The Fall of Global Communism

• Review on the Cultural Revolution:

  • Similar to Russian Terrors by Stalin

  • Mao was convinced that many within the CCP were seduced by bourgeois ideals

    • Aimed to purge capitalist and traditional elements from society.

    • Committed to combatting opposition through a force of Red Guards: a paramilitary wing of students trained to crush anti-Communist opposition

    • Marked the return of Mao to a central power.

Timeline:

1976: Mao Zedong died with the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution

• The death of Maoism in China from the decades following 1976 was due to Deng Xiaoping's reforms

  • Shifted the country towards a more market-oriented economy, moving away from Mao's radical policies expressed in the Cultural Revolution. This transition led to the decline of Maoist ideology and the rise of a more pragmatic approach to governance.

    • The CCP stayed in administration, but with large reforms

1989: Revolutions of 1989:

• Series of movements in Eastern Europe in 1989 that led to the downfall of despised communist governments in the region. This culminated in the end of communism in the Soviet Union in 1991.

  • The reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev came into power in 1985 to save Soviet communism; however, his efforts only made things worse.

The common economic downfall in both countries:

• Communist economies by the late 1970s showed little signs of catching up to the more advanced capitalist countries.

  • The Soviet economy was inactive: consumers complained endlessly about poor quality and declining availability

    • Capitalists bastardized the Communists for this

The common issue with morality:

• The truth of Stalin’s crimes: the Terror and the gulag

• Deaths related to Mao’s Cultural Revolution that ensued from social chaos, famine, and the persecution of enemies

• Cambodian Genocide

  • Made communism less morally credible than capitalism than it claimed to be.

The Chinese Economic Miracle

1976: Deng Xiaoping takes power and essentially puts an end to Maoism within China:

Economic reforms:

• Deng dismantled Mao’s system of collectivized agriculture and replaced it with private agriculture without quotas

  • This increased agricultural output drastically.

• Deng opens up China for foreign investment, and allows entrepreneurship.

Positive Effects of these economic reforms:

• Stunning economic growth and prosperity within China.

  • China sees huge export rates, and urbanized heavily.

• Economic growth provided the foundation for China’s emergence as one of the Great Powers of the new century (Significance)

Negative Effects of these economic reforms:

• Stunning economic growth generated massive corruption among the administration, sharp geographic inequalities (coast and interior), overflowing cities w/ pollution.

  • Urban problems: street crime, prostitution, gambling, drugs, and a criminal underworld resurfaced following a mass wave of urbanization.

AP Continuity and Change: What major cultural changes occurred in China during the twentieth century? What cultural continuities reemerged with the decline of communist economic policies?

Major cultural changes:

• Cultural Revolution

  • aimed to eradicate traditional beliefs and practices, leading to the destruction of cultural artifacts and suppression of capitalist thought and traditional Chinese culture.

  • Collectivization of agriculture and industry changed the previously rural lifestyle in China.

Cultural Continuities:

• Confucian values and traditions saw a reemergence after the removal of Maoism in China during Deng’s leadership. Additionally, a criminal underworld saw a resurgence in China during Deng

• Although the party exchanged communist economic policies for capitalist ones, it was unwilling to relinquish the political monopoly and run democratically.

  • Deng’s attitude towards democracy compared it with the chaos and anarchism of the Cultural Revolution, and worked to any extent to combat it within the nation.

    • Thus Deng ordered the Tiananmen Square massacre against a democratic protest by university students in 1989.

      • This is a prime example of resistance towards authoritarian governments in the 20th century.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union

Mikhail Gorbachev was the successor of Stalin and brought out a reform movement of his own:

• Gorbachev was committed to solving the USSR’s problems:

  • Economic stagnation, a black market, and mistrust of communism

• Launched the perestroika political reform movement.

  • Freed state enterprises from government regulation

  • Permitted small-scale private businesses called cooperatives and agriculture

  • Foreign investment allowed

• Glasnost movement (democratization)

  • Permitted cultural and intellectual freedoms

  • Social problems like crime, prostitution, child abuse, suicide, corruption, and homelessness were allowed media coverage.

    • Bible and Quran became more widely available and thousands of churches and mosques were opened.

    • Stalin’s crimes were also exposed

  • Planned for democratization and a new parliament with elections

  • Planned to end the Cold War by negotiating with the U.S. and refusing to intervene as communist regimes in Eastern Europe were overthrown.

Perestroika and Glasnost effects:

• The Soviet Union faced a sharp economic decline

  • Inflation spiked and consumer goods were in short supply due to the Russians peasantry’s reluctance to join private farming, and few foreign investors wanted to do business

• The democracy allowed by Glasnost allowed for the rise of unofficial democratic parties, joined by labor unions and nationalists seeking autonomy or independence.

  • Gorbachev used force to crush these movements.

Gorbachev’s democratic reforms inspired the Soviet satellite states from the Warsaw Pact to have reforms of their own.

• Democratic uprisings, including the creation of new parties and the Fall of the Berlin Wall— a democratic act to reunify Germany, disintegrated the unpopular communist regimes in the satellite state.

  • These democratic uprisings in Eastern Europe inspired Soviet democrats to stand against communism.

