Fall of the USSR

Question 1

What does liberalisation mean?

Answer 1

When the government lifts restrictions on something

Question 2

How does liberalisation relate to Gorbachev?

Answer 2

He implemented Glasnost

Question 3

What was the impact of Glasnost?

Answer 3

• People criticised the Party on poor housing, Stalin’s mass terror, famine and WWII.
• By 1989, the population was much more politicised. There was 60,000 informal groups and clubs voicing their opinion of political reform. The Party and Gorbachev were criticised highly for not introducing radical reform.

Question 4

When were Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania independent states?

Answer 4

1939

Question 5

How did nationalist resurgence occur in the Baltic Republics?

Answer 5

• April - October 1988 - Popular Front was established which called for protection for their native languages and cultural traditions, but soon they demanded independence.
• In August 1989 the anniversary of the Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939) was used to stage a mass demonstration for independence.
• 1990 - The Popular Fronts won a majority in election to the Supreme Soviets in the Baltic Republics. Shortly, they all declared their independence (an illegal move).

Question 6

When did Glasnost start?

Answer 6

At the Twenty-Seventh Party congress in 1986

Question 7

When were Soviet citizens allowed to vote in elections where there was a choice of Communist Party Candidates + Independent ones

Answer 7

1989

Question 8

What percent of the vote in Moscow did Yeltsin get in 1989?

Answer 8

89%

Question 9

When was Gorbachev appointed president of the Soviet Union?

Answer 9

March 1990

Question 10

What had Gorbachev hoped to gain from democratisation?

Answer 10

a power base independent from the party

Question 11

What was the result of Gorbachev’s reforms on himself?

Answer 11

by 1990: destroyed his power base + therefore had dificulty pushing through his reforms. gorbachev had misunderstood the mood of the people

Question 12

What was the Sinatra Doctrine?

Answer 12

Gorb renounced the Brezhnev Doctrine and argued countries could follow their own paths to communism - allowed greater freedom in Eastern European countries

Question 13

Result of Sinatra Doctrine

Answer 13

during october + november 1989 communism fell across eastern europe
- 1 million protest in east berlin + the berlin wall falls
- first non-communist prime minister in eastern europe in Poland

Question 14

What did Yeltsin insist in May 1990?

Answer 14

That laws made by the Russian parliment were legally superior to Soviet laws

Question 15

Evidence Russian nationalism was on the rise

Answer 15

• re-emergence of the old Russian flag
• double headed eagle - symbol of old monarchy

both had been banned by the soviet government

Question 16

Consequences of the Tbilisi massacre

Answer 16

● The massacre led to concern among nationalists in all of
the republics that the Soviet Government was prepared
to use lethal force to stop nationalism
● The government refused to take responsibility for the
killings and blamed local military leaders. As a result,
military commanders became increasingly unwilling
to use force against protestors. This refusal to use force
became known as ‘Tbilisi syndrome’ and weakened the
government’s position, because it could no longer rely on
military support.

Question 17

What happened in June 1991?

Answer 17

the Russian people elected their own president - Yeltsin won the election wiith 57% majority
- russia made up 60% of soviet union therefore yeltsin could claim to be a truer representative of the soviet union than gorbachev

Question 18

When was the coup against Gorbachev?

Answer 18

18th August 1991

Question 19

Who started the coup against Gorbachev and how?

Answer 19

8 senior communists formed the ‘emergency committee’ - said gorbachev had resigned due to health problems while he was on holiday

Question 20

What were the consequences of the 1991 coup?

Answer 20

• Gorb’s position weakened: significantly out of touch with the people as after he continued to back the communist party
• Yeltsin’s authority grew - won greater support as the ‘defender of democracy’
• ## fears that the emergency committee would re-establish a communist dicatatorship led 4 countries to declare independence by end of august

Question 21

How many days after the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States did Gorbachev resign?

Answer 21

4 days

Question 22

How many countries joined the Commonwealth of Independent States on 21st December 1991?

Answer 22

eleven of the fifteen

Question 23

When did Gorbachev allow the soviet citizens to travel?

Answer 23

1986

Question 24

How did Gorbachev fail to win over the Communist Party?

Answer 24

party was the only institution strong enough to introduce reform + they resisted it

Question 25

How did Yeltsin prove himself a radical in the late 80’s?

Answer 25

1986 - denounced privilages of party leaders at twenty-seventh party congress
1987 - publically attacked communists who opposed reforms, exposing factionalism
- his call of multi-candidate elections attracted the support middle + low ranking officials
- gained 89% of the vote in Moscow in 1989

Question 26

What was the consequence of Yeltsin’s very public resignation in July 1990?

Answer 26

• party membership dropped from
  19.2 million to 16.5 million
• party popularity dropped to 18.8%

Question 27

How many of Gorbachev’s ministers were left in Yeltsin’s gov after the coup and what percent of his gov had Gorb’s midrank gov?

Answer 27

• Only 9 out of the 230 left
• 70% of yeltins government used to be middle ranking in gorbs

Question 28

How did Yeltsin denounce communism through the counter-coup?

Answer 28

• closed communist party newspapers such as Pravda
• surrounded communist party headquarters with armed police
• statues of lenin were demolished

Question 29

When did Yeltsin ban the communist party?

Answer 29

November 1991