Soviet state in the postwar years. The Soviet Union is a great socialist power

The end of the Great Patriotic War was a huge relief for the inhabitants of the USSR, but at the same time it set a number of urgent tasks for the government of the country. Issues that had been delayed for the duration of the war now needed to be resolved urgently. In addition, the authorities needed to equip the demobilized Red Army soldiers, provide social protection for war victims and restore destroyed economic facilities in the west of the USSR.

In the first post-war five-year plan (1946-1950), the goal was to restore the pre-war level of agricultural and industrial production. A distinctive feature of the restoration of industry was that not all evacuated enterprises returned to the west of the USSR, a significant part of them were rebuilt from scratch. This made it possible to strengthen industry in those regions that did not have a powerful industrial base before the war. At the same time, measures were taken to return industrial enterprises to civilian life schedules: the length of the working day was reduced, and the number of days off increased. By the end of the Fourth Five-Year Plan, the pre-war level of production had been reached in all the most important branches of industry.

Demobilization

Although a small part of the Red Army soldiers returned to their homeland in the summer of 1945, the main wave of demobilization began in February 1946, and the final completion of demobilization took place in March 1948. It was envisaged that the demobilized soldiers would be provided with work within a month. The families of the dead and disabled of the war received special support from the state: their homes were primarily supplied with fuel. However, in general, the demobilized fighters did not have any benefits in comparison with citizens who were in the rear during the war years.

Strengthening the repressive apparatus

The apparatus of repression, which flourished in the pre-war years, changed during the war. Intelligence and SMERSH (counterintelligence) played a key role in it. After the war, these structures filtered prisoners of war, Ostarbeiters and collaborators returning to the Soviet Union. The NKVD bodies on the territory of the USSR fought organized crime, the level of which immediately after the war increased sharply. However, already in 1947, the power structures of the USSR returned to the repression of the civilian population, and in the late 50s the country was shocked by loud trials(the case of doctors, the Leningrad case, the Mingrelian case). In the late 1940s and early 1950s, “anti-Soviet elements” were deported from the newly annexed territories of Western Ukraine, Western Belarus, Moldova and the Baltic states: intelligentsia, large property owners, supporters of the UPA and “forest brothers”, representatives of religious minorities.

Foreign policy guidelines

Even during the war years, the future victorious powers laid the foundations of an international structure that would regulate the post-war world order. In 1946, the United Nations began its work, in which the five most influential states in the world had a blocking vote. The entry of the Soviet Union into the UN Security Council strengthened its geopolitical position.

Late 40s foreign policy The USSR was aimed at creating, strengthening and expanding the bloc of socialist states, which later became known as the socialist camp. The coalition governments of Poland and Czechoslovakia that appeared immediately after the war were replaced by one-party ones, monarchical institutions were liquidated in Bulgaria and Romania, and pro-Soviet governments proclaimed their republics in East Germany and North Korea. Shortly before this, the Communists had taken control of most of China. Attempts by the USSR to create Soviet republics in Greece and Iran were unsuccessful.

Intra-party struggle

It is believed that in the early 50s, Stalin planned another purge of the top party apparatus. Shortly before his death, he also carried out a reorganization of the party's management system. In 1952, the VKP(b) became known as the CPSU, and the Politburo was replaced by the Presidium of the Central Committee, which did not have the post of General Secretary. Even during Stalin's lifetime, there was a confrontation between Beria and Malenkov on the one hand and Voroshilov, Khrushchev and Molotov on the other. Among historians, the following opinion is widespread: members of both groups realized that the new series of trials was directed primarily against them, and therefore, having learned about Stalin's illness, they made sure that he was not provided with the necessary medical care.

The results of the post-war years

In the post-war years, which coincided with the last seven years of Stalin's life, the Soviet Union turned from a victorious power into a world power. The government of the USSR managed to relatively quickly rebuild the national economy, restore state institutions and create a bloc of allied states around itself. At the same time, the repressive apparatus was strengthened, aimed at eradicating dissent and at "cleansing" party structures. With the death of Stalin, the process of development of the state has undergone drastic changes. The USSR entered a new era.

The Soviet Union acquired the status of a leading world power.

The world was divided into two blocs, one of which was headed by the USSR. AT public life there was an emotional upsurge associated with the victory in the war. At the same time, the totalitarian system continued to strengthen.

The main task of the post-war period was the restoration of the destroyed economy. In March 1946, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a plan for the reconstruction and restoration National economy.

The demilitarization of the economy and the modernization of the military-industrial complex began. Heavy industry was declared a priority area, mainly engineering, metallurgy, and the fuel and energy complex.

By 1948, production had reached pre-war levels thanks to the heroic labor of the Soviet people, free labor prisoners of the Gulag, the redistribution of funds in favor of heavy industry, the transfer of funds from the agricultural sector and light industry, the attraction of funds from the reparations of Germany, the hard planning of the economy.

In 1945, the gross agricultural output of the USSR was 60% of the pre-war level. The government tried to bring the industry out of the crisis by punitive measures.

In 1947, a mandatory minimum of workdays was established, the law “For encroachment on collective farm and state property” was tightened, the tax on livestock maintenance was increased, which led to its mass slaughter.

The areas of individual allotments of collective farmers were reduced. Reduced wages in kind. Collective farmers were denied passports, which limited their freedom. At the same time, farms were enlarged and control over them was tightened.

These reforms were not successful, and only by the 50s. managed to reach the pre-war level of agricultural production.

The post-war situation required the government to put into practice the democratic principles of the state structure.

In 1945 the State Defense Committee was abolished. Re-elections of Soviets at all levels were held, their convocations and sessions became more frequent. The number of permanent commissions was increased, and the work of public and political organizations was resumed.

In 1946, the Council of People's Commissars was transformed into the Council of Ministers, and the people's commissariats into ministries. In accordance with the Constitution, direct and secret elections of people's judges were held. The 19th Party Congress took place. Since 1946, the drafting of a new Constitution of the USSR began. In 1947, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks submitted the question of a draft new program of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks for consideration.

Historical science was based solely on the "Course of the History of the CPSU (b)". Research and scientific directors of such fields of science as cybernetics, genetics, psychoanalysis, and wave mechanics were subjected to cruel defeat and repression.

Composers Prokofiev, Khachaturian, Muradeli and others became objects of persecution and criticism from the party. In 1948, they were expelled from the Union of Composers for creating "odious" works.

In 1948, the persecution of "cosmopolitans" began. Bans were imposed on contacts and marriages with foreigners. A wave of anti-Semitism swept across the country.

