social state. The 20th century introduced a new type into the history of the development of states - the welfare state, which replaced the so-called "liberal state" or

Kirill Martynov

philosopher:

Castaneda introduced a cautionary tale into history: how a talented hoaxer can take advantage of circumstances—in his case, hippie-era California university culture—to make a fortune.

This phenomenon is somewhat unique: there were probably no other examples in the history of mankind when university professors were so gullible, so enthusiastic and so “open to everything new” that they counted Castaneda’s first book, The Teachings of Don Juan, as a master’s work on anthropology. A few years later, Castaneda managed to defend his dissertation in the same style and become a doctor of philosophy (here he is a bit like A. G. Dugin).

To appreciate how stupid this story is, it is enough to carefully reread the first pages of Don Juan, in which the author describes how he accidentally met an elderly Indian magician at a bus stop (and the magician had already “smoked him”, that is, he knew that he would meet Castaneda ). This is a level of intellectual work in the style of the fairy tale about the old man Hottabych (only for older children), and for its genre it is well done. But if a student with such “anthropology” or “philosophy” came to me, I would politely send him back. Very peculiar, but nothing to do with knowledge. Thus, a brilliant career would have ended, because Castaneda became a millionaire on his books (a unique case, by the way, when a person earns good money on a book published in the academic publication of the University of California Press).

The plot with the "witches" of Castaneda is also very funny - his first and most faithful followers were exalted Californian students. Already in the 70s, works appeared, for example, the famous text by Richard deMille "Castaneda's Journey", which exposed Castaneda not only as a hoaxer, but also as a plagiarist. Packaged with the Don Juan brand, Castaneda sold a cocktail of textbooks on mythology and quotations from Western philosophy and literature, from Wittgenstein to Lewis Carroll.

Castaneda had a certain influence on the culture of the late 20th century - in Russia, for example, he was actively quoted by Pelevin and Grebenshchikov. This speaks to his popularity as a writer of fiction and, in general, puts Coelho and Richard Bach on a par, rather than scientists or philosophers.

Castaneda also has followers who try to make money on his name, imitate him and compile new texts. The two most famous are Victor Sanchez and Ken Eyrie. Of course, there is no difference between them: mystical chatter is all the same.

Strengthening the KGB

From 1967 to 1982, Yuri Andropov served as chairman of the KGB of the USSR. It was a time of tense confrontation between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB. When Brezhnev came to power, he needed a powerful counterbalance to the army and the KGB, it became the Ministry of the Interior, headed by Nikolai Shchelokov, who was close to Brezhnev.

The highest positions in the Political Directorate of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were taken by the son-in-law of Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Churbanov (there was a saying about him: “Do not have a hundred sheep, but marry like Churbanov”).

When Andropov became the head of the KGB, the Committee was not yet the all-powerful organization that it later became. The KGB gained strength against the backdrop of a confrontation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Andropov managed to create a well-functioning network of KGB regional departments, whose staff supervised all organizations and enterprises. Although the KGB did not formally interfere in personnel policy, not a single important appointment could take place without the intervention of the Committee.
Although Andropov stopped bribery and corruption in his department in the bud, the KGB officers, thanks to the comprehensiveness of their influence, enjoyed solid privileges. Under Andropov, the salaries and bonuses of the Committee's employees increased.

Scout Mikhail Svetlov wrote: “Andropov introduced the Chekists into all parts of the state machine. Deputy leaders from the "authorities" sat on radio and television, in the Ministry of Culture.
In order to prove the importance of his structure, Andropov waged an active fight against "dissidence", and then against "agents of influence" (a term introduced by Andropov in 1972).
Andropov succeeded in strengthening the KGB. The proof of this is a large number of former "committees" in the offices of power in big business.

Fight against corruption

Andropov led the fight against corruption even when he was chairman of the KGB. Special investigative teams of the KGB carried out inspections in the Azerbaijan SSR and Georgia, during which corruption schemes were exposed, hundreds of party functionaries, officials and even several district prosecutors were arrested.

