Aleksey Kosygin(1904-1980)
Aleksei Kosygin was the youngest Mayor of Leningrad and the longest
serving Prime Minister of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1980. He was
one of the most lasting high ranking Russian officials whose government
career spanned over 40 years from the rule of the Soviet dictator
Joseph Stalin, to
Nikita Khrushchev, and
Leonid Brezhnev. Unlike many Soviet
politicians, Kosygin was an intellectual truly caring for the wellbeing
of working people.
He was born Aleksei Nikolaevich Kosygin on February 20, 1904, in St.
Petersburg, Russia, and was baptized at the St. Sampsonievsky Cathedral
in St. Petersburg. His mother died when Kosygin was a child. His
father, Nikolai Kosygin, was a skilled technician at Lessner plant
whose income afforded a middle-class lifestyle and better education for
his children in the capital of Tsar's Russia, St. Petersburg. However,
after the communist revolution of 1917, young Kosygin chose the side of
Red proletariat in the Russian Civil war. In 1919 he joined the Labor
Army led by Trotsky, then joined the Soviet communist party in 1921,
and obtained recommendations to St. Petersburg (Leningrad) School of
Commerce, from which he graduated in 1924.
In 1924 Kosygin founded a small British-Russian joint-venture
specializing in digging and selling Siberian gold. His business was
successful until 1927, when he returned to St. Petersburg (then named
Leningrad) for family reasons. From 1930 to 1935 he studied at
Leningrad Institute of Textile Industry graduating as Engineer. At that
time Kosygin impressed his colleagues by his ability to memorize large
volumes of data and by his accuracy in mathematical calculations which
he did without using any computing device. Kosygin's intellectual power
was highly appreciated and he soon was appointed Chair of Leningrad
City Department of Industry, then, at age 34, was made Mayor of
Leningrad in 1938, becoming the youngest ever mayor of this big city.
His ability to find solutions in impossible situations became known to
Joseph Stalin, so in January of 1939
Kosygin was taken to Moscow and appointed Vice-Chairman of the Soviet
Govermnent of USSR. But his extraordinary abilities soon brought him
back to where he was born, because native his city, St.
Petersburg-Leningrad became the first target of Hitler's attack in the
Eastern Front of WWII.
In the Summer of 1941, the Nazi Wermacht and the Finnish Army encircled
Leningrad (St. Petersburg), the city of 3,5 million, the fourth largest
city in Europe and the main industrial center of Russia which produced
11% of national economy. All roads south of Leningrad were severed by
the Nazis, and all roads north of Leningrad were cut by the Finnish
Army by September 1941. Defenders and civilians of besieged Leningrad
were doomed, because there was no food and energy, all rats, pets and
birds were eaten, unprecedented starvation led to cannibalism... German
and Finnish Armies made the encirclement of Leningrad impenetrable from
all directions, so civilian population was dying at the rate of four to
six thousand people daily.
Kosygin designed and managed the «Road of Life» to besieged Leningrad
over the ice on Lake Ladoga, including several roads for trucks and
several underwater pipelines and power-lines. During the end of 1941
and all of 1942, Kosygin organized evacuation of civilians from
Leningrad and brought food and supplies to the city from the mainland.
He was the mastermind behind evacuating over half-a-million industrial
workers with major industries that were crucial for the war against
Hitler's military power. The construction and operation of the «Road of
Life» was done under heavy artillery bombardments and air-strikes by
Luftwaffe, but Kosygin completed the «Road of Life» which supplied the
Leningrad civilians and defenders with food, ammunition and fuel. The
«Road of Life» worked through the end of the deadly siege that lasted
nine hundred days. Under Kosygin's management, over one-and-a-half
million civilian population were evacuated from Leningrad during the
siege. By the end of the siege the three-million city had only
half-a-million civilians left, while the rest were evacuated, or dead.
By his outstanding feat during the Siege of Leningrad, Kosygin helped
save millions of lives of civilians from Leningrad and suburbs, mainly
women and children, and also helped save major industries which were
successfully evacuated under his management. The 900-day-long
resistance during the Siege of Leningrad was crucial for all sides of
the war, especially for lifting the spirits of those fighting on many
fronts against Hitler. The failure to take Leningrad was the first and
largest setback for the Nazis: Leningrad resistance forced Hitler to
drop his original war plan, causing the next failure to take Moscow,
which altogether compromised the Nazi military power and eventually
stopped Hitler from winning WWII. Kosygin was awarded the Order of Red
Star and was promoted to Premier of the Russian Federation at age 38,
becoming the youngest ever Russian PM. He served as Russian PM from
1943 to 1946.
