He became the head of the Soviet government after Stalin's death. How many general secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee were there in the USSR?

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The path of the Soviet Union finally ended in 1991, although in some ways its agony lasted until 1993. Final privatization began only in 1992-1993, simultaneously with the transition to a new monetary system.

The brightest period of the Soviet Union, or rather its dying, was the so-called “perestroika”. But what brought the USSR first to perestroika, and then to the final dismantling of socialism and the Soviet system?

The year 1953 was marked by the death of the long-term de facto leader of the USSR, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. After his death, a struggle for power began between the most influential members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. On March 5, 1953, the most influential members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee were Malenkov, Beria, Molotov, Voroshilov, Khrushchev, Bulganin, Kaganovich, Mikoyan. On September 7, 1953, at the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, N. S. Khrushchev was elected first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

At the 20th Congress of the CPSU in February 1956, Stalin's personality cult was condemned. But the most important mine was planted under the very structure of the Leninist principle of the Soviet state at the XXII Congress in October 1961. This congress removed main principle building a communist society - the dictatorship of the proletariat, replacing it with the anti-scientific concept of a “state of the whole people”. What was also scary here was that this congress became a virtual mass of voiceless delegates. They accepted all the principles of an actual revolution in the Soviet system. The first shoots of decentralization of the economic mechanism followed. But since pioneers often do not stay in power for long, already in 1964 the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee removed N. S. Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

This time is often called the “restoration of Stalinist orders”, the freezing of reforms. But this is just philistine thinking and a simplified worldview, in which there is no scientific approach. Because already in 1965, the tactics of market reforms won in the socialist economy. The “state of the whole people” came into its own. In fact, the result was summed up under the strict planning of the national economic complex. The unified national economic complex began to unravel and subsequently disintegrate. One of the authors of the reform was Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A. N. Kosygin. Reformers constantly boast that as a result of their reform, enterprises gained “independence.” In fact, this gave power to the directors of enterprises and the right to conduct speculative transactions. As a result, these actions led to the gradual emergence of a shortage of necessary products for the population.

We all remember the “golden times” of Soviet cinema in the 1970s. For example, in the film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Profession,” the viewer is clearly shown how actor Demyanenko, who plays the role of Shurik, buys the semiconductors he needs not in stores that are for some reason closed for repairs or for lunch, but from a speculator. A speculator who was sort of “reproached and condemned” by Soviet society of that period.

The political economic literature of that time acquired a unique anti-scientific terminology of “developed socialism.” But what is “developed socialism”? Strictly following Marxist-Leninist philosophy, we all know that socialism is a transitional period between capitalism and communism, a period of the withering away of the old order. Intense class struggle led by the working class. What do we get as a result? That some incomprehensible stage of something appears there.

The same thing happened in the party apparatus. Seasoned careerists and opportunists, rather than ideologically seasoned people, began to willingly join the CPSU. The party apparatus becomes virtually uncontrollable by society. There is no longer any trace left of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

In politics at the same time, there is a tendency towards the irreplaceability of leading personnel, their physical aging and decrepitude. Careerist ambitions appear. Soviet cinema also did not ignore this moment. In some places this was ridiculed, but there were also brilliant films of that time that gave a critical analysis of the ongoing processes. For example, the 1982 film - the social drama "Magistral", which raised with all directness the problem of decomposition and degradation in a particular industry - on railway. But in the films of that time, mainly in comedies, we already find direct glorification of individualism and ridicule of the working man. The film “Office Romance” especially distinguished itself in this field.

Trade is already experiencing systematic disruptions. Of course, now the directors of enterprises are actually the masters of their inheritance, they have “independence”.

Anti-communists often mention in their “scientific” and anti-scientific works that in the 1980s the country was already seriously ill. Only an enemy can be closer than a friend. Even if we do not take into account the outright slop that the anti-communists poured on the USSR, the situation in the country was actually quite difficult.

For example, I myself remember well how in the early 1980s we traveled from the “underdeveloped” Pskov region of the RSFSR to the “developed” and “advanced” Estonian SSR for groceries.

This is how the country approached the mid-1980s. Even from the films of that period, it is already clear that the country no longer believes in building communism. The 1977 film “Racers” clearly shows what ideas were in the minds of ordinary people, although they also tried to show the character in this film in a negative light.

In 1985, after a series of deaths of “irremovable” leaders, a relatively young politician, M. S. Gorbachev, came to power. His long speeches, the very meaning of which disappeared into emptiness, could last for many hours. But the time was such that the people, as in the old days, believed the deceiving reformers, since the main thing on their minds was changes in life. But how does it happen to the average person? What do I want - I don’t know?