The KGB carried out inspections in the capital's offices, but as long as "dear Leonid Ilyich" was in power, they did not give a move to high-profile cases.

When Andropov became Secretary General, the fight against corruption acquired allied proportions. Andropov launched a real attack on the "trade mafia". One of the first to be arrested was the director of the Eliseevsky store, Yuri Sokolov, who was caught red-handed while receiving another bribe. He was sentenced to capital punishment.
Further more. Per a short time in Moscow alone, more than 15,000 trade workers were brought to justice. Among others, the director of the Novoarbatsky grocery store Filippov, the head of the Mosplodoovoshcheprom Uraltsev, and the director of the Kuibyshev district food industry Begalman were arrested.

Andropov also carried out purges among the party leaders. More than 30% of party leaders were replaced in Moscow, 34% in Ukraine, and 32% in Kazakhstan.

The fight against corruption paid off. According to official data, the growth rate of the USSR economy in 1983 was 4.2% (against 3.1% in 1982); national income rose by 3.1; industrial production - by 4; agricultural production - by 6%.

Started a change of elites

The personnel policy of Yuri Andropov was distinguished by decisiveness. Back in the seventies, he created an "inner party" of his adherents in the elite circles of the USSR. At the same time, he brought them into "five", and each five knew only each other - but did not know about others.

Andropov probably inherited this principle from his teacher Otto Kuusinen, who was a member of the Masonic lodge.

We are “thankful” to Andropov for introducing and “promoting” Mikhail Gorbachev to the Politburo. Andropov also contributed to the promotion of Eduard Shevardnadze, Alexander Yakovlev, Nikolai Ryzhkov and Yegor Ligachev, who replaced the Brezhnev cadres.

Opened the Iron Curtain

Despite the reputation of a tough fighter against dissidents, Andropov showed a sincere interest in the life of the intelligentsia and even gained fame as a liberal general secretary in relation to creative people.

Those who knew Andropov personally testify that intellectually he stood out against the general gray background of the Politburo of stagnant years, read literary magazines, and followed the life of art with interest.

Andropov treated the abstract artists well and even bought their paintings.

On his desk lay the books of Hegel and Descartes. When members of the Politburo asked Andropov why he needed these books, Yuri Vladimirovich answered: "So that there is something to talk about with you."

In a circle of trusted people, Andropov could afford comparatively liberal arguments. Significantly, under Andropov, mass production of licensed records of popular Western performers of those genres (rock, disco, synth-pop) that were previously considered ideologically unacceptable began - this was supposed to undermine the economic basis for speculation in records and magnetic recordings. So the ideological "iron curtain" was slowly opening up.

Prevented the appearance of missiles in Europe

In matters of international politics, Andropov adhered to a principled, tough position. In July 1983, Andropov received German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans Genscher in the Kremlin. At the meeting there was a question about the deployment of American "Pershings" in Europe. Andropov was firm: “Let the West have no doubts. The appearance of Pershings in Europe means that we will take retaliatory measures. Andropov showed his decisiveness on September 1, 1983, when a South Korean Boeing 747 was shot down in the sky over Sakhalin while flying over the territory of the USSR.

Andropovka

Not every head of state was honored with the “honor” to remain in history thanks to the popular nickname of one of the most “folk” products. Andropov succeeded.

The vodka, which went on sale on September 1, 1983, was first called "schoolgirl" or "first-grader".

Half liter of economy class last years Brezhnev's reign cost 5.30 and invariably rose in price, new vodka cost 4.70 rubles. Soviet citizens appreciated it and called it "Andropovka". The name of the drink itself at one time was even deciphered as "Here he is, Kind Andropov." Andropovka, which became legendary, did not last long and after two or three years during the Gorbachev era, it quietly faded away, although it remained the Soviet vodka hit of the 1983-1984 season.

During the reign of Tsar Peter I, the reforms affected all areas of the life of the Russian state. They were predetermined by the preconditions of the 17th century. The activities of Peter, who introduced the country to European culture, economy, state structure, production technologies, led to a painful breakdown of existing relations, ideas and norms that existed in Muscovite Russia.

