Collective leadership

The overthrow of Khrushchev ended the post-Stalin period of Soviet history. The eleven years that have passed since the death of Lenin's heir have been a time of struggle for the "Stalin uniform", years of the Soviet system adapting to existence without Stalin and his dictatorship.

The system demonstrated its stability during the struggle "at the top", the suppression, often bloody and merciless, of centrifugal forces that emerged after the exposure of the "cult of personality" within the metropolis, but especially on the outer borders of the empire - in East Berlin, Hungary, Poland. On the other hand, the regime tried to weaken the centrifugal forces not only through repression, but also through the "adoption" of the reformist tendencies that emerged during the period of "confusion". It is sometimes referred to as a "thaw".

In new, much more favorable circumstances for the Soviet system, the main features of the post-Leninist “interregnum” were repeated: the identification of a leader in the ranks of the collective leadership, crushing everyone else under him, a certain weakening of the repressive system in all areas of life, associated with the absence of the Leader. All the vicissitudes of the struggle of the Soviet leadership for "Stalinism without Stalin" were repeated by the history of China after the death of Mao Zedong. In China, the aim of the struggle is "Maoism without Mao".

The struggle for the “Stalinist uniform” was a test of the strength of the foundation of the Soviet system - the struggle of the party apparatus with everyone who claimed to increase their role in the management structure, the unique feature of the Soviet system is that the party leads everything, controls everything, but for nothing does not answer, for he exercises general leadership. It makes all decisions, gives instructions, including oral and telephone instructions that are not recorded anywhere, but state bodies and heads of enterprises and institutions are responsible for failures.

The party is always right. She corrects all the mistakes of others, she punishes and has mercy. The party - the keeper of the Ideology, that is, the keeper of the Truth - Khrushchev wanted to "bring it closer to practice", to make it responsible for the practical leadership of the country. Thus, he encroached on the form of existence of the communist state - unique in the history of mankind.

The division of the party frightened the party apparatus, although, perhaps, not everyone understood the revolutionary nature of the reform. The second reform horrified the apparatus and deprived Khrushchev of support in the party: the First Secretary of the Central Committee achieved the introduction of the principle of mandatory rotation into the Party Charter: at each election it was supposed to change one third of the number of members of party committees from the Presidium of the Central Committee to the district committees. An exception was made only for the First Secretary and a handful of "experienced and distinguished workers." The principle of the instability of the position of a party worker was introduced, with which the party apparatus could not and did not want to agree. The party apparatus meekly endured the Stalinist principle of rotation through terror, which was a lottery and created the illusion of the possibility of winning a lucky number, but did not want to accept the inevitability of rotation "by law".

After the overthrow of Khrushchev, the principle of rotation was immediately abolished.

The rebellion of the party apparatus against the First Secretary, who embodies the power of the party machine, was an act of self-defense - the defense of their power and their privileges.

There is a version that, while preparing the overthrow of Khrushchev, the party conspirators wanted to transfer the post of the first secretary of the Central Committee to A. N. Shelepin, in the past secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, and then the chairman of the KGB and a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee. A. I. Solzhenitsyn also mentions this. However, Shelepin, with his Stalinist radicalism (they say that he was going to make peace with China, again “squeeze” the economy and management and wage a decisive struggle against all deviations from orthodox ideology) scared away the top party hierarchs and the apparatus. They preferred a more calm person, quite conservative and not subject to extremes. There was something depressing in Shelepin's asceticism and purism. Moscow intellectuals, in mockery and by analogy with "Iron Felix", Dzerzhinsky (both led the apparatus of terror - the Cheka and the KGB), nicknamed Shelepin "Iron Shurik". But the apparatus longed for peace.

L. I. Brezhnev was elected the first secretary.

Brezhnev's biography is an example of the life path of a party worker who climbed to the highest rung of the ladder of power. The exemplary biography is in its everyday life, in the absence of “ups”, in the tenacity with which Brezhnev went up step by step, acquiring patrons and clients along the way. The future general secretary was born in 1906 in the factory village of Kamenskoye (later renamed Dneprodzerzhinsk), which is located 35 km from Yekaterinoslav (renamed Dnepropetrovsk). The son of a worker, Lenya Brezhnev, went to study at the Kamensk classical gymnasium, from which he graduated already in Soviet times, when it turned into a “labor school”. The author of the only relatively complete biography of Brezhnev, the American journalist John Dornberg, was able to collect the testimonies of his classmates, but many details of the life path of the future head of the party and the Soviet state remain unclear and inexplicable. After graduating from the land surveying college in Kursk after school, Brezhnev worked for several years in the land departments of the executive committees in Belarus, Kursk, Sverdlovsk. Then he suddenly returns to his homeland and changes his profession: he enters the metallurgical institute. And at the age of 25 he joins the party. A career begins.

The turn in the life of L. I. Brezhnev coincides with the turn in the history of the country, with the years of the "great terror". In May 1937, he was elected deputy chairman of the city council of Dneprodzerzhinsk; in May 1938, Brezhnev was transferred to Dnepropetrovsk to the regional party committee as head of the agitation and propaganda department. He enters the system of power, and this happens in Dnepropetrovsk, where Brezhnev will find associates who will accompany him to the Kremlin.

The ascent of Brezhnev begins under the auspices of the new First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Communist Party, N. Khrushchev. Sent to restore order, Khrushchev mercilessly "cleanses" the republic, starting with its party apparatus. Stalin quite seriously demanded that the party leaders prepare "two or three deputies." Brezhnev belonged to the "third set" of leaders who replaced the first two, liquidated during the "purges". He discovered the ideal set of qualities necessary for a leisurely and steady ascent. Without brilliance, but a reliable worker, he receives the support of Khrushchev in the regional committee, and then in the army, where he holds the posts of head of the political department of the army, deputy, and at the end of the war - head of the political department of the front, advancing in the ranks from lieutenant colonel to major general. He is noticed by Stalin's favorite L. Mekhlis.

Brezhnev shows the only talent necessary for a party leader - the ability to lead: to give general instructions on all issues, without being an expert on any of them. As secretary of the regional committee in Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk, he leads the reconstruction of enterprises and cities destroyed during the war. Taken to Moscow in 1950 by Khrushchev, whom Stalin appointed secretary of the Central Committee, Brezhnev was sent to Chisinau in July to take the post of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Moldavian Communist Party. He becomes the head of one of the fifteen Soviet republics. From Dnepropetrovsk to Chisinau, he takes with him a group of friends who will form the core of a group of his closest employees, the future "Dnepropetrovsk mafia". The “faithful people” whom Brezhnev will find in Chisinau will join this core. Among them will be the head of the department of propaganda and agitation of the Central Committee of the Moldavian Communist Party K. Chernenko, who will become the head of the personal office of the general secretary, his closest adviser, will be introduced to the Politburo and will take the place of the "crown prince" in 1979.

