Chapter 21

• Why was Soviet leadership so ineffective: 1979-85?

  Gerontocracy

  -weak leadership prevented strong decision making
• When did Brezhnev lead the USSR?

  1964-1982
• What political problems arose due to Brezhnev's poor health?

  - had made SALT II agreements with Ford, but questionable whether he understood the terms of the agreements

  -poor health and confusion led to increasingly ineffective diplomacy

  -leadership often argued, marking the beginning of economic and political stagnation that resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union
• When was Andropov in power?

  1982-84
• What political reforms did Andropov attempt to undertake?

  -Attempted to start domestic reform/ economic improvements

  -Half-heartedly explored negotiations to withdraw from Afghanistan
• When was Chernenko in power?

  1984-5
• What political problems arose due to Chernenko's poor health?

  -Did little to prevent escalation of the Cold War

  -Conservative to represented the desire of the Politburo to avoid reforms
• What technological problems were there in the Soviet Union 1965-1985?

  Technology lacked far behind the USA

  -e.g., 1980s USSR 50,000 PCs

  USA- 30 million PCs

  
  

  Technology such as hand help copying machines were allowing soviet people to express their opinions leading to a growth of Samizdat (dissident literature)
• What political problems were there in the Soviet Union 1965-1985?


  -Gerontocracy had left an aged, stagnant leadership

  -Neither Andropov nor Chernenko had the political clout to effect change

  -1985, Gorbachev inherited an economic crisis
• What problems with dissent were there in the Soviet Union 1965-1985?

  -To keep the country fed, Brezhnev had to increase agricultural imports, leading to criticism from government

  -most critics came from soviet citizens who realised the regime of stalinist terror wouldn't return so disregarded their own safety to speak their minds

  -gap between wages and cost if living led to worker discontent and strikes

  -pressure groups becoming more vocal like "Mothers against war"
• What problems were there in the Soviet Union 1965-1985 with foreign policy?

  -Unsuccessful war in Afghanistan was a financial drain

  -1970s, the USSR spent $80 billion subsidising the Eastern bloc

  -Serious lack of foreign investment stifled innovation and growth
• What socio-economic problems were there in the Soviet Union 1965-1985?

  -food shortages

  -massive military expenditure

  -Black market flourished as consumer goods were limited

  -USSR suffered serious problems of alcoholism which impacted productivity
• Pressure on Gorb- crop failures and food shortages


  -Brezhnev's attempts at agricultural reform had been blocked by communist hardliners

  -poor grain harvests in 1972 and 1975 led to food shortages

  -the government had to purchase grain from abroad at the expense of devoting funding to the production of consumer goods
• Pressure on Gorb- huge military expenditure

  -25% of GNP was spent on military every year from 1964-1982

  -pressure for higher spending to match with Reagan's 'starwars'

  -worsened by draining war in Afghanistan
• Pressure on Gorb- continued lack of consumer goods


  -during the 1980s the availability of consumer goods remained limited, desire an emphasis on them in the ninth and tenth year plans
• Pressure on Gorb- reliance on central planning


  -the inflexible, slow and corrupt system of central planning tended to reject innovation and ignore consumer demand
• Pressure on Gorb- worker discontent


  -workers wages rarely stayed in line with inflation, leading to unrest and frequent strikes

  -stagnating living standards led to a decline in morale and productivity

  -there was poor air and water quality in the towns and cities due to a lack of environmental standards

  -alcoholism= absenteeism and low productivity
• When was the Chernobyl disaster?

  April 1986
• What problems did the Chernobyl disaster highlight for Gorbachev?

  The technological incompetence of the USSR and the dangers of radiation contamination

  It showed him how nuclear power could destroy mankind
• When was Gorbachev's new thinking announced?

  1988
• What reforms did Gorbachev introduce through his "new thinking"?

  Perestroika

  Glasnost

  new thinking in foreign policy
• What was perestroika?


  reconstruction of the political and economic system, opening up the USSR to foreign investment and allowing some degree of self-management within businesses

  It ended state price control
• What was Glasnost?


  policy of "openness," which was applied to the loosening of censorship in the Soviet Union. citizens were allowed more freedom to discuss political problems.

  Former enemies of the state were rehabilitated. e.g, physicist Sakharov
• How was Comecon impacted by Gorbachev's 'new thinking'? (FP)

  1985Secretary General of ComeconSychovcontacted the president of the European commission suggesting mutual diplomatic recognition. The process concluded in1988when the European Commission could trade with Comecon members- rendering it obsolete.
• How did Gorbachev's new policies impact Soviet Citizens?

  -The general public saw a decreased standard of living and were suffering hardships

  -a small entrepreneurial class benefitted from relaxation

  -most soviet citizens were government employees who had a static wage that didn't match inflation, making food very expensive
• What changed as a result of Gorbachev's alcohol policies?

  -Alcohol policies implemented by Gorbachev didn't have the desired affect and cost the Soviet government almost100 billion rubles in taxes lostdue to a drop in official consumption-economic distress grew as vineyards and distilleries were forced to close-Alcohol was still readily available on the black market
• How did Gorbachev's new policies impact the Soviet budget?

  -Economic and foreign policies had been made to eliminate the Soviet budget deficit, but by1988that deficit was approximately13%of Soviet GNP-Consumer prices increased significantly and inflation was rampant
• How did Gorbachev's new policies impact agriculture?

  -end to collectivisation and a transition into privatisation where farmers were granted long-term leases in an attempt to improve productivity.
• How did Gorbachev's new policies impact foreign investment?

  -The soviets made61 joint-venture agreementswith western companies by1988, brining much needed capital and technological investments to the USSR-redundant and corrupt components of GOSPLAN eliminated-The transition into a market economy was costly and difficult
• How did Gorbachev's policies affect criticism and changes in the communist party?

  -An economic problem was the cost of a very large and corrupt bureaucracy

  -to eliminate this Gorbachev need to remove the apparatchiks who benefitted from the system. This meant a transformation of government and a system of government that allowed the public some choice in their representatives
• Law on Joint Ventures

  allowed foreign ownership of no more than 49% of business also this has been extended to 100% by 1990
• Law on State Enterprises

  1988

  aimed to decentralise authority and devolve the decision-making down to business and enterprises themselves