• In August 1991, an unsuccessful coup d'état by Soviet Communists ended communism and the USSR, as well as the Cold War.

  • Created 15 new independent states

  • The USSR collapsed because of Gorbachev’s failure to address the economic and social problems in Soviet society.

  • Germany was reunited

  • Remnant satellite states joined NATO and the European Union

After Communism:

Communist countries after Soviet fall:

• After Soviet collapse, Russia experienced economic turmoil and poverty.

  • Vladimir Putin was bitter with the loss of the USSR and what he deemed US and NATO involvement in his country’s interests.

• Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, its meddling in American elections, and issues with NATO brought the U.S. and Russia to Cold War era hostility.

• China’s rising economic and military power generated tensions with the allied United States and Japan as China sought to assert itself in its surroundings and the global economy.

  • China had largely abandoned communist economic policies with a new capitalist market economy system.

• Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba allowed for more private enterprise.

• North Korea remained unreformed and heavily armed with nuclear weapons.

Middle East:

• Struggles between a Jewish Israel and the Muslim Palestinian territories drew neighboring countries and powers (U.S. and Russia) into the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

• 1979 Iranian Revolution established a radical Islamist government which triggered the Iran-Iraq War of 1980.

  • Threatened Israel and launched a rivalry with Saudi Arabia.

• Civilian attacks by newly formed radical Islamic groups such as the Taliban, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and ISIS.

  • Most significant were the September 11 attacks of 2001 by al-Qaeda, causing long U.S. military intervention and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

  • Terrorism has occurred in the Islamic world itself against competing Islamic governments.

• Flood of refugees from the Middle East

  • From warring and economically desperate states, many head for Europe.

  • 2011 Syrian Civil War generated wave of refugees to Turkey and neighboring European countries.

    • Became internationalized as Russia, the United States, and Muslim groups took sides.

    • Sharpened the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia over ethnic and religious (Sunni vs. Shia) elements.

• Modern Wars:

  • India vs. Pakistan

  • North Korea vs. neighboring nations

  • China vs. Taiwan

• Civil Wars/separatist movements:

  • Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Russia, Ukraine, Myanmar, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya

• Global military spending in the post-communist era reflects these international tensions.

  • The United States spent high amounts of money for Middle-Eastern warfare after the attacks of 2001

  • China also increased its military budget to match the United States

Making Connections:

AP Comparison: How did the decline of communism in the Soviet Union compare to the decline of communism in China?

1. Leadership Approach:

   • Soviet Union: The decline of communism in the Soviet Union was hastened by the policies of Mikhail Gorbachev, particularly his reforms of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring), which inadvertently led to the unraveling of the centralized control of the Communist Party and the state.

   • China: In contrast, the decline of communism in China did not follow a similar trajectory. Chinese leaders, especially after the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, doubled down on maintaining political control while gradually opening up the economy, a strategy often referred to as "market socialism" or "socialism with Chinese characteristics."

2. Economic Reforms:

   • Soviet Union: Gorbachev's attempts at economic restructuring faced significant resistance from entrenched interests within the Communist Party and bureaucracy, contributing to economic stagnation and ultimately the collapse of the Soviet economy.

   • China: Economic reforms spearheaded by Deng Xiaoping starting in the late 1970s were more successful (contrast) in revitalizing the economy while maintaining strict political control. The Chinese Communist Party retained its grip on power while allowing significant market-oriented reforms, leading to rapid economic growth.

3. Political Response to Dissent:

   • Soviet Union: Gorbachev's policies of glasnost allowed for more democracy which spiraled into public discourse and dissent, ultimately contributing to the unraveling of the regime.

   • China: The Chinese government's response to dissent, as seen in the Tiananmen Square protests, was brutally suppressive. The Chinese Communist Party has maintained strict control over political expression and dissent, utilizing censorship and surveillance to destroy any challenges to its authority.

4. Nationalism:

   • Soviet Union: Nationalism and ethnic diversity played a significant role in the decline of communism in the Soviet Union, with various nationalist movements seeking independence or greater autonomy from Moscow. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in the emergence of independent states.

   • China: While China is also ethnically diverse, the Chinese Communist Party has employed various strategies to manage ethnic tensions, including economic development projects and strict control over information and dissent. Nationalism, particularly the narrative of the "Chinese Dream," has been used to bolster the legitimacy of the CCP.

5. Aftermath:

   • Soviet Union: The collapse of the Soviet Union led to significant geopolitical upheaval, the emergence of new independent states, and economic challenges for many former Soviet republics. It also marked the end of the bipolar world order of the Cold War era.

   • China: The Chinese Communist Party has maintained its grip on power and overseen remarkable economic growth, lifting millions out of poverty. However, concerns persist over issues such as human rights abuses, censorship, and political repression, as well as potential challenges to China's long-term stability and legitimacy.

AP Causation: What events in the Soviet Union facilitated the dismantling of the Berlin Wall?

• The policies of glasnost and perestroika implemented by Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union allowed for increased openness and restructuring.

• Revolutions in Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Hungary, weakened Soviet control over the region.

• The decision by the East German government to allow citizens to freely travel to the West ultimately led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.