Two characteristic features of the post-war development of the USSR 1945 1953 were. Development of culture in the post-war period

In the social and political life of the USSR in 1945-47. the influence was very noticeable democratic impulse of war(some tendency towards weakening of the Soviet totalitarian system). The main reason democratic impulse has become a relatively close acquaintance Soviet people with the Western way of life (during the liberation of Europe, in the process of communicating with the allies). The horrors of war suffered by our people, which led to a revision of the value system, also played an important role.

The response to the democratic impulse was twofold:

Minimal steps were taken towards the “democratization” of society. Discontinued in September 1945 state of emergency and the unconstitutional government body, the State Defense Committee, was abolished. Congresses of public and political organizations of the USSR resumed. In 1946, the Council of People's Commissars was transformed into the Council of Ministers, and the People's Commissariats into ministries. In 1947, a monetary reform was carried out and the card system was abolished.
There was a significant tightening of the totalitarian regime. A new wave of repression began. The main blow, this time, was dealt to repatriates - prisoners of war and forcibly displaced persons returning to their homeland. Cultural figures who felt the influence of new trends more acutely than others also suffered (see section “Cultural life of the USSR 1945-1953”), and the party and economic elite - the “Leningrad Affair” (1948), in which over 200 people were shot , Chairman of the State Planning Committee N.A. was shot. Voznesensky. The last act of repression was the “case of doctors” (January 1953), accused of attempting to poison the country’s top leadership.

A characteristic feature of the first post-war years was the deportation of entire peoples of the USSR, which began in 1943, on charges of collaboration with the fascists (Chechens, Ingush and Crimean Tatars). All these repressive measures allow historians to call the years 1945-1953. " the apogee of Stalinism" The main economic tasks of the post-war period were demilitarization and restoration of the destroyed economy.

Sources of resources for restoration were:

High mobilization abilities of the directive economy (due to new construction, additional sources raw materials, fuel, etc.).
Reparations from Germany and its allies.
Free labor of Gulag prisoners and prisoners of war.
Redistribution of funds from light industry and social sphere in favor of industrial sectors.
Transfer of funds from the agricultural sector of the economy to the industrial sector.

In March 1946, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a reconstruction plan, which outlined the main directions and indicators. The demilitarization of the economy ended mainly by 1947, accompanied simultaneously by the modernization of the military-industrial complex, which played an increasingly prominent role in the conditions of the beginning cold war. Another priority sector was heavy industry, mainly mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and the fuel and energy complex. In general, during the years of the 4th Five-Year Plan (1946-1950), industrial production in the country increased and in 1950 exceeded pre-war indicators - the restoration of the country was generally completed.

Agriculture came out of the war very weakened. However, despite the drought of 1946, the state began to reduce household plots and introduced a number of decrees punishing encroachment on state or collective farm property. Taxes were increased significantly. All this led to the fact that agriculture, which, in the early 50s. barely reached the pre-war level of production and entered a period of stagnation (stagnation).

Thus, post-war economic development continued along the path of industrialization. Alternative options, which provided for the primary development of light industry and agriculture (project by G.M. Malenkov, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), were rejected due to the difficult international situation.

Foreign policy of the USSR in 1945-1953. Beginning of the Cold War

Signs of the Cold War:

Existence is relatively sustainable bipolar world– the presence in the world of two superpowers balancing each other’s influence, to which other states gravitated to one degree or another.
“Block politics” is the creation of opposing military-political blocs by superpowers. 1949 g. – creation of NATO, 1955 city – OVD (Organization Warsaw Pact).
« Arms race“- the USSR and the USA increasing the number of weapons in order to achieve qualitative superiority. The “arms race” ended by the beginning of the 1970s. in connection with the achievement of parity (balance, equality) in the number of weapons. From this moment begins " détente policy"- a policy aimed at eliminating the threat of nuclear war and reducing the level of international tension. "Discharge" completed after entering Soviet troops to Afghanistan ( 1979 G.)
Formation of an “enemy image” among one’s own population in relation to the ideological enemy. In the USSR, this policy was manifested in the creation of “ iron curtain » - systems of international self-isolation. In the USA, “McCarthyism” is being carried out - the persecution of supporters of “left” ideas.
Periodically emerging armed conflicts that threaten to escalate the Cold War into a full-scale war.

Causes of the Cold War:

Victory in World War II led to a sharp strengthening of the USSR and the USA.
The imperial ambitions of Stalin, who sought to expand the zone of influence of the USSR into the territories of Turkey, Tripolitania (Libya) and Iran.
The US nuclear monopoly, attempts at dictatorship in relations with other countries.
Ineradicable ideological contradictions between the two superpowers.
Formation of a socialist camp controlled by the USSR in Eastern Europe.

By this time, communist governments existed only in Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. However, from 1947 to 1949. socialist systems are also developing in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, North Korea, and China. The USSR provides them with enormous financial assistance.

IN 1949 the registration took place economic fundamentals Soviet bloc. For this purpose it was created Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. For military-political cooperation, the Warsaw Treaty Organization was formed in 1955. Within the framework of the commonwealth, no “independence” was allowed. Relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia (Joseph Broz Tito), which was seeking its path to socialism, were severed. At the end of the 1940s. Relations with China (Mao Zedong) deteriorated sharply.

The first serious clash between the USSR and the USA was the Korean War ( 1950-53 gg.). The Soviet state supports the communist regime North Korea(DPRK, Kim Il Sung), USA - bourgeois government of the South. The Soviet Union supplied modern types to the DPRK military equipment(including MiG-15 jet aircraft), military specialists. As a result of the conflict, the Korean Peninsula was officially divided into two parts.

Thus, the international position of the USSR in the first post-war years was determined by the status of one of the two world superpowers won during the war. The confrontation between the USSR and the USA and the outbreak of the Cold War marked the beginning of the division of the world into two warring military-political camps.

Cultural life of the USSR 1945-1953.

Despite the extremely tense economic situation, the Soviet government is seeking funds for the development of science, public education, cultural institutions. Universal restored elementary education, and since 1952, education in the amount of 7 grades has become compulsory; open evening schools for working youth. Television begins regular broadcasting. At the same time, control over the intelligentsia, weakened during the war, is being restored. In the summer of 1946, a campaign against “petty-bourgeois individualism” and cosmopolitanism began. It was led by A.A. Zhdanov. August 14 1946 the resolutions of the Party Central Committee on magazines were adopted Leningrad" And " Star”, who were persecuted for publishing the works of A. Akhmatova and M. Zoshchenko. A.A. was appointed first secretary of the board of the Writers' Union. Fadeev, who was tasked with bringing order to this organization.

On September 4, 1946, the resolution of the Central Committee of the Party “On unprincipled films” was issued - a ban was imposed on the distribution of films “ Big life"(Part 2), "Admiral Nakhimov" and the second series of "Ivan the Terrible" by Eisenstein.

Composers are the next targets of persecution. In February 1948, the Central Committee adopted a resolution “On decadent tendencies in Soviet music”, condemning V.I. Muradeli, later a campaign begins against “formalist” composers - S.S. Prokofieva, A.I. Khachaturyan, D.D. Shostakovich, N.Ya. Myaskovsky.

Ideological control covers all spheres of spiritual life. The Party actively interferes in the research of not only historians and philosophers, but also philologists, mathematicians, and biologists, condemning some sciences as “bourgeois.” Wave mechanics, cybernetics, psychoanalysis and genetics were subjected to severe defeat.

USSR in the post-war years (1945-1953)

Domestic policy.

