Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich years of government. Khrushchev's biography
Childhood, family
Nikita Khrushchev was born on April 15, 1894 in a mining family of father Sergei Nikanorovich and mother Ksenia Ivanovna in the poor Kursk province. The family was a miner, not famous for wealth, so the boy had to grow up early, helping his parents. No matter how poor the parents lived, they decided that their son should study. And the boy attended a parochial school. He worked only in the summer, and even then only as a shepherd.
When Nikita was 14 years old, he began working at a factory in the village of Yuzovka, where the entire Khrushchev family moved. Along the way, I had to learn plumbing. There were many pages in the biography of Nikita Sergeevich, turning over which one could trace the entire history of the party of the Soviet Union.
Rise and political career of Khrushchev
Later, Nikita Sergeevich got a job in a coal mine, became a member of the Bolshevik Party, and participated in the Civil War. Khrushchev very quickly made his way up the career ladder: he joined the Communist Party. Two years later, he was appointed head (for politics) of one of the Donbass mines.Khrushchev decides to study and entered an industrial technical school. He does not give up party work and soon becomes a party secretary in his technical school. At the congress of the CPSU (b), the young man meets Lazar Kaganovich, who liked the assertiveness of the party leader.
Nikita Sergeevich, thanks to the patronage of Kaganovich, receives a post in the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Ukraine. An education was needed, and Khrushchev entered the Industrial Academy in the capital. And in this educational institution for the future leader, there was a job to his liking: again politics and party activities. The authorities noticed this and appointed him to the post of second secretary of the City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the City of Moscow. A little later, he replaced Kaganovich and became the head of the Moscow party organization.
Khrushchev was needed by the authorities in Ukraine, they give him great powers, appointing him the first secretary of the Ukrainian Republic. Nikita Sergeevich was remembered for the fact that at the end of the thirties he expelled from Ukraine about 120 thousand people of the so-called "enemies of the party." The years of the Great Patriotic War showed that the Ukrainian leader fought partisans, having risen to the rank of lieutenant general, and several defeats on the territory of Ukraine lay on his conscience. But there are no details about this in his biography. Immediately after the war, Khrushchev continued to lead the republic, in 1949 he was taken to Moscow.
Everyone knows what saddened the Soviet people in 1953. The country was in mourning because Stalin had died. Lavrenty Beria was supposed to replace the head of the Soviet Union. But Khrushchev, along with those who were in power, made Beria an enemy of the people, having shot him for espionage. Nikita Sergeevich was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. While Khrushchev ruled the country, there were breakthroughs and failures in the economy in the Soviet Union.
Khrushchev decided to consider corn the main crop and grow it everywhere. It was a mistake to include in the order those republics in which corn cannot grow. This idea of the leader turned out to be a failure. Some ill-considered decisions of the reformer led the country to famine.
There were also good moments in the reign of Nikita Sergeevich, which among the people and in the history of the country were called “thaws”: the release of political prisoners repressed by Stalin began, freedom of speech began to appear, the Soviet Union began to open up to Western countries.
Under Khrushchev's leadership, Soviet citizens had the opportunity to move into their own newly built apartments. The first space satellite and the first man-cosmonaut who flew into space were under Nikita Sergeevich, he also contributed to the development of television and cinema.
Personal life
Khrushchev was married twice and has five children. The first wife was Efrosinya Pisareva. They lived together for six years and raised their son Leonid and daughter Yulia as long as Euphrosyne was alive. In the twentieth year, she contracted typhus and died. Some sources tell of a brief cohabitation between Nikita Sergeevich and Nadezhda Gorskaya.
The second wife was well known to the Soviet people, as she accompanied the leader of the country everywhere. For more than forty years, the Khrushchevs lived in a civil marriage, only then they registered their relationship. In this marriage, Nikita Sergeevich had three children.
Not all children of Nikita Sergeevich are still alive. Leonid from his first marriage was a military pilot, died. Julia lived in Kyiv, was married to the director of the regional opera, has already died. Children from the second marriage: the born first daughter died almost immediately. The second daughter Rada worked for a long time in the journal Science and Life. Son Sergey, a gold medalist, a professor specializing in rocket systems, now lives and teaches in the USA. The name of the famous father did not affect the fate of his children in any way. Everyone built his own destiny.
Death
Spouses Nikita Sergeevich and Nina Petrovna lived together until their death. When Khrushchev retired, he and his wife moved to a dacha in the suburbs. September 11, 1971 Khrushchev went to another world. The cause of death was a heart attack. The heart attack that happened was so strong that it was not possible to save the former leader of the country.Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Federal Agency for Education
MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY OF PRINTING
Department of History and Cultural Studies
ABSTRACT
Topic: USSR during the reign of N.S. Khrushchev
Completed by: Krasnov Gennady
group DCAS-1-1
Teacher:
Associate Professor, Ph.D. Demidov Alexander Vladimirovich
Introduction
N.S. Khrushchev. Biography
Prerequisites for a "thaw"
1 USSR after the Great Patriotic War
2 Economy of the USSR in the post-war period
3 Foreign policy of the USSR in the post-war period
The development of the USSR during the reign of N.S. Khrushchev
1 Political reforms
2 Economic reforms
3 Public life
The foreign policy of the USSR during the reign of N.S. Khrushchev
1 Relations with capitalist countries
2 Relations with socialist countries
3 Relations with developing countries
Khrushchev's removal
Conclusion
Bibliography
Khrushchev rule reform
INTRODUCTION
year. 5th of March. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin dies as a result of a brain hemorrhage at the Near Dacha. An era in the history of the USSR is ending. Inevitably, change is coming.
After Stalin's death, the reins of government of the country were concentrated in the hands of a small group of politicians: I. V. Stalin's successor as Chairman of the Council of Ministers G. M. Malenkov, Minister of the United Ministry of Internal Affairs (which included the Ministry of State Security) L. P. Beria and Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N S. Khrushchev. Within this "triumvirate" a struggle for leadership immediately began, the outcome of which, in the final analysis, was determined by which of the contenders for supreme power would be supported by the party-state and military nomenklatura. The basis of this dominating stratum of Soviet society was made up of people who had taken leadership positions after the "great purge" of the 1930s, as well as during the Great Patriotic War. Over the past time, their position has noticeably strengthened, they have gained considerable experience and authority as direct organizers of the people's struggle against fascist aggression. In addition, the nomenclature managed to acquire interpenetrating ties that cemented this layer and supported its internal stability. The Soviet equivalent of the pre-revolutionary governors-general came to the fore - the secretaries of the Central Committee of the republican communist parties, regional committees and regional committees (their share in the Central Committee of the CPSU rose from 20% in 1939 to 50% in 1952). They were loyal to the center, but demanded greater independence in solving local affairs and, most importantly, personal security. Other sections of the nomenklatura also yearned for greater participation in the real exercise of power and guarantees against the resumption of repressions in their own environment.
The desire of those in power to reform totalitarian structures was also fed by the events that unfolded immediately after the death of I.V. Stalin and threatened to get out of control (uprisings in Soviet concentration camps - the most serious of them happened in the spring of 1954 in Kingir, where the authorities had to use tanks for its participants, mass anti-communist and anti-Soviet demonstrations in the GDR and Czechoslovakia, fermentation in other countries of "people's democracy").
At the same time, the nomenclature was clearly aware of the limit in the upcoming reforms, beyond which it did not want, and could not go: they had to push the development of production (especially in the agrarian sector of the economy devastated by the war), remove the obvious overstrain and society's fatigue from the artificially spurred "mobilization readiness" to repel the intrigues of ever new "internal and external enemies". It was necessary to radically reorganize the Gulag system, which had become obsolete and was increasingly turning into a powder keg; somewhat improve the lives of ordinary people who eked out a miserable existence. And at the same time, the reforms should not in any way infringe on the socio-political interests of the partocracy and other privileged groups of the population.
Each of the candidates for the supreme power hastened to declare their readiness to change the order of things, consecrated by the gloomy genius of I. V. Stalin. Thus, G. M. Malenkov spoke in a general form, without naming names, against the "policy of the personality cult", for shifting the emphasis in the economy towards meeting the immediate material and cultural needs of the people, for peaceful coexistence with capitalist states as an alternative to the inevitable death of civilization in nuclear war. L.P. Beria, in turn, advocated the unification of Germany and its neutrality, reconciliation with Yugoslavia, for the expansion of the rights of the republics of the USSR and the promotion of national personnel to the leadership there, opposed Russification in the field of culture.
And yet the choice fell on N. S. Khrushchev. The time of his reign is especially interesting to me: firstly, during this period there was a reassessment of the policy that had been carried out since the founding of the USSR, and secondly, during this period there were a lot of events that influenced the further development of the USSR and other countries of the world.
In my work, I will consider not only the main events of the Khrushchev period, but also the prerequisites for his policy, the so-called “thaw”. But for this, you first need to get to know him, with a man on whom the fate of the whole world largely depended.
1. Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev (1894-1971)
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was born in 1894 in the village of Kalinovka, Kursk province, in the family of miner Sergei Nikanorovich Khrushchev and Xenia Ivanovna Khrushcheva. In winter he attended school and learned to read and write, in summer he worked as a shepherd. In 1908, having moved with his family to the Uspensky mine near Yuzovka, Khrushchev became an apprentice fitter at a factory, then worked as a fitter at a mine and, as a miner, was not taken to the front in 1914. From the age of 14, he began working at factories and mines in Donbass.
In 1918, Khrushchev was accepted into the Bolshevik Party. He participates in the Civil War, and after its completion is in economic and party work.
In 1922, Khrushchev returned to Yuzovka and studied at the workers' faculty of the Don Technical School, where he became the party secretary of the technical school. In July 1925 he was appointed party leader of the Petrov-Maryinsky district of the Stalin province.
In 1929 he entered the Industrial Academy in Moscow, where he was elected secretary of the party committee.
Since January 1931, he was secretary of the Baumansky and then Krasnopresnensky district party committees, in 1932-1934 he worked first as second, then first secretary of the Moscow City Committee and second secretary of the MK of the CPSU (b).
In 1938 he became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine and a candidate member of the Politburo, and a year later a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. In these positions, he proved himself as a merciless fighter against the "enemies of the people."
During the Great Patriotic War, Khrushchev was a member of the military councils of the Southwestern direction, the Southwestern, Stalingrad, Southern, Voronezh and 1st Ukrainian fronts. He was one of the culprits of the catastrophic encirclement of the Red Army near Kiev (1941) and near Kharkov (1942), fully supporting the Stalinist point of view. He finished the war with the rank of lieutenant general.
In October 1942, an order signed by Stalin was issued abolishing the dual command system and transferring commissars from commanders to advisers. But it should be noted that Khrushchev remained the only political worker (commissar), whose advice General Chuikov listened to in the fall of 1942 in Stalingrad. Khrushchev was in the front command echelon behind Mamayev Kurgan, then at the tractor factory.
In the period from 1944 to 1947 he worked as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, then he was re-elected the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CP (b) of Ukraine. Since December 1949, he is again the first secretary of the Moscow Regional and the secretary of the Central Party Committees. In June 1953, after the death of Joseph Stalin, he was one of the main initiators of the removal from all posts and the arrest of Lavrenty Beria. In September 1953, Khrushchev was elected first secretary of the Central Committee. At the XX Congress of the CPSU, he made a report on the personality cult of I. V. Stalin. At the June plenum of the Central Committee in 1957, he defeated the group of V. Molotov, G. Malenkov, L. Kaganovich and D. Shepilov, who joined them. Since 1958 - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. He held these posts until October 14, 1964.
The October plenum of the Central Committee, organized in the absence of Khrushchev, who was on vacation, relieved him of party and government posts "for health reasons." After that, Nikita Khrushchev was retired. Khrushchev died on September 11, 1971.
