Education of the USSR (briefly). Education of the USSR Stages of formation of the USSR

In 1913, the future head of the first socialist state, V.I. Lenin, being a unitarian like Marx and Engels, wrote that a centralized large state "is a huge historical step forward from medieval fragmentation to the future socialist unity of all countries." In the period from February to October 1917, the centuries-old state unity of Russia collapsed - a number of bourgeois-nationalist governments arose on its territory (the Central Rada in Ukraine, Cossack circles on the Don, Terek and Orenburg, Kurultai in the Crimea, national Soviets in the Transcaucasus and the Baltic states, etc. .), seeking to isolate themselves from the traditional center. The threat of a sharp reduction in the territory of the socialist proletarian state, the loss of hopes for an early world revolution forced the leader of the party that came to power in Russia to reconsider his point of view on its state structure - he became a fierce supporter of federalism, however, at the stage of transition "to complete unity". The slogan of "one and indivisible Russia", professed by the leaders of the white movement, was opposed by the principle of the right of all nations to self-determination, which attracted the leaders of national movements ...

However, the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918 was a step backwards from a true federation, since it only declared the form of the state structure of Russia (it did not even provide for the representation of future members of the federation in the authorities of the center), in fact, it proclaimed a unitary state created from above on the initiative of the ruling party by joining those conquered in during the Civil War of the Territories. The division of powers between federal and local bodies in the Russian Federation was based on the principles of the exclusive competence of the first and the residual - the second ...

The first intra-Russian national borders appeared in late 1918 - early 1919 with the formation of the Labor Commune of the Volga German Region and the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, by the end of 1922 there were already 19 autonomous republics and regions in the RSFSR, as well as 2 labor communes created on a national basis. National-state formations coexisted with administrative-territorial units, both of which had a very weakly expressed independence.

The Russian Federation, according to the plan of its founders, was to become a model of a larger socialist state, allowing the restoration of the Russian Empire, the collapse of which during the revolution and the “triumphal procession” of the Soviet power could not be avoided. Until the middle of 1918, only two republics existed as independent states - the RSFSR and Ukraine, then the Byelorussian Republic, three republics in the Baltic states, three in Transcaucasia ...

From the first days of their existence, the RSFSR, itself in need of the most necessary, provided them with assistance in various spheres of public life. The armies of the independent republics were supplied by the People's Commissariat (People's Commissariat) for military affairs of the RSFSR. A decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of June 1, 1919 "On the unification of the socialist republics of Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus for the struggle against world imperialism" formalized a military alliance. The armies of all the republics were united into a single army of the RSFSR, the military command, management of railways, communications, and finances were united. The monetary system of all the republics was based on the Russian ruble, the RSFSR took over their expenses for the maintenance of the state apparatus, armies, and for the establishment of the economy. The republics received from her industrial and agricultural products, food and other assistance. The union, along with other factors, helped all the republics to get out of the war ...

Over time, the state apparatus of all the republics began to be built in the likeness of the RSFSR, their plenipotentiary representations appeared in Moscow, which had the right to enter on behalf of their governments with representations and petitions to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), people's commissariats of the RSFSR, to inform the authorities of their republic about the most important events of the RSFSR, and the authorities of the latter on the state of the economy and the needs of their republic. On the territory of the republics, there was an apparatus of authorized representatives of some people's commissariats of the RSFSR, customs barriers were gradually overcome, and border posts were removed.

After the blockade of the Entente was lifted, the RSFSR concluded trade agreements with England, Italy, Norway, and Ukraine with Austria, Czechoslovakia and other states. In March 1921, a joint delegation of the RSFSR and Ukraine concluded an agreement with Poland. In January 1922, on behalf of the organizers of the Genoa Conference, the Italian government invited only the RSFSR from all the republics to participate in it. In February 1922, at the initiative of the Russian Federation, nine republics signed a protocol authorizing it to represent and protect their joint interests, to conclude and sign treaties with foreign states on their behalf. Thus, the military, bilateral military-economic treaties were supplemented by a diplomatic agreement. The next step was the formation of a political union.

FOUR REPUBLICS INSTEAD OF ONE EMPIRE

By 1922, 6 republics had formed on the territory of the former Russian Empire: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR and the Georgian SSR. Between them from the very beginning there was a close cooperation, due to the common historical fate. During the years of the civil war, a military and economic alliance was formed, and at the time of the Genoa Conference in 1922, a diplomatic one. The unification was also facilitated by the common goal set by the governments of the republics - the construction of socialism on the territory located "in the capitalist environment."

In March 1922, the Azerbaijan, Armenian and Georgian SSRs merged into the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. In December 1922, the First Transcaucasian Congress of Soviets addressed the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee with a proposal to convene a united Congress of Soviets and discuss the issue of creating a union of Soviet republics. The same decisions were taken by the All-Ukrainian and All-Belarusian Congresses of Soviets.

IT WAS NOT STALIN-STYLE

There was no consensus on the principles of creating a union state. Among a number of proposals, two stood out: the inclusion of other Soviet republics in the RSFSR on the basis of autonomy (proposal) and the creation of a federation of republics with equal rights. Project I.V. Stalin "On the Relations of the RSFSR with the Independent Republics" was approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Parties of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia recognized it as premature, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus spoke in favor of maintaining the existing contractual relations between the BSSR and the RSFSR. The Ukrainian Bolsheviks refrained from discussing the Stalinist project. Nevertheless, the autonomization plan was approved at a meeting of the commission of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on September 23-24, 1922.

IN AND. Lenin, who did not participate in the discussion of the project, after reading the materials presented to him, rejected the idea of ​​autonomization and spoke in favor of forming a union of republics. He considered the Soviet Socialist Federation the most acceptable form of government for a multinational country.

NATIONAL LIBERALISM OF ILYICH

On October 5 - 6, 1922, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) adopted the plan of V.I. Lenin, however, this did not lead to an end to the struggle in the party on issues of national policy. Although the "autonomization" project was rejected, it still enjoyed some support from a number of senior officials both at the center and in the localities. I.V. Stalin and L.B. Kamenev was urged to show firmness against Ilyich's "national liberalism" and, in fact, to abandon the previous version.

At the same time, separatist tendencies in the republics are intensifying, which manifested itself in the so-called "Georgian incident", when the party leaders of Georgia demanded that it be included in the future state as an independent republic, and not as part of the Transcaucasian Federation. In response to this, the head of the Transcaucasian Regional Committee G.K. Ordzhonikidze was furious and called them "chauvinistic rot", and when one of the members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia called him "Stalin's donkey", He also beat the latter hard. In protest against Moscow's pressure, the entire Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia resigned.