In domestic politics, Stalinism is strengthening. the main task: economic recovery.

daily work without days off;

use of forced labor (prisoners, concentration camp prisoners);

the problem of demobilization (a new type has appeared - “a man in a tunic”);

Conclusion: the emancipation of the people, a change in the mentality of Soviet society, a decrease in repression, society became less disciplined, increased alcoholism, the death penalty was abolished;

The USSR abandoned the Marshall Plan (a plan for assistance from Europe);

The USSR became a state of the entire people;

social character (the All-Union Communist Party of Belarus was renamed the CPSU, an anthem appeared, persecution of religion was stopped, our athletes began to take part in the Olympics for the first time);

appeared in architecture a new style(high-rise buildings).

Foreign policy:

The Cold War has begun.

Creation of the atomic bomb in 1949.

1953 - nuclear bomb(Sakharov, Kurchatov).

The largest bomb is the Tsar Bomba.

The main task of the USSR's domestic policy in the first post-war years was the restoration of the national economy. It began back in 1943 as the occupiers were expelled. But the restoration period in the history of Soviet society began in 1946. By this time, the State Planning Committee had prepared the 4th five-year plan for the restoration and development of the national economy of the USSR for 1946-1950. In the industrial field, three decisions had to be made important tasks: firstly, to demilitarize the economy, rebuilding it for peaceful production, secondly, to restore destroyed enterprises; thirdly, carry out new construction. Some people's commissariats were abolished military industry(tank, mortar weapons, ammunition).

Instead, people's commissariats (since the spring of 1946 - ministries) of civil production (agricultural, transport engineering, mechanical engineering and instruments) were created.

Demobilization, which was passed into law in June 1945, was completed in 1948.

In total, more than 8.5 million people were demobilized. The most important place in the restoration of industry was given to power plants as the energy heart industrial areas. Huge funds were spent on restoration largest power plant in Europe - Dneproges. The colossal destruction was eliminated in record time. But Special attention V post-war period The state paid attention to the development of the defense industry, primarily to the creation of atomic weapons. In order to eliminate the US nuclear monopoly, the welfare of the people had to be sacrificed.

In 1948, a plutonium production reactor was built in the Chelyabinsk region, and by the fall of 1949, atomic weapons were created in the USSR. Four years later (summer 1953), the first hydrogen bomb was tested in the Soviet Union. At the end of the 1940s. in the USSR they decided to use nuclear energy to produce electricity; construction has begun nuclear power plant. The world's first nuclear power plant, Obninsk near Moscow, with a capacity of 5 thousand kW, came into operation in the summer of 1954. Defense spending did not decrease. The state increased non-economic coercion of peasants. City dwellers planted vegetable gardens and garden plots on public lands. And when in 1946 a severe drought struck many parts of the country, it was the only way survive for the majority of the inhabitants of the USSR. Already in the autumn of the famine year of 1946, it launched a broad campaign against gardening and vegetable gardening under the banner of the struggle against the squandering of public land and collective farm property. Sometimes it reached the point of absurdity - a tax was introduced on every fruit tree, regardless of whether it produced a harvest or not. All villager Those who did not work in industry or did not serve in Soviet institutions were required to work on collective farms. Anyone who shied away from work or did not work out the norm of workdays was subject to exile. In the same year, a course was set for further concentration of agricultural production, which was seen as a lever for the rise of agriculture and strengthening of collective farms. By the end of 1953, the number of collective farms decreased to 93 thousand. A third of those created in 1946-1953. in agriculture, national income went to other areas of the economy. The development of agriculture was negatively affected by the position of a group of academic administrators led by Academician T.D. Lysenko, who took a monopoly position in the management of agricultural science. Dedicated to the situation in biological science, the session dealt a strong blow to genetics - the key science of modern natural science.

Lysenko's views were recognized as the only correct ones in biology. Cybernetics was called a reactionary pseudoscience. Philosophers argued that the US imperialists needed it to spark a third world war. Important events of 1947 were the abolition card system for food and industrial goods and monetary reform. Money was exchanged in limited quantities and at a rate of 10:1. During the war and immediately after it, the intelligentsia, primarily scientific and creative, hoped for liberalization public life, weakening of strict party-state control. There were great hopes for the development and strengthening of cultural contacts with the USA, England, France, not to mention contacts with colleagues from the countries of “people's democracy”. However, the international situation changed dramatically soon after the war. The Cold War began. Instead of cooperation, confrontation arose. In 1946-1948. Several resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks were adopted on cultural issues. At the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee, where this issue was discussed, I.V. Stalin said that a magazine in the USSR “is not a private enterprise”; it does not have the right to adapt to the tastes of people “who do not want to recognize our system.” The main ideologist of the country at that time, A.A. Zhdanov, speaking in Leningrad to explain the resolution, called Zoshchenko a “vulgarity,” a “non-Soviet writer.” Resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on cultural issues were a shining example gross administrative interference in culture, an example of command leadership in this area, total suppression of individual rights. On the other hand, it was a powerful lever for the regime’s self-preservation. The struggle for the “communist ideology” of creativity resulted in a broad campaign against cosmopolitanism and “adulation” to the West in 1949. "Rootless cosmopolitans" were found in many cities. At the same time, the opening began literary pseudonyms to highlight who is behind them. Spiritual terror was accompanied by physical terror, as evidenced by the “Leningrad Affair” (1949-1951) and the “Doctors’ Affair” (1952-1953). Formally, the “Leningrad affair” began in January 1949 after an anonymous letter was received by the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks about the rigging of the election results for the secretaries of the Leningrad Regional Committee and the City Party Committee. It ended with the dismissal of more than 2 thousand leaders who had ever worked in Leningrad, and the execution of over 200 of them. In the post-war years, two contradictory courses were closely intertwined in Soviet society: a course towards an actual strengthening of the repressive role of the state and a course towards formal democratization. political system. Finally, in 1949-1952. Congresses of public and socio-political organizations of the USSR resumed after a long break. And in 1952, the 19th Party Congress took place, the last congress at which I.V. was present. Stalin. The congress decided to rename the CPSU (b) to the CPSU. On March 5, 1953, I.V. died. Stalin. Millions of Soviet people mourned this death, other millions pinned their hopes on this event. better life. With the death of Stalin, a complex, heroic, but also bloody page history of Soviet society. W. Churchill called Stalin an eastern tyrant and a great politician who “took Russia with a bast shoe and left it with atomic weapons". The post of party leader remained vacant. In fact, all power in the country was concentrated in the hands of Beria and Malenkov. On Beria’s initiative, the “case of doctors” of the Kremlin hospital, accused of seeking to kill the leaders of the party, state, and international communist movement, was discontinued. He insisted on depriving the Central Committee of the party of the right to manage the country's economy, limiting it only to political activities.In the summer of 1953, returning from Berlin, where he led the suppression of the anti-Soviet uprising, and proposing to abandon support for the GDR, agreeing to its unification with the Federal Republic of Germany, Beria was arrested. stories Soviet state This was the last major trial of “enemies of the people” involving persons of such high rank.

The Great Patriotic War ended in victory, which the Soviet people had been seeking for four years. Men fought on the fronts, women worked on collective farms, in military factories - in a word, they provided the rear. However, the euphoria caused by the long-awaited victory was replaced by a feeling of hopelessness. Continuous hard work, hunger, Stalin's repressions, resumed from new strength, - these phenomena darkened the post-war years.

In the history of the USSR the term “cold war” appears. 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 USA, it had to long haul recovery.

Construction

According to 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 fascist troops. More than 1.5 thousand were injured in four years settlements. Young people quickly received various construction specialties. However work force not enough - the war claimed the lives of more than 25 million Soviet citizens.

To restore normal work hours, overtime work was canceled. Annual paid holidays were introduced. The working day now lasted eight hours. Peaceful construction in the USSR in the post-war 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 started operating. New ones were also built. The post-war period in the USSR is 1945-1953, that is, it begins after the end of the Second World War. Ends with the death of Stalin.

