Soviet Union after the Second World War. Topic XX. USSR after World War II USSR after World War II

The Allies did not celebrate their victory over Nazi Germany for long. Soon after the end of the war they were separated by the Iron Curtain. The democratic and “progressive” West saw a new threat in the face of the “totalitarian” communist regime of the USSR.

Waiting for change

Following the results of World War II, the USSR finally became one of the superpowers. Our country had a high international status, which was emphasized by membership in the UN Security Council and the right of veto. The only competitor Soviet Union Another superpower, the United States of America, appeared on the international political arena. Insoluble ideological contradictions between the two world leaders made it impossible to hope for stable relations. For many Western political elites, the radical changes that took place in Eastern Europe and some countries in the Asian region came as a real shock. The world was divided into two camps: democratic and socialist. The leaders of the two ideological systems of the USA and the USSR in the first post-war years did not yet understand the limits of each other’s tolerance, and therefore took a wait-and-see attitude. Harry Truman, who succeeded Franklin Roosevelt as American President, advocated tough opposition to the USSR and communist forces. Almost from the first days of his presidency, the new head of the White House began to review allied relations with the USSR - one of the fundamental elements of Roosevelt’s policy. For Truman, it was fundamental to intervene in the post-war structure of the countries of Eastern Europe without taking into account the interests of the USSR, and if necessary, then from a position of strength.

The West acts

The first to break the calm was British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who instructed the chiefs of staff to assess the prospects for a military invasion of the USSR. Operation Unthinkable, scheduled for July 1, 1945, called for a lightning attack on the USSR to overthrow the communist government. However, the British military considered such an operation impossible. Very soon the West acquired more effective means pressure on the USSR. On July 24, 1945, during a meeting at the Potsdam Conference, Truman hinted to Stalin about the American creation of an atomic bomb. “I casually remarked to Stalin that we had a new weapon of extraordinary destructive power,” Truman recalled. The American president felt that Stalin did not show much interest in this message. However, the Soviet leader understood everything and soon ordered Kurchatov to accelerate the development of his own nuclear weapons. In April 1948, a plan developed by US Secretary of State George Marshall came into force, which, under certain conditions, envisaged the restoration of the economies of European countries. However, in addition to assistance, the Marshall Plan provided for the gradual ousting of communists from the power structures of Europe. Former US Vice President Henry Wallace condemned the Marshall Plan, calling it a tool cold war against Russia.

Communist threat

Immediately after the war in Eastern Europe, with the active assistance of the Soviet Union, a new politicized bloc of socialist commonwealth countries began to form: leftist forces came to power in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Moreover, the communist movement has gained popularity in a number of countries Western Europe– Italy, France, Germany, Sweden. In France, the likelihood of communists coming to power was as high as ever. This caused discontent even among European politicians who sympathized with the USSR. The leader of the French Resistance during the war, General de Gaulle, directly called the communists “separatists,” and the General Secretary of the French Section of the Workers’ International, Guy Mollet, told communist deputies in the National Assembly: “You are neither left nor right, you are from the East.” The governments of England and the USA openly accused Stalin of attempting a communist coup in Greece and Turkey. Under the pretext of eliminating the communist threat from the USSR, $400 million was allocated to provide assistance to Greece and Turkey. The countries of the Western bloc and the socialist camp have taken the path of ideological war. The stumbling block continued to be Germany, which the former allies, despite the objections of the USSR, proposed to divide. Then the Soviet Union was unexpectedly supported by French President Vincent Auriol. “I find this idea of dividing Germany into two parts and using it as a weapon against the Soviets absurd and dangerous,” he said. However, this did not save Germany from the division of Germany in 1949 into the socialist GDR and the capitalist West Germany.

Cold War

Churchill's speech, which he delivered in March 1946 in Fulton, America, in the presence of Truman, can be called the starting point of the Cold War. Despite the flattering words addressed to Stalin several months ago, the British prime minister accused the USSR of creating an Iron Curtain, “tyranny” and “expansionist tendencies”, and called the communist parties of capitalist countries the “fifth column” of the Soviet Union. Disagreements between the USSR and the West increasingly drew the opposing camps into a protracted ideological confrontation, which at any moment threatened to result in a real war. The creation of the NATO military-political bloc in 1949 brought the likelihood of an open clash closer. On September 8, 1953, new US President Dwight Eisenhower wrote to Secretary of State Dulles regarding the Soviet problem: “Under present circumstances, we would have to consider whether it is not our duty to future generations to go to war at a favorable moment of our choosing.” Nevertheless, it was during Eisenhower’s presidency that the United States somewhat softened its attitude towards the USSR. The American leader has more than once initiated joint negotiations, the parties have significantly moved closer in their positions on the German problem, and agreed to reduce nuclear weapons. However, after an American reconnaissance plane was shot down over Sverdlovsk in May 1960, all contacts ceased.

Cult of personality

In February 1956, Khrushchev spoke at the 20th Congress of the CPSU condemning Stalin's personality cult. This event, unexpectedly for the Soviet government, hit the reputation of the Communist Party. Criticism against the USSR rained down from all sides. Thus, the Swedish Communist Party accused the USSR of hiding information from foreign communists, the CPSU Central Committee “generously shares it with bourgeois journalists.” In many communist parties around the world, groups were created depending on the attitude towards Khrushchev’s report. Most often it was negative. Some said that the historical truth was distorted, others considered the report premature, and still others were completely disappointed in communist ideas. At the end of June 1956, a demonstration took place in Poznan, the participants of which carried slogans: “Freedom!”, “Bread!”, “God!”, “Down with Communism!” On June 5, 1956, the American newspaper The New York Times responded to the resonant event by publishing the full text of Khrushchev’s report. Historians believe that the material from the speech of the head of the USSR came to the West through the Polish communists. Commenting on Khrushchev's speech, New York Times journalist Jim Bell noted that during Khrushchev's report - with tears, listing the intrigues, conspiracies and counter-plots that surrounded Stalin's last days - someone from the audience asked: “Why didn’t you kill him? ? Khrushchev replied: “What could we do? There was terror then.” In the Tretyakov Gallery, Bell continued, where a considerable part of the exhibition consisted of paintings about Stalin, only two small portraits of the leader of the people remained. The American journalist did not hide his positive attitude towards what happened, but ended the article with the words: “Stalin’s ghost will still roam the Earth for a long time.”

