When Lenin reigned during his reign. Who was the president of the USSR and the Russian Federation. reference
Who ruled after Stalin in the USSR? It was Georgy Malenkov. His political biography was a truly phenomenal combination of both ups and downs. At one time, he was considered the successor to the leader of the peoples and was even the de facto leader of the Soviet state. He was one of the most experienced apparatchiks and was famous for his ability to think many moves ahead. In addition, the one who was in power after Stalin had a unique memory. On the other hand, he was expelled from the party during the Khrushchev era. They say that he has not yet been rehabilitated, unlike his associates. However, the one who ruled after Stalin was able to withstand all this and remain faithful to his cause to death. Although, they say, in his old age he overestimated a lot...
Career start
Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was born in 1901 in Orenburg. His father worked for railway. Despite the fact that noble blood flowed in his veins, he was considered a rather minor employee. His ancestors came from Macedonia. The grandfather of the Soviet leader chose the army path, was a colonel, and his brother was a rear admiral. The party leader’s mother was the daughter of a blacksmith.
In 1919, after graduating from a classical gymnasium, Georgy was drafted into the Red Army. The next year he joined the Bolshevik Party, becoming a political worker for an entire squadron.
After the Civil War, he studied at the Bauman School, but, having quit his studies, began working in the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee. It was 1925.
Five years later, under the patronage of L. Kaganovich, he began to head the organizational department of the capital city committee of the CPSU (b). Note that Stalin really liked this young official. He was intelligent and devoted to the General Secretary...
Malenkov selection
In the second half of the 30s, purges of the opposition took place in the capital's party organization, which became a prelude to future political repressions. It was Malenkov who then led this “selection” of the party nomenklatura. Later, with the sanction of the functionary, almost all the old communist cadres were repressed. He himself came to the regions in order to intensify the fight against “enemies of the people.” Sometimes he witnessed interrogations. True, the functionary, in fact, was only an executor of the direct instructions of the leader of the peoples.
On the roads of war
When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Malenkov managed to show his organizational talent. He had to professionally and fairly quickly resolve many economic and personnel issues. He always supported developments in the tank and missile industries. In addition, it was he who gave Marshal Zhukov the opportunity to stop the seemingly inevitable collapse of the Leningrad Front.
In 1942, this party leader ended up in Stalingrad and was involved, among other things, in organizing the defense of the city. On his orders, the city population began to evacuate.
In the same year, thanks to his efforts, the Astrakhan defensive region was strengthened. Thus, modern boats and other watercraft appeared in the Volga and Caspian flotillas.
Later he took an active part in preparing the battle on Kursk Bulge, after which he focused on the restoration of the liberated territories, heading the corresponding committee.
Post-war time
Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich began to turn into the second figure in the country and party.
When the war ended, he dealt with issues related to the dismantling of German industry. By and large, this work was constantly criticized. The fact is that many of the influential departments tried to get this equipment. As a result, a corresponding commission was created, which made an unexpected decision. German industry was no longer dismantled, and enterprises that were based in the territories of East Germany began to produce goods for Soviet Union as reparations.
Rise of a functionary
In mid-autumn 1952, the Soviet leader instructed Malenkov to deliver a report at the next congress of the Communist Party. Thus, the party functionary was essentially presented as Stalin’s successor.
Apparently, the leader nominated him as a compromise figure. It suited both the party leadership and the security forces.
A few months later, Stalin was no longer alive. And Malenkov, in turn, became the head Soviet government. Of course, before him this post was occupied by the deceased Secretary General.
Malenkov reforms
Malenkov's reforms began literally immediately. Historians also call them “perestroika” and believe that this reform could greatly change the entire structure of the national economy.
The head of government in the period after Stalin's death announced to the people absolutely new life. He promised that the two systems - capitalism and socialism - would coexist peacefully. He was the first leader of the Soviet Union to warn against atomic weapons. In addition, he intended to put an end to the policy of the cult of personality by moving to collective leadership of the state. He recalled that the late leader criticized members of the Central Committee for the cult planted around him. True, there was no significant reaction to this proposal from the new prime minister at all.
