Gorbachev & The Fall of the Soviet Empire

LONG-TERM CAUSES OF THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM:

THE STANDARD OF LIVING:
1960's - Communists had been convinced Communism = Better than
Capitalism
Convinced Communist state would soon produce more than USA
& West
By 1980's - It was clear Communism had failed to deliver high living
standards
(Most people in Soviet Union were much poorer than
WEuropeans)
Basic goods (E.g. Sugar) = Rationed
Gap between Communist & Capitalist Economies were growing all the
time
Soviet Union & Allies = Not able to compete w/ West in new industries of
1980's (Computers, Telecommunications...)
Soviet farming had failed (Many farmers but...INEFFICIENT)
= Soviet Union had rich land but couldn't produce enough food to feed its
people
Farming employed over 20% of workforce (In USA - 3%)
Each American farmer produced more food than 7 Soviet farmers
= USSR had to import M's of tonnes of grain from USA
CORRUPTION & THE DECLINE OF COMMUNISM:
Under leadership of Brezhnev, Soviet Communism moved a long way
from fairness & equality (Communist ideals) + Became more corrupt
Leading Communists had luxurious houses ('dachas') for themselves
= Ordinary people had less respect for Communism
THE 2nd COLD WAR:
With Communist economies in trouble, cost of CW = Unbearable (Price of
weapons constantly increased)
USA & Allies could afford higher costs b/ their economies were prospering
USSR could only keep up by diverting huge proportions of national
income to defence (People suffered even lower standards of living)
1981 - Cost of CW began to increase when Ronal Reagan came to power
Reagan =
Rejected idea of dtente & encouraged policy of confrontation w/
Soviets
Took view that Communism was wicked + Needed to be approached
w/greater
firmness
Increased military spending & challenged USSR to join new Arms Race
(Star Wars)
= Heightened tension between USA & USSR
WAR IN AFGHANISTAN:
December 1979 - Soviet Troops invaded Afghanistan to support its
Communist Gov.
Invasion = Widely criticised (Islamic world) & Lost USSR many friends

Led to widespread boycott of Olympic Games (Held in Moscow)

Afghan rebels received help from USA & invasion encouraged Reagan to
take tough anti-Soviet stance when he became president in 1980
Soviet military action = Failure
Official Afghan army wasn't strong enough to win alone; Once Soviet
Forces had become involved it became very difficult to withdraw
With Soviet help, Afghan Gov. controlled Kabul (Capital) & other large
towns
BUT...
Rebels controlled much of countryside
Increasing amounts of Soviet Troops were needed to prop up unpopular
Gov's
Early 1980's - 125,000 Soviet Troops in Afghanistan
Situation of Soviets in Afghanistan = Similar to that of Americans in
Vietnam
Afghanistan War =
Lasted 10 years
Led to death of 15,000 Soviet Troops
Damaged Soviet economy (War cost = $8 Billion/year)
February 1989 - Last Soviet Troops left Afghanistan
SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANDROPOV &
GORBACHEV:
SIMILARITIES:
Called for an end to the arms race, and offered to reduce the Soviet
stockpile of
weapons in return for American reductions
Attacked corruption at home
Abandoning Brezhnev Doctrine
Not invade other Warsaw Pact countries
DIFFERENCES:
The way 'glastnost' gave new freedom to the people of the Soviet Union
Under 'glastnost', people were told an increasing amount about the
atrocities
committed by the Government when Stalin had been in powerlessness
1000's of political prisoners were released
Energy & Imagination with which Gorbachev pursued disarmament w/
the US
President
Unlike Andropov, he was able to persuade Reagan that he genuinely
wanted an
end to the Cold War
= 1987 - Major Disarmament Treaty (Both USA & USSR agreed to
remove
medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe within 3 years)
THE GORBACHEV AGENDA:
'Perestroika':
Soviet economy was failing

Communist system needed to be reformed (But not replaced)

