Who ruled before Brezhnev. From Lenin to Putin: what and how Russian leaders were ill

General Secretaries of the USSR chronological order
General secretaries of the USSR in chronological order. Today they are already just a part of history, and once their faces were familiar to every single inhabitant of a vast country. Political system in the Soviet Union was such that the citizens did not choose their leaders. The decision to appoint the next general secretary was made by the ruling elite. But, nevertheless, the people respected the state leaders and, for the most part, perceived this state of affairs as a given.
Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Stalin)
Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, better known as Stalin, was born on December 18, 1879 in the Georgian city of Gori. He became the first general secretary of the CPSU. He received this position in 1922, when Lenin was still alive, and until the death of the latter he played a secondary role in government.
When Vladimir Ilyich died, a serious struggle began for the highest post. Many of Stalin's competitors had a much better chance of taking him, but thanks to tough, uncompromising actions, Iosif Vissarionovich managed to emerge victorious from the game. Most of the other applicants were physically destroyed, some left the country.
In just a few years of rule, Stalin took the whole country under his "hedgehogs". By the beginning of the 1930s, he finally established himself as the sole leader of the people. The policy of the dictator went down in history:
mass repressions;
· total dispossession;
collectivization.
For this, Stalin was branded by his own followers during the “thaw”. But there is something for which Joseph Vissarionovich, according to historians, is worthy of praise. This is, first of all, the rapid transformation of a ruined country into an industrial and military giant, as well as a victory over fascism. It is quite possible that if the "cult of personality" was not so condemned by all, these accomplishments would have been unrealistic. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin died on March 5, 1953.
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was born on April 15, 1894 in the Kursk province (the village of Kalinovka) into a simple working-class family. Participated in civil war where he took the side of the Bolsheviks. In the CPSU since 1918. In the late 1930s he was appointed secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
Khrushchev took over the Soviet state shortly after Stalin's death. At first, he had to compete with Georgy Malenkov, who also claimed the highest post and at that time was actually the leader of the country, chairing the Council of Ministers. But in the end, the coveted chair still remained with Nikita Sergeevich.
When Khrushchev was General Secretary, the Soviet country:
launched the first man into space and developed this sphere in every possible way;
· Actively built up five-story buildings, today called "Khrushchev";
planted the lion's share of the fields with corn, for which Nikita Sergeevich was even nicknamed the "maize man".
This ruler went down in history primarily with his legendary speech at the 20th Party Congress in 1956, where he branded Stalin and his bloody policies. From that moment, the so-called “thaw” began in the Soviet Union, when the grip of the state was loosened, cultural figures received some freedom, etc. All this lasted until the removal of Khrushchev from his post on October 14, 1964.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was born in the Dnepropetrovsk region (village Kamenskoye) on December 19, 1906. His father was a metallurgist. In the CPSU since 1931. He occupied the main post of the country as a result of a conspiracy. It was Leonid Ilyich who led the group of members of the Central Committee that ousted Khrushchev.
The Brezhnev era in the history of the Soviet state is characterized as stagnation. The latter appeared as follows:
· the development of the country has stopped in almost all areas, except for the military-industrial;
The USSR began to seriously lag behind Western countries;
Citizens again felt the grip of the state, repressions and persecution of dissidents began.
Leonid Ilyich tried to improve relations with the United States, which had aggravated back in the time of Khrushchev, but he did not succeed very well. The arms race continued, and after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, it was impossible to even think about any kind of reconciliation. Brezhnev held a high post until his death, which occurred on November 10, 1982.
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was born in the station town of Nagutskoye (Stavropol Territory) on June 15, 1914. His father was a railroad worker. In the CPSU since 1939. He was active, which contributed to his rapid rise up the career ladder.
At the time of Brezhnev's death, Andropov headed the Committee state security. He was elected by his associates to the highest post. The board of this general secretary covers a period of less than two years. During this time, Yuri Vladimirovich managed to fight a little with corruption in power. But he did nothing drastic. On February 9, 1984, Andropov died. The reason for this was a serious illness.
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was born in 1911 on September 24 in the Yenisei province (the village of Bolshaya Tes). His parents were peasants. In the CPSU since 1931. Since 1966 - Deputy of the Supreme Council. Appointed General Secretary of the CPSU on February 13, 1984.
Chernenko became the successor of Andropov's policy of identifying corrupt officials. He was in power for less than a year. The cause of his death on March 10, 1985 was also a serious illness.
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the North Caucasus (the village of Privolnoe). His parents were peasants. In the CPSU since 1952. He proved to be an active public figure. Moved quickly along the party line.
He was appointed Secretary General on March 11, 1985. He went down in history with the policy of "perestroika", which provided for the introduction of glasnost, the development of democracy, the provision of certain economic freedoms and other liberties to the population. Gorbachev's reforms led to mass unemployment, the liquidation of state-owned enterprises, and a total shortage of goods. This causes an ambiguous attitude towards the ruler from the side of citizens. former USSR, which just during the reign of Mikhail Sergeevich broke up.
But in the West, Gorbachev is one of the most respected Russian politicians. He was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Gorbachev was Secretary General until August 23, 1991, and the USSR headed until December 25 of the same year.
All deceased general secretaries of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are buried near the Kremlin wall. Their list was closed by Chernenko. Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev is still alive. In 2017, he turned 86 years old.
Photos of the General Secretaries of the USSR in chronological order
Stalin
Khrushchev
Brezhnev
Andropov
Chernenko

