In the history of the USSR, 1957 is a time of significant events that took place in the life of the country. Then changes and innovations affected not only the economy, science, space achievements, but also culture in general. We will talk about what happened in the country and what event in the USSR in 1957 became the main one in this article.
Sixth Five-Year Plan
Its execution was supposed to take place from 1956 to 1960. According to the reports of those years, the national income grew by almost one and a half times, the number of agricultural products increased by 32, and industrial - by 64%. In addition, the Kuibyshevskaya, Gorkovskaya, Volgogradskaya, Irkutskaya HPPs were put into operation, and the largest light industry enterprise in Europe, the Worsted Combine, started operating in Ivanovo.
The sixth five-year plan was also marked by the beginning of the development of fallow and virgin lands in Kazakhstan, Western Siberia and the Trans-Urals. The country acquired a reliable nuclear missile shield, and the USSR launched the first artificial Earth satellite in the world. But, despite the above great achievements, it was decided to interrupt the implementation of this plan. The fact,that these were the years of Khrushchev's rule, who fully demonstrated his remarkable abilities when he led the post-war reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy. It is not surprising that they listened to his opinion, so when at the XXI Congress of the CPSU in 1959 he put forward a proposal to replace the five-year plan with a seven-year one, his initiative was supported.
This program was supposed to be the first step towards building communism in the USSR already in 1980. However, after the dismissal of Nikita Sergeevich, the seven-year plan was recognized as adventurous, and the economy returned to the previous five-year plan.
Formation of economic councils
The main event in the USSR in 1957 was the economic reform, which was also initiated by NS Khrushchev. It consisted in improving the management of construction and industry. He proposed to eliminate the departmental subordination of all enterprises and transfer them to the management of the regions. At the same time, it was proposed to disband the sectoral ministries.
The purpose of the economic reform of 1957 in the USSR was the decentralization of the existing concept of production management. According to its initiator, such a reorganization would improve the quality of products, improve logistics, reduce the amount of funds allocated for the repair of equipment, and optimize the distribution of resources.
I must say that the reform progressed very slowly and at first was aimed solely at breaking the already established sectoral centralized systemmanagement. However, contrary to optimistic forecasts, such actions led to the gradual destruction of not only the already established common technical policy, but also to the loss of all economic ties both in agriculture and in industry. In addition, prices in the USSR in 1957 for certain types of food, furniture, clothing, cars and many other goods began to steadily creep up.
International Forum
A landmark event in the USSR in 1957 was the opening of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Moscow from July 28 to August 11. It was decided to make the Dove of Peace its symbol, which was invented by the famous French and Spanish artist, the founder of cubism, Pablo Picasso. According to the already established tradition, young people who came to the festival from different parts of the world had to plant trees in the parks of the capitals where the forum was held. Therefore, specifically for this purpose, the Druzhba park was laid in Moscow. In addition, a sculpture known as the "Festival Flower" was also installed there. More than eight hundred events were held in two weeks.
I must say that this festival was held during the years of Khrushchev's rule and fell on the so-called thaw period, when an atmosphere of unprecedented openness and freedom reigned in the country. Then Muscovites could easily communicate with visiting foreigners and not be afraid of any persecution from the authorities. Soviet people, accustomed to hiding their true thoughts and feelings over the long years of the totalitarian regime, were finally able to openlytalk to each other about painful things.
Hydrofoil
The operation of such passenger ships began in 1957. The ship completed its maiden voyage on 25 August. He covered a distance of 420 km, going along the route Gorky - Kazan in just 7 hours. There were 30 passengers on board. The ship "Rocket-1" was built at the plant "Krasnoye Sormovo". Later, its serial production was launched at a shipyard in Feodosia. These ships were equipped with high-speed diesel engines supplied by the Leningrad Zvezda plant.
It is worth noting that hydrofoils were very popular. A trip to one of the many picturesque bays was a family favorite, despite the fact that tickets for a trip along the river cost much more than a commuter train ride for the same distance.