Passions cool down

In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted, putting the world at risk of thermonuclear war. John Kennedy, who was president of the United States, in his speech at one of the American universities, announced the possibility of finding common ground between the USSR and the USA. He noted many similarities between the two states, among which “none is more pronounced than our mutual aversion to war.” Kennedy continued to maintain a position of strength, but was a proponent of a more mature and realistic approach to Soviet-American relations. In August 1963, the two countries signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which Kennedy called "the first step toward peace, the step toward sanity, and the step away from war" in "our interests and especially the interests of our children and grandchildren." In addition, Washington and Moscow agreed to establish a hotline and establish closer economic relations. Soviet Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Dobrynin wrote about Kennedy's great desire to continue the dialogue with Khrushchev. The trend of rapprochement between the two superpowers was evident, but it was interrupted by the tragic death of the 35th President of the United States. On June 20, 1966, the historic visit of French leader Charles de Gaulle to the Soviet Union took place. The President of the Fifth Republic, despite the height of the Cold War and existing ideological contradictions, intended to demonstrate to the world the need for cooperation with the USSR. Back in 1950, de Gaulle prepared a document “Prospects for our relations with Russia,” in which he outlined the position of building trusting relations with Moscow. He believed that this would prevent “France and its Empire” from being subordinated to US interests. In February 1966, he confirmed his words with deeds and withdrew France from the NATO military structure. It is curious that de Gaulle preferred to use the term “Russia” rather than “USSR”. The French essayist Roland Hurot wrote about this: “He always said “Russia” because he believed that the nation was eternal, or at least unchangeable, and that ideology such as communism was a temporary phenomenon.”

Stalin case in Samara

Relying on the spiritual uplift of the victorious people, the USSR already in 1948 managed to achieve the pre-war level of industrial production. Agriculture also returned to pre-war production levels. Although the accuracy of these statistics has been criticized, the steep positive dynamics of the process of economic recovery in 1946-1950. noted by all specialists.

Science and technology developed at a high pace in the post-war years, and the USSR reached the most advanced levels in a number of areas of science and technology. Major achievements have been achieved in domestic rocket science, aircraft manufacturing, and radio engineering. Significant progress has been made in the development of mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry. On August 29, 1949, the USSR tested an atomic bomb, developed by a large group of scientists and engineers under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatova. The start of operation of the world's first Soviet turbojet passenger aircraft "TU-104" and the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, the launching of the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" and the flight of Soviet citizen Yu.A. Gagarin into space, the commissioning of the world's first unit for continuous casting of steel and the appearance of laser systems - these facts testified to the powerful impulse of the Bolshevik revolution in the culture, science and education of our country. This progress was also recognized in the West.

All post-war difficulties, hardships and hunger were perceived by the people as inevitable and surmountable in the near future. In general, the people were characterized by social optimism.

The anti-Hitler coalition was doomed to collapse soon after the elimination of the common enemy - Hitlerism. The reason for this was the ideological contradictions in the social structure of the USSR and the USA, which denied each other the right to exist. The period of confrontation between two world powers - the USSR and the USA - never developed into global fighting called in history the “Cold War” (1946-1991).

The United States and its allies involved the USSR in a ruinous arms race, soon surrounded the USSR with military bases, and in 1949 they created the NATO bloc. The USSR, which was significantly inferior in economic power, responded by tightly closing the country and its allies with the “Iron Curtain”, creating nuclear weapons, and, in opposition to NATO, in 1949 formed the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance from its allies, and later in the mid-50s. - Organization of the Warsaw Pact.

Open tests of the military forces of the opposing blocs were the wars in Korea (1950-1953), Vietnam (1964-1975), Afghanistan (1979-1989), which brought humanity to the brink of the third world war. The victims of these wars were more than 15 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers who officially died in peacetime.

Through the efforts of the new leader of the USSR (since 1953) N.S. Khrushchev's country was freed from the extremes of Stalinism, all "enemies of the people" were amnestied, and most of them were given back their civil rights. Millions of Soviet people moved from barracks, basements, and communal apartments into comfortable, new, separate standard apartments. People still live in “Khrushchev” buildings, although these houses were built for only 50 years.

Nevertheless, Khrushchev was sent to a lifelong pension by his own comrades in the Communist Party.

Time from mid 60s to mid 80s. XX century, when the political leadership of the country was headed by the new party leader L.I. Brezhnev is called a time of stagnation - a time of missed opportunities.

At first glance, the country was developing and moving forward. So, if in 1971 there were 89,481 mechanized production lines in industry, then in 1985 - 161,601; automatic lines are 10917 and 34278, respectively. The increase was 2-3 times. The economy, by inertia, continued to develop largely on an extensive basis. Instead of creating mass science-intensive civilian products that the population needed (for example, color televisions, cars, Appliances etc.) the authorities organized an increase in the production of mass-produced types of weapons that had already become history, such as tanks, of which the USSR had many times more than the countries of the entire planet combined.

As a result, the Soviet economy looked contradictory. On the one hand, it included a number of high-tech, knowledge-intensive areas of production that were part of the defense industry; on the other hand, it had other areas with weak competitiveness and low quality.

A gap formed between social needs (people received 40 years without war, their own separate apartment, stable work, modest summer rest, country cottage area and the so-called “unobtrusive” service) and the achieved level of production, between effective demand and its material coverage. Endless domestic and everyday troubles, increased demands of people, as well as the growing difference between the standard of living of the leading communists and the mass of the population gave rise to the flourishing of the shadow economy, increased crime, and expanded social apathy and passivity.

It is no coincidence that during the years of “stagnation”, despite progress in social sphere alcoholism of the population, recorded by statistics, has increased 10 times compared to Khrushchev’s time, in road accidents 2 times died per year more people per year than during the entire period of fighting in Afghanistan, the USSR was in first place in the world in terms of the number of abortions per capita. Magnificent celebrations and anniversaries, the 1980 Olympics, despite the energy and skill of the organizers, athletes, and artists, only briefly distracted the people’s attention from the dominance of “scarcity”, from the endless queues...

Even in old age by the mid-1980s. It became clear to the party leadership that it was impossible to live like this. All attempts to “tighten the disciplinary screws” ended unsuccessfully (Andropov).

In March 1985 Secretary General The Central Committee of the CPSU becomes M.S. Gorbachev. And already in April of the same year, a course to accelerate the socio-economic development of the country was proclaimed as a strategic goal of the new Soviet leadership and society. The collapse of prices for Soviet energy resources on the world market, a number of man-made accidents and disasters (Chernobyl) forced the Soviet leadership to force political changes aimed at diverting the attention of the population from the growing disaster. Thus began the policy of glasnost, which quickly spiraled out of public control. The authorities’ attempts to carry out an anti-alcohol campaign degenerated into a farce and led more to the enrichment of the shadow criminal economy than to the improvement of the people’s health.