Perestroika became a catalyst for accelerating all the destructive processes in the USSR, which had been accumulating and smoldering for a long time. Already by 1986, openly anti-Soviet elements appeared, whose goal was to dismantle the workers' state and restore the bourgeois order. By 1988, this was already an irreversible process.

In the culture of that time, anti-Soviet groups of that period appeared - “Nautilus Pompilius” and “Civil Defense”. Following an old habit, the authorities are trying to “drive away” everything that does not fit into the framework of official culture. However, even here dialectics threw up strange things. Subsequently, it was “Civil Defense” that became a bright revolutionary beacon of anti-capitalist protest, thereby forever securing all the contradictory phenomena of that era in the Soviet era, as Soviet rather than anti-Soviet phenomena. But even the criticism of that time was at a fairly professional level, which was clearly reflected in the song of the group “Aria” - “What have you done with your dream?”, where the entire path traveled is actually overturned as erroneous.

In its wake, the era of perestroika brought out the most disgusting characters, the vast majority of whom were precisely members of the CPSU. In Russia, such a person was B.N. Yeltsin, who plunged the country into a bloody mess. This is the shooting of the bourgeois parliament, which, out of habit, still had a Soviet shell, this is the Chechen war. In Latvia, such a character was former CPSU member A.V. Gorbunov, who continued to rule bourgeois Latvia until the mid-1990s. These characters were also praised Soviet encyclopedias 1980s, calling them "outstanding leaders of the party and government."

“Sausage commoners” usually judge Soviet era according to perestroika horror stories about Stalin’s “terror”, through the prism of one’s narrow-minded perception of empty shelves and shortages. But their mind refuses to accept the fact that it was the large-scale decentralization and capitalization of the country that led the USSR to such results.

But how much effort and intelligence did the ideological Bolsheviks put in to raise their country to the cosmic level of development by the mid-1950s, to pass terrible war with the most terrible enemy on Earth - fascism. The dismantling of communist development, which began in the 1950s, lasted for more than 30 years, preserving the main features of socialist development and a just society. After all, at the beginning of its journey, the Communist Party was truly an ideological party - the vanguard of the working class, a beacon of social development.

In this whole story, it is clearly evident that the lack of mastery of their ideological weapon - Marxism-Leninism, leads the party leaders to betrayal of the entire people.

We did not set out to analyze in detail all the stages of the decomposition of Soviet society. The purpose of this article is only to describe the chronology of some significant events of Soviet life and its individual significant aspects of the post-Stalin period.

However, it would be fair to mention that the relative modernization of the country continued throughout the entire period of the country’s existence. Until the late 1980s we observed positive development many social institutions and technical development. In some places the pace of development slowed down significantly, in others it continued to remain at a very high level. Medicine and education developed, cities were built, and infrastructure improved. The country moved forward by inertia.

Our path into the dark ages has accelerated and become irreversible only since 1991.

Andrey Krasny

Also read:

2017-Jun-Sun “We have always said - and revolutions confirm this - that when it comes to the foundations of economic power, the power of the exploiters, to their property, which puts at their disposal the labor of tens of millions of workers https://site/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/horizontal_6.jpg , website - Socialist information resource [email protected]

Most of the population, trained by decades of Stalin's rule, was ready to sacrifice themselves following the example of the builders Egyptian pyramids. However, there were people in those days who, having remembered the “friend of all children” and the “father of nations,” - after taking a sip of vodka and eating a cucumber with sauerkraut - decided that now their time had come.

The first version of the post-Stalin upgrade

Beria-Malenkov-Khrushchev and Bulganin who joined them became the first version of the upgrade of political and social system post-Stalin era.

Few people remember now, but after Stalin, the convenient comrade Malenkov took over the country, put there through the efforts of Beria. During Stalin's lifetime, Comrade Malenkov was what is now commonly called a speechwriter - in addition to the official post he held. Most of Stalin's reports in the late forties and early fifties were written by Georgy Malenkov.

It seemed to Beria and Malenkov that in order to strengthen themselves in power and not allow themselves to be devoured by the rest of the Kremlin gray wolves, it is necessary to subjugate all government structures and, most importantly, the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. They treated the party structures with short-sighted recklessness.

It was Malenkov who took the post of Chairman, and the portfolios were divided between the “comrades-in-arms” who supported him and Beria. Comrade N.S. Khrushchev did not get a government position. He was placed in an insignificant - according to the high nomenklatura criteria of that time - almost nominal post of Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

Checkmate of Nikita Khrushchev

It took Nikita Khrushchev a little less than two years to dislodge his rivals in an unusually calm manner, with the help of behind-the-scenes party games and sometimes very risky steps. And not just to displace, but to intercept and safely appropriate their almost democratic undertakings.

