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THE Brezhnev ERA Stagnation AND Drift 1964-85

History (Studocu High School)

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THE Brezhnev ERA: STAGNATION AND DRIFT 1964-85

I. introduction:
● this period saw the emergence of significant problems
● to a large extent, the response to these issues played a significant role in the eventual collapse
of the USSR
● the reluctance of most of the soviet leadership to openly acknowledge these growing political
and economic problems brought the party and its rule into increasing disrepute
● 1964_85 the Soviet Union began to experience some serious political and economic problems
● despite the collective leadership established when Khrushchev had been overthrown in 1964,
Brezhnev became increasingly dominant, with the party making radical changes to the system
● Khrushchev's economic reforms were at first put on hold but in September prime minister
Kosygin received approval to introduce some similar economic reforms
● 1970 Kosygin's reforms had been blocked
● economic problems were made worse than defense expenditure continued to increase because
of the Cold War
● reform in Czechoslovakia was topped in 1968 but from 1980 unrest in Poland created
growing concerns
● relations with the west at first improved, but this eventually gave way to a second Cold War
● when Brezhnev died in 1982 some limited political and economic reforms were introduced by
Andropov, but after his death, there was a period of drift before Gorbachev took over

II. what were the main political developments in the USSR, 1964-85?

● Collective leadership was established, it moved quickly to reassure military leaders'

government administrators, and economic managers
1. the Brezhnev era, 1964-82
● at first, it seemed that the members were coequals
● Brezhnev soon began to assert his dominance
● 1966 he changed his title to the general secretary
● Brezhnev's watchwords were stability, continuity, and conservatism
● removed possible rivals
● 1977 Podgorny was removed from the politburo
● Brezhnev then took over the position as head of state
● able to block many of Kosygin’s attempts at economic reform
2. the nomenklatura system and corruption
● 1981, 8 of the 14 full politburo members were his proteges
● these appointees opposed significant or radical changes and increasingly undermined
efforts
● to maintain stability Brezhnev continued to use the established nomenklatura system
○ a long list of reliable party members who could be appointed to state and
administrative positions, the most senior enjoyed special privileges
● younger party members such as Gorbachev were appalled by corruption and
complacency and awareness of it among the public did much to undermine respect for
the party
3. neo-Stalinism and political dissents
● the soviet system produced more and more well-educated people these people became

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increasingly frustrated and some turned to protest and dissent

● some decided to push their rights as citizens to the limits by protesting against
political and cultural restrictions
● 1965 a group of artists and scientists demonstrated in Red Square in Moscow calling
for the individual freedoms in the 1936 constitution to be honored
● 1966 illegal to circulate ‘false information’
● police powers were increased
● the brief time when attitudes towards art were softened
● dissidents were encouraged by the period of détente between the west and the USSR
when human rights became one of the issues
● august → endorsed the Helsinki accord
● this committed the USSR to uphold the basic principles of human rights such as free
speech and freedom of assembly and conscience
● Brezhnev allowed them to monitor the soviet record on human rights
● when the Brezhnev regime cracked down the Helsinki monitoring groups were
disbanded
● for many people, standards of living were higher than they had been in 1964 there
was a shorter working week and education had improved
● citizens seemed reasonably content
4. nationalism
● nationalist unrest began to emerge n some non-Russian republics
● this exhibited in the Baltics republics influencing events in Poland
● growing unrest in the USSR’s central Asian republic which bordered Afghanistan and
which had mainly Muslim populations
● sign of a significant political crisis emerging in the Soviet Union
● all forms of dissent were essentially controlled
5. political developments under Andropov, 1982-84
● in the later 1970s, Brezhnev had serious health problems, that created a power
struggle in which Brezhnev seemed to favor Konstantin Chernenko
● his main rival was Yuri Andropov
● 1982 Andropov was appointed as general secretary
● Tikhonov had nominated Chernenko so Andropov was backed
● Andropov made a number of personnel changes in the economic and party
apparatuses
● decided to take a much tougher line on corruption
● no plan for any fundamental political changes
● main focus on economic reforms
● was not a liberal
● been in charge of the KGB
● encouraged ordinary citizens to voice complaints to officials, and he took a more
sympathetic attitude to nationalist unrest
● try to persuade certain dissidents that their criticisms were harming the country
● fear of the secret police had mostly faded by the 1980s
● Andropov’s health was declining
● died in 1984
● didn’t have time to push his reforms
● but had led to the emergence of reform-minded politicians such as Gorbachev
6. political developments under Chernenko

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● at 72 he was the oldest man ever to become a soviet leader

● designed to maintain stability and his main political initiatives were to carry on with
Andropov's campaign against corruption and to concentrate on education
● tightened censorship and took a hard line on dissent
● try to address some issues of the non-Russian nationalities
● 1984 Chernenko became ill
● Gorbachev becomes chairman of the foreign affairs
● 1985 Chernenko died
● supported by those in favor of reform, Gorbachev became the next general secretary