Attempts by the Soviet leadership to reduce weapons and the army quickly turned into unilateral concessions to NATO and the loss of Soviet allies in Europe, Asia and America. In essence, the leadership led by Gorbachev followed the lead of Western politicians, guided solely by the desire to build “socialism with a human face.”

As a result, this led to the destruction of the USSR as a state system, a massive social catastrophe of the population on the ruins of the USSR, a massive criminal redistribution of property everywhere except Belarus, a series of interethnic and civil wars, the victims of which were millions of people.

The processes of reducing the birth rate and increasing mortality in a number of republics of the USSR ( Russian Federation, Ukraine, Republic of Belarus) have been increasing since the late 1980s, and around 1992 the mortality rate began to exceed the birth rate. In countries where the phenomenon of the “Russian or Slavic cross” is observed, rapid depopulation is observed.

As a result, the population of today's Russia still feels the consequences of the collapse of the USSR; our economy occupies an exclusively raw material niche on the world stage and is even more dependent on other countries than ever before.

The only positive result in social development in recent years has been the mass informatization of the population and the approaching level of consumption of household information technology to the standards of Western countries.

Moreover, the difference in income between the poorest and richest citizens of Russia and the former Soviet republics (except Belarus) is much greater than before the 1917 revolution.

However, in the last 5-10 years in Russia, an increase in the civic consciousness of the population, especially young people, has begun to manifest itself. The process of spiritual revival of the nation is progressing slowly but surely. And the task of history, as a science, is not just to provide a sum of certain facts, dates and assessments, but, above all, to provide guidance for active actions aimed at the prosperity of Russia and its multinational people.

LESSON PLAN 1. General patterns of political and economic development of the USSR after the Second World War. 2. USSR in last years life of Stalin (1945 – 1953). 3. USSR during the Khrushchev “thaw” (1953 – 1964). 4. The era of “stagnation” in the USSR (1964 – 1985). 5. Perestroika and collapse of the USSR (1985 – 1991).

USSR - A TOTALITARIARY STATE, the state exercised total control over all spheres of life of society. In the USSR, the state exercised total control over all spheres of life of society (the leadership of organizations permitted in the country consisted of either communists or people who enjoyed full trust from the CPSU).

THE USSR IS A TOTALITARIARY STATE. Free democratic elections were not held. Free democratic elections were not held in the USSR (one candidate from the CPSU was nominated for the elections, and the election results, as a rule, were falsified). Election propaganda poster. 1939 election ballot.

The USSR - A TOTALITARIARY STATE was deprived of its role as the highest body of legislative power. The Soviet Parliament (Supreme Council of the USSR) was deprived of its role as the highest body of legislative power. Deputies only approved those legislative acts that were proposed to them by the executive branch of government. Parliament was practically not involved in lawmaking. Meeting of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the 1970s.

USSR – TOTALITARIARY STATE repressive bodies In the life of the Soviet state, repressive bodies played a large role. “If you were not imprisoned in this country, then this is not your merit, but our shortcoming” (Felix Dzerzhinsky). The headquarters of the NKVD-KGB on Lubyanka and the creator of this organization, Felix Dzerzhinsky.

THE USSR IS A TOTALITARIARY STATE All those who disagree with the regime were persecuted In the USSR, all those who disagreed with the regime were persecuted. Peak political repression occurred in 1937 – 1940 and the first post-war years. Prison labor was widely used in the Gulag camps. Map of the Gulag. “Residents” of the Gulag.

USSR – TOTALITARIARY STATE censorship There was censorship in the country. Many literary works, theatrical productions and art films were declared prohibited. The media provided information beneficial to the ruling regime. Soviet newspapers. Caricature of censorship.

THE USSR IS A TOTALITARIARY STATE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS There were violations of human rights in the USSR. They were widespread and widespread, despite the fact that the Constitution declared almost all the democratic rights and freedoms of citizens. “Freedom of speech.” “Right to work.”

USSR – TOTALITARIARY STATE control over prices, wages and investments The Soviet government established controls over prices, wages and investments. Product name Price Rye bread 0.16 Boiled sausage 2.10 Matches 0.01 Vodka “Wheat” 5.00 Cigarettes “Cosmos” 0.70 Camera “Smena” 16.00 Radio 90.00 “Zhiguli” VAZ, 00 Gasoline AI-760.20 Specialty Salary Student 40.00 mln. Researcher 80.00 Doctor 90.00 Ordinary engineer 110.00 Head of department 130.00 Candidate of Sciences 150.00 Professor 220.00 Academician 500.00 People's Artist of the USSR 800.00 Blacksmith-wholesaler 1200.00 Football player "Dynamo" Kyiv 3000, 00 Level of prices and wages in the USSR in 1980.

THE USSR IS A TOTALITARIARY STATE The state actively intervened in the economy The state actively intervened in the economy. Special government bodies were involved in planning the entire production cycle. There was no competition. The State Planning Committee building and the propaganda poster of the Sixth Five-Year Plan.

The USSR, a TOTALITARIARY STATE, could not successfully compete in world markets. Soviet goods could not successfully compete in world markets with goods produced in the West (with the exception of aerospace and weapons products). "Zaporozhets" and the first Soviet computer of the AT series.

USSR IN 1945 - 1953 Second World War caused enormous damage to the USSR. The death toll was approximately one person, approximately one person lost their home. Cities and towns, villages and hamlets were destroyed, industrial enterprises were destroyed, near collective and state farms. Dead Soviet soldiers. Destroyed Soviet cities.

USSR IN 1945 - 1953 Stalin's personality cult After the end of the Second World War, Stalin's personality cult finally took shape. All decisions became valid only after their approval by the leader. Meetings of the highest governing bodies of the party and state were held irregularly. Leaders stopped reporting to the people. Stalin and his inner circle.

USSR IN 1945 - 1953 THE "Leningrad case" "The doctors' case" At the turn of the 1940s - 1950s, repressions began again. Many of the former prisoners of war were sent to Stalin's camps. According to the so-called In connection with the Leningrad case, about people were arrested, most of whom were killed. The so-called "The Doctors' Case" Soviet soldiers in German captivity. Kremlin doctors.

