Terms of the era of perestroika. How did perestroika begin in the USSR? Reasons for the aggravation of interethnic relations

policy of the leadership of the CPSU and the USSR, proclaimed in the second half of the 80s. and continued until August 1991; its objective content was an attempt to bring the Soviet economy, politics, ideology, and culture into conformity with universal human ideals and values; was carried out extremely inconsistently and, as a result of contradictory efforts, created the preconditions for the collapse of the CPSU and the collapse of the USSR.

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PERESTROIKA

the official course of the country's development, proclaimed by the ruling elite of the USSR led by M. Gorbachev in 1985.

The totality of actions of the country's party-state leadership that provoked a large-scale crisis that led to the collapse of statehood, the collapse of the country's economic system and the decline of the socio-spiritual sphere.

One of the most dramatic periods in Russian history, which ended with the liquidation of an entire state and ushered in an era of the deepest systemic crisis that affected all spheres of Russian life without exception, the consequences of which will be felt in the country for a long time.

The chronological framework of perestroika is 1985–91.

In 1985, the April Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, headed by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M. Gorbachev, who came to power a month earlier, proclaimed a course to “accelerate the socio-economic development” of the country. It was then that the foundations of the concept of perestroika were laid.

It was assumed that the adoption of decisive measures to overcome the apparent decline in economic growth rates and the lagging of such industries as mechanical engineering from the world level in a relatively short time would allow the national economy of the USSR to be brought to new levels, which, in turn, would intensify social policy and lead to a noticeable improvement in the well-being of the country's citizens. To achieve this, it was planned to improve the structure of economic management and stimulate the material interest of workers as a result of their labor. However, the first attempts to accelerate the course failed, encountering resistance from a large bureaucratic apparatus.

The first two national campaigns of the new leadership turned out to be failures: the fight against drunkenness and the fight against unearned income.

As a result of the anti-alcohol campaign, the amount of alcohol consumption (even taking into account all types of surrogates) decreased by a third, again reaching the 1986 level only in 1994, and in addition, an increase in life expectancy was recorded. However, carried out without preparing public opinion, this campaign resulted in a sharp reduction in the sale of alcohol in the country, “wine queues” appeared, alcohol prices increased, and vineyards were barbarously cut down. All this led to increased social tension, moonshine speculation and, as a consequence, the “sugar crisis.”

The results of M. Gorbachev’s second initiative were equally disastrous, from which it was not the bigwigs of the “shadow economy” who suffered, who stole with the connivance of the corrupt bureaucracy, but real producers of products, primarily agricultural ones. This led to rising food prices and shortages of goods on shelves.

The lack of complete clarity among the country's top political leadership about the depth of the crisis and, as a consequence, a consistent program to overcome it, determined M. Gorbachev's subsequent actions, their chaotic, destructive nature for the state.

Struggling for power with supporters of the “old course” in the Politburo, Gorbachev increasingly relied on the support of anti-state forces, whose goal was to achieve a state of “controlled chaos” in the country and destroy the state. It was at their instigation that the policy of “glasnost” was proclaimed at the very beginning of 1987. Its goal was to destroy the ideological foundations of the existing system by first criticizing the shortcomings of socialism in order to purify it, then completely abandoning socialism in favor of capitalism, and then destroying the state, history, etc.

The main ideologist of the project, the “architect of perestroika”, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee A. Yakovlev, gave the go-ahead for materials to begin appearing in the media about the “crimes of the Stalinist regime” and the need to return to “Leninist norms” of party and state life.

The unbridled anti-Stalin campaign reached its apogee at the beginning of 1988, when the real study of history was practically replaced by large-scale falsification. Data appeared about “tens of millions of people executed,” etc.

The psychological attack on public consciousness aimed to sow doubt in the correctness of the existing system, in the fact that the lives of many generations of Soviet people were lived in vain. Spiritual confusion was intensified by increasing social tension. After a sharp drop in oil prices, artificially caused by the West, in the fall of 1985, the Soviet economy began to crack at the seams, and in a matter of months the USSR, which largely lived on “petrodollars,” began to turn from a superpower into a debtor country, the national debt increased 3 times.

Industry and agriculture were in decline and were not able not only to compete with world producers, but even to provide their own population with everything they needed. The emphasis on private entrepreneurial initiative only made the situation worse.

The USSR Law “On Individual Labor Activity,” adopted in 1987, opened the way to rampant speculation and led to increased social tension. A cooperator selling “boiled” jeans received tens of times more money than an employee of any Soviet enterprise.

The rapid development of the cooperative movement in 1988–89. marked the beginning of the formation phase of initial capital, which soon became crowded within the framework of trade and intermediation. Gradually, in place of industrial giants, joint-stock companies, firms, concerns arose, then banks, where money was accumulated, with which entire industries were later bought out. At the same time, state extremism in the field of taxation (up to 70-90% of income was collected from private entrepreneurs) pushed them to search for ways to evade taxes, which became a mass phenomenon.

According to the USSR Law “On State Enterprise (Association)” (1987), it became possible to leave fixed assets of enterprises in state ownership and distribute profits privately. Work collectives “democratically” elected as director not the best business executive, but the one who promised a higher salary. The bank, in whose accounts the enterprise's profits were concentrated, was obliged, at the request of the management, to cash out any amount to pay additional salaries and bonuses. As a result, the population had a lot of unsecured money, which was spent not on deposits in savings banks, as was the case before, but on purchasing consumer goods, non-perishable products and luxury goods.

Despite the fact that there was no increase in labor productivity and product quality, this fueled inflation and served to destroy the state’s financial system. Product shortages and long queues in stores have become a daily occurrence.

In 1987, 3 permitting documents were issued: a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 49, as well as a joint resolution of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers No. 1074 on the decentralization of foreign economic activity, which granted all Soviet enterprises and cooperatives the right to enter the foreign market. Thus, the state abandoned its monopoly on foreign trade.

The property of the Soviet people flowed to the West in echelons - from metal to high-tech equipment, where it was sold at bargain prices. Cheap clothes, cigarettes, chocolate bars, etc. were brought back.

The processes of introducing market relations in the USSR were criticized even in the West. The famous anti-communist J. Soros wrote: “You can talk about a market economy, but you cannot talk about a market society. In addition to markets, society needs institutions that will serve social goals such as political freedom and social justice. During this period, Russia had every chance to take advantage of this and be in the vanguard. But instead, the “directors”, burdened with an inferiority complex, led the country to “savage capitalism.” A similar position was expressed by Nobel Prize winners in economics, for example J. Galbraith.

The leaders of the Western powers rushed to take advantage of the confusion in the USSR, seeing a chance to weaken the country as much as possible and deprive it of its superpower status. M. Gorbachev indulged them in this as best he could, showing amazing softness and short-sightedness. Having succumbed to R. Reagan's bluff with the SDI program, he accepted extremely unfavorable conditions for nuclear disarmament, signing in 1987 an agreement with the American side on the elimination of medium-range missiles stationed in Europe.

In 1990, Gorbachev signed the “Charter for a New Europe” in Paris, which entailed the collapse of the Soviet military bloc, the loss of positions in Europe, and the withdrawal of troops from the territories of Eastern European countries. Against the background of failures in economic and foreign policy activities, a consistent policy of spiritual aggression against the people continued.

Already at the end of 1987, a powerful promotion of B. Yeltsin, the “progressive” first secretary of the Moscow Regional Party Committee, who suffered “for the truth,” began. It was precisely him who was prepared by the pro-Western oriented part of the party leadership for the role of the new ruler of Russia instead of the inconsistent, cowardly Gorbachev, who, having fulfilled his unenviable role as a destroyer, was no longer needed by the West.

Gorbachev was still trying to take control of the situation: at the 19th All-Union Party Conference, having proclaimed “humane, democratic socialism” (repeating in many ways the slogans of the provocation orchestrated in 1968 by the US CIA - the so-called “Prague Spring”), he proposed a scant draft of electoral reform, according to which allowed alternative elections. A third of the seats were assigned to the CPSU.

According to this scheme, the elections of people's deputies of the Union were held. The First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, held on May 25, 1989, played a fatal role in the life of the country. It was there that openly anti-Russian, anti-state forces, actively supported by Western financial structures, took shape and were legitimized. The interregional deputy group, which no longer hid its rejection of socialism, even Gorbachev’s “humane” one, was headed, as expected, by the disgraced Yeltsin. From that time on, the process of the collapse of the country began to “increasingly.”

Gorbachev was rapidly losing his power and former influence. His election as president of the country by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR did not change the situation. New parties arose in society, and centrifugal tendencies grew.

Already in 1990, the Baltic republics became practically independent, and bloody clashes took place in the Caucasus - in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, as well as in Central Asia. Gorbachev succumbed to numerous provocations and used force to “establish order” in Tbilisi, Vilnius, Riga, Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions. The few who died were immediately declared “victims who died for the freedom of the people,” which strengthened anti-Soviet sentiments and pushed the cowardly leadership of the republics to directly declare independence.

In 1990, the state sovereignty of the RSFSR was proclaimed, and a year later B. Yeltsin became president of Russia. Having finally lost control of the levers of governing the country, Gorbachev made a last attempt to establish control over the situation. He initiated work on signing a new Union Treaty, which actually legitimized the collapse of the Union. But on the eve of its signing, some of the country’s leaders tried to save the state by creating the State Emergency Committee, but this step was poorly prepared, even Yeltsin’s supporters knew about it. They were just waiting for the opportunity to take the chance to face the “representatives of strict order.”

