The USSR in the 1970s
The 1970s saw a realisation of the negative impact that the nuclear arms race could have on the world. Since 1969 discussions had been happening between the USA and the USSR to try to reach agreements to limit the number of strategic missiles. However, very little was achieved. Despite the signing of the SALT-1 (First Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty) the development of new weapons continued. Civil society protests against this arms build up increased around the world. Many people protested as they felt the buildup of arms increased the likelihood of a war which would result in the destruction of humankind (Mutually assured destruction). It was a “no win war” for any side.
Détente
From 1971 a period known as Détente was entered into. Détente means a relaxing or easing of tension. This meant that there was a “thaw” in the Cold War or a period when relations between the superpowers improved. This period ended in 1979 when the USSR invaded Afghanistan.
What were the reasons for détente?
Reasons for the USSR:
Relations between the USSR and China had broken down which made it more important for the USSR to work towards reducing tensions with the USA.
The USSR had caught up in the arms race and was feeling more confident.
East and West Germany had agreed not to acquire nuclear weapons; this removed a potential threat for the USSR.
It was in the USSR’s interests to increase trade with the West.
Reasons for the USA:
President Nixon had wanted a change in foreign policy after the failure of the USA in Vietnam.
President Nixon aimed for changes in relations with both China and the USSR.
The American public had become far more vocal about the reduction of weapons to reduce the risks of war.
“In the new situation, the leaders of the capitalist world have also come to realise that the Cold War has outlived itself. There is the need for new, realistic and sensible policy. The leaders of the West have begun to respond to our calls for peaceful co-existence.”
Leonid Brezhnev speaking in May 1975.
[Waugh, S. 2001 Essential Modern World History. Nelson Thorns]
Reasons for détente by both the Soviet Union and the USA
Both the USSR and the USA hoped to reduce the risk of nuclear war.
Both countries had economic problems in the 1970 and as a result needed to reduce the spending on weapons drastically and urgently.
The USA’s economy had been seriously hurt by the expenses of the Vietnam War and the American people were experiencing increasing inflation back home.
The USSR also had an economy that was struggling: the Russians experienced low living standards and their industries were highly inefficient.
The Middle East had become a serious area of concern for both powers. Both the USSR and the USA were concerned about the oil supplies and the growing tensions and increased conflicts between the Arabs and the Israelis. Communist and non-Communist countries had become involved in this area.
It was therefore apparent to both sides that détente was in everyone’s best interests.
However, détente ideas, during the period of the Cold War, were most disappointing as the West became frustrated by the fact the USSR did not improve its human rights as set out in the Helsinki Accords of 1975. The USA was suspicious that the Soviet Union was not reducing her arms (in fact both sides had continued to aim more missiles at each other).
Brezhnev also made it very clear that détente did not mean the end to the struggle between Communism and Capitalism. In 1979 when the USSR invaded Afghanistan détente came to an abrupt end!
How did the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 contribute to the USSR’s collapse? |
During the period of the Cold War, Afghanistan was strategically important to the Russians because it was situated on the USSR’s border. It received aid from the Soviet Union from 1953 onwards in order to bring it under the Soviet sphere of influence and counterbalance the pro-American states of Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran that belonged to American alliances like NATO, the Baghdad Pact or CENTO (Central Treaty Orgainsation).
Afghanistan was a monarchy but became a republic under Muhammed Daud Khan. Under his leadership, Afghanistan continued to receive Soviet aid, but Khan increasingly developed an independent foreign policy and tried to play the two superpowers, the USA and USSR, off against each other. Khan also began to repress the communist People’s Democratic Party. Afghan communists infiltrated the army and overthrew Muhammed Daud in 1978. They installed a communist government.
The new government introduced land reforms, which angered powerful landowners and clergy who then encouraged rioting in the towns and countryside. The Soviet Union was worried that the Islamic revolution in neighbouring Iran, where the Shah was overthrown and replaced by the Ayatollah Khomeini, a mullah or religious leader, would spread to Afghanistan. An Islamic revolution could then spread from Afghanistan to the Islamic republics of the USSR; such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The new government seemed unable to repress the riots and, under a new leader called Amin, became increasingly hostile to the Soviet Union.
