Critics of the personality cult and the Cuban Missile Crisis, which almost plunged the world into the third world war, came Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, whose years of rule are remembered for a naturally reverse process.

Stagnation, an increase in the importance of Stalin in the eyes of the public, a softening in relations with the West, but at the same time attempts to influence world politics - these characteristics are remembered for this era. The years of Brezhnev's rule in the USSR were one of the key ones that contributed to the subsequent economic and political crisis of the nineties. What was this politician like?

The first steps to power

Leonid Ilyich was born into an ordinary family of workers in 1906. He studied first at the land management technical school, and then studied to be a metallurgist. As the director of the Technical School of Metallurgy, which is located in Dneprodzerzhinsk, he became a member of the CPSU party in 1931. When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Brezhnev worked on the Southern Front as deputy head of the political department. By the end of the war, Leonid Ilyich became a major general. Already in 1950 he worked as first secretary in Moldova, and in subsequent years he replaced the head in the Political Directorate of the army of the Soviet Union. Then he becomes chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. It is known that an absolutely trusting relationship developed between Khrushchev and Brezhnev, which allowed the latter to move towards the levers of governing the country after Nikita Sergeevich's illness.

Brezhnev's reforms

The years of Leonid Brezhnev's rule (1964-1982) can be described as the time of conservative measures. Agricultural expansion was not the main task for the ruler. Although during this period the Kosygin reform was carried out, its results were disastrous. The cost of building housing and health care only decreased, while spending on the military complex grew by leaps and bounds. Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, whose years of rule were remembered for the growth of the bureaucratic apparatus and bureaucratic arbitrariness, was more focused on foreign policy, apparently not finding ways to resolve the internal stagnation in society.

Foreign policy

It was on the political influence of the Soviet Union in the world that Brezhnev worked most of all, whose years of rule are full of foreign policy events. On the one hand, Leonid Ilyich is taking important steps to de-escalate the conflict between the USSR and the United States. The countries are finally finding a dialogue and agreeing on cooperation. In 1972, the American president visits Moscow for the first time, where a nuclear nonproliferation treaty is signed, and in 1980 the capital receives guests from all countries to host the Olympic Games.

However, Brezhnev, whose years of rule are known for active participation in various military conflicts, was not an absolute peacemaker. For Leonid Ilyich, it was important to designate the place of the USSR among the world powers capable of influencing the resolution of foreign policy issues. Thus, the Soviet Union is sending troops to Afghanistan, participating in conflicts in Vietnam and the Middle East. In addition, the attitude of the socialist countries that were friendly to the USSR towards the USSR is changing, in whose internal affairs Brezhnev also interferes. The years of Leonid Ilyich's rule were remembered for the suppression of the Czechoslovak uprisings, the deterioration of relations with Poland and the conflict with China on Damansky Island.

Awards

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was especially distinguished by his love for awards and titles. Sometimes she reached such an absurdity that as a result of this, many anecdotes and inventions appeared. However, the facts are hard to argue with.

Leonid Ilyich received his first award back in Stalin's time. After the war, he was awarded the Order of Lenin. One can only imagine how proud of this title Brezhnev was. The years of Khrushchev's rule brought him several more awards: the second Order of Lenin and the Order of the Great Patriotic War of the first degree. All this was not enough for the vain Leonid Ilyich.

Already during his reign, Brezhnev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union four times out of a possible three. He also received the title of Marshal of the USSR and the Order of Victory, which were awarded only to great commanders who participated in active hostilities, where Brezhnev never went.

Board results

The main defining word of the Brezhnev era was "stagnation." During the leadership of Leonid Ilyich, the economy finally showed its weakness and lack of growth. Attempts at reform have failed to produce the expected results.

As a conservative, Brezhnev was not satisfied with the policy of softening ideological pressure, therefore, in his time, control over culture only increased. One of the striking examples of this is the expulsion of A.I. Solzhenitsyn from the USSR in 1974.

Although there were relative improvements in foreign policy, the aggressive position of the USSR and the attempt to influence the internal conflicts of other countries worsened the attitude of the world community towards the Soviet Union.

In general, Brezhnev left behind a number of difficult economic and political issues, which were to be resolved by his successors.

The era of stagnation- used in journalism designation of the period in the history of the USSR, covering a little over two decades - from the moment Leonid Brezhnev came to power (1964) until the XXVII Congress of the CPSU (February 1986), and even more precisely - until the January 1987 Plenum, after which in the USSR, full-scale reforms were launched in all spheres of society. In many sources, the date of the end of the era of stagnation is indicated in March 1985 - the date when M.S.Gorbachev came to power, but this is incorrect. In 1985-86, there were no significant changes in the life of the country, with the exception of some minor steps like the legalization of rock music or the “removal from the shelf” of some not the most seditious films.

General

The term "stagnation" originates from the political report of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the CPSU, read by Mikhail Gorbachev, in which it was stated that "stagnation began to appear in the life of society" in both the economic and social spheres. Most often, this term denotes the period from the coming of Leonid I. Brezhnev to power (mid-1960s) to the beginning of perestroika (second half of the 1980s), marked by the absence of any serious upheavals in the country's political life, as well as social stability and relatively high standard of living (as opposed to the era of the 1920s-1950s).

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, during the era of stagnation, the USSR reached its climax, achieved nuclear parity with the United States and was recognized as a superpower. The middle class has grown, the possession of household items (refrigerators and cars) has become a reality for a significant part of the population. The affordability of housing, health care, and higher education was unprecedented in Soviet terms.

On the other hand, dependence on mineral exports has led to the lack of necessary reforms in the economy. By the mid-1970s, growth in the non-resource sectors of the economy had slowed significantly. Signs of this were lagging behind in high-tech areas, poor product quality, inefficient production, and low labor productivity. Agriculture was in trouble, and the country spent a lot of money on food purchases. Corruption increased significantly, and dissent was prosecuted.

Proponents of designating this period as "stagnant" associate the stability of the Soviet economy at that time with the oil boom of the 1970s. This situation deprived the country's leadership of any incentives to modernize economic and social life, which was aggravated by the advanced age and poor health of the top leaders. In fact, negative trends were growing in the economy, and the technical and technological lag behind the capitalist countries increased. With the fall in oil prices by the mid-1980s, some of the party and economic leaders became aware of the need to reform the economy. This coincided with the coming to power of the youngest at that time member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Mikhail Gorbachev. At the same time, the first two years after M.S.Gorbachev took the post of general secretary (from March 1985 to January 1987), despite the official recognition of the existing difficulties, there were no significant changes in the life of the country. This period became a kind of “calm before the storm”, which “broke out” after the January 1987 Plenum, which declared Perestroika the official state ideology and became the starting point for radical transformations in all spheres of society.

The state of the economy

Positive developments in the economy

According to UN data for 1990, the USSR reached 26th place in the human development index (HDI = 0.920) [. At the same time, among European countries, only the allies of the USSR - Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary and Romania, Yugoslavia and Albania, as well as Portugal - had lower indicators. The Soviet economy developed at a fairly high rate. Thus, by 1980, the production and consumption of electricity in the Soviet Union had grown 26.8 times compared with 1940, while in the United States over the same period, generation at power plants increased 13.67 times.

