Post-war political life in the USSR was characterized by stability. Anything before 1991 changed extremely rarely. The people soon got used to the emerging state of affairs, its best representatives happily carried portraits of the new leaders around Red Square during the May and November demonstrations, and those that were also good, but worse, did the same thing at the same time in other cities, district centers, villages and townships. The overthrown or deceased party and state leaders (except Lenin) were forgotten almost instantly, they even stopped writing jokes about them. Outstanding theoretical works were no longer studied in schools, technical schools and institutes - their place was taken by the books of the new general secretaries, with approximately the same content. Some exception was N. S. Khrushchev, a politician who overthrew the authority of Stalin in order to take his place in the minds and souls.
Unique case
He really became an exception from all the leaders of the party, not only before, but also after himself. The bloodless and quiet resignation of Khrushchev,which did without solemn funerals and revelations, took place almost instantly and looked like a well-prepared conspiracy. In a sense, it was like that, but, by the standards of the Charter of the CPSU, all moral and ethical standards were observed. Everything happened quite democratically, albeit with a completely justified admixture of centralism. An extraordinary plenum met, discussed the behavior of a comrade, condemned some of his shortcomings and came to the conclusion that it was necessary to replace him in a leadership position. As they wrote then in the protocols, "listened - decided." Of course, in Soviet realities, this case became unique, like the Khrushchev era itself with all the miracles and crimes that occurred in it. All previous and subsequent general secretaries were ceremonially taken to the Kremlin necropolis - their final resting place - on gun carriages, except for Gorbachev, of course. Firstly, because Mikhail Sergeyevich is still alive, and secondly, he left his post not because of a conspiracy, but in connection with the abolition of his position as such. And thirdly, they turned out to be similar to Nikita Sergeyevich in some way. Another unique case, but not about it now.
First try
Khrushchev's resignation, which took place in October 1964, happened in a sense on the second attempt. Almost seven years before this fateful event for the country, three members of the Presidium of the Central Committee, later called the "anti-party group", namely Kaganovich, Molotov and Malenkov, initiated the process of removing the first secretary from power. Considering that in fact there werefour (in order to get out of the situation, another conspirator, Shepilov, was declared simply “joined”), then everything also happened in accordance with the party charter. We had to take unconventional measures. Members of the Central Committee were urgently delivered to Moscow for a plenum from all over the country by military aircraft, using high-speed MiG interceptors (UTI trainers) and bombers. Defense Minister G. K. Zhukov provided invaluable assistance (without her, Khrushchev's resignation would have taken place as early as 1957). The "Stalin Guards" were neutralized: they were expelled first from the Presidium, then from the Central Committee, and in 1962 they were completely expelled from the CPSU. They could have shot him, like L. P. Beria, but nothing happened.
Background
Khrushchev's ouster in 1964 was successful not only because the action was well prepared, but also because it suited almost everyone. The claims made at the October Plenum, for all their party-lobbyist bias, cannot be called unfair. Practically in all strategically important areas of politics and economics, there was a catastrophic failure. The well-being of the working masses was deteriorating, bold experiments in the defense sphere led to the half-life of the army and navy, the collective farms were languishing, becoming "millionaires on the contrary", prestige in the international arena was falling. The reasons for Khrushchev's resignation were numerous, and she herself became inevitable. The people perceived the change of power with quiet jubilation, the reduced officers rubbing their hands gloatingly, artists who received laureate badgesin Stalin's times, welcomed the manifestation of party democracy. Tired of sowing corn, the collective farmers of all climatic zones did not expect miracles from the new General Secretary, but vaguely hoped for the best. In general, after the resignation of Khrushchev, there were no popular unrest.
Nikita Sergeyevich's achievements
To be fair, one cannot but mention the bright deeds that the suspended first secretary managed to accomplish during the years of his reign.
Firstly, the country held a series of events that marked a departure from the darkly authoritarian practices of the Stalin era. They were generally called a return to the Leninist principles of leadership, but in reality they consisted in the demolition of almost all the numerous monuments (except the one in Gori), permission to print some literature that exposed tyranny, and the separation of the party line from the personal qualities of the character of the deceased in 1953 leader.
Secondly, the collective farmers were finally given passports, formally classifying them as full-fledged citizens of the USSR. This by no means meant freedom of choice of residence, but some loopholes nevertheless appeared.
