Soviet time: years, history. Photo of the Soviet era

Soviet time chronologically covers the period from the coming to power of the Bolsheviks in 1917 and until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In these decades, the state established a socialist system and at the same time an attempt was made to establish communism. In the international arena, the USSR was led by the socialist camp of countries that also took a course toward building communism.

The first years of Soviet power

The coming to power of the Bolsheviks and the consequent radical breakdown of the social, economic, political and cultural spheres of society completely changed the face of the former Russian Empire. The so-called dictatorship of the proletariat led to the total domination of one party, the decisions of which were not contested.

The country nationalized production and banned large private property. At the same time, during the Soviet era in the 1920s, a new economic policy (NEP) was carried out , which contributed to a certain revival of trade and production. The Soviet-era photo of the 1920s is an excellent source for the history of the period under review, as they demonstrate the profound changes that have taken place in society since the end of the Russian Empire. However, this period did not last long: at the end of the decade the party set a course for centralization of the economic sphere.

At the beginning of its existence, the state paid great attention to ideology. Party education programs were aimed at the formation of a new man in the Soviet era. The period up to the 1930s, however, can be considered a transitional period, since then some freedom remained in the society: for example, discussions on science, art, and literature were allowed.

The Epoch of Stalinism

Since the 1930s, the totalitarian system was finally established in the country. The cult of personality, the absolute rule of the Communist Party, collectivization and industrialization, socialist ideology are the main phenomena of the epoch. In the political sphere, Stalin's individual rule was established, whose authority was unquestioned, and the decisions were not subject to discussion, or even more to question.

In the economy, there have also been fundamental changes that became iconic in the Soviet era. The years of industrialization and collectivization led to the creation in the USSR of large-scale industrial production, the rapid development of which largely determined the victory in the Great Patriotic War and brought the country to the rank of the world's leading powers. The Soviet-era photos of the 1930s show success in creating a heavy industry in the country. But at the same time, agriculture, the village, and the village were weakened and needed serious reform.

The Soviet Union in 1950-1960

After Stalin's death in 1953, the need for change in all spheres of society became obvious. Soviet time in this decade entered the historical science called "Thaw". At the Twentieth Party Congress in February 1956, the personality cult of Stalin was debunked , and this signaled serious reforms.

A wide rehabilitation was carried out for those who suffered during the hard years of repression. The power went into weakening in the management of the economy. So, in 1957 industrial ministries were liquidated and territorial departments for production control were established instead. The councils of the national economy and state committees for the management of industry began to work actively. However, the reforms gave a short-term effect and subsequently only increased administrative turmoil.

In agriculture, the government took a number of measures to increase its productivity (debt relief from collective farms, their financing, development of virgin soil). At the same time, the liquidation of the MTS, unjustified corn sowings, and the consolidation of the collective farms adversely affected the development of the village. The Soviet period of 1950 - the first half of the 1960s was a period of improving the life of Soviet society, but at the same time revealed a number of new problems.

USSR in the years 1970-1980

The Board of LI Brezhnev was marked by new reforms in the agrarian and industrial sectors of the economy. The authorities again returned to the sectoral principle of enterprise management, however, made some changes to the production process. The enterprises were transferred to self-financing, their economic activity was evaluated now not by gross but by sales. This measure was to increase the interest of direct producers in increasing and improving production.

Also, from funds from private profits, economic incentive funds were created. In addition, elements of wholesale trade were introduced. However, this reform did not affect the fundamentals of the economy of the USSR and therefore gave only a temporary effect. The country continued to exist at the expense of the extensive way of development and lagged behind in the scientific and technical terms from the developed countries of Western Europe and the United States.

The state in 1980-1990

During the years of perestroika, a serious attempt was made to reform the economy of the Soviet Union. In 1985, the government took a course to accelerate economic development. The main emphasis was made not scientific and technical improvement of production. The goal of the reform was to achieve the world level of the economy. Priority - the development of domestic engineering, where the main capital investments were poured. However, the attempt to reform the economy by command and administrative measures failed.

A number of political reforms were carried out, in particular, the government removed the dictates of the party, introduced a two-level system of legislative power in the country. The Supreme Council became a permanently functioning parliament, the post of the president of the USSR was approved, democratic freedoms were proclaimed. At the same time, the government introduced the principle of glasnost, ie, the openness and accessibility of information. However, the attempt to reform the established administrative and command system ended in failure and led to a comprehensive crisis in society, which was the reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet period in the domestic and world history

The period from 1917-1991 is a whole epoch not only for Russia, but for the whole world. Our country has undergone deep internal and external shocks, and despite this became one of the leading powers in the Soviet era. The history of these decades influenced the political structure not only of Europe, where a socialist camp was established under the leadership of the USSR, but also events in the world as a whole. It is therefore not surprising that the phenomenon of Soviet times is of interest to both domestic and foreign researchers.