Brought the Bolshevik Russia to complete ruin. For further existence, she needed to rely on someone. First of all, these were the nearest neighbors: Ukraine, Belarus and Transcaucasia. With his task, the Bolsheviks coped. As a result, on December 30, 1922, the USSR education occurred at the I Congress of Soviets. It was signed by an agreement on the relationship between the central authorities and the union authorities.

Prerequisites for the formation of the USSR were the following character:

In the RSFSR, power belonged to the Bolsheviks. In his desire to extend it to the Union of the Republics, they achieved great success.

On the territory of all the nationalities, Russian language was distributed.

The whole railway network associated the whole huge territory.

Causes of the formation of the USSR

The reasons for the formation of the USSR were as follows:

Foreign policy. The Bolsheviks party sought to spread their power as much as possible on the large territory, which could cover.

Economic. The economy undervalued by the civil war led Russia to hunger. She needed support for the Union republics.

Territorial. During food supplies, it was necessary to move freely. A single state for this created the optimal conditions.

Cultural. Despite different roots, people lived together for a long time, and this led to the formation of some common traditions.

Political. The government apparatus of the Union republics, consisting of the Bolsheviks, toughly obeyed the central government.

Stages of association

The main stages of the unification in the initial years of the formation of the USSR are presented in the table.

Name of Union		Description
Political		The military-political alliance between Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus was signed in the form of a decree. On his basis, the general military command was conducted from Moscow. Also, from there managed by the United Financial Finance.
Economic	1920-1921 years	Economic contracts were concluded between the Union republics. The formed organ of the Volnch was in Moscow and led the entire industry. For this, Granmark was developed, who oversaw Krzhizhanovsky. At the same time, the Federal Committee for the Development of Agricultural Production and Land Use occurred.
Diplomatic	February 1922.	In 1922, an international conference on post-war recovery of Europe was held in Genoa. A delegation was sent there, consisting of representatives of the Union republics.

Stalinsky and Leninsky principles of building a new country

There were two points of view on the formation of a single state. One development was, and the other.

Stalinist formulation consisted in the following:

1. All union republics were included as autonomy into the RSFSR.
2. The authorities of the RSFSR became higher in the new state.

Lenin's point was as follows:

1. All union republics should not be included, but to unite together with the RSFSR into a single state on an equal basis.
2. In the new education it is necessary to create the highest authorities of the Union.

Stalin's plans were the creation of a centralized state. Lenin looked further. In the future, he wished to enter the union and other European countries.

As the time has shown, the Leninsky point of view after 70 years led to the collapse of the union.

Difficulties of association

Already the first steps to unification showed how difficult it was. Based on the agreement between the Union republics, the majority of industries were subject to the People's Commissars of the RSFSR.

This state of affairs caused discontent from the remaining republics. In fact, delegating power, they lost opportunities to make independent decisions. At the same time, the declaration on the independence of the republics in the field of management was. Stalin began to occur in the promotion of the idea of \u200b\u200bthe republic's entry into the RSFSR for autonomy rights.

At this time, Lenin put forward his concept of uniting all the republics on an equal basis. The name of such an education was first proposed to the Union of Soviet republics of Europe and Asia, but then changed to the USSR. Lenin motivated his proposal by the fact that the republics should be included in the union so that the principles of good neighborliness and respect are carried out. At the same time, a single management from representatives of the Union republics should be created.

Education of the USSR

Map: USSR education. Development of the Union State (1922-1940). The 15 republics were gradually united into one powerful country that had a very strong military and economically potential. 12/30/1922, at the congress of the Soviets, union agreements and the Declaration on the formation of the USSR were signed.

The official date of education of the USSR is December 30, 1922. At that time I took place at the congress of the Soviets. Republic includes the republics:

• RSFSR;
• Ukraine;
• Belorussia:
• republic of Transcaucasia.

At the congress, the Declaration on the formation of the USSR and the Union Agreement was adopted.

In the following years, the USSR has already included 15 republics. Previously added:

• Kazakhstan;
• Kyrgyzstan;
• Turkmenistan;
• Tajikistan;
• Uzbekistan;
• Azerbaijan;
• Turkmenistan;
• Georgia;
• Latvia;
• Lithuania;
• Estonia;
• Moldova.

For some time the Finnish Republic was included.

The declaration reflected the policy of the Soviet state. Its goals were declared for future years.

Some quotes read the following:

1. At this time, the whole world is divided into 2 camps: and.
2. The main aspiration of the USSR is the world revolution.
3. Any Republic of the Socialist Way of Development has access to the USSR.
4. He sounded a call for the unification of the world proletariat against the capitalist system.

The first constitution

The document was adopted at the II Congress of Soviets. On his basis, the USSR included the following questions:

1. External and domestic trade.
2. Questions of war and peace.
3. Guidelines armed forces.
4. Economic issues and formation of the country's budget.
5. Legislative initiative.
6. All republics were part of the USSR on a voluntary basis. Territorial changes could be carried out solely after agreeing with them.

Government

The Constitution approved the authorities:

The supreme authority in the USSR was the congress of the Soviets. Only he had the right to consolidate the Constitution or to make changes to it. He was elected from urban councils.

The Central Executive Committee carried out the government by the state during the break between the congresses. He consisted of the Council of Nationalities and the Union Council.

The Presidium of the USSR CEC solved the issues of the state between the sessions of the CEC.

The executive body of the USSR CEC was the Council of People's Commissars. He consisted of chairman, deputy and ten people of the addict.

The republics had the opportunity to express their interests through the authorities, such as the Presidium of the USSR CEC and the Council of Nationalities. According to the Constitution, the main power focused in the center. Thus, from there could be carried out by all the union republics.

The main posts of all central and allied organs occupied the Bolsheviks. As a result, the party carried out total control over the activities of the newly created state.

Heads of the country

The entire list of the USSR leaders from the moment of its formation before the collapse is presented in the table.

	Lead period	Position held
	1917-1921 and 1924.	In the first period, held post Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars RSFSR, and then 1 year Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
		During the reign, ranked 4 senior posts in the state: Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks); Secretary General of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks); Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party; Soviet Union; Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
Malenkov		Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
		First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Andropov		Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Chernenko		Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Gorbachev	1985-1991 and 1991.	Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and later the President of the USSR.

The meaning and consequences of the formation of the USSR

As a result of the political activities of the Bolsheviks, a huge multinational state was created. Centralized management made it possible to carry out a number of large-scale projects on its territory. In the shortest possible time, industry and agriculture was carried out. The country has become a rapid pace. Many industrial enterprises were built and electrified the whole country.

However, all these achievements were founded on the basis of the unprecedented enthusiasm of the population, and this could not continue constantly. During the years of Soviet power, the living standard of workers increased much less than in the capitalist world. It was carefully hidden by the government, so there were many barriers to travel abroad, especially in capitalist countries. However, this situation could not continue long. Started at Gorbachev, opened for the population, all the disadvantages of the socialist building and after a few years the USSR stopped his existence.

The years of the existence of the USSR - 1922-1991. However, the history of the largest state in the world began with the February Revolution, and even more precisely, then from the crisis of Tsarist Russia. From the beginning of the 20th century, opposition moods were roaming in the country, which were also poured into bloodshed.

The words spoken by Pushkin in the thirties of the XIX century were applicable in the past, do not lose relevance today. Russian riot is always merciless. Moreover, when it leads to the overthrow of the old regime. Recall the most important and tragic events that took place in the existence of the USSR.

Prehistory

In 1916, the royal family was discredited by scandals around odious personality, the mystery of which today is not fully solved. We are talking about Grigory Rasputin. Nicholas II committed several mistakes, the first - in the year of his coronation. But today we will not talk about this, but remember the events that preceded the creation of the Soviet state.

So, the First World War in full swing. In St. Petersburg there are rumors. It is concerned that the empress is divorced with her husband, goes to the monastery, spending spying from time to time. The opposition is formed to the Russian king. Its participants, among whom were the nearest relatives of the king, demanded the removal of Rasputin from government management.

While the princes was negotiated with the king, a revolution was preparing, which was supposed to change the course of world history. Armed rallies continued over the course of several february days. Ended with the state coup. A temporary government was formed, which existed not long.

Then there was a October revolution, civil war. The years of the existence of the USSR historians are divided into several periods. During the first, continued until 1953, the ex-revolutionary, known in narrow circles under the nickname Coba.

Stalin's years (1922-1941)

By the end of 1922, six political figures stood in power: Stalin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Rykov, Kamenev, Tomsk. But one person should manage the state. Between the former revolutionaries began struggle.

Nor Kamenev nor Zinoviev nor Tomsky did not experience sympathy for Trotsky. Especially did not like the People's Movies to Stalin. Jugashvili negatively belonged to him since the time of the Civil War. They say he did not like education, erudition that used to read French classics in political meetings in the original. But the case, of course, is not in this. In political struggle there is no place for ordinary human sympathies and antipathy. The fight between revolutionaries ended with the victory of Stalin. In subsequent years, he methodically eliminated the other associates.

Stalin's years are marked by repression. At first there was a forced collectivization, then arrest. How many people in this terrible time turned into camp dust, how much was shot? Hundreds of thousands of people. The peak of Stalinist repressions fell in 1937-1938.

The Great Patriotic War

During the existence of the USSR, there were quite a few tragic events. In 1941, a war began, which took about 25 million lives. These losses are not comparable. Before Yury Levitan announced the radio for the attack of the German Armed Forces on no one believed that there is a ruler in the world who would not be afraid to send his aggression towards the USSR.

Historians are divided into three periods. The first begins on June 22, 1941 and ends with a battle for Moscow, in which the Germans suffered defeat. The second is completed by the Stalingrad battle. The third period is the expulsion of enemy troops outside the USSR, exemption from the occupation of European countries and the capitulation of Germany.

Stalinism (1945-1953)

Was not ready for war. When it began, it turned out that many military leaders are shot, and those who are alive are far away in the camps. They were immediately released, led to a normal state and sent to the front. The war ended. A few years have passed, and a new wave of repression began, now among the highest command staff.

Large military leaders, approximate Marshal Zhukov, were arrested. Among them, Lieutenant-General Teliegin and Marshal of Novikov Aviation. Zhukov himself was a little oppressed, but especially did not touch. Too great was his authority. For the victims of the last wave of repression, for those who survived in the camps, the year has become the happiest day. "Leader" died, and with him went to the history of the camp for political prisoners.

Thaw

In 1956, Khrushchev debunked the cult of the personality of Stalin. In the top of the party they were supported. Indeed, for many years, even the most prominent politician could be in opal at any time, which means to be shot or sent to the camp. During the existence of the USSR, the years thawed were marked by the mitigation of the totalitarian regime. People went to bed and were not afraid that among the nights they will be raised by state security officers and will take away on Lubyanka, where they will have to confess in espionage, an attempt to kill Stalin and other fictional crimes. But the denominations, the provocations still took place.

During the years thawed the word "Chekist" had a pronounced negative shade. In fact, distrust of the special services originated much earlier, back in the thirties. But official approval The term "Chekist" lost after the report made by Khrushchev in 1956.

The era of stagnation

This is not a historical term, but a propaganda literary cliché. Appeared after Gorbachev's speech, in which he noted the occurrence of stagnant phenomena in the economy and social life. The era of stagnation conditionally begins with the arrival of Brezhnev and ends with the beginning of perestroika. One of the main problems of this period was the strengthening of the commodity deficit. In the world of culture, the rules of censorship. In the years of stagnation in the USSR, the first terrorist acts occurred. For this period there are several high-profile cases to seize passenger aircraft.

Afghan War

In 1979, the war began, which lasted ten years. Over the years, more than thirteen thousand Soviet soldiers died. But these data were made public only in 1989. The biggest losses fell 1984. Against the Afghan war actively advocated Soviet dissidents. Andrei Sakharov for his pacifist speeches was sent to the link. The burial of the zinc coffins was a secret. At least until 1987. At the grave of the soldier it was impossible to indicate that he died in Afghanistan. The official date of completion of the war - February 15, 1989.

Recent years of the USSR existence (1985-1991)

This period in the history of the Soviet Union is called restructuring. The last years of the USSR existence (1985-1991) can be briefly described as follows: a sharp shift in ideology, political and economic life.

In May 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev, who occupied by the post of Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee, just over two months, said a significant phrase: "We all, comrades, it's time to rebuild." Hence the term. In the media actively spoke about restructuring, in the consciousness of ordinary citizens, a dangerous desire of change was originated. The last years of the existence of the USSR historians are divided into four stages:

1. 1985-1987. The beginning of the reform of the economic system.
2. 1987-1989. An attempt to rebuild the system in the spirit of socialism.
3. 1989-1991. Decabilization of the situation in the country.
4. September-December 1991. The end of the restructuring, the collapse of the USSR.

Transferring events from 1989 to 1991, and will be the chronicle of the collapse of the USSR.

Acceleration of socio-economic development

The need to reform the Gorbachev system said at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in April 1985. It was in mind the active use of achievements of scientific and technological progress, changing the procedure for planning. About democratization, publicity and the socialist market has not yet been discussed. Although today the term "restructuring" is associated with the freedom of speech, which was first spoken over several years before the existence of the USSR.

The years of the reign of Gorbachev, especially in the first stage, were noted by the hopes of Soviet citizens to change, for the long-awaited changes for the better. However, gradually the inhabitants of the huge country began to be disappointed in the political figure, which was destined to become the last Secretary General. Anti-alcohol campaign caused special criticism.

