The Great Patriotic War ended in victory, which the Soviet people had been seeking for four years. Men fought on the fronts, women worked on collective farms, in military factories - in a word, they provided the rear. However, the euphoria caused by the long-awaited victory was replaced by a feeling of hopelessness. Continuous hard work, hunger, Stalinist repressions, renewed with new strength, - these phenomena darkened the post-war years.

In the history of the USSR the term " cold war". Used in relation to the period of military, ideological and economic confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States. It begins in 1946, that is, in the post-war years. The USSR emerged victorious from World War II, but, unlike the United States, it had a long recovery path.

Construction

According to the Fourth Five-Year Plan, the implementation of which began in the USSR in the post-war years, it was necessary first of all to restore the cities destroyed by fascist troops. More than 1.5 thousand were injured in four years settlements. Young people quickly acquired various construction specialties. However, there was not enough labor - the war claimed the lives of more than 25 million Soviet citizens.

To restore normal work hours, overtime work was canceled. Annual paid holidays were introduced. The working day now lasted eight hours. Peaceful construction in the USSR in the post-war years was headed by the Council of Ministers.

Industry

Plants and factories destroyed during the Second World War were actively restored in the post-war years. In the USSR, by the end of the forties, old enterprises started operating. New ones were also built. The post-war period in the USSR is 1945-1953, that is, it begins after the end of the Second World War. Ends with the death of Stalin.

The restoration of industry after the war occurred rapidly, partly due to the high working capacity of the Soviet people. Citizens of the USSR were convinced that they had a great life, much better than the Americans, existing under the conditions of decaying capitalism. This was facilitated by the Iron Curtain, which isolated the country culturally and ideologically from the whole world for forty years.

They worked a lot, but their life did not become easier. In the USSR in 1945-1953 there was a rapid development of three industries: missile, radar, and nuclear. Most of the resources were spent on the construction of enterprises that belonged to these areas.

Agriculture

The first post-war years were terrible for the residents. In 1946, the country was gripped by famine caused by destruction and drought. A particularly difficult situation was observed in Ukraine, Moldova, in the right-bank regions of the lower Volga region and in the North Caucasus. New collective farms were created throughout the country.

In order to strengthen the spirit of Soviet citizens, directors, commissioned by officials, shot a huge number of films telling about the happy life of collective farmers. These films enjoyed wide popularity, and were watched with admiration even by those who knew what a collective economy really was.

In the villages, people worked from dawn to dawn, while living in poverty. That is why later, in the fifties, young people left villages and went to cities, where life was at least a little easier.

Standard of living

In the post-war years, people suffered from hunger. In 1947 there was, but most goods remained in short supply. Hunger has returned. Prices for ration goods were raised. Nevertheless, over the course of five years, starting in 1948, products gradually became cheaper. This somewhat improved the standard of living of Soviet citizens. In 1952, the price of bread was 39% lower than in 1947, and for milk - 70%.

The availability of essential goods did not make life much easier for ordinary people, but, being under the Iron Curtain, most of them easily believed in the illusory idea of the best country in the world.

Until 1955, Soviet citizens were convinced that they owed Stalin for victory in the Great Patriotic War. But such a situation was not observed throughout the entire region. In those regions that were annexed to the Soviet Union after the war, much fewer conscious citizens lived, for example, in the Baltic states and Western Ukraine, where anti-Soviet organizations appeared in the 40s.

Friendly States

After the end of the war, communists came to power in countries such as Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and the GDR. The USSR established diplomatic relations with these states. At the same time, the conflict with the West has intensified.

According to the 1945 treaty, Transcarpathia was transferred to the USSR. The Soviet-Polish border has changed. After the end of the war, many people lived in the territory former citizens other countries, for example Poland. The Soviet Union entered into a population exchange agreement with this country. Poles living in the USSR now had the opportunity to return to their homeland. Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians could leave Poland. It is noteworthy that at the end of the forties, only about 500 thousand people returned to the USSR. To Poland - twice as much.

Criminal situation

In the post-war years in the USSR with banditry law enforcement agencies started a serious fight. Crime peaked in 1946. During this year, about 30 thousand armed robberies were recorded.

To combat rampant crime, new employees were accepted into the ranks of the police, as a rule, former front-line soldiers. It was not so easy to restore peace to Soviet citizens, especially in Ukraine and the Baltic states, where the criminal situation was most depressing. During the Stalin years, a fierce struggle was waged not only against “enemies of the people,” but also against ordinary robbers. From January 1945 to December 1946, more than three and a half thousand gang organizations were liquidated.

Repression

Back in the early twenties, many intellectuals left the country. They knew about the fate of those who did not have time to flee Soviet Russia. Nevertheless, at the end of the forties, some accepted the offer to return to their homeland. Russian nobles were returning home. But to another country. Many were sent immediately upon their return to Stalin’s camps.

In the post-war years it reached its apogee. Saboteurs, dissidents and other “enemies of the people” were placed in the camps. The fate of the soldiers and officers who found themselves surrounded during the war was sad. At best, they spent several years in camps, until which the cult of Stalin was debunked. But many were shot. In addition, the conditions in the camps were such that only the young and healthy could endure them.