Commission chaired by F.E. Dzerzhinsky, created in Moscow to investigate this "incident", justified the actions of G.K. Ordzhonikidze and condemned the Georgian Central Committee. This decision aroused the indignation of V.I. Lenin. It should be recalled here that in October 1922, after an illness, although he began to work, he still could not fully control the situation due to health reasons. On the day of the formation of the USSR, being bedridden, he dictates his letter "On the question of nationalities or autonomization", which begins with the words: "I seem to be very guilty before the workers of Russia for not intervening energetically and sharply enough into the notorious question of autonomization, officially called, it seems, the question of the union of Soviet socialist republics.

UNION AGREEMENT (ONE UNION INSTEAD OF FOUR REPUBLIC)

AGREEMENT ON THE FORMATION OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

The Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR), the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (Ukrainian SSR), the Byelorussian Socialist Soviet Republic (BSSR) and the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (ZSSR - Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia) conclude this Union Treaty on unification into one union state - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics...

1. The jurisdiction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, represented by its supreme bodies, shall be:

a) representation of the Union in international relations;

b) changing the external borders of the Union;

c) conclusion of agreements on the admission of new republics to the Union;

d) declaration of war and conclusion of peace;

e) conclusion of external state loans;

f) ratification of international treaties;

g) establishment of foreign and domestic trade systems;

h) establishing the foundations and general plan for the entire national economy of the Union, as well as concluding concession agreements;

i) regulation of transport and postal and telegraph business;

j) establishing the foundations for organizing the armed forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics;

k) approval of the unified state budget of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the establishment of a monetary, monetary and credit system, as well as a system of all-union, republican and local taxes;

l) establishment of general principles of land management and land use, as well as the use of subsoil, forests and waters throughout the territory of the Union;

m) common union legislation on resettlement;

o) establishing the foundations of the judiciary and legal proceedings, as well as civil and criminal union legislation;

o) establishment of basic labor laws;

p) establishing the general principles of public education;

c) the establishment of general measures in the field of public health protection;

r) establishment of a system of measures and weights;

s) organization of all-Union statistics;

t) the basic legislation in the field of Union citizenship in relation to the rights of foreigners;

u) the right to a general amnesty;

v) repeal of resolutions of congresses of Soviets, Central Executive Committees and Soviets of People's Commissars of the Union Republics that violate the Union Treaty.

2. The supreme authority of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is the Congress of Soviets of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and in the periods between congresses - the Central Executive Committee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

3. The Congress of Soviets The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is composed of representatives of city Soviets at the rate of 1 deputy per 25,000 voters and representatives of provincial congresses of Soviets at the rate of 1 deputy per 125,000 inhabitants.

4. Delegates to the Congress of Soviets of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are elected at the provincial congresses of Soviets.

…eleven. The executive body of the Central Executive Committee of the Union is the Council of People's Commissars of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Council of People's Commissars of the Union), elected by the Central Executive Committee of the Union for the term of the latter, consisting of:

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Union,

Vice Presidents,

People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs,

People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs,

People's Commissar for Foreign Trade,

People's Commissar of Communications,

People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs,

People's Commissar of the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate.

Chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Economy,

People's Commissar of Labour,

People's Commissar of Food,

People's Commissar of Finance.

…13. Decrees and resolutions of the Council of People's Commissars of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are obligatory for all union republics and are carried out directly throughout the entire territory of the Union.

…22. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has its own flag, coat of arms and state seal.

23. The capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is the city of Moscow.

…26. Each of the Union Republics retains the right to freely secede from the Union.

Congresses of Soviets in documents. 1917-1936. vol. III. M., 1960

1917, night of 26 to 27 October. Elected by the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets as head of the Soviet government - Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars.

1918, beginning of July. The 5th All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopts the Constitution of the RSFSR, which clarifies the status of the post of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, which is occupied by V.I. Lenin. November 30th. At the plenary meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense is approved, the Council is given full rights in the matter of mobilizing the forces and means of the country for its defense. V.I. Lenin is approved as the Chairman of the Council.

1920, April. The Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense is transformed into the Council of Labor and Defense (STO) of the RSFSR under the chairmanship of V.I. Lenin.

1923, 6 July. The session of the Central Executive Committee elects V.I. Lenin as chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. July 7th The session of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR elects V.I. Lenin as chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. July 17th. The Council of Labor and Defense under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR is being created under the chairmanship of V.I. Lenin.

“The decay of imperial Russia began long ago. By the time of the revolution, the old regime had completely decayed, exhausted and exhausted. The war ended the process of decomposition. One cannot even say that the February Revolution overthrew the monarchy in Russia, the monarchy itself fell, no one defended it ... Bolshevism, long prepared by Lenin, turned out to be the only force that, on the one hand, could complete the decomposition of the old and, on the other hand, organize the new ” (Nikolai Berdyaev).

After the February Revolution

After the February Revolution of 1917, the new revolutionary Provisional Government was unable to restore order in the country, which led to increased political chaos, as a result of which the Bolshevik Party under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin seized power in Russia, in alliance with the Left SRs and anarchists (October Revolution 1917). The Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies were proclaimed the supreme organ of power. Executive power was exercised by people's commissars. The reforms of the Soviet government consisted mainly in the cessation of the war (Decree on Peace), the elimination of private property and the socialization of property belonging to capitalists and landowners (Decree on Land).

The dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and the split in the revolutionary movement led to the Civil War, in which the opponents of the Bolsheviks ("Whites") fought against their supporters ("Reds") for - years. Not having received support from the masses, the white movement lost the war. The monopoly political power of the RCP (b) was established in the country, which gradually merged with the centralized state apparatus.

USSR in 1922-1953

Formation of the USSR

Party Power Struggle

All state authorities in the USSR were controlled by the Communist Party (until 1925 it was called the RCP (b), in 1925-1952 - the VKP (b), since 1952 - the CPSU). The highest body of the party was the Central Committee (CC). The permanent bodies of the Central Committee were the Politburo (since 1952 - the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU), the Orgburo (existed until 1952) and the Secretariat. The most important of these was the Politburo. His decisions were perceived as obligatory for execution by all, both party and state bodies.

In this regard, the question of power in the country was reduced to the question of control over the Politburo. All members of the Politburo were formally equal, but until 1924 the most authoritative of them was V. I. Lenin, who chaired Politburo meetings. However, from 1922 until his death in 1924, Lenin was seriously ill and, as a rule, could not take part in the work of the Politburo.

Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev organized a "troika" based on opposition to Trotsky, whom they had viewed negatively since the civil war (friction between Trotsky and Stalin began over the defense of Tsaritsyn and between Trotsky and Zinoviev over the defense of Petrograd, Kamenev supported virtually everything Zinoviev). Tomsky, being the leader of trade unions, had a negative attitude towards Trotsky since the time of the so-called. "discussions about trade unions".

Trotsky began to resist. In October 1923, he sent a letter to the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission (Central Control Commission) demanding the strengthening of democracy in the party. At the same time, his supporters sent the so-called Politburo to the Politburo. "Statement of the 46". The Troika then showed its power, mainly using the resources of the Central Committee apparatus led by Stalin (the apparatus of the Central Committee could influence the selection of candidates for delegates to party congresses and conferences). At the XIII Conference of the RCP(b), Trotsky's supporters were condemned. Stalin's influence greatly increased.

In the same report, Stalin accused Zinoviev, without naming him, of the principle of "party dictatorship", put forward at the XII Congress, and this thesis was recorded in the resolution of the congress and Stalin himself voted for it. The main allies of Stalin in the "seven" were Bukharin and Rykov.

A new split appeared in the Politburo in October, when Zinoviev, Kamenev, G. Ya. Sokolnikov and Krupskaya presented a document that criticized the party line from a "left" point of view. (Zinoviev led the Leningrad communists, Kamenev the Moscow ones, and among the working class of large cities, who lived worse than before the First World War, there was strong dissatisfaction with low wages and rising prices for agricultural products, which led to the demand for pressure on the peasantry and especially on the kulaks ). "Seven" broke up. At that moment, Stalin began to unite with the "right" Bukharin-Rykov-Tomsky, who expressed the interests of the peasantry above all. In the inner-party struggle that had begun between the "rights" and "lefts", he provided them with the forces of the party apparatus, they (namely Bukharin) acted as theoreticians. The "new opposition" of Zinoviev and Kamenev was condemned at the XIV Congress

By that time, the theory of the victory of socialism in one country had arisen. This view was developed by Stalin in the pamphlet "On Questions of Leninism" () and Bukharin. They divided the question of the victory of socialism into two parts - the question of the complete victory of socialism, that is, the possibility of building socialism and the complete impossibility of restoring capitalism by internal forces, and the question of final victory, that is, the impossibility of restoration due to the intervention of the Western powers, which would be ruled out only by establishing a revolution in the West.

Trotsky, who did not believe in socialism in one country, joined Zinoviev and Kamenev. The so-called. "United Opposition". It was finally crushed after a demonstration organized by Trotsky's supporters on November 7 in Leningrad.

From 1925 to 1929 control of the Politburo was gradually concentrated in his hands by I. V. Stalin, who from 1922 to 1934 was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party. Since 1929, all members of the Politburo fully supported I. V. Stalin, so we can talk about the onset of Stalin's dictatorship during this period.

New economic policy

Despite rapid urbanization beginning in 1928, by the end of Stalin's life, the majority of the population still lived in rural areas, remote from large industrial centers. On the other hand, one of the results of industrialization was the formation of a party and labor elite. Given these circumstances, the change in living standards during 1928-1952. characterized by the following features (see below for details):

• The average standard of living in the country underwent significant fluctuations (especially associated with the first five-year plan and the war), but in 1938 and 1952 it was higher or almost the same as in 1928.
• The greatest increase in the standard of living was among the party and labor elite.
• The standard of living of the vast majority of rural residents (and thus the majority of the country's population), according to various estimates, has not improved or has deteriorated significantly.

Stalinist methods of industrialization, collectivization in the countryside, the elimination of the private trading system led to a significant reduction in the consumption fund and, as a result, the standard of living throughout the country. The rapid growth of the urban population led to a deterioration in the housing situation; the strip of "seals" passed again, the workers who arrived from the village were settled in barracks. By the end of 1929, the card system was extended to almost all food products, and then to industrial products. However, even with cards it was impossible to get the necessary rations, and in 1931 additional "orders" were introduced. It was impossible to buy groceries without standing in huge queues.

According to the data of the Smolensk Party Archive, in 1929 in Smolensk a worker received 600 g of bread a day, family members - 300 each, fat - from 200 g to a liter of vegetable oil per month, 1 kilogram of sugar per month; a worker received 30-36 meters of chintz per year. In the future, the situation (until 1935) only worsened. The GPU noted acute discontent among the workers.

Collectivization

After the disruption of grain procurements in 1927, when extraordinary measures had to be taken (fixed prices, market closures, and even repressions), and the even more disastrous grain procurement campaign of 1928-1929. The issue had to be resolved urgently. Extraordinary measures during procurement in 1929, already perceived as something completely abnormal, caused about 1,300 riots. In 1928 bread cards were introduced in all cities (in 1928 - in some cities).

The way to create farming through the stratification of the peasantry was incompatible with the Soviet project for ideological reasons. A course was taken for collectivization. This also presupposed the liquidation of the kulaks "as a class".

Cards for bread, cereals and pasta were abolished from January 1, 1935, and for other (including non-food) goods from January 1, 1936. This was accompanied by an increase in wages in the industrial sector and an even greater increase in state ration prices for all types of goods. Commenting on the cancellation of the cards, Stalin uttered the catchphrase that later became: “Life has become better, life has become more fun.”

Overall, per capita consumption rose by 22% between 1928 and 1938. However, this growth was greatest among the group of the party and labor elite and did not affect the vast majority of the rural population, or more than half of the country's population, at all.

Terror and repression

In the 1920s, political repressions continued against the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, who did not renounce their beliefs. Also, former nobles were subjected to repression on real and false charges.

After the start of forced collectivization of agriculture and accelerated industrialization in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the establishment, according to some historians, of Stalin's dictatorship and the completion of the creation of an authoritarian regime in the USSR during this period, political repressions became massive.

The repressions that continued until Stalin's death reached a particular bitterness during the period of the Great Terror of 1937-1938, also called the Yezhovshchina. During this period, hundreds of thousands of people were shot and sent to Gulag camps on false charges of political crimes.

