RUSSIA- Fall of the USSR 1985-91- POLITICAL REFORMS Flashcards
Glasnost
Openness
What were the key criticisms of the Party that came out as a result of glasnost?
Poor housing; brutality of Soviet history; reckless waste of human lives in WW2; environmental issues
What had convinced Gorbachev that glasnost was essential?
Soviet government’s response to the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986
When had the Soviet population become much more politicised due to Glasnost?
1989
How many informal groups and clubs were campaigning for reform by 1989?
Over 60,000
When did Gorbachev seek to separate the Party and state?
Nineteenth Conference of the Communist Party of June 1988
Why was it so difficult to separate the Party and state?
Lines between the two had become so blurred
What did Gorbachev become at the same time he was made General Secretary of the Party?
President of the Soviet Union
How did Gorbachev attempt to shift power from the Party to the Soviets?
Soviets were to be elected for 5 years rather than 2- gave them greater security in their post
How did Gorbachev attempt to streamline the Party?
Departments of the CC were reduced from 20 to 9; 6 new commissions were created; combining ‘superministries’
Who was one of the leading casualties of Gorbachev’s clampdown on corruption?
Brezhnev’s son-in-law, Yuri Churbanov, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment
How did Gorbachev attempt to move towards democratisation?
Discussion about secret ballots; June 1987 experiment with multiple candidates in elections for local Soviets; Nineteenth Party Congress of June 1988
When did Gorbachev discuss the idea of secret ballots for multiple candidates?
Early 1987
What did Gorbachev announce about elections at the Nineteenth party Conference?
Principle of multi-candidate elections would be extended to a national level with elections for the new Congress of People’s Deputies
What was the Congress of People’s Deputies?
Set up to provide an independent, supervisory role over the government; part of attempts to separate the Party and state
When did the elections for the new Congress of People’s Deputies take place?
March 1989
What political system did many reformers become convinced that the USSR needed to move towards after the failure of reforms to the Party?
Pluralism
How did Gorbachev’s failure to bring substantial reform of the Party affect Party unity?
Alienated both ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ in the Party
When did disagreements between Yeltsin and Gorbachev come to a head?
October 1987 Plenum of the Central Committee
How was Yeltsin punished for openly attacking Gorbachev’s slow approach to reform?
Sacked as First Secretary in Moscow; removed from the Politburo in February 1988
When did the hard-line communists in the Party attempt to strike back and gain some control over events?
March 1988
How did conservatives within the Party attempt to attack Gorbachev’s slow pace of reform?
Published a letter in the Sovetskaya Russia while Gorbachev was on a diplomatic trip to Yugoslavia
What was worrying about the conservatives’ attack on Gorbachev with the Sovetskaya Russia letter?
Its sentiments were supported by some of his own appointees, such as Viktor Chebrikov
When did informal groupings begin to emerge within the Party?
During the elections for the Congress of People’s Deputies
Which informal group did reformers within the Party create?
An Inter-Regional group
Which informal group did conservatives within the Party create?
Soyuz
Who was one of the leading critics who called for the ending of Article 6?
Andrei Sakharov
When did Gorbachev repeal Article 6?
March 1990
What was Article 6?
Enshrined the one-party state
How many seats did the opposition secure in the Leningrad elections in 1990?
60%
How did Gorbachev retain power after he had repealed Article 6?
Elected as President of USSR by the Congress of People’s Deputies
Why had the lines between Party and state become blurred?
Largely because of the nomenklatura system
How were the ‘superministries’ streamlined?
5 were merged to create 1 for agriculture
When did Gorbachev witness the difficulties that could come along with attacking corrupt Party officials?
December 1986, Dinmukhamed Kunayev was removed from the position of First Secretary in Kazakhstan; replaced with an ethnic Russian; rioting
Who was acting as leader of the USSR while Gorbachev was in Yugoslavia?
Ligachev
Which group had Yeltsin successfully led in the elections for the Russian Congress of People’s Deputies?
Democratic Platform
