Anyone who studied history in school or was simply born in the 60s. last century, knows that some historians call the Brezhnev era in a special way. They believe that it was "stagnation" - a period characterized by the conservation of the old communist regime. However, some historians disagree with this term.
Let's consider the polar points of view on this issue in more detail.
Time frame of the period
It is generally accepted that this stage began with the coming to power of a new Secretary General. His name was Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. He appeared in this position unexpectedly, due to the voluntary-compulsory retirement of the "reformer" NS. Khrushchev in the early 60s. last century.
Lasted 18 years. In general, this was an attempt to preserve the achievements of the USSR, which the country achieved under Stalin.
Characteristics of the era
Unlike the formidable Stalin, Leonid Ilyich was distinguished by his gentle character and lack of desire for extraordinary social transformations. During his reign, the purges of the party apparatus stopped, which allowed officials to work in their posts without fear of being fired. The rank and file were much less afraid of the authorities, often discussed problems in family conversations in their kitchens, and waited for changes.
Market trade began to develop underground due to lack of food and which contributed to the emergence of black schemes for the resale of goods.
In general, stagnation is a special period in the history of the USSR. On the one hand, it was distinguished by stability and tranquility in social terms. On the other hand, the Soviet people, closed by the iron curtain, increasingly thought that the capitalist world also had its advantages, and dreamed of going abroad. A special myth was created that a Western person as a whole lives much better and more comfortable than a citizen of the USSR.
Positive features of this period
The period of stagnation in the USSR was characterized by many features that were inherent exclusively in this time:
1. Stable development of the spheres of culture, art, education, science, mass construction.
It was during the Brezhnev era that many people were able to get the long-awaited separate apartments. Active construction of new micro-districts was carried out, at the same time with which kindergartens, clinics, schools, palaces of children's creativity were put into operation.
The education system developed, universities were opened. Every young man who came from the provinces and had a minimum amount of money could enter a prestigious university if he had the ability and knowledge. Also, medical care was available to the general population.
Both education and medicine were really free.
2. Social guarantees
The state provided social guarantees to its citizens. So, everyone could get a job to provide for themselves and their families. Strict media censorship allowed the flow of information to be controlled, so it was generally positive. The military might of the USSR made it possible to keep the opponents of our state in check and not wait for an attack from outside.
By and large, the Brezhnev stagnation became the quietest period in the history of the USSR.
Negative features of this period
Among the negative features are the following:
- Life during the period of stagnation was complicated by the fact that ordinary citizens did not have enough consumer goods - clothing and household items, and also some food products were in short supply. This happened in the area of foodstuffs due to the fact that many rural residents left for the cities, not wanting to work on collective farms. Since the repressive system of the USSR significantly reduced its pressure, the authorities could not prevent such a resettlement.
- The military industry and military technologies were actively developing, but those areas that led to the emergence of technical innovations in the West, such as video recorders, players and other goods, did not progress. This circumstance aroused heightened interest in the products of the capitalist world on the part of the Soviet people.
- The party elite, not being renewed by new people, has grown old. In fact, it became a closed clan, where ordinary capable managers could not get, everything was decided by ties: they gave both a high social status and the receipt of special benefits and rights in Soviet society.
- The ideas of socialism and communism gradually fell into decay, the majority of citizens lost faith in these ideals and waited for the renewal of the ideological component of life.
Who first called this period "stagnant"?
For the first time, the Brezhnev period was called "stagnation" by the young and promising general secretary M. Gorbachev, speaking to the audience in 1986. Many then were in solidarity with the opinion of the secretary general. The country was waiting for changes, people hoped that after the era of “dying elders” (Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko), a new life would come.
Unfortunately, these hopes were not justified: the country was awaiting a period of perestroika (which the astute philosopher Zinoviev called "katosroyka"), the collapse of the USSR, social upheavals and a difficult era of general collapse in the 90s.
Brezhnev's stagnation - the period of the beginning of the destruction of the USSR?
Today historians assess this stage of development of our country very differently. Scientists of the liberal camp say that the USSR began to collapse precisely at this time, and Gorbachev only completed the process of irreversible disintegration of the country.
In general, these historians do not particularly favor the former Soviet Union, believing that its destruction only benefited the whole of humanity.
