It does not apply to the results of Gorbachev's foreign policy. Foreign policy activity of MS Gorbachev. Elections and coup

Domestic policy: After the death of L. I. Brezhnev, Yu. V. Andropov, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, became the head of the party and state apparatus. He was replaced in February 1984 by K. U. Chernenko. After the death of K. U. Chernenko, in March 1985, M. S. Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The period of the country's life, called "perestroika", is connected with the activities of the new Secretary General. The main task was to stop the collapse of the "state socialism" system. The reform project developed in 1987 assumed: 1) to expand the economic independence of enterprises; 2) to revive the private sector of the economy; 3) to abandon the foreign trade monopoly; 4) to reduce the number of administrative instances; 5) to recognize the equality of five forms of ownership in agriculture: collective farms, state farms, agricultural enterprises, rental cooperatives and farms. Resolution of 1990 "On the concept of transition to a regulated market economy." Inflationary processes intensified in the country caused by a budget deficit. The new leadership of the RSFSR (Chairman of the Supreme Council - B. N. Yeltsin) developed a program "500 days", which implied decentralization and privatization of the public sector of the economy. The policy of glasnost, which was first announced at the XXVI Congress of the CPSU in February 1986, assumed: 1) mitigation of censorship over the media; 2) publication of previously banned books and documents ;3) mass rehabilitation of victims of political repression, including croup the most prominent figures of the Soviet power of the 1920-1930s. In the country, in the shortest possible time, mass media free from ideological attitudes appeared. In the political sphere, a course was taken to create a permanent parliament and a socialist legal state. In 1989, elections of people's deputies of the USSR were held, and a congress of people's deputies was created. Parties are formed with the following directions: 1) liberal-democratic; 2) communist parties. Three trends were clearly identified in the CPSU itself: 1) social democratic; 2) centrist; 3) orthodox-traditionalist.

Foreign policy: Large-scale changes in the internal life of one of the great powers had consequences for the whole world. The changes in the USSR turned out to be close and understandable to the peoples of the world community, which received bright hopes for the long-awaited strengthening of peace on Earth, the expansion of democracy and freedom. Changes began in the countries of the former socialist camp. Thus, the Soviet Union brought about profound changes in the entire world situation.

Changes in the foreign policy of the USSR:

1) the process of democratization within the country forced to reconsider the approach to human rights; a new perception of the world as a single interconnected whole raised the question of integrating the country into the world economic system;

2) the pluralism of opinions and the rejection of the concept of confrontation between the two world systems led to the de-ideologicalization of interstate relations. "New Thinking":

1) January 15, 1986, the Soviet Union put forward a plan for the liberation of mankind from nuclear weapons by the year 2000;

2) The XXVII Congress of the CPSU analyzed the prospects for world development based on the concept of a contradictory, but interconnected, in fact, integral world. Rejecting bloc confrontation, the congress unequivocally spoke in favor of peaceful coexistence, not as a specific form of class struggle, but as the highest, universal principle of interstate relations;

3) the program for creating a general system of international security was comprehensively substantiated, based on the fact that security can only be general and is achieved only by political means. This program was addressed to the whole world, governments, parties, public organizations and movements that are really concerned about the fate of peace on Earth;

4) in December 1988, speaking at the United Nations, M.S. Gorbachev presented in an expanded form the philosophy of the new political thinking, adequate to the modern historical era. It was recognized that the viability of the world community lies in the multivariate development, in its diversity: national, spiritual, social, political, geographical, cultural. And therefore, each country should be free to choose the path to progress;

5) the need to abandon the implementation of their own development at the expense of other countries and peoples, as well as taking into account the balance of their interests, the search for a universal consensus in moving towards a new political order in the world;

6) only by the joint efforts of the world community can hunger, poverty, mass epidemics, drug addiction, international terrorism be overcome, and an ecological catastrophe be prevented.

The meaning and results of the "new thinking" in the foreign policy of the USSR: 1) the new foreign policy brought the Soviet Union to the forefront of building a secure and civilized world order; 2) the “image of the enemy” collapsed, any justification under the understanding of the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” disappeared; 3) the Cold War was stopped, the danger of a world military conflict receded; by February 15, 1989, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan, relations with China gradually normalized; 4) a rapprochement of positions between the USSR, the USA and Western European countries on major international problems and, in particular, on many aspects of disarmament, in approaches to regional conflicts and ways to solve global problems began to appear; 5) the first major steps have been taken towards practical disarmament (the 1987 Agreement on the Destruction of Intermediate-Range Missiles); 6) dialogue, negotiations become the predominant form of international relations.

The collapse of the USSR: By 1990 the idea of perestroika had exhausted itself. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a resolution "On the concept of transition to a regulated market economy", followed by a resolution "Basic directions for the stabilization of the national economy and the transition to a market economy." Provision was made for the denationalization of property, the establishment of joint-stock companies, and the development of private entrepreneurship. The idea of reforming socialism was buried.

In 1991, Article 6 of the USSR Constitution on the leading role of the CPSU was abolished.

The process of formation of new parties, mainly of an anti-communist persuasion, began. The crisis that engulfed the CPSU in 1989-1990 and the weakening of its influence allowed the communist parties of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to secede.

Since the spring of 1990, the center has been losing power over the regions and union republics.

The Gorbachev administration accepts the changes that have taken place as a fact, and all that remains for it is to legally fix its actual failures. In March 1990, the 3rd Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR took place, at which MS Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR.

Gorbachev raised the question before the leaders of the republics about the need to conclude a new Union Treaty. In March 1991, a referendum was held on the preservation of the USSR, in which 76% of citizens voted for its preservation. In April 1991, negotiations between the President of the USSR and the heads of the union republics took place in Novo-Ogaryovo. However, only 9 out of 15 republics took part, and almost all of them rejected Gorbachev's initiative to preserve a multinational state based on a federation of subjects.

By August 1991, thanks to the efforts of Gorbachev, it was possible to prepare a draft treaty on the formation of the Commonwealth of Sovereign States. The SSG was presented as a confederation with limited presidential power. It was the last attempt to save the USSR in any form.

The prospect of losing power over the republics did not suit many functionaries.

On August 19, 1991, a group of high-ranking officials (Vice-President of the USSR G. Yanaev, Prime Minister V. Pavlov, Minister of Defense D. Yazov), taking advantage of Gorbachev's vacation, established the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP). Troops were sent to Moscow. However, the putschists were rebuffed, protest rallies were held, and barricades were built near the building of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.

The President of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin and his team described the actions of the State Emergency Committee as an unconstitutional coup, and its decrees as null and void on the territory of the RSFSR. Yeltsin was supported by the Extraordinary Session of the Republic's Supreme Soviet, convened on August 21.

The putschists did not receive support from a number of military leaders and military units. Members of the GKChP were arrested on charges of attempting a coup. Gorbachev returned to Moscow.

In November 1991, Yeltsin signed a decree suspending the activities of the CPSU on the territory of the RSFSR.

These events accelerated the disintegration of the USSR. In August, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia withdrew from it. Gorbachev was forced to legally recognize the decision of the Baltic republics.

In September, the 5th Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies decided to terminate its powers and dissolve itself.

On December 8, 1991, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the leaders of three Slavic republics - Russia (B.N. Yeltsin), Ukraine (L.M. Kravchuk) and Belarus (S.S. Shushkevich) announced the termination of the agreement on the formation of the USSR.

These states made a proposal to create the Commonwealth of Independent States - the CIS. In the second half of December, other union republics, except for the Baltic republics and Georgia, joined the three Slavic republics.

On December 21 in Alma-Ata, the parties recognized the inviolability of the borders and guaranteed the fulfillment of the international obligations of the USSR.

reasons for the collapse of the USSR:

the crisis provoked by the planned nature of the economy and led to a shortage of many consumer goods;
unsuccessful, largely ill-conceived, reforms that led to a sharp deterioration in living standards;
mass dissatisfaction of the population with interruptions in food supplies;
the ever-increasing gap in the standard of living between the citizens of the USSR and the citizens of the countries of the capitalist camp;
aggravation of national contradictions;
weakening of the central government;
the authoritarian nature of Soviet society, including strict censorship, the prohibition of the church, and so on.

the main consequences of the collapse of the USSR:

A sharp reduction in production in all countries of the former USSR and a drop in the standard of living of the population;

The territory of Russia has shrunk by a quarter;

Access to seaports became more difficult again;

The population of Russia has decreased - in fact by half;

The emergence of numerous national conflicts and the emergence of territorial claims between the former republics of the USSR;

Globalization began - the processes gradually gained momentum that turned the world into a single political, informational, economic system;

The world became unipolar, and the United States remained the only superpower.

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GORBACHEV Mikhail Sergeevich (born March 2, 1931, the village of Privolnoye, North Caucasus Territory), Soviet statesman and party leader, Russian public figure; General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1985-91), President of the USSR (1990-91). From a peasant family. During the Great Patriotic War, as a teenager, together with his mother (his father fought at the front), he ended up in the German occupation. Since 1944, as a schoolboy, together with his father, demobilized after being wounded, he worked on a combine. For success in harvesting he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1948).

