21st Congress of the CPSU. Xxi Congress of the CPSU on the complete and final victory of socialism in the USSR

XXI Congress of the CPSU (January 1959)

A major economic experiment in the late 1950s. was the transition from a five-year to a longer--seven year planning. The sixth five-year plan for the development of the national economy, approved in 1956, was considered unsuccessful a year later. The need to solve a number of major economic problems,beyond the limits of the sixth five-year plan adopted in 1956,forced the country's leadership to adopt a seven-year plan, approved by the XXI Congress of the CPSU (1959).

The main tasks of the seven-year plan were proclaimed:

• - development of productive forces,
• - the rise of all sectors of the economy,
• - a significant increase in the standard of living of the population.

Particular attention was paid to the development of the most modern and high-tech industries. Large funds were also allocated for the implementation of the agricultural program of the seven-year plan. It is obvious that the country's leadership, on the basis of statistical data, came to the conclusion that it was impossible to fulfill the sixth five-year plan, so in 1959 it was simply stretched out for nine years.

Here the conclusion was made about the complete and final victory of socialism in the USSR. Even G.M. Malenkov in 1955 stated that only “the foundations of socialism” were built in the USSR, but this idea seemed to the leadership of the Soviet Union then seditious, and G.M. Malenkov was forced to “admit his mistakes”. Now it was announced that the USSR was entering a new period of its development.-- period of extensive construction of communism. The Seven-Year Plan (1959-1965) covered the last two years of the Sixth Five-Year Plan and the following Five-Year Plan. The change in planning milestones was explained by the transition to a territorial system of economic management, the needs of scientific and technological progress, and the need to coordinate plans with the CMEA countries.

April 15th, 2018

President of the USSR MS Gorbachev delivered a speech at the congress.

He defined the stage of the country's development as a "turning point". "... Soviet society is in the process of transition from one state to another... The command system no longer works, but the new one has not yet fully come into its own... In a word, they left one system, but have not yet entered another. In essence, the same transitional state now exists in almost all spheres of social activity. Gorbachev noted that a conservative trend had formed in the country, as well as a trend that called into question the entire path traveled by the country since 1917. Of course, publicity presupposes the possibility of expressing all views, "if they do not run counter to the principles of our state and social system, enshrined in the Constitution." Answering questions, Gorbachev said that in the future the President would be popularly elected, but that in the current situation there was no time to waste.

(Gorbachev M.S. Walking along the road of perestroika. M., 1990).

Mikhail Gorbachev's speech at the 21st Congress of the Komsomol.

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From the Ph.D. thesis of Viktor Ivanovich Mironenko for the degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences: The Komsomol in the period of perestroika of Soviet society: in search of a new model of the union and a new youth policy. (1985 - 1990)

The 21st Congress of the Komsomol, the last essentially wide and full-scale congress of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, is of great interest because, for the last time, it gathered a fairly representative composition of Komsomol members and Komsomol workers.

In addition, this congress was the last congress of the Komsomol, from which all preparatory and working documents have been preserved in full.

The XXI Congress of the Komsomol has three images. One is created by the media. The second is by the participants themselves. The third is opened from his papers. If the first and second have much in common, which is not surprising, since in many respects they were created by the same people under the influence of impressions from the external course of events, the third is very different from them.

Events at the congress developed under the strongest influence of the socio-political situation in the country, an open letter from the Central Committee of the CPSU "For disengagement on a principled basis." The Komsomol congress not only fell into the shadow of the discussion unfolding around the letter, but also joined in it itself.

This discussion occupied the first and a significant part of the second day of the plenary sessions of the congress, was with great difficulty.

pushed aside in the sections, but again and again surfaced in the speeches of the delegates.

It can be said that "thanks" to the extremely unfortunate timing of the publication of the letter, not to mention its content, against which the author, being a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU and foreseeing such a situation, objected in writing on the eve of the congress, the youth and intra-union problems proper, as well as other general political, economic and social issues receded into the background. There was simply not enough time to discuss them, and their detailed consideration was entrusted to the new composition of the Komsomol Central Committee.

The congress adopted 21 decrees and resolutions.

The hasty adoption of them led to the fact that a huge amount of material for discussion and analysis actually fell out of the congress's field of vision. At the same time, it is precisely these documents that are the most interesting from the point of view of assessing both the congress itself and the entire period preceding it in the life of the Komsomol.

It is of interest to compare some of the assessments that are well-established among Komsomol historians with the available documents. For example V.V. Dolgov wrote: “The concepts of the new Komsomol existed. One of them was developed, for example, by a group of Komsomol workers from Moscow State University and a number of other organizations representing the Surgut Initiative movement.

Indeed, the congress was offered a draft resolution of the 21st Congress of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League “On the Surgut Alternative Movement”.

Acquaintance with the draft explains why the congress submitted it for consideration to the new composition of the Komsomol Central Committee. The draft does not contain anything that would not have already been discussed, adopted and included in the draft documents prepared by the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League during the pre-Congress discussion. He is clearly inferior to them both in the depth of analysis and in the boldness of the proposed solutions. The congress showed that the "mountain" of the "Surgut Initiative" gave birth to a mouse - a weak and sloppy document in all respects.

Other documents of the congress were much more solid and serious. The draft resolution "Komsomol and interethnic relations", for example, raised and proposed solutions to issues that already a year later largely determined the political situation in the country.

This project was not reflected in any way in the decisions of the congress, just like another interesting document - an Appeal to the President of the USSR on the problems of youth tourism.

It is accompanied by a postscript: “This document was left (forgotten) in the State Central Concert Hall “Russia” and handed over to Comrade Zabaluev V.N. through the administrator of the GKCZ. April 27, 1990”, which in itself characterizes the situation in which the image of the congress was formed.

