Many party "heavyweights" fought for the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. But in 1985, at the March plenum of the party leadership, the audience was named Gorbachev. Why did strong opponents give way to a young promoter?

Who could lead the country instead of Gorbachev?

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

Failed Leader

A peer of Brezhnev, a member of the Politburo since 1962, Andrei Kirilenko, who was in charge of the Soviet industry in the Central Committee, was considered even abroad one of the strongest "Kremlin elders", 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. During Leonid Brezhnev’s congratulations on his 70th birthday, he uttered a phrase that spread around the world that “70 years for a political leader is average age". He spoke extremely negatively about Mikhail Gorbachev, opposed his elevation. Over time, probably, he would have coped with Gorbachev, but suddenly ... Fortunately for the first secretary of the Stavropol Territory Committee, he fell seriously ill. Kirilenko fell into a sclerotic state. I stopped recognizing acquaintances, 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 with difficulty restrained laughter). However, Leonid Brezhnev kept his old comrade in the Politburo. He was retired 12 days after Brezhnev's death. After dying in 1990, Andrei Kirilenko bequeathed his entire fortune to the Communist Party.

No notable 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 particular success. Yes, and in the Central Committee of the CPSU, whose secretary Mikhail Sergeevich became in November 1978, he was in the "penal post" responsible for agriculture.
Someone will object, they say, 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, the Food Program was adopted, which promised that in 5 years the country would fully provide itself with agricultural products, which did not work.
The anti-alcohol campaign was carried out absolutely mediocre, which as a result led to an increase in drug addiction and the production of counterfeit alcohol.
In the region of domestic policy Gorbachev managed to ensure that the republics of the USSR quarreled among themselves.
Crime literally overwhelmed the country, racketeering, unknown to anyone in the Soviet Union, arose and quickly developed.
Ultimately, the weakness of governance and economic chaos led to the fact that the USSR ceased to exist.
That is, we can judge quite objectively about the merits of Mikhail Gorbachev as head of state - by and large, he has nothing to be proud of.
Gorbachev's only trump card in that distant 1985, compared with many other members of the Politburo, was his relative "youth" - in 1985, Mikhail Sergeyevich turned 54 years old.

When hopes are shattered

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 Central Committee of the CPSU, 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 Chekist of the country knew Mikhail Sergeevich for a long time and sympathized with him (and Gorbachev, while still working as the first secretary of the Stavropol Territory Committee of the CPSU, informed Andropov how holidaymakers on Mineralnye Vody from the highest echelon of power behave). For the party elite, such an assignment became a sign: the dying general secretary points to his successor.
This, of course, did not please the second person in the party, Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, with whom Andropov had rather tense relations. In fact, many historians are convinced that Andropov's move was intended not so much to raise Gorbachev as to humiliate Chernenko.
It is known that the dying Andropov sent a parting letter to the Politburo, where, in particular, he asked that Gorbachev continue to conduct meetings of the Politburo and the Secretariat. But the note was immediately handed over to Chernenko. Konstantin Ustinovich did as he saw fit: he announced at the meeting of the Politburo all the other points - except for what concerned Gorbachev.
Mikhail Sergeevich immediately went to the hospital to complain to Andropov. The General Secretary was outraged, called his comrades-in-arms with a demand to urgently convene the next meeting of the Politburo - but after a few days he passed away.
Years of experience in the Kremlin's intrigues helped Chernenko to weaken Gorbachev's pressure. But this defeat taught Mikhail Sergeevich a lot.

Loyalty is not forgotten

The very next day after Andropov's death, on February 10, 1984, an extraordinary meeting of the Politburo was held, which was, in fact, formal. Before the meeting, the four most authoritative party leaders were determined who would get the post of general secretary: 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 Andreyevich Gromyko.
At the preliminary talks, Gromyko nominated himself to the high post. Ustinov had previously met with Gorbachev - and he invited him to become General Secretary, 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, at the initiative of Ustinov, the Big Four recommended Chernenko as General Secretary, whose candidacy suited everyone.
However, Ustinov did not forget Gorbachev's loyalty. At his suggestion, it was Mikhail Sergeevich who continued to chair the meetings of the Politburo when the Secretary General was in the hospital - that is, quite often.