III. what were the main features of the soviet economy, 1964-85?

● Sign of economic slowdown and arguably of actual decline

1. the economic under Brezhnev, 1964-82
● In the late 1970s just as signs of a serious slowdown in economic growth were
emerging many soviet citizens enjoyed a higher standard of living than they had done
before Brezhnev
● the centrally planned Soviet economy was largely under the control of the communist
party
● though the soviet government was responsible for the day-to-day direction of the
economy through planning departments which decided the rate of growth to be
carried out by the industries and state farms, and also the prices and amounts of
materials, energy, labor, and goods
● the soviet model was showing signs of an impending economic crisis in the mid-
1970s
2. industry and the Kosygin reforms
● attempts of industrial reforms
● main responsible was Aleksei Kosygin who pushed hardest for increased investment
and real economic reforms
● tried to make the economy more efficient and dynamic
● He resurrected Khrushchev’s 1962’s plan to give greater autonomy to factory
managers over certain decisions
● this desire to give extra powers to managers had political repercussions
● in decreased the authority of the various economic ministries and of the CPSU itself
● many of his colleagues, therefore, opposed his plans
● there were some successes and improvements during the eighth five-year plan by
1970 the output of factories and mines had risen 138%
● but these increases were not maintained
● during the 8th five-year plan the consumer goods had expanded at a rate 9% lower
than the increase in industrial goods
● USSR failed to take advantage of the 1973-74 world oil crisis to develop more
modern fuel-efficient technology
● by increasing oil prices in the soviet bloc counties, Brezhnev contributed to their
economic problems forcing those regimes to take measures
● which contributed to the collapse of the security belt of satellite states
3. the tenth five-year plan
● signs of a real slowdown in growth became apparent
● the planned increase in industrial production was 5.7%, but the actual increase was

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3.4%
● the situation under Brezhnev seemed likely to continue in this way, and great things
were expected from the planned BAM: a railway line, which would link Siberia to the
pacific
● the member's increasingly unfounded belief was that the USSR could make steady
economic advances without major reforms
● Brezhnev did not allow the creation of associations where factories with
complementary activities could join to help each other
● this reform was undermined by the fact that central authorities still retained much
control over investment, prices, and wages
● Labor shortage emerged
4. agriculture
● Brezhnev insisted on a bigger allocation of resources for agriculture in order to
overcome grain shortages
● this took away resources for industrial plans but did increase state investment
● in 10 years the soviet agricultural output increased at an annual average of 3%
● output quotas were established along with instructions on what crops to plant or sow
● formed bigger kolkhozes by amalgamating farms and raising productivity
● but many operated at a loss
● this was partly because charges for fuel and machinery went up thus wiping out any
advantage from increases in state prices for farming produce
● Brezhnev authorized a decree which increased the size of private plots that peasants
could have to half a hectare
● peasants preferred to work on these rather than on the collectives land
● 1970: 30% of agricultural produce was from these private plots, although they
comprised only 4% of arable land
● Brezhnev increases the prices to pay kolkhoz
● the state subsidy for eating meant it was sold to consumers at half cost-price
● this was fine while the Soviet Union was benefiting from increased oil and
commodity prices, but it was not a long-term solution
5. consumer goods and the social wage
● Khrushchev had aimed to increase the supply of consumer goods and this policy was
continued by Brezhnev and Kosygin
● the temptation was to make concessions before trouble appeared even if this actually
hindered fundamental economic reform
● Brezhnev tried to reduce wage differentials
● ensured that industrial and other blue-collar workers were paid better
● the number of families owning electrical goods such as refrigerators and
televisions increased from 32% → 86%
● cheap prices for clothing, electricity, gas, and coal and subsidized rents, and public
transport
● trade unions opened more holiday centers for their members on the Baltic and Black
Sea coasts
6. the soviet economy 1982-85
● 1981 Brezhnev had spoken of the impact of a difficult world economic situation he
had also drawn attention to domestic economic weaknesses such as shortages of food
and consumer goods

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● Andropov's attitude to reform was influenced by his career in the KGB, which meant
he knew before he became leader of the USSR what the main problems were
● was not a political liberal
● the first campaign was against absenteeism from work
● his speeches warned that improvement in wages and in working and living conditions
would only come from hard work and greater productivity
● one of the main reasons for absenteeism was drunkenness and even alcoholism
● so a campaign against alcohol was launched
● setting up small enterprises and increasing productivity in different sectors of the
economy
● 1984 steps were taken to give more powers to factory managers in branches covered
by five industrial ministries
● managers were to have more powers relating to production and use of profits
● wages and bonuses were to be more closely linked to production and sales
● Chernenko did not press ahead with economic reforms
7. the soviet economy and the Cold War
● addition to the cost of massive food subsidies a huge part of the annual budget was
taken up by the nuclear arms race
● concerned with both defense and deterrence after WW2 all soviet leaders had been
determined to develop and maintain a strong military capability both conventional
and nuclear
● this huge some restricted the ability of the USSR to respond to increasing demands
from civilians for continued improvements in living standards and the availability of
newer consumer goods
● us rearmament was coinciding with increasing signs that the soviet economy was
slowing down
● as a result, the production of more and better consumer goods began to decline and
economic stagnation continued
● options were to reduce the defense budget, cut the real living standards or borrow
heavily abroad from capitalist states