The “August Putsch” of August 19–21, 1991 was turned into a grandiose political spectacle by Yeltsin’s supporters. In fact, it was precisely this time that can be considered the date of the final collapse of the country (although this was legally formalized only by the Belovezhskaya Accords, the resignation of Gorbachev and the December session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR) and the complete collapse of perestroika.

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We are waiting for changes...". These words are from a song by a leader popular in the 80s. V. Tsoi’s “Kino” groups reflected the mood of people in the first years of the “perestroika” policy. She was proclaimed by the new General Secretary, 54-year-old M. S. Gorbachev, who took over the baton of power after the death of K. U. Chernenko in March 1985. Elegantly dressed, speaking “without a piece of paper,” the Secretary General gained popularity with his outward democracy, desire for reforms in a “stagnant” country and, of course, promises (for example, every family was promised a separate comfortable apartment by the year 2000), no one since the time of Khrushchev communicated with the people like this: Gorbachev traveled around the country, easily went out to people, talked in an informal setting with workers, collective farmers, and intelligentsia. With the arrival of a new leader, inspired by plans for a breakthrough in the economy and restructuring the entire life of society, people's hopes and enthusiasm were revived.
A course was proclaimed to “accelerate” the country’s socio-economic development. It was assumed that in industry the core of this process would be the renewal of mechanical engineering. However, already in 1986, Gorbachev and other members of the Politburo were faced with the fact that “acceleration” was not happening. The course towards the priority development of mechanical engineering failed due to financial difficulties. The budget deficit increased sharply (in 1986, 3 times compared to 1985, when it amounted to 17-18 billion rubles). This phenomenon was caused by a number of reasons: “deferred” demand of the population for goods (money was not returned to the treasury, and part of it was circulated on the black market), a fall in prices for exported oil (receipts to the treasury decreased by a third), loss of income as a result anti-alcohol campaign.
In this situation, the “tops” came to the conclusion that all sectors of the economy needed to be transferred to new methods of management. Gradually, in 1986 - 1989, during the economic transformations, state acceptance of products, self-financing and self-financing, and elections of enterprise directors were introduced; Laws on state enterprises, individual labor activity and cooperatives came into force, as well as a law on labor conflicts, which provided for the right of workers to strike.
However, all these measures not only did not lead to an improvement in the economic situation in the country, but, on the contrary, worsened it due to half-hearted, uncoordinated and ill-thought-out reforms, large budget expenditures, and an increase in the money supply in the hands of the population. Production ties between enterprises for state supplies of products were disrupted. The shortage of consumer goods has increased. At the turn of the 80-90s. The store shelves became more and more empty. Local authorities have begun to introduce coupons for some products.
Glasnost and the evolution of the state system. Soviet society was swept by the process of democratization. In the ideological sphere, Gorbachev put forward the slogan of glasnost. This meant that no events of the past or present should be hidden from the people. In the speeches of party ideologists and in journalism, the idea of ​​a transition from “barracks socialism” to socialism “with a human face” was propagated. The attitude of the authorities towards dissidents has changed. Academician A.D. Sakharov, who was exiled there for critical statements about the war in Afghanistan, returned to Moscow from Gorky (as Nizhny Novgorod was called). Other dissidents were also released from places of imprisonment and exile, and camps for political prisoners were closed. During the renewed process of rehabilitation of victims of Stalinist repression, N.I. Bukharin, A.I. Rykov, G.E. Zinoviev, L.B. Kamenev and other political figures who were not honored with this under N.S. “returned” to our history. Khrushchev.
The processes of glasnost and de-Stalinization were clearly manifested in newspaper and magazine publications and television programs. The weekly Moscow News (editor E.V. Yakovlev) and the magazine Ogonyok (V.A. Korotich) were extremely popular. Criticism of the dark sides of Soviet reality, the desire to find a way out of the crisis situation for society permeated many works of literature and art, both new and those that had previously been banned by the authorities, and now became available to a wide audience. The novels of A. N. Rybakov “Children of the Arbat”, V. S. Grossman “Life and Fate”, the works of A. I. Solzhenitsyn (“The Gulag Archipelago”, etc.), the films of T. E. Abuladze “Repentance”, M. E. Goldovskaya “Solovetsky Power”, S. S. Govorukhina “You Can’t Live Like This”.
The emancipation of society from party tutelage and critical assessments of the Soviet state system expressed under conditions of glasnost put the issue of political transformation on the agenda. Important events in domestic political life were the approval by the participants of the XIX All-Union Party Conference (June 1998) of the main provisions of the reform of the political system, the adoption by the Supreme Council of amendments to the constitution, as well as the law on the election of people's deputies. The essence of these decisions boiled down to the transition from the nomination of one deputy candidate for one seat in government to a system of elections on an alternative basis. The highest legislative body was the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, which nominated members of the Supreme Council from among itself. However, only two-thirds of the congress deputies were elected on the basis of universal suffrage, another third were nominated by public organizations, primarily the CPSU. Elections to the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR in two rounds took place in the spring of 1989, and it began its work at the end of May. As part of the congress, a legal opposition was formed: an Interregional Deputy Group was created. It was headed by the world-famous scientist, leader of the human rights movement, Academician A. D. Sakharov, former first secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee and candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee B. N. Yeltsin, and scientist-economist G. X. Popov.
In conditions of political pluralism, simultaneously with the emergence of an active opposition in the Supreme Council, the emergence of various socio-political movements took place, almost all of whose representatives at first spoke under the slogans of “renewal of socialism.” At the same time, alarming trends for the communist government have emerged in their activities. They were primarily associated with growing social discontent and nationalist sentiments.
In the USSR, as in any other multi-ethnic state, national contradictions could not but exist, which always manifest themselves most clearly in conditions of economic and political crises and radical changes. In the Soviet Union, these contradictions were aggravated by a number of circumstances. Firstly, while building socialism, the Soviet government did not take into account the historical characteristics of the peoples - the traditional economy and way of life were destroyed, there was an attack on Islam, Buddhism, shamanism, etc. Secondly, in the territories that were annexed to the USSR on the eve of the Great Patriotic War and which were twice (immediately after annexation and after liberation from Nazi occupation) subjected to “cleansing” of hostile elements, manifestations of nationalism were very strong, anti-Soviet and anti-socialist sentiments were widespread (the Baltic states, Western Ukraine, to some extent Moldova). Thirdly, the grievances of the peoples deported during the Great Patriotic War, returned to their native places (Chechens, Ingush, Karachais, Balkars, Kalmyks), and even more so not returned (Germans, Crimean Tatars, Meskhetian Turks, etc.) were still fresh. .). Fourthly, there were long-standing historical conflicts and claims of various kinds (for example, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh sought to secede from the Azerbaijan SSR, the Abkhazians advocated for the transfer of autonomy from the Georgian SSR to the RSFSR, etc.). During the years of “perestroika”, massive national and nationalist social movements arose, the most significant of which were the “popular fronts” of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Armenian Karabakh Committee, “Rukh” in Ukraine, and the Russian society “Memory”.
"New Thinking" and the end of the Cold War.“Perestroika” was closely connected with a radical change in the course of Soviet foreign policy - the abandonment of confrontation with the West, the cessation of intervention in local conflicts and the revision of relations with socialist countries. The new course was dominated not by the “class approach”, but by universal human values. This approach received its theoretical justification in the book by M. S. Gorbachev “Perestroika and new thinking for our country and for the whole world.” It spoke of the need to create a new international order designed to replace post-war international relations. It must be based on maintaining a balance of national interests, the freedom of countries to choose development paths, and the joint responsibility of powers for solving the global problems of our time. Gorbachev advocated the concept of a “common European home”, in which there would be a place for both capitalist and socialist countries.
M. S. Gorbachev regularly met with US presidents: R. Reagan (1985 - 1988) and G. Bush (since 1989). At these meetings, Soviet-American relations were “unfrozen” and disarmament issues were discussed. Gorbachev conducted negotiations from the position of reasonable sufficiency in matters of defense and the program of a nuclear-free world he put forward.
On 8 1987, an agreement was signed on the elimination of medium-range missiles - Soviet SS-20 and American Pershing-2 and cruise missiles. The American and Soviet sides promised to comply with the ABM Treaty as signed in 1972. In 1990, a treaty on the reduction of strategic arms was signed.
In order to strengthen confidence, 500 tactical nuclear warheads were unilaterally removed from Eastern European countries.
On November 9, 1989, the residents of Berlin, confident that the USSR would not interfere in all-German affairs, destroyed the Berlin Wall - a symbol of divided Germany and Europe. After the unification of Germany, the USSR agreed to the entry of this now united state into NATO. In 1990, participants in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe signed an agreement on the reduction of conventional weapons in Europe.
The Soviet leadership realized the need to withdraw troops from Afghanistan (more than 100 thousand) and in 1988 pledged to do this within 9 months. In mid-February 1989, the last Soviet military units left Afghan soil. In addition to Afghanistan, Soviet troops were also withdrawn from Mongolia. After the “velvet revolutions” in Eastern European countries, negotiations began on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and their withdrawal from the GDR was underway. In 1990-1991 The military and political structures of the Warsaw Pact were dissolved. This military bloc ceased to exist. The result of the policy of “new thinking” was a fundamental change in the international situation - the Cold War ended. At the same time, many of the concessions to Western states that Gorbachev made were not sufficiently thought out (mainly in their specific implementation), and this did not correspond to the national interests of the country.