The congress responded to the note of Akshin Elkhan oglu Bekirzade, the first secretary of the Kirov Republican Committee of the Komsomol of Azerbaijan with an “Appeal to the peoples, young people of the USSR”, prepared by the discussion center “Komsomol and interethnic relations”.

“In the name of supreme justice,” the appeal says, “the establishment of good neighborly relations, lasting national peace, the future of our children and grandchildren, we call on you to rise above old grievances, forget about strife, make mutual concessions, and jointly seek mutually acceptable solutions.”

As we can see, even then the Komsomol resolutely opposed the desire of the national groups of the party-state nomenclature to get out of the control of the center and gain full state power even at the cost of destroying the economy, breaking the economic, cultural-historical and simply human ties that have developed over decades and centuries.

They have not forgotten this. After the collapse of the USSR, in none of the former Soviet republics did the Komsomol retain its role and its capabilities in working with youth.

The statement “To the Delegate of the XXI Congress of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League”, submitted at the request of the delegation of Moscow on behalf of the joint meeting of the Presidium of the Moscow City Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League and the delegation of Moscow at the XXI Congress of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, which was joined by the delegates of the Tatar Regional Komsomol Organization, the congress “took note”.

This document is very indicative from the point of view of the direction of the evolution of the Komsomol in 1986-1990. In particular, it says: “The rapid qualitative changes in the ideals, interests and needs of young people are increasingly in conflict with the existing opportunities for their implementation. The exacerbation of youth problems goes beyond problems only

of that special social group of the population and acquires a destabilizing character for the development of the country as a whole.

The congress delegates consider the main goal of the Komsomol to be the creation of conditions for the free development of the personality of a young person, the protection and expression of the political, economic, social and spiritual interests and needs of young people. This is how we define our role in building a society of humane democratic socialism.”

Here one can clearly see the independent political orientation of the “late”, according to A.A. Korolev, Komsomol towards goals, the public understanding of which came only seven or eight years later, after the total destruction of the very foundations of social life in Russia and other new on the ruins of the USSR.

The open letter of the 21st Congress of the Komsomol, adopted at the discussion center “Financial and Economic Activities of the Komsomol” and the resolution “On the Development of the Economic Initiative of Youth”, reflected the results of the work of the Komsomol to expand opportunities for independent economic activity for young people.

The resolution noted that the mechanism created after the previous congress to support such activities "allows you to implement the initiatives of young people, the desire of young men and women to participate in independent economic activities, provides employment for young people, develops creative activity, educates a new economic thinking, a generation of modern leaders."

At a time when free enterprise and market relations were only in their infancy in the national economy as a whole, they were already a fait accompli in the Komsomol and under its protection.

By 1990, the Komsomol included more than 4,000 "economic formations", read enterprises, with a total output of products and services of over 2 billion rubles. They employed more than 200 thousand people. 90% of these enterprises started their activities without state investments and allocation of any resources for their needs. Dozens of enterprises, organizations, institutions with a turnover of hundreds of millions of rubles of financial and material resources were directly subordinate to the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League. Since the 20th Congress of the Komsomol, enterprises of the Komsomol have allocated more than 50 million rubles for social programs for young people.

The Congress of the Komsomol not only does not question the need for such work, but appeals to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the demand "to reconsider the attitude towards solving youth problems, to assist in the creation of an organizational, legal, financial and economic mechanism for integrating the youth economy sector into the infrastructure national economy of the country.

The congress delegates accurately identified the pain points of the reform and foresaw the possibility of ethnic conflicts.

The congress responded to the draft resolution “On the need to restore justice for the repressed peoples”, submitted by the delegations from Chechen-Ingushetia and Karachay-Cherkessia, with the already mentioned resolution “On the appeal to the peoples, young people of the USSR” and the resolution “On the appeal “On the tragic fate national symbolism.

Today we know what role the events in the North Caucasus and in particular in Chechnya played in the early years of post-Soviet Russian history. Few people in 1990 seriously thought about the events taking place in the small North Caucasian republics. Komsomol was able to foresee them, but could not warn them

Medical delegates, Moldovan delegation, Association

medical students, representatives of the Latvian, Kyrgyz, Tajik delegations introduced a draft resolution of the congress “Youth is threatened by AIDS”, which contained a detailed program for the prevention of the disease.

This resolution is generally very indicative of the fact that, along with major socio-political problems, national economic plans, the “late” Komsomol at the highest congress level turns to seemingly “private”, “non-political” issues that are relevant precisely and, often, only for this social group.

The delegations of Namangan, Fergana, Andijan, Samarkand regions of Uzbekistan submitted a draft resolution of the congress “On the army and serving in it.”

The meaning of the project was to find ways to solve the problem of "hazing" in the army and the problem of "refuseniks", which the congress delegates saw in the gradual transfer of the army to a professional basis and the introduction of an institution of alternative service.

The resolution of the Discussion Center “Worldview Problems” states the pluralism of opinions in the Komsomol and gives a strikingly accurate characterization of the essence of the ideological struggle that has unfolded in society.

“The working people are still alienated from the means of production and the products of their labor, also due to the fact that the state-bureaucratic apparatus monopoly disposes of everything in society. The economic and political interests of the direct producers and officials of the state-bureaucratic apparatus do not coincide, develop into a contradiction.

Even this far from complete list of initiative draft resolutions, appeals and resolutions of the congress, partially supported by it, but not discussed and developed, speaks of the degree of social and political maturity of the youth organization and its reform potential.

The organization is full of life and strength, forms far-reaching plans for renewal and development. Is it possible, only on the basis of some reduction in the size of the organization and a reduction in the admission of new members, which was the result of a consistent and conscious restoration of democratic norms of membership within the Komsomol, to draw a conclusion about the agony of the union?

Attempts to present the Komsomol workers of the perestroika period as entirely young careerists, and the Komsomol members as a mute and inert mass, at the first encounter with facts and documents, reveal their complete failure.