In 1952, at the 19th Party Congress, Brezhnev became a candidate member of the newly created Presidium of the Central Committee. It is possible that the Leader foresaw a place for the young secretary from Chisinau, which was to be vacated after the planned purge. During the reorganization of the authorities, immediately after the death of Stalin, Brezhnev was appointed head of the political department of the Navy. The post is secondary, which, however, gives the future Secretary General the opportunity to make true friends among the marshals and admirals.

The strengthening of the position of Khrushchev, who was waging an ongoing struggle for power, means at the same time Brezhnev's advancement up the ladder of power: Secretary of the Central Committee of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In October 1964, he betrays his patron and rises to the highest level. But, as usual, after a new leadership comes to power, it is collective. More than ten years will pass before it becomes obvious that the process of transforming the “collective” leadership into an individual one is proceeding under Brezhnev in exactly the same way as it did under Stalin and Khrushchev, but proceeding slowly, very carefully, almost imperceptibly. Until it becomes obvious that the painstaking policy of eliminating "strangers" and replacing them with "ours" has yielded results. In the late 70s, key positions in the party were occupied by "Brezhnevites" in the central apparatus - in the Politburo and the Secretariat - members of the "Dnipropetrovsk mafia" settled down. Their people have taken up positions in the lower rungs of the system.

At the end of the 1970s, the process of transition from "collective" to individual leadership was completed. After the death of Lenin, after the death of Stalin, after the overthrow of Khrushchev, the system invariably and steadily moved towards him. The most important law of socialist society, noticed by Lenin in 1918, was being implemented. An integral element of this process was the creation of the next "cult" of the next "personality". Among the accusations brought against Khrushchev was the accusation of a "cult of personality." Brezhnev, who replaced Khrushchev, took the first step towards a “cult” a year and a half after coming to power: at the 23rd Congress, he proposed renaming the Presidium of the Central Committee into the Politburo, and the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee as General Secretary of the Central Committee.

It took Brezhnev about ten years before he had all the attributes of a socialist Leader in his hands. Brezhnev did not become Stalin. But he took the place of Stalin. "One-man leadership" means that all decisions are made by a narrow circle. So it was under Lenin, so it was under Stalin. The leader embodies in his "personality" the power of the party.

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Test work on the history of Russia for grade 9 on topics

I is an option.

1) After the death of Stalin, he headed the party:

a) N.S. Khrushchev; b) G.M. Malenkov; c) K.E. Voroshilov.

2) The conspiracy against Beria was led by:

a) G.M. Malenkov; b) N.S. Khrushchev; c) N.A. Bulganin.

3) G.M. Malenkov's agricultural development program includes:

a) increase in purchase prices for agricultural products;

b) an increase in the tax on subsidiary farming; c) creation of farms.

4) Match

A) Chairman of the Council of Ministers 1) G.M. Malenkov

B) First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU 2) L.P. Beria

C) Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council 3) K.E. Voroshilov

D) Minister of the Interior and State. security 4) N.S. Khrushchev

5) The term "thaw" is associated with:

a) with a quote from the speech of N.S. Khrushchev; b) with the title of the story by I.G. Erenburg;

c) with the time of the death of I.V. Stalin.

6) One of the most popular literary and art magazines became during the "thaw" period:

a) Crocodile b) "New World"; c) Leningrad.

7) The film belongs to the cinema of the “thaw”:

a) "Kuban Cossacks"; b) "Young Guard"; c) Cranes are flying.

8) The consequences of the XX Congress of the CPSU DO NOT include:

a) a nationwide discussion of Stalin's policy;

b) carrying out large-scale rehabilitation; c) resignation of the government.

9) The first Soviet artificial satellite was launched:

a) in 1955; b) in 1957; c) in 1960

10) Social policy 1953 - 1964 characterizes:

a) extensive housing construction;

b) no shortage of goods and food;

c) support for farms.

11) As a result of the industrial management reform of 1957, the following appeared:

a) economic councils; b) people's commissariats; c) ministries.

12) Agricultural reforms failed due to:

a) sabotage by local authorities; b) natural disasters in the country;

c) thoughtlessness and inconsistency.

13) The 1962 Nuclear Missile Crisis is called:

a) Caribbean; b) Egyptian; c) Berlin.

14) The deterioration of relations between the USSR and China began:

a) in 1953; b) in 1956; c) in 1961

15) The most important goal of providing assistance to the USSR to the countries of the "third world" was:

a) strengthening the ideological influence of the USSR on developing countries;

b) obtaining strategic raw materials from developing countries;

c) the formation of Soviet colonies on the territory of developing countries.

16) The mass release of political prisoners and the review of the cases of the dead prisoners of camps and prisons is called:

a) rehabilitation; b) reorganization; c) restoration.

17) The term "sixties" means:

a) the intelligentsia, advocating the de-Stalinization of society;

b) people who have reached the age of 60 and have received the right to a pension;

c) Soviet citizens who received personal plots in the 60s.

Test work on the history of Russia for grade 9 on the topic

“USSR in 1953 - mid-60s. XX century".

II is an option.

1 ) 1953 - 1955 called a period:

a) the reign of Khrushchev; b) the reign of Beria; c) collective leadership.

2 ) The arrest and execution of Beria took place:

a) in 1953; b) in 1955; c) in 1966

3 ) In 1955, G.M. Malenkov:

a) resigned from the post of head of state; b) was arrested and repressed;

c) received sole leadership of the party and the government.

4 ) The policy of "collective leadership" includes:

a) ending the cold war;

b) termination of the “case of doctors”;

c) the dissolution of collective farms.

5 ) The reasons for the failure of G.M. Malenkov's domestic policy course do not include:

a) sabotage of party and state bodies;

b) preservation of the foundations of the Stalinist system;

c) inconsistency and ill-conceived course.

6) Report by N.S. Khrushchev about the personality cult of Stalin and the repressions sounded:

a) at the 19th Party Congress;

b) at the XX Party Congress;

c) at the 22nd Party Congress.

7 ) Find an extra surname among the writers and poets of the "thaw":

a) R. Rozhdestvensky; b) A. Voznesensky; c) A. Solzhenitsyn; d) O. Mandelstam.

