Perhaps everyone heard the word "apogee". But not everyone thought about what it means. This term has several meanings, both direct and figurative. The article discusses the meaning of the word and some expressions most often used in speech.
Main meaning
The term is directly related to astronomy. A lot of artificial satellites revolve around the Earth and one natural - the Moon. The apogee is the farthest point of a celestial body orbiting our planet relative to itself.
The opposite of apogee is perigee. This is the closest point in the orbit of a satellite orbiting the Earth relative to its surface.
Both points are at opposite ends of the apse line. When there is a change in its position, the perigee and apogee also change it. A change in the direction of the apogee of the Earth’s satellite occurs with a change in the direction of the perigee line. The apogee distance depends on the major axis, as well as the eccentricity of the satellite’s orbit, most often the moon.
The perturbing power of the sun has the property of changing the position of the perigee of the moon. The perigee of an artificial satellite, in turn, varies depending on the inclination of the orbital plane relative to the plane of the Earth's equator. This is due to the fact that our planet is different from the shape of the ball.
Figurative sense
The meaning of the word “apogee” may also be slightly different, different from the astronomical version. You can look into the Dahl dictionary. Here the apogee is the highest degree of something, such as strength, brilliance, condition.
The word “apogee” is also used in a symbolic sense as a reminder of something sad, past, but very important passage of life.
The word is usually used in the expression "to reach its climax." This means that someone or something is in better condition. For example, an expression can be used to achieve a certain position that is high enough for a person. As a rule, the apogee follows a subsequent fall.
The apogee of the ruler in the postwar period
An expression that is quite important for the country is “the apogee of Stalinism”. What it is, will determine the appeal to the history of the Soviet Union.
The victory in the Great Patriotic War allowed the USSR to increase its significance. Now the Union has become the state to which they listen. This became possible due to the fact that his prestige has grown in the eyes of representatives of other countries.
But not everything was so smooth. After all, nothing happened inside the country. Change was a secondary concern. Initially, it was necessary to restore the national economy and transfer it from the production of military products to peaceful production.
During the war, ministries began to multiply and grow like mushrooms. During the restoration, the reorganization of the state administration apparatus was simply necessary. Which is what happened. But only formally, because all power remained in the hands of the ruler of the country - Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. In fact, he controlled the apparatus for repression, which then existed in the USSR.
Personality cult
Thus, for Stalin’s personal regime, the apogee is the time after the war. The books A Short History of the CPSU (B.) And A Short Biography of I. V. Stalin, written with the participation of the leader himself, have become a kind of bible for the inhabitants of the country. After all, absolutely all citizens were obliged to study them and without any doubt accept everything that was written.
And there was nothing to doubt. In the books, Stalin was awarded all real and imaginary merits. However, doubts were severely punished.
As already noted, in the postwar period, the state was faced with unnecessary committees, administrations and councils that arose in previous years. In 1946 and 1947, the Council of Ministers carried out a number of measures to reduce the state apparatus. The ban on opening new structures also played an important role. It was these changes that helped to achieve some results.
An example of a reorganization of governing bodies is the Bureau of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the former Economic Council under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, which was redone in 1953 into the Presidium of the Council of Ministers.
The management of the main industrial enterprises was the so-called people's commissariats, subsequently transformed into ministries. They represented executive authorities performing administrative activities. Under their authority were the branches of culture, as well as the national economy.
Reduction of the government apparatus
Repeated reorganization of the government apparatus, their merger and dissolution were necessary because it was required by the specialization of industry. These measures led to the enlargement of the government seven times. At the same time, the number of workers increased only four and a half times.
However, real changes nevertheless followed in 1953, when only eleven out of 24 ministries remained to work, and the number of officials decreased several times.
In conclusion, we can say that the apogee is not only an astronomical point, but also the peak of something, as well as a term associated with the history of the country.