Thanks to the reform, the role of Peter I in the history of Russia becomes simply enormous. The country became a power that played an important role in political life Europe. The need for reforms is ripe in literally all spheres of life.

Peter I was well aware that reforms in any one area would not give the desired result. This was shown by the experience of previous rulers. Difficult events within the country required new forms of state government. The long Northern War required reforms not only of the army and navy, but also of industry, especially metallurgy. What did Peter 1 do for the development of Russia?

Absolute monarchy

The absolute monarchy in Russia was called autocracy. Ivan III, Ivan IV (the Terrible), as well as Alexei Mikhailovich, tried to come to this form of state government. To some extent, they succeeded. But the main obstacle in their way was a representative body - the boyar duma. They could not remove it from the political arena and were forced to reckon with the owners of large estates, who enjoyed influence in their possessions. Only Tsar Peter I succeeded in this.

It often happened that large and well-born boyars were supported by their smaller relatives, forming warring groups in the Duma. Since early childhood Peter experienced this first hand as a result of the intrigues of the boyars Miloslavsky, relatives of the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich and the Naryshkins, relatives of his mother, the second wife of Alexei Mikhailovich. It was the state reforms of Peter I that were able to bring many transformations to life.

In the struggle for centralized power, he was supported by the nobility, the class of service people who received the title not by inheritance, but for length of service or zeal in work. It was these people who were the support of Peter during the reforms. For the development of Russia, the boyar clans and their strife served as a brake.

The establishment of autocracy was possible with the centralization of the state, by uniting all the lands, reducing the influence on the king of the old aristocracy, which became possible way liquidation of the boyar duma and zemstvo councils. As a result of this reform, Russia received autocracy (absolutism, unlimited monarchy). And Peter I went down in history as the last tsar of Russia and the first emperor of the Russian state.

Nobility and bureaucracy

In the pre-Petrine era ruling group were secular feudal lords - boyars, endowed with estates; nobles who owned estates. The border between the two classes was steadily shrinking. Often the estates exceeded the estates in size, the number of nobles grew due to the granting of titles to service people. New under Peter I was the creation of a noble-bureaucratic apparatus.

Before Peter I, the main distinguishing feature that separated the representatives of these estates was the inheritance of lands, which was assigned to the boyars forever, and after the death of a nobleman, his relatives could only claim a small content. What did Peter I do? He simply secured the land for the nobles with a mandatory 25-year public service.

It was the nobles who became the support of the sovereigns, due to established traditions, they were forced to serve in the service - both civilian and military. This class was interested in centralized power, in strengthening the autocracy. The Time of Troubles (seven boyars) showed the unreliability of the boyar class.

Registration of the nobility

When carrying out state reforms, Peter I formed a new hierarchy of service people, who began to be called officials. It was issued by the Table of Ranks of 1722, where all ranks: military, civil and courtiers are divided into 14 classes. The former included Field Marshal General, Admiral General and Chancellor. The last, 14th, included the lower ranks - such as collegiate registrars, ensigns, junior pharmacists, accountants, skippers of the 2nd rank and others.

In the beginning, each rank corresponded to the position occupied by the official. Privy advisers served in the Privy Chancellery, collegiate advisers were listed in colleges. Subsequently, the rank did not always correspond to the position held. For example, after the abolition of colleges, the rank of collegiate adviser remained.

The advantage of military ranks over civilians

Peter I paid all attention to the army, as well as to the fleet. He was well aware that without her the country would not be able to defend its interests. Therefore, the interests of military servants prevailed over the interests of civil servants. So, for example, a title of nobility was given to civilians from the 8th grade, to the military - from the 14th. The ranks in the guards were 2 classes higher than in the army.

Each nobleman was obliged to carry out public service - civil or military. The sons of the nobles, who reached the age of 20, were required to serve 25 years in any service: military, naval, civil. The offspring of the nobles entered the military service at the age of 15 and served in the early stages as soldiers. The sons of high-ranking officials were in soldier positions in the guard.

