What is perestroika and its stages. Perestroika in the USSR

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

Stages

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

March 1985 - early 1987 The slogans of this stage were the phrases: “acceleration” and “more socialism.”
1987-1988 At this stage, new slogans appeared: “glasnost” and “more democracy.”
1989-1990 The stage of “confusion and vacillation.” The formerly united camp of perestroika split. Political and national confrontation began to gain momentum.
1990-1991 This period was marked by the collapse of socialism, the political bankruptcy of the CPSU and, as a consequence, the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Reasons for perestroika in the USSR

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

The beginning of change

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

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

It is worth recognizing that all these measures not only did not lead to main goal Perestroika in the USSR of 1985-1991, although positive improvements in the economic situation of the country, also worsened the situation. The reason for this was: the “dampness” of the reforms, significant budget expenditure, as well as an increase in the amount of money in hands ordinary population. Due to government deliveries of products, communications established between enterprises were disrupted. Shortage consumer goods intensified.

"Publicity"

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

The policy of “glasnost” gained special momentum in 1987. The legacy of the writers of the 30-50s and the works of domestic philosophers returned to the Soviet reader. The repertoire of theater and cinematographers has expanded significantly. The processes of “glasnost” found expression in magazine and newspaper publications, as well as on television. The weekly “Moscow News” and the magazine “Ogonyok” were very popular.

Political changes

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

In the spring of 1989, elections of members of the Congress of People's Deputies took place. The legal opposition was included in the congress. It was headed by: the world-famous scientist and human rights activist academician A. Sakharov, the former secretary of the Moscow city party committee B. Yeltsin and the economist G. Popov. The spread of “glasnost” and pluralism of opinions led to the creation of numerous associations, some of which were national.

Foreign policy

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

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

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

National movements and political struggle

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

On Soviet power the peoples deported during the war were greatly offended: Chechens, Crimean Tatars, Ingush, Karachais, Kalmyks, Balkars, Meskhetian Turks and others. During Perestroika in the USSR of 1985-1991, the country had historical conflicts between Georgia and Abkhazia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, and others.

The Glasnost policy gave the green light for the creation of nationalist and ethnic social movements. The most significant of them were: the “Popular Fronts” of the Baltic countries, the Armenian Karabakh Committee, the Ukrainian “Rukh” and the Russian community “Memory”. The broad masses were attracted to the opposition movement.

The strengthening of national movements, as well as opposition to the Union Center and the power of the Communist Party, became the determining factor in the crisis of the “tops”. Back in 1988, tragic events unfolded in Nagorno-Karabakh. For the first time since the civil war, demonstrations took place under nationalist slogans. Following them, pogroms occurred in Azerbaijani Sumgait and Uzbek Fergana. The apogee of national discontent was the armed clashes in Karabakh.

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

Elections of 1990

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

The parliamentary elections in Ukraine, Belarus and the RSFSR became the first truly democratic elections. About 30% of positions in the highest legislative bodies were given to deputies with a democratic orientation. These elections became an excellent illustration of the crisis in the power of the party elite. The society demanded the abolition of Article 6 of the Constitution of the Soviet Union, which proclaimed the supremacy of the CPSU. This is how a multi-party system began to form in the USSR. The main reformers, B. Yeltsin and G. Popov, received high positions. Yeltsin became chairman of the Supreme Council, and Popov became mayor of Moscow.

The beginning of the collapse of the USSR

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

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

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

Russian presidential elections

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

August putsch

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

The party and state leadership, believing that only decisive measures would lead to the preservation of the political positions of the Communist Party and stopping the collapse of the USSR, resorted to forceful methods of control. On the night of August 18-19, when the President of the USSR was on vacation in Crimea, they formed the State Emergency Committee (GKChP). The newly formed committee declared a state of emergency in some areas of the country; announced the disbandment of power structures that violate the 1977 Constitution; interfered with the activities of opposition structures; banned meetings, demonstrations and rallies; took strict control of funds mass media; and finally sent troops into Moscow. A.I. Lukyanov, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union, supported the State Emergency Committee, although he himself was not a member of it.

