Social security under Brezhnev Flashcards
Social policy under Brezhnev continued to follow the direction set by whom?
Khrushchev
Social policy under Brezhnev continued to follow the direction set by Khrushchev. However, while the policies continued, what changed?
The justification for the policies changed
How was Brezhnev’s goal different to Khrushchev’s goal?
For Khrushchev, an improved standard of living in the short term was the first step to Communism, a society in which everyone was wealthy. Brezhnev, however, abandoned Khrushchev’s promise of reaching Communism by 1980. Brezhnev’s goal was the promotion of a stable society
What was Brezhnev’s “social contract” or “Little Deal”?
A tacit bargain between the government and the Soviet people. In essence Brezhnev’s government promised a rising standard of living and greater social benefits in return for obedience and conformity. In that sense, the Soviet people traded political rights for economic well-being. In essence, the “social contract” was Brezhnev’s formula for promoting social stability
Brezhnev’s social contract contained five main elements. The government guaranteed…
Job security through guaranteed full employment
Low prices for essential goods
A thriving second economy (black market or the informal sector of the economy), free of government interference
Social benefits such as free healthcare
Some social mobility
Under Brezhnev standards of living…
increased significantly
Under Brezhnev social benefits included…
subsidised rent, and utilities such as electricity and water were also provided practically free of charge
The government also provided healthcare and pensions - how much did spending on health and pensions grow by?
Spending on health and pensions grew by between four and five per cent a year under Brezhnev
From ___ subsidies extended to ____
1970
holidays
During the late 1960s and 1970s Soviet citizens enjoyed an ____ standard of living
unprecedented
How did Brezhnev’s “social contract” succeed in promoting social stability in the period 1964-85?
By ensuring a relatively high and rising standard of living
How was a relatively high and rising standard of living ensured under Brezhnev?
Through a combination of government benefits, work and trading on the black market, citizens were guaranteed a secure and comfortable life.
What was extremely rare under Brezhnev?
Organised opposition to the government
The “social contract” created a stable society, but it also led to…
stagnation
What did full employment lead to under Brezhnev?
Serious economic inefficiencies
Hidden unemployment under Brezhnev
Estimates suggest that in the 1970s there was hidden unemployment of around 20 per cent. This means that 20 per cent of employees were being paid but were not doing a useful job
Labour shortages under Brezhnev
In the late 1970s there were at least 1 million vacancies in Soviet industry that went unfilled. This led to lower production rates in some industries
Female ___________ was on the rise
unemployment
Female unemployment was on the rise - which areas were most effected by this and why?
This problem affected Central Asia and the Caucasus, where employment was still centred on mining and heavy industry and where women refused jobs due to gender stereotypes
In Central Asia and the Caucasus, estimates suggest that as many as ___ per cent of women were unemployed
ten
In central Russia _____ _____ were denied the right to work and were therefore disqualified from many ____ _____
political
dissidents
social
benefits
What per cent of Russians were out of work by 1985?
two per cent
In spite of increased health spending, _____ _____ declined
Soviet
health
Infant mortality rate under Brezhnev
Infant mortality rates increased from three to seven per cent in the 1970s
Life expectancy under Brezhnev
life expectancy declined from 68 to 64 years for men in the 1970s
Infant mortality rates increased from three to seven per cent in the 1970s while life expectancy declined from 68 to 64 years for men in the same period - _____ was one of the main causes?
alcoholism
Social security under Brezhnev conclusion
Ultimately, the model of full employment, social benefits and political conformity promoted social stability. However, it also led to economic stagnation. Although standards of living continued to rise in the late 1970s, the Soviet Union lagged behind the West. Moreover, full employment led to inefficient uses of labour which slowed economic growth, which in the long term threatened to lower living standards and therefore undermined Brezhnev’s “social contract”. Nonetheless, Brezhnev was more concerned with retaining power and creating a stable compliant society. In this sense his policies succeeded, even if they led to economic stagnation
