Ambiguous era
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev - a man who stood at the helm of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for eighteen years, the largest and most powerful country in the world at that time. From 1964 until the day of his death, November 10, 1982, Brezhnev L.I. held ruling posts in the Central Committee of the CPSU, in fact being the head of state. During this time, according to the researchers, the foundation was laid for the future collapse of the Soviet Union, both political and economic. There is still no single assessment of the reign of this undeniably interesting historical personality, although it has been three decades since the Secretary General’s death. Most often, to denote this segment of the history of our country, it is customary to use the term "era of stagnation." Pepsi-Cola for the children of the USSR, the fight against dissent, the unprecedented development of the military-industrial complex, the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, the operation to seize the Amin’s palace, the growth of corruption and abuse of power, the immigration of Jews, Prague Spring, all this is far from a complete list of bright events marking the Brezhnev era. Some say that these were the years of prosperity for our state, literally the “golden age”, when there were no global internal upheavals, and the citizens of the now defunct country were completely satisfied with their economic situation. But is it really so?
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was born in a simple working-class family in the village of Kamenskoye, Yekaterinoslav Province of the Russian Empire (in 1913, it received city status, and in 1936 it was renamed Dneprodzerzhinsk). And even in the data on the beginning of the life journey of the famous native of the village of Kamenskoe, historians do not have a common opinion. Some indicate in their writings the date of birth of Brezhnev, as December 6 1906 of the year (December 19 old style). Others say that December 19 is the birthday of the future General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in a new style, while the old one indicates the date 1 of January 1907. Regarding nationality, there is also no unanimity, the opinion was divided between those who call Brezhnev a Ukrainian, and those who defend his Russian origin.
From 1915 to 1921, Leonid Ilyich studied at the classical gymnasium in Kamensky. After training, he worked in Kursk at an oil mill. The year 1923 was marked by the entry into the Komsomol and the beginning of studies at the land surveying and land reclamation technical school. Since 1927, after graduation, he worked in the specialty in the Kursk region of the RSFSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Sverdlovsk region of the RSFSR. In 1930 he became a student at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Kalinina in Moscow, but a year later transferred home to the metallurgical institute in the correspondence department. Parallel to the factory. In Dneprodzerzhinsk, Brezhnev is admitted to the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. From 1935 to 1936 he served in the Red Army in tank training unit near Chita. He was a student of mechanization and motorization courses, at the end of which Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was awarded the title of “lieutenant”. After the future four-time Hero of the Soviet Union fulfilled his sacred duty to his homeland, he worked in senior positions as a director of a technical school and an engineer at a factory. And since 1937, party activity has become his main occupation. From 1937 until the outbreak of the war he held leadership positions in the political administration of the Dnipropetrovsk region. He was the head of the department of the regional committee of the party, later the secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU (b).
During the Great Patriotic War is engaged in mobilization work, issues of evacuation of the population and production. He held the posts of deputy chief of the political department of the Front, brigade commissar, head of the political department of the army, the Front. In the 1942 year, when radical reforms and shifts took place in the Soviet army, Brezhnev was promoted to the rank of colonel, although his position at that time assumed he would receive general lampas. Most likely, the main reason for the fact that Leonid Ilyich in 1942, the year on the epaulets fell only the colonel's stars, was a very not flattering characteristic of a personal matter. "... has favorites ...", - in this phrase from the dossier of the brigadier commissar Brezhnev L.I. You can see the future style of administration of the Secretary General, when “his people” were appointed to government posts, which in essence showed an increase in corruption and abuse of office in the upper echelons of power of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The war, nevertheless, Leonid Ilyich ended up as a major general. For some time he carried out military duties, occupying the post of the head of the political department of the Fourth Ukrainian Front, fought with armed detachments of the OUN-UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army). Also in 1945, he participated in the Victory Parade - he marched around Red Square as a regiment commissar under the standard of the Fourth Ukrainian Front.
In subsequent years, Leonid Ilyich held the leading posts of the first secretary of the Zaporizhzhya and Dnepropetrovsk regional party committees. In 1950, he was appointed first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party of the Republic of Moldova. Then Brezhnev returned to work in the army in 1953: he was appointed Deputy Head of the Political Directorate of the Army and Fleet. A year later, Khrushchev sent Brezhnev to lead Kazakhstan. And after ten years of changing various posts in the political elite of the country in 1960, Brezhnev became chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council. Having received unlimited power, he organizes and takes a direct part in the deposition of Khrushchev N.S. from the post of first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and other posts in 1964. After that, he wins the fight against opponents and in the same year becomes the first secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR. From that moment, the era of conservative governance began in the country.