In addition, the one who ruled after Stalin and before Khrushchev decided to lift a number of bans - on border crossings, foreign press, customs transit. Unfortunately, the new head tried to present this policy as a natural continuation of the previous course. That is why Soviet citizens, in fact, not only did not pay attention to “perestroika”, but also did not remember it.
Decline of a career
By the way, it was Malenkov, as the head of government, who came up with the idea of halving the remuneration of party officials, that is, the so-called. "envelopes". By the way, before him, Stalin also proposed the same thing shortly before his death. Now, thanks to the corresponding resolution, this initiative was implemented, but it caused even greater irritation on the part of the party nomenklatura, including N. Khrushchev. As a result, Malenkov was removed from office. And his entire “perestroika” was practically curtailed. At the same time, “ration” bonuses for officials were restored.
Nevertheless, the former head of government remained in the cabinet. He led all Soviet power plants, which began to operate much more successfully and efficiently. Malenkov also promptly resolved issues related to the social welfare of employees, workers and their families. Accordingly, all this increased his popularity. Although she was tall without it. But in the middle of the summer of 1957, he was “exiled” to the hydroelectric power station in Ust-Kamenogorsk, in Kazakhstan. When he arrived there, the whole city rose to greet him.
Three years later former minister already headed the thermal power plant in Ekibastuz. And also upon arrival, many people appeared carrying his portraits...
Many did not like his well-deserved fame. And the very next year, the one who was in power after Stalin was expelled from the party and sent into retirement.
Recent years
Once retired, Malenkov returned to Moscow. He retained some privileges. In any case, he bought groceries from special store for party officials. But, despite this, he periodically went to his dacha in Kratovo by train.
And in the 80s, the one who ruled after Stalin suddenly turned to Orthodox faith. This was, perhaps, his last “turn” of fate. Many saw him in the temple. In addition, he periodically listened to radio programs about Christianity. He also became a reader in churches. By the way, during these years he lost a lot of weight. This is probably why no one touched him or recognized him.
He passed away at the very beginning of January 1988. He was buried at the Novokuntsevo churchyard in the capital. Note that he was buried according to Christian rites. There were no reports of his death in the Soviet media of those times. But in Western periodicals there were obituaries. And very extensive...
Soviet party and statesman.
First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee since 1964 (General Secretary since 1966) and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1960-1964. and since 1977
Marshal of the Soviet Union, 1976
Biography of Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev born on December 19, 1906 in the village of Kamenskoye, Ekaterinoslav province (now Dneprodzerzhinsk).
L. Brezhnev's father, Ilya Yakovlevich, was a metallurgist. Brezhnev's mother, Natalya Denisovna, had the surname Mazelova before her marriage.
In 1915, Brezhnev entered the zero class of a classical gymnasium.
In 1921, Leonid Brezhnev graduated from labor school and took his first job at the Kursk Oil Mill.
The year 1923 was marked by joining the Komsomol.
In 1927, Brezhnev graduated from the Kursk Land Management and Reclamation College. After studying, Leonid Ilyich worked for some time in Kursk and Belarus.
In 1927 - 1930 Brezhnev holds the position of land surveyor in the Urals. Later he became the head of the district land department, was deputy chairman of the District Executive Committee, and deputy head of the Ural Regional Land Department. He took an active part in collectivization in the Urals.
In 1928 Leonid Brezhnev got married.
In 1931, Brezhnev joined the All-Russian Communist Party of the Bolsheviks.
In 1935, he received a diploma from the Dneprodzerzhinsk Metallurgical Institute, being a party organizer.
In 1937 he entered the metallurgical plant named after. F.E. Dzerzhinsky as an engineer and immediately received the position of deputy chairman of the Dneprodzerzhinsk City Executive Committee.
In 1938, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was appointed head of the department of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, and a year later he received the position of secretary in the same organization.
During the Great Patriotic War Brezhnev ranks 
leadership positions: deputy Head of the Political Department of the 4th Ukrainian Front, Head of the Political Department of the 18th Army, Head of the Political Department of the Carpathian Military District. He ended the war with the rank of major general, although he had “very weak military knowledge.”