IV. how did soviet foreign policy develop during this period?

● The main foreign policy remained those concerned with soviet security
● 1964 it was the maintenance of the buffer zone and the ongoing attempt to maintain
satisfactory relations with the west
● additional complications were firstly Afghanistan and secondly the additional threat of the
second Cold War
1. Brezhnev foreign policy, 1964-82
● keen to improve relations with the west for economic reasons
● maintaining parity with the US in the nuclear arms race, the USSR was suffering
from the impact of the worsening rift with china
● these problems made détente with the west an attractive proposition
● the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 initially prevented better east-west relations,
but Brezhnev's attitude was an important factor in the development of a period of
détente
● Kosygin worked hard to improve relations with the west as he hoped the soviet
economy could gain from increased access to western technology

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● Brezhnev reasoned that he could negotiate a reduction in nuclear weapons and import
western technology
● started with the talk of SALT in 1970
● 1972 further agreements were made which attempted to slow down the nuclear arms
race; while in August 1973 the conference on security and cooperation in Europe
eventually led to an agreement that recognized existing borders in Europe
● trade deals were signed with the US and its western allies including West Germany
● 1978 big increase in US defense spending which began a new arms race
● the unofficial start of the second Cold War
2. Eastern Europe
● Brezhnev's main aim was to maintain the USSR’s buffer zone of satellite states
established by Stalin
● the first issue arose in Czechoslovakia where problems came to a head in January
1968 when Dubcek became the country’s first secretary with Brezhnev’s approval
● the Soviets appeared prepared to accept his plans
● Dubcek’s reforms, ‘Prague spring’ were intended to create socialism with a human
face
● soon an opposition party of sorts was formed
● when Dubcek beginnings negotiations with the IMF and other western financial
organizations to arrange loans the USSR became increasingly concerned
● Brezhnev then authorized an invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw pact forces in
August 1968 to end the Prague spring
● Dubcek was removed from power and replaced by Gustav Husak
● 1968 after the invasion Brezhnev made a declaration known as the Brezhnev doctrine
which claimed the right to interfere in the internal affairs of its Comecon and Warsaw
pact allies if soviet security were under threat
● Brezhnev had to deal with growing unrest in Poland where the unofficial trade union
solidarity organized groin protests and strikes against the government's economic
policies
● some eastern European countries such as Hungary and Romania were increasingly
taking actions independently from Moscow
● this was because many had made trade and finance deals with western states and
banks
● contributed to the crisis in the 1980s
3. Afghanistan
● the greatest impact on soviet security was the decision to send troops into Afghanistan
in December 1979
● it was the final act which officially brought détente to a close
● intended as a step to maintain soviet security it actually ended up undermining it
because of the economic and political problems the intervention caused
● as Afghanistan had common borders with the USSR’s central Asian republics it had
been generally accepted by the west that it lay within the USSR's sphere of influence
● when the people Democratic Party of Afghanistan carried out z military coup in April
1978 the west accepted the new communist government
● soon came under attack from conservative feudal landowners and religious
fundamentalists who opposed its reforms
● Brezhnev was concerned that failure to intervene in this soviet sphere of influence
might lead communist states in Eastern Europe to think that the USSR was no longer

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willing to act on the Brezhnev Doctrine to maintain soviet control there or to resist
US power
● new coup in 1979 when the new communist government in Kabul requested military
assistance the USSR sent troops
● surprised by the strength of the US response
● ending détente and launching the second Cold War the US imposed a boycott on
exports of grain and technology to the USSR and other countries followed
● massive drain on both manpower and the already-struggling soviet economy
● it was clear that this had become a war it could not win
● The most important factor behind Gorbachev’s push after 1985 for the need for new
thinking
4. foreign policy 1982-85
● Andropov and Chernenko followed an essentially conservative approach to foreign
policy
● Andropov never seriously considered withdrawing troops from Afghanistan even
though this has become a major source of discontent within the USSR
● suggest further arms control in November 1982 and in 1983 he reduced the soviet
space program in an attempt to save money
● 1983 called for arms control and offered a freeze on anti-ballistic missiles and the
reduction of soviet missiles in Europe
● the attempt at Geneva but no agreements were reached
● Chernenko, there were attempts to resume good relations with the US and the west
● however, the continued soviet presence in Afghanistan along with the US
determination to continue with the second Cold War, made this almost impossible so
little was achieved

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