Era of Stagnation - Terminology

Terminology

The term "Era of Stagnation" was coined by Mikhail Gorbachev to describe the economic difficulties that developed when Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982 although scholars disagree on when the stagnation started and the causes (see Analyses section). Gorbachevians have criticised Brezhnev, and Brezhnevism in general, for being too conservative and failing to change with the times. Gorbachev once referred to Brezhnev's rule as "the lowest stage of socialism".

The economic problems that began under Brezhnev persisted into the short administrations of Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko both of whom instituted reform policies but whether the economic situation improved as a result is disputed. The Era of Stagnation ended with Gorbachev's rise to power during which political and social life was democratised even though the economy was still stagnating. The social stagnation may have started with the Sinyavsky–Daniel trial, which marked the end of Nikita Khrushchev's "Thaw" or, as considered by some, with the later suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968.

Brezhnev himself declared the era as the period of Developed Socialism in 1971 at the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The term "Developed Socialism" stems from Khrushchev's promise of reaching communism in 20 years. There are several people who consider this the best era in Soviet history in which the standard of living improved as a result of stable social security and low levels of social inequality.