In 1980, the Soviet Union ranked first in Europe and second in the world in terms of industrial and agricultural production. If in 1960 the volume of industrial production of the USSR was 55% compared to the USA, then 20 years later, in 1980, it was already more than 80%. The USSR came out on top in the world in the production of cement, since 1966 it was noticeably ahead of the United States and Great Britain in terms of this indicator per capita. At present, the volume of industrial production in various industries has decreased from 10 to 40 times and is only 5% of the volume of the United States (and then only due to the export of raw materials). In social terms, over the 18 Brezhnev years, the real incomes of the population increased by more than 1.5 times. The population of Russia in those years increased by 12 million people. On the contrary, in modern Russia the population has decreased by 9 million people and continues to decline by 700-800 thousand annually. This also includes the commissioning of 1.6 billion square meters under Brezhnev. meters of living space, thanks to which free housing was provided to 162 million people. At the same time, the rent on average did not exceed 3% of family income, albeit in the absence of a competitive housing market. There were successes in other areas, for example, in tractor construction: the Soviet Union exported tractors to forty countries of the world, mainly socialist and developing ones. The pride of the Soviet leadership was the constant growth in the provision of agriculture with tractors and combines, however, the grain yield was significantly lower than in industrialized capitalist countries (in 1970, 15.6 kg / ha in the USSR against 31.2 kg / ha in the USA, 50.3 c / ha in Japan and the Australian Union 11.6 c / ha), moreover, it was not possible to achieve an increase in yield - in 1985 it was 15 c / ha. However, there was a big difference by districts - for example, in Moldova, the yield was 29.3 c / ha, in Russia - 15.6 c / ha, in the Baltic republics - 21.3 - 24.5 c.ha (all data from 1970. ).

In general, to assess the efficiency of agricultural production, it is, of course, necessary to take into account climatic conditions. Nevertheless, in the RSFSR, the gross grain harvest (in weight after revision) was one and a half to two times higher than after perestroika; similar proportions can be seen in the number of main livestock species.

Stagnation in the economy

On the other hand, there were also negative phenomena. First of all, this is a steady decline in growth rates, stagnation in the economy:

It is quite characteristic that in the 1970s the slogan “catch up and overtake” completely disappeared from Soviet propaganda (it should be noted, however, that the volume of production of the USSR in relation to the United States was still growing in these years, see the previous section).

The lag behind the West in the development of science-intensive industries was also significant. For example, the situation in computing was characterized as "catastrophic":

Insufficient food supply for the population remained a chronic problem, despite large investments in agriculture (see Food Program), forced sending of townspeople to agricultural work and significant food imports.

In contrast to the period of Khrushchev's rule, during the years of stagnation, the development of personal subsidiary plots of collective farmers and workers of state farms was encouraged, even the slogan "Personal economy is a common benefit" appeared; land was also widely distributed for gardening associations of townspeople.

According to the economist, academician Oleg Bogomolov, "it was the stagnation of the Soviet economy that gave the first impetus to perestroika."

Politics

Domestic policy

With the coming of Brezhnev to power, the state security bodies intensified the fight against dissent - the first sign of this was the Sinyavsky-Daniel trial (1965).

A decisive turn towards curtailing the remnants of the "thaw" took place in 1968, after the introduction of troops into Czechoslovakia. The resignation of AT Tvardovsky from the post of editor of Novy Mir magazine in early 1970 was perceived as a sign of the final liquidation of the “thaw”.

In such conditions, among the intelligentsia, awakened by the "thaw", a dissident movement arose and took shape, which was harshly suppressed by the state security organs until the beginning of 1987, when more than a hundred dissidents were pardoned at a time and the persecutions against them almost disappeared. According to D.A. Volkogonov, Brezhnev personally approved of the repressive measures against the activists of the human rights movement in the USSR. However, the scale of the dissident movement, like political repression, was not large.

Part of the system of ideological curtailment of the thaw was the process of "restalinization" - the latent rehabilitation of Stalin. The signal was given at a ceremonial meeting in the Kremlin on May 8, 1965, when Brezhnev, for the first time after many years of silence, mentioned Stalin's name to the applause of the audience. At the end of 1969, on the occasion of Stalin's 90th birthday, Suslov organized a number of measures to rehabilitate him and was close to his goal. However, the sharp protests of the intelligentsia, including its close to the power elite, forced Brezhnev to curtail the campaign. In a positive way, Stalin was also mentioned by Gorbachev in a speech on Red Square in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Victory on May 9, 1985.

Since the early 1970s, there has been Jewish emigration from the USSR. Many famous writers, actors, musicians, athletes, scientists emigrated.

In 1975, an uprising took place on "Storozhevoy" - an armed manifestation of insubordination on the part of a group of Soviet naval sailors on a large anti-submarine ship (BOD) of the USSR Navy "Storozhevoy". The leader of the uprising was the ship's political officer, captain of the 3rd rank Valery Sablin.

After 1975, over the years of Brezhnev's rule, the definition was firmly established: "The era of stagnation."

Foreign policy

In the field of foreign policy, Brezhnev did a lot to achieve political detente in the 1970s. The US-Soviet treaties on the limitation of strategic offensive arms were concluded (although, in 1967, the accelerated installation of intercontinental missiles into underground mines began), which, however, were not backed up by adequate confidence-building and control measures. The process of detente was canceled out by the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan (1979).

In 1985-86, the new Soviet leadership made separate attempts to improve Soviet-American relations, but the final abandonment of the policy of confrontation occurred only by 1990.

In relations with the socialist countries, Brezhnev initiated the doctrine of "limited sovereignty", providing for intimidation actions up to a military invasion of those countries that tried to pursue domestic and foreign policies independent of the USSR. In 1968, Brezhnev agreed to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the troops of the Warsaw Pact countries (Prague Spring). In 1980, a military intervention in Poland was being prepared.

Attempts to expand the Soviet sphere of influence on different continents (Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Angola, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and so on) led to the depletion of the Soviet economy and the financing of ineffective regimes.

Staff stagnation

In accordance with the principle of staff irremovability, many heads of various departments and regions have held positions for more than 10 (often more than 20) years. A number of cases are shown in the table.

