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the
west抯 technological advances had important implications for
domestic life in the industrialized capitalist nations. they led to
improvements in living standards, the growth of the middle classes,
and greater social stability. in addition to economic and social
benefits, western populations enjoyed broad democratic rights and
freedoms. by contrast, the stalinist system was not geared to meet
the needs of ordinary citizens. the people, the consumers, came last
on the regime抯 priority list. endemic shortages of consumer goods,
overcrowded housing conditions, primitive consumer service梐ll these
cried out for remedy. |
from
1945 to 1953 the people抯 natural desire for improvement in living
conditions and the authorities?inability to meet these expectations
stoked domestic tensions. the soviet people, who had sacrificed
everything for the sake of victory, felt they deserved better. to
continue to ignore consumers?needs was becoming more and more
dangerous politically. unable to follow the west抯 lead in creating
a more democratic and consumer-oriented society, the soviet leaders
chose to seal the ussr off from the west抯 搕emptations?by an
almost impenetrable 搃ron curtain.?/span>
in
the immediate postwar years the internal pressures for change were
also generated by new perceptions of themselves and of the wider
world that many soviets had acquired during the war. ten million
soviet citizens had taken part in the red army抯 victorious
liberation campaign in europe, and over five million had been
repatriated from german captivity. in other words, over fifteen
million people had come face to face with 搕he capitalist realities?
to discover a significant gap in the living standards between their
country and the more industrialized capitalist nations. the
experience was often a cultural shock compelling many to reconsider
soviet propagandist stereotypes.
more
importantly, the historic victory reawakened patriotism and
self-pride in millions of people. public atmosphere was charged with
great expectations and a desire for change. in villages, rumors
spread of the impending dissolution of collective farms and of
greater economic freedom. in towns, the intelligentsia hoped for
democratization of the political regime. in the recently sovietized
territories, including the baltic republics and the western reaches
of the ukraine and belorussia, soviet punitive bodies confronted
pockets of open armed resistance, mopping up guerrilla detachments
of die-hard nationalists determined not to submit to soviet rule.
