From 1940 to 1950, countries with a socialist ideology were called "countries of people's democracy." By 1950 there were fifteen of them. What socialist countries were then included in this number? In addition to the Soviet Union, these were: NSRA (Albania), SFRY (Yugoslavia), Czechoslovakia (Czechoslovakia), NRB (Bulgaria), SRV (Vietnam), Hungary (Hungary), SRR (Romania), East Germany (part of Germany), Poland (Poland ), PRC (China), Mongolian People's Republic (Mongolia), Lao PDR (Lao Republic), North Korea and the Republic of Cuba.

What distinguished the socialist countries from other countries of the world? What irritated the representatives of capitalism so much? First of all - a socialist ideology in which public interests are higher than personal interests.

The dramatic events and the defeat of socialism in the Soviet Union could not but affect the system. The bipolar world has turned into a multipolar world. The USSR was quite an influential entity. Its collapse put the rest of the socialist countries of the world in an extremely difficult and rather dangerous situation: they had to defend their policy and their sovereignty without the support of the most powerful state before. Reactionaries all over the world were sure that Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, and China would fall in a fairly short time.

However, today these socialist countries continue to build and their population, by the way, is a quarter of the population of the entire Earth. Perhaps the tragic fate of Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan allowed them to survive in the most difficult 90s, which fell on the collapse of the Union and led to chaos. The role of the vanguard that had previously belonged to the Soviet Union was taken over by China, which the rest of the socialist countries began to look up to.

It is more convenient to divide the development of socialism in this country into two main periods: Mao Zedong (from 1949 to 1978) and Teng Xiaoping (beginning in 1979 and continuing to this day.

China successfully completed its first "five-year plan" with the help of the USSR, achieving an annual rate of 12%. The share of its industrial output rose to 40%. At the Eighth Congress of the CCP, the victory of the socialist revolution was announced. In the plans for the next five-year period, an increase in indicators was planned. But the desire to make a huge leap led to a sharp decline (by 48%) in production.

Mao Zedong, convicted of obvious excesses, was forced to leave the leadership of the country and immerse himself in theory. But such a rapid decline did play a positive role: the rapid growth of the economy was stimulated by the interest in their work of every working person. already four years later it more than doubled (by 61%), and the growth of agricultural production exceeded the mark of 42%.

However, the so-called "cultural revolution", which began in 1966, plunged the country into uncontrollable economic chaos for twelve years.

The PRC was led out of the crisis by Deng Xiaoping, who delved into the works of theorists of Marxism-Leninism and developed his own path to socialism, similar to the domestic concept of the NEP. External aggression of the PRC was still threatened, so the duration of the transition period was to be fifty years.

The Third Plenum of the eleventh convocation announced a new course, which emphasized the combination of a planned distribution system and a market system, with massive attraction of investments from other countries. In addition, the formation of independent enterprises, family contracts, and new discoveries in science were encouraged.

The young socialist country developed rapidly:

Industrial production doubled every decade;

China's GDP yielded to 2005 only;

Increased average annual income (up to 1740 USD per person);

Mutual trade indicators surpassed those of the United States by $200,000,000. (despite Washington's restriction on the import of Chinese products);

Gold reserves surpassed the reserves of all countries, becoming the largest in the world;

Increased, and significantly, the life expectancy of the Chinese.

Many countries, including its closest neighbors, are now looking at the experience of China's development.

By the middle of the 20th century, two forces had formed in the world, the confrontation of which either intensified to “saber-rattling”, then weakened to “detente of international relations”. The socialist countries were part of a single camp, which was in a state of cold war with the capitalist encirclement. They did not become an indestructible monolith with a uniform ideology. There were too many differences in traditions and mentality among the peoples who were going to be led with a strong hand into the communist future.

post-war world

The Soviet Union led by Stalin emerged from the Second World War with unthinkable military power and international prestige. The countries of Eastern Europe and the countries of Southeast Asia, liberated by the Soviet Army from the yoke of German fascism and Japanese militarism, saw in the USSR a real leader who knew the right path.

Often the attitude towards Soviet soldiers was of an emotional nature, transferring a kind attitude towards the whole way of life that they personified. When, for example, Bulgaria, Sofia were liberated, people saw the power of the social system of the country, which had overcome an incredibly formidable enemy.

Even during the war, Stalin supported the parties and national liberation movements that shared the communist ideology. And after the victory, they became the leading political force of the states, from which the socialist countries were soon formed. The coming to power of communist leaders was facilitated by the presence of Soviet armed forces, which for some time carried out an occupation regime in the liberated territories.

The spread of Soviet influence in other parts of the planet has always provoked strong opposition. An example is Vietnam, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and others. The suppression of socialist movements was both simply anti-communist in nature and the meaning of the struggle for the return of the colonies.

A new stage of development was embodied by the Republic of Cuba, the first socialist state in the Western Hemisphere. The 1959 revolution had a romantic halo in the world, which did not prevent it from becoming the scene of the hottest clash between the two systems - the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Partition of Germany

The fate of the German people became a symbol of the post-war division of the world. By agreement between the leaders of the victorious anti-Hitler coalition, the territory of the former Third Reich was divided into two parts. The Federal Republic of Germany arose in that part of the country, which included American, French and British troops. The German Democratic Republic was formed in the Soviet zone of occupation in 1949. The former German capital - Berlin - was also divided into Western and Eastern parts.