Third, in a matter of a decade, a breakthrough has been made in housing construction. Millions of square meters were rented out annually, but despite such large-scale achievements, there were still not enough apartments. The cities began to "swell" from the former collective farmers who came to them (see the previous paragraph). Housing was cramped and uncomfortable, but the "Khrushchev" seemed to their then inhabitants skyscrapers, symbolizing new, modern trends.
Fourthly, space and again space. The first and best were all Soviet missiles. The flights of Gagarin, Titov, Tereshkova, and before them the dogs Belka, Strelka and Zvezdochka - all this aroused great enthusiasm. In addition, these achievements were directly related to defense capability. Citizens of the USSR were proud of the country in which they lived, although there were not as many reasons for this as they wanted.
There were other bright pages in the Khrushchev period, but they were not so significant. Millions of political prisoners were freed, but after leaving the camps, they soon became convinced that even now it is better to keep your mouth shut. It's safer this way.
Thaw
This phenomenon causes only positive associations today. It seems to our contemporaries that in those years the country arose from a long winter sleep, like a mighty bear. Brooks murmured, whispering words of truth about the horrors of Stalinism and the Gulag camps, the sonorous voices of poets sounded at the monument to Pushkin, dudes proudly shook their magnificent hairdos and started dancing rock and roll. Approximately such a picture is depicted by modern films shot on the theme of the fifties and sixties. Alas, things were not quite so. Even the rehabilitated and released political prisoners remained deprived. There was not enough living space for “normal”, that is, citizens who were not sitting.
And there was another circumstance, important for its psychological nature. Even those who suffered from Stalin's cruelty often remained his admirers. They could not reconcile themselves to the rudeness shown in the overthrow of theiridol. There was a pun about the cult, which, of course, was, but also about the personality, which also took place. The hint was that the detractor was underestimated and that he was responsible for the repressions.
The Stalinists were a significant part of those dissatisfied with Khrushchev's policies, and they perceived his removal from power as a fair retribution.
People's discontent
In the early sixties, the economic situation of the Soviet Union began to deteriorate. There were many reasons for this. Crop failures plagued the collective farms, which lost many millions of workers who worked at urban construction sites and factories. The measures taken in the form of increasing taxes on trees and livestock led to very bad consequences: mass cutting down and “putting under the knife” of livestock.
Unprecedented and the most monstrous after the years of "red terror" persecution was experienced by believers. Khrushchev's activity in this direction can be characterized as barbaric. Repeatedly violent closures of temples and monasteries led to bloodshed.
The “polytechnical” school reform was extremely unsuccessful and illiterate. It was canceled only in 1966, and the consequences affected for a long time.
In addition, in 1957, the state stopped paying the bonds that had been forcibly imposed on workers for more than three decades. Today this would be called a default.
There were many reasons for dissatisfaction, including the growth of production standards, accompanied by a decrease in prices, coupled with an increase in food prices. And the patience of the people could not stand it: unrest began, the mostthe most famous of which were the Novocherkassk events. The workers were shot in the squares, the survivors were caught, tried and sentenced to the same capital punishment. People had a natural question: why did Khrushchev condemn Stalin's personality cult and why is it better?
The next victim is the Armed Forces of the USSR
In the second half of the fifties, the Soviet Army was subjected to a massive, destructive and devastating attack. No, not NATO troops and not the Americans with their hydrogen bombs carried it out. The USSR lost 1.3 million troops in a completely peaceful environment. Having gone through the war, having become professionals and knowing nothing more than to serve the Motherland, the soldiers found themselves on the street - they were reduced. The characterization of Khrushchev given by them could be the subject of linguistic research, but censorship would not allow publishing such a treatise. As for the fleet, then there is generally a special conversation. All large-tonnage ships that ensure the stability of naval formations, especially battleships, were simply cut into scrap metal. Ineptly and uselessly, strategically important bases in China and Finland were abandoned, the troops left Austria. It is unlikely that external aggression would have done as much harm as Khrushchev's "defensive" activities. Opponents of this opinion may object, they say, overseas strategists were afraid of our missiles. Alas, they began to develop even under Stalin.
By the way, the First did not spare his savior from the "anti-party clique". Zhukov was relieved of his ministerial post, removed from the Presidium of the Central Committee and sent toOdessa - to command the district.