Clergy

In the hierarchy of estates in Russia, after the nobility came the clergy. Orthodoxy was the main religion of the state. The ministers of the church had a large number of privileges, which, in principle, Tsar Peter I left for them. The clergy were exempted from various taxes and public service. The sovereign reduced the number of monks, considering them parasites, and determined that a man of mature age who could live without a wife could become a monk.

The dissatisfaction and sometimes opposition of the Russian Orthodox Church to all the reforms of Peter I, its undoubted authority among the people, led him to the conclusion to carry out preventive reforms, which, according to him, would not allow a new impostor to grow out of its ranks. To do this, he proclaims the subordination of the church to the monarch. In 1701, the Monastic Order was formed, which included all monasteries with lands.

Military reform

The main concern of Peter I was the army and navy. Having dispersed the archers, he practically left the country without an army, and there was no fleet in it either. His dream was access to the Baltic Sea. The Narva defeat, which showed the backwardness of the army, was a powerful incentive for military reforms. Peter I understood that the Russian economy could not provide high-quality weapons and equipment. There were not enough plants, factories. There was no technology. Everything had to start over.

Back in 1694, while carrying out the Kozhukhov maneuvers, the future emperor came to the conclusion that the regiments, arranged according to a foreign model, were much superior to the streltsy units. Therefore, after 4 years they were dissolved. Instead, the army consisted of four regiments, created according to the Western model: Semenovsky, Lefortovsky, Preobrazhensky, Butyrsky. They served as the basis of the new Russian army. In 1699, on his orders, a recruitment was announced. The recruits were trained. Along with this, a large number of foreign officers came to the army.

The result of the reforms of Peter I was the victory in the Northern War. She showed the combat readiness of the Russian army. Instead of the militia, regular and well-trained regiments were formed, which were completely supported by the state. Peter I left behind a combat-ready army that was able to repulse any enemy.

Creation of the navy by Peter I

The first Russian fleet, created by Peter I, took part in the Azov campaign. It consisted of 2 battleships, 4 fire ships, 23 galley ships and 1300 plows. All of them were built under the leadership of the king on the Voronezh River. It was the basis of the Russian fleet. After the fortress of Azov was captured, the boyar duma approved the decision of Peter I to build ships for the Baltic.

Shipyards were erected on the estuaries of the Olonka, Luga and Syas rivers, where galleys were built. Sailboats were purchased and built to protect the coast and attack enemy ships. They were based near St. Petersburg, a little later a base was built in Kronstadt. The next bases were in Vyborg, Abo, Reval and Helsingfors. The fleet was controlled by the Admiralty order.

Education reform

Education under Peter I made a grand leap. The army and navy needed educated commanders. On the issue of education, Peter I took a decisive position, realizing that foreign specialists would not be able to solve the problem of a shortage of qualified personnel. Therefore, a school of navigational and mathematical sciences and a number of other schools, such as artillery, medical, and engineering, are being opened in Moscow.

Education under Peter I after the army was a priority. The Maritime Academy was opened in the new capital. Mining schools were organized at the Ural and Olonets plants, which trained engineers. A project was created to create an Academy of Sciences, a university and a gymnasium.

Economic transformation

In the Russian economy, the reorientation from small industrial enterprises to manufactories has become new. Their total number was over two hundred. The autocrat encouraged their creation in every possible way. It should be immediately noted that the Russian manufactory differed from the European one in that the main productive force on it were the peasants.

Manufactories were state-owned, landlord and merchant. They produced gunpowder, saltpeter, cloth, glass, linen, metal and metal products, and much more. In terms of metal production, Russia began to take first place in the world.

To support Russian producers, high customs duties were introduced. To wage war, money and manpower were needed. Censuses are being carried out. The tax was now collected from the male population, regardless of age. Its size was 70 kopecks per year per soul. This made it possible to increase the collection of taxes four times.

Cheap labor made goods competitive in European markets. There was an accumulation of capital, which made it possible to modernize enterprises. In Russia there was a diversified industry. Its main centers were located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, in the Urals.