The wall, erected on the line of contact between the two new states in the once unified city, has become the literal embodiment of the division of the world into the countries of the socialist camp and the rest of the world. As well as the destruction of the Berlin Wall, and the unification of Germany exactly 40 years later marked the end of the Cold War era.

Warsaw Pact

Churchill's speech in Fulton (03/05/1946) is considered the beginning of the Cold War, where he called on the United States and its allies to unite against the threat to the "free world" from the USSR. After some time, an organizational form for such an association appeared - NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). When the FRG joined this military-political bloc in 1955, the Soviet Union and the socialist countries of Europe that had emerged by that time also came to the need to combine their military potential.

In 1955, the Treaty was signed in Warsaw, which gave the organization its name. Its participants were: the USSR, the GDR, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Albania. Albania later withdrew from the treaty due to ideological differences, in particular the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968).

The governing bodies of the organization were the Political Advisory Committee and the Joint Command of the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces of the USSR were the main force of the Warsaw Pact, therefore the posts of the Commanders-in-Chief of the Joint Forces and the Chief of Staff were always occupied by the highest officers of the Soviet Army. The USSR and the socialist countries have always declared the exclusively defensive purpose of their military alliance, but this did not prevent the NATO countries from calling it the main threat to themselves.

These mutual accusations were the main justification for the arms race, the constant increase in military spending on both sides. All this continued until 1991, when the former socialist countries agreed to formally terminate the treaty.

Military opposition to the two social constructions also took other forms. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam arose as a result of the victory of the communist forces in a long war, which became almost an open confrontation between the USA and the USSR.

The forerunner of the current European Union was the European Economic Community (EEC). It was it that was engaged in cooperation between the United States and Western Europe in the industrial and financial spheres. Countries with a social system based on the ideas of Marxism decided to create an alternative structure to the EEC for economic, scientific and technical cooperation. In 1949, the socialist countries established the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). Its convocation is also an attempt to resist the American "Marshall Plan" - a plan to restore the European economy with the help of the United States.

The number of CMEA participants changed, in the mid-80s it was the largest: 10 permanent members (USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Mongolia, Cuba, Vietnam), and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia participated only in some programs . 12 countries of Asia, Africa and South America with socialist economies, such as Angola, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Ethiopia and others, sent their observers.

For some time, the CMEA performed its functions, and the economies of the European countries of the socialist camp, with the help of the USSR, overcame the consequences of wartime and began to gain momentum. But then the sluggishness of the state sector of industry and agriculture, the great dependence of the USSR economy on the world commodity market reduced the profitability of the Council for its participants. Political changes, a sharp decline in the competitiveness of the economy and finances of the USSR led to the curtailment of cooperation within the CMEA, and in the summer of 1991 it was disbanded.

World system of socialism

The official ideologists of the CPSU worked out at different times various formulations for designating countries of a related socio-political formation. Until the 1950s, the name "country of people's democracy" was adopted. Later, the existence of 15 socialist countries was recognized in party documents.

Yugoslavia's Special Path

The multinational state formation - the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - that existed in the Balkans from 1946 to 1992, was classified by communist social scientists as a socialist camp with great reservations. Tensions against communist theorists towards Yugoslavia appeared after a quarrel between two leaders - Stalin and Josip Broz Tito.

One of the reasons for this conflict was called Bulgaria. Sofia, according to the plan of the "leader of the peoples", was to become the capital of one of the republics as part of a federal state common with Yugoslavia. But the Yugoslav leader refused to submit to Stalin's dictatorship. Subsequently, he began to declare his own path to socialism, different from the Soviet one. This was expressed in the weakening of state planning in the economy, in the freedom of movement of citizens across European countries, in the absence of the dominance of ideology in culture and art. After Stalin's death in 1953, the differences between the USSR and Yugoslavia lost their sharpness, but the originality of Balkan socialism remained.

Uprising in Budapest 1956

For the first time, the German Democratic Republic became the scene of popular unrest, which were extinguished by Soviet tanks, back in 1953. More dramatic events took place in another country of People's Democracy.

Hungary during the Second World War fought on the side of Hitler and, by decision of international organizations, was obliged to pay indemnity. This affected the economic situation in the country. With the support of the Soviet occupation forces, Hungary was led by people who copied the most negative aspects of the Stalinist leadership model - personal dictatorship, forced collectivization in agriculture, the suppression of dissent with the help of a huge army of state security agencies and informers.

The protests were started by students and intellectuals who supported Imre Nagy, another communist leader, a supporter of democratization in the economy and public life. The conflict took to the streets when the Stalinists in the leadership of the ruling Hungarian Workers' Party turned to the USSR for armed support in removing Nagy. Tanks were brought in when lynching of state security officers began.

