 starter activity

1. starter activity Stalin, 1929-53 Khrushchev, 1953-64 Brezhnev, 1964-82 You will be given some descriptive statements. Sort them according to which leader of the Soviet Union you think they describe.

2. What was the impact of Gorbachev’s New Political Thinking?  Aims To review the policies & characteristics of Soviet leaders To identify what was so radical about Gorbachev’s New Political Thinking To assess the impact of the changes in key Eastern Bloc countries

3. What does this clip tell us about Gorbachev’s ‘New Thinking’?

4.  Your task • Read about Gorbachev’s new approach to foreign and domestic policy on p.167-8. • Make a chart in your notes. On one side note down the characteristics of Gorbachev’s New Political Thinking and on the other the impact of his ideas. Draw lines between the 2 columns to show any links.

5. Characteristics – New Political Thinking • Domestic reform - make Russia more productive & responsive – ‘we can’t go on living like this’ • Military - reduce military spending • USA - re-open negotiations over arms limitation • Foreign policy - re-evaluate Russia’s foreign policy, e.g. in Cuba, Vietnam & Afghanistan • Human rights - closer emphasis on universal human values

6. Impact • Soviet Administration - changes in administration, e.g. Eduard Shevardnadze, Foreign Sec. • Improve foreign relations – e.g. charm offensive on UK PM, Mrs Thatcher • Summits – Geneva Summit (‘85); Reykjavik (‘86); Washington (’87); Moscow (’88); Malta (’89) • Reduce spending on ‘national liberation movements’ • Perestroika • Glasnost • Democratisation • Abandonment of Brezhnev Doctrine (’68)

7.  Your task • Re-read p.168-9 and try to identify the summit being described on the cards. •  Which summit was the turning point? Gorbachev and Reagan get cosy at Reykjavik in 1986

8. Summit achievements in detail • 1985, Geneva Summit – established working relations between US & USSR, but little detail • 1986, Reykjavik Summit – Soviets proposed phasing out nuclear weapons in return for ending SDI • 1987, Washington Summit – INF agreement signed, 1st time arms reductions agreed • 1989, Malta Summit – Bush & Gorbachev, ‘buried the Cold War at the bottom of the Mediterranean’

9.  Your task • Read p. 170 and define what the term ‘Brezhnev doctrine’ means in your glossary and then note the reasons for the breakdown of this doctrine. Brezhnev takes a dip in the icy waters of Cold War politics

10. Brezhnev doctrine • Attack on one communist country is to be considered an attack on them all • End to democratic liberalisation, e.g. Prague Spring (1968) • No Eastern Bloc country could leave Warsaw Pact • Soviet Union was the dominant power in relations with Eastern Bloc

11. Reasons for breakdown • Disillusionment with Afghanistan • Too costly • Liberalisation would rejuvenate socialism as a political project • Armed intervention was morally wrong • No longer need for aggressive foreign policies like this

12. Do you think the changes that happen in the USSR in the 1980s occurred as a result of Gorbachev or as a result of broader conditions?

13.  Your task • How did the collapse of Communism occur in each of the following countries? Try to identify factors rather than describe events • Poland • Hungary • East Germany • Czechoslovakia • Romania

14. Collapse of Communism • Poland – growth of Solidarity, papal intervention, economic hardships, democratisation of elections, Soviet approval • Hungary – collapse of authority by hard-line leader, democratisation of elections, opening of borders • East Germany – collapse of hard-line authority, opening of borders, reluctance to use violence • Czechoslovakia – democratisation of elections, reluctance to use violence • Romania – growing public awareness of reform, collapse of hard-line authority

15.  Extension task • Draw a circle. Divide it into 5 for each country and record factors which were similar and factors which were unique to each country.

16.  Extension • Read Isaacs on Gorbachev, p.424-7. What were the strengths of Gorbachev’s approach? What were the dangers?

17.  Plenary • What characterised Gorbachev’s approach to foreign and domestic policy • List 3 key achievements of his policy • Explain how Communism collapsed in Eastern Bloc countries