Key dates and events: 1985-1991 - M. S. Gorbachev at the head of the CPSU and the USSR; 1988 - adoption of the political reform program; 1989 - elections of people's deputies of the USSR; 1990 elections of people's deputies of the union republics; 1990 - the abolition of Article 6 of the USSR Constitution on the leading and guiding role of the CPSU in Soviet society, the beginning of a real multi-party system.

Historical figures: M. S. Gorbachev; A D. Sakharov; B. N. Yeltsin. Basic terms and concepts: perestroika; publicity; democratization.

Response Plan: 1) M. S. Gorbachev; 2) personnel revolution; 3) political reform of 1988; 4) elections of people's deputies of the USSR (1989) and the RSFSR (1990); 5) revival of multi-partisanship; 6) interethnic relations and national politics; 7) government and church; 8) August, Ovsky political crisis of 1991; 9) collapse of the USSR: causes and consequences.

Material for the answer: After the death of K. U. Chernenko, M. S. Gorbachev, the former first secretary of the Stavropol regional committee of the CPSU, and then a member of the Politburo and secretary of the Central Committee for Agriculture, became the new Soviet leader. Like his predecessors, Gorbachev began the changes by changing the “team.” In a short time, 70% of the leaders of the regional committees of the CPSU and more than half of the ministers of the Union government were replaced in their posts. The composition of the CPSU Central Committee was significantly updated: if in 1985-1987. more than half of the members of the Political

bureau and secretaries of the Central Committee, then only at one April (1989) Plenum of the Central Committee, out of 460 members and candidates for membership of the Central Committee of the ByzII, 110 people were immediately dismissed. Considering the role of the party apparatus, Gorbachev replaced almost 85% of the leadership cadres of the CPSU Central Committee - the pillars of the management system. Soon, all the key positions in the party and state were occupied only by Gorbachev’s appointees. However, things still moved with great difficulty. It became clear that serious political reform was needed.

The turning point in the political situation came in 1987.

Gorbachev later called this time the first serious crisis of the “perektpoYka.” There was only one way out of it - democratization of society. The January 1987 Plenum of the Central Committee decided to convene (after a 46-year break) the All-Union Party Conference, on the agenda of which it was decided to include the issue of preparing a reform of the political system. In the summer of 1987, elections to local authorities were held. For the first time, it was allowed to nominate several candidates for one deputy seat. Control over voter turnout has been removed. The result made the authorities think: the number of votes against candidates increased almost tenfold, the absence of voters from the polling stations became widespread, and in 9 districts elections did not take place at all. In the summer of 1988, the XIX All-Union Party Conference of the CPSU was held, announcing the beginning of political reform. Its main idea was an attempt to combine the incompatible: the classical Soviet political model, which assumed the autocracy of the Soviets, with the liberal one, based on the separation of powers. It was proposed: to create a new supreme body of state power - the Congress of People's Deputies; turn the Supreme Council into a permanent “parliament”; update the electoral legislation (which provided, in particular, for alternatives, as well as the election of deputies not only in districts, but also from public organizations); create a Constitutional Oversight Committee responsible for monitoring compliance with the Constitution. However, the main point of the reform was the redistribution of power from party structures to Soviet ones, created in the course of relatively free elections. This was the strongest blow to the nomenklatura in all the years of its existence. It was this decision that not only deprived Gorbachev of the support of an influential part of society, but also forced her to seize into personal ownership what had previously been under her control.

In the spring of 1989, elections of people's deputies of the USSR were held under a new electoral law. At the 1st Congress, Gorbachev was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In a year you-

The competition took place in the Union republics, where the “competition” consisted of 8 people. for one deputy mandate. Now the initiative to reform the country has passed to representatives of the people elected through open elections. They soon supplemented the political reform with new provisions. Chief among them was the idea of ​​building a rule of law state in which the equality of citizens before the law would be truly ensured. The introduction of this provision required the abolition of Article 6 of the country's Constitution on the special role of the Communist Party. Gorbachev agreed to the proposal to establish the post of president and was elected the first (and, as it turned out, the last) president of the USSR.

The crisis of communist ideology and socialist reform led to the fact that people began to look for a way out of the current situation in other ideological and political directions. The group of V. I. Novodvorskaya, which adopted the name “Democratic Union,” proclaimed itself the first OPPOSITION party in May 1988. At the same time, popular fronts arose in the Baltic republics, becoming the first mass independent organizations. Despite the fact that all these groups and associations declared (<поддержке перестрой­ки», они представляли самые различные направления полити­ческой мысли. Либеральное направление включало в себя пред­ставителей «Демсоюза», несколько организаций христианских демократов, конститyционных демократов, либеральных демо­кратов. Наиболее массовой политической организацией либе­рального толка, объединившей представителей различных ли­беральных течений, стала «Демократическая партия России» Н. И. Травкина, созданная в мае 1990 года. Социалисты и социал-демократы были объединены в «Социалистической партии», «Социал-демократической ассоциации» и «Социал-де­мократической партии России». Анархисты создали «Конфеде­рацию анархо-синдикалистов» и «Анархо-коммунистический реВОЛЮIIИОННЫЙ союз». Первые национальные партии стали формироваться в республиках Прибалтики и Закавказья. Од­нако при всем многообразии этих партий и движений основ­ная борьба развернулась между коммунистами и либералами. Причем в условиях нараставшего экономического и политиче­ского кризиса политический вес либералов (их называли «де­мократами,» увеличивался с каждым днем.

