Historical era 1945 to 1953. Unified State Exam. Historical essay. Strengthening the regime and reforming the political system

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, Stalinist repressions, renewed with renewed vigor - 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 by fascist troops. Over four years, more than 1.5 thousand settlements were damaged. Young people quickly acquired 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. The post-war period in the USSR is 1945-1953, that is, it begins after the end of the Second World War. Ends with the death of Stalin.

The restoration of industry after the war occurred rapidly, partly due to the high working capacity of the Soviet people. Citizens of the USSR were convinced that they had a great life, much better than the Americans, existing under 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 become 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 the happy life of 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. Nevertheless, 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%.

The availability of essential goods did not make life much easier for ordinary people, but, being under the Iron Curtain, most of them easily believed in the illusory idea of ​​​​the 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, there were far fewer conscious citizens, for example, in the Baltic states and 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. The USSR established diplomatic relations with these states. 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 former citizens of other states, for example Poland, lived in the territory. 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, 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, law enforcement agencies launched a serious fight against banditry. Crime peaked in 1946. During this year, about 30 thousand armed robberies were recorded.

To combat rampant crime, new employees, as a rule, former front-line soldiers, were accepted into the ranks of the police. It was not so easy to restore peace to Soviet citizens, especially in Ukraine and the Baltic states, where the criminal situation was most depressing. During the 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 have time to flee 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. At best, they spent several years in camps, until 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, Marshal Georgy Zhukov became one of the most respected people in the country. His popularity irritated Stalin. However, he did not dare to put the national hero behind bars. 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 of the Ground Forces and sent to Odessa. Several generals close to the marshal were arrested.

Culture

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

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. They played exclusively compositions praising Stalin and the happy Soviet life. This did not have the best effect on the development of national culture.

The science

The development of genetics began in the thirties. In the 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 had made a significant contribution to the development of domestic science lost the opportunity to engage in research activities.

The economy of the USSR after the end of the war. The war resulted in huge human and material losses for the USSR: more than 27 million people died, 1,710 cities and towns, 70 thousand villages and villages were destroyed, 31,850 factories and factories, 1,135 mines, 65 thousand km of railways were disabled. The country has lost almost 1/3 of its national wealth. Immediately after the end of the Great Patriotic War, the most important task was the restoration of the national economy.

Fourth Five-Year Plan (1946-1950). During the preparation of the fourth five-year plan, different points of view were expressed on the organization of the restoration process. It was proposed to use the experience of the 1920s, when the problems of restoration were solved with the help of the NEP, the use of private capital, relief for the middle peasants, etc. However, Stalin’s point of view prevailed, demanding a continuation of the course to complete the construction of socialism and build communism. This meant a return to the pre-war model of over-centralized economic management.

Social status and state of the economy. In 1947 the card system was abolished. A monetary reform was carried out to “cut off” the money supply that some groups of the population accumulated during the war. Mandatory overtime was abolished, the 8-hour working day and annual leave were restored. The recovery period was accompanied by a significant increase in migration processes (demobilization of the army from 11.4 to 2.9 million in 1948, the return of many Soviet citizens from captivity and forced labor in Germany, refugees and evacuees). Difficulties in industry were also caused by conversion, since during the war the vast majority of factories and factories produced exclusively military products.

Most of the funds (up to 88%) were allocated to the restoration and development of heavy industries and promising military-industrial areas. Light industry was financed on a residual basis (12%). Almost 6,200 industrial facilities were restored and rebuilt. By 1950, according to official figures, production was 73% higher than pre-war levels (taking into account German reparations worth $4.3 billion and the work of joint Soviet and East German enterprises). In 1946, the first nuclear reactor began operating; in August 1949, the first Soviet atomic bomb was tested. In 1948, the first flight of the R-1 guided missile took place. Since 1946, the Yak-15 and Mig-15 jet aircraft began to enter service with the army. In 1951, the first Soviet computer was installed. Agriculture was restored with great difficulty. Its level in 1945 was only 60% of the pre-war level. The state in 1946-1949 took away for its benefit about 10.6 million hectares of land from the personal subsidiary plots of collective farmers, for the use of which it was necessary to pay a tax in kind: donate meat, milk, eggs, wool. Only in the early 1950s. managed to reach the low level of pre-war agricultural development.