B. Yeltsin, together with the Russian leadership, led the resistance to the CGPP. In their appeal to the people, they called on them not to obey the illegal decisions of the committee, interpreting its actions as nothing other than an anti-constitutional coup. Yeltsin was supported by more than 70% of Muscovites, as well as residents of a number of other regions. Tens of thousands of peaceful Russians, expressing support for Yeltsin, were ready to take up arms in defense of the Kremlin. Fearing the outbreak of a civil war, the State Emergency Committee, after three days of confrontation, began to withdraw troops from the capital. On August 21, committee members were arrested.

The Russian leadership used the August putsch to defeat the CPSU. Yeltsin issued a decree according to which the party must suspend its activities in Russia. The property of the Communist Party was nationalized and funds were seized. The liberals who came to power in the central part of the country took away the levers of control over the security forces and the media from the leadership of the CPSU. Gorbachev's presidency was only formal. The majority of the republics refused to conclude the Union Treaty after the August events. Nobody thought about “glasnost” and “acceleration” of Perestroika. The question of the future fate of the USSR was on the agenda.

Final disintegration

IN recent months In 1991, the Soviet Union finally collapsed. The Congress of People's Deputies was dissolved, the Supreme Council was radically reformed, most of the union ministries were liquidated, and instead of the Cabinet of Ministers, an inter-republican economic committee was created. The State Council of the USSR, which included the President of the Soviet Union and the heads of the union republics, became the highest body for managing the internal and foreign policy. The first decision of the State Council was to recognize the independence of the Baltic countries.

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

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

Results of Perestroika in the USSR 1985-1991

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

Positive results of perestroika:

The victims of Stalinism were completely rehabilitated.
Such a concept as freedom of speech and views appeared, and censorship became less strict.
The one-party system was eliminated.
There is now the possibility of unhindered entry/exit into/from the country.
Military service for students undergoing training was cancelled.
Women are no longer jailed for adultery.
Rock was allowed.
The Cold War formally ended.

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

Here are just the main ones:

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

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

In the mid-80s. in the USSR there were radical changes in ideology, public consciousness, political and government organization, profound changes began in property relations and social structure. The collapse of the communist regime and the CPSU, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the formation in its place of new independent states, including Russia itself, the emergence of ideological and political pluralism, the emergence of civil society, new classes (among them the capitalist one) - these are just some of the new realities modern Russian history, the beginning of which can be dated to March - April 1985.

“Acceleration” strategy

IN April 1985, at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, M.S. Gorbachev

M.S.Gorbachev

outlined the strategic course of reform. They talked about the need for a qualitative transformation of Soviet society, its “renewal,” and profound changes in all spheres of life.

The key word of the reform strategy was “ acceleration" It was supposed to accelerate the development of means of production, scientific and technological progress, the social sphere, and even the activities of party bodies.

Terms “ perestroika" And " glasnost b” appeared later. Gradually the emphasis was shifted from “acceleration” to “perestroika” and it was this word that became symbol course produced by M.S. Gorbachev in the second half of the 80s.

Publicity meant identifying all the shortcomings that impede acceleration, criticism and self-criticism of performers “from top to bottom.” A perestroika assumed the introduction of structural and organizational changes to economic, social, political mechanisms, as well as ideology in order to achieve acceleration of social development.

To ensure the implementation of new tasks, some party and Soviet leaders were replaced. N.I. Ryzhkov was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and E.A. Shevardnadze, who had previously been the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia, was appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In December 1985, B. N. Yeltsin became secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee. A. N. Yakovlev and A. I. Lukyanov were promoted to the highest party hierarchy.

