§ 16. FORMATION OF THE USSR

The formation of the USSR is a key event of the entire 20th century. It predetermined the formation of a strong independent proletarian state, extremely popular throughout the world. One can say anything about the USSR, but to underestimate the degree of influence of its formation and all subsequent events is a clear distortion of history. Let's consider this process briefly and clearly.

Prerequisites and Causes

Traditionally, the following prerequisites for the formation of a single state on the territory of the former Russian Empire are considered. However, you must imagine that during the First World War and the Civil War, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Belarus and Ukraine, Tuva gained their independence. In Central Asia, which, as you should know, was annexed to Russia in the 19th century, independent states were also formed: the Khiva and Bukhara people's democratic republics.

The difficulty was also in the fact that all peoples perfectly remembered the national policy of the Russian Empire, which had features of chauvinism and nationalism in favor of granting the Russian people more rights than all others. There were features of the Settlement and other terrible things.

However, there were common prerequisites: age-old interethnic and intercultural ties between different peoples, the existence of age-old economic and economic ties, a common history. In addition, these territories had a common infrastructure: the postal service, for example. You will not take goods produced in Russia to Europe, where no one will buy them, because there is wild competition. Products can be taken to Central Asia, or elsewhere. That is, in fact, we are dealing with inexhaustible sales markets. I think it will not be difficult to understand how profitable it would be to live together in one state.

In addition, there was a more serious reason that influenced the fact that the USSR was formed in 1922, and not later. Indeed, a Genoa conference on the debts of the tsarist government and other post-war issues was scheduled for April this year. The Russian state had to appear as one both inside and outside. And there were enough problems inside.

Indeed, in the years there were independent republics, autonomous okrugs and other formations that could simply resist being in one state. And then the Soviet states would appear scattered, which would give them the status quo in Genoa, at least forever.

Course of events

That is why, already in March 1921, at the X Congress of the RCP (b), the report "On the immediate tasks of the party in the national question" was read and discussed. Initially, the Bolshevik Party advocated a federal socialist state in which all peoples coexist on the principles of equality and self-determination. It was such a utopian union of everyone on an equal footing with everyone.

But this idea had practical flaws: after all, if such a union of federations appears not as a single state, but as a scattered conglomerate of something incomprehensible, then this state of affairs will hang for a long time. Fortunately, shortly before the conference, all the republics signed a protocol stating that the RSFSR would represent their interests. But the issue was never resolved.

From July 1922, a new stage of discussion of the shape of the future state began., when the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the party began to discuss the issue of "the relationship between the RSFSR and the independent republics." Stalin began to actively promote his plan of autonomization, which became known as Stalin's.

The essence of Stalin's plan for autonomization was simple: all republics are included into the RSFSR, they receive formal autonomy and are subordinate to the center. The plus was that they are still granted freedom of culture, national language and the right to exit (the right to self-determination).

The downside was that in this case the Russian people would definitely become the “elder brother” of other peoples and nationalities, which could aggravate the national question. However, according to the Bolsheviks, over time, in such a single state, all nations should have become a single socialist people, which of course was a utopia.

In September, a discussion began after Stalin sent a letter to Lenin, proposing his plan, as well as all points of view on it. As a result, Lenin rejected the autonomization plan after long discussions and consultations with other party officials. Lenin was a supporter of federation, concrete and real, with the complete independence of all republics up to the right to secede from the union.

As a result, roughly speaking, two factions were formed in the party on this issue:

• The "soft" supporters of the federation supported Stalin and his arguments.
• "Tough" supporters of the federation supported Lenin.

As a result, in October 1922, a resolution "On the relationship between the RSFSR and the independent republics" was adopted. It said that the states are part of the RSFSR according to the Leninist version - on equal terms with everyone. However, consultations continued until December 1922.