These developments threatened the unity of the Soviet Union. If Islamic revolution spread to its Islamic republics, the leaders of these republics could declare independence and secede from the USSR. Even more worrying, about half of the Soviet armed forces came from its poorer Muslim republics and secession could lead to civil war and a dramatic weakening of the Soviet armed forces. As pro-Islamic resistance grew in Afghanistan the USSR manipulated events so that it appeared that the Afghan ruler Amin requested their help to put down the growing rebellion. Over 85 000 Soviet troops entered Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, in late December 1979, Amin was executed by Soviet forces and replaced by Karmal, a more compliant, pro-Soviet leader.
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
The USA, under Jimmy Carter (Democratic Party) strongly condemned what it called the Soviet ‘invasion’ of Afghanistan and cut off US grain sales to the USSR. The USA also boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and several pro-Western countries followed suit. America also secretly funded the mujahideen (anti-communist Islamic) fighters with about one billion dollars a year, ensuring that sophisticated American military equipment including Stinger surface-to-air missiles were smuggled into Afghanistan.
Afghanistan became the USSR’s ‘Vietnam’ and was described by one Soviet official as a ‘bleeding wound’. The war used up vital resources from the ailing Soviet economy, deepening the USSR’s economic problems. The Islamic Arab states of the Middle East and many Third World countries condemned the Soviet Union.
At its peak, there were 110 000 Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan and altogether about a million Soviet citizens served there during the war until 1988. Over 15 000 Soviet soldiers lost their lives and 50 000 were wounded. The war cost the USSR an enormous sum of money and lasted more than twice as long as the Second World War. The grinding war broke the spirit of the Soviet people and contributed to the apathy of its workers during the 1980s. The movement of troops to Afghanistan also weakened the USSR’s control over its East European allies, particularly Poland where the trade union movement Solidarity challenged the Communist Government. The war negatively affected the USSR’s economy and made its economic difficulties worse, forcing new leaders particularly Gorbachev, to consider sweeping economic changes and political reforms that ultimately unravelled the Soviet Union.
The most important factor in the Soviets' decision to leave Afghanistan was the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev as the leader of the USSR in 1985, and his 'new thinking' on foreign and domestic policy. Gorbachev was attempting to change the stagnant years of Brezhnev and reform the Soviet Union's economy and image across the board with Glasnost and Perestroika. Gorbachev was also trying to ease Cold War tensions by signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987 with the U.S. and withdrawing the troops from Afghanistan whose presence had garnered so much international condemnation. Gorbachev regarded confrontation with China and resulting military build ups on that border as one of Brezhnev's biggest mistakes. The mass withdrawal of Soviet forces from contested areas around the world showed that the Soviet government's decision to leave Afghanistan was based on a general change in Soviet foreign policy and by 1989 all Soviet forces had left Afghanistan.
Why did US President Ronald Reagan initiate a new Arms Race in the 1980s and how did this contribute to the Soviet Union’s collapse? |
Ronald Reagan became President of the USA after defeating Jimmy Carter in 1980. One of the reasons that Reagan won the presidential race was that he convinced the American voters that Carter was ‘soft’ on communism and had allowed the Soviet Union to ‘overtake’ the USA in terms of nuclear warheads and intercontinental missiles.
Reagan argued that a dangerous ‘window of vulnerability’ had opened where, until the USA could design and build a new generation of advanced weaponry, the Soviet Union had a military advantage and could use this to promote communism around the world. Critics pointed out that this was not true and condemned Reagan as a ‘Cold Warrior’ and a ‘cowboy’. Reagan’s critics warned that he would end détente with the USSR and start a ‘Second Cold War’.
Under Reagan’s administration, the B-1 Bomber that used ‘stealth’ technology to make it virtually invisible to radar was put back into production after being shelved by the Carter presidency.
The Trident submarine was to be developed along with its D-5 missiles to replace the aging ‘Polaris’ submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Reagan proposed a new defence system where ‘killer satellites’ would be established in orbit and would use lasers to shoot down incoming Soviet missiles. Reagan called this the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), but critics referred to it derisively as ‘Star Wars’.
SDI or “Star Wars Programme”
The Soviet Union’s economic troubles meant that it simply could not compete with the USA in this new Arms Race. It also lacked the technological ability to develop defences against these new American weapons.
To halt this new Arms Race, Gorbachev offered political reforms, allowing greater democracy, and allowed a greater role for a free market in the Soviet economy. Gorbachev went to great lengths to restore détente with the USA. This made him reluctant to use repression against dissidents in Eastern Europe or in the USSR and may have led to the collapse of communism in 1989. Gorbachev’s reforms, in turn, unleashed nationalist forces that the Soviet government could not control, which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Who was Mikhail Gorbachev and how did his reforms accelerate the collapse of the Soviet Union?
