Moscow welcomed the Cuban revolution, because for once they were able to signal a communist government founded by indigenous troops instead of the Red Army. Cuba also became the “front” of the Soviet Union to promote socialism in the developing world, as the Havana regime was considered more salable and charismatic. In the late 1970s, Soviet influence in Latin America had passed crisis proportions, according to several congressmen in the United States.
At the 23rd party conference in 1966, Brezhnev told delegates that the Soviet army had reached a level completely sufficient to defend the country. In early 1977, Brezhnev told the world that the Soviet Union was not trying to be superior to the United States in the field of nuclear weapons, nor to be militarily superior in any way. In the last years of Brezhnev’s government, it became an official defense policy to invest just enough to maintain military deterrence, and in the eighties, Soviet defense officials were again told that the investment would not exceed the level to maintain national security. During his last meeting with Soviet military leaders in October 1982, Brezhnev emphasized the importance of not investing too much in the Soviet military sector. This policy was upheld during the rules of Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev. He also said that it was appropriate to further increase the preparedness of the armed forces.
A result of ‘big business’ was an increase in materialism, corruption and nepotism that daily life in the Soviet Union continued to color the rest of its existence. Another example of “big business” was the publication that started in the late 1940s of a series of novels aimed at a female audience; A choice of subject that would have been unthinkable before the war. In the period of rapid industrialization and mass collectivization that preceded World War II, the employment rates of the Soviet Union experienced exponential growth. In 1923, 3.9 million jobs were expected per year, but the number even increased to as much as 6.4 million. Unemployment was a problem in late Imperial Russia and even under the NEP, but it was no longer an important factor after the implementation of Stalin’s massive industrialization program.
Employees who have reached the monthly production quota set by the Soviet government were honored by placing their respective names on the factory’s roll of honor. The state awarded badges for a variety of public services, and war veterans were allowed to go to the store queue. All members of the USSR Academy of Sciences received a special insignia and their own car with driver. These prices, benefits and privileges made it easier for some to find decent jobs, although they did not prevent the degeneration of Soviet society. Urbanization had caused unemployment in the Soviet agricultural sector and most of the labor force was able to leave villages for local cities.
Unlike Brezhnev, which owned several mansions and a fleet of luxury cars, he lived very simply. During a visit to Budapest in early 1983, he expressed interest in Hungarian Goulash communism and that the sheer size of the Soviet economy made strict top-down planning impractical. In Soviet collectibles 1982, hasty changes were needed, it had witnessed the country’s worst economic performance since World War II, with real GDP growth of nearly zero percent. In addition, they tried to accelerate economic growth, which had significantly slowed Khrushchev’s power in recent years.