In 1985, the center of economic transformations was given the task of technical re-equipment and modernization of enterprises. For this it was necessary accelerated development of mechanical engineering. This is how the main goal in the national economy was formulated. The “acceleration” program assumed advanced (1.7 times) development of mechanical engineering in relation to the entire industry and its achievement of a world level by the beginning of the 90s. The success of acceleration was associated with the active use of scientific and technological achievements, expansion of the rights of enterprises, improvement of personnel work, and strengthening of discipline at enterprises.

Meeting of M.S. Gorbachev with the workers of the Proletarsky district of Moscow. April 1985

The course proclaimed in 1985 at the April plenum was reinforced in February 1986. on XXVII Congress of the CPSU.

In the meeting room of the XXVII Congress of the CPSU. Kremlin Palace of Congresses. 1986

There were few innovations at the congress, but the main thing was support Law on Labor Collectives. The law proclaimed the creation of labor collective councils at all enterprises with broad powers, including the selection of management employees, regulation wages in order to eliminate equalization and maintain social justice in wages and even determining the price of products.

At the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, promises were made to the Soviet people: to double by 2000. economic potential USSR, increase labor productivity 2.5 times and provide each Soviet family with a separate apartment.

The majority of Soviet people believed the new General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M.S. Gorbachev and enthusiastically supported him.

Course towards democratization

IN 1987. Serious adjustments to the reform course began.

Perestroika

There have been changes in the political vocabulary of the country's leadership. The word “acceleration” gradually fell out of use. New concepts have appeared, such as “ democratization”, “command and control system”, “braking mechanism”, “deformation of socialism" If previously it was assumed that Soviet socialism was fundamentally healthy, and that it was only necessary to “accelerate” its development, now the “presumption of innocence” from the Soviet socialist model was removed, and serious internal shortcomings were discovered that had to be eliminated and created new model socialism.

IN January 1987. Gorbachev admitted the failure of the reform efforts of previous years, and saw the reason for these failures in the deformations that occurred in the USSR by the 30s.

Since it was concluded that “ deformations of socialism”, then it was supposed to eliminate these deformations and return to the socialism that was conceived by V.I. Lenin. This is how the slogan “ Back to Lenin”.

The General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee argued in his speeches that in the “deformation of socialism” there were deviations from the ideas of Leninism. Lenin's concept of the NEP gained particular popularity. Publicists started talking about the NEP as the “golden age” of Soviet history, drawing analogies with the modern period of history. Economic articles on the problems of commodity-money relations, rent, and cooperation were published by P. Bunich, G. Popov, N. Shmelev, L. Abalkin. According to their concept, administrative socialism was to be replaced by economic socialism, which would be based on self-financing, self-financing, self-sufficiency, and self-government of enterprises.

But main, the central theme of perestroika times in the media became criticism of Stalin And command-administrative system generally.

This criticism was carried out much more fully and more mercilessly than in the second half of the 50s. On the pages of newspapers, magazines, and on television, revelations of Stalin's policies began, Stalin's direct personal participation in mass repressions was revealed, and the picture of the crimes of Beria, Yezhov, and Yagoda was recreated. The revelations of Stalinism were accompanied by the identification and rehabilitation of more and more tens of thousands of innocent victims of the regime.

The most famous works at this time were such works as “White Clothes” by V. Dudintsev, “Bison” by D. Granin, “Children of the Arbat” by A. Rybakov. The whole country read the magazines “New World”, “Znamya”, “October”, “Friendship of Peoples”, “Ogonyok”, where previously banned works of M. Bulgakov, B. Pasternak, V. Nabokov, V. Grossman, A. Solzhenitsyn were published , L. Zamyatina.

XIX All-Union Party Conference (June 1988)

At the end of the 80s. transformations affected the structure of state power. The new doctrine of political democracy was practically embodied in decisions XIX All-Union Party Conference, where for the first time the goal of creating a civil society in the USSR and excluding party bodies from economic management, depriving them government functions and the transfer of these functions to the Soviets.

At the conference, a sharp struggle between supporters and opponents of perestroika unfolded over the issue of the country's development tasks. The majority of deputies supported the point of view of M.S. Gorbachev on the need for economic reform and transformation of the country's political system.

