In the 20th century, especially in its first half, there were very few democratic states, and most countries of the world were dominated by authoritarian regimes, and in some of them totalitarian regimes emerged.

Authoritarian regimes (from the Latin “autoritas” - power) have existed since ancient times - all types of monarchy, except parliamentary, military dictatorships, etc. They are characterized by the concentration of power in the hands of one person or one government body, the reduction of the role of representative bodies of government and the opposition, and the subordination of society to the state. Signs of authoritarianism:

Centralization of power.

Dictatorial methods of leadership.

Unconditional obedience.

After the First World War, an extreme form of authoritarianism appeared - totalitarianism (from the Latin “totalitas” - completeness), a regime exercising complete control over all spheres of society. This is the main sign of totalitarianism. Its other signs:

1. Mass social support, the source of which is the mobilization of society to achieve a single national goal.

2. Destruction of traditional social institutions.

3. Use of powerful modern means of influencing the masses.

4. Leaderism.

5. One-party system.

6. Mass repressions.

7. Transformation of the will of the leader into law.

Totalitarianism exists in two forms - communist and fascist (from the Italian “fasci” - bundle). Fascism has all the signs of totalitarianism, plus two more:

Extreme nationalism.

The creation of armed party detachments (squadras in Italy, assault troops in Germany, etc.), which in the initial period of the fascist movement are the main weapon in the struggle for power, and after its capture they become part of the state apparatus.

12.2. Authoritarian and totalitarian states of the first half of the 20th century.

The first fascist organizations were created in 1915 in Italy by the former socialist B. Mussolini. In 1919, they united into a fascist party, which in October 1922, having organized the “March on Rome,” came to power (Mussolini was appointed head of the Italian government). In 1922-1928, the Italian fascist regime was authoritarian, since there was still no total state control over society:

Until 1926, in Italy, in addition to the fascist one, there were other parties operating (for example, the Communist Party was banned only in November 1926).

The Italian government until 1924 was a coalition government.

Social institutions not controlled by the fascist state (opposition press, democratic trade unions, etc.) were preserved.

At the same time, already in these years democracy was being curtailed in Italy:

1. The parliamentary monarchy was actually liquidated (the constitution of 1848 was not in force, and all candidates for parliament began to be nominated by fascist organizations in 1928).

2. Elected authorities in the regions were replaced by appointed prefects.

3. The formation of a powerful repressive apparatus began, which included the fascist police, the “Organization of Protection against Anti-Fascist Crimes” and state law enforcement agencies (Carabinieri Corps, etc.).

Italian leaderism was fully formed. Mussolini occupied a number of key government and party posts - “the Duce (leader) of the fascist party and the Italian nation”, head of government, the Fascist Grand Council (the governing body of the fascist party) and the fascist militia, minister of war, minister of foreign and internal affairs, etc.

The control of the fascist party over the state and society became total: in 1933, a new calendar was introduced (“fascist era”), and petty regulation of everyday life began (fascist weddings, subbotniks, a ban on women wearing trousers, etc.).

In the 30s a “corporate state” was created. Its formal goal is the “reconciliation” of labor and capital, the actual goal is the complete subordination of the workers to the bourgeoisie. Features of the “corporate state”: the creation of corporations (they included representatives of the fascist party, fascist trade unions and business owners), strict regulation of the social sphere combined with bribery of workers and the replacement of parliament by the “Chamber of Fascist Organizations and Corporations”, all of whose deputies were appointed by Mussolini.

Repressions against anti-fascists intensified (participation in the anti-fascist movement was subject to the death penalty or lifelong hard labor), but in fascist Italy there were no mass repressions (26 people were executed here in 1926-1943, in the USSR only in 1937-1938 - 3 million people).

The militarization of Italy was completed (in 1934 the law “On the militarization of the Italian people” was adopted, according to which Italian citizens were considered conscripted for military service from 18 to 55 years old; the aggressiveness of the fascist state increased: in 1935 Italian troops captured Ethiopia, in 1936 . - Albania, in 1940 Italy entered the Second World War).

But Italy's entry into the war led to a series of defeats for Italian troops and the collapse of the fascist regime. After the landing of Anglo-American troops in Southern Italy (July 1943), a military coup took place in Rome: Mussolini was removed from all posts and arrested, and all fascist organizations were dissolved. After Mussolini was liberated by German special forces, he created a new fascist state, the “Republic of Salo” in Northern Italy occupied by German troops (his “capital” was in the city of Salo), but the real power in it belonged to the German command. In April 1945, as a result of the offensive of Anglo-American troops and a popular uprising in Northern Italy, this “republic” fell. Mussolini was captured by partisans and shot.

In Germany, the fascist German Workers' Party (DAP) was created in 1919. After becoming its leader in 1921. became A. Hitler, it was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). Having received a majority in the parliamentary elections of 1932, she came to power peacefully (in January 1933, the NSDAP government was formed, led by Hitler, which included 4 Nazis and 11 ministers from other parties). But the transition to totalitarianism took place much faster in Germany than in Italy (not in six years, but in six months). By July 1933 All parties except the NSDAP were banned, all rights of German citizens were abolished, and the creation of a powerful repressive apparatus began (emergency courts were created to fight anti-fascists and the Gestapo, the police had the right to ban anti-fascist rallies and demonstrations). Thus, by mid-1933. A totalitarian fascist state was created in Germany, but its development continued after that:

German leaderism (“Führer-principle”) reached its peak. After the death of President P. Hindenburg (August 1934), the post of head of state was abolished, and his powers were transferred to the chancellor (head of government). Legally, this was formalized by the introduction of the post of “Führer of the German people” (head of state and government and leader of the only party), which was occupied by Hitler. Later, this post became lifelong and hereditary (On April 29, 1945, Hitler appointed Admiral Dönitz as president, and Propaganda Minister Goebbels as chancellor, but after the latter’s suicide, Dönitz also took over his post). The “Fuhrer-principle” also operated in other parts of the state apparatus: Gauleiters (leaders of regional party organizations) became stadtholders (regional governors), owners of factories became Fuhrers of enterprises, NSDAP activists became blockleiters (house managers).

A one-party system was finally formed. The NSDAP merged with the state (all key posts in the state apparatus were occupied by the leaders of the NSDAP, its armed forces became part of the state security departments). All public organizations in Germany were subordinate to it - the German Labor Front (fascist trade unions), the Hitler Youth (NSDAP youth organization), the student union, etc. The entire spiritual life of society was placed under party control (it was led by the Ministry of Public Education and Propaganda), and began creation of an “ideologically homogeneous society.” At the same time, the ideology of the party itself has changed greatly. In the new edition of the party program, “socialist” slogans disappeared (the destruction of landownership, trusts and department stores; redistribution of enterprise profits in favor of workers, etc.), and the old party cadres who tried to preserve them were destroyed in the “night of the long knives” (30 June 1934). At the same time, the NSDAP did not become a “bourgeois” party, because real power in Hitler's Germany belonged not to the bourgeoisie, but to the Nazi party elite (a social stratum similar to the Soviet nomenklatura)

The degeneration of the NSDAP led to radical changes in Hitler's repressive apparatus. In the first months of Hitler's dictatorship, its main support was the SA (assault troops), which their command tried to turn into a “people's army.” This caused discontent among the German generals, who helped Hitler defeat the SA and destroy their leadership. After this, the number of attack aircraft was reduced from 4 million to 1 million, and they became an army reserve. As a result, the main support of the NSDAP became the SS (security detachments), which were divided into 12 departments: Gestapo (secret political police), SD (security service), concentration camp guards, SS troops (1 million soldiers and officers), etc. Another support of the Hitler regime was the Wehrmacht (regular army), whose strength in 1935-1941 was. grew from 800 thousand people to 8.5 million. Together with SS and SD units, army units actively participated in mass repressions in the occupied territory (the legal basis for their interaction was Hitler’s decree “On the Use of Weapons by the Army,” signed by the Fuhrer in 1936). With the help of this repressive apparatus, the Nazis already in 1933-1939. killed 14 thousand people and created a system of concentration camps, through which in 1936-1945. 18 million people passed through, 11 million of them died. The victims of the Holocaust (mass extermination of Jews) were 6 million people (the liquidation of 11 million was planned). During the Second World War, 275 thousand Germans who were “useless for military purposes” (the elderly, disabled, etc.) were also destroyed.

Germany became a unitary state. In April 1933 Land governments were liquidated in January-February 1934. - Landtags and Reichsrat (the upper house of the German parliament, whose members were appointed by the state governments), and all power in the states passed to the stadtholders. In 1935 city ​​self-government was liquidated (burgomasters began to be appointed by the Minister of Internal Affairs).

in May 1945 The Hitler regime was destroyed by Soviet and Anglo-American troops that occupied Germany.

With the help of Hitler and Mussolini, the fascist regime of F. Franco was established in Spain in March 1939, but it was very different from the fascist regimes in Italy and Germany:

1. The fascist party in Spain (Spanish phalanx) was very weak (in 1935 there were only 5 thousand people in it, in the NSDAP - 4 million), so Franco relied not only on the Falangists, but also on other far-right forces - the military, monarchists and reactionary clergy. Maneuvering between them, he managed to establish his regime of personal power, occupying the posts of caudillo (head of state and commander-in-chief), hefe (leader of the Spanish phalanx) and others.

2. During different periods of Franco’s dictatorship, the role of the various far-right forces on which he relied changed, therefore the history of the Franco dictatorship is divided into three periods:

1) Military-totalitarian dictatorship - an alliance of the military and the phalangists (1939 - 1945).

2) Fascist-Catholic state - the power of the bloc of Catholic clergy and phalangists with some weakening of the latter’s positions (1945 - 1955).

3) The dominance of the bureaucracy (1955 - 1975).

A feature of the first stage of the Francoist dictatorship, when the Franco regime was closely associated with the regimes of Mussolini and Hitler, was a greater number of fascist institutions:

Repression reached its highest scale in all the years of Francoism (after the civil war of 1936–1939, 100–200 thousand people were shot, and about 2 million people went through prison and camps).

A fascist type state was created in Spain. “Vertical” trade unions were created, and the economy was taken under state control (in the fall of 1939, a ten-year plan for the economic development of Spain was adopted). A one-party system was being formed. The Spanish Phalanx program became an official government program in April 1939, and the Spanish state was declared "a totalitarian instrument of national unity." The provincial governors were simultaneously the provincial leaders of the phalanx. Children's, youth, women's, student and peasant organizations were subordinate to her. The fascist police acted. According to the law of 1943, Spanish universities were required to educate students in the spirit of fascist ideology. The Cortes, created in 1942, differed little from the Italian one. “Chambers of fascist organizations and corporations”: their deputies were not elected, but appointed by the head of state or received their mandates ex officio (ministers and senior officials).

Strict control over morality was introduced (men and women were prohibited from swimming together on beaches and in swimming pools, the American film “Gone with the Wind” was declared “pornographic” and the American film “Gone with the Wind” was banned), and so on.

One of them was formulated in Greece. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was a dualistic monarchy: a constitution and a bicameral system were in force (the People's Party, which expressed the interests of the landowners and big bourgeoisie, and the Liberal Party, which expressed the interests of the average national bourgeoisie, alternated in power), and the power of the king was limited by parliament.

But Greek democracy was fragile (the ruling class was a semi-feudal nobility, liberal opposition to royal power was weak, chauvinistic sentiments were widespread), which soon led to its replacement by authoritarianism.

The signal for the onset of reaction was the temporary victory of the Republicans (after the victory in the parliamentary elections of 1923, the Liberal Party in Greece was proclaimed a republic in 1924), to which the Greek reactionaries responded by establishing the dictatorship of General Pangalos (1925-1926) and the creation of the ultra-right party of General I . Metaxas (1933). In November 1935, the bloc of Metaxis and monarchists destroyed the republic, and in May 1936, Metaxis became the head of the Greek government and organized a military-fascist coup. Parliament was dissolved, all parties were banned, repressions began (in 1936-1940, 97 thousand opponents of the dictatorship were arrested). After the occupation of Greece by German and Italian troops (April-June 1941), Metaxas lost power, but his supporters actively collaborated with the occupiers until 1944.

Romania, according to the constitution of 1923, was a dualistic monarchy: the king had very broad rights (to form a government, dissolve parliament, and so on), and the rights and freedoms of citizens were not guaranteed, which created the conditions for the establishment of a military-fascist regime in this country. In 1924, the Romanian Communist Party was driven underground, and arrests of labor movement activists began. In 1929, as a result of the merger of the far-right organizations “Legion of the Archangel Michael” and “Brothers of the Cross”, the fascist party “Iron Guard” was created, under whose influence The head of the General Staff of the Romanian Army, Ion Antonescu, and other Romanian generals were hit. But King Carol II (1930-1940), relying on the Anglo-French bloc and generals not associated with the fascists, drove the Iron Guard underground in 1938 and dealt a blow to its supporters in the army (Antonescu, who took over in 1937 . post of Minister of War, was appointed commander of the military district) and established his dictatorship in Romania (the parliament was dispersed, all parties were dissolved, and executive power passed to the “personal government” of the king). This caused discontent in Germany, which organized a coup d'etat in Romania in September 1940. Under pressure from the German embassy and the Romanian army, Carol II abdicated the throne and emigrated, and his son Mihai I (1940-1947) became the new king, but real power was concentrated in the hands of Antonescu, who became the head of government with dictatorial powers. He declared Romania a “national legionnaire” state, himself a conductor (leader) and included the leaders of the Iron Guard in his government (they took the posts of deputy prime minister, prefect of police, ministers of foreign and internal affairs). Thus, a military-fascist dictatorship was established in Romania, but it was somewhat different from the fascist regimes in Italy and Germany:

1. Romania did not have a one-party system.

Attempts by the “Iron Guard” to create a state apparatus of the German model (replacing the head of government with his deputy, arbitrariness of the fascist police, and the like) ended in a putsch by the legionnaires (January 1941), suppressed by the Romanian army with the help of German troops entered into the country in September 1940. After this, the Iron Guard was liquidated, and there was not a single legal party left in Romania (the National Liberal Party and the National Tsaranist Party operated semi-legally).

2. Antonescu’s main support was not the fascist party, but the army. The generals constituted a significant part of his government already in September 1940, and after the January events of 1941. the Romanian cabinet became purely military (nine out of twelve ministers were generals). Antonescu himself proclaimed himself a marshal.

3. The Antonescu regime was stronger than other fascist regimes in Europe, subordinate to Nazi Germany. Romania turned into its raw materials appendage and was actually occupied by German troops. Antonescu fulfilled and exceeded all of Hitler's demands for Romania's participation in the war: in 1942, he sent 26 Romanian divisions to the Soviet-German front (Hitler demanded 14 divisions). As a result, Antonescu’s regime copied the worst features of the Hitler regime: 35 concentration camps were created in Romania, mass repressions took place (in 1941–1944, 270 Romanian anti-fascists were executed and 300 thousand Soviet citizens were killed in Ukraine and Moldova), German-style racial laws were introduced and The “Romanianization” of the country’s economy began (the confiscation of Jewish property and its transfer to the Romanian bourgeoisie).

But Romania's participation in World War II ended in national disaster. The Romanian army lost half of its personnel on the Soviet-German front, the country's economy was destroyed, and Soviet troops entered its territory (March 1944).

Under these conditions, the Romanian elite agreed to a conspiracy with the communist underground and a coup d'état. On August 23, 1944, the royal guards arrested Mihai I. Antonescu and other Romanian generals, members of his government, in the courtyard, handing them over to the communists. Later they were all shot.

