Democratisation, 1988-90

Question 1

1. What did Gorbachev introduce at the 1988 19th party conference? (1)
2. True or False: Soviet citizens had the right to vote in multi communist party candidate elections from 1989.
   - True or false: Independent candidates could also run.
3. Multi-candidate elections stripped the CP of its power to do what? (2)
4. Could citizens vote for different political parties in multi-candidate election?
   - Therefore, the reforms were ______
5. What change did these elections make in the Supreme Soviet’s position?
   - What did this do to the CP’s power?

Answer 1

1. Multi-candidate elections to the Supreme Soviet.
2. True
   - True.
3. Appoint candidates for election, guaranteeing their control over the Soviets.
4. No.
   - Partial.
5. Made them partly independent from the Party’s leadership.
   - Significantly weakened it.

Question 2

1. When did the election take place?
2. What were candidates forced to engage in? (2)
3. What % of seats in the Congress of People’s Deputies did the communists win?
4. How many members of the Central Committee were defeated?
5. What % of the Moscow vote did Yeltsin win?
6. What group was formed by newly elected deputies after the election?
   - What did this group embrace?
   - Why was it important?

Answer 2

2. Public debates in order to win votes.
3. 80%
4. 5
5. 89% (90%).
6. Inter-regional Deputies Group (IRDG)
   - Radical anti-communist agenda e.g. more autonomy for the republics and private property.
   - Because it was an organised opposition group in an official position of the Soviet system.

Question 3

1. What did nationalist groups use the 1989 elections for?
2. What did Yeltsin emerge from the election as? (2)
   - Why was he a threat to the USSR?

Answer 3

1. To campaign for independence.
2. A popular figure & rival to Gorbachev.
   - Because his vision of breaking up the USSR and replacing it with a loose confederation of truly independent states was extremely popular.

Question 4

1. What year did the national elections take place.
2. Which group won 85% of the Moscow seats?
3. Which group won 80% of the Leningrad seats?
4. What did the Soviet elections do to the party?

Answer 4

2. Democratic Russia - anti-communist.
3. Democratic Elections 90 - anti-communist.
4. Weakened the whole of the Party.