Thus, it was Beria who carried out a number of major industrial enterprises from the Gulag system to departmental ministries, began the process of mitigating and stopping the already launched flywheel of new repressions (the doctors’ case, etc.), implemented an amnesty and carried out the rehabilitation of several tens of hundreds of prisoners - this was a drop in the Gulag ocean, and it almost did not concern political prisoners, but it was then that hope for change arose among many thousands of innocently convicted people.

In a matter of months, he began to turn from a fiend into one of the most “liberal” reformers, but they did not hate him any less. Especially all the Kremlin assessors, since it was he who had all the strings connecting each of them and their associates with the repressions of the 30-50s.

Malenkov was the author of the idea of ​​​​debunking the cult of personality, reforming agriculture, liberating collective farmers from socialist slavery and the priority of light industry over heavy industry. He was generally a supporter of the ideas of the NEP.

Khrushchev, with two preventive strikes - first against Beria, and then against Malenkov - got rid of rivals who were superior to him in intelligence, but not in ambition.

It was Malenkov’s attempt to expand the governance of the country from the Stalinist model to the Leninist - collegial - when he heads the government and at the same time directs the activities higher authorities party, and played a cruel joke on him, since collegiality is possible only in democracy, and not in authoritarian totalitarianism.

At one of the meetings of the Presidium of the Central Committee, to which Malenkov came a little late, his place was taken by Khrushchev. To the interrogative remark - “we decided to return to the tradition of Lenin and I should preside as the head of the government,” - Khrushchev answered him dismissively: “What are you, Lenin?” It was from this moment that the star of the weak-willed and executive Malenkov finally fell from the Kremlin horizon.

Of course, Nikita Sergeevich did not decide on such an extravagant step out of the blue. Somewhat earlier, Malenkov’s patron Beria was appointed “an agent of international imperialism,” convicted, and executed. It was on him, and not on Stalin, whom Khrushchev feared even after his death, that the blame for the repressions was placed to a greater extent - as a conspiracy against Soviet people. Accusations of involvement in repressions became a convenient mechanism for Khrushchev to remove all dangerous and unwanted rivals, who had to repent and then resign. This is exactly how Khrushchev removed almost everyone who had been especially close to Stalin for many years: Molotov, Kaganovich, Mikoyan and others. Why none of them tried to “bring” Khrushchev himself to the same responsibility, because his zeal in this matter was no secret to anyone - this is a question for psychoanalysts.

Khrushchev personally took advantage of Malenkov’s ideas to great benefit for himself, but mainly only in terms of debunking the cult of personality. His understanding of the economy and his surprisingly voluntaristic handling of it, ultimately, after the rapid rise prepared by Malenkov, led to an equally rapid decline, right up to the shooting of a rally in Novocherkassk in 1962. Thus, the country finally put an end to the consistently progressive economic reforms that were planned, but had not had time to begin.

Zugzwang for Khrushchev

Over five years, successively, Khrushchev eliminated all of his numerous competitors, each of whom, after Stalin’s death, could lay claim to the first role in the state: from Beria to Zhukov, who had been helping him all this time.

In March 1958, the formation of a new government began in the USSR. As a result, Khrushchev achieved his appointment to the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. At the same time, he retained the position of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. In fact, this meant a complete victory for Khrushchev. The struggle for power after Stalin was over.

One thing Comrade Khrushchev could not take into account was that he was not the only one who knew how to weave conspiracies behind the Kremlin walls. Having eliminated from the path everyone who, like him, was a direct witness to Stalin’s death, leaving not only enemies around him, but also, if not friends, then comrades-in-arms, the last of whom was exile Zhukov, he became the victim of an absolutely identical conspiracy against him , organized by Shelepin-Semichastny-Brezhnev and Suslov and Podgorny who joined them, who were tired of Khrushchev’s poorly educated and unpredictably restless from one extreme to another, initiative idiocy.

Many party “heavyweights” competed for the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. But in 1985, at the March plenum of the party leadership, the name Gorbachev was given to those gathered. Why did strong opponents give in to the young nominee?

Who could lead the country instead of Gorbachev?

Magazine: Secrets of the USSR No. 1/C, April 2017
Category: Secrets of the Kremlin

Failed Leader

A peer of Brezhnev, a member of the Politburo since 1962, Andrei Kirilenko, who was responsible for Soviet industry in the Central Committee, was considered even abroad one of the strongest “Kremlin elders”, and was seriously considered as the successor to the Secretary General in the mid-1970s in the power circles of the USSR and in the Central Committee. While congratulating Leonid Brezhnev on his 70th birthday, he uttered the phrase that spread throughout the world that “70 years for a political leader is middle age.” He spoke extremely negatively about Mikhail Gorbachev and opposed his rise. Over time, I probably would have dealt with Gorbachev, but suddenly... Luckily for the first secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee, he fell seriously ill. Kirilenko fell into a sclerotic state. I stopped recognizing my acquaintances and losing the thread of the conversation. In March 1981, speaking at the XXVI Congress of the CPSU with a proposal for a new composition of the Central Committee, he managed to pronounce many names incorrectly (the hall first froze, and then had difficulty holding back laughter). However, Leonid Brezhnev retained his old comrade in the Politburo. He was sent into retirement 12 days after Brezhnev’s death. Having died in 1990, Andrei Kirilenko bequeathed his entire fortune to the Communist Party.