Crisis of power. After the publication in the summer of 1988 of a decree on meetings, rallies, processions and demonstrations, against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in the economic situation in the country, mass miners' strikes began. Gradually, dissatisfaction with the too slow pace of transformation grew in society; In the eyes of society, the conservative wing in the leadership of the CPSU seemed to be the culprit for the “slipping” of reforms.
After the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern European countries, the opposition's hopes for radical changes in the Soviet Union increased. If the opposition “at the top” consisted of the Interregional Deputy Group and democratically minded intellectual circles, then the opposition movement “from below” involved the broad masses of residents of large cities, the population of a number of union republics in the Baltic states, Transcaucasia, and Moldova and Ukraine. The political awakening of Russia was facilitated by the elections of people's deputies at all levels scheduled for March 1990. During the election campaign, the confrontation between the party apparatus and opposition forces was clearly outlined. The latter received an organizational center in the form of the Democratic Russia electoral bloc (later it transformed into a social movement). February 1990 became a month of mass rallies, whose participants demanded the elimination of the CPSU monopoly on power.
The elections of people's deputies of the RSFSR became the first truly democratic ones - after the election campaign to the Constituent Assembly of 1917. As a result, about a third of the seats in the highest legislative body of the republic were given to democratically oriented deputies. The election results in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus demonstrated a crisis in the power of the party elite. Under pressure from public opinion, Article 6 of the USSR Constitution, which proclaimed the leading role of the CPSU in Soviet society, was abolished, and the formation of a multi-party system began in the country. Supporters of reforms B. N. Yeltsin and G. X. Popov took high positions: the first was elected chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, the second - mayor of Moscow.
The most important factor in the crisis of the “tops” was the strengthening of national movements that led the struggle against the allied (in the terminology of their representatives - imperial) Center and the power of the CPSU. Back in 1988, tragic events unfolded in Nagorno-Karabakh and, as they said then, around it. The first demonstrations under nationalist slogans, pogroms (of Armenians in Azerbaijani Sumgait - February 1988, Meskhetian Turks in Uzbek Fergana - June 1989) and armed clashes (Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia) on ethnic grounds took place since the civil war. The Supreme Council of Estonia proclaimed the supremacy of republican laws over all-Union laws (November 1988). By the end of 1989, both in Azerbaijan and Armenia, passions on national grounds were heating up. The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan declared the sovereignty of its republic, and the Armenian social movement was created in Armenia, advocating independence and separation from the USSR. At the very end of 1989, the Lithuanian Communist Party declared its independence in relation to the CPSU.
In 1990, national movements developed in an upward direction. In January, in connection with the Armenian pogroms, troops were sent to Baku. The military operation, accompanied by massive casualties, only temporarily removed the issue of Azerbaijan’s independence from the agenda. At the same time, the Lithuanian parliament voted for the independence of the republic, and troops entered Vilnius. Following Lithuania, similar decisions were made by the parliaments of Estonia and Latvia; in the summer, declarations of sovereignty were adopted by the Supreme Soviets of Russia (June 12) and Ukraine (July 16), after which the “parade of sovereignties” swept other republics. In February-March 1991, referendums on independence were held in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Georgia.
Two presidents. In the fall of 1990, M. S. Gorbachev, elected President of the USSR by the Congress of People's Deputies, was forced to reorganize government bodies. Executive bodies now began to report directly to the president. A new advisory body was established - the Federation Council, whose members were the heads of the union republics. The development and approval, which proceeded with great difficulty, of the draft of a new Union Treaty between the republics of the USSR began.
In March 1991, the first referendum in the country's history was held - citizens of the USSR had to express their opinion on the issue of preserving the Soviet Union as a renewed federation of equal and sovereign republics. It is significant that 6 (Armenia, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova) out of 15 union republics did not take part in the referendum. No less significant is the fact that 76% of those who took part in the vote were in favor of preserving the Union. At the same time, an All-Russian referendum was held - the majority of its participants voted for the introduction of the post of president of the republic.
On June 12, 1991, exactly a year after the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR, popular elections of the first president in Russian history took place. It was B. N. Yeltsin, in whose support more than 57% of those who took part in the vote spoke out. After these elections, Moscow turned into the capital of two presidents - the all-Union and the Russian. It was difficult to reconcile the positions of the two leaders, and the personal relations between them were not mutually favorable.
Both presidents advocated reforms, but at the same time they had different views on the goals and paths of change. One of them, M. S. Gorbachev, relied on the Communist Party, which was experiencing a process of splitting into conservative and reformist parts. In addition, the party ranks began to melt - about a third of its members left the CPSU. The support of another president, B. N. Yeltsin, was the opposition forces to the CPSU. It is natural that in July 1991 Yeltsin signed a decree prohibiting the activities of party organizations in state enterprises and institutions. The events unfolding in the country indicated that the process of weakening the power of the CPSU and the collapse of the Soviet Union was becoming irreversible.
August 1991: a revolutionary turn in history. By August 1991, drafts of two important documents were developed - the new Union Treaty and the CPSU program. It was assumed that the ruling party would take social democratic positions. The draft Union Treaty provided for the creation of a Union of Sovereign States on new principles. It was approved by the heads of 9 republics and USSR President Gorbachev. It was planned that the program would be approved at the upcoming CPSU Congress, and the signing of the Union Treaty would take place on August 20. However, the draft agreement could not satisfy either supporters of a federation closed to the Center, or supporters of further sovereignty of the republics, primarily Russian radical democrats.
Representatives of the party and state leadership, who believed that only decisive actions would help preserve the political positions of the CPSU and stop the collapse of the Soviet Union, resorted to forceful methods. They decided to take advantage of the absence of the USSR President in Moscow, who was on vacation in Crimea.
Early in the morning of August 19, television and radio informed citizens that due to the illness of M. S. Gorbachev, the duties of the President of the USSR were temporarily entrusted to Vice-President G. I. Yanaev and that “to govern the country and effectively implement the state of emergency” the State State of Emergency Committee (GKChP). This committee included 8 people, including the vice president, prime minister V.S. Pavlov, and security ministers. Gorbachev found himself isolated at the state dacha. Military units and tanks were brought into Moscow, and a curfew was declared.
The center of resistance to the State Emergency Committee became the House of Soviets of the RSFSR - the so-called White House. In an address “To the Citizens of Russia,” the President of the RSFSR B. N. Yeltsin and the acting chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR R. I. Khasbulatov called on the population not to obey the illegal decisions of the Emergency Committee, qualifying the actions of its members as an anti-constitutional coup. The support of Muscovites gave resilience and determination to the Russian leadership. Tens of thousands of residents of the capital and a considerable number of visiting citizens came to the White House, expressing support for Yeltsin and readiness to defend the seat of Russian state power with arms in hand.
The confrontation between the State Emergency Committee and the White House lasted three days. Fearing the outbreak of a civil war, Yanaev and his comrades did not dare to storm the House of Soviets. On the third day, demoralized representatives of the State Emergency Committee began withdrawing troops from Moscow and flew to Crimea, hoping to reach an agreement with Gorbachev. However, the President of the USSR managed to return to Moscow along with Vice-President of the RSFSR A.V. Rutsky, who flew to the rescue. Members of the State Emergency Committee were arrested.
Yeltsin signed decrees to suspend the activities of the CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR and the publication of communist-oriented newspapers. Gorbachev announced his resignation as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and then issued decrees that effectively terminated the activities of the party and transferred its property to the ownership of the state.
The collapse of the USSR and the creation of the CIS. The last months of 1991 became the time of the final collapse of the USSR. The Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR was dissolved, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was radically reformed, most of the Union ministries were liquidated, and instead of the Cabinet of Ministers, a powerless inter-republican economic committee was created. The highest body directing the domestic and foreign policy of the state was the State Council of the USSR, which included the President of the USSR and the heads of the union republics. The first decision of the State Council was to recognize the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Meanwhile, at the local level, the republican authorities began to reassign to themselves the sectors of the national economy and government structures that were previously under the jurisdiction of the Federal Center.
It was supposed to sign a new Union Treaty and create not a federation, but a confederation of sovereign republics. But these plans were not destined to come true. On December 1, a referendum was held in Ukraine, and the majority of those who took part (more than 80%) spoke in favor of the independence of the republic. Under these conditions, the Ukrainian leadership decided not to sign a new Union Treaty.
On December 7-8, 1991, the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine B. N. Yeltsin and L. M. Kravchuk and the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus S. S. Shushkevich, having met in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, not far from the border Brest, announced the cessation of the existence of the USSR and the formation consisting of three republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Subsequently, the CIS included all former Soviet Union republics, with the exception of the Baltic ones.