The conference approved the course to create in the country rule of law. Specific reforms of the political system were also approved, to be implemented in the near future. It was supposed to elect Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, the country's highest legislative body of 2,250 people. Moreover, two thirds of the Congress were to be elected by the population on an alternative basis, i.e. from at least two candidates, and another third of the deputies, also on an alternative basis, were elected by public organizations. The congress, convened periodically to determine legislative policy and adopt higher laws, formed from its midst The Supreme Council, which was supposed to work on a permanent basis and represent the Soviet parliament.

The balance of political forces in the country began to change dramatically in the fall of 1988. The main political change was that the previously united camp of perestroika supporters began to split: radical wing, which quickly gained strength, turned into a powerful movement in 1989, and in 1990 began to decisively challenge Gorbachev’s power. The struggle between Gorbachev and the radicals for leadership in the reform process formed the main core of the next stage of perestroika, which lasted from the autumn of 1988 to July 1990.

In March 1985, M.S. became the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Gorbachev, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR - N.I. Ryzhkov. The transformation of Soviet society began, which was to be carried out within the framework of the socialist system.

In April 1985, at the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, a course was proclaimed to accelerate the socio-economic development of the country (policy " acceleration"). Its levers were to be the technological re-equipment of production and increasing labor productivity. It was supposed to increase productivity through labor enthusiasm (socialist competitions were revived), the eradication of alcoholism (anti-alcohol campaign - May 1985) and the fight against unearned income.

“Acceleration” led to some economic recovery, but by 1987 a general decline in production began in agriculture, and then in industry. The situation was complicated by the huge capital investments required to eliminate the consequences of the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant(April 1986) and the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

The country's leadership was forced to make more radical changes. Since summer 1987 perestroika proper begins. The program of economic reforms was developed by L. Abalkin, T. Zaslavskaya, P. Bunich. The NEP became the model for perestroika.

The main content of perestroika:
In the economic sphere:

State-owned enterprises are being transferred to self-financing and self-sufficiency. Since defense enterprises were unable to operate in the new conditions, a conversion is being carried out - transferring production to a peaceful basis (demilitarization of the economy).
In rural areas, the equality of five forms of management was recognized: state farms, collective farms, agricultural complexes, rental collectives and private farms.
To control product quality, state acceptance was introduced. The directive state plan was replaced by state orders.

In the political sphere:

Internal party democracy is expanding. Internal party opposition arises, associated primarily with the failures of economic reforms. At the October (1987) Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, the first secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee, B.N., criticized the indecisiveness in pursuing the policy of reforms and methods of change. Yeltsin. At the XIX All-Union Conference of the CPSU, a decision was made to ban uncontested elections.
The state apparatus is being significantly restructured. In accordance with the decisions of the XIX Conference (June 1988), a new supreme body of legislative power is established - the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR and the corresponding republican congresses. Permanent Supreme Soviets of the USSR and republics were formed from among the people's deputies. The Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR became the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M.S. Gorbachev (March 1989), Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR - B.N. Yeltsin (May 1990). In March 1990, the post of president was introduced in the USSR. The first president of the USSR was M.S. Gorbachev.
Since 1986, the policy “ publicity" And " pluralism", i.e. In the USSR, a kind of freedom of speech is artificially created, presupposing the possibility of free discussion of a range of issues strictly defined by the party.
A multi-party system is beginning to take shape in the country.

In the spiritual sphere:

The state weakens ideological control over the spiritual sphere of society. Previously prohibited literary works known to readers only from “samizdat” - “The Gulag Archipelago” by A. Solzhenitsyn, “Children of the Arbat” by B. Rybakov, etc. – are freely published.
Within the framework of “glasnost” and “pluralism,” round tables are held on certain issues in the history of the USSR. Criticism of Stalin’s “cult of personality” begins, attitudes towards the Civil War are revised, etc.
Cultural ties with the West are expanding.

