Fall of the USSR

When did Moldova declare independence?

27th August 1991

When did Azerbaijan declare independence?

30th August 1991

When did Kyrgyzstan declare independence?

31st August 1991

When did Gorbachev resign?

December 25th 1991

When was the coup against Gorbachev?

August 1991

How many republics were left in November 1991?

7/15

Perestroika: what was the % prediction for growth in industrial production?

20%

Why did perestroika (acceleration) fail?

Declining global prices of oil

Perestroika: From 1981-85 what was the change in the prices of a barrel of oil?

$70-$20

Perestroika: how much did oil revenue decrease by?

2/3

What did Gorbachev invest in?

Energy

What was Gorbachev advised to invest in?

High tech machines

When was Yeltsin sacked as Moscow Party leader?

November 1987

When did elections in republics see victories for non-communist groupings?

1990

When were the Baltic states ‘popular’ fronts formed?

1988

When was Georgia’s peak display of nationalism?

1988

Perestroika: what did the law on Individual Economic Activity of November 1986 do?

Made it legal for families/individuals to make money from small-scale work

What did the law on State Enterprise of 1987 do?

Devolve power from central government to factory management so they could set prices, although little power was actually devolved due to Gosplan

What did the law on Co-operatives 1988 do?

Made it legal to set up large-scale private companies, nearly 200,000 by 1996

What was the turnover of co-operatives in the first year?

Increased from 29.2m roubles to 1.04bn

What were the consequences of the perestroika legal reforms?

Created a partial market that failed to function properly. Co-ops had to be processed capped because of their uneconomic production. 1990 saw severe food shortages and 1986-90 saw GDP fall by 4%

In March 1989 what % of votes did Yeltsin gain in the elections to the Congress of People’s Deputies?

89%

What % of seats were granted to Communist Party members at the March 1989 Congress of People’s Deputies?

80%

When was the Nineteenth Party Conference which established that the Party would guide>lead as well as the separation of powers?

1988

When was the Armenia x Azerbaijan nationalist conflict?

1988

When were the Kazakhstan riots?

1986

Stages of Perestroika: when was rationalisation?

1985-86

Stages of Perestroika: when was reform?

1987-90

Stages of Perestroika: when was transformation?

1990-91

What did Georgian nationalists protest over?

The rights of the Abkhazian minority

What was the reaction to the Georgian nationalists protest?

Soviet troops tried to restore order by force, 19 protesters killed, 1000s wounded, blamed local military leaders who were less likely to use force (Tbilisi syndrome)

In the nationalist conflict of 1989, who did the Uzbeks massacre?

Muslim minority of Meshketians, soviet governments failed to restore peace

Explain the Armenia x Azerbaijan conflict:

Occurred in Nagorno- Karabakh, which was a region of Azerbaijan. Armenian nationalists living there wanted to unite with Armenia so they protested for this. There was a counter campaign by Azerbaijan nationalists resulting in violent riots. The Soviet government declared direct control form Moscow and there was a mass migration of Armenians. Late 1989 the CP lost control of Azerbaijan and in 1990 the Armenians were massacred

What was Article 6 of the Constitution of the USSR?

The CP was the ‘leading and guiding force of the Soviet society and the nucleus of its political system’

Why was the Congress of People’s Deputies introduced?

To provide an independent, supervisory role over the government and to separate the functions of the Party from the state

Define democratisation:

An attempt by Gorbachev to get more people involved in the CP and political debate

4 key factors behind the fall of the USSR:

• Economic failures

• Political reforms (Glasnost, democratisation)

• Rise of nationalism

• Gorbachev’s decisions x Yeltsin’s rule

When did Yeltsin reign from the Politburo?

1988

When did Yeltsin ban the CP in Russia?

November 1991

Perestroika (transformation): When did Gorbachev accept the need to abolish the centrally planned system and introduce a full market economy?

1990

Perestroika (transformation): What was the 500 day programme of August 1990?

Widespread privatisation and complete marketisation

Perestroika (transformation): Why did Gorbachev back down from the 500 day programme?

Pressure from senior hardline conservatives

Perestroika (transformation): When did the supreme soviet introduce private property?

1991

Perestroika (transformation): By what % did oil production fall and steel/tractor production?

9%

12%

When was the 28th Party Congress, at which the politburo’s status was radically changed?

1990

When did the Supreme Soviet create a 3-chamber Congress of People’s Deputies?

December 1988

When did Yeltsin resign from the CPSU?

June 1990

When was the referendum on the New Union Treaty?

March 1991

How many of the former soviet states had joined CIS by the 21st of December 1991?

11/15

When did Gorbachev undemocratically become the chairman of the 542 member Supreme Soviet?

May 1989

When was the 9+1 Agreement?

April 1991

When was the 9+1 Agreement aiming for?

To establish a federation of independent states with a single president

In 1989 how many x more was alcohol consumption than that of 1960?

2x

When % of GDP was lost from alcohol sales once people drank samogon?

9%

Perestroika (rationalism): In May 1985, what % did Gorbachev reduce alcohol production at state-run factories by?

50%

Perestroika (rationalism): How many party members were assigned to a task force to stop illegal alcohol production?

55,000

Perestroika (rationalism): How many registered alcoholics were there?

4.5m

Perestroika (rationalism): How many litres of alcohol were soviet citizens consuming per year?

15-16 litres

Perestroika (rationalism): When was the anti-alcohol campaign dropped?

1988

When was Gorbachev appointed as president of the USSR, other parties legalised and Article 6 abolished?

March 1990

When did Gorbachev become general secretary of the CP?

March 1985

When did the Warsaw Pact end?

1989

When did Glasnost run?

1986-88

When was Glasnost extended to Marx/Lenin?

1987

When could citizens freely listen/read foreign radios and newspapers?

1988

When were the Belovezha Accords signed?

8th of December 1991

What were the Belovezha Accords?

The agreement declaring that the USSR had effectively ceased to exist and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place as a successor.