Fall of the USSR

• Economic - Planning for reform

  • Gorbachev recognised economy had become stagnated and economic reforms would need to reverse this
  • The government G had inherited was filled with elderly conservatives who were resistant to change. G would need to replacce them with younger members
  • Romanov was removed from the Politburo July 1985
  • Key reformers such as Yakonov promoted to Central Committee by 1986
• Economic - The anti-alcohol campaign

  • Launched May 1985
  • Excessive alcohol consumption was common amongst workers which reduced their efficiency and damaged the state of the economy
  • Alcohol accounted for 15% of household spending by the mid 1980s
  • Legal age for alcohol was doubled, retail outlets selling alcohol were reduced and the price of vodka tripled
  • Task force of 55,000 Party members was set up to stop the illegal production of alcohol
• Economic - Failure of anti-alcohol campaign

  • 1987 - Soviets over 15 were consuming 16 litres of alcohol annually
  • 4.5 million registered alcoholics
  • Much of what was consumed was produced illegally in dangerous, unhygenic conditions
  • Government lost a revenue of 9% GDP of alcohol sales
• Economic - Twelth Five-Year Plan

  • 1986-1990
  • Theme was 'uskorenie' (acceleration) - idea that a huge injection of government investment would rapidly modernise the economy
  • G predicted it would lead to 20% increase in production levels over 15 years - didn't happen partly due to global circumstances. The plan coincided with fall in international oil prices (66% drop in Soviet oil revenues)
  • Project financed by huge foreign loans - national debt rose 10 million
• Economic - Failing of Twelth Five-year Plan

  • Quantity at the expense of quality - much of what was produced was unusable
  • The agricultural sector swallowed huge sums of money without any increase in productivity, hindering industrial growth
  • G prioritised energy production rather than technology meaning that methods of production continued to be outdated
  • Central planning remained flawed as officials were more concerned with maintaining their own positions rather than fixing the economy
• Economic - Partial Market reform

  • G decided that restruccturing (perestroika) was needed to stimualte growth - he partially introduce elements of free market
• Law on Individual Economic Activity (1986)

  • Allowed people to earn extra money through private work like carrying out repairs in addition to their governement issued job
• Encouragement of Joint Ventures (1987):

  • Allowed foreign firms to set up businesses in the USSR
  • This led to Mcdonald's opening their first branch in Moscow in 1990
• Law on State Enterprises (1987):

  • Power given to factory managers who were allowed to produce whatever products they chose after meeting official targets and set their own prices for the goods produced
• Law on Co-operatives (1988):

  • Legal to set up small-scale businesses
• Economic - failed transition to a market economy

  • July 1989 - State Commission on Economic Reform issued a report calling for a full market economy
  • 500 Day Programme implemented quickly to minimise disruption
  • 1991 - laws passed allowing ownership of private property
  • Stock market created which allowed citizens to buy and sell shares (steel production fell by 12%)
• Political - Early Reforms (1986-88)

  • Replace senior officials that had been close to Brezhnev
  • Glasnost 'openess' 1986 - revealed the brutality of past regimes such as famines of 1930s and Stalin's terror, environmental abuses revealed
  • When conservative members opposed glasnost, G invited intellectuals to publically criticise
  • 27th Party Congress (1986) - G promised more openness and a genuine democracy
  • G began to liberalise media hoping that greater freedom of expression would create a pressure to reform and lead to development
• Political - Expansion of Glasnost

  • 1988 - Tspiko publically criticised Marx and Lenin, attacking the foundations of Communism
  • Foreign newspapers, broadcasters and radios began to be permitted
  • G found it hard to control or halt the policy - the new freedom of expression had unexpected consequences
  • 1989 - over 60,000 political groups in the USSR with many criticising Gorbachev
• Political - Democratisation (1988-90)

  • May 1988 - 19th Party Congress G publically admitted failings under Communism in healthcare, poverty and education
  • Allowed CP candidates to stand in elections in which G hoped people would vote for candidates that would support his desire of reform
  • Elections 1989 - some voters able to choose frrom 12 candidates, several powerful CP members lost power and were replaced by radical reformers (Yeltsin)
  • 1990 - further elections in individual republics of USSR
• Political - Failures of Democratisation

  • Democratisation created a weak government that didn't have the power to bring further reform without risk of losing control of law and order
• Political - Constitutional Reform (1990)

  • March 1990 - G created the position of President - he was worried he would lose so appointed himself which made him unpooular
  • G abolished Article 6 hoping that it would be a symbolic gesture in showing his commitment to reform
  • G forced to rule suing emergency powers due to unpopularity as President - using troops to suppress protests and censored the press
• Sinatra Doctrine - 1985

  • Under Brezhnev , the USSR promised to intervene a satellite state using military force whenever a Communist regime was in danger of collapse (Brehnev Doctrine)
  • Gorbachev spoke at Chernenko's funeral saying he would not support the Brehnev Doctrine
• 1986

  • 27th Party Congress Gorabchev set out new pirotities centred around 'glasnost' (openness)
  • He began exposing government corruption, state of economy, abuses of ethnic minorities and poor standards of living
  • G invited intellectuals to publicly criticse conservative embers who opposed the policy and appointing radical editors to important publication like the Moscow News
  • This fulled nationalists who believed they could do better at governing their own republics
  • G began removing popular local leaders in the republics and replacing them with Russians
• Nationalism - 1987

  • Nationalists started using the increased freedom of expression to publish materials criticsing the government and calling for independence
  • October - mass demonstartions held in Armenia protesting environment caused by industrial policies
• Nationalism - 1988

  • Nationalist broke out in a town of Azerbaijan organising a counter demonstration with violent riots
  • Gorbachev tried to take control off the area but by the end of year lost control of the area completely
  • Nationalist organisaions were set up in Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - they had a strong sense of national identity
  • They called for protection of their native languages and cultural traditions
  • 29th Party Congress G announced the policy of 'democratisation' which allowed multiple candidates to stand in elections on behalf of the CP
• Nationalism - 1989

  • 9th April there were protests in Georgia against the Azerbaijani population - G sent troops to restore order by force and Soviet forces killed 19 Georgian and injuring thousands which became known as the Tbilisi Massacre
  • G was anxious to use force again for fear of weakening his fore further - 'Tbilisi Syndrome'
  • June violence broke out in Uzbekistan when they massacred the Muslim minority of Meskhistians (central gov where unable to restore peace)
• Nationalism - 1990

  • Azerbaijani nationalists carried out a massacre of Armenian minority and organised mass rallies calling for independenc from USSR
  • Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia won majorities in elections declaring independence which was illegal and a direct challenge to the central government
  • Groups opposing Communism recieved 85% of votes in Moscow and 90% in Leningrad
  • Yeltsin decalred laws made by Russian parliament were legally superior to those passed by central Government
  • G proposed a new union treaty giving some more independence
• Nationalism - 1991

  • Rogue elements in armed forces and KGB took over TV station in Vilnius resulting in 13 deaths - G denied giving the order
  • June Yeltsin elected President with 57% vote and Communists only 16%
  • G decided to go on holiday a week before signing treaty and whilst away a coup attempted to remove him from power. 8 senior Communists established an emergency committee to replace G's gov but collapsed as Yeltsin called for a general strike against the plotters
  • G resigned 25th December and USSR ceased t exist on 31st December