You - to me, I - to you

In December 1984, Gorbachev's patron, the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union Ustinov, died of pneumonia. This allowed other candidates for the post of Secretary General to declare themselves. Before Chernenko's death in March 1985, there were three in the Politburo: the already mentioned Andrei Andreevich Gromyko, Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov and First Secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee Viktor Vasilyevich Grishin.
Former KGB chairman Vladimir Alexandrovich Kryuchkov in his memoirs tells 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 the participants in the events tell a different story. Namely, about Gromyko's conspiracy with Gorbachev. Mikhail Sergeevich managed to bribe an 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 to elect Gorbachev as Secretary General.
Grishin was supported by almost all the capital's leaders, he was credited with the prosperity of Moscow and the successful experience of managerial work. But here Chernenko unwittingly helped Gorbachev: seeing a competitor in Viktor Vasilyevich, he ordered to collect dirt on him. The investigation revealed that the party leader is associated with high-profile economic crimes, in particular, with high-profile cases of embezzlement in the Eliseevsky store and Glavmostorg.

The alignment of forces in the Politburo

OPPONENTS OF GORBACHEV- Nikolai Tikhonov, Viktor Grishin, Grigory Romanov, Dinmukhamed Kunaev, Vladimir Shcherbitsky
GORBACHEV'S SUPPORTERS- Andrei Gromyko, Mikhail Solomentsev, Vitaly Vorotnikov, Heydar Aliyev, Mikhail Gorbachev

How planes don't take off

The most real 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, Chernenko personally favored Romanov, each time 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 testimonies of eyewitnesses of the events, this was indeed a real candidate for the highest post in the country (even among the people there were not quiet conversations about this at all!), In no way inferior to Gorbachev.
His administrative sense failed him. At the end of February 1984, just a couple of weeks before Chernenko's death, Romanov left for Lithuania on vacation. Having received the news of the death of the General Secretary, Grigory Vasilyevich decided to immediately fly to Moscow. But the flight was delayed due to bad weather. As a result, Romanov only managed to attend the Politburo meeting directly - he failed to hold any preliminary consultations, unlike Gorbachev. Did not have enough time. Another real contender for the highest 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 the initiative of Gromyko) was sent on a visit to the United States. It was Scherbitsky, whom Brezhnev saw in his successors, who could take an uncompromising position in the Politburo, unite Gorbachev's opponents around him. But ... the plane on which Shcherbitsky was returning to Moscow, under an insignificant pretext, was detained at the airport in New York, and the meeting of the Politburo took place without the participation of a dangerous heavyweight of the inner-party struggle. The news of Gorbachev's election as Secretary General Shcherbitsky received on board the aircraft.

Rewarded according to merit

As a result, the historical, as it turned out, meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU went exactly as it was necessary for Romanov's competitor - Gorbachev.
It went on for two days. On the first day, March 10, 1985, Romanov immediately asked for the floor, proposing Grishin's candidacy. Gromyko objected to this, saying: “Enough to carry coffins already” (referring to the advanced age of Viktor Vasilyevich, who was 70 years old) and offering Gorbachev to the high post. Grishin recused himself, but nominated Romanov. As a result of an open vote, Gorbachev won by a margin of one vote.
On the second day, March 11, Gromyko returned to the same question. This time, understanding the balance of power, 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 got what, from the point of view of Mikhail Sergeevich, he deserved. After a short time, Romanov, Tikhonov and Grishin were "taken out of the game." On July 1, 1985, at 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 Central Committee of the CPSU and retired. 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 Central Committee of the CPSU relieved him of his duties as a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee in connection with his retirement. And Andrei Andreyevich 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 Central Committee of the CPSU developed 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 a strong nervous strain (there was even a version that the retired leader of Ukraine had shot himself). After all, the next day, February 17, Shcherbitsky was supposed to testify in the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR about the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. He could expect a shameful resignation, but instead he ended up in a grave in the Kiev cemetery. Vladimir Shcherbitsky, who had been retired for five months, could be accused of hiding truthful information about the tragedy from the people, of not taking appropriate measures to combat radioactive contamination.
Andrei Gromyko, after his resignation, worked on memoirs, the first book of which, under the title "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, on Novodevichy, they said goodbye to Viktor Grishin, who died right in the Presnensky District Security Council, 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 Novodevichy cemetery, and buried on Kuntsevsky. Before last month life Romanov paid membership dues to the Communist Party.

