The era of thaw in the political and spiritual sphere. Spiritual life under Khrushchev briefly “Thaw” in the spiritual and cultural sphere

What did the “thaw” policy mean in the spiritual sphere? (under Khrushchev) and received the best answer

Answer from Vicont[guru]
"Thaw" in spiritual life. Development of science and education.
Representatives of literature were the first to respond to the changes that began in society. Even before the 20th Congress of the CPSU, journalistic and literary works appeared that marked the birth of a new direction in Soviet literature - renovationism. One of the first such works was V. Pomerantsev’s article “On Sincerity in Literature,” published in 1953 in Novy Mir, where he first raised the question that “to write honestly means not to think about the expression on the faces of high and not high readers." The question of the vital necessity of the existence of various literary schools and movements was also raised here.
During the ongoing rehabilitation of victims of political repression, books by M. Koltsov, I. Babel, A. Vesely, I. Kataev and others were returned to the reader.
Life itself raised the question of the need to change the style of the leadership of the Writers' Union and its relations with the CPSU Central Committee. A. Fadeev’s attempt to achieve this through the withdrawal of ideological functions from the Ministry of Culture led to his disgrace and then his death. In his suicide letter, he noted that art in the USSR was “ruined by the self-confident and ignorant leadership of the party,” and writers, even the most recognized ones, were reduced to the status of boys, destroyed, “ideologically scolded and called it partisanship.” V. Dudintsev (“Not by Bread Alone”), D. Granin (“Seekers”), E. Dorosh (“Village Diary”) spoke about this in their works.
The inability to act by repressive methods forced the party leadership to look for new methods of influencing the intelligentsia. Since 1957, meetings between the leadership of the Central Committee and literary and artistic figures have become regular. The personal tastes of N. S. Khrushchev, who made numerous speeches at these meetings, acquired the character of official assessments. Such unceremonious intervention did not find support not only among the majority of the participants in these meetings and the intelligentsia in general, but also among the broadest sections of the population. In a letter addressed to Khrushchev, L. Semenova from Vladimir wrote: “You should not have spoken at this meeting. After all, you are not an expert in the field of art... But the worst thing is that the assessment you expressed is accepted as mandatory due to your social status. But in art, decreeing even absolutely correct provisions is harmful.”
At these meetings it was openly said that, from the point of view of the authorities, only those cultural workers are good who in “the politics of the party, in its ideology, find an inexhaustible source of creative inspiration.”
In May 1958, the Central Committee of the CPSU issued a resolution “On correcting errors in the evaluation of the operas “The Great Friendship”, “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” and “From the Heart”, which recognized the previous assessments of D. Shostakovich, S. Prokofiev, A. as unsubstantiated and unfair. Khachaturian, V. Shebalin, G. Popov, N. Myaskovsky and others. Thus, the Stalinist stigma of representatives of the “anti-popular formalist trend” was removed from outstanding representatives of Russian musical art.
One of the striking examples of the permissible limits of the “thaw” in spiritual life was the “Pasternak case.” The publication in the West of his novel Doctor Zhivago, banned by the authorities, and the awarding of the Nobel Prize to him put the writer literally outside the law. In October 1958, he was expelled from the Writers' Union and forced to refuse the Nobel Prize to avoid deportation from the country. A real shock for millions of people was the publication of A. I. Solzhenitsyn’s works “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”, “Matrenin’s Court”, which fully posed the problems of overcoming the Stalinist legacy in the everyday life of Soviet people.
The system for training engineering and technical personnel in correspondence and evening courses at universities also did not live up to expectations. At the same time, the industrial colleges created on the basis of the largest enterprises have proven themselves quite positively. However, they could not change the general situation in the education system.

Overcoming Stalinism in literature and art, the development of science, Soviet sports, the development of education.

Overcoming Stalinism in literature and art.

The first post-Stalin decade was marked by serious changes in spiritual life. The famous Soviet writer I. G. Ehrenburg called this period the “thaw” that came after the long and harsh Stalinist “winter.” And at the same time, it was not “spring” with its full-flowing and free “spill” of thoughts and feelings, but rather a “thaw”, which could again be followed by a “light frost”.

Representatives of literature were the first to respond to the changes that began in society. Even before the 20th Congress of the CPSU, works appeared that marked the birth of a new direction in Soviet literature - renovation. Its essence was to address the inner world of a person, his everyday worries and problems, and unresolved issues of the country's development. One of the first such works was V. Pomerantsev’s article “On Sincerity in Literature,” published in 1953 in the journal “New World,” where he first raised the question that “to write honestly means not to think about the expression of high and short readers." The question of the need for the existence of various literary schools and movements was also raised here.

Articles by V. Ovechkin (back in 1952), F. Abramov, and works by I. Ehrenburg (“The Thaw”), V. Panova (“Seasons”), and F. Panferov ( “Volga Mother River”), etc. Their authors moved away from the traditional varnishing of people’s real lives. For the first time in many years, the question was raised about the destructiveness of the atmosphere that had developed in the country. However, the authorities recognized the publication of these works as “harmful” and removed A. Tvardovsky from the management of the magazine.

Life itself raised the question of the need to change the leadership style of the Writers' Union and its relations with the CPSU Central Committee. Attempts by the head of the Writers' Union A. A. Fadeev to achieve this led to his disgrace and then to suicide. In his suicide letter, he noted that art in the USSR was “ruined by the self-confident and ignorant leadership of the party,” and writers, even the most recognized ones, were reduced to the status of boys, destroyed, “ideologically scolded and called it partisanship.” V. Dudintsev (“Not by Bread Alone”), D. Granin (“Seekers”), E. Dorosh (“Village Diary”) spoke about this in their works.

Space exploration and the development of the latest technology have made science fiction a favorite genre among readers. Novels and stories by I. A. Efremov, A. P. Kazantsev, brothers A. N. and B. N. Strugatsky and others lifted the veil of the future for the reader, allowing them to turn to the inner world of a scientist and a person. The authorities were looking for new methods of influencing the intelligentsia. Since 1957, meetings between the leadership of the Central Committee and literary and artistic figures have become regular. The personal tastes of Khrushchev, who made long-winded speeches at these meetings, acquired the character of official assessments. The unceremonious intervention did not find support not only among the majority of the participants in these meetings and among the intelligentsia in general, but also among the broadest sections of the population.

From N. S. Khrushchev’s speeches to literary and artistic figures

This does not mean at all that now, after the condemnation of the cult of personality, the time has come for things to take their course, that the reins of government have been weakened, that the social ship is sailing at the will of the waves and everyone can be willful and behave as they please. No. The party has and will firmly pursue the Leninist course it developed, uncompromisingly opposing any ideological vacillation.

One of the striking examples of the permissible limits of the “thaw” was the “Pasternak case”. The publication in the West of his banned novel Doctor Zhivago and the awarding of the Nobel Prize put the writer literally outside the law. In October 1958, B. Pasternak was expelled from the Writers' Union. He was forced to refuse the Nobel Prize to avoid deportation from the country. A real shock for millions of people was the publication of A. I. Solzhenitsyn’s works “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and “Matrenin’s Court”, which raised the problem of overcoming the Stalinist legacy in the everyday life of Soviet people.

In an effort to prevent the massive nature of anti-Stalin publications, which affected not only Stalinism, but also the entire totalitarian system, Khrushchev in his speeches drew the attention of writers to the fact that “this is a very dangerous topic and difficult material” and it is necessary to deal with it, “observing a sense of proportion.” " Official “limiters” also operated in other spheres of culture. Not only writers and poets (A. Voznesensky, D. Granin, V. Dudintsev, E. Evtushenko, S. Kirsanov) were regularly subjected to sharp criticism for “ideological dubiousness”, “underestimation of the leading role of the party”, “formalism”, etc. , K. Paustovsky, etc.), but also sculptors, artists, directors (E. Neizvestny, R. Falk, M. Khutsiev), philosophers, historians.

Nevertheless, during these years, many literary works appeared (“The Fate of a Man” by M. Sholokhov, “Silence” by Yu. Bondarev), films (“The Cranes Are Flying” by M. Kalatozov, “The Forty-First,” “The Ballad of a Soldier,” “Pure sky" by G. Chukhrai), paintings that have received national recognition precisely because of their life-affirming power and optimism, appeal to the inner world and everyday life of a person.

Development of science.

Party directives that focused on the development of scientific and technological progress stimulated the development of domestic science. In 1956, the International Research Center was opened in Dubna (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research). In 1957, the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences was formed with a wide network of institutes and laboratories. Other scientific centers were also created. Only in the system of the USSR Academy of Sciences for 1956-1958. 48 new research institutes were organized. Their geography has also expanded (Urals, Kola Peninsula, Karelia, Yakutia). By 1959, there were about 3,200 scientific institutions in the country. The number of scientific workers in the country was approaching 300 thousand. Among the greatest achievements of Russian science of this time are the creation of the most powerful synchrophasotron in the world (1957); launching of the world's first nuclear icebreaker "Lenin"; launch of the first artificial Earth satellite into space (October 4, 1957), sending animals into space (November 1957), the first human flight into space (April 12, 1961); launch of the world's first jet passenger airliner Tu-104; creation of high-speed passenger hydrofoil ships (“Raketa”), etc. Work in the field of genetics was resumed.

However, as before, priority in scientific developments was given to the interests of the military-industrial complex. Not only the country's largest scientists (S. Korolev, M. Keldysh, A. Tupolev, V. Chelomey, A. Sakharov, I. Kurchatov, etc.), but also Soviet intelligence worked for his needs. Thus, the space program was only an “addendum” to the program for creating means of delivering nuclear weapons. Thus, the scientific and technological achievements of the “Khrushchev era” laid the foundation for achieving military-strategic parity with the United States in the future.