He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University (1955) and in absentia from the Faculty of Economics of the Stavropol Agricultural Institute (1967).

Since 1952, a member of the CPSU (candidate since 1950). Since 1955 at Komsomol work: secretary of the Stavropol city (1956-1958), 2nd and 1st secretary of the Stavropol regional (1958-61) committees of the Komsomol. Since 1962 in party work: 1st Secretary of the Stavropol City (1966-68), 2nd (1968-70) and 1st (1970-1978) Secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU. Member of the CPSU Central Committee (since 1971), secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (since 1978), member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee (since 1980, candidate since 1979). In the Central Committee, he initially oversaw the country's agriculture and food production, but soon began to influence many other areas of the Central Committee's activities. Together with N. I. Ryzhkov and E. K. Ligachev, who were part of a group that analyzed the real state of affairs in the country, he came to the conclusion that there was a serious crisis in the Soviet economy and management system.

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In 1985, at the March plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (re-elected in July 1990 at the 28th Congress of the CPSU). His coming to power of the country took place against the backdrop of the ongoing Afghan conflict of 1979-89, the deployment in Western Europe [in connection with the installation in the European part of the USSR of Soviet medium-range missiles - RSD-10 ("SS-20")], the latest American missiles "Pershing- 2", the flight time of which to the most important strategic objects of the USSR was 5 minutes. This, as well as the US attempts to implement the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which endangered the security of the USSR, the unprecedented escalation of the arms race, especially nuclear ones, sharply worsened the general international situation by the mid-1980s.

Initially, Gorbachev, like Yu. V. Andropov, saw a way out of the crisis for the country in restoring order in production, strengthening party discipline, in a significant increase in labor productivity, technological modernization, primarily mechanical engineering, in order to maintain military-strategic parity with the United States, significant increase in national income. To lay a real foundation for his program, Gorbachev hoped to purchase new technologies and consumer goods for foreign currency, 80% of which came from the sale of raw materials and energy resources. This program was called "acceleration of scientific and technological progress." However, after the United States and its allies tightened the technological blockade of the USSR in 1985-86 and the sharp decline in oil and metal prices in August 1985-April 1986, it became clear that the "acceleration" program had no prospects. The situation with the state budget was complicated by an unsuccessfully carried out local attempt in 1985 to eradicate drunkenness at work and in public places. In addition, Gorbachev faced serious problems caused by the unwillingness and inability of many leaders of all levels of the party, state and economic apparatus, who had come to the fore under L. I. Brezhnev, to abandon the stereotyped, which had become ineffective methods of managing people and the economy. Gorbachev began to carry out a "personnel revolution": by the end of 1985, a third of the members of the USSR Council of Ministers had been replaced. In an effort to enlist public support, in 1985-86 he traveled a lot around the country, spoke frankly with people.

For Gorbachev and the leaders who came to the fore in the mid-1980s, it became increasingly clear that the reasons for the country's lagging behind and the crisis phenomena were of a systemic nature: the economic model of a super-centralized planned economy was exhausted. At the 27th Congress of the CPSU (February-March 1986), Gorbachev unveiled a series of measures that were given the name "perestroika". In the field of the state economy, the possibility of introducing elements of its self-regulation was opened up; at the same time, the emergence of a new, private way of life was allowed.

20 ministries and 70 largest state enterprises received the right to establish direct relations with foreign partners and create joint ventures. "Individual labor activity", the organization of cooperatives for the collection and processing of secondary raw materials were allowed (some of them subsequently grew into large firms). In the political and ideological sphere, Gorbachev emphasized overcoming dogmatism and conservatism and initiated the policy of glasnost (actually an ideological reform). Since 1986, freedom of speech and the press has expanded significantly, and acute topics of modern life, of the ancient and recent historical past, have been openly discussed. It became possible to create informal public organizations and associations. Religious life in the country was freed from the guardianship of state bodies. Dissent is no longer considered a crime. The works of the classics of Russian literature (including individual works by I. A. Bunin, V. G. Korolenko, M. Gorky, B. L. Pasternak, etc.), hidden in the “special depositories” for decades, became available to readers, previously banned foreign literature. New films devoted to topical issues were released on the screens, and films that had been on the shelves for years for censorship reasons were returned to the audience. The theater and television experienced a period of renewal. Archives began to open, the works of outstanding representatives of Russian philosophical and historical thought were published, wide access to which was previously closed. The cultural contacts of the USSR with other countries have expanded considerably. The procedure for entry and exit from the USSR was significantly simplified. An important component of the democratic process was the rethinking of the history of the USSR. On Gorbachev's initiative, in January 1988, the Commission for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repressions was formed under the Central Committee of the CPSU (by mid-1989 it had rehabilitated about 1 million citizens). 140 dissidents were also amnestied. Academician A. D. Sakharov returned from exile.

The new socio-political situation in the country came into conflict with the usual foundations in the minds and behavior of representatives of the party and state nomenklatura, which eventually turned to covert and open resistance to reforms, sometimes taking on the character of sabotage. In response, Gorbachev intensified the process of updating the personnel of the party apparatus: by the beginning of 1987, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU was updated by 70%, the Central Committee - by 40%, the secretaries of city and district committees - by 70%, regional committees - by 60%.

In the summer of 1987 (at the June plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU), Gorbachev formulated the basic principles of economic reform, the essence of which was to transfer all state enterprises to self-sufficiency and self-financing, expanding their independence. In industry, instead of a plan, a state order was introduced for a part of the products produced and provided for the independent sale of the remaining part by the enterprise. All enterprises received greater freedom in the disposal of profits, the right to enter the foreign market themselves, to carry out joint activities with foreign partners. Labor collectives were given the right to elect self-government bodies (councils of enterprises), directors at meetings, and to lease their enterprises from the state. In addition, the development of the private sector in the service sector and in agriculture was envisaged. Collective farmers were given the opportunity to develop collective and family contracts, to receive land on a long-term lease (up to 50 years), and to independently sell their products at free prices. Thus, the economic reform, according to Gorbachev's plan, pursued the goal of overcoming the alienation of a person from the results of his work and from power.

The economic reform had ambiguous consequences. A diversified economy began to take shape in the country, in which, along with the public sector, the private sector was born and quickly gained strength, establishing itself not only in the service sector, but also in manufacturing and banking. By the end of 1987, there were 13.9 thousand cooperatives, in 1988 there were 77.5 thousand, in 1990 - 245 thousand; by 1990, the volume of sold products of cooperatives amounted to 67.3 billion rubles, or 6.7% of GNP; by the spring of 1991, 7 million citizens, or 5% of the active population, were employed in the cooperative sector. In March 1989, 5 specialized banks (see the article Banks in Russia), created during the banking reform (conducted since June 1987) and existing along with the State Bank of the USSR, switched to full self-financing and self-financing. A network of commercial and cooperative banks began to form (by the beginning of 1990, 224 commercial banks were registered in the USSR), other market structures also arose: stock exchanges, various intermediary organizations.

However, despite this, general economic processes were then determined in the sphere of the state economy. The heads of state enterprises, now directly dependent on labor collectives, raised wages by reducing production investments and funds for R & D, the cooperatives that arose at enterprises not only gave scope for the activities of enterprising, economic people, but also served as a cover for pumping non-cash funds into cash, which together increased the volume of money supply in the market that was not backed by goods. In trade, there was a shortage of a number of basic necessities, prices began to rise and inflation began. In the agrarian sector, the reform did not give the expected results: the process of “de-peasantization of the peasantry,” as Gorbachev put it, had gone too far over many decades of Soviet history.

In the same period, the weakening of the totalitarian system, and with it the power of the union leadership, exacerbated inter-ethnic contradictions, rooted in the past, and also contributed to the manifestation of the national-state ambitions of local elites. At the end of 1987, movements with nationalist overtones began to unfold in Georgia. In February 1988, after the request of the regional Council of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, addressed to the Armed Forces of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armed Forces of the Armenian SSR, to transfer the region from Azerbaijan to Armenia, the first bloody inter-ethnic conflicts took place - in Karabakh and Sumgayit.

It was difficult to reform the political system. In 1988, for the first time, differences in the Politburo of the Central Committee in relation to perestroika were clearly revealed. However, Gorbachev continued the reform. The 19th All-Union Conference of the CPSU (June 28 - July 1, 1988) was a milestone in its development, where a heated discussion flared up and a number of resolutions were adopted aimed at democratizing the country's political system. For the first time in the history of Soviet society, Gorbachev proposed measures for a real separation of the functions of party and state power. To include citizens in the decision-making process, it was planned to create new state institutions: the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, elections for which were to be held on an alternative basis, and a permanent parliament. To implement the reform, an extraordinary session of the USSR Supreme Council on 10/1/1988 approved Gorbachev as chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council. In March-May 1989, the country's first free elections of people's deputies were held, as a result of which more than 30 secretaries of regional and large city party committees were defeated.