There have been changes in science and culture. Since 1952, a compulsory seven-year education was introduced, and evening schools. The Academy of Arts and the Academy of Sciences with its branches in the republics were formed. Postgraduate studies have appeared in many universities. Television began to broadcast regularly.

Against the backdrop of positive developments in the field of science and culture, the active intervention of politics in their development began. The government and the party took control Scientific research historians, philosophers, philologists.

Exactly 100 years ago, on November 7, 1917, the Great October Socialist Revolution took place.

For the first time in world history, a working man threw off the shackles of oppression and exploitation that had weighed on him for millennia, his interests and needs were placed at the center of state policy. The Soviet Union has achieved truly world-historic successes. Under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party, the Soviet people built socialism, defeated fascism in the Great Patriotic war turned our Motherland into a powerful state.

Pre-revolutionary Russia was economically backward and dependent on advanced capitalist states. The national wealth of the country (per inhabitant) was 6.2 times less than the USA, 4.5 times less than England, 4.3 times less than France, and 3.5 times less than Germany. The gap in the economic development of Russia and the advanced states increased. Its industrial production in relation to the USA in 1870 was approximately 1/6, and in 1913 - only 1/8.

Being the greatest power in terms of territory and natural resources, the country ranked only fifth in the world and fourth in Europe in terms of industrial production.

In the agrarian sector, Russia was an ocean of small peasant farms (20 million) with primitive technology and manual labor.

“Russia was ruled after the revolution of 1905 by 130,000 landowners, they ruled through endless violence against 150 million people, through boundless mockery of them, forcing the vast majority to hard labor and a half-starved existence” (V.I. Lenin).

In pre-revolutionary Russia there were higher educational institutions in total - 91, theaters - 177, museums - 213, and churches - 77,767.

“Such a wild country in which the masses of the people would be so robbed in terms of education, light and knowledge - there is not one such country in Europe, except for Russia” (V.I. Lenin).

First World War put the country on the brink of disaster. Industry fell by 1/3, the grain harvest was reduced by 2 times. Only the overthrow of the power of the bourgeoisie and landlords and its transfer into the hands of the working people could save the country from destruction.

The victory of October opened up grandiose creative prospects for the young Soviet state. The people took over the main means of production. The land was nationalized (peasants received more than 150 million hectares of land free of charge), plants, factories, all the bowels of the country, banks, sea and river transport, and foreign trade.

The Russian economy, undermined by the imperialist war, was severely ruined by the civil war and foreign intervention unleashed by the overthrown classes of landlords and capitalists.

By the end of the civil war, large-scale industry produced almost 7 times less products than in 1913. In terms of coal, oil and iron production, the country was thrown back by the end of the 19th century. Compared with 1917, the size of the working class has more than halved.

The Soviet country, which fought for 7 years, suffered enormous destruction, in a short time by 1926 managed to restore the pre-war level of the national economy.

Entering a period of peaceful development, the Land of Soviets began to implement the tasks of building socialism.

IN AND. Lenin said on the eve of October:

"Either death, or catch up and overtake the advanced capitalist countries."

I.V. Stalin said that Russia was constantly beaten for its backwardness - industrial, agricultural, cultural, military and state. Such is the wolfish law of the exploiters - to beat the backward and weak, to rob and enslave them.

The construction of socialism began at an extremely difficult time for the young Soviet Republic conditions.

“We are 50-100 years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we will do it, or they will crush us ”(I.V. Stalin).

It was necessary to overcome this backlog in the shortest possible time, relying only on our own strengths and resources.

Industrialization became a vital task of the country. A course was set for the accelerated pace of development of heavy industry.

During the years of the Stalin five-year plans, the following number of large industrial enterprises were built and reconstructed on a new technical basis: in the first five-year plan (1929 - 1932) - 1,500, in the second five-year plan (1933 - 1937) - 4,500, in three and a half years of the third five-year plans (1938 - the first half of 1941) - 3,000.

These were five-year plans for the construction of factories, representing a new technical basis for the reconstruction of the entire national economy. These were the five-year plans for the creation of new enterprises in agriculture - collective farms and state farms, which became the lever for the organization of all agriculture.

In the period after the victory of October and before the start of the Great Patriotic War, 11,200 large industrial enterprises were built and restored. Mechanical engineering and metalworking, the chemical and petrochemical industry, and the electric power industry, which play a key role in the industrialization of the country and strengthening its defense potential, developed especially rapidly.

History has never seen such a pace of development. Socialism has liberated dormant productive forces and given them a powerful forward vector of development.

The development of the national economy of the USSR in 1940 compared with 1913 is characterized by the following data: the national income increased by 5.3 times, the volume of industrial output - by 7.7 times, including in machine building - 30 times, in the electric power industry - 24 times, in the chemical industry - 169 times, in agricultural production - 14 times.

The growth rates of the industry of the USSR significantly outstripped those of the leading capitalist states. If industrial production in the USSR for the period from 1921 to 1939. increased by 24.6 times, then in the USA - 1.9 times, Great Britain - 1.7 times, France - 2.0 times, Germany - 2.2 times.

The growth rate of heavy industry during the years of Stalin's five-year plans ranged from 20 to 30 percent per year. In the 12 years from 1929 to 1940, the output of heavy industry increased 10 times. No country in the world has known such a breakthrough in its development.

Domestic industry was the basis for the transfer of small-scale peasant farming to the path of large-scale collective production. In a short time, more than 210 thousand collective farms and 43 thousand state farms were organized, about 25 thousand state machine and tractor stations were created. By the end of 1932, state farms and collective farms owned 78 percent of the country's sown area. They gave 84 percent of marketable grain. In the years of the first five-year plan alone, sown areas were increased by 21 million hectares.

Technical equipment of agriculture in 1928 - 1940 characterized by the following data: the fleet of tractors increased 20 times (from 27 to 531 thousand), the fleet of grain harvesters - up to 182 thousand, the fleet of trucks - up to 228 thousand units. During the Great Patriotic War, collective farms and state farms uninterruptedly supplied the army and cities with food, and industry with raw materials.

The Soviet Union has become an industrial power and a country of large-scale advanced agriculture.

As a result of the reforms, unemployment, which is the scourge of the working people in the capitalist countries, was forever eliminated.

cultural revolution put an end to the almost universal illiteracy of the working people of Russia and created the starting conditions for the transformation of the USSR into the most cultured, educated and reading country in the world.

In 1897, the proportion of illiterates among the adult population was 71.6%, in 1926 - 43.4%, in 1939 - 12.6%. Illiteracy in the USSR was completely eliminated in the first years after the Great Patriotic War.