	Position		Leadership period
Top management
	General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee	Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich
	Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR	Kosygin, Alexey Nikolaevich
	Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR	Podgorny, Nikolay Viktorovich
Ministers
	Minister of Foreign Trade	Patolichev, Nikolay Semyonovich
	Minister of Internal Affairs	Shchelokov, Nikolay Anisimovich
	Minister of Health	Petrovsky, Boris Vasilievich
	Foreign Secretary	Gromyko, Andrey Andreevich
	Minister of Culture	Furtseva, Ekaterina Alekseevna
	Minister of Light Industry	Tarasov, Nikolay Nikiforovich
	Minister of Mechanical Engineering	Bakhirev, Vyacheslav Vasilievich
	Minister of the Navy	Guzhenko, Timofey Borisovich
	Minister of Communications	Psurtsev, Nikolay Demyanovich
	Minister of Medium Machine Building	Slavsky, Efim Pavlovich
	Minister of Commerce	Struev, Alexander Ivanovich
	Minister of Finance	Garbuzov, Vasily Fedorovich
	Minister of Electrical Industry	Antonov, Alexey Konstantinovich
Heads of republican committees of the CPSU
	Azerbaijan SSR	Aliyev, Heydar Alievich
	Armenian SSR	Demirchyan, Karen Seropovich
	Byelorussian SSR	Masherov, Pyotr Mironovich
	Georgian SSR	Shevardnadze, Eduard Amvrosievich
	Kazakh SSR	Kunaev, Dinmukhamed Akhmedovich
	Kirghiz SSR	Usubaliev, Turdakun Usubalievich
	Latvian SSR	Voss, August Eduardovich
	Lithuanian SSR	Snechkus, Antanas Juozovich
	Moldavian SSR	Bodul, Ivan Ivanovich
	Tajik SSR	Rasulov, Jabar Rasulovich
	Turkmen SSR	Gapurov, Mukhamednazar Gapurovich
	Uzbek SSR	Rashidov, Sharaf Rashidovich
	Ukrainian SSR	Shcherbitsky, Vladimir Vasilievich
	Estonian SSR	Kabin, Johannes Gustavovich
Heads of regional committees of the CPSU
		Grishin, Viktor Vasilievich
		Botvin, Alexander Platonovich
	Adjarian ASSR	Tkhilaishvili, Alexander Dursunovich
	Bashkir ASSR	Shakirov, Midhat Zakirovich
	Buryat ASSR	Modogoev, Andrey Urupkheevich
	Dagestan ASSR	Umakhanov, Magomed-Salam Ilyasovich
	Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic	Malbakhov, Timbora Kubatievich
	Kalmyk ASSR	Gorodovikov, Basan Badminovich
	Karakalpak ASSR	Kamalov, Kallibek
	Karelian ASSR	Senkin, Ivan Ilyich
	Komi ASSR	Morozov, Ivan Pavlovich
	Mordovian ASSR	Berezin, Anatoly Ivanovich
	North Ossetian ASSR	Kabaloev, Bilar Emazaevich
	Tatar ASSR	Tabeev, Fikryat Akhmedzhanovich
	Chuvash ASSR	Prokopiev, Ilya Pavlovich
	Udmurt ASSR	Marisov, Valery Konstantinovich
	Yakut ASSR	Chiryaev, Gavriil Iosifovich
	Krasnoyarsk region	Fedirko, Pavel Stefanovich
	Primorsky Krai	Lomakin, Victor Pavlovich
	Khabarovsk region	Cherny, Alexey Klimentievich
	Adyghe Autonomous Okrug	Berzegov, Nukh Aslancherievich
	Jewish Autonomous Region	Shapiro, Lev Borisovich
	Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District	Kevorkov, Boris Sarkisovich
	South Ossetian Autonomous District	Sanakoev, Felix Sergeevich
	Alma-Ata region	Askarov, Asanbay Asarkuly
	Amur region	Avramenko, Stepan Stepanovich
	Arhangelsk region	Popov, Boris Veniaminovich
	Astrakhan region	Borodin, Leonid Alexandrovich
	Brest region	Mikulich, Vladimir Andreevich
	Vinnytsia region	Taratuta, Vasily Nikolaevich
	Vladimir region	Ponomarev, Mikhail Alexandrovich
	Volgograd region	Kulichenko, Leonid Sergeevich
	Vologodskaya Oblast	Drygin, Anatoly Semyonovich
	East Kazakhstan region	Protazanov, Alexander Konstantinovich
	The Grodno region	Kletskov, Leonid Gerasimovich
	Transcarpathian region	Ilnitsky, Yuri Vasilievich
	Zaporozhye region	Vsevolzhsky, Mikhail Nikolaevich
	Irkutsk region	Bannikov, Nikolay Vasilievich
	Kaliningrad region	Konovalov, Nikolay Semyonovich
	Kalinin region	Korytkov, Nikolay Gavrilovich
	Kaluga region	Kandrenkov, Andrey Andreevich
	Kiev region	Tsybulko, Vladimir Mikhailovich
	Kirovograd region	Kobylchak, Mikhail Mitrofanovich
	Kirov region	Bespalov, Ivan Pavlovich
	Kostroma region	Balandin, Yuri Nikolaevich
	Kurgan region	Knyazev, Ivan Filippovich
	Kursk region	Gudkov, Alexander Fedorovich
	Kostanay region	Borodin, Andrey Mikhailovich
	Lipetsk region	Pavlov, Grigory Petrovich
	Minsk Region	Polyakov, Ivan Evteevich
	Moscow region	Konotop, Vasily Ivanovich
	Murmansk region	Ptitsyn, Vladimir Nikolaevich
	Nizhny Novgorod Region	Hristoradnov, Yuri Nikolaevich
	Novgorod region	Antonov, Nikolay Afanasevich
	Novosibirsk region	Goryachev, Fedor Stepanovich
	Omsk region	Manyakin, Sergey Iosifovich
	Oryol Region	Meshkov, Fedor Stepanovich
	Penza region	Ermin, Lev Borisovich
	Perm region	Konoplev, Boris Vsevolodovich
	Pskov region	Rybakov, Alexey Mironovich
	Rostov region	Bondarenko, Ivan Afanasevich
	Sakhalin Region	Leonov, Pavel Artyomovich
	North-Kazakhstan region	Demidenko, Vasily Petrovich
	Smolensk region	Klimenko, Ivan Efimovich
	Tomsk region	Ligachev, Egor Kuzmich
	Tula region	Yunak, Ivan Kharitonovich
	Tyumen region	Bogomyakov, Gennady Pavlovich
	Khmelnitsky region	Lisovoy, Timofey Grigorievich
	Khorezm region	Khudaibergenov, Magyar Khudaibergenovich
	Chelyabinsk region	Voropaev, Mikhail Gavrilovich
	Yaroslavskaya oblast	Loschenkov, Fedor Ivanovich

Society

Much attention in the USSR was paid to the constant cultural development of society.

In the period of stagnation after the rollback of the relative democratization of the thaw times, a dissident movement appeared, such names as Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn became famous.

In the era of stagnation, there was a steady increase in the consumption of alcoholic beverages (from 1.9 liters of pure alcohol per capita in 1952 to 14.2 liters in 1984).

There was also a continuous increase in the number of suicides - from 17.1 per 100,000 population in 1965 to 29.7 in 1984.

The criminal situation in the country remained difficult:

After the resolution in the late 1960s of the conscription of persons with a criminal past into the Soviet army, hazing flourished, which was one of the signs of the disintegration of the army.

Growth in mortality and alcoholization of the population

During the Brezhnev era in the USSR, primarily in the RSFSR and other republics of the European part, a demographic problem and the problem of mass alcoholization of the population appeared. Around 1965, the fall in mortality ceases and its growth begins, which went along with the fall in the birth rate (later these trends led to the Russian cross). The increase in mortality was determined by an increase in deaths from cardiovascular diseases among young men and an increase in the number of deaths from external causes (accidents, homicides, suicides).

This happened in parallel with a noticeable increase in alcohol consumption per capita and, according to demographers, was directly related to it. In 1965, the registered consumption of pure alcohol per capita was 4.5 liters, in 1970 - 8.3 liters, in 1980 - 10.5 liters, and at this level it stabilized until the period of Gorbachev's rule; this was 2.5 times higher than the world average. In fact, the level of consumption was even higher, since the official statistics did not take into account home brewing; according to some estimates, it exceeded 14 liters. In the USSR, there were 40 million alcoholics, that is, every seventh inhabitant was sick with alcoholism. There was a growing opinion in society that the growth of drunkenness threatened the very physical existence of Russians as a nation.

At the same time, Doctor of Medical Sciences A.V. Nemtsov believes that the increase in alcoholism occurred in other countries of the world (in particular, in France in 1965 it reached 17.3 l / person, which led Charles de Gaulle to This researcher believes that “after the Second World War, from about the mid-50s, when the main wounds were healed, all over the world, but especially in Europe and North America, along with the growth of material wealth, uncontrollable growth began alcohol consumption. The then prosperous Sweden for 30 years - from 1946 to 1976 - increased consumption by 129% ".

Consumption of alcoholic beverages in certain countries (per capita, liters of 100% alcohol), according to the Russian Statistical Yearbook (Moscow, 1994, p. 200), was the following during the Brezhnev period:

Riots in the USSR

It is mistakenly believed that riots in the USSR began to emerge in the era of Perestroika. In fact, this social phenomenon appeared in the USSR immediately with the beginning of Khrushchev's liberalization. In March 1956, the first mass riots in the country, perpetrated by representatives of the local population, dissatisfied with the exposure of the personality cult of J.V. Stalin at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, took place in Tbilisi. From that moment until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, riots periodically arose in different regions of the country. , however, they were hushed up before Perestroika.

