10 The Collapse Of Soviet Control In Eastern Europe

Question 1

What was the impact of Gorbachev’s New Thinking on Soviet control in Eastern Europe?

Answer 1

Gorbachev had not intended to weaken communism with his ‘New Thinking’, instead he had intended to strengthen communism through reform. However, once reform started, Gorbachev was unable to contain it in Eastern Europe

Policies introduced in New Thinking, such as the Sinatra Doctrine (members of the Warsaw Pact could make changes to their country without expecting outside interference), the abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Eastern European countries to save money caused Soviet control to weaken in Eastern Europe.

Question 2

What main changes occurred initially in Eastern Europe as a result of New Thinking?

Answer 2

• Reform started in Poland first, a non-communist government was elected in 1989
• Hungary formed a range of political parties in 1989 and planned for free elections in 1990.
• The key to the changes that would then later occur in Eastern Europe was Hungary’s decision to open its border with Austria in May 1989. This created a hole in the Iron Curtain and created a way for East Germans to move to West Germany.

This key change brought into question whether the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain could continue to exist.

Question 3

What events occurred in the lead up to the fall of the Berlin Wall?

Answer 3

• East Germany was slow to embrace perestroika and glasnost, the government had banned Soviet publications of the late 1980s as they believed they undermined communism
• Large demonstrations occurred in 1989, with calls for more freedom and changes to the system of the government
• In October 1989, Gorbachev visited East Germany and informed political leaders that the Soviet Union would not become involved in internal affairs.
• As soon as democratic elections were announced in Hungary, there was a mass movement of East German citizens through Hungary and to West Germany
• As a result, the East German government was forced to announce greater freedom of travel for East Germans. On the 9th November, the border crossing into West Germany opened, resulting in the Berlin Wall being dismantled.

Question 4

What was the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall?

Answer 4

Within a few days, millions of East Germans seized the chance to be reunited with family and experience life in the West.

West and East Germany were then formally reunited on the 3rd October 1990; the new Germany joined NATO.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was significant because:
- It further decreased Soviet power (eventually leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union) and created a larger gap in the Iron Curtain, which decreased the chances of future tension with the US
- It was a symbol of the reduction in rivalry and tensions between the US and Soviet Union, as a communist and non-communist state had reunited peacefully to form one state.

Question 5

What were the reactions to Gorbachev’s policies and actions within the USSR?

Answer 5

In the Soviet Union, Gorbachev’s policies were treated with suspicion and this led to increasing criticism, as the Soviet Power seemed to be diminishing as satellite states started to break from Soviet influence.

• On the 19th August 1991, a group of senior communist government officials known as the ‘Gang of Eight’ organised a coup which removed Gorbachev from power.
• The new government declared a state of emergency and removed the policies of perestroika and glasnost, which could have revived rivalry with the West, but they were only in power for three days
• Boris Yeltsin played a vital role in overthrowing the new government, and Gorbachev returned as leader on the 21st August, although his authority had been damaged.

Question 6

What events led to the collapse of the Soviet Union on the 25th December 1991?

Answer 6

• Gorbachev made a final attempt to save the Soviet Union by introducing a new constitution in 1991 that would give Soviet republics like Ukraine and Latvia greater independence.
• However, these countries saw how the satellite states had broken away from Moscow, and therefore wanted full independence. The leaders of the countries never accepted the new Constitution
• In 1990, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared themselves independent, which was eventually accepted by Moscow in 1991
• This led to other demands for independence within the Soviet Union. There were fears that the country was going to disintegrate
• Gorbachev was opposed by most sections of society and officially announced the dissolution of the Soviet Union and his resignation on the 25th December 1991

Question 7

Why did the Warsaw Pact come to an end?

Answer 7

The Warsaw Pact ended because:
- The Pact was an alliance that United communist states of Eastern Europe against capitalist states of the West. Because most of these states rejected communism, the pact served no purpose
- The Soviet Union’s military strength had been called into question after events in Afghanistan (therefore would not be able to intervene effectively to help Warsaw Pact countries) and its weak economy meant it could no longer bolster the Warsaw Pact
- Demands for independence from republics meant the Soviet Union war on the verge of collapse. The Soviet Union could not keep the Eastern Bloc together therefore the Warsaw Pact also ended.

Military cooperation stopped in early 1990 and the Warsaw Pact formally ended in July 1991. The fall of the Soviet Union in December 1991 officially ended the Cold War (as coup could have potentially revived rivalry).