The Soviet Union, the full name of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was founded in 1922 and declared its dissolution in 1991, with a total of 69 years of existence. As the world's most powerful alliance of socialist countries at that time, the Soviet Union and the United States were known as the two superpowers in the world, leaving a strong mark in world history, and the disintegration of the Soviet Union also brought people nostalgia, thinking and feelings about the future and destiny of the country. Russia** Putin said, "Whoever does not lament the collapse of the Soviet Union has no conscience;Whoever wants to restore the past has no brains". Why did the Soviet Union, a world power that once flourished, eventually collapse after 69 years of existence, and what happened in the years of the Soviet Union's existence that caused this powerful alliance of countries to disintegrate and disappear into the long river of history overnight. Today, the author will take you to relive that stirring period of history, and feel the twists and turns of the birth, rise, prosperity and disintegration of great powers.
01 Lenin, the leader of the revolution, single-handedly created the great Soviet Union.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian Empire faced various internal and external problems, and revolutionaries such as Lenin believed that the modernization and democratization of Russia could only be achieved by overthrowing the tsar**. In 1917, the October Revolution led by Lenin succeeded in overthrowing the tsarist regime and establishing the world's first socialist state power, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
However, the nascent state faced internal and external troubles, with a collapsed economy and social unrest at home, and a military threat from the Entente from outside. In order to defend the nascent socialist state power, Lenin adopted a series of measures, including the implementation of a policy of war communism, the nationalization of the means of production such as industry and agriculture, and the introduction of a universal rationing system.
In order to defend the Soviet power, Lenin and other Soviet revolutionaries believed that the surrounding Slavic countries should be united to form a powerful Soviet power to counter the counterattack of the landlord class and the threat of capitalist forces. At that time, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and other regions had already established their own independent nation-states. But because they also belonged to the camp of the Soviet power, and during the tsarist regime, they had already established close military, economic, and diplomatic relations with the Soviets. The Soviets took it for granted that the Soviet power of the entire Great Slavic nation should rally around it.
In 1919, Lenin first proposed the creation of a federal state. "If we fail to maintain a close union," he said, "Soviet Russia and other Soviet power may be strangled by the capitalists, that is to say, the cause of labour will be destroyed for a long time." ”
In August 1922, a special committee chaired by Stalin was set up to propose the accession of the Soviet republics to the Russian Federation as autonomous republics. When Lenin, who was ill, learned of this, he immediately wrote to the Politburo, severely criticizing the program of "autonomy" and the chauvinistic mistakes of some people. Lenin suggested that the Soviet republics join the Union of Soviet Republics on the basis of equality and voluntariness. At the suggestion of Lenin, the new document was discussed and adopted at the ** Plenum in October 1922, which received an enthusiastic response and support from the parties and organs of the Soviet Socialist Republics.
On the evening of December 30, 1922, the First Congress of Soviets of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was held in Moscow. Stalin made a report on the formation of the Soviet Union at the meeting. Lenin did not attend the congress due to illness and was elected honorary chairman of the congress. The congress adopted the Declaration on the Founding of the Soviet Union. The treaty also specifically provided that each union republic reserved the right to withdraw freely from the Union.
The victory of the October Revolution and the establishment of Soviet power were an important turning point in history. This turning point not only changed the political landscape of the country, but also affected the development of international relations as a whole. Leninism was widely recognized, and he successfully led the Soviet people in the construction of socialism, realized the industrialization and development of the country, and made the Soviet Union a powerful country that had a profound impact on the world. Lenin, as the founder of the Soviet Union and a great political leader, will forever be remembered in history. His ideas and spirit will continue to inspire people to fight ceaselessly for the cause of socialism.
02 Under Stalin's leadership, the Soviet Union became a superpower with highly developed heavy industry.
After Lenin's death, Stalin served as the supreme leader of the Soviet party and state from 1924 to 1953. Under Stalin's leadership, the Soviet Union underwent tremendous changes and achieved significant achievements. These changes and achievements had a profound impact not only on the Soviet Union itself, but also on the course of global history.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill testified of Stalin: "When he took over, there was only a wooden plow;And when he died, he already had the atomic bomb. ”
Under the auspices of ***, the Red Flag Publishing House made an objective evaluation of Stalin: "Stalin's life was the life of a great Marxist-Leninist and a great proletarian revolutionary. ”
Stalin, who took over the responsibility from Lenin, looked at the devastation in front of him and decided in 1928 to start the first five-year plan, which was the first five-year plan under a planned economy in human history.
The West ridiculed: "The five-year plan of the USSR is a utopian dream of the red dreamers." ”
In more than four years, the Soviets realized the first five-year plan. They built more than 1,500 large-scale industrial enterprises with modern technology and equipment, owned their own tractors, automobiles and airplanes, and the industrial output of the Soviet Union skyrocketed by 234 compared to 19135%, a six-fold increase in electricity generation over 1913, and a 68% increase in national income over 1928, far surpassing all the capitalist countries of the same period, shocked the entire Western world.