Continuation of Stalin's domestic policy. Victory in the war raised expectations of change: people who had lived through the difficult war years hoped for a weakening of total control and management. But it was during this period that the system of repression reached its apogee: new ones were added to the many pre-war “enemies of the people” - some prisoners of war (about 2 million), “alien elements” from the Baltic states, Western Ukraine and Belarus. Campaigns against “alien trends” and “cosmopolitanism” swept across the country. Art and science were purged. Victims of repressions in 1948-1953. steel 6.5 million people.

Foreign policy of the USSR. The beginning of the Cold War. The victory over Germany and its allies gave the USSR the position of one of the world leaders, which was secured by granting the USSR the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council (USA, England, France, USSR and China). Stalin and his associates tried to reinforce this status with corresponding changes in world relations. In March 1946 in Fulton (USA), the former Prime Minister of England W. Churchill demanded to “lower the Iron Curtain” and stop “Soviet expansion.” President of the U.S.A G. Truman unveiled his “containment” program. He offered enormous economic assistance to European countries, took the initiative to create a military-political alliance (NATO, 1949) and locate military bases in Europe. In the summer of 1947, Europe was divided into two camps - US allies and USSR allies. In 1945-1950 the camp of socialist countries, allies of the USSR, increased significantly. In 1945, communists came to power in Yugoslavia and North Vietnam; in 1946 - in Albania; in 1947-1948 - in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania. North Korea became communist in 1948, and China in 1949. European countries with a socialist orientation, at the insistence of the USSR, formed the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), and in 1955 their military-political union (Warsaw Pact) arose.

Confrontation. The confrontation between the two camps became the main international event of this period. The main opponents were actually in a state of cold war with each other. The dividing line ran across peoples and states. The German zone of Allied control turned into the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, and within six months the East German state, the GDR, emerged. In Asia, Korea became a divided state. It was there, on the Korean Peninsula, that the “cold war” first turned into a “hot” one. In 1950, communist North Korea, aided by China and the USSR, launched an attack on South Korea, supported by the United States and its allies. The war continued until 1953, without giving an advantage to either side.

Consequences of the Great Patriotic War in the economy. Restoration of the national economy and transition of the economy to peaceful footing. 4th Five Year Plan. Accelerated development of heavy industry is the main principle of economic policy. Development of the General Economic Plan of the USSR for 1946-1965. Reasons for the lag in agriculture. Living standards of the population and monetary reform of 1947. Results and contradictions of economic development.

Overcoming the trends of democratic transformation of the Soviet regime and strengthening totalitarianism. Determination of the communist perspective for the development of Soviet society in the projects of the Program of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of 1947-1948. Changes in the system of party and state leadership. The struggle for leadership in Stalin's inner circle. Post-war political repressions. “The Leningrad affair.” XIX Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks): changes in the system of higher party bodies and personnel changes. “The Case of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee.” “The Case of Doctors.” Death of Stalin.

Socio-economic and socio-political development of the USSR in 1953 – 1964.

Changes in political leadership after Stalin's death. Reform of state security agencies. The first steps of “de-Stalinization”. XX Congress of the CPSU: decisions and consequences. Rehabilitation of victims of Stalinist repressions and the first political processes of Khrushchev’s “thaw”. June (1957) Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee: failed attempt at a “palace coup”. The process of de-Stalinization after the XXII Congress of the CPSU and its contradictions. Adjustments to the theoretical foundations of national policy. Expanding the rights of the union republics in managing the national economy, in state and cultural development. Changes in the national-state structure. Condemnation of Stalin's policy of forced deportation of peoples. National movements in the union republics.

Socio-economic reforms of the 1950s - mid-1960s. Economic reforms and industrial development. Searches for new methods of economic management. Reorganization of economic management. Creation of economic councils. Scientific and technological revolution. Economic achievements and contradictions. Growing social tension. Novocherkassk execution (1962). The need for transformation: the crisis of agriculture, structural imbalances in industry, the material and legal situation of the population in the city and countryside.