The restoration of industry after the war occurred rapidly, partly due to the high working capacity of the Soviet people. Citizens of the USSR were convinced that they had a great life, much better than the Americans, existing under 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 a lot, but their life did not become easier. In the USSR in 1945-1953 there was rapid development three industries: missile, 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 residents. In 1946, the country was gripped by famine caused by destruction and drought. A particularly difficult situation was observed in Ukraine, Moldova, and in the right-bank regions 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, shot a huge number of films telling about the happy life of collective farmers. These films enjoyed wide popularity, and were watched with admiration even by those who knew what a collective economy 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 villages and went to cities, where life was at least a little easier.

Standard of living

In the post-war years, people suffered from hunger. In 1947 there was, but most goods remained in short supply. Hunger has returned. Prices for ration goods 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 for milk - 70%.

Availability of essential goods did not make life much easier ordinary people, but, being under the Iron Curtain, most of them easily believed in the illusory idea of the best country in the world.

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

Friendly States

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

According to the 1945 treaty, Transcarpathia was transferred to the USSR. The Soviet-Polish border has changed. After the end of the war, many former citizens of other states, for example Poland, lived in the territory. The Soviet Union entered into a population exchange agreement 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 at the end of the forties, only about 500 thousand people returned to the USSR. To Poland - twice as much.

Criminal situation

In the post-war years in the USSR, law enforcement agencies launched a serious fight against banditry. For 1946 peaked crime. During this year, about 30 thousand armed robberies were recorded.

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 most depressing. IN 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 gang organizations were liquidated.

Repression

Back in the early twenties, many intellectuals left the country. They knew about the fate of those who did not manage 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 Stalin’s camps.

In the post-war years it reached its apogee. Saboteurs, dissidents and other “enemies of the people” were placed in the camps. The fate of the soldiers and officers who found themselves surrounded during the war was sad. At best, they spent several years in camps, until which the cult of Stalin was debunked. 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, one of the most respected people Marshal Georgy Zhukov became the country's leader. His popularity irritated Stalin. However, put behind bars folk hero he didn't dare. Zhukov was known not only in the USSR, but also beyond its borders. The leader knew how to create uncomfortable conditions in other ways. In 1946, the “aviators’ 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 struggle against Western influence began. It was expressed in the popularization of domestic culture and the ban on everything foreign. Soviet writers, artists, and directors were persecuted.

In the forties, as already mentioned, a huge number of war films were shot. These paintings were subject to strict censorship. The characters were created according to a template, the plot was built according to a clear pattern. Music was also strictly controlled. Only compositions praising Stalin and the 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 post-war period this science found itself in exile. Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet biologist and agronomist, became the main participant in the attack on geneticists. In August 1948, academicians who contributed significant contribution in development national science, lost the opportunity to engage in research activities.

Post-war restoration and development of the USSR (1945-1953).

Socio-economic development of the USSR in 1945-1953.

The war destroyed Part economic potential, which was about one one third of the country's total national wealth . A huge number of factories and factories, mines, railways and other industrial facilities were destroyed.

Restoration work began during the Great Patriotic War, immediately after the liberation of part of the occupied territories.

In August 1943 a special resolution was adopted by the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation." By the end of the war, as a result of the titanic efforts of our workers, it was possible to recreate part of industrial production.

However the main restoration processes took place after the victorious end of the war, during the fourth five-year plan (1946-1950).

It was believed that the Soviet economic model withstood the harsh and difficult test during the hard times of war and therefore not only justified itself, but was also very promising.

As in the years of the first five-year plans, the emphasis in industrial development was placed on the production of means of production (group “A”), i.e. for heavy industry, and specific gravity production in this area in total volume industry was higher than before the war:

- in 1940 it was 61.2%,

- in 1945 - 74.9%,

- in 1946 - 65.9%,

- in 1950 - 70%.

Restoration and development of the national economy:

Fourth Five-Year Plan (1946-1950) - restoration and development of the USSR economy

- restoration and construction of 6,200 industrial enterprises.

The largest industrial facilities:

restored: built:

1) Dneproges; Kolomna Heavy Transport Engineering Plant;

2) “Zaporizhstal”; Kaluga Turbine Plant;

3) Donetsk coal gas pipeline Saratov - Moscow

Achieving the pre-war level of industrial production ( 1948 ).

Emphasis on increasing indicators for the production of metal, fuel and industrial raw materials to the detriment of the production of goods consumer consumption.

Currency reform and the abolition of the card system for basic consumer goods ( December 1947).

Agriculture is seriously lagging behind. The pre-war level of agricultural production was reached only in the early 1950s.

Industry was being rebuilt in a peaceful manner, and the output of civilian products was increasing. The level of pre-war industrial production was achieved, according to official data, by 1948. In total, 6,200 large enterprises were restored and rebuilt, including such giants as the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant and Zaporizhstal, the Ust-Kamenogorsk Lead-Zinc Plant, the Kolomna Heavy Transport Engineering Plant, the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline, etc.

Agriculture in the Fourth Five-Year Plan did not have time to reach pre-war levels. This was only achieved in the next five-year period.

At the same time, the country faced enormous difficulties and problems. In 1946, famine broke out in a number of regions as a result of:

- drought,

- traditional state policy regarding agriculture

Farms.

Since the period of collectivization, he has used the village as a segment from which resources and funds were taken for:

Industrial development;

Ensuring foreign policy objectives ( in particular, in 1946-1947. The Soviet Union exported 2.5 million tons of grain to Europe at preferential prices).

The famine, as usual, was not recognized at the official level, and the authorities only intensified administrative and repressive measures. In the summer and autumn of 1946, two party and state resolutions were adopted:

- “On measures to ensure the safety of bread, preventing its squandering, theft and damage” and

- “On ensuring the safety of state grain.”

They declared accounting and control, rather than grain production, to be the main means of solving the food problem. The consequence of these decisions was massive repressions against collective farm chairmen and other agricultural leaders.

The war and its consequence - the rationing system of supplying the population - upset the country's financial system. The critical situation in the consumer market, the expansion of natural exchange, and inflationary processes threatened to disrupt the program for restoring the national economy, so the the question of monetary reform.

As the then People's Commissar of Finance A.G. Zverev recalled, it was prepared carefully and top secret. It was also proposed to combine it with the abolition of the card system, which was supposed to demonstrate overall success Soviet economy not only for the population of the country, but also in the international arena.

J.V. Stalin believed that this action must be carried out earlier than it happens in others European countries, who were also forced during the war to resort to rationing the supply of the population (England, France, Italy, Austria). In the end, that’s what happened. On December 16, 1947, the USSR began:

- implementation of monetary reform,

- cards for food and industrial goods were cancelled.

Money was released into circulation and exchanged within a week (until December 22, 1947) for existing old cash in a ratio of 1:10 (i.e., 10 old rubles were equal to one new ruble).

Deposits and current accounts in savings banks were revalued as follows: 1:1 (up to 3 thousand rubles); 2:3 (from 3 thousand to 10 thousand rubles) and 1:2 (over 10 thousand rubles).

Everywhere:

Prices for bread, flour, pasta, cereals, and beer decreased;

Prices for meat, fish, sugar, salt, vodka, milk, eggs, vegetables, fabrics, shoes, and knitwear were not changed.

Overstocked Moscow counters were shown in documentary newsreels in all corners of the country, so that every worker thought about how the people's well-being was steadily growing. But it is quite obvious that the reform pursued confiscation goals and “ate up” part of the savings of the Soviet people.