In the post-war years, Marshal Georgy Zhukov became one of the most respected people in the country. His popularity irritated Stalin. However, put behind bars folk hero he didn't dare. Zhukov was known not only in the USSR, but also beyond its borders. The leader knew how to create uncomfortable conditions in other ways. In 1946, the “aviators’ case” was fabricated. Zhukov was removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces and sent to Odessa. Several generals close to the marshal were arrested.

Culture

In 1946, the struggle against Western influence began. It was expressed in the popularization of domestic culture and the ban on everything foreign. Soviet writers, artists, and directors were persecuted.

In the forties, as already mentioned, a huge number of war films were shot. These paintings were subject to strict censorship. The characters were created according to a template, the plot was built according to a clear pattern. Music was also strictly controlled. Only compositions praising Stalin and the happy Soviet life. This did not have the best effect on the development of national culture.

Science

The development of genetics began in the thirties. In the post-war period, this science found itself in exile. Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet biologist and agronomist, became the main participant in the attack on geneticists. In August 1948, academicians who had made a significant contribution to the development of domestic science lost the opportunity to engage in research activities.

U Great Victory there was also a Great Price. The war claimed 27 million human lives. The country's economy, especially in the territory subject to occupation, was thoroughly undermined: 1,710 cities and towns, more than 70 thousand villages and hamlets, about 32 thousand industrial enterprises, 65 thousand km of railway tracks, 75 million people lost their homes. The concentration of efforts on military production, necessary to achieve victory, led to a significant depletion of the population's resources and to a decrease in the production of consumer goods. During the war, the previously insignificant housing construction fell sharply, while the country's housing stock was partially destroyed. Later, unfavorable economic and social factors: low wages, an acute housing crisis, the involvement of more and more women in production, etc.

After the war, the birth rate began to decline. In the 50s it was 25 (per 1000), and before the war 31. In 1971-1972, per 1000 women aged 15-49 years there were half as many children born per year than in 1938-1939 . In the first post-war years, the working age population of the USSR was also significantly lower than the pre-war one. There is information at the beginning of 1950 in the USSR there were 178.5 million people, that is, 15.6 million less than there were in 1930 - 194.1 million people. In the 60s there was an even greater decline.

The decline in fertility in the first post-war years was associated with the death of entire age groups of men. The death of a significant part of the country's male population during the war created a difficult, often catastrophic situation for millions of families. A large category of widowed families and single mothers has emerged. The woman had double responsibilities: providing financial support for the family and caring for the family itself and raising children. Although the state took upon itself, especially in large industrial centers, part of the care of children, creating a network of nurseries and kindergartens, they were not enough. To some extent, the institution of “grandmothers” saved me.

The difficulties of the first post-war years were compounded by the enormous damage suffered by agriculture during the war. The occupiers ruined 98 thousand collective farms and 1876 state farms, took away and slaughtered many millions of heads of livestock, and almost completely deprived rural areas occupied areas of draft power. In agricultural areas, the number of able-bodied people decreased by almost one third. The depletion of human resources in the countryside was also the result of the natural process of urban growth. The village lost an average of up to 2 million people per year. Difficult living conditions in the villages forced young people to leave for the cities. Some demobilized soldiers settled in cities after the war and did not want to return to agriculture.

During the war, in many regions of the country, significant areas of land belonging to collective farms were transferred to enterprises and cities, or illegally seized by them. In other areas, land became the subject of purchase and sale. Back in 1939, a decree was issued by the Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party (6) and the Council of People's Commissars on measures to combat the squandering of collective farm lands. By the beginning of 1947, more than 2,255 thousand cases of land appropriation or use had been discovered, a total of 4.7 million hectares. Between 1947 and May 1949, the use of 5.9 million hectares of collective farm land was additionally revealed. The higher authorities, starting from local and ending with republican ones, brazenly robbed collective farms, collecting from them, under various pretexts, actual rent in kind.

The debt of various organizations to collective farms amounted to 383 million rubles by September 1946.

In the Akmola region of the Kazakh SGR, the authorities in 1949 took 1,500 heads of livestock, 3 thousand centners of grain and products worth about 2 million rubles from collective farms. The robbers, among whom were leading party and Soviet workers, were not brought to justice.

The squandering of collective farm lands and goods belonging to collective farms caused great indignation among collective farmers. For example, on general meetings collective farmers in the Tyumen region (Siberia), dedicated to the resolution of September 19, 1946, 90 thousand collective farmers participated, and the activity was unusual: 11 thousand collective farmers spoke. In the Kemerovo region, at meetings to elect new boards, 367 chairmen of collective farms, 2,250 board members and 502 chairmen of the audit commissions of the previous composition were nominated. However, the new composition of the boards could not achieve any significant change: public policy remained the same. Therefore, there was no way out of the deadlock.

After the end of the war, the production of tractors, agricultural machinery and equipment was quickly established. But, despite the improvement in supply agriculture machines, tractors, strengthening the material and technical base of state farms and MTS, the situation in agriculture remained catastrophic. The state continued to invest extremely insignificant funds in agriculture - in the post-war five-year plan, only 16% of all allocations for the national economy.