Peter Masherov

In October 1980, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, Pyotr Masherov, died in a car accident. He did not live two weeks before the Plenum of the Central Committee, at which he was to be approved as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, instead of the resigned Alexei Kosygin. Brezhnev considered him a strong business executive, quite worthy of any top position, and the “Andropov wing” saw the successor to the Secretary General in Brezhnev’s nominee (which did not suit them).

Vladimir Shcherbitsky

They say that a few days before his death, in October 1982, Brezhnev, during a conversation with the chief party personnel officer - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Ivan Kapitonov, said, nodding to his chair: - See this chair? In a month, Shcherbitsky will be sitting in it. But Brezhnev did not have time to pass the corresponding decision through the Politburo. At a meeting of the Politburo, it was decided to convene the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU on November 15, 1982, but Brezhnev died on November 10.

Grigory Romanov

In 1976, Brezhnev more than once spoke well of the first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU, Grigory Romanov. He considered him the most capable worker in the entire Central Committee. “If he learns a little, then he could well take the chair of the general,” the secretary general once said. The retinue quickly informed Andropov's entourage, and ... rumors were spread against Romanov that he arranged the wedding of his youngest daughter in the Tauride Palace and used the dishes of the imperial family from the Hermitage (and the guests beat her).

Konstantin Katushev

In April 1968, the first secretary of the Gorky regional committee of the CPSU, 41-year-old Konstantin Katushev, at the suggestion of Brezhnev, was elected secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. He was "removed from the race", taking advantage of Brezhnev's weakness for orders. In December 1976, in connection with the 70th anniversary of the Secretary General, he was literally hung with awards different countries. And the Vietnamese order did not appear on his chest, although Katushev was in Hanoi the day before. Naturally, a rumor was immediately spread: he did not knock out an order for Brezhnev from the Vietnamese. The result is a link.

Yakov Ryabov

Yakov Ryabov, who in November 1976 became secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU - curator of the defense and military-industrial complex, was summed up by the fact that in February 1979, during a meeting with members of the bureau of the Nizhny Tagil city committee of the CPSU, Ryabov, breaking the taboo, touched Brezhnev's health. A week later, Brezhnev telephoned him about the need to strengthen the State Planning Committee of the USSR. And in a personal meeting, Mikhail Suslov announced his opinion to send Ryabov as first deputy to the chairman of the State Planning Commission, Nikolai Baibakov.

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Joseph Stalin died on March 5 at 21:50. From 6 to 9 March, the country was plunged into mourning. The coffin with the body of the leader was exhibited in Moscow in the Hall of Columns. About one and a half million people took part in the mourning events.

Troops were sent to the capital to maintain public order. However, the authorities did not expect such an incredible influx of people wishing to see Stalin on his last journey. The victims of the stampede on the day of the funeral, March 9, according to various sources, were from 300 to 3 thousand people.

Stalin went into Russian history as a symbol of greatness. The main achievements of the Stalin era were industrialization, victory in the Great Patriotic war and creation nuclear bomb. The foundation that the leader left allowed the country to achieve nuclear parity with the United States and launch rockets into space, ”said Dmitry Zhuravlev, doctor of historical sciences, political scientist, in an interview with RT.

At the same time, according to the expert, Soviet people paid a huge price for the great achievements in the Stalin era (1924-1953). The most negative phenomena, according to Zhuravlev, were collectivization, political repressions, labor camps (the Gulag system) and the grossest neglect of elementary human needs.

