In the last months of the Second World War, popular fronts were formed in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, which included various parties and most of the social corpses. The years 1944-1946 went down in the history of these countries as a period of "people's democracy". The following factors influenced the emergence and strengthening of the Soviet regime in the region:

• in the territories of these European countries, Soviet army units are located;
• The USSR abandoned the Marshall Plan.

These factors also influenced the elimination of the multi-party system in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe and created the conditions for the autocracy of the communist parties.

In 1948-1949, the communist parties in power set the course for building socialism, and the market economy was replaced by a centrally planned economy. As a result, a totalitarian socialist society arose in these countries. Private property was abolished, entrepreneurship and individual peasants were reduced to a minimum.

Among the countries of "people's democracy" Yugoslavia was the first to spoil relations with the USSR. The Union of Communists of Yugoslavia, which opposed Soviet rule, was expelled from the Communist Information Bureau at the end of 1948.

In 1949, to coordinate economic development Socialist countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe created the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), and in 1955 these same countries joined the Warsaw Treaty Organization, which united their armed forces.

The death of Stalin and, especially, the criticism of the cult of personality contributed to a change in the political climate in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. In the autumn of 1956, a crisis arose in Poland, which was eased by the partial democratization of the political system.

On October 23, 1956, mass demonstrations began in Hungary. Imre Nagy, elected head of the Hungarian government, on November 1 announced Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Treaty Organization. On November 4, Soviet tanks entered Budapest and literally drowned the liberation movement in blood. Imre Nagy was charged with treason and executed.

In 1968-1969, events took place in Czechoslovakia, which received the name "Prague Spring".

The Czechoslovak Communist Party, under the leadership of A. Dubcek, adopted a "Program of Action" to build a model of a socialist society that would correspond to the conditions of modern Czechoslovakia. The USSR and some socialist countries reacted negatively to this idea.

Troops of the USSR, Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria invaded Czechoslovakia. In August 1968 A.

Dubcek and his associates were arrested and deported to Moscow. In 1969, the place of A.

The policy of “perestroika” in the USSR and the collapse of the empire in the late 1980s and early 1990s provoked a paralysis of the socialist system in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Poland was the first to fall out of the socialist system.

As a result of the collapse of the socialist system, the "Balkan Empire" - Yugoslavia - collapsed along with the USSR. It broke up into independent states: Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia,

Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia. And Czechoslovakia was divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Formation of People's Democratic Governments

During the Second World War, in all countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, National (Popular) Fronts were formed, in which workers, peasants, petty-bourgeois, and, at the last stage, in some countries, bourgeois parties collaborated. The rallying of such diverse social and political forces became possible in the name of a national goal - liberation from fascism, restoration of national independence and democratic freedoms. This goal was achieved as a result of the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies by the Armed Forces of the USSR, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and the actions of the anti-fascist resistance movement. In 1943-1945, in all countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, governments of the National Fronts came to power, in which for the first time in history the Communists took part, which reflected their role in the fight against fascism.

In Albania and Yugoslavia, where the Communists played the leading role in the people's liberation struggle and the National Fronts, they led the new governments. Coalition governments have been formed in other countries.

The cooperation of various parties within the framework of the National Fronts was explained by the difficulty of the tasks facing the countries liberated from fascism. Under the new conditions, it was necessary to unite the efforts of all democratic parties and organizations. The need to expand the social base and recognition by the Western powers of the governments of Yugoslavia and Poland that emerged during the period of the liberation struggle led to the inclusion in their composition of representatives of the emigration and those internal forces that did not take part in the National Fronts led by the Communists.

The efforts of all governments were aimed at solving top-priority national tasks: eliminating the consequences of the domination of the occupation and local fascist regimes, reviving the economy destroyed by the war and occupation, and restoring democracy. The state apparatus created by the occupiers was destroyed, state institutions in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania were cleansed of fascist elements, the activities of the fascist and reactionary parties, which were responsible for national catastrophes, were banned. Democratic constitutions, abolished in the 1930s by authoritarian regimes, were restored. Parliaments began to function, in some countries the activities of parties that were not part of the National Fronts were allowed. Along with the old structures state power new national committees and councils, born in the course of the liberation struggle, began to operate.

Of the social tasks in all countries, with the exception of Bulgaria, where this problem was solved as a result of Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878, the priority was the elimination of large landed estates and the allocation of land to the peasants. The agrarian reforms begun in some countries even before the complete liberation were based on the principle: "The land belongs to those who cultivate it." Confiscated from the landlords and those who collaborated with the occupiers, the land was transferred to the peasants for a small fee, and partially passed to the state. In Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, the lands of the Germans were confiscated and, by decision of the Allied Powers, they were resettled on German territory. The programs of the National Fronts did not contain a direct demand for the elimination of capitalist property, but provided for the seizure of the property of the Nazis and their accomplices and the punishment for national treason, as a result of which under public administration enterprises belonging to German capital and that part of the bourgeoisie that collaborated with the Nazis passed.

Thus, as a result of the elimination of fascism and the restoration of national independence in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe in 1943-1945, a new system was established, which then received the name of people's democracy. In the political sphere, feature there was a multi-party system, in which the activities of fascist and obviously reactionary parties were not allowed, and communist and workers' parties played a significant role in governments and other authorities. In Romania, not only formally, as it was in Hungary and Bulgaria, the institution of the monarchy was preserved. In the sphere of the economy, while maintaining private and cooperative enterprises, the role of the state sector began to play a much greater role than in the pre-war period. The most serious changes took place in agriculture, where the solution of the agrarian question began in the interests of the poorest peasantry.

There have also been changes in the foreign policy orientation of the people's democracies. Even during the war with the Soviet Union, agreements on friendship, mutual assistance and post-war cooperation were signed with Czechoslovakia (December 1943), Yugoslavia and Poland (April 1945). Over Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, as former satellites of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, together with the United States of America and Great Britain, established control - the Allied Control Commissions (JCC) operated here, in which, thanks to the presence of Soviet troops, representatives of the USSR had stronger positions than Western partners .

Contradictions in the National Fronts between the communist parties and their allies

In Albania and Yugoslavia, the communist parties occupied dominant positions in political life.

The numerous pre-war petty-bourgeois and peasant parties of Yugoslavia, which resumed their activities after the liberation of the country, were unable to compete with the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) and organizations close to it. This was shown by the elections to the Constituent Assembly in November 1945, in which the Popular Front won a landslide victory (90% of the vote). In Albania, the candidates of the Communist-led Democratic Front collected 97.7% of the vote. The situation was different in other countries: in Hungary, in the first post-war elections (November 1945), the communists won only about 17% of the votes, and in Poland, given the unfavorable balance of political forces for themselves, they ensured that the elections were postponed and took place only in January 1947.

The role of the communists in the government was more significant than can be judged on the basis of the parliamentary elections. Support Soviet Union created the most favorable opportunities for the Communist parties to begin gradually pushing their allies on the National Front from their positions in political life. By retaining, as a rule, the posts of ministers of the interior and exercising control over the organs of state security, and in a number of countries even over the armed forces, the communist parties largely determined the policy of people's democratic governments, even if they did not have the majority of portfolios in them.

On many issues that were resolved by the new government, contradictions arose between the communists and other parties of the National Fronts. The bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties believed that with the restoration of national independence, the constitutional order, the punishment of war criminals and those who collaborated with the Nazis, the implementation of agrarian and some other reforms, the tasks proclaimed in the programs of the National Fronts were completely fulfilled. They advocated the further development of the states of Central and South-Eastern Europe along the path of bourgeois democracy with a foreign policy orientation towards the countries of the West and the preservation of friendly relations with the Soviet Union.