The years of the “thaw” were marked by triumphant victories of Soviet athletes. Already the first participation of Soviet track and field athletes in the Olympics in Helsinki (1952) was marked by 22 gold, 30 silver and 19 bronze medals. In the unofficial team competition, the USSR team scored the same number of points as the USA team. The first gold medalist of the Olympics was discus thrower N. Romashkova (Ponomareva). The best athlete of the Melbourne Olympics (1956) was the Soviet runner V. Kuts, who became a two-time champion in the 5 and 10 km running. Gold medals at the Rome Olympics (1960) were awarded to P. Bolotnikov (running), sisters T. and I. Press (discus throwing, hurdles), V. Kapitonov (cycling), B. Shakhlin and L. Latynina (gymnastics) , Y. Vlasov (weightlifting), V. Ivanov (rowing), etc.

Brilliant results and world fame were achieved at the Tokyo Olympics (1964): in the high jump V. Brumel, weightlifter L. Zhabotinsky, gymnast L. Latynina and others. These were the years of triumph of the great Soviet football goalkeeper L. Yashin, who played for the sports team a career of more than 800 matches (including 207 without conceding goals) and becoming a silver medalist of the European Cup (1964) and champion of the Olympic Games (1956).

The successes of Soviet athletes caused unprecedented popularity of the competition, which created an important prerequisite for the development of mass sports. Encouraging these sentiments, the country's leadership paid attention to the construction of stadiums and sports palaces, the massive opening of sports sections and children's and youth sports schools. This laid a good foundation for future world victories of Soviet athletes.

Development of education.

As the foundations of industrial society were built in the USSR, the system that emerged in the 30s. the education system needed updating. It had to correspond to the prospects for the development of science and technology, new technologies, and changes in the social and humanitarian sphere.

However, this was in conflict with the official policy of continuing extensive economic development, which required new workers every year to develop enterprises under construction.

Education reform was largely conceived to solve this problem. In December 1958, a law was passed according to which, instead of a seven-year plan, a compulsory eight-year plan was created polytechnic school. Young people received secondary education by graduating from either a school for working (rural) youth on the job, or technical schools that operated on the basis of an eight-year school, or a secondary three-year comprehensive labor school with industrial training. For those wishing to continue their education at a university, mandatory work experience was introduced.

Thus, the severity of the problem of labor influx into production was temporarily removed. However, for enterprises this created new problems with staff turnover and low levels of labor and technological discipline among young workers.

Source of the article: Textbook by A.A Danilov “History of Russia”. 9th grade

Overcoming Stalinism in literature and art. The first post-Stalin decade was marked by serious changes in the spiritual life of society. The famous Soviet writer I. Ehrenburg called this period the “thaw” that came after the long and harsh Stalinist “winter”. And at the same time, it was not “spring” with its full-flowing and free “spill” of thoughts and feelings, but rather a “thaw”, which could again be followed by a “light frost”.

Representatives of literature were the first to respond to the changes that began in society. Even before the 20th Congress of the CPSU, works appeared that marked the birth of a new direction in Soviet literature - renovation. One of the first such works was V. Pomerantsev’s article “On Sincerity in Literature,” published in 1953 in Novy Mir, where he raised the question that “writing honestly means not thinking about the facial expressions of tall and short readers.” " The question of the vital necessity of the existence of various literary schools and movements was also raised here.

New World published articles written in a new key by V. Ovechkin, F. Abramov, M. Lifshits, as well as the widely known works of I. Ehrenburg (“The Thaw”), V. Panova (“Seasons”), F. Panferova (“Mother Volga River”), etc. In them, the authors moved away from varnishing people’s real lives. For the first time, the question was raised about the destructiveness of the atmosphere that had developed in the country for the intelligentsia. However, the authorities recognized the publication of these works as “harmful” and removed A. Tvardovsky from the management of the magazine.

Life itself raised the question of the need to change the leadership style of the Writers' Union and its relations with the CPSU Central Committee. A. Fadeev’s attempts to achieve this led to his disgrace and then his death. In his suicide letter, he noted that art in the USSR was “ruined by the self-confident and ignorant leadership of the party,” and writers, even the most recognized ones, were reduced to the status of boys, destroyed, “ideologically scolded and called it partisanship.” V. Dudintsev (“Not by Bread Alone”), D. Granin (“Seekers”), E. Dorosh (“Village Diary”) spoke about this in their works.

The inability to act by repressive methods forced the party leadership to look for new methods of influencing the intelligentsia. Since 1957, meetings between the leadership of the Central Committee and literary and artistic figures have become regular. The personal tastes of N. S. Khrushchev, who made numerous speeches at these meetings, acquired the character of official assessments. Such unceremonious intervention did not find support not only among the majority of the participants in these meetings and among the intelligentsia in general, but also among the broadest sections of the population.

After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, ideological pressure was somewhat weakened in the field of musical art, painting, and cinematography. Responsibility for the “excesses” of previous years was assigned to Stalin, Beria, Zhdanov, Molotov, Malenkov and others.

At the same time, in response to calls among the intelligentsia to repeal other decisions of the 40s. on ideological issues it was stated that they “played a huge role in the development of artistic creativity along the path of socialist realism” and in their “main content they retain relevant significance.” This indicated that the policy of the “thaw” in spiritual life had well-defined boundaries. Speaking about them at one of his meetings with writers, Khrushchev said that what had been achieved in recent years “does not mean at all that now, after the condemnation of the cult of personality, the time has come for gravity... The Party has pursued and will consistently and firmly pursue... the Leninist course , uncompromisingly opposing any ideological vacillations.”

One of the striking examples of the permissible limits of the “thaw” in spiritual life was the “Pasternak case.” The publication in the West of his novel Doctor Zhivago, banned by the authorities, and the awarding of the Nobel Prize to him put the writer literally outside the law. In October 1958, he was expelled from the Writers' Union and forced to refuse the Nobel Prize to avoid deportation from the country.

A real shock for many people was the publication of A. I. Solzhenitsyn’s works “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and “Matrenin’s Yard”, which fully posed the problems of overcoming the Stalinist legacy in the everyday life of Soviet people. In an effort to prevent the massive nature of anti-Stalinist publications, which affected not only Stalinism, but also the entire totalitarian system, Khrushchev in his speeches drew the writer’s attention to the fact that “this is a very dangerous topic and difficult material” and it is necessary to deal with it, “observing a sense of proportion.” " Official “limiters” also operated in other spheres of culture. Not only writers and poets (A. Voznesensky, D. Granin, V. Dudintsev, E. Evtushenko, S. Kirsanov) were regularly subjected to sharp criticism for “ideological dubiousness”, “underestimation of the leading role of the party”, “formalism”, etc. , K. Paustovsky, etc.), but also sculptors, artists, directors (E. Neizvestny, R. Falk, M. Khutsiev), philosophers, historians.

Nevertheless, during these years, many literary works appeared (“The Fate of a Man” by M. Sholokhov, “Silence” by Yu. Bondarev), films (“The Cranes Are Flying” by M. Kalatozov, “Clear Sky” by G. Chukhrai), and films that received nationwide recognition. recognition precisely because of its life-affirming strength and optimism, based on the new course of the Soviet leadership.

Development of science. Party directives stimulated the development of domestic science. In 1956, the International Research Center in Dubna (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research) was created. In 1957, the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences was formed with a wide network of institutes and laboratories. Other scientific centers were also created. Only in the system of the USSR Academy of Sciences for 1956 - 1958. 48 new research institutes were organized. Their geography has also expanded (Urals, Kola Peninsula, Karelia, Yakutia). By 1959, there were about 3,200 scientific institutions in the country. The number of scientific workers in the country was approaching 300 thousand. Among the largest achievements of domestic science of this time are the creation of the most powerful synchrophasotron in the world (1957); launching of the world's first nuclear icebreaker "Lenin"; launch into space of the first artificial Earth satellite (October 4, 1957); sending animals into space (November 1957); satellite flights to the Moon; first manned space flight (April 12, 1961); launch of the world's first jet passenger airliner Tu-104; creation of high-speed passenger hydrofoil ships (“Raketa”), etc. Work in the field of genetics was resumed. As before, priority in scientific developments was given to the interests of the military-industrial complex. Not only the country's largest scientists (S. Korolev, M. Keldysh, A. Tupolev, V. Chelomey, A. Sakharov, I. Kurchatov, etc.), but also Soviet intelligence worked for his needs. Even the space program was only an “addendum” to the program for creating nuclear weapons delivery vehicles.

Thus, the scientific and technological achievements of the “Khrushchev era” laid the foundation for achieving military-strategic parity with the United States in the future.

Development of education. Formed in the 30s. the educational system needed updating. It had to correspond to the prospects for the development of science and technology, new technologies, and changes in the social and humanitarian sphere.

However, this was in conflict with the official policy of continuing extensive economic development, which required hundreds of thousands of new workers every year to employ thousands of enterprises being built throughout the country.

Education reform was largely conceived to solve this problem.

In December 1958, a law was adopted on its new structure, according to which, instead of a seven-year school, a compulsory eight-year polytechnic school was created. Young people received secondary education by graduating from either a school for working (rural) youth on the job, or technical schools that operated on the basis of an eight-year school, or a secondary three-year comprehensive labor school with industrial training.

For those wishing to continue their education at a university, mandatory work experience was introduced.

