The Collapse of Communism
in Europe
Some points to note …
• The Soviet Union from 1953 to 1985
• Problems faced by Mikhail Gorbachev
• Glasnost and Perestroika
• Reasons for Gorbachev’s failure
• The end of the Soviet empire
The Soviet Union from 1953 to 1985
• Leadership after Joseph Stalin:
– Nikita Khrushchev
– Leonid Brehznev
– Yuri Andropov
– Konstantin Chernenko
– Mikhail Gorbachev
Joseph Stalin’s Legacy
• Soviet Union was modernised
• Agriculture and industry in line with the western powers
• Great cost: 20 million dead
• Few consumer goods
Nikita Khrushchev
• Relaxed the tight control of the government over the people
• Tried to introduce reforms to improve food production but failed
• Tried to give people more say in how agriculture and industry should be run
Nikita Khrushchev
• Efforts came to naught as his reforms were not supported by Communist Party members
• Sacked and replaced by Leonid Brehznev in 1964
Leonid Brehznev
• Hard-line communist who reversed Khrushchev’s reforms
• His efforts also came to naught
• An interesting blame tactic …
Brehznev’s Blame Tactic
“lack of skilled labour, alcoholism, absenteeism, and lack of effort on the part of civil servants who man the vast organization which tries to plan the economy”
- What is Brehznev trying to say?
Yuri Andropov
• Head of the KGB
• Effectively ran the country while Brehznev was ill
• Became leader in 1982
• Died in 1984 after falling ill
Konstantin Chernenko
• Succeeded Yuri Andropov in 1984
• Died in 1985 after falling ill…
The Situation for Gorbachev
• Became the leader of a state that had seen little effective government in almost a decade…
• Russia was seriously …
The Situation for Gorbachev
• The Problems facing Gorby:
– The Soviet system of government
– The lack of consumer goods
– The burden of Eastern Europe
– Black Market
– Failure of Khrushchev’s agricultural reforms
– Mismanaged finances
The Situation for Gorbachev
• The Soviet system of government
– Belief in equality and fairness
– Loss of faith by the people
– Corruption in the government
– Double standards
The Situation for Gorbachev
• The lack of consumer goods
– Comparison with the West
– Lack of western-style consumer goods
– Demand for western-style consumer goods
– Cost of consumer goods
The Situation for Gorbachev
• The burden of Eastern Europe
– Head of the Warsaw Pact
– Duty towards the Eastern European Communist nations
– Drained USSR’s finances
– Lost confidence of the Russian people
The Situation for Gorbachev
• Black Market
– High price of consumer goods
– In 1985, the black market’s value was estimated to be at 7 billion roubles
– This meant that the Soviet government was losing 7 billion roubles in revenue
The Situation for Gorbachev
• Failure of Khrushchev’s agricultural reforms
– Khrushchev introduced new systems to grow more grain
– However, transport infrastructure was not up to mark and many crops rotted before they could arrive in cities
– Russia had to import grain to feed its people
The Situation for Gorbachev
• Mismanaged finances
– Not wealthy enough to play superpower
– Spent too much money competing with the USA
– Arms race, space race
– Support to Cuba, Eastern Europe
– Afghanistan War
– Goods were not up to mark for export
Gorbachev’s Slogans
• Perestroika
– Changing the economy of the Soviet Union
• Glasnost
– Having more openness in the Soviet economy
Gorbachev’s Slogans
• Perestroika
– End command economy and replace it with demand economy
– End state monopolies and introduce competition
– 1987 – measures introduced to allow market forces to become part of the state’s economic policies
Gorbachev’s Slogans
• Perestroika
– End state monopolies and subsidized prices
– Reduction on arms spending
– Disarmament treaty in 1987 with the USA
– In 1988, EE communist governments were responsible for their own policies
– Cut Red Army help to the EE countries
Gorbachev’s Slogans
• Glasnost
– More openness to allow people to have faith in the government
– End corruption
– Inform Soviets about decisions made by the government
– Free elections held in 1990 for the first time
Gorbachev’s Slogans
• Glasnost
– Dissidents (people who criticize the government) were not persecuted
– The KGB’s powers were restricted and eventually abolished
– The Lubyanka prison was closed
– Western ideas and music were allowed
– 1st McDonalds opened in Russia
– Restrictions lifted on the Russian Orthodox Church