In the mid-80s. In the USSR, radical changes took place in ideology, public consciousness, political and state organization, and profound changes began in property relations and social structure. The collapse of the communist regime and the CPSU, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the formation in its place of new independent states, including Russia itself, the emergence of ideological and political pluralism, the emergence of civil society, new classes (among them the capitalist one) - these are just some of the new realities modern Russian history, the beginning of which can be dated to March - April 1985.

“Acceleration” strategy

IN April 1985, at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, M.S. Gorbachev

outlined the strategic course of reform. They talked about the need for a qualitative transformation of Soviet society, its “renewal,” and profound changes in all spheres of life.

The key word of the reform strategy was “ acceleration" It was supposed to accelerate the development of means of production, scientific and technological progress, the social sphere, and even the activities of party bodies.

Terms “ perestroika" And " glasnost b” appeared later. Gradually the emphasis was shifted from “acceleration” to “perestroika” and it was this word that became symbol course produced by M.S. Gorbachev in the second half of the 80s.

Publicity meant identifying all the shortcomings that impede acceleration, criticism and self-criticism of performers “from top to bottom.” A perestroika assumed the introduction of structural and organizational changes to economic, social, political mechanisms, as well as ideology in order to achieve acceleration of social development.

To ensure the implementation of new tasks, some party and Soviet leaders were replaced. N.I. Ryzhkov was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and E.A. Shevardnadze, who had previously been the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia, was appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In December 1985, B. N. Yeltsin became secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee. A. N. Yakovlev and A. I. Lukyanov were promoted to the highest party hierarchy.

In 1985, the center of economic transformations was given the task of technical re-equipment and modernization of enterprises. For this it was necessary accelerated development of mechanical engineering. This is how the main goal in the national economy was formulated. The “acceleration” program assumed advanced (1.7 times) development of mechanical engineering in relation to the entire industry and its achievement of a world level by the beginning of the 90s. The success of acceleration was associated with the active use of scientific and technological achievements, expansion of the rights of enterprises, improvement of personnel work, and strengthening of discipline at enterprises.

The course proclaimed in 1985 at the April plenum was reinforced in February 1986. on XXVII Congress of the CPSU.

There were few innovations at the congress, but the main thing was support Law on Labor Collectives. The law proclaimed the creation of labor councils at all enterprises with broad powers, including the selection of management employees, regulation of wages in order to eliminate equalization and maintain social justice in wages and even determine the price of products.

At the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, promises were made to the Soviet people: to double the economic potential of the USSR by 2000, increase labor productivity by 2.5 times and provide each Soviet family with a separate apartment.

The majority of Soviet people believed the new General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M.S. Gorbachev and enthusiastically supported him.

Course towards democratization

IN 1987. Serious adjustments to the reform course began.

There have been changes in the political vocabulary of the country's leadership. The word “acceleration” gradually fell out of use. New concepts have appeared, such as “ democratization”, “command and control system”, “braking mechanism”, “deformation of socialism" If previously it was assumed that Soviet socialism was fundamentally healthy, and that it was only necessary to “accelerate” its development, now the “presumption of innocence” from the Soviet socialist model was removed, and serious internal shortcomings were discovered that had to be eliminated and a new model created socialism.

IN January 1987. Gorbachev admitted the failure of the reform efforts of previous years, and saw the reason for these failures in the deformations that occurred in the USSR by the 30s.

Since it was concluded that “ deformations of socialism”, then it was supposed to eliminate these deformations and return to the socialism that was conceived by V.I. Lenin. This is how the slogan “ Back to Lenin”.

The General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee argued in his speeches that in the “deformation of socialism” there were deviations from the ideas of Leninism. Lenin's concept of the NEP gained particular popularity. Publicists started talking about the NEP as the “golden age” of Soviet history, drawing analogies with the modern period of history. Economic articles on the problems of commodity-money relations, rent, and cooperation were published by P. Bunich, G. Popov, N. Shmelev, L. Abalkin. According to their concept, administrative socialism was to be replaced by economic socialism, which would be based on self-financing, self-financing, self-sufficiency, and self-government of enterprises.

But main, the central theme of perestroika times in the media became criticism of Stalin And command-administrative system generally.

This criticism was carried out much more fully and more mercilessly than in the second half of the 50s. On the pages of newspapers, magazines, and on television, revelations of Stalin's policies began, Stalin's direct personal participation in mass repressions was revealed, and the picture of the crimes of Beria, Yezhov, and Yagoda was recreated. The revelations of Stalinism were accompanied by the identification and rehabilitation of more and more tens of thousands of innocent victims of the regime.

The most famous works at this time were such works as “White Clothes” by V. Dudintsev, “Bison” by D. Granin, “Children of the Arbat” by A. Rybakov. The whole country read the magazines “New World”, “Znamya”, “October”, “Friendship of Peoples”, “Ogonyok”, where previously banned works of M. Bulgakov, B. Pasternak, V. Nabokov, V. Grossman, A. Solzhenitsyn were published , L. Zamyatina.

XIX All-Union Party Conference (June 1988)

At the end of the 80s. transformations affected the structure of state power. The new doctrine of political democracy was practically embodied in decisions XIX All-Union Party Conference, where for the first time the goal of creating a civil society in the USSR and excluding party bodies from economic management, depriving them of state functions and transferring these functions to the Soviets was proclaimed.

At the conference, a sharp struggle between supporters and opponents of perestroika unfolded over the issue of the country's development tasks. The majority of deputies supported the point of view of M.S. Gorbachev on the need for economic reform and transformation of the country's political system.

The conference approved the course to create in the country rule of law. Specific reforms of the political system were also approved, to be implemented in the near future. It was supposed to elect Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, the country's highest legislative body of 2,250 people. Moreover, two thirds of the Congress were to be elected by the population on an alternative basis, i.e. from at least two candidates, and another third of the deputies, also on an alternative basis, were elected by public organizations. The congress, convened periodically to determine legislative policy and adopt higher laws, formed from its midst The Supreme Council, which was supposed to work on a permanent basis and represent the Soviet parliament.

The balance of political forces in the country began to change dramatically in the fall of 1988. The main political change was that the previously united camp of perestroika supporters began to split: radical wing, which quickly gained strength, turned into a powerful movement in 1989, and in 1990 began to decisively challenge Gorbachev’s power. The struggle between Gorbachev and the radicals for leadership in the reform process formed the main core of the next stage of perestroika, which lasted from the autumn of 1988 to July 1990.

The history of the State Emergency Committee begins long before August 1991 - its roots lie in much deeper layers of national history. But “by their fruits you will know them” - and since the main fruits of the Emergency Committee were the destruction of the Soviet Union and the ban on the CPSU, then it is necessary to restore the entire chain of events that led to such results.

