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Investigates the internal and external factors that led to the dissolution of the USSR.
How does a global superpower with over 10,000 nuclear warheads and the world's largest standing army simply vanish from the map in a single weekend without a shot being fired?
By the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union faced a stagnant economy and a bloated bureaucracy. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev took power and introduced two revolutionary concepts. Glasnost (openness) aimed to end government secrecy and allow for freedom of speech and the press. Gorbachev believed that by exposing corruption, the people would help him fix the system. Perestroika (restructuring) was his plan to modernize the economy by introducing limited private enterprise, moving away from a strictly state-controlled 'command economy.' However, these reforms acted like a crack in a dam. Instead of strengthening the system, they allowed long-suppressed frustrations regarding poverty and political oppression to flood the public sphere, ultimately weakening the Communist Party's absolute control.
1. Before Glasnost, Soviet citizens could be imprisoned for criticizing the government in private letters. 2. After Glasnost was implemented, newspapers began publishing articles about government failures and the horrors of the Stalin era. 3. This led to a 'crisis of legitimacy' where the public realized the system was far more broken than they had previously been told.
Quick Check
Which policy specifically focused on economic restructuring and the introduction of limited private business?
Answer
Perestroika
For decades, the USSR maintained control over Eastern Europe through the Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated the Soviets would use military force to keep any communist nation from straying. Gorbachev abandoned this, jokingly calling his new policy the 'Sinatra Doctrine' (letting countries do it 'their way'). This shift triggered a chain reaction. In Poland, the trade union Solidarity won free elections. In Hungary, the border fence with the West was cut. Most symbolically, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Because Gorbachev refused to send in the Red Army to stop these protests, the 'Iron Curtain' collapsed in months. The loss of these satellite states deprived the USSR of its strategic buffer and signaled to Soviet republics that independence was possible.
Consider the speed of the collapse in 1989: 1. June: Poland holds its first partially free elections. 2. September: Hungary opens its borders to Austria. 3. November: The Berlin Wall is breached by citizens. 4. December: The brutal dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in Romania is overthrown in a violent revolution. This sequence shows how the removal of Soviet military threat (The Brezhnev Doctrine) made revolution inevitable.
Quick Check
What was the 'Sinatra Doctrine' and how did it differ from previous Soviet policy?
Answer
It was Gorbachev's policy of allowing Eastern European nations to determine their own internal affairs without Soviet military intervention, reversing the Brezhnev Doctrine.
By 1991, the USSR was fracturing internally as republics like the Baltics, Ukraine, and Georgia demanded independence. In August 1991, communist hardliners attempted a coup d'état to remove Gorbachev and restore old-school authoritarian rule. The coup failed due to massive public protests led by Boris Yeltsin, the president of the Russian Republic. Although Gorbachev remained in power, his authority was shattered, and Yeltsin became the dominant political figure. On December 8, 1991, leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords, declaring the Soviet Union ceased to exist. On December 25, 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time, replaced by the Russian tricolor.
The 1991 August Coup is a classic 'unintended consequence' in history: 1. The hardliners launched the coup to save the USSR from decentralization. 2. Their failure actually accelerated the collapse by making the Communist Party look weak and desperate. 3. It empowered Boris Yeltsin to ban the Communist Party in Russia, effectively removing the 'glue' that held the 15 republics together.
Which leader is most associated with the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika?
What was the primary significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall?
The Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on December 25, 1991.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, try to recall the difference between Glasnost and Perestroika and name three countries that overthrew communist rule in 1989.
Practice Activity
Create a timeline placing the following events in order: The August Coup, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the introduction of Perestroika, and the signing of the Belavezha Accords.