Acceleration in the period of perestroika. Perestroika: what and how we "rebuilt"

A course towards accelerating the socio-economic development of the country.

In March 1985 Chernenko, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, died. General Secretary was elected 54-year-old Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. In the struggle for this post, Gorbachev was supported by the patriarch of Soviet diplomacy Gromyko. Soon Gromyko took over as chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

AT April 1985 took place plenum Central Committee of the CPSU. Gorbachev delivered a keynote speech there. The state of society was assessed as pre-crisis. proclaimed a course towards accelerating socio-economic development countries. This course was specified at the 26th Congress of the CPSU in early 1986. The main directions of the course:

1. acceleration of scientific and technological progress;

2. activation of the human factor;

3. rejection of the residual principle in social sphere;

4. course rod - new investment and structural policy- not the construction of new, but the modernization of existing enterprises; accelerated development of mechanical engineering as the basis for rearmament National economy. (The idea of ​​Academician Aganbegyan.)

It was supposed: increase the rate of economic growth and double the industrial potential by the year 2000; increase labor productivity by 2.5 times; provide each family with a separate apartment or house; carry out general computerization.

As measures designed to help accelerate socio-economic development, the following were carried out: anti-alcohol campaign; introduced state acceptance. Has changed personnel policy: by the beginning of 1987, more than half of the party leaders of the "Brezhnev call" at the union and regional levels were replaced.

The results of the acceleration course turned out to be deplorable: in 1985 budget deficit amounted to 17-18 billion rubles, in 1986 - three times more.

Reasons for failure acceleration rate:

1. Receipts from oil exports decreased by a third due to the fall in world prices;

2. Due to the massive anti-alcohol campaign, the country received less than 37 billion rubles in 3 years.

3. selection error economic strategy - there was no return on investment in engineering; these funds could be more usefully spent on the development of the light and food industries, where the return is faster and people feel a positive result for themselves; the so-called state acceptance process distracted qualified specialists.

Clearly unfulfilled promises squandered amid a deteriorating economic situation only annoyed people.

Economic management reform and the reasons for its failure.

At the January (1987) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the failures of the course of acceleration were explained by the action of the “braking mechanism” and the underestimation of the depth of the crisis. Instead of the old course, a new one was proclaimed: perestroika. The essence of the restructuring: destruction of the command-administrative system, restructuring the mechanism of economic management. It was supposed to democratize all spheres of state and public life. They started talking about a new model of socialism - socialism "with a human face". The most important tool for restructuring was to be publicity.

A new economic strategy was proclaimed - market socialism(or self-supporting socialism). The possibility of market socialism was defended by such economists as Abalkin, Bunich, Shmelev, Bogomolov, Popov. Their opponents - Piyasheva, Pinsker - said that the market and socialism are incompatible, but their voice was not heeded.

In June 1987 was adopted State Enterprise Law which came into force on 1 January of the following year. Enterprises received a certain independence: the state order plan was brought to them. The state guaranteed the purchase of products manufactured under the state order. Everything that the enterprise produced in excess of the state order, it could sell at free prices on the market. Enterprises themselves determined the number of employees, set salaries, chose business partners, elected managers, and so on.

The course towards market socialism also turned out to be bankrupt. Causes:

1. There was no market infrastructure: commodity exchanges, intermediary organizations. A significant part of the enterprises sought to receive the state order to the maximum, while it was supposed to be gradually reduced and to achieve the transfer of enterprises to market economic conditions.

2. Only a quarter of all enterprises brought a small profit. A third of the enterprises were unprofitable. Their transfer to market economic conditions meant bankruptcy. Bankruptcy, unemployment, price increases - all this was not accepted by society and the authorities.

3. In those enterprises that were able to adapt to market conditions, the so-called collective egoism of labor collectives triumphed. They "ate profits" (increased salaries) instead of spending it on the development of production. The production of cheap goods was reduced and the production of expensive goods increased (“washout of the cheap assortment”). The leaders often chose convenient people who were not always capable of management.

In addition to the above reasons, there were underlying causes, which predetermined the failure of the economic strategy of both acceleration and market socialism:

1. The priority of ideology and politics over the economy. Hence the incompleteness of reforms. Power maneuvered between the so-called conservatives and democrats.

2. Political instability - the strike movement, the confrontation between the center and the union republics, their desire for independence led to the rupture of traditional economic ties.

3. Costs at least at first, to maintain friendly socialist regimes.

Reform of the political system: completion of the de-Stalinization of society.

Failures in the economy prompted Gorbachev to political system reforms. Its imperfection was discussed at the January (1987) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU. !9 All-Union Party Conference, held in the summer of 1988, decided to reform the political system.

Two main directions reforms: transition to alternative elections; empowerment advice. became the supreme authority Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. 2/3 of the deputies were elected on an alternative basis in districts, 1/3 - by party and public organizations, trade unions, etc. The term of office is 5 years. Between congresses, the supreme legislative body was The Supreme Council.

At the first Congress of People's Deputies in 1989, the Chairman of the Supreme Council was elected on an alternative basis Gorbachev. (The competitor was Deputy Obolensky.)

On 3rd congress(1990) was established presidency of the USSR. Gorbachev understood that the authority of the party, and, accordingly, of him as general secretary, was declining. To strengthen his position, Gorbachev initiated the establishment of the presidency. He was also elected president of the USSR at the congress, however, on a non-alternative basis. 3rd congress canceled Article 6 of the Constitution of the USSR which secured for the CPSU the role of the leading and guiding force of society. Thus, it was opened road to plurality in the USSR. Already existing parties acquired legal status, new ones began to appear. The most active were: democratic, constitutional-democratic, republican, socialist, social-democratic parties, democratic union, etc.

Thanks to the restructuring the de-Stalinization process resumed society, stopped during the years of stagnation. Was formed commission of the Politburo Central Committee of the CPSU for the study of repressions of the 1930-1950s. (headed by Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yakovlev). Those who were not rehabilitated under Khrushchev were rehabilitated. The symbols of the time have become publication of works: Solzhenitsyn A. “The Gulag Archipelago”, Dudintsev V. “White Clothes”, Rybakov A. “Children of the Arbat”, Pasternak B. “Doctor Zhivago”, Platonov A. “The Pit”, Pristavkin A. “A Golden Cloud Spent the Night”, etc. . On magazine pages, especially the magazine "Spark", published materials about the crimes of the Stalinist regime.

A serious test for the policy of glasnost was an article by a chemistry teacher from one of the Leningrad universities N.Andreeva“I can’t compromise my principles,” which appeared in early March 1988 in the newspaper Sovetskaya Rossiya. The author accused the leadership of the CPSU of forgetting communist principles and planting an alien ideology. Only a month later, at the beginning of April, an editorial appeared in Pravda, written by Yakovlev. Nina Andreeva's Stalinism was opposed to Leninism, understood as democracy, social justice, self-financing.

Foreign policy of the USSR.

There have also been changes in foreign policy. The arms race was beyond the power of the USSR. The Soviet leadership began to think about Western loans, which naturally presupposed a rejection of confrontation. It was proclaimed new political thinking. It meant, in particular, priority of universal human values ​​over class ones. The main foreign policy actions of the USSR:

After a series of summit meetings, the USSR and the USA signed missile elimination agreement medium and short range (1987).

Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan(1989).

Rejection support for socialist regimes in a number of countries and their collapse (Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, 1987-1990).

Consent to German reunification(1990).

As a result of the improvement in the international situation, end of the Cold War.(Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize.)

Growing economic and political crisis.

Gorbachev's foreign policy successes could not compensate for his domestic political difficulties. Economic situation in the country quickly worsened. In 1989, industrial production growth was zero. In the first half of 1990, it decreased by 10%. In 1988-1989 the budget deficit exceeded 100 billion rubles. Inflation was 10% per year, which was unprecedented for the Soviet economy.

The economic crisis was compounded and aggravated political crisis. Its components were:

1. The surge of national radicalism- the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the activities of the popular fronts, especially active in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Armenia. Radical members of the popular fronts demanded secession from the USSR.

2. Gain pressure on Gorbachev from democratic and conservative forces. Democrats, headed by public and political figures Sakharov, Yeltsin, Afanasiev, Stankevich, Popov, Sobchak, advocated deepening reforms. They believed that the three main foundations of the totalitarian system should be dismantled: the USSR as an imperial state; state socialism with a non-market economy; party monopoly (the latter was actually carried out after the abolition of Article 6 of the Constitution). Conservatives were represented by Vice-President Yanaev, Head of Government Pavlov, Minister of Defense Yazov, Minister of the Interior Pugo, KGB Chairman Kryuchkov, party functionaries Ligachev and Polozkov, People's Deputies Alksnis, Petrushenko. They accused Gorbachev of abandoning socialist values ​​and striving to destroy the USSR.

Gorbachev maneuvered between Democrats and Conservatives. His position became much more complicated after a number of union republics, including the Russian Federation declared state sovereignty. Gorbachev saw a way out in stopping the collapse of the USSR by signing a new union treaty. Its signing was scheduled for August 20, 1991. But the conservatives did not wait. They needed Gorbachev as long as he could rein in the Democrats. When it became clear that he was unable to do so, his era ended.

In early August 1991, Gorbachev went to the Crimea on vacation. This was taken advantage of by his opponents. August 19, 1991 they attempted to carry out a coup d'état. The State Committee for the State of Emergency was established ( GKChP). It included, in particular, the mentioned Kryuchkov, Pavlov, Pugo, Yanaev, and some other persons.

GKChP announced about Gorbachev's illness, Yanaev undertook to perform the duties of the president. The collapse of perestroika was announced. The activities of all structures not legalized by the Constitution of the USSR were prohibited, the activities of political parties and associations, opposition to the CPSU, and the publication of newspapers disloyal to the State Emergency Committee were suspended. It was promised to freeze prices with their subsequent reduction, increase salaries and pensions, scholarships, support for private entrepreneurship.

However, members of the GKChP acted hesitantly. Russian leadership- President Yeltsin, Vice President Rutskoi, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Khasbulatov, Mayors of Moscow and Leningrad Popov and Sobchak - behaved, on the contrary, quite confidently and decisively. As a result, on August 21, 1991, members of the State Emergency Committee were arrested (Pugo shot himself).

The collapse of the USSR.

The events of August 19-21, 1991 led to the final weakening of the allied center. The collapse of the USSR became inevitable. December 8, 1991 leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus gathered in Belovezhskaya Pushcha - Yeltsin, Kravchuk, Shushkevich. They announced the termination of the union treaty of 1922 and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS).

