Summer of 1946... In May 1946, Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 1017-419ss was issued. It was signed by I.V. Stalin. Grif, as usual for such documents of that time: “Top secret. Special folder." This meant that only a very small circle of people had the right to know about

The Great Patriotic War ended in victory, which the Soviet people had been seeking for four years. Men fought on the fronts, women worked on collective farms, in military factories - in a word, they provided the rear. However, the euphoria caused by the long-awaited victory was replaced by a feeling of hopelessness. Continuous hard work, hunger, Stalin's repressions, resumed from new strength, - these phenomena darkened the post-war years.

In the history of the USSR the term “cold war” appears. Used in relation to the period of military, ideological and economic confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States. It begins in 1946, that is, in the post-war years. The USSR emerged victorious from World War II, but, unlike the United States, it had a long road to recovery ahead of it.

Construction

According to the Fourth Five-Year Plan, the implementation of which began in the USSR in the post-war years, it was necessary first of all to restore the cities destroyed fascist troops. More than 1.5 thousand were injured in four years settlements. Young people quickly received various construction specialties. However, there was not enough labor - the war claimed the lives of more than 25 million Soviet citizens.

To restore normal work hours, overtime work was canceled. Annual paid holidays were introduced. The working day now lasted eight hours. Peaceful construction in the USSR in the post-war years was headed by the Council of Ministers.

Industry

Plants and factories destroyed during the Second World War were actively restored in the post-war years. In the USSR, by the end of the forties, old enterprises started operating. New ones were also built. Post-war period in the USSR - 1945-1953, that is, it begins after the end of the Second World War. Ends with the death of Stalin.

The recovery of industry after the war occurred rapidly, partly due to the high working capacity Soviet people. Citizens of the USSR were convinced that they had a great life, much better than the Americans, existing in the conditions of decaying capitalism. This was facilitated by the Iron Curtain, which isolated the country culturally and ideologically from the whole world for forty years.

They worked a lot, but their life did not get easier. In the USSR in 1945-1953 there was a rapid development of three industries: missile, radar, and nuclear. Most of the resources were spent on the construction of enterprises that belonged to these areas.

Agriculture

The first post-war years were terrible for the residents. In 1946, the country was gripped by famine caused by destruction and drought. A particularly difficult situation was observed in Ukraine, Moldova, in the right-bank regions of the lower Volga region and in the North Caucasus. New collective farms were created throughout the country.

In order to strengthen the spirit of Soviet citizens, directors commissioned by officials shot a huge number of films telling about happy life collective farmers. These films enjoyed wide popularity, and were watched with admiration even by those who knew what a collective economy really was.

In the villages, people worked from dawn to dawn, while living in poverty. That is why later, in the fifties, young people left villages and went to cities, where life was at least a little easier.

Standard of living

In the post-war years, people suffered from hunger. In 1947 there was, but most goods remained in short supply. Hunger has returned. Prices for ration goods were raised. Yet, over the course of five years, starting in 1948, products gradually became cheaper. This somewhat improved the standard of living of Soviet citizens. In 1952, the price of bread was 39% lower than in 1947, and for milk - 70%.

Availability of essential goods did not make life much easier ordinary people, but, being under iron curtain, most of them easily believed in the illusory idea of best country in the world.

Until 1955, Soviet citizens were convinced that they owed Stalin for victory in the Great Patriotic War. But this situation was not observed throughout the entire region. In those regions that were annexed to the Soviet Union after the war, much fewer conscious citizens lived, for example, in the Baltic states and the Western Ukraine, where anti-Soviet organizations appeared in the 40s.

Friendly States

After the end of the war, communists came to power in countries such as Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and the GDR. With these states the USSR developed diplomatic relations. At the same time, the conflict with the West has intensified.

According to the 1945 treaty, Transcarpathia was transferred to the USSR. The Soviet-Polish border has changed. After the end of the war, many people lived in the territory former citizens other countries, for example Poland. The Soviet Union entered into a population exchange agreement with this country. Poles living in the USSR now had the opportunity to return to their homeland. Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians could leave Poland. It is noteworthy that at the end of the forties, only about 500 thousand people returned to the USSR. To Poland - twice as much.

Criminal situation

In the post-war years in the USSR with banditry law enforcement agencies started a serious fight. Crime peaked in 1946. During this year, about 30 thousand armed robberies were recorded.

