The Collapse of the Soviet Union

The Collapse of the Soviet Union

Causes and Consequences By Andrea Lopez, John Amalfitano, Nicole Conejo, & Yesenia Santadrea

BORGES STYLE NOTES!

Before We Begin…

Let’s Get To Know the Crucial Leaders Involved…

NAME

COUNTRY

DESCRIPTION

Mikhail Gorbachev Soviet Union

a communist reformer was appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985. His major reforms were glasnost, perestroika and democratization. These reforms allowed the problems of the USSR to be uncovered and become public knowledge.

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet Union

Emerged as the dominant leader in the 1970’s. { right before Gorbachev}. He was determined to keep Eastern Europe in Communist hands and was uninterested in reform. Under his rule, the party officials were living large, while average Russians fought just to make ends meet.

Ronald Reagan

U.S.A.

When elected in 1980, the relations with the Soviets got even worse as he referred to them as an “evil empire”. He began a military buildup, which stimulated a new arms race. {weaponry} By providing military aid to proSoviet regimes in Afghanistan, he thought he would force them to waste their resources on a foreign war.

Boris Yeltsin

Russia

President of the Russian republic, and new commander in chief of Russia after collapse of the Soviet Union. He vowed to transform Russia’s socialist economy into a free market.

Vladimir Putin

Russia

Elected President in 2000. He was a former officer of the secret police and was widely seen as someone who wanted to keep a tight reign on government power.

Review of Key Terms • Nationalism - devotion and loyalty to one's own nation; patriotism. • Republic – a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. • Democracy - government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. • Communism – where no government exists and the means of production are owned and operated by all people as one equal class. • Socialism – where the means of production are owned and run by the government; non profit driven • Capitalism - the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development and is based on the principle of individual rights; profit driven

Now It’s Time To Start…

POST COLLAPSE What’s been going on?

Soviets Under Stress • Between 1964 and 1982, drastic change in the Soviet Union was highly unlikely. So, what the happened to create such a rapid turnaround? • The major reason was because of a man named: Mikhail Gorbachev

Gorbachev continued… • When the Communist Party chose Mikhail Gorbachev as its new leader in 1985, it had little idea of what he would do: Immediately launch a widespread campaign aimed at transforming Soviet society called perestroika and glasnost

Definitions Copy both • Perestroika – {“restructuring”} a policy intended to increase automation and labor efficiency which reconstructed the Soviet economy and bureaucracy beginning in the mid 1980s.

• Glasnost – {“openess”} a policy allowing freer discussion of social problems emphasizing candor with regard to shortcomings.

Soviet Reform •

In the 1980’s, the Soviet Union faced several issues:

1. 2. 3. 4.

A declining economy A rise in infant mortality rates A surge in alcoholism Poor working conditions

From the start of his reign, Gorbachev preached the need for radical reform; his basis: perestroika

But… • Although, perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev's program of economic, political, and social restructuring, became the unintended catalyst for dismantling what had taken nearly threequarters of a century to erect: the MarxistLeninist-Stalinist totalitarian state. {Nice job dummy…}

The To –Do List • His first priority was to reconstruct the economic policy; desiring to create an economy in which goods and services are exchanged in a free market, as opposed to a state-controlled or socialist economy; a capitalistic economy. So that some businesses could be privately owned.

• {This was his glasnost, the “openness”, in his plans!}

Reforms • Glasnost resulted in greater freedom of speech and the press becoming far less controlled. It is likely that Gorbachev's primary goal in undertaking glasnost was to pressure conservatives who opposed his policies of economic restructuring. • Although, he also hoped that through different ranges of openness, debate and participation, the Soviet people as a whole would support his reform initiatives.

Reforms Continued… • The Law on Cooperatives, enacted in May 1988, perhaps the most radical of the economic reforms, permitted private ownership of businesses in the services, manufacturing, and foreign-trade sectors. The law initially imposed high taxes and employment restrictions, but later revised these to avoid discouraging private-sector activity. • The media was far less controlled by the government. • At the time, many political prisoners and dissidents were also released from jail.

• In May 1989 Gorbachev ordered the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, a major step in removing a point of contention between the United States and the Soviet Union. • In Europe, he abandoned the traditional Soviet commitment to its East European allies, and ordered Soviet forces stationed in Eastern Europe not to interfere in the internal affairs of their host states. This reformist foreign policy, dubbed "New Thinking," was a drastic departure from traditional Soviet practice.

“New Thinking” • Gorbachev’s willingness to rethink Soviet Foreign Policy resulted in an abrupt halt in military support in other communist governments in Europe. • This change opened the door to the overthrow of these Communist regimes. • As Gorbachev allowed this to happen, it gave the opportunity for nationalist reformers to use their “right of speech” to riot and protest in order to regain their independence from the Soviet Union.

• This laid the groundwork for a wave of political upheavals in Eastern Europe, which swept communist governments aside and brought to power leaders with anti-Russian, pro-Western orientations. • The new approach resulted in the celebrated unification of East and West Germany (1990) and had major ramifications for the Soviet Union and the global political environment.