The speech was suppressed with the active participation of the Soviet ambassador, the future head of the KGB, Yu. V. Andropov. On the part of the rebels, more than 2.5 thousand people were killed, the Soviet troops lost 669 people killed, more than one and a half thousand were wounded. Imre Nagy was detained, convicted and executed. The whole world was shown the determination of the Soviet leaders to use force at the slightest threat to their political system.

Prague Spring

The next notable conflict between reformists and those inspired by images of the Stalinist past occurred in 1968 in Czechoslovakia. Alexander Dubcek, chosen as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, represented a new type of leader. They did not question the correctness of the general path along which the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was moving; they only expressed the idea of ​​the possibility of building "socialism with a human face."

This was enough to start military exercises of the Warsaw Pact troops near the eastern borders of Czechoslovakia, where almost all socialist countries sent their troops. At the first sign of reformers' resistance to the arrival of a leadership that agreed with the line of the CPSU, a 300,000-strong contingent crossed the border. The resistance was mostly non-violent and did not require the use of serious force methods. But the events in Prague had a great resonance among the supporters of change in the Soviet Union and the countries of socialism.

Different face of the cult of personality

The principle of democracy, the participation of the broad masses in the management of all aspects of society's life lies at the heart of the Marxist system of state building. But history has shown that it was the lack of responsibility of the authorities for their decisions that caused negative phenomena in almost all socialist countries, this was one of the many reasons for the collapse of communist regimes.

Lenin, Stalin, Mao Zedong - the attitude towards these personalities often took on the absurd features of deity worship. The Kim dynasty, which has ruled the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for 60 years, has clear analogies with the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, at least in terms of the scale of the monuments. Brezhnev, Ceausescu, Todor Zhivkov in Bulgaria, and others - for some reason, in the countries of socialism, the governing bodies became a source of stagnation, turned the elective system of democracy into a fiction, when gray personalities of a modest scale remained at the top for decades.

Chinese variant

This is one of the few countries that have maintained a commitment to the socialist path of development to this day. For many adherents of the communist idea, the People's Republic of China seems to be the most powerful argument in disputes about the correctness of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism.

China's economy is developing at the fastest pace in the world. The food problem has long been solved, cities are developing at an unprecedented rate, the unforgettable Olympics were held in Beijing, and Chinese achievements in culture and sports are generally recognized. And all this is happening in a country where the Communist Party of China has been ruling since 1947, and the Constitution of the People's Republic of China establishes the provision for the democratic dictatorship of the people in the form of a socialist state.

Therefore, many point to the Chinese option as the direction that should have been followed during the reform of the CPSU, during the restructuring of Soviet society, they see this as a possible way to save the Soviet Union from collapse. But even purely theoretical reasoning shows the complete failure of this version. The Chinese direction of development of socialism was possible only in China.

Socialism and religion

Among the defining factors of the specifics of the Chinese communist movement are the main ones: huge human resources and an amazing mixture of religious traditions, where the main role belongs to Confucianism. This ancient teaching affirms the primacy of traditions and rituals in the way of life: a person should be satisfied with his position, work hard, honoring the leader and teacher placed over him.

Marxist ideology combined with the dogmas of Confucianism gave a bizarre mixture. It contains the years of the unprecedented cult of Mao, when politics changed in wild zigzags, depending on the personal aspirations of the Great Pilot. The metamorphoses of relations between China and the USSR are indicative - from songs about the Great Friendship to the armed conflict on Damansky Island.

It is difficult to imagine in another modern society such a phenomenon as continuity in leadership, as declared by the CCP. The People's Republic of China in its current form is the embodiment of Deng Xiaoping's ideas on building socialism with Chinese characteristics, which are being implemented by the fourth generation of leaders. The essence of these postulates would have led to indignation of the true zealots of communist dogma from the middle of the 20th century. They would not find anything socialist in them. Free economic zones, an active presence of foreign capital, the second largest number of billionaires in the world and public executions for corruption - these are the realities of socialism the Chinese way.

Time of "velvet revolutions"

The beginning of Gorbachev's reforms in the USSR gave rise to changes in the political system of the socialist countries. Glasnost, pluralism of opinions, economic freedom - these slogans were picked up in the countries of Eastern Europe and quickly led to a change in the social system in the former socialist countries. These processes, which led to the same result in different countries, had a lot of national features.

In Poland, the change in social formation began earlier than others. It looked like revolutionary actions of independent trade unions - the Solidarity association - with the active support of the Catholic Church, which is very authoritative in the country. The first free elections led to the defeat of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party and made former union leader Lech Walesa the first president of Poland.

In the GDR, the main motive for global change was the desire for the unity of the country. East Germany quickly joined the economic and political space of Western Europe, its population, rather than other peoples, felt not only the positive effect of the onset of the new time, but also the problems caused by it.

The name "velvet revolution" was born in Czechoslovakia. The demonstration of students and the creative intelligentsia who joined it gradually and without violence led to a change in the leadership of the country, and subsequently to the division of the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The processes taking place in Bulgaria and Hungary had a peaceful character. The ruling communist parties, having lost active support from the USSR, did not interfere with the free expression of the will of the radically inclined sections of the population, and power passed to forces of a different political orientation.

