The Role of the State in the Socio-Economic Development of the USSR: A View Through the Prism of Time

The publications present opposing assessments of the class character of the state in the USSR and its role in the development of society. The answers to these questions play a key role in understanding the processes that took place in the economy of the USSR and are important for assessing the role of the state in modern Russia. The purpose of the study: to find out what the class character of state power in the USSR was and why it changed and how it influenced the development of the country. The comparative analysis method was used.Results.The formation and change of the class character of the state was based on the struggle between two tendencies: the tendency of the formation and development of socialist relations and the opposite tendency of preserving the traditions of capitalism. Their basis was the contradiction of the system of economic relations. In the period up to the mid-1950s, the power of the working class was formed and strengthened in the USSR. State property became public. Thanks to this, unprecedented rates of socio-economic development were achieved, the victory over fascist Germany, and the rapid post-war economic recovery. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the opposite trend gradually gained the upper hand. The power of the working class weakened. State property lost its public character. As a result, economic growth slowed, economic disproportions grew, social inequality deepened, and the bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie classes revived. All this led to the destruction of the USSR. Conclusions: The key role in the development of socialism was played by the system of mass organization built by the Communist Party. The main reason for the destructive phenomena was the growing departure of the CPSU from Marxism-Leninism in theory and practice, which began in the late 1950s. State property, in the presence of classes and social inequality, remains public only insofar as power is in the hands of the working class. The scope of application of the results is the study of issues of the USSR economy, the theory of socialism. Directions for future research: analysis of the class character and role of the state in modern Russia.