The first ruler of the young Land of Soviets, which arose as a result of the October Revolution of 1917, was the head of the RCP (b) - the Bolshevik Party - Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), who led the "revolution of workers and peasants." All subsequent rulers of the USSR held the post of general secretary of the central committee of this organization, which, starting in 1922, became known as the CPSU - the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
It should be noted that the ideology of the system ruling in the country denied the possibility of holding any nationwide elections or voting. The change of the top leaders of the state was carried out by the ruling elite itself, either after the death of its predecessor, or as a result of coups accompanied by serious inner-party struggle. The article will list the rulers of the USSR in chronological order and mark the main stages life path some of the most prominent historical figures.
Ulyanov (Lenin) Vladimir Ilyich (1870-1924)
One of the most famous figures in the history of Soviet Russia. Vladimir Ulyanov stood at the origins of its creation, was the organizer and one of the leaders of the event that gave rise to the world's first communist state. Having led a coup in October 1917 aimed at overthrowing the provisional government, he took the post of chairman of the Council of People's Commissars - the post of head new country formed on the ruins of the Russian Empire.
His merit is the 1918 peace treaty with Germany, which marked the end of the NEP - a new economic policy government, which was supposed to lead the country out of the abyss of widespread poverty and hunger. All the rulers of the USSR considered themselves "faithful Leninists" and praised Vladimir Ulyanov in every possible way as a great statesman.
It should be noted that immediately after “reconciliation with the Germans”, the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Lenin, unleashed internal terror against dissent and the legacy of tsarism, which claimed millions of lives. The NEP policy also did not last long and was abolished shortly after his death on January 21, 1924.
Dzhugashvili (Stalin) Joseph Vissarionovich (1879-1953)
Joseph Stalin became the first general secretary in 1922. However, until the death of V. I. Lenin, he remained on the sidelines of the leadership of the state, inferior in popularity to his other associates, who also aimed at the rulers of the USSR. Nevertheless, after the death of the leader of the world proletariat, Stalin quickly eliminated his main opponents, accusing them of betraying the ideals of the revolution.
By the beginning of the 1930s, he became the sole leader of the peoples, capable of deciding the fate of millions of citizens with a stroke of the pen. The policy of forced collectivization and dispossession pursued by him, which came to replace the NEP, as well as mass repressions against persons dissatisfied with the current government, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens of the USSR. However, the period of Stalin's rule is noticeable not only as a bloody trail, it is worth noting positive points his guides. In a short time, the Union has gone from being a third-rate economy to a powerful industrial power that has won the battle against fascism.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War many cities in the western part of the USSR, destroyed almost to the ground, were quickly restored, and their industry began to work even more efficiently. The rulers of the USSR, who held the highest post after Joseph Stalin, denied his leading role in the development of the state and characterized the time of his reign as a period of the personality cult of the leader.
Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich (1894-1971)