In Bulgaria, an authoritarian regime of the fascist type was established as a result of a military coup in 1934. Under pressure from the rebels, Tsar Boris III (1918-1943) abolished the 1879 constitution, dissolved the parliament and all parties, forming a reactionary government. But the organizers of the coup failed to establish an Italian-style fascist dictatorship in Bulgaria, since most of the Bulgarian officers were staunch monarchists. As a result, a monarcho-fascist dictatorship was established in Bulgaria: the tsar received unlimited power, refused to create a fascist party (de jure there was a “non-party regime” in Bulgaria), but pursued a policy that differed little from the policy of other fascist regimes in Europe (mass repression , during which 30 thousand anti-fascists were killed; entry into the war on the side of Germany, etc.). In August 1943, under unclear circumstances, Borie III died, and his younger brother became king, and on September 9, 1944, as a result of an uprising in Sofia, the tsarist regime was overthrown.

Another ally of Hitler's Germany was the regime of Miklos Horthy in Hungary. It was established as a result of the defeat of the Hungarian Soviet Republic (March-August 1919), when the only serious military and political force in the country was the “National Army” of Admiral Horthy. In November 1919, she entered Budapest, and in January 1920, parliamentary elections were held under her control, in which the Horthyists won a complete victory. In February 1920, the National Assembly elected by them announced the restoration of the monarchy, abolished in October 1918, and elected Horthy as regent of Hungary. De jure he was the head of state until the election of the king, de facto he became a dictator, since the king for for a quarter of a century he was never elected (that’s why Hungary was called “a kingdom without a king”). The regent was the head of state, commander-in-chief, formed the government, and had the right to dissolve parliament. The highest legislative body in Hungary in 1926 became a bicameral parliament (deputies of its upper house, the Chamber of Magnates, were appointed by the regent; deputies of the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, were elected), but its rights were limited. At the same time, Hungary did not have a one-party system of the fascist type. In addition to Horthy’s National Unity party, which was in power until March 1944, there were other parties operating in the country - the far-right National Will Party led by the leader of the Hungarian fascists Szalasi, the centrist Party of Small Farmers and the left Social Democratic Party.

In 1937, a turn towards reaction began in Hungary. The Szálasi party, banned in 1936, resumed its activities under a new name, “Crossed Arrows” (in Hungarian - “Nilash Kerestes”, so the Hungarian fascists began to be called Nilászists), the powers of the regent were expanded (he arrogated to himself the right to declare war and make peace without consent parliament and government), and racial laws were passed that deprived Jews of social and political rights.

After Hungary entered World War II (1941), authoritarian institutions in its political system intensified. A right wing emerged in the Horthy party, which moved towards rapprochement with the Nilashists and Germany. Mass repressions began (by 1945, 220 thousand Hungarian anti-fascists were killed).

After the occupation of Hungary by German troops (March 1944), the transformation of the Hungarian authoritarian regime into a totalitarian regime began: all parties except the Arrow Cross were banned, and mass arrests began, and after Horthy’s attempt to conclude a separate peace with the USSR (October 1944) , he was arrested by the Germans, and Szalashi became head of the government. Thus, a totalitarian regime was established in Hungary, which remained until the complete liberation of this country by Soviet troops (April 1945).

Several authoritarian regimes succeeded in the first half of the 20th century in China. After the death of Yuan Shikai (1916), the Republic of China collapsed. In the north, power passed into the hands of the militarists (generals who controlled individual provinces), and South China was under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT), which a few months before the dictator's death rebelled against him. In 1917, the Kuomintang “Military Government for the Defense of the Republic” was created in Canton, headed by Sun Yat-sen, whose troops began an offensive to the north. In 1924, the KMT entered into an alliance with the Communist Party of China (CPC), created in 1921, but after the death of Sun Yat-sen (1925), the new leader of the KMT, General Chiang Kai-shek, disarmed the military units commanded by the communists, arrested the leftist Kuomintang members (supporters of the alliance with CPC) and established his dictatorship (1926-1949). As a result, the Second Civil War of 1927-1937 began in China. (The first civil war of 1915-1927 was between the KMT and the CPC on the one hand, Yuan Shikai and the northern militarists on the other), in which KMT troops tried to destroy the CPC and its troops. Its main political result was the formation of a one-party system of the KMT and a regime of personal power for its leader. In 1931, the highest authority of the Republic of China was the KMT Congress; in between congresses, the KMT Central Executive Committee, to which the government, the Legislative Chamber (Chinese Parliament) and other government bodies were subordinate. The Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the KMT, Chiang Kai-shek, became commander-in-chief (1926), head of government (1928) and president (1947), receiving unlimited power. Its main support was a powerful repressive apparatus, which included the “AB Corps” (“Anti-Bolshevik”), the police and the army, which were widely used to suppress the labor and communist movements.

Another authoritarian regime was formed in the “Soviet regions” of China, controlled by the CCP. The first “Soviet region” was created in 1928, and by the early 30s. There were several dozen of them over the years. In 1931, at the All-China Congress of Councils in Jiangxi province, the Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR) was proclaimed, and its highest authorities were created - the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars. Councils became local authorities in the “Soviet regions”, and revolutionary committees in the front line. During the “Long March” of 1934-1936. The Chinese Red Army was created. From a military point of view, the Long March was a disaster (the Red Army abandoned the southern and central regions of China and lost 60% of its personnel); from a political point of view, it marked the beginning of the formation of the dictatorship of the CPC leader Mao Zedong, who relied on army commanders. With their help, Mao became chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the KSR in 1931, and chairman of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee in 1940. Another feature of the Mao regime is mass repression (in 1942-1943, more than 60 members of the CPC Central Committee and thousands of ordinary party members were shot).

In 1932-1945. in Northeast China there was another authoritarian regime - the “independent” state of Manchukuo Diguo, whose emperor was the last representative of the Qing dynasty, Prince Pu Yi, but real power in Manchuria belonged to the command of the Japanese troops that occupied it in 1931.

1.The role of a multi-party system and parliamentarism declined. The Japanese parliament worked no more than three months a year, and its power was still limited by the Constitution of 1889. Governments were formed on the basis of a parliamentary minority, and the main role in them was played not by party leaders, but by non-party power ministers, since the disagreement of the military and naval ministers with the government's course led to his automatic resignation.

2. Repressions against the labor and communist movement intensified (in 1925, severe punishment was introduced for attempts to change the social and political system of Japan; in 1928, all left-wing organizations were banned).

3. Ultra-right organizations associated with the military (“Young Officers” and others) emerged and strengthened.

4. In the early 30s, state control was established over the Japanese economy (in 1931, forced cartelization of Japanese enterprises began; in 1933, a semi-state trust was created, which provided 100% of Japanese cast iron and 50% of steel).

In the second half of the 30s - early 40s. Japanese authoritarianism finally degenerated into totalitarianism:

1. The Japanese reaction went on the offensive.

In 1936, a putsch by the “Young Officers” was organized, in 1937 a war with China began and reactionary laws were adopted to abolish universal suffrage, introduced in 1925, and limit the rights of parliament. In 1940, the ultra-right government of Prince Konoe, the main ideologist of the military-totalitarian regime (“monarcho-fascism”), was formed.

2. A “new political structure” was created (analogous to the Italian “corporate state”). Its core was the Throne Support Association (ATA), headed by the Prime Minister. The middle link of the “new political structure” became local organizations of the “throne assistance movement”, uniting the provincial elite, and the grassroots cells were neighboring communities (10-12 families), whose members were bound by mutual responsibility. All Japanese media were placed under the control of the APT, and the propaganda of Tennoism intensified, in which some fascist features appeared (racism, the creation of a “new order”, etc.). In 1941, all Japanese parties were dissolved, and members of parliament began to be elected from lists drawn up by the government.

3. The “new political structure” was complemented by a “new economic structure” (analogous to the German “Führer principle”). In 1938, total state control over the Japanese economy was established. All enterprises in each of its industries were forcibly united into “control associations” (analogous to Italian corporations), headed by presidents from the big bourgeoisie, endowed with broad administrative rights.

Thus, a socio-political system was created in Japan, very similar to the fascist states in Italy and Germany, but Japanese totalitarianism had its own characteristics:

1. In Japan there was no fascist party and a European-style one-party system.

2. The monarchy, unlike Italy, under Emperor Hirohito (1926-1989) not only did not become decorative, but also intensified.

3. Independent members of parliament, not associated with the totalitarian regime, remained (in 1942 they collected 30% of the votes in the parliamentary elections, in 1945 they occupied 25 seats out of 466 in the Japanese Parliament).

As a result of the Second World War, a significant part of the totalitarian regimes of the fascist type (German, Italian, Japanese, military-fascist regimes of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe) were destroyed, but fascist regimes remained in Spain, Portugal and some Latin American countries.

The most famous of these fascist regimes is the regime
F. Franco in Spain, who in the thirty post-war years turned from totalitarian to authoritarian. After 1945, the role of the phalanx quickly declined. The fascist salute was cancelled, the Phalangist militia was disbanded, and the Ministry of Education was removed from the control of the Phalanx veterans. Many phalangists lost their places in the state apparatus and by the mid-50s. occupied no more than 5% of government posts. Preparations began for the restoration of the monarchy. In 1948, Juan Carlos (grandson of Alfonso XIII) became Franco's heir. Legally, this was formalized by the “Basic Law on the Succession of the Head of State” of 1947, which gave the caudillo the right to appoint whoever in the future would “replace him as king or regent.” In July 1945, a new constitution was adopted, the “Charter of the Spaniards,” which proclaimed a number of political and social rights of Spanish citizens (freedom of speech, assembly, unions, the right of the poor and large families to state assistance, etc.).

In 1955-1966. The “blue” period of the Franco dictatorship ended completely, although back in 1958 the ideas of the phalanx were proclaimed “the fundamental principles of the Spanish state.” The Phalanx lost its role as the ruling party. In 1957, it dissolved into the broader organization “National Movement,” which de facto disintegrated in 1967 (de jure it existed until the second half of the 70s). In the early 60s. Falangist ministers were replaced by ministers from the Catholic sect “Opus Dei” (“God’s work”) and their proteges, technocrats. At this time, the Franco government proclaimed a policy of “liberalization.” In 1963, the emergency military tribunal was dissolved; in the mid-60s. censorship has been weakened. In 1966, a new Spanish Constitution, the Organic Law of the State, was adopted, which separated the positions of head of state and head of government (both held by Franco since 1938). 20% of the deputies of the Cortes began to be elected (by the heads of the family), freedom of religion was proclaimed and the phalanx finally disappeared.
In 1969, Juan Carlos was declared Franco's official heir. However, all these reforms did not lead to the establishment of democracy in Spain and overcoming the crisis of the Franco regime.

The authoritarian nature of the Spanish political regime remained. There was a powerful repressive apparatus, the maintenance of which took 10% of the state budget (5-6% for education). Franco retained enormous power. He was the head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, leader of the National Movement, appointed deputies of the Cortes and municipalities, officers and officials, and adopted decrees and laws. Key positions in the state were occupied by the leaders of the “bunker” (Spanish reaction). An example is the head of the Spanish government in 1966-1973. Admiral Carrero Blanco, who was called a "cannibal" and "more Francoist than Franco himself." Repression continued in Spain. In 1967, a more brutal criminal code was adopted. There were arrests and executions of anti-fascists. The Francoist courts gave survivors an average of 20-30 years in prison. In 1968, 1969, 1973 and 1975. a state of emergency was introduced in Spain (in the first half of the 60s it was introduced only twice).

The crisis of the Franco bloc deepened. Two groups have formed in the Spanish elite - the “bunker” and the “evolutionists”, or “civilized right” (supporters of reforms). The church, which until the 60s. was one of the strongest pillars of Francoism, split, and its “renovationist” wing launched open criticism of the regime, supporting the demands of the anti-fascist opposition for the restoration of democratic freedoms. A crisis has emerged in the country's top leadership. The new Prime Minister Arias Navarro, who replaced the leader of the “bunker” C. Blanco (“the cannibal” was killed by terrorists) in December 1973, proclaimed a policy of reform and stated that “you can no longer count on Franco.” The social support of the new political course, the evolution of the authoritarian Franco regime into a democratic state, was the new Spanish bourgeoisie, formed during the years of the “Spanish economic miracle” of the 60-70s.

Another result of World War II was a sharp increase in the number of authoritarian and totalitarian communist-type states. Before the war there were only 2 of them (in the USSR and Mongolia),
by the 80s became about 30. At the same time, the development of communist regimes in different regions of the world had its own characteristics.

In Eastern Europe, the process of formation of these regimes was complex and contradictory. As a result of the defeat of Hitler's Germany and its Eastern European allies (the regimes of Salasi in Hungary, Antonescu in Romania, etc.), the anti-fascist revolutions of 1944-1947 began here, which led to the establishment of the so-called “people's democracy” in this region. Modern Russian scholars consider the states of “people's democracy” in Eastern Europe to be a democratic alternative to the Stalinist totalitarian regime.

Their arguments:

1. In Eastern European countries in 1944 - 1948. a variety of forms of ownership and a diverse economy were preserved. In Czechoslovakia, the total nationalization of private enterprises began only in 1948. In Romania in 1948, the public sector provided only 20-30% of industrial output.

2. Political pluralism and multi-party system remained in this region, which was reflected in the results of parliamentary elections and the formation of Eastern European governments. In the parliamentary elections in Hungary in November 1945, the Party of Small Farmers received 57% of the votes, the Communist Party - 17%. In the first post-war Czechoslovak government, the communists had 9 seats, and other parties had 13. In Poland and Hungary, four parties were represented in the first post-war governments, in Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Romania - five, in the Czech Republic - six. The heads of state and government in these countries were representatives of the old, pre-revolutionary elite (King Mihai, generals Sanatescu and Radescu - in Romania; President Benes -
in Czechoslovakia).

3. There was a democratization of the state system of Eastern European countries. The state apparatus was cleared of fascists and collaborators. Pre-war electoral laws, as a result of the adoption of amendments to them, became more democratic (in Bulgaria in 1945, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 19 years). Democratic constitutions abolished by dictators and German occupiers were restored (the Constitution of 1920 in Czechoslovakia, the Constitution of 1921 in Poland).

4. The national characteristics of Eastern European countries were taken into account, and communist parties did not copy the Soviet model.

From the point of view of modern Western scholars, the Eastern European states of “people's democracy” were authoritarian. Their arguments:

1. Countries of Eastern Europe in 1944-1945. were occupied by the Red Army and were under the strict control of the Soviet military administration and the NKVD, which began mass repressions there. From Hungary, whose entire population was
9 million people, 600 thousand people were sent to Soviet transit and labor camps, 200 thousand of them died in custody.
In East Germany, the Soviet occupation authorities executed 756 people. and threw 122 thousand people into camps and prisons, of which
46 thousand died in custody. On the territory of Poland in 1944-1947. Soviet troops operated, subordinate to the chief adviser of the NKVD at the Polish Ministry of National Security, General I. Serov (future - the first chairman of the KGB), including the 64th special forces division of the NKVD "Free Riflemen", which carried out punitive operations against the anti-communist underground and the civilian population . About the activities of NKVD officers in Poland, the commander of the Polish Army, General Z. Berling, whose army, together with the Red Army, reached Berlin, wrote: “Beria’s minions from the NKVD are bringing devastation to the entire country. Criminal elements from the apparatus of Radkiewicz (Minister of National Security of Poland) assist them. During legal and illegal searches, things go missing from people, completely innocent people are deported or thrown into prison, shot like dogs, ... no one knows what he is accused of, who is arresting him and for what, and what they intend to do with him.”