By 1990, the idea of perestroika had practically exhausted itself. It was not possible to stop the decline in production. Attempts to develop private initiative—the movements of farmers and cooperators—resulted in the flourishing of the “black market” and deepening shortages. “Glasnost” and “pluralism” - the main slogans of perestroika - lead to a decline in the authority of the CPSU and the development of nationalist movements. However, since the spring of 1990, the Gorbachev administration has been moving to the next stage of political and economic transformation. G. Yavlinsky and S. Shatalin prepared the “5oo days” program, which provided for relatively radical economic transformations with the aim of a gradual transition to the market. This program was rejected by Gorbachev under the influence of the conservative wing of the CPSU.

In June 1990, a resolution was adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on a gradual transition to a regulated market economy. Provided for gradual demonopolization, decentralization and denationalization of property, the establishment joint stock companies and banks, development of private entrepreneurship. However, these measures could no longer save the socialist system and the USSR.

Already in the mid-80s, the collapse of the state was actually planned. Powerful nationalist movements emerge. In 1986, pogroms of the Russian population took place in Kazakhstan. Interethnic conflicts arose in Fergana (1989), in the Osh region of Kyrgyzstan (1990). Since 1988, the armed Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict began in Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1988-1989 Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, and Moldova are leaving the control of the center. In 1990 they officially proclaimed their independence.

June 12, 1990 The 1st Congress of Soviets of the RSFSR accepts Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

The President of the USSR enters into direct negotiations with the leadership of the republics on concluding a new Union Treaty. To give legitimacy to this process, in March 1991, an all-Union referendum was held on the issue of preserving the USSR. The majority of the population spoke in favor of preserving the USSR, but under new conditions. In April 1991, negotiations between Gorbachev and the leadership of 9 republics began in Novo-Ogarevo (“Novo-Ogarevo process”).

By August 1991, it was possible to prepare a compromise draft of the Union Treaty, according to which the republics received significantly greater independence. The signing of the agreement was scheduled for August 22.

It was the planned signing of the Union Treaty that provoked the speech State Emergency Committee (August 19–August 21, 1991 d) who tried to keep the USSR in old uniform. The State Committee for a State of Emergency in the Country (GKChP) included Vice-President of the USSR G.I. Yanaev, Prime Minister V.S. Pavlov, Minister of Defense D.T. Yazov, Minister of Internal Affairs B.K. Pugo, KGB Chairman V.A. Kryuchkov.

The State Emergency Committee issued an order for the arrest of B.N. Yeltsin, elected on June 12, 1991, President of the RSFSR. Martial law was introduced. However, the majority of the population and military personnel refused to support the State Emergency Committee. This sealed his defeat. On August 22, the members were arrested, but the signing of the agreement never took place.

As a result of the August putsch, the authority of M.S. was completely undermined. Gorbachev. Real power in the country passed to the leaders of the republics. At the end of August, the activities of the CPSU were suspended. December 8, 1991 The leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus (B.N. Yeltsin, L.M. Kravchuk, S.S. Shushkevich) announced the dissolution of the USSR and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) - “ Bialowieza Accords" On December 21, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan joined the CIS. December 25 M.S. Gorbachev resigned from the post of President of the USSR.

Foreign policy of the USSR In 1985-1991

Having come to power, the Gorbachev administration confirmed the traditional priorities of the USSR in the field of international relations. But already at the turn of 1987-1988. fundamental adjustments are made to them in the spirit of “ new political thinking».

The main content of the “new political thinking”:

Confession modern world unified and interdependent, i.e. rejection of the thesis about the split of the world into two opposing ideological systems.
Recognition as a universal way of resolving international issues is not a balance of power between the two systems, but a balance of their interests.
Rejection of the principle of proletarian internationalism and recognition of the priority of universal human values.

The new foreign policy course required new personnel - the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a symbol of successful Soviet foreign policy, A.A. Gromyko was replaced by E.A. Shevardnadze.