KHRUSCHEV'S "THAW" IN THE USSR (1953 - 1964) March 5, 1953 Joseph Stalin died on March 5, 1953 as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. The funeral cortege with the coffin of I.V. Stalin is heading from the House of Unions to Red Square. Leaders of the party and state with the coffin of J.V. Stalin on Red Square (in the foreground from left to right: L.P. Beria, K.E. Voroshilov, N.S. Khrushchev).

KHRUSHCHEV'S "THAW" IN THE USSR (1953 - 1964) Lavrenty Beria Lavrenty Beria took the post of Minister of Internal Affairs and oversaw state security agencies. The entire repressive and punitive apparatus created under Stalin was in his hands. In 1953, he was shot as an “enemy of the people.” Lavrenty Beria.

KHRUSHCHEV'S "THAW" IN THE USSR (1953 - 1964) XX Congress of the CPSU (1956) "On the cult of personality and its consequences" At the XX Congress of the CPSU (1956) Khrushchev made a report "On the cult of personality and its consequences", in which he presented numerous facts of Stalin's crimes. Cases of arbitrariness against honest people have become public. After the 20th Congress, the USSR began mass rehabilitation of those illegally repressed. Nikita Khrushchev's report at the 20th Congress of the CPSU (February 1956).

KHRUSHCHEV'S "THAW" IN THE USSR (1953 - 1964) The condemnation of Stalin and his policies caused resistance from the "old guard". In June 1957, her behavior was condemned, and members of the “anti-party group” were removed from the leadership bodies of the party and state (but were not shot!). Vyacheslav Molotov. Lazar Kaganovich. Georgy Malenkov.

KHRUSHCHEV'S "THAW" IN THE USSR (1953 - 1964) Khrushchev's reign was marked by a number of major campaigns and reorganizations, especially in the field of agriculture. development of virgin lands The development of virgin lands caused great harm to the agriculture of the USSR. Young people go to develop virgin lands. Medal “For the development of virgin lands.”

KHRUSHCHEV'S "THAW" IN THE USSR (1953 - 1964) growing corn Another Khrushchev scam was growing corn in places where it did not produce good harvests. Corn was grown at the expense of other crops. “Corn is the queen of the fields.”

KHRUSHCHEV'S "THAW" IN THE USSR (1953 - 1964) October 14, 1964 Khrushchev's extremely inconsistent policies led to his resignation on October 14, 1964. It was reported in the press that Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev retired for health reasons. Resignation of Nikita Khrushchev. Nikita Khrushchev is retired.

THE ERA OF “STAGNATION” IN THE USSR (1964 – 1985) Alexey Kosygin Alexey Kosygin became the head of government under Brezhnev. He proposed a large-scale economic reform that could give a powerful impetus to the development of the Soviet economy. However, the narrow focus of the reform and the growth of Kosygin’s authority led to its collapse. Alexey Kosygin. With US President Lyndon Johnson.

THE ERA OF “STAGNATION” IN THE USSR (1964 – 1985) dissidence Andrei Sakharov Alexander Solzhenitsyn Attempts to rehabilitate Stalin, the tightening of the regime and stagnation in the economy gave rise to dissidence, led by Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Dissidents published amateur publications, published their works in the West, and reported to the world the facts of human rights violations in the USSR. Andrei Sakharov (left) and Alexander Solzhenitsyn (right).

Perestroika and Collapse of the USSR (1985 – 1991) Mikhail Gorbachev In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected to the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. He immediately announced the priorities of his policy: perestroikaperestroika (regime reform within the framework of the socialist system); acceleration (reforming the economy and accelerating the pace of its development); Glasnostglasnost (providing the people with the right to freely receive information). Mikhail Gorbachev.

PERESTROIKA AND COLLAPSE OF THE USSR (1985 – 1991) Gorbachev and his entourage were not sure of the correctness of the chosen path. Economic and political reforms did not produce the desired results. Dissatisfaction with the policies of the new leader began to grow in the country. The results of perestroika. “The process has begun!”

PERESTROIKA AND DESTRUCTION OF THE USSR (1985 - 1991) foreign policy course of the USSR Gorbachev radically changed the foreign policy course of the USSR. He began meeting with Western leaders, abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine, withdrew troops from Afghanistan and signed a number of treaties on the limitation and elimination of certain types of nuclear missiles. Gorbachev agreed to the unification of Germany in 1990. Reagan and Gorbachev. Withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

PERESTROIKA AND DESTRUCTION OF THE USSR (1985 – 1991) By the beginning of 1991, the situation within the country had seriously worsened. The USSR was on the verge of collapse. On August 19, 1991, the State Emergency Committee was created. On August 19, 1991, the State Emergency Committee was created, which attempted to remove Gorbachev and seize power. Democratic forces led by Boris Yeltsin managed to suppress the August putsch. State Emergency Committee. Defenders of the White House.

PERESTROIKA AND DISMISSION OF THE USSR (1985 - 1991) On December 8, 1991 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Boris Yeltsin) (Leonid Kravchuk) (Stanislav Shushkevich) the leaders of Russia (Boris Yeltsin), Ukraine (Leonid) announced the end of the existence of the USSR on December 8, 1991 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha Kravchuk), and Belarus (Stanislav Shushkevich) announced the end of the USSR. Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Two weeks later, a decision was made to form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Kravchuk (left), Shushkevich (center) and Yeltsin (right) after signing the Belovezhskaya Accords.

PERESTROIKA AND DESTRUCTION OF THE USSR (1985 - 1991) On December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the USSR. On December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the USSR. The Russian Federation became the legal successor of the Soviet Union in the international arena. Televised address by Mikhail Gorbachev to the peoples of the Soviet Union (December 25, 1991): “Due to the current situation... I am ceasing my activities as President of the USSR.”

International situation and foreign policy of the Soviet Union after the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War. Cold War, Truman Doctrine. Domestic policy of the USSR. Atomic weapons, agriculture. Socio-political and cultural life.

Introduction
1.2 Korean conflict
2. Domestic policy USSR
1.2 Atomic weapons
1.3 Agriculture
Conclusion

Introduction

After the end of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War, the Soviet Union faced a number of important domestic and foreign policy tasks: restoration and development of the country’s economy; developing relationships with leading world powers; strengthening the political system of the USSR.

Of particular importance was the issue of restoring the country's economy. Initially, like other European states, the Soviet Union counted on receiving foreign economic assistance. But despite the extreme interest of the Soviet leadership in this, many of the international requirements that accompanied the provision of loans and credits seemed unacceptable to the USSR. After the deterioration of relations with the United States, obtaining loans from the West was excluded.

