1. From Superpower to Collapse
The Soviet Union
From Superpower to Collapse

2. Cold War Repression Under Stalin
Stalin continued repression especially after WWII
Rigid controls over economic, intellectual and cultural life put millions of persons being sent to forced labor camps (gulags)
The KGB increased in power

3. Official anti-Semitism led to fabricated charges against the group of Jewish doctors
Stalin died before their executions and imprisonment could commence

4. Khrushchev’s Abortive Reforms
Nikita Khrushchev emerged as General Secretary of the Communist Party
Secured his leadership by distancing himself from Stalin
Soviet intellectual life opened up somewhat

5. Had a goal of surpassing the US economy by 1980, but failed
Also failed to fix the woeful productivity of Soviet collective farms
Khrushchev found himself blocked by party bureaucrats who feared reforms and the loss of power
He lost power in 1964

6. Nuclear Parity and Domestic Drift Brezhnev
Party leaders selected Brezhnev for his status quo credentials
His goal was “no experimentation”
His most important diplomatic achievement was nuclear parity with the US
Could also boast formidable space program, scientific programs and Olympic athlete successes

7. Successes could not compensate for the staggering Soviet economy
Barely met established quotas and the nation continued to focus on production of heavy industry
Many workers failed to show up to work and alcoholism became rife
Poor social health

8. Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev was chosen as General Secretary in 1985
He was only 54
Recognized the problems within the Soviet economy and social life
Wanted to create “socialism with a human face”

9. Centerpiece of his reforms was perestroika, or restructuring, of the centrally planned Soviet economy
Wanted to promote production of more consumer goods
Wanted to decentralize control of state-owned enterprises

10. Glasnost was next
Policy of openness
Soviet citizens were encouraged to discuss openly the failures of the past
Gorbachev allowed Soviet Jews to emigrate and promoted religious freedom

11. The disaster at Chernobyl demonstrated the needs of Soviet modernization and reform
In 1988, Gorbachev was stuck between hard-line defenders of the old system and “shock therapy” advocates of free market capitalism
Gorbachev moved power from the party over to state institutions
His reforms could not save the old system or create a new one

12. Defenders of the old system began to lose faith in Gorbachev
Reformers turned to the newly elected Russian president, Boris Yeltsin
Perestroika and glasnost sparked independence movements by many ethnic minorities within the Soviet empire

13. Gorbachev worked out a “union treaty” with the 15 republics for greater autonomy within the USSR
Would take effect in August 1991
Before the treaty became operative, communist hard-liners attempted to overthrow Gorbachev
The coup failed miserably
Gorbachev would return to power, but not for long

14. Yeltsin outlawed the Communist Party in Russia
The Soviet Union was voted out of existence by the federation council of the various republics

15. Russia since 1991
12 republics agreed to form a loose Commonwealth of Independent States
Yeltsin found himself pushed back and forth between bold reform and repression
In spring of 1993, Yeltsin dissolved the legislature and called for new elections

16. Hard liners refused to leave the building, leading to a violent clash
Yeltsin won the battle and his new constitution took effect
Public support of reform wavered
Yeltsin also found himself bogged down in an ethnic conflict with separatist Chechnya
Yeltsin sponsored the rise of Vladimir Putin

17. Putin worked to advance Russia’s independent position in world affairs, promote economic development and centralize state authority
He was reelected in 2004
His presidency had been marked by an increase in state control of the media and repression of internal opponents of his regime

18. Russia still continues to face serious problems
Terrorism in Chechnya
Corruption in government
Inequality between urban and rural areas
Organized crime
Decaying military infrastructure
Declining life expectancy