How significant were the failures of Gorbachev's political reforms?

How had the whole Party apparatus become huge and unmanageable?

- under Brezhnev = grown to resemble power blocs of vested interests
- rivalry was wasteful, competition = corruption and nepotism
- issue of relations between central planning apparatus in Moscow and regional level

What did Gorbachev recognise?

the whole system needed streamlining

How was the need for reform highlighted?

by the impact of glasnost

What did glasnost start as and descend into?

started = method of getting new ideas to revitalise the Party
descent = open attack on corruption

What were key criticisms of the Party?

- complaints about housing
- investigations into history = Stalin's terror, 1930s famine and Katyn massacre
- issue of Soviet victory in WWII discussed = myth of Great Patriotic War undermined
- environmental issues = popular promoted by damaging irrigation schemes Aral Sea

Explain the Chernobyl nuclear accident of April 1986

- accident = wave of radioactive fallout drifting over northern Europe
- no official announcement made by government until forced as scientists in Scandinavia picked up readings of unusually high radioactivity
- evacuation delays = human cost - increase in leukaemia and birth deformities
- reflected: badly managed, out-of-date equipment, poor health and safety, and deficiencies covered up by secrecy and evasion
- did not help Gorbachev's international reputation → to him justified glasnost

What happened by 1989 due to glasnost?

the Soviet population was much more politicised

Who added to the call for political reform?

over 60,000 informal groups and clubs holding meetings, organising demonstrations

What did glasnost result in?

a wave of criticism against the Party, much at Gorbachev for his weakness in pursuing radical reform - some leading reformers resigned

Explain defining the function of Party and state.

- Gorbachev sought to separate - attempted at June 1988 19th conference but little done
- line blurred - result of nomenklatura system
- October → Gorbachev = President of Soviet Union and General Secretary of Party - mirrored lower down

Explaining shifting power from the Party to the Soviets.

- attempted by allocating more finance to the Soviets = to support with resources
- deputies of Soviets elected for 5 years rather than 2 = security

Explain streamlining the Party

- departments of Central Committee reduced from 20 to 9 and 6 new commissions created
- similar measures e.g November 1985 Gorbachev created 'Superministries' to co-ordinate economic planning - ministries merged

What was one of the lead casualties (corruption)?

Brezhnev's son-in-law, Yuri Churbanov, sentenced to 12 years imprisonment

What were popular with the public but caused resentment within the Party?

attacks on corrupt Party officials

What warned Gorbachev that reform of the Party had potential dangers?

- December 1986 Dinmukhamed Kunayev removed from First Secretary in Kazakhstan on grounds of corruption
- replacement was ethnic Russian Gennady Kolbin
- saw as outside interference = Kazakhs rioted
- order restored after several hundred protestors killed → Gorbachev responsible for both

What did Gorbachev discuss in early 1987?

idea of secret ballots for multiple candidates (at Central Committee meeting)

What was a significant break with the practice of elections?

June 1987 limited experiment with multiple candidates in elections for local Soviets

What did Gorbachev announce at the 19th Party Congress of June 1988?

- multi-candidate elections extended to national level

- elections for the new Congress of People's Deputies
- set up to provide independent, supervisory role over government - part of Party and state separation

Explain the new Congress of People's Deputies

- members allocated to Party and other organisations e.g Union of Writers
- Party nominated 100 candidated for its 100 seats but trade unions and Union of Writers gave a choice - in some = choice from 12
- Communist Party only legal political party but could engage population

What gave the Soviet public a taste of democracy?

the March 1989 elections for the new Congress of People's Deputies

What had the taste of democracy done?

- weakened irretrievably the power of the Communist Party
→ critics = tinkering with system but step in right direction

What did Gorbachev become increasingly frustrated with?

his failure to change the mindset of Conservative Party members

What did the failure of reforms convince reformers?

the solution was to move towards pluralism → opening possibility of a multi-party system

Explain increasing divisions within the Party

- alienated both 'liberals' and 'conservatives' in the Party
- undermined authority of Gorbachev

Explain the alienation of reformers

- radical reformers realised the Party would not carry through the reforms they wanted
- disagreements between Yeltsin and Gorbachev = Plenum of Central Committee October 1987
→ Yeltsin openly attacked Gorbahev's approach - too slow
= sacked as Party First Secretary in Moscow then February 1988 removed from Politburo

What happened in March 1988?

- hard-line communists attempted to strike back
- Gorbachev on a diplomatic trip to Yugoslavia = letter published in newspaper Swetskaye Russia by unknown communisy Nina Andreeva
- complained about undermining work of Stalin and attacked Glasnost
- Ligachev (acting as leader) = used it to attack pace of reform
- worrying = sentiments supported not just die-hard Stalinists (Granyko) but also some of Gorbachev's own appointees such as Viktor Chebrikov

Explain the development of factions

- democratisation = both sides appealing to wider public
- factions prohibited but informal groupings started to emerge during the elections for the Congress of People's Deputies
- reformers (e.g Yeltsin) formed an Inter-Regional Group
- conservatives worried about upholding territorial integrity formed Soyuz

Explain the abolition of Article 6

= stated communist party held "the leading and guiding force of Soviet society"
- enshrined one-party state - Andrei Sakharov = one of critics ending it
- for conservatives it was a non-negotiable but
→ repealed March 1990 and ended Party's monopoly

Why was the Communist Party powerless by the end of 1990?

- elections to local Soviets saw Communist candidates defeated across country
- in Leningrad opposition secured 60% seats
- non-Russian republis = support for national groups grew (especially in Baltic states)
- Yeltsin won in elections for Russian Congress of People's Deputies for his newly-formed group Democratic Platform (June = resigned from Communist Party)

What was the political vacuum in central government filled by (at least temporarily)?

the election of Gorbachev to the position of the President of the USSR by the Congress of People's Deputies

What do Western historians view Gorbachev's political reforms as?

well-meaning, although unlikely to have ever brought success → 'essentialist' historians take the view communism impossible to reform

What has more research around Gorbachev's political reforms done?

questioned the inevitability of failure, viewing Gorbachev's political reforms as potentially workable but undermined by both liberals and conservatives