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History > What explains the fall of the USSR? > Flashcards

What explains the fall of the USSR? Flashcards

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1
Q

How many republics made up the USSR?

A

15

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2
Q

Long term economic problems in the USSR? (5)

A
  • inefficient centralisation
  • lack of worker incentive
  • infrastructure needed modernising
  • increasing military spending 65-85
  • stagnating economy (by 85)
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3
Q

3 explanations for why Gorbachev’s economic reforms failed?

A
  • it undermined the existing system
  • it failed because Gorbachev kept switching approach
  • the inherent weaknesses of the Soviet system couldn’t be saved ie failure was inevitable
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4
Q

3 stages of Gorbachevs economic reforms?

A
  • rationalisation, 85-86
  • reform, late 86-90
  • transformation, 90-91
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5
Q

uskorenie

A

‘acceleration’ - an investment programme as part of rationalisation which was meant to modernise the command economy

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6
Q

Two reasons for failure of acceleration?

A
  • money was borrowed from western governments to fund it
  • Gorbachev invested in energy production - when experts had argued for investment in high tech machines
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7
Q

One consequence of failure of acceleration?

A

government debt increased by $9 billion in 7 years

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8
Q

What Law in 1986 made it legal for people to make money doing small-scale jobs like private teaching?

A

The Law on Individual Economic Activity 1986

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9
Q

What law in 1987 allowed factory managers the power to set the prices for their goods?

A

The Law on State Enterprises - June 1987

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10
Q

What law made it legal to set up large co-operatives which functioned like private companies?

A

The Law on Cooperatives

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11
Q

In 1990 Soviet farms produced 218 million tons of grain. Why were there still shortages?

A

Gorbachev reforms had not provided a valid alternative to the system they undermined. There was no effective distribution system for the grain.

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12
Q

GDP shrunk by how much between 1986-1990?

A

4%

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13
Q

What allowed senior Party members to become rich under Gorbachev?

A

they seized control of economic assets which were being privatised

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14
Q

Major political consequence of economic reforms?

A

approval rates declined

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15
Q

When did the Supreme Soviet introduce private property?

A

January 1991

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16
Q

When was a law passed allowing citizens to trade stocks and shares?

A

April 1991

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17
Q

What programme had Gorbachev been steered to water down by hardline communists?

A

The ‘500 day programme’ which had been designed by economists to introduce a market economy quickly

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18
Q

3 main interpretations of Gorbachev’s economic reforms?

A
  • economic chaos led to political crisis
  • reforms simply accelerated inevitable collapse due to long term problems
  • Gorbachev’s reforms could have been successful but introducing political reform simultaneously was a mistake
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19
Q

glasnost

A

a policy of openness from 1986-90

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20
Q

How did Glasnost impact the Party politically?

A

split into factions of hardliners and moderates against reform and radicals who supported

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21
Q

Why did Glasnost cause citizens to lose faith in the government?

A
  • it revealed the extent of Stalin’s terror
  • could see higher SoL in the west
  • nationalist groups could public material for their cause
  • revealed the economic chaos
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22
Q

What process did Gorbachev begin in 1988, which some historians argue weakened communist rule and led to the fall of the USSR

A

democratisation

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23
Q

When did the first multi-candidate election occurred?

A

March 1989

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24
Q

How many members of the Central Committee were defeated in the March 1989 election?

A

5

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25
Q

When were the first Republic elections?

A

March 1990

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26
Q

What group won 85% of votes in Moscow in March 1990?

A

Democratic Russia

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27
Q

IRDG and its importance?

A

Inter-Regional Deputies Group (IRDG) led by Yeltsin and Sakharov was essentially the first opposition group since 1921, which had grown from the 1989 election

28
Q

How did Gorbachev become President of the USSR?

A

He create a new constitution which made the position in 1990, was appointed for it and given emergency powers for 18 months

29
Q

How many members of Gorbachev’s Politburo were Russian?

A

all but 1

30
Q

How did Gorbachev create resentment in the USSR?

A

introducing a largely Russian leadership increased nationalism as standards of living dropped simultaneously to these changes due to the failure of uskurenie

31
Q

Examples of nationalist unrest? (3)

A
  • 1988 Armenian/ Azerbaijani riots
  • 1989 Uzbeks massacred a muslim minority
  • 1988 Tbilisi Massacre
32
Q

When was the Sinatra Doctrine introduced?