2. Immediately after the overthrow of the fascist regimes and the expulsion of the German occupiers, mass extrajudicial reprisals against the vanquished and groups of the population began in many countries of Eastern Europe. In Yugoslavia they were shot without trial or investigation
30 thousand people handed over to the communists by the British command (they surrendered to British troops in Italy in the last days of the war): officers, soldiers, policemen and officials of the Croatian state, soldiers of the Slovenian White Guard, Montenegrin Chetniks and members of their families. In Bulgaria at the end of 1944, 30-40 thousand people became victims of extrajudicial killings. (local politicians, teachers, priests, businessmen, etc.). In the Czech Republic, Czech nationalists killed several thousand German civilians in the summer of 1945. Jewish pogroms were organized in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

3. A powerful repressive apparatus was created, led by the communists, with the help of which they already in 1944-1945. mass repressions began. Communists were ministers of internal affairs in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, ministers of justice in Bulgaria and Romania, and headed state security agencies in Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. In Poland, the Ministry of National Security had more than 20 thousand employees, and the internal security corps subordinate to it had 30 thousand soldiers and officers. Army units were also used to fight the partisan movement. As a result, in Poland in 1945-1948. About 9 thousand opponents of the communist regime were killed. In Bulgaria, the people's militia, state security agencies and “people's tribunals” (extraordinary courts), created in October 1944, became instruments of mass terror. By March
In 1945, according to their sentences, 2,138 people were shot. - generals, police officers, judges, industrialists, etc., including members of the Regency Council and the younger brother of Boris III, the Bulgarian Tsar in 1943-1944. Moreover, the victims of communist terror were not only fascists and collaborators, but also members of the Resistance movement. During the occupation of Poland by Soviet troops, they, together with units of SMERSH and the NKVD and with the support of the Polish Internal Security Corps, interned more than 30 thousand soldiers and officers of the Home Army (the Polish underground army subordinate to the London emigrant government of Poland). In March 1945, the entire AK command was arrested, including its commander, General Leopold Okulitsky, who died in a Soviet prison in December 1946. In Yugoslavia, the leader of the Serbian Chetniks (non-communist resistance fighters who began an armed struggle against the German occupiers two months earlier than the Yugoslav communists) and officers of his headquarters were executed. There were also reprisals against the allies of the Communist Parties in the Popular Fronts. Thus, in Bulgaria, before the elections in October 1946, 24 activists of the Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union (the party of the Bulgarian peasantry) were killed and its leader Nikola Petkov, who was executed by sentence of a communist court in September 1947, was arrested. At the same time, 15 members of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Socialist Party were arrested. Democratic Party. The main weapon of all these repressions was the state security apparatus, which already inspired fear even in the leaders of Eastern European communist parties. One of them, a prominent figure in the Polish communist movement W. Gomulka, wrote in May 1945: “The security agencies are turning into a state within a state. They pursue their own policies, which no one can interfere with. In our prisons, prisoners are treated like animals.”

Thus, in the mid-40s. In Eastern European countries, authoritarian political regimes formed that combined anti-fascist features with numerous elements of communist totalitarianism. This created the conditions for the complete elimination of democracy and the transition from authoritarianism to totalitarianism in 1947-1948. Reasons for this transition:

1. Strong pressure from the Stalinist regime.

2. Features of the historical development of the countries of Eastern Europe (in the first half of the 20th century, in all Eastern European countries, except Czechoslovakia, there was no democracy, and authoritarian regimes dominated).

3. The broad socio-political base of communist regimes is the lumpen sections of the population and the strong Stalinist-style communist parties that expressed their interests.

4. The general economic backwardness of most countries of Eastern Europe and economic ruin are the result of the Second World War.

5. The inability of the capitalist world in the late 40s. to contrast the socialist system with an attractive alternative (it appeared only in the 70-80s).

Installed in 1947-1948. In Eastern Europe, communist regimes went through two stages in their development:

1. Totalitarian regimes of the Stalinist type (1948-1956).

2. Softer totalitarian regimes, gradually turning into authoritarian ones (1956-1989).

A feature of the first stage was the apogee of communist terror, associated with the copying of the Soviet system in the last years of the Stalin era and the preparation of the “socialist camp” for the Third World War (Stalin planned to start it in 1953).
In Poland, the number of political parties almost doubled (in 1945 there were 20 thousand people in it, in 1952 - 34 thousand), and repressions sharply intensified. 5,200 thousand people were included in the lists of “suspicious elements”. (1/3 of adult Poles), about 140 thousand people were thrown into camps, the number of political prisoners in 1952 was about 50 thousand people. In Czechoslovakia, by 12.6 million inhabitants in 1948-1954. there were 200 thousand political prisoners. In Hungary
in 1948-1953 about 800 thousand people (10% of the population) were convicted. Reprisals began against communist allies and grandiose purges within the communist parties themselves. In 1948, the leaders of the Social Democratic parties in Bulgaria and Romania were arrested and convicted (the goal was to force the Social Democrats to unite with the Communists). In 1947, the Party of Small Farmers in Hungary and the “historical” parties in Romania were defeated. Their leaders were arrested. The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the PMA Bela Kovacs, arrested in 1947, was in a Soviet prison until 1952. Leader of the National Tsaranist Party in Romania. Maniu - sentenced to life imprisonment in 1947, died in a camp in 1952 at the age of 75. In Czechoslovakia, the Slovak Democratic Party was banned in 1948, and the Czech National Socialist, Social Democratic and People's Parties were banned in 1950. In Yugoslavia, after Tito’s break with Stalin, more than 30 thousand communists who were oriented towards the USSR were repressed. In Bulgaria, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the BCP was arrested and executed, and four other leaders of the Communist Party were sentenced to life imprisonment. In the Czech Republic in 1952, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Rudolf Slansky, two of his deputies and eight other members of the top party leadership were executed, and three more, including the future leader of socialist Czechoslovakia Gustav Husak, were sentenced to life imprisonment.

After 1956, in all countries of Eastern Europe, except Romania and Albania, the repressive apparatus began to be reduced (in Poland, the number of political police was reduced to 9 thousand people, and advisers from the MGB returned to the USSR), mass repressions stopped, and social liberalization began -economic, political and spiritual life. However, isolated outbreaks of communist terror also occurred at this time. More than 100 thousand people suffered from communist terror in Hungary after the suppression of the national revolution in 1956. (229 people were executed, 35 thousand were thrown into prisons and camps, several thousand were deported to the USSR), 200 thousand Hungarians emigrated. In the Czech Republic, after the collapse of the “Prague Spring” of 1968 (the Czechoslovak “Thaw”), strict censorship was restored, about 70 democratic organizations were banned, and tens of thousands of people emigrated.

By the 80s. The features of Eastern European communist regimes finally emerged:

1. Copying the Soviet model, including in countries hostile to the USSR.

2. The same type of political system (dictatorship of the communist party, regime of personal power, lack of democratic freedoms, powerful repressive apparatus).

3. Some features compared to the USSR: “pocket” multi-party system (in the GDR, in addition to the ruling SED, there were the Democratic Peasant Party, the National Democratic Party, the Christian Democratic Union and the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany), the institution of the presidency, a higher standard of living and the wider spread of opposition sentiments among the clergy, intellectuals and youth.

At the same time, different Eastern European states had their own characteristics of the formation and development of communist regimes. The most brutal totalitarian regime was created in Albania. In April 1939 it was occupied by Italian troops, and in September 1943 by German troops. The resistance to the occupiers was led by the Communist Party of Albania (CPA), created in November 1941, whose leader was K. Dzodze. Enver Hoxha became his deputy and commander of the partisan army of the CPA (from July 1943 - the national liberation army), and M. Shehu, Hoxha's close assistant, became his chief of the communist headquarters. In November 1944, the PLA completely liberated Albania from the German occupiers and established Communist Party control over the entire territory of the country.

In December 1945, elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in Albania, which was won by the Democratic Front created by the communists. In January 1946, the Constituent Assembly proclaimed Albania a People's Republic (before the occupation, Albania was a monarchy), and in March it adopted its constitution. De jure a democratic republic of the “people’s democratic” type was established in Albania, but de facto a dictatorship of the leader of the CPA
E. Hoxha. From October 1944 he was the head of the Albanian government and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and from 1947 he was the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia. All the old party leadership, including K. Dzodze, were shot. The legal basis for communist repression was the criminal code of 1948, which provided for the death penalty for political crimes (in Albania at that time people were shot even for telling jokes about Hoxha and Stalin) or 30 years in prison.

The main feature of Hoxha's regime is the personality cult of Stalin taken to the extreme. In 1959, in Albania, in honor of the 80th anniversary of the “leader of the peoples,” the Order of Stalin was established, and the main political slogan after the start of the “thaw” in the USSR was the slogan: “We will destroy the enemies of socialism, we will defend the cause of Lenin-Stalin!” Hoxha invited Vasily Stalin to Albania (as a result he was arrested) and members of the anti-Khrushchev group Molotov-Malenkov. The result of this was a sharp deterioration in Soviet-Albanian relations. In 1960, Albania and the USSR broke off all relations, even diplomatic ones; in 1963, Khrushchev was preparing an invasion of Albania by Soviet troops (it failed due to Tito’s refusal to let them through the territory of Yugoslavia).

Another result of the construction of Stalinist-style socialism is the creation of the most brutal totalitarian regime in Europe. Hoxha tried to completely destroy religion in Albania. All Muslim and Catholic clergy were destroyed in the country (of the two Catholic archbishops, one died under house arrest, the other was sentenced to 30 years of forced labor and died from the consequences of torture; more than 100 Catholic priests were shot or died in custody), all mosques were closed and churches. In 1967, Albania was proclaimed "the first atheist state in the world." 19 camps and prisons were created in the country (for 3 million inhabitants), and petty regulation of the entire life of Albanians was introduced (it was forbidden to have cars and dachas, wear jeans, use “hostile” cosmetics, listen to jazz and rock, and have radios). At the same time, barracks socialism also affected the Albanian elite. In 1958, Hoxha ordered all executives and other members of the elite (scientists, artists, diplomats, etc.) to work for free for two months a year in factories or agricultural cooperatives (the dictator himself also worked). Since the mid-80s. In Albania, the salaries of workers in the party-state apparatus were reduced, and the savings were used to increase the salaries of workers and employees.

After the death of Hoxha (April 1985), the new Albanian leader Remiz Alia, who held the posts of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Albanian Labor Party (the CPA was renamed the ALP in 1948) and chairman of the People's Assembly of Albania, began liberalizing the political regime in the country. Diplomatic relations with the USSR and the USA were restored, the creation of private and joint ventures was allowed, a multi-party law was adopted and free parliamentary elections were held.

A communist regime close to the Albanian one was created in Romania. A feature of its formation was the longer coexistence of the remnants of pre-communist statehood and the harsh communist dictatorship than in other Eastern European countries. On the one hand, the communists failed to establish a one-party system in Romania for more than three years. Until December 1947, the country maintained a monarchy; until March 1945, the government of the old elite led by Antonescu's associates, Generals Sanatescu and Radescu. In 1945-1947 In Romania there were coalition governments, the head of which was Petru Groza, a large landowner and capitalist, in the 20-30s. - Member of the Romanian Parliament and minister in the government of Carol II, from the mid-40s. collaborated with the communists. However, in his government the latter were in the minority. On the other hand, already in these years the communists used all methods to establish their dictatorship: already in the first Romanian government formed after the overthrow of Antonescu, they received the posts of ministers of justice, internal affairs and communications. In February 1945, the old local authorities were liquidated, and a month later, activists of the pro-communist National Democratic Front became prefects in 52 out of 60 counties. A Soviet agent was placed at the head of the Romanian political police. After the victory of the one-party system (1948), the formation of a totalitarian regime began in Romania. In Romanian camps in the early 50s. there were 180 thousand prisoners, and a unique regime was established for their “re-education” with the help of other prisoners. The authors of this experiment were one of the leaders of the Romanian political police, communist Alexander Nikolski, and a prisoner with a fascist past (former legionnaire) Eugen Turcanu. The latter created the “Organization of Prisoners with Communist Beliefs” in prison, whose task was to “re-educate” prisoners through the study of communist literature combined with physical and moral torture (victims were brutally killed, their bodies were burned with cigarettes, they were dipped headlong into a vat full of urine and excrement etc.). Such torture lasted from one week to two months. However, the victims of the repressions of this time were not only “enemies of the dictatorship of the proletariat” (students, people from the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois strata of the population, priests, etc.), but also the communists themselves. In 1946, members of the Romanian political police killed the former General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP, Stefan Forscia (he held this post until 1944. ), and then his old mother, who was trying to find her missing son (her corpse with heavy stones tied to her neck was found in the river).

After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Romania (1958), the country began to change its foreign policy course - from complete subordination to the USSR to confrontation with it. As a result, a group of nationalists led by Nicolae Ceausescu, who in March 1965 was elected first secretary of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, took over the leadership of the Romanian Communist Party. The Ceausescu regime quickly turned into a brutal totalitarian dictatorship. Mass repressions began in Romania, which did not happen in other Eastern European countries. During the quarter century of dictatorship of the new Romanian leader, 60 thousand people died. In December 1967, a decision was made to combine party and government posts. Ceausescu, retaining the post of first secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP, became chairman of the State Council (the highest body of executive power), the first secretaries of the district committees of the party became the chairmen of the executive committees of the district people's councils (analogous to the Soviet district executive committees). All public organizations united into the Socialist Unity Front, of which Ceausescu became its chairman. There were constant purges of the party and state apparatus in the country (Romanian generals were shot for “connection with the Soviet military attaché,” etc.). A powerful system of police control was created. All members of the Politburo of the RCP Central Committee were under surveillance. Special centers for wiretapping telephone conversations and mail inspection were created. The number of police informants grew. The main support of the regime was the securitate (secret political police).

Ceausescu's power was unlimited. In 1974 he became president. His relatives (about forty people) occupied senior government and party positions. One Ceausescu brother was deputy minister of defense and head of the Supreme Political Council of the Army, the other was the head of the Romanian State Planning Committee. The dictator's wife, Elena Ceausescu, became first deputy prime minister, chairman of the national council for science and education, academician and director of the Central Institute of Chemical Research, although she did not know the simplest chemical formulas, since she completed only four years of high school (this did not stop her from being declared " world-famous scientists"). Brother Ceausescu was the first secretary of the Bucharest Party Committee. The Ceausescu family owned 40 residences,
21 palaces and 20 hunting lodges. She took $8 billion out of Romania (N. Ceausescu’s personal account in Swiss banks alone contained $427 million).

At the same time, ordinary citizens of Romania were deprived of the most necessary things. Gas and hot water were supplied to apartments for several hours a day. There was a campaign for the most severe savings in electricity (in an apartment, regardless of the number of rooms, it was allowed to have only one lamp with a power of 15 watts; shops were open only in daylight, and street lighting was turned off at night). A card system was introduced in Romania. A system of cruel totalitarian control over the entire life of society was created. Prices on the peasant market were regulated, and household plots were cut back. Abortions were banned. Soldiers were sent to agricultural work, construction sites and mines. Officials had to live in the area in which they worked.

