Social security under Brezhnev

Question 1

Social policy under Brezhnev continued to follow the direction set by whom?

Answer 1

Khrushchev

Question 1

Social policy under Brezhnev continued to follow the direction set by Khrushchev. However, while the policies continued, what changed?

Answer 1

The justification for the policies changed

Question 2

How was Brezhnev’s goal different to Khrushchev’s goal?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

What was Brezhnev’s “social contract” or “Little Deal”?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Brezhnev’s social contract contained five main elements. The government guaranteed…

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Under Brezhnev standards of living…

Answer 5

increased significantly

Question 6

Under Brezhnev social benefits included…

Answer 6

subsidised rent, and utilities such as electricity and water were also provided practically free of charge

Question 7

The government also provided healthcare and pensions - how much did spending on health and pensions grow by?

Answer 7

Spending on health and pensions grew by between four and five per cent a year under Brezhnev

Question 8

From ___ subsidies extended to ____

Answer 8

1970
holidays

Question 9

During the late 1960s and 1970s Soviet citizens enjoyed an ____ standard of living

Answer 9

unprecedented

Question 10

How did Brezhnev’s “social contract” succeed in promoting social stability in the period 1964-85?

Answer 10

By ensuring a relatively high and rising standard of living

Question 11

How was a relatively high and rising standard of living ensured under Brezhnev?

Answer 11

Through a combination of government benefits, work and trading on the black market, citizens were guaranteed a secure and comfortable life.

Question 12

What was extremely rare under Brezhnev?

Answer 12

Organised opposition to the government

Question 13

The “social contract” created a stable society, but it also led to…

Answer 13

stagnation

Question 14

What did full employment lead to under Brezhnev?

Answer 14

Serious economic inefficiencies

Question 15

Hidden unemployment under Brezhnev

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Labour shortages under Brezhnev

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Female ___________ was on the rise

Answer 17

unemployment

Question 18

Female unemployment was on the rise - which areas were most effected by this and why?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

In Central Asia and the Caucasus, estimates suggest that as many as ___ per cent of women were unemployed

Answer 19

ten

Question 20

In central Russia _____ _____ were denied the right to work and were therefore disqualified from many ____ _____

Answer 20

political
dissidents
social
benefits

Question 21

What per cent of Russians were out of work by 1985?

Answer 21

two per cent

Question 22

In spite of increased health spending, _____ _____ declined

Answer 22

Soviet
health

Question 23

Infant mortality rate under Brezhnev

Answer 23

Infant mortality rates increased from three to seven per cent in the 1970s

Question 24

Life expectancy under Brezhnev

Answer 24

life expectancy declined from 68 to 64 years for men in the 1970s

Question 25

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?

Answer 25

alcoholism

Question 26

Social security under Brezhnev conclusion

Answer 26

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