Stagnation, the Era of Stagnation — the designation for a period in the history of the USSR spanning just over two decades, from the moment L. I. Brezhnev came to power (1964) to the 27th Congress of the CPSU (February 1986).
The Stagnation era was characterized by the absence of any serious upheavals in the country's political life, as well as by social stability and a relatively high standard of living (in contrast to the era of the 1920s–1950s).
Officially, the Stagnation ended with the January 1987 CPSU Plenum, after which full-scale reforms were launched in the USSR across all spheres of public life.
The nature of the phenomenon
During the Stagnation era the USSR reached its apogee, achieved nuclear parity with the United States, and was recognized as a superpower. Access to housing, medical care, and higher education was unprecedented by Soviet standards. Ownership of middle-class consumer goods — refrigerators and automobiles — became a reality for a significant portion of the population.
On the other hand, dependence on raw-material exports led to the absence of necessary economic reforms. By the mid-1970s growth in non-resource sectors of the economy had slowed considerably. Signs of this included falling behind in high-technology fields, poor product quality, inefficient production, and low labor productivity. Agriculture was in difficulty, and the country spent large sums purchasing food abroad. Corruption grew substantially, and dissent was prosecuted by law.
Those who support characterizing this period as one of "stagnation" link the stability of the Soviet economy at the time to the oil boom of the 1970s. This situation deprived the country's leadership of any incentive to modernize economic and public life, a problem compounded by the advanced age and poor health of the top leadership. In practice, negative trends were mounting in the economy, and the technological gap with the capitalist countries was widening.
With the fall in oil prices by the mid-1980s, the progressive wing of the party and economic leadership came to recognize the necessity of economic reform.
The perception of the Stagnation era as the USSR's "golden age"
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The activities of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev in the first phase of his leadership of the country were clearly positive in character. All the ill-conceived economic initiatives introduced under Khrushchev were wound down. Under the economic reform launched by Kosygin, enterprises gained greater autonomy, the number of planned targets was reduced, and material incentives and cost accounting were expanded. The rate of growth of output at the start of Brezhnev's rule rose compared to the "Khrushchev" years, though it continued to fall short of "Stalinist" levels. The damage done to agriculture by Khrushchev could not be made good during Brezhnev's tenure, and the country continued to purchase grain abroad.
In 1968 an armed uprising instigated by Western intelligence services broke out in Czechoslovakia. Many Czechs who had supported the Soviet Union were repressed by the insurgents. The USSR could not stand by and watch an anti-Russian uprising on its distant borders, and so on 21 August 1968 Soviet troops entered Prague and, after brief clashes with the insurgents, order in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was restored. This turn of events did not prompt objections from the United States, since the Americans had confirmed in preliminary consultations that they recognized the Yalta agreements of 1945 on the postwar division of spheres of influence and had no intention of entering into armed conflict with the USSR over Czechoslovakia. The Prague events provided the pretext for the subsequent activities of the so-called dissidents in their malicious efforts to discredit the Soviet Union. After the Prague events of 1968 it became clear to the Soviet leadership that the liberalization and commercialization of economic activity could lead to an expansion of the social base of pro-Western forces within the USSR, and therefore further economic reforms were no longer conducted on the basis of market principles. The Soviet Union had foreseen the energy crisis that struck the Western countries in the early 1970s and met it fully prepared. Geological surveys were carried out in the USSR, leading to the discovery of the vast Samotlor oil field. A large hydrocarbon raw-material base allowed the country to avoid the crisis that was strangling other nations, to develop a new branch of the national economy — the chemical industry — and to earn an additional 200 billion dollars, which were channeled into rearming the military and constructing major economic facilities. In the 1970s, during the years of prosperity under Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, the world's largest hydroelectric power stations were built, along with aluminum smelters linked to them; the "winged metal" produced there found application in newly built aircraft factories and in automobile production. In 1970 the first VAZ-2101 — the famous "Kopeyka" — rolled