Studied by 0 people
Nationalism and Individuals
How did the govt attempt to unite the union?
Soviet Nationalism
Was Soviet Nationalism effective?
No → based on Russian culture and ‘superiority’, angered the republics but G didn’t recognise this
How did Brezhnev keep nationalism under control?
Social contract and improved living standards
Govt encouraged republics to embrace their national culture and language
Party cadres often local elites
Which of Gorbachev’s reforms caused problems with nationalism?
Cadre change
Sinatra Doctrine
Glasnost
Democratisation
Economic reforms
How did economic reforms increase nationalism?
Economic decline caused decrease in living standards, less reason to be a part of the Union
How did G’s cadre change causes problems?
Believed an effective govt should prioritise expertise over representation → Russian leaders replaced non-Russian ones, causing anger
How many non-Russians were there in the Politburo?
1
How did Glasnost worsen nationalist tensions?
Exposed Stalin’s persecution of non-Russian people
Revealed the West’s high living standards
Allowed nationalists to publish their work
What was the Sinatra Doctrine?
Renounced the USSR’s “right” to interfere in the affairs of the republics → “follow their own paths of communism”
When was the Sinatra Doctrine introduced?
1989
How many people protested in Berlin in November 1989?
1 million
When was the fall of the Berlin Wall?
9th November 1989
Which party was victorious in Poland in the 1989 elections?
Solidarity
When and where was the Velvet Revolution?
Czechoslovakia in November 1989
Features of Russian nationalism
Economic crisis = put Russia first
Environmental concerns after Chernobyl
Re-emergence of Russian flag
Yeltsin declared Russian law superior
When did Yeltsin declare Russian law superior?
1990
Examples of violent unrest in the republics
Azerbaijani/Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh
Uzbek/Meskhetian
Tbilisi Massacre
When were there protests in Karabakh?
1989
Gorbachev’s response to Karabakh protests
Both Azerbaijanis and Armenians argued that Karabakh was part of their country
G introduced direct rule which pleased neither side
When was the Uzbek/Meskhetian unrest?
1989
Gorbachev’s response to Uzbek/Meskhetian unrest
Uzbeks massacred Muslim Meskhetians
Authorities failed to restore peace, loss of faith in govt
When was the Tbilisi Massacre?
April 1989
How many people were killed in the Tbilisi Massacre?
19 protesters
What happened during the Tbilisi Massacre?
Georgian nationalists protested against the rights of the Abkhazian minority
Soviet troops used force and killed protesters
Why were the Baltic states particularly problematic?
Only part of the USSR since 1940
When did Estonia declare sovereignty?
1988
When did Lithuania declare independence?
1990
Gorbachev’s response to Lithuania’s independence
Economic sanctions and armed response in 1991
Response of other republics to Gorbachev’s violence in Lithuania
Sympathy strikes in Ukraine
Yeltsin told Russian troops to refuse Soviet orders
What was Gorbachev’s response to growing nationalism?
Proposed a New Union Treaty in 1990 but progress hampered by his lack of democratic legitimacy
What % voters in the remaining nine republics supported a new union?
76%
What union was provisionally agreed in April 1991?
9+1 Agreement → nine republics agreed to establish a federation of independent states with a single president
What stopped the 9+1 Agreement being signed?
Coup d’etat
When was the coup?
18th August 1991
Describe key events of the coup
18th August → 8 hardliners set up an Emergency Committee, announced G had resigned (under house arrest in Crimea)
Yeltsin stood on a tank and demanded people resist the coup, army refused to act against Yeltsin despite EC commands
21st August → coup defeated, Gorbachev returned to Moscow
Who supported the coup?
Gorbachev’s deputy
Head of the Red Army
Head of the KGB
Consequences of the coup
Yeltsin increased his support → defender of democracy
Gorbachev’s authority undermined
CP, Army and KGB discredited
New Union Treaty not agreed
When did Yeltsin ban the CP in Russia?
November 1991 (suspended in August)
What treaty was eventually agreed?
CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Treaty → 11/15 republics
When was the CIS agreed?
21st December 1991
When was the USSR dissolved?
25th December 1991, Gorbachev resigned
What criticisms were there of Gorbachev’s leadership?
Naivety
Lack of vision/indecision
Insensitive handling of nationalism
Foreign policy weakness
Inconsistency
Reform too extensive
Defence of Gorbachev’s leadership
Refusal to use terror
Bad luck → Afghan War, oil prices
Personal charm
End of CW = unpopular with army
How could it be argued that G was responsible for the USSR’s collapse?
Initiated the reforms that led to its collapse
When did G abandon Article 6?
1990
Which of G’s reforms undermined the Party?
Glasnost
Article 6 abolished
Sinatra Doctrine
Democratisation
Perestroika → loss of economic confidence
Extensive reform = CP lost political power
Why was Gorbachev naive?
Believed the propaganda → believed people genuinely loved the USSR
Out of touch with nationalism
Economic ignorance
How did democratisation weaken Gorbachev?
Emergence of other parties, particularly in satellite states
Had no personal democratic legitimacy
Success of radicals like Yeltsin
How did Gorbachev’s inconsistency cause issues?
1985-90 radical despite chaos, 1990-91 conservative
Influenced by hardliners → 500-Day Programme
Whose example could Gorbachev have followed?
China’s → economic reform without political reform, embraced market reform more quickly
Yeltsin’s role in the Party in 1986
Politburo
Party Leader in Moscow
Did Yeltsin support Gorbachev?
Keep supporter 1985-87
Resigned from Politburo in 1987 in protest at the slow pace of reform
How did Yeltsin become prominent at the 27th Party Congress?
Denounced privileges of Party leaders and advocated multi-candidate elections
Why was Yeltsin sacked as Moscow Party leader?
Replaced senior officials with younger ones → “instability of the cadres”
Publicly attacked opposition
Why did Yeltsin become so popular in the 1980s?
Denouncement of privileged senior officials popular with ordinary citizens
Support for democratisation attracted middle and low-ranking Party members
What opposition group did Yeltsin lead?
Inter-Regional Deputies Group (IRDG)
Why did Yeltsin have power over Gorbachev?
Publicly elected → elected Chair of Russian Congress
When did Yeltsin become Chair of the Russian Parliament?
May 1990
How did Yeltsin become more popular than Gorbachev?
Whilst Gorbachev’s reforms became confused and conservative, Yeltsin clearly advocated democracy and market reform
Supported nationalism
How did Yeltsin undermine the Party?
Dramatically resigned from the Party in 1990, triggering a mass exodus of members
How many people left the CP after Yeltsin’s resignation?
3 million
When was Yeltsin elected Russia’s President?
June 1991
How did Yeltsin encourage nationalism?
Declared Russia’s sovereignty in 1990
Encouraged republics to “take as much sovereignty as you can swallow”
Commanded Russian troops to disobey Soviet orders in Lithuania
How was Yeltsin involved in the coup?
Denounced the coup and used it to start an uprising against the CP
Lenin statues destroyed, Pravda closed
Suspended CP in August, banned in November
How can it be argued that Yeltsin was responsible for the USSR’s collapse?
Could have saved the USSR due to his popularity, but chose not to
Instead supported the CIS
For political reasons (to defeat G) but also easier to reconstruct Russia’s economy only