The life of the people in the first post-war period was not easy in material and everyday terms, although it was attractive in terms of emotional and psychological intensity:

The war ended victoriously,

Peaceful construction began

There was hope for a better future.

Average wage in the country:

In 1947 it was 5 thousand rubles per month,

In 1950 - 700 rubles (after monetary reform). This corresponded approximately to the level of 1928 and 1940.

Basic retail prices food products(in rubles) in 1950 .:

1 kg of premium bread cost 6-7;

1 kg of sugar - 13-16;

1 kg of butter - 62-66;

1 kg of meat - 28-32;

A dozen eggs - 10-11.

Industrial goods were much more expensive. For example, the cost of men's shoes was 260-290 rubles, and a suit - 1,500 rubles.

Since 1949, a constant decline in prices began, but the purchasing power of the population was extremely low, which created the illusion of abundance and improved life.

The financial situation of the population was aggravated by forced loans from the state from the people through subscription and purchase of various bonds. But nevertheless, due to the peculiarities of human memory, all this is a pleasant memory of people of the older generation.

Domestic policy of the Stalinist regime in 1945-1953.

Resumption mass repression.

After abolition supreme body state power in the country during the Great Patriotic War - State Committee Defense - all power continued to remain in the hands of the party-state apparatus, which was headed individually I. V. Stalin , which was at the same time:

- head of government (since 1941) and

- leader of the Communist Party.

Other leaders also combined the highest state and party posts ( G. M. Malenkov, N. A. Voznesensky, L. P. Beria, L. M. Kaganovich, K. E. Voroshilov and etc.).

In fact, all power in the country was still in the hands of I.V. Stalin. The highest party body, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, met irregularly and extremely rarely. For example:

- in 1946, seven meetings were held, and

- in 1952 - only four.

For everyday work I.V. Stalin created a system of “troikas”, “sixes”, “sevens” with changing composition. Having outlined any decision, he approved it together with specific persons summoned for discussion who were members of the Politburo, the Organizing Bureau, the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee or the Council of Ministers. Thus, until the death of I.V. Stalin's system of supreme party-Soviet power functioned.

Immediately after the war, a new round of political repression began in the country. This was explained primarily by Stalin’s desire:

- recreate the atmosphere of fear as the main component of an authoritarian regime,

- eliminate elements of freedom that appeared as a result of the people's victory in the war.

Such policies were also used as a means of struggle for power in the political leadership.

The treatment of prisoners of war who returned to the USSR already from the summer of 1945 indicated a tightening of the regime:

Only 20% of the 2 million repatriated prisoners of war were allowed to return home;

Most of those captured were sent to camps or sentenced to exile for at least five years.

J.V. Stalin did not trust the military:

Constantly kept them under the control of state security agencies and

Systematically subjected to repression.

I. One of the first was in 1946. "the matter of aviators." The commander-in-chief of the air force was arrested and convicted of sabotage in the aviation industry A. A. Novikov , People's Commissar aviation industry A. I. Shakhurin , air marshal S. A. Khudyakov , Chief Engineer Air Force A. K. Repin and etc.

He was subjected to disgrace in 1946-1948. and Marshal G.K. Zhukov, who was removed from leading military posts and sent to command the Odessa and then the Ural Military District. Military leaders close to him were repressed: generals V.N. Gordov, F.T. Rybalchenko, V.V. Kryukov, V.K. Telegin, former marshal G.I. Sandpiper.

Reasons for the new round of political repression:

1) Elimination of elements of freedom that arose as a result of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.

2) Repression as an excuse for failures during the period of post-war reconstruction and with the aim of creating an atmosphere of general fear in the country.

3) Repression as a reflection of the struggle for power in the political leadership.

Political repression:

Repressions against repatriated prisoners of war (1945-1946).

Fabrication "Leningrad case" (1949-1950), as a result of which prominent government and party workers were repressed (N.A. Voznesensky, A.A. Kuznetsov, P.S. Popkov, M.I. Rodionov, etc.).

Campaign in disguise fight against “rootless cosmopolitanism”, which led to the arrests and convictions of the Jewish intelligentsia (S. Lozovsky, B. Shimelianovich, L. Kvitko, P. Zhemchuzhina, etc.).

- “The Doctors’ Case” (January 1953), who were accused of creating a terrorist group and involvement in foreign intelligence services

II. In the late 1940s - early 1950s. the so-called "Leningrad affair" against a number of party, Soviet and economic workers in Leningrad, which was the result of a struggle for power in its highest echelons between groups G.M. Malenkov - L.P. Beria and A.A. Zhdanov - A.A. Kuznetsov - N.A. Voznesensky. Moreover, J.V. Stalin seemed to call A.A. Kuznetsova and N.A. Voznesensky by his successors. But nevertheless, this case was promoted.

The first victim was the second secretary of the Leningrad City Party Committee, Ya.F. Kapustin. July 23, 1949 by order of the Minister of Public Safety of B.C. Abakumov, he was arrested without the sanction of the prosecutor and accused of espionage for British intelligence.

Then A.A. was arrested. Kuznetsov - one of the leaders and organizers of the heroic defense of Leningrad during the war, who at that moment was the secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks; P.S. Popkov - in 1939-1946. Chairman of the Leningrad City Executive Committee, and since 1946, First Secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee and City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, member of the Presidium Supreme Council THE USSR; ON THE. Voznesensky - Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, academician; M.I. Rodionov - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR; P.G. Lazutin - Chairman of the Leningrad City Executive Committee, etc.

All of them were charged with treason, allegedly consisting of organizing demolition work in the party and government bodies, the desire to turn the Leningrad party organization into its support for the fight against the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, violation of state plans, etc.

In September 1950 The trial of the visiting session of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR took place in Leningrad. IN last word at the trial of A.A. Kuznetsov said: “... no matter what sentence they give me, history will vindicate us.” The court sentenced six accused (N.A. Voznesensky, A.A. Kuznetsov, P.S. Popkov, M.I. Rodionov, Ya.F. Kapustin and P.G. Lazutin) to to the highest degree punishment, the rest - to various terms of imprisonment.

However, the “Leningrad affair” did not end there. In 1950-1952 Over 200 responsible party and Soviet workers in Leningrad were convicted and sentenced to death and long prison terms.

April 30, 1954, after the death of I.V. Stalin, the Supreme Court of the USSR exonerated all those accused in this case, many of them posthumously.

III. After Stalin's terror of the 1930s. a wave of mass repressions rose again. An anti-Semitic campaign began to unfold under the guise of fighting "rootless cosmopolitanism." The arrests and executions of representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia were a harbinger of a new bloody tornado that threatened to cripple the lives of so many people.

The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was dissolved, who during the war years was involved in collecting among Jewish communities different countries(mostly in the USA) financial resources to support the Soviet Union. Its figures ( S. Lozovsky - former boss Sovinformburo, B. Shimelianovich - former chief physician Botkin hospital, writers P. Markish, L. Kvitko and etc.) were arrested in the summer of 1952. convicted by the Military Collegium Supreme Court USSR, they were subsequently shot. At mysterious circumstances died famous actor and director S. Mikhoels , was also imprisoned P. Zhemchuzhina (wife of V.M. Molotov ).

IV. On January 13, 1953, TASS reported the arrest of a group of doctors. It was announced that a terrorist group of doctors wanted to shorten the lives of active figures of the Soviet state through sabotage treatment: “Comrades fell victims of this gang of humanoid animals A. A. Zhdanov And A. S. Shcherbakov ... It was established that all participants in the terrorist group of doctors were in the service of foreign intelligence services, sold their soul and body to them, being their hired, paid agents. Most of the members of the terrorist group are M. Vovsi, B. Kogan, B. Feldman, J. Etinger and others - were bought by American intelligence. They were recruited by the branch American intelligence- the international Jewish bourgeois-nationalist organization “Joint”... Other members of the terrorist group (Vinogradov, Kogan, Egorov) are... old agents of British intelligence.”