The beginning of democratization could not but affect the relations between the state and the church. During the 1989 elections, representatives of the main religious confessions were elected as people's deputies of the USSR. Significantly weakened, and after the cancellation of the 6th

Articles of the constitution completely abolished party-state control over the activities of church organizations. The return of religious buildings and shrines to believers has begun. The crisis of communist ideology led to an increase in religious sentiment in society. After the death of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen, Alexy 11 was elected as the new primate of the Russian Orthodox Church in June 1990. The changes that took place during the years of “perestroika” again made the church one of the authoritative and independent elements of the social system.

Thus, attempts to democratize the Soviet political system with the abolition of Article 6 of the USSR Constitution led to a crisis and the beginning of the collapse of the union power structures. Moreover, no new models of statehood were proposed.

By the mid-80s, crisis phenomena were observed in the socio-economic and political spheres of life in the Soviet republics. It became obvious that socialist society was hopelessly lagging behind the more developed countries of the world. In order to avoid a final collapse and improve the situation in the country, the government of the USSR carried out economic reforms in 1985-1991.

Prerequisites for reform

In the 80s, the economy was on the verge of collapse. Throughout the country, there was a slowdown in the pace of its development, and in some sectors of the national economy there was a strong decline in the level of production. The inefficiency of socialist economic methods was most clearly manifested in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, the metalworking industry and other industries. Although in 1985 the USSR produced about 150 thousand tons of steel, which was more than in the USA, the country still did not have enough metal. The reason for this was the imperfect technology of its melting, in which most of the raw materials turned into chips. The situation was aggravated by mismanagement, due to which tons of metal simply rusted in the open air.

Economic reforms of the USSR 1985-1991. were necessary not only because of problems in the field of heavy industry. In the early 80s, domestically produced machines and machines were assessed in the Soviet Union. Of all the objects inspected, and there were about 20 thousand of them, the third part was considered technically obsolete and unsuitable for use. Low-quality equipment was subject to discontinuation, but it continued to be produced.

Despite the fact that the Soviet Union paid special attention to the development of the defense industry, it also turned out to be uncompetitive in the world market. When the microprocessor revolution took place throughout the Western world at the turn of the 70s and 80s, huge amounts of money were spent in the USSR to maintain the arms race. Because of this, sufficient funds were not allocated for the development of science and technology. Soviet society began to lag further and further behind Western society in terms of technological and industrial development.

The political and economic reforms of 1985-1991 were also due to the fall in the real standard of living of the population. Compared to the end of the 60s, by 1980 they decreased by almost 3 times. Soviet people increasingly heard the word “deficit.” All spheres of life were affected by bureaucracy and corruption. There was a decline in the morality and integrity of the common man.

Gorbachev's rise to power

In the spring of 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary General. Realizing that the country's economy was on the verge of collapse, he proclaimed a course to reform it. A new word for the Soviet people, “perestroika,” was heard on television, the meaning of which was to overcome stagnant processes, create an effective and reliable management mechanism aimed at improving and accelerating development in the social and economic spheres of life.

Stages of economic reforms 1985-1991

The reform of the Soviet economy can be divided into several stages.

1. In 1985-1986, the Soviet government led by Gorbachev tried to preserve the socialist system by accelerating the pace of development, re-equipping the engineering industry and activating human resources.
2. In 1987, economic reform began. Its meaning was to maintain centralized control during the transition from administrative methods to economic ones.
3. In 1989-1990, they announced a course for a gradual transition from a socialist economic model to a market one. The anti-crisis program “500 days” was developed.
4. In 1991, a monetary reform was carried out. The economic recovery has been derailed by inconsistent government actions.

Acceleration policy

The economic reforms of 1985-1991 began with the proclamation of a course to accelerate the country's development. In the fall of 1985, Gorbachev called on enterprise managers to organize a multi-shift work schedule, introduce socialist competitions into practice and monitor compliance with labor discipline in production, improve these actions, according to Moscow, should have a positive impact on increasing labor productivity and accelerating the socio-economic sphere of life the entire USSR. A priority role was given to the engineering industry, the products of which were planned to be used for the re-equipment of the national economy.