Other scholars take the opposite position. In particular, they believe that stagnation is a difficult period in the country's development, but still positive. In fact, it was a failed attempt to create "socialism with a human face," without Stalin's repressive system.
Therefore, today some of our fellow citizens of the older generation assess the period of stagnation in the USSR positively. They say that at that time they felt support from the state, knew that they could not be simply fired from their jobs, they could count on receiving high-quality and free medical care and good and also free education.
(the first, and since 1966 General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee), A.N. Kosygin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers), M.A. Suslov (secretary of the CPSU Central Committee for ideology). Under their leadership, with the strengthening of ideological pressure, an economic reform began. 1965 g., conceived during the time of N.S. Khrushchev. The reform began with the liquidation of the economic councils and the restoration of the central branch ministries. At the same time, enterprises have gained some independence in economic activity (cost accounting).
In agriculture, restrictions on the maintenance of personal subsidiary plots were partially lifted, and allocations were increased. There has been an increase in the output of agricultural machinery, an increase in the role of agricultural science, and an increase in purchase prices. However, strict centralization and planning from above put an end to these tendencies and led to the ousting of cost accounting. Finally, conservative tendencies prevailed after the XXV Congress of the CPSU in March 1976. Since that time, the USSR entered the "era of developed socialism", closely associated with the reign of L.I. Brezhnev.
It is necessary to note the main features of this period, which was later called the “era of stagnation”. The main priorities in the economy remained heavy industry and military-industrial complex, and development of new oil and gas fields... The sale of raw materials and energy resources to developed countries gave foreign exchange funds that were used to patch holes in the economy. The country was unable to effectively solve the problems of modernizing the economy.
A new technological revolution was taking place in the world, which accelerated the transition of advanced countries from an industrial to a post-industrial (information) society based on the use of cybernetics, microelectronics, information technologies. In the new conditions of world development, computerization, the growth of science-intensive industries, resource and energy-saving technologies acquired great importance. The USSR lagged significantly behind the advanced countries, produced obsolete products, continued to develop industries characteristic of the industrial period. But the main reason for the lag was crisis of the entire socialist system.
A characteristic feature of this period is considered strengthening of the administrative centralization of the economy and the growth of the bureaucratic apparatus... The crisis phenomena in the national economy became especially acute since the end of the 70s. Despite the increase in investment in agriculture, the expansion of collective farm rights, the introduction of collective farmers' wages and the expansion of household plots, the principle of collective farming and several lean years led to a sharp decline in agricultural production.
The Soviet Union began to regularly buy grain and other products abroad. Adopted in 1982 The "food program" did not give practical results. Depletion of the raw material base, unfavorable demographic situation, physical deterioration of equipment, growth of military expenditures, confusion in the organization of labor, lack of material incentives have led to a drop in production rates, a decrease in the return on investment and the level of consumption.
Negative phenomena were also observed in public life. The decline in the birth rate and the increase in mortality have led to an aggravation of the demographic situation in the country. There was a sharp increase in the urban population due to the outflow of people from rural areas. USSR Constitution 1977 year in article 6, consolidated the dominant role of the CPSU in the political system. The party elite has stabilized. At the same time, active resistance to the system was growing in society, dissident traffic . Representatives of the intelligentsia, believers and some national minorities expressed their dissatisfaction with the omnipotence of the party apparatus.
The foreign policy of the Brezhnev era was more dynamic. The goal of Soviet diplomacy in relations with the socialist countries is to eliminate the threat of the collapse of the military and economic alliance. In this regard, the following events should be noted: the entry of troops of the five countries - participants of the Warsaw Pact into Czechoslovakia in 1968 in order to suppress the liberal movement; attempts in 1970 and 1980 by the introduction of martial law to stop the labor movement in Poland; material and military support for North Vietnam in the American-Vietnamese war of the late 60s - first half of the 70s; a sharp deterioration in relations with China, which led to border military conflicts.
The relations of the USSR with the Western countries in the 70s are usually called the period "Detente"... This process was marked by a departure from the tough confrontation of the Cold War times, the conclusion of a series of bilateral agreements on economic, scientific and cultural cooperation with Western countries. Agreements were also signed on the limitation of strategic and conventional arms with France, with the FRG on the non-use of force in resolving disputed issues of post-war borders. In 1972 L.I. Brezhnev and R. Nixon signed a number of agreements on the limitation of strategic arms.
