COLLAPSE Flashcards
why was Centralisation a cause for collapse?
it was a long term issue that meant the Soviet economy was very inefficient
- Fertilisers & pesticides often arrived at the wrong time
- Factories often received the wrong grade of products like steel and oil
- it was difficult to get hold of spare parts and administrators were unable to meet needs of factory managers
what problems were there in industry that lead to collapse?
- the economy failed to create incentive for hard work or innovation which reduced productivity
- Gosplan set target for production quantity but not quality which lead to the production of poor quality goods
what problems were there in agriculture that lead to collapse?
- Soviet agriculture required a much larger share of the population than the US yet American farms were 6x more productive
what problems were there in Soviet infrastructure that led to collapse?
- the Soviet transport system never fully developed/modernised making transporting goods very difficult
- a lack of modern storage facilities meant a lot of product was wasted
what were the stages of Gorbachev’s economic policy?
- Rationalisation
- Reform
- Transformation
what was Rationalisation under Gorbachev?
the period from 1985-86 where Gorbachev tried to improve the way the command economy worked
- Andropovs anti-alcohol campaign (cut production by 50%)
- introduced programme of investment to modernise the economy
what was Reform under Gorbachev?
the period from 1986-1990 in which Gorbachev tried to introduce market measures into the existing command economy
- Law on Individual Economic activity made it legal for people to make money of small scale jobs
- Law on State Enterprises devolved power (to set prices) from the government to factory management
- Law on Cooperatives made it legal to set up cooperatives
what was Transformation under Gorbachev?
the period from 1990-91 where Gorbachev abandoned the command economy and tried to introduce a market economy
- ‘500 day programme’ in August 1990
what were the failures of the period of Reform?
- citizens bought alcohol illegally
- alcohol sales dropped by 67 billion roubles for the government
- government debt rose from $18.1 billion in 1981 to $27.2 billion in 1988
- Gorbachev invested in energy when advised otherwise and reduced growth
what were the failures of market reform?
the reforms undermined the central planning system whilst also failing to create an effective alternate. this lead to a severe shortage of many goods (218 million tons of grain in 1990 but no way to distribute it)
what were the political consequences of economic problems?
- between 1986 and 1990 GDP shrunk by 4%
- prices were rising
- party members were rich and able to secure control of economic assets which led to a decrease in support for the communist party
- Oil production fell by 9%
- Tractor production fell by 12%
what were Gorbachev’s goals for reform?
- the creation of a democracy for the working people (help allow the people the purge the corrupt and inefficient party members)
- he wanted greater freedom of speech
- allowing people to participate in government to end cynical criticism of the party
what were some of Gorbachev’s early reforms?
in 1985:
- open up debate in the party
- allow intellectuals more freedom of expression
- allow the public to have more access to information
what did Gorbachev do to senior communists from Brezhnev’s tenure?
purged them to appoint a new generation of ministers who favoured reform
what was Glasnost?
1986: a policy of openness that made information on economic and Soviet history more readily available
- 1986 Yakolev was placed in charge of soviet media and appointed radical editors
- 1988 press published criticisms of Marx and Lenin
- 1988 people allowed to listen to Western radio and read Western news
- 1988 scale of economic problems was revealed
what were the political effects of Glasnost?
- divided the party (some feared the reform would destroy the party)
- factions emerged
- many citizens lost faith in the government
- opponents of Communism could undermine the government by publishing criticisms
what reform to government was made in 1988?
multi-candidate elections were authorised allowing citizens to vote for rival Communist candidates and elects wither radicals or moderates
when was the first multi-candidate election?
March 1989 - several high ranking Communists lost wheras radicals did well (Yeltsin won 89% of votes in Moscow)
what happened in the March 1990 elections?
- in Moscow a group called Democratic Russia won 85% of seats
- in Leningrad Democratic Elections 90 (an anti-communist group) won 80% of seats
What were the consequences of the election reforms?
- the 1989 and 1990 elections weakened the party
- the 1989 election led to the formation of the Inter-regional Deputies group which was a opposition to the Communists
- Nationalists used the elections to campaign for independence
- Yeltsin emerged as an opposition to Gorbachev
what did Gorbachev introduce to attempt to regain control in 1990?
a constitutional reform to give himself new powers to deal with the USSR’s growing economic and political problems - the constitution created the new position of President of the USSR (he hoped this would give him authority)
did Gorbachev’s presidency succeed?
no - the role was unelectedand did not have any legitimacy
what effect did Gorbachev’s purges have?
he replaced Brezhnev’s corrupt government with his own Russian supporters - having only one non-Russian member in the Politburo sparked resentment in the Republics
what effect did ‘Acceleration’ have on Republics?
caused economic decline across all of the USSR - this happened at the same time as the appointment of the Russian leadership causing them to take the blame - this lead to growing nationalism
how did Glasnost effect nationalism?
- exposed ways Stalin had persecuted USSR’s ethnic minorities
- allowed Soviet citizens to see higher standards of living the the West
- allowed nationalist groups to publish material that demanded greater autonomy
where was the growing unrest in the USSR?
- 1988 nationalist protests broke out in Azerbaijan leading to riots
- 1989 Uzbeks massacred the Muslim minority of Meskhetians. this led to a loss of faith of the Soviet government
- 1989 Georgian protests against Abkhazian minority causing the Soviet troops to kill 19 Georgians and injure thousands more
- the explosion of the Chernobyl power plant and the revelation of Communists negative environmental impact led to increasing nationalism
what were the consequences of growing nationalism?
it put the party in a difficult situation where Soviet forces were blamed for doing nothing in some places and blamed for using force in others
what was the Sinatra Doctrine?