After WWII, aged and paranoid Stalin resumed executions of potential
political competitors: he first ordered extermination of the entire
leadership of Leningrad (St. Petersburg), including the highly popular
Leningrad Mayor Kuznetsov who worked with Kosygin during the heroic
siege, and was a relative of Kosygin's wife. As a result of massive
genocide of intellectuals in Russia, Stalin ended up with the Soviet
government full of submissive and mediocre politicians whose business
and economic skills were outdated and useless in the emerging global
economy. Kosygin was the brightest mind. So Stalin, instead of
execution, sent Kosygin on a lengthy trip to Siberia and Far East,
traditional places for political exile. Several months later, Kosygin
returned from Siberia more quiet and obedient than ever, and continued
his work in the Soviet government under Stalin, serving as minister of
finance and then as minister for light industry until Stalin's death in
1953.
Kosygin was briefly demoted during the power struggle between
Nikita Khrushchev and Malenkov, but
soon Khrushchev brought Kosygin back, because he needed a bright
intellectual in his peasant and proletarian government. On February 23,
1956, Khrushchev denounced Joseph Stalin
for his brutal purges and massive executions of innocent people.
Khrushchev gave the speech behind closed doors at the 20th Congress of
the Communist Party. His speech was the "new order" message to the
ruling Soviet elite. Not everyone liked it, regardless of its many
historic benefits. But cautious Kosygin took the side of Khrushchev. In
1957 Khrushchev with backing from
Leonid Brezhnev and Marshal
Georgi Zhukov defeated the Stalinist
conservatives Vyacheslav Molotov,
Georgi Malenkov, and
Lazar Kaganovich. Then Khrushchev
exiled the powerful Marshal Georgi Zhukov
and became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union. Kosygin did not
like that, but remained quiet and kept his positions. Khrushchev's
speech was designed to liberate people from Stalin's brutal regime
based on manipulative methods of control by fear. The speech was
addressed to the Soviet leadership as well as to the people of Russia
and other republics, however, the Soviet leadership decided to keep the
speech secret from the people. At the same time Khrushchev's speech was
available in the rest of the world. After reading the Khrushchev's
speech, Moshe Dayan said that Soviet Union may disappear in 30 years,
and he was off only by 5 years. Although Khrushchev was unable to see
that far, he made efforts to liberate intellectuals and to clear
innocent victims of Stalin's regime. In the late 1950's Khrushchev
initiated the "Thaw" during the Cold War.
Kosygin again showed his wits as an early supporter of Khrushchev who
was impressed with Kosygin's obvious intelligence and cool head under
great pressure. Under Khrushchev, Kosygin attempted to introduce an
economic reform, but his effort was frozen with the onset of "Cold war"
when Khrushchev pushed the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
Next year a severe agricultural crisis caused 'freezing' of the Soviet
economy. Khrushchev's mistakes caused serious food shortages and the
bloody popular uprising in Novocherkassk, in 1962. At the same time,
Khrushchev showed uncivilized and undiplomatic behavior at the UN
conference by insulting other delegates verbally and by banging on the
table with his fists and with his shoe. He made risky political moves
and later lost control during the Cuban missile crisis, when the world
came to the brink of a nuclear war.
Leonid Brezhnev made a deal with Kosygin
and dismissed Khrushchev on October 14, 1964, after Khrushchev's
vacation at the Communist Party owned Black Sea resort.
Now Kosygin and Leonid Brezhnev divided
up the two posts that Khrushchev had held simultaneously. Kosygin
became Premier, which put him in control of the day-to-day management
of the Soviet government, while Brezhnev became Communist Party
Secretary, a more authoritative and much more visible post. Kosygin's
administrative abilities served him very well, and he earned a
reputation abroad as being not as rigid as Brezhnev and others in the
Soviet government. However, the Cold War with the United States was
always causing enormous expenditures towards military buildup,
particularly working towards the overthrow of pro-American governments
overseas and attempting to expand Soviet influence across the world,
even as conditions within the country deteriorated.