Foreign policy of the USSR in the 1930s

After Hitler came to power, Stalin drastically changed the traditional Soviet policy: if earlier it was aimed at an alliance with Germany against the Versailles system, and along the lines of the Comintern - at fighting the Social Democrats as the main enemy (the theory of "social fascism" is Stalin's personal attitude). ), now it consisted in creating a system of "collective security" as part of the USSR and the former countries of the Entente against Germany and an alliance of communists with all leftist forces against fascism ("popular front" tactics). This position was initially not consistent: in 1935, Stalin, alarmed by the German-Polish rapprochement, secretly offered Hitler a non-aggression pact, but was refused. After that, the policy of "collective security", advocated by Litvinov, turns out to be uncontested. However, at the same time, Stalin demanded that diplomats not give any specific obligations to partners. However, France and England were afraid of the USSR and hoped to "appease" Hitler, which was manifested in the history of the "Munich agreement" and later in the failure of negotiations between the USSR and England, France on military cooperation against Germany. Immediately after Munich, in the autumn of the year, Stalin makes allusions to Germany about the desirability of improving mutual relations in the trade area. On October 1, 1938, Poland, in an ultimatum form, demanded that the Czech Republic transfer to it the Teszyn region, the subject of territorial disputes between it and Czechoslovakia in - years. And in March of the year, Germany occupied the part that remained from Czechoslovakia. On March 10, Stalin makes a report at the 18th Party Congress, in which he formulates the goals of Soviet policy as follows:

“1. Continue to pursue a policy of peace and strengthening business ties with all countries.
2. ... Do not let our country be drawn into conflicts by provocateurs of war, who are accustomed to rake in the heat with the wrong hands.

This was noted by the German embassy as a hint of Moscow's unwillingness to act as allies of England and France. In May, Litvinov, a Jew and an ardent supporter of the "collective security" course, was removed from the post of head of the NKID and replaced by Molotov. In the leadership of Germany, this was also regarded as a favorable sign.

By that time, the international situation was sharply aggravated due to Germany's claims to Poland, England and France this time showed their readiness to go to war with Germany, trying to attract the USSR to the alliance. In the summer, Mr. Stalin, while maintaining negotiations on an alliance with Britain and France, began in parallel negotiations with Germany. As historians note, Stalin's allusions towards Germany intensified as relations between Germany and Poland deteriorated and strengthened between Britain, Poland and Japan. From this it is concluded that Stalin's policy was not so much pro-German as anti-British and anti-Polish; Stalin was categorically not satisfied with the old status quo, but he, in his own words, did not believe in the possibility of a complete victory for Germany and the establishment of its hegemony in Europe.

Expansion of the USSR in 1939-1940

Division of spheres of interest in Eastern Europe under the Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Left - assumed, right - actual. Territories ceded and ceded to the USSR are shown in orange-brown, ceded to the Reich in blue, occupied by Germany (Warsaw General Government and Bohemia and Moravia protectorate)

On the night of September 17, 1939, the USSR began the Polish campaign in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus (including the Bialystok region), which were part of Poland, as well as the Vilna region, which, according to the secret additional protocol to the Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, were assigned to sphere of interests of the USSR. On September 28, 1939, the USSR concluded a Treaty of Friendship and Borders with Germany, which fixed, approximately along the "Curzon Line", "the border between mutual state interests on the territory of the former Polish state". In October 1939, Western Ukraine became part of the Ukrainian SSR, Western Belarus became part of the BSSR, the Vilna Territory was transferred to Lithuania.

In late September - early October 1939, agreements were concluded with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which, according to the secret additional protocol to the Non-Aggression Treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union, were assigned to the sphere of interests of the USSR, agreements were concluded, according to which Soviet military bases.

On October 5, 1939, the USSR also offered Finland, which, according to the secret additional protocol to the Non-Aggression Treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union, was assigned to the sphere of interests of the USSR, to consider the possibility of concluding a mutual assistance pact with the USSR. Negotiations began on October 11, but Finland rejected the proposals of the USSR both for the pact and for the lease and exchange of territories. On November 30, 1939 the USSR started the war with Finland. This war ended on March 12, 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty, which fixed a number of territorial concessions from Finland. However, the originally intended goal - the complete defeat of Finland - was not achieved, and the losses of the Soviet troops were too great in comparison with the plans, which assumed an easy and quick victory with small forces. The prestige of the Red Army as a strong enemy was undermined. This made a strong impression on Germany in particular and pushed Hitler to the idea of ​​attacking the USSR.

In most states, as well as in the USSR before the war, they underestimated the Finnish army, and most importantly, the power of the fortifications of the Mannerheim Line, and believed that it could not offer serious resistance. Therefore, the "long fuss" with Finland was taken as an indicator of the weakness and unpreparedness of the Red Army for war.

After the start of German aggression against the USSR in the summer of 1941, the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants of the Baltic states with the Soviet regime became the reason for their armed attacks on Soviet troops, which contributed to the advance of the Germans to Leningrad.

post-war period

After the war and the famine of 1946, in 1947 the card system was abolished, although many goods remained in short supply, in particular, in 1947 there was again a famine. In addition, on the eve of the abolition of cards, prices for rations were raised. This allowed in 1948-1953. repeatedly and defiantly reduce prices. Price cuts somewhat improved the standard of living of the Soviet people. In 1952, the cost of bread was 39% of the price of the end of 1947, milk - 72%, meat - 42%, sugar - 49%, butter - 37%. As noted at the 19th Congress of the CPSU, at the same time the price of bread rose by 28% in the USA, by 90% in England, and in France more than doubled; the cost of meat in the US increased by 26%, in England - by 35%, in France - by 88%. If in 1948 real wages were on average 20% lower than the pre-war level, then in 1952 they already exceeded the pre-war level by 25% and almost reached the level of 1928. However, among the peasantry, even in 1952, real incomes remained at 40% below 1928 level

USSR in 1953-1992

Khrushchev thaw

The starting point of the thaw was the death of Stalin c. At the XX Congress of the CPSU in Nikita Khrushchev made a speech in which Stalin's personality cult and Stalinist repressions were criticized, and the course of "peaceful coexistence" with the capitalist world was proclaimed in the foreign policy of the USSR. Khrushchev also began rapprochement with Yugoslavia. In general, Khrushchev's course was supported at the top of the party and corresponded to its interests, since earlier even the most prominent party functionaries, if they fell into disgrace, were forced to fear for their lives. Another motive was the huge administrative and military costs required by the totalitarian control of the Stalinist type over the countries of the socialist camp.

The era of stagnation

• According to World Bank estimates, the share of spending on education in the gross domestic product in the USSR in 1970 was 7%.

perestroika

The collapse of the USSR

Attempts to reform the Soviet system led to a deepening crisis in the country. In the political arena, this crisis was expressed as a confrontation between the President of the USSR Gorbachev and the President of the RSFSR Yeltsin. Yeltsin actively promoted the slogan about the need for the sovereignty of the RSFSR.

The collapse of the USSR took place against the backdrop of the beginning of a general economic, foreign policy and demographic crisis. In 1989, for the first time, the beginning of the economic crisis in the USSR was officially announced (growth of the economy is replaced by a fall).

