Uskoreniye
Encyclopedia
Uskoreniye was a slogan and a policy announced by Communist Party
General Secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev
on April 20, 1985 at a Soviet Party Plenum, aimed at the acceleration of social and economical development of the Soviet Union
. It was the first slogan of his set of reforms that also included perestroika
(restructuring), glasnost
(transparency), and democratisation.
In May 1985, Gorbachev gave a speech in Leningrad
which he admitted the slowing down of the economic development and inadequate living standards. This was the first time in Soviet history that a Soviet leader had done so.
The program was furthered at the 27th Congress of the Communist Party
in Gorbachev's report to the congress, in which he spoke about "perestroika", "uskoreniye", "human factor
", "glasnost", and "expansion of the khozraschyot
" (commercialization). The acceleration was planned to be based on technical and scientific progress, revamping of heavy industry
(in the accordance with the Marxian economics
postulate about the primacy in development of heavy industry over light industry
), taking the "human factor" into an account, and increasing the labor discipline and responsibility of apparatchik
s. In practice it was implemented with the help of massive monetary emission infused into heavy industry, which further destabilized the economy and in particular, brought an enormous disparity between cash money and virtual "paper" money used in cashless clearings (безналичный расчёт) between enterprises and state and among enterprises.
The politics of mere "acceleration" eventually failed, which was de facto admitted in June 1987 at a Party Plenum, and the "uskoreniye" slogan was phased out in favor of the more ambitious "Perestroika
" (restructuring of the whole economy).
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
on April 20, 1985 at a Soviet Party Plenum, aimed at the acceleration of social and economical development of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. It was the first slogan of his set of reforms that also included perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
(restructuring), glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
(transparency), and democratisation.
In May 1985, Gorbachev gave a speech in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
which he admitted the slowing down of the economic development and inadequate living standards. This was the first time in Soviet history that a Soviet leader had done so.
The program was furthered at the 27th Congress of the Communist Party
27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
27th Congress of the CPSU was held in Moscow. It was held after the deaths of Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko. Mikhail Gorbachev was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU...
in Gorbachev's report to the congress, in which he spoke about "perestroika", "uskoreniye", "human factor
Human factors
Human factors science or human factors technologies is a multidisciplinary field incorporating contributions from psychology, engineering, industrial design, statistics, operations research and anthropometry...
", "glasnost", and "expansion of the khozraschyot
Khozraschyot
Khozraschyot or Khozraschet was an attempt to simulate the capitalist concepts of profit and profit center into the planned economy of the Soviet Union....
" (commercialization). The acceleration was planned to be based on technical and scientific progress, revamping of heavy industry
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
(in the accordance with the Marxian economics
Marxian economics
Marxian economics refers to economic theories on the functioning of capitalism based on the works of Karl Marx. Adherents of Marxian economics, particularly in academia, distinguish it from Marxism as a political ideology and sociological theory, arguing that Marx's approach to understanding the...
postulate about the primacy in development of heavy industry over light industry
Light industry
Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...
), taking the "human factor" into an account, and increasing the labor discipline and responsibility of apparatchik
Apparatchik
Apparatchik is a Russian colloquial term for a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party or government; i.e., an agent of the governmental or party "apparat" that held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management...
s. In practice it was implemented with the help of massive monetary emission infused into heavy industry, which further destabilized the economy and in particular, brought an enormous disparity between cash money and virtual "paper" money used in cashless clearings (безналичный расчёт) between enterprises and state and among enterprises.
The politics of mere "acceleration" eventually failed, which was de facto admitted in June 1987 at a Party Plenum, and the "uskoreniye" slogan was phased out in favor of the more ambitious "Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
" (restructuring of the whole economy).