The communist parties, considering the establishment of a system of people's democracy as a stage on the way to their proclaimed ultimate goal - the building of socialism, considered it necessary to continue and deepen the reforms that had begun. Using the urban and rural bourgeoisie, capital and entrepreneurial initiative to solve the problems of reconstruction, the communists at the same time waged an ever-increasing offensive against its political and economic positions.

The transfer into the hands of the state (nationalization) of the property of German capital and that part of the bourgeoisie that collaborated with the Nazis led to the formation in all countries of a more or less powerful state sector of the economy. Following this, the communist parties began to seek the nationalization of the property of the national bourgeoisie. This was done first of all in Yugoslavia, where the constitution adopted in January 1946 made it possible, if the interests of the whole people required it, to export private property. As a result, already at the end of 1946, a law was issued on the nationalization of all private enterprises of national and republican significance. Private owners were left with only small industrial enterprises and craft workshops.

In Poland, when the National Bank was created, private banks, unable to exchange their cash for new banknotes, were forced to cease to exist. Attempts by private owners to achieve the return of enterprises seized by the invaders and, when the country was liberated, passed under temporary state administration, were only partially successful. The Polish Peasants' Party, which was part of the National Front - Polskie Stronnitstvo Ludowe (PSL), led by former prime minister the emigration government of S. Mikolajczyk, did not object to the socialization of key industries, but was opposed to main form This socialization was the transfer of enterprises to the ownership of the state. She advocated that they be taken over by cooperatives and local governments. But in January 1946, at the insistence of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR), a law on nationalization was adopted, according to which large and medium-sized industry was nationalized.

In Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, which were under the control of the CCC, the attack on the positions of the bourgeoisie was carried out by establishing state and workers' control over private enterprises, and not by nationalization.

Thus, practically already in 1945-1946, the communist parties managed to achieve that the process of seizing the property of the bourgeoisie and transferring it into the hands of the state began. This meant going beyond the programs of the National Fronts, the transition from solving national problems to solving problems of a social nature.

Relying on remaining in most countries Soviet troops and the security organs at their disposal, the communist parties, were able to inflict blows on the political positions of the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties, which in a number of cases were forced to go over to the opposition. Opposition supporters were arrested on charges of conspiratorial activity. In Hungary, at the beginning of 1947, such accusations were brought against a number of leaders of the Party of Small Farmers (PMSH), including the head of government. Many of them, fearing arrest, were forced to flee abroad. In Bulgaria, N. Petkov, one of the leaders of the BZNS, was executed, and in Romania a number of leaders of the National Tsaranist (peasant) party were put on trial. In Poland, in the elections to the Sejm in January 1947, the bloc led by the Communists defeated the peasant party of S. Mikołajczyk. PSL protests over multiple violations during election campaign and persecution of the candidates of this party were rejected. Shortly thereafter, the PSL, as an opposition political party, left the scene, and Mikolajczyk was forced to flee abroad to avoid arrest.

Thus, already by the middle of 1947, in many countries the communist parties were able to remove their allies from the right from the National Fronts and strengthen their own positions in the leadership of the state and economic life. Only in Czechoslovakia, where, as a result of the elections to the Legislative Assembly in May 1946, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia came to the fore, did the National Front maintain a precarious balance of power. But even there the Communists practically took decisive positions.

Prospects for the transition to socialism by peaceful means

In 1945-1946, the leaders of a number of communist parties declared that the political and socio-economic transformations carried out in the course of the formation and development of the people's democracy system were not yet socialist in nature, but created conditions for the transition to socialism in the future. They believed that this transition could be carried out differently than in the Soviet Union - without the dictatorship of the proletariat and civil war, in peaceful way. At the first congress of the PPR in December 1945, it was recognized that in the conditions of the people's democratic system, which creates conditions for the further struggle of the working class and the working people for their complete social liberation, it is possible to advance towards socialism in an evolutionary, peaceful manner, without upheavals, without the dictatorship of the proletariat. . G. Dimitrov considered it possible "on the basis of people's democracy and a parliamentary regime, one fine day to pass to socialism without the dictatorship of the proletariat." The leaders of other communist parties also considered the people's democratic government as a transitional one, which would gradually develop into a socialist one. Stalin did not object to such views, who in the summer of 1946, in a conversation with K. Gottwald, admitted that in the conditions that had developed after the Second World War, another path to socialism was possible, not necessarily providing for the Soviet system and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

As can be seen, in the early years of the existence of people's democracy, the leaders of the communist parties of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, considering the Soviet system as a classic example of the transition to socialism, admitted the possibility of a different path, which would take into account national specifics and the existence of interclass alliances, which found their expression in National Fronts. This concept has not received a comprehensive development, it was outlined only in the most general terms. It was suggested that the transition to socialism would take a long period of time. The events that followed did not live up to the expectations.

Countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe

The formation of states of people's democracy

Formation of People's Democratic Governments

Contradictions in the National Fronts between the communist parties and their allies

Prospects for the transition to socialism by peaceful means

Formation of people's democratic governments. During the Second World War, in all countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, National (People's) Fronts were formed, in which workers, peasants, petty-bourgeois, and, at the last stage, in some countries, bourgeois parties collaborated. The rallying of such diverse social and political forces became possible in the name of a national goal - liberation from fascism, restoration of national independence and democratic freedoms. This goal was achieved as a result of the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies by the Armed Forces of the USSR, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and the actions of the anti-fascist movement.
resistance. In 1943-1945, in all countries of the Central and South
In Eastern Europe, the governments of the National Fronts came to power, in which for the first time in history the communists took part, which reflected their role in the fight against fascism.

In Albania and Yugoslavia, where the Communists played the leading role in the national liberation struggle and the National Fronts, they led the new governments. In other countries, coalition governments have been established.

The cooperation of various parties within the framework of the National Fronts was explained by the difficulty of the tasks facing the countries liberated from fascism. Under the new conditions, it was necessary to unite the efforts of all democratic parties and organizations. The need to expand the social base and recognition by the Western powers of the governments of Yugoslavia and Poland that arose during the period of the liberation struggle led to the inclusion in their composition of representatives of the emigration and those internal forces that did not take part in the National Fronts led by the Communists.

The efforts of all governments were aimed at solving the priority national tasks: eliminating the consequences of the domination of the occupation and local fascist regimes, reviving the economy destroyed by the war and occupation, and restoring democracy. The state apparatus created by the occupiers was destroyed, state institutions in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania were cleared of fascist elements, the activities of fascist and reactionary parties, which were responsible for national catastrophes, were prohibited. Democratic constitutions, abolished in the 1930s by authoritarian regimes, were restored. Parliaments began to function, in some countries the activities of parties that were not part of the National Fronts were allowed.
Along with the former structures of state power, new national committees and councils, born in the course of the liberation struggle, began to operate.

Of the social tasks in all countries, with the exception of Bulgaria, where this problem was solved as a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the liquidation of large landownership and the allocation of land to the peasants became a priority. The agrarian reforms begun in some countries even before the complete liberation were based on the principle: “The land belongs to those who cultivate it.” Confiscated from the landlords and those who collaborated with the occupiers, the land was transferred to the peasants for a small fee, and partially passed to the state. AT
Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were confiscated the lands of the Germans, who, by decision of the Allied Powers, were resettled on the territory of Germany. The programs of the National Fronts did not contain a direct demand for the elimination of capitalist property, but provided for the seizure of the property of the Nazis and their accomplices and the punishment for national betrayal, as a result of which enterprises belonging to German capital and that part of the bourgeoisie that collaborated with the Nazis came under state control.