From left to right: Ordzhonikidze, Stalin and Mikoyan

This is where the so-called "Georgian case" emerged. The reason for this was the unification of the Transcaucasian republics into a single Transcaucasian SFSR. This sparked protests from local party leaders. It came to insults and assault between Moscow (Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Joseph Stalin, etc.) and local (Philip Makharadze and Polikarp Gurgenovich "I will" Mdivani) party workers. As a result, the situation was resolved. But the TSFSR remained and became part of the USSR.

From left to right: Philip Makharadze, Polikarp Mdivani

As a result, on December 30, 1922, the First All-Union Congress of Soviets signed the Declaration and the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR.

Consequences

The whole humor lies in the fact that the question remained open: are the fraternal republics included in the RSFSR or are they united in it on an equal footing. The discussion with the discussion of this issue has been raised more than once.

As a result, the appearance on the world map of a new state of the USSR, one can speak of a certain community of peoples. For example, you are coming to Kyrgyzstan today. What common language, for example, can a Ukrainian and a Kirghiz speak? Of course in Russian. Therefore, whatever one may say, but 70 years of the existence of the Union did not pass without a trace for its republics.

The emergence of the USSR also led to the emergence of a national policy that was aimed at eliminating national inequality. But in the end, it was she who became the cause of national conflicts in the 90s and 2000s.

Be that as it may, we have analyzed the key events in a simple and understandable language. If you do not understand something, ask questions in the comments to this article. Unfortunately, a closer study of this topic in the format of an article is impossible. Therefore, I invite you to ours, in which we discuss such serious events at practical webinars.

Best regards, Andrey Puchkov

Russians take a long time to harness, but travel fast

Winston Churchill

USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), this form of statehood replaced the Russian Empire. The country began to be ruled by the proletariat, which achieved this right by accomplishing the October revolution, which was nothing more than an armed coup within the country, bogged down in its internal and external problems. An important role in this state of affairs was played by Nicholas II, who actually drove the country into a state of collapse.

Country education

The formation of the USSR took place on November 7, 1917 in a new style. It was on this day that the October Revolution took place, which overthrew the Provisional Government and the fruits of the February Revolution, proclaiming the slogan that power should belong to the workers. This is how the USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed. It is extremely difficult to unequivocally assess the Soviet period in the history of Russia, since it was very contradictory. Without a doubt, we can say that at this time there were both positive and negative moments.

Capital Cities

Initially, the capital of the USSR was Petrograd, in which, in fact, the revolution took place, which brought the Bolsheviks to power. At first, there was no question of transferring the capital, since the new government was too weak, but later this decision was made. As a result, the capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was moved to Moscow. This is quite symbolic, since the creation of the Empire was due to the transfer of the capital to Petrograd from Moscow.

The fact of transferring the capital to Moscow today is associated with the economy, politics, symbolism and many others. In fact, everything is much simpler. By moving the capital, the Bolsheviks saved themselves from other contenders for power during the civil war.

Country leaders

The foundations of the power and prosperity of the USSR are associated with the fact that the country had relative stability in its leadership. There was a clear single line of the party, and the leaders who had been at the head of the state for a long time. It is interesting that the closer the country came to collapse, the more often the General Secs changed. At the beginning of the 80s, a leapfrog began altogether: Andropov, Ustinov, Chernenko, Gorbachev - the country did not have time to get used to one leader, as another was in his place.

The general list of managers is as follows:

• Lenin. Leader of the world proletariat. One of the ideological inspirers and implementers of the October revolution. He laid the foundations of the state.
• Stalin. One of the most controversial historical figures. With all the negativity that the liberal press pours against this person, the fact is that Stalin raised industry from his knees, Stalin prepared the USSR for war, Stalin began to actively develop the socialist state.
• Khrushchev. He gained power after the assassination of Stalin, developed the country and was able to adequately resist the United States in the Cold War.
• Brezhnev. The era of his reign is called the era of stagnation. Many people mistakenly associate this with the economy, but there was no stagnation there - all indicators were growing. There was stagnation in the party, which was decaying.
• Andropov, Chernenko. They didn’t really do anything, pushing the country towards collapse.
• Gorbachev. The first and last president of the USSR. Today they hang all the dogs on him, accusing him of the collapse of the Soviet Union, but his main fault was that he was afraid to take active actions against Yeltsin and his supporters, who actually staged a conspiracy and a coup d'etat.

