Social Security - Brezhnev's Successes and Failures

Question 1

SUCCESS:

1. What did Brezhnev’s social contract promise in return for obedience?
2. Give an example of what the social contract guaranteed.
3. What did spending on health and pensions grow by each year under Brezhnev?

Answer 1

1. Raised standard of living.
2. Job security, low prices for essential goods, free healthcare, social mobility.
3. Between 4 and 5%.

Question 2

2&3: FAILURES

1. What % of hidden umeployment was there?
2. How many vacancies were there in the labour industry during the 1970s?
3. Infant mortality increased from _% to _% during the 70s.
   - Life expectancy for men declined from __ to __.

Answer 2

1. 20%.
2. At least 1 million.
3. 3% to 7%.
   - 68 to 64.

Question 3

1. In some areas, __% of women were unemployed.

2. What else was increasing that Andropov and Chernenko had to tackle?

Answer 3

1. 10%.

2. Absenteeism and alcoholism.