UNIT 5: WHAT IMPACT DID THE RESURGENCE OF NATIONALISM PLAY IN THE COLLAPSE OF THE USSR? Flashcards
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Describe the ending of the Brezhnev Doctrine
Where Soviet control over Eastern Europe was enforced by military action. - Established after the Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968 to prevent the Czech communist government introducing liberal reforms in response to popular protests.
At the funeral of the Soviet leader, Konstantin Chernenko, in March 1985 every leader of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe was informed by Gorbachev that he would not intervene in their internal affairs Therefore, they were free to choose their own path of socialism.
Supporting satellite states had become increasingly expensive: The USSR spent $40 bill annually. This money could be used to promote domestic reform.
What was Martial Law?
The leader of the communist government in Poland, General Jarulzelski, imposed martial law and suspended Solidarity. This included imposing censorship and arresting dissidents to avoid a Soviet invasion.
Gorbachev decided that he would not uphold the right of the USSR to intervene in the affairs of other socialist countries.
Describe the consequences of the ending of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Eastern Europe.
It led to attempts by some governments in Eastern Europe to reform in response to the new Soviet lead, as well as increasing the pressure for change from the public. e.g. Hungary adopted a multiparty system, Polish elections returned a non-communist government - USSR took no action.
Much of this pressure came from nationalist sentiments because communist rule had been imposed on Eastern Europe after the Second World War and was associated with Soviet control.
Now there was an opportunity for each nation to decide its own future that led to the collapse of communism.
Eastern European leaders who wanted to resist reform could no longer rely on Soviet military intervention to enforce their regimes.
Describe the consequences of the ending of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Poland.
Responding to pressure from the independent workers’ organisation, Solidarity, in 1989 the Polish communist government decided to allow it and any other political groups to stand in elections.
Resulted in Solidarity defeating the Communist Party in a general election so the lack of support led to the collapse of the Communist Party.
The USSR had done nothing to stop these events happening, indeed Gorbachev seemed to approve of the Poles deciding on their own future.
The message was clear to all those pressing for change in other east European states: the USSR no longer had any wish to impose itself on the internal affairs of Eastern Europe.
Describe the consequences of the ending of the Brezhnev Doctrine in East Germany.
The creation of East Germany had been a result of superpower tension and hostility after the Second World War therefore, as an artificial country, East Germany was more reliant on Soviet support than the other regimes of the region.
Oct1989, East German authorities allowed free travel to West Germany which opened the Berlin Wall and was the beginning of the end for communist rule in East Germany.
Mass protests erupted in East German cities as citizens demanded democratic reforms and reunification with West Germany - the insecure communist regime struggled to maintain control.
This encouraged opposition movements across Eastern Europe, leading to the mostly peaceful revolutions of 1989 that overthrew other Soviet-led Communist regimes.
Describe the consequences of the ending of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Czechoslovakia.
Public demonstrations calling for reforms resulted in an organisation called Civic Forum to emerge to co-ordinate a campaign to get rid of the communist government.
Under severe public pressure, the communists caved in, and in Dec 1989 Václav Havel, a leading playwright and opponent of communism, was elected President.
Czechoslovakia was able to transition to a pluralistic democratic system without bloodshed, thanks to not facing the threat of intervention from Moscow.
Describe the consequences of the ending of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Romania.
A discontented population in Romania tired of food shortages, a lack of consumer goods, a repressive government and a lack of real democracy led to demonstrations against the communist government at the end of 1989.
Nicolae Ceasescu, Romania’s leader, used the army to try and suppress the demonstrators, but this increased the unpopularity of the regime.
His arrest and subsequent execution on Christmas Day sealed the end of communism in Romania.
What was the impact of the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe?
In June 1979, Pope John Paul II’s visit to Poland encouraged those who sought change under the communist rule.
Nationalism played a significant role in mobilising people power against Soviet-imposed communism: Where people power had been less significant, such as in Hungary and Bulgaria, reformers within the ranks of the Communist Parties led the assertion of national independence.
Across Eastern Europe, the collapse of communism was fast and largely peaceful process, except in Romania and Yugoslavia, with a civil war.
By the end of 1989, every pro-Soviet communist government in Eastern Europe had disintegrated.
Gorbachev’s foreign policy was, therefore, a key factor in encouraging the assertion of independence by the satellite states. This trend was to have an impact on the different nationalities within the Soviet Union.