March 11, 1985 - literally the next day after the sudden death of K.U. Chernenko, member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee (since October 1980), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (since November 1978) Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The decisive role in his election was played by the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR (from February 1957) Andrei Andreevich Gromyko, as well as the very fortunate absence for Gorbachev of the First Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee (from May 1972), a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee (from April 1971) Vladimir Vasilyevich Shcherbitsky, who at that time was on an official visit to the USA. Gromyko was prompted to take this step by contacts with Yakovlev, Arbatov and Primakov, who, through Gromyko’s son Anatoly, who then worked as director of the Institute of African Studies, insisted on the need for nomination and approval Gorbachev. The situation with Shcherbitsky is no less interesting. “Shcherbitsky was in a hurry to participate in the elections of the new Secretary General, the new supreme leader of the USSR. But he was late. At New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, Ambassador A.F. Dobrynin said that, in fact, there was no hurry - Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev had already become Secretary General” (Stanislav Kondrashov. "Literary newspaper", 2005, No. 11). “Shcherbitsky understood well: in connection with the dramatic events in the Kremlin, his stakes as a member of the Politburo were too high, and therefore, remaining a passive observer, and even at such a distance, was political death for him. Therefore, he did not hesitate to decide to interrupt the visit and return home "This was prevented by a delay in San Francisco: it was necessary to transport the Il-62 to New York from Cuba, but for some reason they were in no hurry to do this. Why?" (Vitaly Vrublevsky. “Vladimir Shcherbitsky: truth and fiction”). April 11, 1985 - First Secretary of the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin, on the recommendation of Yegor Kuzmich Ligachev, was appointed head of the construction department of the CPSU Central Committee. April 23, 1985 - Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, at which M.S. Gorbachev’s first public speech as the leader of the party and the Soviet Union took place. The strategy of “accelerating the country’s socio-economic development” was proclaimed, and the “stagnation phenomena” of the previous period were noted. May 7, 1985 - the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism” was adopted, and an anti-alcohol campaign began. July 1, 1985 - Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze becomes a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, B.N. Yeltsin and L.N. Zaikov - secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee. July 2-3, 1985 - A.A. Gromyko is elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, E. A. Shevardnadze is appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. July 5, 1985 - Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev was approved by the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee as head of the Propaganda Department of the CPSU Central Committee. Gorbachev’s “July Personnel Revolution” is almost complete, the future “perestroika”ists have secured control over ideology and foreign policy. July 30, 1985 - M.S. Gorbachev announces a unilateral USSR moratorium on nuclear explosions. August 27, 1985 - The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR appoints Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was relieved of this post at his own request due to his state of health. The final approval took place on September 26, 1985 at the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. November 19-21, 1985 - a meeting between M.S. Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan took place in Geneva. . It was there that the first bricks were laid in the building of “perestroika” of the foreign and domestic policy of the USSR. December 2, 1985 - as a result of acute heart failure, at the 76th year of his life, Army General Heinz Hoffmann, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, Minister of National Defense of the GDR, died. December 5, 1985 - at the age of 59, a member of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, Minister of Defense of the Hungarian People's Republic, Army General István Olah, died suddenly as a result of heart failure. December 24, 1985 - B.N. Yeltsin is elected first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. Immediately after his election, he begins “purges” in the apparatus of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU and in the Moscow district party committees, where all high-ranking figures of the CPSU are registered. January 9, 1986 - a joint resolution of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers “On measures for the further development of consumer cooperation” was adopted, providing for the possibility of creating private trade and purchasing cooperatives from July 1986. February 25-March 6, 1986 - the XXVII Congress of the CPSU takes place. M.S. Gorbachev in his report for the first time points out that “any restructuring of the economic mechanism, as is known, begins with a restructuring of consciousness, rejection of existing stereotypes of thinking and practice, and a clear understanding of new tasks.” A new CPSU Program is being adopted. March 1986 - clashes occur between students on ethnic grounds at Yakut State University. April 8, 1986 - M.S. Gorbachev’s visit to the Volga Automobile Plant in Togliatti. The concept of “perestroika” replaces the concept of “acceleration”: “Without perestroika there can be no acceleration.” April 26, 1986 - accident at the 4th block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. May 13, 1986 - Tengiz Abuladze’s film “Repentance”, shot in 1984, is shown to participants at the cinematographers’ congress. In November it will be released into wide release as a symbol of perestroika and the dismantling of Stalinism. June 16, 1986 - M.S. Gorbachev speaks at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee: “In real life, as we see, not only positive trends are developing - they, of course, dominate in society - but there are also inhibitory factors that the process encounters perestroika. Sometimes they are objective in nature, but more often than not they come from inertia, from old habits, frozen psychology. Today those who have firmly taken the positions of the 27th Congress are actively showing themselves... There are also many comrades who politically understand the need to work according to something new, but they simply don’t know how to implement it practically... We cannot help but notice those who have not yet understood the essence of the ongoing changes, who are waiting or do not believe in the success of the economic and political turn planned by the party... I would say that perestroika itself is still progressing slowly.” The first hint of the existence of “enemies of perestroika.” July 1986 - the creation of the first “informal” socio-political associations with the goal of “promoting perestroika.” The main role in their formation is played by the agents of the 5th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR. August 14, 1986 - a joint resolution of the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the cessation of work on the transfer of part of the flow of northern and Siberian rivers” is adopted. August 31, 1986 - disaster of the passenger ship "Admiral Nakhimov" on the roadstead of Novorossiysk. Death of 423 people on the ship. October 11-12, 1986 - a meeting between Ronald Reagan and M.S. Gorbachev in Reykjavik, according to eyewitnesses, which marked the beginning of direct cooperation between the last General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and the Americans. “The negotiations were conducted here exclusively “face to face,” that is, in the presence of only a foreign interpreter. The Politburo did not have the opportunity to control this side of Gorbachev’s behavior” (Valery Legostaev, “Zavtra”, 2002, No. 34). December 1, 1986 - at a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, a decision was made to end the exile of Academician A.N. Sakharov to Gorky and his return to Moscow. As a result, barriers to the activities of “dissident pro-Western elements” in the capitals and national separatists in the union and autonomous republics are being removed. December 17-18, 1986 - mass riots on national grounds caused by the decision of the Plenum of the Republican Central Committee, which released D. A. Kunaev from the post of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and elected G.V. Kolbin to this position. December 25, 1986 - the “Law on Consumer Cooperation” is adopted, allowing the organization of cooperatives at enterprises, which removes centralized control over the non-cash assets of enterprises, clearing the way for hyperinflation and leaching of goods from stores. January 13, 1987 - A Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR is issued on issues related to the creation on the territory of the USSR and the activities of joint ventures, international associations and organizations with the participation of Soviet and foreign organizations, firms and governing bodies. February 5, 1987 - The Council of Ministers of the USSR issues resolutions authorizing the creation and operation of cooperatives in the areas of public catering, consumer services, and the production of consumer goods. March 3, 1987 - ceremonial presentation of the first issue of the magazine "Burda Moden" in Russian. May 28, 1987 - on Border Guard Day, a light single-engine Cessna 172B Skyhawk aircraft, piloted by 19-year-old German citizen Matthias Rust, lands on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, in close proximity to the Kremlin. According to the general on duty at the Air Defense Central Command on May 28, 1987, Sergei Melnikov, former KGB chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov told him in a confidential conversation that he “personally prepared this operation on Gorbachev’s instructions.” Its result was the defeat of the military leadership of the USSR and the removal of most of the senior command personnel. Air defense monitored Rust's plane, but did not receive orders to shoot it down, influenced by the incident with the South Korean Boeing in August 1983. June 30, 1987 - The USSR Law “On State Enterprise (Association)” is adopted. July 1987 - publication in the Izvestia newspaper of a TASS report on the demand of the Crimean Tatars to recreate the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and mass actions of the Crimean Tatars in Moscow. August 23, 1987 - demonstrations in Estonia against the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. October 21, 1987 - First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU B.N. Yeltsin speaks at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee criticizing perestroika from the “left,” including the emergence of Gorbachev’s “cult of personality.” October 31, 1987 - the first mass (more than 200 people) demonstration of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh demanding “to reunite Artsakh with Armenia.” November 1, 1987 - presentation of M.S. Gorbachev’s book “Perestroika and new thinking for our country and for the whole world.” November 9, 1987 - B.N. Yeltsin is admitted to the hospital, allegedly in connection with a suicide attempt. November 11, 1987 - M.S. Gorbachev speaks at the plenum of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU on the “Yeltsin case.” Yeltsin is relieved of his duties as First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. December 7, 1987 - meeting of M.S. Gorbachev with Margaret Thatcher in London on the way to the USA. December 8, 1987 - in Washington, M.S. Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan sign an agreement on the elimination of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles. January 7, 1988 - a joint decision was made by the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR to restore the names of settlements, streets and squares bearing the name of L.I. Brezhnev. January 14, 1988 - B.N. Yeltsin was appointed Minister of the USSR, First Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Committee for Construction. January 1988 - the expulsion of ethnic Azerbaijanis from the territory of the Armenian SSR begins. The central government and the KGB are openly inactive.

In 1988, the second stage of “perestroika” began - the complete surrender of the foreign policy positions of the Soviet Union, an anti-Soviet revision of the ideology and history of our country, the dismantling of the centralized control system, and a growing wave of economic difficulties and social conflicts. This stage ends with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the meeting between Gorbachev and Bush in Malta.