After Khrushchev's resignation, his name was "unmentioned" for more than 20 years (like Stalin and, to a greater extent, Malenkov); in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia he was accompanied by a brief description: "There were elements of subjectivism and voluntarism in his activities." In Perestroika, the discussion of Khrushchev's activities again became possible; his role as a "predecessor" of perestroika was emphasized, at the same time, attention was paid to his own role in the repressions, and to the negative aspects of his leadership. The only case of perpetuating the memory of Khrushchev is still the assignment of his name to the square in Grozny in 1991. During the life of Khrushchev, the city of builders of the Kremenchug hydroelectric power station (Kirovograd region of Ukraine) was briefly named after him, which during his tenure (1962) was renamed Kremges, and then (1969) Svetlovodsk.
2. BACKGROUND OF THE "THAW"
1 USSR AFTER THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR
The victory of the Soviet people gave rise to hopes for a weakening of the political regime. And it happened.
In September 1945, the state of emergency was lifted in the USSR and the State Defense Committee was abolished. In March 1946, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR was transformed into the Council of Ministers (which until 1953 was chaired by I.V. Stalin). Re-elections to local Soviets, the Supreme Soviets of the republics and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were held. For the first time people's judges and people's assessors were elected on the basis of direct and secret elections.
In 1948, congresses of public and political organizations (trade unions, the Komsomol, the Union of Composers) resumed. After a thirteen-year break, in October 1952 the 19th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks took place.
In 1946-1948. closed discussions of the drafts of the new Constitution of the USSR and the Program of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks took place. Among them were proposals to expand intra-party democracy, the party's refusal from direct management of the economy, limiting the tenure in leadership positions, and alternative party elections.
Stalin, with harsh measures, suppressed the nationalist movement, which was actively manifested in the territories newly annexed to the USSR (the Baltic states, Western Ukraine).
In the liberated states of Eastern Europe, pro-Soviet communist regimes were established, which later formed a counterbalance to the militaristic NATO bloc from the west of the USSR. Post-war contradictions between the USSR and the USA in the Far East led to the Korean War, in which Soviet pilots and anti-aircraft gunners took a direct part.
After the war, repressions were resumed for some time among the highest command staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. So, in 1946-1948. according to the so-called. A number of major military leaders from the inner circle of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov were arrested and put on trial in the "trophy case", including Air Chief Marshal A.A. Novikov, Lieutenant General K.F. Telegin.
2 ECONOMY OF THE USSR IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD
After the war, the country embarked on a course of accelerated economic recovery, devastated by warfare and scorched earth tactics pursued by both sides.
The human losses did not end with the war. Only the famine of 1946-1947 claimed the lives of about a million people. In total, for the period 1939-1959. population losses amounted to various estimates from 25 to 30 million people.
One of the main tasks was the conversion of military production, the restoration of industry. Priority was maintained for heavy, primarily defense.
The preservation of a part of the military-industrial complex (MIC) and the development of light industries made it possible to provide employment for the population and increase the volume of civil engineering. In 1946-1950. most of the industrial enterprises were restored. Compared with the pre-war period, labor productivity in industry rose by 25%. The pre-war level of industrial production was reached in 1948. New large-scale industrial construction was unfolding, especially in the east of the country, in the Volga region, Transcaucasia. At the same time, there was a technical re-equipment of enterprises reconstructed after the war, mainly due to captured equipment. The metallurgical and fuel and energy base of the country is being restored. By 1950, rail transport had been largely restored.
In agriculture, by 1950, the most important branches of agriculture were restored with the help of the introduction of high agricultural taxes and underestimation of the cost of production in state purchases. Gross output amounted to 97% of the pre-war level. In many ways, such success was achieved thanks to the work of peasants who did not receive payment, but worked for the so-called "workdays" that were taken into account when distributing potential surpluses of collective farm products. The card system was abolished, and in 1947 a monetary reform was carried out, replacing the old money with new ones. In the first half of the 50s. the material well-being of the population of cities and villages increased somewhat, which contributed to the stabilization of the demographic situation.
3 FOREIGN POLICY OF THE USSR IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD
The end of World War II, the absence of a common enemy, the redistribution of spheres of influence had a major impact on the beginning of a new stage in the confrontation between the USSR and the Western powers. The situation of confrontation, the buildup of armaments and the expansion of the military-industrial complex without the conduct of hostilities was called the "cold war". Support for the communist movements of the East and Asia, the Soviet presence in the liberated Eastern European states could not but provoke protests from the leading European powers.
In 1946, Winston Churchill delivered a speech in which he spoke about the danger of the communist threat, and in February 1947, the American Congress heard President Truman's report on saving the world and Europe from Soviet expansion. For this, it was planned to create a military-political union, deploy military bases in Eastern Europe, and in April 1948, the creation of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) began, which included the United States, England, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Italy, Canada, Norway , Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Turkey, Greece and Germany.
In response to this, the USSR created in 1949 the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). It included Albania, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, etc.
In 1955, the Warsaw Pact Organization was created, which included the socialist countries of Eastern Europe. Europe split into two opposing camps. The advent of atomic weapons and the nuclear arms race radically changed the strategic situation, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war.
It was in such a political environment that Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev came to power in the USSR in 1953. The "thaw" has begun.
3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE USSR IN THE YEARS OF N.S. Khrushchev
Stalin's death (March 5, 1953) occurred at a time when the possibilities of the political and economic system had already exhausted themselves, giving rise to serious socio-economic and political difficulties in society. Therefore, Stalin's successors had to carry out several interrelated tasks, among which the main ones stood out: ensuring the continuity of the socio-political course, distributing the most important party and state posts, and implementing some reforms.
The internal political life of the country was characterized by the continuation of the struggle for power. The composition of the Presidium of the Central Committee was reduced. G. Malenkov received the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers and headed the Secretariat of the Central Committee. His deputies were: L. Beria, who headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs, V. Molotov, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. N. Khrushchev did not have any government positions, occupying the second, and then the first place in the Secretariat of the Central Committee. The most real contender for power was Beria, but the top leadership could not allow him to grow. Beria was accused of spying for world capitalism and shot. Malenkov's position weakened with the fall of Beria, with whom he was associated as the organizer of post-war repressions.
Khrushchev, on the contrary, managed to strengthen his authority: by controlling the party apparatus, he began to place his supporters in leading positions. At the beginning of 1955, G. Malenkov was removed from the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers due to accusations of involvement in the fabrication of the "Leningrad case", in poor management of agriculture, etc.
3.1 POLITICAL REFORM
After the removal of Malenkov, Khrushchev actually becomes the head of state. The XX Congress of the CPSU in February 1956 and N. Khrushchev's speech at it with a report on Stalin's personality cult became a turning point in history, the beginning of a partial de-Stalinization and democratization of the country's life. The report cited examples of the lawlessness of the Stalinist regime, which were mainly associated only with the activities of individual specific individuals, but the question of the existence of a totalitarian system was not raised. This speech strengthened Khrushchev's authority, which caused discontent among other party leaders. In June 1957, at the Plenum of the Central Committee, Voroshilov and Kaganovich tried to remove Khrushchev from leadership. But thanks to the support of party leaders, opposition representatives were condemned by the communists as an "anti-party group". At the same Plenum, Khrushchev achieved the introduction of new persons into the Presidium of the Central Committee who supported him in difficult times - Brezhnev, Zhukov, Ignatov and others.
Decentralization in the economy, science, and management expanded the independence of local leaders and developed their initiative. Even in the top leadership of the country, authoritarian methods of leadership were not felt. Along with these positive moments in the life of Soviet society, negative phenomena appeared that had not been noticed before. The disappearance of fear everywhere caused a weakening of social discipline, the nationalism of the republics in relation to the Russian population began to manifest itself more sharply. Crime has increased, especially economic crimes: bribery, embezzlement, speculation in public property. Therefore, more severe penalties for crimes based on the new criminal legislation were adopted. The very fact of returning to the law after the arbitrariness of the past years was an innovation, although the laws themselves needed a deeper development.
In 1958, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the Fundamentals of the Criminal Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics. In 1960, a new Criminal Code of the RSFSR, developed on the basis of the Fundamentals, was adopted, replacing the code of 1926. A large and painstaking work was carried out to review the cases of the victims of Stalinist repressions and to rehabilitate the innocent. The restoration of the rights and state formations of the deported peoples began. In 1957, the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was restored; In 1958, the Kalmyk Autonomous Okrug was transformed into the Kalmyk ASSR. In 1956, after the strengthening of friendly relations with Finland, the Karelian-Finnish SSR was transformed into the Karelian ASSR within the RSFSR. Thus, from that moment on, the USSR included 15 union republics. Their rights were significantly expanded.
The above changes required streamlining the relationship between the individual and the state outside the legal framework. Citizens looked for a way out in religion. It was necessary to develop new moral norms regulating the rights and duties of the individual. In 1961, the Moral Code of the Builder of Communism was proclaimed.
In parallel with this, an atheist campaign was launched. Moral issues were intertwined with new political issues. Returned prisoners from the Stalinist camps. There was a wave of demands to call those responsible for the crimes to account.
N.S. Khrushchev and his supporters undertook hard efforts to remove the most tarnished people from leading positions in the party and the state.
N.S. had high hopes. Khrushchev at the XXII Congress of the CPSU, which took place from October 17 to October 31, 1961. He presented a new party program (the previous one was developed in 1919) and stated that by 1980 the "material and technical base of communism" would be created in the USSR. At the congress, Nikita Sergeevich launched a new offensive against Stalin, which again acquired a personal character. Some of the delegates supported him, while the other part preferred to remain silent. Report by N.S. Khrushchev fully met the aspirations of the intelligentsia, the former repressed, and the youth.
After the 22nd Congress, it became possible to publish in the press the tragic pages of Stalin's rule, to name the victims of repressions. In the activities of Nikita Sergeevich himself, the second wave of reforms began. First of all, he forced the party to focus even more on economic work. In March 1962, he reorganized the entire administrative apparatus of agriculture. It was a prelude to the most unusual Khrushchev reform.
According to the reform project, the entire party from top to bottom changed the territorial structure to the production one. Its apparatus was divided into two parallel structures for industry and agriculture, which were united only at the top. Two regional committees appeared in each region: for industry and for agriculture - each with its own first secretary. According to the same principle, the executive bodies - regional executive committees - were also divided. Such a reform was fraught with conflicts, as it led to the embryo of a two-party system.
A very important new clause, included at the 22nd Party Congress in the Charter of the CPSU, was the clause according to which no one could hold an elected position in the party for more than three terms in a row, and the composition of the governing bodies should be updated by at least one third. Khrushchev sought to attract citizens as much as possible to participate in the work of government.
In the fall of 1962, Khrushchev called for a revision of the Zhdanov resolutions on culture and for at least a partial abolition of censorship. He obtained permission from the Presidium of the Central Committee to publish the landmark work "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich", written by the then unknown writer Solzhenitsyn. The story was devoted to the events taking place in the Stalinist camps. Khrushchev wanted to achieve the rehabilitation of prominent party figures who were repressed in 1936-1938: Bukharin, Zinoviev, Kamenev and others. However, he did not succeed in achieving everything, since at the end of 1962 the orthodox ideologists went on the offensive, and Khrushchev was forced to go on the defensive. His retreat was marked by a number of high-profile episodes: from the first clash with a group of abstract artists to a series of meetings between party leaders and representatives of culture. Then for the second time he was forced to publicly renounce most of his criticism of Stalin. This was his defeat. Completed the defeat of the Plenum of the Central Committee in June 1963, completely dedicated to the problems of ideology. It was stated that there was no peaceful coexistence of ideologies, there is not and cannot be. From that moment on, books that could not be published in the open press began to go from hand to hand in typewritten form. Thus was born "samizdat" - the first sign of the phenomenon that would later become known as dissidence. Since then, the pluralism of opinions has been doomed to disappear.
Khrushchev's position became especially difficult after the break in Soviet-Chinese relations. They became so aggravated that they resulted in border conflicts. China began to present territorial claims to the USSR. This gap also had a detrimental effect on the international communist movement. The disagreements were caused by differences in the assessment of the decisions of the XX Congress of the CPSU. China reacted negatively to the assessment of Stalin's activities.
2 ECONOMIC REFORM
Having achieved relative political stability with the help of a course towards some liberalization of the regime, Khrushchev faced intractable economic problems.