• September 29 - October 3, 1964, the Dagestan city of Khasavyurt. Up to 700 people took part in the riots. The reason: a Chechen raped a girl of Lak nationality, and the male population of Laks moved to take revenge on the Chechens. The weapon was not used, there were no killed or wounded. 9 people were brought to criminal responsibility.
• On August 23, 1966, about 500 residents of the Kievsky district of Moscow stood up for a drunk citizen whom the police tried to detain. The weapon was not used, there were no casualties.
• On May 17, 1967, in the city of Frunze, up to 700 residents attacked the regional department of internal affairs, where, according to rumors, police officers beat a detained soldier to death. The weapon was used. One was killed, three were wounded, 18 people were put in the dock.
• June 13, 1967, a major clash of the inhabitants of the Kazakh city of Chimkent with the police. More than a thousand people took part. Reason: antisocial elements spread provocative rumors about the alleged murder of the driver of the local car fleet by police officers. The police used firearms. 7 were killed, 50 were wounded. 43 residents of the city went to court.
• July 3, 1967, large riots in the city of Stepanakert. More than two thousand people took part in them. The crowd, dissatisfied with the lenient sentence of the court to the murderers of the boy, attacked the convoy and recaptured the three convicts. They were killed and burned right on the street. The police used weapons. Victims - one killed, 9 wounded. 22 instigators were brought to trial.
• On October 8, 1967, 500 people attacked a police station in the city of Priluki, Chernihiv region. Reason: provocative rumors about the alleged murder by police officers of a citizen who actually died from progressive meningitis. The weapon was not used, there were no casualties. 10 people were prosecuted.
• On October 12, 1967, in the city of Slutsk, roughly 1,200 residents burned down the people's court building, as a result of which two people were killed and three were burned. The reason for the arson is the population's dissatisfaction with the court verdict for causing grievous bodily harm and possession of firearms. 12 instigators were brought to criminal responsibility.
• On July 13, 1968, about 4 thousand residents of the city of Nalchik gathered at the city market. According to rumors, the detained teenager was beaten at the police station. The resulting crowd rushed into the premises of the checkpoint and killed the local policeman. 33 people were brought to criminal responsibility, including three - to capital punishment.
• On January 22, 1977, the city of Novomoskovsk, Tula Region, a crowd of at least 500 people gathered near the bullpen. It became known that the police officers used assault and other rough actions against the detained minors. Outraged residents nearly destroyed the bullpen. Six of them were prosecuted.
• Tselinograd events of 1979 - performances of Kazakh youth in the city of Tselinograd, which took place on June 16, 1979, directed against the government's decision to create a German autonomous region on the territory of northern Kazakhstan.
• October 24, 1981, the city of Ordzhonikidze. Riots, in which about 4.5 thousand people participated, broke out during the funeral of the murdered taxi driver. 26 ringleaders were brought to trial.
• August 22-23, 1984, riots in the city of Leninogorsk. A police car ran into two girls, one of whom died as a result of the injury. About a thousand outraged residents of the city gathered at the building of the city department of internal affairs. It was soon defeated. Two citizens were wounded in the scuffle. 13 people received prison sentences.
• On January 12, 1985, the city of Dushanbe, near the cinema, a scuffle flared up between a group of Tajiks and a person of non-indigenous nationality. Fueled by nationalist outcries, the crowd organized a mass beating of the Russians at the cinema. Up to 700 people participated from both sides. There were no killed or wounded. Five instigators were prosecuted.

Terrorist attacks

• January 22, 1969 - junior lieutenant of the Soviet Army Viktor Ilyin shoots at the government motorcade, in which, as he assumed, Leonid Brezhnev was traveling. The driver was killed, one motorcyclist from the escort was wounded, the terrorist was neutralized.
• June 3, 1969 - three armed residents of Leningrad attempted to hijack an Il-14 aircraft that was flying from Leningrad to Tallinn. The terrorist attack was suppressed by the forces of the aircraft crew itself (all crew members were subsequently awarded the Orders of the Red Banner and the Red Star).
• June 15, 1970 - Leningrad Aircraft Business.
• October 15, 1970 - terrorists - Brazinskasa's father and son - hijacked an An-24 with 46 passengers on board, en route from Batumi to Sukhumi. This was the first aircraft hijacking on the territory of the USSR. The plane landed in Turkey. The Turkish government refused to extradite the hijackers, subsequently the Brazinskas emigrated to the United States. Subsequently, Brazinskas Jr. was convicted of the domestic murder of his father. During the hijacking, the flight attendant Nadezhda Kurchenko died.
• June 14, 1971 - crazy Pyotr Valynsky exploded on a regular bus in Krasnodar, killing 10 people.
• 1972 - three explosions: at the regional party committee in Sukhumi (one person died), on Rustaveli Avenue in front of the Government House in Tbilisi and in the city park in Kutaisi. The organizer was Vladimir Zhvania, who was found and executed by a court sentence.
• September 11, 1973 - A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near Lenin's mausoleum on Red Square.
• November 2, 1973 - an attempt to hijack a Yak-40 aircraft during the Moscow-Bryansk flight by four armed teenagers, who injured two people. The criminals were neutralized by the police during the assault at the Vnukovo airport, one terrorist was killed, one was shot.
• September 23, 1976 - An-2 was hijacked to Iran. The offender and the plane were returned to their homeland.
• May 25, 1977 - An-24 was hijacked to Stockholm. The offender was sentenced by a Swedish court to four years in prison.
• July 1977 - Tu-134 is hijacked in Helsinki. The criminals were transferred to the USSR.
• January 8, 1977 - three explosions thundered in Moscow: at 17:33 in the metro on the stretch between the Izmailovsky Park and Pervomayskaya stations, at 18:05 in the grocery store No. 15 of the Baumansky District Food Office on Dzerzhinsky Square (now Lubyanskaya), at 18 : 10 in a cast-iron trash can near grocery store No. 5 on October 25 (now Nikolskaya) Street - as a result, 29 people died. According to the investigation, the perpetrators of these attacks were residents of Yerevan: Stepan Zatikyan, Hakob Stepanyan, Zaven Baghdasaryan. The first, who was recognized as the organizer of the group, was found in the apartment of an explosive device that went off in the subway, and the second - parts of new explosive devices. All three were members of the illegal Armenian Nationalist Party. All three were sentenced to death and shot.
• February 21, 1978 - Tu-134 was captured, en route from Moscow to Murmansk. The terrorist is neutralized.
• November 10, 1978 - An-24 flight Kharkov-Rostov-Sukhumi-Batumi was captured. Terrorist S. Wool threatened to blow up the plane. There was no explosive device. Together with the terrorist, two of his minor children were present on the plane.
• May 14, 1979 - a passenger bus was seized in the city of Novokuznetsk with a demand to provide a helicopter. The terrorists were armed with rifles, hand grenades and an explosive device. One of the passengers was killed, four were taken hostage. During a shootout with police officers, the invaders were neutralized, one of the terrorists was eliminated.
• December 19, 1981 - at school No. 12 in Sarapul (Udmurtia), two armed conscripts from the 248th motorized rifle division (military unit 13977) of the Ural Military District took 25 schoolchildren and a teacher hostage. The terrorists' demand is foreign passports, visas and a plane to fly to Germany or any Western country. If the conditions were not met, they threatened to shoot the hostages. As a result of the negotiations, the hostages were released, and after the assault by the officers of group "A" the criminals were disarmed.
• November 7, 1982 - An-24, flying Novorossiysk-Odessa, was hijacked to Turkey, the perpetrators were sentenced by a Turkish court to eight years in prison.
• On November 18, 1983, a Tu-134 with 57 passengers and four crew members took off from Tbilisi on the Batumi-Kiev-Leningrad route. At 17.12 the hijackers broke into the cockpit and demanded to fly to Turkey. At 17.40 the plane landed at the Tbilisi airport. On November 19 at 6.55 the hijackers were detained and the passengers were released. 7 people were killed, including 2 hijackers, who turned out to be a group of young Georgians from families of artistic bohemians.