In the newspaper "Pravda" for January 21, 1953 The Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On awarding the Order of Lenin to doctor L.F. Timashchuk” was published. for the assistance provided to the government in exposing the killer doctors...” To a modest doctor L.F. Timashchuk almost attributed key role in one of the most “dirty performances” of J.V. Stalin - the “doctors’ case.” In August 1948 she wrote three letters (one addressed to the head of the Main Security Directorate of the MGB, Lieutenant General N. S. Vlasika , who was the head of security of I.V. Stalin, the other two were addressed to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) A. A. Kuznetsov , who oversaw the state security agencies) about what she believed was an incorrect diagnosis of the disease A.A. Zhdanova . Then the letters remained unanswered and lay in the archives for four years. But only in August 1952 they were put into action, becoming the basis of a new high-profile political process.

On March 5, 1953, I.V. died. Stalin. A month later, the arrested doctors were released and found innocent.

After the rehabilitation of doctors L.F. Timashchuk was offered to return the Order of Lenin; she was confused and upset. L.F. Timashchuk continued to work at the Kremlin hospital until her retirement in 1964. Who was she? Not a hero, but not an anti-hero either. Due to circumstances L.F. Timashchuk turned out to be both the executioner and the victim, as often happened at that tragic time.

Culture in the USSR in the first post-war decade.

Spiritual and cultural life Soviet society has always been under severe pressure from the authorities. During the war, when many people were staring death in the face, control over intellectual activity was relaxed, but Since 1946, the campaign for its restoration has been launched again. This took the form of ideological elaborations in various spheres of culture.

Table of contents:
1. Introduction to the abstract……………………………………………………………….3
2. Introduction to the topic…………………………………………………………………….4
3. Soviet society after the war……………………………………………………5

4. Socio-economic and political development of the USSR in 1945-1953………………………………………………………………………………………… ……..6

4.1 The state of the USSR economy after the end of the war…………6
4.2 Economic discussions 1945 - 1946……………………………...7
4.3 Industrial development…………………………………………………………… …...…8
4.4 Agriculture………………………………………………………………10

5. Socio-political and cultural life of the country...11

5.1 Literature……………………………………………………………………..14
5.2 Theater and cinema……………………………………………………………… ...15
5.3 Music………………………………………………………….. .…………………16
6. Foreign policy of the USSR in 1945-1953………………………17
7. Death of Stalin. The struggle for power…………………………………...21
8. Conclusion (Final part on the topic)……………………………..23
9. Conclusion on the abstract……………………………………………………………....25
10. Literature…………………………………………………………………….26

Introduction to the abstract.
Among the problems associated with the end of the Great Patriotic War, the question of the post-war development of the USSR (1945-1953) has attracted the close attention of researchers in recent years. This topic also attracted my attention.
The main tasks are to find answers to the questions posed:
How did the USSR develop in the post-war period?
What difficulties did the country encounter in the post-war period?
What was the main task in the country in the post-war period?
How has the country changed?

Introduction.
Victory in the bloody war opened a new page in the history of the country. It gave rise to people's hopes for a better life, a weakening of the pressure of the totalitarian state on the individual, and the elimination of its most odious costs. The potential for changes in the political regime, economy, and culture opened up.
The “democratic impulse” of the war, however, was opposed by the entire power of the System created by Stalin. Its positions not only were not weakened during the war, but seemed to have become even stronger in the post-war period. Even the victory in the war itself was widely identified
consciousness with the victory of the totalitarian regime.
Under these conditions, the struggle between democratic and totalitarian tendencies became the leitmotif of social development.

Soviet society after the war.
The end of the Great Patriotic War had a significant impact on the socio-political development of society. Within three and a half years they were demobilized from the army and returned to peaceful life about 8.5 million former soldiers. Over 4 million repatriates returned to their homeland - prisoners of war, residents of occupied areas driven into captivity, and some emigrants. Having endured the incredible hardships of wartime, the population expected improved working and living conditions, positive changes in society, and a softening of the political regime. As in previous years, for the majority these hopes were associated with the name of I.V. Stalin. At the end of the war, I.V. Stalin was relieved of his duties as People's Commissar of Defense, but retained the post of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. He continued to remain a member of the Politburo and the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The authority of I.V., which increased during the war years. Stalin was supported by the entire system of administrative, bureaucratic and ideological apparatus. 1
In 1946-1947 on behalf of I.V. Stalin, drafts of a new Constitution of the USSR and the Program of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) were developed. The constitutional project provided for some development of democratic principles in the life of society. Thus, simultaneously with the recognition of the state form of ownership as the dominant one, the existence of small peasant farming based on personal labor was allowed. However, all proposals were rejected, and subsequently work on the draft documents ceased. The population's expectations for changes for the better were not destined to come true. Soon after the end of the war, the country's leadership took measures to tighten its internal political course. 2

Socio-economic development of the USSR in 1945-1953.
The state of the USSR economy after the end of the war.
The war resulted in huge human and material losses for the USSR. It claimed almost 27 million human lives. 1,710 cities and towns were destroyed, 70 thousand villages were destroyed, 31,850 factories and factories, 1,135 mines, 65 thousand km of railways were blown up and put out of action. Cultivated areas decreased by 36.8 million hectares. The country has lost approximately one third of its national wealth. 3
The country began to restore the economy in the year of the war, when in 1943. a special party and government resolution was adopted “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation.” With the colossal efforts of the Soviet people, by the end of the war in these areas it was possible to restore industrial production to a third of the 1940 level. The liberated areas in 1944 provided over half of the national grain procurements, a quarter of livestock and poultry, and about a third of dairy products. However, the country faced the central task of reconstruction only after the end of the war. 4

Economic discussions 1945 - 1946
In August 1945, the government instructed the State Planning Committee (N. Voznesensky) to prepare a draft of the fourth five-year plan. During its discussion, proposals were made to somewhat soften the voluntaristic pressure in economic management and reorganize collective farms. The “democratic alternative” also emerged during the closed discussion of the draft new Constitution of the USSR prepared in 1946. In it, in particular, along with the recognition of the authority of state property, the existence of small private farms of peasants and artisans, based on personal labor and excluding the exploitation of other people's labor, was allowed. During the discussion of this project by nomenklatura workers in the center and locally, ideas were voiced about the need to decentralize economic life, provide great rights regions and people's commissariats. “From below” there were increasingly frequent calls for the liquidation of collective farms due to their inefficiency. As a rule, two arguments were given to justify these positions: firstly, the relative weakening of state pressure over the manufacturer during the war years, which gave a positive result; secondly, a direct analogy was drawn with the recovery period after the civil war, when the revival of the economy began with the revival of the private sector, decentralization of management and the priority development of the light and food industries.
However, in these discussions, the point of view of Stalin prevailed, who announced at the beginning of 1946 the continuation of the course taken before the war to complete the construction of socialism and build communism. This meant a return to the pre-war model of over-centralization in economic planning and management, and at the same time to those contradictions and disproportions between sectors of the economy that developed in the 30s. 5