No alcohol law

History shows that attempts to wean our country's citizens from drinking alcohol do not bring any fruits. The first anti-alcohol campaign was conducted by the Bolsheviks back in 1917. The second attempt was made eight years later. With drunkenness and alcoholism tried to fight at the beginning of the seventies, and very peculiar: they banned the release of alcoholic beverages, but the production of wines was expanded.

The alcohol campaign of the eighties was called Gorbachevskaya, although Ligachev and Solomen residents became the initiators. This time the question of drunkenness was solved more radically. The production of alcoholic beverages was significantly reduced, a huge number of stores were closed, and prices for vodka rose more than once. But Soviet citizens did not give up so easily. Some acquired alcohol at an inflated price. Others were engaged in the preparation of drinks by dubious recipes (about such a method of combating dry law, V. Yerofeev told in his book "Moscow - Petushki"), and the third - used the easiest way, i.e. drank cologne, which could be purchased in any department store.

The popularity of Gorbachev in the meantime fell. Not only as a result of the ban on alcoholic beverages. He was chosen, while his speeches were minor. At each official meeting was with his wife, which caused special irritation from Soviet people. Finally, the restructuring did not bring the Soviet citizens of long-awaited change.

Democratic Socialism

By the end of 1986, Gorbachev and his assistants understood that the situation in the country was not so easy. And they decided to reform the system in another direction, namely in the spirit of democratic socialism. This solution was facilitated by a blow to the economy caused by many factors, including an accident at the Chernobyl NPP. And in the individual regions of the Soviet Union, in the meantime, separatist sentiment began to appear, interethnic clashes broke out.

Destabilization in the country

In which year, the USSR finished its existence? In 1991 At the final stage, "Perestroika" there was a sharp destabilization of the situation. Economic difficulties have grown into a large-scale crisis. There was a catastrophic collapse of the life level of Soviet citizens. They learned about what unemployment is. The shelves in the stores were empty, if something on them suddenly appeared, infinite queues were instantly formed. In the masses, irritation increased, dissatisfaction with power.

Collapse of the USSR

In which year, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, we figured out. The official date is December 26, 1991. On this day, Mikhail Gorbachev announced that he stops his activities as president. With the collapse of a huge state, 15 former republics of the USSR have gained independence. The reasons that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union are very much. This is the economic crisis, and the degradation of power elites, and national conflicts, and even the anti-alcohol campaign.

Let's summarize. The main events occurring during the existence of the USSR are named. What year is this state for consideration on the world map? From 1922 to 1991. The collapse of the USSR by the population was perceived differently. Someone rejoiced the abolition of censorship, the opportunity to engage in entrepreneurship. Someone events occurred in 1991, plunged into shock. After all, it was the tragic wreck of ideals on which not one generation has grown.

When they talk about the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reference point is often taken on August 19, 1991 - the date of creation of the GCCP. With it, a desperate attempt was made to save the previous USSR, but the PUT pulled to the opposite results. He not only did not stop the decay of the empire, but even accelerated him - after a few months, the USSR stopped existence.

However, the chain of events who crowned with the USSR dissolution began six years before that when a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU Mikhail Gorbachev was elected general secretary of the Communist Party. He was just a sixth gesense in the entire history of the USSR, counting from 1922, but he also became the last.

March 1985.

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev is becoming the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU. His election had to do with many of them, because he promised to breathe new life into a state exhausted over the years.

For many years, the country has ruled the Communists of the old hardening, and the three last leaders of the party (Brezhnev, Chernenko, Andropov) were the elderly and sick people. The funeral of general secretaries became almost an annual event.

Gorbachev was then 54 years old, and against the background of previous party leaders (and the Politburo as a whole) he seemed young and energetic. And he spoke about the need for change. With his light hand in many languages \u200b\u200bof the world, the words "Perestroika" and "Glaznost" entered.

In conditions of stagnant and closed society, both these words sounded as a call to the revolution. At the same time, even Gorbachev himself did not realize that the changes they started would lead to the collapse of the empire and eliminate the iron curtain, separated from Europe since the end of World War II.

December 1985.

Gorbachev appoints the secretary of the Moscow State Committee of the head of the head of the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee Boris Yeltsin, until the last one known.

Earlier, he highlights the USSR Foreign Minister Secretary of the Communist Party Edward Shevardnadze, removing the sake of this from Andrei Gromyko, the veteran of Soviet diplomacy, for many years, "the external policy of the USSR for many years".

Like Gorbachev, Shevardnadze performed for the liberalization and democratization of the Soviet society. Both reflected about this years - and now together is taken for the case.

Yeltsin informed in Moscow also understands the need for change. It produces a thorough cleaning in the trembling Moscow party "Beumenta", dismissing and depriving benefits of representatives of the party top.

1987

In January and in June, Gorbachev appears at the sessions of the CPSU Central Committee with suggestions of serious political and economic reforms. In those years, the concept of "serious reforms" was reduced to the introduction of elements of democracy in some regions of public and party life.

Be that as it may, restructuring began seriously. The outside world with tense attention was followed by the actions of the Moscow reformer and built guesses about whether he could cope. Gorbachev also used her serious support in both the USSR and beyond.

In November, Gorbachev produces a book with clarification of his aspirations and the meaning of reforms. It instantly becomes a bestseller in the USSR and is reprinted in many countries of the world.

In November 1987, Yeltsin has to go away from the post of secretary of the MGC CPSU. He was too toping the restructuring, understood it too radically - and criticized Gorbachev for his slowness. Personal insult Yeltsin on Gorbachev will play an important role in the subsequent development of events. It will help the case and the fact that Gorbachev leaves Yeltsin in Moscow, as Deputy Minister of Construction.

1988

Perestroika is encountered on the first underwater stone. The reform policy and previously met resistance from the apparators who prevented the economic transformations of Gorbachev. Now the newspaper "Soviet Russia" publishes a call for the true Communists to get up against Gorbachev reforms.

The call takes the form of a letter of the Leningrad Chemist and convinced Stalinist Nina Andreva. It is believed that this letter did not accidentally appear at the moment when Gorbachev was abroad.

Meanwhile, in the countries of the Baltic States, hopes for the restoration of independence are growing. In Estonia, a popular front is formed, not yet called a political party, but de facto being it is it happens in a country with a legalized one-party system. Example of Estonia follow Latvia and Lithuania.

The first national conflicts are indicated. The question of Nagorno-Karabakh leads to armed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Later begins the unrest in the North and South (located as part of Georgia) Ossetia and in Abkhazia. Collisions are underway under the slogans of independence requirements from Georgia. Gorbachev continues to follow the intended path. He takes President of the US President Ronald Reagan in Moscow, and later stands up with a proposal to introduce president and parliament in the USSR, formed on the basis of alternative elections.

March 1989.

Pass elections to the new senior authority of the USSR - the congress of people's deputies. Boris Yeltsin is elected from Moscow with a large number of votes, thereby returning to the political arena.

Stay direct television broadcasts from the congress meeting. Their popularity is that millions of people stop working, and the authorities cancel broadcasts.

Gorbachev brings the last troops from Afghanistan, putting the end of the expensive and extremely unpopular war. His authority in the country is still high.

While the democrats celebrate the introduction of the electoral system, supporters of the rigid line are preparing to fight back. A peaceful demonstration in Georgia two weeks after the election was cruelly dispersed with troops. The shooting was not, the deposited sperm blades and poisoning gas were pulled into the course. 19 people were killed, mostly women. Gorbachev declares that nothing knew about the prepared massacre.

July 1989.

Gorbachev announces that the countries of the organization of the Warsaw Agreement are free to dispose of their future. By this time, Polish "solidarity" has already largely undermined the communist regime in the country. In August, Lech Valens becomes president of Poland.

Raise the heads and peoples of other Eastern countries. They are aware of how big the risk: the Hungarian uprising of 1956 and the "Prague Spring" of 1968 were cruelly suppressed by Soviet troops.

But this time the will of the nations triumphs. In September, Hungary shakes the world by opening the border with the West. In former times, the crushing blow of Moscow should have been followed by a completely unthinkable step, and thousands of inhabitants of Eastern Europe were rushed to Austria.

November 1989.

The destruction of the Berlin Wall is becoming an incredible burst of "democracy", which served as decades the most expressive symbol of the Cold War. But Gorbachev can still apply strength and keep its empire from decay. The world observes the destruction of the wall with the question of the lips: does he intervene?

Gorbachev prefers not to interfere. Scenes of popular education, meetings of relatives and neighbors, separated by the wall, are broadcast worldwide. I can not believe that even recently, those who tried to break free, mercilessly shot during attempts to move through the wall.

The turn of Czechoslovakia. During the bloodless "velvet revolution", the Communists are removed from power, and the president becomes playwright Vaclav Gavel. Closer to the end of the year there is a coup in Romania. It did not cost without bloodshed when the uprising in Timisoare is suppressed. But the cruel dictator Cheressku overthrown and, along with his wife, shot on the very day of Christmas.

But during the triumphal procession of freedom for the countries of the Communist Block, Gorbachev's popularity in the USSR begins to fall. From the moment of the start of its economic reforms, the deficit of products increases, and the standard of living falls. People begin to be disappointed in restructuring.

January 1990.

The Soviet regime dies, but even in convulsions is trying to show his former power. Giving freedom to the countries of the Warsaw Treaty, Moscow is not going to provide independence to the Soviet republics. The greatest concern is inspired by excitement in the Baltic States. Gorbachev is trying to keep the Baltic countries in the composition of more free, but still the Soviet Federation.

In mid-January, Soviet troops are cruelly straightened with demonstrators in Baku. No less than a hundred people died (perhaps much more).

Nevertheless, reforms continue, and all louder sounds to speed up them. Gorbachev is accused of indecision. In response to mass demonstrations in February, Gorbachev calls on the congress of people's deputies to the introduction of a multi-party system. The infirm-known sixth article of the Constitution, preplancing the powerful power of the Communists, is deprived of the force.

Perestroika brings Gorbachev title of the first (and last) president of the USSR. Before him, all six full-awake leaders of the country were the Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee. The Supreme Council elects Gorbachev president.

July 1990.

Boris Yeltsin comes out of the Communist Party. Events are close to the junction. In the summer, Ukraine declares about its independence, and for her - Armenia, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.

Outside the country, Gorbachev is raised to the pedestal. In October, soon after the reunification of Germany, he awarded the Nobel Prize of the World.

But in the USSR Gorbachev has to fall out. The economy is fascinated by seams. With the restructuring merged all her gilding. The president has to choose between reforms with radical and moderate, put forward by his Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov. Gorbachev chooses the middle way.

Yeltsin accuses Gorbachev in halfness, in attempts to crush hedgehog with a snake. Gorbachev no longer suits anyone and finds himself in political isolation. While all Sadovet peoples are cut about independence, it is still worn with the idea of \u200b\u200bthe new Union of the Independent Soviet republics.

Gorbachev warns against the "dark forces of nationalism." In December, he declares that a strong hand is needed. Shevardnadze leaves the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs, saying that the case goes to dictatorship. Nevertheless, Gorbachev is achieved by special powers.

Left the most radical from his ministers, Gorbachev is largely shifted towards the tough political line.

June 1991.

In the Russian Federation, the component of the Soviet Union's core, the republican elections are held for the first time. Russians are chosen by President Boris Yeltsin. Now management and the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation are concentrated in the Kremlin. Old opponents, Gorbachev and Yeltsin work in neighboring.

Everything is ready for the junction. The Power in the Kremlin is disputed by the President of the USSR Gorbachev, Russian President Yeltsin and Old Communist Party.

Meanwhile, peoples are increasingly demanding independence. In January, Soviet troops brutally suppress demonstrations in Lithuania. More than 20 people were killed, 13 of them - when storming a television bashney in Vilnius.

The March referendum shows that most of the residents of the USSR stands for the preservation of the reformed union, but the Baltic countries strongly lead the movement for the full way out of the Union.

Causes of the collapse of the USSR

The collapse of the USSR was a phenomenon at that stage in general, regularly. The coup was obliged to happen, and here it is not even fundamentally, when it happened and who would come to power. But it is impossible to discount and random factor: the events developed rapidly and at the same time very dramatic.

The most important reason was the struggle for power that broke out at that time throughout Russia. This is primarily an open confrontation of the cetral power and RSFSR, who adhered to different political views: President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin demanded more radical measures from Gorbachev in conducting reforms. And it was Yeltsin who later captures the initiative at the GCCP and the wave of popular popularity will come to power. It is difficult to say how he was guided by: with his real democratic beliefs or desire to seize power. We assume that at the initial stage, the first was dominated first.

Approximately at the same time, separatist trends in the Union republics began to appear, primarily in the Baltic countries, where numerous clashes of troops and demonstrators, demanding independence, and for sovereignty, the vast majority of the population was expressed, and in the Caucasus, where the desire for independence caused a new round of many years of Conflict continuing to this day.

Plus, the rotting political system that could no longer provide effective management in the regions due to the incredibly high level of corruption on the ground on the one hand and the weakness of the central government on the other.

True a picture agonizing planned economy: rapidly growing inflation rates (in recent years, the USSR existence prices have grown quite rapidly), the abyss between cash and non-cash ruble, destructive for any economy, which robs on the seams of planned system and rupture of economic relations with the Union republics.

He played his role and ideological misses: the rigid suppression of dissent, bloomed in a lush in Brezhnev and Andropov, and so did not have the power in 1980, the authorities discredited even more.

