The fall of the Soviet Union - Gorbachev's political reforms

Question 1

At the time of his appointment, Gorbachev’s key aim was to…

Answer 1

revitalise the Soviet Union, and to end stagnation which arose of the Brezhnev period, like corruption of senior members

Question 2

Gorbachev wanted to end the _______ and ______ of the Soviet people

Answer 2

cynicism
apathy

Question 3

Initially, Gorbachev believed that he could reform the Soviet system and retain communist control. His plans for reform were limited, he wanted to:

Answer 3

• Open up debate within the Party
• Allowed intellectuals more freedom of expression
• Allow the public to have more access to information

Question 4

Glasnost

Answer 4

(Russian: “openness”)
Soviet policy of open discussion of political and social issues. It was instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s and began the democratisation of the Soviet Union

Question 5

The Twenty-Seventh Party Congress quote

Answer 5

“Genuine democracy, power for the people and by the people”

Question 6

The adoption of a new programme was a symbol that Gorbachev wanted to…

Answer 6

break the past

Question 7

Gorbachev’s new programme committed the Party to the…

Answer 7

“systematic and all around improvements of socialism”

Question 8

Liberalisation of the media

Answer 8

Under Gorbachev’s liberalisation of the media, censorship restrictions were relaxed, allowing for increased freedom of the press, independent journalism, and the emergence of a more pluralistic media landscape in the Soviet Union

Question 9

Following the 1986 Congress, Gorbachev gave _______ responsibility for the media

Answer 9

Yakovlev

Question 10

Yakovlev permitted the publication of…

Answer 10

banned books, plays and films by anti-communist intellectuals

(A good example is the film: Repentance, a film made in 1984 which was highly critical of Stalin’s terror)

Question 11

Gorbachev released…

Answer 11

dissidents from prison

Question 12

Consequences of glasnost

Answer 12

Glasnost destabilized the Communist Party rule, it permitted profound criticism of the Party that Gorbachev had not seen coming

Question 13

Democratisation and Yeltsin

Answer 13

Yeltsin emerged from the election as a popular figure and rival to Gorbachev

Yeltsin’s desire to replace the USSR with a loose confederation of independent states was very popular across the USSR, and consequently became a threat to the Soviet Union

Question 14

Glasnost

Answer 14

The sudden transparency under Glasnost
enabled sizeable freedom of expression in the Soviet media. This led to the emergence of
disturbing revelations about past crimes under the Soviet system, and the authorisation of
western media destabilised Soviet rule

Question 15

Democratic Centralism

Answer 15

The GDR followed the structure of ‘democratic centralism’, entrenched on the principles revolutionised by former Chairman of the Soviet Union - Lenin.

Consequently, the divergent reforms Mikhail Gorbachev introduced throughout the course of his leadership threatened to eliminate the foundations of Communism

Question 16

May 1985

Answer 16

In May 1985, Gorbachev publicly criticised the
Soviet Union’s economic and political system and stressed the need for transformation

Question 17

Gorbachev initiated the policies of Perestroika and Glasnost - these reforms aimed to…

Answer 17

increase producer
autonomy in order to stabilise a failing economic system and address the challenges that impacted the Soviet Union politically and socially