The first step of Brezhnev was to strengthen his position - the appointment to the leading posts of the state the most loyal people: Andropov, Chernenko, Tikhonov, Schelokov. This gave rise to a system of “dissension”, from which modern Russia cannot even get rid of today. Under Brezhnev’s rule, many statesmen could hold leadership positions for more than ten years in one department, which ultimately influenced the stagnation of development processes and the establishment of bureaucracy and conservatism in all spheres of activity. And this, despite the fact that the Soviet Union had a great human potential, occupying first place in the world in the number of people with higher education.
Nevertheless, in all indicators of production, the Soviet Union gradually caught up with the United States of America. It was not possible for leaders only to meet the needs of the population for food. Even one hundred percent provision of agriculture with equipment did not bear its fruits. In this regard, Brezhnev began to actively pursue a policy of supporting private households, which was completely unacceptable under Khrushchev.
One of the reasons for the beginning of the economic crisis in the Soviet Union was the halt of industrial growth. But world oil prices contributed to keeping the country's economy afloat, allowing industry to move, build auto plants (Volzhsky, Kamsky), create a unified energy system of the USSR. Almost completely gasified and electrified villages, which led to a rise in their standard of living there. Various social events were held in the cities, more than 200 of millions of families received free housing. The income of citizens grew on average in the country by one and a half times. This led to an increase in population, which was not at all typical for European countries. At the same time, in the race with the Americans, enormous sums were spent on space exploration and the creation of a powerful military-industrial complex. It was under Brezhnev that our country signed a number of agreements that were supposed to prevent a war that was brewing, to eliminate the slightest possibility of a nuclear conflict. These include the 1972 Treaty on the Reduction of Offensive Arms, the 1973 Treaty on the Prevention of Nuclear War, the Helsinki Act on Cooperation, Security, and the State Borders in Europe, signed in 1975.
But, paradoxically, it was during the reign of Leonid Ilyich that the army reached its greatest power in the entire history of the USSR. On top of that, Brezhnev generously sponsored the developing countries of the socialist camp: Vietnam, Egypt, Angola, Cuba, and some others. Implementing the policy of detente relations between the United States and other countries of the capitalist bloc and the Soviet Union, as well as strengthening the authority of the state in the world political arena, until the last day did not want to allow the possibility of a military invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the introduction of troops into Afghanistan 1979 year. And the main way of settling foreign policy conflicts was considered negotiating and the work of diplomats at all levels. After entering the Soviet army in Afghanistan, the aged "leader" insisted on the speedy return of soldiers home. Brezhnev also did not allow the Prague Spring to be repeated in Poland, where it was planned to reproduce the Czechoslovak scenario.
The signing of the act in Helsinki, in which one of the clauses was the observance of human rights, Brezhnev thereby opened the way for such a phenomenon as dissidence. The emergence of this movement of the USSR owes precisely to the policy of both internal and external, which was conducted by the head of the state. Although now many rightly blame Brezhnev for the fact that under him was organized the persecution of all dissenters.
It is worth noting that it was under Brezhnev that in 1973, the “good” was given to leave the Union of Jews. If you read the recently published documents regarding the meeting of the Central Committee of the Party on the issue of the emigration of people of Jewish nationality, the conviction that Brezhnev didn’t get into the essence of the question, that they were easily manipulated, and the political course was determined by the ruling elite, but not Leonid Ilyich, disproved. The tough position of the Secretary General, which was adamant before all the arguments of the members of the Central Committee of the party, is clearly visible.
Also, the Brezhnev era is associated with an increase in the level of alcohol consumption by the population, the criminalization of society and the growth of suicide. The Ministry of Internal Affairs could not cope with the unprecedented increase in crime, which caused the need for urgent staffing of the department. This played a generally negative role, since in a hurry the personal affairs of citizens who wanted to work in the bodies were dealt with somehow. In the police, people began to work with a “dark past,” who, even wearing shoulder straps, were not going to abandon their criminal talents and inclinations.
A landmark event of the Brezhnev stagnation period is the confrontation between two structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB. Experiencing enmity towards each other, turning into fierce hatred, Andropov and Shchelokov tried to get the greatest influence on the General Secretary who was weakening over the years. After the death of Leonid Ilyich, power passed to Andropov, who initiated an investigation into abuses in the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to her results, Shchelokov was relieved of his duties as Minister of Internal Affairs, December 7 1984 was deprived of titles and awards. And on December 13 put a hunting rifle to his head and pulled the trigger.