February 18, 1988 - M.S. Gorbachev speaks at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee with a speech dedicated to the development of openness and the essence of “new thinking” - taking into account “universal human values.” The thesis about the “dominance of morality in politics” is introduced, which finally dismantles the ideological basis for administrative and law enforcement actions to protect the state and state institutions. The media, represented by the central channels, are launching a series of massive programs about the “crimes of Stalinism and communism.” February 27-29, 1988 - massacre in Sumgait under the slogans of revenge for the expulsion of ethnic Azerbaijanis from the territories of the Armenian SSR and Nagorno-Karabakh. The core of the “militants” are former criminals who were on the lists of secret service agents of the USSR. March 13, 1988 - publication in the newspaper "Soviet Russia" of Nina Andreeva's article "I cannot give up principles" - "the first anti-perestroika manifesto." The author’s position is supported by E.K. Ligachev. On television and in other media, under the leadership of A.N. Yakovlev, an all-out campaign against the “dogmatists” and “Stalinists” begins. March 14-15, 1988 - meeting in Bern between USSR Defense Minister D.T. Yazov and his American colleague F. Carlucci. The issues of reducing strategic nuclear forces and the USSR's abandonment of the most advanced tactical nuclear weapons systems, in particular the Oka complex, are being discussed. April 3, 1988 - an interview with Telman Gdlyan appears in the Moscow News newspaper, who talks about “the mafia in the highest echelons of power.” Thus, the Soviet government (at least in part) was declared an organized criminal community. April 5, 1988 - the Pravda newspaper publishes a “guideline” article by A.N. Yakovlev “Principles of Perestroika: Revolutionary Thinking and Actions,” which not only contains harsh criticism of N.A. Andreeva’s article, but also condemns Stalin and the state of the USSR by April 1985 it was characterized as “pre-crisis”. “We will firmly and unswervingly follow the revolutionary principles of Perestroika: more glasnost, more democracy, more socialism.” The start of anti-Soviet groups entering the legal space has been given. The KGB is silent. May 1988 - members of the informal groups “Democratic Perestroika”, “Perestroika-88”, “Socialist Initiative” and several others form the Inter-Club Party Group, the stated purpose of which is “to promote the genuine restructuring and democratization of the CPSU.” May 7, 1988 - the founding congress of the “Democratic Union” is held in Moscow, where the entire spectrum of dissident “creative intelligentsia” with an anti-Soviet vector is drawn up. May 15, 1988 - the withdrawal of Soviet military units from Afghanistan begins. At the same time, Najibullah’s government was given guarantees of supplies of the necessary volumes of ammunition, military equipment and fuels and lubricants. May 29-June 2, 1988 - visit of US President Ronald Reagan to Moscow. The Treaty on the Reduction of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, including the Oka complex, which was not subject to the terms of the treaty, was signed - a “bonus for American partners.” Gorbachev and Reagan take a joint walk along Red Square. June 28-July 1, 1988 - XIX Conference of the CPSU. Gorbachev's opponents are a fiasco, he retains the post of General Secretary of the party and carries out decisions on “deepening perestroika.” July 4, 1988 - in pursuance of the decisions of the XIX Party Conference, the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee adopts a resolution “On the construction of a monument to the victims of lawlessness and repression.” July 5-12, 1988 - visit of the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union S.F. Akhromeev to the USA. August 4, 1988 - publication in the Latvian newspapers "Jurmala" and "Soviet Youth" of the first interview with B.N. Yeltsin after his resignation from the post of First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. Yeltsin stated the need to combat the privileges of the nomenklatura elite and improve the supply of food and essential goods to the working people. August 8-12, 1988 - A.N. Yakovlev visited the Lithuanian and Latvian SSR, after which an already organized and open national separatist movement began in the Baltic states. Gorbachev calls the leaders of the republics and demands the speedy creation of “mass organizations of a national democratic orientation.” September 1988 - an armed offensive by Armenian troops begins on the territory of Stepanakert and the Agdam region of Azerbaijan. A special curfew situation is being introduced there. October 1, 1988 - A.A. Gromyko resigns from the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This post is occupied by M.S. Gorbachev, uniting the highest party and state power in his hands. October 7, 1988 - at the demonstration of the “Democratic Union” in Leningrad, the “tricolor” was raised for the first time. October 21, 1988 - First Secretary of the Kirov Regional Committee of the CPSU V.V. Bakatin was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR. October 22-23, 1988 - the central press publishes the texts of bills on amendments and additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the USSR, as well as on the elections of people's deputies of the USSR - "for public discussion." November 3, 1988 - at the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, M.S. Gorbachev demands a reduction in the army and the conversion of defense production. “Why do we need such a large army?.. We spend 2.5 times more than the United States on military needs, and not a single state in the world... spends more per capita on these purposes than we do. If we betray This is glasnost, then all our new thinking and all our new foreign policy will go to hell... We will not solve the problems of perestroika if we leave everything as is with the army... In the GDR we have a powerful strike group, tank, plus pontoon means. When this “hangs over them”, how can they, the Americans and others, believe in the defensiveness of our doctrine?..” November 11, 1988 - the first “bank of a new type” opens in Moscow - the Innovative Commercial Bank (Inkombank). December 1, 1988 - The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopts the laws “On the elections of people’s deputies of the USSR”, as well as “On amendments and additions to the Constitution of the USSR”. During a break in the session, M.S. Gorbachev meets with deputies from the Azerbaijan and Armenian SSR. December 7, 1988 - meeting of M.S. Gorbachev with Ronald Reagan and with the new US President George H. W. Bush in New York. A powerful (Spitak) earthquake occurs in Armenia. December 30, 1988 - The Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR decide to abolish the names of L.I. Brezhnev and K.U. Chernenko in the names of enterprises, educational institutions, names of streets of cities and towns as the logical conclusion of criticism " era of stagnation" (1964-1985). January 12-19, 1989 - The All-Union Population Census takes place (the “death mask” of the Soviet Union). According to its results, the population in all republics for 1979-89. increased from 1.5% to 2% annually. No population decline has been recorded anywhere. January 18, 1989 - the decision of the CPSU Central Committee on the abolition of legal acts related to the perpetuation of the name of A.A. Zhdanov is published. M.S. Gorbachev receives the delegation of the Trilateral Commission. February 2, 1989 - negotiations on the mutual reduction of armed forces and weapons in Central Europe, which lasted more than 15 years, end. The USSR assumes obligations to gradually withdraw its units from the states of Central (Eastern) Europe. February 12, 1989 - opening of the Cultural Center named after. S. Mikhoels. February 15, 1989 - completion of the withdrawal of a limited contingent of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Colonel General Boris Gromov, who commanded the operation, was appointed commander of the Kyiv Military District. March 1989 - a sharp rise in prices and the washing out of the mass of goods from store shelves. Wages fall sharply behind the rate of inflation. The first strikes of workers and miners. March 17, 1989 - registration in Lithuania of the movement in defense of perestroika "Sąjūdis". March 21, 1989 - Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On the reduction of the Armed Forces of the USSR and defense spending during 1989-1990." March 26, 1989 - elections of people's deputies of the USSR took place. The entire election campaign with repeat voting and repeat elections lasted until May 21. In territorial district No. 1 (Moscow), B.N. Yeltsin receives 90% of the votes. April 4, 1989 - the beginning of mass “anti-imperial” demonstrations in Georgia. April 8-9, 1989 - “Tbilisi events”, deaths of civilians and military personnel. April 12, 1989 - Gorbachev pays an official visit to Germany and holds negotiations with its top leadership. April 17, 1989 - declaration of the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian SSR on the sovereignty of the republic. The security forces of the USSR are inactive. April 25, 1989 - at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, 74 members and 27 candidate members, practically the entire “old party guard,” are removed from its composition. May 11, 1989 - the beginning of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of the GDR. US Secretary of State John Baker arrives in Moscow for a visit. May 12, 1989 - investigator N.V. Ivanov made a television appearance accusing E.K. Ligachev of bribery. A campaign is being launched against the “conservative wing in the Politburo of the CPSU.” May 17-20, 1989 - Gorbachev’s visit to the PRC and the beginning of mass protests in the center of Beijing. The demonstrators are supported by CPC Secretary General Zhao Ziyang. The visit had to be curtailed at the request of the Chinese side. May 18, 1989 - condemnation by the Supreme Soviets of the Lithuanian and Estonian SSR of the Soviet-German Treaty of 1939 with a demand to recognize its illegality. May 25-June 9, 1989 - The First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR takes place in Moscow. At the congress, an Interregional Deputy Group is formed, headed by Afanasyev, Yeltsin, Popov, Sakharov and Sobchak. June 3-4, 1989 - After several days of hesitation and heated discussions, the CCP leadership, under pressure from Deng Xiaoping, sends troops into the city center. In Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the army disperses demonstrators demanding "Chinese restructuring." In the Fergana Valley, interethnic clashes are taking place, mainly directed against the Meskhetian Turks. June 7, 1989 - Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov is appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, who previously was already a member of the Politburo and Chairman of the State Planning Committee, who approved the “perestroika” laws on cooperatives and state enterprises. June 4-18, 1989 - victory of the Solidarity movement in the elections in Poland. June 12-15 - Gorbachev's next trip to Germany for negotiations with Helmut Kohl "on the future of Germany." June 25, 1989 - a rally of the Popular Front in Chisinau, which takes place under anti-Soviet and anti-Russian slogans. June 27, 1989 - a mass rally takes place in Yerevan demanding that Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination be recognized. July 1989 - a “market” strike of Kuzbass miners begins, which is then joined by miners from Karaganda, Donbass, the Pechora coal basin and Vorkuta. July 28, 1989 - declaration of the Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR on the sovereignty of the republic. September 1989 - B.N. Yeltsin’s visit to the USA. He is received at the White House allegedly on an unofficial level. Meanwhile, close work is being carried out with him and his accompanying persons to coordinate further actions of the “democratic forces” in Moscow. September 23, 1989 - meeting between M.S. Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher. The Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR declares the sovereignty of the republic. October 1989 - mass anti-government protests take place throughout the GDR. Krenz welcomes “new trends.” Crowds smash and seize official buildings. The KGB and the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces remain silent. The results of World War II are crumbling. October 11, 1989 - meeting between N.I. Ryzhkov and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System Alan Greenspan. October 17-18, 1989 - M.S. Gorbachev meets with German Chancellor Willy Brandt. Resignation of Erich Honecker and election of Egon Krenz as first secretary of the SED Central Committee. In the GDR, a massive crossing of the border with Hungary begins, through which thousands of refugees have the opportunity to enter the Federal Republic of Germany through Austria and obtain citizenship there. November 9, 1989 - the fall of the Berlin Wall. November 14, 1989 - The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopts a resolution on the complete rehabilitation of repressed peoples and the “restoration of their rights.” December 1, 1989 - at the insistence of US President George W. Bush, Gorbachev leaves to meet with him “on neutral territory.” On the way, M. S. Gorbachev meets with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican. December 2-3, 1989 - off the coast of Malta, Gorbachev and George W. Bush held face-to-face negotiations on board the ship "Maxim Gorky". The fate of the USSR is being decided - it must be surrendered after its allies.

The penultimate year of the existence of the USSR was the year of the “parade of sovereignties,” the final destruction of the Soviet economic and political system, as well as the development of the “state of emergency” regime as a mechanism for the transfer of power.