Concentrated in his hands…
Yes, it is this phrase from Lenin's political testament that is quite applicable to the fighter against the Stalinist cult. In 1958, N. S. Khrushchev became chairman of the Council of Ministers, he no longer had enough party power alone. The methods of leadership, positioned as "Leninist", in fact did not allow the possibility of expressing opinions that did not coincide with the general line. And its source was the mouth of the first secretary. For all his authoritarianism, I. V. Stalin often listened to objections, especially if they came from people who knew their job. Even in the most tragic years, the "tyrant" could change the decision if he was proven wrong. Khrushchev, on the other hand, was always the first to express his position and took every objection as a personal insult. In addition, in the best communist traditions, he considered himself a person who understood everything - from technology to art. Everyone knows the case in the Manezh when avant-garde artists became victims of attacks by the “head of the party” who fell into a rage. Lawsuits were held in the country in the cases of disgraced writers, sculptors were reproached for the spent bronze, which "is not enough for rockets." By the way, about them. About what Khrushchev was a specialist in the field of rocket science, his proposal to V. A. It was in 1963 in Kubinka, at the training ground.
Khrushchev-diplomat
Everyone knows how N. S. Khrushchev banged his shoe on the podium, even today's schoolchildren have heard at least something about it. No less popular is the phrase about Kuzka's mother, which the Soviet leader was going to show to the entire capitalist world, which caused difficulties for translators. These two quotations are the most famous, although the direct and open Nikita Sergeevich had a lot of them. But the main thing is not words, but deeds. For all the menacing statements, the USSR won few real strategic victories. The adventurous sending of missiles to Cuba was discovered, and a conflict began that almost caused the death of all mankind. The intervention in Hungary aroused indignation even among the allies of the USSR. Support for "progressive" regimes in Africa, Latin America and Asia was extremely expensive for the poor Soviet budget and aimed not at achieving any goals useful for the country, but at causing the greatest harm to Western countries. Khrushchev himself was most often the initiator of these undertakings. A politician differs from a statesman in that he thinks only about momentary interests. This is how Crimea was presented to Ukraine, although at that time no one could have imagined that this decision would entail international consequences.
Coup mechanism
So what was Khrushchev like? A table in two columns, on the right of which his useful deeds would be indicated, and on the left his harmful deeds, would distinguish between two traits of his character. So on the tombstone, created ironically by Ernst Neizvestny, scolded by him, black and white are combined.colors. But this is all lyricism, but in reality Khrushchev's removal occurred primarily due to the dissatisfaction of the party nomenklatura with him. No one asked the people, the army, or ordinary members of the CPSU, everything was decided behind the scenes and, of course, in an atmosphere of secrecy.
The head of state was resting quietly in Sochi, arrogantly ignoring the warnings he had received about a conspiracy. When he was called to Moscow, he still hoped in vain to rectify the situation. Support, however, was not. The State Security Committee, headed by A. N. Shelepin, took the side of the conspirators, the army showed complete neutrality (generals and marshals, obviously, did not forget the reforms and reductions). And there was no one else to rely on. Khrushchev's resignation took place in a clerical routine and without tragic events.
58-year-old Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, a member of the Presidium, led and carried out this "palace coup". Undoubtedly, this was a bold act: in case of failure, the consequences for the participants in the conspiracy could be the most deplorable. Brezhnev and Khrushchev were friends, but in a special way, in a party way. Equally warm were the relations between Nikita Sergeevich and Lavrenty Pavlovich. And the personal pensioner of allied significance treated Stalin very respectfully in his time. In the fall of 1964, the Khrushchev era ended.
Reaction
In the West, at first, the change of the main Kremlin resident was very wary. Politicians, prime ministers and presidents have already dreamed of the ghost of "Uncle Joe" in a paramilitary jacket with his invariable pipe. Khrushchev's resignationcould mean the re-Stalinization of both domestic and foreign policy of the USSR. This, however, did not happen. Leonid Ilyich turned out to be a quite friendly leader, a supporter of the peaceful coexistence of the two systems, which, generally speaking, was perceived by orthodox communists as a degeneration. The attitude towards Stalin at one time greatly worsened relations with the Chinese comrades. However, even their most critical characterization of Khrushchev as a revisionist did not lead to an armed conflict, while under Brezhnev it nevertheless arose (on the Damansky Peninsula). The Czechoslovak events demonstrated a certain continuity in the defense of the gains of socialism and evoked associations with Hungary in 1956, although not completely identical. Even later, in 1979, the war in Afghanistan confirmed the worst fears about the nature of world communism.
The reasons for Khrushchev's resignation were mainly not the desire to change the vector of development, but the desire of the party elite to maintain and expand their preferences.
The disgraced secretary himself spent the rest of his time in sad thoughts, dictating memoirs on a tape recorder in which he tried to justify his actions, and sometimes repenting of them. For him, the removal from office ended relatively well.