Brezhnev was not a stupid man, but, unlike his predecessors, he did not have the qualities that would enable him to use all the achievements achieved in the course of political and economic measures to strengthen the country's power. His vanity, which gave rise to anecdotes, does not seem so ridiculous, if you study the memories of colleagues. For example, in his indefatigable lust for power, Leonid Brezhnev in order to take up the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee, he actively planned the arrest and even the physical elimination of Khrushchev. The pride of the Order of the “Sun of Peru”, especially the brilliant commander of all times and peoples, described in detail by the talented journalists of the USSR in the supposedly biographical Trilogy of Brezhnev, was especially telling. Taking into account all the above facts, it really is not possible to characterize the era of Brezhnev’s rule unequivocally. Based on the story, everyone has the right to make for themselves independent conclusions.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was born in a simple working-class family in the village of Kamenskoye, Yekaterinoslav Province of the Russian Empire (in 1913, it received city status, and in 1936 it was renamed Dneprodzerzhinsk). And even in the data on the beginning of the life journey of the famous native of the village of Kamenskoe, historians do not have a common opinion. Some indicate in their writings the date of birth of Brezhnev, as December 6 1906 of the year (December 19 old style). Others say that December 19 is the birthday of the future General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in a new style, while the old one indicates the date 1 of January 1907. Regarding nationality, there is also no unanimity, the opinion was divided between those who call Brezhnev a Ukrainian, and those who defend his Russian origin.
From 1915 to 1921, Leonid Ilyich studied at the classical gymnasium in Kamensky. After training, he worked in Kursk at an oil mill. The year 1923 was marked by the entry into the Komsomol and the beginning of studies at the land surveying and land reclamation technical school. Since 1927, after graduation, he worked in the specialty in the Kursk region of the RSFSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Sverdlovsk region of the RSFSR. In 1930 he became a student at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Kalinina in Moscow, but a year later transferred home to the metallurgical institute in the correspondence department. Parallel to the factory. In Dneprodzerzhinsk, Brezhnev is admitted to the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. From 1935 to 1936 he served in the Red Army in tank training unit near Chita. He was a student of mechanization and motorization courses, at the end of which Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was awarded the title of “lieutenant”. After the future four-time Hero of the Soviet Union fulfilled his sacred duty to his homeland, he worked in senior positions as a director of a technical school and an engineer at a factory. And since 1937, party activity has become his main occupation. From 1937 until the outbreak of the war he held leadership positions in the political administration of the Dnipropetrovsk region. He was the head of the department of the regional committee of the party, later the secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU (b).
During the Great Patriotic War is engaged in mobilization work, issues of evacuation of the population and production. He held the posts of deputy chief of the political department of the Front, brigade commissar, head of the political department of the army, the Front. In the 1942 year, when radical reforms and shifts took place in the Soviet army, Brezhnev was promoted to the rank of colonel, although his position at that time assumed he would receive general lampas. Most likely, the main reason for the fact that Leonid Ilyich in 1942, the year on the epaulets fell only the colonel's stars, was a very not flattering characteristic of a personal matter. "... has favorites ...", - in this phrase from the dossier of the brigadier commissar Brezhnev L.I. You can see the future style of administration of the Secretary General, when “his people” were appointed to government posts, which in essence showed an increase in corruption and abuse of office in the upper echelons of power of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The war, nevertheless, Leonid Ilyich ended up as a major general. For some time he carried out military duties, occupying the post of the head of the political department of the Fourth Ukrainian Front, fought with armed detachments of the OUN-UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army). Also in 1945, he participated in the Victory Parade - he marched around Red Square as a regiment commissar under the standard of the Fourth Ukrainian Front.
In subsequent years, Leonid Ilyich held the leading posts of the first secretary of the Zaporizhzhya and Dnepropetrovsk regional party committees. In 1950, he was appointed first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party of the Republic of Moldova. Then Brezhnev returned to work in the army in 1953: he was appointed Deputy Head of the Political Directorate of the Army and Fleet. A year later, Khrushchev sent Brezhnev to lead Kazakhstan. And after ten years of changing various posts in the political elite of the country in 1960, Brezhnev became chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council. Having received unlimited power, he organizes and takes a direct part in the deposition of Khrushchev N.S. from the post of first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and other posts in 1964. After that, he wins the fight against opponents and in the same year becomes the first secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR. From that moment, the era of conservative governance began in the country.
The first step of Brezhnev was to strengthen his position - the appointment to the leading posts of the state the most loyal people: Andropov, Chernenko, Tikhonov, Schelokov. This gave rise to a system of “dissension”, from which modern Russia cannot even get rid of today. Under Brezhnev’s rule, many statesmen could hold leadership positions for more than ten years in one department, which ultimately influenced the stagnation of development processes and the establishment of bureaucracy and conservatism in all spheres of activity. And this, despite the fact that the Soviet Union had a great human potential, occupying first place in the world in the number of people with higher education.