In 1913, only about 290 thousand people had higher and secondary specialized education. These were representatives of the privileged elite. Among the workers and peasants, there were practically no persons with a secondary education, and even more so with a higher education. And by 1987, out of 1,000 workers, 861 people had higher and secondary education, out of 1,000 collective farmers - 763. If in 1926 2.7 million people were employed in mental labor, then in 1987 - more than million

During the period of Soviet society, including from 1937 to 1939, there was a steady increase in the population in all regions of the USSR. Thus, from 1926 to 1937 the country's population increased by 11.2 million people, i.e. increased by more than 1.1 million per year. It grew at a faster rate from 1937 to 1939 - an average annual increase of 1.5 million people.

Such a rapid growth of the population of the USSR more convincingly than any other statistics refutes the speculation about the millions of people repressed in the so-called years of repression.

Clouds of imminent war began to thicken over the country. Thanks to the conclusion of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact, the Soviet Union received time, redirected resources to military needs, created and put into production the latest weapons.

The peaceful creative development of the USSR was interrupted by the perfidious attack of fascist Germany.

Poland was defeated in 35 days, France - in 44 days, Denmark - in a day. The Soviet Union staunchly defended and advanced for 1,418 days and broke the back of fascism.

The German economy was boosted by US and British investment. The economic potential of all Western Europe worked for Germany. And the Soviet Union fought with its own forces and resources. During the war years, all external deliveries to the USSR amounted to only 4% of domestic production, for artillery - 1.5%, for tanks and self-propelled guns - 6.3%, for aviation - about 10% and for grain - 1.6%.

The Soviet Union suffered the greatest losses - about 25 million people, primarily because 18 million people ended up in the death camps, of which 11 million people were killed by the Nazi executioners. More than one million Soviet soldiers gave their lives in the liberation of the peoples of Europe and Asia. Losses of the USA - about 300 thousand people, Great Britain - 370 thousand, France - 600 thousand.

The advantages of the socialist economic system were most clearly manifested during the war years. Suffice it to cite the fact that in the shortest possible time at the beginning of the war, more than 1.5 thousand enterprises, 145 universities, dozens of research institutes were evacuated from the occupied regions to the East and put into operation.

After the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union quickly heals the wounds inflicted by the war and occupies one of the leading places in the world economy.

In the post-war period, the Soviet state carried out a number of unprecedented reforms. The ruble is untied from the dollar and transferred to a gold basis, there is a seven-fold decrease in retail prices for consumer products, while at the same time increasing wages which leads to a significant real increase in the well-being of the people.

In 1954, state retail prices for foodstuffs were 2.6 times lower than the prices of 1947, and for non-food products - 1.9 times.

The powerful economic potential created during the Stalin period charged the Soviet Union with sustainable development for the next decades.

The rates of development of the USSR economy for 1966-1985 were as follows: the growth of national income - 3.8 times, the volume of industrial production - 4.3 times, agricultural - 1.8 times, investment - 4.1 times, real incomes - 2.6 times, foreign trade - 4.7 times, the production of consumer goods increased almost 3 times.

As a result of Kosygin's market reforms, the growth rates of the USSR economy are significantly reduced compared to the growth rates of the Stalinist model of the economy and are approaching the level of capitalist countries. Thus, the average annual growth rate of industrial output in the USSR in the prewar years (1928 - 1940) was 16.8%, in the years of the postwar fifth five-year plan (1951 - 1955) - 13.1%, and in the years of Kosygin's reforms they sharply decrease by 2 - 4%. times, in the period 1971 - 1975. - up to 7.4%, in the period 1976 - 1980. - up to 4.4% (for comparison: in the USA - 5.1%), in 1981 - 1985. - up to 3.7% (in the USA - 2.7%).

Kosygin's reforms led to a significant slowdown in scientific technical progress and a slowdown in labor productivity growth. During the years of the Stalinist five-year plans, labor productivity in industry grew by an average of 10.8% per year, and during the years of the Kosygin reforms, the rates fall to 5.8 - 6.0% (1966 - 1975) and 3.1 - 3.2 % (1976 - 1985).

Despite this, in the years called "stagnant" by liberals and foreign Sovietologists, the growth rates of the USSR economy outstripped or were at the level of the growth rates of the leading countries of the world. Average annual growth rates of national income for 1961 - 1986 in the USSR amounted to 5.5% and per capita - 4.9%, in the USA - 3.1 and 2.1%, in the UK - 2.3 and 2.7%, in Germany - 3.1 and 3, 4%, in Italy - 3.6 and 3.1%, in Japan - 6.6 and 5.5%, in China - 5.5 and 4.1%.

Thus, the Soviet Union had a powerful economy, provided with all kinds of resources sufficient to meet all the challenges of the time.

If the share of the USSR in world industrial production in 1913 was a little more than 4%, then in 1986 it was 20% (from the US level - more than 80%). In 1913, industrial production per capita in Russia was 2 times less than the world average, and in 1986 it was 3.5-4 times more.

By 1985, the USSR occupied all the first places in Europe in terms of the level of production of the main types of products of industry, agriculture, transport and communications. In many positions, the USSR occupies the first places in the world, yielding in some positions to the USA and a number of other countries.

In world culture, the USSR takes a leading position. In terms of the number of school and university students, including engineering specialties, the number of cinemas, and the circulation of newspapers and books, the USSR ranks first in the world.

As a result of the destruction of the bloc fascist states With the help of the Soviet Union, socialism is being transformed into a world system. The potential of the economy of the socialist countries by the beginning of the 80s. approaching the level of the potential of the capitalist countries. The socialist countries covered more than 40% of world industrial production. The output of the socialist countries was more than three-fourths of that of the developed capitalist countries.

The national wealth of the USSR during the years of Soviet power increased by more than 50 times in comparison with 1913. About 20% of all fuel and energy resources of the world were concentrated on the territory of the USSR. In the USSR, almost all the elements contained in the periodic system of Mendeleev were mined. The USSR occupied the first place in terms of forest areas and hydropower resources.

It is no coincidence that I.V. Stalin warned in 1937 that “Having these successes, we turned the USSR into richest country and at the same time, a tidbit for all predators who will not calm down until they try all measures to grab something from this piece.

In the USSR, the entire national income was used to improve the well-being of the working people and develop the national economy. Four-fifths of the national income was directed to the people's welfare, including housing and socio-cultural construction. The USSR provided: free education, free medical care, free housing, decent pensions, scholarships for students, payment for annual holidays, free and reduced-price vouchers to sanatoriums and rest homes, free maintenance of children in preschool institutions and others. The rent was only 3% of the population's budget. Retail prices remained at a stable level with wage growth. In the USSR, the right to work was really guaranteed, everyone had to work.

