The Collapse of Communism

Eastern Bloc Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 15 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 of Communism 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 of Communism

The Collapse of Communism

The Collapse of Communism 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 of Communism

The Collapse of Communism 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 of Communism 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 of Communism 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 of Communism 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 of Communism 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 1 st freely elected president…

The Collapse of Communism 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 of Communism 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 of Communism

The Collapse of Communism 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 of Communism 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 of Communism 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 of Communism 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 of Communism 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 of Communism Dissolution  December 1991: Gorbachev leaves office, humiliated, & Soviet Union ceases to exist…

The Collapse of Communism

The Collapse of Communism

Lech Walesa's SOLIDARITY Gorbachev’s REFORMS John Paul II’s CATHOLIC CHURCH Glasnost Ronald Reagan’s FOREIGN POLICY No Brezhnev Doctrine Perestroika Reform KGB Reform Comm Party EVIL EMPIRE Speech MILITARY BUILDUP ARMS RACE East German NATIONALISM The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War Ordinary MEN & WOMEN WILL POWER COURAGE Eastern Bloc Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

The Collapse of Communism Russia Under Boris Yeltsin  Who opposes Yeltsin?  What problems does he face?  1993: Suspension of Parliament & a new Constitution

The Collapse of Communism

The Collapse of Communism 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 of Communism