The acceleration course announced by M. Gorbachev implied a significant increase in the economy. Until 2000, the Soviet leadership planned to double the production potential and national income of the state, and increase labor productivity by 2.5 times.

Under Gorbachev, an uncompromising fight against drunkenness began. According to the politician and his entourage, the anti-alcohol campaign was supposed to have a positive impact on strengthening discipline and increasing labor productivity. In many regions, factories producing wine and vodka products were closed, and vineyards were mercilessly cut down. As a result of this policy, the production of alcoholic beverages in the USSR decreased by 2 times. Due to the liquidation of wine and vodka enterprises, the country suffered multi-million dollar losses. A lack of money in the state budget has led to delays in salaries. To make up for the missing funds, the government decided to print new money.

Economic reforms of 1985-1991 in the USSR manifested themselves in the prohibition of Soviet citizens from making profit from unearned income. For private employment, unauthorized trading and other types of activities not controlled by the state, a person could go to prison for up to 5 years. But it soon became clear that such measures were ineffective, and in November 1986 a law was passed allowing individual labor activity in the USSR.

The acceleration of the development of mechanical engineering led to a reduction in funding for other areas of industry. Because of this, consumer goods began to disappear from free sale. Scientific and technological revolution, which was given a special role in the process of perestroika, never received its development. Crisis phenomena further weakened the state. By the end of 1986, it became obvious that a qualitative reform of the economy was impossible to carry out due to an imperfect state planning system.

Economic transformations 1987-1989

In 1987, the post of prime minister was taken by promising to stabilize the economy in a year and a half. His government launched a series of reforms aimed at creating a socialist market. From now on, enterprises were transferred to self-financing, they were granted partial self-government, and the scope of their independence expanded. Organizations received the right to cooperate with partners from foreign countries, and their leaders were no longer subordinate to either the market or officials. The first cooperatives associated with shadow structures began to appear. The result of this policy was unfavorable for the USSR: the government ceased to control the state's economy. The transition to a socialist market became impossible. Economic reforms of 1985-1991 did not bring the expected results.

Further attempts to restore the economy

The search for a way out of the crisis continued. In 1989, Soviet economists G. Yavlinsky and S. Shatalin developed the “500 days” program. Its essence was the transfer of state-owned enterprises into the hands of private individuals and the country's transition to market relations. At the same time, the document did not pay attention to such problems as reforming the political system of the state, privatization of real estate, denationalization of land ownership, and carrying out monetary reform. Economists promised that the implementation of their concept would not affect the financial situation of the population. The program approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was supposed to come into force in October 1990. But it had one significant drawback: it did not reflect the interests of the nomenklatura elite. Because of this, Gorbachev at the last moment chose another program, which could not ensure the transition to market relations.

One of the last attempts to stabilize the economic situation was the implementation of monetary reform in 1991. Gorbachev planned to use it to replenish the treasury and stop it. But the reform led to an uncontrollable rise in prices and a decrease in the living standards of the people. Population dissatisfaction has reached its limit. Strikes swept across many regions of the state. National separatism began to manifest itself everywhere.

results

The results of the economic reform of 1985-1991 were disastrous. Instead of restoring the national economy, the government’s actions further worsened the situation in the country. None of the planned reforms were ever completed. Having destroyed the previous management structures, the authorities were unable to create new ones. Under these conditions, the collapse of the huge country became inevitable.

After the liberal-minded Gorbachev came to power, the so-called “perestroika” began in society, in the economic and political life of the country.

In 1985--1986 the so-called policy of accelerating socio-economic development was carried out, which consisted of recognizing certain shortcomings of the existing system and trying to correct them through several large administrative campaigns (the so-called “Acceleration”) - an anti-alcohol campaign, “the fight against unearned income”, the introduction of state acceptance . However, no significant changes occurred in the life of the country during this period. Cardinal reforms were started only after the January 1987 plenum, when perestroika was actually declared a new state ideology.

Soon new terms appeared, transformed into stable expressions characterizing the main directions of Gorbachev’s political activity: “personnel revolution”, “acceleration”, “glasnost”, “rehabilitation”, “new political thinking”.

Reform of the political system

The new leadership came to power without a clear vision and program for change. Gorbachev later admitted that at first, only the improvement of the society that had been established over recent decades and the correction of “individual deformations” of socialism were envisaged. It is not surprising that with this approach, personnel changes became one of the main areas of change.

In 1985-1986 There was a massive replacement and rejuvenation of party and state personnel at both the central and local levels. For 1985-1990 85% of the leading employees of the CPSU Central Committee were replaced, at the republican level - up to 70%. At the same time, the role of local leaders increased, surrounded, as before, by a host of close and devoted people.

However, very soon the initiators of perestroika realized that simply replacing personnel could not solve the country’s problems. Serious political reform was needed.