Of course it was both. The recovery of a multimillion-dollar public entity after decades of domination by bureaucratic centralism in administration and dogmatism in ideology could not happen overnight. But this did not determine the internal life of the organization.

The fact that the congress did not get down to the merits of the matter is due to both external and internal reasons. Someone prepared an Appeal, which stated a "dead end" in the work and proposed to focus on the election of governing bodies and the definition of relations with the CPSU, and to postpone all statements, appeals, draft resolutions to a later date, instructing the new Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League to deal with them.

Until now, it remains unclear how a relatively small group of delegates, headed by M. Sotnikov, V. Gaivoronsky, A. Beck and some others, could exert such a strong influence on the course of the congress. During the work of the congress, the author had to meet with them in a room at the Rossiya Hotel for negotiations on directing the work of the congress in a more constructive direction. The room was a real headquarters, equipped with the most modern and expensive equipment, the acquisition of which even the "rich" Central Committee of the Komsomol could not afford.

The author had no doubts that behind the back of the so-called "democratic opposition in the Komsomol" were powerful political forces, which, regardless of costs, were leading to the destruction of the union. By the way, after the collapse of the Komsomol, all of its "reformers" lost all interest in working with young people and got lost in the motley crowd of "Yeltsinists".

Nevertheless, the congress fulfilled its main task. The Council of Representatives of the Delegations recommended the adoption of the draft document “Programmatic Objectives of the Komsomol”. Three sections of the first Komsomol program - participation, development, peace - reproducing the three key ideas of the UN International Youth Year in 1985, summed up the path traveled by the Komsomol and clearly indicated the direction of its further development.

This document is a bunch of experience acquired by the Komsomol during the years of perestroika. Anyone who would like to get an objective idea of ​​the direction in which the idea of ​​democratizing the Komsomol proclaimed at the 20th Congress of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League has developed should begin with the "Programme Goals ...".

The amendments made by the congress to the prepared document testified to the readiness of young people to accept the renewed Komsomol as their own organization, and not an organ of influence and supervision from anyone else.

Among the amendments made by the meeting, the following should be noted: “The Youth Union stands for the adoption of a comprehensive act on the state youth policy. For the creation of a system of state authorities and administrations dealing with the problems of youth, a system of its public self-government. For a regional youth policy that takes into account the national, historical and socio-cultural specifics of the territories. Public control over its implementation in the state”.

“State support for wide access of young people to the values ​​of national and world culture. Freedom of creativity. Equitable development, development of state-public programs for the revival of national cultures”.

“In the field of ecology: protecting the environment, preserving nature for future generations. Open discussion of major economic projects. Introduction of independent expertise, changes in line with international standards. Public availability, periodic publication of data on the state of the environment”.

“In the current economic conditions, the Komsomol considers youth employment to be the most important direction of its activity. To this end, the Komsomol will insist on: a guaranteed right of a young person to the first job; organization of a wide network of advanced training courses, retraining and retraining; creation of additional jobs for young people, including at the expense of enterprises of youth organizations; organization of a part-time employment system, which implies a reduction in the working day, an increase in jobs.”

“Creation of a unified social service for young people, which includes centers for: social assistance to a young family; employment information; legal advice; socio-psychological adaptation of youth”.

Taking into account these amendments, the document acquired all the necessary characteristics of an instrument corresponding to the time and goals for the gradual reform of the organization while maintaining the entire content and direction of its activities and the parallel creation of state and public-state structures that reinforce it and insure this sphere of society from the fact that in case the failure of the transformation of the Komsomol, the youth will not be left without the means to inform society and the state about their needs. The “Declaration” was adopted by an overwhelming majority of votes of the congress delegates - 1297.

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Clear evidence of the crisis in the Komsomol was the inexorable reduction in the size of the Komsomol organization at all levels. From 1989 to 1990, the Union was reduced by almost 4 million people, in 1989, 58 thousand organizations did not accept a single person into the Komsomol.

The first "swallow" of the direct collapse of the Komsomol was the Communist Youth Union of Lithuania, which in 1989 declared its independence. In the same year, the Estonian Komsomol separated. Further more. By 1990, the issue of organizational formalization of the now Russian Komsomol was on the agenda. As a result, at the first congress of the Komsomol organizations of the RSFSR, held in February 1990, the Komsomol of the RSFSR was formed, however, it is still part of the Komsomol.

But it has already been said from the podium that it is time to reorganize the “united and indivisible” Komsomol into a federation of independent Komsomol organizations, which was done two months later, at the XXI Extraordinary Congress. The new model of the Komsomol also required a change in the previous relationship with the party, and the VLKSM finally declared its full political independence. As a result, the Komsomol was far ahead of the Communist Party and many public organizations in the "democratization" of union work. V.M. was elected the first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee at this congress. Zyukin.

During the preparation of the XXI Congress of the Komsomol, the Central Committee still believed that there were alternative ideas for the development of the Komsomol: in the form of a movement of political clubs, a movement of scientific and technical creativity of youth, youth housing complexes, student construction teams, an environmental movement, etc. But after the August events of 1991, the Central Committee abruptly took a course towards the liquidation of the youth Komsomol, as an All-Union organization.

Everything was decided at the XXII Extraordinary Congress of the Komsomol, convened in Moscow in September 1991. According to the recollections of the participants, this congress was unlike any of the previous ones: "there were no orders, no white bust of Ilyich on the stage, no traditional pioneer greeting." In his report, V. M. Zyukin stated: “The old system has been destroyed, and together with it, the organization that was an element of the system must leave political existence. The existence of the Komsomol even in new clothes is objectively impossible.” The fate of the Komsomol was a foregone conclusion, although the argumentation of this conclusion was very unconvincing, and many things caused bewilderment.