In 1946, only 76% of the sown area was sown compared to 1940. Due to drought and other troubles, the 1946 harvest was lower even compared to the para-war year of 1945. “In fact, in terms of grain production, the country for a long period was at the level that pre-revolutionary Russia had,” admitted N. S. Khrushchev. In 1910-1914, the gross grain harvest was 4380 million poods, in 1949-1953 - 4942 million poods. Grain yields were lower than those of 1913, despite mechanization, fertilizers, etc.

Grain yield

1913 -- 8.2 centners per hectare

1925-1926 -- 8.5 centners per hectare

1926-1932 -- 7.5 centners per hectare

1933-1937 -- 7.1 centners per hectare

1949-1953 -- 7.7 centners per hectare

Accordingly, there were fewer agricultural products per capita. Taking the pre-collectivization period of 1928-1929 as 100, production in 1913 was 90.3, in 1930-1932 - 86.8, in 1938-1940 - 90.0, in 1950-1953 - 94.0. As can be seen from the table, the grain problem has worsened, despite a decrease in grain exports (from 1913 to 1938 by 4.5 times), a reduction in the number of livestock and, consequently, in grain consumption. The number of horses decreased from 1928 to 1935 by 25 million heads, which resulted in savings of more than 10 million tons of grain, 10-15% of the gross grain harvest of that time.

In 1916, there were 58.38 million cattle on the territory of Russia; on January 1, 1941, its number decreased to 54.51 million, and in 1951 there were 57.09 million heads, that is, it was still below the level 1916. The number of cows exceeded the 1916 level only in 1955. In general, according to official data, from 1940 to 1952, gross agricultural output increased (in comparable prices) by only 10%!

The plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in February 1947 demanded even greater centralization of agricultural production, effectively depriving collective farms of the right to decide not only how much, but what to sow. Political departments were restored in machine and tractor stations - propaganda was supposed to replace food for the completely starved and impoverished collective farmers. Collective farms were obliged, in addition to fulfilling state deliveries, to fill up the seed funds, set aside part of the harvest in an indivisible fund, and only after that give the collective farmers money for workdays. State supplies were still planned from the center, harvest prospects were determined by eye, and the actual harvest was often much lower than planned. The first commandment of the collective farmers, “give first to the state,” had to be fulfilled in any way. Local party and Soviet organizations often forced the more successful collective farms to pay in grain and other products for their impoverished neighbors, which ultimately led to the impoverishment of both. Collective farmers fed themselves mainly from food grown on their dwarf plots. But in order to export their products to the market, they needed a special certificate certifying that they had paid for mandatory government supplies. Otherwise, they were considered deserters and speculators, and were subject to fines and even imprisonment. Taxes on personal plots of collective farmers have increased. Collective farmers were required to supply products in kind, which they often did not produce. Therefore, they were forced to purchase these products at market prices and hand them over to the state for free. The Russian village did not know such a terrible state even during the time of the Tatar yoke.

In 1947, a significant part of the country's European territory suffered famine. It arose after a severe drought that affected the main agricultural breadbaskets of the European part of the USSR: a significant part of Ukraine, Moldova, the Lower Volga region, the central regions of Russia, and Crimea. In previous years, the state completely took away the harvest as part of government supplies, sometimes not even leaving a seed fund. Crop failure occurred in a number of areas that were subject to German occupation, that is, they were robbed many times by both strangers and their own. As a result, there were no food supplies to survive the difficult time. The Soviet state demanded more and more millions of pounds of grain from the completely robbed peasants. For example, in 1946, a year of severe drought, Ukrainian collective farmers owed the state 400 million poods (7.2 million tons) of grain. This figure, and most other planned targets, were set arbitrarily and did not in any way correlate with the actual capabilities of Ukrainian agriculture.

Desperate peasants sent letters to the Ukrainian government in Kyiv and the allied government in Moscow, begging them to come to their aid and save them from starvation. Khrushchev, who was at that time the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine, after long and painful hesitation (he was afraid of being accused of sabotage and losing his place), nevertheless sent a letter to Stalin, in which he asked for permission to temporarily introduce a card system and save food for supplies to the agricultural population. Stalin, in a reply telegram, rudely rejected the request of the Ukrainian government. Now the Ukrainian peasants faced hunger and death. People began to die in the thousands. Cases of cannibalism appeared. Khrushchev cites in his memoirs a letter to him from the secretary of the Odessa Regional Party Committee A.I. Kirichenko, who visited one of the collective farms in the winter of 1946-1947. This is what he reported: “I saw a terrible scene. The woman put the corpse of her own child on the table and cut it into pieces. She spoke madly as she did this: “We have already eaten Manechka. Now we will salt Vanichka. This will support us for a while.” "Can you imagine this? A woman went crazy because of hunger and cut her own children into pieces! Famine raged in Ukraine.

However, Stalin and his closest aides did not want to reckon with the facts. The merciless Kaganovich was sent to Ukraine as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b)U, and Khrushchev temporarily fell out of favor and was transferred to the post of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine. But no movement could save the situation: the famine continued, and it claimed about a million human lives.

In 1952, government prices for grain, meat, and pork supplies were lower than in 1940. Prices paid for potatoes were lower than transportation costs. Collective farms were paid an average of 8 rubles 63 kopecks per hundredweight of grain. State farms received 29 rubles 70 kopecks per hundredweight.

