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End of Cold War:
Perhaps it is apt to dedicate the victor of the Cold War to Democracy and Capitalism, though both sides suffered losses - financially or otherwise. Nonetheless, despite the USSR's best efforts in restoring their country's growth and the people's faith, underlying and deeply entrenched flaws of the system prevented it from doing so otherwise. This ultimately led to the fall of Gorbachev, and subsequently the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union, bringing an end to the long and bitter Cold War.
→ Problems the USSR faced when Gorbachev took over (1985-1991)
Social Conditions:
There was great corruption as top officials were given privileges. Most power were under the Politburo, the elite of the Communist party. Life for ordinary citizens was also filled with poverty and misery. Essential items were affordable due to state subsidies, yet people had to queue hours to get their rations. Alcoholism also became a big social problem.
Political Conditions:
The KGB (Soviet Secret Police) was a very powerful organization. It prevented people from resisting government policies or measures, and there was strict censorship throughout; the media was under government control. Soviets also had no rights and had to comply with the government's every regulation. There was no freedom of expression, and opposition to the government would land one in jail.
Economic Conditions:
Industries: Factories were not producing the quality consumer goods such as television, radio and fashionable clothes. This resulted in the development of a black market, and sales on a black market deprived the government of income received from taxation. The USSR was also under a Command Economy, that decides how much to produce, what to produce, and the prices of goods.
Head of Warsaw Pact: As head of the Warsaw Pact, the USSR had the duty to lead the defence of the East European countries. By doing so, the state had become bankrupted.
Agricultural Sector: The Soviet Union had vast areas of agricultural land. However, she still could not feed her people. Schemes to grow more grain were introduced, but that was not effective as very little crops were produced. The Soviet Union had to therefore import millions of tonnes of grain to feed its citizens.
Competition with the USA: USSR was not wealthy enough to play the rule of a superpower. Yet, it spent huge sums of money competing with USA. Millions of roubles were spent on developing nuclear arms, and they even lent financial support to other countries.
Gorbachev was concerned about the attitude of the people towards work, as work standards were slipping. In the days of Stalin, people worked hard out of fear or loyalty. Many Soviet citizens, on the contrary, had no loyalty to the government. Thus, Gorbachev wanted to introduce incentives for those who worked hard.
Gorbachev was also particularly worried about the alcoholism which was reaching epidemic proportions. Alcoholism was one of the reason for the decline in the Soviet industry. Gorbachev realised that to solve the problems in Russia, he needed to restore the people's faith in the government and reform the Soviet industry and agriculture. This was done through two different policies.
→ Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s. The word was frequently used by Gorbachev to specify the policies he believed might help reduce the corruption at the top of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, and moderate the abuse of administrative power in the Central Committee. Glasnost was aimed at having a closer bond between government and public, as he wanted to restore faith of public. Hence, Gorbachev lifted the ban on press, television, books, films and plays. He allowed differing opinions and religious freedom. Political prisoners were also released, and corrupt officials were put on trial. However, this resulted in a loss of support from his own party members.
Impact:
People in Russia began to openly discuss what had previously been sensitive topics. The relaxation of controls also encouraged the growth of nationalism in the Soviet satellite states. It gave the people the courage to express their hatred and distrust for the Communist party.
In addition, whole periods of recorded Soviet history were changed by Glasnost. Stalin, Brezhnev and Cherenko previously great leaders were unmasked as the brutal oppressive murders they really were. Only Lenin remained sacrosanct. Most telling of all, the school history exams for 1988 were cancelled. So much conventional wisdom was overturned in the preceding months that the existing Soviet history books had become useless. This change was not totally accepted by radicals or hardliners. The radicals wished to go further, faster and were exemplified in such illegal publications as Glasnost. Hardliners tried to retain their grip on people's minds by frequent attacks on the radicals in the conservative press.
When glasnost brought an end to the jamming of radio transmissions, increased economic links, and allowed more cross-cultural interaction and international travel, the Soviet Union lost its isolation. Thus, when exposed to the rich and free capitalist countries all around, the people's thirst for freedom grew. This freedom gave people both the option of improving the Soviet system as well as the option of abandoning it. And perhaps with glasnost, the "terror" in the totalitarian state was gone, and without this, no totalitarian state can survive in a pure form.