Industrial development.
The restoration of industry took place under very difficult conditions. In the first post-war years, the work of Soviet people was not much different from the military emergency. The constant shortage of food (the rationing system was abolished only in 1947), the most difficult working and living conditions, and the high level of morbidity and mortality were explained to the population by the fact that the long-awaited peace had just arrived and life was about to get better. However, this did not happen. 6
After the monetary reform of 1947, with an average salary of about 500 rubles per month, the cost of a kilogram of bread was 3-4 rubles, a kilogram of meat - 28-32 rubles, butter - over 60 rubles, a dozen eggs - about 11 rubles. To buy a wool suit, you need
was to pay three average monthly salaries. As before the war, from one to one and a half monthly salaries per year were spent on the purchase of bonds of forced government loans. Many working families still lived in dugouts and barracks, and sometimes worked under open air or in unheated rooms, on old or worn-out equipment.
However, some wartime restrictions were lifted: the 8-hour working day and annual leave were reintroduced, and forced overtime was abolished. The restoration took place in conditions of a sharp increase in migration processes. Caused by the demobilization of the army (its number decreased from 11.4 million people in 1945 to 2.9 million in 1948), the repatriation of Soviet citizens from Europe, the return of refugees and evacuees from the eastern regions of the country. Another difficulty in the development of industry was its conversion, which was largely completed by 1947. Considerable funds were also spent on supporting the allied Eastern European countries. 7
Huge losses in the war resulted in a shortage of labor, which, in turn, led to an increase in turnover of personnel seeking more favorable working conditions. 8
These costs, as before, had to be compensated by increasing the transfer of funds from villages to cities and by developing the labor activity of workers. One of the most famous initiatives of those years was the “speed workers” movement, initiated by the Leningrad turner G.S. Bortkevich, who completed a 13-day output on a lathe in February 1948 in one shift. The movement became massive. At some enterprises, attempts were made to introduce self-financing. But to consolidate these innovations, no material incentive measures were taken; on the contrary, as labor productivity increased, prices were lowered. The administrative-command system benefited from achieving high production results without additional investments.
For the first time in long years After the war there was a tendency towards more widespread use scientific and technical developments in production, however, it manifested itself mainly only at the enterprises of the military-industrial complex (MIC), where, in the conditions of the outbreak of the Cold War, the process of developing nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, new missile systems, and new models of tank and aircraft equipment was underway.
Along with the priority development of the military-industrial complex, preference was also given to mechanical engineering, metallurgy, fuel, and energy industries, the development of which accounted for 88% of capital investments in industry. The light and food industries, as before, were financed on a residual basis (12%) and, naturally, did not satisfy even the minimum needs of the population.
In total, during the years of the 4th Five-Year Plan (1946-1950), 6,200 large enterprises were restored and rebuilt. In 1950, according to official data, industrial production exceeded pre-war levels by 73% (and in the new union republics - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova - 2-3 times). True, reparations and products of joint Soviet-East German enterprises were also included here.
The main creator of these undoubted successes was the Soviet people. Through his incredible efforts and sacrifices, as well as the high mobilization capabilities of the directive economic model, seemingly impossible economic results were achieved. At the same time, the traditional policy of redistributing funds from the light and food industries, agriculture and social sphere in favor of heavy industry also played a role. Significant assistance was also provided by reparations received from Germany ($4.3 billion), which provided up to half the volume of industrial equipment installed during these years. In addition, the labor of almost 9 million Soviet prisoners and about 2 million German and Japanese prisoners of war, who also contributed to post-war reconstruction. 9

Agriculture.
The country's agriculture emerged from the war even more weakened, whose gross output in 1945 did not exceed 60% of the pre-war level. The situation in it worsened even more due to the drought of 1946, which caused severe famine.
Nevertheless, the unequal exchange of goods between the city and the countryside continued after this. Through government procurement, collective farms compensated for only a fifth of the costs of milk production, a tenth for grain, and a twentieth for meat. Peasants working on the collective farm received practically nothing. The only thing that saved me was the farming. However, the state dealt a significant blow to him too. For the period from 1946-1949. 10.6 million hectares of land from peasant plots were cut off in favor of collective farms. Taxes on income from market sales were significantly increased. Market trade itself was allowed only to those peasants whose collective farms fulfilled state supplies. Each peasant farm was obliged to hand over to the state as a tax for land plot meat, milk, eggs, wool. In 1948, collective farmers were “recommended” to sell small livestock to the state (which was allowed to be kept by the collective farm charter), which caused a massive slaughter of pigs, sheep, and goats throughout the country (up to 2 million heads). Pre-war norms that limited the freedom of movement of collective farmers were preserved: they were actually deprived of the opportunity to have passports, they were not covered by temporary disability payments, and they were deprived of pension benefits. The monetary reform of 1947 also hit the peasantry, who kept their savings at home, hardest. 10 By the end of the 4th Five-Year Plan, the disastrous economic situation of collective farms required their next reform. However, the authorities saw its essence not in material incentives for the manufacturer, but in yet another structural restructuring.
With the help of strong-willed measures taken and at the cost of enormous efforts of the peasantry in the early 50s. managed to bring the country's agriculture to the pre-war level of production. However, the deprivation of the peasants' remaining incentives to work brought the country's agriculture close to an unprecedented crisis and forced the government to take emergency measures to supply food to the cities and army.
Thus, the return of the USSR to the pre-war model of economic development caused a significant deterioration in economic indicators in the post-war period, which was a natural result of the implementation of the plan taken in the late 20s. course. eleven
Socio-political and cultural life of the country.
The transition to peaceful construction after the end of the Great Patriotic War required the reorganization of government bodies. In September 1945, the State Defense Committee was abolished. Its functions were again distributed between the Council of People's Commissars, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. But the process of transformation of the authoritarian administrative system that developed in the USSR in the pre-war and especially during the war years was of a formal nature. As before, all power was concentrated in the hands of Stalin, who relied on a powerful repressive apparatus. Stalin, who received the shoulder straps of Generalissimo from the hands of his associates, was an unlimited dictator.
People who endured the difficulties and hardships of wartime hoped for changes for the better. The demobilized and evacuees returned home with hope. However, most often they became prisoners of the Gulag. Many were shot. Those who remained free had difficulties with work and registration. 12
In 1946, the People's Commissariats were renamed respectively into the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR and the Ministry of State Security of the USSR. The influence of these structures on the internal political life of the country in the 40s - early 50s. was huge and comprehensive, there was an established system of total espionage, suppression of the slightest manifestations of dissent. The methods of operation of the repressive apparatus have changed compared to the period of the 20-30s, turning it into a well-functioning punitive mechanism, an obedient instrument of the supreme power. The attention of state leaders was directed not so much to the development of effective measures to boost the economy, but to the search for specific “culprits” for its unsatisfactory development.
The first repressions fell on the military, whose increasing influence Stalin feared. Even a trial against Zhukov was being prepared. Many prominent military leaders were arrested. There was a struggle for power between supporters of repression (Malenkov, Beria) and younger figures inclined to liberalize the administrative-command system (Kuznetsov, Voznesensky, Rodionov). After the death of Zhdanov in 1948, Stalin’s old entourage won. The so-called “Leningrad case” is being fabricated. The main accused were Voznesensky, Kuznetsov, Rodionov and others. The organizers of the non-existent anti-party group were sentenced to death, about 2 thousand Leningrad communists were repressed.
The development of science and culture in the USSR in the post-war years was combined with a tougher fight against any, even the slightest, deviations from the “tasks of socialist construction.” 13
In 1946, the Soviet government significantly increased expenditures on science; they were 2.5 times higher than expenditures previous year. This year, the Academies of Sciences of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania were restored, and created in Kazakhstan, Latvia and Estonia. The second half of the 40s was the time of organizing a whole series of research institutes, which later became part of the golden fund of Soviet science. Among them were the Institute of Precision Mechanics and computer technology, Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, Institute of Applied Physics, Institute of Atomic Energy and many others. At the same time, special design bureaus located in the system of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs continued to exist and expand.
The war and repression of the 30s dealt a heavy blow to the intelligentsia, so in the 40s and early 50s the Soviet Union had a huge shortage of specialists with higher and secondary education. Higher education, which experienced an acute shortage of qualified personnel, was in a fever. The difficulties faced by the education sector in the USSR were resolved by lowering the educational level. Although teachers and university lecturers, like all scientific workers, had their salaries significantly increased and a number of benefits provided, their training was lower even compared to the 30s. Most school teachers were trained in short-term courses or in teacher training institutes using a shortened program. Despite all this, the country switched to universal seven-year education. The lowering of the general educational level subsequently led to crisis phenomena in the science and economy of the Soviet state, but at that time it had a quick effect, creating the illusion of accelerated scientific and technological development of society. In the 40s - early 50s, Soviet science and technology achieved a number of successes, primarily in the field of physics, chemistry, precision engineering, but all of them were mainly aimed at military needs and contributed to the build-up military power the world's first "socialist" state. In 1949, the USSR tested an atomic bomb, and research in the field of chemical and bacteriological weapons was intensive.
At the same time, branches of science that were not directly related to defense were subjected to severe pressure and even bans.
If in the development of exact and natural sciences the interference and dictates of the party-state apparatus were a hindrance, then for the humanities they became simply a disaster. During the first post-war decade, not a single significant achievement appeared in the humanities, and not a single outstanding work appeared in the field of literature and art. 14
The pressure and control on science and art from the party-state apparatus was great. Artistic and scientific installations were not a priority for the creative intelligentsia, but were “brought into life” from high stands, after which they became immutable truths. In 1947, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee A.A. took part in a discussion on philosophy. Zhdanov, and in the discussion on linguistics in 1950 and political economy in 1951 - Stalin himself. All this led to gradual degradation humanities in USSR. 15
The campaign against cosmopolitanism, which unfolded in the late 40s and early 50s, also had a negative impact on the development of science, literature and art. Its goal was to denigrate everything non-Soviet, non-socialist, to put a barrier between Soviet people and cultural achievements of Western countries. Therefore, a blow was dealt to that part of the Soviet intelligentsia that sought to show the achievements of the West more objectively than was allowed in government circles. As a result of this campaign, many scientists and artists were subjected to repression, were dismissed from their positions and even ended up in prison and exile. The party and government openly and actively interfered in the work of literary and artistic figures, which led to a decline in the artistic and ideological level and the formation of mediocre art that embellished Soviet reality.
All this led to a sharp reduction in the number of new films, performances and works of art, an increase in mediocrity, the deliberate destruction of the great Russian artistic tradition of the 19th - early 20th centuries. 16