In 1946, L.I. Brezhnev was appointed 1st Secretary of the Zaporozhye Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Bolsheviks), and a year later he was transferred to the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Committee in the same position.
In 1950, he became a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and in July of the same year - 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Moldova.
In October 1952, Brezhnev received from Stalin the position of Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and became a member of the Central Committee and a candidate member of the Presidium of the Central Committee.
After the death of I.V. Stalin in 1953, the rapid career of Leonid Ilyich was interrupted for a while. He was demoted and was appointed 1st Deputy Chief political management Soviet army and the fleet.
1954 - 1956, the famous uplifting of virgin soil in Kazakhstan. L.I. Brezhnev 
successively holds the positions of 2nd and 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Republic.
In February 1956, he regained his position as Secretary of the Central Committee.
In 1956, Brezhnev became a candidate, and a year later a member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee (in 1966, the organization was renamed the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee). In this position, Leonid Ilyich led knowledge-intensive industries, including space exploration.
In the Soviet Union privacy leaders of the country was strictly classified and protected as a state secret highest degree protection. Only analysis of published lately materials allows us to lift the veil on the secrecy of their payroll records.
Having seized power in the country, Vladimir Lenin in December 1917 set himself a monthly salary of 500 rubles, which approximately corresponded to the wages of an unskilled worker in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Any other income, including fees, to high-ranking party members, at Lenin’s proposal, was strictly prohibited.
The modest salary of the “leader of the world revolution” was quickly eaten up by inflation, but Lenin somehow did not think about where the money for a completely comfortable life, treatment with the help of world luminaries and domestic service would come from, although he did not forget to sternly tell his subordinates every time: “Deduct these expenses from my salary!”
At the beginning of the NEP, the General Secretary of the Bolshevik Party Joseph Stalin was given a salary less than half of Lenin’s salary (225 rubles) and only in 1935 it was increased to 500 rubles, but already in next year followed by a new increase to 1200 rubles. The average salary in the USSR at that time was 1,100 rubles, and although Stalin did not live on his salary, he could well have lived modestly on it. During the war years, the leader's salary became almost zero as a result of inflation, but at the end of 1947, after monetary reform, “the leader of all nations” sets himself a new salary of 10,000 rubles, which was 10 times higher than the then average wage in the USSR. At the same time, a system of “Stalinist envelopes” was introduced - monthly tax-free payments to the top of the party-Soviet apparatus. Be that as it may, Stalin did not seriously consider his salary and of great importance didn’t give it to her.
The first among the leaders of the Soviet Union who became seriously interested in his salary was Nikita Khrushchev, who received 800 rubles a month, which was 9 times the average salary in the country.
Sybarite Leonid Brezhnev was the first to violate Lenin’s ban on additional income, in addition to salaries, for the top of the party. In 1973, he awarded himself the International Lenin Prize (25,000 rubles), and starting in 1979, when the name of Brezhnev adorned the galaxy of classics of Soviet literature, huge fees began to pour into the Brezhnev family budget. Brezhnev’s personal account at the publishing house of the CPSU Central Committee “Politizdat” is replete with thousands of sums for huge print runs and multiple reprints of his masterpieces “Renaissance”, “Malaya Zemlya” and “Virgin Land”. It is curious that the Secretary General had the habit of often forgetting about his literary income when paying party contributions to his favorite party.
Leonid Brezhnev was generally very generous at the expense of “national” state property - both to himself, and to his children, and to those close to him. He appointed his son first deputy minister of foreign trade. In this post, he became famous for his constant trips to lavish parties abroad, as well as for huge senseless expenses there. Brezhnev's daughter led a wild life in Moscow, spending money coming from nowhere on jewelry. Those close to Brezhnev, in turn, were generously allocated dachas, apartments and huge bonuses.
