interpretations questions

• Endemic nationalism


  The ethnic diversity of the USSR, the fact that most of its people were non-Russians and the existence of semi-autonomous regions within the republic always made the USSR vulnerable to independence movements
• Violent clashes in Nagorno Karabakh, an autonomous region within Azerbaijan, when native Armenians agitated to join the Armenian Republic

  1988
• Ethnic clashes occurred in Georgia, where huge demonstrations in favour of independence were held


  1989
• Ethnic clashes occurred in Kyrgyzstan

  1990
• Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had only been incorporated into the USSR in 1939
• The depth of nationalist feeling in the Baltic Republics was illustrated by 'holding hands for peace' chain in August 1989
• Popular Fronts (Sajudis) calling for independence won a majority in elections to the Supreme Soviet in all 3 Baltic Republics


  1990
• Lithuania declared itself independent from the USSR, quickly followed by Latvia and Estonia

  March 1990
• Gorbachev was to blame for the nationalist insurgence from 1988


  The introduction of multi-candidate elections in 1989 (democratisation) encouraged nationalism in the republics by allowing non-communist candidates who were advocating independence to stand in elections
• Gorbachev was to blame for the nationalist insurgence from 1988


  The ending of the Brezhnev Doctrine and the resultant collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe in 1989 was certain to encourage independence movements within the USSR itself
• Gorbachev was to blame for the nationalist insurgence from 1988


  He mishandled ethnic tensions in the republics, eg the replacement of First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, Kunayev, with an ethnic Russian further inflamed ethnic tensions, as did the imposition of direct control from Moscow over Nagorno-Karabakh in November 1988
• Gorbachev was to blame for the nationalist insurgence from 1988


  His failure to take a firm line with nationalist movements in the Baltic Republics led to the storming of the TV station in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius by rogue elements in the armed forces and the KGB who wanted to pressurise Gorbachev into taking a firmer line against nationalism. At least 13 people died and G's enemies were able to depict him as a repressive leader
• Gorbachev then said he would not oppose independence movements as long as they followed the proper channels
• A referendum held in March 1991 indicated that,with the exception of Georgia and the Baltic Republics, there was little demand for breaking away from the USSR
• Most Soviet republics had no experience of independence and many had benefited from Soviet investment
• The constitution of the USSR allowed a degree of autonomy, eg the teaching of ethnic languages in schools
• The Rukh (People's Movement of Ukraine) was founded but gained little support in the eastern half of the republic


  1989
• Gorbachev's new Union Treaty of August 1991 contained enough concessions to keep support for a continued union alive, and the USSR could certainly have survived without the Baltic Republics and Georgia
• The collapse of the Communist Party itself did not necessarily mean the collapse of the Union; it could have continued as a non-Communist Union
• Boris Yeltsin stirred up nationalism


  Ultimately it was Boris Yeltsin who doomed the USSR by deliberately encouraging Russian nationalism in order to undermine Gorbachev's authority
• Economic problems resulting from Perestroika

  Exacerbated the USSR's economic problems
• Economic problems resulting from Perestroika

  Resources were diverted to the new private shops resulting in shortages in the state-owned shops
• Economic problems resulting from Perestroika


  Led to inflation as the private shops charged higher prices
• Economic problems resulting from Perestroika

  Uncertainty over supplies led to hoarding and panic buying. Rationing had to be introduced in some cities, eg in 1988 meat was rationed in 26 out of the 55 regions of Russia
• Economic problems resulting from Perestroika

  There was a massive increase in corruption eg government officials, afraid of losing their power, demanded bribes from the cooperatives
• By 1989 the economy was in crisis. The government was massively in debt and unpaid wages and food shortages triggered a wave of strikes
• The situation was worsened by a fall in the price of oil upon which the USSR relied as a source of foreign exchange (by 1984 oil accounted for 54% of the USSR's exports)
• Political weaknesses resulting from Glasnost and democratisation


  In March 1989 elections for the Congress of People's Deputies (a new elected body introduced by G in 1988 to act as an independent supervisory body over the government) took place. Non-communists from the Trade Unions and the Union of Writers were allowed to stand. This gave the Soviet people a taste of democracy which eventually destroyed the monopoly of the Communist Party
• Political weaknesses resulting from Glasnost and democratisation

  The policy of Glasnost resulted in an all-out attack on the Communist Party
• Political weaknesses resulting from Glasnost and democratisation

  Gorbachev's political reforms split the Party into liberal and conservative factions which began to appeal to the public in elections in opposition to the government, eg during the elections for the Congress of People's Deputies in 1989, reformers such as Yeltsin formed an Inter-regional Group, and conservatives, worried about the territorial integrity of the USSR, formed Soyuz
• Article 6 was repealed, ending the Communist Party's monopoly of power

  March 1990
• In elections to local Soviets in 1990 Communist Party candidates were defeated across the country, eg in Leningrad the opposition secured 60% of the seats
• Arguably, the USSR's identity was so bound up with that of the Communist Party it could not survive without it
• Leadership of Gorbachev


  Gorbachev was naive and had far too much faith in the ability of his domestic policies to solve the USSR's economic and political problems
• Leadership of Gorbachev


  Perestroika exacerbated the USSR's economic problems and triggered an economic crisis by 1989
• Leadership of Gorbachev


  It proved impossible to create the mixed economy envisaged by Gorbachev as the Communist Party officials had too much power and, in many cases, sabotaged the reforms
• Leadership of Gorbachev


  Gorbachev's political and economic reforms created factions within the Party which undermined its unity and authority and tore it apart
• The report issued by the State Commission on Economic Reform in July 1989 which called for a move to a market-led economy led to a split in the Politburo between the reformers who wanted to implement the recommendations quickly and those who wanted a more gradual transition such as Ryzkhov
• Stanislav Shatalin's 500 days programme (Oct 1989) recommending a rapid move to a market economy further intensified the divisions
• Leadership of Gorbachev


  In 1989 the USSR was at a crossroads and facing a choice between further reform or slowing down reform. G failed to provide clear and decisive leadership and showed an inconsistent attitude to reform because of his desire to maintain the unity of the Communist Party by keeping the support of both the reformers and hardline communists