In 1955, the population of the USSR reached the pre-war level. In 1959, the urban population equaled the rural population, and in 1960 it exceeded it. In the second half of the 1950s, the USSR completed the tasks of industrialization, and acute social contradictions were left behind. However, agriculture provided only 16% of the national product, while industry - 62% and construction - 10%. The need to improve the standard of living was brought to the fore. Post-Stalinist reforms began to produce tangible results both in competition with the United States and in raising living standards. N.S. Khrushchev said that it was necessary to work harder and better.
It was decided to start reforms with agriculture. It was supposed to raise state purchase prices for the products of collective farms, to expand the area under crops at the expense of virgin and fallow lands. The development of virgin lands at first gave an increase in food. On the other hand, it was carried out to the detriment not only of traditional grain regions, but was not scientifically prepared. Therefore, soon the virgin lands fell into decay.
In March 1955, the reform of agricultural production planning began. The goal was proclaimed to be a combination of centralized management of agriculture with the expansion of rights and economic initiative at the local level, i.e., the decentralization of government in the republics. Almost 15 thousand enterprises were transferred to the jurisdiction of the republican administrative bodies. In 1957, the government began to abolish the sectoral ministries and replace them with territorial government bodies. SNKh (National Economy Councils) were created in the republics. The SNKh of the USSR, the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR became the central apparatus for managing the national economy.
In 1959, at the 25th Congress of the CPSU, Khrushchev put forward the most adventurous of his ideas: to overtake and overtake the United States in industrial and agricultural production per capita by 1970.
Nikita Sergeevich's optimistic calculations were based on a simple extrapolation of the annual levels of industrial development of the two countries during the peacetime. These levels were in favor of the USSR. His calculations did not take into account not only the wealth of the American economy, but most importantly, the USSR could not concentrate all its resources on improving the well-being of the people. The fact is that he had many new tasks ahead of him. The arms race and space competition demanded a lot of money. A significant part of the resources was invested in agriculture, which was the main thing for raising the standard of living both in the countryside and in the city. It was necessary to develop chemistry, electronics, increase oil production instead of coal, electrify railways. But the biggest problem was housing. As a result of the measures taken - mass housing construction of "five-story buildings" - from 1956 to 1963 more housing was built in the USSR than in the previous 40 years.
The multi-purpose economy was no longer suited to Stalin-era management and planning methods of absolute priority for some goals over others. Enterprises began to switch to self-financing from their own funds.
In 1957-1958, N.S. Khrushchev carried out three reforms. They concerned industry, agriculture and the education system.
Nikita Sergeevich strove for the decentralization of industrial management. The fact is that every year it became more and more difficult to manage enterprises located on the periphery. It was decided that industrial enterprises should be managed not by ministries, but by local bodies - economic councils. N.S. Khrushchev hoped in this way to rationally use raw materials, eliminate isolation and departmental barriers. There were many opponents to this decision. In reality, the economic councils became simply multi-branch ministries and failed to cope with their tasks. The reform was reduced to a bureaucratic reorganization.
Changes in agriculture influenced the structure of production much more significantly. N.S. Khrushchev, despite resistance, changed the criteria for planning in agriculture. Now the collective farm received only mandatory tasks for procurement instead of strict regulation of activities. For the first time he could decide for himself how to use his own resources and organize production. Under Nikita Sergeevich, there was a reduction in the number of collective farms and an increase in the number of state farms. The poorest collective farms were united and for their improvement were transformed into state farms. A characteristic feature was the enlargement of farms at the expense of unpromising villages. The new reform of N.S. was limited to these frameworks. Khrushchev.
The main difference between the state farm and the collective farm was the ownership of the machine and tractor stations (MTS). State farms had them, and collective farms used the services of the MTS in exchange for food. MTS were dissolved, and their equipment was transferred to the ownership of collective farms. This was very important for strengthening the independence of the peasant economy. However, the haste in the implementation of the reform did not produce the desired results.
Khrushchev's third reform affected the education system. The reform was based on two measures. N.S. Khrushchev eliminated the system of "labor reserves", that is, a network of paramilitary schools that existed at public expense. They were created before the war to train skilled workers.
They were replaced by ordinary vocational schools, which could be entered after the seventh grade. The secondary school received a "polytechnic" profile, which involved the combination of education with work, so that the student got an idea about one or more professions. However, the lack of funds did not allow equipping schools with modern equipment, and enterprises could not fully bear the pedagogical burden.
In the Khrushchev decade, two periods are often distinguished, differing in economic results.
The first (1953-1958) is the most positive; the second (from 1959 to the removal of Khrushchev in 1964) - when there were fewer positive results. The first period referred to the time when Nikita Sergeevich fought for supremacy in a hostile collegial leadership, and the second - when he dominated.
The first plan for the development of the country, which was based mainly on industrialization, was the seven-year plan adopted by the 21st Party Congress. With its help, they tried, without hindering the development of the country, to make up for the serious imbalances from which Soviet society suffered. It stated that in 7 years the USSR had to produce as much as in the previous 40 years.
It should be noted that the seven-year plan brought the Soviet economy out of stagnation. The economic gap between the USSR and the USA has narrowed. However, not all industries developed uniformly. The production of consumer goods, which were chronically in short supply, grew slowly. The shortage was exacerbated by ignorance of the demand in the goods market, which no one studied. Among the disproportions in the seven-year plan, the most severe was the crisis in agriculture. Farms lacked electricity, chemical fertilizers, valuable crops.
In the 60s N.S. Khrushchev began to restrain the private activities of the peasants. He hoped to force the peasants to work more on the collective farm and less on private farms, which caused discontent among the peasants. Many rushed to the cities, and as a result, the villages began to empty. Economic difficulties coincided with a poor harvest in 1963. The drought had devastating consequences. Interruptions in the supply of bread became more frequent. The rationing system for bread was avoided only thanks to the purchase of grain in America for gold. For the first time in its history, the USSR bought grain abroad.
The agrarian crisis, the expansion of market relations, the rapid disillusionment with the economic councils, the need to find balanced solutions to a large number of problems, rivalry with more developed countries, criticism of Stalin's activities and greater intellectual freedom became factors that contributed to the revival of economic thought in the USSR. Discussions of scientists on the problems of economics revived. This was warmly welcomed by N.S. Khrushchev.
Two directions emerged. The theoretical direction was headed by the Leningrad scientists Kantorovich and Novozhilov. They advocated the widespread use of mathematical methods in planning. The second direction - practices demanded greater independence for enterprises, less rigid and mandatory planning, allowing the development of market relations. A third group of scholars began to study the economics of the West. The attention of these schools was directed not so much to the organization of economic life, on which Nikita Sergeevich's reforms were focused, but to the management of the economy, its organization on a market basis.
Serious shortcomings of economic reforms were managerial miscalculations, an increase in military spending, politicization and ideologization in the management of the national economy. Such experiments as the so-called "Ryazan meat experiment", "corn epic", the eviction of agricultural scientists from Moscow to the villages, etc. are widely known. in 1958). In order to reduce tension, the authorities went to increase salaries in the public sector, doubling the size of pensions, lowering the retirement age, and reducing the length of the working day. The crisis in the system of government was evident, but Khrushchev laid all the blame on the rural party organizations. The situation was aggravated by the significant growth of the bureaucracy, the confusion of functions, the duplication of decisions, and so on. The reform of the central administration of the national economy (the creation of economic councils) had the same consequences.
3 PUBLIC LIFE
During the period of de-Stalinization, censorship was noticeably weakened, primarily in literature, cinema and other forms of art, where more open coverage of reality became possible. The literary magazine Novy Mir became the main platform for supporters of the “thaw”. Some works of this period gained fame in the West, including Vladimir Dudintsev's novel "Not by Bread Alone" and Alexander Solzhenitsyn's story "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich". Other significant representatives of the thaw period were writers and poets Viktor Astafiev, Vladimir Tendryakov, Bella Akhmadulina, Robert Rozhdestvensky, Andrey Voznesensky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
The main filmmakers of the thaw are Marlen Khutsiev, Gennady Shpalikov, Georgy Daneliya, Eldar Ryazanov. The main films are "Carnival Night", "Outpost of Ilyich", "I'm walking around Moscow", "Amphibian Man".
Many political prisoners in the USSR and the countries of the socialist camp were released and rehabilitated. Most of the peoples deported in the 1930s and 1940s were allowed to return to their homeland. Tens of thousands of German and Japanese prisoners of war were sent home.
However, the thaw period did not last long. Khrushchev's persecution of Boris Pasternak, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958, delineated the boundaries of art and culture. There were mass anti-communist demonstrations in Poland and the GDR. In 1958, mass unrest in Grozny was suppressed. In the 1960s, the Nikolaev dockers, during interruptions in the supply of bread, refused to ship grain to Cuba. In the summer of 1962, with the direct sanction of Khrushchev, the protests of the workers in Novocherkassk were suppressed. The final completion of the “thaw” is considered the removal of Khrushchev and the coming to the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev in 1964. De-Stalinization was stopped, and in connection with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the process of glorifying the role of Stalin as the organizer and inspirer of the victory of the Soviet people in the war began.
Massive political repression, however, was not renewed, and Khrushchev, deprived of power, retired and even remained a member of the party (like the rest of the top party leaders who lost their posts under Khrushchev). According to Khrushchev himself, one of his main merits is that he was able to retire (while forgetting that under him, Beria, who had great influence, was shot, and Malenkov, who actually headed the state, was removed).
With the end of the thaw, criticism of Soviet reality began to spread only through unofficial channels, such as samizdat.
4. FOREIGN POLICY OF THE USSR IN THE YEARS OF GOVERNMENT
N.S. Khrushchev
The internal evolution of the USSR after the death of Stalin led to a new orientation of the country in the sphere of foreign policy. Journalistic messages have changed: they have noticeably softened. For people, this was surprising: after all, before people were told only about the negative features of the West. The press began to write not only about the bad things that happened in other countries, but also about the useful things that can be found there. Renewing contacts with foreign countries, the Soviet government tried to expand trade relations. This was beneficial not only to the USSR, but also to Western countries, which were given the opportunity to enter a new, vast market for their products, which they were deprived of after the Second World War.
New relations with the outside world could not be limited only to the economy. The government of the USSR established direct contacts and began to exchange delegations with the parliaments of other countries. The number of journalists accredited in Moscow grew rapidly.
The event that changed the balance of power in the post-war world was the launch on October 4, 1957 of the first artificial Earth satellite. From this date began the countdown of the "space age".
The superiority of Soviet science was strengthened by the first temporary failures of similar experiments in the USA. The climax was the day of April 12, 1961: for the first time, a man, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, made an orbital flight around the Earth.
The successes of the USSR in the exploration of outer space were the result of the activity of a brilliant group of scientists headed by Academician Korolyov. The idea to overtake the Americans in launching a satellite came from him. Khrushchev was an ardent supporter of Korolev. The success of these undertakings had a huge political and propaganda resonance in the world. The fact is that the USSR was surrounded by a ring of American military bases that had nuclear weapons, i.e. The Soviet Union was actually under the gun of the USA. For the USSR, the United States remained practically invulnerable, since it did not have such bases. Now the situation has changed radically: from now on, the Soviet Union possessed not only nuclear weapons, but also intercontinental missiles capable of delivering them to a given point in the world. Since that time, the United States has lost invulnerability from across the ocean. Now they are under the same threat as the USSR. If until this moment there was one superpower in the world, now a second one has appeared, which has sufficient weight to determine the entire world politics. On the Americans, who underestimated the capabilities of their enemy, this made a shock impression. From now on, the United States and the whole world had to take into account Moscow's opinion in resolving international issues.
A positive shift in the international situation has been the joint discussion by the heads of leading states, for the first time since the end of the Second World War, of contemporary problems. And the first such meeting was a meeting in Geneva on July 18-23, 1955 of the heads of government of the USSR, England, France and the USA. Although it was not possible to reach any agreements, even the mere fact of convening this meeting was of positive significance.
The proposals of the USSR were more of a propaganda nature, and the Western powers demanded real actions from the USSR: democratization in Eastern European countries, as well as the solution of the issue of creating a single Austrian and German states (Soviet troops were still in the eastern part of Austria, and the GDR had existed since 1949 G.).