Changing approaches to agricultural management. Decisions of the August session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the September (1953) Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee. Three “super programs”: development of virgin lands, widespread introduction of corn, livestock program. Reorganization of MTS. Consolidation of collective farms and transformation of economically weak collective farms into state farms. Agricultural crisis in the early 1960s.

Social sphere. Demographic situation. Changes in social policy. Improving living conditions of the population. Introduction of pensions for collective farmers and certification of the rural population. Housing construction.

Removal of Khrushchev in October 1964. The significance of the Khrushchev decade.

Chronology of main events

March 1946 - Fulton speech by W. Churchill. The beginning of the Cold War.

1949 - creation of CMEA, NATO.

1946-1950 - fourth five-year plan.

The results of World War II and the position of the Soviet Union in the international arena

The contradictions of the post-war period in the international arena led to an increase in the preconditions of the Cold War, the characteristic features of which were the arms race, increased ideological confrontation, and local military conflicts. Two opposing systems were emerging - socialist and capitalist. But at the same time, both sides sought to avoid direct military conflict with each other.

Economic recovery and development

As a result of the war in the USSR, more than 1,700 cities were destroyed, over 70 thousand villages and villages were burned, tens of thousands of industrial enterprises were destroyed; died

about 27 million Soviet citizens. As a result of military losses, the population of the USSR in 1950 was 20 million less than before the war. Agricultural production in 1945 did not exceed 60% of the pre-war level. One of the consequences of the war was the famine of 1946-1947. Western experts believed that restoring the destroyed economic base would take at least 25 years.

In 1945, the State Planning Committee (chairman N.A. Voznesensky) prepared the fourth five-year plan (1946-1950), which was based on the priority of the development of heavy industry and the decisive role of the state in the economy. The country's primary task was to restore the national economy destroyed by the war. Another task was to build up military capabilities in the context of the emerging Cold War.

The situation in agriculture was difficult. Collective farmers did not have passports, they were not paid for days when they did not work due to illness, and they were not paid old-age pensions. The state, buying agricultural products at fixed prices, compensated collective farms for only a fifth of the costs of producing milk, a tenth for grain, and a twentieth for meat. Subsistence farming saved the collective farmers. Taxes on income from market sales were increased. Only peasants whose collective farms fulfilled state supplies were allowed to trade on the market. Each peasant farm was obliged to hand over meat, milk, eggs, and wool to the state as a tax for a plot of land. The consolidation of collective farms led to a further reduction in peasant plots.

In 1947, a monetary reform was carried out. During the reform, deposits in savings banks in the amount of up to 3 thousand rubles. were preserved (for 1 ruble of old money the investor received 1 ruble of new money); the rest of the amounts were exchanged with great losses for the population. Cash held by the population was exchanged in a ratio of 10:1; it could only be exchanged within one week. Thus, everyone who kept their income at home lost big.

As a result of the reform, the consequences of the Second World War in the field of monetary circulation were eliminated, without which it was impossible to move to trade at uniform prices. The reform made it possible to abolish the rationing system for the supply of food and industrial goods.

Results. During the years of the 4th Five-Year Plan (1946-1950), about 6,200 large enterprises were restored and rebuilt. In 1950, industrial production exceeded pre-war levels by 73% (and in the new union republics - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova - 2-3 times). In the early 1950s. managed to bring the country's agriculture to the pre-war level of production. The restoration took place in the context of the demobilization of the army, the repatriation of Soviet citizens, and the return of refugees from the eastern regions. Considerable funds were also spent on supporting the allied states. Scientific and technical developments were used at enterprises of the military-industrial complex (MIC), where the process of developing nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, missile systems, and new models of tank and aircraft equipment was underway.

The main resource for economic recovery was human labor (overtime work, army mobilization, labor of prisoners, prisoners of war), unequal exchange between city and countryside. The possibilities of a hyper-centralized economic model played a role. Reparations received from Germany ($4.3 billion) also provided significant assistance.