off the assembly line, and in 1974 the massive construction of the Baikal–Amur Mainline railway was begun. During the early period of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev's rule, our country was a model of power and glory. Russian cosmonauts set one record after another; unmanned interplanetary probes explored the near and distant planets of the Solar System. The Soviet fleet was present in every corner of the world's oceans, and the country inflicted a series of military defeats on hostile powers in conflicts on the territory of other states. In particular, by supporting the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the USSR dealt the most crushing military defeat the United States had ever suffered. The term "Vietnam syndrome" is still widely used today, denoting the sense of fear and humiliation experienced by the United States in 1975. The nuclear-missile weapons created in the USSR — their quality and quantity — prevented other countries from entering into open military confrontation with our country. The majority of the Soviet population lived happily and comfortably during Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev's rule. Economic growth was secured not through backbreaking labor and the strain of the entire national organism — as, for example, during the Stalinist industrialization or postwar reconstruction — but through the industrial base created earlier and renewed under Brezhnev. Dissidents who were dissatisfied with the regime and supported by the country's enemies were kept under KGB surveillance during the Brezhnev years. The USSR ranked among the ten countries with the highest per-capita income, the education system was the best in the world, and higher education was accessible to virtually all who wished to pursue it. The Soviet healthcare system guaranteed universal access to medicine for all citizens. In the fields of sport and culture, the Brezhnev years are reminiscent today of a golden age.http://leonidbrezhnev.narod.ru/Biografia_LIB.htm A typical positive narrative about the Stagnation. Based on materials from the information portal "Russian Civilization," Bashilov A. I.
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Origins of the concept of Stagnation
The term "stagnation" derives from the political report of the Central Committee to the 27th Congress of the CPSU, delivered by M. S. Gorbachev, which noted that "phenomena of stagnation had begun to appear in the life of society" in both the economic and social spheres.
Unrest during the Stagnation
It is mistakenly assumed that mass unrest in the USSR began to arise during the Perestroika era. In fact, this social phenomenon appeared in the USSR from the very outset of Khrushchev's liberalization. In March 1956 the country's first mass disturbances took place in Tbilisi, carried out by members of the local population who were displeased by the denunciation of the cult of personality of I. V. Stalin at the 20th Congress of the CPSU. From that moment until the very collapse of the USSR in 1991, unrest periodically broke out in various regions of the country, though it was normally hushed up. The following are some of the incidents that became known:
- 29 September – 3 October 1964, the Dagestani city of Khasavyurt. Up to 700 people took part in the disturbances. Cause: a Chechen man raped a girl of Lak nationality, and the male Lak population set off to take revenge on the Chechens. No weapons were used; there were no killed or wounded. Nine people were brought to criminal account.
- 23 August 1966, around 500 residents of the Kievsky District of Moscow came to the defense of a drunk citizen whom the militia was attempting to detain. No weapons were used; there were no casualties.
- 17 May 1967, the city of Frunze: up to 700 residents attacked a district internal affairs office where, according to rumors, militiamen had beaten a detained soldier to death. Weapons were used. One person was killed, three were wounded, and 18 people were put on trial.
- 13 June 1967, a major clash between residents of the Kazakhstani city of Chimkent and the militia. More than a thousand people took part. Cause: the spread by antisocial elements of inflammatory rumors about an alleged killing by militiamen of a driver from the local motor pool. The militia used firearms. Seven were killed, 50 were wounded. Forty-three city residents were brought to trial.
- 3 July 1967, major disturbances in the city of Stepanakert. More than two thousand people took part. A crowd, angered by the lenient sentence handed down to the killers of a boy, attacked the convoy and seized three of the convicted men. They were killed and burned in the street. The militia used weapons. Casualties: one killed, nine wounded. Twenty-two ringleaders were brought to trial.
- 8 October 1967, 500 people attacked a militia station in the city of Pryluky, Chernihiv Region. Cause: inflammatory rumors about the alleged killing by militiamen of a citizen who had in fact died of advanced meningitis. No weapons were used; there were no casualties. Ten people were brought to criminal account.