Thus, the severity of the problem of labor influx into production was temporarily removed. However, for enterprise managers this created new problems with staff turnover and low levels of labor and technological discipline among young workers.

DOCUMENT

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Danilov A. A
D18 History of Russia, XX - early XXI centuries: Textbook. for 9th grade. general education institutions / A. A. Danilov, L. G. Kosulina, A. V. Pyzhikov. - 10th ed. - M.: Education, 2003. - 400 p. : ill., map. -IS

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The notorious “theory” has now received full citizenship rights in the party: the further one moves towards socialism, the greater the intensification of the class struggle and the more difficult the difficulties must be.

Political system in the 30s
Features of the political system of the USSR in the 30s. The role of the party in the life of the state. The grandiose tasks set before the country required centralization and exertion of all forces. They led to the formation

Social system in the 30s
Working class: To carry out Stalin's plans for industrialization, a huge amount of labor was required. The lack of skilled workers was compensated by their quantity. To complete five

From letters from the population to the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR M.I. Kalinin. 1937
Dear leaders, you see very blindly, you only hear at all kinds of congresses and meetings a certain number of completely satisfied people in the person of the delegates, and also our entire press rubs it in on you

Foreign policy of the USSR in the 30s
“New Course” of Soviet diplomacy. In 1933 i. In connection with the coming to power in Germany of the fascists led by A. Hitler, the balance of political forces in Europe changed. In Soviet foreign policy it is like this

Secret additional protocol between Germany and the Soviet Union of August 23, 1939
When signing the non-aggression treaty between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the undersigned representatives of both parties discussed issues in strict confidence

Spiritual life of Soviet society
Development of education. 30s went down in the history of our country as the period of the cultural revolution. This concept meant a significant increase compared to pre-revolutionary time.

About socialist realism. From a letter from A.V. Lunacharsky to the organizing committee of the Union of Soviet Writers. February 1933
Imagine that a house is being built and when it is built, it will be a magnificent palace. But it is not yet completed, and you will draw it in this form and say: “This is your socialism - but there is no roof.”

USSR on the eve of the Great Patriotic War
The beginning of World War II and the Soviet Union. On September 1, 1939, Germany began the war against Wormwood. This day is considered the beginning of World War II. The Polish troops were quickly defeated, the ruler

From the report of V.M. Molotov at the session of the Supreme Council of the USSR. October 31, 1939
It turned out that a short blow to Poland from first the German army and then the Red Army was enough for nothing to remain of this ugly brainchild of the Treaty of Versailles.

Beginning of the Great Patriotic War
The eve of war. In the spring of 1941, the approach of war was felt by everyone. Soviet intelligence reported to Stalin almost daily about Hitler's plans. Soviet intelligence officer Richard Sorge reported not only about the transfer

From the speech of I.V. Stalin at a reception in honor of graduates of military academies. May 5, 1941
We pursued a defensive line until we rearmed our army... and now we need to move from defense to offensive. QUESTIONS AND TASKS: 1. Why did V. Stalin believe that

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The situation at the front in the spring of 1942. Plans of the parties. The victory near Moscow gave rise to hopes among the Soviet leadership for the possibility of a quick defeat of the German troops and the end of the war. In January 1942 Stalin

From the comments and suggestions on the master plan "Ost" of Reichsführer SS Himmler
This is not only about the defeat of the state with its center in Moscow... The point is most likely to defeat the Russians as a people, to divide them... It is important that the population on Russian territory

Soviet rear in the Great Patriotic War
Soviet society in the first period of the war. The German attack radically changed the life and way of life of the Soviet people. In the early days, not everyone realized the reality of the emerging threat: people believed in the pre-war

From a radio speech by I.V. Stalin. July 3, 1941
Comrades! Citizens! Brothers and sisters! Soldiers of our army and navy! I appeal to you, my friends! The treacherous attack of Hitler Germany on our Motherland, launched on June 22, continues... The enemy is cruel

From the memoirs of General A.P. Beloborodova about the work of transport
We waited for this hour for twelve long days and nights. We knew that we were going to defend Moscow, but we were not told the final destination of the route. Neither when the 78th Rifle Division was loading into echelons, nor then

A radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War
Battle of the Caucasus. In the summer of 1942, a catastrophic situation for the Red Army arose in the North Caucasus. After the fall of Rostov-on-Don, the road to the south was open for the Germans, since no Ukrainian

From the memoirs of a member of the military council of the Don Front A.S. Chuyanov about the end of the Battle of Stalingrad
The encirclement ring is shrinking every day. The fascist command sends food and ammunition to the “cauldron”. Pilots drop “gifts” in containers on parachutes... I witnessed how

The peoples of the USSR in the fight against German fascism
Multinational Soviet people on the war fronts. When planning an attack on the USSR, Hitler believed that the multinational Soviet power would collapse under the blow of his armies, “like a house of cards.” But this

USSR at the final stage of World War II
Military-strategic situation by the beginning of 1944 By the beginning of 1944, Germany suffered significant losses, but was still a strong adversary. It holds almost 2/3 of its divisions (up to 5 million people)

In honor of the commanders of the Red Army. May 24, 1945
Our government made many mistakes, we had moments of despair in 1941 - 1942, when our army retreated, left our native villages and cities... because there was no other way out

Economic recovery
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From the responses of Soviet people to the reduction in retail prices for food products in 1952
Voznesensky R.N., student: Congratulations to everyone on the price reduction. Despite the difficult international situation, our country is growing, building and strengthening. Vadyukhin P.V., economist Glavo

Political development
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From the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. February 21, 1948
1. To oblige the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR of all spies, saboteurs, terrorists, Trotskyists, right-wingers, Mensheviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries, anarchists, nationalists serving sentences in special camps and prisons

Ideology and culture
Restoration of the Iron Curtain. The war awakened hopes among the intelligentsia for the weakening of the party-ideological press. Cultural figures hoped that the tendency towards relative

Foreign policy
At the origins of the Cold War. The victorious end of the war significantly changed the international position of the Soviet Union, which began to play the role of one of the recognized leaders of the world community. Ofie

From the speech of I.V. Stalin at the 19th Congress of the CPSU. October 1952
Previously, the bourgeoisie allowed itself to be liberal, defended bourgeois-democratic freedoms and thereby created popularity among the people. Now there is no trace left of liberalism. No more like this

Changes in the political system
The death of Stalin and the struggle for power. With the death of Stalin on March 5, 1953, an entire era in the life of the country ended. The struggle for power among the leader's heirs was continuous until the spring of 195

Contemporaries about N.S. Khrushchev
I believe that Khrushchev was right, and Beria was even more right. Even worse. We had evidence. Both are right. And Mikoyan. But these are all different faces. Despite the fact that Khrushchev is a right-wing man, he is rotten through and through.

Economy of the USSR in 1953 - 1964
Economic course of Malenkov. In the early 50s. The country's economy was facing serious problems. After Stalin's death, economic discussions among the leadership flared up with renewed vigor. In August 195

From the memoirs of K.F. Katushev, who worked in the 50s. Secretary of the Party Committee of the Gorky Automobile Plant
At the first stage, when economic councils were created taking into account the existing administrative division in each region, they had a beneficial effect on the economic activity of the regions in that they

Before literary and artistic figures
In matters of artistic creativity, the Central Committee of the Party will seek from everyone... unswerving adherence to the party line. This does not mean that now, after the condemnation of the cult,

The policy of peaceful coexistence: successes and contradictions
In search of a new strategy. Already in the first days after Stalin's death, two different lines began to be visible in the management of the country's foreign policy. Minister of Foreign Affairs V. M. Molotov, believing that “ne

From the message of F. Castro to N.S. Khrushchev. October 27, 1962
If aggression occurs... and the imperialists attack Cuba with the aim of occupying it, then the danger hidden in such an aggressive policy will be so great for all humanity that the Soviet Union

Conservation of the political regime
Strengthening the positions of the party-state nomenklatura. With the removal of N.S. Khrushchev and the coming to power of L.I. Brezhnev, a kind of “golden age” began for the party-state apparatus. Start

From the directive of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU to Soviet ambassadors and representatives abroad. December 1976
When your interlocutor raises questions about the so-called “dissidents”, about the procedure for citizens leaving the USSR and other questions with the help of which bourgeois propaganda tries to misrepresent

From a note from the KGB and the USSR Prosecutor General's Office to the CPSU Central Committee. November 1972
In accordance with the instructions of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the bodies of the State Security Committee carry out extensive preventive work to prevent crimes, suppress attempts to conduct organized crime

Social life in the mid-60s - mid-80s
The concept of “developed socialism.” The change of course in October 1964 should inevitably entail a new ideological justification. Initially, the curtailment of Khrushchev's democratic initiatives

The policy of détente: hopes and results
Relations with the West. In the mid-60s. The international situation remained contradictory for the USSR: the formerly united “socialist camp” was in a state of split due to “an

From the memoirs of Colonel General B.V. Gromov - commander of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan
Based on oral orders from the Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union D.F. Ustinov, more than thirty different directives were issued in December (1979), according to which, on the territory of the Sr.

Reform of the political system: goals, stages, results
Background to perestroika. After the death of Brezhnev, Yu. V. Andropov stood at the head of the party and state. In one of his first speeches, Andropov acknowledged the existence of many unresolved problems. Taking action

At the XIX All-Union Conference of the CPSU. 1988
The existing political system has proven unable to protect us from the growing stagnation in economic and social life in recent decades and has doomed us to failure in our undertakings.