The riddle of the death of the leader

Stalin was distinguished by a pathological distrust of doctors and neglected their recommendations. Serious degradation of the health of the leader began in 1948. The last public speech of the Soviet leader took place on October 14, 1952, at which he summed up the results of the XIX Congress of the CPSU.

• Joseph Stalin speaks at the closing session of the 19th Congress of the CPSU
• RIA News

The last years of his life, Stalin spent a lot of time at the "near dacha" in Kuntsevo. On March 1, 1953, state guards found the leader motionless. They reported this to Lavrenty Beria, Georgy Malenkov and Nikita Khrushchev.

Prompt medical assistance to Stalin was not provided. Doctors came to examine him only on March 2. What happened in the first days of March at the "near dacha" is a mystery to historians. The question of whether it was possible to save the leader's life still remains unanswered.

The son of Nikita Khrushchev is sure that Stalin became a "victim of his own system." His associates and doctors were afraid to do anything, although it was obvious that the leader was in critical condition. According to official information, Stalin was diagnosed with a stroke. The disease was not announced, but on March 4, the party elite, apparently anticipating the imminent death of the leader, decided to break the silence.

• A line of people wishing to say goodbye to Joseph Stalin at the House of the Unions, Moscow
• RIA News

“On the night of March 2, 1953, I.V. Stalin, there was a sudden cerebral hemorrhage that captured vital areas of the brain, resulting in paralysis of the right leg and right hand with loss of consciousness and speech, ”the article in the Pravda newspaper said.

"Similarity of a palace coup"

Retired KGB colonel, counterintelligence officer Igor Prelin believes that the leader's entourage understood the inevitability of his imminent death and was not interested in Stalin's recovery.

“These people were interested in him (Stalin. — RT) rather left, for two reasons. They feared for their position and well-being that he would remove them, remove them and repress them. And secondly, of course, they themselves rushed to power. They understood that Stalin's days were numbered. It was clear that this was the final, ”Prelin said in an interview.

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The main contenders for the role of leader of the Soviet state were the former head of the NKVD Lavrenty Beria, deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers Georgy Malenkov, first secretary of the Moscow regional committee Nikita Khrushchev and member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU Marshal Nikolai Bulganin.

During Stalin's illness, the party elite redistributed the highest government posts. It was decided that Malenkov would take the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers, which belonged to the leader, Khrushchev would become the first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (the highest position in the party hierarchy), Beria would receive the portfolio of the minister of internal affairs, and Bulganin the minister of defense.

The unwillingness of Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev and Bulganin to save the life of the leader in every possible way and the redistribution of government posts gave rise to a widespread version of the existence of an anti-Stalinist conspiracy. The conspiracy against the leader was objectively beneficial to the party elite, Zhuravlev believes.

• Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Lavrenty Beria, Matvey Shkiryatov (front row from right to left), Georgy Malenkov and Andrey Zhdanov (second row from right to left)
• RIA News

“Hypothetically, some semblance of a palace coup was possible, since open opposition to the leader was completely excluded. Nevertheless, the conspiracy theory and the violent death of Stalin did not receive concrete evidence. Any versions on this subject are private opinions that are not based on documentary evidence, ”Zhuravlev stated in an interview with RT.

The collapse of the main contender

The post-Stalin regime in 1953-1954 is often referred to as "collegiate administration". Powers in the state were distributed among several party bosses. However, historians agree that under the beautiful veneer of “collegiate management” there was a fierce struggle for absolute leadership.

Malenkov, being the curator of the most important defense projects of the USSR, had close ties with the country's military elite (Marshal Georgy Zhukov is considered one of Malenkov's supporters). Beria wielded enormous influence over the security agencies, the key institutions of power in the Stalin era. Khrushchev enjoyed the sympathy of the party apparatus and was perceived as a compromise figure. Bulganin had the weakest positions.

At the funeral, the first to carry the coffin with the leader from the House of Trade Unions was Beria (left) and Malenkov (right). On the podium of the mausoleum in which Stalin was buried (in 1961 the leader was reburied near the Kremlin wall), Beria stood in the center, between Malenkov and Khrushchev. This symbolized his dominant position at that time.