Thus, as a result of the elimination of fascism and the restoration of national independence in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe in 1943-1945, a new system was established, which then received the name of people's democracy. In the political sphere, its characteristic feature was a multi-party system, in which the activities of fascist and obviously reactionary parties were not allowed, and communist and workers' parties played a significant role in governments and other bodies of power. In Romania, not only formally, as it was in Hungary and Bulgaria, the institution of the monarchy was preserved. In the sphere of the economy, while maintaining private and cooperative enterprises, the role of the state sector began to play a much greater role than in the pre-war period. The most serious changes took place in agriculture, where the solution of the agrarian question began in the interests of the poorest peasantry.

There have also been changes in the foreign policy orientation of the people's democracies. Even during the war with the Soviet Union, agreements on friendship, mutual assistance and post-war cooperation were signed with Czechoslovakia (December 1943), Yugoslavia and Poland.
(April 1945). Over Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, as former satellites of Nazi Germany,
The Soviet Union, together with the United States of America and Great Britain, established control - the Allied Control Commissions (ACC) operated here, in which, thanks to the presence of Soviet troops, the representatives of the USSR had a stronger position than their Western partners.

Contradictions in the National Fronts between the communist parties and their allies. In Albania and Yugoslavia, the communist parties occupied dominant positions in political life.
The numerous pre-war petty-bourgeois and peasant parties of Yugoslavia, which resumed their activities after the liberation of the country, were unable to compete with the Communist Party.
Yugoslavia (CPY) and related organizations. This was shown by the elections in
Constituent Assembly in November 1945, at which the Popular Front won a landslide victory
(90% of votes). In Albania, the candidates of the communist-led Democratic Front gathered
97.7% of the votes. The situation was different in other countries: in Hungary, in the first post-war elections
(November 1945), the Communists won only about 17% of the votes, and in Poland, given the unfavorable balance of political forces for themselves, they ensured that the elections were postponed and took place only in January 1947.

The role of the communists in the government was more significant than can be judged on the basis of the parliamentary elections. The support of the Soviet Union created the most favorable opportunities for the Communist Parties to begin the gradual pushing back of their allies along the
National Front from their positions in political life. Retaining, as a rule, the posts of ministers of the interior and exercising control over the organs of state security, and in a number of countries even over the armed forces, the communist parties largely determined the policy of people's democratic governments, even if they did not have them by the majority of portfolios.

On many issues that were resolved by the new government, contradictions arose between the communists and other parties of the National Fronts. The bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties believed that with the restoration of national independence, the constitutional order, the punishment of war criminals and those who collaborated with the Nazis, the implementation of agrarian and some other reforms, the tasks proclaimed in the programs of the National Fronts were completely fulfilled. They advocated the further development of the states of Central and South-Eastern Europe along the path of bourgeois democracy with a foreign policy orientation towards the countries of the West and the preservation of friendly relations with the Soviet Union.

The communist parties, considering the establishment of a system of people's democracy as a stage on the way to their proclaimed ultimate goal - the building of socialism, considered it necessary to continue and deepen the reforms that had begun. Using the urban and rural bourgeoisie, capital and entrepreneurial initiative to solve the problems of reconstruction, the communists at the same time waged an ever-increasing offensive against its political and economic positions.

The transfer into the hands of the state (nationalization) of the property of German capital and that part of the bourgeoisie that collaborated with the Nazis led to the formation in all countries of a more or less powerful state sector of the economy. Following this, the communist parties began to seek the nationalization of the property of the national bourgeoisie. This was done first in Yugoslavia, where the January
The constitution of 1946 made it possible, if the public interest required it, to export private property. As a result, already at the end of 1946, a law was issued on the nationalization of all private enterprises of national and republican significance. Private owners were left with only small industrial enterprises and craft workshops.

In Poland, when the National Bank was created, private banks, deprived of the opportunity to exchange their cash for new banknotes, were forced to cease to exist. Attempts by private owners to achieve the return of enterprises that were taken over by the occupiers and, when the country was liberated, came under temporary state administration, were only partially successful. The Polish Peasants' Party, Polskie strontstvo people (PSL), which was part of the National Front, was headed by the former prime minister of the government in exile, S.
Mikolajczyk, did not object to the socialization of key industries, but was opposed to the transfer of enterprises to state ownership as the main form of this socialization. She advocated that they be taken over by cooperatives and local governments. But in January
In 1946, at the insistence of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR), a law on nationalization was adopted, according to which large and medium-sized industry was nationalized.

In Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, which were under the control of the CCC, the attack on the positions of the bourgeoisie was carried out by establishing state and workers' control over private enterprises, and not by means of nationalization.

Thus, practically already in 1945-1946, the communist parties managed to achieve that the process of seizing the property of the bourgeoisie and transferring it into the hands of the state began. This meant going beyond the programs of the National Fronts, a transition from solving national problems to solving problems of a social nature.

Relying on the Soviet troops remaining in most countries and the security agencies at their disposal, the communist parties were able to strike at the political positions of the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties, which in a number of cases were forced to go over to the opposition. Opposition supporters were arrested on charges of conspiratorial activity. AT
In Hungary, in early 1947, such accusations were made against a number of leaders of the Party of Small Farmers (PMSH), including the head of government. Many of them, fearing arrest, were forced to flee abroad. In Bulgaria, N. Petkov, one of the leaders of the BZNS, was executed, and in Romania a number of leaders of the National Tsaranist (Peasant) Party were put on trial. In Poland, in the elections to the Sejm in January 1947, the communist-led bloc defeated the peasant party of S.
Mikolajczyk. Protests by the PSL over numerous campaign violations and harassment of the party's candidates were rejected. Shortly thereafter, the PSL, as an opposition political party, left the scene, and
Mikolajczyk was forced to flee abroad to avoid arrest.

Thus, already by the middle of 1947, in many countries the communist parties were able to remove their allies from the right from the National Fronts and strengthen their own positions in the leadership of the state and economic life. Only in Czechoslovakia, where, as a result of the elections to the Legislative Assembly in May 1946, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia came to the fore, did the National Front maintain a precarious balance of power. But even there the Communists practically took decisive positions.

Prospects for the transition to socialism by peaceful means. In 1945-1946, the leaders of a number of communist parties declared that the political and socio-economic transformations carried out in the course of the formation and development of the people's democracy system were not yet socialist in nature, but created the conditions for the transition to socialism in the future. They believed that this transition could be carried out differently than in the Soviet Union - without the dictatorship of the proletariat and civil war, by peaceful means. At the first congress
The PPR in December 1945 recognized that under the conditions of the people's democratic system, which creates conditions for the further struggle of the working class and the working people for their complete social liberation, it is possible to advance towards socialism in an evolutionary, peaceful manner, without upheavals, without the dictatorship of the proletariat. that. G. Dimitrov considered it possible "on the basis of people's democracy and a parliamentary regime, one fine day to pass to socialism without the dictatorship of the proletariat." The leaders of other communist parties also considered the people's democratic government as a transitional one, which would gradually develop into a socialist one. Stalin did not object to such views, who in the summer of 1946, in an interview with
K. Gottwald recognized that in the conditions that developed after the Second World War, another path to socialism is possible, not necessarily providing for the Soviet system and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

As can be seen, in the early years of the existence of people's democracy, the leaders of the communist parties of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, considering the Soviet system as a classic example of the transition to socialism, admitted the possibility of a different path, which would take into account national specifics and the existence of interclass unions, found expression in
National Fronts. This concept has not received a comprehensive development, it has been outlined only in the most general terms. It was suggested that the transition to socialism would take a long period of time.
The events that followed did not live up to the expectations that had arisen.