Kosygin's efforts to liberalize the Soviet economy were again blocked
by Brezhnev. As a result, entrepreneurial people went underground
creating a parallel black market. Official economy existed on cheap
slave labor and subsidies from oil and gas export. The Soviet
Military-Industrial Complex was somewhat efficient due to higher wages
and ruthless control by the KGB and Soviet Army. Decay was still
creeping into those bastions of communism. The arms race became
unaffordable by the mid 1960s. 90% of the Soviet economy was directly
or indirectly working for the arms race. Stockpiling of costly weapons
undermined living standards that led to a fall in the birth rate, a
shortage of slave labor, and an economic degradation. The country was
pushed into a dead end.
Kosygin was alone and surrounded by hard-liners, while Brezhnev played
the script of Stalin pushing the Soviet Union on a collision course
with the world, and eventually to self-destruction. Control by fear and
intimidation was back again. People were living hopeless lives having
no choice. Workers of collective farms lived without identification
documents up until 1970s. Undocumented citizens at collective farms
were disposable. Migrants were used as industrial slaves, for symbolic
pay. Wages were set by the state and did not depend on productivity or
quality. The economy was governed by the state 5-year plan. This mostly
ignored the world and domestic market signals; and lacked the
incentives for innovation and efficiency leaving people unmotivated.
Teachers were forced to indoctrinate children of all ages from
kindergartens through schools and universities. Total control and
manipulation was demonstrated twice a year at annual May Day parades
and Great Revolution parades on November 7. Military parades were
accompanied by marching masses of industrial workers and managers,
doctors and scientists, as well as teachers and students from all
schools and universities. Exemplary obedient people were rewarded with
better food and perks. Taming millions to obedience by fear and hunger
led to a massive degradation of human rights, poor spirituality, lack
of initiative and creativity, and decay of public health and vitality.
The country of almost three hundred million people was stuck in
stagnation, inefficiency, and apathy. Brighter students were taken into
the military-industrial system, brainwashed and locked there for life
with no choices. Opponents were locked in the "Gulag" prison camps,
mostly in Siberia. There, millions were working various hard labor jobs
in grand-scale economic projects; like the Baikal-Amur railroad (BAM).
Kosygin saw that since the Communist Revolution of 1917, people had
been continually stripped of their land and property. Under Khrushchev
and Brezhnev the destruction of independent farming was finalized. By
the 1960s poverty and anxiety pushed masses to migrate to cities.
Mass-construction of cheap panel buildings was lagging behind. Millions
of families shared poor housing, hostels, and dorms in cities. Villages
were deserted. Collective farms decayed. Agricultural output fell below
the levels of the Tsar's age. Thousands of churches were destroyed
across the Soviet Union. Spiritual life was dominated by ugly communist
propaganda. People were blinded by fear and pushed to wrong values.
Meaningful human virtues were replaced with fake ideals of ruthless
communism. Intrusive propaganda idolized members of the Soviet
Politburo, their portraits were decorating every school and factory
along with countless portraits and statues of
Vladimir Lenin. Political manipulations and
brainwashing of population led to devaluation of human life itself.
Immoral behavior became a massive problem. In 1966 Brezhnev was asked
not to rehabilitate Joseph Stalin, in a
letter signed by 25 distinguished intellectuals, including
Andrei Sakharov and other Soviet
luminaries.
Neo-Stalinist course was enforced by the Soviet leaders who were raised
under Stalin and did not learn anything better than to abuse the
enslaved people. Blinded leaders only tried to slow the movement to a
dead end. Restrictions on travel and studies abroad blocked the people
of Russia from learning of the achievements of other nations of the
world. As a result, information technology and computers made in USSR
by Soviet Military Industries were outdated, incompatible and obsolete.
Total control by the KGB led to stagnation and inefficiency, causing
the "brain drain" in science and culture when the brightest people
defected and fled the Soviet gloom. In the 1970s the flow of Jewish
emigration was initiated by reuniting families. The KGB caused
financial and political obstacles to every emigrating person; but
people were leaving at any cost.
Brezhnev's regime was aggressive inside and outside, it crushed the
Prague Spring of 1968, fought the Chinese Army over a border dispute in
1969, sent Soviet Tanks and Air Force to Egypt and Syria against Israel
in the 1970s, as well as in North Vietnam against the Americans.
