The Economy under Brezhnev Flashcards
How was Brezhnev similar/different from Stalin and Khrushchev
Brezhnev continued what Stalin had set up, however, like Khrushchev he also wanted an increase in consumer goods
However, Brezhnev, a lot less ambitious in terms of quality and quantity of consumer goods
7YP: abolished. From 1966, return of 5YP’s
Party reunited and the division between agriculture and industry was ended
Khrushchev’s fall led to rejection of many of his reforms
Kosygin reform
The Kosygin Reform, introduced in 1965 under Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin, aimed to decentralize economic decision-making, grant enterprises greater autonomy, and incentivize increased efficiency and productivity in the Soviet economy
Brezhnev increased…
military spending
Brezhnev and Khrushchev military spending difference
During the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and Cuban missile crisis of 1962, Khrushchev had been forced to back down due to the scale of power held by USA
Brezhnev wanted to be equal to the USSR and therefore won’t be forced to back down by the USSR
Military spending increase under Brezhnev
Military spending increased from 11% to 13% from 1964-1970
Policy was successful and nuclear parity achieved by 1970
However, maintaining this parity drained the economy which led to more economic issues
Nuclear parity meaning
The situation in which two or more nations possessing nuclear weapons have equal or near equal numbers and quality of launch vehicles, warheads, etc so that no one nation possesses a decisive (or apparently decisive) advantage
What did Brezhnev drop?
Brezhnev dropped Khrushchev’s commitment of becoming a communist state by 1980
Why did Brezhnev drop Khrushchev’s commitment of becoming a communist state by 1980?
Slower economic growth and increased military spending led to no possibility of transforming the USSR into a land of plenty
Although, Brezhnev still pushed for rising living standards in the USSR
Brezhnev abandoned Khrushchev’s promise of communism by 1980, and replaced it with…
“Developed socialism”
Second economy
Brezhnev also accepted the black market, as a “necessary evil”
Rather than trying to get rid of the black market, Brezhnev allowed it to exist - why?
As it increased access to consumer goods and food and eventually raise living standards.
To produce productivity, what campaigns did Andropov introduce?
Anti-Corruption campaign
Anti-Alcohol campaign
Operation Trawl
Anti-Corruption campaign
Investigated senior Party officials and managers who were using Soviet resources to become rich
Brezhnev’s Minister of the Interior was sacks and put on trial for corruption, and took his own life before the end of the trial
Anti-Alcohol campaign
Workers sacked for drunkenness and fined for damaging machinery or products if drunk at work