Coming from a simple peasant family, N. S. Khrushchev became at the helm of the party shortly after the death of Stalin, which occurred in the first years of his reign, he waged an undercover struggle with G. M. Malenkov, who held the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers and was the de facto leader of the state.
In 1956, Khrushchev read out a report on Stalin's repressions at the Twentieth Party Congress, condemning the actions of his predecessor. The reign of Nikita Sergeevich was marked by the development of the space program - the launch of an artificial satellite and the first manned flight into space. His new one allowed many citizens of the country to move from cramped communal apartments to more comfortable separate housing. Houses that were massively built at that time are still popularly called "Khrushchevs".
Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich (1907-1982)
On October 14, 1964, N. S. Khrushchev was dismissed from his post by a group of members of the Central Committee under the leadership of L. I. Brezhnev. For the first time in the history of the state, the rulers of the USSR were replaced in order not after the death of the leader, but as a result of an internal party conspiracy. The Brezhnev era in Russian history is known as stagnation. The country stopped in development and began to lose to the leading world powers, lagging behind them in all sectors, excluding the military-industrial.
Brezhnev made some attempts to improve relations with the United States, spoiled in 1962, when N. S. Khrushchev ordered the deployment of missiles with a nuclear warhead in Cuba. Treaties were signed with the American leadership that limited the arms race. However, all the efforts of Leonid Brezhnev to defuse the situation were crossed out by the introduction of troops into Afghanistan.
Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich (1914-1984)
After the death of Brezhnev, which occurred on November 10, 1982, Yu. Andropov, who had previously headed the KGB, the USSR State Security Committee, took his place. He set a course for reforms and transformations in the social and economic spheres. The time of his reign was marked by the initiation of criminal cases exposing corruption in power circles. However, Yuri Vladimirovich did not have time to make any changes in the life of the state, as he had serious health problems and died on February 9, 1984.
Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich (1911-1985)
From February 13, 1984, he served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. He continued his predecessor's policy of exposing corruption in the echelons of power. He was very ill and died in 1985, having spent a little more than a year in the highest state post. All the past rulers of the USSR, according to the order established in the state, were buried at and K. U. Chernenko was the last on this list.
Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich (1931)
M. S. Gorbachev is the most famous Russian politician end of the twentieth century. He won love and popularity in the West, but his rule causes twofold feelings among the citizens of his country. If Europeans and Americans call him a great reformer, then many Russians consider him a destroyer of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev proclaimed internal economic and political reforms under the slogan "Perestroika, Glasnost, Acceleration!", which led to a massive shortage of food and industrial goods, unemployment and a drop in the standard of living of the population.
To assert that the era of M. S. Gorbachev's reign had only Negative consequences for the life of our country, it will be wrong. In Russia, the concepts of a multi-party system, freedom of religion and the press appeared. For my foreign policy Gorbachev was awarded Nobel Prize peace. The rulers of the USSR and Russia, neither before nor after Mikhail Sergeevich, were awarded such an honor.

