21) Gorbachev and the Ending of the Cold War

Question 1

Legacy of Brezhnev

Answer 1

-failed agricultural policies, USSR can’t feed itself. Had some success with reversing some effects of collectivisation, farmers worked on state owned plots
-massive military spending (25% of GNP between 1964-82)
-the 9th and 10th five year plans both failed to increase moral/productivity
-bad living standards
-flourishing black market
-did not take advantage of the oil crisis due to food crises
-no Stalinist terror, high profile exiles who spoke out against the USSR like physicist Andrei Sakharov

Question 2

Adaptability of western verses eastern economies

Answer 2

western- modernised following the oil crisis of the 70s
eastern- did not modernise and failed to keep up even after loans from western banks (ostpolitik), by the 1980s the total production of the USSR’s economy was only 37% of the GNP of the USA

Question 3

Soviet Leadership 1982-85

Answer 3

-Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko
-Brezhnev left an aged and stagnant political leadership, both Andropov and Chernenko were of his generation and neither had the political clout to implement change
-Andropov died in 1984
-Chernenko reopened START negotiations in March 1985 but also died in the same month
-people wanted change and youth in their government (paving the way for Gorbachev and his reforms)

Question 4

Summary of Gorbachev

Answer 4

-seen as young and dynamic
-aim to modernise the USSR
-convinced the USSR could no longer afford cold war confrontation and renounced the idea of inevitable world conflict, big force in ending the CW
-faced both a political and economic crisis
-saw the end of the USSR, although not his intention

Question 5

3 problems Gorbachev faced when coming to power

Answer 5

-economic stagnation, needed western financial and technological aid. Foreign policy was a large drain of soviet economy, without it they may not of faced such harsh economic conditions
-collapse of détente, led to a new and expensive arms race
-global overstretch of the USSR, unwinnable war in Afghanistan as well as supporting lest-wing regimes in Angola and the horn of Africa (expensive)

Question 6

why was economic revival so important for the whole USSR

Answer 6

strong economy = survival of communist system = maintenance of super power status = national security (no political criticism) = no need for the Cold War

Question 7

4 key factors affecting soviet economic growth

Answer 7

1. Alcoholism, was normalised in Soviet society, which led to a loss of productivity and workplace injuries
2. Lack of foreign investment, USSR is closed to this, meaning growth and business innovation were stunted
3. Centralisation, state controlled businesses meant everything was very rigid, little recognition of consumer demand
4. Inflation/Worker discontent, wages rarely matched inflation, frequent strikes/unrest which undermined productivity
   INFLEXIBLE SYSTEM- SYSTEMIC WEAKNESS

Question 8

how did Gorbachev tackle alcoholism

Answer 8

-raises prices of wine, beer and vodka
-limits the places and times where alcohol could be sold
-arrests for public drunkenness at work

Question 9

Policy of Perestroika

Answer 9

‘restructuring’
April 1985
-planned a decentralisation of the economy
-a degree of self-management was given but state ownership remained
-managers can now implement changes without soviet permission
-state business given a budget to use as they saw fit
-worse before better, ended state price controls which negatively impacted many soviets as things became more expensive

Question 10

Policy of Glasnost

Answer 10

‘openness’
1988
-implemented following Chernobyl, Soviets tried to censor it but realised it was too difficult
-soviet news agency (TASS) begin to release regular reports on the event
-realisation that dissidents (like Andre Sakharov) caused lots of damage through exposure
-from 1988 Glasnost implemented a valuation of Soviet History and a debate surrounding government actions, such as party purges and forced collectivisation (they could do this as most of these events took place during Stalin’s rule and now him, and most of his supporters in government, were long dead)

Question 11

Constitutional reforms

Answer 11

-1989
-congress of People’s Deputies was elected
-the first national elections held by the soviets
-not a parliament but it did represent different strands of public opinion

Question 12

the economic impact of the Arms Race

Answer 12

-renewal of the cold war led to a renewal of the arms race
-Carter imposes economic sanctions and boycotts, such as the boycott of the 1980 Russian Olympics
-Reagan increases US military spending and the announcement of his Strategic Defensive Imitative (SDI) in 1983 created fear

Question 13

Impact of material support for the satellite states

Answer 13

-expensive and unsustainable
-USSR stopped the export of fuel and raw materials due to their own economic crisis
-alienated the satellites, push to west
-1985, Comecon and the European commission make contact, aim to further trade and in June 1988, trade between the two was officialised
-no longer HAD to trade with the USSR

Question 14

Gorbachev’s new way of economic thinking

Answer 14

linked his internal policies with outer relations, needed to maintain peace in order to develop, needed a strong economy to develop

Question 15

impact of oil crisis on the USSR

Answer 15

-sporadic growth due to price drop in the 1980s
-couldn’t capitalise on the oil sector
-unsustainable growth, main income was now from the sale of armaments

Question 16

Impact of grain on the USSR’s economy

Answer 16

-USSR depended on foreign grain, developed this in the 70s and 80s
-could not feed itself
-demand for grain increased
-to fix this Reagan ended the trade embargo in 1981 and Gorbachev encouraged foreign investment

Question 17

impact of the Afghan war on the USSR’s economy

Answer 17

-expensive, CIA estimate of 15 billion rubles spent by 1986
-had to withdraw (1988) which impacted prestige

Question 18

Impact of Perestroika

Answer 18

-decreased standard of living as the prices of goods rose
-a small, entrepreneurial class benefitted
-most citizens were governemnt employees with static wages

Question 19

Agreements with western companies following perestroika

Answer 19

-made 61 joint venture agreements with western companies by 1988
-brough capital as well as technological developments

Question 20

inflation and alcohol following Gorbachev’s reforms

Answer 20

-inflation still rampant, by 1988 the deficit was 13%, USA’s was 3.5%
-soviet GNP and price of consumer goods increase significantly
-Alcohol policies were not effective, cost the USSR almost 100 Billion Rubles in taxes lost due to the drop in consumption
-black market alcohol begins to thrive

Question 21

impact of glasnost

Answer 21

-combined with economic problems, these led to a questioning of soviet policies
-criticism of agriculture
-paved the way for agricultural reforms, Gorbi oversaw the end of collectivisation
-while privatisation for farmers increased productivity, other sectors began to demand for these changes too (eg industrial)

Question 22

Cost of Bureaucracy

Answer 22

-Apparatchiks, people in government who had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo (eg corruption)
-Gorbi needed to remove all corrupt apparatchiks in gov to restore the economy
-resulted in a transformation of the government and electoral systems that allowed for SOME public choice in representatives (was not a reformation of the USSR, instead it led to its downfall

Question 23

Overall, how effective were Gorbachev’s economic reforms?

Answer 23

Good: by the end of the 1980s the USSR was still solvent
Bad: sever economic problems, Perestroika and Glasnost only undermined Soviet control/the communist system. Reforms were not all that effective

Question 24

Summary of Gorbachev’s time in power, his reforms and what he understood

Answer 24

-by Chernenko’s death, the Soviet people were ready for change
-G new there needed to be change from above
-G was initially popular with his people, his reforms were welcomed after the economic stagnation of the Brezhnev era
-arguable that the USSR was always going to fail? couldn’t survive the economic crisis
-G became much less popular when his reforms began to fail, the more freedoms the soviet people were given, the more support G lost
-Gorbachev began economic reforms but because the implementation of them was so inconsistent, the cost of these reforms led to debt and inflation

Question 25

Gorbachev and the west

Answer 25

-Gorbymania, they loved him
-key player in ending the cold war
-convinced the west that he wanted change
-the less popular he became within the USSR, the more popular he became in the west