In January 1987 The CPSU Central Committee took action for the first time. Contributing to the development of elements of democracy in the party and in production: alternative elections of party secretaries, open voting was replaced by secret voting, and a system of electing heads of enterprises and institutions was introduced.

Issues of reform of the political system were discussed at the XIX All-Union Party Conference in the summer of 1988. Its decisions included the combination of “socialist values” with the political doctrine of liberalism. In particular, a course was proclaimed towards the creation of a “socialist rule of law” state, the separation of powers, and the creation of “Soviet parliamentarism”. To do this, Gorbachev proposed creating a new government body - the Congress of People's Deputies, turning the Supreme Council into a permanent “parliament”. The electoral legislation was changed. It was also supposed to create a Constitutional Supervision Committee, which should monitor compliance with the country's Constitution.

One of the main ideas of the conference was the redistribution of power functions from party structures to Soviet ones while maintaining party influence in them.

In the spring of 1989, elections of people's deputies of the USSR were held under a new electoral law. At the First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR (May - June) 1989. Gorbachev was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. It should be noted that the debate on the candidacy of the chairman was held in tough polemics. The decision was not made unanimously. Deputies entered into debate, signs of political struggle appeared. This was already a novelty: it was no longer a question of a short procedural formality, but of a long-term fierce clash of opinions.

In the political biography of Mikhail Sergeevich, the first day of the first Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR became one of the most memorable exams. Moreover, as the end of the meeting approached, this exam became more and more difficult. Relatively free elections of deputies led to the fact that the initiative for political reform now passed to them, who proposed more radical changes.

The concept of political reform in 1990-1991. was supplemented with a number of important provisions. The main one was the idea of ​​​​building a rule of law state in the USSR, where equality of all before the law is ensured. For this purpose, the Third Congress of People's Deputies in March 1990 considered it appropriate to introduce the post of President of the USSR. This post was introduced under Gorbachev and was, so to speak, significant: its establishment marked major transformations in the political system, associated, first of all, with the refusal of constitutional recognition of the leading role of the CPSU in the country.

The first and last President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev.

The presidential system of power could not be organically combined with the system of power of the Soviets, which presupposed not the division of power, but the absolute power of the Soviets.

In February 1990, mass rallies were held in Moscow demanding the abolition of Article 6 of the USSR Constitution. Under these conditions, Gorbachev, during the break between the Second and Third Congresses of People's Deputies of the USSR, agreed to the abolition of Article 6 of the Constitution, while simultaneously raising the issue of the need for additional powers of the executive branch. The Third Congress on March 15, 1990 abolished Article 6 and adopted amendments to the Constitution allowing for a multi-party system. This opened up the possibility of a legal multi-party system in the USSR.

As the CPSU lost its political initiative, the process of forming new political parties intensified in the country.

In May 1988, the Democratic Union (leader V. Novodvorskaya) declared itself the first opposition party of the CPSU. In April of the same year, popular fronts emerged in the Baltic states. They became the first independent mass organizations. Later, similar fronts arose in all union and autonomous republics. The newly formed parties reflected all the main directions of political thought.

A liberal trend emerged, represented by the Democratic Union, Christian Democrats, Constitutional Democrats and Liberal Democrats. The most prominent in the political arena were the Democratic Party of Russia and the Republican Party of the Russian Federation. On the basis of the “Democratic Russia” voter movement, a mass socio-political organization took shape.

Socialist and social democratic directions were represented by the “Social Democratic Association” and the “Social Democratic Party of Russia”. And also the Socialist Party.

The beginning was laid for the formation of nationalist political parties and public organizations, into which the popular fronts of the Baltic and some other republics were transformed.

With all the diversity of these parties and movements, at the center of the political struggle, as in 1917, there were again two directions - communist and liberal.

One of the political miscalculations of the leaders of perestroika was that the reform of the CPSU lagged far behind the processes of democratization of society. Thus, by the 28th Congress of the CPSU, which became the last in its history, the ruling party arrived in a state of split. By that time, three main trends were clearly visible in it: radical reformist, reformist-renovationist, traditionalist. All of them were represented in the leadership of the CPSU. However, the congress not only failed to overcome the crisis in the party, but did not propose a specific program for restructuring the CPSU. In particular, its primary organizations contributed to its aggravation. Quitting the party became widespread. During 1985 - 1991, the size of the CPSU decreased from 21 to 15 million people. In the leadership of the CPSU, attacks on Gorbachev and the perestroika course have become more frequent. In April and June 1991, a number of Central Committee members demanded his resignation.

Background to perestroika. After the death of L.I. Brezhnev, Yu.V. stood at the head of the party and state. Andropov. He was the first of the Soviet leaders to admit that many problems were unresolved. Taking measures to establish basic order and eradicate corruption, Andropov advocated for the preservation and renewal of the system, for its cleansing of obvious abuses and costs. This approach to reform suited the nomenklatura quite well: it gave it a chance to maintain its position. Andropov’s activities were met with sympathy in society and raised hopes for changes for the better.