No noticeable success

It should be noted that before the death of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, the attitude towards Gorbachev among his party colleagues was extremely ambiguous, because this leader did not become famous for any special successes. And in the Central Committee of the CPSU, of which Mikhail Sergeevich became secretary in November 1978, he was at the “penalty post” responsible for Agriculture.
Someone will object, saying, then he had no real power, what could he do? However, the business qualities of Gorbachev as a leader became well known later.
On his initiative, a Food Program was adopted, which promised that in 5 years the country would completely provide itself with agricultural products, but it never worked.
The anti-alcohol campaign was carried out absolutely ineptly, which as a result led to an increase in drug addiction and the production of counterfeit alcohol.
In the field of domestic politics, Gorbachev managed to ensure that the republics of the USSR quarreled among themselves.
The country was literally overwhelmed by crime, and a racketeering system, previously unknown to anyone in the Soviet Union, arose and quickly developed.
Ultimately, weak governance and economic chaos led to the fact that the USSR ceased to exist.
That is, we can judge the merits of Mikhail Gorbachev as head of state quite objectively - we can be proud of him, according to by and large, nothing.
Gorbachev’s only trump card back in 1985, compared to many other members of the Politburo, was his relative “youth” - in 1985, Mikhail Sergeevich turned 54 years old.

When hopes are dashed

A few months before his death, at the end of 1983, Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov entrusted Gorbachev to speak in his place at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, since he himself was, in the full sense of the word, chained to a medical device - an “artificial kidney”. The fact is that the former chief security officer of the country knew Mikhail Sergeevich well for a long time and sympathized with him (and Gorbachev, while still working as the first secretary of the Stavropol regional committee of the CPSU, informed Andropov how vacationers behaved on Mineralnye Vody holidaymakers from the highest echelon of power). For the party elite, such an order became a sign: the dying secretary general points to his successor.
This, of course, did not please the second man in the party, Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, with whom Andropov had a rather tense relationship. In fact, many historians are convinced that such a move by Andropov was aimed not so much at the elevation of Gorbachev, but at the humiliation of Chernenko.
It is known that the dying Andropov sent a parting letter to the Politburo, where, in particular, he asked that Gorbachev continue to chair the meetings of the Politburo and the Secretariat. But the note was immediately passed on to Chernenko. Konstantin Ustinovich acted as he saw fit: he announced all the other points at the Politburo meeting - except for the one that concerned Gorbachev.
Mikhail Sergeevich immediately went to the hospital to complain to Andropov. The Secretary General was outraged, called his comrades with a demand to urgently convene the next meeting of the Politburo - but a few days later he passed away.
Many years of experience in Kremlin intrigues helped Chernenko weaken Gorbachev’s pressure. But this defeat taught Mikhail Sergeevich a lot.

Devotion is not forgotten

The very next day after Andropov’s death, on February 10, 1984, an extraordinary meeting of the Politburo took place, which was, in fact, formal. Who would get the post of General Secretary was determined before the meeting by the four most authoritative party leaders: Secretary of the Central Committee Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, Minister of Defense Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov, as well as his first deputy and Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Andreevich Gromyko.
At preliminary negotiations, Gromyko nominated himself for a high post. Ustinov had previously met with Gorbachev - and he invited him to become Secretary General, promising the support of all young members of the Central Committee. Dmitry Fedorovich refused, citing age and illness. But he also did not want to allow Gromyko to power. As a result, on Ustinov’s initiative, the Big Four recommended Chernenko as Secretary General, whose candidacy everyone was happy with.
However, Ustinov did not forget Gorbachev’s devotion. At his suggestion, it was Mikhail Sergeevich who continued to chair Politburo meetings when the Secretary General was in the hospital - that is, quite often.