Glasnost had broken free from its masters by 1989 and began to be used to criticise its creator Gorbachev. Anything was now fair game. The abolition of the Communist Party's leading role, the failure of perestroika and multi party democracy were openly discussed in the Soviet media. These ideas were undreamt of even a couple of years earlier. The turning point for glasnost was the Chernobyl nuclear diaster in 1986. Soviet authorities initially tried to cover up the catastrophe and remained silent for 48 hours. The silence was followed by complete honesty and unparallel information of the like that had never been seen in the USSR before. After Chernobyl environmental concerns became a favourite topic of the liberal press. The turning of Central Asia into a desert by diverting rivers to irrigate cotton plantations were just one example that shocked the nation. The people could not believe the incompetence of their Communist Party planners. As the truth came out piece by piece the Soviet people became more and more angry at their Communist rulers.
The freedom that the media gained through glasnost also helped develop a greater desire for freedom. Glasnost allowed for the first time the facts to be presented. The Soviet people soon realised why so much had been kept from them for so long. Before, the USSR was spending more than one billion dollars per year on jamming foreign radio communications. In contrast, under glasnost the Russians were able to watch live broadcasts and hear legislators detail the country's "terrible past and disastrous present" in 1989. Television revealed all of the weaknesses of the system, often criticizing Gorbachev. The new idea of speaking out against Communism spread quickly. People were hungry for news as newspapers and magazines were freed in 1987 and banned books and movies were re-released. The USSR was in a mess but for the first time the people knew the truth and were demanding answers.
Soviets were finally able to leave the Communist party as well. In 1989, 136,000 people left the Communist party. In the first six months of 1990, 600,000 more left the party.
Glasnost, though meant to save the Soviet Union, surely helped destroy it. Communism had promised so much to the people for so long with so few results, that once it was exposed, it had to come to an end.
→ Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Its literal meaning is "restructuring", referring to the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system.
Perestroika allowed more independent actions from the various ministries and introduced some market-like reforms. The intention of perestroika, however, was not to dismantle socialism but rather to make socialism work more efficiently to better meet the needs of Soviet consumers.The process of implementing perestroika arguably exacerbated already existing political, social and economic tensions within the Soviet Union and no doubt helped to further nationalism among the constituent republics. Perestroika and resistance to it are often cited as major catalysts leading to the breakup of the Soviet Union.
As such, the Law of State Enterprise was also introduced. Under this law, the central government did not make all the key decisions about the economy. Managers of farms and factories could decide what they wanted to produce and how much they would produce. The managers could also try to make a profit. However, the central government was still powerful and remained in charge of the Soviet Economy.
In addition, Gorbachev tried to reduce the role of the government in the economy by encouraging small groups of workers to own and run small businesses such as cafes or handicraft shops. Foreign companies were also allowed to own a part of Soviet businesses for the first time. All of these decisions were made to change the Soviet command economy into a market economy. Gorbachev tried to set up a market economy because this type of economy left the important economic decisions to individuals and businesses, which were faster and more flexible. They also had a better idea of local conditions than the central government, and hence were in a better decision to decide how to use the country's resources effectively.
Gorbachev tried to reduce military spending as well, as the USSR needed to spend more resources on other parts of the economy. He removed the Soviet troops from Eastern Europe and Afghanistan. He also promised not to interfere in the affairs of the East European countries and reduced subsidies to them. He also improved relations with the West and worked to slow down the arms race.
HOW DID GORBACHEV IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH THE WEST?
He established close relationships with several Western leaders, such as West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Gorbachev understood the link between achieving international détente and domestic reform and thus began extending 'New Thinking' abroad immediately. Gorbachev proposed that the Soviets and Americans both cut their nuclear arsenals in half. He went to France on his first trip abroad as Soviet leader in October. November saw the Geneva Summit between Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. Though no concrete agreement was made, Gorbachev and Reagan struck a personal relationship and decided to hold further meetings. Gorbachev and Reagan then met in 1986, and essentially agreed in principle to eliminate all nuclear weapons in 10 years
Gorbachev also announced his proposal for the elimination of intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe and his strategy for eliminating all nuclear weapons by the year 2000. He also began the process of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and Mongolia on 28 July. In February 1988, Gorbachev announced the full withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan.
Impact:
Prices of essential items which were previously kept under control, spiraled as state subsidies were removed to allow the country to move towards a free market economy. there was greater shortages of consumer goods and people had to queue in even longer lines for their rations. economic problems intensified and there was no stronger or stable market economy to replace the state-planned economy that Gorbachev had removed. The government continued to print more money to meet the demands for higher wages, leading to inflation. There were also shortages in consumer goods.