Main events

• Conclusion of the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Under Water (1963)
• Renewal of arrests of writers for their literary works (Sinyavsky, Daniel and others),
• In 1967, the "State Quality Mark" was introduced
• Conclusion of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968)
• Defeat of Political Liberalism in Czechoslovakia Prague Spring (1968)
• Demonstration on August 25, 1968 on Red Square. against the introduction of troops into Czechoslovakia.
• The world's first passenger airliner - the Soviet Tu-144 broke the sound barrier (June 5, 1969)
• Agreement "On measures to reduce the danger of a nuclear war between the USSR and the United States" (1969)
• Completion of the "Luna" program - for exploration of the Moon, delivery of lunar soil, Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2.
• Leningrad aircraft business
• Agreement "On Measures to Improve the USSR-USA Direct Communication Line." (1971)
• Forced emigration from Leningrad by Joseph Brodsky and Mikhail Shemyakin (1971)
• On May 16, 1972, decree No. 361 "On measures to strengthen the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism" (the first anti-alcohol campaign) was published.
• Conclusion of the Treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems on May 26, 1972 (ABM Treaty)
• Space program "Venus"
• "Detente of international tension"
• Expulsion of A. Solzhenitsyn (1974)
• Exchange of political prisoners (Bukovsky for Corvalan (1976)
• Implementation of a series of manned astronautics programs at the Salyut orbital stations and the development of the Mir station and the Buran spacecraft
• Signing of the Helsinki Final Act of the CSCE, the formation of groups to promote its implementation ("Helsinki Groups"), 1975
• Uprising on the cruiser "Sentinel", 1975
• A series of terrorist attacks in Moscow (1977)
• Adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR (1977) to replace the Constitution of 1936
• Construction of BAM
• April 14, 1978 - mass demonstrations of protest in Tbilisi against the deprivation of the state language of the Georgian language.
• Entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, Afghan war (1979-1989)
• Link of Academician A. Sakharov to Gorky (1980)
• 1980 Summer Olympics
• The defeat of the Moscow Helsinki Group, 1981
• Funeral of Brezhnev 1982
• South Korean Boeing Incident (1983)
• Funeral of Andropov 1984
• Funeral of Chernenko 1985

The end of the period of stagnation is often unofficially referred to as the "era of lavish funerals": within three years, three general secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee died: Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko.

Brezhnev's reign was marked by an important stage in history. The professional activity and personal life of this politician have always been the subject of "heated" disputes and discussions.

For some he was a good-natured person and a wonderful husband, while for others he was a strict leader.

Opinions about the characterization of those years that the Secretary General spent in power are also divided. There is no single answer. But what was L.I. Brezhnev and what events do you remember during his reign?

Brief biography of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

Born into a simple working-class family, Leonid Ilyich began working early. His career began at an ordinary factory. He graduated from technical school and then institute. He worked in various places where he had a career, and in various positions.

Brezhnev - four times Hero of the Soviet Union!

Since 1964 - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, since 1966 - General Secretary. Historians give an ambiguous assessment of his management activities. The country began to lag behind in development (in various directions) from other states. In total, Brezhnev ruled the country for about twenty years.

Interesting fact: once Leonid Ilyich signed for Lenin. This happened at the time of the presentation of the first party membership card. Lenin was assigned number one, and Brezhnem was assigned number two. Since they "forgot" to give Lenin out on time, they gave both of them to Brezhny, in the first of them he put his autograph.

The photo clearly shows the signature of the head of the country.

Origin and childhood

Leonid Brezhnev was born in 1906. The politician was born in Kamenskoye (now the territory of the Dnepropetrovsk region). He had a younger brother and sister named Yakov and Vera.

Leonid Brezhnev's parents - Ilya Yakovlevich Brezhnev and Natalia Denisovna Mazalova

His parents were ordinary workers. There is no unequivocal information about who he was by nationality. Some sources indicate that they are Russian, while others say that Leonid Ilyich's nationality is Ukrainian. Birthday is December 6 (19).

Brezhnev is a real name. The father of the politician comes from the village of Brezhnevo.

Education

He graduated from the future politician of the Kamensk gymnasium. After graduation, he was admitted to the technical school for the specialty "Surveyor", for which he successfully worked for some time.

Later, the young and promising Brezhnev left for Moscow, where he entered the Institute of Agricultural Engineering. He did not study there for long, as he transferred to the Metallurgical Institute of the city of Dneprodzerzhinsk.

Rise to power

Before coming to the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, he had a long career path. In 1931 he became a member of the CPSU (b). He has been in party positions since 1937. In different periods of time, he held positions of various sizes.

He came to power after Khrushchev was dismissed. Brezhnev took part in a conspiracy against N.S. Khrushchev. Then he became the first secretary. The time of reign is 1964-1982.

Domestic policy

The era of this politician's rule is characterized as “Brezhnev's stagnation”. This happened due to the fact that the country was slowly developing in terms of the economy, there were problems in the social, spiritual and other spheres of society.

At first, Brezhnev supported criticism of the Stalinist regime, the rehabilitation of victims of repression, and approved of limited liberalization. But as soon as Leonid Ilyich came to power, this process stopped.

In 66 of the last century, he returned to use the title of General Secretary, which was under Stalin. Did not encourage any form of dissent.

The historical portrait of Brezhnev as head of the country is controversial.

Brezhnev's reforms

Leonid Ilyich carried out a number of economic, industrial and external reforms. It is also worth highlighting the anti-alcohol campaign that took place in 1972.

The economic reform of 1965 failed to produce the desired results. Kosygin was removed from office, after which the economy began to decline.

Foreign policy

During the reign of Khrushchev, the foreign policy power of the USSR weakened. The USA began to lead in this segment. Brezhnev was able to change this opinion, and during his reign a powerful fleet was created, the country achieved nuclear parity.

The Brezhnev era was also marked by the introduction of troops into Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan.

Personal life

Leonid Ilyich met his wife in his youth. The secretary general was married only once. Victoria Denisova (later Brezhnev) - that was the name of his wife.

They met at a dance. They both studied at technical schools. Later they had two children - a daughter and a son.

When and how did Brezhnev die

The years of the Secretary General's life are from 1906 to 1982. Date of death - November 10. Buried in Moscow, right on Red Square.

There is a monument in the form of a granite bust on the grave. At the time of death, the age was 75 years.

Brezhnev's successor is Yuri Andropov. It was he who ruled in the period after Brezhnev to Gorbachev.

The results of Brezhnev's rule - the pros and cons for Russia

The years of the rule of Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev are assessed differently. As for Brezhnev, on the one hand, the country was experiencing stagnation. But on the other hand, it has achieved foreign policy power.

The country's political development did not proceed as quickly as we would like (due to various factors). Of course, Brezhnev tried to do a lot of good for his country and bring its socio-economic development to a new level. However, the economic reforms of 1965 gave practically no results.

On the other hand, due to reforms in the field of improving relations with the United States, the "iron curtain" began to weaken, and relations between the two countries improved, this helped to reduce the level of political tension in the world.

We lived quietly and muffled

This is a whole era in the life of the country, and one of the longest and, frankly, not the worst. Although, of course, there was something bad about her too. Analyzing this time, we recall the Helsinki Agreements, the historic Soyuz-Apollo docking, the deployment of troops to Afghanistan, the 1980 Olympics, construction projects of the century, dissident processes and, of course, stagnation. Today in "Friday" eyewitnesses and experts talk about Brezhnev and his role in history.