The future of the Soviet Union was predetermined. And the GCCP became only the sign, when suddenly it became clear: it is impossible to live like that.

the USSR
The former largest state of the world in the area, the second in economic and military power and the third - in terms of population. The USSR was created on December 30, 1922, when the Russian Soviet Federation of the Socialist Republic (RSFSR) united with the Ukrainian and Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republics and the Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic. All of these republics arose after the October coup and the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917. From 1956 to 1991, the USSR consisted of 15 Union republics. In September 1991, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia came out of the Union. On December 8, 1991, the leaders of the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus at the meeting in Belovezhskaya Pushchanchev announced that the USSR ceased to exist, and agreed to form a free association - the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On December 21, in Almaty, the leaders of the 11 republics signed a protocol on the formation of this Commonwealth. On December 25, the President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev resigned, and the next day the USSR was dissolved.

Geographical position and border. The USSR occupied the eastern half of Europe and the Northern third of Asia. Its territory was located north of 35 ° S.Sh. between 20 ° V.D. and 169 ° zd. The Soviet Union was washed in the north of the Northern Arctic Ocean, most of the year in ice In the east - Bering, Okhotsk and the Japanese seas freezing in the winter; In the south-east, bordered on land with the DPRK, PRC and Mongolia; in the south - with Afghanistan and Iran; in southwest with Turkey; In the West with Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Finland and Norway. Considering a significant part of the coast of the Caspian, Black and Baltic Seas, the USSR, however, did not have a direct way out of the warm open waters of the oceans.
Area. Since 1945, the Square of the USSR was 22,402.2 thousand square meters. km, including the White Sea (90 thousand square meters) and the Azov Sea (37.3 thousand square meters). As a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire during the First World and Civil Wars, 1914-1920 were lost Finland, Central Poland, Western regions of Ukraine and Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia, the southern part of Armenia and the Uryanhai region (in 1921, became nominally independent Tuvinian folk Republic). At the time of its foundation in 1922, the USSR had an area of \u200b\u200b21,683 thousand square meters. km. In 1926, the Soviet Union joined the archipelago of Franz Joseph in the Arctic Ocean. As a result of World War II, the following territories were joined: Western regions of Ukraine and Belarus (from Poland) in 1939; Karelian shells (from Finland), Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, as well as Bessarabia with North Bukovina (from Romania) in 1940; Pechenga district, or Pasamo (from 1940 in Finland), and Tuva (as the Tuvinian ASSR) in 1944; Northern Half of Eastern Prussia (from Germany), South Sakhalin and Kuril O-VA (from 1905 in Japan) in 1945.
Population. In 1989, the USSR population was 286,717 thousand people; More was only in China and India. For 20 V It almost doubled, although the pace of general growth was lagging behind the medium-level. Hungry Years 1921 and 1933, the First World War and Civil War slowed down the growth of the population in the USSR, but perhaps the main reason for the lag is the losses incurred by the USSR in World War II. Only straight losses amounted to more than 25 million people. If you take into account indirect losses - a decrease in the birth rate in wartime and the increased level of mortality from severe living conditions, the total figure is likely to exceed 50 million people.
National composition and languages. The USSR was created as a multinational Union State held (from 1956, after the transformation of the Caroen-Finnish SSR to the Karelian ASSR, until September 1991) from the 15 republics that had 20 autonomous republics, 8 autonomous regions and 10 autonomous districts - all They were formed on a national basis. In the USSR, more than one hundred ethnic groups and peoples was officially recognized; More than 70% of the total population amounted to Slavic peoples, mostly Russians who settled throughout the vast territory of the state for 12-
19 centuries. And until 1917, even in the dominant position even in those areas where they did not make up the majority. Nervussian peoples in this area (Tatars, Mordva, Komi, Kazakhs, etc.) were gradually assimilated in the process of interethnic communication. Although national cultures were encouraged in the Republics of the USSR, the Russian language and culture remained a prerequisite for almost any career. The USSR of the Republic of USSR received their names, as a rule, by nationality of most of their population, but in the two allied republics - Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan - Kazakhs and Kyrgyz accounted for only 36% and 41% of the number of the total population, and in many autonomous formations, and less. The most uniform republic on national composition was Armenia, where more than 90% of the population was Armenians. Russian, Belarusians and Azerbaijanis accounted for more than 80% of the population in their national republics. Changes in the homogeneity of the ethnic composition of the population of the republics occurred as a result of migration and unequal growth of the population of various national groups. For example, the peoples of Central Asia, with their high birth rate and low mobility, absorbed the mass of Russian immigrants, but retained and even increased their quantitative superiority, while approximately the same influx in the Baltic Republic of Estonia and Latvia, which had a low birth rate, violated Balance is not in favor of indigenous nationality.
Slavs. This language family consists of Russians (Velikorsov), Ukrainians and Belarusians. The share of Slavs in the USSR gradually decreased (from 85% in 1922 to 77% in 1959 and to 70% in 1989), mainly due to the low rates of natural growth compared to the peoples of the southern outskirts. Russians accounted for 51% of the total population in 1989 (65% in 1922, 55% in 1959).
Central Asian peoples. The most numerous non-Slavic group of peoples in the Soviet Union was the group of peoples of Central Asia. Most of these 34 million people (1989) (including Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Turkmen) speak Turkic languages; Tajiks, the number of more than 4 million people, speak on the dialect of Iranian language. These nations traditionally adhere to Muslim religion, are engaged in agriculture and live in overcrowded oases and dry steppes. The Central Asian region became part of Russia in the last quarter of the 19th century; Before there were competing and often enthusiastically with each other, Emirates and Khanate. In Central Asian republics in the middle of 20 century. There were almost 11 million Russian immigrants, most of which lived in cities.
The peoples of the Caucasus. The second largest group of non-Slavic peoples in the USSR (15 million people in 1989) was the peoples who lived on both sides of the Caucasian mountains, between the Black and Caspian seas right up to the borders with Turkey and Iran. The most numerous of them are Georgians and Armenians with their forms of Christianity and ancient civilizations, and Russian-speaking Muslims of Azerbaijan, related to Turks and Iranians. These three people accounted for almost two thirds of the number of non-Russian population in the region. The rest of the non-Russian referred to a large number of small ethnic groups, including Iranian-speaking Orthodox Ossetians, Mongolian-speaking Buddhists Kalmykov and Muslim Chechen, Ingush, Avarian and other nations.
Baltic peoples. Along the coast of the Baltic Sea lives approx. 5.5 million people (1989) of the three main ethnic groups: Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians. Estonians speak a language close to Finnish; Lithuanian and Latvian languages \u200b\u200bbelong to the Baltic language group close to Slavic. Lithuanians and Latvians geographically occupy an intermediate position between the Russians and the Germans, who, along with the Poles and the Swedes, had a great cultural influence on them. The coefficient of the natural growth of the population in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which, separating from the Russian Empire in 1918, existed as independent states between world wars and again found independence in September 1991, about the same as the Slavs.
Other nations. The remaining national groups amounted to in 1989 less than 10% of the USSR population; These were a variety of peoples inhabited within the main zone of the settlement of Slavs or dispersed among the vast and desert spaces of the Far North. The most numerous among them are Tatars, after Uzbeks and Kazakhs - the third largest (6.65 million people in 1989) Neslavian people of the USSR. The term "Tatar" was used in Russian history to various ethnic groups. More than half of the Tatars (Turkic-speaking descendants of the Northern Group of Mongolian tribes) lives between the average flow of the Volga and the Urals. After the Mongol-Tatar yoke, which lasted from the middle 13 to the end of the 15th century, the several groups of the Tatars caused anxiety by Russians for several more centuries, and a significant Tatar nationality in the Crimean P-Oves was conquered only at the end of the 18th century. Other large national groups in the Volga-Ural region are Turkic-speaking Chuvashi, Bashkirs and Finno-Ugor Mordva, Mari and Komi. Among them, the process of assimilation was continued among them in a predominantly Slavic community, in part due to the influence of increased urbanization. This process was not so fast among traditionally pastoral peoples - Buddhists Buryat, living around Lake Baikal, and Yakutov, inhabiting the shores of the Lena River and her tributaries. Finally, there are many small northern peoples engaged in hunting and cattle breeding, scattered in the northern part of Siberia and the districts of the Far East; They are numbered. 150 thousand people.
National question. In the late 1980s, the national question went to the first political life plan. The traditional policy of the CPSU, which sought to eliminate nations and the creation of an ultimately homogeneous "Soviet" people ended with failure. Inter-ethnic conflicts broke out, for example, between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Ossetians and Ingush. In addition, it was discovered - for example, in the Baltic republics - anti-Russian moods. In the end, the Soviet Union collapsed on the borders of the national republics, and many ethnic antagonism went to newly formed countries that retain the old national administrative division.
Urbanization. The pace and scale of urbanization in the Soviet Union since the late 1920s probably have no analogues in history. And in 1913, and in 1926 in cities there lived less than one fifth population. However, by 1961, the number of urban population in the USSR began to exceed the number of rural (United Kingdom reached this ratio in about 1860, the United States - approx. 1920), and in 1989 66% of the USSR population lived in cities. The scale of Soviet urbanization is evidenced by the fact that the city's population of the Soviet Union has increased from 63 million to 1940 to 189 million in 1989. In his last years, the USSR had about the same level of urbanization as in Latin America.
Growing cities. Before the start of industrial, urbanization and transport revolutions in the second half of the 19th century. Most cities of Russia had a small population. In 1913, only Moscow and St. Petersburg, based on 12 and 18 centuries, respectively, had a population of more than 1 million people. In 1991, 24 such cities existed in the Soviet Union. The first Slavic cities were founded in 6-7 centners; During the Mongolian invasion of the middle of the 13th century. Most of them were destroyed. These cities arising as military administrative support points had a fortified Kremlin, usually at the river on an exalted place, surrounded by craft suburbs (pans). When trading has become an important type of activity of Slavs, such cities like Kiev, Chernigov, Novgorod, Polotsk, Smolensk, and later Moscow, who were at the crossroads of waterways, quickly increased their sizes and influence. After overlapping nomads of the trading route from Varyag in the Greeks in 1083 and the ruin of the Mongol-Tatars of Kiev in 1240 Moscow, which was in the center of the River System of Northeast Russia, gradually turned into the center of the Russian state. The position of Moscow has changed when Peter the Great suffered the capital of the country to St. Petersburg (1703). In its development, St. Petersburg by the end of the 18th century. He overtook Moscow and remained the largest of the Russian cities until the end of the Civil War. The foundations of the growth of most major cities of the USSR were laid in the past 50 years of the royal regime, during the rapid development of the industry, the construction of railways and the development of international trade. In 1913 in Russia there were 30 cities whose population exceeded 100 thousand people, including trading and industrial centers in the Volga region and Novorossia, such as Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Odessa, Rostov-on-Don and Yuzovka (now Donetsk). The rapid growth of cities in the Soviet period can be divided into three stages. In the period between world wars, the development of heavy industry was the basis for the growth of such cities as Magnitogorsk, Novokuznetsk, Karaganda and Komsomolsk-on-Amur. However, the city in the Moscow region, Siberia and Ukraine was particularly intensively growing at this time. In the period between the population censuses 1939 and 1959 there was a noticeable shift in urban settlement. Two-thirds of all cities that had a population over 50 thousand people, during this time doubled, were mainly located between the Volga and Lake Baikal, mostly along the Trans-Siberian highway. Since the late 1950s and 1990, the growth of Soviet cities slowed down; The fastest growth differed only the capital of the Union republics.
Largest cities. In 1991, there were 24 cities in the Soviet Union with a population of more than one million inhabitants. These were Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Nizhny Novgorod, Kharkov, Kuibyshev (now Samara), Minsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Kazan, Perm, Ufa, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd and Donetsk in the European part; Sverdlovski (now Ekaterinburg) and Chelyabinsk - in the Urals; Novosibirsk and Omsk - in Siberia; Tashkent and Alma-Ata - in Central Asia; Baku, Tbilisi and Yerevan - in the Transcaucasia. Another 6 cities had a population from 800 thousand to one million inhabitants and 28 cities - more than 500 thousand inhabitants. Moscow, with a population of 8967 thousand people in 1989, is one of the largest cities in the world. She grew up in the center of the European part of Russia and became the main node of the chain of iron and highways, airlines and pipelines of a very centralized country. Moscow is the center of political life, the development of culture, science and new industrial technologies. St. Petersburg (from 1924 to 1991 - Leningrad), in which 5020 thousand people lived in 1989, was built in the mouth of the Neva, by Peter Great and became the capital of the empire and its main port. After the Bolshevik revolution, he became the regional center and gradually accounted for decay due to the enhanced development of the Soviet industry in the East, a decrease in the volume of foreign trade and the transfer of the capital to Moscow. St. Petersburg has suffered a lot during World War II and reached its pre-war population in 1962. Kiev (2587 thousand people in 1989), located on the banks of the Dnipro River, was the main city of Russia until the transfer of the capital to Vladimir (1169). The beginning of his modern growth belongs to the last third of the 19th century, when the industrial and agricultural development of Russia went with a turbulent pace. Kharkov (with a population of 1611 thousand people in 1989) - the second largest city of Ukraine. Until 1934, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, it was formed as an industrial city at the end of the 19th century, being an important railway node that bind to Moscow and the regions of the heavy industry in the south of Ukraine. Donetsk, founded in 1870 (1110 thousand people in 1989) - was the center of a large industrial agglomeration in the Donetsk coal basin. Dnepropetrovsk (1179 thousand people in 1989), which was founded as the administrative center of Novorossia in the second half of the 18th century. And used to be called Ekaterinoslav, he was the center of a group of industrial cities in the lower drain of the Dnieper. Odessa, located on the Black Sea coast (population of 1115 thousand people in 1989), rose quickly at the end of 19 century. As the main southern port of the country. She now remains an important industrial and cultural center. Nizhny Novgorod (from 1932 to 1990 - Gorky) - the traditional venue of the annual All-Russian Fair, which first held in 1817, is located at the merger of the Volga and Oci Rivers. In 1989, 1438 thousand people lived in it, and he was the center of river shipping and the automotive industry. Below is Samara (from 1935 to 1991 Kuibyshev), with a population of 1257 thousand people (1989), located near the largest fields of oil, gas and powerful hydroelectric power plants, in the place where the Moscow-Chelyabinsk railway line crosses the Volga. A powerful impetus to the development of Samara gave the evacuation of industrial enterprises from the west after German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941. 2400 km east, where the Trans-Siberian Highway crosses another major river - Ob, is Novosibirsk (1436 thousand people in 1989), which is the most Young (founded in 1896) among the top ten of the largest cities of the USSR. This is a transport, industrial and scientific center of Siberia. To the west of him, where the Trans-Siberian Highway crosses the Irtysh River, is Omsk (1148 thousand people in 1989). Lifting the role of the capital of Siberia in Soviet times, Novosibirsk, it remains the center of an important agricultural area, as well as the largest aircraft and oil refining center. The west of Omsk is Ekaterinburg (from 1924 to 1991 - Sverdlovsk), with a population of 1,367 thousand people (1989), which is the center of the Metallurgical Industry of the Urals. Chelyabinsk (1143 thousand people in 1989), which is also in the Urals, south of Yekaterinburg, became a new "gate" to Siberia after hence hesitated in 1891 to lay the Trans-Siberian Highway. Chelyabinsk is the center of metallurgy and mechanical engineering, which consisted in 1897 only 20 thousand inhabitants, in the Soviet period developed faster than Sverdlovsk. Baku, with a population of 1757 thousand people in 1989, located on the West Bank of the Caspian Sea, is located near oil deposits, which for almost a century were the main source of oil in Russia and the Soviet Union, and at one time and in the world. In the Transcaucasus there is also an ancient city of Tbilisi (1260 thousand people in 1989) - an important regional center and the capital of Georgia. Yerevan (1199 people in 1989) - the capital of Armenia; His rapid growth from 30 thousand people in 1910 testified to the process of reviving Armenian statehood. In the same way, the growth of Minsk - from 130 thousand inhabitants in 1926 to 1589 thousand in 1989 - is an example of the rapid development of the capitals of the national republics (in 1939 Belarus again gained the borders as she had, being in the Russian Empire). The city of Tashkent (population in 1989 - 2073 thousand people) is the capital of Uzbekistan and the Economic Center of Central Asia. The ancient city of Tashkent was included in the Russian Empire in 1865, when the conquest of Russian Central Asia began.
State Device and Political System
Background question. The Soviet state arose as a result of two coups, which occurred in Russia in 1917. The first of them, the February, replaced the royal autocracy of the unstable political structure, in which the authorities, in view of the universal collapse of state power and law and order, was divided between the temporary government that consisted of members of the Former Legislative Assembly (Duma), and Councils of workers and soldiers, elected at factories and military units. At the second All-Russian Congress of the Soviets on October 25 (November 7), representatives of the Bolsheviks announced the overthrow of the temporary government as unable to resolve crisis situations that arose due to failures at the front, hunger in the cities and expropriation of the lesmen ownership of landowners. The governing bodies of the Soviets in the overwhelming majority consisted of representatives of the radical wing, and the New Government - the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) - formed the Bolsheviks and the left Socialists-revolutionaries (SErs). The leader of the Bolshevikov V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin) stood at the head (SNK). This government proclaimed Russia the first socialist republic in the world and promised to hold elections to the Constituent Assembly. After losing the elections, the Bolsheviks dispersed the Constituent Assembly (January 6, 1918), the dictatorship regime was established and terror was unleashed, which led to the Civil War. In these circumstances, the councils have lost their real importance in the political life of the country. The Bolsheviks Party (RCP (b), WCP (b), later the CPSU) led the punitive and administrative bodies created to manage the country and nationalized economy, as well as the Red Army. Return to more democratic orders (NEP) in the mid-1920s was changed to the campaigns of terror, which are associated with the activities of the Secretary General of the WCP (b) I.V. Stalin and the struggle in the leadership of the party. The political police (CC - OGPU - NKVD) turned into a powerful Institute of the Political System, which contained a huge system of labor camps (GULAG) and spread to the entire population from ordinary citizens to the leaders of the Communist Party, the practice of repression, which took the lives of many millions of people. After Stalin's death in 1953, the power of political special services for some time was weakened; Formally, some powerful functions of tips were also restored, but in fact change turned out to be insignificant. Only in 1989, a number of constitutional amendments allowed for the first time after 1912 to conduct alternative elections and modernize the state system in which democratic authorities began to play a much larger role. Constitutional amendment 1990 eliminated a monopoly on the political power established by the Communist Party in 1918, and established the post of President of the USSR with broad authority. At the end of August 1991, the Supreme Power in the USSR suffered the collapse after the failed state office, an organized group of conservative leaders of the Communist Party and Government. On December 8, 1991, the presidents of the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus at the meeting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha declared the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a free interstate association. On December 26, the USSR Supreme Council made decisions about Samorem, and the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
