked by the development space program- launch artificial satellite and the first manned space flight. His new one allowed many citizens of the country to move from cramped communal apartments to more comfortable separate housing. Houses that were massively built at that time are still popularly called "Khrushchevs".

Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich (1907-1982)

On October 14, 1964, N. S. Khrushchev was dismissed from his post by a group of members of the Central Committee under the leadership of L. I. Brezhnev. For the first time in the history of the state, the rulers of the USSR were replaced in order not after the death of the leader, but as a result of an internal party conspiracy. The Brezhnev era in Russian history is known as stagnation. The country stopped in development and began to lose to the leading world powers, lagging behind them in all sectors, excluding the military-industrial.

Brezhnev made some attempts to improve relations with the United States, spoiled in 1962, when N. S. Khrushchev ordered the deployment of missiles with a nuclear warhead in Cuba. Treaties were signed with the American leadership that limited the arms race. However, all the efforts of Leonid Brezhnev to defuse the situation were crossed out by the introduction of troops into Afghanistan.

Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich (1914-1984)

After the death of Brezhnev, which occurred on November 10, 1982, Yu. Andropov, who previously led the KGB, the USSR state security committee, took his place. He set a course for reforms and transformations in the social and economic spheres. The time of his reign was marked by the initiation of criminal cases exposing corruption in power circles. However, Yuri Vladimirovich did not have time to make any changes in the life of the state, as he had serious problems in good health and died on February 9, 1984.

Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich (1911-1985)

From February 13, 1984, he served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. He continued his predecessor's policy of exposing corruption in the echelons of power. He was very ill and died in 1985, having spent a little more than a year in the highest state post. All the past rulers of the USSR, according to the order established in the state, were buried at and K. U. Chernenko was the last on this list.

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich (1931)

M. S. Gorbachev is the most famous Russian politician end of the twentieth century. He won love and popularity in the West, but his rule causes twofold feelings among the citizens of his country. If Europeans and Americans call him a great reformer, then many Russians consider him a destroyer of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev proclaimed internal economic and political reforms, held under the slogan "Perestroika, Glasnost, Acceleration!", Which led to a massive shortage of food and manufactured goods, unemployment and a drop in the standard of living of the population.

To assert that the era of M. S. Gorbachev's reign had only Negative consequences for the life of our country, it will be wrong. In Russia, the concepts of a multi-party system, freedom of religion and the press appeared. For my foreign policy Gorbachev was awarded Nobel Prize peace. The rulers of the USSR and Russia, neither before nor after Mikhail Sergeevich, were awarded such an honor.