Gorbachev

September 3, 2022 thread

Now we associate Gorbachev with Perestroika, which in its turn is interpreted as nice Gorbachev being nice. In reality, in the beginning of his rule Gorbachev continued Andropov's Neo-Stalinist policies. But then the oil price dropped and didn't bounce back. Hence, Perestroika🧵

Brezhnev's era is usually referred to as “Застой”, the Stagnation. If Khrushchev unironically aimed to build Communism, Brezhnev dropped any attempts to do so. High oil prices of the 1970s created illusion of prosperity, while in reality system was becoming less and less efficient

Khruchev saw Communism as a realistic goal. He even set a specific deadline - 1980. Brezhnev however, cut all the specific deadlines from the Party program. Future oriented paradigm (building Communism) died and the new, past-oriented one emerged. Worshipping the Great Victory

Even though the Victory-worshipping took its most absurd forms under Putin, it originated under Brezhnev. Since the country was not oriented to the future anymore, it was now oriented to the past. Propaganda accents were gradually shifted from the October Revolution to the WWII

The KGB Chief Andropov who accumulated the immense power under Brezhnev was critical of where the system was going. KGB created a number of formal and informal economic think tanks working on how to overcome the crisis. Many future radical reformers of the 1990s originated there

Upon succeeding Brezhnev, Andropov tried to reinvigorate the USSR. He started a crusade against corruption, all forms of private commerce & business, and idleness. KGB was literally doing raids in cinemas or in stores at the daytime, catching those who were supposed to be at work

Andropov also did a number of cadre changes, promoting younger officials to fight with established gerontocracy. And Gorbachev was probably his favourite, since the 1960s. He tried to lobby him into the higher echelons of power, first unsuccessfully

In 1978 Andropov had a chance. A Central Committee secretary for agriculture died, so they had a vacancy. Andropov organised what would be later called "A meeting of four General Secretaries": Brezhev, Andropov, Chernenko and Gorbachev. Brezhnev accepted Gorbachev's candidature

Gorbachev's career was incredible and breaking all the established rules. In 1978 he becomes a Central Committee Secretary. In 1980 a Politburo member. He was not even 60 then, only 59 years old! Absolutely incredible.

In the late Soviet gerontocracy, Gorbachev was a Boss Baby