Gorbachev & the Collapse of Soviet Control over Eastern Europe (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History)

Who was Mikhail Gorbachev?

Why was There a Need for 'New Thinking'?

• By 1985, the USSR had serious economic and social issues

• When Gorbachev became leader, the USSR was close to economic collapse

  • He believed that reform would:

    • Save the Communist economy

    • Increase the happiness of the citizens in the USSR and its satellite states

Perestroika - 'Restructuring'

• To reform the economy, Gorbachev began the process of perestroika 

  • Perestroika is the Russian word for 'restructuring'

• The policies involved in perestroika were:

  • The reduction of military spending

    • The Red Army to became smaller

  • The ending of the arms race with the USA

  • The introduction of more capitalist elements in the economy

    • Gorbachev allowed the establishment of small, privately-owned businesses

    • The USSR removed the restrictions on foreign trade, allowing businesses to trade more freely with other countries

  • A reduction in the government control of businesses

Glasnost - 'Openness'

• The second aspect of Gorbachev's reforms was glasnost 

  • Glasnost is the Russian term for 'openness'

• The policies involved in glasnost were:

  • Less restrictions on censorship and freedom of speech

    • The citizens of the USSR could discuss and criticise the government

    • There was less Soviet control of the media

  • The USSR took responsibility for past repression

    • For example, the Soviet government admitted that the Hungarian Uprising and the Prague Spring were peaceful attempts at reform

  • The USSR would allow opposition to their government 

    • In 1988, there were discussions about allowing elections

  • A commitment to tackle corruption within the Soviet government

• This approach helped to improve relations with the West

  • Between 1985 and 1989, Gorbachev attended a series of summits with Reagan, the president of the USA

  • In 1988, Gorbachev spoke at the UN 

    • Gorbachev's speech confirmed the USSR’'s commitment to reforms

    • Gorbachev and Reagan formed a strong diplomatic relationship

The End of Communism in Eastern Europe

The End of the USSR

• Reform in Eastern Europe affected the Warsaw Pact

  • The USSR no longer had influence over Eastern Europe. By early 1990, the USSR had to stop its military cooperation with Eastern Europe

  • The USSR ended the Warsaw Pact in July 1991

• The collapse of the Eastern Bloc placed Gorbachev in a dangerous position in the USSR

  • Devout Communists blamed Gorbachev for weakening the USSR

  • The USSR lost control of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania throughout 1990

• In August 1991, a group of Communist Party members called the 'Gang of Eight' attempted a coup against Gorbachev

  • The coup demanded complete control of the USSR and the declaration of a state of emergency in the country

  • Gorbachev refused and the 'Gang of Eight' kept him under house arrest

• The coup against Gorbachev failed because:

  • The coup lacked popular support

  • Prominent Communists like Boris Yeltsin spoke out against the coup 

  • Gorbachev was able to continue to govern the USSR

• The Communist Party no longer respected Gorbachev

  • The coup ruined Gorbachev's reputation across the USSR

  • 12 states of the USSR  joined together to create the Commonwealth of Independent States

    • As a result, Gorbachev could no longer rule the USSR

    • On 25th December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary of the USSR

IMAGE

A map showing the dates when communist governments collapsed in Eastern Europe

Actions of the USA

• The USA contributed to the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe

  • US President Reagan took a strong stance against the USSR

    • The Reagan Doctrine gave support to anti-Communist groups attempting to overthrow Communist governments

    • On 8th March 1983, Reagan made a speech calling the USSR an ‘evil empire’

    • He developed an idea called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The USA was forcing the USSR to collapse its economy by over-spending on its defence budget

  • After seeing Gorbachev’s attempts at reform, Reagan pursued friendly relations with the USSR

    • Summits from 1985 to 1989 improved relations between the USA and the USSR

    • In December 1987, the superpowers agreed to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) treaty. The treaty agreed to abolish all land missiles with a range of between 500km and 5,500km

Events in the USSR

• By the 1980s, the USSR’s economy was failing

• The USSR could no longer economically support the satellite states

• The USSR had invaded Afghanistan in 1979

  • It was a costly and unsuccessful war

  • The Red Army could not fight against the guerrilla warfare tactics of the Mujahideen

  • Gorbachev signed a treaty to end the war in 1988

• Political control began to weaken

  • Gorbachev’s reforms encouraged countries to speak out against their Communist governments

  • Ukraine and Lithuania demanded independence from the USSR

• The USSR contained politicians who wanted to focus on strengthening Russia rather than Eastern Europe

  • Boris Yeltsin was the president of the Soviet Republic of Russia in May 1990

  • By 1990, Yeltsin became the most influential political leader in Russia