Yuri Andropov, as a member of the Brezhnev Politburo, received 1,200 rubles a month, but when he became secretary general, he returned the salary of the general secretary from the time of Khrushchev - 800 rubles a month. At the same time, the purchasing power of the “Andropov ruble” was approximately half that of the “Khrushchev ruble”. Nevertheless, Andropov completely preserved the system of “Brezhnev’s fees” of the Secretary General and successfully used it. For example, with a basic salary rate of 800 rubles, his income for January 1984 was 8,800 rubles.
Andropov’s successor, Konstantin Chernenko, while maintaining the Secretary General’s salary at 800 rubles, intensified his efforts to extort fees by publishing various ideological materials in his own name. According to his party card, his income ranged from 1,200 to 1,700 rubles. At the same time, Chernenko, a fighter for the moral purity of communists, had the habit of constantly concealing large sums from his native party. Thus, researchers could not find in the party card of Secretary General Chernenko in the column for 1984 4,550 rubles of royalties received through the payroll of Politizdat.
Mikhail Gorbachev “reconciled” with a salary of 800 rubles until 1990, which was only four times the average salary in the country. Only after combining the posts of president of the country and secretary general in 1990 did Gorbachev begin to receive 3,000 rubles, with the average salary in the USSR being 500 rubles.
The successor to the general secretaries, Boris Yeltsin, fumbled almost to the end with the “Soviet salary”, not daring to radically reform the salaries of the state apparatus. Only by decree of 1997 was the salary of the President of Russia set at 10,000 rubles, and in August 1999 its size increased to 15,000 rubles, which was 9 times higher than the average salary in the country, that is, it was approximately at the level of the salaries of his predecessors in running the country, who had the title of General Secretary. True, the Yeltsin family had a lot of income from “the outside”.
For the first 10 months of his reign, Vladimir Putin received the “Yeltsin rate.” However, as of June 30, 2002, the president's annual salary was set at 630,000 rubles (approximately $25,000) plus security and language allowances. He also receives a military pension for his rank of colonel.
From this moment on, for the first time since Lenin’s times, the basic salary rate of the leader of Russia ceased to be just a fiction, although compared to the salary rates of the leaders of the leading countries of the world, Putin’s rate looks rather modest. For example, the President of the United States receives 400 thousand dollars, and the Prime Minister of Japan has almost the same amount. The salaries of other leaders are more modest: the Prime Minister of Great Britain has 348,500 dollars, the Chancellor of Germany has about 220 thousand, and the President of France has 83 thousand.
It is interesting to see how the “regional secretaries general” - the current presidents of the CIS countries - look against this background. Former member The Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, and now the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, essentially lives according to the “Stalinist norms” for the ruler of the country, that is, he and his family are fully provided for by the state, but he also set a relatively small salary for himself - 4 thousand dollars a month. Other regional general secretaries - former first secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Parties of their republics - formally established more modest salaries for themselves. Thus, the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, receives only $1,900 a month, and the President of Turkmenistan, Sapurmurad Niyazov, receives only $900. At the same time, Aliyev, having placed his son Ilham Aliyev at the head of the state oil company, actually privatized all the country's income from oil - the main currency resource of Azerbaijan, and Niyazov generally turned Turkmenistan into a kind of medieval khanate, where everything belongs to the ruler. Turkmenbashi, and only he, can resolve any issue. All foreign currency funds are managed only by Turkmenbashi (Father of the Turkmens) Niyazov personally, and the sale of Turkmen gas and oil is managed by his son Murad Niyazov.
The situation is worse than others for the former first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia and member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee Eduard Shevardnadze. With a modest monthly salary of $750, he was unable to establish complete control over the country’s wealth due to strong opposition to him in the country. In addition, the opposition closely monitors all personal expenses of President Shevardnadze and his family.
Lifestyle and real opportunities current leaders former country The Soviets are well characterized by the behavior of the Russian President's wife, Lyudmila Putina, during her husband's recent state visit to the UK. The wife of the British Prime Minister, Cherie Blair, took Lyudmila to view 2004 clothing models from the Burberry design firm, famous among the rich. For more than two hours, Lyudmila Putina was shown the latest fashion items, and in conclusion, Putina was asked if she would like to purchase anything. Blueberry's prices are very high. For example, even a gas scarf from this company costs 200 pounds sterling.
