1. Contemporary History of Russia
Lecture 8: Period of Stagnation

2. Issues: Main features of socio-economic situation in 1970-1980
Economic reforms attempts
Signs of economic crisis
Social sphere
Policy area

3. Main features Economic stability
Development of resource sectors of the economy
Inefficient production
Low motivation for work
The growth of corruption
Dichotomy between official ideologies and life

4. Economy Growth in the standard of living
Population growth (by 12 million)
Increased housing construction
Growth in electricity production and consumption
The pace of economic development
The 8th 5-year-old ( ) -7,5%
The 9th 5 years old ( ) - 5.8%
The 10th 5 years old ( ) - 3.8%
Stability is achieved due to rising oil prices and exports ( from 15% to 53%)

5. The economic reform of 1965 (Kosygin’s)
Economy
The economic reform of 1965 (Kosygin’s)
Brezhnev: limited decentralization (agriculture, heavy industry, defense)
Kosygin AN: market regulation
(light industry)

6. The economic reform of 1965 (Kosygin’s)
Economy
The economic reform of 1965 (Kosygin’s)
The beginning of the reform - the decisions of the March and September Plenums of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1965.
Agriculture:
Change in the mechanism of agricultural management.
Material interest.
Purchases with extra-plan indices- inflated prices
Reducing the restriction on personal part-time farming
Industry:
Reduction in the number of directive targets
Strengthening of self-financing
Restructuring of pricing
Restoration of the branch principle of organization of management

7. Economy
The radical turn since 1972.
Target "shock" financing of important spheres of the economy
Priority heavy industry
The appearance of a commodity deficit
July 12, 1979 Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On improving planning and strengthening the impact of the economic mechanism on improving production efficiency and quality of work"

8. Economy The shadow economy is clearly manifested in the 1950's.
Main spheres of shadow economy: services, education and medicine
Double reporting
Informal relations between production managers
The hidden privileges of the party nomenclature

9. Economy Corruption raise
Cotton case
title of a series of criminal cases on economic and corruption abuses that were revealed in the Uzbek SSR, as well as in other administrative units, decision-making centers and industrial branches of the USSR which were investigated in the late 1970s and 1980s.
The results of the investigations were widely publicized in order to demonstrate the fight against corruption to the population of the USSR. It in turn reflects increasing crisis phenomena, which are caused by disproportions in the social and economic life of the Union.
Among the persons involved in the case were the chairman of the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Uzbek Communistic Party
Economy
Corruption raise
1972 Department Against Misappropriation of Socialist Property (The OBKhSS) reformed into Main Department
1984

10. Economy Issue on quality of goods Issue on operation life of the wares
Issue on computer development
Purchase of technologies: air conditioners Hitachi, VAZ-2100-Fiat124, 1966)
1967

11. Social sphere 1970-240 million of people 1985-280 million of people
Rapid growth of the population:
million of people
million of people
,7 million of people
Rapid Urbanization
The devaluation of the value of life in the countryside
Erasing the difference in the level of payment between skilled and unskilled workers
Reduction in the growth of real incomes ( decrease by 20%)

12. Social sphere Peak of the redistribution system
Emergence of the consumer culture
Sings of new life: Квартира, Стенка, Телевизор, Дача, Магнитофон, Машина, Путевка в Сочи, Джинсы, Загранпоездка

13. "Third generation" of the Soviet party and state bureaucracy
Policy area
The Khrushev’s removal in 1964 brought to power young generation of political leaders
They began their career in 1930s during repressions
The average age is 70 years – gerontocracy and stagnation
"Third generation" of the Soviet party and state bureaucracy

14. Bureaucratization
Rotation of personnel in the party: in place of Khrushchev's cadres came experienced functionaries
Solidarity of the Nomenclature
Centralization of party organization. The division into village and city committees of the party was abolished.
1978, the creation of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. Growth in the number of bureaucracy (Chairman of the Council of Ministers - AN Kosygin ).

15. Policy area The Constitution 1977 of "developed socialism"
Article 6. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union is the ruling and guiding force of Soviet society, the core of its political system, state and public organizations. The CPSU exists for the people and serves the people.

16. Policy area Dissident movement
December Pushkin’s square in Moscow first human rights demonstration
1968 A new wave of human rights movement
Moscow Helsinki Group of 1976
Revival of interest in religion outside the church. Collecting icons, interest in Russian traditional culture