A number of interethnic conflicts flare up on the territory of the USSR, the most acute of which is the Karabakh conflict, since 1988 there have been mass pogroms of both Armenians and Azerbaijanis. In 1989, the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR announces the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijan SSR begins a blockade. In April 1991, a war actually begins between the two Soviet republics.

Notes

1. Stalin I.V. The Trotskyist opposition before and now: Speech at a meeting of the joint plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on October 23, 1927. Works. - T. 10. - M.: OGIZ; State publishing house of political literature, 1949. S. 172-205.
2. Stalin I.V. Collected Op. T.6. p.257
3. Nove A. About the fate of the NEP // Questions of History. 1989. No. 8. - S. 172.
4. Lelchuk V. Industrialization.
5. Allen R. C. The standard of living in the Soviet Union, 1928-1940 // Univ. of British Columbia, Dept. of Economics. Discussion Paper No. 97-18. August, 1997.
6. Chapman J. G. Real Wages in the Soviet Union, 1928-1952 // Review of Economics and Statistics. 1954 Vol. 36, no. 2. P. 134. DOI: 10.2307/1924665 (English)
7. Jasny N. Soviet industrialization, 1928-1952. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961.
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After the end of the civil war, a number of formally independent states existed on the territory of the former Russian Empire: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Georgian SSR (in March 1922, the last three republics formed the Transcaucasian Federation). By the beginning of the 1920s, the integration processes going on between them became more and more obvious - the formation of the USSR began.

Reasons for the formation of the USSR:

1. After the end of the intervention and the civil war, the young Soviet republics found themselves in a hostile environment. The prospect of new armed conflicts required the rallying of forces.

2. Revolutionary upheavals led to the deepest economic crisis throughout the territory of the former Russian Empire. Since the economies of the Soviet republics complemented each other, their political unification could also help solve economic problems.

3. The Union of Soviet Republics was supposed to become the prototype and core of the future global state, which was to emerge after the world revolution.

Prerequisites for the formation of the USSR:

· The presence of a stable historical tradition of cohabitation of the peoples of most of the republics - fragments of the Russian Empire.

· Power in the formally independent states belonged to the national communist parties that were part of a single RCP (b).

· Unity of the official language.

· Shared rail network, etc.

In the Bolshevik Party, there were different points of view on the question of the principles of building a single multinational state. I.V. Stalin prepared a project for the entry of the Soviet republics into the RSFSR on the rights of autonomous associations (" autonomy plan"). But V.I. Lenin sharply criticized this plan, since such a Soviet Union would be too reminiscent of the former empire and would be unattractive for new states to join it. He believed that all Soviet republics should unite into a single state union on the basis of equality and the preservation of their sovereign rights (" federation plan"). At the same time, each republic must retain the right to freely secede from the state union - the right of nations to self-determination. The Central Committee of the RCP (b) approved the Leninist principles of the national state system.

The “autonomization plan” was partially implemented only in relation to the republics of Transcaucasia, which became part of the USSR as a single federation (ZSFSR). This state of affairs caused a sharp protest of the Georgian Central Committee, and then a sharp clash with the central government in the person of S. Ordzhonikidze (“ Georgian case"). The conflict was settled after F.E. intervened in the events. Dzerzhinsky.

The act of establishing a new state - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics became an agreement concluded on December 27, 1922 between four republics: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and the Transcaucasian Federation. December 30, 1922 d. The First Congress of Soviets of the USSR approved the Treaty and the Declaration on the Formation of a Union State. The republics transferred a significant part of their powers to central bodies: international representation, defense, revision of borders, state security, foreign trade, transport, budget, communications, money circulation. The internal affairs, agriculture, education, justice, social security and health care remained in the jurisdiction of the union republics. In fact, the USSR was not a federal, but a unitary state.

declared the supreme authority All-Union Congress of Soviets, and in the period between congresses - Central Executive Committee(CEC) Soviets. It consisted of two legislative chambers: the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities - and had its own governing body - the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee. The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR became the highest executive and administrative body. These provisions were enshrined in the adopted on January 31 1924 of the first Constitution of the USSR.

In the first years of its existence, the USSR was in constant development. In 1925, on the territory of the Turkestan ASSR, which was part of the RSFSR, new union republics were formed: the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR. In 1929, Tajikistan, previously part of the Uzbek SSR, received the status of a union republic.

Significance of the formation of the USSR:

1. There was a significant strengthening of the defense capability of the Soviet republics.

2. Their economic position has strengthened, the development of industry has accelerated.

3. The creation of the USSR created the conditions for further centralization of power in the country. Totalitarian tendencies intensified.

Intra-party struggle in the USSR in the 1920s

Intra-Party Struggle in the 1920s was not only a continuation of the discussion begun at the 10th Party Congress (“ labor opposition» Shlyapnikova and Kollontai). It intertwined the search for ways to build socialism and personal rivalry. The main participants in this struggle were I.V. Stalin and L.D. Trotsky.

Stage I of the internal party struggle (1923-1924). In the autumn of 1923, the first grain procurement crisis broke out in the USSR. Representatives left opposition- N. Osinsky, B. Preobrazhensky, L. Trotsky, B. Pyatakov - saw the causes of economic problems in the absence of a plan, randomness and unsystematic activity of the governing bodies ("statement of 46"). The intra-party discussion was not only around economic problems. The left opposition was opposed by the "triumvirate" of Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin. Relying on the party majority, the "triumvirate" quite easily crushed the left opposition. In 1924, at the Thirteenth Conference of the RCP(b), Trotsky's group was condemned for their petty-bourgeois deviation.
V.I. tried to influence the development of the intra-party discussion. Lenin. Due to a serious illness, from April 1922 he was replaced as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) by I.V. Stalin. The new General Secretary isolated Lenin, who was still able to work, from participating in party affairs. During his illness, from December 1922 to March 1923, Lenin dictated a series of letters and articles that are known as “ political testament". In them, he insisted on preserving the elements of the market in the conditions of building socialism. Perhaps the main theme of the "Will" was the development of rural cooperatives. On January 21, 1924, V. I. Lenin died in Gorki near Moscow from a cerebral hemorrhage.
In an effort to warn party members against making a mistake in choosing a leader, Lenin in " Letter to the congress”(late 1922 - early 1923), gave a personal description of its leaders. The "Letter to the Congress" was read at the XIII Party Congress (May 1924), but it did not produce the expected effect.