Each person who lived in the 70s and 80s of the last century has his own image of that era. I also have it, and not only one, so this is an ambiguous period. The very first thing that comes to mind is the feeling: will it really always be this way? Will endless plenums and conferences in the Central Committee of the CPSU, speeches of sad Kremlin elders, battles for the harvest, hockey matches on TV and queues, queues, queues ... never end ...

Remembers Arnold Kharitonov, famous journalist, writer:

“When Brezhnev came, we vaguely understood that they had a struggle up there, and everyone thought that Brezhnev was a temporary figure. And in the end, he remained in office until his death, 18 years. At this time, anecdotes entered our life, which under Stalin never happened and could not have been. And what is interesting, under Stalin everything was hidden, but under Brezhnev everyone knew that it was not he who wrote the books "Small Land" and "Celina" about the lovers and husbands of his daughter Galina. And one more thing: Brezhnev did not make any shocking movements. 18 years old, and there is nothing to say. They lived quietly and muffled. "

Arnold Innokentyevich recalls the famous phrase: "History repeats itself twice: the first time in the form of a tragedy, the second - in the form of a farce." Undoubtedly, the Brezhnev era is a complete farce.

“Remember how he was already barely standing on his feet and could not speak. And this is his childish love for various orders and medals! Everyone laughed at him. Once he arrived in Irkutsk, talked to an aircraft plant worker, and immediately this worker was given the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. I remember the last time it was shown on TV in 1982 during a visit to Baku. Together with Heydar Aliyev, they arrived at the monument to the 26 Baku commissars. Aliev held his arm very tightly. First, Brezhnev bowed in the direction of the monument, then Aliyev turned him to the people, and for some reason he again bowed. Apparently, he already did not understand very well what was happening. "

It was during these years that Arnold Kharitonov had a chance to work both in newspapers and on television, that is, at the forefront of the ideological front.

“The censorship was ferocious. We were under two caps - the regional committee of the CPSU and the Komsomol. Behind every word, every photograph he saw a catch, a provocation, a second meaning. Once I was summoned by the head of the press sector to scold me for a photo of a dog in a torn vest. They say that the sailors will be indignant at how they dared to put on a vest - a symbol of the Soviet fleet - on a dog. I was stunned: what a connection - vests are worn by sailors in many countries of the world, and even pirates wore. I can tell hundreds of such cases ”.

Vladimir Demchikov, blogger, publicist and impresario, recalls numerous portraits of "dear Leonid Ilyich" and his associates in the Politburo, which were everywhere - from newspapers and walls of houses to schools and television:

“Moreover, these images were created deliberately on the cheap. Some kind of rags, plywood, frames for banners ... Such deliberate modesty of the ubiquitous, fragility of the unshakable. It was a little funny, a little pitiful, aroused bewilderment and was perceived simply as a clear manifestation of the absurdity inherent in life. We avoided all this. "

Vladimir Sevastyanovich does not feel any emotions regarding that time, according to him, it was obvious that the country was simply rolling downhill by inertia.

Indeed, everything was like that: plywood banners, the obligation to go to demonstrations on May 1 and November 7, conversations in kitchens, anecdotes ... And the very image of Leonid Ilyich, who was called no other than a fiery Marxist-Leninist, an outstanding leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet state, the most prominent figure in the international communist and workers' movement, a tireless fighter for peace and friendship between peoples, appears through the prism of numerous anecdotes. But most importantly, no one was afraid of Brezhnev, and generally did not take it seriously. Especially in recent years. Here it is worth remembering how he was buried, because in our country funerals are, so to speak, a moment of truth. It is during the funeral that the true attitude of people towards a statesman is manifested. No, of course, there were official speeches, nationwide mourning, but, to be honest, many breathed a sigh of relief, because they no longer had the strength to look at the helpless old man.

“We went to show our new film in the Nizhneudinsky region,” recalls Arnold Kharitonov, “with us was the first secretary of the regional party committee. And so we were sitting in the hut, and the radio was reporting his death. I ask the secretary: "The show should probably be canceled?" He: “Why cancel? There was no team. " "Well, maybe to announce a minute of silence?" - "No. We ourselves cannot declare, there was no command ”. - "You are probably going to Nizhneudinsk now?" - "What for? After the film, let's go, have a drink, have a snack, and in the morning I'll go. " And no one sobbed, only the watchman nailed the mourning ribbon to the flag. And when Stalin died, I remember very well, everyone was crying. Both adults and children. "

Was there stagnation?

For some, the Brezhnev era is hopeless darkness, stagnation, timelessness, while others remember this period as a time of rapid development.

“Of course, it was not stagnation,” I am sure Vladimir Aksenov, the secretary of the Irkutsk regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for information and propaganda work, - there was growth in the country in all sectors. Everything is known in comparison: under him 38 poultry farms were built in the Irkutsk region, now only three are working. As for Leonid Ilyich himself, he was a practitioner and completely disinterested person. We assess it positively, although time required more. Everyone says - coupons, deficit, but I think it was done artificially. Many of the conquests of that time were adopted by other countries, for example, free medicine and education. And they still do not give up on it. "

According to the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, director of the Limnological Institute Mikhail Grachev, under Brezhnev there was a sense of calm. Yes, there were dissidents, but the attitude towards them was more humane than under Khrushchev. The people were no longer very afraid. Students hung out slogans, read samizdat.

“Someone had stagnation, - says the academician, - I did not have any stagnation. In general, I think that the times do not choose. Of course, there was a lot of superficiality, hence the anecdotes. The man became old, and the environment did not want to change anything. "

For Victor Borovsky, ex-director of Irkutskenergo and chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk region in 2000-2002, the Brezhnev era was not a wasted time either, much less stagnation, on the contrary, it was in those years that he took place as a successful head of a large enterprise.

“I can't say anything bad about that era and about Brezhnev himself. This is the business of politicians: they wanted to change the regime, so they used the word “stagnation”. I worked in Irkutskenergo, there was a rapid construction. "

Viktor Mitrofanovich said that at that time he worked at TPP-9 in Angarsk. And when the problem of lack of capacity arose, he personally went to the Central Committee of the Party and the State Planning Committee to solve it, where they listened to him attentively and made a decision very quickly. That is, in those days there were no bureaucratic barriers: all issues were resolved promptly.

And another important point. There were social elevators at that time. Viktor Borovsky is a good example of this. The son of a weaver and a military man, he had no connections at the top, but he was appointed to run a large enterprise, and then he was elected a deputy of the Angarsk Council of People's Deputies. That is, capable and active people under Brezhnev were identified and promoted. This is to the question of the allegedly existing negative selection in the Soviet years, which some publicists like to talk about today.

Let us also recall that it was under Leonid Ilyich that science developed rapidly. A clear evidence of this is the Irkutsk Scientific Center. Tells Vera Rogozhina, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Institute of the Earth's Crust, People's Deputy of the USSR (1989-1991):

“I can say one thing: I worked and did not feel any stagnation. With him, I had the opportunity to realize all my scientific tasks. Our institute was developing, money was given for research as much as necessary. There were prospects, no one bothered us, we could go to the field, we were provided with helicopters and equipment. Everybody got an apartment. And it's free. Yes, in the early 80s, coupons for meat appeared. But there was a cooperative store where you could buy the same sausage, but not for 2.20, but for 5 rubles. And all the products at that time were natural: when the sausage was brought in, the smell was several hundred meters away, because it was real. "

We will return to the topic of coupons and total shortages, but first we need to figure out: was there stagnation or not? In general, when you think about the Brezhnev era, all the time you experience a kind of, as they say now, a break in the template. Why stagnation, if it was in the 70s that so many were built in the USSR, no matter how much they built before or after Brezhnev? Let us recall the all-Union shock construction projects: Ust-Ilimskaya HPP, BAM, KamAZ, the Druzhba oil pipeline, etc.