8 ) The conspiracy against N.S. Khrushchev in 1957 was led by:

a) G.M. Malenkov, L.M. Kaganovich, V.M. Molotov;

b) K.E. Voroshilov, N.A. Bulganin, A.I. Mikoyan;

c) L.P. Beria, G.K. Zhukov, L.I. Brezhnev.

9 ) "Thaw" in the field of literature characterizes:

a) abolishing censorship of works of art;

b) the emergence of progressive literary and art magazines;

c) mass publication of poets and writers of the early 20th century.

10 ) Match the names of cultural figures and their works:

A) M.K. Kalatozov 1) the novel "Not by Bread Alone"

B) G.M. Kozintsev 2) the film "The Cranes Are Flying"

C) M.I. Romm 3) the story "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"

D) B.L. Pasternak 4) the film "Nine days of one year"

D) V.D. Dudintsev 5) the novel "Doctor Zhivago"

E) A.I. Solzhenitsyn 6) the film "Hamlet"

11 ) An attempt to remove N.S. Khrushchev from the party leadership in 1957 was due to:

a) rejection of the processes of reforming society by part of the country's leadership;

b) Khrushchev's rejection of the reformist course;

c) new mass repressions against the old leadership of the country.

12 ) To the development of the education system in 1953 - 1964. Not applicable:

a) introduction of 8 years of compulsory education;

b) strengthening the connection between the school and production;

c) introduction of alternative lyceums and gymnasiums;

13) Socio-economic reforms of N.S. Khrushchev were carried out:

a) gradually and according to a predetermined plan; b) at a fast pace and without a general plan; c) only in the field of agriculture.

14) Housing construction program of N.S. Khrushchev:

a) completely solved the housing problem in the USSR;

b) partially solved the housing problem in the USSR;

c) did not bring any results.

15) At the beginning of the 60s. collective farmers:

a) received the right to conduct an industrial economy; b) received passports;

c) stopped paying taxes.

16) The invasion of Soviet troops into Hungary took place:

a) in 1956; b) in 1958; c) in 1959

17) The foreign policy course of "peaceful coexistence" was put forward by:

a) Beria at the June 1953 plenum;

b) Malenkov at the February 1955 plenum.

c) Khrushchev at the 20th Party Congress in 1956.

18) International relations 1953 - 1964 characterized by:

a) establishing personal contacts between the political leaders of the opposing blocs;

b) elimination of military-political blocs in the world;

c) the collapse of the socialist system.

19) "Collective leadership" means:

a) resolution of all important issues of industrial enterprises at a general meeting of workers;

b) temporary joint government of the country by Stalin's closest associates after his death;

c) a new governing body of the UN, which included the state leaders of the leading European countries.

20) The term "voluntarism" means:

c) a new direction in the literature of the 60s.

Test work on the history of Russia for grade 9 on the topic: “The USSR in 1953 - the middle of the 60s. XX century".

III is an option.

1) In the spring of 1953, on the initiative of Beria, the following was carried out:

a) amnesty; b) agricultural reform; c) party conference.

2) The economic program of G.M. Malenkov did not include:

a) accelerated development of light and food industries;

b) increasing the efficiency of agriculture;

c) accelerated development of heavy industry.

3) L.P. Beria was eliminated due to:

a) carrying out large-scale democratic reforms;

b) fear of elimination of his dictatorship in the country;

c) disclosing his connection with the American intelligence services.

4) The policy of G.M. Malenkov as a whole was directed:

a) to strengthen the totalitarian regime in the country;

b) liberalization of all aspects of society's life;

c) to preserve the former regime in the country.

5) G.M. Malenkov was removed from the post of head of government:

a) for health reasons; b) as a result of the political struggle for power;

c) because of the transfer to the post of head of the party.

6) During the "thaw" were not rehabilitated:

a) participants in the "Leningrad case"; b) Kalmyks, Chechens, Ingush; c) Vlasovites.

7) In 1958, the Nobel Prize was awarded to the novel:

a) “Doctor Zhivago” by B. parsnip; b) "Russian Forest" by L. Leonov;

c) "Terkin in the next world" by A. Tvardovsky.

8) As a result, the report of N.S. Khrushchev at the XX Congress of the CPSU:

a) the process of de-Stalinization of society began; b) the totalitarian regime in the country has strengthened;

c) a democratic regime was established in the country.

9) The process of democratization in the field of culture cannot be attributed to:

a) the activities of the theater "Sovremennik";

b) literary readings at the Polytechnic Museum;

c) the exclusion of B.L. Pasternak from the Writers' Union.

10) The consequences of the 1957 event do not include:

a) removal of G.M. Malenkov, V.M. Molotov and L.M. Kaganovich from the leadership of the country;

b) dismissal of Minister of Defense G.K. Zhukov;

c) strengthening the positions of the head of government N.A. Bulgarin.

11) The first Soviet cosmonaut to fly around the earth on April 12, 1961:

a) A.A. Leonov; b) G.S. Titov; c) Yu.A.Gagarin.

12 ) Nobel laureate in the mid-50s - mid-60s. is not:

a) L.D. Landau; b) N.N. Semenov; C) P.N. Lebedev; D) I.E. Tamm.

13) the slogan "Catch up and overtake" meant:

a) achieving a higher level of development compared to the United States;

b) achieving a higher level of development in comparison with the socialist countries;

c) restoration of balance in the development of agriculture and industry.

14) Combine in logical pairs:

A) Yu.A. Gagarin 1) the first spacewalk;

B) A.N. Tupolev 2) the creation of the aircraft TU - 114;

C) S.P. Korolev 3) management of the creation of Earth satellites and flights;

D) A.A. Leonov 4) the first flight into space.

15 ) The purpose of the polytechnic school was:

a) in providing the national economy with competent specialists;

b) in training leaders for industry and agriculture;

c) in the training of specialists for economic assistance to the socialist countries.

16) Cold War policy in 1953-1964:

a) received further development, b) remained unchanged;

c) was gradually replaced by the policy of "peaceful coexistence".

17) The West Berlin Crisis of 1061 ended:

a) the reunification of the two parts of Berlin;

b) building a wall between two parts of Berlin;

c) local arming of conflicts between the GDR and West Berlin.

18) In 1953 - 1964 THE USSR:

a) provided economic assistance to the countries of the "third world";

b) advocated the restoration of the colonial system;

c) pursued a policy of non-interference in the affairs of the third world countries.