Stage II (1925-1926). On the eve of the beginning of stage II, in January 1925, Trotsky was removed from the highest state posts of chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council and the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs, but remained in the Politburo.
A new stage in the struggle began with a power struggle between the supporters of Stalin and Bukharin, on the one hand, and " new opposition"(Kamenev, Zinoviev), on the other.
At the second stage of the intra-party discussion, measures were discussed to overcome the next economic crisis, as well as the question of the need for an immediate world revolution.
The opposition lost, and its leader, G. Zinoviev, was removed from the Politburo.

Stage III (1926-1927). The country's leadership believed that it was possible to overcome economic backwardness and strengthen the state's defense capability only through industrialization. Its essence, as understood by the leadership of the party and the state of those years, was formulated at the XIV Congress of the CPSU (b) (“congress of industrialization”): to turn the USSR from a country importing machinery and equipment into a country producing them.
Some party leaders saw the reason for the economic difficulties of 1925 in the weakening of administrative measures to regulate the economy. The question of curtailing the NEP and transferring the entire national economy to "socialist rails" was raised directly. To this end, the left opposition proposed to curtail the NEP and speed up industrialization.
Bukharin, Rykov, Stalin and others criticized the opposition, accusing Trotsky, Preobrazhensky, Zinoviev and Kamenev and their supporters of wanting to industrialize at the expense of the countryside.
On November 7, 1927, the opposition with which the widow V.I. Lenina N.K. Krupskaya, spoke in the press criticizing Stalin's totalitarian inclinations and tried to organize protest demonstrations. However, control over the situation was already completely in the hands of Stalin. The opposition was doomed to defeat.

Stage IV of the internal party struggle (1928 - 1929). Stalin saw the way out of the crisis of the NEP in its curtailment and production cooperation of the countryside - collectivization, Bukharin (“ right opposition”) - in the normalization of the economy, raising taxes on the prosperous part of the village, flexibility in procurement prices for bread, and increasing the output of manufactured goods. Bukharin's moderately liberal position won the support of leading economists. However, deprived of the support of party members, he could not resist Stalin. In addition, the threat of a major war in Europe was becoming more and more obvious, and the USSR needed a strong military-industrial complex.
In November 1929, Bukharin, as the "leader of the Right deviators," was removed from the Politburo. Rykov and Tomsky have been warned.

The reasons for the victory of the Stalinist bloc in the inner-party struggle were the skillful manipulation of public opinion and the establishment of control over the party apparatus.

The formation of a single state on the territory of the former Russian Empire, which collapsed after October 1917, was largely determined by objective reasons:

1) this is the historical division of labor between the economic regions of the previously unified Russian state;

2) the need to combine the meager at the time economy. the resources of the republics to restore the economy destroyed in the Civil War;

3) the new independent state formations that arose after the October Revolution had no real prospects for establishing themselves in the international arena and defending their state independence.

Subjective reason: the desire of the RCP(b) to carry out the world socialist revolution and create in the future the world Soviet socialist revolution.

Relations between the independent Soviet republics went through a number of stages. First - years of the Civil War and foreign intervention. At this stage, the relationship between the republics took the form of a military field. union. Second - 1920-mid 1922 Military floor. the union is complemented by economic and diplomatic ones. Relations between the republics were built on a contractual basis. Third - the second half of 1922 to December 30, 1922, when there was a direct unification of the republics into one state.

When deciding on the form of the state device under the floor. the unification of the Soviet republics, several alternative projects were put forward:

1) a confederation project - proposed to unite the Soviet republics on a confederal basis, while maintaining contractual ties;

2) the autonomization project (Stalin), according to which Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan were to become part of the RSFSR as autonomous republics;

3) the project of formation of the USSR (Lenin).

The October (1922) Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) approved Lenin's proposals. The decision to form the USSR was made by the First All-Union Congress of Soviets on December 30, 1922. The USSR included 4 union republics: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and the ZSFSR.

Reasons for the formation of the USSR

2. Formation of the USSR

3. The Constitution of the USSR in 1924

4. Constitution of the RSFSR 1925

1. Education the USSR was determined the following reasons:

- it was necessary to combine the economic resources of the republics for the successful restoration of the national economy destroyed by wars and the implementation of the New Economic Policy;

The unification of the republics would ensure their independence and would make it possible to more successfully solve foreign policy tasks, both defense and diplomatic.

political background The formation of the USSR was the presence in the republics of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Economic background was public property

means of production.

2. On December 29, 1922, a conference of plenipotentiary representatives of the delegations of the independent republics of the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR, the TSFSR (the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic that united the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Georgian SSR) was held, which approved the draft Declaration and Treaty on the formation of the USSR.

On December 30, 1922, the First Congress of Soviets of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics opened, which legally formalized formation of the USSR. The Declaration on the Formation of the USSR and the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR were approved. A report on the Declaration and the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR was made by JV Stalin at the congress. The congress held elections for the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.

The first chairmen of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR the chairmen of the Central Executive Committee of the Union republics were elected: M. I. Kalinin, G. I. Petrovsky, A. G. Chervyakov, N. r. Narimanov. The executive body was the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.

The first government of the USSR The Central Executive Committee of the USSR was formed in July 1923. The government was headed by V. I. Lenin.

The first subjects of the USSR were four union republics: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and the ZSFSR. In the future, the USSR was replenished with new subjects.

At the first stage of the development of the USSR, a national-state delimitation took place in Central Asia, on the territory of the Turkestan ASSR (which was part of the RSFSR) and two independent states - the Khorezm and Bukhara People's Soviet Republics.

At the first All-Uzbek and All-Turkmen Congresses of Soviets, held in February 1925, declarations were adopted on the formation of the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR. At the congresses, decisions were also made on the entry of the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR into the USSR. On May 13, 1925, at the III Congress of Soviets of the USSR, the decisions of the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR were approved, and the latter were accepted into the USSR. They began to apply the treaty on the formation of the USSR.

The process of unification of Tajik lands into a single national Soviet state was completed. In December 1926, the First Congress of Soviets adopted a Declaration on the formation of the Tajik ASSR and its entry into the Uzbek SSR. On October 15, 1929, the III Extraordinary Congress of Soviets of Tajikistan adopted a Declaration in which it proclaimed secession from the Uzbek SSR and the creation of the Tajik SSR. At the VI Congress of Soviets of the USSR, held on March 17, 1931, the Tajik SSR was admitted to the USSR.

On the territory of the RSFSR in 1920, the Kirghiz ASSR was formed, renamed in April 1925 into the Kazakh ASSR. In its composition, in February 1925, the Kara-Kalpak Autonomous Region arose, which in 1930 entered directly into the RSFSR, and in 1932 was transformed into the ASSR. In October 1924, the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast (as part of the RSFSR) was formed, renamed in 1925 into the Kirghiz Autonomous Region and then transformed into the ASSR (1927).