The only issue that was actively discussed at the congress was the further fate of Komsomol property. The Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League proposed its own version: the subjects of the federation and local organizations become the legal successor of the Komsomol, among which most of the property is distributed. On this they agreed: reorganization through separation.

The real property of the Komsomol was transferred to the balance sheet of the Sodruzhestvo-91 enterprise for joint shared ownership and use by the labor collectives of enterprises, editorial offices, and organizations. The funds were distributed among 23 legal successors, based on the number of members of the youth union. The apparatus of the Central Committee was abolished. The congress adopted the Agreement on the establishment of the Coordinating Council, which was instructed to conduct negotiations on cooperation between youth organizations of independent states for 10 months with a view to the possible creation of an inter-republican youth structure. But no real action was taken to this end.

The last attempt to save the Komsomol was made by the Russian delegates to the congress. They gathered in Moscow in October 1991 at the first conference of the Komsomol of Russia, at which it was decided to create on the basis of the Komsomol of the RSFSR a new, now non-political, non-governmental and non-profit organization, namely, the Russian Union of Youth. He became the legal successor of the Komsomol in Russia.

Thus ended the history of the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth Union, an organization whose name has been associated with the youth of many generations since 1918.

Speech by M.S. Gorbachev at the congress and his answers to delegates' questions.

1261 delegates

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Prehistory of the Congress

The Soviet leadership was looking for a type of development plan that would ensure the balance of various industries. The plan was not to set two or three goals to be achieved at any cost, but to use the limited means available in the most efficient way to achieve many goals. Finally, he had to meet the needs of a growing domestic market. None of the Soviet plans of the past actually set such goals. The first plan for the development of the country, which was no longer based only on industrialization, was the seven-year plan. With its help, they tried, without slowing down the growth of the country, to make up, at least in part, for serious imbalances from which Soviet society suffered. To approve the new plan, an extraordinary party congress was convened.

Order of the day

The order of the day of the congress included the only question "Control figures for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1959-1965." N. S. Khrushchev made a report on this issue on January 27, 1959. He, summarizing the debate, made a final speech on February 5, 1959.

Fragments from the speeches of N. S. Khrushchev at the congress

“There are no forces in the world today that could restore capitalism in our country and crush the socialist camp. The danger of the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union is excluded. This means that socialism has won not only completely, but definitively.”

“The international communist movement has condemned the views and policies of the Yugoslav revisionists... Our position on the views of the Yugoslav leaders is clear. We have stated it more than once with all frankness. But the Yugoslav leaders are twisting, false, running from the truth ... The leaders of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia are very offended when we tell them that they are sitting on two chairs. They claim that they are sitting on their own, Yugoslavian chair. But for some reason this Yugoslav chair is very much supported by the American monopolies!”

In 1957, the Communist Party of China put forward the task of surpassing England in the volume of production of the most important branches of industry within the next 15 years. The popular movement for the implementation of the Great Leap Forward, which has been widely developed in the country, shows that the Chinese people will solve this problem in a much shorter time.

“The Communist Party of China uses many unique forms in building socialism. However, we do not and cannot have any differences of opinion... Because the class approach and class understanding of both parties are the same. The Chinese Communist Party firmly stands on the class, Marxist-Leninist positions."

“Now our country surpasses the United States both in terms of pace and in absolute annual production growth. We are walking four times faster and adding more products every year - therefore, it is now much easier to catch up with the Americans.

Decisions of the Congress

The 21st Congress concluded that socialism in the USSR had won a complete and final victory, that the Soviet country was entering a period of full-scale construction of a communist society. The most important task of this period is to take a decisive step in creating the material and technical base of communism, to ensure the further strengthening of the economic and defense might of the USSR and, at the same time, to better satisfy the growing material and cultural needs of the people.

The documents of the congress noted that in conditions when the construction of socialism had gone beyond the bounds of one country, when the world socialist system had been formed, there was no longer a capitalist encirclement of the USSR. There are two world social systems - capitalism that is becoming obsolete and socialism that is growing and getting stronger. The congress noted that there are no forces in the world today that could restore capitalism in the USSR and crush the socialist camp. The danger of the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union is excluded.

The Congress approved the activities of the Central Committee of the Party and the most important measures taken by it in the field of domestic and foreign policy.

The control figures for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1959-65 were approved at the congress. In the seven-year plan, the economy was programmed on a scale incomparable with the past experience of Soviet planning. In 7 years, the USSR had to produce as much as in the previous 40 years, and take a decisive step in creating the material and technical base of communism and ensuring the victory of the USSR in peaceful economic competition with the capitalist countries. The new ambitious plan was to allow the Soviet Union to “catch up and overtake” the United States and, by 1965, take the first place in the world both in absolute volume of production and in production per capita.

One of the decisions of the congress was a plan for a radical technical reconstruction of railway transport, by replacing steam locomotives with economical locomotives - electric and diesel locomotives.

The main result of the Congress

• Adoption of the seven-year plan for the development of the national economy for 1959-1965
• Proclamation of the entry of the Soviet Union into the period of extensive construction of communism

The main result of the XXI Congress was the proclamation of the slogan about the transition of the USSR to communism. The construction of socialism was proclaimed completed, and from now on it was a question of starting "the creation of a communist society in the country", which is on the horizon of the 1980s. will ensure the complete abundance and happiness of every Soviet citizen.