Another fact is also interesting - the best rulers there were those who found the time of revolution and war. The same applies to party leaders. These people understood the value of the socialist state, the importance and complexity of its existence. As soon as people came to power, who neither the war, let alone the revolution, did not see - everything went to dust.

Formation and achievements

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics began its formation with the Red Terror. This is a sad page in the history of Russia, a huge number of people were killed by the Bolsheviks, who were trying to strengthen their power. The leaders of the Bolshevik Party, realizing that they could keep power only by force, killed everyone who could somehow interfere with the formation of the new regime. It is outrageous that the Bolsheviks, as the first people's commissars and the people's police, i.e. those people who were supposed to keep order were recruited by thieves, murderers, homeless people, etc. In a word, all those who were disliked in the Russian Empire and tried in every possible way to take revenge on everyone who was somehow connected with it. The culmination of these atrocities was the murder of the royal family.

After the formation of a new system, the USSR, headed until 1924 Lenin V.I., got a new leader. It became Joseph Stalin... His rule was made possible after he won a power struggle from Trotsky... During the reign of Stalin, industry and agriculture began to develop at a tremendous pace. Knowing about the growing power of Nazi Germany, Stalin pays great attention to the development of the country's defense complex. In the period from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was involved in a bloody war with Germany, from which it emerged victorious. The Great Patriotic War cost the Soviet state millions of lives, but this was the only way to preserve the country's freedom and independence. The post-war years were difficult for the country: hunger, poverty and rampant banditry. Stalin brought order to the country with a firm hand.

International position

After Stalin's death and until the collapse of the USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics developed dynamically, overcoming a huge number of difficulties and obstacles. The USSR was involved by the United States in an arms race that continues to this day. It was this race that could become fatal for all of humanity, since both countries were in constant confrontation as a result. This period of history is called the Cold War. Only the prudence of the leadership of both countries managed to keep the planet from a new war. And this war, given that both nations were already nuclear at that time, could become fatal for the whole world.

The country's space program stands apart from the entire development of the USSR. It was the Soviet citizen who first flew into space. It was Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. The United States responded to this manned space flight with its first manned flight to the moon. But the Soviet space flight, unlike the American flight to the moon, does not raise so many questions, and experts have not a shadow of a doubt that this flight really took place.

Population of the country

Every decade the Soviet country showed a population growth. And this despite the multimillion-dollar victims of World War II. The guarantee of the increase in the birth rate was the social guarantees of the state. The diagram below shows data on the population of the USSR as a whole and the RSFSR in particular.

You should also pay attention to the dynamics of urban development. The Soviet Union was becoming an industrial, industrial country, the population of which gradually moved from the countryside to the cities.

By the time the USSR was formed, there were 2 cities with a million-plus population (Moscow and St. Petersburg) in Russia. By the time the country collapsed, there were already 12 such cities: Moscow, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Omsk, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa and Perm. The union republics also had cities with a million population: Kiev, Tashkent, Baku, Kharkov, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Donetsk.

USSR map

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics collapsed in 1991, when the leaders of the Soviet republics announced their secession from the USSR in the White Forest. Thus, all the Republics gained independence and independence. The opinion of the Soviet people was not taken into account. The referendum held just before the collapse of the USSR showed that the overwhelming majority of people declared that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics should be preserved. A handful of people, led by the chairman of the CPSU Central Committee M. Gorbachev, decided the fate of the country and the people. It was this decision that plunged Russia into the harsh reality of the "nineties". So it was born the Russian Federation... Below is a map of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Economy

The economy of the USSR was unique. For the first time, the world was shown a system in which not profit, but public goods and employee incentives were at the forefront. In general, the economy of the Soviet Union can be divided into 3 stages:

1. Before Stalin. Here we are not talking about any economy - the revolution has just died out in the country, there is a war going on. Nobody seriously thought about economic development, the Bolsheviks kept power.
2. Stalinist model of the economy. Stalin realized the unique idea of ​​the economy, which made it possible to raise the USSR to the level of the leading countries of the world. The essence of his approach is total labor and the correct “pyramid of distribution of funds”. Correct distribution of funds - when workers receive no less than managers. Moreover, the basis of the salary was bonuses for achievement of results and bonuses for innovation. The essence of such bonuses is as follows - 90% were received by the employee himself, and 10% were divided between the brigade, shop, and chiefs. But the main money was received by the employee himself. Therefore, there was a desire to work.
3. After Stalin. After Stalin's death, Khrushchev turned the pyramid of the economy, after which a recession and a gradual decline in growth rates began. Under Khrushchev and after him, an almost capitalist model was formed, when leaders received much more workers, especially in the form of bonuses. Bonuses were now divided differently: 90% to the boss and 10% to everyone else.

The Soviet economy is unique because it was able to actually rise from the ashes after the civil war and revolution before the war, and this happened in just 10-12 years. Therefore, when today economists from different countries and journalists insist that it is impossible to change the economy in 1 election term (5 years), they simply do not know history. Stalin's two five-year plans turned the USSR into a modern power, which had a foundation for development. Moreover, the basis for all this was laid in 2-3 years of the first five-year plan.

I also suggest looking at the diagram below, which presents data on the average annual growth rate of the economy as a percentage. Everything we talked about above is reflected in this diagram.

Union republics

The new period of the country's development was due to the fact that several republics existed within the framework of a single state of the USSR. Thus, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had the following composition: Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Moldavian SSR, Uzbek SSR, Kazakh SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Lithuanian SSR, Latvian SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Tajik SSR, Armenian SSR, Turkmen SSR, Estonian SSR.

By the early 1920s, several independent state formations existed on the territory of the former Russian Empire. These are the RSFSR, the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Azerbaijani, Armenian and Georgian Soviet socialist republics, created on the basis of a national-territorial characteristic, as well as the Bukhara and Khorezm People's Soviet Republics, and the Far Eastern Republic. During the years of the civil war, a military-political alliance was concluded between the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus (June 1919) to more effectively repulse the anti-Soviet forces.

The armed forces were united and a single military command was introduced (the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR and the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army). Representatives of the republics were included in the highest bodies of state power and administration. The economic union was expressed in the subordination of the governing bodies of some industries, finance and transport to the corresponding People's Commissariats of the RSFSR. However, the absence of legal norms regulating relations between central and local (republican) authorities caused conflicts between them.

The form of unification that developed between the Soviet republics was called the contractual federation. Its originality lay in the fact that the Russian administrative structures also played the role of national authorities. Republican communist parties were included in the RCP (b) as regional party organizations. Thanks to this, unity of action of the republics was achieved in resolving military and economic issues. But this at the same time somewhat limited the sovereignty of independent state formations.

With the end of the civil war, political cooperation between the republics was preserved and economic cooperation deepened. In 1920-1922. all Soviet republics concluded bilateral agreements on economic and diplomatic alliance with the RSFSR and among themselves. The number of all-union economic commissariats increased. The role of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee as a federal government body has grown. The republics transferred to the government of the RSFSR the right to represent and defend their interests in the international arena. Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia in 1922 formed the Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Federation (TSFSR), the Constitution of which was built on the same principles as the Constitution of the RSFSR.

The tasks of restoring and developing the economies of the republics, strengthening the Soviet political system and their defense capability required the improvement of the existing contractual-federal ties. The existing contractual system impeded the solution of many issues of economic and political cooperation. They needed a clearer definition of the rights and obligations of the Labor and Defense Council of the RSFSR and the People's Commissariat of Finance of the RSFSR, which performed federal functions. The priority position of the RSFSR in the treaty federation aroused local discontent, and in a number of cases gave rise to anti-Russian sentiments.

