Decline of the Soviet Union
After Nikita Khrushchev was forced out of office, the Soviet Union experienced domestic and foreign problems. By the 1980s, the country was seriously ailing, and many believed that reform was necessary. That reform began under Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika and continued with the breakup of the Soviet Union.
By 1980, the Soviet Union was ailing. It had a declining economy, a rise in infant mortality rates, a dramatic surge in alcoholism and poor working conditions. Within the Communist Party, a small group of reformers emerged. One was Mikhail Gorbachev. When the party chose him as leader in March 1985, a new era began.
The Soviet people welcomed Gorbachev’s election. At 54, he was the youngest Soviet leader since Stalin. Gorbachev was only a child during Stalin’s ruthless purge of independent-minded party members. Unlike other Soviet leaders, Gorbachev had not needed to blindly follow Stalin’s policies. He could pursue new ideas.
Past Soviet leaders had created a totalitarian state. It rewarded silence and discouraged individuals from acting on their own. As a result, Soviet society rarely changed. Gorbachev realized that economic and social reforms could not occur without a free flow of ideas and information. In 1985, he announced a policy known as glasnost or openness. He encouraged Soviet citizens to discuss ways to improve their society.
Glasnost brought remarkable changes. The government allowed churches to open. It released dissidents from prison and allowed the publication of books by previously banned authors. Reporters actively investigated social problems and openly criticized government officials.
The new openness allowed Soviet citizens to complain publicly about economic problems. Angry consumers protested that they had to stand in long lines to buy food, soap and other basics. Gorbachev blamed these problems on Soviet Union’s inefficient system of central planning. Under central planning, party officials told farm and factory managers how much to produce. They also told them what wages to pay, and what prices to charge. Because individuals could not increase their pay by producing more, they had little motive to improve efficiency.
In 1985, Gorbachev introduced the idea of perestroika or economic restructuring. In 1986, he made changes to revive the Soviet economy. Local managers gained greater authority over their farms and factories. In order to improve efficiency he reduced the size of the government and backed limited private enterprise.
Gorbachev’s reforms however brought economic turmoil. Shortages grew worse and prices soared. Factories could not survive without government help closed, leading to high unemployment. Those whose jobs were threatened denounced reforms – others demanded more radical changes.
Gorbachev’s policies also fed the unrest across the Soviet Empire. Eastern European countries from Poland to Bulgaria broke out of the Soviet orbit beginning in 1989. The Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania which the Soviet Union seized in 1940, regained full independence in 1991. Russia’s postwar empire seemed to many to be collapsing. Soviet hard-liners tried to overthrow Gorbachev that yea and restore the old order. Their attempted coup failed, but it further weakened Gorbachev, who soon resigned as President.
At the end of 1991, the remaining Soviet republics separated to form 12 independent nations. The largest was Russia, which had most of the population and territory of the former Soviet Union. The next largest was Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Maps of Europe and Asia had to be re-drawn to reflect the new political boundaries. After 69 years, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
Questions:
- What was the state of the Soviet Union before Gorbachev came to power? ______
- Identify and explain two of Gorbachev’s policies to reform the Soviet Union. ______
- What was the result of Gorbachev’s policies? ______
Gerhardt – Global II