In order to buy a kilogram of butter, a collective farmer had to work... 60 workdays, and to purchase a very modest suit, he needed a year's earnings.

Most collective and state farms in the country in the early 50s harvested extremely low harvests. Even in such fertile regions of Russia as the Central Black Earth Region, the Volga region and Kazakhstan, harvests remained extremely low, because the center endlessly prescribed what to sow and how to sow. The matter, however, was not only about stupid orders from above and insufficient material and technical base. For many years, the peasants were beaten out of love for their work, for the land. Once upon a time, the land rewarded the labor expended, for their dedication to their peasant work, sometimes generously, sometimes meagerly. Now this incentive, officially called the “material interest incentive,” has disappeared. Work on the land turned into free or low-income forced labor.

Many collective farmers were starving, others were systematically malnourished. Household plots were saved. The situation was especially difficult in the European part of the USSR. The situation was much better in Central Asia, where there were high procurement prices for cotton, the main agricultural crop, and in the south, which specialized in vegetable growing, fruit production and winemaking.

In 1950, the consolidation of collective farms began. Their number decreased from 237 thousand to 93 thousand in 1953. The consolidation of collective farms could contribute to their economic strengthening. However, insufficient capital investments, mandatory deliveries and low procurement prices, the lack of a sufficient number of trained specialists and machine operators, and, finally, the restrictions imposed by the state on personal plots of collective farmers deprived them of incentive to work and destroyed hopes of escaping the grip of need. 33 million collective farmers who fed their hard work The country's 200 million population remained, after the prisoners, the poorest, most offended layer of Soviet society.

Let us now see what the position of the working class and other urban sections of the population was at this time.

As is known, one of the first acts of the Provisional Government after February Revolution was the introduction of an 8-hour working day. Before this, Russian workers worked 10 and sometimes 12 hours a day. As for collective farmers, their working day, as in the pre-revolutionary years, remained irregular. In 1940 they returned to 8 o'clock.

According to official Soviet statistics, the average wage of a Soviet worker increased more than 11-fold between the beginning of industrialization (1928) and the end of the Stalin era (1954). But this does not give an idea of real wages. Soviet sources give fantastic calculations that have nothing to do with reality. Western researchers have calculated that during this period, the cost of living, according to the most conservative estimates, increased 9-10 times in the period 1928-1954. However, the worker in the Soviet Union has, in addition to the official wages received in person, additionally, in the form of social services provided to him by the state. It returns to workers in the form of free medical care, education and other things part of the earnings alienated by the state.

According to calculations by the largest American specialist in Soviet economy Janet Chapman additional increases in wages of workers and employees, taking into account changes in prices, after 1927 were: in 1928 - 15% in 1937 - 22.1%; in 194O - 20.7%; in 1948 - 29.6%; in 1952 - 22.2%; 1954 - 21.5%. The cost of living in the same years grew as follows, taking 1928 as 100:

From this table it is clear that the increase in wages of Soviet workers and employees was lower than the increase in the cost of living. For example, by 1948, wages in monetary terms had doubled since 1937, but the cost of living had more than tripled. The fall in real wages was also associated with an increase in the amount of loan subscriptions and taxation. The significant increase in real wages by 1952 was still below the level of 1928, although it exceeded the level of real wages in the pre-war years of 1937 and 1940.

To get a correct idea of the situation of the Soviet worker in comparison with his foreign colleagues, let us compare how many products could be bought for 1 hour of work expended. Taking the initial data of the hourly wage of a Soviet worker as 100, we obtain the following comparative table:

The picture is striking: for the same time spent, an English worker could purchase more than 3.5 times more products in 1952, and an American worker could purchase 5.6 times more products than a Soviet worker.

Among Soviet people, especially the older generations, the opinion has taken root that under Stalin prices were reduced every year, and under Khrushchev and after him prices were constantly rising. Hence, there is even some nostalgia for Stalin’s times

The secret of lowering prices is extremely simple - it is based, firstly, on the huge rise in prices after the start of collectivization. In fact, if we take 1937 prices as 100, it turns out that yen per baked rye bread increased from 1928 to 1937 by 10.5 times, and by 1952 almost 19 times. Prices for first grade beef increased from 1928 to 1937 by 15.7, and by 1952 - by 17 times: for pork, by 10.5 and 20.5 times, respectively. The price of herring increased by almost 15 times by 1952. The cost of sugar rose 6 times by 1937, and 15 times by 1952. The price of sunflower oil rose 28 times from 1928 to 1937, and 34 times from 1928 to 1952. Prices for eggs increased from 1928 to 1937 by 11.3 times, and by 1952 by 19.3 times. And finally, potato prices rose 5 times from 1928 to 1937, and in 1952 they were 11 times higher than the 1928 price level

All this data is taken from Soviet price tags for different years.

Having once raised prices by 1500-2500 percent, then it was quite easy to organize a trick with annual price reductions. Secondly, the reduction in prices occurred due to the robbery of collective farmers, that is, extremely low state delivery and purchase prices. Back in 1953, procurement prices for potatoes in the Moscow and Leningrad regions were equal to ... 2.5 - 3 kopecks per kilogram. Finally, the majority of the population did not feel any difference in prices at all, since government supplies were very poor; in many areas, meat, fats and other products were not delivered to stores for years.

