THE GRAIN PROBLEM IN THE USSR IN THE EARLY 1980s (LEONID BREZHNEV MEMORANDUM DATED AUGUST 28, 1982 ON THE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT)
V.A. Ilyinykh1, N.Yu. Pivovarov2
1Institute of History SB RAS, 8, Nikolaeva str., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
2I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, 2, bldg. 2, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya str., Moscow, 119991, Russia
Keywords: state agricultural policy, rural industry, grain problem, agriculture, Politburo of CPSU(B) Central Committee, Leonid Brezhnev, Mikhail Gorbachev
Abstract
In the article two unique documents are introduced in scientific circulation the first time. The first is Memorandum of Leonid Brezhnev for Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) Central Committee dated August 28, 1982 devoted to the development of grain farming. The second is the Resolution of the CPSU Central Committee dated September 2, 1982 as a result of the discussion of this memorandum. The article describes a retrospective analysis of the grain problem in the Soviet Union, which escalation occurred in the late 1970s - early 1980s. The gross grain harvest decreased these years, but imports increased significantly. This was the reason for preparing the memorandum, which contained an assessment of the state of grain farming and proposals for the industry crisis management. Brezhnev believed that the main cause of low production were frequent crop failures, because of which USSR was forced to import grain. According to Brezhnev, the scale of using fertilizers, equipment, agriculture technology, adoption of optimal crop rotations, the expansion of crops enriching soils with nitrogen, especially alfalfa, should encourage to increase grain production and reduce imports. He offered to purchase new technology equipment in France to establish seed production of alfalfa. Actions to improve fodder production were also defined in the document. One of them was increase of soybean crops necessary for obtaining feed with protein content. It was required to organize purchase of soybeans and products of processing abroad before market saturation by means of own production. According to Brezhnev, imports of soybeans and technologies of alfalfa seed production were essential measures to let the country refuse from crops import. Reducing the crop import had to contribute increasing the capacity of feed industry. In conclusion the author emphasizes that the implementation of measures proposed in the memorandum didn’t solve the grain problem in the USSR.
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