With the death of Stalin - the "father of the peoples" and the "architect of communism" - in 1953, a struggle for power began, because the one established by him assumed that the same autocratic leader would be at the helm of the USSR, who would take the reins of government into his own hands.
The only difference was that the main contenders for power were all in favor of the abolition of this very cult and the liberalization of the country's political course.
Who ruled after Stalin?
A serious struggle unfolded between the three main contenders, who initially represented a triumvirate - Georgy Malenkov (chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), Lavrenty Beria (minister of the united Ministry of Internal Affairs) and Nikita Khrushchev (secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). Each of them wanted to take a seat, but victory could only go to the applicant whose candidacy would be supported by a party whose members enjoyed great authority and had the necessary connections. In addition, all of them were united by the desire to achieve stability, end the era of repression and gain more freedom in their actions. That is why the question of who ruled after Stalin's death does not always have an unambiguous answer - after all, there were three people at once fighting for power.
Triumvirate in power: the beginning of the split
The triumvirate created under Stalin divided the power. Most of it was concentrated in the hands of Malenkov and Beria. Khrushchev was assigned the role of secretary, not so significant in the eyes of his rivals. However, they underestimated the ambitious and assertive party member, who stood out for his extraordinary thinking and intuition.
For those who ruled the country after Stalin, it was important to understand who first of all needed to be eliminated from competition. The first target was Lavrenty Beria. Khrushchev and Malenkov were aware of the dossier on each of them that the Minister of the Interior, who was in charge of the entire system of repressive agencies, had. In this regard, in July 1953, Beria was arrested, accusing him of espionage and some other crimes, thereby eliminating such a dangerous enemy.
Malenkov and his politics
Khrushchev's authority as the organizer of this conspiracy increased significantly, and his influence on other party members increased. However, while Malenkov was Chairman of the Council of Ministers, key decisions and policy directions depended on him. At the first meeting of the Presidium, a course was taken towards de-Stalinization and the establishment of collective governance of the country: it was planned to abolish the cult of personality, but to do it in such a way as not to detract from the merits of the “father of nations”. The main task set by Malenkov was to develop the economy taking into account the interests of the population. He proposed a rather extensive program of changes, which was not adopted at a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Then Malenkov put forward the same proposals at the session of the Supreme Council, where they were approved. For the first time since Stalin's absolute rule, a decision was made not by the party, but by an official authority. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Politburo were forced to agree to this.
Further history will show that among those who ruled after Stalin, Malenkov will be the most "effective" in his decisions. The set of measures he adopted to combat bureaucracy in the state and party apparatus, to develop food and light industry, to expand the independence of collective farms bore fruit: 1954-1956, for the first time after the end of the war, showed an increase in the rural population and an increase in agricultural production, which long years decline and stagnation became profitable. The effect of these measures persisted until 1958. It is this five-year plan that is considered the most productive and productive after the death of Stalin.
It was clear to those who ruled after Stalin that it would not be possible to achieve such success in light industry, since Malenkov’s proposals for its development contradicted the tasks of the next five-year plan, which emphasized the promotion
I tried to approach the solution of problems from a rational point of view, applying economic rather than ideological considerations. However, this order did not suit the party nomenklatura (headed by Khrushchev), which had practically lost its predominant role in the life of the state. This was a weighty argument against Malenkov, who, under pressure from the party, submitted his resignation in February 1955. Khrushchev's associate Malenkov took his place and became one of his deputies, but after the dispersal of the anti-party group in 1957 (of which he was a member), he was expelled from the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee along with his supporters. Khrushchev took advantage of this situation and in 1958 also removed Malenkov from the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers, taking his place and becoming the one who ruled after Stalin in the USSR.
Thus, he concentrated in his hands almost complete power. He got rid of the two most powerful competitors and led the country.
Who ruled the country after the death of Stalin and the removal of Malenkov?
Those 11 years that Khrushchev ruled the USSR are rich in various events and reforms. There were many problems on the agenda that the state faced after industrialization, war and attempts to restore the economy. The main milestones that remember the era of Khrushchev's rule are as follows:
The virgin lands development policy (not supported by scientific study) increased the amount of sown area, but did not take into account the climatic features that hampered the development of agriculture in the developed territories.
"Corn Campaign", the purpose of which was to catch up and overtake the United States, which received good harvests this culture. The area under corn has doubled to the detriment of rye and wheat. But the result was sad - the climatic conditions did not allow for a high yield, and the reduction in areas for other crops provoked low rates for their collection. The campaign failed miserably in 1962, and its result was an increase in the price of butter and meat, which caused discontent among the population.
The beginning of perestroika is the mass construction of houses, which allowed many families to move from hostels and communal apartments to apartments (the so-called "Khrushchevs").