The culmination of the detente process was the signing by the leaders of European countries, the USA and Canada in Helsinki August 1, 1975 Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). At this meeting, an act on human rights was adopted, also signed by the Soviet delegation. However, the violation of human rights in the USSR, the expansion of "socialism" in the countries of Africa and Asia, especially the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan (December 1979) finally curtailed the process of discharge.
In November 1982, Yu.V. Andropov, who held this post until 1984. In February 1984, K.U. Chernenko ruled the country for a little over a year and died in March 1985. Andropov's domestic policy was characterized by attempts to morally cleanse the party and eliminate the most egregious manifestations of corruption in the "family circles" of the party apparatus. Andropov also made attempts to strengthen labor discipline in production. The sanctions against violators were tightened, but after a slight increase in labor productivity in the first half of 1983, everything remained the same.
In foreign policy of this period, tensions between East and West reached their highest point. In November 1983, all negotiations related to armaments were interrupted. This situation persisted before coming to power. in April 1985
The years of stagnation is usually the name of the period from 1964 to 1987 in the union. That is, from the moment L.I. Brezhnev and before the Plenum in January 1987, which is famous for the launch of cardinal reforms in all areas of the country.
The emergence of the term "stagnation" is primarily due to M.S. , who, in his report at the 27th Congress of the CPSU, read a report on the disappointing prospects for such a course, which he called "stagnant phenomena in the life of society." This period of time is characterized by a drop in the rate of economic development, deterioration of indicators in all spheres of the country, a decline in living standards, and all this in the absence of obvious global problems.
The period from 1964 to 1987 has both good and bad sides. Formally, the development of the country continued, and according to some indicators it was very successful. For example, the construction of new factories, recreation centers, stadiums continued. Recently visited space - 1961. The society actively mastered medicine and sports.
On the other hand, there was a clear trend of dependence on the export of minerals. The growth of non-resource sectors of the economy has practically disappeared. The exact and high-tech sciences were in crisis. Agriculture also did not stand aside; to describe the state of its development, it is enough to say that the USSR imported food and agricultural products in general! Dissent and any manifestation of national identity was persecuted as in times.
The reason for the "stagnation" is very often considered the energy dependence of the USSR, or rather the dependence on the sale of Oil and Gas. The dominance of the world market quickly passed in the 1970s, due to the so-called oil boom, when the technological backwardness of the USSR surfaced and oil prices began to fall.
Such tendencies were not at all consoling, as a result of which the young and energetic Mikhail Gorbachev was becoming the head of the state. In the post of general secretary from 1985 to 1987, no shifts for the better were observed, but Perestroika was announced - an official direction in the development of the USSR, and a full-scale reform of the social and economic spheres. The USSR held first place among European countries and ranked second after the United States in terms of industrial production. In comparison with 1960, the lag in the volume of industrial output from the United States decreased from 45% to 20%. The USSR achieved very great results in cement production, which proves the world leadership in this industry.
According to statistical data, the income of the population has grown by 1.5 times, which is quite significant. The population of the Soviet Union increased by almost 12 million people. An interesting fact is that the USSR exported heavy equipment such as tractors to more than 40 countries of the world. On the one hand, the full provision of agriculture with machinery was the pride of the Union, but there was no yield, it was worth working on the results.
The most pressing problem of stagnation was scarcity. The shortage of goods, according to many historians, was artificial, and was made for the so-called “Seller's Economy”. Planned enterprises were not interested in timely deliveries, in proper product quality, etc. The disappearance of essential goods was critical.
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Twenty years, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, when the country's political leadership was headed by L.I. Brezhnev (1964–1982), Yu.V. Andropov (1982-1984) and K.U. Chernenko (1984-1985) is called the time of "stagnation". Started with decisive economic reforms, it ended with an increase in negative trends in all spheres of public life, stagnation of the economy, and a crisis of the socio-political system. It is possible to cite a lot of data showing the growth of production - in the 1970s. The USSR has caught up with the most developed countries of the West in terms of industrial output. By the early 1980s. overtook and surpassed even the USA, West Germany, Japan, England, France in the production of steel, coal, electricity, and cement per capita. Parity was achieved in the field of armaments, and the successes of the Soviet Union in space exploration were impressive. However, military expenditures accounted for 40% of the state budget, and military-industrial complex production - 20% of the gross social product. Of 25 billion rubles. total expenditures on science - about 20 billion rubles. went to military-technical research and development. This imbalance in the economic development of the country was increasingly affecting the living standards of people; it was impossible to overcome it within the framework of the old command-administrative system.
