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LAte ColdWar Stagnation, Collapse and Rebirth Stagnation In the 1970s, the USSR entered a period of economic stagnation that it would never escape. The Soviets were forced to take loans from Western Europe and import grain from the USA. However, foreign trade and mild economic reforms were not enough to overcome the inefficiencies of the Soviet command economy, which remained technologically backward and full of corruption. Abandoning Detente After the Cuban Missile Crisis, both the United States and the USSR had pursued a policy of detente - a deescalation of tensions. This meant signing Nuclear Arms reduction treaties - SALT I and SALT II - and a gradual opening to the West. This ended in the 80s, when Reagan began to call the USSR an ‘Evil Empire.’ Star Wars Reagan increased US defense spending on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) known as ‘star wars.’ Although SDI was supposed to end the fear of nuclear war by creating an umbrella of reliable missile defense, many political analysts saw the “star wars” program as potentially destabilizing and destructive of arms reduction treaties. Worse, SDI could be interpreted as Reagan’s attempt to make nuclear war “winnable”. Political Tensions within the USSR Word of the day: “Gerontocracy” a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most of the adult population. Major reforms of the stagnant command economy and corrupt political structure were not possible as long as the Brezhnev era old guard remained in control. Brezhnev died in 1982, and the next two successors were so old that they both died shortly after taking office. Political Tensions cont. Mikhail Gorbachev, the youngest member of the politburo was comparatively young - 54 - when he came to power. He saw that the economy was in rough shape and wanted to make some reforms to ensure the survival of the Communist system. Glasnost and Perestroika Gorbachev’s reforms followed two fundamental principles: Perestroika (restructuring) was an economic reform policy involving the decentralization of the economy. Glasnost (openness) This policy allowed more sensitive aspects of Soviet history to be reconsidered and discussed. Perestroika: Restructuring Perestroika involved a shift towards a more efficient economy, but more than that, fundamental changes in social relations and the political system. This policy also allowed the Warsaw Pact nations greater autonomy in their own financial affairs. Perestroika was supposed to be a cure for the cynicism, apathy, and corruption that plagued Soviet society and politics. Glasnost: Openness For years, secrecy had been the cornerstone of the Soviet State. Openly criticising the regime was seen as treason, and was punished harshly Glasnost allowed the history of the Soviet Union to be reconsidered and discussed. Further, in February of 1987 Gorbachev released many political prisoners and called for the blank pages of Soviet history to be filled in. Consequences As Gorbachev attempted to reform the Soviet Union, there was resistance from both sides. The Hardline Communists resented the increase in democratization that weakened their power base. Meanwhile, others complained that reforms were proceeding too slowly. In October 1987, Boris Yeltsin expressed his protest by resigning as a Politburo member and as the Moscow Communist Party chief. Boris Yeltsin began to promote Russian Nationalism Economic or Social Collapse? The Soviet State, as mentioned before, was corrupt and inefficient. However, no reasonable observer at the time thought the regime on the verge of collapse. The Soviet Union had reserves of oil, gas and gold and looked capable of sustaining itself. Ultimately, it was not Gorbachev creating reforms from above, but people demanding their rights out in the open for the first time since Stalin. Tensions in Eastern Europe The political and economic reforms in the USSR encouraged movements in other Warsaw Pact nations to make similar demands. In Poland, for example, a trade union called ‘Solidarity’ was allowed to put political candidates against the communists for the first time. Despite expectations, Solidarity won every seat. This pattern was repeated across Eastern Europe, and soon elected officials were pushing for nationalist agendas instead of simply doing whatever the Soviets wanted.