A milder communist regime was created in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). By decision of the Yalta Conference (February 1945), Germany was divided into four occupation zones - Soviet, American, British and French, the boundaries of which were finally determined at the Potsdam Conference (June 1945). The Soviet zone of occupation included the eastern regions of Germany with a population of about
20 million people Until 1949, power in this territory belonged to the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SVAG). Therefore, the German communists, unlike the communist parties of other Eastern European countries, did not pursue a policy of repression (the Soviet occupation administration did this). The main victims of repression in East Germany were the German Social Democrats. In 1945-1950 Soviet and East German courts sentenced 5 thousand Social Democrats to various terms of imprisonment, 400 of them died in prison. This allowed the communists to break the resistance of part of the SPD leadership to the union of this party with the KPD into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (April 1946). Despite the numerical superiority of the former Social Democrats (there were 680 thousand of them, the Communists - 620 thousand), the leadership of the new party ended up in the hands of the Communists, which facilitated the creation of a pro-Soviet totalitarian regime in East Germany. De jure it was formalized by the formation of the GDR (October 1949).

The main feature of East German totalitarianism is a high (compared to other socialist countries) standard of living combined with a brutal police regime in the political sphere, which finally took shape after Erich Honecker, who played the role of dictator in the GDR, became the first secretary of the SED Central Committee in 1971 almost twenty years. The results of his reign were described by the Soviet historian A.I. Savchenko as follows: “... the social system that dominated the GDR over the past twenty years in the “Honecker era”, I would call a refined version of Stalinism. ... the recent history of the GDR is the apogee of the possibilities of the Stalinist system. ... thirty varieties of sausages and beer without a queue - this was offered to a resident of the GDR in exchange for his position as a “cog” in absolutely all areas.”

During the forty years of the existence of the communist regime in East Germany, 4.5 million people. were forced to flee the country (as a result, its population in 1945-1971 decreased from 20 million to 17 million people), 1 million lost their property, 340 thousand were illegally arrested, 90 thousand of them died in custody, over 100 thousand died from its consequences, more than 1 thousand people were killed.

The communist regimes of Asia, created in the second half of the twentieth century, had their own characteristics:

1. In Asia, unlike Eastern Europe, there was no single bloc of socialist states, therefore the death of socialism in the USSR did not automatically lead to the death of Asian communist regimes.

2. Nationalist sentiments were much stronger here than in Europe.

3. The ideas of the leadership of communist parties were much more successfully imposed on the entire society than in Eastern Europe and Russia.

At the same time, communist regimes in different Asian countries differed markedly from each other. The most powerful communist regime in history was created in China. He won the final victory over the Kuomintang regime of Chiang Kai-shek during the civil war of 1946-1949. At first it was unsuccessful for the communists. In July-October 1946, Chiang Kai-shek's troops captured about 100 cities in CCP-controlled territory, including the capital of the "special region" of Yan'an, but by the end of 1947 the strategic initiative passed to the communist army, called the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA). ). In the spring of 1948, it recaptured Yan'an from the Kuomintang, and then in the Battle of the Yellow River (November 1948 - January 1949) defeated the main forces of Chiang Kai-shek, who lost a quarter of his army in this battle. After the PLA took both Chinese capitals, Beijing and Nanjing, the remnants of the Kuomintang troops fled to the island. Taiwan, and all of mainland China, came under the rule of the CCP and its leader Mao Zedong.

The formation of a new, communist regime began in China already during the civil war of 1946-1949. In the provinces occupied by PLA units, the main form of power became military control committees (MCC), to which all other local authorities were subordinate. The VKK liquidated the old Kuomintang administration and created new provincial authorities - local people's governments (executive authorities) and conferences of people's representatives (analogous to the Russian congresses of councils of 1917-1936). In June 1949, the congress of leftist Chinese parties (CPC, Revolutionary Kuomintang, Democratic League, etc.) began its work - a preparatory committee for the convening of a political advisory council (the new Chinese parliament). The People's Political Consultative Council (PPCC), the de facto Chinese Constituent Assembly, formed at this congress, began its work in September 1949. It proclaimed the creation of a new state - the People's Republic of China
(October 1, 1949) and adopted the General Program of the CPP (de facto constitution of the PRC). The PPCC itself took over the functions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and became its first session, at which the highest authority of the PRC, the Central People's Government Council (CPGC), was elected. He formed other central government bodies - the State Administrative Council (the highest executive body, an analogue of the Soviet Council of People's Commissars), the People's Revolutionary Military Council (PLA command), the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office. Together with the Central People's Republic of China, all these bodies constituted the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. Thus, the de jure democratic structure of the new Chinese state was created. It represented different parties and organizations united in the Popular Front. In the General Program of the People's Republic of China, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed a “state of people's democracy,” based “on the alliance of workers and peasants and uniting all the democratic classes of the country,” etc. But de facto, a totalitarian communist regime was established in China in 1949.

Many principles of democracy did not apply in the PRC - separation of powers (the Administrative Council was not only the executive, but also the legislative body; the “people's courts”, the creation of which began in 1951, were included in the structure of local governments), representative democracy (the first elections to the NPC took place only in 1953-1954 and not in all regions of the PRC; local meetings of people’s representatives were not convened).

Enormous power was concentrated in the hands of the Chairman of the CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong, who in 1949 also took the posts of Chairman of the Central People's Government, Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Council and head of the Central People's Party. As a result, Mao's dictatorship was established de facto in China.

Mao's regime began a policy of mass repression during the civil war, which continued into the 50s. Hundreds of thousands of Kuomintang prisoners became the first laogai prisoners (corrective labor camps that combined the “re-education” of prisoners and their isolation from society). During the agrarian reform in the early 50s. About 5 million Chinese peasants were killed, and about 6 million were sent to Laogai. In 1949-1952 2 million “bandits” (criminal elements associated with prostitution, gambling, sale of opium, etc.) were destroyed, and more
2 million were thrown into prisons and camps. A super-cruel regime was created in Laogai. Torture and on-site killings were widely used (in one camp, a prisoner-priest died after 102 hours of continuous torture; in other camps, the camp commander personally killed or ordered 1,320 people to be buried alive). There was a very high mortality rate among prisoners (in the 50s, up to 50% of prisoners in Chinese camps died within six months). Prisoner uprisings were brutally suppressed (in November 1949, 1 thousand out of 5 thousand people who participated in the uprising in one of the camps were buried alive in the ground). The minimum term of imprisonment was 8 years, but the average sentence was 20 years in prison. By 1957, as a result of a grandiose purge in the city and countryside, 4 million “counter-revolutionaries” (opponents of the communist regime) were destroyed. Suicides among those under investigation and convicts became widespread (in the 1950s there were 700 thousand; in Canton up to 50 people committed suicide per day). As a result of the “hundred flowers” ​​campaign (its slogan was Mao’s words: “Let hundreds of flowers bloom, let thousands of schools compete”) in 1957, the Chinese intelligentsia was defeated, which did not recognize the dominance of communist ideology and the dictatorship of the CCP. About 700 thousand people. (10% of the Chinese scientific and technological intelligentsia) received 20 years in camps, millions were sent temporarily or for life to certain areas for “introduction to rural labor.”

The instrument of terror was a powerful repressive apparatus - the security forces (1.2 million people) and the police (5.5 million people). In China, the most powerful prison camp system in the history of mankind was created - about 1 thousand large camps and tens of thousands of medium and small ones. Through them until the mid-80s. 50 million people passed through, 20 million of them died in custody. In 1955, 80% of prisoners were political prisoners, in the early 60s. their number dropped to 50%. It was almost impossible to get out of prison under Mao. Those under investigation were kept in detention centers (pre-trial detention centers) for a very long time (up to 10 years), and here they served short sentences (up to 2 years). Most prisoners were sent to Laogai camps, where they were divided according to army principles (into divisions, battalions, etc.). They were deprived of civil rights, worked for free and received very few visits from their families. In the Laojiao camp, the regime was softer - without fixed terms, with the preservation of civil rights and wages (but the main part was deducted for food). “Free workers” were kept in the Jue camp (twice a year they received short-term leave and had the right to live in the camp with their family). In this category until the early 60s. 95% of prisoners released from camps of other categories ended up. Thus, in China in the 50s. any sentence automatically became lifelong.

The entire population of China was divided into two groups - “red” (workers, poor peasants, PLA soldiers and “martyr revolutionaries” - people who suffered under the regime of Chiang Kai-shek) and “black” (landowners, wealthy peasants, counter-revolutionaries." harmful elements”, “right-wing deviationists”, etc.). In 1957, “blacks” were prohibited from being admitted to the CCP and other communist organizations and universities. They became the first victims of any purge. Thus, the “equality of citizens before the law” proclaimed by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China of 1954 was a fiction.

Until the mid-60s. Chinese totalitarianism was masked by “democratic” institutions. In January 1953, the Central People's Congress adopted the Resolution on the convening of the National People's Congress and local people's congresses.
In May 1953, the first general elections in Chinese history began, which lasted until August 1954. At the first session of the new NPC (September 1954), the First Constitution of the PRC was adopted. She proclaimed the task of building socialism (this task was not set in the “General Program” of 1949), secured some democratic freedoms (equality of citizens before the law, national equality, etc.) and made some changes to the political system of the PRC. The post of Chairman of the People's Republic of China (head of state) was introduced with broad powers (command of the armed forces, development of proposals “on important state issues,” etc.). The Administrative Council was transformed into the State Council (the highest body of central government).

However, already at the end of the 50s. Chinese “democracy” is beginning to collapse. Due to representative bodies of power, the influence of the party-state apparatus is strengthened. The legislative functions of the NPC were transferred to its Standing Committee (the Chinese government), the powers of local people's congresses were transferred to the people's committees (analogous to the Soviet executive committees), the composition of which completely coincided with the composition of the provincial, city and county committees of the CPC. Party committees replaced the court and prosecutor's office, and their secretaries replaced judges. In 1964, the “Learn the style of work from the PLA” campaign began, during which the establishment of barracks order in all spheres of public life began (according to Mao’s formula “All the people are soldiers”). The police were subordinated to the army; since 1964, army patrols and posts appeared on the streets of cities and villages.

Thus, by the mid-60s. In China, the foundation was laid for Mao’s military-bureaucratic dictatorship, but for its complete victory he had to carry out the “cultural revolution” of 1966-1976. Its main goal was to strengthen the regime of Mao’s personal power, which had been shaken as a result of the failure of the “Great Leap Forward” of 1958. In the early 60s. under pressure from the right, moderate wing of the CCP, Mao had to abandon his economic utopias. Part of their property, requisitioned during the “agrarian reform” of the 50s, was returned to the peasants. (livestock, agricultural implements, etc.) and personal plots. At industrial enterprises, the principles of material interest were restored. The post of Chairman of the PRC was taken by the leader of the right, Liu Shaoqi, and the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee - his like-minded person Deng Xiaoping.

Mao's weapon of reprisal against the group of Liu and Deng was first the Chinese youth, then the army. At the same time, the nature of the “cultural revolution” was contradictory, since it combined the struggle for power within the Chinese elite, the anarchic rebellion of the marginal layers of Chinese cities (in this regard, the French historian J.-L. Margolin called the events of 1966-1976 in China "anarchic totalitarianism") and a military coup.

The “Cultural Revolution” began in May 1966, when at an expanded meeting of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, Mao announced the resignation of a number of senior leaders of the party, government and army, and the headquarters of the “cultural revolution”, the group for the affairs of the “cultural revolution” (GCR), was created. , which included Mao’s inner circle: his wife Jiang Qing, Mao’s secretary Chen Boda, the secretary of the Shanghai City Committee of the CPC Zhang Chunqiao, the secretary of the CPC Central Committee in charge of state security agencies, Kang Sheng and others. Gradually, the GKR replaced the Politburo and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and became the only real power in the PRC.

Immediately after this, detachments of Red Guards (“red guards”) were created in Chinese schools and universities, and in December 1966, detachments of zaofan (“rebels”), consisting mainly of young unskilled workers, were created. A significant part of them were “blacks”, embittered by discrimination and striving to improve their status in Chinese society (in Canton, 45% of the “rebels” were children of the intelligentsia, whose representatives were considered second-class citizens in the PRC). Carrying out Mao's call to “Fire at headquarters!” (made at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPC in August 1966), they, with the help of the army (its units suppressed resistance to the “rebels”, controlled communications, prisons, warehouses, banks, etc.) defeated the party-state apparatus of the PRC. 60% of the personnel leaders who participated in the “Long March” were removed from their posts
1934-1936, including many senior officials - Chairman of the People's Republic of China Liu Shaoqi (he died in prison in 1969), Foreign Minister Chen Yi, Minister of State Security Luo Ruiqing and others. The party leadership was radically renewed. The General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping, and four out of five vice-chairmen of the CPC Central Committee were removed from their posts (Mao’s only deputy, Lin Biao, his devoted Minister of Defense, remained). The state apparatus was paralyzed (with the exception of the army, which did not interfere in events before Mao's order). As a result, China found itself at the mercy of the Red Guards and Zaofan. They dealt with impunity against everyone they considered “class enemies” - the intelligentsia (142 thousand teachers of schools and universities, 53 thousand scientific and technical workers, 2,600 writers and other cultural figures, 500 professors of medicine were persecuted), officials, “ black”, etc. 10 thousand people. were killed, there were massive searches and arrests. In total, during the years of the “cultural revolution,” 4 million CCP members out of 18 million and 400 thousand military personnel were arrested. Gross interference in the private lives of citizens has become commonplace. It was forbidden to celebrate the Chinese New Year, wear modern clothes and Western-style shoes, etc. In Shanghai, the Red Guards cut off the braids and shaved the dyed hair of women, tore tight trousers, and broke shoes with high heels and narrow toes. At the same time, the attempts of the “rebels” to create a new state (their units actually turned into a “parallel Communist Party”; in schools, in administrative buildings they created their own judicial investigative system - cells, torture rooms) failed. The result was chaos in China. The old party-state apparatus was destroyed, a new one was not created. There was a civil war between the “rebels” and the “conservative” defenders of the pre-revolutionary state (in Shanghai they spent a whole week repelling the Red Guards’ assault on the city party committee), various groups of “rebels” with each other, etc.

Under these conditions, Mao in 1967 tried to normalize the situation by creating new government bodies - revolutionary committees, based on the “Three in One” formula (the revolutionary committees included representatives of the old state-party apparatus, “rebels” and the army). However, this attempt to reach a compromise between the "rebels", "conservatives" and the "neutral" army failed. In a number of provinces, the army united with the “conservatives” and inflicted a heavy defeat on the “rebels” (their detachments were defeated, the emissaries of the GKR were arrested); in other regions, the “rebels” began to escalate violence, which reached its climax in the first half of 1968. Shops and banks were looted. “Rebels” seized army warehouses (only on May 27, 1968, was it stolen from military arsenals
80 thousand units of firearms), artillery and tanks were used in battles between their units (they were assembled according to orders from Zaofan in military factories).

Therefore, Mao had to use his last reserve - the army. In June 1968, army units easily broke the resistance of the “rebels,” and in September their units and organizations were disbanded. In the fall of 1968, the first groups of Red Guards (1 million people) were exiled to remote provinces; by 1976, the number of exiled “rebels” had grown to 20 million. Attempts at resistance were brutally suppressed. In Wuzhou, troops used artillery and napalm against the “rebels”; in other provinces of Southern China, hundreds of thousands of “rebels” were killed (in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region - 100 thousand people, in Guangdong - 40 thousand, in Yunan -30 thousand). At the same time, the army and police, while dealing with the “rebels,” continued to deal with their opponents. 3 million dismissed officials were sent to “re-education centers” (camps and prisons), the number of prisoners in Laogai even after the amnesties of 1966 and 1976. reached 2 million. In Inner Mongolia, 346 thousand people were arrested. in the case of the Inner Mongolia People's Party (joined the CCP in 1947, but its members continued illegal activities), as a result
16 thousand people were killed and 87 thousand were maimed. In South China, during the suppression of unrest among national minorities, 14 thousand people were executed. Repressions continued in the first half of the 70s. After the death of Lin Biao (according to the official version, he tried to organize a military coup and, after its failure, died in a plane crash over the territory of Mongolia in September 1971), a purge of the PLA began, during which tens of thousands of Chinese generals and officers were repressed. The purge also took place in other departments - ministries (out of 2 thousand employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China were repressed
600 thousand), universities, enterprises, etc. As a result, the total number of victims during the years of the “cultural revolution” amounted to
100 million people, including 1 million dead.