The results of Khrushchev's reign
Among those who ruled after Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev stood out for his non-standard and not always well-thought-out approach to reforming within the state. Despite numerous projects that were put into practice, their inconsistency led to Khrushchev's removal from office in 1964.

Russian history
Topic #20
USSR AFTER STALIN in the 1950s
LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY AFTER THE DEATH OF STALIN (1953–1955)
At the end 1952 a large group was arrested by the MGB Kremlin doctors, who were accused of deliberately killing the leaders of the party and state (in 1945 - the 1st secretary of the Moscow city party committee and chairman of the Sovinformburo Alexander Sergeevich Shcherbakov, in 1948 - Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov). The majority of those arrested were Jews by nationality, which gave reason to declare "disclosure of a Zionist terrorist group of killer doctors", "associated with the international Jewish bourgeois-nationalist organization "Joint"". A TASS report about this was published in Pravda on January 13, 1953. “The pests were exposed” by the doctor Lidia Timashuk, who was awarded the Order of Lenin for this (in April 1953, after Stalin’s death, the decree on awarding was canceled “as incorrect”). The arrest of doctors was supposed to be the end of the anti-Semitic campaign in the USSR: after the public execution of murderous doctors, mass repressions were to be launched against all Jews, they were evicted to Siberia, etc. The arrest of doctors was carried out with Stalin's sanction, among those arrested was Stalin's personal doctor, Professor V. N. Vinogradov, who, having discovered that the leader had a disorder of cerebral circulation and multiple small hemorrhages in the brain, said that Stalin needed to move away from vigorous activity. Stalin regarded this as a desire to deprive him of power (in 1922 he did the same with Lenin, isolating him in Gorki).

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

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

March 2, 1953 Stalin was struck by a blow at his dacha in Kuntsevo near Moscow, and for about half a day he was not provided with any help. Stalin's condition was hopeless ("Cheyne-Stokes breath"). Without regaining consciousness Stalin died at 21.50 March 5, 1953 From March 1953 to October 1961, Stalin's body was in the Mausoleum next to Lenin's body. On the day of the funeral (March 9) there was a stampede in Moscow, hundreds of people were killed or maimed.
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR(Stalin's successor as head of government) became George Maximilianovich Malenkov. His first deputies were L.P. Beria, V.M. Molotov, N.A. Bulganin and L.M. Kaganovich.
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR(formally it was the position of the head of state) March 15 at the session of the Supreme Council was approved Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov.
MIA and MGB were united within the framework of the new Ministry of the Interior (MVD), the Minister of the Interior again (after 1946) became Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria. In 1953, an amnesty was held, and many criminals were released ("The Cold Summer of 53rd"). The country's crime rate has risen sharply (a new surge after 1945–1947). Beria intended to use this situation to strengthen the powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for his own purposes.
Minister of Foreign Affairs again (after 1949) became Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov(A. Ya. Vyshinsky, who held this position, was sent to the USA by the Permanent Representative of the USSR to the UN, where he died of a heart attack).
Minister of War remained (since 1947, replaced Stalin himself in this post). Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky became his first deputies.
Thus, after the death of Stalin, the period of disgrace for V. M. Molotov, K. E. Voroshilov and G. K. Zhukov ended.

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was the only secretary of the Central Committee who was part of the top party leadership - the Bureau of the Presidium. It was decided to release him from the duties of the 1st Secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee, so that he could concentrate on work in the Central Committee. In fact, Khrushchev became manage the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU, although formally he has not yet become the First Secretary. G. M. Malenkov and L. P. Beria, actually leading the country after Stalin's death, intended to concentrate power in the Council of Ministers - the government of the USSR. They needed the party apparatus for the precise execution of government decisions. In Khrushchev, they saw a simple performer who did not pretend to power. (They made the same mistake as Zinoviev and Kamenev, who in 1922 recommended Stalin for the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP(b).)
Beria and Malenkov understood the need for changes in the country, but while maintaining the essence of the regime. Beria took the initiative to normalize relations with Yugoslavia, Malenkov urged to take care of the material and cultural needs of the people. But the leadership of the party and the state was afraid that Beria, relying on the organs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, would sooner or later want to take all power into his own hands and eliminate all his rivals. Khrushchev initiated the elimination of Beria. Malenkov was the last to agree to the elimination of his friend Beria.

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

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

In 1955 Malenkov declared his unwillingness to hold the post of head of government. new Chairman Council of Ministers became Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin, and Malenkov became the Minister of Power Plants.
Even Malenkov, in his first speeches as head of government, spoke about the need to increase the production of consumer goods (group "B") and the priority of group "B" over group "A" (production of means of production), about changing attitudes towards agriculture. Khrushchev criticized the outstripping pace of development of group "B", saying that without a powerful heavy industry, the country's defense capability and the rise of agriculture cannot be ensured. The main problem in the economy was the agrarian problem: there was a shortage of grain in the country, although Malenkov declared at the 19th Congress of the CPSU in 1952 that "the grain problem in the USSR had been solved."

