Gorbachev Flashcards
(12 cards)
Q1: What were the main economic problems in the USSR during the 1980s
A1: The USSR faced falling GDP, poor food supply, widespread alcoholism, pollution, and a failing healthcare system. Infant mortality and disease rates were high, and productivity was low due to unmotivated, unsackable workers.
Q2: How did the war in Afghanistan affect the Soviet Union
A2: It cost $8 billion a year, caused thousands of deaths, left many soldiers addicted to drugs, and drained the economy. It was seen as the USSR’s “Vietnam” and highlighted Soviet overreach.
Q3: What were Gorbachev’s two key domestic reform policies
A3: Perestroika (economic restructuring) and Glasnost (openness and transparency), aimed at modernizing the economy and allowing more freedom of speech and political participation.
Q4: What was the INF Treaty and why was it significant?
A4: The INF Treaty (1987) was signed by Gorbachev and Reagan to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons. It was the first treaty to reduce nuclear arms rather than just limit them.
Q5: What was the Sinatra Doctrine and how did it differ from the Brezhnev Doctrine?
A5: The Sinatra Doctrine allowed Eastern Bloc countries to make their own choices without Soviet interference. It replaced the Brezhnev Doctrine, which had justified using force to maintain communist regimes.
Q6: What symbolic moment marked the collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe?
A6: The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, following mass protests and the opening of borders by Hungary and East Germany.
Q7: What major speech did Gorbachev give at the UN in 1988 and what did he announce?
A7: Gorbachev renounced the use of force in foreign policy, committed to human rights, promised democratic reforms, and announced unilateral troop reductions in Eastern Europe.
Q8: What was the “Velvet Revolution”?
A8: A peaceful wave of revolutions in Eastern Europe in 1989 that led to the fall of Communist governments in countries like Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, enabled by Gorbachev’s non-intervention policy.
Q9: How did Gorbachev view the arms race?
A9: He believed it was economically crippling and morally corrupting. He saw it as a major reason for the USSR’s stagnation and pushed for disarmament.
Q10: What did Gorbachev mean when he said “Freedom of choice is a universal principle”?
A10: He argued that no government should deny its people the right to choose their own path, including politically and ideologically — a radical stance for a Soviet leader.
Q11: How did Gorbachev’s foreign policy contribute to the end of the Cold War?
A11: By reducing military tension, promoting dialogue with the West, ending Soviet domination in Eastern Europe, and embracing reforms, he removed the ideological and physical barriers of the Cold War.
Q12: What did Gorbachev acknowledge in his 1991 farewell speech?
A12: That the USSR was rich in resources and talent, but the bureaucratic and militarized system had stifled growth and distorted society — he saw reform as essential.