Based on the principles of “new thinking,” Gorbachev determined three main directions of foreign policy:

Reducing tensions between East and West through disarmament negotiations with the United States.
Resolution of regional conflicts (starting with Afghanistan).
Extension economic ties with all states, regardless of their political orientation.

After summit meetings (almost annually), the USSR and the USA signed agreements on the destruction of medium- and shorter-range nuclear missiles (December 1987, Washington) and on the limitation of strategic offensive weapons (START-1, July 1991, Moscow).

At the same time, the USSR unilaterally decided to reduce defense spending and the size of its own armed forces by 500 thousand people.

The Berlin Wall has been destroyed. At a meeting with German Chancellor G. Kohl in February 1990 in Moscow, M. S. Gorbachev agreed to the unification of Germany. On October 2, 1990, the GDR became part of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In the countries of the socialist community, from the summer of 1988 to the spring of 1990, a series of popular revolutions took place (“ Velvet revolutions"), as a result of which power transfers peacefully (with the exception of Romania, where bloody clashes took place) from the communist parties to democratic forces. The forced withdrawal of Soviet troops from military bases in Central and Eastern Europe begins. In the spring of 1991, the dissolution of the CMEA and the Department of Internal Affairs was formalized.

In May 1989, M. S. Gorbachev paid a visit to Beijing. After this, cross-border trade was restored, and a series of important agreements on political, economic and cultural cooperation were signed.

Despite some successes, in practice, the “new thinking” became a policy of unilateral concessions to the USSR and led to the collapse of its foreign policy. Left without old allies and without acquiring new ones, the USSR quickly lost the initiative in international affairs and entered the wake of the foreign policy of the NATO countries.

The deterioration of the economic situation of the Soviet Union, noticeably aggravated due to a decrease in supplies along the line former CMEA, prompted the Gorbachev administration to appeal in 1990-1991. for financial and material support from the G7 countries.

Stages

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

March 1985 - early 1987 The slogans of this stage were the phrases: “acceleration” and “more socialism.”
1987-1988 At this stage, new slogans appeared: “glasnost” and “more democracy.”
1989-1990 The stage of “confusion and vacillation.” The formerly united camp of perestroika split. Political and national confrontation began to gain momentum.
1990-1991 This period was marked by the collapse of socialism, the political bankruptcy of the CPSU and, as a consequence, the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Reasons for perestroika in the USSR

The beginning of change

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

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

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

"Publicity"

Political changes

Foreign policy

National movements and political struggle

The peoples deported during the war were greatly offended by the Soviet regime: Chechens, Crimean Tatars, Ingush, Karachais, Kalmyks, Balkars, Meskhetian Turks and others. During Perestroika in the USSR of 1985-1991, the country had historical conflicts between Georgia and Abkhazia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, and others.

Elections of 1990

The beginning of the collapse of the USSR

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

Russian presidential elections

August putsch

By the end of the summer of 1991, the political situation in the country had greatly worsened. On August 20, after heated discussions, the leadership of nine republics agreed to sign an updated Union Treaty, which, in essence, meant a transition to a real federal state. A number of government structures of the USSR were eliminated or replaced with new ones.

The party and state leadership, believing that only decisive measures would lead to the preservation of the political positions of the Communist Party and stopping the collapse of the USSR, resorted to forceful methods of control. On the night of August 18-19, when the President of the USSR was on vacation in Crimea, they formed the State Emergency Committee (GKChP). The newly formed committee declared a state of emergency in some areas of the country; announced the disbandment of power structures that violate the 1977 Constitution; interfered with the activities of opposition structures; banned meetings, demonstrations and rallies; took tight control of the media; and finally sent troops into Moscow. A.I. Lukyanov, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union, supported the State Emergency Committee, although he himself was not a member of it.

Final disintegration

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

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

Results of Perestroika in the USSR 1985-1991

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

Positive results of perestroika:

The victims of Stalinism were completely rehabilitated.
Such a concept as freedom of speech and views appeared, and censorship became less strict.
The one-party system was eliminated.
There is now the possibility of unhindered entry/exit into/from the country.
Military service for students undergoing training was cancelled.
Women are no longer jailed for adultery.
Rock was allowed.
The Cold War formally ended.