Literature.
One of the first blows was dealt to Russian literature. In the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of August 14, 1946, “On the magazines Zvezda and Leningrad,” these publications were accused of promoting ideas “alien to the spirit of the party” and providing a literary platform for “ideologically harmful works.” Special criticism were subjected to M. M. Zoshchenko, A. A. Akhmatova, called in the resolution “vulgarities and scum of literature.” The resolution noted that Zoshchenko preaches “rotten lack of ideas, vulgarity and apoliticality” with the aim of disorienting Soviet youth, “depicts Soviet orders and Soviet people in an ugly caricature form,” and Akhmatova is a typical representative of “empty, unprincipled poetry, alien to our people,” imbued with “the spirit of pessimism and decadence ... old salon poetry.” The Leningrad magazine was closed, and the leadership of the Zvezda magazine was replaced .17
Even those writers whose work fully met the requirements of the party were subjected to sharp criticism. Thus, the head of the Writers' Union A.A. Fadeev was criticized for original version the novel "The Young Guard", in which the party leadership of young underground fighters was not sufficiently shown; songwriter M.A. Isakovsky - for the pessimism of the poem "Enemies burned their home." Playwright A.P. was criticized. Stein, writers Yu.P. Herman and E.G. Kazakevich, M.L. Slonimsky. Literary criticism also developed into direct repression. During the fight against the “cosmopolitans” P.D. were shot. Markish and L.M. Kvitko, an investigation was conducted into the “case” of I.G. Erenburg, V.S. Grossman, S.Ya. Marshak.
Subsequently, other resolutions on literary issues were adopted: “On the magazine “Crocodile” (1948), “On measures to improve the magazine “Ogonyok” (1948), “On the magazine “Znamya” (1949), "On the shortcomings of the Krokodil magazine and measures to improve it" (1951)
etc. The result of the “struggle for the purity of literature” was the closure of a number of magazines, the prohibition of literary works, the “elaboration” and sometimes repression of their authors, and most importantly - stagnation in domestic literature. 18

Theater and cinema.
Following literature, the party leadership was “strengthened” in theater and cinema. The resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated August 26, 1946 “On the repertoire of drama theaters and measures to improve it” condemned the predominance of the classical repertoire in the country’s theaters to the detriment of plays dedicated to the “pathos of the struggle for communism.” And the few plays on modern themes found in the repertoire were criticized as weak and unprincipled, in which Soviet people appear “primitive and uncultured, with philistine tastes and morals,” and events are depicted “far-fetched and deceitful.” The Committee on Arts was criticized for the presence in the repertoire of plays that “idealize the lives of kings, khans, nobles,” and for “the introduction into the theater repertoire of plays by bourgeois Western playwrights, openly preaching bourgeois views and morals.”
On September 4, 1946, a new resolution of the Central Committee appeared, this time devoted to criticism of the “lack of ideas” of a number of films. Among them were the following films: “Big Life” (2nd series) by L. Lukov, which talks about the difficulties of restoring Donbass after the war (the ball was criticized for the “false portrayal of party workers” and the lack of showing “modern Donbass with its advanced technology and culture , created during the years of Stalin's five-year plans"); "Admiral Nakhimov" V.I. Pudovkina; "Ivan the Terrible" (2nd episode) S.M. Eisenstein (according to Stalin, this film created a false image of the tsar - indecisive and characterless, “like Hamlet”; the oprichnina was incorrectly shown in a negative way). Outstanding film directors G. Kozintsev, L. Trauberg and others were also criticized.
Developing the ideas of these resolutions, the weekly Culture and Life, specially created by the authorities, at the end of 1946 began a mass campaign against “decadent tendencies” in the theater and demanded the exclusion of all plays by foreign authors from the theater repertoire. 19 20

Music.
At the end of 1947, harsh ideological pressure fell on Soviet musicians. The occasion was the performance of three works commissioned by the authorities for the 30th anniversary of the October Revolution: the Sixth Symphony by S.S. Prokofiev, "Poems" by F.I. Khachaturian and the opera "Great Friendship" by V.I. Muradeli. In February 1948, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks issued a resolution “On decadent tendencies in Soviet music,” where Muradeli was criticized for “neglecting the best traditions and experience of classical opera in general, Russian classical opera in particular.”
Other composers “adhering to a formalistic, anti-popular direction” were also criticized - S.S. Prokofiev, D.D. Shostakovich, A.I. Khachaturyan, N.Ya. Myaskovsky. After the release of this resolution, a purge began in the Union of Composers. The works of disgraced composers stopped being performed, and conservatories and theaters refused their services. Instead of their works, there were choral and solo praises of Stalin and the happy life of the Soviet people, who, under the leadership of the party, were building a heavenly life on earth.
All this not only impoverished Russian culture, but also isolated it from the best achievements of world culture. And yet, despite the dictatorship and ideological blinders, cultural life also had positive features, primarily in the development of a huge classical heritage. 21