To combat rampant crime, new employees were accepted into the ranks of the police, as a rule, former front-line soldiers. It turned out to be not so easy to restore peace Soviet citizens, especially in Ukraine and the Baltic states, where the criminal situation was most depressing. IN Stalin years a fierce struggle was waged not only against “enemies of the people,” but also against ordinary robbers. From January 1945 to December 1946, more than three and a half thousand gang organizations were liquidated.

Repression

Back in the early twenties, many intellectuals left the country. They knew about the fate of those who did not manage to escape from Soviet Russia. Nevertheless, at the end of the forties, some accepted the offer to return to their homeland. Russian nobles were returning home. But to another country. Many were sent immediately upon their return to Stalin’s camps.

In the post-war years it reached its apogee. Saboteurs, dissidents and other “enemies of the people” were placed in the camps. The fate of the soldiers and officers who found themselves surrounded during the war was sad. IN best case scenario they spent several years in camps, up to which the cult of Stalin was debunked. But many were shot. In addition, the conditions in the camps were such that only the young and healthy could endure them.

In the post-war years, one of the most respected people Marshal Georgy Zhukov became the country's leader. His popularity irritated Stalin. However, put behind bars folk hero he didn't dare. Zhukov was known not only in the USSR, but also beyond its borders. The leader knew how to create uncomfortable conditions in other ways. In 1946, the “aviators’ case” was fabricated. Zhukov was removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief ground forces and sent to Odessa. Several generals close to the marshal were arrested.

Culture

In 1946, the fight against Western influence. It was expressed in the popularization of domestic culture and the ban on everything foreign. They were persecuted Soviet writers, artists, directors.

In the forties, as already mentioned, a huge number of war films were shot. These paintings were subject to strict censorship. The characters were created according to a template, the plot was built according to a clear pattern. Music was also strictly controlled. Only compositions praising Stalin and the happy Soviet life. This is not in the best possible way influenced the development of national culture.

Science

The development of genetics began in the thirties. IN post-war period this science found itself in exile. Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet biologist and agronomist, became the main participant in the attack on geneticists. In August 1948, academicians who made a significant contribution to the development national science, lost the opportunity to engage in research activities.

Now we will present several facts that indicate what actually happened in the USSR in 1945-47.

We all know about the baby boomer generation in Western countries, where the birth rate has increased significantly since 1946. Huge number post-war newborns changed the demographic picture of all countries at war. Germany was no exception, where the birth rate increased significantly. However, we do not see anything like this in the USSR.

The 1959 census provides data that is too destructive of the picture of a happy Stalinist USSR.
According to the 1959 census, there are even fewer children aged 11 and 12 years (born 1946 and 1947) than adolescents aged 17 years (born 1941), and children aged 10 years (born 1948) are fewer than young people people aged 18 years (year of birth 1940). At the same time, we know that the generation born in 1941 and 1940 survived the war in their most defenseless infancy. And almost 40% of the children of this generation survived the war in the occupied territories. But we see that this generation survived all the hardships of life under occupation and war and lived until 1959.

Here are the exact data from the 1959 census:
age quantity
11 years (1947) 3.54 million
12 years (1946) 3.57 million
13 years (1945) 2.22 million
14 years (1944) 1.96 million
15 years (1943) 1.79 million
16 years (1942) 2.50 million
17 years (1941) 3.66 million
18 years (1940) 4.19 million

At first glance this seems surprising...
Why are the 1946 and 1947 generations smaller than the 1941 generation?
What's the matter? Are fewer children born and raised in the happy post-war years than in the terrible year of 1941? Indeed it is.

We know that in 1941-42 children died of hunger in besieged Leningrad, significant amount newborns and one-year-old children could not stand the frost, hunger and disease. In addition, a significant part of the children ended up in the occupied territory of the USSR, and 75 million people lived there.
Why did more children born in the occupied territories and front-line cities survive than those born in peaceful times? Stalin's USSR 1946-47?

The answer to this question is terrible, but simple. The famine of 1947 and terrible losses are to blame for this male population USSR at war. These factors turned out to be even stronger than fascist rule in huge territory USSR in 1941-1943.