People's democratic revolutions and the initial stage of building socialism. Soviet-Yugoslav conflict. The political crisis of the mid-1950s in Eastern Europe. Features of economic and political development GDR, Poland, Hungary. The search for the path of development of socialism by the communist parties of Central and South-Eastern Europe.

COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 40'S-50'S

People's democratic revolutions and the initial stage of building socialism. In the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, during the war, National, or Popular, Fronts were formed. Representatives of communist, workers, peasant, petty-bourgeois, and, at the last stage of the war, some bourgeois parties fought together in them. All these diverse organizations were united common goal- restoration of the independence of the motherland.

The national liberation struggle against fascism developed into people's democratic revolutions that took place in the countries of Eastern Europe in 1944-1945. In the course of them, the governments of the National Fronts, which included the Communists, came to power. As a result of the elimination of fascism and the restoration of national independence in the countries of Eastern Europe in 1944-1945. established a new system, called

people's democracy, and the countries themselves began to be called countries of people's democracy.

The programs of the National Fronts called for the liquidation of the property of Nazi criminals and their accomplices and the punishment of national treason. As a result of their implementation, enterprises belonging to German capital and that part of the bourgeoisie that collaborated with the Nazis passed into state jurisdiction. This led to the formation of a powerful public sector.

The Communist Parties, which played a leading role in the National Fronts, began to insist on the nationalization of the property of the national bourgeoisie. This happened first in Yugoslavia, where the constitution adopted in January 1946 provided for the expropriation of private property. And already at the end of 1946, private owners were left with only small industrial enterprises and craft workshops. In 1946, at the insistence of the Polish Workers' Party, the Law on Nationalization was adopted, according to which large and medium-sized industry was nationalized. Private banks ceased to exist. In Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania, the attack on the position of the bourgeoisie was carried out not through nationalization, but through the establishment of state and workers' control over private enterprises.

The leadership of the communist parties of the countries of Eastern Europe, considering the Soviet model of socialism as a classic, admitted the possibility of a different path of transition to socialism, which would be evolutionary in nature and take into account national specifics. The people's democratic power was considered as a transitional one, which would gradually develop into a socialist one.

However, in the conditions of the beginning of the Cold War, the leadership of the USSR

began to insist that the Communist parties of Eastern Europe speed up the transition to socialism. And in the Eastern European countries began accelerated socialist construction.

This process developed most intensively in Yugoslavia, whose leadership began the transition to the Soviet model of socialism. By 1947, the public sector in the FPRY economy covered 90% of industrial enterprises. All banks, transport, wholesale trade were under the jurisdiction of the state. Peasant cooperatives were created in the countryside. In April 1947, the first five-year plan was adopted, providing for the priority development of heavy industry.

The transition to socialism also began in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The nationalization of production continued, and the economic positions of not only the big and middle, but also partly the petty bourgeoisie were weakened.

Representatives of the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties began to be ousted from the National Fronts and governments. They ceased to be coalitions. The final stage of this process was the February events of 1948 in Czechoslovakia, when the communists defeated their bourgeois opponents, who were in a joint coalition before the conflict, and after it were removed from power.

Soviet-Yugoslav conflict. Despite the fact that Yugoslavia was one of the first among the people's democracies to embark on the path of building socialism in the Soviet version, a sharp conflict arose between the Yugoslav and Soviet leadership. The following events served as the reason for it. In 1947, the idea of ​​creating a federation of people's democracies was popular among the states of Eastern Europe. Yugoslavia took practical steps to create economic unions with Albania and Bulgaria. This development of events did not suit IV Stalin. He suggested creating not a large federation in which Yugoslavia could play a leading role, but several small federations uniting the two countries. In addition, the Soviet leadership insisted that Yugoslavia compare its foreign policy with Moscow, but Yugoslavia refused to accept these proposals. The situation escalated after the expulsion from the country of Soviet advisers and specialists accused of espionage.

Then the Soviet leaders decided to call the leader of Yugoslavia, I. B. Tito, to account. In June 1948, a meeting of the Information Bureau of the Communist Parties, created in 1947, was held, to which the leaders of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) were invited. Tito refused to participate in this meeting. Then the Information Bureau adopted a resolution "On the Situation in the CPY." The document accused the leadership of the Communist Party of deviating from the principles of Marxism-Leninism, bourgeois nationalism, criticizing the universality of the historical experience of the USSR, and patronizing capitalist elements in the economy.

The Information Bureau turned to the communists of Yugoslavia with a proposal to replace the leadership of the CPY with "healthy forces." The Communist Party of Yugoslavia regarded the decision of the Information Bureau as gross interference in its internal affairs. The Congress of the CPY rejected the resolution of the Information Bureau and expressed confidence in its Central Committee. The leaders of other communist parties of the People's Democracies supported Moscow's position and condemned the "criminal clique" of Tito.

Crisis phenomena of the mid-1950s in Eastern Europe. By the mid-1950s, as a result of accelerated industrialization, significant economic potential had been accumulated in the Eastern European countries. However, there were disproportions in the national economy. Benefits given to heavy industry by minimum investment in agriculture and the production of consumer goods, led to a decline in the living standards of workers. The growth of bureaucracy and the dominance of authoritarian management methods created obstacles to the democratic solution of the contradictions that had arisen. These processes had a particularly hard impact on countries that had a developed market infrastructure. These included Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland. Here, not only was the system of bourgeois relations abolished, but also a painful socio-psychological breakdown in the consciousness of the population took place, associated with new values ​​implanted from outside.

After the death of I. V. Stalin in 1953, ideas of changing and softening the current course of reforms mature in the Eastern European countries.

The first signs of the crisis of the chosen socialist model appeared in the GDR. Here, the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) set a course for accelerated industrialization. This led to disproportions between heavy and light industry. Interruptions began in the supply of consumer goods to the population, which caused protests on the part of the working masses. Along with this, the East German authorities introduced a harsh system of criminal penalties for "state crimes." These included anti-government statements, economic crimes, including speculation. These violations were punishable by long prison terms. At the same time, pressure began on the Evangelical Church, to which 80% of the population belonged. The church was accused of links with the opposition. At the beginning of 1953, about 50 priests were arrested. The response to the repression was a sharp increase in the number of refugees to the West. The announcement of the government of the GDR in May 1953 on an increase in production rates in industry by 10% further aggravated the political situation in the country.

On June 17, 1953, hundreds of thousands of workers took to the streets of Berlin and headed for the Government House. The police, security service and army were powerless in front of the strikers. Therefore, the Soviet High Commissioner issued an order to transfer all power to the Soviet administration in Karlshorst, where the leaders of the GDR, Walter Ulbricht and Otto Grotewohl, were located. Within an hour, Soviet military units regained control over the territory around the Government House. The speech was suppressed.

The government of the GDR was forced to make adjustments to its economic policy. Efforts have been made to eliminate disparities National economy and raise the standard of living of the people. A political amnesty was also announced for citizens who left the GDR.

In March 1954, an agreement was signed between the GDR and the USSR on granting the German Democratic Republic full state sovereignty.