From the election platform of A.D. Sakharov. 1989
1. Elimination of the administrative-command system and replacing it with a pluralistic one with market regulators and competition... 2. Social and national justice. Protection of individual rights. ABOUT

From a speech at the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU I.K. Polozkov - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the RSFSR. January 31, 1991
It is now clear to everyone that perestroika, conceived in 1985 and launched by the party and people as a renewal of socialism... did not take place. The so-called democrats managed to replace the goals of the restructuring

Economic reforms 1985 - 1991
Acceleration strategy. In April 1985, the new Soviet leadership proclaimed a course to accelerate the country's socio-economic development. Its main levers were seen as scientific and technological progress

From the resolution of the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee “on the situation in the country and the tasks of the CPSU in connection with the transition of the economy to market relations.” October 1990
The Central Committee of the CPSU sees the main meaning of the transition to the market in the framework of the socialist choice, first of all, to improve the lives of people, to ensure the complete emancipation of their initiative and business activity, with

From the “500 days” program. Summer 1990
The main goal of the reform is the economic freedom of citizens and the creation on this basis of an effective economic system capable of ensuring the dynamic development of the national economy and a decent level of financial

The policy of "glasnost": achievements and costs
On the way to “glasnost.” If in economics perestroika began with the setting of acceleration tasks, then in spiritual and cultural life its leitmotif became “glasnost.” Greater openness in activities

From the resolution of the XIX All-Union Conference of the CPSU “On Glasnost”. 1988
The conference believes that glasnost has fully justified itself and must be further developed in every possible way. For these purposes, it is considered necessary to create legal guarantees of transparency, for which it is necessary to provide for closed

From the speech of I.K. Polozkova. January 31, 1991
If previously the CPSU had a monopoly on glasnost, now this monopoly is held by the forces opposing it. QUESTIONS AND TASKS: 1. What is “glasnost”? How is it different from free

At the origins of the new Russian statehood
Democratic elections of people's deputies of the RSFSR. On March 4, 1990, elections for the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR took place. They differed from the elections of previous years in that they were held on an alternative basis. G

The Russian economy is on the way to the market
From the Soviet economic system to the market. The presidential elections of the RSFSR and the August political crisis of 1991 created the preconditions for decisive action in the economy. October 28, 1991 at the V Congress

From the decree of the President of the RSFSR
“ON MEASURES FOR PRICE LIBERALIZATION” (DECEMBER 3, 1991) In accordance with the resolution of the Congress of People’s Deputies of the RSFSR dated November 1, 1991 “On the socio-economic situation

Political life of Russia in the 90s. XX century
Development of a new Constitution. The decision to develop a new Russian Constitution was made already at the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR in June 1990. The Congress created a Constitutional Commission headed by

In Russian federation". September 21, 1993
A political situation has developed in the Russian Federation that threatens the state and public security of the country. Direct opposition to the implementation of socio-economic reforms

Spiritual life of Russia in the last decade of the 20th century
Historical conditions for the development of culture. The ideas and images of Russian culture, the peculiarities of the spiritual life of the people reflected the era - the collapse of the USSR and the movement towards democracy, a change in models of social

Construction of a renewed Federation
Peoples and regions of Russia on the eve and after the collapse of the USSR. Perestroika clearly revealed the need for a decisive renewal of the federal structure of Russia. Construction of the updated Fede

Geopolitical situation and foreign policy of Russia
Russia's position in the world. With the collapse of the USSR, Russia's position and role in the world changed. First of all, the world has changed: the Cold War ended, the world system of socialism is a thing of the past, the heritage of history

CIS and Baltic countries in the 90s. Russian abroad
Baltic countries: Having become independent states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had to solve many difficult problems. 90% of their trade turnover was related to the CIS countries. The decline in production was catastrophic

Russia on the threshold of the 21st century
President of Russia V.V. Putin. The second President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on October 7, 1952. Having graduated from the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University, he worked from 1975 to 1

From the message of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin to the Federal Assembly. 2000 g
The strategic task of last year was to strengthen the state - the state represented by all institutions and all levels of government... Today we can already say: the period of “spreading” of state

Text of the national anthem of the Russian Federation
(words by S. Mikhalkov) Russia is our sacred power, Russia is our beloved country. Mighty will, great glory - Your heritage for all time! Hail

From the message of Russian President V.V. Putin to the Federal Assembly. 2002
Our goals are unchanged - the democratic development of Russia, the establishment of a civilized market and the rule of law... The most important thing is to improve the standard of living of our people, to create conditions in which

The “warm wind of change” that blew from the rostrum of the 20th Congress of the CPSU in February 1956 dramatically changed the lives of Soviet people. The writer Ilya Grigorievich Erenburg gave an accurate description of the Khrushchev era, calling it the “thaw.” His novel with the symbolic title “The Thaw” posed a whole series of questions: what should be said about the past, what is the mission of the intelligentsia, what should be its relationship with the party.

In the second half of the 1950s. Society was gripped by a feeling of delight from sudden freedom; the people themselves did not fully understand this new and, undoubtedly, sincere feeling. It was the lack of agreement that gave it a special charm. This feeling dominated in one of the characteristic films of those years - “I Walk Through Moscow”... (Nikita Mikhalkov in the title role, this is one of his first roles). And the song from the film became a hymn to vague delight: “Everything in the world happens well, but you don’t immediately understand what’s going on...”.

The “Thaw” affected, first of all, literature. New magazines appeared: “Youth”, “Young Guard”, “Moscow”, “Our Contemporary”. A special role was played by the magazine “New World”, headed by A.T. Tvardovsky. It was here that the story of A.I. was published. Solzhenitsyn "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." Solzhenitsyn became one of the “dissidents,” as they were later called (dissidents). His writings presented a true picture of the labor, suffering and heroism of the Soviet people.

The rehabilitation of writers S. Yesenin, M. Bulgakov, A. Akhmatova, M. Zoshchenko, O. Mandelstam, B. Pilnyak and others began. Soviet people began to read more and think more. It was then that the statement appeared that the USSR was the most reading country in the world. A mass passion for poetry became a lifestyle; performances by poets took place in stadiums and huge halls. Perhaps, after the “Silver Age” of Russian poetry, interest in it did not rise as high as in the “Khrushchev decade”. For example, E. Yevtushenko, according to contemporaries, performed 250 times a year. The second idol of the reading public was A. Voznesensky.

The “Iron Curtain” to the West began to open. Magazines began to publish works by foreign writers E. Hemingway, E.-M. Remarque, T. Dreiser, J. London and others (E. Zola, V. Hugo, O. de Balzac, S. Zweig).

Remarque and Hemingway influenced not only the minds, but also the lifestyle of certain groups of the population, especially young people, who tried to copy Western fashion and behavior. Lines from the song: “... He wore tight trousers, read Hemingway...”. This is the image of a dude: a young man in tight trousers, long-toed boots, bent in a strange pretentious pose, imitating Western rock and roll, twist, neck, etc.

The process of the “thaw”, the liberalization of literature, was not unambiguous, and this was characteristic of the entire life of society during Khrushchev’s time. Such writers as B. Pasternak (for the novel “Doctor Zhivago”), V.D. remained banned. Dudintsev (“Not by Bread Alone”), D. Granin, A. Voznesensky, I. Erenburg, V.P. Nekrasov. The attacks on writers were associated not so much with criticism of their works, but with changes in the political situation, i.e. with the curtailment of political and social freedoms. At the end of the 1950s. The decline of the “thaw” began in all spheres of society. Among the intelligentsia, voices against N.S.’s policies were becoming increasingly louder. Khrushchev.

Boris Pasternak worked for many years on a novel about the revolution and civil war. Poems from this novel were published back in 1947. But he was unable to publish the novel itself, because the censors saw in it a departure from “socialist realism.” The manuscript of Doctor Zhivago went abroad and was published in Italy. In 1958, Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for this novel, which was not published in the USSR. This caused unequivocal condemnation from Khrushchev and the party. A campaign of flagellation against Pasternak began. He was expelled from the Writers' Union. Almost all writers were forced to join this campaign, subjecting Pasternak to insults. The defamation of Pasternak reflected the party's attempts to maintain complete control over society, not allowing any dissent. Pasternak himself wrote a poem during these days that became famous years later:

What did I dare to mess up?

Am I a dirty trickster and a villain?

I made the whole world cry over the beauty of my land.

Society of the Khrushchev period changed noticeably. People began to visit more often; they “missed communication, missed the opportunity to talk loudly about everything that was bothering them.” After 10 days of fear, when conversations even in a narrow and seemingly confidential circle could and did end in camps and executions, the opportunity arose to talk and communicate. A new phenomenon has become heated debates in the workplace after the end of the working day, in small cafes. “... Cafes have become like aquariums - with glass walls for everyone to see. And instead of solid... [titles], the country was strewn with frivolous “Smiles”, “Minutes”, “Veterki”. In the “glasses” they talked about politics and art, sports and matters of the heart. Communication also took organized forms in palaces and cultural centers, the number of which increased. Oral journals, debates, discussions of literary works, films and performances - these forms of communication have become noticeably livelier compared to previous years, and the statements of the participants were distinguished by a certain degree of freedom. “Associations of interests” began to emerge - clubs of philatelists, scuba divers, book lovers, florists, lovers of songs, jazz music, etc.

The most unusual for Soviet times were international friendship clubs, also the brainchild of the Thaw. In 1957, the VI World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Moscow. It led to the establishment of friendly contacts between the youth of the USSR and other countries. Since 1958, they began to celebrate the Day of Soviet Youth.