State device. Since its creation, the USSR since its inception in December 1922 was a totalitarian one-party state. The party-state carried out its power called the "dictatorship of the proletariat" through the Central Committee, the Politburo and the government controlled by it, the Systems, trade unions and other structures. The monopoly of the party apparatus for power, total monitoring of the state over economics, social life and culture led to frequent mistakes in state policy, gradual lag and degradation of the country. The Soviet Union, like the other totalitarian states of the 20th century, was unwillingly and in the late 1980s was forced to begin reforms. Under the guidance of the party apparatus, they acquired a purely cosmetic nature and could not prevent the disassembly of the state. Below is the state structure of the Soviet Union, taking into account the changes that have occurred in recent years before the collapse of the USSR.
Presidency. The presidential post was established by the Supreme Council on March 13, 1990 at the proposal by his chairman M.S. Gorbachev after the Central Committee of the CPSU agreed with this idea month earlier. Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR by secret ballot at the congress of people's deputies after the Supreme Council concluded that direct popular elections would require time and can destabilize the situation in the country. President, according to the Resolution of the Supreme Council, is the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He facilitates the organization of the work of the congresses of people's deputies and the Supreme Council; He has the authority to publish administrative decrees that are mandatory for execution in the territory of the entire Union, and appoint a number of top officials. These include the Constitutional Support Committee (subject to approval by the Congress), Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Supreme Court (subject to approval by the Supreme Council). The president may suspend decisions of the Council of Ministers.
Congress of people's deputies. The congress of people's deputies was defined in the Constitution as "the highest body of the USSR state authority." 1500 deputies of the congress were chosen in accordance with the Triple Principle of Representative Office: from the population, national entities and from public organizations. All citizens at the age of 18 and older had the right to participate in the voting; All citizens older than 21 years have had the right to be elected deputies of the congress. The nomination of candidates in the districts was opened openly; The number of them was not limited. Congress, chosen for a period of five years, was to be collected annually for several days. At his first meeting, the congress elected by secret ballot from its members to the Supreme Council, as well as the Chairman and First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council. The congress considered the most important state issues, such as the people's plan and budget; Two thirds of the votes could be amended to the Constitution. He could approve (or cancel) the laws adopted by the Supreme Council and had the authority by a majority vote to cancel any decision of the government. At each annual session, the Congress by voting was obliged to make the rotation of one fifth of the Supreme Council.
The Supreme Council. 542 deputies chosen by the congress of people's deputies to the Supreme Council were the current legislature of the USSR. He convened annually into two sessions, each duration of 3-4 months. It had two chambers: a couple of the Union - from among the deputies from national public organizations and from majority territorial districts - and the Council of Nationalities, where the deputies selected from the national territorial districts and republican public organizations. Each Chamber elected his own chairman. Decisions were taken by a majority of deputies in each chamber, disagreements were permitted with the help of a conciliation commission consisting of members of the chambers, and then at a joint meeting of both chambers; When it was impossible to achieve a compromise between the chambers, the solution was passed to the congress. The laws adopted by the Supreme Council could control the Constitutional Supervision Committee. This Committee consisted of 23 members who were not deputies and who did not occupy other state positions. The Committee could act on its own initiative or at the request of legislative and executive bodies. He had the authority to temporarily suspend the law or those administrative decrees, which contradicted the Constitution or other laws of the country. The Committee conveyed its conclusions to the bodies that made laws or issued decrees, but was not entitled to cancel the considered law or decree. The Presidency of the Supreme Council was a collective body that consisted of the chairman, the first deputy and 15 deputies (from each republic), chairmen of both chambers and regular committees of the Supreme Council, Chairmen of the Supreme Soviets of the Union republics and the Chairman of the Committee of Folk Control. The Presidium carried out the organization of the work of the Congress and the Supreme Council and its standing committees; He could make his own decrees and conduct nationwide referendums on issues set by the congress. He also gave accreditation to foreign diplomats and in the intervals between the sessions of the Supreme Council had the right to solve issues of war and peace.
Ministries. The executive branch of the authorities consisted of almost 40 ministries and 19 state committees. The ministries were organized on a functional basis - foreign affairs, agriculture, communication paths, etc. - While government committees carried out interfunctional connections, such as planning, supply, work and sports. The Council of Ministers included the chairman, several of his deputies, ministers and heads of state committees (they were all appointed by the Chairman of the Government and were approved by the Supreme Council), as well as Chairmen of the Councils of Ministers of All Allied Republics. The Council of Ministers carried out foreign and domestic policies, ensured the implementation of state national economic plans. In addition to its own decrees and orders, the Council of Ministers developed legislative projects and sent them to the Supreme Council. The total part of the work of the Council of Ministers was carried out by the government group consisting of the Chairman, his deputies and several key ministers. The Chairman was the only member of the Council of Ministers, which was part of the deputies of the Supreme Council. Individual ministries were organized on the same principle as the Council of Ministers. Each minister was helped by the deputies who managed the activities of one or several departments (Masterkov) of the Ministry. These officials were a collegium that operated as a collective governing body of the ministry. Enterprises and institutions subordinate to the Ministry have carried out their work on the basis of the tasks and instructions of the ministry. Some ministries acted on the All-Union level. Others organized by the Union-republican principle had a double-subordination structure: the Ministry at the republican level was accountable to both the existing Federal Ministry and the legislative authorities (the congress of people's deputies and the Supreme Council) of his own republic. Thus, the Allied ministry carried out general leadership in the industry, and the republican ministry together with regional executive and legislative bodies developed more detailed activities to implement them in their republic. As a rule, the Allied ministries managed industry industries, and the Union-Republican ministries managed the production of goods consumption and services. The Allied ministries have more powerful resources, better provided their employees with housing and salary and have great influence in conducting national policies than the Federal Republican ministries.
Republican and local government. The Union republics, of which consisted of the USSR, had their own state and party bodies and were formally considered sovereign. The Constitution provided each of them the right to the department, and some of them even had their own ministries of foreign affairs, but in fact their independence was illusory. Therefore, the sovereignty of the USSR republics would more accurately interpret as the form of administrative rule, which took into account the specific interests of the party leadership of a native group. But during the 1990 Supreme Councils of all republics, following Lithuania, re-proclaimed their sovereignty and adopted the rulings that republican laws should have a priority to all-union. In 1991, the republic became independent states. The management structure of the Union republics was similar to the management system at the Union level, but the Supreme Councils of the republics had one chamber, and the number of ministries in the republican councils of ministers was less than in the Allied. The same organizational structure, but with an even smaller number of ministries, was also in the autonomous republics. Large allied republics were divided into areas (the RSFSR also had regional units of less homogeneous national composition, which were called the edges). Regional management consisted of the Council of Deputies and the Executive Committee, which were under the jurisdiction of their republic in almost the same way as the republic was associated with the Union Government. Elections to regional councils were held every five years. City and district councils and executive committees were created in each area. These local authorities submitted to the relevant regional (regional) authorities.
Communist Party. The ruling and only legitimate political parties in the USSR before her monopoly on power was undermined by restructuring and free elections in 1990, was the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The CPSU justified its right to power on the basis of the principle of the dictatorship of the proletariat, whose avant-garde she considered himself. Once a small group of revolutionaries (in 1917, it was approx. 20 thousand members), the CPSU has become a mass organization with 18 million members over time. In the late 1980s, approximately 45% of the party members were employees, approx. 10% - peasants and 45% - workers. Membership in the CPSU was usually preceded by membership in the youth organization of the party - Komsomol, whose members in 1988 were 36 million people. aged 14 to 28 years old. The party usually entered from 25 years of age. To become a member of the party, the applicant had to receive a recommendation from the parties with a five-year (at least) experience and demonstrate the devotion to the ideas of the CPSU. If members of the local party organization voted for the reception of the applicant, and the District Party Committee approved this decision, the applicant became a candidate for the party members (without the right to vote) with a trial period of one year, for the prosperous passage of which he received the status of a party member. According to the Charter of the CPSU, its members were obliged to pay membership fees, to attend party meetings, to be an example for others at work and in personal life, as well as promoting the ideas of Marxism-Leninism and the CPSU program. For the omission in any of these areas, a member of the party was reprimanded, and if it was serious enough, they excluded from the party. However, the party who was in power was not an union of sincere like-minded people. Since promotion depended on the membership in the party, many used a party ticket for career purposes. The CPSU was t. N The game of a new type, organized on the principles of "Democratic Centralism", according to which all higher authorities in the organizational structure were elected lower, and all lower bodies, in turn, were obliged to fulfill the decisions of higher instances. Until 1989 in the CPSU existed approx. 420 thousand Primary Party Organizations (PPO). They were formed in all institutions and enterprises where at least 3 members of the party and more were worked. All PPOs chose their head - secretary, and those in which the number of members exceeded 150 was headed by secretaries released from their main work and employed only by party affairs. The liberated secretary became a representative of the party apparatus. His name appeared in Nomenclature - one of the lists of posts that party instances claimed to all managerial posts in the Soviet Union. The second category of party members in PPO treated "activists". These people often occupied responsible posts - for example, as members of Partburo. In total, the party apparatus was OK. 2-3% of the CPSU members; Activists accounted for approximately 10-12%. All PPOs within this administrative district elected delegates to the district party conference. On the basis of the nomenclature list, the regional conference elected the District Committee (Raykaya). Raika consisted of leadership officials of the district (some of them were partEarters, others headed advice, factories, collective farms and state farms, institutions and military units) and party activists who did not occupy official posts. Raykaya elected on the basis of the recommendations of the Bureau of the Bureau and the Secretariat of the Three Secretaries: the first was fully responsible for party affairs in the area, two others were observed over one or more spheres of party activity. Departments of the district office - personal accounting, propaganda, industry, agriculture - functioned under the control of secretaries. The secretaries and one or more managers of these departments were held at the district office together with other senior officials of the district, such as the Chairman of the district council and leaders of large enterprises and institutions. The Bureau was the political elite of the relevant area. Party bodies above the district level were organized like a district market, but the selection in them was still stricter. District conferences sent delegates to the regional (in major cities - the city) party conference, which elected the regional (urban) Committee of the Party. Each of the 166 selected regional committees, thus, consisted of the elite of the regional center, the elite of the second echelon and several regional-scale activists. The Regional Committee, based on the recommendations of the higher authorities, chose the Bureau and the Secretariat. These authorities controlled the bureau accountable bureau and regional level secretariats. In each republic, the delegates chosen by party conferences were going once every five years to the party's party congresses. Congress, after hearing and discussing reports of party leaders, has taken the program in which the party policy presented for the next five years. Then the governing bodies were re-elected. At the level of the whole country, the CPSU Congress (approximately 5,000 delegates) was represented by the highest authority in the party. According to the Charter, the congress convened every five years for meetings, which continued for about ten days. The reports of senior managers followed short speeches of earmotheads of all levels and several ordinary delegates. The congress took the program that was prepared by the secretariat, taking into account changes and additions made by delegates. However, the most important act was the election of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which was trusted by the management of the party and the state. The Central Committee of the CPSU consisted of 475 members; Almost all of them occupied senior posts in the party, the state and public organizations. At its plenary meetings held twice a year, the Central Committee formulated a party policy for one or several issues - by industry, agriculture, education, judicial system, international relations, etc. In the event of disagreements, among the members of the Central Committee, he had the authority to convene all-union party conferences. The Central Committee has grown control and management of the party to the Secretariat, and the responsibility for the coordination of policies and the solution of the most important problems - to the Politburo. The Secretariat was subordinate to the Secretary-General, who led the activities of the entire party apparatus using several (up to 10) secretaries, each of which controlled the work of one or more departments (total approx. 20), of which the Secretariat consisted. The Secretariat argued the nomenclature of all guidelines in the national, republican and regional levels. His officials were monitored and, if necessary, directly interfered into the affairs of state, economic and public organizations. In addition, the Secretariat was led by the All-Union Network of Party Schools, who trained promising workers to promote in the party and in the state field, as well as in the mass media.
Political upgrades. In the second half of the 1980s, the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU M.S. Gorbachev began to implement a new policy, known as "Perestroika". The main idea of \u200b\u200bthe restructuring policy was to overcome the conservatism of the party-state system and adapt the Soviet Union to modern realities and problems. Perestroika included three main changes in political life. First, the boundaries of freedom of speech expanded under the slogan of publicity. Weakening censorship, the previous atmosphere of fear almost disappeared. A significant part was made for a long time hiding the history of the USSR. Party and government sources of information have become frankly report on the state of affairs in the country. Secondly, the restructuring revived the idea of \u200b\u200blower self-government. Self-government involved members of any organization - plant, collective farm, university, etc. - In the process of making key decisions and the initiative has suggested. The third line of restructuring, democratization, was associated with the two previous ones. The idea here was that complete information and free exchange of views will help society to make decisions on a democratic basis. Democratization sharply broke out with the former political practice. After the leaders began to elect on an alternative basis, their responsibility has increased before the electorate. This change weakened the lord of the party apparatus and undermined the cohesion of the nomenclature. As the restructuring moved forward, began to sharpen the struggle between those who preferred the old methods of control and coercion, and those who defended new methods of democratic leadership. This struggle has reached apogee in August 1991, when a group of party leaders and states tried to capture power with the help of a coup. Pulling fell on the third day. Shortly after that, the CPSU was temporarily prohibited.
Legal and judicial system. The Soviet Union did not inherit anything from the legal culture of the Russian Empire preceding him. During the revolution and civil war, the communist regime considered the law and courts as a weapon of the struggle against class enemies. The concept of "revolutionary legality" continued to exist, despite the absenteeism of the 1920s, up to the death of Stalin in 1953. In the years of the Khrushchev "thaw", the authorities tried to revive the idea of \u200b\u200b"socialist legality", which arose in the 1920s. The arbitrariness of the repressive organs was weakened, the terror was terminated, more stringent judicial procedures were introduced. Nevertheless, from the point of view of the law, the procedure and justice these measures were insufficient. The legal prohibition of "anti-Soviet propaganda and agitation", for example, was interpreted extremely wide. Based on these pseudovuridic provisions, people were often recognized in court guilty and sentenced to imprisonment, imprisonment with stay in corrective labor institutions or sent to psychiatric hospitals. Persons who were accused of "anti-Soviet activity" were also applied extrajudicial punishment. A.I. Solzhenitsyn, the world-famous writer, and the famous musician M.L. Rostropovich were among those who have deprived citizenship and sent abroad; Many were excluded from educational institutions or dismissed from work. Legal abuses took a variety of forms. First, the activities of repressive bodies on the basis of party instructions narrowed or even reduced the sphere of legality. Secondly, the party actually remained over the law. Circular lodging party officials prevented the investigation of the crimes of high-ranking members of the party. This practice was complemented by corruption and protection of those who violated the law under the cover of the party chiefs. Finally, party organs carried out a strong informal impact on the courts. Perestroika policy proclaimed the power of the law. In accordance with this concept, the law was recognized as the main tool for regulating public relations - above all other acts or decrees of the party and government. The execution of the law was the prerogative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ministry of Internal Affairs) and the Committee of State Security (KGB). And the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the KGB were organized by the Union-republican principle of double subordination with offices from the national to the district level. Both of these organizations included paramilitary units (border guards in the KGB system, internal troops and the Militia of the OMON - at the Ministry of Internal Affairs). As a rule, the KGB was engaged in problems, one way or another related to politics, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs - with criminal offenses. The internal functions of the KGB were counterintelligence, protection of public secrets and control over the "subversive" activity of oppositionists (dissidents). To fulfill its tasks, the KGB worked both through the "special departments", which he organized in large institutions and through the chain of informants. The Ministry of Internal Affairs was organized on management that matched its main functions: criminal wanted list, prisons and corrective labor institutions, passport control and registration, investigation of economic crimes, traffic regulation and road inspection and patrol-post service. Soviet court law was based on the arrangement of the laws