Other results of the Cultural Revolution:

1. The defeat of the right, moderate wing of the CPC, the seizure of power by the ultra-left group of Mao Zedong and his wife Jiang Qingn.

2. Creation in China of a model of barracks socialism, the features of which are a complete rejection of economic methods of management (implantation of “people's communes”, cruel administration, equalization of wages, refusal of material incentives, etc.), total state control over the social sphere ( identical clothes and shoes, the desire for maximum equality of members of society), extreme militarization of the entire life of the country, aggressive foreign policy, etc.

3. Organizational and legal formalization of the results of the “cultural revolution” by the IX Congress of the CPC (April 1969), the X Congress of the CPC (August 1973) and the new Constitution of the PRC (January 1975), which was a complex and contradictory process. On the one hand, the party-state apparatus destroyed by the “cultural revolution” was restored (the Politburo and the Central Committee of the CPC, provincial party committees, primary organizations of the CPC, the Komsomol, trade unions, etc.), to which some officials who were repressed during the years of the “cultural revolution” returned , including right-wing leader Deng Xiaoping. On the other hand, Mao's group secured the fruits of its victory in the Cultural Revolution. Almost its entire headquarters (GKR) became part of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee. The Revolutionary Committees were declared the political basis of the PRC (in the Constitution of the PRC of 1975). Liu Shaoqi, Lin Biao and other opponents of Mao were convicted. This inconsistency was especially evident in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China of 1975, which dealt a heavy blow to the system of Chinese representative bodies of power (de jure the revolutionary committees were declared permanent bodies of local people's congresses, de facto they replaced them, since the people's congresses all the years of the “cultural revolution” were not convened, and their powers were transferred to the revolutionary committees, deputies of the NPC were not elected, but appointed; the powers of the NPC and its Standing Committee were sharply narrowed) and other elements of Chinese “democracy” (the post of Chairman of the PRC was eliminated, and his powers were transferred to the Chairman of the Central Committee of the CPC, the prosecutor's office and autonomous regions were abolished, articles on national equality and equality of citizens before the law disappeared, etc.), but at the same time, legally secured some concessions to the right (the right of commune members to personal plots, recognition of the basic unit agricultural production not a commune, but a brigade, a declaration of the principle of payment according to work, etc.), although in practice the system of barracks socialism was preserved and strengthened. During the new political campaign of “studying the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat,” which began immediately after the adoption of the new Constitution of the PRC, there was a struggle against the right (Deng was again removed from all posts at the beginning of 1976), and their demands (distribution according to labor, the rights of peasants for personal plots, the development of commodity-money relations, etc.) were declared “bourgeois right”, which must be limited. This led to the destruction of the last elements of the market economy in China and the victory of the administrative-command system. In the PRC, measures of material incentives and personal plots were eliminated, and overtime work became commonplace. This led to an aggravation of the socio-political situation in the country (strikes and demonstrations began in China).

Thus, by the mid-70s. Mao's dictatorship was finally formed, and a brutal totalitarian regime was established in China. However, the apogee of Mao's dictatorship was short-lived. In the mid-70s. In China, the struggle between two factions in the country's top leadership intensified: the radicals led by Jiang Qing and the pragmatists led by the head of the Chinese government Zhou Enlai and the Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Deng Xiaoping. Zhou's death (January 8, 1976) weakened the position of the pragmatists and led to a temporary victory for the leftist group Jiang Qing. At a meeting of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee in April 1976, a decision was made to dismiss Deng Xiaoping from all posts and exile him.

However, the death of Mao (September 9, 1976) and the arrest of radical leaders Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen, whom pragmatists nicknamed the “Gang of Four” (October 6, 1976), led to fundamental changes in the balance of political forces in China and a decisive change in the course of its leadership. The leader of the pragmatists was elected vice-chairman of the CPC Central Committee, but de facto his role in post-Mao China was higher than the role of the official leaders of the PRC, the chairman of the CPC Central Committee and the chairman of the PRC; It is no coincidence that the new political course was called the “Deng Xiaoping Line.”

Under Deng's leadership, a number of radical socio-economic reforms were carried out in China, which led to the replacement of a military-communist type economy with a multi-structured market economy, a sharp acceleration in the rate of economic development (the average growth rate of the Chinese economy in the 80-90s was 10% in year, in some years - up to 14%) and a significant increase in the standard of living of its population.

In agriculture, administrative methods of management were replaced by economic ones. The land of communes and brigades was divided among peasant families, who received the right to freely dispose of the products of their farms. As a result, in 1979-1984. the volume of agricultural production and the average income of the peasant household doubled, productivity increased sharply (the grain harvest in 1984 exceeded 400 million tons, 2 times more than in 1958, and 1.5 times more than in 1975) , and for the first time in the history of China, the food problem was solved. At the same time, the private sector (independent peasant farms) played the main role in the rise of agriculture, and in the public sector in the 80s. only 10% of the Chinese peasantry remained.

In industry, the creation of free economic zones began (they allowed the investment of foreign capital and the application of civil and labor laws of capitalist states, guaranteed the export of profits and higher wages), joint and other foreign enterprises, and individual labor activity was allowed. As a result, a modern, highly developed industry was created in China, the products of which in the 80s. conquered the global consumer market.

In the social sphere, the Chinese leadership abandoned the policy of equality in poverty and the violent suppression of the wealthy segments of the population (Deng put forward the slogan: “Being rich is not a crime”), and the formation of new social strata began - the bourgeoisie, wealthy peasantry, etc.

The democratization of the Chinese state and law began.
In 1978, an amnesty was declared for 100 thousand prisoners.
2/3 of the exiles from the era of the “Cultural Revolution” returned to the cities, the rehabilitation of its victims began and payment of compensation to them for each year spent in prison or exile. Mass repressions stopped. Among new court cases, political cases accounted for only 5%. As a result, the number of prisoners in China in 1976-1986. decreased from 10 million to 5 million (0.5% of the population of China, the same as in the USA, and less than in the USSR in 1990). The situation of prisoners has noticeably improved. The administration of labor camps was transferred from the Ministry of State Security to the Ministry of Justice. In 1984, ideological indoctrination in prisons and camps (in the 50s it lasted at least 2 hours a day for the entire period, sometimes lasting continuously from one day to three months) was replaced by vocational training. A return to the family at the end of the term was guaranteed. It was forbidden to take into account the class affiliation of prisoners (when determining their term and regime of imprisonment). Early release was provided (for exemplary behavior). The judicial system was removed from party control. In 1983, the competence of the MGB was limited. The prosecutor's office received the right to cancel illegal arrests and consider complaints about illegal actions of the police. Number of lawyers in China in 1990-1996 has doubled. In 1996, the maximum penalty for administrative offenses became one month in prison, and the maximum sentence in Laojiao was three years.

Legally, the softening of the political regime was formalized by the Constitutions of the People's Republic of China of 1978 and 1982. The 1978 Constitution restored the provisions of the 1954 Constitution on national equality, guarantees of civil rights and the prosecutor's office (in connection with this it was restored), but the revolutionary committees were preserved (they were liquidated in the early 80s). The Constitution of 1982 eliminated all institutions born of the “cultural revolution” and restored the state system formalized by the Constitution of the PRC of 1954. At the same time, due to some limitation of the powers of the Chairman of the PRC (according to the new Constitution, he is not the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of China and does not have the right to convene the Supreme State Conference) the rights of the Standing Committee of the NPC and the State Council of the People's Republic of China were expanded. The 1982 Constitution also legally established the multi-structured Chinese economy, based on state, state-capitalist and private property. On the edge
80-90s A number of amendments were made to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, consolidating the results of Deng's reforms: on private peasant farms, land inheritance, multi-party system, "social market economy", etc.

The overall result of all these changes in Chinese society in the last quarter of the 20th century. was aptly expressed by a simple Chinese who, in a conversation with a foreign journalist, said: “I used to eat cabbage, listen to the radio and keep quiet. Today I watch color TV, chew a chicken leg and talk about problems.”

At the same time, the dismantling of the totalitarian system in China was not completed. The PRC maintains a one-party system: Chinese parties, according to the 1982 Constitution of the PRC, act according to the formula “multi-party cooperation under the leadership of the CPC.” Its leaders occupy all the highest government posts - chairmen of the People's Republic of China, the State Council, the National People's Congress, etc. Opposition to the communist regime is brutally suppressed. Chinese Democratic leader Wei Jingsheng, who said Maoism was the source of totalitarianism and tried to create a social democratic movement in China, was arrested and convicted twice.
In 1979, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for transmitting classified information to a foreigner (contact with a foreign journalist), in 1995 - to 10 years in prison for “actions aimed at overthrowing state power.” Student unrest under anti-communist slogans in 1989 in Tiananmen Square was suppressed with the help of the army. More than 1 thousand people died in Beijing, tens of thousands were injured and arrested. More than 30 thousand people were arrested in the province, hundreds were shot without trial. Thousands of participants in the democratic movement were convicted, and its organizers received up to 13 years in prison. There are 100 thousand political prisoners in China, including 1 thousand dissidents.

Thus, Chinese totalitarianism at the end of the 20th century. turned not into democracy, but into authoritarianism (de jure, according to the 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China, into a “democratic dictatorship”).

A kind of communist regime (“hermit state”) was created in the second half of the forties in North Korea. In 1910-1945. Korea was a Japanese colony.
In August 1945, North Korea (north of the 38th parallel) was occupied by Soviet and South American troops. In the Soviet zone, with the help of the USSR, a communist regime of the Stalinist type was established, the leader of which was Kim Il Sung (until 1945, the commander of a small partisan detachment that fought the Japanese in Manchuria). Kim's rivals, the leaders of the Korean Communist Party, were destroyed.

The totalitarian nature of the regime of Kim Il Sung (1945-1994) was masked by “democracy” such as the Soviet or Eastern European one. In 1946, elections were held to provincial, city and district people's committees (analogous to Russian councils), and in 1947 - to rural and volost people's committees. In 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed and its Supreme People's Assembly (North Korean Parliament) was elected, which in 1949 adopted the Constitution of the DPRK.

However, there was no de facto democracy in North Korea, and mass repression began. 1.5 million people died in the camps
100 thousand - during party purges. 1.3 million people died in the Korean War of 1950-1953, unleashed by the Kim regime. Thus, over half a century, about 3 million people became victims of the communist regime in North Korea (the entire population of the DPRK is 23 million people).

State security organs became a weapon of communist terror. In 1945, the Department of Public Security (political police) was created in North Korea, which was later transformed into the Ministry of National Security (since the 90s - the National Security Agency). Employees of these special services created a system of total control over the entire population of North Korea, from the elite to ordinary citizens. All Koreans are “invited” once a week to political classes and “life summaries” (sessions of criticism and self-criticism, during which they must expose themselves to political offenses at least once and their comrades at least twice). All conversations of the North Korean bureaucracy are monitored, their audio and video tapes are constantly checked by NSA employees who act under the guise of plumbers, electricians, gas workers, etc. Any travel requires an agreement from the place of work and permission from local authorities. There are about 200 thousand prisoners in North Korean camps. Of these, about 40 thousand die annually.

In the second half of the 40s. Citizens of the DPRK were divided into 51 categories, on which their career and financial situation depended. In the 80s the number of these categories has been reduced to three:

1. “Core of society” or “center” (citizens loyal to the regime).

The victims of the genocide in North Korea were physically disabled people (disabled people, dwarfs, etc.). The new North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, the son of Kim Il Sung, said: “The breed of dwarfs must disappear!” As a result, the latter were forbidden to have offspring and began to send them to camps. Disabled people are evicted from large cities and exiled to remote areas of the country (to the mountains, islands, etc.).

The totalitarian regime has a huge impact on North Korean law. The Criminal Code of the DPRK names 47 crimes punishable by death. In North Korea, they execute not only for political crimes (high treason, rebellion, etc.), but also for criminal ones (murder, rape, prostitution). Executions in the DPRK are public and often turn into lynchings. The nature of the punishment is determined by belonging to one of three categories (citizens of the “central” category are not executed for rape). Lawyers are appointed by party bodies. Legal proceedings in North Korea have been simplified to the extreme.

Simultaneously with the North Korean regime, the communist regime emerged in Vietnam. In the first half of the twentieth century. it was a French colony. In 1941, it was occupied by Japanese troops, but as a result of the August Revolution of 1945 (a communist-led uprising against the Japanese occupiers), the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) was proclaimed. The power in it belonged to the Viet Minh organization (the full name is the League of Struggle for the Independence of Vietnam), which was the Vietnamese analogue of the European Popular Fronts. The main role in it was played by the communists, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). From the first days of its existence, this party pursued a policy of communist terror. In 1931, when creating Chinese-style councils, the communists killed local landowners in their hundreds. Immediately after the August Revolution of 1945 in Vietnam, the extermination of members of other Vietnamese parties who actively participated in the fight against the Japanese occupiers (nationalists, Trotskyists, etc.) began. The instruments of repression were the Soviet-style state security agencies and the “Committee of Assault and Destruction” (an analogue of Hitler’s assault troops), whose members, mostly urban lumpens, staged a French pogrom in Saigon on September 25, 1945, during which hundreds of French citizens died.

After the invasion of Vietnam by French, British and Chinese (Kuomintang) troops (autumn 1945), the protracted Indochina War of 1945-1954 began, during which repression in the territory controlled by the Communists intensified. In August - September 1945 alone, thousands of Vietnamese were killed and tens of thousands were arrested. In July 1946, the physical extermination of members of all Vietnamese parties began, except for the CPC, including those who actively participated in the national liberation movement. In December 1946, political police and camps for enemies of the communist regime were created in North Vietnam (the south of the country was occupied by French troops at that time). Two thousand French prisoners of war out of 20 thousand captured in 1954 died in these camps (reasons: brutal beatings, torture, hunger, lack of medicine and hygiene products). In July 1954, the Geneva Agreements were concluded, according to which French troops were withdrawn from Indochina, but until general elections were held (they were scheduled for 1956, but were never held), only North Vietnam (north of 17th parallel).

The construction of a socialist state began here. In 1946, the People's Parliament and the Government of the Republic were created in North Vietnam and the Constitution of the DRV was adopted, according to which the head of state became the president, vested with broad powers. This post was occupied by the head of the Communist Party of China, Ho Chi Minh, the de facto North Vietnamese dictator. Under his leadership, massive repressions began in North Vietnam. During the agrarian reform of 1953-1956. About 5% of Vietnamese peasants were repressed. Some of them died, others lost their property and were thrown into camps. Torture was widely used in the Far Eastern Republic. In 1956, the most ambitious purge of the party and state apparatus in the entire history of Vietnam of the socialist era began here.

Totalitarianism is a political regime in which control over all areas of social and human life belongs to the state.

According to Wikipedia, a totalitarian regime is characterized by forms of relations between society and the state, in which political power exercises complete control over society. In countries with such a regime, opposition is suppressed with particular cruelty.