December 21, 1991 A meeting of the leaders of a number of former Soviet republics took place in Alma-Ata. The CIS included 8 more union republics. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia are not included. They believed that their incorporation into the USSR was forced and did not want a new alliance. True, later Georgia joined the CIS.

The Soviet Union both formally and actually ceased to exist.

The main results of the restructuring:

The collapse of the USSR;

Dismantling the totalitarian system;

Creation of prerequisites for building a truly democratic society in Russia.

policy of the leadership of the CPSU and the USSR, proclaimed in the second half of the 80s. and continued until August 1991; its objective content was an attempt to bring Soviet economy, politics, ideology, culture in accordance with universal ideals and values; carried out extremely inconsistently and as a result of contradictory efforts, created the prerequisites for the collapse of the CPSU and the collapse of the USSR.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

RESTRUCTURING

the official course of the country's development, proclaimed by the ruling elite of the USSR headed by M. Gorbachev in 1985

The totality of actions of the party-state leadership of the country that provoked a large-scale crisis that led to the disintegration of statehood, the collapse of economic system country and the decline of the socio-spiritual sphere.

One of the most dramatic periods in Russian history, which ended with the liquidation of an entire state and opened the era of the deepest systemic crisis, covering all spheres of Russian life without exception, the consequences of which will be felt in the country for a long time to come.

Timeline of perestroika - 1985–91

In 1985, the April Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, headed by General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU M. Gorbachev, who came to power a month earlier, proclaimed a course towards "accelerating the socio-economic development" of the country. It was then that the foundations of the concept of perestroika were laid.

It was assumed that the adoption of decisive measures to overcome the apparent decline in economic growth rates, the lag of such industries as mechanical engineering, from the world level in a relatively short time would allow the national economy of the USSR to be brought to new frontiers, which, in turn, would activate social policy and lead to significant improvement in the well-being of the country's citizens. For this, it was envisaged to improve the structure of economic management and stimulate the material interest of workers as a result of their work. However, even the first attempts to pursue a course of acceleration failed, having met with resistance from the numerous bureaucratic apparatus.

The first 2 nationwide campaigns of the new leadership turned out to be a failure: the fight against drunkenness and the fight against unearned income.

As a result of the anti-alcohol campaign, the amount of alcohol consumption (even taking into account all types of surrogates) decreased by a third, again reaching the level of 1986 only in 1994, and in addition, an increase in life expectancy was recorded. However, carried out without preparing public opinion, this campaign turned into a sharp reduction in the sale of alcohol in the country, “wine queues” appeared, alcohol prices increased, and barbaric cutting down of vineyards was carried out. All this led to an increase in social tension, moonshine speculation and, as a result, the “sugar crisis”.

Equally deplorable in terms of results was the second initiative of M. Gorbachev, from which it was not the bigwigs of the “shadow economy” who stole with the connivance of the corrupt bureaucracy, but the real producers of products, especially agricultural ones. This led to an increase in food prices and a shortage of goods on the shelves.

The lack of complete clarity among the country's top political leadership about the depth of the crisis and, as a result, a consistent program to overcome it, led to M. Gorbachev's subsequent actions, their chaotic, destructive character for statehood.

Struggling for power with supporters of the "old course" in the Politburo, Gorbachev increasingly relied on the support of anti-state forces, whose goal was to achieve a state of "controlled chaos" in the country and destroy the state. It was at their suggestion at the very beginning of 1987 that the policy of "glasnost" was proclaimed. Its goal was to destroy the ideological foundations of the existing system by first criticizing the shortcomings of socialism in order to purify it, then completely rejecting socialism in favor of capitalism, and then destroying the state, history, etc.

The main ideologist of the project, the "architect of perestroika" secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU A. Yakovlev, gave the green light to the fact that materials began to appear in the media about the "crimes of the Stalinist regime" and the need to return to the "Leninist norms" of party and state life.

The unbridled anti-Stalinist campaign reached its apogee by the beginning of 1988, when the real study of history was practically replaced by large-scale falsification. Data appeared about "tens of millions of those who were shot", etc.

The purpose of the psychological attack on public consciousness was to sow doubts about the correctness of the existing system, that the lives of many generations of Soviet people had been lived in vain. Spiritual confusion was intensified by the growth of social tension. After the sharp drop in oil prices artificially caused by the West in the fall of 1985, the Soviet economy cracked at the seams, and in a matter of months the USSR, which largely lived on "petrodollars", began to turn from a superpower into a debtor country, the public debt increased 3 times.

Industry and agriculture fell into decay and were not able not only to compete with world producers, but even to provide their own population with everything necessary. The stake on private entrepreneurial initiative only exacerbated the situation.

Adopted in 1987, the USSR Law "On individual labor activity" opened the way to rampant speculation and led to an increase in social tension. A cooperator selling "boiled" jeans received dozens of times more money than an employee of any Soviet enterprise.

The rapid development of the cooperative movement in 1988–89. was the beginning of the phase of formation of initial capital, which soon became crowded within the framework of trade and intermediation. Gradually, joint-stock companies, firms, concerns, and then banks arose in place of the giants of industry, where money was accumulated, for which entire industries were subsequently redeemed. At the same time, state extremism in the field of taxation (up to 70-90% of income was charged from private entrepreneurs) pushed them to look for ways to avoid paying taxes, which had become a mass phenomenon.

According to the Law of the USSR "On the State Enterprise (Association)" (1987), it became possible to leave the fixed assets of enterprises in the ownership of the state, and distribute the profits privately. The labor collectives in a "democratic" way chose the director not the best business executive, but the one who promised a big salary. The bank, on whose accounts the profit of the enterprise was concentrated, at the request of the directorate, was obliged to cash out any amount to pay additional salaries and bonuses. As a result, the population had a lot of unsecured money, which was spent not on deposits in savings banks, as it was before, but on buying consumer goods, products long-term storage and luxury items.

Despite the fact that the growth of labor productivity and product quality did not occur, this spurred inflation and served to destroy the financial system of the state. Commodity shortages and huge queues in stores have become a daily occurrence.

In 1987, 3 permits were issued: a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 49, as well as a joint resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 1074 on the decentralization of foreign economic activity, which granted all Soviet enterprises and cooperatives the right to enter the foreign market. Thus, the state abandoned the monopoly on foreign trade.

The wealth of the Soviet people flowed to the West in echelons - from metal to high-tech equipment, where it was sold at bargain prices. Cheap clothes, cigarettes, chocolate bars and so on were brought back.

The processes of planting market relations in the USSR were criticized even in the West. The well-known anti-communist J. Soros wrote: “One can talk about a market economy, but one cannot talk about a market society. In addition to markets, society needs institutions that will serve social goals such as political freedom and social justice. During this period, Russia had every chance to take advantage of this and be at the forefront. But instead, the “directors” burdened with an inferiority complex led the country to “wild capitalism.” A similar position was expressed by the Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Economics, for example, J. Galbraith.

The leaders of the Western powers hurried to take advantage of the confusion in the USSR, seeing a chance to weaken the country as much as possible and deprive it of the status of a superpower. M. Gorbachev indulged them in this as best he could, showing amazing softness and short-sightedness. Yielding to R. Reagan's bluff with the SDI program, he agreed to extremely unfavorable conditions for nuclear disarmament, signing in 1987 an agreement with the American side on the elimination of medium-range missiles deployed in Europe.

In 1990, Gorbachev signed the "Charter for a New Europe" in Paris, which led to the collapse of the Soviet military bloc, the loss of positions in Europe, and the withdrawal of troops from the territories of Eastern European countries. Against the backdrop of failures in economic and foreign policy activities, a consistent policy of spiritual aggression against the people continued.

Already at the end of 1987, a powerful promotion of B. Yeltsin, the “progressive” first secretary of the Moscow Regional Party Committee, who suffered “for the truth,” began. It was his pro-Western part of the party leadership who prepared him for the role of the new ruler of Russia instead of the inconsistent, cowardly Gorbachev, who, having fulfilled his unenviable role as a destroyer, became unnecessary to the West.

Gorbachev was still trying to master the situation: at the XIX All-Union Party Conference, having proclaimed "humane, democratic socialism" (repeating in many respects the slogans of the provocation orchestrated by the US CIA in 1968 - the so-called "Prague Spring"), he proposed a sparse draft of the electoral reform, according to which allowed alternative elections. A third of the seats were assigned to the CPSU.

According to this scheme, the elections of people's deputies of the Union were held. The First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, held on May 25, 1989, played a fatal role in the life of the country. It was on it that openly anti-Russian, anti-state forces, actively supported by Western financial structures, took shape and legitimized. The inter-regional deputy group, which no longer concealed its rejection of socialism, even the "humane" Gorbachev's, was headed, as expected, by the disgraced Yeltsin. Since that time, the process of the collapse of the country has gone "on the rise."

Gorbachev was rapidly losing his power and former influence. The situation did not change and his election by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR as President of the country. New parties arose in society, centrifugal tendencies grew.

Already in 1990, the Baltic republics became practically independent, bloody clashes took place in the Caucasus - in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and also in Central Asia. Gorbachev succumbed to numerous provocations and used force to "restore order" in Tbilisi, Vilnius, Riga, Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions. The few who died were immediately declared "victims who fell for the freedom of the people", which intensified anti-Soviet sentiments and pushed the cowardly leadership of the republics to a direct declaration of independence.

In 1990, the state sovereignty of the RSFSR was proclaimed, a year later B. Yeltsin became president of Russia. Having finally let go of the levers of government, Gorbachev made a last attempt to establish control over the situation. He initiated work on the signing of a new Union Treaty, which actually legitimized the collapse of the Union. But on the eve of its signing, some of the country's leaders tried, by creating the State Emergency Committee, to save the state, but this step was poorly prepared, even Yeltsin's supporters knew about it. They were just waiting for the opportunity to take advantage of the chance to face the "hardliners".