Excellent success has been achieved in the industrial sector. According to the results of the 4th Five-Year Plan, it was possible to increase industrial output by 73% compared to 1940.

However, agriculture could not boast of such successes. Despite the plight of the village, the state continued to confiscate agricultural products from collective farms at prices that amounted to 5-10% of the cost level.

Also, the first post-war years were characterized by projects for the formation of a political course related to the correction of economic development priorities towards the production of consumer goods, and measures to strengthen the monetary system. However, the outbreak of the Cold War dashed such forecasts. A return to the methods of strictly ideological education of the population, used in the 30s, began.

In the first post-war years, the Soviet Union acquired the status of a “superpower”. This circumstance led to many changes in the political course. The USSR, relying on the positions gained in the war, began to defend its geopolitical interests on equal terms, considering them much more broadly than the former allies expected.

soviet union world war

1. International situation and foreign policy of the USSR

Complication of the international situation. After World War II, profound changes occurred in the international arena. The influence and authority of the USSR, which made the greatest contribution to the defeat of fascism, grew significantly. If in 1941 the USSR had diplomatic relations with only 26 countries, then in 1945 with 52. The influence of the USSR extended to a number of states in Europe (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia) and Asia (China, Northern Korea, North Vietnam). These countries, together with the USSR and Mongolia, formed the socialist camp or the world system of socialism. In these countries, representatives of the communist and workers' parties came to power. They carried out nationalization of industry, agrarian reforms, and established democratic freedoms. A regime of people's democracy was established in these countries. Treaties of friendship and mutual assistance were concluded between the USSR and these states. These countries, together with the USSR and Mongolia, formed the socialist camp or the world system of socialism.

The USSR became a world power: not a single important issue in international life was resolved without its participation. The USSR, like the USA, began to strive to expand its sphere of influence. A new geopolitical situation has emerged in the world.

The growing influence of the USSR worried the leaders of the world's major powers. Their attitude towards the USSR, yesterday's ally in the anti-Hitler coalition, changed dramatically. They decided to limit the influence of the USSR, using, among other things, the nuclear factor. (The United States became the owner of atomic weapons in 1945. The American atomic bomb was tested on the opening day of the Potsdam Conference on July 17, 1945. US President G. Truman on July 24, 1945 informed I.V. Stalin about the presence of new super-powerful weapons in the United States).

1.1 Cold War. Truman Doctrine

Relations between the USSR and leading Western European countries have established " cold war" - a form of existence in the post-war world, the essence of which was the ideological confrontation of the pro-Soviet and pro-American blocs.

The Cold War began on March 5, 1946 in " Fulton speeches"former British Prime Minister W. Churchill. Speaking at the College of the American city of Fulton in the presence of US President G. Truman, W. Churchill first admitted that military victories promoted the Soviet Union to the composition of the "leading nations of the world", then noted that the USSR seeks "the limitless spread of its power and its doctrines." This situation, in his opinion, should cause concern, since it posed a danger to the great principles of freedom and human rights of the "Anglo-Saxon world." From now on, the USA and Great Britain should talk to the USSR with positions of power.

A year later, in 1947, W. Churchill’s ideas regarding the USSR were developed in President G. Truman’s message to the US Congress (“ doctrine Truman"). In them, 2 strategic tasks were identified in relation to the USSR:

· minimum - to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR and its communist ideology (“doctrine of containment of socialism”);

· maximum - do everything to force the USSR to withdraw to its former borders (the “doctrine of rejecting socialism”).

Specific economic, military, and ideological measures were identified to achieve these goals:

· provide large-scale economic assistance to European countries, making their economies dependent on the United States (“Marshall Plan”);

· create a military-political union of these countries led by the United States;

· use its armed forces to directly interfere in the internal affairs of countries in the Soviet sphere of influence;

· place a network of US bases (Greece, Türkiye) near the borders of the USSR;

· support anti-socialist forces within the Soviet bloc countries.

The United States immediately began to implement the Truman Doctrine. The United States insisted that West Germany be included in the Marshall Plan. Western countries began to strive for the economic stabilization of Germany and the creation of a German state based on the three western zones of occupation.

Already in December 1946, the American and British occupation zones in Germany were united, and in 1948 they were joined by the French zone. On June 20, 1948, a monetary reform was carried out there: the devalued Reichsmark was replaced by the new German mark. This gave impetus to the restoration of the economy in these territories, but this was a clear violation of the agreements of the Allies with the USSR on the joint solution of German problems. The single German economic space was violated. The USSR responded by blocking the roads leading from Berlin to the west. The blockade of Berlin began - the first open confrontation between the USSR and its former allies, which lasted 324 days.

During this time, the supply of the Allied troops in Berlin and the two million population of West Berlin was taken over by Allied aviation, which organized an air bridge. Soviet troops did not interfere with aircraft flights over the territory of East Germany. In May 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was formed in the western zones of influence.

In 1949, the military-political bloc North Atlantic Alliance was created ( NATO), which included the USA, Canada, a number of Western European countries and Turkey. In 1951, the military-political bloc ANZUS was created consisting of the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

The leadership of the USSR regarded the US course as a call to war. This immediately affected both the domestic and foreign policies of the USSR. The measures taken by the USSR in domestic and foreign policy were adequate, although less effective. The forces were unequal, since the USSR emerged from the war economically weakened, while the United States emerged stronger. The Cold War began in the world and lasted for about half a century (1946-1991).

The USSR began to actively promote communist parties and movements in capitalist countries, contributed to the growth of the national liberation movement, and the collapse of the colonial system.

1.2 Korean conflict

The USSR began to pursue an active policy in Asia. Thus, the USSR contributed a lot to ensuring that a revolution took place in China and the People's Republic of China was created in 1949. In the early 50s. The USSR and the USA took part in the Korean conflict. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided into two states. In 1950, the North Korean leadership tried to unite the country by force. The Korean War (1950-1953) broke out.

