The Dissolution of the U'S'S'R

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Let's begin with this premise
• Every empire will crumble
• The erosion of particular Empires is very
  difficult to follow as it is happening.
• A real historian can, however, look back and
  trace key events in order to assess change over
  time.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• If we look at the Soviet Union, in the Cold War
  era, we can see long term trends that helped to
  bring it to a conclusion in the early 1990s.
• A very common question on the AP exam asks
  students to do just that.
• What must be done is to be able to examine the
  Cold War highlights, understand the very real
  threat existent, but at the same time look for
  trends that brought the USSR down.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Assuming that the Soviet Union probably reached
  its height of control in the Post-War Stalinist
  era (1945-1953), let us look at the beginning of
  the Khrushchev era, and find the beginnings of
  cracks in the foundation of the Iron Curtain.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Stalin dies of natural causes (1953), and the
  next great leader is a long term party
  apparatchik, Nikita Khrushchev.
• Remember, Stalin resumed his reign of political
  oppression of dissidents and imprisonment of
  citizens with a vengeance after the war.
• Many of his repressive methods were
  suspended,as it were, because of the war
  effort.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• With Stalins death, do we see any measurable
  changes in Soviet leadership under Khrushchev?
• One key point, is the condemnation in the
  so-called secret speech of 1956.
• Significance it could be taken as a signal by
  some of satellites of a softening of the stance
  by the Soviet leadership.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• This in no way should represent Khrushchev as lax
  leader, or one sympathetic to the plight of the
  down-trodden.
• It has been and will continue to be typical of
  Soviet leadership to distance themselves from
  previous leaders.
• Certainly, Russias treatment of the Hungarian
  uprising, and their support of the Egyptian in
  the Suez crisis does not belay any softening of
  their search for dominance.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Yet, the treatment of the uprising in Poland,
  with a relatively permissive solution does speak
  of a shift in Soviet Policy.
• Still, this is the Cold War, and we will not see
  a clear and inextricable slide toward
  permissiveness.
• Examples of Soviet hard line policy under
  Khrushchevyou should be able to name check these

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• The dichotomy of the relationship with the United
  states can be represented in a two fold manner
• Both the United States and the Soviet Union
  recognized the necessity of limiting nuclear arms
• Indeed, under the leadership of both in the late
  Fifties, movement toward arms limitations was
  begun

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Yet, at the same time, the space race, spy
  satellites and spy planes, most significantly the
  U2 shot down by the Soviets reflect the tensions
  between the two powers.
• West and East Germany became a major sticking
  point, specifically the ability of those from the
  Soviet Bloc to escape to the west from East
  Germany. Solution Berlin Wall
• Trendweakening of the Eastern Bloc.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Cuban Missile Crisis Many have seen this as a
  show down between East and West, and an
  ignominious defeat by Khrushchev.
• If this was indeed a defeat of the Soviet
  Hegemony, it leads, in part, to his resignation,
  and the eventual regime of Leonid Brezhnev.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Use the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968) as a
  key moment in the reign of Brezhnev.
• The Brezhnev Doctrine is put in place, which is
  like the evil twin of the Truman Doctrine.
• It is his desire to protect Communist regimes in
  Eastern Europe and prevent any moves toward
  democratization.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• We take away from this challenges to Soviet
  Authority, and the desire of the USSR to repress
  them.
• There is action taken, which will not be the case
  in the time of Gorbachev.
• However, there is resistance within the eastern
  bloc, which did not exist under Stalin, and to a
  lesser degree under Khrushchev.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• It should be also mention here, and this is great
  point that can be made in an essay, that as
  Soviet Empire under went challenges to Authority,
  there was a global movement away from
  colonialism.
• You should be able to make a connecting point
  concerning the dismantling of European colonial
  Empires, and examples of colonial resistance.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• A key trend in the Brezhnev era is the trend
  toward a more repressive government.
• His govt. structure remains static
• Leadership is dominated by older members, and
  corruption is rampant.
• Repression of dissidents also saw a resurgence,
  and a key person to mention is Alexander
  Solzhenitsyn, who wrote an expose of Stalinist
  Russia in the Gulag Archipelago