For these reasons, the population of the USSR in 1946-1947 not only did not grow, but even declined.
According to the 1959 census, there were significantly fewer men in the prime childbearing ages than women. On average, at conscription age there were only 2 men for every 3 women, since the excess death toll of the male population from 1939 to 1959 was 23.2 million. A significant portion of women remained alone forever.

But the main blow to the birth rate was the famine of 1947. It caused unprecedented mortality among the population. Below we provide a lengthy quote historical research about the causes and consequences of famine in the Stalinist USSR.

Famine in the USSR in 1946-1947

"Between 1946 and 1948, more than 1 million died of hunger
Human. Due to starvation they suffered from dysentery, dyspepsia,
pneumonia, etc., about 4 million people, among whom there were about
half a million dead. This is confirmed by the actual demographic
data. The number of people present in the country at the beginning of 1946 (i.e.
born no later than 1945), 170.5 million, by the beginning of 1951 it had decreased to
161.3 million, that is, by 5.3%; Meanwhile, the population at the beginning of 1949
(that is, after the famine) five years later, by the beginning of 1954, it decreased
only by 4% - that is, the loss was 1.3% less. And 1.3% of the population 1946
year is 2.2 million people. IN Russian Federation during the winter months
1946/1947, population growth stopped completely, and by April
there was a reduction of 29 thousand people. According to archives, in the areas covered
famine-plagued regions of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova with a population of fifty
million people in 1947 population due to mortality
and forced migration decreased by 5-6 million people. But
the data discovered cannot be called final: we,
we may never know. A huge gap in the reports is mortality among
peasants who did not have passports. The terrible detail of the official
reports: section “Infant mortality”. In 1947, 508 thousand died in the USSR
children under 1 year of age. This was the "generation of hope", the first
post-war generation, first victims " cold war" Natural
the consequence of hunger, migration, and widespread poverty was beggary, which
reached unprecedented proportions. In the years of famine, at the most
According to rough estimates, the number of beggars reached 2-3 million people.
No well-thought-out program social assistance, which could reduce
This is a shameful phenomenon; there was no famine during the years. There was no public
initiatives: the Soviet government, as in 1932, officially
did not declare famine. The famine caused an increase unprecedented even during the war years.
crime. Let us recall that during the famine two “loans” were issued
recovery and development national economy", which were distributed
in a forced manner. The first loan in 1946 accelerated the “coming”
famine, since he took a significant amount of money from the population, which
could be spent on buying groceries in “commercial” stores
prices. The second was implemented at the height of the famine. No wonder
that “end-to-end data” on crime in the USSR for 1940-1950 was noted
in 1946-1947 the most tall theft of state and personal
property. The most common type of crime predominated - “petty”
theft." Please note: 32 percent of thefts were committed
women, and this without unnecessary words shows what was the reason
crimes. According to official data, at the end of 1948 in places of detention
there were 23,790 mothers with whom they served their time behind barbed wire
"term" young children."

Another article about the 1947 famine:

"Generalized information about the dead by age and sex indicates that in 1947, 1,462.4 thousand people died in the RSFSR, i.e. 402.8 thousand more than in 1946. From total number 461 thousand people (31%) who died were children under 4 years of age, of which 73% were under the age of one year. Of other ages, older people died more often (278.4 thousand people). IN rural areas the number of deaths was 188 thousand more than in urban settlements, and, as in cities, men were the first to die when saving children.
A similar picture of mortality was observed in Ukraine and Moldova, and their accounting was better. If it was easier to hide data about the dead in Russia in many regions, territories and republics, then in Ukraine, and even more so in Moldova, this was more difficult to do. Mortality tables for these republics are more objective. The number of deaths in Ukraine in 1947 was 1.7 times, and in Moldova - 2.5 times higher than in 1946. In both republics, famine was recorded from the first months the real reason increase in mortality."

Seminar of the Institute of Demography:
"In Moscow, among all those who died in 1946, every sixth was an infant, in Gorky - every fifth, in Leningrad - every fourth, in Sverdlovsk - every third."

School stage

Historical chronology

1. Explain on what basis the chronological series is compiled, briefly indicate what events occurred in the indicated years:

A) near Smolensk.

B) crossing the Dnieper.

B) near Kharkov.

D) for the liberation of Moscow.

