External Challenges to Soviet Ideology in the Second Half of the 1960s and in the 1970s

The Soviet Union's foreign policy challenges of the 1960s and 1970s had an ideological aspect to them. Contradictions between Soviet Communism and Eastern European socialist models of development became more pronounced. Eastern European socialist countries began to emphasize the variety of models for "building socialism" and offered their own theories, not sanctioned by Moscow, of the construction of socialism in other European countries. Certain "ideological dangers" for the USSR also came from the Communist parties of capitalist countries. Authority of the Soviet Union and the CPSU among Western communists had declined. The weakening of the influence of Soviet ideology in the world had become evident. As a result, Western communists began to distance themselves from the USSR and the "Socialist Bloc" countries. In the post-war years, the authorities and the elites of the "Capitalist Bloc" countries took additional measures to reduce the popularity of the Communist ideology by promoting the idea of "social compromise instead of social revolution". One of the most significant challenges to Soviet ideology was also the "convergence theory". The socio-economic models developed in capitalist countries - especially the concept of the "welfare state" - presented another serious challenge. As a result of these trends and an increase in the standard of living in capitalist countries, there was a "de-ideologization" as well as a decrease in mass revolutionism of the population. The external challenges to Soviet ideology were regarded in Moscow with dismay. New ideological and socio-political concepts in capitalist countries were perceived negatively by the Kremlin. The external challenges had a negative impact on the mass consciousness of Soviet citizens. The article concludes that during the period under review, the challenges posed to Soviet ideology from abroad began to be complex. This article also gives classification of these challenges and reveals main ways of their manifestation.