The fall of the Soviet Union - The impact of the nationalist resurgence Flashcards
What does affirmative action mean?
Policies or programs that are intended to provide preferential treatment or support to historically disadvantaged or underrepresented groups
What was a way in which nationalism was controlled before 1985?
economic benefits
How were economic benefits were another way in which nationalism was controlled before 1985?
From 1953, economic planners targeted investment at the poorer regions of the Soviet Union
As these areas tended to be in the non-Russian republics, the investment led to an improvement in the standards of living for the majority of people in the 13 non-Russian republics.
Under Brezhnev, why was the “social contract” was as important to managing the republics as it was to managing Russia?.
In return for obedience, lives were transformed as areas of Central Asia were urbanised and modernised
Educational investment was also higher in the non-Russian republics - it became easier for non-Russians to get university places
Under Brezhnev, the system developed into…
what historian Terry Martin called an ”affirmative action empire.”
Under Brezhnev, the government encouraged forms of…
national self-expression
Under Brezhnev, the government encouraged forms of national self-expression - provide examples
Following 1964:
- Each of the republics had the right to introduce native education
- Increase in books and newspapers in non-Russian languages in the republics
- Brezhnev established new universities to educate non-Russian citizens of the Soviet Union
- Greater representation of Turkic people in the Central Committee and Politburo
- Folk art and music devoted to national culture were allowed in each of the republics
Democratisation led to problems that Gorbachev…
had not foreseen
How did Glasnost lead to the rise in nationalism?
- It exposed the ways in which Stalin’s government has persecuted non-Russian people
Allowed Soviet people to see the much better living standards of those living in the West with that compared to the Soviet Union
Glasnost undermined the perception that…
the Soviet Union had benefited people in the republics
Glasnost allowed nationalist groups to…
publish material that demanded greater autonomy
Brezhnev doctrine
The Brezhnev Doctrine was a policy established by Leonid Brezhnev stating that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene militarily in any Warsaw Pact country to preserve communism and prevent the rise of alternative political systems
An example of the Brezhnev Doctrine in action
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, known as the Prague Spring, where Soviet forces were deployed to suppress political reforms and maintain communist control
Gorbachev replaced the Brezhnev Doctrine with…
the Sinatra Doctrine which allowed a wave of democratization to surge through the Soviet Union
Sinatra Doctrine
A retrospective policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev signalling a hands-off approach by the Soviet Union towards the internal affairs of Eastern European countries, allowing them to pursue their own paths of political and economic reforms
By authorizing Poland and Hungary to liberalise,
Gorbachev exhibited to East Germans that…
emancipation would be condoned
Peter Grieder develops that Gorbachev’s “prescient
warning” to the Socialist Unity Party of Germany that…
existence penalises those who come too
late led to dismissals of totalitarianism as it accepted that “life measured politics rather than politics measuring life.”
How did increased democratisation lead to an increase in nationalism?
Further aided nationalist by giving them a chance to fight and win elections
Elections led to the first major nationalist challenge to the Soviet Union since 1921
When did the newly elected parliament of Lithuania declared Lithuanian independence from the Soviet Union?
In March 1990
How did Gorbachev react to the declaration by the newly elected Lithuanian parliament?
Gorbachev claimed that the declaration was illegal and so imposed economic sanctions
Sanctions were lifted in the Summer, there was no resolution to the issue
How did Yeltsin take the situation with Lithuania further?
Yeltsin took this further by insisting that in May 1990, that laws made by the Russian parliament were legally more superior to the Soviet laws
Yeltsin’s statement gave Russia a significant degree of independence from the Soviet Union
Evidence that nationalism was on the rise in Russia was the re-emergence of…
The old Russian flag and the double headed eagle, the symbol of the old Russian monarchy
Both of which had been banned by the Soviet Government
Use of these symbols had shown that Yeltsin indicated that nationalists in Russia wanted to break away from the Soviet Union and create Russian Independence
Evidence that nationalism was on the rise in Russia was the re-emergence of…
The old Russian flag and the double headed eagle, the symbol of the old Russian monarchy
Both of which had been banned by the Soviet Government
Use of these symbols had shown that Yeltsin indicated that nationalists in Russia wanted to break away from the Soviet Union and create Russian Independence
In 1988, nationalist protests broke out in…
Karabagh, a region of Azerbaijan
Why did nationalist protests break out in Karabagh, Azerbaijan?
Crisis was caused by Armenian nationalists living in Karabagh who wanted to unite with Armenia
Azerbaijan - Soviet Authorities failed to…
contain the crisis and by the end of 1989, the Communist Party lost full control of the Republic of Azerbaijan
What did the Tbilisi massacre demonstrate?
Demonstrated the limits of Gorbachev’s real power
On the 9th April 1989, Georgian nationalists…
protested against the rights of the Abkhazian minority
Tbilisi massacre
On this occasion, Soviet troops tried to restore peace by force
Tbilisi massacre casualties
Soviet troops killed 19 Georgian protesters and wounded thousands more
The killings as part of the Tbilisi massacre had two consequences:
Massacre led to concern amongst nationalists in all of the republics that the Soviet Government was prepared to use lethal force to stop nationalism
Government refused to take responsibility for the killings
The Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl was a catastrophic nuclear disaster that occurred in 1986 in Ukraine, resulting in a devastating release of radioactive material, significant environmental damage, and long-term health consequences
How did Chernobyl lead to the fall of the USSR?
The Chernobyl disaster, by exposing the government’s mishandling of the crisis and highlighting the systemic flaws of the Soviet system, eroded public trust in the government and contributed to a growing sense of disillusionment and discontent that ultimately played a role in the collapse of the USSR
In 1989, the State Committee for Environmental Protection published a report which acknowledged serious levels of pollution in ___ of the Soviet Union’s land
16%
In June 1991, Russia took another step away from the Soviet Union, by…
electing Yeltsin
Gorbachev and Yeltsin vote difference
Yeltsin with 57% of the votes, beating the Communist candidate, with 16%
Gorbachev reached a provisional agreement in April 1991, called the…
9+1 agreement
9+1 agreement
The 9+1 agreement which was designed to establish a federation of independent states with a single president
The Coup,1991
The 1991 coup, also known as the August Coup, was a failed attempt by hard-line communist leaders to overthrow Soviet President Gorbachev and halt his reform policies, ultimately accelerating the disintegration of the Soviet Union
Consequences of the coup
Gorbachev’s position was weakened - while Gorbachev was reinstated as President, his authority was gone
Yeltsin’s authority grew.
Emerged as defender of democracy - actions following the coup won him greater support.