19 ) Eisenhower's concept of "liberation of the countries of Eastern Europe" did not include:

a) US economic pressure on the socialist countries;

b) US ideological pressure on the socialist countries;

c) the beginning of hostilities against the socialist countries.

20 ) Combine dates and events:

A) 1956 1) Caribbean crisis;

B) 1961 2) entry of Soviet troops into Hungary;

C) 1962 3) Berlin crisis.

21 ) The result of the Caribbean crisis is:

a) a compromise between the USSR and the USA and mutual concessions on the issue of missile deployment;

b) the beginning of the war between the USSR and the USA; c) a complete break in relations between the USSR and the USA.

22 ) The term "thaw" means:

a) climate warming on the territory of the USSR as a result of the greenhouse effect;

b) changes in the political development of the country and public consciousness;

c) a new method of sowing, developed in the 60s.

23 ) Economic, political and ideological pressure on the socialist countries from the developed capitalist countries is called:

a) the doctrine of liberation; b) the doctrine of deterrence; c) the doctrine of opposition.

24 ) The term "voluntarism" means:

a) a political course based on strong-willed, often ill-considered decisions of the leadership;

b) holding a nationwide discussion of important political documents;

c) a new direction in the literature of the 60s.

Answers:

Option - I.

1) a; 2) b; 3) a; 4) a1, b4, c3, d2; 5 B; 6) b; 7) in; 8) in;

9) b; 10) a; 11) a; 12) in; 13) a; 14) b; 15) a; 16) a; 17) a;

Option - II.

  1. IN; 2) a; 3) a; 4) b; 5) a; 6) b; 7) d; 8) a; 9) b); 10) a2, b6, c4, d5, e1, e3;

11) a; 12) in; 13) b; 14) b; 15) b; 16) a; 17) in; 18) a; 19) b; 20) a.

Option III.

  1. A; 2) in; 3) b; 4) b; 5 B; 6) in; 7) a; 8) a; 9) in; 10) in; 11) in; 12) in; 13) a;

14) a4, b2, c3, d4; 15) a; 16) in; 17) b; 18) a; 19) in; 20) a2, b3, c1; 21) a; 22) b; 23) a; 24) a.


COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT

COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT

(collective leadership) The principle of collective leadership was usually applied in the Soviet party hierarchical system immediately after the death or removal from office of the general secretary. This happened after the death of Lenin in 1924, the death of Stalin in 1953, and after the removal of Khrushchev in 1964. However, the leadership role of the new general secretary was very soon restored.


Policy. Dictionary. - M.: "INFRA-M", Publishing house "Ves Mir". D. Underhill, S. Barrett, P. Burnell, P. Burnham, et al. Osadchaya I.M.. 2001 .


Political science. Dictionary. - RGU. V.N. Konovalov. 2010 .

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The fragility and weakness of his personal power did not prevent Malenkov from advancing his economic program with a certain determination. On August 8, 1953, he delivered an important speech to the Supreme Council, a speech dominated by foreign policy issues, but also characterized by innovative approaches in domestic policy.

The new government intended to address the main problems outlined in a resolute manner. It is necessary, said Malenkov, to give new importance to the needs of consumers, to raise the standard of living, and for this - to increase agricultural production. The availability of consumer goods should also be expanded. Malenkov emphasized the fact that the USSR has a “powerful and technically excellent heavy industry” and noted: “Until now, we have not been able to develop light and food industries at the same pace. At the present moment, we can do this and, therefore, we are obliged, in order to ensure a more rapid improvement in the material and cultural standard of living of the people, by any means to accelerate the development of light industry.

Thus, the theme of the well-being of the people was placed at the center of the new government course, which meant a clear turn in relation to the past. From now on, the ratio

Chapter 9

between the global growth of Soviet GDP and the production of consumer goods has become one of the criteria for both measuring the effectiveness of government activities and evaluating its general directions. However, at that stage everything was still taking place within the framework of the reform project, which did not in the least change the concept on which the Soviet economy was built. Therefore, the discussion quickly (and timely) turned into a technical discussion about the forms of production optimization and developed in accordance with the priorities that Malenkov clearly outlined in 1953, but from which his successors later distanced themselves.

In terms of foreign policy, the consequences of the turn were significant. Malenkov praised Soviet power, which had increased with the production of the hydrogen bomb, but gave his words a distinctly pacifist and aimed at reducing international tensions. He spoke at length about the changes that had taken place since Stalin's death and about the atmosphere of hope that had spread in the world: “Our deep conviction is that at the present time there is no unresolved or disputed issue that cannot be resolved peacefully through mutual agreement between interested parties ... We are for peaceful coexistence between the two systems.”

This was the thesis that Malenkov supported until March 12, 1954, the position (opposite to the opinion of the military leadership and a significant part of the political nomenclature of the USSR), which contained the assertion that a nuclear war would be a catastrophe for all mankind, because it would mean its end. The thesis, which a few months later, when the power of the chairman of the government began to weaken, was refuted by both Khrushchev and Voroshilov - they argued that a nuclear war would lead, first of all, to the final destruction of capitalism.

This atmosphere, which was conveyed by the Soviet writer Ilya Erenburg in his novel The Thaw (starting with its title), which appeared not by chance in 1954, was perceived throughout the world. Situations that dragged on for years were quickly resolved; opened up new areas for discussion. It was not always held in a calm atmosphere and without controversy. The aspirations of the few in the collective leadership hardly prevailed over the mentality of the many who were nostalgic for Stalinism. And yet, all the months from the spring of 1953 to the second half of 1955 were marked by a clear desire to resolve differences peacefully, and not to aggravate them.

Part 3. Cold War

The foreign policy of the "collective leadership" was dominated primarily by the search for dialogue with the West: from a position of strength and without mental reservations during the months when Malenkov was in power; from positions of strength and with numerous mental reservations - after the beginning of Khrushchev's hegemony. It is even more interesting to note that while Stalin concentrated his attention mainly on European problems or on aspects related to a direct clash with the United States, his successors immediately expanded their circle of interests. The feeling that the situation in Europe had already stabilized, the formation of the movement of non-aligned countries and the beginning of a stage of rapid decolonization seemed to put forward new problems for the Soviet Union as well. Therefore, his foreign policy quickly assumed a global dimension that never existed under Stalin, and his diplomacy asserted itself with greater confidence and different intonations in the Mediterranean, in Africa, in Latin America, in the Middle East, in East Asia, in China and in Pacific region. In a certain sense, the great legacy left by Stalin was being built up: since the European front was strengthened (assuming that this was the case), it was possible to look at the future of the USSR not as the future of a superpower limited to Eurasia, but as a superpower capable of making itself reckoned with worldwide.