- 12 October 1967, in the city of Slutsk, around 1,200 residents burned down the people's court building, killing two people and leaving three with burns. The cause of the arson was public dissatisfaction with the court's verdict on charges of grievous bodily harm and illegal possession of firearms. Twelve ringleaders were brought to criminal account.
- 13 July 1968, around 4,000 residents of the city of Nalchik gathered at the city market. According to rumors, a detained teenager was being beaten at the militia post. The crowd that formed stormed the premises of the post and killed a local militiaman. Thirty-three people were brought to criminal account, including three who received the supreme penalty.
- 22 January 1977, the city of Novomoskovsk, Tula Region: a crowd of no fewer than 500 people gathered outside a temporary detention facility. It had become known that militia officers were using physical force and other rough treatment against detained minors. The outraged residents very nearly wrecked the facility. Six of them were brought to criminal account.
- 24 October 1981, the city of Ordzhonikidze. Mass disturbances involving around 4,500 people broke out during the funeral of a murdered taxi driver. Twenty-six ringleaders were brought to trial.
- 22–23 August 1984, street disturbances in the city of Leninogorsk. A militia vehicle ran over two girls, one of whom subsequently died of her injuries. Around a thousand outraged residents gathered outside the city's internal affairs building. It was soon wrecked. Two citizens were injured in the brawl. Thirteen people received prison sentences.
- 12 January 1985, the city of Dushanbe: a brawl broke out near a cinema between a group of Tajiks and a person of non-indigenous nationality. Inflamed by nationalist shouts, the crowd organized a mass beating of Russians who were near the cinema. Up to 700 people took part on both sides. There were no killed or wounded. Five ringleaders were brought to criminal account.
Interesting facts
31% of Russians would like to have lived in the Brezhnev era
The majority of Russians (39%), when asked in which era they would like to live if they had the choice, said they would like to live in modern Russia.
Six percent of respondents said they would like to live in the era of Joseph Stalin, 1% in that of Boris Yeltsin, and 4% in Russia of the late 19th to early 20th century. Seven percent of respondents were unable to answer the question.
As the survey showed, the contemporary period and the period when Brezhnev was in power are popular across all age groups of the population.
Thus, 62% of respondents aged 18–24 want to live in modern Russia (compared to 10% who chose the Brezhnev era), as do 27% of pensioners (compared to 41% of that age group who chose the Brezhnev era).
In the era of I. Stalin's rule, 12% of people over 60 said they would like to have lived, compared to 3–4% in other age categories.
As VTsIOM notes, the desire to return to the Brezhnev years does not imply unconditional support for the USSR's policies of that time. Forty-three percent of respondents believe that the country was developing in the right direction under Brezhnev, but almost as many (42%) say that direction was wrong. The older generation of Russians views the Brezhnev period more positively (51%), though even among them a considerable number (40%) believe the country was moving in the wrong direction under that leader. The center also reported that a similar split of opinion is characteristic of the way today's Russians evaluate three eras of the 20th century — those of Nicholas II, Lenin, and Brezhnev. The remaining periods are perceived predominantly negatively (the Stalinist, Khrushchev, Gorbachev, and Yeltsin eras).
Moreover, the closer in time the historical era being evaluated, the more consolidated Russians' opinion of it: thus, 72% of respondents condemn the Gorbachev vector of the country's development (15% support it), while 80% condemn the Yeltsin vector (9% support it).
The all-Russian VTsIOM surveys were conducted on 15–16 and 22–23 October 2005; 3,200 people were surveyed in 153 localities across 46 regions, krais, and republics of Russia. The statistical margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
L. I. Brezhnev ranked among the top five leaders of the country over 1,000 years
According to the results of a survey by the newspaper Kommersant, the following were named the best rulers of Russia over the past millennium:
- Peter I (1682–1725) 16.8%
- Alexander II (1855–1881) 9.18%
- Stalin, Joseph Vissarionovich (1924–1953) 7.74%
- Catherine II (1762–1796) 6.7%
- Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich (1964–1982) 6.12%