About L.I. Brezhnev was told that, possessing quite average abilities and having a career as a typical party apparatus behind him, he nevertheless, having come to power, really strove to carry out useful reforms in the country. The beginning of his reign bears witness to this.
Attempts to revive agriculture began with the March Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1964): the size of subsidiary farms in the countryside was restored and even increased; the tax on the maintenance of personal livestock was abolished, it was allowed to sell feed to private individuals; the plan for state purchases of grain in collective farms was reduced, for the next 10 years it was decided not to increase it, and the above-planned grain remained at the disposal of the collective farms; state prices for the main types of agricultural products increased, the debts of collective farms to the state were written off.
All these measures were an attempt to apply economic regulation measures to the agricultural sector. But only to the agricultural sector as a whole, and not to the very essence of the production process. The main negative feature of Soviet agriculture remained - the lack of economic interest of the worker in the results of his labor.(since 1966, a guaranteed wage for collective farmers was introduced, not related to productivity). Concessions in relation to subsidiary plots also did not lead to anything - over the years of experiments with the village, people who were ready for hard work for their personal benefit irrevocably disappeared in it. The peasants have finally become collective and state farmers.
In September 1965, a period of economic reforms began under the leadership of the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers A.N. Kosygin. First of all, the sectoral system of production management (ministries) was restored, replacing the territorial method of managing the economy (economic councils), introduced during the reign of N.S. Khrushchev. The economic reform implied the introduction of cost accounting and the granting of limited independence to enterprises. But "grassroots planning" was still combined with planning from the center, although the number of mandatory targets dropped to 9 (instead of the previous 30). The main indicator of the industries' performance was the volume of products sold. In addition, it was supposed to revive the economy by introducing economic levers. The profit received by the enterprise remained in its funds, from which, in turn, material incentives for workers were to be carried out (bonuses, "13 salary" at the end of the year). To raise the discipline of mutual deliveries, Kosygin decided to adopt a decree according to which the fulfillment of the plan was counted only after all customer orders were satisfied. The State Planning Commission and the ministers opposed this, claiming that in this case all their enterprises would remain not only without bonuses, but also without salaries. The independence of enterprises led to the fact that they deliberately underestimated their planned targets, thus, wages grew faster than labor productivity. The leaders of enterprises and industries were not interested in the introduction of scientific and technological achievements, since the introduction of innovations interfered with the planned production cycle. Economic incentives for workers also gradually lost their role. “13 salaries” and bonuses were given to everyone so as not to violate the main ideological tenet of Soviet society - “social justice”.
Originally conceived by A.N. Kosygin's measures yielded definite results. The indicators achieved by agriculture in 1966-1969 were much higher than in the previous period. Labor productivity on average per year grew during this period by 6.5 percent, which was twice as much as in 1961-1965. Wage fund for 1965-1975 increased by 1.5 times. However, in the confrontation between economic principles and directive planning, the latter won. The Soviet nomenklatura could not fail to understand that economic stimulation of the economy would ultimately make the huge bureaucratic apparatus unnecessary. Since 1970, the reforms of A.N. Kosygin were curtailed.
In the Soviet industry of the 1960s - the first half of the 1980s. the disproportion in the development of economic sectors grew sharply. The ongoing "arms race" led to the fact that military spending absorbed 20% of the GNP. The preservation of leadership in space exploration demanded huge expenses. In general, the age characteristics of production equipment continued to deteriorate in industry. As a result, the growth rates of labor productivity and some other indicators of efficiency have seriously decreased. If we compare the average annual increase in the most important national economic indicators, we can see that it decreased from five to five years. Nevertheless, the severity of the impending crisis in the 1970s. was smoothed out by the considerable sums of petrodollars received. The conflict between the Arab countries and Israel, which broke out in 1973, led to a sharp soar in oil prices. The export of Soviet oil began to generate a huge income in foreign currency. It was used to buy consumer goods and food, which created the illusion of relative well-being. The country's leadership has accelerated the development of oil and gas fields in new regions of Siberia and the North. The raw material orientation of the country's economy intensified.