On the other hand, the demands of some government officials to expand the number of federal people's commissariats have become more frequent. It was proposed, in particular, in connection with the agrarian reforms that began in the republics and the lack of general legislation, to unite the people's commissariats of justice and agriculture under the auspices of the People's Commissariat of Justice of the RSFSR and the People's Commissariat of Land of the RSFSR. In the spring of 1922, the highest party bodies of Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian Federation declared the need to "clarify" the relationship between the republics, to specify their rights and obligations.

In August 1922, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) formed a commission to prepare a bill on a new form of state association. JV Stalin, who headed the People's Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR, developed a plan for "autonomization." In accordance with it, it was envisaged that the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Transcaucasian republics be included in the RSFSR with the rights of autonomy. With the Bukhara and Khorezm People's Republics and with the FER, it was proposed to preserve the old, contractual relations. This plan infringed upon the sovereign rights of peoples, and therefore the majority of the party and state leaders of the republics spoke out against it. In October - November 1922, after discussing the question of the form of state unification, the idea of ​​V.I. Lenin on the formation of the union state as a federation of equal republics.

Formation of the USSR.

In December 1922, congresses of Soviets were held in all the republics, the participants of which approved the proposal of V.I. Lenin. Delegations were elected to prepare documents on the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The First All-Union Congress of Soviets on December 30, 1922 approved the Declaration and the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR. The subjects of the USSR were the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR and the ZSFSR. The declaration proclaimed the principles of voluntariness of association, equality of the republics and their right to freely withdraw from the union. The agreement determined the system of union authorities, their competence and relations with the republican administrative structures. At the congress, the CEC of the USSR was elected, which included the chairmen of the CEC of the Union republics M.I. Kalinin, G.I. Petrovsky, A.G. Chervyakov and N.N. Narimanov. The executive power until the adoption of the Constitution of the new state was to be exercised by the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR.

In July 1923, the II session of the CEC adopted the Constitution, which was approved in January 1924 by the II Congress of Soviets of the USSR. The Constitution legislated the formation of the USSR. A federation of republics with the right to freely withdraw from the union and to independently resolve issues of domestic policy, justice, education, health care and social security was proclaimed as the form of state structure of nations. Relations with foreign states, the implementation of foreign trade, the management of transport and postal and telegraph communications were the functions of the allied departments. The structure and scope of powers of the highest authorities and administration were established. The All-Union Congress of Soviets became the supreme legislative body, and in the intervals between the congresses - the bicameral CEC: the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities. Executive power belonged to the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Under the Council of People's Commissars, All-Union People's Commissariats, the State Bank, and the State Planning Commission were formed.

The All-Union CEC was granted the right to issue decrees and resolutions that were binding on all republics. Between sessions of the CEC, all the fullness of legislative, executive and administrative power was transferred to its presidium. The supreme all-union bodies were entrusted with determining the foundations of national economic plans, approving the state budget, and establishing a single monetary system. They were responsible for the development of civil, criminal and labor legislation, the establishment of general principles of development in the field of education and health. The CEC Presidium had the right to resolve controversial issues arising between the Union republics. He could cancel the decisions of the republican authorities in the event of their inconsistency with the Constitution of the USSR.

Under the Council of People's Commissars, the United State Political Administration (OGPU) was established to fight counter-revolution, espionage and terrorism. The constitution established a single union citizenship for citizens of all republics. Moscow was declared the capital of the USSR. In the field of electoral law, the principles of the 1918 Constitution of the RSFSR remained unchanged, giving priority to the working class over the peasantry. The multistage elections and an open voting system were maintained when electing deputies to the Soviets. Exploiting elements and ministers of religious cults were still deprived of voting rights. On the basis of the USSR Constitution of 1924, amendments were made to the Constitution of the Union republics.

Nation-building.

After the adoption of the Constitution of the USSR, the main direction in the field of national policy was proclaimed the elimination of the historically established inequality of peoples, primarily in the economic, social and cultural spheres. National cadres were involved in the republican administrative apparatus. But the broad powers of the all-union administrative structures strengthened the process of bureaucratic centralization in the country.