A word to the historian Alexander Shubin, Candidate of Science, Associate Professor of the East Siberian Institute of Economics and Law:

“The Brezhnev era can be divided into two periods - from 1964 to 1976 and from 1976 to 1982. The first period of his reign was successful. It was then that our economy reached high rates of development. And what is very important, for the first time in the history of the USSR, the production of consumer goods proceeded at a faster pace. That is, they began to produce clothes, furniture, televisions, refrigerators, etc. I remember as soon as I got married in 1979 and immediately received a warrant for an apartment, my wife and I went to the store and quietly bought a refrigerator. And before that you had to queue for three years ”.

During this period, salaries began to rise. Recall that under Khrushchev, the main incentives for increasing efficiency were certificates of honor and titles.

Cash prizes were symbolic, no more than five rubles. Under Brezhnev, they began to pay the 13th salary. Enterprises now have the opportunity to allocate part of the earned funds for housing construction. The foreign policy of the USSR was also successful. A cooperation agreement was signed with the United States, the Helsinki Act. The USSR constantly came out with peace initiatives, which increased our prestige in the international arena.

But it was not possible to keep this course. Late Brezhnev is a revival of pure imperial politics.

We again began to spend huge amounts of money on defense, the production of tanks and weapons. The money was also used to maintain friendly regimes in other countries. And the apotheosis of this unreasonable policy was the introduction of troops into Afghanistan. All this ultimately undermined the country's economy, and we spoiled relations with the whole world. Thus, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was a major politician until the mid-70s, and after that he was a minor politician of the era of Alla Pugacheva.

Historian, Ph.D. Sergey Schmidt managed to catch the Brezhnev era. When the secretary general died, he was 11 years old, and he perfectly remembers both the deficit and conversations about the queues, but he also remembers the rapid housing construction in Irkutsk, and the fact that the families of classmates received apartments.

“No historian will deny that 18 years of Brezhnev’s rule is the quietest period in the country's history in the 20th century. Paradoxical as it may seem, the Brezhnev era is actually the birth of private life in the USSR, the formation of a new individualistic psychology, freed from Stalinist totalitarianism and sixties “collectivism”. One can talk for a long time about the Soviet deficit, but it was in the era of stagnation that the foundations of the modern consumer society and consumer psychology were formed. "

Yes, Brezhnev's USSR was doomed, like any authoritarian-conservative regime. He barely outlived his symbol and creator. An attempt to "reboot" a thoroughly frozen system led to its collapse. However, for a researcher free from the prejudices of zoological anti-Sovietism, the significance of this period in Russian history is beyond doubt, and Brezhnev's Soviet society is in some ways much more interesting than the Soviet society of the era of Stalin and Khrushchev.

And read and watched

There are contradictions at every step. They say: with the scoop they stifled freedom, including creative freedom. But for some reason, it was under Leonid Ilyich that Soviet cinema flourished. And the films loved from childhood, which can be watched endlessly and from anywhere, were created just then: "Three Poplars on Plyushchikha", "Red Kalina", "Seventeen Moments of Spring", "Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson" and many others. It was during the Brezhnev years that Andrei Tarkovsky shot Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Stalker and the absolute masterpiece for all time, Mirror. There is a version that censorship even in some way prompted artists to look for new forms and metaphors. It is interesting that many films of that time are generally devoid of an ideological component, for example, The Irony of Fate by Eldar Ryazanov looks like a story that could have happened in any country. And after all, somehow they were allowed to appear on the screens of cinemas. Although, of course, many films have been shelved, this cannot be denied.

At the same time, outstanding theater directors worked: Yuri Lyubimov, Anatoly Efros, Oleg Efremov, Georgy Tovstonogov. Yes, they had problems, and not everyone was allowed to stage, but they still worked and created legendary performances. And Brezhnev personally did not allow the famous Taganka Theater to be closed, this is a fact.

Also during this period, a great interest in various spiritual teachings and philosophical knowledge appeared in society. And it seems that they were not particularly forbidden. This was especially carried away by scientists and intellectuals.

“I myself, as a graduate student, participated in the work of the Novosibirsk group“ Integral ”, - recalls Nikolay Vasiliev, philosopher, candidate of sciences, head of the department of humanitarian disciplines at the Russian Law Academy of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. - Nobody forbade us to carry out the Roerich readings. I twice listened to the speech of Svetoslav Roerich. I saw Lev Gumilyov when he was returning from exile. Imagine! His ideas were disseminated in various articles and collections. I was personally a member of the Zen Buddhist association, and we mastered this culture from a cognitive standpoint. And all this happened quite officially at seminars in the House of Scientists. The Brezhnev period is a great creative time: science, space, art. "

And television! It was customary to kick him, they say, one lie and propaganda. But remember that under the “totalitarian” Brezhnev regime on central television, in addition to the programs “I Serve the Soviet Union” and “Lenin University of Millions”, the legendary and even avant-garde “KVN”, “What? Where? When? ”,“ You Can Do It ”and“ Funny Guys ”. And what is interesting, the heroes of these programs looked absolutely normal, modern young people, not crushed by propaganda. That is, the communist ideology was in itself, and people lived and developed by themselves. Especially young people. She did not differ much from the youth in Europe. I listened to the same music (although I had to get it), dressed the same way, and went to discos in the same way.

Coupons, deficit, queues

Until the end of the seventies, there were no big problems with food. I was a child, but I remember the huge heads of cheese and the hams hanging on hooks in our deli. Then queues for sausage appeared, and they were completely wild, you had to stand in them for hours without hope, because the sausage could suddenly run out in front of your nose.

Gradually, standing in lines in the USSR became the meaning of life. Seeing a queue, people automatically got up into it, not even knowing what they were selling.

In 1980 (and according to some sources, in 1979), coupons for meat and butter were introduced in Irkutsk. Two coupons per person per month. On the coupon, you could take 800 g of sausage, or a pack of dumplings, or a soup set, or chicken, or 10 cutlets. Coupons were issued in the house administration strictly according to the passport for all family members, including newborns. Moreover, the presence of a coupon was not a guarantee of the purchase of the desired product.

“It was good luck to take two packs of dumplings for one coupon, which were stretched for several days,” recalls a sociologist, dean of the social faculty of the Institute of Social Sciences of Irkutsk State University, Ph.D. Evgeniya Goltsova... - Coupons were not purchased in all stores, so there were always queues at the otovarka, a crush and even tragedies. In a grocery store on Zhukovsky Street, the buttons of my coat were torn off in a stampede. "

Interestingly, people did not particularly murmur and even welcomed the introduction of the coupon system. They said: let 800 grams of sausage, but enough for everyone. Later, after Brezhnev's death, coupons for vodka, sugar, toilet and laundry soap, vegetable oil appeared.

Double standards

And now, more than 30 years later, many Russians have begun to feel nostalgic for the Brezhnev era. On the Internet, you can find dozens of forums where people write that there was no better time in their life. Why?

“Firstly, people tend to forget everything,” explains Evgenia Goltsova, “and especially bad things. The social memory of our population is short. People have forgotten Stalin's sins and in the same way have forgotten all the bad things that happened under Brezhnev. I remember how in the spring of 1979 we, students, were gathered in the gymnasium of the technical school and held a rally in support of the decision of the party and government to send troops to Afghanistan. Around the same time, a graduate of our technical school, the brother of my classmate, joined the army. And a few months later he returned ... in a zinc coffin. "

Secondly, many of those who today say that everything was fine under Brezhnev were much younger then. And in his youth, as they say, "the girls were prettier and the sausage tastier." For many, the longing for the Brezhnev years is a longing for the departed youth.