During the period of the second five-year plan, the total industrial output value of the Soviet Union increased by 120 percent, the national income increased by 109 percent, and the Soviet Union's oil bases, iron and steel plants, automobile plants, aircraft factories, and shipyards were all over the country, and by 1937, the total industrial output value of the Soviet Union had jumped to the first place in Europe and the second place in the world, surpassing Germany, Britain, and France, second only to the United States, and the Soviet Union only took more than 10 years to achieve the achievements of Western industrial civilization for a hundred years.
The successful implementation of the two five-year plans greatly strengthened the overall national strength of the Soviet Union, the total national income soared from 21 billion rubles in 1913 to 96.3 billion rubles in 1937, the state successively abolished the food rationing system, and the people's living standards were generally improved. In 1936, Stalin announced that the Soviet Union had completed the transition from traditional industry and agriculture to socialism, and had built a strong and complete system of industry, agriculture, defense, science, technology, culture and education. The Soviet Union has become an economically independent country, which has been able to supply all the technical equipment necessary for its economy and national defense.
During Stalin's rule, it took only 30 years for the Soviet Union to complete the path that other countries took decades or even hundreds of years to complete.
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany tore up the "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact" and teamed up with the Kingdom of Hungary, the Kingdom of Romania, and Finland to assemble 190 divisions with a total of 5.5 million people, 4,900 aircraft, 3,700 tanks, 47,000 artillery pieces, and 190 ships.
In the early days of the war, due to the sudden attack of the fascists, it was difficult for the Soviet army to resist. In addition, the Germans also occupied air supremacy in the early stages of the war and inflicted devastating air strikes on the Soviet troops, which further exacerbated the losses of the Soviet troops, and the Soviet troops were routed all the way. Until the Battle of Stalingrad broke out in June 1942, the German offensive was frustrated, and the two sides fell into a stalemate in eastern Ukraine, winning and losing each other. With its tenacious fighting spirit and indomitable perseverance, as well as increasing manpower and material resources, the Soviet army gradually took the initiative, and in August 1943, it thwarted the last strategic offensive of the German army on the Eastern Front in the Battle of Kursk, and since then it has entered the strategic stage.
After that, the Soviet army launched a strategic offensive all the way, gradually recovering all the country, liberating many countries in Eastern Europe from fascist rule, and capturing Berlin, the capital of Germany, on April 30, 1945. On May 8, local time, Germany signed an unconditional surrender in Berlin, which took effect immediately, ending the Great Patriotic War and marking the end of World War II in the European theater.
The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, led by Stalin, was a war of unprecedented scale in the history of the world, in which the Soviet people paid great sacrifices. From the invasion of Nazi Germany on June 22, 1941, to May 11, 1945, the Soviet army annihilated the German Army Group A in the Battle of Prague. In the past four years of war, the Soviet Union has paid great sacrifices, according to statistics, the Soviet Union has a total of more than 27 million people**, of which the cumulative death toll of the Soviet Red Army units is about 11.5 million, including about 3 million dead prisoners, the remaining more than 18 million ** are civilians, and almost every family in the country has personnel**. However, it was their tenacity and stubborn resistance that ultimately won the war. In this war, the Soviet Union not only defended its homeland, but also made a huge contribution to the victory of the world anti-fascist war. This war enabled the Soviet Union to completely defeat and destroy the fascist regime of the powerful Nazi Germany with great sacrifices, made indelible contributions to the victory of the world anti-fascist war, and rewrote the post-war world pattern.
Under Stalin's leadership, the Soviet Union basically achieved socialist industrialization and agricultural collectivization, and leapt from a backward agricultural country to a world superpower.
Stalin devoted his life to the cause of socialist revolution and construction in the Soviet Union, leaving behind only 5 pipes, 4 cigarette cases, a notebook, 2 white coats, 4 army coats, 10 pairs of trousers and 5 hats.
03 Khrushchev completely repudiated Stalin's great historical exploits and planted the seeds of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
After Stalin's death, Khrushchev became the new leader of the Soviet Union. This former supreme leader of the Soviet party and state has been controversial in history. Some of his reforms and decisions had a positive impact on the Soviet Union, but also caused some controversy and negative consequences. The most controversial incident was his "On *** and Its Consequences" made at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, also known as the "Secret Report", which caused extremely serious consequences.
Khrushchev was a highly controversial figure, on the one hand, when New China needed help the most, he sent assistance, implemented the "Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance", returned Port Arthur, returned the shares of the Sino-Soviet joint venture, and trained a large number of scientific and technological talents in China. On the other hand, later, after the Sino-Soviet relations became bad, experts were withdrawn from China, which led to the rupture of Sino-Soviet relations and suppressed China everywhere in the international community.