Aggressive Soviet foreign policy polarized the world. Military parades
in Moscow and major Soviet centers were held twice every year
demonstrating dangerous nuclear weapons and missiles to the world.
Soviet communists were spending billions of dollars to support
pro-Soviet revolutionary regimes and spreading the Soviet political and
military presence in Third World countries. National resources were
wasted on controversial foreign operations at the expense of growing
domestic problems, poverty and frustration of the people of Russia.
Kosygin warned about potential disaster if the Soviet Union becomes
involved in another war. In the late 60s, amidst the military conflict
with China, Kosygin asked Brezhnev to step forward and make a peace
deal with the Chinese leader, Mao. But Brezhnev interrupted Kosygin in
front of all members of the Soviet leadership, and ended the discussion
by saying it in Kosygin's face - "You shall do this yourself!" Kosygin
went to China and carried extremely difficult negotiations with
Chairman Mao, where the Chinese leader requested an impossible
condition that "The USSR shall restore the full glory of Stalin!"
However, Kosygin remained determined and persistent; he repeatedly met
with the Chinese leadership, used all his diplomatic skills and
eventually managed to settle the military conflict with China.
Kosygin was the first person awarded the newly established Order of
Friendship, but Brezhnev became extremely envious and said that he
wanted to have the same decoration as Kosygin's. Brezhnev was so pushy
in his demand that Kosygin was deprived of his honestly earned award
number one. In a strange and intricate manner, the Soviet leadership
took the award number one away from Kosygin, and handed it over to
Brezhnev. The award documents were also forged so that Brezhnev was
registered as the recipient number one. Later, Kosygin was issued a
replacement document, saying that he is the recipient number two.
In spite of the growing rift between him and Brezhnev, Kosygin again
attempted to introduce an economic reform to shift the Soviet economy
from heavy military production to consumer goods, thus offering a way
to better living standards and human values. But he was up against the
Soviet leadership dominated by Brezhnev and other WWII veterans whose
poor knowledge of economy was detrimental.
However, Kosygin was persistent and determined in his country-wide
management as Premier, and some of his efforts gave lasting and
profitable results. His next major accomplishments during the 60s and
70s were construction of the Trans-Siberian Oil pipeline from Russia to
Europe and creation of the major Russian-Italian joint venture that
revolutionized the outdated Soviet automotive industry. Millions of
Fiat cars, called "Lada" in Russia, brought mobility and updated
lifestyle to millions of families in the Soviet Union. Kosygin's
another remarkable achievement was permission for all people to use
small lots of low quality lands for their private agricultural
activities, known as "sadovodstvo" and "dacha" which helped millions of
families survive amidst severe food shortages in the Soviet Union.
Kosygin focused his efforts on improving living standards for all
people in the USSR, but Brezhnev stubbornly guarded special privileges
for communists, treating non-communists as slaves. The rift between
Kosygin and Brezhnev became apparent when Kosygin called for economic
freedom similar to what people in Czechoslovakia and Hungary also tried
to implement. Brezhnev, who crashed all hopes in Czechoslovakia by
sending tanks to Prague in 1968, of which Kosygin initially opposed,
then crashed upon Kosygin, so Kosygin's economic reform was aborted. In
the height of the "Cold War" Kosygin was pushed aside by the hardliners
in aged Soviet leadership dominated by Brezhnev and other WWII
veterans.
Kosygin was the most serious opponent of the Soviet invasion in
Afghanistan in December 1979. He warned the Soviet leadership against
another war while the world needed peace. But Kosygin's position was
not taken seriously by the top Soviet communists. Brezhnev stopped
listening to Kosygin's advice and sided with hard-liners Andropov,
Suslov, and Ustinov, so the Soviet Union became involved in another
lengthy and costly war. As a result of the Soviet aggression in
Afghanistan, the national economy was pushed into the most severe
crisis. At the same time, the 1980 Moscow Olympics were boycotted by
many nations. Kosygin was not hiding his frustration with the
Brezhnev's leadership: he suffered from two heart attacks during the
year 1980, and resigned from all government positions.
Aleksei Kosygin died on December 18, 1980, just a day before Brezhnev's
74th birthday, so Brezhnev chose to underplay Kosygin's burial in such
a sloppy and negligent manner, which was later described by Brezhnev's
assistants as "monstrous."