The "August putsch" of August 19-21, 1991 was turned by Yeltsin's supporters into a grandiose political spectacle. In fact, this very time can be considered the date of the final collapse of the country (although this was legally formalized only by the Belovezhskaya Accords, the resignation of Gorbachev and the December session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR) and the complete collapse of perestroika.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

policy of the leadership of the CPSU and the USSR, carried out from 1985 to August 1991. The initiators of perestroika (M.S. Gorbachev, A.N. Yakovlev and others) wanted to bring the Soviet economy, politics, ideology and culture in line with universal ideals and values. Perestroika was carried out extremely inconsistently and, as a result of conflicting efforts, created the prerequisites for the collapse of the CPSU and the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

RESTRUCTURING

The term has been in widespread use since the mid-1980s. Designated a course towards reforming the political system in the USSR and updating socialism. Started by the democratic part of the leadership of the CPSU, headed by M. S. Gorbachev. The complex of political, social and economic transformations led to cardinal changes both in the USSR and in the world as a whole. Were introduced: broad democratization, publicity, political pluralism and multi-party system - the CPSU lost its monopoly position and "leading role". unfolded new wave"de-Stalinization". It provided the opportunity to create cooperatives and joint enterprises with foreign partners, there has been a transition to a regulated market economy and privatization state property in industry. The new political thinking announced in foreign policy contributed to the end of the Cold War and led to the disintegration of the world socialist system. However, economic measures actually eliminated the Soviet economic system, caused a decrease in real incomes of the population, inflation and an increase in the external debt of the USSR. Democratic transformations led to a crisis of communist ideology, destabilization of the internal situation in the country and, ultimately, to the collapse of the USSR (see the “parade of sovereignties”, the Belovezhskaya Accords).

perestroika- the general name of the totality of political and economic changes carried out in the USSR in 1986-1991. In the course of perestroika (since the second half of 1989 - after the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR), the political confrontation between the forces advocating the socialist path of development and parties and movements that link the future of the country with the organization of life on the principles of capitalism, as well as on issues of the future appearance of the Soviet Union, sharply escalated. Union, relations between union and republican bodies of state power and administration.

By the beginning of the 1990s, perestroika ended with an aggravation of the crisis in all spheres of society, the liquidation of the power of the CPSU and the collapse of the USSR.

Term

On April 8, 1986, M. S. Gorbachev visited Togliatti, where he visited the Volga Automobile Plant. In his speech in Togliatti, Gorbachev for the first time uses the word "perestroika" to refer to the socio-political process. The term was picked up by the media and became the slogan of the beginning of a new era in the USSR. Gorbachev's later published speech was called "Faster to rebuild, act in a new way":

1985-1989

background

In March 1985, MS Gorbachev became General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

At the April Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1985, supporters of Gorbachev became full members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU: secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU E. K. Ligachev and N. I. Ryzhkov, Chairman of the KGB of the USSR V. M. Chebrikov; candidate member of the Politburo - Marshal of the Soviet Union, Minister of Defense S. L. Sokolov. A “Gorbachev majority” is forming in the Politburo.

Gorbachev's opponents were gradually withdrawn from the Politburo: G. V. Romanov (July 1985), N. A. Tikhonov (October 1985), V. V. Grishin (December 1985), D. A. Kunaev (January 1987), G. A. Aliev (October 1987), V. I. Dolgikh (September 1988), P. N. Demichev (September 1988), M. S. Solomentsev (September 1988).

They were replaced by proteges of the new General Secretary: A. N. Yakovlev, who was one of the most staunch supporters of reforms, V. A. Medvedev, A. I. Lukyanov, B. N. Yeltsin (later Yeltsin was expelled from the Politburo on February 18 1988). During 1985-1986, Gorbachev updated the composition of the Politburo by two-thirds, 60% of the secretaries of the regional committees and 40% of the members of the CPSU Central Committee were replaced.

Domestic politics

At the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU on April 23, 1985. Gorbachev announced plans for broad reforms aimed at the comprehensive renewal of society, the cornerstone of which was called "acceleration of the country's socio-economic development."

At a meeting of the Politburo in April 1986, Gorbachev first announced the need for a Plenum on personnel issues. Only on it it was possible to make a cardinal decision to change the personnel policy. In June 1986, at a meeting with secretaries and department heads of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Gorbachev said: “Without a “small revolution”, nothing will come of the party, because the real power is with the party organs. The people will not drag around their necks an apparatus that does nothing for perestroika.”

At the XXVII Congress of the CPSU (February-March 1986), Gorbachev declared: “The question of expanding publicity is of fundamental importance for us. This is a political issue. Without glasnost, there is not and cannot be democracy, the political creativity of the masses, their participation in government. The media began to get more freedom in describing existing problems. The editors-in-chief were replaced in a number of newspapers and magazines, which subsequently acted as the most oppositional (“ New world”, “Moscow News”, “Arguments and Facts”). From the end of 1986, previously banned literary works began to be published, films lying on the shelves were shown (the first of them was Tengiz Abuladze's film "Repentance").

In May 1986, the V Congress of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR opened, at which the entire board of the Union was unexpectedly re-elected. According to this scenario, later there were changes in other creative unions.

On September 4, 1986, the Glavlit of the USSR issued Order No. 29c, in which the censors were instructed to focus on issues related to the protection of state and military secrets in the press, and to inform party bodies only about significant violations in the ideological sphere.

By a resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU of September 25, 1986, it was decided to stop jamming the transmissions of some foreign radio stations (Voice of America, BBC) and increase the jamming of others (Freedom, Deutsche Welle). On May 23, 1987, the Soviet Union finally stopped jamming the radio programs of the Voice of America and some other Western radio stations. The jamming of foreign radio stations in the USSR was completely stopped on November 30, 1988.

In 1987, the Interdepartmental Commission, headed by the Glavlit of the USSR, began its work, which began to review publications in order to transfer them from special storage departments to "open" funds.

The policy initiated by the 27th Congress was first called "perestroika" in June 1986. Now it included not only the acceleration of the country's economic development, which was originally proclaimed, but also deeper economic, political and social reforms. The new terminology reflected the deep and comprehensive nature of the changes that had begun.

Despite the mentioned individual steps, serious changes in the life of the country in 1985-86. did not have. The starting point for truly fundamental reforms should be considered the Plenum on personnel issues, held in January 1987. Its preparation began in the fall of 1986. After much debate and agreement, the final text of Gorbachev's report at the Plenum included a statement about the need for elections across the entire party vertical from several candidates (approval of candidates proposed from above was a common practice). In addition, it was pointed out that party functionaries are obliged to systematically report on the work they have done to those who elected them.

On January 27, 1987, the long-prepared Plenum opened. Gorbachev made a report "On perestroika and the personnel policy of the party." It identified the following areas:

• the beginning of the transformation of the CPSU from a state structure into a real political party (“We must resolutely abandon managerial functions unusual for party bodies”);

• promotion of non-partisans to leadership positions;

• expansion of "intra-party democracy";

• changing the functions and role of the Soviets, they were to become "genuine authorities on their territory";

• holding elections to the Soviets on an alternative basis (elections since 1918 were voting for a single candidate for each seat).

Alternative elections to local Soviets were held already in the summer of 1987 in many electoral districts, for the first time in the history of the USSR.

Gorbachev's speech at the January Plenum also devoted much space to glasnost. At the same time, he stated that "the time has come to start developing legal acts guaranteeing publicity." He stated: “We should not have areas that are closed to criticism. The people need the whole truth... More than ever, we need more light now, so that the party and the people know everything, so that we don’t have dark corners where mold would start up again.”

On January 23, 1988, the Pravda newspaper published an article by V. Ovcharenko “Cobras over gold”, which presented the materials of the investigation team that had been investigating the so-called Cotton case in Uzbekistan since 1983. Moreover, it was not about simple cotton growers, but about the highest elite of the party and state leadership of the republic. The article in Pravda became a signal for other Soviet newspapers. There is practically not a single newspaper left, both in the center and in the localities, in which the corruption of the local party leadership would not be exposed.

In December 1986, A. D. Sakharov and his wife E. G. Bonner were released from exile in Gorky. In February 1987, 140 dissidents were released from prison by pardon. They immediately became involved in public life. The scattered, small dissident movement, which ended its active existence in 1983, was again revived under the slogans of a democratic movement. Several dozens of informal, gradually politicized, poorly organized organizations appeared (the most famous of them was the Democratic Union formed in May 1988, which held two anti-communist rallies in Moscow in August-September 1988), the first independent newspapers and magazines.

In 1987-1988, such previously unpublished and banned works as “Children of the Arbat” by A. N. Rybakov, “Life and Fate” by V. S. Grossman, “Requiem” by A. A. Akhmatova, “Sofya Petrovna” by L. K. Chukovskoy, “Doctor Zhivago” by B. L. Pasternak.

In 1987, the first non-state television associations were created, such as NIKA-TV (Independent Television Information Channel) and ATV (Author's Television Association). In contrast to the dry semi-official program "Vremya", nightly releases of TSN appeared. The leaders in this regard were the youth programs "12th floor" and "Vzglyad", programs of the Leningrad television.

In 1987, in the film by Sergei Solovyov "Assa", the song of the rock group "Kino" "We are waiting for changes" appears on the words of Viktor Tsoi, which became a kind of unofficial anthem during perestroika.

The most important event of 1988 was the XIX All-Union Party Conference of the CPSU, held in June-July. For the first time since the 1920s, the delegates really expressed their own opinions, sometimes allowing themselves to criticize the actions of the party leadership, and this was broadcast on television. The conference, initiated by Gorbachev, decided to reform the political system. A fundamental decision was made on alternative elections of deputies to the Soviets at all levels. Everyone should have the opportunity to be nominated as a candidate.

But at the same time, measures were outlined to preserve the role of the CPSU in the country. Previously, the supreme body of legislative power was the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, elected by the population according to the territorial and national-territorial districts. Now the Supreme Soviet was to be elected by the Congress of People's Deputies, ? who, in turn, were to be elected by the people. The remaining 750 people were to be chosen by "public organizations", with the CPSU choosing the largest number of deputies. This reform was formalized into law at the end of 1988.

The Party Conference also decided to combine the positions of the head of the party committee and the chairman of the Council of the corresponding level. Since this leader was elected by the population, such an innovation was supposed to bring to the leading party posts people who were energetic and practical, able to solve local problems, and not just deal with ideology.

Nationalism and separatism

Conflict in Almaty

In December 1986, after the removal of the Kazakh D. Kunaev from the post of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and the appointment of the Russian G. Kolbin in his place, riots broke out in Alma-Ata. Demonstrations of Kazakh youth who opposed Kolbin (since he had nothing to do with Kazakhstan) were suppressed by the authorities.