Mikhail Gorbachev became the General-Secretary of the USSR in 1985. Gromyko introduced him to his colleagues by saying, ‘He has a nice smile, but his teeth are made out of steel’. By this he meant that Gorbachev was a charismatic man but he was a committed Marxist who would take firm action to achieve his goals.
Gorbachev was in his early fifties while most of the members of the Politburo (highest decision making body in the Soviet Union) were over 70. He was determined to introduce wide-ranging reforms because he believed that these were necessary to save the communist system.
From 1982 to 1985 the USSR buried 3 of its General-Secretaries: Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko. The ordinary people were getting tired of its state funerals and were embarrassed by their aged leaders. When Gorbachev took over the position in 1985 he realised that he had to introduce a number of reforms, which he referred to as ‘new thinking’.
He therefore introduced two new policies:
Perestroika – meaning “restructuring” the Soviet economy. By this he meant reforming the communist system, but not replacing it with capitalism.
Glasnost – meaning “openness”. Glasnost meant that people would be allowed to speak freely and to criticise the government. In due course, he also introduced democratic institutions and free elections.
Perestroika (restructuring of the Soviet economy) meant wide- ranging economic reforms that would allow some private ownership and a role for market forces to play a role in the Soviet economy. Gorbachev wanted to attract foreign investment, aid and trade from Western countries and so had to ensure that the Soviet economy had similar features to these capitalist economies. Businesses could now make their own decisions about prices, production and marketing. They had to finance themselves by getting loans from newly-created banks. Businesses that were bankrupt were closed down. The state stopped subsidising goods and services leading to a more realistic pricing based on supply and demand. People could buy and sell at a profit, and foreign investment was encouraged. He wanted to introduce new incentives to labour and so allowed wages to rise in certain sectors where skills were scarce. He would have to root out the corruption that was deep within the Communist Party. Gorbachev wanted to keep power in the hands of the Communist Party but to allow some elections. He was still a committed Marxist who would take firm action to see that his goals were achieved.
Glasnost (openness) was the second major reform introduced by Gorbachev who wanted to reduce censorship and allow more criticism in the media. Until 1985, the Soviet state had controlled all art, literature, theatre, intellectual debate and the media. With glasnost freedom of speech was encouraged. Newspapers and magazines could report issues openly and criticize the government.
Gorbachev felt that poor managers and corrupt officials should be held accountable in this way. Gorbachev extended glasnost to foreign policy by breaking away from secret diplomacy. He was also more receptive for foreign criticism and allowed Eastern Europe greater freedom to experiment with reforms. These changes led logically to a third reform called ‘democratisation’ that gave people a greater voice in the political process.
In 1989, for the first time in Soviet history, Gorbachev allowed free elections for a new parliament, the Congress of People’s Deputies, in which opposition parties could participate. He allowed more than one Communist Party candidate in each region to stand for election. Candidates were defined as ‘Party’ (members of the Communist Party) and ‘Non-Party’.
What was the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms?
By 4 February 1989, Gorbachev was losing control over the people because of these reforms. He had changed the Soviet Union with these initiatives, but they contributed to his downfall. His moderate economic reforms went further than he had intended and his belief that the Party could keep control of the reform process proved wrong. The openness he allowed resulted in massive public criticism and hostility.
Perestroika failed to raise the rate of economic growth and improve living standards. Without state control, many systems collapsed. Prices increased dramatically for food, housing and medical costs. Production remained low and there were shortages, resulting in long queues for basic commodities. Inflation and foreign debt increased. Life for the ordinary citizen did not improve under Gorbachev.
Marches to Red Square in Moscow demanded the scrapping of Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution, which gave the Communist Party the leading role in government. The next day Gorbachev scrapped the party’s monopoly of power and created a new post of president, elected by parliament, a post that he ensured that he won. By some estimates, about half of the Communist Party members resigned, reducing membership of the party from 19 million to about 12 million. The Communist Party was losing political control over the USSR.
Views of Gorbachev
What is each one saying?
“We thought the situation could not get any worse, and it has. Now I hear people moaning about the lack of even the most basic food and saying: ‘Things were better under Brezhnev; at least we had food in the shops then’”.
Oleg Osipov, a research worker in Moscow.
A political joke about glasnost and perestroika
First dog: How are things different under Gorbachev?
Second dog: Well, the chain is too short and the food dish is still too far away to reach, but they let you bark as loud as you want.