Others were the events in Romania and Yugoslavia. Nicolae Ceausescu's regime decided to use a well-developed state security system, the Securitate, to fight for power. Under unclear circumstances, a forceful suppression of public unrest was provoked, which caused the arrest, trial and execution of the Ceausescu couple.

The Yugoslav scenario was complicated by ethnic conflicts in the republics that were part of the federal state. A long civil war led to numerous casualties and the appearance of several new states on the map of Europe...

There is no turning back in history

China, Cuba and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are positioned as socialist countries, the world system is long gone. Some bitterly regret that time, others try to erase the memory of it by destroying monuments and forbidding any mention. Still others speak of the most reasonable thing - to move forward, using the unique experience that has befallen the lot of the peoples of the former socialist countries.

After the end of World War II, pro-Soviet regimes were established in Eastern Europe. Among the overwhelming majority of the population of the countries of this region, sympathies were on the side of the USSR as the state that saved them from fascism. The elections held in the first years after the end of the war were won by the communist and socialist parties. To confront the forces of the West, the countries of Eastern Europe united in a military-political bloc under the auspices of the USSR. This lesson is devoted to an overview of the relationship and development of the countries of Eastern Europe.

background

By 1947-1948. in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Albania), communist parties subordinated to Moscow came to power. All other parties were forced out of political life. A regime of autocracy was established and a course was taken to build socialism according to the model of the USSR.

The following features were characteristic of the countries of the socialist camp.

• One party system.
• Totalitarian socialism (totalitarianism).
• Nationalization of industry, trade and finance.
• State planning. Command-administrative distribution system.

Events

1947- The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominform) was created, through which Moscow led the countries of the socialist camp.

GDR

1953- uprising in the GDR due to a decline in living standards.

The establishment of pro-Soviet and socialist regimes in Eastern, Southeastern and part of Central Europe made it possible to include the countries located in these territories into the so-called. socialist camp. For states that are in USSR orbit in Europe, include: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Yugoslavia and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The establishment of Soviet-style political regimes entailed transformations and reforms copied from the USSR. So, in all of the above countries, in the late 1940s - early 1950s. agrarian reform was carried out, the persecution began dissidents (i.e. people who disagree with the political regime) Almost all spheres of society were subordinated to the state. To strengthen relations and maintain the economy, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) was founded in 1949, which included all states, with the exception of Yugoslavia (Fig. 1). In 1955, in Warsaw, between the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the GDR, Romania and Bulgaria, an agreement was signed on the creation of a military bloc, largely to counter NATO, created in 1949. This bloc of socialist countries was called the Warsaw Pact Organization.

Rice. 1. CMEA building in Moscow ()

The first cracks in the united socialist camp occurred in 1948 when the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito, who wanted to conduct, in many respects, his policy without coordination with Moscow, once again took a masterful step, which served to aggravate Soviet-Yugoslav relations and break them. Before 1955 years, Yugoslavia fell out of a single system, and never returned there entirely. In this country, a peculiar model of socialism arose - Titoism based on the authority of the country's leader Tito. Under him, Yugoslavia turned into a country with a developed economy (in 1950-1970, production rates quadrupled), Tito's authority was strengthened by multinational Yugoslavia. The ideas of market socialism and self-government formed the basis of Yugoslav prosperity.

After the death of Tito in 1980, centrifugal processes began in the state, which led the country to disintegration in the early 1990s, the war in Croatia, and the mass genocide of Serbs in Croatia and Kosovo.

The second country that left the united socialist camp and was no longer part of it was Albania. The Albanian leader and staunch Stalinist - (Fig. 2) - did not agree with the decision of the 20th Congress of the CPSU to condemn Stalin's personality cult and severed diplomatic relations with the USSR, leaving the CMEA. The further existence of Albania was tragic. Hoxha's one-man regime led the country to decline and mass poverty of the population. In the early 1990s between Serbs and Albanians, national conflicts began to flare up, resulting in the mass destruction of Serbs and the occupation of primordially Serbian territories, which continues to this day.

Rice. 2. Enver Hoxha ()

For other countries socialist camps more stringent policies. So when in In 1956, unrest broke out among Polish workers, protesting against unbearable living conditions, the columns were shot by the troops, and the leaders of the workers were found and destroyed. But in the light of the political transformations taking place at that time in the USSR, associated with de-Stalinization of society, in Moscow they agreed to put the repressed under Stalin at the head of Poland Vladislav Gomulka. Power will later pass to General Wojciech Jaruzelski who will fight against the politically rising the Solidarity movement representing workers and independent trade unions. Movement leader - Lech Walesa- became the leader of the protest. Throughout the 1980s. The Solidarity movement was gaining more and more popularity, despite the persecution of the authorities. In 1989, with the collapse of the socialist system, Solidarity came to power in Poland.