Azerbaijan and Armenia

In August 1987, Armenians living in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of the Azerbaijan SSR and making up the majority of the population in this autonomous region sent a petition signed by tens of thousands of people to Moscow to transfer the autonomous region to the Armenian SSR. In October 1987, protest demonstrations were held in Yerevan against incidents with the Armenian population of the village of Chardakhlu, north of Nagorno-Karabakh, where the First Secretary of the Shamkhor District Committee of the CPSU, M. Asadov, came into conflict with the villagers in connection with their protests against the replacement of the director of the state farm. an Armenian to an Azerbaijani. Mikhail Gorbachev's adviser Abel Aganbegyan speaks in defense of the idea of ​​resubordinating Karabakh to Armenia.

On February 13, 1988, the first rally was held in Stepanakert, at which demands were put forward for the annexation of the NKAR to Armenia. The Board of Directors created in the NKAO, which includes the heads of large enterprises of the region and individual activists, decides to hold sessions of city and district councils, and then convene a session of the regional Council of People's Deputies. On February 20, an extraordinary session of the People's Deputies of the NKAO addresses the Supreme Soviets of the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR and the USSR with a request to consider and positively resolve the issue of transferring the NKAR from Azerbaijan to Armenia. On February 21, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU adopts a resolution according to which the demand for the inclusion of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Armenian SSR is presented as adopted as a result of the actions of "extremists" and "nationalists" and contrary to the interests of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR. The resolution is limited to general calls for the normalization of the situation, the development and implementation of measures for the further socio-economic and cultural development of the autonomous region.

On February 22, near the Armenian settlement of Askeran, a clash with the use of firearms occurs between groups of Azerbaijanis from the city of Aghdam, heading to Stepanakert "to restore order", and the local population. 2 Azerbaijanis were killed, at least one of them - at the hands of an Azerbaijani policeman. More massive bloodshed that day was avoided. Meanwhile, a demonstration is taking place in Yerevan. The number of demonstrators by the end of the day reaches 45-50 thousand. On the air of the Vremya program, the topic of the decision of the NKAR Regional Council is touched upon, where it is called inspired "extremist and nationalist-minded individuals". Such a reaction of the central press only increases the indignation of the Armenian public. On February 26, a rally is held in Yerevan, in which almost 1 million people participate. On the same day, the first rallies in Sumgayit begin. On February 27, Deputy Prosecutor General of the USSR A.F. Katusev, who was then in Baku, appeared on television and reported on the death of two Azerbaijanis in a skirmish near Askeran that took place on February 22.

On February 27-29, an Armenian pogrom takes place in the city of Sumgayit - the first mass explosion of ethnic violence in recent Soviet history. According to official data from the USSR Prosecutor General's Office, 26 Armenians and 6 Azerbaijanis died during these events (Izvestia, 03.03.1988). Armenian sources indicate that these figures are underestimated. Hundreds of people were injured, a huge number were subjected to violence, torture and abuse, many thousands became refugees. A timely investigation into the causes and circumstances of the pogroms, the identification and punishment of provocateurs and direct participants in the crimes was not carried out, which undoubtedly led to an escalation of the conflict.

The resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU, adopted in March 1988 regarding the interethnic conflict in the NKAR, did not lead to stabilization of the situation, since the most radical representatives of both conflicting parties rejected any compromise proposals. Most members of the regional Council of People's Deputies and the regional party committee supported the demands for the transfer of the NKAO from Azerbaijan to Armenia, which were formalized in the relevant decisions of the sessions of the regional Council and the Plenum of the regional party committee headed by G. Poghosyan. In the NKAR (especially in Stepanakert) a massive ideological indoctrination of the population unfolded - daily crowded marches, rallies, strikes by collectives of enterprises, organizations, educational institutions of the region demanding secession from Azerbaijan.

An informal organization is being created - the Krunk Committee, headed by the director of the Stepanakert Building Materials Plant Arkady Manucharov. Its stated goals are to study the history of the region, its ties with Armenia, and the restoration of ancient monuments. In fact, the committee assumes the functions of the organizer of mass protests. By the decree of the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR, the committee was dissolved, but it continued its activities. A movement to support the Armenian population of the NKAO is growing in Armenia. A Karabakh committee has been set up in Yerevan, whose leaders call for increased pressure on state bodies in order to transfer the NKAO to Armenia. At the same time, Azerbaijan continues to call for a "decisive restoration of order" in the NKAR. Public tension and national enmity between the Azerbaijani and Armenian populations are increasing every day. In summer and autumn, cases of violence in the NKAR become more frequent, and the mutual flow of refugees increases.

Representatives of the central Soviet and state bodies of the USSR are sent to the NKAO. Some of the identified problems that have accumulated over the years in the national sphere are becoming public. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR urgently adopt a Resolution "On measures to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1988-1995."

In May 1988, on the initiative of the Shusha Regional Committee of the CPSU, the deportation of the Armenian population from Shusha began. June 14, 1988 The Supreme Council of Armenia gives its consent to the inclusion of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region into the Armenian SSR. On June 17, 1988, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan decides that Nagorno-Karabakh should remain part of the republic: “In response to the appeal of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR, the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR, proceeding from the interests of preserving the existing national-territorial structure of the country, enshrined in the Constitution of the USSR , guided by the principles of internationalism, the interests of the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples, other nations and nationalities of the republic, considered the transfer of the NKAR from the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR impossible.

In July 1988, many days of strikes by collectives of enterprises, organizations, educational institutions, mass rallies took place in Armenia. As a result of a clash between protesters and soldiers of the Soviet Army at the Yerevan Zvartnots airport, one of the protesters was killed. Catholicos Vazgen I addresses on republican television with an appeal for wisdom, calmness, a sense of responsibility of the Armenian people, and for an end to the strike. The call goes unheeded. Enterprises and organizations have not been operating in Stepanakert for several months, processions and mass rallies are held every day, the situation is heating up more and more. According to Izvestia correspondents, powerful support comes from Armenia - hundreds of people leave for Yerevan every day and, on the contrary, come to Stepanakert (an air bridge between these cities is organized for this, the number of flights sometimes reaches 4 - 8 per day).

As of mid-July, about 20 thousand people (more than 4 thousand families) left for Azerbaijan from Armenia. Meanwhile, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan is trying to normalize the situation in the places densely populated by Azerbaijanis in Armenia. Refugees from Azerbaijan continue to arrive in the Armenian SSR. According to local authorities, as of July 13, 7,265 people (1,598 families) arrived in Armenia from Baku, Sumgayit, Mingachevir, Gazakh, Shamkor and other cities of Azerbaijan.

On July 18, 1988, a meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was held, at which the decisions of the Supreme Soviets of the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR on Nagorno-Karabakh were considered and a Resolution was adopted on this issue. The Decree noted that, having considered the request of the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR of June 15, 1988 on the transfer of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region to the Armenian SSR (in connection with the petition of the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAR) and the decision of the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR of June 17, 1988 On the unacceptability of transferring the NKAO to the Armenian SSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet considers it impossible to change the borders and the constitutionally established national-territorial division of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR.

In September 1988, a state of emergency and a curfew were introduced in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and the Aghdam region of the Azerbaijan SSR. In Armenia, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR decided to dissolve the "Karabakh" committee. However, the attempts of party and government bodies to calm the population have no effect. Calls for organizing strikes, rallies and hunger strikes continue in Yerevan and some other cities of Armenia. On September 22, the work of a number of enterprises and public transport in Yerevan, Leninakan, Abovyan, Charentsavan, as well as the Echmiadzin region was stopped. In Yerevan, along with the police, military units are involved in ensuring order on the streets.

In November - December 1988, mass pogroms took place in Azerbaijan and Armenia, accompanied by violence and killings of the civilian population. According to various sources, pogroms on the territory of Armenia lead to the death of 20 to 30 Azerbaijanis. According to the Armenian side, 26 Azerbaijanis died in Armenia as a result of ethnic offenses in three years (from 1988 to 1990), including 23 from November 27 to December 3, 1988, one in 1989, and two in 1990. . At the same time, 17 Armenians were killed in clashes with Azerbaijanis in Armenia. In Azerbaijan, the largest Armenian pogroms take place in Baku, Kirovabad (Ganja), Shamakhi, Shamkhor, Mingechaur, Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. A state of emergency is introduced in a number of cities in Azerbaijan and Armenia. At this time, there is the most massive flow of refugees - hundreds of thousands of people from both sides.

In the winter of 1988-1989, the deportation of the population of Armenian villages in rural areas of the AzSSR is carried out - including the northern part of Nagorno-Karabakh (not included in the NKAO) - the mountainous and foothill parts of the Khanlar, Dashkesan, Shamkhor and Gadabay regions, as well as the city of Kirovabad (Ganja) . At the end of these events, the Armenian population of the Azerbaijan SSR is concentrated in the NKAR, the Shahumyan region, four villages in the Khanlar region (Getashen, Martunashen, Azad and Kamo) and in Baku (where it decreased from about 215 thousand to 50 thousand people during the year) .

the Baltics

In the Estonian SSR, on August 23, 1987, about two thousand supporters of Estonian independence gathered in Hirve Park in Tallinn to mark the next anniversary of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentropp pact.

September 26, 1987 in the newspaper of the Tartu City Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia "Edasi" ( "Forward"), a proposal for the economic autonomy of Estonia within the USSR was published, which received significant support in society. A corresponding program was developed, called Economically independent Estonia(est. Isemajandav Estonia, abbreviated IME(MIRACLE)).

On April 13, 1988, during a television talk show, Edgar Savisaar proposed the creation of the Popular Front (Est. Rahvarinne) - a socio-political movement that was supposed to contribute to the goals of Gorbachev's perestroika. Such a Popular Front was created.

On June 3, 1988, the "Lithuanian Movement for Perestroika" was created in the Lithuanian SSR, which became known as Sąjūdis.

On June 10-14, 1988, over one hundred thousand people visited the Singing Field of Tallinn. The events of June-September 1988 went down in history as the "Singing Revolution".

On June 17, 1988, the delegation of the Communist Party of Estonia at the XIX Party Conference of the CPSU made a proposal to transfer additional powers in all spheres of public, political and economic life to the republican authorities.

On September 11, 1988, the musical and political event "The Song of Estonia" was held on the Song of Estonia, which brought together about 300,000 Estonians, that is, about a third of the Estonian people. During the event, a call for Estonian independence was publicly voiced.