At first, the war was successful for North Korea, but soon on the side South Korea The United States acted with the consent of the UN. Then the PRC sided with North Korea. The USSR transferred several divisions of fighter aircraft to China, transferred a large amount of military equipment, and provided assistance to the Chinese army with weapons, ammunition, transport, medicine, and food. Five Soviet divisions were prepared for direct deployment to North Korea. The war threatened to develop into a world war. The American military command intended to use atomic weapons, and only the fear that the USSR would take similar retaliatory measures kept it from doing so. In addition to the USSR, the PRC and other socialist countries provided assistance to the DPRK. With the establishment of the front line at the 38th parallel, the conflict lost its former severity and acquired a positional character. The massive bombing of the DPRK launched by the United States (including with napalm bombs) did not bring them military success, but contributed to the growth of anti-American sentiment in Asia. In 1953, I.V. died. Stalin, the Korean War was ended. Peace negotiations began, as a result of which an armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953. Korea remained divided into two opposing states.

Thus, international relations in the second half of the 40s - early 50s. were difficult and even crisis.

2. Domestic policy of the USSR

The war resulted in huge human and material losses for the USSR. It claimed almost 26.5 million human lives. 1,710 cities and towns were destroyed, 70 thousand villages were destroyed, 31,850 factories and factories, 1,135 mines, 65 thousand km of railways were blown up and disabled. Cultivated areas decreased by 36.8 million hectares. The country has lost approximately one third of its national one.

Therefore, in the first post-war years, the main task was to restore the destroyed national economy. The United States, according to the Marshall Plan, provided European countries with enormous financial assistance in economic recovery: from 1948 to 1951. European countries received $12.4 billion from the United States. The United States also offered financial assistance to the Soviet Union, but subject to their control over the spending of the funds provided. The Soviet government rejected this assistance under such conditions. The Soviet Union restored its economy using its own resources.

Already at the end of May 1945, the State Defense Committee decided to transfer part of the defense enterprises to the production of consumer goods. A law was passed on the demobilization of 13 ages of army personnel. Those demobilized were provided with a set of clothes and shoes, a one-time cash allowance, local authorities they were supposed to be employed within a month. There have been changes in the structure of government bodies. Was abolished in 1945 State Committee Defense (GKO). Its functions were again distributed between the Council of People's Commissars, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In accordance with the law of March 15, 1946, the Council of People's Commissars and the People's Commissariats were transformed into the Council of Ministers of the USSR and ministries. Chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1946 - 1953. was still I.V. Stalin. The ministries were headed by members of the government; they carried out executive and administrative activities in the relevant sectors of the national economy and culture.

Since 1943, management functions in the field of protecting state security and public order were carried out by the NKVD of the USSR (until 1946 - People's Commissar L.P. Beria, then S.N. Kruglov) and the NKGB of the USSR (People's Commissar V.N. Merkulov, then - V.S. Abakumov). In 1946, the People's Commissariats were renamed respectively into the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR and the Ministry of State Security of the USSR.

At enterprises and institutions, normal work was resumed: the 8-hour working day and annual paid leave were restored. The state budget was revised, and allocations for the development of civilian sectors of the economy increased. The State Planning Committee prepared a 4-year plan for the restoration of the national economy for 1946-1950. Restoration and development of industry. In the industrial field, three major problems had to be solved:

· demilitarize the economy;

· restore destroyed enterprises;

· carry out new construction.

The demilitarization of the economy was largely completed in 1946-1947. Some people's commissariats of the military industry (tank, mortar weapons, ammunition) were abolished. Instead, ministries of civil production (agricultural, transport engineering, etc.) were created.

The construction of new industrial enterprises throughout the country has gained significant momentum. In total, during the years of the first post-war five-year plan, 6,200 large enterprises were built and those destroyed during the war were restored.

1.2 Atomic weapons

Since the Cold War began, the Soviet leadership in the post-war period paid special attention to the development of the defense industry, primarily the creation of atomic weapons. Work on the creation of atomic weapons began in the USSR in 1943 under the leadership of the young physicist I.V. Kurchatova. After testing the US atomic bomb on July 16, 1945, I.V. Stalin ordered the acceleration of work on the creation of atomic weapons. On August 20, 1945, to manage the atomic project, the State Defense Committee created a Special Committee with emergency powers headed by L.P. Beria. On August 29, 1949, the first atomic bomb was exploded in the USSR. The United States has lost its monopoly on the possession of atomic weapons. It was an engineering and scientifically complex plutonium bomb. Soviet scientists continued their development and soon reached a higher level scientific research, significantly ahead of the Americans in creating more advanced atomic weapons - hydrogen bomb. One of its creators was A.D. Sakharov. The hydrogen bomb was tested in the USSR on August 12, 1953. It was 20 times more powerful than the plutonium bomb. The next step of Soviet scientists was the use of the atom in for peaceful purposes- in 1954 in Obninsk near Moscow under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatov, the world's first nuclear power plant was built.

In general, industry was restored by 1947. The five-year plan for industrial output was fulfilled greatly in excess: instead of the planned growth of 48%, the volume of industrial output in 1950 exceeded the 1940 level by 73%.

1.3 Agriculture

The war caused particularly heavy damage to agriculture. Its gross output in 1945 did not exceed 60% of the pre-war level. Crop areas were greatly reduced, and the number of cattle was extremely low. The situation was complicated by a drought unprecedented in the last 50 years in 1946 in Ukraine, Moldova, the Lower Volga region, and the North Caucasus. In 1946, the average yield was 4.6 centners per hectare. The famine caused a massive exodus of population to the cities.

In February 1947, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks considered the issue “On measures to boost agriculture in the post-war period.” It was decided to boost agriculture through the following measures:

· provide villages with agricultural machinery;

· improve the culture of agriculture.

To implement the plan, the production of agricultural machinery was increased, and work was carried out to electrify the village.

In order to strengthen collective farms in the early 1950s. the consolidation of farms was carried out through the voluntary merger of small collective farms into larger ones. Instead of 254 thousand small collective farms in 1950, 93 thousand enlarged farms were created. This contributed to the improvement of agricultural production and more efficient use of technology.

But the measures taken did not change the difficult situation in agriculture. Collective farmers were forced to live off their personal plots. City residents planted gardens and vegetable gardens on collective farm lands.

And in the fall of 1946, the state launched a broad campaign against gardening and vegetable farming under the banner of squandering public lands and collective farm property. Personal subsidiary plots were cut back and heavily taxed. It got to the point of absurdity: every fruit tree was taxed. Taxes on income from market sales were significantly increased. Market trade itself was allowed only to those peasants whose collective farms fulfilled state supplies. Each peasant farm was obliged to hand over to the state as a tax for land plot meat, milk, eggs, wool. In 1948, collective farmers were “recommended” to sell small livestock to the state, which caused a massive slaughter of pigs, sheep, and goats throughout the country (up to 2 million heads). In the late 40s - early 50s. dispossession of personal farms and the creation of new collective farms were carried out in the western regions of Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic republics, and Right Bank Moldova, annexed in 1939-1940. to the USSR. Mass collectivization was carried out in these areas.

