The era of stagnation

The change of leadership in 1964 made it possible to mitigate the excesses that were characteristic of Khrushchev's policy. A period of moderate politics began, lasting almost twenty years, which was called "the era of Brezhnev's stagnation".

The policy of the new leader was sustained in the old channel of the "demobilization program," in which the main emphasis was on shifting towards tolerance and increasing the country's welfare.

However, the general state doctrine of economic liberalization was not worked out. In 1965, reform was initiated and initiated in the economic and social sphere, emphasis was placed on commodity-money relations, and as a criterion of the effectiveness of enterprises, profits were considered. This meant a rejection of the fundamental principles of the Soviet economy, formulated by Stalin. But the economic system did not react to innovations as expected. Orientation to profit caused an increase in prices, so in order to avoid the collapse of the economy it was decided to temporarily abandon this line of development.

The economy of the USSR, however, during this period developed quite rapidly. The basic indicators of the lives of people and the country as a whole have improved. The era of stagnation is the time of large-scale road and housing construction. Everyday life of people in the city reached a modern level, and in the village - significantly improved.

Unified transport and energy systems were created, large poultry farms were built, which solved the protein problem in the diet, the soil condition (liming and irrigation) was improved, extensive plantations were carried out. The state apparatus and the economy were saturated with qualified personnel, the demographic situation became stable (there was a constant increase in the population). The era of stagnation became a time for the USSR when it turned into a self-sufficient country that could provide for itself for a long time all the basic resources.

In order to ensure reliable nutrition for all citizens in 1982, the "Food Program" was adopted, which was well implemented in real terms.

In 1977, a new Constitution was adopted, which proclaimed the Soviet state to be a nation-wide one. The dictatorship of the proletariat has officially ended. The Constitution enshrined the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with the right to be called the supreme authority. New types of civil rights were introduced: housing and health care. The document also stipulated that justice in the country can be carried out only by the court.

It was the era of stagnation that made the USSR an allied federal state (as it was officially recorded in the documents). The Union republics retained the right to freely withdraw from the federation. Nevertheless, the concept of "Soviet people" continued to exist in the official language.

1965-1985 is a period of prosperity in the history of the USSR, a real "era of stagnation" - a time when, despite a number of existing problems and minor problems, life was calm and confident in the future. However, the Soviet system responded slowly to the challenges of modern times, responding poorly to the new needs of the urban population. Closer to the mid-1980s, the gap between the Soviet system of life and the new social type became clear, which became the objective reason for growing discontent.

At the same time, a general feeling of unease arose. Clear signs of this were the spread of alcoholism, vagrancy, petty corruption, bureaucratic arbitrariness. The intelligentsia gradually turned to anti-Soviet positions (dissidents).

The crisis and planned management were going through. The economy of the USSR needed the use of a spontaneous regulator, which was a free market.

The system of the state ceased to be complete, it began to disintegrate into a number of subsystems (departmentalism). This led to the division of the people into groups and corporations. The state gradually became less Soviet. Stagnation in the USSR was to be replaced by a new order.