In 1974, the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) began. Huge funds were spent on the purchase of entire enterprises, complex equipment and technologies.
In the 1970s - early 1980s. industrial giants and agro-industrial associations (APOs) were built. However, the low efficiency of economic activity did not make it possible to reasonably dispose of the unexpected opportunities. In the first half of the 1980s. the economy by inertia continued to develop largely on an extensive basis, focused on the involvement of additional labor and material resources in production. The pace of introduction of mechanization and automation means did not meet the requirements of the time. By hand by the mid-80s. about 50 million people were employed: about a third of workers in industry, more than half in construction, three quarters in agriculture.
The economic situation in the country continued to deteriorate. An ineffective economy proved incapable of solving the problems of raising the standard of living of workers. In fact, the task was failed - to significantly strengthen the social orientation of the economy by increasing the rate of development of the branches of the national economy that produce consumer goods. The residual principle of resource allocation - first production, and only then man - dominated socio-economic policy. The unresolved food problem also had a negative impact on the social development of society.
The existence of the so-called “shadow economy” was a striking manifestation of the economic crisis during the period of “stagnation”. In conditions when state production could not provide citizens with a sufficient amount of consumer goods, services, and sometimes food, economic ties appeared outside state control. Enterprises manufactured unrecorded products and sold them, bypassing state trade. A whole layer of entrepreneurs ("tsekhoviks"), which does not officially exist in the USSR, was formed, whose incomes by the beginning of the 1980s. reached 80 billion rubles. In the shadow economy, there was an intensive fusion of the state apparatus with the criminal world.
L.I. died in November 1982. Brezhnev and the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU was elected Chairman of the KGB Yu.V. Andropov. In July 1983, on the initiative of Yu.V. Andropov, a government decree "On strengthening work to strengthen socialist labor discipline" was adopted. However, an attempt to bring order to production with the help of strict administrative control was not crowned with success. In August 1983, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a Resolution "On Measures to Accelerate Scientific and Technological Progress in the National Economy." But all these directives could not save the dying command-and-control economy. By the mid-1980s. she has completely exhausted her resources.
Ideology crisis
The "stick" and "carrot" of the totalitarian political regime that emerged in the USSR was propaganda that appealed to the labor enthusiasm of the working people, and a terrible system of terror that fell, first of all, on those who did not succumb to Soviet agitation and propaganda. During the "thaw" period (1953-1964), when the government stopped repressions, abolished the Gulag and rehabilitated hundreds of thousands of political prisoners, it had only one means of influencing the masses - ideology. At first, the propaganda appeals continued to operate out of inertia, not even backed up by fear of terror.
But over time, more and more people began to think about how the proclaimed diverges from the reality. And the ideology itself was increasingly moving away from the real life of people. If in reality the life of the people improved slowly (and in some periods even worsened), then in the party appeals and slogans the progress of Soviet society went by leaps and bounds. In practice, people observed economic crises, technical backwardness, social inequality between the nomenklatura (leaders approved by party bodies) and the wider strata of society, and political lack of freedom. All these phenomena were hushed up in party programs. NS. Khrushchev declared in 1961 that "the current generation of Soviet people will live under communism" and planned to "build communism by 1980." The fact that the Soviet Union achieved a "developed socialist society" and the transition to building communism was declared by the Constitution of the USSR, adopted on October 7, 1977. The rift between the people and the government was becoming an abyss. One of the main crises of Soviet society was the crisis of confidence.
In October 1964, N.S. Khrushchev was removed from power by a decree of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Stability became the main symbol of the new political leadership. The era of L.I. Brezhnev (1964–1982) and those who replaced him, but acted in the same vein, Yu.V. Andropov (1982-1984) and K.U. Chernenko (1984-1985), called by historians the era of "stagnation". In socio-political terms, it is characterized by the strengthening of ideological control over the life of society, the decisive suppression of the democratic movement that arose in society during the years of Khrushchev's reforms, exceptional importance was attached to strengthening the leading role of the party in society. Such attitudes in the sphere of domestic politics were oriented towards strengthening the methods of administration in the leadership of society, reinforcing the authoritarian-bureaucratic tendencies in relations between leaders and subordinates. At the same time, in the political documents adopted in the 1960s – 1970s, the democratization of the Soviet state was declared one of the most important directions of the party's policy.
