The fall of the Soviet Union - Gorbachev's political reforms Flashcards
At the time of his appointment, Gorbachev’s key aim was to…
revitalise the Soviet Union, and to end stagnation which arose of the Brezhnev period, like corruption of senior members
Gorbachev wanted to end the _______ and ______ of the Soviet people
cynicism
apathy
Initially, Gorbachev believed that he could reform the Soviet system and retain communist control. His plans for reform were limited, he wanted to:
- Open up debate within the Party
- Allowed intellectuals more freedom of expression
- Allow the public to have more access to information
Glasnost
(Russian: “openness”)
Soviet policy of open discussion of political and social issues. It was instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s and began the democratisation of the Soviet Union
The Twenty-Seventh Party Congress quote
“Genuine democracy, power for the people and by the people”
The adoption of a new programme was a symbol that Gorbachev wanted to…
break the past
Gorbachev’s new programme committed the Party to the…
“systematic and all around improvements of socialism”
Liberalisation of the media
Under Gorbachev’s liberalisation of the media, censorship restrictions were relaxed, allowing for increased freedom of the press, independent journalism, and the emergence of a more pluralistic media landscape in the Soviet Union
Following the 1986 Congress, Gorbachev gave _______ responsibility for the media
Yakovlev
Yakovlev permitted the publication of…
banned books, plays and films by anti-communist intellectuals
(A good example is the film: Repentance, a film made in 1984 which was highly critical of Stalin’s terror)
Gorbachev released…
dissidents from prison
Consequences of glasnost
Glasnost destabilized the Communist Party rule, it permitted profound criticism of the Party that Gorbachev had not seen coming
Democratisation and Yeltsin
Yeltsin emerged from the election as a popular figure and rival to Gorbachev
Yeltsin’s desire to replace the USSR with a loose confederation of independent states was very popular across the USSR, and consequently became a threat to the Soviet Union
Glasnost
The sudden transparency under Glasnost
enabled sizeable freedom of expression in the Soviet media. This led to the emergence of
disturbing revelations about past crimes under the Soviet system, and the authorisation of
western media destabilised Soviet rule
Democratic Centralism
The GDR followed the structure of ‘democratic centralism’, entrenched on the principles revolutionised by former Chairman of the Soviet Union - Lenin.
Consequently, the divergent reforms Mikhail Gorbachev introduced throughout the course of his leadership threatened to eliminate the foundations of Communism