Post on 18-Dec-2015
The Collapse ofCommunism
Eastern Bloc
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics15 Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
7 “Satellites”:
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
The Collapse ofCommunism
Decline of the “Old Guard”:
U.S./Soviet relationship during Brezhnev era? Czechoslovakia 1968 Brezhnev Doctrine Détente SALT Afghanistan: ends Détente Helsinki Accords Poland: Solidarity Reagan & the “Evil Empire”
Conditions in the Soviet Union in the Brezhnev era? Repression, silencing of dissidents; rigidity & corruption Focus on military at expense of consumer goods continues,
worsens Anti-Semitism How do these conditions affect the opinions of younger Soviets in
the party leadership?
The Collapse ofCommunism
The Collapse ofCommunism
The Collapse ofCommunism
The Ascent of Mikhail Gorbachev:
1985: Rise of the “New Guard”
Initiates an era of reform:
Perestroika: economic reform
Glasnost: “openness,” greater freedom of expression, criticism
Democratization: allowing elections among party members
Renunciation of the Brezhnev Doctrine (1989)
The Collapse ofCommunism
The Collapse ofCommunism
Gorbachev’s Goal? Survival of the USSR:
Central planning/command economy inefficient
Little incentive to improve, significant incentive to hide inefficiencies
Socialist farm system inefficient
Defense spending was unsustainable & fed dissent
The Collapse ofCommunism
1987: Ronald Reagan’s Speech Before the Brandenburg Gate:
“In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards…Even today, the Soviet Union cannot feed itself. The inescapable conclusion is that freedom is the victor. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
The Collapse ofCommunism
1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:
Long-term economic decline
Political stagnation
Foreign relations disasters
Change in Soviet leadership: Gorbachev
Nationalism
The Collapse ofCommunism
1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:
Poland & Solidarity – a little background….
1978: Pope John Paul II (visits in 1979)
1980 protests: occupation of Gdansk shipyards by workers, led by Lech Walesa• Solidarity union refuses to negotiate• Government recognizes Solidarity,
head of the Polish Communist Party replaced, & a Catholic mass broadcast on state-controlled radio
• Elections (among Communists) allowed
1981: Martial law• Solidarity leaders arrested• 1983: Lech Walesa wins Nobel Peace
Prize
The Collapse ofCommunism
1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:
Poland & Solidarity redux…
During 1980s, Solidarity prisoners released
1988: new strikes by workers, union legalized, Lech Walesa becomes intermediary
Communist leadership promises free elections, which Solidarity candidates win by a large margin in 1989
1989: first non-Communist prime minister since 1945, & Gorbachev approves…
In 1990, Lech Walesa would become the 1st freely elected president…
The Collapse ofCommunism
1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:
Hungary
Early in the year, Hungary opens its borders with Austria, breaching the “Iron Curtain”
Leads to thousands of East Germans moving to West Germany
Head of Hungarian Communist Party Janos Kadar (installed after 1956 uprising) removed
“Comrades, It’s Over!”
The Collapse ofCommunism
1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:
Germany & Reunification: Wir sind ein Volk!
West Germany: “Economic Miracle”
East Germany: Stagnation
Popular demonstrations in 1989, Gorby rejects force
East German government resigns; new Communist leaders last only weeks
1989: the Berlin Wall is torn down, on order of the East German government
EEC accepts reunification, & by February 1990, reunification begins
The Collapse ofCommunism
The Collapse ofCommunism
1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:
Not an easy reunion…
Prosperous West Germans pay higher taxes to finance rebuilding the east
Unemployment increases as outdated factories in the east are closed
Global economic slowdown of the 1990s leads to further economic problems
Increase in neo-Nazism; immigrants blamed for economic problems
The Collapse ofCommunism
1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:
Czechoslovakia: the “Velvet Revolution”
Václav Havel, a playwright, leads the charge
Frequently imprisoned, since radio broadcasts against 1968 Soviet intervention
December 1989: Communist leadership, Soviet Union acknowledge 1968 invasion wrong
Alexander Dubcek (remember him?) becomes chairman of Parliament
December 29, 1989: Havel elected President of a free Hungary
The Collapse ofCommunism
1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:
Romania: Not everything was easy… President Nicolae Ceausescu resists Government fires on protesters, leading to full
revolt Ceausescu & wife are captured, tried, & executed
on Dec. 25
The Collapse ofCommunism
Meanwhile, “back in the USSR”….:
Why didn’t the Soviet Union intervene as their satellite nations imploded?
Early 1990: Gorbachev proposes abandonment of one-party power
Who challenges Gorbachev?
“Conservative”: hard-line Communists clinging to old ways… “Radical Reformers”: believers in “shock therapy,” including their
leader Boris Yeltsin
At the same time, Soviet republics resists, especially Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (remember them?)
Gorby uses military to suppress; what’s the difference? Unable to successfully negotiate new arrangements with the
republics July 1990: Union Treaty – Gorby’s attempt to renegotiate
arrangments…
The Collapse ofCommunism
The Coup Attempt: August 1991
Conservatives, including his own Cabinet members, initiate coup while Gorbachev on vacation; house arrest in Crimean…Who comes to his aid?
The Collapse ofCommunism
Dissolution
December 1991: Gorbachev leaves office, humiliated, & Soviet Union ceases to exist…
The Collapse ofCommunism
The Collapse ofCommunism
Lech Walesa'sSOLIDARITY
Gorbachev’sREFORMS
John Paul II’sCATHOLICCHURCH
GlasnostRonald Reagan’sFOREIGN POLICY
No BrezhnevDoctrine
Perestroika
ReformKGB
ReformComm Party
EVIL EMPIRESpeech
MILITARY BUILDUP
ARMS RACE
East GermanNATIONALISM
The Collapse of the Soviet Unionand the End of the Cold War
Ordinary MEN & WOMEN
WILL POWER
COURAGE
Eastern Bloc
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Collapse ofCommunism
Russia Under Boris Yeltsin
Who opposes Yeltsin?What problems does he face?1993: Suspension of Parliament & a new Constitution
The Collapse ofCommunism
The Collapse ofCommunism
Russia Under Boris Yeltsin
Privatization leads to rise of the oligarchs
1994: Checnya revolt – wants to secede, primarily Muslim; leads to war, terrorism
High unemployment; no one to bail out Russia (unlike East Germany)
By 1998, the economy collapses
1998: Yeltsin resigns, replaced by his prime minister, Vladimir Putin
The Collapse ofCommunism