It could be noted that the expansion of the sphere of interests was in conflict with the declared intentions towards the West, aimed at defusing international tension. In fact, this remark is not without foundation, and it indicates the limits within which a policy of benevolent relations with the Western Union could develop. In fact, it was precisely the expansion of horizons that made it impossible in those years for the equal presence of the Soviets in economic and military plans with the West. It was about the desire to be a truly global power, in which, however, one had to reckon with real facts, and which conflicted with the fact that the United States was already a global power, economically present throughout the world and militarily still ahead of the USSR for several years.

These were the "new frontiers" of the bipolar system.

Some people wanted to see in it the continuation of the logic of the cold war. Although the episodes for which this logic was characteristic were repeated in subsequent years with varying degrees of intensity, and although with

Chapter 9

The Soviet policy can be interpreted as a response to the policy of Dulles - the creation of a system of alliances along the entire border of the zone of Soviet influence, these new borders gave new meaning and new meaning to the bipolar clash. The years of coexistence-competition approached: still confrontation, but softened by the desire for coexistence.

The first manifestation of the new Soviet orientations was the unblocking (which, by the way, Eisenhower also wanted) of the negotiations on a truce in Korea. Interrupted long ago, they resumed on June 20, 1953, thanks in part to the initiative of the Soviet side, and ended on July 27 with the signing of an armistice in Pan-mynchzhong.

In his August 8 speech, Malenkov announced that the Soviet Union was renouncing its 1944 demands on Turkey. At the same time, normal diplomatic relations were resumed with Yugoslavia and Greece. Good intentions were declared towards Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and all countries of the Western system.

On January 25, 1954, the Berlin Conference of Foreign Ministers of the four Great Powers that occupied Germany began. And although he had no main goal, the meeting was an important turn, reluctantly accepted by Dulles. From the first day of work, Molotov proposed that a conference of five (with the participation of People's China) be convened at the second stage to discuss the main topics of international detente. The proposal was reconsidered during the meeting due to Dulles' refusal to agree to a meeting that would have meant indirect recognition of People's China by the American side. However, at the end of the meeting, a compromise formula was found regarding the need to discuss a peace treaty with Korea, convening a meeting in Geneva on April 26 with the participation of all parties interested in resolving the Korean conflict, but also the Indochina issue. A compromise was found in the formula that separated the inviting powers from the invited ones, with the clarification that participation in the work of the latter (i.e., People's China and North Korea) would not mean diplomatic recognition of these two countries. Despite this caveat, the result was important, as Dulles recognized that the Korean question could not be discussed without China's participation, and the French recognized that the Indochina question had already become an international problem, and not just an internal problem of the French colonial system.

The meeting in Geneva began its work at the moment of the most heated political discussion in France on the EDC. It's long

Part 3. Cold War

and unsuccessfully discussed the Korean question. The issue of Indochina continued to be discussed without success until Pierre Mendès-France was appointed President of the Council of Ministers in France. Although this is not the place for an analysis of this topic, it should be emphasized, however, that the arrival of Mendès-France in Geneva gave impetus to the negotiations. After a series of high-level contacts, a package of agreements was signed on July 20-21 between France and various antagonists of its dominance in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

From the point of view of the general correlation of forces between the powers, the Geneva Accords reflected the new conditions arising from the transitional period in the system of international relations. The fact that the meeting took place and ended in a constructive manner on at least one of the two topics discussed was a positive development in itself. After the peace treaties of 1947 and the truce in Korea, for the first time, the conflicting parties reached a compromise on an important issue.

The participation of the People's Republic of China confirmed the role it had already acquired in the life of Asia. This was not yet universal recognition, but on the contrary, a recognition fiercely contested by the United States, but the moderation of Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai showed that China could also play a decisive role in Asia, a role that its neighbors - such as India, Vietnam and itself The Soviet Union - could not be ignored. Great Britain has fulfilled its task of mediation and balancing to the end. Her contribution was valuable and contributed greatly to her rapprochement with France, the results of which will become apparent soon after the failure of the EOC treaty.

The Soviet Union pushed the Vietnamese to compromise by sacrificing considerable military successes. Soviet diplomacy could evaluate the results as the fruit of its own activities. Dulles, almost always represented throughout the negotiations by Walter B. Smith, did not prevent the reconciliation from taking place, as if it were an event that only indirectly concerned the United States. However, they were already prepared to accept the legacy (possibly bitter) of the release of the French from their obligations and were preparing the signing of the SEATO treaty. Thus, their aloofness was only an appearance, cloaked as an intention not to have direct diplomatic relations with People's China - at a time when high-level protests emanated from Taiwan (with the support of a powerful Chinese lobby) over the concessions made


The first years of the reign of "collective leadership"

The removal of Khrushchev happened unexpectedly for the citizens of the country, but did not cause any protests. The social base of Khrushchev and his policies turned out to be extremely narrowed. He was removed by the party apparatus, since Khrushchev's activities turned out to be ineffective from the point of view of the nomenclature. He did not guarantee the stability of this social order. The party apparatus is the tip of the iceberg, since the nomenklatura principle of appointment soldered the party, economic and military leaders. Khrushchev's constant reorganizations affected the vital interests of this stratum. Therefore, the main slogans of Brezhnev were collective leadership, stability, sustainability. The call for a fight against Khrushchev's "voluntarism" meant, first of all, the elimination of Khrushchev's reforms in the field of party and state administration. A month after Khrushchev's resignation, in November 1964, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU was held. At the Plenum, Podgorny made a report “On the unification of industrial and rural regional, regional party organizations and Soviet bodies”. He recognized the need to return to the principle of building party organizations on a territorial basis

The vertical of the party leadership was restored in full - the Central Committee, the regional committee, the district committee. Each of these levels possessed the fullness of party power (with considerable state powers) on its territory - in the republic, territory or region, in the district. Following the restructuring of party organs, a reorganization was carried out, the restoration of the former Soviet, Komsomol and trade union institutions. Simultaneously with the strengthening of the role of the "party vertical", the party's control over the economy was restored. It became clear that the time of economic councils with their broad powers was rapidly running out. In September 1965, at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, they announced the termination of their activities and the restoration of sectoral ministries. This meant the restoration of the role of the metropolitan bureaucracy in the system of public administration. The party apparatus throughout the country and the metropolitan bureaucracy became the social groups that directly benefited from the removal of Khrushchev and the counter-reforms of the "collective leadership" led by Brezhnev.