Another problem of negotiations and disagreements with the West, and especially with the US, was disarmament. In the nuclear race, the Soviet Union, to the surprise of the United States, achieved significant success. However, it was a difficult competition, which placed an unbearable burden on our economy and did not allow raising the standard of living of the Soviet people, which remained still low.
The actions of the USSR in this direction were very active: in the second half of the 50s, many initiatives were taken in the field of disarmament. It was proposed to sharply reduce all types of armed forces and weapons, and it was proposed to start disarmament immediately, no control mechanism was envisaged, disarmament was to be carried out immediately, without dividing into stages. But Western leaders were not without reason known for their pragmatism, so the initiatives of the USSR, being considered as unrealistic and not deserving of discussion, were also rejected.
The Soviet government tried to defend its proposals. To this end, a major unilateral reduction of the Armed Forces was carried out. In August 1955, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decided to reduce them by 640,000 people. Other socialist countries of Europe also went on reduction. The reduction in the size of the army did not end there: on May 14, 1956, the leadership of the USSR decided within a year to carry out an even more significant reduction in its Armed Forces - by 1.2 million people in excess of the one carried out in 1955.
In 1957, the USSR submitted a number of proposals to the UN: on the suspension of nuclear weapons tests; on the acceptance of commitments to renounce the use of atomic and hydrogen weapons; on the reduction of the armed forces of the USSR, USA, China to 2.5 million, and then to 1.5 million; on the elimination of bases in foreign territories. In 1958, the USSR unilaterally stopped conducting nuclear tests, expecting a similar step from Western countries. And in September 1959, N. S. Khrushchev spoke at the UN Assembly with a program of "general and complete disarmament" of all countries, which was rather coldly received by the capitalist countries. But on the whole, Western countries were wary of the initiatives of the USSR and put forward a number of such counter conditions as the development of confidence-building measures and control over the implementation of decisions. And the Soviet Union, in turn, refused these measures, considering them as interference in internal affairs.
The USSR considered the United States its main adversary in the international arena. This was a consequence of the fact that this country was the only enemy capable of hitting the Soviet Union. To neutralize this threat, N. S. Khrushchev made the main bet in the development of the Soviet Army on the development of the Strategic Missile Forces, sometimes neglecting the development of other branches and types of troops. Such a policy was short-sighted, and later brought significant damage to the Armed Forces of the USSR.
N. S. Khrushchev was the first head of the Soviet government to visit the United States in September 1959. The visit ended with negotiations with US President Eisenhower. However, no agreements were signed. However, this meeting laid the foundation for a direct dialogue between the two countries in the future.
Illusions from Nikita Sergeevich's visit to the United States were suddenly put to an end by an incident when, on May 1, 1960, an American reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by a missile over the Urals. The pilot was captured alive along with the spy equipment. The US was put in a difficult position. Eisenhower took responsibility.
The incident happened on the eve of a new summit meeting scheduled for May 16 in Paris. The Soviet government demanded such a meeting for more than two years. At that moment, when everyone had already gathered in the French capital, N. S. Khrushchev demanded that the American president apologize before the start of negotiations. Therefore, negotiations could not even be started. The already agreed return visit that Eisenhower, as the first American president, was to make to the USSR was cancelled.
4.1 RELATIONS WITH CAPITALIST COUNTRIES
The second half of the 50s - the first half of the 60s was characterized by an improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and various countries: Turkey, Iran, Japan, with which a declaration was signed in 1956, providing for the cessation of the state of war and the restoration of diplomatic relations, then bilateral negotiations with England, France. In 1958, an agreement was concluded with the United States on cooperation in the field of culture, economics, the exchange of delegations of scientists, cultural figures, etc. Relations with Yugoslavia were normalized.
BERLIN CRISIS
One of the main goals of Soviet diplomacy in the 1940s and 1960s was to stabilize the situation in Europe. It was necessary to solve the German problem. The lack of legal recognition of the GDR had serious consequences for the USSR and its allies, since it was possible to constantly challenge the legality of the very existence of the second German state.
To break the resistance of their Western partners, N.S. Khrushchev used the only instrument of pressure that the war left the Soviet Union in Germany - Berlin.
The former German capital was a double problem for the USSR. The division of the city, that is, the presence in the capital of the western sector not controlled by the GDR, was a factor of constant instability for the East German state. There was an open door through which there was a drain of people and funds to West Germany, where, thanks to the boom in production, there was a more developed economy and better living conditions.
This process was especially intensified in July 1961, when up to a thousand people fled from East to West Berlin every day. In addition, free passage through West Berlin to the GDR was a loophole for the intelligence of the capitalist countries, which they used when they penetrated the location of the Soviet troops to collect intelligence.
In late 1958, Khrushchev proposed making West Berlin a "free city" with a guarantee of its independence, signifying the end of its occupation by the victors of World War II. If the NATO countries, Khrushchev added, did not agree to conclude a peace treaty with both Germany, the USSR would conclude it only with the GDR. It will gain control over the lines of communication with West Berlin, and the Americans, British and French, in order to get into the city, will be forced to turn to the East German authorities, inevitably recognizing their existence. But the recognition of the GDR did not take place. Between 1958 and 1961 Berlin remained the hottest spot in the world.
August 1961 Khrushchev decided to build the famous wall around West Berlin. This part of the city was isolated from the rest of the GDR by a real barrier of concrete slabs, erected overnight and carefully guarded. A huge mass of people on the morning of August 14 tried to go home to their place of residence, work, etc. Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate and in other places on both sides of the newly created border, but all their attempts to cross it were resolutely suppressed by the police of the GDR. The order “Disperse immediately” was announced over the loudspeakers, but people continued to stand. And then powerful water cannons dispersed a huge crowd literally within half an hour. Thus, the East German government closed the borders between East and West Berlin, which made it possible to stop the outflow of people and funds to another Germany, regain control over its territory, its population and economy, strengthen its position and create the foundations for the independent development of its republic.
On October 28, 1961, the Americans scheduled an action to destroy the border barriers that divided Berlin. The military intelligence of the Soviet Union received information in advance about the exact time and place of the start of the operation.
A column of American military equipment moved to the checkpoint at the Brandenburg Gate. Three jeeps were ahead, followed by bulldozers. 10 tanks closed the column. From the Soviet side, up to an infantry battalion and up to a regiment of tanks were stationed in this place. After the jeeps passed the checkpoint without hindrance, Soviet tanks began to emerge from the nearby streets. The bulldozers were blocked in the western territory. Soviet and American tanks stood all night with guns aimed at each other. In addition, the West Berlin Tepmelhof airfield was completely blocked by Soviet fighters, who did not allow anyone to take off and land, so they could not count on outside support for American troops in West Berlin.
The discipline of the Soviet tankmen made a strong impression on the American command: during all this time, not one of them got out of his car. In the morning, at the command from Moscow, the Soviet troops went back to the adjacent streets. All American tanks and bulldozers also retreated.
This confrontation ended the Berlin Crisis. The West recognized the de facto borders of the GDR.
CARIBBEAN CRISIS
January 1959 in Cuba, after a long civil war, communist guerrillas led by Fidel Castro overthrew the government of President Batista. The United States was quite alarmed at the prospect of having a communist state at its side. In early 1960, the Eisenhower administration instructed the CIA to create, arm, and covertly train a brigade of 1,400 Cuban exiles in Central America to invade Cuba and overthrow the Castro regime. The Kennedy administration, having inherited this plan, continued to prepare for the invasion. The brigade landed in the Bay of Pigs, on the southwestern coast of Cuba, on April 17, 1961, but was defeated on the same day: Cuban intelligence agents managed to infiltrate the ranks of the brigade, so the operation plan was known to the Cuban government in advance, which made it possible to pull in landing area a significant number of troops. The Cuban people, contrary to the forecasts of the CIA, did not support the rebels; "the path of salvation" in the event of a failure of the operation turned into 80 miles through impassable swamps, where the remnants of the landed militants were finished off. "Hand of Washington"
was immediately recognized, causing a wave of indignation all over the world. This event pushed Castro closer to Moscow, and in the summer and autumn of 1962, 42 missiles with nuclear warheads and bombers capable of carrying nuclear bombs were deployed in Cuba.
This decision, taken at a meeting of the USSR Defense Council in May 1962, was in the interests of both sides - Cuba received a reliable cover ("nuclear umbrella") from any aggression from the United States, and the Soviet military leadership reduced the flight time of their missiles to American territory. According to contemporaries, Khrushchev was extremely annoyed and frightened by the fact that American Jupiter missiles stationed in Turkey could reach the vital centers of the Soviet Union in just 10 minutes, while Soviet missiles need 25 minutes to reach the United States. .
The transfer of missiles was carried out in the strictest secrecy, but already in September, the US leadership suspected something was wrong. On September 4, President John F. Kennedy declared that the United States would under no circumstances tolerate Soviet nuclear missiles 150 kilometers from its coast.
In response, Khrushchev assured Kennedy that there were no Soviet missiles or nuclear weapons in Cuba and never would be. The installations discovered by the Americans in Cuba, he called the Soviet research equipment.
However, on October 14, an American reconnaissance aircraft photographed the missile launch pads from the air. In an atmosphere of strict secrecy, the US leadership began to discuss retaliatory measures. The generals proposed to immediately bomb the Soviet missiles from the air and launch an invasion of the island by the forces of the marines. But this would lead to war with the Soviet Union. This prospect did not suit the Americans, since no one was sure of the outcome of the war.
Therefore, John F. Kennedy decided to start with softer means. On October 22, in an address to the nation, he announced that Soviet missiles had been found in Cuba, and demanded that the USSR immediately remove them. Kennedy announced that the United States was beginning a naval blockade of Cuba. On October 24, at the request of the USSR, the UN Security Council urgently met.
The Soviet Union continued to stubbornly deny the existence of nuclear missiles in Cuba. Within days, it became clear that the US was determined to remove the missiles at any cost. On October 26, Khrushchev sent a more conciliatory message to Kennedy. He admitted that Cuba had powerful Soviet weapons. At the same time, Nikita Sergeevich convinced the president that the USSR was not going to attack America. In his words, "Only crazy people can do this or suicides who want to die themselves and destroy the whole world before that." This saying was very uncharacteristic for Khrushchev, who always knew how to "show America its place," but circumstances forced him to a softer policy.
Nikita Khrushchev suggested that John F. Kennedy pledge not to attack Cuba. Then the Soviet Union will be able to remove its weapons from the island. The President of the United States replied that the United States was prepared to make a gentleman's pledge not to invade Cuba if the USSR withdrew its offensive weapons. Thus, the first steps towards peace were taken.
But on October 27 came the "Black Saturday" of the Cuban crisis, when only by a miracle did not a new world war break out. In those days, squadrons of American planes swept over Cuba twice a day for the purpose of intimidation. And on October 27, Soviet troops in Cuba shot down one of the US reconnaissance aircraft with an anti-aircraft missile. Its pilot Anderson was killed.
The situation escalated to the limit, the US President decided two days later to begin the bombing of Soviet missile bases and a military attack on the island. The plan called for 1,080 sorties on the very first day of combat operations. The invasion force, stationed in ports in the southeastern United States, totaled 180,000 people. Many Americans left major cities, fearing an imminent Soviet strike. The world is on the brink of nuclear war. He had never been so close to this edge. However, on Sunday, October 28, the Soviet leadership decided to accept the American terms. A message was sent in plain text to the President of the United States.
The Kremlin already knew about the planned bombing of Cuba. "We agree to withdraw those assets from Cuba that you consider offensive," the message said, "we agree to carry this out and declare this obligation to the UN."
The decision to remove the missiles from Cuba was made without the consent of the Cuban leadership. Perhaps this was done on purpose, since Fidel Castro strongly objected to the removal of the missiles. International tension began to subside rapidly after 28 October. The Soviet Union removed its missiles and bombers from Cuba. On November 20, the United States lifted the naval blockade of the island.
