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Was the end of the Cold War Inevitable?
KEY QUESTION ONE: WHY DID THE COLD WAR END IN THE SOVIET UNION?
THE COMMAND ECONOMY AND COMMUNIST SYSTEM THEORY
You have read about the features of the command economy and the communist system.
THE COMMAND ECONOMY
By the 1970s, economic problems began to arise because of the command economy. So much resource were
poured into military defence, iron and coal industries that the Soviet agriculture sector was.
In the 1960s, USSR President Khrushchev encouraged peasants to plant crops in the wastelands of the
Soviet Union. . Half a million “volunteers” were given credit loans and financial incentives to open up the
land but it resulted in failure because the soil was not fertile enough. The poor harvests in 1962 and 1963
even resulted in the Soviet Union having to import grain from the United States.By 1963, harvests were so
poor that the Soviet Union imported grain from the United States to make up for the shortfall.
The command economy concentrated on heavy industries, raw materials and military buildup. There was
therefore not enough attention was placed on the production of consumer goods. Consumer goods are
products that satisfy human wants through their direct consumption or use. Some examples are food,
clothing, cars and clothing.
The lack of private enterprise and the production of consumer goods led to the fall of living standards in the
Soviet Union compared to the West. It was difficult to purchase consumer goods like cars and washing
machines because the Soviet economy was a command economy.
Motor Cars
TV Sets
Refrigerators
Washing Machines
USSR
1966
5
82
40
37
USA
1966
398
376
293
259
WEAKNESSES OF THE COMMUNIST SYSTEM
The communist political system also suffered weaknesses because there was party dictatorship andt strict
censorship in the USSR. Because there were no free elections and strict censorship, many citizens did not
care about political issues.
Within the communist political party, no one dared to question the authority of the politburo. The Politburo
(short form of political bureau) was the central policy-making and governing body of the Communist party
of the USSR
The politburo saw criticism and new ideas as a threat to the unity of the communist party. As such, this
backwardness and conservatism led to the Communist party being very stagnated.
A system of cronyism also developed because of this. Cronyism means that instead of appointing political
leaders according to their ability and talent, many political appointments were made based on favoratism,
personal friendship ties and seniority. Such a system of political appointments led to corruption among the
Soviet political leadership.
The Communist system gave the citizens free health care, free education and provided them with
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employment and housing. There was full employment. Because of this, and also because there were no
consumer goods, people saw little incentive for hard work. Even with a higher salary, there were few
consumer goods to buy. Many Soviet citizens were demoralized at work. Soviet work standards were also
poor and many Soviet citizens were cynical about communism.
There were other social problems. In 1980, alcoholism was so widespread that the life expectancy of Soviet
men declined from 67 in 1964 to 62 in 1980, largely as a result of excessive alcohol abuse.
THE GORBACHEV THEORY: PERESTROIKA AND GLASNOST
Mikhail Gorbachev
When Mikhail Gorbachev became President of the Soviet Union in 1985, he realized that the Soviet
economy and society was in bad need for reform.
Profile: Mikhail Gorbachev
U87350013 (RM)
1931Born into a peasant family in the village of
Privolnoye near Stavropol, Gorbacehv studied law
at Moscow University and graduated from the
Agricultural Institute When he came to power in
1985 as party secretary of the Communist party, he
was 54 years old and the first leader to have been
born after the 1917 Russian Revolution. He tried to
reform communism to make it seem more appealing.
He removed most of the old communist leaders from
power and replaced them with active, younger
leaders who were more receptive to his ideas of
perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openess).
He also improved East-West relations, and proposed
arms limitation talks with the US.
Glasnost and Perestroika
Gorbachev introduced the ideas of glasnost (openess) and perestroika (restructuring) to revitalize Soviet
economy and society.
Perestroika involved the introduction of market forces to the Soviet economy. Gorbachev’s idea was to mix
capitalism with communism to improve the Soviet economy.
Perestroika meant that managers of factories were no longer told what to produce or how much to produce
them. The central government would limit their role in the Soviet economy and move away from a
command economy. Profiteering was allowed.
Whether or not the state-owned company survived depended on whether it could make profits.
Under perestroika, government-owned enterprises were privatized and the banking system was
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restructured.