In 1956 an uprising broke out in Budapest.. The reason was the de-Stalinization and the demand by the workers and the intelligentsia for fair and open elections, the unwillingness to be dependent on Moscow. The uprising soon resulted in the persecution and arrests of members of the Hungarian state security; part of the army went over to the side of the people. By decision of Moscow, ATS troops were brought into Budapest. Leadership of the Hungarian Workers' Party led by a Stalinist Matthias Rakosi, was forced to appoint to the post of prime minister Imre Nadia. Soon Nagy announced Hungary's withdrawal from the Department of Internal Affairs, which angered Moscow. Tanks were again brought into Budapest, and the uprising was brutally crushed. became the new leader Janos Kadar, who repressed most of the rebels (Nagy was shot), but began to carry out economic reforms that contributed to the fact that Hungary turned into one of the most prosperous countries in the socialist camp. With the collapse of the socialist system, Hungary abandoned its former ideals, and a pro-Western leadership came to power.

In 1968 in Czechoslovakia A new communist government was elected, led by Alexander Dubcek who wanted to carry out economic, social and political transformation. Seeing an indulgence in domestic life, all of Czechoslovakia was engulfed in rallies. Seeing that the socialist state began to gravitate towards the world of capital, the leader of the USSR L.I. Brezhnev ordered the introduction of ATS troops into Czechoslovakia. The balance of power between the world of capital and socialism, which cannot be changed under any circumstances, after 1945 was called "The Brezhnev Doctrine". In August 1968, troops were brought in, the entire leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was arrested, tanks opened fire on people on the streets of Prague (Fig. 3). Soon Dubcek will be replaced by a pro-Soviet one. Gustav Husak, which will adhere to the official line of Moscow.

Rice. 3. Riot in Prague ()

Bulgaria and Romania throughout the entire period of the existence of the socialist camp will remain faithful to Moscow in their political and economic transformations. The Bulgarian communists, led by Todor Zhivkov, will strictly conduct their domestic and foreign policy, looking back at Moscow. Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu made the Soviet leadership nervous from time to time. He wanted to appear as an independent politician, in the manner of Tito, but quickly showed his weakness. In 1989, after the coup and the overthrow of the communist government, Ceausescu and his wife were shot. With the collapse of the common system, pro-Western forces will come to power in these countries, which will be set up for European integration.

Thus, the countries People's Democracy"or country" real socialism” over the past 60 years have experienced a transformation from a socialist system to a capitalist system led by the United States, being largely dependent on the influence of a new leader.

1. Aleksashkina L.N. General history. XX - beginning of the XXI century. - M.: Mnemosyne, 2011.

2. Zagladin N.V. General history. XX century. Textbook for grade 11. - M.: Russian word, 2009.

3. Plenkov O.Yu., Andreevskaya T.P., Shevchenko S.V. General history. Grade 11 / Ed. Myasnikova V.S. - M., 2011.

2. Encyclopedia of world historical names, names, events ().

1. Read Chapter 18 of the textbook by Aleksashkina L.N. General history. XX - the beginning of the XXI century and give answers to questions 1-6 on p. 213.

2. How did the consolidation of the countries of the socialist bloc manifest itself in the economy and politics?

3. Describe the Brezhnev Doctrine.

The modern world, taking into account the presence of many antagonistic states in it, is unipolar. What can not be said about the events that took place several decades ago. The Cold War divided the world into camp countries, between which there was constant confrontation and hatred. What were the countries of the socialist camp, you will learn from the following article.

Concept definition

The concept is quite broad and controversial, but it is possible to give a definition. The socialist camp is a term that refers to countries that have embarked on the path of socialist development and the maintenance of the Soviet ideology, moreover, regardless of the support or hostility of the USSR towards them. A vivid example is some countries with which our country had rather a political confrontation (Albania, China and Yugoslavia). In the historical tradition, the countries named above were called communist in the USA, opposing them to their democratic model.

Along with the concept of "socialist camp", synonymous terms were also used - "socialist countries" and "socialist commonwealth". The latter concept was typical for the designation of the allied countries in the USSR.

Origins and formation of the socialist camp

As is known, the October Socialist Revolution was carried out under internationalist slogans and the declaration of the ideas of the world revolution. This attitude was key and was preserved throughout the years of the existence of the USSR, but many countries did not follow this Russian example. But after the victory in World War II, many countries, including European ones, followed the model of socialist development. Sympathy for the country - the winner of the Nazi regime - played a role. Thus, some states even changed their traditional political vector from West to East. The alignment of political forces on earth has changed radically. Therefore, the concept of "socialist camp" is not some kind of abstraction, but specific countries.

The concept of countries with a socialist orientation was embodied in the conclusion of friendly treaties and subsequent mutual assistance. Groups of countries that formed after the war are also commonly referred to as military-political blocs that have been on the frontier of hostilities more than once. But in 1989-1991, the USSR collapsed, and most of the socialist countries headed for liberal development. The collapse of the socialist camp was due to both internal and external factors.

Economic cooperation of the countries of the socialist community

The main factor in the creation of the socialist camp was economic mutual assistance: the provision of loans, trade, scientific and technical projects, the exchange of personnel and specialists. The key of these types of interactions is foreign trade. This fact by no means means that a socialist state should trade only with friendly countries.

All countries that were part of the socialist camp sold the products of their national economy on the world market and received in return all modern technologies, industrial equipment, as well as raw materials necessary for the production of certain goods.