In February 1984, Andropov died, and K.U. became the head of the CPSU, and then the state. Chernenko. He generally continued Andropov’s course of cleansing and saving the system, but did not achieve success.

Under Chernenko, the wing in the party leadership that advocated a more radical renewal of society finally formed and strengthened its position. Its leader was Politburo member M.S. Gorbachev. On March 10, 1985, Chernenko died. Less than 24 hours later, the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee elected M. S. Gorbachev as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

"Personnel revolution". At the April plenum (April 23, 1985), the new leader of the country made a statement about the economic crisis that had struck the country and the need to “renew socialism.” It was then that the word “perestroika” was heard for the first time.

“Apparently, comrades, we all need to rebuild. Everyone.”

M.S. Gorbachev

Over the next few months, the list of troubles that befell Soviet society took pride of place in the speeches of the new Secretary General.

It was planned to transform socialism, first of all, by accelerating the socio-economic development of the country. It was supposed to make more active use of the achievements of science and technology, decentralize the management of industry and agriculture, introduce cost accounting in enterprises, and significantly strengthen order and discipline in production. It was planned to boost the engineering industry, on the basis of which it was planned to begin the reconstruction of the entire national economic complex.

The establishment of order and discipline began with an extremely unpopular decree on combating drunkenness, issued in May 1985. Ill-considered actions of the authorities led to the cutting down of vineyards, and the restriction of the sale of alcohol led to a sharp increase in sugar consumption. The fight against bribery intensified, during which a number of central and local leaders were replaced. A commission was created under the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee for the rehabilitation of those repressed in the 1930-1959s. as a result of her work, N.I. was rehabilitated. Bukharin, A.I. Rykov, A.V. Chayanov and many others.

In January 1987, the long-prepared Plenum opened. Gorbachev made a report “On perestroika and personnel policy of the party.” It identified the following areas:

• ¾the beginning of the transformation of the CPSU from a state structure into a real political party (“We must decisively abandon administrative functions that are unusual for party bodies”);
• ¾promotion of non-partisans to leadership positions;
• ¾expansion of “intra-party democracy”;
• ¾change in the functions and role of the Soviets, they were supposed to become “genuine authorities on their territory”;
• ¾holding elections to the Soviets on an alternative basis (elections since 1918 have been a vote for a single candidate for each seat).

In 1987, the leader of the USSR announced the party's policy of openness and democratization of society, censorship was lifted, many new periodicals appeared, and the so-called “book boom” occurred. Weekly publications - the Moscow News newspaper and the Ogonyok magazine - are becoming the heralds of perestroika. One of the most striking moments of this period was the anti-Stalin campaign in the press, and later other figures of the Soviet era were also criticized.

Constitutional reform 1988-1990 In January 1987, the CPSU Central Committee took measures to develop elements of democracy in the party and in production. Alternative elections of party secretaries and elections of heads of enterprises and institutions were introduced. True, these innovations were not widely implemented.

Issues of reform of the political system were discussed at the XIX All-Union Party Conference (summer 1988). its decisions, in essence, provided for the combination of “socialist values” with the political doctrine of liberalism.

In particular, a policy was proclaimed towards the creation of a “rule of law state”, separation of powers, and the creation of Soviet parliamentarism. For this purpose, Gorbachev proposed forming a new government body - the Congress of People's Deputies, turning the Supreme Council into a permanent parliament. This was the main task of the first stage of constitutional reform. The electoral legislation was changed: elections were supposed to be held on an alternative basis, they were to be made in two stages, and a third of the deputy corps was to be formed from public organizations.

One of the main ideas of the 19th Party Conference was the redistribution of power structures to Soviet ones. It was proposed to combine the posts of party and Soviet leaders at different levels in one hand.

From the report of M.S. Gorbachev at the XIX All-Union Party Conference

“The existing political system turned out to be unable to protect us from the growing stagnation in economic and social life in recent decades and doomed the reforms undertaken then to failure. The increasing concentration of economic and managerial functions in the hands of the party and political leadership has become characteristic. At the same time, the role of the executive apparatus has become hypertrophied. The number of persons elected to various state and public bodies reached a third of the country’s adult population, but at the same time the bulk of them were excluded from real participation in solving state and public affairs.”

In the spring of 1989, elections of people's deputies of the USSR were held under a new electoral law. The First Congress of People's Deputies took place in May-June 1989. At it, Gorbachev was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Relatively free elections of deputies led to the fact that the political initiative passed to them.

From the election platform of A.D. Sakharov. 1989

"1. Elimination of the administrative-command system and replacing it with pluralistic market regulators and competition. Elimination of the omnipotence of ministries and departments...