At the 1st Congress of People's Deputies, by a majority of votes on 25/5/1989, Gorbachev was elected Chairman of the USSR Supreme Council. By this time, Gorbachev's centrist position was already clearly colored by social democratic ideas. He defined the meaning of political reform as the transfer of all power to the Soviets of People's Deputies. At the same congress, the Interregional Deputy Group took shape organizationally, which soon began to offer a liberal alternative to Gorbachev's reformist course on a number of issues. With the growth of the liberal opposition (“democrats” in the political lexicon of that time), Gorbachev’s policy, which defended the course for the gradual reform of the country, began to be subjected to fierce criticism from two sides: “conservatives” accused him of departing from the foundations of socialism, “democrats”, who were in the Politburo The Central Committee of the CPSU was supported by A. N. Yakovlev in slowing down radical transformations (the opposite of assessments has passed into journalism, is partially preserved in modern historiography and public opinion).

The new domestic policy, largely conditioned by the position of the USSR in the world, was also matched by new approaches to international affairs. Gorbachev's activities played a decisive role in curbing the nuclear arms race, overcoming the confrontation with the West, and in improving the entire international situation. In 1987, the Treaty on the Mutual Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF) was signed between the USSR and the United States. Further movement in this direction culminated in the signing in Moscow on July 31, 1991 of the Treaty between the USSR and the USA on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms (START-1). Thanks to Gorbachev's policy, Soviet-Chinese relations entered a normal course. Gorbachev's decision to withdraw Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989 caused a great positive response in the country and abroad. Relations between the USSR and the FRG, Great Britain and other Western European countries, and many countries in Asia and Latin America have improved significantly. With regard to the Eastern European countries, Gorbachev abandoned the policy of limiting their sovereignty, which was carried out after the end of the 2nd World War. Gorbachev's position contributed to the democratization of regimes in the countries of Eastern Europe, as well as the unification of Germany in October 1990. The 6-year term for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from East Germany agreed upon by Gorbachev and German Chancellor G. Kohl (subsequently reduced by the Russian government to 5 years) later began to be assessed by the public as insufficient and caused accusations of haste (see the German question 1945-1990). The democratization of regimes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s led to the dismantling of the Warsaw Pact, formalized on July 1, 1991, and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Eastern European countries. This was the beginning of overcoming the split of Europe. In 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but in his country his foreign, especially European, policy was often sharply criticized.

In the Soviet Union, Gorbachev's perestroika resulted in a change in the political regime: in 1990, power was transferred from the CPSU to the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, the first parliament in Soviet history elected on an alternative basis in free democratic elections. The highest bodies of state power were reconstructed, Gorbachev was elected president of the USSR.

The systemic transformation exacerbated the contradictions in society, and the mistakes and belated actions of the leadership exacerbated the situation. The deterioration of the situation in the consumer market, as well as the aggravation of interethnic relations (including bloody clashes in Baku, Tbilisi and Vilnius) led to a weakening of public support for Gorbachev. At the same time, the liberal opposition rallied around B. N. Yeltsin (he was nominated by Gorbachev for responsible leadership, but in 1987 he was removed from his post). Unlike his predecessors, Gorbachev did not deprive the enemy of the opportunity to participate in political life, and he soon became his main rival in the struggle for power. At the same time, the rigid unitarity of the state structure of the USSR ceased to suit the local elites, who began to rely on various kinds of national movements. The centrifugal processes especially intensified after the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the RSFSR on 12 June 1990, opening the "parade of sovereignties" of other republics, both union and autonomous. Trying to preserve the integrity of the country, Gorbachev came up with the initiative to hold the first referendum in the history of the USSR. On it (03/17/1991), 76% of those who voted (in Russia - 71.3%) spoke in favor of maintaining the renewed Union. On August 20, 1991, the procedure was scheduled for the leaders of the republics to sign a new Treaty on the Union of Sovereign Republics, which provided for a significant expansion of the powers of the republics within the union state. However, this process was thwarted by the outbreak of the August 1991 crisis, caused by the actions of a number of people from Gorbachev's entourage. The GKChP putsch failed. After that, B. N. Yeltsin 23/8/1991 suspended the activities of the CPSU on the territory of the RSFSR.

Gorbachev, returning to Moscow from Foros, where he was isolated by the putschists, on 24/8/1991 announced his resignation from the post of general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and appealed to the Central Committee to dissolve itself. But the defeat of the putschists did not become a victory for Gorbachev. In the RSFSR, the forces led by B. N. Yeltsin took over; other union republics declared their independence in response to the putsch. Nevertheless, Gorbachev resumed the process of negotiations on signing a new Union Treaty, but it was also frustrated: the presidents of the RSFSR, Ukraine and the chairman of the Supreme Council of the BSSR on December 8 signed the Belovezhskaya Accords of 1991 on the dissolution of the USSR and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Gorbachev made several more unsuccessful attempts to prevent the collapse of the state. 12/25/1991 he announced the termination of his activities as president of the USSR.

Since 1992, Gorbachev has been president of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Science Research (the so-called Gorbachev Foundation). He is engaged in research into the history of perestroika and the development of ideas underlying it, implements humanitarian projects, helps the international association "Hematologists of the World for Children", participates in the implementation of the program "Children's leukemia in Russia", in the construction and equipping of the Center for Pediatric Hematology and Transplantation named after R. M. Gorbacheva. Since 1993, Gorbachev has been the head of the Green Cross International Non-Governmental Ecological Organization. One of the initiators of the creation of the Forum of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates (1999), the World Policy Forum (2003).

He was awarded 3 orders of Lenin and more than 300 foreign awards and prizes.

Op.: Perestroika and new thinking for our country and for the whole world. M., 1987; Selected speeches and articles. M., 1987-1990. T. 1-7; On the main directions for the stabilization of the national economy and the transition to a market economy. M., 1990; Through the multistructural nature of the economy - to the efficiency of production. M., 1990; Nobel Lecture June 5, 1991, Oslo; M., 1991; August Putsch: Causes and Effects. M., 1991; December-91: My position. M., 1992; Years of difficult decisions. M., 1993; Life and reforms. M., 1995; Reflections on the past and future. M., 1998; How it happened: The unification of Germany. M., 1999; Understand Perestroika…: Why It Matters Now. M., 2006.

Lit .: Pechenev V. A. M. S. Gorbachev: to the heights of power. M., 1991; Gorbachev - Yeltsin: 1500 days of political confrontation. M., 1992; Ryzhkov N.I. Perestroika: History of betrayals. M., 1992; Chernyaev M.S. Six years with Gorbachev. M., 1993; Grachev A. S. Further without me ...: The departure of the President. M., 1994; Medvedev V. A. In Gorbachev's team: A look from the inside. M., 1994; Shakhnazarov G. Kh. The price of freedom: Gorbachev's reformation through the eyes of his assistant. M., 1994; The Union Could Have Been Saved: Documents and Facts about MS Gorbachev's Policy on Reforming and Preserving a Multinational State. M., 1995; Metlock D.F. Reagan and Gorbachev: how the cold war ended... and everyone won. M., 2005; Piyashev N. F. M. S. Gorbachev ... who is he? M., 1995; In the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU ... According to the records of A. Chernyaev, V. Medvedev, G. Shakhnazarov (1985-1991). M., 2006.

Domestic politics

Historical chronicle » M.S. Gorbachev as General Secretary » Domestic policy

Gorbachev's entire domestic policy was imbued with the spirit of perestroika and glasnost. He first introduced the term "perestroika" in April 1986, which at first was understood only as the "restructuring" of the economy. But later, especially after the XIX All-Union Party Conference, the word "perestroika" expanded and began to denote the entire era of change.

Gorbachev's first steps after his election largely followed those of Andropov. First of all, he abolished the "cult" of his position. In front of TV viewers in 1986, Gorbachev rudely cut off one speaker: "Let's persuade Mikhail Sergeyevich!"

The media again started talking about "putting things in order" in the country. In the spring of 1985, a decree was issued to combat drunkenness. The sale of wine and vodka products was halved, and thousands of hectares of vineyards were cut down in the Crimea and Transcaucasia. This led to an increase in queues at liquor stores and more than five times the consumption of moonshine.

The fight against bribery has resumed with renewed vigor, especially in Uzbekistan. In 1986, Brezhnev's son-in-law Yury Churbanov was arrested and later sentenced to twelve years in prison.

At the beginning of 1987, the Central Committee introduced some elements of democracy in production and in the party apparatus: alternative elections of party secretaries appeared, sometimes open voting was replaced by a secret one, and a system of electing heads of enterprises and institutions was introduced. All these innovations in the political system were discussed at the XIX All-Union Party Conference, which took place in the summer of 1988. Its decisions provided for the combination of "socialist values" with the political doctrine of liberalism - a course was proclaimed towards the creation of a "socialist legal state", it was planned to carry out the separation of powers, the doctrine of "Soviet parliamentarism". For this, a new supreme body of power was created - the Congress of People's Deputies, and it was proposed to make the Supreme Soviet a permanent "parliament".