This is the “secret” of the annual price reduction during Stalin’s times.

A worker in the USSR, 25 years after the revolution, continued to eat worse than a Western worker.

The housing crisis has worsened. Compared to pre-revolutionary times, when the housing problem in densely populated cities was difficult (1913 - 7 square meters per person), in the post-revolutionary years, especially during the period of collectivization, the housing problem became unusually worse. Masses of rural residents poured into the cities, seeking relief from hunger or in search of work. Civil housing construction was unusually limited during Stalin's times. Apartments in the cities were given to responsible party and state apparatus. In Moscow, for example, in the early 30s, a huge residential complex was built on Bersenevskaya Embankment - the Government House with large comfortable apartments. A few hundred meters from the Government House there is another residential complex - a former almshouse, converted into communal apartments, where there was one kitchen and 1-2 toilets for 20-30 people.

Before the revolution, most workers lived near the enterprises in barracks; after the revolution, the barracks were called dormitories. Large enterprises built new dormitories for their workers, apartments for engineering, technical and administrative staff, but it was still impossible to solve the housing problem, since the lion's share of funds was spent on the development of industry, the military industry, and the energy system.

Housing conditions for the vast majority of the urban population worsened every year during Stalin's reign: the rate of population growth significantly exceeded the rate of civil housing construction.

In 1928, the housing area per city resident was 5.8 square meters. meters, in 1932 4.9 square meters. meters, in 1937 - 4.6 square meters. meters.

The 1st Five-Year Plan provided for the construction of new 62.5 million square meters. meters of living space, but only 23.5 million square meters were built. meters. According to the 2nd five-year plan, it was planned to build 72.5 million square meters. meters, 2.8 times less than 26.8 million square meters were built. meters.

In 1940, the living space per city resident was 4.5 square meters. meters.

Two years after Stalin's death, when mass housing construction began, there was 5.1 square meters per city resident. meters. In order to realize how crowded people lived, it should be mentioned that even the official Soviet housing standard is 9 square meters. meters per person (in Czechoslovakia - 17 sq. meters). Many families huddled in an area of 6 square meters. meters. They lived not in families, but in clans - two or three generations in one room.

The family of a cleaning lady at a large Moscow enterprise in the 13th century A-voy lived in a dormitory in a room with an area of 20 square meters. meters. The cleaner herself was the widow of the commandant of the border outpost who died at the beginning of the German-Soviet war. There were only seven fixed beds in the room. The remaining six people - adults and children - lay out on the floor for the night. Sexual relations happened almost in plain sight, they got used to it and didn’t pay attention. For 15 years, the three families living in the room unsuccessfully sought relocation. Only in the early 60s were they resettled.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of residents of the Soviet Union lived in such conditions in the post-war period. This was the legacy of the Stalin era.

The first year without war. For Soviet people it was different. This is a time of struggle against devastation, hunger and crime, but it is also a period of labor achievements, economic victories and new hopes.

Tests

In September 1945, the long-awaited peace came to Soviet soil. But it came at a high price. More than 27 million became victims of the war. people, 1,710 cities and 70 thousand villages were wiped off the face of the earth, 32 thousand enterprises were destroyed, 65 thousand kilometers railways, 98 thousand collective farms and 2890 machine and tractor stations. Direct damage to the Soviet economy amounted to 679 billion rubles. The national economy and heavy industry were set back at least ten years.

Hunger added to the enormous economic and human losses. It was facilitated by the drought of 1946, the collapse of agriculture, the lack of labor and equipment, which led to a significant loss of crops, as well as a decrease in livestock numbers by 40%. The population had to survive: cook borscht from nettles or bake cakes from linden leaves and flowers.

Dystrophy became a common diagnosis in the first post-war year. For example, by the beginning of 1947, in the Voronezh region alone there were 250 thousand patients with a similar diagnosis, in total in the RSFSR - about 600 thousand. According to Dutch economist Michael Ellman, a total of 1 to 1.5 million people died from famine in the USSR in 1946-1947.

Historian Veniamin Zima believes that the state had sufficient grain reserves to prevent famine. Thus, the volume of exported grain in 1946-48 was 5.7 million tons, which is 2.1 million tons more than the exports of the pre-war years.

To help the starving people from China, the Soviet government purchased about 200 thousand tons of grain and soybeans. Ukraine and Belarus, as victims of war, received assistance through UN channels.

Stalin's miracle

The war had just ended, but no one canceled the next five-year plan. In March 1946, the fourth five-year plan for 1946-1952 was adopted. His goals are ambitious: not only to achieve the pre-war level of industrial and agricultural production, but also to surpass it.

Iron discipline reigned at Soviet enterprises, ensuring rapid production rates. Paramilitary methods were necessary to organize the work of diverse groups of workers: 2.5 million prisoners, 2 million prisoners of war and about 10 million demobilized.

Particular attention was paid to the restoration of Stalingrad, destroyed by the war. Molotov then declared that not a single German would leave the USSR until the city was completely restored. And, it must be said that the painstaking work of the Germans in construction and public utilities contributed to the appearance of Stalingrad, which rose from the ruins.

In 1946, the government adopted a plan providing for loans to the regions most affected by the Nazi occupation. This allowed them to quickly restore their infrastructure. The emphasis was on industrial development. Already in 1946, industrial mechanization was 15% of the pre-war level, a couple more years and the pre-war level will be doubled.