Many Communist Party bureaucrats resisted reform and blocked change. They wanted the state to take full control of the USSR again. Others accused Gorbachev of betraying the communist vision and allowing Western capitalism to influence him too much. Some, like Boris Yeltsin, another reform politician, said Gorbachev did not go far enough and called for democracy and an end to Communist Party rule. Yeltsin’s bold criticism of the Communist Party, its corruption and special privileges made him a hero to the people. Gorbachev was caught in the middle between reformers and conservatives: it was impossible for him to meet the conflicting demands.
How did the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe occur and how did it contribute to the collapse of the USSR?
As Gorbachev became increasingly focused on the problems of the Soviet Union, he paid less attention to Eastern Europe. He made it clear to the East European communist leaders that the Soviet Union could no longer risk Western anger by intervening with Soviet troops as Russia did in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968). It was also not economically viable to maintain the Red Army to operate as such. Gorbachev encouraged Eastern European leaders to experiment with reforms.
In 1988, Janos Kadar stood down as Hungary’s General Secretary after holding this post since the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. A new reformist communist leader, Grosz, softened censorship laws and in 1989 announced a new constitution that would allow multi-party elections. He also tore down the border fences between Hungary and Austria. This prompted many East German ‘tourists’ to visit Hungary and then make a break to Austria through this ‘hole’ in the Iron Curtain. Gorbachev did nothing to challenge these sweeping reforms.
In 1981, Poland’s leader Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland and banned the reformist trade union movement Solidarity. By 1989 Jaruzelski attempted to introduce perestroika economic reforms, but these were unsuccessful as most Polish workers refused to co-operate until Solidarity was unbanned. Solidarity contested the 1989 multi-party elections, winning the available parliamentary seats and all but one of the seats in the Senate.
While the USSR tolerated and even encouraged these changes to Poland and Hungary, Gorbachev was more sensitive about East Germany. West Berlin had, after all, been the site of numerous Cold War interventions. By late 1989, even East Germany was confronted by anti-government protesters in the city of Leipzig. Gorbachev visited in October to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the German Democratic Republic. After the announcement of free elections Berliners congregated to celebrate on the Berlin Wall and then suddenly and unexpectedly began to tear it down.
In all of these uprisings Nationalism played a major role. The USSR consisted of 15 Soviet Republics. Approximately half of its population was Russian and the other half was made up of at least one hundred different national minorities. Some of these minorities now began to demand their freedom. They did not like the way their own cultures, languages and histories were being undermined and replaced with Russian. Old national flags were waved and patriotic songs were sung. Nationalist symbols were celebrated and all evidence of the Soviet Union was removed.
The USSR lost an important source of revenue as Eastern Europe’s new democratically elected governments began to expand trade with the West. This deepened the Soviet Union’s economic difficulties. The USSR was also weakened militarily as the Warsaw Pact dissolved in April 1991.
Nationalism was particularly strong in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 1989, Gorbachev allowed for free elections to the new parliament, the Congress of the People’s Deputies, and for leadership positions in the 15 republics. As the national minorities started to claim their independence, the unity of the Soviet Union came under threat
In May the Russian Republic, the second largest within the USSR elected Boris Yeltsin as its President. Yeltsin made it clear that he saw no future in a Soviet Union. He said that the many republics that made up the USSR should become independent states.
In July Ukraine declared its independence. Other republics followed. The USSR was disintegrating. Gorbachev was struggling to hold it together, but members of the Communist elite had had enough. In August 1991 hardline Communist Party leaders and military officers attempted a coup to try and take over the USSR. The plotters included Gorbachev’s Prime Minister Pavlov and head of the armed forces, Dimitry Yazov. They held Gorbachev prisoner in his Crimea holiday home. They sent tanks and troops onto the streets of Moscow. This was the old Soviet way to keep control.
Huge crowds gathered in Moscow. They strongly opposed this military coup. The Russian President emerged as the leader of this popular opposition. Faced by this resistance, the coup collapsed. The last ditch attempt to save the USSR had failed. Gorbachev returned to Moscow. In a televised speech on 25 December 1991, Gorbachev announced the end of the Soviet Union. Realising how weak the central government was, the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) declared their independence. The leaders of the other 12 former Soviet republics announced in December 1991 that the USSR would be replaced by a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Gorbachev resigned, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag was lowered for the last time. The Soviet Union vanished. Russia, the biggest and most important of the CIS states, was itself a federation of 20 smaller republics.