The electoral legislation was also changed: the elections were supposed to be held on an alternative basis, to make them two-stage, one third of the deputies to be formed from public organizations.

The main idea of the conference was the transfer of part of the power of the party to the government, that is, the strengthening of Soviet authorities, while maintaining party influence in them.

Soon, the initiative for more intensive reforms passed to the people's deputies elected at the 1st Congress, at their suggestion, the concept of political reforms was somewhat changed and supplemented. The III Congress of People's Deputies, which met in March 1990, considered it appropriate to introduce the post of President of the USSR, at the same time, Article 6 of the Constitution, which secured the Communist Party's monopoly on power, was canceled, which allowed the formation of a multi-party system.

Also, in the course of the perestroika policy, a reassessment of some moments in the history of the state took place at the state level, especially regarding the condemnation of the personality cult of Stalin.

But at the same time, dissatisfied with the policy of perestroika gradually began to appear. Their position was expressed in her letter to the editors of the newspaper "Soviet Russia" Leningrad teacher Nina Andreeva.

Simultaneously with the implementation of reforms in the country, a seemingly long-resolved national question appeared in it, which resulted in bloody conflicts: in the Baltic states and in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Simultaneously with the implementation of political reforms, economic reforms were also carried out. The main direction of the country's socio-economic development was recognized as scientific and technological progress, the technical re-equipment of mechanical engineering and the activation of the "human factor". Initially, the main emphasis was placed on the enthusiasm of the working people, but nothing can be built on "bare" enthusiasm, so in 1987 an economic reform was carried out. It included: the expansion of the independence of enterprises on the principles of cost accounting and self-financing, the gradual revival of the private sector of the economy, the rejection of the monopoly of foreign trade, deeper integration into the world market, the reduction in the number of sectoral ministries and departments, and the reform of agriculture. But all these reforms, with rare exceptions, did not lead to the desired result. Simultaneously with the development of the private sector of the economy, state-owned enterprises, faced with completely new ways of working, were not able to survive in the emerging market.

Report: Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev

Biographical note. 2

At an administrative job. 3

Stavropol 3

Restructuring and acceleration. four

Principles of domestic and foreign policy 4

Reasons for failure 5

Western politicians and scientists about Gorbachev. 5

The merits of M. S. Gorbachev. 6

Contemporaries of reforms about Gorbachev's policy. 7

Conclusion. eight

Curriculum vitae

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev is one of the most popular Russian politicians in the West of the last decades of the 20th century. and one of the most controversial figures in the eyes of public opinion within the country. He is called both the great reformer and the gravedigger of the Soviet Union.

Mikhail Sergeevich was born on March 2, 1931 into a peasant family in the village of Privolnoye in the Stavropol Territory.

In 1948, together with his father, he worked on a combine and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for success in harvesting. In 1950, Gorbachev graduated from school with a silver medal and entered the Faculty of Law at Moscow University. Later, he admitted: “What is jurisprudence and law, I then imagined rather vaguely. But the position of a judge or a prosecutor appealed to me.”

Mikhail found himself in Moscow for the first time. Many years later he recalled:

“Compare: the village of Privolnoye and ... Moscow. The difference is too great and the breaking is too big ... Everything was a first for me: Red Square, the Kremlin, the Bolshoi Theater - the first opera, the first ballet, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts ... the first boat trip along the Moscow River, a tour of the Moscow region , the first October demonstration ... And every time there is an incomparable feeling of recognizing something new. The young pro-vincial eagerly reached for knowledge, for culture.

Gorbachev lived in a hostel, barely making ends meet, although at one time he received an increased scholarship for excellent studies and Komsomol work. In 1952 Gorbachev became a member of the party.

Once in a club, he met Raisa Titarenko, a student of the Department of Scientific Communism of the Faculty of Philosophy. In September 1953 they got married, and on November 7 they played a Komsomol wedding.

Gorbachev graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 and, as secretary of the Komsomol organization of the faculty, achieved distribution to the USSR Prosecutor's Office. However, just at that time the government adopted a secret decree prohibiting the employment of graduates of law schools in the central bodies of the court and the prosecutor's office. Khrushchev and his associates considered that one of the reasons for the repressions of the 30s. there was a dominance of young, inexperienced prosecutors and judges, ready to follow any instructions from the leadership. So Gorbachev, whose two grandfathers suffered from repression, unexpectedly became a victim of the struggle against the consequences of the personality cult.

At administrative work

Stavropol

He returned to the Stavropol Territory and, having decided not to get involved with the prosecutor's office, got a job in the regional committee of the Komsomol as deputy head of the agitation and propaganda department. Komsomolskaya, and then the party career of Mikhail Sergeevich developed very successfully. In 1961, he was appointed first secretary of the regional committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, the next year he transferred to party work, and in 1966 he held the post of first secretary of the Stavropol city committee of the CPSU. At the same time, he graduated from the local agricultural institute in absentia, the diploma of an agrarian specialist was useful for advancement in the agricultural Stavropol region. On April 10, 1970, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev became the first secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU. Anatoly Korobeinikov, who knew Gorbachev from this work, said: -or worthwhile ... Working, as they say, "without a break", Gorbachev forced his closest assistants to work in the same mode. But he “driven” only those who carried this cart, he had no time to mess with others. Already at that time, the main shortcoming of the future reformer appeared: accustomed to working day and night, he often could not get his subordinates to conscientiously carry out his orders and implement large-scale plans.

In November 1978 Mr. Gorbachev takes office as Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In this appointment, the recommendations of the closest associates of L.I. Brezhnev - K.U. Chernenko, M.A. Suslova and Yu.V. Andropov. Two years later, Mikhail Sergeevich turned out to be the youngest member of the Politburo. He hoped in the near future to become the first person in the party and the state. This could not be prevented even by the fact that Gorbachev held, in essence, a "penal post" - the secretary in charge of agriculture, the most disadvantaged sector of the Soviet economy. After Brezhnev's death, he still remained in this modest position. But even then Andropov told him: “You know what, Mikhail, do not limit the range of your duties to the agrarian sector. Try to delve into all matters ... In general, act as if you had to take full responsibility at some point. When Andropov died and Chernenko came to power for an equally short period of time, Gorbachev became the second person in the party and the most likely "heir" of the aged general secretary.

Restructuring and acceleration

Chernenko's death opened the way for Gorbachev to power. On March 11, 1985, the plenum of the Central Committee elected him General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party. At the next, April plenum, Mikhail Sergeevich proclaimed a course towards perestroika and the acceleration of the country's development. These terms themselves, which appeared under Andropov, did not immediately become widespread, but only after the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, which took place in February 1986. M. Gorbachev called glasnost one of the conditions for the success of the reforms. This would not yet be full-fledged freedom of speech, but at least the opportunity to speak about the shortcomings of society in the press, though without affecting the members of the Polit Bureau and the foundations of the Soviet system. However, already in January 1987, Gorbachev declared: "In Soviet society there should be no zones closed to criticism."

Principles of domestic and foreign policy

The new general secretary did not have a clear reform plan. Gorbachev had only the memory of Khrushchev's "thaw". And, besides, there was a belief that the calls of the leaders, if the leaders are honest and the calls are correct, within the framework of the existing party-state system, can reach ordinary performers and change life for the better. “The time has come for energetic and united actions”; “You need to act, act and act again”; “Everyone needs to grow wiser, understand everything, do not panic and act constructively for everyone and everyone,” Gorbachev urged during the six years of his reign.

Mikhail Sergeevich hoped that, remaining the leader of a socialist country, one could win respect in the world, based not on fear, but on appreciation for a reasonable policy, for refusing to justify the totalitarian past. He believed that a new political thinking should triumph - recognition of the priority of universal human values over class and national ones, the need to unite all peoples and states to jointly solve global problems facing humanity.

Mikhail Sergeevich carried out all the transformations under the slogan "More democracy, more socialism." However, his understanding of socialism gradually changed. Back in April 1985, Gorbachev spoke to the Politburo: “... it’s no secret that when Khrushchev brought criticism of Stalin’s actions to incredible proportions, it only brought damage, after which we still, to some extent, cannot collect the shards." But very soon new “shards” had to be collected, since glasnost led to such a wave of anti-Stalinist criticism, which was not even dreamed of during the years of the “thaw”.

Reasons for failure

In contrast to the policy of glasnost, when it was enough to order to weaken, and in the end actually abolish censorship, his other undertakings (like the sensational anti-alcohol campaign) were a combination of administrative coercion with propaganda. At the end of his reign, Gorbachev, having become President, tried to rely not on the party apparatus, like his predecessors, but on the government and a team of assistants. Gorbachev leaned more and more towards the social democratic model. Academician S. S. Shatalin claimed that he managed to turn the General Secretary into a staunch Menshevik. However, Gorbachev abandoned communist dogmas too slowly, only under the influence of the growth of anti-communist sentiments in society. Even during the August coup of 1991, Mikhail Sergeevich still expected to retain power and, returning from Foros (a state dacha in Crimea), declared that he believed in socialist values and would fight for them at the head of the reformed Communist Party ... Obviously He has not been able to rebuild himself. In many ways, Mikhail Sergeevich remained the former party secretary, accustomed not only to privileges, but also to power, independent of the will of the people.

