Government Under Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko Flashcards
What did Brezhnev do to undo K’s governmental reforms
- Reversed decentralisation. Re-establishing the all union ministries that Khrushchev had abolished
- Ended spilt between industrial and agricultural wings of party
- Article 6: Brezhnev Constitution recognised party’s leading role in soviet society
What was ‘Stability of Cadres’
Trust in Cadres was a policy where discouraged promotions and demotions. Meant there would be few battles over patronage. Policy got support because of job security.
What did restoration lead to
Period of political stagnation
What were 4 key factors of political stagnation
Gerontocracy
Inefficiency
Corruption
Moral decline
What was gerontocracy
As stability in cadres meant that govt officials stayed in same job for years, few young people entered and average age of officials increased.
Average age of 75 in 1982
How many people were promoted in politburo between 1964-1971
2``
What happened with ineffciency
With limited opportunities, officials were stuck in dead end jobs therefore no incentive for hard work because there were so few opportunities for promotion
What happened with corruption
As a result of lack of career developments, many turned to sell luxury goods on the black market e.g Yury Sokolov, director of food store took bribes from rich customers
And Brezhnev daughter Galina involved in diamond smuggling
What did Andropov do to reverse B
reversed Cadres replacing quater of senoir officials
What did Trust in cadres allow
corruption to go unnoticed. For example, the ‘cotton affair’ was only uncovered after Brezhnev’s death and involved millions of Roubles worth of government money being claimed for non-existent cotton, with the accounts being fiddled to cover the deception. Similarly, Brezhnev’s own daughter was involved in diamond smuggling.`
How did Brezhenv flatter himself
Brezhnev attempted to glorify himself as an individual by awarding himself a number of dubious medals
and honours. For example, gave himself the Lenin Peace Prize and the Lenin Prize for Literature.
What did Brezhnev do that differed from past
Brezhnev allowed some of his rivals to remain in government. For example, Alexander Kosygin was kept as Prime minister, despite the fact that he and Brezhnev hated each other.
This was a divergence from the approach taken by Stalin and Khrushchev, who had both consolidated their own power by removing their rivals from government.
What did Brezhnev do in terms of terror
He issued KGB Order No. 51, which increased the surveillance of dissidents and permitted action by the authorities
against them. Once dissidents had
been identified, they were encouraged to emigrate, or leave the country. Around 100,000 people left in
the 1970s.
What did Andropov succeed in doing
Getting rid of the gerontocracy and exposing corruption e.g prosecuted Red Army General