East German border guards watch as the Berlin Wall comes down in November 1989
The Collapse of the USSR
The USSR in the 1970s
The 1970s saw a realisation of the negative impact that the nuclear arms race could have on the world. Since 1969 discussions had been happening between the USA and the USSR to try to reach agreements to limit the number of strategic missiles. However, very little was achieved. Despite the signing of the SALT-1 (First Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty) the development of new weapons continued. Civil society protests against this arms build up increased around the world. Many people protested as they felt the buildup of arms increased the likelihood of a war which would result in the destruction of humankind (Mutually assured destruction). It was a “no win war” for any side.
Détente
From 1971 a period known as Détente was entered into. Détente means a relaxing or easing of tension. This meant that there was a “thaw” in the Cold War or a period when relations between the superpowers improved. This period ended in 1979 when the USSR invaded Afghanistan.
What were the reasons for détente?
Reasons for the USSR:
Relations between the USSR and China had broken down which made it more important for the USSR to work towards reducing tensions with the USA.
The USSR had caught up in the arms race and was feeling more confident.
East and West Germany had agreed not to acquire nuclear weapons; this removed a potential threat for the USSR.
It was in the USSR’s interests to increase trade with the West.
Reasons for the USA:
President Nixon had wanted a change in foreign policy after the failure of the USA in Vietnam.
President Nixon aimed for changes in relations with both China and the USSR.
The American public had become far more vocal about the reduction of weapons to reduce the risks of war.
“In the new situation, the leaders of the capitalist world have also come to realise that the Cold War has outlived itself. There is the need for new, realistic and sensible policy. The leaders of the West have begun to respond to our calls for peaceful co-existence.”
Leonid Brezhnev speaking in May 1975.
[Waugh, S. 2001 Essential Modern World History. Nelson Thorns]
Reasons for détente by both the Soviet Union and the USA
Both the USSR and the USA hoped to reduce the risk of nuclear war.
Both countries had economic problems in the 1970 and as a result needed to reduce the spending on weapons drastically and urgently.
The USA’s economy had been seriously hurt by the expenses of the Vietnam War and the American people were experiencing increasing inflation back home.
The USSR also had an economy that was struggling: the Russians experienced low living standards and their industries were highly inefficient.
The Middle East had become a serious area of concern for both powers. Both the USSR and the USA were concerned about the oil supplies and the growing tensions and increased conflicts between the Arabs and the Israelis. Communist and non-Communist countries had become involved in this area.
It was therefore apparent to both sides that détente was in everyone’s best interests.
However, détente ideas, during the period of the Cold War, were most disappointing as the West became frustrated by the fact the USSR did not improve its human rights as set out in the Helsinki Accords of 1975. The USA was suspicious that the Soviet Union was not reducing her arms (in fact both sides had continued to aim more missiles at each other).
Brezhnev also made it very clear that détente did not mean the end to the struggle between Communism and Capitalism. In 1979 when the USSR invaded Afghanistan détente came to an abrupt end!
How did the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 contribute to the USSR’s collapse? |
During the period of the Cold War, Afghanistan was strategically important to the Russians because it was situated on the USSR’s border. It received aid from the Soviet Union from 1953 onwards in order to bring it under the Soviet sphere of influence and counterbalance the pro-American states of Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran that belonged to American alliances like NATO, the Baghdad Pact or CENTO (Central Treaty Orgainsation).
Afghanistan was a monarchy but became a republic under Muhammed Daud Khan. Under his leadership, Afghanistan continued to receive Soviet aid, but Khan increasingly developed an independent foreign policy and tried to play the two superpowers, the USA and USSR, off against each other. Khan also began to repress the communist People’s Democratic Party. Afghan communists infiltrated the army and overthrew Muhammed Daud in 1978. They installed a communist government.
The new government introduced land reforms, which angered powerful landowners and clergy who then encouraged rioting in the towns and countryside. The Soviet Union was worried that the Islamic revolution in neighbouring Iran, where the Shah was overthrown and replaced by the Ayatollah Khomeini, a mullah or religious leader, would spread to Afghanistan. An Islamic revolution could then spread from Afghanistan to the Islamic republics of the USSR; such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The new government seemed unable to repress the riots and, under a new leader called Amin, became increasingly hostile to the Soviet Union.