In 1924-1925. was carried out national-state demarcation in Central Asia. On the territory of the Turkestan ASSR, Bukhara and Khorezm people's republics the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR were formed. In 1929, the Tajik ASSR was transformed into a union republic. All newly formed republics became part of the USSR. There was an intensive process of creating autonomous republics and regions in Transcaucasia (Dagestan ASSR, Gorsk ASSR) and in Siberia (Yakut ASSR, Buryat-Mongol ASSR). Work was carried out to clarify the borders of the Union republics in Transcaucasia, Central Asia, etc. Thus, the Byelorussian SSR was transferred to several regions of the Vitebsk, Gomel and Smolensk provinces of the RSFSR, inhabited mainly by Belarusians.

In terms of the level of economic development, these areas significantly exceeded the neighboring territories. As a result of the annexation of new lands, the area of ​​the Byelorussian SSR and the size of its population more than doubled. In the process of the transformation of the Tajik autonomy, the Khojent district of the Uzbek SSR, whose population consisted mainly of Tajiks, ceded to it. The not always sufficiently thought-out national-state demarcation, carried out in the 1920s, gave rise to hotbeds of future interethnic conflicts.

In the 1920s, the territorial and administrative division of the country changed: provinces, counties, volosts were transformed into oblasts, districts, village councils. National regions, districts and districts were created. Until the mid-30s - the time of the adoption of the second Constitution of the USSR - all processes of nation-building were carried out in accordance with the Basic Law of the USSR of 1924.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Is a state that existed in the period 1922-1991. on the territory of Eastern Europe, North Asia, parts of Central and Eastern Asia.

The history of the USSR is an amazing series of incredible, sometimes just mystical events.

This story has it all: incredible victories and humiliating defeats, the delight of unique achievements and the fear of sudden reprisals.

After going through many shocks, from 1913 to 1986. Russia has increased its national wealth more than 50 times, and its national income 94 times.

Number of university students educational institutions increased 40 times, doctors - 48 times. In 1986, the national income of the USSR was 66% of the same in, products - 80%, Agriculture – 85%.

However, from 1985 to 1991, a number of economic and political transformations were carried out in the USSR, which undermined the economy and destabilized life in the country. Internal political confrontation has escalated.

All this led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation was recognized as the successor state of the USSR in international legal relations and took its place in the UN Security Council.

Of course, it is simply impossible to describe all this in detail in one article, so we decided to write a short history of the USSR, isolating its most important periods.

As a result of the First World War, four empires ceased to exist: Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and German.

February revolution

In contrast to this, the "Reds" were supporters of Bolshevism. Their goal was the establishment of communism in Russia and the complete destruction of any form of monarchy.

The winners in this confrontation were the "reds", as a result of which the power was headed by the RCP (b) - the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). She soon reunited with the central state apparatus.

During the Civil War, many territories Western Ukraine and Belarus were conquered by the Poles, who managed to restore their independence.

As a result of the military conflict, Bessarabia turned out to be a part, and the Kars region went to. The principalities that were previously part of the Russian Empire turned into independent republics (, and).

Formation of the USSR

The treaty on the formation of the USSR was signed on December 29, 1922, and already on December 30, 1922, the I All-Union Congress of Soviets approved it.

The first states included in it were the Ukrainian SSR (Ukrainian SSR), the Byelorussian SSR (BSSR) and the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR).

An interesting fact is that formally all of them were considered sovereign states.

Struggle for party power

All the power of the USSR was concentrated in the hands of the Communist Party, which changed its name several times throughout history. Ultimately, in 1952, it began to be called the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union).

The highest authorities were the Central Committee, the Organizing Bureau, the Secretariat and the Politburo. The last of them was the most important authority.

The decisions of the Politburo were not subjected to criticism and discussion, and had to be carried out unquestioningly.

De jure, all members of the Politburo were equal, but de facto this was not entirely the case. The most significant representative of the Politburo was Vladimir Lenin, from whose pen various laws came out and all the most important decisions were made.