In the process of restoring past institutions of power and liquidating Khrushchev's innovations, the question inevitably arose about the attitude towards the Committee of Party and State Control. The experience of overthrowing Khrushchev, successfully carried out with the participation of the committee, could be too tempting for future fighters for leading positions in the party, and the activities of this party-state monster posed a danger to the party apparatus at all levels. It is no coincidence that Brezhnev in December 1965 transformed it into the People's Control Committee, simultaneously depriving this body of its former power powers.

Agricultural management

Having delivered a report at the March (1965) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Brezhnev proposed to reduce the plan for the purchase of grain for 1965 and establish this plan as unchanged until 1970. A stable plan was supposed to ease the conditions for managing, save agriculture from constant shyness in the recent past. At the same time, it was planned to significantly raise the purchase prices for agricultural products. Thus, prices for livestock increased from 10 to 100%. Economic incentives were introduced for the growth of agricultural production: surcharges of up to 50% were set for grain delivered in excess of the plan.

A significant increase in investment in agriculture was expected. For the 8th-10th five-year plan (1965-1970), it was planned to invest 71 billion rubles in agriculture and related sectors of the economy. capital investments, including production facilities, agricultural machinery, development of the energy system for the village, land reclamation. A course was taken towards the creation of large specialized farms - small-scale commodity, pig and poultry farming, and grain.

The most odious restrictions on the development of personal subsidiary farms of collective farmers, workers and employees were removed. Moreover, in official propaganda in the mid-60s. proved their economic feasibility. However, it turned out to be unrealistic ten years later to use the products produced in personal subsidiary plots to solve national problems, as Malenkov did in the mid-1950s. The good wishes of the authorities were no longer believed. There were very few people who wanted to take advantage of the benefits provided to private households.

An attempt at economic reform in industry

During the years of the 8th five-year plan (1965-1970), attempts were made to reform the economic management of industry. At the September (1965) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, A. N. Kosygin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, member of the Politburo, made a report “On improving the management of industry, improving planning and strengthening economic incentives for industrial enterprises”. The report contained calls for a revision of the management system, the abandonment of economic councils and the restoration of the sectoral principle of management. Kosygin clarified: not the restoration of the pre-sovnarkhoz system of ministries, but a combination of centralization of leadership with the expansion of the operational and economic independence of enterprises. The main indicator for industrial enterprises was to be the volume of output. The report used such concepts as the market, profit, efficiency of capital investments.

The Soviet economic reform, although it provided for a significant expansion of the sphere of “grassroots” planning (at the level of enterprises and economic associations), in no way meant a rejection of central planning, the task of which remained to establish the main directions, proportions and rates of economic development. On October 2-3, 1965, laws were adopted to change the governing bodies. 11 all-union ministries of the USSR, 17 union-republican ministries were created. On July 10, 1967, the USSR Council of Ministers approved the resolution "General Provisions on the Ministries of the USSR". By the end of 1975 there were 35 industrial ministries.

The September Plenum of 1965 marked the beginning of the economic reform. From the first quarter of 1966, 43 enterprises were transferred to the new system; from the second - another 200, including 180 - union and union-republican subordination and 20 - republican. First of all, those enterprises where there was a higher level of profitability were transferred, so the reform began in the light and food industries. However, the implementation of the reform soon ran into contradictions between economic laws and political attitudes. Already from the first steps of the reform, inconsistencies with pricing became obvious: unjustifiably low prices for coal, iron and manganese ores, the production of sulfuric acid, for metal, which led to unprofitability of such industries as the coal industry, dairy, fish, etc. At the same time in a number of industries associated primarily with the military-industrial complex, there was an unjustifiably high level of profitability. Instrumentation, in particular, gave a profit of 50%. In the group of heavy and extractive industries, oil, gas, and a number of engineering industries were profitable. In this regard, it was proposed to introduce new prices, which should make industries profitable. However, these proposals ran counter to the party's policy of price fixity, which concealed the party's understanding of the importance of industries. Therefore, industries related to the military-industrial complex enjoyed priority.

The Kosygin economic reform of 1965 gave a noticeable impetus to the stalled national economy. In the eighth five-year period alone, the volume of industrial production grew by one and a half times, and labor productivity by one third. The growth rate of consumer goods has finally caught up with the growth rate of the means of production, which have always been given preference. These reforms gave business leaders greater discretion and allowed them to experiment with a pricing system designed to pay for the resources involved in production. Consumer goods, the production of which in 1966-1970. for the first time began to grow faster than the production of capital goods, also received more attention. In agriculture, stimulation began, which led in 1966-1971. to a significant increase in production. However, faced with the logic of a planned economy, the reforms stopped. Businesses that increased their productivity using their newfound freedom found that they received higher targets for the following year.

The first decade of the Brezhnev period (1964-1975) brought with it moderate economic growth (over 4% per annum on average) along with political stability and continuous improvement in the living conditions of the population. The contradictory nature of political development was manifested in the fact that the former, perceived as Stalinist, names of party bodies were restored in the CPSU. The Presidium of the Central Committee was renamed the Politburo, and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU was called the General Secretary.

The liquidation of economic councils and the restoration of ministries and centralized administration temporarily created a positive effect on the development of industry. For some time there were regional ties inherited from the economic councils, but they were backed up by centralized investments, sectoral science and technical policy. The 8th Five-Year Plan (1965-1970) became one of the most successful for the country's economy. The rapid expansion of oil and gas production in Western Siberia had an increasingly significant impact on the country's economic situation. The economic reform assumed the expansion of material incentives for production, increasing the interest of the workers themselves in the quantitative and qualitative results of labor.

For some time, it was possible to weaken the country's dependence on food purchases abroad. After the difficult years of 1962-1965. The USSR sharply reduced the purchase of bread abroad. Thus, there were practically no purchases of bread in 1966, and purchases of bread in 1967 were many times lower than the average.

However, other factors were at play as well. "Leftward" socio-political situation in Europe and the world in the second half of the 60s. gave rise to criticism of Soviet socialism "from the left". The ideas of reforming socialism received practical embodiment in the political ferment in Poland, in the reforms that began in Czechoslovakia. The "socialist camp" and its local communist elites were forced to decide on their attitude to the reforms, rightly seeing behind them the threat of losing power. The invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops led by the Soviet army into Czechoslovakia became a milestone in political history not only for the peoples of Central Europe, but also for the USSR. The economic reform here was curtailed.