In contact with

History of appearance

There are a number of conditions under which totalitarianism arises. These conditions are identical in all cases.

1. The disastrous state of the bulk of the population. More prosperous countries are not subject to the emergence of a totalitarian regime.
2. The predominance of the idea of ​​danger, which unites the people.
3. Society's dependence on sources of life (natural resources, food, etc.).

This is due to the difficulties that arise during the transition to industrialization of the state. During this period, the authorities resort to emergency measures leading to the politicization and militarization of society. Eventually a military dictatorship is established that maintains and protects political power in the country.

To a greater or lesser extent, these conditions for the emergence of a totalitarian regime were present in fascist Germany and the Soviet Union. The world first learned about totalitarianism in the twenties of the last century. At that time, Mussolini came to power in Italy. With the emergence of Italian fascism in the country, constitutional rights and freedoms disappeared, and mass repressions were carried out against opponents of this regime. There was a militarization of public life.

Countries with a totalitarian regime became a product of the 20th century in fascist and socialist states during the period of the cult of personality. This is due to the development of industrial production in the economy at that time, which made it possible to improve technological methods for controlling individuals. It also became possible to influence people’s consciousness, especially in difficult times of Civil Wars and socio-economic crises.

As we noted earlier, the first countries with signs of totalitarianism appeared immediately after the First World War. First, the premises of totalitarianism were formulated by the ideologists of fascism in Italy, and a little later with minor improvements and the Nazis in Germany. After World War II, politicians developed a totalitarian regime in China and some European countries. A totalitarian bias was inherent in state socialism, communism, fascism, Nazism and Muslim fundamentalism. In countries with such regimes, government authorities control public life, education, religion, business and social relations.

Signs

It is worth highlighting the signs by which states with a totalitarian regime can be distinguished.

1. Ideology of the state. Under totalitarianism, ideology is created and developed by the elite of society that has come to power, headed by a leader appointed by it.
2. Power belongs to one mass party. Under totalitarianism, all power belongs to one ruling organization with its leader. She is the only force in the social movement, and her guidelines are carried out unquestioningly. At the head of such an organization is a leader (leader, Fuhrer), who is declared the wisest, most honest and constantly thinking about the good of his people. Any other ideas of competing organizations are declared to be directed against national unity and as undermining the principles of public life.
3. The use of violence and terror during control in society. Under a totalitarian regime, violence and terror are present in almost all areas of society. In political life there are restrictions on rights and freedoms. And if rights and freedoms are enshrined in law, then in fact they are simply not implemented. Personal control under totalitarianism is a mandatory component of this regime and is assigned to the police authorities.
4. Militarization. Another distinctive feature of totalitarianism is militarization. The state authorities make most decisions aimed at increasing the power of the country's army. The entire ideology is built on the impending danger from outside and the need to improve the military-industrial complex. Almost all life in the country becomes like a large military camp. Totalitarianism is an aggressive regime based on the idea of ​​world domination. On the other hand, such a policy allows the ruling elite to distract the masses from pressing problems and enrich the bureaucracy.
5. Use of police detective. Under totalitarianism, police work is carried out on a grand scale, aimed at secret surveillance of imaginary enemies of the existing regime. In this work, the police use the latest achievements of science and technology. They widely use video equipment and listening devices, which forces the population to be in constant fear. There are massive violations of constitutional human rights, resulting in unjustified arrests.
6. Centralized control of the economy. An equally important sign of totalitarianism is the complete subordination of the country's economy, television, newspapers and other media. This form of control allows the authorities to completely control labor resources, thereby creating the necessary foundation for the further development of their political system. An example is the forced movement of labor to more backward areas of the national economy.
7. Creation of a special kind of man. Thanks to its ideology, the ruling power creates a special kind of person. Starting from childhood, a person develops a special type of psyche and behavior. He becomes completely susceptible to and supports the current political ideas of the authorities. A person begins to live not so much for himself, but for the good of society. As a result, such a person does not need to be controlled; he himself follows the existing slogans and calls of the leadership. True, in reality, such a policy leads to the writing of denunciations, betrayal and the complete disintegration of society.
8. The growing role of the executive branch. Under totalitarianism, the role of executive bodies increases sharply, and officials become omnipotent, holding their positions on the recommendation or by direct appointment of the ruling structures. Compared to the executive bodies, the “security forces” (army, police, prosecutor’s office and security agencies), which are under the control of state power, stand out especially.

Totalitarianism today

In conclusion, I would like to note that the totalitarian system is capable of changing, as happened in the history of the Soviet Union after the death of Stalin. In subsequent years, although totalitarianism remained, it lost a number of its features, that is, it actually became post-totalitarianism. At present, based on the presence of a number of signs, we can say that we have all the prerequisites for totalitarianism. The current leadership in power is leading the country towards this. I would also like to add that totalitarianism will inevitably collapse and this regime has no future.

Causes

Libya

Countries with unfree regimes at the beginning of the 21st century - 50 countries.

Democratic countries

Political regimes

Components of a question

Forms of political regimes

Forms of government

Forms of administrative-territorial structure

Democratic

Anti-democratic

"Democracy Index"(based on the nature of legislative elections)

At the beginning of the 21st century

88 free countries

55 partially free countries

Authoritarian regime - complete or partial absence of democratic freedoms, restrictions on the activities of political parties and public organizations, persecution of the opposition, lack of a clear separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers.

Asia, Africa, Near and Middle East, Latin America (military dictatorships)

Jamahiriya - state of the masses led by revolutionary leadership, government, parliament, political parties abolished

Legacy of feudalism and colonialism

Socio-economic backwardness

Low cultural level

Tribal feud

External reasons (confrontation between two world systems - capital and social)

A special form of authoritarianism, in which the state establishes comprehensive control over the life of society as a whole and each individual individually, actually eliminates constitutional rights and freedoms, and carries out harsh repressions against the opposition and dissidents.

Two types of totalitarianism:

Right

Fascist regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain

Left

China under Mao Zedong

North Korea under Kim Il Sung

Cambodia under Pol Pot

Iraq under Saddam Hussein

USSR under Stalin

- Totalitarian regime

On December 5, 1936, the “Stalinist” Constitution of the USSR was adopted. According to this Constitution, the Soviet system was formally democratic in nature. Elections were regularly held for Councils at all levels, from the Supreme to the local. True, the word “elections” did not quite accurately reflect... [read more]

- Totalitarian regime

[read more]

- Totalitarian regime

Authoritarian; Totalitarian; Classification of political regimes Factors of differentiation of political regimes The concept of a political regime includes a number of basic criteria: - the nature and extent of the exercise of power; - mechanism of power formation; -... [read more]

- Totalitarian regime

Classification of political regimes Factors of differentiation of political regimes The concept of a political regime includes a number of basic criteria: - the nature and extent of the exercise of power; - mechanism of power formation; - relationships between society and government; -... [read more]

- Totalitarian regime

Authoritarian regime An authoritarian regime can be considered as a kind of “compromise” between totalitarian and democratic political regimes. On the one hand, it is softer and more liberal than totalitarianism, but, on the other hand, it is tougher, more anti-national than... [read more]

- Totalitarian regime

Totalitarianism is a system of political domination in which state power, concentrated in the hands of a narrow circle of people, eliminates constitutional guarantees of individual rights and freedoms through violence, police methods of influencing the population, spiritual enslavement,...

Introduction

totalitarian fascism communism

The theory of the state identifies various types of political regimes that have arisen in the history of states. These types can be represented by both authoritarian and democratic political methods of power.

At the beginning of the 20th century, political regimes arose that had similar signs of a totalitarian regime in the USSR, Germany, Italy, Spain, some countries of Eastern Europe, and then Asia. Promising an end to the past and a bright future, these regimes actually introduced terror, repression and war into their countries.

In 1945, the totalitarian regime in the form of fascism was defeated, and in 1989-1991 the totalitarian regimes in Eastern Europe and the USSR ended their existence. But totalitarianism is still alive, and it has revived in a modified form in China, North Korea, and Kampuchea.

Political regimes are divided into two large groups: democratic and non-democratic. In turn, non-democratic ones include two types - totalitarian and authoritarian.

Totalitarianism is a complex, multifaceted, diverse phenomenon that cannot be contained in a simple listing of its characteristics, no matter how extensive it may be. Moreover, over the several decades of its existence, the totalitarian regime has undergone a certain evolution, adapting, like a stubborn pathogenic microbe, to new social organisms.

Historical experience proves that political power in any country can actually differ from the form of government proclaimed in the constitution. Let's say that in the USA and in the former USSR, upon closer examination it is clear that the form of government was the same - republican, but the real political power was different. In order to have a real idea about this, you need not only to know about the form of government in this country, but also what political regime has a dominant role in it. Sometimes a country with a monarchical form of government is actually more democratic than a republic.

A political regime is a set of methods, techniques, and means of exercising political power. It is identical to a certain political climate in a country during a certain period of its historical development. Modern foreign political scientists have studied the concept of totalitarianism quite deeply. Our parents grew up under conditions of Soviet totalitarianism, so it is still difficult for us to see in the conditions of our life, the usual way of recent political existence, the harsh features of totalitarianism, which are akin to the fascist systems of Germany, Italy, and Spain. Life shows that a totalitarian system cannot be changed, but only destroyed. After totalitarianism has become obsolete, society must undoubtedly come to the democratization of all aspects of public life. Thus, only a thorough study of this problem, a deep analysis can allow us to look at these processes occurring in society, as if from the outside, to see where the roots of the current society came from; this is the relevance of this work. The purpose of this study is to analyze the essence and characterize the totalitarian regime.

1. History and conditions for the emergence of totalitarianism

Totalitarianism in the state system arises during a difficult transition period, when society is moving towards industrialization, and the government is trying to overcome these difficulties by introducing emergency measures - up to the withdrawal of private capital in favor of the state, bureaucracy penetrates into all spheres of production, the politicization and militarization of the entire society is underway. . As a result, a military-bureaucratic dictatorship is established, protecting the interests of the party-state apparatus.

“The conditions for the establishment of totalitarianism in different countries are similar. These are: 1. Poverty of the general population. Rich and developed countries are not totalitarian. 2. The general idea of ​​danger that unites the people. 3. Dependence of society on the source of life (natural resources, water, food). A planned economy during the Second World War and especially in subsequent years became a more or less characteristic feature of the economies of various countries that did not become totalitarian as a result. All the conditions and situations of the emergence of totalitarian states noted here were, to a greater or lesser extent, present in both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Both in the USSR and in Germany (with various changes and adjustments for the era) there was a low level of consumption and meager demands of the vast majority of the population. Both in the USSR and in Germany, people could be united by external danger and hostility coming from Europe. Both the USSR and Germany emerged from the revolution, the USSR to some extent continued to remain a revolutionary country, even during the period of Stalinist repression. Both peoples were inspired by a common idea (German - the idea of ​​revenge, Soviet - the reconstruction of their society, which would set an example for other peoples, as well as the idea of ​​victory in the coming war). All these were the conditions that led to the establishment of totalitarianism.”

In Europe, totalitarianism began in the 20th century in Italy, and a little later Hitler, taking part of the doctrine of fascism as a basis, and reworking part, created his own ideology. Hitler's main changes were his attitude towards the state, which he probably learned from the calls of the communists, as well as his attitude towards the nation. Having radically changed the idea of ​​Mussolini and Lenin about the cooperation of nations, sharpening it under the racist idea of ​​​​the dominance of one pure nation - a race over others - he created National Socialism.

2. Totalitarian state: essence and characteristics

The totalitarian regime was a product of the early 20th century; it arose in fascist states and socialist states during the “cult of personality” period. The construction of political totalitarian regimes was possible at a stage of development when industrialization arose, the technical ability to control the individual increased, as well as to completely control the consciousness of a person, especially during difficult periods of civil wars and socio-economic crises. The first totalitarian regimes were formed after the First World War; their political significance was first voiced by the ideologists of the fascist movement in Italy. After the Second World War, totalitarianism as a regime began to be studied using the example of the political regimes of China and Central European countries.

The term “totalitarianism” comes from the Latin words “totalitas” - integrity, completeness and “totalis” - whole, complete, complete. The concept of totalitarianism was first voiced by the ideologist of Italian fascism G. Gentile early in 1925 in the Italian parliament.

Totalitarianism is a socio-political system in which all the life of society and every person is subordinated to the state. An example of this is state socialism, communism, Nazism, fascism and Muslim fundamentalism. Without elections, the state controls the life of society, including family, education, religion, business, private property and social relations. State decisions are made centrally, and any opposition speech is excluded.

The following features distinguish all totalitarian state regimes from democracy are distinguished:

- “General state ideology. A totalitarian regime is characterized, as a rule, by the presence of one official ideology, which is formed and set by a socio-political movement, political party, ruling elite, political leader, “leader of the people.”

- “One mass party led by a leader. In a totalitarian state, only one ruling party is allowed, and all others, even pre-existing parties, are dispersed, banned or destroyed. The ruling party is declared the leading force in society, its guidelines are considered sacred dogmas. Competing ideas about the social reorganization of society are declared anti-national, aimed at undermining the foundations of society and inciting social hostility. Thus, the ruling party seizes the reins of government. The center of the totalitarian system is the leader (Führer). He is declared to be the wisest, infallible, fair, tirelessly thinking about the good of the people. Any critical attitude towards him is suppressed. Usually a charismatic person is nominated for this role.”

- “A specially organized system of violence, terror as a specific means of control in society. The totalitarian regime widely and constantly uses terror against the population. Physical violence acts as the main condition for strengthening and exercising power. Under totalitarianism, complete control is established over all spheres of social life. In the political life of society, an individual, as a rule, rights and freedoms are limited. And if formally political rights and freedoms are enshrined in law, then there is no mechanism for their implementation, as well as real opportunities for using them. Control also permeates the sphere of people's personal lives. Under totalitarianism there is terrorist police control.”

- Militarization is also one of the main characteristics of a totalitarian regime. The idea of ​​military danger, of a “besieged fortress” becomes necessary for the unity of society, for building it on the principle of a military camp. A totalitarian regime is aggressive in its essence and aggression helps to achieve several goals at once: to distract the people from their disastrous economic situation, to enrich the bureaucracy and the ruling elite, to solve foreign policy problems by military means. Aggression under a totalitarian regime can be fueled by the idea of ​​world domination, world revolution. The military-industrial complex and the army are the main pillars of the totalitarian regime.

The state also uses police investigation, denunciation is encouraged and widely used. The search and imaginary machinations of enemies become a condition for the existence of a totalitarian regime. The secret police and security apparatus uses extreme methods of influence to force society to live in a state of fear. Constitutional guarantees either did not exist or were violated, resulting in secret arrests, detention without charge, and torture.

- Strictly centralized control over the economy and a state monopoly on the media. Strict centralized control over the economy is the most important feature of a totalitarian regime. The ability to control the productive forces of society creates the material base and support necessary for the political regime, without which total control in other areas is hardly possible. A centralized economy serves as a means of political control. For example, people can be forcibly moved to work in those areas of the national economy where there is a shortage of labor (for example, the introduction of forced labor by the Bolsheviks in Russia).

In economic life, there is a process of nationalization in one form or another of ownership. A totalitarian state does not benefit from an economically and, accordingly, politically free person.”