Everything for the people

The post-war devastation did not prevent the government from providing citizens with comprehensive support. On August 25, 1946, by resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the population was issued a mortgage loan at 1% per annum as assistance in solving the housing problem.

“To provide workers, engineers and employees with the opportunity to purchase ownership of a residential building, oblige the Central Communal Bank to issue a loan in the amount of 8-10 thousand rubles. those buying a two-room residential building with a repayment period of 10 years and 10-12 thousand rubles. buying a three-room residential house with a repayment period of 12 years,” the resolution said.

Doctor of Technical Sciences Anatoly Torgashev witnessed those difficult post-war years. He notes that, despite various kinds of economic problems, already in 1946 at enterprises and construction sites in the Urals, Siberia and Far East managed to raise workers' wages by 20%. The official salaries of citizens with secondary and higher specialized education were increased by the same amount.

Persons with various academic degrees and titles received serious increases. For example, the salaries of a professor and a doctor of sciences increased from 1,600 to 5,000 rubles, an associate professor and a candidate of sciences - from 1,200 to 3,200 rubles, and a university rector - from 2,500 to 8,000 rubles. It is interesting that Stalin, as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, had a salary of 10,000 rubles.

But for comparison, the prices for the main products of the food basket for 1947. Black bread (loaf) – 3 rubles, milk (1 l) – 3 rubles, eggs (a dozen) – 12 rubles, vegetable oil (1 l) – 30 rubles. A pair of shoes could be bought for an average of 260 rubles.

Repatriates

After the end of the war, over 5 million Soviet citizens found themselves outside their country: over 3 million in the zone of action of the Allies and less than 2 million in the zone of influence of the USSR. Most of them were Ostarbeiters, the rest (about 1.7 million) were prisoners of war, collaborators and refugees. At the Yalta Conference of 1945, the leaders of the victorious countries decided on the repatriation of Soviet citizens, which was to be mandatory.

By August 1, 1946, 3,322,053 repatriates had been sent to their place of residence. The report of the command of the NKVD troops noted: “The political mood of the repatriated Soviet citizens is overwhelmingly healthy, characterized by a great desire to come home as soon as possible - to the USSR. There was everywhere a significant interest and desire to find out what was new in life in the USSR, and to quickly take part in the work to eliminate the destruction caused by the war and strengthen the economy of the Soviet state.”

Not everyone received the returnees favorably. The resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On the organization of political and educational work with repatriated Soviet citizens” stated: “Individual party and Soviet workers took the path of indiscriminate distrust of repatriated Soviet citizens.” The government reminded that “returned Soviet citizens have again acquired all rights and should be involved in active participation in labor and socio-political life.”

A significant part of those who returned to their homeland were thrown into areas involving heavy physical labor: in the coal industry of the eastern and western regions (116 thousand), in the ferrous metallurgy (47 thousand) and timber industry (12 thousand). Many of the repatriates were forced to enter into permanent employment agreements.

Banditry

One of the most painful problems of the first post-war years for the Soviet state was the high crime rate. The fight against robbery and banditry has become a headache for Sergei Kruglov, the Minister of Internal Affairs. The peak of crimes occurred in 1946, during which more than 36 thousand armed robberies and over 12 thousand cases of social banditry were identified.

Post-war Soviet society was dominated by a pathological fear of rampant crime. Historian Elena Zubkova explained: “People’s fear of the criminal world was based not so much on reliable information, how much came from its lack and dependence on rumors.”

The collapse of social order, especially in the territories ceded to the USSR Eastern Europe, was one of the main factors provoking a surge in crime. About 60% of all crimes in the country were committed in Ukraine and the Baltic states, with the highest concentration noted in the territories of Western Ukraine and Lithuania.

The seriousness of the problem with post-war crime is evidenced by a report classified “top secret” received by Lavrentiy Beria at the end of November 1946. It, in particular, contained 1,232 references to criminal banditry, taken from private correspondence of citizens in the period from October 16 to November 15, 1946.

Here is an excerpt from a letter from a Saratov worker: “Since the beginning of autumn, Saratov is literally terrorized by thieves and murderers. They strip people in the streets, rip their watches off their hands, and this happens every day. Life in the city simply stops when darkness falls. Residents have learned to walk only in the middle of the street, not on the sidewalks, and look suspiciously at anyone who approaches them.”

Nevertheless, the fight against crime has borne fruit. According to reports from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the period from January 1, 1945 to December 1, 1946, 3,757 anti-Soviet formations and organized gangs, as well as 3,861 gangs associated with them, were liquidated. Almost 210 thousand bandits, members of anti-Soviet nationalist organizations, their henchmen and other anti-Soviet elements were destroyed . Since 1947, the crime rate in the USSR has declined.

The Great Patriotic War, which became a difficult test and shock for the Soviet people, turned upside down the entire way of life and the course of life of the majority of the country's population for a long time. Enormous difficulties and material deprivations were perceived as temporarily inevitable problems, as a consequence of the war.

The post-war years began with the pathos of restoration and hopes for change. The main thing is that the war was over, people were happy that they were alive, everything else, including living conditions, it wasn't that important.