A street in St. Petersburg and a street in Moscow are named after
Aleksei Kosygin.
serving Prime Minister of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1980. He was
one of the most lasting high ranking Russian officials whose government
career spanned over 40 years from the rule of the Soviet dictator
Joseph Stalin, to
Nikita Khrushchev, and
Leonid Brezhnev. Unlike many Soviet
politicians, Kosygin was an intellectual truly caring for the wellbeing
of working people.
He was born Aleksei Nikolaevich Kosygin on February 20, 1904, in St.
Petersburg, Russia, and was baptized at the St. Sampsonievsky Cathedral
in St. Petersburg. His mother died when Kosygin was a child. His
father, Nikolai Kosygin, was a skilled technician at Lessner plant
whose income afforded a middle-class lifestyle and better education for
his children in the capital of Tsar's Russia, St. Petersburg. However,
after the communist revolution of 1917, young Kosygin chose the side of
Red proletariat in the Russian Civil war. In 1919 he joined the Labor
Army led by Trotsky, then joined the Soviet communist party in 1921,
and obtained recommendations to St. Petersburg (Leningrad) School of
Commerce, from which he graduated in 1924.
In 1924 Kosygin founded a small British-Russian joint-venture
specializing in digging and selling Siberian gold. His business was
successful until 1927, when he returned to St. Petersburg (then named
Leningrad) for family reasons. From 1930 to 1935 he studied at
Leningrad Institute of Textile Industry graduating as Engineer. At that
time Kosygin impressed his colleagues by his ability to memorize large
volumes of data and by his accuracy in mathematical calculations which
he did without using any computing device. Kosygin's intellectual power
was highly appreciated and he soon was appointed Chair of Leningrad
City Department of Industry, then, at age 34, was made Mayor of
Leningrad in 1938, becoming the youngest ever mayor of this big city.
His ability to find solutions in impossible situations became known to
Joseph Stalin, so in January of 1939
Kosygin was taken to Moscow and appointed Vice-Chairman of the Soviet
Govermnent of USSR. But his extraordinary abilities soon brought him
back to where he was born, because native his city, St.
Petersburg-Leningrad became the first target of Hitler's attack in the
Eastern Front of WWII.
In the Summer of 1941, the Nazi Wermacht and the Finnish Army encircled
Leningrad (St. Petersburg), the city of 3,5 million, the fourth largest
city in Europe and the main industrial center of Russia which produced
11% of national economy. All roads south of Leningrad were severed by
the Nazis, and all roads north of Leningrad were cut by the Finnish
Army by September 1941. Defenders and civilians of besieged Leningrad
were doomed, because there was no food and energy, all rats, pets and
birds were eaten, unprecedented starvation led to cannibalism... German
and Finnish Armies made the encirclement of Leningrad impenetrable from
all directions, so civilian population was dying at the rate of four to
six thousand people daily.
Kosygin designed and managed the «Road of Life» to besieged Leningrad
over the ice on Lake Ladoga, including several roads for trucks and
several underwater pipelines and power-lines. During the end of 1941
and all of 1942, Kosygin organized evacuation of civilians from
Leningrad and brought food and supplies to the city from the mainland.
He was the mastermind behind evacuating over half-a-million industrial
workers with major industries that were crucial for the war against
Hitler's military power. The construction and operation of the «Road of
Life» was done under heavy artillery bombardments and air-strikes by
Luftwaffe, but Kosygin completed the «Road of Life» which supplied the
Leningrad civilians and defenders with food, ammunition and fuel. The
«Road of Life» worked through the end of the deadly siege that lasted
nine hundred days. Under Kosygin's management, over one-and-a-half
million civilian population were evacuated from Leningrad during the
siege. By the end of the siege the three-million city had only
half-a-million civilians left, while the rest were evacuated, or dead.
By his outstanding feat during the Siege of Leningrad, Kosygin helped
save millions of lives of civilians from Leningrad and suburbs, mainly
women and children, and also helped save major industries which were
successfully evacuated under his management. The 900-day-long
resistance during the Siege of Leningrad was crucial for all sides of
the war, especially for lifting the spirits of those fighting on many
fronts against Hitler. The failure to take Leningrad was the first and
largest setback for the Nazis: Leningrad resistance forced Hitler to
drop his original war plan, causing the next failure to take Moscow,
which altogether compromised the Nazi military power and eventually
stopped Hitler from winning WWII. Kosygin was awarded the Order of Red
Star and was promoted to Premier of the Russian Federation at age 38,
becoming the youngest ever Russian PM. He served as Russian PM from
1943 to 1946.