Implementation of the six-year plan for the development of the national economy of the country for 1950-1955, focused on accelerated industrialization and strict measures of collectivization Agriculture caused growing social tension in the country.

In 1956, spontaneous demonstrations of workers began in Poznan, caused by an increase in food prices. After the end of the working day, the workers went to the city center, where the party and state institutions were located. The demonstration was attended by 100 thousand people. The protesters chanted: "Bread and freedom!" At the same time, a group of young people attacked the prison, disarmed the guards and released the prisoners. The attackers also took possession of the firearms that were in the prison. Soon a shootout began near the building of the Voivodeship Public Security Department. After the arrival of military units, spontaneous protests were suppressed.

During the clashes, about 60 people were killed and 300 were injured. The authorities understood that it was necessary to make adjustments to their policies and, above all, to take urgent measures to resolve social problems and return to political life disgraced politicians. First of all, it was about the authoritative politician Vladislav Gomulka, who was against blind copying of the socialist experience of the USSR. Gomułka was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (PUWP).

The most dramatic political crisis manifested itself in the Hungarian People's Republic. Hungarian events cannot be assessed unambiguously. Erupted at the height of the Cold War, they were undoubtedly supported by Western countries, especially since there were quite a wide strata of the population associated with the capitalist and small-scale sectors of the economy and who had objective reasons to be dissatisfied with the new government.

In July 1956, the first secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party (VPT), ​​Matthias Rakosi, was relieved of his post. But the new leadership of the party showed hesitation in determining the political course. At the same time, the opposition grouped around former Prime Minister Imre Nagy, who had been expelled from the party.

The events began on October 23, 1956 with a peaceful demonstration of students who demanded the removal of M. Rakosi's supporters from the government, the holding of free elections, and the return of I. Nagy to the post of prime minister. Then armed groups began to join the demonstrators, consisting of former Horthists and representatives of bourgeois parties removed from power. An armed uprising began. In order to ensure the unity of the party in the fight against the rebels, the Central Committee of the VPT introduced I. Nagy to the leadership, who declared his agreement with the measures taken by the authorities to suppress the rebellion. I. Nagy was appointed chairman of the Council of Ministers. The government declared a state of emergency and asked Soviet authorities send troops to Budapest. On October 24, Soviet troops entered the Hungarian capital.

However, Nagy suddenly changed his position. He declared the Hungarian events a people's democratic revolution and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops, which was done on October 29. After that, in the capital and major cities Hungary began a real anti-communist bacchanalia. The government of I. Nagy was unable to control the situation in the country. Groups of counter-revolutionaries hunted down and killed communists, hung state security workers on lanterns. It was announced

on the abolition of the one-party system, the resumption

the activity of the petty-bourgeois and

bourgeois parties. across the open border

a wave of emigrants poured into the country with Austria

comrade Former landowners appeared in the villages,

demanding the return of the lost

property. Thus, a broad demo

political movement against

extremes of the conservative model of socialization

ma, resulted in an anti-communist uprising

nie. The country was on the brink of civil

I. Kadar war.

I. Nagy announced the withdrawal of Hungary from the Warsaw Pact

and that it is becoming a "neutral country". The VPT has completely collapsed.

led by Janos Kadar, decided to restore the party of the working class, which was called the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (HSWP). Elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the HSWP

I. Kadar. On November 4, 1956, the Hungarian Revolutionary Workers' and Peasants' Government was formed, which was headed by

I. Kadar. It turned to the Soviet leadership with a request to suppress the rebellion.

The USSR sent troops to Budapest, and within a few days the uprising was crushed. The Central Committee of the HSWP assessed the events of 1956 as a counter-revolutionary rebellion aimed at restoring capitalism in the country. I. Nagy was sentenced to death on charges of high treason.

In 1989, the Supreme Court of Hungary rehabilitated I. Nagy and other persons convicted along with him. The armed uprising of 1956 began to be viewed in Hungary as a popular uprising against the Stalinist regime. October 23rd was declared a national holiday.

The events of 1953 in the GDR and 1956 in Poland and Hungary were a manifestation of the crisis of the Soviet model of socialism, which was implemented by the leadership of the Eastern European countries without taking into account their specific features.

American diplomat H. Kissinger on the role of the USSR in the Hungarian events

The bloody suppression of the Hungarian uprising demonstrated that the Soviet Union intended to preserve the sphere of its own interests, and, if necessary, through the use of force ... There was no longer any doubt that “ cold war” will be long and full of bitterness, and armies hostile to each other will stand on both sides of the dividing line for as long as you like.

1. What are the features of people's democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe and the building of people's democracy.

2. What characterizes the initial stage of socialist construction in Central and South-Eastern Europe.

3. Why did the Eastern European countries adopt the Soviet model of building socialism?

4. What was the significance of the Soviet-Yugoslav conflict for the formation of the socialist camp?

5. Give an assessment of the political crisis in the people's democracies in the 50s.

COUNTRIES OF EASTERN EUROPE IN THE LATE 50s - EARLY 80s

The search for ways to develop socialism by the communist parties of Central and South-Eastern Europe. After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the leadership of the countries of people's democracy began to make adjustments to management methods and economic policy. were stopped mass repression, began the rehabilitation of those convicted for political reasons. The accusations against the Communist Party of Yugoslavia were recognized as unfounded and relations with it were restored along state and party lines. Recognizing the priority course towards industrialization, capital investments in the development of agriculture and light industry were increased. In countries such as Poland, Hungary, the GDR, minimum conditions were created for the development of small private production and the private sector in the service sector.

The late 50s - early 60s were the time for the communist parties of Eastern Europe to search for the optimal model of socialism.

A number of Eastern European countries, when creating industrial cooperation, abandoned the methods of forceful influence on the peasantry. By the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, the collectivization of agriculture was completed. In Poland and Yugoslavia, as a result of the use of moderate methods in carrying out collectivization, it was possible to achieve the predominance of individual peasant farming in the countryside.

Relations with representatives of the petty-bourgeois strata developed in the people's democracies differently than in the USSR. In the GDR, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, some of the small producers were employed in retail trade and services. The East German authorities carried out the transformation of private enterprises and private trade. With the consent of the entrepreneurs, the state became the co-owner of their enterprises.

During the years of reforms, a new intelligentsia was formed, and the process of eradicating illiteracy among the adult population was successfully going on, especially in countries such as Albania, Romania, and Yugoslavia.

Summing up the results of socialist construction in the late 1950s and early 1960s, most of the communist parties in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe (except Poland and Yugoslavia) declared that they had built the foundations of socialism.

However, the leadership of some Eastern European countries, assessing the pace and level of economic development and observing their lagging behind the industrialized Western countries, began to realize the need for reforms.

Initially, the reforms were envisaged within the framework of the socialist system and were designed to “improve” it, taking into account the national specifics of each country.

Hence the appearance of such definitions as “Polish path to socialism”, “socialism of national colors” in the GDR, “Yugoslavian self-governing socialism”.

In Hungary and Czechoslovakia, attempts were made to develop a new economic model, called the socialist market. It provided for the transition of enterprises to self-financing and self-financing and their right to dispose of their income. State planning was to be advisory, not mandatory. When pricing, market mechanisms of demand and supply functioned.