Foreign policy of the USSR.
The international position of the USSR after the war, which it won at the cost of heavy losses, was in highest degree paradoxical. The country was ruined. At the same time, its leaders had the legal right to claim a prominent role in the life of the world community. However, the balance of forces was perhaps the worst for the USSR during its entire existence. Yes, he benefited from occupying large parts of Europe, and his army was the largest in the world. At the same time, in the field of military technology, the USA and Great Britain are far ahead of the USSR, whose industrial potential is western regions besides, he suffered huge losses. Soviet leaders were clearly aware of this situation, which made them feel a strong sense of vulnerability, but at the same time they believed that the USSR was a great power. In this situation, two approaches were possible: either maintain cooperation with former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, or expand the sphere of Soviet influence. 22
After the Yalta Conference, due to some passivity of the Western powers in international relations, the second approach prevailed. In an increasingly polarized world, this policy led in subsequent years to the formation of blocs and confrontation.
In early March 1946, Churchill delivered his speech in Fulton, in the presence of President Truman. famous speech, in which two strategic goals of the West in relation to the USSR were formulated: to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR and its communist ideology, and then to push the socialist system to the pre-war borders, to achieve its weakening and the liquidation of the USSR itself. 23 The same thought in February 1947. US President Truman spoke in his message to Congress. The United States did not hide its desire to achieve world domination. 24
For its part, the USSR hurried to strengthen its influence on the countries liberated by the Soviet Army, embarking on active “denazification” of its occupation zone, agrarian reform, nationalization of industrial enterprises and the creation of mixed Soviet-German enterprises that worked exclusively for the USSR. 25
On June 5, 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall proposed to allocate significant financial resources for the restoration of European countries, “to help Europeans regain economic health, without which neither stability nor peace is possible.”
In July, a conference was scheduled in Paris, open to all countries, including the USSR. The foreign ministers of England and France warmly supported the Marshall Plan, and the Soviet delegation led by Molotov put forward the condition that the Soviet government retain freedom in spending the portion of funds allocated to it and in choosing economic policies. After these conditions were rejected, Moscow refused to participate in the Marshall Plan and insisted that the governments of countries within its sphere of influence make similar decisions. Western Europe received $12.4 billion from the United States and was able to short term revive the destroyed economy and form modern market structures. The positions of local communist parties there weakened, and the influence of the United States strengthened significantly. 26
The deterioration of the international climate continued throughout 1947, marked by an increasingly noticeable pull of Eastern European countries into the orbit of the USSR. In January 1947, the Americans and the British united their occupation zones in Germany into a single one, and later the part of Germany controlled by France was annexed to it. This further intensified the confrontation between the USSR and the West. 27
On June 24, 1948, the Soviet side completely blocked the western zones in Berlin. The West was forced to organize an "air bridge" that supplied the city until May 12, 1949, when the blockade was finally lifted.
On May 23, 1949, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany was adopted in the Western occupation zone and government bodies were formed. In response, on October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in the Eastern occupation zone, to which the Soviet Union transferred all civil powers. The split of the unified state of Germany and German people became a symbol of the split of the world into two hostile systems: capitalist and socialist.
1949-1950 became the culmination of the Cold War, marked by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) on April 4, 1949, whose “openly aggressive nature” was tirelessly exposed by the USSR, the Korean War and the rearmament of Germany. But the same year also brought satisfaction to the Soviet leaders: the successful test of the first Soviet atomic bomb (September 1949) and the victory of the Chinese communists.
Thus, in the post-war world, the contradictions of the socio-economic systems of socialism and capitalism took on the character of an ideological confrontation between “Western democracy” and “Eastern communism”, which split the world into two warring camps, called “East” and “West”, with centers in the USSR and USA. In the states of Eastern Europe, internal transformations took place with the direct participation of the USSR. Without taking into account local conditions, the socialist experience was implanted here, and the decisions made by Moscow were binding on all socialist countries.

The beginning of the Cold War: signs and causes.
The main content of Soviet foreign policy in the post-war period was the “Cold War”, i.e. ideological confrontation between the USSR and the USA, periodically escalating into local armed conflicts. 28
Signs of the Cold War:

Causes of the Cold War:

The date of the beginning of the Cold War is considered to be March 1946, when W. Churchill made a speech in Fulton (USA) in the presence of President G. Truman, in which he accused the USSR of “the limitless spread of its power and its doctrines” in the world. Soon, President Truman announced a program of measures to “save” Europe from Soviet expansion (the “Truman Doctrine”). He proposed providing large-scale economic assistance to European countries (“Marshall Plan”); create a military-political alliance of Western countries under the auspices of the United States (NATO); place a network of US military bases along the borders of the USSR; support internal opposition in Eastern European countries. All this was supposed not only to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR (the doctrine of containing socialism), but also to force the Soviet Union to return to its previous borders (the doctrine of rolling back socialism). 31
By this time, communist governments existed only in Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. However, from 1947 to 1949. socialist systems are also developing in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, North Korea, and China. The USSR provides them with enormous financial assistance. 32
In 1949, the economic foundations of the Soviet bloc were formalized. For this purpose, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was created. For military-political cooperation, the Warsaw Treaty Organization was formed in 1955. Within the framework of the commonwealth, no “independence” was allowed. Relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia (Joseph Broz Tito), which was seeking its path to socialism, were severed. At the end of the 1940s. Relations with China (Mao Zedong) deteriorated sharply. 33
The first serious clash between the USSR and the USA was the Korean War (1950-53). The Soviet state supports the communist regime of North Korea (DPRK, Kim Il Sung), the USA supports the bourgeois government of South Korea. The Soviet Union supplied the DPRK with modern types of military equipment (including MiG-15 jet aircraft) and military specialists. As a result of the conflict, the Korean Peninsula was officially divided into two parts.
Thus, the international position of the USSR in the first post-war years was determined by the status of one of the two world superpowers won during the war. The confrontation between the USSR and the USA and the outbreak of the Cold War marked the beginning of the division of the world into two warring military-political camps. 34

The death of Stalin and the struggle for power.

With the death of Stalin (March 5, 1953), an entire era ended. An era when a system based on the apparatus, on repressive bodies, developed and strengthened. On the eve of Stalin's funeral, a meeting was held in the Kremlin to which only those most knowledgeable about the state of affairs in the party and state were invited. Among them there were not even a number of members of the Presidium of the Central Committee. Without convening an official plenum of the Central Committee, the meeting participants made decisions that, in their opinion, were designed to ensure the continuity of power. Malenkov became Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He was nominated for this post by Beria. In turn, Malenkov proposed uniting the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of State Security under the leadership of Beria. Other changes were made to the leadership team. At this meeting, Khrushchev managed to achieve a decision on the return of G.K. to Moscow. Zhukov, who at that time commanded the Ural Military District. The position of First Secretary was not introduced in the party, but Khrushchev, as the only one of the secretaries of the Central Committee of the party included in the Presidium of the Central Committee, actually took control of the cadres of the party apparatus. 35
The most influential political figures in the leadership were Malenkov, Beria and Khrushchev. The balance was extremely unstable.
The policy of the new leadership in the spring days of 1953. was controversial, reflecting the contradictions in its composition. At Zhukov’s request, a large group of military personnel returned from prison. But the Gulag continued to exist, the same slogans and portraits of Stalin hung everywhere.
Each of the contenders for power sought to seize it in their own way. Beria - through control over state security agencies and troops. Malenkov - declaring his desire to pursue a popular policy of improving the well-being of the people, “to take care of the maximum satisfaction of their material and cultural needs,” calling for “in 2–3 years to achieve the creation in our country of an abundance of food for the population and raw materials for light industry.” 36
Khrushchev took the initiative to unite members of the leadership for an action against Beria. By cunning and persuasion, threats that he would not spare anyone, Khrushchev achieved his goal. In mid-July 1953, at one of the meetings in the Kremlin, which was chaired by Malenkov, Khrushchev made accusations against Beria of careerism, nationalism, and connections with the English Mussavatist
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