After WWII, aged and paranoid Stalin resumed executions of potential
political competitors: he first ordered extermination of the entire
leadership of Leningrad (St. Petersburg), including the highly popular
Leningrad Mayor Kuznetsov who worked with Kosygin during the heroic
siege, and was a relative of Kosygin's wife. As a result of massive
genocide of intellectuals in Russia, Stalin ended up with the Soviet
government full of submissive and mediocre politicians whose business
and economic skills were outdated and useless in the emerging global
economy. Kosygin was the brightest mind. So Stalin, instead of
execution, sent Kosygin on a lengthy trip to Siberia and Far East,
traditional places for political exile. Several months later, Kosygin
returned from Siberia more quiet and obedient than ever, and continued
his work in the Soviet government under Stalin, serving as minister of
finance and then as minister for light industry until Stalin's death in
1953.
Kosygin was briefly demoted during the power struggle between
Nikita Khrushchev and Malenkov, but
soon Khrushchev brought Kosygin back, because he needed a bright
intellectual in his peasant and proletarian government. On February 23,
1956, Khrushchev denounced Joseph Stalin
for his brutal purges and massive executions of innocent people.
Khrushchev gave the speech behind closed doors at the 20th Congress of
the Communist Party. His speech was the "new order" message to the
ruling Soviet elite. Not everyone liked it, regardless of its many
historic benefits. But cautious Kosygin took the side of Khrushchev. In
1957 Khrushchev with backing from
Leonid Brezhnev and Marshal
Georgi Zhukov defeated the Stalinist
conservatives Vyacheslav Molotov,
Georgi Malenkov, and
Lazar Kaganovich. Then Khrushchev
exiled the powerful Marshal Georgi Zhukov
and became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union. Kosygin did not
like that, but remained quiet and kept his positions. Khrushchev's
speech was designed to liberate people from Stalin's brutal regime
based on manipulative methods of control by fear. The speech was
addressed to the Soviet leadership as well as to the people of Russia
and other republics, however, the Soviet leadership decided to keep the
speech secret from the people. At the same time Khrushchev's speech was
available in the rest of the world. After reading the Khrushchev's
speech, Moshe Dayan said that Soviet Union may disappear in 30 years,
and he was off only by 5 years. Although Khrushchev was unable to see
that far, he made efforts to liberate intellectuals and to clear
innocent victims of Stalin's regime. In the late 1950's Khrushchev
initiated the "Thaw" during the Cold War.
Kosygin again showed his wits as an early supporter of Khrushchev who
was impressed with Kosygin's obvious intelligence and cool head under
great pressure. Under Khrushchev, Kosygin attempted to introduce an
economic reform, but his effort was frozen with the onset of "Cold war"
when Khrushchev pushed the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
Next year a severe agricultural crisis caused 'freezing' of the Soviet
economy. Khrushchev's mistakes caused serious food shortages and the
bloody popular uprising in Novocherkassk, in 1962. At the same time,
Khrushchev showed uncivilized and undiplomatic behavior at the UN
conference by insulting other delegates verbally and by banging on the
table with his fists and with his shoe. He made risky political moves
and later lost control during the Cuban missile crisis, when the world
came to the brink of a nuclear war.
Leonid Brezhnev made a deal with Kosygin
and dismissed Khrushchev on October 14, 1964, after Khrushchev's
vacation at the Communist Party owned Black Sea resort.
Now Kosygin and Leonid Brezhnev divided
up the two posts that Khrushchev had held simultaneously. Kosygin
became Premier, which put him in control of the day-to-day management
of the Soviet government, while Brezhnev became Communist Party
Secretary, a more authoritative and much more visible post. Kosygin's
administrative abilities served him very well, and he earned a
reputation abroad as being not as rigid as Brezhnev and others in the
Soviet government. However, the Cold War with the United States was
always causing enormous expenditures towards military buildup,
particularly working towards the overthrow of pro-American governments
overseas and attempting to expand Soviet influence across the world,
even as conditions within the country deteriorated.