Economy

By the mid-1980s, all the problems of the planned economy that existed in the USSR became more acute. The artificially caused shortage of consumer goods, including foodstuffs, has intensified. The sharp decline in oil export earnings has led to a shortage of foreign exchange for imports, including consumer goods. Budget revenues from oil exports decreased in 1985-1986 by 30%. According to a number of authors, the backlog of the USSR in the development of science-intensive sectors of the economy increased. So, A. S. Narinyani wrote in 1985: “The situation in Soviet computer technology seems catastrophic. ... The gap separating us from the world level is growing faster ... We are close to the fact that now not only will we not be able to copy Western prototypes, but in general we will not even be able to follow the world level of development.

At the April 1985 Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, for the first time, it was openly declared about the economic and social problems. According to M. S. Gorbachev, the country was in a pre-crisis state. The situation is especially difficult in agriculture, where the loss of production was about 30%. During the harvesting and transportation of livestock, 100 thousand tons of products were lost annually, fish - 1 million tons, potatoes - 1 million tons, beets - 1.5 million tons. mechanical engineering as the basis for the re-equipment of the entire national economy (the so-called "acceleration").

The program "Intensification-90" adopted in 1986 provided for the outstripping development of the sector of consumer goods by 1.7 times in comparison with other branches of engineering and, to a certain extent, was a continuation of previous reforms. At the same time, disproportions investment policy led to the undermining of non-priority industries.

In addition to this, during the initial period of perestroika, several insufficiently thought-out decisions were made. In May 1985, the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism" was issued. This decision aimed at resolving both social and economic tasks, primarily labor discipline, and should have contributed to the growth of labor productivity, its quality. It was planned to reduce the production of vodka and other alcoholic beverages by 10% per year. By 1988, the production of fruit and berry wines was to be stopped. These measures led to a decrease in mortality in the country, their economic effect was negative and resulted in more than 20 billion losses in budget revenues, but several million lives were saved.

At the beginning of 1986, the XXVII Congress of the CPSU was held, at which a whole series of economic and social programs were adopted, providing for a new investment and structural policy. In addition to "Intensification-90", it was planned to carry out such long-term programs as "Housing-2000" and others.

On November 19, 1986, the USSR Law “On Individual Labor Activity” was adopted. On February 5, 1987, the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued a resolution “On the Creation of Cooperatives for the Production of Consumer Goods”. On May 26, 1988, the USSR Law “On Cooperation in the USSR” was adopted, which allowed cooperatives to engage in any activities not prohibited by law, including trade.

On January 13, 1987, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted Decree No. 48, which allowed the creation of joint ventures with the participation of Soviet organizations and firms from capitalist and developing countries.

On June 11, 1987, the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 665 “On the transfer of enterprises and organizations of sectors of the national economy to full self-financing and self-financing” was adopted. On June 30, 1987, the USSR Law “On the State Enterprise (Association)” was adopted, redistributing powers between ministries and enterprises in favor of the latter. Products manufactured after the fulfillment of the state order could be sold by the manufacturer at free prices. The number of ministries and departments was reduced, cost accounting was introduced into all branches of the national economy. However, granting the labor collectives of state enterprises the right to choose directors and granting enterprises the power to regulate wages led to the dependence of directors of enterprises on the decisions of labor collectives and an increase in wages that were not ensured by the availability of consumer market corresponding quantity of goods.

One of the positive results of economic reforms was the cessation of the decline in the growth rate of national production and labor productivity in the mid-1980s. To a large extent, this was determined by the growth of investment, which, however, was accompanied by an increase in the budget deficit, which in 1985 amounted to 17-18 billion rubles, and in 1986 almost tripled. The deficit was partly caused by a reduction in foreign exchange earnings, the ongoing Afghan war, the Chernobyl tragedy and losses from the anti-alcohol campaign, but main reason reduction of budget revenues was a gradual decrease in the share of profits of enterprises and organizations deducted to the state (the corresponding figure decreased from 56% in 1985 to 36% in 1989-1990).

Even more radical reforms were envisaged to be carried out in the period after the 19th party conference in 1988.

The volume of production of consumer goods was much lower than the huge money supply, since we proceeded from rather conditional estimated terms and volumes of consumption. Customers instantly snatched up goods on store shelves. A situation of "empty shelves and full refrigerators and crammed apartments" was created. Any more or less high-quality product that hit the store shelves was sold in a matter of hours. A significant amount of non-food products actually ceased to fall into the official trade and were sold by trade workers through acquaintances or through “farmers”. This problem was aggravated with the permission of private trade, which was actually carried out by cooperatives. Confusion began with allied deliveries, some republics, in particular Ukraine, stopped shipping meat, milk to Moscow, Leningrad, and the military department. In the capital itself, the picture was generally depressing. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants from almost all central Russia every day they arrived by train to Moscow and literally stormed grocery stores. They grabbed everything that was on the shelves, loaded with shopping bags, with heavy backpacks behind their backs, dragged to the stations.

Foreign policy

Having come to power, M. S. Gorbachev set a course for improving relations with the United States. One of the reasons for this was the desire to reduce exorbitant military spending (25% of the USSR state budget).

However, his first meeting with US President Ronald Reagan in Geneva in the autumn of 1985 ended with a little binding solemn Declaration on the inadmissibility of nuclear war. On January 15, 1986, the “Declaration of the Soviet Government” was published, containing a program of nuclear disarmament by the year 2000. The USSR called on the leading countries of the world to join the moratorium on nuclear tests observed by the Soviet Union since the summer of 1985 and to gradually reduce various types of nuclear weapons.

Some adjustments were made to Soviet policy in Afghanistan, where the USSR replaced the country's leadership in May 1986. The new General Secretary of the PDPA, M. Najibullah, proclaimed a course towards national reconciliation, adopted a new Constitution, according to which he was elected President of Afghanistan in 1987. The Soviet Union sought to strengthen the position of the new leadership in order to subsequently begin the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country.

In October 1986, a meeting of Soviet and American leaders took place in Reykjavik, which marked the beginning of a new foreign policy of the USSR. M. S. Gorbachev suggested to R. Reagan to eliminate all medium-range missiles, while the Soviet Union made more concessions than the United States. Although the initiative of the Soviet leadership was not supported by the American side, this statement had a great international resonance.

In 1987, the Warsaw Pact countries worked out a new, purely defensive military doctrine, providing for the unilateral reduction of armaments to the limits of "reasonable sufficiency." Resistance to the new course in foreign policy by individual representatives of the military leadership was prevented by a purge in the army after the unhindered landing on May 28, 1987 on Red Square of the plane of a German citizen Matthias Rust. On May 30, 1987, General of the Army D.T. Yazov, who replaced S.L. Sokolov, became the new Minister of Defense.

The main ideas of the new foreign policy course were formulated by Gorbachev in his book Perestroika and New Thinking for Our Country and for the Whole World, published in 1987. According to Gorbachev, all ideological and economic disagreements between the world systems of socialism and capitalism must recede before the need to protect universal values. In this process, the leading countries must sacrifice their interests in favor of small countries, the common goals of peace and détente, because mutual goodwill is needed to survive in the nuclear age.

In addition to M. S. Gorbachev himself and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR E. A. Shevardnadze, A. N. Yakovlev played a major role in the development and implementation of the concept of “new thinking”, since September 1988 he held the position of chairman of the Commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU on international issues. politicians.

Since 1987, the intensity of the confrontation between the US and the USSR began to decline sharply, and in the next 2-3 years, the confrontation completely disappears. However, the weakening of the confrontation was achieved largely due to the pliability of the Soviet leadership. M. S. Gorbachev and his entourage made significant concessions when concluding the Treaty on Short Intermediate-Range Missiles (signed on December 8, 1987 at a meeting between R. Reagan and M. S. Gorbachev in Washington); by their passivity contributed to the overthrow of the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe in the second half of 1989; in particular, did not interfere with the unification of Germany.

1989-1990

Domestic politics

In March 1989, elections were held for the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, the first elections of the highest body of power in the USSR, in which voters were given a choice between several candidates. Discussion of pre-election programs (including on TV debates) was a real breakthrough towards freedom of speech and real political struggle.

The First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR opened on May 25, 1989. On the very first day of the Congress, he elected Gorbachev Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The meetings of the congress were broadcast on television, and many citizens of the USSR followed them closely.

On the last day of the Congress, in a relative minority, radical deputies formed the Interregional Group of People's Deputies (co-chairs of the group: A. D. Sakharov, B. N. Yeltsin, Yu. N. Afanasiev, G. Kh. Popov, Anatoly Sobchak, V. Palm ). They advocated the acceleration of political and economic transformations in the USSR, for a radical reform of Soviet society, and in relation to their opponents - deputies who voted in accordance with the line of the Central Committee of the CPSU, they used the stable phrase "aggressively obedient majority".

On December 12 - 24, 1989, the II Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR took place. On it, the radical minority, which after the death of the Sakharov Congress was headed by Yeltsin, demanded the abolition of Article 6 of the Constitution of the USSR, which stated that "the CPSU is the leading and guiding force" in the state. In turn, the conservative majority pointed to the destabilizing disintegration processes in the USSR and, consequently, to the need to strengthen the powers of the center (the Soyuz group).

In 1989, the first significant strike of miners in the USSR began in the city of Mezhdurechensk.

In February 1990, mass rallies were held in Moscow demanding the repeal of Article 6 of the USSR Constitution. Under these conditions, Gorbachev, during the break between the II and III Congresses of People's Deputies of the USSR, agrees to the abolition of Article 6 of the Constitution, at the same time initiating the question of the need for additional powers of the executive branch. On March 15, 1990, the III Congress repealed Article 6, adopted amendments to the Constitution allowing for a multi-party system, introduced the institute of presidency in the USSR and elected M. S. Gorbachev as the President of the USSR (as an exception, the first President of the USSR was elected by the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, and not popularly) .

In March 1990, elections were held for people's deputies of the union republics (elections to the Supreme Soviets of the Baltic republics were held earlier, in February 1990) and to local Soviets of people's deputies.

With the adoption of the “law of the USSR dated 09.10.1990 No. 1708-1 on public associations”, it became possible to officially register political parties other than the CPSU, the first of which were the DPR, SDPR and RPRF registered by the Ministry of Justice of the RSFSR on March 14, 1991.

In the RSFSR, unlike the other republics, a two-tier system of legislative bodies was created, similar to the one that existed at the level of the Union - people's deputies at the Congress elected from among their number a permanent Supreme Soviet. In the elections of people's deputies of the RSFSR, supporters of radical reforms, united in the Democratic Russia bloc, achieved significant success. The number of deputies who at the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR in 1990-91 voted in at least 2/3 of the cases in support of radical reforms was 44% (in some important votes - more than half), and the proportion of communist conservatives was 39- 40%.