Gorbachev even allowed private ownership of businesses in the services, manufacturing, and foreign-trade
sectors. This meant that small-scale private enterprises like cafes, handicraft shops, tuition centers, electrical
and car repair shops were allowed to be run as a private business. These reforms were the first of it's kind
since Lenin's New Economic Policy.
Glasnost involved opening up more information to the public and encouraging new forms of expression in
the Soviet Union. The press and television were allowed to criticize the government. Political prisoners
were freed. Previously banned books, films and plays were released and Soviet history was critically
reinterpreted and analyzed. There was also greater religious freedom and political prisoners were freed.
Under Glasnost reforms, incompetent and corrupt public officials were put on trial and sentenced by law
courts in the Soviet Union
Impact of Glasnost
By giving people complete freedom of expression through his glasnost reforms, Gorbachev released pentup political feelings that had been kept for decades.
Look at the events below to figure out how the Soviet people would react to the new freedoms given to
them .
"I love Russia but I hate the Stalin system. I hate the
persecutions, that millions of people were killed
before the war, during the war As Stalin began to
annihilate Communist party members in the mid1930s, my grandfather was arrested. He was killed
in 1938 in the purge. That same year, my
grandmother was arrested; she spent eight years in a
labor camp for women who were wives of enemies
of the people. - Constantine Orbelian, music
conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/01/19/sunday
/main265593.shtml
An elderly Russian lady cries as she remembers a
lost relative during a meeting to commemorate
victims of political repression in the former Soviet
Union.
Corbis UT0097
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In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to
prevent the spread of militant Islam to Soviet
citizens. For more than 11 years, more than 15,000
Soviet soldiers were killed and 37,000 wounded
trying to administer Afghanistan. Gorbachev
announced the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989
Old soldiers tyrannnized newly arrived consripts,
taking the best rations and often beating up the
younger men. Deesrtion rates were high. Illnesses
like heatstroke, dysentry and typhoid was rife. This
came with alochol and drug abuse, with hashish and
cocaine as the two most common drugs. - Jeremy
Isaacs and Taylor Downing, Cold War (London:
Bantam Press, p364)
Corbis R91169102




Afghan Mujahidin Soldiers Standing on a
Destroyed Russian Helicopter
In April 1986, the Soviet nuclear reactor in
Chernobyl exploded. The blast and radioactive
fall-out was 200 times that of the atomic bombs
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The explosion was caused by an unauthorized
test of one of the plant's four reactors.
Thousands suffered from radiation sicknes and
died. More than 500,000 people were
evacuated. People who lived near the plant had
an increased likelihood of getting thyroid
cancer.
""For 30 years, you scientists, specialists and
ministers have been telling us that everything was
safe. You think we will look on you as gods. But
now we have ended up with a disaster. The ministers
and scientific centres have been working
irresponsibly. Throughout the entire system, there is
a spirit of narrow mindedness, blind obedience,
insincere flattery and persecution of independent
thinkers." - Mikhail Gorbachev, Memoirs,
Doubleday, 1995.
Effects of Perestroika
Gorbachev's policy of economic reform did not have the positive effects he had hoped for.

Officials in various republics and regions only carried out parts of perestroika.
Many of the government officials were not convinced that perestroika would work. Others were
too used to the old communist command economy and refused to reform.

The prices of basic goods began to increase
Private companies which were set up went into the retail and supply business, not into
manufacturing. Instead of producing basic necessities, many of these businesses hoarded goods for
profiteering purposes . This meant that they bought up available stocks of goods which they later
sold at higher prices. Other companies imported goods of high value to maximize profits. There
were shortages in sugar, meat, medicine, tea, coffee, milk, soap, even tampons and sanitary towels
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
Unemployment began to rise
State-owned companies concentrated on producing expensive goods to stay in operation. They
moved away from producing basic goods and retrenched workers. This led to a wave of strikes and
demonstrations which crippled the Soviet economy.

Inflation crippled the economy
Because of their economic problems, the soviet national income fell continuously. Inflation set in
and the prices of goods grew out of control.
Soviet citizens used their freedom of speech to criticize Gorbachev for his failure to improve the economy.
Together, Glasnost and Perestroika led to the beginning of the end of communism in the Soviet Union.