The Russian president's eyes were so wide-eyed that she announced the purchase... of the entire collection. Even super-millionaires did not dare to do this. By the way, because if you buy the entire collection, people will not understand that you are wearing next year’s fashion clothes! After all, no one else has anything comparable. Putina's behavior in this case was not so much the behavior of the wife of a large statesman beginning of the XXI century, much like the behavior of the main wife of an Arab sheikh in the mid-20th century, who was distraught by the amount of petrodollars that had fallen on her husband.
This episode with Mrs. Putina needs a little explanation. Naturally, neither she nor the “art critics in civilian clothes” accompanying her during the collection’s display had as much money with them as the collection was worth. This was not required, because in such cases, respected people only need their signature on the check and nothing else. No money or credit cards. Even if Mr. President of Russia himself, trying to appear before the world as a civilized European, was outraged by this act, then, of course, he had to pay.
Other rulers of former countries Soviet republics- also know how to “live well.” So, a couple of years ago, the six-day wedding of the son of the President of Kyrgyzstan Akaev and the daughter of the President of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev thundered throughout Asia. The scale of the wedding was truly Khan-like. By the way, both newlyweds graduated from the University of College Park (Maryland) only a year ago.
The son of Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, Ilham Aliyev, also looks quite decent against this background, having set a kind of world record: in just one evening he managed to lose as much as 4 (four!) million dollars in a casino. By the way, this worthy representative of one of the “General Secretary’s” clans is now registered as a candidate for the post of President of Azerbaijan. Residents of this one of the poorest countries in terms of living standards are invited to elect in the new elections either Aliyev’s son, who loves the “beautiful life,” or Aliyev’s father himself, who has already “served” two presidential terms, has crossed the 80-year mark and is so sick that he can no longer able to move independently.
The history of the Soviet Union is a very difficult topic in history. It covers only 70 years of history, but the material in it needs to be studied many times more than in all previous time! In this article we will look at what the general secretaries of the USSR were like in chronological order, we will characterize each one and provide links to the relevant site materials on them!
Position of Secretary General
The position of Secretary General is highest position in the party apparatus of the CPSU (b), and then in the CPSU. The person who occupied it was not only the leader of the party, but de facto the entire country. How is this possible, let’s figure it out now! The title of the position was constantly changing: from 1922 to 1925 - General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP (b); from 1925 to 1953 she was called the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks; from 1953 to 1966 - First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee; from 1966 to 1989 - General Secretary of the CPSU.
The position itself arose in April 1922. Before this, the position was called party chairman and was headed by V.I. Lenin.
Why was the head of the party the de facto head of the country? In 1922, this position was headed by Stalin. The influence of the position was such that he could form a congress at his own request, which provided himself full support in the party. By the way, such support was extremely important. Therefore, the struggle for power in the 20s of the last century resulted precisely in the form of discussions in which victory meant life, and loss meant death, if not now, then in the future for sure.
I.V. Stalin understood this perfectly. That’s why he insisted on creating such a position, which, in fact, he headed. But the main thing was something else: in the 20s and 30s, a historical process of merging the party apparatus with the state apparatus took place. This meant, for example, that the district party committee (the head of the district party committee) is in fact the head of the district, the city party committee is the head of the city, and the regional party committee is the head of the region. And the councils played a subordinate role.
Here it is important to remember that the power in the country was Soviet - that is, the real state authorities should have been councils. And they were, but only de jure (legally), formally, on paper, if you like. It was the party that determined all aspects of the development of the state.
So let's look at the main secretaries general.
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (Dzhugashvili)
Was the first Secretary General party, unchanged until 1953 - until his death. The fact of the merging of the party and state apparatus was reflected in the fact that from 1941 to 1953 he was also the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and then the Council of Ministers of the USSR. If you don’t know, the Council of People’s Commissars and then the Council of Ministers are the Government of the USSR. If you are not in the subject at all, then .