All the difficulties of everyday life fell mainly on the shoulders of women. Among the ruins of destroyed cities, they planted vegetable gardens, cleared away rubble and cleared places for new construction, while raising children and providing for their families. People lived in the hope that a new, freer and more prosperous life would come very soon, which is why Soviet society of those years is called the “society of hopes.”

"Second Bread"

The main reality of everyday life at that time, trailing from the war era, was a constant lack of food, a half-starved existence. The most important thing was missing - bread. Potatoes became the “second bread”; its consumption doubled; it primarily saved villagers from hunger.

Flatbreads were baked from grated raw potatoes rolled in flour or breadcrumbs. They even used frozen potatoes that were left in the field for the winter. They took it out of the ground, peeled it off and added a little flour, herbs, salt (if any) to this starchy mass and fried the cakes. This is what collective farmer Nikiforova from the village of Chernushki wrote in December 1948:

“The food is potato, sometimes with milk. In the village of Kopytova they bake bread like this: they grind a bucket of potatoes and put in a handful of flour for gluing. This bread contains almost no protein necessary for the body. It is absolutely necessary to establish a minimum amount of bread that must be left untouched, at least 300 g of flour per person per day. Potatoes are a deceptive food, more flavorful than filling.”

People of the post-war generation still remember how they waited for spring, when the first grass would appear: you can cook empty cabbage soup from sorrel and nettle. They also ate “pestyshi” - shoots of young horsetail, and “columns” - flower stalks of sorrel. Even vegetable peelings were pounded in a mortar, and then boiled and used for food.

Here is a fragment from an anonymous letter to I.V. Stalin dated February 24, 1947: “Collective farmers mainly eat potatoes, and many don’t even have potatoes, they eat food waste and hope for spring, when green grass will grow, then they will eat grass. But some people will still have dried ones potato peelings and pumpkin peels, which will crush and make cakes that, in a good farm, pigs would not eat. Preschool children do not know the color and taste of sugar, sweets, cookies and other confectionery products, but eat potatoes and grass just like adults.”

The real benefit for the villagers was maturation in summer period berries and mushrooms, which were mainly collected by teenagers for their families.

One workday (a unit of labor accounting on a collective farm), earned by a collective farmer, brought him fewer products than the average city dweller received on a ration card. The collective farmer had to work and save all the money for a whole year so that he could buy the cheapest suit.

Empty cabbage soup and porridge

In the cities, things were no better. The country lived in conditions of acute shortages, and in 1946–1947. The country is gripped by a real food crisis. In ordinary stores there was often no food, they looked shabby, and cardboard dummies of food were often displayed in the windows.

Prices at collective farm markets were high: for example, 1 kg of bread cost 150 rubles, which was more than a week’s salary. People stood in lines for flour for several days, the line number was written on their hands with a chemical pencil, and they had a roll call in the morning and evening.

At the same time they began to open commercial stores, where even delicacies and sweets were sold, but they were “unaffordable” for ordinary workers. This is how the American J. Steinbeck, who visited Moscow in 1947, described such a commercial store: “Grocery stores in Moscow are very large, like restaurants, they are divided into two types: those in which products can be purchased with cards, and commercial stores , also run by the government, where you can buy almost simple food, but at very high prices. Canned food is stacked in mountains, champagne and Georgian wines stand in pyramids. We saw products that could be American. There were jars of crab with Japanese brand names on them. There were German products. And here lay the luxurious products of the Soviet Union: large jars of caviar, mountains of sausages from Ukraine, cheeses, fish and even game. And various smoked meats. But these were all delicacies. For a simple Russian, the main thing was how much bread costs and how much it is given, as well as the prices of cabbage and potatoes.”

Rated supplies and commercial trade services could not save people from food difficulties. Most of the townspeople lived from hand to mouth.

The cards provided bread and once a month two bottles (0.5 liters) of vodka. People took it to suburban villages and exchanged it for potatoes. The dream of a person at that time was sauerkraut with potatoes and bread and porridge (mainly pearl barley, millet and oats). Soviet people at that time practically did not see sugar or real tea, not to mention confectionery. Instead of sugar, slices of boiled beets were used, which were dried in the oven. We also drank carrot tea (from dried carrots).

Letters from post-war workers testify to the same thing: city residents were content with empty cabbage soup and porridge amid an acute shortage of bread. This is what they wrote in 1945–1946: “If it weren’t for bread, I would have ended my existence. I live on the same water. In the dining room, you don’t see anything except rotten cabbage and the same fish; the portions are such that you eat and won’t notice whether you had lunch or not” (metallurgical plant worker I.G. Savenkov);

“The food is worse than during the war - a bowl of gruel and two spoons of oatmeal, and that’s enough for an adult in 24 hours” (automobile plant worker M. Pugin).

Currency reform and abolition of cards

The post-war period was marked by two the most important events in the country, which could not but influence daily life people: monetary reform and abolition of cards in 1947

There were two points of view on the abolition of cards. Some believed that this would lead to a flourishing of speculative trade and a worsening food crisis. Others believed that abolishing rationing and allowing commercial trade in bread and cereals would stabilize the food problem.