Despite the measures taken, the situation in agriculture remained difficult. Agriculture could not meet the country's needs for food and agricultural raw materials. The socio-economic situation of the rural population also remained difficult. Payment for labor was purely symbolic, collective farmers were not entitled to pensions, they did not have passports, and they were not allowed to leave the village without permission from the authorities. The monetary reform of 1947 also hit the peasantry, who kept their savings at home, the hardest. The 4th Five-Year Plan for agricultural development was not fulfilled.

The development of agriculture was negatively affected by the position of a group of scientists led by biologist and agronomist T.D. Lysenko.

In the early 30s. A conflict arose among scientists, geneticists and breeders. In the southern regions of the country there was a constant threat of famine. Under these conditions, I.V. Stalin decided to assign revolutionary tasks to agricultural science. In 1931, the Government of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a decree “On selection in seed production”, according to which the country was to change varieties of cultivated plants from low-yielding to high-yielding ones within 2 years. Young scientist T.D. Lysenko and a small group of his supporters promised at various meetings and congresses of collective farmers that he would fulfill these tasks. This is what attracted the attention of I.V. Stalin.

Any criticism of Lysenko’s theory was qualified as sabotage. Similar attacks were launched against other sciences: theoretical physics, cybernetics.

Monopoly T.D. Lysenko in biology led to the destruction of entire scientific schools and the death of many prominent scientists. T.D. Lysenko managed to achieve some results: to create high-yielding varieties of cereal plants, fruit trees, etc., but later it was proven that most of his ideas were nothing more than quackery, based on pseudoscientific research and falsification of experimental results.

In 1950, the level of agricultural production reached the pre-war level, but feed, grain, and meat and dairy products remained constant problems in agriculture. In 1947, the card system for food and industrial goods was abolished, and a monetary reform was carried out.

3. Social, political and cultural life

In the post-war period, restoring the economy and establishing a peaceful life required enormous spiritual effort from the entire society. Meanwhile, the creative and scientific intelligentsia, by their nature gravitating towards expanding creative contacts, hoped for the liberalization of life, the weakening of strict party-state control, and pinned hopes on the development and strengthening of cultural contacts with the United States and Western countries. Comprehensive post-war cooperation was discussed at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. In 1948, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stated that every person has the right to freedom of creativity and movement, regardless of state borders.

But the international situation changed dramatically immediately after the war. Instead of cooperation in the relations between the former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, confrontation began. Politicians changed their ways quickly, but the intelligentsia could not change quickly. Some felt deceived and lost, which was reflected in their work.

The leadership of the USSR set a course for “tightening the screws” in relation to the intelligentsia.

Since the summer of 1946, the authorities launched a broad offensive against “Western influence” on the development of national culture. In August 1946 it was created new magazine"Party Life", designed to take control of the development of culture, which, according to party officials, "suffered from ideological lethargy, the emergence of new ideas and foreign influences that undermine the spirit of communism." The campaign against “Westernism” was led by A.A., a member of the Politburo and secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, who was responsible for ideology. Zhdanov.

In March 1946, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) adopted a resolution “On the magazines “Zvezda” and “Leningrad”. These publications were accused of promoting ideas “alien to the spirit of the party”, providing a literary platform for “ideologically harmful works”. The work of writers M. M. Zoshchenko and A. A. Akhmatova was criticized. In M. M. Zoshchenko’s story “The Adventures of a Monkey,” the authorities saw a deliberately ugly depiction of the life of Soviet people, as can be seen in the words put into the mouth of the monkey: “At the zoo to live better than in freedom, and that it is easier to breathe in a cage than among Soviet people." The resolution noted that Zoshchenko preaches "rotten lack of ideas, vulgarity and apoliticality" with the aim of disorienting Soviet youth, "depicts the Soviet order and Soviet people in an ugly caricature form,” and Akhmatova is a typical representative of “empty, unprincipled poetry, alien to our people,” imbued with “the spirit of pessimism and decadence. old salon poetry." As a result, the magazine "Leningrad" was closed, and the leadership of the magazine "Zvezda" was replaced. A. A. Akhmatova and M. M. Zoshchenko were expelled from the Writers' Union (See additional textbook material).

Following literature, the party leadership was “strengthened” in theater and cinema. On August 26, 1946, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution “On the repertoire of drama theaters and measures to improve it,” which condemned the predominance of the classical repertoire in the country’s theaters to the detriment of plays dedicated to the “pathos of the struggle for communism.” And the few plays on modern themes found in the repertoire were criticized as weak and unidealized, in which Soviet people appear “primitive and uncultured, with philistine tastes and morals.” On September 4, 1946, a new resolution of the Central Committee appeared, dedicated to criticism of the “unprincipled” nature of a number of films.

In 1946, the authorities created a new weekly, Culture and Life, which soon launched a mass campaign against “decadent tendencies” in the theater and demanded the exclusion of all plays by foreign authors from the repertoire.

The work of some composers was also criticized. The occasion was the performance in 1947 of three works created for the anniversary of the October Revolution: the Sixth Symphony by S.S. Prokofiev, "Poems" by A.I. Khachaturian and the opera "Great Friendship" by V.I. Muradeli. In February 1948, a resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (b) “On decadent tendencies in Soviet music” was issued, where V.I. Muradeli, S.S. Prokofiev, D.D. Shostakovich, A.I. Khachaturyan, N.Ya. Myaskovsky. After the release of this resolution, a purge began in the Union of Composers. Works criticized were banned and removed from the theater repertoire.

The resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on cultural issues were, on the one hand, an example of gross administrative interference in culture, total suppression of the individual; on the other hand, it was a powerful lever for the regime’s self-preservation.

In 1949, a broad campaign against cosmopolitanism and “adulation to the West” began in society. "Rootless cosmopolitans" were found in many cities. At the same time, the disclosure of literary pseudonyms of Jewish writers began in order to emphasize who was hiding behind them.

Discussion on issues of linguistics. A notable phenomenon in the country's public life in 1950 was the “discussion on issues of linguistics.”

Linguistics or linguistics was not considered one of the leading sciences in our country, but even in this science, starting from the 20s, a real struggle began, a hierarchy of power and influence was established. N.Ya. claimed the role of leader in this area. Marr.

