Gorbachev Flashcards
When did Brezhnev die, and who was he replaced with? When did the next leader die, and what task was he given?
Brezhnev died in 1982 and was replaced by Yuri Andropov in November, who wanted to make détente and compete with the US. He died in February 1984, but according to SR Ashton, he was given the task to contrast a Soviet system capable of growth with the reality of a backward economy with poorly disciplined workers.
Who replaced Andropov?
Konstantin Chernenko replaced him, dying in 1985. He was conservative and re-opened arms negotiations at Geneva in March.
What problems was Gorbachev met with when he came into power?
SDI was a nuclear and laser system which could destroy nuclear missiles, and the USSR feared the US would attempt a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the USSR.
The USSR was suffering global over-stretch, offering aid to Angola and the Horn of Africa, with left wing regimes.
The Soviet economy was stagnating and they needed financial and technological aid from the West. In 1975, industrial production rates began to drop.
When did Gorbachev become general secretary, and when did he launch policies?
On March 11, 1985, he was appointed General Secretary.
In February 1986 he launched glasnost and perestroika.
What were historian views of Gorbachev?
SR Ashton, historian, paraphrased Henry Kissinger, claiming the economy would be in crisis if nothing was done, and there would be political crisis if anything was done.
Gorbachev didn’t follow Marxist-Leninist foreign policy, wanting international cooperation. In 1994, RL Garthoff described his doctrine as representing a policy based on cooperative security and normalised relations.
What did he do in April 1985? What happened at Reykjavik, and by December, what was accepted?
In April 1985, he stopped increasing SS-20s installed in Europe, and in October rerduced total number deployed. At Reykjavik Conference, 1986, he couldn’t convince Reagan to give up SDI, but in Dec 1987, accepted NATO plan for a total withdrawal of medium-range missiles at the Washington summit on both sides.
When did he withdraw troops from Afghanistan and abandon the Brezhnev Doctrine?
In February 1988, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan, and by December the United Nations meeting led to him confessing Marxist-Leninism wasn’t the way to ultimate truth. He also abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine on 6 july 1988 in a speech to the Council of Europe.
How did non-Communists gain power again?
In the USSR, March 1989, there were multicandidate elections leading to reformers and dissidents being in the Congress of People’s Deputies, and in June Solidarity was legalised and there were elections in Poland, with a non-Communist taking over in August. In Hungary Communists agreed to multi-party elections.