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

Here are just the main ones:

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

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

By the mid-80s, the USSR found itself in a deep economic, political and social crisis.

Labor productivity in the USSR in 1986 was a third of the American level, in agriculture - less than 15% of the US level. In terms of the volume of goods and services consumed per capita, the USSR ranked 50-60th in the world.

According to official data, in 1989, 41 million people in the USSR had an income below living wage- 78 rubles. In the USA, where the poverty threshold is an annual income of $11,612 for a family of 4 people, in 1987 there were 32.5 million people (A joke was widely circulated at that time - in the USSR there is nothing, but everything is cheap, in the West everything is, but very expensive). In terms of infant mortality rate, the USSR was in 50th place in the world, after Mauritius and Barbados, according to average duration life - in 32nd place.

In March 1985, after the death of K. Chernenko, the youngest member of the Politburo, M.S., was elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Gorbachev. In April 1985, under his leadership, the next Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee was held, from which the period of major political, economic, ideological and social upheavals in the largest country in the world begins. This period lasted 7 years and went down in history as “Perestroika”. In the history of perestroika, four periods are clearly distinguishable.

Stage 1 - March 1985-January 1987. This stage took place under the slogans “acceleration” and “more socialism.”
Stage 2 - 1987-1988 The slogans “more democracy” and “glasnost” became the leitmotif of this stage.
Stage 3 - 1989-1990. A period of “confusion and vacillation.” It is characterized by a split in the formerly united camp of perestroika, a transition to open political, national confrontation.
Stage 4 - 1990-1991 This stage was marked by the collapse of the world socialist system, the political bankruptcy of the CPSU and the collapse of the USSR. At the April Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in 1985, a course was proclaimed to “accelerate the socio-economic development” of the USSR on the basis of the rapid development of mechanical engineering.

In 1986 in economic life an innovation appeared - state acceptance (gospriemka). It was assumed that the reception finished products enterprises will be carried out by a state commission independent of enterprises. The results were very disastrous (at the end of 1987, 15-18% of industrial products did not pass state acceptance).

IN social sphere Several campaigns were launched: total computerization of schools, the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism and unearned income.

The Resolution of the CPSU Central Committee, issued in 1985, “On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism,” caused a particularly wide resonance. The consequence of its implementation was a sharp increase in prices for vodka and a reduction in the time of sale of alcoholic beverages in stores. The results were immediate: huge queues for alcohol appeared in stores, people switched to moonshine (in 1987, 1.4 million tons of sugar was spent on making moonshine, or the annual budget for its consumption in Ukraine with a population of 50 million). Crime caused by drunkenness has left the streets and entered the family.

In the political field, the 27th Congress of the CPSU, held in 1986, limited itself to calls to improve socialist democracy. The failure of all undertakings was revealed already at the beginning of 1987.

In January 1987, the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee was held, which marked the beginning of significant changes in the economic and political life of the USSR, which can rightfully be called reforms.
Development economic reforms were determined by two trends: the expansion of independence of state-owned enterprises and the expansion of the scope of action of the private sector of the economy. In 1986, the Law on Individual labor activity, which legalized private enterprise in 30 types of production of goods and services, mainly in the field of handicrafts and consumer services. In the USSR, for the first time in many decades, officially permitted “private owners” appeared.

In 1987, the Law on state enterprise, according to which state-owned enterprises were transferred to self-financing, self-sufficiency and self-financing, could independently enter into supply contracts with partners, and some large enterprises were allowed to enter the foreign market.

In 1988, the Law “On Cooperation in the USSR” was adopted. Finally, in 1989, land leases were allowed for a period of 50 years.