The countries of the socialist camp

• Democratic Republic of Somalia;
• People's Republic of Angola;
• People's Republic of the Congo;
• People's Republic of Mozambique;
• Folk;
• Republic of Ethiopia.

• People's Democratic Republic of Yemen;
• Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
• Democratic Republic of Afghanistan;
• Mongolian People's Republic;
• People's Republic of China;
• People's Republic of Kampuchea;
• Democratic People's Republic of Korea;
• Lao Democratic Republic.

South America:

• Republic of Cuba;
• People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada.

• German Democratic Republic;
• People's Socialist;
• Polish People's Republic;
• Czechoslovak Socialist Republic;
• People's Republic of Bulgaria;
• Socialist Republic of Romania;
• Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;

Existing socialist countries

There are also countries in the modern world that are, in one sense or another, socialist. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea positions itself as a socialist state. Exactly the same course is taking place in the Cuban Republic and Asian countries.

In eastern countries such as the People's Republic of China and Vietnam, the classical communist parties run the state apparatus. Despite this fact, capitalist tendencies, that is, private property, can be traced in the economic development of these countries. A similar political and economic situation is observed in the Lao Republic, which was also part of the socialist camp. This is a peculiar way to combine market and planned economy.

At the beginning of the 21st century, socialist tendencies began to emerge and consolidate in Latin America. There was even a whole theoretical doctrine of "Socialism XXI", which is actively used in practice in third world countries. For 2015, socialist governments are in power in Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua. But these are not countries of the socialist camp; such governments arose in them after its collapse at the end of the 20th century.

Maoist Nepal

In mid-2008, a revolution took place in Nepal. A group of communist Maoists overthrew the monarch and won the election as the Communist Party of Nepal. Since August, the head of state has been the main party ideologue, Bauram Bahattarai. After these events, Nepal became a country where a course with a clear communist dominant operates in political and economic life. But the course of Nepal is clearly not similar to the policy pursued by the USSR and the socialist camp.

Cuban socialist policy

Cuba has long been considered a socialist state, but in 2010 the head of the republic set a course for economic change along the Chinese model of modernizing a socialist society. The central aspect of this policy is to increase the role of private capital in the economic system.

Thus, we examined the countries of the socialist orientation, both past and present. The socialist camp is a collection of countries friendly to the USSR. Modern states pursuing a socialist policy do not belong to this camp. This is very important to consider in order to understand certain processes.

After the counter-revolution in the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries, reactionaries all over the world believed that in a short time North Korea and Cuba, followed by Vietnam, Laos and China, would also fall under the pressure of their subversive activities. They clearly underestimated the strength of socialist ideas and overestimated their abilities and possibilities.

Today, the five countries that have established working-class rule and are building a socialist society are home to almost 1.5 billion people, that is, a quarter of the world's population. Because of the counter-revolution in Russia, the 1990s were extremely difficult for them. However, they all survived, repelled the onslaught of imperialism and continued their socio-economic development. Obviously, the memories of the bloody crimes of the American aggressors are too fresh in the memory of the peoples of these countries to succumb to false incantations about the delights of bourgeois democracy and the free market. The tragic fate of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq only strengthened their determination to defend their freedom and independence to the end. The role of the vanguard, which previously belonged to the Soviet Union, was taken over by the People's Republic of China.

People's Republic of China

The history of the development of modern China can be divided into 2 periods: Mao Zedong (1949-1978) and Deng Xiaoping (1979 - present).

Relying on the help of the USSR in building socialism, the PRC successfully fulfilled the first five-year plan (1953-1957). Grain production increased from 105 to 185 million tons, and the economic growth rate was 12% annually. The share of industrial production in GDP rose from 17% to 40%. The Eighth Congress of the CPC in 1956, in its resolution, recorded that in China "the socialist revolution has basically won." The second five-year plan was to build on the successes achieved. However, an attempt to make a "big leap" led to the fact that over 3 years the decline in production amounted to 48.6%.

Healthy forces in the leadership of the CCP (who for some reason are still called right-wing in our country) won the condemnation of "leftist excesses" and consent to the course of Liu Shaoci and Deng Xiaoping: "first create, then destroy." Mao Zedong was forced after criticism to go to the second line of leadership, to study theory. To reasonable measures in the spirit of the Leninist new economic policy, stimulating the interest of everyone in the results of their work, the economy again responded with rapid growth. Over four years, industrial production increased by 61.3%, and agricultural production - by 42.3%.

Unfortunately, since 1966, during the period of the so-called "cultural revolution", the country again plunged into economic chaos for 12 years and experienced acute social upheavals. Deng Xiaoping, who deeply studied the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism and worked out the Chinese way of building socialism, contributed to the way out of the crisis. Its essence: the development in accordance with the Leninist concept of the NEP of Stalin's centralized planning and management. Since the PRC, unlike the USSR, could not be afraid of external aggression, the transition period was declared 50 years long. The Third Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee (December 1978) proclaimed a course towards a socialist economy with a combination of two systems: planned distribution and market systems with massive attraction of foreign investment, greater economic independence of enterprises, the introduction of family contracts in the countryside, and the reduction of the public sector in the economy , the opening of free economic zones, the development of science and technology.