A

August 1989

33
Q

What symbolised the end of Soviet control in Eastern Europe?

A

Fall of the Berlin Wall November 1989

34
Q

When did Lithuania declare independence?

A

March 1990

35
Q

When did Yeltsin declare laws made by the Russian republic were legally superior to Soviet laws?

A

May 1990

36
Q

When did Estonia declare itself sovereign?

A

November 1988

37
Q

After what event did Yeltsin ask Russian soldiers to refuse Soviet orders?

A

After 14 were killed in Lithuania in January 1991

38
Q

When was Gorbachev planning to sign the new treaty for the Union of Sovereign States?

A

21st August 1991

39
Q

When was the coup of Gorbachev?

A

18th august 1991

40
Q

Why did the coup fail?

A

soldiers sided with Yeltsin so the coup failed on 21st August

41
Q

When did Yeltsin ban the Communist Party in Russia?

A

23rd August 1991

42
Q

What republics had declared independence by early september 1991?

A
  • Ukraine
  • Azerbaijan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Armenia
43
Q

What percentage of Ukrainians voted for independence from the USSR on 1st December 1991?

A

90%

44
Q

Who signed the Minsk Agreement 21st December 1991?

A

Yeltsin, the leaders of Belarus and Ukraine

45
Q

What was stated in the Minsk agreement 21st Dec 1991?

A

That the USSr had been replaced but the CIS (commonwealth of independent states)

46
Q

How many Republics joined the CIS?

A

11/15

47
Q

When did Gorbachev formally resign as President of the USSR?

A

25th December 1991

48
Q

When did Gorbachev declare the USSR would cease to exist?

A

31st December 1991

49
Q

Why did Gorbachev use the word ‘perestroika’ for his reforms?

A

Khrushchev had tainted the word reform and perestroika implied restructuring

50
Q

Phases of perestroika?

A
  • acceleration
  • glasnost
  • democratisation
  • market reform
51
Q

How did Gorbachev weaken the power of the party to stay in control?

A
  • renouncing the use of violence to hold together the USSR
  • arguing for individual rights - less ability to repress opponents
52
Q

Gorbachev’s fundamental mistakes : (3)

A
  • believing reform could save the USSR
  • failing to anticipate the effects of Glasnost
  • failing to see the fragility or commitment to the USSR
53
Q

Gorbachev’s policy mistakes: (4)

A
  • uskoreniye tried to restructure whilst simultaneously increasing output - bound to fail
  • constant changing direction + introducing new reforms - no time for reform to work
  • simultaneous economic and political reform
  • weakened the party’s power base without creating a new one
54
Q

Gorbachev’s tactical mistakes: (3)

A
  • failed to win over the party
  • introduced democracy but didn’t stand for election
  • failed to abandon the party after the the coup therefore losing popular support
55
Q

What contrasting reforms are compared to Gorbachev’s?

A

China in the 1980s doing economic reform without simultaneous political freedom worked much better

56
Q

What percentage of the Moscow vote did Yeltsin win in 1989?

A

89%

57
Q

When did Yeltsin resign from the Communist party?

A

July 1990

58
Q

How much did party membership fall by in 1990?

A

nearly 3 million

59
Q

When and why did Yeltsin say ‘take as much sovereignty as you can swallow’?

A

in 1990 when he was visiting Soviet republics

60
Q

What did Yeltsin support in 1991?

A

Baltic states’ declarations of independence

61
Q

Difference in Gorbachev and Yeltsin’s powebases?

A

Gorbachev weakened his own powerbase whilst Yeltsin built a new one. Opinion polls showed Yeltsin was more popular than Gorbachev in June 1990

62
Q

How did Yeltsin’s use of the coup contribute to the fall of the USSR?

A
  • banned the communist party and seized party assets
  • emerged as a hero whilst Gorbachev’s reputation was damaged
63
Q

what were neformaly?

A

unofficial organisations allowed under Gorbachev. Concerned sports, the environment, philosophy and arts etc.

64
Q

How many neformaly existed by early 1988? How much did this increase by in the next year?

A

30,000
doubled by 1989

65
Q

In August 1987 what conference was held in Moscow and why was it significant?

A

A conference of 47 neformaly which was not interfered with by the authorities

66
Q

Why were neformaly significant?

A

They began as interest groups but grew into popular fronts and then political parties. The Democratic Union formed in May 1988 was the first of these.

History (15 decks)

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