of the socialist state. At the national level and in each republics there were criminal, civil and criminal procedure codes. The structure of the court was determined by the concept of "national courts", which acted in every area of \u200b\u200bthe country. District judges were appointed for five years by the regional or urban council. "Folk assessors" formally equal with the judge, elected for a period of two and a year and a half at meetings held at the place of work or residence. Regional courts consisted of judges appointed by the Supreme Sovieties of the relevant republics. Judges of the Supreme Court of the USSR, the Supreme Courts of the Allied and Autonomous Republics and the regions were elected by the Councils of People's Deputies at their levels. Both civilians and criminal cases were heard first in the district and city folk courts, the sentences were taken by a majority of the votes of the judge and people's assessors. Appeals were sent to the courts of higher instances of the regional and republican level and could reach the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had significant powers to supervise the courts of lower instances, but did not have the right to revise court decisions. The main body of monitoring the observance of legality was the prosecutor's office, which carried out universal legal supervision. The Attorney General was appointed by the Supreme Council of the USSR. In turn, the Prosecutor General appointed leaders of his staff at the national level and prosecutors in each of the Union republics, autonomous republics, edges and regions. Prosecutors at the city and district levels were appointed by the prosecutor of the relevant Union Republic, obeying him and the Prosecutor General. All prosecutors occupied their post for a five-year term. In criminal cases, the accused had the right to take advantage of the services of a defender - own or appointed for him by the court. In the other case, legal costs were minimal. The lawyers belonged to semi-state organizations known as the "College", which existed in all cities and district centers. In 1989, an independent advocacy association "Union of Lawyers" was also organized. The lawyer had the right on behalf of the client to check all the investigative case, but rarely represented his client during the preliminary investigation. Criminal Codes in the Soviet Union applied the standard of "social hazard" in order to determine the seriousness of the offenses and establish the appropriate penalties. For minor violations, conditional punishments or fines were usually used. Those who were found guilty of more serious and socially dangerous offenses could be sentenced to work in a labor camp or imprisonment for up to 10 years. The death sentence ended in grave crimes, such as deliberate murder, espionage and terrorist acts. State security and international relations. The objectives of the Soviet state security over time have undergone a number of fundamental changes. At first, the Soviet state thought as the result of the global proletarian revolution, which, as the Bolsheviks hoped, the First World War will end. Communist (III) International (Comintern), whose constituent congress took place in Moscow in March 1919, was to unite the socialists around the world to support revolutionary movements. Initially, the Bolsheviks did not assume that it was possible to build a socialist society (which, according to Marxist theory, corresponds to the more advanced stage of social development - more productive, more free, with higher levels of education, culture and social well-being - compared with developed capitalist society, which should precede him) in the huge peasant Russia. The overthrow of the autocracy discovered the path to power. When the post-war speeches of the left forces in Europe (in Finland, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy) suffered collapse, Soviet Russia was insulated. The Soviet state was forced to abandon the slogan of the world revolution and follow the principle of peaceful coexistence (tactical unions and economic cooperation) with their capitalist neighbors. Along the way, with the strengthening of the state, the slogan on the construction of socialism in one separate country was nominated. Having headed the party after the death of Lenin, Stalin took control of the Comintern, conducted his cleaning, getting rid of Fractions ("Trotskyists" and "Bukharinsev") and transformed it into a tool of his policy. Stalin's external and domestic politician - the promotion of the German national socialism and the accusation of the German Social Democrats in the "Social Fascism", which highly facilitated Hitler's seizure of power in 1933; The degradation of peasants in 1931-1933 and the extermination of the command composition of the Red Army during the "Big Terror" 1936-1938; The Union with Nazi Germany in 1939-1941 - led the country to the edge of death, although ultimately the Soviet Union at the cost of mass heroism and huge losses managed to exit the winner in World War II. After the war ended in the establishment of communist regimes in most countries of Eastern and Central Europe, Stalin announced the existence in the world of "two camps" and accepted the leadership of the "socialist camp" countries to combat an irreconcilable hostile "capitalist camp". The appearance in both cereals of nuclear weapons put humanity before the prospect of universal destruction. The burden of weapons was unbearable, and in the late 1980s, the Soviet leadership reformulate the basic principles of its foreign policy, which became known as "new thinking." The central idea of \u200b\u200b"new thinking" was that the safety of any state, and especially countries with nuclear weapons, can only be based on the mutual security of all parties. In accordance with this concept, Soviet policy has gradually reoriented to the global nuclear disarmament by 2000. To this end, the Soviet Union replaced its strategic doctrine of nuclear parity with alleged opponents at the "reasonable sufficiency" doctrine in order to prevent an attack. Accordingly, he reduced his nuclear arsenal, as well as ordinary armed forces and began their restructuring. The transition to the "new thinking" in international relations led to a number of radical political changes in 1990 and 1991. The USSR was put forward diplomatic initiatives that contributed to the permission of both regional conflicts and a number of global problems. The USSR has changed its relations with the previous allies in Eastern Europe, refused the concept of "sphere of influence" in Asia and Latin America and stopped interference with conflicts arising in the third world countries.
Economic history
Comparatively with Western Europe, Russia throughout its history was an economically backward state. In view of the insecurity of its southeastern and Western frontiers, Russia was often exposed to invasions from Asia and Europe. Mongol-Tatar Igo and Polish-Lithuanian expansion have exhausted resources of economic development. Despite the backwardness, Russia made attempts to catch up with Western Europe. The most decisive attempt was undertaken by Peter Great at the beginning of the 18th century. Peter vigorously encouraged modernization and industrialization - mainly to increase the military power of Russia. The policy of external expansion was continued under Catherine Great. The last jerk of Tsarist Russia in the direction of modernization fell on the second half of the 19th century, when the serfdom was canceled, and the government carried out programs that stimulated the economic development of the country. The state encouraged agricultural exports and attracted foreign capital. A grandiose railway construction program, financing both the state and private companies, was deployed. Tariff protectionism and concessions stimulated the development of the domestic industry. Bonds issued by landowners-nobles in compensation for the loss of fasteners were redeemed by the "redemption" payments former serfs, thereby forming an important source of accumulation of domestic capital. Forcing the peasants to sell most of their products for cash to carry out these payments, plus the fact that the nobles have retained the best land, allowed the state to sell excess agricultural products in foreign markets.
The consequence of this was the period of rapid industrial
Development when the average annual increase in industrial products reached 10-12%. The gross national product of Russia in 20 years from 1893 to 1913 grew 3 times. After 1905, the program of Prime Minister Stolypin was carried out, aimed at promoting major peasant farms using hired labor. However, by the beginning of World War II, Russia did not have time to bring to the end of the reforms.
Oktyabrsky coup and civil war. Russia's participation in the First World War was completed by the revolution in February - October (according to a new style - in March - November) 1917. The driving force of this revolution was the desire of the peasantry to stop the war and redistribute the land. The temporary government, who came to replace the autocracy after the renunciation of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917 and held mainly from representatives of the bourgeoisie, was overthrown in October 1917. The new government (Council of People's Commissar), headed by returned from the emigration to the left Social Democrats (Bolsheviks), proclaimed Russia The first socialist republic in the world. The first decrees of SNK proclaimed the cessation of war and the life and inherent right of peasants to use the selected in landowners. The most important economic industries were nationalized - banks, trade in grain, transport, military production and oil industry. Private enterprises outside this "state-capitalist" sector submitted to working control through trade unions and factory councils. By the summer, the 1918 civil war broke out. Most of the country, including Ukraine, Transcaucasia and Siberia, was in the hands of opponents of the Bolshevik regime, the German occupation army and other foreign interventories. Without believing the strength of the situation of the Bolsheviks, industrialists and intelligentsia refused to cooperate with the new government.
Military communism. In this critical position, the Communists considered it necessary to establish centralized control over the economy. In the second half of 1918, all major and medium and most of the small enterprises were nationalized. To avoid hunger in cities, the authorities were requisitioned by grain from the peasants. Flaw "Black Market" - food products exchanged on household items and industrial products that workers received as a fee instead of discredited rubles. The volume of industrial and agricultural production has declined sharply. The Communist Party in 1919 openly recognized this position in the economy, determining it as "military communism", i.e. "Systematic regulation of consumption in a deposited fortress." Military communism authorities began to consider as the first step towards a truly communist economy. Military communism gave the opportunity to the Bolsheviks mobilize human and production resources and win a civil war.
New economic policy. By the spring, 1921, the Red Army basically won her opponents. However, the situation in the economy was catastrophic. The volume of industrial production barely 14% of the pre-war, most of the country is starving. On March 1, 1921, the sailors of the garrison were rebelled in Kronstadt - a key fortress in the defense of Petrograd (St. Petersburg). The most important goal of the new course of the party, soon the named NEP (new economic policy), it became an increase in labor productivity in all spheres of economic life. Forced seizure of grain has ceased - the exversman was replaced by an extension, which was paid as a certain proportion of products produced by peasant farms. Minus the excess of excess food remained in the property of peasants and could be sold on the market. Then followed the legalization of private trade and private property, as well as normalization of cash circulation by sharp reduction of state expenses and the adoption of a balanced budget. The State Bank in 1922 was released a new stable monetary unit provided with gold and goods - Chervonets. "Team heights" of the economy - fuel, metallurgical industry and military production, transport, banks and foreign trade - remained under the direct control of the state and were funded from the state budget. All other large nationalized enterprises should function independently on a commercial basis. This latter was allowed to unite into trusts, which by 1923 there were 478; They worked approx. 75% of all employed in industry. Trusts were subjected to taxation on the same basis as the private economy. The most important trusts of heavy industries were provided by the state order; The main lever of control over trusts was the state bank that had a monopoly on a commercial loan. New economic policy quickly brought successful results. By 1925, the volume of industrial production reached 75% of the pre-war level, and agricultural production was almost completely restored. However, the successes of NEPA set the Communist Party to new complex economic and social problems.
Discussion about industrialization. The suppression of the revolutionary speeches of the left forces in the entire Central Europe meant that Soviet Russia was supposed to begin socialist construction in an unfavorable international environment. The Russian industry, ruined by world and civil wars, severely lagged from the industry of the then advanced capitalist countries of Europe and America. Lenin defined the social base of NEPa as a bow between a small number (but the leading communist party) of the city work class and numerous, but sprayed peasantry. To move to socialism, as far as Lenin is, Lenin proposed the parties to adhere to the three fundamental principles: 1) to fully encourage the creation of production, sales and procurement peasant cooperatives; 2) consider the electrification of the whole country of the primary task of industrialization; 3) to preserve the state monopoly on foreign trade in order to protect the domestic industry from foreign competition and use export revenue to finance high priority imports of imports. Political and state power persisted for the Communist Party.
"Scissors of prices." In the fall of 1923, the first serious economic problems of the NEP began to appear. Due to the rapid restoration of private agriculture and the backlog of the state industry, the prices of industrial products grew faster than on agricultural goods (which was graphically portrayed by diverging lines, reminded in the form of open scissors). This with necessity was to lead to a decline in agricultural production and lower prices for industrial goods. 46 of the governing parties in Moscow published an open letter containing a protest against this line in economic policies. They believed that it was necessary to expand the market in everywhere by stimulating agricultural production.
Bukharin and Preobrazhensky. Application 46 (Soon who became famous called "Moscow opposition") marked the beginning of a wide internal partner discussion, which affected the foundations of the Marxist worldview. Its initiators, N.I. Bukharin and E.N.Prevezhensky, in the past were friends and political like-minded people (they were co-authors of the popular party textbook "ABC of Communism"). Bukharin, who headed the right opposition, promoted a course for slow and gradual industrialization. Preobrazhensky was one of the leaders of the left ("Trotskyist") opposition speaking for accelerated industrialization. Bukharin assumed that the capital necessary for the financing of industrial development will make a growing savings of peasants. However, the peasants in a huge majority were still so poor that they lived mainly in natural economy, used all their meager money incomes on his needs and almost did not have accumulations. Only fists sold enough meat and grain to afford to create large savings. The grain, which was exported, brought cash only for a small amount of importation of mechanical engineering products - especially after expensive consumer goods have become imported for sale by wealthy citizens and peasants. In 1925, the government allowed the fists to rent the land from poor peasants and hire bars. Bukharin and Stalin proved that if the peasants will enrich, then the number of grain for sale will increase (which will increase exports), and cash deposits in Gosbank. As a result, they considered, the country should be industrialized, and Kulak - "Doctors in Socialism". Preobrazhensky stated that a significant increase in the volume of industrial production would require major investments in new equipment. In other words, if you do not accept measures, production will become even more unprofitable due to the wear of the equipment, and the total production will be reduced. To exit the position, the left opposition was offered to start accelerated industrialization and introduce a long-term state economic plan. The key remained the question of how to find investments necessary for rapid industrial growth. The response of Preobrazhensky was the program that he called "socialist accumulation". The state should have used its monopolized position (especially in the field of imports) to maximize prices. The progressive tax system should guarantee large cash revenues from fists. Instead of providing loans, preferably the richest (and, consequently, the most creditworthy), the state bank should give preference to cooperatives and collective farms, consisting of poor and middle peasants who will be able to acquire agricultural equipment and rapidly increase yields by introducing modern production methods.
International relationships. The question of the country's relations with advanced industrial powers of the capitalist world was also crucial. Stalin and Bukharine expected that the economic prosperity of the West, which began in the mid-1920s, will continue for a long period - it was the main prerequisite for their theory of industrialization funded by the constantly increasing grain exports. Trotsky and Preobrazhensky, for its part, assumed that in a few years this economic boom will end in a deep economic crisis. This provision was based on their theory of rapid industrialization, funded due to the immediate large-scale export of raw materials at competitive prices - so that the crisis breaks out, the industrial base for the accelerated development of the country has already been. Trotsky performed for attracting foreign investment ("concessions") for which Lenin expressed himself. He calculated the use of contradictions between imperialist powers to exit international isolation, in which there was a country. The main threat of the leadership of the party and the state saw in the likely war with the UK and France (as well as with their Eastern European allies - Poland and Romania). To protect yourself from such a threat, a diplomatic relations with Germany (Rapallo, March 1922) were established at Lenin. Later, by a secret agreement with Germany, the German officers were trained, and new weapons were tested for Germany. In turn, Germany provided a substantial assistance to the Soviet Union in the construction of enterprises of heavy industry intended for the production of military products.
End of NEP. By the beginning of 1926, the freezing of salaries in production next to the growing welfare of party and government officials, private traders and rich peasants caused discontent among workers. Heads of the Moscow and Leningrad party organizations L.B. Kamenev and G.I.zinoviev, opposed Stalin, formed the combined left opposition in the block with Trotskyists. Stalin's bureaucratic apparatus easily coped with oppositionists, enclosing a union with Bukharin and other moderate. Bukharians and Stalinites accused Trotskyists in the "excessive industrialism" by "exploitation" of the peasantry, in the undermining of the economy and the Union of workers and peasants. In 1927, in the absence of investments, the costs of manufacturing industrial goods continued to grow, and the standard of living decreased. The growth of agricultural production has suspended due to the resulting commodity deficit: the peasants were not interested in selling their agricultural products at low prices. In order to accelerate industrial development, 1927 was developed in December 1927, the first five-year plan was approved.
Bread meters. Winter 1928 became the eve of the economic crisis. Purchasing prices for agricultural products were not increased, and the sale of bread to the state declined sharply. Then the state returned to the straight expropriation of grain. It touched not only fists, but also middle peasants. In response to this, the peasants cut crops, and the export of grain almost stopped.
Rotate left. The response of the state was a radical change in economic policy. To ensure resources for rapid growth, the party has begun to unite the peasantry into the collective farms under the control of the state.
Revolution from above. In May 1929, the party opposition was crushed. Trotsky was deported to Turkey; Bukharin, A.I.Rykov and M.P.Tomsky shifted with senior posts; Zinoviev, Kamenev and other weaker oppositionists capitulated before Stalin, publicly abandoning their political views. In the fall of 1929, immediately after harvest, Stalin gave an order about the beginning of the implementation of solid collectivization.