And once again, the emerging socialist system showed its undeniable advantage. The Chinese "economic miracle" far surpassed similar "miracles" in post-war Germany and Japan and came close to the Soviet one in the Stalin era. In order to limit the series of figures characterizing the successes of the People's Republic of China at the stage of socialist construction, we will cite only some of them, the most generalized ones.

1. A big leap (now without quotes) in the development of agriculture has allowed to feed 1 billion people.

2. The volume of industrial production doubled every 10 years.

3. In 2005, China's GDP was $6.5 trillion, second only to the United States.

4. The average annual income per capita in the PRC is 1,740 US dollars (data from the World Bank). The average life expectancy for men is 70 years, and for women - 73 years.

5. By the end of 2005, China again overtook the US in mutual trade by $200 billion. And this despite the fact that the henchmen of "free trade" from Washington have repeatedly imposed restrictions on Chinese goods. The structure of China's foreign trade is like that of an economically developed country: up to 80% of exports are textiles, shoes, toys, machine tools, machinery, appliances and electronics.

6. China's gold and foreign exchange reserves surpassed those of Japan and became the largest in the world - 900 billion dollars.

In order not to get the impression that in China, which is in transition from capitalism to socialism, everything is quiet, smooth and God's grace, let's name the main problems that the new leader of the country Hu Jintao aimed at solving the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. The strategic goal of this five-year plan is "building a harmonious society," mitigating social inequality that has already become dangerous. To this end, significant funds are allocated to improve health care and education in rural areas (in 2006 - $ 48 billion) while increasing the military budget (in 2006 - an increase of 14%, to $ 35.5 billion). Hu Jintao declared war on corruption his priority when he took office in 2004 and declared that the future of socialism was at stake. He rejected Western-style political reforms. Fearing that the epidemic of "tulip counter-revolutions" could be carried over to China, the government began sweeping moves to tighten controls and limit foreign influence at home.

The experience of China's socialist development attracts the attention of many in the modern world and, above all, of its closest neighbors.

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The cooling of relations between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) and the USSR began during Gorbachev's perestroika. Moscow's curtailment of mutually beneficial cooperation was regarded as joining the American economic sanctions against Vietnam. The CPV condemned the departure of the CPSU from the fundamental principles of socialism and refused to copy the Soviet experience, taking a step towards taking into account the Chinese, in particular, in the field of agricultural production. A return to reasonable incentives for highly productive work, while maintaining state control over large enterprises and infrastructure, quickly produced a positive result. Five years later, Vietnam not only refused to buy rice from abroad, but also sold two million tons of its surplus.

Today Vietnam is one of the most dynamically developing countries in Southeast Asia. Some experts predict the role of another Asian "tiger" in the near future. The impressive successes of Vietnam were directly reflected in relations with the United States. Step by step, the Americans were forced to restore normal relations in full:

1994 - economic sanctions were lifted from Vietnam;

1996 - US Embassy in Hanoi opened;

2000 - Trade agreement signed.

In the autumn of the same 2000, former US President B. Clinton arrived in Vietnam for the first time since the shameful flight of the American aggressors from South Vietnam on April 30, 1975.

According to the declaration on strategic partnership signed by the Russian Federation and the SRV, Russia has begun deliveries of modern weapons and spare parts for old Soviet equipment. However, the main sections of this document deal with economics. Although almost all the world's well-known oil companies are present in Vietnam, investing in offshore oil and gas production, it is believed that the most effective cooperation in this area is with Russia, within the framework of the joint (50:50) Vietsovpetro venture. It produces 80% of Vietnamese oil (over one hundred million tons per year) and annually the Russian budget receives more than $0.5 billion from the joint venture. An agreement was reached to modernize and expand the activities of this enterprise. The second largest project is an agreement on the joint establishment of Vietnam's first oil refinery with an authorized capital of $800 million and a capacity of 6.5 million tons per year. Thus, a closed national cycle will be created from oil exploration to its complete refining.

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The thorny road to socialism fell to the lot of the Korean people. Under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, he passed it most successfully and confidently. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Japan has occupied the country and established a cruel regime of robbery and violence for 40 years. A communist-led guerrilla war went on for 12 years, ending in 1945 with a complete victory and the liberation of Korea from the Japanese colonialists. However, the new, American occupiers seized the south of the country, wrecked the unification agreement and split it. In 1950, when normal life began to improve in the DPRK, the United States unleashed a new war. For 3 years, the fire shaft swept through the territory of North Korea twice - first from south to north, then back, and the front froze at the 38th parallel. Thousands of the best sons and daughters of the Korean people perished on the battlefields, millions of civilians died at the hands of American punishers. North Korea was in ruins. In an effort to slow down its recovery, Washington maintained a state of war and constantly organized armed incidents and imposed economic, political and diplomatic sanctions.