Stalin stood at the origins of both the great victories of the Soviet Union and the great troubles in the history of our country. He was the author of the articles “The Year of the Great Turnaround.” He stood at the origins of super-industrialization and collectivization. It is with him that such concepts as the “cult of personality” are associated (see more about it and), the Holodomor of the 30s, the repressions of the 30s. In principle, under Khrushchev, Stalin was blamed for the failures in the first months of the Great Patriotic War.
However, the unrivaled growth of industrial construction in the 1930s is also associated with the name of Stalin. The USSR received its own heavy industry, which we still use today.
Stalin himself said this about the future of his name: “I know that after my death a heap of rubbish will be placed on my grave, but the wind of history will mercilessly scatter it!” Well, we'll see how it goes!
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev
N.S. Khrushchev served as General (or First) Secretary of the Party from 1953 to 1964. His name is associated with many events both from world history and from the history of Russia: Events in Poland, the Suez Crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the slogan “Catch up and surpass America in meat and milk production per capita!”, the shooting in Novocherkassk, and much more other.
Khrushchev, in general, was not a very smart politician, but he was very intuitive. He understood perfectly well how he would rise, because after Stalin’s death the struggle for power became fierce again. Many people saw the future of the USSR not in Khrushchev, but in Malenkov, who then held the position of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. But Khrushchev took a strategically correct position.
Details about the USSR under him.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev
L.I. Brezhnev held the main position in the party from 1964 to 1982. His time is otherwise called the period of “stagnation”. The USSR began to turn into a “banana republic”, the shadow economy grew, the shortage of consumer goods grew, and the Soviet nomenclature expanded. All these processes then led to a systemic crisis during the years of Perestroika, and ultimately.
Leonid Ilyich himself was very fond of cars. The authorities blocked one of the rings around the Kremlin so that the secretary general could test the new model presented to him. There is also an interesting historical anecdote associated with the name of his daughter. They say one day my daughter went to museums to look for some kind of necklace. Yes, yes, to museums, not shopping. As a result, in one of the museums she pointed to the necklace and asked for it. The director of the museum called Leonid Ilyich and explained the situation. To which I received a clear answer: “Don’t give!” Something like that.
And more about the USSR and Brezhnev.
Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev
M.S. Gorbachev held the party position in question from March 11, 1984 to August 24, 1991. His name is associated with such things as: Perestroika, ending Cold War, fall Berlin Wall, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the attempt to create the JIT, the coup in August 1991. He was the first and last President of the USSR.
Read more about all this.
We have not named two more general secretaries. See them in this table with photos:
Post Scriptum: many rely on texts - textbooks, manuals, even monographs. But you can beat all your competitors on the Unified State Exam if you use video lessons. They all exist. Studying video lessons is at least five times more effective than simply reading a textbook!
Best regards, Andrey Puchkov
I've been wanting to write for a long time. The attitude towards Stalin in our country is largely polar. Some hate him, others praise him. I always liked to look at things soberly and try to understand their essence.
So Stalin was never a dictator. Moreover, he was never the leader of the USSR. Do not rush to hem skeptically. Let's do it simpler though. I will now ask you two questions. If you know the answers to them, you can close this page. What follows will seem uninteresting to you.
1. Who was the leader of the Soviet state after Lenin’s death?
2. When exactly did Stalin become a dictator, at least for a year?
Let's start from afar. In every country there is a position, holding which a person becomes the leader of that state. This is not true everywhere, but exceptions only prove the rule. And in general, it doesn’t matter what this position is called, president, prime minister, chairman of the Great Khural, or just a leader and beloved leader, the main thing is that it always exists. Due to certain changes in the political formation of a given country, it may also change its name. But one thing remains unchanged: after the person occupying it leaves his place (for one reason or another), another always takes his place, who automatically becomes the next first person of the state.
So now the next question is - what was the name of this position in the USSR? Secretary General? Are you sure?
