Collapse of the USSR - A-Level History

First period of perestroika, initial reforms led by the Communist Party to stimulate economic growth and production

What was rationalisation (1985-86)?

Second period of perestroika, intended to produce market forces in the economic + political reforms

What was reform (1987-March 1990)?

Final stage of perestroika, abandonment of the command economy and single party rule.

What was transformation (March 1990 - August 1991)?

50%

By how much did Gorbachev reduce alcohol production in state-run factories in 1985?

2 times greater

By 1987, alcohol consumption was still X times greater than in 1960

67 billion roubles (9% of GDP)

How much did govt revenues drop following Gorbachev/Chernenko’s alcohol campaigns?

An economic initiative designed to end economic stagnation. Included the 12th Five Year Plan (1986-1990), huge increase in investment to modernise the economy.

What was acceleration (uskorenie)?

A decline in the global price of oil by $50 a barrel from 1981-1985 meant that soviet oil revenues dropped by two thirds. Meant that the govt had less money to invest → relied on borrowing from Western Europe → led to an increase in govt debt to 27.2bn roubles in 1988.

Why did acceleration (uskorenie) fail?

A set of reforms intended to introduce markets into the USSR’s economy following the failure of acceleration

What was partial market reform (1986-1990)?

1987 Law on State Enterprise

Which law intended to devolve power form the central govt to factory management (setting prices etc..)?

1986 Law on Individual Economic Activity

Which law allowed for families and individuals to start small-scale businesses to make money (private tutoring, maintenance etc..)

1988 Law on Co-operatives

Which law allowed for the setting up of large scale private companies?

Over 200,000

By 1990 how many private co-operatives were set up?

1990

What year did Gorbachev abolish the central economic planning group (Gosplan)?

Free market goods were often more expensive than govt goods because the govt price-capped certain items such as food. Co-operatives were also price-capped, causing issues for the market.

Why did partial market reform fail?

Shortages of essential goods, such as food, in 1990. Poor distribution of goods such as farm produce. Between 1986-1990, GDP had shrunk by 4%. Basic product subsidies were cut in April 1990 → prices rose sharply to adjust for demand.

Consequences of the partial market reform included….

A programme commissioned by Gorbachev and Yeltsin to devise a plan for economic transition in an attempt to minimise economic problems.

What was the 500 Day Programme?

Gorbachev had to back down due to pressure from hardliners within the Communist Party.

Why did the 500 Day Programme fail?

January 1991

When was private property introduced by the Supreme Soviet?

April 1991

When were citizens allowed to trade stocks and shares?

Oil production fell by 9%, steel and tractor production fell by 12%. Soviet/republican governments were effectively bankrupt.

Economic performance by 1991:

The party was the main obstacle to reform, the party had become huge and unmanageable, corruption and nepotism was rife thanks to the gerontocracy etc..

Why did Gorbachev believe he needed to reform the Communist Party?

Extent of Stalin’s terror policies in the 1930s and 1940s, casualties in WWII, environmental issues such as the Aral Sea, and massacres such as the Katyn Massacre of 1940.

Examples of Glasnost discoveries:

Convinced Gorbachev that glasnost was essential → no formal announcement of a meltdown until Scandinavian scientists started to detect radiation. Delayed evacuation due to bureaucracy → increased cases of birth defects and leukaemia. Resulted in a wave of criticism against the party.

Chernobyl’s impact on Glasnost:

Replacing senior officers/end of the gerontocracy. Appointed young, pro-reform communists to high positions. Start of democratisation.

What was included in the Early Political Reforms (1985-1986)

Set out a new programme for the CP, the first time it had changed policies since 1961. Committed the party to ‘genuine democracy’, and the ‘systematic and all-round improvement of socialism’.

What happened at the 27th Party Congress (1986)?

Aleksander Yakovlev was given responsibility for Soviet media → appointed radical editors to head Moscow News and Ogonek (a party newspaper). Permitted the publication of previously banned books, plays and films (such as Repentance).

What happened during the liberalisation of the media?

Publications were allowed to criticise Marx and Lenin, the foundations of Soviet Communism, and foreign broadcasts/newspapers were permitted. Shook the public’s faith in communism.

Extension of Glasnost (1987-1988)…

The Congress of People’s Deputies, 1989

To what parliament was multi-candidate elections introduced to, and when?

The Supreme Soviet

The CPD would also elect another ruling body, able to meet with Gorbachev. Which one?

Candidates forced to campaign and engage in public debate to win votes. Communists won 80% of the seats in the CPD. Several high ranking communists defeated, including from the Central Committee. Yeltsin won 89% of the vote in Moscow.

Elections of March 1989 - happenings.

Weakened the position of moderates. Nationalists able to campaign for independence → violence in Georgia. Yeltsin emerged as a rival to Gorbachev.

Consequences of the 1989 election:

“Democratic Russia” won 85% of the seats in Moscow. “Democratic Elections 90” won 80% of the seats in Leningrad. Increased the authority of anti-communists. More radical change than G had anticipated.

Republic Elections - 1990:

March 1990

When did Gorbachev elect himself president of the USSR?

