Mikhail Gorbachev

• • radical - favouring changes in the communist system, but not revolutionary
  • inherited soviet system that was in deterioration
• did not want continuation of arm race, proposed to freeze nuclear arsenals and stop further deployment of missiles
• did not wanted to abolish communism, only wanted some reforms like more social consciousness and greater openness in USSR
• wanted to renew dialogue and negotiations with USA - needed trades between USSR and western powers to improve economy
• rose to power in 1985
• USSR's command economy

  • means of production in USSR were owned and directly wholly by the state
  • economy was planned by the govt - production targets, resource allocation, prices were all set by soviet govt
• • USSR command economy relied on adaptiveness ingenuity of the planner to continuously meet demands of its society
  • inherent flaw of the system - this system does not give planners or producers incentives to sense economic demand and adjust production
  • led to inefficiency and low productivity in the soviet economy by 1960s - USSR suffered from economic problems for a long period of time
  • USSR could not keep up with globalisation and the emergence of the information economy
• due to USSR command economy,

  • by 1980s, only 8% of soviet industry was competitive at world standards
  • economic growth slowed down to a rate of 2% and less in early 1980s
  • its economy was far worser than USA
  • raw material exports made it better, but the global fall in oil price after 1982 limit revenues from such exports
• the soviet economy in the 1980s resembled more a 3rd world country rather than an industrialised capitalist economy of the western bloc
• in 1983, GDP of USSR was 993 while that of USA was 3507
• • USSR also had high defence spending to keep up with the west in cold war
  • by 1980s, defence consumed as much as 40% of USSR GDP, at the expense of consumer goods and investment in civilian sectors
  • USA military expenditure was only 6% of USA GDP
  • Yet, USSR's was spending an estimated of US$250bil less than USA on military
  • there was not enough GDP in USSR to match USA's defence spending levels
• • in post-war period, USSR extracted economic benefits from its dominance of the countries in E.E.
  • however, the soviet satellite states in E.E. suffered from the same structural problems as USSR (eg command economy)
  • by 1980s, this became a huge economic burden on USSR
  • USSR had to give high levels of subsidies to E.E. to support the unpopular pro-soviet regimes, especially after crisis and repression, such as in poland and hungary in 1956
• • by 1979, soviet economic aid to E.E. was $7.2bil per year - drained USSR economy
  • USSR also sold oil cheaply to E.E. after the 1970s oil price hikes - USSR potential hard earning currency lost
  • high soviet defence spending was also incurred to maintain military pressure across E.E. to strengthen communist rule
  • by 1976, soviet military aid to E.E. amounted to $714mil per year
• • USSR also threw in a lot of money for the soviet-afghan war
  • from their initial invasion to 1986, USSR spent about 15bil rubles on war in afghanistan
  • USSR also channelled 3.5bil rubles of economic assistance to support pro-soviet afghan govt
• bureaucracy: a system of government in which power is vested in a large number of officials
• the Soviet Union faced significant challenges during the early 1980s due to economic difficulties and political instability.
• while gorbachev's foreign policy was successful, gorbachev's domestic policies would unleash forces that would ultimately contribute to the end of communism in E.E., as well as disintegration of the USSR itself
• Gorbachev's new thinking in foreign affairs

  • main objective was to end cold war
  • concluded that soviet defence burden crippled USSR and hinder his domestic reforms
  • felt that peaceful external environment was a necessary condition for reforms
  • felt that ideological conflict (superpower rivalry) had little place in international affairs
• New Thinking

  • remove ideology from foreign and security policy-making
  • peaceful coexistence with the west - no winner in nuclear war/ arm race / cold war
  • global interdependence and collective solutions to common problems 


  Fundamental Changes in Soviet Foreign Policy

  • ending nuclear arms race
  • withdrawing from superpower rivalry in 3rd world
  • loosening control over E.E.
• gorbachev believed that increasing soviet military power would not improve relations with the west - he introduced the idea of 'reasonably sufficient' where USSR should not pursue parity with the west and only possess sufficient military forces for its defence
• Geneva Summit; nov 1985

  • reagan and gorbachev met to discuss the arms race and the need for disarmament
  • both leaders expressed their desire for a world free from the threat of nuclear war
  • relations between both countries improved
  • arms controls negotatiations met a deadlock due to reagan's commitment to SDL - reagan did not want to give up on SDL
• Revkjavik Summit; oct 1986

  • gorbachev offered comprehensive concessions
  • proposed the 'zero option', which included removal of all SS-20s from europe
  • reagan was keen to agree, but could not accept gorbachev's insistence on reducing commitment on SDI
  • hence no agreement made
• chernobyl disaster (april 1986) and USSR deteriorating economic situation intensified gorbachev's anti-nuclear feelings during the reykjavik summit
• Post Reykjavik; 1987