Changes in political life in the post-war years

War conditions forced people to act independently and take responsibility. Participants in the European campaign of the Red Army (almost 10 million people), numerous repatriates (up to 5.5 million) saw countries that they knew about only from official materials. Victory in the war gave rise to hopes for the dissolution of collective farms, a weakening of the political regime, and a change in national policy. Among the party-state nomenklatura, proposals were made to democratize the regime: the liquidation of special wartime courts, the liberation of the party from the function of economic management, limiting the term of stay in leading party and Soviet work, and alternative elections. A draft of a new Constitution of the USSR was prepared. He allowed the existence of small private farms of peasants, based on the personal labor of the owners, and ideas were voiced about the need to provide more rights to the regions and people's commissariats. However, the absolute majority of the population perceived the victory in the war as a victory for Stalin and the system he created.

In September 1945, the state of emergency was lifted and the State Defense Committee was abolished. In March 1946, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR was transformed into the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and the number of ministries and departments increased. In 1946, elections were held to local councils, Supreme Councils of republics and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, as a result of which the deputy corps, which had not changed during the war years, was renewed. In accordance with the Constitution, direct and secret elections of people's judges and assessors were held for the first time. All power remained in the hands of the party leadership. At the 19th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1952, the party was renamed the CPSU. Instead of the Politburo of the Central Committee, the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee and its Bureau were created. Power in the country belonged to I.V. Stalin, leading positions were occupied by V.M. Molotov, A.I. Mikoyan, G.M. Malenkov, L.P. Beria.

The number of people convicted on political charges has decreased. The authorities have intensified the fight against the theft of state and personal property of citizens. By 1953, 5.5 million people were incarcerated.

The period was marked by repressions: in the “Leningrad case” party and government officials from among the leading officials of Leningrad were arrested (about 2 thousand people were arrested, 200 people were shot, including N. A. Voznesensky). In 1952, the “doctors’ case” was fabricated, which was closed after Stalin’s death.

The war led to an increase in political movements, including national ones. They acquired particular scope in the territories that became part of the USSR in 1939-1940, where the struggle against forced collectivization and Sovietization was waged. Pressure on the intelligentsia and culture of small nations increased: criticism began of the national epic of Muslim peoples as “clerical and anti-national.” In November 1948, arrests of members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee began, accused of “cosmopolitanism.” In 1952, a trial took place and the committee leaders were sentenced to death.

The outbreak of the Cold War also led to ideological confrontation. Since 1946, in the USSR, the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, A. A. Zhdanov, launched an offensive against “Western influence” on domestic culture. This led to the curtailment of cultural contacts with Western countries, which developed widely during the war years.

In the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1946 “On the magazines “Zvezda” and “Leningrad”, these publications were accused of promoting ideas “alien to the spirit of the party” and publishing “ideologically harmful works.” M. M. Zoshchenko and A. A. Akhmatova were criticized. The Leningrad magazine was closed, and the leadership of the Zvezda magazine was replaced. The resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On the repertoire of drama theaters and measures to improve it” condemned the predominance of the classical repertoire in the country’s theaters to the detriment of plays dedicated to the “pathos of the struggle for communism.” In the 1948 resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On decadent tendencies in Soviet music,” composers S. S. Prokofiev, D. D. Shostakovich, A. I. Khachaturian, N. Ya. Myaskovsky were criticized.

Event participants: L.P. Beria (Soviet statesman and political figure, one of the main organizers of the “Stalinist repressions”); N. A. Voznesensky (Doctor of Economic Sciences, statesman, Chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR; repressed during the “Leningrad case”); A. A. Zhdanov (Soviet party and statesman, head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)); G. M. Malenkov (state and party leader, ally of J. V. Stalin; oversaw a number of the most important branches of the defense industry, including the creation of the hydrogen bomb and the first nuclear power plant in the world); A. I. Mikoyan (People's Commissar, Minister of Foreign Trade); V. M. Molotov (People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR); M. I. Rodionov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR; repressed during the “Leningrad case”); J.V. Stalin (Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, the Council of Ministers of the USSR, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks).