However, after Lenin began to be seriously ill, he could not participate in the discussion of certain issues, which gave rise to a struggle for power.

In addition to him, the Politburo included Rykov, Tomsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev. It was this six in the period 1922-1925. participated in meetings.

Soon there was a split in the Politburo. Stalin, along with Zinoviev and Kamenev, opposed Trotsky (see). It is worth noting that friction between politicians arose even during the Civil War.

At the end of 1923, Trotsky began to demand greater equality in the party, openly criticizing the "troika" of his fellow party members. However, as it turns out later, he will lose this confrontation.

As a result, both Trotsky and all his associates will be declared enemies of the people.

After Lenin's death in 1924, other key politicians joined Kamenev and Zinoviev. Among them were Kuibyshev, Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky.

At the 13th Congress of the RCP (b), Lenin's widow published a "Letter to the Congress", written by her late husband shortly before her death. However, the letter was not read out in the hall, as those present thought it correct to read it only at a closed session.

By the way, in this letter Lenin spoke about his comrades-in-arms, giving each of them a brief but meaningful description.

In particular, Vladimir Ilyich accused Stalin of having concentrated too much power in his hands and could hardly use it wisely.

At the same time, he praised Trotsky and even called him the best candidate for running the newly formed state.

An interesting fact is that at that congress Stalin asked for his resignation, but Kamenev insisted that this issue be put to a vote.

According to a number of historians, Stalin decided to take such a step not because he wanted to leave politics, but in order to win over people.

Thus, he showed that he allegedly did not hold on to power and thus won the sympathy of the congress participants. As a result, only Trotsky's supporters voted against him.

It is worth noting that in a couple of weeks, Joseph Stalin will forget how Kamenev and Zinoviev supported him.

He will accuse them of distorting Lenin's ideas and will do everything possible to present them as enemies of the people. As a result, they will be forced to side with Trotsky.

At this time, Stalin became close to Bukharin. Together with him, he preached the ideas of socialism and criticized capitalism. Every day there were more and more supporters of Stalin in society who believed in his program for the development of the USSR.

In the fall of 1927, the "United Opposition" represented by Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev was finally destroyed. By 1929, all power was virtually in the hands of Joseph Stalin.

Soon he began to get rid of his comrades-in-arms, including Bukharin. His goal was to knock out of the political race all those who could potentially prevent him from becoming the head of the USSR.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

During the history of the USSR 1922-1929. the country is actively developing a new economic policy (NEP). All power finally passes into the hands of Joseph Stalin, who by that time had already destroyed all his opponents and began to establish an authoritarian regime in the USSR.

The NEP provided for the development of entrepreneurial activity, but on a small scale. The government did everything possible to prevent an increase in private capital.

In this regard, private traders had to pay huge taxes to the treasury, which could amount to more than half of their income.

The life of the peasants was also hard. For the development of their economy, they desperately needed various agricultural products and tools, but they could not afford them due to extremely high prices.

Industrialization in the USSR

After Lenin's death, a course was announced for the industrialization of the USSR. Soviet citizens needed the goods they needed to do this or that work. During this period in history, the government replaced the food tax with a cash tax.

The situation was further complicated by the fact that during the coup d'état all large landowners' farms were destroyed, and no organizations were created to replace them.

To successfully carry out industrialization, Stalin needed a lot of funds. Then he decided to get them by exporting wheat and other goods abroad.

As a result, the collective farmers had to fulfill huge plans for the delivery of products to the state. This led to the poverty of the peasants, and soon to the terrible famine of 1932-1933.

After that, a more lenient version of the gradual replenishment of the state budget through the continuation of the NEP came into force.

According to statistics, during the history of the USSR in 1928-1940, GDP growth exceeded 6%. Even the world's leading economies could not boast of such high rates.

Soon the pace of development reached such a level that the USSR was in first place in Europe in terms of industrial production. Metallurgical, chemical and power plants were built in the state one after another.

An important aspect was the fact that the USSR turned out to be an economically independent state. Otherwise, his story could have taken a completely different path.