Draft Khrushchev Constitution

By the beginning of the 1960s. The USSR entered a new qualitative stage of its development, which was characterized by the completion of the formation of an industrial society in the Soviet version. It was this circumstance that prompted the ruling Communist Party, on the one hand, to proclaim the completion of the construction of socialism, and on the other hand, to begin transformations in the political management system that took shape in the 1940s. and was largely extreme. In conditions when the USSR became a powerful superpower, there was no longer an urgent need to limit the population of the country both politically and economically in the name of mobilizing forces and means to solve the strategic tasks of industrial modernization.

At the 21st Congress of the CPSU in 1961, it was declared that socialism had been built completely and definitively, and that it was time to start building communism. The leadership of the party and the country, headed by Khrushchev, decided to develop a new constitution for the country, which was first mentioned at the 22nd Congress of the CPSU, which adopted a utopian program for building communism. All these decisions and programs were taken at a time when, on the one hand, high growth rates of industrial production were determined, and on the other hand, problems arose with the food supply to the population. Wanting to raise his prestige in society, Khrushchev again returned to the topic of the fight against Stalinism. Having described a number of crimes of Stalinism at the congress, Khrushchev organized the adoption of resolutions on the removal of Stalin's body from the mausoleum and the renaming of Stalingrad to Volgograd.

In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Constitutional Commission was formed, which carried out the preparation of the draft of the new Constitution within two years. The main provisions of the draft of the new Constitution were as follows. One of its key theses: the development of the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat into a state of the whole people and, accordingly, the formation of councils of people's deputies. The new councils were supposed to be not only authorities, but also public organizations, since the main task was to deploy a nationwide democracy and transfer a number of state functions to public organizations. It was emphasized that the guiding principle of state building was the principle of democratic centralism and collective leadership. The question of the development of new democratic socio-political institutions was especially raised, in particular, nation-wide discussions of bills were introduced, the reporting of elected heads of government bodies to the population, sectoral meetings of workers, and people's control bodies. Separately, it was said about the possibility of referenda, and the first was to be held on the adoption of this constitution. The requirements of the CPSU program on the rotation of elected party cadres extended to the deputy corps. The trade unions and the Komsomol received the right of legislative initiative. The commissions of the councils received the rights of control over the activities of ministries and departments. For the first time in Soviet history, it was planned to make the composition of such commissions permanent and transfer some of the deputies to professional activities with a break from the main production. Introduced changes in the activities of the court and the prosecutor's office. In particular, only the court gave the sanction for arrest, and the prosecutor's office was supposed to exercise supervision, and not administrative law.

Great innovations were included and the text of the articles on the powers of the republics, which were greatly expanded. The union republics, in addition to the right to secede from the USSR, received the right to carry out diplomatic and economic relations with foreign countries, to have their own republican armies and, on issues not specified in the constitution, to exercise their sovereignty. Elections of republican authorities - government councils were supposed to be held by secret ballot. In the economic section of the text, it was supposed to include a thesis about the possibility of personal property and private small-scale farming, in addition to state and cooperative ones.

The final draft of the Constitution was discussed at a meeting of the commission on July 16, 1964. By this time, under the influence of criticism from the Central Committee of the CPSU, it had been significantly adjusted. Under pressure from the Brezhnev subcommittee, ideological stamps and declarations were included in the project, which significantly worsened the project. The provisions on the rotation of the deputy corps, on the new powers of the republics, etc. were removed. According to researchers, these changes were made under the super-vigilant control of that part of the Central Committee, which at that time was actively preparing for the removal of Khrushchev and did not want changes in the political system.

On the whole, even in a truncated form, the draft of the new constitution undoubtedly represented a significant step forward and reflected the pressing needs of the democratization of the social system. The fears of the conservative part of the CPSU about the erosion of the political system and the erosion of communist power had a right to exist, but in the conditions of the general progressive development of the economy, this would not have had catastrophic consequences. At the same time, the adoption of a democratic Constitution would give a serious impetus to the development of society, would expand the social base of the CPSU, and would attract the sympathy of a large part of the intelligentsia to the authorities. But this historical chance of the CPSU was mediocrely missed.

USSR Constitution of 1977

Second half of the 70s. became the time for the adoption of the next Constitution of the USSR. It was supposed to replace the old, Stalinist 1936, as well as, to a certain extent, the completely failed Program of the CPSU, adopted in 1961 at the XXII Congress of the CPSU and promising to build communism in 20 years, i.e. by the beginning of the 80s. The new Basic Law retained the provision on the world-historical turn of mankind from capitalism to socialism: "The Soviet government carried out the deepest socio-economic transformations, forever put an end to the exploitation of man by man, with class antagonisms and national enmity ..."

Defining the social nature of the state, the new Constitution stated: “A developed socialist society has been built in the USSR. At this stage, when socialism is developing on its own basis, the creative forces of the new system, the advantages of the socialist way of life, are revealed more and more fully. She called the signs of "developed socialism" "a society of mature socialist social relations, in which, on the basis of the rapprochement of all classes and social strata, the legal and actual equality of all nations and nationalities, their fraternal cooperation, a new historical community of people has developed - the Soviet people." The goal of the state was proclaimed "to build a classless communist society in which public communist self-government will develop."

The political system of the USSR was defined as "a socialist state of the whole people, expressing the will and interests of the workers, peasants and intelligentsia, the working people of all nations and nationalities of the country." It was established that “the basis of the economic system of the USSR is socialist ownership of the means of production in the form of state and collective farm cooperative ownership”, i.e., in fact, state ownership was preserved in the country. “In the exclusive property of the state,” it was fixed in the Constitution, “...there are: land, its subsoil, water, forests. The state owns the main means of production in industry, construction and agriculture, means of transport and communications, banks, property of state-organized trade, communal and other enterprises ... "At the same time," no one has the right to use socialist property for personal gain and in other selfish purposes."

Legislature. The 1977 constitution did not change the political organization of society. As before, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was declared the highest body of state power in the USSR. Theoretically, he personified representative power and was a legislative body. He was elected for a term of 4 years by universal, equal and direct suffrage. A citizen of the USSR not younger than 23 years old could be elected as a deputy. The deputies met twice a year at the session of the Supreme Council. The rest of the time they had to work at their previous jobs.

