Collapse of Communism Notes

Austpolitik and Willy Brandt

  • Austpolitik, or Eastern Politics, was a policy championed by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.
  • Brandt was not a communist, did not like East Germany or the Soviet Union, but recognized the need for a new approach.

Exam Information

  • The exam consists of writing two essay questions.
  • Part A: Choose between two or three questions focusing on:
    • World War II
    • The Cold War
    • The collapse of communism
  • Part B: Choose between three larger overarching questions about the trajectory of European history.

Afghanistan and the Soviet Union

  • An alleged communist uprising in Kabul, Afghanistan, led to Soviet concerns about their southern border.
  • The Soviet Union supported the communist government in Afghanistan with the Red Army, leading to conflict with Western partners.
  • The Soviet people became disillusioned with the war in Afghanistan due to:
    • Government lies about the deaths of soldiers.
    • Economic costs of increased defense spending.

Death of Brezhnev

  • Brezhnev died on November 10, 1982.
  • He had been in poor health for a long time due to:
    • Heavy smoking
    • Addiction to sleeping pills and tranquilizers
    • Heavy drinking
    • Numerous strokes and heart attacks
  • The Ministry of Health kept doctors by his side at all times.
  • Towards the end of his life, he exhibited:
    • Slurred speech
    • Drooling
    • Falling asleep at major events

Andropov's Rise to Power

  • Andropov had been a diplomat to Hungary during the 1956 revolution.
  • His handling of the crisis, particularly his support for the intervention of tanks, pleased the communist party.
  • In 1967, he became the head of the KGB, the Soviet Union's secret police apparatus.
  • He used the KGB to combat corruption within the ranks of the party.
  • Andropov was an early reformer who considered ways to improve the system.
  • Mimeo Lorachov was a protege of Andropov.
  • Chernenko died at the age of 73.
  • Alcohol generated significant revenue for the Soviet state through a monopoly on its production and distribution.
  • In 1980 alone, the government made more revenue from taxing alcohol sales than from income tax on workers' wages.
  • Alcoholism was a major problem in Soviet society, linked to:
    • High rates of child abuse
    • Suicide
    • Divorce
    • Absenteeism from work
    • Accidents on job sites
    • Rise in mortality rate

Gorbachev and Reform

  • Drive-through daiquiri's as jokes for purchasing alcohol
  • The economies of winemaking republics suffered when vineyards were destroyed during anti-alcohol campaigns.
  • Soviet citizens mocked Gorbachev, calling him the "mineral drinking secretary."
  • Gorbachev revoked the Brezhnev Doctrine, allowing Eastern European countries to develop their own approaches to communism.
  • This was influenced by Dubcek's idea of "socialism with a human face," allowing moderate reform without overthrowing communism.
  • The standard of living in the Soviet Union declined in the 1980s due to:
    • Declining productivity rates
    • Stifling of innovation
  • Military-industrial complex developments often had beneficial byproducts for the civilian population (e.g., microwave ovens).
  • In 1988, Gorbachev called for a new Soviet

Glasnost and Perestroika

  • Perestroika: Restructuring of the Soviet economy and politics to improve the system.
  • In 1988, Gorbachev calls for a new soviet
  • Between 1988 and 1990, nationalist movements erupted on the peripheries of the Soviet empire in the Baltic Republics and the Caucasus.
  • Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
  • Glasnost: Openness, a right asserted from below, analogous to freedom of speech and publication.
  • Glasnost and perestroika worked together.
  • Glasnost led to a radical expansion of openness that proved disastrous to Gorbachev's agenda.

Negative Impacts of Glasnost

  • Focusing on past crimes created a negative association with the party and its history, leading to a loss of confidence.
  • Glasnost included the publication of previously banned books, such as Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, which detailed political repression.
  • Gorbachev admitted that the Soviet government intentionally executed tens of thousands of Polish intellectuals and military leaders, falsely blaming Nazi Germany.
  • Gorbachev released information about Stalin's terror, including the official orders for mass operations and national operations in 1937 and 1938.
  • Mass operations targeted criminals and former prisoners.
  • National operations targeted people of Finnish, Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, and Korean descent living in the Soviet Union.
  • The release of this information led to further questions about suppressed crimes, causing people to lose faith in the Communist Party.
  • People questioned the cost of socialism and communism, wondering if the bloodshed was acceptable for upward social mobility.
  • This caused people to turn against the party and lose loyalty.
  • Gorbachev consciously encouraged discussion and increased media freedom, allowing the right to assemble and vote for alternative parties.
  • The promise of violence to suppress dissent was removed.