These developments threatened the unity of the Soviet Union. If Islamic revolution spread to its Islamic republics, the leaders of these republics could declare independence and secede from the USSR. Even more worrying, about half of the Soviet armed forces came from its poorer Muslim republics and secession could lead to civil war and a dramatic weakening of the Soviet armed forces. As pro-Islamic resistance grew in Afghanistan the USSR manipulated events so that it appeared that the Afghan ruler Amin requested their help to put down the growing rebellion. Over 85 000 Soviet troops entered Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, in late December 1979, Amin was executed by Soviet forces and replaced by Karmal, a more compliant, pro-Soviet leader.
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
The USA, under Jimmy Carter (Democratic Party) strongly condemned what it called the Soviet ‘invasion’ of Afghanistan and cut off US grain sales to the USSR. The USA also boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and several pro-Western countries followed suit. America also secretly funded the mujahideen (anti-communist Islamic) fighters with about one billion dollars a year, ensuring that sophisticated American military equipment including Stinger surface-to-air missiles were smuggled into Afghanistan.
Afghanistan became the USSR’s ‘Vietnam’ and was described by one Soviet official as a ‘bleeding wound’. The war used up vital resources from the ailing Soviet economy, deepening the USSR’s economic problems. The Islamic Arab states of the Middle East and many Third World countries condemned the Soviet Union.
At its peak, there were 110 000 Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan and altogether about a million Soviet citizens served there during the war until 1988. Over 15 000 Soviet soldiers lost their lives and 50 000 were wounded. The war cost the USSR an enormous sum of money and lasted more than twice as long as the Second World War. The grinding war broke the spirit of the Soviet people and contributed to the apathy of its workers during the 1980s. The movement of troops to Afghanistan also weakened the USSR’s control over its East European allies, particularly Poland where the trade union movement Solidarity challenged the Communist Government. The war negatively affected the USSR’s economy and made its economic difficulties worse, forcing new leaders particularly Gorbachev, to consider sweeping economic changes and political reforms that ultimately unravelled the Soviet Union.
The most important factor in the Soviets' decision to leave Afghanistan was the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev as the leader of the USSR in 1985, and his 'new thinking' on foreign and domestic policy. Gorbachev was attempting to change the stagnant years of Brezhnev and reform the Soviet Union's economy and image across the board with Glasnost and Perestroika. Gorbachev was also trying to ease Cold War tensions by signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987 with the U.S. and withdrawing the troops from Afghanistan whose presence had garnered so much international condemnation. Gorbachev regarded confrontation with China and resulting military build ups on that border as one of Brezhnev's biggest mistakes. The mass withdrawal of Soviet forces from contested areas around the world showed that the Soviet government's decision to leave Afghanistan was based on a general change in Soviet foreign policy and by 1989 all Soviet forces had left Afghanistan.
Why did US President Ronald Reagan initiate a new Arms Race in the 1980s and how did this contribute to the Soviet Union’s collapse? |
Ronald Reagan became President of the USA after defeating Jimmy Carter in 1980. One of the reasons that Reagan won the presidential race was that he convinced the American voters that Carter was ‘soft’ on communism and had allowed the Soviet Union to ‘overtake’ the USA in terms of nuclear warheads and intercontinental missiles.
Reagan argued that a dangerous ‘window of vulnerability’ had opened where, until the USA could design and build a new generation of advanced weaponry, the Soviet Union had a military advantage and could use this to promote communism around the world. Critics pointed out that this was not true and condemned Reagan as a ‘Cold Warrior’ and a ‘cowboy’. Reagan’s critics warned that he would end détente with the USSR and start a ‘Second Cold War’.
Under Reagan’s administration, the B-1 Bomber that used ‘stealth’ technology to make it virtually invisible to radar was put back into production after being shelved by the Carter presidency.
The Trident submarine was to be developed along with its D-5 missiles to replace the aging ‘Polaris’ submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Reagan proposed a new defence system where ‘killer satellites’ would be established in orbit and would use lasers to shoot down incoming Soviet missiles. Reagan called this the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), but critics referred to it derisively as ‘Star Wars’.
SDI or “Star Wars Programme”
The Soviet Union’s economic troubles meant that it simply could not compete with the USA in this new Arms Race. It also lacked the technological ability to develop defences against these new American weapons.
To halt this new Arms Race, Gorbachev offered political reforms, allowing greater democracy, and allowed a greater role for a free market in the Soviet economy. Gorbachev went to great lengths to restore détente with the USA. This made him reluctant to use repression against dissidents in Eastern Europe or in the USSR and may have led to the collapse of communism in 1989. Gorbachev’s reforms, in turn, unleashed nationalist forces that the Soviet government could not control, which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Who was Mikhail Gorbachev and how did his reforms accelerate the collapse of the Soviet Union?