Congress Features

• In a report at the congress, Khrushchev mentioned the name of Stalin in a positive context, stating the following: "Implementing the policy of industrialization of the country and the collectivization of agriculture, our people, under the leadership of the party and its Central Committee, headed by J. V. Stalin for many years, made profound transformations ." After the "debunking of the cult" at the previous congress, this circumstance reflects Khrushchev's hesitation in assessing Stalin, his concept of "two Stalins" - on the one hand, a loyal Marxist-Leninist, and on the other, a leader who allowed unjustified repressions against members of the party "remaining loyal to the general line", as well as against "honest Soviet citizens".
• In the vocabulary of N. Khrushchev's reports to the congress, such words as "perestroika", "democratization", "expansion of rights" are often used, a reference is made to the English magazine "Economist" as an authoritative source (which is extremely strange for a communist), as well as references to the Japanese newspaper "Sankei", the American "The Des Moines Register", "The New York Times", the French "L" Aurore, all extreme right-wing anti-communist publications.
• N. Khrushchev paid much attention to Yugoslavia in his report: “If Yugoslavia lags behind in its development, if it does not follow, but wobbles along the socialist path, then the responsibility for this lies entirely with the revisionist, anti-Marxist line of the leadership of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia ... (who ) belittle the role of the party ... who claim that our party is striving for "hegemonism" ... striving to subjugate other communist parties."
• N. Khrushchev notes: "In recent years, a good practice has developed for American delegations, parliamentarians and tourists to travel to the Soviet Union and Soviet people to the United States. This should be welcomed.", "Everything that interferes with the peaceful coexistence of states with different social structure. When a tight boot squeezes and rubs a soldier's leg ... then you have to change your shoes, and another time you change your boots.", "We proceed from the fact that mutual meetings and conversations, mutual visits of statesmen and public figures contribute to the improvement of relations between states..."

In philately

• Postage stamps of the USSR, 1959

1959 CPA 2273.jpg

1959 CPA 2274.jpg

1959 CPA 2275.jpg

Sources

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Links

• Extraordinary XXI Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. January 27 - February 5, 1959. Verbatim report. Volume 1. - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1959. - 592 p.
• Extraordinary XXI Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. January 27 - February 5, 1959. Verbatim report. Volume 2. - M.: Gospolitizdat, 1959. - 516 p.

An excerpt characterizing the XXI Congress of the CPSU

The congress was attended by 1261 delegates with a decisive vote, representing 7,622,356 party members, and 106 delegates with an advisory vote from 616,775 candidate members of the party, as well as foreign guests - delegations of communist and workers' parties of 72 countries.

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Subtitles

Prehistory of the Congress

The Soviet leadership was looking for a type of development plan that would ensure the balance of various industries. The plan was not to set two or three goals achieved at any cost, but to use the limited funds available in the most efficient way to achieve many goals. Finally, he had to meet the needs of a growing domestic market. None of the Soviet plans of the past actually set such goals. The first plan for the development of the country, which was no longer based only on industrialization, was the seven-year plan. With its help, they tried, without slowing down the growth of the country, to make up, at least in part, for serious imbalances from which Soviet society suffered. To approve the new plan, an extraordinary party congress was convened.

Order of the day

The order of the day of the congress included the only question "Control figures for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1959-1965." N. S. Khrushchev made a report on this issue on January 27, 1959. He, summarizing the debate, made a final speech on February 5, 1959.

Fragments from the speeches of N. S. Khrushchev at the congress

“There are no forces in the world today that could restore capitalism in our country and crush the socialist camp. The danger of the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union is excluded. This means that socialism has won not only completely, but definitively.”

“The international communist movement has condemned the views and policies of the Yugoslav revisionists... Our position on the views of the Yugoslav leaders is clear. We have stated it more than once with all frankness. But the Yugoslav leaders are twisting, false, running from the truth ... The leaders of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia are very offended when we tell them that they are sitting on two chairs. They claim that they are sitting on their own, Yugoslavian chair. But for some reason this Yugoslav chair is very much supported by the American monopolies!”

In 1957, the Communist Party of China put forward the task of surpassing England in the volume of production of the most important branches of industry within the next 15 years. The popular movement for the implementation of the Great Leap Forward, which has been widely developed in the country, shows that the Chinese people will solve this problem in a much shorter time.

“The Communist Party of China uses many unique forms in building socialism. However, we do not and cannot have any differences of opinion... Because the class approach and class understanding of both parties are the same. The Chinese Communist Party firmly stands on the class, Marxist-Leninist positions."

“Now our country surpasses the United States both in terms of pace and in absolute annual production growth. We are walking four times faster and adding more products every year - therefore, it is now much easier to catch up with the Americans.

Decisions of the Congress

The 21st Congress concluded that socialism in the USSR had won a complete and final victory, that the Soviet country was entering a period of full-scale construction of a communist society. The most important task of this period is to take a decisive step in creating the material and technical base of communism, to ensure the further strengthening of the economic and defense might of the USSR and, at the same time, to better satisfy the growing material and cultural needs of the people.

The documents of the congress noted that in conditions when the construction of socialism had gone beyond the bounds of one country, when the world socialist system had been formed, there was no longer a capitalist encirclement of the USSR. There are two world social systems - capitalism that is becoming obsolete and socialism that is growing and getting stronger. The congress noted that there are no forces in the world today that could restore capitalism in the USSR and crush the socialist camp. The danger of the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union is excluded.

The Congress approved the activities of the Central Committee of the Party and the most important measures taken by it in the field of domestic and foreign policy.

The control figures for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1959-65 were approved at the congress. In the seven-year plan, the economy was programmed on a scale incomparable with the past experience of Soviet planning. In 7 years, the USSR had to produce as much as in the previous 40 years, and take a decisive step in creating the material and technical base of communism and ensuring the victory of the USSR in peaceful economic competition with the capitalist countries. The new ambitious plan was to allow the Soviet Union to “catch up and overtake” the United States and, by 1965, take the first place in the world both in absolute volume of production and in production per capita.

One of the decisions of the congress was a plan for a radical technical reconstruction of railway transport, by replacing steam locomotives with economical locomotives - electric and diesel locomotives.