The card system was abolished. Queues in stores continued to stand, despite a significant increase in prices. The price for 1 kg of black bread increased from 1 rub. up to 3 rub. 40 kopecks, 1 kg of sugar - from 5 rubles. up to 15 rub. 50 kopecks To survive in these conditions, people began to sell things they had acquired before the war.

The markets were in the hands of speculators who sold essential goods: bread, sugar, butter, matches and soap. They were supplied by “unscrupulous” employees of warehouses, bases, shops, and canteens who were in charge of food and supplies. To stop speculation, the Council of Ministers of the USSR in December 1947 issued a decree “On standards for the sale of industrial and food products in one hand."

The following were sold to one person: bread - 2 kg, cereals and pasta - 1 kg, meat and meat products - 1 kg, sausages and smoked meats - 0.5 kg, sour cream - 0.5 kg, milk - 1 liter, sugar - 0.5 kg, cotton fabrics - 6 m, threads on spools - 1 piece, stockings or socks - 2 pairs, leather, textile or rubber shoes - 1 pair, laundry soap - 1 piece, matches - 2 boxes, kerosene - 2 liters.

The meaning of the monetary reform was explained in his memoirs by the then Minister of Finance A.G. Zverev: “From December 16, 1947, new money was put into circulation and cash began to be exchanged for it, with the exception of small change, within a week (in remote areas - within two weeks) at a ratio of 1 to 10. Deposits and current accounts in savings banks were revalued in the ratio 1 for 1 to 3 thousand rubles, 2 for 3 from 3 thousand to 10 thousand rubles, 1 for 2 over 10 thousand rubles, 4 for 5 for cooperatives and collective farms. All regular old bonds, except for the 1947 loans, were exchanged for bonds of a new loan at 1 for 3 of the old ones, and 3 percent winning bonds at the rate of 1 for 5.”

The monetary reform was carried out at the expense of the people. The money “in the box” suddenly depreciated, the tiny savings of the population were confiscated. If we consider that 15% of savings were kept in savings banks, and 85% were in hand, then it is clear who suffered from the reform. In addition, the reform did not affect the wages of workers and employees, which were kept at the same amount.

If post-war Europe experienced both a rise and a great depression (after the First World War, 1929-1939), then how did people live after the Great Patriotic War?

How did people live after the Great Patriotic War?

A breath of freedom and tranquility between the two Great Wars that struck man. The stronghold of humanity was broken, the world was changed forever. After the First World War (1914-1918) endured not only a terrible experience, but also innovations: it is believed that it was during this period that the first wrist watch and the expression “let’s check the time” takes on a new meaning. A number of social and intellectual revolutions, the ideas of pacifism and philanthropy, the technological boom, the cultural revolution and the emergence of existential philosophy, the desire to live and enjoy the luxurious moment (the era of prosperity, the USA during the “Great Gatsby” period) did not stop the bloodshed - the world was in painful anticipation of the “second coming” ", World War II.

After the end of the Second World War (1939-1945) or Great Patriotic War for the CIS countries (1941-1945) Participants and affected countries gradually recovered from the horror and counted losses. The war changed everyone's life: there was a shortage of housing, food, electricity and fuel. Bread was issued on ration cards, the work of public transport was completely collapsed. Post-war stress worsened people's worldview after the Great Patriotic War. It was necessary to keep their hands and mind busy - the production load on ordinary hard workers increased, while rest hours were minimized. It is difficult to judge whether this policy was correct or whether false practices were allowed, since it was necessary to do, to rebuild, and not to reflect. At the same time, control measures and punishments for violations of discipline are being tightened.

How people lived after the Great Patriotic War:

The most basic needs were satisfied: food, clothing, shelter;
Eliminating crime among teenagers;
Elimination of the consequences of war: medical and psychotherapeutic assistance, fight against dystrophy, scurvy, tuberculosis;

While countries were dividing up money and territories and getting comfortable in international negotiations, ordinary people had to get used to a world without war again, fight fear and hatred, and learn to sleep at night. It is completely unrealistic for current residents of peaceful countries to imagine, and even worse, to experience what people experienced after the Great Patriotic War. Martial law changes a lot in the head, not to mention the fact that the panicky fear of new bloodshed is forever lodged between the gray temples. On November 8, 1945, US military intelligence concluded that the USSR was not preparing a reserve nuclear bombs. Governments continue to look askance at each other. The judgment that the USSR could launch a retaliatory nuclear strike on the United States only by 1966 says a lot - do the heads of countries really continue to think about war?

In the early 50s, the development of agriculture began. After a couple of years, people acquired livestock. In the 60s we managed to obtain equipment from the collective farm. Gradual development continued, although food was difficult. From the diary of a simple peasant woman Anna Pochekutova : “In winter we ate potatoes with wild garlic and baked pancakes. Closer to spring, they starved when the potatoes ran out. Rye flour brewed with boiling water, added water and milk if there was nothing else to eat, and the result was a mash. In the spring they collected nettles, sorrel, and parsley. In summer – mushrooms, berries, nuts.” Grain from the fields was mainly given to the collective farm, and not in private hands, so they could give years for concealment. Stalin came to the conclusion that the rations for peasants were large, and local holidays take them away from work. But during the Khrushchev period, life became better. At least you could keep a cow (Khrushchev's thaw).

Memoirs: Pochekutova M., Pochekutova A., Mizonova E.

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