However, despite this, the standard of living of the majority of rural citizens practically did not improve, and in some places even worsened.

Collectivization

In the early 1930s, the collectivization of agriculture was introduced, which was the unification of peasant farms into centralized collective farms.

It led to a significant decline in agricultural and livestock production. Peasant uprisings broke out in different places, which were often suppressed with the help of weapons.

In the USSR, a rationing system was introduced, according to which people could receive certain shares of certain products. Cancellation of cards (for certain products) occurred only in 1935.

An interesting fact is that it was after this that Stalin uttered his historical phrase: "Life has become better, life has become more fun."

Terror and repression

Immediately after the Civil War, the Bolsheviks began to destroy the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks who preached their convictions. In addition, former landowners became victims of repression.

The greatest scale of repression was reached during the period of the so-called Great Terror (1937-1938).

According to historians, hundreds of thousands of people were killed during this time, and millions of Soviet citizens ended up in labor camps. Basically, the convicts were accused of treason and counter-revolutionary activities.

USSR foreign policy in the 1930s

In connection with the signed treaty, Germany turned a blind eye to these actions on the part of the USSR. After that, the Soviets annexed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, placing military bases in these republics.

Then the USSR offered Finland to sign a mutual assistance agreement. However, when the Finns rejected any proposals, war broke out between the countries.

It lasted for 4 months. As a result, the USSR and Finland signed the Moscow Peace Treaty. In this conflict, the Soviet side suffered great human and technical losses.

When Hitler saw that the USSR, surpassing Finland in population and technology, could not win the war, he decided that the Red Army did not pose a serious threat to him.

The Great Patriotic War

On June 22, 1941, fascist Germany attacked the USSR, thereby violating the non-aggression pact. This was the start of a terrible one.

At the beginning, the Germans managed to occupy most of the European countries in a short period of time, but when they reached it, they faced problems.

The Red Army, under the leadership, began an active counteroffensive against the Wehrmacht. The turning point in the war came during the Battle of Kursk, in which Soviet soldiers won great victories, continuing the pursuit of the Germans.

As a result, on May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally, and the next day was proclaimed Victory Day.

After that, the USSR declared war on Japan, since she was an ally of Hitler's Germany. An interesting fact is that it was during this period of history on the part of the United States that it was implemented.

A few weeks later, under the onslaught of Soviet soldiers, Japan surrendered. After that, South Sakhalin (see) and the Kuril Islands began to belong to the Soviet Union.

The Second World War became the bloodiest in the history of mankind. According to historians, more than 26 million Soviet citizens died in it, although some experts cite even larger numbers.

Post-war time

After the war, a communist regime was established in many European countries. At the same time, the United States acquired an increasingly serious influence throughout the world.

Soon between the United States of America and the USSR began cold war which manifested itself in the military, industrial and space race.

In the post-war period, the Soviet Union, which suffered the greatest losses, suffered from hunger and devastation. It took years for the standard of living ordinary people has improved.

History of the USSR in 1953-1991

Joseph Stalin died in 1953. His death was a real tragedy for the majority of Soviet citizens who lived during the personality cult.

He was elected the new head of the USSR. During his reign, a huge number of victims of Stalinist repressions were rehabilitated, and important reforms were carried out.

Khrushchev thaw

At the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Nikita Khrushchev criticized Stalin's personality cult, publishing various documents that spoke of his crimes.

Khrushchev's words were supported by party members in exactly the same way as they had previously supported Stalin himself. In general, this was not surprising, since everyone was afraid of losing their place.

The history of the USSR during the reign of Khrushchev was called the "thaw". The government paid great attention to the agrarian question, while declaring a course towards "peaceful coexistence" with the capitalist countries.

Good relations began to develop between the USSR and Yugoslavia.

At the time of the collapse, the USSR occupied almost 1⁄6 of the inhabited land area of ​​the Earth with a population of 294 million people, as well as 7th in the world in terms of national income (3.4%).

Thus ended the history of a great country - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

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