What were the factors encouraging the growth of nationalism within the USSR?
Environmental concerns especially by those in the outlying parts of the Soviet Union, where damage had often been greatest. - Soil erosion due to the diversion of rivers had ravaged large parts of Central Asia, Industrial pollution in the Baltic republics. Caused rallying by local people against the government.
The insecurity of local Party leaders - Gorbachev’s reforms threatened the powerbases and wealth through corruption built by the cadres under Brezhnev’s policy of ‘trust in cadres’, therefore they often supported popular local concerns in an attempt to maintain their position.
Culture and language - By the 1980s, the Soviet Union was almost equally divided between 145 million Russians and 141 million non-Russians such as Latvians and Ukrainians, and non-Slavic peoples, most of whom were Muslim groups in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. These nationalities often had a strong sense of their own identity through their native language and cultural heritage.
What was Nagorno-Karabakh?
Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous region within the Azerbaijan republic, populated largely by Armenians. The ethnic tensions that arose over the desire of the Armenians in the area to join the Armenian republic led to a referendum that returned a large majority for joining Armenia. This referendum was unofficial and without the consent of the Soviet government.
In another indication of the growing weakness of the central Soviet government, The announcement by Armenia in November that Nagorno-Karabakh was now under its control, and the continued violence was another indication in the growing weakness of the soviet gov as its interference merely inflamed the situation.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict further exposed the inability of the Soviet leadership to effectively manage and resolve ethnic conflicts within its borders. The Soviet government’s inability to mediate the conflict and address the grievances of both sides undermined its legitimacy and further eroded confidence in the central authority.
Describe the serious threat the Baltic republics imposed to the territorial integrity of the Soviet Union: the growth of nationalism.
- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had been independent states before their incorporation into the USSR in 1939 - people still viewed the Soviet Union as an occupying force.
- The Baltic republics had higher levels of education than the Soviet average and this had helped promote an understanding of their language, culture and history.
- They were among the more economically developed regions of the USSR.
Describe the factors that promoted the resurgence of the feelings of nationalist identity.
April-October 1988, the popular Fronts that were established in all three republics quickly became mass organisations: called for protection for their native languages and cultural traditions, and independence from the Soviet Union. Over 75% of Lithuania population were ethnic Lithuanians which strengthened the movement.
- Aug 1989, the anniversary of the Nazi-Soviet Pact was used to stage a mass demonstration for independence. The Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 had resulted in the Soviet seizure of the three republics; its anniversary was used to call for its ending. A human chain of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians holding hands was organised that stretched across the three republics to show independence.
- In 1990, the Popular Fronts won a majority in elections to the Supreme Soviets in all three Baltic republics. In March, the speaker of the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet, Vytautas Landsbergis, proclaimed that Lithuania was an independent state, the other two republics followed soon after. This was an illegal move and was a direct challenge to the Soviet government.
What was the reaction to the calls of independence?
The Soviet government refused to acknowledge the declaration of independence, and in January 1991 pro-Soviet communists, supported by some Red Army troops, attempted to take over the television station in Vilnius, resulting in at least 13 deaths.
It seemed to signal the start of a descent into civil war and bloodshed. Gorbachev denied giving any orders to the army to use force and it seems likely that the action was taken by rogue elements in the armed forces and the KGB, who wanted to pressurise Gorbachev into taking a firmer line against the nationalists. Gorbachev supported the calls for independence as long as the correct constitutional channels were taken.
What were the limits of nationalism?
- Limited experience of independence. In Ukraine the nationalist organisation Rukh was founded, but it had little support in the eastern half of the republic. Belarusia and the Central Asian republics had less experience of independence in their history.
- The Soviet Union had allowed a degree of autonomous control accommodating the wishes of its national peoples through supporting their languages in schools.
- The republics had been net gainers of Soviet economic investment, especially for the Central Asian republics. This was an advantage for them retaining the Union.
- The role of ethnic Russians. The nationalist resurgence was complicated by the large number of people who did not live in their ethnic homeland: 60 million Russians lived not in Russia but in the other republics of the Soviet Union.
Describe whether there was any support for maintaining the Soviet Union.
March 1991 referendum indicated popular support for maintaining the Soviet Union in all of the republics outside Georgia and the Baltic republics.
Gorbachev’s new Union Treaty of 1991 contained enough concessions for preserving language and customs in each republic to keep support for a continued union alive.