Mikhail Gorbachev became the General-Secretary of the USSR in 1985. Gromyko introduced him to his colleagues by saying, ‘He has a nice smile, but his teeth are made out of steel’. By this he meant that Gorbachev was a charismatic man but he was a committed Marxist who would take firm action to achieve his goals.
Gorbachev was in his early fifties while most of the members of the Politburo (highest decision making body in the Soviet Union) were over 70. He was determined to introduce wide-ranging reforms because he believed that these were necessary to save the communist system.
From 1982 to 1985 the USSR buried 3 of its General-Secretaries: Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko. The ordinary people were getting tired of its state funerals and were embarrassed by their aged leaders. When Gorbachev took over the position in 1985 he realised that he had to introduce a number of reforms, which he referred to as ‘new thinking’.
He therefore introduced two new policies:
Perestroika – meaning “restructuring” the Soviet economy. By this he meant reforming the communist system, but not replacing it with capitalism.
Glasnost – meaning “openness”. Glasnost meant that people would be allowed to speak freely and to criticise the government. In due course, he also introduced democratic institutions and free elections.
Perestroika (restructuring of the Soviet economy) meant wide- ranging economic reforms that would allow some private ownership and a role for market forces to play a role in the Soviet economy. Gorbachev wanted to attract foreign investment, aid and trade from Western countries and so had to ensure that the Soviet economy had similar features to these capitalist economies. Businesses could now make their own decisions about prices, production and marketing. They had to finance themselves by getting loans from newly-created banks. Businesses that were bankrupt were closed down. The state stopped subsidising goods and services leading to a more realistic pricing based on supply and demand. People could buy and sell at a profit, and foreign investment was encouraged. He wanted to introduce new incentives to labour and so allowed wages to rise in certain sectors where skills were scarce. He would have to root out the corruption that was deep within the Communist Party. Gorbachev wanted to keep power in the hands of the Communist Party but to allow some elections. He was still a committed Marxist who would take firm action to see that his goals were achieved.
Glasnost (openness) was the second major reform introduced by Gorbachev who wanted to reduce censorship and allow more criticism in the media. Until 1985, the Soviet state had controlled all art, literature, theatre, intellectual debate and the media. With glasnost freedom of speech was encouraged. Newspapers and magazines could report issues openly and criticize the government.
Gorbachev felt that poor managers and corrupt officials should be held accountable in this way. Gorbachev extended glasnost to foreign policy by breaking away from secret diplomacy. He was also more receptive for foreign criticism and allowed Eastern Europe greater freedom to experiment with reforms. These changes led logically to a third reform called ‘democratisation’ that gave people a greater voice in the political process.
In 1989, for the first time in Soviet history, Gorbachev allowed free elections for a new parliament, the Congress of People’s Deputies, in which opposition parties could participate. He allowed more than one Communist Party candidate in each region to stand for election. Candidates were defined as ‘Party’ (members of the Communist Party) and ‘Non-Party’.
What was the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms?
By 4 February 1989, Gorbachev was losing control over the people because of these reforms. He had changed the Soviet Union with these initiatives, but they contributed to his downfall. His moderate economic reforms went further than he had intended and his belief that the Party could keep control of the reform process proved wrong. The openness he allowed resulted in massive public criticism and hostility.
Perestroika failed to raise the rate of economic growth and improve living standards. Without state control, many systems collapsed. Prices increased dramatically for food, housing and medical costs. Production remained low and there were shortages, resulting in long queues for basic commodities. Inflation and foreign debt increased. Life for the ordinary citizen did not improve under Gorbachev.
Marches to Red Square in Moscow demanded the scrapping of Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution, which gave the Communist Party the leading role in government. The next day Gorbachev scrapped the party’s monopoly of power and created a new post of president, elected by parliament, a post that he ensured that he won. By some estimates, about half of the Communist Party members resigned, reducing membership of the party from 19 million to about 12 million. The Communist Party was losing political control over the USSR.
Views of Gorbachev
What is each one saying?
“We thought the situation could not get any worse, and it has. Now I hear people moaning about the lack of even the most basic food and saying: ‘Things were better under Brezhnev; at least we had food in the shops then’”.
Oleg Osipov, a research worker in Moscow.
A political joke about glasnost and perestroika
First dog: How are things different under Gorbachev?
Second dog: Well, the chain is too short and the food dish is still too far away to reach, but they let you bark as loud as you want.