You - for me, I - for you

In December 1984, Gorbachev's patron, USSR Defense Minister, Marshal of the Soviet Union Ustinov, died of pneumonia. This allowed other candidates for the post of Secretary General to make themselves known. Before Chernenko’s death in March 1985, there were three of these in the Politburo: the already mentioned Andrei Andreevich Gromyko, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov and First Secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee Viktor Vasilyevich Grishin.
Former Chairman KGB Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kryuchkov in his book of memoirs talks about a conversation with Gromyko, when he admitted that after Chernenko’s death he received an offer from several members of the Politburo to take the post of General Secretary - but refused. But numerous memories of participants in the events tell a different story. Namely, about the conspiracy between Gromyko and Gorbachev. Mikhail Sergeevich managed to bribe the experienced politician with a promise to make him Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - that is, the formal head of the Soviet state. For this, at a meeting of the Politburo, it was the authoritative Gromyko who proposed electing Gorbachev as secretary general.
Grishin was supported by almost all the capital's leaders; he was given credit for the prosperity of Moscow and successful experience managerial work. But here Chernenko unwittingly helped Gorbachev: seeing Viktor Vasilyevich as a competitor, he ordered the collection of incriminating evidence against him. The investigation revealed that the party leader is associated with high-profile economic crimes, in particular, with high-profile cases of theft in the Eliseevsky store and Glavmostorg.

Balance of power in the Politburo

How planes don't take off

The most realistic contender for the coveted post was the former first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU, 60-year-old Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov. He was a strong professional and an excellent organizer - that is, he had qualities that Gorbachev could not boast of. The experienced leader Romanov was rightly considered the direct opposite of the future perestroika Gorbachev. In addition, it was Romanov who Chernenko personally favored, always seating him next to him at the Plenums of the Central Committee.
Romanov oversaw the defense industry and enjoyed the support of the military. Judging by the testimony of eyewitnesses to the events, this was indeed a real candidate for the highest post in the country (even among the people there was no quiet talk about this!), in no way inferior to Gorbachev.
His administrative sense failed him. At the end of February 1984, literally a couple of weeks before Chernenko’s death, Romanov went to Lithuania on vacation. Having received the news of the death of the Secretary General, Grigory Vasilyevich decided to immediately fly to Moscow. But the plane's departure was delayed due to bad weather. As a result, Romanov only managed to attend the Politburo meeting directly - unlike Gorbachev, he was unable to conduct any preliminary consultations. Did not have enough time. Another real contender for supreme party power - Gorbachev's main opponent, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Vladimir Vasilyevich Shcherbitsky - shortly before Chernenko's death (at Gromyko's initiative) was sent on a visit to the United States. It was Shcherbitsky, whom Brezhnev saw as his successor, who could take an irreconcilable position in the Politburo and unite Gorbachev’s opponents around himself. But... the plane on which Shcherbitsky was returning to Moscow was detained at the New York airport under an insignificant pretext, and the Politburo meeting took place without the participation of the dangerous heavyweight of the internal party struggle. Shcherbitsky received the news of Gorbachev’s election as General Secretary on board the plane.

Got what he deserved

As a result, the historical, as it turned out, meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee took place exactly as Romanov’s competitor, Gorbachev, needed.
It lasted two days. On the first day, March 10, 1985, Romanov immediately asked to speak, proposing Grishin’s candidacy. Gromyko objected to this, saying: “Stop carrying coffins already” (referring to the advanced age of Viktor Vasilyevich, who was 70 years old) and proposed Gorbachev for the high post. Grishin recused himself, but nominated Romanov. As a result of an open vote, Gorbachev won by one vote.
On the second day, March 11, Gromyko returned to the same issue. This time, understanding the balance of forces, Grishin and Romanov spoke in favor of Gorbachev - and his candidacy was approved unanimously.
The Plenum of the Central Committee, held a few days later, also unanimously approved the decision of the Politburo.
And then everyone received what, from Mikhail Sergeevich’s point of view, they deserved. After a short time, Romanov, Tikhonov and Grishin were “taken out of the game.” On July 1, 1985, on the initiative of Gorbachev, who still saw Romanov as a rival, Grigory Vasilyevich was relieved of his duties as a member of the Politburo and secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and sent to retirement. In the fall - September 27, 1985 - Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was officially relieved of his duties as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR “for health reasons.” On February 18, 1986, it was Grishin’s turn. The Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee relieved him of his duties as a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee due to his retirement. And Andrei Andreevich Gromyko took the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - a country that still seemed powerful and united - and held it until October 1, 1988. The fates of the contenders for the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee turned out differently. On February 16, 1990, Vladimir Shcherbitsky died in Kyiv. It was rumored that he died not from pneumonia, as the people were told, but from severe nervous strain (there was even a version put forward that the retired leader of Ukraine shot himself). Indeed, the next day, February 17, Shcherbitsky was supposed to testify in the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR about the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. A dishonorable resignation could have awaited him, but instead he ended up in a grave in a Kiev cemetery. For five months now, Vladimir Shcherbitsky, who had been retired, could have been accused of hiding truthful information about the tragedy from the people and failing to take appropriate measures to combat radioactive contamination.
After his resignation, Andrei Gromyko worked on his memoirs, the first book of which, entitled “Memorable,” was published in 1988. He died on July 2, 1989 and was buried not on Red Square (although he had the right to do so), but at the Novodevichy cemetery (according to his personal will). Three years later, at Novodevichy they said goodbye to Viktor Grishin, who died right in the Presnensky district social security office, where he came to renew his pension, on May 25, 1992. Nikolai Tikhonov, who died on June 1, 1997, was also buried there.
Grigory Romanov, who died on June 3, 2008, lived the longest. He is the only Muscovite who was not honored at the Novodevichy cemetery, but was buried at Kuntsevsky. Until the last month of his life, Romanov paid membership fee in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