RONALREAGAN AND THE COLD WAR:
In 1981, the new President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was determined to end the “evil empire” of
the Soviet Union. Reagan deliberately spent more of his country’s budget on defense because he knew the
Soviet Union’s economy was very weak and could not keep pace with the cost of a new arms race.
Despite a national debt of $4 trillion, Reagan enlarged and improved the United States air force, navy and
army. In 1983, he argued for the creation of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or “Star Wars” program.
He wanted to create a defensive shield of laser-beam firing space satellites which could intercept and
destroy any Soviet missiles fired at the United States..
Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, the economy continued to weaken. Afghanistan was a major drain on
Soviet resources and the Soviet economic aid for Eastern Europe and third world countries like Cuba and
Vietnam cost the Soviet Union dearly. Unable to compete with Reagan’s new arms race, the Soviet
economy fell even further behind the West in the 1980s and could not keep pace with the demand for new
technology. This led to Soviet reform and the end of the Cold War
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KEY QUESTION 2: WHY DID THE SOVIET UNION END IN 1991?
WHY DID THE SOVIET UNION END IN 1991?
Reagan and the New Arms Race
One theory for the end of the Soviet Union argues that the US President, Ronald Reagan ended the Cold
War by creating a new arms race with the Soviet Union in 1980. It was an arms race which bankrupted the
Soviet Union.
Reagan enlarged and improved the US States air force, navy and army. In 1983, he argued for the creation
of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or “Star Wars” program. He wanted to create a defensive shield of
laser-beam firing space satellites which could intercept and destroy any Soviet missiles fired at the US.
In the movie Star Wars, made in 1977, the Death
Star was the code name for a powerful and horrific
weapon developed by the Empire. The immense
space station carried a weapon capable of destroying
entire planets. Prophetically, a few years later,
Reagan called the Soviet Union the 'Evil Empire',
and Reagan proposed a strategic space-defense
program (or SDI - Strategic Defense Initiative),
dubbed "Star Wars" in November 1985 by the
media. The SDI worked on the same principle of
shooting the enemy from outer space
(drawn diagram from p 164).
Reagan also began to 'talk tough' about his relations to the Soviet Union. He called the Soviet Union an 'evil
empire' and spoke of his resolve to end it. The Soviet Union tried to compete but by late 1984, the Soviet
government was unable to compete with the USA in military spending
Gorbachev's Policies
The other argument argues that the Soviet Union ended because of Gorbachev's foreign policy and internal
policies (perestroika and glasnost).
You have already read about how Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika policies affected the Soviet Union.
In the same way, Gorbachev's foreign policy did not meet with total success.
Gorbachev's foreign policy called for:



The withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
The end of the arms race
Withdrawal of Soviet troops and Soviet funds from Eastern Europe
In 1987 he met with Ronald Reagan and signed the Immediate Nuclear Forces (INF) abolition treaty. In
1988, Gorbachev even offered to cut conventional (non-nuclear) weapons in Europe. He also guaranteed
Soviet non-interference in Eastern Europe.
Although Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1989 and US-Soviet relations improved, these
measures also weakened the Soviet Union politically. , Many conservative Soviet leaders felt that
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Gorbachev was weakening Soviet power.
Opposition form radicals and conservatives
Radicals and conservatives opposed Gorbachev's reforms for different reasons.For example, Boris Yeltsin,
the Moscow communist party leader, opposed Gorbachev because he felt that the perestroika and glasnost
were not radical enough He wanted a change to a capitalist economy as soon as possible.
Conservative hardcore communists like Yegor Ligachev argued that Gorbachev's reforms were too drastic
and that the party was losing control of political events in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Surrounded
by criticism, Gorbachev found it increasingly difficult to maintain unity in the communist party.
The Rise of Nationalism in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was a union of 15 Republics; Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania in the Baltic, Armenia,
Arzebaijan and Georgia in Transcaucasia, , Belorussia, Ukraine and Moldavia in the south-western
borderlands, and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirgizia and Tadzhikistan in Central Asia.
Although Gorbachev was willing to part with Eastern Europe, he was unwilling to see the Soviet Union
disintegrate. The Soviet Union was a union of 15 Republics; Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania in the Baltic,
Armenia, Arzebaijan and Georgia in Transcaucasia, , Belarus (Belorussia), Ukraine and Moldova in the
south-western borderlands, and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turmenistan, Kirgizia (Kyngystan) and Tajikstan
(Tadzhikistan) in Central Asia.