There is nothing like it in the capitalist countries.

In the United States, the wealthiest 1% of families own wealth that is almost one and a half times the combined income of the 80% of families at the bottom of the social pyramid. In the UK, 5% of the owners own 50% of the country's wealth. In "prosperous" Sweden, the income of 5% of families is equal to the income of 40% of families at the bottom of the social ladder.

After the collapse of the USSR, the country's economy faced a catastrophe. The country was plundered by the mafia bourgeoisie that came to power.

In modern Russia, 62% of its wealth falls on the share of dollar millionaires, 29% - on the share of billionaires.

Totally agree Last year the wealth of the 200 richest people in Russia grew by $100 billion. The top Russian billionaires own $460 billion, twice the annual budget of a country of 150 million people.

During the period of capitalist reforms, more than two-thirds of the country's enterprises and entire advanced science-intensive sectors of the national economy were destroyed.

The volume of industrial production in Russia decreased by 62%, in mechanical engineering - by 77.5%. In light industry in 1998, the output amounted to only 8.8% of the 1990 level. The decline in the fuel and energy complex - by 37%, oil production - by 47%, gas industry - by 9.1%. Ferrous metallurgy decreased by 55%, non-ferrous metallurgy - by 30%, chemistry and petrochemistry - by 62.2%, timber, woodworking and pulp and paper - by 69.1%, building materials - by 74.4%, food - by 64.1%.

The share of companies with foreign capital now stands at 56% in mining, 49% in manufacturing, and 75% in communications.

Russia is once again losing its economic independence and falling under the pressure of the leading imperialist states. Only the country's oil and gas resources, as well as the advanced military and nuclear technologies of the Soviet Union period, are pulling the country back from the brink.

The destruction of the country's economy took place in accordance with the law of the correspondence of productive forces and production relations. The forcibly introduced private capitalist ownership of tools and means of production destroyed the country's common national economic ties and led to the collapse of a great power unprecedented in history.

Just like 100 years ago, in order to save the country, our people are faced with the task of overthrowing the rule of the bourgeoisie and transferring power to the working class.

After the end of World War II, the course of the history of the Soviet state was influenced by rather complex processes of internal life, and especially by events related to international factors.

Therefore, for the purpose of a more objective analysis of this period, it is advisable to begin the presentation with a description of the country's international position in the postwar years.

After the Second World War, the USSR, which made the main contribution to the defeat of fascism, turned into one of the leading world powers, without which it became impossible to resolve any serious issue of international life. The USSR during these years had diplomatic relations with more than 50 countries of the world. His international prestige steadily grew. At the same time, the situation in the world was completely different from what the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition had planned at the end of the war: two different political lines, two opposite platforms. One of these platforms was defended by the Soviet Union and the countries formed at the end of the war, called the countries of people's democracy. The second was represented by the United States of America and their allies - England, France and others. In the postwar years, the Soviet Union, although it was in great need of much, provided great assistance in the economic development of its allies.

In the late 1950s, for example, under long-term agreements alone, our country provided assistance to the countries of the socialist community in the construction of more than 620 large industrial facilities and 190 individual workshops and installations. The largest deliveries of equipment were made to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania. In China, 291 enterprises were built with the participation of the USSR, in Poland - 68, in Romania - 60, in Bulgaria - 45, in North Korea - 30, etc. escalate relations between the two political blocs.

The development of contradictions between these blocs led to the fact that world history at the end of 1946 made another zigzag, returning to the track of military-political confrontation. Idea and practice world peace, not having time to establish themselves, began to be actively destroyed by opposing forces.

The United States, which took the lead as a result of the change in the "balance of power" in the capitalist world, assumed the role of the dominant power in the capitalist world after the war.

The increased economic and military capabilities of the United States as a result of the war instilled in the American ruling circles the confidence that both Western and Central and Southeastern Europe represented the “power vacuum” by filling which the United States would be able to secure a dominant position in the post-war system of international relations. and to carry out a policy of pressure against the USSR.

Since then, the so-called cold war between the USSR and the USA and their allies.

The question of the origin and beginning of the cold war between the former allies, and especially the question of who or which side is to blame for its unleashing, is an extremely important topic. To this day, there are no unambiguous answers to these questions. In the extensive literature published in the postwar years and in recent times, we see different interpretations and assessments of who first started the Cold War and what were its consequences. Some authors, among them domestic historians, believe that the roots of the Cold War must be sought in the pre-war policy of the former allies, as well as in the events at the end of World War II. Without going into the details of this process, we will try to briefly express our point of view, taking into account the aspect of presentation that we have identified in this chapter. To be extremely objective, it should be noted that the Cold War did not break out suddenly and not from scratch. She, apparently, was born in the crucible of the Second World War. The term "cold war" was put into circulation in 1947. The concept of the cold war included a state of political, economic, ideological and other aspects of a pronounced confrontation between states, between countries, between two systems. The Cold War gained wide scope after W. Churchill's speech on March 5, 1946, in Fulton, Missouri (USA), at Westminster College. It is necessary to take into account the importance of this speech for understanding the causes of the Cold War, as well as the answer to it by I. V. Stalin, published in the Pravda newspaper in mid-March 1946.

Churchill's Fulton speech is considered one of the key moments in the beginning of the Cold War. This speech was coordinated in detail with the White House, primarily with the US President of those years, H. Truman. Moreover, Truman, along with Churchill, arrived in Fulton on the presidential train. Truman's reaction to Churchill's speech was personally described by the latter in a message to British Prime Minister Attlee and Foreign Secretary Bevin. As Churchill reported, "he (i.e., Truman) told me that the speech, in his opinion, was delightful and would bring nothing but good, although it would make a noise." She really made a lot of noise on both sides of the Atlantic. At the same time, the reaction in the USA itself, in England and in other European countries turned out to be contradictory, revealed the unwillingness at that time to immediately go so far in the Anglo-American opposition to the USSR. At the same time, the Fulton speech was a serious alarm signal for Stalin, a challenge from the former allies, which could not be left unanswered. In his reply to Pravda on March 14, 1946, Stalin spoke rather sharply about Churchill's speech and its possible consequences.

Churchill's speech revived the image of the old enemy, forgotten during the war years, and the abstract threat new war took on a very real face, calling for vigilance and combat readiness. However, it was impossible to go too far. Therefore, in his answer, Stalin carefully doses the ratio of anxiety and confidence, speaks of vigilance and at the same time of restraint. Here is how he himself formulated the essence of his appeal to the country in a May (1946) conversation with the Polish leaders: “Churchill's speech is blackmail. Its purpose was to intimidate us. That is why we responded so rudely to Churchill's speech ... We should not have allowed Churchill to intimidate our people.