Social and national justice. Protection of individual rights. Openness of society. Freedom of opinion...

Eradicating the consequences of Stalinism, the rule of law. Open the archives of the NKVD-MGB, make public data on the crimes of Stalinism and all unjustified repressions."

At the second stage of constitutional reform (1990-1991), the task of introducing the post of President of the USSR was put forward. At the III Congress of Deputies in March 1990, it became M.S. Gorbachev. However, the initiators of these changes did not take into account that the presidential system of power could not be organically combined with the system of power of the Soviets, which did not presuppose the separation of powers, but the absolute power of the Soviets.

The task of building a rule of law state was also set, in which equality of citizens before the law is ensured. For this purpose, Article 6 of the USSR Constitution, which established the leading position of the CPSU in society, was abolished. The abolition of this article led to the legalization of existing political parties and the formation of new ones. Various social democratic and political parties began to operate.

Formation of a multi-party system. As the CPSU lost its political initiative, the process of formation of new political forces intensified in the country. In May 1988, the Democratic Union declared itself the first “opposition” party of the CPSU. In April of the same year, popular fronts emerged in the Baltic states. They became the first real independent mass organizations. Later, similar fronts arose in all union and autonomous republics. The formation of the party reflected all the main directions of political thought.

The liberal direction was represented by the "Democratic Union", Christian Democrats, Constitutional Democrats, Liberal Democrats, etc. The largest of the liberal parties was formed in May 1990. Democratic Party of Russia. In November 1990, the Republican Party of the Russian Federation emerged. On the basis of the “Democratic Russia” voter movement, created during the elections of people's deputies of the USSR in the spring of 1989, a mass socio-political organization took shape.

With all the diversity of parties and movements, at the center of the political struggle, as in 1917, there were again two directions - communist and liberal.

The communists called for the preferential development of public property, collectivist forms of social relations and self-government.

Liberals (they called themselves democrats) advocated the privatization of property, personal freedom, a system of full-fledged parliamentary democracy, and the transition to a market economy.

The positions of the liberals, who sharply criticized the evils of the outdated system, seemed more preferable to the public than the attempts made by the leadership of the CPSU to justify the existence of previous relations.

In June 1990, the Communist Party of the RSFSR was formed, whose leadership took a traditional position.

From the speech of I.K. Polozkov, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the RSFSR. 1991

“The so-called democrats managed to replace the goals of perestroika, to seize the initiative from our party. The people are being deprived of their past, their present is being destroyed, and no one has yet said intelligibly what awaits them in the future... There can be no talk of any multi-party system in our country now. There is the CPSU, which defends socialist perestroika, and there are leaders of a few political groups who ultimately have one political face - anti-communism."

By the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU the party itself had fallen into a state of split. The congress not only failed to overcome the crisis in the party, but also contributed to its deepening. Quitting the party became widespread.

In the leadership of the CPSU, attacks on Gorbachev and the perestroika course have become more frequent. In April and July 1991, a number of members of the Central Committee demanded the resignation of the General Secretary.

The reform of the political system carried out by Gorbachev steadily led to an even greater intensification of the national movement. On May 18, 1989, Lithuania was the first of the USSR republics to adopt the Declaration of Sovereignty. In June, bloody clashes occurred between Uzbeks and Meskhetian Turks in the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan. On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Council of Lithuania adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Lithuania. On June 12, 1990, the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty.

All this forced the leadership of the USSR to take measures to formalize a new Union Treaty. Its first draft was published on July 24, 1990. At the same time, forceful measures were taken to preserve the Union.

The August political crisis of 1991 and its consequences. By the summer of 1991, most of the union republics of the USSR had adopted laws on sovereignty, which forced Gorbachev to speed up the development of a new Union Treaty. Its signing was scheduled for August 20. The signing of the new Union Treaty meant not only the preservation of a single state, but also the transition to its real federal structure, as well as the elimination of a number of state structures traditional for the USSR.

In an effort to prevent this, conservative forces in the country's leadership attempted to disrupt the signing of the treaty. In the absence of President Gorbachev, on the night of August 19, 1991, the State Committee for a State of Emergency (GKChP) was created. He introduced a state of emergency in certain areas of the country; declared power structures disbanded; suspended the activities of opposition parties and movements; banned rallies and demonstrations; established strict control over the media; sent troops to Moscow.

The leadership of the RSFSR issued an appeal to the Russians, in which they condemned the actions of the State Emergency Committee and declared its decisions illegal. At the call of the President of Russia, tens of thousands of Muscovites took up defensive positions around the White House of Russia. On August 21, an emergency session of the Supreme Soviet of Russia was convened, supporting the leadership of the republic. On the same day, USSR President Gorbachev returned to Moscow. Members of the State Emergency Committee were arrested.