On May 14, 1990, the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR opened. On May 29, after a threefold vote, he elects B. N. Yeltsin Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (B. N. Yeltsin received 535 votes, A. V. Vlasov - 467 votes).

On June 12, 1990, with 907 votes "for" and only 13 votes "against", the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the "Declaration on State Sovereignty of the RSFSR". It proclaimed that “in order to ensure political, economic and legal guarantees of the sovereignty of the RSFSR, the following is established: full power of the RSFSR in resolving all issues of state and public life, with the exception of those that it voluntarily transfers to the jurisdiction of the USSR; the supremacy of the Constitution of the RSFSR and the Laws of the RSFSR throughout the entire territory of the RSFSR; acts of the USSR that conflict with the sovereign rights of the RSFSR shall be suspended by the Republic on its territory.” This marked the beginning of the "war of laws" between the RSFSR and the Center.

On June 12, 1990, the Law of the USSR "On the Press and Other Mass Media" was adopted. It forbade censorship and guaranteed freedom for the media.

The process of "sovereignization of Russia" leads November 1, 1990 to the adoption of the Decree on the economic sovereignty of Russia.

During the period under review, various parties were formed. Most of the parties operated on the territory of one union republic, which contributed to the strengthening of the separatism of the union republics, including the RSFSR. Most of the newly formed parties were in opposition to the CPSU.

The CPSU experienced a serious crisis during this period. The 28th Party Congress (July 1990) led to the exit of the most radical members, led by Yeltsin. The membership of the party in 1990 decreased from 20 to 15 million people, the communist parties of the Baltic States proclaimed themselves independent.

The IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR approved constitutional changes that gave Gorbachev additional powers. There was an actual resubordination to the President of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, now renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR. The post of Vice-President was introduced, for which the Congress elected G. I. Yanaev. Instead of V. V. Bakatin, B. K. Pugo became the Minister of Internal Affairs, E. A. Shevardnadze was replaced as Minister of Foreign Affairs by A. A. Bessmertnykh.

Economy

In 1989, a new Government of the USSR headed by N. I. Ryzhkov was formed. It included 8 academicians and corresponding members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, about 20 doctors and candidates of sciences. The new government initially focused on the implementation of economic reforms and fundamentally different methods of management. In this regard, the structure of the Government has changed significantly and the number of sectoral ministries has significantly decreased: from 52 to 32, that is, by almost 40%.

In May 1990, N. I. Ryzhkov spoke at a meeting of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a report on the economic program of the Government. Ryzhkov outlined the concept of transition to a regulated market economy developed by the "Abalkin Commission". It called for price reform. This speech led to an emergency in Moscow trade: while Ryzhkov was speaking in the Kremlin, everything in the city was sold out: a month's supply of vegetable and butter, a three-month supply of pancake flour, cereals sold 7-8 times more than usual, instead of 100 tons of salt - 200 .

A wave of rallies swept across the country demanding not to raise prices. Mikhail Gorbachev, who repeatedly promised that prices in the USSR would remain at the same level, distanced himself from the government program. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR postponed the implementation of the reform, inviting the Government to finalize its concept.

In June 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a Decree "On the concept of transition to a market economy", and in October 1990, "Main directions for the stabilization of the national economy and the transition to a market economy." The documents provided for the gradual demonopolization, decentralization and denationalization of property, the establishment of joint-stock companies and banks, and the development of private entrepreneurship.

In December 1990, the government of N. I. Ryzhkov was dismissed. The Council of Ministers of the USSR was transformed into the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, headed by Prime Minister V. S. Pavlov. But the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers in 1991 were reduced to a two-fold increase in prices from April 2, 1991 (they, however, remained regulated), as well as to the exchange of 50- and 100-ruble banknotes for banknotes of a new type (Pavlov's Monetary Reform). The exchange was carried out for only 3 days on January 23-25, 1991 and with serious restrictions. This was explained by the fact that shadow businessmen allegedly accumulated huge sums in large banknotes.

The economy of the USSR in 1991 was going through a deep crisis, which was expressed in an 11% decline in production, a 20-30% budget deficit, and a huge external debt of 103.9 billion dollars.

Nationalism and separatism

Armenia and Azerbaijan

On May 27, 1990, an armed clash between Armenian "self-defense units" and internal troops took place, as a result of which two soldiers and 14 militants were killed.

middle Asia

The pogroms of the Meskhetian Turks in 1989 in Uzbekistan are better known as the Fergana events. In early May 1990, a pogrom of Armenians and Jews took place in the Uzbek city of Andijan.

Chronology of events

1985

• May 7, 1985 Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of home brewing."

1986

• May 23, 1986 Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On measures to strengthen the fight against unearned income."
• On November 19, 1986, the USSR Supreme Council adopted the USSR Law “On Individual Labor Activity”.

1987

• May 6, 1987 The first unauthorized demonstration of a non-governmental and non-communist organization - the Memory Society in Moscow.
• On June 25, 1987, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU considered the question "On the tasks of the party for a radical restructuring of economic management."
• June 30, 1987 The law of the USSR "On the state enterprise (association)" was adopted.
• On July 30, 1987, the “Law on the procedure for appealing to the court against unlawful actions of officials” that infringe on the rights of a citizen was adopted
• August 1987 First unlimited subscription to newspapers and magazines.

1988

• March 13, 1988 Article by N. Andreeva in "Soviet Russia" - "I cannot compromise my principles"
• May 26, 1988 The law "On cooperation in the USSR" was adopted.
• June 28 - July 1, 1988 XIX All-Union Conference of the CPSU, which adopted resolutions "On some urgent measures for the practical implementation of the reform of the political system of the country", "On the implementation of the decisions of the XXVII Congress of the CPSU and the tasks of deepening perestroika", "On the democratization of Soviet society and reform of the political system”, “On the fight against bureaucracy”, “On interethnic relations”, “On publicity”, “On legal reform”.
• July 28, 1988 Decrees of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces "On the procedure for organizing and holding meetings, rallies, street processions and demonstrations in the USSR" and "On the duties and rights of the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs in protecting public order."
• September 5, 1988 The trial of Yu. M. Churbanov and others began (September 5 - December 30).
• September 30, 1988 - The largest "purge" of the Politburo since Stalin's times is held at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

1989

• January 1989 The first free nomination of candidates began. dep. USSR.

1990

• Spring 1990 The “Law on Property in the USSR” was adopted

Events after perestroika

International changes

• Withdrawal of medium and short range missiles from Europe
• Reduction of nuclear weapons
• The collapse of the USSR
• Disintegration of the socialist camp and the Warsaw Pact (according to the Protocol on the complete termination of the Treaty on July 1, 1991)
• Unification of Germany followed by the withdrawal of Soviet troops
• The end of the Afghan war with the withdrawal of Soviet troops (February 15, 1989)
• Restoration of diplomatic relations with Albania (July 30, 1990) and Israel (January 3, 1991)

Introduction of democratic freedoms

• Freedom of speech.
• Glasnost, the abolition of censorship.
• Pluralism of opinions.
• Freedom of movement of citizens abroad.
• The introduction of pluralism of power and the abolition of the one-party system.
• Permission of private enterprise and private property.
• An end to the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious organizations.

National conflicts, wars and incidents

• Zheltoksan
• Karabakh war
• Sumgayit pogrom
• Khojaly massacre
• Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
• South Ossetian conflict
• Civil War in Georgia
• Civil war in Tajikistan
• Chechen conflict
• Transnistrian conflict
• Ossetian-Ingush conflict
• in Uzbekistan (conflict with the Meskhetian Turks)
• in Kyrgyzstan (conflict in Fergana)

Changes in the economy and domestic life

• Anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR 1985-1987.
• Spread of cooperatives, and subsequently - the introduction of free enterprise
• USSR miners' strikes in 1989
• Monetary reform of 1991 (Pavlovian reform)
• Washout of goods from stores, and subsequently - hyperinflation
• Reduction of the country's gold reserves by ten times
• Decline in economic growth from +2.3% in 1985 to recession (decrease) to -11% in 1991
• Devaluation of the national currency from 0.64 rubles per US dollar to 90 rubles per US dollar
• An increase in external debt by at least three times,

Changes in the CPSU

• Withdrawal of "elders" from the Politburo (09/30/1988)
• Withdrawal of "elders" from the Central Committee of the CPSU (24.04.1989)

catastrophes

Since the beginning of perestroika in the USSR, natural and man-made disasters have received great public outcry, although sometimes with serious delays due to attempts by party structures to hide information:

• July 10, 1985 - Aeroflot Tu-154 (Tashkent-Karshi-Orenburg-Leningrad flight), having entered a tailspin, crashed near the city of Uchkuduk (Uzbekistan). 200 people died. This is the largest air crash in terms of the number of victims that occurred on the territory of the USSR.
• April 26, 1986 - Chernobyl accident - several dozen died from exposure, 200 thousand people were resettled
• August 31, 1986 - shipwreck of the steamer Admiral Nakhimov 423 dead
• December 7, 1988 - Spitak earthquake 25,000 dead
• June 3, 1989 - Railway accident near Ufa 575 dead
• April 7, 1989 - the death of the nuclear submarine "Komsomolets" 45 dead

attacks

On March 8, 1988, the Ovechkin family hijacks a Tu-154 aircraft flying Irkutsk-Kurgan-Leningrad.

Criticism

There are several versions of why the restructuring did take place. Some scholars contend that perestroika was largely a breeding ground for property grabs by the Soviet elite, or nomenklatura, who were more interested in "privatizing" the state's vast fortune in 1991 than in keeping it. Obviously, actions were carried out both on one side and on the other. Let us dwell in more detail on the second catalyst for the destruction of the Soviet state.

As one of the possible versions, even the fact that Soviet elite in fact, it had a meager compared to what the elite of the poor banana republics has, and compared to what the elite of developed countries owns. Based on this, it is argued that back in the Khrushchev era, part of the party elite set a course for changing the Soviet system, with the goal of turning from managers into owners of state property. Within this theory, no free market economy no one planned to create.