The Cuban (also called the Caribbean) crisis ended peacefully, but it gave rise to further reflections on the fate of the world. During numerous conferences with the participation of Soviet, Cuban and American participants in those events, it became clear that the decisions taken by the three countries before and during the crisis were influenced by incorrect information, incorrect estimates and inaccurate calculations that distorted the meaning of events. Former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara cites the following facts in his memoirs:
1. The confidence of the Soviet and Cuban leadership in the inevitable imminent invasion of the US army into Cuba, while after the failure of the operation in the Gulf, the John F. Kennedy administration had no such intentions;
2. In October 1962 Soviet nuclear warheads were already in Cuba, moreover, at the height of the crisis, they were delivered from storage sites to deployment sites, while the CIA reported that there were no nuclear weapons on the island yet;
3. The Soviet Union was sure that nuclear weapons could be delivered to Cuba secretly and no one would know about it, and the United States would not react to this in any way even when it became known about its deployment;
4. The CIA reported the presence of 10,000 Soviet troops on the island, while there were about 40,000 of them, and this is in addition to the well-armed 270,000 Cuban army. Therefore, the Soviet-Cuban troops, in addition armed with tactical nuclear weapons, would simply arrange a "bloodbath" for the landing American expeditionary force, which would inevitably result in an uncontrolled escalation of military confrontation.
Thus, having reached the edge of the abyss, both opponents retreated. For the US and the USSR, nuclear war was an unacceptable means of continuing politics. Therefore, it is not surprising that after the Cuban crisis, the dialogue between the two countries resumed. A direct line of communication was opened between Moscow and Washington, allowing the heads of the two governments to contact immediately in emergencies. A certain degree of cooperation was established between Khrushchev and Kennedy, but the period of relative calm did not last long, as the American president was soon assassinated.
4.2 RELATIONS WITH SOCIALIST COUNTRIES
In the relations of the USSR with the socialist countries, everything was not going smoothly either. After the condemnation of Stalinism by the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the process of reviewing positions caused political disagreements in the ruling communist parties of Europe. In an attempt to reduce the amount of power that could be concentrated in one hand, in each of the countries of Eastern Europe they divided the highest party, government and state posts. All this was the result of political struggle. It took its most tragic forms in Hungary.
POLISH-HUNGARIAN CRISIS
The XX Congress of the CPSU was held in Moscow in the Grand Kremlin Palace from February 14 to 25, 1956. It was to become a decisive stage in the history of the USSR and the communist movement.
A discussion began on the analysis of the new international situation and the place of the USSR in it. In the Report of Khrushchev, as far as possible, the end of the terrible era of "capitalist encirclement" and "socialism in one single country" was announced, thanks to the creation of a "world socialist system" that included various states. The entire second part was devoted to the collapse of the old colonial system. It was said that capitalism could not get out of its "general crisis". The report proclaimed the rejection of the notion of a world divided only into two openly hostile camps. It was noted that outside the "opposing alliances" a "vast zone of peace" is being created, which includes, in addition to the socialist countries, the countries of Europe and Asia that have chosen the position of "non-alignment". In addition, the relationship of peaceful coexistence has strengthened between the two systems.
This formula was not new: it appeared at the end of the Stalinist period and became the programmatic principle of Soviet foreign policy. However, in Khrushchev's speech, special emphasis was placed on it: firstly, interstate relations and revolutionary struggle were clearly divided, which was considered the "internal affair" of each country, and secondly, most importantly, coexistence was put forward as the only possible alternative to "the most destructive in history war." “The third is not given,” Khrushchev said. He developed his point by stating that wars are no longer "fatally inevitable".
February at a secret meeting, Khrushchev read his report "On the cult of personality and its consequences," later known as the "secret report." In fact, Khrushchev showed that the entire history of the party, from the time Stalin took over, was a history of crimes, lawlessness, massacres, incompetent leadership. Khrushchev spoke, albeit briefly, about the systematic falsification of history carried out by Stalin himself and at his direction. Nevertheless, he spoke with approval of Stalin's struggle with the opposition. And this was understandable, after all, something had to remain in the arsenal of the merits of Stalin and the party he led, each step of which was bloody.
Khrushchev accomplished a great historical deed - he opened the way to understanding the essence of the Soviet socialist system, as the most inhumane system that has ever existed in the history of mankind.
To what extent was the report kept secret? It was decided to bring it to the attention of all members of the party, using the already tried and tested form of writing. It meant bringing millions of people up to date. A week later, the report was read out at open meetings, at enterprises, institutions and universities.
At the same time, the text of the report without much difficulty fell into the hands of the American intelligence agencies, who hurried to publish it, and this shocked the whole world. Particular confusion reigned in the most conservative, Stalinist communist parties, such as the Communist Party of the USA, Great Britain, and France.
In the Eastern European countries, which during the war were either under fascist domination or under fascist occupation, and then turned into Soviet satellites, the reaction was also different. At that time, the leadership of the party was 100% Stalinists, who, under the control of Soviet advisers, carried out the same policy of terror as in the USSR.
The leaders of the Communist parties, especially those of China and Albania, were dismayed and offended by Khrushchev's manner, who did not see fit to warn them in advance of the secret speech and placed them in a difficult position before his parties. Demands began to change its leadership.
Despite the fact that on June 30, 1956, the resolution “On overcoming the cult of personality and its consequences” was adopted, which actually replaced the decisions of the 20th Congress, waves of discontent and anxiety from Khrushchev’s “secret report” have already reached the socialist countries, allies of the USSR.
Everywhere the communist movement rejected the model of Stalinist socialism, demanding independence and democracy. However, the crisis manifested itself most severely in two countries - Poland and Hungary, where national hostility towards the USSR was deeper. The Soviet government faced similar problems in its own countries and was forced to make difficult decisions. In both Poland and Hungary, it found itself in the face of broad popular movements based on hostility to the policies and interventions of the USSR. In both cases, the Soviet leaders, who did not have a common opinion, reacted nervously and belatedly.
In Poland, the first signs of the crisis were labor unrest at the CISTO automobile plant in Poznań. Workers from other factories joined the workers. The movement began with a peaceful demonstration. But then there were clashes. Police stations were attacked by workers and the weapons seized there were distributed among them. The demands of the workers were: "Bread!" and "Soviet troops - get out of Poland".
The soldiers of the regular units, called in to disperse the workers, not only refused to shoot at them, but also fraternized with the workers. The government declared martial law, brought in armored units of the troops of the Ministry of the Interior and crushed the uprising. According to official Polish figures, 38 people were killed and 270 wounded. According to another source, on June 28-29, 50 people were killed in Poznań, about 100 were injured, and 1,000 were imprisoned.
The unrest also manifested itself in deep divisions in the party, where the current that advocated a political turn was ideologically based on Wladyslaw Gomulka, who suffered from Stalin's repressions, and on his old concepts of the Polish path to socialism. However, part of the Politburo, the so-called Nabolin group, opposed this and began to prepare a coup. It was timed to coincide with the plenum of the PUWP Central Committee, which was to elect a new Politburo. Gomułka was offered the post of First Secretary. However, it was precisely because of his heightened sense of patriotism that he was viewed with distrust in Moscow, where no one knew his intentions. Before the plenum of the Central Committee, which was supposed to put Gomulka at the head of the party, the movement of Soviet troops near the border and in the country itself created the threat of military intervention.
When the plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish Communist Party was already working, on October 19, an important Soviet delegation, consisting of representatives of two groups that clashed in Moscow, flew to Warsaw without an invitation. They were Khrushchev and Mikoyan on the one hand, Molotov and Kaganovich on the other. The delegation also included Marshal Konev, Commander of the Warsaw Pact countries. This meant that the Soviet leadership was ready, if necessary, to resort to force. Such advice was given, in particular, by the Minister of War of Poland, Marshal Rokossovsky, who was sent to Poland by Stalin after the war (Rokossovsky is a Pole by origin). According to Khrushchev, the marshal said that "anti-Soviet, nationalist and reactionary forces have grown, and that if it is necessary to prevent the growth of these counter-revolutionary elements by force of arms, then he [Rokossovsky] is at our disposal."
It was tempting to suppress the movement in Poland by Polish hands, but, on closer calculation, it turned out that the Polish army could hardly be relied upon. The prospect was different and rather gloomy - to use Soviet troops against the traditionally anti-Russian Poland, and even at the time of the brewing of a political crisis. However, the Soviet leaders were ready to resort to force. Konev was ordered to begin the movement of troops in the direction of Warsaw. Gomulka, who was elected the new First Secretary of the PUWP Central Committee, demanded that Khrushchev immediately stop the movement of Soviet troops to Warsaw and order them to return to their bases.
The following scene played out: Khrushchev began to lie that Gomułka had received incorrect information about the movement of Soviet troops, but Gomułka insisted on his own. Khrushchev ordered the Soviet tanks to stop, but not to return to their bases and wait. The Warsaw City Committee of the Party ordered the distribution of weapons to the workers of Warsaw. They were ready to resist the Soviet troops if they entered Warsaw. But only after Gomulka's assurances that he would not only not pursue an anti-Soviet policy, but, on the contrary, cultivate friendship with the USSR, Khrushchev and company returned to Moscow, and the Soviet divisions to their quarters.
The unrest in Poland did not turn into a general uprising for many reasons. One of them was that in Stalin's time, repressions in Poland against supporters of a more moderate course did not take on the character of reprisals, executions and mass purges of the party and state apparatus. When Gomulka came to power on October 21, 1956, the majority of the party apparatus supported him. The most pro-Soviet elements were removed from the Politburo - Zenon Novak and Marshal Rokossovsky (he was removed from the post of Minister of Defense and returned to the Soviet Union).
What was avoided in Poland happened in Hungary, where the intensity of passions was much greater. In Hungary, the internal struggle between the communists turned out to be sharper than anywhere else, and the Soviet Union was drawn into it more than in Poland or in other countries. Of all the leaders still in power in Eastern Europe in 1956, Rakosi was the most involved in the export of Stalinism. Returning to Budapest from Moscow after the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Rakosi told his friends: "In a few months, Khrushchev will be declared a traitor and everything will return to normal."
The internal political struggle in Hungary continued to escalate. Rakosi had no choice but to promise an investigation into the trials of Rajk and other Communist Party leaders executed by him. At all levels of government, even in the state security agencies, the most hated institution in Hungary, Rakosi was demanded to resign. He was almost openly called a "murderer". In mid-July 1956, Mikoyan flew to Budapest to force Rakosi's resignation. Rakosi was forced to submit and leave for the USSR, where he eventually ended his days, cursed and forgotten by his people and despised by the Soviet leaders. Rakosi's departure brought about no real change in government policy or composition.
In Hungary, arrests of former security officials responsible for trials and executions followed. The reburial on October 6, 1956 of the victims of the regime - Laszlo Raik and others - resulted in a powerful demonstration, in which 300 thousand inhabitants of the Hungarian capital participated.
Under these conditions, the Soviet leadership decided to once again call Imre Nagy to power. A new USSR ambassador, Yu. Andropov, was sent to Budapest (a future member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee and chairman of the State Security Committee).
The hatred of the people was turned against those who were known for their torment: the state security officers. They personified all the most disgusting things in the Rakosi regime, they were caught and killed. The events in Hungary took on the character of a genuine people's revolution, and it was precisely this circumstance that frightened the Soviet leaders. The USSR had to take into account at that moment that an anti-Soviet and anti-socialist uprising was taking place. It was obvious that this was a far-reaching political intent, and not just a desire to destroy the existing regime.
Not only the intelligentsia, but also industrial workers were drawn into the orbit of events. Participation in the movement of a significant part of the youth left a certain imprint on its character. The political leadership ended up at the tail of the movement, and did not lead it, as happened in Poland.
The fundamental issue was the presence of Soviet troops on the territory of the Eastern European countries, that is, their actual occupation.
The new Soviet government preferred to avoid bloodshed, but it was also ready for it if it came to the falling away of the satellites from the USSR, even in the form of declaring neutrality and non-participation in blocs.
