Stagnation and corruption

1970-85

Political stagnation

• Stability of cadres- restoration led to a period of political stagnation

• Stability of cadres meant that there was no opportunities for promotion.

  • Middle-ranking officials were stuck in dead-end jobs with no promotional prospect.

• System provided no incentives to work hard.

Gerontocracy (avrg age 75) (rule of the old)

• Stability of cadres- govt officials remained in same jobs for years, few young peeps entered govt, arg age increased

• 1964-71, only two people promoted to Politburo

• Average age of politburo rose from 58 in 1966 to 75 in 1982

• Led to inefficiency- generational gap between govt and people, many became old and too ill to do their work

KGB

Boris the Gypsy

• Galina Brezhenvas lover, smuggled diamonds in scandal out of USSR

The cotton affair

• System allowed corruption to go unnoticed, particularly in remote parts of USSR.

• Cotton affair exposed under Gorbachev, resulted in millions of roubles being claimed for non-existent cotton as officials changed figures.

• Nepotism rife as party officials ensured jobs given to family members

Political corruption

• Under Brezhnev, sackings were rare.

• Opportunities for advancement were also very limited.

• This created a context for massive corruption.

• Senior officials who could not grow rich through hard work and promotion, used their promotion to grow rich.

  • They knew they were unlikely to be disciplined.

• One form of corruption was to sell goods on the black market.

  • Yury Sokolov, the director of a major Moscow food store, took bribes from rich customers for passing on luxury food.

• Brezhnev was implicated in the corruption.

• His daughter, Galina Brezhneva was able to get access to diamonds.

  • One of her lovers smuggled lots of diamonds out of the USSR and was prosecuted after Brezhnev’s death.

Abandoned Lenin’s revolutionary goals

• Brezhnev believed in USSR, revolutionary job was done. - talked of revolution in Zimbabwe, Mexico, Peru, but no longer encouraged revolutionary spirit at home

Kosygin-PM

Article 6 of 1977 Constitution gave party greater power

• 1977 Soviet constitution article 6 known as Brezhnev constitution.

• Officially recognised party’s leading role in Soviet society, establishing superiority of party over state

Brezhnev- military hero?

• Awarded himself numerous medals for dubious achievements e.g

  • Lenin peace prize, Lenin prize for literature.

  • Developed taste for hunting and western limousines

  • Despite symbols of power, exercised much less personal power than Lenin or Stalin.

Moral decline

• Change in character of govt, under last 3 leaders, soviet govt had followed a utopian vision- encouraged people to work hard and build socialism

• Brezhnev believed in USSR, revolutionary job was done.

• Soviet people became increasingly cynical, most Russians realised there were major problems of stagnation and corruption