Well, let's take a look. This means Stalin became the General Secretary of the CPSU (b) in 1922. Lenin was still alive then and even tried to work. But Lenin was never General Secretary. He held only the position of Chairman of the Council People's Commissars. After him, Rykov took this place. Those. what happens that Rykov became the leader of the Soviet state after Lenin? I'm sure some of you haven't even heard of this name. At the same time, Stalin did not yet have any special powers. Moreover, from a purely legal standpoint, the CPSU(b) was at that time just one of the departments in the Comintern, along with parties in other countries. It is clear that the Bolsheviks still gave money for all this, but formally everything was exactly like that. The Comintern was then led by Zinoviev. Maybe he was the first person of the state at that time? It is unlikely that in terms of his influence on the party he was far inferior to, for example, Trotsky.
Then who was the first person and leader then? What follows is even funnier. Do you think Stalin was already a dictator in 1934? I think you will now answer in the affirmative. So this year's post Secretary General completely cancelled. Why? Well then. Formally, Stalin remained a simple secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. By the way, that’s how he signed all the documents later. And in the party charter there was no position of general secretary at all.
In 1938, the so-called “Stalinist” constitution was adopted. According to it, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was called the highest executive body of our country. Which was headed by Kalinin. Foreigners called him the "president" of the USSR. You all know very well what power he actually had.
Well, think about it, you say. In Germany, too, there is a decorative president, and the Chancellor rules everything. Yes, it's true. But this was the only way it was before and after Hitler. In the summer of 1934, Hitler was elected Fuhrer (leader) of the nation in a referendum. By the way, he received 84.6% of the votes. And only then did he become, in essence, a dictator, i.e. a person with unlimited power. As you yourself understand, Stalin legally did not have such powers at all. And this greatly limits power opportunities.
Well, that's not the main thing, you say. On the contrary, this position was very beneficial. He seemed to stand above the fray, was not formally responsible for anything and was an arbiter. Okay, let's move on. On May 6, 1941, he suddenly became Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. On the one hand, this is generally understandable. War is coming soon and we need to have real levers of power. But the point is that during war, military power comes to the fore. And the civilian one becomes just a part of the military structure, simply put, the rear. And the military was led by the same Stalin at the post during the war Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Well, that's okay. What follows is even funnier. On July 19, 1941, Stalin also became People's Commissar of Defense. This already goes beyond any idea of the dictatorship of one specific person. To make it clearer to you, it is as if the General Director (and owner) of the enterprise also became the Commercial Director and the head of the supply department. Nonsense.
People's Commissar of Defense during war is a very minor position. During this period, the main power is taken by the General Staff and, in our case, by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, headed by the same Stalin. And the People's Commissar of Defense becomes something like a company foreman, who is responsible for supplies, weapons and other everyday issues of the unit. A very minor position.
This can be somehow understood during the period of hostilities, but Stalin remained People's Commissar until February 1947.
Okay, let's move on. In 1953, Stalin dies. Who became the leader of the USSR after him? What are you saying Khrushchev? Since when has a simple secretary of the Central Committee ruled our entire country?
Formally, it turns out that Malenko. It was he who became the next, after Stalin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. I saw somewhere on the net where this was clearly hinted at. But for some reason no one in our country later considered him to be the leader of the country.
In 1953, the position of party leader was revived. They called her First Secretary. And Khrushchev became one in September 1953. But somehow it’s very unclear. At the very end of what seemed to be a plenum, Malenkov stood up and asked how those gathered thought about electing the First Secretary. The audience answered in the affirmative (by the way characteristic feature all the transcripts of those years, remarks, comments and other reactions to certain speeches on the presidium are constantly coming from the audience. Even negative ones. sleep with with open eyes at such events they will already be under Brezhnev. Malenkov proposed voting for Khrushchev. Which is what they did. Somehow this bears little resemblance to the election of the country's first person.
So when did Khrushchev become the de facto leader of the USSR? Well, probably in 1958, when he threw out all the old people and also became Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Those. Can one assume that by essentially holding this position and leading the party, the person began to lead the country?
But here's the problem. Brezhnev, after Khrushev was removed from all posts, became only the First Secretary. Then, in 1966, the position of General Secretary was revived. It seems that it was then that it actually began to mean complete guide country. But again there are rough edges. Brezhnev became the leader of the party after the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Which. as we all know very well, it was generally quite decorative. Why then, in 1977, Leonid Ilyich returned to it again and became both General Secretary and Chairman? Did he lack power?