Nevertheless, in all indicators of production, the Soviet Union gradually caught up with the United States of America. It was not possible for leaders only to meet the needs of the population for food. Even one hundred percent provision of agriculture with equipment did not bear its fruits. In this regard, Brezhnev began to actively pursue a policy of supporting private households, which was completely unacceptable under Khrushchev.
One of the reasons for the beginning of the economic crisis in the Soviet Union was the halt of industrial growth. But world oil prices contributed to keeping the country's economy afloat, allowing industry to move, build auto plants (Volzhsky, Kamsky), create a unified energy system of the USSR. Almost completely gasified and electrified villages, which led to a rise in their standard of living there. Various social events were held in the cities, more than 200 of millions of families received free housing. The income of citizens grew on average in the country by one and a half times. This led to an increase in population, which was not at all typical for European countries. At the same time, in the race with the Americans, enormous sums were spent on space exploration and the creation of a powerful military-industrial complex. It was under Brezhnev that our country signed a number of agreements that were supposed to prevent a war that was brewing, to eliminate the slightest possibility of a nuclear conflict. These include the 1972 Treaty on the Reduction of Offensive Arms, the 1973 Treaty on the Prevention of Nuclear War, the Helsinki Act on Cooperation, Security, and the State Borders in Europe, signed in 1975.
But, paradoxically, it was during the reign of Leonid Ilyich that the army reached its greatest power in the entire history of the USSR. On top of that, Brezhnev generously sponsored the developing countries of the socialist camp: Vietnam, Egypt, Angola, Cuba, and some others. Implementing the policy of detente relations between the United States and other countries of the capitalist bloc and the Soviet Union, as well as strengthening the authority of the state in the world political arena, until the last day did not want to allow the possibility of a military invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the introduction of troops into Afghanistan 1979 year. And the main way of settling foreign policy conflicts was considered negotiating and the work of diplomats at all levels. After entering the Soviet army in Afghanistan, the aged "leader" insisted on the speedy return of soldiers home. Brezhnev also did not allow the Prague Spring to be repeated in Poland, where it was planned to reproduce the Czechoslovak scenario.
The signing of the act in Helsinki, in which one of the clauses was the observance of human rights, Brezhnev thereby opened the way for such a phenomenon as dissidence. The emergence of this movement of the USSR owes precisely to the policy of both internal and external, which was conducted by the head of the state. Although now many rightly blame Brezhnev for the fact that under him was organized the persecution of all dissenters.
It is worth noting that it was under Brezhnev that in 1973, the “good” was given to leave the Union of Jews. If you read the recently published documents regarding the meeting of the Central Committee of the Party on the issue of the emigration of people of Jewish nationality, the conviction that Brezhnev didn’t get into the essence of the question, that they were easily manipulated, and the political course was determined by the ruling elite, but not Leonid Ilyich, disproved. The tough position of the Secretary General, which was adamant before all the arguments of the members of the Central Committee of the party, is clearly visible.
Also, the Brezhnev era is associated with an increase in the level of alcohol consumption by the population, the criminalization of society and the growth of suicide. The Ministry of Internal Affairs could not cope with the unprecedented increase in crime, which caused the need for urgent staffing of the department. This played a generally negative role, since in a hurry the personal affairs of citizens who wanted to work in the bodies were dealt with somehow. In the police, people began to work with a “dark past,” who, even wearing shoulder straps, were not going to abandon their criminal talents and inclinations.
A landmark event of the Brezhnev stagnation period is the confrontation between two structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB. Experiencing enmity towards each other, turning into fierce hatred, Andropov and Shchelokov tried to get the greatest influence on the General Secretary who was weakening over the years. After the death of Leonid Ilyich, power passed to Andropov, who initiated an investigation into abuses in the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to her results, Shchelokov was relieved of his duties as Minister of Internal Affairs, December 7 1984 was deprived of titles and awards. And on December 13 put a hunting rifle to his head and pulled the trigger.
Brezhnev was not a stupid man, but, unlike his predecessors, he did not have the qualities that would enable him to use all the achievements achieved in the course of political and economic measures to strengthen the country's power. His vanity, which gave rise to anecdotes, does not seem so ridiculous, if you study the memories of colleagues. For example, in his indefatigable lust for power, Leonid Brezhnev in order to take up the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee, he actively planned the arrest and even the physical elimination of Khrushchev. The pride of the Order of the “Sun of Peru”, especially the brilliant commander of all times and peoples, described in detail by the talented journalists of the USSR in the supposedly biographical Trilogy of Brezhnev, was especially telling. Taking into account all the above facts, it really is not possible to characterize the era of Brezhnev’s rule unequivocally. Based on the story, everyone has the right to make for themselves independent conclusions.
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