A characteristic feature of the “Khrushchev Thaw” was the development of satire. The audience enthusiastically received the performances of clowns Oleg Popov, Tarapunka and Shtepsel, Arkady Raikin, M.V. Mironova and A.S. Menakera, P.V. Rudakov and V.P. Nechaeva. The country excitedly repeated Raikin’s words “I’m already laughing!” and “It’s done!”

Television was part of people's lives. Televisions were a rarity; they were watched together with friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and lively discussed programs. The game KVN, which appeared in 1961, gained incredible popularity. This game itself in the 1960s. has become a general epidemic. KVN was played by everyone and everywhere: schoolchildren of junior and senior classes, students of technical schools and students, workers and office workers; in schools and red corners of dormitories, in student clubs and palaces of culture, in rest homes and sanatoriums.

In the art of cinema, the policy of filming only undisputed masterpieces was removed. In 1951, the stagnation in cinema became especially noticeable - only 6 full-length feature films were shot during the year. Subsequently, new talented actors began to appear on the screens. Viewers were introduced to such outstanding works as “Quiet Don”, “The Cranes Are Flying”, “The House Where I Live”, “The Idiot”, etc. In 1958, film studios released 102 films. film (“Carnival Night” with I.I. Ilyinsky and L.M. Gurchenko, “Amphibian Man” with A. Vertinskaya, “Hussar Ballad” with Yu.V. Yakovlev and L.I. Golubkina, “Dog Barbos and the Extraordinary cross" and "Moonshiners" by L.I. Gaidai). A high tradition of intellectual cinema was established, which was picked up in the 1960s and 1970s. Many masters of domestic cinema have received wide international recognition (G. Chukhrai, M. Kalatazov, S. Bondarchuk, A. Tarkovsky, N. Mikhalkov, etc.).

Cinemas began to show Polish, Italian (Federico Fellini), French, German, Indian, Hungarian, and Egyptian films. For the Soviet people it was a breath of new, fresh Western life.

The general approach to the cultural environment was contradictory: it was distinguished by the previous desire to put it in the service of the administrative-command ideology. Khrushchev himself sought to attract wide circles of the intelligentsia to his side, but considered them as “automatic machine gunners of the party,” as he directly said in one of his speeches (i.e., the intelligentsia had to work for the needs of the party). Already since the late 1950s. The control of the party apparatus over the activities of the artistic intelligentsia began to increase. At meetings with its representatives, Khrushchev mentored writers and artists in a fatherly manner, telling them how to work. Although he himself had little understanding of cultural issues, he had average tastes. All this gave rise to distrust of the party's policy in the field of culture.

Opposition sentiments intensified, primarily among the intelligentsia. Representatives of the opposition considered it necessary to carry out a more decisive de-Stalinization than was envisaged by the authorities. The party could not help but react to the public speeches of the oppositionists: “soft repressions” were applied to them (exclusion from the party, dismissal from work, deprivation of capital registration, etc.).

The period of some weakening of strict ideological control over the sphere of culture and changes in domestic and foreign policy that began after Stalin’s death entered Russian history under the name “thaw.” The concept of the “thaw” is widely used as a metaphor to describe the nature of changes in the spiritual climate of Soviet society after March 1953. In the fall of this year, the magazine “New World” published an article by critic V. Pomerantsev “On sincerity in literature,” which spoke about the need put man at the center of attention in literature, “raise the true theme of life, introduce into novels the conflicts that occupy people in everyday life.” In 1954, as if in response to these thoughts, the magazine published a story by I.G. Ehrenburg’s “Thaw”, which gave its name to a whole period in the political and cultural life of the country.

Khrushchev's report at the 20th Congress of the CPSU made a stunning impression on the whole country. He marked the boundary in the spiritual life of Soviet society for the period “before” and “after” the 20th Congress, divided people into supporters and opponents of the consistent exposure of the cult of personality, into “renovationists” and “conservatives”. The criticism formulated by Khrushchev was perceived by many as a signal to rethink the previous stage of national history.

After the 20th Congress, direct ideological pressure on the cultural sphere from the party leadership began to weaken. The “thaw” period covered about ten years, but the processes mentioned above occurred with varying degrees of intensity and were marked by numerous retreats from the liberalization of the regime (the first occurred in the autumn of the same 1956, when Soviet troops suppressed the uprising in Hungary). A harbinger of change was the return from camps and exile of thousands of repressed people who had lived to see this day. Mention of Stalin's name has almost disappeared from the press, numerous images of him from public places, and his works published in huge editions from bookstores and libraries. The renaming of cities, collective farms, factories, and streets began. However, the exposure of the cult of personality raised the problem of responsibility of the new leadership of the country, which was the direct successor of the previous regime, for the deaths of people and for abuses of power. The question of how to live with the burden of responsibility for the past and how to change life, not to allow a repetition of the tragedy of mass repression, enormous deprivation and strict dictatorship over all spheres of people's lives, has become the focus of attention of the thinking part of society. A.T. Tvardovsky, in his confessional poem “about time and about himself,” “By the Right of Memory,” published in the Soviet Union only during the years of perestroika, on behalf of the generation, shared these painful thoughts:

Children became fathers long ago, But we were all responsible for the universal father, And the trial lasts for decades, And there is no end in sight. The literary platform in the USSR largely replaced free political debate, and in the absence of freedom of speech, literary works found themselves at the center of public discussions. During the “thaw” years, a large and interested readership formed in the country, declaring its right to independent assessments and to choose likes and dislikes. The publication of the novel by V.D. in the pages of the magazine “New World” caused a wide response. Dudintsev “Not by Bread Alone” (1956) - books with a living, not stilted hero, a bearer of progressive views, a fighter against conservatism and inertia. In 1960-1965 I.G. Ehrenburg publishes in Novy Mir, with interruptions and large cuts made by censorship, a book of memoirs, People, Years, Life. She returned the names of figures from the era of the “Russian avant-garde” and the world of Western culture of the 1920s, which had been consigned to official oblivion. A big event was the publication in 1962 on the pages of the same magazine of the story “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” where A.I. Solzhenitsyn, based on his own camp experience, reflected on the victims of Stalin's repressions.

The appearance of the first work of fiction about camp life in the open press was a political decision. The top 150 leadership that authorized the publication (the story was published by order of Khrushchev) recognized not only the very fact of repression, but also the need for attention to this tragic page of Soviet life, which had not yet become history. Two subsequent works by Solzhenitsyn (“Matrenin Dvor” and “An Incident at Krechetovka Station”, 1963) secured the magazine, which was headed by Tvardovsky, a reputation as a center of attraction for supporters of democratic endeavors. The magazine “October” found itself in the camp of critics of the “thaw” literature (since 1961), which became the mouthpiece of conservative political views. Supporters of an appeal to national origins and traditional values were grouped around the magazines “Znamya” and “Young Guard”. Such

searches noted the work of the writer V.A. Soloukhin (“Vladimir Country Roads”, 1957) and the artist I.S. Glazunov, who at that time became a famous illustrator of Russian classics. Disputes around the problems of literature, theater and cinema were a mirror of the prevailing mood in society. The confrontation between cultural figures grouped around the magazines indirectly reflected the struggle of opinions in the country’s leadership regarding the ways of its further development.

“Thaw” prose and drama paid increasing attention to the inner world and private life of a person. At the turn of the 1960s. On the pages of “thick” magazines, which had a multi-million readership, works by young writers about their young contemporaries began to appear. At the same time, there is a clear division into “village” (V.I. Belov, V.G. Rasputin, F.A. Abramov, early V.M. Shukshin) and “urban” (Yu.V. Trifonov, V.V. Lipatov) prose. Another important theme of art was reflections on a person’s perception of the world in war, on the cost of victory. The authors of such works were people who went through the war and reinterpreted this experience from the perspective of people who were in the thick of events (that’s why this literature is often called “lieutenant’s prose”). Yu.V. writes about the war. Bondarev, K.D. Vorobiev, V.V. Bykov, B.L. Vasiliev, G.Ya. Baklanov. K.M. Simonov creates the trilogy “The Living and the Dead” (1959-1971).

The best films of the first years of the “Thaw” also show the “human face” of war (“The Cranes Are Flying” based on the play “Forever Living” by V.S. Rozov, directed by M.K. Kalatozov, “Ballad of a Soldier”, directed by G.N. Chukhrai, “The Fate of a Man” based on the story by M.A. Sholokhov, directed by S.F. Bondarchuk).

However, the attention of the authorities to the literary and artistic process as a mirror of public sentiment did not weaken. Censorship carefully searched for and destroyed any manifestations of dissent. During these years V.S. Grossman, the author of “Stalingrad Sketches” and the novel “For a Just Cause,” is working on the epic “Life and Fate” - about the fate, sacrifices and tragedy of a people plunged into war. In 1960, the manuscript was rejected by the editors of the Znamya magazine and confiscated from the author by state security agencies; According to the two copies preserved in the lists, the novel was published in the USSR only during the years of perestroika. Summing up the battle on the Volga, the author speaks of the “fragility and fragility of human existence” and the “value of the human personality,” which “has emerged in all its power.” The philosophy and artistic means of Grossman’s dilogy (the novel “Life and Fate” was preceded by the novel “For a Just Cause,” published in 1952) are close to Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” According to Grossman, battles are won by generals, but wars are won only by the people.

“The Battle of Stalingrad determined the outcome of the war, but the silent dispute between the victorious people and the victorious state continued. The fate of a person, his freedom depended on this dispute,” wrote the author of the novel.