Western politicians and scientists about Gorbachev

For many years, one of the most ardent supporters of Gorbachev in the West was the famous "iron lady" - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Assessing the first Soviet President as a politician, she said: “Gorbachev is a far-sighted person. Decisive person. A man who understands that if you want to do great things, you should not be afraid to make several enemies for yourself ... He gave his people democracy, freedom of speech, greater freedom of movement. He gave Eastern Europe the opportunity to go its own way. He dissolved the Warsaw Pact ... From the very beginning, we easily find a common language. However, not all of Mikhail Gorbachev's political ideas appealed to Thatcher. She stated: “From conversations with Gorbachev, I know that, first of all, he wanted to keep the Soviet Union within its current borders. He wanted to keep the same territory. I immediately told him: "But Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Moldova do not belong to the Soviet Union." He never agreed with my point of view.”

Later, after retiring and taking up work on her memoirs, Margaret Thatcher spoke much harsher about Mikhail Sergeyevich. “I was forced to conclude that Gorbachev was made of the same communist dough,” she wrote in her book Downing Street Years. - He could not completely get rid of the lifeless ventriloquism of the average Soviet apparatchik. He smiled, laughed, gesticulated emotionally, modulated his voice, carefully followed the argument and was a strong opponent ... He seemed least of all an inexperienced opponent when the conversation came to controversial issues of high politics ... He never spoke beyond prepared speeches, but looked into a small notebook with notes ... He had his own style. By the end of the day, I had become convinced that this style was very different from that of the Marxist preachers. I liked it…”

The well-known American millionaire George Soros, founder of the Foundation for the Support of Scientific Research in Russia, described Mikhail Gorbachev in his book The Soviet System: Towards an Open Society as follows: “He is a clear example of a participant in events who does not fully understand what what's happening. Otherwise, he might not have started all this mess ... He was guided by the desire to remove the shackles that hinder development, he could not foresee all the problems that would immediately arise. This is not surprising. Who would have guessed that he would go so far along the path of destroying the old regime.

Merits of M. S. Gorbachev

In his last speech as President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Sergeevich took credit for the fact that “society received freedom, became liberated politically and spiritually ...

Free elections, freedom of the press, religious freedom, representative bodies of power, and a multi-party system have become real. Human rights were recognized as the highest principle… A movement towards a multi-structural economy began, the equality of all forms of property was asserted… The Cold War was ended, the arms race and the insane militarization of the country, which disfigured our economy, public consciousness and morality, were stopped” .

The foreign policy of Mikhail Gorbachev, who finally eliminated the Iron Curtain, ensured him respect in the world. In 1990, the President of the USSR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for activities aimed at developing international cooperation.

At the same time, Gorbachev's indecisiveness, his desire to find a compromise that would suit both conservatives and radicals, led to the fact that the transformations in the country's economy did not begin. The political settlement of interethnic contradictions, which eventually collapsed the Soviet Union, was not achieved either. History is unlikely to give an answer to the question of whether anyone else in Gorbachev's place could have preserved the socialist system and the USSR.

Contemporaries of the reforms on Gorbachev's policy

Political scientist Irina Muravyova in her book “Gorbachev-Yeltsin: 1500 days of political confrontation” assessed the results of Gorbachev’s reforms as follows: “So, what did Gorbachev leave us? From the point of view of his opponents - a disintegrated power, which was called the Soviet Union; runaway inflation, beggars in the streets; millionaires and, as they say, up to 80% of people are below the poverty line. But for some reason we have the name of Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov and our own insight, we have the books of Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn and the comprehension of the great truth - "Man" can really sound proud. Is it so little?

Another point of view was expressed by one of the advisers to Brezhnev, Chernenko and Gorbachev, Vadim Pechenev. In the book “Gorbachev: to the heights of power”, he wrote: “I think that the undoubted positive potential for me that Gorbachev and his policies brought into our lives: glasnost, democracy, the principle of priority of the universal human principle over the class principle, by no means demanded a fatal collapse of the economy.

Philosophers M. K. Gorshkov and L. N. Dobrokhotov agree with Pechenev in the book “Gorbachev-Yeltsin: 1500 days of political confrontation”: “The price paid by society for the received spiritual benefits turned out to be prohibitively high, because on the other side of the scale is the collapse of the state, the economy, social and national ties, legal chaos, plus, instead of the “cold war”, there are hotbeds of quite hot conflicts.

Gorbachev's comrades-in-arms did not always speak flatteringly about the former leader of the USSR. So the chairman of the Council of Ministers, N. I. Ryzhkov, in the book “Ten Years of Great Upheavals” wrote: “Gorbachev by nature, by character, could not be a true head of state. Not possessing the necessary qualities for this, he generally did not like to make decisions of power, preferred to read them for a long time, willingly listened to many opinions, argued, and at the same time easily and willingly avoided making a final decision, dissolved his “pros” and "against" in the intricacies of words. He never took the blame for the erroneousness of a decision, hiding behind the supposedly existing collectivity, the collegiate nature of its adoption ... Gorbachev, unfortunately, lacked the ability and readiness to take personal responsibility for the adoption and implementation decisions”.

Party worker V. I. Boldin, analyzing the policy of Mikhail Gorbachev in the book “The collapse of the pedestal: touches on the portrait of M. S. Gorbachev”, characterizes the results of the reforms as follows: “Having clumsily released the genie from the bottle, Gorbachev did not keep their own position in the party and the country. He was forced to give up one position after another, not daring to admit that he was doing it not so much of his own free will as under the onslaught of circumstances ... One of the main reasons for the collapse of perestroika was, first of all, in the views and character of Gorbachev, in his indecisiveness integrity, adherence to those postulates that were laid in him from a young age. In essence, the Secretary General was and remains a product of his time, of those structures that raised him and moved him to the heights of power.

Conclusion

Thus, as a representative of the state, the subject of supreme power must have the fullness of the law. In this regard, the leader of the party, who concentrated in his person two powers - the party and the state, M. S. Gorbachev, not being popularly elected to the presidency, was significantly inferior in the eyes of the masses to B. N. Yeltsin, who was elected president of Russia. As if to compensate for this shortcoming, Gorbachev increased absolute power, sought additional powers. However, he did not follow the laws himself and did not force others to do so. Gorbachev's rule is instructive in its lesson: a knowledgeable, wise, just person, who also has a strong, strong-willed character, should rule in Russia. Politics is not a word of speaking, but the art of acting intelligently. Napoleon said: "The battle is won not by the one who came up with the battle plan or found the right way out, but by the one who took responsibility for its implementation."

Bibliography:

1. "Political science against the Russian background", Textbook, Moscow, Luch, 1993.

2. "Gorbachev-Yeltsin: 1500 days of political confrontation", I. Muravyova ...

3. Encyclopedia on the history of Russia and its closest neighbors, Part III, XX century, ed. M. Aksyonova, Moscow, 1999

A significant feature of the new stage of Soviet diplomacy was the annual meetings of M.S. Gorbachev with US Presidents. The treaties concluded with the United States on the destruction of intermediate and shorter range missiles (December 1987) and on the limitation of strategic offensive arms (July 1991) marked the beginning of the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world. Years of negotiations to reduce the level of conventional weapons have moved forward. In November 1990, an agreement was signed on their significant reduction in Europe. In addition, the USSR unilaterally decided to reduce defense spending and the number of its own Armed Forces by 500 thousand people.

For May 1988 - February 1989 Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan, after which the Second Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR recognized the "undeclared war" against a neighboring, previously friendly country as a gross political mistake. Diplomacy has put a lot of effort into ending the civil war in Angola, Cambodia and Nicaragua, forming coalition governments there from representatives of the warring parties, overcoming the apartheid regime in the Republic of South Africa through serious political reforms, and finding a solution to the Palestinian problem, which has long darkened relations between Israel and the Arab states.

There have been changes in Soviet-Chinese relations. Beijing put forward as conditions for this the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and Mongolia, and the Vietnamese - from Cambodia. After their implementation in the spring of 1989, border trade was restored between the two great powers, a series of important agreements on political, economic and cultural cooperation were signed.

The same year was a turning point in the relations of the USSR with its partners in the socialist community. Forced (and socially unsecured) withdrawal of troops from Soviet bases in Central and Eastern Europe began. To the fears of many leaders of the socialist countries that some specific decisions dictated by the "new thinking" could lead to destabilization of the socio-political situation, the Soviet government responded with economic pressure, threatening to transfer economic mutual settlements with the allies to freely convertible currency (which was soon made). This aggravated relations between the CMEA member countries and prompted the rapid collapse of not only their economic, but also the military-political union.