1945-1953 - the post-war period. In 1945, the bloody Great Patriotic War ended; The Russian army made a great contribution to the victory over fascism and liberated Europe from Hitler. A trend towards democratization appeared, as people’s initiative increased, and the army also saw the Western model of democracy. However, Stalin needed to strangle the “breath of freedom,” so the ideological pressure on the spiritual life of society intensified.

Thus, in 1946, a resolution was adopted by the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the magazines “Zvezda” and “Leningrad”. This period is also called “Zhdanovshchina”, named after a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. It was his report that formed the basis of the resolution. Science and art were also brought under party control. At this time, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars was J.V. Stalin, and from 1946 he became the chairman of the Council of Ministers. This period is characterized by the restoration of the national economy, the resumption of repression, the strengthening of the cult of personality, and the beginning of the Cold War.

After the Great Patriotic War, the USSR suffered enormous losses: according to official sources, 27 million people died, 1/3 of the country’s national wealth was destroyed, in particular, the Dnieper hydroelectric station was blown up, and the area under cultivation decreased. The country's economy was undermined and agriculture was destroyed.

In 1946, the IV Five-Year Plan (1946-1950) was adopted, which set the task of not only restoring, but also significantly exceeding the pre-war level of production. The main priority was placed on the production of group A goods - heavy and defense industries. Industry was also transferred to the production of civilian products. A large number of enterprises were built. At the same time, agriculture is being revived. Subsidiary farming was allowed. In 1947, the card system was abolished, and monetary reform was carried out. In 1948, it was possible to achieve pre-war production levels.

An important role in this event was played by Stalin, who formulated the task for the Fourth Five-Year Plan. He personally supervised the implementation of the plan. It is impossible not to mention the merit of ordinary people who worked in factories, factories and villages.

This five-year plan had the following consequences. The restoration and development of the national economy was completed ahead of schedule - in 4 years and 3 months. The damage caused to the country's national economy was largely eliminated. The standard of living of the population rose, the housing stock was increased, and the production of consumer goods increased, for which prices decreased. It also led to an increase in the working class. However, at the same time, the sown areas did not reach pre-war development, and grain yields remained low.

After the Second World War, changes occurred in the balance of power in the international arena. The USSR gained enormous prestige as a victorious country. If before the war the USSR had diplomatic relations with 26 countries, then after the war this number doubled. The prerequisites for the creation of a socialist camp arose. In 1947, the Cominform Bureau, an international communist organization, was created. In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) appeared, which included socialist countries.

Relations with former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition have changed. Contradictions emerged between capitalist and socialist countries. The main enemy of the USSR was the United States, which was afraid of the growing influence of the USSR in the world. An ideological confrontation began.

These were the reasons for the Cold War. Historians believe that the beginning of this event was the Fulton speech in 1946. This “war” is characterized primarily by hostile political actions of the parties. The formation of military-political blocs began. This was the North Atlantic Alliance - NATO, created in 1949, of which the USSR was not a member. In the context of intensifying confrontation, the Soviet Union worked against the propaganda of a new world war. The main arena of his activities was the UN.

The main role in this event was played by Winston Churchill, who gave a speech in Fulton. There he stated that the USSR was dangerous for the world. He also said that the world is split into two warring and opposing blocs.

The Cold War during this period led to increased contradictions between countries, the threat of World War III and a threat to the security of all humanity. The United States developed a plan for an atomic war against the USSR - “Dropshot”, but the test of an atomic bomb in 1949 in the USSR fundamentally changed the international situation. The “Iron Curtain” began, which lasted until the end of the 20th century.

The period 1945-1953 was important for the USSR, but at the same time it cannot be characterized unambiguously. On the one hand, new heights were reached within the country. The national economy and the country's destroyed economy were restored. The well-being of the people began to improve. On the other hand, Stalin’s personality cult has reached its “peak,” as many historians have said. Repressions resumed, for example, the Doctors' Case and the Leningrad Case. The persecution of science led to its slow development: genetics was declared a pseudoscience. A campaign was also carried out to combat dissent - cosmopolitanism. Foreign policy led to the split of Europe and the formation of bloc confrontation.