Reactions to Reforms

• In the Soviet Union itself, however, reactions to the new policies were mixed. Reform policies rocked the foundation of entrenched traditional power bases in the party, economy, and society but did not replace them entirely. • Newfound freedoms of assembly, speech, and religion, the right to strike, and multicandidate elections undermined not only the Soviet Union's authoritarian structures, but also the familiar sense of order and predictability. Longsuppressed, bitter inter-ethnic, economic, and social grievances led to clashes, strikes, and growing crime rates.

Uh…Oh… • Gorbachev's efforts to streamline the Communist system offered promise, but ultimately proved uncontrollable and resulted in a cascade of events that eventually concluded with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. • Initially intended as tools to bolster the Soviet economy, the policies of perestroika and glasnost soon led to unintended consequences.

Unintended Consequences • Relaxation under glasnost resulted in the Communist Party losing its absolute grip on the media. • Before long, and much to the embarrassment of the authorities, the media began to expose severe social and economic problems the Soviet government had long denied and actively concealed.

Unintended Consequences… Problems receiving increased attention included: 1. poor housing 2. alcoholism 3. drug abuse 4. pollution 5. outdated Stalin-era factories Media reports also exposed crimes committed by Stalin and the Soviet regime, such as the gulags, his treaty with Hitler, and the Great Purge, which all had been ignored. This didn’t sit well with the people.

• Moreover, the ongoing war in Afghanistan, and the mishandling of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which Gorbachev tried to cover up, further damaged the credibility of the Soviet government at a time when dissatisfaction was increasing.

• In all, the very positive view of Soviet life which had long been presented to the public by the official media, was being rapidly dismantled, and the negative aspects of life in the Soviet Union were brought into the spotlight. • This undermined the faith of the public in the Soviet system and eroded the Communist Party's social power base, threatening the identity and integrity of the Soviet Union itself.

The

CLIMAX

Collapse of the Soviet Union • During 1990 and 1991, Gorbachev struggled to deal with problems unleashed by his reforms. He had fellow conservative leaders and the secret police worried out of their minds! • Fearing their privileges would terminate with the collapse of their country, these conservatives arrested Gorbachev and tried to seize power, but failed. {Ha…Suckers!}

Meanwhile… Dah…Dah…Daaaaaaaaaaah…

• In Moscow, president of the Russian Republic, Boris Yeltsin, along with thousands of Russians, resisted the rebel forces. • Two days after the arrest of Gorbachev, between August 21st and September 22nd, the following countries declared their independence:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Estonia Latvia Lithuania Ukraine Belarus Moldova Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Tajikstan Turkmenistan

• With the country in a rapid state of deterioration, the final blow to Gorbachev's vision was effectively dealt by a Ukrainian referendum on 1 December, where the Ukrainian people voted for independence. The presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus met on December 8th, founding the Commonwealth of Independent States and declared the the end of the Soviet Union. • Gorbachev then reluctantly agreed with Yeltsin, on December 17th, to dissolve the Soviet Union. Gorbachev resigned December 25th and the Soviet Union was formally dissolved the next day. Two days later, December 27th, Yeltsin moved into Gorbachev's old office.[5]

RESOLUTION Life Afterwards

• Nationalist supporters justified the break up of the Soviet Union into 15 separate nations. They argued that every nation had an ordained right to govern itself. • Nationalists saw national sovereignty and statehood as inalienable rights, withheld from them by the repressive Soviet regime. Perestroika and glasnost made it possible for nationalist aspirations to be propagated and take hold, and the Soviet collapse made their independence possible.

The New Russia • In 1991 the Democratic Party and its leader, Boris Yeltsin, was left in control of Russia after replacing the communist party. The democrats had a major problem on their hands: in order to completely get rid of communism, they would have to do a great deal of damage to everything communism had sustained in the country. • This included Russia's economy and political structure.

A Slow Path To Recovery • President Yeltsin had no clear plans regarding the transition that had to be made, and when little was done in the first month of Yeltsin's rule concerning the crisis facing the nation, the Russian people began to panic as they realized how severe an effect the removal of communism would have on both the economy and their everyday life. • On October 28th, 1991, Yeltsin finally announced several drastic changes that would begin the transition. Yeltsin was able to privatize the enterprises responsible for 70% of Russia's gross domestic product by the end of his presidency.

Today… • During the reign of Communism, the Party controlled all facets of Russian civilization, including the economy. Now that Russia has made the transition to a democratic government, the state needs to refrain from intervention in the economy in order to promote the free market system that has prevailed in western countries. If this happens, Russia will eventually regain its status as a major power in the world market.

Timeline of Events 1970

1974

1978

1970’s- The U.S. and Soviet Union have good relations 1979-1981 – Soviets invade Afghanistan resulting in a worse relationship with the U.S. when Reagan gets elected in 1981.

1982

1985

1989

1993

2000

1991 – Boris Yeltsin becomes president of Russia.

1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev assumes leadership of Soviet Union {PG} 1987 – INF Treaty with The U.S. to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons.

1997

December 25 1991 – Gorbachev’s resignation.

August 19th 1991 – A group of conservatives arrest Gorbachev and try to seize his power.

1989-1990 – Nationalist Movements arose in republics that made up the USSR. there were calls for independence in Latvia, Estonia, Moldavia, and Lithuania.

1988 – Communist party conference initiates political reforms; establishes a new Soviet parliament: the Congress of People’s Deputies. October 3rd, 1990 – Reunification of Germany

2000 – Ex-KGB agent Vladimir Putin becomes president of Russia.