From the summer of 1989 to the spring of 1990, a series of popular revolutions took place in the European socialist countries, as a result of which power was transferred peacefully (with the exception of Romania, where there were bloody clashes) from the communist parties to the national democratic forces. In Yugoslavia, the fall of the socialist system (as later in the USSR) led to the collapse of the country. Croatia and Slovenia, which were previously part of the federation, declared themselves independent republics, Serbia and Montenegro remained part of Yugoslavia, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina protracted hostilities unfolded between the Serbian, Croatian and Muslim communities on the basis of national-territorial demarcation.

The leadership of the USSR took a position of non-interference in the processes that were radically changing the political and socio-economic image of the socialist, allied states before our eyes. The self-elimination of the USSR was especially clearly manifested in the most important German question in the post-war history of Europe. At a meeting with German Chancellor G. Kohl in February 1990 in Moscow, M.S. Gorbachev spoke in the sense that "the chancellor can take the matter of German unification into his own hands." Gorbachev did not meet with fundamental objections and Kohl's proposal for the entry of a united Germany into NATO. In March 1990, multi-party elections were held in the GDR. They were won by a bloc of bourgeois-conservative parties. In November of the same year, this former socialist republic joined the FRG, which retained full membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.

Practically all the new governments of the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe also took the course of moving away from the USSR and rapprochement with the West. They expressed their full readiness to join NATO and the Common Market.

Left without old allies and without acquiring new ones, the USSR quickly lost the initiative in international affairs and entered the fairway of the foreign policy of the capitalist countries of the NATO bloc.

The deteriorating economic situation in the Soviet Union prompted the Gorbachev administration to turn in 1990-1991. for financial and material support to the leading powers of the world, the so-called "seven" (USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan).

The West provided the USSR with humanitarian aid in the form of food and medicine (however, it mostly settled in nomenklatura circles or stuck in the hands of dealers in a corrupt commodity distribution network). Serious financial assistance did not follow, although the "seven" and the International Monetary Fund promised it to M.S. Gorbachev. They were more and more inclined to support individual union republics, encouraging their separatism.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the world system of socialism brought the United States into the ranks of the only superpower in the world. In December 1991, the American President congratulated his people on their victory in the Cold War.

COLLAPSE OF THE USSR

The extremely difficult political situation in the country was aggravated to the limit by the crisis of national relations, which ultimately led to the collapse of the USSR. The first manifestation of this crisis was the events in Kazakhstan at the end of 1986. During Gorbachev's "personnel revolution", the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, D.A. Kunaev and replaced by a Russian by nationality G.N. Kolbin. This sparked violent demonstrations in Almaty. Kolbina G.N. were forced to remove and replace N.A. Nazarbaev.

In 1988, a conflict began between the two Caucasian peoples - Armenians and Azerbaijanis - over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory inhabited by Armenians, but which was part of Azerbaijan as an autonomy. The Armenian leadership demanded the annexation of Karabakh to Armenia, that is, a change in the borders within the USSR, which, naturally, the Moscow leadership could not agree to. The conflict caused armed clashes and a terrible anti-Armenian pogrom in the city of Sumgayit. To prevent massacres in the cities of Baku and Sumgayit, troops were brought in, which led to dissatisfaction with the position of Moscow, both Azerbaijanis and Armenians.

The separatist movement also flared up in the Baltic republics. After the publication of the secret additional protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the entry of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia into the USSR began to be unequivocally regarded by the majority of the population of these republics as an occupation. People's fronts of a radical nationalist direction were formed, speaking under the slogans of political independence. The publication of the same protocols caused a mass movement in Moldova for the return of Bessarabia to Romania, strengthened the separatist tendencies in Ukraine, primarily in its western regions.

All these factors have not yet threatened the existence of the Union. The level of economic integration between the republics was extremely high, it was impossible to imagine their existence separately. There was a single army, a single system of weapons, including nuclear ones. In addition, as a result of migration processes in the USSR there was not a single republic that was ethnically homogeneous, representatives of various nationalities lived on their territories and it was almost impossible to separate them.

But with the growing economic difficulties, the trend towards separatism intensified. As a result, in any region - Russian or non-Russian - the idea appeared and began to make its way that the center was robbing territories, spending money on defense and meeting the needs of the bureaucracy, that each republic would live much better if it did not share with the center with their wealth.

In response to separatist tendencies, Russian nationalism quickly spread. The Russians, in response to the accusation of exploiting other peoples, put forward the slogan about the robbery of Russia by the republics. Indeed, in 1990 Russia produced 60.5% of the gross national product of the USSR, produced 90% of oil, 70% of gas, 56% of coal, 92% of wood, etc. The idea arose that in order to improve the life of Russians, it was necessary to throw off the ballast of the Union republics. This idea was first formulated by A.I. Solzhenitsyn. In the letter “How can we equip Russia?” he called on the Russians to leave the other peoples of the USSR to their own fate, retaining an alliance only with Ukraine and Belarus - the Slavic peoples.

This slogan was taken up by B.N. Yeltsin and actively used by him in the fight against the "center". Russia is a victim of the Soviet Union, the “empire”. It must achieve independence, withdraw into its own borders (Moscow Principality?). In this case, thanks to its natural wealth and the talent of the people, it will quickly achieve prosperity. Then other republics will begin to strive for integration with the new Russia, since they simply cannot exist alone. The Soviet Union became the main target of criticism.

Yeltsin B.N. urged all republics to "take as much sovereignty as they want and can keep". The position of the Russian leadership and parliament, which proclaimed a course towards independence, played a decisive role in the collapse of the USSR - the Union could survive without any of the other republics, but without Russia, no Union could exist.

Becoming chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, B.N. Yeltsin proclaimed the sovereignty of Russia and the supremacy of Russian laws over the allied ones, which reduced the power of the allied government to virtually zero.

Meanwhile, the growing crisis in national relations continued. In April 1989, in Tbilisi, the army opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators who were trying to break into government buildings. The order to use troops to disperse the demonstration was given by the local authorities, but the anger and hatred of the population was directed against Moscow. In Uzbekistan, in the Ferghana Valley, clashes between the local population and the Meskhetian Turks, who were resettled there during the years of Stalin's repressions, began. The first flows of refugees from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia appeared.

Finally, on January 12, 1991, in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, the army opened fire on demonstrators who had taken protection of the local television, which was calling for independence. These events actually led to the separation of the Baltic republics and a sharp drop in the authority of M.S. Gorbachev, who was given full responsibility for the massacre.

Under these conditions, M.S. Gorbachev organized a referendum in the country on the future of the Union. The idea of appealing to the people was extremely successful - over 70% of the population participating in the vote (the Baltic republics, Georgians and Moldovans did not take part) spoke in favor of preserving the Union, reformed on a democratic basis. This allowed M.S. Gorbachev to start negotiations with the leaders of the republics on the state forms of the future association.

In Russia, simultaneously with the referendum on the preservation of the Union, a second referendum was held - on the establishment of the post of president. In June 1991, nationwide presidential elections were held in the RSFSR. B.N. won them with a crushing margin. Yeltsin, gaining 57% of the vote. His main rival, former Chairman of the Council of Ministers N.A. Ryzhkov received only 17% of the votes. Colonel A.N. was elected Vice President. Rutskoi, the hero of Afghanistan, is extremely popular in the country. Rutskoi was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia. By supporting Yeltsin, he secured the support of a significant part of the communists for him. June 12 was declared a national holiday - Independence Day of Russia.

The posts of presidents were also introduced in most of the union republics. The elections were won by representatives of those forces that acted under the slogan of independence from the center. In an effort to remain in power at any cost, national-patriotic slogans were put forward by representatives of the national-party nomenclature (L.M. Kravchuk, A. Brazauskas, and others).

Yeltsin B.N. took part in negotiations on the future of the Union. As a result of these negotiations, the so-called Novo-Ogarevsky document was signed. According to this agreement, the sovereignty and independence of each individual republic was recognized. The center was delegated powers in the field of defense, foreign policy, coordination of economic activity.

The solemn signing of the agreement was scheduled for August 20, 1991. However, on August 19, events took place that radically changed the situation. The signing of a new treaty meant the liquidation of a number of unified state structures (a single Ministry of the Interior, the State Security Committee, and the army leadership). This caused dissatisfaction with the conservative forces in the country's leadership. In the absence of President M.S. Gorbachev, on the night of August 19, the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP) was created, which included Vice President G. Yanaev, Prime Minister V. Pavlov, Minister of Defense D. Yazov, Minister of the Interior B. Pugo, Chairman of the KGB V Kryuchkov and a number of other figures.

The State Committee for the State of Emergency declared a state of emergency in the country, suspended the activities of political parties (with the exception of the CPSU), and banned rallies and demonstrations. The leadership of the RSFSR condemned the actions of the State Emergency Committee as an attempt at an unconstitutional coup. Tens of thousands of Muscovites came to the defense of the White House - the building of the Supreme Soviet of Russia. Already on August 21, the conspirators were arrested, M.S. Gorbachev returned to Moscow.

