Soviet History
In December, the Bolsheviks signed a truce with the central powers, although the battle resumed in February 1918. In March, the Soviets ended their participation in the war and signed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 when the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the provisional government that had previously replaced the monarchy of the Russian Empire.
Many anti-Stalinist leftists such as anarchists are extremely critical of Soviet authoritarianism and repression. Much of the criticism it receives is aimed at massacres in the Soviet Union, the centralized hierarchy present in the USSR and massive political repression, as well as violence against government critics and political dissidents, such as other leftists. Critics also point to their inability to introduce substantial workers’ cooperatives or to liberate workers, as well as corruption and the Soviet authoritarian character. Under Lenin, the state has made explicit commitments to promote equality between men and women.
After the severe economic collapse, Lenin replaced war communism in 1921 with the new economic policy, which legalized the free trade and private property of small businesses. The Supreme Soviet was nominally the supreme state agency for most of Soviet history, initially as a rubber stamp institution, which approved and executed all decisions of the party. However, powers and functions were expanded in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including the creation of new state committees and committees. He was given additional powers with regard to the approval of the five-year plans and the government budget. State and party structures of the constituent republics have largely imitated the structure of central institutions, although the Russian SFSR, unlike the other constituent republics, had not controlled the CPSU’s republican branch for most of its history.
With this in mind, the Supreme Soviet, on behalf of Brezhnev, established the new post of First Vice President of the Supreme Soviet Presidency, a position similar to a “vice president”. Vasili Kuznetsov, at the age of 76, was unanimously approved by the Supreme Soviet in late 1977 as the first vice president of the presidium. As Brezhnev’s health deteriorated, collective leadership took on an even more important role in day-to-day decision-making.
Polish leader Władysław Gomułka, who was removed from all his posts in 1970, was succeeded by Edward Gierek, who tried to revive the Polish economy by borrowing money from the First World. The Soviet leadership approved the respective economic experiments of Soviet collectibles both countries, as it attempted to reduce its major Eastern Bloc subsidy program in the form of cheap oil and gas exports. Collective leadership was first aimed at stabilizing the Soviet Union and calming the Soviet society, a task they could accomplish.
The strong mobilization of resources used so far to industrialize agricultural society created an enormous need for labor; unemployment practically fell to zero. Wage formation by Soviet planners also contributed to the sharp fall in unemployment, which fell by 50% in real terms between 1928 and 1940. With artificially low wages, the state could afford to employ far more workers than would be financially viable in a market economy.
For example, in the early 1980s, the Soviet Union supplied 20 to 30% of the rice eaten by the Vietnamese people. Since Vietnam never developed an arms industry during the Cold War, it was the Soviet Union that helped them with weapons and equipment during the Sino-Vietnamese war. The Soviet Union also played a key role in the secessionist struggle against the Portuguese empire and the struggle for the black majority government in southern Africa. Control of Somalia was of great importance to both the Soviet Union and the United States, due to its strategic location at the mouth of the Red Sea. After the Soviets broke off external relations with the Siad Barre regime in Somalia, the Soviets turned to the Derg government in Ethiopia and supported them in their war against Somalia.