In October, demonstrations began in Budapest demanding the formation of a new leadership headed by Imre Nagy. On October 23, Imre Nagy became prime minister and issued an appeal to lay down arms. However, Soviet tanks were stationed in Budapest, and this aroused the excitement of the people.
A grandiose demonstration arose, the participants of which were students, high school students, and young workers. The demonstrators went to the statue of the hero of the 1848 revolution, General Bell. Up to 200,000 gathered outside the parliament building. The demonstrators toppled the statue of Stalin. Armed detachments formed, calling themselves "Freedom Fighters". They numbered up to 20 thousand people. Among them were former political prisoners released by the people from prisons. The Freedom Fighters occupied various districts of the capital, established a high command headed by Pal Maleter, and renamed themselves the National Guard.
At the enterprises of the Hungarian capital, cells of the new government were formed - workers' councils. They put forward their social and political demands, and among these demands was one that angered the Soviet leadership: to withdraw Soviet troops from Budapest, to remove them from Hungarian territory.
The second circumstance that frightened the Soviet government was the restoration of the Social Democratic Party in Hungary, and then the formation of a multi-party government.
Although Nagy was made prime minister, the new Stalinist leadership, headed by Gehre, tried to isolate him and thereby worsened the situation even more.
October Mikoyan and Suslov arrived in Budapest. They recommended that Gehre be immediately replaced as First Secretary by Janos Kadar. Meanwhile, on October 25, an armed clash with Soviet troops took place near the parliament building. The rebellious people demanded the departure of the Soviet troops and the formation of a new government of national unity, in which various parties would be represented.
October, after the appointment of Kadar as the first secretary of the Central Committee and the resignation of Gere, Mikoyan and Suslov returned to Moscow. They went to the airfield in a tank.
October, while the fighting in Budapest was still ongoing, the Hungarian government issued an order for a ceasefire and the return of armed units to their quarters, awaiting instructions. Imre Nagy announced on the radio that the Hungarian government had come to an agreement with the Soviet government on the immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops from Budapest and the inclusion of armed detachments of Hungarian workers and youth in the regular Hungarian army. This was seen as the end of the Soviet occupation. The workers quit their jobs until the end of the fighting in Budapest and the withdrawal of Soviet troops. The delegation of the workers' council of the Miklos industrial region presented Imre Nagy with demands for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary before the end of the year.
Mikoyan and Suslov's report on the situation in Hungary, made by them immediately after their return from Budapest on October 26 to the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, reflected, as can be seen from the editorial of the Pravda newspaper of October 28, a readiness to agree to a program of democratization, provided that this program preserves the dominance of the communist party and keeps Hungary in the system of the Warsaw Pact. The article was just a disguise. The order for the Soviet troops to leave Budapest also served the same purpose. The Soviet government sought to gain time to prepare for the massacre, which was to follow not only on behalf of the other participants in the pact, but also Yugoslavia and China.
Thus, the responsibility would be distributed among all.
Soviet troops were withdrawn from Budapest, but concentrated in the area of the Budapest airfield.
October, when Mikoyan and Suslov were in Budapest, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU adopted, as Khrushchev testified, a unanimous resolution on the armed suppression of the Hungarian revolution, which stated that it would be unforgivable for the USSR to remain neutral and “not to assist the working class of Hungary in its struggle against counter-revolution."
At the request of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, a Chinese delegation headed by Liu Shaoqi arrived in Moscow for advice. Liu Shaoqi declared that the Soviet troops should withdraw from Hungary and let the working class of Hungary put down the counter-revolution on their own. Since this completely contradicted the decision to intervene, Khrushchev, having informed the Presidium on October 31 of the Chinese response, insisted on the immediate use of troops.
Marshal Konev, summoned to a meeting of the presidium, said that his troops would need 3 days to suppress the "counter-revolution" (in fact, the revolution), and received an order to put the troops on alert. The order was issued behind the back of Liu Shaoqi, who was returning to Beijing the same day, fully convinced that there would be no Soviet intervention. It was decided to inform Liu Shaoqi about the intervention at the time of seeing off at the Vnukovo airfield. To make a greater impression on Liu Shaoqi, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU appeared in Vnukovo in full force. Talk about the "good of the Hungarian people" began again. In the end, Liu Shaoqi gave up. This was how China's support was secured.
Then Khrushchev, Malenkov and Molotov - authorized by the Presidium of the Central Committee - went successively to Warsaw and Bucharest, where they quite easily received consent to the intervention. The last leg of their trip was Yugoslavia. They came to Tito, expecting serious objections from him. But there were no objections from him. According to Khrushchev, “We were pleasantly surprised... Tito said that we were absolutely right and we should move our soldiers into battle as soon as possible. We were ready to resist, but instead received his wholehearted support. I would even say that Tito went further and urged us to solve this problem as soon as possible,” Khrushchev concludes his story.
Thus was decided the fate of the Hungarian revolution.
November began a massive invasion of Soviet troops in Hungary. To Imre Nagy's protest, the Soviet ambassador Andropov replied that the Soviet divisions that had entered Hungary had arrived only to replace the troops already there.
Soviet tanks crossed the border from Transcarpathian Ukraine and Romania. The Soviet ambassador, again summoned to Nagy, was warned that Hungary, in protest against the violation of the Warsaw Pact (the entry of troops required the consent of the relevant government), would withdraw from the pact.
The Hungarian government announced in the evening of the same day that it was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact, declaring neutrality and turning to the United Nations in protest against the Soviet invasion.
But all this was of little concern to the Soviet government. The Anglo-French-Israeli invasion (October 23 - December 22) in Egypt diverted the attention of the world community from the events in Hungary. The American government condemned the actions of Britain, France and Israel. Thus, the split in the camp of the Western allies was evident. There was no sign that the Western powers would come to Hungary's aid. The international situation was exceptionally favorable for the intervention of the Soviet Union.
What happened on the streets of Budapest? The Soviet troops faced fierce resistance from the Hungarian army units, as well as from the civilian population. The streets of Budapest witnessed a terrible drama, during which ordinary people attacked tanks with Molotov cocktails. Key points, including the building of the Ministry of Defense and Parliament, were taken within a few hours. The Hungarian radio fell silent before finishing its call for international help, but dramatic accounts of the street fighting came from a Hungarian reporter who alternated between teletype and the rifle he fired from his office window.
The Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU began to prepare a new Hungarian government; The first secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party, Janos Kadar, agreed to the role of prime minister of the future government.
November, a new government was formed, but that it was formed on the territory of the USSR, it became known only two years later. Officially, the new government was announced at dawn on November 4, when Soviet troops broke into the Hungarian capital, where a coalition government headed by Imre Nagy had been formed the day before; non-partisan General Pal Maleter also entered the government.
By the end of the day on November 3, the Hungarian military delegation, headed by Defense Minister Pal Maleter, came to continue negotiations on the withdrawal of Soviet troops to the headquarters, where they were arrested by the chairman of the KGB, General Serov. Only when Nagy was unable to connect with his military delegation did he realize that the Soviet leadership had deceived him.
November at 5 o'clock in the morning, Soviet artillery rained fire on the Hungarian capital, half an hour later Nagy notified the Hungarian people about this. For three days, Soviet tanks smashed the Hungarian capital; armed resistance in the province continued until 14 November. Approximately 25,000 Hungarians and 7,000 Soviet soldiers were killed.
After the suppression of the uprising-revolution, the Soviet military administration, together with the state security agencies, perpetrated a massacre of Hungarian citizens: mass arrests and deportations to the Soviet Union began.
Imre Nagy and his staff took refuge in the Yugoslav embassy. After two weeks of negotiations, Kadar gave a written guarantee that Nagy and his staff would not be prosecuted for their activities, that they could leave the Yugoslav embassy and return home with their families. However, the bus Nagy was on was intercepted by Soviet officers, who arrested Nagy and took him to Romania.
Later, Nagy, who did not want to repent, was tried in a closed court and shot. This announcement was published on June 16, 1958. The same fate befell General Pal Maleter. Thus, the suppression of the Hungarian uprising was not the first example of the brutal defeat of political opposition in Eastern Europe - similar actions on a smaller scale had been carried out in Poland just a few days earlier.
But this was the most monstrous example, in connection with which the image of Khrushchev the liberal, which he seemed to promise to leave in history, faded forever. These events may have been the first milestone on the path that led a generation later to the destruction of the communist system in Europe, as they caused crisis of consciousness among the true supporters of Marxism-Leninism. Many veterans of the party in Western Europe and the United States were disillusioned, because it was no longer possible to turn a blind eye to the determination of the Soviet leaders to maintain power in the satellite countries, completely ignoring the aspirations of their peoples.
3 RELATIONS WITH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
As the direct confrontation between the USSR and the USA subsided, the hidden struggle between them in the countries of the "third world" grew. In the 1950s, many Asian colonial countries gained independence; in the early 1960s, this process began to take place in African countries. Both the USSR and the USA tried to have "their own people" in the governments of these countries, to direct their foreign and domestic policies. At the same time, both sides were provided with both economic and military assistance.
In the second half of the 1950s, there were two main "hot spots" in the "third world": Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
In virtually all countries in these regions, there was an armed struggle, led by the communists, against the governments. It was carried out especially intensively in South Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and also in Burma. The Communists were actively supported by the USSR and China. Initially, they acted together, and then opposing each other.
At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, a situation arose when the communist movements in a number of countries were close to seizing power. Only massive assistance from the United States, Britain and other countries allowed the ruling regimes to stabilize the situation.
The USSR sought to establish diplomatic relations with some developing countries in order to "pull" them away from the "imperialist camp". The strongest ties were established between the Soviet Union and India and Indonesia. Relations with Burma, Cambodia and Nepal developed rather successfully.
The establishment of strong diplomatic and economic relations with developing countries was often used by the Soviet Union in order to weaken the influence of former colonial powers in them and thereby create a favorable environment for the coming to power of pro-communist governments.
It was at this time that the phrase "developing countries of a socialist orientation" began to appear in the Soviet political dictionary. In the second half of the 1950s and early 1960s, the USSR included India and Indonesia among these countries.
If the support of the Indian Republic from the Soviet Union was expressed in economic and military assistance (the USSR is gradually becoming the main supplier of military equipment), then relations with Indonesia acquired elements of political cooperation. It was most successful in the second half of the 1950s, when the USSR and China acted together. One of the manifestations of this approach was the program of socialist transformations in Indonesia and the most active support by its government of rebel movements in neighboring states (primarily in Malaysia), which were oriented towards Western countries. If in India a moderate and pragmatic course bore fruit (in particular, the USSR took a position of neutrality during the Indo-Chinese armed conflict in the Himalayas in 1962), then the more open Indonesian experiment ended in failure when, as a result of a military coup d'état in Indonesia in 1965. Sukarno's government was overthrown.
The military and diplomatic assistance of the USSR was a determining factor in the achievement of peace agreements on Vietnam in 1954. The result of these agreements was the emergence of the socialist Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
No less complex processes took place in the Middle East. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, most of the Arab countries freed themselves from colonial dependence. In some of them, for example, in Egypt in 1952, the military came to power with nationalist programs. Since 1948, the state of Israel existed in the region, created according to UN decisions, for which the USA and the USSR voted. The openly pro-American course of the Israeli government and the anti-Western policy of a number of Arab countries were one of the foundations of the conflict.
Another no less important reason was Jewish and Arab nationalism, which pushed the neighboring peoples to irresistible enmity.
The USSR supported the Arab countries both politically, economically, and militarily, the United Arab Republic received especially large assistance (the construction of the Aswan Dam). Soviet assistance to Egypt was openly provided in 1956 during the aggression against Egypt by England, France and Israel (the reason was the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egypt). The USSR not only fully armed and trained the Egyptian army, but at the most critical moment made a statement about its readiness to send volunteers to Egypt, which would put the Soviet Union in direct confrontation with the aggressor countries. Due to the fact that the United States showed hesitation, not wanting to intensify the confrontation with the USSR at this particular moment, England, France and Israel withdrew their troops from Egypt.
The 1956 war significantly strengthened the position of the USSR in the Middle East. Since that time, the influence of the Soviet Union in the countries of the "third world" began to grow.