Some researchers (for example, V. S. Shironin, S. G. Kara-Murza) see in the victory of perestroika primarily a product of the activities of Western intelligence services, with the help of their extensive network of “agents of influence” and external pressure, deftly using shortcomings and miscalculations in the economic and state building of the USSR for the destruction of the Soviet Union and the entire socialist camp. "Agents of influence" acted according to the scenario described by V. M. Molotov back in the early 1930s: " they sought to plan individual branches of industry in such a way as to achieve the greatest disproportion between them: they reduced planning assumptions and exaggerated difficulties, invested excessively large funds in some enterprises and retarded the growth of others. Producing ineffective costs and deadening capital, ... they hoped to lead the Soviet state to financial crisis and the disruption of socialist construction a".

The Soviet way of life was formed under the influence of specific natural and historical circumstances. Based on these circumstances, the generations that created the Soviet system determined the main criterion for selection - the reduction of suffering. On this path, the Soviet system achieved successes recognized by the whole world, in the USSR the main sources of mass suffering and fears were eliminated - poverty, unemployment, homelessness, hunger, criminal, political and interethnic violence, as well as mass death in a war with a stronger enemy. For the sake of this, great sacrifices were made, but already from the 60s a stable and growing prosperity arose. An alternative criterion was the criterion of increased enjoyment. The Soviet way of life was created by generations that endured severe trials: accelerated industrialization, war and reconstruction. Their experience determined the choice. In the course of perestroika, its ideologists convinced the politically active part of society to change their choice - to follow the path of increasing pleasure and neglecting the danger of mass suffering. We are talking about a fundamental change, which is not limited to a change in the political, state and social structure (although it is inevitably expressed in them)

Although the directly indicated choice was not formulated (more precisely, attempts to formulate it were suppressed by the leadership of the CPSU, which determined access to the rostrum), the statements related to it were very transparent. Thus, the demand for a massive transfer of funds from heavy industry to light industry acquired the character not of an economic decision, but of a principled political choice. The leading ideologist of perestroika, A.N. Yakovlev, stated: “ A truly tectonic shift towards the production of commodities is needed. The solution to this problem can only be paradoxical: to carry out a large-scale reorientation of the economy in favor of the consumer ... We can do this, our economy, culture, education, and the whole society have long since reached the required initial level».

The reservation that “the economy has long since reached the required level,” no one checked or discussed, it was immediately discarded - it was only a tectonic shift. Immediately, even through the planning mechanism, a sharp reduction in investment in heavy industry and energy was carried out (the Energy Program, which brought the USSR to the level of reliable energy supply, was terminated). Even more eloquent was the ideological campaign aimed at curtailing the defense industry, created in the USSR precisely on the basis of the principle of reducing suffering.

This change in the criterion of living conditions contradicted the historical memory of the Russian people and the insurmountable restrictions imposed by geographical and geopolitical reality, the availability of resources and the level of development of the country. To agree to such a change was to reject the voice of common sense. (S. G. Kara-Murza, "Manipulation of Consciousness")

In support of the above theory, the following statistics are given:

The ideologists of perestroika themselves, who are already retired, have repeatedly stated that perestroika did not have any clear ideological basis. However, some activities since at least 1987 cast doubt on this view. While at the initial stage the common expression “more socialism” remained the official slogan, an implicit change in the legislative base in the economy began, threatening to undermine the functioning of the previous planned system: the actual abolition of the state monopoly on foreign economic activity (for example, Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated December 22, 1988 No. 1526 “on approval of the regulation on self-supporting foreign trade organizations ...”), revision of the approach to the relationship between state bodies and industrial enterprises (USSR Law “On the State Enterprise (Association)” of June 30, 1987).

Methodological approaches to the analysis of perestroika

The Marxist theory of socio-economic formations, as it was interpreted in the USSR, proceeded from the existence of a universal scheme for the development of all countries and peoples, which meant the successive replacement by each other of primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist, socialist, communist formations. Moreover, each subsequent formation was declared more advanced than the previous one. This scheme allowed that certain peoples could have bypassed or not known this or that social formation, but all of them in one way or another moved along a given path. But the transition from socialism to capitalism does not fit into this scheme.

The events that took place in the USSR after 1985 led to the fact that many of those who adhered to the formational approach abandoned it and turned to the search for other theoretical approaches to the historical process. Those who remained true to this orthodox Marxist approach (representatives of the communist and nationalist camps) assessed the historical changes that have taken place as "unnatural" and resort to explanations designed to prove the "artificial" nature of the collapse of socialism in the USSR. They see the reason for what happened in the intrigues of the United States, and the "agents of influence" of the United States in the USSR itself. This theory can be classified as a conspiracy theory due to its inability to recognize the real and underlying causes of events.

According to many representatives of Western Marxist thought, the method of replacing the capitalist formation with the socialist one, which was realized in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, does not correspond to the teachings of Marx and is in blatant contradiction with him. A striking example of such an interpretation is the work of the American socialist Michael Harrington. He wrote that Marx considered the transition from the capitalist formation to the socialist one as possible only when all the material and spiritual prerequisites for this mature. But the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia grossly violated this fundamental postulate of Marxism, and the result was sad: "The socialization of poverty could only new form poverty". Instead of overcoming the alienation of workers from the means of property, political power, spiritual values, the regime that triumphed in Russia imposed new forms of alienation and therefore Harrington defined it as "anti-socialist socialism". From these assessments, it is concluded that the collapse of socialism in the USSR is a consequence attempts to jump over the historical stages of the replacement of capitalism by socialism and the post-Soviet countries must go through those stages of "ripening" to socialism that the Bolsheviks tried to bypass. Moreover, such a prominent Marxist theorist as Karl Kautsky wrote back in 1918 in connection with the revolution in Russia: " Strictly speaking, the ultimate goal for us is not socialism, but the abolition of every kind of exploitation and oppression, whether class, gender or race... In this struggle, we make the socialist mode of production our goal because, under modern technical and economic conditions, it is the best means to achieve our goal. If it were shown to us that we are mistaken and that the emancipation of the proletariat and humanity is achieved in general and even more expediently on the basis of private ownership of the means of production, as Proudhon already thought, then we would reject socialism, without at all rejecting our final goal. Moreover, we would have to do it in her interests. Democracy and socialism differ not in that the former is a means and the latter an end; they are both means to the same end."

Proponents of the theory of modernization draw attention to the fact that Soviet leaders unwittingly recognized Western civilization as the most advanced, at least technologically and economically, and therefore the USSR tried to copy Western technological and organizational patterns. In the course of perestroika, it became clear that the possibilities for reforming and ensuring progressive development on a socialist basis were exhausted for the USSR, and as a result, it became necessary to borrow capitalist mechanisms, as well as the democratic structure of the state.

In works of art

• In the 1990s, the well-known Russian emigrant philosopher Alexander Zinoviev wrote the book “The Catastrophe”, in which he described the process of the collapse of the centuries-old Russian state with the name of the USSR. After the publication of the book, the term "katastroyka" began to be used in the Russian media to refer to perestroika itself.

Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991 - large-scale changes in the economic, political, and ideological life of the country, achieved through the introduction of radically new reforms. The goal of the reforms was the complete democratization of the political, social and economic system that had developed in the Soviet Union. Today we will take a closer look at the history of Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991.

Stages

The main stages of Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991:

1. March 1985 - early 1987 The phrases "acceleration" and "more socialism" became the slogans of this stage.
2. 1987-1988 At this stage, new slogans appeared: "glasnost" and "more democracy".
3. 1989-1990 Stage of "confusion and vacillation". The perestroika camp, which had been united before, split. Political and national confrontation began to gain momentum.
4. 1990-1991 This period was marked by the collapse of socialism, the political bankruptcy of the CPSU and, as a result, the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Reasons for perestroika in the USSR

The beginning of major reforms in the Soviet Union, as a rule, is associated with the coming to power of MS Gorbachev. At the same time, some experts consider one of his predecessors, Yu. A. Andropov, to be the "father of Perestroika". There is also an opinion that from 1983 to 1985, Perestroika experienced an “embryonic period”, while the USSR entered the stage of reform. One way or another, due to the lack of economic incentives to work, the ruinous arms race, the huge costs of military operations in Afghanistan, and the growing lag behind the West in the field of science and technology, at the dawn of the 1990s, the Soviet Union needed a large-scale reform. The gap between the slogans of the government and the real situation was huge. Distrust of communist ideology grew in society. All these facts became the reasons for Perestroika in the USSR.

The beginning of change

In March 1985, M. S. Gorbachev was elected to the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. AT next month the new leadership of the USSR proclaimed a course towards the accelerated development of the country in social and economic sphere. This is where the real Perestroika began. "Glasnost" and "acceleration" as a result will become its main symbols. In society, more and more often one could hear slogans like: "we are waiting for changes." Gorbachev also understood that changes were urgently needed by the state. Since the time of Khrushchev, he was the first General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, who did not disdain communication with the common people. Traveling around the country, he went out to people to ask about their problems.

Working on the implementation of the set course for the development and implementation of the Perestroika reforms in the USSR in 1985-1991, the country's leadership came to the conclusion that the sectors of the economy needed to be transferred to new ways of managing. From 1986 to 1989 laws were gradually issued on state enterprises, individual labor, cooperatives, and labor conflicts. The last law provided for the right of workers to strike. As part of the economic reforms, the following were introduced: state acceptance of products, economic accounting and self-financing, as well as the appointment of directors of enterprises based on the results of elections.

It is worth recognizing that all these measures not only did not lead to the main goal of Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991 - positive improvements in the country's economic situation, but also worsened the situation. The reason for this was: the "dampness" of reforms, significant budget spending, as well as an increase in the amount of money in the hands of the common population. Due to state deliveries of products, the communications established between enterprises were disrupted. The shortage of consumer goods has intensified.

"Publicity"

From an economic point of view, Perestroika began with "acceleration of development." In spiritual and political life, the so-called "glasnost" became its main leitmotif. Gorbachev declared that democracy is impossible without "glasnost". By this he meant that the people should know about all state events of the past and the processes of the present. The ideas of changing “barracks socialism” to socialism with “human appearance” began to appear in the journalism and statements of party ideologists. Culture during the years of Perestroika of the USSR (1985-1991) began to "come to life". The authorities have changed their attitude towards dissidents. Camps for political prisoners gradually began to close.

The policy of "glasnost" gained special momentum in 1987. The legacy of the writers of the 1930s and 1950s and the works of Russian philosophers have returned to the Soviet reader. The repertoire of theatrical and cinematographic figures has expanded significantly. The processes of "glasnost" found expression in magazine and newspaper publications, as well as on television. The weekly "Moscow News" and the magazine "Spark" were very popular.

