Role of Gorbachev and Yeltsin Flashcards
Failings of Gorbachev
Handling of minorities (as many First Ministers replaced by Russians)
Decision-making (Delayed on revealing Chernobyl Disaster 1986)
Lack of vision
Naivety (Radical reforms without concern for consequence, glasnost backfire)
Position/role (not elected, undermined CP)
Expectations
Foreign policy (Collapse in eastern blocs)
Inconsistency (praise/blamed Stalin, reformed but conservative CP )
In Defence of Gorbachev (successes)
Reformed the USSR
Skilled leader (Intelligent and charismatic)
Rejected use of force (Prioritised peace over political power and avoided mass bloodshed)
Just bad luck (Afghanistan and fall of oil prices hit economy. Even natural disasters! Earthquake in Armenia killed 25,000 in 1988)
How did Yeltsin challenge Gorbachev
Public support (In March 1991, 200,000 people gathered in Moscow to support Yeltsin. Publicly attacked gorbachev)
Election of 1989 (Yeltsin used position as Mayor of Moscow to launch his challenge. Secured 89% of the city’s vote. Election to the People’s Congress gave him a platform to attack Gorbachev)
Russian Sovereignty
Congress of People’s Deputies (Yeltsin’s Democratic Platform party won most elections in Russia
Allowed him to become Chairman of Congress of People’s Deputies)
August Coup of 1991
CP Conservatives attempted to save USSR from dissolving by overthrowing Gorbachev
Formed the State Emergency Committee to run country whilst Gorbachev on holiday
Vice-President Yanaev; head of KGB Kryuchkov; Defence Minister Yazov
Declared repressive measures and ordered tanks onto streets
But poorly planned and only half-hearted backing of army: eventually collapsed after 4 days
Main consequences of August Coup of 1991
Yeltsin took the lead in opposing coup which boosted his popularity, but demanded Gorbachev be released from house arrest which makes his position seem genuine
Yeltsin used failure of coup to launch new reforms which hastened end of USSR: in November 1991 Yeltsin banned the Communist Party within Russia!
In December, replaced Gorbachev’s Union Treaty with his own Commonwealth of Independent States: the Soviet Union was no more!
Intentionalist historians
focus on role of individuals as causing change; common amongst Western historians that emphasise individualism and freedom of thought
Structuralist historians
focus on the structures surrounding individuals (political, social, economic) which largely determine what an individual can and can’t do
Social historians
focus not on rulers but on the people they ruled and the pressure that they were able to apply to their rulers (i.e. nationalism)
