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Nikita Khrushchev
1953
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khruschev was a politician who led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War, he became Premier of the Soviet Union after Stalin's death in 1956 he started a process called "de-Stalinization". Nikita Khrushchev publicized Stalin's crimes, was a major player in established a more open form of Communism in the USSR. -
1960
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Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev was a Soviet statesman and Communist Party official who was, in effect, the leader of the Soviet Union for 18 years.He became the leader after removing Khrushchev from power, from 1964 until his death in 1982. -
mportant events - The background to the Brezhnev Era
Nikita was never as powerful as Stalin.
-His regime was plagued with the domestic problems.
-In 1964, Nikita was removed from power.
-In 1964, Leonid Brezhnev became the leader.
-the Politburo and Secretariat again established a collective leadership.
-Brezhnev became a Khrushchev protégé early in his career and through his patron's influence rose to membership in the Presidium. -
Economy
The economic system remained dependent on central plans drawn up with no reference to market mechanisms. Reformers, of whom the economist Yevsey Liberman was most noteworthy, advocated greater freedom for individual enterprises from outside controls and sought to turn the enterprises' economic objectives toward making a profit. -
Foreign Policy
A major concern of Khrushchev's successors was to reestablish Soviet primacy in the community of communist states by undermining the influence of China. Although the new leaders originally approached China without hostility, Mao's condemnation of Soviet foreign policy as "revisionist" and his competition for influence in the Third World soon led to a worsening of relations between the two countries. -
The Brezhnev Doctrine
The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet foreign policy outlined in 1968 which called for the use of Warsaw Pact (but Russian-dominated) troops to intervene in any Eastern Bloc nation which was seen to compromise communist rule and Soviet domination. -
Détente
Détente, Period of the easing of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1979. The era was a time of increased trade and cooperation with the Soviet Union and the signing of the SALT treaties. Relations cooled again with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.This détente took several forms, including increased discussion on arms control. Although the decade began with vast improvements in bilateral relations. -
Revolution and dissent
The USSR was taking an active role in Africa. There were Marxist groups in Angola (MPLA) and Mozambique (Frelimo) which seemed to confirm Soviet commitment to Marxist Revolution.
As this happened, the solidarity movement rose in Poland to create labor and political unions. -
Afghanistan
The War in Afghanistan began on 27 April 1978, when the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) took power in a military coup.Most of Afghanistan experienced uprisings against the PDPA.The Marxist PDPA was put in power under the governance of Nur Muhhammad Taraki (President of DRA). Rebel forces called Mujahideen (that were the largest group consisted of pro-religious force and was a loosely-organized coalition of people who opposed the restrictiven, socialist nature of the regime. -
Entr'acte: Andropov and Chernenko
Chernenko held several administrative posts before becoming head of agitation and propaganda in Moldavia , where he was first noticed by Leonid Brezhnev and brought to Moscow to head a similar department for the party’s Committee.Brezhnev took over the party in 1964, he made Chernenko his chief of staff. After Andropov's death in 1984, Chernenko, his greatest rival, was elected General Secretary. Chernenko represented a return to the policies of the late Brezhnev Era. -
Entr'acte: Andropov and Chernenko
Andropov was elected to the Politburo, and, as Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev’s health declined. Andropov was chosen by the Communist Party Central Committee to succeed Brezhnev as general secretary.He consolidated his power by becoming chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on June 16, 1983. Andropov tried to remove Brezhnev’s followers and replace them with a new group of nomenklatura loyal to Andropov and more likely to promote changes needed in the stagnant Soviet System. -
Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was the first president of the Soviet Union, serving from 1990 to 1991. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his leadership role in ending the Cold War and promoting peaceful international relations. He revoked the Communist Party’s special status as set forth in the USSR’s constitution. State power was handed over to the Congress of People’s Duties of the USSR, the Soviet Union’s first parliament, based on democratic elections. -
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during the 1980s until 1991 widely associated with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his glasnost policy reform. The literal meaning of perestroika is "restructuring", referring to the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system. -
Chernobyl Disaster
The Chernobyl disaster, also referred to as the Chernobyl accident, was a catastrophic nuclear accident. It occurred on 26 April 1986 in the No.4 light water graphite moderated reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, in what was then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). -
Demokratizatsiya
Demokratizatsiya was a slogan introduced by General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in January 1987 calling for the infusion of "democratic" elements into the Soviet Union's single-party government. Gorbachev's Demokratizatsiya meant the introduction of multi-candidate elections for local Communist Party (CPSU) and Soviets. In this way, he hoped to rejuvenate the party with progressive personnel who would carry out his institutional and policy reforms. -
Foreign Polices
USSR engaged in a policy of non-intervention in the Warsaw Pact countries, made the decision to whitdraw from Afghanistan, improved their relationship with the USA, and agreed to reduce their stockpile of nuclear arms.