Totalitarianism creates a special type of person. One of the main features of totalitarianism, which distinguishes it from other forms of traditional despotism, absolutism and authoritarianism, is that it needs to remake man. Therefore, totalitarianism is called a phenomenon of the twentieth century. He sets himself the task of remaking a person in such a way in accordance with the requirements of ideology that he would be a personality of a new type with a special psyche, mentality, behavior, which would dissolve in the mass of others like himself. This personality would be equal to the average statistical data in all indicators of living conditions and thinking. Nothing personal, just public. Such a person does not need to be controlled; he will govern himself, based on the slogans and dogmas approved by the party. But in real life, the implementation of such a policy gave rise to “informing”, informing, writing anonymous letters, and, ultimately, the moral decay of society.

With the help of the media in a totalitarian state, political mobilization and almost one hundred percent support for the ruling regime are ensured. Under totalitarianism, the content of all media materials is determined by the political and ideological elite. Through the media, views and values ​​that the political leadership of a given country at a particular moment considers desirable are systematically introduced into the consciousness of people.

- “The state has a monopoly on all weapons. In a state with a totalitarian regime, the power of the executive bodies is strengthened, and the omnipotence of officials arises, the appointment of which is coordinated with the highest bodies of the ruling party or is carried out on their instructions. The “power structure” (army, police, security agencies, prosecutor’s office) especially stands out against the backdrop of the expanded executive bodies, i.e. punitive bodies controlled by the ruling party.”

Historical development in the 20th century. gave rise to two political movements that most showed a predisposition to totalitarianism - fascism and communism.

Totalitarian regimes are capable of changing and evolving. After Stalin's death, the USSR changed. Board of Brezhnev L.I. deserves criticism. However, it cannot be said that they are the same. This is the so-called post-totalitarianism. A post-totalitarian regime is a system when totalitarianism loses some of its elements and seems to be eroded and weakened (for example, the USSR under N.S. Khrushchev). Thus, the totalitarian regime should be divided into purely totalitarian and post-totalitarian.

And yet totalitarianism is a historically doomed system. This society is Samoyed, incapable of effective creation, prudent, proactive management and existing mainly due to rich natural resources, exploitation, and limiting consumption of the majority of the population. Totalitarianism is a closed society, not adapted to modern qualitative renewal, taking into account the new requirements of a continuously changing world.

3. Forms of totalitarian regime

Fascist totalitarian state

The totalitarian regime is divided into several varieties: communist totalitarianism, fascism or national socialism, which is one of the types of fascism, and modern totalitarianism. Fascism is a form of government in which ideology and practice assert the exclusivity and superiority of one nation or race, all democracy is denied, and the cult of one leader is established. Violence and terror are used to suppress political opponents and free thought. External enemies are eliminated by starting wars. Fascism was based on the need for a strong, ruthless power, which rests on the universal dominance of the authoritarian party.

The term “totalitarianism” began to be used to designate the fascist regime in Italy. “In 1952, a conference was held in the USA, where it was concluded that a closed society in which everything - from raising children to production - is controlled from a single state center can be called totalitarian. However, the concepts of “totalitarianism” and “fascism” are not identical. “Fascism is a right-wing form of a totalitarian regime, which is characterized by a national value criterion for the organization of society.”

One of the theorists of fascism, J. Gentile, presented the “total state” this way: “For fascism, everything is contained in the state. Nothing human or spiritual exists in itself, much less has any value outside the state. In this sense, fascism is totalitarian, and the fascist state, as the unification and unification of all values, provides an interpretation of the life of the entire people, promotes prosperity and gives it strength. Neither individuals nor groups (political parties, societies, syndicates and classes) should exist outside the state.”

The Italian fascists, in the first program of their party in 1921, singled out the state. Fascism in Italy was established in 1922. Italian fascists sought to revive the great Roman Empire. “The Party views the state not as a simple sum of individuals living at a certain time and in a certain territory, but as an organism containing endless rows of past, living and future generations, for which individual seem to be merely transitory moments. From this concept the party derives a categorical imperative: individuals and classes must subordinate their interests to the highest interests of the national body.”

The first sign of a totalitarian fascist state: absolute concentration of power, which from the point of view of the form of government is an autocracy. It is characterized by: a) the combination of legislative and executive powers in one person in the virtual absence of an independent judiciary; b) the principle of “leadership” (and a leader of a charismatic type).

In fascist Germany, the leader (Führer) took the place of the departed Emperor Wilhelm II in the minds of citizens, this only strengthened the Hitler regime. In Italy, the existence of the monarch did not allow B. Mussolini to do this. Although monarchy and totalitarianism are systems that replace each other, and the ideology of “leadership” is not alien to them. Totalitarianism in such systems arises from the embryonic level of development of democratic consciousness and the strong need of the people for a strong leader, especially during periods of civil unrest. For example, in fascist Germany the Fuhrer was at the head of the state and expressed the will of the state. He gave powers to the Fuhrers subordinate to him in a certain hierarchical order. Each of these chosen ones, of course, was subordinate to his immediate patron, and at the same time had unlimited power over his subordinates. “Leaderism,” therefore, is not based on trust, but on the fact that the chosen one is infallible. “The Fuhrer of the nation stands above the criticism of any German for all eternity... No one has the right to wonder whether the Fuhrer is right, whether what he says is true. For, I repeat again, what he says is always true." - these are the words of Ley, the leader of trade unions in Nazi Germany. That this happened is historically proven: in April 1942, the Reichstag declared Hitler above the law and “proclaimed him the unlimited ruler over the lives of millions of Germans.”

One sign of a totalitarian fascist state is a one-party political system, in which other political organizations are not allowed. “The state is a party. The party is the leader plus the elite. ... the government of the state must be carried out through the elite for the people.”

A one-party political system is defined by the following features. The basis of such a one-party political system is only one ideology, which dominates and does not allow pluralism. This ideology comes from the party, which leads and does not allow any opposition or criticism. The main method of such an ideology is propaganda of the population, which is based on vitally important topics for the people, that is, on social, racial, nationalist or religious demagoguery. Having the media in their hands, the ideologists of fascism through them broadcast to the people myths that become reality in the minds of society. “The Nazis did not need a doctrine, rational and scientific. They needed an idea that had the qualities of passion and a call to action.”

The totalitarian regime is a product of the 20th century, when the high level of development of mass communications and transport increased the mobile capabilities of the population. Previously, political activity was the privilege of the intelligentsia, the reading, and literate sections of society. The 20th century radically changed this. “A special role here belongs to radio, the widespread dissemination of which made it possible to introduce large sections of the illiterate population to politics, which greatly expanded the mass base of the political struggle.”

A totalitarian regime not only takes control of state administration and the apparatus of violence, it also controls the thoughts and souls of ordinary people. Propaganda plays an important role in the system of coercion; totalitarianism, through propaganda, controls the thoughts and feelings of people, instills in people a totalitarian consciousness. Another feature of a one-party political system is the lack of democratic institutions , that is, institutions of democracy, That's why inevitable total separation of the individual from political power. Some socio-political organizations exist, but are not significant, since their activities are controlled by the authorities, the ruling party and government agencies. The trade unions that the fascists created were engaged only in promoting fascism in the mass consciousness and controlling it.

Another feature of the fascist one-party system: “the party itself does not have political functions. Its main tasks are organizational, technical, propaganda, or even police.”

In a totalitarian regime, the role of the church is important. The Church is an older institution than political parties and has a great influence on society. The church has strong traditions, it stands between man and the state, and it was the church that did not allow totalitarianism to completely take over an individual. In those countries where the church was strong and stood its ground (Italy, Spain), the consequences of totalitarianism were not as sad as in those countries where the church was pushed aside by the ruling power (Germany).

For them, a sign of a totalitarian fascist regime is a socio-political movement. Under a totalitarian regime, through a socio-political movement, a “totalitarian idea” is formed in the consciousness of society. Through this movement, the totalitarian fascist state maintains complete control over all public life. Under the fascist regime, all organizations, both youth and professional, sports, are branches of one party, and with the help of such organizations it controls all the actions of citizens. The socio-political movement not only maintains complete, totalitarian control over the masses, but also helps to cultivate the positive attitude of the masses towards the totalitarian regime that it needs. To create the appearance of democracy, a totalitarian regime may allow the presence of a socio-political movement - therefore, totalitarian regimes have a relatively long fate than authoritarian ones. In Germany, the fascist regime lasted from 1933 to 1945, and the Nazi movement from 1919 to 1945. In Spain, the fascist regime began with the fall of the republic and lasted until the early 1950s, after which it began to change into an authoritarian regime.

The first sign of a totalitarian fascist regime is terror organized by the state. It is based on constant and total violence. Through terror, the state constantly terrorizes the people, keeping them in fear and uncertainty about the future. Spiritual violence against the population is propaganda - the most important part of state violence. Any attempt to think differently is persecuted by the state. It simply physically destroys a dissident person.

The Bulgarian writer Zh. Zhelev writes about the state of the common man in conditions of terror from the state: “Systematically improved, despotically carried out state terror paralyzes the will of the individual, weakens and undermines any community. It eats into souls like a debilitating disease, and - this is his last secret - soon universal cowardice becomes his assistant and refuge, because if everyone feels like a suspect, he begins to suspect the other, and the fearful, out of fear, also hastily anticipate orders and the prohibitions of their tyrant."

The first sign of a totalitarian fascist regime is economic autarky. At the same time, the economy is strictly regulated, and non-economic forms of coercion appear. When a number of states emerged from the patriarchal state and joined the new system of countries with developed economies, the time came for conflicts with developed countries, because they had to accept the position of semi-colonies. Therefore, they strive to create economic autarky in order to be economically independent. The leadership of a totalitarian fascist regime needs an economic structure that would mainly depend on the will of the party leaders. Such a structure was formed in relation to the non-state sector of the economy, and its formation took place in the form of open terror or expropriation of the property of owners of industrial and financial capital who were not loyal to the regime or refused to obey it. In Nazi Germany this was done against the Jews.

One sign of a totalitarian fascist regime is anti-capitalism. The first five signs are formal, while anti-capitalism internally refers to totalitarianism. A complete negation of capitalism is observed only in left-wing totalitarian forms. In right-wing forms, anti-capitalism appears as a direction, but it exists. For example, in Germany, the National Socialists came to power with slogans of anti-capitalism. In life, Nazism was in alliance with capital. That is, totalitarianism looks like a reaction of fear for “national independence.” Under the slogan of “defending the nation,” the totalitarian regime directs all its efforts to control the entire life of society, not allowing any actions “against the nation,” that is, against the regime, because the totalitarian regime always puts itself on an equal footing with the nation. In these conditions there is no place for competition, only anti-capitalism.

The theorists of fascism accepted as an ideal state a state that would have all spheres of human activity. And a political system that completely controls all the actions of citizens, their inner world, was considered ideal. In Italy there was an opportunity to democratize fascism: “In November 1943, Mussolini ordered the publication of the Verona Charter, which proclaimed the “liberation” of fascism from its previous political shackles and a return to “revolutionary origins.” The charter promised the democratic election of the head of state, democratic control over government activities, socialization of enterprises, etc.”

This charter subsequently became the starting point for the development of neo-fascism after the war. In Italy there were many supporters of this movement. Fascism, first of all, sees support in a mass totalitarian political party and the undisputed authority of the “Fuhrer”. Total terror, genocide in relation to “alien” national and social groups, towards the values ​​of civilization hostile to it, is an obligatory element of ideology and politics. Fascist regimes and movements of the fascist type use demagogy and slogans of socialism in their pressure on the people. Fascism grows on soil prepared in socially disadvantaged groups in conditions of civil wars, crises and the difficulties of modernization.

Communist totalitarian state

The first communist totalitarian state in the world was the Soviet Union, which, having won the Second World War, began to spread its political and economic influence to the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. As a result, the emergence of a socialist camp, which the West called the “second world,” became possible. At that time, the USSR was the largest and most developed of the communist states, and was an example for others. A totalitarian regime emerged in the Soviet Union after the socio-political processes of the 1930s.

The main features of a communist totalitarian system include:

) civil war, which weakened the country, determined the elite that governed the country. This elite, having taken power into its hands, began to destroy the mechanism of control over it by society. At the same time, by destroying established social structures, the ruling elite expands its power over society;

) over-centralism, which the ruling power needs for dominance, leads to the formation of an elite within the government, a cult of personality appears, and various factions are formed within the party itself. The struggle for power from time to time takes on a bloody character;

) all areas of public life must be subordinated to the authorities, that is, the party, and whoever does not agree with this must be destroyed, just as churches were destroyed or looted under Soviet rule in Russia);

) industrial production is growing due to the use of non-economic forms of forced labor;

) for the development of the military-industrial complex, large forms of state economy are created;

) “cultural revolutions” are called upon to spiritually transform society, create a socialist culture, the fight against illiteracy is being waged, the “hostile culture”, which includes bourgeois culture, is exterminated or suppressed, agitation comes first;

Terror in the Soviets was unleashed without any apparent reason on the part of the victims and without prior provocation. If in fascist Nazi Germany it was directed against Jews, then in the Soviet Union it was not limited to racial criteria; any person could become an object of terror.

Russian political scientists define the following features of Soviet totalitarianism: absolute individual power; inculcation of a unified doctrine; initial immorality and complete contempt for man; synthesis of elements of Asian despotism and radical ideological doctrines; exceptional focus on the future; pathetic appeals to the masses; reliance on external expansion; great power ambitions; omnipotent faith in the world revolutionary process led by the leading country.

According to some estimates, such a social structure is similar to the Hitler regime, but they cannot be completely equal. Because the ideological basis of these two forms of totalitarianism are different principles. Stalinism comes from class domination, and Nazism comes from racial domination. The unity of society in the USSR was achieved by uniting everyone against the “class enemy” who allegedly threatened the government, that is, the regime.

“Stalin’s policy presupposed national consolidation; it was not accompanied by racial cleansing (persecution on ethnic grounds appeared only in the 40s). The dictatorship in the USSR was forced to hide behind high ideals inherited from socialist thought. The Constitution of 1936 proclaimed democratic voting rights, which did not exist even in some developed Western countries, and even the right to create public organizations was guaranteed.”

In real life everything was different. In the USSR in the 30s there was a period of industrialization development similar to that in Germany, but with its own characteristics. There was a well-developed system of general control over people, a system of violence, labor and concentration camps, ghettos were created, where hard work, torture, suppression of people’s will to resist, and mass murder of innocent people were the order of the day. A network of camps was created in the USSR - the Main Directorate of Camps - GULAG. Before the Second World War, it included 53 concentration camps, 425 colonies and 50 camps for children. More than 40 million people died in them. A carefully developed repressive apparatus instilled fear for personal freedom and the freedom of family members, denunciations, and anonymous reports. There should have been no dissent or opposition in the country. Security and punitive authorities control the life and behavior of the population.

In Kazakhstan, at the end of the 20s, the government and the party were headed by people who began to apply a hard line of management. When did the transition from economic techniques and incentive systems for economic management to command-administrative ones begin? Barracks socialism was gaining strength. This meant the merging of the party with the state and strict centralization of the economy, that is, Moscow was in charge of everything. “The dominance of methods of non-economic coercion, the course towards nationalization of the economy, in the state - in creating the appearance of national statehood in the form of puppet “union republics”, a democratic form of power - nomenklatura Soviets, its maximum centralization under the auspices of the ruling Bolshevik party. In the social sphere, workers and peasants were separated from property, turned into hired proletarians, and a primitive distribution of material goods took root. Collectivist views were established in public morality, and stereotypes, clichés and myths dominated in the spiritual sphere.”

