General “Maize” as One of the Failed Managerial Experiments of N. S. Khrushchev

Abstract

Goals. Based on the analysis of materials from the Soviet press, scientific publications and a number of other sources, to show the hyperactive activity of the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N.S. Khrushchev on the widespread introduction of corn crops in the country, to reveal how ill-conceived and not calculated from a scientific point of view, managerial decisions in an authoritarian political system can lead to serious negative socio-economic and political consequences.Materials and methods. N.S. Khrushchev’s speeches at party congresses, plenums, activists and other forums, party and government resolutions concerning the party leadership of the agrarian sphere of the country were chosen as the basic materials of the work. The main method of working with sources and scientific literature is the historical approach, which is traditional for this kind of research, which allowed us to consider the dynamics of the origins of the “corn epic”, its development and historical finale. In addition, a problem-chronological approach was used, which contributed to the study of specific aspects of the activities of the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, which allowed to trace the causes of the origin and development of the campaign initiated by him, but also to draw historical lessons from its deplorable results.Results. One of the negative results of the policy of “universal maize” imposed by N. Khrushchev in the life of the agricultural sector of the country was a deep food crisis. In turn, the total shortage of meat and dairy products and bakery products in most regions of the country, which has become essentially chronic, has shown the complete failure of some managerial experiments of the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.Conclusions. Deep unprofessionalism, paternalism, the desire to interfere and direct literally all spheres of the national economy of the country, from space exploration to agriculture — these qualities were inherent in most of the generation of party leaders of the USSR. Khrushchev's unceremonious intervention in the agrarian sphere led to serious negative economic and social consequences, a sharp decline in the party's authority in society, which continued in the following years after his departure from the political arena. In the end, in 1991, it was not so much the foreign and homegrown "enemies of Soviet power" that crushed a huge power, but above all, the inability of the country's party elite to solve the most pressing problems of Soviet people.