Attempts by Eastern European countries to find optimal model socialist construction were overshadowed by the Berlin crisis of 1961, which broke out in the GDR. The forced collectivization initiated by the East German government under pressure from the Soviet leadership led to a mass exodus of citizens of the GDR to West Germany. Since there was virtually no border between East and West Berlin, agents of Western intelligence agencies penetrated from the FRG into the GDR to collect intelligence. Khrushchev's proposal, made in 1958, to grant West Berlin the status of a "demilitarized free city" remained unanswered by the West. And then the East German and Soviet leaders began to look for a different way to solve this problem. The leader of the German communists, W. Ulbricht, proposed to install a barbed wire barrier around West Berlin. N. S. Khrushchev initially rejected this proposal. But at a meeting on August 3-5, 1961 of the first secretaries of the communist parties of the Eastern European countries, the plan of W. Ulbricht was approved by the majority of those present.

On the night of August 12-13, 1961, the people's police and units of the GDR army surrounded West Berlin with barbed wire fences and erected concrete wall up to 4 m high and over 150 km long. Observation towers were installed along the entire perimeter of the wall. The Berlin Wall in the eyes of the Western public has become a symbol of the split between Europe and the world. As for socialist Germany, by erecting the wall, the government of the GDR stopped the flow of refugees and the drain of material resources to West Germany, restored control over its territory, which helped to strengthen its position.

Prague Spring. By the beginning of the 1960s, the Czechoslovak leadership came to the conclusion that the foundations of socialism were to be laid in the country. This was reflected in the new Constitution adopted in July 1960. The name of the state was also changed - the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The leaders of the HRC unreasonably claimed that all tasks transition period fulfilled by the state and moral and political unity has been achieved in society. However, subsequent developments showed that such beliefs were an illusion.

The country has accumulated a lot of unresolved problems. In particular, the national question was acute. According to the Constitution of 1960, the powers of the Slovak state bodies were significantly narrowed compared to the Constitution of 1948. Slovaks felt disadvantaged. By pursuing a policy aimed at overcoming the economic inequality between Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and by investing in the development of the Slovak economy, the Czechoslovak government believed that the industrialization of Slovakia would automatically strengthen the unity of the two peoples. No specific measures have been taken to create equality between them. All this created tension in relations between the two peoples.

By the mid-1960s, the country's economic situation had worsened. This affected the living standards of the population. The obviousness of taking urgent measures to overcome the difficulties that arose was realized by all representatives of the Czechoslovak leadership.

The leadership of Czechoslovakia, headed by the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia A. Novotny, who simultaneously held the post of president, did not inspire confidence among the majority of representatives of the party and state apparatus due to their inability to solve the problems that had accumulated in the country. At the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia held in January 1968, Novot-ny was removed from the post of first secretary of the Central Committee, and later deprived of his presidential post. Alexander Dubcek was elected the first secretary of the Central Committee, having won authority for himself by sharply criticizing Novotny.

Initially, the policy of the new leadership was aimed at eliminating the existing shortcomings. It was decided to remove obstacles to establish full equality between Czechs and Slovaks. The program of political and economic reforms, during which it was supposed to create new look socialism "with a human face".

However, forces began to form around A. Dubcek, which were cramped within the framework of the proposed new model of socialism. Under the guise of improving this system, they wanted to completely abolish it, replace the planned economic system with a market mechanism, and reorient the economy of Czechoslovakia to the West. From criticizing the shortcomings of socialism, the liberal wing of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia moved on to criticizing it as a system, demanding a change in the political structure of society. Those members of the Central Committee and the government who expressed disagreement with the proposed course were classed as "dogmatists" and "conservatives" and subjected to moral terror.

Soon the Czechoslovak marketers became convinced that A. Dubcek was too indecisive a figure to radical steps. However, at that moment there was no one to replace him, and it was not advisable, since in the eyes of the public he looked like a reformer of “bad socialism”. And to openly announce the transition to market relations, according to the Czechoslovak liberals, it was still premature, since most of the society would hardly support this idea. Therefore, the slogan was put forward: “With Dubcek - against Dubcek”.

The alignment of forces in society looked as follows. Supporters of A. Novotny defended the old methods of leadership and advocated the preservation of the old order. The reformist wing in the CPC tried to overcome the crisis that had arisen and begin large-scale reforms to humanize the socialist model. Liberal Forces, formed in the party and government, sought to completely eliminate socialism, considering it a utopia, and the transition to market relations. According to modern researchers of the Prague Spring, this group was not numerous and did not pose a threat to the system that existed in Czechoslovakia.

Dubcek Alexander (1921-1992)

Born in Slovakia. He spent his childhood and youth in the Soviet Union. Since 1939 - a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KPC). Participated in World War II. From the end of the 1940s, he held responsible party and government posts. Since 1958 he has been a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. In 1968 he was elected first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. In April 1968, he published the official document of the Prague Spring - the Program of Action of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, aimed at liberalizing public life. He carried out the rehabilitation of political prisoners, abolished censorship in the media, and banned the persecution of opposition-minded representatives of the intelligentsia. He condemned the entry into Czechoslovakia of the troops of the five Warsaw Pact countries. He was arrested, removed from his leadership post and sent as an ambassador to Turkey. Two months later, he was recalled by the new Czechoslovak leadership and expelled from the party as "the leading representative of the right-wing revisionist direction in the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia." More than 15 years he worked in one of the Slovak forestries. In 1989 he returned to politics and became the leader of the Slovak Social Democratic Party. In 1989 he was elected chairman of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia. In 1992 he died in a car accident.

The policy of glasnost and political pluralism, established in Czechoslovak society, led to the appearance of radical critical publications on the pages of the press. By the summer of 1968, the CPC had ceased to control the situation in society. This caused concern in Moscow. Conversations with A. Dubcek yielded no results. The Kremlin decided that the right-wing revisionist forces were a threat to the socialist gains in Czechoslovakia. After consultations with the leadership of the communist parties of the socialist community, a decision was made on the need to bring troops of the Warsaw Pact member countries into Czechoslovakia. On August 21, 1968, the troops of five ATS countries - the USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR and Poland - entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.

A. Dubcek was removed from the leadership. Hundreds of thousands of communists were expelled from the party as revisionists. At the end of August, Soviet-Czechoslovak talks took place in Moscow. They signed an agreement on the normalization of the situation in the country. The new leadership of the HRC regarded the actions of the Warsaw Pact countries as an "act of international assistance." In the interpretation of modern Czech historians, this action is regarded as an intervention.

From that time on, the concept formulated by L. I. Brezhnev, “on collective responsibility for the fate of socialism”, was approved, which involved interference in the internal affairs of the socialist countries. In the West, this concept was called the Brezhnev Doctrine. Features of the development of Bulgaria and Romania. In Bulgaria and Romania, unlike other countries of the socialist camp, since the mid-1950s, a conservative model of socialism has been developing. After the death of I. V. Stalin, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the BKP condemned the personality cult of the first secretary of the Central Committee, V. Chervenkov, and the methods of his leadership. The public pinned their hopes on the arrival of a new leader, Todor Zhivkov. However, the Bulgarian “thaw” did not last long. T. Zhivkov refused to fight the party bureaucracy and decided to go with the flow. Soon a new cult of personality was formed - now in the person of T. Zhivkov.

Abandoning deep reforms in society, the Bulgarian leader took active steps towards rapprochement with the USSR. He demonstrated his complete loyalty to the Soviet Union and contributed to the integration of the Bulgarian economy into the Soviet one. Such a policy allowed Bulgaria for quite a long time to maintain fairly high rates of development and maintain a stable standard of living for the population. In the early 1980s, a set of measures was taken to improve the quality of Bulgarian products. Specialized enterprises using advanced technologies began to be created. To meet the demand of the population for consumer goods, small and medium-sized enterprises operating on the principles of self-financing were established. Nevertheless, extensive development prevailed in most industries in Bulgaria.