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were the first republics to demand independence from the
Soviet Union .Annexed by the Soviet Union in 1939, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania demanded their right to
breakaway from the Soviet Union. Gorbachev did not want to crack down too severely on the Baltic
republics because it would contradict his policy of glasnost. At the same time, he did not want the
breakaway movement to spread to the rest of the Soviet Union.
Similar movements sprang up all over the former Soviet Union. In the southern regions of the Soviet Union,
a movement developed inside the Armenian-populated autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabagh, in the
Republic of Azerbaijan. The Armenian population of this region demanded that they be granted the right to
secede and join the Republic of Armenia, with whose population they were ethnically linked The
Gorbachev government refused to allow the population of Nagorno-Karabagh to secede which resulted in a
violent civil war
Nationalist movements also emerged in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Byelorussia, and the Central Asian
republics.
The Final Blow: Coup against Gorbachev
In August 1991, the final blow against the Soviet Union occurred from within. communist party.
Conservative, communist politicians who were dissatisfied with glasnost and perestroika reforms tried to
seize power. They confined Gorbachev to his holiday chalet in the Crimea and wanted to rule the Soviet
Union by emergency decrees.
The coup failed because Boris Yeltsin, the popularly elected parliamentary leader of Russia, rallied the
Russian public to defend democracy. He gathered his supporters around the Russian parliament building
and staged massive protests in Moscow, Petrograd other major cities of the Soviet Union to defend
democracy.
When the coup organizers tried to use the Soviet army to put down the mass demonstrations, the soldiers
themselves rebelled, saying that they would not fire on their fellow countrymen. After three days of massive
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protests, the coup organizers surrendered, realizing that without the cooperation of the military, they did not
have the power to govern the Soviet Union.
The failed coup destroyed Gorbachev's reputation as the leader of the communist party and the Soviet
Union. More importantly, the coup destroyed all hopes for creating a new Soviet Union. The massive
demonstrations of the "August days" had demonstrated that the population would accept nothing less than
democracy.
Yeltsin prepared a decree banning the activities of the Communist Party on Russian soil and seizing all its
assets. He told Gorbachev to sign it. It was a direct challenge to Gorbachev as head of the Communist
Party; a party that Gorbachev still believed could be reformed.
Within 24 hours, Gorbachev he bowed to the pressure and resigned, also recommending that the party
disband itself. Communist control was over.
'On Christmas day, 1991, the red flag was lowered over the Kremlin. Gorbachev resigned. By popular
demand, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
In its place, a new entity was formed. It was called the "Commonwealth of Independent Republics," and
was composed of most of the independent countries of the former Soviet Union. While the member
countries had complete political independence, they were linked to other Commonwealth countries by
economic, and, in some cases, military ties. The Cold War was ended and the Soviet Union was swept along
with it.
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KEY QUESTION 3: WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF GLASNOST AND PERESTROIKA ON
EASTERN EUROPE?
In order to reduce subsidies given to Eastern Europe, Gorbachev encouraged the countries of Eastern
Europe to introduce their own brand of perestroika and glasnost to make communism more appealing.
In order to reduce troop commitments to Eastern Europe, Gorbacehv announced that he would not interfere
in the internal affairs of Eastern Europe. They were free to "go their own way".
The East Europeans and their leaders were at first unsure about how to react. In the Cold War, East
European governments were unable to control the number of privately-owned radios and television.
Through TV and the mass media, East Europeans envied the rich and free lifestyle of the West. Many East
Europeans wanted to change their country but they were afraid of Soviet retaliation. Gradually, some
Eastern European states began to experiment with reform.
Polish example of Perestroika and Glasnost
In Poland, the trade union in Poland called Solidarity, won popular support from the Polish workers and
was officially recognized by the Polish government in 1980. Although outlawed in December 1981, the
Solidarity trade union still had considerable influence in Poland and organized strikes and demonstrations,
crippling the Polish economy.
This situation was allowed to continue until 1988. When glasnost and perestroika were introduced in the
Soviet Union, the Solidarity trade union was still extremely popular. The Polish communist government
under General Jaruzelski recognized the popularity of Solidarity and opened “round-table” talks with
Solidarity trade union leaders. Free elections were held in June 1989, and Solidarity won most of the seats
in government. With Gorbachev’s encouragement, a Solidarity-led coalition government was set up. This
was the first non-communist government in Eastern Europe.