Launch of the first ballistic missile
It is impossible not to recall the event in the USSR in 1957, when on August 21 the first launch of the R-7 (product 8L718) took place, which, after so many years of painstaking work, ended successfully. Recall that the work on the creation of this rocket, as well as the rest of the technical equipment, was carried out under the guidance of the famous Soviet designer Sergei Korolev. The R-7 rocket construction project is one of the largest engineering and technical programs ever carried out in the USSR. Its implementation became the starting point in the subsequent successful development of industries, one way or another related to rocket science.
An intercontinental ballistic missile, the warhead of which only imitated a nuclear warhead, was launched from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome. She successfully passed along a given route and accurately hit the target, which was located on the territory of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Launch of an artificial Earth satellite
It took place on October 4, 1957. Then for the first time it was possible to launch an artificial celestial body into orbit. This became possible thanks to the R-7 launch vehicle. The satellite was launched from the territory of the fifth research site, owned by the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, later renamed the Baikonur cosmodrome.
The PS-1 apparatus was made in the form of a ball, the diameter of which was 58 cm and the weight was 83.6 kg. Four bayonet antennas were placed on its surface, two of which had a length of 2.4, and the rest - 2.9 m. After 295 seconds, it was launched into an elliptical orbit, and the 315th satellite separated from the launch vehicle, after which it call signs could be heard all over the world. The PS-1 flew for 92 days. During this time, he made 1,440 revolutions (about 60 million km) around our planet.
Eminent scientists such as B. S. Chekunov, M. V. Keldysh, N. S. Lidorenko, M. K. Tikhonravov, V. I. Lapko and a lot others. The project was led by the founder of Soviet cosmonautics S. P. Korolev.
Second Soviet spacecraft
ThirdNovember 1957 "Sputnik-2" was launched into low Earth orbit. For the first time, a warm-blooded animal, a dog named Laika, left our planet on board a spacecraft. The purpose of the launch is to determine the possibility of finding any living creatures at an altitude of 100-110 km in weightlessness and their subsequent ejection, and then returning to Earth using a parachute. It was from this moment that the era of space travel began, providing for the presence of the crew on board.
Recall that the dog managed to live in orbit for only a few hours, after which it died from the resulting stress and excessive overheating of the body. But, despite this, the launch of the Sputnik-2 apparatus showed that the stay of living beings in space is quite possible. It flew around the Earth 2,570 times, after which it burned up, entering the dense layers of the atmosphere. It happened on April 4, 1958.
Nuclear icebreaker "Lenin"
She was launched on December 5, 1957. The icebreaker became the first ship in the world to carry a nuclear power plant on board. The ship was designed by a team of Soviet scientists led by physicist Anatoly Aleksandrov. Such an important event in the USSR in 1957 as the commissioning of the Lenin icebreaker significantly expanded the possibilities of expeditionary research in the Arctic. In addition, the ship was actively used for the needs of the so-called Northern Sea Route (the section located between the European part of the country and the Far East).
The Lenin icebreaker was 134 meters long, 27.6 meters wide, and 16.1 meters deep. where ice reconnaissance helicopters could land. For 30 years of his service, he led more than 3.5 thousand ships through the ice. In 1989, it was decided to decommission the Lenin icebreaker and place it in Murmansk for eternal parking.
Cultural life of the country
This year was marked by a large number of films released on the screens of cinemas, which later became cult. The leader of the rental in 1957 is the painting “Quiet Flows the Don”, based on the novel of the same name by M. Sholokhov. At that time, director Gerasimov faced a rather difficult task - to fit such a voluminous work into three series, and he brilliantly coped with it.
For the first time, the most popular magazine "Soviet Screen", which tells about the latest cinema, held an audience vote among its readers and, based on its results, determined the best film of 1957. He became the painting "Height", which tells about the complex characters and difficult relationships of Soviet people.
In the same year, the tape "The Cranes Are Flying" was released. This legendary film won the Palme d'Or at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
