Soviet Union

1. Soviet Union 1985-1991

2. 1985 • Failed attempts at reform • Stagnant economy (oil prices dropped) • War in Afghanistan • Surge of nationalism in “republics” • Baltic states • Eastern bloc • Mikhail Gorbachev allowed open criticism

3. 1991 • Boris Yeltsin seized power in a coup • Gorbachev toppled via his own reforms • USSR collapsed and the CIS is instituted

4. Rise of Gorbachev March 1985- December 1991

5. This was the Soviet Union in 1991 Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Estonia Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Moldova Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan

6. Between 1969 and 1987 • Global shift in generation reform • Afghanistan was the USSR’s Vietnam • Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster (1986) • Glasnost and perestroika reforms

7. 1985: Rise of Gorbachev • Konstantin Chermenko, last of the old-liners, dies • Mikhail Gorbachev, first of the technocrats, becomes General Secretary • Rise of de-Stalinization generation from Khrushchev’s 1950s • Consolidate power to provide reform momentum

8. Out With the Old… Chermenko Gorbachev

9. USReactiontoChange End of Détente

10. Economic, Political, Foreign Policy Reforms

11. Law on Cooperatives (May ‘88) • Private ownership • First since Lenin’s NEP • Services, manufacturing, foreign trade privatized • Cooperative restaurants, shops, factories allowed • Socialism weakened

12. Glasnost • Speech and press freed up • Pressure on conservatives • Seeks support from Soviet people for economic policies

13. The New Openness • Political prisoners and dissidents released from gulags in Siberia • Public opinion polls • State archives accessible to public • Gender studies, stats on crime, income, abortion, infant mortality, suicide published

14. Politics Gets Westernized • Democratization • Multi-Party Elections • June 1988 CPSU’s 19th Party Conference launches radical change • Congress of Peoples’ Deputies established for legislation

15. Changes in the Soviet Union • Gorbachev could be forced to resign if the elite are dissatisfied • President is independent of the CPSU and could only be impeached if law is directly violated • CPSU is deprived of direct political power

16. Unintended Consequence Media exposes severe social and economic problems Problems shown • poor housing • alcoholism • drug abuse • pollution • out-dated factories • corruption

17. Archives Show State Secrets • Gulags for opponents • Stalin’s treaty with Hitler • Great Purges • Loss in Afghanistan • Mishandling of Chernobyl

18. Hitler-Stalin Pact

19. Break Down of the Warsaw Pact • Lech Walesa’s rise in Poland under Solidarity Movement in 1980-1989 • Romania’s violent uprising in 1989 • 1990-91—loss of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Hungary

20. Reagan at the Berlin Wall Walesa of Poland Hungarian Comrades Romanian Revolt by Army & Workers against Ceausescu John Lennon Wall in Prague, Czech.

21. Like Nationalist Revolts within Its Own Borders • Feb ‘88—Azerbaijanis v Armenians for ethnic states lead to massacres • Baltic SSRs revolt and gain sovereignty—Lithuania (’90), Latvia (‘91), and Estonia (‘91)

22. Ukrainian Museum Perestroika Poster Latvia Museum of Occupation Georgia Museum

23. Glasnost vPerestroika Glasnost Perestroika Private business End gov’t monopoly of the “means of production” Competition in export trade Decentralization inroads • Free speech • Free press • Access to archives • Political parties • Nationalist, ethnic movements • Labor rights

24. Loss of Economic Control • State forced to bail-out unprofitable enterprises • State consumer goods subsidies increase • Taxes decline with anti-alcohol campaign • Regions with autonomy withhold taxes • Production bottlenecks; shortages appear

25. The Final Blow… 1991 August Coup • New Union Treaty Proposed • June: Boris Yeltsin wins as Russia SSR President • Federation of independent republics formed • CPSU would control markets and social life • Opposed by conservatives fearing break up • Gorbachev under house arrest • Coup begun by KBG

26. The Coup d'état Boris Yeltsin Army Tanks in Red Square Anti-Coup Yeltsin Supporters

27. Aftermath of the Failed Coup • CPSU banned by Boris Yeltsin throughout Russia SSR • One-by-one SSRs declare independence • Economic union formed in a power play • Treaty of Union 1922 evoked • Gorbachev removed from power • 90% of Ukrainians vote for separation 12/1/91

28. Commonwealth of Independent States Declared!!!

29. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Is Gone • 12/8/91 Belavezha Accords signed by Russia, Ukraine, and Belorussia • Gorbachev says unconstitutional • 12/12 Russia denounces 1922 Treaty • 12/17 CIS recognized by 28 European countries • 12/24 Russia declared UN successor to USSR for diplomatic purposes (power)

30. Summation of Events • Principal elements of USSR • Hierarchy of soviets with Russia at top • Ethnic federalism (no such thing—one nation under Moscow) • State socialism • Communist Party (CPSU) domination • Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost reforms produce radical reforms and unforeseen effects • Coalitions built to support reforms • Economic problems put USSR into stagnation

31. Openness leads to opposition • CPSU challenged and divided • SSRs and Bloc countries rebel openly • Nationalist, orthodox Communists, and populist forces attempt liberalization and revitalization of the Soviet Union • Gorbachev fails at compromise • Conservative coup beaten by Yeltsin supporters

32. Post-Soviet Restructuring • The Yeltsin Shock • Subsidies for consumer goods cut • Price controls abolished • Yeltsin cronies given government property and assets as private enterprises • Oligarchy, not democracy, merges

33. The New Russia • 22% live below the poverty line • Life expectancy and birth rates declined • GNP halved since 1991 • Prices of natural resources increased • Investments and businesses soar • Emigration out increased