The weakening of the central government led to increased separatist sentiments in the leadership of the republics. After the events of August 1991, most of the republics refused to sign the Union Treaty. In December 1991, the Leaders of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus announced the termination of the Union Treaty of 19222 and their intention to create the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It united 11 former Soviet republics. In December 1991, President Gorbachev resigned. The USSR ceased to exist.

A number of stages can be distinguished in the implementation of the reform of the political system in the USSR and the development of the political crisis. The first, from March 1985 to January 1987, took place under the slogan “more socialism.”

M.S. Gorbachev in his book “Perestroika and New Thinking” he formulated his position as follows: “Of course, we are not going to change Soviet power, we will not deviate from its fundamental foundations. But changes are necessary, and those that strengthen socialism, make it politically richer and more dynamic” Gorbachev M.S. “Perestroika and new thinking” - M., 1992. - p. 163.

Significant changes began in the leadership of the CPSU. The most odious figures from L.I.’s entourage resigned. Brezhnev. The fight against corruption and abuses unfolded, and local party leaders who had discredited themselves were replaced. For 1985-1986 Over 60% of district and regional committee secretaries were replaced. Representatives of the new nomenklatura elite came to the leadership of the CPSU: E.K. Ligachev, B.N. Yeltsin, A.N. Yakovlev and others, who understand the need for fundamental political and economic changes. A rethinking of the real situation of society began, a reassessment of the historical path traversed by the country, the CPSU took responsibility for the deformations of the previous stages. Mass rehabilitation of repressed party and Soviet state figures, representatives of the intelligentsia, and a rethinking of their role in the history of the country began. At the same time, the political system of society remained unchanged, the leading role of the CPSU as the only political party, the vanguard of the entire people, was not questioned.

Already during this period, disagreements began among the supporters of perestroika themselves. The leadership core of the party, formed around Gorbachev, in less than two years, was split into groups opposing each other. Everyone was aware of the need for change, but they understood these changes differently.

The first blow to the authority of M.S. Gorbachev was attacked by the secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee B.N. Yeltsin. In September 1987, he unexpectedly spoke at the solemn Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, dedicated to the upcoming celebration of the 70th anniversary of the October Revolution, with a sharply critical speech. B.N. Yeltsin spoke about the slowness in implementing perestroika, criticized the policies of the party secretariat and E.K., who headed it. Ligachev, and also announced the emergence in the party of a “personality cult” of M.S. Gorbachev. In conclusion, he announced his resignation from the Politburo.

Yeltsin's speech seemed extremely confusing and incomprehensible to those present. The plenum participants unanimously condemned him. B.N. Yeltsin was removed from his post as secretary of the Moscow City Committee. But, as time has shown, this speech was an important political step. Seeing that the country's economy was entering a period of turmoil, B.N. Yeltsin outlined his special position, dissociating himself from M.S. Gorbachev. Thus, one of the representatives of the party nomenklatura turned into the leader of radical supporters of reforms, acquired the aura of a people's hero and a fighter against bureaucracy.

The leader of another direction in the party was E.K. Ligachev. He served as second secretary of the CPSU and was responsible for the party's personnel policy. Ligachev also spoke about the need for perestroika, advocated for the fight against corruption, for establishing order and discipline, but at the same time he advocated preserving the basic parameters of the socialist economy, for preserving the levers of governing the country in the hands of the CPSU. Even Ligachev’s opponents recognized his honesty, high morality, and conviction, but objectively his position became more and more conservative. E.K. Ligachev was one of the inspirers of the “anti-alcohol campaign”, spoke in defense of socialism and against the denigration of the country’s historical past. As the transformations deepened, he became more and more in opposition to the policies of M.S. Gorbachev.

The next stage, 1987-1988, can be characterized as a stage taking place under the slogan “more democracy”, in which the class concept of democracy was replaced by a universal (liberal) understanding. Since the CPSU played the leading role in the existing management system, it began the reform. During this period, dramatic changes took place in the political system of society. Since the CPSU played the leading role in the existing management system, it began the reform. In June-July 1988, the XIX All-Union Party Conference was held, which determined the path of transformation. (see Appendix 4) The main direction was the transfer of power from party bodies to the Councils of People's Deputies, ensuring the full power of the Councils at all levels. The Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR (in republics - republican congresses) was proclaimed the highest body of power in the country. The Congress elected from among its members the permanent, bicameral Supreme Soviet of the USSR and its chairman. Accordingly, the republican congresses elected the Supreme Soviets of the republics.

The conference proposed a draft of a new election law, which was adopted in December 1988. For the first time in the history of Soviet society, elections became alternative (from several candidates). All orders for the nomination of candidates for deputies were abolished (previously, proportional representation of all classes was observed). At the same time, the decisions of the conference were of a half-hearted nature, ensuring the preservation of power in the hands of the CPSU (one third of the deputies of the congress were elected from public organizations - the CPSU, trade unions, Komsomol, etc.; it was envisaged to combine the posts of Chairmen of Councils of all levels and the corresponding party leaders, subject to their election in these tips).