Speaking about the beginning of the Cold War and its consequences, I would like to cite quite interesting observations and generalizations by well-known domestic historians L. A. Bezymensky and V. M. Falin, who tried to give an objective assessment of these processes. Yeshe in the late 1980s. they wrote in the article “Who Started the Cold War”: “Today we have the opportunity to restore by the day and even by the hour the chronology of the selection by the Truman government of the seeds of the “cold war”, which gave a lot of poisonous shoots. Let us turn to authentic American documents - to the diaries of President G. Truman, J. Kennan's "long telegram" from Moscow to Washington, the developments of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and its subdivisions - the Joint Intelligence Committee (JRC), the Joint Military Planning Committee (OKVP ), as well as the National Security Council (NSC) established in 1947.

October 9, 1945 OKNSh (document 1545) sounds the alarm. The Soviet Union is credited with "the ability to capture the whole of Europe now or by January 1, 1948", throwing "40 divisions" at it. Together with Europe, it costs nothing for Moscow to include Turkey and Iran “in its sphere of influence”. Obedient performers endow the USSR with the potential to reach the Pyrenees with one throw and cross them, and in Asia to capture China.

At the same time, the compilers of the memorandum single out the "weaknesses" of the USSR, emphasizing the protracted time to overcome them:

“a) Military losses in manpower and industry, rollback from developed industry (15 years).

• b) Lack of technical forces (5-10 years).
• c) Lack of strategic air forces (5-10 years).
• d) Lack of a navy (15-20 years).
• e) Poor condition of railways, military transport - systems and equipment (10 years).
• f) Vulnerability of oil sources, vital industrial centers for long-range bombers.
• g) The absence of an atomic bomb (5-10 years, possibly earlier).
• h) Resistance in the occupied countries (within 5 years), etc.”

The first document in an extensive series of developments directly aimed at the USSR was a memorandum (of the United States Intelligence Agency) on September 3, 1945, i.e., from the day following the day of the official end of World War II.

Many other facts of a similar content could be cited, however, the cited ones are enough to make sure who is the main culprit in the beginning of the unleashing of the Cold War. It marked the beginning of an arms race unprecedented in world history in terms of scale and the creation of two military-political blocs. One more important circumstance of that period should be borne in mind. The American nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 meant the emergence of a superpower in the world that had a monopoly on nuclear weapons. This monopoly was liquidated in 1949 by the Soviet Union, which by that time had managed to create its own atomic bomb, and in 1954 - a hydrogen bomb. However, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, The United States possessed an arsenal of nuclear weapons that for a long time surpassed that of the USSR.

The "doctrine of massive retaliation" developed by the United States in 1954 was supposed to provide not only "containment", but also "rejection of communism." The possibility of using nuclear weapons against the USSR was allowed. And even in 1974, the US military-strategic doctrine allowed "separate nuclear operations" in the event of an escalation of the conflict in any region of the world. However, in 1982, NATO members declared that nuclear weapons would only be used in response to an attack.

During the Cold War, the Soviet military-strategic doctrine was based on the idea that its defensive structure, including strategic weapons, should be built taking into account the impressive military potential of the United States and NATO. For the strategic nuclear forces of the Soviet Union, the essence of defensive sufficiency was determined by the need to maintain these forces at such a quantitative and qualitative level as to have reliable means of delivering a retaliatory strike in any conditions, even in the most unfavorable, in the event of a nuclear attack.

Under the conditions of the Cold War and the economic blockade by the United States and Western countries in 1949, the Economic Conference of representatives of the countries of people's democracy (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the USSR and Czechoslovakia) decided to create a Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). In 1950, the German Democratic Republic joined the CMEA, in 1962 - the Mongolian People's Republic, in 1972 - Cuba, in 1978 - the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. For settlements between the socialist countries, and then with the capitalist states, a clearing system of non-cash payments for goods and services was used, based on the offset of mutual claims. In connection with the post-war strengthening of the ruble, as well as increasing inflation in Western countries, the determination of the ruble exchange rate on the basis of the dollar was discontinued, and from March 1, 1950, the gold content of the ruble was established.

In the conditions of the Cold War, the competition of two superpowers, two economic strategies began: the United States - with an economic strategy of exporting capital to all countries and the Soviet Union - with an economic strategy of centralized distribution of investments for the development of leading industries.

During the Cold War, the rules of the game in the international arena were simplified to the extreme. The over-ideologization of interstate relations gave rise to a black-and-white vision of the world, which was clearly divided into “us” and “them”, “friends” and “enemies”. Every “win” for the US was automatically considered a “loss” for the USSR, and vice versa. From the point of view of the main participants in the confrontation, the quintessence of foreign policy wisdom was expressed by the old slogan: "He who is not with us is against us." In accordance with this logic, each country had to clearly define its place on one side or the other in this global confrontation.

As you know, after the end of World War II, the political map of the world changed dramatically. Defeat of fascist regimes, military defeat Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan significantly reduced the forces of international reaction. England, France and some other countries emerged from the war noticeably weakened. In Europe, Albania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia fell away one after another from the capitalist system. In Asia, the peoples of China, North Korea and North Vietnam have succeeded in doing this. The population of these 11 states was more than 700 million people.

The victory of the revolution in a number of European and Asian countries led to the emergence on the globe of a very significant group of states with the same type of economic basis - public ownership of the means of production, the same state system, a single ideology - Marxism-Leninism.

The expansion after the Second World War of the community of countries that embarked on the socialist path of development did not lead to a weakening of the ideology. Most of these countries were also drawn into the orbit of confrontational confrontation.

The confrontation between the two systems eventually led to erection of the Iron Curtain, a policy of almost complete rupture of foreign trade, scientific, technical, cultural, social and personal ties between them.

As a result of the process of political disengagement, many of the agreements adopted at the end of the war and the institutions established to maintain peace and cooperation ceased to operate. Work in the UN on the fundamental issues of disarmament and peace was paralyzed.

In 1949, the Western powers, led by the United States, created the military-political organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO). Then successively in 1954 and 1955. two more blocks

(SEATO and CENTO). The United States, Great Britain and France have involved 25 more states of Europe, the Middle East and Asia into these military groupings.

In turn, the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Albania in May 1955 in Warsaw signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. The Warsaw Pact Organization (WTO) was created.