Task number 1. Was G. M. Malenkov right when he spoke about the priority of group "B" over group "A"?
September (1953) Plenum of the Central Committee decided to increase purchase price for agricultural products (for meat - 5.5 times, for milk and butter - 2 times, for vegetables - 2 times and for grain - 1.5 times), take off debt from collective farms cut taxes on personal farms of collective farmers, not to redistribute income between collective farms (equalization condemned). Khrushchev declared that the improvement of the life of the people is impossible without the rise of agriculture and the improvement of the life of the collective farmers. Were reduced mandatory deliveries agricultural products to the state, reduced(subsequently cancelled) household taxes. This led to a greater interest of collective farmers in production, and the supply of cities improved. In peasant farms, the number of poultry increased, cows appeared. By the spring of 1954, 100,000 graduates were sent to collective farms and state farms.
Referring to the grain problem, Khrushchev said that Malenkov's statement at the 19th Party Congress about its solution was not true, and that the shortage of grain impeded the growth in the production of meat, milk and butter. Solving the grain problem was possible in two ways: the first - increase in yield, which required fertilizers and an increase in the culture of agriculture and would not give an immediate return, the second - expansion of cultivated areas.

In order to immediately increase grain production, it was decided to develop virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, the Volga region and Southern Urals. People landed right in the steppes, in off-road conditions, without basic amenities, lived in tents in the winter steppe, there was not enough equipment.
February-March (1954) Plenum of the Central Committee approved the decision to development of virgin lands . Already in the spring of 1954, 17 million hectares of land were raised and 124 grain state farms were created. The leaders of Kazakhstan, who insisted on preserving traditional sheep breeding, were replaced: Panteleimon Kondratievich became the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan Ponomarenko, and the 2nd secretary - Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. In 1954–1955 350 thousand people went to work in 425 virgin state farms on Komsomol vouchers. In the record-breaking year of 1956, virgin lands produced 40% of the country's total grain. At the same time, grain production in the arid steppes required high culture agriculture and strongly depended on weather conditions. In the future, extensive (without the introduction scientific achievements and new technologies) farming practices led to the impoverishment of the fertile soil layer and the fall in yields due to wind erosion of the soil.

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

Task number 2. Was the development of virgin lands justified in the USSR?
XX CONGRESS OF THE CPSU. HIS SOLUTIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE
C 14 to 25 February 1956 The 20th Congress of the CPSU was held, which determined the final turn to de-Stalinization Soviet society, liberalization domestic economic and political life, expanding foreign policy ties and establishing friendly relations with a number of foreign countries

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Decisions of the XX Congress in social policy:

a) to transfer all workers and employees during the VI Five-Year Plan to a 7-hour working day with a 6-day working week, from 1957 to begin the transfer of individual sectors of the economy to 5-day work week with an 8-hour work day;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Task number 3. What decisions of the XX Congress of the CPSU, in principle, could not be taken under Stalin and why?
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE USSR
From the mid 50s. an era has begun scientific and technological revolution (NTR). First of all, it was expressed in the application atomic energy for peaceful purposes, as well as in the development outer space. In 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant, the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, was put into operation; was put into operation nuclear icebreaker"Lenin". Scientific and technological revolution in the USSR developed within the framework of military-industrial complex.

October 4, 1957 launched the first artificial satellite Earth. In the USSR, more and more powerful samples of ballistic missiles were developed and tested. After test flights of the dogs Laika (without a descent vehicle), and then Belka and Strelka (returned to Earth) April 12, 1961 man flew into space for the first time Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin(left as a senior lieutenant, after 108 minutes of flight - 1 orbit around the Earth - landed as a major).
The era of scientific and technological revolution was accompanied by qualitatively new catastrophes. In 1957, a radioactive release occurred at the Mayak plant in the Chelyabinsk region, and the radioactive trace was not eliminated, and the consequences of contamination are still being felt. In 1960, a ballistic missile exploded at the start. Marshal M. I. Nedelin, several generals, hundreds of engineers, soldiers, and officers burned alive.