Peter Masherov

Vladimir Shcherbitsky

Grigory Romanov

Konstantin Katushev

Yakov Ryabov

General Secretaries (General Secretaries) of the USSR... Once upon a time, their faces were known to almost every resident of our huge country. Today they are only part of history. Each of these political figures committed actions and deeds that were assessed later, and not always positively. It should be noted that the general secretaries were chosen not by the people, but by the ruling elite. In this article we will present a list of general secretaries of the USSR (with photos) in chronological order.

J.V. Stalin (Dzhugashvili)

This politician was born in the Georgian city of Gori on December 18, 1879 in the family of a shoemaker. In 1922, while V.I. was still alive. Lenin (Ulyanov), he was appointed first general secretary. It is he who heads the list of general secretaries of the USSR in chronological order. However, it should be noted that while Lenin was alive, Joseph Vissarionovich played a secondary role in governing the state. After the death of the “leader of the proletariat” for the highest government post a serious struggle broke out. Numerous competitors of I.V. Dzhugashvili had every chance of taking this post. But thanks to uncompromising and sometimes even harsh actions and political intrigues, Stalin emerged victorious from the game and managed to establish a regime of personal power. Let us note that most of the applicants were simply physically destroyed, and the rest were forced to leave the country. In a fairly short period of time, Stalin managed to take the country into a tight grip. In the early thirties, Joseph Vissarionovich became the sole leader of the people.

The policy of this USSR Secretary General went down in history:

• mass repressions;
• collectivization;
• total dispossession.

In the 37-38 years of the last century, mass terror was carried out, in which the number of victims reached 1,500,000 people. In addition, historians blame Joseph Vissarionovich for his policy of forced collectivization, mass repressions that occurred in all layers of society, and the forced industrialization of the country. On domestic policy Some character traits of the leader affected the country:

• sharpness;
• thirst for unlimited power;
• high self-esteem;
• intolerance of other people's judgment.

Cult of personality

Photos of the Secretary General of the USSR, as well as other leaders who have ever held this post, can be found in the presented article. We can say with confidence that Stalin’s personality cult had a very tragic impact on the fate of millions of the most different people: scientific and creative intelligentsia, government and party leaders, military.

For all this, during the Thaw, Joseph Stalin was branded by his followers. But not all the leader’s actions are reprehensible. According to historians, there are also moments for which Stalin deserves praise. Of course, the most important thing is the victory over fascism. In addition, there was a fairly rapid transformation of the destroyed country into an industrial and even military giant. There is an opinion that if it were not for Stalin’s personality cult, which is now condemned by everyone, many achievements would have been impossible. The death of Joseph Vissarionovich occurred on March 5, 1953. Let's look at all the general secretaries of the USSR in order.

N. S. Khrushchev

Nikita Sergeevich was born in Kursk province April 15, 1894, in an ordinary working-class family. He took part in the civil war on the side of the Bolsheviks. He was a member of the CPSU since 1918. At the end of the thirties, he was appointed secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Nikita Sergeevich headed the Soviet Union some time after the death of Stalin. It should be said that he had to compete for this post with G. Malenkov, who chaired the Council of Ministers and at that time was actually the leader of the country. But still, the leading role went to Nikita Sergeevich.

During the reign of Khrushchev N.S. as Secretary General of the USSR in the country:

1. The first man was launched into space, and all sorts of developments in this area took place.
2. A huge part of the fields were planted with corn, thanks to which Khrushchev was nicknamed the “corn farmer.”
3. During his reign, active construction of five-story buildings began, which later became known as “Khrushchev buildings.”