Thirdly, we must not forget that everything is cognized in comparison. There is interesting data from VTsIOM at the beginning of the 2000s on the attitude of the population to the Brezhnev era, in which people assessed it with a plus sign. Why? Because those who have just survived the "dashing" 90s answered. Under Brezhnev, they already had something: a job, an apartment, a dacha, a sense of stability, and in the 90s they had to survive. People lost their savings, jobs, loved ones ... Therefore, many began to recall with nostalgia the old times.

However, not everyone is nostalgic for Brezhnev's stability. Because it was then that such phenomena as scarcity and pulling appeared. According to the sociologist, in the 80s the needs and interests of the population grew, the possibilities of meeting them lagged behind. The so-called double morality appeared, which was reflected in art. Many films were shot in which this was condemned: "Prize", "I ask for words", "Others' letters", "Joke", etc. As a result of adaptation to such a life, people developed a kind of immunity, which was otherwise called indifference, that is don't take anything seriously. And, of course, the alcoholization of society. People drank from despair, from lies, from constant breaks of the template.

Thus, ideology came into conflict with real life. Many experts believe that in the 70s, Soviet society had already moved away from Lenin's ideology, in fact, it became bourgeois. The main values ​​of that period are an apartment, six acres, a Romanian wall, a Czech chandelier. And, of course, people are already tired of the slogans "The plans of the party are the plans of the people."

Historian, professor at ISU Victor Dyatlov believes that it is necessary to separate the personality of Brezhnev himself and his era.

“The era of stagnation is a very inadequate definition,” says the professor. - In fact, this is an era of enormous internal transformations associated with the ideological demobilization of society, and, in many respects, of the authorities. For socialism, as an ideocratic system, this is death. Unanimity, dissolution of a person in the state, solidarity, mobilization are the most important conditions for existence. "

Under Brezhnev, society began to lose faith in a bright future, in justice and justification of the existing system of relations. Socialism offered to live in conditions of constant mobilization and ideological agitation, constant struggle. And people are just tired. They wanted simple human joys.

“I would define stagnation as the process of privatizing a person. The people in the mass did not rebel, they did not become ideological opponents of socialism. They just started living for themselves. And it was this life for itself that passed the death sentence to the system. And the authorities themselves became disillusioned with mobilization, under Brezhnev there were no longer massive repressions. And the regime began to rot while alive. Cynicism and doublethink became the norm. Publicly they said one thing, in the kitchen - another, thought the third. Socialism gradually turned into a ritual, into an empty shell in which no one believed. And he collapsed himself, collapsed, as they say, out of the blue. No war, no cataclysms, no internal opposition. Not one of the 18 million members of the CPSU came to his defense in 1991. "

In conclusion, it begs to build a bridge from the era of stagnation to our time. Today in Russia we have almost everything that was under Brezhnev: stability, pride in the state, and even the stores have everything. Only for some reason new Tarkovskys and Lyubimovs do not appear.

• The independent think tank Yuri Levada recently asked Russians which of the leaders of the last century they most value and remember best. And the citizens chose Brezhnev, who - at first with a firm, and then with an increasingly feeble hand - ruled the empire from 1964 to 1982. And although liberals are tearing their hair out, there is nothing to be surprised at. ( Fragment from the article "Dear Leonid Ilyich" by Vaclav Radzivinovich).

We will never live "according to Brezhnev" again. Apartments and summer cottages in turn, "people's" cars - remained "there" in the past. Let us recall what Leonid Ilyich did for the Soviet people.

Surplus and deficit

In the 1970s, the USSR favorably distinguished itself from many other states in that it produced almost everything: from launch vehicles to underwear. And even if the products were often unsightly, and the clothes did not meet fashion standards, but, as they say, one's own shirt is closer to the body.

By 1980, the Soviet Union in terms of industrial production and agriculture ranked 1st in Europe and 2nd in the world, second only to the United States.

For example, we produced the most cement in the world, and the Soviet agricultural machinery, although it was far from perfect, was exported to 40 countries of the world. The accusations that it was hungry and cold during Brezhnev's time are not entirely justified.

Yes, it was impossible to predict what would once again disappear from store shelves. Scarcity and cronyism became the norms of life for the Soviet people. It was difficult to freely buy smoked sausage or buckwheat in the provinces, but still possible. In addition, there was a hospitable and hospitable capital, where you could go and shop. And how gorgeous the New Year's table seemed, on which the sausage brought from the capital, green peas and the Spiderweb cake obtained in an unequal battle were adorned.

Own apartment

In the Brezhnev years, the real incomes of Soviet citizens increased by more than one and a half times. The "resting" Soviet society enjoyed a quiet life, getting used to a comfortable life.

The population during these years increased by 12 million people.

The epic of standing in line for free housing for 162 million people ended successfully, and with a rent that did not exceed 3% of the family's total income, life became more joyful, life became more fun. By the way, you can say “thank you” during your next trip to barbecues to your native 6 acres - perhaps the parents received them just in the Brezhnev years.

Own car

In 1970, the Volga Automobile Plant began to assemble the Zhiguli car. By the end of the next year, the plant was producing 735 vehicles daily. VAZ-2101, popularly nicknamed "Kopeyka", it was quite possible to "get it" through "smart" acquaintances (however, like many other things) or buy, standing in line.

It was possible to wait for the car for years or even decades, but what an event was the purchase of the long-awaited "Swallow"! Of course, I still had to save up for the car, but it was possible to do it, it was only necessary to tighten the belts tighter. At least, owning a car has ceased to be a luxury and has lost the status of a pipe dream.

On May 26, 1972, Brezhnev and Nixon signed an ABM Treaty, which limited the activities of the two powers in the field of missile defense and minimized the possibility of a nuclear strike. After years of endless stress in anticipation of another military conflict, a relatively peaceful time has come.

Grace time

Many of us also owe a five-day workweek and two days off to the Brezhnev era. During that period, a guaranteed three-week paid vacation appeared, which, by the way, is still not available in the United States. And if you add to this the absence of unemployment, free higher education and health care, free or preferential vouchers to sanatoriums and children's camps, and all this against the background of relative stability, then life in the Land of the Soviets seems almost fabulous.

Olympiad

The 1980 Olympic Games, held in the capital, were remembered by everyone for a long time. Soviet athletes won a record number of medals - 197, including 80 gold. True, in fairness it is worth noting that the alignment could have been different if the games had not been boycotted by the United States and a number of its allies. But is it worth denying that the event was organized at the highest level. This proved once again: a Russian person can make a "holiday of life" in spite of.

Creative boom

"Velvet repression" - this is how the struggle against dissent, which was carried out by the Brezhnev government, was called. When, in 1968, Academician Sakharov proposed "a gradual convergence of capitalism and socialism," he was simply removed from work. It is scary to imagine what would have awaited a scientist in Stalin's time. Perhaps it was in the Brezhnev era that fear almost completely left the hearts of Soviet citizens. Many, of course, disgusted the endless "Leninians" and official propaganda, but how the people's environment was enriched with anecdotes, for which they were no longer afraid to get a real term.

During the period of stagnation, the best books by Shukshin, Rasputin, Aitmatov, Astafiev, and the Strugatsky brothers were written. And the Brezhnev era gave us great films by Gaidai, Ryazanov, Danelia, Tarkovsky: Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures and The Elusive Avengers, Prisoner of the Caucasus and Beware of the Car, Two Comrades Served and White the sun of the desert ”,“ Gentlemen of Fortune ”and“ Seventeen Moments of Spring ”,“ The Same Munchausen ”and“ Mimino ”. Finally, the film, without which the Russian New Year is simply unthinkable - "The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!"