  • gorbachev discarded mutual agreement on SDI as a condition for disarmament talks
  • FEB 1987: gorbachev accepted the 'zero option' that reagan offered (to remove all IRBM from europe)
  • APRIL 1987: gorbachev proposed the 'double zero option' to eliminate not just IRBM but also SRBM
• Washington Summit; dec 1987

  • both sides signed the INF (intermediate-range nuclear forces) treaty based on the 'double zero option'
  • reduced arms and eliminated a whole class of nuclear weapons (removing all IRBM and SRBM from europe)
  • marked the first success of gorbachev's new thinking
• Moscow Summit; 1988

  • finalised the INF treaty
  • discussed bilateral issues in central america, sourthern africa, middle east and the pending withdrawal of soviet troops in afghanistan
• 2 months after START was signed,

  • USA ordered its nuclear forces to stand down from 24hours strategic alert status
  • shows that USA no longer perceived USSR as a military threat - confirmed the end of arms race
  • no longer great mutual distrust between both countries
• START

  • unsuccessful since 1982 due to disagreements on SDI
  • in 1989, gorbachev removed his objections in SDI after USA laser test failed
  • in dec 1991, both side signed START that eliminated large numbers of ICBMs - by 35% and 50% respectively for USA and USSR
• Gorbachev speech at UN; dec 1988

  • gorbachev announced USSR would reduce unilaterally its force by half a million in 2 years
  • announced defence spending cuts - hoping that it presents proof to the west and the rest of the world that USSR was military posture to a defensive one
  • announced that USSR would not get involved within the politics of E.E.
  • declared that ideology had no place in international affairs
  • called for freedom of choice for all nations and was against the use of force
• since 1968, USSR had stick to the brezhnev doctrine in its relations with E.E., which upheld that USSR had the right to use military force to maintain strict rule of communist party in socialist countries brezhnev doctrine was abolished after gorbachev came to power as he was against the use of force
• in gorbachev's speech at UN

  • he signalled to E.E. states that they would have freedom of choice
  • he spoke out against the use of force as an instrument of foreign policy - he would not use force to maintain soviet dominance over E.E.
  • dissociating himself from brezhnev doctrine
  • promised to reduce soviet military presence in E.E. by 500,000 troops, 10,000 tanks and more by 1991
• in july 1989,

  • gorbachev announced the sinatra doctrine - offered satellite states in E.E. the right to choose their own path
  • departed from brezhnev doctrine
  • he assumed E.E. states would choose socialism yet most E.E. states eventually dissociated themselves from socialism and went on to elect democratic govt
• Within a few months in 1989,

  • all pro-soviet communist regimes either disintegrated or were drastically changes
  • due to the lack of political legitimacy of communist regimes and widespread economic problems
  • also due to people power
• • communism was imposed on the E.E. states since stalin's time
  • people did not want to be ruled under communism but were forced to
  • when they have the chance to, they want to break free from communism
• Dissolution of Communism in Hungary; 1988

  • economic problems forced hungary's long-time communist leader to step aside in 1988 in favour of reformists
  • FEB 1988: communist party abandoned its leading roles and legalised independent political groups
  • MAY 1988: border fences between hungary and the west were dismantled - allowing east german refugees to enter west germany
  • by OCT 1989: hungarian communist party was dissolved
• Perestroika; 1985

  • economic restructuring of the soviet economy
  • decentralised planning system and loosened state control themselves according to demand
  • monopoly on foreign trade relaxed
  • some foreign investments allowed
• Perestroika; 1985

  • economic restructuring of the soviet economy
  • decentralised planning system and loosened state control themselves according to demand
  • enterprises able to determine production levels
  • monopoly on foreign trade relaxed
  • some foreign investments allowed

  gave enterprises greater responsibilities and incentives to plan and increase production for profits, provide competitiveness
• negative impacts of perestroika

  • soviet economy actually deteriorated
  • worsened shortage of food and other basic necessities - enterprises faced challenge adapting to market demands
  • perestroika did not include measures to protect/promote new businesses - many firms crippled due to lack of protection
  • inflation - rise in foreign debt 


  sharp deterioration of economic state of USSR reduced govt's capacity to cope with challenges from SSRs
• Glasnost; 1986

  • open discuss for social and political issues
  • make soviet governance more transparent and open to debate
  • hoped that exposing USSR's problems would make public support his reforms and place pressure on conservatives
  • the right to critisise whatever stood in the way of gorbachev's reforms
  • need for glasnost was demonstrated through the chernobyl explosion as the govt attempted to control the flow of info to public
• negative consequences of glasnost

  • eliminated fear in soviet people that had controlled them since stalin time - the fear held USSR tgt in a way
  • the more freedom he gave his people, the more they used it to stop supporting him and the system he represented
  • massive protests against gorbachev and CPSU became a frequent affair - undermined legitimacy of CPSU govt and communism (soviets did not trust their govt and rules)
  • fuelled nationalism