In the West, the emergence of NATO was explained by the "Soviet threat", diligently emphasizing the defensive and peacekeeping role of this organization. And in the Soviet Union, not without reason, they believed that it was the formation of the NATO bloc that posed a threat to its security and that the creation of the Warsaw Pact in 1955 was only a means of neutralizing this threat.

One of the most important problems that arose in international relations as a result of the Second World War was the "German question". At the Potsdam Conference (July 17 - August 2, 1945), the heads of the governments of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain adopted decisions on the demilitarization of Germany, which provided that, as the conditions for unconditional surrender and the decisions of the conference, the German people must themselves determine the paths of their socio-economic and state structure. For the implementation of the stated goals in Germany, a temporary regime of quadripartite occupation was established.

However, the United States and other Western powers headed for the division of Germany. As a result, in 1949 the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was formed. After that, in October 1949, another German state was formed in the eastern part of Germany - the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Shortly after the death of I. V. Stalin (March 3, 1953), a period of "thaw" began for some time in international relations. In 1955, all foreign troops were withdrawn from Austria, and a peace treaty was concluded with it. In the same year, for the first time in the last 10 years, a meeting was held between the United States and the USSR at highest level. And yet this was only the beginning of a détente, which was to gain momentum and irreversibility afterwards.

After the XX Congress of the CPSU (1956), the dismantling of the "Iron Curtain" began, the most acute manifestations of the Cold War were overcome, economic, political and cultural ties between the USSR and the capitalist countries began to be established.

Nevertheless, conflict situations between the two blocs continued.

The new Soviet leadership, which came to power after Stalin's death, strove for a turnaround, for a "thaw" in international relations.

In January 1954, a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the USA, Great Britain, France and the USSR was held in Berlin. The range of issues under consideration was wide: Indo-China, Korea, German problems, collective security in Europe. Since Western representatives advertised the defensive nature of NATO, the Soviet government put forward a proposal for the possible entry of the Soviet Union into NATO. At the same time, the USSR proposed to conclude a collective security treaty in Europe with the participation of the United States. However, all Soviet proposals were rejected by the West.

In July 1955 (10 years after Potsdam), the heads of the great powers - the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France - met again in Geneva. The focus of the meeting was on the interconnected German question and the question of European security. But here, too, the Western powers blocked Soviet proposals for concluding a collective security treaty in Europe, continuing to insist on joining the GDR to the FRG and including a united Germany in NATO.

In 1955, the Soviet government decided to return to their homeland all German prisoners of war who were in the USSR. In September 1955, German Chancellor K. Adenauer arrived in Moscow. As a result, diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and the FRG. West Berlin remained a hotbed of tension in Europe, so in 1958 the USSR proposed declaring it a free city. But this proposal was rejected by the West, as was the Soviet opinion about the need to conclude a peace treaty with Germany.

In July 1961, the first meeting between N. S. Khrushchev and the new US President D. Kennedy took place in Vienna. It was decided to establish a direct telephone connection between the Kremlin and the White House. In Berlin, the situation worsened again. And then, on August 12, 1961, overnight, a concrete wall was erected around West Berlin and checkpoints were set up at the border. This caused even greater tension both in Berlin itself and in the international situation as a whole.

The primary task of the Soviet Union in the foreign policy sphere was the struggle for peace and disarmament. In an effort to reverse the dangerous course of events, the USSR for the period 1956-1960. unilaterally reduced the strength of its Armed Forces by

4 million people. In March 1958, the Soviet Union also unilaterally stopped testing all types of nuclear weapons, thus expressing the hope that other countries would follow its example. However, this display of goodwill did not resonate with the United States and its NATO allies at the time.

In the autumn of 1959, the first ever visit of the head of the Soviet government N. S. Khrushchev to the United States took place. It was agreed with US President D. Eisenhower that the heads of government of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France would meet in May 1960 in Paris. However, this important meeting did not take place. A few days before it, a Soviet anti-aircraft missile shot down at an altitude of over 20 km a U-2 manned spy plane that was crossing our entire country from south to north along the Ural meridian. The pilot of this plane, Powers, jumped out with a parachute and was detained at the landing site. Such an unfriendly act on the eve of the summit meeting was regarded the Soviet side as an attempt to disrupt the meeting, and the USSR refused to participate in it.

Thus, the post-war order, created “according to the blueprints” of Yalta and Potsdam, was not a European peace order, but a mode of mutual balancing based on nuclear weapons superpowers, the delimitation of the spheres of interests of the USSR and the USA, the confrontation between the two military-political allied structures of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Western Europe served as an instrument of the American strategy of "containment" of the USSR, while the Eastern European countries played the role of the "strategic foreground" of the USSR. Therefore, at different stages of post-war history, the results of social transformations did not always coincide with the original plans and ideas. In 1945-1947, when the new order in the people's democracies was just being established, development was carried out in line with the agreements of Yalta and Potsdam, and its course was relatively independent.

At the first stage of development of these countries, to some extent, they took into account such factors as national specificity, traditions (preservation of elements of private property, multi-party system). However, later such features were practically reduced to nothing and their presence was more and more formal. For many countries, the chosen development model turned out to be ineffective both politically and economic terms which led to a discrepancy between the proclaimed high goals of socialism and very modest achievements.

From all the richness of the practice of socialist construction in the USSR, the Eastern European countries ultimately turned not to the New Economic Policy, but to the theory and politics of the 1930s. - the period of the cult of personality. Therefore, serious mistakes were made in these countries too, connected with the spurring of industrialization and collectivization; the imposition of a rigid centralized directive economic mechanism; the ever-widening spread of administrative-command methods of managing the economy and society as a whole. Authoritarian-bureaucratic regimes everywhere have become an obstacle to the economic and technical progress of their countries, a brake on integration processes within the CMEA.

The autumn of 1956 was difficult in the international aspect. The exposure of the personality cult of I.V. Stalin at the XX Party Congress gave rise to crises in the pro-Stalinist leadership of a number of countries of Eastern Europe; caused mass popular movements in Poland and Hungary, where the situation escalated to the extreme.

In the 1960s-1970s. the international situation fluctuated first one way, then the other. At times, this situation led to clashes and even to hostilities.

The international situation of those years was generally characterized by instability and the growth of a whole group of contradictions, which created serious tension.

In the 1970s still kept the reality of a nuclear catastrophe. The build-up of nuclear missile weapons on both sides was becoming uncontrollable.

