fall of ussr Flashcards
Long term structural problems with the economy
- command economy flawed
- lack of incentive
-waste - declining economy
- not fullyt modernised
- arms race
- centralisation
- state inflexibility and inefficiency
lack of incentive
Russias richest 10% were on 3 x wealthiest then poorest-> low productivity
declining economy
1970s annual growth 2% by 1980 dropped to 0.6%
waste
Gosplan measured + awarded productopn -> quality and use irrelevant 0< 1980s gosplan demand 400,000 tractors a yr -> 20% + never used = shortage of tractor drivers = 1986 Gosplan est 12% of machinery not used
not fully modernised
Required more labour 1960s 25.4 % of soviet workers emploted in farms , 4.6 % US
arms race
1965-85 proportion of GDP inc12& - 17%
centralisation
fertiliser arrive wrong time/wrong type , lack of account for local climate conditions
state inflexibility and inefficiency
identified as cause of agr crisis in Novosibirsk report 1983
reasons for failure to reform economy
-PO Undermined -> Leningrad city ifficials w/drew alll sausages + buried them
- politial division - 500 day programme (transition to a market economy) publish Aug 1990 -> soviet gov reject but russia accept
- reform split poliburo -> state commision econ reform report . more radical -> move to market led economy -> reformers wanr it quicker -> conservatives i.e rgzhkov -> gradual
Main features of Perestroika
- Joint-Ventures Jan 1987
- State enterprise Jun 1987
- Co-ops legalised 1988
Joint ventures Jan 1987
- allow foreign businesses w/state set up business -> 1st Mcdonalds open Moscow 1990 -> 3,000 small scale Jv by 1990 but little economic impact
state enterprise - Jun 1987
- loosen state control
- elemet of election for factory managers
- once state target met they could produce what the liked
co-ops lealised 1988
- allow small scale enterprise
perestroika destabalise
- products esp. food diverted from state shops (cheaper) to co-ops (who could pay more for goods) -> inflation and uncertainty + hoarding -> social charter broken -> what point of communism?
- co-ops in richer LA received better products, poorer LA receive inadequate food + basic products -> food shortages -> 26/55 regions
- political consequences -> G’s approval rating dropped from 52% dec 1989 to 21 % Nov 1990 -> dissatisfaction ^, communism support declined, nationalism ^
long term political problems
- centralisation - meant that any policy that weakened the authority/discipline of party risk weakening su, since party held union togeter
- corruption- cotton affair -> reforms threatened position of privileged -> support nationalism
reason for failure of political reform
- opposition from PO/ reform split
main features of Glasnost
- transparency/public access
- intellectual freedom of expression
- open up debare
transparency/ public access
- liberation of media 2985
1988 foreign newspapers & radio allowed - 1988 19th party conference reveal the scale of economic problems
intellectuals Freedom of Expression
- 1985 invited to criticise/support G’s reforms
- 1986 number of books unbanned inc. ‘Doctor Zhivago’ + ‘1984’
- 1988 Soviet press publish criticism of marx + Lenin (supported by Yakoviev)
Open up debate
- 1987 27th congress said they would introduce ‘genuine’ democracy
- 1988 19 PC intro multi-candidaate elections
- 1989 March - first competed election since 1921, 5 Central Committee members defeated & radical such as yeltin did well (win 89% of vote in Moscow)
how did glasnost destabalse
- info about true extent of problems = lose faith -> 1988 19th PC reveal true extent of econ problems + inadequacies in Health + Edu
- Elections = organised opposition -> Yeltson form inter-regional deputies group faction -> summer’89 march 1990 G’ remove Article 6 -> Leningrad eletion opposition 60% of seats
- Free media = open criticism > repentance (film) critical of stlin terrrror , 1988 Tsipko, supported by Yakovlev, publicly criticising Marx and Lenin. Tsipko’s criticisms
attacked the foundations of Soviet Communism.
BD removed why?
Brezhev doctrine withdrew due to great cost + moral qualms of G he thought that miilitary intervention should be used sparingly
what order did E.europe c countries fall (Ish)
- hungary
- poland
- E. Germany
- czechoslovakia
- Romania
hungary
- 1988 sack kadar + allow other political parties to compete
poland
- solidarity pressured polish go 1989 to allow it + other parties to stand in election - defeat CP in landslide
- USSR did nothing/seemed to approve -> signalled USSR no longer want to impose itself
E. Germany
- Krenz -> leader refused to suppress demonstrations -> Oct 89 access across wall granted -> collapse dec 1989
Czechoslovakia
nov 1989 made concessions
- public pressure on communists
- Dec 1989 Havel (opponent tto communism) elected president
Romania
- 1989 demonstraions
- army suppress till dec then unwilling to support Ceausescu
- dec 25 1989 = end
By summer 1990….
all former communist regimes of E.Europe had been overthrown
impact of E. europe nationalism
- catalyst to nationalism in Ussr -> spurred by success of neighbours
- worsened by liberation of media + access to foreign media
- 1988 violence where?