Collectivization of agriculture. By the beginning of November 1929, OK was formed. 70 thousand collective farms, which included almost poor or landless peasants attracted by the promises of state aid. They accounted for 7% of the total number of all peasant families, and they belonged to less than 4% of the land treated. Stalin set the task of accelerated collectivization of the entire agricultural sector in front of the party. The resolution of the Central Committee in the early 1930 was established its deadline for the autumn of 1930 in the main grain production areas, and by the fall of 1931 in the rest. Simultaneously through the authorized and in the press, Stalin demanded to speed up this process, suppressing any resistance. In many localities, complete collectivization was already carried out by the spring of 1930. During the first two months of 1930 approx. 10 million peasant farms were combined into a collective farm. The poorest and landless peasants considered collectivization as a section of the property of their richer countrymen. However, in the middle peasant and fists, collectivization caused mass resistance. Began the ubiquitous cattle. By March, the livestock livestock decreased by 14 million heads; There were also a large number of pigs, goats, sheep and horses. In March 1930, due to the threat of failure of the spring sowing, Stalin demanded to temporarily suspend the collectivization process and accused local officials in the "beggars". Peasants even allowed to leave collective farms, and by July 1, OK. 8 million families came out of collective farms. But in the fall, after collecting the harvest, the campaign on collectivization resumed and did not stop in the future. By 1933, more than 3/4 of the land treated and more than 3/5 peasant farms were collectivized. All wealthy peasants "smoked", confiscation of their property and harvest. In cooperatives (collective farms), the peasants were supposed to supply the state fixed volume of products; The payment was made depending on the employment deposit of each (the number of "workload"). Purchasing prices established by the state were extremely low, while the required supplies are high, sometimes exceeding the entire harvest. However, the collective farmers were allowed to have household sections, the size of 0.25-1.5 hectares, depending on the country's area and the quality of the Earth, for their own use. These sites, the products with which were allowed to sell in the collective farm markets, gave a significant part of food to city residents and fed the peasants themselves. The households of the second type were much less, but they were given the best land and they were better provided with agricultural equipment. These state farms were named state farms and functioned as industrial enterprises. Agricultural workers here received salary with money and did not have the right to the loft. It was obvious that collectivized peasant farms would require a significant amount of equipment, especially tractors and combines. Having organized machine-tractor stations (MTS), the state has created an effective means of control over collective peasant farms. Each MTS served a range of collective farms on a contractual basis for cash fee or (mainly) in kind. In 1933, the RSFSR had 1857 MTS, which had 133 thousand tractors and 18,816 combines, which were treated with 54.8% of the sowing areas of collective farms.
Consequences of collectivization. The first five-year plan assumed to increase the volume of agricultural products from 1928 to 1933 by 50%. However, the resulting in the fall of 1930 collectivization campaign was accompanied by decadent production and a livestock. By 1933, the total livestock livestock in agriculture decreased with more than 60 million heads to less than 34 million. The number of horses decreased from 33 million to 17 million; pigs - from 19 million to 10 million; Sheep - from 97 to 34 million; Goats - from 10 to 3 million. Only in 1935, when tractor plants were built in Kharkov, Stalingrad and Chelyabinsk, the number of tractors became sufficient to restore the level of the overall force that peasant farms had in 1928. Common grain harvest, which in 1928 exceeded the level of 1913 and amounted to 76.5 million tons, by 1933 it was reduced to 70 million tons, despite the increase in the areas of the land being processed. In general, the volume of agricultural production has decreased from 1928 to 1933 by approximately 20%. The consequence of fast industrialization has become a significant increase in the number of citizens, which caused the neoplability of a strictly normalized distribution of food. The situation was aggravated due to the global economic crisis, which began in 1929. By 1930, the price of grain in the global market fell sharply - just when a large number of industrial equipment had to be imported, not to mention the agriculture of tractors and combines (mainly From the USA and Germany). To pay for imports, it was necessary to export grain in huge quantities. In 1930, 10% of the collected grain was removed, and in 1931 - 14%. The result of the export of grain and collectivization was hunger. The worst thing was in the Volga region and in Ukraine, where the resistance of the collectivization peasants was the strongest. In winter, 1932-1933 more than 5 million people died of hunger, but even more of their number was sent to the link. By 1934, violence and hunger finally broke the resistance of the peasants. The violent collectivization of agriculture led to fatal consequences. The peasants stopped feeling their hosts on earth. The essential and irreplaceable damage of the culture of the management caused the destruction of the wealthy, i.e. The most skilled and hardworking peasantry. Despite the mechanization and expansion of the sowing areas by mastering new lands at virulent and in other areas, the growth of procurement prices and the introduction of pensions and other social benefits to collective farmers, labor productivity in collective farms and state farms left behind the level that existed on household plots and those More in the West and the gross volume of agricultural production more lagged behind the population growth. Due to the lack of incentives in the work, agricultural machines and equipment of collective farms and state farms were usually kept in poor condition, seeds and fertilizers were used wastefully, and losses when harvesting were huge. Since the 1970s, despite the fact that it was occupied directly in agriculture. 20% of the workforce (in the United States and Western European countries - less than 4%), the Soviet Union has become the world's largest importer of grain.
Five-year plans. The excuse of collectivization costs was to build a new society in the USSR. This goal undoubtedly caused enthusiasm for many millions of people, especially at the generation that has grown after the revolution. During the 1920s and 1930s, millions of young people found the key to move up the social staircase in education and party work. Using the mobilization of the masses, an unprecedented rapid growth of the industry was carried out just at a time when the West was experiencing an acute economic crisis. During the first five-year plan (1928-1933), approx. 1500 large factories, including metallurgical plants in Magnitogorsk and Novokuznetsk; Farms of agricultural engineering and tractor in Rostov-on-Don, Chelyabinsk, Stalingrad, Saratov and Kharkov; Chemical plants in the Urals and Heavy Engineering Plant in Kramatorsk. In the Urals and in the Volga region there were new oil production centers, metals and weapons production. The construction of new railways and canals began the construction of new railways, in which the forced labor of the arranged peasants played the increasing role. The results of the first five-year plan. During the period of forced implementation of the second and third five-year-old plans (1933-1941), many mistakes made in the implementation of the first plan were recorded and corrected. During this period of mass repression, the systematic use of forced labor under the control of the NKVD was an important part of the economy, especially in the forest and the gold mining industry, as well as on new buildings in Siberia and in the extreme north. The system of economic planning as it was created in the 1930s, lasted without fundamental changes until the end of the 1980s. The essence of the system consisted in planning exercised by a bureaucratic hierarchy using command methods. At the top of the hierarchy were the Politburo and the Central Committee of the Communist Party, which led the highest economic decision-making authority - the State Planned Committee (Mamurn). More than 30 ministries were subordinated to Marstin, who were responsible for the specific types of production, combined in one industry. Based on this production pyramid there were primary production units - factories and factories, collective and state agricultural enterprises, mines, warehouses, etc. Each of these units was responsible for the implementation of a particular part of the plan, determined (based on the volume and cost of products or turnover) by the instances of a higher level, and received its planned resource quota. This model was repeated at each level of the hierarchy. Central planning institutions have established control numbers in accordance with the so-called "material balance sheet" system. Each production unit at each level of the hierarchy agreed with a higher authority about what their plans will be next year. In practice, this meant a staffing plan: all the downstream wanted to perform a minimum, and get a maximum, while all the higher authorities wanted to get as much as possible, and to give as little as possible. From the achieved compromise, the general plan was "balanced".
The role of money. The control numbers of the plans were presented in physical units (tons of oil, pairs of shoes, etc.), but the money was also played in the planning process, although the subordinate role. With the exception of emergency periods (1930-1935, 1941-1947), when the main consumer goods were distributed through cards, all goods usually went on sale. The money was also a means for non-cash payments - it was assumed that each enterprise should minimize the cash costs of production so as to be conditionally profitable, and the State Bank is to highlight the limits for each enterprise. All prices were strictly controlled; The money was discharged, thus, the exclusively passive economic role of the accounting tools and method of rationing consumption.
The victory of socialism. At the 7th Congress of the Comintern in August 1935, Stalin stated that "the complete and final victory of socialism has been reached in the Soviet Union." This statement is that the Soviet Union built a socialist society - it became unshakable dogma of the Soviet ideology.
Big terror. Crashing with the peasantry, taking control of the working class and raising the obedient intelligentsia, Stalin and his supporters under the slogan "aggravation of class struggle" began cleaning the party. After December 1, 1934 (on this day, Stalin's agents were killed by S.M. Kirov, the secretary of the party organization of Leningrad) was held several political processes, and almost all old party frames were destroyed. With the help of documents fabricated by German intelligence services, many representatives of the highest command of the Red Army were repressed. For 5 years, more than 5 million people were shot or sent for forced work in the Camp of the NKVD.
Post-war recovery. The Second World War led to breakdown in the Western regions of the Soviet Union, but accelerated the industrial growth of the Ural Siberian region. The industrial base after the war was quickly restored: this was facilitated by the removal of industrial equipment from East Germany and the Manchuria occupied by the Soviet troops. In addition, the Gulag's camps again received a multi-million replenishment at the expense of German prisoners of war and former Soviet prisoners of war accused of treason. The highest priorities remained heavy and military industry. Special attention was paid to the development of nuclear power, primarily for weapons purposes. The pre-war level of food supply and consumer goods was achieved in the early 1950s.
Khrushchev reforms. Stalin's death in March 1953 put an end to the terror and repression, which acquired an increasing time, reminding pre-war times. Mitigating party policies during the leadership of N.S. Khrushchev, from 1955 to 1964, received the name "thaw". Millions of political prisoners returned from the Gulag camps; Most of them were rehabilitated. Much more attention in the five-year plans began to be paid to the production of consumer goods and housing construction. Increased agricultural production; salaries grew, reduced mandatory deliveries and taxes. In order to increase the profitability of the collective farm and the state farms, enlarged and disassembled, sometimes without much success. Large major state farms were created by mastering the virgin and landlord lands in Altai and in Kazakhstan. These land gave yield only during years with a sufficient amount of precipitation, approximately three out of every five years, but they have significantly increased by an average of the amount of collected grain. The MTS system was eliminated, and the collective farms received their own agricultural equipment. Hydroelectric, oil and gas resources of Siberia were mastered; There were large scientific and industrial centers. Many young people went to virgin lands and construction sites of Siberia, where bureaucratic orders were relatively less rigid than in the European part of the country. Khrushchev's attempts to accelerate economic development soon came across the resistance of the management apparatus. Khrushchev tried to implement the decentralization of ministries, having transferred many of their functions to new regional economic advice (sovnarchis). Among the economists there was a discussion on the development of a more realistic price system and the provision of real independence directors of industrial enterprises. Khrushchev intended to carry out a significant reduction in military costs, which followed the doctrine of "peaceful coexistence" with the capitalist world. In October 1964, Khrushchev was shifted from his post a coalition of conservative party bureaucrats, representatives of the central planning office and the Soviet military-industrial complex.
Period of stagnation. The new Soviet leader L.I.Bezhnev quickly reduced No Khrushchev reforms. The occupation of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 he destroyed any hope for Eastern European countries with centralized economy to develop their own models of society. The only sphere of rapid technological progress was the industries related to the military industry - the production of submarines, rockets, airplanes, military electronics, space program. The production of consumer goods, as before, did not pay much attention. Large-scale amelioration led to disastrous consequences for the environment and public health. So, for example, the price of the introduction of cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan was the strong crush the Aral Sea, which up to 1973 was the fourth largest inland reservoir.
Slowdown economic growth. During the leadership of Brezhnev and his immediate successors, the development of the Soviet economy was extremely slowed down. And yet the bulk of the population could firmly count on small, but guaranteed salaries, pensions and benefits, control over prices for major consumer goods, free education and health care and almost free, although always deficient, housing. To maintain minimum livelihood standards from the West, large amounts of grain and various consumer goods imported. Since the main articles of Soviet exports are mainly oil, gas, forest, gold, diamonds and weapons - have given an insufficient number of solid currency, Soviet foreign debt by 1976 reached $ 6 billion and continued to increase rapidly.
A period of collapse. In 1985, the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU became M. S. Gorbachev. He took this post, quite aware that the radical economic reforms were needed, which he began under the slogan "Perestroika and Acceleration". To increase productivity - i.e. To use the fastest way to ensure economic growth - he authorized the increase in wages and limited the sale of vodka in the hope of stopping the patient of the population. However, revenue from the sale of vodka was the main source of state revenues. The loss of this income and the increase in wages increased the budget deficit and strengthened inflation. In addition, the prohibition of the sale of vodka revived underground trade in the moonshine; Drug use sharply. In 1986, the economy experienced a terrible shock after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which led to the radioactive infection of large territories of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Until 1989-1990, the economy of the Soviet Union was closely related through the Council of Economic Mutual Assistance (SEA) with the economies of Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Hungary, Romania, Mongolia, Cuba and Vietnam. For all these countries, the USSR was the main source of oil, gas and industrial raw materials, and in return he received from them the products of mechanical engineering, consumer goods and agricultural products. The reunification of Germany in the mid-1990 led to the destruction of the CEV. By August 1990, everyone had already understood that radical reforms aimed at encouraging private initiatives are inevitable. Gorbachev and his main political opponent, President of the RSFSR B.N. Heltsin, jointly nominated by Economists S.S.Shatalyn and G.A. Kiev, the program of structural reform "500 days", which assumed the release from under state control and privatization of most national economy in an organized manner, without reducing the standard of living of the population. However, in order to avoid confrontation with the central planning system, Gorbachev refused to discuss the program and its implementation in practice. In early 1991, the government tried to restrain inflation by limiting the money supply, but a huge budget deficit continued to increase, as the Union republics refused to transfer taxes to the center. At the end of June 1991, Gorbachev and the presidents of most republics agreed to the conclusion of the Union Treaty, to preserve the USSR, putting the republic with new rights and powers. But the economy was already in hopeless state. The size of external debt was approaching $ 70 billion, the volume of production was reduced by almost 20% per year, and inflation rates exceeded 100% per year. Emigration of qualified specialists exceeded 100 thousand people a year. In order to save the economy, the Soviet leadership, in addition to reforms, needed serious financial assistance to the Western powers. At the July meeting of the heads of seven leading industrialized countries, Gorbachev addressed them with a request for help, but did not find a response.
Culture
The USSR leadership attached great importance to the formation of a new, Soviet culture - "national in the form of socialist content." It was assumed that the Ministry of Culture at the Union and Republican levels should subordinate the development of national culture to the same ideological and political settings that dominated all sectors of economic and public life. This task was not easy to cope in a multinational state with more than 100 languages. Having created national-state entities for most nations of the country, the party leadership stimulated the development in the right direction of national cultures; In 1977, for example, 2,500 books in Georgian language circulation of 17.7 million copies were published. and 2200 books in Uzbek language circulation of 35.7 million copies. This state of affairs was both in other allied and autonomous republics. Due to the lack of cultural tradition, most books were translated from other languages, mainly from Russian. The task of the Soviet regime in the field of culture after October was understood in different ways by two competing groups of ideologues. The first, considered herself with the adhesions of universal and complete renewal of life, demanded a decisive break with the culture of the "Old World" and creating a new, proletarian culture. The most prominent herald of ideological-artistic innovation was a poet Futurist Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930), one of the leaders of the avant-garde literary group "Left Front" (LEF). Their opponents who called "fellow travelers" were believed that the ideological update does not contradict the continuation of the advanced traditions of Russian and world culture. The inspirationer of supporters of the proletarian culture and at the same time mentor "fellow travelers" was a writer Maxim Gorky (A.M. Peshkov, 1868-1936), who became known in pre-revolutionary Russia. In the 1930s, the party and the state strengthened their control over literature and art by creating uniform all-Union creative organizations. After the death of Stalin in 1953, a cautious and an increasingly in-depth analysis of what was done under the Soviet authorities to strengthen and the development of Bolshevik cultural ideas began, and the subsequent decade was witnessing fermentation in all spheres of Soviet life. The names and works of victims of ideological and political repression came out of total oblivion, the influence of foreign literature increased. Soviet culture began to come to life in the period, generalizedly called "thaw" (1954-1956). There were two groups of culture figures - "liberals" and "conservatives" - which were presented in various official publications.
Education. The Soviet leadership paid a lot of attention and means of education. In a country where more than two thirds of the population did not know how to read, illiteracy was practically liquidated by the 1930s during several mass campaigns. In 1966 80.3 million people, or 34% of the population, had a secondary special, unfinished or completed higher education; If 10.5 million people were studied in Russia in Russia, then in 1967, when a universal mandatory secondary education was introduced, - 73.6 million in 1989 in the USSR was 17.2 million. Pupils of children's nursery and kindergartens, 39, 7 million students of primary and 9.8 million students of secondary schools. Depending on the decisions of the country's leadership, boys and girls studied in secondary schools together, then separately, then 10 years, then 11. The team of schoolchildren, almost entirely covered by the Pioneer and Komsomol organizations, was to fully control the performance and behavior of each. In 1989, 5.2 million full-time students were numbered in Soviet universities and several million students on correspondence or evening branches. The first degree after graduation was the degree of candidate of science. To get it it was necessary to have a higher education, to acquire some experience or finish graduate school and protect the dissertation in its specialty. The highest degree, doctor of science, was usually achieved only after 15-20 years of professional work and with a large number of published scientific papers.
Science and academic institutions. In the Soviet Union, significant successes were achieved in some natural sciences and military equipment. This happened despite the ideological pressure of the party bureaucracy, which prohibited and abolished whole branches of sciences, such as cybernetics and genetics. After World War II, the state sent the best minds to the development of nuclear physics and applied mathematics and their practical applications. Physics and specialists in rocket and space technology could rely on the generous financial support of their work. Russia traditionally prepared magnificent theoretical scientists, and this tradition continued in the Soviet Union. Intensive and multilateral research activities provided a network of research institutes, which were part of the USSR Academy of Sciences and Academies of the Union republics, which covered all the areas of knowledge - both natural science and humanitarian.
Traditions and holidays. One of the first tasks of the Soviet leadership was the elimination of old holidays, mainly church, and the introduction of revolutionary holidays. At first, even Sundays and New Year were canceled. The main Soviet revolutionary holidays were November 7 - the feast of the October Revolution 1917 and May 1 - the Day of the International Solidarity of Workers. Both of them were celebrated for two days. In all cities of the country, mass demonstrations were arranged, and in large administrative centers - military parades; The biggest and impressive was the parade in Moscow on Red Square. See further

