The period during which Leonid Brezhnev was at the helm of the Soviet Union was generally characterized as an “age of stagnation”. Industrial production of consumer goods did not rise, while there were cases of corruption and nepotism in the state apparatus. Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin’s economic reform program, which contained provisions to introduce elements of a market economy, was not implemented. The Kosygin plan was based on the “planning-profit-subsidy” tripartite, seeking to make the centrally managed production system more flexible but also decentralized. Businesses were to have relative autonomy in the implementation of production planning. And most importantly, they would be subsidized according to their earnings.
Ultimately, the Soviet leadership proved unwilling to make long-term interventions in the economy. The conservatism of the party bureaucracy, which was largely attached to its privileges, did not allow the economic plans to succeed. The discovery of new oil and gas fields gave the illusion of euphoria to the Soviet leadership, which found a new source to finance the country’s industrial war production. The utopian view prevailed that the country’s energy reserves were inexhaustible and that it was more profitable to invest in the energy sector than in science and technology, which could be bought with “petrodollars”.
The trio of Brezhnev, Kosygin and Gromyko planned their foreign policy based on three axes. The first axis was the preservation of the unity of the socialist camp (political, economic and military). Second was the consistent support of radical movements around the world, particularly in Asia and Africa. A third axis was the promotion of the idea of peaceful coexistence between East and West, which was put into practice to some extent in the 1970s.
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev passed away on November 10, 1982. “An atmosphere of mourning prevailed in the Soviet Union yesterday following the announcement of the death of President Leonid Brezhnev, while political leaders around the world officially expressed their condolences and unofficially the their concern about the new policy that Moscow will follow. And which, according to some observers, is expected to become tougher in some areas. Soviet authorities have vowed to continue the country’s foreign policy within the framework established by President Brezhnev – but many Western leaders expect a hardening of the Soviet line. Leonid Brezhnev, 75, according to an official announcement, died of a heart attack yesterday morning between 8 and 9 a.m., after 18 years in power,” Kathimerini wrote on its front page on November 12.
Regarding the succession situation in the leadership of the Soviet Union, Kathimerini reported: “The former head of the Soviet secret service, Ka Ge Be, Yuri Andropov, 68, and Leonid Brezhnev’s protégé, Konstantin Chernyenko, 71 years old, are seen as the most likely successors to the leadership of the party and the Soviet state. Until last May, K. Chernienko was considered No. 2 of the Soviet leadership, but G. Andropov has more experience in international problems.”
The forecast of the analysts cited by “Kathimerini” was confirmed. On November 12, 1982, Yuri Andropov was elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. “A new period of Soviet policy is thus ushered in, which, observers believe, will be characterized by a hard, less flexible line. Western observers, but also Soviet sources emphasize that Andropov, 68 years old, will seek to increase the military power of the Soviet Union”, the “Daily” noted regarding the election of Andropov to the leadership of the USSR and the next day in the international relations of the country » on the front page of November 13.
Her information about the next day in the USSR was largely sound. Andropov was chosen over Chernyenko because his comrades believed that he could better handle the superpower’s foreign affairs while carrying out needed domestic reforms. However, Andropov was already ill when he took over the reins of his country. He died in February 1984 and was succeeded by Chernienko. When he too died, in March 1985, a new, compared to previous Soviet leaders, politician, Mikhail Gorbachev, took over the reins of the Soviet Union, who tried to reform, belatedly, the Soviet system.
Column editor: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poimenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