The August events radically changed the balance of power in the country. B.N. Yeltsin became a folk hero who prevented a coup d'état. M.S. Gorbachev lost almost all influence. Yeltsin B.N. one by one he took the levers of power into his hands. His decree was signed to ban the CPSU, whose leadership was accused of preparing a coup. Gorbachev M.S. was forced to agree with this by resigning from the post of General Secretary. The reform of the KGB structures began.

Gorbachev M.S. tried to start new negotiations with the republics, but after the events of August 1991 most of their leaders refused to sign the agreement. In Ukraine, a new referendum was held, in which the majority of the population voted for independence.

The last blow to the Union was dealt in December 1991, when the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus B.N. Yeltsin, L.M. Kravchuk and S.Yu. Shushkevich, without informing M.S. Gorbachev, gathered in Belovezhskaya Pushcha near Minsk and signed an agreement on the termination of the Union Treaty of 1922 and the liquidation of the USSR Union. Instead of the USSR, the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was proclaimed - an association whose status has not yet been determined. It was proposed to join the agreements to the President of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev. On his initiative, a meeting of the heads of the republics was held in Alma-Ata, at which Kazakhstan, the republics of Central Asia and Azerbaijan joined the CIS.

The liquidation of the USSR automatically meant the liquidation of the bodies of the former Soviet Union. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR was dissolved, the allied ministries were liquidated. In December 1991, he resigned from the post of President M.S. Gorbachev. The Soviet Union ceased to exist.

Gorbachev's first steps after his election largely followed those of Andropov. First of all, he abolished the "cult" of his office. In front of TV viewers in 1986, Gorbachev rudely cut off one speaker: "Let's persuade Mikhail Sergeyevich!"

The fight against bribery has resumed with renewed vigor, especially in Uzbekistan. In 1986, Brezhnev's son-in-law Yury Churbanov was arrested and later sentenced to twelve years in prison.

At the beginning of 1987, the Central Committee introduced some elements of democracy in production and in the party apparatus: alternative elections of party secretaries appeared, sometimes open voting was replaced by a secret one, and a system of electing heads of enterprises and institutions was introduced. All these innovations in the political system were discussed at the XIX All-Union Party Conference, which took place in the summer of 1988. Its decisions provided for the combination of "socialist values" with the political doctrine of liberalism - a course was proclaimed towards the creation of a "socialist legal state", it was planned to carry out the separation of powers, the doctrine of the "Soviet parliamentarism". For this, a new supreme body of power was created - the Congress of People's Deputies, and it was proposed to make the Supreme Council a permanent "parliament".

The electoral legislation was also changed: the elections were supposed to be held on an alternative basis, to make them two-stage, one third of the deputies to be formed from public organizations.

The main idea of the conference was the transfer of part of the power of the party to the government, that is, the strengthening of Soviet authorities, while maintaining party influence in them.

MS Gorbachev was in power from 1985 to 1991, holding the positions of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and since March 1990 - President of the USSR.

The period of M.S. Gorbachev's rule is called "perestroika". Indeed, significant reforms were carried out in all spheres of public life, which, on the one hand, marked the beginning of democratization and a market economy, and on the other, led to the collapse of the USSR.

What are the main directions of MS Gorbachev's policy and the results of his activities?

One of the important directions in domestic policy Gorbachev was the restructuring of the party and state system of the country, political reforms. Measures were taken: alternative elections to the highest legislative body - the Council of People's Deputies (the first congress - in May 1998), a two-level system of supreme legislative power was introduced (Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which was elected from among the deputies of the Congress); amendments to the Constitution of the USSR were introduced at the 3rd Congress of People's Deputies in 1990, as a result of which Article 6 on the leading and guiding role of the Communist Party was abolished; the post of President of the USSR was introduced at the same 3rd Congress. The USSR itself also changed - a “parade of sovereignties” began, as a result of which the USSR ceased to exist on December 8, 1991. and the CIS was formed. Gorbachev M.S. forced to resign on December 25, 1991, as there is no country left in which he was President.

The result of this activity was the beginning of democratic transformations in the country, an end to the dictates of the Communist Party, the policy of glasnost led to freedom of speech, the press, but the mighty USSR disappeared from the map of the world, a huge country collapsed. This fact is assessed differently. This is the acquisition of sovereignty by the states - the former Republics of the USSR, their freedom, independence, but also nostalgia for a single powerful state - the USSR.

Another direction of domestic policy there was a restructuring of the economy in order to bring it out of stagnation, to increase all economic indications, to improve people's lives. To this end, a course was taken to accelerate socio-economic development. Elements of the market began to be introduced - enterprises were given independence - they were transferred to self-support, individual labor activity, cooperatives were allowed (laws: "On the state enterprise", 1987, "On individual labor activity", 1988. "On cooperation", 1988). scientific and technical renovation of production.

Results of this activity. The transformations did not lead to a significant improvement in the economy, and over time began to slow down the development of the country. This is due to the fact that Gorbachev carried out all the changes within the framework of command and administrative measures, did not accept progressive reforms that were proposed, for example, the 500 Days program by S. Shatalov and G. Yavlinsky. As a result, the situation of the Soviet people did not improve, but even worsened. The country was waiting for more drastic measures.

The main direction in foreign policy was the introduction of new political thinking in relations between countries, the desire for peace and cooperation with countries. And in foreign policy, M.S. Gorbachev continues perestroika: he believed that the focus of countries should be universal values, it is necessary to abandon the confrontation between states, develop a common collective survival strategy. To this end, Gorbachev signed a number of important international documents on arms reduction, often unilaterally. Most of these agreements are concluded with the United States. Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan in 1989, the Cold War, that is, the confrontation between the countries of capitalism and socialism, was practically over.

The result of this activity peaceful relations with the camps began, there was no threat of war. It is no coincidence that MS Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for this activity.

Another direction in foreign policy was the establishment of new relations with the countries of Eastern Europe. The USSR abandoned the policy of interference in the internal affairs of these countries; the CMEA and the Department of Internal Affairs were liquidated in 1991. as exhausted. Relations between the countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR began to be built on the principles of equality and mutually beneficial cooperation.

The result of this activity was the strengthening of relations with the countries of Eastern Europe on the new principles of mutual respect and cooperation.

In this way. MS Gorbachev is one of the world's brightest political leaders. His work was ambiguously evaluated and is still being evaluated. Some consider him the greatest reformer who put an end to totalitarianism, voluntarism, and the dictates of the Communist Party; it was under him that elements of a market economy began to be introduced, and the policy of glasnost led to real freedom of speech and the press. Others consider him guilty of the collapse of a huge country, of the sharp impoverishment of millions of people, of social differentiation, which has been gaining momentum every year. The truth, as always, lies in the middle. One thing is certain: MS Gorbachev began democratic reforms, the need for which was objective.

Development of a lesson on a topic

« Internal policy of M.S. Gorbachev". Grade 9

Goals:educational - get acquainted with the main events of domestic politics, personalities of the times of M.S. Gorbachev;

developing - be able to characterize historical facts, compare the internal political courses of the rulers of Russia in the twentieth century with the policy of M.S.

Gorbachev, to characterize the activities of political personalities, determining their contribution to the development of the history of a given period of time; know the main historical events taking place during perestroika, political figures;

educational- form an idea of the complexity and importance of the historical processes taking place during the time of M.S. Gorbachev.

Equipment: map "Political map of the world", "USSR in the late 20th century", portraits of the rulers of the 20th century, handout "Political personalities of the times of M.S. Gorbachev".

Concepts and terms of the lesson: state acceptance, inflation, privatization, perestroika, farmer.

Lesson type: combined.

During the classes.

Organizing moment (greeting students; explaining the goals and objectives of the lesson). (5 minutes)

Checking homework (students complete the tasks of the test,(Attachment 1) and then, together with the teacher, the quality of the work performed is checked and graded). (7 min)

Studying and fixing a new topic. (25 min).

1. “Rulers of the 20th century” (students line up portraits of the rulers of Russia in the 20th century on the board in chronological order and complete assignments).(Appendix 2.3) .

- "So, we once again remembered the names and important events of the twentieth century" - the words of the teacher.

2. "The country after the death of L.I. Brezhnev" (teacher's story about the main events and rulers of Russia after 1982).

3. “Politics and economy of the country after the death of L.I. Brezhnev” (students receive cards with tasks for question No. 2 of the topic).(Appendix 4).

After checking the assignment on the cards, the teacher changes clothes to perform ditties about M.S.'s politics. Gorbachev(Appendix 5), warning the students in advance about listening carefully and identifying important provisions regarding the politics and economics of the times of perestroika.

Students should note the following provisions: perestroika, perestroika stagnation, democrat, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, coupons, acceleration.

4. "Main events of domestic policy" (teacher's story about important historical facts occurring within the country).

5. “Internal policy of MS Gorbachev” (students complete the tasks of the historical dictation).(Appendix 6).

Events, like historical phenomena, cannot arise and develop without the activity of a person, the teacher explains. So let's find out who lived and worked during the reign of MS Gorbachev?