Kosygin's efforts to liberalize the Soviet economy were again blocked
by Brezhnev. As a result, entrepreneurial people went underground
creating a parallel black market. Official economy existed on cheap
slave labor and subsidies from oil and gas export. The Soviet
Military-Industrial Complex was somewhat efficient due to higher wages
and ruthless control by the KGB and Soviet Army. Decay was still
creeping into those bastions of communism. The arms race became
unaffordable by the mid 1960s. 90% of the Soviet economy was directly
or indirectly working for the arms race. Stockpiling of costly weapons
undermined living standards that led to a fall in the birth rate, a
shortage of slave labor, and an economic degradation. The country was
pushed into a dead end.
Kosygin was alone and surrounded by hard-liners, while Brezhnev played
the script of Stalin pushing the Soviet Union on a collision course
with the world, and eventually to self-destruction. Control by fear and
intimidation was back again. People were living hopeless lives having
no choice. Workers of collective farms lived without identification
documents up until 1970s. Undocumented citizens at collective farms
were disposable. Migrants were used as industrial slaves, for symbolic
pay. Wages were set by the state and did not depend on productivity or
quality. The economy was governed by the state 5-year plan. This mostly
ignored the world and domestic market signals; and lacked the
incentives for innovation and efficiency leaving people unmotivated.
Teachers were forced to indoctrinate children of all ages from
kindergartens through schools and universities. Total control and
manipulation was demonstrated twice a year at annual May Day parades
and Great Revolution parades on November 7. Military parades were
accompanied by marching masses of industrial workers and managers,
doctors and scientists, as well as teachers and students from all
schools and universities. Exemplary obedient people were rewarded with
better food and perks. Taming millions to obedience by fear and hunger
led to a massive degradation of human rights, poor spirituality, lack
of initiative and creativity, and decay of public health and vitality.
The country of almost three hundred million people was stuck in
stagnation, inefficiency, and apathy. Brighter students were taken into
the military-industrial system, brainwashed and locked there for life
with no choices. Opponents were locked in the "Gulag" prison camps,
mostly in Siberia. There, millions were working various hard labor jobs
in grand-scale economic projects; like the Baikal-Amur railroad (BAM).
Kosygin saw that since the Communist Revolution of 1917, people had
been continually stripped of their land and property. Under Khrushchev
and Brezhnev the destruction of independent farming was finalized. By
the 1960s poverty and anxiety pushed masses to migrate to cities.
Mass-construction of cheap panel buildings was lagging behind. Millions
of families shared poor housing, hostels, and dorms in cities. Villages
were deserted. Collective farms decayed. Agricultural output fell below
the levels of the Tsar's age. Thousands of churches were destroyed
across the Soviet Union. Spiritual life was dominated by ugly communist
propaganda. People were blinded by fear and pushed to wrong values.
Meaningful human virtues were replaced with fake ideals of ruthless
communism. Intrusive propaganda idolized members of the Soviet
Politburo, their portraits were decorating every school and factory
along with countless portraits and statues of
Vladimir Lenin. Political manipulations and
brainwashing of population led to devaluation of human life itself.
Immoral behavior became a massive problem. In 1966 Brezhnev was asked
not to rehabilitate Joseph Stalin, in a
letter signed by 25 distinguished intellectuals, including
Andrei Sakharov and other Soviet
luminaries.
Neo-Stalinist course was enforced by the Soviet leaders who were raised
under Stalin and did not learn anything better than to abuse the
enslaved people. Blinded leaders only tried to slow the movement to a
dead end. Restrictions on travel and studies abroad blocked the people
of Russia from learning of the achievements of other nations of the
world. As a result, information technology and computers made in USSR
by Soviet Military Industries were outdated, incompatible and obsolete.
Total control by the KGB led to stagnation and inefficiency, causing
the "brain drain" in science and culture when the brightest people
defected and fled the Soviet gloom. In the 1970s the flow of Jewish
emigration was initiated by reuniting families. The KGB caused
financial and political obstacles to every emigrating person; but
people were leaving at any cost.
Brezhnev's regime was aggressive inside and outside, it crushed the
Prague Spring of 1968, fought the Chinese Army over a border dispute in
1969, sent Soviet Tanks and Air Force to Egypt and Syria against Israel
in the 1970s, as well as in North Vietnam against the Americans.