And again the advantages of socialism appeared, multiplied by the strength of the spirit of the Korean people. In the shortest possible time, the national economy destroyed by the war was restored. By 1958, socialist transformations in the city and countryside were completed. The DPRK has become a modern state with developed industry and agriculture, and a high level of culture. Further development led to the fact that the social problems of employment, food and housing were completely solved. Free health care and education are available to everyone. There is practically no crime and drug addiction, homeless old people and street children, no beggars and no super-rich.

Thus, the DPRK is a country of victorious socialism, which causes the fierce hatred of the American imperialists, the desire to deal with the recalcitrant people by any means.

The need to resist an aggressor equipped with nuclear missile weapons, the treacherous betrayal of the Kremlin in the early 1990s forced the DPRK to create missile weapons on its own. Having launched her artificial satellite of the Earth, she entered the club of space powers. And last year, a successful test of a nuclear device brought North Korea closer to building a deterrent that would be insurmountable to an aggressor. Only a free people, confident in the rightness of their cause, is capable of doing this.

Socialist Cuba

If it were customary to award entire countries with Stars, then the Republic of Cuba would be Twice Hero today. The first time - for the rapid defeat of American mercenaries in the Bay of Pigs. The second - for courage and steadfastness in the "special period" in the early 90s, when it seemed that the rupture of economic ties on the part of the former USSR and the countries of the socialist community (80% of Cuba's trade turnover) would bring the Island of Freedom to its knees before the Empire of Evil. Difficulties arose great: decline in production, unemployment, lack of food. The Cuban communists had to take advantage of the Chinese experience and make compromises, retreat in the field of tourism, foreign trade and finance. But they did not give up the main thing - the gains of socialism. And when a miserable bunch of renegades, the so-called dissidents, having received money from the United States, launched their treacherous activities, began preparing an "orange counter-revolution", they were arrested, tried in an open court according to Cuban laws and shot.

Significant assistance in overcoming the crisis was provided to Cuba by China, where part of the commodity flows of traditional Cuban exports were redirected, as well as some Latin American countries. Since 1995, economic growth has resumed (by an average of 4% annually) and by 2000, the pre-crisis level of 1989 GDP was exceeded by more than 10%. Unemployment decreased by 2 times (to 4%), public consumption funds increased, food distribution to the population increased by 10%. Inflation was kept at 0.5%.

There are three areas of social life in which socialist Cuba is proud of its achievements and which are at the level of highly developed countries.

1. Education - free general secondary. Of the seven working people, one has a diploma of higher education. 7.3% of GDP is spent on education.

2. Healthcare - free, at a high level. Key indicators: infant mortality -7.2 per 1,000 births; average life expectancy - 75.5 years; highly developed medical science, the production of drugs and vaccines that are not found anywhere else in the world. 6.3% of GDP is spent on healthcare.

3. Cuba is a world sports power that confidently enters the top ten at the Olympic Games in the team event.

No, the haters of socialism in Washington rubbed their hands in vain, strengthening the blockade of the Island of Freedom. The people of Cuba persevered and went forward again, enticing the countries of Latin America with their example.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who considers himself a friend and follower of F. Castro, has already taken a number of steps in the economic and political fields, giving him reason to set before the people the task of building "socialism of the 21st century." For its implementation, the creation of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela is planned, and a change in the Constitution is being prepared. Of course, Washington will not surrender its Latin American fiefdom without a fight, but it should be borne in mind that its possibilities are now very limited. A third of the armed forces are bogged down in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition, Iran and North Korea are challenging military dictates. We also have to be more careful with economic sanctions, as new centers of power are willing to make holes in the American blockade. So, 2 years ago, the Chinese prime minister took with him a checkbook worth hundreds of billions of dollars and traveled to a number of Latin American countries. Offering fairer trade terms, he bought up the resources that previously went to the United States. So try to stop buying Venezuelan oil, which gives Hugo Chavez an economic base for building socialism. World prices will soar, the American economy will shrink, and China will receive Venezuelan oil at reasonable prices and make a new breakthrough in its development. Russia is increasingly selling modern weapons to countries in the region. Favorable market. So the gentlemen in Washington are getting nervous.

Socialism will save the world!

In conclusion, let us turn to the authoritative forecast for the 21st century, which was made by the World Forum of Scientists, assembled by the UN at the end of the last century in Rio de Janeiro. Its participants came to the conclusion that two global problems threaten the catastrophe of human civilization:

Resource - rapid depletion of explored natural resources;

Ecological - environmental pollution has reached such a level that the Earth's biosphere does not have time to be cleaned of waste.

The forum condemned the capitalist system as incapable of coping with the solution of these problems, since the pursuit of maximum profit requires huge resources and generates a lot of waste, and, in addition, spreads lack of spirituality, moral and physical degradation of a person.

The way out of this dangerous prospect was unequivocally determined by the forum in its resolution - the socialization of all aspects of the life of human society. Obviously this means:

1. Science and technology must organize the circulation of substances and materials in an artificial habitat created by man;

2. Limit material consumption to scientifically based norms;

3. To reveal the human principle in a person - unlimited consumption of spiritual values ​​that do not wear out from this, and the active participation of the person himself in the creative process, in the creation of new spiritual values.

And this is socialism.