The actions of Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe.

Question 1

What were the economical problems in the Soviet Union when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader?

Answer 1

ECONOMIC PROBLEM: ARMS RACE
Brezhnev had spent huge sums of money on weapons to keep up with the USA in the arms race. The Soviet economy struggled with little industrial growth.

Question 2

What were the social problems in the Soviet Union when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader?

Answer 2

SOCIAL PROBLEM 1: POVERTY
People living in the Soviet Union were living in poverty. There was little food, fuel or goods available & living conditions were poor.
SOCIAL PROBLEM 2: HUMAN RIGHTS
There were few human rights such as freedom of speech and high amounts of censorship. This led to protests in some states such as Poland. Here, a trade union called Solidarity with 10 million members challenged the Communist government.
SOCIAL PROBLEM 3: USE OF SECRET POLICE
The Soviet Union were worried about protests. They brought in even tight controls such as using the secret police, interrogating protestors and imprisoning them without trials.

Question 3

What were the political problems in the Soviet Union when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader?

Answer 3

POLITICAL PROBLEM: POOR LEADERSHIP
The Soviet Union had suffered from poor leadership. The leaders wanted to compete with America and not look after their own people. Many leaders had suffered from poor health and did not have long in power. Between 1982-1985 there were 3 leaders and little was achieved.

Question 4

What were the reputation problems in the Soviet Union when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader?

Answer 4

REPUTATION: CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER 1986
In 1986, there was an explosion at a nuclear power station called Chernobyl. The blast released 100x more radiation than in the atom bombs used at the end of the war. The Soviet Union tried to cover up the nuclear disaster. It proved how more advanced other countries were and how poor the nuclear technology was in the Soviet Union.

Question 5

Gorbachev’s New Policies (PERESTROIKA)

Answer 5

PERESTROIKA
Perestroika is a Russian word for ‘reconstruction’. He wanted to re-organise the economy. He wanted to improve the Soviet economy. He controversially wanted to make communism more like capitalism in order to make money.

Question 6

Gorbachev’s new policies (Glasnost)

Answer 6

GLASNOST
Glasnost is a Russian for ‘openness’. He wanted the Soviet Government to be more honest with the people and allow its people to speak more openly about their opinions without the fear of the secret police. He hoped glasnost would make the Soviet people trust their government and stop protests.

Question 7

Gorbachev’s new police’s (ENDING THE BREZHNEV DOCTRINE)

Answer 7

ENDING THE BREZHNEV DOCTRINE
The Brezhnev Doctrine stated that any country which wanted to leave the Soviet Union would be threatened by military action by Warsaw Pact troops. Gorbachev now dropped this idea and stated that the Soviet Union would no longer get involved with the desires of other Soviet countries.

Question 8

Gorbachev’s new police’s (reduce spending)

Answer 8

REDUCE SPENDING
Gorbachev promised to reduce spending on nuclear weapons, arms and defence.

Question 9

The consequences of Gorbachev’s new police’s (Perestroika)

Answer 9

Perestroika proved how Communism did not work. This was bad for the reputation of the Soviet Union. It allowed other Soviet states to become more capitalist.

Question 10

The consequences of Gorbachev’s new policies (Glastnost)

Answer 10

Glasnost gave the Soviet people a chance to see how much better life in the West was compared to the East. People could complain about their poor conditions for the first time.

Question 11

The consequences of Gorbachev’s new police’s (ending the Brezhnev doctrine)

Answer 11

Ending the Brezhnev Doctrine allowed other Eastern European states to form their own non communist governments without the fear of being invaded by the Soviet Union. It allowed these countries more freedom to live a western lifestyle and so travel to the west.

Question 12

Summit meetings between both sides (Geneva summit 1985)

Answer 12

Gorbachev and Reagan met for the first time and they both had a positive working relationship and a hope to bring an end to the Cold War.

Question 13

Summit meetings between both sides (Reykjavik Summit 1986)

Answer 13

This meeting was held just after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Gorbachev was worried about the danger of nuclear power and nuclear weapons. No formal agreements were made but again, both sides were willing to work well with each other.

Question 14

Summit meetings between both sides (Washington summit 1987)

Answer 14

Gorbachev agreed to disarm nuclear weapons and reducing spending on arms. He wanted a better relationship with the West.

Question 15

What was agreed on at the Washington summit in 1987?

Answer 15

AGREEMENT: The signing
of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Force
Treaty (INF). It was agreed that both countries would remove and destroy all land based missiles with a range of up to 5,500km.

Question 16

Summit meetings between both sides (Moscow summit 1988)

Answer 16

Gorbachev announced a reduction in the number of Warsaw Pact troops and that the Soviet Union would leave Afghanistan .

Question 17

Summit meetings between both sides (Malta summit 1989)

Answer 17

Gorbachev met with new American President George Bush. This meeting marked the end of the Cold War.

Question 18

How did the US react to Gorbachev’s new attitude?

Answer 18

Ronald Reagan had been elected by the American public in 1981 as he wanted to be even tougher on Communism. It was known as a period called the Second Cold War. However, once Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985, the relationship between the two sides improved. Reagan changed his tactic to work with the Soviet Union to possibly bring an end to the Cold War. Both sides were willing to discuss and negotiate change.