The war that also increased the prestige of the USSR in the Arab world was the war for the independence of the Algerian people. From 1954 to 1962 the USSR was essentially the only real ally of the Algerian people. After Algeria gained independence (French troops were withdrawn despite the military victory), the USSR became one of the closest allies of the Algerian People's Republic.
the year was the year of gaining independence by seventeen African countries, but the USSR turned out to be practically unprepared for active operations on the African continent. The influence of the Soviet Union was limited to political declarations and the recognition of new independent states.
5. DISPLACEMENT OF KHRUSHCHEV
In October 1964, Khrushchev was relieved of all party and state posts and retired in complete isolation. Although it surprised the whole world, his fall was only the end of a long process.
Khrushchev never recovered from the defeats of late 1962 and the first half of 1963: the Caribbean crisis, failures in agriculture, an ideological counteroffensive and a break with China. Formally, during this period, all his actions were perceived with due respect, but silently and stubbornly sabotaged, both in the center and on the periphery. Khrushchev's popularity in all sectors of society plummeted. Khrushchev was accused of domestic and foreign policy, as well as his leadership style, which was considered too authoritarian.
The main author of the operation was Suslov, the defender of the state ideology from the attacks of Khrushchev. N.S. Khrushchev rested on the Black Sea coast at the end of September, while his removal was being prepared in Moscow. The Presidium of the Central Committee met in his absence for an enlarged meeting on October 12 to decide on his dismissal. Khrushchev was summoned to Moscow only on October 13, when the main resolutions had already been adopted. He was taken to Moscow on a military plane, brought directly to the hall where the Presidium of the Central Committee was still sitting, and informed him of the agreed decision to relieve him of his main posts. As in 1957, at first they intended to leave him in the Central Committee in secondary posts. However, the refusal of N.S. Khrushchev was forced to obey the verdict by the Presidium to force him to sign a letter of resignation.
October in Moscow was convened by the Plenum of the Central Committee, which heard the report of Suslov. There was practically no discussion, and the meeting lasted only a few hours. Both positions, combined by N.S. Khrushchev since 1958 (First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and Chairman of the Council of Ministers), were divided, and it was decided that they should no longer be occupied by one person. They were given to: Brezhnev L.I. - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Kosygin - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
This news became known from the press on October 16, 1964. The official announcement spoke of his resignation due to advanced age and deteriorating health. The successors of N.S. Khrushchev gave a promise not to change the political course, which was very important for other communist parties. Suslov remained as before the main ideologist, which he had been for a long time. Removal of N.S. Khrushchev was greeted with great joy by the Chinese leaders. They tried to establish contacts with the new leadership, but they did not succeed.
The November Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1964, first of all, eliminated the Khrushchev reform, which divided the party into agrarian and industrial parts (this was the main reason for the dismissal of N.S. Khrushchev). Other reforms of N.S. were liquidated. Khrushchev. Economic Councils were again replaced by Ministries. The beginnings of political pluralism were gradually eliminated.
CONCLUSION
In 1964, the political activity of N.S. Khrushchev, who led the Soviet Union for ten years. His decade of reform was a very difficult time. It was at this time that the beginning of the exposure of the crimes of the Stalinist system falls. Surprising and at first glance it seems illogical act of N.S. Khrushchev, who was "one of his own" surrounded by Stalin.
His report at the 20th Congress of the CPSU produced the effect of an exploding bomb not only in the USSR, but throughout the world. Old dogmas and old myths collapsed. People saw the realities of totalitarianism. The country froze, and then the revival of the Soviet Union gradually began. Reforms came one after another. Their generators were people from the inner circle of N.S. Khrushchev and, above all, himself. Nikita Sergeevich was in a hurry - he wanted to see a lot during his lifetime. He hurried and made mistakes, suffered defeats from the opposition and rose again.
The reason for many failures of N.S. Khrushchev was in a hurry and his explosive nature. However, in all his affairs, the desire to ensure that our country was the first was always clearly visible. And she really was the first. From now on, not a single important international issue could be resolved without the Soviet Union. The post-war hegemony of the United States was eliminated, and they were forced to reckon with the views of the USSR.
The price of the victories of the Soviet people was considerable. World leadership presented an account, and this account was no small one. Less and less funds remained in the budget for improving the life of an ordinary Soviet person. Naturally, this did not arouse the delight of people. But still, concern for the needs was manifested not in words, but in deeds. The Soviet people saw with their own eyes that such an acute problem as housing is being solved and is being solved tangibly. More and more industrial goods appeared in the stores. Aimed to feed people agriculture. However, difficulties continued to occur.
The opposition of N.S. played on these difficulties. Khrushchev. He was deprived of all state and government posts. In recent years, a personal pensioner of union significance N.S. Khrushchev lived with his family in a country dacha, practically in political isolation. He was very worried about his mistakes and his fate. He managed to write his memoirs, in which he tried to analyze both his activities and the life of the country. But they failed to publish.
Any attempts to find out the genesis of the terrorist regime were severely suppressed. Khrushchev himself felt this.
From the memoirs of Professor Dmitry Volkogonov: “When he was deprived of power as a result of a palace conspiracy, he, perhaps without realizing it himself, experienced the fruits of his courageous behavior at the 20th Congress of the CPSU. He was not arrested, not shot, not sent into exile, as happened before but let him live out his life like a man wearing out his old coat. But Khrushchev, the former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, who took a breath of the life-giving air of freedom, did not want to just gradually fade away, like a candle, quietly and sadly. A man with low literacy and culture, but with with an original mind and considerable civic courage, who lived a long, turbulent life, began to dictate his memoirs... Over time, of course, the Politburo learned about this, because Khrushchev remained under the hood of the State Security Committee, because the organization that he headed before being removed from office, as one journalist aptly put it, it was precisely the "party of state security."
On March 25, 1970, the Chairman of the Committee, Yuri Andropov, reported the following to the Central Committee in a special note under the heading "Special Importance": "Recently, N.S. Khrushchev has intensified work on preparing memoirs about that period of his life when he held responsible party and government posts. The dictated memoirs detail information that constitutes exclusively party and state secrets on such defining issues as the defense capability of the Soviet state, the development of industry, agriculture, the economy as a whole, scientific and technological achievements, the work of state security agencies, foreign policy, the relationship between the CPSU and fraternal parties of socialist and capitalist countries, etc. The practice of discussing issues at closed meetings of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU is revealed. Further, Andropov suggests: “In this situation, it is extremely necessary to take urgent operational measures that would make it possible to control N.S. Khrushchev’s work on memoirs and prevent the quite probable leak of party and state secrets abroad.
N.S. Khrushchev died in 1971. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. An original bust was erected on the grave, made by the now famous Ernst Neizvestny, who at one time did not find mutual understanding with N.S. Khrushchev and was forced to emigrate abroad. One half of the bust is dark, and the other is light, which really objectively reflects the activities of N.S. Khrushchev, who left a significant mark on the history of the Soviet Union.
Assessing the foreign policy activities of Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, it is difficult to adhere to any one position.
Peaceful initiatives in foreign policy side by side with international aggressions.
In general, by the mid-1960s, there was a certain stabilization of the post-war world. Khrushchev's main merit was that he managed to melt the ice of the "cold war", did not allow the deadly fire of nuclear war to flare up. The opposing systems led by the USSR and the USA emerged from major conflicts fraught with direct military confrontation, gained experience in relations in the new conditions of the existence of military-political blocs, nuclear weapons, the birth of numerous independent states from the collapsed colonial system. Although the disarmament talks as a whole did little to move the world forward, an important step was taken in limiting the nuclear arms race, which also had an important ecological significance: in August 1963, the Treaty on the Ban on Tests of Nuclear Weapons in the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Under Water was signed in Moscow. , which gave guarantees for the preservation of the radiation safety of the Earth.
Despite the fact that after Khrushchev's departure from power, the foreign policy of the USSR again shifted towards toughening, his efforts to preserve peace on Earth remained in the memory of the inhabitants of the planet for a long time.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
.History of the Soviet Union. v. 2, M., 1990.
2.Encyclopedia for children, v. 5 History of Russia and its closest neighbors. Part 3. XX century. M.: Avanta-plus, 1995.
."History of Russia from antiquity to our times" ed. Zueva, M, 1996
."Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev. Materials for a biography" Compiled by Yu. V. Aksyutin. M, 1989
.#"justify">. S.G. Kara-Murza. Soviet civilization. Book 2. Online version at #"justify">. #"justify">. http://www.coldwar.ru/ - site about the history of the Cold War
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Nikita Khrushchev was born on April 15, 1894 in the village of Kalinovka, Kursk region. The boy's father worked as a miner, his mother, Ksenia Ivanovna. The family did not live well and in many ways experienced constant need. In winter, the guy attended school and learned to read and write, in the summer he worked as a shepherd. In 1908, when Nikita was fourteen years old, the family moved to the Uspensky mine. Khrushchev became an apprentice locksmith at the Machine-Building and Iron Foundry Eduard Arturovich Bosse. Since 1912 he worked as a mechanic at the mine. In 1914, during the mobilization to the front of the First World War as a miner, he received an indulgence from military service.
In 1918 Khrushchev joined the Bolshevik Party. Participated in the Civil War. In the same year, he headed the Red Guard detachment in Rutchenkovo, then became the political commissar of the second battalion of the 74th regiment of the 9th rifle division of the Red Army on the Tsaritsyno front. Later he worked as an instructor in the political department of the Kuban army. After the end of the war, he was engaged in economic and party work. In 1920 he became a political leader, deputy manager of the Rutchenkovskoye mine in the Donbass.
Two years later, Khrushchev returned to Yuzovka and studied at the working faculty of the Don Technical School, where he became the party secretary of the technical school. In July 1925 he was appointed party leader of the Petrov-Maryinsky district of the Stalin district. Then, in 1929, he entered the Industrial Academy in Moscow, where he was elected secretary of the party committee.
From January 1931, Khrushchev was appointed first secretary of the Baumansky, and from July 1931 of the Krasnopresnensky district committees of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Since January 1932, he was the second secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.
Two years later, for four years, he worked as the first secretary of the MGK of the CPSU (b). On January 21, 1934, he became the second secretary of the Moscow Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. From March 7, 1935 to February 1938, he took the post of First Secretary of the Moscow Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. In the same year, Nikita Khrushchev was appointed First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Bolsheviks of Ukraine and a candidate member of the Political Bureau, and in 1939 became a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. In these positions, he proved himself as a merciless fighter against the "enemies of the people." In the late 1930s alone, more than one hundred and fifty thousand people were arrested in Ukraine under him.
During the Great Patriotic War, Khrushchev was a member of the military councils of the South-Western Direction, the South-Western, Stalingrad, Southern, Voronezh and the First Ukrainian Fronts. He acted as one of the culprits of the catastrophic encirclement of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army near Kiev and Kharkov, fully supporting the Stalinist point of view. In May 1942, Khrushchev, together with Filipp Ivanovich Golikov, made an important decision of the Headquarters on the offensive of the Southwestern Front.
In October 1942, an order signed by Stalin was issued abolishing the dual command system and transferring commissars from command staff to advisers. Khrushchev was in the front command echelon behind Mamaev Kurgan.
Nikita Sergeevich ended the war with the rank of lieutenant general. In the period from 1944 to 1947 he worked as chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, then he was again elected first secretary of the Central Committee of the CP (b) of Ukraine. From December 1949 he was again elected first secretary of the Moscow regional and city committees and secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.
On the last day of Stalin's life on March 5, 1953, at a joint meeting of the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers and the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council, it was recognized as necessary for Khrushchev to concentrate on work in the Central Committee of the party.
It was Nikita Sergeevich who acted as the leading initiator and organizer of the removal from all posts and the arrest of Lavrenty Beria in June 1953.
In early September 1953, at the plenum of the Central Committee, Khrushchev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In 1954, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decided to transfer the Crimean region and the city of union subordination of Sevastopol to the Ukrainian SSR.