December 25, 1989 - a coup d'état in Romania, initiated by events in Timisoara, where unknown persons fired at a demonstration of miners. Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were shot. January 1990 - mass Armenian pogroms in Baku. In Armenia, the Karabakh Committee announces mobilization. Time magazine recognizes M.S. Gorbachev as “Man of the Year 1989” (for the first time in 1987) and “Man of the Decade.” January 15, 1990 - Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the introduction of a state of emergency in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. January 19-20, 1990 - Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the introduction of a state of emergency in Baku. By order of the USSR Minister of Defense D.T. Yazov, troops are brought into the capital of the Azerbaijan SSR. January 20-21, 1990 - at the All-Union Conference of Party Clubs in Moscow, the “Democratic Platform in the CPSU” is created. January 22, 1990 - The Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR declares the actions of the parliament and government of the USSR to be aggression against the republic. January 29, 1990 - at a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, M.S. Gorbachev proposes to introduce the post of President of the USSR. February 4, 1990 - a massive (over 200 thousand people) demonstration in Moscow demanding the abolition of Article 6 of the USSR Constitution. February 5, 1990 - The KGB of the USSR (building on Lubyanka) is visited by a US delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Robert Schiefer, as well as the head of the Soviet department of the State Department, Alexander Vershbow. February 20-21, 1990 - the Democratic Russia electoral bloc is formed, which becomes an alternative political center to the CPSU. February 27, 1990 - resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the convening of the III Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR and the introduction of the post of President of the USSR. March 4, 1990 - B.N. Yeltsin is elected People's Deputy of the RSFSR in Sverdlovsk from the Democratic Russia bloc and declares his intention to fight for the post of Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. March 11, 1990 - The Supreme Council of the Lithuanian SSR proclaims the independence of the republic. March 12-15, 1990 - at the III Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, M.S. Gorbachev was elected President of the USSR, changes were made to the text of the Constitution of the USSR, including the abolition of Article 6, which “creates conditions for the transition to a multi-party political system.” March 16, 1990 - diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and the Vatican. March 21, 1990 - meeting of M.S. Gorbachev with the new leaders of the Lithuanian SSR V. Landsbergis and K. Prunskienė, which de facto legitimizes the Baltic separatists. March 30, 1990 - The Supreme Council of the Estonian SSR proclaims the independence of the republic. March 31, 1990 - the founding congress of the liberal democratic party of the Soviet Union takes place (chairman - V.V. Zhirinovsky). April 3, 1990 - M.S. Gorbachev signs the USSR Law “On the Legal Regime of a State of Emergency.” The Supreme Soviet of the USSR passes a law on the procedure for the withdrawal of a union republic from the USSR, thereby opening up the possibility of dismemberment of the country. April 9, 1990 - USSR Minister of Defense D.T. Yazov meets with the Chairman of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, Admiral William Crow. April 13, 1990 - TASS statement about the “Katyn tragedy” places responsibility for the execution of Polish officers “in the spring of 1940” on the Soviet side. April 20, 1990 - G.Kh. Popov is elected chairman of the Moscow City Council of People's Deputies. April 27, 1990 - D.T. Yazov is awarded the title of Marshal of the USSR. May 1, 1990 - at the May Day demonstration on Red Square, several homemade posters are carried demanding the resignation of the government and M.S. Gorbachev. May 4, 1990 - The Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR adopts a declaration of independence of the republic. May 14, 1990 - The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopts the law “On the Protection of the Honor and Dignity of the President of the USSR.” May 16, 1990 - the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR begins its work. May 3, 1990 - A.A. Sobchak is elected chairman of the Leningrad City Council of People's Deputies. May 29, 1990 - B.N. On the third attempt, after M.S. Gorbachev’s speech, Yeltsin was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. June 1-2, 1990 - M.S. Gorbachev’s visit to the USA. E.A. Shevardnadze signs an agreement on the maritime delimitation line, according to which the United States received 46.3 thousand km2 of shelf in the Bering Sea. June 4, 1990 - the adoption by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the law "On Enterprise", which determines the complete collapse of the planned economy. June 8, 1990 - meeting and joint press conference between M.S. Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher in Moscow. June 12, 1990 - The Supreme Council of the RSFSR adopts a declaration on the sovereignty of the RSFSR, as well as on the departition of government bodies, the army, security services and courts of Russia. M.S. Gorbachev and N.I. Ryzhkov meet with the leaders of the Baltic republics, after which they agree to accept the “compromise formula for resolving the conflict” proposed by G. Kohl and F. Mitterrand. June 13, 1990 - The Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces the transition to a “regulated market economy.” June 19, 1990 - The Constitutional Supervision Committee begins work (chaired by S.S. Alekseev, a fellow countryman and like-minded person of B.N. Yeltsin). June 29, 1990 - decision of the State Bank of the USSR on the transition of settlements with the CMEA countries from January 1, 1991 to freely convertible currency. July 1990 - an additional currency, “coupons,” is introduced on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. July 2-10, 1990 - The XXVIII Congress of the CPSU takes place, B.N. Yeltsin and a number of his supporters declare their withdrawal from the CPSU. July 16, 1990 - meeting in Arkhyz between M.S. Gorbachev and E. Shevardnadze with G. Kohl, total concessions by the Soviet leadership on the process of unification of the FRG and the GDR, as well as on the status of a united Germany. The Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR adopts a declaration of the sovereignty of the republic. July 17, 1990 - G. Bush called M. S. Gorbachev regarding agreements with G. Kohl. July 19, 1990 - The Supreme Council of the RSFSR adopts a resolution to subordinate the banking system of the RSFSR, including the Savings Bank. July 27, 1990 - the declaration of sovereignty is adopted by the Supreme Council of the Belarusian SSR. August-September 1990 - in Moscow, bread and tobacco “disappeared” from sale for several days. There are "tobacco riots". August 10, 1990 - the declaration of sovereignty is adopted for the first time by the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Karelian). August 13, 1990 - decree of the President of the USSR on the restoration of the rights of all victims of political repression of the 20s-50s. August 29, 1990 - The Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR introduces a state of emergency in the republic. September 2, 1990 - proclamation of the Transnistrian Moldavian SSR. September 14, 1990 - The Constitutional Oversight Committee suspends the decree of the President of the USSR limiting mass events within the Garden Ring. September 16, 1990 - a mass demonstration in the center of Moscow demanding the resignation of the government. October 15, 1990 - M.S. Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "in recognition of his leading role in the peace process, which today characterizes an important part of the life of the international community." November 18, 1990 - Moscow News publishes an open letter “The country is tired of waiting!”, the signatories of which (T. Abuladze, Yu. Afanasyev, V. Bykov, G. Starovoitova, Yu. Chernichenko, etc.) called on M.S. Gorbachev either “start real reforms” or resign. November 19, 1990 - a Russian-Ukrainian agreement on mutual recognition of the sovereignty of the two republics was signed in Kyiv. December 17-27, 1990 - The IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR takes place. December 20, 1990 - at the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, Minister of Foreign Affairs E.A. Shevardnadze announces his resignation and the impending coup in the country. December 23, 1990 - KGB Chairman V.A. Kryuchkov from the rostrum of the congress reports about a “conspiracy by the CIA” and “agents of influence” against the USSR. December 25, 1990 - N.I. Ryzhkov had a “heart attack,” who on that day was supposed to put the question of removing M.S. Gorbachev from the post of President of the USSR to a vote of the congress. The first seven months of 1991 were filled with events that completely changed our country and the whole world. The surrender of the Soviet Union by the “Gorbachev team” was going on in all directions, and the “Yeltsin team” was preparing to replace and cover it. January 1, 1991 - a 5% sales tax is introduced throughout the USSR, immediately called the “Gorbachev coffin tax.” The President of the USSR delivers congratulations to the people of the USA. January 8-13, 1991 - clashes take place in Lithuania between supporters of Sąjūdis and the Unity movement. Military units and special forces of the Alpha group storm the television tower in Vilnius. January 13, 1991 - B.N. Yeltsin, who arrived in Tallinn, signs documents on mutual recognition of the sovereignty of the RSFSR and the three Baltic republics, and also addresses “Russian soldiers located in the Baltic territory.” January 14, 1991 - V.S. Pavlov is appointed Chairman of the USSR Cabinet of Ministers. N.Ya. Petrakov announces his resignation from the post of Assistant to the President of the USSR, S.S. Shatalin - from the post of member of the Advisory Council under the President of the USSR. January 16-17, 1991 - troops of the multinational force, under a UN mandate and under the military leadership of the United States, begin Operation Desert Storm, aimed at liberating Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. The first war of the "new world order". January 22, 1991 - M.S. Gorbachev signs a decree on the withdrawal of 50- and 100-ruble bills from circulation within three days on January 23-26. The "Pavlovian" monetary reform begins. European countries are announcing the cessation of food aid supplies to the USSR in protest against the events in Lithuania. January 26-27, 1991 - the inter-republican congress of the democratic opposition takes place in Kharkov. January 28, 1991 - B.N. Yeltsin declares that the RSFSR will independently determine the parameters of its budget, including contributions to the Union Center. February 6, 1991 - M.S. Gorbachev announces on television about the upcoming referendum of the USSR on the issue of preserving and renovating the Soviet Union. February 7, 1991 - Chairman of the KGB of the USSR V.A. Kryuchkov sends a note to M.S. Gorbachev with a plan to introduce a state of emergency throughout the USSR. February 19, 1991 - B.N. Yeltsin speaks out demanding the resignation of M.S. Gorbachev. The European Parliament lifts the ban on the supply of food aid to the RSFSR. The first indirect recognition of Russian sovereignty and the provision of additional material resources into the hands of B.N. Yeltsin. February 22-24, 1991 - mass rallies are held in Moscow in support of B.N. Yeltsin’s demands. February 25, 1991 - a decision is made to dissolve the Warsaw Pact Organization effective March 31, 1991. February 26, 1991 - V.A. Medvedev and A.N. Yakovlev are appointed chief advisers to the President of the USSR. March 1991 - the second wave of miners' strikes begins. The miners oppose M.S. Gorbachev and support B.N. Yeltsin. March 6, 1991 - the draft Union Treaty, initialed by representatives of nine union republics, is discussed by the Federation Council of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. March 9, 1991 - The text of the draft Union Treaty, providing for the creation of a Union of sovereign republics instead of the USSR, is published in the press. B.N. Yeltsin opposes the Union Treaty. March 13, 1991 - M.S. Gorbachev meets in Moscow with the President of the EBRD, representative of the Bilderberg Club J. Attali. A Presidential Council is created under the President of the USSR. March 15, 1991 - B.N. Yeltsin’s speech on Radio Russia, dedicated to the upcoming referendum: “The referendum is being held in the hope that the current policy of the country’s leadership will receive support. It is aimed at preserving the imperial unitary essence of the Union, the system.” March 17, 1991 - An All-Union referendum was held on the preservation of the USSR and at the same time on the territory of the RSFSR - an All-Russian referendum on the introduction of the post of President of the RSFSR. March 19, 1991 - "April Fool's joke" of USSR President M.S. Gorbachev: decree "On the reform of retail prices and social protection of the population", according to which, from April 2, 1991, retail prices for consumer goods increased from 2 to 5 times. March 21, 1991 - meeting of USSR KGB Chairman V.A. Kryuchkov with ex-US President R. Nixon in Moscow, at which the possibility of overthrowing M.S. Gorbachev by security forces was allegedly announced. March 25, 1991 - decree of the President of the USSR banning demonstrations in Moscow. March 26, 1991 - decree of the USSR Cabinet of Ministers banning demonstrations in Moscow from March 26 to April 15, 1991, that is, for the period of the III Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR. March 28, 1991 - announcement of the results of the All-Union referendum: 75.9% of USSR citizens participated, 76.43% (113.5 million people) of them were in favor of preserving the “renewed Union”. April 1991 - mass strikes against price increases. A “budget war” begins: the republics do not transfer collected taxes and other deductions to the union budget. April 2, 1991 - conversation between M.S. Gorbachev and ex-US President R. Nixon. April 4, 1991 - The III Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR decides on the election of the President of the RSFSR and appoints them for June 12, 1991. April 15, 1991 - Izvestia publishes an interview with B.N. Yeltsin, in which he denies the existence of an “irreconcilable split” between him and M.S. Gorbachev. April 16, 1991 - B. N. Yeltsin’s speech in the European Parliament, where he declares the impossibility of reforms within the framework of the “old unitary Union”, that is, he actually subscribes to the program for the destruction of the USSR. April 19-20, 1991 - visit of M.S. Gorbachev to Seoul. An agreement is signed on the provision of a loan by the Republic of Korea to the Soviet Union in the amount of $1.5 billion. April 23, 1991 - the beginning of the “Novo-Ogarevo process”, the first meeting of M.S. Gorbachev with the leaders of nine union republics, dedicated to agreeing on the text of the new Union Treaty. May 5, 1991 - meeting between M.S. Gorbachev and American media tycoon R. Murdoch. May 6, 1991 - V.A. Kryuchkov and B.N. Yeltsin sign a protocol on the creation of the Russian KGB. May 9, 1991 - The Day newspaper publishes a conversation between A.A. Prokhanov and the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy V.N. Chernavin, Deputy Chairman of the Defense Council under the President of the USSR O.D. Baklanov and with the Chief of the Military Academy of the General Staff I.N. Rodionov, whose participants express complete rejection of the “perestroika” course. May 16, 1991 - M.S. Gorbachev and Jiang Zemin sign an agreement on the Soviet-Chinese border. Damansky Island comes under the jurisdiction of the PRC. May 21, 1991 - Riga and Vilnius riot police destroy customs points set up respectively on the borders of Latvia and Lithuania by the republican governments. May 24, 1991 - the end of the “autonomy front”, representatives of the autonomous republics agree to sign the Union Treaty as part of the RSFSR delegation. May 25, 1991 - The Moldavian SSR was renamed the Republic of Moldova. May 27, 1991 - M.S. Gorbachev and M. Thatcher meet in the Kremlin. There is a telephone conversation between M.S. Gorbachev and the President of the United States. May 30, 1991 - E.M. Primakov, V. I. Shcherbakov and G. A. Yavlinsky with a “group of experts” arrive in Washington “for consultations with the US administration” on the personal instructions of the President of the USSR. June 1, 1991 - meeting of M.S. Gorbachev with the personal representative of G. Kohl, State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance of the Federal Republic of Germany H. Köhler. June 12, 1991 - presidential elections of the RSFSR, which B.N. Yeltsin wins (57.3% of the votes). Second place goes to the “crying Bolshevik” N.I. Ryzhkov (16.85%). June 15, 1991 - another meeting of the President of the USSR with J. Attali. A meeting on issues of denationalization and privatization is being held in the Kremlin under the chairmanship of M.S. Gorbachev. June 17, 1991 - a closed meeting of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, at which V.S. Pavlov demands that the Cabinet of Ministers be granted emergency powers. June 18-20, 1991 - visit of the President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin to the United States, during which he declares to representatives of the host country: “There will be a coup before the end of the year. Gorbachev does not believe in it, but I am preparing.” June 20, 1991 - US officials through various channels convey information to M.S. Gorbachev about an impending conspiracy against him with the participation of V.S. Pavlov, B.K. Pugo and V.A. Kryuchkov. June 25, 1991 - declaration of independence of Croatia and Slovenia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The beginning of the collapse of Yugoslavia. June 27, 1991 - the text of the Treaty establishing a Union of Sovereign States is published. July 1, 1991 - The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopts the law “On the Basic Principles of Denationalization and Privatization of Enterprises”, E.A. Shevardnadze announces his resignation from the CPSU. July 5, 1991 - meeting between M.S. Gorbachev and G. Kohl at the government residence near Kiev. July 10, 1991 - Izvestia publishes the “Program of joint actions of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR and the governments of sovereign republics to bring the country’s economy out of crisis in the conditions of transition to a market economy.” July 17-18, 1991 - a meeting of the Big Seven takes place in London with the participation of M.S. Gorbachev. July 20, 1991 - B.N. Yeltsin’s decree on the departition of government structures in the Russian Federation. July 23, 1991 - “Soviet Russia” and “Den” publish “A Word to the People” signed by Yu.V. Bondarev, Yu.V. Blokhin, V.I. Varennikov, E.F. Volodin, B.V. Gromov , G.A.Zyuganov, L.G.Zykina, V.M.Klykov, A.A.Prokhanov, V.G.Rasputin, V.A.Starodubtsev and A.I.Tizyakov. July 27, 1991 - A.N. Yakovlev resigns from the post of chief adviser to the President of the USSR. July 29-August 1, 1991 - official visit to Moscow by US President George W. Bush. Signing of the Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms (START-1). M.S. Gorbachev meets with B.N. Yeltsin and N.A. Nazarbayev. August 3, 1991 - M.S. Gorbachev appears on television with a statement that “a new union treaty will be open for signing from August 20, 1991.” August 4, 1991 - M.S. Gorbachev goes to the Crimean residence of the USSR President Foros to rest. August 5, 1991 - the first meeting of future members of the State Emergency Committee takes place at the sensitive “ABC facility” in Moscow. August 6, 1991 - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the RSFSR I.K. Polozkov resigns. V.A. Kuptsov becomes his successor. August 8, 1991 - V.A. Kryuchkov insists on the introduction of the State Emergency Committee before the signing of the Union Treaty. August 16, 1991 - B.N. Yeltsin flies to Alma-Ata. August 17, 1991 - A.N. Yakovlev announces an impending coup d'etat.