The Supreme Soviet of the USSR was endowed with the right of supreme control over the activities of the state apparatus. He was also entrusted with the election of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the formation of the Government of the USSR, the election of the Supreme Court and the appointment of the Prosecutor General of the USSR. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR could appoint investigative and audit commissions on any issue. It consisted of two equal chambers - the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities. The Council of the Union was elected according to the norm: one deputy from 300 thousand people of the population. The Council of Nationalities elected 32 deputies from each union republic, 11 deputies from each autonomous republic, 5 deputies from each national region, and 1 deputy from each national district. Both houses had the right of legislative initiative, their sessions were held simultaneously.

The Supreme Council elected the Presidium, which worked between sessions and had broad powers, in fact, comparable to the rights of the Supreme Council itself. The Presidium of the Supreme Council issued decrees that were binding. These decrees were approved at the regular session of the Supreme Council and became laws.

Executive power. Formally, the executive power was represented by a system of ministries and departments headed by the Council of Ministers of the USSR. It was the highest executive and administrative body of the USSR. The number of union ministries and state committees constantly increased and reached more than 80. New ones arose, as a rule, as a result of the division of the old industrial ministries.

The judiciary remained largely dependent on the executive. The Ministry of Justice of the USSR, restored in 1970, was supposed to lead the bar; The Ministry of Justice included departments of general courts and military tribunals. The supreme judicial body was the Supreme Court of the USSR. He was entrusted with the supervision of judicial activities, he had the rights of a court of first instance and supervision of cases in cassation. The highest supervision over the observance of laws was assigned by the Constitution to the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR.

The apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU in the control system

At the same time, one can talk about the real functioning of the state apparatus of the country, taking into account the peculiarities of the political structure of the USSR. Article 6 of the 1977 Constitution declared that the Communist Party of the USSR was the "core of the political system". This absolutely non-legal wording concealed a real phenomenon - the duplication of the entire system of managing the party apparatus. The leadership of the party was carried out not by the congresses of the CPSU, as it was supposed to according to its Charter, but by the Politburo and the heads of departments and sectors of the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The top party leadership included the most prominent representatives of state power. The Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, elected in 1976 at the XXV Party Congress, included: Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR L. I. Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU), Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Kosygin, his first deputy Mazurov, ministers: Foreign Affairs - Gromyko , defense - Grechko, and later - Ustinov, KGB chairman Andropov. There was a kind of fusion of the highest levels of the party and state apparatuses.

All top party leaders directly interfered in the activities of all branches of state power. Secretaries of the Central Committee led the departments of the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The structure of the apparatus of the Central Committee, in fact, duplicated the bodies of the executive, legislative and judicial authorities, and also reflected in detail the system of union ministries and departments that controlled industry, agriculture, culture and ideology. So, for example, in the department of administrative bodies of the Central Committee there were the following sectors:

Ground and Missile Forces, Civil Defense and DOSAAF;

Air Force, Navy, Air Defense and civil air fleet;

security authorities;

Prosecutor's offices, courts and justice;

Public order authorities.

Any decision of the ministry and department, which affected the essential aspects of the life of the country, was previously coordinated with the relevant sectors and departments of the Central Committee apparatus, and, if necessary, with the Secretariat of the Central Committee or the Politburo.

In order to present the mechanism for coordination and decision-making at the highest state level, let us consider a typical example: the adoption in 1976 of a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On improving the management of work in the field of labor and social development." There are several stages in the preparation of this decision:

1. Preparation of a note on this topic for the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The following persons took part in the preparation: the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on Labor and Social Issues; relevant departments of the USSR Council of Ministers; Supreme Soviet of the USSR, departments of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Secretariat of the General Secretary.

2. The decision of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPSU contained:

Regulations on the transformation of the State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers on labor and wages into the Union-Republican State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers on labor and social issues;

Approval of the project of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on this issue;

Instruction by the Council of Ministers of the Union Republics on the transformation of the State Committees of the Councils of Ministers of the Republics for the use of labor resources into the Union Republican State Committees of the Councils of Ministers of the Union Republics for Labor, and their subordination to the Union State Committee for Labor and Social Affairs;

Issues of activities and staffing of the future State Committee;

Instruction of the Central Committee of the union republics, the regional party committees, the leadership of the trade unions - the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, the ministries and departments of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the union republics to implement this resolution;

Corresponding draft resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

3. The decision of the Secretariat of the Central Committee had to be approved by the Politburo of the Central Committee. For this, the following were sent to the Politburo:

Draft resolution of the Central Committee;

Draft Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR;

Draft resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

Thus, on the one hand, a thorough study of the issue was achieved, on the other, a somewhat complicated problem was buried in countless agreements. There was a collective irresponsibility for making a decision.

After the approval of these decisions at the Politburo, the actual state, public law side of the history of the established institution of power began. A similar coordination mechanism was also characteristic at the level of territories, regions, and districts of the country. The heads of the largest enterprises and departments were part of the bureaus of the regional committees, regional committees, district party committees or took part in the work of the bureau ex officio. The regulations of the regional party committee provided for the constant presence of the heads of departments of the regional committee of the CPSU and their deputies, the chairman of the control and audit commission of the regional party organization, the editor of the regional newspaper, the first (second) secretary of the regional committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, the head (deputy head) of the KGB department, the prosecutor (deputy prosecutor) of the region, head (deputy head) of the department of internal affairs of the regional executive committee.

The mechanisms for exercising power assumed, in normal cases, the close interaction of many administrative institutions - ministries and departments, the Council of Ministers and its departments, the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Secretariat and the Politburo. At the same time, the seemingly irreproachable system of coordinating preliminary examination was actually eliminated when decisions had to be made quickly or when these decisions had a high political cost. Then they were accepted at the level of the country's top political leadership (as a rule, the head of the party in agreement with the head of the Council of Ministers, the KGB and the army) for reasons of political expediency and how it was understood at a particular moment. Their opinion could diverge from the opinion of experts, contradict earlier decisions.

So, at Brezhnev's dacha on December 12, 1979, it was decided to send Soviet troops into Afghanistan. The meeting was attended by KGB Chairman Andropov, Defense Minister Ustinov, Foreign Minister Gromyko, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Brezhnev and head of the General Department of the Central Committee Chernenko. Later it was formalized as a decision of the Politburo. It was common practice for only members of the Politburo to meet in the so-called walnut room in the Kremlin, at which a consensus was reached on the most important issues that were submitted to Politburo meetings.

The most important personnel changes - from the resignation of Khrushchev in October 1964 to the appointment of Gorbachev as General Secretary of the Central Committee - were predetermined by the narrowest circle of state leaders, only then were they fixed by resolutions of the Politburo, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.