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• The balance of negotiation with the United States
  while maintaining control of the Soviet Empire
  continued
• This is best exemplified in the nascent stages of
  US/Soviet Détente in the 1970s
• Key example is the Helsinki Accords of 1975 The
  USSR agrees to recognize Human Right as a issue
  in the Soviet Bloc, while the west agree to
  recognize Soviet Control of the same.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• A key trend in the Soviet Union was increased
  Military spending at the expense of the private
  sector.
• Simply put, the machinery of Russia was geared,
  and always had been, to the production of tool of
  warfare as opposed to consumer goods.
• As the poor continue to suffer, this tension will
  not go unnoticed. This brings us to two
  absolutely key events Afghanistan and Poland.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Afghanistan (1980 - 1988) becomes the Vietnam War
  for the USSR You have an eight year battle
  between the strongest Army in the world and a
  group of insurgents many supplied with weapons
  from the United States.
• It is a tremendous drain of the Soviet economy,
  and the Soviet Military.
• Moral plummets, and the Soviets withdraw in 1988.
  Its impact on the Soviet Union is enormous

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Poland and the Solidarity Movement.
• Labor strife in the eastern bloc was nothing new.
• With the appointment of John Paul II, a Polish
  citizen, who spoke out strongly against the
  Soviet Control of Poland and other satellites,
  there was renewed vigor against Moscow.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• A strike at the shipyard at the polish city of
  Gdansk lead to nation-wide labor unrest.
• The Government agreed to recognize the existence
  of the Solidarity movement, as well as the
  recognition of the Solidarity as an independent
  labor union. It seemed things were moving apace.
• Yet, a change in leadership in 1981, the
  appointment of General Jaruzelski lead to
  repression of the previous gains.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Martial Law is declared, and it appeared from the
  outside, that as Brezhnevs reign came to a close
  in 1982, that Soviet Repression was in full
  swing.
• It is amazing to think that in just ten short
  years, this would all come to an end

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Impact of the Regan Administration on the fall of
  the Soviet Union
• Regan increases spending on defense greatly this
  will force the Soviets, already embroiled in a
  conflict in Afghanistan, to do the same.
• It strains the economy and foments unrest.
• Also, there is a huge gap in technology between
  east and West Russia has to close it!

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Further, the so-called Star-Wars initiative is
  begun, and this futuristic missile shield is
  taken very seriously by the Soviets as a threat
  to the balance of Nuclear power.
• Yet, even in the midst of all of these
  initiatives, Soviet Collapse was not clear in the
  mid-1980s. Let us look at the leadership of
  Mikhail Gorbachev, and identify the beginning of
  the end of the USSR

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• A Key point is that this Empire does not collapse
  in the convention manner
• Not from foreign invasion
• No large scale military defeat.
• Not from large scale internal revolt.
• And, we must remember that we are looking at two
  trends
• The break from Moscow of the soviet Satellites
• Andthe eventual dissolution of the 13 Soviet
  Republics

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Gorbachev knows that if his nation is to survive,
  let alone prosper, it had to modernize to keep
  pace with the West.
• The Central irony is that it will be this very
  political and economic modernization that will
  signal the death knell for the Soviet Union.
• It almost as if his movement toward Glasnost and
  Perestroika will set forth motion that is
  unstoppable.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Perestroika Economic Reform. Essentials
• Minimize the size of Central party economic
  ministries (decentralization)
• Promises of better wages and more liberties for
  workers (influence of Solidarity?)
• Finally, an outright advocacy of private
  ownership by the late 1980s
• He openly challenges the historic central party
  economic policies, and the inherent mismanagement
  and corruption that were the standards under
  previous regimes.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Yet, despite all of this, it is not as if
  capitalism crept into Russia and destroyed the
  big bad socialist monster.
• It was more a case that these economic reforms
  did not have a large scale positive impact on
  Russia.
• Gorbachev is the ultimate victim of decades of
  mismanagement by the Soviet System
• In a way, he is the fall guy like Louis XVI is
  for Absolutism in France.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Glasnost Political permissiveness
• Recognition of leader previously condemned by
  Soviet leadership specifically Stalin
• Censorship was relaxed
• Criticism of public officials was permitted
• Dissidents were released from prisons.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• This type of openness began to encourage ethnic
  minorities within the Republics ot speak out
• You should remember that there is no one
  version of what it is to be Russian
• The history of Russia, and later the Soviet Union
  was really built on the oppression of minorities,
  whether we are talking about the Czars of of
  Stalin and the Baltic States for example.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Perestroika and the Soviet Army.
• Not surprisingly, it had always been the might of
  the military that had held together the fabric of
  the soviet Union.
• Without a cohesive and strong military, how could
  the Republics, let alone the Soviet Satellites be
  expected to toe the Party Line?