In June 1957, during a four-day meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, a decision was made to release Nikita Khrushchev from the duties of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. However, a group of Khrushchev's supporters from among the members of the Central Committee of the CPSU, headed by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, managed to interfere in the work of the Presidium and achieve the transfer of this issue to the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU convened for this purpose. At the June plenum of the Central Committee in 1957, Khrushchev's supporters defeated opponents from among the members of the Presidium.
Four months later, in October 1957, on the initiative of Khrushchev, Marshal Zhukov, who supported him, was removed from the Presidium of the Central Committee and relieved of his duties as Minister of Defense of the USSR.
Since 1958, Khrushchev has simultaneously occupied the chair of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The apogee of the government of the politician is called the XXII Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the new party program adopted at it.
The October Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1964, organized in the absence of Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, who was on vacation, relieved him of party and government posts "for health reasons." While in retirement, Nikita Khrushchev recorded multi-volume memoirs on a tape recorder. He denounced their publication abroad.
The Soviet statesman Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev died on September 11, 1971 from a heart attack. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery of the capital.
The period of Khrushchev's rule is often called the "thaw": many political prisoners were released, compared to the period of Stalin's rule, the activity of repressions has significantly decreased. Decreased influence of ideological censorship. The Soviet Union has made great strides in space exploration. Active housing construction has been launched. During his reign, the highest tension of the Cold War with the United States falls.
Awards and Recognition of Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet
Hero of the Soviet Union (1964)
three times Hero of Socialist Labor (1954, 1957, 1961) - the third time awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for leading the creation of the rocket industry and preparing the first manned flight into space (Yu. A. Gagarin, April 12, 1961) (the decree was not published)
Orders
Seven Orders of Lenin (1935, 1944, 1948, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1964)
Order of Suvorov, 1st class (1945)
Order of Kutuzov, 1st class (1943)
Order of Suvorov II degree (1943)
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (1945)
Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1939)
Order of Merit (Ingushetia) (April 29, 2006, posthumously) - for outstanding services in restoring historical justice in relation to the repressed peoples, the rights and freedoms of the Ingush people
Medals
Medal "In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1970)
Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" I degree,
Medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad"
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" (1945)
Medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War" (1945)
Medal "For the restoration of ferrous metallurgy enterprises of the south"
Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" (1965)
Medal "For the development of virgin lands"
Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1958)
Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1968)
Medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow" (1947)
Medal "In memory of the 250th anniversary of Leningrad" (1957)
Prizes
International Lenin Prize "For strengthening peace among peoples" (1959)
State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR named after T. G. Shevchenko - for a great contribution to the development of Ukrainian Soviet socialist culture
Foreign
Golden Star of the Hero of the NRB (NRB, 1964)
Order "Georgy Dimitrov" (NRB, 1964)
Order of the White Lion 1st class (Czechoslovakia) (1964)
Order of the Star of Romania (SRR), 1st class
Order of Karl Marx (GDR, 1964)
Order of Sukhbaatar (MPR, 1964)
Order of the Nile Necklace (OAR, 1964)
Medal "20 Years of the Slovak National Uprising" (Czechoslovakia, 1964)
commemorative medal of the World Peace Council (1960)
Gold medal "Laying the first stone of the Aswan Dam" (OAR, 1960)
Medal "Sadd al-Aali. Blocking of the Nile River. 1964 "I class (OAR, 1964)
Nikita Sergeevich
With the name of N.S. Khrushchev is often associated with the "thaw" that occurred in the political life of the USSR after the death of Stalin. At this time, many political prisoners were released, and the influence of ideological censorship decreased. Under Khrushchev, the Soviet Union achieved great success in space exploration. Active housing construction was launched. At the same time, the execution of workers in Novocherkassk and failures in agriculture and foreign policy are associated with the name of Khrushchev. During his reign, the highest tension of the Cold War with the United States falls.
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was born on April 3, 1894 in the village of Kalinovka, Kursk province, in the family of a miner. Nikita Sergeevich began his career quite early: already in 1908 he worked as a boiler cleaner and mechanic. In his youth, he actively participated in the strike movement, and in 1918 he joined the Bolshevik Party.
N.S. Khrushchev participated in the Civil War. In 1918, he commanded a detachment of the Red Guard in Rutchenkovo, then, he was appointed battalion political commissar on the Tsaritsyn front. Later he served as an instructor in the political department of the army. After the end of the war, he was in economic and party work.
In 1922, Khrushchev studied at the workers' faculty of the Dontechnical College, where he was the party secretary of the technical school. In 1925, he was appointed party leader of the Petrov-Maryinsky district of the Stalin district.
In 1929, Nikita Sergeevich studied at the Industrial Academy in Moscow, where he was elected secretary of the party committee. In 1931, he became the first secretary of the Bauman, then Krasnopresnensky district committees of the party. Since 1934, Khrushchev has been approved as the first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, since 1935 he has been the first secretary of the Moscow Regional Committee (MK) of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. In this position, he replaced L.M. Kaganovich.
Further, Khrushchev occupies the highest party positions. In 1938 he became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and in 1939 he became a member of the Politburo. In the 30s. Khrushchev was directly involved in the organization of Stalin's purges, as well as the implementation of plans for forced industrialization.
During the Great Patriotic War, Khrushchev was a member of the military councils of a number of fronts, in 1943 he received the rank of lieutenant general. Between 1944 and 1947 worked as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, then re-elected first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine. In 1949 he became the first secretary of the Moscow regional and city party committees and secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.
After his death in 1953, Khrushchev gambled on an alliance with Malenkov in order to leave Beria behind. However, already in 1955, due to disagreements over the development of industry, Khrushchev sought the resignation of Malenkov, thus becoming the absolute leader. The last attempt to resist the rise of Khrushchev was made by the so-called anti-party group of Molotov, Kaganovich, Malenkov and Shepilov who joined them in 1957, but Khrushchev managed to win the Plenum of the Central Committee, after which he introduced his supporters to the Presidium of the Central Committee and took the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers.
During the years of ruling the country, Khrushchev introduced a system of vocational schools, carried out the development of virgin lands, and also actively supported the Soviet space program.
In foreign policy, Khrushchev consistently sought control over West Berlin, which was mandated by the UN. In the early 60s. a course was outlined for improving relations with the United States, however, after an American reconnaissance aircraft was shot down on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region, Khrushchev returned to a tough policy towards the United States. Operation Anadyr, to which the United States responded with a blockade of Cuba, can be considered its direct consequence. This confrontation went down in history as the Caribbean Crisis of 1962.
In 1964, the Plenum of the Central Committee dismissed Khrushchev from all posts. After that, until his death on September 11, 1971, Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was retired.
Monuments N.S. There is practically no Khrushchev in Russia, but many of the citizens of Russia remember, for example, the long-awaited separate apartments, in common parlance - “Khrushchevs”, which are now going down in history, and the shaky balancing act on the brink of a third world war, and the first manned flight into space.
Hello dear friends!
Today we will focus on another problematic topic for applicants - “The USSR during the reign of N.S. Khrushchev. In general, the entire 20th century is a big problem for applicants: a lot of factual material, a lot of names, processes and events. Therefore, dear friends, I started the first posts on this site with the principles that should be followed when preparing for the exam in history. Because when studying and history, the systematization of the material is extremely important, and only then memorization. Otherwise, there will be porridge in the head.
I’ll make a reservation right away that I will describe here only those moments that should be focused on extremely seriously, since I can describe the years of Khrushchev’s rule in detail only in my author’s full video course on the history of Russia, which should be published at the very beginning of 2013.
So actually about the reign of Khrushchev. Let's define the chronological framework: 1953 — 1964 — years of his reign.
Processes and phenomena in domestic politics
The 20th Congress of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) had an extremely important influence on the entire subsequent development of the USSR. The congress took place on February 14-25, 1956 in Moscow.
1.1 The congress determined plans for the upcoming 6th five-year plan, in which it was planned to restore agriculture and focus, among other things, on the production of consumer goods (light industry). Why was the emphasis placed on these sectors of the economy? Because because of the beginning of the arms race between the US and the USSR, the emphasis, starting with Stalin, was on heavy industry. As a result, there was a shortage (shortage) of consumer goods.
1.2 Congress heard a report N. S. Khrushchev "On the cult of personality and its consequences" at a closed meeting. This resulted in the so-called de-Stalinization: rejection of the cult of personality. At the same time, all the miscalculations of the leadership of the USSR in the 30s and in were associated exclusively with the personality of Stalin. Whether this is good or bad, I don’t know, but it was during these years that many myths of the Second World War were generated, which corrupt the consciousness of people to this day.
2. Development of agriculture and industry.
2.1 In agriculture during the reign of N.S. Khrushchev carried out two reforms. The first was due to the fact that during the years of Khrushchev's rule, MTS (Machine and Tractor Stations) 🙂 were transferred directly to collective farms (collective farms). However, the latter, of course, could not always buy out the entire machine park of MTS. The second reform is the creation of territorial councils of the national economy - economic councils.
The purpose of their creation was the decentralization of power, as well as the delegation of authority to the territories, which, of course, had a better understanding of the situation on the ground. A course was also adopted to break down collective farms and create agro-cities, liquidate personal subsidiary farms (gardens), which could not lead to positive results.
It should also be noted the boom in meat and corn after the visit of N.S. Khrushchev in the USA in 1959. Also, do not forget about the events in Novocherkassk in 1962.
2.2 In the industry, positive changes should be noted: the population has TVs, telephones, refrigerators, and housing.
3. Khrushchev's "Thaw". The starting point was XX Congress of the CPSU. However, The Thaw was controversial: B. Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago was banned and the author was brought to death.
Processes in foreign policy
1. The climax of the Cold War falls under Khrushchev's rule: the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
2. The years of Khrushchev's rule also account for the events in Hungary in 1956, when the Hungarians rebelled against the Rakosi regime, known for executions. The uprising was directed not just against state security officers, but against the regime as a whole. The USSR, on the other hand, was ready to suppress the uprisings, if it was a question of separating the satellites from the socialist camp.
Well, dear friends, we briefly dwelled on the years of N.S. Khrushchev. I wanted to post documentaries about Khrushchev, but, unfortunately, they are full of ideological gems. Therefore, it is better to write down a video lesson dedicated to this period in my author's course. Of course, I do not pretend to be free from ideologies, but at least I adapt the material for applicants, that is, for you, my dears 🙂
In the following posts, I will firstly post a new video lesson in which I will explain the principles of solving tests for this period, and, secondly, I will explain how to specifically teach and systematize history material so that it is better remembered. So subscribe to updates so you don't miss anything!
Finally, jokes on the topic
It's no secret that Nikita Sergeevich became the hero of numerous jokes. These jokes are different: both funny and serious, and simple and rather tough. I am sure that humor is an extremely good thing to deal with stress. In addition, having sincerely laughed, you will remember for a long time the years of N.M. Khrushchev, which will give you an advantage in the exam.
Dies, so Khrushchev. Well, it goes to heaven. And there are Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and they have "TK" on their foreheads. Well, Khrushchev was also branded “TK” on his forehead. Well, Khrushchev asks God - "God, what is" TK? then who?" - asks Khrushchev. "And you - Answers God - yap corn!"
Khrushchev visited a pig farm. Pigs:
— Huh... huh... huh...
- Feed better so that you can fully pronounce.
What things did Khrushchev not have time to do?
- Build a bridge along the Moskva River, combine a toilet with a bathroom, a floor with a ceiling, make a lavatory a checkpoint, divide the Ministry of Transport into two: "There" and "Back."
Khrushchev visited a pig farm. The editors of Pravda are discussing the text of the caption under the photograph, which must be placed on the first page. The options "Comrade Khrushchev among pigs" and "Pigs around Comrade Khrushchev" are rejected. The final version of the signature: "Third from the left is Comrade Khrushchev."
One wrote on the fence "Khrushchev is a fool." He was given 11 years - one year for damaging state property and 10 years for divulging state secrets. By the time Khrushchev returned from England, the convict had already served a year, and he was released - what he disclosed ceased to be a state secret.
After Khrushchev's report at the 20th Congress, someone shouted to him from the audience:
- Why were you silent?
Khrushchev:
- Who is asking?
(silence)
- Who is asking?
(silence)
— Shut up? Here we were silent.
Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov
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