Many Communist Party bureaucrats resisted reform and blocked change. They wanted the state to take full control of the USSR again. Others accused Gorbachev of betraying the communist vision and allowing Western capitalism to influence him too much. Some, like Boris Yeltsin, another reform politician, said Gorbachev did not go far enough and called for democracy and an end to Communist Party rule. Yeltsin’s bold criticism of the Communist Party, its corruption and special privileges made him a hero to the people. Gorbachev was caught in the middle between reformers and conservatives: it was impossible for him to meet the conflicting demands.
How did the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe occur and how did it contribute to the collapse of the USSR?
As Gorbachev became increasingly focused on the problems of the Soviet Union, he paid less attention to Eastern Europe. He made it clear to the East European communist leaders that the Soviet Union could no longer risk Western anger by intervening with Soviet troops as Russia did in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968). It was also not economically viable to maintain the Red Army to operate as such. Gorbachev encouraged Eastern European leaders to experiment with reforms.
In 1988, Janos Kadar stood down as Hungary’s General Secretary after holding this post since the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. A new reformist communist leader, Grosz, softened censorship laws and in 1989 announced a new constitution that would allow multi-party elections. He also tore down the border fences between Hungary and Austria. This prompted many East German ‘tourists’ to visit Hungary and then make a break to Austria through this ‘hole’ in the Iron Curtain. Gorbachev did nothing to challenge these sweeping reforms.
In 1981, Poland’s leader Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland and banned the reformist trade union movement Solidarity. By 1989 Jaruzelski attempted to introduce perestroika economic reforms, but these were unsuccessful as most Polish workers refused to co-operate until Solidarity was unbanned. Solidarity contested the 1989 multi-party elections, winning the available parliamentary seats and all but one of the seats in the Senate.
While the USSR tolerated and even encouraged these changes to Poland and Hungary, Gorbachev was more sensitive about East Germany. West Berlin had, after all, been the site of numerous Cold War interventions. By late 1989, even East Germany was confronted by anti-government protesters in the city of Leipzig. Gorbachev visited in October to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the German Democratic Republic. After the announcement of free elections Berliners congregated to celebrate on the Berlin Wall and then suddenly and unexpectedly began to tear it down.
In all of these uprisings Nationalism played a major role. The USSR consisted of 15 Soviet Republics. Approximately half of its population was Russian and the other half was made up of at least one hundred different national minorities. Some of these minorities now began to demand their freedom. They did not like the way their own cultures, languages and histories were being undermined and replaced with Russian. Old national flags were waved and patriotic songs were sung. Nationalist symbols were celebrated and all evidence of the Soviet Union was removed.
The USSR lost an important source of revenue as Eastern Europe’s new democratically elected governments began to expand trade with the West. This deepened the Soviet Union’s economic difficulties. The USSR was also weakened militarily as the Warsaw Pact dissolved in April 1991.
Nationalism was particularly strong in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 1989, Gorbachev allowed for free elections to the new parliament, the Congress of the People’s Deputies, and for leadership positions in the 15 republics. As the national minorities started to claim their independence, the unity of the Soviet Union came under threat
In May the Russian Republic, the second largest within the USSR elected Boris Yeltsin as its President. Yeltsin made it clear that he saw no future in a Soviet Union. He said that the many republics that made up the USSR should become independent states.
In July Ukraine declared its independence. Other republics followed. The USSR was disintegrating. Gorbachev was struggling to hold it together, but members of the Communist elite had had enough. In August 1991 hardline Communist Party leaders and military officers attempted a coup to try and take over the USSR. The plotters included Gorbachev’s Prime Minister Pavlov and head of the armed forces, Dimitry Yazov. They held Gorbachev prisoner in his Crimea holiday home. They sent tanks and troops onto the streets of Moscow. This was the old Soviet way to keep control.
Huge crowds gathered in Moscow. They strongly opposed this military coup. The Russian President emerged as the leader of this popular opposition. Faced by this resistance, the coup collapsed. The last ditch attempt to save the USSR had failed. Gorbachev returned to Moscow. In a televised speech on 25 December 1991, Gorbachev announced the end of the Soviet Union. Realising how weak the central government was, the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) declared their independence. The leaders of the other 12 former Soviet republics announced in December 1991 that the USSR would be replaced by a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Gorbachev resigned, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag was lowered for the last time. The Soviet Union vanished. Russia, the biggest and most important of the CIS states, was itself a federation of 20 smaller republics.
East German border guards watch as the Berlin Wall comes down in November 1989
The Collapse of the USSR
