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Stagnation and Decline of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1970-1991

Stagnation and Decline of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1970-1991. CAUSES of the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union:. Negative comparisons with West Communism was not working Pressure of Western containment policy and Soviet military spending Persistence of nationalism

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Stagnation and Decline of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1970-1991

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  1. Stagnation and Decline of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1970-1991

  2. CAUSES of the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union: • Negative comparisons with West • Communism was not working • Pressure of Western containment policy and Soviet military spending • Persistence of nationalism • Dissidents and Human Rights • Soviet intervention in Afghan war (1979-1989) • Poland: Solidarity • Mikhail Gorbachev • Chernobyl nuclear disaster (April 1986)

  3. CAUSES of the collapse of communism, 1989-1991 1. Negative comparisons with West • Jeans • Toilet paper • Birth control devices • Healthcare • Service • Soap operas • High-heeled shoes • “Equality in poverty.” Slavenka Drakulic

  4. CAUSES of the collapse of communism, 1989-1991 2. Communism was not working: • Collective farms never very efficient • Kitchen gardens became crucial • Central planning created industrialization, but consumer goods sacrificed • Quantity over quality • Bureaucracy was always on the take: Blat • Party elite privileges: special stores, dachas, vacations

  5. CAUSES of the collapse, 1989-1991 3. Pressure of Western containment policy and Soviet military spending: Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), “Star Wars”

  6. CAUSES of the collapse, 1989-1991 4. Persistence of Nationalism inside Soviet Bloc and USSR

  7. CAUSES of the collapse, 1989-1991 5. Dissidents and Human Rights: 1975: Helsinki Accords 1976: KOR (Committee for the Defense of Workers) 1977: Charter 77

  8. CAUSES of the collapse, 1989-1991 6. Soviet intervention in Afghan war (1979-1989): • Bungled • losing • sapping resources • veterans

  9. 7. Poland and Solidarity • Gdansk: Lenin Shipyards • August 1980: Party granted right to unions • September 1980: Solidarity: Union of Trade Unions • Early 1981: 10 million Solidarity members • December 1981: Martial Law imposed

  10. Lech Wałęsa

  11. 8. Mikhail Gorbachev, r. 1985-1991 • A reformer in sheep’s clothing • Reform Communism (still idealism) • Attempted moderate reform • Perestroika (restructuring) • Glasnost (openness)

  12. 9. Chernobyl nuclear disaster (April 1986) • Scared everyone • Showed technical incompetence • Showed Party’s priorities • Spawned anti-nuclear and ecological movements across East Europe

  13. 1988 • February: Polish government again raises prices  workers’ strikes • October: Solidarity and Polish government began Round Table discussion. • December: at UN Gorbachev promised to withdraw Soviet troops from Eastern Europe.

  14. 1989, part I • February: Hungarian Communists renounced “leading role” and proposed multi-party political system. • April: Round Table concluded, Solidarity legalized again. • May: Baltic Republics (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) declared themselves to be sovereign. • June: Solidarity claimed victory in Polish parliamentary elections, but also Tiananmen Square massacre. • July: Gorbachev announced that each country can take its own path to socialism.

  15. 1989, part II • August: First GDR refugees began leaving Soviet bloc via Hungary. • September: Solidarity-led government took power in Poland. • October: Gorbachev visited GDR, encouraged reform and independence. • November: Berlin Wall opened; Czechoslovakian Communist government resigned: “Velvet Revolution”. • December: Romanians overthrew Ceaucescu communist regime and executed Ceaucescus.

  16. 1990 • March: Lithuania declared independence from USSR and German CDU won election; SED got only 16 percent of vote. • July: CPSU declared end to its monopoly on political power. • October: Unification of Germany; Gorbachev awarded Nobel Peace Prize. • December: Lech Walesa elected President of Poland.

  17. 1991 • June: Croatia and Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia; Yugoslav Wars began. • July: Soviet Republics negotiate new union treaty; Warsaw Pact dissolved. • August: Hard-line communists orchestrated coup in Moscow; defeated, but meant end of USSR • December 8: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus created Commonwealth of Independent States  USSR ceased to exist.

  18. The New Europe

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