The Fall of the Soviet Union I

Political and Economic

What were the economy’s long-term economic weaknesses?

1. Lack of incentive

2. Waste

3. Lack of modernisation

4. Arms Race

5. Centralisation

Annual growth in the 1950s

7% pa

Annual growth in the 1970s

2% pa

Annual growth in the early 1980s

0.6% pa

How much richer were the richest in the USSR compared to the poorest?

x3

Why was there a lack of incentive in the USSR?

Small rich-poor divide, lack of promotion/demotion

Arms spending in 1985

17% GDP

Why was there a problem with waste in the economy?

Gosplan set arbitrary, high targets for production so large amounts of goods wasted

What % tractors wasted in 1985?

20%

How much more productive were US farms compared to USSR ones?

x6 more productive

Why was centralisation an economic issue?

Central administrators lacked agricultural knowledge, not adapted to local conditions

Problems with lack of modernisation

Lack of sophisticated machinery, transport and storage facilities so farms/industry less productive

What were the steps of perestroika?

1. Rationalisation

2. Reform

3. Transformation

What was rationalisation?

Attempts to stimulate growth 1985-86

What was reform (during perestroika)?

Mix of free market and command economy 1987-90

What was transformation?

Genuinely free market → single-party rule and command economy abandoned, loss of party control, 1990-91

Reforms during rationalisation

• Uskorenie

• Anti-alcohol campaign

• 12th FYP

When was the 12th FYP?

1986-90

Features of the 12th FYP

• Focus on construction and modernisation

• Quantity over quality

• Borrowing from the West = debt

• Gosplan and military opposed reforms

Name of the central planning agency

Gosplan

How much revenue was lost during the anti-alcohol campaign?

67 billion

What was uskorenie?

• Acceleration, key part of 12th FYP

• Huge investment in economy to modernise it, thus increasing efficiency

Why did uskorenie fail?

• Decline in global price of oil

• Lack of alcohol revenue

• Financed by borrowing from Western countries = debt

Drop in oil revenue in 1986

2/3

Govt debt in 1988

$27bn

Reforms during the reform stage of perestroika

• Law on State Enterprises

• Law on Co-operatives

• Gosplan abolished in 1990

• Govt subsidised prices

Number of co-operatives by 1990

200,000

Income of co-operatives compared to state enterprises

x2-3 higher

When was the Law on State Enterprise?

1987

When was the Law on Co-operatives?

1988

What was the Law on State Enterprise?

Attempted to devolve power from central govt to factory management, difficult as Gosplan maintained control

What was the Law on Co-operatives?

Legal to set up large-scale private companies

Problems with the reform stage of perestroika

• Govt subsidies expensive, meant production uneconomic

• Reforms undermined central planning system → no way to distribute goods = food shortages, some rationing

• Corruption within co-ops and state

• GDP decreased

• Drop in G’s approval rating

How much did the economy shrink 1986-90?

4%

Gorbachev’s approval rating 1989 vs 1990

52% → 21%

Reforms during transformation

• 500-Day Programme (never introduced)

• Private property reintroduced

• Govt subsidies cut = more chaos

When was the 500-Day Programme proposed?

1990

What was the 500-Day Programme?

• Proposed widespread privatisation and marketisation

• Hardline pressure meant G backed down

When was private property reintroduced?

January 1991

Consequences of transformation

• Huge debt and economic chaos

• Attempts to revitalise economy unsuccessful

• Oil production fell by 10%

• Economic collapse → govt bankrupt by summer 1991

Gorbachev’s initial political reform

Cadre change to replace Brezhnevite officials

When was Glasnost?

1986-88

Initial reforms of glasnost

• 27th Party Congress

• Liberalisation of media

• Freedom of speech and expression

• Dissidents released from prison

When was the 27th Party Congress?

February 1986

What happened at the 27th Party Congress?

Promised “genuine democracy”

Who was responsible for media liberalisation?

Aleksandr Yakovlev

How was the media liberalised?

• Radical editors of Moscow News appointed

• Newspapers revealed Stalinist issues

• Admitted extent of country’s problems

• Anti-Communist books allowed

Which famous dissident was released from exile?

Andrei Sakharov

How was Glasnost extended in 1987?

• Criticism of Marx and Lenin

• Nineteenth Party Conference

What happened at the 19th Party Conference?

Admission of the scale of problems facing the USSR, proposed a “socialist democracy”

When was the 19th Party Conference?

June 1988

When was democratisation?

1988-90

What were the initial democratic reforms?

• Multi-candidate elections to elect some members of the People’s Congress of Deputies

• Not multi-party, but multi-candidate → could chose between radicals, moderates and independents

What proportion of the CPD was elected?

2/3

When was the first election with public campaigning?

March-April 1989

What % of CPD seats did the Communists win in 1989?

80%

What % votes did Yeltsin win in Moscow in 1989?

89%

Problems with the 1989 election for Gorbachev

• Some senior figures defeated, including 5 Central Committee members

• Radicals did well, particularly Yeltsin

• IRDG formed

What faction was formed after the 1989 election?

Inter-Regional Deputies Group → embraced a radical anti-communist agenda

When were the first republic elections?

March 1990

What party did particularly well in the republic elections in Moscow?

Democratic Russia, won 85% seats

When did Gorbachev appoint himself President of the USSR?

March 1990

Why did G appoint himself President?

• Attempt to increase his power → separate from Party and Supreme Soviet

• But lacked Yeltsin’s democratic legitimacy (appointed by CPD not vote)

Gorbachev’s powers as President

Emergency powers to deal with republic unrest → occasionally used censorship/violence, lost moral high-ground