At the end of the 1950s. literary samizdat arose. This was the name given to the editions of uncensored works of translated foreign and domestic authors that circulated in the lists in the form of typewritten, handwritten or photocopied copies. Through samizdat, a small part of the reading public had the opportunity to get acquainted with works of both famous and young authors that were not accepted for official publication. Poems by M.I. were distributed in samizdat copies. Tsvetaeva, A.A. Akhmatova, N.S. Gumilyov, young modern poets.

Another source of acquaintance with uncensored creativity was “tamizdat” - works of domestic authors published abroad, which then returned through a roundabout route to their homeland to their readers. This is exactly what happened with the novel by B.L. Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago", which since 1958 has been distributed in samizdat lists to a narrow circle of interested readers. In the USSR, the novel was being prepared for publication in Novy Mir, but the book was banned as

“imbued with the spirit of rejection of the socialist revolution.” At the center of the novel, which Pasternak considered his life's work, is the fate of the intelligentsia in the whirlwind of events of revolutions and the Civil War. The writer, in his words, wanted to “give a historical image of Russia over the last forty-five years,” to express his views “on art, on the Gospel, on human life in history and on much more.”

After the award of B.L. Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958 “for outstanding services in modern lyric poetry and in the traditional field of great Russian prose,” a campaign to persecute the writer was launched in the USSR. At the same time, Khrushchev, as he later admitted, did not read the novel itself, just as the vast majority of indignant “readers” did not read it, since the book was inaccessible to a wide audience. A flood of letters poured into the authorities and the press condemning the writer and calling for him to be deprived of Soviet citizenship; Many writers also took an active part in this campaign. Pasternak was expelled from the USSR Writers' Union.

The writer categorically rejected the authorities’ demands to leave the country, but was forced to refuse the award. The destruction of the novel, organized by conservative forces in the top party leadership, was supposed to clearly indicate the boundaries of “permissible” creativity. 153 “Doctor Zhivago” gained worldwide fame, and the “Pasternak case” and the new tightening of censorship marked the “beginning of the end” for expectations of political liberalization and became evidence of the fragility and reversibility of the changes that seemed to have emerged after the 20th Congress in the relations between the authorities and the creative intelligentsia.

During these years, it became a practice to hold meetings between party and state leaders and representatives of the intelligentsia. Essentially, little has changed in the state policy of cultural management, and Khrushchev at one of these meetings did not fail to note that in matters of art he was a “Stalinist.” “Moral support for the construction of communism” was considered as the main task of artistic creativity. A circle of writers and artists close to the authorities was identified; they occupied leading positions in creative unions. Means of direct pressure on cultural figures were also used. During the anniversary exhibition of the Moscow organization of the Union of Artists in December 1962, Khrushchev made harsh attacks on young painters and sculptors who worked outside the “understandable” realistic canons. After the Caribbean crisis, the top party leadership considered it necessary to once again emphasize the impossibility of peaceful coexistence of socialist and bourgeois ideology and point out the role that was assigned to culture in educating the “builder of communism” after the adoption of the new CPSU program.

A campaign of criticism of “ideologically alien influences” and “individualistic tyranny” was launched in the press.

Particular importance was attached to these measures also because new artistic trends penetrated into the Soviet Union from the West, and along with them, ideas that were opposed to the official ideology, including political ones. The authorities simply had to take control of this process. In 1955, the first issue of the journal “Foreign Literature” was published, publishing the works of “progressive” foreign authors. In 1956

154 an exhibition of paintings by P. Picasso took place in Moscow and Leningrad - for the first time in the USSR paintings by one of the most famous artists of the 20th century were shown. In 1957, the VI World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Moscow. The first acquaintance of Soviet youth with the youth culture of the West and foreign fashion took place. Within the framework of the festival, exhibitions of contemporary Western art, practically unknown in the USSR, were organized. In 1958, the first International Competition named after. P.I. Tchaikovsky. The victory of the young American pianist Van Cliburn became one of the landmark events of the Thaw.

In the Soviet Union itself, unofficial art was born. Groups of artists appeared who tried to move away from the rigid canons of socialist realism. One of these groups worked in the creative studio of E.M. Belutin’s “New Reality”, and it was the artists of this studio who came under fire from Khrushchev’s criticism at the exhibition of the Moscow Union of Artists (along with representatives of the “left wing” of this organization and the sculptor E. Neizvestny).

Another group united artists and poets who gathered in an apartment in the Moscow suburb of Lianozovo. Representatives of “unofficial art” worked in Tarusa, a town located more than 100 km from the capital, where some representatives of the creative intelligentsia returning from exile settled. Harsh criticism for the notorious “formalism” and “lack of ideas”, which unfolded in the press after the scandal at the exhibition in Manege in 1962, drove these artists “underground” - into apartments (hence the phenomenon of “apartment exhibitions” and the name “other art” - underground from the English Underground - dungeon).

Although the audience of samizdat and “other art” was mainly a limited circle of representatives of creative professions (humanitarian, scientific and technical intelligentsia, a small part of students), the influence of these “swallows of the thaw” on the spiritual climate of Soviet society cannot be underestimated. An alternative to official censored art emerged and began to grow stronger, and the individual’s right to free creative exploration was asserted. The reaction of the authorities mainly came down to harsh criticism and to the “excommunication” of those who came under criticism from the audience of readers, viewers and listeners. But there were serious exceptions to this rule: in 1964, a trial took place against the poet I.A. Brodsky, accused of “parasitism”, as a result of which he was sent into exile.

Most socially active representatives of creative youth were far from open opposition to the existing government. The belief remained widespread that the logic of the historical development of the Soviet Union required an unconditional rejection of Stalinist methods of political leadership and a return to the ideals of the revolution, to the consistent implementation of the principles of socialism (although, of course, there was no unanimity among supporters of such views, and many considered Stalin to be Lenin's direct political heir). Representatives of the new generation who shared such sentiments are usually called the sixties. The term first appeared in the title of an article by S. Rassadin about young writers, their heroes and readers, published in the magazine Yunost in December 1960. The people of the sixties were united by a heightened sense of responsibility for the fate of the country and a conviction in the possibility of updating the Soviet political system. These sentiments were reflected in the painting of the so-called harsh style - in the works of young artists about the working life of their contemporaries, which are distinguished by restrained colors, close-ups, monumental images (V.E. Popkov, N.I. Andronov, T.T. Salakhov and etc.), in theatrical productions of young groups “Sovremennik” and “Taganka” and especially in poetry.

The first post-war generation entering adulthood considered itself a generation of pioneers, conquerors of unknown heights. Poetry with a major sound and vivid metaphors turned out to be the “co-author of the era,” and the young poets themselves (E.A. Evtushenko, A.A. Voznesensky, R.I. Rozhdestvensky, B.A. Akhmadulina) were the same age as their first readers. They energetically and assertively addressed their contemporaries and contemporary topics. The poems seemed meant to be read aloud. They were read aloud - in student classrooms, in libraries, in stadiums. Poetry evenings at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow attracted full houses, and 14 thousand people came to poetry readings at the Luzhniki stadium in 1962.

The keen interest of the youth audience in the poetic word determined the spiritual atmosphere at the turn of the 1960s. The heyday of “singing poetry” - author's songwriting - has begun. The trusting intonations of the singer-songwriters reflected the desire of the new generation for communication, openness, and sincerity. Audience B.Sh. Okudzhava, Yu.I. Vizbora, Yu.Ch. Kima, A.A. Galich were young “physicists” and “lyricists” who fiercely argued about the problems of scientific and technological progress and humanistic values that worried everyone. From the point of view of official culture, the original song did not exist. Song evenings took place, as a rule, in apartments, in nature, in friendly companies of like-minded people. Such communication became a characteristic feature of the sixties.

Free communication spilled out beyond the confines of a cramped city apartment. The road became an eloquent symbol of the era. It seemed that the whole country was in motion. We went to virgin lands, to construction sites of the seven-year plan, on expeditions and geological exploration parties. The work of those who discover the unknown and conquer heights - virgin land workers, geologists, pilots, cosmonauts, builders - was perceived as a feat that has a place in peaceful life.

We went and just traveled, went on long and short hikes, preferring hard-to-reach places - taiga, tundra or mountains. The road was perceived as a space of freedom of spirit, freedom of communication, freedom of choice, not constrained, to paraphrase a popular song of those years, by everyday worries and everyday vanity.

But in the dispute between the “physicists” and the “lyricists,” victory, it seemed, remained with those who represented scientific and technological progress. The years of the “thaw” were marked by breakthroughs in domestic science and outstanding achievements of design thought.

It is no coincidence that science fiction became one of the most popular literary genres during this period. The profession of a scientist was shrouded in the romance of heroic achievements for the benefit of the country and humanity. Selfless service to science, talent and youth responded to the spirit of the times, the image of which was captured in the film about young physicists “Nine Days of One Year” (dir. M.M. Romm, 1961). The heroes of D.A. became an example of life’s burning. Granina. His novel Walking into a Storm (1962), about young physicists researching atmospheric electricity, was very popular. Cybernetics was “rehabilitated”. Soviet scientists (L.D. Landau, P.A. Cherenkov, I.M. Frank and I.E. Tamm, N.G. Basov and A.M. Prokhorov) received three Nobel Prizes in physics, which indicated recognition the contribution of Soviet science to the world at the most advanced frontiers of research.

New scientific centers appeared - Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, Dubna, where the Institute of Nuclear Research worked, Protvino, Obninsk and Troitsk (physics), Zelenograd (computer technology), Pushchino and Obolensk (biological sciences). Thousands of young engineers and designers lived and worked in science cities. Scientific and social life was in full swing here. Exhibitions and concerts of original songs were held, and studio performances that were not released to the general public were staged.

