Political development of USSR. Afganistan

Single party state leads to TOTALITARISM when its leader is strong
Or to AUTORITARISM when leader is weak
Brezhnev like no leader before him becamе the most popular character of anekdotes.
People lost faith in government and all they saw was elderly gentlemen who loved his medals a bit too much
Cult (without) personality

A question of letting one man to hold too much power was an active question after Stalin’s terror.
General motion of Communist party leadership was to introduce diversion of power inside party officials
From 1964 no single person could held 2 major posts at the same time ( General Secretary and Premier)
BUT throughout 1970es Brezhnev outsmarted his collegues and gain more and more of active power
HOWEVER he always remain team player open to hear opinion of other party members.
Collective power

Being more conservative in his political views, Brezhnev hushed down previous reforms and even returned to whitening Stalin’s legacy
All other-thinking attempts were not allowed (trial of Yuri Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky in 1966 was a first call)
KGB under Andropov successfully controlled all opposition groups
Main form of repression became putting person to mental asylum.
Silent repression

WHO - Human rights activists or free-thinkers or advocates for reforms
HOW – main source – Chronicles of Current Events
SAMIZDAT became a form of not only political protest or human rights movement but also a form to keep freedom of speech in censored media
dissident

Reason – to stress that USSR entered developed socialism stage and leading role of the Party in this process
Article 6 stated that CPSU is the ONLY political force of Soviet society
Soviet citizens enjoyed wide range of political rights and freedom BUT art.39 stated that “Enjoyment of the rights and freedoms of citizens must not be to the detriment of the interests of society or the state.“
1977 constitution

Article 59 of the Constitution stated that citizens' exercise of their rights was inseparable from performance of their duties
Obliged to work
Military service
Secure social property