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• If the Soviet Economy was to be changed/revived
  there had to be a re-distribution of expenditures
  from the military to the domestic economy
• This is the classic Guns vs. Butter debate.
• It might be helpful at this point to flex your
  muscles and refer to the misguided policies of
  Nicholas II in the First World War

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Damned if you dodamned if you dont!!!
• As the retreat from the Afghan war begins under
  Gorbachev, the military is looked at in a
  different light
• And, if the almighty Soviet Army is leaving
  Afghanistan, what is to keep them in control of
  the Soviet Satellites?
• Could their power be tested there as well?

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• And, with the new policy of openness as a result
  of Glasnost, the Soviet Army will come under
  attack if you will, as they attempt to quell
  several uprisings of ethnic groups in the Soviet
  Republics.
• As funding dwindles, their ability to quell these
  uprisings is diminished, which will only
  encourage further challenges to their authority.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• You can see the cycle that exists here
• Finally, as Gorbachev cuts the military to reduce
  defense spending and show the west he was serious
  about Arms reduction, their effectiveness is
  definitely compromised.
• Lastly, several Republics begin to resist,
  outright, participating in the conscription of
  their young men in the Soviet Army.
• The very concept of what being Soviet is, is
  being challenged

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Ultimately, as the uprisings of 1989 begin, and
  the Soviet Military is not called in to crush
  these rebellions, as they had been historically,
  keeping Satellite nations under the heel of
  Moscow simply became impossible.
• Let us look at 1989

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• The resurgence of Solidarity.
• By the mid-1980s, Solidarity prisoners had been
  freed, and martial law had been relaxed.
• As strikes begin to re-occur in 1988, there is
  less of an effort of by the Communist Govt. to
  re-impose control in Poland.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Elections in 1989 witness a resounding defeat for
  Communists and a victory for Solidarity.
• Hungary opens its border to Austria, and
  thousands take this opportunity to seek refuge in
  the West.
• Many from East Germany go through Hungary, and
  then to Austria
• What will Moscow do to stop this?

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Hungary's Communist Party changes it name and its
  leadership, promising free elections by the end
  of 1989.
• East German Communist leaders were told by
  Moscow, by Gorbachev, that they would receive no
  support from Moscow to prevent any insurrection.
• By November of 1989, with Communist leadership
  having abandoned East Germany, the Berlin Wall is
  ordered to be opened.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• RE-Unification of Germany, yet again, would be a
  issue for Europe and the United States.
• In December of 1989, Both the falling communist
  Govt. of Czech. And Moscow acknowledges the
  mistake of repressing the 1968 uprising, and
  Alexander Dubcek became the new leader of
  Czechoslovakian Parliament, and the Popular
  playwright and activist Vaclav Havel was elected
  President.

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• What was the stance of the Soviet Union
  concerning these movements toward freedom?
• By Oct. of 1989, Gorbachev formally renounced the
  Brezhnev Doctrine
• As the issue of withdrawal of Soviet Troops from
  these areas became an issue, the next domino if
  you will, was the very state of the Soviet Union!

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Challenges to Gorbachev in the Soviet Union
• Conservatives looking to hold on to old school
  Soviet party politics, and highly centralized
  control.
• Radicals who sought wholesale change, Boris
  Yeltsin, eventual leader of Russia, will be
  paramount among them.
• They sought a market economy and democratic
  government

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• The third area of unrest were the discontented
  republics that had been victim of previous Soviet
  Repression.
• Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
• There was also discontent in the Muslims republic
  of central Asia as well
• It will be Gorbachevs inability to negotiate
  constitutions with these republics that helps to
  dissolve the USSR

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The Dissolution of the U.S.S.R

• Aug 1991 The Coup, lead by Conservatives in
  Moscow, effectively placed Gorbachev under arrest
• Yeltsin, sensing the fall of the Gorbachev
  regime, stands on top of a tank, decrying the
  coup, and the military suppresses it.
• This effectively ends the Gorbachev regime, and
  begin the Yeltsin decade
• By Dec. 25th 1991, the Soviet Union was no more