Perestroika in the USSR: causes, characteristics and results.
Perestroika is a name that is used to refer to a huge number of reforms in the Soviet Union, primarily in the political, economic and social spheres. Perestroika began during Gorbachev's reign in the second half of the eighties and lasted until the collapse of the USSR in 1991 year. The date of the beginning of Perestroika is considered to be 1987 the year when this reform program was declared a new state ideology.

Reasons for Perestroika.
Before the start of Perestroika, the Soviet Union was already experiencing deepest economic crisis, which was also joined by political and social crises. The situation in the huge state was very difficult - the people demanded changes. The state demanded radical changes in all spheres of life that existed.

Unrest began in the country after people learned about life abroad. They were frankly shocked when they saw that the state in other countries controls all spheres of life of the population: everyone is free to wear whatever they want, listen to any music, eat not according to certain portions, but as far as their means allow, and the like.

In addition, people were very angry because the stores began to have problems with essential goods and various equipment. The state drove the budget into negative territory and could no longer produce the required amount of products on time.

In addition to this, we can add problems with industry and the agricultural sector: all enterprises have long been outdated, as well as technology. The goods produced were already of such low quality that no one wanted to buy them. The USSR gradually began to turn into a raw materials state. But back in the middle of the century, the Union was one of the most developed countries in the world, with a powerful economy.
IN 1985 Gorbachev came to power in 2009, highlighting the need for global reforms that could at least try to save the country from the collapse that had been brewing for quite some time.

All of the above could not remain so for too long, the country demanded changes, and they began. Although it was too late to change anything, disintegration was still inevitable.

Characteristics.
Gorbachev envisaged measures of complete technological "rearmament" in all obsolete enterprises, especially in heavy industry. He also planned to seriously enhance the effectiveness of the human factor by making from working specially trained specialists. In order for enterprises to generate even greater profits, they had to be controlled by the state.
What Gorbachev really managed to reform was the sphere of the state’s foreign policy. We are talking about relations, first of all, from the United States with which the USSR has had a deep economic, political, cultural and ideological confrontation for several decades - the so-called "Cold War".

In order to effectively conduct such a fight on all fronts, the USSR spent huge amounts of money; only 25% of the entire state budget was required to be spent on maintaining the army, but this huge money was very much needed for other needs. Having rid the USSR of such an enemy as the USA, Gorbachev was able to transfer funds to reorganize other spheres of state life.

As a result "politics of the world" with the West relations between the two states began to improve and the two peoples stopped looking at each other as an enemy.

Returning to the deep economic crisis, it should be noted that the Soviet leadership did not fully realize how deep it was - the situation was truly catastrophic. Unemployment began to grow in the country and, in addition, among the male population, drunkenness global scale. The state tried in every possible way to combat drunkenness through unemployment, but there was no particular success.

The Communist Party was losing its influence and authority among the people with each new day. Liberal views began to actively emerge, which longed to completely sweep away the government and rebuild the state according to a new type, because such communism was simply not feasible.

To calm the population a little, there was Every citizen is allowed to speak about his political views, although previously this was catastrophically prohibited - for this under Stalin they could not only be put in the Gulag, but shot. Previously inaccessible literature has now become publicly available - books by foreign authors previously banned by the party began to be imported into the country.

At the first stages, changes in the economy took place with little success; the country actually began to produce more quality products, but by 1988 This policy has exhausted itself. Then it became clear that nothing could be changed, the collapse of communism was inevitable and the USSR would soon cease to exist.

Results of Perestroika.
Despite the fact that Perestroika was not able to change the situation in the Union so that it continued to exist, a number of important changes did occur and they should be noted.
The victims of Stalinism were completely rehabilitated;
Freedom of speech and political views appeared in the country, strict censorship was removed, including on literature;
The one-party system was abandoned;
There is now the possibility of free exit/entry from/to the country;
Students no longer serve in the military while in training;
Women are no longer sent to prison for cheating on their husbands;
The state gave permission for rock music in the country;
The Cold War has ended.

These were positive results of Perestroika, but there were many more negative results. Among the most important, economic ones should be noted.
The gold and foreign exchange reserves of the USSR decreased by about 10 times, which led to such a phenomenon as hyperinflation;
The international debt of the USSR increased at least three times;
The pace of economic development dropped to almost zero - the country simply froze.