The Collapse ofCommunism

Eastern Bloc

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics15 Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

7 “Satellites”:

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia

The Collapse ofCommunism

Decline of the “Old Guard”:

U.S./Soviet relationship during Brezhnev era? Czechoslovakia 1968 Brezhnev Doctrine Détente SALT Afghanistan: ends Détente Helsinki Accords Poland: Solidarity Reagan & the “Evil Empire”

Conditions in the Soviet Union in the Brezhnev era? Repression, silencing of dissidents; rigidity & corruption Focus on military at expense of consumer goods continues,

worsens Anti-Semitism How do these conditions affect the opinions of younger Soviets in

the party leadership?

The Collapse ofCommunism

The Collapse ofCommunism

The Collapse ofCommunism

The Ascent of Mikhail Gorbachev:

1985: Rise of the “New Guard”

Initiates an era of reform:

Perestroika: economic reform

Glasnost: “openness,” greater freedom of expression, criticism

Democratization: allowing elections among party members

Renunciation of the Brezhnev Doctrine (1989)

The Collapse ofCommunism

The Collapse ofCommunism

Gorbachev’s Goal? Survival of the USSR:

Central planning/command economy inefficient

Little incentive to improve, significant incentive to hide inefficiencies

Socialist farm system inefficient

Defense spending was unsustainable & fed dissent

The Collapse ofCommunism

1987: Ronald Reagan’s Speech Before the Brandenburg Gate:

“In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards…Even today, the Soviet Union cannot feed itself. The inescapable conclusion is that freedom is the victor. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

The Collapse ofCommunism

1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:

Long-term economic decline

Political stagnation

Foreign relations disasters

Change in Soviet leadership: Gorbachev

Nationalism

The Collapse ofCommunism

1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:

Poland & Solidarity – a little background….

1978: Pope John Paul II (visits in 1979)

1980 protests: occupation of Gdansk shipyards by workers, led by Lech Walesa• Solidarity union refuses to negotiate• Government recognizes Solidarity,

head of the Polish Communist Party replaced, & a Catholic mass broadcast on state-controlled radio

• Elections (among Communists) allowed

1981: Martial law• Solidarity leaders arrested• 1983: Lech Walesa wins Nobel Peace

Prize

The Collapse ofCommunism

1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:

Poland & Solidarity redux…

During 1980s, Solidarity prisoners released

1988: new strikes by workers, union legalized, Lech Walesa becomes intermediary

Communist leadership promises free elections, which Solidarity candidates win by a large margin in 1989

1989: first non-Communist prime minister since 1945, & Gorbachev approves…

In 1990, Lech Walesa would become the 1st freely elected president…

The Collapse ofCommunism

1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:

Hungary

Early in the year, Hungary opens its borders with Austria, breaching the “Iron Curtain”

Leads to thousands of East Germans moving to West Germany

Head of Hungarian Communist Party Janos Kadar (installed after 1956 uprising) removed

“Comrades, It’s Over!”

The Collapse ofCommunism

1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:

Germany & Reunification: Wir sind ein Volk!

West Germany: “Economic Miracle”

East Germany: Stagnation

Popular demonstrations in 1989, Gorby rejects force

East German government resigns; new Communist leaders last only weeks

1989: the Berlin Wall is torn down, on order of the East German government

EEC accepts reunification, & by February 1990, reunification begins

The Collapse ofCommunism

The Collapse ofCommunism

1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:

Not an easy reunion…

Prosperous West Germans pay higher taxes to finance rebuilding the east

Unemployment increases as outdated factories in the east are closed

Global economic slowdown of the 1990s leads to further economic problems

Increase in neo-Nazism; immigrants blamed for economic problems

The Collapse ofCommunism

1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:

Czechoslovakia: the “Velvet Revolution”

Václav Havel, a playwright, leads the charge

Frequently imprisoned, since radio broadcasts against 1968 Soviet intervention

December 1989: Communist leadership, Soviet Union acknowledge 1968 invasion wrong

Alexander Dubcek (remember him?) becomes chairman of Parliament

December 29, 1989: Havel elected President of a free Hungary

The Collapse ofCommunism

1989, “Year of Revolutions, Pt. 2” – Beginning of the End…:

Romania: Not everything was easy… President Nicolae Ceausescu resists Government fires on protesters, leading to full

revolt Ceausescu & wife are captured, tried, & executed

on Dec. 25

The Collapse ofCommunism

Meanwhile, “back in the USSR”….:

Why didn’t the Soviet Union intervene as their satellite nations imploded?

Early 1990: Gorbachev proposes abandonment of one-party power

Who challenges Gorbachev?

“Conservative”: hard-line Communists clinging to old ways… “Radical Reformers”: believers in “shock therapy,” including their

leader Boris Yeltsin

At the same time, Soviet republics resists, especially Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (remember them?)

Gorby uses military to suppress; what’s the difference? Unable to successfully negotiate new arrangements with the

republics July 1990: Union Treaty – Gorby’s attempt to renegotiate

arrangments…

The Collapse ofCommunism

The Coup Attempt: August 1991

Conservatives, including his own Cabinet members, initiate coup while Gorbachev on vacation; house arrest in Crimean…Who comes to his aid?

The Collapse ofCommunism

Dissolution

December 1991: Gorbachev leaves office, humiliated, & Soviet Union ceases to exist…

The Collapse ofCommunism

The Collapse ofCommunism

Lech Walesa'sSOLIDARITY

Gorbachev’sREFORMS

John Paul II’sCATHOLICCHURCH

GlasnostRonald Reagan’sFOREIGN POLICY

No BrezhnevDoctrine

Perestroika

ReformKGB

ReformComm Party

EVIL EMPIRESpeech

MILITARY BUILDUP

ARMS RACE

East GermanNATIONALISM

The Collapse of the Soviet Unionand the End of the Cold War

Ordinary MEN & WOMEN

WILL POWER

COURAGE

Eastern Bloc

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

The Collapse ofCommunism

Russia Under Boris Yeltsin

Who opposes Yeltsin?What problems does he face?1993: Suspension of Parliament & a new Constitution

The Collapse ofCommunism

The Collapse ofCommunism

Russia Under Boris Yeltsin

Privatization leads to rise of the oligarchs

1994: Checnya revolt – wants to secede, primarily Muslim; leads to war, terrorism

High unemployment; no one to bail out Russia (unlike East Germany)

By 1998, the economy collapses

1998: Yeltsin resigns, replaced by his prime minister, Vladimir Putin

The Collapse ofCommunism