Collapse Flashcards
Long Term Economic Weaknesses
in decline
highlighted in Novosibirsk Report 1983
crisis in agriculture because of inefficiency & infelxibility
‘For internal use only’
Discipline
Key reformers brought into Politburo (Ligachev, Ryzhkov)
attack rampant alcoholism to improve productivity
mid-1980s: 15% of household spending
April 1985: ‘We can’t build communism on vodka’
legal age for consumption of alcohol raised to 21,
number of retail outlets reduced,
vineyards & distilleries destroyed,
cost of vodka tripled
BUT TAX REVENUES FELL & CAUSED SHORTAGE IN BUDGET
moonshine
Twelfth Five Year Plan
traditional: increase investment & central planning to accelerate growth.
SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
WEAKNESSES:
investment skewed towards construction projects & this led to OVERSPENDS
out of date / breaking down equipment unproductive
industry slow to use technology & a drain on foreign exchange
agriculture taking up large investment with no increase in productivity; little to be gained by investing more
quantity > quality
ACCELERATION did little to address fundamental weaknesses
level of opposition to real change from apparatus
June 1986: ‘Take Gosplan… what they want, they do’
‘superministries’ to try & co-ordinate better and reduce waste but unable
reforms implemented by people who’s priveliged positions they were trying to reduce
military resistant
industy & military investment only if consumer goods suffered
or go into DEFICIT:
1985- 2.4% GDP
1986- 6.2% GDP
Afganistan & Star Wars
G’s reforms exacerbated
Joint Ventures
Jan 1987
allowed foreign firms to establish businesses; Moscow McDonalds 1990
aimed to open USSR up to more modern technology
Law on State Enterprises
1987
loosening of state controls over wages & prices (weakened GOSPLAN)
election in choice of manager
factories could produce what they wanted once target met
Co-operatives legalised
1988
small-scale private enterprises established
set own prices
flourishing in cafes, restaurants, small shops
disguised move to more market-based economy
Impact of perestroika
- food production small increase in growth rate: 1-2% 1986-87 BUT inadequate to feed growing needs of population. ONE FIFTH IMPORTED
- enterprises still had STATE INTERFERENCE: state decided on allocation of materials. devolving power to managers depended on ATTITUDES of state BUREAUCRATS (preferred to keep tight control to meet targets)
- products DIVERTED from state shops (esp food) where prices were low to co-operatives that charged a much higher price; inflation; stripped state shops; bad impact on fixed income (pensioners)
- co-opertives could find best buyer; deals withrich city authorities whilst POORER CITIES devoid of adequate food/basic stuff
- co-operatives more productive than state so CORRUPT government officials demanded bribes for permission to continue to operate. criminal gangs extracted money through extortion rackets (rich from moonshining under G)
- uncertainty over supplies led to HOARDING by population; shops emptied of goods as they arrived– food RATIONING in some cities (1988 meat rationed in 26/55 regions of Russia)
- implementation of electing managers led to steep rise in wages; urban wages rose by 9% 1988 and 13% 1989
- foreign companies keen to invest faced with endless bureaucracy that made progress slow/put investors off. end of 1990 there were nearly 3,000 joint ventures but mostly small-scale and had little impact on economy
- reforms UNDERMINED d by officials: ignored in some cities + sabotaged. leningrad? city administration withdrew all sausages and buried them
WEAKENED STATE PLANNING APPARATUS BUT PROVIDED LITTLE TO REPLACE IT
end of 1989: economy massively in debt & approaching crisis point; G’s promise of improvement in consumer gods had not been achieved. his reforms made situation wors.e
strikes increased: workers (ie. coal miners in Don Basin) protested over unpaid wages & food shortages– SOOO gov quickly increased wages, but this was a short-term measure
wages useless if nothing to buy.
failure to bring about economic improvements undermined his political power/position. led the way to the only solution: dismantling of economic system.
oil
fall in price of oil made economic situation worse.