3. Constitution of the USSR 1924 - it is the first union constitution. It was adopted by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR on July 6, 1923 and unanimously approved on January 31, 1924 by the II All-Union Congress of Soviets of the USSR.

The USSR Constitution of 1924 consisted of two sections: Declaration on the formation of the USSR And Treaty on the formation of the USSR. The treaty was subdivided into 11 chapters, and the chapters into 72 articles.

In terms of its content, the Constitution of the USSR of 1924 is very peculiar. It does not contain a description of the social structure, chapters on the rights and obligations of citizens, suffrage, local authorities and administration. All these questions were solved by republican constitutions. The Constitution of the USSR of 1924 focused on the fact of the final legal registration of the formation of the USSR, rights of the USSR and Union republics, the system of higher state bodies of the USSR and Union republics.

The Constitution of the USSR established the following the system of supreme authorities of the Union republics, Congress of Soviets, Central Executive Committee, Presidium of the Central Executive Committee. The Central Executive Committee of the Union republics formed their own executive bodies - the Council of People's Commissars.

The USSR Constitution of 1924 consolidated the principles of voluntary unification of the union republics into a single Union of the SSR and equality of the subjects of the union state. Each union republic retained the right to freely secede from the USSR. The constitution reflects the national character of the federation. The USSR Constitution of 1924 was in effect until 1936. On December 5, 1936, a new Constitution of the USSR was adopted.

4. The emergence of a new Constitution of the RSFSR 1925. was connected with the formation of the USSR and the entry into force of the Union Constitution of 1924.

The draft Constitution was created in the People's Commissariat of Justice, then the commission of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee worked on it. The Constitution of the RSFSR was brought into line with the Constitution of the USSR of 1924. An attempt was made to equalize the electoral rights of urban and rural workers.

The draft Constitution of the RSFSR was discussed at the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and at the All-Russian Congress of Soviets. The Constitution of the RSFSR was approved by the resolution of the XII All-Russian Congress of Soviets on May 11, 1925.

The Constitution of the RSFSR consisted of 6 sections, 8 chapters and 89 articles.

The Constitution of the RSFSR of 1925 fixed the RSFSR as federal state with autonomous entities. The Constitution says: "The RSFSR is a socialist state of workers and peasants, built on the basis of a federation of national Soviet republics." It was also stated that all power belongs to the Soviets of Workers', Peasants', Cossacks and Red Army Deputies.

Resolutions of the supreme bodies of the USSR, within the limits specified in the Constitution of the USSR, and on subjects falling within the competence of the Union, had binding force on the territory of the RSFSR.

The Constitution of the RSFSR fixed the provision that factories, plants, water, rail and air transport and means of communication constitute state property.

The Constitution of the RSFSR of 1925 introduced new bodies - the presidiums of the executive committees of local Soviets - to manage the current work and implement the decisions and decrees of the central government. The presidiums elected executive committees. The number of members of the presidiums was determined by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee or its Presidium. The Constitution of the RSFSR of 1925 was replaced by the new Constitution of the RSFSR adopted in 1937.

Education of the USSR. Treaty and Declaration on the Formation of the USSR as amended in 1922

The formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was preceded by cooperation

in the following areas, developed between friendly republics:

joint solution of military tasks to protect borders from foreign intervention;

development of economic and economic ties;

unified diplomatic and foreign economic policy;

the international nature of Soviet power (preservation of the people's right to self-determination, related

nationalities). These reasons have revealed the need to formalize the existing relationship at the interstate level.

The following projects of the state structure of the USSR:

Autonomization project (I.V. Stalin), according to which the RSFSR as autonomous republics includes

Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. As a result, the Soviet state turned into a unitary one. Project confederations(Ukraine, Belarus) provided for the separation of autonomous republics from the RSFSR and giving them the status of union republics. Project equality(V.I. Lenin), which provided for the creation of a voluntary federation of equal, independent, sovereign republics. At the same time, the most important management functions were transferred to the jurisdiction of the federation - the USSR.

As a result, Lenin's project was taken as the basis.

December 30, 1922 at the First Congress of Soviets V generally accepted Declaration And Treaty on the formation of the USSR. The USSR included the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus and the ZSFSR. The USSR was created federal State, but the union republics retained the right to secede from the USSR. The declaration proclaimed the formation of the USSR, described the historical situation of the creation of the USSR, formulated the main conditions for the unification of the union republics: the principle of voluntariness, the right of each republic to withdraw from composition of the USSR, the possibility of joining the USSR to other Soviet republics.

The treaty defined the system And the procedure for creating the highest bodies of power of the USSR, the competence of the bodies of the USSR

and the competence of the Union republics, regulated budgetary relations. The approval, amendment and addition of the Treaty could only be made by the Congress of Soviets of the USSR as the supreme body of power in the USSR. The agreement did not contain conditions for its cancellation, denunciation, annulment.

The organs of power of the USSR were the Congress of Soviets of the USSR, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. The formation of the USSR was completed by the federation of the republics. All able-bodied members of the peasant economy had to participate in agricultural work on an equal basis with hired workers, whose working conditions were regulated by the Labor Code of the RSFSR. ZK established the following land use forms: communal with equalizing redistributions between yards, precinct (branches and farm plots) and comradely (agricultural commune, artel, partnership for public cultivation of the land). As an exception, the ZK allowed land lease, which was of a labor nature. The lease term was limited to one crop rotation. Renting was allowed in the event of a temporary weakening of the peasant economy due to a natural disaster, lack of labor, crop failure. The LC established the legal status peasant yard, which was an association of members of one or more families living in the same house and leading a joint household. At the head was the father of the family - a householder who led the peasant household. The LC granted the right to replace the householder in case of unsatisfactory management of the yard, which was formalized by a resolution of the volost executive committee with the permission of the village council. According to the Land Code, land disputes were vested with the right to consider land disputes.

Prerequisites for the formation of the USSR

Before the young state, torn apart by the consequences of the civil war, the problem of creating a unified administrative-territorial system became acute. At that time, the share of the RSFSR accounted for 92% of the country's area, the population of which later amounted to 70% of the newly formed USSR. The remaining 8% were divided between the republics of the Soviets: Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian Federation, which united Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia in 1922. Also in the east of the country, the Far Eastern Republic was created, which was controlled from Chita. Central Asia at that time consisted of two people's republics - Khorezm and Bukhara.