The main result of the Congress

• Adoption of a seven-year plan for the development of the national economy for 1959-1965
• Proclamation of the entry of the Soviet Union into the period of extensive construction of communism

The main result of the XXI Congress was the proclamation of the slogan about the transition of the USSR to communism. The construction of socialism was proclaimed completed, and from now on it was a question of starting "the creation of a communist society in the country", which is on the horizon of the 1980s. will ensure the complete abundance and happiness of every Soviet citizen.

Congress Features

• In a report at the congress, Khrushchev mentioned the name of Stalin in a positive context, stating the following: "Implementing the policy of industrialization of the country and the collectivization of agriculture, our people, under the leadership of the party and its Central Committee, headed by J. V. Stalin for many years, made profound transformations ." After the "debunking of the cult" at the previous congress, this circumstance reflects Khrushchev's hesitation in assessing Stalin, his concept of "two Stalins" - on the one hand, a loyal Marxist-Leninist, and on the other, a leader who allowed unjustified repressions against members of the party "remaining loyal to the general line", as well as against "honest Soviet citizens".
• In the vocabulary of N. Khrushchev's reports to the congress, such words as "perestroika", "democratization", "expansion of rights" are often used, a reference is made to the English magazine "Economist" as an authoritative source (which is extremely strange for a communist), as well as references to the Japanese newspaper "Sankei", the American "The Des Moines Register", "The New York Times", the French "L" Aurore, all extreme right-wing anti-communist publications.
• N. Khrushchev paid much attention to Yugoslavia in his report: “If Yugoslavia lags behind in its development, if it does not follow, but wobbles along the socialist path, then the responsibility for this lies entirely with the revisionist, anti-Marxist line of the leadership of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia ... (who ) belittle the role of the party ... who claim that our party is striving for "hegemonism" ... striving to subjugate other communist parties."
• N. Khrushchev notes: "In recent years, a good practice has developed for American delegations, parliamentarians and tourists to travel to the Soviet Union and Soviet people to the United States. This should be welcomed.", "Everything that interferes with the peaceful coexistence of states with different social structure. When a tight boot squeezes and rubs a soldier's leg ... then you have to change your shoes, and another time you change your boots.", "We proceed from the fact that mutual meetings and conversations, mutual visits of statesmen and public figures contribute to the improvement of relations between states..."

In philately

• Postage stamps of the USSR,

History of the Ukrainian SSR in ten volumes. Volume Nine Team of Authors

5. XXI CONGRESS OF THE CPSU. THE FINAL VICTORY OF SOCIALISM IN THE USSR

5. XXI CONGRESS OF THE CPSU. THE FINAL VICTORY OF SOCIALISM IN THE USSR

Fulfilling the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the Soviet people, including the working people of the Ukrainian SSR, achieved new successes in the development of all branches of the national economy and culture, and social relations. Socialism has gained a foothold both within the country and in the international arena. During the implementation of the Sixth Five-Year Plan, a number of tasks arose, the solution of which was not planned for this period. In connection with the beginning of the use of new large deposits of raw materials and energy sources, opportunities have opened up to create enterprises and industrial centers that were not envisaged by the Sixth Five-Year Plan. Scientific and technological progress required the acceleration of the development of such progressive industries as chemical, gas production, energy, etc. It was also necessary to take into account the sharply increasing scale of economic cooperation with the countries of socialism. All these circumstances led the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Soviet government in 1957 to consider it expedient to revise the plans for the last two years of the Sixth Five-Year Plan and draw up a new long-term plan that would cover the last two years of the Sixth Five-Year Plan and the Seventh Five-Year Plan, that is, 1959 –1965 A seven-year plan for the development of the national economy of the USSR was developed. The draft of this plan, approved by the November (1958) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, was published in the press for wide discussion.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Spain Dolores Ibarruri (center) among the delegates of the XXI Extraordinary Congress of the CPSU from the Ukrainian party organization, 1959

XXI Congress of the CPSU on the complete and final victory of socialism in the USSR. On the eve of the XXI Congress of the CPSU, on January 16–17, 1959, an extraordinary XX Congress of the Communist Party of Ukraine was held, which discussed the draft “Control Figures for the Development of the National Economy of the USSR for 1959–1965.” and tasks of the Communist Party of Ukraine. At the congress it was noted that in the years since the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the gross industrial output of the Ukrainian SSR has increased by 37%, more than 500 new large industrial enterprises have begun to produce products. Certain successes in agriculture of the republic were also noted. The Congress of Communists of the Ukraine put forward new tasks in the field of the metallurgical, fuel and chemical industries. The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of Ukraine unanimously approved the draft "Control Figures for the Development of the National Economy of the USSR for 1959-1965".

The 21st Extraordinary Congress of the CPSU was held from January 27 to February 5, 1959. The congress delegates represented over 8 million members and candidate members of the party. The congress was attended by delegations of communist and workers' parties from 72 countries.

The congress demonstrated the world-historical achievements of socialism, defined the tasks of the party and the entire Soviet people for the seventh five-year plan, considered questions of further improvement of organizational and ideological work, as well as questions of the international activity of the party and the state.

Summing up the achievements in the construction of a new society over the entire post-October period, the congress drew a conclusion of principle and historical importance: socialism in the USSR had won a complete and final victory. The conclusion about the complete and final victory of socialism in the USSR followed from Lenin's teaching about the possibility of the victory of socialism in a few or even in one country taken separately. The resolution of the 21st Congress of the CPSU states: "The Soviet people, under the leadership of the Party, have achieved such victories of socialism in all areas of economic and socio-political life, which make it possible to practically carry out the tasks of creating the material and technical base of communist society and a planned transition to communism."

Gone are the days when the Soviet Union was the only socialist state. Now the correlation of forces in the international arena has changed in favor of socialism. After the Second World War, the world socialist system was formed and strengthened, demonstrating its enormous advantages over the capitalist system. There were no more forces in the world that could restore capitalism in our country and defeat the community of socialist countries. The prestige and influence of the USSR in the international arena increased immeasurably.