The Khrushchev Thaw period is the conventional name for a period in history that lasted from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. A feature of the period was a partial retreat from the totalitarian policies of the Stalin era. The Khrushchev Thaw is the first attempt to understand the consequences of the Stalinist regime, which revealed the features of the socio-political policy of the Stalin era. The main event of this period is considered to be the 20th Congress of the CPSU, which criticized and condemned Stalin’s personality cult and criticized the implementation of repressive policies. February 1956 marked the beginning of a new era, which aimed to change social and political life, change the domestic and foreign policies of the state.

Events of the Khrushchev Thaw

The period of the Khrushchev Thaw is characterized by the following events:

The process of rehabilitation of victims of repression began, the innocently convicted population was granted amnesty, and relatives of “enemies of the people” became innocent.
The republics of the USSR received more political and legal rights.
The year 1957 was marked by the return of Chechens and Balkars to their lands, from which they were evicted during Stalin's time due to accusations of treason. But such a decision did not apply to the Volga Germans and Crimean Tatars.
Also, 1957 is famous for the International Festival of Youth and Students, which in turn speaks of the “opening of the Iron Curtain” and the easing of censorship.
The result of these processes is the emergence of new public organizations. Trade union bodies are undergoing reorganization: the staff of the top level of the trade union system has been reduced, and the rights of primary organizations have been expanded.
Passports were issued to people living in villages and collective farms.
Rapid development of light industry and agriculture.
Active construction of cities.
Improving the standard of living of the population.

One of the main achievements of the policy of 1953 - 1964. there was the implementation of social reforms, which included solving the issue of pensions, increasing incomes of the population, solving the housing problem, and introducing a five-day week. The period of the Khrushchev Thaw was a difficult time in the history of the Soviet state. In such a short time (10 years), many transformations and innovations have been carried out. The most important achievement was the exposure of the crimes of the Stalinist system, the population discovered the consequences of totalitarianism.

Results

So, the policy of the Khrushchev Thaw was superficial and did not affect the foundations of the totalitarian system. The dominant one-party system was preserved using the ideas of Marxism-Leninism. Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev did not intend to carry out complete de-Stalinization, because it meant admitting his own crimes. And since it was not possible to completely renounce Stalin’s time, Khrushchev’s transformations did not take root for long. In 1964, a conspiracy against Khrushchev matured, and from this period a new era in the history of the Soviet Union began.

Events of the Khrushchev Thaw

The period of the Khrushchev Thaw is characterized by the following events:

The process of rehabilitation of victims of repression began, the innocently convicted population was granted amnesty, and relatives of “enemies of the people” became innocent.
The republics of the USSR received more political and legal rights.
The year 1957 was marked by the return of Chechens and Balkars to their lands, from which they were evicted during Stalin's time due to accusations of treason. But such a decision did not apply to the Volga Germans and Crimean Tatars.
Also, 1957 is famous for the International Festival of Youth and Students, which in turn speaks of the “opening of the Iron Curtain” and the easing of censorship.
The result of these processes is the emergence of new public organizations. Trade union bodies are undergoing reorganization: the staff of the top level of the trade union system has been reduced, and the rights of primary organizations have been expanded.
Passports were issued to people living in villages and collective farms.
Rapid development of light industry and agriculture.
Active construction of cities.
Improving the standard of living of the population.

Results

The first post-Stalin decade was marked by serious changes in the spiritual life of society. The famous Soviet writer I. Ehrenburg called this period the “thaw” that came after the long and harsh Stalinist “winter”. And at the same time, it was not “spring” with its full-flowing and free “spill” of thoughts and feelings, but rather a “thaw”, which could again be followed by a “light frost”.

Representatives of literature were the first to respond to the changes that began in society. Even before the XX Congress CPSU works appeared that marked the birth of a new direction in Soviet literature - renovationism. One of the first such works was V. Pomerantsev’s article “On Sincerity in Literature,” published in 1953 in Novy Mir, where he raised the question that “writing honestly means not thinking about the facial expressions of tall and short readers.” " The question of the vital necessity of the existence of various literary schools and movements was also raised here.

Life itself raised the question of the need to change the leadership style of the Writers' Union and its relations with the CPSU Central Committee. A. Fadeev’s attempts to achieve this led to his disgrace and then his death. In his suicide letter, he noted that art was “ruined by the self-confident and ignorant leadership of the party,” and writers, even the most recognized ones, were reduced to the status of boys, destroyed, “ideologically scolded and called it partisanship.” V. Dudintsev (“Not by Bread Alone”), D. Granin (“Seekers”), E. Dorosh (“Village Diary”) spoke about this in their works.

After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, ideological pressure was somewhat weakened in the field of musical art, painting, and cinematography. Responsibility for the “excesses” of previous years was assigned to Stalin, Beria, Zhdanov, Molotov, Malenkov and others.

In May 1958, the Central Committee of the CPSU issued a resolution “On correcting errors in the evaluation of the operas “Great Friendship”, “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” and “From the Heart”, which recognized the previous assessments of D. Shostakovich, S. Prokofiev, A. as unsubstantiated and unfair. Khachaturyan, V. Shebalin, G. Popov, N. Myaskovsky and others.
At the same time, in response to calls among the intelligentsia to repeal other decisions of the 40s. on ideological issues it was stated that they “played a huge role in the development of artistic creativity along the path of socialist realism” and in their “main content they retain relevant significance.” This indicated that the policy of the “thaw” in spiritual life had well-defined boundaries. Speaking about them at one of his meetings with writers, Khrushchev said that what had been achieved in recent years “does not mean at all that now, after the condemnation of the cult of personality, the time has come for gravity... The Party has pursued and will consistently and firmly pursue... the Leninist course , uncompromisingly opposing any ideological vacillations.”

Development of science.

Party directives stimulated the development of domestic science. In 1956, the International Research Center in Dubna (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research) was created. In 1957, the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences was formed with a wide network of institutes and laboratories. Other scientific centers were also created. Only in the system of the USSR Academy of Sciences for 1956 - 1958. 48 new research institutes were organized. Their geography has also expanded (Urals, Kola Peninsula, Karelia, Yakutia). By 1959, there were about 3,200 scientific institutions in the country. The number of scientific workers in the country was approaching 300 thousand. Among the largest achievements of domestic science of this time are the creation of the most powerful synchrophasotron in the world (1957); launching of the world's first nuclear icebreaker "Lenin"; launch into space of the first artificial Earth satellite (October 4, 1957); sending animals into space (November 1957); satellite flights to the Moon; first manned space flight (April 12, 1961); launch of the world's first jet passenger airliner Tu-104; creation of high-speed passenger hydrofoil ships (“Raketa”), etc. Work in the field of genetics was resumed. As before, priority in scientific developments was given to the interests of the military-industrial complex. Not only the country's largest scientists (S. Korolev, M. Keldysh, A. Tupolev, V. Chelomey, A. Sakharov, I. Kurchatov, etc.), but also Soviet intelligence worked for his needs. Even space program was only an “addendum” to the program for creating means of delivering nuclear weapons.

Thus, the scientific and technological achievements of the “Khrushchev era” laid the foundation for achieving military-strategic parity with USA.

Development of education.

Formed in the 30s. the educational system needed updating. It had to correspond to the prospects for the development of science and technology, new technologies, and changes in the social and humanitarian sphere.

Education reform was largely conceived to solve this problem.

For those wishing to continue their education at a university, mandatory work experience was introduced.

Thus, the severity of the problem of labor influx into production was temporarily removed. However, for enterprise managers, this created new problems with staff turnover and low levels of labor and technological discipline among young workers.

Document

In matters of artistic creativity, the Central Committee of the Party will seek from everyone... unswerving adherence to the party line.

This does not mean at all that now, after the condemnation of the cult of personality, the time has come for things to take their course, that the reins of government have been weakened, that the social ship is sailing at the will of the waves and everyone can be willful and behave as they please. No. The party has carried out and will continue to carry out and firmly carry out the Leninist course it developed, uncompromisingly opposing any ideological vacillations.

Some representatives of art judge reality only by the smells of latrines, depict people in a deliberately ugly form, paint their pictures with gloomy colors, which alone are capable of plunging people into a state of despondency, melancholy and hopelessness, paint reality in accordance with their biased, perverted, subjectivist ideas about her, according to far-fetched or thin schemes... We saw the sickening concoction of Ernst Neizvestny and were indignant that this man, obviously not without inclinations, who graduated from a Soviet higher educational institution, pays the people with such black ingratitude. It’s good that we don’t have many such artists... You’ve seen some other works by abstract artists. We condemn and will condemn such monstrosities openly, with all irreconcilability. In literature and art, the Party supports only those works that inspire the people and unite their forces.

Questions and tasks:

1. What did the “thaw” policy mean in the spiritual sphere?

3. What processes in social life arose under the influence of the “thaw”?

4. What tasks were the education reform of 1958 supposed to solve?

5. What do you see as the contradictory nature of the “thaw” in the spiritual sphere?

Expanding vocabulary:

Technological discipline - exact, unconditional adherence to production technology.

History of Russia, XX - early XXI centuries: Textbook. for 9th grade. general education institutions / A. A. Danilov, L. G. Kosulina, A. V. Pyzhikov. - 10th ed. - M.: Education, 2003

History planning, textbooks and books online, history courses and tasks for grade 9 download

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Overcoming Stalinism in literature and art, the development of science, Soviet sports, the development of education.

Overcoming Stalinism in literature and art.

From N. S. Khrushchev’s speeches to literary and artistic figures

Development of science.

Development of education.