All these concessions to “capitalism” were made according to the principle of one step forward, two steps back. Private owners and cooperators were taxed high tax(65%); by 1991, no more than 5% of the working-age population was employed in the cooperative sector; in rural areas, 2% of land and 3% of livestock were in the hands of tenants.
In the political field, in parallel, M. Gorbachev introduced a new concept into the political lexicon - glasnost, by which sweetness meant “healthy” criticism of existing shortcomings, greater awareness of the population and some weakening of censorship. The main permitted object of criticism was “Stalinism”, the main ideal was “a return to Leninist norms of party and state life" As part of this campaign, party leaders N. Bukharin, A. Rykov, G. Zinoviev, L. Kamenev were rehabilitated.

Previously banned works by Grossman, Platonov, Rybakov, Dudintsev, Pristavkin, Granin, Mandelstam, Galich, Brodsky, Solzhenitsyn, Nekrasov, and Orwell began to be published. Koestler. The programs “The Twelfth Floor”, “Vzglyad”, “Fifth Wheel”, “Before and After Midnight” appeared on television.
In 1987, the first political changes began, at first timid and half-hearted. The January Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee authorized such innovations in the socio-political life of the country as alternative elections of heads of enterprises and secret voting in the election of secretaries of party committees.

Actually political reforms put early XIX All-Union Party Conference (summer 1988). At the conference, M. Gorbachev proposed extending alternative elections to the party apparatus, combining the post of first secretary of the party committee with the post of chairman of the Council of People's Deputies. And, most importantly, at the conference, despite the resistance of part of the party apparatus, the idea of creating a new, two-level system of the highest representative power of the USSR and the creation of the post of President of the USSR was approved. This reform led to the establishment of a new system of representative power and executive power:

Representative power -> Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR Supreme Soviet of the USSR

Executive power -> President of the USSR

At the Third Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, held in 1990, M. Gorbachev was elected the first and last President of the USSR.

In 1988-1989, with the adoption of a whole package of laws: on the press, on public organizations, O state security in the country, etc. The political climate in the country was significantly liberalized, which, in turn, sharply intensified political life in general and the activities of various kinds of “informal” organizations in particular. Since 1989, the concepts - market, political pluralism, constitutional state, civil society, new thinking in foreign policy have become firmly established in the political lexicon.

The elections of deputies to the First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR in 1989, the work of the 1st-3rd congresses clearly showed that the country had entered into a period of open confrontation between various political forces, which took place against the backdrop of a deepening economic crisis. Social tension was aggravated by systematic shortages individual goods: summer 1989 - sugar, detergents, autumn 1989 - tea crisis, summer 1990 - tobacco crisis.

In the spring of 1990, the government of N. Ryzhkov presented to the public a program of transition to a market, which provided for increasing prices for a number of goods. The people reacted to it by sweeping away everything that was still left on store shelves.

In contrast to the program of the Council of Ministers, in the summer of 1990 the “500 days” plan, developed under the leadership of S. Shatalin - G. Yavlinsky, was announced. The plan provided for during this period to create conditions for the transition to a market economy.

Finally, in the fall of 1990, M. Gorbachev proposed to the Supreme Council his own compromise Program for the Transition to a Market, which also did not work. The crisis was growing. M. Gorbachev's authority in the country began to rapidly decline.

The years 1988-1991 were also marked by fundamental changes in the foreign policy of the USSR. As a result of three meetings between M. Gorbachev and US President R. Reagan, agreements were reached on the destruction of medium and short-range missiles, and in 1988 the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan began.

In September 1991, an agreement was reached to stop the supply of Soviet and American weapons to Afghanistan. In the same year, the USSR sided with the United States in condemning the aggression of Iraq (its longtime ally) against Kuwait, and established diplomatic relations with Israel and South Africa.

At the end of 1989, within almost one month, communist parties in the countries lost power (mostly peacefully). of Eastern Europe. Impressive proof of the USSR's abandonment of its previous foreign policy was the refusal of the Soviet leadership to suppress these revolutions by force. Thanks to the support of the USSR, the unification of Germany and the destruction of the Berlin Wall, which became a symbol of totalitarian socialism, became possible.