In 1913, the future chapter of the First Socialist State V.I. Lenin, being a unitarist, like Marx and Engels, wrote that a centralized major state "there is a huge historical step forward from medieval fragmentation to the future socialist unity of all countries." In the period from February to October 1917, the centuries-old state unity of Russia collapsed - on its territory there were a number of bourgeois-nationalist governments (Central Rada in Ukraine, Cossack circles on Don, Terek and in Orenburg, Kurultay in Crimea, National Tips in the Transcaucasia and Baltic States and others .), striving to add from the traditional center. The threat of a sharp reduction in the territory of the socialist proletarian state, the loss of hope for the ambulance world revolution was forced by the leader of the party who came to power in Russia, to reconsider their point of view on its state structure - he became a fierce supporter of federalism, however, at the stage of transition "to complete unity". The slogan "Unified and indivisible Russia", confessed by the leaders of the White Movement, was opposed to the principle of the right of all nations on self-determination, which attracted leaders of national movements ...

However, the Constitution of the RSFSR 1918 was a step back from the Genuine Federation, since the form of a state-owned device of Russia was only declared (even the representative office of future members of the Federation in the authorities of the Center was provided, the unitary state was actually proclaimed from above on the initiative of the ruling party by joining the declared course of civil war territories. The delimitation of powers between federal authorities and local in the Russian Federation was based on the principles of exceptional competence of the first and residual - second ...

