Fall of the USSR Flashcards
(38 cards)
What are the 4 main reasons for the fall of the USSR?
- Economic Weakness
- Gorbachev’s reform
- Nationalism of the republics
- Role of Yeltsin
What were the 4 long-term economic problems in the Soviet Union?
- Centralisation = wasteful
- Decline in production and productivity in industry + agriculture
- Degradation of soviet infrastructure
- High military expenditure
Give evidence of the Soviet Union’s slowing economic growth.
Annual economic growth slowed from 7.1% in the 1950s to 0.6% by 1980.
Give evidence of high military spending
- war in Afghanistan + Arms Race
= military spending was 17% of GDP from 1965-1985
When did the Soviet Government go bankrupt?
Summer of 1991
Give evidence of Gorbachev losing control of the union.
USSR lost control of Azerbaijan by 1989
Give evidence that Gorbachev’s economic reforms failed to rejuvenate the economy.
In 1991, steel production declined by 12%
What are two potential argument aspects for economic weakness being the primary cause of the fall of the USSR.
- Economic weakness = lower standards of living = popular discontent
- Nature of economy (inflexible and unproductive) made reforms destined to fail. It could not adapt to perestroika reforms and problems exposed by glasnost could not be solved.
Give an example of low productivity in the Soviet Union.
Soviet farms were 6 times less productive than farms in the USA.
Give an example of the centralised economy being un-coordinated and inefficient.
Fertilisers arrived at the wrong time, hampering crop growth.
Give an example of poor infrastructure resulting in poor distribution and waste.
In 1990, 218 million tonnes of grain was produced, but there were still shortages due to poor distribution.
Give 2 examples of how Gorbachev tried to reform the soviet economy.
- June 1987 = Law on State Enterprise
- May 1988 = Law on Co-operatives
Give 3 points evidencing nationalism.
- Ethnic dissent and clashes
- Election of Nationalist Candidates
- Political unrest and Declarations of Independence
Give an example of ethnic clashes in the republics.
1989 - Uzbeks massacred the muslim minority of Meskhetian Turks.
Give an example of the clash between Soviet and Nationalist identity.
1986 - protests in Kazakhstan after the Kazakh Secretary of the Communist Party was replaced with a Russian.
Give an example of a republic where a nationalist candidate won, and gained a majority in the Republic’s parliament.
Lithuania
Give 3 examples of political unrest and declarations of independence.
- Unrest in the Eastern Bloc - solidarity movement, Poland
- Fight for Baltic Independence - rise of popular fronts which later became mass organisations
- 1991 - Moldova, Ukraine and Azerbaijan declare independence
Nationalism was both a cause and a consequence of the fall of the USSR.
Give 4 reasons for growing nationalism.
- Present Sentiment
- Reform
- Events and Momentum
- August Coup
Causes of Nationalism -
Present Sentiment
- Living memory = many of the Baltic States only joined the USSR in the 1940s, so members of the population could still remember independence.
Soviet nationalism failed to be created as was strongly based on Russian values.
Causes of Nationalism -
Reform
- Political re-structuring + renewal (purges)
- Glasnost
- The Sinatra Doctrine
Causes of Nationalism -
Events and Momentum
- Revolutions in Eastern Europe were successful. Nationalists in the non-Russian hoped they could do the same. Eg. Poland 1988/1989
- Soviet violence against Georgian Nationalists + the inability to restore peace in Azerbaijan led to a loss of faith in government and increased ethnic tensions. Soviet forces were blamed failing to prevent violence in some areas, and being to harsh in others.
Causes of Nationalism -
Coup of August 1990
- Coup of August 1990 = example of Russian Nationalism
- hard-liners in the party wanted Gorbachev’s radical reforms to the USSR to be separate from Russia.
Causes of Nationalism - Gorbachev’s Reform
Purges
Purges = Gorbachev introduced a largely Russian leadership across the whole of the USSR when he tried to purge the party of Brezhnev’s supporters who he believed to be corrupt.
- this sparked resentment in the Republics as they felt they weren’t properly represented. The appointment of Russian leaders also co-incided with further economic decline, so they blamed the Russians for their declining standards of living.
Causes of Nationalism - Gorbachev’s Reform
Glasnost
Glasnost = policy of openness + transparency
- exposed the ways in which Stalin had persecuted the USSR’s ethnic minorities, which heightened ethnic tensions
- allowed people to see the higher standards of living in the West, undermining the perception that the USSR had benefitted people in the Republics
- the release of political prisoners and greater media freedoms allowed nationalist groups to publish material that demanded greater autonomy. This demonstrated that the Communist Party had little popular support and helped independence movements to gather momentum.