August 1989 - removed the USSR’s right to intervene in the affairs of other socialist countries - Gorbachev argued all countries should find their own way to communism - allowed much greater freedom in Eastern European countries
what were the effects of the Sinatra Doctrine?
the change of policy led to revolutions against Communist rule in Eastern Europe - the destruction of the Berlin wall in November 1989 symbolised the end of Communist rule in Eastern Europe
what effects did Democratisation have on Nationalism?
allowed nationalists to establish their desire for independence
- March 1990 Lithuania declared independence (Gorbachev claimed it was illegal and imposed economic sanctions)
- May 1990 Yelstin made laws from Russian parliament legally superior (gave Russia a degree of independence from the USSR)
what nationalism happened in Estonia?
November 1988 - declared itself sovereign and effectively independent - Estonia did not leave the union but could revive the old flag and educate in their native language
what nationalism happened in Lithuania?
March 1990 - declared independence - Gorbachev did not accept this and imposed some economic sanctions - these failed and Gorbachev implemented Soviet force in Jan 1991 killing 14 people
what was Gorbachev’s new thinking?
a new language of politics
- Perestroika: implied scientific restructuring he didnt use ‘reform’ as it reminded of Khrushchev’s failures. the new word allowed him to advocate change
- Socialist Markets: made markets seem less capitalist and more compatible with communism
what was Gorbachev’s ‘New Leadership’?
replaced local leaders in the Republics with his supporters - seen as a Russian takeover which increased Nationalist support
what was Perestroika?
a umbrella term for Gorbachev’s reform
- Acceleration (1985-86) led to economic decline and undermined faith in the party and caused initiation of more radical reforms
- Glasnost exposed the crimes of the previous Soviet governments and undermines the faith in the party and its ideology
- Democratisation allowed alternative candidates to stand which weakened the party
- Market reform further destabilised the economy and showed the Western economy was better
what did Gorbachev renounce?
violence as a method of control/ holding together the USSR and Easter Bloc - although violence was still used in some cases Gorbachev reduced the emphasis on violence - weakened the parties ability to hold the union together
what were Gorbachev’s opinions on individual rights?
they needed to be respected in order to avoid a repeat of Stalin’s atrocities - other Soviet leaders saw individuals rights as a capitalist idea - played a key role in the fall as it weakened the parties control to repress opposition.
what were the consequences of Gorbachev’s political reforms?
failed to revive and renew the USSR - led to economic chaos and a decline in faith of the party
what did Gorbachev propose in 1990?
a new treaty for a more decentralised union - negotiations continued in 1991 and by July a new draft establishing a Union of Sovereign States was agreed on (Hardliners thought this would end the USSR and began to plot against Gorbachev)
what was established in 1991 by 8 senior communists?
an Emergency Committee which would replace Gorbachev’s government - was led by Gorbachev’s deputy, the head of the KGB and the head of the army - soldiers refused to arrest Yeltsin and without the armies support the coup collapsed
what effect did the coup have on Communist rule?
- Yeltsin’s authority was strengthened attacked the communist party. On the 23rd of August he suspended the party in Russia and then banned it on the 6th of November
- Gorbachev’s authority was weakened and the public lost faith in him
- nationalists in Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia all declares independence by September
What happened to the Republics?
- in 1991 90% of the Ukrainian population voted to leave the USSR
- Yeltsin and the leaders of Belarus and Ukraine signed the Minsk agreement
- 15 former soviet countries joined the Commonwealth for Independent States (CIS) in 1991
when did the USSR formally cease to exist?
31 December 1991
what were Gorbachev’s fundamental mistakes?
- believing reform could save the USSR
- failure to anticipate the effects of how Glasnost would undermine the claims of the party
- failure to see the fragility of peoples commitment to the USSR (nationalism)
- his reforms that created the crisis that destroyed the USSR
what were Gorbachev’s policy mistakes?
- Acceleration/ uskoreniye lowering output and making ti impossible to reform industry
- his constant changes in direction meaning his policies did not have enough time to succeed
- he attempted political and economic reform at the same time which weakened the entire system
what were Gorbachev’s tactical mistakes?
- he failed to win over the party but they resisted reform and obstructed his programme
- he introduced democracy and didnt stand for election which weakened his power
- he failed to abandon the party after the coup which lost him public support
why was Yelstin so popular?
- he had a reputation for attacking corruption
- he attacked communists who opposed reform
- he campaigned in the 1989 election and won 89% of votes in Moscow
- he used his powers after the election to criticise Gorbachev
how did Yeltsin affect the parties popularity?
when he resigned in 1990 the popularity of the party declined to the public’s positive view of Yeltsin (19.2 million to 16.5 million - 18.8%)
why was Yeltsin so significant for nationalists?
he advocated nationalism - 1990 he told leaders of Republics to ‘take as much Sovereignty as you can swallow’ - he supported the Baltic’s declaration of independence - supported creation of nationalist governments
why was Yeltsin significant for the Coup?
- he became the centre of opposition to the coup
- he used the coup as a pretext to ban the communist party in Russia
- he seized the communist parties assets
- he emerged the war a hero whereas Gorbachev’s reputation was damaged
what other aspects made Yeltsin key in the collapse?
- he was elected whereas Gorbachev was not making him much more legitimate
- he persuaded the leaders of the Soviet military to abandon the USSR and form the new Russian army