History and linguistics

1. Decipher the following abbreviations: TNCs, IMF, WTO.

2 . Filka's letter.

Historical figure

2. Among historical figures named below, three are contemporaries. Please indicate them.

3) T.-P. Talleyrand

5) F. Rabelais

3. Establish a correspondence between the economic reforms carried out in the USSR and the Russian Federation and the names of the leaders who carried them out. Write the answer in the form of a specific sequence of numbers.

A) transition to territorial management of industry 1)

principle 2)

B) improvement of planning and economic 3)

incentives in industrial production 4)

B) radical economic reform, transition to market 5)

relations

based on the achievements of scientific and technological progress

Cultural history

1. On what monument are these words of the Jewish poet Emma Lazarus carved:

I will shelter the persecuted, I will warm the chilled,

I will give food and shelter to the homeless.

To everyone who breathed freedom,

The torch showed my path.

2. Match the names literary works and the time of their creation. Write the answer in the form of a specific sequence of numbers.

A) “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” 1) XII century.

B) “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” 2) XV century.

C) “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum, written by himself” 3) XVI century.

D) “Zadonshchina” 4) XVII century.

Working with a source

1. What event is the Chairman of the State Duma talking about?

2. Read an excerpt from a poem by V. Rozhdestvensky and name the century in question.

And I loved your naive passions:

Hunts and balls, forbidden meetings of happiness

The fever and chills of the green table...

I'm sad that now I don't have to kidnap

On a trio of wild blue-eyed brides,

What to the mines of Chita, to the Caucasus card regiment

Mother will no longer send us blessings.

That we cannot fully believe,

As Herzen once did, to the fire of a high oath...

Historical local history

1. What products did the Yaroslavl distillery supply to the front during the Great Patriotic War?

2. Determine the name of our fellow countryman in question:

A native of the village of Krutets, Rybinsk district. A young peasant boy went to the front at the call of the Komsomol. He worked his way up in the navy from sailor to admiral. During the Great Patriotic War, he led a formation of submarines Northern Fleet, which crushed the enemy in the difficult conditions of the Arctic. Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1943, built with money from Yaroslavtsev submarine"Yaroslavsky Komsomolets" was transferred to his unit.

History, 10th grade, school stage

Historical chronology

1. Explain on what basis the chronological series is compiled, briefly indicate what events occurred in the indicated years: 1946, 1949, 1950, 1962, 1979.

Highest score– 6 points (1 point for determining the principle and one point each for determining the date).

Comment: dates associated with the worsening relations between the West and the USSR during the Cold War.

1946 – conflict over Iran. Speech by W. Churchill in Fulton; 1949 – Creation of CMEA and NATO; 1950 – beginning of the Korean War; 1962 – Cuban missile crisis; 1979 – introduction Soviet troops to Afghanistan.

2. Establish a correspondence between the battles, military operations of the Great Patriotic War and the years in which they occurred. Write the answer in the form of a specific sequence of numbers.

A) near Smolensk.

B) crossing the Dnieper.

B) near Kharkov.

D) for the liberation of Moscow.

Highest score– 3 points (the task is considered completed only if the student does not make a single mistake).

Comment: 1324

History and linguistics

1. Unscramble the following abbreviations: TNCs, IMF, WTO.

Highest score– 3 points (1 point for each correct answer).

Comment: transnational corporations, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization.

2 . Explain what this means phraseological turn and remember what events its appearance is associated with: Filka's letter.

Highest score– 3 points (1 point for explaining the meaning and 2 points for explaining the origin).

Comment: Filka’s letter is an empty, worthless piece of paper; a document that has no force.

Moscow Metropolitan Philip opposed the policies of violence and terror of Ivan the Terrible. He repeatedly sent letters to the tsar asking him to abolish the oprichnina. The Tsar, not wanting to listen to the obstinate Metropolitan, contemptuously called him Filka, and his messages Filka’s letter.

Historical figure

1. Determine which of the ideologists of the populist movement is the author of these lines:

“The reconstruction of society must be carried out not only for the people, but also by the people themselves. But illiterate and downtrodden workers are not able to immediately understand the ideas of socialism. We must help the people understand their needs, strength and capabilities. Revolutionary youth must be patient and active work among the people to prepare the ground for a social revolution.”

Highest score– 2 points.