An even more conservative path of development was characteristic of Romania. A rigid centralized model has been preserved in the country's economy. Romanian leaders Gheorghe Georgiou-Dej and his successor in 1965, Nicolae Ceausescu, took the path of forming an authoritarian model of development. In Romania, a rigid system of suppression of dissent has been formed. When the process of rehabilitation began in all socialist countries after the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the leader of the Romanian Workers' Party, G. Georgiou-Dej, declared that there was no one to rehabilitate in Romania, since everyone had been convicted legally. The State Security Service "Securitate" had complete freedom of action. All mass public organizations were united in the Front for Democracy and Socialist Unity (FDSE), which was under the control of the RCP.

The path of development chosen by the Romanian leaders was presented as a return to national origins. Since the late 1950s, Romania has been demonstratively emphasizing its independence in the international arena and showing its isolation from the USSR in foreign policy.

A characteristic feature of the Romanian economy was significant disproportions between heavy and light industry and active financial support from the West, which encouraged the foreign policy of the Ceausescu regime. In the 70s, Romania was even granted the status of a developing country and the most favorable treatment in economic relations with the United States.

Polish crisis of the 70s - 80s. From the mid-1960s, the methods of leadership condemned in 1956 began to revive in the party-state leadership of the Polish People's Republic. In 1968, a conflict arose between the authorities and the intelligentsia, which protested against the diktat in cultural policy. Social problems were also brewing in the country. The government of W. Gomulka in December 1970 decided to significantly increase the prices of consumer goods while freezing wages. In response to this, strikes broke out in Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin and other cities along the Baltic coast. The militia and troops were involved in their suppression. These events led to the resignation of W. Gomulka. Edward Gierek was elected the first secretary of the PUWP Central Committee.

The new Polish leadership canceled the price increase and proclaimed a course to improve the material well-being of the working people. Wages were raised for significant categories of workers and employees, allowances for large families, pensions, and compulsory deliveries of agricultural products by peasants to the state were eliminated. However, by the mid-1970s, the situation escalated again. One of the reasons for the new round of the crisis was Poland's purchase of equipment and technologies from the West and the processing of large loans and borrowings. Poland's focus on Western investment has led to an increase in the country's debt. The annual growth of debt repayments exceeded 25% of annual income from the export of goods and services. Calculations to repay the debt by exporting Polish goods to the West did not materialize. In the event of non-payment of the next amount of debt, Poland could present political claims.

Opposition forces have become more active in Poland since the mid-1970s. Another L. Walesa crisis erupted in the summer of 1980. The reason for it was the introduction of commercial prices for meat. A wave of strikes swept across the country. Gdansk became the center of the strike movement. Here the charter of the independent trade union "Solidarity" was approved, the leader of which was elected electrician Lech Walesa. The need for such an organization, of course, is ripe, since the official trade unions have in fact ceased to protect the interests of workers. However, Solidarity soon began to develop from a trade union into a political organization, which aims to change the existing system. In 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski became the head of the PZPR. In order to avoid the escalation of confrontation in society into an open clash of opposition forces, he insisted that the State Council introduce martial law in the country. This prevented the entry into Poland of the ATS troops. Solidarity and other opposition groups were banned.

“Manifesto 2000 words”

(Extract from the program statement of the Czechoslovak opposition in 1968)

While many workers thought they were running the country, in fact, a special layer of party and government officials ruled the country on their behalf. In fact, they took the place of the overthrown class and became the new masters themselves...

Since the beginning of this year, we have been in the revival process of democratization ... We have already said so much and discovered so much that there is nothing left but to complete our intention to humanize this regime. Otherwise, the revenge of the old forces would be too cruel. We appeal primarily to those who have so far only waited. The time that comes, decides our fate for many years ...

1.What changes have occurred in the people's democracies in the 50s - 60s?

2. Tell us about the events of the Prague Spring.

3.What were the features of the development of Bulgaria and Romania?

4. Name the causes of the Polish crisis of the 70s - 80s and describe its course.

5. Why did the Solidarity trade union arise? What was the focus of his work?

Abstract: The countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe: the formation of states of people's democracy

Countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe

The formation of states of people's democracy

Formation of People's Democratic Governments

Contradictions in the National Fronts between the communist parties and their allies

Prospects for the transition to socialism by peaceful means

Formation of people's democratic governments. During the Second World War, in all countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, National (People's) Fronts were formed, in which workers, peasants, petty bourgeois, and, at the last stage, in some countries, the bourgeois

jazz parties. The rallying of such diverse social and political forces became possible in the name of

national goal - liberation from fascism, restoration of national independence and demo-

critical freedoms. This goal was achieved as a result of the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies by the Armed Forces of the USSR, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and the actions of the anti-fascist resistance movement. In 1943-1945, in all countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe,

or the governments of the National Fronts, in which for the first time in history the communists took part, which reflected their role in the struggle against fascism.

In Albania and Yugoslavia, where the Communists played the leading role in the national liberation struggle and the National Fronts, they led the new governments. Coalitions have been formed in other countries

on governments.

The cooperation of various parties within the framework of the National Fronts was explained by the difficulty of the tasks that

who appeared before the countries liberated from fascism. Under the new conditions, it was necessary to unite efforts

all democratic parties and organizations. The need to expand the social base and recognition

Western powers of the governments of Yugoslavia and Poland that arose during the period of the liberation struggle led to the inclusion in their composition of representatives of emigration and those internal forces that did not accept

little participation in the National Fronts led by the Communists.

The efforts of all governments were aimed at solving urgent national problems: lik-

evidence of the consequences of the domination of the occupation and local fascist regimes, the revival of the destroyed

war and occupation of the economy, the restoration of democracy. Was destroyed created by the invaders

the state apparatus, state institutions in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania are cleared of fa-

shist elements, the activities of the fascist and reactionary parties, which were responsible

for national disasters, was banned. Democratic constitutions were restored, abolished

the activities of parties that were not part of the National Fronts were allowed. Along with the previous structures

rams of state power began to operate new, born in the course of the liberation struggle, national

onal committees, councils.

Of the social tasks in all countries, with the exception of Bulgaria, where this problem was solved as a result of

date of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the elimination of large landowners became a priority

land ownership and allotment of land to peasants. The basis of those begun in some countries even before the full mastery of

for agrarian reforms, the principle was laid: “ The land belongs to those who cultivate it” . Con-

confiscated from the landowners and those who collaborated with the occupiers, the land was transferred for a small fee

peasants in the property, and partly passed to the state. In Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia

the lands of the Germans were confiscated, who, by decision of the Allied Powers, were resettled on the territory of Germany

mania. The programs of the National Fronts did not contain a direct demand for the liquidation of the capitalist

which property, but provided for the seizure of the property of the Nazis and their accomplices and the punishment for

national betrayal, as a result of which enterprises belonging to German capital and that part of the bourgeoisie that collaborated with the Nazis passed under state control.

Thus, as a result of the elimination of fascism and the restoration of national independence in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe in 1943-1945, a new system was established, which received

then the name of people's democracy. In the political sphere, its characteristic feature was the multi-party

strictness, in which the activities of fascist and obviously reactionary parties were not allowed, and a significant

Communist and workers' parties played a role in governments and other organs of power. Romania does not

only formally, as was the case in Hungary and Bulgaria, the institution of the monarchy was preserved. In the field of economics

while maintaining private and cooperative enterprises significantly greater than in the pre-war period,

the public sector began to play a role. The most serious changes took place in agriculture.

ve, where the solution of the agrarian question began in the interests of the poorest peasantry.