This would be done by a process called 'perestroika' (Restructuring)
Perestroika would require a new honesty on the part of people in the
USSR
'Glasnost':
Free speech should be allowed
There should be a new spirit of 'glastnost' (Openness)
There should be an end to the persecution of dissidents
Corruption:
Corruption must be stamped out
The Economy/Defence:
Key cause of Economic Problems Amount of money being spent
on defence
To reduce this, the USSR should:
Pull out of Afghanistan
Negotiate arms reduction w/ the USA
Stop interfering in the affairs of other Communist countries
WHAT WAS THE PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION OF GORBACHEV IN
THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION?
FAILURES AT HOME:
By encouraging free speech at home, Gorbachev simply brought
problems out into the open
Gorbachev - Wanted to make the Soviet system of centrally planned
production
more efficient
This didn't happen b/ the levels of corruption & inefficiency in the
economy
= Too great
Managers of the Soviet economy saw the reforms as a threat to their jobs
& they blocked the changes
THE END OF THE BREZHNEV DOCTRINE:
December 1988 - Gorbachev spoke in the UN
Announced huge cuts in the Soviet AF's
Made it clear that the Brezhnev Doctrine was now abandoned (The
countries of Eastern Europe could do what they liked)
= There would be no more Soviet Tanks rolling into cities
1989 - REVOLUTION:
When it became clear the USSR was no longer ready to use force to
control its Empire, there was a rapid change
May 1989 - Hungarian Government opened the frontier w/ Austria (Now,
there
was a gap in the Iron Curtain)
June 1989 - Free elections were held in Poland
- Solidarity won and in August led a new non-Communist
Government
Gorbachev expressed support for a peaceful hand-over of power

Rolling back of Communism in Eastern Europe had begun:

Many young East Germans made their way to Hungary through Austria
into West Germany (This made a nonsense of the Berlin Wall)
October 1989 - Gorbachev visited East Germany for the celebration of
the 40th
anniversary of State
Behind the scenes, Gorbachev explained to East German leaders he had
no intention of using Russian force to stop reform
10th November 1989 - Berlin Wall was torn down
17th November 1989 - Series of massive anti-Communist demonstrations
took place
in Czechoslovakia
Early December 1989 - Czechoslovak Communist Government collapsed
21st December 1989 - Revolution began in Romania
Romanian dictator Ceausescu was executed in XMas Day
Throughout Eastern Europe there was no popular support for
Communism
Without threat of Soviet Tanks, Communism fell apart
1990 - Two halves of Germany re-united + Single pro-Western state was
created
THE LAST DAYS OF COMMUNISM (RETURN TO HARD-LINE APPROACH):
After 1989 - Gorbachev = In a difficult position
His plan to reform Communism had failed
Communism had been rejected by Eastern Europe & different
nationalities demanded independence from the USSR
Call for independence was strongest in the Baltic Republics of Latvia,
Lithuania & Estonia
In Russia (Heart of USSR) many people demanded an end to Communism
4th February 1990 - 250,000 people demonstrated in Moscow against
Communism
Gorbachev responded by drawing back from reform & trying to make an
alliance w/ old style, hard-line Communists
May Day 1990 - Demonstrators humiliated Gorbachev by shouting at him
in public
during the traditional Communist March
THE DOWNFALL OF GORBACHEV & RISE OF YELTSIN:
Boris Yeltsin became leader of Reformists (1987 - Yeltsin had been
dismissed from Communist Party b/ of his radical views)
May 1990 - Yeltsin was elected President of Russia
USSR was divided into separate republics & Russia = Largest
of them
June 1990 - Yeltsin left Communist Party & Joined forces w/ those who
wanted to
destroy Soviet Communism
Gorbachev was losing control of events
Autumn 1990 - Gorbachev tried to stop disintegration of USSR by using
force
against Nationalists in Baltic Republics
Gorbachev appointed more old-style Communists to key positions of

Government
= Unsuccessful (He began to lose many of his long-standing friends &
supporters)
December 1990 - Soviet Foreign Minister resigned & complained of a
move towards
dictatorship
= Great blow (Shevardnadze had been one of Gorbachev's allies for
many years)
1991 - Yeltsin attacked power of Communist Party in daily life of Russian
people
Banned party from operating at all places of work
Russian Parliament (controlled by Yeltsin) became more powerful &
challenged central government of Gorbachev
August 1991 - Group of hard-line Communists tried to seize power +
Arrested
Gorbachev and declared a state of emergency
Coup = Opposed by Yeltsin + Soon collapsed
Damaged Gorbachev's authority
December 1991 - Individual Soviet Republics became independent &
Gorbachev
resigned as Soviet leader
= The Soviet State, born in 1917 revolution, no longer existed