The Western ruling circles, together with the military-industrial complex, set out to rapidly build up their military power, seeking to create a potential for "containment" of the Soviet Union. At the same time, the Soviet leadership took retaliatory measures to increase its military-strategic potential. Using a powerful economic base, advanced achievements of science and technology, the USSR and its allies achieved approximate parity between the countries of the Warsaw Pact and NATO by the beginning of the 1970s. However, the threat of war not only did not recede, but because of the excessive glut of weapons became more obvious.

The world community has begun to realize that a global nuclear war is fraught with catastrophic, unpredictable consequences, which means that the policy of confrontation becomes an unacceptable risk in the nuclear age.

In such a situation, the leadership of the USSR and the USA took a step towards certain agreements in order to reduce the danger of a nuclear war and to some extent improve the international situation. The Soviet Union and the United States signed the Agreement on Measures to Reduce the Risk of Nuclear War (1971), which supplemented the previously reached agreement on the establishment of a direct line of communication between Moscow and Washington, London and Paris, which, in combination, was supposed to reduce the risk of an accidental (unauthorized) outbreak of nuclear war.

Despite the measures taken, international tensions persisted.

The Soviet leadership, without radically changing its foreign policy course, sought to achieve a turn from the Cold War, from tension in the international situation to detente and cooperation.

During these years, the Soviet Union submitted over 150 different proposals aimed at ensuring international security, ending the arms race and disarmament. They created the appropriate political atmosphere. However, many of them could not be performed then. The arms buildup continued unabated despite the nuclear test cessation treaty and closer contacts between the superpowers after the Cuban crisis. The USSR hoped to reduce the US's large advantage in strategic missiles. Between 1960 and 1980, the spending on armaments of the two blocs increased by almost five times, although there were already more than enough weapons for the complete and repeated destruction of mankind. At the same time, arms exports to third world countries have tripled. By 1970, the destructive power wielded by the superpowers was about 1 million times greater than the two bombs dropped on Japan. For every person on Earth, there were 15 tons of explosives. Studies have also shown that in the event of a nuclear war, the sun's rays would not be able to break through the dark clouds and radioactive dust, and thus the "nuclear night" would destroy all life on earth. The only hope was that the superpowers would understand that there would be no winners in a nuclear war and that it would be collective suicide. This way of thinking has come to be known as "mutual destruction" or "balance of terror."

With the advent of intercontinental missiles in our country, the relative strategic invulnerability of the United States has irrevocably become a thing of the past. As the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Yu. Kvitsinsky noted, already at the beginning of 1960, the Minister of Defense in the government of Eisenhower Gates, speaking before a congressional commission, was forced to admit that the United States did not have protection against our intercontinental missiles with nuclear warheads, and the commander of the strategic US Air Force, General Power stated that the USSR "could actually wipe out our entire strike force from the face of the Earth within 30 minutes." Thus, the plans of the United States to turn the territory of the USSR into a "lunar landscape" with impunity became pointless.

Seeing that the Soviet Union began to commission tens and hundreds of new launchers for its strategic missiles, the Americans were forced to offer the USSR negotiations on a comprehensive limitation and reduction of both offensive strategic weapons delivery systems and defense systems against ballistic missiles. Such negotiations began in November 1969 in Helsinki, and the treaty signed as a result became the SALT-1 treaty. The USSR very quickly created its own warheads. In 1979, a new strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT-2) was signed in Vienna, based on the principles of equality and equal security, which paved the way for significant reductions in strategic arms.

Despite the military-political confrontation between the two systems, the intensification of detente and adherence to the principle of peaceful coexistence are gradually becoming a trend against thermonuclear war. In practice, its result is the signing between the USSR and the USA of an indefinite Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War (1973).

Soviet-American relations began to change, which gave rise to an improvement in the international climate. Great efforts had to be made to convene a pan-European Conference on Security. The leaders of 33 states of Europe, the USA and Canada signed the Final Act of the Conference in Helsinki (August 1975). Its signing 30 years after the end of the Second World War fixed the principles of the inviolability of borders in Europe; respect for the independence and sovereignty, territorial integrity of states; renunciation of the use of force and the threat of its use; non-interference in each other's internal affairs, which became the international legal basis for overcoming the Cold War.

Somewhat earlier (1971), the Soviet Union, the United States, Great Britain and France concluded a quadripartite agreement on West Berlin, recognizing it as an independent city. The borders of the GDR, Poland and Czechoslovakia were recognized as inviolable.

In 1973, an agreement was signed to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam. Together, we managed to eliminate the most dangerous hotbed of international tension in Southeast Asia.

Some clearing that has emerged in international detente and changes in political map of peace affected the fact that the ruling circles in the West called for a "freeze" of relations with the Soviet Union and for a "harder course" towards it, in order to once again contain the onset of "communism". Influential forces in the West began to focus on continuing the arms race in the hope of wearing down the USSR and other socialist countries and regaining their lost military superiority.

In general, the first half of the 1970s showed the possibility of softening the international situation, strengthening relations of peaceful coexistence between states with different political systems, including the development of cooperation between them. At the same time, it also revealed that in the event of a violation of the status quo, especially in the political sphere, relations between the USSR and the USA immediately become aggravated. Therefore, the consequence of this is another round of the arms race.

The confrontation sharply intensified in connection with the entry of a contingent of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in December 1979. The political leadership dragged the Soviet Union into an extremely difficult conflict situation which resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. Most of the countries that are members of the UN, not only did not support this action, but also demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops.

The further course of events led to the aggravation of the international situation. In response to the deployment of American missiles in Europe, the Soviet leadership decided to deploy medium-range missiles in the GDR and Czechoslovakia. Started new stage arms race, in which Europe was in the role of a hostage.

The Soviet leadership once again began to put forward peace proposals. They were supposed to implement confidence-building measures in Europe and Asia, settle the conflict over Afghanistan, limit and reduce strategic weapons, and, as a first step, introduce a mutual moratorium on the deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe.

However, the proposals put forward by the Soviet leadership were not successful.

In 1983, the United States began to place its missiles in Western Europe. The Soviet Union took similar actions that required additional material costs. The increase in spending on armaments in the socialist countries met with a far from unambiguous response.

Confrontational relations developed during these years with China as well. In February 1979, China carried out military operations against Vietnam. The Soviet Union declared that it would fulfill its obligations under the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Cooperation between the USSR and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The general situation in the world, the situation in the countries of socialist orientation left their mark on their relations.

Some socialist countries tried to get out of the situation on their own, focusing on the Western states. The situation escalated. Attempts were made to intensify cooperation between the socialist countries, primarily in the economic, scientific and technical fields. A qualitatively new task was outlined: to turn the current decade into a period of intensive industrial, scientific and technical cooperation.