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

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

In 1957-1958, when the ministries had already been abolished, and the economic councils had not yet been formed, the national economy worked most efficiently, as it got out of control and guardianship of the overgrown bureaucratic apparatus. Dissatisfaction with the economic council reform was primarily expressed by officials who lost their posts. Gradually, the employees of the abolished ministries became part of the apparatus of the economic councils or the branch departments of the State Planning Commission, and the number of bureaucratic apparatus that controlled the economy did not practically decrease.
Task number 4. What are the positive and negative sides economic reform in the USSR?

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

In the field of agriculture, the reform was that in 1958 all equipment of state machine and tractor stations (MTS) Was in without fail sold to collective farms. Only large rich farms benefited from this, for which it was convenient and profitable to maintain their own equipment. Most of the rest did not have the funds to either buy the equipment or maintain it, so when they were forced to buy the equipment, they were on the verge of ruin. In addition, the machine operators did not want to move to the collective farms along with the equipment and looked for other jobs in the city so as not to worsen their standard of living. The bankrupt collective farms were written off their debts and turned into state farms - state-owned agricultural enterprises.

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

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

Khrushchev personally traveled around the country and supervised agriculture. With 1958 started again struggle with personal subsidiary farms. Collective farmers trading in the markets were called speculators and parasites. Citizens were forbidden to keep livestock. In the mid 50s. private farms provided 50% of the meat produced in the country, in 1959 - only 20%. Another campaign was the fight against waste in state scale(“There is no need to create museums wherever Pushkin has been”).

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

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

The death of Stalin on March 5, 1953 contributed to the beginning of the struggle for power within the CPSU party. This struggle continued until 1958.

Struggle for power after Stalin on the initial stage was fought between Melenkov and Beria. Both of them spoke out for the fact that the functions of power should be transferred from the hands of the CPSU to the state. The struggle for power after Stalin between these two people lasted only until June 1953, but it was during this short historical period that the first wave of criticism of Stalin's personality cult fell. For members of the CPSU, the coming to power of Beria or Malenkov meant a weakening of the role of the party in governing the country, since this point was actively promoted by both Beria and Malenkov. It was for this reason that Khrushchev, who at that time headed the Central Committee of the CPSU, began to look for ways to remove from power, first of all, Beria, who he saw as the most dangerous opponent. Members of the Central Committee of the CPSU supported Khrushchev in this decision. As a result, on June 26, Beria was arrested. It happened at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers. Soon Beria was declared an enemy of the people and an opponent communist party. The inevitable punishment followed - execution.

The struggle for power after Stalin continued into the second stage (summer 1953 - February 1955). Khrushchev, who had removed Beria from his path, was now Malenkov's main political rival. In September 1953, the Congress of the Central Committee of the CPSU approved Khrushchev as the General Secretary of the Party. The problem was that Khrushchev did not hold any public office. At this stage of the struggle for power, Khrushchev secured the support of the majority in the party. As a result, Khrushchev's position in the country became noticeably stronger, while Malenkov lost his position. This was largely due to the events of December 1954. At this time, Khrushchev arranged a process against the leaders of the MGB, who were accused of forging documents in the "Leningrad case". Malenkov was heavily compromised as a result of this process. As a result of this process, Bulganin removed Malenkov from the post he held (head of government).

The third stage, in which struggle for power after Stalin, began in February 1955 and continued until March 1958. At this stage, Malenkov united with Molotov and Kaganovich. The united "opposition" decided to take advantage of the fact that they had a majority in the party. At the next congress, which took place in the summer of 1957, the post of first secretary of the party was eliminated. Khrushchev was appointed Minister of Agriculture. As a result, Khrushchev demanded the convening of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, since, according to the party charter, only this body could make such decisions. Khrushchev, taking advantage of the fact that he was the secretary of the party, personally selected the composition of the Plenum. The vast majority of people who supported Khrushchev turned out to be there. As a result, Molotov, Kaganovich and Malenkov were dismissed. This decision was made by the Plenum of the Central Committee, arguing that all three were anti-party activities.

The struggle for power after Stalin was actually won by Khrushchev. The party secretary understood how important the post of chairman of the council of ministers is in the state. Khrushchev did everything to take this post, since Bulganin, who held this position, openly supported Malenkov in 1957. In March 1958, the formation of a new government began in the USSR. As a result, Khrushchev achieved his appointment to the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. At the same time, he retained the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In fact, this meant Khrushchev's victory. The struggle for power after Stalin was over.