Ryazan miracle
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Ryazan miracle (or Ryazan affair; Russian names: рязанское чудо "Ryazan miracle", рязанский эксперимент "Ryazan experiment", рязанская авантюра "Ryazan venture") was a scandal resulting from a propaganda campaign in support of the Soviet planned economy and organised by the Communist Party Committee of Ryazan Oblast in 1959. It involved promising and then faking the over-fulfilment of the production plan for meat and milk in Ryazan oblast.
Aftermath
Similar events happening on a smaller scale in other regions of the Soviet Union resulted in a statewide drop in agricultural production. Around the same time Khruschev was obsessed with growing maize and forced its widespread planting. Some party leaders in North-West Russia and Baltic were also eager to report their following of the party line, even though maize does not grow well in northern regions.
All these events gave a blow to Khrushchev's image in the Soviet Union. His slogan "Catch up and overtake America" was widely mocked in jokes. The events contributed to his final fall from power in 1964.
See also
- The Great Leap Forward in China and the resulting Great Chinese Famine of 1959-1960, which stemmed from similar practices of agricultural planning.