Beria united under his authority the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of State Security. On March 19, he replaced almost all the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Union republics and regions of the RSFSR.

However, Beria did not abuse power. It is noteworthy that his political program coincided with the democratic initiatives expressed by Malenkov and Khrushchev. Oddly enough, but it was Lavrenty Pavlovich who began reviewing the criminal cases of those citizens who were accused of anti-Soviet conspiracies.

On March 27, 1953, the Minister of the Interior signed the Decree "On Amnesty". The document allowed the release of citizens convicted of malfeasance and economic crimes from places of detention. In total, more than 1.3 million people were released from prisons, and criminal proceedings were terminated against 401,000 citizens.

Despite these moves, Beria was strongly associated with the repressions that were carried out during the Stalin era. On June 26, 1953, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was summoned to a meeting of the Council of Ministers and detained, accused of espionage, falsification of criminal cases and abuse of power.

His closest associates were convicted of wrecking activities. On December 24, 1953, the Special Judicial Presence of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced Beria and his supporters to death. The ex-minister of internal affairs was shot in the bunker of the headquarters of the Moscow military district. After the death of the main contender for power, about ten functionaries who were part of the "Beria gang" were arrested and convicted.

Khrushchev's triumph

The removal of Beria became possible thanks to the alliance between Malenkov and Khrushchev. In 1954, a struggle broke out between the head of the Council of Ministers and the first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

• Georgy Malenkov
• RIA News

Malenkov advocated the elimination of the excesses of the Stalinist system both in politics and in the economy. He called for leaving the leader's personality cult in the past, improving the situation of collective farmers and focusing on the production of consumer goods.

The fatal mistake of Malenkov was an indifferent attitude towards the party and state apparatus. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers reduced the salaries of officials and repeatedly accused the bureaucracy of "complete disregard for the needs of the people."

“The main problem of Stalinism for the leaders of the CPSU was that anyone could fall under the rink of repression. The party apparatus is tired of this unpredictability. He needed guarantees of a stable existence. This is exactly what Nikita Khrushchev promised. In my opinion, it was this approach that became the key to his victory, ”said Zhuravlev.

In January 1955, the head of the USSR government was criticized by Khrushchev and his party comrades for failures in economic policy. On February 8, 1955, Malenkov left the post of head of the Council of Ministers and received the portfolio of the Minister of Power Plants, retaining his membership in the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. The post of Malenkov was taken by Nikolai Bulganin, and Georgy Zhukov became the Minister of Defense.

Such an attitude towards a political rival was intended to emphasize the beginning of a new era, where a sparing attitude towards the Soviet nomenklatura reigns. Nikita Khrushchev became her symbol.

"Hostage of the system"

In 1956, at the XX Congress of the CPSU, Khrushchev delivered a famous speech about debunking the cult of personality. The period of his reign is called the thaw. From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, hundreds of thousands of political prisoners were released, the system of labor camps (Gulag) was completely dismantled.

• Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev greet the participants of the May Day demonstration on the podium of the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin
• RIA News

“Khrushchev was able to become his own for the apparatus. Debunking Stalinism, he said that the leaders of the Bolshevik party should not have been subjected to repression. However, in the end, Khrushchev became a hostage of the control system he created himself, ”Zhuravlev stated.

As the expert explained, Khrushchev, in dealing with his subordinates, was distinguished by excessive harshness. He traveled a lot around the country and in personal meetings with the first secretaries of the regional committees subjected them to the most severe criticism, making, in fact, the same mistakes as Malenkov. In October 1964, the party nomenklatura removed Khrushchev from the post of first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and chairman of the Council of Ministers.

“Khrushchev took competent steps to become the leader of the USSR for some time. However, he was not going to radically change the Stalinist system. Nikita Sergeevich limited himself to correcting the most obvious shortcomings of his predecessor, ”said Zhuravlev.

• First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev
• RIA News

According to the expert, the key problem of the Stalinist system was the requirement of constant labor and combat feat from Soviet man. Most of the projects of Stalin and Khrushchev benefited the USSR, but catastrophically little attention was paid to the personal needs of citizens.