The Soviet people did not see any improvement in their lives. Instead, the lines to buy food got longer. Fewer basic goods were available. This was because the factory managers switched to the production of expensive luxury goods instead of basic goods, like food, to maximise profit. These shortages made people organize protests against the government to demand more supplies of food. The price of food and other basic goods became more expensive. Many workers also lost their jobs in the new market economy because of retrenchments by state-owned companies to reduce their costs.
→ Reasons for the fall of the Soviet Union
01. Failure of Gorbachev's policies. (See Glasnost and Perestroika)
Gorbachev's policies led to the rise of nationalism as Soviet Union was made up of 15 republics. This National policies then led to many voicing their unhappiness at being dominated by Russians. The central authority, the Red Army, was also too weak to control the whole empire from the capital, Moscow. Unhappiness then led to the civil war.
Glasnost exposed failings of Communist government and the atrocities of Stalin's era, discrediting the Communist regime. (See impact of Glasnost)
These policies slowly undermined the very foundations of the Soviet political, economic and social order that had been built since Lenin came to power in 1917.
02. Flawed Communist system.
Deeply entrenched problems could not be solved with quick measures. Machinery could not cope with all types of problems at one shot. People also expected Gorbachev's policies to work immediately, but it was impossible with the problems the USSR faced, spanning from decades ago. Problems also ran from agriculture all the way to officials in the administration. Managers were inefficient and corrupt.
03. Opposition from Communist Hardliners.
Gorbachev went against the principles of communism with his economic reforms, and hence lost much support within the Central government by 1990. In 1991, a group of hardliners attempted coup against him and he was placed under house arrest.
04. Lost control of satellite states
Even though Gorbachev propagated liberal ideas, he failed to realize that it was the harsh nature of communism that had kept the Soviet Union intact and the satellite states in Eastern Europe under its control. As such, many satellite states started breaking off from the Soviet Union.
Poland
Trade Union, Solidarity, won popular support from the people. When the reforms were introduced in USSR, the Polish communist government held talks with Solidarity leaders. In June 1989, free elections were held, and a Solidarity-led coalition government was set up. This marked the first non-communist state in Eastern Europe.
Poland had been initially heavily in debt and Communist leader Gierek tried to solve the problem by raising food prices. People were however, unhappy, especially the workers. Solidarity was formed with Lech Walesa as the leader. The ideas of the Solidarity movement spread rapidly throughout Poland; new unions were formed and joined the federation. The Solidarity program, although concerned chiefly with trade union matters, was universally regarded as the first step towards dismantling the Communists' dominance over social institutions, professional organizations and community associations. By the end of 1981, Solidarity had nine million members.
In September 1980, the increasingly frail Gierek was removed from office and replaced as Party leader by Stanisław Kania. However, the regime was still trapped by the conflict between economic necessity and political instability. It could not revive the economy without abandoning state control of prices, but it could not do this without triggering another general strike.
During the chaotic Solidarity years and the imposition of martial law, Poland entered a decade of economic crisis, officially acknowledged as such even by the regime. Access to Western luxury goods became even more restricted, as Western governments applied economic sanctions to express their dissatisfaction with the government repression of the opposition, while at the same time the government had to use most of the foreign currency it could obtain to pay the crushing rates on its foreign debt which reached US$23 billion by 1980.
The constant state of economic and societal crisis meant that, after the shock of martial law had faded, people on all levels again began to organize against the regime. "Solidarity" gained more support and power while the dominance of the Communist Party further eroded as it lost many of its members, a number of whom had been revolted by the imposition of martial law.
n April 1989, Solidarity was again legalized and allowed to participate in semi-free elections on 4 June 1989. In the end, solidarity candidates captured all the seats, and many prominent Communist candidates failed to gain even the minimum number of votes required to capture the seats that were reserved for them. With the election results, the Communists suffered a catastrophic blow to their legitimacy. The Communist candidate for the post of Prime Minister, general Czesław Kiszczak, failed to gain enough support in the Sejm to form a government. The striking electoral victory of the Solidarity candidates in these limited elections, and the subsequent formation of the first non-Communist government in the region in decades, encouraged many similar peaceful transitions from Communist Party rule in Central and Eastern Europe in the second half of 1989.
In 1990, Jaruzelski resigned as Poland's president and was succeeded by Wałęsa, who won the 1990 presidential elections.