Political transformation

The policy of Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991 assumed the emancipation of society, as well as its deliverance from party tutelage. As a result, the question of the need for political reforms was put on the agenda. The most important events in the internal political life of the USSR were: the approval of the reform of the state system, the adoption of amendments to the constitution and the adoption of the law on the election of deputies. These decisions were a step towards organizing an alternative electoral system. The Congress of People's Deputies became the supreme legislative body of power. He nominated his representatives to the Supreme Council.

In the spring of 1989, elections were held for members of the Congress of People's Deputies. The legal opposition was included in the congress. The world-famous scientist and human rights activist Academician A. Sakharov, the former secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee B. Yeltsin and the economist G. Popov were placed at its head. The spread of "glasnost" and pluralism of opinions led to the creation of numerous associations, some of which were national.

Foreign policy

During the years of Perestroika, the course changed radically foreign policy Soviet Union. The government abandoned confrontation in relations with the West, stopped interfering in local conflicts and revised its relationship with the countries of the socialist camp. The new vector of foreign policy development was based not on a "class approach", but on universal human values. According to Gorbachev, relations between states should have been based on maintaining a balance national interests, freedom to choose the paths of development in each individual state and the collective responsibility of countries for solving global issues.

Gorbachev was the initiator of the creation of a common European home. He regularly met with the rulers of America: Reagan (until 1988) and Bush (since 1989). At these meetings, politicians discussed disarmament issues. Soviet-American relations were "unfrozen". In 1987, agreements were signed on the destruction of missiles and missile defense. In 1990, politicians signed an agreement to reduce the number of strategic weapons.

During the years of Perestroika, Gorbachev was able to establish trusting relations with the heads of the leading states of Europe: Germany (G. Kohl), Great Britain (M. Thatcher) and France (F. Mitterrand). In 1990, the participants in the European Security Conference signed an agreement to reduce the number of conventional weapons in Europe. The USSR began to withdraw its soldiers from Afghanistan and Mongolia. During 1990-1991, both the political and military structures of the Warsaw Pact were dissolved. The military bloc, in fact, ceased to exist. The policy of "new thinking" brought fundamental changes in international relationships. This was the end of the Cold War.

National movements and political struggle

In the Soviet Union, as in a multinational state, national contradictions have always existed. They gained special momentum in conditions of crises (political or economic) and radical changes. Being engaged in the construction of socialism, the authorities paid little attention to the historical features of the peoples. Having announced the formation of the Soviet community, the government actually began to destroy the traditional economy and life of many peoples of the state. The authorities exerted particularly strong pressure on Buddhism, Islam and shamanism. Among the peoples of Western Ukraine, Moldova and the Baltic States, who joined the USSR on the eve of the Second World War, anti-socialist and anti-Soviet sentiments were very common.

The peoples deported during the war years were strongly offended by the Soviet government: Chechens, Crimean Tatars, Ingush, Karachays, Kalmyks, Balkars, Meskhetian Turks and others. During Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991, there were historical conflicts between Georgia and Abkhazia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, and others.

The policy of "glasnost" gave the green light to the creation of nationalist and national social movements. The most significant of them were: the "People's Fronts" of the Baltic countries, the Armenian committee "Karabakh", the Ukrainian "Rukh" and the Russian community "Memory". The broad masses were attracted to the opposition movement.

The strengthening of national movements, as well as opposition to the allied Center and the power of the Communist Party, became the determining factor in the crisis of the “tops”. Back in 1988, tragic events unfolded in Nagorno-Karabakh. For the first time since the civil war, demonstrations were held under nationalist slogans. They were followed by pogroms in Azerbaijani Sumgayit and Uzbek Fergana. The apogee of national discontent was the armed clashes in Karabakh.

In November 1988, the Supreme Council of Estonia proclaimed the supremacy of the republican law over the all-union law. The following year, the Verkhovna Rada of Azerbaijan proclaimed the sovereignty of its republic, and the Armenian Social Movement began to advocate for the independence of Armenia and its separation from the Soviet Union. At the end of 1989, the Communist Party of Lithuania declared its independence.

1990 elections

During the 1990 election campaign, the confrontation between the party apparatus and opposition forces was clearly expressed. The opposition received the Democratic Russia electoral bloc, which became nothing more than an organizational center for it, and later turned into a social movement. In February 1990, many rallies took place, the participants of which sought the elimination of the Communist Party's monopoly on power.

Deputy elections in Ukraine, Belarus and the RSFSR were the first truly democratic elections. About 30% of positions in the highest legislative bodies were received by deputies with a democratic orientation. These elections have become an excellent illustration of the crisis in the power of the party elite. The society demanded the abolition of the 6th article of the Constitution of the Soviet Union, which proclaims the supremacy of the CPSU. Thus, a multi-party system began to take shape in the USSR. The main reformers - B. Yeltsin and G. Popov, received high posts. Yeltsin became chairman of the Supreme Soviet, and Popov became the mayor of Moscow.

The beginning of the collapse of the USSR

MS Gorbachev and Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991 are associated by many with the collapse of the Soviet Union. It all started in 1990, when national movements began to gain momentum. In January, as a result of the Armenian pogroms, troops were sent to Baku. The military operation, accompanied by a large number of victims, only temporarily distracted the public from the issue of Azerbaijan's independence. Around the same time, Lithuanian parliamentarians voted for the independence of the republic, as a result of which Soviet troops entered Vilnius. Following Lithuania, a similar decision was made by the parliaments of Latvia and Estonia. In the summer of 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Russia and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted declarations of sovereignty. In the spring of the following year, independence referendums were held in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Georgia.

Autumn 1990. MS Gorbachev, who was elected President of the USSR at the Congress of People's Deputies, was forced to reorganize the authorities. Since then, the executive bodies have been directly subordinate to the president. The Federation Council was established - a new advisory body, which included the heads of the Union republics. Then the development and discussion of a new Union Treaty began, regulating relations between the republics of the USSR.

In March 1991, the first referendum in the history of the USSR was held, in which the citizens of the countries had to speak out regarding the preservation of the Soviet Union as a federation of sovereign republics. Six union republics (Armenia, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Georgia) out of 15 refused to take part in the referendum. 76% of those polled voted for the preservation of the USSR. In parallel, an All-Russian referendum was organized, as a result of which the post of president of the republic was introduced.

Russian presidential elections

On June 12, 1991, popular elections were held for the first president in the history of Russia. According to the voting results, this honorary post went to B. N. Yeltsin, who was supported by 57% of voters. So Moscow became the capital of two presidents: Russian and all-Union. Reconciling the positions of the two leaders was problematic, especially given the fact that their relationship was far from the most "smooth".

August coup

By the end of the summer of 1991, the political situation in the country had deteriorated greatly. On August 20, after heated discussions, the leadership of the nine republics agreed to sign an updated Union Treaty, which, in fact, meant the transition to a real federal state. Row state structures The USSR was eliminated or replaced by new ones.

The party and state leadership, believing that only decisive measures would lead to the preservation of the political positions of the Communist Party and stop the collapse of the USSR, resorted to forceful methods of management. On the night of August 18-19, when the President of the USSR was on vacation in the Crimea, they formed the GKChP (State Committee for the State of Emergency). The newly formed committee declared a state of emergency in some parts of the country; announced the dissolution of power structures that are contrary to the 1977 Constitution; hindered the activities of opposition structures; banned gatherings, demonstrations and rallies; took the media under tight control; and finally sent troops to Moscow. AI Lukyanov - Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, supported the GKChP, although he himself was not a member of it.

B. Yeltsin, together with the leadership of Russia, led the resistance to the KGChP. In an appeal to the people, they urged them not to obey the illegal decisions of the committee, interpreting its actions as nothing more than an unconstitutional coup. Yeltsin was supported by more than 70% of Muscovites, as well as residents of a number of other regions. Tens of thousands of peaceful Russians, expressing support for Yeltsin, were ready to defend the Kremlin with weapons in their hands. Frightened by the unleashing of a civil war, the GKChP, after three days of confrontation, began to withdraw troops from the capital. On August 21, members of the committee were arrested.

The Russian leadership used the August coup to defeat the CPSU. Yeltsin issued a decree according to which the party should suspend its activities in Russia. The property of the Communist Party was nationalized, and the funds were seized. The liberals who came to power in the central part of the country took away from the leadership of the CPSU the levers of control of law enforcement agencies and the media. Gorbachev's presidency was only formal. The main number of republics refused to conclude the Union Treaty after the August events. No one thought about "glasnost" and "acceleration" of Perestroika. The question of the future fate of the USSR was on the agenda.

final decay

In the last months of 1991, the Soviet Union finally collapsed. The Congress of People's Deputies was dissolved, the Supreme Soviet was radically reformed, most of the union ministries were liquidated, and an inter-republican economic committee was created instead of the cabinet of ministers. The State Council of the USSR, which included the President of the Soviet Union and the heads of the union republics, became the supreme body for managing domestic and foreign policy. The first decision of the State Council was the recognition of the independence of the Baltic countries.

On December 1, 1991, a referendum was held in Ukraine. More than 80% of the respondents spoke in favor of the independence of the state. As a result, Ukraine also decided not to sign the Union Treaty.

December 7-8, 1991 B. N. Yeltsin, L. M. Kravchuk and S. S. Shushkevich met in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. As a result of the negotiations, the politicians announced the termination of the existence of the Soviet Union and the formation of the CIS (Union of Independent States). At first, only Russia, Ukraine and Belarus joined the CIS, but later all the states that were previously part of the Soviet Union, except for the Baltic states, joined it.

Results of Perestroika in the USSR 1985-1991

Despite the fact that Perestroika ended disastrously, it nevertheless brought a number of important changes to the life of the USSR, and then of its individual republics.

Positive results of the restructuring:

1. The victims of Stalinism were fully rehabilitated.
2. There was such a thing as freedom of speech and views, and censorship became not so tough.
3. The one-party system was abolished.
4. There was a possibility of unhindered entry / exit to / from the country.
5. Military service for undergraduate students has been cancelled.
6. Women are no longer jailed for adultery.
7. Rock was allowed.
8. The cold war has formally ended.

Of course, Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991 also had negative consequences.

Here are just the main ones:

1. The country's gold and foreign exchange reserves decreased by 10 times, which caused hyperinflation.
2. The country's international debt has at least tripled.
3. The rate of economic growth of the country has fallen almost to zero - the state simply froze.

Well, the main negative outcome of Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991. - the collapse of the USSR.