“Yes, under Khrushchev, the elite and society breathed more freely. However, man still remained a means to achieve grandiose goals. People are tired of the endless pursuit of records, they are tired of calls for self-sacrifice and the expectation of the onset of a communist paradise. This problem was one of the key reasons for the subsequent collapse of the Soviet statehood,” Zhuravlev summed up.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev He was elected President of the USSR on March 15, 1990 at the Third Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.
December 25, 1991, in connection with the termination of the existence of the USSR as public education, M.S. Gorbachev announced his resignation from the post of President and signed a Decree on the transfer of control of strategic nuclear weapons to Russian President Yeltsin.

On December 25, after Gorbachev's resignation, a red light was lowered in the Kremlin. state flag USSR and raised the flag of the RSFSR. The first and last President of the USSR left the Kremlin forever.

The first president of Russia, then still the RSFSR, Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin was elected on June 12, 1991 by popular vote. B.N. Yeltsin won in the first round (57.3% of the vote).

In connection with the expiration of the term of office of the President of Russia, Boris N. Yeltsin, and in accordance with the transitional provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the election of the President of Russia was scheduled for June 16, 1996. It was the only presidential election in Russia where it took two rounds to determine the winner. The elections were held on June 16 - July 3 and were distinguished by the sharpness of the competitive struggle between the candidates. The main competitors were considered the current President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin and the leader of the Communist Party Russian Federation G. A. Zyuganov. According to the election results, B.N. Yeltsin received 40.2 million votes (53.82 percent), well ahead of G. A. Zyuganov, who received 30.1 million votes (40.31 percent). 3.6 million Russians (4.82%) voted against both candidates .

December 31, 1999 at 12:00 Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin voluntarily ceased to exercise the powers of the President of the Russian Federation and transferred the powers of the President to Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. On April 5, 2000, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, was presented with certificates of a pensioner and labor veteran.

December 31, 1999 Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin became acting president.

In accordance with the Constitution, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation has set the date for holding extraordinary presidential elections March 26, 2000.

On March 26, 2000, 68.74 percent of the voters included in the voting lists, or 75,181,071 people, took part in the elections. Vladimir Putin received 39,740,434 votes, which amounted to 52.94 percent, that is, more than half of the votes. On April 5, 2000, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation decided to recognize the elections of the President of the Russian Federation as valid and valid, to consider Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich elected to the post of President of Russia.

Historians call the dates of Stalin's reign the period from 1929 to 1953. Joseph Stalin (Dzhugashvili) was born on December 21, 1879. Many contemporaries of the Soviet era associate the years of Stalin's rule not only with the victory over fascist Germany and an increase in the level of industrialization of the USSR, but also with numerous repressions of the civilian population.

During the reign of Stalin, about 3 million people were imprisoned and sentenced to death. And if we add to them those sent into exile, dispossessed and deported, then the victims among the civilian population in the Stalin era can be counted as about 20 million people. Now many historians and psychologists are inclined to believe that the situation within the family and upbringing in childhood had a huge influence on Stalin's character.

The formation of Stalin's tough character

From reliable sources it is known that Stalin's childhood was not the happiest and most cloudless. The leader's parents often cursed in front of their son. The father drank a lot and allowed himself to beat his mother in front of little Joseph. The mother, in turn, took out her anger on her son, beat and humiliated him. The unfavorable atmosphere in the family greatly affected Stalin's psyche. Even as a child, Stalin understood a simple truth: whoever is stronger is right. This principle became the motto of the future leader in life. He was also guided by him in governing the country.

In 1902, Joseph Vissarionovich organized a demonstration in Batumi, this step was the first for him in his political career. A little later, Stalin became the Bolshevik leader, and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Ulyanov) is among his best friends. Stalin fully shares the revolutionary ideas of Lenin.

In 1913, Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili first used his pseudonym - Stalin. From that time on, he became known by this surname. Few people know that before the surname Stalin, Joseph Vissarionovich tried on about 30 pseudonyms that never took root.