Khrushchev became one of the initiators of the “thaw” in foreign and domestic policy, the rehabilitation of victims of repression. This politician undertook unsuccessful attempt modernization of the party-state system. He also announced a significant improvement (on a par with capitalist countries) in living conditions for the Soviet people. At the XX and XXII Congresses of the CPSU, in 1956 and 1961. accordingly, he spoke harshly about the activities of Joseph Stalin and his cult of personality. However, the construction of a nomenclature regime in the country, the forceful dispersal of demonstrations (in 1956 - in Tbilisi, in 1962 - in Novocherkassk), the Berlin (1961) and Caribbean (1962) crises, the aggravation of relations with China, the building of communism by 1980 and the well-known political call to “catch up and overtake America!” - all this made Khrushchev’s policy inconsistent. And on October 14, 1964, Nikita Sergeevich was relieved of his position. Khrushchev died on September 11, 1971, after a long illness.

L. I. Brezhnev

The third in order on the list of general secretaries of the USSR is L. I. Brezhnev. Born in the village of Kamenskoye in the Dnepropetrovsk region on December 19, 1906. Member of the CPSU since 1931. He took the position of General Secretary as a result of a conspiracy. Leonid Ilyich was the leader of a group of members of the Central Committee (Central Committee) that removed Nikita Khrushchev. The era of Brezhnev's rule in the history of our country is characterized as stagnation. This happened for the following reasons:

• except for the military-industrial sphere, the country's development was stopped;
• The Soviet Union began to lag significantly behind Western countries;
• Repression and persecution began again, people again felt the grip of the state.

Note that during the reign of this politician there were both negative and favorable sides. At the very beginning of his reign, Leonid Ilyich played a positive role in the life of the state. He curtailed all the unreasonable undertakings created by Khrushchev in the economic sphere. In the first years of Brezhnev's rule, enterprises were given more independence, material incentives, and the number of planned indicators was reduced. Brezhnev tried to establish a good relationship with the USA, but he never succeeded. But after the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, this became impossible.

Period of stagnation

By the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s, Brezhnev's entourage was more concerned about their own clan interests and often ignored the interests of the state as a whole. The politician’s inner circle pleased the sick leader in everything and awarded him orders and medals. The reign of Leonid Ilyich lasted for 18 years, he was in power the longest, with the exception of Stalin. The eighties in the Soviet Union are characterized as a “period of stagnation.” Although, after the devastation of the 90s, it is increasingly presented as a period of peace, state power, prosperity and stability. Most likely, these opinions have a right to be, because the entire Brezhnev period of rule is heterogeneous in nature. L.I. Brezhnev held his position until November 10, 1982, until his death.

Yu. V. Andropov

This politician spent less than 2 years as Secretary General of the USSR. Yuri Vladimirovich was born into the family of a railway worker on June 15, 1914. His homeland is the Stavropol Territory, the city of Nagutskoye. Party member since 1939. Due to the fact that the politician was active, he quickly rose through the ranks. career ladder. At the time of Brezhnev’s death, Yuri Vladimirovich headed the Committee state security.

He was nominated for the post of General Secretary by his comrades. Andropov set himself the task of reforming the Soviet state, trying to prevent the impending socio-economic crisis. But, unfortunately, I didn’t have time. During the reign of Yuri Vladimirovich Special attention was given labor discipline at workplaces. While serving as Secretary General of the USSR, Andropov opposed the numerous privileges that were provided to employees of the state and party apparatus. Andropov showed this by personal example, refusing most of them. After his death on February 9, 1984 (due to a long illness), this politician was least criticized and most of all aroused public support.

K. U. Chernenko

On September 24, 1911, Konstantin Chernenko was born into a peasant family in the Yeisk province. He has been in the ranks of the CPSU since 1931. He was appointed to the position of General Secretary on February 13, 1984, immediately after Yu.V. Andropova. While governing the state, he continued the policies of his predecessor. He served as Secretary General for about a year. The death of the politician occurred on March 10, 1985, the cause was a serious illness.

M.S. Gorbachev

The politician's date of birth was March 2, 1931; his parents were simple peasants. Gorbachev’s homeland is the village of Privolnoye in the North Caucasus. He joined the ranks of the Communist Party in 1952. He acted as an active public figure, so he quickly moved up the party line. Mikhail Sergeevich completes the list of general secretaries of the USSR. He was appointed to this position on March 11, 1985. Later he became the only and last president of the USSR. The era of his reign went down in history with the policy of “perestroika”. It provided for the development of democracy, the introduction of openness, and the provision of economic freedom to the people. These reforms of Mikhail Sergeevich led to mass unemployment, a total shortage of goods and the liquidation huge amount state-owned enterprises.

Collapse of the Union

During the reign of this politician, the USSR collapsed. All fraternal republics of the Soviet Union declared their independence. It should be noted that in the West, M. S. Gorbachev is considered perhaps the most respected Russian politician. Mikhail Sergeevich has Nobel Prize peace. Gorbachev served as General Secretary until August 24, 1991. He headed the Soviet Union until December 25 of the same year. In 2018, Mikhail Sergeevich turned 87 years old.