Emergency powers to deal with the economic crisis and growing unrest. Used to censor the press and use troops to restore order. Criticised for creating a new dictatorship - many key supporters began to abandon him (e.g Shevardnadze)

What powers was Gorbachev given as president?

Suppressed with economic and political incentives (investment in the republics, terror etc..), Secret police always dominated by Russians, kept under strict central control. Andropov kept nationalists under strict supervision.

Nationalism in Pre-1985 USSR:

A term that encouraged people to put loyalty to the USSR ahead of the republics. Argued as a superior form of nationalism based on ethnic equality and unity. In reality, based on Russian values and the assumption of Russian supremacy over other cultures → unpopular with non-Russians.

What was “Soviet Nationalism”?

The view that all nations should be self-governing, free from outside oppression or control.

Liberal Nationalism

The view that some nations have the right to rule over others, or play a guiding role in their development.

Chauvinistic Nationalism

A campaign where “all government posts should go to the best candidates”, therefore removing local leaders from office to be replaced with better leaders → often happened to be Russian. Popular Central Asian figures sacked in 1986 due to corruption.

What was the Cadre-Change / Anti-Corruption Campaign?

Kazakh riots in 1986 due to the replacement of the popular Kazakh leader - Kunaev

Examples of further resentment in the republics as a result of cadre-change?

Fall in standards of living in the republics due to economic decline → associated with the new cadres / republic leaders. Inequalities between the new privileged Russian leaders and the people became more pronounced.

Acceleration’s consequences on Nationalism..

Exposed the ways in which previous govts (Stalin) had persecuted non-Russians. Allowed the people to see the higher QoL in the west → undermined the perception that the USSR had benefited the republics. Also allowed nationalist groups to publish material.

Glasnost’s consequences on Nationalism..

Started in August 1989 - argued that different countries could follow their own path to communism. As a result, between October and November 1989, communism fell across Eastern Europe.

What was the Sinatra Doctrine?

March 1990

When did Lithuania (illegally) declare its independence from the USSR?

May 1990

When did the War of Laws start in Russia, when Yeltsin declared the Russian parliament sovereign over the USSR’s?

Violence broke out in Karabagh, when Armenian nationalists organised protests for unification with Armenia. Riots between pro-Armenian and pro-Azerbaijani protesters put down by force by March 1988. Direct rule from the USSR as a response → massacres and mass-migration of Armenians in Jan 1990 followed by renewed calls for independence from the USSR.

Nationalist tension in Azerbaijan - 1988

Soviet troops attempted to put down Georgian protests about the rights of Abkhazians → 19 Georgians killed, led to outrage and concern among the republics. The govt refused to take responsibility, blaming local military leaders, meaning that military commanders became more hesitant/resistant to orders to use force.

Tbilisi Massacre 1989

Spurred on by events such as Chernobyl - environmental concerns - and growing demand for the Russian republic to put Russia first. By 1987 - mass environmental demonstrations. Argument that Soviet communism was unnatural.

Russian Nationalist Movement (1987-1991)

By 1988, large popular fronts were growing in the republics. Gorbachev imposed economic sanctions against Lithuania in early 1990, and in Jan. 1991 troops were sent in to occupy radio stations and TV HQs, killing 14. As a result, Yeltsin ordered Russian soldiers to refuse orders from the USSR.

Baltic nationalism (1988-1991)

Gorbachev proposed that the republics should be given more independence in a new union. First proposed in 1990 → referendum proposed in March 1991 following crisis in Lithuania → 6 republics did not participate, but support was broad (76%). Provisional agreement reached in April 1991 - “9 + 1 Agreement”. Negotiations continued through the spring of 1991.

Reforming the USSR - how nationalism caused the collapse?

June 1991, Yeltsin with 57% of the vote. Gave Yeltsin popular legitimacy.

When did Russia elect its own president?

18th August 1991

When did the Coup start?

Declared that he had resigned as leader due to poor health. Took over Moscow and tried to keep Gorbachev away. Recognised that the CP was unpopular, and did not take power in the party’s name.

How did the Coup try to curb Gorbachev’s power?

Called for a general strike, called for Gorbachev’s return to power.

What did Yeltsin do to resist the coup?

The Russian soldiers sent in to arrest Yeltsin refused their orders. The coup was now without the support of the military, and collapsed on August 21st, 1991.

What was the turning point of the coup?

Gorbachev’s position weakened. Seen as deeply out of touch, public further lost faith in the party. Yeltsin emerged as the defender of democracy, won greater support from the public. The republics of Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan declared independence. 9+1 Treaty collapsed.

Consequences of the coup?

23rd August 1991

When did Yeltsin suspend the Communist Party?

Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, established the CIS.

Minsk Agreement signed between __

90%

What % of the population of Ukraine voted for independence from the USSR?

Pushed Soviet politics towards western values, such as human rights, which renounced violence as a method for holding the USSR together.

Westernising and its impact?

China also reformed in the 1980s. Quicker market reforms, and no political reforms, led to the continuation of communism within China, and not the USSR.

Impact of China?

May 1990

When did Yeltsin become chair of the Congress of People’s Deputies?

Summer 1990 - “take as much sovereignty as you can swallow.”

When did Yeltsin visit the other republics, and what did he say?

Evidence published from seized documents of party corruption.

How did the suspension of the CP take it down?