Consequences of the reforms

Scientists are still arguing about the role of Peter I in the history of Russia. His reforms were spontaneous in nature, marked during the long Northern War, which revealed Russia's backwardness in many areas of life. The economic and technical lag behind the developed countries of Europe was overcome, access to the Baltic was opened, which made trade with Europe more accessible and profitable.

The role of Peter I in the history of Russia is perceived by many historians ambiguously. The strengthening of Russia as a state, the strengthening of absolutism in the form of autocracy, and the economic breakthrough put Russia on a par with the countries of Europe. But how was it done! According to the historian Klyuchevsky, the absolute monarchy, which wanted to drag its subjects into modernity from the Middle Ages, contained a fundamental contradiction. It was expressed in a series of palace coups later.

The autocracy cruelly exploited the peasants, turning them practically into slaves. Over 40 thousand peasants, cut off from their homes and families, worked on the construction of St. Petersburg. The families of those who escaped from this hard labor were taken into custody until they were found. Peasants built factories, bridges, manufactories, roads. Their conditions were appalling. Recruitment was carried out from the peasants, their duties periodically increased. The entire burden of reforms fell on the shoulders of the people.

When Andropov became the head of the KGB, the Committee was not yet the all-powerful organization that it later became. The KGB gained strength against the backdrop of a confrontation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Andropov managed to create a well-functioning network of KGB regional departments, whose staff supervised all organizations and enterprises. Although the KGB did not formally interfere in personnel policy, not a single important appointment could take place without the intervention of the Committee. Although Andropov stopped bribery and corruption in his department in the bud, the KGB officers, thanks to the comprehensiveness of their influence, enjoyed solid privileges. Under Andropov, the salaries and bonuses of the Committee's employees increased.

Scout Mikhail Svetlov wrote: “Andropov introduced the Chekists into all parts of the state machine. Deputy leaders from the "authorities" sat on radio and television, in the Ministry of Culture. In order to prove the importance of his structure, Andropov waged an active fight against "dissidence", and then against "agents of influence" (a term introduced by Andropov in 1972). Andropov succeeded in strengthening the KGB. Proof of this is the large number of former "committees" in government offices in big business.

Fight against corruption

The KGB carried out inspections in the capital's offices, but as long as "dear Leonid Ilyich" was in power, they did not give a move to high-profile cases.

When Andropov became Secretary General, the fight against corruption acquired allied proportions. Andropov launched a real attack on the "trade mafia". One of the first to be arrested was the director of the Eliseevsky store, Yuri Sokolov, who was caught red-handed while receiving another bribe. He was sentenced to capital punishment. Further more. In a short time, in Moscow alone, more than 15,000 trade workers were brought to justice. Among others, the director of the Novoarbatsky grocery store Filippov, the head of the Mosplodoovoshcheprom Uraltsev, and the director of the Kuibyshev district food industry Begalman were arrested.

Andropov also carried out purges among the party leaders. More than 30% of party leaders were replaced in Moscow, 34% in Ukraine, and 32% in Kazakhstan.

Started a change of elites

Andropov probably inherited this principle from his teacher Otto Kuusinen, who was a member of the Masonic lodge.

Opened the Iron Curtain

Andropov treated the abstract artists well and even bought their paintings.

Prevented the appearance of missiles in Europe

Andropovka

Not every head of state was honored with the “honor” to remain in history thanks to the popular nickname of one of the most “folk” products. Andropov succeeded.

The vodka, which went on sale on September 1, 1983, was first called "schoolgirl" or "first-grader".

An economy-class half-litre in the last years of Brezhnev's rule cost 5.30 and invariably rose in price, new vodka cost 4.70 rubles. Soviet citizens appreciated it and called it "Andropovka". The name of the drink itself at one time was even deciphered as "Here he is, Kind Andropov." Andropovka, which became legendary, did not last long and after two or three years during the Gorbachev era, it quietly faded away, although it remained the Soviet vodka hit of the 1983-1984 season.