In order to strengthen the centralization of management and the concentration of resources on the fronts of the civil war, the RSFSR, Belarus and Ukraine united in an alliance in June 1919. This made it possible to unite the armed forces, with the introduction of a centralized command (the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR and the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army). Representatives were delegated from each republic to the composition of state authorities. The agreement also provided for the reassignment of some republican branches of industry, transport and finance to the corresponding people's commissariats of the RSFSR. This state new formation went down in history under the name "contractual federation". Its peculiarity was that the Russian governing bodies got the opportunity to function as the only representatives of the supreme power of the state. At the same time, the communist parties of the republics became part of the RCP (b) only as regional party organizations.
The emergence and growth of confrontation.
All this soon led to disagreements between the republics and the control center in Moscow. After all, having delegated their main powers, the republics lost the opportunity to make decisions independently. At the same time, the independence of the republics in the sphere of governance was officially declared.
Uncertainty in determining the boundaries of the powers of the center and the republics gave rise to conflicts and confusion. Sometimes state authorities looked ridiculous, trying to bring to a common denominator the people, about whose traditions and culture they knew nothing. So, for example, the need for the existence of a subject for the study of the Koran in the schools of Turkestan gave rise in October 1922 to a sharp confrontation between the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the People's Commissariat for Nationalities.
Creation of a commission on relations between the RSFSR and the independent republics.
The decisions of the central authorities in the sphere of the economy did not find proper understanding among the republican authorities and often led to sabotage. In August 1922, in order to radically reverse the current situation, the Politburo and the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) considered the issue "On the relationship between the RSFSR and the independent republics", creating a commission, which included republican representatives. VV Kuibyshev was appointed chairman of the commission.
The commission instructed I. V. Stalin to develop a project for the "autonomization" of the republics. In the presented decision, it was proposed to include Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia into the RSFSR, with the rights of republican autonomy. The draft was sent by the Republican Party Central Committee for consideration. However, this was done only in order to obtain a formal approval of the decision. Given the significant infringement of the rights of the republics provided for by this decision, JV Stalin insisted on not applying the usual practice of publishing the decision of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) if it was adopted. But he demanded to oblige the republican Central Committees of the parties to strictly implement it.
Creation by V.I. Lenin of the concept of the state on the basis of the Federation.
Ignoring the independence and self-government of the subjects of the country, with the simultaneous tightening of the role of the central authorities, were perceived by Lenin as a violation of the principle of proletarian internationalism. In September 1922, he proposed the idea of ​​creating a state on the principles of federation. Initially, such a name was proposed - the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia, later it was changed to the USSR. Joining the union was supposed to be a conscious choice of each sovereign republic, based on the principle of equality and independence, under the general authorities of the federation. V. I. Lenin believed that a multinational state must be built based on the principles of good neighborliness, parity, openness, respect and mutual assistance.

"Georgian conflict". Strengthening separatism.
At the same time, in some republics, there is a tilt towards the isolation of autonomies, and separatist sentiments are intensifying. For example, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia flatly refused to remain a part of the Transcaucasian Federation, demanding that the republic be admitted to the union as an independent entity. Furious polemics on this issue between representatives of the Central Committee of the Party of Georgia and the chairman of the Transcaucasian Regional Committee G.K. Ordzhonikidze ended in mutual insults and even assault on the part of Ordzhonikidze. The result of the policy of strict centralization on the part of the central authorities was the voluntary resignation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia in full force.
To investigate this conflict in Moscow, a commission was created, whose chairman was F. E. Dzerzhinsky. The commission took the side of G. K. Ordzhonikidze and subjected the Central Committee of Georgia to severe criticism. This fact outraged V. I. Lenin. He repeatedly tried to condemn the perpetrators of the clash in order to exclude the possibility of infringing on the independence of the republics. However, the progressing illness and civil strife in the Central Committee of the country's party did not allow him to complete the job.

Year of formation of the USSR

Officially date of formation of the USSR This is December 30, 1922. On this day, at the first Congress of Soviets, the Declaration on the Creation of the USSR and the Union Treaty were signed. The Union included the RSFSR, the Ukrainian and Belarusian socialist republics, as well as the Transcaucasian Federation. The Declaration formulated the reasons and determined the principles for the unification of the republics. The treaty delimited the functions of the republican and central authorities. The state bodies of the Union were entrusted with foreign policy and trade, means of communication, communications, as well as issues of organizing and controlling finance and defense.
Everything else belonged to the sphere of government of the republics.
The All-Union Congress of Soviets was proclaimed the supreme body of the state. In the period between congresses, the leading role was assigned to the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, organized on the principle of bicameralism - the Union Council and the Council of Nationalities. M. I. Kalinin was elected chairman of the CEC, co-chairs - G. I. Petrovsky, N. N. Narimanov, A. G. Chervyakov. The government of the Union (Council of People's Commissars of the USSR) was headed by V. I. Lenin.

Financial and economic development
The unification of the republics into the Union made it possible to accumulate and direct all resources to eliminate the consequences of the civil war. This contributed to the development of the economy, cultural relations and made it possible to begin to get rid of distortions in the development of individual republics. A characteristic feature of the formation of a nationally oriented state was the efforts of the government in matters of the harmonious development of the republics. It was for this purpose that certain industries were moved from the territory of the RSFSR to the republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia, providing them with highly qualified labor resources. Financing was carried out to provide the regions with communications, electricity, water resources for irrigation in agriculture. The budgets of the other republics received subsidies from the state.
Social and cultural significance
The principle of building a multinational state based on uniform standards had a positive impact on the development in the republics of such spheres of life as culture, education and healthcare. In the 1920s and 1930s, schools were built everywhere in the republics, theaters opened, mass media and literature developed. For some peoples, scientists have developed a written language. In health care, emphasis is placed on the development of a system of medical institutions. For example, if in 1917 there were 12 clinics and only 32 doctors in the entire North Caucasus, then in 1939 there were 335 doctors in Dagestan alone. At the same time, 14% of them were from the original nationality.

Reasons for the formation of the USSR

It happened not only thanks to the initiative of the leadership of the Communist Party. For many centuries, the prerequisites were formed for the unification of peoples into a single state. The harmony of the association has deep historical, economic, military-political and cultural roots. The former Russian Empire united 185 nationalities and nationalities. All of them went through a common historical path. During this time, a system of economic and economic ties has developed. They defended their freedom, absorbed the best of each other's cultural heritage. And, of course, they did not feel hostility towards each other.
It is worth considering that at that time the entire territory of the country was surrounded by hostile states. This also influenced the unification of peoples to no lesser extent.