There have also been changes in the foreign policy orientation of the people's democracies. Back in time

war with the Soviet Union, treaties of friendship, mutual assistance and post-war cooperation were signed

cooperation with Czechoslovakia (December 1943), Yugoslavia and Poland (April 1945). Over Bolga-

ria, Hungary and Romania, as former satellites of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union jointly

but with the United States of America and Great Britain established control - the Union acted here -

control commissions (JCC), in which, thanks to the presence of Soviet troops, representatives of the USSR had a stronger position than their Western partners.

Contradictions in the National Fronts between the communist parties and their allies. In Albania and Yugoslavia, the communist parties occupied dominant positions in political life.

Having resumed their activities after the liberation of the country, numerous pre-war petty-bourgeois

The political and peasant parties of Yugoslavia were unable to compete with the Communist Party

Yugoslavia (CPY) and related organizations. This was shown by the elections to the Constituent Assembly in the

November 1945, in which the Popular Front won a landslide victory (90% of the vote). In Albania

the candidates of the Communist-led Democratic Front collected 97.7% of the vote. Another situation-

tion was in other countries: in Hungary, in the first post-war elections (November 1945), the communists

military forces, they succeeded in having the elections postponed and held only in January 1947.

The role of the communists in the government was more significant than can be judged on the basis of par-

parliamentary elections. The support of the Soviet Union created the most favorable opportunities for the Communist Parties.

in order to begin the gradual pushing back of their allies on the National Front with

their positions in political life. Retaining, as a rule, the posts of ministers of the interior

affairs and exercising control over the organs of state security, and in a number of countries - over the armed

forces, the communist parties largely determined the policy of the people's democratic governments.

telst, even if they did not have the majority of portfolios in them.

On many issues that were resolved by the new government, contradictions arose between the communists and

other parties of the National Fronts. The bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties believed that with the resurrection

the new national independence, the constitutional system, the punishment of war criminals and those who collaborated with the Nazis, the implementation of agrarian and some other reforms of the task, the

announced in the programs of the National Fronts have been fully implemented. They advocated further

development of the states of Central and South-Eastern Europe along the path of bourgeois democracy with external

political orientation towards the countries of the West and the preservation of friendly relations with the Soviet Union.

Communist Parties, considering the establishment of a people's democracy system as a stage on the way to the proclaimed

their ultimate goal - the construction of socialism, considered it necessary to continue and deepen the begun

transformations. Using the urban and rural bourgeoisie, capital and entrepreneurial initiative

tivu to solve the problems of reconstruction, the communists at the same time waged an ever-increasing offensive against

its political and economic positions.

Transfer into the hands of the state (nationalization) of the property of German capital and that part of the bourgeoisie

which collaborated with the Nazis, led to the formation in all countries of a more or less powerful state

public sector of the economy. Following this, the communist parties began to seek the nationalization of the property of the national bourgeoisie. This was done first in Yugoslavia, where the January

The constitution of 1946 made it possible, if the public interest required it, to export private property. As a result, already at the end of 1946, a law was issued on the nationalization of all

private enterprises of national and republican significance. Private owners have

only small industrial enterprises and craft workshops.

In Poland, when the National Bank was created, private banks, deprived of the opportunity to exchange their cash for new banknotes, were forced to cease to exist. By-

torture of private owners to obtain the return of enterprises that were captured by the occupiers and, when liberated,

denia of the country that came under temporary state administration, were only partially successful. Entering-

the Polish Peasants' Party - Polskie Stolnitstvo Ludowe (PSL), joining the National Front,

headed by the former prime minister of the emigration government, S. Mikolajczyk, did not object to

socialization of key industries, but was opposed to the main form of this generalization

The transition was the transfer of enterprises to the ownership of the state. She advocated for them to be taken

cooperatives and local self-government bodies. But in January 1946, at the insistence of the Polish

Which Labor Party (PPR) passed the law on nationalization, according to which nationalization took place

large and medium industry.

In Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, which were under the control of the JCC, an attack on the positions of the bourgeoisie

It was carried out by establishing state and workers' control over private enterprises, and not by means of nationalization.

Thus, almost already in 1945-1946, the Communist parties managed to achieve that the

the process of seizing the property of the bourgeoisie and passing it into the hands of the state. This meant going beyond the programs of the National Fronts, the transition from solving national problems to solving problems of social

al character.

Relying on the Soviet troops remaining in most countries and the troops at their disposal,

security agencies, the communist parties were able to strike at the political positions of the bourgeois

aznyh and petty-bourgeois parties, forced in a number of cases to pass into the opposition. On charges

supporters of the opposition were arrested in conspiratorial activities. In Hungary at the beginning of 1947,

These allegations have been leveled against a number of leaders of the Party of Small Farmers (SWP), including

including against the head of government. Many of them, fearing arrest, were forced to flee abroad. In Bulgaria, N. Petkov, one of the leaders of the BZNS, was executed, and in Romania a number of national figures were put on trial.

nal-tsaranista (peasant) party. In Poland, in the elections to the Sejm in January 1947, led by

the Communist bloc defeated the peasant party of S. Mikolajczyk. PSL protests in connection with

numerous violations during the election campaign and persecution of the candidates of this party

ties were rejected. Shortly thereafter, the PSL, as an opposition political party, left the scene, and

Mikolajczyk was forced to flee abroad to avoid arrest.

Thus, by the middle of 1947, in many countries, the communist parties were able to remove their allies from the right from the National Fronts and strengthen their own positions in the leadership of the state.

gifts and economic life. Only in Czechoslovakia, where, as a result of elections to the Legislative

assembly in May 1946, the HRC came out on top, the precarious balance of power in the National

nom front. But even there the Communists practically took decisive positions.

Prospects for the transition to socialism by peaceful means. In 1945-1946, the leaders of a number of communist parties

stated that the political and socio-economic transformations carried out during the formation

development and development of the people's democracy, are not yet of a socialist nature, but create the conditions for the transition to socialism in the future. They believed that this transition could be carried out in a different way than

in the Soviet Union - without the dictatorship of the proletariat and civil war, by peaceful means. At the first congress

PPR in December 1945, it was recognized that in the conditions of the people's democratic system, creating a

conditions for the further struggle of the working class and working people for their complete social emancipation,

it is possible to advance towards socialism in an evolutionary, peaceful manner, without upheavals, without the dictatorship of the proletariat.

that. G. Dimitrov considered it possible“ on the basis of people's democracy and a parliamentary regime, one day to pass to socialism without the dictatorship of the proletariat” . Leaders of other communist parties

also considered people's democratic power as a transitional one, which will gradually develop into

socialist. Stalin did not object to such views, who in the summer of 1946, in an interview with

K. Gottwald admitted that in the conditions that developed after the Second World War, another path to

socialism, not necessarily providing for the Soviet system and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

As can be seen, in the early years of the existence of people's democracy, the leaders of the communist parties of the countries of the Central

l and South-Eastern Europe, considering the Soviet system as a classic example of the transition to

socialism, allowed for the possibility of a different path, which would take into account national specifics and

the existence of interclass alliances, which found expression in the National Fronts. This concept

The idea did not receive a comprehensive development, it was outlined only in the most general terms. It was proposed

that the transition to socialism will take a long time. The events that followed did not justify

the expectations that have arisen.