significant: USSR become more reliant on using oil exports as source of foreign exchange
1984: oil & gas = 54% of Soviet exports
State Commission on Economic Reform and 500 Days Programme
July 1989
concluded more radical solution needed
move to market-led economy
split the Politburo (Ryzhkov called for more gradual transition)
G tried to maintain unity & hesitated over making decision
OCTOBER
SHATALIN put forward 500 Days programme; rapid move to market-led economy
rejected by Soviet government accepted by Russian parliament
divisions between central party leadership & national republics caused chaos & the economy collapsed
Soviet output declined 1/5 between 1990-91: catastrophe
Glasnost
criticisms;
complaints about poor housing
details of stalin’s mass terror, the famine & the Katyn massacre
Soviet victory in WWII: myth of Great Patriotic War underined by reckless waste of human life
environmental issues: Aral Sea (irrigation schemes)
G couldnt put a halt to it once it had started
caused by chernobyl; increase in leukaemia & birth deformities; outdated equipment, secrecy & evasion: reflected weaknesses of SU
1989: population much more politicised
over 60,000 informal groups & clubs holding meetings/demos
resulted in criticism against the Party, much at G for weakness in pursuing radical reform
many powerful reformers were unwilling to defend communist party; some decided to resign
reforms of the party
separate party & state
(Nineteenth Conference of the CP June 1988) BUT Little done to get officials to chose one
lines between two had become blurred (Nomenklatura); personell of one held equivalent in other (Gorbachev: president of the Soviet Union & General Secretary of the Party (+republics)
shifting power from party to Soviets:
allocated more £ to Soviets so they could support their role. deputies elected for 5 years > 2; more security
streamlining Party;
departments of CC reduced from 20 to 9
6 new commissions created
+ streamline state: NOV 1989- G created ‘superministries’ to co-ordinate economic planning, 5 were merged to create 1 for agriculture
Clampdown on corruption:
B’s son-in-law Yuri Churbanov sentenced to 12y in prison
caused resentment in Party;
December 1986: Kunayev removed from First Secretary of party in Kazakhstan (corruption) & replaced by Kolbin (ethnic Russian)
Kazakhs rioted in support of Kunayev
order restored after several hundred protestors were killed
much blame to G; reform of party fraught with dangers
democratisation
1) Early 1987: CC meeting: G discussed idea of secret ballots for multiple candidates
2) June: limited experiment with multiple candidates in elections for local Soviets. small but significant break with practice of elections involving single candidates proposed by party
3) Nineteenth Party Conference June 1988: G announced principle of multi-candidate elections would be extended to national level with elections for the new Congress of people’s deputies
independent, supervisory role; part of G’s attempts to separate party from state
members allocated to Party and to other orgs (trade unions, Union of Writers
some seats could chose from 12 candidates but CP could control nomination process
1989: democracy taste. CHANGE. WEAKENED CP IRRETRIEVABLY.
IMPACT ON THE UNITY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
hoped democratization would strengthen support for economic reforms (against conservatives)
his failure to bring substantial reform alienated ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’: divisions undermined Gs authority
alienated reformers: Yeltsin realised Party wouldn’t carry through reforms and Plenum of the Central Committee 1987 he openly attacked his approach as being too slow. removed from Politburo.
alienated conservatives: attacked March 1988– letter published by unknown Andreeva; complained about constant undermining of work of Stalin & demoralising glasnost. Ligachev used it to attack pace of reform. sentiments supported by some of his own appointees (Chebrikov)!
factions: informal groupings started to emerge during CPD elections;
- Yeltsin formed Inter-Regional Group
- Conservatives formed Soyuz
unofficial opposition to government
abolition of article 6
CP couldnt be reformed? then end the political monopoly of the Party
‘the leading and guiding force’: enshrined one party state
target for critics (Sakharov)
Gorbachev repealed 1990 under pressure. other parties
ending of brezhnev doctrine
enforced Soviet control over eastern Europe by military action
1980-81 leader of Poland imposed martial law due to threat of Soviet intervention. G decided he wouldn’t uphold the right of the USSR to intervene in other socialist countries
At the funeral of Chernenko G told each leader he wouldnt intervene
genuinely believed this was the way to rejuvenate socialism.