Hungary
Hungarian revolution of 1956: The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies. The revolt began as a student demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building. A student delegation entering the radio building in an attempt to broadcast its demands was detained. When the delegation's release was demanded by the demonstrators outside, they were fired upon by the State Security Police (ÁVH) from within the building. The news spread quickly and disorder and violence erupted throughout the capital.
The revolt spread quickly across Hungary, and the government fell. The new government formally disbanded the ÁVH, declared its intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and pledged to re-establish free elections. By the end of October, fighting had almost stopped and a sense of normality began to return.
However, after announcing a willingness to negotiate a withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Politburo (Soviet Army) changed its mind and moved to crush the revolution. On 4 November, a large Soviet force invaded Budapest and other regions of the country. Hungarian resistance continued until 10 November. Over 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the conflict, and 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees. Mass arrests and denunciations continued for months thereafter. By January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public opposition. These Soviet actions alienated many Western Marxists, yet strengthened Soviet control over Central Europe.
In 1989, Hungarian communist party denounced the crushing of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. In may 1989, barbed wires between Hungary and Austria were removed, and Hungarians introduced parliamentary democracy and market economy. Elections were held in 1990.
East Germany
The East Germans demanded changes in their government through protest movements and mass demonstrations. In November 1989, Egon Krenz, the new East German Chancellor, reopened East Germany's borders with West Germany. As such, many East Germans fled to the West.
In November 1989, people of East and West Germany came together to knock down the Berlin Wall. The division between the Eastern communist government and the Western democracies had broke, signalling the end of communism.
Czechoslovakia
In 1968, a new Prime Minister was elected, Alexander Dubcek, who was a Communist and was loyal to the Soviet Union. He carried out reforms, which included: telling farmers that they should decide what crops to grow, instead of Communist Party economic planners, published the Action Programme and gave more powers to ordinary workers and managers as well as allowing Czech journalists to interview political leaders on TV and radio.
Communist leaders in other Eastern European countries urged Brezhnev to stop Dubcek, as this did not conform to the usual Communist system. Brezhnev was hesitant to militarily intervene, but when Dubcek welcomed Yugoslavia's Marshal Tito to Czechoslovakia on a visit, Brezhnev decided that enough was enough. He sent tanks and paratroopers into Prague, where half a million troops soon followed. There were some resistance, but deaths were only been 80-200.
The rise of anti-communist movements showed that many ordinary working people were fed up living under the Communist rule, and Communist rule depended on Soviet military power. If the USSR stopped backing the Communist governments in Eastern Europe, they would crumble.
Eventually, by 1990, Gorbachev had lost much support within the central government, and he was placed under house arrest in a coup in 1991. Boris Yeltsin called on the support of the troops and the Russians to reinstate Gorbachev. However, this was suppressed by coup organisers. In the end, coup organisers surrendered and on 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned. By January the next year, Soviet Union ceased to exist, and was replaced with the formation of the "Commonwealth of Independent States" with Boris Yeltsin as the new president. This marked the end of Cold War.
Timeline:
1943: Tehran Conference (Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill)
1945: Yalta Conference (Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill)
1945: Potsdam Conference (Stalin, Truman, Attlee)
1947: Truman Doctrine / Marshall Plan - USA(Stalin, Truman)
1947: COMECON - USSR(Stalin, Truman)
1948-1949: Berlin Blockade / Berlin Airlift (Stalin, Truman)
1949: NATO (Truman)
1950-1953: Korean War (Stalin, Truman, Syngman Rhee, Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedong)
1955: Warsaw Pact (Stalin)
1956: Hungarian Uprising (Khrushchev, Eisenhower)
1961: Berlin Wall (Khrushchev, Kennedy)
1962: Cuban Missile Crisis (Khrushchev, Eisenhower then Kennedy after 1961, Fidel Castro)
1968: Czechoslovkia's Prague Spring (Dubcek, Brezhnev)
1971-1979: Détente (Brezhnev, Nixon/Ford/Carter)
1980-1985: Start of new phase in Cold War (Brezhnev/Andropov/Chernenko, Jimmy Carter/Ronald Reagan)
1980-1981: Poland (Gierek/Walesa, Brezhnev)
1985-1991: Improved relations between USSR/USA, Perestroika, Glasnost (Gorbachev, Reagan)
1986: Chernobyl Disaster (Gorbachev, Reagan)
1989: Fall of Berlin Wall (Gorbachev, Reagan)
1991: Resignation of Gorbachev, end of Cold War
Faces I should know:
Sources:
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