Iurii Andropov, Speech to the Central Committee of the CPSU. November 22, 1982
Upon Brezhnev’s death in November, 1982, the Central Committee quickly endorsed the long-time secret police chief Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov as the new General Secretary of the party. A few months later he assumed the governmental title of Chief of State as well. Andropov immediately called for renewed discipline in addressing the country’s economic problems, while reaffirming his ideological commitments in a programmatic article prepared for the hundredth anniversary of Marx’s death. Summing up what Marxism meant to the Soviet leadership, Andropov warned—half a century after Stalin made the same point–that the Soviet Union was not yet ready for the communist utopia. With his stress on incentives, efficiency and productivity, Andropov like his predecessors demonstrated the use of Marxism as “ideology” to justify the rigors of totalitarian modernization.
Original Source: Pravda, 23 November 1982
Comrades! This plenary session of the Party Central Committee is taking place at an important stage of the struggle to implement the plans of the 11th Five-Year Plan on the eve of its third year-its pivotal year, so to speak. We have done a good deal. But difficult and strenuous work lies ahead.
I would like to forcefully draw your attention to the fact that, for a number of highly important indices, the plan assignments for the first two years of the five-year plan were unfulfilled. Naturally, this has an effect on the draft we are discussing today.
The members of the Central Committee will remember Leonid Il’ich Brezhnev’s last speeches and his memorandums to the Politbiuro of the Central Committee on questions of economic development. He put the question as follows: At Party Congresses and Central Committee plenary sessions, we have worked out a scientifically substantiated economic policy and embarked on a course aimed at improving the efficiency of production and its intensification. But the switching of our economy onto these tracks and the turn toward efficiency are still being carried out slowly.
The main index of the economy’s efficiency- labor productivity-is growing at rates that cannot satisfy us. The lack of coordination in the development of the raw materials and processing branches remains a problem. The materials-intensiveness of output shows virtually no decrease.
Plans continue to be fulfilled at the cost of large outlays and production expenses. There are still a good many economic managers who, while glibly quoting Leonid Il’ich’s maxim that the economy should be economical, arc in actuality doing little to accomplish this task.
Apparently the force of inertia and old habits arc still at work. And some people, perhaps, simply don’t know how to tackle the job. We must think about what kind of help should be given these comrades. The main thing is to accelerate work to improve the entire sphere of economic management-administration, planning and the economic mechanism.
It’s necessary to create conditions-economic and organizational-that will stimulate good-quality, productive labor, initiative and enterprise. Conversely, poor work, sluggishness and irresponsibility should I-lave an immediate and inescapable effect on the remuneration, job status and moral prestige of personnel. (Applause.)
It’s necessary to enhance responsibility for observing the interests of the entire state and of all the people and to resolutely eradicate departmentalism and parochialism. It should be made a rule that an), new decision Oil an old question is adopted only after past decisions have been fulfilled or some new circumstances have come up. We must wage a more resolute struggle against all violations of Party, state and labor discipline. I’m certain that in this we will have the full support of Part), and trade union organizations and the support of all Soviet people. (Applause.) …
In general, comrades, there are man), urgent tasks in the national economy. Needless to say, I have no ready-made recipes for accomplishing them. But all of us-the Part), Central Committee-will have to find answers to them, by generalizing Soviet and world experience and collecting the knowledge of the best practical workers and scientists. In general, slogans alone won’t get things moving. Large-scale organizational work by Party organizations, economic managers and engineering and technical personnel is needed if every one of these vast and important tasks is to be examined in the context not only of each branch but also of every plant, every shop and work sector and, if you will, every workplace.
I would like to stress that these questions are of paramount, vital importance for the country. If we resolve them successfully, the economy will continue to grow and the people’s well-being will increase …
Source: Current Digest of the Soviet Press, Vol. XXXIV, No. 47, December 22, 1982, 4-5