A striking example of the political hypocrisy of the era of stagnation was the "Brezhnev" Constitution adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (October 7, 1977). The new Basic Law emphasized its continuity with the constitutions of 1924 and 1936. Its first section proclaimed the construction of "developed socialism" in the USSR.
In the 6th article of the Constitution, the CPSU was declared "the leading and guiding force of Soviet society". Thus, the party acted as the nucleus of the political system of society. The Constitution reflected the reality that had developed. Under the exceptional conditions of political monopoly, the CPSU was finally transformed into a supranational structure. This contributed to a sharp increase in the power of the party apparatus. The principle of "party unity" led to the fact that all criticism was suppressed, internal party democracy was curtailed, bureaucracy, demagoguery, abuse of office, bribery, etc. flourished.
On the other hand, the 1977 Constitution included an impressive list of socio-economic and political rights of citizens of the USSR. In particular, for the first time the rights to health protection, to housing, to the use of cultural achievements, to freedom of creativity were enshrined in legislation. New forms of "direct democracy" were also declared: a popular discussion and a referendum. One of the main tasks of the Basic Law called the protection of individual rights and freedoms, for example, such as the right to appeal against the actions of officials, criticism of the activities of state and public organizations, protection of the honor and dignity of a citizen in court, etc. The Constitution and the broad rights of the union republics were consolidated, in particular, the possibility of secession from the USSR.
While the constitution did not actually deviate from the truth regarding the role of the CPSU in the life of Soviet society, the declared expansion of "democracy and democracy" did not exist, the state was unable to ensure most of the socio-economic rights, and the declared civil liberties were never observed.
The reaction of society to official falsehood was most acutely manifested in the dissident movement, which began to emerge at the end of the Khrushchev era, and reached its peak during the years of "stagnation". Among the dissidents (dissidents) in the USSR were Academician A.D. Sakharov, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences I.R. Shafarevich; writers A.I. Solzhenitsyn, A.D. Sinyavsky, Yu.M. Daniel, S.D. Dovlatov, V.P. Aksenov, A.G. Bitov, A.T. Marchenko; poets I.A. Brodsky, A.A. Galich, B.Sh. Okudzhava, V.S. Vysotsky, N.M. Korzhavin, E.B. Rein, public figures V.I. Novodvorskaya, E.G. Bonner, S.A. Kovalev and many others.
For many of them, rejection of the totalitarian regime resulted in an active struggle - the so-called "human rights movement". They actively demanded that the state observe all the rights and freedoms of the individual enshrined in the Constitution, abolish the caesura, and end the "creeping rehabilitation" of Stalin, which was outlined in the official ideology. The first open action of human rights defenders took place in 1965 when they staged a demonstration on Pushkin Square in Moscow demanding that the trial of A.D. Sinyavsky and Yu.M. Daniel, arrested for publishing their works in the West, was held in the open. In 1968, human rights activists reacted with a demonstration of protest against the suppression of liberalization attempts by Soviet troops in Czechoslovakia. Despite the fact that the authorities responded with brutal repressions - arrests, exile, forced confinement of dissidents in psychiatric hospitals, the human rights movement did not subside. 1968 to 1983 an underground information bulletin "Chronicle of Current Events" was published, which recorded cases of human rights violations in the USSR. In 1970, Soviet human rights defenders became part of the world movement. The state intensified repression, the influence of the KGB in the political system grew, but, on the other hand, the international prominence of many leaders of human rights defenders forced the government to make some concessions. Some active dissidents were allowed to leave the USSR. In relation to others, expulsion from the country was applied forcibly (expulsion of A.I.Solzhenitsyn, 1974).
Another form of manifestation of dissent has become unofficial literature, the so-called "samizdat". The underground almanacs "Veche", "Search" and many others published authors whose works were not accepted by the Soviet censorship, and who had the courage to defend their point of view. Works prohibited by the authorities were secretly sent to the West and published there ("tamizdat"). On "samizdat" tapes, sincere songs of B.Sh. Okudzhava, V.S. Vysotsky, A.A. Galich and other forbidden bards.