However, this was in conflict with the official policy of continuing extensive economic development, which required new workers every year to develop enterprises under construction.

Source of the article: Textbook by A.A Danilov “History of Russia”. 9th grade

A campaign of criticism of “ideologically alien influences” and “individualistic tyranny” was launched in the press.

An event occurred that radically changed the course of foreign and domestic policy of the USSR. I. Stalin died. By this time, the repressive methods of governing the country had already exhausted themselves, so the henchmen of Stalin’s course urgently had to carry out some reforms aimed at optimizing the economy and implementing social transformations. This time was called the thaw. What the Thaw policy meant and what new names appeared in the cultural life of the country can be read in this article.

XX Congress of the CPSU

In 1955, after the resignation of Malenkov, he became the head of the Soviet Union. In February 1956, at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, his famous speech on the cult of personality was made. After this, the authority of the new leader noticeably strengthened, despite the resistance of Stalin’s henchmen.

The 20th Congress gave rise to various reform initiatives in our country, reviving the process of cultural reformation of society. What the Thaw policy meant in the spiritual and literary life of people can be learned from new books and novels published at that time.

Thaw politics in literature

In 1957, the famous work of B. Pasternak “Doctor Zhivago” was published abroad. Despite the fact that this work was banned, it sold in huge quantities in samizdat copies made on old typewriters. The same fate befell the works of M. Bulgakov, V. Grossman and other writers of that time.

The publication of A. Solzhenitsyn’s famous work “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” is indicative. The story, which describes the terrible everyday life of Stalin's camp, was immediately rejected by the chief political scientist Suslov. But the editor of the New World magazine was able to show Solzhenitsyn’s story personally to N.S. Khrushchev, after which permission was given for publication.

Works that exposed found their readers.

The opportunity to convey your thoughts to readers, to publish your works in defiance of censorship and authorities - this is what the Thaw policy meant in the spiritual sphere and literature of that time.

Revival of theater and cinema

In the 50-60s, the theater experienced its rebirth. The repertoire of the leading stages of the mid-century can best tell what the Thaw policy meant in the spiritual sphere and theatrical art. Productions about workers and collective farmers have gone into oblivion; the classical repertoire and works of the 20s of the 20th century are returning to the stage. But the command style of work still dominated in the theater, and administrative positions were occupied by incompetent and illiterate officials. Because of this, many performances never saw their audience: plays by Meyerhold, Vampilov and many others remained shelved.

The thaw had a beneficial effect on cinema. Many films of that time became known far beyond the borders of our country. Such works as “The Cranes Are Flying” and “Ivan’s Childhood” won the most prestigious international awards.

Soviet cinematography returned to our country the status of a film power, which had been lost since the time of Eisenstein.

Religious persecution

The reduction of political pressure on various aspects of people's lives did not affect the religious policy of the state. Persecution of spiritual and religious leaders intensified. The initiator of the anti-religious campaign was Khrushchev himself. Instead of the physical destruction of believers and religious figures of various faiths, the practice of public ridicule and debunking of religious prejudices was used. Basically, everything that the Thaw policy meant in the spiritual life of believers boiled down to “re-education” and condemnation.

Results

Unfortunately, the period of cultural flourishing did not last long. The final point in the thaw was put by the significant event of 1962 - the destruction of the art exhibition at the Manege.

Despite the curtailment of freedoms in the Soviet Union, a return to the dark Stalinist times did not take place. What the Thaw policy meant in the spiritual sphere of every citizen can be described by a sense of the wind of change, a decrease in the role of mass consciousness and an appeal to a person as an individual with the right to his own views.

“Thaw” - this is what the famous writer I. Orenburg called the Khrushchev era that came after the long and harsh Stalinist “winter” in his work of the same name, and this is how the period of post-Stalin development, marked by serious changes in spiritual life, was symbolically outlined in people’s minds (Fig. 21.8 ).

Rice. 21.8

Literature. Ideological pressure on literature and art was weakened. Society received a breath of freedom. New works have appeared. D. Granin tried to show the real contradictions of Soviet society in the novels “Seekers” and “I’m Going into the Storm”, V. Dudintsev - in the novel “Not by Bread Alone”.

During the “thaw” period, the work of such famous writers and poets as V. Astafiev, Ch. Aitmatov, T. Baklanov, Yu. Bondarev, V. Voinovich, A. Voznesensky and others began.

New literary and artistic magazines emerged: “Youth”, “Young Guard”, “Moscow”, “Our Contemporary”, “Foreign Literature”.

However, at the same time, the party leadership ensured that the literary process was controlled and did not go beyond certain limits. The “Pasternak case” clearly showed the limits of de-Stalinization in relations between the authorities and the intelligentsia. The writer, who received the Nobel Prize for the novel "Doctor Zhivago" in 1958, was expelled from the Writers' Union, defamed and disgraced. For ideological dubiousness and formalism, A. Voznesensky, D. Granin, V. Dudiitsev, E. Evtushenko,

E. Neizvestny, B. Okudzhava, V. Bykov, M. Khutsiev and many other prominent representatives of the creative intelligentsia.

The science. In science, the priorities were nuclear energy and rocket science (Fig. 21.9). The peaceful use of the atom began. In 1954 it was introduced

Rice. 21.9

The world's first nuclear power plant was put into operation, and three years later the nuclear icebreaker Lepin was launched. The successes in space exploration were also impressive: on October 4, 1957, the first artificial Earth satellite was successfully launched, and on April 12, 1961, the first human flight into space took place. Yu. A. Gagarin, having orbited the Earth in 1 hour 48 minutes, opened the path to outer space for humanity. The Russian space program was led by Academician S. II. Korolev.

The outstanding achievements of scientists in the natural sciences were noted by the world community. In 1956, N. N. Semenov received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for creating the theory of chain reactions; in 1958, physicists P. A. Cherenkov, I. M. Frank and I. E. Tamm became laureates of this prize. In 1962, the Nobel Prize was awarded to the theoretical physicist L. D. Landau for the creation of the theory of condensed matter (especially liquid helium), and in 1964 to the physicists N. G. Basov and A. M. Prokhorov for fundamental work in the field quantum electronics.

Education. Khrushchev's reforms also affected the educational sphere (Fig. 21.10). In order to bring mental and physical labor closer together, to connect education and production, it was conceived

Rice. 21.10

and since 1958, reform in the field of education began to be implemented. Instead of compulsory seven-year education and a full ten-year education, a compulsory eight-year polytechnic school was created. Young people now received secondary education either through a school for working (rural) youth on the job, or through technical schools operating on the basis of an eight-year school, or through a secondary three-year labor comprehensive school with industrial training. Mandatory work experience was introduced for those wishing to obtain higher education. The reform temporarily ensured an uninterrupted flow of labor into production, but gave rise to even more complex social problems: staff turnover increased, the level of labor and technological discipline of young people turned out to be catastrophically low, etc.

In August 1964, the reform was adjusted and a two-year period of study was restored in secondary schools on the basis of an eight-year course. Complete secondary school again became ten years old.

The end of the "thaw"

Characterizing the reforms of N. S. Khrushchev as a whole, it is necessary to note their distinctive features:

- reforms were carried out within the framework of the administrative-command, mobilization system and could not go beyond it:
- transformations were sometimes impulsive and ill-considered, which did not lead to an improvement in the situation in certain areas, but, on the contrary, sometimes confused and aggravated the situation.

By 1964, reports sent by the State Security Committee (hereinafter referred to as the KGB), party organizations and ordinary people to the highest party and state authorities indicated growing discontent in the country (Fig. 21.11).

Here is one of the letters of appeal:

"Nikita Sergeevich!

People respect you, that’s why I’m turning to you...

We have enormous achievements on a national scale. We are heartily pleased with the changes that have occurred since March 1953. But for now we all live only for the future, but not for ourselves.

It should be clear to everyone that you cannot live with enthusiasm alone. Improving the material life of our people is absolutely necessary. The solution to this issue cannot be delayed...

People live poorly, and the state of mind is not in our favor. Food shortages throughout the country are very tight...

We, Russia, bring meat from New Zealand! Look at the collective farm yards, at the yards of individual collective farmers - ruin...

Let's have real elections. Let's choose all the people nominated by the masses, and not lists handed down from above...

With deep respect for you and faith in your devotion to the people,

M. Nikolaeva, teacher."

The townspeople were dissatisfied with the increase in food prices and its actual rationing, the villagers were dissatisfied with the desire to rid them of livestock and cut down their garden plots, the believers were dissatisfied with the new wave of closures of churches and houses of worship, the creative intelligentsia were dissatisfied with the reprimands

and threats to expel them from the country, the military - a massive reduction in the armed forces, officials of the party-state apparatus - a constant shake-up of personnel and ill-conceived reorganizations.

Rice. 21.11

The removal of N.S. Khrushchev from power was the result of a conspiracy among the highest party and state leaders. The main role in its preparation was played by the Chairman of the Party Control Committee and Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L. N. Shelepin, the head of the KGB V. L. Semichastny, the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M. A. Suslov and others.

While N.S. Khrushchev was vacationing on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus in September 1964, the conspirators prepared his removal. He was summoned to the Plenum of the Party Central Committee in Moscow, where opponents demanded his resignation from the post of First Secretary. N.S. Khrushchev was removed on October 14, 1964 and did not fight for power. The removal took place through a simple vote, without arrests or repressions, which can be considered the main result of the Khrushchev decade. De-Stalinization rocked society, made

the atmosphere in it was freer, and the news of N.S. Khrushchev’s resignation was greeted calmly and even with some approval.