- Nagorno-Karbakh /azerbaijan republics
- ethnic tensions = armeians in area want to join armenian republic
- unofficial referendum w/out consent of soviet gov.
- nov armenia announc it under its control
- soviet gov ntervene + impose moscow control = inflamed sit.
April + Oct 1988
April + October 1988: Popular Fronts established (likely referring to various republics within the USSR)
89 Georgia
ethnic clashes in Georgia + huge demonstrations held in favour of indp.
1989
August 1989: Nazi-Soviet Pact anniversary demonstration
- human chain held hands across estonia, latvia and lithuania
Georgia dem
April 9 Tragedy (also known as the massacre of Tbilisi or Tbilisi tragedy) refers to the events in Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, on April 9, 1989, when an anti-Soviet, pro-independence demonstration was crushed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 21 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
March 1990 - russia
Yeltsin elected Chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet.
1990
Popular Fronts win majority in Supreme Soviets (in various republics).
March - 2990 lithuania
Lithuania declares independence + 2 other republics follow. This was declared illegal and a direct challenge to the Soviet government.
1990 ethnic clashes
Ethnic clash in Kyrgyzstan (other examples: Moldova, Romanian + Russian). These clashes signaled the start of descent into civil war in some regions.
Jan 1991 tv takeover
Pro-Soviet Communists supported by Red Army troops attempt TV station takeover in Vilnius (Lithuania).
union treaty 1991(9+1)
- Referendum if there should be a new federal system
- Replace 1922 treaty to give republics (Russia, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan) more autonomy
- Create a more federal system
- Pragmatic goal - trying to prevent total collapse (preserve and reform Soviet Union)
- Acceptance of compromise + force
- Attempt to gain support from those that wanted independence (Baltic States, those that opposed full independence)
august coup 1991
Hardline Communists feared it would lead to the disintegration of the Union planned to prevent uunion treaty being signed
- g house arrest
* Attempted to seize control of the government
* Failed widely - shifrt power from gorbachev to yeltsin
aral sea
Aral Sea - Environmental disaster:
Exploited + disregarded by Moscow
Short-sighted
chernobyl
Not received enough economic investment (economic deterioration / under investment)
Command economy -> targets push reactor too hard
Emergency workers drafted to clean up i.e. pickup radioactive waste -> Human cost / tragedy
Abandon pool surrounding land
Corruption -> lies + covering up
1986 Glasnost
Secrecy / covering up (insincere about real change)
Shift blame (no accountability)
Reversed policy
why did union treaty fail
Too late - political system too unstable
* Disagreement over how the distribution of independence would work
* Nationalists determined for independence would not participate
* 6 Soviet republics refused to participate
* Weakening hardliners (Communist) i.e. Gennady Yanayev
* Led to August Coup 1991
role of G reform in collapse
Introduced policies like glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) that aimed to reform the Soviet system.
These reforms unintentionally weakened the central authority and emboldened nationalist sentiments within the republics.
What was the relationship between Gorbachev and Yeltsin following the failed August Coup in 1991?
Shift in power to Yeltsin: Yeltsin emerged as the dominant figure after the coup, leading to a power struggle between the two leaders.
Gorbachev resigned: Gorbachev eventually resigned as President of the Soviet Union, leaving Yeltsin as the leader of the Russian Federation.
What was the role of Yeltsin in bringing about the end of the USSR?
Negotiated the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): Yeltsin played a crucial role in negotiating the formation of the CIS, which officially dissolved the Soviet Union.
Advocated for Russian independence: He was a strong advocate for Russian independence and played a key role in pushing for the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
as the role of Gorbachev in bringing about the end of the USSR?
Fundamental mistake: Failed to win over the Communist Party and leading to their resistance to reforms also he embraced democracy but refused to stat for election
Policy mistakes: His failure to anticipate the effects of policies of glasnost and perestroika created a political and economic crisis that weakened the Soviet Union.
Tactical mistakes: His handling of the August Coup - abandon cp neededed, constant reforms and coinciding of political and economic-> weakened CP which held union together
quote showing yeltsins encouragement for nationalism
take as much sovereignty as you can stomach’