6. "Personalities in the fate of the country" (examination with the help of additional questions, jointly by the teacher of portraits).(Appendix 7.8).

IV. Reflection.

The teacher takes out and opens a large folder called Menu.

Imagine that you guys are in the Perestroika restaurant. Dishes of the institution are the main events of this period of time. What dish would you order if you come here again? What dish did you not like? Why? What dish aroused your greatest interest?

V. Homework.

Report on Gorbachev;

Characteristics of the internal policy of MS Gorbachev;

Card assignments.(Appendix 9).

Attachment 1.

Which ruler's rule is characterized by the policy of "developed socialism"?

Stalin I.V.

Khrushchev N.S.

Brezhnev.L.I.

Who carried out collectivization and industrialization in the country?

Stalin I.V.

Khrushchev N.S.

Brezhnev.L.I.

Which of them came to power as a result of a conspiracy and a coup?

Stalin I.V.

Khrushchev N.S.

Brezhnev L.I.

Who first introduced the position of "General Secretary of the Party"?

Lenin V.I

Stalin I.V.

Brezhnev L.I.

Under which of the rulers did the “apogee of Stalinism” take shape?

Lenin V.I

Stalin I.V.

Brezhnev L.I.

Test Keys:

1c; 2a; 3c; 4b; 5c;

Criteria for assessing knowledge on the test:

5 points - "5";

4 points - "4";

3 points - "3";

2 points - "2".

Appendix 2

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

Appendix 3

Questions about illustrations.

Under what serial number is the portrait of Stalin I.V. depicted? (Number 3).

Which one of them ruled first? (Nikolai Romanov, No. 5).

Which of them ruled fourth in a row? (Khrushchev N., No. 2).

Who ruled second after Nicholas? (Lenin V.I., No. 4).

Appendix 4

Card number 1.

What measures did Andropov propose to take to restore order in the state?

Card #2 .

What is the state of the economy after the death of Leonid Brezhnev? Causes of crisis and stagnation.

Card number 3.

What are the reasons for the aggravated political situation in Russia?

Card number 4.

Why did the economic reform not produce the expected results?

Appendix 5

"Chatushki about the policy of Gorbachev M.S."

1. A beggar is crying under the window.
Filed a Soviet thousand.
Threw a thousand on the sand.
Asks for a piece of bread .

2. We don't drink vodka at all.
We don't eat meat.
We turn on the TV
And listen to ads.

3. Why are these cows?
They don't give us milk? -
“So after all, they are talking about perestroika
They don’t sing tales in a barn.”

4. How long will it last
Perestroika stagnation?
Money flows like water
The wallet is always empty.

5. My dear is a democrat,
Playing the harmonica: -
We are free brothers
Hey democracy!

6.In the CIA and the FBI
Now unemployment.
There is no more USSR -
No one to hunt!

7. The Presidents met
In Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
And wondered about the future
On coffee grounds.

8. Perestroika taught
Boil moonshine:
From half a pood - eight liters,
Everything - to the droplet - burns.

9. Now we don’t drink vodka, we don’t eat sugar.
We brush our teeth with a brick, we listen to Gorbachev.

10. Oh, how fast, oh how fast
The grapes ripen.
I loved a communist
And now he is a Democrat!

11. According to coupons - bread and soap,
Without coupons - not a shisha.
Enough without coupons today
Only on the ears noodles!

12. At seven in the morning the rooster sings,
At eight Pugachev.
The store is closed until two
Gorbachev has the key.

13. According to coupons - bitter,
According to coupons - sweet.
What have you done
Head with a patch?

14. Oh, how joyfully we live
We are at the beginning of the month.
And coupons run out
I want to hang myself.

15. Acceleration is an important factor,
But the reactor failed.
And now our peaceful atom
The whole of Europe is cursing.

Appendix 6

"M.S. Gorbachev's Domestic Policy".

Historical dictation.

1. New title for constitutional reform. (President of the USSR).

2. The principle of cultural development. (Principle of publicity).

3. Year of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (1986).

4. Transfer of objects to private ownership. (Privatization).

5. Measures that marked the beginning of the anti-alcohol policy. (Cutting down vineyards).

Appendix 7

"Personalities in the fate of the country". Portraits of the times of M.S. Gorbachev.

Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov (R. , , , , ) - Soviet statesman and party leader. Most of the reign held office (1985-1991). Member With on . MP (1974-89) from

. From 1950 to 1975, he worked in engineering and technical positions at the Ural Plant of Heavy Machine Building. Sergo Ordzhonikidze (PO " "): in 1955-1959. shop manager, 1959-1965 chief technologist for welding, in 1965-1970. chief engineer, in 1970-1971. director, in 1971-1975 general director. In 1975-1979. First Deputy Minister of Heavy and Transport Engineering of the USSR .In 1979-1982. first vice chairman . In December 1995 he was elected as a deputy of the second convocation in the Belgorod single-mandate constituency No. 62 from the Power to the People bloc. In the Duma, he headed the deputy group . Chairman of the Executive Committee of the People's Patriotic Union of Russia (NPSR).

In December 1999, he was elected to the State Duma of the third convocation in the same constituency. In September 2003, he was appointed representative of the administration of the Belgorod Region in RF.

Valentin Sergeevich Pavlov ( , G. , - , G. ) - (the only one to hold a position with that title) with on , From 18 to 21 August 1991 - Member .. 1958-59 - Inspector of State Revenues of the Financial Department of the Kalinin District Executive Committee of Moscow;

1959-66 - Economist, Senior Economist, Deputy Head of Department, Deputy Head of the Construction Financing Department of the Ministry of Finance of the RSFSR;

1966-68 - Deputy Head of the Heavy Industry Financing Department of the USSR Ministry of Finance;

1968-79 - Deputy Head of the Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance of the USSR;

1979-86 - Head of the Department of Finance, Costs and Prices of the State Planning Committee of the USSR, in 1981-86 a member of the Board of the State Planning Committee of the USSR;

1986 - First Deputy Minister of Finance of the USSR;

1986-89 - Chairman of the USSR State Committee on Prices.

1989-91 - Minister of Finance of the USSR. Reserve Lieutenant. January 14, 1991, after resignation ( ), with the consent of the Supreme Council, appointed Pavlov as his successor as a compromise candidate, a supporter of a market economy within the framework of the socialist choice. Wherein was renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR - the Prime Minister of the USSR .

Boris Karlovich Pugo ( Boriss Pugo ; , - , ) - Soviet party and statesman, first secretary of the Central Committee ( - ), Chairman ( - ), ( - ). Member (1986-1990), candidate member (September - July 1990). MP eleventh convocation (1984-1989) from the Latvian SSR , . From 18 to 21 August 1991 - member .

Kryuchkov Vladimir Alexandrovich (b. February 29, 1924), party member since 1944, member of the Central Committee since 1986, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee since September 20, 1989. Born in Volgograd. Russian. In 1949 he graduated from the All-Union Correspondence Law Institute, in 1954 - the Higher Diplomatic School of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He began his career in 1941 as a worker. Since 1943, at the Komsomol work. Since 1946 in the prosecutor's office. In 1954-1959 on diplomatic work in the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the USSR Embassy in Hungary. In 1959-1967. in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU: referent, head. sector, Assistant Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Since 1967, in the USSR State Security Committee, since 1978, deputy. chairman since 1988 prev. Committee, at the same time since 1990 a member of the Presidential Council of the USSR. General of the Army (1988). Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 11th convocation. During the August events of 1991, he was arrested and was in the Matrosskaya Tishina prison. Later amnestied. Was retired. He died on November 25, 2007 in Moscow at the age of 84.

Gennady Ivanovich Yanaev ( , - ) - Soviet party and statesman, Vice President of the USSR ( - ), member , (1990-91). During was acting the President of the USSR and the de facto leader .

USSR President

Dmitry Timofeevich Yazov (genus. , village Yazovo ) - and . The last (by date of awarding the title) and the only living ( ). Penultimate ( - ). Participant . Member (August 18-21, 1991). From 2000 to 2010, he headed the Committee in memory of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, and is currently an active member of the presidium of this Committee.Member of the governing bodies of a number of public organizations (including the Forum "Public Recognition"etc.). Consultant to the head of the Military Memorial Center of the Armed Forces of Russia.

Andrey Dmitrievich Sakharov ( , - , ibid) - , academician , one of the founders of the first Soviet . Subsequently, a public figure, and ; , author of the draft constitution for the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia. Laureate . For his human rights activities, he was deprived of all Soviet awards, prizes and was expelled with his wife from Moscow. In the end under pressure allowed Sakharov to return from exile to Moscow, which was regarded in the world as an important milestone in the fight against dissent in the USSR.

Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov (R. , G. ) - Soviet party and statesman, Russian politician. The last chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (March 1990 - September 1991), first an associate of the first and last president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, then his opponent. From August 1991 to December 1992 he was in custody on the case , accused of conspiracy to seize power and abuse of power