 In 1987, the leader of the Catholic
Church, Pope John Paul II met Lech
Walesa, the leader of the independent Solidarity
Trade Union. Even though it was made illegal by the
Polish government from 1981 to 1989, the
movement was supported but the Catholic Church.
Solidarity held strikes and demonstrations to oppose
communist government policies. In 1989, Solidarity
was legalized and allowed to campaign as a political
party in the 1989 elections. By the end of Aug.,
1989, a Solidarity-led coalition government was in
power. In December 1990, Wałęsa was elected
president of Poland,
Hungary
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In 1989, Hungary opened her borders with the West, Many Eastern Europeans, especially Germans, fled to
Hungary to escape communism. Within three days, 13,000 East Germans fled to Hungary. It was the
biggest flood of East Germans who had tried to flee Germany since the Berlin Wall was built in 1962.
The Hungarian communist government opened up her borders because they believed that reforms were
needed to make communism more popular. They were also supporting Gorbachev's example of perestroika
and glasnost. The government voted to reform parliament, hold free elections and allowed freedom of
speech and assembly.
East German desire for freedom
In East Germany, East Germans demanded changes in their government. Some fled their country through
Hungary. Others held protest movements and demonstrated in the streets. These demonstrations were so
large that hundreds of thousands of East Germans paraded through the streets.
When East Germany tried to seal their borders with the rest of Eastern Europe, Gorbachev advised the East
German chancellor, Erich Honecker, to embrace changes and adopt a German version of perestroika and
glasnost. Honecker refused to do so and was removed from power by younger members of the East German
Communist Party.
As East German demonstrations and protest movements grew in size and intensity, Gorbachev advised
Ergon Krenz, the new German chancellor to open Germany's borders with the West. When the borders
opened up, thousands of East Germans fled to the West. In 1990, the Berlin wall was totally demolished and
Germany was reunited as a single nation.
'Velvet Revolution' in Czechoslovakia
In 1987, Gorbachev visited Prague and encouraged the Czechs to demand greater freedom. To prevent a
revolution, non-communists were brought into the government and free elections were organized In the free
elections held in 1989 and 1990, opposition leader Vaclav Havel was popularly elected as president The
Czechoslovakian revolution was called the velvet revolution because it was a bloodless revolution. The
Czechoslovakian communist party did not resist the demands of the citizens for change.
Bloody revolution in Romania
In December 1989, 'people power' also led to the end of the communist government in Romania. Romania
was ruled by a Stalinist leader Nikolai Ceausescu. He resisted reforms despite the Romanian people's calls
for change and Gorbachev's advice for openness. In December 1989, the Romanian people turned against
him. Civil war broke out. Ceausescu was arrested, tried and executed.
1.
East Germany:
 Oct 1989: Gorbachev tells East
Germany that Soviet troops will not
interfere in East German
demonstrations.
 Oct and Nov 1989: Protests are carried
out in Leipzig and East Berlin.
 9 November 1989: The Berlin Wall is
opened.
 1991: Germany is reunified as one
country.
my own pic
3. Romania:
2.
Hungary:
 1988: Gorbachev acceptedthat Hungary
can become a multi-party state.
 1990: Democratic elections are won by
Democratic Forum, an alliance of anticommunist groups
4.
Poland:
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
21 Dec 1989: A rebellion breaks out in
Bucharest, capital of Romania
 22-24 Dec 1989: The army joins the
rebellion and fights the Romanian secret
police.
25 Dec 1989: Nikolai Ceausescu
 leader of Romania and his wife are shot
by a firing squad
 1990: Democratic elections in Romania
are won by the National Salvation Front,
containing many ex-communists.
5. Czechoslovakia:
 17 November 1989: There are large
demonstrations against communism
begin.
 24 November 1989: The Communist
government resigns.
1990: Democratic elections in Czechoslovakia are
won by the Civic Forum, an alliance of anticommunist groups.
1988: here are strikes throughout Poland
1989: The independent trade union,
Solidarity, wins the elections.
6.
Bulgaria:1990: Democratic elections are won
by renamed Communist Party.
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