Profound, fundamental changes have taken place in the Soviet Union. As a result of the heroic labor of the working class, the collective farm peasantry, and the people's intelligentsia under the leadership of the Communist Party of the USSR, by the end of the 1950s, it achieved decisive successes in all areas: in the development of the material and technical base and the improvement of the material and cultural standard of living of the people; in the improvement of socialist social relations and the development of the political system, the deepening of socialist democracy. All this testified to the strengthening and development of socialist society, the creation of the necessary prerequisites for our country's entry into the period of developed socialism.

Adoption of the seven-year plan. The 21st Congress of the CPSU approved the Control Figures for the Development of the National Economy of the USSR for 1959–1965. The main task of the seven-year plan consisted in a powerful upsurge in all branches of the economy on the basis of the predominant growth of heavy industry, a significant strengthening of the country's economic potential, and the development of technical progress in order to ensure a continuous increase in the living standards of the people.

The plan provided for an increase in the national income of the Soviet Union by the end of the seven-year plan by 62–65% compared with 1958, and gross industrial output by about 80%. Gross agricultural output was supposed to increase by 70%. In the seven-year plan, the congress provided for capital investments in the national economy in the amount of 194-197 billion rubles. (in the new scale of prices). With a general increase in industrial production by 1.8 times, it was envisaged to increase the output of machine building and metalworking by about 2 times, the generation of electricity - 2.2 times, and the products of the chemical industry - 3 times. Particular attention in the plan was paid to the predominant development of the most progressive branches of production - instrument making, electrical engineering, radio electronics, and the production of polymeric materials. The congress stressed that one of the decisive conditions for the successful implementation of the seven-year plan is the acceleration of scientific and technological progress. It was planned to widely introduce into production machines and mechanisms that would replace manual labor, as well as further comprehensive mechanization and automation of production.

The target figures determined structural changes in a number of branches of production, the comprehensive development of economic regions, the specialization and co-operation of production, and the involvement of the natural resources of the eastern regions of the country in the economic circulation.

The congress defined the tasks of agricultural production: an increase in gross output by increasing the yield of all agricultural crops, an increase in the number of livestock and the productivity of animal husbandry.

The 21st Congress of the CPSU outlined a program for further raising the living standards of the people. The real incomes of workers, employees and collective farmers were to increase by an average of 40%. Large allocations were allocated for housing construction, the development of public education, science, culture, and health care. It was planned to switch to a 5-day working week with two days off, a significant increase in social insurance benefits for workers and employees, streamlining and raising wages, increasing pensions, benefits for mothers with many children, and many other measures that contribute to raising the living standards of the Soviet people.

In the political field, the congress set the task of further developing Soviet statehood and strengthening the socialist system, the unity and cohesion of the Soviet people, strengthening in every way the alliance of workers and peasants, and the friendship of the peoples of the USSR. The congress pointed to the need to develop and improve socialist democracy, increase the activity and initiative of the masses, expand the functions of public organizations in solving state issues, aimed at a steady increase in the role of the party and the socialist state in the implementation of plans for economic and cultural development.

In ideological work, the task was to activate all means of influencing the masses with the aim of educating them in the spirit of communist consciousness, collectivism and hard work, in the spirit of socialist internationalism and Soviet patriotism, overcoming the remnants of the past in the minds of people, and fighting bourgeois ideology. Propaganda and agitation, the press, cinema, radio and television, cultural and educational institutions should play an important role in the ideological work of the party, the congress noted.

Considerable attention at the 21st Congress of the CPSU was given to the development of science. Noting the major achievements of Soviet scientists in all branches of knowledge, especially in the field of nuclear physics and atomic energy, jet aviation and rocket technology, the congress drew the attention of scientists to the development of problems of great theoretical and practical importance for ensuring further scientific and technological progress. The congress also put forward new tasks for workers in the social sciences.

The 21st Congress of the CPSU defined the immediate tasks in the field of international relations. These included: every possible assistance in strengthening the unity of the socialist countries on the basis of the Leninist principles of proletarian internationalism; preservation and strengthening of peace and security of peoples on the basis of the principle of peaceful coexistence of countries with different social systems. The congress emphasized that, together with other communist parties, the CPSU bears responsibility for the fate of the world communist movement and that it will continue to "relentlessly follow the great international teaching of Marx, Engels and Lenin, fight against revisionists of all stripes, for the purity of Marxism-Leninism, for new successes world communist and labor movement. The congress expressed confidence that the fulfillment of the Party's outlines would further strengthen the positions of the Soviet Union and all socialist countries in the international arena, would be a triumph of the all-conquering teaching of Marxism-Leninism, evidence of the advantages of socialism over capitalism.

The "Control Figures for the Development of the National Economy of the USSR for 1959–1965", approved at the 21st Congress of the CPSU, opened up great prospects for the economy of the Ukrainian SSR - an integral part of the country's unified national economic complex. The gross output of the Soviet Ukraine for the seven years was to increase by 77%, the production of means of production - by 82%, the production of consumer goods - by 67.5%. Investments in the national economy of the republic were planned in the amount of 21.4-21.5 billion rubles. (in the new scale of prices). This is approximately as much as was invested in the national economy of the Ukrainian SSR in the first five five-year plans. The plan outlined the further development of such important branches of industry as ferrous metallurgy, coal, chemical, oil and gas industries, power engineering, mechanical engineering, and the sugar industry. It was planned to expand and build new mining and processing plants, complete the creation of the Dnieper cascade of hydroelectric power plants, build a number of large thermal power plants, coal mines, oil refineries and chemical plants, main gas pipelines and other industrial facilities.