Labor camps and “voluntary” labor actions, such as subbotniks and overtime, are an extreme form of unfree labor. They may have been temporary, but unfree labor is a permanent phenomenon under communism. The worker was put in such a position that he had to sell his product - labor power - on conditions beyond his control, without the possibility of finding another, better employer. The party bureaucracy, having a monopoly on natural resources and exercising a political dictatorship, acquired the right to dictate under what conditions people will work.

“Under such a system, free trade unions are impossible, and strikes are an exceptional phenomenon. The communists explained the absence of strikes by the fact that the working class is supposedly in power and indirectly - through “its” state and the “avant-garde” - the CPSU - is the owner of the means of production: thus, strikes would be directed against itself. The real reason is that the party bureaucracy had all the resources (including the apparatus of suppression) and, most importantly, the workforce: any effective action against it, if it was not universal, was difficult to implement. Strikes are a political problem rather than an economic one. But in the Soviet Union there are no problems: it was in order to hide them that the shooting of a peaceful demonstration in Novocherkassk took place in 1962.

When Stalin's personality cult was exposed, this did not mark the end of the totalitarian system. But later, under Khrushchev, some kind of shift towards weakening did begin. Under Brezhnev, during the period of “stagnation,” the decline of the totalitarian system began. In Soviet society, a layer of intelligentsia, ignorant of persecution and repression, began to emerge, capable of accepting the ideas of the new wave. The movement to protect the right, although there were restrictions, began to develop. At the same time, corruption and bureaucracy increased, and the shadow economy developed rapidly. Gradually, the restructuring of the totalitarian system resulted in its dismantling. Work collectives began to receive more rights, the Communist Party ceased to directly manage the economy, cooperatives began to be created that were not controlled by the party, political pluralism finally became possible, the union and autonomous republics slightly expanded their rights - Soviet totalitarianism gradually faded away. The image of the “external enemy” was also destroyed; new political thinking left no room for it.

Modern totalitarian state

During the twentieth century, totalitarianism gradually lost ground. But in a modified form it began to appear in other countries, such as Vietnam, Kampuchea. Currently, North Korea - the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - remains a prominent representative of the totalitarian communist regime.

“The communist movement in Korea was very weak and, in addition, had almost no ties with the USSR. The Communist Party of Korea, created in 1925, was dissolved back in 1928 by a special decision of the Executive Committee of the Comintern.”

Small communist groups were deep underground in the 1930s in the southern regions of the country. The communists in North Korea played an insignificant role; the local communist leaders were not known to the bulk of the population. The right-wing nationalists were more famous, but they were also not a strong political force. Therefore, the Soviet authorities from the USSR began to build another support for themselves. They not only used local communist groups, but also began to found new ones there. Soviet Army Captain Kim Il Sung was supported by Moscow as the future leader of North Korea.

North Korea is the most controlled society in the modern world because the main feature of North Korean society is the all-encompassing state control that stands over every Korean in all areas of his life.

At first, the North Korean repressive police apparatus was built under the influence of the Soviet Union, with the participation of immigrants from the USSR and advisers directed by Moscow. They worked in the apparatus of the Korean Ministry of Internal Affairs until the end of the 1950s. “Truly specific methods of administrative and police control over the population, characteristic specifically for the DPRK, appeared only in the late 1950s, when the period of unconditionally following in the wake of Soviet policy was left behind, and were largely associated with the influence of the political culture of Maoist China "

When the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea launched a campaign on May 30, 1957 to "transform the struggle against counter-revolutionary elements into an all-people, all-party movement", the people of North Korea were for the first time divided into 3 parts: "hostile forces", "neutral forces" and "friendly" strength." This division system is still in effect today.

The “hostile forces” include: the families of those who defected to South Korea; former entrepreneurs, traders and clergy, as well as their families; prisoners who did not return to the North and members of their families; former employees who worked for the Japanese administration and their families; prisoners and their families; party members who opposed the actions of Kim Il Sung, and their families.

“Friendly forces” include: families of fallen revolutionaries and military personnel; personnel workers and their families.

The rest of the population was classified as "neutral forces". This rigid division of the population into unequal and hereditary categories characterizes political organization of North Korea. Which group a person belongs to determines whether he will be hired or go to school, and therefore how he will live in Pyongyang or other large cities. His group membership determines what sentence he will receive if he goes to trial. People belonging to the “hostile layer” usually cannot enter a university in the capital and live there. Public executions still take place in the DPRK; there are very few such countries on earth. Until the 70s, executions in public were often carried out in the stadiums of the capital; now such spectacles are carried out only in remote areas. A person sentenced to execution is tied to a pole in the center of a square or sports arena, and after the verdict is read out, they are shot. At the same time, the convict’s colleagues must see this with their own eyes. For educational purposes, university students and schoolchildren are present.

The totalitarian regime of North Korea sets the main task of administrative and police control over information, ensuring “tightness,” that is, the closeness of Korean society. In the DPRK you cannot buy receivers with free tuning: all goods are issued on orders and coupons, radio receivers are tuned to only one radio wave - Pyongyang radio, this is periodically checked. If the radio was purchased from a foreign exchange store or brought from another country, he must immediately submit it to the Department of Public Security for retuning in order to listen to local broadcasts. If the owner of an improper receiver is found, he is considered a criminal. Another means of information control is a very developed system of special storage in libraries. “All foreign literature and all Korean publications more than 10 or 15 years old, with the exception of purely technical ones, fall into these storage departments, so the North Koreans are deprived of the opportunity to follow the fluctuations of the authorities’ line on old publications.”

As a result of the activities of recent decades, the North Korean authorities were able to create a fairly strong system of total control - they built a society in which the life of every person from all sides is either controlled, or they know everything about it and are under control. And this situation in North Korea has persisted for more than 50 years, during which time the world has undergone changes that have passed this state by. Therefore, we can say that this form of the North Korean system of political control is very strong, as is the system of ideological indoctrination of the people associated with it.

4. The decline of totalitarianism

The twentieth century experienced both the rise of totalitarianism and its decline. The fall of “socialist integration” can be traced to many reasons. In China, the largest of the countries allied to the USSR, where it formed its own totalitarian regime with the personality cult of the “great helmsman” - Mao Zedong, from the mid-20th century they began to look at external relations, and with the Soviet Union, first of all, as a possible source for destroying the absoluteness of their authorities. Then Yugoslavia, which also had a totalitarian regime, refused the help and support of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and also left the system of division of labor that the USSR created. History has proven that in a union of totalitarian states there cannot be equal ties, they are built on a feudal principle, someone must follow the course of the “big brother,” and those who tried to take an independent path of development faced punishment, or even a break.

In a totalitarian society, everything: science, art, economics, politics, philosophy, morality and relations between the sexes is guided by one idea. Totalitarian principles are also manifested in language: “newspeak” is newspeak, which is a means of making it difficult to express other forms of thought. This is a feature of the entire intellectual atmosphere of totalitarian countries: a complete distortion of language, a substitution of the meaning of words designed to express the ideals of the new system.

In the end, this turns against the regime itself. People are forced to adapt to such a language; it is impossible to follow official instructions, but it is necessary to pretend that you are guided by them. This gives rise to a double standard in the behavior of a totalitarian person. Doublethink and thoughtcrime appear. That is, a person’s life and consciousness seem to be bifurcated: in society he is a completely loyal citizen, but in private life he is indifferent and distrustful of the regime. Thus, one of the fundamental principles of “classical” totalitarianism is violated: the total unity of the masses and the party, the people and the leader.

In order to continue to exist, totalitarianism must constantly show the people its successes, prove the reality of the goals it has set, the infallibility of leadership and the wisdom of the leader. And if the party’s plans are not implemented, it is necessary to convince the majority of the population why we need to wait longer.

The totalitarian regimes in Italy and Germany were destroyed when they lost the wars they started. The same thing happened in the allied regimes of Hungary and Romania, but after the war, Soviet-type totalitarianism developed there.

Countries Eastern Europe has taken a more difficult path to democracy.

In this part of the land, totalitarian political parties that preached communism were supported by the people in the fight against fascism, here they were partners of movements fighting for democracy. With the support of the USSR, having seized power, they, in the wake of anti-fascist, people's democratic revolutions, began to build a totalitarian society according to the standard of Stalinist socialism. But the interests and aspirations of the people did not at all coincide with the directions of the leadership of the new government. But attempts to resist totalitarianism imposed “from above,” as was the case in Hungary in 1956 under the slogan of restoration of the pre-war order, or as was the case in Czechoslovakia in 1968 under the idea of ​​updating and improving socialism, were suppressed by the Soviet armed forces. The CPSU could not allow, in the Cold War, during the confrontation between the “two camps,” these countries to reject the model of social organization, which was built on the Soviet type and could be advanced.

By the end of the 80s, a situation emerged in Eastern Europe in which the external attributes of the existing totalitarian regimes remained the same. At the same time, this mode no longer worked. Eastern Europe was increasingly gravitating towards Western Europe economically, and few people believed in the official ideology. Most countries were inclined to conclude that Soviet military intervention would follow if society attempted to initiate reforms.

When it became clear that such a threat no longer existed, a wave of bloodless coups (except Romania) took place across the CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) countries. Those trends that formed long ago, such as conservative, liberal, social democratic, etc., have now actually begun to work in politics. The previously ruling elites did not resist or sent contacts with the democratic opposition and submitted to the decision of the majority.

A different situation developed in states where totalitarian regimes were to some extent independent from the USSR. They tried to act as defenders of the national interests of their countries, and not just socialist principles. The totalitarian regime of N. Ceausescu in Romania lasted until it was overthrown by armed means. In Yugoslavia, the totalitarian regime had problems raising the national question. The totalitarian regime and its power were not able to protect the interests of the peoples living on the territory of the Yugoslav multinational state.

The overthrow of totalitarian structures in the territory of the former Soviet Union took the most difficult paths.

Khrushchev's entire report at the 20th Congress of the CPSU was not fully published, so the revelation of Stalin's personality cult did not mark the end of the totalitarian system, it was undertaken by the CPSU elite and for the elite. The reasons for showing Stalin in a negative light were probably that his closest associates, having created a leader for themselves, whom they themselves endowed with absolute power, themselves became victims of his desires; they were not protected from the fact that they could be victims of the next process that was beginning from a denunciation, which has in its essence a layman striving to “go up”.

During the so-called “stagnation,” the Soviet totalitarian system returned to its inherent state of gradual decay. A layer of intelligentsia, ignorant of persecution and repression, began to emerge in society and could accept ideas different from totalitarian ones. The human rights movement began to develop against all odds. The basis of this movement was the protection of human rights to express their own individuality.

By the time of “perestroika”, when M.S. Gorbachev proclaimed “glasnost”, and awareness of the need for change in society became widespread. Among the intelligentsia and manual workers, dissatisfaction with the egalitarian, command-and-distribution system of management grew. Its ineffectiveness caused irritation against the authorities. The benefits and privileges received by the party nomenklatura looked undeserved and unearned. Team M.S. Gorbachev tried to achieve the renewal of society, without allowing it to split, to find a solution to problems that would be accepted both by supporters of perestroika within the framework of the “socialist choice” and by those who wanted to move to a market economy.

Gradually, the restructuring of the Soviet totalitarian system developed into its destruction. The image of an “external enemy” was destroyed, which greatly undermined the foundations of the system. All this led to the collapse of the totalitarian system in the USSR.

Conclusion

Over time, the totalitarian regime begins to rot from within. First, people who are in opposition to the regime emerge from the ranks of the political elite. Then dissidents are alienated from the regime, then broad sections of the population. The crowning achievement of the destruction of totalitarianism is the abandonment of strict control in the economy. Totalitarianism is being replaced by authoritarianism.

Under totalitarianism, one center of power with a single leader seeks to put all aspects of society under control in the name of achieving a common goal. At the same time, everything individual is subordinated to the universal. The experience of history has shown that a system of power, which is built on the predominance of a single ideology, as well as political institutions corresponding to its structure, cannot adapt to changes in complex societies. This is an internally closed totalitarian system that moves according to the laws of self-isolation.

Therefore, in the modern world, totalitarianism cannot provide either the development of market relations, or a combination of forms of ownership, or support for entrepreneurship and the economic initiative of citizens. This is a politically non-competitive system of power.

In the modern world, its internal sources of decay are associated with the collapse of the economic and social foundations of self-preservation. A totalitarian regime does not need to improve the social status of, for example, the intelligentsia, since it acts only by mobilization methods. The tension that has developed in these societies, uncertainty about the future, and fear of the repressive apparatus weaken support for this regime; it does not have the ability to find the right answers to the challenges of the time.

Fear and terror cannot haunt people forever. The weakening of repression leads to an increase in opposition sentiments in society, refusal and indifference to the official ideology, and lack of loyalty. With some devotion to the dominant ideology, people begin to live by double standards. Dissidents appear, whose opposition ideas gradually reach the masses and undermine the ideology of monopoly of the ruling party.

In the 21st century, the main source of destruction and the impossibility of reviving totalitarian regimes is the complete lack of resources to maintain the information regime of mono-ideological power. Also, purely technically, the emergence of totalitarian systems is not possible. Information technologies cover all countries, so it is impossible to artificially isolate your information space from the penetration of “alien” ideas. And the destruction of the system of unanimity is the main prerequisite for the collapse of totalitarianism.

Now the most important problem is eliminating the threat of totalitarianism, that is, the problem of eliminating the huge gap in the levels of socio-economic development in the world, it is necessary to provide backward countries and regions with opportunities to grow to the level of advanced ones, it is necessary to prevent wars and environmental disasters. For this, humanity must unite its efforts.

If every state brings evil, then the Absolute State can only bring absolute evil. Therefore, it is necessary to bring the state to an acceptable minimum so that state regulation during modernization does not lead our post-totalitarian society to new forms of its nationalization. Only civil society can exercise sufficiently strict control over the state apparatus. The formation of such a civil society is the main guarantee against totalitarian degeneration.

Over the past 20 years, many totalitarian and authoritarian regimes that are not democratic regimes have collapsed or degenerated into democratic republics or states on a democratic basis. Their common disadvantage is that the people could not control them; the nature of their relationships with citizens depended on the will of the rulers. In past centuries, arbitrariness on the part of authoritarian leaders was restrained by the traditions of government, the relatively high education and upbringing of monarchs and aristocracy, their self-control based on religious and moral codes, and the opinion of the church and the threat of popular uprisings were also taken into account. In the modern era, these factors do not work.

Therefore, only a democratic form of government can guarantee the protection of citizens from government arbitrariness. Democracy truly creates the best opportunities for individual and social development, the realization of humanistic values: freedom, equality, justice, social creativity for those peoples who are ready for individual freedom and responsibility, limiting their own selfishness, respect for the law and human rights. One of the countries on the path of transition from one political regime (totalitarian) to another (democratic) is Kazakhstan. Our country has followed the path of rapid political and economic implementation of the Western liberal model of democracy, along the path of so-called shock therapy. However, in Kazakhstan at that time there were no long-term traditions of a market economy and individual culture characteristic of the West; Soviet society was deeply different from Western democracies in almost total militarization, super-centralization and super-monopolization of the economy, its inability to any competition; the predominance of collectivist values ​​in the popular consciousness, the multi-ethnic composition of the population, the absence of mass democratic movements capable of forming an alternative political elite to the nomenklatura, etc. As a result, we are going through difficult times; the liberal model of democratization has led to political anarchy, undermining the motivation of productive labor, a sharp rise in prices and a decline in the standard of living of the population. It is obvious that for Kazakhstan, the optimal model of political and economic reform can be found only by carefully taking into account its own specifics and world experience, pursuing an active and realistic government policy in order to form a more dynamic and humane society.

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