Elections to the highest bodies of power opened a new stage - the stage of disengagement in the perestroika camp (1989-1991). It turned out that different political forces put different content into this term, which is not at all “we are all on the same side of the barricades,” as M.S. Gorbachev liked to repeat. During the election campaign, issues of the country's economic and political development were widely discussed. Many secretaries of regional and city party committees and party apparatus workers were defeated in the elections, while at the same time a number of figures who were in opposition to the regime were elected, such as academician A.D. Sakharov.

In April 1989, the First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR opened. The congress elected the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. M.S. was elected its Chairman. Gorbachev. At the congress, an opposition group of deputies began to take shape, the so-called “interregional group,” which included the former secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU B.N. Yeltsin, who triumphantly won the elections in Moscow, A.D. Sakharov, T.X. Gdlyan, G.X. Popov, A.A. Sobchak, N.I. Travkin, S.N. Stankevich. T.A. Zaslavskaya et al.

In March 1989, elections were held to the Supreme Councils of the republics and local councils. At these elections, deputies from public organizations were no longer elected. During the elections, political parties and movements opposing the CPSU began to be created. In most regions they defeated party structures. The Moscow Council was headed by G.Kh. Popov, Leningradsky - A.A. Sobchak. In June 1990, the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR elected the Supreme Council of the republic. Its chairman was B.N. Yeltsin.

In March 1990, the III Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR decided to transition to a presidential system of government. The congress elected M.S. as president of the country. Gorbachev. It was decided to repeal Art. 6 of the USSR Constitution, which proclaimed the leading and directing role of the CPSU in the political system of Soviet society. Thus, the transfer of power from the hands of party bodies to the hands of the Soviets was finally completed. In October 1990, the USSR Law “On Public Associations” was adopted, recognizing the presence of a multi-party system in the country. History of Russia. Tutorial. Publication of REA named after. G.V. Plekhanov - M., 2004. - p. 194.

With the abolition of Article 6, the CPSU became simply one of the political parties (however, other parties did not yet exist, they were still in the formation stage). This created problems for the functioning and activities of all other government structures and bodies that were previously subordinate to the CPSU and carried out its directives. There was a need to revise the entire political system of the Soviet state. It was unthinkable for the party to unconditionally renounce the power it had controlled for 70 years, so the opposition to M.S. sharply intensified. Gorbachev in the ranks of the party itself. M.S. Gorbachev tried to pursue a centrist policy, dissociating himself from both radicals and conservatives. In April 1989, at the Plenum of the Central Committee, 10 people from the Central Committee “voluntarily” resigned, E.K. Ligachev, from the “Brezhnev” composition of the Politburo by the end of 1989 there were only two left (M.S. Gorbachev and E.A. Shevardnadze). Total for 1985-1990 85% of the leading employees of the CPSU Central Committee were replaced.

The theater of the most fierce battles was the XXVIII (and last) Congress of the CPSU, held in July 1990. By that time, the authority of the party had fallen sharply, its number had decreased from 21 million people. in 1985 to 15 million people. by the summer of 1990. At this congress, the party actually split. From it emerged the so-called “democratic platform”, which formed an independent party. On the other hand, in June 1990, the Communist Party of the RSFSR was created, taking an orthodox communist position. In the midst of discussions at the congress, B.N. took the floor. Yeltsin, announcing his resignation from the CPSU and inviting the party to dissolve itself. This speech by the most popular leader actually dealt a fatal blow to the CPSU. The congress did not overcome the crisis of the party; its program document “Towards a humane, democratic socialism” was half-hearted, vague in nature, and tried to reconcile different trends in the party. (see Appendix 6)

B.N. Yeltsin is already openly switching to anti-communist positions and starting a struggle for power. He managed to unite forces of completely different political orientations into a single coalition on the platform of a common struggle against the CPSU. Political beliefs of B.N. himself Yeltsin is quite difficult to trace. He spoke about the need for radical reforms, without specifying what he meant. The main slogan of his propaganda campaign was the fight against the privileges of the party and state nomenklatura, which brought him enormous popularity among the people. Supporters of B.N. Yeltsin consisted of a very wide range of political forces: from radical democrats (G.Kh. Popov, A.A. Sobchak), radical nationalists (V.P. Astafiev) to high-ranking representatives of the nomenklatura, who saw in B.N. Yeltsin, an authoritarian leader capable of bringing order to the country, no matter with or without the CPSU (Yu.V. Petrov - former secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU, O.I. Lobov - former chairman of the Sverdlovsk regional executive committee, D.A. Volkogonov - former deputy head of the Political Department Soviet Army, etc.), thus the political situation in the country, aggravated to the limit, reaches its climax.

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