The seven-year plan provided for the further development of the food and meat-and-dairy industries in Ukraine, and an increase in the production of consumer goods. The republic's agriculture was tasked with increasing the production of grain, industrial crops and livestock products, developing horticulture and viticulture. Large appropriations were allocated for the development of public education, science, and culture in the Ukrainian SSR.

The concern of the Party and government for the further development of the economy and culture of the Soviet Ukraine, as well as of all other fraternal republics, is the practical implementation of the Leninist national policy.

Thus, the 21st Congress of the CPSU, having testified to the complete and final victory of socialism in the USSR as a result of the creative work of the Soviet people and profound transformations in all areas of public life, put forward new urgent tasks of communist construction before the Soviet people.

The struggle of the working people for the fulfillment of the seven-year plan. The working people of the Soviet Ukraine, like the entire Soviet people, under the leadership of the Party, actively began to implement the seven-year plan. The labor collectives of industrial enterprises, construction sites, transport, collective and state farms, scientific institutions of the republic assumed increased obligations, initiated important undertakings and initiatives, launched a movement for a communist attitude towards work.

The implementation of the decisions of the XXI Congress of the CPSU was discussed at the June (1959) and July (1960) Plenums of the Central Committee of the CPSU. These plenums considered questions of accelerating technical progress in industry and construction, and the growth of social production. They, in particular, heard the reports of the Stalin and Dnepropetrovsk economic councils, the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR and the Institute of Electric Welding. E. O. Paton of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR on the implementation of plans for the development of industry, transport, construction and the acceleration of the introduction of scientific and technological achievements into production. The Central Committee of the CPSU noted that the party organization and the economic bodies of the Ukrainian SSR had done a great deal of work on the further development of production. A number of the latest types of machines, machine tools, equipment, automatic and semi-automatic lines were created. Electric welding and the chemical industry achieved great success. At the same time, the Central Committee of the CPSU pointed to the shortcomings that existed in the republic in the implementation of the achievements of technical progress.

The Plenums of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, held in July 1959 and 1960, were devoted to the development and technical improvement of production. They worked out specific measures to ensure technical progress in production.

Socialist competition for overfulfillment of the tasks of the first year of the seven-year plan was launched in the republic. The initiators of this competition were the metallurgists of Zaporizhstal, the miners of Donbass, the miners and builders of Kryvbas, the railway workers of the South-Western Road and other teams. A number of valuable undertakings were supported by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. In order to generalize the experience of production innovators in many regions and districts of the republic, inter-factory and inter-factory schools of excellence were created. So, on the basis of the mine. S. V. Kosior of the Voroshilovgrad region, in order to increase coal production, a republican school of excellence was created for mining coal teams. At a number of industrial enterprises, complex teams of workers and engineering and technical workers were organized. They dealt with the issues of mechanization and automation of production, modernization of equipment, improvement of technology. In the first years of the seven-year plan, the amateur technical creativity of the masses was widely developed: public design and technology bureaus, departments, laboratories, and councils of innovators.

The 21st Congress of the Communist Party of Ukraine, held on February 16–19, 1960, summed up the results of the work for the four years that had elapsed since the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of Ukraine, as well as for the first year of the seven-year plan. Having comprehensively analyzed the work done and noted the achievements of the republic in all areas of economic and socio-political life, the congress focused the attention of the communists, all the working people of Soviet Ukraine on still unresolved issues, on shortcomings in work. It was noted that the party organizations had not yet fully utilized the available opportunities and reserves for the fulfillment of the tasks of the first year of the seven-year plan. The congress emphasized the need to improve things in agriculture.

In January 1961, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU was held, which discussed the reports of the party organizations of the Union republics on the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. It was necessary to correctly use the objective laws of the development of socialist production, economic levers in the struggle for a further increase in the productivity of agriculture. However, the administrative measures taken in those years and various reorganizations did not provide a turning point in the course of the implementation of the seven-year plan for the development of agricultural production. The plans outlined by the Plenum to increase the production and purchases of grain, meat and milk were not supported by the necessary funding and material resources.

The March (1965) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU laid the foundation for a qualitatively new, scientifically substantiated economic approach to solving problems of agriculture.

So, by the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, great successes were achieved in the country in all areas of economic, political and spiritual life, in building and developing the material and technical base of socialism. Enormous changes in the development of the country's economy, in the international situation, and the strengthening of the forces of socialism have enabled the 21st Congress of the CPSU to come to the conclusion that socialism has been completely and definitively victorious in our country. By this time, as a result of the consistent implementation of the Leninist national policy of the CPSU, economic cooperation between the fraternal republics had strengthened in the country, and the process of flourishing and rapprochement of the socialist nations was taking place. Inter-republican socialist emulation was further developed.

The working people of the Ukrainian SSR made a great contribution to strengthening the economic potential of the country, the material and technical basis of socialism.

The social structure of the population of the republic was improved, which underwent significant changes in the postwar years. There were quantitative and qualitative changes in the composition of the working class, the collective farm peasantry and the people's intelligentsia, processes of erasing the essential differences between town and countryside, between mental and physical labor.

The socio-economic transformations that took place in the Soviet country during the 1950s became the basis for the further flourishing of the multinational Soviet culture, including the culture of the Ukrainian people. Successfully developed science, public education, artistic culture, cultural and educational institutions, mass media and propaganda of the republic. The increase in the intellectual potential of Soviet society, the rise in the cultural level of the broad masses of working people have become one of the determining factors in the strengthening of socialism.

Notable successes have been achieved by writers, artists, composers, cinematographers and theater workers of the Ukrainian SSR. In the various themes of works of art, the leading motive was the theme of a contemporary who defeated fascism and selflessly overcame the difficulties of post-war construction.

In the 1950s, the material and spiritual foundations of the socialist way of life were strengthened. This was facilitated by the measures taken by the Communist Party to further develop the economies of all the republics of the USSR, to improve the material well-being of the Soviet people, and consistent and systematic work on the communist education of the working people.