Examine different types of dissent within the USSR and how the regime dealt with it

Recap

Despite the Cold World, there were a number of meetings between the USA and USSR.

One such meeting was in Helsinki, 1975.

The Helsinki Accords committed 35 countries who attended to respect “fundamental freedoms” including freedom of thought and religion.

Task: Under your “Key terms” sheet,

explain the meaning of détente (p.106) and “samizdat” (top of p.105)

Helsinki, 1975

Outcome of the Helsinki Conference

Soviet dissidents and human rights activists used the Accords as the basis for demanding more freedom.

“Helsinki groups” and Amnesty International monitored Soviet observance of the Accords.

These 2 factors are important as to why dissent became more of an issue than ever before.

Yuri Orlov, founder of the Moscow Helsinki Group

How the Brezhnev regime dealt with dissidents

KGB (secret police) were more active than ever.

They used progressive levels of action:

1. Threats2. Removing dissidents

from employment3. Imprisonment within

labour camps or mental hospitals.

Task: Explain who Roy

Medvedev and Valentin Rasputin were and what they did p.107.

Medvedev (top left), Rasputin (top right), Rasputin’s novel which subtlety criticised regime (right)

How the Brezhnev regime dealt with dissidents (continued)

Sakharov (key scientist and spokesman for humanitarian values) and Ginsberg (writer, championing free speech) were harassed by KGB – Sakharov was later placed under house arrest.

By ’82 Helsinki groups disbanded – 60 of the 80 members were jailed.

Andrei Sakharov

How successful was Brezhnev’s regime in dealing with dissidentsWas successful: By 1980’s most

prominent dissidents were in prison or exile.

Far fewer samizdat publications were in circulation.

Was NOT successful Far more ‘inactive’

dissidents – these mainly consisted of scientists and technologists who saw the regime as impediment to economic and technological progress.

Task – religious dissent

Religious dissent was also another problem for the Brezhnev regime.

Explain how there was dissent and discontent amongst the following groups using p.108: Jews Catholics/Christians Muslims

Task – nationalities dissent

“Nationalities problem” can be described in two ways:

1. Growing separation between the Republics and Russia, both politically and economically.

2. Calls for independence by Republics. One of you examines why there WAS a

“nationalities problem” under Brezhnev and the other examines how there was NOT a problem.

Afghanistan War

War in Afghanistan proved a focal point for those critical of the regime.

In 1979 Soviet forces invaded the Afghanistan in support of the pro-Russian government against the Afghan nationalists and Mujahideen guerrillas.

As a result of the invasions there was a storm of international protests from: Islamic neighbours (Iran and

Pakistan) Western powers America set up embargo on exports

of grain and technology to USSR Boycott in 1980 of Moscow Olympics

Mujahideen guerrillas

Failure of the War

The War was a humiliating defeat fir the Soviet Union until it pulled out in 1989: 1 million Soviet troops

with modern weaponry failed to defeat Mujahideen guerrillas.

Cost of War added to regimes economic problems. Soviet modern machinery

Debate

Dissent was wide spread: Dissent became an increasing factor from 1960’s to 1980’s and

took up more of the authorities attention than ever before (previously in USSR, the strong police state had made dissent unfeasible).

Dissidents used constitution to try and guarantee freedoms. High-ranking Party officials read Pasternak and Solzhenitsyn.Dissent less wide spread than is sometimes stated: Dissidents found few supporters amongst ordinary citizens. At best dissidents seen as ungrateful troublemakers, at worst

they were unpatriotic traitors.Overall Dissidents changed the character of Soviet Union, now “the

unsayable was said” (Kenez, 1999)

“Dissent was never a serious threat to the stability of Brezhnev’s USSR”

Task – write down discussion points for the above question.

Think about what happened to the following, the outcome: Individual dissidents Czechoslovakia Helsinki Religious dissent Nationalities problem Afghanistan