Proceeding from this, in 1985 the Comprehensive Program of Scientific and Technical Progress of the CMEA Member Countries until 2000 was adopted. The decision of this program, in the opinion of its authors, should help strengthen the positions of socialism in the world community. But, as practice has shown, about 1/3 of the program did not meet the requirements of the world level of development of science and technology. The program in its initial execution was not the one that could carry out scientific and technological progress.

The Great Patriotic War ended with a victory, which the Soviet people achieved for four years. Men fought on the fronts, women worked on collective farms, at military factories - in a word, they provided rear. However, the euphoria caused by the long-awaited victory was replaced by a sense of hopelessness. Continuous hard work, hunger, Stalinist repressions, resumed with renewed vigor - these phenomena overshadowed the post-war years.

In the history of the USSR, the term "cold war" is found. Used in relation to the period of military, ideological and economic confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States. It begins in 1946, that is, in the post-war years. The USSR emerged victorious from World War II, but, unlike the United States, it had a long road of recovery ahead of it.

Construction

According to the plan of the fourth five-year plan, the implementation of which began in the USSR in the post-war years, it was necessary, first of all, to restore the cities destroyed by the fascist troops. More than 1.5 thousand suffered in four years settlements. Young people quickly received various construction specialties. However, there was not enough manpower - the war claimed the lives of more than 25 million Soviet citizens.

To restore normal working hours, overtime work was canceled. Annual paid holidays were introduced. The working day now lasted eight hours. Peaceful construction in the USSR in the postwar years was headed by the Council of Ministers.

Industry

Plants and factories destroyed during the Second World War were actively restored in the post-war years. In the USSR, by the end of the forties, old enterprises began to work. New ones were also built. post-war period in the USSR - 1945-1953, that is, it begins after the end of the Second World War. Ends with the death of Stalin.

The recovery of industry after the war was rapid, partly due to the high working capacity Soviet people. Citizens of the USSR were convinced that they had a great life, much better than the Americans living in the conditions of decaying capitalism. This was facilitated by the Iron Curtain, which isolated the country culturally and ideologically from the whole world for forty years.

They worked hard, but their life did not get easier. In the USSR in 1945-1953 there was a rapid development of three industries: rocket, radar, nuclear. Most of the resources were spent on the construction of enterprises that belonged to these areas.

Agriculture

The first post-war years were terrible for the inhabitants. In 1946, the country was gripped by famine caused by destruction and drought. A particularly difficult situation was observed in the Ukraine, in Moldova, in the right-bank regions of the lower Volga region and in the North Caucasus. New collective farms were created throughout the country.

In order to strengthen the spirit of Soviet citizens, directors commissioned by officials to shoot great amount films about the happy life of collective farmers. These films enjoyed wide popularity, they were watched with admiration even by those who knew what a collective farm really was.

In the villages, people worked from dawn to dawn, while living in poverty. That is why later, in the fifties, young people left the villages, went to the cities, where life was at least a little easier.

Standard of living

In the post-war years, people suffered from hunger. In 1947, but most of the goods remained in short supply. The hunger has returned. The prices of rations were raised. Nevertheless, over the course of five years, starting in 1948, products gradually became cheaper. This somewhat improved the standard of living of Soviet citizens. In 1952, the price of bread was 39% lower than in 1947, and that of milk was 70%.

The availability of essential goods did not make life much easier ordinary people, but being under iron curtain, most of them easily believed in the illusory idea of best country in the world.

Until 1955, Soviet citizens were convinced that they owed Stalin their victory in the Great Patriotic War. But this situation was not observed throughout. In those regions that were annexed to the Soviet Union after the war, far fewer conscious citizens lived, for example, in the Baltic states and in Western Ukraine, where anti-Soviet organizations appeared in the 40s.

Friendly states

After the end of the war in countries such as Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, the GDR, the communists came to power. The USSR developed diplomatic relations with these states. At the same time, the conflict with the West escalated.

According to the 1945 treaty, Transcarpathia was transferred to the USSR. The Soviet-Polish border has changed. Many former citizens of other states, such as Poland, lived on the territory after the end of the war. The Soviet Union concluded an agreement on the exchange of population with this country. Poles living in the USSR now had the opportunity to return to their homeland. Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians could leave Poland. It is noteworthy that in the late forties only about 500 thousand people returned to the USSR. In Poland - twice as much.

criminal situation

In the postwar years in the USSR, law enforcement agencies launched a serious fight against banditry. 1946 saw the peak of crime. About 30,000 armed robberies were recorded this year.

To combat rampant crime, new employees, as a rule, former front-line soldiers, were accepted into the ranks of the police. It was not so easy to restore peace to Soviet citizens, especially in Ukraine and the Baltic states, where the criminal situation was the most depressing. In the Stalin years, a fierce struggle was waged not only against "enemies of the people", but also against ordinary robbers. From January 1945 to December 1946, more than three and a half thousand bandit organizations were liquidated.

Repression

Back in the early twenties, many representatives of the intelligentsia left the country. They knew about the fate of those who did not have time to escape from Soviet Russia. Nevertheless, at the end of the forties, some accepted the offer to return to their homeland. Russian nobles were returning home. But to another country. Many were sent immediately upon their return to the Stalinist camps.

In the post-war years, it reached its apogee. Wreckers, dissidents and other "enemies of the people" were placed in the camps. Sad was the fate of the soldiers and officers who found themselves surrounded during the war years. At best, they spent several years in the camps, until which they debunked the cult of Stalin. But many were shot. In addition, the conditions in the camps were such that only the young and healthy could endure them.

In the post-war years, Marshal Georgy Zhukov became one of the most respected people in the country. His popularity annoyed Stalin. However, put behind bars folk hero he did not dare. Zhukov was known not only in the USSR, but also abroad. The leader knew how to create uncomfortable conditions in other ways. In 1946, the "Aviator Case" was fabricated. Zhukov was removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces and sent to Odessa. Several generals close to the marshal were arrested.

culture

In 1946, the fight against Western influence began. It was expressed in the popularization of domestic culture and the ban on everything foreign. Soviet writers, artists, directors were persecuted.

In the forties, as already mentioned, a huge number of war films were shot. These films were heavily censored. The characters were created according to a template, the plot was built according to a clear scheme. The music was also under strict control. Only compositions praising Stalin and a happy Soviet life. This did not have the best effect on the development of national culture.

The science

The development of genetics began in the thirties. In the postwar period, this science was in exile. Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet biologist and agronomist, became the main participant in the attack on geneticists. In August 1948, academicians who made a significant contribution to the development of domestic science lost the opportunity to engage in research activities.