But Andropov had enough. He became only General Secretary.
And that's actually not all. I took all these facts from Wikipedia. If you go deeper, the devil will break his leg in all these ranks, positions and powers of the highest echelon of power in the years 20-50.
Well, now the most important thing. In the USSR, the highest power was collective. And all the major decisions on certain significant issues were made by the Politburo (under Stalin this was a little different, but essentially correct). In fact, there was no single leader. There were people (like Stalin) who, due to various reasons were considered first among equals. But no more. We cannot talk about any dictatorship. It never existed in the USSR and could never exist. Stalin simply did not have the legal leverage to make serious decisions on his own. Everything was always accepted collectively. There are many documents on this.
If you think that I came up with all this myself, then you are mistaken. This is the official position of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union represented by the Politburo and the Central Committee of the CPSU.
Don't believe me? Well, let's move on to the documents.
Transcript of the July 1953 plenum of the CPSU Central Committee. Just after Beria's arrest.
From Malenkov's speech:
First of all, we must openly admit, and we propose to write this down in the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee, that in our propaganda for recent years there was a retreat from the Marxist-Leninist understanding of the question of the role of the individual in history. It is no secret that party propaganda, instead of correctly explaining the role of the Communist Party as a leading force in the construction of communism in our country, strayed into a cult of personality.
But, comrades, this is not just a matter of propaganda. The question of the cult of personality is directly and directly related to the question of collective leadership.
We have no right to hide from you that such an ugly cult of personality has led to peremptory nature of individual decisions and in recent years began to cause serious damage to the leadership of the party and the country.
This must be said in order to resolutely correct the mistakes made in this regard, draw the necessary lessons and in the future ensure in practice collectivity of leadership on the principled basis of Lenin-Stalin teachings.
We must say this so as not to repeat the mistakes associated with lack of collective leadership and with an incorrect understanding of the issue of the cult of personality, for these mistakes, in the absence of Comrade Stalin, will be three times dangerous. (Voices. Correct).
No one dares, cannot, should or wants to claim the role of successor. (Voices. Correct. Applause).
The successor of the great Stalin is a tightly knit, monolithic team of party leaders....
Those. In essence, the question of the cult of personality is not connected with the fact that someone made mistakes (in this case, Beria, the plenum was dedicated to his arrest) but with the fact that making serious decisions individually is a deviation from the very basis of party democracy as a principle of governing the country.
By the way, from my pioneer childhood I remember such words as Democratic centralism, election from bottom to top. Purely legally, this was the case in the Party. Everyone was always chosen, from the minor secretary of the party cell to the general secretary. Another thing is that under Brezhnev this became largely a fiction. But under Stalin it was exactly like that.
And of course the most important document is ".
At the beginning, Khrushchev says what the report will actually be about:
Due to the fact that not everyone still understands what the cult of personality led to in practice, what enormous damage was caused violation of the principle of collective leadership in the party and the concentration of immense, unlimited power in the hands of one person, the Central Committee of the party considers it necessary to report materials on this issue to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union .
Then he scolds Stalin for a long time for deviations from the principles of collective leadership and attempts to crush everything under his own control.
And at the end he concludes with a programmatic statement:
Secondly, to consistently and persistently continue the work carried out in recent years by the Central Committee of the Party to strictly observe in all Party organizations, from top to bottom, Leninist principles of party leadership and above all the highest principle - collectivity of leadership, to comply with the norms of party life, enshrined in the Charter of our party, to develop criticism and self-criticism.
Third, fully restore Leninist principles Soviet socialist democracy, expressed in the Constitution of the Soviet Union, to fight against the arbitrariness of persons who abuse power. It is necessary to completely correct the violations of revolutionary socialist legality that have accumulated over a long period as a result of the negative consequences of the cult of personality.
And you say dictatorship. The dictatorship of a party, yes, but not of one person. And these are two big differences.
