collapse of soviet control + gorbachev

• what were gorbachev's 2 main messages


  "we wont intervene" - the USSR would no longer send red army

  "you have to reform" - communism needed to be redesigned
• perestroika (restructuring the economy)

  • wanted to make the economy more efficient
  • encouraged private ownership of industry + agriculture
  • reduce state control on exports and imports
  • increase in production and trade in customer goods
• glastnost (freedom)

  • freedom of media
  • allowed criticism of government
  • gorbachev revealed stalin's true harsh past
• reduced military spending

  • reduced the size of the red army
  • withdrew troops from afghanistan
  • talked of international cooperation and trust
  • meetings with Reagan (US increased military spending)
• eastern bloc collapse in 1989

  june - solidarity wins elections - non comm gov

  sep - 1000s east germans refuse to come back after going on 'holiday'

  oct - demonstrations in east germany, Honecker told to reform, soviet troops would not interfere

  nov - berlin wall pulled down after soldiers refuse to fire on protests

  nov - czech demonstrations , comm gov thrown out, borders with west opened

  dec - romanian dictator removed, hungary announces free elections

  oct 1990 - east and west germany unite
• collapsed because of USSR situation

  • industry + agriculture were bad so needed expensive imports
  • increased arms race spending meant many were living in poverty
  • people saw how successful the west was, lost faith in gov
  • USSR needed to fix themselves, no desire to control Europe
• collapsed because of Gorbachev

  • perestroika restructured economy made it more capitalist
  • glasnost allowed open criticism of government
  • gorbachev made it clear he would not get involved in european affairs
• collapsed because of solidarity in poland

  • showed that the only thing keeping communism in power was the use of force
  • encouraged other countries to stand up to communism
  • first non-communist government
• collapsed because of western leaders like reagan

  • west increased military spending so that the USSR could not compete
  • reagan increased by 32 million dollars
  • reagan and gorbachev got on quite well so he felt less threatened