The first domestic national borders appeared in the late 1918 - early 1919 with the formation of the Labor Commune of the Germans of the Volga region and the Bashkir ASSR, by the end of 1922 in the RSFSR there were already 19 autonomous republics and regions, as well as 2 labor commits created on the national principle. National and public entities were adjacent to the administrative-territorial units, and those and others possessed very poorly pronounced independence.

The Russian Federation was supposed to, according to its founders, to become a model of a larger socialist state, allowing to restore the Russian Empire, the decay of which during the revolution and the "triumphal procession" of the Soviet power could not be avoided. Until the mid-1918, only two republics - RSFSR and Ukraine existed as independent states, then the Belarusian Republic arose, three republics in the Baltic States, three - in the Transcaucasia ...

From the first days of their existence of the RSFSR, who heard the need for the very necessary, provided them with assistance in various fields of state life. The army of independent republics was supplied with the People's Commissariat (People's Commissar) on Military Affairs of the RSFSR. Decree of the Central Executive Committee of June 1, 1919 "On the unification of the Socialist Republics of Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus to combat world imperialism" was issued by a military union. The army of all republics were merged into the Unified Army of the RSFSR, the military command, the management of railways, communications, finance, was united. The monetary system of all republics was based on the Russian ruble, the RSFSR assumed their expenditures on the maintenance of the state apparatus, armies, to establish the economy. The republics received industrial and agricultural products from it, food and other assistance. Union, along with other factors, helped all republics to get out of the war ...

Over time, the state apparatus of all republics began to build on the similarity of the RSFSR, their authorized representative offices appeared in Moscow, who had the right to enter the name of their governments with ideas and petitions to the Central Bank of the People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), the RSFSR addicts, to inform the authorities of his republic The most important events of the RSFSR, and the authorities of the last on the state of the economy and the needs of their republic. On the territory of the republics there was a device of authorized by some drug addicts of the RSFSR, the customs barriers were gradually overcome, border posts were removed.

After removal of the blockade of the Antena, the RSFSR concluded trade agreements with England, Italy, Norway, and Ukraine with Austria, Czechoslovakia and other states. In March 1921, the joint delegation of the RSFSR and Ukraine concluded an agreement with Poland. In January 1922, the Italian government on behalf of the organizers of the Genoese Conference from all republics invited only RSFSR to participate in it. In February 1922, on the initiative of the Russian Federation, the Nine republics signed the Protocol, authorized it to submit and protect their joint interests, to conclude and sign contracts from their behalf with foreign states. Thus, military, bilateral military-economic treaties were complemented by a diplomatic agreement. The next step was the design of the political union.

Four republics instead of one empire

By 1922, 6 republics were developed on the territory of the former Russian Empire: RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belarusian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Armenian SSR and Georgian SSR. From the very beginning there were close cooperation, which explained by the generality of historical destinies. During the civil war, a military and economic union was formed, and at the time of the Genoese Conference in 1922 - and diplomatic. The union was also facilitated by the common goal of the Governments of the republics, to build socialism in the territory in the capitalist environment.

In March 1922, Azerbaijani, Armenian and Georgian SSRs united in the Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic. In December 1922, the Transcaucasian Congress of the Soviets appealed to the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee with a proposal to convene a joint congress of the Council and discuss the creation of the Union of Soviet republics. The same decisions were adopted by the All-Ukrainian and all-storey congresses of the Soviets.

Not in Stalinist

There was no uniform opinion on the principles of the development of the Union State. On a number of proposals, two were allocated: the inclusion of other Soviet republics into the RSFSR for the rights of autonomy (proposal) and the creation of the Federation of equal republics. Project I.V. Stalin "On the relationship between the RSFSR with independent republics" was approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia recognized him prematurely, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus spoke in favor of maintaining existing contractual relations between the BSSR and the RSFSR. Ukrainian Bolsheviks abstained from the discussion of the Stalinist project. Nevertheless, the autonomization plan was approved at a meeting of the Commission of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on September 23-24, 1922

IN AND. Lenin, who did not participate in the project discussion, after familiarizing with the materials presented to him, the idea of \u200b\u200bautonomization was rejected and spoke in favor of the formation of the Union of the republics. He considered the Soviet Socialist Federation to the most acceptable form of the state-owned device of a multinational country.

National Liberalism Ilyich

October 5 - 6, 1922, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) adopted as the starting version the plan of V.I. Lenin, however, this did not lead to the termination of the struggle in the National Policy Party. Although the project of "autonomization" was rejected, he still enjoyed a certain support of a number of leadership workers both in the center and in the field. I.V. Stalin and L.B. Kamenev urged to show resistance to the "National Liberalism of Ilyich" and actually leave the previous option.

At the same time, separatist trends in the republics are intensified, which manifested in the so-called "Georgian incident" when Georgian's party leaders demanded it to the future state as an independent republic, and not as part of the Transcaucasian Federation. In response to this, the head of the Transcaucasian Territory G.K. Ordzhonikidze came into rage and called them "chauvinistic rot", and when one of the members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia called him "Stalinsky Ishak", and firmly fucked the latter. In protest against the press of Moscow, the entire Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia was resigned.

Commission chaired by F.E. Dzerzhinsky, created in Moscow for the proceedings of this "incident", justified the actions of the city of Kiev Ordzhonikidze and condemned the Georgian CC. This decision was caused by the indignation of V.I. Lenin. Here it should be recalled that in October 1922, after illness, he, although he began to work, but still, as a state of health, could not fully control the situation. On the Day of Education of the USSR, being chained to bed, he dictates his letter "On the issue of nationalities or on autonomization", which begins with the words: "I seem to be very guilty to the workers of Russia for not intervened quite vigorously and sufficiently sharply The notorious question about autonomization, officially called, seems to be a question about the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. "

Union contract (one union instead of four republics)

Agreement on the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (RSFSR), Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR), Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic (BSSR) and Transcaucasian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (ZSR - Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia) enter into a real Union Association Association in one Union State - "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" ...

1. Maintaining the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in the person of its supreme bodies, are subject to:

a) the representative office of the Union in international relations;

b) change in the external borders of the Union;

c) concluding contracts for admission to the Union of New Republics;

d) the declaration of war and the conclusion of the world;

e) conclusion of external state loans;

e) ratification of international treaties;

g) the establishment of external and domestic trade systems;

h) establishment of the foundations and common plans of the entire national economy of the Union, as well as the conclusion of concession contracts;

and) regulation of transport and post-telegraph business;

k) establishing the foundations of the organization of the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics;

l) approval of the Unified State Budget of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the establishment of a monetary, monetary and credit system, as well as a system of public-union, republican and local taxes;

m) the establishment of general launches of land management and land use, as well as the use of subsoil, forests and waters throughout the Union;

h) General Union Legislation on Resettlement;

o) the establishment of the foundations of the judicial and proceedings as well as civil and criminal fivy legislation;

n) establishing basic labor laws;

p) the establishment of the general began public education;

(c) Establishment of general measures in the field of people's health;

t) establishing a system of measures and scales;

y) organization of public-union statistics;

f) the main legislation in the field of union citizenship regarding the rights of foreigners;

x) the right of general amnesty;

c) Canceling violating the Union Agreement of Councils of Councils, Central Executive Committees and Councils of People's Commissars of the Allied Republics.

2. The Supreme Authority of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is the Congress of the Councils of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and during periods between the congresses - the Central Executive Committee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

3. Congress of the Soviets The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is compiled from representatives of urban councils on the settlement of 1 deputy for 25,000 voters and representatives of the provincial congresses of councils on the settlement of 1 deputy of 125,000 inhabitants.

4. Delegates to the congress of the Councils of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are elected at the provincial congresses of the Soviets.

…eleven. The Executive Body of the Central Executive Committee of the Union is the Council of People's Commissars of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union), elected by the Central Executive Committee of the Union for the term of the authority of the latter, as part of:

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissar Union,

Vice-Chair

Folk Commissioner for Foreign Affairs,

People's Commissar for Military and Maritime Affairs,

People's Commissar of Foreign Trade,

People's Commissar Running Commiss

People's Commissar Post and Telegraphs,

People's Commissar Workers' and Peasant Inspection.

Chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Economy,

People's Commissar of Labor,

Folk Commissioner Food,

People's Commissar Finance.

…13. Decisions and decisions of the Soviet Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are obligatory for all allied republics and are carried out on the entire Union directly.

... 22. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has its own flag, coat of arms and state seal.

23. The capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is the city of Moscow.

... 26. Each of the Union republics remains the right to free exit from the Union.

Congresses of tips in the documents. 1917-1936. t. III. M., 1960.

1917, night from October 26 to October 27. He is elected by the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets by the Head of the Soviet Government - Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars.

1918, beginning of July. The V All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopts the Constitution of the RSFSR, in which the status of the post of Chairman of the Sovnarkom is clarified, which is occupied by V.I. Lenin. November 30th. At the plenary meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Workers, Soldiers and Peasant Deputies, the Council of Working and Peasant Defense is approved, the Council is provided with all the fullness of rights in the mobilization of the country's forces and means of its defense. The Chairman of the Council is approved by V.I. Lenin.

1920, April. The Council of Work and Peasant Defense is transformed into the Council of Labor and Defense (ST) of the RSFSR chaired by V.I. Lenin.

1923, July 6th. The session of the CEC elects V.I. Lenina Chairman of the Sovnarkom of the USSR. July 7th. The session of the RSFSR WFCI elects V.I. Lenina Chairman of the Sovnarkom of the RSFSR. July 17th. The Council of Labor and Defense is created in the USSR Council chaired by V.I. Lenin.