Fall of the USSR Flashcards
What does liberalisation mean?
When the government lifts restrictions on something
How does liberalisation relate to Gorbachev?
He implemented Glasnost
What was the impact of Glasnost?
- 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.
When were Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania independent states?
1939
How did nationalist resurgence occur in the Baltic Republics?
- 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).
When did Glasnost start?
At the Twenty-Seventh Party congress in 1986
When were Soviet citizens allowed to vote in elections where there was a choice of Communist Party Candidates + Independent ones
1989
What percent of the vote in Moscow did Yeltsin get in 1989?
89%
When was Gorbachev appointed president of the Soviet Union?
March 1990
What had Gorbachev hoped to gain from democratisation?
a power base independent from the party
What was the result of Gorbachev’s reforms on himself?
by 1990: destroyed his power base + therefore had dificulty pushing through his reforms. gorbachev had misunderstood the mood of the people
What was the Sinatra Doctrine?
Gorb renounced the Brezhnev Doctrine and argued countries could follow their own paths to communism - allowed greater freedom in Eastern European countries
Result of Sinatra Doctrine
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
What did Yeltsin insist in May 1990?
That laws made by the Russian parliment were legally superior to Soviet laws
Evidence Russian nationalism was on the rise
- re-emergence of the old Russian flag
- double headed eagle - symbol of old monarchy
both had been banned by the soviet government
Consequences of the Tbilisi massacre
● 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.
What happened in June 1991?
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
When was the coup against Gorbachev?
18th August 1991
Who started the coup against Gorbachev and how?
8 senior communists formed the ‘emergency committee’ - said gorbachev had resigned due to health problems while he was on holiday
What were the consequences of the 1991 coup?
- 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
How many days after the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States did Gorbachev resign?
4 days
How many countries joined the Commonwealth of Independent States on 21st December 1991?
eleven of the fifteen
When did Gorbachev allow the soviet citizens to travel?
1986
How did Gorbachev fail to win over the Communist Party?
party was the only institution strong enough to introduce reform + they resisted it
How did Yeltsin prove himself a radical in the late 80’s?
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
What was the consequence of Yeltsin’s very public resignation in July 1990?
- party membership dropped from
19.2 million to 16.5 million - party popularity dropped to 18.8%
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?
- Only 9 out of the 230 left
- 70% of yeltins government used to be middle ranking in gorbs
How did Yeltsin denounce communism through the counter-coup?
- closed communist party newspapers such as Pravda
- surrounded communist party headquarters with armed police
- statues of lenin were demolished
When did Yeltsin ban the communist party?
November 1991