At the 20th Congress of the CPSU in 1956, Nikita Khrushchev, then the leader of the Soviet Union, published a report that caused a great shock, known as "On *** and its consequences" ("Secret Report"). This report harshly criticized Stalin and demanded the removal of the influence of *** on Stalin in all spheres. In the report, Khrushchev completely denied Stalin's great historical exploits and exaggerated the various mistakes and problems committed during Stalin's rule, which caused serious ideological confusion and a crisis of faith in the Soviet Union and even in the international socialist camp.
In response to Khrushchev's total rejection of Stalin, there were also different voices within the leadership within the Soviet Union, when Khrushchev was preparing his secret report. Some leaders believed that Stalin's line was correct, and it was under his leadership that great achievements were made in the industrial construction of the USSR, especially in the Great Patriotic War, where he led the Soviet military and civilian resistance to the rampant offensive of Nazi Germany. It defeated the German fascists, maintained the unity and integrity of the Soviet Union, and enhanced the status of the Soviet Union in the international arena. Under the leadership of the Soviet Union, many socialist countries emerged and formed a powerful socialist camp, and his historical achievements cannot be erased.
Khrushchev excessively denied Stalin, undermined the authority of the Soviet Union, undermined the thinking of the Soviet people, and laid the groundwork for the collapse of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union began to completely negate Stalin, it actually began the process of digging its own grave of destruction, because Stalin's personal revolutionary experience and fighting career are inseparable from the glorious revolutionary history of the Soviet Union, and to deny Stalin is to deny the glorious revolutionary history and glorious achievements of the Soviet Red Army in disguise, the historical achievements of the Soviet Union's socialist construction, and the international communist movement. As the leader of the international communist movement, Stalin's ideology and theory determined whether the entire socialist road was advanced, scientific, and instructive.
At the Second Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he emphasized: "* I think that Stalin is a three-point mistake and a seven-point achievement, and he is still a Marxist in general, according to this measure, he wrote "On the Historical Experience of the Proletariat". The evaluation of Sanqi Kai is more appropriate. ”
When evaluating Khrushchev's place in history, we need to take into account his contributions and mistakes, as well as his influence on the Soviet Union and the world.
04 Gorbachev repudiated the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and became the terminator of the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev, who became the general secretary of the CPSU in 1985, was the last leader of the Soviet Union. He served as the general secretary of the Communist Committee of the Soviet Union and the leader of the Soviet Union. Under his leadership, profound structural reforms took place in the economic, political, and military spheres of the Soviet Union. However, it was these reforms that eventually led to the end of the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev's perestroika began in 1985, when the Soviet economy was already in serious trouble. He proposed a series of economic reforms, including privatization and a market economy. These reforms, although they achieved some success in a short period of time, also led to the accelerated collapse of the Soviet economy. Specifically, Marxism-Leninism was replaced by "humane, democratic, socialist" as the party's guiding ideologyAbandon the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and politically implement the ** system;Abandoning socialist public ownership and promoting privatization in the economy;Abandonment of the party's leadership over the army.
Gorbachev also abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine and reduced interference in the internal affairs of Eastern European countries, especially by force. In Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Yugoslavia and other socialist countries of Eastern Europe, regime changes and drastic changes in social systems took place, and the communist parties and workers' parties of these countries lost their political power one after another, which is known as the "drastic changes in Eastern Europe."
As a result of Gorbachev's series of misleadership and decisions, the Soviet Union eventually fell apart in 1991, and fifteen republics became independent from the Soviet Union, and Gorbachev became the terminator of the Soviet Union.
The collapse of the Soviet Union, a historical event that shook the world, is still thought-provoking. From an internal and external perspective, we can see the far-reaching impact and complex historical background of this event.
From an internal point of view, the collapse of the Soviet Union was undoubtedly a huge transformation. This once powerful country, which fell apart in a short period of time, had a huge impact on Russia and the entire Soviet region. For those who lived through the Soviet era, it is a painful memory and a sign of a country's transition from prosperity to decline.
From an external point of view, the collapse of the Soviet Union had a profound impact on the world landscape. It broke the bipolar pattern of the Cold War and ushered in a new era for the world. At the same time, the collapse of the Soviet Union has also aroused widespread attention and discussion in the international community.
However, we cannot look at this event only from the point of view of the collapse of the Soviet Union. There are also complex historical, political, and economic factors behind it. For example, the long-standing difficulties of the Soviet economy, the aggravation of the Soviet Union, and the intervention of Western countries all provided the conditions for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Therefore, we need to look at this event holistically and objectively, not only to see the positive impact it brings, but also to recognize the problems and challenges it brings.
In conclusion, the collapse of the Soviet Union was a historical event with far-reaching implications. It not only changed the course of history in Russia and the entire Soviet region, but also had a profound impact on the world pattern. We should take a correct view of this incident with a scientific and objective mentality, draw experience and lessons from it, and provide reference for future development.