Lecture 12 Collapse of Communism Flashcards
What caused a period of introspection and reform in the West?
Economic, political, and social crises in the West.
How did individual states respond to the crises in the West?
Each state made choices regarding the path of modernity they would follow.
Would the USA or USSR likely abandon their respective systems during this time?
Neither the USA nor the USSR was likely to abandon their systems; the triumph of one vision over another was more likely to be determined by other states.
Who were the new leaders articulating a reformed version of democratic capitalism?
Margaret Thatcher (UK), François Mitterrand (France), and Ronald Reagan (US).
What was the term for the reformed version of democratic capitalism during this period?
The Market Revolution.
What did economic liberalism during this period focus on?
The jettisoning of the mixed economy, deregulation, and privatization — removing the “heavy hand” of government.
What were the goals of political liberalism during this period?
Human rights and a desire for public order and stability.
What were the conservative impulses in Soviet policy under Brezhnev?
A focus on maintaining the status quo and resisting changes that could destabilize the Soviet system.
How did the leadership under Leonid Brezhnev view reform?
Brezhnev did not see the need for reform and regarded it as fundamentally dangerous.
What external threat influenced the reform process in the West?
The spectre of the Soviet Union.
What three forces contributed to the collapse of the USSR?
1.Internal social problems
2.Growing urban/rural split
3.Dissident movements challenging the legitimacy of the USSR.
Who were some of the notable dissidents in the USSR?
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov.
What desire was emerging from the people in the USSR and Eastern Europe?
A desire for independence from Soviet control, including among the constituent republics of the USSR.
What impact did the “Second” Cold War in the early 1980s have?
It led to the resumption of the arms race between the USA and the USSR.
What external problems contributed to the collapse of the USSR?
An assertive Soviet foreign policy, including the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the end of Superpower Détente.
What was a major issue within the Soviet economy?
Economic stagnation, with the inability of the “real” economy to deliver goods and services.
What is the quote about Communist party responsibility and international duty?
“Each Communist party is responsible not only to its own people, but also to all the socialist countries, to the entire Communist movement. Whoever forgets this, in stressing only the independence of the Communist party, becomes one sided. He deviates from his international duty…Discharging their internationalist duty toward the fraternal peoples of Czechoslovakia and defending their own socialist gains, the U.S.S.R. and the other socialist states had to act decisively and they did act against the anti-socialist forces in Czechoslovakia.”
What social problems were prevalent in the Soviet Union during this time?
Problems of alcoholism and absenteeism, reflecting a lack of motivation for workers in the communist system.
What did the dissident movement in the Soviet Union challenge?
The dissident movement challenged the legal and human rights violations of the state and demanded that the USSR and its republics live up to the terms of their constitutions.
Who were two prominent members of the Soviet dissident movement?
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (left) and Andrei Sakharov (right).
Why were Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov difficult for the Soviet party leadership to accommodate?
Both were prominent intellectual figures, making them challenging for the leadership to suppress.
When did the dissident movement emerge in the USSR?
After the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953.
How did the intellectual currents of the dissidents differ from the Soviet leadership after Khrushchev’s era?
The intellectual currents of the dissidents contrasted sharply with the rigidity and inflexibility of Soviet leadership following Khrushchev (1954-1964).
Who became more involved in Soviet policymaking as Leonid Brezhnev’s health began failing?
Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko (left) and KGB head Yuri Andropov (right), along with Defence Minister Ustinov.
What critical decision did the Soviet leadership make in December 1979?
The Soviet leadership decided to invade Afghanistan.
Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan in 1979?
Soviet leadership feared that the radicalism of the Iranian Revolution would spill over into Afghanistan and among the USSR’s Muslim population.
What happened in Victory Square in Warsaw during Pope John Paul II’s visit?
A 40-foot cross was erected, and over 250,000 people celebrated Mass despite attempts by the USSR and Poland’s Communist Party to hinder the visit.
What event took place during Pope John Paul II’s return to Poland in June 1979?
Pope John Paul II made a 9-day, 6-city return to Poland, during which the party-run state practically disappeared.
What is significant about Poland in the context of Soviet satellite states?
Poland was one of the more restive satellite states, having rebelled against communist rule in 1956, 1970, 1976, and 1980-81.
Who became Pope on October 16, 1978, and what was significant about this event?
Karol Wojtyla, the former Archbishop of Krakow, became Pope John Paul II, marking the first non-Italian Pope since the 16th century.