Abstract on the history of Russia

In October 1952, the 19th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks took place, at which it was renamed CPSU. The report was given by Malenkov, and Khrushchev made a report on changes in the Charter. After the congress, Stalin proposed electing a narrow bureau of the Presidium, which did not include either Molotov or Mikoyan. Then a non-statutory five were created within the Bureau - Stalin, Malenkov, Beria, Bulganin, Khrushchev. A new round of repression was being prepared. Molotov, Voroshilov, and even Beria felt the disgrace. However, in January 1953, Stalin's health deteriorated. He died on March 5, 1953.

Difficulties in the economic sphere, ideologization of socio-political life, increased international tension - these were the results of the development of society in the first post-war years. During this period, the regime of Stalin's personal power became even stronger, and the administrative-command system became tougher. During these same years, the idea of ​​the need for change in society became more and more clearly formed in the public consciousness. The death of Stalin facilitated the search for a way out of the contradictions that entangled all spheres of public life.

Where could the country go after Stalin's death? Was it possible either a temporary continuation of Stalinism, which created a serious threat to the lives and well-being of millions of people and entire nations, or some softening of it while maintaining the general political course, or a turn to de-Stalinization? De-Stalinization did not mean the elimination of the totalitarian regime. We could only talk about an initial cleansing from the legacy of Stalinism: the liberation of the repressed, a turn to solving the most pressing agrarian problems, and a weakening of the dogmatic pressure in culture. The first option was associated with the prospect of Beria coming to power; Molotov and Bulganin would probably take part in the implementation of the second; in practice, the third option began to be implemented. And N.S. Khrushchev associated himself with him.

The most influential political figures in the leadership were Malenkov, Beria and Khrushchev. The balance was extremely unstable.

New management policy spring 1953 was controversial. 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 increasing the well-being of the people, “to take care of the maximum satisfaction of their material needs,” calling for the creation in our country of an abundance of food for the population and raw materials for light industry in 2-3 years. At a closed meeting in the Kremlin, Malenkov was elected Chairman of the Council of Ministers, the MGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were united under the leadership of Beria. The main thing is in the mood ruling elite was that she wanted to preserve the regime, but without repression against the apparatus. Objectively, the situation turned out favorably for Khrushchev, who showed extraordinary activity these days. Khrushchev, as the only one of the Central Committee secretaries included in the Presidium, took control of the party cadres. Since he had good connections with the military high command, the situation worked out in his favor. Zhukov and Khrushchev prepared an action against Beria and in July 1953 he was arrested. The court sentenced Beria and his assistants to death. In September 1953, Khrushchev was elected first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The process of de-Stalinization began.

The first steps towards restoring the rule of law in the country were taken in April 1953. The investigation into the “Doctors’ Case” was stopped. Participants in the “Mingrelian case” were released from prison. The Leningrad case was revised.

One of the central places in the activities of the new leadership was occupied by the work of liberating society from the most monstrous forms of the command-administrative system, in particular overcoming the personality cult of Stalin. A reorganization of the structure and renewal of personnel in the internal affairs and state security bodies was carried out. Work was carried out to rehabilitate innocent victims of repression, for which a special commission was created under the chairmanship of Pospelov (by the beginning of 1956, about 16 thousand people were rehabilitated).

In the second half of the 50s. continued the policy aimed at restoration of legality in the socio-political sphere. To strengthen law and order, reform of the justice system was carried out. New criminal legislation was developed and approved. At the end of the 50s. Unfounded charges against the deported peoples were dropped. Chechens, Kalmyks, Ingush, Karachais and Balkars evicted from their native places received the right to return to their homeland. The autonomy of these peoples was restored. Charges of aiding the German occupiers were dropped against the Soviet Germans. The repatriation of citizens of Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and other countries in special settlements has begun.

However, the policies pursued were inconsistent. Rehabilitation did not affect many major Soviet and government figures of the 30s, in particular Rykov and Bukharin - leaders of the opposition to Stalin. The deported Volga Germans were denied return to their former places of residence. Rehabilitation did not affect those repressed in the 30s. Soviet Koreans and the Tatar population evicted from Crimea during the Patriotic War.

The de-Stalinization policy pursued by Khrushchev and numerous restructurings in the political and economic spheres caused growing discontent among parts of the party and state apparatus. In 1957, a group of party leaders led by Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich tried to remove Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. They accused Khrushchev of violating the principles of “collective leadership” and establishing his own cult, of arbitrary and thoughtless foreign policy actions, and of economic voluntarism. However, the open resistance of some party and state leaders to the reform policy ended in failure. Substantial part Party and Soviet leaders at this moment supported Khrushchev. The June (1957) Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee found the group of Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich guilty of opposing the political course of the party. The group members were expelled from the highest party bodies and removed from their positions.