Soviet Union1985-1991

1985Failed attempts at reformStagnant economy (oil prices dropped)War in AfghanistanSurge of nationalism in “republics”–Baltic states–Eastern blocMikhail Gorbachev allowed open criticism

1991Boris Yeltsin seized power in a coupGorbachev toppled via his own reformsUSSR collapsed and the CIS is instituted

Rise of GorbachevMarch 1985- December 1991

This was the Soviet Union in 19911. Armenia2. Azerbaijan3. Belarus4. Estonia5. Georgia6. Kazakhstan7. Kyrgyzstan8. Latvia9. Lithuania10.Moldova11.Russia12.Tajikistan13.Turkmenista

n14.Ukraine15.Uzbekistan

Between 1969 and 1987Global shift in generation reformAfghanistan was the USSR’s VietnamChernobyl nuclear plant disaster (1986)Glasnost and perestroika reforms

1985: Rise of GorbachevKonstantin Chermenko, last of the old-liners, diesMikhail Gorbachev, first of the technocrats, becomes General SecretaryRise of de-Stalinization generation from Khrushchev’s 1950sConsolidate power to provide reform momentum

Out With the Old…Chermenko Gorbachev

US Reaction to Change1. Carter

sends aid to

Pakistan

2. Pakistan aids

Mujahedeen rebels against

Afghanistan-Soviet

puppet gov’t

3. Soviets intervene in Afghanistan

4. US embargos USSR for invading

Afghanistan

5. Reagan increases military spending from

7% of GNP to 27%

6. Soviets match % at the

expense of consumer goods

7. Reagan supplies

Afghan rebels with Stinger

missiles

8. Reagan actively pursues a

cheap oil policy

10. USSR goes

bankrupt!

End of Détente

REFORMSEconomic, Political, Foreign Policy

Law on Cooperatives (May ‘88)

• Private ownership• First since Lenin’s

NEP• Services,

manufacturing, foreign trade privatized

• Cooperative restaurants, shops, factories allowed

• Socialism weakened

Glasnost• Speech and

press freed up

• Pressure on conservatives

• Seeks support from Soviet people for economic policies

The New Openness• Political prisoners and

dissidents released from gulags in Siberia

• Public opinion polls• State archives

accessible to public• Gender studies, stats

on crime, income, abortion, infant mortality, suicide published

Politics Gets Westernized• Democratization

• Multi-Party Elections

• June 1988 CPSU’s 19th Party Conference launches radical change

• Congress of Peoples’ Deputies established for legislation

Changes in the Soviet Union• Gorbachev could be

forced to resign if the elite are dissatisfied

• President is independent of the CPSU and could only be impeached if law is directly violated

• CPSU is deprived of direct political power

Unintended Consequenc

e

Media exposes severe social and

economic problems

Problems shownpoor housingalcoholismdrug abusepollutionout-dated factoriescorruption

Archives Show State Secrets

Gulags for opponentsStalin’s treaty with HitlerGreat PurgesLoss in AfghanistanMishandling of Chernobyl

Hitler-Stalin Pact

Break Down of the Warsaw PactLech Walesa’s rise in Poland under Solidarity Movement in 1980-1989Romania’s violent uprising in 19891990-91—loss of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Hungary

Walesa of PolandReagan at the Berlin Wall Hungarian

Comrades

Romanian Revolt by Army & Workers against Ceausescu John Lennon Wall in Prague, Czech.

Like Nationalist Revolts within Its Own Borders

Feb ‘88—Azerbaijanis v Armenians for ethnic states lead to massacresBaltic SSRs revolt and gain sovereignty—Lithuania (’90), Latvia (‘91), and Estonia (‘91)

Latvia Museum of OccupationGeorgia Museum

Perestroika Poster

Ukrainian Museum

Glasnost v PerestroikaGlasnost• Free speech• Free press• Access to

archives• Political

parties• Nationalist,

ethnic movements

• Labor rights

Perestroika• Private business• End gov’t

monopoly of the “means of production”

• Competition in export trade

• Decentralization inroads

Loss of Economic Control• State forced to bail-out unprofitable

enterprises• State consumer goods subsidies increase• Taxes decline with anti-alcohol campaign• Regions with autonomy withhold taxes• Production bottlenecks; shortages appear

The Final Blow…1991 August Coup• New Union Treaty Proposed– June: Boris Yeltsin wins as Russia SSR

President– Federation of independent republics

formed– CPSU would control markets and social life– Opposed by conservatives fearing break up– Gorbachev under house arrest– Coup begun by KBG

The Coup d'état

Army Tanks in Red Square Boris Yeltsin

Anti-Coup Yeltsin Supporters

Aftermath of the Failed CoupCPSU banned by Boris Yeltsin throughout Russia SSROne-by-one SSRs declare independenceEconomic union formed in a power playTreaty of Union 1922 evokedGorbachev removed from power90% of Ukrainians vote for separation 12/1/91

Commonwealth of Independent States Declared!!!

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Is Gone

12/8/91 Belavezha Accords signed by Russia, Ukraine, and BelorussiaGorbachev says unconstitutional12/12 Russia denounces 1922 Treaty12/17 CIS recognized by 28 European countries12/24 Russia declared UN successor to USSR for diplomatic purposes (power)

Summation of Events Principal elements of USSR

Hierarchy of soviets with Russia at topEthnic federalism (no such thing—one nation under Moscow)State socialismCommunist Party (CPSU) domination

Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost reforms produce radical reforms and unforeseen effects

Coalitions built to support reformsEconomic problems put USSR into stagnation

Openness leads to oppositionCPSU challenged and dividedSSRs and Bloc countries rebel openlyNationalist, orthodox Communists,

and populist forces attempt liberalization and revitalization of the Soviet Union

Gorbachev fails at compromise Conservative coup beaten by Yeltsin supporters

Post-Soviet Restructuring

The Yeltsin ShockSubsidies for consumer goods cutPrice controls abolishedYeltsin cronies given government property and assets as private enterprisesOligarchy, not democracy, merges

The New Russia 22% live below the poverty lineLife expectancy and birth rates declinedGNP halved since 1991 Prices of natural resources increased Investments and businesses soar Emigration out increased