Ideas N.Ya. Marr's work in the field of linguistics has always been extremely paradoxical, but this is precisely what brought him fame. For example, N.Ya. Marr argued that the Georgian and Armenian languages are related, that languages can interbreed, giving birth to new languages, etc.

At the end of the 20s. he announced that he was beginning an in-depth study of the works of K. Marx, F. Engels and V.I. Lenin. Soon he put forward a “new doctrine of language” (the Japhetic theory), which dealt with the problems of the connection between the development of language and society. Language, according to N.Ya. Marra must be viewed from the point of view of historical materialism, as a superstructure over the base: “There is no language that is not class, and, therefore, there is no thinking that is not class.” “There is no national, national language, but there is a class language.”

The debate in linguistics flared up with renewed vigor after the war. The defeat of N.Ya.'s opponents Marra continued throughout the country.

From all over the country to I.V. Stalin received thousands of complaints, memos and letters from scientists, but they all ended up in the secretariat. In 1950, the Georgian leadership ensured that I.V. Stalin received a report-complaint from the leading linguist of Georgia, Academician Arnold Chikobav, in which he simply and convincingly outlined the situation in linguistics. I.V. Stalin was surprised that major changes in science were taking place without his knowledge and decided to intervene in the discussion. He sat down to study books about language. On June 20, 1950, an article by I.V. was published in the Pravda newspaper. Stalin "Concerning Marxism in Linguistics", in which the author wrote that there is no bourgeois and proletarian language, language creates the people as a whole. Language is not a superstructure, but a means of communication for the entire people. "Do these comrades think that the English feudal lords communicated with the English people through interpreters, that they did not use English language?", wrote I.V. Stalin. This ended the discussion in linguistics.

In March 1952, the 19th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks took place, at which I.V. was last present. Stalin. The agenda of the congress included economic issues: summing up the restoration of the national economy destroyed by the war and approving directives for a new five-year plan for the development of the national economy. At the congress it was decided to rename the CPSU (b) to the CPSU ( Communist Party Soviet Union). By this time, the number of party members had increased. If in 1939 there were about 1.6 million people in the CPSU (b), then in 1946 there were already about 6 million people in the CPSU (b), more than half of them were accepted into the party during and after end of the Great Patriotic War. The role of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in society was quite high. By this time, the party had developed an extensive and well-functioning mechanism of organizational structure, rigid centralism had been established, and the party completely controlled and directed all spheres of public life. There was no political opposition in the country. The “statutory norms of party life” were not in effect.

The highest body of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) - the congress - has not met since March 1939, and the Central Committee also ceased to function (from 1945 to 1952, only two plenums were held). The Politburo has lost its importance. It turned from a permanent collegial body into a meeting of a narrow circle of I.V.’s close associates. Stalin, convened at his will. No minutes of the meetings were kept. Party bodies continued to permeate the entire structure of state power and administration.

In recent years, I.V. Stalin was lonely: there was no loved one nearby, his children Vasily and Svetlana were not happy. On the night of March 2, 1953, at the dacha in Kuntsevo at I.V.

Stalin suffered a cerebral hemorrhage with loss of consciousness, speech, paralysis right hand and legs. When on the morning of March 2 the head of personal security reported what had happened to his superiors, a call followed from the Minister of Internal Affairs L.P. Beria should not tell anyone anything. For more than 13 hours, I.V.’s comrades left. Stalin without medical assistance. March 5, 1953 at 21:50, without regaining consciousness, I.V. Stalin died. His death was a real grief for the Soviet people. Huge masses of people wishing to say goodbye to him poured into the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions, where the coffin was displayed. People walked in an endless stream, several thousand Muscovites and visitors died in the crush. Body I.V. Stalin was placed in the Mausoleum next to V.I. Lenin.

With the death of this man, the complex, controversial, but undoubtedly heroic history of Soviet society ended.

A few years later, remembering his front-line ally and political enemy, W. Churchill called I.V. Stalin was an eastern tyrant and a great politician who “took Russia” with bast shoes and left him with atomic weapons.

Conclusion

So, we can draw the following conclusions:

After World War II, the status and influence of the USSR grew to such an extent that the international community could not ignore it. Possession of a nuclear bomb made the position of the Soviet Union even stronger;

In the territories of Eastern Europe it occupied, the USSR imposed on these countries its model of socialist orientation for the development of a communist-Stalin-type state;

the confrontation of the USSR with the USA, England and France led to the division of Germany and the formation of political and military-political blocs - NATO, ANZUS, Cominformburo, the organization of the Warsaw Pact countries;

the confrontation between two opposing socio-economic systems escalated into an armed confrontation and became the reason for the start of the Cold War;

the demographic losses of the USSR in the war were monstrous; they constituted a sixth of the active population;

the standard of living of the population became lower than in the pre-war years due to a significant increase in prices for food and household industrial goods, and the level of wages was raised slightly; there was a catastrophic shortage of housing; most government investments went into heavy industry, defense, and international aid;

the scale of losses in industry and agriculture was monstrous; practically throughout the entire territory that was under occupation, the entire industrial base was destroyed and collective and state farms were ruined; however, the country's leadership set a course for the accelerated development of the country's military-industrial base and this led to a very slow pace of recovery in the post-war period;

forced collectivization, restrictions on trade in their products and a reduction in the rights and freedoms of the rural population led to an outflow of peasants from rural areas to cities;

the influx of unskilled labor from rural areas to enterprises led to a crisis, which resulted in very limited growth in labor productivity, problems of production discipline, work defects, and high staff turnover;

the forced return of the territories of the Baltic countries and Western Ukraine to the USSR, the policies pursued there spoiled relations forever; The hatred and discontent towards Russia that arose in those days have remained to this day, and at the present time great difficulties arise in relations with these countries;

deportation and repression against many small peoples living in the USSR led to an aggravation of interethnic relations, to a problem that our country is still solving;

the concentration camp system reached its apogee; thanks to the unlimited human resources of the Gulag, new inaccessible areas were developed, which are still being exploited;

tightening control over art, science, and literature led to the fact that many creative figures ceased their activities; ban in science on the development of new promising directions knowledge has led to complete stagnation; foreign science has been many decades ahead of Russia in the study and application of scientific achievements;

in the conditions of the administrative-command system, the cult of personality of Stalin, a deep contradiction arose between the need for changes in the socio-political and economic spheres and the inability of the country's leadership to recognize and implement these changes.