Aggressive Soviet foreign policy polarized the world. Military parades
in Moscow and major Soviet centers were held twice every year
demonstrating dangerous nuclear weapons and missiles to the world.
Soviet communists were spending billions of dollars to support
pro-Soviet revolutionary regimes and spreading the Soviet political and
military presence in Third World countries. National resources were
wasted on controversial foreign operations at the expense of growing
domestic problems, poverty and frustration of the people of Russia.
Kosygin warned about potential disaster if the Soviet Union becomes
involved in another war. In the late 60s, amidst the military conflict
with China, Kosygin asked Brezhnev to step forward and make a peace
deal with the Chinese leader, Mao. But Brezhnev interrupted Kosygin in
front of all members of the Soviet leadership, and ended the discussion
by saying it in Kosygin's face - "You shall do this yourself!" Kosygin
went to China and carried extremely difficult negotiations with
Chairman Mao, where the Chinese leader requested an impossible
condition that "The USSR shall restore the full glory of Stalin!"
However, Kosygin remained determined and persistent; he repeatedly met
with the Chinese leadership, used all his diplomatic skills and
eventually managed to settle the military conflict with China.
Kosygin was the first person awarded the newly established Order of
Friendship, but Brezhnev became extremely envious and said that he
wanted to have the same decoration as Kosygin's. Brezhnev was so pushy
in his demand that Kosygin was deprived of his honestly earned award
number one. In a strange and intricate manner, the Soviet leadership
took the award number one away from Kosygin, and handed it over to
Brezhnev. The award documents were also forged so that Brezhnev was
registered as the recipient number one. Later, Kosygin was issued a
replacement document, saying that he is the recipient number two.
In spite of the growing rift between him and Brezhnev, Kosygin again
attempted to introduce an economic reform to shift the Soviet economy
from heavy military production to consumer goods, thus offering a way
to better living standards and human values. But he was up against the
Soviet leadership dominated by Brezhnev and other WWII veterans whose
poor knowledge of economy was detrimental.
However, Kosygin was persistent and determined in his country-wide
management as Premier, and some of his efforts gave lasting and
profitable results. His next major accomplishments during the 60s and
70s were construction of the Trans-Siberian Oil pipeline from Russia to
Europe and creation of the major Russian-Italian joint venture that
revolutionized the outdated Soviet automotive industry. Millions of
Fiat cars, called "Lada" in Russia, brought mobility and updated
lifestyle to millions of families in the Soviet Union. Kosygin's
another remarkable achievement was permission for all people to use
small lots of low quality lands for their private agricultural
activities, known as "sadovodstvo" and "dacha" which helped millions of
families survive amidst severe food shortages in the Soviet Union.
Kosygin focused his efforts on improving living standards for all
people in the USSR, but Brezhnev stubbornly guarded special privileges
for communists, treating non-communists as slaves. The rift between
Kosygin and Brezhnev became apparent when Kosygin called for economic
freedom similar to what people in Czechoslovakia and Hungary also tried
to implement. Brezhnev, who crashed all hopes in Czechoslovakia by
sending tanks to Prague in 1968, of which Kosygin initially opposed,
then crashed upon Kosygin, so Kosygin's economic reform was aborted. In
the height of the "Cold War" Kosygin was pushed aside by the hardliners
in aged Soviet leadership dominated by Brezhnev and other WWII
veterans.
Kosygin was the most serious opponent of the Soviet invasion in
Afghanistan in December 1979. He warned the Soviet leadership against
another war while the world needed peace. But Kosygin's position was
not taken seriously by the top Soviet communists. Brezhnev stopped
listening to Kosygin's advice and sided with hard-liners Andropov,
Suslov, and Ustinov, so the Soviet Union became involved in another
lengthy and costly war. As a result of the Soviet aggression in
Afghanistan, the national economy was pushed into the most severe
crisis. At the same time, the 1980 Moscow Olympics were boycotted by
many nations. Kosygin was not hiding his frustration with the
Brezhnev's leadership: he suffered from two heart attacks during the
year 1980, and resigned from all government positions.
Aleksei Kosygin died on December 18, 1980, just a day before Brezhnev's
74th birthday, so Brezhnev chose to underplay Kosygin's burial in such
a sloppy and negligent manner, which was later described by Brezhnev's
assistants as "monstrous."
A street in St. Petersburg and a street in Moscow are named after
Aleksei Kosygin.