Stalin's reign

The period of Stalin's rule begins in 1929. Almost all the time of the reign of Joseph Stalin is accompanied by collectivization, mass death of the civilian population and famine. In 1932, Stalin adopted the law "on three spikelets". According to this law, a starving peasant who stole ears of wheat from the state was immediately subject to the highest penalty - execution. All the saved bread in the state was sent abroad. This was the first stage in the industrialization of the Soviet state: the purchase modern technology foreign production.

During the reign of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, mass repressions of the peaceful population of the USSR were carried out. The beginning of the repressions was laid in 1936, when the post of People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR was taken by Yezhov N.I. In 1938, on the orders of Stalin, he was shot close friend- Bukharin. During this period, many residents of the USSR were exiled to the Gulag or shot. Despite all the cruelty of the measures taken, Stalin's policy was aimed at raising the state and its development.

Pros and cons of Stalin's rule

Minuses:

• tough government policy:
• the almost complete destruction of the highest army officials, intellectuals and scientists (who thought differently from the government of the USSR);
• repression of wealthy peasants and the believing population;
• widening "chasm" between the elite and the working class;
• oppression of the civilian population: wages in products instead of cash rewards, working hours up to 14 hours;
• propaganda of anti-Semitism;
• about 7 million starvation deaths during the period of collectivization;
• prosperity of slavery;
• selective development of branches of the economy of the Soviet state.

Pros:

• the creation of a protective nuclear shield in the post-war period;
• an increase in the number of schools;
• creation of children's clubs, sections and circles;
• space exploration;
• lower prices for consumer goods;
• low prices for utilities;
• development of the industry of the Soviet state on the world stage.

During the Stalin era, it was formed social system USSR, social, political and economic institutions appeared. Iosif Vissarionovich completely abandoned the NEP policy, carried out the modernization of the Soviet state at the expense of the village. Thanks to the strategic qualities of the Soviet leader, the USSR won the Second World War. The Soviet state began to be called a superpower. The USSR became a member of the UN Security Council. The era of Stalin's rule ended in 1953. N. Khrushchev replaced him as chairman of the government of the USSR.

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU is the highest position in the hierarchy of the Communist Party and, by and large, the leader of the Soviet Union. In the history of the party, there were four more positions of the head of its central apparatus: Technical Secretary (1917-1918), Chairman of the Secretariat (1918-1919), Executive Secretary (1919-1922) and First Secretary (1953-1966).

The persons who filled the first two positions were mainly engaged in paper secretarial work. The position of Responsible Secretary was introduced in 1919 to carry out administrative activities. The post of general secretary, established in 1922, was also created purely for administrative and personnel internal work. However, the first general secretary Joseph Stalin, using the principles of democratic centralism, managed to become not only the leader of the party, but of the entire Soviet Union.

At the 17th Party Congress, Stalin was not formally re-elected to the post of General Secretary. However, his influence was already enough to maintain leadership in the party and the country as a whole. After Stalin's death in 1953, Georgy Malenkov was considered the most influential member of the Secretariat. After his appointment as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, he left the Secretariat and Nikita Khrushchev, who was soon elected First Secretary of the Central Committee, entered the leading positions in the party.

Not limitless rulers

In 1964, opposition within the Politburo and the Central Committee removed Nikita Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary, electing Leonid Brezhnev to take his place. Since 1966, the position of the head of the party has again become known as the General Secretary. In the Brezhnev era, the power of the General Secretary was not unlimited, since members of the Politburo could limit his powers. The leadership of the country was carried out collectively.

According to the same principle as the late Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko ruled the country. Both were elected to the highest party post when their health was deteriorating, and served as general secretary for a short time. Until 1990, when the Communist Party's monopoly on power was eliminated, Mikhail Gorbachev led the state as General Secretary of the CPSU. Especially for him, in order to maintain leadership in the country, the post of President of the Soviet Union was established in the same year.

After the August 1991 coup, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary. He was replaced by Deputy Vladimir Ivashko, who served as Acting General Secretary for only five calendar days, until that moment Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspended the activities of the CPSU.